Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.


Authoress: *chuckles weakly* Look...not as long as a wait as last time...

Megatron: *optic ridge twitches* Just under five months is not exactly a large improvement to that Authoress.

Authoress: *cries* I'm trying! But, it's difficult!

Megatron: *emotionless* That is no excuse.

Authoress: *eyes widen*


Chapter 6: Exit with Caution

Jazz's 1st P.O.V.

Three solar cycles. That was how long Dunce had been in Decepticon servos and I still hadn't figured out where they took my friend. I had hoped that the Decepticons would attack us after taking him, to taunt us. But, they had been unusually quiet. My processor was spinning with all of the different ways they could be using that time to hurt Dunce.

We needed to get him back. That was not negotiable. I didn't care what S.P. had to say about it. But, thinking on Sentinel, it was weird how he was reacting to Dunce being taken. The mech, who normally didn't seem to care about Dunce unless the mech wasn't doing his job to Sentinel's standards, seemed almost paranoid about getting Dunce back. It didn't fit in with how Sentinel normally acted, and the others that I trusted had picked up on that as well.

So, to fill the time that I couldn't be using to get to Dunce, I had worked on my other investigation into my friend; his past, and why he was the way he was. While that was getting me some information, I hadn't been able to dig up as much as I needed to yet. All I had found in the records was that the mech was actually from Kaon. It was quite a shock to me to find out that nervous and kind Dunce was from Kaon, which used to be the center of fighting strength.

"Hey Jazz," I turned to see Bumblebee and Blurr walking up to me from the exit of the warehouse. "Blurr and I are going racing; want to join us?"

While that sounded fun, I was expecting a call to help me get more information on Dunce's past. But, I didn't want Bumblebee to know that. "Sorry 'Bee, monitor duty. Maybe another time?" Hopefully, he would just accept that and go.

Thankfully, Bumblebee just shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you say Jazz." He then transformed and left before Blurr followed after him.

Their departure left the room almost empty. There were only two other bots here, and something told me that I was going to have to explain myself to them.

"You aren't on monitor duty Jazz," Templar said as he motioned between himself and Prowl. "We are. What are you up to?"

I looked between the two of them before I motioned to the monitor. "I'm hoping to get a call from Cybertron and I want to be here to get it."

"Who from?" Prowl seemed more curious than normal when he asked that.

Before I could answer him, the console beeped. This had to be the call that I was waiting for. "You'll see if this came through," I answered as I answered the hail.

Not too long later, a yellow-green feme appeared on the screen. I didn't recognize the femme and she was not the one that I was expecting a call from. "Excuse me, miss…?"

"Balm."

"Balm, could you connect me to Plena Teo?"

While I could see the look of confusion at the name on Prowl's faceplate, it was easy to read that Templar was more than surprised at who I was trying to get a hold of. But, from what little I had found out, this was the mech to call for answers on Dunce.

"He's just in the other room," Balm answered before she started to move away from the screen. "Just give me a click to get him. We didn't expect the call to go through this quickly."

Once she was out of sight, Prowl and Templar turned to me. "Who is Plena Teo?" Prowl asked me.

"I've been doing some digging, and Plena Teo raised Dunce after his creators went offline," I answered Prowl.

What I was not expecting was for Templar to jump in with more information. "Really? I've heard of Plena Teo before, but I didn't realize he raised Dunce. Though knowing that he did explains a few things." If I wanted that point explained, I would have been disappointed when Templar continued. "Templar was highly known all over Cybertron near the end of the Golden Age for his training in warriors for the different gladiator arenas. He trained some of the fiercest fighters on both sides. Not a neutral any bot should take lightly."

Before he could explain more, movement on the screen caused us all to look to see a short mech walking closer. I would bet my last credit that the mech was even shorter than Bumblebee...though maybe not by much. He had to be older than Ratchet, given what the records had on him, but he didn't look much older than O.P. How did the mech pull that off?

"You must be Jazz," Plena Teo started as he motioned to me. "I've heard that you've been asking a lot of questions about Dunec lately. I'm only going to assume that you have contacted me to do the same."

How did he know who I was? I had only contacted a few bots on Cybertron, and they had said they wouldn't tell anybot that I was asking around. So, either somebot had spilled, or Plena Teo kept tabs on calls. "Yes, I did. I was wondering if you could tell me about Dunce's past?"

Plena Teo stood quietly for a few clicks before saying, "I normally don't talk about Dunce with bots I don't know personally." Frag, was he not going to tell me? "But Dunce used to send home notes about his time with the Elite Guard and he held you in high regard."

"Wow, I never realized." I knew we were friends, but from how Plena Teo was talking Dunce seemed to look up to me. Even going as far as to tell his guardian about me. I needed to get Dunce back.

Plena Teo nodded. "Since Dunce cared about you so much, I'll tell you some of what I know." He then sat down. "Since you are Dunce's friend, I don't have to go into the tedious things. However, Dunce has a confusing past. Growing up, bots of all ages shunned him. Being the sort of mech he is, he took it to spark. If he was being shunned, then he was meant to be shunned. That has been Dunce's processor-set for all the stellars that I have known him. Sure, he'll try, but unless a bot shows him that they care about him first, then most times he is as skittish around them as usual."

"Most times?" Templar seemed to be studying Plena Teo intensely.

In return, Plena Teo seemed to study Templar right back while answering. "Yes, most times. I have only seen him keep trying with two bots before. But, those aren't my stories to tell. At least not over a commlink." He then turned to me and his optics seemed to bore into me. "But, I want to know why you are only asking about Dunce now? Something must have happened for you to not try and ask the mech himself. He always writes that you constantly try to find out 'things' about him." His optics narrowed. "Is he in trouble?"

While I was curious if Plena Teo knew what those things were, I found myself in another situation. Should I tell Plena Teo about my suspicions about the interactions between Dunce and Sentinel? Or about him being captured by the Decepticons? While I wanted to say both, I figured that it would be safest to tell him about Dunce's capture while we were on the comm. "Some things can't be said over the comm. But, I'm worried about Dunce because he has been he was captured by the Decepticons a few solar cycles ago."

The old mech's faceplate was unreadable as I waited for his reactions. Unfortunately, the mech seemed too good at hiding them. "I see," The old mech finally muttered before he suddenly turned much faster than I thought the old mech would be able to. "Balm! Pack your things! We are taking a trip!"

"Where?" I heard the femme from earlier, Balm, yell back to the mech.

"Earth!" Wait? Plena Teo was coming here? Before I could say anything about that, Plena Teo turned back to me. "Now, since the council and I aren't seeing optic to optic at the click, I won't be able to use the space bridges to get there. That will make our trip there a little longer than I would like. If I had to estimate it, I would say we will be there in thirty solar cycles since we cannot use the bridges. Of course, If I can get a ride for part of the trip with somebot else, we will be there sooner." He then grew a serious look. "Be ready for us."

Wait! I still had more questions. "Hang on, I have one more question." Plena Teo hesitated and motioned toward me. I assumed that I could ask my question and so I did. "What can you tell me about Dunce's creators?"

At that, Plena Teo seemed to freeze. What was wrong with asking about his creators? "Not now. I'll answer what I can for you when I get to Earth. Until then, keep Dunce safe." The call then ended.

… "What did I say?" I asked the others. Both of them shrugged their shoulders. Old bots; they were puzzles to me at times.

Templar, after a few clicks of silence between us, motioned to the monitor. "Jazz, Prowl; after our shift of monitor duty, would you like to join me on patrol? There is still much of the city that I haven't discovered yet and I would appreciate familiarizing myself with more of it."

Both of us nodded at that before Prowl spoke. "That will be fine. However, I have to report to Optimus and say that this Plena Teo and Balm are coming to Earth in thirty cycles."

I knew he had to, but since I was also going to talk about my worry about the relationship between Sentinel and Dunce with the mech, then I had to try and keep this information away from Sentinel. So, with a sigh, I spoke. "Fine. But, ask him not to tell S.P. for a while. I don't want him to know that plena Teo is coming until he has to. I want to see Sentinel's reaction."

Both Prowl and Templar had looks of understanding at that before they nodded. I had told them and Setophis my worries and suspicions about S.P., and the three had agreed that they would help me keep an optic on them. Of course, with Dunce captured by the Decepticons, it was a little hard to see their interactions. But, we would rescue Dunce and then the four of us could figure this out.

Until then though, I had to keep myself busy until Templar and Prowl were off of monitor duty. So, I sat on the couch and picked up the video game controller that Bumblebee left out. Maybe I could learn to play it a little. If I could learn how to do it, then I could show Dunce how to play once we freed the mech from the Decepticons.

Megatron's 1st P.O.V.

I shivered slightly as I sat on my throne. Starscream and I had been on patrol, speaking of our past fights with the Autobots, when it had started to rain. Even with us flying back to the base, we had become drenched with the cold liquid, and my chassis was only just now drying off. Even though we had bee back for thirty clicks by this point, it was still trying to warm up.

Of course, the talk we had made the rain worth it. We had been trying to remember if there had been any Autobots in the past that had shown similar traits that Dunce currently was. While none that we remembered were as severe as Dunce was, there were a servo-full of bots who we remembered were like him. These bots had been jumpier than most Autobots that we had come across. On the ones that offlined, our field medics noted that each had suffered long-term damage. Damage that could not have come from the current battlefield. Plus, the positions of most of the damage were not common targets of battle.

While I had always known that the Autobots were much darker than they tried to show, the talk with Starscream showed both of us that there was something that the Autobots were trying to keep hidden for a long time. And right now, Dunce was the key to that.

Speaking of the mech, while he was still nervous, Blitzwing's idea to talk with the mech had been a partial success to the point that the mech was currently trying to speak to Dunce again. I had not expected the talk to last long given how Dunce had acted during our conversation. Watching the two interact had shown me a little of Dunce's personality.

Of course, with Blitzwing leading the talk, it didn't surprise me how the talk ended.

Flashback.

I studied the monitor showing Dunce's cell as I waited for Blitzwing to arrive. The Autobot was currently laying on his berth, and while he was conscious, he didn't seem to be moving much. Must be deep in his thoughts. During the mech's time here, I had noticed that he seemed to be in his thoughts a lot. Seeing it made me want to ask the mech about it. But, Dunce had made it obvious that he did not yet trust me. I knew that it was going to take time to earn the mech's trust, but it was still frustrating that I could do so little now. I just had to hope that Blitzwing's idea would work.

The sound of pedesteps walking on the monitor told me that Blitzwing was about to arrive at the cells. This would be it. Almost as soon as I had heard the steps, Dunce had sat up from his laying position. Already, the mech seemed tense. This was not boding well for the talk that was about to come.

His tension seemed to grow as Blitzwing finally showed on the monitor, his seat in servo. This was not good. If Blitzwing could not calm down the mech, then this could make our gust even more reluctant to talk. Of course, if Dunce had heard anything about Blitzwing, then my soldier would have to work against his reputation.

"Hello. My name is Blitzving," Blitzwing started his introduction after he sat down. "You are Dunce, correct?" So far, Icy was in control and Dunce still seemed tense.

However, Dunce still seemed nervous as he nodded and answered, "Yes."

Blitzwing studied Dunce for a nano. "It is a pleasure to meet jou Dunce." Then, disaster happened. Blitzwing suddenly started to spin and I could see the tension on Dunce's faceplate build to a point that told me that he was nanos from panicking. Depending on which personality took over from Icy, and what they said, then this could push our efforts back even farther.

While seeing Random's black faceplate eased my worry slightly, I still stayed tense. Random often didn't use a filter when speaking and that might frighten Dunce. "Hiya Dunce. Vhat stiffie failed to mention is zhat zhere are zhree of us in our processor! Like an infinite sleepover!" He then let out one of his infamous laughs before continuing. "Zhe mech jou vere just talking to vas Icy. Jou probably von't meet Hothead zhough. He's a little grumpy all zhe time. And jou can call me Random!" He then let out some more laughs. Immediately, I looked to Dunce, ready to see the mech panicking. However, I felt my optics widen in shock at what happened next.

Laughter.

I had never heard the mech laugh, and yet here he was. Random's interruption and re-introduction had somehow opened the mech up and the mech was laughing. The mech had to struggle to take a few intakes, which only calmed him down slightly before he spoke. "It's...It's nice to meet you Random...and Blitzwing as a whole." He had grown a little nervous again at the end of that, but the fact that Random had been able to make the mech open up still had me reeling."

"Ve have to do zhe cha-cha sometime!" Random responded with a wide smile.

While that statement seemed to keep Dunce slightly nervous, it did not seem to cause him to grow any worse. Curious. "Random...how…?"

Random's smile fell slightly. "How vhat Dunce?"

"Never mind. It's...it's nothing."

"Now jou have to tell me!" Random whined and begged at the same time.

Dunce looked torn, and his nervousness seemed to waver at Random's tone. Finally, he asked what he was trying to before. "Random...how are you an officer?"

He thought that Blitzwing was an officer? While he was a part of my inner-circle, he did not hold rank officially. Most bots knew to listen to Blitzwing if they weren't an officer, and even some of my officers would take orders from him. But, Blitzwing had earned their respect without gaining rank. I had thought about given the meh a rank before, but now, with this situation, I was glad that I had not.

Random seemed to stare at Dunce for a nano before he let out one of his cackles. "Zhat...zhat is really funny Dunce!" He then laughed for a few more nanos, to the seeming confusion of our Autobot guest, before he continued. Dunce, I am not an officer! I'm just really good best buddies to zhe big bots!" He then let out some more laughs.

While this did not cause any more laughter to come from Dunce, the smile that did appear on the Autobots faceplate told me that he had relaxed again. It seemed that Blitzwing was right. Dunce was attaching to him much easier than he was to me, and easier than he probably would to anybot else. Even the other non-officers here would not be able to make quite the connection that Blitzwing was currently.

"That has to be hard at times." Wait...Dunce was initiating conversation, from the sounds of that sentence. This was more improvement than I had hoped for. "I can imagine how hard it is to live with all of the tension that is around." That...sounded like Dunce was fishing for something. Not something I would have guessed the mech would do. This was very interesting.

Random tilted his helm slightly. "It is not as bad as jou zhink little Autobot. It used to be quite nice before Megatron changed. After zhat, he used to be all 'I am going to rule zhe vorld vith an iron fist muahaha' vhen zhe fighting got bad on Cybertron during zhe Great Var. But, after ve all spent some time in zhe Trypticon prison, Megatron has gone back to his happy jolly self!" He then smiled widely at the end.

I, on the other servo, felt my optic ridge twitch slightly at that in annoyance. Blitzwing and I were going to have a...talk once he was done. A very long talk.

A glance at Dunce, though, caused me to tense. The mech was growing nervous again at an alarming rate. What the frag had he taken away from that to make him grow so nervous? Random had been doing an even better job than I had hoped for...and I couldn't figure out why Dunce was growing nervous.

"Why are you being so nice?" Dunce asked hesitantly. That...was not what I was expecting.

Blitzwing changing faceplates again caused Dunce to tense. Icy soon replaced Random, and that only caused Dunce to relax slightly. "Ve are nice bots Dunce, even with us being Decepticons. Jou should not believe everyzhing zhat jou hear."

Immediately, I could see the nervousness in Dunce increase so it did not surprise me when he snapped at the triple changer. "You're wrong!"

I went to connect to Blitzwing's comm when the mech in question stood up with a sigh. "My apologies Dunce. Please, forgive me. I vill let jou rest." He then picked up his seat before walking out.

End of Flashback.

I had figured that Dunce would eventually react poorly to Blitzwing's unrestrained way of talking. However, while he was comfortable, he had revealed more than I had been expecting...and that just caused me to have more questions. Dunce seemed to be especially nervous around officers, with the question that he asked Blitzwing focusing on that. So, while I suspected whatever happened to Dunce was inflicted by many Autobots, officers are some that Dunce is especially fearful of.

A snarl escaped my vocals before I could stop it. I was missing important information! Without it, I would keep going in the same circle that we were already. Small bits of information with no real progress. I needed answers! Slag it all!

"Megatron, are you alright?"

Turning, I saw Starscream studying me with careful optics. He must have heard me earlier. Letting out a vent, I nodded. "Yes, just frustrated. All we are getting so far are small bits of information. And most of those lead to even more questions."

"I understand how that can be frustrating." Both Starscream and I turned to the entrance of the room to see Lightning Bug. "But it is obvious that we have no choice in this course. Pushing Dunce for deeper information would in all likeliness push him further away from ever trusting us. It would destroy the hard work that Blitzwing, and Random especially, put into getting close to him." The insecticon's wings twitched slightly after that.

"Lightning Bug, Starscream; what has brought you here?" It was curious that they were both in here right now. They had been working on some training with each other only a cycle ago.

Starscream glanced at me. "I wanted to watch Blitzwing's talk with Dunce this solar. I know the mech has been the only one to get Dunce to open up. I wanted to see if I could find out why that was." He then turned to Lightning Bug. "But I thought that you were going to go fly in the storm that is coming to gather some energy."

Lightning Bug raised an optic ridge at that. "I still will. However, I wanted to ask what the guard details for Dunce will be this night cycle. Will we have a rotation detail? If so, when should I return so I may take my turn?"

"It won't be a worry Lightning Bug." I started. With how Dunce had been acting lately, I was positive we didn't have to worry about the mech escaping. "I do not think that Dunce will try to escape unless he is one hundred percent sure that he won't get caught. Trying to break out of that cell would wake somebot up and he would most likely get caught. So, I doubt that he will try."

The insecticon nodded in return. "Very well. Then I shall be leaving for my flight. I most likely will not return for the rest of the night cycle. This storm feels rather large and I'll have to isolate myself while I convert the lightning to energy." He then walked out of the room.

And with Starscream moving to join me next to the monitor, we continued to watch Blitzwing talk with Dunce. Hopefully, we could gain a little more information from the mech without so many questions in return.

Hopefully.

Dunce's 1st P.O.V.

I had to get out of here.

My helm was swimming with so many thoughts and questions that I couldn't focus as I laid on my berth. Every time Blitzwing came to visit, the mech would say something about the Autobots not being as honest as they seemed and more. At first, I was completely against any notion that the Autobots were wrong and not the side of good. I had been taught that for my entire existence. It couldn't be wrong.

But, scarily enough, as Blitzwing's visits increased, so did my doubt. Random, from the tales that he had told me, was quite the prankster and just liked to have fun and, more importantly, someone to have fun with him. That was not the image of the sadistic and sparkless monsters that I had grown up hearing about. Yet, that was what the Autobots taught. And not only was Blitzwing a Decepticon but close friends with their leaders.

These thoughts wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't want to believe that the Autobots could be wrong...but maybe the Decepticons weren't as evil as we thought. Or, maybe Blitzing was an exception to the rule. Yeah! That had to be it. Since Blitzwing was insane, he wasn't held to the basic Decepticon behavior.

You are not worthless.

I flinched and held my servos to my helm as those fragging words echoed in my helm, sounding the same as when the leader of the Decepticons had first spoken them to me. Why would he say that to me? It didn't make any sense! No matter how much I thought about it...it just didn't. He had to be wrong.

"Ugh, I need to get out of here," I groaned as I lightly banged my helm against my berth. "Primus, if you're out there, how about helping me out of this mess?" I then offlined my optics. "I'm scared...and confused...and I can't think while I am surrounded by the enemy. Please...help me."

Of course, there wasn't an answer and I was not expecting one. Though, it would have been nice if…

A loud bang echoing in the air around me caused me to jump to my pedes faster than even Blurr could have. Frag it! I had made my deity angry. Why did I have to do something stupid like that? First, I had spoken against Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, and now I was challenging Primus himself? I was going to offline from all of this.

When the lights flickered around me, I paused. Was this a Decepticon trick? Was it time for them to come and start interrogating me? When the door to the cell creaked open, I stared in shock. Was my luck finally looking up?

Slowly walking forward, I glanced down the hallways before moving forward. So far, so good. I could feel fear creeping into my systems. If I got caught...I had a feeling that I would be in serious trouble. If they caught me before I got away, then...I shivered as I pictured what might happen. However, this was a risk that I needed to take. Everything that I had ever believed was being tested and I had to get away. Back to my life...even if that included Sentinel and what he would do to me for this. It was what I knew...what I was used to.

I couldn't stay here.

So, I continued to walk out of the holding cells and I was relieved to see that Starscream was not on guard duty, which meant that everybot was asleep. But, that also meant that I had to be quiet in getting out. So, using my practice of sneaking past Sentinel...on the solars when I was late...I knew I could sneak away from the Decepticons. I had to. My spark depended on it.

After a few clicks of walking down tunnels, I found myself outside a cave and into the rain. At first, I shank away from the rain because of rumors I heard about it having acid inside of it. But, as I stuck my servo out again, I realized that it was not melting. Instead, the rain was quite cooling and somewhat relaxing. So, seeing that it was safe, I made my way out.

The cool rain bouncing off of my chassis caused me to shiver. While the cell that the Decepticons had kept me in hadn't been bad, it had lacked exposure to the outside….making the rain I was feeling constantly hitting my chassis shocking. But, as I stumbled through the darkness, I soon grew used to the rain.

I let out a gasp of shock as I slid and almost fell. While the rain stopped feeling strange, I needed to make sure to avoid as much mud as possible. Mud in my gears and seams would not feel so nice...especially once it dried. "Just...got to keep moving," I muttered to myself repeatedly as I continued forward. I had to get back to the Autobots.

As I walked, my thoughts went to Jazz. Hopefully, my friend would find me. I knew that Jazz was probably blaming himself for my capture and was also, more than likely worrying about me. I needed to get back, so he could see that I was alright. He would help me get my processor back on track from whatever the Decepticons did to me.

My pede slipping out from under me caused me to yelp out in shock. I couldn't stop myself as I slid down a hill. Mud, grass, twigs, and an assortment of leaves were sticking to me as my chassis slid against the earth below me. When my motion finally stopped, I struggled to get up. Not only did I feel weighed down by the mud in my seams, but I was also dealing with a lack of recharge. I had been so worried about the Decepticons coming into my cell while I recharged that I hadn't gone into recharge much during those solar cycles. Now, I was paying for that.

But, I had to keep moving. No matter how much I wanted to clean the mud off of me and fall into recharge, I had to keep moving. I couldn't let the Decepticons find me. I had to get home. "It's just a little mud, Dunce. You just need to get home," I encouraged myself before continuing forward.


Jazz: Authoress, if you have harmed Dunce, you will not be able to hide.

Authoress: *throws hands in the air* No matter where I go, I get death threats!

Jazz: It's not a threat,

Authoress: *hopeful*

Jazz: *narrows optics* It's a promise.

Authoress: *bangs head against table*


AN: And here is the next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this! I figured you all would appreciate a new chapter for this so here you are! Definitely had some interesting points in this chapter and, most importantly, Megatron went muahaha!

...

Just kidding. Most important is that Dunce escaped. We'll see how long that will last. I doubt the Decepticons will let him stay gone for long.

So, we will just have to find out next time! Until then, here are the names of the next chapters!

Chapter 7: Concern

Chapter 8: Back and There Again

Chapter 9: (find out next time!)

Well, that's all I have for now. Reviews would be great, but I do appreciate everyone who reads my stories! So, with that said, until next time, TTYL! *listening to song covers by Home Free*