(A/N)

Oh mah friggin' goodness! FINALLY! This thing took so long and I'm sorry it did, but school started back up for me and I've been a little busy. Another reason is just that this chapter is now my longest. Don't know why they're getting longer and longer, though. Probably because these last two were episode rewrites? I don't know, but I don't think you guys are complaining. Anyway, thanks again so much for all of the wonderful reviews and encouraging words, it always puts a smile on my face.

Also, I've been rereading the previous chapters and I think I'm gonna rewrite a few of them. Nothing too major, just correcting some grammar mistakes and continuity errors that are there. Speaking of grammar and continuity, I feel like the text might start getting a bit confusing, so I decided to make one of those Formatting Legends that some stories have. If you guys find it annoying, I'll only have it for this chapter, but otherwise, I think I'm just gonna include it at the beginning from now on.

Speech Legend

Regular → "Blah blah blah."

Thoughts → 'Blah blah blah.'

Communications Link → .:: Blah blah blah. ::.

Voice Clip → "-... Blah blah blah...-"

Bumblebee → "Blah blah blah."

Dark Energon Link → ~ Blah blah blah. ~


Knockout had quickly rushed to the control room by his master's orders a few minutes ago and hadn't yet returned. Raf was left on the medical berth alone in the room, while alarms could be heard echoing in the halls. It was quite obvious that the Decepticons had suffered major damage to the ship, but which systems were uncertain. The boy looked over at the computer terminal which sat next to the berth, before looking back at the door. There was no telling when Knockout would walk back out through that door, so the boy knew he couldn't waste any more time.

Rafael quickly made his way over to the edge of the berth closet to the control panel and studied the distance. It was quite wide, but with enough speed, he figured that he could make the jump if he ran... and latched on properly... and was able to hold his body weight... and didn't slip off and fall to his death. Alright, it wasn't exactly the best option, but he couldn't really see a faster and safer way. The berth itself was latched to the ground by a single support, one which was directly in the center of the slab of metal and thus wasn't in reach for Rafael to climb down.

So the boy walked away from the edge and looked dead on at his target. He placed one foot behind him and the other in front. His body was crouched down and his arms poised in a ready position. He took a breath as doubt began to creep into his determination, but he ignored it. With a start, he sprinted across the berth as fast as he could before hitting the edge and leaping off the sides.

The side of the control panel came at him quickly and his hands desperately moved to grip onto something, anything. He found a good hold almost immediately and stopped gravity from dragging him down with a jerk. He grunted at the impact of his small body hitting the alien metal, slightly winded, but kept his grip regardless. Taking a moments rest, he once again put on a face of determination as he began climbing up the terminal's side. Crawling all over vehicons and repairing them was really paying off, as Raf had no doubt that he would've had a harder time completing such a rigorous action without prior experience.

When he reached the top, he pulled his body over the edge and rolled onto his back, panting at the exercise. Once he had regained some air, he sat up and pushed his glasses back onto his face. He stood and looked up at the large keys that laid out before him. Rafael thought back to all the times he witnessed cybertronians working on their terminals, his memory able to recall the exact keys that Soundwave hit not that long ago. Thus, he moved forward and looked at the keys he now stood on. A human's weight alone was not enough to press down on them but add gravity...

Rafael jumped up and landed forcefully on the key he had stood on before making his way over to the next and jumping on it. Repeating this process, he eventually was able to pull up the status of the Nemesis and a happy smile found it's way onto his face as he lit up like lights on Christmas.

He did it! He actually operated cybertronian technology! The child had not been this excited about something in a while, not since that time Bumblebee got his T-Cog back and the two spent the entire day together celebrating.

His excitement sobered at the thought of his best friend and guardian, but now was not the best of times to think about his friends. Raf shook his head a bit and returned his attention to the screen in front of him.

The damage that was on the screen Soundwave was looking at before was nothing compared to the damage he was seeing now. So many sections of the Nemesis were blinking in red and text next to them probably read off the damage. Familiar glyphs could be seen on the monitor, but Rafael still had no idea what they meant. However, given what the ship had experienced, the boy could wager a guess as to how heavy the damage was. Raf then began jumping on more keys, trying to see if he could pull up a live feed of the damage. The first video he found was the feed of outside, the same camera Rafael and Soundwave earlier saw the insecticons attacking on. However, this time, there was no insecticon threat and instead of clouds being in the background, Rafael saw a wide open plane with mountains. The area wasn't familiar so Raf quickly moved on.

He glanced at a key to his right, one Soundwave used to switch cameras earlier, and jumped on it, hoping that he would be able to scroll through all of the cameras. It must have been his lucky day, as that was exactly what happened. He went through the different perspectives, now viewing the cameras inside the ship, very carefully. Rafael didn't know how to return to a previously viewed feed and he honestly didn't want to have to cycle through every single camera again just to get back to it.

All throughout the warship, Raf watched as vehicons ran about fixing up the internal damage. Finally, the feed came to a stop in the control room and Raf blinked in interest. All the Decepticon officers were standing in there and it seemed that he caught just the last of their conversation.

"... think that the Autobots would really take advantage of this?" Knockout asked from his position at one of the large computers inside. His voice was slightly distant and muffled, but Raf could still hear him. "Doesn't seem very sporting."

"Optimus has grown quite desperate recently, so I would not put it past him," Megatron answered. He then muttered something to himself that was too quiet for the cameras to pick up, but the way his helm snapped up and his optic ridges furrowed in thought, made Rafael believe that the warlord just came up with an idea. "Hmm, perhaps that could work..."

Megatron turned to face his officers. "Soundwave, how much dark energon do we have remaining from the mining operation?" The number displayed was too small for Rafael to see, and he didn't want to risk trying to zoom in should he press the wrong key. "Then we have room to work with."

"Lord Megatron? Do you have a plan?" Dreadwing asked.

"Indeed I do, but whether my theory is correct or not will have to be tested," was all the mech said before he began striding out of the control room, followed by his officers. Rafael monitored them through the camera feeds, losing them a few times only to find them once again. Finally, the mechs landed in a very large chamber, one filled with hundreds of energon containers, leading Raf to assume the chamber to be the engine room. The boy adjusted his glasses out of habit. Well, that could be useful.

The workers inside looked up from their repairs on the core and saluted to their superiors before continuing their work. Megatron walked over to the pile of purple, glowing cubes, a small portion compared to the immense amount of blue cubes that adjourned the room. The warlord then looked up at the core, and Rafael immediately put together what the silver mech was planning.

The others too seemed to have picked up on this as it was not long before Knockout began his protest. "Lord Megatron, as your physician I strongly advise against this! While I agree that dark energon's regenerative properties are impressive... we do not know the side effects that it might have on the ship."

"A compelling point you make, Knockout, but nevertheless, I still have to disagree with you," Megatron spoke. "With dark energon coursing through both my veins and the ship's fuel lines, I may very well be able to control the vessel as an extension of myself, acting as if we are both one."

"I'm afraid I too have doubts, Lord Megatron," Dreadwing added in, trying to further sway their master from what could potentially end up backfiring. "The Nemesis was once Trypticon, after all, and thus the dark energon may revive him, turning him into a terrorcon that could prove difficult to control."

"But you forget, Dreadwing, that Trypticon's altmode was repaired and reconstructed as a simple machine, replacing his once spark chamber with a regular warship engine. His T-Cog has also not been repaired since he perished, and no terrorcons have displayed the ability to transform thus far." Megatron reminded his SIC, who seemed to give up on trying to persuade the silver mech.

Back in the medbay, Rafael stood on the terminal, very confused. 'Trypticon' was not a name he recalled ever being mentioned before, especially the fact that Trypticon is, or was the Nemesis. The Decepticon officers spoke of the mech as if he was deceased, so Rafael's nervousness about being inside of a sentient being was quelled slightly. Sure, he rode inside the vehicle altmodes of Knockout and the Autobots before, but he never drove them or interacted with their control systems directly. Learning that the Decepticons literally lived and operated inside of a once alive being was extremely disturbing. But maybe that was normal for cybertronians? After all, no one had complained about having a being ride inside of them, just the fact that the being was organic.

And what exactly happened to Trypticon? He must have been massive and definitely not an easy foe to take down. But thinking about the mech's probable size and the troubles the ship makes for the Autobots on itsㅡhisㅡown, Rafael was thankful that whatever that event was, actually occurred. Team Prime's mission of defending humanity would most likely have been over a lot quicker had such a cybertronian still have been alive.

Rafael watched as Soundwave walked up to one of the terminals on the core and typed in some commands. The giant claw in the room came alive and moved over to grab one of the dark energon cubes and place it inside the core. Megatron then walked ahead and pushed forward a switch, driving the new energon to be accepted, as evident by the blue fuel lines in the room quickly turning purple.

Rafael took a step back as the dark energon in his blood pulsed, eagerly almost. It was strange to think of the substance in such a way, but Rafael could not explain the feeling otherwise. The terminal before him suddenly turned red and he watched as the usual red lights inside the medbay turn to a familiar shade of purple.

The boy could sense the dark energon throughout the ship. He could sense all the beings aboard the ship. He could sense every single one of the functions, all at once. It was so bizarre and overwhelming, Raf actually had to sit down in order to process it. Was Megatron feeling the same thing? Was this what he meant 'an extension of himself'? Maybe... maybe Raf should ask the warlord. After all, the mech would probably be a little suspicious if the human who too had dark energon coursing through him didn't mention the sudden rush of power.

~ Um... Megatron? What's... happening? ~ He struggled to ask, not having to fake the uneasiness he was feeling. It was odd though, with him being the one to start the conversation instead of vise-versa. It was also quite difficult, as usually, he didn't have to search out for Megatron's signature. When speaking over the bond, Rafael found himself relying upon the warlord's presence as a way to focus his thoughts.

But he was definitely better than in the beginning. It was still embarrassing, just how broken his 'speech' sounded, but at least he didn't talk like a caveman anymore. That was absolutely humiliating.

Raf suddenly felt surprised, but... he didn't know what about, just that he found himself surprised rather abruptly. Maybe he was surprised that he was able to activate the connection to the Decepticon? No, that wasn't it...

~ You can feel the dark energon? ~ Came the voice, though not harsh or angered by the organic's question.

~ I can... sense the... ship? It's... weird. I feel... everyone... aboard... and its... systems... but mostly... just the fuel lines. ~Raf paused, unsure, before continuing. He had to sound a little ignorant, otherwise, Megatron would be wondering where all of the questions came from. ~ Did... did the... ship... always... have dark... energon in it? ~

~ I'm impressed that you can sense it, although I suppose that shouldn't be much of a surprise. No, the ship did not always possess dark energon, ~ There was a long pause and Rafael was a little tempted to 'speak' again, but Megatron's voice interrupted. I will send Knockout to fetch you. ~

And then nothing else. The ending was abrupt but Rafael was happy to at least have gotten a warning. He looked back at the terminal and saw that the same red screen with glyphs flying past it was still up. Since the same screen was on all the other computers in the room, Rafael didn't think it best to mess with the terminal any longer. So, the boy turned to look back at the berth that now was on a level lower than him, making this jump much easier than the first.

With a push off the ledge, Raf landed knees bent on the metal berth and went to the edge closet to the door.

He waited for a few minutes until Knockout entered the room and made a beeline for the human child. He was plucked up by the mech's sharp digits and carried out all very quickly. It seemed that he was in a hurry.

"You wouldn't happen to know why Megatron wanted me to pick you up, would you?"

"No, not really," Rafael answered truthfully. "But... I did sense the dark energon in the warship."

"Hm, expected, I suppose," the cherry-red mech said back. "I really don't know what the Big M was thinking, using dark energon to fuel the ship. The results of using such a substance are unpredictable and risky."

Rafael blinked. Was Knockout showing his more scientist side? He once revealed to Raf before that he actually wasn't really a medic, just the closest thing to one that the Decepticons had besides the medical drones. So was Knockout some kind of... biologist then? Maybe he should ask the mech about it sometime, as the flamboyant 'Con certainly loved talking about himself.

Raf held back a sigh. Yet another question added to his ever-growing list.

They reached the control room soon enough, finding all three of the other officers standing at the head of the catwalk. When Knockout walked up to them, they turned and looked down at the organic who now stood in the medic's palm. Rafael did not like the sudden amount of attention.

"Tell me, human, what exactly about the ship do you sense?" Megatron asked. They still did not know the extent of the abilities the dark energon in human blood had, so he had to be cautious here. If it turned out that the child could control the ship as he could, it would prove greatly disastrous for he and his Decepticons.

"I... It's mostly that I can feel every cybertronain aboard the ship. I can't see where they are, but I know where they are," Raf explained, mostly repeating what he said before. "Just everyone's presences and I can tell the difference between the vehicons and yours."

"You mentioned briefly that you can feel the ship's systems. To what extent do you mean by that?" Megatron watched as the boy analyzed the question and a glint of understanding was evident in his organic eyes.

Understanding the potential danger, Rafael decided it best to be honest with his answer. If Megatron perceived the boy as a threat to his faction, there was a good chance that the most efficient course of action would be to eradicate that 'threat'. Suddenly, he felt himself becoming a little braver, not wanting to stutter in his next words. "I can only feel where all the ship's systems are, but I can't interact with them, only be aware that they're there and what they're doing."

"Lord Megatron." A vehicon called from his post. "The ship's systems have fully repaired themselves and we are ready for take-off."

"Good," Megatron replied, his purple optics glowing menacingly. Within the next moment, the ship rocked subtly and the reports on the screen displayed the rising altitude, signaling that the Nemesis was airborne.

A ping from Soundwave attracted everyone's attention to the mech's visor, where he proceeded to display a live video feed from outside. When Rafael saw it, his heart sank.

"Optimus," Megatron chuckled. "You never disappoint. And what better way to be able to test my new control over the warship than to lay waste upon my enemies."

He reached out to the warship, using the dark energon as a guide, and activated the canons. The Autobots scattered like insects, dodging the shower of bullets that rained down upon them.

Suddenly, Megatron became aware of a fear not his own. He knew that the emotion was not his own as he remembered the feeling of recognizing another being's emotions. Most cybertronians did. It was a common side-effect of being in a bond with another. The last and only bond he ever had with another being was Orion Pax, but his brother had long been deceased, his memory disgraced by that of a Prime who dared mock Megatron by wearing the same face.

So then-

"I wasn't aware that the ship was equipped with a stasis beam..." Knockout's voice broke Megatron out of his musings. Filing away the question of the source of the unknown emotions, the warlord returned his attention to the matter at hand.


Rafael had been watching in utter fear and panic as the Autobots tried dodging the warship's shower of bullets. They weaved and jumped, slid and flipped, doing everything they could to not get hit by the onslaught.

"Bee...?" He croaked quietly as he watched his guardian get hit by a beam of light and not move. 'Get up Bumblebee! Please!'

The mech did not budge, not an inch.

Above Rafael, Knockout hummed in thought, looking closer at the screen. Gravity had not taken hold of the yellow scout's limbs, and his biolights and optics were still illuminated, signaling that the mech was indeed alive.

"I wasn't aware that the ship was equipped with a stasis beam," he concluded, turning to look at the warlord, who walked forward.

Everyone in the room watched the Autobots one by one, grab the device dropped by the scout before eventually freezing up in a forced stasis lock. When the scanners focused on the object, it was identified as the destructive Spark Extractor.

"Fly us closer, quickly! The Autobots cannot be allowed to keep that relic," Megatron ordered his troops, but instead watched as the screens showed the Nemesis moving away, increasing elevation and flying past the Autobots' still frames. "Where are you going? Turn around!"

"Lord Megatron, the ship seems to be navigating itself," one of the vehicons at the control panels reported.

"Then overwrite the command." He bellowed, his patience running thin.

The vehicons resumed their typing and not a moment later did the warship rock violently, causing all to stumble and Rafael to almost fall out of Knockout's servos. Luckily, the medic was able to catch the boy before that happened, but Knockout only scanned him for a moment before they both returned their attention to the warlord at the sound of his frustrated growl.

They all looked at the same vehicon who spoke before. "Sir! All systems are bypassing manual con-TROOOLLL!" He shouted in pain as electricity shot up from the console and into his systems, resulting in the vehicon collapsing as stasis took hold.

Everyone stared at the fried Decepticon trooper.

"Lord Megatron, you don't think the ship possesses a will of its own, do you?" Knockout asked.

"It's impossible," Megatron hissed before turning his attention to his officers. "Trace the problem to its source and eradicate it at once!"

"DO NOT TAMPER WITH MY SYSTEMS," a voice boomed overhead. "THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY WARNING."

"Warning?" Megatron demanded.

"ANY CYBERTRONAIN WHO DARES INTERFERE WITH MY MISSION WILL BE SWIFTLY ERADICATED." The voice answered.

"My own vessel dares to make threats?!" The silver mech bellowed in response but was ignored. Just then, a continuous beeping noise echoed throughout the control room and Soundwave immediately pointed to its source.

Rafael followed everyone's line of sight and looked at one of the screens, which displayed a line of glyphs that blinked in and out in rhythm with the beeping. The boy wondered what they were and his answer soon came via exposition from Knockout, who quickly reported the glyphs to be coordinates deciphered from the Iacon Data Base.

Coordinates that lead to a shiny new relic, no doubt.

A ping from Soundwave brought back everyone to the mech's visor which displayed a location on Earth.

"New York?" Rafael spoke aloud without realizing before he quickly shut his mouth. The 'Cons looked down at him, seeming to just then remember that he was there with them.

"The human city seems to be the warship's destination, my Liege, based on our current course," Dreadwing elaborated.

"Then perhaps the vessel is merely living off of my own desires, continuing the task which we have set for it," he thought to himself.

"YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH MY MISSION. THE ARTIFACTS WILL BELONG TO ME AND ME ALONE," the warship responded.

"Belong to you? I am the commander of this warship and am thus in command of you. You will cease these operations at once." He ordered and Rafael felt the use of dark energon in the last order, but the ship did not falter. The dark energon in its systems greatly outnumbered that of Megatron's.

"YOU ARE NO LONGER IN COMMAND," the vessel responded back and both Rafael and Megatron did not get any warning before their minds were assaulted by an internal burning, as if the warship was forcing them to submit to its will. The warlord shouted in pain briefly, collapsing to one knee as he fell and clutched his helm, while Rafael too gripped his head, but instead let out a whimper. Having less dark energon in his system than Megatron, the ship's assault did not affect the boy as much, but that didn't mean that the pain was any less bearable.

Finally, the ship let up and the pain ceased.

Megatron looked up and barely registered his physician's servo on his shoulder. Instead, he merely looked behind him at Soundwave.

"Regain control of this vessel, by any means necessary," he growled.

Without hesitating, Soundwave whipped around his frame and attached his cables to the nearest terminal, only for electricity to travel through his cables and up to him, releasing a power shock. The mech stood there, being electrocuted until his systems couldn't take any more and induced a forced stasis lock.

Everyone hesitated in shock before Megatron's commanding tone broke them out of it. His leader instinct taking control, the silver warlord began barking out urgent orders.

"All hands! Cut power to the mainframe and disconnect data relays. Now!"

Everyone scattered to fulfill their leader's demands.


Knockout did not bother to drop Rafael off in the medbay center, instead, he made his way around the ship. Both the mech and the boy saw all the stasis-locked vehicons along the way, all of whom would not be freed unless the ship itself did it. Which, given the current situation, was highly unlikely.

When they spotted a consol, Knockout walked over and placed Rafael down on it, however, his optics never left the screen.

"Lord Megatron, a second set of coordinates have been decrypted. Perhaps we should permit the ship to contin- "

"Knockout!"

Raf's warning came too late, and the medic was hit with the stasis beam from the ceiling, resulting in his form to freeze in a slumped over position at the terminal.

"I DO NOT REQUIRE 'PERMISSION'," was all the warship said before the stasis gun retracted from the ceiling.

The boy stood in silence.

Now what?

A ding suddenly sounded from the terminal and Rafael watched as one of the smaller screens at its side displayed audio waves.

.:: Autobot Omega Outpost 1 to Decepticon Warship: Megatron please respond. ::.

Rafael's excitement skyrocketed at the familiar voice of Ratchet and a joyous smile found its way onto his face.

"Ratchet! Ratchet, I'm here!" The boy called.

.:: Come in Megatron. ::. The medic continued, not hearing Rafael at all. The boy yelled out Ratchet's name again but to no avail. It was likely that Raf had to hit a button of some sort in order for the mech to hear him, but the boy did not want to risk getting electrocuted by the console.

Suddenly, the ship's voice boomed above. "MEGATRON HAS BEEN RELIEVED OF HIS COMMAND."

Rafael gulped. Megatron was now out of commision as well? That wasn't good news.

.:: Who is this? ::. Ratchet questioned.

"WHO IS THIS?" The ship returned.

.:: Have you taken control of the Decepticon vessel? ::.

"I AM THE VESSEL. ANY CYBERTRONAIN WHO INTERFEREs WITH MY MISSION WILL BE NEUTRALIZED."

There was a long pause.

.:: What mission? ::.

"PRIORITY 1: DECRYPT IACON DATABASE."

.:: For what purpose? ::.

The ship did not answer, rather, it just cut off the call completely, much to Rafael's disappointment. Now how was he supposed to get help? The entire crew was in stasis, including all of the superior officers, and the Autobots, for the most part, were neutralized as well. The only cybertronian functional was Ratchet, but if he came on the ship then he would just be shot out of commission along with everyone else.

'But the ship didn't shoot me... or even Agent Fowler for that matter... Humans must be unregistered life forms in the warship's scanners!' The boy concluded in his mind, relief over washing him.

But when Raf looked back up at the red screen above him, dread once again crept back into his mind.

"Two sets of coordinates have already been decoded, with the third one on its way." He mumbled allowed to himself, a habit he had never gotten over even after he gained friends. "The ship is currently heading toward the first relic, which is located in Manhattan. But if the ship wants that relic... it's going to have to dig through the city itself and..."

All those people would die and no one would be able to stop it.

'No one but you,' came a rare and brave voice in Raf's head as he stood there.

He was the only one left on the warship, a warship that couldn't even see him. No help would be coming, but that didn't matter. Raf still had to try.

The boy turned from the console began climbing down Knockout's frozen frame, mindful of where he placed his feet and careful not to make any scuff marks that the medic would yell at him for later. When his feet hit the floor, he looked back up at the computer one last time, finding the second set already halfway decrypted.

He needed to move fast.

Closing his eyes, he focused on the dark substance in his blood. Using it, he then searched out for the largest concentration of dark energon in the ship, which didn't take long to locate. Then, eyes snapping open, he spun around and began sprinting down the hall, one that led to the engine room. If the Nemesis' engine operated like Rafael thought it did, then there was a chance that he would be able to dump the dark energon and rid the warship of its influence.

Along the way, he moved past many more vehicons and insecticons. They all seemed to be heading the same direction that Rafael was heading in, meaning that he was most likely on the right path.

When he finally did reach the engine room, he came to a sudden halt at the familiar being who stood ahead of him. His frame arched in an awkward position, the silver-armored warlord stood frozen at the switch for the engine. He must have had the same idea. Taking a deep breath, the boy began climbing up Megatron's leg. It was definitely hard, but once again, the boy was able to call on his experience of climbing on the vehicons' frames, even if the size differences were great. When the boy reached the mech's shoulder, finally able to take a brief break, he glanced at Megatron's face before looking away. Continuing, he then slid off of the armor and landed onto the console. Ducking under Megatron's arm, he moved around to his servo, which gripped the switch tightly.

The boy moved forward and tried to push the lever, but to no avail. Frowning, he stood back up and studied the switch once more. It was worth a shot, but Raf knew that he wasn't strong enough to push both the lever and the cybertronian's major weight.

"Raf?" A familiar voice called and Rafael looked down behind the warlord to find his friend, Jackson Darby, standing on the floor. He smiled up at the younger boy. "You're okay!"

"Jack! How'd you get on the ship?" Raf questioned, but it was obvious that he was happy to see the probably-now-17-year-old.

"The ship isn't cloaked, so we decided to sneak aboard to download the database and rescue you." He explained before cocking his head slightly when he finally realized Raf's position. "How did you even get up there?"

"Uhh," he trailed off, glancing at Megatron. "I... climbed."

Jack raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. The teen then walked over to the pede of the silver tyrant and placed his hands on the metal. His eyes searched for a good spot to place his foot but he couldn't find one that didn't look like he was going to slip from. He tried different angles but was still having difficulties. Suddenly, a hand appeared in his face and he followed the appendage to find Raf smiling at him

"Need some help?" The boy asked and Jack gladly took hold of his hand. Working together, the older teen was hoisted up onto the back of the heel.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Raf said back to him, his smile still there before his brows furrowed in thought when he looked behind the teen. "Hey, um, where's Miko?"

Jack sighed. "We split up. She ran off to look for you while I headed to the engine room to stop the ship."

"What?!" Raf shouted, surprising the older teen. "You guys realize that once the dark energon is dumped, the entire crew will be freed from the stasis lock, right?"

"We... didn't think of that," Jack admitted.

Rafael looked down. No doubt Miko would be running around aimlessly, as the Nemesis was like a maze. Its corridors were practically copies of one another.

'Wait, the corridors... With the dark energon, I can sense everyone's presence.' Raf thought to himself before once again focusing on the alien substance. It didn't take long for him to find the one person who was moving around the ship, as all others were still.

"I'll go look for her then. You focus on figuring out a way for the fuel to be dumped. Once you do that though, you gotta run outta here quick. It won't take long for him to wake up." Raf gestured to the mech whose pede they were still standing on. "The rest of the way should be easier."

"Got it," Jack nodded and Raf began to climb back down. "Wait, but how will you find Miko?"

Raf turned to respond but stopped.

"...When they know the truth, they'll probably stay as far away from you as they can."

"I'll... figure it out somehow. I know my way around the ship by now better than you guys."

He was out of the room before Jack could say another word.


"RAAAAAAFFFFF!"

The boy winced at his friend's loud voice as it echoed down the hall. It was fortunate that all of the Decepticons were in stasis lock, otherwise, Miko would have been already caught and who-knows-what done to her. Then again, she was never really one for stealth in the first place.

"Miko! I'm over here!" He called back, panting as he did. Luckily Miko didn't get too far from the engine room, but the run to her was still quite tiring.

"Raf!" Came the spunky voice and suddenly he heard her footsteps grow louder and louder.

When he rounded the corner, he only had a split second to see the colorful mass before it glomped him and lifted him off the floor.

"H-hey, Miko," he wheezed, struggling in the girl's strong hug. "I missed you too."

He was finally put down and looked up at the girl's face for the first time in months, only for him to blink a few times at her features.

Gone were the two pigtails at the top of her head, instead, a simple loose ponytail hung down her back while shorter strands hung limply at the top, most likely the shorter hairs used for the pigtails.

She must have noticed his questioning gaze, as she quickly lifted a hand to her head and rubbed the back of it. "Oh right, my hair. Yeah, I haven't been too focused on it recently, haven't exactly had the time. Not like my host parents are complaining though. They think that I'm finally becoming more 'lady-like'. Pft, in their dreams." She explained, mumbling the last part.

"Oh, well, it looks nice," Raf complimented awkwardly, knowing the girl often had hard times with her host parents. "But anyway, we need to get out of here. Jack is currently trying to dump the dark energon, and when that happens, the whole crew will be released."

"Scrap! Well, lead the way, Raf-man." She said, but before they could begin making their way, the sound of shifting metal was heard above them.

They looked up to see a camera in the ceiling. "ANOTHER PARASITE? I'M INFESTED WITH THEIR PRESENCE!"

Suddenly, a different hatch opened in the ceiling and a gun deployed from it, its aim immediately settling on Miko and Rafael.

"Run!" He shouted and the two bolted immediately, a gunshot going off and the ground where they once stood now charred and smoking.

The two teens ran to the nearest vehicon and took shelter behind its legs, pressing up against the warm metal to better hide. The two exchanged looks before Raf suddenly saw movement behind the girl.

"Miko!" He shouted, pouncing on the girl and knocking them both down as a deadly beamed passed over their heads. They lifted their eyes to find the gun now trained on them.

Yet it didn't fire.

"VISUAL LOST. RESCANNING INTERIOR." Came the thundering voice, which paused for a few moments.

"It can't see us?" Miko whispered to Raf, the both of them still in a pile from the younger teen knocking her down. The boy, too, was confused as to why the ship suddenly ceased its attack but didn't dare move. For some reason, it couldn't see them once the two friends became a dog pile.

"PARASITE SPOTTED IN FUEL CHAMBER. ENGAGING NOW." The gun suddenly retracted back into the ceiling and no other movements came after.

"It's going after Jack!" Miko concluded quickly and Raf got off of the girl before helping her up.

"This way!" Rafael shouted and the pair bolted off once more.

They ran down the large hallways, but despite their determination, they were getting tired fast, both already exhausted from running around earlier looking for one another. Their breaths became more shallow and frequent as their movements slowed.

"Come on... almost... there..." Miko panted, but even her usual seemingly-endless energy had found its limits. The two came to a brief halt to regain their breaths, but in those small moments, the thundering voice was once again heard.

"CRITICAL POWER DRAIN. I... AM IN... COMMAND.." The voice was broken, static beginning to filter in and distort it. "PREPARE TO BE... NEUTRALIZED..."

Nothing else was said, but when the lights of the warship began to return to its normal coloration, Rafael felt the dark energon in his blood act up. The larger dark energon source in the ship was gone. Jack did it.

"Come on. The 'Cons are gonna wake up soon." The boy told his friend and once more, the two children took off, racing down the halls and past drones whose systems were rebooting. They were so close but - "We're not gonna make it!"

"Then what do we do?" The girl asked quickly and Raf's head searched around before spotting a vent entrance. Pulling Miko along, he led her down into the ship's cooling systems which ran along the floor of the halls. The space was so large, even Bulkhead would have been able to crawl through them. The inside of the vent was not shaped like human vents, however, meaning they were not boxy and simple. Rather, a single line of light ran along the bottom and the walls had indents that, to a human, were like cliffledges wide enough to be paths. Thus, the children did not have to fall all the way to the bottom and could still easily climb back up onto the hall floor.

The two kids checked if anyone had seen them, and luckily no one did. Then Miko, suddenly getting an idea, flipped out her phone and the light illuminated her face. Her eyes looked back up at Raf. "Think I can call Ratch and get him to send a bridge?"

"You can still get a signal? Soundwave must not have rebooted the ship's shielding," the boy concluded, surprised at such a notion, given that the silent mech was known to rarely overlook important details. 'Maybe the stasis is still wearing off of him? He was one of the first 'Cons to be shocked...' Raf shook his head, refocusing on Miko's idea. "But I wouldn't call Ratchet just yet. We need to make sure that the cost is clear first."

Coincidently, after he finished his words, thundering steps suddenly vibrated the floor the two humans stood on. Given their position on the ledge, they were able to press against the wall to hide while at the same time look at who was there.

"King 'Con?" Miko asked, a bit panicked, but quickly reminded herself that they were hiding in the vents, a space hard to reach for a mech his size.

Raf didn't respond, instead, he focused on the dark energon. Megatron was not actively looking for the young human, so hopefully, the silver warlord would just keep walking and not notice the child's presence.

When Megatron ceased his walking, Raf knew fate was laughing at him.

"Come out, child. You know there is no use in hiding from me," came his gravely voice, and even if he did not turn around and look directly at him, Raf knew he wasn't lying, for the boy could feel the truth in his words.

Reluctantly, he moved to climb out but Miko immediately grabbed his sleeve. "What are you? Crazy?"

"He already knows I'm here, Miko, but he doesn't know you are," he told her. "I'll distract him. When he turns the corner, you need to call Ratchet and run through the bridge quickly. Tell everyone I'm fine, okay? Especially Bee? Please?"

The girl gave him another bone-crushing hug before pulling back and punching him in the arm. "Since when did you become braver?" She joked before her face softened. "But yeah, I'll let them know."

With a smile, Raf then turned and hulled himself out of the vent. The ground shook briefly as Megatron turned and walked toward the child.

"Ahh, there you are," he spoke, his optics once again their original fiery red. "Did you really think that you could escape while we were in stasis?"

"No, not really," Raf responded, hoping that the half-truth would be satisfactory enough. "It was worth a shot."

"Obviously, not a very successful one." Megatron mused before kneeling down and holding out his silver-clawed servo before the child.

Raf looked down at the open palm and fought the urge to glance over his shoulder back at Miko. He couldn't give away her position now, so he, hesitantly, stepped into the Decepticon Lord's claws. In one fell swoop, Megatron stood up with the boy now in his grasp and turned, keeping the corner of his optic trained on the organic in case he would fall off.

"But I do wonder what sort of trouble you managed to get into, given that my entire crew was frozen and the ship had, obviously, not been able to destroy you." He began as they walked down the hall, Rafael able to keep his balance.

When he had first been carried around casually in the palm of a Decepticon's servo, he immediately realized just how careful the Autobots were while walking around with any human. They usually were mindful of their steps and tried to make their walking as smooth as possible. The Decepticons, however, did not. They were constantly moving, always having a destination and some list of tasks that needed to be filled. Thus, they were always in a hurry as well. Especially the officers. And especially, especially when the officers were being summoned by Megatron. Rafael quickly picked up that it was common sense to never make the warlord wait longer than he had to.

But basically, Raf had to learn how to balance on the palm of a briskly walking Decepticon quickly, lest he accidentally fall off and break a bone at the very least.

"I was trying to reverse the energon flow and... purge it from the ship's systems," he explained. Raf hoped that any footage during the ship's take-over of... well, itself ... did not survive, since that would mean Megatron would know that Jack and Miko had managed to infiltrate and steal the Iacon Database.

"Yes, quite an impressive feat for someone of your... stature."

Raf blinked. That... wasn't a compliment, right? Maybe he heard wrong...

"Yet you were not alone, now were you."

He winced. That was definately a statement rather than a question.

As if sensing his thoughts, Megatron's optics hardened. "So tell me, exactly how did you manage to contact the Autobots?"

The sound of a groundbridge portal opening answered instead and Megatron whipped around to see its green light coming from the corridor he found the child in. Gripping Raf tightly, he ran back only to watch as the swirling vortex closed before the warlord could even reach it.

Megatron stared at the spot in the hallway before glaring down at Raf and unconciously applying enough pressure to make it a little more than uncomfortable for him.

Rafael felt angry. No, wait, he wasn't angry. Why would he be angry? Megatron was the one who would be angry, given that he knew that Raf had distracted him from Miko's escape, but then why did Raf feel anger and... disappointment? Not only that, but he felt fear at the same time, which was reasonable considering his position, but that didn't explain his other emotions.

"Misdirection, human? How noble of you to sacrifice your freedom for an ally's," the warlord sneered before reaching up to his comm. unit. "Soundwave, check the ship's shielding. I don't want any more Autobots or their pets sneaking on board."

Megatron then clicked off the call and returned his attention to the boy in his grip. "Now, care to enlighten me to exactly what had occurred during your 'misadventures' as well as what part you played in the thievery of valuable data?"

'Thievery of valuable data? That means Jack managed to get the Iacon Database!' Raf briefly cheered in his mind, thankful that their mission did not turn out to be a complete failure.

"I... first headed to the engine room to see if I could reverse the effects. I couldn't, but then Jack came in. He told me that Miko was looking for me in the ship, s-so I left him. In the engine room. I found her not long before Jack managed to succeed in dumping the dark energon. Miko and I were hiding when you found me." Raf explained vaguely and hoped that Megatron would not inquire as to what the interactions specifically were about.

The silver mech studied the boy and Raf shrunk under the crimson gaze. Living with Decepticons for two months did not mean that the warlord scared him no more. The mech still gave off the impression of a predator, and that all not strong enough to fight him were mere prey. Raf had definitely gotten used to their behaviors, but he never forgot just what the giant beings were capable of.

Then those crimson optics blinked and the mech's expression shifted into something briefly before it vanished, gone too fast for Rafael to recognize it. Without another word, Megatron turned around and began walking the way that they were first heading.

Raf's legs remained dangling in the warlord's fist.


Megatron walked briskly in the hallways, but his processor was elsewhere.

He had finally realized why he had felt that fear earlier, for he felt that same illogical fear when he had questioned Rafael. He mentally scolded himself for not realizing it the first time why it felt like he had a bond.

It was because he did have a bond with someone, or at least a bond through the dark energon which ran through both of their veins. He knew that there was more than just telepathy that had to be shared between him and the human child, but an empath connection was not what he expected, nor wanted. For the youngling to be able to feel Megatron's emotions was bothersome and would prove to become a weakness, as in return, the warlord could feel Rafael's.

And not just emotions, but pain as well.

But then why was this ability revealing itself only now? What had changed to warrant such a thing?

For a reason unknown to Megatron, he did not think he would ever find out.


Later that night, the Decepticon warship had flown back above the clouds, the moon shining down on its features and making it look eerie and mysterious in the silver light.

Inside, most of the Nemesis was quiet, as the majority of the crew was in deep recharge, worn out from the day's events. Even the officers themselves were resting. All but one officer, that was. Inside the control room, the silent Third in Command, Soundwave, stood alone at the terminals at the end of the catwalk. His usual position. The mech did not sleep often, against Laserbeak's and Ravage's wishes, who currently stood vigil with him.

Laserbeak was perched at the top of the terminal screen while the feline-like symbiote, Ravage, laid at Soundwave's pedes, curled up in a light stasis nap, his awareness obvious by the occasional flickering of his audial receptors. Ravage was not deployed often, as his permanent injuries from a battle long ago had left him disabled of extensive movement. So now, the cat instead remained mostly in Soundwave's personal quarters, only coming out at times like these, where the ship was mostly in recharge and so few vehicons were in the room. Said vehicons had actually grown used to Soundwave's symbiotes roaming around freely, as the drones were charged specifically for the night shift and thus spent most of their time in the mini-cons' presence. The symbiotes too had grown used to the vehicons there, and if they met in the hallways randomly, could easily recognize them.

Thoughts of the vehicons and his symbiotes were not what was on Soundwave's processor, however. Rather, they were on the sole human child who resided in the warship. Despite Megatron never giving the order, the TIC still kept a constant watch on the boy. Even if not directly monitoring him in a video feed in the corner of his visor, Soundwave had set up commands to alert him should the human's heat signature move too far from his fixed point. So, when Knockout left the medbay, it wasn't long after when Soundwave received an alert of the boy's change in location. The silent mech simultaneously kept one optic on his surroundings and one optic on the camera feed of the medbay.

At the time, Soundwave merely watched the little organic for a bit, to make sure he wasn't doing anything threatening before he focused his full attention on Megatron and the meeting.

Now here he wasーthe danger of the warship now passedーreviewing the footage from earlier that day with keen interest as he watched the boy jump from the medical berth to the terminal and climb to the top. Then the organic began jumping on the keys and managed to pull up schematics of the ship's damage.

Curious. Soundwave was certain that the organic didn't know any cybertronian. Even if the Autobots had managed to teach the boy their codes, they could not teach him the Decepticon's dialect. Another problem was that the warship's damage reports and, more importantly, the camera feeds were not easily accessible. While every terminal on the vessel had the ability to access the ship's damage, a mech could only reach the cameras by entering a code that only Soundwave and Megatron knew. So then how was the little organic able to access the ship's system reports and the camera feeds?

He only paused for a moment before he came to an answer, one that amazed and impressed the ex-gladiator.

The boy had imputed the exact same keys that Soundwave did earlier, just by witnessing and memorizing the pattern.

Most impressive. Soundwave knew that the boy was smart, not just because he had fought for control over the satellites with said boy, but because he researched every single one of the human children in thorough detail. He had discovered that the boy had a high IQ for his age, allowing him to move up in his schooling by two years ahead of his peers. Of course, this led him to be an outlier among his fellow teenagers, with reports of him going to the school's medical center being somewhat common.

Organics were strange in this way, where the smart often hid their intellect or kept it restrained in order to not be outcasted by others. Back on Cybertron, if one was smart and skilled enough, they often could find a loophole in the Caste System and exploit it. Sometimes, mecha would even catch the attention of higher-ups who would hire them, thus moving up that way instead. Either way, to be intelligent meant that you had a much higher chance of gaining a better life than others. In Soundwave's opinion, such resourcefulness was to be commended.

The mech ceased his typing at the computer console, running into yet another complexity in the decoding of the database.

What should he do about the child? It was his duty to report the boy's actions to Megatron, but how should he present the information? The mech mused thoughtfully in the silence, his processor recalling when Megatron consulted in his the plans for turning the boy to their cause. The warlord had already begun to sway the child by telling him of their history, that much was evident by the boy's reluctance to return to the Autobots despite the many given opportunities.

The human youngling, Rafael Jorge Gonzalez "Raf" Esquivel, was an intelligent child, one who had proven to crave knowledge of any kind. So, perhaps they should use that aspect of his nature to sway him even further, using more than just historical facts. Perhaps even have the child aid Soundwave in his decoding of the Iacon database, wishful thinking though that was. However, it would certainly put Rafael to greater use than just sitting around in the medical center, tending to minor vehicon injuries.

Of course, there also came a disadvantage with teaching the child the Decepticon dialect, as he could use the information against them in the future, but Soundwave was not Megatron's Communications Officer and top spy for nothing. The silent mech knew his way around mecha's processors, knew how to persuade them, make them think a certain way. If the child would not become fully Decepticon, then Soundwave was confident that Rafael would at least become neutral and not as inclined to betray either faction.

Yes, the Third in Command most definitely had a plan. Now he just needed to convince Megatron of its benefits.


(A/N)

Ravage is a character, yay! In this story, I'll be going with what he looks like in the Aligned Continuity, which is technically his canon-look. In other words, the Ravage I'm using for visual reference is WFC Ravage. It's the purple one with the blasters on his hind legs and the Decepticon insignia on his shoulders.

And come on, I bet that at least a few of you were hoping for some Soundwave-Raf mentoring.

No?

... Well okay then.

Regardless, Soundwave seems to have some ideas of how to coax Raf to their side, but will his plans be carried out? And just how far might they go?

Thanks again so much for reading and reviewing everyone and stay tuned for next chapter ;)