"Somebody make me feel alive,
And shatter me,"

»«

When he got to the planet, it didn't occur to Megatron that he had no idea where Dana might be. The warlord knew for certain where the old Autobot base had been, but not where they had relocated. He supposed, however, that Jasper would be the best place to start first. Because he lacked shielding, his life signature was being broadcasted to anyone who was listening. Hopefully, whoever found him was a friend, and not a foe.

Flying as fast as he could through the atmosphere, Megatron quickly found the destroyed remains of the city and of his former base of operations: Darkmount. Zipping over the destruction he transformed and landed with a loud boom, kicking up the sand that had settled there. Gazing at his fallen tower, he only felt a little sense of remorse for what could have been. It was a brief moment of victory torn from his servos, because the Autobots refused to give up Earth until their dying breaths.

They were much stronger, and more honorable, than he gave them credit for.

A Spacebridge opened up to his right, an unexpected surprise, and Megatron turned to see who was coming through, prepared to defend himself should they prove hostile. A smaller figure walked through the portal, Ratchet regarding him silently before he put a digit to his audio receptor.

"It's him. Let her through."

Megatron tore his gaze away from the medic as another figure exited the bridge, familiar green eyes gazing up at him as the bridge closed behind them. The silver streak in her hair had become a bright blue which matched Ratchet's optics to the hue. Silence permeated the old battleground that had become of her hometown as they took one another in.

Eventually, Megatron found the words he wanted to say, looking at Ratchet. "I suppose your prediction was right, doctor. We meet again."

"That's it?" Dana demanded from him. "You leave and then sixth months later decide to show up again and not apologize for it?"

"I was getting to that part," He replied, his outwardly appearance making it difficult to see him as gentle as he wanted to be perceived. Six months, and he had not tried to downgrade his armor, or get rid of it. Ratchet noticed suspicious claw marks around his shoulders and forearms, but the medic decided to question him later. "But I am not sure how to go about doing it in such a way that will satisfy you."

Dana crossed her arms. "Don't give me that excuse."

Ratchet found it fascinating, how easily she stood up to Megatron, who had increased in height and girth thanks to Unicron's tampering. He also found a bit of amusement, a tiny human, not even six feet tall, pitting herself against a thirty-two foot tall titan.

It also terrified him, because all Megatron had to do was take one step forward, and she would die instantly.

"As trivial as ever," Megatron glared at her, "I come to make things right, and you give me a fight every step of the way."

"Did you think I was going to let this be easy for you?" She snapped. "Because it sure wasn't easy for me. I help you, and you run away!"

"Is that not what you did to me?" He snarled, noticing Ratchet shift forward with a clenched servo out of the corner of his optic. If he so much as made a move to hurt Dana, the medic would do his best to pummel him to the ground.

His retort silenced her when she realized he was right, her cheeks flushed red with blood. Her shoulders slumped, indicating a sense of defeat, yet her arms remained crossed; it was a subconscious defensive posture.

"I came here because I realized I was . . . Lonely." He confessed, gazing at her. "And I knew there was no hope in going back to Cybertron; they would execute me the moment my pedes touched the soil. So I came here, because I believed you of all people would accept me, allow me to stay. I want no trouble with you, or anyone else. If need be, I will just find a place to sequester myself on this rock."

She frowned, noticing it wasn't much of an apology, if one at all. Her silence was his indication that he shouldn't be done talking yet, and the former Decepticon ex-vented as he came up with an apology, despite the pain it caused his pride.

"I . . .  Am sorry. Truly, for all of it. You did what you thought was right, and because you cared enough about me to at least try to help me; you did help me. I was wrong for leaving you, even though I no longer wanted anything to do with the Decepticons or Autobots. I should not have punished you while I was punishing myself, it was selfish. But, now, I have come back, because I want to try and make things right again, just as I had done before."

Dana did not interrupt him as he spoke, rambled, to her about how remorseful he was. She noticed his refusal to look at her, possibly because he was ashamed that he, a mighty warmonger, had to apologize. Really, truly apologize.

Ratchet could sense her reluctance, and he was just as hesitant to grant Megatron any sort of forgiveness. The mech before him had committed terrible atrocities, war crimes, and had bouts of questionable judgement. Yes, he was keen, clever, and powerful, but the medic did not want to invite an alliance that would turn into Megatron taking back his leadership role and abusing its power.

"How do I know you're genuine about that?" She asked.

Megatron gave her a surprised look, his expression becoming slightly hurt and angry at the question. "Because I am, Dana."

The human woman blinked, then looked at her guardian for guidance. She assumed that he could infer her question simply because they knew one another so well, but the medic could sense the question through the spark shard which was now tapped into her central nervous system, giving him the ability to know her emotions and less complex thoughts and notions.

Should we let him in the base? Do we trust him?

Ratchet frowned a bit, optics narrowed at Megatron. "So, if we reject you, you will just fly off somewhere else on this planet?"

"Preferably a place where there is energon." The warlord confirmed. "I have accepted the fact that I may not be welcome to anyone, not even to you. Should the Harbinger still be operational, I may simply reside there, undisturbed."

"We've taken all available tech from both halves of the ship." Ratchet crossed his arms. "It is no longer well-suited for Cybertronian life."

"I'm certain I can make do." Megatron replied dismissively. "I have no need for a communications hub or weapons, only a working lab which can process energon."

Ratchet and Dana looked at one another in thought. It seemed the Decepticon truly did not want anything but solitude, if that was his only option. Granted, his words had to be taken with a grain of salt, yet his tone suggested he was not deceiving them.

"I promise you, Dana, I would never lie to you." Megatron said. "Nor will I ever."

There was more surprised silence.

"If we bring you back to our base," Dana said slowly, "would you consider teaming up with us? Not as a leader, but a comrade?"

"I find it hard to imagine myself serving under another." Megatron's lip plates pulled back slightly, sharp denta exposing themself in an expression of distaste.

"Considering it is our base, you would follow our rules." Ratchet pointed out, looking none too happy about Dana's offer, but Megatron's strength and knowledge could prove useful to them. "And, as I happen to be the one and only Autobot - Cybertronian - working to provide protection for Earth, it would stand to reason that I maintain control. Besides, I don't trust you, Agent Fowler doesn't trust you, and the human government won't trust you. There is no possible scenario where you would become leader."

Megatron listened, his dislike of the situation becoming more and more apparent. Yet one look at the human he had come to see, and he realized it was this, or nothing. An unexpected sense of relief calmed his processor. It made sense, to create an alliance. There was no longer any war, or reason to not put his faith in the Autobot medic. Age was one thing Ratchet had over Megatron, and the warlord reluctantly talked himself into accepting the fact that when it came to Earth, relationships, and peace, Ratchet was more suited to handle the tasks at hand than he.

War was all Megatron knew. Fighting, survival. He had created the Decepticons in hopes that one day he would no longer need to just survive, but live. And now, though they did not realize it, he was being offered a chance.

He would be a fool to refuse it.

"I will relinquish my command, then, to you." Megatron bowed his helm a little, noticing how the blow to his pride didn't hurt as much as he had imagined. "I will follow your lead then, medic."

"At least show me a little respect and call me by my given designation." Ratchet scoffed, a bridge opening up behind them once again. "And no, 'lord' or 'master' will not be necessary."

Dana snorted a little. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind the titles, though."

Ratchet gave her a silent glare, the human femme laughing a little at the expression. Megatron stared a little, not having seen such an aspect from her before. It was . . . Nice, he supposed. To see her content and even joyous was something he had never experienced before with her, and it created a small sense of guilt within him.

As silly as it felt, Megatron wondered if, one day, he would be able to illicit a laugh from her. Stepping through the portal, Megatron slowly made his way inside the new Autobot base, leaving his former self behind and walking into a new way of life.