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When it came to aerial combat and maneuvers, Twitch didn’t deem herself a beginner, but she soon came to realize that she certainly wasn’t an expert. At least, not like Megatron. She was never at a loss of excitement when she saw her elder able to not just conquer the ground when it came to his prowess in fighting, but also succeed in the skies.
Twitch was inspired by many, but when it came to skill and battle, she was overly inspired by Megatron.
So it was no surprise that one night, twitch found herself sneaking off to an abandoned GHOST training ground, and trying her skill the same way Megatron did.
At the moment, she found herself crawling on a large pile of scrap metal, tall enough to do some damage if she fell the wrong way. That however, didn’t deter her.
“Just jump off of something high,” He told herself, her small propellers lowering as if she did not intend to use them. “Don’t fly until I nearly hit the ground, oh - and a flip, yes a flip. Start in my robotic form, then my alt mode and it should work! Just like Megatron!”
After reviewing the spontaneous, mostly incorrect plan to herself, Twitch gracefully lept from the pile of rubble, attempted a flip and…landed on her back, hard. It was not that she forgot to fly, even though it would have saved her the pain. It was that when Megatron performed this same technique (many times, even in old war videos), he was never flying. It was as if he could will the air around him to do his bidding.
Even in pain, Twitch let that enthusiasm will her to her feet.
“Practice makes perfect!” She said to herself, practically limping back to the pile of metal. “After I do this, I can show mom and dad…no– first I’ll show Megatron himself!”
Twitch temporarily bit back the agony and crouched again, preparing to jump.
“One….two….three–” She began her leap, practically in the air and midway she realized that her form was off, badly. She was going to fall again, but this time, it would be worse. In a second there was a bit of fear that grew in her spark; after all she was going to land on the part of her body she’d previously injured. It would be worse this time.
Closing her eyes and expecting to hit the ground, she was greeted with a ‘clang’ of heavy steel, as if something metallic had caught her. Optics shut for just two seconds, she opened them suddenly and looked up. First of course, she saw the moon and stars above and the lights from the wrecked training yard, but what had surprised her the most in that moment was that someone was holding her.
It was Megatron, and he had a less than pleased expression on his face. She should have figured he'd be here, after all he took to these grounds to train every so often. Though she didn't want him to be here that night.
This made Twitch instantly nervous, and rolling out of Megatron's hand she stood to her feet, biting back any ounce of pain she felt. “Megatron! What are you doing here–”
“I come here to train everyother night, Twitch.” He responde. “Does Dorothy know that you’re here?” He stood to his full height, arms crossed as he gazed down at the considerably smaller bot looking up at him.
“Uh–no, but it’s for a reason!” Twitch ran past Megatron and back toward her pile of metal, climbing to the top. “There’s a trick…a move I’ve been trying to perfect–”
“Twitch,” Megatron’s heavy steps were heard from behind as he followed her. “You’re already injured enough I don’t know what you’re doing or why you didn’t fly but–”
“Just watch Megatron!” Twitch said, happily, preparing to leap again. “Let’s see if you remember this from somewhere–”
“Twitch, get down from there! I don’t want to grab you but I will-”
“You’ll have to catch me first!” Twitch said gleefully, legs crouched. “But you won’t be able to, because I’m going to perfect this trick, just like you did–”
It was then, she heard Megatron gasp. She didn’t know that Cybertronians could do that-but that didn’t stop her from her quest, until he grabbed her arm rather roughly, and glared at her.
“Nebula, I told you to stop! Listen to me when I speak to–”
He stopped dead in his tracks and Twitch did as well. For a moment she forgot the discomfort of his large hand upon her arm, or the pain from her own failures coursing through her body. There was a different look in Megatron’s optics. He was angry alright, but not out of malice, but more so fear.
“Who….who is Nebula?”
Megatron released her, and turned away. “Go home Twitch, please. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
___________________
Things were somewhat normal after that, yet Twitch’s mind still lingered on those words.
Nebula…who was Nebula. And why did Megatron call her that? She thought about speaking to Mom about it but…then she’d have to admit that she was sneaking out of the house. There was Robbie of course, whom she told, but after coming up with all types of speculations and assumptions, they found nothing.
That was until Hashtag herself one day came up with a thought.
“What if Nebula was his wife?” She had told Twitch when asked.
“Um–I don’t think that. He called me Nebula, remember?”
“It doesn’t matter! Megatron is like, millions and millions of years old, but I can’t find anything about this ‘Nebula’. It would make sense though, most of his private information wouldn’t be uploaded into Earth’s database, especially if he was married on Cybertron? Why don’t you ask him?”
Asking him just never came to Twitch’s mind. They hadn’t spoken since that night, and she was afraid she’d soured their relationship. Yet asking him would perhaps put the situation to rest.
________
A few days after the event, Megatron just so happened to be visiting the Maltos, specifically Dorothy.
It was an anniversary of some kind, a battle the two had fought together years ago and Twitch understood that during those times, they liked to talk to one another. Twitch remained hidden for the most part, unsure of how she would breech the discussion with Megatron. She stayed hidden behind the trees as Dorothy and Megatron spoke together outside of the house, out of the earshot of others.
It seemed as if Dorothy and Megatron were talking about something deep, something other than the battle.
Twitch hoped that their conversation would last long to give her more time to think of what to say, but it only seemed Megatron planned to stay for a couple of hours. For after speaking to Dorothy and the two giving one another a hug of sorts, Megatron took to the woods, clearly ready to leave. He walked past the tree Twitch hid behind, and nervously she followed behind him, still hiding. It wasn’t until the farm was nearly lost behind the treetops given how far they'd walked, did Megatron speak.
“Twitch, come from behind the trees, I know that you are there little bird.” He said, quietly. Mentally chastising herself, she released the tree trunk she held on to like a life source, and found herself slowly peering out, a nervous smile on her face.
“I was just…” She came into the clearing, right beneath Megatron’s eyeshot. “I was just…”
He looked down at her, his expression unreadable.
“Yes?” He said it, as if he knew where this was going. Twitch found no reason to beat around the bush.
“I was wondering who Nebula was. Why did you call me that the other night?”
He close his optics tightly and looked away, as if there was a deep pain in those words.
“This...this going to take some time.” He said. Eventually, he took to the ground, sitting down and prompting twitch to do the same. “I thought you’d ask me about her.”
Twitch sat next to him, placing a tiny hand upon his own. “Hashtag and I were trying to find out who she was. Hashtag thought Nebula may have been your wife but–”
Megatron actually laughed. It was a genuine, heartfelt laugh.
“Nebula wasn’t my wife. She was…she was my daughter.” The tone changed instantly, and Twitch felt as if a heavy weight had been dropped upon her chest. She gazed up at Megatron, eyes wide as if she didn’t know how to respond. She felt a mixture of emotions; excitement, happiness, curiosity….but then sadness.
“Was?” She asked, quietly. “Is she...did she...?”
Megatron frowned. “During the war, yes.” He looked toward Twitch. “She was killed during a clash between Decepticons and Autobots here on Earth, by that time, we were on opposite sides she and I. I sacrificed a lot to end the war, but I never expected to lose my daughter.”
“Was….was she your only child?” Twitch asked, devastation in her voice.
“No. I had four others. A son, my eldest and three daughters. They were all killed during the war as was….as was their carrier, my Conjunx.” Megatron brought a hand to his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“My son was not actually related to my Conjunx, he was from a previous…abusive relationship I was in, on Cyberton when I was a miner. His sire was not good to us, back then slaves didn’t have much of a choice of how people treated us. I was okay with that though. The abuse and violence. I thought he loved me... until I was saved. I was saved by the person who eventually became my Conjunx, and he was also my air commander and second in command.” Megatron laughed. "He killed my son's sire, and then took my son as his own, he was a distant friend to us before that, but after he saved me we got together. Then he became my Conjunx, and later my Second in Command."
He looked at Twitch and saw the confusion on her face. He chuckled. “Conjunx is our version of ‘spouse’. My conjunx would be my husband in Earth terms I suppose. We were never divorced, even when on opposite sides when we fought, we never spoke of divorce.”
Twitch’s optics lit up. “Did your Conjunx survive? Where is he now–?”
“He was killed here on Earth, I saw it with my own eyes. Along with the Allspark.” Megatron ex-vented deeply. “We were in love, from the moment we met until the day he was killed in battle, and by then, we had lost so much. We had already lost three of our children on Cybertron, we had only one left and I begged and pleaded for him to switch sides with me but…but he’d given up so much. And the war…no I…had radicalized him to the point where he would not back down to Autobots or to humans…” While Twitch’s hand rest upon his, she could feel him digging his fingers into the dirt.
“He was the reason I stood up for myself, the reason I refused to take abuse or violence from anyone just because of the way I was created. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have ever been freed, I wouldn’t have been where I am today but…I betrayed him, I turned against him and I saw him die in front of me. Just like our children did.”
He looked toward Twitch, a smile forcing its way to his face. “You remind me of Nebula, that is why I said that. Nebula was a Seeker, just like my Conjunx. She wasn’t nearly as fast as him, but she enjoyed flying a little too much. She wanted to be like me, as powerful and intimidating but…she was always just a little sparkling to me. Even when I watched her shooting down human vehicles, she was still mine. And I still held on to her, as the light faded from her eyes after GHOST killed her. To this day, I wish they shot me instead.”
Twitch didn’t even know what to say. She had for the longest time, feared losing someone from her family. Yet, to have to fight against them, and watch them be shot down from the sky…to hold them as their spark faded. She couldn’t imagine the guilt of the pain Megatron felt.
“I made my choice, it isn’t your fault. Don’t let anyone tell you it was.” Megatron recanted, his voice trembling.
It didn’t take Twitch long to realize that Megatron was crying. And he was crying hard. His exterior trembled as he spoke. “T..Those were her last words to me. The last thing my daughter ever said to me before GHOST took her body away. I was p…powerless to save her…I was supposed to p..protect her….and I failed her, I let humans kill her I…”
“No Megatron.” Twitch stood up, placing a hand on Megatron’s arm. “Y…you said your daughter made her choice. Do you really think that…she’d want you blaming yourself like this?”
It was clear that Megatron did not want to show emotions in front of Twitch not like this. But she didn’t blame him. It seemed as if he’d held this in for some time, and it then dawned upon Twitch just how lonely Megatron was these few years. He didn’t just lose the trust of his people, he lost his family. One after the other.
Twitch didn’t know who Megatron’s Conjunx was, but figured he made Megatron feel happy and safe. Losing him to changing sides and then to the war…that had to have been hard.
“I’m pretty sure Nebula wants you to be happy and I think no matter what she’s proud of you, all of them are.” Megatron didn’t say anything after that. He continued to ex-vent heavily just a bit, prompting Twitch to do the only thing she knew would make him feel better, and that was to give him a hug.
“Regardless of how things are…I’m glad you’re here. And if your family isn’t alive anymore, then you can live for them.”
For a moment, things were silent. Twitch stayed attached to Megatron’s arm, embracing him. He had stopped crying by now and all that was heard was the sound of the birds nuzzled in their trees, and the water running from a stream not too far from them. It was funny, before this Twitch had always placed her perception of Megatron on a pedestal; a god-like figure. Of course he had emotions, but never did she once see him in this light. He didn’t grieve like others, he didn’t face sadness the way others did. He didn't love like others.
That is what she thought, up until now. He was the same as everyone else.
It made her feel better, for now she knew Megatron was like her in a way. Yet, while she feared loss he had already experienced it. There was a fear in the pit of her abdomen, as if she never wanted to be like that. She never wanted to live in the wake of her family’s destruction.
While this moment brought her closer to Megatron, it also made her silently swear to herself that she could never be like him, sad and alone. He may not have had a choice, but she did…she had to have.
“When you’re with me.” Megatron began, voice clear now. “I feel like she’s here too.”
“I would’ve loved to meet her.” Twitch released Megatron’s arm, and sat down near him again.
Megatron chuckled, looking at Twitch. “Even if she’d be a ‘scary’ Decepticon?” Twitch felt guilty, now realizing that Megatron was privy to her and her siblings constant fake battles wherein they always trash talked the Decepticons. But Twitch smiled.
“Yes, I’d still like to be her friend. Maybe if you changed, she could too. I mean, she is you kinda? Isn’t she?”
Megaton for the first time that night, looked hopeful.
Eventually, he stood, dusting the dirt off of his frame. “Promise me you won’t do any more silly tricks, even if you see me doing them. Nebula tried and ended up getting herself caught in a jet engine.”
Twitch jumped to her feet. “That sounds painful.”
“You should have seen the Decepticon who had her engine nearly ruined. I had to apologize for days after that, and give her a promotion.”
Twitch laughed, and at that moment, the two began to walk back toward the house. “You need to stop wandering off at night, Twitch, it still isn’t safe for you.”
“I know.” Twitch responded, literally following in Megatron’s rather large footsteps. As they continued on, the forest growing more and more distant behind them, Twitch had an idea.
“On our way back, can you tell me about Nebula?” She asked. “I mean, in general can I learn more about her? I’m sure she was your favorite.”
Megatron chuckled. “Parents aren’t supposed to pick favorites you know but…” Megatron paused for a while, looking up at the stars. Twitch stood by him, realizing how he stopped and grew silent. It was as if wasn’t there in that moment, as if his mind was elsewhere, light years away. He looked strangely younger, and happier. It was as if Twitch saw a completely different Megatron.
“As much as she loved fighting, she loved music. She had a talent for it…she…she wanted to be a singer.” He kept walking, and Twitch followed after. “She and Frenzy wrote a lot of songs together.”
“So she could have been a celebrity? Can you imagine how awesome that would be! If she made it big you'd have to get me her autograph!”
Megatron chuckled before he went on.
“She was also a lot like my Conjunx, who was my air commander and second in command. They had a similar personality of sorts, but she was a lot kinder than he was. Not that I minded his personality…his permanent attitude. It’s something that all my daughters inherited…”
“WAIT-” Twitch jumped in front of him for a moment, as if she just put two and two together. His Conjunx, his Air Commander….wasn’t that–
“Metronia was perhaps the kindest, and then Kaon. Dot is a lot like Metronia, compassionate, noble. They could be twins. But we’re talking about Nebula. Ahh, Nebula loved flying. She was fast, extremely fast.” The brilliant connection that Twitch had made seemed to vanish, as now she was entranced with talks of Nebula again.
“I’d love to race her one day, I mean, if I ever met her.” Twitch began, the leaves crunching beneath her.
“She might have given you a run for her money. But I’d love to see that, maybe you two could’ve learned something from one another.”
By that time, the Malto house was in sight, and Twitch was prepared to leap over the bushes and find Robbie. However, she paused, gazing up at Megatron whose face was plastered with a smile, a genuine one.
“If you ever want to talk about your family again Megatron, you can always talk to me. I don’t know them, but I feel like I’ve met them.” She shrugged. “I feel like I’m a part of them. If that’s okay with you.”
Megatron’s mouth hung agape, not out of anger or confusion, but out of happiness. His optics contorted painfully, as if he was hurt once again, yet his smile remained in tact.
“Thank you Twitch, that is very generous.” He responded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Twitch gave one final smile before running up to Megatron, hugging his foot and changing to her alt mode, flying back home.