"Tell me about your slave masters." Smokescreen said. "What happened to them?" He asked. Megatron paused before he gave his adopted son a cold response, "I killed them. All three of them. I killed Duneblitz with his own electric whip. I killed Stronghold when I stabbed him through his spark. And I even killed Chainring by tearing him apart with the Energon chain connected to that shock collar he put around my neck when he wanted to force me to have...unprotected sex with him. This was back when I was a young adult and Chainring was way older than me." That last part about Chainring made Smokescreen's jaw drop with shock.

"No. He did not." He said in a shocked tone of voice. "He did. Chainring was as humans would put it, a rapist." Megatron replied as he rubbed his neck, remembering the pain he felt when Chainring pulled him closer to him like a pet dog. "Not only did I kill him with the same chains that were connected to the shock collar around my neck, the same chains that Chainring used to pull me closer to him for his sick pleasure of wanting to frag me, but I also chopped his head off with my blade for being a predator after I removed the chip from my arm that disconnected my weaponry," Megatron said.

"Why did he even do that to you?! That's just horrible and disgusting!" Smokescreen exclaimed. "Let's just say when I was a young adult like 26 in human years, I had deep blue optics, a bright silver, and red body, and I did not look as scary looking as I am today. Chainring saw that I was rather suave and handsome, and he wanted me all to himself because like I said, he's a predator." Megatron explained. Smokescreen buried his face in anger and disbelief before he yelled, "That's terrible! I'm sorry you had to go through whatever pain and torture your former slave masters put you through!" He said to Megatron.

Megatron placed his hand servo onto Smokescreen's shoulder as he told him, "I learned a lot of lessons back then before the beginning of the Great War. I learned to never again let anyone stronger than you manipulate and control you." he then reminded the young bot, "Remember what I said: Don't ever let anyone stronger than you or have more power than you control you, push you around and dictate you. Understood?" Megatron told Smokescreen.

Smokescreen lowered his head down a little before he closed his eyes and nodded. "I understand, Sire," he replied. "You know? I remembered back when I was a child, I was bullied for not being adopted yet by bots bigger than me and I was ordered around by the caregivers to do chores and whenever I resisted and threw a fit, they would punish me by telling me to go sit in the corner. My childhood was not as good as I remembered it." Smokescreen told Megatron.

~Flashback to Smokescreen's childhood memories~

Smokescreen was 7 years old in human years when he was a poor lonely orphan sparkling at the Orphanage at Iacon. He was sitting all by himself while the other sparklings were playing in the playground. Smokescreen decided that he wanted to try to fit in and play with the other sparklings and orphans as he took a deep breath before Smokescreen shyly walked towards three young male Autobot sparklings playing ball at the playground.

"Hi! Can I play?" Smokescreen asked the cool sparklings.

"Sure." One sparkling mech said. Smokescreen closed his eyes and smiled when he heard the sparkling yell, "Here: catch!" Smokescreen felt a ball hit him right in the face, causing him to fall into his tailpipe. "Ow!"

The sparkling orphans laughed at Smokescreen as he was feeling hurt and humiliated in the playground. "Did you honestly believe that we would wanna play with a nobody like you? Ha! No wonder no one wants to adopt you!" That last one was enough to make Smokescreen snap. "Stop it! I'm not a nobody! I'm going to BE somebody someday when I grow up! You'll see!" The young bot vowed. "Like that's ever going to happen!" Another bully said. Smokescreen still looked angry, but his cyan blue optics were starting to tear up and he was trying not to cry to show weakness to the bullies. "Aww, are you gonna cry? You going to cry? Knowing that you'll forever be alone? That no one's ever going to adopt you?" The bully taunted.

Smokescreen ran away from the playground as the bullies and sparklings continue to laugh at him before the young bot runs into the hallway of the Orphanage where he breaks down and cried. He looks at the pictures of sparklings holding hands with their sires and carriers (Cybertronian terms for father and mother) and that made Smokescreen more upset.

~Flashback ends~

Smokescreen started to tear up and Megatron gasped as he was shocked to hear what the bullies did to him as a child many years ago. "They did that to you?" Megatron asked. Smokescreen nodded. "Uh-huh." He said as he wiped away his tears. "That...that's not right! What did you ever do to make them treat you like that?" Megatron asked. "Nothing. I've done absolutely nothing wrong. I only wanted to fit in and be like them, but I guess I was wrong." Smokescreen said. Suddenly he and Megatron heard a familiar voice. "I know what that's like." it was the Decepticon medic, Knock Out. "Knock Out! How long have you been there?" Megatron asked the medic in a surprised tone. "Long enough. Forgive me, my liege. I was busy with work in here when I heard you and Smokescreen coming in. Figured I should stay in the dark to let you talk with our newest member. I won't tell anybody about your conversation." Knock Out told Megatron as he gave him an apologetic expression. "No need to apologize, Knock Out. Just remember to keep this between us and try not repeat your mistakes again. Are we clear?" Megatron told the cherry red medic. "Yes, Master." Knock Out agreed.

"Sire? Knock Out says he knows my pain. Is it alright if he'd join the conversation?" Smokescreen asked Megatron. The old gray Decepticon warlord paused before he granted his adopted son permission to allow Knock Out to join the conversation. "As you wish. You may speak, Knock Out. However, I must go back to my quarters to recharge while you socialize. I will be back soon." Megatron told the two mechs before he left the room. "Okay. Goodbye." Smokescreen said to his adopted parental figure as he left the room. He then looked to Knock Out and asked, "Why did he had to leave? I just told him my rough childhood." Knock Out made a short nod, "You did. Though I'm assuming that Lord Megatron wanted you to talk to me next because he felt like he would want to talk to you more later. Oh, and he gets tired and dare I say, stressed-ly overwhelmed after having a serious conversation with someone." the red medic explained.

"Oh." said Smokescreen. "So...you understand where I'm coming from?" he asked. "As in having a bad experience in your youth? Yes. I too was bullied when I was young." Knock Out replied before he told Smokescreen about his tragic past. "When I was 13 years old in human years, I was bullied all the time and I tend to ignore it. Until one day, one of my bullies insulted me for having a single mother in front of me and my childhood sweetspark, Nitroblaze, as I then lost my temper, and I attacked the jerk who triggered me. The bully begged me to stop as I saw how scared he was before I ran away when I realized what I've done. I became traumatized for my actions for I had been bullied to the point where I myself had become a bully." Knock Out said in a sad lowered voice.

"Gosh, I-I'm sorry to hear that. But you didn't mean to hurt the bully who triggered you right?" Smokescreen asked. Knock Out nodded, "Of course I didn't mean to hurt em', but let my emotions get the better of me. After the bullying incident, Maccadam found me at the side of his Old Oil House, and he comforted me to help me cope with the traumatic episode where I felt like I'd become a monster."

"Wait, Maccadam's Old Oil House? Ratchet told me that it shut got down when the Great War got worse," said Smokescreen. "Really?" Knock Out asked before he continued, "Well, Maccadam was a kind bot who not only owned his Oil House for Cybertronians who wanted to drink and have fun, kinda like a bar as humans would call it, but apparently he was friends with the Archivist in Iacon known as Alpha Trion before he perished during the Great War. Primus bless his spark." He said sympathetically before he proceeded, "From what I've heard, Maccadam helped out a lot of sparklings, even served a nursery many years ago, especially when the Quintessons attacked before I was even born." The cherry red medic said.

"The Quintessons? I've heard about them. They were the aliens that killed their creator, Quintus Prime." Smokescreen said. "I take it Alpha Trion had told you of them. Since you were guarding him instead of kicking Decepticon tailpipe before the siege at Iacon occurred?" Knock Out assumed. Smokescreen nodded, "Yes. But he also told me of a fembot that succeeded Solus Prime and became another female Prime before she sacrificed her spark to save Cybertron from the Quintesson invasion. Alpha Trion told me that her name was Aquila Theta before she became Thetas Prime. But I didn't believe that she ever existed." The young bot told Knock Out.

Meanwhile, back at the Autobot base on Earth in Jasper, Optimus Prime was looking for Bumblebee when he found Arcee looking sad and remorseful. The red, blue, black, and silver Prime walked up to the blue fembot with pink highlights to check up on her and Arcee heard Optimus' heavy footfalls before she looked at him.

"Arcee." Optimus Prime said to the fembot. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Arcee lowered her head and closed her cyan and pink optics shut, trying to keep herself from tearing up and Optimus wanted to know what she was unhappy about. "It's Smokescreen. I feel as though I lost another partner to the Decepticons. But this time, he switched sides because of me. I shouldn't have been so hard on him. He was only a kid." Arcee expressed herself in regret.

"You cannot blame yourself for what happened with Smokescreen." Optimus Prime told Arcee. "Now I understand why he would leave us. He's an orphan and from what I've heard and seen of him and Megatron, it somehow reminds me of the day I saved Bumblebee as a sparkling."

~Flashback to when Optimus Prime found Bumblebee~

During the beginning of the Great War on Cybertron, Optimus Prime, before he changed his automobile appearance, was leading his Autobots into battle against the Decepticons who were attacking Iacon City. Once the Decepticons retreated, Optimus Prime ordered the Autobots around when he suddenly heard sparkling-like whimpering and crying coming from the rubble.

"It was during the Great War when I became Optimus Prime." Optimus began. "I led our Autobots into battle against the Decepticons and when the enemy retreated, I was giving orders when I heard the sounds of a child crying for help. I walked over to the rubble where I found the source of the sparkling crying and to my surprise, it was one of our sparklings."

"I found the child alone, frightened and covered in ashes and debris." Optimus Prime said before he continued, "I took him over to Ratchet to check on his health before we cleaned his armor and nursed him back to health. When we found out that he was an orphan, I took it upon myself to take him in and raise him like a son. My conjunx-endura, Ariel. Elita-One. She took pity on the orphan when I took the sparkling home with me and that was when we decided to adopt him and name him, Bumblebee." he finished.

"Wait, you adopted Bumblebee? As a foster son?" Arcee asked, surprised.

Optimus Prime nodded. "Yes, Arcee. I...intended to take him in and to be a parental figure to Bumblebee just as Alpha Trion once did for me when he brought me in as a sparkling after I lost my sire and carrier. From what I've discovered after Elita-One and I adopted Bumblebee...his sire and carrier died of cosmic rust, and he became a lost sparkling." he explained.

"Ohh." Arcee said sympathetically. "But now, I only wished that Megatron didn't crush Bumblebee's voice box without mercy. I still miss my Elita. She had to stay on Cybertron and fight for our world with her team of fembots who I have no doubt were your sisters. From what instances I've seen...I watched in horror as she was on the brink of death by the Decepticons. I had to save her." Optimus Prime told Arcee.

"ELITAAAAAAAA!" Optimus Prime's cry for his sparkmate's name echoed in a flashback.

Optimus Prime shot his blaster fires at every Vehicon until he rushed over to save his conjunx-endura and get her through a ground bridge to take Elita-One to the med bay immedately. The scene would then flash over to when Elita-One had been hospitalized with Optimus Prime hoping and praying that Elita would make it. Then the scene would flash over to when Elita-One was fully recovered, and Optimus Prime looked to her as they gazed at each other at seven feet away.

"I told her that I didn't want to lose her to this war. Not because I love her. But because we're a family. So, I found a solution. I told Elita-One to take our daughter, Altair Comet, far away across the galaxy to where they would be safe." Optimus Prime said in a sad tone before he continued, "I did not want my daughter to suffer the loss of her mother, but I also didn't want to disappoint my conjunx-endura since she chose to stay on Cybertron with her sisters to fight for it. So, I gave the order to send in reinforcements so that we would continue to protect our planet...but then we had no other option left but to evacuate from it. That was when the Exodus began."

~Flashback to when Optimus had to say goodbye to his wife and daughter~

"Will you promise to keep our daughter safe?" Optimus asked Elita.

"I promise. And will you promise to help restore life and peace into our planet one day? And to help put a stop to Megatron's tyranny?" Elita-One asked.

Optimus Prime paused before he answered, "I promise." he said. Altair Comet was crying as she ran up to hug her father's foot. "Don't go, dad! Come with us." she wept.

"I'm sorry, Altair. But your father has to fight for our world just as I have once tried to fight for it." Elita-One told her daughter. Optimus Prime gave his wife and daughter a sad expression, knowing that this will be the last time he'll ever see them again before he had to depart from his family. Optimus gave Elita one final kiss, and he pecked his daughter's fore helm one last time before Optimus Prime stood there and watched as Elita-One and Altair Comet went abaord the spaceship for evacuation along with the other Cybertronians and their families.

~Flashback ends~

A tear fell down across Optimus Prime's cheek as Optimus himself tried his best not to cry, but to grieve in his own way. "Optimus. I'm sorry about your family." Arcee said to Optimus. The Prime took a deep breath and wiped the tear from his eye. "I only wished this war never happened. That if Megatron had chosen peace instead of war, then Bumblebee would still have his voice box." Optimus Prime paused before he developed a more serious expression, "But now, Megatron has Smokescreen as his own surrogate son inside of his warship and I have no doubt in my mind that he will try to brainwash him or even force him to reveal our location. I've always known that Megatron needed an heir to his own Decepticon Empire because he once told me and admitted that even he won't live long for his future, unless he finds a worthy successor to carry the torch."

TO BE CONTINUED...