A/N: This chapter is going to be the longest one in this story. But I have no doubt it will make every bit as good a read as the last three regardless. In fact, I have it on good authority that it certainly is. ^_^ And I can't deny it was my favorite one to write.

Iacon

"They're two breems out."

Prowl looked up from his datapad detailing the latest rebuild updates as Red Alert's voice came over the comm. "They took a little longer than I expected. After Ion Storm's call, I believed they would be here half a joor ago."

A snort sounded, followed by: "They apparently decided it would be a good idea to keep their Earth alt-modes while traveling from Polyhex to Iacon. It seems to have slowed them down slightly."

Prowl nodded thoughtfully. "Given how the humans use vehicles with what they call 'tires' while we don't normally require those, it would make sense." He should have thought of that, he supposed; but on the other hand, the delay had given him more time to prepare what he was going to say to Prime and the others.

Speaking of preparations..."Are they ready?"

"They are, though our more recent 'guest' was slightly more...fractious," Red Alert replied.

"Not surprising, considering he's not had as much time to become accustomed to his new form as our other 'guest' has," Prowl responded coolly. Though considering that said mech also been mind-wiped prior to that...

"Brawn says he seems to believe that his soldiers will rescue him, Soundwave in particular, and is swearing death on us the moment he's returned to his original frame."

Prowl smirked coldly. He'd broadcast what he'd done to Shockwave to all remaining Decepticon outposts on the planet. Between that and the lightning strike attacks he'd made to round up those Decepticons involved with Praxus, none of them were willing to cross him nowadays. Those who'd remained free decided it would be better for their life-spans once they'd witnessed their comrades' fates.

Soundwave, he knew, would find no help on Cybertron. And should some images by chance slip to the Earthbound Decepticons, Prowl was certain that Soundwave would have a mutiny on his hands should he order them to make a rescue attempt. Even his own mini-cons would refuse to help. They valued their own safety over that of helping a leader who was no longer in any position to lead them.

"Have him informed, if you would, that his fate has been broadcast to his soldiers on Cybertron as well as sent to his former Second Lieutenant. And tell him also that his previous frame has been smelted down. Show him the vid file of the event if he doesn't believe you," Prowl said simply.

"I'll tell Inferno to pass that along," the Security Director replied, a slightly amused tone to his voice. "And now, they are one breem out. Might be best to get down there." His voice once more took on a serious tone.

Prowl checked his internal chrono, then rose from his chair. "Indeed," he replied blandly. "Please do keep an optic on the situation, Red Alert, if you would." He barely registered Red Alert's affirmative as he made his way towards the door of his office to begin the trek towards the gates of Iacon, as he considered all the possible reactions that could result from his announcement and reprimands.

Considering who Prime was bringing with him, he thought, the situation could certainly become very dangerous indeed.

He knew how well Prime was likely to take the situation on Cybertron once he learned everything, and was well aware of how trigger-happy Ironhide and Cliffjumper could be. Not to mention what Jazz might do if ordered to do so. Those three were fiercely loyal to Prime. However, he knew that Cliffjumper had been friends with Brawn, and once he learned Brawn had assisted in much of what had gone on to deal with Shockwave and Megatron, he would likely be more hesitant to fire, loyalty to Prime or no.

Plus, given what Red Alert had told him of Magnus' objections to the treaty, not to mention what he knew of the other Autobots on Earth, he suspected that most, even with their loyalty to Prime, would have no objections to returning home once they learned the war was, for all intents and purposes, over.

However, there were going to be the fanatics...

Prowl had no problems with the concept of being loyal to one's leader, but he had no great liking of those who who followed so blindly they were oblivious to any faults in the leadership. It would be those he would have the worst problems with, he suspected.

But he'd already thought of some options for those mechs that could be proposed should they be required, so it may not be a serious problem in the end, Prowl decided as he reached the gates of Iacon, just in time to see the shapes of four vehicles coming over the bridge leading to the city.

Prowl crossed his arms over his chest and hiked his doorwings up as the four approached.

As they came to a screeching halt and transformed in front of him, Prowl smiled coolly.

"Greetings, Optimus Prime," he said calmly. "We've been expecting you."

When Prime had spotted Prowl standing just outside the front gates of Iacon, he couldn't help but feel a rush of relief pulsing through his Spark.

Over the course of the trip between Polyhex and Iacon, all he'd been able to think about was how he'd left his mechs behind to face an unknown threat, and if they were dead, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

It didn't matter that the journey on the Ark had been a necessary one in order to get much-needed energon, or even that they'd had no control over the fact that they'd been attacked by the Decepticons and crashed, leaving them unable to return. Anything could have happened during that time. Even under Prowl's leadership, there was still the matter of the energon shortage, not to mention that Shockwave still controlled a large chunk of the Decepticon forces on the planet. Even with most in stasis, there were still enough awake to cause problems, particularly if drones were added to their numbers.

In spite of the worry, he had noticed that there seemed some improvement to the roads, even with the difficulties they were having reaching there, and the landscape didn't seem quite as charred as it had before their departure. From the mutterings heard over internal comms., he knew his small team had noticed it as well. It had lifted his Spark slightly, to see there had been some healing during the time they'd been in stasis.

But that feeling had faded once he realized that the planet's healing may well have come about through the disappearance of his people, a belief that wasn't helped by the awareness that they'd run across no one during their journey here, Autobot or Decepticon alike.

Therefore, the sight of Prowl gave him hope to believe that whatever had caused the disappearances of Megatron and apparently Shockwave, judging by the clearly abandoned Decepticon base.

At first, Prime was so pleased to see that his Tactical Sub-Commander had survived, he didn't note how Prowl had worded his welcome to them.

Jazz, however, had been paying attention.

Stepping forward, he asked, "What did you mean you've 'been expecting' us?" His voice was as calm as Prowl's, with a tone of suspicion in it. Optimus and the rest of the team turned and looked at the visored mech, startled by his words.

"What are you talkiing about, Jazz?" Ironhide replied, puzzled.

Jazz turned his head towards the Weapons Master.

"He said he and his team have been expecting us. But here was no way they could have known we were coming to Cybertron, much less Iacon," was the saboteur's response. He turned his face back towards the Praxian. "Well, Prowl?"

The other black and white smirked, but made no reply.

Jazz stepped forward. "I asked a question, Prowler," he stated coolly, using the nickname he knew the Sub-Commander hated.

Prowl's optics flashed, the only sign that betrayed his anger towards the usage of the nickname.

Jazz smirked now. "Somethin' wrong, Prowler?" His tone was now mocking.

Optimus stepped forward now. "Prowl, what is going on?"

Prowl was by this point standing ramrod straight, his optics glowing brightly, an expression of rage in them. His face, however, was disturbingly calm.

After two kliks, he spoke finally, first to Jazz. "You always were too clever for your own good," he said, very softly. Prowl then turned to Prime and the other members of the team. "I suggest you follow me if you truly want your answers." A very cold smile appeared on his face as he spoke. Then, he turned around and walked back into Iacon.

For a moment, the four hesitated, then followed after the black and white.

Optimus' and his team's optics widened as they took in the sight of the city. Instead of charred out or dark buildings, the metal seemed to be scrubbed clean and some were lit up. Mechs were walking about openly, some of them turning to look at the newcomers arriving.

"You've rebuilt Iacon?!" Cliffjumper yelped.

Prowl turned his head and regarded the minibot, his expression once more schooled into a stoic one.

'Yes," he said blandly.

"But how?" Ironhide asked now. "There was an energon shortage. That was why we had to leave."

Prowl hummed thoughtfully. "Let's just say that I used the Wreckers for a...slightly different purpose than what Prime intended." A thin smile. "Kup is certainly more reasonable than Magnus when it comes to discussing what is necessary for Cybertron."

"What do you mean, Prowl?" Optimus couldn't believe what he was seeing. This didn't seem at all like a city at war. Then his mind flashed back to the apparently clean metal landscape they'd seen. There was no way they could have restored Cybertron like that without a continuous source of energon.

As if in response to his thoughts, Prowl stopped hard and turned around swiftly, forcing the others to come to a hard stop. His optics were ice-cold. "What I mean is that I used the Wreckers to look after not only Autobot interests, but sound out worlds we'd dealt with in the past to see if they'd be willing to maintain their alliances with us. Considering by the time I made that call, the Ark had long ceased to be in contact with Cybertron, most of those worlds, organic and mechanical alike, were truly interested. It helped they hadn't been touched by our war."

He turned back as he continued the walk towards the Command Center. "The Wreckers exchanged protection duties for the necessary metals and fuel sources for rebuild from organic worlds, and the mechanical ones provided us needed parts to create generators."

"I can't see the 'Cons letting you get away with that," Ironhide spoke up.

Prowl chuckled unpleasantly. "Oh, they certainly tried to prevent it. But due to the lack of energon and medics for repairs, Shockwave ended up having to put the majority of his ground and flight units into stasis. He decided it would be more efficient to use his drones until such time as Megatron returned with energon."

"And where is Shockwave now?" Jazz had noticed what the others hadn't yet. A few of the mechs that he could see along the path heading for the base, he'd seen in Darkmount before. No way would Shockwave have just turned them loose. There was a lot more to this than Prowl was telling, he was sure of it.

"Dealt with," Prowl replied, a tone of satisfaction in his voice. "And you haven't said yet why you're here."

"Dealt with?" Prime asked cautiously. Something abouit this situation was making him somewhat uneasy.

Prowl didn't reply immediately, seemingly focused on the route ahead of him. "Yes. Shockwave is not a threat any longer, Prime," he finally answered after a klik had passed in silence. "So that said, I will ask again what has brought you and the others to Cybertron."

Optimus Prime was uncertain of how to reply to Prowl. Given what he'd seen and heard so far, it was clear that the situation on Cybertron had changed very drastically during the time they'd been away. Not to mention his Chief Tactician's demeanor seemed far colder than it had been the orn the Elite Autobots had left in the Ark.

However, he knew it would not be fair to the other mech to leave him without an answer, so he told him. "Approximately four of our decacycles ago, Cosmos saw Megatron heading through a space bridge the Decepticons built on the world we crashed on. A world the natives call 'Earth'. He has not yet returned, and we were concerned what his absence might portend for the Autobots."

The black and white mech's doorwings seemed to flutter slightly. "I see," was all he replied.

The Autobot leader continued, "When we arrived at Darkmount, we found it completely deserted, with no traces of either Shockwave or Megatron. Nor were we attacked by Shockwave's drones. Concerned that whatever had caused their disappearance may also have attacked here, we decided to come to Iacon to see if all was well."

His Sub-Commander glanced back at them, his face blank and his optics every bit as unreadable. "I see," he repeated blandly.

"And what exactly do you see?" Jazz asked now, slightly acidly.

Prowl turned his head away. "I've sent word ahead to Red Alert. He and the others are awaiting our arrival." was all he replied.

The rest of the walk to the Autobot base was made in silence.

"So, what did you see?" hissed Jazz once more as the four Autobots walked into the base, the door closing heavily behind them.

"Still concerned about that, Jazz?" Prowl said wryly as he came to a stop and turned around to face the Spec. Ops. mech. "I'm not surprised. You do tend to be somewhat obsessive in terms of getting to the bottom of things when someone says something you don't like. Perhaps you should speak to Rung about that issue."

Jazz lunged forward, only to be grabbed by both Ironhide and Cliffjumper. ::You need to do something, Optimus::, Ironhide sent, as both mechs gripped as hard as they could to a struggling Jazz. ::He's been on edge ever since we got here and Prowl's baiting isn't doing anything to calm him down.::

::Agreed::, the Autobot leader replied. Aloud, he spoke: "Prowl, while I don't condone Jazz's behavior, I do admit I am also curious about what you meant by your reply to my explanation earlier. Would you mind sharing?"

Prowl's face visibly hardened, and his doorwings tensed. "You wish to know what I mean? Very well," his voice darkened. "I will tell you.

"When the Decepticons built their space bridge, you had no way of knowing what was happening or had happened to those of us here," he began. "For all you knew, we could have been deactivated, or prisoners. Your first concerns should have been gaining control of the space bridge to see if we were alive, and if so, ask for our assistance with the Decepticons on the world known as Earth. But no, you failed to do that. Instead, it takes the disappearance of Megatron to do that. And not only that, you waited four decacycles to follow after him. Any weapon he may have found here could have been turned on us first. You were so concerned about the Autobots based with you," and here his optics narrowed, "but for those of us on Cybertron, we seem to have just been an afterthought."

"That is not true, Prowl...," Optimus began. Jazz by now had stopped struggling, and was now staring at Prowl as though he'd never seen him before. Cliffjumper and Ironhide were also both staring at Prowl, slightly slack-jawed.

Prowl raised a hand. "Isn't it? Megatron at least made an effort to contact Shockwave to learn how things stood at Darkmount. You've all been awake for eight decacycles now, that is more than enough time to at least attempt to establish contact."

"He had his Communications Officer with him!" protested Jazz.

"And you know how to hack into his lines and hijack them for your own purposes. I've watched you do it. So has Red Alert. Give me a better reason than that," Prowl replied coldly.

Jazz didn't reply.

"I thought so," Prowl's voice hardened again. He turned back to Optimus Prime. "You were unconcerned about our fate until Megatron failed to return from his visit to Cybertron. No, the only thing you were concerned with was how dangerous whatever he planned would be to the natives of the world you crash-landed on. And speaking of that...I am well-aware of your treaties with that planet's natives, Prime."

This time the silence dragged on for a klik before Optimus could bring himself to speak. "How...?"

"Red Alert," Prowl stated, knowing full well what the Autobot leader had been about to ask. "He assisted with the creation of Teletraan-1's systems. He knows every inch of its security, up to and including its weaknesses which he used to his advantage once we learned you had awakened. Which we learned when the signal for Teletraan finally went active again, I might add. He found those files and passed them on to me. He felt I might be interested in knowing what you'd been up to." His narrowed optics flashed. "As it happened, I was. You had no business giving away so much of our technological knowledge or promising to assist them with weaponry creation. And not only that, giving unconditional permission to visit our world, without the input or approval of those of us here? You made us look weak. We need to be equal partners with those we deal with, and at least seem like we are acting from a position of strength. A leader should understand that when dealing with a race that one knows nothing about, you concede as little as possible until you know more about them. Then you decide what is safest to do. And you didn't take that time before agreeing to their terms. Even Ultra Magnus saw this, judging by his comments in the meeting recordings I saw."

"Prowl, you need to understand, we brought the war to the humans' home-world. I couldn't allow them to be destroyed. They have much potential...," Optimus Prime tried to protest, only to be cut off once more.

"Even if I agreed with you, which I and the others here don't, in the end your treaties were a waste of time."

If the Earth team had been shocked before, that was nothing compared to the looks they all sported now. Prowl allowed himself a moment to compare their expressions to a human term he'd stumbled across: gob-smacked. It certainly fit, he thought with some amusement.

Ironhide spoke the words that seemed to have escaped the Autobot leader. "What do ya mean, Prowl?"

"I mean the war is effectively over. All the Decepticons on Cybertron surrendered to me following Shockwave's defeat. Most have been integrated into the new society being built here. Those who were involved with Praxus, however, I either imprisoned or executed, depending on the level of their involvement. Megatron, too, is dealt with. And Starscream, when I got in contact with him, proved very reasonable once the correct incentive was applied. He gave me the information regarding the attack at Praxus and was the one to inform me that you were on your way. He's also the reason there hasn't been much Decepticon activity on Earth since Megatron's departure. I suspect he's halfway to his new destination by this time, wherever it is." He smiled now, and Ironhide found himself thinking that the expression would have terrified Unicron himself.

"Oh, and Prime, I did promise him he could return to Cybertron in five stellar cycles, and that he would be pardoned. I considered it a good reward for his acquiescence to my requests," the Praxian finished up.

The silence that fell now was thick enough to cut with a vibro-dagger, Prowl mused, finding a mild measure of amusement at how stunned they all were by his revelations.

It was Optimus who was the first to recover. Almost as if he were afraid of the answer, he asked hesitantly, "Prowl, what happened to Megatron and Shockwave?"

Prowl cocked his head to the side, still sporting that unnerving smile. "You really wish to know?"

"Yes, I do, Prowl," Optimus said, trying to interject a firmness he didn't really feel into his voice.

Prowl nodded. ::Red Alert, it's time.::

A moment later, a door off to the left of the Autobots opened. All of the Earth team turned their heads to look. Prowl, however, just crossed his arms in front of his chest, awaiting their reactions to what they were about to see.

A tall, bulky maroon mech and a dark blue and silver mech stepped through first, a much smaller figure walking between them in energy chains. "Bladestorm and Sheershot reporting as requested with the prisoner, sir," the maroon mech declared.

Prowl nodded. "Very good."

Whatever he would have said next was cut off by two more mechs also walking through the door with a figure in energy chains, a greenish-brown minibot and a taller, more heavily built mech. "Inferno and Brawn reporting as requested with the prisoner, sir," the minibot declared.

"Very good," Prowl said again, then raised a browridge at the sight of the metal band over this particular figure's mouth. "Was that really necessary?"

It was Bladestorm who answered for them. "They didn't really have a choice, sir. He wouldn't shut up with his ranting, even after Inferno passed along your message." The tone of his voice indicated he'd been greatly amused by the sight.

Prowl looked at Brawn, who now sported a sour look on his face as he nodded. The Sub-Commander shook his head. "I see."

He turned his head to gaze at the Earth team. "You wished to see Megatron and Shockwave." He motioned towards the two chained figures with a wave of his hand. "I hereby introduce them to you. I trust you recognize them."

Optimus felt his Spark grow very cold at the sight of his enemies. Shockwave had been a large purple gunformer with a yellow optic. Now, he wore the frame of a very small minicon, still in his purple colors, but his optics were now silver, and there was no life in them. The mini-mech just stared at them blankly, with no signs of intelligence in his optics.

"After he fell back to using mostly drones, I launched an attack on Darkmount. With the energon we had by that time, it was Sparkling's play to wipe out his defenses. I had the remaining Decepticons activated and broadcast to them what I did to him following his capture."

"He doesn't look like he knows who we are," said Cliffjumper.

"That's 'cause he was mind-wiped when he was reformatted." It was Brawn who spoke up. "And we keep him in a stasis pod most of the time. I still say you should have him executed." Those last words were aimed at Prowl.

"I''ll consider it," Prowl said simply. In truth, he likely would have it done after the Earth team left, but he wasn't going to give that order while Optimus was present. He was already pushing his limits enough as it was.

The other mini-mech was silver with bright red optics, burning with rage. There was no doubt of who this being was. His voice was muffled by the metal band he wore, but it wasn't hard to tell that he was cursing them all.

"I went to visit Darkmount four decacycles ago with a team. We were doing a final lookover of Darkmount to see how feasible it would be to convert it to living spaces once Iacon fills up," Prowl stated.

"He called Darkmount while I was there, looking for Shockwave. When he saw my face, he demanded to know what I was doing there."

Sheershot laughed at the memory. "I was there. You know what Prowl said to that? He told Megatron to come and find out!"

"Which he did," Prowl said with a smirk. "Fortunately, the stun field was still usable. I set it to attack his systems when he came through. He was brought back to Iacon and reformatted. I have not yet taken further actions with him."

Optimus just stared at Prowl as though he'd never seen him before. "What have you done?" he whispered.

"I did what was necessary to end the war, Prime," Prowl stated sternly. "I gave sanction to the actions you couldn't and wouldn't condone. All of us...all of your Command Team told you long ago that the best way to end the war was to eliminate the command structure of the Decepticons. But you kept refusing to do that."

A surge of anger broke through the shock. "I can't and won't condone wholesale murder, Prowl!"

"I know. Cybertron does require a viable population to continue our race," Prowl replied. "Which was why I found another way to neutralize Decepticon Command. Now you only have to deal with Soundwave, and I suspect he will give you little trouble once he learns what has passed here after you return to Earth."

None of the other Autobots moved.

Prowl just turned back to the four he'd called out. "Now that we've made our point, please do escort our prisoners back to their cells."

The four mechs nodded, then turned and led the mini-mechs away, the silver one still struggling all the while.

"What do you intend to do with them?" It was Ironhide who asked after the door had closed behind the others. As shocked as he'd been, he had to admit the Tactician had pulled off quite the feat. He kind of wished he'd been there to see Buckethead's face when Prowl had appeared on the screen in the Victory.

Prowl shrugged. "I'm considering my options." was all he replied.

"Prowl...," Optimus began, his optics narrowing.

"I am considering my options, Prime. I will leave Megatron's fate to you, if that is what you wish. I will make no promises about Shockwave."

The Autobot leader just stared at Prowl. He was angry, seeing what had been done to Shockwave and Megatron. What Prowl had done was strip these mechs of their dignity, turned them into defenseless beings, made them little better than drones. He couldn't condone that.

But he'd also ended the war, if his story was to be believed, and judging from how those few Autobots had responded to him, it was clear the Praxian had earned their respect for this. How Prowl kept the Cybertronian-based Decepticons in line, he didn't know, but whatever means he'd employed were apparently enough.

He didn't know what he was going to tell the other Autobots about this once he got back to Earth, much less their human allies, but he would deal with that when he returned, though he could almost hear Magnus say "I told you so."

After a few kliks of thought along those lines, he spoke once more.

"What do you want us to do?"

Prowl just smiled.