Well, this is the last chapter of this story. There is simply no way I can draw this story out any further, and you will see why after you read. Anyways, many thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story right along, kudos to all of you. I hope you enjoy the final chapter!

14.

"If you gotta go, go with a smile."

She thought the rose was absolutely beautiful.

Vega took it out of the vase to admire it, only to notice that the end of the stem bulged oddly, unnaturally. It seemed twisted, obscene, almost like Megatron's smile…

She ran her hand gently over the broken part of the stem, noticing that it was stiffer than the rest of the rose. Angrily, she ripped the unsightly part of the rose off, feeling like the rose's stem was a morbid manifestation of herself, but she couldn't rip the ugliness that lived inside of her away. Despite his devoutness, Megatron was still so malevolently cruel.

Something sharp from the disfigured part of the stem pricked her finger. While every rose had its thorns, when Vega looked down, she was surprised to see something sharp and metal protruding from the edge of the stem. Curious, she pulled it out only to notice that it was the stylus she had given Megatron when they were going to try her new therapy technique. She had no idea he had it still, or why he kept it, and she knew he could've used it to escape. The stylus could be jammed into the force field controls, causing them to malfunction. With the security the way it was in the asylum, Megatron could've walked right out any time he had pleased. But he hadn't, he stayed put. He waited for her to free him because he knew she would. If she didn't, he still could've escaped with an injured pride. But, if he had sent her this…

He wanted her to escape. He wanted her to come back, and not just back to the Decepticons, but back to him.

Where you belong.

She cringed when she heard his voice echo inside of her head, forgetting that if she wasn't careful, he could hear her thoughts.

If I belong with you, why did you beat me and cast me out?

You will see.

Vega didn't feel him anymore. She sighed heavily as she sat down on her recharge berth, stashing the stylus in her subspace as she did so. It had been a long day, she figured a few hours of recharge couldn't hurt her any. She just hoped Megatron couldn't see or hear her dreams.

She ended up waking into darkness.

Vega felt too hot and cold at the same time, she felt sick, as if she had somehow managed to come down with a virus. She had had an unsettling dream about Jetfire. She didn't want to disappoint him by returning to the Decepticons, and she couldn't figure out why, but she missed him terribly. But she didn't dare think about him since she didn't want Megatron to know.

Figuring she wouldn't get anymore sleep that night, she sat up on the berth, staring out into the darkness. If she wanted to leave, now she could. No one would try to stop her; the guards were more than likely sleeping. She could just walk right out, but that was too easy. And she wanted a reason to leave, a reason to go back to Megatron…or Jetfire. And until she had that reason, she wasn't going anywhere. This was what she had chosen.

She sat there, watching as the minutes and hours ticked by until a femme walked into her cell. Vega looked over feeling slightly numb as she gave the femme a onceover. She faked a smile when she recognized her. "Hey Lura," she said. Lura had been an up-and-coming therapist when Vega left to be with Megatron. It seemed to make sense that she was giving her therapy now.

"Morning Vega," the therapist greeted her, "I never expected to see you in here."

Vega smirked, at least she was honest. "It isn't the first time I've been on the receiving end of things," she said and she swore she heard Megatron smile.

"Care to tell me what exactly happened? I'm pretty sure if you present a reasonable case, we could pardon you for killing Vin."

Vega could hardly believe it. "Is that true, or are you just saying that to make me talk?"

"Come on Vegs, I know you're not one of them," Lura said, referring to the other truly insane patients in the asylum. She sighed as she set her datapad aside, "Nobody wants to see you in here. Everyone knows you don't belong locked behind bars. I look up to you, I don't want you here, you should be the one giving the therapy."

"I don't belong here in the asylum in general," Vega remarked, "I was never meant to be a therapist."

"But you're good at it."

"Is this a therapy session or are you trying to give me advice on how to run my life?"

Lura sighed again before saying, "Tell me what happened."

"I broke the code of conduct and entertained an affair with a patient," she answered flatly.

"Did you start the affair or did Megatron?"

"Megatron," Vega said, getting chills as she said his name.

"How did he start it?"

Figuring the truth would be just as entertaining as a lie, she gave the truth as she answered, "Subtly. At first he remarked on my looks, then he told me I would kiss him. One day I did…he convinced me that I didn't want to be here anymore; he said if I went with him he would keep me safe, he said he would free me and be my savior."

Lura stared at her before saying, "And you believed him?"

Vega felt angered, but she wasn't sure how to explain it. "Megatron forced me to believe him," she responded, "When it comes to Megatron, there is only one way and that is his. I don't know how to explain I didn't have a choice. He was always able to prove me wrong."

"He manipulated you; he made you believe things you knew weren't true," Lura mused, "What happened after you went with him?"

She was hesitant to reveal this part. "What do you know already?" she asked.

"I know he cast you out and left you with the Autobots to die. I know Optimus had you sent here because Jetfire was entertaining feelings he had for you," Lura explained, "I think the big question is why did he beat you and leave you behind?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," she confessed, "I only know that he was mad because Jetfire kissed me."

"Did Megatron lie to you, Vega?"

"Not about everything. He made me his mate."

Lura sighed heavily, "Did you have sexual relations with him here at the asylum?"

"Not really, we didn't have intercourse."

"Well," she said, "How do you feel about him now, now that he's abandoned you?"

Vega broke her gaze with the femme. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt, but she was certain of one thing. "I am absolutely terrified of him," she confessed, which caused Lura to smile.

"And Jetfire?"

Vega felt her spark soar, even though she didn't want it to. "I do like him," she admitted quietly, "A lot."

And over the next few weeks, that's how the therapy sessions went. Lura had Vega discuss what happened between her and Megatron, and then she would have her discuss Jetfire. Finally, after Vega began to run out of things to say, Lura came with an extra datapad and stylus. She handed it to Vega before saying, "Take this, write what you want to say to Megatron."

The abused femme held the stylus nervously in her hand and stared blankly at the datapad. She felt like the datapad had Megatron's gaze and was staring directly at her, accusingly, teasingly. "Tell me Vega," it seemed to say.

Hesitantly, she wrote. When she finished, Lura took the datapad back and then proceeded to hand her another one before saying, "Now write what you want to say to Jetfire."

Vega took the empty datapad before hesitating once again. She then scrawled something out before handing the datapad back to Lura. "What are you going to do with those?" Vega asked.

"I'm just going to assess them," Lura said as she took the stylus back from Vega. She then left the room.

Vega sighed heavily. She had a feeling she hadn't heard the end of this.

Jetfire was surprised when he received a package from the asylum where Vega was at. Optimus entrusted him to be in charge over her progress at the asylum, and Lura was to report anything interesting back to him. He was surprised that Lura sent him something so quickly. He had expected not to hear anything for months. Instead, it had only been a few weeks.

Curious, he opened the package and a report fell out onto his desk along with two datapads. He read through the brief report. It simply stated that Vega was making remarkable progress, that they were considering giving her a pardon for her crimes due to the abuse and corruption Megatron put her through and because she was being extremely cooperative. Jetfire felt relieved when he read the end of the report, which said that Vega was expected to make a full recovery from her dealings with Megatron. He then read that Lura included two datapads from one of their therapy sessions. In the session, she had Vega write what she wished to tell Megatron on one datapad, and on the other, she had her write what she wished to tell Jetfire.

Even more curious, Jetfire picked up the datapads. The first one he read was the one she had written to Megatron. He felt chills prickle through his armor as he read:

Tell me why you lied. Tell me why you won't let me go. Remind me why you raped me, both mentally and physically. Tell me why you beat me and left me behind. Tell me what I ever did to you to deserve this. Tell me why you made me your mate when obviously it was easier for you to toss me aside. And tell me, show me, just what it is that I need to see.

Jetfire set it down. Slowly, he turned his attention to the second datapad. It read:

Jetfire…I don't know why…I think I need you and I miss you…desperately.

Vega was having an unsettling dream as she tossed and turned on her recharge berth. She kept seeing flickers of Megatron's face, his possessively burning gaze, his wicked smile, she kept feeling him pin her down, forcing her against the wall. She could feel him, taste him, she could hear his laughter, and she couldn't escape. She felt sick and was unable to wake up once morning did come. She lay their shivering, sweating, dazed, sleeping unsoundly.

"Vega…"

The femme jumped when a hand suddenly touched her, rousing her from her restless slumber. She let her optics come online only to swear she was still dreaming. "Jetfire?" she breathed as he helped her sit up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, "You don't look well."

"I'm fine, I just had a bad dream," she answered.

"Do they have you on medication?"

"Anti-depressants," she said, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard a rumor that you missed me," he responded.

"Jetfire…"

He wrapped an arm around her as he sat down next to her on the berth. "Lura has been keeping me up to date with your progress. I'm trying to convince Optimus to let you come back. You belong with the Autobots…you belong with me."

"But Megatron—

"Megatron can't have you. He may live inside of you, but I want to change that."

"He'll always be there."

"Don't let him win, Vega. For once, don't let him win."

She sighed heavily as she leaned against him. She wanted to believe him. She wished she could…

They spent the next few months exchanging letters. With each letter Vega received, she felt less attached to Megatron. When she read the Autobot second in command's words, she felt liberated. He told her that he loved her. She told him that she loved him. He said he wanted to be with her. She said she would be with him if she ever got out of the asylum. But as time continued to pass, she noticed that his letters began to dwindle. First, he told her he was busy with the war and that she need not to worry. Then he told her he was having doubts and he probably wouldn't be able to write anymore. And then, finally, he sent one more letter, which only said goodbye.

Vega felt the tears burn behind her optics when she read it. She felt her spark shatter. She didn't know what had changed his mind, but this almost felt worse than when Megatron had beat her and left her behind. At least Megatron had been honest about how he felt and even though she barely felt him anymore, she knew he was still there. Jetfire lied, he made empty promises, and then he said goodbye.

Angrily, she wiped the tears from her cheeks as she threw the letter aside. She tried to get some sleep so that she could ignore the throbbing of her aching spark, but the pain was too much to allow sleep to come and tears were not enough to drown away the pain.

And now you see.

Vega was shocked to hear the Decepticon leader's voice. She let her optics come back online as a sudden numbness washed over her. She couldn't cry anymore even though she felt the tears on her cheeks. Everything seemed too quiet suddenly.

You needed to get your spark broken to see that you belong with me.

Megatron…

Come home, Vega. Come back to me.

I've been gone too long, it wouldn't be the same.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, dearest. You can't say we Decepticons didn't show you a good time. But if that is what you want, I will let you go. Enjoy yourself out there…in the asylum. Just don't forget—if it ever gets too tough, there's always a place for you here.

Megatron…

Yes, Vega?

She could feel him as if he were right there in the room with her. All at once she missed him terribly; she ached for him, for his violence, for his chaotic mannerisms, for his divine cruelness…

I need you…I miss you.

Come home, let me save you.

Vega sat up on the recharge berth and took the stylus that Megatron had given her oh so long ago out of her subspace. With a heavy yet delighted spark she knew that she would never be free. There was no escaping Megatron. This was how it was meant to be and this is how it would be, forever. With one quick motion, she got up from her berth and jammed the stylus into the force field control panel. She watched as the force field disappeared in front of her before she walked out of her cell and out of the asylum, never to come back.

Vega didn't know where the Decepticon mobile fortress was and she didn't know how to get there, so she went to the only place that she could call home, and that was the small house she had lived in prior to joining the Decepticons. She noticed that the home was still off limits to the public. She figured any investigations and searches that were taking place within her former home were done by now.

She entered the darkened home like she used to everyday and went to turn the lights on, only to realize that the electricity had been turned off. She sighed heavily, thankful that it wasn't so dark that she couldn't see her way around. As the door shut behind her, Vega took in her old home. She realized that she had never missed it and being here didn't do much to make her feel better. She figured she couldn't stay here too long since this was probably one of the first places the guards at the asylum would come looking for her once they discovered she was missing.

But Vega didn't turn around and leave. Instead, she felt compelled to go upstairs to her room, which she unintentionally turned into a shrine while she was giving the Decepticon leader therapy. She felt it was a way of seeing him one last time before she ran away, to disappear forever. If she couldn't get to the Decepticon mobile fortress, and if Megatron wouldn't come get her, then there was just no way she would be able to see him. She ascended the stairs slowly, not wanting this moment to pass too quickly. She wondered if all the pictures and articles were still plastered all over the walls or if the investigators had taken them down. She hoped they hadn't as she opened the door and walked into her room, only to stop dead in her tracks.

There, in all his wonderful and evil glory, stood the magnificent and maniacal leader of the Decepticons. Vega didn't know whether to run to him or runaway from him.

"Megatron," she breathed, hardly able to believe he was standing here, before her. It had been months since she had last seen him.

"I rather like what you've done with the place," he said gesturing to the walls, which were still covered in photographs and news articles about him.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked, listening as the door closed behind her.

"I know what you're thinking, Vega," he said, "I knew you were coming here because you didn't know where else to go. Now come here, I can feel how much you miss me."

She walked to him, and she didn't question why she went. There was no use in questioning anything anymore. This is how it was supposed to be, from the beginning. There was no room left for why.

When she reached him, she stood there and looked up at him expectantly. She didn't dare touch him, not without his permission, and she didn't dare speak. Instead, she felt her spark beat quicken when he suddenly leaned forward and whispered in her audio receptor, "You couldn't let me go, could you?"

Vega felt breathless when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him tightly, his hands roaming over her body. Slowly, she reached out and wrapped her arms around him. She forgot how good it felt to be held by him. "No," she breathed, answering his question. She would hold onto him for dear life.

He smiled – oh how she had missed that smile – and titled her face to his. It felt like ecstasy when he kissed her, when his lips pressed against hers violently. They went tumbling onto the berth like they used to every morning, every afternoon, every night. It was no effort at all for him to pin her down in this shrine that she had created. "Why did you make me your mate?" she asked, breaking the kiss momentarily.

"Why?" he breathed as he spread her legs apart and leaned over her, his lips a breath away from hers, "Letting you go was too easy. You won't kill me…and I can't kill you because you're just too much fun."

Vega felt as he opened her panels and heard the hiss of his panels opening. He didn't enter her immediately and instead worked to arouse her. She moaned involuntarily as his fingers danced over just the right sensors and teased just the right spots on her body. He kissed her neck, he nipped at her synthetic flesh, and he didn't stop until she was soaking the berth with her lubricant.

He entered her without warning, and Vega felt tears rush to her optics as he repeatedly thrust himself inside of her before she could adjust to him. After a few minutes, she managed to adjust and the pleasure she was beginning to feel was outweighing the pain. Despite the pleasure though, she knew she would have bruises in the morning, and there would be many more bruises to come.

"Tell me…you love me," he breathed.

"I love you," she remarked, "You know that I love you."

She came long before he did, and after he finally did, he pulled out and closed his panels. Vega did the same and waited for him to get off of her so that they could go back to the Decepticon mobile fortress, but he didn't immediately move. "Vega," he said sternly, "Things will not be the same once we go back. You were once led to believe you were young and so naïve, but not anymore. What was once incorruptible has been corrupted. You are stuck with me forever and you will never leave."

Vega watched as he opened a warp gate knowing that he was right. This was what she had chosen; there would never be anyone else for her. She followed him off of the recharge berth. This was the last time she would look back. There was no time for second thoughts, for regrets. She knew when they got back to the base, she would tell Megatron about the nights she had stayed awake wondering about him, she would tell him about the days she bitterly hated him, she would tell about how she would have rather died alone than being stuck with him, but not anymore. She chose to leave, to follow, to go, and she would go with a smile.

Silently, with a grin on her face, she took the Decepticon leader's hand and followed him through the warp gate to be with him for unhappily ever after.

The end! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm not planning on writing a sequel. But, please review and let me know what you thought!