Author's note: Hello everyone! Since I've taken a hiatus from my Star Wars fanfiction series I've decided to start the second season of my Transformers fanfiction series before this year is over. So now that I'm finally back, let the story continue and I hope you all enjoy:

Unknown location, 2016

Megatron walked amongst the yellow tanks and examined their beastly occupants with great interest. He stopped at one that resembled a bipedal dragon with two heads and looked deeply into it.

"I recall Shockwave starting a project like this back on Cybertron shortly before our departure" said Megatron "He seemed perfectly convinced that he could clone long extinct Predacons with the use of fossilized remains. It sounded ludicrous to me but intriguing nonetheless. I trust it had something to do with this?"

"Well; admittedly the idea was his and the fossils were ones I stole from his facility, but I bred them all myself without any outside help" replied Flatline. Megatron smirked and placed a finger against the glass of the tank in front of him.

"Interesting…" said Megatron "And rather ironic. Usually, any interference to Shockwave's projects would be met with disdain; but in this case, it's proved to be quite an asset" He slowly scratched his finger across the glass, causing some of the yellow liquid to leak out.

"Careful!" exclaimed Flatline "These are black-market tanks, they're much more delicate than the ones in Shockwave's lab"

"I had a feeling they would be" said Megatron as he moved off and began walking amongst the tubes again. "So, are there any that are ready for activation yet?"

"Well, I would suggest starting with the first one I created" replied Flatline "This way!" He led Megatron over to the center of the room where a large tank sat that had the Cybertronian numeral for 1 marked at the top of it. Within the yellow liquid inside, a creature that resembled a coiled up scorpion lay within the liquid. Megatron walked up to it and looked deeply into its four red eyes that glimmered ominously.

"How long until you can release it?" asked Megatron.

"The process should take about forty-two hours to complete" replied Flatline.

"And what kind of armament does it possess?" asked Megatron.

"Well, its claws and mandibles are sharp and can do harm" replied Flatline "And its tail possess a powerful stinger that can stun or possibly even kill its enemies" Megatron showed subtle signs of disappointment at the reply. "But…But if you want, I could always graft additional weapons of your choosing after the process is complete"

"That will do" said Megatron.

"Lord Megatron, I can give you a layout of the armory's supply so you can choo—" said Soundwave.

"No!" snapped Megatron "This will be the first in a long line of superweapons, I intend it to carry much more firepower than the average Decepticon soldier"

"Than what kind of weapons should we give it?" asked Slipstream.

"There is one on this world who possesses what I am looking for" replied Megatron.

"Wait, you're not talking about—" said Slipstream.

"He is the best chance we have" said Megatron "Besides; should he go out of line, I will be very persuasive. Soundwave, organize a tracking protocol"

"As you command, Megatron" said Soundwave.

"As of this moment, Project: Predacon is in motion" said Megatron. Unbeknownst to the four of them, the scorpion within the tank blinked twice in curiosity.

The Weapons Dealer

Meanwhile in the Ark

Ratchet watched videos on Teletraan I of the devastated sites caused by Cybertron only a day ago. As he looked carefully at the rebuilding process that was underway, Optimus approached him from behind.

"It looks like we're finally recovering from the incident" said Optimus "It could have been our ultimate doom, but we all persevered"

"I only wish we could play a part in the reconstruction" said Ratchet "It was all because of us that this even happened"

"I lament the repercussions of our conflict as well, Ratchet" said Optimus "We protected them in this dire time and they are safe once again thanks to us, but I still wish we could do more"

"We did what we could and we're doing what we can now, that's what's important" said Prowl as he walked up to them "And what's important now is that we continue to do our part. It's been only one day since the incident and we've seen no sign of Decepticon activity since then, and that could mean only one thing…Megatron is formulating a new plan"

"Or maybe he's just taking a good long rest" said Jazz as he placed a hand over Prowl's shoulders "I mean; he just came back from the dead and spent most of his time on his masterplan, so I imagine he'd be a bit worn out"

"Amusing thought" said Prowl in an utmost deadpan "But realistically, we need to start investigating this further"

"Prowl is right" said Optimus "Megatron won't take this defeat lightly. The moment a new opportunity presents itself, he will take it; so we must be prepared for it" As the Autobots discussed amongst themselves, Melody sat against a wall on a platform with her arms crossed and a down expression on her face.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Bumblebee.

"Yeah" replied Melody.

"So how are you holding up?" asked Bumblebee.

"Bobby offered to let me stay at his house for the time being" replied Melody "I accepted it, so I'm moving in tomorrow morning"

"That's good to know" said Bumblebee "And hey, you can always count on me to help with the moving.

"Thanks" said Melody "I can always rely on you guys for help. Still, I'm worried about what happened to Mom. Do you think…Do you think the Cons have her?"

"Well…that is a possibility…" replied Bumblebee.

"But one that doesn't matter" said Arcee as she walked up to them "Either way, whether she was kidnapped by the Cons or someone else entirely, we'll get her back"

"Yeah, we will!" said Bumblebee enthusiastically "We'll get her back and everything will be fine" Melody managed a smile.

"You seem so certain" said Prowl. Bumblebee and Arcee turned towards him with a confused look on their faces. "At this moment, she's probably being tortured by Soundwave for information"

"Prowl, don't say stuff like that" said Jazz.

"I'm only stating the truth, no matter how dark or grim it may be" said Prowl "This is why we can't have civilians involved, they'll only get in harm's way"

"They're not in harm's way, we're protecting them!" snapped Bumblebee.

"Really?" said Prowl "Thanks to you, three Human children and possibly their families are now targets of the Decepticons. Our protection couldn't prevent Melody's mother from being taken away, so how do you expect to help them further?"

"By…By keeping a more watchful eye over them from now on" said Bumblebee.

"Are you sure you're capable of that?" said Prowl "I mean, that's what you were supposed to do from the start" Bumblebee clenched his fist and struck towards him with absolute daggers.

"How dare you!" snapped Bumblebee. Before either of them could do anything else, Jazz slipped in between them.

"That's enough!" said Jazz "Calm down, the both of you; we're not here to argue or press judgement and blame. I think we can all agree that we've got enough on our plate at the moment; and before we do anything, we should take a deep breath and calm down" Bumblebee and Prowl's stern gaze at each other seemed to almost create a powerful electrical charge between each of them.

"Let's…take a break, shall we?" said Arcee as she patted Bumblebee on the back gently. At that moment, the proximity sensors went off.

"Well, seems we're gonna have to deal with all of this later since Agent Bluestone no doubt has something important to tell us" The elevator next to Teletraan opened up and Agent Bluestone stepped out.

"Agent Bluestone, what do you have to report?" asked Optimus.

"As you know, things have been pretty messy recently but the cleanup is finally going smoothly" said Bluestone.

"Bulkhead said he wanted to join in on helping the reconstruction, but I think we can all agree that it would be problematic" said Ratchet. Bluestone sighed.

"Is something wrong?" asked Jazz.

"Well; to cut things short, this is goodbye for now" said Bluestone "You see; ever since the incident, the US government has been very distressed and heated in discussions. And on top of that, the media's more abuzz than usual; I mean, how to tell the whole world that a giant freakin' planet that almost collided into us was just a hallucination or something. As liaison for you guys and the government, I'm going to have to be there for a lot of it so our meetings are going to become more limited for the time being"

"And how exactly does the government feel about continuing our operation?" asked Prowl.

"Given the recent turn of events, they realize that we still need you" replied Bluestone "Unfortunately however, they feel that more supervision is also needed now"

"For real!?" exclaimed Bumblebee.

"I'm not fond of the idea and I did my best to voice out against it, but they still felt it was necessary" said Bluestone.

"And with you busy most of the time, someone else will be given the job of supervising us" said Prowl.

"That is correct" said Bluestone "I don't know who they are exactly, but I do know that they'll be arriving this afternoon at 12:00 to meet you"

"We'll make sure we're on our best behavior" said Optimus "I'll try to reason with them to see if they can more reasonable with the supervision"

"Good luck with that" said Bluestone. He briefly turned and noticed Melody. "Oh, and make sure it's just you Bots here when they arrive. They won't take kindly to contact with civilians"

"Understood" said Optimus.

"Well, I'd better be getting back to my work" said Bluestone. He turned towards the elevator and entered it.

"Optimus, are we really going to be supervised completely from now on?" asked Bumblebee.

"The Humans are the natives of this planet and it's their government that allows us to continue operating" replied Optimus "If they believe that keeping a closer eye on us is the best course of action, then I will not object to it"

"Nor will I" said Bumblebee "But I'm not sure how the others are going to take this"

Meanwhile in Utah

Amidst the windy and barren environment of the Utah desert, a tall figure leisurely walked across the landscape. He was sandy-yellow and purple in color and wore the Decepticon insignia which shone bright the sun's ray and a large scatter blaster mounted on his right forearm. His optics were deep purple and he held a wooden stake in his mouth like a toothpick. He walked over to a large rock and pulled out a remote.

"Have some new weapons in your stock, Swindle?" said a voice. The Decepticon quickly spun around in shock to see Megatron and Soundwave standing before him.

"Ah, Lord Megatron!" exclaimed Swindle "What a…unexpected surprise! Huh, what! Megatron…you're…y-you're…"

"Alive?" said Megatron "Did you expect me to be otherwise?"

"Well…there was word around that you were dead, but I see that they were false" stammered Swindle nervously "What, uh, brings you here?"

"I'll get straight to the point, Swindle, since we've already wasted enough time; I want weapons" replied Megatron.

"Ah yes, that's my specialty!" said Swindle "Just wait one second!" He typed into his remote which caused the rock in front of them to shift into the appearance of a crashed Cybertronian ship that was so covered in dust that you could not make out the original color.

"So, this is where you've been hiding this whole time" said Megatron.

"Crashed this thing ages ago" said Swindle "I tried my hand at repairing it, but it was pretty much irreversible. Fortunately however, the shielding and camouflage systems were undamaged and are still fully functional. Come on in" The three of them stepped through the entrance that was draped in sandy rags and stepped inside. The layout of the inside of the ship was modeled like an ammunitions store with various blasters, melee weapons, and explosive devices lining the walls and various containers around them. "So, uh, what can I get you guys? Oh, I know!" He started pulling out various armaments from a nearby draw. "I bet you'd like this one, Soundwave; it's a new and improved model of sonic cannon! Or maybe this…the thermo rocket cannon…or perhaps the classic scatter blaster, a personal favorite of mine as you can plainly see. Or maybe the null-ray, something with a real flare to it"

"Just seeing that weapon again reminds me of that craven traitor Starscream" said Megatron "If I ever see him again, I'll rip his spine out with my bare hands!"

"Um; Lord Megatron, you seem to be getting distracted and I don't like a customer who rambles on like this" snipped Swindle. Megatron looked back at him which caused him to flinch. "I mean…I don't mean any disrespect or anything, but I kinda' prefer to keep the deal going rather than…going into unnecessary stuff…once again, no disrespect intended!"

"None taken" said Megatron "I too would much rather get this over and done with. These weapons that you've shown me so far are ones we have in large supply within the armory. I would not go to the difficulty of dealing with you if the weapon I seek is one I already possess. I want one of rarer and more powerful caliber; because I have special plans for these weapons, plans that cannot be achieve with standard ordnance. And I should remind you that I can pay a very worthy price for it?" Swindle began to scratch his chin in deep thought.

"Really?" said Swindle "Sounds…intriguing to say the least. Tell you what, I'll let you in on a little secret; this storeroom right here is only where I keep my standard weapons. I've got bigger guns in more…undisclosed areas. How about this; meet me at the border of this country at…shall we say, what them Humans call "9:30" at night. I'll be there and I'll have some weapons that might…interest you, if you know what I mean by that"

"You have a deal" said Megatron.

"Excellent!" said Swindle "Oh; and bring energon, lots and lots of energon"

Meanwhile

Optimus and the other Autobots waited around for their replacement liaison who they knew would be arriving any time soon. Bumblebee and Arcee had already dropped Melody off and were now pacing back and forth with absolute anxiety. Jazz leant his back against a nearby wall and looked around at his surroundings cautiously yet calmly. Ratchet tapped his fingers against the edge of Teletraan I with unease as he tried to calm himself down over the situation. Everyone's tension was soon broken when the sound of the proximity sensors signaled out.

"Well, here they come" said Prowl. The elevator in front of them opened up and two soldiers stepped out and stood at either side of its entrance. Following behind them was a Human woman with auburn hair, green eyes, and fair skin who wore a white and blue outfit.

"Men, at ease" said the woman in a commanding tone "Well; Optimus Prime, I believe"

"That is correct" said Optimus "On behalf of the Autobots; I welcome you to the Ark"

"A pleasure meeting you" said the woman "Agent Marissa Faireborn; as you may know, I've been sent by the U.S. government to act as your new liaison while Agent Bluestone is otherwise…occupied. I hope we can work efficiently and cooperatively" Ratchet observed the two soldiers with uncertainty. "Is something the matter?"

"Oh, it's nothing" replied Ratchet.

"We just weren't expecting an armed escort like this" said Prowl "Care to explain?" It was at that moment that the other Autobots eyed him with disbelief and concern as if he had just set off a nuclear bomb.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, I suppose we can get down to business" said Marissa "It is what I came here for after all. As you may know, the government has been…uneasy about the state of your operation"

"From what we've heard, that's putting it lightly" said Prowl. Ignoring his statement, Marissa looked across the room and internally counted each of the Autobots surrounding her.

"There appears to be only six of your present" said Prowl "Unless I'm much mistaken, there are supposed to be more of you" Prowl scowled in response

"The others are out on patrols at the moment" replied Ratchet "Hunting for energon deposits and keeping an eye out for Decepticon activity; which, by the way, we've been ever vigilant for ever since what happened"

"We still have much to discuss however" said Marissa.

"That I can agree on" said Optimus "Were you hoping to discuss now?"

"Not exactly" replied Marissa "Optimus Prime, so we can get to know each other and exchange notes, I've scheduled a meeting between us two tonight" She pulled out a printed note and placed it on the railing of the platform. "This note contains information on the time and location. I will see you then" She entered the elevator with the two soldiers and disappeared.

"I wouldn't exactly call that the "warmest" welcome ever" said Bumblebee.

"You can say that again" said Arcee. Optimus picked up the note carefully with his fingers and examined it closely and carefully:

"9:00 pm

Nebraska military base

Building 4

Meet you then"

"Do you think she's dissatisfied with us?" asked Ratchet "I mean, she did mention the government's concerns with us"

"That remains to be seen" replied Optimus.

Meanwhile on the Nemesis

"You can't be serious!" snapped Slipstream "Don't tell me you trust that hydro-weasel?!"

"I trust him to possess what I want" replied Megatron "And I also trust him want much from me in exchange for it. However, I don't trust him to go through with the deal without any causing complications"

"That's an understatement" said Slipstream "It's as if greed is built into his personality component"

"Which is why we will take extra precaution when we make the deal" said Megatron "Soundwave, assemble the others and let them know of the deal. The moment Swindle arrives, we'll make sure he cannot escaped"

"As you command, Lord Megatron" said Soundwave.

"No one will get in our way this time" said Megatron "Not even Optimus Prime and his precious Autobots"

Later

Ratchet activated the ground bridge and opened up the swirling blue portal in front of them.

"There, the ground bridge should lead you to the location" said Ratchet.

"Thank you, Ratchet" said Optimus as he walked over towards the portal that lay in front of them.

"Optimus, can I have a word with you for a moment?" asked Prowl.

"What is it, Prowl?" asked Optimus.

"About tonight; I trust you to what's right, but try not to act submissive and don't be afraid to speak your mind if something concerns you" replied Prowl "I know that the wellbeing of the Humans worries you, but never forget about our wellbeing either"

"Prowl, this is their planet and we are only guests here" said Optimus "While we remain on their surface, we must abide by their wishes and rules; however, I will go along with things blindly and will voice my concern when I feel truly unsure about their decisions"

"I know that" said Prowl "I'm just saying don't let them take advantage of us. I know that freedom is everybody's right, but sometimes you have to make a hard decision and put your foot down"

"I understood what it meant to be a leader the day I became a Prime" said Optimus "And then the war came and gave me experience. I understand the difficulties of decision making and their consequences. I will do what I can to bring the best of both worlds together"

"I certainly hope so" said Prowl "Just…remember what I said" Optimus nodded in response.

"I will" said Optimus. He then turned towards the ground bridge portal, transformed, and drove through it. After arriving on the other side, he found himself in the middle of a U.S. military base in Nebraska. Having looked over Marissa's short note to memorize it thoroughly in case it contained something important that he could not afford to miss, he cautiously began strolling along the site until he eventually reached a building labeled "4". The door to the building was opened slightly and he could see light shining from the inside. Although he was sure that the building was the one he was supposed to go to, he still felt uneasy about entering it in robot mode so he instead rolled up to the door slowly and silently until he heard a familiar voice cry out.

"You can come in as yourself now, Prime" said Marissa's voice "No one's here but me" In response to this, Optimus transformed, slowly slid open the doors to the building, and entered inside. After examining the base for a few seconds, he looked down in front of himself to see Marissa sitting at a table in front of him. "I am glad you could make it"

"Thank you, Agent Faireborn" said Optimus.

"Now, take a seat" said Marissa "Let us talk"

Meanwhile

Prowl stood in front of the ground bridge area and paced around in front of Bumblebee, Arcee, and Jazz.

"I had hoped Optimus would be present for all of this; but given how the information came late and after Agent Faireborn organized the meeting with Optimus, that factor was left unavailable" said Prowl.

"So what's the problem, Prowl?" asked Jazz.

"Only an hour ago, I received information detailing an arrangement Megatron has organized" replied Prowl.

"Well, looks like he finally stepped out of the shadows" said Bumblebee.

"So what kind of arrangement are we talking about here?" asked Jazz.

"A weapons deal to be precise" replied Prowl "Megatron's planning something big and it involves a powerful new weapon to make it happen. I don't know anything about what it is exactly; but knowing Megatron, it can't be good"

"So who is expected to give to him?" asked Ratchet.

"An old friend of ours" replied Prowl "Swindle"

"That Decepticon arms dealer?" said Jazz "Haven't heard from him in a long while"

"He's scheduled a meeting with Megatron around 9:30 pm at the borders of Utah" said Prowl "Knowing Swindle, the transaction itself won't go smoothly; but Megatron will no doubt be prepared for that and come with backup at the ready. Either way; we cannot allow this weapon, no matter what it is, we cannot allow Megatron to get his hands on it. We've only just got out of his last scheme and we can't afford any more like it. Are there any questions?" Jazz stroked his chin for a few seconds.

"Disregarding the information on the weapon itself, you seem to be pretty detailed on this new leak of information" said Jazz.

"What are you implying?" asked Prowl.

"I'm just curious is all" replied Jazz "Care to explain how you got it?"

"I've…been keeping tabs on the Decepticons ever since what happened" replied Prowl "It's imperative that we keep a close eye on their movements"

"Wasn't that long ago" said Jazz "You sure have been one busy bee" Bumblebee rolled his optics in response to the remark.

"I'm quite curious about that myself" said Ratchet "This is quite a big thing and I doubt Megatron would allow intel like that to slip, not to mention it hasn't been that long ago. Care to elaborate on how you were able to keep tabs on the Decepticons in such detail?"

"I'll explain it another time, but right now we have to stop that weapons deal and get our hands on that weapon before Megatron can" replied Prowl.

"Okay then" said Ratchet as he started typing into the ground bridge controls "I'll just locate and inform the others first and then we're all set" As he was about to place his hand on the ground bridge lever, Prowl grabbed it and pulled it away.

"Not yet" said Prowl "First send the four of us to Utah"

"Are you crazy?!" snapped Ratchet "Megatron will most likely be there and so will a good number of Decepticons, all of whom will be prepared to shoot at the slightest hint of betrayal in Swindle"

"It will take some time to locate where the deal is taking place exactly, so we have to use the time we have to locate them before engaging" said Prowl "In fact, I'd much rather not have to deal with Megatron himself; I'd prefer it if we intercepted Swindle before he made contact with the other Decepticons, and for that we'd need stealth"

"Can we at least contact Optimus first and tell him what we're doing?" asked Arcee.

"No" replied Prowl "He's busy at the moment with Agent Faireborn and we can't distract him, no matter what. The last thing we need is for the Human government to lose faith in our capabilities and start micromanaging us. We're doing this ourselves right now. Ratchet, open the ground bridge to the border of Utah; and after you send us through, contact the others out on patrol and bring them back to base. Quickly brief them about what happened and then send them to our coordinates; I'm hoping to avoid any confrontation with Megatron and instead deal with Swindle alone, but we have to be prepared for the worst"

"Understood" said Ratchet with a somewhat reluctant tone as he typed the location into the ground bridge controls and activated it.

"Let's roll" said Prowl as he, Jazz, Bumblebee, and Arcee transformed and drove through the portal.

Meanwhile

"The truth is…I want to cooperate with the Autobots without inferring" said Marissa "This is your war and I'd prefer to leave it at that"

"Why do I get the feeling that there's more to it than that?" said Optimus.

"That's how I want things to go" said Marissa "However, things don't always go the preferred way. The deal was that we let you stay on our planet and help keep your war and your existence under wraps, and in return you deal with the Decepticons in a quiet and safe manner while making sure they stay away from populated areas to avoid any collateral damage. However, that last part seems to have been bent lately; and in case you need some prompts, let me remind you of previous incidents. Earlier this year, the Decepticons launched a full out attack upon Carson City; although there were no Human casualties, the property damage was insurmountable and we're still having trouble keeping the witnesses quiet. And on top of that, there was the incident with your homeplanet and…well, I think we've heard enough about it lately so we spare the details; the point is, these results aren't good enough. As I said before, I don't want any troubles between us; but mark my words, incidents like this that result in collateral damage and civilians at risk must never happen again. From this moment forth, consider my presence to be a bond of trust. Abide by that trust, and everything will be fine; break that trust, and we'll be taking direct command of this operation. I don't want this, but I will do what is necessary. Are we clear?"

"Very clear" replied Optimus "I understand why you're doing this, Agent Faireborn; you're doing what you believe is best for your people and I respect that greatly. I too hope that things can run smoothly from now on as well"

"I very much appreciate that, Prime" said Marissa "Now back to business; the night isn't over just yet"

Meanwhile in Spain

Bulkhead and Wheeljack drove along a road in the mountains of Spain when they heard their comlinks buzzing abruptly.

"Bulkhead, Wheeljack; an incident has come up and you're to return to base immediately" said Ratchet through their comlinks "I'm preparing a ground bridge for you now"

"Got it" said Bulkhead into his comlink "Finally, something other than these constant patrols!"

"You're telling me!" said Wheeljack.

Meanwhile in Africa

Ironhide sat under the shade of a large tree as Breakaway flew down and transformed in front of him.

"No sign of the Decepticons or the Nemesis as far as I can see" said Breakaway.

"Keep looking" said Ironhide "As long as we're out here, we might as well make sure everything's clear"

"Ironhide, Breakaway; you're to come back to base immediately for an emergency" said Ratchet out of their comlinks "I'm sending a ground bridge to you now"

"Alright, let's do it then!" said Ironhide into his comlink.

Meanwhile in South America

Hound used a pair of electronic binoculars to survey the rainforest landscape around him as he searched for any sign of the Decepticons. As he lowered his binoculars, Mirage appeared next to him.

"Any luck on your end?" asked Hound.

"I'm afraid not" said Mirage "I swear…Prowl's becoming really paranoid. Who'd expect to just find Decepticons out here without evidence beforehand?"

"He probably just wants to make sure everything's fine" said Hound "I mean, you know him" Mirage looked away with disdain at the mention of Prowl's nature.

"Hound, Mirage; I'm sending a ground bridge your way" said Ratchet out of their comlinks "Something's come up and we need all available Autobots for it"

"Alright then" said Hound "We'll come back to base the moment the bridge opens up"

Meanwhile

Swindle drove along the Utah road towards the state's border. Something was tied to his roof and was covered in a beige and dirty cloth that appeared to strap it down tight. As he reached the state border, Megatron awaited him with full force. Next to him stood Slipstream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Dead End, and Hailstorm with various Vehicons surrounding them. When he got up to them, he transformed with the clothed item still attached to his back.

"Finally; you've arrived at last, Swindle" said Megatron.

"I'm not one to back out of a deal, Lord Megatron" said Swindle "Especially one from you" From atop a nearby hill, Prowl watched them carefully with Jazz, Bumblebee, and Arcee by his side. He carefully adjusted his visor to zoom in on Megatron and Swindle to observe what they were doing.

"Whatever happened to "intercepting Swindle"?" asked Bumblebee quietly.

"That was how I would have preferred it to go, but it's too late to do that now that he's made contact with Megatron" replied Prowl quietly "Our best option for the moment is to wait here for the others to arrive, then we'll take the Decepticons and try to get ahold of the weapon before they can escape with it"

"I certainly hope so" said Megatron "Now, show it to me"

"Alrighty!" said Swindle sleazily as he began to unstrap the object on his back.

"He's making his move" said Prowl quietly. Swindle pulled the cloth off and revealed the weapon underneath.

"I present to you the weapon I promised…" said Swindle. In his hands lay a pair of large cannons with three claw-like appendages at the barrel. "…the E.D.K. TechVolt!" Prowl gasped under his breath. "This thing can cause some real damage with its electrical prowess, not to mention it can charge and power machinery if applied correctly"

"I'd prefer a demonstration before purchasing it" said Megatron.

"Gladly!" said Swindle. He turned one of the E.D.K. TechVolts towards a nearby hill, slowly charged the weapon up, and finally blasted a powerful electrical beam towards the hill. In what seemed like an instant, the hill exploded and crumbled in on itself. This result left both Autobots and Decepticons present to look on in awe (except for Megatron, who only seemed intrigued). "And that's just the half of it"

"Very good" said Megatron "I'll take them both!"

"Excellent!" said Swindle "Now, my payment…" He extended his hand out in an avaricious fashion.

"Of course" said Megatron. He lifted his hand in the air to signal and the Vehicons who began to hand energon cubes over to Swindle. The Decepticon arms dealer began to stroke his chin as he examined the energon cubes that lay in front of him.

"Hmmm…" said Swindle.

"If you require more, I can supply it within a reasonable limit" said Megatron.

"Hmmm…" said Swindle "I'm not so sure…about the energon, I mean"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Slipstream.

"Well…as nice as the energon is, I'm not sure if it reaches the caliber that my items have" replied Swindle.

"Explain" said Slipstream.

"What I'm saying is that I'm handing you extremely exceptional weapons and I'm only getting energon in return" said Swindle "I think something of greater value is in order"

"What exactly do you mean by "greater value?"" asked Megatron. Swindle began eyeing his right arm with great interest.

"I'd like something of similar quality in return" replied Swindle "The fusion cannon on your right arm just so happens to fit the description" Megatron looked down at his fusion cannon and a look of disdain befell on his face.

"What are you playing at, Swindle?!" asked Megatron.

"It's quite a prize possession; in fact, I'd say a number of individuals on the black market would love to have a piece of it, figuratively of course" replied Swindle "Hand over the fusion cannon and I'll hand over the TechVolts. How's that? Have we got a deal?" Megatron reached for a remote behind his back and pressed a button on it.

"No deal" replied Megatron.

"Alright then, your loss" said Swindle as he began to turn around to leave "I mean, I was really feelin' generous and surely these would've made up for the loss of your precious fusion—" At that moment, a pair of Vehicon jets swooped down, transformed, and landed in front of him.

"You're not going anywhere" said Megatron as he walked over to Swindle in an intimidating manner "I tried being reasonable with you; but you just had to get carried with it, didn't you?"

"Okay…" said Swindle as he quickly turned around to face Megatron "I'll admit, I was out of my league then; but how about I make it up to you, okay? If you really can't bear to part with that cannon of yours and the TechVolts aren't enough to equal it, how about I through in a little extra then? Just let me get back to my ship and—"

"And give you the chance to escape?!" snapped Megatron.

"Where am I supposed to go?" said Swindle "My ship's fragged so it ain't making it off this hunk of rock anytime soon"

"Swindle…" said Megatron.

"Yes…um, almighty Lord Megatron?" said Swindle sheepishly.

"I'll give you one last chance; hand over the weapons now!" snarled Megatron.

"Um…uh…um…" stuttered Swindle.

"Yep, this outcome was pretty much inevitable" said Jazz quietly.

"This is our last chance" said Prowl quietly "Let's rush in and grab Swindle before the other Decepticons can spot us. Ratchet, get a ground bridge ready and activate it on my mark"

"Understood, Prowl" said Ratchet through his comlink.

"Wait a minute, what about the others?" asked Bumblebee quietly "Shouldn't we wait for them first before making a move like this?"

"If we wait any longer, either Megatron will take the weapons from Swindle by force or Swindle will take off with them and the Decepticons will follow him" replied Prowl quietly "Neither option is too desirable; if we're going to make a move, we have to make it now"

"Not so fast!" said a voice. The four of them looked up to see Barricade and a group of Vehicons standing in front of them with their blasters pointed towards them.

"Barricade!" said Bumblebee.

"One more step and you're all dead!" said Barricade "Lord Megatron, we've discovered four Autobots not far from your location"

"Bring them to me, Barricade" said Megatron through his comlink.

"Affirmative" said Barricade into his comlink "Stand up, you four" The four of them didn't move. "I said stand up NOW!"

"Do as he says" said Prowl.

"What?" said Arcee.

"Just do it" said Prowl "They have us outnumbered" The four of them reluctantly stood up.

"Now hands up!" snapped Barricade. The four of them placed their hands up in defeat. "Good, now this way" He and the Vehicons then led the four Autobots down towards Megatron. "Lord Megatron, here are the Autobots I was talking about"

"Excellent work, Barricade" said Megatron "Are there anymore?"

"From what we've gathered, no" replied Barricade.

"Keep looking" said Megatron "We need to be certain that these are the only ones"

"Yes, my lord" said Barricade. Swindle instinctively tried to make a run for it but was quickly grabbed on the shoulder by Megatron.

"Don't try it, Swindle; I'll deal with you next!" said Megatron. He then turned back to the Autobots with an evil grin. "So, did Optimus really send you four to deal with me or did you happen upon our meeting by mistake?"

"None of your business" said Prowl.

"I expected as much from you" said Megatron. Thundercracker began to look wary of his surroundings. "No matter, we'll find good use of you soon enough"

"Lord Megatron, I think we should get back to the Nemesis" said Thundercracker "Something doesn't feel right here"

"Loosen up, Thundercracker!" said Skywarp "What's the worst that could happen?" At that moment, the sound of engines echoed across the landscape as Bulkhead, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Hound, and Mirage drove up to them at blinding speed.

"More Autobots?" said Slipstream. It was then that Swindle transformed and drove off.

"No!" snarled Megatron "Blitzwing, Astrotrain; go after Swindle and retrieve the cannons to me in one piece!"

"On it!" said Astrotrain as he and Blitzwing flew out from behind a nearby rock formation and sped towards Swindle. Before Barricade could even react, Prowl grabbed him by the wrist, pulled him in close, and kicked him in the face.

"Bumblebee, Arcee; go after Swindle!" ordered Prowl "Don't let the Decepticons get ahold of him or his weapons!"

"On it!" said Bumblebee and Arcee as they transformed and drove after Swindle. Megatron turned in their direction, raised his fusion cannon towards them, and charged it up. In response, Jazz quickly pulled out his pair of nunchucks, rushed over to Megatron, and entangled them onto his arm and pulled it down which caused the blast to hit the ground instead. As soon as Megatron felt something wrapped around his arm, he turned around, grabbed the nunchucks, and pulled it, causing Jazz to come flying towards him. As Megatron was about to slam the Autobot into the ground, Jazz swung upwards and landed on his shoulders.

"You wanna' piece of me?" said Jazz "You wanna' piece!?" Suddenly, Megatron transformed and flew up into the air before plummeting down at lightning speed. But as they approached the ground, Jazz leapt off and landed next to Prowl.

"Are you alright?" asked Prowl.

"I've had worse" replied Jazz "Slipstream used to take me for joyrides back in the day, I got pretty beat up from those" At that moment, Megatron flew down and transformed in front of them.

"Give it up, Megatron!" said Prowl as he pulled out several shurikens. Megatron seemed to ignore his statement and instead starting observing the battle around him as the Autobots clashed with his Decepticon followers.

"I couldn't help but notice that all of you are present here, except for two" said Megatron "Optimus and Ratchet; the latter is no doubt back at your base, so that leaves Optimus unaccounted for. Surely this is a situation he would not miss; so tell me, where is he now?"

"None of your business" replied Prowl.

"Fair enough, I'll just deal with you two now!" said Megatron. He retracted his blade out and lunged at the two of them.

Meanwhile

Swindle raced along the terrain, being followed closely behind by Blitzwing and Astrotrain.

"We almost have him" said Astrotrain "Sucker may be an expert on weapons, but he ain't fast enough to deal with us!"

"That is correct" said Blitzwing "If we continue like this, we should catch up to him in no time" At that moment, Swindle's scatter blaster turned towards the two of them and fired wildly.

"Scrap!" exclaimed Astrotrain as he and Blitzwing evaded the shots "This guy sure packs a punch"

"He may not be able to fly, but his weapons systems seem to make up for that disadvantage on this particular playing field" said Blitzwing.

"Very sharp-eyed" said Astrotrain "I must admit, that ice face of yours is actually quite useful in this scenario. I just hope it stays that way" At that moment, Bumblebee and Arcee drove up behind Swindle and began chasing him. "Dammit', Autobots!"

"WHERE ARE THEY!" snarled Blitzwing as he began transforming into his tank mode "I'll blast those Autobrats! Oh slag, not again!" He plummeted and crashed into the ground below.

"Scrap, I just called that one on myself" growled Astrotrain to himself "Oh well!" Swindle aimed his scatter blaster at Bumblebee and Arcee and began firing rapidly.

"Stay out of this, Autobots!" snapped Swindle "I've got enough on my plate at the moment without dealing with the likes of you!" Astrotrain began shooting at the three of them at an alarming rate.

"If we keep this up, all three of us will end up deep-fried" said Arcee.

"And he doesn't care about the state of us either, other than Swindle being "intact enough"" said Bumblebee.

"Scrap it!" snapped Swindle. He shook off the pair of TechVolts and let them roll off onto the ground behind him. "Fine, keep them! I hope they jam on you!"

"Finally!" said Astrotrain as he began descending down "Come to me!"

"No you don't!" said a voice. Suddenly, Breakaway swooped down and landed on top of Astrotrain. "Go get Swindle; I've got this one!"

"Make sure to keep the cannons away from them" said Bumblebee.

"On it" said Breakaway. As Bumblebee and Arcee drove off after Swindle, Breakaway pushed Astrotrain down until he crashed into a nearby rock formation. Breakaway leapt off and rolled onto the ground. As he got himself up, he quickly caught sight of the TechVolts laying a few meters in front of him. In what seemed like an instant, he got himself up and rushed over towards the cannons in front of him only for Blitzwing to walk up to them and pick them up.

"I wonder what these can do!" said Blitzwing. He turned his sights towards Breakaway and raised the cannons in his direction. "And I found the perfect test subject!" He laughed maniacally and began charging up the cannons.

"Uh oh!" said Breakaway. As the electrical beam shot out, Breakaway quickly ducked down away from the blast.

"Let's try again, shall we?!" laughed Blitzwing as he charged up the cannons again.

Meanwhile

Swindle drove until he finally reached a dead end within a group of rock formations and transformed.

"Damn it!" snapped Swindle. Bumblebee and Arcee drove up to him, transformed, and turned their hands into their blasters. "Scrap!"

"We've got you cornered, Swindle" said Arcee "You're outnumbered and outgunned"

"Yeah, may as well put it in park" smirked Bumblebee. To their surprises, Swindle smirked viciously.

"What's with the smirk?" asked Arcee.

"Outnumbered; yeah, I think you got me beat there" said Swindle "But outgunned? Please, don't make me laugh!"

"Hmm, let's see; four blasters here versus one blaster over there" said Bumblebee "That sounds like outgunned to me

"You really think I'd make a living as an expert and dealer on weapons and yet not come equipped with more than one of my items?" said Swindle "Watch and learn, kiddos!" Suddenly, a pair of cannons retracted out of his shoulders and were followed by a gyro gun on his right wrist, a telekinetic ray on his left wrist, and a gatling gun out of his chest. "And if that wasn't enough, try this!" A pair of force-field projectors retracted out of his shoulders and released a purple force-field that surrounded himself and his weapons. He began shooting at them wildly. "Time to blow you all away!"

Meanwhile

Blitzwing fired wildly at Breakaway as he desperately evaded the electric blasts.

"Eat lightning, Autobot!" laughed Blitzwing "It's gonna' sting a lot! Ha ha ha ha! And it will hurt!" He began to fire with his dual–barreled tank cannons as well which made dodging the shots fired even more difficult for Breakaway.

"This guy's really gone crazy" said Breakaway quietly to himself "I've gotta' find a way to get those off him" Suddenly, Blitzwing began blasting at him with all four cannons at the same time. "Now this is just bad!" He quickly transformed and flew up into the air.

"You wanna' play games with me, Autobot!" snarled Blitzwing "Do ya'!" He began shooting at Breakaway again but the aerial Autobot only evaded his blasts and zoomed closer and closer towards him. "Just die already! And for that to happen, this particular situation requires more precision" He carefully aimed one of the TechVolts towards Breakaway, slowly charged it up, and finally blasted it out with full force. The beam hit Breakaway in the wing and caused him to swivel down and crashed right in front of the Triple-Changer. "VOOOM! You went down like a little balloon! So much for being a flier! Ha ha ha ha!" He aimed the TechVolts at the downed Breakaway and began to charge them up again, ready to finish him off. "Nighty night!"

"Eh, don't mess around with those things!" snapped Astrotrain as he walked up to Blitzwing and grabbed ahold the TechVolts. "Lord Megatron wants to save those, remember? Soundwave, we have the weapons from the drop off; give us a ground bridge already so we can get out of here"

"Affirmative" said Soundwave out of his comlink. A ground bridge opened up in front of the two Triple-Changers and they rushed through it with the TechVolts in hand.

"No…" wheezed Breakaway.

Meanwhile

Prowl leapt back as Megatron slashed towards him and threw three shurikens at him which he deflected with his blade. Jazz slid up to him and shot him several times but Megatron grabbed ahold of him by the arm and threw him aside. Prowl readied his shurikens again and prepared himself to attack again. Megatron reciprocated the action.

"Lord Megatron, Blitzwing and Astrotrain have returned to the Nemesis with the weapon you desire" said Soundwave out of Megatron's comlink.

"Prepare a ground bridge for us, Soundwave" said Megatron into his comlink "We're heading back immediately"

"As you command, Megatron" said Soundwave. A ground bridge portal appeared in front of them.

"Give my regards to Optimus, and remind him that he's failed on this one" said Megatron as he and the other Decepticons rushed through the portal and disappeared.

"So, looks like Megatron got the weapons after all" said Jazz "Now what are we gonna' do?"

"With the weapons gone, our first objective is to catch up with Bumblebee and Arcee and see if we can still capture Swindle" replied Prowl.

"Right!" said Jazz as he and Prowl transformed and drove off.

Meanwhile

Swindle fired away at Bumblebee and Arcee who desperately dodged his shots and fired back at him, only for the blasts to deflect away on the shield.

"Shooting at an energy field?" said Swindle "Please, like that's ever going to work!" He fired back at them with full force.

"This guy just isn't quitting, is he?" said Arcee.

"He's basically a living arsenal" said Bumblebee "Worst yet, we can't even reach him thanks to that force-field surrounding him"

"What will it take to break through?" asked Arcee.

"More firepower than we have" replied Bumblebee. Swindle fired wildly again and began using his telekinetic ray to throw nearby rocks at them.

"Please, this is the best the Autobots have?" said Swindle "I've had more difficulty crushing antroids!"

"I don't know what's more annoying, your gunfire or your big mouth" said Bumblebee.

"Oh, I get it; you're trying to tick me off so I can just lose it and you can take advantage of that" said Swindle "Guess what, that ain't happening; and if it did, I'd still have this energy field to back me up. So I'd say I got you two beat!"

"You really wanna' bet that!" yelled a voice. Suddenly, Bulkhead dropped down from the sky in front of Swindle with his hands turned into maces and looking ready to fight.

"Bulkhead!" said Bumblebee and Arcee simultaneously.

"Where'd you come from?!" exclaimed Swindle.

"Same place the rest of them will come from" replied Bulkhead. Wheeljack, Hound, and Mirage drove up from his left and transformed while Jazz and Prowl appeared on his right and followed suit.

"Well, this is quite a turn up for the books" said Swindle.

"Swindle, don't bother fighting back; you'd only be wasting all our time, including your own" said Prowl "You can't win against all of us, surrender!"

"Aren't you forgetting that I have this energy field surrounding me?" said Swindle "I think I have the edge here"

"Energy fields have limits" said Prowl "All we have to do is figure out yours; it'll take time, but I know for a fact that we can last it out long enough. What I don't know however is how long you'll last out"

"You've got to be kidding me!" said Swindle.

"You'll find out in three…" said Prowl "One…two…th—"

"Alright, alright, sheesh!" groaned Swindle.

"Good, now cease weaponry and lower the shields" said Prowl. Swindle groaned.

"It really ticks me off when you Autobots have a point" said Swindle. At that moment, he pulled a small bomb-like device from his hip and held it in front of him. "And it also really ticks me off that you've forced me to use this!" He activated the device and dropped it in front of him.

"Look out!" exclaimed Jazz "It could be a bomb, take cover!" As the Autobots desperately rushed out of the area to avoid, a white flash of light emitted from the device which enveloped the entire area in an almost blinding fashion. By the time the light had died down, Swindle had vanished without a trace. "Scrap, he's gone"

"He must have used a transwarp capsule" said Prowl "A black market device that sends the user to a designated location of their choosing. They're hard to manufacture so that makes them extremely rare, that explains why he was reluctant to use them"

"Until he knew we had him beat" said Jazz.

"So what's next?" asked Wheeljack.

"We head back to the Ark where I expect to hear a full mission report from all of you…" said Prowl. He turned his sights towards Bumblebee. "…and I expect them to be thorough" Bumblebee clenched his fists in response.

Meanwhile

Flatline looked over the two TechVolts with great interest and observation.

"Yes…these should do nicely" said Flatline as he caressed the two weapons.

"And if what Blitzwing and Astrotrain said is true, these weapons are very effective with taking out Autobots" said Megatron "They will serve their purpose well" He looked over to the scorpion in the tank and grinned evilly. "And thus Project: Predacon takes its next step forward"

Author's note #1: Just so everything's clear; yes, that bipedal two-headed dragon Predacon was a reference to Hun-Grrr.

Author's note #2: Since this is my first time back, I feel that I might be a little rusty in places and I'm always open for advice so feel free to give me feedback to tell me what you think. This season will have a focus on Predacons because I always liked the idea of the Predacons in Transformers: Prime season 3 but I also felt it wasn't as expanded upon as it could have been so I hope to give them a bigger role in my series. Until next time.