So this is my first stab at a fan fic after reading so many. Hopefully I can do the series some justice with my story. I know my writing style isn't for everyone but I hope that there are at least some that enjoy it. Please let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not own transformers in any way shape or form.

Prologue

Predacons were known to have been wiped out in an event before the dawn of recorded history on Cybertron. Known only as the Great Cataclysm this event has never been fully known or understood. There is little surviving knowledge from that era. It is not known if Predacons were fully sentient or if they were little more than instinctual creatures. Any technology or society that might have existed is lost to time. What little that can be determined about this race of Cybertronians lies in their fossilized remains. This lack of knowledge had long been a point of interest for those who studied Cybertrons past. The end of Cybertrons Golden Age and the beginning of the civil war saw research into the past take a new route. Ways to clone their fearsome ancestors were explored and developed. The first attempt at cloning was an abysmal failure. Whatever it was that they had created was quickly terminated. It was all too obvious that the thing was malformed and dying before it truly knew life.

The first experiment was soon forgotten as advances were made. No one thought to look back at the pitiful remains that had yielded nothing but a frustrating dead-end. Unfortunately there were consequences for the brief appearance of a Predacon energy signature. A message was sent off into space, broadcast far beyond any explored region. Long dormant systems received the message. There was movement as a chain of events unfolded that no one on Cybertron was aware of. Only the Predacons had ever encountered the entities that had been awakened from their long slumber by the transmission. Motions were put into action as they slowly emerged from their slumber. The hive mind awakened those that would be needed. Uniting and updating its dormant components. Outlying colonies that had remained active were contacted. Scouts were sent to Cybertron to confirm the presence on Predacons.

It was a long journey, but they were infinitely patient. When the first batch of scouts didn't report back they were not overly concerned, the journey was long and full of perils. By the time the fifth batch failed to report they began to become suspicious. A raiding party was sent out. They also vanished without a trace. Suspicion turned to irritation. A newly promoted officer offered to take out a small platoon. The request was granted and the matter laid to rest until the officer's return. What they were not expecting was for the whole platoon to be found on a regularly patrolled route as corpses left on display. The officer was never seen again. Irritation morphed to anger, then to eagerness as the identity of the opposition became clear. A splash of energon and a portion of armour were found at the site. Armour that they knew belonged to the one Predacon they could not track.

Long ago they had assumed that this Predacon had perished when they had caught it in an energon mine and blown the place apart. Apparently that wasn't the case. Now all the scouts and missions lost when sent to investigate Cybertron made sense. The Predacon was still out there. Continuing to defend Cybertron from them. That made them curious once more. They were aware that a new race of Cybertronians had developed from the ashes of the Predacons grave. Did the lone survivor defend the planet or this new race? Either way it was an anomaly. Predacons only ever cared for their own kind. Loyal to a fault and protective beyond reason they never gave up. This one proved that, still defending Cybertron from those that had decimated its inhabitants. Failure to eliminate all the Predacons irked them. The beacon had been left so that they could ensure that they had finished the job.

When Cybertrons new inhabitants began to leave they were watching. This new development was an opportunity. As they spread out and scattered they came closer. Some slipped through the undefined boundary that the Predacon kept them from crossing. Their patience was rewarded when they captured a small Cybertronian ship. Prisoners were taken. Interrogations were carried out. New information obtained. Experiments were performed to determine the limitations of the new Cybertronians. Results were obtained and compared to those from the Predacons. Comparisons yielded further questions which in turn required new specimen. This time a small group was discovered fighting on a moon. Opposing sides were noted, fighting styles recorded and catalogued. Then they struck. Any subject not of interest was terminated. Three of the four targets were captured. One of the aerial forms proved too fast and manuverable to capture once the element of surprise was lost. Disappointment was felt at the loss of a fine specimen before attention turned to those that had been obtained.

Returning to a scientific structure the specimen were separated and placed in individual cells. For a short time they were observed. Time was given for them to adjust to their new status. Then the experiments began. Taken one at a time they were physically examined, all specifications noted and recorded. Then they were interrogated individually. Half way through the interrogation an alarm sounded. An unknown intruder had breached the area. Abandoning the experiment they searched for signs of the interloper. Nothing was found after several thorough searches. When the interrogator returned the captive was missing. A search of the containment cells revealed that the other two were also absent. Irritation at misplacing the subjects slowly increased the longer they were absent. It was impossible to progress in the experiments without their subjects. Scouts were sent out to track them.

A single frantic report was all they ever heard from the scouting mission. Short and succinct it summed up both what had happened and where their specimens now were. The Predacon protects. Three words were all that was needed to summarise the situation. Attempts at retrival were made only to result in heavy casualties. When further attempts revealed that the Predacon was teaching the subjects how to attack them all efforts were abandoned. Hostile specimen had always proved hazardous. The location of the Predacon was noted and raiding parties scheduled for regular attacks to weaken them. They then turned their focus to acquiring new specimen. It was then that they realised the number of Cybertronians has dwindled rapidly. Irritated at the low number of potential specimen they investigated the reason why. The next specimen provided the answer after some persuasion.

Frustration was a new emotion for them. The hive mind that they all linked to seethed like it never had before. It was discomforting to them. Loss of valuable subjects to a civil war was too much for them to understand. Didn't the Cybertronians know that only they had the priveledge of eliminating their kind from the universe? The answer appeared to be evident in their specimen's ignorance. They had no idea. Before they had a chance to correct their thinking the Predacon interfered. Breaking into the area once again it freed their subjects. They were surprised to see new Cybertronians helping in the rescue. They had not expected the Predacon to have assistance. That threw off some of their effectiveness at containing the situation. Unlike the last time they were able to damage the Predacon before it retreated. A decision was made to push an attack. This time they would eliminate the thorn in their sides. After that they would push on to Cybertron. Cleansing the metallic planet before its inhabitants eliminated themselves. This time they would not fail.