Author's Notes: Sorry this chapter update took so long! I've been looking over my catalogue of fics on this site, and I notice that a lot of them are close to being finished. This one is almost finished, Behind The Door only has one chapter left, and Rumble & Frenzy vs. Everything is almost finished. I really should work on tying up my looses ends. Anyway, thank you for reading, and please review :)

Chapter 13

Confronting Prime

Ironhide growled lowly for what had to be the tenth time in an hour. He and Mirage had been patching small leaks and fissures in the hull of the ship ever since those cement-heads the Constructicons found them in that hallway. They were no closer to finding Chip or their friends, and what was worse was that the Constructicons were just as miserable performing their task as the Autobots were.

"Come on, Scrapper!" Bonecrusher whined, "I'm hosting a card game tonight! I can't stay here all orn!"

"Zip it!" Scrapper snapped at his subordinate, "You'll stay here until the job is done just like the rest of us! Now hold that piece still while Ironhide seals it with the foam!"

Ironhide and Bonecrusher growled in unison as they were forced to work together on a task that anyone else could've done and that neither one wanted to do.

"I still don't understand why Megatron trusts you guys to work with us," Scavenger commented as Mirage handed him a screwdriver, "I mean, how many times have we tried to step on you when we were Devastator?"

"Too many times," Mirage replied dryly, "It is odd though. I suppose Starscream is usually more suspicious of our intentions than Megatron by nature, but Megatron still doesn't typically allow defectors without a show of loyalty."

/Shut up, Mirage,/ Ironhide warned over the comm signal.

"Yeah, the big guy sure has been acting weird," Scavenger replied without noticing the comm between Ironhide and Mirage, "Whatever's going on, I'm sure Hook and Mixmaster know about it. They won't tell us though. I don't see why they don't trust us with whatever secret they're keeping. We're a combiner team; closer than brothers! I just feel left out when they act like this."

"You feel left out? I'm the fraggin' leader!" Scrapper pointed out, "If anyone should know what Megatron is planning, it should be me! The Constructicons are my responsibility! Why should Hook and Mixmaster be privy to information the rest of us don't have?"

Before anyone else could comment on Scrapper's words, however, laser shots rang out all around them! Everyone ducked, but Scrapper and Bonecrusher were knocked out cold by the laser fire anyway! Scavenger saw that the attackers were Jazz and Wheeljack, so he ran away before they decided to tear him apart!

Ironhide and Mirage smiled warmly as their fellow Autobots came to check on them. Wheeljack was barely keeping up with Jazz due to his injuries, but Ironhide was just glad to see they were both still alive and conscious.

"Hey guys," Jazz said with a mischievous smile, "Do I even wanna know what happened with you and the Constructicons?"

"No, you do not," Mirage replied with a wry smile of his own, "Have either of you located Chip?"

"Yeah, we found 'im, but you're not gonna like it," Jazz replied; suddenly serious, "We saw Megatron carry Chip off."

"Yeah, and Chip looked like he'd been put through the wringer!" Wheeljack added, "He didn't have his wheelchair, he was barely conscious, and from what I could tell he wasn't wearing a shirt."

"Do you think they were performin' science experiments on him?" Ironhide asked in alarm.

"Given the evidence, I almost hope so," Wheeljack replied as he grimaced.

"We have to find him before Megatron turns him into paste!" Mirage said urgently, "Show us where you saw them, Jazz."

"Follow me guys, and be quiet. The walls have audio sensors," Jazz cautioned them as he pressed himself against the wall.

The other three followed his lead even though in the narrow hallway the cover would do them no good. They didn't know what Megatron was planning, but they knew they had to get to Chip before the boy became yet another casualty of the Decepticons. If only they had known just how far gone Megatron's processor really was.

Megatron was lost again. He had walked through this maze of a ship for so long that he couldn't even remember where his own quarters were! Chip was breathing heavily due to the stress of being held prisoner by the Decepticons, and Megatron wondered if all organics reacted this way or if it was just Chip.

"When do you expect your intake filters to realign themselves?" Megatron asked the boy.

"Hyper...ventilating," Chip managed to say between breaths.

Truth was Chip felt like he was having a heart attack, but he knew what it really was; he was having a panic attack. Between Starscream's plans to vivisect him and not knowing what Megatron had planned for him, Chip simply couldn't take it anymore. He only hoped the attack stopped soon. He felt like he was going to die.

Megatron could see Chip needed to stop, so he ducked into the next open door he could find, which turned out to be the wash racks. Frenzy was in there, but otherwise it was unoccupied. Megatron found a stall and sat down; placing Chip on his lap. He tried to rub the boy's back to soothe him, but it just made Chip feel more crowded and cornered, so Megatron stopped.

They just sat there for a long while. Chip managed to pull himself out of his panic attack, but he still felt drained from everything that had happened. Frenzy looked at the odd pair, but decided to just shrug his shoulders and move on.

"Chip...Can I tell you something?" Megatron said a few minutes after Frenzy left.

"Sure, what is it?" Chip slurred, barely awake due to the warm moist air and the warmth of Megatron's armor settling his nerves.

"I killed a mech," Megatron told him gravely.

"Please tell me it wasn't Wheeljack," Chip replied; fully awake now.

"No, I don't mean today," Megatron clarified, "I recovered a memory file, and in it I killed a mech. I wanted to tell you earlier, but you were gone. I was a gladiator a long time ago, and I worked for a cruel master. He used to beat me often, and force me to beg for my life when he felt I was getting out of line. I can't remember hating anyone more than him, and fighting in the arena was a release for me."

"Oh," Chip replied; unsure how else to react, "Well...I never knew that about you. I mean, I never knew you were a gladiator. I didn't even know Cybertron had anything like that."

"Does earth have blood sports?" Megatron asked curiously.

"I don't think we do anymore," Chip replied, "I know several cultures had such games in the past. The most famous was Ancient Rome. They would force slaves to fight each other, and the survivors achieved a sort of celebrity status."

"That was how it was on Cybertron," Megatron nodded; distracted by his own emerging thoughts, "I think I remember why Starscream is my second in command now."

"Oh yeah? Why is that?" Chip asked; outwardly calm but inwardly nervous at the mention of Starscream.

"He reminds me of Hyperstrike, my old master," Megatron explained, "Hyperstrike was a seeker with a color pattern similar to Starscream's, and Starscream is treacherous just as Hyperstrike was. I'm starting to remember now, how it feels when I catch Starscream trying to betray me. I remember how good it feels to force him to his knees and to see the look of terror on his face plate. I keep him close because I enjoy tormenting him. Wow, what kind of sick fragger am I? I put my life in danger just to enact revenge by proxy! I am such an idiot!"

"I don't think you're an idiot, Megatron," Chip replied; feeling a bit sorry for the old warlord, "That being said, maybe you could learn something from this. Your revenge hasn't made your life any better, and it's hurting your other teammates. They feel like they can't trust you because you even treat your closest subordinate like the enemy. Maybe you should reevaluate your priorities."

"Yes, you're right," Megatron replied in a pondering tone of voice, "Thank you for your candor, Chip. I know just what I need to do now. I need to kill Starscream and appoint a new SIC. I don't want it to be Soundwave because he's creepy. Maybe Hook would do it…"

"Um, while we're talking about making changes, you might also want to reconsider the gold paint on your helm and limbs," Chip added with an awkward simper, "We are in a place where you can wash that off."

Megatron was about to reply, but he heard footsteps coming into the wash racks. It sounded like there were two mechs. Megatron wouldn't have minded, but something in his processor said something was off about the specific noise they were making. He just couldn't immediately tell why…

When Megatron and Chip saw who was there, their reactions were decidedly different from one another. Chip felt overwhelming joy and relief, and Megatron's spark seized in fear. It was Optimus Prime!

Optimus and Seaspray went into the wash racks to regroup and try to figure out where they should search next for Chip, when lo and behold, they found Megatron sitting in a stall with the frazzled human boy on his leg!

"Just say the word Prime, and I'll blast him to the scrapyard!" Seaspray burbled aggressively.

"Negative, he has a hostage," Optimus replied; keeping his wary optics on Chip and Megatron while he spoke.

Megatron slowly took Chip in his cupped servos and carefully stood up, never taking his optics off the Prime. This guy was even bigger than in the video! This was the slagger that was trying to restore the oppressive council to Cybertron and wipe out his Decepticons. This mech was the monster Megatron had been fighting since before he could remember. There he was, and Megatron was terrified.

"Megatron, release the human or else!" Optimus Prime warned Megatron.

Megatron didn't reply, and he didn't move. He couldn't sacrifice his friend to those fiends! He would have to fight the Prime, but in his condition he would probably lose. Not only that, but he didn't want to fight with Chip so close. He could accidentally crush the boy...or the Prime could do it on purpose.

"Megatron," Chip called up to the big silver mech, "Please let me go back with them. I miss my family, and they can take me back home. You're free to contact me anytime, just please let me go back. Please."

"Contact a Decepticon?" Seaspray asked incredulously, "Chip, you haven't turned traitor, have you?"

"What? No!" Chip stammered.

"You actually want to go with the Prime?" Megatron asked Chip in disbelief, "You're working with them? You're an Autobot?"

"Well, sort of," Chip tried to explain, "But I didn't know you very well then."

"So you have turned against us!" Seaspray exclaimed angrily, "Prime, we can't let him get away with that! Chip knows secrets from Teletran 1!"

"Guys, I'm not a traitor!" Chip shouted, trying and failing to make everyone happy, "I just- Megatron isn't- I mean he is, but…"

"Now hold on, everyone," Optimus held up his hands to call for calm, "Chip, please tell us your side of the story."

"Thank you, Optimus," Chip smiled up at the red and blue Autobot leader.

"You call him by his first name?" Megatron asked, "So you do work with them!"

"Of course I work with them!" Chip suddenly snapped at Megatron, "I know there's a lot of things you don't remember, but the Decepticons have made life miserable on my planet! You steal our energy, you hurt our citizens, and you even enslaved us once after you tried to kill the Autobots by burning them in the sun! Megatron, everyone thinks you're a monster, and until recently you were, but things have changed. I think you've changed, and for the better. Why must the Autobots and Decepticons fight anymore? You both want the same thing, for Cybertron to have energy and be able to sustain life long-term. Can't you at least consider a truce with the Autobots? You have just as much to gain as they do."

"Yes...but I also have a lot to lose," Megatron said thoughtfully, "The Prime is the one responsible for my memory loss. Can I really be expected to believe that it was an accident?"

"Memory loss?" Optimus asked; confused, "Megatron, I don't want to fight today. I am only concerned with Chip's safety. Give him to me, and we'll leave you alone. No one has to get hurt."

Megatron looked down at the floor, and then at the young man in his hands. He looked up at Optimus Prime, and while the fear and hatred were still present in his spark, Megatron could tell that Prime was not lying.

The gun-former sighed, closed his red optics, and handed Chip over to Prime without a fight. Optimus Prime, Seaspray, and Chip all left together, and Megatron stood there alone in the wash racks for a long time. He knew it wouldn't be long before his memories returned completely, and he wondered how important this moment would actually be once he remembered exactly who he was.