Well, my weekend has been busy thus far, but I found time to type this up and update this story. I can't say that this story is going to be long either, I'm only foreshadowing a few more chapters. We'll see. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
4. Autobots and Decepticons
It was stupid. Optimus, Elita, and the rest of their clique decided to call themselves the Autobots at the end of seventh year. Optimus had discussed it with the principal too, Megatron had heard about it, but only vague details. It was something about how they would form a "club" called the Autobots, which would maintain the established peace on Cybertron. Well, the principal had been absolutely tickled by the idea and gladly allowed Optimus to form the club. Optimus, with the help of his posse, created posters and all other sorts of flyers that went around the school and soon just about everyone had joined. Optimus was the leader of the club and apparently gave moving speeches about the glory of Cybertron; he praised the elders and Sentinel Prime, the current ruler, and coined the phrase "freedom is the right of all sentient beings."
Megatron refused to join. He hated Optimus and everything to do with him. When he refused to join, Starscream, Thundercracker, Soundwave, and a handful of others also rejected the offer to join. He had observed Megabyte carefully and harshly tried to convince her into not joining, but she was torn between their friendship and her feelings for Optimus.
It was a few months into eighth year before the Autobots saw their membership increase nearly tenfold, but Megatron noticed that Megabyte still had not joined even though she appeared on the verge of joining the cult, as he viewed it, any day. He didn't want Megabyte to go; he had lost enough friends to the Autobot disease. He knew if she went, she would be captivated by Optimus' speeches.
There was no glory on Cybertron. Sentinel Prime was failing miserably at his job to protect the citizens of Cybertron. And if freedom was the right of all sentient beings, where was his freedom? The life Megatron was forced to live showed him Optimus' naivety. Optimus was unaware of all the pain and the suffering that still existed on the planet. Megatron wasn't in denial any longer, he was being abused at home by his stepparents and he would be leaving them as soon as possible. The world was filled with nothing but lies and Optimus was only spreading them. And to see how quickly the Autobot leader's lies had infected the rest of his classmates and the rest of the Academy absolutely infuriated him.
One day, he would stop him.
"Hey Megatron!" Megabyte called suddenly, running up to him. She was smiling excitedly and waving a flyer of some sort in her hand.
"What's that?" he asked, gesturing towards the flyer.
"Oh well," she blushed suddenly and then said softly, "You know how Elita is captain of the cheerleading team?"
Megatron felt a scowl go across his face as he forcefully took the flyer from her hand and skimmed it. "You are not trying out for captain of the cheerleading squad."
"Come on, you never give me any support. You and I both know I am more flexible than that half wit anyway. And I want to beat her at something other than grades..."
"You should get enough satisfaction from beating her in grades. You just want to get Optimus' attention."
Megabyte frowned and took the flyer back from him, "You're just jealous."
"Of what?"
"Optimus."
"Why would I be jealous of him?"
"He's the most popular guy in the Academy, he's extremely good looking, and he's got good morals. Plus I tend to devote all my time and attention to him and not you."
Megatron shook his head, "You don't get it. You don't understand anything."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
He growled and pushed her up against a wall and held her there firmly. "Listen to me Megabyte," he snarled, "Optimus is a spoiled brat that comes from a very well-to-do family. He is completely oblivious to the pain and the suffering that a lot of people are still enduring. Think of the foster kids, the abused children, all of us who suddenly don't have a voice now because of him! He is out there promoting a false campaign and a highly contagious disease of lies. Cybertron has no glory, it's corrupt. And Optimus is corrupt himself; he and Elita live from one orgasm to the next. We are not free Megabyte. We are prisoners and pawns to people like them."
A bitter look suddenly spread across her face and she pushed Megatron away from her. He could see the tears behind her optics as she said in a broken voice, "Well maybe some of us abused kids want some sort of hope, someone that we can believe in to rescue us, someone who makes us feel like we have a voice." And she ran off down the hallway and out of the Academy doors.
Megatron took a step to go after her, but stopped and left the Academy a different way. He walked angrily down the street towards his foster home. He tried his hardest not to think about Megabyte, but his thoughts were still plagued by her anyway. In all honesty, he knew he hated being so harsh towards her, but he didn't know how else to show her that he cared. Sometimes he wished that he could take her away from all of this…to take her away from every ounce of Optimus' influence. He cared for her more deeply than he did the rest of his friends and whenever he thought about the future, his plans always involved Megabyte.
He wanted a voice too, but he knew that Optimus wouldn't be representative of that voice. It was up to him…him and Megabyte to show the rest of Cybertron that there was no such thing as peace. There was no such thing as glory. There was no such thing as freedom. They were all pawns of corruption and someone else's master plan. Cybertron needed a change…this Golden Age couldn't last forever.
The night was coming for the glistering gold, a new dawn was coming.
It was another week went by before Megatron heard from Megabyte. She had tried out for the cheerleading squad regardless of his opinion…and became captain. Not only was it a shock for Megatron and Megabyte, but the rest of the Academy as well, especially Elita. A non-Autobot who had never been part of the cheerleading team ever, beat Elita-One, reigning cheerleading captain for two years. Somehow, Megatron found Elita's anger hilarious. Optimus was stunned, he had always thought his girlfriend had been the best at everything, but slowly her inferiority to Megabyte was seeping through the cracks.
Megatron knew that Optimus didn't have to have the best and that he didn't seek to have the best, but Megabyte's suddenly popularity within the Academy had its own allure to it. Megatron felt instinctively protective over her when suddenly some of Optimus' closest friends like Jetfire and Wing-Saber began asking her for dates. Megabyte turned them down, saving herself for the crème de la crème, something Megatron thought would never happen, but it did.
He walked into the Academy one morning only to suddenly be crushed in a hug by Megabyte who was shaking as she told him all in a blurb, "OptimusandElitabrokeupandOptimusaskedmeonadate!"
"What?" he asked unable to decipher what words had just spilled out of Megabyte's mouth.
She let him go and looked up at him with pure elation in her optics and a beaming smile on her face, "Optimus and Elita broke up and Optimus asked me on a date!"
Megatron felt an unreasoned desire to kill Optimus flare through his circuits, "When and why did they break up?"
"Earlier this morning and I don't know why, but I don't care why, he asked me on a date!"
"You shouldn't date him; it's probably a trick of some sort."
"You're always so negative and pessimistic."
Megatron started walking towards his locker, Megabyte following him. "I don't want you getting hurt," he said simply and then asked, "Did you agree to go on a date with him?"
"Of course."
"When?"
"Tomorrow, we're going to go to the movies."
"Don't do anything stupid."
"I won't," she said but she didn't promise, "I'll see you around later." And she walked away.
Megatron had a feeling that he wouldn't see or hear from her again. If she was with Optimus now, he would exert his influence over her, grooming her into something she was not. The Autobot leader would make sure that she stayed away from him. Megatron growled and slammed his locker shut. It wasn't fair. Optimus had no right to take all of his friends away.
It was the two longest weeks of Megatron's life. Surprisingly, Megabyte still talked to him whenever she got the chance, even if Optimus was around. But Megatron wasn't blind and he saw the hatred in Optimus' optics every time Megabyte looked in his direction. He didn't care though, Megabyte was happy and if she was happy, he would be happy.
But he did notice one thing. Megabyte didn't talk about the dates. He would ask her how they were, but she never said they were good; she just sighed and said they were okay. And if she was in a good mood when he asked, her mood would be killed after he asked the question. It made him wonder if there was something going on that Megabyte just wasn't telling him...or if she had just figured out that all that glisters is not gold.
For two weeks though this went on. He listened to Megabyte talk about how good it felt to be captain of the cheerleading team, to have Optimus, and to be this popular. He hated the conversation and tried to avoid it, but he couldn't and forced himself to nod along.
One day though, just when he thought he couldn't take anymore, he noticed a pink flare from the corner of his optic. He looked to see Elita, her hand enveloped inside of Optimus'. He felt a terrible pain inside his spark cavity suddenly and he waited until Optimus and Elita had turned the corner before he slammed his locker shut and went to warn Megabyte. He was just about to turn the same corner Optimus and Elita had turned when he heard the Autobot leader drop a bomb on Megabyte.
"Megabyte, Elita and I got back together."
"Wh-What?"
"We had a misunderstanding that we worked out," Optimus continued, "Don't take it personally Megabyte."
She growled, "It's because I wouldn't sleep with you isn't it? You asked me to a lot, you said it was my duty to as captain of the cheerleading team, but I always said no."
"Optimus isn't that shallow," Elita snarled back.
"Shut up and stay out of this you stupid whore!" Megabyte screamed, trying her spark out not to cry as her words just caused the pink femme to smile viciously, "It must be nice to be spoiled rotten, to have everything in the universe and be loved back by Cybertron's biggest spark-snatching thief!"
"His spark was never yours Megabyte," Elita explained cynically, "It never will be."
Megabyte tried to hide her quivering lip, "Then tell him to give back mine."
"He never took yours," she snapped back, "He only has my spark, and I am the only one who has his. Why can't you see that? Why must you always interfere with us?"
Megabyte couldn't look at the conniving pink femme, but she wasn't cowardice enough to walk away yet.
"Isn't that stupid son of glitch named Megatron good enough for you?"
From his hiding place, Megatron clenched his fists so hard his arms were shaking. That pink wretch had some nerve to insult both him and Megabyte like that. He didn't dare look around the corner; he didn't want to see Megabyte's pain. He had known that Optimus was a coward lacking a spine, letting Elita do the arguing for him, letting her belittle and degrade his closest friend without even stopping her with a 'that's enough Elita' or 'okay she's finished, we'll be going now.' He clenched his teeth as he thought about how miserable Megabyte must have looked, the oil in his circuits boiled. Nobody hurt his friend like this, nobody. Megabyte was the only one who truly loved Optimus; Optimus either couldn't see it or couldn't feel it. He was too blinded by Elita's self-proclaimed glorious light.
Her world froze and the tears leaked from her optics and trickled down her cheeks. Megabyte clenched her teeth and grabbed Elita by the throat, catching both the pink femme and Optimus off guard. "It's one thing to toy with my feelings and my spark," Megabyte snarled venomously, "But it is even worse and simply unforgiveable to insult my closest friend."
"As if I want your forgiveness," Elita choked, "I'm not even sorry."
Megabyte tightened her grip on the femme's throat, "One day you will feel the pain that I am in now. One day you will know how it feels to have your spark ripped right out of your chest. You'll wish you could have changed anything to prevent that moment, but you'll understand that the past is irreversible, that everybody only gets one chance. You'll know how it will feel to be betrayed, you will know what it will be like having someone—everyone against you. You'll understand all those you have hurt, you'll understand me. You'll understand that your world doesn't exist, that you're not so high and mighty. And you'll understand how much of a bitch you really are. And on that day, you will be sorry."
Elita's optics narrowed in rage, but she had nothing to say. Megabyte let her go and started walking away. Without looking back, she said, "Never again Optimus. You're not good enough for my spark."
Elita growled and dragged Optimus away, Megatron was grinning from audio receptor to audio receptor, Megabyte had sure told them!
She was wiping her tearstained face as she rounded the corner, but she only found Megatron standing there. The femme gasped alarmed and quickly looked away from him, a slight blush on her cheeks. Megatron's smile was instantly gone as he clearly saw the utter and sheer pain his friend was in and he took a step towards her, "Megabyte…I'm sorry."
"Whatever you do," she said as her optics clouded over with a new wave of tears and her voice trembled, "Please don't say I told you so."
He didn't hesitate as he walked up to her and hugged her. He couldn't say that to her, those words would cut her like a knife, and he didn't have it in his spark to hurt her anymore than what she had been hurt already. Deep down inside he knew that she didn't deserve what Elita and Optimus had put her through, that she deserved so much more, and he wished so much that he could just give her the world right now…
"Megabyte, listen to me. Before you ask, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I had seen Optimus with Elita and I was going to warn you, but they found you before I did. So I waited here, and yes I heard everything. But Megabyte, what you said back there…" he trailed off and then found the words to describe what he was feeling, "It made me so proud of you. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you for a friend. Megabyte, please, look at me."
And slowly she lifted her head to gaze at him. He looked down at her and saw the pain in her optics, he felt his spark ache. Wiping her tears away he said, "Megabyte, I vow that I will not rest until I cause them the pain that they have caused you. And what do Optimus and his friends call themselves now?"
"The Autobots," she replied.
"Well, we shall be known as the Decepticons, the greatest adversaries of the Autobots. You and I will be the leaders of the Decepticons; Starscream can be the second in command and so on and so forth. What do you say Megabyte?"
"I say that rocks," she grinned.
He felt relieved to see her smile, "Alright, come on let's get out of here and go do something to get your mind off of Optimus."
"That sounds like a plan."
He sighed suddenly, "Megabyte…"
"Yeah?" she asked cautiously.
"Why didn't you tell me that Optimus wanted you to sleep with him?"
"Because…it was a matter of pride."
"Well next time, don't keep anything from me. I want to be there to help you out."
"I won't keep anything from you," she said and he smiled when she added, "I promise."
He let her go and together they walked out of the Academy doors.
It was over a month or so before Megabyte finally recovered from her experience with Optimus. She didn't look at him anymore, she didn't talk to him anymore, and she slowly started to hate everything he said about the glory of Cybertron and its splendor. Megatron saw that she had quit the cheerleading team and the parts of her armor that she had painted pink a while ago to attract Optimus' attention were now purple. And it didn't take Megatron long to notice that she was hanging off of every word that he said, like she was starving. He noticed the way she softly flirted with him and grinned every time she did so. He hadn't lost a friend; he had only grown much, much closer to her.
This was the way it should have been since the beginning.
"I was too weak to see her pain…I was too weak to take her away from it."
Megatron gazed up at the ceiling, his face expressionless. His missing limbs weren't making him feel empty; his inability to do anything wasn't making him feel empty. Oh no, as far as it concerned him, those things were the slightest of the causes when it came to determining his emptiness.
Without Megabyte, he was missing half of his command.
Thank you for reading, please review! I'll try to update sooner next time.