Thank you for the reviews, my lovelies :) Okay, so if anyone remembers what happened in LIAL, you can guess what'll happen in this chapter. This is pretty much a revamped version of what happened in LIAL. Sorry to spoil it but this was one of the things I decided to keep from my old story. Hopefully you'll like it more than the older chapter. This and the next chapter will be shorter than the previous chapters but I hope that doesn't mean it's automatically crappier. Anyway, please enjoy the update!

Chapter 28 Dragons' Den

(Decepticon base – 3:30am)

Nothing was really said as Lockdown chauffeured the three organics who were sitting inside him. Darien remained as silent as an abandoned graveyard, Amanda whimpered every so often and Cynthia occasionally inquired of what was to come for her and her brother and sister. Since she was the only one really talking, the bounty hunter chatted with her. He figured she wasn't so intimidated by him because she was so conditioned to being in close proximity to a dangerous bot on a weekly basis. Not only that, she was feeling too vengeful and protective to be afraid since she learned Blitzwing had been brutalized.

He drove down an overgrown, dirt road that was leading deep into the woodlands situated some miles outside of Detroit. One would assume that as they were driving through such a haven of nature, they'd rightly come across some residents of the woods. They had been driving in the woods for about five minutes and there was absolutely no sign of animal life. Deer didn't jump across the road like they were accustomed to when a vehicle approached. The glowing eyes of opossum or raccoons on the side of the road didn't reflect in the chilling red headlights. It was almost as if no fauna were in this area because they had vacated. The reason for their exodus was the fact that there were creatures far more terrifying than any earthly predator residing in these woods alongside them.

"I'm half expecting a clan of inbred hillbillies to jump out from a tree and club us to death," Darien shuddered as he looked out the back left passenger window.

"Oh, please," Lockdown grunted. "I'm scarier than anything else in these woods."

"Ain't that the truth," Amanda mumbled quietly.

"How good of you to open up your mouth, Blondie."

"My name is Amanda! Learn it! I don't appreciate it."

"Yeah, I wouldn't like being called 'Blondie' either," Darien noted. "That was the name of Hitler's dog."

"Oh, isn't that nice?"

"A little heads up," Lockdown redirected his attention to Cynthia, "Megatron had Blitzwing isolated to his quarters so he wouldn't be present while you talk to him. So, don't expect your sweetspark to try to stick up for you. He did all that while Megatron abused him."

"Regardless, I want to see him for myself," the eldest organic asserted. "I at least want to let him know he's not in this alone."

"Suit yourself. But you'll only lower your chances of survival. You can say the boss isn't so thrilled to find out about you. You better make this first impression worth it. If not, you're dead."

Cyndi grimly accepted this possible reality. She pulled her hair behind her right ear. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she nodded her head in solemn acceptance.

"I know what I've gotten myself into," she said to both the robot and her siblings. "But if I'm going to die, it's not going to be rolled over onto my back like a dog. Yeah, I'm a coward. But I can't afford to be one in this situation."

Moments later, Lockdown slowed down. His three passengers felt a surge of fear hold their hearts captive, making them skip a beat. The car doors swept open, obliging the Humans to exit. Without a second to waste, they hopped out of their seats, eager and relieved to be freed from within him. The muscle car then morphed into an anthropomorphic figure. He towered above the family, gazing back at them as if he was getting one last good look at them.

"We're here," he announced. Lockdown's hooked arm extending to a tiny hill. "Up that hill, you'll find Megatron's humble abode. Follow me and I'll take you directly to the bot himself." He started to walk up the hill. Then he stopped and turned his helm to them. "Don't even think about bolting either. I will catch you."

Amanda groaned internally since for the briefest second, she considered fleeing into the darkness of the forest. Darien held her hand to dissuade her from doing such a thing even though she told no one of this plot. She looked at him, appearing to have the look and mannerisms of a trapped animal.

"Stand strong," Cynthia encouraged them. "If you show them you're weak, they'll break you, literally I'm sure."

"Easy for you to say!" Mandy lashed out. "You've been chilling out with one of them since the January!"

"Sis, now's not the time," the boy reminded her. "Let's just follow the big creepy muscle car." Amanda was starting to cry again. Her brother refused to let go of her and he led her along like a sheep tied up to a rope. "That's all we can do now."

Purposefully, Lockdown slowed his pace down since his gait was greater than that of the organics he had retrieved. He didn't want to place too much distance between them and himself just in case one of them did try to escape their fate. The bounty hunter had a pretty strong feeling which of the three would be the most inclined to run off screaming into the wilderness. He glanced over his shoulder at this suspect, resolving to keep an optic on her. She had his attention…

Just like the duration of the ride to the doorstep of the Decepticon base, captor and captives said nothing to each other. Uneasy calm had held victory between the two parties and neither was really interesting in removing the silence. They walked up the hill together, taking a step closer to the mouth of the mine where Lockdown was leading them to.

"So, you have your will written out, Blondie?" Lockdown teased Amanda.

"Oh, SCREW YOU!" she suddenly roared at him. "I wasn't planning on dying tonight, alright? I planned on partying for the next twenty years of my life, marrying an actor or someone with a lot of cash, living in comfort and wealth and then dying as a rich old hag! I had absolutely no idea all this chaos would unfold before me! This is not my fight! I am only tagging along because of the death threat and the fact my sister needs me by her side! I asked for none of this! So cut me a break and rust in a corner!"

Lockdown laughed heartily. When he did this, Amanda's deathly stare somehow hardened and became even more severe.

"You are so full of zip, aren't you?" he said degradingly. "I almost forgot how much of a firecracker you are, Mandy. You act like such a chicken when you're confronted with new things but then you become a different person when you're pushed into a corner. Are you sure you don't have multiple personalities like Blitzwing?"

"Do not compare me to him, you Boba Fett rip off!" she shook a fist at him.

"Mandy, shut up," Darien said in a tired voice. "Drop it, okay? If you don't zip your lips, Megatron's gonna crush you like a cockroach."

"If I get out of this alive, I will have the last laugh!"

"I'm so scared," taunted Lockdown.

He stopped shortly with the Humans almost running into him. Finally, they had made it to the crest of the hill. Immediately, the siblings could see the entrance to the seemingly abandoned mine. It was completely dark and none of them could see what lingered within it.

"We're at the front door," he informed them. "Everyone's inside waiting for you."

"Wait, who's everyone?" Cynthia wondered. "I know it's Megatron and Blitzwing…"

"Starscream and Lugnut are waiting for you as well. You know, everyone's so excited to meet you, Cyndi. Since you are the one who caught Blitzwing's spark, they all want to see you for themselves. You've already met Starscream but Lugnut and Megatron have yet to see you." He entered the mine. "Come on. We have nowhere to go but forward."

(…)

The inevitable, harrowing moment had finally arrived for Cynthia. Once she and her brother and sister had followed Lockdown through the tunnel, they had entered a lit up, spacious room. Chills had gripped her entire body even though it was almost summer. She looked around the room briefly, looking for the other three Decepticons who were awaiting her audience.

Cynthia needed to look no further when she saw one of them. Standing in the middle of the room was a regal-looking, proud, intimidating, hulking, silver robot. His vicious optics peered at her with maliciously. The mech's servos were folded behind his back as if he was waiting semi-patiently.

When Megatron had seen her, he unfolded his servos and shifted his arms across his chest. None of the ferocity in his stare had diminished but he now he continued to gaze at her with a curious, calculating expression.

"Ah," he said at last, "you are the one. You are the one who has entranced my loyal warrior. I've been earnestly expecting you, Miss Preston."

Amanda's knees were shaking violently and they felt like they were made of water to her. Darien was beginning to sweat profusely as he gawked at the Decepticon lord. Cynthia's pulse heightened considerably and she felt as if her vocal cords had been ripped out of her throat.

"M-Megatron," Cyndi politely addressed. She was determined to be as civil and controlled as possible in his presence to ensure the survival of her loved ones. "You have summoned my siblings and I?"

"Yes, I most certainly did," he confirmed. Megatron took a few thunderous steps closer to them. "I have ordered Lockdown to bring you and them to see me. You see, I just had to meet you myself. You can imagine how shocked I was when I found out Blitzwing was devoting his affections to an organic femme. I figured that you must be quite the individual to catch his optics and I decided to have you brought here." The scientific look in his optics had dissipated abruptly. "I am not impressed."

"Shall I leave?" Lockdown asked.

"Yes, leave the room. Thank you for your cooperation, Lockdown. I will give you your proper bounty value shortly."

"Very well, I'll be waiting outside."

Without a moment to lose, Lockdown left the room. He reentered the long, dark, rocky hallway, abandoning the Humans to Megatron's mighty presence. The black and green mech figured he'd let someone fetch him once the head honcho had concluded his conference with the siblings. To a certain extent, he pitied and felt bad for them because he knew they were completely defenseless and most likely marked for death.

"And these are your brother and sister," Megatron noted, shifting his attention to Darien and Amanda. "Speak your names, germs."

"Darien," the youngest sibling choked. "I'm Darien."

"Am-m-m-manda," Mandy stuttered wildly.

"They are the only ones who know of your secret?" the overlord questioned, looking back to Cynthia.

"Yes, that's correct," she nodded her head. "I made them swear to tell no one about it. I trust them to be honest. They've kept their word quite well. If they had loose lips, the news would be all over the city and rumors would even spread back here to this place. It is all still a secret."

"I must say it is a very nicely kept secret. You hid it from me and the rest of this pathetic mud ball for five Earth months. Inevitably, it had been exposed. He told me that it started in January…" He knelt down to intimidate her. "I want you tell me your side of the story."

"I first met him in December. He said he was looking for Allspark fragments…" She paused for a moment, sighing. Honestly, she didn't even know where to begin or what to discuss with him really. "He let me go when I told him I didn't know what they were or where they were. I crossed paths with him again a few days later when he was using a holoform. We met a third time in the city when he, Lugnut and Starscream were attacking it. He actually saved me from a stray tractor trailer but now that I look back on it, I think he was trying to prove a point to me then…"

"How quaint. Now, I assume you've met with him multiple times behind my back?"

"Yes. With each time I met up with him, I found myself liking him more and more. Eventually, it got to a point where I fell in love with him. Believe me, I was more than astonished when I found out he felt the same with me."

"Who kissed first? Tell me the truth."

"Me."

Truly, Megatron wasn't expecting that little tidbit of information. He had assumed Blitzwing was the one who had initiated it considering how outgoing and outrageous he could be at times. With this reveal, the head Decepticon believed he was actually a little bit shy when it came down to coming to grips with confessing certain fluffy feelings.

"And so, you decided to see each other from there?" he asked.

"Yes," Cyndi continued. "I speak the truth, sir."

"'Sir'?" Megatron cocked a brow plate in curiosity. He admired the fact that this organic was respecting him. "This is unusual. Why are you showing me respect? I am an enemy of your race and your protectors, the Autobots."

Cynthia stalled for a moment, her fear combating with the forced valor and courage she was putting out before Megatron. She wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"I respect you because I fear you," she replied. "I know who I am standing before. I am being civil because I am trying to show you that I am an Earthling who means you no harm. I have not told the Autobots of my relationship with Blitzwing nor do I intend to. I don't have the heart to betray him because I love him."

"If you know who you are standing before, then why have you risked seeing him?" the silver tyrant pressed. "If you didn't associate yourself with the likes of Blitzwing, you wouldn't be in this situation. You have consciously endangered both his life and the lives of your family."

"Blitzwing and I agreed to be together despite the risk of discovery. I didn't force him nor did he force me."

"What of your brother and sister though? Because they know your secret, I have called them in. By what I can see, they are terrified out of their puny minds."

Darien felt completely useless and he felt he wasn't doing his part in this encounter. Summoning up as much spirit and bravery as he could, he spoke.

"Megatron, Amanda and I have learned Cynthia's secret because we felt she was up to something," he said. "We discovered it for ourselves. We asked Cyndi about it and she told the truth when she saw she was caught. When she told us to not tell a soul about it, we promised her we'd uphold it."

Megatron shot an unnerving gaze at the seventeen year old. Visibly, Darien recoiled at the hateful stare. His whole body was ready to take flight but his flustered mind remained in control. He knew that if he did run, he'd be abandoning his sisters to a cruel fate. Not only that, he was sure he'd be killed only seconds after fleeing.

"Regardless, I think your sister is a typical Human," Megatron stated. "She's selfish, stupid and brave at all the wrong times. The only thing she's good for is target practice."

When he indirectly referred that Cynthia was only good enough for dying, Amanda psychologically couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her whole body went limp. Her vision faded and her strength felt magically sapped. A second later, she fainted, falling onto the floor on her back.

Cyndi spun around when she heard her collapse. She knelt down and slipped one of her hands beneath the back of her skull. When she touched Amanda, she was overheated and her skin was almost drenched with perspiration. Lightly, she tapped her right pointer finger on her cheek to try to wake her back up. Amanda was unresponsive and almost looked like she had died of shock.

"Mandy, get up," Cynthia pleaded. "It'll be alright. Wake up!"

"I must say that your respect for me had caught me off guard," Megatron picked up. "It was a pleasant surprise. I don't think even the resident Human, Professor Sumdac, treats me with such honor anymore."

"'Resident Human'?" Darien repeated. "Wait, you're keeping someone here?"

"Yes, Professor Isaac Sumdac, if you must know. You could say he's been a friend of mine since I crash landed on this planet fifty years ago."

"Blitzwing never told me there was a person being held here," Cynthia remarked, her eyes wide with shock.

"Of course he wouldn't tell you, Cynthia. You have fallen for a Decepticon as you know you are aware of. We aren't all about truth and honesty like those Autobot protectors of yours. We most certainly have dark secrets and things to hide. If you absolutely had to fall so foolishly in love with a Cybertronian, you should've chosen one of the Autobots rather than one of my servants. A Decepticon is no love match for a good, law abiding, little Human such as yourself, Cynthia Preston. I'm wracking my processor over exactly why Blitzwing even fell for you. I won't hide that he kept begging me to spare you… As disturbing and as infuriating as it is, I can clearly see he is partial towards you." He smiled grimly. "Look behind you and off to your right."

Cynthia did as he instructed her to do. When she did this, the woman caught sight of a few pools of pink fluid. She knew what this right away. She remembered Starscream bled this exact same fluid from his wrist when Blitzwing bit it to free her. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. An agonized, sorrowful gasp seeped from her mouth.

"Oh my God," she rasped. "His blood!"

"Blood to you, energon to us," Megatron corrected. "Yes, I had taken my rage out on him and he deserved every single minute of it. Don't worry though… He is alive. He's unconscious right now. When he comes back around and he leaves his quarters, he'll see a huge red stain on the floor. He'll know who it was without much thought at all."

"Please, don't kill us!" Darien fell on his knees and folded his hands together as if he was praying to God. "Let us live! We haven't told anyone anything and we'll keep it that way! We won't even tell anyone where this base is located! We're all awesome at keeping secrets!"

"Although you and Amanda are quite innocent, Darien, you will share the same fate as Cynthia. You simply know too much. Not only that, I still need to get my anger out. I'm sparing Blitzwing because he's still useful to me. With your deaths, he will learn that he should never hide anything from me regardless of its triviality."

"If you absolutely have to kill me, go on," Cynthia said mournfully. She was the one who was crying now. "But I want you to spare my siblings. For God's sake, they're eighteen and seventeen! They're still kids! They're not the ones in love with any Decepticons! I was! Let me at least pay for it if you insist someone must die! All they did was keep a secret!"

"I must decline your final request. I know that if I spare them, how will they report your disappearance to the authorities? At least be content with the knowledge I am sending all three of you off to the other side together."

"I regret none of this!" Tears streamed down her face like moisture on a glass of lemonade on a hot July day. "I love him!"

Megatron could only smile evilly. The Decepticon laughed at her declaration of love for his minion. He reared himself back up to his full, imposing height. His ruby colored optics looked back at them one final time. Then he raised a stabilizing servo, readying himself to crush them with one well-placed stomp.

"No more words?" he asked.

Cynthia shook her head while Amanda still remained unconscious.

"You suck," said Darien. He lifted up his middle finger. "Remember this!"

He only laughed jollily.

"Oh, I love the spirit you organics display," he said with a truly amused grin. "But all good things must come to an end."

"WAIT!"

The loud voice rang out suddenly. Megatron almost lost his balance in his surprise. When he placed his huge, inorganic foot down, he regained his equilibrium. For a moment, he felt sheepish and ashamed.

The three Humans he was ready to obliterate were just as shocked as him. Cynthia almost jumped out of her skin and Darien yelped loudly. They looked around frantically, trying to figure out where this savior's voice rang out from.

Sumdac's figure was pressed up against the glass wall of his odd prison cell. The short, stout, older man had an aghast and disbelieving expression plastered on his face. For a moment, Sumdac couldn't believe he actually rebelled against his captor's actions. However, he knew he couldn't stand around and eavesdrop on the whole ordeal like he had been doing since Blitzwing had been harshly interrogated. Not only that, Isaac felt his conscious would forever torture him if he had allowed these three young people to die without a fighting chance. He just couldn't let them die because one was in love and the other two were sworn to secrecy.

"Do you want to say that again and join these wretches, Professor?" Megatron glared. "I can have that happen in no time."

The siblings caught sight of Sumdac at last, seeing the Human Megatron referred to earlier. A hopeful, tiny smile formed on Cynthia's face. Darien slapped his hands together and looked upwards and silently mouthed 'thank you'.

"Forgive me, Megatron," Sumdac began, overcoming some of his own shock. "But is it really necessary to slay these young people?"

"I must assume it to be necessary because I was about to kill them," he spat back. "Do you have a problem with me killing them? Or are you just feeling sentimental right now because three members of your own species are at last within proximity of you?"

"Well…" He had to admit it was a treat to see fellow organics despite such grave circumstances. But now that he had spoken out, Sumdac had to find a way to convince Megatron to spare them. "I think we don't really need to kill them." The robotics professor regretted what he was about to do but he saw he had no other choice. "Perhaps they can be of use to us."

For some reason, the massive silvery bot found himself intrigued. He looked at the Humans who were focusing on Sumdac, almost forgetting about Megatron at the moment. Then he returned his gaze to Sumdac.

"What makes you say that?" he said, wanting his organic servant to provide more of an explanation.

"Cynthia said she cannot betray Blitzwing because she loves him," the oldest Human reasoned. "Darien and Amanda are good at keeping secrets… Perhaps you can give them a chance and have them employed into their services."

At first, the two conscious Preston siblings wanted to throttle him for suggesting Megatron to enslave him. But since they were Human, they got the vibes he was sticking up for them since they all belonged to the same species. As far as they could tell, he didn't seem look like a bad guy. Besides, he just saved them from being popped open like blueberries.

Placing a servo on his chin, Megatron gave the idea a few moments of serious contemplation. He wanted to fiercely dismiss it but at the same time, it was tempting and interesting. Sumdac had made a good point regarding Cynthia being loyal to Blitzwing: that loyalty she felt towards him could be used to serve him. As far as her siblings were concerned, he thought that a few more free agents couldn't hurt. He'd teach them obedience if their loyalty to their sister wasn't worthy enough. The Autobots would also never suspect that their seeming allies would become the servants of the Decepticons. As long as he mulled over that matter, a million possibilities ran through his dark processor…

"I must confess you most certainly have opened my optics to this," he admitted solemnly. "This idea genuinely has caught my interest. It is promising but I need more opinions from my men. Thank you for bringing for this matter, Professor. I knew there was a reason why I've kept you around as long as I have."

"Wait, we're gonna live?" Darien assumed.

"Boy, how do you feel about being my servant?" He chuckled sinisterly. "Oh, Cynthia." She looked at him when he spoke her name. "I must say that you ought to consider yourself extremely lucky. Your relationship with Blitzwing may be both a blessing and a curse for you. You see, fair Human, when you fall in love with a Decepticon, you become one yourself."

"As long as you spare my siblings, I don't care," she said, wiping away any moisture on her face.

"Spare them from death? Yes. Spare them from service? No. They're guilty by association. Besides, since they're tight lipped, they'll make fine servants."

"Oh, Mandy's not going to like this when she wakes up," Darien grumbled.

"So, it's been decided. I will talk of this matter with Lugnut and Starscream to see what their thoughts are. In the end, I will decide whether I should give you three a chance or to go on with crushing you beneath my stabilizing servo. I will call Lockdown in and he will take you to Blitzwing's quarters until I have made my final decision."