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“I did not know that you were sparked.”
“What’s that now?”
Megatron pointed at the small form cradled in Dorothy’s arms. “I did not realize that you had been carrying a sparkling, your frame hid it well. Congratulations, by the way. Have you chosen a designation for it yet?”
Dot looked at the small form that was now squirming with enthusiastic vigour. “Are you serious Megatron? Does this look like a baby to you?” She held the puppy up in the air to give the huge Cybertronian a better look.
“Well, yes?”
“He’s not even human!”
“Well, organics do all look alike.”
“Seriously? You can’t tell the difference between a human child and a puppy?”
“Of course I can.” He could not. It was small, hairy and made a lot of noise, just like the Malto children.
“Uh huh.” Dot did not look convinced.
“Why do you have that…puppy?”
“It’s Alex’s new pet.”
“I see.” He did not. “What is it’s function?”
“It’s function?” Dot laughed at the question. “Do Cybes not keep pets?”
“Pets? No.” He frowned as he dragged up obscure memories from a 4 million year past. Some elite caste mecha had kept pets pre-war, but they were usually constructed cold bots or expensive off world exotics, largely used as a status symbol among wealthy collectors. In the time between, all ‘pets’ would have been battle trained constructs built for war. “Perhaps a few did, but as you humans define ‘pets’ it is a fairly new concept to us.”
“I see.” She didn’t.
Dot had been looking up at Megatron and hadn’t been watching the pup. He gnawed at her fingers, it’s sharp little puppy teeth felt like needles, and she gave a hiss of surprised pain.
Megatron smiled, Dot could hear the amused rumble deep in his chassis. “It has a fiery spark for something so small. It would make a brave warrior.”
“What? No. It’s a pet.” She stressed the word to imply it’s importance to Megatron. “Although, yes, some dogs are trained for police or military work. But this one, is just a pet. With Robby and Mo in high school now, and all the kids training and on missions more often, the house has gotten a little quiet. Alex got it to keep him company.”
“Are you not good company for Alex?”
“Honestly, we’ve been so busy, that I spend more time with you than with my own husband.”
“I see.” He did not.
“Come on, put your hand down here, let’s get him used to your scent.”
Megatron knelt down and cupped his huge servos into a bowl at Dot’s direction and she set the small furry bundle inside.
“Scout, meet Megatron. Megatron, meet Scout.
He peered at Scout intently, and was surprised to find the puppy was…cute. Not a word that normally passed through his processors. He found himself unconsciously smiling as it wiggled and whined, snuffling at his palms. He set it carefully down on the grass, sprinkled with white flowers that nodded in the gentle spring breeze. Scout staggered around him on clumsy paws before climbing up onto one of his huge pedes. Megatron was pleased by the small creature.
“It is a fine designation for a bold spark.”
***
“Hey Megs, do you want to try?”
Scout was over a year old now, and no longer a little ball of fluff and wiggles, but a lean form that sprinted on powerfully fast legs that leapt agilely into the air. The dog looked like he was about to fly, launching himself high each time he jumped, hanging suspended for a moment, before his jaws unerringly closed on a ball. He ran straight back to Dot and dropped the ball into her waiting palm, then danced backwards, hopping enthusiastically on his hind legs, waiting for the next throw.
Dot reached up and handed the ball to Megatron. Scout barked loud and impatient, pawing at Megatron’s huge silver pedes.
“He has no fear.”
“Of course not, we got him used to you as a pup, he knows you’re family too.” Dot made a hand gesture, and the dog sat silent, but squirming with anticipation, at Megatron’s pedes, intently staring up, way up, at the towering mech.
“I stand by what I said before, he would make a fine warrior.”
“Again, he’s a pet.” Dot looked up at her huge silver companion. “Go ahead, give it a toss.”
Megatron did.
The dog turned to run, eyes on the ball as it flew over his head, but then stopped after a few leaping bounds, head swivelling. Turning back to Megatron the dog cocked his head, the question obvious.
“Okay, perhaps don’t launch the ball into orbit next time.” Dot shaded her eyes from the bright summer sun, then turned back to Megatron, reaching into her pocket to pull out another ball. “Just give it a gentle toss, keep it in the park.”
Megatron gave a weak toss of the ball, and the dog took off after it. Returning back, Scout dropped the ball at Megatron’s pede then danced around, waiting impatiently. He threw it again.
“This is what human’s do with pets?”
“With some pets, yes.”
“How many times must I do this.”
“Until he’s tired.”
“I see.” He did not.
“He knows some tricks too.”
“Oh?”
“Try this.” Dot showed him a series of gestures.
Megatron mimicked with one huge servo. Scout sat. He laid down. Then he spun around. Crawled on his belly.
“This one’s my favourite, but Alex hates it.” She pointed her fingers at the dog, “Bang!” He collapsed belly up, head lolled to the side, unmoving.
Megatron looked at her with concern.
“Its just a trick.” She leant over and rubbed Scout’s belly, and the dog squirmed and wiggled in the grass.
“I see.” Humans had a strange sense of humour.
“Give me your hand.”
Megatron knelt down and extended one huge servo. “Paw.” He stated simply, at her direction. Scout set one of his paws onto Megatron’s waiting palm. Megatron smiled, and carefully gave the dog’s head a rub with one huge digit.
“He is smart, for an organic life form.”
“Uh huh.”
Megatron cleared his vocalizer at the glare from Dot. “I just meant…”
She jabbed her elbow at him playfully. “I knew what you meant.” She pointed at the ball, “he’s not tired yet.”
Dot smiled at Megatron. Megatron smiled at Dot. He threw the ball again. It made her happy, and that made him happy too.
***
It had been a bad day. An attempt to persuade some ‘cons to join Optimus and Megatron had gone disastrously wrong. Megatron was unsurprised, and frankly, slightly relieved, he would never have been able to trust any mech that was once DJD watching his back struts in a fight.
Dot, however, was in a very bad mood. Not only had the prisoners not been persuaded, they had destroyed some seriously expensive equipment, narrowly missed removing Megatron’s helm from his chassis with a hidden energy blade, and then escaped in a stolen shuttle that Wheeljack and his team of human engineers had just finished building.
Megatron was unfazed by the incident, but his small companion was radiating frustration and anger in hot pulsating waves as strongly as if she had an electromagnetic field.
Megatron strained to think of something that would make his tiny and furious partner less… furious. Something that would get her mind off their comically bad scrap pile of a day. Something that would make her happy.
“Dot, I was wondering if you would like to take Scout to the park? We haven’t done it in some time, and I would enjoy throwing the ball for him again.”
“Seriously, Megatron?”
“Yes?” He tried to sound confident, but it came out as a hesitant question. Dot was remarkably terrifying when she was angry, and not for the first time, Megatron thought how the war could have gone a lot differently had she been a Cybertronian. Dot could have swayed the tides in the ‘con’s favour, or she could have been a formidable foe, worthy of facing him on the field of battle. Either way, she would have been a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps, if she had been an Autobot, he would have had reason to defect a few million years sooner.
Dot sighed heavily, her anger deflating with her exhalation. “Megatron, Scout is getting old. He can’t run anymore, he certainly can’t jump anymore.”
Megatron’s optic ridges furrowed, he did not understand how that was possible. “He can’t be getting old, he has only been functioning…living, about one Earth decade.”
“Large breed dogs have short lifespans, Megs. But he can still go for short walks, he still enjoys that.” Dot looked around at the semi-organized chaos of the workers cleaning up the destructive path the ‘cons had left in their wake.
Megatron followed her gaze. Wheeljack was in a foul mood, ranting at Optimus Prime, the engineers were distraught at the loss of the new hybrid Cybertronian tech, the IT department was trying to explain to the department heads that they couldn’t bring anything on line while it was still on fire. All of them sent periodic glares in his direction that were none too subtle in blaming the ex-warlord for his choice in ex-allies. He found it more amusing than uncomfortable. “They have it covered, and I think they would rather we were out of the way. Let’s get you home and take that walk.”
An hour later found them slowly strolling through the rolling fields, Scout limping along behind, spending more time sniffing the grasses than walking. Dot caught Megatron staring at the old dog, concern painted on his face.
“He’s got bad hips and arthritis. But we give him something the vet gave us, to help with his pain.”
“Arthritis?” The word was unfamiliar.
“Yeah, he’s got bad joints. They get inflamed and the cartilage wears down and the bones rub, it can cause a lot of pain, makes it hard to move like you used to. Some people get it when they get older too.”
“Ah, yes. That happens to Cybertronians as well. The hydraulic fluids thin, and the struts rub painfully, sometimes they rust, mobility is impaired.”
Dot called to Scout, who had been lagging further and further behind. The old dog perked up and he trotted quicker, on unsteady back legs. Scout’s tail wagged and he gaped in a doggy grin as she rubbed his ears gently.
Megatron watched Dot. Dot watched Scout. She wore a soft warm smile, and it made Megatron feel soft and warm too.
***
“Are you okay, Dot?”
“Scout is gone.”
“Gone? We should look for him.”
“No, Megs. Gone.” She stressed the word.
“Oh, I see. I am sorry to hear that. My condolences on your loss.”
“Thank you.”
“He had the spark of a great warrior, loyal and brave, worthy of the tears you shed in his memory.”
Dot couldn’t help but smile at Megatron’s awkward words of comfort, it wasn’t something the ex-warlord was experienced with.
“Yes, he was a good dog. Always happy, right to the end. Still wagging his tail as he went to sleep for the last time.”
Megatron looked down at Dot, at her hair flecked with grey, the fine lines by her moist reddened eyes. He realized that she was getting older too. Her husband had retired, her children, now both grown, had started families of their own.
Megatron crouched down and carefully wrapped Dot in his arms, she leaned her head against his chassis, the deep rumble of his engine comforting with it’s warm familiarity.
***
“Dot, I will be leaving next week, there is business that I must attend to on Cybertron.”
“On Cybertron? You’re going back to Cybertron?”
“Temporarily, I will return when the new council elections are concluded.”
“How long will that take?”
Megatron chuckled, “they have been debating for half a vorn already, perhaps only a few of your Earth decades.”
“Seriously, Megs? A few decades?”
“Yes, with the new space bridge, the travel time is much reduced.”
Dot leaned heavily against the fence rail, looking out over the grassy field. Megatron followed her gaze, she was watching the kids play, a small dog racing around them. The sounds of laughter and the joyful barks of the puppy carried back to them on a cold gust of a late autumn breeze.
“How many do you have now?”
“Five.” She looked up at him with a proud smile. “The oldest starts high school next year.”
She looked back out at her grandchildren. Several minutes passed before she spoke again.
“You know Megs, I won’t be here in a few decades.”
“Where will you be?”
“Gone.”
“Oh. I see.” He looked down at Dot, her hair a steely grey that complimented his own plating. Her mind was still as sharp as ever, contributing her decades of knowledge and experience to younger recruits, but her body was worn and tired, and she had retired from active duty many years ago. Megatron had never heard her complain, but he could see the pain in the lines of her face and she walked like her joints needed oiling. Years of repeated injuries and pushing herself to the limits had taken their toll.
They watched the kids play for some time, until the sun dipped low, the heat from Megatron’s engine rising as steam in the chill air. Dot pulled her coat around herself more tightly, but Megatron noticed her shiver. He reached down with one huge servo, an offering that she gratefully accepted. He lifted her up, cradling her in one arm as she leaned against his chassis, relaxing into the heat that soothed her aching muscles.
He turned to carry her back up to the house, the kids and puppy running ahead of them in the growing dark. Megatron’s chassis swelled and Dot felt the hot air as he let out a long deep sigh.
“What’s up Megs?”
He tilted his helm to look down at his partner.
“I was thinking of how much I tire of the machinations of politicians.”
“You and me both.”
“The last time I got involved, we ended up with a 4 million year war.”
“So I heard.”
His chassis vibrated with the rumblings of laughter.
“I was thinking that I could push back my visit.”
“Oh? For how long.”
“Hmm. At least a few more decades.”
Megatron smiled down at Dot. Dot smiled back up at Megatron. His optics glistened and his spark flared at the beautiful sight. Staying here made her happy, and that made him happy too.