Chapter 5: Meet Rafael

Steve recovered from his wounds rather quickly. Within two weeks, he was up on his pedes and interacting with the rest of the team. Megatron was surprised to see him getting along with everyone so well. It made him think about what life must've been like on the other side. Steve must've been so unhappy being forced to serve Nemesis.

Today, they were going to meet their first human face-to-face. Starscream was occupied with another task, so Megatron decided to bring Soundwave with him instead.

Stepping out of the groundbridge portal, Megatron took a quick scan of the area to make sure no threats were nearby. They seemed to be in some sort of abandoned building complex.

"This spot is supposed to be kept a secret, but I don't think he'll mind. You're the good guys anyway." Steve said as he led Megatron and Soundwave between two buildings.

"How long have you been communicating with this human?" Megatron asked out of curiosity.

Steve shrugged and continued walking. "A few weeks, probably. Nemesis didn't find out until a few days ago. He's my connection to the human world!" He exclaimed.

Megatron nodded, then cast a questioning glance at Soundwave. The silent mech only shrugged and kept following Steve.

After navigating through another alleyway, Steve brought them over to a secluded area. The structures had crumbled and nature had taken over, with grass growing through cracks in the concrete and trees growing through windows.

Sitting on a small pile of fallen bricks was a young boy. He lifted his head when he heard them approaching and pushed his glasses up, a smile immediately appearing on his face.

"Hey Steve!" He greeted the Vehicon, hopping off the brick pile. He looked up at Megatron and Soundwave in awe. "Woah, you brought friends this time!"

"Yeah. They saved me from near death!" Steve replied cheerfully.

"That's awesome!" The boy exclaimed. "You're even bigger than Steve!"

Megatron chuckled in amusement. This human seemed rather young, was it not fully grown yet? He slowly got down on one knee so he could get a better look. "Hm. You humans are still small up close. Do you have a name, young one?"

"I'm Rafael, but you can call me Raf if you want."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Rafael. My name is Megatron. I am the leader of the Decepticons. This is my communications chief, Soundwave." Megatron explained, gesturing to Soundwave as he introduced him.

Rafael looked over at Soundwave, who had been silently listening to the conversation. He tilted his head curiously, then offered a smile and friendly wave.

Soundwave seemed confused on what to do. He glanced at Megatron for instruction.

"It's a human custom to wave when greeting someone." Megatron told the slender mech, trying to encourage him. He knew Soundwave wasn't the best at understanding social cues, so he tried to teach him things when he could.

"Yeah! All you have to do is wave your hand like this, see?" Rafael slowly waved his hand from side to side, making sure Soundwave was watching. "Now you try!"

Soundwave looked down at his servo, then back at Rafael. Slowly, he began to mimic the boy's movement.

"That's it! Good job!" Rafael praised happily.

Megatron smiled softly. This was exactly the kind of interaction he was hoping for. "You are very bright, Rafael. I admire your courage as well. Most humans would run away in fear if they saw us."

Rafael returned the smile and rocked back on his heels. "Thank you. I don't really have very many friends. Plus, I've always wanted to meet aliens!"

"Knowledge of our presence on Earth comes with great consequences. If the Autobots discover our relationship, you could be put in grave danger and I don't want you to get hurt." Megatron explained, becoming serious again. "Would you allow me and my team to protect you should you ever face a threat such as the Autobots?"

Rafael thought about it for a moment, though he already seemed to have made up his mind. "Of course! Is there any way I can help?"

"During the periods of time where we cannot be there to protect you, you must keep your guard up. If we are discovered by more humans, that could bring unwanted attention. We must remain hidden from your world to avoid unnecessary conflict."

"Your secret is safe with me!"

***

Megatron wasn't originally planning on spending so much time with Rafael. The boy knew many things about human culture and was more than happy to tell him what he wanted to know. So he kept asking questions and sharing stories, losing track of time as he did so. It wasn't until he received a ping from Dreadwing that he realized how long he'd been gone.

<<Sir, whatever you're doing, you better finish it fast! I just picked up two Autobot signals and they're converging on your position.>>

"Scrap.." Megatron cursed at himself for losing track of time. He quickly stood to his full height and looked at Soundwave. "Soundwave, take Rafael and Steve back to base."

Soundwave was reluctant to leave.

"That's an order, now go!" Megatron urged. The last thing he wanted was Rafael to be put in harm's way along with his teammates.

After a moment's hesitation, Soundwave nodded and carefully scooped Rafael into his servos. He summoned a groundbridge and disappeared into its depths within seconds, Steve at his heels.

Once he heard the groundbridge portal sizzle out of existence, Megatron let out a small sigh of relief. Now that they were gone, he could focus on the threat.

"Well look who we've got here." A voice from behind him seethed. "This must be our lucky day."

Megatron swiftly turned on his heel, coming face to face with Bumblebee and Arcee. The pair had him cornered, with walls of concrete to his right and left as well as behind him. He managed to remain calm, waiting to see what they would do.

"The unworthy Megatron, all alone." Arcee said with a sneer, her blades unsheathing from her forearms in a flash. "If this was all it took to get you alone, we should've done it eons ago!"

Megatron's spark sunk when he realized how this had happened. "You tracked Steve's signal."

"That pathetic Vehicon? Yeah, it was definitely a surprise to see his sorry aft online, but we're glad that he could lead us straight to you." Arcee grinned maliciously.

"Funny. Leaving one of your own kind to die is low, even for you." Megatron uttered bitterly, anger flaring up in his spark.

Arcee's mouth twitched and she snarled. "That worthless drone is nothing compared to us! We are superior! You will regret insulting the Autobot name like that!" She went to step forward, but Bumblebee's arm flashed out to keep her back. Her head slowly turned so she could glare at him. "What are you doing?"

"Our orders were to find Megatron and wait for Lord Nemesis. Not take him on ourselves!" Bumblebee growled at the small femme.

"I don't care!" Arcee spat venomously, shoving past Bumblebee. "I've waited far too long for this moment! Today is the day that I will stain my blades with your lifeblood, Megatron!" With a furious war cry, she ran forwards and launched herself at him.