How far had he gotten? Was he closer to her yet? The information was lost on him as he laid limply beside a lake, his sleek new metals left to the elements. The wild foliage cradled his battered form much too gently. It was far more than he deserved.
Megatron eyed the surface tension of the water, watching it ripple with the wind. Primus, he hurt.
Get up.
His subconscious coupled with his spark to order him around. Petrolex leaked out of him at a consistent, steady pace.
He was drained.
Get up.
Primus, he was trying. In all truth, he was trying as hard as he could.
Perhaps this was the end? No. It couldn't be.
Suddenly, Lauren's smile flashed across his vision, the echo of her voice haunted him. His claws flexed outward for her instinctively, but he was met with nothing, but blades of grass.
Get up.
It was her voice then. Demanding, pleasing that he rise to the occasion. His spark flitted if barely.
Groaning, the mech feebly pushed himself up from the wet dirt before collapsing back into place.
Get up.
He could not, no matter how hard he persisted in his endeavor. She was there again, her sapphire eyes softened with sadness, then she was gone from his fingertips once more.
His hailing system was shot, his body broken, and unable to go any further.
Was this divine intervention...? Primus, he sounded ridiculous. What was he even thinking?
He had a promise to keep. This wasn't the end, no. It was only another setback. Only...
His body grew further cumbersome, heavy upon the earth, the pain slowly subsiding. He shifted his optics across the water once more before resting his sights upon a pair of birds. Their feathers were saturated in color as they sat close beside one another. The larger of the two dawned a predominantly Scarlett hue while the former was painted in shades of violet.
Megatron searched inwardly, looking for traces of her. Still shots paired with recordings overtook his glitching optics. Her voice soothed his unease in an indescribable manner, unknown even to him.
"This is my last glance that will soon be memory."
Her words rang out to him as he stared at her face. She truly was easy on his optics.
When had he become this way...? He couldn't pinpoint a particular moment in time when he'd grown so...
A shallow vent escaped him as she laughed with unadulterated joy.
So...
"I want to be wanted! I want you to want me!"
...conciliated?
His optics glitched out, sputtering. Her image grew distorted as her voice clipped. His body was no longer responding to commands. His systems were shutting down, forcing him closer to stasis with each klik.
_______________
The change in scenery was sudden and abrupt, almost disorienting.
Megatron turned slowly in the vast void he was plunged into. Dark as the void of space and as vast as the universe itself. Here, he felt small.
Stepping around to turn, his optics spanned the darkness before falling upon a distant figure; a speck in the darkness.
The decepticon flexed his claws in unease as he approached the hunched figure. What was this? Was this death? Had his spark been sent back to the pits?
He closed the gap swiftly, freezing when he was close enough to recognize the small human.
Lauren sat upon an old desk chair, head rested upon a wooden surface, her body sagged.
He stepped closer for a better look, only then did he notice the crimson that stained her lower leg. She'd shed her lower covering- pants. Her shoulders heaved with her labored breaths.
"Girl, what harm has come to you?" His gruff voice came out strained with anger. She looked hellacious in her hunched state. He growled violently as he dropped to a knee servo to better be close.
He hadn't left her in that state, he knew that for an absolute fact.
But was any of what he was seeing real? Or was it some twisted version of his own personal hell?
"Speak when spoken to, bug." His tone came out harsh as he reached out a claw to nudge her.
His claw made contact with her flesh for only a moment before she shot up, her eyes met his optics for a nano-klik before he was ripped away from the moment.
_______________
The next second, he was blinking his optics open. He glanced around at his unfamiliar surroundings, confused.
Was this another memory of her's...? Why now of all times?
"I'll be in my room mommy!" Came a high pitched voice as the door to the bedroom flew open, revealing a much too young Lauren, a gap tooth smile spread across her rounded face.
Megatron almost reeled at the spectacle. What was this...? He observed the child from afar as she plopped down upon the carpeted floor to play with some toys, paying him no mind. He shifted his sights to study the room further.
His optics returned to the small girl playing with her toys, he noted that her hair was a much lighter shade in childhood.
The squeak of the door hinges caused him to shift his optics toward the noise, just before an equally small, furry creature bound in, jaw slack and tongue flopped outward. The small cream colored mammal nuzzled into the side of Lauren, the result yielded her joyful squeals. The child dug her stubby fingers through the fur happily.
Megatron turned and stepped out of the room after that, the scene changed along side him.
"Please, daddy! I'll be good! You won't even know I'm here! Let me stay with you!" Lauren cried from the hallway floor, her pleas shrill and desperate. She hiccupped on her own tears, snot dribbled down her lips.
She looked only a moment older in that second. Hair cut shorter, only centimeters taller, and another missing tooth. The home felt devoid of all life.
"Please!" She sobbed with a weak bang at a locked door, her small fist unable to cause any real disturbance.
His features screwed up in disdain, anger pooled in his core at her tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes, her throat had been cried raw.
Despite what he may feel, he pushed on, stepping past the youngling to round the corner into a sort of living space. His optics spotted Lauren with ease. Her head was poked out around a corner just barely visible, her large eyes set on the hunched male figure.
Megatron approached her side to see from her angle. The male's back heaved with shudders wracking his body, free hand buried in his unkempt hair while the other cradled a glass bottle. Her sire- father, he recalled bitterly, a growl crawled up his throat.
Her father sobbed, discarding the bottle as he wept into his palms. The abandoned beverage soaked the beige carpet, but went unnoticed.
He panned his sights down to Lauren. No tears spilled from her glassy eyes as she gripped the wall's corner tight enough to turn her knuckles white, her brows laced together as bags clung to her much too youthful skin. What was once a blinding smile was soured into a deep set frown.
He pulled away from the situation, turning to step into what he assumed was a kitchen.
Lauren sat at the wood dining table, opposite of her slumbering father. His snores filled the silence as she sat over some paper, a pencil in hand. Her face screwed up into concentration as she stared down a problem on her worksheet.
The decepticon crept up behind her, peering down at what she slaved over. It looked like mathematics.
Her small hand buried into her knotted hair as her eyes flick up to her father. A moment of contemplation crossed her features, before she ultimately dismissed her thoughts, eyes returning to the paper. Lead divots peppered the side column from where she tapped her pencil.
Megatron took a tentative step back, retreating from the kitchen. Her turned, staring at the new scene before him, the surroundings dimly lit and quiet. His optics fell upon a large room, chairs set in even rows with a casket set at the front. He spotted Lauren's small form as she was the only inhabitant.
Lauren, perched on her tiptoes, gazed fondly into the open casket.
Approaching slowly, he took his place just close enough to observe. The crimson of his optics laid upon the young woman admits the deathbed. His sights traced her features conscientiously and it didn't take him any time to find the relation.
The young girl allowed tears to slip down her cheeks silently with no regard, she sniffled as she looked upon her mother for the last time.
The scene made something inside of him wrench against his will. He frowned deeply, jerking to turn away to face a new scene. He was thrust into an unfamiliar location, another home. A piano note made his helm crane to the side.
"I can't do it, it's impossible. I don't even like this song." Lauren sulked, her arms crossed over her chest as an older woman sat beside her.
"Well, you'll never learn with that kind of attitude." The elderly woman quipped. "Come on, once more, from the beginning." She smiled down at the young child expectantly.
Lauren huffed before uncrossing her arms. "What's the point?"
"Oh don't be like that, you're a natural. Every great musician stumbles before they can run." The graying woman supplied gently. "Alright! Left hand on 'F' and 'AB', right hand hovers. Clair de Lune, come on."
With another sigh, she obeyed. Placing her fingers accordingly, she pressed out the melodic tune with some hiccups, but played through it nonetheless.
He blinked and she'd aged, sat atop the stool before the grand instrument with her sights set expectantly on the aging teacher. "Do you remember all the notes without the sheet music?"
Lauren nodded. "I think so, yes."
"Don't keep me waiting then, girl, play!" The elderly woman exaggerated playfully.
Exhaling, she went through the motions of playing out another song, this time her movements more deliberate and confident.
He'd blinked several more times in that time and each time the scene changed ever so slightly; she grew taller, her features maturing slowly with time, while the aging teacher slowed and tired quicker.
Megatron turned away, leaving the small room only to step into another area that was familiar in the vaguest sense. The uneven wooden floor and sun faded wallpaper was something he recalled from a previous memory. He peered into the doorway of a small washroom, the appliances dated.
Her back was to him, she was taller, slightly older. Her face was reflected back to him in the small mirror above the sink, her features screwed up. She looked troubled and pained.
The decepticon approached closer this time, his reflection joining her as he was mere inches from making any type of contact.
Her hand was planted along the sink basic while the opposite hand held a pair of well used kitchen scissors. Sapphire eyes were bloodshot as her skin flushed, her long hair hung loose around her shoulders like a veil.
Was she going to slice away her tresses again? He couldn't decipher what her mind was conjuring.
Lauren cursed quietly as she dropped her head, shoulders slumping in turn. She sucked up a sniffle as she tossed the scissors into the porcelain basin harshly. The pre-teen bat hair from her face as she stormed out of the bathroom, bypassing the mech altogether.
Megatron turned to follow, but was stopped by the appearance of all things familiar. The barn looked starkly different from the day he happened upon it.
"First things first, kid, you wanna disconnet the battery unless you want to end up looking like 'ole me." The elderly man laughed with a crooked smile. Lauren stifled a small smile as she dutifully disconnect the car battery. "Aye, look! You're a natural!" The stout man, her grandfather, bent to peer into the engine cavity while the young teen watched him with assiduity. "Good, good. Right, now you wanna remove the sparkplug's wires."
She leaned into the engine to get a better look." These ones?" She pointed at a set of blue and orange wires.
Her grandfather raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Am I teachin' you or are you teachin' me?" He chuckled before handing over a specialized pair of pliers. "Don't yank the wires, only the boot after its loose. Think you can handle that?"
"Yeah, I got it." She took the pliers promptly, a small smile painted her face as she got to work. Soon enough, the wires were freed and she turned to her grandfather for further guidance.
He stidied her work with an approving nod. "Good, good. Now-"
Lauren snatched the socket tool from his well worked hands, returning to the task at hand. The action caught the older male and the mech off guard.
Within a minute, the sparkplug was freed from the truck- her truck he recalled. "Got it."
"Oh, give me that." Her grandfather swiped the plug from her teasingly.
The barn was cleaner all those years ago, well kept with a fresher paint job. It was odd seeing it in such a livened state.
Megatron turned on his heel, spotting a similarly aged Lauren crouched in a bed of pink flowers in full bloom, the sun shone bright at its highest peak.
An aging woman with short hair approached with gloved hands and a basket in hand. "Lauren, be a dear and pick me six rock roses. The smiths wanted some for their daughter."
The mech took several strides over toward her crouched figure, his body not casting any shadows. The starkness of her in the bunches of flowers was a something to behold. The contrast between her and the brightness was both arrant in contrast and yet it complimented her to perfection.
She plucked a flower with a swift yank.
"No! Use the shears you wild child!" The older woman bellowed.
The brunette snickered, but did as she was told and snipped the remaining stems exactly.
His optics didn't leave the scene as he backed away, he held on staring for as long as possible before he turned.
The scene changed to that truck once more, her truck. Lauren sat behind the wheel, a couple years older, her grandfather in the passenger seat.
"Keep your hands on ten and two and ease onto the gas-" The truck jerked forward suddenly with a stutter. "EASE onto the gas, kid."
Lauren blushed in embarrassment, but complied, easing onto the gas pedal with caution. The truck eased forward gently and a toothy smile broke out over her face.
The old man reached up to adjust the rearview mirror, angling it just right, so that it was aligned with her field of vision. "Always check your surroundings before doing anything. We worked hard on this truck."
She nodded promptly, glancing up to the mirror once.
Megatron turned, leaving the memory. In doing so, led him to the farm house once more. In the kitchen he stood along with her grandparents. Lauren sat at the quaint dining table, a small cake before her with brightly lit candle adorning the top.
"Make a wish sweetheart!" Her grandmother exclaimed, a grin pulled at her wrinkling skin.
The teen sat there for a moment, before closing her eyes, and blowing out the candles. A flash went off suddenly, the candles wafted smoke.
"Sorry, couldn't help myself." Her grandfather chortled earnestly.
"Oh, it's your favorite! Vanilla!" The elderly woman returned with a plate and a knife to dish up the baked good.
Backing out of the kitchen, the tyrant was confronted with the blankness of a bedroom door. He furrowed his brow ridge in contemplation, then he heard it, the faintest sound. A muffled cry.
Pushing in on the door, it creaked open to reveal Lauren curled atop her unmade bed, her face stuffed in a pillow as her body was wracked with sobs. He'd almost reached out, demanded she cease such a behavior.
The young girl trembled, shoving her head further into the plush fabric each time a whimper escaped her.
The room was dark, void of all light, leaving her to cry into the darkness. The scene bubbled up something akin to disdain in him. She wasn't supposed to look like that. Not her.
He all, but retreated from the bedroom, thrusting himself into a new scene entirely to distract himself. He was in the living room again, her grandparents huddled close, smiles plastered across each of their faces. He followed their eyes to the stairs where he saw Lauren take slow steps down, holding the railing for support.
He stared at her, long and hard as she came fully into view. Her hair had been styled tediously, her eyes adorn with dark makeup making the blue of her irises pop substantially. A red, sleek dress draped her body as if the garment had been handcrafted just for her.
"Oh, you just look ravishing! Doesn't she honey?" Her grandmother gushed in pure joy.
Her grandfather huffed out a snicker. "Positively. Curfew is eight."
"Nine." Lauren quipped at the base of the stairs.
"Eight-thirty, best I can offer." He smirked.
"Deal." She agreed, fingering at the smooth satin fabric of her dress.
"Are you driving there?" Her grandmother inquired. "Or is he picking you up?"
"Uh, he said he'd pick me up. I'll go wait on the porch." Lauren strode past her grandparents and out onto the front porch. Megatron followed suit, watching as she took a seat on the swinging chair.
Him? Who was she out with? Was it a formal event? He found himself questioning the excursion.
Lauren waited for almost an hour before trying to call her prom date, to no avail. So, she waited some more as the sun began its descent beyond the horizon.
Anger brewed in the decepticon at the ordeal, his optics trained on her seated form.
Her hands lay folded in her lap, her knuckles white and face panned downward. The sunset devolved into the dark of night and the dance was definitely long over with. Crickets chirped as a gust of wind swept her curled hair aside. A slow exhale left her as she climbed to her feet, her heels left to rot on the porch.
She kept her head down as she entered the house, bypassing any and all questions her grandparents threw at her.
Lauren slammed the bathroom door, makeup stained tears streaked her ashen cheeks as she angrily forced a brush through her hair, undoing all her work.
Megatron observed in silence as she smeared her makeup trying to scratch it off her skin.
"So fucking stupid..." She'd hissed at herself as she forcefully shed the satin dress, tearing the zipper in the process before throwing the clothing to the floor. Eventually, through her tears, she was able to scrub her skin raw, riding it of all makeup. Her hair frizzed and wild from the excessive brushing. Lauren stormed out of the bathroom and her door slamming followed there after.
As soon as he emerged from the tiled bathroom, he was thrust into something completely new. This scene was immediately palpable, heavy with other people bustling about and chatter echoing through the large Atrium. Megatron was instantly filled with displeasure, his optics scanning for Lauren or her next of kin.
"Next up is Lauren Ridgwell representing Errington Highschool in their rendition of 'Turning Page' by Sleeping at Last." A loud spokesman voice called out from the neighboring room.
Megatron turned swiftly and emerged into the ample concert hall. All the lights dimmed to darkness as the spotlight illuminated Lauren and her piano. If his spark could've seized in that moment, he'd of buckled over.
Lauren exhaled under the spotlight, her white dress hugged her ribs as she breathed, the train of the garment swept aside to cascade out over the leather bench. Her fingers danced across the glossy keys fluidly.
"I've waited a hundred years, But I'd wait a million more for you."
Megatron was frozen, rooted where he stood as he gazed upon her. He'd experienced something of this very nature from her very own eyes, but...
"Nothing prepared me for, What the privilege of being yours would do."
He dare not blink lest the scene be ripped away, robbing him of such an experience. He'd seen this through her eyes, but...
"I would have known what I was living for all along."
If he were to surrender his spark to primus and this were the last thing he'd ever experienced, he'd die with no regrets. None, not a single one. Her voice pulled at him with an invisible force. She was so... What was the word?
"What I've been living for. Your love is my turning page. Where only the sweetest words remain."
Lauren's voice carried euphoniously with each word that her lips created. What was the right word to use...?
"I surrender who I've been for who you are. For nothing makes me stronger than your fragile heart. If I had only felt how it feels to be yours. Well, I would have known what I've been living for all along. What I've been living for..."
He took a calculated step forward, his optics never leaving her performance. She looked out into the crowd and he could've swore that he'd been grazed by her sapphire eyes. That word...
"Though we're tethered to the story we must tell. When I saw you, well I knew we'd tell it well. With a whisper, we will tame the vicious seas, Like a feather, bringing kingdoms to their knees."
Beautiful. She was absolutely beautiful.
Suddenly, all was dark again and he was back within the void of darkness. He turned spotting a single pink flower off in the distance, its bring color stuck out harshly in the blackness.
He'd closed the gap between him and the flower quickly, the small blossom was almost microscopic beneath his presence. The flower swayed gently as if there was wind disturbing it, despite him feeling no draft.
A rock rose, he remembered.
He stooped, snatching up the blossom. When he stood to height once more, he noted the entire void became akin to a flower field. The rose he'd plucked was nowhere to be seen.
Megatron turned, spotting a glint, followed the shimmer with a swiftness.
What he happened upon was small, barely befitting of his palm, and brilliant. He grasped at the small light gently.
As soon as his claws made contact with the glimmer it was as if a wave of knowledge and recognition poured over him. He was stuck in place as images spanning years confronted him.
He saw himself, the titan he is, his men and how imposing they looked.
This is from her. This is her. The images flashed by so quickly he was only able to spot her sapphire eyes in all the chaos of the moment, shining true like beacons.
And, suddenly, there was crying that could only be spawned from the new vocal chords of an infant. Shrill and high pitched, the moment of birth. The scene slowed then, and it was like he was seeing her for the first time. She was small, her blue eyes much too big for her small face as they pierced him.
"My little girl." A tiresome woman spoke fondly.
Everything went fast from there, going forward with time. Every life event, every moment down to the second he saw in a lapse until she was opening her eyes again, bleary and glassy.
Lauren's eyes blinked open to stare up at him, blood soaked her clothing and painted her pale skin. She could only stare at him as her heart pumped blood once more and her lungs filled with oxygen causing her chest to expand uncomfortably.
He'd watched life flow into her once more in that moment just as the world had heard her shrill cries just moments after being born.
Rebirth. Breathing new life into her very being and adjoining them. He'd stand by her side until the day after forever, his vow in that moment of her wake.
Megatron opened his optics and stared down at the small orb of light. His claw grazed the glimmer and it responded in kind, taking to him as if it'd known him all his life.
This was her, Lauren. Everything that she was, is, and will ever be.
The light kept close as it trailed toward his spark chamber, seeking before trailing back down to his claws where it left him.
He followed dutifuly, never letting it out of sight.
His vision stuttered and suddenly she was there once more, curled onto her side, her head rested atop her bag. The pink flowers cradled her small form.
The glimmer left him to hover her.
The decepticon reach out, brushing hair from her face and tucking it along the backside of her ear. She didn't stir. He stood to height as a strung gust of wind swept past him, scattering all the flowers in a tidal way of petals.
He listened as her heart beat slow and methodically, the noise soothing.
Though, the sound of her heart slowed to a stop. He turned to face her small form, her eyes open and not looking at him.
"Bug," Megatron began.
"You need to get up." Lauren stated flatly, her eyes never budging to meet him. He blinked and she was amiss, leaving him to the void once more.
Get up.
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