'This equals Solar's thoughts'
--------------------------------

Optimus and Smokescreen walked slowly into the base. The bots gasped in shock when they saw smokescreen. Arcee looked like she was the most surprised.

"Smokescreen?"

He nodded silently and handed the relic to ratchet.

Elita looked at the now closed ground bridge, "...where's solar..?"

Optimus looked at her sadly before sighing, "Megatron has done something to him, he is no longer in control of himself."

The room went quiet.

Jazz was the one to break the silence, "so, what do we do?"

Meanwhile, with the deceptions.

Solar walked behind Megatron through the halls of the nemesis. He might not be in control of his body, but his mind was still his own.

'Please don't be going where I think your going, please don't...'

They turned and walked into Shockwave's lab.

'Scrap!'

They walked over to Shockwave and stood in silence for a minute before Megatron spoke.

"We need to see what he knows, perhaps he knows the function of the relic we found, or where there are more."

Shockwave nodded, "a logical course of action, my Lord. Do you wish to do so now?"

"Yes"

Shockwave turned to face them and gestured to a berth, "he needs to lay on the berth."

Megatron nodded, "you heard him S-31, I want you to follow any orders shockwave gives you, understand?"

Solar nodded but on the inside.... 'no! No! NO! You can't!!! Your not supposed to know about any of this!' He walked over and laid on the cold metal surface.

Megatron grinned and turned back to shockwave, "do what you must..." he walked out of the room but not be fore stopping to glance at Solar, "do as told."

Solar felt himself nod despite himself, he had no control and it was going to drive him crazy!

Shockwave walked over with a thick cord of sorts and started up the device it was connected to. The only sound in the room was the hum of Shockwave's devices.

Solar internally panicked as he approach with the cord. He knew what it was and what it did and didn't want to have a thing to do with it, unfortunately he didn't get a choice.

Shockwave snapped the cord into place and typed something on his divorce, "if you cooperate this should be fast and painless, however, if you do fight it, it will hurt worse then anything I have done to you before. Understood?"

Solar nodded mutely.

Shockwave activated the cortical psychic patch and stepped back, watching as Solar jerked and thrashed slightly from pain. He was trying to fight it.

Shockwave upped the power, might as well make this quick...

Time skip to the end of the procedure.

Solar gasped as the cord was yanked off, primus, he was glad that was over.......but he still wasn't in control of his body! What made it worse was that he basically had to have permission before moving at all besides turning to look at something!

'How much information did he get...?'

Shockwave walked over and undid the restraints keeping him in place, "you will go report to Lord Megatron and tell him I have the information he requested."

Solar's hopes crashed immediately, 'apparently they found out enough....'

Time skip! Brought to you by the phase shifter!

Megatron glanced behind him as the doors to the room he was in opened, revealing Solar, "ah, S-31," he stepped towards him and smirked when Solar bowed, "do you have something you wish to tell me?"

Solar nodded and stood back up, "Shockwave wanted me to tell you he has acquired the information you requested..."

"Why did it take so long?"

"I....fought back...." Solar stumbled back as a fist slammed into his faceplates.

Megatron grabbed Solar's face and held it up so solar could only look him in the optics, "your frame might be under my control, but your mind still registers any pain inflicted on it. Remember that you will still do anything I say despite pain. And your mind will have to endure it, is that clear, S-31?!"

"Yes, Lord Megatron."

"Good," he released solar, "go see Knockout for repairs then come back to Shockwave's lab. If you fail to do so in a timely manner I will be much less merciful then I was this time..." he left the room.

Solar climbed to his peds and walked towards the door, 'i'll fight back if I please! He might be making me do whatever he wants but I can still fight!'

His train of thought continued down this track until he arrived at the med bay. Knockout was inside working on something but turned when he heard someone enter. "S-31, to what do I owe this surprise?"

Solar simply gave him a blank stare and remained silent.

Knockout frowned, "one Soundwave is enough, we don't need another silent con on this ship..."

Solar didn't hear the rest of what he said, to caught up in his own thoughts, 'I'm not a con! And I'm nothing like Soundwave!...'

"S-31! Did you hear me!"

Solar snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head slightly.

Knockout sighed, "I said get on the birth! Do your audials need to be repaired as well?!"

Solar glanced at the berth and walked over to climb on, ignoring, knockout's jab.

The medic came over to him and cleaned the energon off of his face. "So, why not change that symbol back to what it should be while we're at it?" He gestured to the autobot symbol on Solar's chest.

Solar mentality panicked, they couldn't! He didn't want any of this! He just wanted to go home and see everyone again. He would never complain again about having to stay at base when there was a mission. He just wanted to go home!

He forced himself to jerk back when knockout moved towards it with a blow torch. Well at least he still had a tiny bit of control...

Knockout sighed, "what is it?"

Solar stared at the con and stayed silent for a moment, "....Lord Megatron ordered me to be in shockwave's lab as soon as possible. I don't have time" well that was true, it still wasn't what he wanted to say, apparently he couldn't speak what was exactly on his mind....

Knockout frowned, "nonsense, this is important. I will explain it to Megatron and everything will be fine."

'and that was the only excuse I had...'

"....Very well"

Knockout smirked, "good choice."

Time skip, brought to you by the buffer. (You know the one..)

Solar and knockout walked down the halls towards Shockwave's lab. Knockout glanced over at Solar, "so, S-31, how is it being back where you belong?"

Solar scowled mentally, 'i don't belong here.' He remained silent.

The medic raised an optic ridge, "not much of one for conversation are we? Well that's new..."

The entered the lab to see Megatron and Shockwave discussing something. Megatron glanced at them when they entered and scowled, "I told you to be here soon as possible, S-31."

Solar bowed his helm, "my apologies, Lord Megatron." Oh how he hated saying that. It was almost enough alone to make him purge.

Megatron simply glared, "you had better have a good reason..."

"I..."

He was cut of by knockout, "I changed his symbol back to the deception one. That's why it took so long."

Megatron scowled, "next time follow orders, and you..." he glared at knockout, "I suggest you let me make the choices for this army..." he growled.

Knockout nodded nervously, "yes, my Lord." He left the room quickly.

Solar watched him leave and stood still as Megatron turned back to shockwave and continued with their conversation.

After a few minutes he turned to Solar and handed him something, "take these coordinates to Soundwave."

Solar's spark dropped, they had gotten the coordinates for the relics, and that meant they probably knew what they did too... "Yes, my Lord." Oh primus, if he didn't start controlling his speech soon he was gonna purge...

He walked out and traveled through the halls to the hull, he was starting to feel like he was just a messenger... 'they didn't have to go through all the trouble of finding me when they could have just asked a vehicon to deliver messages...then again, it's not like Megatron follows the rule of "don't shoot the messenger" ...I can see why no one would want the job...'

He entered the hull and came to a stop next to Soundwave, holding out the chip.

Soundwave released a tentacle and used it to grab the chip and plug it into a near by computer. The screen flashed to life, several digits and symbols scrolled down the screen.

Soundwave turned to him and used some recordings, "go and.....report to....Lord Megatron." He turned to the computer and started typing.

'yup....just a messenger boy...'

Time skip, brought to you by the upcoming cliff hanger... you have been warned... >:D

Solar stood in the back of the room silently, he was pretty sure this was Megatron's way of punishing him for leaving the nemesis in the first place.

'how does Soundwave put up with this so well?! Then again, it's not like Megatron ever mocks him, just others...'

Megatron was gloating about his latest victory to Soundwave while the silent con decoded the coordinates. He was going on and on about how the starsaber had shattered and so had Optimus' hopes of an autobot victory and frankly, it was getting old real fast...

'I never thought I would actually want my audials to stop working...'

He froze at Megatron's next words.

"...and to add to the crushing defeat, his own son, becoming a decepticon that follows my every order..."

Solar could only stand there, it seemed like he only had slight control over his body when Megatron wasn't around, and if he was he needed to be told to do anything.

"Come here, S-31."

Solar slowly moved to stand in front of Megatron. The warmonger was about to continue when the computer beeped, revealing the next set of coordinates.

"Ah, good. I see you've decoded the next set of coordinates..."

"Way to step things up Soundwave..."

Solar glanced at the entrance and watched as knockout made his way over to Megatron. "

"I do hope this iacon relic is something less sacred and more profane, like an electro-disrupter cannon. We could use one of those..."

Megatron glanced at him, unimpressed, "indeed, Knockout. Soundwave, assemble a squad of vehicons and..."

"Please, Lord Megatron, allow me the honor of retrieving this relic for you."

Solar would have rolled his optics if possible.

"I'm surprised you would risk your finish so soon after your accident. Nonetheless, I remain unconvinced that you are the best choice for the task, since you failed to secure the phase shifter."

Solar mentality smirked, probably the only fun thing about being on the nemesis was the sarcastic and hostile exchanges, so long as you didn't get caught in the crossover.

Knockout sputtered for a moment before recovering, "I lacked the proper tools, but since Soundwave is currently occupied, I can't imagine he'll mind if I borrow this," he grabbed the resonance blaster and held it up. "so that I might better secure your prize, and heap some hurt on the Autobots..."

"Very well, but take S-31 along with you, I want to test his.....loyalties..."

Solar mentally growled, 'i want to hit him so much right now!'

Knockout nodded and left the room to gather some vehicons for the mission while Megatron turned to Solar, "you will on at his every order until you return to the nemesis, it that understood?"

Solar tried to stop himself, he really did, but.... "Yes...Lord Megatron."

~end~

Please note that I didn't say if the cliff hanger was in this chapter...