By Fang Wolfsbane

The room was anything but well-lit, just like how Megatron had ordered it to be. Even If it were just him and a servo-full of some of his closest Decepticons, he had instructed Soundwave to keep the room as dark as possible yet lit up enough around the centre so that the bot on the other side of the screen could still see his faceplate clearly.

Their energon supply wasn't so low to the point where they needed to keep most of the lights off to ensure that they didn't go through too much energon, but perhaps if they could play the desperation card just right, they might convince Optimus's supposedly kind spark.

Megatron nearly tsked at the thought. Growing up with a younger brother that every bot believed to be better in every way had its disadvantages, but also its advantages. If it had been any other bot at the helm, they would have simply been instructed to turn themselves in or worse. He wasn't all that certain that they would succeed with his current plan, but it was worth a shot all the same.

Megatron was about to lose his patience when the wall-sized screen flickered to life, revealing Optimus Prime in all his glory, or at least from his waist upwards. Megatron had half expected to see his brother with his servos folded neatly behind his back like his second- and third-in-commands standing behind him, but no, as arrogant as could be, he stood with his arms crossed as he greeted his warring brother.

"Megatron," Optimus said with a subtle incline of his helm, earning the same from Megatron. A simple show of respect, the most the two would show each other in any form of formal decency.

"Prime."

"To what do we owe the… honour," the last word came from Optimus's mouth as if it had some toxic aftertaste. A word the Autobots believed to pride themselves on, and yet here was their leader, speaking the very word as if it was some disgusting thought.

"Believe me Prime, I wouldn't have called this meeting if it weren't entirely necessary. Just be glad that we didn't resort to using other methods."

"Hah, typical," Iron Hide scoffed from his end, looking off to the side as Optimus gave him a cautionary glance. Megatron let out a huff of his own. There weren't a lot of Autobots that he respected, yet for some reason he always felt himself compelled to feel that way about the red mech that seemed to tolerate him just as much as he did him.

From the corner of his own optic, Megatron could see Starscream's taunting smirk, Ravage's irritation, and Soundwave's always impassive blank stare. He knew that Starscream was merely biding his time, waiting for another chance to throw his sire under the astro belt, but with Soundwave and his uncle present – or somewhat visible at least – he would keep his lips pressed for a little while longer.

"To be perfectly candid Megatron, I'm surprised that you would go so far as to call to brag over the little one of your soldiers managed to get away with," Optimus hummed, turning his attention back to the opposing side. "It seems rather… petty coming from you."

Megatron blinked. Brag? Petty? What in the ever-loving Allspark was Optimus talking about? He would have expected words like that to be used against Starscream, but him? That was a low blow, especially from Optimus.

"What are you talking about?" Megatron questioned, all too aware of the frown that crossed his own lips. Starscream, even Soundwave, seemed just as surprised by the scrapping sounds of their peds moving closer across the floor from behind him. He raised a servo to tell them to stand down, for now.

"Ye know exactly what he's talkin' 'bout you Decepti-scum," Iron Hide retorted on behalf of his leader, his own lips pulled into a scowl as he glared at the mech across the screen, possibly wishing that he could teach him a thing or two in the ways of combat. Megatron felt all too obligated to indulge him.

"If I did, I wouldn't be questioning it, now would I?" Megatron made clear, turning his attention to his younger brother, a flicker from one of the neon purple lights in the distance lighting his faceplate up every couple clicks.

Mind games wasn't something that Megatron was against using in the field, even the war room, but Optimus must have known that he didn't have any reason, none clear enough anyway, to try and use one in the current situation.

Optimus nodded, turning his helm in the opposite direction to look the other mech that stood by. "Jazz, bring up the hallway feed."

With a nod of his own, Jazz temporarily disappeared off screen and soon after, a smaller video feed showed up in the upper right corner of the call screen. At first the video showed nothing but an empty hallway that was soon filled by a couple of mechs and a cassette that headed straight into a room opposite them.

Becoming irritated by a video that showed him no reason of Optimus's more than usual hostility, Megatron prepared himself to question if the red, blue, and white Autobot had fried his circuits when the main event happened.

Without any warning, an Earth-type alternate car mode practically crashed out of the room the cassette had gone into earlier with his far bigger companions only for some of them to be pushed into the opposite wall and temporarily pinned in place by the human car.

He didn't need to turn around to know that both Starscream and Soundwave were also observing the video, watching as the car slammed itself in reverse and drove off-screen, disappearing from view. As much as he hated to say it, his curiosity had been peaked.

"Rewind the feed and zoom in about eighty percent," Megatron instructed, all too aware that Jazz was under no obligation to follow his command, but he must have seen no harm in doing so, because the next moment, the video went from a wide shot to a clear image of the black car.

Megatron's optics narrowed as the camera panned along the car, showing something he of all bots was bound to recognise more than any. Near the back tires stood the emblem that his party wore with pride: the Decepticon insignia. It was a little scratched up, but nothing that a good buffering couldn't fix.

He didn't recognise the mode, but what he did recognise were the stacks of energon cubes firmly strapped to the two front seats. No driver was present, which only confirmed that it was indeed a bot, and not a human that had planned the whole ordeal that changed the conversation from one thing to another.

Optimus must have noticed his brother's confusion, because what came next, he didn't expect to hear any time soon. "Do you recognise him?"

As deceitful as the Decepticons could be, Megatron never lied when he knew it wasn't necessary, so he shook his helm in response. "I have no idea, Prime."

Iron Hide was just as surprised as the rest of them, judging from the way his jaw dropped as if Megatron had just told them that he planned on giving up the fight against the Autobots. "Impossible. He's bearin' yer mark!"

"That doesn't mean I know every Decepticon to ever exist," Megatron pointed out, frowning at the Autobot, "or do you mean to tell me that you and Prime know each and every single Autobot to have ever come into existence."

The only reply he received was a pair of narrowed blue optics. That alone confirmed that he needn't ask if any of them recognised the mech either. They must have discussed the possibility of the mech being unrecognisable prior to the call if Optimus's uneasiness was any factor to go by.

"Then I trust that we can leave this rogue to you?" So that we don't have to be the ones to deal with him. It wasn't necessary for Optimus to say the latter for Megatron to know exactly what he meant. Neither mech had to order their lieutenants to cut the feed as the screens on both ends went black, leaving three mechs behind on each side.

"So that's it?" Starscream's shrill voice practically shrieked against Megatron's audio receptor as the younger bot threw his servo out to gesture to the screen. "We call for energon and wind up having to track down their thief? What kind of deal is that supposed to be?"

"A warning," Megatron said, not taking his own optics away from the screen for a while until Soundwave spoke up.

"Query: objective?"

" Find that mech and bring him to me. No one steals from the Decepticons and gets away with it."

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