Chapter 16: Heist Gone Haywire

"What do we do now?" Miko asked.

Jack pursed his lip, trying to think of something. "I don't know. If Nemesis is planning to make an army with that stuff, we have to warn the Decepticons."

"How are we going to do that if we're stuck in a giant base?"

Jack glanced around while he thought, his gaze eventually settling on a screen that was anchored to the wall. "You see that?" He whispered, pointing to it.

Miko turned in that direction and squinted. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Looks like an equation of some sort. If only Raf were here... he'd know how to make sense of it." Jack sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"Dude, it's in an alien language! How would Raf be able to read it if we can't?"

"Knowing him, he'd find a way. Too bad we don't have a way to get it to him." Jack sat back against the container they were hiding behind with a frustrated huff. Then, he got an idea. "Hey, do you still have your phone?"

Miko grinned and pulled her phone out of her pocket. "When do I ever not have my phone?"

"Never. Now take a picture of the equation so we can get out of here."

"Got it." Miko flipped her phone open and slowly focused the camera on the screen. "Just gotta zoom in a bit..."

"Be careful, Ratchet's still in the room-" Miko had already taken the picture before Jack could continue. A rather loud 'click' came from the phone, followed by a bright flash.

Ratchet's head immediately swiveled around, his gaze landing on them within seconds.

"Uh oh." Jack mumbled, taking a few steps backwards.

"What are humans doing in here?!" Ratchet growled, snatching a wrench from a nearby table.

"Run!" Jack hollered at the top of his lungs.

He sprinted towards the door, shielding his face when the humongous wrench crashed into the container they had just been hiding behind. Large, human-sized shards of glass scattered across the floor, some coming very close to shredding them.

Once they made it out into the hallway, it was a race to find somewhere to hide. They had to get out of sight before other Autobots found them.

Vehicons heard the distant sounds of the medic's fury and swiftly turned the other way, unintentionally providing a clear path for Jack and Miko to escape. By the time they reached an intersection where two hallways met, they were nearly out of breath.

"There are pests in this base! Find them!" Ratchet snarled a ways behind them, spurring them forwards.

"Where are we going?!" Miko shouted, trying to keep up with Jack.

"Anywhere! Just find a place to hide before-" Jack suddenly yelped in surprise as he was yanked off his feet. His heart dropped into his stomach. Being that high up still struck fear within him.

"Let him go, you big freak! AHH!" Miko shrieked as she was grabbed, kicking and screaming the entire time.

"Well, look who we've got here! Two little fleshies who think they can just waltz around unnoticed." Smokescreen sneered, flashing his fangs at the children. "Tell me, how far did you think you'd get before someone noticed?"

"Far enough. Security isn't exactly tight around here." Jack retorted bravely.

Smokescreen only laughed. "Hah! Did you really think you'd be able to free your so-called friends and escape that easily?" He held them tightly in his servos and started walking, not caring if they were jostled around. "I can't wait to tell Nemesis about this. He'll be so happy that I single-handedly thwarted the enemy's escape plan!"

***

"So what you're telling me is... they were put in a box, which was then forgotten about and placed in the storage room.. and nobody bothered to check if they were still there?!"

Smokescreen cowered before the fuming Prime, struggling to find his voice. "M-My liege, I wasn't the one who oversaw the operation-"

"Do not lie to me, you pathetic fool!" Nemesis snarled, digging his claws into the arms of his throne. "You were the one who exchanged Starscream for the humans, were you not?"

"Y-Yes, but..."

"Then own up to your actions and admit your mistake!"

"But I didn't give them the order to do so!" Smokescreen's optics widened when Nemesis aimed the barrel of his fusion cannon at him. He fell to his knees and held his servos up in surrender. "I take it back, I take it back! It was my fault! I'm a fool! Please reconsider my termination! I can make it up to you!"

Nemesis thought about it for a moment. Reluctantly, he lowered the cannon. "Explain. Quickly." He seethed.

***

Megatron awoke with a groan, having slept into the early morning hours of the next day. There was a dull throb pulsing away in the back of his helm, as well as other particularly sore spots that had become sensitive. Most damages, if any, had been repaired overnight due to them being minor and non life-threatening.

His optics fluttered open soon after he regained consciousness, taking in the same grey walls of the cell once more. He felt stiff, but when he went to move, a soft whine caused him to cease all movement. That's when he remembered that Starscream was still curled up by his side. He decided to take a peek since the seeker was asleep.

Starscream's head had slipped from Megatron's shoulder and was now resting against his bicep. One arm was draped lazily over the bulky metal that made up Megatron's forearm, while the other was folded up against his chassis. He was curled into a position resembling a loose form of the fetal position, with most of his slender body hugging Megatron's side and hip. His wings twitched ever so often, indicating that he was still dreaming.

Megatron couldn't help himself. He smiled and slowly bent down to press a gentle kiss on Starscream's helm. "Starscream." He murmured, lightly nudging the mech's arm.

"Mrr?" Starscream made a soft noise that was indescribably cute, like the sound a cat makes when you first wake it up. He sleepily opened his optics and yawned, stretching his arms outward. "That was a good recharge... how long did we sleep for?" He asked, seemingly unaware of what had happened just before.

Megatron was so busy trying not to have an internal freakout over the noise Starscream just made that he forgot what he was going to say. He quickly checked his chronometer to act like nothing was wrong. "It's the next day, so I would say... maybe a few Earth hours."

"Hm. I'm surprised Nemesis didn't decide to pop in for a surprise visit." Starscream huffed softly, leaning forwards a bit so he could stretch his wings.

"Even he needs to recharge." Megatron sighed, staring at the wall for a moment. "He'll show up soon enough. I have a feeling it won't be good."

"When is it ever good?"

Megatron chuckled. "I'm glad you trust my gut feeling."

"It would be bad if I didn't, since I seem to get the same feelings as you do. And whenever I don't trust that feeling... Well, you know." Starscream rolled his optics as he leaned back.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we can survive anything that Nemesis throws at us. It's Jack and Miko we have to worry about."

"Who?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you weren't present when I spoke with them. Their names are Jack and Miko. They say they know Rafael."

"Rafael.. as in that other human child that hangs around base sometimes?"

"Yes. They appear to be friends, which makes bringing them home safely a top priority."

"How are we going to save ourselves and two human children?"

"A plan, some luck, and a little ingenuity. I'm sure we can think of something. Preferably before Nemesis rears his ugly head again."