The Sparrow that soars to the East

by Lyorofthequill

When Miko becomes dissatisfied with her treatment from the Autobots, the favor for the other two After hearing a conversation never meant for her ears. She has enough, Miko leaves and finds herself a new home. A new family she finds, does cherish her and wants her to flourish and not change. If Jack is the next Optimus, of course he'd have his own Megatron to complete the picture.

14. Stay with me

"Ow."

In and out-

"Ow!"

In and- Out!

"Owie!"

"Why do you keep stabbing yourself with your shirt?" Megatron leaned forward, the Nemesis was quiet tonight. He was at his head console, a relic of some description had been recently sending out signals, it was too weak to pinpoint exactly, but they were working on it. Soundwave was currently on the other terminal. Miko sighed as she looked up at Megatron.

"I'm trying to sew, there's a huge hole in my shirt." She held up the shirt, her fingers slipping through the hole. She placed it back into her lap and sighed. She went back to her attempts. She knew vaguely how to sew, her grandma used to show her. She regretted not paying attention more often. She paused as she set down the needle, her grandmother was quite an old woman. About eighty seven years of age, she was never in the best of health. Miko shifted, she had not heard from her Grandparents since coming to America. She frowned as she picked back up the needle and continued to work. Megatron watched her before turning back to work. The silence was soft and it did not feel too heavy. Miko never understood why anyone wanted to sew as a hobby. The only thing she could see good about it, was that you got to make your own costumes and outfits. Miko paused at the idea. She turned to the mech above her. She examined his armour, the shape of it. She grabbed her sketchbook, she flicked through the pages till she reached a blank one. She looked at Megatron as she sketched. She smiled at the drawing, nodding to herself. Okay, maybe she should learn to sew. She set down the book and continued to repair the shirt. She winced everytime she stabbed her fingers with it.

She finally was finished. She held up the shirt, the string was dangling down. It was very much obvious where she had been sewing it up. There were even holes where she had just 'fixed' it. Miko smiled as she laid it down beside her. She crossed her legs and grabbed her ankles, giggling as she rocked herself back and forth. She watched her body teetering back and forth, just about balancing. She paused as she rolled forward a little to far back and just fell. She paused as she heard Megatron chuckle, she looked up to see him watching her. He lowered his servo and scooped her up. He turned his servo, so she dangled upside down.

Miko's laughter was messy and broken up by gasps for breath. Her hair swayed, untied below her. She kicked as she laughed, hugging onto his digits. He tilted his helm as he examined her.

"Such a cute giggling pet." He cooed. Miko frowned as she stuck her tongue out, "Not cute!" She shouted back as she stuck her tongue out at him. He chortled as he placed one servo on his hips as he watched her.

"So feisty too…" He snorted as he looked at her. She looked pale so he turned her over, "Easily defeated by motion sickness though. Poor thing." He smiled as he opened up his palm as she shook her head. She smiled up at him as she sat on her perch. Her perch, that was what his servo had become. She would sit and lay there all day if she had a choice. She was safe here, she had learnt that a while ago, at the cliffside outside of Nevada. She was safe whenever she was in his palm, she knew she had someone to talk to, someone that would listen…

There was a difference between Bulkhead and Megatron.

Bulkhead was strong, a titan of muscle and metals. He had survived the horrid war, he had seen the start and most likely would see the end. He was strong and could take a lot of damage. He could take beating and bruising, he was tall too. He was taller than Bee and Arcee… Shorter than most 'Cons though. He was round too! He was like a big round green plush. He talked like it too, he was a little slow. He wasn't one for lyric writing or chord making. A shame, he liked to listen to the same music though. He was easy to talk to too! He also supported Miko… To an extent. Obviously he did not support her anymore.

And then there was Megatron…

Taller than them all, stronger too. She had seen him clash with Optimus, the latter titan crumpled when Megatron got a good hit in. The titan was grey with no paint on his body. He was just raw armour. Even the purple details were parts of his protoform. He started the war. Miko knew this, he began the war and he fought and survived it all. He was a Gladiator before the war. From what she knew, the Gladiator pits were something like a theatre to Cybertron. He acted theatrical too. He was quick of wit and had a silver tongue. He was a poet, she believed. She had seen him take so many punches and shots and slashes, and yet he stood tall. He was clever, he had a great mind when it came to music, commenting on her progress and lyric works. He carried himself with pride, a straight back and a high head. She remembered when she first met him, how he crushed the Vehicon's helm… How his optics reflected off of the cherry blossoms. How he listened when she found a new hobby. He had listened to her for about an hour about how she was going to take up photography… She was rambling.

She shook her head, another difference with Megatron and Bulkhead, she could and did ramble about the Warlord. She sighed to herself as she looked up at him. While Bulkhead was mortal… Megatron? Who knew?

"Oh! Yeah! The haircut, that's today, isn't it?" She remembered. She had slowly regained her strength from her day long nap. She had been drowsy and sniffly almost for the whole weekend. Luckily she had the world's scariest butler to help take care of her. Megatron chortled and nodded.

"Indeed it is. Do you have any idea of what haircut you'll get?" He moved his servo and tilted it back and forth. Miko laughed as she slowly slid forward and back. He tilted his hand forward and caught her with his thumb. She hugged the digit, "I dunno."

"Megatron? Can I ask you something?" She tilted her head and clambered up, swinging forward. He nodded as he watched her, "Why do you… Why do you try to make me laugh so much? You always seem to flip me about and… I'm not complaining! But… You're super serious, so like…"

He tilted his head back and forth. He considered her question as he set her back down on the desk. She sat down, smiling up at him. He sighed as he scratched at his chin. She grabbed her drawing pad and pencil. She started to doodle him, he was a good model to draw.

"The Nemesis is a dreary place, your laughter has proven to boost morale on the ship." He explained, he gestured to the Vehicon's and Soundwave behind them. She paused. Her laughter… Benefitted the others? It was the first time she had ever thought of something like that. She just smirked to herself and looked at the shirt. She looked at him, he went back to reading whatever was on the screen. She wondered what he was reading. She placed down the drawing book. She moved to sit a little closer, she tried to make sense of the foreign language. She had been learning some of it, Airachnid liked to teach her curses between her lessons with Soundwave. Miko perked up as she reconsigned her own name, the direct translation of her name anyway. From what she understood there was an 'Earth version' of names, so Bulkhead and Soundwave. Then there were Cybertronian names, a more direct translation. She had learned Megatron's name was one such name; he refused to translate it to an English version. Airachnid had then added that some just took English words as names instead of translating, Airachnid being one of them.

Miko beamed at the idea of doing the reverse, having a Cybertronian name. She perked up as Megatron moved his servo, it landed just beside her. It was then she remembered they were in the middle of a conversation.

"You are my pet, remember that." She paused at that. It was a statement she should have been used to. Yet it always made her stop in her tracks and made her pay complete attention to Megatron. He always said 'pet' so softly and so endearingly. It was an odd contrast to his usual bark and growl. It made her forget how she got to his side. She smiled as she placed a hand on his knuckle.

"Yeah, yeah I remember." She ran her fingers along the scarred grooves. Megatron snorted as he moved his claws closer to her. They stayed there for a few more moments as he worked. She swore she could feel the energon flow through the knuckle she held. She

hummed and looked back at him. She then looked back at the board.

"It's nice to know I'm helping with at least something… I'm wanted somewhere." She snorted as she turned to him. He arched an eyebrow but let her continue, "I've got someone to throw down while listening to Slash Monkey. I never had anyone to do that with before." She admitted. He tilted his helm and nodded. "Did you have any friends in Japan?" He asked. Miko shook her head, she flicked upon her phone and started to go through photos.

"I have no friends… Bar these two!" She held up her phone screen. He frowned and squinted to see what was on the small screen. He saw two cats, they were grey and had some other markings. They had bright yellow eyes and their ears were folded down. Megatron put what Miko had told him together, he had Soundwave make notes on all the random pieces.

"Your pet cats? Chi-Chi and Ding Dong?" He remembered she had mentioned them before. They were in the notes, remembering things like that made her more trusting of him. It was the easiest way of gaining her loyalty, remembering the small little things. It made her more endearing to him. Her excitement was quite visible as she nodded.

"Yeah! They'd be the only two that'd hang out with me… I miss them a lot, they're still at the apartment in Tokyo." She turned off the phone and placed it beside the sketch book.

"... You were lonely in Japan?"

The question caught her off guard. His voice was quiet as she frowned. She looked down at the ground. She just nodded silently and shrugged, "You get used to it." Miko yelped as she was picked up. She fell into his palm and just laid there. Megatron held her up to his faceplate. He snorted as he examined her. Her band shirt reached all the way to her knees. Her sliders were close to slipping off her feet, her hair was in a loose ponytail and her fringe was threatening to blind her.

"Well, my pet. You'll be lonely no longer, I can promise you that." He hummed. He knew Miko's fear of loneliness would be the best tool he could use to get her fully in his hold. Like a pet, which she was, a pet who knew no better. That knew only who fed them, who sheltered them and who would protect them when the lightning strikes scare them.

"I know, I know." She paused as one of the slippers fell off and hit the desk. Megatron snorted. They both stopped and looked at the screen when a loud noise came from it. Miko turned and climbed up the palm. She peered over at the screen. Megatron lowered her ever so slightly so he could read it too. She just stared at the screen, pretending she could read it.

"A Holoform upgrade kit? Mmmh…" Megatron tilted his head. A holoform…? Miko blinked as she looked at the screen. She just nodded and looked at the screen, nodding at it like she understood anything that was happening. Megatron glanced at her, she could feel his optics on her. She tried not to look back at him, she just had to look ahead and 'read'. She faltered as she heard him snort.

"What's a holoform?" She turned to him, he chuckled to himself as he shook his helm and looked back at the screen. Megatron gestured with his hand, the other tucked up behind his back.

"They are a piece of Cybertronian technology, usually used by scientists or colonisers when discovering a new planet. They, in essence, allow us to look and experience the world as another species…" Megatron explained. Miko paused, taking a moment to understand what he meant. Then, slowly, her eyes started to widen, a light, a spark of excitement was ignited by the realisation.

"So you guys could become human?" She shouted. She jumped up, the idea of a human Megatron or Knockout or Breakdown excited her. She could just imagine what he'd look like. How tall would he be? Would he still have red eyes? Would he have grey hair? Or grey skin…?

"Well, in a sense. It'd take a while to design a body we'd be comfortable in… But, we could make human-sized versions of our normal bodies." Miko perked at this. Yeah, she guessed that trying to make a human body for yourself would be kind of hard, it'd be like trying to instil your identity in a way that was not as expressive as many people would like.

"It is also an absolute waste of energon." A creaking and high pitched voice called from behind them. Miko groaned, she didn't even need to look to know it was him. Megatron rolled his optics which made her snort. She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Ah, Starscream… How are the energon mine check-ups going?" Megatron barely turned his helm to face the second in command. Miko paused… Energon mine check-... Oh. She remembered it now. Megatron was supposed to go to do the check-ups, She was going to join him, it would be like a road trip. She looked up at him confused as Starscream handed Megatron a datapad. Megatron frowned as he slowly read it, Miko looked at the grey seeker. He was eyeing her with contempt. She smirked and stuck her tongue out at him. He took a step back, his wings falling down as his optics widened. She giggled silently as his optics went from her to Megatron and back again. He opened his mouth to say something but Megatron's grunt cut him off and made his mouth close quite quickly and tightly.

"Good work Starscream, return to your usual duties." He handed the datapad back to the second in command. The seeker groaned as his wings shuddered when righting themselves. He bowed to his master and walked out of the bridge. Miko looked up at Megatron who sighed.

"Did you not go to those energon mines?" She asked. He tilted his helm and looked down at her. He sighed and went back to his terminal. He started to type something in, a globe appeared before them.

"No, I sent Starscream to do it instead… Your illness was my priority." Megatron admitted. Miko paused as she looked at the screen. Her mind slowly decoded what he said. Miko's illness was his… Priority… Her being sick was that important… She felt her chest fill with warmth and… Love. She smiled at Megatron and hugged the side of his helm.

"Thanks, Baketsu-same. Thanks a lot." She smiled as he placed a servo around her. She smiled as he tilted his helm every so slightly to lean into her.

"Anything to aid you." He hummed. The location of the relic appeared on the globe, somewhere near the Canadian border. Megatron nodded and started to walk away from the terminal. Miko perked up as she looked back at her stuff. She looked back at Megatron as they left the bridge.

"Are we going to get the relic?" She turned to him, he shrugged as he marched through the halls.

"We are. You have proven to have a skill with relic retrieval. But Breakdown has proven to not be capable of completely defending you. But I am, and I wish to see you in the field… Personally." He placed a hand on his chest. Miko squealed in excitement. She whooped as Megatron marched to the flight deck.

"You're gonna love it, I'm super good at this." She placed a hand on her chest. Vehicon's bowed to them as they passed. Megatron marched with grace and purpose. He was steady, he did not bounce even though he lifted his knees so high or so far. Miko shivered as she felt the cold air as they neared the doors to the hanger.

"I should have brought my coat." She wrapped her arms around herself. She shivered as she pressed himself against him. Megatron scoffed.

"Do not threaten, you'll be warmed by my engines soon enough." They walked through the door and gusts of cold wind hit them. Miko stiffened and whimpered, it was freezing. They were high in the troposphere, Miko took deep breaths, she had to. Megatron lifted her down to his chest, he held her against his Decepticon insignia.

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

Megatron started to run, Miko laughed as she bounced up and down, up and down, up and down. Megatron jumped into the air and transformed. Miko watched machinery and gears move around her. Bright purple lights flashed and vanished. She soon found herself sitting on soft wiring and metal. The screen activated and she saw everything he did, she gripped onto the ground around her as the engines rumbled. They shot off up, and then into a slow descent down. Miko smiled as she let go, her knuckles aching for the grip she had.

"So! Got any plans for when I'm away, back at school?" She teased. She leaned against the wall and watched the sky move around her. Megatron was in a gentle decline, they broke into the clouds and everything went grey. Miko blinked, she was never sure how the Cybertronians who flew through clouds did that, how they saw through the clouds. But they did. Like Megatron currently who glided without worry in the clouds. Was it blind luck? Did they have a sensor? Did they have laser sight?... Was laser sight the same as sensor? Megatron grunted before he responded.

"I will continue my work as usual, await for you to return after schooling, and well… Make preparations for your birthday…" He admitted. Miko sat up at this. Her birthday? That was like… Two or three weeks away? He was making plans for it already? She smiled as that feeling from before, in the bridge came to her again. Her chest swelled just that much more.

"And what are those plans?" She tilted her head. How did 'Cons celebrate birthdays? She remembered Megatron mentioning that Kaon natives didn't celebrate them much, what about the others? She somehow doubted that the likes of Knockout were from the same place Megatron was from. She felt honoured, really, that he'd even consider her birthday. A day was not a lot to him.

"Mh, well. A gift or two of course. Though depending on how many of the others get you, I will of course have to one up them in that aspect," He admitted. He chortled with her

louder laugh. She clapped her hands together and whooped.

"Kay then, if you want a clue! Dude, I'd love a skateboard," She smiled. She laid back as she watched the grey clouds swarm past, "I wanted one for ages, there aren't a lot of places to do it in Tokyo…" She frowned as she remembered that one time she had to watch some senior students go running from the police when they were skateboarding… In the skatepark… They broke out of the clouds and the ocean laid below them. The Canadian shore was not far away.

"What is a skateboard exactly?" Megatron asked as he steered away from the more populated side. She paused. She had never considered that he'd have no idea what a skateboard was. She frowned as she looked at the ground, usually she'd try to draw it out. But she had no drawing pad, she had no visual aid. As much as she tried, her English was still not what it could be, she still struggled sometimes. This was one of those times. She grunted in frustration.

"They're like… A plank of wood, but it isn't a plank, and it curves kinda at the ends… There is a rough, black gritty thing on the part you stand on. It keeps your grip, but you don't have it on all of it… Oh! And then there are the wheels, there's two wheels at either end, so like four in total. And you stand, kinda sideways on it. And you kick the ground to push yourself around." She gestured with her hands a lot, she needed too. She had no other idea of how to get her ideas across. She frowned as she looked at the screens. She was greeted with silence as they flew. She shifted as she looked down. Did she explain it wrong? She frowned as she looked down.

"Mh… Knockout and Soundwave could easily improve on it." Megatron finally spoke. Miko snorted at that. Ah, that's why he went quiet. Taken aback by 'primitive' human tech. She perked up as they started to fly over the forest. She gasped and woah'd at it all. Megatron slowly lowered down. He transformed and held her in his palm.

"Let us begin." He set her down and marched ahead. Miko smiled as she ran along with him. He was walking slowly as he watched her. She ran ahead, stumbling as they walked along a cliff edge. She frowned as she scanned the area. There was nothing clearly out of place. There were just trees, trees and more trees.

"Seeing anything Lord Megatron?" She called. He snorted as he scanned the area. He knelt down and picked her up.

"I'll have to drop down the cliff-edge, the coordinates are in that direction." He gestured with his other servo. It was out past the cliffs. Miko smiled as she held onto his digit. He dropped some of the hill, mud and rocks came tumbling down with them. Miko grunted as they hit the ground. Megatron frowned as he started to walk at his normal speed. They crossed the distance in no time. Miko laughed as the wind rushed past her ears and hair. She whooped as she watched it all go by. She perked up as she saw a lake.

"Woah! Woah! Megatron stop, dude!" Megatron came to a halt, looking the way she pointed. He saw a crystal blue lake, surrounded by the trees. But on the other side from them, was a family of deers. There were about seven of them drinking from the lake. Miko smiled as she watched.

"Dude, I have to take a photo!" She paused, remembering her lack of phone or datapad, "Oh wait… Dammit." She pouted. She looked back at Megatron who rolled his optics as he watched the deer. He closed his optics for a moment before speaking, "You are too obsessed with preserving everything in photos, watching everything through a camera. Just live in the moment my Pet, just preserve it in your memory." Miko nodded as she watched.

"Yeah… You're right… But this isn't a great view." She admitted. Megatron sighed. He lifted her up higher and higher. Miko paused as he dropped her and she landed… On his helm. She sat there for a moment. She squealed as she sat up, standing on the dipped helmet. It was like a bowl. From this perch. She had a clear view of the deer. She smiled as she just sat back and watched. The male deer had his antlers, they were huge and stood proud. Miko watched him. He had scars covering his legs and chest. He walked over through the crowds. Through the water he bounded. He stopped beside one of the female deers. It was such a gentle and enamouring show. The battle-worn stag bowed to the doe, Miko remembered an old American film her Grandad had. One of his friends had been the Japanese voice actor for it and he was super proud of it. She remembered, the stag was called 'The Prince of the forest'. Looking at the stag, she got that idea. He was the Prince. A king of the realm. Yet as he bowed to this doe, the prince bowed to a commoner. For affection for love. They stroked their heads against each other's neck. She tilted her head as she watched them embrace and nuzzle into each other. They loved each other. She smiled as she watched them. The other deer just drank or stood around. They stood there for a moment, just watching the Prince of the forest and his lover.

"Ready to move on?" Megatron finally called. Miko perked up. She looked down at him and he looked back at her.

"Y-Yeah. Can I stay up here? Good vantage point!" He groaned and began to walk again. Megatron marched across the forest. From her vantage point, she got to watch the deer for just a little longer. Miko was bounced a lot more now though, she'd rise about ten feet into the air and then drop back down. Miko laughed as she went up and down, up and down. Megatron would turn his head and then she'd go spinning. Her laughter filled the forest, if there were any Autobots around then it would not be too hard to find them. Miko perked up as she noticed something.

"Hey, Megatron? Look over there." She pointed. Not realising he couldn't exactly see where she was pointing too. Yet he soon caught sight of it too. A clearing in the forest. It was perfectly circular. The closer it got to the middle, the plants and grass started to die and wilt. Until the very centre was a brown mulchy mess. Megatron slowly approached it. Miko gagged at the smell of the dying plants and earth. Megatron scooped her up and placed her down beside one of the trees at the very edge. She took a step back as he stepped into the centre. His pede started to sink into it. He grimaced in disgust as he lifted one pede, just for the other to sink faster. Miko jumped up in alarm.

"Dude! You cool?" She shouted, Megatron grunted as he took a step back. He went to the firmer ground. He scanned the area and grimaced. He knelt down and ran a digit along the rotted earth. He put pressure and it just collapsed around it. Miko stumbled backwards as the hole reached towards her. It was about twenty feet deep, and at the bottom something silver and grey could be seen. She leaned forward slightly.

"Is that it?" She called. Megatron slowly let a pede down, keeping the other one tucked against his body, he knelt down as he reached for the silver and grey. He grunted as the ground continued to crumble and squelch yet. Miko decided to just watch her own footing. Megatron would just get dirty but she… She could get buried under all this mud. She decided she was not a fan of drowning in mud. Megatron grunted as he slid down some more. The back of his leg sunk down as he tried to keep his grip. He narrowed his optics as he dug his claws into the metal. He frowned as he grabbed the other side as well. Miko leaned forward as he grunted. With a mighty roar, he gave a mightier pull and the cylinder shaped object burst out of the ground. Miko was in awe as she watched. That was soon cut short by her foot falling through the mud. Her heart stilled and her mind stuttered. She cried out in pain as her back hit one of the hard rocks. She gasped sharply in pain. Her foot slid down and the mud consumed her leg. A scream managed to escape her as she felt her hips join her legs. She looked down to see her entire body slowly be consumed. She scrambled as she tried to claw her away from it. Yet her hands just seem to sink into the earth too. It was wet and stunk of rot and old.

No, no no. She couldn't do this again. Once was enough. Once? Where had she… The dream. She tensed up at the memory. This was the dream, just like the dream. She was to drown again, to be consumed by the cold, unfeeling mud yet again. She felt it course under her shirt, making her skin crawl as she felt it against her skin. She gasped her nails dug into the mud, she felt it squish and slither under them as her knuckles burned and groaned from the strain. Wincing as small pebbles and mud clumps hit her in the chin and face. She only just heard the noise of fabric tearing. She was to drown again, smother and slowly sink lower and lower. If her mind was any clearer, she would have wondered if there was a tower under this mud. Yet all her mind could think about was the disappearing sunlight. There was no one and nothing to save her. She closed her eyes as the mud covered her completely. It filled her nostrils, smothered her ears and smeared across her skin. But that was not the worst feeling. She almost screamed as a cold metal spike dug under her. It scraped against her back. She shivered in the pain and anxiety. But the metal stopped moving and suddenly she was ripped out of the ground.

She gasped as she laid there. The sun was shining behind her as she stared up at Megatron. His bright red optics stared down at her. Concern covered his face. Miko coughed as she took a deep breath and pushed the air and mud out of her nostrils. She laid there, gasping for breath. The two stayed there in silence. Her entire body felt heavy and it ached. Her body ached so badly, "Can you breathe?" His voice interrupted the silence. She slowly nodded and gave a thumbs up to him. She smiled weakly at Megatron. He walked slowly to a river, an inbetween location from the relic and lake. He slowly sat down, holding her ever so gentle.

"Here, clean yourself." He slowly lowered Miko down. His servo slightly submerged itself in the clear water. She sat up, the water trickled past her and the mud got swept away. She took deep breaths, regaining her strength.

"I'm okay… I'm okay." She finally spoke, her voice was hoarse. She leaned down and splashed her face. The water was cold and refreshing. She sighed in relief as she washed her face in the water. Megatron sat there, watching her intently. The capsule sat beside them, dried roots covered some of it.

"What happened?" Miko turned back to Megatron. He grunted as he sat her down beside the river edge. She frowned as she noticed she was missing a slipper, she just took off her remaining slipper and socks. She inched her way into the river and just washed away the mud and dirt.

"The relics removal triggered a mudslide. I couldn't find where you had slid at first…" He looked away. Honestly, he first thought she had escaped. He had called out for her, but she didn't respond. That was when he had realised his mistake. He didn't want to admit his spark had sunk down when he couldn't see her. The only thing intact was his dignity because no one had heard him crying out her name. He watched her, she was covered in mud and her skin was pale. She was shaking like it was the middle of winter even though it was the early morning of spring. Miko dunked her head into the river. He sighed as he reached out. He was so tempted to pull her close and hold her against his spark chamber. The closest thing he could get to hugging her. He wanted to hug her.

Miko gasped as she pulled her head up, water trickling down her back and face. She smiled back at him. She smiled, even now she somehow smiled. She looked back at the relic's casing. It was cylindrical and had dark turquoise running through it. She climbed up, making her own way up onto his thigh. He chuckled and lifted her up to his shoulder. She sat on the perch, watching it with amazement.

"Are you feeling alright?" He finally asked. Miko perked up at the question. His bottom half was covered in the mud. She didn't notice the slight shake in his servo. Miko shrugged as she ran her hands through her hair. Parts of rock and mud falling out. She frowned as her fingers got stuck. The haircut might now be necessary.

"I'm okay dude, thanks for saving me."

"You should not thank me for something I had to do. It was a must. I am just glad I got you in time." He started to break the roots off the relic. Miko smiled as she watched him. That familiar affection filled her chest. She just sat and relaxed. She remembered what he said, she was his priority. She sighed and let the love swell her heart and chest. They both sat up a little as the cylinders lid came off. Megatron set it down and peered into it. Miko did the same, frowning at what she saw. Twenty or twenty five small boxes. Megatron took out one, he set the cylinder down beside the lid. He slowly opened one of the boxes and a few machines were inside. He smirked as he examined it.

"What are they?" Miko was looking at the cylinder. She looked at the cylinder and back to the box. Megatron tapped the machine inside the box a few times, he tilted the box and then closed it up again. He set it back inside with the others and closed it up again with the lid. He stood and turned to look down at her.

"They are the upgrades for the holoforms. They need to be installed into our systems." He tucked the cylinder under his arm and started to walk. Miko paused at this. Twenty-five of those upgrades? That means they'd be one for every major 'Con and then some. She heard a small buzz come from Megatron's helm.

"Soundwave. A groundbridge, we've retrieved the relic." Meagtron called. Miko sighed, her shoulders dropped. Not in disappointment, she was actually relieved. She didn't want to go around flying and dealing with the freezing air on the flight deck.

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.

Bubble baths, they were kinda girly, Miko thought. But… Right now she didn't mind. She sunk into the hot water, she could hear the one sided chatter in the next room. The capability to disguise yourself as a human was a best kept secret from some. To stop them from abusing it or from destroying it. The two tech heads had revealed that a couch was actually inside the room. The room could transform from an office into a living room. With a conversation pit and a large t.v-like screen coming out of the wall. The two had taken it up, using it as a make-shift lab.

She glanced over at the sound of a blasting shower head. Megatron sat on the bench in his shower, he was trying to rid himself of the mud on his legs. She couldn't be bothered with pulling over the heavy covers. She didn't care really, she knew Megatron wouldn't be a weirdo or care. So why would she? She moved in the bath, waves moving away from her. She leaned over the side. Water dribbled out, she crossed her arms and rested her head on them. She watched Megatron work away. She watched as he unclicked the spiked guards around his ankles. The two spikes at either side of his legs. She knew that they could remove their armour. She didn't realise how much of the spikes were a choice by Megatron.

"Are there any cuts or damage?" Megatron glanced in her direction. But never in her exact direction. She snickered at that.

"Nah dude. Just a lot of mud. I can't get it out of my hair." She looked back at the massive knot in her hair, "You can look at me though…" She moved away from the side and grabbed her own shower head.

"I realise how important privacy is to you humans." He hummed as he used his claws to dig into one of the mud seams. It all went down a large square drain, there were akin to a thousand holes in it. She perked up as she looked at the mud swirl and moved around and into it.

"You guys don't get nervous when naked?" She snorted. He looked at her, well the wall above her and shook his head, "No. We had no reason to be. Our protoforms, our version of naked bodies, are usually on show anyway. Armour was only meant for warrior class Cybertronians or upper class who wanted something to show off." Megatron explained. Miko paused, that… That actually explained a lot. She could imagine what part of who was armour. Knockout's shoulder pads Breakdown's wheel guards on his shoulders. Starscream's forehead spike… She hoped… Actually, she wasn't sure what she hoped. The idea of that being a choice disturbed her and the idea that he was made like that also was. She shuddered and leaned her head over the edge of the bath. She turned the shower head on max and aimed it at the mud clump. "I don't mind to be honest, back in Japan you'd all change together in the locker rooms and then you'd have bath houses." She explained. She started to blast the clump. Megatron grumbled but finally looked down at her, directly. She glanced up at him. But she had to do a double take when she noticed he was still staring at her. Maybe she did mind, she got the shivers as she looked at him.

"... They go onto your back?"

His question was rhetorical. She paused. She knew what he meant. She looked down. The scars from the glass shards, they had managed to slowly branch out. They ended near her back spine. She tried to give a fake smile. "Yeah, yeah they do. Why?" She turned off the shower head. The mud was not budging. She'd have to cut it out then. She looked back at Megatron. She watched his optics soften, his expression go slack. He just looked at her and turned away. She reconsigned the look, she had gotten it a lot from her parents or the Autobots. Disappointment and regret. But she had a feeling it wasn't directed to her. She looked down before looking back up at him, she spoke slowly, "It isn't your fault. Ya know? It isn't your fault what happened. It's Bulkhead's fault, he was the… The idiot who tackled you." She spat the last few words out. He just nodded but didn't respond. Miko sighed. She knew she shouldn't even bother to push him. She knew what it was like to blame yourself for something you had no control of. The memory of Optimus's neck alight in sparks while Knockout stood on him was fresh on her mind.

She grabbed her towel and clambered out of the bath, the water had started to go brown and her skin had started to wrinkle. Megatron diverted his optics away as she did so. He stood and reattached his thigh armour. There was a knock on the door. They both turned to see Knockout. He smiled at his master as he stepped in.

"Didn't mean to intrude on you getting hot and steamy my lord, but the upgrades are ready for attaching." He scanned the room, his optics landing on Miko. He smiled down at her.

"This should assist plenty with the haircut." He chimed. Megatron snarled at Knockout who immediately left the washroom with wide and frightened optics. Miko rolled her eyes and turned back to Megatron. He turned back to her and relaxed.

"You gave permission to only me to look at you, Knockout did not even ask." He reasoned. Miko nodded and rolled her eyes. She wrapped the towel around her, just under her arms. It was like the stiffest dress she could have ever had. She held the end up with her one hand and she placed the other on her hip.

"I can call Knockout a slimy perv and tell him to get scrapped by myself thank you very much." She opened her miniature door to her living area. Megatron rolled his optics and walked through his door. The two were greeted by Soundwave with one of the holoform upgrades. Knockout sat down on the couch. Megatron walked over and stood over Soundwave. They talked amongst themselves as Miko dried and changed.

"They're not the energon consuming, not as much as the other models."

"You say that like they'd be in frequent use."

"You never know, Dear Megatron, you and the human could use them to spend more time with each other."

"Please, I can spend ample time with my pet without holoforms."

"Perhaps, perhaps." Knockout sat back on the couch. He slipped some of his extra armour off. He laid back as Soundwave stood over him. Soundwave opened up a panel on the medics chest.

"Luckily it's a simple procedure, so it can easily be reversed." Knockout watched Soundwave connect the wires. Megatron tilted his helm as he watched. He leaned down to watch it closely, his arms crossed behind his back.

"Is it a mass shifter?"

"No my lord, a projector. The range seems to be about a hundred and fifty kilometres."

"Impressive."

"Baketsu-same!" The voice came from the corner. Megatron turned to look at Miko. She had her baggy shorts on. But only a bra, "I can't find my Ghost tank-top, do you remember where I left it?" She called. Megatron smiled. He walked over to her living area and scanned the area.

"What was the shirt you were repairing on the Bridge?"

"An old Slash monkey one." Miko was on her knees. Her arm was all the way under her wardrobe. He paused as he looked at her bed, "Found it." Miko shot up. She went to where Megatron was pointing. Under her pillow was the tank top in question. She smiled as she slipped it on.

"Thanks." She walked over to the edge. No words had to be exchanged, he tilted his hand and she sat on her perch. He carried her over to the others. Miko watched in wonder as Soundwave finished the operation. The plating closed and Knockout rubbed at his chest. He stretched. He grabbed an energon cube as Soundwave cleaned up the equipment. Knockout sat down as he drank. Megatron went down into the conversation pit. He sat a distance from the medic, setting Miko down beside them. Miko laughed as she bounced, the cushions on the couch bouncy but firm. They watched as Knockout got comfortable. His optics seemed to glaze over and a bright blue light was beamed onto the table. Miko perked up as she watched.

A pale skinned man of South-East Asian origins stood on the table. He had pointed ear tips that were joined by black studs in the earlobes. He was wearing a red mechanics suit, it was sagging off his body. The zipper was half way up, it revealed a black, skin-tight tank-top. The tank-top was covered in brighter reds, two straight lines that coursed down his torso. He had grey boots on. Miko stared in awe. He had a fine jawline that was broken in half by a sharp, ruby red beard. She looked at Megatron who seemed surprised by the form. He glanced down at her and sighed. He lifted her onto the table and Miko went running to Knockout. His ruby red hair was slicked back, shaved at the sides. Miko circled him as she stared in awe. His shoulders were small but straight. They were up right in pride, she supposed.

The colour of his skin was so white it could have been his Cybertronian face-late or he was a vampire… Could Knockout be a vampire?

"What do you think my dear!?" He bowed to her. Miko squealed and clapped her hands together, "Could I blend in with the crowd?" He had dark brown eyes, the colour of chestnuts. He was dashingly handsome, obviously the design had been carefully done and was well thought out.

"Your amazing dude, how did you come up with this?" She smiled up at him. He shrugged as he started to examine himself.

"I liked to design a holoform for every planet we go to! I'm just happy I finally get to use one." Miko beamed as she looked up…. She looked down at him. He was shorter than her. She took a step back. A long, rude snort came out of her and a cackling fit began. Knockout was obviously taken aback by it. He groaned and crossed his arms.

"Well, I see how it is. Someone doesn't want their haircut." He walked away. Checking his black and finely permed nails. Miko took deep breaths as she tried to compose herself.

"No! It's fine. J-Just, where do you want me to sit, so you know, you can reac -Pftahahahahaha!" She broke into laughter again. Knockout went red in the cheeks as he turned to Megatron. His displeasure grew as he saw the smile on his master's face. He groaned as he tapped his foot in frustration, just waiting for this to end.

"Okay. Okay I'm good. Let's head to my area." Miko walked over to Knockout. The medic frowned as he turned to the table that now seemed like a world away. His mouth opened as he was about to question her. But it was cut off by his shout of terror as he was scooped up by Megatron. He looked around and panicked as he stared up at the machine. He didn't know how to stand or sit. Miko smiled as did though, she grasped onto Megatron's thumb and hauled herself up. She wrapped her arms around the thumb and slid under it. Knockout watched as she sat on the side of his palm. They were finally dropped beside the hairdressing supplies. Knockout onto his backside, he stared as he looked up at Miko. She let go of Megatron's thumbs and skillfully slid down.

"Thanks dude." She waved Megatron goodbye as he went back to Soundwave. Knockout sighed.

"Well, at least that means this is a physical form." He fixed his hair and marched over to the bag. He nodded as he started to pick up stuff, "Motor Skills are working well." Miko pulled over one of her cushions and sat on it.

"Now! Let's see if the hand-eye coordination works!" He turned to her with scissors. She felt her heart sink but just took a deep breath.

"Yay…"

Miko stared at the ground as he trimmed her fringe. She was looking at the space between his legs. Luckily for her the hand-eye coordination worked. Megatron and Soundwave were watching… The news? She thought. They seem to be discussing something about sending Vehicons to different places. The mud clump was cut out, it laid to the side, with hair coming out of either end. Knockout was humming as he worked.

"So what is he like?" Knockout suddenly asked. Miko almost jumped. He moved away, standing behind her.

"Whatcha mean?"

"Big M! Whatcha think of him~?" He leaned over her shoulder, she glanced over at his playful smirk. She snorted and shook her head. She frowned as he cut around her neck. How could she describe him? She found it easy to think about it, but to put it into words? How could she put it into words? Miko tapped her foot against the ground. She remembered the events before, she remembered a lot of the events from before. She shuddered as she remembered the cliff face.

"He's… A lifesaver." She admitted. Knockout snorted as he sprayed water onto the back of her head. Keeping it wet and straight. He was trimming away the long hair before shaving the sides.

"Corny? No?" Knockout tilted his head. He nodded to himself as he got the hair to the length he wanted. He grabbed the razor, putting a head on the blade for the length he needed and turned to her.

"Yeah, well… Considering how we first properly met." She held her head very still as she heard the razor buzz. She felt it go against her head, with one fluid movement she felt her head was a lot lighter. She watched her long hair fall to the ground. She felt lighter as a whole, she felt… Good. She felt like herself. She always wanted to do this, but never got the chance. She felt like she was finally herself.

"What? When we kidnapped you and the Prime in that cave?"

"Eh, we ended up meeting again later on."

"Oh? Secret meetings at moonlight?"

"Get fragged dude."

They both giggled and snickered as Knockout checked to make sure the haircut was even.

He patted her head as he pulled away. She sat still as he began again. He was a lot slower this time. Miko watched his hands work and watched him move. He sighed as he brushed some hair away.

"So Megatron keeps you afloat?" He hummed as he shaved around the ear. Miko winced as she held herself even more still. The idea of losing her ear was not one she wanted to come into reality. She winced as Knockout did this a few more times. He turned to start doing the over side.

"He does. He's funny too, like he's quick off the draw with remarks and one-liners." She explained. Knockout paused, his eyebrow quirked up and a smirk grew on his face. He pulled away for a moment. He had Miko's datapad open, looking at reference photos. He looked back at her and smiled.

"So he's a lifesaver? A comedian? What is he a charmer and gift-giving as well?" He snickered. Miko laughed too. Knockout started to work again. She was surprised about how much lighter her head felt without the amount of hair she used to have. She didn't have a mirror to see how she was looking. She paused at the question, looking at the crystal she smiled. He did give her gifts, even though a lot of her set-up and items were gifts from Megatron and Soundwave. The bed covers, the mattress and even the wardrobe where she had thrown her 'holiday' clothes were gifts… At this point some more clothes were a sure gift she was going to be given. She had slowly become more dependent on him for things like food and clothes.

There was a charm to him as well, he was well-spoken and hummed when he spoke to her. She liked it when he hummed. It would vibrate the immediate area and was something similar to a rock drum roll or a guitar riff's dying breath. She could listen to him hum all day really. She remembered how he seemed to prioritise her. How he came to her side when she was sick after the mini-coma. How he came to her aid when Breakdown and her got captured by mech.

"He can be, if you're special enough to him. Which I am." She snorted. She lifted her shoulders up high with pride. Knockout smiled as he looked at her. He tilted his head and spoke softly, almost in a whisper, "You have a crush, don't ya?"

Miko almost screamed, but luckily she was quick to place hands on her mouth. She stared up at him in shock. He snickered as he kept working away on her hair. He was done shaving the sides and was now tidying up the middle. Miko could feel how much lighter her head was, and how much colder everything was. Who knew that hair was so good at keeping you warm? "No! Knockout! No!" Miko laughed in shock. She stared at him as she slowly regained her senses, "No, ew… I can't have a crush on him… He's way too old." She shuddered at the idea. Yet, now reflecting on her attitude towards him, it did seem she had a lot of affection for it. But it wasn't in the name of love, well love in that regard. Knockout pulled away as he examined her. He had her tilt her head up and down. He would snip some off here and there. Miko looked over at Megatron.

"... It's more like a big brother kind of thing?" The guess came with a flavour of snark. Yet it struck chords of truth in her head and heart. Big brother… She had thought of Bulkhead as one. But…

"Yeah, it is kinda like he's my big, much older brother." She nodded to herself. Knockout smiled softly as he picked up the datapad. He flicked it to the camera. He turned it to her. Miko looked at herself, she stared in wonder. Either side of her head was shaved, it halted just behind her ears. Her black hair was fluffy and curled slightly. She looked otherworldly with the haircut. It framed her face in a brilliant way that the longer hair failed to do. She squealed in excitement as she turned to shout for Megatron's attention.

But he was already looking at her. She stopped for a moment, he just looked at her. She played the idea of 'big brother' in her head a few times. She never had an older sibling before. She had older cousins… But they were never interested in her or kind to her. She reflected on her time with Megatron.

Running away to hang out with him, Megatron looked after her when she was injured or sick, crashing at his place when her 'host parents' didn't work out that day. He'd have his cool punk friends come break her out of school. He was helping her shave her hair and dye it colours… He was her older brother. He was her cooler, older, more experienced metal, in both senses, brother who was helping out his baby punk sister. She would never admit it, but her experience with the metal and the punk stuff was not a lot. She had only discovered it a few years ago. But Megatron had been at this thing for a thousand years.

And right now, he was staring at her hair. A smile cracked out of his serious demeanour. He looked at her and tilted his helm.

"How do I look?" She turned her head to show him. He tilted his helm the other way as he thought for a moment.

"You look happy, and the hair makes you pretty… Putting those combined, I believe the human word is 'beautiful', yes. You look beautiful." He hummed. He stole one more glance at her and then went back to talking with Soundwave.

The word bounced around Miko's ears, she ran a hand along her hair. She was beautiful, she was pretty but her joy made her beautiful. She blushed ever so slightly and looked back at Knockout. He was smirking down at her. His hands were on his hips as he cocked his head to the side. She realised why he was smirking.

She frowned as she stood. Her shoulders were getting itchy from the hair locks, she brushed some off.

"Stop laughing, you look like an idiot." She walked to the washroom. Knockout trailed her as he hummed a tune. He started to sort the bleaching products as she turned on the shower head.

"What do you think of me and Breakdown?" Knockout didn't turn to her. She looked at him. She hadn't spent as much time as she would have liked with the two mechs. She had been sick or learning how to spar or schoolwork or just doing chores with Megatron. She paused. Knockout had been careful with caring for her, taking time to research the human body. He had made it clear if she had any questions or problems, she was to go to him and Breakdown. Breakdown picked her up from school everyday, he'd let her blast her rock music and would answer any questions she had. She remembered the day she had asked him why he was blue, he just chuckled and answered her questions. He then also answered her questions about why Knockout was red and if that was planned. He just answered, nodded along and laughed.

"You're like my weird Uncles. Like, Breakdown would take me camping and I could go shopping with you." She admitted. She winced her head, the water just slid through the hair. It moved through a lot more easily, with the water stray pieces of hair fell out too. She was quick to pull her head away from the shower head. The water dribbled down her back and she grabbed the hair dryer. She blasted her head with the hot air, Knockout picked up the bleaching bottles. He strutted over to her.

"I would happily take you shopping my dear." He smiled at her. She gave a thumbs up and they began.

Miko had to sit still as he worked. He had gloves on and a brush. He had her entire head covered. Using baby wipes to wipe it away from her neck and forehead. They stayed in the washroom. Just talking and laughing amongst the two.

"So how did you two meet?" Miko placed down the grape soda can. The Decepticon looked at the clock. They had another few minutes left till the bleach was done. He sighed and recalled, he tilted his head as he did so.

"I am not from Cybertron, I am from one of the colony worlds," He started. He watched her do this thing she did. He had noticed it a while ago. When she got excited, she would bounce slightly. Her head would rise higher, away from her shoulders and it'd be almost like her hair would rise up and fluff up in a way. Like a character in a cartoon. It was adorable, honestly. And now as he spoke, explaining his story, she did it again, "It was called Volicitron, a world of speeding racers and highways with no end."

"I was one of the best racers around, I was fast and I was stylish and I was… Me!" He chuckled. Miko snorted as she watched him. He was puffing out his chest in pride, moving his shoulders up and back as he talked.

"I won, and won, and won, and won, and won, and won," He rambled for a while, "But then… Erm, I got a little too popular." He chuckled. He scratched his cheek as he talked, "So I went to some of the rougher parts, with slower mechs and got myself a bodyguard."

"Breakdown?"

"Indeed! And it's just… Bonded from there." He shrugged. Humming at the memories so fondly. Miko smiled as she looked at Knockout. He brushed stray hair away from his face and checked himself out in the mirror. She winced at the burning feeling on her scalp. She lifted her head up to see herself in the mirror. Her hair was white, a bleached kind of white that had a slightly grey quality. He stood up and put the gloves on, Miko snorted as he snapped the wrist of the gloves against his arm.

"Must be nice having someone with you through all of this." She watched in the mirror. He peeled back the plastic film that was on her head. He threw it into the pile of trash they had accumulated. He had her lay back and started to rinse the bleach out. She smiled up at him as he ran his fingers through her head.

"There's something soothing about this." She admitted. The warmth of his hand, the sensation of the fingertips running against her skin. Knockout paused. His eyebrows were raised high and he took a step back. He snorted and shook his head.

"You humans are soothed by so many odd things, I swear." He continued to work away. He took a step back as he looked at her hair. She sat up a little, the water dribbling down her shoulders. White patches of varying shades sat on her shoulders and neck, the tank top was ruined for regular use, forever banished to being used while painting or dying things. He threw a towel at her. She started to partly dry her hair, just enough that it wasn't dripping. Knockout picked up the hair dye. It had 'Cotton candy' as the colour. The actual colour was a very bright, almost neon pink. Knockout started to shake the bottle. Miko was beaming in excitement. They were doing a full pink, no black or length to please her parents. She wondered how they'd react if they ever saw it. She wondered how Jack and Rafael would react. She still talked to Rafael, she talked to him quite frequently actually. With him, the alliances of Autobot and Decepticon didn't seem to really matter. She shuddered from the cold feeling. Knockout worked in the dye, gripping the locks of hair. She winced as some dripped down her neck. She yelped as a fuzzy baby wipe rubbed at her neck with more pressure than needed. He wasn't gentle with this. He just worked it into her hair.

"And now we wait!" Knockout smiled. He started to clean and put away things, "I can assume you can rinse out the dye yourself?" He faked a smile at her. She smirked and patted a finger on the hair. He frowned as he watched her. His smile fail as she walked after him with the finger covered in pink dye.

"Can you!?" She chased after him. He screamed as he ran out of the washroom, onto the desk and keyboard. She watched the holoform disappear as he skidded to the edge. She frowned as she stood there, alone and a little confused. Then Knockout's Cybertronian body shot off the couch and fell onto the floor. The other two mechs had stopped their conversation. They stared down at the panicked mech.

"Not the paint!" He yowled as he looked around. He looked at the warlord whose surprise now turned into an unamused frown. He quickly stood and cleared his throat.

"Miko will be able to do the rest for herself. I'll get to work on the holoform devices and upgrades at once my Lord." He scooped up the boxes and the cylinder. He slid the boxes inside as he turned to Miko. He frowned but it melted very quickly. His warm smile was brought close to her as he bowed to her. She realised he wasn't bowing to her to look at her, he was bowing to her in the same way he would bow to Megatron.

"And to you, my niece," He snorted as he slowly stood back up, "Remember to come visit the med-bay. It is always open to you." He left without another word. The door hissed as it closed. She stood there, looking at the door for a moment. Her smile was straining her cheeks, making her jaw ache. Her cheeks were burning as she looked back at Megatron. He had stood up and walked over to her, he was grinning back down at her.

"Did you have fun today?" He lowered himself, and kept lowering. He knelt before her… He was kneeling before her? He knelt to someone? He knelt to someone, to her, to Miko. She felt her chest warm up again and walked over to him. He was closer now, on her level. She didn't have to strain her neck as much now.

"Yeah! Bar the… Mud part…" She looked down. He frowned as he cupped her and pulled her close. She hugged his thumb as she looked away. The dream replayed in her head, the horrid nightmare haunted every other thought of hers.

"I know. But it's fine now. I promise I'll be more cautious."

"No! It's not that." She blurted. His expression changed, he frowned, his eyebrows furrowed. He tightened his grip on her. She almost yelped as his sharp claws ran along her back. She tensed, wincing as it was like that for a moment.

"Did something else happen?" He whispered it softly. She could hear his anger, he was seething at the idea of any harm being done to her. She frowned. Slowly, she grabbed the nightmare from the shelf. It was so heavy she could barely hold it, so she just tore a small part off and threw the rest back onto that shelf. She held the small piece and let it unravel out of her mind, of her hands and her mouth.

"The nightmare I had… During my nap, the other day… I drowned in mud in that too. I fell off the desk and drowned in mud and…" She choked as she looked away. The small tear had given all it could. Megatron's frown slowly changed. It was sadder, more empathetic. He scooped her up. She fell onto his palm as his hand rested on the side of the table. His frown turned into a half-smile.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to freak out. A dream is a dream ya know?"

"But it upset you."

"I…" She went silent. She had never actually considered that. She had been so caught up in making sure she didn't disrupt him, she had forgotten about herself. She did that a lot, she needed to be better at remembering herself. Megatron huffed, he picked her up, "You don't have to be upset just to please me. Come, how about you join me and Soundwave for some drinks?"

He placed her on top of the couches back beside Soundwave. He himself did not sit down, not yet. Her hair was still wet with the dye. One of her towels fell beside her, it was about the size of a large blanket. Then some of her pillows fell too. She smiled as she grabbed the towel, she wrapped it around her shoulders. She piled the pillows under and around her. The towel stopped any dye dripping down. She cuddled into the warmth of it, the comfiness of the pillows.

"Can I have my gra- Oh!" She shut up as one of the multipacks and a bag of snacks were placed before her. Megatron sat on the other side of her. She just sat there in comfort, in company. Megatron looked down at her. He leaned back as he placed an arm behind her, stretched out over the couch back. The silent mech nodded to her.

The conversation was mostly focused on her training. Soundwave would pull up multiple examples of human exercises. It was decided weight lifting would be the best for Miko, she seemed quite eager for that. There were also notes on how to approve Miko's quality of life around the Nemesis. A miniature elevator at some desks, and maybe some small doors. After a while, she was recounted tales of Soundwave and Megatron in their youth. Valorant fights and the quiet moments. The neon nights of Kaon, sharp colours in cool shades. The shadows casted by Iacon that seemed like a star in city form. Mechs would move like herds of animals, tightly packed together and always moving together for safety. Femmes were scarcely seen, unless on stages covered in golden lights. The streets were like a maze, dark and twisting. Covering itself in smog and grime, it was a city of lower castes. There were no Primes there. As Megatron ranted about his home, Miko began to understand him more and more. He had modelled himself off the city he loved, his grey, scarred and dirty armour, his curled and spiked armour. His sharp, red optics. He was complicated like the streets and had a will as thick as the smog. She had come to learn Soundwave had actually immigrated there, for reasons Megatron didn't even know, he talked about how he was the only mech that had beaten the mystery newcomer. That match ultimately made Megatron the champion, but Miko was quick to point out that he had lost their recent match. That was met with a grunt and half muttered excuses.

When Megatron finally shut up, it was Miko's turn to talk about her city. The city spanned thousands of miles and miles. High towers of varying shapes, but yet all of them paled in compared to the Volcano they sat beside. Mount Fuji, one of the holy Mountains, its snow capped crater was usually half bathed in clouds. Tokyo city was colourful, covered in adverts for anything really. Thousands and thousands of people walked through the main streets, wide and covered in black tarmac. The streets, for the most part, worked on a grid system. Formatted and formal roads, for formatted and formal people who lived in formal and formatted buildings. The men would live, breath and die in their offices and work, the women would be expected to stay at home, have a mask on or have makeup on anytime they went out. Presentation meant everything. As tall as the towers were, they soon dissipated and turned to more residential areas, or the bay. Miko remembered the bays and lakes with great fondness, at the centre of the city was the imperial palace and Meiji Jingu. The city was the capital, most trade of most kinds came through that city.

Miko had no tales of battle, of gladiators or roughness. Instead, she recounted stories of well kept schools with highly respected staff. Uniforms, pristine and well kept. She recounted tales of being in those towers, being amongst the crowd, being in the same places that politicians and emperors went. She admitted that she longed for something else, to forsake this fortune and formality. Rid herself of the perfect presentation, to spend all her time at the bays, or to travel somewhere else. Which is how she ended up in Jasper.

Soundwave soon left, as Megatron cleaned up and Miko rinsed the dye out of her hair, a feeling of home came over the small apartment. Really that's what Megatron's room was, an apartment. No longer an office, a bedroom and a washroom he rested in at inconsistent frequencies. An area he just had to deal with in the name of surviving. But now, it was lived in. It smelt of food, energon and bleach. It had posters on the walls, the couch beside the desk. It wasn't going back down, instead the coffee table being soon rebuilt to fit Miko as well. The office was now a living room. It reminded Miko of coming home in the late hours after a road trip away for the whole day. The fond familiarity of the small rooms, the smells that you'd smell a thousand times. When Miko came out, the hair dye was left in for a little too long. Instead of a light, bright pink there was now a loud, banging pink that could blind someone. After some sneering to Megatron, they both sat back at the desk. A quiet, mutual enjoyment of each other was well welcomed after such a busy day. Miko made herself dinner. She decided this time she'd make herself a proper dinner that wasn't just instant noodles. So they sat there as the meat and tofu grilled, Miko poked it every so often with chopsticks and Megatron checked his messages.

They ate and relaxed with the T.V on, Miko was delighted to learn it could pick up the horror movie channel. They spent the early hours of the night critiquing the realism of the films, describing how they'd survive and shouting at whoever was running from the killer. Megatron was surprised by the violence Miko enjoyed. But he didn't complain, watching people be ripped in two by a sheep was very entertaining. The later hours were slow. The need for sleep catching with Miko was carried over to her bedside and as Megatron turned off the T.V and put away his energon, Miko changed and flopped herself onto the bed. He chuckled as he looked at her. She laid on her stomach and hugged the pillow, she did turn to look at him.

"Are you feeling alright?" He sat at his desk, he pressed a button and the lighting on it turned to the lowest setting. She could barely tell the screen was on. She nodded and yawned, "In your company, yeah. You're fun dude."

"I'm glad you had fun, and you look very pretty with your new hair colour." He chimed. She just chuckled and gave a thumbs up. She was half asleep. He just went silent and he watched her drift from awake to sleep. His curiosity was getting the better of him, and seeing how she was half asleep he decided to ask what he had been wondering. Him and Soundwave had discussed how to get even closer to her, but now he wondered if that was even needed.

"What did you say about me? To Knockout?" He tilted his helm as she chuckled. She rolled onto her side to fully face him. Miko pulled the blanket up to her chest and her eyes half happened.

"That you're the best thing to happen to me… Like the only actual family I got.'" She said it like it was obvious, even adding snark to the end of her sentence. To her it was perhaps obvious and he was the blind one. She didn't notice the way all emotions faded from his faceplate. She didn't notice his claw coming closer to her. She didn't notice the ways her eyes narrowed. She barely registered the blanket moving. Her eyes closed and his claws moved. He caught the blanket that fell off of her. He tucked her in, he was gentle with his huge claws. He turned off all the lights in the room, the only thing that glowed now was himself and barely the screen. He smiled as he started to work, his side project for right now. He watched the screen's language change. His chest slowly warmed as he thought about what she said, his spark pulsed and grew. He looked at her and reflected on the evening, on the morning… On the mud… He remembered his panic and fear at the idea of losing her. He decided, sitting alone with only the sleeping girl, that he would not lose her. He'd fight to keep her on his side, he'd bite and bark if Optimus ever tried to get her back. No, Miko was not an Autobot. Miko was a Decepticon. She was his pet, and his companion. She had squirmed her way into all their sparks. His processor now worked in a way he couldn't comprehend. He now considered her in everything he did, like an infection brainwashing him, he thought about her. He thought about her more than he thought about anyone else. He chuckled as he listened to her, she had a small whistle in her breath as she slept. It was irritating at first, yet now. It was one of the most pleasant noises he could hear. He looked over at her and smiled. Her pink hair just popped out of the top of the bed covers, you couldn't really see anything else of hers. The fluffiness of it all was amusing. He looked at the screen and slowly read it. Hopefully this would all be done by the time of her birthday. It was one of his gifts to her.

So there he sat for the night. Learning his third or fourth language? He wasn't sure but it did not matter. A noise came from the bed, he turned to it and saw Miko curled into a ball. The noise came from her, her squeaking and grunting. Her having a nightmare was the most probable cause. Megatron frowned as he placed a servo over her, cupping her against the bed. She went quiet, her face went from scrunched up back to that peaceful serenity. He huffed and kept his servo there. If that was what he had to do for her to rest? Then what's what he would do for her.

"Sleep well, my pet." If only she was awake to hear him speak in her native tongue. Even if it was a little stiff and maybe like a robot said it. Well a robot did say it. He looked back at the screen. The apartment was the loudest anything could be while being quiet, the noise of her breath, the hum of the computer and the refrigeration units and the growl of his own engine and fans. They all made an odd chorus that was soft on the ears and audio receptors. The smells of the room depended on where you stood. One part smelt of cold food, instant noodle spices and lynx deodorant. The couch had its own smell too, old fabric smells. The keyboard just across had no particular smell. It was like standing in the middle of a carpark, that distant smell that was cold on the nostrils. The couch stunk of energon and metal. It was soft in the same way tires were. It smelt like tires at some points too. The washroom smelt as if a soap shop was beside a garage. Oil and strawberry shampoo sitting beside each other on the shelf, one in a huge metallic bin and the other in a small, pink oval. In the morning these bottles will be picked up at the same time. One will be emptied straight onto the head, the other will be emptied onto a cloth. The showers will last about half an hour, enjoying the warm water and sods. Then they'd exit, dry off, finish their prep and away they went.

Together they lived, they ate, they washed, they studied, they relaxed, they entertained and enjoyed entertainment, the only thing they didn't do together was sleep. No, they had their own separate spaces, for each other's items and interests they let that be divided. Yet this common ground, this mingling and duo community they had. It was perfect in a way. One was from the high-rise, upper class life of Tokyo, the other was from the gutter of Kaon. One let herself fall to rumble with the lower classes, while the other clawed his way up to the world of aristocrats. Now, they had met each other in the middle. In the middle they stayed, in the middle they mingled together. They found comfort with each other. They found comfort in their differences and their similarities. Now they were learning each other's tongues, learning each other's cultures.

And it seemed together, in this small apartment, in this mix of cultures, they would stay together. And together they would stay.