XIX. Unfair


Megatron holds her fragile hands, afraid that she'll disappear from his sight. The warmness of her fingers were burning. She was burning.

The Earth Star was rising once more, this time illuminating her sunken features through the horizon. When Megatron saw her like this... so weak, so vulnerable, and so... so innocent. When he saw her like that, he knew that he adores her.

He placed a kiss on her forehead. "I adore you."

Her sleeping form remained quiet.

Adoring her was like breathing—easy, quiet, natural. It occurred every second—so constant. The way her soft curls that he always loved for as long as he remembers formed a chaotic halo around her.

Even when she's unhealthy, her beauty was immeasurable. So ethereal, still.

For nothing, not the sun, not the rain, not even the brightest star in the darkest sky, could begin to compare to the wonder of Persephone.

Megatron couldn't help the way his spark seemed to reach out to her. Almost as if it wants to–

Oh.

Oh.

He lets go of her hand.

He stands, dismissing the holoform as he used his real body to stand. He walks away slowly, as if afraid to startle her before he runs towards the other side—terrified.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No!

This cannot be happening.

It made sense a long time ago, but it wasn't because he was unaware. No. It was because he rejected the idea of falling in love with a human.

And yet... who was he to deny her?

Persephone had managed to crawl her way into his spark, carve a hole in it so that she may dwell. Megatron could've sworn he could hear her laughter just beside his audios, but when he turned she was still asleep.

To add to that, every single time he looks at her, Megatron can't help but feel the rush of euphoria in his systems.

Megatron loves Persephone.

It was a simple fact.

A simple fact that weighed heavy and yet was light as a feather for him. He figured he loved her, then what? What was he to do with such discoveries? He wants to dispose these feelings he has for her, and yet he couldn't.

What was there to hate about Persephone? None.

The human femme was witty in her own way and Megatron oh so loves intelligent conversations himself. Where would this take him? Where would it lead him?

He hadn't heard of a cybertronian engaging romantic interests with different species. Do humans have their own courting practices? Surely they weren't savages when it came to such delicate matters.

A quick search and thus they were—thankfully—indeed not savages.

Thus guilt eats away in his spark. No wonder humans hold certain kisses at such high regard. Depending on how, they were intimate. Had he been the savage one for kissing her and telling her those silly things?

What had he been thinking?

The warlord jumped when someone taps him on the shoulder, glaring when he saw that it was his Second-in-Command. "What?"

Starscream smiles sheepishly. "Lord Megatron, Persephone is looking for you."

And that was all he needed to hear before he rushed to her bedside, activating his holomatter avatar to hold her tiny servo in his. Her purple optics looks at him surprised—startled, if anything.

She grumbled. "Putang ina mo. Nakakagulat ka."

Megatron laughs at her, "Apologies for startling you," he places a kiss on the tips of her digits, "forgive me."

"Nothing to forgive when you've done nothing wrong, Lord Megatron," Persephone cooed, before she coughs.

In her sickly glory, Megatron can't help but marvel her beauty. How the purple veins beneath her skin looks beautiful on her. So inhuman. So ethereal.

Primus what is she doing to me?

The warlord smiles at her. "Scoot over, I wish to hold you, little one." And after a minute, Megatron finds himself cradling the fragile human in his arms.

It was moments like this that he craved.

She looks so small, not in a flattering way but in a way that made him worried. How did he just notice how sickly thin Persephone got? The fat on her thighs that always seemed like she could squeeze something in between were nowhere to be seen. In its place were thin limbs and Megatron could see the bones protruding ever so slightly against her skin.

He'll have Shockwave check on her again, she's not doing well at all. Persephone may have kept silent about it, but Megatron knows she's getting worse.

The fact that she's hiding it despite her body showing their ill symptoms makes his spark sink.

He holds her, afraid that if he lets go of her, she'd turn into dust. Afraid he might lose her to her sickness.

Humans were very fragile, after all.

His human was no different.

"One day, if you find out I'm dying, what would you do?" Her question reels him out of his thoughts. Red optics flickers to hers, a worried look on her face as she stared off into space.

Megatron spoke, "Is there something you wish to tell me, little one?"

He waits for her answer before she looks at him and smiles adoringly. "Nothing. It's just... humans change; we age. We grow old and then we die." Persephone looks away for a moment. "The same would happen to me."

"As if death could take you so easily from me," Megatron chortled, rolling his optics. "Do not forget. For as long as I live, you too shall live. You cannot die. Not without my say in it."

She offers a sad smile. "I'm afraid my lifespan is shorter than yours... One day you'll get tired of how finite we humans are, that someday you'll realize that you'll have to watch me die... And I'm scared. I'm scared that you'll hate me for that."

His heart sinks as he holds her close once more.

"I could never hate you. I lo–" The words die in his throat. No. No, he's not ready to face that fact yet. "I cannot hate you, Persephone nor will I ever. Please, believe me. I have fought countless of battles, but I must admit, nothing scares me more than the thought of losing you. Perhaps, that was why I was so adamant to stop myself from caring for a little human, my little human. Who smiles at me with such adoration one mustn't resist."

He strokes her cheek, once, twice.

"I'll change. Soon, I'll die. And if not soon, then I'll age—I'll get wrinkles, I might forget about you, and I will... and then I'll die. Once the Earth swallows me hole, what would you do? Once I die and leave you... what would you do? How can I sit here, knowing I wouldn't be able to live long enough to witness Cybertron?"

He paused, looking into her purple optics. Megatron could hear the soft sound of her breath. "One day I'll die and leave you..."

"That day has yet to come."

"Promise you won't hate me then?"

"Never... I could never hate you because of your mortality."

Persephone's body relaxed, as if every tension in it has left. She sighs happily, closing her eyes as she snuggled closer to Megatron.

The warlord froze, forcing his spark to calm down from the way it raced due to her actions. He holds her tighter; his arms instinctively pulling her close, craving the very warmth from her body.

It was strange. According to Shockwave, it was due to the fever but that didn't stop Megatron from getting high off of the heat from Persephone's body. With the cold climate being uncomfortable, he sought comfort in the warmth of her flesh.

It was warmer than the fire.

She may as well be the sun with how warm her temperature is.

"You're cold." And those words hurt him. He moved to immediately separate himself from her.

Right. Humans despised the cold. It hurts them. Megatron silently berates himself because he hates the cold so of course he's not the only one and how could he be so stupid for not thinking of her feelings and–

"Don't go." Her words a soft plea upon his actions.

The warlord looks at her confused. "I thought you said I am cold."

"You are, and that's the best part. You're like a body ice pack. Perfect for fevers... perfect for me." Her arms weakly pulls herself on to him as she snuggled against him once more with a smile on her face.

How strange. Humans desired the cold if they are sick?

The question must certainly shows on his face because she laughs softly. "When humans have a fever, our bodies would amp up the temperature so that the virus would die. It's uncomfortable for us, so while we overheat we tend to make the room cold so our body would cool down."

All the more reason why he should hold her longer. He grins at her. "Another reason why I should stay here, no?"

"Why of course!" Persephone laughed.

It was a long while before he had to leave to do his rounds again. What better way to spend his free time? Spend it with her, if course.

Heavy footsteps approaches which caught both of their attentions. Megatron looks up to see the scientist approaching, along with the make-shift datapad in his servos.

"Lord Megatron, excuse me, but I must check on Persephone again." Shockwave gives a small bow after.

Megatron sets her down gently, giving a small pat on her head before he deactivated his holomatter avatar. "What is the status on her health? Are there any progress for her cure?"

Shockwave shakes his helm. "As of now, none. We can only rely on the Autobot medic's advice. After swapping the blood transfusion with energon, she seems... less sick than before." The scientist types in his datapad, glancing at Persephone every now and then. "Although, it is a shame that the device was immediately ruined. How they discovered the watch is still a miracle."

Megatron rolled his optics. "You should have made sure it was undetectable."

"It is my lord. The only way for someone to get rid of it is if the Autobots knew–"

The sound of someone transforming catches both of their attention as Soundwave made himself known. "Soundwave, reporting: Humans spotted down South," he looks right at Persephone, "looking for the femme that is Persephone."

"What?" Persephone asked, surprised.

"Is it soldiers of the Autobots?" Megatron asked.

"Negative." Soundwave answered as he raised his servo, Laserbreak lands gracefully on his stretched out limb.

"They called themselves Cemetery Wind," the creature says, "and they seem to be looking for Lord Megatron's pet."

Megatron turns to his pet, surprised at how pale she had gotten. Her eyes were wide with horror at his words. "Cemetery Wind?" She squeaks.

"You must know something of them, no?" Megatron asked, petting her helm.

"Yes." Persephone answered, looking at him worriedly. "Whatever you do, don't engage with them! They have weapons that can kill cybertronians."

Barricade and Starscream approaches the group. "They're currently patrolling everywhere, Lord Megatron," Starscream informed them, "Barricade made sure to remember all the routes where they are to avoid running into them."

"Whatever you do, promise me you won't engage with them!" Persephone begged, holding on to the tip of his digit. "I... I can't... Cemetery Wind kills cybertronians and uses them to create their own Transformers."

"How barbaric. I assume you know this because you've seen it from your world?" Barricade asked.

Persephone nods her head. "Exactly... In the movie, you guys were killed and they used you guys as the metal to make their experiments." She gives out a shaky sigh. "I don't think I'd be able to stomach it if one of you guys die so please just run away and don't engage them."

The fear in her voice shakes the warlord. Frankly, he does not run. Instead, he conquers the battle field and yet the sheer terror in Persephone's voice compelled him to heed her warning.

"Worry not, little one," he reassured her, "I will see to it that they do not harm us. Soundwave, Starscream, find out more information about these pests."

He will not allow them to take his Persephone.

Not for as long as he lives.

The sudden blood curdling scream from the femme surprised all of them as she hunched over, clutching her chest.

Megatron finds himself rushing to her side, activating his holomatter avatar to check on her. "What happened?! What's going on?!"

"It hurts!" She claws on her chassis. "Punyeta ang sakit!" Persephone sobbed as she took in deep breaths. "Tang ina pigilan niyo ito. Hindi ko kaya ang sakit!"

"She's hurting!" Megatron barked as Shockwave activated his holomatter avatar, putting two digits against her neck as she thrashed. The warlord holds her down, attempting to calm the raging femme.

She had to be pinned down while Shockwave searched her, looking for signs as to what had happened to her. He checked her vitals and monitor her heart. Shockwave moved his servos to the hem of shirt before ripping it apart, leaving her bare upon her berth. "Lord Megatron, please hold her tightly while I examine her."

"What do you think I'm doing? Reading a data pad?" The warlord snapped at the one-eyed scientist.

Megatron was their leader but Shockwave knows how fond he was of the human femme. He feared that if she were to perish, it would send him into a fit of hysteria. The scientist felt her belly and upon landing his digits on her rib cage, he noticed that the energon had spread throughout her entire body.

Shockwave placed his hand where her human heart is, only for it to not beat but hum instead. "Interesting," He breathes out as he felt the spark's vibration beneath his fingertips. "Lord Megatron, it appears she now has a spark."

"What are you babbling about?!" Megatron barked, glaring at the scientist. "How is that even possible?"

Shockwave points to the screens of his make-shift device to help the human femme. "The vitals suggest she is losing blood when really her blood had been replaced by energon. Not only that, Lord Megatron but if you put your servo on her chassis, you would feel a spark."

The heartbeat monitor was slowing down at such a pace where even the warlord noticed and panicked. That usually wasn't a good sign.

"Megatron?"

"Yes?"

"Ang sakit ng katawan ko."

The warlord finds himself barking at Shockwave as he held the weakened femme in his arms. Starscream comes rushing in, panic in his voice, "By Primus! Persephone, what's happening to you?!"

"I'm going to need you to stand back, Starscream," The scientist says calmly as he typed in his data pad, recording the situation. "Lord Megatron, has this occurred with the human femme before?"

"I... I am not sure. She is already weak as it is, I do not know what is happening." And that was the first time he felt helpless.

For Primus sake, he didn't know what was happening to her.

"I am not sure as well, Lord Megatron; I must do a scan." The scientist left and came back with his make-shift equipment. They're not the best, but that was all they had at the moment. "It seems like her organic form is shutting down due to the high amount of energon in her system."

"This is all your fault! Had you told Lord Megatron of what is happening, perhaps he would have found a way to save her!" Starscream screeched, pointing an accusing finger at Shockwave.

"If I am to blame, then why haven't you said anything to Lord Megatron?" Shockwave mused.

"Silence! Both of you!" Megatron snarled at the two before focusing his attention to Persephone

Everything seemed to blur around them when his optics lands on hers. Only she exists, her tired eyes and her soft gaze. His human.

His Persephone.

Her thrashing around dies down to weak movements as her screams turned into whimpers before Megatron could let her go from being pinned down.

She gazed at him. "Sobrang pagod na ako." Persephone wept, her hand reaching out to him weakly.

He placed a kiss on her forehead, wiping away the hairs from face. "You're going to be okay."

"Ang sakit... Hindi ko na kaya."

"The final stages of the transformation! Lord Megatron, you must remember that she is being used as the Allspark vessel," Shockwave chimes in, catching the warlord's attention, "The transformation is attempting to complete itself–"

A loud shriek—a blood curdling scream that would hunt the warlord for all of his life time —came from Persephone. Her body violently arching forward, her teeth bearing themselves as her jaw clenched; her eyes glazed and deliriously unseeing. A trickle of purple glowing energon drips from her nose as she howled in agony. Whatever control Megatron has finally disappeared at the horrifying reason that she was hurting.

His Persephone was hurting.

With a sense of urgency, Shockwave's digits flew over the key pad of the holoscreen, trying frantically to find the source; to locate anything that could help him find out what was wrong. Persephone's voice cut off and she clearly took in a shuddering, gasping breath before her cries began again, and this time…it was a violent scream. The scientist cringed at the sound, his fingers shaking worriedly as he brought up notes, information; his optics scanning them at hyper speed to download the intel.

The trouble was that the damage had already been done, which caused the energon to physically harm her body; it was attempting to rewrite her organic codes, mistaking her body for a cybertronian's.

"Lord Megatron." Shockwave says calmly, turning to the warlord who was watching his pet writhe in agony violently on her berth; her lips pulled back as she lets out an audio-deafening scream. " The Allspark... It thinks that she is a Cybertronian; her 'humanity' is incompatible with its readings, it's trying to eliminate the organic matter."

"But her whole body is organic!" Starscream screeched, the panic in his voice evident.

Megatron looked at Persephone, and Starscream noticed the warlord's fingers twitch in desperation for the capability to do something to aid her. "What does that mean for her? How can we stop it from causing her pain?"

"I suppose you do not understand." Shockwave shakes his head. "The reason it is doing this is because it thinks she needs repairing. It is attempting to repair her body, to replace her genetics with its cybertronian coding. Humans aren't designed for that. It would pretty much result in her death, she could die from this–"

BANG!

Shockwave felt the oxygen near freeze in mid-cycle as his leader belted his fists down onto one of the metal monitors with force enough to fracture the destroy it, his helm low as he turned to the scientist, his voice low and…almost dangerous.

"Save. Her."

Shockwave recognized that tone, recognized the growl beneath it; he had heard it from battle eons ago. It was the plead and demand that every Cybertronian would take if their mate was at stake, that desperation to do anything and everything that would ever be required to keep their lover safe. And Megatron, who had taken in the human femme and grew fond of his new pet, was now not only ordering his soldier to save her…Megatron was begging him.

"I'm afraid I have yet to have an experiment that survived after having contact with energon," Shockwave informed him. "Persephone was fortunate enough to live this long."

"And she must live longer!" Megatron roared. A loud, mechanical whining was heard as Starscream and Shockwave saw Megatron's helm lower to the surface of the bed in despair, before the massive leader lowered himself to his knees, a desperate, keening sound of distress coming from his chassis as he practically deflated in sorrow.

Shockwave was by far the most ruthless and smartest scientist on Cybertron, so for him to not know the answer had left the warlord in a feeling of despair.

Another violent scream drew their attention, snapping Megatron out of his despair as he saw Persephone writhing, screaming and arching on the berth. His Spark hummed at a high, whirring pitch; sensing her distress and reacting to it. Desperate to soothe her, to comfort her, to do anything to help her, Megatron leaned to her form and bowed his her over hers, gaining as close a proximity as he could; trying desperately to fight the pain her screams caused him.

She screams, the kind that Megatron knows would haunt him forever, as Persephone thrashed in pain and–

Silence.

Persephone falls limp on to the berth. Her form unmoving as the warlord delicately held her.

"Persephone?" Megatron yelled in alarm. "Persephone?!"

The young woman didn't respond, no matter how much the warlord shook her form. Megatron looks at Shockwave, a pained and confused look on his face.

"What happened to her?!" Megatron growled. "Did you detect anything on her, Shockwave? Why had it come to this?!"

"Lord Megatron, I had been sworn to secrecy by the human femme," The scientist admits, "From the start, her body had been suffering due to the fact that energon runs in her veins. Her body simply gave out when it couldn't handle the Allspark's demands."

One moment the warlord was holding her, the next thing he knew he had tackled the one-eyed cybertronian as he punched him on his faceplates. "I ordered you to keep her alive," Megatron punched him, "not kill her," he threw another punch, "what have you done to her?!" and another, "what," and another, "have," and another, "you," and another, "done." And another.

Barricade and Starscream had to get their leader off of the one-eyed mech as he thrashed and howled like a wild animal.

"Persephone," he glares at the scientist, at the loud monitor, and his gaze softens when it lands to her unmoving form, "My Persephone."

When they finally calmed him down enough, they let him go. He didn't know what his body did next; his knees felt weak and his spark weighed heavy that it was a miracle he hadn't shut down as of yet. Megatron crawls towards her, gentle and careful as he poked her limb. He finds himself using his holomatter avatar, cradling her face in his servo.

By Primus his spark felt like it had been removed from its chambers.

The monitor blared deafeningly beside them. Her body was still warm which soothes the warlord.

"Come now, little one..." Megatron choked, "you may rise now. Tell me it was a hoax; some sick old joke you used just to scare me." He repeats his words something along those lines, laughing softly at her little stunt. However, his gentle pokes turned harsh and it wasn't long before his jests turned to sobs; he finally did the cybertronian equivalent of weeping.

Again and again and again and again in hopes she would look at him, smile and laugh at him. He wanted her to tell him "Ha! You fell for it too! Bobo mo kasi." And then dance like she would, then tell him that the position she was in made her sore.

"Primus be damned!" He growled, shaking her violently. "Wake up!"

But she did not laugh. She did not speak and she certainly did not get up and tease him about his words.

Nothing.

Only a moment longer passed before the grief hit him with its entire brute force, sobering him with its frigid and accompanying realization.

She had said she wanted to stay with him.

Now she would get to do none of that.

Not any more.

Never had the Decepticon felt so much emotion weigh him down. Not in the losses of the Pit battles of Kaon nor the loss of brethren in the war. This…was different to him and it was the most painful wound he had ever received.

He wasn't sure if it would stop hurting.

Megatron had forgotten how fragile humans were. How easily their life can be finished quickly. Persephone is a goddess, the kind that smiled at him and looked at him ardently despite the heinous actions he have committed. It wasn't her place to forgive him, but he felt like he can atone for his wrongdoings when she was with him.

But she was no literal goddess. She wasn't immortal and she wasn't powerful. She was small and tiny. She's fragile. Persephone was a human that he wanted to always be around him.

And she paid the price.

Everything was silent. No insects making sounds and no wind blew. Her body had lost all of its warmth, her eyes no longer had that spark—they were lifeless as they were dark. Everything was still, as if the world mourned with him at the loss of his human.

How cruel fate could truly be.

The mighty warlord sinks to his knees and wept into the night as he held Persephone's cold and lifeless body in his grasps.

Megatron ripped the tubes and needles out of her body.

The rest of the Decepticons did not deserve to see her like this.

He deactivated his holomatter avatar before taking her in his servo; her body limp as moved at the slightest action.

With that Megatron transformed and took off into the night with her form in his cockpit.


Seconds turned into minutes, but Megatron felt like an eternity had passed. The water made no sound as it passes by them, as if not wanting to disturb the warlord. His broken and battered body ached, but it was no match for the ache that wracked his spark. It grabs him and threatens to swallow him alive.

Darkness seemed to close in on him, but the Decepticon leader didn't mind. He loved it, if anything.

It reminds him of her optics.

Back before it turned the color of lilac.

The silence rolled on as Megatron sat down slowly with his human in hand as he rested it atop his knee. He propped his remaining fixed digit in a reclined position, so her small body was sitting up as if she was only sleeping. At least in this stature she didn't seem to be gone—despite the coldness of her body.

Rigor Mortis would set in soon and if it does, he wanted her to look as if she was in slumber.

Because if he didn't see her like this, he knew he would really loose it.

His mind wanders in the distant warm past—filled with her voice, smiles, and adoring looks; her, in general. Her small touches lingers across his form, like a ghost that haunts him. It was driving him insane. The body of the warlord begs him to rest, to go into stasis lock with all the energon he had lost and the pain that seemed to flail him alive.

Was this Primus' punishment all along?

To have him, Megatron, experience this feeling, this feeling that has him drunk off his pedes, and have him addicted to it? Addicted to her? And then just rip her out of his grasps the moment he shows his vulnerability to this femme? To add insult to injury, not only does Primus had him falling for Persephone, she was the very species he was disgusted of—humans.

Is this what their almighty creator did in His spare time?

"Even with no intention to hurt, those around me continue to suffer. I continue obliterate everything I yearned to preserve," Megatron said slowly, pretending that she was listening. "Finding the Allspark, restoring my home, destroying Prime... those were all I ever wanted. However, even then, I fail to obtain those things. And now, look at me, femme... look at what I've been reduced too."

The warlord looks away in shame, he couldn't face her... not like this. Not when her corp-body... not when her body was about to rot.

A lump forms in his throat, Primus he didn't know what to do without her.

He was helpless.

"I... I had everything any cybertronian in their right processor could ever want. Back then, I was 'Lord High Protector'. Placed there by my very friend who had became a Prime, but it wasn't... enough. He snarled, glaring at his past actions. "I wanted to be the Prime—I should have been Prime. The people whom I've fought for continued to suffer and Optimus didn't want to abolish the caste system, saying that it is of help to our species. So, with the pursue of freedom for my kind and for the position of Prime, I waged war across Cybertron."

His optic lowers, glancing at her.

If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that she was only sleeping, that the events that played out earlier were but a nightmare.

But the coldness of her form and how deathly pale she had become had slapped him—telling him it was real.

"I do it out of both goodness and greed, but alas I have succumbed to greed. In my greed, not only did I lost my closest friends, my people, my home... I also lost you," Megatron utters so lowly, scared that his voice would crack and force him to cry once more. "Perhaps, I thought, if I had everything under my rule, Cybertron would have been brought back to its former glory, like the Golden Age once again. No oppression and unruly systems. People free to be what they wanted to be. War was my answer and others followed me."

He ex-vented. How? How did she crawl her way up into his spark like an insect and snatched it? The warlord didn't know, but despite all of the twrrible things he did, the human femme... was there for him.

"Perhaps, it's because I have lost everything that I wanted to obtain. I am no longer 'Lord High Protector'. I am reduced to a pitiful state, once more." Megatron says. "I have nothing else left to rule but my own life. Ever since I have been... defeated, I merely wait for death. Every lunar and solar cycle, I lay and wait for my systems to shut off. I often give the energons I've gathered to the sparklings... Oh Primus, the sparkling-" He sobs, couldn't contain it anymore as he wept again.

Sobs shakes his form as he screamed into the night, the heavens paying no mind to the anguish of an alien. It was as if when Persep-she died, the human femme had drag every life from his surroundings with her to the grave. The silence was maddening, even for him and the slightly stiffened body in his servo wasn't comforting or helping at all.

"That day... when I found you, I do not know why I wanted to save you. Perhaps, if I had let you be 'someone else's burden' as you would have put it, you wouldn't have perished. I may have never met you, yes, but that is much more better to save the both of us... to save me the sparkache," Megatron stopped again, and nudged her hair a little with a light claw, brushing it out of her face. "But perhaps you came to me for a reason; perhaps, in a way, that is why you were placed here. Could it be that what I harbour for you had been set in stone even before the both of us have come into existence?"

He cradles her face with the digit in the servo that held her.

He wanted one thing and one thing only.

Her—Persephone.

He sighed. "I... do not see the reason to function since you have left, femme." The warlord said. "Let me... join you. I beg of you, don't leave me. Take me with you or let me follow."

The seams of his chassis armour glows a dim blue. It runs along his chassis in beams as it parted to open, exposing his spark. Megatron sighed, as if he was relieved, ready to do what he was about to do. He knew it would be the least he could do, and maybe the only thing he could now.

Gently, with his only remaining and functioning servo, he cradles her form close to his spark. Tendrils of wisps pours out of his chassis, reaching out to her form and enveloping it. He felt bad for leaving the sparklings behind. However, at this point, she was... the only thing in his processor.

He felt strings attached to her. Not strings but chains as his body threatened to shut off completely. Despite that, Megatron sighed in content. When cybertronians bond with each other, it is highly dangerous because the moment one of the bonded pair dies, the living one would immediately follow or would slowly die.

So, the moment their spark bond is established, he will swiftly die, seeing as she herself was dead. The thought of seeing her smile again made his spark pulse and glow a bit brighter. If he looked into the darkness long enough, he was sure that he was looking at her optics.

He just wanted to be with her again.

"You, Persephone Villamora, human of Earth from a different dimension have... captured my spark. I am here to make you my sparkmate and to permanently tie my life source with yours," Megatron bowed his helm, closing his optic as he recited the oath that binds cybertronians together, albeit modified. "Through sorrow, happiness and in anguish, you shall have a piece of my spark. In preservation of Primus Himself, no force, not even death, can ever sever our bond. I, Megatronous of Cybertron, hereby bind my spark and life source to you, Persephone Villamora of Earth, and shall share my spark; a heavy yet precious burden. I cannot possess you for you belong to yourself and I cannot command you for you are a free being, but I shall serve you in those ways which you require and the energon that passes through my digits shall fill all that you will ever need in this life. If you are to laugh, hurt or weep, I shall feel the same. If you were to perish, I shall follow in your path. May the Allspark drain my very being and snuff out my spark if I break my oath and I shall tell no strangers of our grievances. I am yours as you are mine and beyond this, I shall honour and cherish you through this life, and into the next."

The luminosity his spark had produced had disappeared when it retracted back to his chassis, a soft glow emits from her frame and then fades away softly.

Thus, he was returned back into the darkness.

The Decepticon stared, waiting for something to happen—anything to happen. The silence drags on, as he watched her intensely. But nothing seemed to have changed. He blinked, huffing in confusion.

Did it work?

Was it all for nothing?

Perhaps his species was not meant for spark splits and life bonds with humans. Tears spills from his optic as he had come to the realization that, perhaps, Primus would deny him this... little comfort. He doesn't know what to do anymore. Was death so much to ask just so he can see her-

And then he sees a Persephone.

She looked healthy. Her hair had grown significantly as it was tied in intricate knots as a clothing of purple as a familiar looking crown floats on top of her helm.

He sees it in a flash before a stab in his spark makes him go back to where he is. The pain seemed to draw him out and Megatron sensed the feeling of being warned.

When he looked down at Persephone, she changed.

She didn't look sickly anymore. What he saw in his vision of her was exactly what she looked like, except she still wore the same clothing.

The human femme in question was curled up in his servo, but something was amiss. There was that tell-tale look of a peaceful slumber evident on her face. Her skin wasn't deathly pale anymore, they appeared more lively and healthy. The fur on her helm had became curly once again, it wasn't dry or frizzy unlike before—it suited her.

His optic wonders to her chest.

It rises slowly and goes back down. It repeats again and the movement mesmerized him. She was alive? Persephone was alive!

How?

It didn't matter.

All that made sense was that she was here again.

He pulls her close, a smile of relief blooms on his face. His thumb grazes her cheek, it was warm. Something he realized that it meant that she was alive.

"Primus, you're alive," He murmured in relief, weeping in joy and happiness as his spark sings and he could feel her organic spark beat as well. "You're alive."

Then his systems immediately recognized that Persephone's spark bore a mark, his spark could feel it which was why her spark rejected the proposal.

Megatron sees an image of Optimus for a brief moment before it disappeared.

And then it clicks to him.

Persephone carries the Mark of the Prime.


End of Chapter XIX