It was pass midnight when Smokescreen quietly snuck out of the Autobot base to look for the Decepticons. He disabled his com link so that Optimus and the others wouldn't call him. By the time Smokescreen found a group of Vehicons working at the Energon Mines nearby, he knew that he was heading directly to where the Decepticons could be.

Two Vehicons saw Smokescreen running to them in his alternate race car mode before he transformed back into his robot form. They were about to aim their weapons and fire at Smokescreen, but to their surprise, the young Autobot raised his hands up for a surrender.

"Take me to your master. I surrender." Smokescreen told the Vehicons.

The Vehicons looked at each other in confusion. Why would this young Autobot surrender without a fight? They looked at Smokescreen who was still raising his hand servos up before the Vehicons cautiously walked towards the Autobot rookie and when they see that Smokescreen didn't bring any backup and was unarmed, they decided to take him over to Megatron as they put the stasis cuffs on him. At the Energon Mines, Megatron was watching his Vehicons mine some Energon when Dreadwing came to inform his master the good news.

"Lord Megatron, we have just captured the young Autobot who surrendered himself to us without any signs of resistance." Dreadwing reported.

Megatron was surprised and glad when he saw Smokescreen being brought before him in stasis cuffs, "Really? Now there's some good news. Bring him to me and let me have a look at our prisoner." He ordered.

Dreadwing nods and he orders the Vehicons to bring Smokescreen forward to Megatron while holding him at gunpoint. The warlord raised his hand servo with the order not to harm the Autobot rookie.

"Ah, Smokescreen. I have been expecting you for some time now." Megatron said to his new Autobot captive before he ordered Dreadwing and the Vehicons, "Leave us. I'd like to have a word with our...guest." He said.

Dreadwing bowed and replied, "Yes, my liege."

A few minutes later and Megatron is alone with Smokescreen still in his stasis cuffs. Megatron looked down at the young mech and he asked him, "So tell me, young Autobot. Why on Earth would you surrender yourself to me and my troops without resisting?"

Smokescreen was anxious at first, but he answered, "I came to see you again. You see, I've considered your offer to join you...My lord."

Megatron was surprised when Smokescreen addressed him respectfully before he asked, "Are you sure? If I remember correctly on our last encounter, you refused to join me and hand me the Matrix when I asked you to back when I had Optimus at my mercy aboard the Nemesis...before you both escaped." He recalled.

Smokescreen nodded, "I'll admit I was a bit scared, but I need to know for certain if you were the bot who saved me and gave me my name when my carrier died giving life to me."

Megatron paused and then he answered as he looked fondly at the young Autobot with his red optics glowing. "If you must know, then the truth is...yes. It was I who saved your life from the moment your mother died after you were born. When your mother, Frostline, died after I had helped her give birth to you outside of Iacon, she gave me her final wish to save her son and it made me feel sympathy for you having to lose your carrier. When I called for help, they buried your mother while I took you over to the Sparkling Nursery where I took care of you...before I gave you to an Autobot couple and from what I heard, they decided to put you up for adoption rather than take you in." Megatron explained to Smokescreen.

"Was this before or after you became the dark lord you are today?" Smokescreen asked.

Megatron answered, "Well...I will say that it's been so long since I last saw you. It happened a month earlier before I went to propose my vision for a just society to the Council. For I wanted to bring down the Caste System, but when Optimus betrayed my trust and made me look like a fool as he shared his own vision while stating that violence is never the solution, I left the Council in frustration with my ambitions thwarted. I'm sure you know half of the story of how I came to be. But let me ask you this, what is it that you want exactly?" Megatron asked.

"I want to move in with you. I want you to take me home and accept me as your son, a son that you've always wanted. Teach me the ways of becoming part of the Decepticons and allow me to help you win the Great War together." Smokescreen told the warlord.

"Are you very sincere with your need to join me? Because if this is what you want, then keep in mind that once you have renounced the Autobots and become a Decepticon, then there is no going back. If you join me, Optimus Prime will know that you have betrayed your kind." Megatron reminded the young Autobot.

"I am being sincere with my decision to join you. Please, let me be a part of your family. The Autobots have offered me nothing but doubt and disappointment. So, I thought that if you would let me move in with you, then you and your Decepticons will treat me with respect and dignity. Believe me when I said that I'm being serious in this situation." Smokescreen replied.

Megatron made a dramatic pause before he told the young mech, "Smokescreen, if you swear your loyalty to the Decepticons and to me, then I shall make you my heir and I will make you into a prince. I will teach you to become more powerful and more greater than before. You won't even have to use your Phase Shifter to help you in combat." He told him.

Smokescreen looked anxious, but he refused to show it, "If I go with you and you let me live with you, will you keep your promise and not destroy the Earth and it's humans?" He asked.

"Everything you want will be yours, young prince." Megatron replied as he smiled at Smokescreen, "But that only depends on how we will win this war. So, what do you say, Smokescreen? Will you join us and become part of the Decepticon family?" He asked.

Smokescreen paused before he gave Megatron his answer, "Yes. I accept your proposal. Thank you, Mega..."

Megatron interrupted, "Please, call me your 'Sire' or 'Father'. Whichever you may prefer." He reminded Smokescreen. "Thank you...father." Smokescreen said.

Later that day, Smokescreen got his stasis cuffs removed before Megatron brought him back to the Nemesis where the Decepticons greeted their lord and master with a bow before they were shocked to when they saw Smokescreen behind the warlord. Megatron ordered his troops not to harm his new adopted son before he made his announcement to the Decepticons.

"Decepticons! I would like you to meet our newest member: Smokescreen. Who was once an Autobot, and now he's decided to become one of us. He will be made into a prime example of those who accept the Decepticon way and with proper training, he shall become my heir to the Decepticon empire." Megatron told his army.

"Lord Megatron, have you lost your mind?" said Starscream. "What makes you think that this young Autobot is qualified to be our future leader one day!?" He exclaimed. Megatron glared at his second-in-command, "Need I remind you that he has renounced the Autobots and that he has great potential for becoming my heir?" He said angrily. Starscream cowered at his master's anger as he backed away, "Forgive me, my liege." He apologized. Megatron looked at the red Decepticon medic and he ordered him, "Knock Out, remove the Autobot insignia from Smokescreen and give him the Decepticon insignia to confirm that he is one of us now. I want you to address Smokescreen as a Prince and treat him with dignity and respect." Knock Out nodded at his master, "Yes, Lord Megatron." He replied.

Knock Out was given the order to replace Smokescreen's Autobot insignia with the symbol of the Decepticons to make the young bot one of them. Eventually, Megatron ordered his army to treat Smokescreen with upmost respect and to treat him as one of their own and the Vehicons made sure to give Smokescreen a comfortable berthroom with some training equipment and a window to look at the good view while following their master's orders to make sure that his new adopted son and heir to the Decepticon throne feels rather safe at his new home aboard the Nemesis while treating him like a prince.

"Welcome to your new home...son." Megatron told Smokescreen.

Smokescreen was surprised by how well organized his new room was, "My...my new home?" He asked. Megatron replied, "Yes. Although it will take some time for anyone to get used to it. However, you are not permitted to leave the Nemesis unless I say so." Megatron told the young bot. "But why?" Smokescreen asked. "Because I can not risk letting you go outside and get captured by the Autobots who were once your allies before you renounced your allegiance to them. You are to live by my rules and you will learn to obey me. Do you understand?" Megatron told his new surrogate son. "I understand, Mega—I mean, dad. I mean, yes. I promise that I will obey you." Smokescreen told Megatron. The silver mech smiled at him, "That's my boy. Now, I think it's time for you to recharge. Tomorrow your training will begin with Dreadwing and then I will be next in line to teach you the Decepticon way."

Smokescreen yawned and stretched his arms before he walked over to lay on his new berth for a recharge. Megatron and Smokescreen then tell each other 'goodnight' before the warlord closed the door to the berthroom as Smokescreen closed his optics and fell asleep.

Smokescreen was serious about wanting to join the Decepticons not so that he would be treated with respect (in which the Autobots only doubted and mistreated Smokescreen while not taking him seriously), but so that he would find out more about his parents and know for certain if Megatron was telling the truth and then maybe, just maybe, by the end of the month, Smokescreen would try to rehabilitate the warlord and try to convince him to change his mind about conquering Earth and Cybertron and ending the Great War through violence and dictatorship. Megatron agreed to treat Smokescreen as his own son and to train him to become a better mech than he is. But even with all the comfort and luxury of becoming a prince, Smokescreen felt the dread and guilt in his spark that he had betrayed Optimus Prime and the Autobots for he left them without a word that he was going to become a Decepticon. That he was going to let Megatron adopt him.

"What have I done?!?" Smokescreen thought.