Chapter Text
Meanwhile, in the dead of night on the Nemesis, Shockwave continued tracking Megatron's vitals. Unfortunately for everyone besides Starscream, the Decepticon leaders had yet to wake up.
"Face the fact, dear Shockwave," Starscream said while leaning against the scientist's workstation. "Your little experiment had cost our Master's spark. Maybe it is time for Megatron to retire somewhere more comfortable than this medbay."
Suddenly, Shockwave pointed a cannon hand at Starscream, causing the thinner bot to whimper. "Lord Megatron is not dead, Starscream. He is merely in stasis." Shockwave had been working the whole night, and throughout his effort, Starscream was around making commentary and generally being a nuisance.
"He has been in stasis for cycles! If anything, we should wake him if he still has a pulsing spark in that chassis. Otherwise, this ship and the subsequent demise of the Autobots shall fall on the leadership of an awake mech."
"Your leadership is not necessary, Starscream," Shockwave fired back.
"Only because you want to claim head of the Decepticon yourself!"
"On the contrary, I am certain that Lord Megatron is merely in recharge and can adequately lead the Decepticon without your meddling."
Starscream gasped. But before he could fire back an insult to the purple mech, they both heard a yawn. They looked at the massive berth and saw Megatron's body rising. Starscream cowered and hoped that the head of the Decepticon barely listened to what he had said to Shockwave.
But something was off about the gray mech. Megatron got up and got on all fours on the floor. There was a loud thud when he landed on his servos and pedes. Instead of a booming voice greeting Starscream and Shockwave, they got what sounded like a cat's meow. And when did Megatron have an affinity to lick his arm?
"Illogical," Shockwave said. "Lord Megatron had harnessed more than the cat's abilities. He had harnessed the cat's cognition."
"Oh, how joyful! Your experimentation work," Starscream jabbed. "Now, if only he could speak Cybertronian and get back on his pedes."
Shockwave cautiously approached Megatron. Megatron stared wide-eyed at Shockwave and hissed loudly. He crouched under the berth and swatted Shockwave away with sharp claws.
Suddenly, the door to the medbay opened. Knockout came in, unfaltering in announcing his presence. "Good evening. So far, no signs of Autobots. But- where's the big guy?"
Suddenly, Megatron pounced on the red mech. Knockout shouted as he fell to the floor. Shockwave and Starscream ran to the door, desperately trying to keep up with the feline-controlled Megatron. Knockout got up, rubbing his helm. He looked down and saw scratches all over his chassis. "I just buffed that!"
"Forget about your paint job," Starscream barked. "We need to get Lord Megatron back!"
"What happened to him?" Knockout asked as the three ran down the halls of the Nemesis.
"Our little experiment got Megatron's neural processor mixed up with that putrid feline," Starscream replied. "Now Lord Megatron believes he is a giant cat!"
"I shall tap into Lord Megatron's neural processor and extract the memories, abilities, and cognition of the feline subject," Shockwave explained, less to the two bots and more to himself. "Surely we could still salvage Megatron's personality and identity."
"Excellent thinking, Shockwave," Starscream said. "However, if that too shall fail, I believe it is only right to nominate a new leader on this ship."
Suddenly, Shockwave turned around and stared at Starscream with his single, threatening eye. Starscream whimpered. "You will keep your lips shut until we rescue Megatron," ordered Shockwave.
They finally caught up with Megatron, who had knocked two Vehicons down as he entered the ship's control room. Soundwave was on the steering keyboard, controlling the Nemesis. He did not even have to turn around to know that Megatron was already in the room. His cables extended, trying to disarm the rowdy mech.
But Megatron was a sizeable bot, and the cables, as sturdy as they may be, were toys to him. Megatron jumped, pawed, and chased after Soundwave's cables. No matter how tight Soundwave wrapped his wiring around Megatron's limbs in the hopes of tying him down, Megatron's cat-like maneuvering freed him with ease.
Shockwave, Starscream, and Knockout ran inside. All four mechs desperately chased after Megatron. But as large as the bot was, he snaked his way out of their grasp with grace and brute force. The bots kept bumping helms and servos with one another, cursing under their breath as their Master weaved away from them.
Megatron climbed on the steering keyboard, rocking the Nemesis off its axis. The ship wobbled and swayed, causing the other four mechs and the Decepticon army to slip and slide. The Nemesis tilted left and downward, sending it straight down to Earth. Everyone saw the ship heading headfirst to the desert ground. Starscream and Knockout shrieked while Shockwave and Soundwave prepared for impact.
"Optimus? Wake up."
Optimus' bright blue optics slowly powered on. He could feel soreness running through his system as he adjusted himself. The last thing he remembered was sitting on the floor, crossed-leg, playing with Meg-
Where was Meg?
He looked down and found the cat sleeping soundly in his arms, cradling a baton. Optimus' spark skipped a beat. So last night was not a dream, he thought. He gently scratched Megatron's left ear, earning a soft mewl from the cat.
Ratchet looked down at his friend and the cat. He placed his hands on his hips and said, "Looks like I have competition, huh, Optimus?"
Optimus smiled warmly and replied in his rich, baritone voice, "You will forever hold a special place in my spark, old friend. But surely you would not mind making space for our feline guest."
Ratchet got down to Optimus' height. The bot tried petting Megatron, who was slowly waking up. The cat glared at Ratchet, hissed, and bared his teeth. Ratchet instantly stood up.
"Looks like our 'feline guest' is not a fan of anyone but you, Optimus," Ratchet said. He looked down at Megatron, who huddled closer to Optimus' frame. His eyes then traveled back to Optimus' face. The Autobot leader seemed calmer, at peace with the cat. There was a genuine smile on Optimus' lips, and his eyes glowed bright like they did during the old days on Cybertron.
Like clockwork, the other members of Team Prime streamed into the main room of the silo. Bulkhead was first, followed by Arcee, Bumblebee, and finally Smokescreen. They all gathered around Megatron to see how he was doing.
Megatron still hid behind Optimus' pedes, but he did not mind getting a neck scratch from Bumblebee. If he was going to live in the Autobot HQ for a while, he better be on his best behavior, especially since the Autobots discovered his affinity for catnip treats.
"Are you sure that stuff would work on her?" Bulkhead asked as Smokescreen fished out a catnip treat from its packaging.
"Totally. I saw some cat videos last night, and they love this stuff!" Smokescreen said as he handed a treat to Megatron.
Megatron sniffed the treat from Smokescreen's servo. The smell was not as potent as the canned food. It was a pleasant herby scent. He took it into his mouth cautiously.
His mind instantly turned off, and he lost all control after one bite. He rolled on the floor like a cat in heat and meowed so loudly that it rivaled Miko's electric guitar.
"See?" Smokescreen said while Megaton whirled and flipped. "She loves it!"
Optimus and Ratchet watched as the Autobots petted and rubbed the happy cat. But their joy was short-lived as their base suddenly sounded an alarm. Ratchet looked at their monitor with wide optics.
"I'm picking up energy signals nearby," Ratchet announced. "Plenty of energy signals. It must be Decepticons. But what are they doing out in the desert?"
Everyone looked at Optimus, hoping to find an answer from the mech. While all their attention was on the red and blue mech, Megatron climbed onto Optimus' backside, sneaking into his frame. So the Decepticons finally came to their senses to rescue me, the cat thought. But he had to wonder: what happened to his Cybertronian body? Was it still in stasis?
"We will have to scout the area to see what the Decepticons are up to this time. We cannot let them get near our base or seen by humans," Optimus announced. "Ratchet, Ground Bridge us near their coordinates. Autobots, keep an eye out and stay as hidden as possible."
Ratchet activated the Ground Bridge. The Autobots transformed into their alt mode and rolled out. Megatron sat behind the passenger seat, holding onto Optimus' upholstered seats. The bot was too preoccupied to notice the cat's presence. Megatron lay low, hoping not to get spotted. He could not wait to see the Decepticons and give them a piece of his mind (and maybe leave a few dents on Starscream's frame.)