Machine Wars: Homecoming

The vessel shook violently again while struggling to fly through transwarp space. Rhinox tightened his thick servos around the controls as he tried to maintain his balance for both the ship and his body.

"Combining Autobot technology with a Maximal transwarp drive is holding up, but honestly we're lucky to even be in transwarp space," The rhino grunted as another wave of turbulence hit.

"Keep it steady Rhinox," Optimus glanced at his friend with concern, "We have to make it back to our time and Cybertron itself. This is our only chance."

"Eh but no pressure right?" Rattrap shifted as Cheetor playfully hit his arm. "Don't worry Boss Monkey. This scrap heap may be ancient, but it can handle the punishment."

The Autobots' vessel would have worked fine if they needed to get to Cybertron or any other world, but the Maximal infested Cybertron was not the same as the one during prehistoric Earth. Everyone on board had to pitch in to help steer the ship straight and maintain the speeds required for time travel. Rhinox loosened his grip on the console as the ship began to steady itself. Quickly, the Maximal peeked over his shoulder to check on his friends. It was uncomfortably close for everyone, metal arms constantly scraped against one another during the bumpy ride.

"Aw slag," Rattrap fell over and rubbed his processor. "If I didn't know any better I'd say Megajerk is purposely throwin' us off course. We shoulda just tossed him inta space first chance we got!"

Optimus plucked the demolitions expert off of the floor and placed him on his post. "The only place we're tossing Megatron is in a high security prison at Iacon. I'm not taking any chances with him."

Rhinox smiled at his friends' banter as another wave of turbulence hit the ship and crew. Probably being one of the few Maximals who didn't find Rattrap's whining annoying, Rhinox considered it humorous. The two had been friends for many stellar cycles despite having completely opposite interests, and for some reason, it just worked.

A flashing red light washed over the Maximal's face, breaking his thoughts, which caused him to grin at the alert. This was it.

Rhinox tilted his head so his voice would carry. "Nows the time, we're almost there! Cheetor, Rattrap, BlackArachnia; make sure our communications are up to contact the Maximal High Council. SilverBolt and I will keep the ship from falling out of transwarp space too early. Optimus, prepare us for landing! We're almost home."

"Whooho! Best news I heard since they legalized dirty mech fluid in the pubs," Rattrap cheered.

Primal shifted from his post and moved towards the front of the window. Being almost half the size of an Autobot made him ideal to work the main controls properly. The Maximal Commander stared out directly into the nexus of transwarp space, momentarily basking in it's deadly beauty of silver and violet hues.

His servos tapped the coordinates fiercely as if everything rode on this one chance. Primal grit his metal teeth as he let out a loud grunt while the ship's engines were finally slowing down. The silver walls that surrounded the crew for many megacycles had dissipated and Cybertron was finally in view.

Primal off-lined his optics for a moment, could they really be so close? Each being inside had their optics glued to the planet in awe. Before anyone could respond, Rhinox spoke, not daring to get lost in the sight of his home-world for even a nano click.

"Black Arachnia, Rattrap! Can you reach the Council?"

"Yeah, no prob big guy! Everythin' seems to be in workin' order!" The packrat let out a small laugh. "Hoho! Oh yeah we're home!"

"This is the crew of the Axalon, we need permission to land immediately." BlackArachnia interrupted over the radio.

Optimus left the controls and hovered over the two. The spider gazed intensely at the transmitter as static finally came through from the other side.

"This is the Maximal Command Security Force, your ship matches no known recorded vessel in the Maximal or Predacon Registries. If you do not turn around you will be shot down on sight."

Cheetor looked at Rattrap biting his lip in fear until Optimus bent down and prepared to answer the Maximal Officer.

"This is Optimus Primal, Commander of the Axalon. We have the Predacon fugitive Megatron on board-"

"Megatron? Hold on Primal," The officer interrupted. "Alright, you're cleared to land. But we'll need to verify your claim on Megatron and your crew. Transmitting coordinates now."

Optimus cut the communications link and sighed. It was too much to hope that everything would go smoothly upon they're arrival back home. Military protocol, how could he forget?


The Golden Autobot vessel landed gently on the docking bay. Megatron's struggle grew greater as his feet managed to scrape against the roof loudly, a sound that oddly comforted Optimus.

During their trip back, Primal had been concerned whether the Predacon would come loose and find himself in the past again, but thankfully during the very shaky ride, Megatron made his discomfort known throughout the ship. A loud hissing noise alerted the Predacon renegade to shut up as his sentence would be carried out soon.

Before the doors to the golden construct had completely opened up, Rattrap crawled out of the opening and leaped onto the hard ground. His gears ached from the impact, but such minor pain wouldn't stop the Maximal from kissing the ground repeatedly.

"Oh sweet metal how I missed you!" The rat let his face rest on the ground with glee. Clicks, rustling, and loud footsteps caused Rattrap to sit up immediately as he was met with many Maximal Command Officers pointing guns at his face.

A guard stepped forward. "Keep your hands where we can see them and don't move!"

"First off all I've taken on Decepticons scarier than you clowns," Rattrap stood up and held out his arms. "Second check my insignia tread breath, I'm a Maximal too."

"Anyone can change their symbol, we'll need to verify your claim," another officer interrupted.

"Hey what the-?" Cheetor's optics widened when four guards ran up to him with guns.

Rattrap nodded to his friend. "Eh, don't waste your breath kid they ain't gonna listen."

Optimus descended the ramp of their ship along with the rest of the crew, and held out his hands in protest at the scene,"Hold on!"

Two officers glanced at Optimus and lowed their guns in shock, the others soon followed in succession. Even the largest Maximal in the docking bay barely met Primal's knee. Optimus easily towered over everyone which caused some of the younger transformers to hold their gun's loosely in amazement.

"What is this, an Autobot upgrade?" One of the officers joked with a hesitant laugh.

Primal rubbed his brow for a moment, there was far too much to explain to these people. As the colossal Maximal was about to speak, loud footsteps approached him from the other side and Optimus faced the new arrival with surprise.

"Do you really expect me to believe that you are Optimus Primal?" The Security Force Chief's face contorted with disgust.

Rattrap dusted himself slightly and walked towards the Autobot ship as the rest of the crew walked outside in shock at the armed Maximals before them.

"Well this ain't the welcome I expected."

"Tell me about it." Cheetor whispered as he eyed the officer near Optimus warily.

Primal stretched his neck wires to look down at everyone. "You can scan my spark Night Glider. I may have gone through a lot of changes but it's still me. I am Optimus Primal."

"Night Glider," Cheetor said with surprise.

"You know this Maximal?" SilverBolt approached behind his comrade.

BlackArachnia's vocalizer clenched as she spotted the troops surrounding her team, her three fingered claw rested on SilverBolt's arm. There weren't many things the she-spider feared, but it had been a frequent worry on her processor ever since she attained her new transmetal form how she was going to face other Maximals due to her crimes during the Beast Wars. Even if someone would tell her, such as her beloved SilverBolt, that it hadn't been her fault that she was a Predacon, it wouldn't look good if she admitted to liking the experience.

Rhinox managed to sneak between Primal's leg and Cheetor, ignoring the soldiers for a nano click. Even if it was a cargo bay it was still Cybertron and all he could do was look at the metal walls with foreign curiosity. He barely recognized the architecture of his people compared to the open spaces of prehistoric Earth. Rhinox usually volunteered to take missions away from Cybertron since he grew sick of the constant buzz of his planet, but for now it was just wonderful to be home again.

"What's going on here?" Rhinox faced Night Glider as he scanned his surroundings. "We haven't drawn our weapons, our crew doesn't need to be treated like this. You should focus on getting Megatron off of the roof."

"That's for me to decide," Night Glider's harsh gaze shifted from the rhino to the mismatched Maximal and the curvaceous spider lady. "Who in the Pit are these two? Surely you hadn't come across any other Maximals on your trip Primal."

"They were two of the protoforms from our ship. Because of Megatron's," Primal stopped to find the right word, " 'interference', we needed as many soldiers as possible to hold the Predacons off."

"Breaking protocol again, eh Primal?" The Security Force Commander scoffed.

"It couldn't be helped. If there was any other way to keep the protoforms in their pods, I would have done so." Optimus tapped his giant foot.

Rhinox tilted his head in a vain attempt to read Optimus's face. "Megatron started a war between us and his crew and if we hadn't opened the stasis pods, he would have turned them into Predacons."

"That criminal had Predacon Cores on his ship?" Glider's optics widened. "Well, illegal contraband will be another thing we'll have to add to his sentence then, but you're not off the hook here Primal. It was your responsibility to keep them all safe and I only see two protoform Maximals on your ship."

Optimus bent down to match the Cheif's gaze with a glare of his own. "This wasn't just a Predacon attack, it was a war where good people died and I take full responsibility for that. The only way we could save the protoforms was to eject them into space. Otherwise, they would have been destroyed in the crash. You can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing Night Glider."

"I wouldn't have engaged the Predacon ship in the first place," Glider pointed out. "When you're in charge of an experimental vessel you slaggin' better make sure nothing gets damaged in combat."

"There weren't any other ships in the system. I couldn't let Megatron get away." Optimus spoke calmly.

"What's one Predacon going to do with one ship Primal? Nothing is worth more than the safety of Maximal technology." The Chief seethed.

The familiar dialogue between the two suggested that they knew each other. Rhinox would have to inquire Optimus about that later. For now, the rhino Maximal remained calm, unlike the rest of the crew. He knew they were innocent of any crimes Night Glider could come up with. The only thing he worried about was when and how they were going to explain all of this to the council.

BlackArachnia raised a brow at Night Glider's treatment of Optimus. "Gee, he's a ray of sunshine."

"We both graduated from the Maximal Command Academy," Primal responded much to everyone's shock. "Night Glider originally wanted to be Captain of the Axalon since it was the first Maximal transwarp vessel to be developed, but he didn't make the cut."

Glider gave Primal a nasty glare and walked up to Silver Bolt. "Get a scan of these newcomers and add them to the Maximal registry. You'll be interrogated later."

Optimus took a step back. "Interrogated? Why?"

"I want several teams to secure Megatron. He's as big as Optimus here so we'll need several stasis inhibitors and cuffs. Keep autoguns armed on his every move." Night Glider ignored the question. "Primal, Rhinox you're coming with me. You two have a lot to answer for."

Optimus stared down at the Security Cheif and sighed. His spark began to calm down while he and Rhinox were lead away to speak with the council. Interrogation and armed forces wasn't quite the welcome he expected upon his return home, albeit it made sense considering the massive change to his person. The story of the Beast Wars was a long one and Primal knew he would have to explain it multiple times to the very skeptic council members. It's not as if they lacked evidence, since his body and Megatron's were altered by their ancestors sparks, not to mention the existence of the Auotbot ship, but the aliens' existence could be difficult to prove as would be everything else without the golden disk Dinobot destroyed.

Then, Primal heard guards gently take away SilverBolt and BlackArachnia to register themselves. Night Glider wasn't going to help Optimus by actually answering his questions so the Primal kept his mouth shut. SilverBolt was naive but brave, he had nothing to worry about his during his interrogation. BlackArachnia was another story. Optimus didn't have much of an opinion on the spider other than respect in battle and her skills with technology. If she chose to hide her Predacon nature to the Maximals he wouldn't blame her.

"Uh," Cheetor raised a servo and gestured to Rattrap and himself, "what should we do?"

Glider didn't face them while walking away with Rhinox and Optimus. "You two need to file a report on the destroyed Axalon and experimental transwarp drive. This rust bucket you call a ship needs to be registered, and on what ever else happened during your leave."

"Paperwork? After blasting Preds all day?" Cheetor held his arms out in shock.

Rattrap crossed his arms and sighed. "Well, this is the pits."


It was comforting to hear Megatron's grunts and protests as he was being taken down from the ship to his prison. The Predacon renegade had gone way too far in his insane ambition to rewrite history itself.

Optimus felt no pity for the Predacon, even though he knew he should no matter how terrible the transformer was. The Beast Wars changed him in many ways and he wasn't sure if it was for the best. Optimus Primal clenched his oversized fists as he struggled to get inside the hallway that was no longer built for his size. Rhinox dodged a metal plate from the ceiling as Primal's head scraped against the metal.

"I can't believe what you did Primal. The council isn't going to like this one bit and I look forward to your punishment." Night Glider muttered under his breath.

The giant Maximal said nothing. All the insults or glares Glider threw at him were miniscule compared to how angry Megatron had got him. Optimus never knew he could be so violent and hateful until the Predacons came along. He hoped after all this chaos died down that he could finally rest and bask in the glory of his dearly missed home world.

"Optimus," Night Glider broke his thoughts, "did you at least manage to get the golden disk back from Megatron?"

Rhinox spoke in an even tone, "The disk was destroyed."

Glider gritted his teeth and stopped walking. "Are you serious? The council isn't going to like this."

Optimus spoke lowly, "You don't understand. Megatron used it-"

"Used it to what? Teach the Preds a history lesson?" Glider mocked.

"You have no idea."

Primal paused as they arrived at a door. The room was unfortunately small with projectors ready at the back. Optimus bent the walls of the sliding door and hit his head on the ceiling nearly penetrating the steel plates. Rhinox and Glider moved away from the giant for a moment until he finally shifted his body into a comfortable position. Night Glider walked up to the controls and attempted to gain access to the council.

"Losing the Axalon and the Golden Disk...how can anyone be so slaggin' pit-brained?" Glider muttered as he contacted someone in the council building.

Rhinox tapped his friend's enlarged leg. "And I thought Depth Charge had a bad attitude."

Optimus smiled at the comment, but was only reminded of the thickheaded Maximal's sacrifice. His optics gazed at the floor for a moment. If he hadn't sent Depth Charge to attack the Nemesis from the sea, he wouldn't have run into Rampage and met his demise.

Optimus glared at Night Glider's back. He would not let his comrades' sacrifices be in vain. They died for a real cause and he vowed that fact to be known to all members of the council.

"This is Security Force Chief Night Glider requesting an audience with any available council member." Glider commanded the Maximal on screen.

"The council is busy with Cryotek in court room proceedings," The secretary responded. "It is the trial about his involvement with the theft of the golden disk. You wouldn't believe what resources that guy has, but I'll see if I can patch you through Chief."

Glider nodded as the computer alerted him of an incoming transmission. Three forms appeared on the holographic platforms.

One spoke, "This is the MagnaBoss Council, what is your business?"

"Greetings council members," Glider nodded and moved away from the console. "I know you all are busy, but this is an important matter of Maximal Security. Optimus and his crew have returned with Megatron in custody."

The eldest-looking Cybertronian nodded. "Good. What is the status of the Axalon and of the stasis pods Commander?"

"Not to mention the whereabouts of the Golden Disk." Another pointed out.

Night Glider twitched his servos and held back a smirk. "The first and the last counts are a complete loss and almost so for the second."

Optimus tried not to hold back from shifting too much while Glider spoke, Rhinox did the same. There was far more to the story than the end result, but a soldier could be court marshaled for speaking against any member of the council, excluding those of the Predacon Alliance.

Rhinox crossed his arms and kept his stance wide. He had to remind himself that this was a different type of battle than what they were used to. They couldn't just wave their guns around and keep them in cells for this poor treatment. This type of thing required a different means of attack. A stratagem in which neither Optimus nor Rhinox had much practice in as of late. For now, they waited like good soldiers while their servos nearly broke the first layer of their metal skin.

"Optimus graduated at the top of the academy," One of the members eyed Primal. "I'm sure there is an explanation for all of this."

Optimus stared at the council and tightened his vocalizer. "Oh yes there is."


"So this is Cybertron," SilverBolt spoke with awe in his voice while the guards escorted the two. "It's hardly anything like what Rattrap explained to me, though he tends to exaggerate."

BlackArachnia nodded. "This isn't all that great when you think about what the Big Ape is responsible for."

"But we saved all of Cybertron." The fuzor pointed out.

"Yeah, but do you expect THEM to believe that?" She nodded at the guards disdainfully.

SilverBolt stared at the officers and stroked his chin for a moment. Each Maximal kept their arms up as if the two planned to run away somewhere on this world they hardly knew. It seemed odd to be treated like criminals after all they had done for these people, but SilverBolt kept his head up.

"Well, they are fellow Maximals, and thus represent peace and liberty as we do. I'm sure justice will prevail."

"Ugh." The spider shook her head at his adorably dimwitted nature.

The fuzor smiled warmly at his beloved and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Do not worry my love. I will always be by your side even if it may be in a prison cell."

"Bowser, please stop talking." BlackArachnia sighed. "But I appreciate it."

No matter what he would stay by her side, a thought which BlackArachnia normally would have found annoying but today the comfort was appreciated. The spider scooted closer to SilverBolt and placed her hand on his chest plate. His eyes stared into hers with shock at her receptive nature, in public no less (not that he minded). Clearly his love was in need and he would protect her from any danger she feared on this strange planet.

Before SilverBolt could recite a speech that would express his undying love and everlasting watch over BlackArachnia, the officers lead them outside of the building.

"Shining elegant world! I knew they said it but I cannot believe my eyes!" SilverBolt stepped forward. "A world with so many others like us."

"Don't be so sure bowser." The spider warned.

BlackArachnia gazed warily at the sight before her, as her processor could barely comprehend the immense structures of Cybertron. Neither Maximal knew where on the planet they were, but this city that had once been inhabited by beings far larger than themselves had buildings which were far more massive than the two ever imagined. Flyers dominated Cybertron's skies in orderly, yet beautiful lines. The roads were reflections of the curved paths made by the planes above. There were so many Cybertronians, BlackArachnia wondered for a moment if any Predacons were down there amongst the flashing chaos created by reflectors and lights.

"I've studied a lot about Cybertron but seeing it is so different." The she-spider commented. "It's massive."

"One could get lost in a maze such as this! How do they know where to go?" SilverBolt worried. "The skies are less open here."

"Alright," The officer gestured his head towards the building on the left, " just go inside here and old Santon will see that you get registered."

The two transmetals walked through the sliding mechanical doors and were greeted by a rather large Maximal. His frame was wider than both BlackArachnia and SilverBolt combined but Bolt saw kindness in his optics and held out his hand, "Ah yes, I am SilverBolt and this is BlackArachnia. We were told to come to you to, uh, register I believe."

"I am Santon and you two must be the protoforms Optimus Primal brought into this world prematurely." The ground slightly quaked as Santon walked towards the many glass pods that decorated the walls of the room.

SilverBolt pleaded, "Well, technically we were broug-"

"I'm sorry you two had a such a rough experience," The large Maximal scientist interrupted.

"Please step into the chambers and you will become an official part of the Maximal Faction. We'll also reformat your bodies for something, ah, more appropriate for Cybertron."

BlackArachnia groaned, "A new bod? I was just getting used to this one."

"Never fear my dear!" SilverBolt declared. "I will love you no matter what form you take." Even if he was a total goon, BlackArachnia couldn't help but love the big lug and let out an amused sigh.

Santon stood behind a desk with many holographic screens in front of him. BlackArachnia squinted her optics, but couldn't make out all the words written on the screen. She had a talent for technology and loved making inventions. Hopefully, she would find her place on Cybertron despite what happened during the Beast Wars. Black Arachnia wasn't ashamed that she had been a Predacon, quite the opposite in that she grew for the experience. Becoming a Maximal also hadn't changed her as much she initially thought it would. In the end, SilverBolt was the one who had led her (and even begged her) to care about those other than herself. The spider stepped into the chamber after her boyfriend and clenched her fists tightly awaiting the change.

"I can't believe this." BlackArachnia glanced over at SilverBolt.

"We should welcome change beloved, not fear it." Her boyfriend comforted.

The spider scoffed, "I don't fear whatever form they give me. I just don't like giving up power."

It was infuriating to have to change herself again, especially after all she went through to get the current transmetal body she had today. The experience nearly cost the spider her life and now all her efforts were for naught, but at the same time it made sense. Even though BlackArachnia read hundreds of history tracks about Cybertron and it's people, cities, and wars, nothing compared to seeing the planet in person. This place wasn't anything like Earth and a spider body, transmetal or not, just wouldn't do.

Santon shifted his gears, causing the giant treaded tires on his back to grind against each other. "Alright, let us begin."

A hissing sound filled the chambers as a scanner was activated inside. The blue light brushed the she-spider's optics. It was time for a change. Suddenly, the holoscreens in front of Santon blinked red with thousands of numbers of data flashing by. The big Maximal quickly tried to stop the computer but none of the codes he put in were working properly. SilverBolt looked at his beloved fearing for her safety and tried to get out of the chamber. Santon ducked behind the consul as sparks flew everywhere tapping against the glass shield that protected the fuzor and spider. BlackArachnia looked away as the computer exploded shouting errors and unknowns before it had gone out.

"So," Santon brushed off some debris while carefully emerging from behind the desk, "mind telling me what exactly had gone wrong during your trip and how you acquired those bodies of yours anyway?"


Cheetor had always been an admirer of adventure, and the idea of seeing places in the galaxy that no other Maximal had explored intrigued him. He loved being introduced to new people and customs of other worlds. The idea of exploring such places was mind blowing. Before meeting Optimus, Cheetor had a hard time with the strict rules of his people. When the yellow Maximal had first started working, there was only one thing he resented more than the constant ridicule he receive from his superiors.

"Man, I am not cut out for this," Cheetor complained to the screen. "Damage reports are so dull compared to knockin' some Pred heads."

"Eh, whatcha gonna do?" Rattrap shrugged while typing quickly next to his squad-mate. "We haveta make this report for the council. Knowing the Boss Monkey, he'll need all the help he can get."

"Yeah, I guess I forgot about that. I hope Big Bot is ok." Cheetor sighed with defeat.

"This is Optimus we're talkin' about here! He can handle himself fine. You just worry about that report ya got there." The rat waved at his friend.

"Yeah Yeah." The yellow Maximal stopped typing as the screen lit up in red.

The computer's voice echoed throughout the room, "No recorded Autobot vessel exists in history tracks. Please rewrite your claim."

"Ugh!" Cheetor banged his processor against the keyboard. "Man time travel bites."

"Eh, tell me about it kid-oh!" The rat cried out. "Not again!"

"What the-?" Cheetor tilted his head to look over his friend's shoulder. "Rattrap!"

The younger Maximal gave his comrade a sharp look as he caught him playing a game of shooting green plane transformers who apparently had very high pitched cries as they died. Cheetor shook his head. "Quit goofing off! I'm not going to write this report alone."

"Hey, the net is slow in this place! I'm just waitin' for some news tracks to finally load." Rattrap turned off the game and pulled up a page filled with Cybertron's latest happenings. "We've been out of the loop for who knows how long pussy cat. Gotta keep up with what's going on if we wanna walk amongst our fellow Maximals again."

The rat scanned several articles picking through which ones were only small time articles and which were, what he considered to be, an interesting read.

His optics immediately rested on the next page, a story so large that it nearly took up the entire screen, "Renegade Megatron was captured today to face the Maximal tribunal," Rattrap leaned closer to the screen, "hmm, and Cryotek has no comment huh."

"Whose Cryotek?" Cheetor raised a brow. "I've never heard that name before."

"Man, you don't read much do ya spots?" Rattrap put the article aside and searched through the news tracks for another. "Ya remember how Megs stole the golden disk under Maximal Security? Well, each data track inside the building has an emergency tracking device that attaches to anyone who hacks through the systems. They managed to follow that signal to Cryotek for some reason, which means he musta had some role in the theft of the golden disk. His trial doesn't seem to be ovah yet, but I'd bet my shiny skid plates that it was a double cross."

"So they were working together to get the disk?" Cheetor stared at Rattrap intensely.

"Eh," The rat faced his friend, "the two have been known to work together before so it wouldn't surprise me. But think about this: Why is it that only Megatron was on the Darksyde with the disk and not Cryotek? Nothin's been resolved, yet it doesn't matter now anyway. Megatron is goin' to prison and the disk is destroyed, case closed."

"Yeah, I guess it is." The yellow Maximal hesitantly shifted his gaze away from the picture taken of the struggling Megatron and continued to rewrite his report.


He had thrown away everything for this. From his ties to Cybertron, to every crew member brought along on the Darksyde. Every click and every nano click, he would struggle against his restraints, not caring where transwarp space would take him if he fell off of the roof of the ship. It didn't matter what timeline he'd end up in. Megatron would work with what he had, even if he found himself during The Great War. Killing the great Optimus Prime though, wouldn't have been nearly as effective as to have wiped out the Autobot leader from the history tracks permanently, no.

Megatron was again tied down by the energy cuffs which hovered over his neck, wrists, waist, and ankles, just daring to slice each limb if the Maximals had any backbone that is. The Maximals...a Maximal, ruined everything. The other members of the Axalon were nothing without Primal. Megatron had proved that when he attacked them during Optimus's absence. Taking the spark of his name-sake, Megatron believed that he had won, or at least was near victory. His power proved greater than Primal's, and perhaps the constant drum beat of Megatron's ancestor's spark gave him the confidence to be more impulsive near the end of the Beast Wars. He sacrificed everything for this, but Optimus was still able to rip out the original Megatron's spark and place it back inside the Ark. At that moment, he had lost, failed actually, in carrying out his name-sake's instructions. Such an order to change history itself was one he considered carefully. Albeit such an action would have helped the Decepticons and Predacons greatly, there were times where Optimus Prime's power was useful, particularly when Unicron was involved. Megatron ran simulations on the possibility of a Decepticon ruled Cybertron against such a creature and found that in military, they would be far more powerful to defend themselves, but it would cost many lives to do so.

The Maximal Officers before him turned their backs on the Predacon, not worried about his power at all. They were such fools, but at the moment Megatron did not have an escape plan in mind. It wasn't right. They should be bowing to him instead of laughing. These Maximals, who dare call themselves peace keepers, would tear off the limb of any Predacon if they so much as looked at them the wrong way.

"They don't deserve to rule." Megatron seethed under his breath as the vehicle began to move.

The Predacon jerked his head up and studied the cramped vehicle he was put in for a moment. Thick lines protruding horizontally and vertically in the walls implied that he was in a large transformer, at least one who could handle his new size. A window, very small for his stature, was placed a few inches away from his head. It was dark, but he could clearly see the glow emanating off the Maximals' optics. They hated him. Megatron shook his head. Hate never bothered him. It was an emotion he could trust, one that didn't lie or was hidden easily by anyone. When a Maximal felt hate, he could trap them inside their own prison with ease. Escape may not be such an issue if these guards volunteer to watch over him.

Megatron's claws scraped against the floor of the transformer, hoping to cause discomfort to all Maximals in the room. It was stupid, he knew, but sometimes a Predacon needed a little chaos to think clearly. His powerful body was only a hinderance now in Cybertron. It made him stand out. Though it pained him to get rid of the form his name-sake created, the process could be a necessary one, especially for the Maximals. Megatron off-lined his optics and clenched his fists, remembering the Beast Wars.

In the beginning, it had been about cat and mouse game. Whoever got the most energon or converted the most stasis pods would be the victor who'd lead a small army to wipe out the other side. The aliens proved to be an unknown throughout the war, a deadly race who were able to hide their motives well. From what Megatron could gather, they had used Earth as some sort of testing ground for the species, but he had never met the aliens themselves and hadn't found out why. It had taken months to decode the golden disk and more for the alien one, but once he did, Megatron could not take the news lightly. Simulations, tests, and various theorems found in Cybertron's archives helped him make the decision to abide by the original Megatron's plan. He wished Dinobot hadn't been so irrational on the matter, as he was the only Predacon Megatron felt was completely capable of giving his opinion without using it for personal gain. Ironically, it was BlackArachnia who had selfishly stolen his decryption codes of the disk, which led him into the Ark. That she-spider would pay dearly for ruining his plans, yes.

Megatron shook his head at the thought. On his part, he could have strategized her role in breaking into the Ark better (after all she was right, she was a Maximal protoform and would not have existed if the plan had worked), a mistake he would not make a second time. Her treachery deepened when she foolishly increased Optimus Primal's power, making him the powerful near-autobot sized machine he was today. Yet such an idea was used to his advantage to create his dragon-like body as well. Somewhere, everything had gone wrong and Megatron needed to dig deeper and analyze each battle, each recon mission, each recruitment, each decision he made during the Beast Wars. If he were to succeed, he needed to calm down.

"Ugh," Megatron sighed, "the humiliation."

"Shut up you stinkin' Pred!" A Maximal officer boldly looked at him in the eye with malice.

The Predacon met his gaze with a growl causing the bot to scoff and turn away. "If only I could-"

Megatron caught a bright light in the corner of his optic and faced the window, the only light source in the vehicle. Though the Predacon could not access any of his internal systems, including the ones in his optic sensors, he could still make out three flyers. Megatron raised a brow but kept his gaze on the Cybertronians. Each turn the vehicle made, the flyers would follow and once they got a little closer for the Predacon to see, he focused his gaze elsewhere.

"So that old fool still needs me for something," Megatron unfolded his servos. "There may still be a hand left in this game, yes."


A/N : This is my first transformers fic so please be gentle but ALL comments are welcome and special thanks to RulerofFire for beta reading this story!