Author's Notes: Well, the chapter isn't long, but it's mostly just a segue into the rest of the story. Still, I'm happy with the way it turned out (the first part anyway). Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story so far! I love to make my readers happy, and hopefully this story will do that :)

Chapter 2

Downfall

Sparkplug struggled in the giant mech's death grip, but after a moment he couldn't even move due to the intense pressure! He was sure this monster was going to crush the life out of him, and his thoughts turned to his grandson still on the ground below him and to his son who was still somewhere in the Ark. What would happen to them if this monster got free?

The mech's grip then loosened ever so slightly. It was still tight, but Sparkplug didn't feel like he was going to pass out anymore. He looked up at the beast, and saw its yellow face plate with black helm and face mask. He looked and saw that the mech had a mixture of black, yellow, and orange coloring. He couldn't tell what it turned into, but it was covered in curving spikes and scrapes from various minor injuries.

The mech seemed to study him for a moment before taking its other hand and gently plucking a human-sized data pad from Sparkplug's back pocket. The mech then put him down and shuffled over to the other side of the dark room. That was when Sparkplug heard the rattling of chains, and saw that the mech's pedes were chained to the floor. He was surprised the Autobots didn't use energon restraints, but then again the power didn't seem to work in this room, so in that respect the archaic method made sense.

Hm...So if I manage to get Daniel and me out the door, then the monster won't be able to chase us… Sparkplug thought as he waited for the mech to turn his back on them.

The red-optic mech, however, was watching them intently even as he opened his digit and produced a small needle to write on the tiny tablet. Sparkplug didn't want to stare at the mech, but he found it difficult to look away. It was dripping energon from several different cuts on its body, and it was chained in here like an animal! What did this Decepticon do that was so bad that the Autobots didn't even trust the humans to know it was here?

Finally, after a minute, the mech finished with the pad and handed it back to Sparkplug. He took it warily; never taking his eyes off the mech. Just as all seemed to be calm, Sparkplug saw the beast reaching for Daniel! Sparkplug ran to shield the boy, but didn't make it in time!

To his relief, he saw that the black and orange mech was merely petting the boy's head with a finger. Sparkplug sighed in relief, but still didn't take his eyes off the strange mechanoid.

"Heehee!" Daniel laughed happily; oblivious to the danger he was in, "Growly funny!"

Sparkplug didn't see what was so funny about this, and he didn't know how the mech would respond to being called Growly, but the Decepticon didn't seem to mind. It raked its claws along the floor and made marks in a substance that was clearly dried energon. It covered the floor like a coat of paint! Sparkplug didn't know where so much energon could've even come from!

The mech turned away from them then, and proceeded to use his finger to cut himself at the base of a joint in his arm! The energon poured steadily, and the mech used it to draw on the walls! He drew a picture of two little figures and one big one. It was himself, Sparkplug, and Daniel. He wrote something under it, but the writing was in Cybertronian and beyond Sparkplug's ability to read. It was disturbing, but the mech cutting itself at least solved one question.

Realizing this might be their only chance, Sparkplug took Daniel and quietly left the room. They couldn't close the door due to the controls being too high above them, so Sparkplug just hoped the chains and the rest of the door would hold.

Later that day, Sparkplug found himself working with Ratchet in the medbay. The events in the Death Valley room still rattled Sparkplug, but when he went to Prowl about it he was assured that the Autobot would look into the situation and prevent any future mishaps. The way Prowl had spoken had been typical of the methodical logical mech, but something about his answers seemed evasive.

At the time Sparkplug hadn't even thought to ask about the data pad. When Sparkplug got the data pad back from the red-optic mech it had Cybertronian writing on it, and Sparkplug would need Teletran 1 to translate it for him. Maybe then he would have some answers as to what that thing was and what it was doing in the bowels of the Ark.

He rushed through the work he was doing for Ratchet so he could get to Teletran as quickly as possible. He had to know what that mech wrote! It could be anything from ransom demands to a plea for help. He didn't know what that metallic beast was, and Prowl was surprisingly reluctant to tell him.

It was evening by the time Sparkplug made it to Teletran 1. He started by having the Autobot supercomputer scan the data pad to get a visual, and then asked it to translate the Cybertronian into English, which was only one of hundreds of languages Teletran had on file,

When Teletran 1 finished scanning, the words that were displayed on the data pad turned out to be: My name is Downfall.

"Downfall? Who is that?" Sparkplug asked to himself, "Hm...Better type it in."

Sparkplug typed in the name Downfall to see if Teletran 1 had any matches to either Autobots or Decepticons. Sure enough, a file came up, but it was password protected and Sparkplug didn't know the password. He thought of what type of password Prowl would use, and thought that maybe Prowl would use a string of numbers. Then again, if Jazz was the one who programmed the password…

Sparkplug typed in 'ThisIsNotAPassword' and was immediately granted access to the secret file. According to the data, Downfall was a Decepticon that was manufactured by Shockwave. He was an experiment designed to produce ten times the energy a normal spark could produce. At first Sparkplug thought this meant he was stronger, but soon he realized that the truth was much weirder than that. Downfall made his own energon!

The Decepticon was powerful, but his real value to the Decepticons and eventually the Autobots was his ability to make energon without outside help. He was designed to help aid the energy crisis on Cybertron and force all Cybertronians to be dependent on Megatron for energy. The Autobots apparently captured Downfall to prevent him from aiding Megatron in winning the war.

"I don't understand…" Sparkplug muttered under his breath, "Why wouldn't the Autobots just tell me? I'd understand. They were just trying to keep their people safe from Megatron. Still, when did they capture him, and why didn't we notice? How long do they plan on keeping him locked up like that?"

The Decepticon's behavior was also somewhat of a puzzle. He was huge, he was scary, and he could kill the humans with a finger. He could've terminated them when he had the chance, but he didn't. Downfall sat in a dark room chained up and drawing on the walls with his own life's blood. He petted little Daniel and treated him gently, and he used a data pad to try to introduce himself when Sparkplug didn't understand him. Was he really as dangerous as appearances made him out to be?