Chapter 9

Sorry that this chapter took forever for me to upload. I've been busy lately, what with family problems, and such.

Megatron smirked as he watched the battle raging on right outside the base. He would never admit it, but that was too close. Of course, he had forces ready to attack at any moment, enough to subdue the two measly Autobots infiltrating the area. However, said Autobots now knew the location of their base and their chances of retrieving their leader skyrocketed. That's why he sent Switchblade to do his work. Putting the bug into a forced stasis was a message. The assassin could handle almost anything and would probably take on one of the bigger mechs in the opposite faction without batting an optic.

The Decepticon leader was fully aware of Prime's Second in Command, Prowl, and his capabilities, having witnessed them in battle numerous times. His battle computer was top of the line. No living Cybertronian had one near as good as his… except maybe Switchblade. He knew that Prowl had already formed a plan using that battle computer of his. And with the scout down, he probably threw it off enough for him to redo everything. In addition to that, with one less mech to assault the base, their success rates probably decreased at least 15 percent.

A cruel grin spread across his face. He had yet another idea. The Fallen, with all his mysterious power, knew what it was. Optimus would be broken without his medic and would probably lose all reasons to fight in the war if he were to be offlined. But the two Decepticons were not fools. They knew that killing Ratchet would be extremely hard to do. They weren't even sure if he was going to show up at the upcoming battle. But if he did, he would most likely be protected by the stronger mechs in his ranks, as Prime's beloved was to be protected at all costs.

If they couldn't kill him, they could at least fake it.

A broken Prime was a useless one. This would be too easy. Megatron commed his top scientist and relayed the current situation. Shockwave, upon receiving his message, immediately went to work. Creating something such as this was far from hard, probably the easiest job that he'd ever been given. The war was theirs.

Sam and Mikaela stared at Bee's body quietly. Ratchet knew that they had been in his medbay for at least two joor. He couldn't help but feel sorry for his two human friends. He knew of Sam's intimate relationship with Bumblebee. They had a good thing going ever since he and Mikaela broke up. And as for the latter…well… The three of them had spent enough time together to develop a firm bond. He was Sam's lover and her older brother.

The medic sighed. He too felt the pang of losing their lovable scout. Of course, he wasn't dead, but he, Jazz, and the Lamborghini twins might as well have been. Ever since Prime's capture, which had been almost a month ago, the base lost its livelihood. Jazz and his music, the Twins and their pranks, and Bee and his radio, all were silent. It was agonizing. After spending all this time with these mechs, silence was one of the most painful things for them to go through. The silence meant that there was trouble, someone they cared about was dead, and it was never a good sign at their base.

His sensitive audios picked up a strange sound in the otherwise quiet medbay. His gaze traveled back to the two humans in the room, and his spark nearly broke there. Sam, their dearest friend, the one who saved his mech twice without thinking about it, the one who saved his planet, the one who… He's been there for them ever since he met them. It's been two years, and in those two years, he's never, ever witnessed the boy crying. The sound he heard was a single teardrop falling from one of those saddened hazel eyes, landing on his yellow mech's arm. The boy curled up next to him and silently sobbed. Mikaela covered her beautiful face and began to do the same. It was sparktrending, seeing two of the strongest civilians that he'd ever known, breaking because of a Decepticon.

Ratchet's thoughts went to Prowl. His bondmate was also in a forced stasis. He knew that he was taking this hard as well. Because of Jazz's condition, Prowl's spark probably felt as if its other half was dead. Frowning deeply, he went over to the body of the silver mech and examined his neck. Based on Jolt's report, the mechs were forced into stasis by Switchblade putting pressure somewhere on their neck cables.

And suddenly, the medic had an idea. Unlike humans, Cybertronians had more than one set of wires connected to their processors. The first set, most easily located on the right side of the mech or femme's neck cables, controlled the 'organs' of the Cybertronian. All except the spark. The second set was located in the middle. That was the set that connected the processors to the spark. And the third and final set was connected to everything else. On that third set, there was a single junction located right in the middle of the Cybertronian's neck cables. It could be severed with the right amount of pressure. This set controlled the ability for them to move, communicate, etc. Basically, they were in a coma and paralyzed at the same time.

What Switchblade did was sever that line. It was the reason that they would not wake up. A surge of happiness shot through the medic's body. They had more of a chance to fight them off. He commed Prowl immediately, letting him know that he would have to adjust their plan again. The only way to fix the line was to go into surgery. For one mech alone, it would take at least four joor. Plus, they all needed recovery. Jazz and the Twins haven't walked in almost a month. After letting him know, First Aid and Jolt showed up at his door, knowing smiles on their faces. He was sure that Prowl had been the one to inform them of the situation.

Ratchet turned back to the two sobbing humans. "Samuel, Mikaela," he said, surprisingly gentle. They looked up, both pairs of eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Hey Ratchet," Sam said hoarsely. The medic smiled earnestly at the two and picked them up gently, setting them down on the floor. Mikaela protested, but after Ratchet explained the situation to them, she quieted. There was hope in her eyes, a hope that made Ratchet even more determined. He would never admit it out loud, but he had come to care for these two humans enough to make sure that hope was shattered. He nodded at his successors and they got to work. If Megatron thought he had an edge, he would be in for a surprise when they rained hell on his base.

Megatron stalked to his brother's cell slowly. He felt a little better, now. The anger he felt for someone hurting Optimus subsided later in the week. Though, he was still angry that the Autobots found his base. He was certain, however, that they would still be unable to retrieve their leader, as four of their mechs were down. And he was visiting his captive to gloat about it.

"Hello, brother," he drawled. The Prime didn't even bother to glare, as the energy to do so was nonexistent. It had been a while since they gave him energon and his strength was gone. "So your scout and one of his friends found the base." The Prime perked up at this. "But I made sure that they were taken care of. I doubt that you'll be leaving anytime soon."

I'm sorry about the length, but I'm starting to run out of ideas. See you next time.

Denali Prime out!