Optimus' POV:
Back on Cybertron, I never once saw Megatron smile. He was always frowning. I don't think anyone gave him a reason to. He seemed to enjoy spending time with the children though. Especially Miko. Which surprised me, since Miko was the last person who seemed to have anything in common with the gladiator. But the more I compared the two, the more I realized that they had the same fighting spirit. They'd both do anything for their friends, but Miko would only threaten to harm her opponents, and Megatron(us) never bluffed when it came to threats. Maybe Miko is the key to bringing out the best in him.
I'm still not used to calling him that: Megatronus. I've gotten used to calling him Megatron, but he doesn't respond well to it. Whenever he hears it, it's like a verbal off switch. He doesn't actually shut down, but he stares. Everyone freaked out the first time it happened. We're still unsure why using that name causes that reaction from him. When he came to, we asked if he was okay, but he himself didn't seem to have the answer either. He never remembers afterwards.
"Optimus?" he spoke from behind me. His voice was shaky, meaning something was on his mind.
"What is it, Megatronus?" I asked.
"Do... you have any medical kits for scraping?" He asked.
"Didn't Ratchet just repair your arms?" I asked.
"That's... why I came to you..." he confessed. I sighed and pulled away from the computer.
"You really need to stop scraping at your arms..." I lectured.
"...m... sorry..." he mumbled. I stared at him arms; he did a lot of damage this time. I grabbed the tools behind me and began to work. "Oh, I was going to do it my--" I continued to work on his arms. He scoffed. "I thought Ratchet was the only medic here?" he teased.
"You pick up a few things from others if you stick around them long enough." I explained. He remained silent after that. I stopped working and held onto his arms. "What's troubling you?" I asked, looking up at him. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke.
"I... had that same dream again..." he started. "It was... different... this time."
"Different how?" He froze for a moment, seemingly disassociated. "What changed?" I tried again, he finally looked at me.
"The seeker..." he paused. "He wasn't afraid of me like he usual is." Starscream? He never talks much about Starscream. "He seemed very... odd. He seemed friendly, but at the same time he didn't."
"So... You're saying he's acting suspicious?" I asked. He nodded.
"I wasn't entirely sure what his intentions were." that didn't really surprise me.
"Were you still on the ship?" I asked.
"Yeah... But we weren't on Earth. We were on Cybertron." I let go of his arms and rose to my peds.
"Where on Cybertron?" I asked.
"I'm not sure where, but it looked a lot like... Kaon." he whispered the last word, once again staring at nothing. A saddened expression stained his face. I felt my frame stiffen as lubricants ran down his face.
"Megatronus?" He didn't make a sound, only staring at the ground. He doesn't cry often, so I wasn't used to this. I was torn between waiting him out or comforting him. It's been so long since I've had to comfort anyone. It didn't take long to find an answer. His digits twitched, meaning he was going to start scrapping, so I quickly held onto his wrists. "What's wrong?" I asked. I could hear him vent; he was trying to cool himself down. He slowly looked up to meet my optics. I soon realized how tight my grip was on his wrists, so I moved my servos, making sure to gently hold onto his arms. He quickly pulled away, rubbing at his wrists. "Are you okay?" I asked. He only nodded in response. "Okay..." I spoke as softly as I could. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"I'm... sorry." he mumbled.
"For what?" I asked.
"My behavior..." I shook my helm.
"There's no reason to be sorry for your behavior." I assured. "You're upset, and you have every right to be." He smiled at that. "You need to take some time to charge." I stated.
"But... I just woke up?"
"Exactly. You've just awoken and your already shedding tears." I argued.
"Tears?" he whispered to himself. "But I haven't done anything ye--"I raised a servo to silence him.
"I know." I reassured. "But you need to at least take some time to calm down." I pushed. He nodded and sat himself down. I froze at the sound of vehicle engines zooming through. Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Arcee came in with the kids. Miko jumped out immediately.
"Hey, Megs!" she exclaimed; running towards Megatronus. Miko always brings a smile to his face. Megatronus lowered his servo to let Miko hug it.
"Hey, Miko." he greeted. "How was school?"
"Boring. As usual..." she huffed. "Anyway, how are you?" she asked eagerly. "Did anything happen while I was away?"
He didn't tell her much, never did. He usually talked with me or Ratchet whenever he was to talk about anything personal, which was rare. He doesn't like sharing such personal information with anyone, and I don't blame him.
Megatronus' POV:
I always get that same dream. That seeker seems so familiar. I know I've seen him before, but at the same time, I haven't. It's such a strange feeling. In my dreams, he always shows me around the ship. It feels as if I know what I'm doing there, but at the same time, I know nothing. It's hard to explain such a feeling, but I know what it feels like. It's almost as if I could see myself, yet I'm looking through my optics. I never got to tell Optimus about the rest of my dream. I'm not sure if I should.
"Hey, Buddy!" I looked to see Jack. "You see a bit tired." He commented. I nodded in response. "It almost seems like you've been crying?" He added. I frowned, and once again nodded. I froze at the sound of laughter. I look behind to see Raf and Miko playing their screen games. I didn't realize that I was smiling until I heard Jack chuckle. I looked to him, a little embarrassed. I tried to change the subject.
"They really seem to enjoy those racing games." I commented.
"Yeah..." Jack huffed. "What's wrong?" He asked suddenly.
"What do you--"
"We may not know you very well, but that doesn't mean we haven't noticed something's been bothering you." he added. "So, what's wrong?"
"It's... complicated." I answered.
"You use that phrase too much..." he commented. I scoffed. "Why won't you talk to us?"
"I... You guys already have to deal with my so-called Army of Decepticons." I started. "I don't wish to smother you with my personal problems." I hid my face behind my knees. We stayed silent for a moment, only the distance laughter could be heard behind me.
"Megs..." I looked towards the young male. "If you need someone to talk to, you can always talk with me." he assured. "You shouldn't hold onto all that negative emotion."
"But--"
"No 'buts'." he argued. "I know what it's like to feel like a burden..." he confessed. "It's... not a good feeling. But you're not bothering anyone by asking for help, got it?" My optics went back to the ground. I nodded. "Besides, I don't want you to deal with another mental breakdown." he teased. I turned towards the sound of peds, echoing closer. Optimus was standing right above me. We stared at each other for a moment. He gave a small smile.
"Where did you go?" I asked.
"Ratchet needed my help." he explained. "Are you feeling better?" I nodded in response.
"Hey, Jack!" Raf yelled from behind me. "Come check this out!"
"Coming!" he yelled back. I felt myself chuckle. The children are very energetic.
"They're adorable." I murmured. I looked back at Optimus. "The eldest is only 16 years old, right?" The Prime nodded. "And Fowler is considered the... human guardian, correct?" He nodded once more. "Are all humans that small?" I kept asking small question, and he kept nodding his helm. Eventually he spoke up.
"Do you... remember when we first met?" he asked.
"You mean, when you first gave me your designation?" He shook his helm.
"No, this would be... before you had a proper name." He spoke. "I believe you just finished training?" he added. I soon remembered that one time I bumped into that clerk. The memory was a bit fuzzy.
"Were you the one that bumped into me?" I asked.
"I believe so..." he replied.
(Megatron's Trip Down Memory Lane):
Soundwave and I were sneaking around to find the hideout. The place we always went after my training. The one place my Master never would have thought to find me, at least, that's what Soundwave would always say. We snuck through the library; down the same path we always went. Suddenly, I heard a pair of ped steps from behind me, coming towards us. Soundwave tried to tell me something, but I wasn't paying attention. I was too afraid that if I moved, whoever those peds belonged to would find me. It could've been anyone, and that scared me. Had my Master finally caught up to me? I was so terrified.
"Hello?" Asked a soft voice. "Who's there?" I remained silent. "This is a very restricted area." he stated. I no longer wanted to stay still; curious I peeked my helm to reveal my location. A red and blue mech, just the same size as me, seemed just as shocked as I was. "U-Um... Are... Are you new here?" they asked. "I don't think I've seen you around before." I only stared at him, a bit overwhelmed.
"Orion!" yelled a scratchy voice. "Why are you in the restricted area? You said you'd help organize!" he whined. I looked back at Soundwave, he gestured for me to follow, so I did. I could hear this Orion respond from behind me.
"I'll be right there, I just need to--" By then, he probably noticed that I was gone.
(Memory Ended)
"Oh, yeah!" I whispered. "You found me snooping around that restricted area in the library." He chuckled, a rare sight.
"What were you doing there anyways?" he asked.
"Soundwave and I usually went that way to get to our little hideout." I boasted.
"You had a hideout?" he asked. I nodded.
"We usually went that way to hide from everyone else." I confessed. "It was our little safe place." My smiled faded, as I realized. "I... haven't seen Soundwave in a while." I mumbled.
"Soundwave... isn't in his right mind, as of now." he warned. I frowned.
"He's with the Decepticons, isn't he?" I asked. Prime nodded. "I thought so..."
"You know... Soundwave has always been loyal to you." he leaned down on one knee. "Maybe you could convince him to stop fighting or convince all of them..." he spoke with such confidence. "It wouldn't hurt to try, right?" he asked. I nodded.
"Right."