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Rodimus makes to grab you first.
You try to make a break for the deeper vent tunnels with Minimus in tow, but the captain, grand strategist he is, easily reads your movements. You don’t even notice as he crouches before the grate opening in the blink of an eye. You wheeze as you feel the air get knocked out of you in an instant, metal fingers larger than your body curling easily around your torso with a distinct lack of hesitance. One arm gets pressed around your side, but the hand that’s stretched out holding Minimus’ is free from the restraints.
Not that that made any difference, as the orange mech lifts you into the air, tearing your grip from the minibot’s with ease. You shout for Minimus, still reaching for him despite your awareness of the futility in doing so. Your throat is hoarse, and you hate how you can feel hot tears rolling down your face.
Rodimus sees this display. “Don’t worry,” he reassures you in a tone laced with stifled fury, “He’s not going anywhere.”
“Rodimus! What are you doing?! What has gotten into—?!” A similar fate is in store for the minibot, as his words are swiftly cut off by a scream of his own when the captain reaches for him as well. Digits as wide as tree trunks wrap themselves around the green mech’s frame, immobilizing him despite his efforts to free himself- arms restrained and pedes left dangling uselessly in the air.
The Prime rises to his full height once more, staring daggers into Minimus. “You said you’d be in constant communication. You said you’d tell me when you found the human.”
“Rodimus, this is unlike you! Unbecoming of you! Since when have you ever—“
“But minutes pass and I hear nothing,” the captain ignores the minibot’s objections, “I’m the one who has to reach out. And what do I hear when I do? That everything’s fine, and you’d keep me updated. And, you know? I would’ve been tempted to believe that had you not turned off your comm link.”
Minimus stares at the captain with horror as he listens, but the more Rodimus goes on, the more that horror boils into outrage and the bot’s faceplate contorts with anger.
“Plans changed,” the mustachioed mech strains between grunts of effort as he feebly continues to attempt to release himself. “I communicated with the human. They told me they want to go to their home, they don’t want to be here—“
“Liar!”
Minimus howls as pressure forces around him at all sides. It only lasts for one short, agonizing moment, but it still leaves the mech venting in and out rapidly. You yell for him once more- a feral, primal scream. All of those feelings you had locked down into the recesses of your mind- all the feelings you had neatly filed away to sort through later when this was all over- all began to bubble over and spill out in this very moment.
You slam your only free hand down onto Rodimus’ knuckle, straining to pull your other arm free from his grasp, and he turns his helm to look at you. His scowl softens to concern in an instant.
“Look what you’re doing, Mags,” the captain whines, “You’re scaring them.”
“Me?!” Minimus shouts incredulously. “I’m not the one with two lives in his hands, their fates up to his own impulsive whims!”
The fury returns to Rodimus’ face as quickly as it left as he turns his helm to face the minibot again. “You’re right. Your fates are up to me.”
Minimus’ expression falters in the blink of an eye as Rodimus ends his sentence there. The captain starts to move away from the vents and turns to a counter on the other side of the room. On the counter sits two cylindrical glass tubes.
The minibot’s eyes widen even further. “No.”
“I was hoping it didn’t have to come to this. I hoped that this was some kind of misunderstanding, or if it wasn’t, we could’ve talked it out,” Rodimus laments as he continues to approach the table. You pull yourself as far from the tubes as you can the more he approaches them, but there’s little you can actually do while still in his grasp. Soon enough, he comes to a slow stop.
“But, now? Until I can figure out what to do with you, Magnus? I don’t want you going anywhere. Or taking the human with you.”
The captain brings his servos over each tube and releases his hold.
You fall downwards with yet another scream, and Minimus does the same. You land on your back, grunting as your spine hits the slick glass beneath you and you see your legs leaning high against the wall. The tube wasn’t even wide enough for you to lie down in- just enough space to stand or sit with your knees tucked in.
You scramble up from the floor despite the stinging pains that spread from your spine all the way to your shoulders and arms. Panting, you press yourself as close to the glass as you could to assure yourself that Minimus was okay.
The minibot was dumped into his tube just as unceremoniously as you were, and landed as ungracefully too. He had landed on his behind instead, sucking air in through his dentae as he rubbed the aching spot. Once he comes back to his senses- as much as one could in this kind of situation- he gets to his pedes too and looks to you with worry.
You both nod at each other before Minimus stares up through the opening of the glass, mustache twitching with anger. “You’re a coward, Rodimus! This is low, even for you!”
The commander ducks downwards reflexively as Rodimus places something down to close the opening above. A dark-colored lid, sealing shut with a click that, in any other situation, would be satisfying. The captain turns to face you now, and you cower as low as you can- pressing yourself down into the corner of the glass. It felt as though your heart was going to pound out of your chest. He almost places the lid in his hand over your tube as well, but suddenly, he pauses with a hum.
“Oh, right. Organics need oxygen, don’t they?” He eyes the lid in his servo before placing it just beside the glass instead. “It’ll be fine. You’re not going anywhere anyway.” He lowers himself down, leaning his head on the counter upon crossed arms. “You’re just lost and confused, aren’t you? Like a turbofox backed into a corner.”
His azure eyes are all you can see. You want to look away- turning your head in every direction- but your eyes remain locked with his.
“I couldn’t imagine it. Being placed in a world so much bigger than your own. Surrounded by alien beings.” As Rodimus speaks, you can hear Minimus fighting to free himself. The sounds of his vocal objections and how he slams his hands into the thick glass.
“You just need some guidance, is all. Someone to help you through this world. Someone to be your hero. I can do that for you. Because you want to stay here, don’t you? You’re my little buddy, remember? Magnus doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
That’s all there was to it, then. You, sitting with your knees up to your chest and your back pressed against the cylindrical glass wall. You look past Rodimus’ helm resting against the desk as Minimus continues to slam his servos against the glass, just as you suspected, banging and shouting and doing anything to get out and do something.
You wanted to fight. You really did. But as you unfold one of your hands from around your knees and press it to your crystalline prison, you can’t help but let a sob escape your throat.
You curl into yourself completely. Why even try anymore?
“Hey, it’s alright,” Rodimus lifts his head from the counter and looks on at you with concern. His expression isn’t unlike the one he wore that day in his habsuite, before he laid you upon his chest. “I’m sorry Magnus dragged you into all of this.”
A yellow servo raises up to the glass and wraps it’s digits around it, rubbing a thumb reassuringly. “I’ll talk to him, okay? Then you and I won’t ever be apart again.”
Minimus’ fighting stops the moment he hears your cry. He looks on at you with pain in his spark. He hated how useless he felt like this. If he was Ultra Magnus, he could have fought against Rodimus. If he had his outer armor, he could have at least taken you and ran and asked for help from the others.
But, no.
In this moment, he was Minimus Ambus at his core.
And what could the minibot among minibots do against the titans he undeservedly walked among?
The fire in his ruby optics begins to falter.
Slowly, the green mech descends to a sit, servos sliding down the glass. He brings his servos to touch his knees as he looks on at Rodimus leaning over the counter, just a few feet away.
His crimson optics glow to a mere ember, a ghost of the flame that once fueled him. All he could do now was wait. Wait and see what fate Rodimus had in store for him.
——
Minimus was never tardy.
The second in command of the Lost Light made that fact more known to the crew than any other part of himself. What with his constant reminders over comms and datapad networks, operating the spaceship’s business and event schedule at what appeared to be an eternal rate.
So when Megatron finds himself alone in the minibot’s habsuite for the past half-cycle without a word from the commander- for once, the warlord doesn’t think he is being purposefully avoided.
The clock in the corner of the room ticks, and with each passing nano-klik, the gray mech becomes more anxious.
Placing his dark digits to his chin in contemplation, the former warlord hums curiously to himself. He didn’t want to seem pushy, but maybe on some off chance, their meeting just slipped the commander’s mind.
Megatron shifts uncomfortably in his spot.
Perhaps he’d just send a message. Just for him to read whenever he had the chance.
He reviews the message a solid five- no, six now- times before sending it to Minimus’ direct communications line.
Maybe he should prepare to leave in case the commander was indeed busy, and wouldn’t read his messages in a while.
——
A light springs to life in the corner of Minimus’ vision.
The mech’s optics flick to it lazily, but upon further examination, his optics slowly begin to widen.
It was a ping. A notification of a message sent to his personal comm link. Not the link he used from within the Magnus Armor, no, but the one from his own core programming.
‘Minimus—
I hope this message finds you well. I am at your habsuite for our weekly poetic analysis meeting, as we agreed upon. However, it has been over half a cycle past our scheduled meeting time, and I have not heard word of your whereabouts. If you need to reschedule, please let me know.
With thanks,
Megatron’
The minibot’s formerly dim optics flare to life at the sight. You turn your head up from your knees upon hearing his gasp, and tilt your head as a smile spreads itself upon the commander's face.
He sees you looking at him with what could only be described as utter confusion, and raises his servos up reassuringly. He points to his helm and turns his gaze to the side, focusing. You turn your gaze away too, not wanting to bring Rodimus’ attention to him unwarranted.
‘Megatron—
Rodimus has trapped the human and I within the navigation room. We cannot leave on our own. Please help us.
Minimus’
Quickly sending the message, the minibot awaits with bated breath. Just a few moments pass, but under Rodimus’ gaze, they feel like their own little eternities. Minimus stares at the entrance of the room intensely, digits curling in on his knees.
Then, a voice tears through the agonizing silence, and all of those in the room whip their heads around at the sound.
“Rodimus!”
The door to the room swiftly slides open, and a mech unfamiliar to you storms in. Unlike most of the bots on this ship, he was decorated in mostly muted whites, blacks, and grays. Though his red eyes glowed with a passion unlike you’ve ever seen. You would say it terrified you, but with everything else that was happening today, it was just the icing on the cake of today’s horrors.
All that aside, two things were most clear to you.
One, he was fuming.
And two, he was utterly gigantic, standing high above even the likes of Rodimus.
The orange mech stands from his spot on the counter, his back facing you and Minimus as he sizes up to the gray titan.
“You’re going to let Minimus and the human go. Right now,” Megatron’s voice rumbles in a timbre lower and more threatening than you had ever previously heard.
“Says who?” Rodimus tries.
“Says the co-captain of this ship, who has just as much authority here as you do.”
You can’t see the Prime’s expression, but by the sound of the silence growing throughout the room, you can tell he isn’t happy. He turns his head in profile to you, and he stares Minimus down. The minibot furrows his brow and stands. He wasn’t backing down.
After another painfully long moment, Rodimus tears his gaze away and looks to Megatron. “Fine. Take Magnus, I can talk with him later.”
Turning around once more, he grabs the tube that contained Minimus and unseals the lid, tilting the open side towards the table below. The green mech unceremoniously slides out, landing on his behind once again. He groans as he reorients himself— if he was an organic, he’d likely be feeling nauseous. But his squinted optics quickly widen at the sight before him.
Megatron offers his large servo on the counter below in one practiced motion. With a nod, Minimus steps onto the larger mech’s hand. Once he was settled, Megatron lifts the green mech up to his shoulder and he hops on without hesitance. The former warlord never once breaks his gaze with Rodimus, even as Minimus settles himself upon his shoulder.
“And the human?” Megatron adds.
Rodimus doesn’t budge.
Frightened as you are, if Minimus trusts this behemoth of a bot, you think it’s safe to say you can too. With the Prime’s back turned to you, you know now is the time to act.
Getting to your feet, you shake out any anxieties and replace them with newfound adrenaline. After one breath, then two, you stand back and ram yourself forwards into the front of the glass, your arm taking the brunt of the dull pain. Hearing the sound of your fleshy body thump against the glass, Rodimus turns. It takes him a moment to realize what’s happening, and he quickly reaches out to prevent your fall.
But he isn’t fast enough. Just one good push is enough to get the tube teetering in its spot, and soon enough, it tilts forward and you spill out. Megatron’s hand lowers once more, and you weave past Rodimus reaching servos to climb aboard. As you’re lifted onto the gray bot’s shoulder beside Minimus, you look to the orange mech, expecting to see unbridled fury or worse.
But your own spur of the moment anger is quelled by an unexpected sight.
Rodimus looks heartbroken. He limply reaches a hand out towards you, but as you flinch back, he quickly pulls away.
You look to the side to try and read Megatron’s expression, but it’s just as stone cold as it was before. “Rodimus,” he implores in just the slightest bit softer of a tone than earlier, “allow me to take Minimus and the human to my habsuite. There they can gather their bearings. There’s something we must discuss.”
Rodimus doesn’t look at the former leader as he speaks. His attention is fixed on you. His expression is a mixture of grief, sorrow, and something else you couldn’t quite name. A silence hangs in the air and it’s only after Megatron inquisitively calls out his name once more that Rodimus shuts his optics.
“Okay.”
Megatron nods. He shifts his optics to you and Minimus, and the intensity of his gaze almost has you doubting if you’re trusting the right person here. But when Minimus looks back at him and nods with a slight smile, you take comfort in that gesture.
Without another word, Megatron leaves from the same way he came, and you realize this is the first time you had traveled through the Lost Light’s halls without Rodimus. You almost missed his bright smile, the sound of his voice as he blabbered on about things you quite literally couldn’t understand…
Part of you wishes things had gone differently.
Your wistful thinking is interrupted by the sensation of a tap on your shoulder. You look to your side to find Minimus watching you with furrowed brows. He points to you and offers a thumbs up with a tilt of his head. ‘Are you doing alright?’
For some reason, that breaks you. Tears unwittingly roll down your face again as you wrap your arms around the minibot, squeezing him as hard as you can.
Minimus is frozen for a moment. He supposes the right thing to do is hug you right back, so he wraps his arms around your form as well. “Oh. Well, um… you’re welcome.”
You hold onto him for a long time, finding comfort in his frame. You haven’t gotten a proper hug in probably months, so it makes sense that you’re a little touch starved. You only find it in you to let go when the world around you stops moving, and Megatron’s red optics fall upon you once more.
“We’ve arrived.”
The door to his habsuite opens before you could even tell it was closed. Megatron steps inside, and you can immediately tell it’s a lot less decorated than Rodimus’. You didn’t know that much about Megatron, but just from his room alone, you gather he’s a lot more reserved.
He crosses the room to reach the work desk, lifting his servo up to his shoulder to allow you and Minimus a ride off. Setting the pair of you down, the co-captain absentmindedly rests a hand down on the table as he looks to Minimus.
“I’ll be heading back to the navigation room now. I’ll have a word with Rodimus regarding this whole situation. You could join me if you'd like, or you can stay with the human to make sure they’re alri- ah!”
Though his form was intimidating and undoubtedly massive, that much went without saying, you didn’t care. Your gratitude overpowered any instinctual fear. You race across the desk and wrap your arms around one of Megatron’s fingers as best you can. He freezes too, though for a much longer time than Minimus had.
In a panic, he looks between you and the minibot, as if the answer for how to react would somehow appear physically in front of him. But Minimus stifles a laugh as he waves Megatron down reassuringly.
“Let them. Maybe touch them back as well, they seemed to appreciate it when I did.”
Resetting his vocalizer, the former warlord nods. With his other servo, he reaches a single digit out and rubs your back.
You remember how often Rodimus had done that with you. How the feeling of his touch dug a pit in your stomach. But, this time? The feeling makes you smile.
Once you had gotten your fill of physical contact for the moment, you pull away and look up at Megatron with a smile. He nods, offering just the smallest smile back in return.
“I should be off,” he steps away from the desk. “You won’t be coming with me, Minimus?”
“No, I think I’ve had enough of our captain for one day,” Minimus ex-vents.
“I understand,” the gray mech inclines his head. “I will return soon with updates.” He begins to make his way for the door once again until he stops in his tracks. He turns his gaze to you one more time, studying you with his red optics.
You don’t cower under his watch. You just stare right back.
With a small nod to himself, the mech turns his helm away and exits through the door.
You and Minimus are left alone in the comfortingly barren room. After a moment of looking around, the stress of everything up until that moment finally hits you, and exhaustion slams itself in waves all over your body.
You promptly sit down and pass out on the spot.