By Fang Wolfsbane

Five decacycles, that's how long the organic that called himself Isaac claimed that he, Lord Megatron, glorious leader of the powerful Decepticons, had been stranded on the accursed planet known as Earth.

The very name turned a foul taste in his mouth. Earth… as if the organic inhabitants needed to be aware of what it was they were treading their peds on each cycle they walked around outside. From what he could make out from an information source called the internet, most of those organics – humans as they liked to call themselves – couldn't care less about the very planet they so commonly ignored.

If we lose this one, we can always move to a different one, one of those humans had said during a live interview. As only a helm on a study table, even Megatron had scoffed at the light-haired human's arrogance.

A younger, female version of a human had protested the opposite. Her slogan had been we only have one Earth. As strange as it seemed, he was more inclined to respect the child's opinion than that of the older one that looked like he was ready to tilt his body forward and sprout some or other nonsense from his ridiculous mouth.

Even with the war that had constantly raged on Cybertron, both factions had been rather careful about where and how they attacked. With their quest for energon, neither faction had tried to destroy their planet. Unfortunately for the inhabitants of this one, the same could not be said.

There were a few that seemed to try any way they could, but the ones that opposed them were simply overwhelming in number. Not that he particularly cared. He didn't need the oxygen the trees provided, or the life their water was Sid to give. To him it didn't matter whether the mudball survived or not. All that mattered to him was getting off it before the time eventually came.

For months he had been using both the professor and the internet to try and gather as much information as he could when he wasn't busy drawing up plans for a new frame that would meet his needs.

If he could, he would have frowned. How he hated being nothing more than a helm with not even a jaw to move. If it wasn't for the intercom the professor had in his personal laboratory, then he would have needed to rely on typing out his words on the large monitor to his left. He wasn't all that keen on sitting through all that effort.

What he needed was a frame that could not only hold the weight of his helm, but also move as well in a fight as his old one could. Whatever happened to that, well, according to his newfound… friend, was now nothing more than an ornament at the bottom of the local lake, probably.

If it hadn't burned up during entry on the planet when the Autobot ship had taken him down into the atmosphere. If he could have, he would have curled his servo in anger at the mere thought of that blue-plated Autobot that had dared to try and fight him off. If he ever got his servo on him, he'd… he'd… he'd destroy him, and each and every member of his team. No bot would be spared his wrath.

A motion sensor that he had snuck out into the hallway beeped, immediately grabbing his attention. With some difficulty, Megatron managed to connect to the optics of a nearby surveillance drone.

What he saw, surprised him. A human female stood in what the humans called a kitchen, but she wasn't the professor's daughter that he had gotten so accustomed to seeing on a regular basis through the tower's monitoring systems. No, this one was almost completely different in nearly every aspect.

Commanding the drone to get closer, he watched as she got a fright from the drone's movements. As it appeared, she wasn't all that acquainted with technology as the professor's daughter was. A small glimpse into old security footage revealed that the female had spent time with the professor's daughter, yet he had never mentioned having two of them, only ever the one, which meant that… yes, she had to be a friend, or at least something close to the term.

As he observed her, a curious notion played through his processor. If she were so uncertain of the drone, then maybe, just maybe he could use her precaution to his advantage.

Ordering the drone to return, he waited until it was right outside the door before confirming that the girl had indeed followed amused by her courageous endeavour, he ordered the door's panel to let her in. Once she entered, he could barely keep the smile from his non-existent mouth.

" Welcome, my dear."

2