Dreading was an emotion felt by many, yet it waived along the lines of fearing and despising, perhaps all together. It's a spectrum. A spectrum of wordless emotions, some with titles, but then some with such rawness that no word could do them justice. You believe that you know of this feeling, sitting in the waiting room of the Doctor, being in trouble and waiting for parents to find out, or maybe before a test at school. Dread would grip and devour your thoughts as thinking seemed to be as useful as drinking the water that drowned you.

Could others sense your dread? Did it rub off of them? Could it be sensed, and yet they chose to ignore it. Chose to let you drown as their own dread tried to pull them down, or was it something that was just better to be witnessed and then ignored? Animals sensed dread and acted upon it, with violence, with cowardice and at times with foolishness. Like how the deer stops on headlights, how a dog bites the hand that feeds it, how a bird flies away as a hand claps. Humans did not do this, or at least attempted not to do this. As if to hold themselves above the rest of the animal kingdom.

Yet now, witnessed by the Nevada sun as it scorched the orange rock below. Witnessed by the block-like buildings that make homes in Nevada, by the tarmac road that melted into water the further you looked. Perhaps none of it witnessed it. Today was the day when the world did not bear witness and turned its back, in a strange piece of privacy. It did not witness Miko being consumed by her dread. Sitting on the pillar that ended the school's borders. Crowds that ranged from two to twelve walked past her, friend groups, club members and family walked each other from point A, to point B. Miko did not know this luxury anymore, she was alone. Bag resting against the base of her perch. She looked at the path that led westwards, the usual pick-up spot. What used to be it, anyway. The other two stood there, Jack and Rafael. They stood there, chatting and laughing. They paid no mind to her, a few steps in distance, yet they could have been miles away. She had to hope, she had to wish and hope that a text would come through, that she had to go down the road. She couldn't decide what was worst, if one of the Autobots showed up first or if her rides would show up first. She looked at the other two again, Rafael met her eyes. She froze, he waved his hand to her, Jack noticed. He looked at Miko, frowning and looked away. Miko swallowed and waved to Rafael.

She got off her perch, gripped the bag and threw it over her shoulders. She walked to the opposite side of the path, watching as cars drove past. She looked left and right, hoping to see the red sports car or blue jeep. Yet none came, just dusty old business cars or pick-up trucks. Miko checked her phone again, no new message. The possibility came to mind, the possibility that they had left her. That they weren't coming. Dread returned, its hands gripping her neck and digging into her stomach. She looked back at Jack and Raf. They had stayed where they were, talking and chatting and laughing… They got on fine without her it seemed.

Miko yelped as a car's horn blared. She turned to her left. Watching the dark blue jeep pull over a few feet away. She glanced back, the other two had not noticed. She walked down, the passenger seat swinging open. Miko threw the bag in first.

"Sorry I'm late kid! Doc had me buffing out a small scratch." Breakdown chuckled. Miko snorted as she slid in, the door closed behind her.

"It's no problem, but you couldn't have pulled up a few more metres?" She joked, they drove off. She watched the other two as Bumblebee pulled in.

"Didn't want the Autobot to see me." He admitted, Miko nodded and leaned back. A feeling of unrest covered her.

"I guess you guys are still enemies… And I don't really want them to see me with their enemy!" She half-joked, Breakdown made a grunt of agreement as he drove. She sighed as she tapped her fingers against her knees. They were driving away from Jasper, luckily the opposite direction from the Autobot base. Miko glanced into the rear view mirror, and saw two purple cars driving behind them. She just looked back down as they drove off the road, the Vehicons following suit. The Groundbridges maw snapped into existence, wide and swirling, they entered eagerly. Miko watched, sitting up as the light broke and they were inside the Nemesis.

Breakdown slowed to a halt, the Vehicons drove past either side, transforming and leaving. As the door opened for them to leave, Megatron entered. Breakdown's door opened, Miko slung her bag over her shoulder, exiting, and walking up to the large Mech.

He knelt as he spoke, "There is the newest recruit. How has the day treated you, dear Miko?" He scooped her up in his left hand, she sat on his index. He stood as Breakdown walked after them, Miko waved as they turned opposite ways down the halls. Megatron tilted his head back as she spoke, "It was kind of tense, Jack didn't want to even look at me! But I… er… I got some assignments to study for." Gesturing to the bag, she explained. Remembering those fine details always bothered her. Megatron nodded as they entered the bridge.

"You shall study while I work," He set her down on the computer. It had two flat panels beside the main keyboard. Miko took out her books, "Try not to be too distracting."

She nodded and looked up.

"If I ask for help? You can help right?" She set the Maths and English assignments separate. Her pencil bag landed beside her.

"If it is requested." He confirmed, "But I will leave most of the work to you, I shall not be handing the answers to you." Miko nodded and flicked open the English books. She stared, The road not taken stared back at her. She shifted as she read it. She frowned, trying to make sense of it all. "What does 'how way leads onto way'? Like… Ugh!" She threw her head back, "Why can't they talk in normal English!" The warlord huffed in amusement as he looked down at the human. "It means that a road leads onto another road. Do you not know human slang?" He asked. Miko looked over at him and frowned.

"No, I don't know English slang. It's dumb." She frowned as she looked over at the questions. She scratched the side of her head as she started to write and answer. She sighed and the pencil scratching against paper was the only noise bar Megatron typing. Miko looked up at him again, his face was cold, emotionless. His eyes scanned over the alien

letters. She leaned over to look at the screen and tried to make sense of the tongue.

"Pay attention to your own studies." He called. Miko pouted and looked back down at the book. Her brain felt dense and it hurt. With more effort than it should have really taken, she finished the last question and set the book down. "Finally!" She laid back. Rubbing at her head, she stared at the neon purple lights on the ceiling. Megatron took a moment to stop working to look down at her, he tilted his head to the side.

"Do you not have more work to do?" He gestured to the other books. Maths, History, Science… He moved the history book towards him and with his claw he flipped the page open. He found that the book centred around American history, not so much world history. He looked at Miko again. Humans were ever so strange. So many different problems, yet so many different gifts. They were small and soft and squishy. But their advancements in technology were not something to be laughed at. They were a young species compared to Cybertronians, yet had bridged many technological gaps in half the time. He shuddered to think what stage they'd be at in a thousand years time. He looked at Miko, her strands of black hair sprawled along the desk. Well, black and pink. The pink, he understood, was an artificial modification. The limit of human features was curious, only so many hair colours, only eye colours. While Cybertronian's came in so many shapes and sizes… The humans lacked this and armour.

Their customization seemed to be in their minds and personality. So many mental defects or illnesses, so many of their tasks and hobbies centred around their mental capabilities and strengths.

Now he had to learn about one human's mental strengths and weaknesses. It became clear that Miko had a hard time focusing on long blocks of information. Which meant if he wished to continue her doctrination, he would need to format information for her differently. He'd also need to make a mode of transport so she can travel the Nemesis more freely. While he wanted to keep a close eye on her, he also didn't want to babysit her. Megatron closed his optics for a breath moment, letting them rest from the harsh screen and lights. Ah humans, so needy.

He opened his eyes and looked back down at her. She had moved towards the keyboard and was examining all the different letters. He just silently watched her as she pressed a key and watched to see what happened. The letter appeared on the screen, Miko frowned and tried a different key, which moved the cursor back. Miko smirked and did it a few times and then placed the key in random places, making the words either brand new ones or misplessing them. The Warlord tutted and picked her up by the back of the shirt, he moved her away and corrected what she did. She giggled as she sat back, he grunted.

"I would advise against that, then again, an empty energon container may be a more suitable place for you." He smirked at her reaction. Her jaw dropped, before she scrunched up her face, and jumped up.

"You wouldn't dare!" She shouted. He stayed silent and just watched her. He watched her brave face melt away as she fidgeted under his gaze. The Autobot's words about him were still fresh in her mind. He knew she feared him, while this, in some parts, was favourable, in other instances, like now, it was unhelpful.

"Miko, I won't… Now, come. I must check to see if the energon supplies are all well supplied." He scooped her up, leaving the homework behind. She looked back at it, but smirked and looked ahead instead. The door to the Bridge opened and Megatron strided outwards to the hallways. Miko was lifted up and placed on his shoulders, she was tucked up beside the spike and his neck piece. She leaned in to the smoother and less stabby surface. She looked up at him, his helm held two tusk-like ends that covered his face somewhat. How he looked sideways was a mystery to her. His face, heck, his body was so scratched up. When Miko got close enough to the Autobots, she saw that the grey on their body was like matte paint. Arcee and Wheeljack are the best examples that came to mind. So, she wondered… Was armour paint to them like choosing what colour of clothes to wear? It had to be a choice, Ratchet had mentioned that he had to scan his paint on after his vehicle mode. She looked at the armour directly beside her feet, she could see her smudged up reflection in it. Megatron had no paint, just the blank metal that instead was decorated with dents and scratches. She wasn't sure what his purple armour was. It almost looked like stone, did they have rocks on Cybertron? Or were there metal rocks? Did the Cybertronians decorate themselves with stones or rocks?

Miko looked up at him again and he met her gaze. She reeled back somewhat, but kept eye-contact. His face was really beat-up, covered in scars and marks.

"Sssoooo, you've got a lot of scars!" She pointed out, he huffed as they entered the energon storage room. A clawed metal hand moved large boxes onto two small elevators that took it either up, to the refuel stations or down, to the engine room. There were only two Vehicon's in here. Miko watched a large cart be pushed into the room via a different door and with energon crystals not yet to be cubed up. Megatron picked up a newly processed cube and examined it.

"Why do we need to be here?" Miko asked, she leaned forward to look into it. Energon in this state was a kind of gelatin. Stiffer, but still bouncy and wobbly. He ran his claw around it and nodded, "Like you have workers already here?" He glanced back down at her.

"Sometimes workers mix water into the energon mix," He lifted it up to the light, he nodded and set it down and then picked up another one, "They also meet their quotas faster." Miko paused as this cube was indeed, more wobbly and not as stiff as the other.

"Does that one have water in it?" She pointed to it, he dug his claw into it, the energon split easily and when he took it out, nothing followed.

"More than usual. Someone was bold today." He almost chuckled. The Vehicon came over and took it, Miko listened to them speak in their native tongue. The Vehicon took the cube, Megatron examined a different cube from a different pile. The Vehicon came back and handed him a datapad. Megatron read it, nodded, spoke and the Vehicon left with the pad.

"What was that?" She watched him pick up a few more cubes and test them.

"Hm? An order to investigate the mine that batch came from." He turned and picked up one of the crystals. He tilted it and examined it, Miko crawled up and sat closer to his face. He glanced down but continued to look at the crystals.

"Have you ever seen an energon crystal up close?" He looked back down at her. Miko paused. She shook her head, he picked up one of the smaller crystals. He cracked it in two uneven pieces. One much smaller than the other. He handed the smaller part to her, the piece was about as big as her forearm, just as thick too. Miko laughed as she sat back and looked at it. The crystal was oddly cold, it felt like a window that was frosted from the winter. The blue colour changed and shifted in inconsistent patterns and splotches. It glowed slightly, lighting up her skin and face in a blue hue… Miko found herself entranced by it, there was something alluring about it.

"The crystals are sssoo cool. The Bots never brought any back, always the cubes." She sighed as she remembered when they brought back the cubs. The humans always had to stay fifty feet away and then the Bots would do a deep clean where the cubes had sat and been stored. Megatron chuckled.

"I imagine what fuels you humans, does not contain the same majesty?" He set down the crystal that he had been examining. Miko shook her head.

"Blood ain't crystals." She admitted. She stood, lifting the crystal back up to him, "Here ya go." She grunted as it seemed that it appeared. The mech cocked his head and with his index, pushed it back to her.

"Keep it, as a gift." His voice rumbed in a calm manner. Miko found it hard to put an emotion to it. But it was charming, calming and made Miko feel a little more at ease. His voice was always interesting to Miko, and it would continue to be.

She looked down at the gift, "I don't think I can explain this to my host parents." She frowned. Megatron nodded. He took the crystal again, and unsheathed his blade. Miko cried out and looked at it with a lump in her throat. Carefully, he ran the blade against the tip of the crystal. It sounded like glass or ice slowly cracking. Small shards fell into his palm, he was careful to catch them.

Miko couldn't remember if the Autobots had given her a gift, she didn't think so. They were such odd things. Gifts…

Miko always got gifts for birthdays or Christmas. But never unprompted like that. Gifts always made Miko feel special. A material token of affection. Sometimes she forgot how much people loved her and being able to hold it. It was something special. Being able to hold affection, it made her feel all fizzy inside. She looked back and the blade went away, he picked up a few small shards and held them up. Miko leaned forward and looked at them carefully. Some were bigger than others, some sharper, some rounded. Some were one colour, some were more. Miko picked up one of the largest, it was rounder and had a mix of colours. She moved it around and smiled. Megatron set down the rest of the crystals. He went back to examining the crystal. She smiled as they left the room and continued to walk again. She held the glowing crystal carefully in her palms.

Here he was, feeling good from this simple act. It was odd, what made this one item that made her feel so good? Was it the effort? He had taken the time to carve out some of the energon so she could take it home. It wasn't even a hard task though… Was it the fact she had been told that he was unfeeling and a cold mech? Yet he wasn't for her. It did make her feel special. She giggled to herself. All dread left her belly, anxiety or worry. She felt a weight leave her shoulders. All caused by this tiny crystal and how happy it made her. She held it close as she turned to Megatron.

"Bulkhead never gave me a gift…" She admitted, he chuffed and shook his head. He looked back down at her.

"Please, another sign of how ridiculous the Autobots were in their treatment of you." He placed his hand on his chest, Miko giggled as she nodded.

"Can we go for another flight!? Can we go blast around the ship, do laps!? Or like, you could go train and I could watch ya smash stuff!" She rambled. Megatron chuckled as he shook his head.

"Not for now, we must return to work." He walked back to the Bridge. Miko yelled.

"Already!?" Megatron turned to look at her. He half-smirked as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Come now, I must run my warship and you must complete your work…" He cocked his head, considering something, "If you complete two of your work pieces, we may go for a flight." He held out his hand as he bargained. Miko frowned at him, she seemed to be considering his offer. She crossed her arms and pouted, turning her head. A barely audible 'Fine' came from her direction. He nodded and they entered the Bridge, Soundwave had taken over his work. Miko frowned and looked at him, he was so creepy to her.

A faceless, slender, mute tentacle thing. He just worked and watched. He turned to Megatron and her, bowing his head, he stepped away from the work and went to his own terminal. Miko watched and leaned close to Megatron.

"Soundwave is so creepy!" She muttered to him, Megatron snorted and glanced at her. She was still holding the crystal close as he set her back beside her work.

"Well, yes. He can be. But his loyalty is unmatched." Megatron explained, while he could explain how Soundwave was also the intel gatherer and one of the best at said job. He found himself favouring to keep Miko uninformed until he could assure her loyalty. While showing her certain things like an energon storage room would make her feel more knowing, it was nothing that the Autobot's didn't already know or guess. Miko nodded, she watched Soundwave for a moment. Then the work began. How fun! Maths! Miko groaned as she held her head and read the question. Just something about it, she couldn't wrap her head around.

Megatron groaned as he looked over at the reports. Breakdown would be out of commision for another week, which meant his energon mines could be unchecked for a while. Breakdown could be considered a manager of sorts and no Vehicon had proven themselves worthy of promotion. He scratched at his chin and cheek. He glanced at Miko and confirmed she was working. Starscream was doing a quarter of the energon mines; he had sent two Vehicon Captains to do another two quarters, but the rest were left unchecked. He could always go himself. Yet then he'd have to bring the human and it was not becoming of him to be wandering around his own mines. He was to be in the Bridge, controlling the ship and his army. He also did not wish to show the location of those mines to Miko, not yet. He also didn't want to chance the Autobot's taking her back or if he left her, Starscream or one of his dogs doing something to her.

It was quite a predicament, not one he particularly enjoyed to figure out. He didn't mind puzzles yet this one was quite a headache. The human factor was one that had been hotly debated before he had been woken up. The two other humans and Miko seemed to have given the Autobot's an edge they had lost for a while. Perhaps it was a personal attachment that now had been established. There had been some wondering if the Decepticon's could replicate this and gain the edge once again. This edge could be made possible with the assistance of Miko. If her trust was gained.

Now that would be a tricky feat to accomplish. The Autobots had implanted mistrust into her, he'd have to work to gain it. He could and shall do it. He had already succeeded in some parts with the energon crystal. It seemed gifts were what got to her the most. So be it…

So be it…

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It took her an hour and a half to complete maths and science. Mostly the maths, for science she just had to take notes about the planets rotation or something like that. She collapsed back, groaning. Megatron stopped typing as he gazed down at her. He moved her maths work to view it. He read it carefully, he glanced at the questions. Finally he nodded and pushed it back to her.

"You are correct in all your answers." He admitted. Miko paused and sat up.

"Really!?"

"Indeed, well done." He nodded and picked her up. Miko yelped, as the energon crystal was left in her bag, as well as her phone and books.

"Woah! Where are we going!?" She looked up, he continued to carry her in his hand as he walked out of the Bridge.

"I did promise you a flight if you completed your work." He went down the opposite way from the first time. Back towards where the Groundbridge was. Miko smiled as she watched the hallways pass. Vehicon's marched pass, not daring to look at them. The hallways were blank and contained no windows or decoration. There was the occasional crossroads and door, but bar that, nothing. It felt lifeless, then again so did the Autobot base. It was just a stone military base, it felt smaller which helped yet really was it any different? The Cybertronian's didn't ever try to decorate or make the bases seem more friendly. Megatron turned to the left and up an elevator. It was just the two of them.

"When will the bandages come off your arms?" Miko looked down, her shoulder still had some bandages and the other arm was still entirely covered in bandages. She frowned and clenched her hands, hissing in pain slightly.

"Two weeks for the arm with the glass, this weekend for the other." She sighed as she looked at them. Megatron nodded as he looked at the arm with the bandages. He had to clean the blood off his claws that day, the wrecker was so foolish… Foolish and brash. Miko closed her eyes.

"My arm is going to be full of scars when the bandages come off." She curled up slightly.

Miko had to admit, she didn't feel the best about the scars. When she thought about it, she imagined scars as this amazing, warrior look. Now that she had them, she didn't feel so good about them. She didn't like how it happened either. She was on the fence as to whether Megatron was telling the truth. A part of her believed that he was tricking her and then Bulkhead just charged and smashed her against the ground in a glass prison. Optimus had warned him not to charge, yet he did anyway. She knew Bulkhead wasn't the smartest, but even then… Did he just not care or did he simply just forget? Miko shivered to think of the possibility it was the former. Miko was taken out of her thoughts by Megatron.

"To think, you've only joined the Decepticon cause a few days ago and you're already matching me." He snorted. He looked down to his own arm, the cannon covered some, but she could see the rest. Indeed, his own arm was covered in scars almost like hair on a human's arm. Miko tilted her head as he moved his arm left and right for her to fully take it in. She looked at her own arm and nodded.

"Yeah, it's cool I guess," She shrugged and looked back at the elevator door, "Just feels kinda weird… I have no idea how I'll look with them." The elevator door hissed open, the hallways were much wider here. No more doors with the one, large hallway leading to a massive door. He stopped walking just before it.

"Feel no shame in your appearance, only how you choose to present it, will make it shameful." The doors started to rumble, Miko yelped as darkness engulfed her. She sat in the familiar mini-con subspace as she could hear his engine rev. She frowned as she saw the outside, the door opened to reveal the runway. Miko found herself moving forward to stare at the great starry sky that Megatron burst into.

Earth was below them, currently they flew over Oceania, with Australia and New Zealand turning away from them as the globe turned. The bright blue ocean almost glowed like energon as the Earth's atmosphere reached outwards to the black. Almost like an aura of mist that clung to the morning mildew. Out of the misty reach of her home, there laid the abyss of space. A black, obsidian void. It reached everywhere, and touched each end of the universe. It touched all curves of the Earth, touching where the Nemesis ended. In and between this void were the bright glistening stars. Each of them suns, with planets spinning round them. Yet here, they were tiny dots. Thousands of them, all alike the other in some ways, yet all ever unique. It must have been cold out there. It had to be. It was warm inside her little space, his engine made it warm and comfortable. As Megatron flew away from the ship, Miko couldn't help but feel so small. She was, the planet beside her was massive. The space was huge and the stars were so many. Yet she was just one. Miko looked at Earth.

"Megatron- Er, Lord Megatron." She corrected herself. The person in question chuckled at her, he tilted sideways as they circled the world.

"What was the chance of us meeting?" She asked, she looked around her. The Warlord frowned to himself as he thought of this. Finally he sighed, "I shall think that it was one in a trillion. Cybertron is very far and there are so many other planets we could have gone to, and you humans are in your millions." Miko shifted, staring at the black space. Megatron hummed as he sped off.

"Woah… That's kinda cool. I'm glad I did. You guys are totally cool." She did the finger guns. Megatron chuckled as he slowly descended to bask himself in the mist. Miko watched the world, the black soon turned into a soft blue. She stretched as she laid there, taking it all in.

"So is flight a Decepticon specific thing?"

Megatron steadied himself and floated along with the clouds, cutting through them like an arrow, "It most commonly is. But some Autobot's did fly. Before the war, The Autobots were the Iacon Guards and the ground based vehicle mode was the standard." He remembered the early days of the war. Miko nodded and sat up a little. She could see land in the distance, the shore was made out of gold sand.

"Can we head towards the land?" She gestured towards it, the engines purred as he stayed silent. She heard a hum as he stayed on his course.

"It is too populated. We will do a land flight another day." He continued to soar above the waves, the blue ocean lapping over itself. Waves crashed together and disappeared together. Miko huffed as she crossed her arms. Suddenly she was jerked forward. She yelped as she fell forward. Megatron chuckled and corrected himself. Miko stared, though a smile started to break out. She giggled as she shook her head. Her hair bands became loose as she looked around for a moment.

"This place is cool, why do you have screens here?"She gestured to what she saw around her.

"Oh, it was an old upgrade I got in my younger days," He started to rise up again, "It was for mini-cons. They get travel sickness easily, it is fortunate that it works well for you fleshbags." She nodded and leaned back, watching the world go by as they rose up to the sky again. Miko smiled as she held herself.

"Hey, Megatron?" She called after a few moments of silence. The darkness welcomed them back as they turned towards the Nemesis from behind.

"Yes?"

"I like hanging out with ya." She admitted. The warlord went quiet as he did a few laps, slowly going upwards to the landing pad. The silence felt dense, Miko almost started to wonder if she had said something wrong.

"I find myself enjoying our time together, I look forward to spending more time with you." His voice had that odd, calm and charming tone again. Miko found herself giggling as they landed. The doors shut and Megatron transformed, Miko now sat on his palm. He tilted his head as he retraced his steps back to the Bridge. Standing over his console, once again was Soundwave. But this time, his tendrils were out. They were typing as Soundwave was inspecting Miko's work. She sat up as Megatron stood beside the silent mech. He set her down as Soundwave nudged one of the books to get a better angle to examine her maths book. Miko checked her bag, it was untouched, she sighed in relief and took out her geography book. It was the easier one, just talked about how volcanoes worked for the most of it. Megatron returned to typing away on the computer but Soundwave stayed where he was. Miko frowned as she tried to work, but with the silent mech just ghosting above her. She glanced at Megatron for help but he just continued to work. Miko frowned and turned back to look at Soundwave. She wanted to say something, but that stare… She could feel his eyes, they burnt into her and passed her. Miko just looked back down and continued to work. Megatron chuffed with a smirk. Soundwave had that effect on people. His stare willed them to work. The silent mech looked at Megatron's screen, and just stared at it. Maybe his stare worked a little too well, even the Decepticon leader felt willed to work just that more. The two worked away as Soundwave just stared at them. Miko would occasionally glance at Megatron who just stared at his own screen.

She turned back and continued to answer questions on volcanoes, what they caused mostly like earthquakes or tsunamis. She paused, did Cybertron have volcanoes? Did they even have an ocean? She knew they didn't have trees or any plants. Alien planets were weird.

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Soundwave finally left the Bridge. Miko had finished her work, but had been compelled to study more. She wasn't sure if she had learned that much even in school. She held her head in her hands and looked at Megatron. He glanced at Soundwave before smiling down at her.

"I find myself now agreeing, Soundwave can be quite creepy as you said." He whispered. Miko giggled and nodded. She inched closer to Megatron who grunted and stood back. He looked at his screen and nodded.

"My clerical work is done for this Earth month." He smiled at the idea. She paused, looking at the screen and then back at him.

"So? We get to actually go places and go training!?" She laughed as she jumped up to stand. The warlord nodded and scooped her up. He turned away from the screens.

"That is for the next day, for now, you must return to your home." The day was late, and he was not keen on dealing with a tired human. Miko pouted, but nodded and stayed silent. She smiled as Breakdown was waiting for her. She waved over to him. He chuckled, his eyepatch had been welded to his faceplate. Miko was lowered down.

"So, I'm coming back tomorrow?" She looked up at the mechs. Megatron's grin returned to his face.

"It is expected. Breakdown shall collect you from your school again." He looked at Breakdown who nodded, "Yes lord Megatron."

"Swweeet!" She shouted, Miko fist-bumped the air as she jumped up and down. Breakdown nodded to Megatron and transformed. Miko hopped in, slugging her bag onto the floor. The groundbridges maw opened up, Breakdown started to drive. She looked back at Megatron and waved goodbye. He waved back and then he disappeared. The bright blue vortex was all she could see for a few minutes. Breakdown grunted.

"So, have fun fleshbag?" He chuckled. Miko rolled her eyes as she sat back.

"Megatron made me do homework… Oh! But he gave me this energon crystal!" She took the small shard out of the bag. She smiled as she examined it.

"Oooohhh. Nice, not everyday boss man is giving out gifts," Jasper appeared in a bright flash and they soon joined the road. Miko smiled as she held the crystal close, "Bulk never gave me any gifts." She admitted with a sigh, Breakdown laughed as he overtook an old family carrier.

"Not surprising! Those wreckers were a bunch of unfeeling scraps." He snickered. Miko couldn't help but giggle as she nodded. She looked at the crystal, twirling it in her fingers. The soft blue glowed against her, she nodded to herself.

"Hey, Breakdown… Can we stop at the record store on Marietta street?" She paused. She heard him grunt and then they turned down that way.

"Why, you planning to get ya'self more jams?" He joked. Miko shook her head.

"Nope! I'm planning to get Megatron one! He… Well. When I was bed bound from my arm the first time… He would call me, and I'd play my guitar for him when I could. He seems to like it, couple of songs in particular." Miko smiled softly as she remembered those few weeks. It was an odd comfort, her parents weren't too pleased when she gave up on her piano classes and took up the guitar. Then the 'Bots weren't too pleased to have their quiet base interrupted by her music. Miko was just happy to have… Well, a friend who also liked her music. Breakdown hummed for a moment, "I've got an aux port, if ya want to play music, you can." Miko paused, she stared in awe. She checked his radio, yep! There were the ports for the cables.

"Sweet- Damn it! I forgot my cable! But tomorrow, we are rocking it!" She proclaimed with pride. Breakdown made a sound of agreement.

"You got it kid." He turned in, parking just outside the store. Miko jumped out and grabbed her purse from her bag. He sighed and relaxed as she disappeared in the shop.

Humans. Funny little things. To think, he almost crushed her when they were in Greece. It was still weird to him, why did she help him? Why did she come to the human's base? She risked his life, for what? The enemy? That's what he was. He was Bulkhead's 'arch-enemy', and now he was. With Bulkhead's charge, taking her to get music. He had to admit, he found the kid endearing. She was brash and loud, but she was loyal it seemed. She was also damn friendly, and had a good pain tolerance it seemed. She wasn't too rude either, and had a good head on her. People like that were a rare find in the war, at least nowadays. Sometimes it felt like he and Knockout were the only ones left who remembered normal life. He remembered when they first met… When they first bonded, both emotionally and spark-rise. He closed his eyes as he remembered. Knockout was such a small mech, Breakdown remembered when he would just pick him up for random hugs, back when they were just on the minor medical bays in Velocitron. While Knockout was a native, he had immigrated there for work. That's how they met, he was a bodyguard and organizer and Knockout was a racer. He sighed as he remembered. He would have to give Knockout plenty of kisses when he got back, so many of them.

Maybe he could use the human as an excuse to go out with Knockout, maybe go to his racing events with him. He would never go before, he left stupid. Such a big chunky truck surrounded by those sleek cars. But, hey, if he was with the human! He could go! He'd have an excuse. He looked outside the window and saw Miko buying… What the scrap? A massive briefcase and two flat disks. A different squishy, fleshbag put it into a bag. Miko smiled as she ran back outside. He opened the door and she jumped back in. Weird feeling, having something sit in you. Miko placed the bag down.

"They were having a buy a record player, get two records free deal." She smiled, admiring the contents of the bag. Breakdown took off again.

"Whatever you say kid… Whatever you say." He drove along the quiet streets while she watched the world go by. Then she saw him.

The green jeep was on the other side of the junction. Miko felt her breath leave her. She scrambled for the seat recliner, but Breakdown was ahead of her. She was slammed down, lying flat against the seat which now more resembled a bed. She held her breath as Breakdown drove past Bulkhead slowly, she could see the green roof with the driver-side seat. Miko held her breath as it felt like eternity. The old and new meeting, and she just had to hope it didn't clash. After what seemed like forever, Breakdown put her upright again. She looked back, Bulkhead was heading away from them.

"Woah…" She gasped. Breakdown grunted.

"That was too close." He sped up. Miko nodded, her skin was pale from the dread that filled her stomach. The arrival at the host house couldn't have come sooner. Miko smiled as she jumped out.

"Thanks B.D! I'll see ya tomorrow!" She waved as she closed the door. He almost said something about the nickname… But… He liked it. He now had a nickname. He smiled to himself as he drove off.

Miko sighed, the house was quiet as she walked inside. She dropped the bags just inside her bedroom door. She stood there for a moment.

This wasn't home… This wasn't her home. She was barely welcomed here. But her parents were paying good money for her to be here. So she stayed and they put up with her. They lived their lives, she lived hers. She wondered, would they care if she disappeared for a while? The only place she felt home for a while was the Autobot base… But even now, she had fucked that up.

She was alone. Her eyes widened. She had lost her only friends. Rafael and Jack, they wouldn't hang out with her anymore, not when she sided with the 'Cons. Miko felt sick, so she sat on the bed. She held her stomach. Miko tried not to cry.

She was so alone, no friends, no family… No home. She had lost it all because of her stupidness. Her bag fell, books and paper spilled out. She gasped, she knelt down and started to tidy. She couldn't just turn around and go home. Her stomach was messy. It had been about two months. In that time, she had lost her Autobot friends, had broken glass in her arm, had to watch Breakdown get tortured by neck, get her arm broken… And what did she have to show for it? Loneliness… She lowered her head, and that's when she saw the glow. She scooped it up, the small energon shard pulsed in her grasp. She held it carefully, admiring the colours. She sniffled and pressed it against her chest.

What was she saying? She did have a friend, he was a genocidal warlord. But… He was her friend. Maybe she could charm the others into being her friend too… She looked at the crystal. Megatron was her friend and she was his. She looked at her gifts from him. A little rebel never hurt anyone before, Right? Well how about a little and huge rebel together! She looked around the room. She hadn't even been allowed to paint it. It was obvious, even to her. He wanted her as close as possible, as dependable on him as she could be. She ran to her closet and grabbed the suitcase she used when she first arrived. Megatron wouldn't mind a new roomie, right? Dread filled her stomach, but as she held her gift.

She left that much better, that much more cared for. Gifts, huh. They were pretty cool.

.

.

.

He sat outside her house… His engine wasn't on. Breakdown had already been here. He didn't like what the other two told her, he had driven past him on purpose. But he couldn't see her in the window… He couldn't lose her, he couldn't be the one to lose his human charge to the Decepticons.

He wouldn't let her leave.. He won't let her.