Hello everybot! I have arrived with the next chapter!

Review Response: Dear xVentressx, hello! It's fine, I forget what I want to say all the time. You're gore-fest will have to wait a little longer I'm afraid, we still have other material to cover before we get to any Decepticon slaughtering goodness. Hope you like this chapter anyway!

Dear Moonlightdeer, greetings! Don't worry, a battle is coming, just not quite yet. As for a certain Cyclops? I have plans for him ... (rubs hands and cackles evilly). Glad you liked it! I hope you like this chapter as well! Also, I'm don't plan on following my mapless muses like that again, I'll just stay home and write to some instrumental music or something (shakes head ruefully).

Dear igeegeei, hi there! No worries, grammar can be tricky for anybody. (Takes back Hardwire and Breakdown) Thank you, and know that cuddles between chapters will be very much appreciated by both no matter how much Breakdown says otherwise. Yay! Someone who likes Whirl! I can't understand why nobody else seems to like him (scratches head) he's annoying and crazy, but I always that it was in a "fun to read" sort of way, oh well (shrugs). (Laughs) They do indeed. Wheeljack fearlessly antagonized Predaking in one episode remember? He also seems to be a classic example of what Wreckers are like so ... a super special brand of crazy it is! Unfortunately for the Decepticons, they cannot break the fourth wall and hear you. That's fortunate for me, otherwise I would have to seriously rewrite the next few chapters... Hope you like this chapter! Feel free to snuggle Starwish as well, she likes it a lot more than Breakdown does.

Dear KHGiggle, hello! Oops ... my bad. Looks like I need to surf the TFWiki again. I read yah about the coolness, but you couldn't pay me to be stuck in a room with a dinobot ... unless it was Swoop, perhaps. Just curious, which Dinobot is your favorite? I like G1 Swoop's personality best, but Grimlock is the most fun to read about with his short temper, adorably low intelligence, and awesome fighting skills. Unless there's a dinobot out there literally named Dinobot? Never heard of him if so. Heh, heh, yeah, I had to make a list just to remember all of their names. No, they haven't been there very long, but the duration of the stay doesn't necessarily mean a lack of trauma, unfortunately for them. Only for Jazz. Jazz can crack anyone's shell (smiles). Hope you like this chapter!

Dear HeartsGuardianSol, greetings! (Sighs sympathetically) Such is the life of a leader of crazy-bots ... but Whirl probably isn't the only one who gives Springer massive problems. Thank you! Here's a new chapter for your viewing pleasure.

Dear ShiftFrame, hi! Oh, believe me, he intends too...

Dear SunnySides, hey there! Why? So it will be all the sweeter, that's why. Nobody appreciates a rescue if it seems like nothing bad was happening first. Huh, I don't remember that line, (adds to mental list of movies to watch again someday) but I can still see Prowl saying it (grins at mental image) Prowl doing anything shady is a hilarious concept. Uh ... no rescues this chapter, but we're getting closer (hides behind couch) that's better than no progress, right?

Dear raven-saber, hello! You may, but be careful not to fall off. An interesting guess, but in the interest of preserving the plot-line, I cannot answer that question at this time, sorry. Here's a new chapter instead!

Dear StormRaven333, greetings and salutations! They are expert party crashers and Optimus only ever calls on the best (remembers Wheeljack jumping off of a cliff in Scotland to pounce on a vehicon). Oh, (shrugs) you probably know more about it than me then. I can see Shockwave being silent and secretive, unlike Knockout, mister "blab about what really happened to the Predacons in front of Ratchet" (laughs).

Author's Note: Intro time! Sorta ... Crankshot and Jugurnot are both from the G1 comics I believe. Their wiki pages were woefully tiny so, that's all I know about them, actually (sighs). I can't think of anything else to say, really, so I think I'll just get on with the chapter. Till next time!

Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, cybertronian terms, or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs, who have currently run away with the plot.

Chapter Thirty-Six: Cages, Part Three

Starwish felt another uncontrollable shiver shake her frame as she was led out of her cell and down the hallway. She had taken the advice of Rumble and Frenzy to spark, and while she had seen evidence suggesting that it was a good thing she had not accepted the energon brought to her by the drones, the small cube the two had brought had failed to provide enough energy necessary to wait out her captivity.

Another message warning her of her low energon levels pinged her HUD, but she promptly ignored it like all of the others, it wasn't as if she could do anything about it as she was forced down the halls to some unknown location. Her pedes stumbled as a spasm went through them and the guard on her right growled condescendingly as he caught her, "Keep your pedes prisoner, Shockwave doesn't like to be kept waiting."

So, that's where they're taking me. To Shockwave. A small part of Starwish shrank in terror at the realization that she was going to finally meet Shockwave, the mech who ran this lab and no doubt thought of her with the same interest he would an insect. But the rest of her was simply too tired from the constant fear and lack of recharge that had plagued her while in her small, stark cell to react.

She hadn't been able to conserve energy properly because of some of the guards, luckily not the two escorting her, who always happened to pass by just when she started to doze off. They jibed and pounded on the side of the cell entrance whenever they passed to keep her awake and frightened, thus making her simply too tired to react to the news of her destination. So, she simply focused on placing one pede in front of the other so that she would not be beaten by the guards as she was led to her doom.

The guards on either side of her strode with utter confidence as they engaged in an argument over the top of Starwish's helm about whether or not Shockwave could "like" or "dislike" anything. For all intents and purposes, it was as if Starwish didn't exist. They hadn't even bothered to place her in stasis cuffs, they were so assured that she could not best them.

Briefly, a tiny spark of rebellion flared in her and she considered attacking them just to prove that she was not completely beaten yet. But the spark soon sputtered out with the cold realization that she was, in fact, beaten in this circumstance. She was too small to stand up to her captors, too starved to put up any kind of struggle, and too emotionally destroyed to seriously contemplate fighting the odds. A clinical part of her processor chose that moment to calmly inform her that she was exhibiting signs of shell shock, no duh.

The guards ceased their discussion abruptly as they rounded a corner and were halted. They stiffly slid to attention on either side of Starwish, who was currently too busy trying to ride out the sudden session of bucking the floor had decided to engage in to look up and see why they had stopped. As the bucking wore off, Starwish's audio amplifiers twitched in response to the guards' voices, processing what they said obediently even if Starwish couldn't have cared less at that moment, "Commander Starscream. What are you doing here, in Shockwave's facilities?"

Starscream? Starwish slowly forced herself to look up. Sure enough, Starscream stood there, looking as if he had just stepped out of the T.V series with two other Seekers she didn't recognize standing a little ways back and on either side of him. Starscream stood there stiffly, glaring hatefully at the two guards, "Do I need permission to come here? I am Lord Megatron's second in command!"

The guard on her left spoke for the group, his tone one of clearly forced politeness, "Of course … Commander Starscream. We meant no insult. We only wished to see if there was something we could assist-"

Starscream waved the guard into silence, "Bah! As if I need the help of you glitch-ridden flunkies!" Look who's talking, Starwish mused sarcastically, the sudden sensitivity in her optics to light was beginning to stir up the faintest feelings of pained rebellion again. At least if she was taken to Shockwave, there was a chance that her destination would be darker than the hallway and thus, less painful. Starscream's less-than-pleasing voice wasn't helping her growing helm-ache at all either.

Her mental complaints were brought up short when she realized that Starscream's attention was on her instead of the guards now, "And who would this be? One of Shockwave's new 'pets', eh?" Starwish stared at him silently, trying to summon enough willpower to glare instead of shrink away from the Seeker and failing miserably. Starscream's lip plates curved into a cruel smile as he raised a servo and traced the lines of Starwish's faceplates with one sharp claw, "Such a delicate little thing. A pity that Lord Megatron gave you to Shockwave. I would have found much better purposes for an Autobot of your … unique build."

Fear stirred in Starwish's spark once more and she tried to discretely tilt her helm away from Starscream's deceptively gentle touch. Her optics widened as his stroking turned into a firm grip on her chin, forcing her to not only face him, but to hold still as he leaned in closer to her, "How do you like the sound of that, hmm? Perhaps if there is anything left of your frame and processor when Shockwave grows tired of you, I can see to it that you are delivered to my quarters for more … comfortable activities."

Starwish's cooling fans activated with a soft whirr as she tried to convince herself that Starscream was not insinuating the same thing a human male would have been hinting at in the same circumstances. Starscream's smile grew a little bit, his red optics glowing with a disgustingly pleased gleam. Starscream ran his glossa over his denta slowly and purred, "Yes, I think that would be quite nice…"

Before Starwish could consciously think of any possible courses of action, her training, coupled with her ingrained human instincts, kicked in and she lashed out savagely at the mech in front of her. With the blinding speed of fear and desperation, Starwish's servo whipped up, all the fingers of her servo except for her index and middle finger curling into her palm. With her two extended fingers, Starwish jabbed firmly at the main energon line in Starscream's unarmored neck.

The blow was not strong enough to actually puncture the line, but there was enough power behind the strike to serve its intended purpose of severely denting the line, abruptly decreasing the flow of energon to Starscream's processor and causing him to stumble back with a surprised wheeze. Starscream's servos clutched at his neck, his expression incredulous as he protectively covered the already recovering energon line.

The guards on either side of her gave shocked exclamations at the sudden attack from their passive prisoner while the purple Seeker standing behind Starscream suddenly laughed at her actions. Starwish had subconsciously slid into a defensive combat stance, her vents heaving as she tried to restrain her fear and sudden anger. Knowing that she was probably going to suffer for her outburst, a twisted part of Starwish decided to at least enjoy the reason for her inevitable punishment and she growled rebelliously, "You might want to reconsider that plan, Starscream. Captured does not necessarily mean declawed … and I can assure you, this 'pet' can still bite."

Starscream's optics widened slightly as he took another step back, "Guards!" His voice sounded oddly hoarse and static-laced as he coughed and shouted, "Restrain your captive!" Obediently, two pairs of servos roughly grabbed her arms and held them away from her sides so that she was practically suspended between the two mechs. Starscream whirled on his two companions, "Stop laughing!"

The purple one toned his laughter down to muffled sniggers, while the blue one, who hadn't seemed to laugh at all, just raised an optic ridge silently. With a snarl, Starscream turned away from them and marched back to where Starwish was restrained. Starwish was unable to move away as Starscream leaned in close once more and snarled darkly, "You will regret that, femme."

Starwish's spark thudded in its chamber wildly and part of her wanted to simply run away and cry. Instead, she spoke again, her voice empowered by the bitterness of her capture, "You always make threats when your enemy can't hit back, don't you, Starscream? Where'd you learn that trick from? The times you displeased Lord Megatron? Or did he always break your wings first to make sure you couldn't fly away?" I am really going to regret saying that later, aren't I?

Starscream's faceplates twisted into one of utter rage and loathing, his vocalizer stuttering futilely in an attempt to say something. Eventually, he seemed to give up trying to form a witty response and instead stormed past, the other two flyers following behind him like well trained dogs. Just as they passed her, Starwish thought she heard one of them murmur faintly, "Good luck, femme." But the tone was incredibly low and the Seekers were gone before Starwish could identify which one might have spoken.

For almost a breem after that, there was utter silence in the hallway. Starwish felt the fight seep out of her as her mind finally registered the full enormity of what she had done and she went limp in the guards' grasp. Finally, one of them burst out laughing, "Did you see the Commander's faceplate? Hah!"

The other one started guffawing as well, "Yeah! He never saw that one coming!" The two resumed leading Starwish down the hall, but this time, she was surprised to realize that their touches were gentler, almost to the point of respectful as they laughed at Starscream's ego-puncturing the entire way.

Looking down at her, the guard on the left nudged her lightly to get her attention. When she lifted her gaze to meet his, he dipped his helm to her cheerfully, "Designation's Crankshot, femme. The big slagger on your right is Jugurnot. Great hit you landed on Starscream, by the way."

Starwish blinked at Crankshot vacantly for a moment, trying to wrap her processor around the sudden friendliness, "Uh … thank you?"

Jugurnot laughed gruffly, "Don't thank us, femme. You're the one who actually did what everyone on base wants to do to ol' Screamer."

Starwish hummed faintly in acknowledgement, unable to think of anything else to say. Apparently, she didn't have time to say anything else anyway, because at that moment, the three of them rounded a corner and came to a stop in front of a large, reinforced door.

Crankshot huffed darkly, "Well femme, this is your stop. I'd wish you luck, but it doesn't exist in there."

Jugurnot gave her a thoughtful look, "You're not going to try to escape?"

Starwish stared at the door in front of her, so this is the door to Shockwave's lab? I thought it'd be … bigger, more grandiose somehow. With a faint shake of her helm, Starwish whispered, "Would I get very far if I did?"

Crankshot shrugged, "No. But after the spunk you showed to Screamer, I thought we'd have more trouble from you at this point."

Starwish just lowered her gaze to the floor, despair rising in her spark uncontrollably. She wanted desperately for someone to blast down the walls and rescue her at that very moment. She wanted for Ultra Magnus, or Optimus, or Jazz to come rushing in, guns blazing, and pull her away from the grim reality of Shockwave's door and the lab no doubt beyond. However, no one came tearing down the halls shouting her name, no one appeared with her rescue in mind.

Instead, the door slid open with a soft hiss and Starwish was escorted by Crankshot and Jugurnot into the waiting lab. Crankshot was the one who called out, "We've brought the subject you ordered, Commander Shockwave."

A cold voice that she had only ever heard before from a T.V show rumbled darkly, "You are late. The distance from the subject's cell to my lab and back can be traversed in five breems. I ordered that the subject be brought to my lab seven breems ago."

Crankshot lightly pushed Starwish further into the room as he answered, "Commander Starscream detained us in the hall, sir. He wanted to examine the prisoner himself."

Shockwave seemed less than interested in Crankshot's excuse, "Indeed. I have no further need of you, return to your duties." Starwish sensed Crankshot and Jugurnot leaving hastily upon Shockwave's order and couldn't prevent a bitter thought from entering her mind, even the guards are frightened of Shockwave and he's their employer.

Heavy pede-steps sent vibrations through the ground as Starwish continued to squint at the floor. She shuddered as a strong scan swept up and down her frame without warning. Shockwave's voice sounded directly in front of her as he said, "Your energon levels are below acceptable levels. Have you not been receiving rations from my drones?"

Starwish mumbled as she risked a swift glance up at Shockwave, "Haven't been drinking them." He was exactly as she had imagined he would look. Tall, broad, intimidating, and completely apathetic. The only difference she could see between the real Shockwave and his television version was that this Shockwave had two servos instead of one and a cannon.

Shockwave made a noise that sounded similar to a sigh of exasperation as he grabbed her right arm and started steering her somewhere, "That action was illogical. Refusing your rations only weakens your systems and wastes a precious commodity. Still, your actions ensured that you will give me no trouble. Lie down."

Starwish shakily allowed herself to be arrayed on a cold medical berth, unable to find the previous anger that had made her lash out a Starscream. She simply felt so … tired. The lights in the lab were far too bright, every noise Shockwave made was too loud. Her system pings were heralding her HUD more urgently, warning her of imminent shutdown to conserve energon.

"Melody…" The sound of her English name, rasped and painfully hoarse, made her fluttering optics snap open in surprise and she twisted around to look at the source.

Her spark lurched in her frame as her optics met Hardwire's dulled and pain filled ones, "Hardwire?"

Hardwire was strapped down to a berth in a shadowed corner, the armor of his chest and middle pried back to expose his internals. Wires leading to monitors were attached to various parts of his anatomy, and his faceplates were fixed in a strained expression. His optics briefly brightened with desperation as he raised his helm fractionally off of his berth to whisper, "Melody … run…"

Starwish stared at Hardwire in horror, "Hardwire…" her stress levels skyrocketed and she felt one last surge of energy liven her frame as she lunged for her brother, "Hardwire!"

Before she even gott halfway off of the berth, a strong servo grasped her left shoulder, jerking her to a sudden halt as something else pricked one of her energon lines. A new message popped up in her HUD, alerting her to the presence of sedative in her system, just before darkness forcibly enclosed on her, cutting off her weak struggles to escape and reach Hardwire's side.

Shockwave carefully rearranged the femme on the berth, signaling for one of his drones to bring more energon and an intravenous tube. Fascinating, "Interaction between the femme and mech subjects reveals that both are capable of conversing in the alternative language originally displayed by the mech. Furthermore, analysis would indicate that the two subjects, while showing no signs of a spark bond, are mutually interested in the well-being of the other."

Tilting the femme's helm, his fingers expertly traced the metal plating, searching for signs of a hidden dataport, "The femme's dataport is hidden in the same manner as the mech's. It is logical to extrapolate that the two underwent modification by the same specialist. Soundwave, I advise once again that you investigate the origin of their creation and the specialist who performed the modification procedures. Drone, fetch dataport cable Ten-C."

Shockwave scanned the femme once more, taking in the information of her low energon levels, scuffs from capture, and other such basic data. His interest focused on the prosthetics attached to her back and he ran a swift scan over them, musing over the gathered data as he set to work removing the cover for the femme's dataport. Interesting. Such a modification took great skill and planning.

As he pried the metal cover off of the femme's dataport, he reported, "The prosthetics attached to the femme's frame appear to be based upon the Arachnicon prosthetics customary to that frame type. However, these prosthetics are smaller and more compact than the original design. They are also comprised of a rarer grade of cybertronium. Although a deeper scan and sampling will be necessary to confirm, the armor appears to be only twenty-five percent cybertronium. My original scans have indicated that the other seventy-five percent is comprised of the much lighter metal cybertrix."

Shockwave paused in his speech to contemplate the ramifications of his previous statement, "Unusual, considering that only speed-orientated seekers have ever traditionally used cybertrix in their frames as the metal, while strong for its light weight and able to withstand greater air pressure, lacks the density necessary to make it an effective armor in combat scenarios."

The drone reappeared with the ordered cable and Shockwave turned his processor away from the prosthetics. With careful deliberateness, Shockwave plugged one end of the cable into a computer and moved to plug the other end into the femme's now exposed dataport. A rattling and groaning from the corner caused him to look up from his task. The mech subject was writhing against his restrains feebly, apparently trying to work his way free of his captive position. Seeing that Shockwave's attention was on him, the mech hissed something in an almost pleading tone.

Shockwave noted the syllable and marked it down as part of the mech's strange language before resuming his appointed task. With a click, he plugged the femme's processor into his computer and waited for the specialized program the computer contained to break down the femme's firewalls and access the processor coding itself. The mech in the corner gave another rasping snarl, struggling against the paralysis in his frame that was always a side-effect of forced processor interfacing.

The computer pinged as it successfully breached the femme's firewalls and Shockwave proceeded to ignore the mech subject in favor of examining the femme's coding, "I will now determine if the femme is also equipped with a variant of the Bāsākā coding." Although the reports from the battlefield strongly indicate otherwise.

Lines of code began scrolling down the screen and after a few kliks of searching through the femme's core data, Shockwave reported, "There is no sign of the Bāsākā Syndrome within this femme's coding. However…" his helm tilted to one side as he isolated several strings of code for closer examination, "fascinating. The femme is equipped with a medically orientated program, nearly identical in design to the restraint program in the mech subject. As with the mech subject's coding, the program is designed in locked tiers, each one granting access to increased abilities within a specified field."

His fingers clicked a few keys in command, "The program, as with its Bāsākā counterpart, is under a unique lockdown that even my computers cannot hack. Although I am able to read the coding of any previously unlocked levels, I am unable to determine the nature or number of higher program tiers. Perhaps examining the base coding for the program will grant more insight into the purpose of these programs."

Shockwave fell silent as he sorted methodically through layers of program coding, looking for its base, the origin to which the rest of the coding would ultimately adhere. His skilled search finally led him to his goal and Shockwave's fingers froze in mid-motion over the the keyboard, "Impossible…"

Resetting his optic, Shockwave ran a self-diagnostic before rereading the isolated code. His entire frame stiffened as he stood up straight, "Soundwave. I have a matter which requires your immediate attention and expertise."

An inconspicuous ping of his comlink was Soundwave's only acknowledgement. Shockwave resisted the urge to pace in front of the computer, it was a useless activity from his previous existence that he had never been able to fully purge from his drives. Clamping down on the urge to indulge in useless motion, Shockwave instead began searching both the Kaon databanks and his own for the status of any scientists who had come online before the Quintesson invasion of Cybertron countless vorns ago.

When that search proved futile, Shockwave searched for any mechs who had been involved in both the science caste and the archivist caste. Again, his search met with failure and he broadened his search to merely any scientists with confirmed ties to either the archivist caste or mechs who had been online since before the life-cycle of Sentinel Prime.

Nothing. Something akin to frustration rose in Shockwave's spark before he quickly dismissed it as irrelevant to the situation. His searches having proved ineffectual, Shockwave was forced to acknowledge that his answers would simply have to wait upon the discretion of Soundwave. Unless… ::Shockwave to Lord Megatron.::

There was a pause before the decidedly peeved voice of his master answered the com, ::Yes, Shockwave. What is it?::

Shockwave had learned a long time ago that Megatron's current tone meant impeding danger to whoever interrupted his task, ::You pardon, Lord Megatron, but I have uncovered new data that I humbly request permission to follow through on.::

The peeved tone was partially replaced with one of interest, ::What kind of information?::

Shockwave stared at his computer screen again as he answered, ::I have come across evidence that the original modifier of the two subjects you had delivered to my laboratory may have been able to translate and encode data written in the ancient Language of the Primes.::

When Megatron spoke, it was clear that his ire had been completely forgotten and replaced with dark curiosity. Megatron had always held a deep fascination, bordering on obsession even, for the artifacts of the times when the Thirteen still roamed Cybertron, ::Indeed, Shockwave? Elaborate.::

Shockwave shifted his body posture subconsciously in muted confidence. He knew that if he approached the matter correctly and appealed to the obsessed side of his master's nature, Megatron would let Shockwave have his way in the matter, ::Affirmative, Lord Megatron. Upon analysis of the two subjects' processor coding, I have determined that they are both equipped with highly advanced programs. The femme subject's programming in particular, is heavily laced with coding written in the Language of the Primes.::

Megatron's voice growled predatorily over Shockwave's internal com, ::Can you determine the identity of the programmer, Shockwave?::

Shockwave knew in that instant that he would get what he wanted. Megatron had never been able to completely disguise the nuances in his voice and Shockwave instantly recognized the undertone of obsession in his master's question. Megatron would agree to anything if it offered the chance of answers, ::Not through conventional means, Lord Megatron. Their coding alone will not be enough to pinpoint the programmer. However, if I were to access one or both of their memory banks, there is a high probability that I could determine the identity of the programs' creator. Might I suggest, My Lord, my invention the Cortical Psychic Patch?::

There was a lengthy pause and for a moment, Shockwave wondered if he miscalculated the intensity of Megatron's obsession over the Thirteen. Then, Megatron asked quietly, ::Is it stable enough to use, Shockwave? I do not wish to lose a precious opportunity to resurrect the lost sub-species of Bāsākā mechs simply on a possibility, no matter how interesting that possibility may be.::

Shockwave's answer was immediate, ::The Patch is stable, Lord Megatron. I ran the final tests on the finished product just a megacycle previous. There will be only minimal risk of a processor failure because of the procedure. Furthermore, the femme subject is not equipped with Bāsākā coding and I have already copied the sections of her coding that are in the Language of the Primes for Soundwave's analysis. Should the femme's processor destabilize, your plans will not be slowed.::

Megatron's purr vibrated softly through Shockwave's helm in a manner that would have made anyone else shudder, ::Then by all means, Shockwave, use your new toy.::

Ignoring the erroneous comment of the Cortical Psychic Patch being a "toy", Shockwave replied, ::As you wish, Lord Megatron.::

Cutting the com line, Shockwave turned to his waiting drones, "Deliver the completed Cortical Psychic Patch to Laboratory 5A." His optic wandered down to the femme's frame, running calculations and estimations swiftly. Waiting until her energon levels are within safe parameters would help ensure the success of the Patch. Nodding decisively to himself, he added, "Transfer the femme subject and her intravenous equipment to Laboratory 5A as well. We will begin in seven joors." With that decided, Shockwave left the laboratory, ignoring the horrified and desperate look on the mech subject's faceplates. He did not care about that, he had a scientific mystery to solve … and Lord Megatron's full permission to unravel it.