Author's Notes: I know I occasionally take a while on updates, but with this fic it's ridiculous! This is probably one of only a couple fics on here that gets delayed due to writer's block. That's not a common problem for me, but lord is it frustrating when it happens! I officially have an unofficial name for this story: Moby Fic! It's elusive and frustrating, and a symbol of failure to think things through! That being said, I will still finish it someday. Until then, hopefully this chapter turned out okay. Please review :)


Chapter 12

The Master Plan

Starscream secured Chip to a large metal table in his laboratory. Thundercracker and Skywarp stayed and watched, but neither was sure what Starscream had planned for the human. Chip struggled to get out of his restraints, but even he knew it was pointless. Even if he could get free, it was a long way down. Chip reflected that he had to deal with height issues a lot lately. He sighed as he realized how many times he had been in danger over the past couple of days.

"Hey Starscream. Can I drink this?" Skywarp asked as he held up a vial of green fluid and smiled a smarmy smile at his trine commander.

"Sure, you can drink it," Starscream replied casually, "But there's no antidote."

Starscream said that last line just as Skywarp was about to swig the whole thing down his gullet. He stopped at the last second and looked up at Starscream with wide shocked optics.

"What exactly are you planning here, Starscream?" Thundercracker asked; ignoring Skywarp, "And why doesn't your lab have a lock on the door? Wheeljack is still out there!"

"Megatron broke the lock several weeks ago in a fit of rage," Starscream explained; his face one of unwilling long-suffering, "I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet. And as for my plan...One of the main ingredients for artificial Sparks is organic matter. Apparently in order to make intelligent sparks one needs the electrical impulses of organic brain matter."

"So you're gonna cut out his brain?" Skywarp asked curiously, which caused Chip to involuntarily gulp.

"Oh, no," Starscream shook his head and smirked, "Not just his brain. I intend to use every part of the human. Waste not, want not. We will be able to make dozens of zombie soldiers using the remains of this child's corpse! Of course, we will need to keep him alive for a while so that his brain isn't damaged. We will after all still need his neurons...later."

Chip shivered when he heard those frightening words. It felt like a bad horror movie! This couldn't be real! Starscream couldn't really want to dissect him for spare parts like a reverse Frankenstein, right?

Was this Megatron's plan all along? No, that couldn't be right! Megatron wouldn't put Starscream in jail if he was going to use him to conduct this experiment. Chip didn't know why this was happening, but he needed to think of a plan to get himself out of here, and fast! Chip couldn't do anything physically to save himself, so his only option left was to try to talk his way out of the situation. One thing he knew about Starscream and other sociopaths like him, they loved to talk about themselves.

"Um, Starscream?" Chip called out and waited for Starscream to look at him before continuing, "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is your plan? Why do you want a zombie army?"

"To have loyal troops to attack Megatron with of course," Starscream replied as he sterilized his equipment, "Of course they'll be smarter than those Dinobots your precious Autobots have. Smarter soldiers means less damage to the ship. Honestly, I don't know how the Autobots live with such clumsy abominations. Soon I will have Megatron on his knees begging for mercy, and then my sparkless horde will tear him limb from limb!"

"Oh, I see," Chip tried to sound sympathetic, but couldn't help but sound nervous, "I guess Megatron has treated you pretty unfairly, huh?"

"Without question," Starscream replied vehemently, "That glory hound is nothing but a big dumb oaf who doesn't know the first thing about battle strategy, and takes it out on me because he's threatened by my intelligence!"

"I understand," Chip nodded and hoped he could develop a rapport with his captor, "I am considered very smart on my planet, but many people have made fun of me over the years because I'm weak. I know deep down they're just jealous because I'm smart. I don't hold it against them though. I know they just feel bad about themselves. Maybe someday Megatron will appreciate you for your contributions."

"Ha! Unlikely," Starscream barked humorlessly, "Now hold still, human. This will hurt a lot…"

"No!" Chip struggled to free himself but the restraints were just too strong.

Starscream bore down on him holding a scalpel and held Chip's torso in place with his thumb and forefinger. Chip whimpered and waited for the pain to come. In the last second he let out a loud scream in hopes of attracting attention but knew it was of little use. The Decepticons didn't care about someone, especially a prisoner, in pain. He only hoped he would pass out quickly.

"Uh, Screamer…" Skywarp said sheepishly as he pointed to the now open door.

"Not now, Skywarp! I'm busy!" Starscream yelled at his trine brother.

"Starscream…" Rumbled a very familiar and scary voice.

"M-M-Megatron?!" Starscream turned around and stammered at his master, "I was just...uh…"

"I've been standing here for two minutes Starscream," Megatron growled, "I heard what you said about me being dumb. I also saw what you tried to do to Chip."

"I wasn't using the human to thwart you, Megatron! Honest!" Starscream tried to defend himself, "If you want to kill him go ahead. We can always get more of them."

Megatron was furious. It was bad enough that his memory loss was causing him to doubt his own judgment, but now Starscream was calling him stupid behind his back? It was too much. Not to mention the poor human that was almost damaged. No way was Megatron going to let Starscream get away with this! Yet, now was not the time for revenge. Chip needed to be taken to safety.

"Give me the human, Starscream," Megatron held out his servo and waited.

Starscream shrunk from his leader's intense glare and pried the boy from his bonds. He then gave Chip back to Megatron, and Chip had never been so relieved to see the old warlord in his life. He felt the warmth of Megatron's servo on his bare chest where Starscream had cut away his shirt. Chip was light-headed and wished he could just pass out and get away from this nightmare.


Jazz and Wheeljack navigated several floors searching for Chip. Jazz slowed down every now and then so that Wheeljack could catch up. The poor mech had been to the pit and back and therefore wasn't moving very quickly on his pedes. Whatever those 'Cons did to Wheeljack, it had been thorough.

/How you holdin' up, Jackie?/ Jazz asked through the comm.

/I've...been better,/ Wheeljack admitted, /I'll tell you all about it when we get back to the Ark. It's been a weird day./

They had to duck behind a beam when they heard large footsteps coming from down the hallway. Wheeljack was venting heavily, and Jazz feared that whichever 'Con was coming their way would hear the sound of the rattling intakes. He placed a servo over Wheeljack's vents, and winced at how uncomfortable it was making the white red and green mech. He could feel Wheeljack overheating. They were running out of time.

Jazz ventured a peek to see who was coming, and was shocked to see Megatron holding Chip in his left servo and walking carefully down the corridor. Chip's wheelchair was missing, and he looked flushed and in shock. Jazz didn't know what happened, but he knew as soon as his friends were safe he really wanted to tear that overgrown tin can a new one! Of course, he couldn't afford to be stupid about this. Jazz was a saboteur after all. He would find subtler ways to make the warlord's life a living pit.

First things first though. He had to comm the others and let them know what he found. They had to get Chip and get out...fast!


Ironhide and Mirage scrambled down the south west wing of the ship searching for Chip. They weren't finding anything, as most of the area was reserved for personal quarters. Mirage had to turn off his cloaking device or risk running too low on energon due to the strain.

Ironhide kept his rifle at the ready just in case someone tried to attack them. Mirage had a smaller pistol in his servo, and he looked tense but not rattled. Ironhide was grateful he had a partner that could keep his composure. When he was partnered with Bluestreak or Red Alert they always got too nervous for his liking.

They turned a corner and cautiously skulked down the halls. They listened carefully for anything that sounded like human breathing. They couldn't detect anything, but they continued on and continued to listen. This went on for several minutes. Every sound made them raise their weapons in alarm, but it was usually nothing.

Suddenly, they heard a creaking noise and stopped. They heard nothing after that, so they continued on. It seemed like all of the 'Cons in this area were in recharge, so they had to be very quiet to keep from waking them.

They stalled their intakes and made their steps as light as possible. They were sure they were in the clear when...

"Hold it right there, Autobots!" A rough voice commanded them harshly.

The pair turned around to see Scrapper holding a hand cannon and Scavenger and Bonecrusher giving them feral looks. Ironhide and Mirage both knew they were caught, but Ironhide was reluctant to drop his weapon.

"Alright Autoslag! What are you doing here?" Scrapper demanded.

Then Ironhide smirked, and Mirage wondered what the old warrior was thinking.

"We're here on Megatron's orders," Ironhide said smugly.

"You've got to be kidding me," Bonecrusher said flatly.

"Comm him yerself," Ironhide said confidently.

The three Constructicons shared a disbelieving look before Scrapper finally composed himself enough to send a comm to Megatron.

/Lord Megatron, this is Scrapper,/ Scrapper said hesitantly into the comm.

/Scrapper? Um, yes, right! My trustee Scrapper! What can I do for you?/ Megatron said too loudly; trying to act like he knew who Scrapper was.

/Sir, did you order Ironhide to the south west wing of the ship?/ Scrapper asked in a neutral tone to see how their leader would react.

/Oh, you mean the red guy? Yes, I ordered him there to search for Chip,/ Megatron informed him, /I've found the boy though. You can tell the mech to cancel the search and get back to work./

"Huh?" Scrapper said out loud.

The comm link cut off without Megatron signing off; leaving the leader of the Constructicons confused as to what the frag just happened. Was Ironhide a traitor to the Autobots? Was Mirage? He had heard Mirage had the potential to join the Decepticons, but the idea of one of Prime's best friends joining them was absurd! Still, Megatron ordered him to give Ironhide an assignment, so technically he had to do it.

"Alright Autobot, your story checks out," Scrapper said to Ironhide.

Mirage visibly relaxed, but Ironhide still looked at the Constructicons warily.

"Wait, so we leave him here?" Bonecrusher asked incredulously.

"No. Megatron says he found what he was looking for," Scrapper said, and Ironhide growled in frustration, "He also said to put the Autobot to work. I don't know why you two betrayed your comrades, but as long as you're here you might as well help us seal off a leak in this sector."

"What?! We'd never-!" Ironhide was about to say, but Mirage's comm signal cut him off.

/Play along,/ Mirage said, /It might just help us find Chip./

/Well...I don't like it, but okay,/ Ironhide said as his dental plates clenched and his jaw plating groaned in protest.

"Alright fellas, where do ya want us?" Ironhide asked even as the question left a bad taste in his mouth.