Chapter 17: The Escape

"Who knew something so tiny could be so smart." Nemesis mused. He shifted his gaze between the two children, one in his right servo and the other in his left. He flashed them a toothy smirk and chuckled when they both flinched. "I applaud your effort. However, it will take a lot more than that to escape me."

Jack opened his mouth to say something back, but Miko beat him to it.

"Oh yeah? Take this!" She growled as she pointed her phone at Nemesis's face. The camera flashed directly into his optics, temporarily blinding him.

"Aagh!" Nemesis snarled, dropping Miko to reach for his face.

Miko fell harmlessly into his lap, though Jack was still trapped in the Prime's other servo. "Jack!"

Jack huffed, trying not to hurl as he was flung around by the distressed Prime. He kicked at Nemesis's digits in an attempt to break free. Eventually, he was able to free himself enough that he could drop into Nemesis's lap.

Miko stood up and took another picture of Nemesis, hoping it would keep him blind long enough for them to escape. "Come on, let's go!"

Jack gripped the cold metal of the throne and slid down its side, his knees absorbing most of the shock after he hit the floor. He waited for Miko before making a beeline for the door. Even after they had entered the hallway, Nemesis's snarls could still be heard.

"We need to hurry, it won't be long before he recovers and comes after us." He told Miko, scanning ahead for any possible hiding places.

"There!" Miko pointed to a crack in the wall that looked just big enough for them to squeeze into. She ran toward it and quickly slipped inside, soon followed by Jack. "I really hope there's no spiders in here..."

Just as they disappeared into the crack, Nemesis stormed past in a rage. Talk about good timing!

Jack took a few moments to catch his breath, his mind racing to figure out what their next move would be. Looking behind him, it seemed like the crack went deeper into the wall. Perhaps it was made by some sort of Cybertronian pest? What kind of thing could eat through metal? He didn't know, but he didn't really care at this point.

"Alright, come on. Let's see where this goes." He mumbled, pressing his hands against the wall as he shuffled sideways.

***

Megatron slowly paced back and forth in the cell, lost in his thoughts.

Starscream nervously eyed the cell door for what was probably the 10th time. He was just waiting for someone to bust it open and separate them again. The thought of it hadn't left his mind ever since he was last dumped here by Smokescreen.

The seeker glanced at Megatron, who was still pacing, and pursed his dermas. "I don't like this."

Megatron paused and sighed softly. "Neither do I. Nemesis must be up to something. It's unusual for him to take this long when dealing with prisoners, especially us. Not that I'm complaining."

"I know." Starscream fidgeted with his digits, pressing his wings against the wall. "He's always up to something, and it's never good. What are we going to do?"

Megatron simply shrugged. "All we can do is wait and see. We don't have any means of esca-"

"Megatron! Starscream!"

Megatron glanced around in confusion.

"Up here!"

He looked up and was surprised to see Jack and Miko poking their heads out of hole in the wall. He quickly lifted his arm to allow them to slip into his palm. "How did you two get here?"

"Well, the first time we tried to escape, we got caught." Miko replied.

Jack saw that Megatron was a little confused. "We can explain everything later."

"We're gonna have to because Nemesis is on a rampage looking for us right now!" Miko exclaimed.

Megatron cursed under his breath, glancing up at the door. He could hear Vehicons approaching. "We need to make a move now." He gestured for the seeker to rise to his pedes, then handed both children to him. "Starscream, protect the children. Once we get out of the cell, I'll cover you."

Starscream nodded, knowing Megatron would protect them better than he could.

Megatron widened his stance as he faced the cell door, ready for the Vehicons. Their pedesteps grew closer and closer, until...

The second the door opened, Megatron lunged. He slammed the first Vehicon into the wall, then whirled around and smacked the other with his forearm. With both Vehicons taken down, he turned back towards Starscream. "Let's move."

***

Something felt off to Megatron. Ever since he took down those two drones at the cell, there hadn't been any others rushing to challenge him. It was like the entire base had been deserted. He knew that definitely wasn't the case.

"Huh. You'd think the alarms would be blaring if prisoners were escaping. Why isn't anything happening?" Jack questioned the Decepticon leader.

Megatron narrowed his optics. "I'm not sure, Jack."

"It feels like we're being led into a trap." Starscream muttered nervously, keeping the children close.

"I would listen to your second if I were you."

Megatron whirled around, coming face to face with none other than Nemesis Prime. "Have you finally come to face me yourself instead of sending your minions to do it for you?"

"Although that is rather tempting, I'm afraid I haven't. I'm here to complete the final testing phase of my new wonder drug." Nemesis smirked, his scarlet optics blazing with malicious intent.

As if given a silent command, the wide hangar doors to his left and right suddenly opened, revealing rows upon rows of Vehicons standing in formation. They weren't any normal Vehicons, though. Their visors were green.

The same color of the drug that nearly drove Megatron mad.

"T-That's impossible!" Megatron sputtered out loud, utterly shocked by what he was looking at. How did Nemesis manage to get the resources to fuel an entire army?!

"Yet here we are, looking upon them with our own optics. Enjoy your last moments on this pathetic planet, old friend." Nemesis said with a sneer. "Autobots, destroy them!"

Fear gripped Megatron's spark as the horde of Vehicons rushed toward him. He quickly turned and shouted, "Run!"

Starscream took off without hesitation, pressing the two screaming children in his arms against his chassis.

Megatron ran after him, occasionally turning to fire shots into the swarm. But for every Vehicon he shot down, another immediately took its place. The bloodthirsty horde grew closer, leaving no room for mistake. If he tripped or lost his footing, he'd surely be ripped apart in seconds.

Eventually, they reached the main entrance of the base. Megatron frantically pressed the panel to close the door in order to cut off the horde. There was so many of them pressing against the door, however, that they were beginning to strain the metal of it. Megatron pressed his shoulder against it. He knew it would cave in the second he let go to escape.

"They're going to break through!" Starscream exclaimed fearfully, listening to the banging coming from the other side of the door.

"I can't hold them back much longer.." Megatron growled, venting heavily with effort. His pistons were beginning to fail under the heavy stress. "Starscream, get out of here."

"What?! I'm not leaving you here!"

"Save the children! Save yourself!" Megatron urged, his tone a little harsher than he meant it to be. He sighed and stared into Starscream's optics. "Just... please. I'll find a way out."

Starscream stared back, his words caught in his throat. He slowly nodded, struggling to hold back tears. "Promise me you will." His voice cracked with emotion.

Megatron forced a smile. "I promise." He said softly, trying to ignore the door slowly caving in behind him. "Now go. Please."

Starscream couldn't bear it any longer. He forced himself to leave, rushing towards the base exit.

Jack peered around his arm just in time to see the door ripped from its bearings. He couldn't even see Megatron anymore. His heart dropped into his stomach as he searched the swarm for any sign of the Decepticon leader. Alas, Starscream had already made it outside before he was able to catch a glimpse.

Just like that, Megatron was gone.

***

MWUAHAHAHAHAHA!

I guess you could call this the end of part 1 lol. There will be an intermission chapter before I continue on with the story, so make sure to read that as well! I won't tell you what it's about, you'll have to make your predictions when you read it!

Thank you all for the reads! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this book!