Author's note. Sorry for the long wait in updating, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Suggestions are welcome, thanks to all those who have given me good ones.
Enjoy and please review.
Optimus stared at the Mech in front of him, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. Only a short while ago, Megatron had been in the brig, gloating over the fact he'd managed to temporarily turn the kids into Minicons. The poor trio had been understandably upset over this fact, as Megatron had simply done it without asking.
He supposed that by the end of the day, the children would probably have enjoyed themselves. But that didn't take away the fact Megatron had caused them a lot of unnecessary distress by his actions. That was one of Megatron's flaws, he always went ahead and did what he liked, regardless of the consequences.
But as this point in time, the Autobot leader had far more pressing concerns than his rival's selfishness.
"How did you get here?" Optimus asked in wonder as the Mech started opening his cell.
"Doesn't matter," the Mech replied gruffly. "The point is, I can get us both out of here and back to Earth."
He managed to open the cell door and now stepped in to free Optimus from the chains binding him to the wall. As he did this, he said.
"Your men need you Optimus Prime, I told them I'd free you, and I intend to do that."
Optimus blinked slowly, the only sign he was shocked at the turn of events. He knew he had to get back to Earth, he was beyond useless in this cell. But a new thought occurred to him.
"What about the kids?" he asked assuming his men had told this strange Mech about them.
"Your my priority," the Mech said softly, finishing on one arm and starting on the other.
"But I said we'd try, but if they're with the Decepticons, we'll have to leave them."
Optimus frowned as he flexed his free arm, causing the Mech to say.
"If we have to leave them, at least they'll be taken care of. You on the other hand are a different matter. You are needed to lead your men, your Autobots are helpless while you remain Megatron's prisoner."
Optimus let out a deep intake, he knew this Mech was right but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and free the kids.
"Name's Sideways, by the way," Sideways now said, making a small noise of triumph as he freed Optimus's other arm.
Optimus flexed both arms as Sideways started on the final restraint, the one keeping Optimus against the wall. During his imprisonment, Optimus's form had become very battered, there were several half healed wounds Megatron had inflicted on him. But now that he was close to being free, he was ready for action and Sideways had to admit, he was impressed.
A little thing like being a Decepticon prisoner wouldn't stop him from doing his duty and fighting. Sideways was glad the Prime had such spirit, it would mean the fight would be commenced with just as much if not more vigour. And what was even better, Prime probably had a lot more rage now.
"There," Sideways said in quiet triumph as the final restraint fell away.
He stepped back out of the cell, allowing Optimus a chance to stretch and get himself warmed up for the escape. Once Optimus was ready, he too stepped out of the cell with a slight growl of satisfaction. He was clearly pleased to be out of there.
"So, what's the plan?" Optimus asked softly, making Sideways glad he was rescuing him and not Megatron. The Decepticon leader would probably just march straight out of here, with no caution at all.
"We head to the Warp room," Sideways said softly. "On the way, we can assess the situation with those kids."
Optimus nodded, that was reasonable enough. He just hoped the kids had been left alone somewhere so they could finally return them home. Their parents desperately missed them, it wasn't right for them to be separated in such a fashion. The Autobot leader felt a lot of guilt over involving them in a war that wasn't theirs.
But it was hard when they knew so much, and had even bonded with the Minicons. Hell, they were even starting to bond with the Decepticons to the point it would be very difficult to keep them out of this war.
"Do you know where any of the Decepticons are located?" Optimus asked quietly as they left the brig area.
"The Decepticon Cyclonus is recharging in a room close to the Warp room," Sideways replied just as quietly. "I heard him snoring."
Optimus repressed a chuckle at this, the Decepticon helicopter really liked his recharge. Sadly, he was probably the least dangerous Decepticon here, and they had no idea where the others were. Not to mention all the Minicons that were undoubtedly wondering about the place. It would only take one to sound an alarm and then they were in trouble.
"This way looks the least used," Sideways now said softly. "It'll take longer but there's less chance of running into anyone."
Optimus nodded, they would be walking the base's outer corridors and he liked this idea because it would give them a view of the outside. Now that the kids were Minicons, they didn't need to worry about the nonexistent atmosphere of the Moon. He was sure Megatron would take them outside, the question was, where they still out there or had they been and gone?
It was actually the former, after leaving Optimus in his cell, Megatron had decided to take the kids out onto the Moon's surface. The kids cling tightly to his hand, trying to get used to the sensation of data streams.
"Is it really necessary for me to know the exact temperature?" Carlos groused, as his readings changed yet again.
"Of course," Rad replied with a wry smiled. "How else would we know that the temperature has gone down by a whole zero point zero one degree?"
"Humans are so primitive," Megatron muttered to himself.
"Hey, this is new to us," Alexis piped up. "How would you like it if you were turned into a human?"
"I would utterly despise being so weak and helpless," Megatron said promptly, rolling his optics at their cries of protest.
"Compared to us, you are," he said silkily as Carlos said mulishly.
"Hasn't stopped us getting the better of you."
"Hmm, perhaps you'd like to test how tough your little afts are now," Megatron replied pointedly, which caused them to shut up.
This however, made Megatron chuckle before saying slyly.
"You know, on Cybertron, we sometimes have to use paddles to make sure the message gets through."
"I think your hand makes a pretty good message on its own," Rad said ruefully in remembrance.
"I know," Megatron said smugly as he finally stopped a little distance from the base.
"Here we go," he now said, bending and letting them tumble from his hand.
The kids picked themselves up, this didn't look a particularly special part of the moon. It was littered with a lot of craters however but they suspected this was entirely natural. They knew the Decepticons loved to have target practise out here, they'd probably caused the majority of craters and holes.
But even though the Moon had a seemingly boring landscape, just the fact they were on the Moon was awe inspiring. They weren't the first humans here but they were definitely the youngest. And no human had ever reached this desolate place via Warp either. The three of them were unbelievably lucky even if they were forced to be pets to the Decepticons.
They couldn't see the Earth sadly but they could see the sun and many other stars. One in particular was larger than the others and was a glowing red colour, making they realise they could see Mars. They couldn't help but stare before a deep chuckle broke the mood.
"You are so easily fascinated," Megatron chuckled, seeing planets and stars up close was nothing new to him.
"Dude, don't spoil it," Carlos groaned.
Megatron just smirked before sitting down on a large pile of rubble. As the kids stared at him in confusion, he said with a sly smile.
"Why don't you children play, I'll just relax here."
"We're not that young," Alexis exclaimed, even if they weren't, she had no desire for Megatron to watch them.
"By my count, you're barely Younglings," Megatron said with an evil grin. "And Younglings play, so go on."
The kids looked at each other in exasperation, the Decepticon tyrant could be so demanding sometimes. But they knew if they didn't indulge him, he'd get angry and in all probability punish them. So they awkwardly tried to think of something to do.
But then Carlos suddenly ran forward and launched himself into the air, going much higher and further than he should have been able to go. But then Rad and Alexis remembered there was no gravity and it was only their new Minicon bodies which stopped them from floating away. This didn't stop them rising a little every time they took a step.
Sharing a grin, the two kids followed Carlos's example and started running before leaping into the air. Well, strictly speaking not air but they couldn't stop themselves calling it that. The result was that they soared through something that felt much thicker than air but not as condense as water. It allowed them to land with a lot more grace than if they'd propelled themselves through real air.
Megatron smirked as he watched them jumping about, he was convinced he'd done them a good thing, turning them into Minicons. What a shame it wasn't permanent but he rather liked them as humans. Apart from the fact they made interesting pets, he enjoyed how warm and delicate they were. And as Minicons, they'd probably be able to get into a lot more trouble.
He would allow them to revert back to their human forms by the end of the cycle otherwise he'd have to put up with their complaints. Those children could be annoyingly persistent and wouldn't give up the issue if he forced them to remain as Minicons. Although in a way, it was a shame, it would have been interesting seeing them adapt to life as miniature Transformers.
After a while, he decided it would be safe to leave them, they wouldn't go anywhere. After being punished for trying to escape, they knew what would happen if they were caught. He wanted to go and relax for a bit, he'd see how they took to Energon later. The children paused in their jumping as he stood up and he said with a smile.
"Can I trust you children out here?"
They glanced at each other before nodding.
"I hope so, if you stay here like good children, you can try some Energon Treats," he offered, knowing children enjoyed sweet things. "I need not say what'll happen if you disobey."
They nodded, they didn't need to be told. Somehow, they suspected he really would use a paddle on them if they did anything they were not supposed to. Alexis still decided to ask.
"Will you be gone long?"
"No I won't be, iníon," he said rather absentmindedly.
"What?" Alexis exclaimed, she hadn't understood the last word and neither had the boys.
"Um, have a nice nap," Rad said tentatively, as confused as his friends.
"I will, mo mhac," Megatron replied, his mind apparently on other things.
The kids didn't say anything as he walked back to the base, it wasn't too far away although since they were still small it would take them a while to get there. They could still see it but there were so many craters littering the ground that it would slow them down, not to mention the zero gravity.
But they weren't thinking about that, they were pondering what those words meant. They'd never heard them before, in fact, they'd never heard any of the Decepticons speak in another language. They didn't really count curses like frag and slag, those were easy to work out.
"What the...heck did he just say?" Carlos finally burst out when Megatron was about half way back to his base.
"I have no idea," Rad said honestly, rubbing the back of his neck. "It didn't sound bad though."
"No," Alexis said with a slight frown on her face. "But...it made me feel a bit odd...like it means something really important. You know what I mean?"
They nodded, it felt like there was a hidden meaning behind those words and when they discovered what it was...things would change.
Author's note. Optimus and Sideways run into a Decepticon but which one? Meanwhile, the kids try to work out the meaning of those words. Can any of you readers? An internet cookie or sweet biscuit of some sort if you can find out what they mean, good luck.