Author's Notes: This chapter is a bit more serious than I've been doing with this fic so far, but in order to have a decent adventure you need tension and drama as well as humor. Thanks to everyone who had left reviews and followed/favorited this story so far! I hope you like this chapter of My Last Word Was Argh! :)

Chapter 7

What's In A Name?

Megatron had flown for a while, but before they got to the ocean he realized he was too low on energy to make the full trip. Since Megatron couldn't find a place to collect energon, he had to go for the next best thing and recharge. After that he would try to make the journey back.

He found a desolate place in the desert for him and Chip to sleep. He subspaced the wheelchair to prevent Chip from escaping and then placed the boy on his chest plate so he would have a warm place to sleep. Chip wasn't exactly comfortable, and he had no way to escape since they were in the middle of nowhere, but he accepted it and tried not to think about what awaited him on the Decepticon ship.

When Megatron recharged, something happened. His processor started to kick in, but not completely...Just enough to give him one memory…

The mine was dark, but the light from the energy pickaxe illuminated his workspace; a large wall of rock. His rough scratched up hands plowed into the stone with violent force, and his internals shook with the force again and again as he hammered into the cave for that most precious of resources: energon.

He didn't want to think about energon. He was so hungry, but the rations he and the others had been given weren't enough to keep them refueled...Especially considering all the work they were doing. His red optics glowed despite the grit that collected over them; so focused on his task was he that he didn't even bother to wipe away the dirt and grime.

This place was figuratively and literally a pit! Still, it was home, and he had lived here since the moment he was sparked from the vector sigma. This miner was never a sparkling, and was never expected to be more than a living drone.

His foreman called for him, and he finally took a moment to wipe away some dust before going to see what he wanted.

"D-36! Get over here now!" The foreman bellowed despite D-36 being close enough to hear him, "D-36! I heard talk from some of the other miners that you were lazing about today when you should've been preparing your tools! Care to explain yourself, brother?"

Despite those words, D-36 knew he was not considered a brother to the foreman or anyone else of even the slightest rank. He also knew that he couldn't tell the foreman the real reason he hadn't been working that joor.

"No, sir! There is no excuse! I will work harder from now on," D-36 replied as he stood at attention.

"You'd better! In a few orns we have a senator from the council coming, and I don't want my workers making me look bad!" The foreman shouted, and then scurried off before D-36 could get a word in edgewise.

No, D-36 couldn't tell him the reason he slacked in his duties. He couldn't tell the foreman about Helio, and how the kindly medic had been teaching him to read and write. It was forbidden. He was only a mine worker. He didn't even have a name! No one would understand his desire to better himself when he would never get the chance to use his newfound knowledge. He would simply have to keep it to himself. No one else understood…

Megatron awoke to see it was still dark outside, and Chip was sleeping peacefully on his chest. Megatron sighed when he realized that was probably his earliest memory. He didn't want to think about it anymore, so he took out his data pad and started reading Romeo and Juliet. It was dribble, but at least he could lose himself in a world not his own.

Wheeljack was roughly pushed to the center of the throne room to face Starscream. He took mental note that Megatron wasn't here, but said nothing. He wasn't sure why the Decepticons kidnapped him, but he'd probably find more out through quiet observation.

"What is the meaning of this, Thundercracker?" Starscream shouted furiously, "Did I ask you to bring back an Autobot? No! So why is this piece of scrap in my control room?"

His control room? Wheeljack didn't like the sound of that. It sounded like Starscream was in charge now. What happened to Megatron he could only guess. He knew one thing though: Starscream was every bit as ruthless as Megatron if not more so.

"Hey, it wasn't all Thundercracker! I helped!" Skywarp whined defensively.

"Silence!" Starscream shrieked at Skywarp, "Now Thundercracker, I'm waiting. You better have a good explanation for this!"

Thundercracker stood at attention, but it was obvious that he was uncomfortable with Starscream's intense scrutiny. He took a deep intake to cool his systems and hoped he didn't sound crazy when he began to speak.

"Sir, I captured the Autobots' scientist because he created the Dinobots. The beings that we thought were mutant Cybertronians, as it turns out, are a lot more sinister than that," Thundercracker explained soberly, "In short, these creatures are in fact sparkless abominations that somehow still manage to live as real Cybertronians. The inventor in question has the potential to build as many of these undead machines as he wishes, so I therefore brought him here for termination."

Wheeljack gulped involuntarily. They had finally figured it out! He didn't know how, but they finally figured out that he had the secret to artificial spark production! Now they were going to kill him for daring to concoct such a thing! Oh, well, at least they weren't going to-

"You will not terminate the engineer!" Starscream ordered, "This technology could be most useful to the Decepticons!"

-Ah, scrap!

"Take him to the brig!" Starscream ordered Dirge and Ramjet, "I will question him further on the matter when I get a few free moments to do so. Make sure Wheeljack is..comfortable."

Starscream then laughed a maniacal laugh, and Wheeljack didn't have to be a genius to know comfortable was code for exactly the opposite! These maniacs were going to try to learn his secrets by force! Well, he would just have to resist them with every fiber of his being! Besides, it wasn't just his own life at stake. If the Decepticons knew what made the Dinobots tick, then they would know how to destroy them! He could never live with himself if something like that happened to them!

Wheeljack was grabbed by the arms and forced to walk with the Coneheads to his cell. He just hoped the other Autobots figured out what happened before it was too late!

Chip awoke to find he was lying in the desert sand. It was early morning, and the chill wasn't quite gone from the air yet. Chip put on his glasses and looked at the sunrise. It was one of the most gorgeous things he'd ever seen! A swirling panorama of pinks, oranges, and purples streaked across the sky! Even the sand seemed to glisten from the reflected light!

He was awed, but it couldn't last. He saw that Megatron was standing about 50 feet away, also staring up at the sky. That reminded Chip of his situation, and that soon the Decepticon tyrant would likely kill him.

Chip thought about trying to crawl away, but that was crazy. He wouldn't get far, and if he did he'd just slowly die of thirst. No, his best chance for survival was to ride this out and hope Megatron's processor was damaged enough for him to think Chip was his friend despite evidence to the contrary.

Megatron noticed Chip moving out of the corner of his optic and walked toward him. He fished the wheelchair out of his subspace and gently helped Chip to sit down. His red optics looked at Chip, but also didn't seem to be looking at him; as if his thoughts were a million miles away.

"Hey, um, Megatron?" Chip finally dared to speak, "My parents are probably worried sick about me. Are you sure there's no chance you'd let me go back home? After all, your fight with Starscream is none of my business, so I shouldn't interfere. Megatron? Can you hear me?"

"Hm?" Megatron noticed the boy and tried to bring his thoughts back to the present day, "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking. I had a memory file playing in my head last night. It's the first one I've had since I lost them."

"Oh? It, um, didn't involve me, did it?" Chip asked nervously.

"No, it didn't," Megatron replied; either not noticing or else ignoring Chip's discomfort, "It was a memory from my younger days. I was an energon miner."

"Really? I never would've guessed that," Chip remarked, "It's hard to picture you as anything other than a mighty ruler."

"Well, I was," Megatron said morosely, "You know something Chip? I didn't even have a name. I was reading in my data pad, and I came across a line that disturbed me. It said 'What's in a name? Would a rose by any other name not smell as sweet?' The problem with that line is that the name actually would change your perception of the object. If you called a rose a stinky-thorn-bush it wouldn't smell good to you because you would already expect it to smell bad. If I told you I was called D-36 then what would you think of me?"

Chip didn't answer. He could tell Megatron wasn't finished speaking and didn't want to get hurt for interrupting him. He also didn't want to correct Megatron for misquoting the line from Romeo and Juliet.

"D-36 is not a name!" Megatron roared; causing Chip to flinch. Megatron didn't want to scare Chip, so he spoke in a softer tone as he said "I had nothing. I was nothing. I remember starving as I mined the precious resource that kept all of Cybertron alive, and yet no one felt it prudent to try to keep me alive, because I was replaceable in their optics. I know the name Megatron probably has a lot of baggage associated with it, but it's my name! I earned that name! I have had some time to think about this, and I want to lead the Decepticons again. I've worked too hard to surrender now. If you help me depose Starscream, I'll let you help me decide his method of execution. How does that sound, Chip?"

Chip didn't know how to respond. Megatron was talking about killing someone! Chip didn't want to be involved in that! Still, Megatron was also offering him a chance to survive. He wasn't sure what this would mean for his future. Did Megatron expect him to join the Decepticons? Would Megatron let him go if he did as he was asked? There were too many variables.

"Megatron, if I help you get your title back, I only ask one thing in return," Chip said as politely as he could manage, "I only ask that you let me return home to my family. Please..."

Megatron could see the distress in the boy's blue optics. He thought about what this meant, and finally he nodded. He didn't know if he would ever see Chip again after this was over, and part of him felt bad because of that, but Megatron would take that risk if it meant reclaiming his title and living up to his name!