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When Sam woke up, he was alone.
He didn't know if that was really a good thing, given the circumstances.
You know...
Him not being human anymore.
Him now being a Cybertronian.
Him not being entirely himself.
You know, the usual stuff.
Not that he thought much about the circumstances, but it was rather hard not to when everything looked so different. Even in this bare, metal room, information about every single scratch, every component, every angle never stopped scrolling across his... vision? Screen? Brain?
Processor.
Yeah, that.
...
And that was another problem.
That there was this thing- the AllSpark inside his head. Guiding his thoughts in whatever direction it desired. It didn't care- cared so much about what he wanted. Sometimes it would let him think for himself, feel for himself. Other times... not so much.
Sam tried to resist it once more.
Tried to push away the images projected into his processor. The wish, the vision.
His future.
His doom.
A sea of countless red optics.
And right there, in the middle, his human self- old self- new self holding a young one- sparkling to his chest- spark. His eyes- optics filled with wonder and love.
It was Megatron's vision.
The vision to create life and to rebuilt what was lost so long ago. The vision that the AllSpark wished to fulfill. The vision the AllSpark recreated him for. The vision for which this new body was perfect for.
The vision Sam wanted to take no part in.
Sam tried to overwrite that vision. Tried to imagine a future for his human self. The what-ifs that had been considered dozens of times, and deleted just as many. He tried to imagine an older version of him. Going to college like his dad had always wanted him to. Finding his dream job like his mother always wished he did. Having a family of his own full of sparklings- perfectly human children.
Something inside his processor popped like one's ears might pop to relieve built up pressure.
For a few seconds, he enjoyed the blissful silence.
Only to have it interrupted by a rapid clicking of metal.
Sam ignored it as good as he could, but the noise only grew louder. Irritated, he finally looked for the source.
His hands.
His servos.
He tried to still them, but they kept on moving uncontrollably. The different sections of his fingers clicked against each other and the metal floor he sat on. He reached with one hand for the other servo. A warning flashed in front of his eyes informing him that a glitch had been found in his processor, and that the necessary reparations were put in motion.
Not that Sam had time to comprehend what the warning said.
One second he was looking at the floor, the next his gaze was fixed on the ceiling. His limbs locking and unlocking every nanosecond. Liquid started to leak out of his optics. It clouded up his vision. At least, it stopped one channel of input. Somewhat. It didn't stop him from feeling the scratches left behind by his thrashing. It didn't stop him from feeling his plating bent beneath the strain. It didn't stop-
His whole frame tensed.
Then went slack.
For a few long minutes, Sam could do nothing but lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling.
A notification popped up.
The glitch was fixed.
And Sam felt oddly...
empty...
As if something dear to him was just gone, deleted.
But he couldn't remember what.
He slid his servo over the floor. Felt scratches that perfectly matched his digits. Felt the sharp edges left behind as his repair program got to work in fixing whatever happened due to the glitch.
He didn't know what to think, what to feel.
All he knew was that he wanted, needed, a distraction from the mess that was his mind.
His memory core supplied him with a file of a mech.
A soft caress.
That felt both so bad and yet so good.
That should never feel so good.
But it was only natural, right?
To feel... attracted towards someone as big and strong as Megatron was.
No, that... wasn't quite right...
Megatron was big and strong, but above all he was dangerous, downright murderous.
Towards everyone.
Towards humanity.
Towards Earth.
Towards the galaxy.
Towards the universe.
Towards Sam-
An image flashed over his processor.
Of Sam holding a sparkling, their sparkling, in his arms. Holding the little one lovingly.
No, not towards Sam.
Never towards Sam.
And somehow that was worse.
Sam rolled on to one side, curled into a ball as good as he could manage. He didn't pay any attention to the speed of his vents, or the pain as plating was shifted back into its proper place.
All he could think about was how he wished that this room wasn't so empty. That he had anything to occupy himself with instead of his mental state. That he wasn't alone.
But he wasn't truly alone, and he would never be so again.
An echo of a caress.
An echo of a chuckle.
"I admire your armor."
An echo of an unspoken claim.
Yet, one that had been staked so clearly.
Sam had never felt so defenseless before.
But he would be safe in Megatron's arms.