Me and the Devil

The sun was blazing, the sweat was on her skin almost every moment despite being in nothing but her undergarments, and the warlord was injured.

Persephone was silent as the truck travelled. The only time she knew they were in Texas was when they passed by a sign that said 'Welcome to Texas' with the occasional 'everything is bigger in Texas' quotes she'd see.

Texas was hot compared to North Dakota.

She had abandoned her clothing earlier, opting to feel the cool wind on her overheating skin. Persephone glanced at the battered and bruised man beside her driving the vehicle. His eyes were dark and he was paler than ever, his grip was hard as he watched her.

"Are you alright?" She asked him after staring at him in silence.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that, little one?" Megatron's voice was soft, almost as if he was afraid to startle the barely clothed human femme.

She smiled softly. "I'm not the one who faced the Prime." She reached out to him, her fingers grazing his face. "You're hurt. More than I am."

"It'll pass."

"That doesn't make me less worried, Megatronous."

The warlord chuckled at her, shaking his head before leaning into her touch. "You worry too much. Perhaps, that is a part of your charm."

"Glad to know I'm charming," she snorts with a roll of her eyes. "Where are we going exactly? You said that we would go away from them, but where to?"

Megatron turned his head away, the strands of white hair falling on to his face. "I have yet to know, little one. Perhaps there is a place where the Decepticons can regroup. There has to be." He answered, but it seemed like he was assuring himself and not her.

Persephone looked away, continuing on watching the scenery turn from cities to mountains, to fields. The ride was quiet and somewhere in between the silence, their hands found solace in each other. It was hot, but she did not dare let go of his hand.

"Why did you do that?" The warlord asked.

"What?" She answered.

He looked at her, eyes stricken with grief and confusion. "Why did you send out a message to the Autobots?"

Persephone froze. Her throat had gone dry as she processed his words. How did he find out? Did Starscream told him? She opened her mouth to say something—anything, really—but no words came out.

"How did you find out?" She finally managed to say.

"Soundwave had reported to me. When you three were at the mall, he overheard your conversation with your brother." Persephone turned to him, an unreadable look on his face. "Why? Why did you do it?"

Her chest felt tight as her eyes felt warm. Persephone willed herself to speak.

"Because you couldn't love me." Her voice breaking in the middle, closing her eyes so she doesn't cry. "I hated that you made me feel confused, despite trying not to care at all. I hate how you make me feel like the happiest woman on Earth and yet miserable one on the entire planet."

"You betrayed me because of that?"

"Did you expect me to want to stay?"

"Then how come you didn't leave with Prime?"

And when she looked at him, the tears fell.

"Because I love you." Persephone gulped, "I'm compelled to leave. I really wanted to leave. I really do. But a part of me reasoned out that you need me and I need you too. We have different reasons, but we need each other..." She trailed off. "I'm sorry. I don't expect your forgiveness, but I'm really sorry... for not having the strength to leave and betraying you when I swore allegiance."

His face relaxed, showing how tired he is. Megatron reached out to her, making her flinch. Her shit closed, waiting for him to claw her or hurt her in some way she deserved.

Calloused hand cups the side of her face, his thumb wiping her tears. "You have chosen to stay by my side despite having the opportunity to leave me, pet. For that, I forgive you for your transgressions."

Megatron watched her as she broke down into a sobbing mess, uttering "I'm sorry" and "I'm so sorry" again and again as she wailed. He wanted to punish her, to give her something to pay.

And yet when he saw how remorseful she was, Megatronous cannot help but falter. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her.

Perhaps it was time to strike while the iron is hot.

"I thought I couldn't love you," Megatron said softly. "You're a fleshy, I do not expect you to harbour genuine interest in me and yet here you are staying by my side despite the circumstances," He laid down his words carefully, "I admire you for that. And perhaps I am shameful for reciprocating your feelings."

Her sobbing stopped, pulling away from the hug to look at him. Her bloodshot eyes confused. "What?"

"Perhaps it is indeed a crime to love a being such as you, Persephone," Megatron said as he dried her tears. "But could you blame me? I am just a mech who has done terrible things." He leans close to her. "If loving you is a crime, then it is a crime that I will be proud of."

He placed his lips on her, tasting the sweetness that is her. He clung to her as if she would leave him completely, abandoning him for the Prime. His fingers dug into her flesh, loving the way she perfectly fitted him.

A traitor. A small yet traitorous human fuelled by her emotional needs. Yet he was hers. He needed to make her his. She needed to know she was his.

"I want you," She says breathlessly, "I want the real you."

"We are on the run," He says through breaks of kisses, "We cannot stop."

"Then your real form in holoform!" She wailed. "Not this human wannabe. Please, my Lord," Persephone begged as she kissed him.

The truck skidded to a stop. Megatron changed his holoform with a flicker, before grabbing her and pulling her back to him. "Mine," He growled as he placed kisses on the side of her neck. Unlike a cybertronian's, a human's cables were exposed but they could still feel it beneath their skin. He just needed to find the right–

Persephone mewled into his audios. He grinned against her skin and latched on to that spot. It felt wrong yet right at the same time to be entangled with her.

He knew it was taboo as she was the Prime's supposed sparkmate, but it was a taboo he would gladly cross.

It was just him and her.

No one could stop them from revealing their sparks to each other. They may not bond in spark, but perhaps they can mate, instead. Humans tend to do that, right? They mate with each other to see if they are compatible with each other before they bond for life or as long as they want.

He left trails of wet kisses and marks on her skin, sharp indents of bite marks here and there had her moaning.

Megatron reconnected his dermas with hers as his digits rested on her chassis. His digits sliced the cloth that covered her chassis, making the mounds of flesh bounce softly. They felt soft and they fit his servo. Not too big, not too small. Just perfect.

"Do you... have a cock?" Persephone bashfully asked. Her eyes flickered from his to the side.

Megatron raised a brow. "You mean the human equivalent of a spike–"

"A spike?" She asked excitedly, the shyness of her persona gone in an instant. "Say no more, Megatron."

He was confused by her sudden enthusiasm, and yet it was not unwelcome. Her hands rested on his shoulder, drifting down to rest on his crotch. He jumped at the soft contact of her flesh upon the armor.

Megatron swore right then and there he experienced what humans called to be 'Heaven'.

They stopped by what seemed to be a field. It was vast and it stretched out into the horizon. At the edge, there was a small cabin sitting quaintly in its place; smoke coming out of its chimney.

"Where are we?" Persephone asked.

"Your new home," Megatron answered. "Our home."

The warlord approached the cabin with Persephone sitting at his shoulder as if they were walking side by side. He figured that he would dispose of the human that currently lived in the house so he and Persephone could take its place.

"Oh, look!" Persephone pointed at the little sign in front of the cabin. "It's for sale! Wish I could buy it."

"Why buy it when you can just take it." Megatron reasoned out before transforming into a truck. His human holoform stepped out of the vehicle with Persephone carried in his arms.

"What?" She gawked. "That's just stealing!"

"We can't use your card. They'll immediately trace you and alert the authorities."

He sets her down, her loose shirt hanging off of her frame making her look smaller than she already is. Megatron walked over to the cabin, the wooden stairs creaking beneath his feet. With three powerful knocks, the door was opened by a small and frail old man.

The fur on his helm was white and there were wrinkles that decorated its features. The old human croaked, "What can I do for you, sonny?"

"I believe your house is for the taking," Megatron said. "May we talk outside?" He says stepping aside and gesturing for the old man to go.

"Of course," the old man says kindly while fixing his glasses to see the young man in front of him. Megatron watched as he used some sort of stick to walk outside.

He was slow and very much took his time walking. It infuriated the dark lord so much. To the point he just decided to kick him on to the grass where Persephone stood.

She screamed at him, asking him what the hell he was doing. He watched as she scurried to help him. He didn't understand why she had the need to help him. Why she had compassion for such a weak creature just like–

Just like Optimus.

His holoform dissipates as he shows his real glorious self before plucking the old thing from Persephone's grasps. The human screamed and begged for its life as it wept and—he crushed its head. The bits of flesh upon his digits were sticky and it just added to his anger.

He tosses the body far away into the field, watching it land somewhere.

He was tired. Starving. And he needed to take care of his femme.

Megatron turned to her only to find her staring in horror before looking away. "He would've turned you in, you know." The warlord said as a matter of fact.

"How would you know?" She asked. "He could've been nice."

"Your compassion for others is what will get you killed, Persephone." And with that he transformed back into a truck, activating his holomatter avatar. He gestures to the cabin and says, "Your new home. There you shall live, little one."

She looks at him wordlessly before continuing on to the house and closing the door behind her. He followed her, watching as she looked around the house, stopping at what seemed to be a communication device.

A telephone.

Persephone presses a button and a voice echoes out into the silence.

"Hi dad! Your new granddaughter is perfect! Oh, I can't wait for you to see her! She's a bundle of joy! How are you? How's the farm? See you soon, dad!"

The femme glares at him. She sighed, shaking her head as if she were a disappointed carrier.

"I don't even want to look at you right now," Persephone spat as she turned her back at him. "You disgust me."

And that made his anger boil. He stomped towards her, footsteps heavy with rage as Megatron forced her to look at him. The look of fear in her eyes was present, but he needed to put her in place.

She was being ugly right now.

"Everything I did was for you. For us. Do you have any idea how I tire of your discourtesy? You say I disgust you, but you do not see me condemning you for the same actions, do I?" Megatron snarled at her face, voice raising. "I suppose you have forgotten that you are under my possession. I tire of your behavior. You must learn to be thankful when things are being handed to you, do you understand?"

Her face was in silent horror throughout his outburst. Persephone's lips opened and closed, as if unsure what to say or how to speak. She turned her head away.

She does not speak.

She does not look at him.

She does not move.

Except for the hesitant nod of her head.

When he released her, she dropped to the ground like a marionette as she stabled herself. Slowly she stood up without lifting her head.

And then, she ran upstairs.

Megatron lets her be. He sighed, shaking his head. "How annoying she has become." He said to himself.

What changed? She used to be so obedient. So docile. Now, she's like that one Earth animal with the horns—a ram. Stubborn and annoying.

And then her sudden submissive nature when he yelled at her. Was he supposed to yell at her then? To make her yield to his commands? He does not want that, not when he promised her that she is no prisoner. And yet, she seems to do nothing but agree when pushed to the edge–

"-So, the one who took care of us were my aunts." She closed her eyes, brows furrowed. "I could only remember little snippets of my childhood, but I do remember that whenever I did something bad, I would either get yelled at while they grab my ear closer to their mouth or they would smack me with a hanger until it breaks."

He froze.

No, that was no simple submissive response. It was a trauma response. She just nodded her head so he wouldn't scream at her anymore.

There was a pain in his spark. It eats him out from the inside, making his form heavy. He wanted to smack himself more than anything.

He shouldn't have yelled at her.

He shouldn't have yelled at her.

"Persephone!" He called out as he ran to ascend the stairs. "Persephone, my sweetspark." He opens a door.

She isn't there.

"I'm sorry!" He yells desperately, hoping she would hear. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to yell at you I–" He paused. "I lost my temper. Forgive me, sweetspark."

He opens another door and the room is empty.

The warlord trudges down the hall on to the last door at the end of the hallway. He opened the door, it creaked softly. "Sweetspark?" Megatron called out softly.

She wasn't here either. Did she escape? Did she finally realize her place was with the Autobots? Beside Optimus?

He immediately entered the room, searching for any glimpse of her. And then, he noticed another door.

Slowly, he walks towards it making sure his footsteps don't startle Persephone. If she was even in there. He can hear the sound of water running as he goes closer.

Carefully he turns the knob and opens the door slowly. The sight before him makes his spark drop.

There was Persephone, sitting at the edge of the bathtub, naked. With her wrists all bloody and purple with a shaving blade on her hand. Blood was dripping heavily from her limbs and on to the water. On to her bloody thighs. On to the small puddle of blood forming at the bathroom floor.

She wordlessly looks at him.

When her lifeless gaze lands on him, they widen a bit. Megatron immediately rushed to her side, not carefully not stepping on her clothes on the bathroom tiles as he kneels down in front of her.

"Why?" He says helplessly.

But she doesn't answer. Even when he carefully grabbed her wrist and submerged it in the water in hopes of washing the blood away. It glowed and it was more of an energon than blood, but it was hers and that sent him into a fit of panic.

He takes the blade in her grasp and throws it at the other side of the room, she does not flinch as if all life had been drained.

Megatron immediately carried her to the bed, finding the safety kit on the side. He immediately applied pressure to the wound before wrapping it tightly with a bandage. He was careful not to rip it in half with his fingertips as he hastily did his job.

"You don't have to do that," she sobbed. "You don't have to do any of these. Just... let me go." A tear falls on the side of her eye.

Wordlessly, the warlord continued cleaning her up. Making sure that it was tight enough to stop the bleeding, but not tight enough to cause discomfort.

"No," he finally said after being silent for a while. "I will not leave you. I will not let you go." Megatron held her hand gently and placed it upon his dermas, giving it a soft kiss before he bows and placed her servo onto his helm gently to not hurt her. "Forgive me... for raising my voice. I shouldn't have done that. I should have validated your distress and I'm sorry for my actions, little one."

He heard no response from her, her silence being louder than ever.

And then she spoke.

"I forgive you."

"She is capable of killing humans!" Charlotte Mearing snarled as she reasoned out to the Autobot Leader. "She must be held accountable for her actions!"

"She was under the influence of the Decepticons," Optimus firmly defended. "She is not herself."

It was the third time that month that Optimus defended his mate's honor in her absence. At least from humans who dared question her innocence. Every month, it was back to this topic.

"The evidence is clear or do you not remember?" Mearing reminded him. "This person—this weapon! Had killed men that were supposed to retrieve her!"

"How do you expect her to react when she is being threatened with a weapon and forced to the ground? She is innocent and she reacted like any innocent person would if they were threatened!"

The Prime finally snapped, his voice rising. Tired of the same conversation all over again. What did they not understand? If it were any other human, would they have been more understanding?

How annoying.

"It is evident that Stockholm Syndrome has occurred, you of all people should understand. You, who advocate for humans, should understand her condition!" The Prime roared, dermas pulled back in a snarl. "She is not herself. Persephone is in need of help, she is a threat for being manipulated."

"Open your eyes, Prime!" Mearing snapped back, rolling her eyes. "It is evident that she is siding with the Decepticons. Especially after the report of her brother, or do you choose not to acknowledge her statement?"

"Because she was being manipulated!"

"Use your brain! For fucks sake, men are being murdered. Humans were murdered in the raid and all you care about was the innocence of your weapon."

"She is not my weapon. She is my mate."

"Right. Who happens to be an indestructible weapon."

He slammed his fist next to her, threatening to break the catwalk she was on. "Careful with your next words, human. My mate is the equivalent of an empress in your human culture. Any transgression towards her is a transgression towards me." Optimus sneered, looking down at her. "I will see to it that you know your place."

"Careful, Prime, us Americans have a hatred towards royalty. There's a whole revolution against it," Mearing bit back, obviously unafraid of the Prime's threat. "And as long as you are on American soil, under our sanctuary, you are forced to comply with our laws. Lest you want to be considered a threat."

He glared at her.

"And remember, if you threaten me, you threaten all of mankind. I'll let this slide for now. Just this once," Mearing dismissed him casually. "It is better for us to settle on common ground instead of threatening each other, don't you think?"

Optimus huffed, fixing his composure. He cleared his throat. "My apologies," He said through gritted teeth. "It has been three months since we have any news of where Megatron had taken her. You must understand that she is the key to Cybertron's revival without sacrificing humans. She is the key to ending this war."

Mearing nodded her head, a stray of blonde hair falling on her forehead. "I understand. A psychiatrist will be prepared so they may attend to her when she is returned. God knows what she's been through if she does have Stockholm Syndrome."

They exchanged words to each other, coming up with strategies and agreeing to discuss it later as they went their separate ways. It was better to maintain bridges instead of burning them. He needed all the resources he could get his servos on to save her.

"Optimus!" a child-like voice calls out to him, followed by a throat clearing before saying his name again with a deeper voice.

The Prime turned to see Leon, Persephone's brother. He nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Leon," He smiled at him, "It is nice to see you, friend. How is your day?"

"I'm fine!" Leon chirped. "Got my ass beaten by Ironhide in training tho, but he was so cool for it!" He gushed, making the Prime smile.

He then rubbed the back of his neck, averting his gaze. "I uh... I gotta tell you something, Optimus."

"What is it?"

"You probably get this a lot, but I just want you to know that ever since I was younger, I really look up to you and I think you're pretty cool," Leon rambled, smiling sheepishly. "I mean, what I'm trying to say is that... I'm so honored to have you in the family—being my brother-in-law."

Optimus smiled at him, his heart warming at his kind words. "It would be an honor joining the family of a strong soldier such as you," He shook Leon's servo. "Is there any news about your sister?"

Leon shook his head in dismay. "No. After Megatron took her, it was like she disappeared off the face of the Earth."

Optimus sighed, shaking his helm. They've been searching high and low, and yet they couldn't find her. Where could Megatron be hiding her? Where could she be?

"Can I join the search?" Leon asked. "I can help Bee or Arcee in the field." He looked so desperate to get out of the base to search for her.

He shook his head. "You are valuable to us. The last thing we need is for the Decepticons to have two people who carry valuable information about the future and its events." Optimus explained, hoping he would understand.

"What can I do here, then?" Leon reasoned out. "Sure training is good, but other than that I need to do something else at least."

Optimus nodded his head in understanding. "Are you, perhaps, on good terms with the human known as Mikaela?"

"Mikaela? We haven't been able to talk properly after her arrival. She's always busy, but I'd like to be her friend," Leon chirped.

He nodded his head. "Then I suppose it would benefit the both of you if you are to be her guardian," Optimus suggested. "You're a trained soldier, so I'm sure you're capable of protecting her."

"I hope she agrees to it, too," Leon smiled. "But I thought, Bee is her guardian?"

"Ever since Sam and Mikaela had separated, Bumblebee has had a hard time catering to the two of them," Optimus explained, gesturing with his servos. "So I had thought that maybe you would be able to tend to Mikaela."

Sam had been of help to him during the war, but the boy made it clear that he didn't want to partake in any of the events. Mikaela, on the other hand, was more than willing to help out. And Optimus thought that, perhaps, the Autobots hadn't lost a human who would advocate for them.

Not only that, she had been in contact with Persephone. She told him how she had been generous to her, aiding her under her wing and doing anything she can to protect her. His spark swoons at the thought of Persephone, of her kindness.

:Sideswipe to Optimus, reporting.:

:What is it, Sideswipe?:

:Prime, Starscream is on the Autobot base. He wants to speak with you.: