Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.

Authoress: *stares at Megatron*

Megatron: *stares at Authoress*

Authoress: I'm not going to live through this...am I?

Megatron: *raises optic ridge* What do you think?

Authoress: *gulps*

Reviews:

Brittany: Thank you so much for the review! I know it has been a long time since I have updated, but I don't plan on giving up on this story. There is more to this story that needs to be told. How long it will be? Well, I'm honestly not sure. It depends if I connect it with one of my stories that are getting rewritten or not. I will be having a lot of stories that will be updated. I'll try not to stress myself up, but we'll see. I seem to do that a lot.

Chapter 8: Back and There Again

Dunce's 1st P.O.V.

I groaned as my systems came online. What the frag happened? My joints were sore in places that I didn't even know existed…and that said a lot. I was very familiar with my chassis of course, given how much I had to repair it. But, it was necessary for me to do that. To repair myself. I wasn't worth the wasted materials and time that actual medics needed to use for bots who made a difference.

You are not worthless.

A flinch traveled through me as those words echoed into my helm once more. They weren't true. They weren't! I was worthless to the Autobots. I did nothing useful when it came to the warfront. Look what just happened! I couldn't make a dent against the Decepticons and I was captured. And then…I hesitated as I thought to my time with the Decepticons. Outside of my interaction with Megatron and a few clicks with Blitzwing, I wasn't scared. Honestly, even thinking about it made me realize that I had felt…safe.

No! I couldn't think like that! The Decepticons were the enemy and I would never be safe with any of them. I was an Autobot! I was a part of the great Autobot machine…

My spark beat raised when I realized what I had been doing before I lost consciousness. I had been escaping from the Decepticons! But, the berth beneath me didn't feel like the ground that I remembered slipping on. Did…was I recaptured? What would they do to me? I had escaped, and I bet they weren't too happy with that. This time, I doubted they would be as considerate as they were before. I was foolish. I showed I wasn't going to cooperate with them. That I am going to fight against them! But, I wasn't.

"Calm down young mech!" My optics snapped online at the somewhat familiar vocals hitting my audios. Taking in my bearings, I felt my spark beat start to lessen as I saw that I must be in the Autobot med bay. Ratchet was standing next to me with a datapad in his servos. "Easy there Dunce. You suffered some damage and you need to relax for a click." The medic continued to speak to me.

Frag it, I had wasted his time. But, I knew not to apologize. That would just cause questions and then Sentinel would beat me. A shiver of fear ran through my systems as I realized that he probably had something truly painful ready to remind me of how worthless I was.

You are not worthless.

I had to resist placing my servo against my helm as those fragging words repeated themselves to me again. However, I did feel myself flinch. Scrap, I had to divert Ratchet's questions before he asked something that Sentinel had forbidden me from answering. "How long was I out?" I settled on as I leaned back against the berth. Since I was already wasting his time, I would take this opportunity to relax for a nano.

The old medic typed a few things into his datapad before he answered me. "You've been out for about two solars at the least." He then plugged the datapad into the console before he continued. "None of your damage was too serious but I am going to restrict you to spending the rest of the solar out with Jazz when you aren't in here. Medics orders. Earth's atmosphere does wonders for our intakes and that will help your chassis relax. No strenuous work. Not even lobbing. Your temperature was lower than it should when the others brought you back so if you notice any significant drop, you are to contact me immediately. No questions asked. Is that clear?"

I gulped before nodding. I knew better than to get on the bad side of a medic. Well, I should know that is. My interactions with the Decepticons caused me to remember that I was slacking in my lessons. Speaking out of turn was just one of the sins that I had committed while I was there. "You're the doc." I barely remembered to respond vocally to Ratchet's question. I needed to remember.

Fear went through my systems again as I worried. Sentinel was sure to hear about my recovery and he was going to come for me. If I wasn't with Jazz, I wasn't sure what I would do. Jazz might stand against Sentinel, though I wished he wouldn't, but I didn't know Ratchet well enough. Plus, Sentinel outranked him. He could order Ratchet to leave us alone for a debriefing. I knew that there was a beating in my near future from him. If Sentinel had just roughed me up a little to teach me a lesson after I avoided Megatron during our first encounter, then I felt myself shiver slightly when I thought about what he might do to me after this.

"The only ones allowed in here until I realize you are Arcee and myself." I jumped when Ratchet suddenly said that. Slag, was I that easy to read? While I wanted to feel relief that Sentinel wouldn't be able to reprimand me yet, I needed to be careful. I couldn't reveal any of the lessons that Sentinel was giving me. If he did, I would be in a galaxy of trouble.

"Thank you, Ratchet sir," I thanked the medic. Respect the medic and thank them for using their useful time on somebot as useless as me.

You are not worthless.

This time, I was able to avoid any sort of reaction to the warlord's voice echoing that phrase in my helm. Why wouldn't his words just leave me alone?

"You're welcome, and none of that 'sir' stuff. Just Ratchet will be fine," He responded before removing the data pad. "Now, I have a report to give to Optimus about his last checkup. Stay in here as long as you want and nobot outside of Arcee will disturb you. And she should just be coming in to give you your energon. Contact Jazz if you wish to leave the room. He'll let me know so I don't worry about where you might have gone."

"Thank you si…Ratchet," Slag it, I almost screwed up! He asked me to not call him sir, and yet I had almost said it anyways! My lessons were slipping. I needed to get my helm straight after what happened. While these bots seemed alright with my mistakes, Sentinel would not be so forgiving as my teacher.

Once he was gone, I leaned my helm back and thought. Before I could stop my thoughts, they traveled to my stay with the Decepticons. Why had they treated me so…nice? It didn't make sense. It fragging didn't make sense at all! The Autobots had always told me that the Decepticons were the evil ones and that only the Autobots were stopping them from destroying everything and everybot. They would tear me apart the instant I let myself get captured by them.

But, the funny thing was, I felt like it was the exact opposite right now. I had felt safer when I had been in the Decepticon holding cell than I did right now. This wasn't right. I shouldn't feel this way! Something had to be wrong with me. It had to be. I wasn't supposed to think like this! Being an Autobots was what I was raised to be! It was what I was. I had to have something wrong with me.

My thoughts went quiet as I processed that.

You are not worthless.

Again, those fragging wors bounced around in my helm. But, they did get me to think Was there something truly wrong with me? When I thought about the time I had just spent with the Decepticons, I thought about Random and all of the things we talked about. We didn't talk about the Autobots, or anything about me really. He was just happy to talk to me about so many different things. We had even talked about the time he had painted himself in different colors just to see how he would look. There was even one solar he said he ran around completely pink. He was just having fun.

Now that I really thought about it, the Autobots didn't really have any bots like Blitzwing. But, outside of his personalities, he was just a regular mech. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there weren't really any Autobots that were different…unique. Was it just by chance, or were the Autobots against bots who were a little…different?

As these thoughts seemed to invade my helm, I also realized that the Decepticons seemed more relaxed than the Autobots. Frag, the scientist called Perceptor even took out his own emotional pathways for Primus' sake! What sort of beings would give up their emotions for a blasted war?

Shaking my helm, I refocused myself with a vent. These thoughts were so confusing. Not all the Autobots were nice. I really did know that. But, not all the Decepticons were evil. But, there were all the stories I had grown up with about what the Decepticons had done. Those stories seemed to fill my helm before I let out a groan.

Why was I so conflicted about this? It wasn't fair! All I wanted was for existence to make sense again, like it did before I was captured by the Decepticons. Maybe they really did do something? But, they didn't have much chance to do that. And, while this might be foolish, I didn't think that Blitzwing would allow them to do anything to me. Well, not Random at least. Maybe not Icy, though I wasn't sure. Hothead, him I still hadn't met yet and I was nervous to meet him.

Wait…why was I thinking that I would see them again? And why did it hurt to think that I might not see Blitzwing again? Coming back to the Autobots was supposed to set me back on the right track. Out of these thoughts. But, they weren't instead, everything seemed just to be more confusing. It didn't make sense anymore. It didn't make sense. Being back here, all I was thinking about was the Decepticons. Both what they had said and the actions that they had taken. I had…felt safe there. And I was feeling guilty for feeling like that.

The doors opening caused me to jump slightly as I sat up. However, I felt myself relax when I saw that it was just Arcee with my energon, just like Ratchet said. At first, I thought that it was Sentinel coming. I didn't want to see him. But, that thought alone felt wrong.

"Here is your cube of energon, Dunce," Arcee stated as she handed me the cube.

Gently, to not drop a single bit of it, I took the cube before saying, "Thank you, miss Arcee," After I took a few drinks, I set the cube down next to me and looked back at her. "Um…miss Arcee, what do you think about Optimus' team?" Maybe, hearing about the Prowl's team and how they were would help me with my thoughts.

She stared at me for a nano, and in that nano, I feared I had overstepped my bounds. But, in the next, she smiled. "First off, you can just call me Arcee, Dunce. No need to call me miss." I nodded, making sure I put that to memory. I would remember my lessons and not make any more mistakes like I almost had with Ratchet. "To answer your question, though, I think that they are some of the best Autobots that I know. They may not all be strong or fast, and maybe don't have much in the processor department at times…" She then smiled. "But they have courage, honor, and above all else, they are loyal to each other and those they care about. They saved me and for that, I am grateful to them." She then looked at me questioningly. "Why do you ask?"

I couldn't tell her what I was thinking. About these thoughts that most bots would think were treasonous. So, I forced a smile and answered simply. "No special reason. I just haven't spent much time with them yet and I wanted to hear what they were like." Well, it wasn't a lie. I did want to know what they were like. But, that wasn't why I asked her. "Thank you, Arcee." I felt a twinge of guilt through my spark when I said that. I had just lied to her. But, I couldn't tell her what I was thinking. I couldn't. How would she react? Maybe go straight to Sentinel and let him know that I was thinking about treason.

But I wasn't! As Arcee walked out, I let my thoughts wander again. I wasn't thinking about treason. I was a loyal Autobot. But, everything felt so confusing now. Honestly, I was hoping that she wouldn't have much to say when she answered. But, she did…and it made all of these thoughts that much more confusing. Both Autobots and Decepticons seemed to have both good and bad bots. I didn't know who to believe at the moment. It felt like everything that I knew was falling in around me.

I thought that being at the Autobot base, back around my fellow Autobots, would help me see reason. Help me see that the Decepticons had just been manipulating me. But, all the base was making me was confused. I couldn't think straight, and it hurt. I needed to get out of here. Ratchet did say that I could go outside if Jazz was with me. He wouldn't mind walking with me while I thought. Plus, Jazz didn't ask a lot of questions.

However, when I tried to think of different places where I would be safe that Sentinel would leave us alone at, I couldn't think of any. Each thought brought me back to the one place where I was safe and secure. But, that just caused me to feel more confusion. For, the one place that I felt both safe and secure…was the Decepticon base. Why? Why there? I couldn't answer that.

However, while I was there, I felt safe. It was the one place where I had felt accepted since before boot camp. Truly accepted. And that scared me. Why would the Decepticons feel safer to me? Was there something wrong with me? I really was worthless.

You are not worthless.

Shaking my helm to clear those words, I sat up and swung my pedes over the side of my berth. Something that would help me was some fresh air in my intake. And, Ratchet had said that I could call Jazz to walk around with me. So, I activated my comm. "Hey, Jazz,"

"Dunce! Are you okay? How are you feeling? Is there anything that I can do for you?" I smiled at Jazz's immediate response.

"Are you busy right now? I was hoping to go for a walk to get some fresh air in my intakes. But, Ratchet said I needed to have you with me." I then realized that it might sound like I was trying to guilt him into joining me. "But you don't have to if you don't want to. I get that you are pretty busy."

"Whoa! Calm down mech," Jazz laughed over the comm. "Don't worry, I'll come right over. Give me about five clicks and I'll be there." I felt relief when he answered that before I cut the comm. He was a true friend to me. I was very lucky to have him there for me. I would do anything for him.

Anything.

Megatron's 1st P.O.V.

I let out a vent as I paced in the command room. Currently, I was waiting for the rest Decepticons to arrive so we could discuss our plans in retrieving Dunce. Of course, I knew that retrieving Dunce from the Autobots was not going to be as simple this time. While most Autobots weren't the sharpest processors in the galaxies, they at least were smart enough to be on high alert for now. That would especially be around Dunce. The mech hadn't been returned long and I knew that he would be nervous.

But, we had to move quickly as well. From what I had seen of Dunce, the mech would be on high alert even back with the Autobots. What was worse, given his actions here and our suspicions, he might shut himself away if he stayed in his thoughts too long. That would make it virtually impossible to bring Dunce back here. Well, impossible outside of a full-scale assault on both their base and their ship to find him and drag him back. So, we had to get him soon. This solar if possible.

"You are stressed Megatron."

I looked up to watch our newest member, Soundwave, arrive with his symbiots. Since their arrival, we had been able to find out more about both the mech and his symbiots. The twins were interesting. They had the intelligence to them that I thought was impossible without the help of the Allspark. However, Soundwave explained that he had used more of the piece that had ignited his spark to create them. The bond between all five of them was large, but the piece inside the twins allowed for them to communicate verbally with the rest of us. Rumble, the red and black one, and Frenzy, the blue one, had become quite the energetic members of the base. They had already pulled off six pranks in the two solars that they had been here. No small feat and I knew that Blitzwing was wanting to help them sooner rather than later.

Then, there was Ravage. The black feline symbiot was already showing that she was an excellent spy. The cat had already snuck her way into Detroit's human law enforcement hub and recorded communications between Captain Fanzone and the Autobots. It seemed like the human did not have an easy job being the liaison for them. It almost made me feel sorry for the human.

Laserbeak, of course, had proven useful in aerial reconnaissance when she flew over different parts of Detroit, analyzing Autobot interactions that we didn't always have access to. It was her reports that made me realize that Dunce might try and shut himself in. I had seen every other Autobot on the feeds except for him.

Lastly, there was Ratbat. While the bat symbiot preferred to stay close to Soundwave, for now, he never failed to gather his form of reconnaissance. He liked to hang up on the ceiling and record the different interactions and conversations of all of us here.

Between the five of them working with him and being connected to him, Soundwave was going to raise in recognition quickly among my Decepticons. I could already see it now. Soundwave; the optics and audios of the Decepticons. With five different outlets, not even including himself, feeding him information, there would be little that Soundwave would not be able to investigate. Plus, the mech was no slouch himself. He had already broken through several files in the Autobot database that some of my best had not been able to make helms of. Of course, not only his processor skills were to be marveled at. After his defeat at the servos of the Autobots, he trained no stop. From what I had seen of his spar against Lockdown earlier, the mech might be one of the top fighters in my army now. Not too many Decepticons would be able to challenge the mech in a fair fight and win.

Back to what Soundwave said, however. "Somewhat Soundwave. I'm just not sure if this plan will succeed as I hope it will. We could end up scaring Dunce to the point where he refuses to talk to us anymore…or worse. The mech doesn't seem very stable mentally and I don't want to break him. I don't want this plan to fail."

Silence drifted between the two of us for a few clicks before Soundwave finally responded. "Do you believe the plan will work, Megatron?"

I was taken aback by his statement. What the frag did he mean. "Of course I do, I just,"

"Then, don't doubt that it will." Soundwave interrupted before he moved to the console and started to type.

While Soundwave may not be as conversational as most of my soldiers, I realized that the mech didn't need to be. He spoke when he needed to, and he didn't waste words when he did. The mech was right. If I believed that my plan was going to work, then I shouldn't be wasting time by doubting it. I needed to move with confidence that we would make it through this plan in one piece, and succeed in all of my goals for this plan.

As the other Decepticons arrived, I prepared to give them my plan for this. Many of them wouldn't be happy, but I had to move in a way that we weren't detected by the Autobots before we retrieved the mech. We had to succeed, and I was going to make sure that we had the best chance.

Jazz's 1st P.O.V.

I had been shocked that Dunce was wanting to go outside already. Ratchet had asked me the other solar if I would walk with the mech if he wished. The doc had explained that, given everything that Dunce might have gone through, he might need some fresh air to help him relax. It wasn't an unusual habit for bots to have. Having a bot with him was a good move too. This way, if the mech broke down and had a flashback, I would be there for him.

And I would be there for him. However, at the same time, I knew that my questions about the mech would be bouncing in my helm. After my talk with Plena Teo, I was even more curious about Dunce. I realized that I knew practically nothing about Dunce's past, or even about bots that he was close to. What happened to him in the past? I thought I was Dunce's friend, but this trip to Earth was showing that I knew next to nothing about my friend.

Honestly, Dunce made no sense to me at times. He was one of the tallest Autobots I had met, and definitely the tallest on this planet, and yet he let everybot walk all over him. Never reacted to anything harsh said or done against him. There had been one time I had walked up to a bot the size of fragging Bumblebee verbally attacking the mech and, yet, Dunce didn't do a thing to him. Just looked cowed like he normally did when bots said something upsetting to him. I had chased the mech off and asked Dunce why he let bots do that. He had simply said that it was fine. Wouldn't listen to any of my arguments.

Then, there was his stance on fighting. While it was admirable, it was infuriating sometimes to watch Dunce get pushed around and not stick up for himself. But, he was my friend. And friends helped friends. I just wished that I knew more about mine.

I pushed those thoughts to the back of my processor as I arrived at the warehouse. Thankfully, the only bots I could see were Ratchet and Arcee. I wasn't sure how Dunce would react to Sentinel seeing him so soon after he escapes from the Decepticons. "Hey Doc, where's Dunce?"

Ratchet motioned to the med bay. "Still in the med bay. He didn't want to come out until you got here." He then muttered something I didn't hear before he got on his comm. "Dunce, Jazz is here for your walk."

It was almost immediate, the doors from med bay opening. I guess Dunce was anxious to walk. Of course, as I watched Dunce walk out, I held back the urge to vent. Ratchet was a miracle worker, but not even he could fix Dunce's nervousness. Honestly, the mech looked like Sentinel was going to jump out of the walls at any click.

Thinking about that thought, I realized that Sentinel could show up unexpectedly and I wasn't ready to fight with Sentinel yet. So, I walked up to Dunce and smiled. "So, you ready mech?"

Dunce nodded and let off a small smile. "Sure Jazz. Let's get going."

Once he was in front of me, I frowned slightly. Something was wrong. I wasn't sure what it was, but something didn't sound right with how Dunce answered me. He sounded distant. Of course, the mech could just be lost in his processor. The mech probably had a lot of information to unpack from his time with the Decepticons. It was probably one of the reasons we were taking this walk, to begin with.

I couldn't imagine what Dunce might be feeling. On the mech's first trip off of the planet and he seemed to have found himself in the sights of the Decepticons. It wouldn't surprise me if, after this, Dunce never left Cybertron again. He had to be shaken up. While there seemed to be a lot I didn't know about Dunce, I did know that the mech did not take to unexpected situations well. And this mess with the Decepticons? An unexpected situation.

"Jazz,"

I almost jumped when Dunce said my designation. I didn't expect the mech to start a conversation. However, I was going to more than happily oblige the mech. So, as we walked to the edge of the woods, I answered him. "Yeah Dunce?"

Dunce's nervousness must have kicked in at that point because it took him a few clicks to speak. "How can things in life be so simple until they are challenged?"

Where was Dunce going with this? For once in all the time that I had known the mech, I didn't know. But, he had asked me this despite his nervousness so I was going to answer him the best I could. "Well, things are usually only simply because they haven't been challenged. But, once things…ideas are challenged, you gain a better understanding of them. Usually, you also learn more from those kinds of experiences." I wanted to ask why he wanted to know, but the mech was still recovering from his time with the Decepticons. I had to take things slowly.

If I was hoping for some sort of response to what I said to him, I would have been disappointed. Instead, a focused look seemed to show on Dunce's faceplate before he nodded. "Thanks, Jazz."

What the frag was going on in the mech's helm? Honestly, with that kind of question being asked, it made me wonder what was going on in the inside. But, I didn't want to push him. Maybe if we relaxed a little, that might help him open up on his own. "Hey Dunce," He jumped slightly when I spoke. I must have drawn him out of some thoughts. When he looked back at me, I continued my question. "There's this awesome stream that has a waterfall not far from here. If you want, we can go sit there for a while? Only if you want to of course."

To my surprise, Dunce seemed startled by something I said, though I wasn't sure what. However, I felt relief when he smiled and nodded. "That sounds great Jazz. Let's get going."

As we walked to the location, I found my thoughts drifting to a different aspect of Dunce. More specifically, his creators. Plena Teo had seemed to be hesitant about talking about the two when we were on the call. Why was talking about Dunce's creators such a taboo? Perhaps there was something about the two that he knew would hurt Dunce if other bots found out. But, what the frag could that be? Dunce was a sweet mech. Even if his creators were the lowest scum on the planet, that didn't mean that should reflect on Dunce.

Now that I thought about it though, I was surprised that their designations weren't spread around. All most bots knew was that Dunce was a naturally sparked bot from a carrier and a sire. That was it. Wouldn't their designations be public knowledge if they had done something that hadn't been done in most bots' lifetimes? Their names should be in the history files that were used in classes to teach bots about the miracle that it was. But nothing. There wasn't a mention of their designations. What was going on with that?

My thoughts went to the back of my helm as we arrived at the stream. The crest of the waterfall was in optic sight and I knew that it combined with the quiet out here would help Dunce figure out whatever was troubling him. Just from the look, I was seeing now, I could tell that he was thinking about a lot of things. He should have never been put in the position he was. Not without training. But, he was assigned to Sentinel's team and we were sent here. Plus, Dunce was expected to at least be present on battlefields. That put him in a bad spot at the least. He needed to relax.

So, I sat down on the bank and motioned him to sit. "Take a seat Dunce. This place will help you think through everything." The mech gave one of his half-smiles and nodded. However, right before he sat down, his chassis tensed. "What's wrong Dunce?" My processor flashed to the last time he was this tense, and it wasn't good.

To my surprise, Dunce made a silencing motion with his servo. "Listen."

And I did. For a click, I didn't hear anything. However, the brief sound of shifting metal had me darting back just as Megatron and a mech with a visor for a faceplate dropped down. The four of us stared at each other for a nano before Megatron smirked. "Hello there,"

Frag.

Dunce's 1st P.O.V.

I felt my spark racing as I dodged Megatron's blows. This couldn't be happening. Not again. Not again! While I knew that I needed to learn more about the Decepticons, I couldn't do this! Why were they even here?

My spark skipped a beat as I narrowly avoided a blow from Megatron's sword.

"You seem to be recovering nicely from your trip the other night cycle," Megatron commented as continued to move. I found that I was barely dodging some of his attacks.

As I continued to dodge, though, my processor was racing into overdrive. Why was this attack happening? There were only two of us and just two Decepticons. This didn't feel like a random attack. No, with how this was going, this felt more and more like it was planned out. Why? What could they be hoping to…I felt panic racing through my systems as I started to put together pieces. But, I had to make sure. "Why are you here?" I hesitantly asked the Decepticon leader. Why was I doing this? Wasn't it bad enough that they were here? Why was I questioning things?

The amused look that came to Megatron's faceplate scared me more than I ever thought I could be. What was going on? "The same reason as last time Dunce. I told you, you interest me. You seem different from any Autobot I have encountered before." My lines froze as I heard him say that. No. What had I done? I was supposed to avoid higher-ups noticing me. When they noticed me, it only caused me to get hurt. Was he angry that I escaped? I knew I should have escaped. I was so stupid!

As I moved to avoid Megatron, I noticed that the sound of the waterfall was growing louder. I had to be careful. Plena Teo always drilled into me to be aware of my surroundings. I had to make sure I didn't let my environment get the better of me. I couldn't afford to. I needed more time. I couldn't go. "No, I can't,"

"I wish for you to return to the Decepticon base. It can be under your own power…or it will be like last time. I will allow you to decide." Megatron interrupted me with a pointed look.

A shiver traveled through my chassis at his demand. No, I couldn't. I had escaped. I was not going to make it out alive if I went with them. But, did I have a choice? My intakes were cycling as the thought of returning with the Decepticons hit me. No. No. No. No. No. I couldn't. Why did they want me? Why? I was worthless!

You are not worthless.

A yell from Jazz caused me to look at him and I felt my spark fall as my friend went over the waterfall. "Jazz!" I yelled, abandoning the fight against Megatron as I ran to the edge of the bank. Relief filled my spark when I saw Jazz. He was online. Dangling from a rock that was jutting out of the waterfall, but online. Thank Primus. However, that made another problem. While Jazz was a good cyber ninja, he wasn't going to get enough momentum to vault himself back up here. Plus, no matter how good he was, with the force of the waterfall crashing around him and his grip on the rock, and Jazz was in big trouble. Slag! I had to help him! I couldn't lose him! He was one of my only friends!

"Dunce," I froze where I knelt when I heard Megatron's vocals. Slag. I was going to offline. Jazz was going to offline. And…and it was all going to be my fault. But, the mech with the visor for a faceplate hadn't done anything yet. Why? So, I turned toward Megatron as my spark felt like it was going to break out of my chestplates. I was…I was going to offline. "I have a proposition for you." Proposition? This wasn't going to be good. Nothing good ever came with dealing with the Decepticons. That was what everybot said…and they had to be right…right? "If you come with me peacefully, and swear to never try and escape or leave if a rescue attempt is made, then I will have Soundwave here save your friend down there." He then held out a servo toward me.

What was I supposed to do? If I went with the Decepticons…I was going to offline. I didn't want to offline. I didn't want to get hurt. Everybot hurt me. I didn't want to be hurt. Even though the Decepticons didn't hurt me last time that might have been because they didn't have me long enough. I couldn't trust them. The Autobots always said that the Decepticons would stab you in the backplates as soon as you let your guard down.

…But Jazz was my best friend. He had always been there for me. He…he cared. I couldn't just leave him there to offline. And something told me that Megatron wouldn't keep his offer for long. "Dunce!" Jazz's voice came up from the falls. He wouldn't be able to hear what Megatron was offering me. He was worried about me. Just like the friend he was.

Now, it was my turn to be a friend. "Don't hurt him, and he stays here." I bargained. I could feel my spark pounding inside of me as I spoke. I shouldn't even be trying to bargain. He was a superior. An enemy superior, but a superior. I did not argue or negotiate with superiors. But…this was Jazz.

"Very well," Megatron agreed, his servo still outstretched.

A shiver traveled down my backplates when our servos connected. But, I couldn't fight back. I just promised and I would keep my word. Once I put my blade away, I put my arms to my side and just stood there as Megatron's arms wrapped around me. Oh Primus, what had I done?

I flinched as Megatron pushed off the ground. Out of instinct, I offlined my optics from the rush. Autobots weren't meant to fly. I didn't know how Jetfire and Jetstorm were able to stand this. Once we stopped accelerating, I glanced down. Did Megatron keep his word? I felt panic when I saw Jazz struggling against cables that came out of…I think Megatron called him Soundwave. Was he about to…? Relief flooded my chassis when the mech placed Jazz on the ground before immediately flying away. Jazz fired a few shots after the mech, but I was just relieved that he was safe.

But, the gravity of my situation hit me as we lost sight of Jazz. I was never going to see him again. My best friend. From now on…I was at the Decepticon's mercy. I would never see him again.

Authoress: *sitting in empty cell* Okay, this is fair. It's been over a year again.

Megatron: *glances in* *sigh* I know you have been busy. At least you updated us again. *opens cell door*

Authoress: *stays seated*

Megatron: *raises optic ridge* Aren't you coming?

Authoress: *snuggles on berth* It's quite comfy...surprisingly.

AN: And here is another update! I know it has been forever, but with all of these other stories, I haven't had time to work on this as I wanted. But, I hope this has made you all happy. This chapter seemed to have a lot of emotion and Dunce can't seem to decide if he wants to go to the Decepticons again or stay with the Autobots. It seemed fate decided for him.

Well, to keep you all until the next chapter here are the names of the next chapters.

Chapter 9: Chance and Fear

Chapter 10: Spark

Chapter 11: ...(find out next time)

So that's all! Again, I hope you all enjoyed this. Please, leave a review or say hi if you like. Until next time, hope you all have fun. TTYL! *listening to classical music*