Ratchet stiffened, staring into the barrel of Megatron's cannon, his optics widening a bit. Megatron held it so close the medic could feel the heat of it activating against his forehelm. Jennie whimpered.

"Don't!" She cried, tears rapidly running down her cheeks. "Please!"

"Shut up, Pest." Megatron snapped at her, flashing her a glare. "You're next."

::Lord Megatron?:: Someone's voice suddenly rang over the com link.

Megatron didn't respond.

::Megatron? Hello?::

"What is it, Starscream!?" The warlord hissed, his gaze still locked into Ratchet's.

::Erm... there's been an accident, uh... the shielding system has been severely damaged.:: Starscream sputtered.

An angry snarl escaped Megatron's lips. "Starscream, I will tear you apart! How could you let this happen?! How long has it been damaged!?"

::I... it's been like this for a few hours, my liege. It wasn't my fault though! Blame Breakdown's clumsiness!::

"Get it repaired, now! The Autobots could pick up our signal any time!" Megatron ordered, before shutting off the com link and returning his attention to Ratchet. "Hopefully Prime doesn't attempt a rescue mission for his precious pet," he teased. "He'd be incredibly disappointed to find you already dead."

"Please don't..." Jennie pleaded once again.

Megatron didn't acknowledge her, only clicked his cannon into gear, smirking at Ratchet. "Farewell, medic."

A split second before he fired, Ratchet's ped slammed into his chest, sending him backwards, and causing his shot to missfire. The blast went upward, and conveniently struck the chains holding Ratchet's servos above his helm, debilitating them enough to where Ratchet could yank his servos free. The medic stared at his freed servos in surprise, taken back by his luck, before grabbing Jennie and putting her in his chest captivity and bolting to the door.

"Son of a-" Megatron snarled, rising to his peds, stopping when he saw Ratchet standing in the doorway to the cell, flipping him off. "I'll rip out your spark!"

Ratchet slammed the cell door shut just as Megatron leapt at him, and locked it immediately.

"Open the door!" The warlord slammed his fist onto the door angrily. Ratchet stared for a moment before turning and walking away, sighing in relief.

"R-Ratchet?" Jennie asked, her voice muffled from inside his captivity. He opened, and she stepped out onto his servo. "Are you... are you okay?"

He nodded.

"Can we get out of here?"

Thinking it over for a moment, he gave a slow nod.

"How?"

The medic huffed. This was exceedingly difficult without words. He turned on his com link, contacting base, but said nothing- he couldn't.

"OH! You can reach base because the shielding system is damaged!" Jennie exclaimed. He nodded. "Alright, so... how are you going to call base? You can't talk."

He pointed at her.

"I'm going to?" Gesturing to herself and raising an eyebrow, she asked skeptically. "You want me to call base?"

Ratchet nodded, turning up his com link, before gesturing to her for her to speak.

"U-Um... Hello? Is anyone there?" Jennie asked, hoping her voice was loud enough.

::Jennie? This is Optimus Prime. What is your status?::

"Bad! Very bad!" Jennie replied, smiling in relief to hear his voice, and looking at Ratchet. He did nothing. "You should be able to send us a groundbridge or whatever it's called. Could you please?"

::Affirmative. Is Ratchet alright? Is he with you?::

"Yeah, he is. Just send the bridge please." She smiled at Ratchet. He looked relieved.

A few seconds later, the green, purple and blue portal opened up a few feet away from them. Ratchet wasted no time in running through the bridge, being careful to not drop Jennie.

They came out in the base, where all the Autobots stood, waiting. Optimus closed the bridge immediately and strode over.

"Ratchet, are you alright?" He asked, as the medic carefully set Jennie down.

Ratchet slowly shook his helm.

Seeming a little surprised to not receive a verbal response, Optimus asked, "What happened?"

Ratchet stared at him helplessly, literally speechless.

"H-He can't talk..." Jennie rested a hand on her guardian's large ped, whimpering. "Megatron did something to him, he put a little device in his throat, and now he can't talk..."

A shocked look came to Optimus's face, as it did to all the other Autobots.

"How?" Arcee came to stand beside Optimus. "I didn't think they had such technology."

Ratchet shrugged, before walking to the monitors, and starting to type. Jennie followed. She climbed up to the keyboard, where she gazed up at him with worried eyes.

"Ratchet?" She asked.

He sighed and looked at her, a hint of sadness in his optics.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Resting her hand on his much larger one, she asked.

Ratchet shook his helm. Jennie whimpered, staring up at him. All I want to do is help...

~~~~~~~ (<--- Look, it's one of the lazy. timeskips Blaze was talking about. ScorchleDragon )

Later that night, Jennie was up on the roof of the base, staring up at the starry sky in silence, sitting on the edge of the cliff, her thoughts running without end. How would they restore Ratchet's speech? What if her father found her? What would happen if Ratchet wasn't there to protect her? What if Megatron captured them again? Why can life be so fragging difficult? Jennie sighed, questions plaguing her thoughts, and reminding her how had the situation is. If only there was something she could do... she'd never felt so helpless...

Approaching footsteps made her turn around; Ratchet's holoform sat down beside her. He gazed at her, concerned.

"I'm just thinking." Jennie shrugged, looking back to the stars. "Things have been rough, haven't they?"

Ratchet nodded, letting out a muted sigh.

"Ratchet..." She looked at him with worried eyes. "What if my dad finds me? He'll.... he'll beat me.. and-"

Ratchet grabbed her shoulder gently, stopping her from continuing, sympathy laced in his gaze. He shook his head slowly.

"Y-You'll protect me, right?" Jennie whispered, tears coming to her eyes. Ratchet had accepted her now, after the whole botnapping ordeal.. Surely he would. He had to...

There were a few moments of silence and stillness, and in those moments, Jennie clung to her hopes that her guardian cared for her.

A smile came to her lips when Ratchet nodded.