Chapter 3: Unlikely Saviors and Chances

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. I only own Zettabyte, Theta and this fanfic idea. Note that I made up some names for the MECH agents, but they still belong to Hasbro.

Warning-There is some mentions of ArceexKnock Out (past) and hints of one-sided ArceexKnock Out (though that will change for the better *wink* *wink*) in this chapter. There is also hints of death of humans and Cybertronians (not the main characters though).

Denta-Teeth Optic-Eye Digit-Finger Audio-Ear Chassis-Chest Frame-Body

[Ha]-Walkie Talkie talk Vented/Inhale and exhale-Breathe Spinal Strut-Back/Spine

Stasis/Offline-Unconsciousness Recharge-Sleep Protocols-Instincts

life Energon-blood Energon CMO-Commanding Medical Officer Jaw joint-jaw

Vehicons-servant drones (miners, patrol scouts, look outs, engineers, messengers, etc.)

Forehelm-Forehead Extinguished/Terminated-Killed Lip Components-Lips

Eradicons-warrior drones (soldiers, offense, defense, back up, frontliners etc.) Online-awake

TIC- Third-In-Command Holo-vid-video Holo-scan-picture Tanks-Stomach/Abdomen

Silas looked up from his notes on what he and his men learned about while trying to dissect Breakdown when he heard the knock on his office door.

"Come in," he said in a cold calculative tone before one of his soldiers came in.

"Sir, scanners have picked up a lone Cybertronian signal in the northeast part of the desert," the soldier reported professionally and audibly through the dingy green mask.

"Is it an Autobot or Decepticon?" Silas asked, his cold tone and stoic face never wavering.

The soldier, whose was referred to as Nikolai, continued, "Not clear. Usually both sides scout in pairs of two or more. But this one is completely alone. We should take the chance while we have the opportunity."

Silas nodded in agreement before asking, "Has the energy canister we need for our new stun gun arrived so we can catch our prize?"

"Yes sir," Novo confirmed calmly.

The MECH leader nodded as he started to leave the room while saying, "Attach it immediately and alert the others. I want that Cybertronian in our clutches as soon as we can."

Not ten seconds after Silas left did Nikolai called his fellow MECH associates, who were in charge of taking care of the weapons and transport vehicles, via walkie talkie.

"I just told the boss. He wants the stun gun set up now," Nikolai said in a firm and authoritative voice. There was static for a few seconds before he got a response from Johnson, the head of the weapons team.

[There's…a slight problem,] Johnson's worried voice came out crackily through the walkie talkie.

"What problem?!" Nikolai hissed in an aggravated and fearful tone. Faults and errors were not welcomed in the MECH organization. Though none of them would admit it, Silas could be psychotic and violent when he wanted to be. Especially when it came to ruined opportunities due to mistakes caused by his soldiers.

Johnson continued to speak, [It's the canister…it looks smaller than it should be. And the energy that it emits isn't blue or white…The energy…is…green. Like bright, neon green.]

Nikolai cursed. Knowing Silas, he and the other were expected to be ready in ten minutes or less. They definitely did NOT have enough time to get a new energy canister. But there was no way that he was going to be the one to tell his leader that there was an issue and they wouldn't be able to fix it right away. Finally Nikolai came to a decision. It was risky but it was the only one he could think of.

"Insert it," Nikolai commanded.

Johnson voice came out confused and concerned, [What?]

"You heard me," Nikolai snapped in an impatient tone.

Johnson attempted to protest, [But the stun gun was built for a specific type of energy canister! We can't just-]

Nikolai interrupted his colleague with a snarl, "Unless you can pull the right canister out of thin air in a matter of minutes we don't have any choice! It's either a botched mission or a missed opportunity and I'm pretty sure that Silas would prefer the former! If it works, we worried over nothing! If it doesn't, we blame the delivery guy and hope the boss agrees!"

There was a short stretch of silence before Johnson meekly agreed, [Alright.]

Meanwhile

Zettabyte sat alone on the desert floor under the light of Earth's moon, face buried in his servos. He was too numb inside to cry or too care about some of the gritty minerals getting into the seams of his armor. He had experienced bullying and quiet discrimination but never had he experienced such hostility and violent behavior.

Once another ten nano-kliks had passed, Zettabyte allowed his servos to retreat to his sides as he lifted his head to gaze at the night sky. The stars glittering above reminded him of when Theta took him to the Crystal City Observatory to look at the stars and other heavenly bodies. The stars on Earth may be in different places but somehow they still brought him comfort like they did in his sparklinghood. Zettabyte smiled sadly at the memory before sighing in misery.

"I tried. I really did," he said to no one in particular. Perhaps to Primus? To Theta? To himself for comfort? He didn't know.

"Well I should probably get going. I won't accomplish anything just sitting around here feeling sorry for myself," Zettabyte proclaimed to himself. But where would he go? He certainly didn't trust the idea of going back to the base. Even if he did, he couldn't recall which way he came from.

Well I can't worry about that right now. Gotta keep moving, he decided inwardly. As he prepared to transform into his alt. mode however, something caught his optic. Despite the darkness, he could see several shapes of what seemed to be vehicles. But, from what Zettabyte could tell, they didn't resemble any Cybertronian alt. modes he knew. Then it hit him. They were Earth vehicles. Which meant that most likely, they held humans. The same natives that Optimus warned him were NOT suppose to be aware that a robotic species was hiding on their planet.

Before Zettabyte could react, the vehicles suddenly surrounded him. Some were large and looked to be heavily armored while others were slick and looked to be made for speed. The ruby and sapphire mechling watched in shock and apprehension as one of the doors to the slick vehicle most in the front open. Stepping out of it was a being that he could only assume was a human.

This human's "metal" seemed to be dark grey but his "helm" seemed to be composed of some kind of pale looking "metal" with some grayish-white material laid on the top of the said "helm." There was an angular protrusion in the middle of the human's "faceplate", a little above his mouth but right below his "optics." Speaking of the "optics", the human's optics weren't like any that Zettabyte saw before. They were mostly white but within each of their middles were two dark colored circles. On the sides of the human's "helm" were even more strangely shaped protrusions. Perhaps the most peculiar features were the scare plastered in various places on the human's "faceplate." It was then that the ruby and sapphire mechling realized that the human wasn't alone.

About fifteen or more figures stood behind the first human and while their "armor" was quite similar, the other humans "helms" were covered with a loose ding green material. What was so alarming is that they were all currently armed with firearms. Zettabyte felt fear crawl into his spark like a parasite. He watched nervously as the scarred human, who seemed to be the group's leader, step forward.

"Who are you?" the human asked in a deep, cool tone. Judging by the low pitch of the voice, Zettabyte could safely assume that the scarred human was a full-grown male.

Zettabyte vented shakily before responding, "I'm Z-Zettabyte, um, sir."

The ruby and sapphire mechling felt his faceplates heat up when he heard the quiet snickering from the other humans, causing him to feel even more anxiety than he already was. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or concerned that the scarred human was the only one not laughing.

"We are M.E.C.H. And I am Silas," the scarred human, Silas, proclaimed in a tone that seemed to foreshadow an omen.

That's when it hit Zettabyte. If Optimus said that humans were unaware of Cybertronians present on their planet, then why did Silas ask who he was instead of what he was? Alarms rang shrilly in the ruby and sapphire mechling's processor as the cold sensation of dread slithered up his spinal strut.

As calmly and politely as he could, Zettabyte said to Silas, "I'm guessing that you guys are humans huh? Well I would love to stay and discuss various topics, I really must be on my way."

A cruel smile spread across Silas' face as he said in a sinister tone, "Oh you're not going anywhere."

Zettabyte froze at the sudden baleful tone and words. It was then that he noticed three things too late. One was that an odd flight capable Earth machine had just arrived behind him, still in midair. Another was that inside it, he could see a group of MECH members pointing what looked to be a large energy gun at him. The final thing he noticed was that it had shot a strange green beam at him which he, unfortunately, was unable to dodge in time.

Gritting his denta in pain and scrunching his optics close, Zettabyte fell to the ground as ringing filled his audios from the damage and shock caused by the blast hitting him. It smartedlike slag! He struggled to get up but the lack of proper Energon refueling had caught up with him, making his frame burn with fatigue. His processor fought with his systems to stay online but by how his vision glitched and started darkening, he knew he was losing.

As his systems slowly began to shut down, he sensed a change in his surroundings. The ground shook with tremors, almost as if something heavy was stomping around him. He heard what sounded like Cybertronian guns being fired and shouts from various voices, including Silas. The last thing that he saw before he fell into stasis, was a large shadow stretch over him. Then he slipped into darkness.

Two Earth hours later on the Nemesis

Knock Out examined the ruby and sapphire mechling on his medbay berth. The mechling's age was the Cybertronian equivalent of human teenager's age of sixteen. His frame was an unnervingly look-alike to the vain medic's frame but instead of being entirely deep ruby red, the mechling's armor had some dark sapphire parts here and there, which reminded him of a certain femme two-wheeler's blue finish. And his faceplates painfully reminded Knock Out of the said two-wheeler he was once in love with and now was forced to fight. The mechling's crest even resembled the Decepticon CMO's, only with his once love's frontal crest and the lack of "elf ears" as Breakdown and the drones so humorously called them.

Speaking of Breakdown, the blue Stunticon hadn't left the medbay since he had brought the mechling in. Despite his outer attitude and appearance, Breakdown had a soft spark for Cybertronian children of any age. Before becoming a Decepticon, the blue mech had another job he was excellent at besides construction and gladiatorial battles; sparkling care taker. No matter the age of the child, Breakdown always cared for them as tenderly as a heavily built bot like him could. Even when they were fighting the Autobots, Breakdown's morale and nurturing protocol instincts kept him from harming Team Prime's young scout.

So it was no surprise that when the ex-Wrecker came across the injured mechling being surrounded by M.E.C.H. soldiers, it made Breakdown snap. He already had a score to settle with the terrorist human organization for taking out his optic and causing him to get on Megatron's bad side. Seeing that they were about to take a wounded youth away to do Primus knows what to him was final straw for the blue Stunticon. Ordering the Eradicons that had been accompanying him on his scouting mission to follow his lead, they attacked the humans with no mercy.

Silas and his men may have been armed, but stood no chance against a group of five towering, advanced alien robots. Especially when the one they tortured was swinging his hammer at them in a fit of rage. To make a long story short; Silas was sent running empty handed…along with only a less than half of his group remaining. Breakdown wasted no time in scooping up the mechling and sending coordinates for Soundwave to activate a groundbridge to while yelling for Knock Out to get the medbay ready.

Now two Earth hours later (Knock Out had no qualms about using human time vocabulary), the mechling was still in stasis. Whatever weapon M.E.C.H. had used on the adolescent newcomer had left a black scorch mark that had ran from the mechling's shoulder to his chassis. Thankfully the damaged area wasn't leaking life Energon and the injury was easy to fix and clean. No frayed interior components had been fried or damaged during the medical scans Knock Out performed. He did notice that the mechling had some irregular spark beats but he waved it off as the mechling being exhausted or stressed.

"Did you check if he has a fever?" Breakdown inquired, rest a large servo gently onto the mechling's forehelm.

The vain medic rolled his optics before replying, "Yes Breakdown, I did a thorough check and double check. There appears to be no other injuries or signs of a virus present. I did notice that he was low on Energon though. We'll have to give him some when he wakes up."

At the moment, the doors to the medbay opened to reveal none other than the leader of the Decepticons himself, followed by Airachnid, Soundwave, and a few drones. Had it been just the drones, Knock Out would have ordered them to leave until the patient was online. But this was Megatron, so unless the vain medic wanted a ruined paint job or worse, he was to tolerate his liege's presence despite normal medical regulations.

The Decepticon CMO and his partner stood respectfully and professionally as the former gladiator gazed upon the mechling's offline form. His gaze was hard but calm and slightly curious. The vain medic and the ex-Wrecker both tensed up as their leader outstretched his clawed servo towards the mechling only to relax and be in silent shock as the servo that had extinguished so many sparks gently came to rest on the mechling's helm.

After a few moments, Megatron spoke, "Has he shown signs of coming online?"

Knock Out responded with a negative shake of his head, "Not yet my liege. Though I am surprised that we came to this young mech's aid before the Autobots did."

Breakdown growled spitefully and protectively, "I'm not. When it comes down to their own, those Autoscum barely lift a digit unless the bot in need has something worth giving to their so-called team. Even then they wouldn't think twice about abandoning that team mate if it meant saving their own hides."

Knock Out couldn't help but wince in a sympathetic way. Another reason that Breakdown became a Decepticon, besides the fact he was suitable to be a Combiner and believed in some of Megatron's views, but because not long after Breakdown join the Wreckers did he end up being left for dead on a mission. It was hard, devastating blow to the ex-Wrecker. A blow that left him bitter and hateful to the Autobots and their cause. Knock Out even doubted that Breakdown's recent rescue by Bulkhead's servos was enough to make up for the treachery all those millenias ago.

Megatron seemed to agree with Breakdown as he continued, "The Autobots are a greedy breed, no doubt due to the fact that many of them cannot let go of their corrupted upper caste upbringing."

It was then that Soudwave pointed at the monitors. Knock Out looked to see that the readings had changed. The spark beats had increased and the processor activity had gotten stronger. It was then that Knock Out realized what the Communications and Surveillance officer was trying to tell him.

"My lord, it appears that the patient is waking up," Knock Out stated quickly."

As soon as those words left the Decepticon CMO's mouth, a groan resonated from the mechling's own vocals. All five adult Decepticons looked down to see that the adolescent Cybertronian began to stir. Before anyone could react, Megatron removed the mechling's visor in a quick but precise motion. Instead of questioning their leader's sudden action, the other four peered down at the mechling alongside him.

Zettabyte's Perspective

Zettabyte didn't know what to expect when he woke up. Tied up in a dark room with more M.E.C.H. soldiers surrounding him? Mostly. Being back with the Autobots? Less likely. Still drifting through space in the pod and finding out everything was a bad dream? Primus forbid. But never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine waking up to find five full-grown Decepticons staring at him as he laid there like a sitting petro-rabbit. The insignias on their chassis were the first things he saw, hence his figuring out what faction they were.

The Decepticon to his right was a full-grown mech grounder with a deep red paint job similar to Zettabyte's own red areas. The both even had the same frame and optic shape with optic brows. The only difference were their helms and faceplates. The red mech's face was more elegant (in Zettabyte's opinion) and was a pristine white color to match his servos. Not to mention that red mech lacked a crest on his top helm fin and had what looked to be small white audio finials poking out the back.

The Decepticon to his left was also a mech grounder but was more muscular than his red counterpart. This mech was a faded navy blue and looked to be bigger than Bulkhead. His faceplates were a dark shade of orange red. When Zettabyte saw the mech's optics, he almost let out a gasp of horror. Or rather optic. While the blue mech's left optic was a bright yellow (an unusual color for a Decepticon's optics), where the right optic should have been was black Cybertronian optic patch. Before the ruby and sapphire mechling could wonder exactly how the mech got such a injury, his gaze fell on another one of the three Con adults that stood at the end of his berth.

It was a femme, and like Arcee, seemed to be the only one in the group, though it was hard to tell whether she was a grounder or flier. However this femme looked more…roguish than Arcee. Feral even. She had a black, gold, and mauve finish that went well with her sharp features. Her helm had fiendish horn like structures on her helm and were as sharp looking as her clawed servos. Her deep violet lips were set in a thin line of neutrality, as were her mauve optics. As Zettabyte adjusted his optics, he saw that attached to the femme's back were long, spindly appendages that ended in dagger like points. Zettabyte' spark hammered in it' chamber as he turned to look at the other Con near the right side of his berth…and he felt himself freeze up.

Con was mainly black, gray, and indigo with some electric violet biolights. Zettabyte could tell that this Con was a mech by the frame structure but what made the mech shocking to ruby and sapphire mechling was the screen that stood in place of the mech's face. It was black, giving the impression of facelessness. The mech's helm had spikey protrusions on the forehelm area. His arms were so long that they almost touched the ground and had a flat look to them. The mech's chassis looked odd as well. It seemed to be detachable from the ruby and sapphire mechling's view.

He then turned his attention to the fifth and final Decepticon who seemed to have been lingering in shadowy area just a few inches from the end of the berth. Sensing that the ruby and sapphire mechling was now focusing his attention on him, the hidden Decepticon stepped forward. When Zettabyte saw the mech, he felt time stop around him.

The mech looked to be taller than even Optimus and was mainly silver with a few patches of dark violet in his seams and places of his inner protoform. Wicked, sharp-looking structures on the silver mech's shoulders gave him an ominous appearance and it didn't help that Zettabyte got a glimpse of powerful servos with sharp digits. The silver mech's helm was flat on top and it was slightly cylindrical. Finally, the last thing that Zettabyte noticed was the mech's bright scarlet optics. They seemed to bore into the ruby and sapphire mechling's spark. It didn't take long for Zettabyte to realize who he was staring at.

He was staring at Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons. The very same mech who he was talking about to the Autobots. Just then, Zettabyte noticed that all of their stares (except for the screen-faced mech) were stares of shock. And by the direct eye contact he had a dreadful feeling of what exactly they were staring at that caused their expressions. Reaching up to see if he still had the visor on, his spark sank as his digits felt nothing blocking them from his optic area.

It was then that the warlord spoke to him as he held the visor, "I see now why you where this visor."

Zettabyte bowed his helm in embarrassment as he spoke, "I just started wearing it today."

Megatron quirked an optic as he inquired, "Why? Who are you?"

Well they deserve to be told the truth. They have a right, Zettabyte told himself as he tried to swallow down the fear rising in his throat.

"My name is Zettabyte. My adoptive father was Sentinel Zeta Prime," the ruby and sapphire mechling stated with his head down. He didn't need to look up to see they were in shock.

Zettabyte then found the courage to continue, "I never agreed with his ideals. Not with the caste. Not with his bigotry towards fliers, seekers, and Vosnians. None of it. I hated going out and seeing lower caste bots be treated like they were either invisible or a pariah. I hated being with stuck up nobles who only cared about themselves and thought that our society at the time was perfect."

At this time, Zettabyte took the chance to look up. The red mech and blue mech's expressions were that of shock and what looked like pity. The femme had turned away from him but Zettabyte could see signs that she had her arms crossed. There was no need to look at the screen-faced mech. He saw that Megatron's face was still stoic but intrigued.

Zettabyte went on, now directing his words at the former gladiator, "I know what they say about Decepticons…but I don't believe it. Your faction did not start the war, it was the caste and the nobles. I'm sorry for what my adoptive father did to you and the other bots hurt by his Primus forsaken system and beliefs. They were the real victims. But I know my words mean nothing to you, to any of you. I can't change the damaged done by the system, just as my apology can't undo the trauma and losses you went through before and after you rose up against the nobles and the High Council. If you rid yourselves of my existence, I will not object or beg for mercy because I don't deserve it. Not when I came from the same environment as your past tormentors. If anything, see my banishment as a step towards compensation for your pain and tragedies."

By then the warlord was now staring at him in complete surprise. Zettabyte saw out of the corner of his optic that the blue mech's faceplates were set in an expression of horror and pleading that seemed to be aimed at the ex-gladiator. The ruby mech was tense in both his face and posture as he too looked at his leader, almost as if he was ready to jump to the ruby and sapphire mechling's aid. The femme still hadn't turned towards him and the screen-faced mech remained calmlywhere he stood.

What felt like megacycles but what was actually nano-kliks had passed before Megatron chose to speak.

"I see that you truly are different from the nobles I have come across in the past. And I see that you are far from proud of your upbringing by the servos of the mech who was responsible for the accursed caste. But do you wish to know what I also see?" the silver mech questioned.

The silver mech waited for Zettabyte to nod his helm be fore continuing.

"I see a mechling who is more open-minded and precocious than those around him. A mechling who is observant of who is guilty or not and who is to be blamed or praised. Your compassion and ethics supersedes the views that you were forced fed. You take responsibility even when the fault isn't truly yours," the warlord proclaimed.

The ruby red mech and the blue mech had both relaxed at this point but were staring at their leader in slight awe at how calm and civil he was speaking to the ruby and sapphire mechling. The femme had left just nano-kliks ago and the screen-faced mech had followed soon after.

As the silver mech turned towards the door, he said to Zettabyte, "Walk with me."

Zettabyte immediately got off the berth to follow the warlord, minding how the two mechs were making sure he didn't stumble or teeter as he stood up to follow the former gladiator.

"Easy," the blue mech said softly as he put one of his servos on the mechling's pack to balance him.

"Don't strain yourself," the ruby red mech chided.

Zettabyte nodded, "Thank you sirs."

The ruby red mech as he gestured to the blue mech smirked, "Thank Breakdown for that kid. He's the one who saved you from M.E.C.H."

The blue mech, Breakdown, grinned as he gestured to the ruby red mech, "And it was Knock Out here who fixed you up."

Zettabyte couldn't help but smile at their humorous trade back, "Well either way, thank you both. I hope to see you two again real soon."

With one wave goodbye, the ruby and sapphire exited the medbay and followed the Decepticon leader.

Third Person Perspective

As the ruby and sapphire mechling and the silver mech walked through the halls, a few drones stopped and stared. Never before had they seen their leader so content to have such a young Cybertronian walking beside him. A few times their leader shot them a glare that demanded for them to stop looking and get on with their work to which they instantly obeyed.

Zettabyte paid no mind to the countless (and identical) on-lookers as the. He was too busy staring in awe at the vastness of the Nemesis. It was even larger than the Haven. As the ex-gladiator showed him around, the ruby and sapphire mechling found himself admiring not just the size of the ship but what it held. From its mess hall to its weapons storage room to the heavy drilling and mining equipment hidden in the larger areas, the ship was more than equipped for anything. When they entered the Command Center, Zettabyte's jaw joint fell open.

The Command Center was large enough to hold more than twenty bots and the floor window and large frontal window held a strange but amazing aesthetic look to the dark ship. Right above the Center's ceiling was a bright alight that glowed white and bright violet. The computer console on the Center's platform was well constructed than the one had had seen at the Autobot's base. And at that console was none other than Soundwave. The Communications and Surveillance Officer worked diligently at the console, not even realizing that his master and the new arrival had come in.

"Zettabyte meet my Third-In-Command and optics and audios, Soundwave," Megatron stated as he gestured to the tall, silent mech.

Bowing politely, Zettabyte spoke gently to the silent mech, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The silent mech's only response was nodding his helm ever so slightly that if Zettabyte had not been watching carefully, he would have missed it.

"Soundwave, like myself, was also a gladiator in the Pits of Kaon. Of course you probably already knew this, didn't you?" Megatron guessed.

Zettabyte nodded, "Yes. But may I ask you something that I'm not sure is true or not?"

Megatron nodded, looking curious, "What is it?"

Zettabyte carefully began to ask, "I heard that, like you, Soundwave had an occupation before being the gladiator. Is it true that Soundwave…use to be a music composer?"

Megatron's optics widened slightly, "I'm surprised anyone remembered."

Zettabyte looked at him in astonishment, "So it is true?"

Megatron nodded, "Soundwave's music was well-known and loved. Until the caste managed to rip that away from him."

Zettabyte winced in self-loathing. To think that while the nobles got to do useless things like shop for trinkets they didn't even need, lower caste bots were stripped of the right to do what they loved and what they were so talented at.

Megatron spoke again, "If you are aware of who my generals and I use to be, then you also must be aware of what we have done."

Zettabyte nodded gravely, "Yes but I think there's a reason behind what you did."

"Oh? What is the reason?" Megatron asked.

The ruby and sapphire mechling looked the silver warlord in the eyes, "What you do to your enemies…mirror what your tormentors and the nobles did to you and your fellow Decepticons before you fought back, am I correct?"

Megatron stared at him in shock before closing his optics and turning away, "More than you know."

Zettabyte felt guilt fill his spark. In that moment, he didn't see a warlord but a worn gladiator who had been through countless horrors and had seen one too many tragedies for one to handle alone.

"F-Forgive me for bringing up the past, sir," the ruby and sapphire mechling stuttered apologetically.

Megatron turned back to him, "It doesn't matter now."

Zettabyte couldn't keep himself from insisting, "Yes it does. You-"

Their conversation was interrupted when a small beep sounded from the console. Soundwave turns towards his master as he pointed to something on the screen. Megatron walked over to get a closer look at what his TIC had to show him. As he got a good look at the screen, the Decepticon leader blinked in interest.

"It appears that Soundwave has pulled up your file, Zettabyte," Megatron commented.

That caught the ruby and sapphire mechling's attention as he walked over to the console. Sure enough, he saw his file which included everything, even a small holo-scan of him in the upper left corner.

"Hmm, it says here that you are aiming to become a medic and scientist," Megatron proclaimed with a hint of fascination.

"Yes, I want to help those around me. Sadly, I never got the chance to be trained by a professional. I know a good amount of medical and scientific knowledge, but I never been given any real life, hands on training," Zettabyte explained.

Megatron looked in deep thought for a moment before turning to walk out of the Command Center.

"Follow me," he beckoned to the ruby and sapphire mechling.

Zettabyte obeyed as he started to once again follow the warlord. They passed several rooms and corridors before Megatron stopped at one particular door. This door was larger than the others and it looked to have been untouched for quite a few solar cycles. Megatron then put in the passcode to the lock-pad before pressing his servo against the plate. As the door opened, Zettabyte gaped in awe at what was inside.

The room was large and spacious, as was the berth. On the right side of the room was a work bench which still had quite a few tools strewn on top of it. On the left side were a couple of medium sized storage containers. Judging by the Cybertronian glyphs on them, Zettabyte realized that they most likely held parts for engineering projects, medical supplies, and lab equipment. The last thing that the ruby and sapphire mechling noticed were the walls. Each wall had three to five blue prints and scientific notes attached to them.

"Do like it?" the warlord questioned.

"I do! It feels more at home than the Haven ever did!" Zettabyte exclaimed, unable to with held his excitement.

"Then it's yours," the ex-gladiator claimed.

Zettabyte twisted around to stare at the silver mech, "Y-You mean it?"

The Decepticon leader nodded.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Zettabyte murmured gratefully. For a moment, there was a peaceful serenity between the warlord and the ruby and sapphire mechling. However, the silence was broken by a loud churning that came from Zettabyte's tanks.

The young Cybertronian's face heated up in embarrasment as he looked apologetically at the ex-gladiator, "I'm sorry. I forgot that I haven't refueled."

"Then it's a good thing I found you two," came familiar voice.

Both Zettabyte and Megatron turned to see Knock Out walking standing in the hallway holding an electric blue cube. Behind him was Breakdown.

Stepping out of the room and taking the cube gently from Knock Out's servos, Zettabyte softly said, "Thank you."

Knock Out smiled as he explained to Megatron, "We just came to see how Zettabyte was doing, my liege."

Breakdown nodded as he fondled Zettabyte's helm, "It's not every day that we find a mechling being attacked by humans. Let alone M.E.C.H."

Zettabyte did not miss the toxic tone Breakdown had used when he said that last sentence. As he finished his Energon, he turned to the two mechs.

"You know them?" the young male Cybertronian inquired.

Knock Out snorted bitterly, "Know them? They captured Breakdown here and took out his optic while he was pinned down and online."

Zettabyte stared in horror and looked to the blue Stunticon for affirmation. The ex-Wrecker ran his servo over his patch while nodding shamefully., confirming Knock Out's words.

"B-But why?! What did we do to them?" Zettabyte questioned, shocked at what he was hearing."

"It's not what we did. It's what they want to use us for. They seek to dissect us to better understand how advanced our technology is to use it for their own weapons," Knock Out explained, his tone clearly directing hate at the human organization.

"How did you wind up confronting them anyway, kid?" Breakdown asked, trying to steer away from the topic of M.E.C.H.

Zettabyte once again bowed his helm as he explained, "The Autobots found me when I landed…but when I told them about how you were the ones who were wrong…and when they saw my optics…their green mech, Bulkhead,…chased me around and forced me out."

No sooner had Zettabyte finished his explanation did Breakdown growl out, "That slaghead! I know that Bulkhead is not the trusting type but that's no excuse for kicking out a young Cybertronian in need! Who does that scrap pile think he is?! Halogen?!"

Knock Out soothed his partner, "Easy Breakdown."

"And the other Autobots did nothing?" Megatron inquired, his voice brimming with a cold anger as well.

Zettabyte shrugged, "They were trying to stop him from chasing me away but I knew that they thought that my ideas were unrealistic too."

Megatron placed a clawed servo on Zettabyte's shoulder, "It's a good thing that we brought you here then. Zettabyte wishes to become a medic and scientist."

That caught Knock Out's attention as he glanced at Zettabyte who nodded shyly and humbly.

Megatron proceeded speaking, "We will not force him to be one of us. Nor will we ask him to consider. We understand how difficult it is to be betrayed by the faction you were once loyal to and how that destroyed trust is not quick to reassemble. Of course whether Zettabyte wishes to be trained by you, Knock Out, is solely up to him. But I wonder…if that's what you truly want right now, Zettabyte?"

The adolescent male Cybertronian looked at the warlord in confusion.

"I can sense that you wish to explore your new territory before settling in," Megatron clarified.

Zettabyte then nodded his helm bashfully as he turned to Knock Out, "It's just that the natives of the planets that the Haven landed on knew of our war and didn't want our presence. But here, aside from M.E.C.H., these natives don't even know that there is life outside their solar system. I would be honored to be your student Knock Out sir, but I want to investigate this planet first, starting with this area."

To Zettabyte's surprise, the vain medic smiled and nodded before saying, "I felt the same way when I got here as well. I can wait."

Zettabyte smiled before he was handed a small device by Megatron. The device was a bit smaller than his servo and it was rectangular and was colored grey and violet. It had a small screen and a few buttons beneath the screen. The ruby and sapphire mechling looked up at the Decepticon leader for information on the device.

"This device will allow you to contact for help or back up. It also has a map of the Earth. Should you decide to see the rest of Earth, you may contact Soundwave and have him bridge you to that destination," the silver mech informed.

"I will keep it safe, thank you sir," Zettabyte said as he put it away in his subspace.

"Be sure to get an Earth vehicle mode quick. I'll say this, these humans have great aesthetic tastes when it comes to how they design their vehicles," Knock Out added making the ruby and sapphire mechling smile.

C'mon kid. I'll walk you off the ship," Breakdown offered as he began walking with Zettabyte.

None of the three mechs saw the mechling's optics turn neon green for a moment.

A few Earth minutes later

Megatron watched from the Command Center window as Zettabyte drove off through the desert in the night. His focus on the mechling's disappearing form was interrupted by the clinking of metallic spider legs greeted his audios. He didn't need to look to know who it was.

Airachnid walked up to stand next to her leader, her optics also becoming glued to the area where Zettabyte disappeared from. Nano-kliks passed before she spoke up.

"I heard you gave him one of Soundwave's little bridge beepers," she claimed, voice as cool as stone.

"And what of it?" Megatron couldn't help but pry.

"You put a tracker in it, didn't you?" the dark femme questioned, seeming a bit too eager to know the answer.

Megatron waited a moment before replying, "No…not this time."

"Why? Is he not a personal gain to you?" Airachnid asked, obviously more than displeased by her liege's answer.

"Only partially. I see something…more in him," the silver mech answered in a tone that meant she would get no more answers out of him.

At that moment, Breakdown entered, "Hey Airachnid, that kid asked me to tell you hello and goodbye before he left. That was sweet of him, wasn't it?"

The spider-like femme's didn't respond as she quickly left the Center, avoiding optic contact with the ex-Wrecker.

"What did I say?" Breakdown asked, slightly confused and guilty.

All he got was silence.

I told you guys: OOCness. Don't worry, next chapter will get into the Danny Phantom crossover/parody. As I said before haters and flamers will be burned. And Zettabyte was describing Silas' flesh, hair, ears, and nose in case you didn't understand.

Until next time, Happy Reading;D