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Megatron never thought happiness would be something he achieved. Yet there he was, cradling his two month old sparklings Mercy and Flux. Nearby, Optimus was play fighting with Beacon, who was quickly becoming the largest of their offspring. His tail was the first to split, and he was the first to figure out crawling. Optimus poked and prodded Beacon’s little belly and the baby warframe tried to grab and smack his sire’s servos while chirping and burbling excitedly.
“No wonder he can’t sleep,” Megatron chastised lightly, “you get him too worked up.”
Optimus wrinkled his nose at his mate. “He has your energy,” he retorted, “that’s not my fault.”
Megatron snorted. “I have never had that much energy.”
“Lies,” Optimus said. His expression and spark were full of nothing but adoration.
Megatron couldn’t help his growing smile. Flux stirred in his arms and Megatron dipped his head to kiss the top of his helm. “Hush, love,” he cooed.
The rest of the Autobots were out sparring in the woods, and Cade had gone into town, leaving Optimus, Megatron, and the sparklings to relax in the hangar that housed everyone’s beds. So when Megatron heard the roar of an approaching shuttle engine, panic pierced his spark. Optimus was up in a flash, gently passing Beacon to Megatron and going to the door of the hangar to peek out.
When he glanced back at Megatron, his expression was raw and concerned. “Go to the den,” he commanded. “Now.” His battlemask snapped into place.
Megatron didn’t hesitate, gathering the little ones and slipping out the back door. He was terrified for Optimus but they both knew the sparklings came first. Megatron skidded down the wooded path that followed the river and led to the waterfall cave where he’d birthed the little ones, roughly five miles from the house.
The hint of relief Megatron had felt as he got closer to the den was immediately dashed when the clearing came into view. He slid to a halt and tightened his grip on the sparklings, shielding them with his arms as much as possible.
A purple warframe who Megatron hadn’t seen in eons was leaning against the rockface where the entrance to the den was hidden, whistling. Terror struck Megatron like a hot prod to the spark.
“Ah, finally,” the mech said. He pushed off of the rocks and sauntered closer. “Been a hot minute, hasn’t it, Megatron?”
No. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. Megatron clenched his jaw so hard his teeth hurt. He should have known the monster he’d created would come back for him. “Tarn,” he snarled.
Tarn tilted his head, mocking, and Megatron just knew there was a shit eating grin on his face under the purple Decepticon insignia shaped mask he wore. “You don’t seem as happy to see me as I am to see you,” he said, voice full of faux innocence.
Megatron was too busy sending out an emergency SOS message to all the Autobots to respond. Tarn, who could never stand the quiet, chuckled.
“You know, we were tracking Nickel, had no idea we’d get —what’s the human saying— ah, two birds with one stone. Also, I must say, I did not expect to find this ,” he said, waving idly to the bitlets. “I would congratulate you. If they weren’t tainted.” Still Megatron refused to speak. “I knew you were a coward, but I never could have imagined you’d go so far as to lay with a Prime to protect yourself.”
Megatron’s energon went cold. “We?” he repeated. There was no way the rest of DJD were still alive. Not after all this time. Please, no, he thought.
Tarn tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. “Does it scare you, Megatron? That everything you hold dear is about to be crushed, solely because of your own actions?” A hoarse laugh escaped him. “Let’s take a walk, carrier .”
Megatron’s old war frame was quickly humming to life, not-so-forgotten battle protocols coming online and he was trembling with the force of his fear, Optimus’ terror, and the rage in both of them. The sparklings felt all of this and woke up wailing.
Tarn laughed heartily. “Ah, they understand how this ends. So intelligent already. Unfortunate.”
There was no point trying to calm down the sparklings, not when their little sparks were tethered to Megatron and Optimus’ and feeling the brunt of their fear. So Megatron, against all of his instincts, turned his back as Tarn instructed. He was trembling, every alarm going off in his processor as he started back up the path he’d just come down.
Tarn chuckled. “So obedient now,” he mused. “Must be the carrier coding wreaking havoc. The old Megatron—”
“I am not the old Megatron and I will never return to that mech,” Megatron snarled. “If that makes me soft and docile, so be it. But if you harm my family, my loved ones , I will kill you. That is a promise, Tarn.”
“Cute,” was all Tarn said. He prodded Megatron in the back and hurried him up the path.
In his prime, Megatron was certain he could destroy Tarn. Now. . . it was a bluff and they both knew it.
Megatron’s spark ached in his chassis. It was a pain like he’d never known, the phantom pain of severed bonds, like Megatron’s spark was already prepared for the worst possible outcome. When they stumbled into the clearing formed by the house, barn, and hangar, the worst case scenario didn’t seem so far away.
Optimus was on his knees, battle mask broken and hanging by a hinge from his jaw, chest dented and scraped and bloodied. Behind him, holding a blaster to his helm, was Kaon. The mech was still as wiry and small as Megatron remembered, and with the electricity that coursed through Kaon’s frame from the generator in his chest, it wasn’t surprising that he could overpower Optimus if he’d caught him off guard like Tarn had Megatron. Nearby stood Tesarus, the largest of the DJD, arms crossed and pinning Nickel against the inactive but massive grinder in his chest. Optimus and Nickel watched Megatron with the same broken expression, a wretched angry wail escaping Nickel.
She thrashed in Tesarus’ hold, cursing Tarn and the rest of them. “You wouldn’t dare kill sparklings!” she shouted. “You’re not that kind of monster, Tarn, don’t!”
Megatron looked around, desperately hoping the other Autobots were nearby. If not. . .
Tesarus tilted his helm slightly, eyeing Megatron and the screaming bitlets in his arms. “Tarn,” he started, voice uncertain.
“What good fortune we have,” Tarn interrupted, irritated, “to find two of the mechs at the top of our list. Don’t you think so, Kaon?” He shoved Megatron’s shoulder and he stumbled, falling to his knees in front of Optimus, just barely avoiding falling on the sparklings.
Kaon let out a cackle of a laugh. “Let’s kill ‘em all, boss!”
Megatron stared into Optimus’ optics and it felt like their world was burning around them. The bitlets were still howling, and nothing would be able to stop them. They knew better than to speak, each all too aware of how Tarn loved to talk, loved to engage with his victims and feed off their fear.
“I suppose we could,” Tarn said with a chuckle. “But the Autobots are not on our list.” He leaned down and whispered right in Megatron’s audial receptor, “you’re wondering where they are, aren’t you? Your group was so perfectly divided, so easy to immobilize. I should bring them here, to watch you suffer and die, but that would be messy, uncoordinated.” He straightened. “You know how I feel about disorganization, old friend.” Venom dripped from his words and he spat them like they were poison on his tongue.
Optimus snarled at Tarn and it earned him a harsh punch to the back of his head. Megatron couldn’t stop the worried sound that escaped him.
“Adorable,” Tarn laughed, “how well you pretend.” Megatron bared his teeth and Tarn tilted his helm curiously. “Unless. . .” he scoffed. “You actually love him, don’t you? You want this life, it’s not simply self preservation. How rich.”
“Tarn?” Tesarus asked. He slowly set Nickel down but kept a servo on her shoulder to keep her from running. “Are we really going to kill the first sparklings of the next generation?”
Megatron’s optics shot to Tes. He subtly laid the sparklings on the grass between him and Optimus, every nerve in his body preparing. He had to fight, had to do something. Had to protect his family. Tarn was there for him. He sent all this to Optimus but he couldn’t linger on the pungent look of panic and refusal on his mate’s face.
“Dont,” Optimus mouthed.
Tarn stalked closer to Tesarus. “You’ve been on the fence since we lost Nickel,” he said slowly. “She abandoned us, and so did Megatron. He deserted, turned tail and fraternized with an Autobot instead of continuing the fight for Cybertron. Those sparklings are mixed blood, they’re tainted, Tes. Nothing good will come from them.”
Tesarus shook his helm. “Tarn, they’re just babies. I’ve stood by you with everything but this, this is too far. We’ve never killed kids before.”
“This is where your moral code comes into play?” Tarn scoffed. His helm dipped and he whispered, “Very well.” He took two fast steps forward, activating his outlier ability, and continued to speak, his words ensnaring Tes. “ You’ve been so good to us, dear Tesarus ,” he began, his very words ensnaring the much larger mech and forcing his spark to begin self-destructing.
Megatron and Optimus lurched into action at the same moment, Optimus dropping forward to cover the sparklings with his frame as Kaon immediately reacted by letting loose a liturgy of shots. Megatron grunted in pain as one of the blasts struck his side but he didn’t falter. He made straight for Tarn, who was half turned when Megatron collided with him, tackling him at the waist.
Kaon switched focus to Megatron, firing at him as he charged up his generator to prepare to blast Optimus. Out of the corner of his eye, Megatron saw Optimus push off the ground, but that’s all he could see before he and Tarn hit the ground. Tarn laughed as they grappled and he came out on top. He began to reign punches down on Megatron’s head, but Megatron howled and kicked his legs wildly, twisting his hips to unseat Tarn. He managed to get an arm free and rip Tarn’s mask off. Tarn’s smile faltered and the moment of surprise was all Megatron needed to flip them.
In the background, Megatron could faintly hear Nickel and Optimus fighting Kaon, but there was no thought, no concern, in his processor. All there was was rage, raw and hot and vicious and coursing through Megatron. Protect, destroy: It all ran together and fueled the blows he bore down on Tarn, first shattering his jaw so he couldn’t speak and use his outlier ability, making him choke on his own energon.
Tarn kicked Megatron off of him and struggled to get his footing back. He spat a wad of energon and broken metal bits from his jaw, and there was an eerie, bloody smile on his scarred face. Megatron scrambled back over, and in a blind rage, he grabbed Tarn by the back of the neck so hard his digits dug into Tarn’s exposed protoform. With a blood curdling scream, Megatron made one huge sweeping motion and ripped the spine right out of Tarn’s back.
Tarn’s body slumped and fell to the ground, energon seeping out around him and soaking into the earth as Megatron stood over him, panting. He dropped Tarn’s spine, energon warm on his servo, splattered on his face, his chest, his arms. Megatron stared down at his oldest disciple’s corpse, awareness slowly returning to him.
Sound came back first; the wailing of the sparklings, Optimus calling out to Megatron, the other Autobots thundering into the clearing, his own labored breathing. Then the self awareness, the debilitating guilt, the knowledge that his rage overtook him, the fact that the sparklings and Optimus saw everything.
Megatron, servos trembling, took a shaky step backwards from Tarn’s body. He glanced at Optimus, whose optics were wide and horrified, and took off running. He didn’t know where he was going, he just knew he couldn’t bear to see everyone’s reactions to the heinous thing he just did.
Megatron ran, following the river until his legs gave out and he crumbled on the pebbled shore. He gasped for air and crawled his way to the water’s edge, dipping his energon-covered servos into the frigid water. It wasn’t enough, Tarn’s blood was caked into his seams, into the little gears and crevices of his digits. He sobbed, grieving the mech he thought he’d become, the kinder, gentler version of himself that had taken the wheel for so many months. Had he murdered that side of himself as he’d slaughtered Tarn? He found a narrow rock and scraped it against his servos, trying to clean off the energon and the weight of his actions. He could never hold his sparklings again with those hands.
Another wretched sob escaped Megatron. His sparklings, his babies, the loves of his life, watched him rip the very spine from someone’s frame. They could never trust him again, never feel safe in his arms, never love him. And Optimus —oh, Primus, Optimus— how could Megatron ever look his mate in the face again? He’d promised Optimus that he was done fighting, tired of being what he was most known for: a monster. And that’s exactly what he returned to in his worst moment. Megatron had subconsciously blocked off his spark from the bonds to both Optimus and the sparklings, terrified that he ruined everything he worked so hard for, that he’d find only disgust and hatred from their sides of the bonds.
There was still energon on Megatron’s servos, but now it was his own as he scraped away at himself and dislodged gears and bits of metal, frantic and ready to grind his entire hand off if he had to.
No more than ten minutes passed before Megatron heard the crunch of footsteps approaching. He stood and whirled, prepared to fight again. But it’s only First Aid and Prowl. They both stop and hold out their empty servos, silently showing him they weren’t a threat. Megatron deflated, folding back down onto the shore.
First Aid approached slowly, hesitantly. “Megatron,” he said quietly, “can you hear me?”
Megatron took a shuddering breath. “Yes,” he mumbled, completely drained by his internal emotional battle. He couldn’t look up at them, the shame eating him alive. He felt like a filthy puddle not worth stepping in. “I can’t go back,” he whispered. “I can’t—”
Prowl walked over and knelt in front of Megatron. “Hey, listen to me,” he said, voice stern to capture and hold Megatron’s attention. “We all have blood on our hands, but those sparklings of yours couldn’t care less. They aren’t old enough to understand what we’ve done, but they are old enough to understand that they are safe in your hands, your presence. You did what you had to do to protect them and they are still safe because of that.” He hooked his arms under Megatron’s and First Aid walked around the other side and together they lifted him to his feet.
“Now,” Prowl said, tilting his head so he could meet Megatron’s downcast gaze. “You are going to go back to Optimus and your children, and you will see with your own eyes that they are all safe. Because of you. You will hold your sparklings and your mate and you will find nothing but comfort from them, do you understand?”
Megatron nodded slowly. “I understand,” he said, voice still uncertain but spark determined.
The three of them walked back to the house together, mostly in silence, and when they reached the edge of the clearing, Optimus came running. He collided against Megatron, hugging him so tightly it almost hurt.
“Megatron,” he whispered, voice broken. “I couldn’t feel your spark and I thought, I thought that—”
“I’m sorry,” Megatron said, trying to sound strong but emotion bleeding into his words. “I’m so sorry.” Tears flooded his optics and he clung to Optimus with all his might.
“Sh,” Optimus soothed, “you don’t need to apologize, my love. You did what had to be done and I think no less of you for that. I never would. You saved our family. Not just me and Flux and Beacon and Mercy but Cade and Nickel and every other Bot here.” He pulled back and cupped Megatron’s face in his shaking servos. “I love you, Megatron. I was so scared, so, so scared and I—”
Megatron kissed Optimus gently to quiet him. He reopened his spark to the sparklings and Optimus and felt only affection and concern and relief that washed over him, sent from all four tethered sparks.
Hound, Bumblebee, and Drift approached from the side, each holding a bitlet. As soon as they saw Megatron they started crying, outstretching their tiny arms and chirping to their carrier. Megatron accepted each of his children into his arms and sobbed as they clung to him, quickly turning quiet and their sparks peaceful. There was no fear, no disgust, no hate. Megatron’s spark ached and he leaned against Optimus who wrapped his arms around his mate and their sparklings.
Sire and carrier alike sank to the ground, still wrapped in each other’s embrace and encasing the sparklings between their chassis. They remained like that until the sun set and the rest of the Autobots joined in. At first it was Nickel and Bumblebee who huddled close, wrapping their arms around Optimus and Megatron, and then Drift and Crosshairs joined and so on until every last Autobot was curled into this giant cluster of frames, warm and safe and comforting. Even Cade was allowed into the embrace, settled between Optimus and Megatron, with the sparklings snuggled against him.
This was home, this was family.
Megatron used to believe he didn’t deserve happiness. Only to discover that it didn’t matter what he believed; it was the sparks and the happiness of his loved ones that determined his own joy.