The Fall and Rise of An Ancient (GOTP story)

5. In the Jungle, The Quiet Jungle...

Days passed, and Megatron found himself growing stronger with each one. His limps became strides, the aches and pains faded to memory, and he was beginning to feel more like himself... But also, not quite.

His strength was returning, the force that could smash boulders and had leveled armies came back in his limbs, but... He felt no need to use it. As he'd laid on his berth one night, he had thought it over, and he realized that for the first time... He didn't need to fight. In the gladiator pits, he'd had to fight just to survive, and as the war went on, he'd fought to keep his position and to win for a vision he possessed of the future.

Now, he didn't need to fight for much of anything. The constant sense of approaching danger was gone, the drive to prove himself waned to a low hum in his spark. Was this what being at peace was like? No, he couldn't be at peace. Not with everything he'd done.

Still, the High Gatewatcher's words were ringing true; trusting him would only be foolish if he betrayed that trust...

To be honest, the only thing he'd really had to fight for was privacy. The first few days, there was almost always some Telensi checking on him or peeking through the curtains to admire him and then running away giggling when they were caught.

He was also having a very hard time getting the motivation to leave like he said he would. Every so often his optics would linger to the sky, the stars out beyond it. Ever since he'd awoken, he'd spoken of returning there and resuming his exile and search for his own demise, but for some reason... He just couldn't find the drive in that moment.

As the days passed, the novelty of the ancient cybertronian among them had waned. He was still greeted by the locals, but they no longer stared or pointed in astonishment. He was becoming a part of the community, even if he hadn't actually done much for them than send the Exatoms away that one time... And they'd be back.

Which was why when the next group of telensi were preparing to sneak out and collect supplies, Megatron accepted the High Gatewatcher's request to act as their bodyguard. It was a chance to get out of the city and try to learn more of these tiny bots' history here, and perhaps a little more solitude. Scribe had been coming to him multiple times a day with questions- Why were the little ones always so curious?

The gathering party consisted of him, plus three telensi with packs they would bring their goods back with, and a telensi guard that took point but never strayed far from the group.

It seemed that while a few of them had names of one word like Scribe or Spearen, most of them had names comprised of two words mashed together. Not too different from the naming conventions of Cybertron, really.

Megatron tried to remember the names to faces of those he was supposed to be keeping an optic on, so he could keep track of them and call for one if they strayed too far.

The winding trails of paths and streets led them further and further down the slope of the volcano, until the walls led to a large archway, and beyond that, the jungle. From a distance, Megatron hadn't noticed, but as he passed into the dense, green foliage, he could see just how big they all were.

The plants somewhat resembled some that he'd seen on Earth, but taller and thicker. Ferns stood tall enough for the smaller telensi to duck under them for cover, and the trees, Megatron was almost certain he could easily climb and sit amongst their branches, something no tree of Earth could dare attempt to support on its own. Vines draped down, and the sounds of the wildlife filled the treetops in a symphony of sound.

Screeches, caws, growls, chirps, groans, bellows, there was never a lack of sound down here, but it was almost impossible to see what exactly made what noise through the dense green. If a cybertronian ship had crashed here, it made sense it would be tough to break free of it again.