Misgel: Hey, everyone! Aethelgythe and I decided that Megatron is our favorite Decepticon, and decided to write our own fanfiction! She's an awesome writer and has a lot of cool stories, so if you like this, check them out! This was fun to write, and we have a lot of ideas, so I'm excited to see where this story goes!

~65 million years ago~

Starlight never imagined that she would one day become a Decepticon prisoner. Yet after nearly 250 years, she was still confined to a single, lonely cell in the bowels of Megatron's fortress. The young femme should have known that it shouldn't have been surprising, given her association with the Autobots.

She was not a warrior and had never set foot upon a battlefield. She was an energon and weapons supplier. A neutral with sympathies for the Autobots. Her caravan was ambushed during a supply run to Iacon. The five mechs and three femmes that accompanied her, were all killed in the attack. Only six of them were armed Autobot soldiers, acting as their escorts. The other two were civilians like her.

Starlight was injured. The Decepticons put a blaster shot through her motor relays in her right leg, preventing her from running or escaping. It was only after they had taken her to the Decepticon capital of Kaon, that she learned the reason why she'd been spared. They believed that she had intel concerning Autobot movements in the nearby region or in the very least, knew the access codes for the last three energon refining stations.

Starlight knew nothing and she was tortured because they didn't believe her and assumed she was lying. Her torture lasted for what felt like an eternity.

Then came the fateful day when she met Megatron for the first time, face-to-face. The moment he entered her cell and set blood-red optics on her, he gave her an unidentifiable expression. Starlight's armor clamped down in fear as she felt that odd gaze rake up and down her body. Her spark pulsed rapidly in its chamber.

The prisoner knew she would not survive the Decepticon lord's interrogation. She was a neutral, but she was not deaf to the stories of the tyrant's brutality. Almost rivaling Zeta Prime's bloodthirstiness. Or, perhaps, her captors grew tired of her, and Megatron had come to personally terminate her.

Starlight flinched, violently, when long, silver claws seized her chin. Her helm was tilted up to meet that vermillion glare.

"What is your designation?" the titan demanded, but his tone was not harsh and cruel as her former interrogators. It was low and deep, like thunder drifting from the horizon.

"S-Starlight," she stammered.

She thought if she answered quickly, her torturers would get what they wanted and let her live. Part of her knew it was fruitless. Her black and white painting was dull and marred by scratches, scorch marks, and bent metal. Dried energon still clung to unwelded wires.

Megatron hummed, tilting her helm this way and that, like he was trying to inspect every wire in her chassis. Including her chest, barren of any insignia. "So what they tell me is true. You are a neutral." There was a slight snarl at the latter sentence, lip curling to reveal razor-sharp denta. Like he was disgusted, but before Starlight could speak, he added, "So tell me, Starlight, why were you with an Autobot convoy?"

Without hesitation, the femme told the same story she had told a thousand times. Instead of a hiss or a roar or blow to the helm, Megatron listened intently and merely cocked his helm to the side when she was finished. Starlight could not read that inscrutable expression, and braced for the warlord to deem her useless, and put an end to her.

He surprised her.

"I believe you," he rumbled.

Starlight believed she didn't hear him right. "You… what?"

"You are not of the warrior class. Upper caste, judging by your frame. You have no battle scars, no reinforced plating, and I've been told you hardly put up a fight."

The prisoner's gaze drifted downward in shame, but her captor would not give her that luxury. Crimson optics glared into her yellow ones.

"After all, there are other ways to find a fresh source of energon rather than waste time butchering such a pretty femme."

...What?

With that, Megatron left as quickly as he came. It puzzled her.

She didn't see him again until the day when she received an un-welcomed guest. A Decepticon, responsible for energon depriving her. They only gave her enough to keep her alive. Many did so to torture her, despite her innocence. Some did so for sport. They were the Decepticons who made bets on her, to see how long it would take for her body to shut down in stasis lock.

Her torturer came to reveal his true, sinister intentions. He attacked her, throwing her to the floor. Before Starlight could work up a scream, claws pulled at her chest armor, trying to force the plating apart. She screamed for help as she fought against him but was still considerably weakened since her lousy, bite-sized energon ration was long overdue. Starlight began to lose all hope that someone would come to her aid as her screams picked up in intensity. She sobbed as she struggled to protect her spark.

Then there was a horrible sound as the door was violently kicked down. Her attacker was roughly hauled off of her and thrown across the room.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Megatron thundered in rage. He turned hate-filled optics on the Con who intended but failed to force a bond upon Starlight.

Starlight's chest armor had been damaged from the cruel brute who had been trying to force it open. The femme was curled up in a corner, hugging her knees against her chassis with a whimper. As coolant leaked from her yellow optics, they darted between her attacker and her potential savior.

"You disobeyed my direct order!" Megatron seethed as he unsheathed his arm-blade. He took slow, menacing steps in his direction.

"You didn't claim her! So I-"

"-chose to double cross me and claim her for yourself. Yet my order was quite simple and easy enough for a simpleton like you, to understand! What was my command?"

The mech shifted awkwardly from one pede to the other as he carefully considered how to answer his leader's question.

"That no one was permitted to touch her."

With a deep growl, Megatron walked over to where Starlight was still huddled and pulled her to her feet. He grabbed her by both shoulders and spun her around towards her attacker.

"What does THIS look like to you?!" Megatron hissed with narrowed optics as he gestured down at the trembling femme's damaged chest armor.

The insubordinate Con sneered in open defiance and jabbed a finger in their direction.

"She's an Autobot sympathizer! A weak, useless neutral! She's only good for one thing…"

Megatron gently shoved Starlight aside.

"You will pay the ultimate price for your treason!"

With a furious roar, Megatron slammed the Con against the wall. In less than ten seconds, the traitor was impaled and then beheaded.

The fearless warlord turned to regard the prisoner with a small frown. He retracted his sword and with a subtle, softened expression, he extended a hand in invitation.

"Come. My medic must examine you."

She stared suspiciously at the offered servo. Why would this mech, leader of those who had hurt her, help her? Starlight glanced at the greying husk on the floor, servos shielding the scratches on her chest. The mech had come to claim her. What was to stop Megatron from doing the same?

Then her optics flickered to the disembodied helm, jaw hanging loosely with a lifeless gaze staring at nothing. But he had…

The Decepticon lord seemed to recognize her fear.

"You will find I do not have the same taste for such detestable behavior," he rumbled, in a low, almost gentle purr.

Starlight was only confused, and no more convinced. But she did not want stay in this dark world anymore.

Slowly, hesitantly, she reached a slender servo out to grasp his. He helped her to her pedes, but she quickly yanked free. Megatron quickly let go. Without a word, he opened the cell doors and stepped to the other side, looking back at her expectantly. Starlight raised her optic ridges, surprised and suspicious at the same time. Megatron merely nodded, inviting.

It was then on shaky pedes Starlight stepped out of her cell. It had been a long time, too long, that she had only known the darkness of her cell, its dull, grey walls, plastered by scratches she had counted over hundreds of times. It was the first time, in a very long time, that her entire world was no longer confined to that tiny, cramped, damp cell.

Megatron guided her throughout the twisting corridors of the fortress. The prisoner's eyes darted in every direction, trying to take in the world beyond her cell. This certainly wasn't Iacon, or like any facility she had been in. The black walls and bright lights screamed with Decepticon engineering. This was no captured stronghold or makeshift garrison.

She was far, far away from the sanctuary of Iacon. It was more than likely, she was in the Pits of Kaon. The Decepticon capital.

It was only a few breems later when they arrived at the medbay. After vorns in such a tight room, her processor had trouble taking in such a broad space. As her optics swept over the medical bay, she immediately assessed her surroundings as her processor triggered protocols to locate any potential threats. It was a learned survival instinct after her time as a prisoner. She made sure that her back was never turned to any Cybertronian, a conditioned survival technique.

Her dim optics soon landed on a shiny red mech. She instantly recognized him. She had only met this mech a few times, when he was sent to weld her wounds after a brutal interrogation. He never stayed for long, and he only did enough repairs to keep her functioning. The Decepticon did what he was told, but no more.

The medic had just finished repairing one of the drones. She back peddled with narrowed optics and sidestepped, so that the warrior could pass. Starlight didn't realize that she'd backed herself up against a wall, her sight focused on the nearby door and the two remaining mechs.

"Knock Out! I need you to examine this femme and tend to her wounds."

Starlight froze when the medic turned his attention on her. The medic, Knock Out, glanced at her curiously, as if surprised to see the prisoner in his medbay, with the looming figure of his lord beside her.

"What appears to be the problem, my liege? The prisoner isn't due for another examination until—"

"I want her examined now," Megatron barked in a harsh growl.

Starlight and Knock Out flinched at the same time, but for different reasons. With a shaky affirmative, the medic approached her. The femme subconsciously held a hand over her damaged chest panels and slightly turned away from him. She shifted her stance as her optics quickly glanced towards the nearby doors, currently blocked by the imposing figure of Megatron himself. She became aware just in time to see sharp claws reaching for her, and she automatically jerked away with a screech.

Knock Out blinked. He was normally used to her compliant nature, when she was either too weak or too desperate to resist him while locked away in her dingy cell. However, the medic noticed the fresh scrapes on her chest, and quickly put two-and-two together. He made a tisk of distaste.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I only intend to repair you," Knock Out assured.

Starlight kept her fresh wounds hidden from him and when he reached forward to gently take her arm with the intention of leading her to the examination berth at the center of the room, her body began to move without her permission as a deeply ingrained will to live flooded her systems.

With both a terrified and enraged scream, she picked up a nearby scalpel and chucked it end over end towards the stunned medic. He quickly ducked, allowing the tool to sail harmlessly over his head and held his hands up placatingly as he tried to calm her down.

"HEY! Watch it! I'm just trying to help y—" he was stopped mid-stream when a welding tool hit his helm, causing the medic's red optics to flicker for a moment. He snarled and began to rant in anger as a nice scratch adorned the lustrous finish upon his helm. "Oh, I just buffed that!"

.

Starlight ran around to the other side of the berth, picking up a power-drill and another screwdriver on the way, keeping the exam table between herself and the doctor as a makeshift shield. The red mech glared daggers at her. Megatron on the other hand watched on in amusement.

"So it appears her fiery spirit hasn't quelled much," the warlord rumbled.

"I wasn't aware she had one," Knock Out retorted, ducking as Starlight sent another tool soaring towards his helm.

Starlight growled as she held up the power tool threateningly. The young femme was a bold white with black highlights, yet her frame was still battered from abuse and dull from lack of maintenance. She had dry energon caked across her armor, diminishing her vibrant color scheme.

"Touch me...and you die," she hissed with a glare.

Knock Out snorted and gave her an unimpressed look. "It'll take a lot more than a tiny drill to end me."

The femme glanced down at her weapon of choice and frowned when the gravity of his words hit her. It really was a small power drill. Laughable even. Starlight began to feel cornered as her optics darted from Knock-Out to the Decepticon warlord across the room. She reached behind her and grabbed a few wrenches and re-armed herself. Megatron remained silent and appeared to be fighting back a grin, no doubt highly entertained by her stubborn, fiery defiance.

Starlight glared at Knock Out before swaying on her feet as a bout of dizziness assaulted her. Her empty tanks rumbled and a surge of weakness flooded through her systems. Still distrusting the medic, she used one hand to steady herself by grabbing ahold of the berth in front of her and raised the tool threateningly.

"I mean it. I will kill you…" Her threat did not have the intended, menacing effect as her voice wavered and shook. She fought the protocols that began to initiate stasis lock due to energon deprivation.

"Yes, yes... I'm sure you will," Knock Out replied with an optic roll and a bored, lazy wave of his hand.

Megatron merely cocked an optic ridge at the display. She ignored his curious expression, hissing as Knock Out stepped forward. The medic paused when his lord held up a servo. The Decepticon medic glanced at his leader curiously. Starlight didn't pay the exchange any attention, trying to stay upright on her shaking legs. She felt her stabilizers groan with strain. Without being powered by energon, they were unable to bear her weight.

And sure enough, there was a metallic creak as her knees buckled. As a scream escaped her throat, the floor rushed up to meet her and she crashed with a clang. Suddenly, her hearing seemed muffled and muted. She was just barely able to make out Knock Out's groan.

"Oh, now look what you did! She worked herself up into stasis lock!"

Starlight didn't reply. She couldn't. Her jaw was locked into place and her vocalizer could only make pitiful static-filled sounds. She tried to force her body to move, only to be rewarded with grinding gears and warning messages on her HUD. Fear clenched her spark. She was right, this was all a trap, another ploy.

How many times had her captors purposely starved her, forcing her into stasis lock? Seeing how long she would last? This was just another game. Trapped in her struggles, Starlight almost didn't notice the slow, heavy pedes nearing her. Until the floor trembled underneath her. The prisoner tried to scream, but only a weird, metallic noise slipped from her vocalizer as large, cold servos seized her shoulders.

"Hush, now," Megatron's voice chided against her audio.

He gently twisted her body around onto her back. She felt strong, thick arms slip underneath her, one wrapping around her shoulders and the other underneath her knees. Starlight barely registered her body being lifted into the air like she weighed nothing, and then carefully set on the medical berth.

Another staticky whimper escaped her vocalizer as he stepped away. It only made Starlight confused. She had heard so many gruesome stories about him. They said he had no love in his spark. That he never had any mercy. They claimed that Megatron was nothing but a bloodthirsty monster—a savage, spark-less soul. So why was he being so gentle? Why had he chosen to free her from her prison? It didn't make sense. Her confusion began to lessen as her body slowly shut down in stasis. What truly surprised her was when his optics softened minutely although his expression remained completely stoic. He gently cupped her cheek in his hand, using a thumb to wipe away a stray tear.

One last thought raced through her processor as her optics darkened. She couldn't help but wonder, if the cruel stories about the Decepticon leader were even true at all…

Megatron stood silently for several minutes, simply observing Starlight whilst she slumbered. Internal questions began to run rampant through his processor. He began to think of things he'd never bothered to consider before. He was so caught up in the war that he never took the time to give any femme a second glance. Something about this femme, captivated him. The longer he stood there, the more he began to truly recognize her beauty. Why had he spared her?

Knock Out was already moving across the repair ward, selecting the appropriate and necessary tools to repair the femme as ordered. He mumbled as he picked up several of the wrenches that she had thrown at him.

"Crazy femme... The next time she throws a wrench at me I'm going to…"

"Knock Out! After our guest is repaired, I want you to clean her up."

"B-but my liege! I—"

"—but nothing! I expect you to give her the same devoted attention that you so diligently give to yourself. Then you will bring her to my quarters."

The medic blinked and could not suppress the baffled look, but he did not dare question his lord. With that, the Decepticon leader twisted around and moved towards the exit. However, Megatron did not fail to hear the grumblings under his breath when the Decepticon thought the tyrant was out of earshot. No doubt the vain, upper caste mech did not appreciate being given such a menial task. Knock Out especially despised using his personal polishes and wax on any other.

Now he was being forced to! On a prisoner no less! A neutral! Oh, the blasphemy!

The whole process was unpleasant, the fact she was dead to the world made it easier and more difficult at the same time. At least she wasn't throwing things at him anymore, but her joints had locked into place from stasis, making it difficult to carry her.

After the prisoner was repaired, washed, and polished, Knock Out had grown tired of the manual labor. And Megatron wanted him to take her all the way to his personal chambers?! That kind of stress would wreak hell upon his pistons! Never mind the humiliation he would suffer, carting around the warlord's newest pet for all of the Decepticon army to see.

Knock Out found a solution, and immediately commed the mech he had in mind. Then again. And again. As if the Decepticon's mood couldn't get any worse, now he was ignoring him! The medic was no fool, the spymaster saw and heard everything.

He still couldn't be annoyed about the last time Knock Out commed him. He ran out of his best polish! Of course it was an emergency!

Knock Out groaned and sent another message, adding a note that it was per their master's orders. Finally he got a reply. Still, he was less than happy as the silent mech entered the medbay. His cool, dark plating almost blended into the shadows, and that opticless visor stared blankly at him. It gave him the creeps as he felt Soundwave's unseen gaze, boring into his own optics.

The surveillance chief looked expectant, and frankly, annoyed. Likely he did not want to be torn away from his duties for the medic's benefit, no more than Knock Out wanted to use his precious materials on a prisoner.

Knock Out pointed at the shiny femme on his medical berth and relayed Megatron's orders, that she was to be delivered promptly to his quarters. The medic did not care to know why, and nor did Soundwave. The mech did not ask, or say anything for that matter, as he plucked up the prisoner, with surprising strength for such a lithe frame. For a moment the medical officer felt a surge of jealousy at how easy it was for the tall mech to even lift her. The Communication's officer left without a word, leaving Knock Out to his own devices.

After Starlight was placed gently upon Megatron's berth. Soundwave left his master's quarters without a backwards glance, locking the door behind him. He sent a digital message to his leader, informing him that the prisoner was secured and then silently returned to his post.