A/N. Time to get serious. I'm (well, Megs is) bringing in the heavy cannons. Don't own them yet.

Part 8: Megatron vs. tranquility.

Back at the Decepticon base, Megatron was furious to say the least. And Starscream wasn't helping matters:

"What's wrong, mighty Megtron? They took your toy from you?"

"Shut up, Starscream!" The warlord growled.

"You can't make a human shut up. Why should I?"

Will's calm voice flowed from Megatron's memory:

"Your own men don't respect you…"

Megatron punched Starscream in the unarmored 'stomach', making him double over.

"I told you to shut up."

Barricade's betrayal did lots of damage, more so by dragging Frenzy along. This gave Megatron an idea.

"Rambler!" He called. "Care to demonstrate your competence once again?"

"Lord Megatron?" The small 'Con replied from the 'safer' side of the mess hall, opposing the side where the fight took place.

"Call your creator. Tell him I need his services. And tell him nothing about Frenzy. I'll deal with that by myself."

-------------------Autobots---------------Autobots-------------------Autobots-----------------------

Ironhide watched with amusement as Will and Sam started a water gun battle. If anything, human games made lots of sense to him. Will made remarkable recovery and now helped Sam with his. Ratchet was still angry at Sarah, proclaiming her 'more annoying than the Twins'. As far as Ironhide himself was involved, Will did apologize to him for the insults, which Ironhide shrugged off as results of stress. And Sarah wasn't as bad as the twins. She was funny and caring and besides, the day Sunstreaker (as opposing to Sarah Lennox) will give Ironhide a wash with sponge and wax, he'll triple check his Energon for hallucinogens and the Pits for freezing over. On the other hand, Sarah offered Barricade and Frenzy a place to stay as long as they helped around the house, so now Ironhide could laugh all he wanted at the new gardener and cook. So what the hell was Ratchet whining about?

Ironhide checked his messages from Prime and Ratchet, looking for some information about how the government took the kidnapping of 3 of its citizens. What he found was much more interesting: an incoming Cybertron pod was detected. If Autobot, he hoped it'll be his beloved Chromia (Ironhide allowed himself a mushy moment). If Decepticon, he'd have someone to shoot. A win-win situation. All that was left was to wait for the signal to roll out.

Satisfied with the thought, Ironhide still took time notice Frenzy's surprisingly sober look as the little hacker got another hug from Annabelle. Frenzy was awfully quiet those days, obviously missing his sibling, Rambler, or so he explained it. Ironhide made a personal note to investigate the facts later. For now, he had a Bumblebee to shoot from water cannon.

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Soundwave was pleased to have Rumbler back inside himself. The Casetticon missed him greatly. He was worried, though, about Frenzy not coming out to greet him.

He became worried when he was ordered to come straight to Megatron's office.

The warlord actually stood up, greeting his spy.

"It's about time you arrived, my loyal Soundwave."

"Information: partial. Frenzy missing."

"That is exactly what I want your skills for. Frenzy has betrayed us."

"Desertion: impossible."

"Read this file." Megatron tossed the telepath a data pad. It held information about Annabelle and her value, but not her parentage, and Lennox, as a human threat to Decepticons.

"Question: your collection?" Soundwave asked, just to be sure.

"You know me too well. Yes, I want the humans back. But the medic child is much more important than my own wants. Now, I don't blame Frenzy for going with the Autobots, he's watching the girl after all. Barricade is a whole different matter. I want him brought here to be punished. If you can't do it, kill him."

"Objectives: retrieve stolen Sparkling, retrieve officer Lennox, punish traitor." Soundwave summed up.

"Indeed. Do you need additional information."

"Opponents?"

"Prime, the medic, Ironhide, Bumblebee."

"Jazz?"

"Deactivated."

Soundwave wasn't too delighted with the information. He wanted to take the opposing spy alive, to learn from him. Well, he had his orders.

"Mission initiated." Soundwave turned and left.

Once he did, Megatron sunk back into his chair:

"Soon, Will Lennox, I'll have you back with me. The timer is still on, but eventually you'll give in."

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"Say, Ironhide, I never got around to asking how you found me." Will said as they went to buy supplies.

"Barricade sent us a message that allowed us to find the base. The Decepticons fought like crazy, I have to admit. And then Bee knocked Starscream down and stuck a gun to his face." Ironhide allowed the story to show his own excitement.

"Aww, your little Bee is now a grown up." Will teased.

"He sure is."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, Bumblebee told Starscream that he's one dead seeker if he doesn't tell us where you are. Starscream started singing like a local avian."

"The horror." Will muttered.

Ironhide laughed at the mental image of Starscream singing.

"So we get to Meg's quarters and there stands Barricade and he's arguing with Megatron about torturing you as if that strikes him as not being right. So I sneak at Megs but he spots me, and he turns to fire at me, but then Barricade shot him in the back!"

"I remember hearing shots fired outside the room."

"Indeed. Barricade opens the door and we see Frenzy curled, and you look like you're petting him, only you're not breathing. I was this close from shooting the accursed wretch, and then he chirps 'Peach colored Sleep.' And Ratchet behind me asks: 'A stasis drug?' And this is how we figured out you're alive. Frenzy gave you a good doze. You slept for several days."

"Thank you, for risking your life for me."

"One could think you've never done the same thing for us."

Will smiled and allowed the Ironhide to speed up.

From above the clouds, Lazerbeak observed and learned. Once he had enough he returned to his master and creator.

"Report."

After listening to Will's bicker Soundwave allowed himself to be fascinated.

"Trauma signs: Negative. Social skills: Active. Ironhide: Over protective. Capture: rescheduled."

--------------------------Autobots---------------------Autobots-------------------Autobots----------------

Sarah was setting the table for dinner, when she spotted Frenzy curled on the couch, making miserable sounds.

"What's wrong, little fellow?"

"Misshim."

"Miss who?"

Frenzy replied as slowly as he could.

"Soundwave, my creator."

"Soundwave. I've heard this name before. Barricade said Soundwave is the creator of you and your siblings."

"Frenzy has 4 spark-mates. Brothers. One he hates. Rambler."

"The bastard who raped Sam?"

"Yep."

"Does your creator know?"

"Megatron c…could tell him."

"He's here, on Earth." Sarah stated.

Frenzy made a miserable sound that sounded like 'Traitor'.

"Do the Autobots know?"

"Nope."

"Don't worry, Frenzy. I'll talk to him and he won't be angry at you. You protect my daughter and I'll protect you. Deal?"

Frenzy rubbed his head against Sarah's arm, chirping.

Later that day, a council was held. Sarah told them about Frenzy's creator arriving.

"I'll take it Megatron isn't through with Will." Ironhide said.

"What makes you think that? He never tries dominating the same Mech twice." Prime inquired.

"Soundwave is a… unique Mech. Megatron only uses him for specific tasks. And the only thing I can think of that Megs wants is Will." The weapon expert admitted.

"Unique how? Strong? Fast? Immune to thermo weapons?" Will didn't like where this conversation was going one bit.

"He's creative and intelligent." Barricade said. "He's small, only slightly larger than Jazz was, but he's an excellent fighter, and he comes with a squad of smaller beings."

"Frenzy's siblings." Sarah stated. Barricade nodded and continued.

"Also, each of the small ones has a gift of his own- flight, mobility, sabotage. All of them are good hackers, though Frenzy is the best of them. Taking them one by one is hardly possible, since others serve as backup- you have to kill all five Casetticons to stop them." Barricade picked Frenzy up in a protective gesture.

"This is out of the question." Prime said. "Keep talking, Barricade."

"He's also a mind reader."

Now that had Will stop and think.

"From a distance?" He asked.

"No. It's not like your human comic books. He has to touch your central processor, your head, to access your memories. Jazz was the only one who could withstand his assault." Ratchet commented.

"So, small shape shifters, as creative and nimble as Frenzy, one of them is a known rapist, and a Telepath to boot." Sam summed the situation. "Anything else to improve my day?"

"Soundwave is protective of his young, more so than any other Decepticon I've ever seen, and he's loyal to Megatron." Ironhide added

"How loyal?" Will hoped for a Starscrem kind of loyalty, but was disappointed.

"If Megatron tells him to take a female human form, strip naked, go to New York and scream 'rape me', Soundwave will ask 'Question: blond or brunette?'" Bee did an impersonation of Soundwave's monotone. "He's the one who muted me. Slowly, in a hard to repair way… Because I saw something and Megatron wanted me silent about it, but I was a sparkling, so killing me was out of the question."

"No self- respected Mech will harm a sparkling. But Soundwave has no self- respect." Prime said. "No offence meant to you, Frenzy."

"Nonetaken."

"Of all times, why now?" Ratchet muttered.

"Whynot?" Frenzy asked.

"I was this close to find a way to restore Jazz, using what we've learned from Sam."

"WHAT?" Four big mechs, one small and three humans stared at Ratchet. Even Annabelle looked at the medic, unsure why, but just in case.

"I'm not going near Rambler ever again." Sam said, just to be sure.

"It's nothing like that." Ratchet started. "Do I strike you as that sadistic?"

"Won't answer that, due to fearing for my life." Will muttered.

"I second that." Barricade agreed.

"So we have two events to take into consideration in planning our nearest future." Prime said.

The party started planning, including the two ex-Decepticons.

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Ravage chose to appear in a holo-form of a large dog (meowing protests at the lack of proper feline cover as Soundwave nodded approvingly at the hologram that covered his firstborn), and sniffed around Sam's house for the last couple of weeks, listening to conversations and looking for hints to the younger Witwicky's current activity. What hit her as the strangest was the plate of bones that the femme creator placed for her near the garbage can. A quick Internet research showed her that it was supposed to appear palatable for a canine. In a stroke of genius she actually brought the male creator his morning newspaper, thus being accepted into the household. Faking a vaccination registry, Ravage was welcomed into the household, recharging from the energy grid at nights, pretending to tolerate Mojo at day.

The real dog suspected a foul play, but then again, not all of us have the necessary linguistic skills, don't we, Ravage thought as she listened in to a phone conversation.

"I won't be available in the next two days." Sam's voice reached her ears. "A friend of mine is very sick and Will and I will donate… bone marrow for him. I'll be asleep for most of the process."

The pause was enough for Ravage to figure out that it won't be a human getting the transition. That, and the information from Rambler fell into a useful picture. Two days window during which Lennox will be disabled, giving energy to a wounded Autobot. That matches Jazz. Ravage actually purred in delight at the thought of Soundwave being pleased with her.

Ignoring the exclamations of 'our brave son' from the human couple, Ravage slipped away from the house, not before allowing herself a pang of regret. Maybe after this ends, she'll ask her creator to spare those two, so they can pet her more?

And pleased Soundwave was.

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"So, tell us again, Ratchet, how this is going to bring Jazz back." Sam asked as he eyed his and Will's naked bodies, already making plans about a workout or a dozen, to try and look a little more like the officer.

"Humans are much more fertile then Cybertron- born. You have the gift of life inside you. Usually I'd recommend a woman as a donor, but Jazz was as 'male' as they get. So, I'm about to put you into a state similar to the one a Transformer experiences when creating and supporting a new spark. We'll use the readings from the Decepticon records regarding Sam and your life to restore Jazz. Since I'll use two sources, the damage to each of you will be small to none."

"Meaning?" Sam asked.

"You'll have the worst hangover of your live when you awake." Ratchet explained.

"Since I've got into this mess, this is the story of my life." Will muttered. "Why do we have to get naked?"

"To allow me a better access."

Frenzy, who came to cheer for Will, muttered something that sounded like 'Prrfrrt".(1)

Both humans laughed, until Ratchet deployed the last 'whatever –that –thingy -was' and sent both of them into a birth-stasis.

"It is a great joy in the universe when a Spark is formed, and great sorrow falls into it when a Spark dies out."(2) The Medic said the traditional phrase and left the room.

Not more than a minute the repair bay grew silent, a series of clicks sounded. A reply followed. And then, Rambler took his bipedal form and slid from a ventilation opening.

"So pretty." He muttered. "Why should Megatron have all the fun?"

He traced Sam's still face.

"Too bad my orders are different." He smirked. "Then again, I doubt Prime will follow the instructions immediately. We'll have enough time."

Rambler pressed a small device to Sam's ear, and activated it, sending vocal commands into his unguarded mind. Then, he proceeded to carve a message on the boy's body.

"Too bad Soundvawe wants you alive, Autobot." He addressed the still-dead Jazz. "Then again, Megatron likes fighters, I like to see this one bleed, and Soundwave likes Autobots. Perversions run in the family."

As if in reply, the humans smiled in their sleep.

--------------------------Autobots---------------------Autobots-------------------Autobots----------------

About 5 hours later Ratchet was disturbed from a light recharge by Frenzy's screeching. The small Mech looked frantic (more so than usual) and was covered with brownish stains.

"What happened?"

"Soundwave was here!!!" Frenzy howled.

Ratchet picked the small ex-con up and practically ran into the repair bay. He was greeted by the sight of Jazz and Barricade arguing at a gun point, and Will bandaging Sam's torso.

"What the Pit is going on?" Ratchet yelled.

"I wake up, and I see this Decepticon snooping around!" Jazz commented.

"Doing your job, spy-boy!" Barricade growled. "We came to see the humans and we found Sam leaking…"

"Bleeding." Ratchet corrected. "Why does this room smell like something organic burning?"

"Because they were both out cold and I have no idea about how much blood they can afford to lose, so I scorched the cuts." Barricade said.

"And this is when I came online." Jazz said. "And I saw a Decepticon with a foul reputation using his lasers on a human that I know and like."

"There are many things that happened while you were out of it, Jazz." Ratchet said. "It's been a year."

"A YEAR? What took you so long to repair?" Jazz mused.

"Let's see those burns, Sam, and then we'll talk."

"It's not just the fact of cutting." Barricade said. "There's more."

"What's more?" The medic asked.

"The cuts were a message. It read 'The human shall return to its master or else…'"

A/N (1) Try and say it and you'll get my drift.

(2) Heard it in Russian version of Beast Wars. I hope I got it right.

Author addition:

Ooh, this was a long one. Just to make some points clear:

"Peach colored Sleep" is a stasis drug that I made up. It puts the user in stasis until the antidote is administered. Used to keep patients with critical injuries alive until they can be treated.

And now, for a comic pause of: Ironhide's list of approved games:

Water guns- Aiming and ducking

Paintball- facing pain that Water guns are lacking.

Hide and seek- Camouflage and tracking.

C&C- tactics

DOOM- because it includes blowing stuff up.

Any more suggestions? (Except good cop- bad cop) I'm waiting…