"My liege, with all due respect, we can't kill it," Knockout tries to argue as his spark pulses very fast.

"Why not!?"

Knockout flinches at Megatron's raised tone before replying, "You, uh, you can't kill the sparkling without killing Arcee as well. I can try but the chances of Arcee also offlining are extremely high."

Megatron looks at the medic as he processes it, "How long do we have to wait until you can kill the sparkling?"

"I would say three months when it's time for the sparkling to move from her spark chamber down to her abdomen so it can finish forming. That would be the best time to kill it without killing her." 

"Very well, we will wait until that time. In the meantime, she is to be guarded at all times so the Autobots can't get her back. Do I make myself clear Knockout?"

"Yes, my liege."

"Do not fail me again," Megatron says before walking out of the room and the two are left alone.

They both vented out sighs of relief before Arcee looked over at Knockout, "Thank you, Knockout."

"I may be a Decepticon but there are lines I will not cross, and killing unborn sparklings, or any sparklings, is one of them."

Arcee watches Knockout as he removes the straps, "What if he finds out it was a lie? He will be furious."

"I just hope I will be off the ship when he finds out. I will help you escape but I want to come with you."

Arcee looked at him in confusion, "But you're the one that captured me in the first place. Why do you now want to help me escape?"

"I only did it so I could talk to you about helping me get in with the Autobots."

"Why now?"

A tint of a blush crossed Knockout's face as he looks away from her, "I kind of started falling for that new mech you have on your team, Smokescreen."

Arcee smiled at him, "Smokescreen huh?"

"Yeah. But I don't think that he will talk to me as long as I'm a Decepticon, so I'm hoping changing sides will help."

"You helped me before, Knockout, now I will help you. We will escape together and I'll help you get in with the Autobots. But you must know that it won't be easy."

"I know, it's probably gonna take time for them to trust me after everything I did..."

:: Knockout! Come see me, now! :: Starscream's voice says over the comm.

Knockout rolls his optics as he vents out a sigh, "Let me go see what he wants. I'll be back later," he then walks out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Wheeljack, where is Arcee?" Ratchet asked when Wheeljack returned with June and Fowler.

"The 'Con scum took her."

"Whoa, whoa. Arcee was taken by the Decepticons?" Bulkhead asks as he walks over to Wheeljack.

"Yes! And I couldn't stop them because they separated us, they made sure she was alone so she could be taken!"

"We'll wait until Optimus gets back and then..." Ratchet begins saying but then trails off when they get a ground bridge request from Optimus. Ratchet opens the ground bridge and Optimus comes through with Bumblebee and Smokescreen.

Optimus looks at them and could instantly tell that something was wrong, "Did something happen?"

"Arcee was taken by the Decepticons," Wheeljack tells him and Optimus could feel his spark sinking. Not again. What will Megatron do to the sparkling?

"I thought Arcee stayed back," Smokescreen says in confusion.

"She did but then we got another signal for a Predacon fossil, so Arcee and I went to get it."

"What course of action are we to take, sir?" Ultra Magnus asks Optimus.

"We save her. Wheeljack, can you reach her through the bond at all?" Optimus responded before asking.

"Let me try," Wheeljack replies. Arcee. Arcee, can you hear me?

It took a moment but Arcee responded back. Wheeljack!

"I got her!" Are you alright?

Yeah, we both are. But Megatron wanted to kill the sparkling.

"How is she? Is the sparkling alright?" Ratchet asked with concern.

"She says they're both doing good but Megatron wanted to kill the sparkling." What happened baby?

He told Knockout, the Decepticon medic, to kill the sparkling but Knockout came up with a lie that changed Megatron's mind. Knockout said to wait three months and Megatron agreed. Now just need to find a way to escape.

"She said Megatron told the Decepticon medic to kill the sparkling but he came up with a lie and convinced Megatron to wait three months. Now she just needs to find a way to escape."

"Knockout? That crazy doctor helped her?" Smokescreen asked feeling a bit skeptical about it. Why would that evil doctor help her out?

"That's what she said."

I'll let you know when I escape.

No, give me the coordinates where the ship is and we'll come to get you.

I don't know the coordinates, I'm stuck in med-bay right now.

"She said she's stuck in med-bay right now and she'll let us know when she escapes."

"That's gonna be pretty hard if she's in med-bay. She will have to get past Knockout then get past all the other Decepticons on the ship to reach their ground bridge control room," says Ratchet.

"And Megatron won't be letting her go that easily. Something big would have to happen for her to be able to successfully escape," Optimus adds.

We'll figure something out Arcee. I won't rest until I have you back.

I know. I love you, Wheeljack.

I love you too, Arcee.

~~~~~~~~~~

Arcee kept smiling, she always gets a sense of warmness when Wheeljack tells her he loves her. She loves him so much and she can't wait to be with him again, it pains her not being near him and she can feel that he's in just as much pain and just as desperate to be near her again.

Her smile quickly vanishes when the door opens and Megatron walks in, he looks at her and growls, "I did not tell Knockout to remove the straps!"

"He just wanted me to be comfortable. Besides, there's no way I would be able to escape."

"That is true," Megatron says a bit calmer as he moves closer to her, "I have missed you, Arcee. You have no idea how miserable it was not having you here," he says as he caresses her cheek.

Arcee looks away from him, "I'm pretty sure I'm feeling that right now being away from Wheeljack."

Megatron grabs her chin roughly and lifts her helm to make her look him in the optics, "As long as you're here with me you will not mention that wrecker!"

Arcee stays silent as she looks at him, she wants to tell him off but she doesn't want to make him mad where he will do something to her that could harm the sparkling. She needs to keep the sparkling safe no matter what, "Understood," she finally says.

Megatron loosens his grip, "Good," he says before he kisses her. He lays her down on the berth with her legs around his waist as he hovers over her, one servo roams over her body while he supports himself on the other arm. Before he goes any further he pulls back, "Scrap, I need to check in on Shockwave. We'll continue this when I return."

Arcee watches him leave and she vents out a big sigh feeling relieved that it didn't go any further. Hopefully, she can escape before he returns.