The elevator buzzed as it descended. As it passed each floor, it jutted and swayed, clicking as it cleared periodic safety stops. Megatron tilted forward to adjust his balance at one such stop, leaning into the space of the smaller bot handcuffed in front of him. Skywarp stumbled forward, using her cuffed hands to brace against the door.

"Apologies, Skywarp." Megatron placed his hands on Skywarp's forearm, helping her to her feet. "With all our technologies, you would think our combined efforts with humans could create a decent elevator ride for beings of our size."

Megatron smiled at his attempt at a jest. Skywarp glanced over her shoulder, her eyes slit. Despite towering above her, in this moment, Skywarp had developed the unique ability to make Megatron feel about floorboard high. Willing his soft smile to stay stagnant, he held her gaze.

"You'd think." She said dryly.

She straightened her back and turned her gaze forward, staring intently at the door. The soft clicks of the elevator once more accompanied their descent.

Beside him, Elita-1 leaned in.

"You know, there's no need to make small talk." Elita whispered. She had a hand resting on Nova Storm's shoulder, the prisoner she herself was escorting. Despite whispering, the pink Autobot's voice filled the air.

"Maybe you don't." Megatron said. "But these are my soldiers. Were. All I have to give them is words, and that's what they're going to get."

Elita's expression softened.

"They had the same opportunity to switch sides as you, Megs."

"Megs?" Nova Storm and Skywarp quipped, not quite in unison.

"Is that what the Autobots call you now? Megs? That's a cute little nickname!" Nova Storm grinned. Her smile was wicked and sharp. The corner of her mouth turned up, not like a predator, but like a stage actor giving an approximation of a Cheshire cat. It was wide and playful and a little practiced.

"Megatron was too big and bad to spell out on all the pamphlets?" The yellow seeker laughed. "Don't think we didn't see those on the way down."

"Ooh, but they had enough room to spell out 'Optimus Prime'." Skywarp cut. Her own face was still facing the door, but her wings relaxed and flapped as she emoted, moving with her wrists as she talked with her hands through the cuffs.

Nova Storm leaned into Skywarp and gave her shoulder a little wiggle.

"Seems to me the humans have a favorite." Nova Storm sang. Skywarp mirrored the lean and returned her partner's wiggle.

"And yet Megs still picked some humans over us."

Elita nudged the two, knocking Nova Storm off balance just enough to reshuffle her feet.

"That's enough now." Elita said, her commanding tone caring. Nova storm straightened her back, sticking her nose in the air.

"Spoil sport." The yellow seeker managed.

The elevator dinged as it passed another floor.

Rolling her eyes so that her whole head arched, Skywarp faced the door once more.

A mass was missing from her wing. It left her insignia intact, but the wound was carved irregularly and unstable; hitting strong turbulence would be enough to fully snap her wing in two. It was a miracle she was still able to fly. Still, the cut was surgical, clean, and indicative of plans to further amputate. Megatron inhaled. The scorched scar in her wing matched the weld still fresh in his own shoulder. It still burned as he rolled his arm back.

"I am sorry you had to go to such extremes to avoid arrest. I'll see to it your wing is repaired, Skywarp. You have my word."

Skywarp sniffed.

"Like that's worth much."

The elevator dinged, uncharacteristically pleasantly for a prison block, and stopped. Megatron readjusted his grip on Skywarp as the door opened. A crackle of energy surged through his arm as he grabbed her shoulder. The air grew tense with the taste of cooper and electricity.

Skywarp's form shifted; suddenly both there and not.

Purple static filled the space where she once was, then was there again, then disappeared once more. The cuffs around Skywarp's wrists stayed present as she disappeared, the blue light from them running up her arms, forcing her form to solidify as she attempted to teleport out of Megatron's grasp.

At once, the static dissipated, the blue from the cuffs taking over her body completely. She exhaled, a sharp mix of a hiss and a shaky breath, as her warp drive hummed uselessly in her chest. Megatron caught her as she stumbled forward, out of breath.

"You're not going to be able to teleport with those inhibitor cuffs on." Elita said. She ushered Nova Storm forward, pushing her down the hall and toward a vacant cell. Megatron lingered.

The drive in Skywarp's chest buzzed as it kicked in once more. Purple electricity flashed as she tried to warp. Again, the cuffs held her in place. She stifled a groan as she tried, again, the static pulsing through the arm Megatron held, lasting a moment less than the attempt before.

Megatron lowered, partially covering Skywarp from the view of the Decepticons in the cells surrounding them.

"Please, you're going to hurt yourself." Megatron said softly, dropping down to the smaller bot's eye level. Skywarp met his gaze.

"Take the cuffs off." She whispered.

Her eyes, still slit, were pleading when she met his. They were different this time, narrow, yes, but masking a panic filling her dilated optics.

"Megatron, please." The plea was heavy. The weight of her voice hung in the air even after the sound faded. "I can't be still this long. I won't-"

She took a shaky breath through her teeth. "I didn't fight for a million years to be put in a box."

Megatron felt his face soften. It wasn't voluntary, but his ability to once mask his emotions from his decepticons faded with every day the war ended. For possibly the first time, he met Skywarp with a face grizzled not just with age and conflict, but compassion.

"This is temporary, Skywarp. I'm doing what I can, but for now, this is the price we are paying for staying on this planet."

"This is the price for losing the war." Skywarp bit. "And we're paying it for you."

She watched his face twitch. She waited for him to yell, to hiss, hell, to tighten the hand on her shoulder. But he didn't do any of that. Megatron waited, patently, for her to catch her breath and continue. She didn't wait until her breath returned.

"You abandoned us. When we needed you. You're a traitor. And a Coward. And a fucking Autobot."

Skywarp watched her old commander, waiting for him to respond. Something else crossed his face, something more in this first shared moment of vulnerability. As he searched his brain for words, the something in Megatron's expression grew unobscured: Guilt. The old man was feeling guilty. Her warp drive flared in her chest.

Bent over her knees, Skywarp managed through her breaths; "Put me in my box."

Megatron paused, posed as if to say something. Instead, he bowed his head. The old bot rose to his feet. The compassion on his face lingered. Skywarp stared at her feet.

The man she had followed for a million years, fought beside, believed in, was gone. No. He was dead. Winning the war wasn't enough. The Autobots had to parade around a corpse and call him Megatron.

"As you wish."

A steading hand placed on her cuffs and another ready at her back, Megatron led Skywarp down the hall and into cell.

She was silent as she was lead inside.

"You really shouldn't place co-conspirators in the same cell block." Remarked a voice from behind. "It's bad for questioning."

Megatron exhaled. Skywarp met his gaze through the closed door, blinked, then turned away. Nova Storm was in the cell adjacent. Megatron closed the door to Skywarp's cell, knowing his second in command was standing in the cell to his back.

"Thank you for the input, Starscream."

Megatron faced Starscream. His former second in command met his eyes, feigned disinterest failing against the ever-present stalking glow behind his gaze. Starscream sauntered up to the glass-like screen of the cell door, the red seeker grinning as he pressed close. Unlike Nova Storm, Starscream's smile wasn't an approximation of a predator's. He smiled like a cat that had knocked a mouse into a firepit, watching it run laps in the ashes while he pawed at the helpless thing. Megatron had heard it said that cats were unique of the human pets; unlike the loyal dog or egg-laying fowl, cats had domesticated themselves because food went where the humans did. Simply put, they were around because it was convenient. It was a fitting comparison. Unlike the other decepticons, there was a solid chance that Starscream was in prison because he wanted to be. Or that he had convinced himself after he had been caught.

"Forever here to be your council." Starscream said, his complimentarous voice dripping. The usual insincerity was implied. The two held eye contact. Starscream grinned wider, his smile sharp and his eyes piercing. Megatron approached the cell, pressing in close enough so that his whispers didn't carry to the nearby cells.

"How are the troops holding up?" Megatron asked.

"How are your prisoners?" Starscream replied, loud enough so that his voice carried down the hall. "Oh, we're all here. Hanging out."

He smiled as Megatron closed his eyes in frustration, hot air fogging up the cell door as he exhaled. Starscream dropped his voice to a whisper, dropping the playful air of his tone.

"They're fine. They're angry. Looking for leadership that isn't there."

"And you're willing to provide it?" Megatron asked, though he said it rather more like a statement. Starscream leaned closer into the glass.

"I have been saying your leadership has been lacking for some centuries."

While the other seekers possessed dramatic tendencies, Starscream oozed dramatics. He examined his talons as if he were speaking to them, elbow held, posed, by his other hand. Megatron took the moment Starscream's eyes were away to roll his own. Good god, he was monologuing.

"It's funny." Starscream sighed, accented in a way one would assume was fake. In reality, Starscream had lied and gushed and amplified his voice so often that now, at ease, he was incapable of carrying a neutral tone without effort.

"Everyone can call me a backstabber and a snake all they want, but somehow, of the two of us, I was the one loyal to the cause in the end."

"Ambition isn't loyalty." Megatron said coldly. Starscream pressed even closer to the door so that his own chest was mere inches from Megatron's. He tapped the glass, his clawed finger hovering over the G.H.O.S.T. issued badge on his ex-leader's sternum.

"Say's the man without the insignia on his chest."

Megatron was puffed up, his chest held high and his head even higher. He took a shaky breath.

Starscream grinned even wider. He knew it ate his old boss up. It was easy, bringing up Megatron's betrayal and guilt. The old man was writhing about the treatment of his soldiers. Despite the cold exterior he had built around himself during the war, the old coot was a bleeding heart in the right circumstances. But Megatron was already haunted by all that without Starscream rubbing salt into the wound.

Even more so, this was about thinking his traitorous second in command was up to his old tricks. Starscream grinned even wider. And maybe he was.

He watched as the gray bot's eye twitched in annoyance at his own unknowing. Starscream allowed himself to chuckle.

"Something bothering you?" Starscream asked, resting a hand on his chin.

Megatron held his gaze, somehow managing while looking down at Starscream overtop his chest.

"These days? Too many things." Megatron held his breath, watching as Starscream coyly cocked his head. "And unfortunately, you're one of the few bots I can't lie too about it."

Megatron stepped back, giving Starscream a final once over, then turning away.

"Take care Starscream."

Starscream watched as the old man walked away, joining the high ranking Autobot that was waiting for him respectfully out of earshot. Starscream smiled. At least she pretended too. Elita's ear was turned toward the two Decepticons their whole conversation. It was good to see Megatron facing blatant mistrust from other's once.

Starscream turned his attention to the two seekers in the cells across from him. Nova Storm and Skywarp were inside, both staring at Megatron and Starscream as they spoke.

"And you two? Still in one piece?"

"Yes sir, Commander Starscream." Nova Storm rattled off, saluting sloppily but not entirely seriously either. Skywarp shrugged, shifting her weight so that her wing was less centered. Starscream craned his neck to get a better look at his trinemate. As Elita and Megatron made their way down the hall, Starscream's hushed voice carried.

"Primus, what did they do to you?"

Elita nodded her head toward Megatron.

"I don't think I've ever heard Starscream sound concerned before. At least not sincerely." Elita said.

"And you probably won't again." Megatron sighed.

"Despite his… many flaws, Starscream is an excellent commander. I didn't choose him as my second in command because he's heartless, " He explained. "Even if he is toward me."

"Still. I never understood why you let the likes of Starscream stay at your side for so long. His name is practically synonymous with tracheary at this point." Elita said.

"And yet he's not the one he betrayed the decepticons."

"Hey now," Elita said, almost scolding. "I know this isn't the most ideal solution, but this is the most peaceful one we have."

"Peace for your people maybe." Megatron said. The cells they passed were filled with Decepticons.

"Since the war ended, all I've done is hunted bots that swore their lives to freedom, to me, and all I've done is throw them into cells to rot for it. Decepticons are making deals with chop shops to avoid capture. I've heard stories of bots starving to death. Hardtop is missing a limb, and Skywarp wasn't that far behind before we apprehended her. Primus knows who we were too late for."

Megatron pinched the bridge of his nose.

"At this point, I'm arresting my own soldiers because I'm more scared of who's offering them help."

Elita shook her head.

"You can't blame yourself for all that. These are grown bots."

"Grown bots with no other options."

As they reached the end of the hall, Megatron turned. He leaned back, reaching his arms behind his head, stretching. As his back pressed into the wall, he rolled his shoulder, coincidentally knocking the camera hung there from its perch.

"Elita, when Optimus destroyed the space bridge all those years ago, he trapped us all here. While he had made allies with the beings that inhabited this planet, me and the decepticons did not. We have been trapped on a planet that fears and hunts us, and not unrightfully so, without a means of escape. While I appreciate, now, the allies I have personally made with yourself and the branches of humanity, I'm also not blind to the fact that my people, once again, are being hunted and imprisoned for standing by their beliefs. Beliefs I championed. I may recognize that being your ally means that I can fight for my decepticons and negotiate for better terms, but it does not escape me that I am the only decepticon not behind bars."

Elita looked to the floor and nudged her foot closer to the prone camera. She crunched it under her heel.

"You're also the only decepticon that surrendered."

"And ended the war?"

Megatron chuckled through a smile his eyes didn't reflect. "Elita, we've both been friends with Prime since before the war started. We both know better than anyone else he's prone to nostalgia and naivety. This peace with the humans? With me? It isn't going to last. This is a prolonged victory lap. I don't think he realizes I and these cons in cages; We're trophies. If not for him, these humans. G.H.O.S.T."

Elita held eye contact as Megatron spoke, only turning her gaze to the hall as he did. The hall behind them was lined with cells, glowing purple to evident the technology needed to keep their species contained. Elita had overseen it's instillation herself, watching humans and her own team install cells that would eventually be filled with the prisoners making eye contact with her now. As her gaze grew more intense, several of the cons turned away, save for one.

Starscream leaned back into the wall of his cell so that he faced Megatron and Elita, his arms folded across his chest. There was no pretense here. He was listening into their conversation and there was no pretending he was not. Elita held her gaze. Starscream held his.

"I see it too. We don't have civilians, Megatron. Everyone fought, and those who couldn't…" she trailed off, breaking her gaze from Starscream to shift her attention back to Megatron. "Everyone left, every ounce of what we used to be, are likely all on this planet, and yet we're hunting down half our people. Your people."

Elita sighed.

"For what it's worth, I agree with you. Optimus's alliance with G.H.O.S.T. is naïve at best. We both know nothing good comes from shadowy government organizations; Best case scenario is that they leave the public in the dark. Worst case, this is something more sinister and 'cons are more expendable than we are. But I don't see any other option. At least for now, we can be a part of things."

She looked back to the cells once more. The decepticons were in different states of rest, but a sense of quiet had fallen over the prison block. Despite Starscream being the only con to make it obvious, they were all listening.

"Any of the Decepticon's left, they aren't stupid. They all fought the same fight we did, and they all survived. It's the one thing I have to hand to you decepticons; they know how to keep surviving."

Megatron chuckled, warm, as if the two were old friends. Elita's face shifted. Perhaps they were.

"Unfortunately, I can say the same for you Autobots."

His back was to the wall, both arms folded loosely near his middle. Elita eyed him thoughtfully. The corners of his mouth wrinkled as he smiled, his fingers shaking as they rested near his forearms. He looked meek… no. No, that wasn't quite it. The once warlord's eyes were bright but lacked a fire that once burned behind them. Still, a smoldering ember looked back at her, red and glowing. No, Megatron looked tired. He looked old.

Elita continued.

"They're making dumb calls. Breaking into guarded storehouses, intercepting shipments…. Decepticons know they don't have the numbers to pull these heists off."

Elita followed suit, leaning her own shoulder into the wall and waving the other as she spoke. "There's only one reason we keep catching all these smart bots: They're starving."

Out of the corner of her eye, Starscream turned away. She knew a lot about the 'cons; that they were devious, intelligent and crafty. But most of all, she knew they were proud. Elita lowered her voice at the touchy subject.

"Most of these would-be heists have been over energon. I know. I've been leaving the tips. I've been making sure any traps we lay actually have some energon in case any con's manage to pull something off, but, you know, smart bots don't do dumb shit. Desperate ones do. Athey haven't had a lot of successes."

Megatron grunted in agreement. His old mouth twitched, flickering moments of grim agreement through a disciplined poker face. Elita's focus was rather on his eyes. In the time she had spent with him the last few years she had come to realize several truths about Megatron. The truest of which was that despite his carefully crafted words, considered expressions, and intentional movements, his eyes were his quiet and singular tell. They were soft and mournful as he spoke.

"I was hoping switching sides would put an end to their suffering."

With her own men, Elita may have masked her own emotions. But Megatron was no soldier of hers, and he, by no doubt, would read through any facade she offered. Her own face was soft as she spoke.

"I heard what you did for Soundwave's minicons," Elita whispered, voice barely more than a thought, "Vouching for them to Prime and letting them go free. I'm sure they, and Soundwave, appreciate the gesture, but we both know it's only a matter of time before they get caught, regardless of if they cause trouble again. They'll need food, or medical, or support. Someone might get to them first."

Elita placed a hand over Megatron's forearm. It felt odd, grabbing hold of him without a weapon in her hand, and even more so that the next words out of her mouth were genuine.

"I feel for you. I really do, Megatron, but I don't see how we can invade this planet, fight our war, then live in peace with no give on our end. For now, this is truly the best we can do."

Megatron smiled. Not happily, but in polite return of the gesture she had shown. He placed a hand over the one Elita placed over his forearm.

"We have no home to return to. That makes this our home now too, doesn't it?"

"I suppose it does." Elita said.

"Then why are the Autobots the only ones who can call it that?"

Megatron sighed.

"I know it's not that simple. I know you all stuck your necks out allowing me to roam free. But I am so sick of everyone pretending that this is fine. The war ended because the home we were fighting to change is gone. Those governments have fallen, politicians died, culture burned. And yet here at the end, and the decepticons are the only ones paying for it because they didn't strike a deal first."

"I think when a species has been fighting for as long as we have," Elita said, "this is the best way things were going to go. It was always going to be one of us on the losing end, whether that be in cages or the ground. We can improve from this. For now, at least the war is over."

Megatron's old mouth wrinkled as his face changed. Neutral. Grim. It was familiar, falling into the same expression he seemed to have held for a millennia.

His red eyes shifted to face his former troops. His eyes almost sank with the weight they carried in his face, pulling at the lines near the creases of his nose. Elita watched his eyes changed despite his expression freezing. They were remorseful, guilt ridden, and so terribly mournful. They were burning.

"No. Not for the Decepticons. This war is anything but over."

A/N:

I'm really loving the Earthspark characterization of Megatron! I'll probably be posting more with him in the future, but I expect those will all be little more light hearted than this piece! I expect anything next will be with Megatron and Dot and her cute family, as I love the Malto's to absolute pieces. I'm also thinking about something heist-y with the Malto kids and the cassettes, but we'll see how that materializes!

Thank you so much for reading!