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Chapter Text

The sun slowly began to set on Cybertron and could be seen even far below its surface. The bright light glared against the chaos that ensued on the streets as buildings within Iacon were blown with shots, explosions ringing out just before the inevitable crumble that sent swarms of former miner bots evacuating with terror. Another blow, and out of the smoke walks D-16, who emerged with an intimidating approach, a clenched jaw, and gritted teeth. Just barely ahead of him crawls Sentinel Prime hopelessly, scrambling away to avoid the wrath of his former inferior. He's soon stopped, as he approached the end of the building. One more move, and he falls off to his death. And with that, D-16 stomped over, and soon loomed over him with a hateful glare.

Sentinel hears screens around him presenting his reveal to the lies that he had kept under wraps for fifty cycles. He had tallied every day of his success only to watch it crumble into failure as a bot, who Sentinel had stolen from as an infant, stood up to him and held him at gunpoint, furious with mourning over something that that same bot, days ago, didn't even know he had. Seconds pass with a newly-formed canon of D's pointed at Sentinel's face. It starts to prepare the firey bullet.

Before he makes any move, another bot lands on the building. The two turn to find it was Orion Pax, who came to alert D of his and Elita's accomplishment. "Hey, D! Everyone knows now th-" And he finally processes the scene. He quickly ran towards the two, approaching D with worry and compassion, pulling him back away from Sentinel, and then turned to talk to him side-by-side, hand on his shoulder. "The conflict is over. Everyone knows. It's ok! You don't have to-"

D's gaze doesn't shift away from Sentinel as he moves his shoulder away from Orion's hand. "Yes. I do."

"You don't. Look, it may seem that this is the answer, but it's not! Please don't do this, this isn't you. I know you're not a murderer. You know you're not a murderer."

"And I thought that this man-" D gestures at Sentinel. "Was a great and powerful leader, who did everything he could to protect us from harm, and had our best interests in mind, but here we are!!"

Orion leans in closer to D, emphasizing his frustration with a frown to match his friend's. "If you go through with this, you'll be just as bad as him!! Is this what you really want, to stoop down to his level just to meet your satisfaction?" There was a long pause.

D-16's frown deepens, and he bares his teeth, tensing up as if he were preparing to pounce. "I suggest you get out of my way." His voice starts to quake in anger. "Right. Now."

Orion stood his ground mightily, but before he is able to do so much as shake his head, D-16 shoves Orion away harshly, and approaches the former leader again. He re-prepares the canon, as the last few solar cycles play in his mind. Especially earlier today. All that was in his mind over and over again, was Sentinel sneering in his face, with his stupid, stupid cocky grin. And with his disgusting voice, he says:

"-And that's why I ripped his T-cog out, and took it for myself. You like his symbol so much? Let's see to it that it stays."

D could still feel the burning on his chest. Sentinel's horribly recreated Megatronus Prime symbol forever engraved in his metal plating, while Sentinel's wretched words were engraved into his processor.

" Ripped his T-Cog. Kept it. Myself . YOU LIKE HIS SYMBOL SO MUCH?? LETS SEE TO IT THAT IT STAYS.."

That was the first time in his life he hated the subject. He couldn't bear the thought of the emblem being on him. Sentinel making the grand decision that the symbol was now his to carve into D's chest was yet another reminder that he was nothing but a miner with no options, as he had been told his whole life. YOU WAIT FOR ME. Before, D adjusted, and it was his schedule, but now the thought made him want to vomit. And that was just another reminder of Sentinel's lies. The gift was no longer there. What was once a gift from his best friend was now a curse from this scummish, crummy bastard who he no longer saw as a leader. He had thought about this several times within the last many solar cycles. The man he trusted was a liar. The man he worshiped was a false god. The man he protected was a sneak. And D hated himself for that he was angry only now that his innocence was robbed of him.

And now that it was all he could think about, his good intentions were swallowed with the urge to take a poor, helpless, squeaming Sentinel, grabbing him tightly by the back of the head and neck, one hand for each, and pounding his face against the ground. One. Two. He begs for the pain to stop. D doesn't listen. Three. Four Five Six Seven Eight. But now was even better. He could watch his head explode. It'd all be finally over. He'd be done with Sentinel for the rest of his life. He'd never hear his name ever again. It'd be done. The canon is ready, and he prepares to fire.

Orion calls out one last time to make an effort, he pleads in his tone, and tries to step forward, but D doesn't hear him. Desperate after the attempt failing, Orion jumps out, and makes his way to stand in front of D one last time, believing this is the one, but the moment he arrives...

There's a BANG, and the sound of breaking metal.

D's optics widen at his best friend just being shot. Energon splatters all over him, and the floor below. Parts of Orion's now gaping chest and right arm fly everywhere in small metal pieces. For minutes, seemingly hours, there is no sound. Orion falls back, sliding closer and closer to off the building from the force of the blast. He clings to the edge, but calls out for his friend with a weak and brittle voice, before loosening his grip, physically, and on his consciousness. D lunges forward, quickly grabbing the available arm, and pulling back aggressively with his hand clutching Orion's tightly to the point it hurts him. This cannot be happening, this didn't mean to be him. He should've gotten out of the way! D-16 couldn't bring himself to call Orion an idiot, and the more his mind blamed him the harder it was for him to breathe. His body trembled debilitatingly.

Sentinel, behind him, chuckles, then escalates into a laugh. "You can't even establish a good shot. Primus, you're weak. You maybe think that you're so powerful and everything because of that canon, but deep down, you know you're nothing. You're a miner and will never be anything more, just like your pathetic friend."

D tensed up once again, his shoulders scrunching up as he stood again, and took no hesitation to charge at Sentinel, grabbing him by his body, and slowly but powerfully ripping him in half. The moment is so quick and deliberate, that Sentinel barely has time to scream. D-16 throws the halves on the ground, and huffs to catch his breath. The sound around him is muffled. He just killed a man. Or two men. He turns to Orion, who's condition has greatly worsened, and runs towards his limp body again, which was already forming a pool of energon around the floor. D lifts Orion's head up slightly with one of his hands, as if to redirect the bot's attention out of being in shock. "Can you hear me? Please tell me you can hear me, Orion, please be ok..I didn't mean to- I just- You're such a-." His face scrunches up with a thousand things he can't say. "Please just be ok!! Stay with me!! I'm sorry!!"

As Orion grows less responsive, and his expression more dazed, D-16 can barely look at him anymore, and buries his head in his friend's chest to cry. He starts off silent, but then whispers, then pleads, then shouts, then screams. Soon, his voice matches someone who were writhing. His tremor worsened, his confidence crippled, his hatred worsened. Not for Orion. He could never hate him, not ever again. He thought he might've, maybe a day or a second ago. That made him a terrible friend, and he knew that. "I'm so sorry, Orion!! Please, forgive me!!"

As he wept, he thought of the day they met, then the day after that, then the day after that. They'd wake up, talk, mess up, screw each other over, finish the day, sleep, start over again. It was warming to have something so routined, that you could even expect unpredictability. The two had stability. Orion provided that much for him, and the thanks he got was a nasty shot to his chest.

Then it hit him. Orion was going to die. He wasn't just unconscious. He was dying. D desperately shook Orion to get him to wake up. Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake- but it was no use. Orion still laid there, his vacant expression now closed optics, a slightly gaping jaw, as if he were sleeping. D's breathing was erratic, his audio receptors were ringing. That's all he could hear, even as Elita and Bee approached the two. He barely remembered a thing after that. A flash of light pierced his sight, soon manifesting a shape of the famed Matrix of Leadership, but he denied that even happened. Though Orion was soon restored and taken away for examination by medics for additional help, D-16 refused to believe he was given a second chance. After not even enough time to process what happened, he already couldn't forgive himself. It was just wishful thinking. Orion really was dead. And it was all his fault.

He remained where he was, his audio receptors still ringing loudly. He felt as if he would die. He couldn't bear the idea of what the future was going to hold, everything toppling out of alignment, as if the building shifted sideways and made him sway into an abyss of uncertainty. The sun had fully set, and darkness loomed over the city.

Footsteps approached, but D was rendered unable to respond. In front of him steps B-127, who had been concerned after he didn't respond to the medics, or him or Elita after hours. At first, he might've thought to be more informal, as he usually was. But something panged in his spark that screamed at him not to. He knew it wasn't the right time. And a caring look presented on him. "Hey...what's going on? Are you ok?"

D-16 still shook, his optics wide in horror. He stared at the remnants of Orion, the bits of scrap metal, the energon pool that was yet to be cleaned. The tremor is prominent in his hands as he lifted them to stare down at the palms. "...I killed him..."

Though one life was taken, B knew who he was talking about, immediately. "You didn't kill him! He's ok now, he was restored by Primus or something, he's doing a lot better, actually! He misses you, knows you feel sorry. Please come back with us."

"I...Can't." He gulped. His chest felt tight and it made him unable to breathe normally, by now having him feel lightheaded. "I'm sure he hates me. I can't bear to go back. I...I ju..just can't." He choked.

"He doesn't hate you! Hey, breathe, it's ok. Just. Look at me. He knows. And he's just glad everyone's ok. Sure, what you did wasn't good, but he forgives you. You saved his life. He knows that, we know that. And we're proud of you, at least, I am. And you can trust me, right?"

"...I.." D's optics shut tightly, and tears stream down his cheeks. He buries his head in his knees. "I can.."

B's brow furrowed gently, and his instincts told him to just give his friend space, so he did, sitting beside him and silently watching the night sky.

Chapter Text

It was now dark, but since it wasn't on the surface, the night sky wasn't as clearly visible. It made B-127 think about the view from the train. He wished he could see that again, but this time to look at a nice view, and not as a milestone for one of the moments that led up to disaster, that led to this. But he needed to focus on helping D-16 right now, he knew that. B turned to see he still had his head in his knees, not moving an inch.

B took a breath, and held it. "You know...you could see Orion yourself."

D-16 lifted his head slightly, and shook it slowly. "No." he stared at the ground. "What a dumbass thing to say."

"But you could! I mean- It's not like he's in critical condition or anything. He was restored and all that was left was just some dings and dents. Yknow, the usual stuff."

"But it's not usual!!" His voice rose again, still having a choking, quivering tone. He stood up rapidly, thrusting his fists in the air, and he faced away from his friend. "I killed him!! I saw him die, Bee!! I watched his face lose expression and his optics lose light, and the energon spilled everywhere all over me, and him, and- and- I killed him!! He's dead!!"

"No-" B stood up with him, and decided against putting his hand on his shoulder. "You didn't kill him, you're just- you've been through a lot, and you're dealing with a lot of guilt, which is understandable. I would feel guilty too. But what I'm trying to say is that you don't need to because he already forgave you! He doesn't blame you, so you shouldn't have to blame yourself."

D settled, his body no longer tensed or tight. His shoulders loosened, and he surrendered, closing his optics tightly and sighing. "...Let me see him then.."
B grinned warmly, and sympathetically, he put his hand on his friend's back, and led him away slowly.

***

Soon, D-16 found himself in the medical bay, in a hallway of rooms, which were not exactly care units, but examination, which relieved him only slightly. Just because Orion wasn't mortally wounded didn't mean that he would forgive him. Ever. He seemed to forget what kind of person his friend was entirely, expecting to be berated, perhaps hurt again. He traced his fingers around the carved Megatronus symbol on his chest while staring at the floor.

B looked at the floor as well, more awkwardly, then turned to D. "...you gonna go in?"

"..What if he doesn't forgive me? What if-?" he couldn't bring himself ot finish any way he could possibly think of. What if he never talked to him again? What if he abandoned him for good? What if he hated him?

B shook his head, scoffing in a humorous but gentle manner. "Naw! What're you talking about? This is Orion Pax! I've only known him for a few days but I don't think he'd ever do that, especially with you."

That surprised D a little bit. He raised a brow, and turned towards Bee's direction. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, yknow- like, you two are really close. I could tell when we were out on the quest thing to find the Matrix. He like, smiles at you when you're not looking. I've seen you do the same. You fluster a little. He does too." he crossed his fingers. "You two are like this, yknow?"

D-16 rolled his optics, nudging B playfully. "Ok, stop that." After a wave of bashfullness, he took a deep breath, and gained a minimum amount of confidence. "Ok, let's just...bite the bullet. Get it over with."

"Alright!" B gestured to a room. "He's just in that room right over there. I'll wait out here for if you need me or something." He tried to play it off casually.
That made D chuckle quietly. "Thanks." And he timidly walked in.

Orion was looking towards the back, as if curious by something, but he turned around once he heard the door open. His optics widened with happiness, and his lips lifted a beaming smile. "Oh, hey!"

"Hey." D feared the worst. In this fragile stage, he feared that the happiness of everyone around him was just a facade, out of there being no way that no one else hated him. He knew for sure that he hated himself, at least. He tensed up again, and said nothing else. He could barely look at Orion, just the same as when he was limp in his arms.

Orion realized quickly, and his expression saddened, but sympathetically. He approached D-16 calmly, and put his hand on his shoulder. "...I don't blame you at all. You know that, right?"

D looked up, making eye contact with Orion. His ocean-like optics seemed to pierce him, and his sweet smile tipped him over the edge, forcing him to tears, once again. He tensed even more, hung his head low, and sobbed.

Orion's spark stang quickly, making him pull D into a hug. 

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean- I just- I thought it was the right way-! I don't blame you if you hated me and just walked away now!"

Orion shook his head. "Wh- why would I do that? What good would come out of that? I know you're sorry, and...I forgive you."

D lifted his head to bury it in Orion's shoulder, and return the embrace with his arms. "You're...you're too good. I- I don't deserve you."

"Well, for the record, there are times I feel I don't deserve you either. We can consider ourselves even."

D-16 let go, stepped back, and wiped his cheeks, chuckling a little bit. "Well, yeah, because you're crazy. Some things never change."

"Right! So things don't have to change between us, either. I know you helped me back there. That was YOU who saved me from falling over the ledge. Not B, not Elita, not Sentinel, not anybody."

Hearing Sentinel's name again made D frown, but this time it wasn't powerful. He traced his fingers around the carving again.

 
Then, Orion noticed. "Oh...Did he do that to you? I knew something was off when I saw you earlier..."

"...Yeah, he did. When we were being held captive. He mocked me. And you. And Megatronus."

"Well, what matters now is that he's gone now. He can't hurt you anymore."

"Which was my fault. Even if you forgive me, the rest of everybody won't."

"I'm sure we can do something. Don't worry about it. You can trust me, can you?"

D pondered, looking into Orion's eyes again, seeing his smile one more time reassured him. He was all better, and he didn't hate him. He was still the dumb, sweet Orion Pax that he knew in the mine. He was grateful for that, and felt that, without him, he would become something much worse than how he acted out earlier. While the others may have credited D for saving Orion's life, D credited Orion for saving his. He smiled back, and put his hand on Orion's shoulder again. "....yes. I can."

Chapter Text

Recently being forgiven gave D-16 a small boost of confidence, something he doubted would last since even now he felt it immediately starting to dwindle. He spoke before it running out entirely. "What DID happen? I...I saw you in shock...and.."

Orion's optics widened, as if he had completely forgotten about his death and was just reminded. "Oh-! That..So, it's kind of crazy. You won't believe me."

D raised a brow, and his optics gaze looked unimpressed. "Try me." After everything that happened, to him and Orion, in the past few days, he felt that what he was about to hear, no matter how crazy, wouldn't be nearly as bad as everything else they endured.

"Ok, now, don't laugh. This is true, I'm not making this up.."

"...oh...kay?"

"I saw Primus. Like, the actual Primus. Not like- SAW HIM, saw him. But it was like a vision. He was there. He looked at me. Called me by name. Then granted me the Matrix of Leadership." He opened his chest compartment, revealing the Matrix inside. It's blue light emitted brightly, making the whole room glow. 

D admired the artifact. "Wow..He gave it to you? Just like that?"

"Said it was for my valor or something like that..I still can't believe it, myself." Orion looked away sheepishly.

D couldn't help but smile in support for his friend. "That's amazing, I'm proud of you. You deserve it."

Orion grinned back. "Thank you." He paused for merely a second. "So uh, yeah! That's what happened. He also called me some other name after that, like Optimus Prime or something."

"Ohh, yeah! Because those who are granted Primes get a name change. Sometimes it's a complete rename and sometimes you just get 'Prime' at the end of your original name. So- that's what I call you now then, right?"

Orion frowned a little, and squinted one of his optics. "Ehh, I just. I don't know. This gift is wonderful, and I hope to use it for great things, but- I don't know. I still feel like Orion. In here." he pointed to himself. "You know? I don't think I'm cut out to be this...bigger, better person yet. And..I know that sounds dumb... But I don't think I'm this...'Optimus' yet. I'm just Orion."

D looked at his friend in sympathy. "Makes sense, I'd imagine that's...really tough. Adjusting to something big and new like that. But- if you don't feel like you're ready just yet, then what are you going to do with the fact that Primes, you know, lead?"

"I'd rather it be someone more experienced than I am for now, and then take power when I can be more responsible. I don't want to be another Sentinel-" he chuckled a little, to make light of things.

The intention didn't follow through with D-16. He frowned deeply, his fingers tracing the carving on his chest. He looked away from Orion's direction.

"...Hey, you ok?"

D clenched his fists tightly. The thought of pounding someone's head against the ground came up again, though he knew the man he hated was already deceased. There was no one else he wanted to genuinely hurt, so why did he have the sudden urge now? He shook in anger. "I need to go." He harshly broke any contact with Orion, such as a hand on his shoulder, and started his way off.

"O-oh, ok. We'll talk again, ok?" Just as he finished the sentence, his friend was gone.

D stormed through the hall, his head pounding and his fists clenching even tighter as his seething only worsened. He shoved himself in a room, to find it was a storage closet. It was a dark, brief walk in, with items around that made out to be things for cleaning, or office supplies, some stacks of paper, maybe an unused datapad or two. He took a databad, and examined it. The screen with pitch black, and he hated the optics in the reflection. Without thinking, he snapped it over his knee. Rapidly spiraling down only caused him to do less thinking. He took a stack of papers, and without making sure there was nothing on them, ripped them apart, all until they were shreds. With swift arms, he shoved numerous items off the shelves. The sound only made him more furious, and he continued tearing and tearing and tearing and tearing until-

Light shone in, the door slammed open, and D-16's focus was delayed, but soon he turned to find one of the workers with some officers, perhaps they thought they were being robbed.

The worker bot's optics gleamed in horror, and their face scrunched up with disgust. "What are you doing?!"

He looked around him to see the floor completely trashed with an amalgam of things now made completely useless. He reacted with a dazed expression. What the hell am I doing?? And as he caught his breath, the more exhausted he realized he was. 

The officers swiftly stepped in, taking D-16 by the arms and carrying him off. Despite D's first flinch, then attempts to get out of their grasp, they were unaffected, and his efforts were fruitless. Soon, he sighed hopelessly, and gave in.

 They passed by the room Orion was placed in, and, curious by the noise he also heard, he stepped out to see the event of his friend being dragged away. "Wait, stop!"
The officers stopped briefly, and Orion looked D in the optics again. His lower lip quivered. "What is going on?"

"I..messed up. I'll talk to you later, I promise."

"When is later? What did you do?"

"I'll explain it all soon, just- let them do what they need to do."

Orion, as much as he wanted to demand they set D-16 free, knew that this was the right thing to do for now. If any of them resisted, they'd only use that to make him look worse, as if he were a willing murderer, rather than an accidental one, or someone acting in self defense. That would ruin D's life, Orion knew that. He blinked tightly, and nodded. "Ok..We'll talk soon."

Chapter Text

D-16 was taken to a cell, to sit by himself and ponder about what had he done. He stared at the floor, tracing his hand over the carving in his chest without even thinking about it. It was a strange feeling, forgetting that he had done something but not at the same time. He knew he had broken the databad, and he saw the aftermath of the rest. He remembered the texture of the tearing with his hands, but he didn't quite recollect the conscious thought of him breaking everything like that, or why he got so angry. He couldn't think of any particular reason why he would've blown himself out of proportion like that, other than maybe Orion's stupid joke about Sentinel. But even that wasn't a good enough excuse, even for someone as desperate as D. Before he could think more, he heard a tap on the glass in front of him. 

He flinched, stood up, and walked to the front, seeing Orion Pax, smiling stupidly and waving like an idiot. D couldn't help but chuckle at how dumb Orion was. 

The glass wasn't sound proof, but the officers allowed the two to talk in a seperate, but supervised, room anyway. The officer escorting them alerted the two, "You have an hour.", and then left for other officers to monitor the room with the cameras. The two sat at a table, across from each other, as if it were an interrogation. 

Orion spoke up first. "So...what happened?"

D sighed. "Well, I'm mainly in here because of Sentinel-"

"I know that part, but I mean, what happened to get you arrested- initially? On my way out of the medical bay I heard some other bots talking about some sort of- storage closet? And some broken things inside- or something-"

"Yeah. I did that, too. I- I don't know what happened. Everything was going fine, but then I just started getting- furious again. Like I was there. All over again. I barely knew what I was doing, and next thing I know I have two halves of a datapad in my hand." 

"Hm, so, you just- you weren't exactly doing it all on purpose?"

"What-? No! I would never try to cause problems or wreck things on purpose." He paused, and looked down, ashamed. "I know that's really hard to believe right now, with the whole- Iacon thing, and Sentinel, and-" His voice started to tremble. "But even then, there's something to it I can't put my finger on. I don't mean to be destructive, and I'm sorry-"

Orion's approach became more understanding and reassuring. "Hey, no, it's ok. I think there's a lot more to you that's justified than you think there is. Or that anyone else thinks there is-"

"How?! Just days ago, you were telling me what I was doing was worse than Sentinel-!!"

Orion recoiled, and his optics saddened. He should've expected that along with everything that had happened in the ordeal of them travelling and making it back, D-16 would remember everything, including what Orion told him. He didn't realize that he was out of context until realizing that, while he was gathering reinforcements, D was being tortured, threatened, along with B and the others captured that day. He looked at the scratchings on D's metal plating. He wondered how bad it hurt, how much it scorched him, how badly he was tempted to stay down and do nothing, and about how he didn't do that, and retaliated. It must've been hard. 
Orion shut his optics tightly. "I know that's what I said. And I shouldn't have. I didn't know what you had been through, and I wouldn't have said what I did if I did know. And I'm-" he choked. "I'm sorry, D."

D-16 didn't expect a sorry. He gulped, and he settled, no longer tensing his shoulders. "I...I don't need an apology, but I forgive you."

"Thank you." Orion took a deep breath to compose himself, so he that wouldn't cry. "And you're going to get through this. We're going to get through this. Everything will be fine-"

"No, no, it won't. You may think I'm a great, wonderful person, but I know me. And I'm not. At the end of the day, I did kill Sentinel, and I'm going to jail. Or i'm getting banished, or exiled, or sent to the bottom sub-level, or something-!! I'm never going to see the people I love again. I'm never going to see you again."

"D, no. We're going to work something out! You might not be perfect, hell, you may be far from perfect, but that doesn't mean you're a horrible person. You're a lot more justified than you think, again. There's a lot more people rooting for you than you realize."

D-16 took a moment to think. He blinked in thought. Were there people rooting for him? If there really were, that'd be surprising for him, to say the least. 
Orion leaned in. "But you have to trust me on this one. No one fights on their own, D. You've been lost for a while, it's time to come home again. That means we help you with your burdens. You don't have to do this alone."

That struck a chord of realization. This would be the final leap of faith, the first establishment of trust he made in a long time, even if it was a reestablishment. And he figured he owed it to Orion, especially for almost killing him. If he trusted Orion enough to turn back on his plans and save his life, he certainly should be able to allow him this one small thing. And maybe this would be for the better, and he'd be able to become the D-16 he was in the mine, maybe something better. He'd give anything to feel normal again, maybe it was the help of Orion and his other friends that was needed to aid him along. He nodded. "Ok, Orion. Just this one thing."

"That's a great place to start." He smiled in encouragement, and patted D on the shoulder. 

"Thank you." D smiled back. "..So- how are the others? Bee and Elita?"

"They're good. They miss you a lot."

He smiled more at that, making him more proud of his recent decision, and even more proud of not spiraling further on the day of destruction. He felt a wave of gratefulness to Orion, to the others, to Primus himself. "I miss them too."

***

The trial was weeks ago. It ended as quick as it started, and the situation blew over soon after, partially due to that the New Council knew that Sentinel was indeed dead, and that the act had "D-16" written all over it. That wasn't the main priority at hand, however, as the courts needed to focus on what to do about the killer, rather than who it was.
More arguments took D-16's side than he thought, surprising him ultimately. They mentioned the torture, the threatening of others' lives, including D-16. They also mentioned Sentinel corruptness as a figure, and used that to paint what D had done as a revolutionary movement, instead of a cold, heartless, deliberate murder. This led to D not having to go to prison, but not without a compromise.

Now, D waited in a temporary room of stay until he heard from Orion about what was going to happen to him. Like in the prison cell, he stared at the floor, feeling his hand over the scratches on his chest, all until he heard a knock on the door. He stopped, not even realizing what he had been doing, got up, and opened the door to see Orion, yet again.

He smiled brightly, and tried not to laugh. "A lot of visits from me, D. Maybe you should reciprocate sometime!" He joked.

D shook his head, and chuckled. "Believe me, I would if I could."

"Can I come in?"

"Of course- It's not really my place anyway." he stepped out of the way to let Orion in, and then sat back down on the bed. 

Orion sat down next to him. "So, as you know, I talked to the Council. You're not going to prison, as you also know."

D nodded,  but knew there was more to it. Uncertainty surged in his stomach, making him feel almost sick. He frowned in concern. "...but?"

"But..." Orion sighed. "They....are sending you to be institutionalized."

D-16's spark dropped. "Like- the mental institution? or-"

"You were right the first time. They think that you'd be better off with being helped mentally than being shoved in a cell, especially after being notified of what happened at the clinic.." Orion was telling half truth. The High Council said some...more informal things too, horrible things, really. He's a liability. He's a danger to himself and others. He's self destructive. He'll hurt someone else, for sure! But Orion knew better than that. He could tell D was truly sorry, and would never consciously do what he did to Sentinel, or even to him, ever again. Overall, D wasn't an animal. Was he a little troubled? Yes. A ruthless, blood-thirsty, cold killer? Absolutely not. He was sensitive and gentle, polite and loyal to those he cared about. That was D-16. Knowing all of these things, Orion decided against telling D about what the Council had said, it wasn't that any of what they talked about was important anyway. He just wanted the basics. "I don't know what it's like, I've never been, but I'm sure that you'll be able to find some help."

D nodded, taking Orion's word, not knowing what the Institution was like either. "Alright." he sighed in relief. "I'll be honest, I'm just glad it isn't prison."

"I'm glad it wasn't either. I couldn't bear the thought of never seeing you again."

D dryly chuckled. "Thanks." He looked away, as if thinking, then looked back in Orion's directions. "...and...you'll visit me, right?" he paused for only a second. "That was dumb of me to ask-"

"What? No-! Asking for help, or a favor is not stupid. You're not stupid. To answer your question, of course I'll visit! I'll make sure to stop by every day, I promise."

"Heh, thanks." he shook his head in disbelief. "You're too nice."

"Again, like in the clinic, consider ourselves even."

The two pulled each other into an embrace, wrapping arms around each other tightly and lasting an eternity before letting go.

Chapter Text

It was soon time for D-16 to relocate from the temporary room to the institution. Orion stopped by, and the two went together. Nothing important was exchanged between them, out of D being even more quiet than usual. He soon had to admit he was nervous, and Orion reassured him that he'd be alright, and he'd surely be visited.
Soon, they arrived, and walking in, the contrast between the interior and exterior was very visible. The walls where light grey and lifeless, and the air was cold. Shuffling of feet echoed all over the waiting room. Coughing could be heard from doctors and impatient patients. The two took the first empty seats they could find, and silently looked around the rooms

.
"How long do you think it'll take?" Orion tried to lighten the mood. "Do you think it'll be like a regular doctor? Like and hour or so?"

D-16 shrugged. "I don't know." he bounced his leg as the anticipation grew.

After maybe 30 minutes, a worker bot entered the room. "Hello! Are you D-16?"

D stood up. "I am."

"Great, we've been expecting you. Come with me, I'll show you to your room."

He followed as told, and Orion went with. Going through the halls only made the shuffling and clicking sounds louder. There was a rattling of some type, that neither bots could identify. It put D off horrifically. And then, halfway into the walk, there was a shrill scream. The bots flinched, and froze in place, looking around for where the noise came from to find nothing identifiable as the source.

The doctor calmly explained. "An unruly patient. They come and go every once in a while."

Orion nodded semi-understandingly. "Hm. Is there a reason why they might be...?"

"Uptight like that? It's just the condition they go through. But don't worry, we make sure to take care of bots no matter what the condition."

"That's good then." he turned to D and grinned, as if to point out what the doctor said as reassuring.

D nodded back, and awkwardly grinned with his teeth.

Around the end of the hallway, the doctor stopped. "This will be your place of stay." 

The room was small, and just as lifeless as the hallway. The walls were only slightly darker than the hall, and there was nothing inside. There was a bed, and a small table that served as a poor excuse for a desk. One thing that stuck out to D was a small hook-like attachment on the wall. It was something that he couldn't identify, and it wasn't brought up by anyone else.  The desire to not speak outweighted finding out, so he kept silent.

A few minutes into the room examination passed, and Orion approached D closely. "Well, I guess I should go soon. Gotta start progress as quick as possible, right?" He patted D on the back.

"Heh, yeah...I suppose so."

"Alright. I'll make sure to visit, like I said a while ago. See you then." 

"See ya." And he dissappointedly watched Orion leave. As soon as he was out of his sight, the noise amplified in his audio receptors. The clacking, the shuffling, the wheeling of things. The creaking of doors, the murmuring of doctors outside. Then, suddenly, there was another shriek. He felt the sway of uncertainty, just the same as many weeks ago. During the calamity. He was going to plummet, and die. And all because it was so loud. He couldn't make any sense of it.

The doctor who escorted him still stood nearby. They approached him closer. "Let's begin treatment now, shall we?"

***

A day passed, and Orion was casually attending to his new residence of stay. Having independence to keep up with a home, and decorate it was a privelege he took pride in. He and his friends each had a room in a major complex, so they all lived close by. He, B, and Elita all were adjusting to their new places, and planned to provide D a space as well. That reminded him he should probably visit soon. 

Footsteps made their way into the living area. Orion turned to find B, who waved. "Hiya! I just got back-"

"How did your interview go?"

"I think it went pretty okay. It's so cool talking to other people, not that you're not cool or anything, you're the best. But seeing so many new people is so nerve-wracking!"

"I get it. Do you know if you got the job? Sometimes you're hired right away-"

"Well, no. I wouldn't be here right now if I were hired right away." he giggled. "But naw, they told me to give them until tomorrow to think about it. Is that also normal?"

"Yeah, that's usually how it goes. I hope you get the job."

"Thanks! I do too! So, uh, have you visited D yet?"

"No, but I'm about to. I just remembered that maybe a minute or two ago."

"Okie dokie! You should totally tell me how it goes when you do get there! OH, and, tell him that I said hi and that I miss him and that I can't wait to fill him in on everything when he gets back. Ask him when he'll get back."

Orion chuckled at all of the requests. "Ok, I'll make sure to remember all of that to tell him. Goodbye, B."

"See ya!"

Orion left, and quickly made it to the insitution building. He sat in the waiting room for almost and hour before having the opportunity to state his intentions, and he was somehow surprised to find that the hallways remained as lifeless as they were a day ago. He politely walked to the end of the hallway, soon meeting his friend again. "Hey!"

D-16 faced the front, his optics lighting up when seeing Orion again. "Hey-!"

Orion entered the room, and sat close to his friend. "I only got a few minutes. How was the first night?"

The first night, in truth, was all less than optimal. The doctors took D away and asked him several questions, then analyzed physical traits, checked for health problems, to find nothing, and declared it a mysterious mental hazard. They did more evaluation on him, leaving him subject to their will as they trapped him in straps cleverly hidden in the bed. Hours were spent with multiple eyes staring at him. But, when looking at Orion, seeing the hopeful look in his optics again, compelled D to not say anything along the lines of anything that first came to mind. Maybe this is what was needed for him to get better. "It was good, pretty awkward, but decent."

"Alright, that's good! I'm glad. I'm adjusting to the apartment and stuff, so are the other two. Oh-! B misses you, and wants to know when you'll get back so he can fill you in on everything he's been up to-"

"Of course-" D chuckled. "I don't know when I'll be back. The doctors went through that when talking about their process. Just depends on how quickly I make progress...I guess."

"That makes sense. I'll make sure to tell him. So..you like it in here? Are you allowed to decorate?"

"Not really. The workers said something like that it was so it didn't over stimulate the patients."

Orion thought that was odd. If the institution was supposed to be a calming environment, why were the patients deemed to be easilly overhwhelmed or upset by something like making themselves more at home? Maybe he was reading too much into things. Unfortunately, he, like everyone else, was not very well-versed in psychology or anything involving that. So he decided to not verbalize his thoughts. "Well, that's a bummer, huh?"

"Not that I'd have anything to decorate with."

"Right. Well, when you get out, you can decorate as much or as little as you want. You're gonna love your room."

"I look forward to it."

***

Night fell, and Orion was wide awake, staring at the black ceiling.
All throughout the visit, as brief as it was, something felt...off. When he first examined the room, with D-16, he noticed a sort of...hook on the wall. What was that for? And why were the patients so easilly worn out? So easily made upset? Was all the screaming in the halls normal? He thought that, if people were getting better, there wouldn't be as much. But he also pondered, doctors may save lives, but patients die too. Maybe it was in a similar vein. Though, something disturbing occupied him, and he couldn't shake it. He turned over in his bed, and tried to sleep.

The next day arrived slower than Orion would've liked it to. He arrived at his standard job pondering when he'd be able to go home, though his schedule was always the same. He organized books and shelves only to find himself compulsively checking the clock. 

A co-worker approached. "Lookin' anxious today, Pax. What's up?"

Orion turned towards them, away from the clock. Though D-16's verdict was essentially public, via the news, he didn't want to just start telling people his business either. He brushed it off a bit, and told half-truth. "I just got some plans this afternoon I'm looking forward to."

"Ah, I understand. Pre-event jitters are hard to get away from. Whatever it is, I hope you have lots of fun!"

Orion thought that was somewhat ironic, but grinned, happy that the person meant well. "I hope so too, thanks!"

The day dragged by, until the clock struck, and Orion clocked out the minute he had the chance. He left quickly, not having his usual long goodbyes or lingering past his shift, as he usually did throughout the work week. He didn't even stop by home, going straight to the psychiatric ward to visit D. 

The waiting room visit was a lot more grueling than the last one. Orion tapped his fingers and bounced his leg during his stay at the waiting room. Soon, a doctor came, recognized him, and after having him reinstate his intentions, and inspecting him, they escorted him all the way to the back of the room. Each walk through the hall that Orion had during the past few days made him more aware of what was expected, and with that newfound awareness he noticed that the shrill screaming, or loud protesting, was a lot more noticeable that he earlier thought. That twisted his stomach tightly.

 The end of the hall was soon reached. Orion stepped in, but before he could say 'hi', he instantly recognized that something was off, that being D's presence wasn't as profound. He sat, his posture relaxed, but also slouched, against the wall. He was staring at the floor. Orion was used to that last part for a while now, as he sometimes got caught in thought, but usually, him walking in got his attention. He knocked on the wall. No response to that either. That made Orion even more nervous. "...Hey..D?"
He perked up, but still seemingly unaware, hummed with his attention caught. He looked towards Orion, and waved. His expression was glazed over, and his optics were dilated. 

Orion stepped closer with the concern that something was not right. Upon further examination, he realized that one of D's feet was confined to a shackle, that led to a chain that......connected to the hook on the wall. He cringed in disgust. "What's that for?"

D didn't seem to hear him, or register the question. "Wait a second, your optics are really pretty. Who are you?" It also seemed that he didn't know Orion. And his manner of speech was also horrifically off his usual tone.

Orion's stomach tightened more, but he awkwardly grinned. "Orion Pax, remember? I visit you every day around this time."

"Really? Wow, I am so lucky. Thank you so much." he grinned, his smile being wildly out of character, however.

Orion tittered. "Uh..you're welcome-! And thank you too."

"So, you visit here all the time, but you aren't part of...here?"

"If you're asking if I'm a patient, no, I am not. You really don't remember?"

"I...really don't know-" D shrugged, his tone greatly exaggerated, and his words dragged out more than needed. "I don't remember much of the day, if any of it at all, actually. But look-" He shook his foot, causing the shackle to rattle.

Orion's optics widened in realization. That was the rattling the two heard in the hall on the first day. "Oh, Primus. Wh...when was this?"

"I think today or some other day. I did something and they did something and all of a sudden- They're attaching stuff and they put this around my foot like I'm some kinda..." he trailed off. "But I'm not an animal."

Orion's spark panged with pity, and his brows furrowed gently. He replied understandingly. "You're right, you're not."

" 'Sides that, my day was good, i guess. I didn't really do anything."

"Hm, neither did I." The expression on his friend's face disturbed him out of silence. "So- do you feel a certain way? Like-"

"If you're asking me if I'm drunk, I'm not, I swear."

"Um, ok then. It was just a question. I didn't think you'd be drinking here anyways."

"Good, because I'm not. I think sometimes they prick you with needles and then you calm down, and that's when they leave you alone."

"Like...sedation?"

"I guess??"

Orion didn't know how to feel about implications of his friend having drugs forced on him, especially when he didn't know the context. And he knew that was something he wasn't going out of D, at least not in the current state he was in. After a while, Orion was left asking questions and getting no answers, at most a request for him to repeat himself as D progressively lost more focus. Orion stood up. "The doctor said I only had a few minutes...I should probably start leaving. I hope your day gets better."

"Ok, you too!"

Orion's body was tense, and he only stared at his feet as he walked through the halls, resulting into bumping into a bot or two. He could bear to look at any of their faces, doctor or patient. His trip home wasn't all that pleasant either, and upon his enterance, he greeted nobody.

B, who was in the living area, decided to say something. "Hey, Orion! Elita and I were doing some thinking about doing something when D is released, do you know when-?"
Before he could answer, Orion left to another room, leaving B saddened.

Elita, being close by, patted B on the shoulder. "Let me talk to him." She followed Orion into the room, finding him sitting on the bed, curled up on himself and desolate. Elita calmly sat down next to him, yet still provided him space. "Hey...something going on?"

Orion turned to his friend, who he knew what ready to listen to anything he had to say, even if it were stupid. That comforted him, especially since this was definitely not stupid. "Well...I'm worried that what we're doing isn't right."

"With the apartment?"

"No, with D."

"Ohh, why's that? Is he ok?"

Orion paused for a moment. "No. He's not. The first day, I should've noticed something was off. I felt it in my spark. But now- I know there's something wrong. I got there after work, as fast as I could, and he was under some sort of influence. It was like, he was barely there, mentally-"

"Like- he was drugged?"

"That's basically what he suggested to me when I asked him about it. I was too scared to ask any of the workers, so after just sitting there unable to get a word out of D I just- left."

"Hm, maybe tomorrow go again, and try to ask a doctor, or ask D if he's capable. Maybe you'll get an answer then. If something really bad is going on, we need to get to the bottom of it quickly."

"You're right, that's what I'll do. Thanks, Elita."

"Of course. Tell me how it goes when you can."

"I will, count on it."

Chapter Text

Orion struggled to sleep throughout the night.

The moment he started to drift off, he felt himself falling slowly, and soon descended into pure darkness, blackness turning into pure light, and soon, he was in the institution hall again. He was all by himself, clicking pen sounds echoed back and forth, bouncing around the walls.
Then, the silence broke with a throat-straining scream of unknown source, making Orion's energon curdle. His frame shivered, he could feel himself lucidly growing cold as he slowly crept through the hall. Something jumped within him, he needed to help, and he soon ran, the background blurred around him and soon he found himself in a dark room with D-16.

D sat on his knees, looking up, glaring daggers into Orion's spark. He huffed and gritted his teeth like a feral animal. He growled ferociously. "WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME HERE?!" he howled.

"Leave you? D, I-"

D's frown lowered into a worried expression. He sharply inhaled as he sobbed. "I thought you said you had my back!"

Pain shot through Orion's spark, spreading all throughout his body, he reached out, his mouth croaking to speak a single word, then felt a push.
"Orion, wake up."

His optics opened slowly, and above him was B-127. "Sorry." He winced. "Elita told me that you were supposed to do something today- do you have work?"
Orion's optics widened, and he sat up quickly, gasping. "No-! but-" he frantically looked around, then paused to put his hand on B's shoulder. "Thanks, by the way." He stood up, and ran out of the room, then the hall, then the door, and he was outside.

The light pierced him, and he ran through shapes and colors that were people. Everything buzzed around him quickly all until he reached the institution again. There was a tightening in his stomach, despite not eating he felt that he might throw up. The wait in the lobby only made it worse. His frame shivered, and he tapped his foot quickly. Some bystanders stared at him, and he ignored them all, or at least attempted to, by staring at the floor.

Soon, he was permitted to proceed with his visit. Anticipation swelled in him, hoping that D was aware enough to talk to him. That last visit was awkward as hell, anyone would say that. He entered the room timidly to see his friend, not in chains this time. 

D first looked over, fear in his optics, but then smiled seeing Orion. He quickly approached and wrapped him in a loving embrace. "Pax, I'm so glad you're here!"
"uh- Hi!" Orion hugged him back, some of the worry lingering. "How are you?"

D-16 gulped nervously, he stammered and his optics darted around the room. "i- guess fine." He nodded in conclusion.

"That's good. I'm glad. I wasn't so sure last time." Orion told half truth. He wasn't sure now either.

"Yeah, sometimes things get complicated, I'll admit. B-but I'm glad you're here. I was worried you wouldn't visit."

"What-? Of course I'd visit! Why would you think that?"

D shrugged. "I guess I've just been letting things get to me, I guess." He flushed over starting and finishing with the same phrase. "A-anyway, wanna see something I found out?"

"Oh, sure!"

"My optics can change color."

"Um- D, I already figured that out. After the whole ordea-"

"No, no, I mean. They can change color. Look." He quickly cocked his head to the side, slamming it against a swinging fist, and his optics blinked back to yellow. Then he laughed.

Orion gasped, then laughed as well. "Well, look at that!! That's hilarious."

"I know!"

"How did you figure that out?"

"The honest answer? I was bored." He chuckled. "There's not much to do around here."

"Ah."

"But it's awesome, look!" He did the same hitting action again, and his optics turned orange. "Hah! And it doesn't even hurt."

"That's good! So it's just a fun little thing for ya?"

"Pretty much!" he continued the light hitting, optics switching from yellow to orange to red, and he laughed. 

Soon, Orion joined in. A sense of euphoria rushed through him, and he laughed even louder. He felt joyful tears form in his optics subtly, as he allowed his environment blur around him. He forgot the gravity of what was happening, as he felt he were floating. As long as he were with D like this, he felt home.

The clanking noise continued, almost rhythmically, but not for too long, until a shadow cast over them. The two flinched, and looked up, instinctively thinking of Darkwing, only to find someone much worse.

Fear flashed in D's optics again, recognizing the doctor who stood over them staring down into him with menacing optics. "Are you hitting yourself again??"

A doctor beside him commented. "Must be another outburst, sir."

"Right."

D stammered. "No, it- I was just-"

"Save it."

Orion joined in. "He's not lying! He was just showing me something-"

The doctor turned to Orion, glaring. "You! Stay out of this."

"But I think you're just misinterpreting-"

"Do NOT!! Tell me how to do my job. Do you understand me? Leave."

Orion cowered, and nodded, holding his breath as he shakily shambled his way out. Then he turned around, optics widening horror bearing witness to the doctors pinning D to the ground. 

With his face pressed against the floor, he groaned, and cried out. The scream was raw, and it was ugly, it shot through Orion's audials. Nothing was intelligable if it were words, but Orion understood everything spoken, even when he couldn't hear it anymore, as he left at the sight of a syringe. He ran through the city even faster than last time, not taking time for transform and simply darting through on foot. Tears stang his optics severely, now choking on his way back. How could he leave D like that? He should've stood up for him!! With the amount of times he's screwed him over, gotten him into messes, the worst thing Orion could've done was the thing he did. Run away. He was such a coward.

He stumbled upon the doorstep, ringing the doorbell several times to be let in. Someone let him in!! 

Footsteps got louder, and the door opened quickly, revealing B. "What is going-?! Oh-! Orion, I thought it was someone else, that would've been CRAZY, ri-?" He paused, a frown forming on his face. "Wh..what's wrong?"

Orion bawled, hunching over. He gasped for breath. "It's D-!! He's hurt and I didn't do anything to help him! I- I just ran away! I did what they said and left!!"

B approached Orion closer, and wrapped his arms around him. "I- i'm so sorry, Pax."

"Don't be sorry for me. I'm just a coward. And D probably hates me."

"No, no! He probably knew you were scared. Anyone would be. It's ok."

B hugged Orion tightly, and Orion soon reciprocated. The two accepted the embrace in silence for a minute or two.

B spoke again, in a soft comforting whisper. "You can try again tomorrow, I promise. Can I come with you?"

Orion sniffled, and turned to B, who was smiling like a little brother. He chuckled. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Um, be awesome! Let's try again tomorrow."

Chapter Text

Morning rose again, and along with it D-16. He lifted himself solemnly, with his spark already heavy thinking about Orion, who was where D was supposed to be, and along with that, too far out of reach. He yearned to be in the same place as Orion, holding him in his arms. 

He vaguely remembered not too long ago, when his processor was clouded and even yet he called Orion's optics pretty. He might've said more, but perhaps he forgot. He hoped he didn't say anything too obvious, as he didn't want anything between him and Orion Pax to change for the worse. If he lost his friend, his everything he had, he felt he'd combust and lose all meaning all together. At least, he felt that way now as he sat in the asylum.

Still groggy from the sedation the day before, he kept to himself, sitting leaned against the way to stay away from the straps on the bed. Those scared the everloving spark out of him, and probably would for the rest of his life. Thinking about being held to something made him nauseous.

What would Megatronus Prime do in a situation like this? D sometimes caught himself in the middle of asking himself something so stupid. But the idea of thinking about his favorite hero kept him distracted from the worries of the day. It eased him slightly as he allowed himself to tap his fingers, sutbly and hidden so no doctors would potentially notice. His fidgety behavior was labeled as 'problematic' by the other bots, even by patients he interacted with during rare group sessions or meals. Even though he preferred to eat by himself, someone always made sure to point when he was moving when expected to sit still.

Not that judging his thoughts made him think of them any less. He continued in pondering. Would Megatronus hate it? Would he be disgusted by the injustice? Sometimes D hoped that he would come save him, even though he knew first hand that he was dead. It made D seethe deep into his core. He tensed up, and slammed a fist into the wall, huffed, and calmed down. Not right now, not right now.

But why not right now? Because the doctors would catch him. Why doctors? Because he's in an institution where people are treated like objects. Why was that? Wasn't society supposed to be better than this? What happened to the promised better Cybertron? Put into the hands of someone who wasn't even a Prime...
The thought of Sentinel made D's energon boil. Heat rose in him as if his cooling systems failed. He couldn't bear the thought of that stupid mech ever again, and to think that he idol worshipped him!! It deeply bothered D-16 that killing Sentinel somehow wasn't enough.

He clenched his teeth and continued slamming his hands against the walls, but on the side so he didn't impact his knuckles. He continued until they were sore, and held his breath, then sighed. 

Footsteps. Every bit of anger transformed into fear instantaneously. He froze, and stood at the shadows above him.

"What are you doing?" The doctor asked.

D shook his head. "N-nothing. Get out of my business."

"As we have said before, that is no way to talk to us. We are treating you, we deserve a thankful attitude of you and nothing less."

His teeth gritted tightly, as if he was about to curse them back in a powerful roar, but he didn't even squeak. He just remained silent.

"That's what we thought, now, let us proceed with our standard procedure, shall we? We have a schedule to keep up with."

D shook his head more, and started backing into the wall farthest from them. "No, no. Give me one more chance, I- I don't want-"

"It doesn't matter what you want, it matters what you need." The doctor started approaching D closer. "Come here-" 

His voice rose in panic as they took syringes out, seemingly out of nowhere. "Please, don't- Don't!! I just want a day of feeling normal, please! I don't-! Stop! Don't come any closer-"

The head doctor came closer, extending their arms and hands as if they were about to grab him, but D swiftly leaned in, ramming his head into their chin, causing them to back away stumbling to regain balance. The doctor huffed, and retaliated pushing D to make him fall over, but D kept his ground. He held his hands together to slam both fists into the side, closer to the back of, their head, and when they kneeled, he kneed them in the stomach.

The assitant had called for backup at this point, and two others came in to help the first one grab D-16. One for each arm, then the last by his shoulders. They forced him down into the cold metal floor, just as they've done numerous times, for weeks, months. D feared it'd be years. He groaned in pain and discomfort as he was poked into, once again. The moment the numbing started was when the doctors got off of him, but by that time, he wasn't able to really do anything. Whatever they gave him always overwhelmed him with sleepiness.

***

D's little awareness was brought to a gentle nudge. Then another. One more.

"Psst. D. Wake up."

Soon, he did as told, expecting a doctor's assistant. He barely opened his optics, squinting from the light in the room, but going into focus seeing a...friend?

"Puh...Pax? What ar..." he rubbed an optic. "What are you doing here?"

"Shhh. We're here to sneak you out. Can you walk?"

He sat up slightly, though quickly hunched over with how tired he was. "N..still tired.."

"Alright-" Orion lifted him by an arm. "Just try, I'll help you."

He nodded, and took a step forward, but lost balance and leaned onto Orion heavily. Orion kept him from falling, then called someone over, then B came in, putting his arm under D's free one and offering support. 

Bee reassured the two, but mostly talked to D. "We got you, you don't have to barely walk, now!"

Orion nodded and chuckled. "Shh, you're going to get us caught." He said with a mischievous grin. "We can talk when we get outside."

B nodded, an with his free hand he made the motion of zipping his lip, a new thing Elita taught him recently. 

The two supported D, and though not as fast as any of them would've wanted, they effectively made it out of the room, then the hall, then the institutional building. B was the first one to cheer, then Orion, while D struggled to pay attention to either of the two.

**Shifts to Orion's POV**

They got closer to home eventually, and B externalized his thoughts. "I can't wait for you to see the apartment!! It's gonna be so cool, I can't wait for all the fun adventures we're gonna have, now that you're here! It's just been so incomplete without you, just three of us. But now it's four of us again! The big four. Even numbers are better than odd, you know. Every number matters. It's good that you're here, D. Orion was worried about you but I was too. Elita was also but I think we were more worried, not to set up competition or anything. Oh! And Orion said this weekend we all were gonna go out for fun because we planned to get you out soon and he wanted you to spend time with all of us- oh-! And-"

Orion laughed. "B, I don't think D's exactly ready for talking right now. We can review all of this tomorrow, ok?"

B finally remembered what Orion had told him about, that D would likely be in a dazed state or something and that B needed to be understanding, patient, and wait to talk about things if he wanted D to remember. He nodded in understanding. "Okie dokie, artichokie! Zipping the lip, right here. Mm!"

Orion chuckled, and sighed as they entered the comforts of their own home, where he thanked B then escorted D to an empty room that was declared his as the other three moved in. It was vacant and void of any character, nothing inside it besides some boxes and a berth.

"It's not decorated yet, but the boxes have your Megatronus things. And we can go get some stuff this weekend." 

D nodded, and muttered something unintelligible, but soft and understanding, enough for Orion that night. He helped D into the berth, and after contemplation, knelt close, and softly pressed his lips on the tip of D's helmet. He backed away slowly, hand patting him only a few times. "I'm glad you're safe...I..I love you."

D tiredly grinned, and muttered "I love you too," before drifting off to sleep.