Transformers:Metamorphosis is based on a Transformers: Prime 1V1 Roleplay setting created by MachinaeChild & Storm-Blue of DeviantArt, edited into a fanfiction-like novel for viewer's delight. While Metamorphosis takes place during the Prime generation, previous generations and characters may be referred to, and/or included as the story progresses; as well including OCs that belong to either/or. We hope you enjoy the read just as much as we enjoyed making it!

Chapter Two

Putrid Bargain

MECH Headquarters. An undercover organization unauthorized by that of the United States, looking to develop new world order through the cunning advances in technology. Or at least, that's what they claimed, until the Autobot's existence greeted their fancy, later followed by that of the Decepticons.

Halogen lighting flickered throughout the halls, while walls of aluminum-like materials gave off the futuristic feel of some sort of apocalyptic outbreak bunker. Keypad generated doors along with cooling AC units, even the largest and most compact rooms met below room-temperature; a necessary consequence when considering all of the technology from head to toe. Massive screens and data surrounded the perimeter, while tracking beacons and high-rigged energon-detectors settled on the outside, along with pre-prepped armored vehicles that could be dispatched on the go through various underground tunnels. In short, you could say it was a technologically advanced military base.

Within the headquarters, a lavender headed woman who looked nearly past the age of legal, patrolled the interior as a spectator. Golden eyes flashed brightly as she turned her head to every screen, peering over each masked man's shoulder to make sure that data had been up to date and monitoring any changes or new advances. Clipboard in hand, she inked away at a small text paper that had been printed with hardly any margins, an on-going list of survey protocols as she had been directed to do so. Notably, the girl had been stuck with handy work for the past few weeks, but that still didn't change where she stood on the list; already have gained a position alongside the mastermind of it all, Colonel Leland Bishop, in little under half a year of her assistance.

She had admitted to herself once before, however, that it wasn't just out of pure luck or athleticism that she had made it so far. The historical background from which she had came and survived, that was a large advantage, possibly the only advantage. Not just from her personal sake either, but her contact and knowledge of the Transformer race once before.

"Ma'am," one of the soldiers called out, a beacon reacting across the man's screen. One of the energon detectors had been set off. And following, a pattern of arrival.

"Sir," the crisp, female voice called into a small microphone that had been tied against her shoulder strap, an accessory along with many others that came with the MECH uniform, "We have an incoming bogie. ETA three minutes; Containing an Energon Bio Signature."

Awaiting for the message to relay, a masculine voice cracked back over the radio transmit that attached to the girl's ear, "Hmm... seems like our comrade has returned... Have the guards open the gates, weapons on stand-by. He's never up to any good, regardless of his so-called assistance." The man's tone was drenched in previous military drills, but coated with an edge of amusement.

"Yes, Sir," the orchid topped woman replied, a small snicker curving her lips as she nodded, leaving the soldier to his business as she returned to her patrol route. With a flick of the thumb across a small box attached to her belt line, she then pulled the strap attached to her jacket closer to her face, directing following orders into the microphone that now had caught everyone's attention. "Come in patrol unit five, patrol unit five. We have an incoming bogie from the north, arrival time nearing two minutes. Ready the gates and hold your stations, these are direct orders from Sir Silas himself, over."

A cluster of 'Yes, Ma'am!' chimed into the girl's left ear as she made her way down a series of stairs, unexpectedly greeted by her commander and two guards, weapons armed and held tightly at their chest.

"I believe we should greet our guest, together. I want to see if this contact of yours, can still be useful to me after, how many years has it been?" the man spoke out, arms locked behind his back. His face was toned and decorated in scars, as his torso was living proof that he been in armed forces on more than one occasion; his height towering over the girl by nearly a foot and a half.

"Too long, Sir," the girl replied cheekily, a cat-like smirk crossing her lips as she placed one hand on her hip, the other hanging limp at her side. "But if he is anything like you've been telling me, I will not be surprised. The cycles change all of us at some point."

"For your sake, let us hope he hasn't changed too much and still fancy's your company."

Within a moments' break, the threatening sound of gears and metal echoed through the air. A handful of triggers flicked in unison, as distorted footsteps made their way to the hide away locked behind the disguise of an abandoned oil refinery. As they had been ordered to do so, a group of soldiers pressed open the door, granting entry to the beast that stood outside.

The harsh lighting thanks to the flood lights outside began to slither in, casting a silhouette upon their company as the stars began to rise in the horizon, nightfall slowly creeping along side the moon. There in the gates, stood the slender, bipedal form, wings outstretched just short enough to walk in completely to the headquarters without causing collateral damages. Almost instantaneously, every soldier inside rested their lasers against the metallic being.

"Greetings... humans," the voice hissed nonchalant-like.

"Starscream," Silas greeted with a stern face and firm posture. Examining the mech's exterior within a trace of seconds, he then followed up his greeting in the means of getting straight to the point. "Why have you come here? To beg of our services again?"

The firm smile upon the seeker's flat face was quickly twisted into that of an offended scowl, his optics borrowing upon Silas and his men. "I would have thought you've come to terms by now, that I do not simply, beg... for your resources. I've yet to go stale upon a deal..."

"That's good to hear," the ominous girl interrupted, golden eyes observing the seeker in much further detail. "I would have been disappointed if you turned into such a pathetic insect to go as far as begging a human organization for assistance." Teasingly, the girl continued to uphold a cat-like smirk that tugged the edges of her thin cheekbones, arms crossed upon her chest. Questionably, she tilted her head to the side, awaiting the seeker's recognition.

"You..." the raspy voice spat out, the displeased atmosphere still clouding the commander's aura, "It has been... long. I for one, am surprised to see you along side of such diplomacy," Starscream noted, angling his forearm as a raised claw motioned towards the majority of MECH soldiers.

"And I am surprised you remember," the girl smiled, "Living on the Decepticon base then coming back to Earth, something had to give. Missing the comfort of overwhelming technology and leadership, this place is as close to home as I could find."

"The irony of you two becoming... acquainted," the jet crowed, lathered in thorough irritation. Raising a hand to his forehead, he then dared to question, "Do tell me just how that became possible."

"That story can be saved for another time," Silas smirked, clearly only half-assed amused at the events at hand. "What are you here for."

Lowering his arm back to his side, Starscream picked up, "I have come for updates on your whereabouts of the abandoned Energon Mines. If you do recall, we had a deal."

"A bargain you still haven't coughed up on yet, seeker. Our labor isn't cheap, nor is our information," the humanoid commander snarled, wrinkling his nose in a bit of disgust. "Not to mention the amount of information we've obtained from our fellow lieutenant here," he motioned over to the girl, "We've been caught up to date on your historical development of your schemes."

Clearly, the woman's arrival and adaptation aside MECH was becoming more of a threat than Starscream had first expected. "You've certainly changed... Len," he spat, optics slanting to mere slits. But was only returned with a convincing smile, much like his own.

"I'm not the only one. It's nice to see that you Con's are as intelligent to keep up with the times, however," Len cooed, taking physical note of his slim appearance. It had been years- no, decades, since her last encounter face to face with an Autobot or Decepticon. Viewing the monitors during the raids Silas had thrown out upon her stay, her only amusement was that of the Autobots retaliating, and Breakdown's demise that looked in the lower floor of the main headquarters. Admittedly deep down in her gut, it was a calming feeling to be able to talk to a mechanical life form once again, more so her past partner in crime.

"No matter... You'll have your bargain. I will go to Cybertron myself and retrieve that of a scrapling insect for your men to toy with... Considering, it seems you had fun with former comrade Breakdown," Starscream unwillingly agreed, trying to find any logical sense of knowledge he could offer or support in order to retrieve his own stable supply of energon. With either Megatron's men watching over the active mines, or coming across those that have already been scavenged, Silas's technology and energon detectors were his last means of finding enough energon to hold him through.

"Sir! We're picking up Energon signals 140 kilo west of here!" one of the soldiers called out in the balconies, looming over his software as he peered over to gain Silas's attention.

"Get them located and pinned down!" Silas barked out, an automatic reaction to being interrupted. With a snarl, he looked back to his oversized guest and put a hand on Len's shoulder. "She will be going with you. To ensure against any behaviors you may wish to display upon us should you decide you no longer need us. In return, we shall locate a fresh energon deposit that you must share with us. To make it fair, we will do the mining provided you keep the location protected."

"What?" Starscream instantly remarked, the grueling past haunting his every whim at this point as he was now paired up with a human. Well, in the sakes for what the Decepticons and a handful of Autobots knew, was not a human- but, of the same flesh and bone. But the lavender headed woman was wrapped around Silas's finger, if not just as badly as Starscream had been towards Megatron in the long run.

"Yes sir," she smirked. "For old times sake, Screamer. Make up for lost time, share some stories, get some rewards. Are we clear?" Unsure of exactly how much the former Con had changed, Starscream hesitantly nodded, a disgruntled motion as he rolled his optics.

Caught in the commotion of drilling soldiers and techs working away at their keyboards, Silas turned back to the tech who had given him the detection alert and spun an arm in the air. "Get three choppers in the air, no more, no less! Engage upon contact and keep track of them. Now! Get a headcount and visuals ASAP."

"Sir! Location pinpointed and headcount acquired! Currently two, working on those visuals momentarily!" called once more from the balcony, the shelter now vibrating in a course of motions as the soldiers reached to their posts.

"Hurry up!" Silas growled, now getting impatient. After regaining his composure long enough to initiate further orders, he turned back to the girl who was practically his second in command and the seeker. "Your trip will need to put on hold. Len's talents may useful here," he checked the readouts. "And I have a feeling you might know them, Starscream," his voice cracking in a stern, pointed tone.

"I beg to differ, Commander Silas..." Starscream spoke forth, his tone now much uncaring than had been before, "I withhold no information. Had I known Megatron or any of the other idiots would have arrived, don't you think I would be at their position, rather than here?" There was a brief pause before the mech continued, "I may aide Megatron upon appointed times, but this is not one of them. I have no idea what those fools have up their sleeve."

"Visuals incoming! And a third signal!"

With a split eardrum of static, the main projector screen presented the energy conductors. Indeed, they were Cons. Two fliers, and joining along their side, a ground Con. Starscream couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, his emotions now displaying an array of amusement and mischief.

"Ah, if it isn't Dreadwing and Soundwave... And Knockout, too. It is unusual for Megatron to dismiss such a cluster of minions like this."

"...Change of plans," Silas muttered. "Fall back, but keep a visual with the drones." If there was anyone he knew not to mess with, Soundwave was one. But it was even more displeasing that Dreadwing was on for attendance as well, making the raiding effort much more risky. Knockout, on the other hand, was the least of his worries.

Scoffing, he turned towards Starscream again. "Funny. I'd think you of all people would be keeping tabs on Megatron. Given up on the revenge plots or have you truly fallen off the wayside so badly you can't even keep track of the person you want to murder so badly?"

Another set of chuckling emitted from the seeker as he began to reply towards Silas, "What am I, his keeper? I will destroy Megatron with my bare hands come the day. But I don't watch over his shoulder for every notation he throws towards those savages..."

"He is right," Len nodded as her attention swapped from the screens and back onto Silas, "Megatron is canny enough that even if Starscream tried, he wouldn't be able to keep great enough tabs on him to know his motives off hand unless he had been directly told or overheard. And currently, I would say that Starscream hasn't been able to get near the Warship in a few days now..."

"Wha-t? What is that suppose to mean?" Starscream snarled, crossing his arms at his torso as he raised a brow to the woman. She had definitely developed into a more mature, distinct manner than the child he once partnered with. Even as far as to ignore some of his more simple-minded comments.

"Have we scanned there for Energon deposits yet? They have to have a motive.. this is a bit overkill even for Megatron, might these Con's not be the brightest of the bunch," Len continued to inquire, voices beaming at her through the one-piece headset.

Silas had to pause and think about that. "No.. no energon deposits here for miles.. something else is going on." He furrowed his gray crested brow line, his scars pinching together in thought and agitation. "But we need to know and quickly... perhaps instead of that scraplet, you and Starscream can go and retrieve whatever they are looking for." He directed a grin at Starscream, "Surely whatever they want can be of great benefit to you."

"Sir! Two more energon signals, same location as the last set. No visuals. Targets are cloaked!"

Letting out an ominous chuckle, Silas's lips cracked into a jagged smirk, clearly entertained by the sudden turn of events. "The more, the merrier. You two better get a move on."

With a broad salute, Len darted off into the opposite direction to retrieve some of her personal belongings off a nearby desk; Running back to the seeker as she motioned a wave of men in front of her. The herd of men rushed by her, the sound of flaring engines roaring up outside from a set of jets and survey copters.

"Let's get the show on the road," Len scoffed, eyeing Starscream from head to toe. A silenced snarl managed to cross against his features before he obliged, taking the woman in hand as he turned to exit. Within seconds, he transformed, a slide of hand placing Len safely into the fighter jet cockpit. For the life of him, the nuisance of carrying a human passenger was plying roughly at his pride; although, at the same time, it felt strangely familiar. Have the changes between the two past comrades come too great, making the restore of an old friendship impossible? Or was it something else, that one of the two was refusing to let things go back to the way they were.

(To be Continued)

Author's Notes!

Just a fair warning, don't get too spoiled by these quick releases!(｀・ω・´) While the role play has been active for a few days, we still work at our own pace then the process of editing the raw replies into a more formal novel for your viewing pleasure. We appreciate all and any R&R!

Original Characters used in the making of this role play / story belong to myself (Len), and Stormblue (Talon, Warsong, Poseidon, Solaris), and under any conditions do we allow the use of our originals for anyone else work.

MachinaeChild as Starscream, Len, MECH Soldiers.

Storm-Blue as Silas, MECH Soldiers.

Transformers: Metamorphosis is based upon the Transformers series credited by Hasbro; with the addition of original plotting and addition of original characters. We by no means own any cannon character or location, but do take credit of the story at play within Metamorphosis. This is a non-profit novel, being purely fan-based and means of entertainment.