Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.

Lizzie: Wow. What took so long to get this up Authoress? Last time I checked, you were almost done with this.

Authoress: *sighs* I almost had this done when I accidentally lost about two-thirds of the work that I had done. I sulked for a couple days.

Rumble: You are almost as good of a bad-luck charm as Lizzie.

Lizzie: *upset* Hey!

Authoress: *shakes head* Where do you think she gets it?

Chapter 16: Where True Evil Multiplies

Vox's 1st P.O.V.

Even though I was on an energon scouting mission with Breakdown right now, I found my thoughts wondering to the human that was recently inducted into the Decepticon ranks. The other solar, Lizzie started her first solar working as a strategist and, in doing that, she got to work with Soundwave and me on strategizing different tactics for gaining the remaining relics that were currently hidden on Earth that the Praxian Database had on record. We had the next four coordinates already decoded but we were not going to rush and go to the locations. Lord Megatron wanted us to make plans to retrieve each relic at each location.

And that was what Soundwave, Shockwave, and Lizzie were working on right now. While I was with them for the first two coordinates, which were on hold on being planned while I was out on patrol with Breakdown, they were working on the next two. Once those were planned, I knew that Lord Megatron was going to want us to start working on decoding some of the coordinates for the Iaconian database. It was going to be more difficult to work with because, even though the Praxian database had some weapons that were more dangerous than most that would have been held in Iacon, the few that were more dangerous in Iacon were extremely so.

At least, that was what Remcy used to say when he was my teacher…way back when I used to blindly follow the Autobots. I would never regret leaving the Autobot faction. I had been cast aside and left to offline. I would never go back to them. Never. But, there were a few Autobots…very few, that I had to believe didn't know what happened to me. Of the betrayal that I had faced by them. My spark and processor hoped that Remcy was one of those. Yes, my reckless belief in everybot who called me their ally was one of the weaknesses that had caused me to be betrayed by Flamewar, but I knew it was also a strength that caused me to work even more efficiently.

And Lizzie was a being that showed that. There she was, a human who could easily be killed by any of us by the simplest misstep, and in the case of Astrotrain maybe on purpose, actively interacting with us and trusting us not to kill her on the spot. Even though I never lost my feeling of trusting others completely, seeing Lizzie interacting with us helped cement that belief in me. There were more good beings out there than the few bad ones like Flamewar.

Glancing at Breakdown, I realized that I hadn't really asked Breakdown about his opinion on our newest Decepticon. As an intelligence agent for the Decepticons, I tended to overanalyze what I was thinking on. However, as a warrior, Breakdown would have a different look on Lizzie. "Breakdown," I started as we moved through the abandoned human settlement. "what do you think about the Coordinator? Honestly?" Had to remember to call her the Coordinator out loud. Otherwise I could get in trouble. Been on the skirts of that too much lately and I needed to let things calm down.

Breakdown glanced at me in surprise for a nano before he shrugged. "Honestly? I've been surprised by her since she was first introduced to us. I thought that she was going to fail a while back but she keeps moving forward. Now, I look forward to the training sessions I help the others give her in soliform. She keeps improving and, if she was one of us, she would be a monster as well as an almost irreplaceable soldier." He then shrugged. "That's just my opinion though. Not like it is going to change much."

Before I could respond that that, I paused as my scanners picked up movement around us…and now that I focused I was picking up two energon signals. This wasn't good. Given the isolation of the signals, then we were about to have some unwanted guests. "Breakdown, we have company." I noticed Breakdown tense as pedesteps were finally able to be heard.

I stayed tense as the two Autobots appeared in our sights. One was the green warrior called Bulkhead and the other, to my discomfort, was the two-wheeler known as Zarron. When I saw him in his first two battles here on Earth, I thought he was a psychotic mech, more so than Blitzwing, with a few screws loose. I mean he, who was one of the smaller frame types that a Cybertronian could be, had gone after the more threatening bots in each encounter. When I first saw him, he went and attacked Astrotrain, who is a triple changer. Then, when we were in Greece, the two-wheeler went after Lord Megatron.

"Move!" I focused as Zarron's yell shook me out of my thoughts and I had to quickly bring out my blade to stop the two-wheeler from slicing my helm off. At the same time, Bulkhead charged at Breakdown and the two were going at it like any warriors would. Zarron and I traded blows for a few clicks before we ended up in a deadlock. "What caused you to leave the Autobots Vox?"

That was weird. This bot was talking like we were old friends and he was trying to find out answers. But, I had never met this bot before in all of my existence…even during my time with the Autobots. So why was he talking like we were friends? It didn't make sense. When the Autobot Cliffjumper tried to question me back in Greece, he sounded like most Autobots did when they fought with me. Angry that one of their own would go to the Decepticons.

But Zarron didn't sound angry. He sounded confused and curious. That made him dangerous to me right now. I couldn't trust him. I didn't know him. But, he wasn't acting mad that I had betrayed the Autobots…he just wanted to know why. That wasn't any of his business! However, since I was an intelligence agent by training, I decided to try and get some information about this new Autobot. "What's it to you? I'm a Decepticon now and that is really the only thing you should be thinking about."

The two of us then split apart and traded more blows before we ended up in another lock and Zarron took that time to answer me…surprisingly. "I don't like it when events are left with open ends. I want to know what happened. What caused you to leave the cause that you had first pledged yourself to? I want to know!" He then pushed me back and I had to parry his following attack. For a two-wheeler, Zarron was very battle proficient.

Plus, he seemed curious about what was going on with why I left the Autobots. Too curious. I didn't know his angle and giving out too much information to a bot that I didn't know was not something that I did. "Back off Autobot. That's between me and my past and you don't need to know anything about me except that I am going to defeat you." Then, in a quick move, I closed the distance between us and, while he blocked a strike I made with my blade, I brought my fist up. The sound of my fist contacting his faceplate caused a boom to sound and the two-wheeler went to the ground unconscious.

Even though a part of me wanted to offline the Autobot right then and there, I realized that taking him prisoner might be a more tactful use of the bot. But, he would have to be kept away from the Coordinator. This wouldn't be a good situation at all.

"Vox, you take out that two-wheeler yet?" I turned as Breakdown pulled Bulkhead's unconscious chassis behind him. From the spark signal I was still picking up, the mech was still online and would probably wake up in a few cycles.

"Yeah. Did you have any issues with him?" Needed to make sure that Breakdown was alright. I was pretty sure that Knockout would throw me in the Pits if I didn't make sure that Breakdown was alright.

The warrior nodded and motioned to the two unconscious Autobots. "Only a couple of smarting glances that Knockout can get out easy enough." He then continued. "What should we do about these two?"

I followed his look at the two Autobots. While it was going to cause some issues, the only thing I saw as an option for these two was to bring them back to the Nemesis as prisoners. However, we would have to be careful. So far, Lord Megatron had guided us in taking great lengths to keep Lizzie's current status among us away from Autobot audios. Calling her 'Coordinator' being one of those methods. From Soundwave's report about how the Autobot Cliffjumper acted on the battlefield on Rudulf Island, that goal was even more steadfast.

So, I answered Breakdown. "The only thing we can do. Call in Soundwave for a pickup and say that we will need help transporting two Autobot prisoners with us. Lord Megatron will tell us what to do after that." I then raised my servo to my audio to call in the request.

"Move!" I flinched when Breakdown shoved me out of the way while yelling that.

When I turned back to him, I felt my optics widen when he was suddenly struck with an electrical projectile. What the frag was going on? Where did that come from? "Breakdown!" I yelled as the mech went down, unconscious. This wasn't good. I had to call the Nemesis and get back-up here,

I let out a scream as I felt something impact against my armor and electrical currents started to travel through my systems. Before I lost consciousness, I caught a glance of a helicopter moving toward the two of us.

Paul's 1st P.O.V.

"This isn't going to end well." I muttered as I sat on the ledge of the human area, staring at the bridge. I knew where we were supposed to be at in the timeline and that would be Operation: Breakdown. Bulkhead was supposed to go to the Comp Chakna peninsula in Eastern Russia and end up getting his aft handed to him by Breakdown. Then, he was supposed to wake up to Miko calling him and, once he got back to base, he was to tell us how he got his aft handed to him before Agent Fowler came in and dropped the bomb about MECH having taken Breakdown.

And...well, that was what was supposed to happen.

"So, am I still going to call Bulkhead?" Miko asked me.

I had a feeling that the only reason that she was asking me was because the episode had already changed, and it was going to be difficult to keep up with how the timeline should be. Instead of just Bulkhead going to the peninsula, Zarron had volunteered to go with the big lug and the two of them had not called back yet.

Zarron and Pitch, two of the Autobots that I had the hardest time predicting and, it really shouldn't surprise me. While i was technically the creator of the Cybertronian race, Lizzie had birthed the two of Autobots out of the recesses of her mind. Of course, when she originally created them, they weren't Autobots. But, that was their role here and that meant that they were at least doing better than their creator.

But, I had to say that Zarron seemed to be a lot like Lizzie. From the time that I spent studying her, back in her home dimension, Lizzie was like Zarron. She didn't socialize with people she wasn't already close with. She would give them a chance, true, but it would take Lizzie a long time to really open up to others around her. She didn't have many friends but, the few she did, she had made sure to defend with whatever she had.

And she chose to give all of that up, becoming non-existent in her own dimension, to come and help bring peace to this one. But, events had changed that. Lizzie had ended up on the Nemesis and, even though I was sure that it was through some sort of stockholm syndrome, the Decepticons seemed to have earned a spot in that limited area of trust. that was what was going to make showing the truth to Lizzie that much more difficult.

Now, if only I could have that kind of breakthrough with Zarron, then things might start going my way. the mech seemed to like to stay closed off from all of us at base for the most part. He didn't seem to mind Cliffjumper too much but, much to my surprise, Zarron had somewhat opened up to Wheeljack. They were both lone cyber-wolf types so the two of them growing this closer friendship had thrown me for a loop. I wouldn't say that Zarron was open to the Wrecker yet, but he definitely seemed to agree more with Wheeljack than anybot else...even Optimus.

But I was getting off track.

Glancing at Miko out of the corner of my eye, after figuring that it was around the time that she should be calling Bulkhead I nodded. "That seems like a good idea Miko. Why don't you go and…"

"Base, this is Bulkhead. We could use a pickup. And have Ratchet ready to make some repairs. We got hit pretty hard." Bulkhead's tired-sounding voice came through the base comm system. that caused Miko and I to jump. Here we go again. Fate wasn't allowing the events to play as they should and now we were going to have to try and fix what we could without revealing that I was really their god in disguise. A bit tricky but I was hoping that this would all pay off.

"Bridge coming up." Ironhide responded to Bulkhead's request before he opened up the bridge.

All the optics, and eyes, were focused on the bridge as the sound of pedesteps and dragging came into focus. After a few seconds, the vision of Zarron supporting Bulkhead the best he could came to everybot's view and, once the bridge was shut, Ratchet didn't waste time in helping Zarron lead Bulkhead to sit down on a crate that was near him. It would be better to get the repairs done quickly as well as the debriefing.

"What happened?" Optimus asked the two bots while Bulkhead was getting fixed up. I noticed that Zarron was pretty banged up as well but, since he wasn't saying anything about it for now, then I wouldn't say anything for now. But, I doubted that Breakdown would have been able to do that much damage to both bots, from what I have seen of them on the battlefield and in the practice areas.

Zarron, to my surprise, was the one that started to answer Optimus. "We were on the trail of an energon trail when the Decepticons Breakdown and Vox intercepted us and we ended up in battle with them. Bulkhead fought Breakdown while I fought with Vox. However, our enemies were underestimated and that caused both Bulkhead and me to be knocked out by our respective opponents. When we came to, however, there was not a trace of the Decepticons...or that they had been there in the first place."

"You let two Decepticons get the better of you?" Flamewar seemed to taunt Zarron with a seer.

Zarron cast her a quick look, almost a glare but not quite, before he said, "At least I didn't run from the one that confronted me."

"Enough!" Optimus ordered the two before things could escalate any further. "Zarron, continue."

Flamewar seemed to be put in place, for now, after Optimus had intervened, though I didn't miss the glare that she sent to Zarron before she stood down. However, Zarron seemed to be contemplating continuing on with the banter. But, must have decided against it as he returned his attention to Optimus. "Like I said, no trace of the Decepticons when I came to. I was up first and I helped Bulkhead come back to consciousness. He then called the bridged and you know the rest."

The base stayed quiet for a click as everyone seemed to take in Zarron's report. While everything seemed to be on the up and up about it, there was a small detail that was bothering me. Bulkhead had been the one to call in, like Zarron said. But, Zarron said that he had also been the first one awake. That brought up a question.

"Hang on," Pitch finally spoke, his optics focused on the two-wheeler and I noticed that he was slightly tense. I wonder why that was. "you said that you were awake first. Yet you waited until Bulkhead was awake before you had him call in base. Why didn't you just call into base yourself?"

It was hard to hear, but from the focused look that came into Zarron's optics when Pitch asked that, I knew that Zarron heard the slight challenge in Pitch's question. While he wasn't as forthright as Flamewar, the mech seemed to be trying to trip up Zarron on something.

However, it seemed that Zarron was already ready with a response to that. "You are right. But, it is not so difficult to understand. During my fight with Vox, he damaged my comm system. Outside of personal messages, I can't do anything with it. It isn't a serious injury so I figured that it could wait until the doc was done with Bulkhead. Breakdown really put the beating down on him and he needs the care sooner than me."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Wheeljack suddenly asked, causing Zarron to throw a weary and nervous look at the bot. Yeah...I was never going to be able to read that two-wheeler. "I can fix you up in a bit. Just sit down and let me borrow some tools from Ratchet."

Zarron's optics went slightly wider when Wheeljack finished his proposal and he shook his helm before quickly saying, "I'll be fine until the doc has a click to look at it. I'm not used to other bots working on my helm and I'd rather have Ratchet work on it. If something goes wrong, it could mess up some files that I have saved up there."

Files? I was curious about what kind of files Zarron could be worried about losing but it seemed like I was the only one as Bulkhead jumped in the conversation. "Don't worry Zarron. 'Jackie's a pro at fixing up bots...for not being a medic. He's fixed up my comm system more times than I can count."

Springer nodded at that. "Mine too. I bumped into Wheeljack a few times out on the battlefield and he patched up my comms and they still work perfectly find this solar."

It was strange, but Zarron almost looked like he was being backed into a corner. Across his optics, I could almost see an internal debate going on to determine whether he should still try and fight or just give in and let Wheeljack work on him. Ratchet was still working on Bulkhead and not having your comm in proper working order would not be good for him. But, given with how Zarron had been acting so far, I was sure that he would refuse Wheeljack's offer and wait for Ratchet to finish patching up Bulkhead before,

"Fine." ...Say what? I could barely believe it when I heard that short and strained response come out of Zarron's vocals. It seemed like everybot else was too, besides Wheeljack, before Zarron continued. "However, I reserve the right to have you stop working at any time. I will take full responsibility for any damage that comes from stopping abruptly if that happens. Is that understood?" Zarron seemed nervous but I was still surprised that the mech was letting Wheeljack work on him in the first place.

"You got it." Wheeljack replied, with the necessary tools already in servos, before he started work on Zarron.

"What do you think the Decepticons were doing out there?" Chromia asked, bringing us all back to the subject of importance for the given click. The Decepticons were there in Russia for a reason. Also,

"More importantly," Blaster added, "why did they leave you two there when they had you in a pretty good spot for them."

And...Fowler!

…

…

…..

Oh frag. Please not again! Please! This wasn't like the other things that might be able to be fixed in the long run. Without the Autobots saving Breakdown, events in this dimension would turn to a point where so many things could go wrong in the future that could not! We needed Breakdown online for now, and away from MECH so he could be offlined by Airachnid when she finally broke away from the Decepticons. Then, MECH would find his chassis and use it to resurrect their almost-dead leader. that would bring project Damocles into focus and show the importance of the human factor in all of this.

Yes, it sounded strange, but I needed Breakdown to get away online now so he could die later. It was due to him that Airachnid is exiled onto Cybertron...well, indirectly through his offline chassis and her being infected and going after Soundwave...but still. It would be a step for the Autobot movement to get Cybertron...what they needed to get by the end of all this. It would be very touch and go if Breakdown were to be kept by MECH and somebot else on the Decepticon side offlined due to this change.

Lastly, we could not let MECH have access to Breakdown's technology and biology. With the little information they already had, they could take down a Cybertronian with relative ease. If they were allowed too much time with Breakdown's chassis, then MECH could grow even more powerful than before and they might just become that third element that would throw everything into jeopardy.

Vox...well, since he wasn't a part of the original timeline I wasn't so worried about him. Honestly, if he was out of the way, that would be one less bot who could mess things up. However, I wouldn't want MECH getting his tech either so I would need to get him back.

"Um...Paul, should we be saying anything?" Miko asked me with a nudge.

I focused back to reality and noticed that most of the bots had gone off already, except for Ratchet, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Zarron. While I wanted to say something…anything to get the Autobots to go find Breakdown, I knew that I couldn't. "Miko, we can't. If we try and tell the Autobots that MECH currently has Breakdown as a prisoner, then they will want to know how we know that. The Autobots can not know of my true identity at this time. No matter the cost. We just have to hope that the Decepticons will come around and rescue their own."

She looked like she was thinking about that for a few seconds before she responded. "But Paul, these are the Decepticons. What are the odds that they are going to go and save them?"

While I wanted to encourage her, let her know that things would be alright, I couldn't give her false hope like that. "Honestly Miko...not good." I then turned forward and looked to where Ratchet was just finishing up Bulkhead and Wheeljack was still looking at Zarron before sighing. "Not good at all."

Lizzie's 1st P.O.V.

I was nervous. True, I had passed my final test and was a fully fledged member of the Decepticons. I even had my insignia tattooed on my neck. No, that wasn't the problem at all. No, this nervousness was due to something not as serious.

Currently, I was on the bridge with Soundwave working on decoding more of the Praxian database. Ever since that first day when I started to work under Soundwave and Shockwave, we had been constantly working on the database, decoding the coordinates that were here on Earth that held the location of the many relics that used to be in Praxus. However, we were not going after the coordinates right away. Lord Megatron informed us that he wanted us to have at least seven of the coordinates decoded and strategized for before we went after the relics.

So, if I was fine and in the clear, for now, then why was I nervous? Well, there were two factors that were causing me to be nervous. One of those was that Lord Megatron was in the room watching Soundwave and me work on the database. I always got nervous when someone who wasn't working on the same thing that I was watched me work. I felt like I was being judged on each move I made and, given that being judged on the Nemesis was a big thing, then I felt like my life was on the line...even though it wasn't.

The second thing that was making me nervous was one of the bots currently on the bridge with me. Out of the bots on the bridge, which included Lord Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream, Blitzwing, Skyquake, and Astrotrain, it was the final bot in that list that was making me nervous. It started before I had even earned my place among the Decepticons. Astrotrain had always made it known that he didn't like that I was here on the Nemesis. When I became a fully-fledged member of the Decepticons, that hatred became even worse...if that could be believed.

I knew that he wanted me off the ship and, normally, I wouldn't be so worried about that. But, I knew that events were about to happen that would give Astrotrain the leverage he needed to mess me up. The reason that I knew that these events were coming up was due to being on the bridge when Lord Megatron had ordered Breakdown and Vox to go the the Comp Chakna peninsula to scout for a possible energon mine. That had been about an hour ago and, with no word from them for a pick up so far, that meant that this was probably Operation: Breakdown and Vox and Breakdown were now captured by MECH.

And, while I knew I could convince Lord Megatron of the need to rescue the two bots from MECH, I knew that Astrotrain would make a stink about rescuing them and I had to make sure that I debated him with logic without letting my own personal feelings get in the way of the logic. If I did, then Lord Megatron might not agree with me simply because I allowed my emotions to get in the way of presenting a logical argument. I had to be careful.

When the doors opened, I looked and knew that, as Berg walked in with a worried look on his faceplate, that my worry was about to be placed on the front lines and I was going to have to make sure that it didn't come true. "My Lord, permission to report."

"Permission granted Berg." Lord Megatron responded, causing the others in the room to look toward the drone.

Berg didn't seem to be nervous as he started to give his report. "My Lord, the contingent of drones that were placed under me to keep an optic on the human organization known as MECH has come across footage of them attacking Vox and Breakdown. From the footage that we were able to obtain, the group has captured Vox and Breakdown. We have tracked the humans to their base of operations in the area where they are holding Vox and Breakdown."

The room stayed quiet for a few clicks before Lord Megatron nodded, "Very well Berg. Thank you. You are dismissed." Well, I guess Lord Megatron was becoming a more caring leader, given as he thanked the drone. It surprised me but I was glad for it. This meant that going against Paul continued to be a better idea than it was when I first did it. Also, it gave me hope that things were only going to get better being with the Decepticons. If I had a way to show them the truth about me, and they continued on this path to being a more worthy faction, then maybe I would let them know everything about me and why I was here. I hadn't had to lie to them yet, but the truth had been stretched pretty thin that I had to be careful on that too.

Again, the room stayed quiet once Berg left for a few clicks and I could tell, with a quick glance around the room, that everybot was thinking about the information and situation that Berg had just presented us. I already knew what we had to do but I couldn't be the first to react. This was too soon for most to have gone through the information that was given and have a plausible response. Well, at least for an intelligence agent such as myself to work with. I doubted that it would be Soundwave responding first either.

And, I was right. However, I wasn't thrilled at the bot that it ended up being. "We should just leave those useless pieces of scrap to the humans."

"Jou idiot! Zhey are our comrades!" Blitzwing interjected. Go Blitzwing! Keep showing why you are my favorite bot ever!

"If they were weak enough to be captured by the humans, then they deserve whatever fate they will have. We don't have the resources to waste in rescuing them." Astrotrain answered in a very disdain-filled voice.

Lord Megatron looked neutral on the suggestion made by Astrotrain and I had a feeling that he was waiting for one of us to speak up, either in support or opposition of Astrotrain's idea. Since I knew that I needed to have more ground to stand on, and getting one up on Astrotrain would be killing two birds with one stone, then I knew that I should respond now before anyone else could.

"Unfortunately Astrotrain, I must say that your analysis of the situation is highly underdeveloped and poorly thought out." I responded to Astrotrain.

He, in turn, glared at me, I was guessing for daring to go against his idea. "I don't see any advantages in rescuing those idiots from the human organization that took them. Humans are not worth the time to deal with and if those two were weak enough to be captured by them, then we should just forget that they were a part of us. They sealed their own fate."

I shook my head at Astrotrain's pompous response. "Astrotrain, that is a very narrow ill-logical way of looking at this situation." I then turned to Lord Megatron. "Lord Megatron, may I explain to Astrotrain why the requisition of our troops from MECH would be beneficial?" I was pretty sure I worded that right. I wasn't saying that Lord Megatron didn't already know the benefit but I still got to take a crack at the triple-changing idiot in front of me.

Our Lord looked to me and seemed to study me for a click before he nodded. "What is your argument for rescuing them Lizzie? I am assuming that you wish for us to rescue Vox and Breakdown."

"Yes, my Lord." I responded to his own question about my side on the issue before I turned to Astrotrain. "First off, if you have bothered to read the reports that Berg and his team have sent to all officers, then you would see that MECH, ever since the encounter that they faced with the Autobots, have been able to access enough technology to even take down a bot about your size with relative ease and simplicity. It is not so farfetched to assume that Vox and Breakdown are not weak for being captured by this group who knows about our kind...even if that is through our enemies." I then paused. "Secondly, it would be more of a waste of our energon and other resources to not rescue Breakdown and Vox then to rescue them."

"What do you mean?" Astrotrain questioned that last statement. I could tell that, so far, I had made my point decently alright. But, I had to make sure that I covered all that I could so the odds of a counter-argument were slim to none.

So, I continued. "What I mean is exactly what I said. Vox is one of our intelligence agents and we seem to have a decent number of those, true. However, unlike some of our intelligence agents, and others on this ship," mainly Soundwave and me since we were rarely in battle along with the medics most of the time, "both Vox and Breakdown have value on the battlefield. Breakdown more than Vox but Vox still has inherent value on the battlefield. If we take a look at our numbers including Vox and Breakdown, but not the drones since they still need training, and compare that to the battle-functioning Autobots, we can see that, as it stands, our numbers are numerically a few under that of the Autobots. Without Breakdown and Vox, that difference will play more of a part in our long-term battle and the amount of resources we use on repairs and failed battles will be more significant than the few resources that we use in retrieving Vox and Breakdown. Plus, if we allow our enemies to gain access to our higher advanced technology and Cybertronian biology, then that would be placing an advantage into our enemy's lap without fighting back against it."

Of course, Astrotrain wasn't finished yet. "It would be worth the loss. Vox and Breakdown have insulted the honor of Lord Megatron and the Decepticons. Taking them back would be an even greater insult to our Lord and the Decepticon cause." Also, I was waiting for that argument. It had to come up eventually, given how he was reacting. I knew that it would be coming and I knew why. When losing the battle, stoke the judge's ego.

However, Astrotrain wasn't the only one who could play that game and I knew I could play it better. "It would be an even greater insult to our Lord and our cause if we do not rescue Vox and Breakdown. These humans have impetuously and brazenly attacked our Lord and the Decepticon cause by attacking Vox and Breakdown. If we do not rescue them, what message does that give others about our leader and our cause? It would show that we are weak and that we do not are if those who make themselves and enemy of us steal from us and use our own resources against us. We must rescue Vos and Breakdown and make it known that the Decepticons will not idly stand by when we attacked. If Lord Megatron allows it, we must make them suffer for enacting this offence against us."

I think I was more impressed that I didn't allow my emotions to take over my response until Astrotrain gave me a logical opening to do so than I was that I probably handed Astrotrain his aft when arguing against him. Yep. Definitely more impressed about controlling my emotions.

When I looked to Lord Megatron, I could almost swear that I saw a glimmer of a mischievous look cross his optics before he responded. "Very well argued Lizzie. The Decepticons will not idly stand by and do nothing against this insult that these humans have enacted against us. We will launch a mission to retrieve both Breakdown and Vox while teaching these humans that we will not take any insult in any form." He then paused and I felt my heart freeze in worry when I saw a quick flash of a smirk appear on Lord Megatron's faceplate. "And who better to lead our ground troops than our newest strategist who is very acclimated to the workings of this planet."

...Say what?

"My...my Lord, I thought we were keeping my identity a secret? If I lead the troops on the ground, security cameras might catch an image of my face and then the Autobots will realize that I am more than just the prisoner they assume I am. It would remove a stressor from the Autobots that we need to keep a hold of the mental advantage on the battlefield should other methods fail." I wasn't an idiot. I knew that use of my unknown status with the Autobots was a large advantage for we Decepticons and if that advantage was leaked, then we could lose a lot of ground and it would make strategizing that much harder in the future.

"What's the matter human? Scared?" I shot a hard glare toward Astrotrain for that mocking comment. I was not scared. I was thinking with a strategic mind and, with the information I had, this would be a very poor choice. However. I. Was. Not. Scared.

Instead of saying anything, however, I ignored the figurative bait that Astrotrain was dangling in front of my face and awaited for Lord Megatron to respond. With a knowing look, my leader did. "Of course Lizzie. We take advantage of the Autobots thinking that you are a prisoner to its greatest. However, I have had Shockwave, Hook, and Knockout working on a little project to make more use of your smaller stature on the battlefield. Shockwave, if you would."

"Yes, my Lord." I jumped when Shockwave's voice suddenly sounded and I turned to see Shockwave standing in front of the doors of the bridge. He must have come in during my arguing with Astrotrain earlier. That was the only time that I was not completely aware of my surroundings. But, that wasn't important. What the frag was going on? "Not long ago, Lord Megatron approached me with the request to work on a project that would help you, Lizzie, be more effective on the battlefield. With the help of Hook and Knockout, we were able to complete Project Scrapmetal." He then seemed to reach into his subspace and took out what looked like a hi-tech battle suit.

"So we give the human a plastic suit and all of the sudden she is battle-ready?" Astrotrain asked with an annoying tone before he scoffed. "Please." He then shook his helm.

However, Shockwave was ready with a response immediately. "This is not plastic. It is made with a fusion of elements found from Earth and Cybertron." He then handed the suit down to me and I started to put it on. "The Scrapmetal armor is thin and light, not adding any weight to Lizzie's load and making it feel like a second protoform...skin in Lizzie's biological terminology. Compartments on the side of her thighs come equipped with one dagger and one plasma blaster. This armor has been tested to withstand shots from even my own cannon without disintegrating. The shape of the armor is gender neutral so she will not even be able to be recognized as a femme of her species on sight." Well, that worked.

"What about my voice Shockwave?" I asked as I studied the helmet that came with the armor. It did not pass my surprise that this helmet, with a very large visor that was similar to Soundwave's, resembled the mark of the Decepticon faction that was currently tattooed on my neck.

As I put on the helmet, Shockwave continued. "The helmet has a few modifications that will allow for smooth performance on the battlefield. One feature is a comm unit of its own for simple communication between Lizzie and the other Decepticons. The visor itself, while black opaque on our side, will allow Lizzie clear visibility around her and even has sensors built in for detecting objects in her surroundings and, if she needs, can scan the objects to show how they work and allow Lizzie to gain access to data that needs accessed. As for her voice, the helmet also comes equipped with a vocal modulator that will disguise Lizzie's voice as being gender neutral, again detracting from any identifying features that may be used against her."

Well, there went my only argument for going against this plan and so there was only one thing to say. "My Lord, I would be honored to lead our troops in rescuing Vox and Breakdown. I will need to speak with Berg to access floor plans of the facility where MECH has taken our comrades. I will not fail in this." The vocal modulator, to my happiness, did not take away emotion from my voice. So, I could hear the fervor in my own words. "This I swear."

Breakdown's 1st P.O.V.

I growled as I struggled against the chains that were confining me to this...operation table that the humans had constructed. When I had come to, the human that was in charge of the organization called MECH, Silas, had come out of a doorway to my left and walked onto a platform. He looked smug and I had returned to look with a glare before demanding that they release us and I would let them live. Vox was still unconscious.

When the man Silas had said that we were too valuable to release, I thought he was talking about a ransom. Lord Megatron wouldn't pay a ransom. If he could use the right strategy, he would just come and take us from these human scum. But, if not, then I would be glad to sacrifice myself for the good of the Decepticon cause as I knew Vox would.

However, the human had seemed amused by my response and stated that his organization was not looking for a ransom and that he just wanted Vox and me...all of us. Even though I wasn't an egghead, it didn't take my mind long to connect the fact that Silas wanted us for our parts...he wanted to dissect us. I struggled even harder against my restraints while this human described how he was going to tear us apart and 'see what made us tick'.

When Silas came down to stand next to my chassis, I didn't hesitate in informing the scum that he was making a big mistake and, once I got out of these restraints, they would be scraping the puddle of goo that was left after him off the floor. He then decided that, since I wasn't squeamish, that I would watch them tear me apart. I panicked and pulled at my restraints more as the masked operative brought the drill closer to my faceplate...and to my optic. I could stop them as they started to drill around it. Thankfully, working as Knockout's assistant has taught me some tricks and I was able to put myself into temporary stasis after that.

Now, I had just woken up and watched as one of the masked troops ran up to the scum Silas and seemed to whisper something. While he did, I took in what damage these humans had done. From diagnostics of my faceplate area, I was missing my right optic...but they had started with that. A glance at my chest plate showed no visible damage so I had a feeling that they had just opened it up. Guess I was a tougher bot to crack open then they thought.

"It seems a situation has arose and I must go and deal with this." Silas started to speak, presumably to me. "Make yourself comfortable while I am gone." A growl slipped my vocals as he left the room with the rest of the humans. So, it was just Vox and I left in this Pit of a room.

Glancing at the intelligence officer next to me, who seemed to still be unconscious, I was sure I was relieved that they hadn't done much with him. His left arm was disconnected but, from with my work with Knockout, and since I could see said arm on the floor next to the mech, I knew that it could be reconnected fairly simple by one of the docs when we got back to the Nemesis. But, we had to get out of here first! So, I started to pull at the bindings again.

"They aren't going to budge." I flinched slightly when I heard Vox's voice suddenly sound. I thought he was unconscious. "While the metal is inferior, the humans have placed these shackles tight enough against our wrists and and legs that we can't build enough mobility to snap the metal. If we could reach that control panel up there, then we could open the shackles. Until then though, we are pretty much stuck."

"This sucks." I grumbled before asking, "When did you wake up?" I had a feeling that he had been up for a while.

It didn't take the the mech long to answer me. "They were just finishing up with your faceplate. I just felt like, if we could get out of these bonds, you might need help getting out so we could contact the Nemesis." He then paused. "How are you feeling? I can't tell what they did to you but I bet it isn't comfortable."

I shrugged the best I could given the circumstances before saying, "I'm pretty sure they took out my right optic. But, it doesn't hurt since they turned off my pain receptors. I am pretty sure I don't want it back."

He looked like he wanted to respond to that but the sound of an explosion outside caused him to hold his glossa for a click before asking, "What is going on out there? Sounds like a battlefield."

The noise of battle made one answer click and stay in my processor. "I think it's a rescue team." Yes! That meant that we were getting out of here.

However, Vox then spoke and made me question that. "But, is it the Decepticons or the Autobots. I know that we have a task force that keeps up with MECH and it could be us. However, the Autobots have connections with the human government, who probably have information on MECH as well. Are we ready to have to owe the Autobots any favors? Or, if it is the Autobots, they could take us prisoner and try to take valuable information from us."

Well scrap. I didn't think that it could be the Autobots. This might not turn out so good for us if it is them. Maybe we could make a break for it after the Autobots broke us out...if it was them. Unfortunately the odds were fifty-fifty and, given the current situation, I wasn't exactly overflowing with luck.

The sound of thumps around the area of the door that human Silas left from caused both of us to look in that direction. That didn't sound right. If it was an Autobot or Decepticon, they would be too small to go in that area and, even if they did, it would sound louder. A lot louder. That almost sounded like a human fighting something human sized. I would think that it could be Rumble or Frenzy...or both, if Soundwave wasn't so adamant about them not being near battle. When they helped out on Rudulf Island, that was even cutting it close and they were miles away. So, did that mean that it was the Autobots' human allies?

A figure suddenly walking in caused me to lean a lot toward the Autobot side of things. This human was wearing a suit that didn't match with what MECH was wearing earlier so it wasn't with them. Plus, the only human with the Decepticons, Lizzie, didn't have anything like that and, without that, was confined to the ship. Maybe making her a suit would be a good idea? So, since those two options were out, that left the final option; the Autobots.

But, something about this human's suit was throwing me off so I wasn't positive on anything.

"What are you doing in here human?" Vox asked the figure as they stopped at the bars and seemed to look down at us for a click.

When the human responded, I still couldn't tell even what gender they were by the voice. "Well, I am breaking the two of you out." The human then turned and started to mess with the control panel.

Well, I wasn't going to complain but I was nervous. If this human was with the Autobots, then we would be in debt to a human with the Autobots. Maybe if we got the human out of here, that would make us square. "Why are you helping us? Did the Autobots send you?" Vox asked as the restraints were withdrawn from our chassis.

As we stood, the human walked up to the railing and paused before speaking. "Well, I am the Coordinator and, being a fellow Decepticon, I should help get you mechs out of the mess."

Wait...that was Lizzie!? "How?...I mean...you're here…" I couldn't form a sentence as I stared at the human...who we now knew as Lizzie...in front of us.

Vox moved to pick her up and, after she got on his servo and we started to move down the tunnel behind us, she started to answer my garble. "Well, the how was quite simple. After planning out how to best infiltrate this facility, I had Soundwave groundbridge me to an entrance that I could use. With the rest of the rescue operation causing a large enough distraction outside, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to sneak in here. With the training that you all have been giving me, taking out the guards in front of the door was pretty simple. You know the rest."

"Your voice sounds weird with the modulator." Vox commented as we continued down the hall.

She shrugged in return. "Eh, can't help it. But, it keeps me safe from prying ears and the suit helps with the eyes." She then looked at the two of us, and more pointedly, at my missing optic and Vox's arm that he was carrying, before she spoke. "Are you two in pain?"

The sound in her voice, while modulated, still brought out the worry that she was feeling so I was glad that I could answer her positively. "Those twisted humans at least turned off my pain receptors before they did this." I answered.

Vox, thankfully, nodded. "Same here. Wasn't too thrilled about being captured but all things considered, it could have been worse for us all things considered...even counting Breakdown's optic."

Yeah, I could agree with that. Losing my optic sucked but, since the humans had made it known that we were going to offline at their fleshy servos, then I was alright with this. "Okay as much fun as story time is, we are going to be coming out onto the battlefield." Lizzie started, "When we get out of here, Soundwave will be waiting to groundbridge us back to the Nemesis. Knockout and Hook will be waiting to bring us to med bay. Once I get the information about what all MECH messed with, I will go and report to Lord Megatron. The others are ordered to retreat once we get through the bridge."

I wanted to ask a question about how this was all supposed to go down when we reached the end of the tunnel, of which the door was already blown apart, and I stepped outside and saw. "Well, I guess that's a good rescue party." Vox commented as we looked around.

Lizzie, at first glance, seemed to go overboard with this plan. I was counting seven of the higher-command here fighting these humans and they were Astrotrain, though he didn't look thrilled about being here, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Skyquake, Shockwave, Blitzwing, and Starscream to round them out. So I decided to ask her about it while we waited for the bridge. "Coordinator, why did you plan for so many of our higher-command to come?" I asked. It really seemed like overkill and a waste of our resources.

She laughed, which still sounded weird with the modulator, before she answered me quickly. "Show of power. MECH insulted the Decepticons and our might. I wanted to return the favor. Just," She cut herself off with a yell and I had to move to catch her when she was struck with a projectile and started to fall from Vox's servo. Once I brought her up to my height, and the bridge happened to open, she looked at where she was hit and sighed in relief. "Thank everything that Shockwave did a good job with this armor. I'm pretty sure I would have a huge hole in my stomach right now without it."

I just shook my helm and, with Vox's support, walked through the bridge. I did owe my spark to a warrior now. It wasn't to an Autobot, or even a Cybertronian. To my surprise, I owed it to this human Decepticon. She had planned our rescue and had actively taken part in making sure that Vox and I were retrieved.

Even though she didn't say it, I knew that I owed her. I owed her big time. While for a fraction of a nano-click it stung my pride that I had to owe a human, even a human Decepticon, a favor, I quickly got that thought out of my helm. Lizzie had proved herself many times and, from training with her, I knew that she wasn't as weak as her human body showed. If she wasn't human...well…

I pulled myself out of my thoughts when we got onto the Nemesis to Hook and Knockout waiting to help us to med bay.

Rumble: Okay, something happened.

Authoress: *sighs* I already said that I lost over half of the writing and had to re-write it.

Frenzy: *nods* We know. I think you missed a part that included us when you rewrote this.

Rumble: *nods* Yeah, that's right. Where are we at? We are important to all of this! I mean Astrotrain got more time than we did.

Authoress: *calming motion* Don't worry you two. You had to be off screen this time for a very important reason.

Frenzy: *curious* What?

Authoress: *dark smirk* You two have been working on getting your revenge on Lizzie for pranking you all.

Frenzy and Rumble: *dark smirks* That's right!

AN: And here is the next exciting chapter to this story! Hope you all liked it! I thought I would have fun and have Vox there as well as Breakdown. But don't worry. The arm isn't permanently gone. He did bring it back to be put back on so Vox won't have the permanent loss that Breakdown has. Secondly, it seems Paul has now been able to show Miko just how much their hands are tied in certain situations. Plus, Paul seems surprised by Zarron at every turn. Will he ever figure out that two-wheeler? Then, we jump to the Nemesis and we get to finally see some of the tension between Lizzie and Astrotrain first servo...hand. Wow, that is a lot of tension. Hopefully, that doesn't come back to bite her in the aft...or him. XD

Also, we got to learn what Project Scrapmetal was! I figured that Megatron would not want Lizzie just lazing on the ship and I had to make a way to get her off without revealing what she was to the Autobots. Yes, Lizzie is the only human on the ship, but the Autobots don't know if there are any other aliens on the ship that look humanoid. The Decepticons do have alliances with other races in this war and the Autobot know this. Paul even knows this so if he should see the footage, especially with the gender-neutral armor, he won't assume it is Lizzie. Aspects of what happened off-screen (not written) about this mission may be brought up later and it will be exciting to see where this all goes. Also, at the end there, she got hit with a large caliber bullet (don't ask me what kind. It is just a plot devise) to show that the armor is strong enough to go into battle and Lizzie won't be hurt. How will this change the future?

Well, that was all for now. Next chapter, which was originally Crisscross, is going to see Lizzie's world will soon become a lot more stressful, some Autobot tensions with how the chapter plays out, and a lot of exciting moments!...maybe?...hopefully?...probably?...Yeah we'll go with probably. XD

Well, that's all of the sneak peek and recap stuff for now. Here are the names of the next chapters. In italics, I have put the name of the episode that the chapters are following. Of course, that might not tell you much about what is to happen...or maybe it will. You will have to stick around to find out!

Chapter 17: There will be Dark Times Crisscross

Chapter 18: The Itsy Bitsy Spider Metal Attraction

Chapter 19:...Find out next time!

Well, that's all for now. Send a review, say hi, maybe some chocolate...well, maybe not the last part. I do like hearing from you so if you don't have the chocolate I guess I'll live. Until next time though, TTYL! *singing about playing chicken with the train*