"Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do."

~Voltaire

>>·<<

Heavy footsteps clanked behind Megatron on the metal floor of the Nemesis, but he didn't think to look behind him. He could guess with precise accuracy who the owner of the footsteps were, and why they had come. Shockwave had either a report on the Predacon, or the human experiments. He had just recently given a full, detailed report on the growth of the other Predacons and the status of his first successful one- which was proving to be useful against the Autobots -so it almost certainly had to be the humans.

"My lord." The scientist rumbled, voice as slow and careful as his gait.

"Continue, Shockwave." Came the reply, curt and prodding. His master was either excited . . . Or impatient.

"I have a report on the bodies. They have developed fully and are waiting for the next step in our experiment; however I am reluctant to proceed without first checking the mobility and basic functioning of them."

Megatron grit his teeth, slightly frustrated. He wanted, so badly, for this experiment to succeed so he could rub the results in Optimus Prime's blasted face, however if he rushed things then he wouldn't be able to do that . . . And at the expense of the one prize he wanted to desperately take from the Prime.

His humans.

"We have little time, Shockwave." Megatron replies smoothly, not wanting his impatience to be known. "I'm sure the Autobots have concocted a plan and are ready to execute it when the moment allows. Do you believe the bodies are functional?"

Shockwave paused, his single eye glowing passively during the silence. His next words were slow, and carefully chosen. "They have been grown to my specifications, and therefore should be fully operational. There are variables, however, that could influence the bodies and their responses to the environment."

"But they are equipped with all of the necessary upgrades and protocols?"

Another pause. " . . .Yes."

The warlord nodded, turning his back to Shockwave again and looking at a monitor. "Begin the procedure, then. Knock Out has successfully repaired and modified his neuron refractor, and is ready at your disposal." His red optics focus on his scientist, mouth pulled back a little to show glittering dentas. "I should expect results as soon as possible."

"As you wish, my lord." Shockwave did not bow, instead turning around and slowly walking back to his lab, unhappy about the brief conversation, but nevertheless he did not want to anger his master. He was fairly confident in his work, but would not be completely satisfied until all of the variables were checked and confirmed to be uninhibitory to their progress.

But, what Megatron wanted, he would deliver. His master was relatively easy to please, and so the scientist eliminated as many variables as possible in his list; the ones with less probability to occur. The others, well, he could test once the experiment had finished.

"Knock Out." He says the moment he walks into the medical bay. "Retrieve the humans and take them to the incubation room, with your neuron refractor. The experiment will be ready to begin once everything is prepared."

The red medic grinned, red optics glittering with excitement. "Will do. Does this mean I can break a few bones? The blabber mouth was starting to annoy me-"

"No." Shockwave replies bluntly. "Not until we know the transfer has been complete. I have no use for the humans then."

"What is it the humans say? It feels just like Christmas!" Knock Out flaunts with glee, Shockwave merely ignoring him and instead turning around, heading for a secluded room on the ship.

"Do not waste any time."

"I won't, I won't." Knock Out waves a dismissive hand, sauntering off in the other direction.

>>•<<

June chewed her lip slowly as she sat on the couch, gazing into nothingness. Megatron had not called in a while, and she was not ready to initiate another conversation. She was afraid of what he might say, what he might taunt her with next.

Stupid. It was stupid.

Stupid to think she should have contacted him in the first place. Stupid to let him worm those thoughts into her mind, manipulate her like that. Now that he had let her hear Jack over the phone, he had her wriggling on the end of his hook like a fish. She would do anything to hear her son again. Anything.

"So, Megatron thinks we're dead. Now what?" Arcee breaks the silence. Her burn wounds were still healing significantly, and the metal was permanently warped where the energon had burned the most, but her optics still shone bright. Getting Jack back was the driving force behind that brightness.

"Not anymore." Shovel replied sadly. "Knock Out saw us, me and Optimus Prime. So lo- Megatron already knows."

"He may believe that only I am alive, and you, Shovel." Optimus replies. "Megatron could think that all of the other Autobots are dead. Therefore, we will proceed as if he assumes that way."

"We still have no plan." Ratchet bemoans. "And I've been trying to track down the Nemesis, but nothing has worked. The last thing we could- and should -do is send Megatron a message."

June sucked in a breath. It was almost like Ratchet was talking directly to her. The Autobots couldn't possibly know, not when she'd kept her voice down and her texting to a minimum. Besides, she hadn't had contact with him since Jack.

But what if that was a mistake?

It wasn't. It couldn't be. She was better off not trying. In addition, she would have to explain to the Autobots how she knew what Megatron was up to. And when they knew how long she had been in communication with him . . .

No. It's better off this way.

"No. We must find a better way than that." Optimus replies. "Arcee is right, Megatron thinks we're dead. I advise we keep it that way."

"They're going to know, one day." Bulkhead interjects. "Why keep all this cover?"

"So it will come as a surprise for when we do find them." Arcee clenched a servo into a fist. "And they won't know what's coming, so then we also have the element of surprise."

"Guys, not to be the spark-breaker in the group, but what if Shockwave already has experimented on the kids? Will we know?"

June felt her throat close up. Smokescreen knew how to make the situation worse, especially since he had no idea how to keep his mouth shut.

"Smokescreen!" Ratchet snapped. "Now is not the time for such talk!"

"But we need to think about it, don't we?" The mech shot back. "There was no ransom call, right? And there won't be, now that they think we're dead! I just think we should maybe think and plan on the possibility."

"No!" June suddenly screamed, all eyes on her. Her face was white, and Ratchet noted the usual signs of distress. "They . . . They aren't. They can't be."

"And would you know, June?" Arcee demanded.

The woman felt her palms slicked with sweat. They couldn't know. They couldn't possibly know . . .

"I just don't want to think about it." She lies, her phone seeming to burn through her pocket. She hadn't deleted the texts she had received from Megatron. Now, though, it seemed like a very good idea.

The Autobots all looked at one another, and then Optimus stepped forward.

Oh no, oh no. They can't possibly know! They can't! How would they?

"Ms. Darby," the Autobot leader said with a gentleness that never failed to warm her heart. "Human females have what they call a 'mother's intuition,' correct?"

She nodded, almost feeling the need to faint.

"Are you using that ability when you say that the children cannot be experimented on? That they are still alive and well?"

It felt like a half-truth, but she didn't stop the words from tumbling out of her lips. "Yes. I feel . . . That Jack is safe. That the kids are safe." She prayed that the Autobots didn't realize she was lying. She didn't know if they could understand the subtle signs the human body gave when someone wasn't being truthful, but she was banking on the fact that they didn't.

Optimus was quiet for a long time, nodding with understanding, blue optics a little more dim than usual. "Thank you, Ms. Darby. It is a relief to hear that."

Simply nodding, June swallowed and fidgeted with her phone, which suddenly felt unclean and disgusting. As Optimus left her alone- as well as the other Autobots -she immediately went to her messages, hitting the Delete button.

I will never speak to that monster again. I'm sorry, Jack.

>>•<<

"Optimus Prime is still alive, and Soundwave cannot trace his signal." Megatron growled at the trembling inferior below him. "Which means the Autobots must have a base of some sort. Which means that the base was not destroyed!!"

"My lord, please!" Starscream whimpered pathetically. "I directed my armada right to the location that the Autobot prisoner himself had confirmed! The Hoover Dam was destroyed thoroughly, with no stone left unturned!"

"Then someone is wrong." Megatron snarled. "Either the prisoner lied, or you were so incompetent as to go to the wrong location! Soundwave, re-trace Starscream's flight path and compare it to the coordinates given to us by the Autobot Wheeljack!"

Soundwave, without a word, did just that, showing his master the path flown by Starscream and his armada, then replying what Wheeljack said about the location, Hoover Dam, revealing that the locations did indeed match up.

"M-maybe he lied with the hopes that we would buy it and spare the human." Starscream squeaked.

Megatron growled again, his hands curling into fists. "Perhaps. Soundwave, come with me. We need to have a little chat with our prisoner."

Their prisoner, currently, was still hanging by energon chains, moving weakly and with little motivation. The energon they were giving him came at sporadic, and often long, times, which left him with little energy to fight. Maybe that was the end goal, but at this moment, Wheeljack was too tired to care.

He had done his job, he had saved his friends, human and Autobot. He might not be able to break them out, but he had helped them live another day.

Lifting his head weakly as the doors whooshed open, Wheeljack offered the couple a weak smile.

"Hey, Buckethead, long time no see." He spat energon at his feet. "I was getting a little lonely in here."

"We have figured out your lie, Autobot." Megatron seethed. "Optimus Prime was found alive, and his life signal has not been seen since. We can only assume that the base location you gave us was false."

They can't know. They can't know. They can't know.

"Or maybe they have another location I didn't know about." Wheeljack drawled. "They didn't trust me much, you know? Especially with my grenades. So maybe they had an extra just in case I blew something up."

"Unlikely." Megatron struck the mech. "Tell me where it is, or you will be begging for the sweet release of death."

"I've been waiting." Wheeljack smirked. "Give it to me."

Megatron clenched his fist. The Autobot's cockiness was infuriating, not to mention that he would rather cut off his own arm than give the Autobot exactly what he wanted; the chance that he was simply bluffing was too small, especially in his current state.

"Soundwave." Megatron eventually commanded. "Once Shockwave has finished with the human female, I want her back in here. Perhaps Wheeljack can be persuaded with her in the room."

The Autobot lost all energon in his helm. "What do you mean, finished with her?! What is that sicko doing to Miko?!"

"Nothing that concerns you, for now." Megatron turned his back, striding out. "Choose your answers wisely, Autobot. If I don't like what I hear," he grinned. "Then little Miko will pay the price."

With that, the door closed, Megatron jerking his helm at Soundwave. "Report to me on Shockwave and Knock Out's progress. I want an estimated time of completion as soon as possible."

Without even nodding or acknowledging that he heard, the communications officer turned around and made his way to where the two scientists were located, his footsteps the only indication of his receding presence.

By the time Megatron had gotten the report, the screams of three humans echoed through the halls of the Nemesis, Megatron grinning with demented delight.