Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.

Authoress: Lizzie, you need to breathe.

Lizzie: Breathe? *panicking* I am about to fail and you want me to breathe!

Frenzy: *nods* Makes sense. If you are about to die, you would want to breathe as much as possible before you are offlined.

Lizzie: *glares* Thanks for the confidence boost.

Chapter 14: True Value

Lizzie's 1st P.O.V.

I knew that I had to move. I had to plan a counter to this monkey wrench…and quickly! My very life was dependent on me moving the little gray cells that made up my brain and actually figure this out! But, my mind could only focus on that fragging cylinder sticking out from the ice in the lake. So many things were going against me that I couldn't focus on anything else. I knew that my battle plan needed to be readjusted and quickly. The Autobots were going to be regrouping due to this unforeseen event and I had to get my act together.

But, all I could focus on was that fragging cylinder and the memories that it was triggering. My life was literally flashing before my eyes. All the fun times and bad times. All the struggles and self-revelations. This was to be my last big accomplishment? Surviving just over a month with the Decepticons? Was that really it? I was just starting to see a new and unexpected side to the Decepticons. Frag it, I had even seen,

And like a bullet, the answer to what I needed to do came through my head and took my panic with it. There was more that I could do to save this mission and by Primus was I going to use everything that I had to make sure that I was going to succeed!

"Slag Lizzie what's going on?" Rumble asked from next to me. Guess my sudden movement and grabbing of datapads startled the two of them.

As I scrolled through the datapad that I needed, I spoke to them. "I know how I am going to get us that relic before the Autobots. But, I am going to need both of your help."

I could see their confusion as I finally found the file that I was looking for. Divide and conquer was a great strategy to use but I was needing to combine it with a little subterfuge to really throw the Autobots for a loop. This datapad had notes on how I could do that. As I read what I needed to do, though, Frenzy asked a question. "What do you mean? You know Soundwave doesn't want us to go out into the battle."

Nodding at that, I typed on the monitor in front of me while answering them. "You won't be going to the battle. Do you all carry false Autobot beacons on you?"

Frenzy nodded and pulled out a devise that I was assuming was the beacon. "Yeah, standard use for all of us."

A smirk spread across my face at that. "Perfect." I then connected to Soundwave's comm link. "Soundwave? Change in plans. I'm going to need you to open a ground bridge for Rumble and Frenzy about three miles away from your location. They are going to be placing a false Autobot beacon there before returning to base. If Lord Megatron agrees, I need everybot but Knockout, our rear guard, Florian, Flare, Frost, Laserbeak, and about four other drones to go to that location. Act like it is showing signs of being even more valuable than the cylinder. The Autobots won't risk us getting something that is even more dangerous to them than the cylinder, so they will send most, if not all, of their forces to the signal's location. Our rear guard, Knockout, Laserbeak, and the other four drones will act as cover fire for Florian, Flare and Frost. The three of them will retrieve the cylinder for us."

Instead of Soundwave answering, however, a different voice came through the speakers. "That sounds like a workable plan. We will do our part. I hope for your sake that the three drones can pull this off." I flinched slightly as Lord Megatron's vocals came through the other side. Soundwave must have patched the leader in immediately when I called in. Thanks for the warning Soundwave. Really appreciate it.

"Yes, Lord Megatron." I responded to him before I turned off that communication. As a ground bridge opened for the twins, I connected the monitor in front of me to the three comm signals that I needed to be in contact with for this to work. "Florian, Flare, Frost; do you read me?"

Thankfully, they responded quickly. "We hear you, coordinator." Coordinator. That was what the Decepticons out there were supposed to address me by for this. Didn't want the Autobots to realize that the human 'prisoner' on the ship was the one who was planning out this mission to get something away from them. The one who answered was Florian, if I was recognizing his vocal pattern correctly.

"Florian, you three are going to be retrieving the cylinder." I told the three of them pretty bluntly.

"How the frag do you expect the three of us to get the cylinder? Not even the big bots can get it and we break easier than they do!" Flare asked in a panicked voice.

I had to get him calmed down, so I could explain. "Flare, hold off on the panicking. It's not helping anybot right now. I saw the three of you the other solar, when you went with a group of others to the Arctic. You three can work together and skate to the cylinder, grab it, and get to the other side with ease."

Finally, Frost put in his opinion. "Coordinator, that would be exposing us and, like Flare said, we aren't as sturdy as the command forces."

While that was normally a problem, I could soothe their processors on that point. "Don't worry on that. You will have backup in the form of four other drones, Knockout, Laserbeak, and the rear guard." I then paused and let that sink in before I brought the point home full circle. "This mission is the test to see if I can be of use to the Decepticons or if I need to be killed just in case the Autobots get a hold of me. I am placing my very life in your servos. Will you help me?"

That seemed to change their attitudes about this. "Just tell us when Coordinator." Florian responded.

Frost was next. "We will use all of our skill to help you complete the mission."

"Yeah, we'll make sure that the Autobots don't get the cylinder or offline trying!" Flare responded enthusiastically before he hesitated. "Just…try not to get us offline."

"You got it. I'll contact you three when it is time. Get to a distance where you can pick up speed to get to the cylinder and take it out." I reassured them before telling them.

"Roger." All three responded at once before I turned to the screen. Now, I just had to wait for the twins to get back and for the others to move toward the fake location. I had to make sure that the others were cleared out before I started the real move. I just hoped that this would work.

Soundwave's 1st P.O.V.

I had been worried. When the cylinder had broke half-way through the ice, and Lizzie didn't respond immediately, I thought she was going to crack under the pressure of the unexpected happening. Through my millions of stellars, I had seen plenty of able Cybertronians fall apart under this same stress. The clicks had ticked by and there had been no reaction from Lizzie.

Then, just when I thought she had broken, the twins had sent me a quick feeling of surprise. When I asked them what was going on, they said that Lizzie was diving into the datapads with a renewed energy. She had then contacted me with her new plan and I had immediately patched Lord Megatron into the call. This was his test to her to see if she could earn her place among our ranks. He should be kept in the loop. However, she had made the right call in contacting me first. I was her liaison for this mission and that meant that I had to move all communication.

Lizzie's plan, while unusual, was one that would throw the Autobots a surprise and would allow us to succeed in the mission with very few casualties. So far, only four of the thirty drones had fallen and seven of them were injured…though not critically. If that femme hadn't gotten through the line, then Lizzie's original plan would have allowed her to pass this test. I had already contacted the rear guard about the plan.

"Hey boss bot, we are ready to place the beacon." Rumble contacted me. I had transported them to a location three miles away, like Lizzie had planned, and they had been trying to find a good place to set the beacon. Also, the twins had added a little something to Lizzie's diversion plan that would surprise the Autobots. Even though they didn't plan on telling her about it until after this was over, I was sure she would appreciate the bonus…if she survived.

I sent a quick message to Lord Megatron letting him now that the signal was about to go off before I reconnected with the twins. "Activate it." While they were doing that, I connected with Laserbeak. "Laserbeak, you know the plan. Keep feeds open with Lizzie and me." Since my communication with the twins and Laserbeak was through our symbiot bond, then I could use Lizzie's name.

"Roger that boss." She responded to me while flying to be closer to the cylinder. While she wasn't going to be active in the plan, I wanted to keep an optic on her.

Almost as soon as I sent her off, the signal appeared on my scanners and I showed Lord Megatron, who was close to my position. Once he saw it, he began his part of the new plan. "Knockout, remain here with seven drones to watch the cylinder. All other Decepticons, move to the new coordinates. There isn't a click to waste and I will personally take out any who hold this up." Lord Megatron spoke his part very convincingly and I could see that the words had convinced the Autobots that something more important was going on.

"Autobots, return to base to move to the new coordinates." Optimus ordered. While I had no doubt that the Autobots had reserves at their base, the risk of letting us move and get the relic was enough of a fear factor that made this too great of a risk for them to take.

As I moved through the ground bridge that I had opened, I connected with Laserbeak's visual and observed the Autobot retreat. Every Autobot on the field moved to go through their bridge except for Flamewar and Pitch. I wasn't happy that they were the two Autobots remaining behind, but I knew that Laserbeak had plenty of backup just in case the two of them started to fire on her. But, I knew that Lizzie was not going to give the two Autobots that much of a break.

When I appeared on the other side, I saw that the drones that came with us were already moving to the beacon's location. They were going to act like they were mining for an item to keep up with the façade. Not long after I arrived and closed our bridge, another bridge opened and the Autobots were quick to file out. Like I suspected, Optimus had switched out many of the team that had been at the cylinder's location with others from their base.

I soon found myself in battle with the Autobot Cliffjumper, which I was glad for. I wouldn't have to focus entirely on our fight and could monitor the other part of the plan. "Where is the human? Where is Lizzie?" Cliffjumper demanded of me as he struck out with his blade.

Like I was going to answer that. While I blocked the Autobot's blade, though, I wondered. How would these Autobots react if they realized that the human that they were trying to 'save' was the one that had set up this entire mission plan and, as long as this plan went like she wanted, would soon be a part of the Decepticons? It might be a blow to their psyche that would help us but, I knew that, keeping Lizzie's condition from them completely would really upset their function. Cliffjumper here proved that. He was allowing his worry for Lizzie to distract him from the fight.

Since I didn't want to hear the Autobot keep going on, I took a pause and threw him toward Thundercracker. He would be able to distract the Autobot for now. Since the Autobot was out of the way, I focused on Laserbeak's visuals and watched as Lizzie's plan started to unfold.

Skywarp's 1st P.O.V.

This was exciting! I was watching the battle from behind Lizzie, since I was hanging out in Soundwave's room with her, and things were getting interesting. Once the others had left, and the Autobot bridge had disappeared, Lizzie had immediately signaled for the three drones to launch. And frag did they. I didn't even know that we could move on ice like that. Right now, they were about half-way to the cylinder and Knockout, with the other four drones, were giving cover fire. Since I didn't come in until Lord Megatron was leading the others through the ground bridge to the fake location, I didn't know what Lizzie's plan was for this. But, I was pretty sure she wasn't going to fail. She had helped me prank the twins…even though I was the only one so far to suffer from that, and that took more planning then this kind of mission.

"Lizzie, are you sure that they are going to be able to get the cylinder?" Frenzy asked Lizzie as they stood next to her.

In return, she nodded. "I don't doubt it. We are keeping Pitch and Flamewar from firing at the three of them and we haven't suffered many casualties. I've earned their trust and they are going to make sure that they go after that cylinder with everything that they have." Plus, even though she didn't say it, we all knew that she really cared for almost every single one of us…Astrotrain might be an exception to that. But, he deserved it. The fragger had been against Lizzie since click one.

…But that wasn't important right now.

As I looked at the screen I saw that the drones were at the cylinder. My optics widened as Florian and Flare held onto Frost as they turned, and he leaned toward the cylinder. His servos grabbed it and, with a yank, they pulled it from the ice. With the speed that they were going, they were moving ahead of the cracks that were now forming in the ice. If any of us fliers had tried to land and get it, then we would have fallen through the ice.

Of course, …I wasn't there because my warping capabilities would expose my circuits to the cold more and I would be more of a problem then a help. It sucked but at least I could watch the action here.

Movement on Laserbeak's feed caused me to focus on it and I saw that Flamewar had detached from Pitch and was moving around the lake quickly. If she got to the side that Knockout and the other drones were on before the three got back to the ice, then she could screw everything up and cause casualties. "Lizzie, you might,"

"Don't worry Skywarp." Lizzie said while typing on the monitor in front of her. "I've got it covered." She then spoke to whoever it is that she connected with. "Okay, you're up. Laserbeak will send you the feed."

Flamewar's 1st P.O.V.

Did these Decepticons really think that this little plan of theirs was going to work? True, I was almost tricked by the Decepticons splitting their forces like they did. Only leaving a medic with a group of drones would usually signal that they were going to leave the cylinder alone until the others got back. But, Pitch had convinced Optimus to let the two of us stay behind and watch the cylinder.

Well, once the others were gone, the Decepticons made their move and, somehow, they had three of the drones gliding on the ice toward the cylinder. Before Pitch and I could even get a shot off at the three, our location was bombarded by shots from across the lake. That fragging medic and the four other drones, along with that little flier of Soundwave's, were keeping us pinned down.

However, I saw a chance to make a break for the other side of the lake and I took it. If I could shoot from the other side, then I could take out those three drones and maybe that medic. That would make my solar. That fragger, Zarron, had screwed up our plan to mess with the human living at base by joining in on the training sessions. Made my energon churn. I didn't like my plans interfered with. Vox would have been a risk and I had thought I got rid of him.

But, the Decepticons hadn't done their job right. Instead of killing the gullible idiot, they let him live and join their ranks. He was still a risk to me. Right now I was actually on a job. It wasn't an easy job but, if I could pull it off, then I would have enough to retire ten times over…

…of course, that was if I ever retired. I enjoyed the profits so much!

Now, I was going to help tear these Decepticons to shreds and there would be no backlash for this It was a part of the fight and I was sure that there was somebot who would think that I was going overboard, but none of those kinds of bots were here. Pitch was my only backup and I was actually working on a job for him. He had asked me, when we had met up on Cybertron, to take care of an issue he was having and was going to pay me very well for my services. I was not going to fail in that.

The sound of a jet in the air caused me to flinch to a stop. What was that? The only Decepticons that were here that could fly were drones but that had sounded like a more powerful engine than they had access to. A lot more powerful. Maybe human's flying overhead? Disgusting creatures really. I was still upset that we had to tolerate the ones at base. Maybe I could get away with shooting this one down? There was enough blaster fire coming from the Decepticons that I could get away with it.

So, I transformed my right servo into a blaster and fired to hit the jet. I couldn't see the jet itself but I saw its shadow and used that to take the shot. Once it was gone, I moved to hit Knockout's group. The three drones who had the cylinder were halfway back to the other Decepticons. If I could move at the pace I was before, I could get over there to slaughter them all. Bet I could make some credits off the red medic. With the idea of a bonus for this job, I went to move again.

Survival instincts had me darting backward, causing me to fall after a few paces, as a giant object landed in front of me. What the frag was that?! The jet I hit shouldn't have crashed in front of me! That was too steep a fall! As the snow mist dissipated, I glanced up at the object in front of me and felt my optics widen as fiery red optics bore down at me. No! It couldn't be! He was supposed to be offline by now! Pitch had shot the side of his helm! I had to be imagining things!

"I zhink zhat zhe two-vheeler needs to go…BOOM!" A mad string of cackling that came straight from the Pit pierced my spark with terror before I stood up and bolted back to Pitch. The small amount of credits I might get from Knockout's helm was not worth tangling with the psychotic triple-changer Blitzwing!

Lizzie's 1st P.O.V.

"I can't believe that worked." Rumble spoke from next to me. I honestly didn't care about the believability of the success of the backup plan. I was just relieved that it had worked. Flamewar had almost blown up my backup plan like she had the original. Slagging glitch from the Pit.

"Soundwave sent me a message to pick you up."

I jumped and turned away from the dark monitor, that had been previously showing the battlefield, to see Skyquake walking in toward the three of us.

Once he reached us, the giant jet mech lowered his servo to us and we jumped on before he picked us up again. I hadn't had Skyquake go to the battle for two reasons. The first reason, the reason that I had to explain to Lord Megatron, was that he was a bulky flier and, while that was good, we would need strong fighters on reserve just in case the Autobots were able to hold us back from getting the cylinder and we had to switch out troops due to the cold.

The other, and more personal, reason that I didn't have Skyquake go to the battle was because I was worried about him. With the help of Thundercracker and Skywarp, he had beaten the odds and survived passed his episode debut. Since they, I had gotten to know the mech better and he had even started to train me. Me! And this was before all of this test passing and actually becoming a member of the Decepticons. Both he and Starscream had taken a lot of time to train me to fight against beings my own size. Now, I wanted to repay the favor and make sure that he didn't die. While he would have to be placed out in battle sometimes, I wanted to make sure they were under the best of circumstances possible.

"Hey Lizzie," I glanced at Frenzy and noticed that all three of them were staring at me. "are you okay?"

Smiling, I nodded before saying, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind."

"But you always have something on your mind. You just seemed off." Rumble added his two credits.

Well, I had better make sure to calm them down. If they thought that something was wrong with me, word would get to Lord Megatron and I was not going to go back on the suspicious list this soon after getting off it! "Trust me bots I'm fine. A strategist is supposed to be always thinking about things. I guess the relief that came with passing this test caused me to get lost in my thoughts. Sorry for worrying you all."

Thankfully, they seemed to relax before Skyquake spoke. "That is good. Of course, you aren't just going to be hanging out with the processors of this operation. Lord Megatron has already approved of you continuing your combat training with us and Soundwave gave clearance for the twins to join us if they want."

"Yes!" I exclaimed excitedly. While I was going to be a strategist, which meant working with Shockwave, Soundwave, and Vox was going to be a very regular occurrence, I had been worried that I wouldn't be able to see much of the other bots. Rumble and Frenzy were the exception because they were attached to Soundwave…sometimes literally. I would always be able to spend time with the two of them and Laserbeak. But, bots like Skyquake, Blitzwing, Knockout, Hook, and Breakdown…well, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to see them that much. Plus, I liked the training with Skyquake and Starscream. Maybe we could have…

"Oh, and before I forget," Skyquake started as he continued to move. "Blitzwing and Breakdown have asked to join in on our training, though I'm pretty sure that Blitzwing is doing it to make it easier to fight with himselves. Either way though, they wanted me to let you know as long as today went well."

That was going to be amazing! Now not only was I going to be getting training from Skyquake and Starscream, but Breakdown and Blitz…

…did he just say himselves?

My mind was still trying to attach onto that fact as Skyquake entered the bridge, passing a smiling Frost, Florian, and Flare. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see the twins smirking but I couldn't find it in myself to even try and respond. How could he argue with himselves? That…That was…

"And here is the being of the solar." I jumped out of my thoughts and paid attention as Lord Megatron spoke to me. Being addressed by him was something you did not take lightly. "Through the challenges that were presented her this solar, Lizzie Xantara Val was able to prevail and her plan allowed the Decepticons to retrieve the data cylinder that Shockwave, Hook, and Knockout are currently downloading and decoding." He then paused. "Since she was able to accomplish this, Lizzie has gained full rights and admittance into the Decepticon ranks. She will report to Shockwave or Soundwave for her solar duties and they will be her superiors." He then looked directly at me. "Lizzie, you will have the next two solars off to adjust to your new position on the Nemesis. During that time, you are expected to have our insignia placed on your body that will ensure that it will not be easily removed."

Huh…I was wondering where those three were. Thankfully, for me, I already knew how I was going to take care of the problem that Lord Megatron brought up. I just had to find 51-D and 04-N, Sid and Dan respectively tomorrow morning. Since Megatron had made the suggestion of resting, I now found myself really tired. However, before I did that, I had to thank Lord Megatron. "My Lord, thank you…for everything."

He simply raised an optic ridge at that in return before Soundwave walked forward and, taking Rumble, Frenzy, and I from Skyquake, moved us back where we just were before. Felt kinda roundabout-ish but I wasn't going to complain. I had earned my place on the Nemesis enough to say that I had to screw up pretty majorly to be worried about being killed by Lord Megatron and most of the others…Of course I was still going to be keeping an eye on Astro…

Letting out a yawn, I laid down against Soundwave's servo as he entered his room. I just wanted to fall asleep now. Thankfully, Soundwave placed the twins next to the bed and me next to my clothes drawer. Had to get my pajamas on and then I would be ready for bed. So, I picked out a purple pair of pajamas before I went behind the screen and changed. Once I was changed, I walked out and crawled in-between the twins. Once I was comfy under the covers, the twins moved closer to me.

"Lizzie, I'm glad you're still here." Rumble…I think…muttered. I was so tired that I could barely tell that it was his voice.

"Me too Lizzie. I don't want to lose our newest sister." Frenzy…yeah I was sure that it was him, said as well.

Letting a small smile slip on my face, I nuzzled my head into the pillow and nodded sleepily. "I'm glad…I get to keep you two…as my…" A yawn then escaped my lips before I snuggled closer to my pillow. "as my brothers."

The warm embrace of sleep then welcomed me.

Shockwave's 1st P.O.V.

"What progress has been made on the cylinder?" Lord Megatron asked me. Hook and Knockout had just left about five clicks ago and I was cleaning up the tools that we had pulled out. The retrieval of the data from the cylinder hadn't been as difficult as I had thought. But, when we had tried to start the decoding process, we kept hitting bundles of useless information that took us cycles to straighten out. It was quite bothersome.

Motioning to the monitor in front of me, I answered my Lord. "The data from the cylinder has been successfully placed onto a drive for our decoding purposes. However, there are many packets of data that seem to have been placed in the program to be decoys. It will take us some time to sort everything out for their usefulness." I didn't like giving such a small report to Lord Megatron but that was all we had been able to accomplish.

Lord Megatron simply nodded. "Very well. From what you have found, will this help any of our current projects?"

Thankfully, I could answer my Lord positively. "Yes, my Lord. From the small amount of data that we have been able to retrieve from the devise, it seems like this is exactly the data we needed to complete our soliform project." Now, it was just a matter of retrieving the data, translating it, and applying it to the project. Once the data from the cylinder was imputed, then we would be able to test the soliform project.

At that, Lord Megatron nodded and took a few paces before speaking again. "Shockwave, what of our other project? The one for our newest member?"

Lord Megatron had approached me the previous night cycle and requested that I start work on a project that would be beneficial for Lizzie's continued working on the Nemesis. I had been surprised that he had requested that I start work on that project before we were even sure Lizzie was going to pass her test. However, I had obeyed Lord Megatron's order and started work on that special project.

"Scan data of Lizzie has allowed me to make progress on the project. Her scans show a reasonable resemblance to our own structure and it should not be difficult to synthesize the appropriate compounds to complete the project. My estimations show that the project shall be completed for application in three solars." I responded to my Lord's question. It would be strange working with the human as an assistant, but I knew that this project I was working on would assist in making it easier for her to work with us and us to work with her.

"Very good, Shockwave." Lord Megatron spoke as he went to walk out of the lab. After he opened the door, he turned to me before saying, "Make sure to get some recharge tonight. These next few cycles are going to keep all of us busy."

I stared after my Lord as he left. That was…strange. I would not question my Lord, but it seemed like the femme, Lizzie, was slightly influencing Lord Megatron. And, logically, it seemed to be for the better. Lord Megatron was taking a broader look at our stance in the war and was realizing that his troops needed to be at their top performance and, to achieve that state, they needed recharge.

Speaking of recharge, I glanced at my internal clock and saw that there was about fifteen clicks until the start of the new solar. I would spend that time finishing up some research for that final project Lord Megatron and I spoke on before I would turn in for recharge. I would start early tomorrow on the other projects.

Pulling up the schematics that I was using, I dove into Project Scrapmetal.

Paul: *taps Authoress' shoulder* Excuse me Authoress, but when are we going to check in on my situation here? I haven't seen Lizzie yet and you haven't talked to me since last chapter.

Authoress: *shakes head* Don't worry Paul, you get some attention next chapter. it will be very developing for your predicament.

Paul: *pauses* *frowns* I hate it when you talk like that. I can't tell if that is going to be good for me or bad for me.

Authoress: *smirks* Exactly.

AN: And here is the next chapter! Lizzie is going to live!...For now. She has earned her place in the Decepticons but there are still trials that will arise to stop her. Astrotrain being one of them and maybe more to come. Nobot new...I don't have any more new bots coming in until season 2 but Lizzie will be facing some new challenges, both physical and mental. Also, what is this Project Scrapmetal? Is there a hint as to what it might be? Maybe, but I can't say for sure. What I can say is that Lizzie is going to have to stay on her toes to keep moving.

Then we have Paul. I know he wasn't talked about much this chapter, but we will be getting back to him. He needs to figure out what is going on and he hasn't been in contact with Lizzie since Deus Ex Machnia. That has to be pressuring him. Next chapter will be focusing a bit on him (though we will have some Lizzie moments) and you can bet that Paul is going to be having an adventure.

Well, that's all for that stuff. Here are the names of the next chapters.

Chapter 15: Unfortunate Side Effects

Chapter 16: Where True Evil Multiplies

Chapter 17:...? (find out next time!)

Okay, so that is all for now. Please leave a review, even to say hi. Until we meet again though, TTYL! *listening to Meatloaf*