Megatron walked among Moon Base Two's dull surface, kicking rocks up every once in a while. He peered towards the newly blue-lit Cybertron barely touching the horizon and where Moon Base One was trying to hide behind the planet.
It was strange looking at it from a distance. To newcomers and bots from afar, it appeared as if no structure was in ruins, no plates were ruptured, almost like it was before the war. Of course, he knew what lied under the shimmering atmosphere that could be unnoticeable to most from his perspective: a blood-splattered, torn world that was driven into darkness by his own servos.
The evidence of such was more than just there, it leaked from every crevice, every memory from the survivors' minds. An irreversible reminiscence that could never be forgotten no matter if the processor was wiped clean of its data or if death loomed over it. His fault; it was entirely his fault.
He caused all this pain and misery to his own kind. He was the monster of his story, Cybertron's atrocious past. All he wanted was to bring justice into Cybertron, but he doomed it. His friends from the gladiatorial pits, his adoring fans, his Orion, gone. And who was to blame if not he? Surely, someone could have done the same rebellious actions that he did, but would it have led to same conclusion?
Questions like those made his mind coil into a bridge of chaos, a demented structure that held the bodies of millions upon its colossal supports. A part of his brain, however, still remained sane but fed off of his memories of his home before the war. It gave him a slight feeling of nostalgia and irony mixed into one.
He cut across a rock bed that drifted towards a cavern where a familiar bluish-green hue reflected off the walls. Before he could enter what he assumed was an Energon outlet, the sound of an engine caught his attention. It seemed to have a smaller roar than any of his former Vehicons' motors had, and it was more in the distance than truly near him.
Curious, the grey, purple, and rust-colored mech climbed atop the nearest barren rock pile to scout out where the engine's bellow was emitting from. To his surprise, on the horizon drove the Autobot femme with the restored planet graciously hovering behind her. The light of Cybertron made her features stand out like Dark Energon in a normal crystal hoard. It had a beautiful tone to the mixture of her colors with the large, floating object beyond the Moon's reach.
Shaking himself out of his unusual admiration, the former warlord transformed and flew towards the two-wheeler.
Arcee knew this was a stupid idea to begin with, but "someone" thought it'd be good to bring back the mech who practically obliterated their home. He thought Megatron would be a good ally to have plus like Optimus, he believed the gladiator needed a second chance. Forcing her to take on the task, she was transported to Moon Base Two in hopes that Megatron was lingering somewhere within Cybertron's space.
Speaking of Optimus, both he and Bumblebee told her on the same day to talk to the former warmonger for different purposes, though both were closely related in a sense.
Bumblebee's was obvious, Optimus', however, startled her, which included the fact he appeared through her mirror to tell her while she was half asleep. Boy did that give her a helmache along with a spark attack. He apparently wanted her to not only bring back Megatron from exile, but to become his partner slash protector, even though she doubted he would need to be safeguarded. Pretty much she was now his liaison a.k.a his go-to girl for the rest of both of their lives, however short they may be.
She was given the responsibility of watching over him, guiding him, and making sure he doesn't kill anybody during Cybertron's repopulation. She did consider that Optimus stated "while" Cybertron was being repopulated, so he technically didn't say Megatron couldn't kill entirely. That was a bad thought. Oh how Optimus would beg Primus to come after her if she let the big guy do that.
She felt the rocks disinter beneath her tires as she gradually sped past a few edifices that made the surface look almost Earth-like; Jasper, Nevada. How she missed that place already. Contact with Jack and the others were low but she heard, thankfully, that Jasper has been rebuilt and all three children's homes have been successfully restored to their cozy glory.
She remembered that old garage that she used to recharge in. How it was dusty at times during the summer, but nice and insulated in the cold nights. It was better than nothing, but it was her home from home.
Arcee looked up at the sky to see the blue silver form of Cybertron visible. To see her world alive again, despite lacking five billion busy mechs and femmes whom usually crowded every city, was like peering into Primus' eyes and seeing whatever your spark desired most. It filled some of the returning bots with hope for the future.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the cackle of an air-based vehicle swiftly grew behind her. Looking through her mirrors, the "objects may be closer than they appear" saying didn't lie because the jet was literally closer than she would've liked. She veered to the right a little to let the jet go to her side but immediately hit her brakes when she realized who it was.
The jet skidded in mid-air before doing a backflip to come back to her and transformed. She took the cue to do the same.
"What are you doing at here, femme? I'm supposed to be in exile! That means YOU…LEAVE…ME…ALONE," Megatron said smugly.
Arcee rolled her eyes, "Look I would've if it wasn't for Optimus."
"Optimus told you to find me? How? He sacrificed himself to Primus, didn't he?"
The motorcycle nodded, "He became the Ghost of Christmas Past and came to me through my damn mirror. Apparently, I have to bring you home, become your new partner, blah, blah, blah, words of wisdom, etcetera, and etcetera. You know how he explains things."
The warmonger shrugged but kept his gaze towards the ground. "So you have to be my permanent partner? Does he not trust me on my own if I return?"
"He wants someone to make sure you don't do anything stupid that could mess up everything we just gained back. Plus he felt you needed someone to open up to. Sadly, he believes it's me because Bumblebee needs to learn how to be a leader, Bulkhead is busy with construction, and we both know Ratchet is going to kick your aft if you step foot in his Medbay," Arcee smirked as she sassily put her hands on her hips.
Megatron returned a smile, "But since you're closer to the leader-type and you know how to deal with bigger mechs, Optimus thinks you can handle it."
"That and he thinks I'm lonely with nothing to do, so why not add babysitting to my empty to-do list?" She sarcastically replied.
"Watch it, femme. So if I agree, I assume I'd have to live with you considering I have nowhere else to go. Is that correct, el capitán?"
Arcee growled slightly, "I suppose so and luckily, I own five levels of an eight-story penthouse not far from Fortress Maximus. Ratchet owns the lower levels. The reason I have five is because there's still not enough Cybertronians to occupy all the apartment complexes so I get practically the entire thing to myself! That also means you can choose any room you want, whether it's on the other side of the building or a different level than me."
"But if I'm away from you, how will you know if I snuck out to cause mischief?" He snidely remarked.
The femme narrowed her eyes, "If you do that, I'll get the Wreckers to bolt down your door and windows so you can only get out by someone unlocking it from the outside with a key. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," he purred.
"Alright, Bigfoot, let's go."
Reluctantly, he followed. During their trip back to the awaiting ship, Megatron couldn't help but stare down towards the smaller bot in front of him. She could've let him roam freely and ignore Optimus' spirit, but she chose to actually confront him. Although, to most, that would be hardly a shock, but to him, it surprised him greatly. He'd never expect her to rescue him from his own madness, let alone being stuck on a useless moon.
The nicknames and the crude humor may be a problem, however. Whenever most called him such, he wanted to tear them apart, but when she said it, he accepted it; it almost seemed cute and reassuring. What an odd choice of words to describe it. Cute wasn't a term he was used to thinking and when did he ever truly acknowledge it?
He, the mighty gladiator-turned-war criminal-turned-outcast, actually used the term cute to define a feisty, second-in-command-to-his-former-enemy femme who was as strong as practically Bulkhead and as stubborn as a Predacon. The girl was indestructible and yet he had the nerve to think she was adorable? Something was terribly wrong with him.
The ride back to Cybertron didn't take too long but it could've gone faster. Gradually, Megatron descended from the ramp of the ship to see a sunlit metal background awaiting his presence. It felt nice to be back on his home planet.
On the dock, Bumblebee and an unfamiliar femme were talking while approaching him and Arcee. He felt his femme slide past him and watched as she jumped a top the other, bringing the second into a massive hug. The yellow scout, or warrior now, just shook his head with a comforting grin and folded arms.
Slowly, he turned away from them and said, "It's weird how femmes greet each other, isn't it?"
"I try not to stare at such and simply pass it as another welcoming gesture. Why are you taking an interest in something like that?" He questioned as he stood by the muscle car's side.
"I don't know but I think it has to do with something kinky," Bumblebee hummed.
The look Megatron gave him was one of "really?" while the two girls stared at him with shocked expressions. "In your dreams, Bee!" The second femme retorted.
"Come on, Flare-Up, let the boys socialize," Arcee urged as she began to drag the red and orange femme towards the tower the dock was connected to. "Ug, men," she scowled as they disappeared through the door.
"Pft, women. So I assume Arcee was successful at convincing you to come back, huh?" Bumblebee declared.
Megatron raised a brow before both followed the femmes' trail back to the tower. "You could say that. Apparently, I'm now her roommate in a sense. I'm staying with her until Optimus says otherwise, IF he says otherwise. Watch, he's not going to come back and say that; he's just going to bother both of us on her progress of 'helping' me."
He put much emphasis on the word "helping" which also had its own hand motion. Bumblebee smirked, "It won't be too bad…unless you form a crush on her and you become afraid of saying anything for several years."
He heard Megatron snort in disbelief, "Let me guess, you had a crush on her for some time before and during your time on Earth?"
"Y-yeah," he confessed, "I didn't want the whole brother-sister relationship to turn sour and dissolve into something I didn't want. So I tried to forget and I actually managed, or at least I did, before Flare-Up came around and boy did the feelings burst through the wall like an atomic missile!"
"Now what are you going to do?"
"Hope I can actually say something before she begins to call our new relationship a sibling one. What about you? You have someone special you like?" Bumblebee interrogated.
Something caught in the warlord's throat and he stared blandly at the ground again, "I-I'd prefer not to say."
The warrior's eyes grew wide but before he could say anything, Arcee was racing towards them and grabbed Megatron servo. "Come on, Slowpoke, I want to show you the penthouse! It's beautiful!"
The grey and rust-colored mech stumbled slightly before turning his pace into that of a jog to keep up with the two-wheeler.
"Hurry up, Wonder Boy, we aren't getting any younger."
Okay, that nickname had to go. Megatron muttered something but eventually made it to the elevator. He had grown tired of running there so it was no surprise to see a hint of impatience stirring within the femme when he did reach the platform.
It took a few seconds, but the penthouse's doors finally reopened once they got to the seventh level where the main control room, Energon storage, and supply rooms were. There was a few chambers built for recharge but they were filled with medical equipment, weapons, and other objects that could be put to good use when the time to use them was right.
"Well, this is the…uh…central base of operations. Below us, on the lowest level on my majority of the building, four, has normal hangout areas like a living room and a gaming room; don't tell Ratchet I 'borrowed' a PS3, a Wii, and an Xbox 360, as well as a chamber full of games to each, from Earth with the help of Bulkhead and Bumblebee," she smiled innocently.
The warlord crossed his arms and gave her an evil smirk, shaking his head slightly.
"Uh, Level Five has a training room as well as a built-in obstacle course that changes to whatever setting or situation you want. You can even manipulate it to take the appearance of a certain environment where you can deal with holographic enemies known or unknown in that specific area. Fair warning: the holograms can be interacted with, which also states they can do damage to you and they won't evaporate until you actually kill them."
Arcee jumped onto the nearest control panel and sat on it with her legs crossed. "Level Six deals with mostly experiments where you can pretty much do whatever a scientist does. In which case, you can have fun with it or you can use it to create whatever you desire. Lastly, Level Eight is where a good amount of chambers are. You can recharge in some but others have been used so far as relic holders. My room's up there and you can choose which ever you want.
"So any questions or what?"
Megatron simply pressed a button on the console and activated the database in the penthouse. "Oh, I'm sure I'll find my way, my dear. After all, the Nemesis had more complex routes that this structure and that took me a few months to get used to."
"Alright the, I'll leave you to fooling around with my system. But don't you dare contact anybody I don't know and bring them here. I'll personally begin a new trophy hobby and create a room designed for it. Guess who the trophy of honor would be?" Arcee growled.
Megatron just kept smiling, "Whatever you say, Princess. Your wish is my command."
Ignoring the sarcastic remark, she headed out towards the elevator again, "Oh, I need to go check on something and afterwards I'll help you find your room. So don't contact anybody and I won't start my trophy collection, fair enough?"
The mech nodded as he scrolled through a few entries. As he heard the femme leave, he couldn't help but laugh. He was unsure how they would get along, but he knew somehow that he was going to have a great time here. Whether that was pissing her off or causing playful mischief with the others.
