Author's Notes: I really like how this chapter turned out. I'm already working on the next chapter, and chapter 6 will have a lot of action and a new subplot. I'll give you a hint about it: it involves Wheeljack and 5 of his most volatile inventions ;)

Chapter 5

Land of The Lost

Megatron had been flying around in circles, and Chip had gone from terrified to angry to dizzy within a matter of minutes. He still didn't know what the giant silver mech wanted from him, but he knew whatever it was he would never cooperate with him! Still, he also knew that Megatron had his ways of getting information out of people. He had learned that from repeated encounters with the Decepticons.

I wonder what my parents will think when they realize I'm gone… Chip thought despondently. What if I never see them again?

Meanwhile, Megatron had a slightly different though not dissimilar thought process going on in his head…

I can't believe I forgot where my own base is! Megatron thought as he cursed his bad sense of direction in his processor. What if I never make it back? Would anyone look for me? What if I never see the other Decepticons again?

Since flying around in circles wasn't helping anything and Megatron needed to conserve his energy reserves, he finally decided to land. Chip was relieved that at least they weren't airborne anymore. He was starting to feel airsick! Megatron touched down near a small town in Washington state. He enhanced his optics so he could get a better look at the buildings, but found that he couldn't read any of the signs. Hm, must've lost my written language translator, too… Megatron thought with a sense of disappointment.

"I need to scan the written language here," Megatron said out loud; forgetting that he was still holding Chip.

Megatron then walked to the town and started scanning all of the signs and listening for the appropriate syntax as he eavesdropped on human conversations. It took a few minutes for him to finish, but Chip was in no mood to hurry Megatron along. He might have hated the Decepticon tyrant, but he also knew his best chance of survival was to stay on the mech's good side.

"Hey Chip?" Megatron finally addressed Chip after about 10 minutes of silence, "That building over there says Body Shop? What is that? Is it like a protoform nursery for newsparks?"

"What? No!" Chip answered; baffled by Megatron's incoherent thought process, "That is where people go to get their cars worked on. You know, like new paints jobs, buffing out scratches, and other things like that."

"Oh, so it's like a salon," Megatron concluded.

"Uh...I guess for a Cybertronian it would be," Chip conceded uncertainly.

"Cool! Do you think they'd work on me?" Megatron asked eagerly.

"On you…?" Chip wasn't sure what to think of that.

"Yeah, I want some of these old battle scars removed, and I'd like to get a cool new paint job!" Megatron explained happily.

Chip wasn't sure whether to laugh or gape at Megatron's attitude. He sounded like a kid asking for a new toy...or maybe a teenager asking for a tattoo.

"Huh...So, what kind of paint job would you like?" Chip asked out of morbid curiosity.

"I don't know," Megatron admitted, "Maybe gold, or bronze! Oh, I know! How about a black base with flames streaking up my legs and arms? That would be so slagging awesome!"

Chip actually did have to laugh at that one! Megatron sounded like Sideswipe when he was talking about a new prank! He had never seen this side of the Decepticon before. He sounded young, excited and eager to try new things. That wasn't the Megatron that had faced down the Autobots time and again. Something was wrong, but Chip couldn't quite figure out what.

Just then an older man with a leather vest and tattoos all over his arms walked out of the body shop. His jeans were covered in different colors of spray paint and it was clear that he worked there. He looked up and saw Megatron towering over his low level building and screamed in terror! Before he could run back inside, however, a large metallic hand grabbed him and thrust him up to eye level with Megatron!

"No! Let me go!" The man hollered as he struggled despite how high off the ground he was.

"Hey, take it easy, little flesh creature," Megatron said in a soothing voice, "I'm not going to hurt you. I was just wondering if you could help me with something."

"What do you want?" The man asked pleadingly.

"Just some body work done," Megatron replied casually, "First I'd like to get these scratches and dents taken care of, and then I'd like to get a new paint job."

"Well...I hope you don't want a solid color," the man replied warily, "Because I don't really have enough of a single color to cover all of you…"

"Oh. Hm...Well then, could you just do my arms, legs, and helm?" Megatron asked after a moment of thought.

"Sure thing, buddy," the man replied nervously, "What color did you have in mind?"

Meanwhile, Wheeljack was trying to get in touch with Chip Chase, but no matter how many times he dialed the kid's cell phone it always came back the same: no answer. The inventor was starting to worry about his friend. He should've arrived at the Ark hours ago, but he never showed up.

Wheeljack didn't have a lot of time to ponder the situation, however, when Teletran I blared an alarm and Optimus Prime ordered everyone on duty into the control room.

The inventor came in to find Ironhide, Ratchet, Cliffjumper, Windcharger, and Prowl already there. Jazz came in a few seconds later with Bumblebee in tow. Optimus, oddly enough, was the last to arrive. His battle mask hid most of his face, yet he still managed to look pensive despite a lack of facial features.

"We have a situation," Optimus said without wasting time on pleasantries, "Teletran I has detected Decepticon activity on an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Our sky spy has also picked up strange energy readings. Perceptor has analyzed the situation and concluded that the Decepticons might have a new energy weapon. We don't have much time if we're going to stop them. Autobots, grab any weapons you may need, and then roll out!"

Nobody wasted any time as they scrambled to get the things they would require. Ratchet and Wheeljack made sure to have medical supplies at the ready, while Ironhide and Prowl secured hand weapons for everyone. Within a matter of minutes all 9 Autobots were out of the base and racing toward Skyfire, who would take them to the oil platform. They just hoped they weren't too late…

Chip had never dreamed in his life that he would ever find himself in this situation. First he was kidnapped by Megatron, and now he was watching the giant metal overlord getting a makeover! It was just too surreal for words.

The man was busy with his spray can as he applied gold paint to one of Megatron's arms. Chip found it a little weird that Megatron wanted his helm painted gold too. It almost looked like Megatron was wearing a shiny blonde wig! They had to work outside because Megatron didn't fit inside the building, and the warm air seemed to be keeping the gunformer calm, but all it was doing for Chip was burning his face!

"Hey Chip, you should consider getting a new paint job too," Megatron suggested from where he was; lying down on his stomach on the ground, "I think you'd look cool if you were blue, or maybe olive green. What do you think?"

"No thanks, I'm good," Chip replied quickly, "So, um, there's no chance you'd let me go now, is there?"

"But Chip, we were having so much fun!" Megatron protested, "We still haven't gone to the library together or cruised around for femmes! Hey, are there any Cybertronian femmes on this planet?"

"Honestly, I didn't know your species even had genders until you mentioned it," Chip replied; feeling a little uncomfortable picturing what Cybertronians making out would look like, "But I guess we can go to the library after you're done here."

"Great!" Megatron exclaimed excitedly, "I've got a data pad in my subspace that can scan the books you check out for me! It'll have to be you to go in and get them. I'm too big to fit in the buildings."

Just then, the man with the spray paint finished working on Megatron, and the mech now had gold paint on his legs, forearms, and helm. It looked not so much glorious as it did silly, but nobody was going to tell him that.

"Hey!" Megatron exclaimed irritably, "This paint itches! Is it supposed to itch?"

"None of my other customers have complained about it," the man replied wryly; talking about inanimate cars.

"Well, I hope it wears off soon," Megatron grumbled, "So what kind of currency do I owe you?"

"It's on the house, sir," the man said in an effort to placate the Decepticon leader, "I just hope if you ever take over the planet you'll remember I was good to you."

"Yeah, I hope so too," Megatron nodded; realizing how unreliable his memory was at that moment, "Ready to go, Chip?"

"If I have to," Chip sighed as he resigned himself to being lifted off the ground by the tyrannical mech.

No doubt about it, this was turning out to be a strange day for Chip. What he didn't realize was that Megatron was feeling the same way. Part of him understood that the little human was getting tired, but he needed Chip there. He didn't even remember how he knew the little flesh creature, but the mere fact that it was someone who knew him gave Megatron a small measure of comfort in this uncertain time.