Chapter Text
Megatron was reading some of Magnus’ memos with a smile on his face. But perhaps he shouldn’t have been so intertwined with Magnus’ writing for Arcee sped past him and there was an explosion of a fluffy substance. Megatron was shocked at the sight. The substance came up to his waist. He stumbled backwards slightly.
“Heh. Sorry about that!” Wheeljack shouted, popping out his lab.
Megatron sighed, he should’ve known better than to walk within the general vicinity of Wheeljack’s lab.
He ran his servo through the substance. It was fluffy and foamy.
“What is this?” Megatron asked
Wheeljack walked out of his lab, lifting his arms up and shuffling into the ocean of foam.
“Mixture of fire extinguisher foam and a couple chemicals” Wheeljack chuckles
“The vacuum would sure be useful for this mess” He says
“I am not giving you the vacuum that has microscopic cybernetic killing machines in it”
“Worth a shot!”
Megatron sighs. He wasn’t one to write memos in his free time like Magnus was —should he call him Magnus? Would he prefer to think of him as Minimus? He should ask later— but he knew the stern bot enjoys receiving memos of any strange occurance at the base when he isn’t there.
This was definitely a strange occurrence.
Megatron began to type the memo. He made sure to make the memo thoughtful and well written; he feared Magnus wouldn’t accept it otherwise.
Arcee walked up to Megatron, walking in the foam.
“I don’t recommend walking in here” Megatron says
“Eh, wouldn’t be the first time I walked into one of Wheeljack’s weird experiments and lived” Arcee shrugged
“I think I’m immune to chemicals now..” She said, voicing her thoughts
Megatron pursed his lips and kept writing the memo. His writing caught Arcee’s attention.
“What’cha writing?” She asks, peeking over the screen.
“A memo for Commander Magnus” Megatron stated
“No need” A voice said
Megatron and Arcee turned around to see Ultra Magnus.
“I appreciate the courtesy” He nodded
“Although I do expect a report of what exactly this is from Wheeljack” Magnus states
“Hm” Megatron hummed, nodding.
Arcee watched as the two bots gaze into each other’s optics. She decided not to interrupt whatever was going on and just stay quiet.
…
Suddenly, both bots decided to snap out of their trance.
“Well..” Megatron said, looking away
Magnus cleared his throat. “Yes..”
“It is imperative we clean this disorder” He says, motioning his servo to the fluffy substance Arcee and Megatron were in.
“Agreed” Megatron nodded
“What was that!?” Both Megatron and Arcee exclaimed
BOOM!
Suddenly, another chemical explosion, more of the fluffy substance flew out, hitting Ultra Magnus in the face.
Ultra Magnus’ optics shut at the impact of the foam hitting him. His lips were heavily pressed together and he seemed annoyed.
“Oh, yikes..” Arcee muttered, tensing up
“Ultra Magnus must be cleaned” Ultra Magnus says
“What is it with you and speaking in the third person?” Arcee asks
Megatron and Ultra Magnus glance at each other.
“It is to enforce the authority of the face of the law” Ultra Magnus spoke
“Ooookay..” Arcee muttered, turning around and walking off
“You should get yourself cleaned” Megatron told him
“But Wheeljack must receive a citation” Magnus told him
“I will handle it” Megatron assured
Ultra Magnus considers for a moment. He nods, stiffly turns around and walks off.
Megatron writes Wheeljack a citation on Magnus’ behalf. Wheeljack is quite upset with it, but he’s grown used to it —especially after Ultra Magnus decided to ‘rise from the dead’ and join the autobots again.
Once the citation is written and given, Megatron makes his way to find Ultra Magnus.
“Magnus?” He calls out
Megatron noticed Elita walking towards him.
“Hey Megs” She says
“..you look lost. What’s up?” Elita asked
“I am looking for Ultra Magnus”
Elita gives him a steady smirk. “Think I saw him head toward the recharge rooms” She says, motioning her helm in the general direction of the recharging station chambers.
“Much appreciated” He nods
Megatron makes his way over to the rooms, finding Magnus about to enter Megatron’s room. Megatron walked over to him.
“Megatron. There you are.” Magnus says
“I have been searching the place for you” Megatron says. He noticed the foam still on his face.
“You.. still didn’t clean yourself off?” He asked
“Correct. It..” he lowers his voice “got beneath the armor, I must remove it before the corroding process initiates” He states
“Of course. Do you need my assistance?” Megatron offers, opening the door to let Magnus in.
“Just stand guard outside. Do not let anyone in unless they find me familiar” Magnus tells him. He makes his way into the room.
“Unless they find the version of me under the armor. I apologize for the lack of clarification” Magnus says
“I understood” Megatron nods, hiding a smile.
He closes the door, allowing Magnus his privacy. Megatron had laid a lot more trust into Magnus than expected. Megatron allowed Magnus to enter his room, even when he wasn’t around, so he could fix, clean or remove his armor without being exposed. He didn’t even let Optimus enter his room often, and they were raised together.
It’s truly strange, how one person trusts another.
Even after 4 million years of war.
Even after brutal attacks.
Even after countless deaths.
Trust still perseveres.
It stands strong like a flower growing in the bitter snow.
Megatron continued to stand there, ensuring not a single bot managed to get through.
“Ah Megatron. May I borrow a few things from your chambers?” Optimus asks, he sticks his servo out to try and open the door, but Megatron quickly sticks his servo out.
Optimus seems a little taken aback by the gesture.
“Sorry Optimus, no one can enter my chambers as of right now” Megatron says
“May I ask why?”
“It’s messy. You wouldn’t be able to find what you’re looking for in there.” Megatron said. It was a lazy excuse, but he said it with such sincerity that Optimus believed him.
“..Alright, I’ll ask Elita then” Optimus says
Megatron watched as Optimus walked away. Megatron blinked, glancing over to the door.
A couple moments passed before Magnus announced, “I am coming out”
Megatron took a couple steps forward and Magnus opened the door and stepped out of his chambers, his armor clean. Megatron had to admit, he looked nice with his plating shined, it was a vision to gaze at.
“All clean?”
“Yes, it is ensured”
Magnus turned around to look at the room he just came out of.
“Your quarters are quite organized, I approve” Magnus nods
“I’m sure yours is quite messy” Megatron smirks. They begin to walk alongside one another.
“Yes..” He sighs
“Unfortunately the children seem to make a mess regardless of what punishments I give them” Magnus says, pursing his lips.
“The only ones that ever seem to be organized are Cadet Nightshade and Cadet Error. Or rather, Cadet Nightshade keeps their equipment in check and Cadet Error is not capable of making a mess unless instructed to.” Magnus spoke
“I see.” Megatron comments
“Well I-“
Ultra Magnus and Megatron continue to converse until Magnus eventually has to leave autobot base.
Magnus returns back to the Terran base. To the average optic, it was squeaky clean —especially for a barn with middle schoolers, toddlers and infants living in it. But to Ultra Magnus —arguably the most tidy bot to roam the galaxy— it was a mess. There was an empty soda can in the far right corner, toppled over. There was unfinished homework sprawled out on the desk. The railings were undusted. How shameful.
“Hey Ultra Magnus!” Mo smiled, waving at him
The others noticed him and greeted him accordingly. He typed in his memopad. The kids all looked at each other, confused as to what he was doing —and why he didn’t greet them back.
“Um hello?” Hashtag said, questioning.
Her optics closed, she was clearly reading some sort data she was sent.
“Woah!” She said
“What happened?” Jawbreaker asks
“Ultra Magnus just sent me something. A long something”
“It was a memo. I had believed I sent it to the barn’s network” Ultra Magnus says, checking his memopad to make sure he sent it to the right network
“That’s me” Hashtag grinned
“I’m the walking, talking, movie loving wifi network of the Malto residency” She explains
“Hm, I see. Then may you transfer it to the computer screen so the rest of the cadets may view it?” Magnus asks
“Uhh.. sure”
Hashtag points to the central computer and puts her other servo against her temple, transferring the memo to the screen.
The computer turned on and there read Magnus’ memo. The others walked up to it and saw all the words Magnus had written.
“What the!? How did you even write that much in like 2 seconds!?” Thrash exclaimed
Error glanced at Thrash, knowing that it wasn’t really 2 seconds.
“It was not two seconds, it was approximately 17 seconds” Ultra Magnus correcting, voicing exactly what Error had been thinking.
Error nodded in agreement.
“Well still! It’s a lot!” Thrash said
Nightshade had been focused on reading it.
“Well, a summary of what Ultra Magnus has written is that we need to clean up our mess. Such as the trash over there” Nightshade summarizes, pointing over to the toppled over soda can.
“Correct. An unclean work environment can lead to health issues amongst other negative situations” Magnus states
“But it’s not even that messy!” Mo says, looking around and seeing a decently clean barn.
“You wait only for the trash pile to grow. That will lead to issues, I guarantee” Magnus spoke
“I guess he’s right.” Mo shrugs
“Are we cleaning now!?” Twitch asks, a big smile on her face
“Yeah, Twitch. Come on.” Robby nods
“You are unpermitted to leave until you have this all cleaned up. I also require you to dust the barn and readjust the furniture” Magnus tells them
“Um.. okay!” Robby says
“We should probably start now then” Robby suggests
Magnus leaves his memopad on a nearby platform and then leaves the barn. Hashtag watches him leave and immediately grabs his memopad right after.
“Hashtag, what are you doing?” Thrash asks accusingly, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrow.
“I’m just checking what else he has on here!” Hashtag says.
“I mean come on, a serious guy like that has to have some secret!” Hashtag exclaims
“We already know his secret, Hashtag! He’s a tiny guy inside of a big guy, remember?” Robby tells her
“Yeah, I mean. What else could he be hiding?” Izzy asks
“I don’t know.. but maybe he’s hiding something else!” Hashtag says
“Don’t you wanna know?”
The kids stare at her for a moment.
Blink. Blink.
They all rush to her side.
Hashtag had a mischievous little grin on her face and she scrolled through his memopad.
At first she was disappointed, it was like a tablet; it had no movies or games, just documents. But then she found something.
A document titled:
‘Megatron.’
“Ooh! Megatron!” Hashtag smiles
“What type of trouble does he get into?” Mo asks
“Clearly something to bring Ultra Magnus’ attention!” Nightshade grins
“I nearly forgot my memopad” Ultra Magnus says as he descends back down to the basement
Hashtag quickly puts his memopad down before he realizes she had it. He does notice all the children gathered up, not cleaning up.
“..What are you all doing?” He asks
“Um..” Nightshade hums
“We’re thinking of a game plan to fix this mess!” Hashtag grins
“Yep! That’s what we’re doing!” Jawbreaker nods
“I was thinking, Robby, Izzy and Mo could clean the little stuff and the rest of us do… the rest!” Thrash plans
Ultra Magnus looks at everyone, he blinks.
“Good. Devising a strategy is always the best way to do things” Ultra Magnus approved. He grabs his memopad.
“Continue” He says, then exits.
“That was a close one” Mo sighs
“Why did we lie to him? I thought lying was bad” Twitch asks
“Well getting in trouble with Ultra Magnus is also bad” Hashtag says. Twitch pouts, feeling guilty.
“We have to find out what’s on that memopad!”
“What do you think it could be?” Izzy asks
“I think that Megatron document has a poem portraying his sudden, unexpected, undying love for him!” Hashtag spoke dramatically, making dramatic movements along with her absurd talk.
“What!?” Everyone shouted
“What? They’re always together! There has to be a reason Ultra Magnus trusted Megatron with his secret identity!” Hashtag reasoned
“I did wonder why he trusted Megatron so much if he didn’t like him at first” Thrash says
“It’s because there was a deep trust that resided within him!” Hashtag exclaimed
“Hashtag are you just using this as an excuse to make another romance movie?” Robby asks
“I’m serious Robby! They might really be in love!” Hashtag says
“Or maybe he’s hiding something else!” She gasps
———————————————
“Did you have to mix chemicals today?” Arcee groans
“What about it? I do it all the time!” Wheeljack exclaimed
“Yeah, I know! But I was going to take a jog and exercise with Alex today, now I’m stuck cleaning this with you!” Arcee says, scrubbing the floor continuously, scrubbing faster and more aggressively.
“Well I’m sorry! I wasn’t the one who made you clean” Wheeljack says
“I know, I know” She huffs.
“It was Mags”
“Well, we’re almost done. Go ahead and tell Megatron, I’ll clean the rest” Wheeljack says
“Alrighty” Arcee nods, standing up.
“Be right back!” She says, transforming and driving off.
As soon as she gets to the main room, she transforms again, looking around for her boss. Instead she finds Schloder.
“Oh, hey Schloder! Haven’t seen you in a minute” Arcee says
“Yes. You look like you’re looking for something” He notes
“Ah, I’m just looking for Megatron. Me and WheelJ basically finished cleaning, so I gotta tell him we’re done” Arcee explains
“Funny. I was searching for Megatron as well. I’m doing inventory and well.. I need to know if he still has that waxing gear I let him temporarily borrow” Schloder says, adjusting his shades to appear more professional.
“Oh, then we’ll look for him together,” Arcee smiles. She lifts him up and places him on her shoulder. She runs rather quickly, forcing Schloder to hold on for dear life.
“Megs! Where are ya!” Arcee calls out. She slows down until she eventually stops moving.
“Don’t tell me he’s in that training room again” She huffs, putting her servo on her hip.
“It wouldn’t hurt to check,” Schloder says. Arcee nods, running again.
“It wouldn’t hurt to go a little slower either!” Schloder exclaimed.
——————————————————
“Why are you looking underneath crates? Megatron would be far too large to fit underneath those” Schloder tells Arcee
“You never know!” Arcee says
Schloder sighs.
“Maybe the memopad over there has a hint as to where he is” She says, pointing up to a platform.
“What is this, an elementary classroom game of an escape room?” Schloder scoffed
“..We should check anyways” He said.
Arcee chuckles and picks it up. She turns it on and sees a bunch of memos sent by Ultra Magnus.
Then she sees a document written by Megatron himself titled:
‘Ultra Magnus’
“Ooh! Wonder what stuff he has written here!” She giggles.
Megatron appears out of nowhere and snatched the memopad out of Arcee’s servos.
“Woah, Megatron! There you are!” Arcee grins
“Schloder and I were just looking for you!” She tells him
“Hmph” Megatron mumbled.
“You are not to look through my personal memopad, Arcee. If you want to read any memos, you can ask Ultra Magnus to send you one.” Megatron says
“Sorry” Arcee says
Megatron walks off and left Arcee and Schloder alone.
“Well now I have to know what’s on there!”
—————————————————
“Ultra Magnus, sir, can you tell my kids to come up here? I’m almost done with lunch” Alex asks
“Of course” Ultra Magnus nods. He turns around and suddenly all of the children were right there.
“We’re here!” Hashtag grins
“Oh, hi kids! Didn’t see you there” Alex grins, he returns back to the kitchen to finish the food.
“So Ultra Magnus, do you have anything you wanna talk about?” Hashtag asks
“Like.. uhhh, I dunno. A person you know?” Jawbreaker adds, almost teasingly
“I know many people, you all included. Specify.” Ultra Magnus says
“A person whose name starts with an ‘M’ “ Mo says, playfulness in her voice. Jawbreaker and Nightshade giggle behind them. Error did not find humor in the statement.
“..Cadet Morgan, are you speaking of yourself?” Ultra Magnus asks
Mo shakes her head
“No! I’m talking about.. erm..”
“Just somebody else!” Hashtag chimed in
Ultra Magnus considered.
“M?-“
“Kids! Time to eat!” Alex called out
“Woo-wee! Food!” Twitch cheered
Bumblebee drove toward the Malto’s house, more than ready to eat. He transformed and grinned.
All the Malto residents gathered around to eat Alex’s food. Robby, Izzy and Mo had to climb through the window in order to sit at the table, though —which made for a rather comical sight.
The terrans—save Error and Twitch— all glanced at Ultra Magnus. He didn’t notice, only continuing to consume his energon. They were all curious as to what words were bound to those documents —specifically the one titled Megatron.
At a certain point, each of them were coming up with random things that Ultra Magnus could’ve written. Like maybe he’s just badmouthing Megatron on there. Or perhaps he’s praising him for changing his ways. Or he could’ve written what Hashtag suspected, a proclamation of his romantic feelings for Megatron. Which wasn’t very likely… at all. Hashtag just had an imagination.
But something had to be written on there.
————————————————
Arcee and Schloder watched curiously as Megatron typed down things on his memopad. Arcee squinted her dazzlingly blue optics and leaned in closer. Megatron felt optics on him and he turned around.
Arcee quickly snapped her helm away and started whistling randomly, Schloder following her lead.
Megatron looked at the pair suspiciously, but he turned back around, returning his attention back to his memopad.
Wheeljack approached Arcee and Schloder-on-the-soldier’s-shoulder with confusion on his face.
“What are y’all doin’?” He asks, slightly quieter than he usually is.
Arcee and Schloder glance at him.
“We’re trying to find out what’s on Megatron’s memopad. He has a document titled ‘Ultra Magnus’ and he’s being all secretive about it.” Arcee whispered
“Well maybe it’s something personal” Wheeljack told her
“Personal? They’re co-workers who were fighting each other not to long ago! What personal stuff could they possibly have together?!” Arcee asks
Megatron —almost oblivious to the conversation occurring several meters behind him— was messaging Ultra Magnus.
Megatron sent:
“When would you like to meet up again?”
Ultra Magnus replied:
“Once I figure out the trivia the cadets are giving me. It is rather strange. They are asking me to talk about someone I know whose name begins with the letter ‘M’.”
Megatron snickered. Which brought Arcee, Schloder, and Wheeljack’s attention.
“Who do you think it could be?”
“You do not believe they could be speaking of my familiar name?”
“Of course not, Commander. That is a secret I’ve kept between you and I”
“Yes. I am aware and hopeful.”
“Well, notify me once you’ve figured out who this ‘M’ person is.”
“I shall. Thank you.”
Megatron closed the conversation with Magnus and put away his memopad. He turns around and sees the three staring at him.
“Aren’t you supposed to be cleaning the mess you made?”
“To be fair, I didn’t make it!” Arcee exclaimed
“Besides, we already finished” Wheeljack said
“Then why are you standing there?”
“No reason!” Arcee lied
“Gotta blast!” She said, driving off with Schloder in her seats.
Megatron blinked and just turned around, walking off.
————————————————
Hashtag stood in front of a green chalk board, a piece of chalk in her servo. She had drawn the heads of her siblings, as well as Error and Izzy, on a chart.
“Well everyone!” Hashtag says, clearing her throat.
“What do we think is on Ultra Magnus’ memopad?” She questions.
“Twitch?”
“Uhh.. maybe memos!”
“Uh! ..Nevermind..” Hashtag mutters, turning around writing ‘memos’ under the drawing of Twitch’s helm
“Thrash?”
“Maybe he’s talking bad about Megatron. He did hate Megatron for a while, maybe he still secretly does!” Thrash assumes
“Good answer” Hashtag nods, writing ‘badmouthing’ under Thrash’s drawing.
“Nightshade?”
“Perhaps it is just general observation on Megatron, or a memo he plans to send later.” Nightshade suggests, shrugging.
“Okay.. okay..” Hashtag mutters, writing ‘observations’ and ‘memos’ under Nightshade
“Jawbreaker?”
“Oh! Oh! Maybe it’s a secret about Megatron he’s supposed to keep!” Jawbreaker guesses
“Ooo! Interesting” Hashtag smirks, writing ‘Meg’s secret’ on Jawbreaker’s section.
“And I think they’re in love~” She sang, writing it under her part.
“Robby!”
“I dunno. Maybe it’s just some boring stuff. I mean, Ultra Magnus is pretty boring” Robby shrugged
“Mhm” Hashtag hummed, writing down ‘boring stuff’.
“Mo!”
“I think it’s a love letter too” Mo smiles, her eyes glimmering.
“Eek! Okay!” Hashtag squeals, writing down ‘love letter’ under Mo’s.
“Error!” Then she realized. “Darn it, sorry! Forgot you couldn’t talk for some reason.” Hashtag only put a smiley face on Error’s section. Error only blinked in response.
“Okay then! Izzy!”
“Well I don’t know Ultra Magnus that well, but maybe it’s just a report on a mess Megatron made. Or.. just random work stuff” Izzy shrugged
“They are co-workers” Nightshade agrees
“You’re right,” Hashtag nods. She writes ‘reports/work stuff’. Hashtag backs up and looks at all of the possible options.
“Hmm.. so many possibilities” She says
“I wonder what it is” Jawbreaker says
————————————————
“Movie night!” Hashtag cheered
“It is 4:58 in the afternoon” Ultra Magnus corrected, lifting his helm from his memopad. Error nodded.
“Well movie afternoon! I wanna watch a movie!” Hashtag said
“Is that appropriate? Your school bound siblings have work from home they must do” Ultra Magnus says
“It’s not that much homework” Mo says
“Our teachers just sent us some packets” She shrugs
“Easy peasy!” She assured
“Have they been read and finished?” Ultra Magnus questioned
“..No” Mo replies
“Just because you are no longer going to school in person, does not mean you may slack off on your work.” Ultra Magnus spoke
“Well you’ve been doing a lot of work! Why don’t you put the memopad down?” Hashtag asks
Error stared at Hashtag. Error knew for a fact that Hashtag had been trying to find out what was in the memopad, she even said it herself, but Error couldn’t speak. Error couldn’t voice any observations or any information.
“It’s unhealthy to be glued to a screen all day!” Jawbreaker said
“My momma taught me that” He grins
“Well your ‘momma’ has viewed me incorrectly. There is no glue residing on my memopad nor is it attached to me.” Ultra Magnus corrected
“Observe.” He says. He shows the kids and the memopad can be easily removed from his servos.
“It’s a metaphor. It means you’re just looking at a screen all day” Izzy informs, chuckling slightly
“These metaphors are strange. Only in poetry should they exist. In other words formed, they are nonsense to speak” Ultra Magnus said, almost groaning in annoyance.
“But the lesson is right. I shall reside my optics away from the screen” Ultra Magnus spoke. He opens his chassis and puts his memopad in the little compartment.
“Darn it!” Hashtag whisper shouts.
“So, when you put anything in there, does it just drop and hit your real head?” Thrash asks
Ultra Magnus stares at Thrash.
“No.” He replies
“There is a compartment made for storing elements such as the memopad” He corrects
“Ohhhh” Thrash says
“Okay, okay, I gotcha” He nods
“Okay, but I’m still confused how such a little guy is able to carry all that weight!-“
Hashtag sat down, brainstorming a way to access Ultra Magnus’ memopad. Her gears turned, literally, as she thought about it.
“You look frowny” Twitch points out
“I’m trying to figure out this great mystery and I can’t!” Hashtag complains
“What mystery?” Twitch asks
“You don’t remember already!?” Hashtag questions. Then she remembers who she was talking to. Guilt immediately plagued her expression and she covered her mouth.
“Sorry Twitch”
“The mystery was figuring out what was on Ultra Magnus’ memopad. I’m trying to get him to talk about it but he’s just oblivious” Hashtag explained
“Have you tried asking him?” Twitch asks
“Have you met Ultra Magnus? I can’t just ask him! He’s super to himself” Hashtag denied
“Well maybe he’s like that for a reason!” Twitch says
“Yeah, but he doesn’t have to be so difficult!” Hashtag scoffed, crossing her arms.
“And what reason could possibly make him so tough?” Hashtag asked
“I dunno.” Twitch shrugs
“I’m gonna figure out what’s in that memo pad” Hashtag says
Hashtag was extremely persistent. Twitch hadn’t particularly noticed, but she didn’t seem to notice anything below surface level. Hashtag seemed to want to take the lead on everything and explore everything head on. This trait could be good to a certain extent. But perhaps it can be dangerous as well.
——————————————————
“We just gotta catch Megs off guard..” Arcee muttered
“Arcee, do you really think it’s worth the trouble? I mean, even I know when to back down” Wheeljack says
“I know what I’m doin’!” Arcee insists
“Besides, I’ve got a private investigator on my side! We’ll figure it out!” She adds
“Alright! But don’t come cryin’!” Wheeljack said, walking away
“Maybe Wheeljack’s right, it probably isn’t worth the trouble” Schloder says
“But what if it is? We cannot miss that opportunity!” Arcee exclaims
“Guess you’re right..” He mutters.
“Let’s go” Arcee says, sneaking off
Arcee walks into a room unnoticed by the people in it, those people being Megatron and Optimus Prime. They were caught up in conversation, so Arcee joining them in the room was the least of their concerns.
Arcee immediately caught notice of Megatron’s memopad laying on the platform next to him.
Arcee walked up to Optimus and Megatron, smugly, of course, and stood with her servos on her hips.
“Hey guys, what are we talking about?” She asks
“We’re speaking of ideas to… lighten team spirit. After all, we have been very.. downed by Tarn and the DJD’s presence.” Optimus explains
“Well I’ve got an idea for ya! Go out there and talk to everyone! Get them talking about their interests! And.. other stuff!” Arcee suggests
“That’s.. actually a rather good idea, Arcee” Optimus considered
“Good thinking” He smiled, nodding. Optimus put his servo on Megatron’s shoulder.
“Let’s go off to.. talk to everyone!” He says, walking out of the room with Megatron beside him
“Wait, my memopad” Megatron says
“Get your optics off that screen, Megatron! Talk to people!” Optimus replies as they walk out of Arcee’s sight.
“Yes!” Arcee grins, pumping her fist in the air.
“That was.. much easier than expected..” Jon admits
“It helps when OP and Megs are brothers attached at the hip!” Arcee grins, snatching up Megatron’s memopad.
Optimus and Megatron walk down the hall and Megatron gets antsy. He doesn’t know why. He has nothing to hide on that memopad, per say. All he has is documents. He has nothing else on there. Just… conversations with Ultra Magnus… conversations with…
Minimus Ambus.
Megatron tenses.
If Arcee gets her servos on the memopad, she’ll likely look past all those wonderfully written Magnus documents and look at their conversations. Where they heavily imply Magnus’ name. Minimus’ name…
“Primus.” Megatron says out loud, turning around and running off.
“Megatron, wait!” Optimus calls out, reaching out for Megatron as he runs off. Optimus only sighs.
“Oh dear..”
“Arcee!” Megatron calls out, running towards her, his heavy metal pounding on the floor
Arcee tenses, the memopad in her servos.
“We’re in trouble now.” Jon said
“Get your servos off my memopad immediately.” Megatron orders
“Oh yeah of course! I was just.. dusting it off for you!” Arcee grins
“I’m sure..” Megatron mutters
“And Schloder. I expected this from Arcee..”
“Hey!” Arcee exclaimed
“But from you? I’m just disappointed..” Megatron disapproved
“Yes, what I did was shameful. I’m sorry” Scholder admits
“Thank you.. for apologizing” Megatron nods
“And Arcee, don’t be so nosey. This isn’t the first time I or Magnus have had to tell you” Megatron scolded
He turns around and walks off. Arcee tensed from embarrassment.
“I told you we should’ve backed down” Scholder told her
“I know.. I just can’t help it! I was curious” Arcee says
“You know what they say, curiosity killed the cat..” He tells her
—————————————————
“We still need to make a plan!” Hashtag says, Twitch sitting on her shoulder.
“But whatever shall we do?” Nightshade asks
Suddenly, a certain terran bumps into a table, the legs of the table making a screeching sound as they scratch against the floor.
“I think I know” Hashtag grins
Hashtag, Twitch and Nightshade walk up to Error.
“Hey Error! So funny seeing you here!” Hashtag grinned
Error turns her helm over to Hashtag, Twitch and Nightshade.
“So I- we! Were wondering if you wanted to.. help us!” She asks
Error takes out her coin and flips it.
Nightshade looks over to see what side the coin landed on.
Heads.
“She’ll help” Nightshade nodded
“Eek! Great! Okay so listen, you have to find a way to get Ultra Magnus to give you his memopad, and then give it to me” Hashtag smiled
Error blinked.
“I know you’re confused, or.. as close as you can be to being confused. But we’re asking you because Ultra Magnus likes you a lot, you’re definitely his favorite” Hashtag explains
Error blinked again.
“Hashtag, I do believe she needs more direct instructions” Nightshade tells their sister
“Right right right right right….” Hashtag mutters
“Okay, Error! You’re gonna go up to Ultra Magnus, ask him ‘may I have your memopad?’ and the he’ll say ‘yes Error, of course I trust you so much!’ and then you give the memopad to me” Hashtag instructs, doing dramatic expressions as she says each line
“Wonderful plan, sister, but I do believe you left out something extremely crucial” Nightshade points out
“Huh?” Hashtag replies
“Error cannot speak anymore” Nightshade reminds
“New plan!” Hashtag exclaims
“You will play charades with Ultra Magnus, and get him to give you his memopad!” She says
Error blinks.
“Hashtag, I understand you are passionate about this, but maybe involving Error isn’t the best plan” Nightshade tells her
Hashtag frowns
“But, we have to find out the mystery! And Ultra Magnus wouldn’t give it to me if I asked in the most respectful way possible.” Hashtag tells them
“Error is the only bot here that could get it”
“Well what if we give Ultra Magnus some privacy?” Twitch asks
“I believe that Twitch is right, Hashtag. He already told us his grandest secret, shouldn’t we let him be?” Nightshade comments
Hashtag sighs, lowering her helm. “I guess you guys are right..” Hashtag says
“Yay!” Twitch cheered, jumping over to Error’s shoulder and hugging her. Error just walked off —Twitch’s arms wrapped around her—, uninterested in the conversation as per usual.
Hashtag watched as Error and Twitch walked off. Hashtag turns to Nightshade, a frown on her face.
“Voice your opinions to me, dear sister. I can tell something is wrong” Nightshade tells her
Hashtag let out a harsh breath, her whole body dramtically dropping and rising back up
“I just really wanted to figure out! I thought maybe I could the lead on this case!” Hashtag explained to her twin sibling. She glanced over to Twitch.
“Twitch always took the lead. I just.. wanted to be like her.. especially cuz she hasn’t been herself” Hashtag spoke
Nightshade frowned, glancing down. “I understand what you mean, Hashtag” They say
“However, you shouldn’t try and amount to what Twitch was. You should be your own person, because that’s who you are. Not Twitch, but Hashtag” Nightshade spoke
Hashtag looked at Nightshade and smiled.
“Yeah.. I’m Hashtag. Hashtag Malto” She nodded, determined as she sat up straight
“And how wonderful she is” Nightshade grinned, tilting their helm
“Do not strive to be like others, you are wonderful as your are” Nightshade spoke
Hashtag chuckled as she slouched back down.
“But honestly I still want to know what’s on his memopad” Hashtag said
Nightshade giggled. “We could ask him” They suggested
“And what if he says no?” Hashtag asks
“Then we accept our fate of never knowing” Nightshade replies
“That’s even worse!”
Nightshade laughed.
—————————————————
Robby was sprawled across Hashtag’s lap, laying down and looking up towards the roof of their base.
“Well it kinda sucks that we never found out what was on his memopad” Robby says
“Yeah, but it’s okay” Hashtag smiled
“I learned that we have to respect people’s boundaries and privacy, no matter how curious we are” Hashtag said
“That’s a good lesson, Hashtag” Mo commented
Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus had just told Dorothy and Alex that he would be retiring to his quarters. Just before he got into the barn, he got a notification from his memopad.
“Megatron..” Ultra Magnus muttered, opening the message he had received from Megatron.
“Did you find out who the ‘M’ individual was?”
Ultra Magnus blinked, he replied:
“No, but I am planning on asking the cadets”
Megatron chuckled
Megatron then texted:
“Notify me when you discover it.”
Ultra Magnus responded:
“Affirmative.”
Ultra Magnus walked into the barn and into the basement.
“Robert, Isabelle, Morgan it is time for you to return to your house and rest” He announced
“Aww come on!! Just.. 5 more minutes?” Robby asked, smiling and fluttering his very obvious eyelashes to convince him
“Your parents want you back to the house” Magnus says
“Error, please return the human Maltos to their house. Set them down slowly at the doorstep and then return here” He instructed carefully
“Darn it” Robby frowned as Error swooped him up, along with Mo and Izzy.
“Good night guys!” Mo waves
“Yeah good night!” Izzy smiles
“Night guys! See you tomorrow” Robby says
Error exits the family barn with the older children in her servos. Ultra Magnus watches as Error walks off.
“Well I’m tired, I think I’m gonna go to sleep!” Bumblebee says
“You didn’t even do anything today!” Thrash says
“And that’s enough for me!” Bumblebee nods
Ultra Magnus retires to his corner and sits down carefully. He turns his memopad on and opens a certain document.
‘Megatron.’
The first few things written down were primarily negative statements.
“Things I do not appreciate about Megatron:
•warmonger
•uses metaphors
•sarcastic
•decepticon
•murderer
•made several species go extinct across the galaxy”
The list went on for quite a bit.
It was rather alarming, actually.
But then there was another section.
“Things I appreciate about Megatron:
•assisted me in destroying the microscopic scraplets.
•no longer tries to kill everything he sees.
•kept my secret.
•tidy.
•hardworking
•assisted me in taking down ‘GHOST agents’ (clarification: they were not real ghosts, they worked for an organization that just so happened to be called ghost).
Kind to the cadets, does not try to kill them.
•Does not mind when I bring Error to the autobot base.
•Laughs at my jokes.”
Magnus decided to type one more in that second section.
“•Checks in on me”
Ultra Magnus puts his memopad down, considering who that ‘M’ person could be.
—————————————————
Megatron, similarly to Ultra Magnus, turns on his memopad, sitting on his berth.
He opens a document labelled:
‘Ultra Magnus’
It wasn’t a very long document, it had a few things written in it.
“Things I like about Ultra Magnus (Minimus??)
•Hardworking
•Disciplined
•Cares for the terrans
•Skilled fighter
•Trusts me after everything (I think)”
There were a few other things on the list.
The very last thing, though, was:
“•makes me laugh”
Megatron, unlike Magnus, added nothing new to the document. He just smiled, a faint chuckle leaving his mouth. He placed his memopad gently on the counter next to him.
Ultra Magnus stayed awake until he watched all the terrans and Bumblebee doze off. He closed his optics and lowered his helm, offlining slowly.
Megatron’s optics offline as he closed his optics, his frame relaxing.
Ultra Magnus couldn’t help but have his last thoughts be of a certain ‘M’ individual before he went offline
Megatron couldn’t help but have his last thoughts be of a certain individual, who just so happens to also start with the letter ‘M’
Megatron always read Ultra Magnus’ memos with a smile on his face.
Ultra Magnus sent the memos
Megatron read them.
And how wonderful that exchange is, no matter how short.