DISCLAIMER: Sadly I still don't own Transformers. That honour still goes to Hasbro et al. However I do still own the characters of both Night-stalker and Dive-bomber. You can use them if you wish however I would request that you ask first and try to keep their characterisations right.

Any Questions, queries or comments please feel free to e-mail me, and please review.

Now ON WITH THE SHOW

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            "Traitors" screamed Galvatron as he fired his particle canon into Thrusts chest. Noticing that there was very little damage to Thrusts chassis his battle-computer checked his power settings. As he thought, his power hadn't returned to full operating capacity. No matter, he would crush them all with his bare hands. He lunged at the stunned Thrust and slammed him to the ground. He heard a voice from his left cry "What are you all waiting for? Stop him!" Galvatron turned ready to pulverise whoever had spoken, but was stopped short by a blast into his back. He toppled but quickly regained some composure and fired in the direction that the blast had come from.

"No-one can defeat me! I AM GALVATRON! BWWAAAH!" Again he fired, but this time he could see a target. He struck Dirge in the leg sending him toppling to the ground. Looking to his side he saw Ramjet advancing on him. He transformed into his cannon mode and fired at him. Ramjet leapt out of the way and returned fire striking the ground in front of Galvatron. The explosion blasted Galvatron backwards as he returned to his robot mode. He felt someone grab his right shoulder. Unable to bring his weapon to bear he swivelled and tried to land a punch on his assailant with his left hand, missed and almost fell to the ground. He then felt another hand on his left shoulder as whoever was behind him tried to force his arms together. Galvatron kicked backwards unbalancing whoever was holding him and they both collapsed in a heap on the ground. Before he could get up though he noticed from the corner of his optic a blaster pointing in his face and a voice he recognised say "If you move even one micron I will happily blow your head to pieces" Galvatron looked up to confirm who had threatened him. Above him he saw Blitzwing and Ramjet both with weapons trained on him.

"Traitors. I will have you all melted down into scrap for this!"

"I don't think you're in any position to threaten" spat Blitzwing.

"Fit his bonds, and do it right this time," said some small creature Galvatron didn't recognise, but there was something familiar about him. After his bonds were fitted the small one then said, "Now then, lets try the other two. And lets not make a slag-pile out of it this time"

            Cheetor stalked from the lift into the command centre of the Predacon ship. Night-stalker was still in his command chair with Dive-bomber stood next to him. They were both looking over some data pad that Dive-bomber had in his hand. Cheetor tried to creep closer so that he would be able to see what was on the pad before anyone noticed him. However, before he was able to get more than a few paces from the lift he heard Night-stalker say, "Enjoy the recharge?"

"It was alright," replied Cheetor. Who was he kidding? After the day he had had he had really needed it.

"Good" replied Night-stalker. "You may be pleased to learn that we are on final approach to Iacon. I believe that's where the council have returned. They should already be in emergency session. Would you care to join me?"

As if I have a choice, thought Cheetor. "I would be love to" he answered sarcastically.

"Excellent" Night-stalker replied, seeming to ignore Cheetors tone. "Dive-bomber, you have command until I return. Shall we?" Night-stalker ushered towards the lift. Cheetor turned and stalked back into the lift without offering an answer. Night-stalker followed a smile spreading from behind his faceplate.

            "Laserbeak returns Shockwave" said Soundwave as Laserbeak flew low over the surface of the planet and landed on Soundwave's shoulder.

"Excellent" answered Shockwave. "Playback his report"

"As you command" answered Soundwave as he transformed into his cassette player mode and Laserbeak transformed into a cassette inserting himself into the tape deck.

"Maximal command forces have returned to the former Autobot city of Iacon. They have entered a lift which descended to newly constructed lower levels, however access was not permissible," said a tinny voice through Soundwave's speaker. After the report was completed Soundwave returned to his Robot mode.

"At least we know where they are. Any news from Buzzsaw?" Asked Shockwave.

"Negative" replied Soundwave, his voice concealing the slight concern he was beginning to feel.

"Very well" Shockwave turned towards the passage. "Astrotrain has reported that they have collected the prisoners and should return here in approximately three thousand astro-seconds. When they return I want to be ready to move off. Combaticons I want you to remain here on guard. No one is to follow us. Is that understood?"

"Of course" replied Onslaught. "No one will get past us"

"If they try we'll smash 'em to pieces" shouted Brawl.

            Buzzsaw surveyed the area. From his vantage point he could see hundreds of Maximal troops milling around. Troops, how what he saw could be classified as an army was a joke to him. They were a rag-tag bunch of Maximals who had armed themselves and felt that they could take on the Decepticons. Pathetic. He continued to survey what was below him, his sensors tuned into any movement or sound that might be of interest. This is what he enjoyed doing, spying. He was good at it too. Who was he kidding, he was the best. One thing that he had noticed when tracking the returning Maximals was their distinct lack of security precautions. Not one of them had looked to see if they were being followed. It seems that all this peace had reduced any semblance of common military procedures out of their tiny little minds. He had also noted a lack of Predacons. If they were at peace, surely they would work together. He put the thought aside; he could come back to it later for now his orders were simple 'track the fleeing Maximals back to their base and estimate size of force'. He did a final scan of the area. He watched as the medics attempted to deal with the injured who had survived the attack on the Decepticons. They were even bigger fools than the Autobots had been, at least they would normally have damaged a proportion of the Decepticon forces before beating hasty retreats. Ah well, it was none of his concern. Evolution, he scoffed, it was more like fighting flesh creatures than fighting transformers. Then he noticed something. He zoomed his optics in and could clearly see that there was some form of division between the Maximals, and it wasn't clear-cut rank. As he looked closer he could see that the division seemed to be between Maximals that had had biological implants inserted within their systems and the norms. Interesting. He was about to see if he could find out any more information but he noticed that a group of Maximals were heading in his direction. Though, he deduced, he could probably take on the small force, there were only four of them, it was not part of his mission and he would quite likely give away his position. He filed a final report into his data store and checking that no one was looking in his direction, he flew off to give his report to Shockwave.

            Cheetor and Night-stalker landed on the ground. They were dropped in a similar manner to that which had taken Cheetor up to the Predacon ship. Their descent slowed just before they touched the ground. Cheetor looked up but could not see the ship.

"Alright" Cheetor said to Night-stalker. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" Night-stalker replied, sounding unsure as to what Cheetor meant.

"Do I really have to spell it out for you?" Cheetor asked angrily. Night-stalker continued to stare at him with a bemused expression on his face. You're good, Cheetor thought. You're real good. "Alright then. Why can't I see the ship?" he said pointing upwards.

"What ship?" answered Night-stalker looking even more bemused. He looked towards some bystanders with a look that said 'any idea what he's talking about?' They merely shied away from his glance.

"Alright. Fine. Be like that. See if I care. Just remember you need MY recommendation if you want control over the Maximal security forces"

Night-stalker turned to Cheetor. "And what do you mean by that?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"Don't you give me that" said Cheetor. "Just remember YOU need MY help so if I ask you a question you had better answer it OK"

"Very well" replied Night-stalker in a resigned tone. "What would you like to know?"

"Why can't I see the ship?"

"Simple. It's cloaked," replied Night-stalker as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

"I can see that" he said angrily.

"Really?" answered Night-stalker. "If that's true there must be a fault with the system" he smiled at Cheetor.

"You know what I mean," replied Cheetor his heckles rising. "How do you have cloaking technology? I thought it was banned"

"I thought time travel was banned as well but you went back in time didn't you. Please could you tell me how you did that?"

"We were following Megatron and I would add that HIS ship was the one with time travel capabilities not ours, we were merely dragged along for the ride"

"Interesting" replied Night-stalker as if mulling something over in his mind. "But then you are aware of the particulars of how Megatron got hold of that ship aren't you"

"Well…" began Cheetor. He wasn't sure how much Night-stalker knew, and didn't really want to let slip how little of the situation he really knew, or could remember. In fact he wasn't sure why he didn't remember.

"I see," replied Night-stalker looking understandably at Cheetor. For an instant it looked to Cheetor that Night-stalker was looking at him like a concerned parent. He quickly shook himself out of that feeling when a voice in the back of his mind said 'are you kidding? You know this guy, he doesn't give a slag about you or anyone else but himself'.

Night-stalker continued. "Then perhaps you would like me to fill you in on the particulars of their ship. It was a stolen prototype called the Darkside. This was a Maximal craft fitted with a secret, experimental transwarp engine that would be capable of travelling the ship through space and time. As you are aware, of course, this experiment was a success however due to the destruction of the shipyards we were accidentally made aware of this little…anomaly and so a petition was lodged. Of course all knowledge of this event was covered up" Night-stalker smiled at Cheetor, it sent a chill through Cheetors circuits. "What you may not have been aware of was that your whole mission was a bit of an embarrassment to the council. When your ship disappeared it was hoped that you and all of your shipmates had been destroyed. They tried to cover up the fact that anyone had travelled through time and it was reported that Predacon revolutionaries had been killed whilst trying to start another war. You can imagine the problems it caused when they received your signal saying that you had captured Megatron and that you were all returning home" Night-stalkers smile had changed to more of a sneer now and Cheetor was feeling more and more uncomfortable under Night-stalkers gaze. He thought back to his time on earth. So, this is how it feels to have a predator stalk you. "You were also clever enough to repeat the experiment to get back home, and you did such a good job of it too. Well done"

"But what has this got to do with your having cloaking technology?" Cheetor asked meekly. He had so many thoughts running through his head. He had always wondered why the council had grilled him and his friends so harshly when they had returned home. He had always thought that it was because Cybertron had turned into an organic planet, yet still what Night-stalker had said made sense but, and why couldn't he remember any of this?

"It has everything to do with it" Night-stalkers grin grew broader as he interrupted Cheetors thoughts. "And nothing. Shall we continue?" He motioned towards Iacon. Cheetor just nodded. Night-stalkers cryptic answer meant nothing to him. I'll call Rattrap or Silverbolt later, they'll get something out of him he thought, but for now he had to talk to the council again.

            Night-stalker knew he had confused the poor little Maximal. Contrary to what Cheetor probably felt about him he actually felt no animosity towards Cheetor at all. In fact he pitied him a little. He had had time with only himself and his shipmates. He had seen combat and seen many of his close friends die, but then here he was and in traditional Maximal fashion he had returned home and the Elders had told him to do something and he had done it. He wondered if Cheetor knew about the chip they had implanted in his head, and in the heads of all his shipmates. Probably not, and for now there was no need to concern them over it, however it was another bargaining posture he had open to him. The problem he was going to face was the council itself. They would be extremely unwilling to hand control over their limited forces over to the Predacons but then with a little support here and there he was sure he would be able to 'convince' them. He checked his chronometer. This little conversation with Cheetor had slowed their pace; they had better not be late.

            He sat in the back of Astrotrain as they returned to Cybertron. Galvatron was still screaming at them as to how he would melt them all into scrap. It was sad really. When he had first returned in this guise Galvatron had been extremely powerful and clearly the leader Megatron had once been, but now. It didn't matter too much really, they would soon be rid of his madness one way or another.

"Approaching Cybertron. Prepare to disembark" Astrotrains voice came booming over the intercom. He moved towards the hatch. He could see Galvatron's optics following him still trying to ascertain who his small Decepticon captor was. He opened the hatch and looked out. Below him he could see the other Decepticons milling around the entrance to the tunnel. As he watched he saw Buzzsaw return, transform into his cassette mode and insert himself into Soundwave's chest compartment. No doubt he was bringing back some form of report. They were now quite close to the ground. He turned to the others.

"Blitzwing, Ramjet take Galvatron. Dirge, Cyclonus. Thrust, Scourge. Everybody ready? Lets go" He turned and leapt from the open hatchway, his thrusters slowing his descent. He looked behind and saw Ramjet and Blitzwing almost throw Galvatron out of the hatch and then grab a shoulder each and begin to lower him to the ground, still cursing them as he went. Dirge and Thrust however seemed comparatively gentler with their prisoners. As he landed Shockwave turned to him.

"We are having trouble accessing the lower levels of Iacon. Due to your size and knowledge of some of the changes that have occurred on this planet during our absence I want you to sneak in and find out what the Maximal and Predacons are discussing. It would be helpful to know what their next move might be"

"Understood. But how are you going to get me close enough to Iacon without being detected, its not as if any of you are small enough not to be seen"

"That has already been prepared" Shockwave turned to Soundwave.

"Buzzsaw prepare for flight" At that Soundwave's chest panel opened and Buzzsaw again ejected from his chest compartment, retuning to his bird mode.

"Buzzsaw will transport you to Iacon. From there it will be up to you to find a way into the lower levels"

"Should be easy enough" He turned to Buzzsaw. "So how do you intend to carry me?" Buzzsaw grinned and with one swift movement leapt into the air and grabbed hold of his shoulders in his claws, engaged his boosters and flew off into the distance.

            Night-stalker and Cheetor walked into the council chamber. As soon as they did all of the council members looked in their direction, Cheetor noticed many empty seats.

"You can't come in here. We have given no such permission," shouted one of the council members, clearly perturbed by the interruption.

"In fact as the official Predacon representative I think you will find that I have every right to be here" Night-stalker calmly replied. You're enjoying this thought Cheetor.

"I would dispute that," replied the council member who had spoken before. "However HE has not been given any such permission"

"He is with me," answered Night-stalker his voice never changing its tone even slightly. "And lets be honest, I really think you have much more important things to be concerned than myself, and whether I bring someone to this discussion or not" He looked around the room at the elders gathered there. "We may be seated?" he asked, a wry smile spreading across his face as he pulled the nearest chair to him out and sat down. Cheetor only noticed the smile because of his proximity to him. The council muttered something between them but there were no more arguments.

"So what have we been discussing in our absence hmm? Nothing interesting I hope"

"If you have nothing worth discussing here, or can't take this situation seriously then I would ask you in the nicest fashion to remove yourself before we HAVE you removed" shouted one of councillors angrily.

"Very well" replied Night-stalker the smile still evident under his semitransparent faceplate. "I would assume you have been discussing the Decepticon situation, as well as the recent loss of so many of your forces. Would I be correct in that assumption?"

"You would" came the reply.

"And no doubt you have been working extremely hard attempting to form a meticulously brilliant plan in order to destroy, or at the very least expel the Decepticons from the surface of our planet"

"Please," said another voice. "If you are merely going to tell us what we have been doing and are not going to give any sensible recommendations of your own I would ask that you either leave or remain silent" The elders again began speaking amongst themselves in hushed tones in order that Night-stalker not be able to hear what they were saying.

            If this had been a normal situation Night-stalker would have laughed at how easily he had annoyed the council. However this was not a normal situation. He was enjoying the animosity that the elders had been projecting his way. Shame, he thought. It really was a shame that when the Decepticons attacked they hadn't killed some of the less bloody-minded of the council. Instead of merely shouting at him perhaps they would have asked him what he thought. He checked his chronometer again. Ah well they will find out soon enough.

            Buzzsaw approached Iacon stealthily. He still couldn't believe that there was so little security.

"Land down there," said a voice from underneath him. He looked down to his 'passenger' suspended between his claws.

"Where" he asked.

"You see the statue of Optimus Prime?"

"Yes"

"Next to that"

Buzzsaw dived extremely quickly. If there were any security scanners they wouldn't be able to detect his signal long enough to be able to ascertain where he was heading, except for maybe down. He dropped his passenger next to the pedestal that the statue was stood on and landed next to him. "What are you looking for?" he asked noticing that his passenger seemed to be searching the side of the pedestal.

"When this statue was constructed the Maximals decided to build an emergency escape hatch from the underground bunker should there be a problem and they need to evacuate quickly"

"Surely there would be security systems?" asked Buzzsaw.

"Of course, however when I worked for the Predacon Tripredacus council it was often necessary to access Maximal council meetings without any interference. A young operative under my supervision found this route and we were able to decrypt the access codes. I doubt they will have been changed as I doubt that he would have told them he had found the flaw" Buzzsaw could hear some clicking and beeping sounds coming from the pedestal and then a small hatch opened.

"Excellent, the codes still work" he looked inside switching his optics to infrared. "It seems someone has beaten us here. I shall have to deal with them" he turned to Buzzsaw. "Hide, but keep your comlink open I might require your assistance later" With that he turned and ran into the dark tunnel. The hatch slid closed behind him.

            Night-stalker again checked his chronometer. They should be in position now, he thought. He looked over at the Maximal elders still deep in discussion.

"Do you still want to hear my suggestion as to how we could defeat the Decepticons?" he asked calmly.

"What?" answered one of the elders the sound of mistrust in his voice. He also seemed rather unhappy that their meeting had again been interrupted.

"Do you still want to hear my suggestion as to how we could defeat the Decepticons?" answered Night-stalker.

"Oh. I would love to hear YOUR suggestion of how to beat them," replied the elder sarcastically.

"Very well" answered Night-stalker, completely ignoring the elders' tone. "I suggest we pit our forces together under single leadership"

"And I would assume that that single leadership would mean you"

"Not at all. However if you mean that a Predacon general would be best placed to command the combined force then I would agree with you"

"Bah" scoffed the elder and turned to one of his associates. "How could we trust them? They are the direct descendants of the Decepticons. How could we trust that they wouldn't betray us to them?"

"But surely that's the point which you seem to keep missing. We are their descendants and thusly, like them, we have much more expertise in the finer art of military tactics. And unlike yours our soldiers swear an oath of loyalty to their superiors and will fight until the cause has been won. Can you say the same?"

"This is ridiculous. I can't believe we're hearing this. Can't we just get rid of him and then find a solution to this problem?"

"And what solution would that be? Send in your troops in a vainly heroic gesture to be massacred again? What you need is a commander that will act with victory as their only objective. Your commanders are too concerned that they may suffer losses. Now then the generals that I have in mind would act only to protect Cybertron no matter the cost"

"And who would you have us believe these Predacons are?"

"I don't believe that they were ever directly Predacons. However I do believe you know the names of Obsidian and Strika"

"But their dead" piped in Cheetor.

"Merely believed so," answered Night-stalker changing his gaze from the elder who had had the nerve to answer him back to the young Maximal. "However we found them and repaired them and I think you will find them quite up to the job" He turned towards the side furthest from the corridor entrance. "Please step forward" All optics turned towards where Night-stalker was watching as a single shape began to take shape. Cheetor looked at Night-stalker as the figure advanced but Night-stalker began to look very uncomfortable. He turned to look over where everyone was looking and his jaw dropped. It just wasn't possible. Cheetor felt his back stiffen as a figure he recognised emerged from the dark, weapon raised and two severed heads in his hand hanging by their cables. He couldn't speak properly but he didn't need to. He heard one of the shocked elders speak the name that was on all their minds.

"Ravage?!"