"This was not the plan…this is not the way, Orion."

Megatron paced before Orion, who clung it seemed desperately to his terrestrial guise, refusing to transform, "Bringing her is a mistake…we must return her at once." The Decepticon lord seemed a caged animal as he moved, even here beneath the vault of the night sky, he was as if confined, restricted somehow, a knot work of tension and locked away energy, fueled by impatience. Everything he wanted, had worked for was so close, so close, he could taste it…and yet, and yet here he was being stymied by a human child!

Unmoving, Miko lay stretched across Orion's front seats, sealed in slumber, safe within him. To keep her from the thunder of Megatronus, Orion had been quick to sound proof his cab, wanting, yearning more than anything to protect her fragile peace, to keep it from slipping away.

"If it had not been for her, I would not have been able to escape from the Autobots…she helped me where no other did…where no other could…"

Megatron growled, grinding the gears within his throat as he rounded upon Pax's words, "And I? Did I not save you from the clutches of the Autobots before? Did I not help you?"

"Peace, Megatronus, I meant no insult. You have done even more for me than you know…and I thank you and have no intent to diminish your dedication and all that you have given me."

Somewhat mollified, Megatron nodded, "For the moment she may stay…" he stretched his arm forward, towards the northernmost point on the horizon line, "There, not far lies a human settlement, if we begin our search for the missing Autobot in that direction, we could release Miko there…she would be safer among her own people."

Orion heard the logic, the reasoning beneath Megatron's words, seemed to understand, yet Megatron could feel that somehow Pax was resisting, wanting to keep the human with him. Foolish sentiment, Megatron would not stand for it. He would have to find a way to remove, to purge such soft emotions from Pax, especially if he wanted to rank Orion permanently amongst the Decepticons. Stepping closer to Orion, Megatron let his voice become soothing, persuasive, "Unless you remember where the Autobot base is...? Perhaps then we could return her to her Autobots, she would be even safer there…"

"No…"Hesitant, Orion at last spoke up, wondering why his spark was struggling against Megatronus' words so much, why his processor's instinct was to resist, to not yield up the location of the base to Megatronus, "No…when we escaped it was not under the friendliest of conditions, and I would not return her there where their anger still runs hot."

Impatiently, Megatron cycled air through his vents, turning away from Orion, concealing his expression from Pax. The human was yet another unexpected obstacle he would have to work around.

"Megatronus?"

Schooling his expression, Megatron turned back to Orion, "It is all right, Orion…it is just that I am concerned for the human child's safety as much as I fear that her presence may hinder us in our efforts to search for the lost Autobot…we would move swifter without her."

"I understand your concern, Megatronus…it would seem as though our thoughts echo one another's, for such was my precise fear when she first pleaded for me to bring her with me."

So the human pest had wanted to come with Orion? Interesting… He filed that bit of information away, confident that such knowledge could prove useful to him yet. Of course, it was a pity that such data did little to help him now. It would appear that he would have to accept Miko for the moment. After all, there were other endeavors he wished to accomplish, matters that he found to be far more pressing.

Before him, Orion remained, drenched in the light of the emerging moon, the reds and blues of his form flaring at Megatron's focus. The colors, so bright and insistent pulled at Megatron reminding him that while Orion may wear the Decepticon logo, those colors, that semi-truck form was the last vestige of the Autobots, the last hold and claim the Autobots held upon him. That semi-truck was a symbol to them, a banner of their beliefs that they rallied around, in their darkest hours, the Autobots had only to look to Optimus, to gaze upon that noble silhouette, to be reminded of the solidity and validity of what they were fighting for.

All too well could Megatron remember casting his optic across the battlefields of eons ago, of looking out over a war torn Cybertron and even amid the thrash and clash of metal bodies, of flames and plasma ripping both spark and land apart, he could pick out Optimus. Always there, the red and blue of his body shining out, a blatant target, and a blaring challenge.

One shall stand…

One shall fall…

This is what pulled at Megatron's processor, what concerned him far more than Miko's presence. The child he could find ways to dispose of later, but those colors…how he hated those shades and all that they stood for! Orion was still an Autobot in frame, always would be, and so would never have the gift of flight, could never adopt the sleek flowing lines of a jet. Megatron could do nothing to change that and would have to accept that Orion would always be bound to the earth. Yet those colors, those reds and blues…here was something he could strip from a frame that had once housed a Prime. If he was to truly destroy Optimus, he had to rid Pax of them and bathe him anew in darker more fitting tones.

"Orion…"Megatron began, keeping his voice as gentle, as soothing as possible. For what he was about to ask, to suggest to Orion was highly delicate. The color and form of any Cybertronian was as intimate, as personal of a choice as it was an expression, a declaration of the self. For another to suggest that one make a change to an appearance was to suggest a flaw, to express disapproval of not just the outside, but of the spark. Before Pax had become the Prime he had draped himself in those colors, had always been red and blue.

Yes, the ground Megatron tread upon now was fragile indeed, could shatter apart with any misstep. He risked losing Orion's trust, his confidence. Yet Megatron was willing to take that chance, had to take it not just for himself, but for Orion. To persuade him to change those colors was to ensure that Optimus would never come back, would never crush Pax beneath the weight of the Prime again.

Slay the Prime…return his brother.

Unicron, in his madness had been right, the dynasty of the Primes was over, no longer did their people—what was left of them anyways—need a Prime to guide them. Always had Megatron despised such an office, the untouchable rank that so many had once revered, and for what? Because the Prime was supposedly the only one who could speak the will of Primus, the will of a god that was long lost to them?

No, the reign of the Primes was over, lost and fallen with Optimus. Megatron would be sure of it.

"My brother…will you not stand beside me…walk with me a moment, I would speak to you of a serious matter that must be…handled…before we can begin our search for the lost Autobot…"

"Never could my spark refuse you, Megatronus…"

How glad was Megatron to hear Orion say as much. So pleased was the Decepticon lord, that he minded not at all the extra time and care Orion took with his transformation, working his frame around Miko, rather than yielding to its natural cadence. Still, it was not long before Orion Pax stood beside Megatron, his hands cupped around Miko's sleeping form, keeping her from the Decepticon's view, and, more importantly, keeping the shroud of sleep and silence draped over her. Holding her in such a way, with his great hands wrapped around her, cradling her so close to his spark, ensured that their conversation would not disturb her, just as the proximity to his spark would keep the night chill from reaching her.

"Orion…there is so much of this world that you have yet to learn…so much that you must be wary of." Megatron began, the stones of the desert crunching pleasantly beneath their peds as they walked.

"You spoke of this once before, when you told me of how the humans were against us, how they wish to hunt us down and destroy us."

"Yes—"

"—Yet, watching Miko, and her friends at the Autobot base…watching these human young work with the Autobots gives me hope that not all of humanity is as you say. Rather, Miko seems to be as protective of the Autobots as they were of her. Could we, Decepticons not do the same?"

Megatron had expected as much from Pax, "I fear that you have encountered a rare exception to the rule, my friend. Yes it is true, some human young can be far more open and accepting of us, but most fear us. Do you not remember the attack at the energon mine?"

"Yes…"Orion replied wearily, "of the ones who you named as MECH." With great sorrow, his soft blue gaze fell to his hands, where Miko was concealed, as he remembered how eager those human helicopters had been to attack. All too well he recalled how keen they had been to try and destroy the Cybertronians, so much so that they clearly thought little of collapsing a mountainside upon them. Yes, those humans had demonstrated their lack of regard for their planet in their zeal for the destruction of a perceived foe. "Perhaps it is just wishful thinking…you are right, Megatronus…she is the exception to the rule…"

"It is why, I fear, you must make a change to your form."

Instantly Orion's head snapped up to regard Megatron, his optics narrowing, his voice becoming full of caverns and midnight, "Why, Megatron? Why would you suggest such a thing?"

Megatron tensed, slowed to halt, shifting back away from Pax. It was the second time Orion had called him by his name, the second time he had referred to him as Megatron. But he didn't dare challenge Orion over such a slip, not now at least. He couldn't, and didn't want to risk loosing his hold over Pax. More than this, Megatron truly did not want to consider, to linger over the implications of such a slip…didn't want to entertain the possibility that somehow Optimus had a hold, had influence over Orion. So instead, Megatron plunged onward, no going back now.

"Orion, things are not as they once were, and Earth is no Cybertron. Your colors were befitting of our old way of life, but here…here we must keep to the shadows, we must not draw attention to ourselves." Suspiciously Orion watched him, giving him no indication, no hint of what passed through his thoughts.

"My brother hear me, I do not mean any insult to you, but I only speak out of my concern for you…these brash colors are easily distinguished, they draw attention to you…they make you an easy target." Megatron stepped closer, placing a hand upon Orion's shoulder, gripping him firmly, holding him close, "And the thought of losing your spark…is more than I can bear, my brother…so please, will you not heed my words?"

Orion looked away, could not meet Megatron's gaze, his optics flitting down to his arms, to his hands that held Miko. Even in his peripheral vision the reds and blues that flowed from panel to panel on his chassis caught his optic. For as long as he could remember he had always been drawn to those shades, had always draped himself in them, had defined himself by them. It would be no easy thing to just change them…not after all of these eons.

He thought of his days spent long ago on Cybertron as an archivist. Thought of the peaceful times he and Megatronus had spent in one another's company. He recalled all of the friends whom he had known, and who had known him by those colors. He remembered another…trimmed in pink and white, a quiet voice, a gentle spark, feather light touches…Elita…Once she too had known him, defined him by his colors as he had defined her by hers. So many years, so many memories…and yet between those ancient days and now so much had changed, so much had been lost; so much he did not, could not, recall.

It was then that Miko shifted in her sleep, stretched herself across his palm. Miko…she was his connection to the Autobots, and to who they remembered him as, to who they wanted him to be.

Optimus Prime…

The name haunted him, gave him no respite.

"So what's the plan, Boss Bot?"

Miko's chipper voice echoed back to him, snippets from their previous conversation.

"Why do you call me that?"

"…That's what I'm so used to you being…"

He knew what they all wanted him to be.

Prime

No, his thoughts rebelled, recoiled from the title, from such a mantle of leadership and all that it implied. He was never meant to lead, to govern, to hold so many sparks, so many lives in his hands. No. He was a humble archivist…he was brother to Megatronus, this and nothing more.

No, he was not their Prime.

"Orion…?"

Megatronus' voice called him back, back to reality, away from the tangle of his thoughts and into what was.

"I see your wisdom, brother…"

Why did his spark feel as though it was breaking? It was as though his frame ached in protest, rebelled at the very thought of loosing those colors. It was foolish, just flakes of paint, nothing more, "If I cannot trust you, who can I trust?" He locked gazes with Megatron; now was not the time to cling to what was, he needed to move forward, to survive. "What do you suggest I change them to, brother?"

Megatron's smile was fierce and sharp.

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Just a little cliffhanger here...don't worry, next update to follow soon!

Please R&R :)