Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.
Pandimala: So, are you just going to give up on regular-length chapters?
Authoress: *pouts* I am trying to lessen them. But I need the information that is written!
Pandimala: *vents* At least the title of this chapter tells me that there shouldn't be anything major happening now.
Authoress: *smirks* Sure.
Pandimala: *worried* I hate it when you have that look.
Chapter 57: Reprieve
Wheeljack's 1st P.O.V.
It had been three solars since Prime's return, and it was relieving to know that what he told the others on that solar was being held up. He wasn't taking bots stepping out of line anymore. That meant that Flamewar and Sentinel were in the cells a lot. Pitch was watching himself, surprisingly, but he had even been there one other time after our brawl. However, the Autobots had finally been settling.
Of course, the move we had to make the other solar tested that. I knew the Decepticons knew our location because I met with them at the bar, but now that everybot else knew about it, we had moved from the silo to Unit E. In effect, since there were so many of us, we had taken over most of the warehouses there. Only two of them were used for the humans and their work. Also, they were working on building expansions so we weren't having to recharge in pairs. There were a lot of buildings here, more than I thought, but with how many of us were here, and how many warehouses we needed, then it made sense.
One of the warehouses that they were working on, and the one that was getting the most attention, was a large one that was going to serve as the main hub for us once it was done. This way, we all could be a part of meetings without having to be standing outside and not hearing everything or being inside but shoulder to shoulder with everybot around us.
Of course, our location wasn't the only change that had happened. I had been shocked when Zarron had brought Ultra Magnus of all mechs to the first meeting he, Ratchet, Balm, and I had gotten together to discuss what was happening in the base. Then, Balm had spoken up and said that Ultra Magnus and one of the bots who hired Zarron, since I still wasn't allowed to know that yet, were old friends and they sent him when Zarron didn't check-in. Her saying that caused me to see something that I had never seen before; Zarron pouting. He wouldn't tell me why, but it was worth just seeing that.
From our meeting, though, we had concluded that these past solars were showing an uptick for the Autobots and Zarron's hope that he wouldn't have to give a bad final report to the bots who hired him. Outside of select incidents, and the two previously mentioned bots, everybot else seemed to be getting close. The rifts that happened during the hostage situation with Rumble and Frenzy were mending...slowly in some cases.
Blaster was still keeping a servo length from everybot who had voted to use them, and I couldn't blame the mech. He would have connected to Soundwave in the situation since he knew how painful threatening a symbiote bond could be. At least he had stopped glaring at those bots every time he passed them. Progress. I'd take it however I could.
And I had made it to the bar one time since. Soundwave had been there with a few of the Decepticons I hadn't been introduced to yet and I was able to apologize to the mech for everything that happened. But, he said I didn't need to ask given everything I had done to make sure the twins were safe while they were at the base. Of course, that was followed up with the Predacon, Predaking, whose soliform was called Parker Kingston, challenging me to an arm-wrestling contest. I lost more than I cared to admit. His bondmate, who was another Decepticon, and the other Predacon called Arctic Talon, I hadn't been introduced to until then, had found it amusing when I would beat her bondmate and he would get upset. Her soliform name was Artemis Kingston.
Altogether, things were finally shaping up around here. Outside of some residual anger that Soundwave still had at Ironhide, for taking the twins in the first place, and for the ones who had set up the device outside, then the Decepticons seemed to be back to normal. And, to my surprise, they were still wanting to work towards peace according to what Soundwave said. Even though, according to Soundwave, the ship was going to be having this night-cycle being used for a joint 'meeting' with the whole ship to relax and hopefully take the rest of the tension from the incident out of their systems.
I was fragging curious about what they were going to be doing.
But, it wasn't my place to ask, and they weren't telling me the other solar. Oh well. As long as they didn't go on anymore rampages then it should keep us Autobots out of their way. Prime had said it had been impressed on him by Pandimala that he needed to return to base immediately to sort us out...which he honestly had to. Before he had returned, we were almost to the breaking point. However, in having to do so, he left two very angry Decepticons who wanted revenge on MECH for capturing them. From the report we got from Fowler earlier, there was hardly anything left of the MECH location, and there were casualties on MECH's part. I had to say one thing; Pandimala and Megatron had not held back.
Couldn't blame them, though. Being captured by humans and held for solars before a rescue, giving the humans time to dive into a chassis with no regard to the bot it belonged to, and I might have just joined them if I was in that position. While, from what Prime said, Pandimala hadn't been held that long, Starscream and I knew how the two were feeling for each other...even if the Decepticon leader and the femme couldn't see it yet, and she would have been on the warpath to avenge the mech she was 'not-courting' courting. Honestly, with how those two acted around each other, they just had to make it official.
"Wheeljack, what are you up to?" I turned to see Smokescreen walk up to me. The mech had kept close to me, and our group in general but mainly me, ever since the issue with Pandimala and the attack on her happened. I didn't mind as long as the mech didn't start going all fanbot about my battles. I didn't mind talking about them, but that mech went onto a whole other level about the details of those missions. We were working on getting him to just talk about the fight and the important details unless the bot he was talking to asked for more information.
We were having mixed results.
But, to answer the mech. "Nothing much. Just keeping myself occupied before it's my turn for patrol." I was due to go out with Blurr in two cycles but until then I was just ambling around. "Why?" I asked him back.
He came up next to me and we started walking before he spoke. "I was thinking about one of my fights at the lake." That was weird. Who had he been fighting again? Honestly, I was able to keep fighting Starscream the whole time so I had it pretty easy. Not too much to think about from what he might say, unlike the others from how frustrated Zarron seemed to be at Vox and how Smokescreen was now talking to me about it. "After I lost track of Thunderblast, I ended up fighting Hook. He has a mean swing with his blade. I never realized that medics could be that scary on the battlefield. I mean, I know they are scary in the med bay if you get them mad at you," I had noticed that, for a while, the mech didn't have an enemy to fight. Now that I thought back to the battle, Balm had been his first opponent. Where had she run off to? I'd have to ask her about it later.
For now, though, I needed to see what Smokescreen was getting at. "Smokescreen."
"Right," He said, finally stopping his rambling that I hadn't been paying attention to. "So anyway, we were fighting and he got really angry when I asked if the Decepticons had experimented on Pandimala. Like, so angry I apologized to him without even thinking. I mean, I've seen medics angry before, but he looked ready to commit mass murder at the thought of hurting her." He then let out a vent. "I think the Decepticons have changed...and it's making me question things."
If that wasn't proof enough that Smokescreen was ready to be let into the group, then I wasn't sure if I should be in the know. "Listen, mech, I've got some important things to share with you that don't leave the group I'm about to tell you about. Okay?"
He spun on his pedes so fast I was honestly surprised that he didn't fall over. "Yeah, I swear!"
Well, I had offered. Time for a long talk with the mech. "Let's go back to the warehouse I'm sharing with Zarron. He's in on it too and can help explain things to you better. But, be ready for him to ask you a lot of questions."
Joe's 1st P.O.V.
She was finally being let out. When I had first heard the news that Pandimala was, not only online but, on the ship, I had wanted to find her as soon as I could. I thought she had been offlined. I was ready to go attack the Autobots to avenge her...and she was online. I wanted to see her with my optics. But, by the time I heard she was here, she had been put into isolation.
And it wasn't for anything the Autobots did.
No, nobot in command realized that Pandimala's fight against MECH and her helping Lord Megatron destroy their base and everything that stood in their path, was her first-ever combat experience and her first time taking a life. From what Knockout told me, she had been talking to one of the new bots, Swindle, as is tradition for the mech when he met a new faceplate. He was able to grab the bots he didn't know on the ship before Pandimala's return, so it had just been her. Knockout said that she had passed his test with flying colors, and even seemed to make the mech question himself from how he had reported.
So, the two had been chit-chatting about what all had transpired over the past solars since her capture by the Autobots. It was when they got to her recent battle with MECH that she had suddenly stopped and started to cycle her intakes rapidly. Of course, with Pandimala's spark beat going crazy, Starscream and Soundwave had arrived at their location as fast as they could, and Lord Megatron hadn't been far behind them, though he had been on the opposite side of the ship when the spark beat would have caused concern for Starscream and Soundwave.
Anyways, the femme ended up crashing from the talk and had been isolated in the secondary med bay that Hook normally used. However, given this incident, and the fact that Knockout had known the femme longer, she was under his and Shockwave's exclusive care. Even Lord Megatron had been forbidden to enter since he was a part of the attack on MECH, which had been the first time she had offlined any being before and had been her first fight. And the first beings she had fought were a part of the species that she used to be. From what Knockout could say without breaking his medic oath, she was in rough shape after she had panicked, for the first solar after she woke up that was. Shockwave was even only allowed in there because he was, in human terms, her acting psychiatrist.
However, after three solars, the femme had overcome the issues that she had been having and was being allowed back out among everybot on the ship. I didn't care about them at the click though. All that mattered right now was me seeing her with my optics. I needed to see that she was online and make sure that this wasn't some strange wish being fulfilled before my optics before I offlined in some battle that I could be having. No, I wanted to make sure, one hundred percent, that this was real and that she was back.
When I found out that Prime told Megatron that she was offlined, and that we were making it official, I had been devastated. Pandimala was a fragging treasure that needed to be kept with us always. To hurt her in such a way, to dare offline her, any being who did so deserved an express ticket straight to the deepest and darkest parts of the Pit. Thankfully, only Carl and I had heard about her offlining, so the other drones were just relieved that she was back. Carl had, luckily for him, been able to talk with her and express his relief before she had her talk with Swindle.
Now, I was going to be the first bot waiting for her. Knockout had let slip what time she was going to be let out, and I was going to be fragging waiting at those doors. Outside of Lord Megatron, I was not afraid to shove any bot out of my way to make sure I was able to get to her first. Frag it, after everything I felt at Pandimala's offlining, I would fragging risk shoving Soundwave out of the way. It may just be one of the last things I do, but I was going to let Pandimala know, without delay, just what she meant to us drones, and how much her 'offlining' had hurt.
To my surprise, there were no bots around her door when I arrived, and she would be released in a couple of clicks. And, if there was one thing to say about Pandimala, it was that she did not like wasting time. It wouldn't surprise me if she was standing just on the other side of the door right now, waiting for them to unlock so she could leave and do something productive for the ship.
Sure enough, once those clicks were said and done, the doors opened and I had to step back quickly as Pandimala almost lurched out. She stopped once she was out of her door and stared at me in surprise. "Joe? What are you,"
I didn't let her finish before I lunged at her and hugged her, not letting go. "You can't do that to us Pandimala."
Her arms were quick to wrap around my shoulders. "I should have known that you would have known. Outside of Carl, you're the only other drone who has sought me out and was upset. You two seem to always know what's going on with command...at least the juicy gossip." She attempted to laugh.
While I wanted to tell her that it wasn't funny, I was just happy that she was here. That she was online. "Did...did you offline?" I decided to ask her hesitantly. It seemed like a stupid question, now that it had left my vocals...but I wanted to know.
"No, I didn't offline, Joe," Pandimala spoke softly, having moved one of her servos to rest on top of my helm. I wasn't sure why, but it made me feel more secure. Secure that she wouldn't leave us again. "To be honest I got close, but I haven't been down for the count yet,"
"Was it bad with the Autobots?"
She laughed at that. "Like almost everywhere, it had its ups and downs. Was it difficult at times? Very...at times. However, the good times were pretty good." She then rested her helm on her servo that was still on my helm. "But don't get me wrong. I would rather be up here with all of you. There were plenty of times where I missed being up here. Where I found myself missing every bot up here."
"How are you doing now?" I risked asking her, even though I knew she was only getting released this solar from her room due to the breakdown.
She let out a vent. "Better now. I don't regret what I did when saving Lord Megatron, and loss is going to be a part of that." I felt her shiver at that, so I held her a little tighter as she continued. "But, I know that my actions are going to have consequences. I'm not sure how long those consequences are going to take to happen, but they will happen. I should know better than most, that humanity is a race that can hold a grudge for slights. And even though we were avenging a slight done against us, humanity won't know that. But, there is no changing that anymore. What's happened has happened." She then had us separate before she smiled down at me. "Now, what can you tell me about this 'faction' relaxation session that I've been seeing messages fly across the system for?"
That's right! She wouldn't have been told much about any of that since she was basically in isolation for the past few solars. "After everything that has happened lately, Lord Megatron has ordered a relaxation session. The entire ship, and any of the drones who are working down below on projects who wish to, are going to be meeting in the hangar. The ships were moved to the top deck for this. There will be music, dancing, places to just sit and talk, and lots of different kinds of energon."
I had heard a rumor from 4ND43 aka Andre, that Starscream was even going to be bringing out cubes of Ultra Grade that he had been saving for bots to try. He was very excited to try it. I swear that mech could outdrink every drone here on Earth though. Honestly, I had a feeling he could even outdrink a few of the command bots as well. I wasn't going to touch it though. Not only could I not hold my high grade after many drinks, but Knockout told me that stuff could knock most command bots out after just one cube. Even Blitzwing had to be careful with the stuff. I would probably be out after a few sips and I wanted to enjoy the party.
Pandimala smiled wide at that. "So, we are having a party!" She then gave me a giant hug before bouncing around. I couldn't see straight for a nano when she sat me back on the ground and continued. "I need to go talk to Shockwave about something real quick, but I'll see you tonight!"
"It starts in the night cycles!" I yelled after her before she disappeared around a corner.
In return, she yelled back. "Got it! Thanks, Joe!" She then ran around the corner.
I listened as her pedesteps grew further away. Once there was silence, I smiled with a shake of my helm before heading to the med bay. Knockout said he was going to show me some advanced surgical techniques that he picked up. That would be a great way to relax before the party tonight.
Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.
My smile was wide when I walked into the hanger, the party already in full swing. It had started about two cycles ago, but I got caught up talking with C34D-44, or Cedar, about the training session I gave the drones earlier. He wanted to know more about some of the moves I had studied when I was human and I gave him a few options to sign his soliform up for. I think the mech was going to go with ninjutsu.
If he picked up on it as every other drone had with their Earth hobby…
Anyways, I looked around and smiled at how active the bots seemed to be. There were several drones and officers that were out on the floor, dancing to a song that I wasn't familiar with. But, it had a really good beat that made me nod my helm and it almost made me want to go out and dance with them.
But, I needed to get the lay of everything first...and maybe find myself a bot to dance out there with me. While I could be nimble on my pedes when sparring and fighting, I never could get a hold of much dancing. And it wasn't for the lack of mom trying. She signed me up for different kinds of dance classes as I failed to progress in the ones before. The only one that I made any sort of progress in was ballroom dancing...and even then I could only do simple dances. Anything complicated...and I was meeting with the floor as was the person I was dancing with.
Those instructors always said that it was because I wouldn't give up the lead even though I was supposed to be the person who followed. But, I just couldn't do what they wanted. I tried...I really tried to. Mom had been paying money that she was earning for me to have these lessons, and they were supposed to help my martial art lessons that she was also paying for, and as I got older, I knew that her paying for these lessons meant she couldn't do things that she wanted.
But, I was a lost cause. The only times I even got close to dancing decently was when I was allowed to take the lead...which wasn't often with the guys I usually got paired with, and even then it was a jarring experience since I wasn't used to dancing those few times. So, I was hoping that I would be able to find a bot that would be able to…
"Pandimala," I looked over to where I heard my name come from and smiled when I saw Swindle waving me over. So, I walked over to him and Soundwave and saw that Swindle was holding a rather small datapad, it would be compared to a human holding a note card if I had to compare it to anything. What was this for? "This is yours."
I took it from the mech, and when I activated it, I saw that there were numbers listed vertically with blank spaces next to them. What the frag was this for? "Um...what's this for?" I decided to ask since neither of them seemed ready to answer me.
Swindle laughed at my question, but thankfully Soundwave had my backplates on this one. "It's your queue list."
...When he didn't continue I realized that he didn't have my back as much as I thought he did. "And what's that?"
Thankfully, Swindle finally stopped laughing long enough to elaborate more. "Bots approach you and you put their names in your list when both of you have a spot to dance. When the next pair dance comes up, you dance with that bot. Group dances are when you can take a break, or if you leave a space in your list...or if you or your partner get too overcharged on the high grade and have to leave early." He then brought out what I was sure was his list. "I've already got my spots covered to seven. Soundwave here just agreed to be my seven for me. Want to be my eight?"
"So, the pair dances haven't started yet?" I asked before I realized what Swindle asked. "And sure, let me put you down."
As I was putting the mech down as my eighth dance, he answered me. "Nah, they won't start for another thirty clicks. Want bots to relax for a little while after everything that has happened." He then looked at his list. "I have Dunce as my first dance. Should let me get to know the mech better." Well, I hope he found out more. I hadn't had much chance to talk with the mech, though I wanted to. He was my character, back in my original universe, and I had put him through more than any other of my OCs. Maybe I could get a dance with the mech? "And don't worry. Bar you having to leave or your partner leaving before you get to them, you should be able to dance with everybot at least once."
Good. I wanted to get to know more of the new bots. I had a lot of bots to get to know better and I wanted to make sure I was on friendly terms with all of them...at least. Honesty, outside of Dunce that was especially aimed toward Thunderblast. Outside of Laserbeak, the only other femme who had been on the ship tried to offline me. I'd rather avoid that situation with Thunderblast if I could help it.
"Thanks, Swindle, Soundwave." I then turned to Soundwave. Since I was the last to the party, I figured it was best to ask when his next available number was. "Soundwave, want to be my dance partner when you are first free?"
"Yes," Soundwave answered before he pulled out his list. "Dance six would be acceptable."
I smiled and wrote his name on the list. "Thanks, Soundwave. And again, thank you Swindle. I'm going to talk to a few more of the bots and maybe hop into a group dance if one comes on that I know. If I don't see you bots before, I'll see you when it's time for our dances." I then nodded toward them in farewell before moving on to the next group.
However, before I could go see Starscream and Scavenger, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned to see who it was, I felt my spark skip a beat, and I had to fight with everything I had to keep from feeling like I was blushing when I saw Lord Megatron standing there. "Pandimala,"
"Yes my Lord?" I asked him. Maybe he wanted to talk about how my three solars went. Or maybe some supplementary lessons on my strategist job since I had to take a break when I was with the Autobots. Did something happen during my three solars of isolation that I hadn't been told about?
I noticed my Lord shift on his pedes slightly before, to my surprise, he pulled out his list. "Has anybot claimed your first dance from you yet?"
"No, Lord Megatron," I answered him, feeling a slight blush. He...he was asking me to dance? Already? I figured he might wait to see what sort of disaster I was on the dancefloor before asking me. But the first dance? I was already regretting not going to Skywarp...or one of the closer groups to where I was with Swindle and Soundwave. But, I made this choice...though my spark was already feeling like it was beating a million beats per nano.
His smile caused a strange feeling to come to my spark. "Then, I would like to request to be your first dance partner,"
"Of...of course Lord Megatron," I barely got out of my vocals. "It would be my honor."
My spark had to have sped up when he smiled at that. "Perfect. I shall find you in twenty-five clicks to ask you properly for the dance. Until then, Pandimala." He then walked to where Knockout and Hook were talking.
That strange feeling felt like it was gripping my spark as I continued on my way to Starscream and Scavenger. He...Lord Megatron...Frag he was going to be the first to realize how bad I was at dancing. I was going to be so embarrassed! Hopefully, he wouldn't think too badly of me after we were done.
"What's got you all flustered?"
I jumped when the voice suddenly sounded before I focused and saw that I had made my way to Starscream and Scavenger. Scavenger, who had asked me that, had an optic ridge raised though he looked like he knew something...though what that was I didn't know. "Nothing," I tried to lie, though the thoughts of my upcoming embarrassment were bouncing around my helm.
"Right, and I'm an Autobot," I shook my helm as Starscream said that with heavy sarcasm. Sarcasm which was not appreciated. "But, I'll let it slide for now. Can I have your second dance if it isn't already taken?"
"And I'll ask for your fifth while you are here," Scavenger asked me as well.
As long as we were off that subject, I didn't mind. "No problem mechs, let me write you down," The three of us then pulled out our data-lists and wrote down each other's names. However, as I was writing down Scavenger's designation, I felt like somebot was reading over my shoulder.
Glancing to my right, I realized that Starscream had moved over to my side and was looking over my list. I did not like the smirk that he had on his faceplate right now. "So, our Lord is taking your first dance. That explains a lot."
My systems grew a little hotter at his words. "I...It's just a dance Starscream," I then shook my helm and tried to calm down a little. "He asked me and I said yes. There isn't anything strange with that."
But, instead of that fragging smirk going away, it seemed to grow even larger. Not only that but with a glance at Scavenger, that knowing look was now a very smug look. I didn't like this at all. I felt like I was stuck in the middle of a plot and I did not like it in the slightest. I was going to find out what they were planning. But, I was doubting that they were going to let it slip right now. No, I was going to have to suffer the night if I had any hope of getting those two to let their guards down.
"Whatever you say Pandimala," Scavenger responded. "You do know that it is usually a slow song that starts the pairs because everybot has been jumping around to all of this fast music, right?"
...Say what? Slagging fragging creation of a glitch! I was hoping for maybe something similar to the swing category, or anything fast-paced! But slow songs usually meant it was going to be some kind of romance song. I couldn't do this. Could a bot get drunk in...I took a glance at my internal clock and felt my spark skip a pulse as I realized there were only seven clicks until it was time for the pairs to start dancing. Not enough time to get drunk to get permission to leave.
Scrap!
Maybe Soundwave, who I bet was controlling the music, would remember that I don't dance that well from when they all viewed my memories and make the first song a faster pair song? It was a hope at least.
When the music went quiet, I realized that we must be a few clicks away from the start of the pair dances. Scrap on a scraplet! I could feel the tension in my chassis as I waited for Lord Megatron to come to me. He said he would find me before the dancing started.
Hey, if your partner didn't find you, did that count as a no-show?
"Pandimala," I barely contained a yeep from coming out of my vocals when I heard Lord Megatron's voice and I turned to see him standing in front of me, holding his servo out toward me. "Would you honor me with this dance?"
I nodded and hesitantly reached out to grab his servo. "Y...Yes, Lord Megatron." I then tentatively set my servo on his. My chassis warmed and I felt myself blush as he wrapped his digits lightly around my servo before leading me out onto the dancefloor.
Once we were in the center, he stopped and placed his servo on my hip. Was it getting hot in here, or was it just me? I barely remembered to place my servo on his shoulder. When I glanced at his faceplate, I blushed as he smiled softly down at me. "Just relax, Pandimala, and let me guide you."
Wait...did that mean he remembered that detail from my memories? My spark skipped a few beats when I realized that this had to be. There was no other reason for Lord Megatron to say that. "Of course," I whispered before the sound of the music started to hit my audios.
Oh, frag. Anything but this song!
Wise men say
And of course, they couldn't have done any of the versions by an artist I could pass off, but the version by the King of Rock and Roll himself; Elvis Presley. My spark felt like it was going to burst out of my chassis as I started to follow Lord Megatron's lead as we swayed to the music.
Only fools rush in
"You're doing fine, Pandimala. Just relax and let me and the music lead you," Lord Megatron whispered as we continued to move from our starting point.
Just relax? "Y...Yes, My Lord," I wasn't sure I would be able to do that. I glanced up at my Lord and saw that his optics seemed to have a soft look to them as they looked down toward me. But, I felt like I could trust those optics. I could stay lost in them as the song laid out our path.
But I can't help falling in love with you
"Very good Pandimala," Lord Megatron said, a small smile quickly showing on his faceplate. "I believe that you just needed the right partner, from what your memories showed me,"
That's right! He had access to my memories. How...how was I supposed to respond to that? How could I respond? Just remembering what it used to be like caused me to shiver. I was so scared that I would do that to Lord Megatron. A small gasp slipped my vocals as I tripped over my pedes.
However, I barely fell as the servo at my waist gripped said waist a little firmer. Oh no! I wouldn't ever live this down. Maybe I would find an excuse to leave after this.
Shall I stay?
A surprised chuckle coming from my Lord had me looking back into his optics before he smiled softly again. This time, however, it stayed as he spoke. "It seems I spoke slightly too soon. Seeing how well you were doing before, I did pick up our pace slightly. However, I should have been able to see you were having difficulty keeping pace with me. I apologize, Panidmala."
Would it be a sin?
"N...no my Lord, I should have been paying more attention. There is no reason for you to apologize." I whispered, leaning my helm forward in embarrassment. Whatever bored higher powers that were out there that wanted to strike me down, go ahead and get me. It wouldn't be any worse than the burning embarrassment I was feeling.
If I can't help falling in love with you?
When I felt a strong arm move more securely around my waist, I felt my chassis warm slightly when I realized that it was my Lord's arm. It was also in this moment that I realized that I had, not consciously, pressed myself against my Lord as we danced. "My...Lord Megatron...I,"
"Calm down Pandimala," A shiver traveled down my back as his voice seemed to be right next to my audio. "You are fine. Just enjoy the song,"
Like a river flows
"Yes, my Lord," I whispered as we continued to move side to side, and back and forth. Something was different. From the time I first appeared on the Nemesis to now, my view of Lord Megatron was changing.
Surely to the sea
It couldn't be…No. Starscream, Scavenger, and Wheeljack; they couldn't be right. Lord Megatron was my leader, my master. I would offline for him in a nano. Though thoughts on not being near our Lord's side caused my spark to constrict slightly in pain. I couldn't lose him. And I couldn't leave him.
Darling, so it goes
Wait, where did that come from? I would offline at Lord Megatron's word. Nothing should stop that. And yet, thoughts of leaving his side penetrated my thoughts and I felt sadness settle at them.
Some things are meant to be
My processor suddenly took me to the scene from the original show. Lord Megatron's offlining. No. I would do everything in my power to make sure that no harm came to my Lord. I would denounce Paul and actively fight against both him and his plans, which most likely included my Lord's offlining. He needed a chassis to offline so Unicron could take over.
Take my hand
And with everything that had happened here on Earth, then I knew that Paul would use whatever means to accomplish his goals. The battle at the lake proved that Paul would not stop these events from happening. He was willing to risk Rumble's and Frenzy's sparks just to have some sort of large fight.
Take my whole life too
I tightened the grip of my servos as I set my thoughts together. No matter the cost to me, Lord Megatron needed to be protected and Paul needed to be stopped. We were so close to actual peace, where both sides would be happy with the results. New life to Cybertron, with a new and inspired way to live their lives. With all of the gifts and powers that I had been given and taught, I would do that. And, with Catastro and the scythe, if he was willing, that goal was even more attainable.
"Pandimala, are you alright?" I flinched slightly and looked at my Lord. Only then, did I realize that my servos were indenting my Lord's plating, and he was looking at me with a concerned look on his faceplate.
For I can't help falling in love with you
"My Lord, I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" I tried to apologize, my spark rate picking up as shame washed over me. I had injured my Lord, who I swore to serve and protect.
I tensed as Lord Megatron moved his servo from my servo to my faceplate. What...what was going on? "Pandimala it is fine. Something so feeble didn't hurt me. However, are you alright?"
For I can't help falling in love with you
Nodding, I answered my Lord as the song ended. "Yes...yes, I am fine Lord Megatron," I then bowed to him, though I still felt the lingering shame of what I allowed myself to do. "If you would excuse me, my Lord, I must go find Starscream for our dance."
While I saw hesitation in my leader's optics, he nodded. "Of course. during the next cycle, I would like to speak with you, if you are able."
"Yes, my Lord," I answered before making a beeline for Starscream.
By the Allspark, what were these feelings, and why couldn't I control myself around my Lord anymore?
Lord Megatron's 1st P.O.V.
Where was she?
I could tell that I had upset Pandimala near the end of our dance, and she had been upset about her mistake when we had danced and the dents she left in my plating, so I asked to talk to her during the next cycle of group dancing and relaxation. However, when I had finished my dance with Starscream, I had been approached by Shockwave to speak on one of the major drone projects that had been happening on Earth for quite some time. It was to be a surprise for Pandimala, showing that events from her memories could be changed.
While events had been changed already, it was clear that Pandimala still worried about events to come. The situation with MECH, and her breakdown afterward, had shown me that much. Add that to the battle at the beach that the others had to fight for Rumble and Frenzy, and she had probably seen both of those as a major turning point.
And during each of the major turning points, from what her memories showed, at least had one major asset on either side was grievously injured. Back during our fight with the Autobots in the mine, the one that had changed Lizzie into Pandimala, she had been injured in the same way that the young human, Rafael, had been injured in the previous timeline. Then, during the recent events, the Autobots had taken two symbiots, who should not have been placed in that position, as hostages just as we Decepticons, in the original timeline, had taken their humans hostage during the usage of the Omega Lock.
However, I wasn't sure if she saw that she had also taken the role of the serious injury during this timeline as well. Just as Optimus was the one to almost offline in the original timeline, Pandimala too had been injured to the point of almost offlining. I still felt remnants of the pain I felt when those words had left the Prime's vocals. Pandimala was offline. So, seeing her online when she had come to retrieve me from those humans had lifted a burden on my spark that I had been struggling with.
I never wanted to lose her again. This time had brought us so close, that I finally realized that the strange feelings I had been having towards Pandimala were feelings of attraction...and possibly love. Though, it was too early to say that yet. However, I knew that at the least there was some mutual respect and feelings between us that we needed to explore that possibility.
That was what I wished to talk to her about. Her actions during our dance told me that she had the same feelings toward me, but she was fighting them. I had hoped to sit with her, in private, and talk about this between the two of us. However, I had been still talking to Shockwave about the project and so I had given Pandimala leave to go and relax with the drones.
Though, that had been two cycles ago, and I had not seen her on the dancefloor since. It seemed strange that I couldn't find her, and I was worried that something might be wrong. While none of the Decepticons on the ship seemed to wish to cause Panidmala any trouble, given that Thunderblast had passed her cortical patch with the ease she had shown, Pandimala would not have left this gathering without informing somebot. And my officers knew to inform me when anybot from command left the gathering until I left.
A movement to my left caused me to see two drones, Frost and Florian, coming back inside the hanger. They must have had to take one of the other drones back to their quarters. Perhaps they would know where Pandimala had gotten to. "Frost, Florian,"
They both stopped for a nano before they made their way over to me. "Yes, Lord Megatron?" Florian asked once they were in front of me.
"Have either of you seen Pandimala in the past two cycles?" If they didn't know, then I would ask them where the majority of the drones in the hangar had been spending their free periods during this.
They both glanced at each other before Frost nodded. "We saw her about thirty clicks ago by the energon tables. Andre challenged her to a drinking contest and she accepted it. It was the cube of Ultra Grade that dropped him. Poor bot only got a quarter of the cube done before it knocked him out. Pandimala didn't even hesitate and finished it."
So, she had been having a contest. That would explain why...Frost said she was drinking Ultra Grade? And she finished a cube? "How much high grade did Pandimala have before the Ultra Grade?"
"With the way they were flying through the cubes, it was a little hard to keep track. Flare would know the exact number since he was the one judging the contest. But, I think it was around twenty cubes each." Florian responded to my question, though it was easy to hear the tension in the mech's vocals. He must have picked up on the worry I was having as I put the pieces together.
Pandimala, from her memories of her past, had never had any alcohol, human high grade, in her existence before she came to our dimension. Even in our dimension, she had only tried a sip from Skywarp that he had taken from Starscream's stash. Her chassis wouldn't have the built tolerance to deal with the twenty cubes alone. Now, she may have some natural resistance given her size as a triple changer, but that would have placed her tipsy at best.
Adding in a whole cube of Ultra Grade...the femme had to be around here somewhere and most definitely overcharged.
"Did you contact an officer about her condition?" I asked them, irritated that they may have let Pandimala wander around here with little to no control of her actions. We didn't know how she would react to being overcharged and that could be dangerous to both her and the others here.
To my surprise, Frost nodded quickly. "Of course. While Florian and I were taking Andre to his quarters, Flare contacted Starscream and informed him of Pandimala's intake of high grade and ultra grade."
"Very well. I shall find Pandimala. Continue as you were."
That explained so much. That mech, and Scavenger now that I thought about it, had been prodding at me lately about this feeling that I had for the femme. I didn't doubt that they had been doing the same to Pandimala. This must be a golden opportunity for them to try and force interaction between us. They would, of course, be watching the femme to make sure that she didn't get into serious trouble. However, they were going to hold off on interfering with anything outside of that until I found her.
Those mechs were going to be spending time in the brig once this night cycle was over for this.
So, I moved around the hanger to try and find out exactly where the femme could be causing trouble. After five clicks of searching, I finally found her. However, I hesitated. She seemed to be sneaking up behind Predaking, who was standing near his bondmate. What was she doing?
I flinched slightly toward her when she suddenly jumped at Predaking, holding onto his backplates and looking like she was about to ride his back like humans rode their horses. "Let's go Toothless!" Pandimala let out a yell before she laughed.
Predaking stopped trying to dislodge her from his back at that point and glanced over his shoulder at her. "Did you just compare me to that fake dragon from the human animated movie?"
Of course, Arctic Talon was dying with laughter at her bondmate's predicament. Pandimala laughed too, not letting go as she nodded. "I mean, you are both dragons so why not?"
That caused said mech to let out a vent and his bondmate to fall over laughing. He sent Arctic Talon a look that said he felt betrayed by her before he turned back to Pandimala, who was still laughing. "Down. Now."
She pouted at that and stuck out her glossa before she dropped down off of Predaking's backplates. "Party pooper."
"Go and enjoy the party, Pandimala," Predaking told her with a stern look.
Pandimala, on her part, looked like she was going to argue when, to my surprise, she suddenly paused before smirking. "Okay!" She then laughed before moving away from the two Predacons.
Where was she going now? I followed her, staying out of sight until she ended up just outside of striking distance from Shockwave. There was no movement from her for a nano before a musical number started to play from her personal radio as she slowly started to sneak up on the mech.
Soundwave and Starscream had convinced me, to help keep my processor off of Pandimala when she had been with the Autobots...since that had been my biggest concern at the time, to join them at a human movie complex to watch one of their 'classic' titles in a marathon of three movies. This specific piece came from the second movie of that installment, The Empire Strikes Back.
The Imperial March.
Why she was playing this, I wasn't sure. However, her overcharged processor seemed to think that it fit because she continued to let it play as she moved closer to the mech. Was she seriously going to jump on Shockwave's backplates like she had Predaking's?
Just when she reached servo-distance, though, Shockwave spoke up. "If you even attempt to jump on me, Pandimala, you will regret such action when you awaken in the morning cycles with your hangover."
Pandimala, for the first time since I had found her, paused at that with a worried look on her faceplate. I guess even overcharged the femme could take the hint as wisely as she should. However, she still pouted and let out a vent before moving on.
So, I followed the femme as she walked around and waved at everybot she passed. She even ended up waving at a crate at one point. Well, at least we knew that the femme was a happy, if slightly mischievous and playful, bot when overcharged.
After about ten clicks, the femme stopped in the middle of the room. She must be trying to find somebot. But who was she looking for?
Movement from the corner of my optic caused me to glance behind the femme and I saw that Ransack, who looked equally as overcharged as the femme, walked toward her. What was he up to now? I did notice that Crumplezone was on the other side of the room, seemingly following him like I was following Pandimala.
At least some of us were responsible for the overcharged bots.
...Unlike two certain Decepticons, one who was confirmed to know that Pandimala was overcharged.
When Ransack stopped, standing next to Pandimala, I tensed. This was either going to turn out bad or be one of the funniest events that Pandimala caused. We would see, and if needed, I was sure that Crumplezone would step in with me to break the two of them up.
"Oh, come on we can take 'em," Ransack 'whispered' to Pandimala with a knowing jab at her side.
Pandimala shook her helm. Maybe she wasn't as overcharged as I, "It's a long way," Nevermind that. I had a feeling that they were quoting something...since that seemed to be Pandimala's theme during the time I had been following her, but what was she quoting?
"Toss me." Wait...what? Did Ransack just ask Pandimala to 'toss' him? He couldn't be serious...could he?
Pandimala seemed to glance down at the mech with an optic ridge raised. "What?"
And if I thought that Ransack had been kidding, I would have been surprised to hear what he said next. "I cannot jump the distance. You'll have to toss me." He wasn't kidding. I felt my first bout of panic when Pandimala nodded and started to reach down for the mech. However, I didn't move toward him when Ransack made a hesitant noise and Pandimala paused. He looked concerned before he spoke. "Don't tell the elf."
Elf? What the frag was an elf? Pandimala seemed to know, however, as she smiled darkly before she answered him. "Not a word."
Thankfully, Crumplezone had already been moving toward the two of them and, before Pandimala could pick up the mech to toss him, he spoke. "And you're done." He then picked up Ransack by the wheel between his shoulders. "It's time for you to get to berth," He then walked toward me, carrying the struggling Ransack. "Lord Megatron,"
Since I knew what he was going to say, I simply nodded. "Go ahead, Crumplezone. It seems like I need to escort Pandimala to her quarters as well." He gave one nod at that before he continued out the doors. When I turned back to Pandimala, I saw that she was waving at Ransack. She was ready for an escort out. "Pandimala," I spoke to her as I walked toward her.
She must have just realized I was there because, when she focused on me, her smile went wide and she almost ran up to me. "Lord Megatron," She laughed as she slowed in front of me. "I was looking for you!" None of the nervousness that the femme was showing before she got overcharged was evident in the slightest.
"Pandimala, I believe that it is time for you to go get some recharge. I'll escort you to your quarters," I explained to the femme, who seemed to be fidgeting. Why would she be fidgeting? A sudden click sounding in the air had me glance down to see what caused it. My optics widened in surprise when I saw that my right servo was now being held hostage by one ring of a stasis cuff. I noticed the other was already attached to my strategist's left servo.
Slag I had been distracted by explaining the situation to the femme that I hadn't taken her fidgeting seriously. Pandimala must have done that to keep the sound of her attaching the cuffs to herself away from my audios. With the sound of the music and conversations around us, she didn't have to muffle much. I was about to ask her for an explanation when she spoke. "You kept losing me before, so I wanted to make sure we wouldn't be separated!"
My spark stuttered at her proud expression. In her overcharged state, she must have thought that my following was me trying to find her, and took measures to make sure I wouldn't lose her again. Even overcharged she was a strategist.
However, these cuffs would need to come off, and quickly, so I could make sure she wouldn't try to drag us anywhere that I didn't want her to go. If she tried, the cuffs could hurt her wrists and I wanted to prevent injury this night cycle. The medics would not be glad to hear that she had been injured in a way that could have been prevented.
"Pandimala," She focused on me when I started to speak, that overcharged smile on her faceplate, "Where is the key? We need to be able to move freely if the need arises."
Panic entered my spark when she went from overly-happy to two nanos from crying at that. "I...I don't know," She sniffled. Okay, she could also be overly emotional when overcharged. Noted. "I don't know where I got them." She sniffled more at that and seemed ready to cry.
So, to immediately stop that, I placed my left servo against the side of her faceplate so she would focus on me again. "It's alright Pandimala," Though it really wasn't. If she couldn't remember where she even got the stasis cuffs, then that left too many options as to who may have the key. Frag, she could have gotten them from the Autobots and I was not calling them and explaining all of this. Frag no.
That only left one option. We would need a medic to cut them off. Glancing around, I saw Hook and Knockout sitting across from each other with Joe next to them. Well, at least our top three medics were all together.
"I'm really sorry my Lord," Pandimala whispered, pain easy to identify in her vocals.
May the Allspark give me strength. I wasn't sure I would be able to survive the night cycle. "Pandimala, it is fine. I see Knockout, Hook, and Joe. We'll go over to them and have them disconnect us. Then, we can wait until next solar to have a bot remove them the rest of the way."
And her mood shifted instantly, again, at the mention of the medics. Her helm snapped up and glanced around quickly before she found them. "I see them, Lord Megatron! Let's go! Come on!" She said with an excited smile, almost pulling me along with her.
Thank the Allspark she wasn't like this on the regular solar by solar. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do with her.
As we grew closer to the three medics, Knockout glanced up and dared to smirk when he looked at our linked servos. He then motioned to the others and pointed to us. As the other two turned toward us, Knockout decided he needed to open his big mouth. "Everybot go hide your stasis cuffs!"
Starscream and Scavenger were going to have company in the brig. The other two were taking drinks of their hide grade as he said that. Lucky for them it seemed to prevent them from joining him.
I went to respond when Pandimala spoke. "You better go hide that big aft ego."
Hook and Joe immediately spat out their high grade and started laughing as Knockout stared at the femme with his jaw hanging loose. It seems like Pandimala was able to put him in his place quickly enough. I spoke to them before he could say anything back, "Are either of you two sober enough to disconnect us? It is obvious that Knockout is in no such state to do so." Yes, because he would have been a little more subtle about my current situation with Pandimala if he wasn't at least tipsy.
"Hiya mechs," Pandimala finally greeted them with a wave, which caused her to sway as she followed her servo waving with her helm.
Unfortunately, Hook shook his helm at the same time Joe did before he answered, "Sorry my Lord, we have had more high grade than Knockout, just seems like the mech can't hold his as well as we can this night cycle. I wouldn't feel comfortable trying in this condition."
"Neither would I," Joe said with a shake of his helm.
I let out a vent at that, but it couldn't be helped. This was a relaxation solar, and they deserved the rest as much as the other Decepticons on the ship. "Very well. Inform Starscream that I am returning to my quarters and I shall have Pandimala with me."
While I wasn't thrilled about the idea of using my berth room for us to rest, I knew that it would be the smartest choice in the end. Pandimala, before she got overcharged, seemed to be fighting against the feelings I was sure she was having about me. Her quarters would be her safety location if she needed some time to think this over. If we were to wake there in the morning cycles, she would panic and probably lose the secure feeling she had in her room.
No, my quarters were the only place we could go. I also didn't trust that some of the pranksters on the ship wouldn't risk trying something if we were anywhere but one of our two rooms. I would make sure she would have the berth, though. I would have Hook give my spinal-strut a realignment after Pandimala and I disconnected.
I moved my servos behind me, to maybe help me focus on thinking about what I was going to say to the femme in the morning when a slight touch to my aft caused me to tense. Immediately, my processor caught up to me and I realized that, by putting my servos behind me, I had forced Pandimala's connected servo back there with mine. I needed to be more careful.
A slight giggle came from the femme, which caused me to tense. What was she doing now? "She touched the butt." I let out a vent as the femme giggled at that. Must be another quote from her human times. I couldn't completely blame the femme, though. I had been the one to move our servos behind me. If she was sober, I had a feeling that she would have reacted much worse than this.
Finally, we arrived at my quarters and I put in my pin before stepping inside. "Pandimala, you will have the berth. Now, get some recharge."
To my surprise, however, she shook her helm determinedly. "Lord, you can't recharge on the floor. It's uncomfy." And I felt panic when she looked sad again after she said that.
"Pandimala," I started to argue.
"No buts!" She huffed with a stomp of her pede.
Great. This wasn't going to help the situation tomorrow. And if I tried to knock her out, she would be even warier of me when we came out of recharge. She would most likely also be upset if she woke to me on the floor because, as I could now see, overcharged or sober, the femme would be against me on the floor. Frag all of this. I was going to be blaming Starscream for this. And Scavenger. And anybot else who knew she was overcharged and looked the other way.
I had planned on talking to the femme tomorrow in private and, while that would be happening given our situation when we came out of recharge...this would create unnecessary tension. However, at least the femme wouldn't be able to dodge around our conversation given that we were literally attached to each other. Letting out a vent, I decided to let the femme have her way. "Very well Pandimala. However, you are to stay on your side of the berth."
She pouted at the last part and nodded. "Fine, as long as you don't leave." She then looked to the side and tried to whisper, though she didn't do a very good job. "Bad things happen when I'm alone."
I found myself moving without thinking as we got onto the berth. What she just said, now that I thought about it, was right. Almost every single time that she was heavily injured or greatly in danger, even when she was human, she had been left alone for an extended time. As my helm rested against the berth, I let that thought run through my helm.
When she had been left alone at the bar, she had been drugged and only Michael's intervention stopped her from being kidnapped. Then, she had been alone gathering the Spark Extractor when she had been shot in the back and had put her life in danger. With that, she had been alone when Airachnid had been able to sneak into her room and infect her with the dark energon.
Of course, Knockout had at least been with her when Astrotrain attacked.
Later, she had been alone with Thrust when he tried to sway her to betray me. While she had handled that situation, being a part of Thrust's plans was always dangerous, and Starscream was a prime example of that. After her patch, she had been left alone in her room, only the drone guards outside to guard her, when the Autobots had attacked and taken her. And most recently, she had been alone when those three scum of the Autobots had failed their cortical psychic patch on her that caused her to almost offline.
I would try my best to make sure Pandimala was kept a closer optic on, for her protection. The femme had worked so hard, and already had sacrificed much, to make sure that the Decepticons did not lose in this war, it was the least I could do. Of course, memories of the incident with the probable Autobot shooting her made me remember why she had been out there alone in the first place. She would still need to keep her freedom and not be smothered by my Decepticons. If she was to be out alone, she would keep her commlink open to Soundwave, since he could be connected to multiple comms at once and he also would be able to open a bridge to her location immediately.
Yes, she had her comm open when she had been human, but she hadn't been able to defend herself from the attack back then. Now, as a triple changer, Pandimala would be able to hold her ground until backup could arrive and help her.
As I finally let my systems shut down for the night, I allowed myself one last thought. When I woke up in the morning, I would have to be patient with Pandimala. Not only was she most likely going to be hesitant, given how she was when we had danced, but waking up next to me, connected with stasis cuffs, she was going to panic.
My systems soon powered down and I let myself go into recharge.
AN: And here is the chapter! Thank you all for reading it! And as you can probably tell, I will be having slower updates due to my return to work. However, I will try to make the time between chapters reasonable, unlike last time. But, I'm human so I make mistakes. We'll all see though, shall we?
Anyways, writing overcharged (drunk) Pandimala was a blast. However, I feel like I need to explain something. If Pandimala didn't have dark energon used when she was changed into who she is now, she would have been out after only about six cubes of high-grade, let alone the ultra-grade. However, with the regenerative abilities of the dark energon, the little she has, she was being 'cured of most of the drunkness that she would have gotten from drinking that much high-grade. But, the dark energon, since there is so little in her systems, couldn't stave off the massive influx that the ultra-grade brought on. That, added along with the remnants of the previous cubes of high-grade, are what caused her to be drunk for so long. (and yes, she will have a slight hangover when she wakes up)
But, enough about that. Time for the next chapter names!
Chapter 58: Spirit of Chaos
Chapter 59: What Once Was Crashed
Chapter 60:... (hehe...I'm so planning some Megs x Pandimala fun for this chapter...and the next few future chapters too)
And that's all for now! Please drop a review if you are able, or say hi in a review. I do appreciate them and I try to respond to most, but usually, all reviews that I get. However, just seeing that people view this story, and my other stories, makes me feel like I've accomplished a good deed. Well, until next time, TTYL! *imagining a skull dragon that has Nightmare Before Christmas characteristics and designs*