Disclaimer: Transformers is owned by Hasbro and whoever they have sold the rights to. Ellie and Uncle Al are original characters owned by the author and cannot be used without the express written consent or acknowledgement of the author (i.e. ask before you use or give proper credit.) No infringement is implied or intended, no financial gain has been received.
A/N: This is a prequel/companion story to Children of Megatron. Takes place just before and during TF 2007 from Megatron's frozen point of view. Just had to answer a few questions about why Megatron and Ellie seem to have such an uncharacteristically close relationship for a harbinger of death and a squishy. Enjoy, and please let me know what improvements I need to make. Tracy
The Voice in the Cold
Cold, was his first impression. He was cold and still. His systems just would not come back online, the Energon all but frozen in his lines. He couldn't move, and for the longest time, he just did not want to.
Eventually, beings found him; organics that had never seen one of his kind before. Instead of aiding him, they began to study him. Eventually, they figured out how to open his outer armor and that is when he began to feel pain. All too soon, he felt the sensation of rocking as he was moved. The bitterly cold wind howl over his form as the transport crawled along. The frigid fingers of the air finding their way under the hastily, and improperly fastened armor sending shrieks of pain through his sensors. Even he couldn't handle it anymore and his systems went into stasis in an effort to save his sanity.
They were studying him like an inanimate object, ripping into his delicate systems painfully and then replacing them haphazardly. They reminded him of parasites, burrowing their way into his systems and leaving nothing but damage in their wake.
Insects! That is what they are, he thought. Disgusting bugs to be squashed under his footpads. They would not get away with this! He roared inside his own processors. He would find a way to contact his forces and they would eradicate this disease from the planet he now found himself on. Silently, he continued his internal rant until his processors could no longer stand the strain and sent him into another blissful stasis cycle.
Why was he online? That was the first thought Megatron had as the limited systems the insects hadn't affected came online and flooded his processors with information. A voice, he realized. Why would a voice bring him out of his blessed stasis? He stilled his processors and concentrated on his audials.
"So I guess being turned into a giant pos pickle would make anyone kinda quiet, huh?"
The voice was addressing him, he realized. How is this possible? The insects either didn't know, or didn't want to believe he was sentient. None of them had ever addressed him as such. Why would the holder of this voice be any different? He continued to listen, even if he did not, yet, understand the prattle.
He recorded the voice's ramblings and decided to make a concerted effort to learn this species language. He had never paid enough attention to determine much about them, and realized that was an error in judgment on his part; know your enemy.
The voice reminded him of newly hatched younglings, he decided. It was definitely a femme, and seemed to prattle on in much the same way. But this young female, he eventually learned, was isolated. Desperate for some form of connection, she somehow found her way to him.
Megatron reflected on the past several years, for he soon learned that was how this species measured time, she would come to him nearly every night. He knew it was night because the young femme told him so.
He seemed to be able to keep his systems online longer by point zero, zero, four seconds every night, he calculated, and so he used the time to replay his audial files, adding to the collection every encounter. Some of them made his Energon almost boil, he felt, when she would come to him crying. An entity she referred to as 'Uncle Al,' would subject her to experiments; making her wear technology that would then be caught on fire, frozen, shot and crushed. There were times, she told him, her uncle would make her listen to a wide range of sounds and wouldn't let her stop until she was crying, or make her look into bright lights until he got the same results. What finally cemented the opinion for him; the species holding them were overdue for extermination, was when she missed two weeks' worth of her normal visits. When she was finally able to come to him, she was crying again, only this time seemed different; this time, it seemed as if her very spark was being torn out of her and crushed before her optics. Finally, between sobs, she told him what had happened, her Uncle Al had hurt her again; he had made her go into a hospital room where they strapped her down and hurt her back.
Megatron heard the femme talking and realized that the uncle being had had her back broken and then repaired. As she spoke, he realized that he had, in fact, missed her presence. The fact she was kept from him solely to repair damage that was purposely inflicted enraged him. He didn't distinguish the exact reason for the emotion, whether it was the fact she was denied from him for two weeks or the fact he felt the youngling was looking to him as a protector and he let her down, didn't matter. She was barely more than a hatchling, and not even he would tolerate experiments on such an innocent. He may have the Energon of a great deal of Cybertronians on his claws, but even he would not stoop that low.
Still, he listened intently to the femme as she unburdened herself on him and silently fumed. He would find a way out of this situation, and he would make certain the little one would get out of it too. He swore to Primus he would make it happen or he'd gladly jump into the Pit on his own. The only thing he needed was to figure out a plan he could actually pull off . . .
Finally! Those blasted insects got something right, he thought. He had his short range communications back up. The problem was that he had no idea where he was; there was some sort of interference between him and all navigational points he would have used. Besides, there was no guarantee that his troops had made it to this planet yet anyway. But still, it was something.
The next day proved even more positive for Megatron; his captors saw fit to bring his optics back online. He couldn't wait to show his little femme, he thought. Perhaps now he would be able to see her. He sent himself into recharge until it was time for her to visit again.
"It was weird the last couple days," the femme greeted him in her quiet voice. "I heard someone talking in my ear; they said 'Lord Megatron to any Deceptacon. Any Deceptacon within range respond,' over and over."
What was this? Megatron thought. That was the signal he was sending out as soon as his communications were back online. How was this possible? In confusion, he onlined his optics and tried to focus on her. They wouldn't move, so he couldn't see her; the catwalk she was on was over his shoulder and just beyond his peripheral vision.
Cautiously, hopefully, he sent out another transmission, "How do you hear me youngling?"
The femme laughed, "Now it changed and is saying 'How do you hear me youngling?' Isn't that weird?" she asked innocently.
"It isn't weird at all. You just said you heard my transmission for my Deceptacons," he responded.
She grew silent for a moment as she considered this newest change. "Wait a second. I told you about the voice in my ear, and no one is around to hear me, but it changed anyway. And then, when I told you about what I heard, the voice answered. Are you the voice in my ear?"
"Yes youngling, how can I prove it to you?"
"I don't know. Since you're too frozen to move, it isn't like you can move anything."
"Can you see my optic?"
"Optic? Oh! You mean your eye? Yeah . . . hey! It's a pretty red now," she said with childish delight.
"Thank you.
"I am going to turn it off and then on. That will let you know it is I who is talking to you," Megatron said as his optic blinked offline and then back on again.
"It is you! Your name is Megatron? What's a Deceptacon? How are you able to talk in my ear?" she started.
"Yes, I am Lord Megatron, leader of the Deceptacons, which are the forces that follow me in my planet's civil war. As to talking into your ear, I am uncertain. At the moment, I am using my short range communications systems."
"You mean like a radio? If so, then it's probably because my uncle put an audial implant in my left ear that can pick up radio transmissions broadcast on certain frequencies. I can't tell the difference though as to which frequency is which," she answered honestly.
"Now that I can communicate with you, I must confess to you it is truly an honor to do so. What is your designation?"
"Designation? I guess it would be Maimed Angel, but my name is Ellie. I don't like to be called Angel."
"Very well then, Ellie, tell me, how much freedom are you permitted around this facility?"
"Not much. The only time I can get out is after all of the first two shifts are over and they're on the midnight skeleton crew, then it's easier to sneak out. Of course, there are some places I can get to during the day in certain circumstances. Why?"
"I need to get a message to my forces. Can you get to the communications center and send out a message?"
"Not until tomorrow night. What do you want me to say?"
"I need you to send out a message on frequency four-three point eight with our location. Can you do that?"
"I don't know where we are or else I would.
"But, I do know what your government name is. Can your guys hack into their computers and find out from that?"
"Yes. They would be able to find my location if it is in the database."
"Do you promise to get me out of here too? You don't even have to take me with you, I just can't stay here anymore."
"I promise on my honor that I will enable you to escape when I do."
"If my lips wouldn't freeze to you, I swear I'd kiss you right on the ear!" Ellie said as she clapped happily.
Megatron felt his spark lift at her enthusiasm. "Now, what is the frequency you need to broadcast on?"
"Forty-three point eight, that is FM right?"
"Yes. It is frequency modulation. What are you going to say when you broadcast?"
"Any Deceptacon monitoring this frequency be aware your leader is known as project Iceman under government agency sector seven control. Does that sound good?"
"It will have to be. You can only broadcast that message once, otherwise your government or other enemies will be able to fix on your position and move one or the both of us."
"Should I wait for someone to respond?"
"No more than thirty seconds. He will hear it and make the proper arrangements, whether he acknowledges or not."
"Okay," she said as she stifled a yawn.
"It is getting late. You require recharge, and you will need your rest for tomorrow," Megatron tried to encourage.
"Yeah, I have to get my diploma tomorrow anyhow. Just so you know, I'll probably be late so I can send out that message. I'll let you know if someone responds.
"Good night Megatron. I'm really glad you're not a total Popsicle anymore."
"Good night Ellie. So am I."
It had been over a week since Ellie told him she sent out the message. She informed him that Soundwave had acknowledged. Demonstrating her intelligence, she told him how she changed the setting of the radio and made her way to him before she could be caught.
They had spoken for one hour and three minutes that night. After the second day of talking for almost two hours, he told her it shouldn't be too long before his Deceptacons found them and he asked her to begin her preparations for escape. She gleefully told him she had already been doing so during the day when her instructors didn't realize it.
Today was the day. Another group of insects came to look at him as if he was a display of some kind, and one of the members, a younger mech he would say, explained to them about him. He even knew his name! He must have been discovered by the Autobots to describe him as 'the harbinger of death,' Megatron thought. True, but none the less, he had obviously aligned himself with the wretched weakling Autobots.
"All spark located," the voice of Frenzy interrupted his thoughts.
"Frenzy! I read you. Report!" Megatron ordered.
"Lord Megatron? You are functional?" the little hacker asked skeptically as he sent a data burst of the current situation as ordered.
"Yes, I still function. I am being kept in a form of chryo-stasis somewhere in this facility. Find the control room and deactivate it, and send me a data burst of the schematics of this facility."
"Yes Lord Megatron. It is good to hear your voice," the little drone tried to impress.
"When you find the control room, there is another prisoner being kept in lock down here as well. A femme youngling of this species called Maimed Angel. You will enable her to escape as well," Megatron ordered his minion, ignoring the compliment.
"Lord Megatron? Parameters?" he asked in confusion.
"Enable her escape. Provide a diversion if you must, just make certain she is not damaged and notify me when she is no longer within the facility. You may use deadly force as necessary."
"Yes Lord Megatron," Frenzy signed off.
Fourteen minutes later, he felt the ice encasing his body begin to thaw. Two minutes later, his self-repair systems came online and began to repair his vital systems first. Eight minutes later, he was able to break the ice and take his revenge on the vile creatures that dared lay their hands on his magnificence . . . and torture an innocent youngling.
"I am Megatron!" he roared in his fury. These insects would remember his name for the rest of their pathetic lives! Plus, he figured, it would provide enough of an additional distraction to allow Ellie to escape. He just would take a little revenge until he heard from Frenzy.
"Lord Megatron, the femme youngling is no longer within the facility," Frenzy finally informed him.
"Acknowledged. I am pleased with your work," he allowed before he transformed and flew out of the access tube.
He found himself over water and under a large cement structure. Rising sharply, he gave a quick scan and found the small figure huddled over a two wheeled vehicle with an Energon signature racing away. It was Ellie, he was sure of it. He felt the weight lift from his spark as he sent one final message to her; "Run, little one. Don't ever trust humans again."
He closed the channel and landed as his miserable excuse for a second came slithering up to him to attempt to ingratiate himself.
"Where is the cube?" he asked to get back to the mission at hand. Ellie would have to be fine on her own now.
"The humans have taken it," the cowardly flier defended.
"You have failed me yet again Starscream. Get them!" he ordered as he buried the youngling deep within his processors. It was time to exact vengeance for both of them.