Prowl requested entry at the door. It was late, but he wouldn't be surprised if Orion was still in his office.

After an astrosecond, the door opened, and Prowl stepped in. Elita was here too, which wasn't ideal because Prowl had wanted to talk to Orion alone. Oh well.

"Prowl," the Prime said. "Come in."

Elita frowned at him. "I was just trying to convince him that it was time to stop for the off-cycle. I hope you don't come bearing bad news."

The look she gave him said very clearly that if he had come bringing more work for her spark-mate, he would seriously regret it.

"Unfortunately, I do have bad news," Prowl said, "Though not the kind that will require immediate action."

Orion sighed. "Very well," he leaned back in his chair. "What is it now?"

"I've run the numbers a thousand times and in a thousand ways," Prowl said. "We're not going to win a prolonged war unless something about the conflict changes on a fundamental level."

"We can't give up," Orion said. "There has to be a way."

"Wait, haven't we technically won almost every battle?" Elita said.

"Yes," Prowl said. "But with our recruitment so low… We could win every single battle and still lose in the end, when Megatron's forces outnumber us to the point where it's impossible to do anything. Even if recruitment slows down for him, he's already got so many mecha on his side… We'll never catch up, and we will lose in the long run."

Orion seemed to think about that. "So… what do we do?"

"If our recruitment went up—"

"I will not draft anyone into service."

"Megatron does," Prowl said. "Not to say that we should be emulating him, but perhaps if we acted a little more like an army, we wouldn't be so far behind."

"No," Elita said. "Don't you dare accuse—"

"I am not!" Prowl insisted. "And that's not the point."

"Do you have some sort of a solution other than drafting mecha into service?" Orion asked.

"I don't know," Prowl said. "But perhaps getting the Key back—and quickly—is even more essential than we've been thinking. If you had the Matrix, and the full title of a Prime, there is no doubt that more mecha would join the Autobots, maybe even enough that we stand a chance against the Decepticons… but if you wait too long for that…"

Orion looked down. "There are other reasons as well, that I must receive the Matrix as quickly as possible,"

"We still have to wait until his training is done," Elita said.

"How long will that take?" Prowl asked.

"I… don't know if I have time to finish my training. It might be better if I attempt to track down the Matrix as soon as I have the Key."

"But…" Elita looked alarmed. "You can't receive the Matrix without completing the trials—didn't Yoketron say it would change your personality? We need you, not… whoever it will make you."

Prowl wasn't entirely sure what they were talking about, but Orion continued before he could ask.

"I will be working with Maccadam on the trials, next orn, if I can make some time for it. We haven't given up on that. But we probably can't wait until I'm done with all twelve of them."

"Why not?" Prowl asked, trying not to think about why it was Maccadam who Orion would be training with now.

"More bad news, I'm afraid," Orion said, then shook his helm. "But there's been enough of that, and Elita's right that we should all get some rest. Even you, Prowl."

Prowl looked down.

"Especially you."

"I'm all right," Prowl said.

"You're a better liar than I am," Orion said gently. "But..."

Prowl shook his helm. "I like working. I'm not tired."

"You'll feel better if you rest."

"I feel perfectly fine. I'm just… worried. About all of this. I don't know if we can do it." Prowl studied the floor, not wanting to meet Orion's optics. "Neither of us… neither of us completed our training."

Silence fell for a few astroseconds.

"I miss him too," Orion said at length. "I… think he would want you to take care of yourself, though."

Prowl shook his helm. He hadn't wanted to talk about this, but… "It was my fault," he said. "I shouldn't have… I don't know. I just keep thinking about what would have been different if I hadn't brought him with me to help you in the Council Hall."

"Well… both of us would probably be offline, for one thing," Orion said. "If anything it's my fault for rushing into danger like that, forcing the two of you to come rescue me."

Prowl wasn't sure how to argue with that.

"Either way," Orion said. "The only thing we can do is move forward, and remember what he did teach us."

Prowl nodded. He still wasn't sure, though. There were so many questions he wished he had asked… Yoketron had told him not to let the war win. Those had been his last, guiding words. Even if Orion did get the Matrix, and recruitment did go up, the two sides would just be more evenly matched, and more mecha would offline. "Orion?"

"Yes?"

"Do you ever wonder if it would be better just to surrender? To let Megatron take over? Do you think fewer mecha would offline?"

"I don't know."

"Neither do I," Prowl said. "There's no way to predict how many mecha Megatron will kill if we let him take over the world. I don't know..."

Was it worth it? Was it worth it to win? Was it even possible?

"We can't give up," Orion said. "We can't stand by and watch Megatron hurt everyone. I still believe he was a good mech once, but he would never have been good at ruling the world."

Prowl sighed. "You're right. But if we can't win anyway..."

"We are all troubled and overworked right now. Thank you for bringing me the information you did, but please don't put the burden of deciding what to do about the war on yourself. You have plenty to worry about as it is."

Prowl finally looked up and he could see in the young archivist's optics that the burden was on Orion already, and that he did wonder if this was the right thing, and that he was tired too, and hurting. He must be just as devastated about Yoketron's death, and yet here he was, doing his best to comfort Prowl. Prowl, who was cynical and prideful and weak, who did not even deserve this mech's friendship.

"Thank you," Prowl said.

"Go and get some recharge," Orion said. "That's… that's an order, Prowl."

Prowl nodded and left, still troubled. There were so many enormous, and frighteningly difficult decisions to make... But maybe that was alright. Maybe Prowl could trust Orion to make those decisions.

He had intended to go back to his office, but went the other way, toward his room.

Orion stood outside the back door of Maccadam's oilhouse, waiting. After arguing with Ironhide and Red Alert for a while, he'd convinced them it was safe for him to come alone. They'd groundbridged him right here, and a bridge back was just one comm. away.

He wished he could go and find some of the sparklings he'd used to give energon treats to, but he didn't have time for that. He barely had time for this.

The door opened, and he stepped inside.

"Orion!" Maccadam pulled him into a tight embrace.

Orion shuttered his optics, surprised at first. But then, as he returned his old friend's embrace, all of the emotions from the past few decaorns came crashing down on him. He tried not to cry.

It didn't work.

The kindly bartender held him for a few breems in that narrow hallway. Then he let Orion go and held him at arm's length, studying him thoughtfully. "You've been through some rough scrap this quartex, haven't you? Come on, let's sit and talk about it, maybe you'll feel better."

Maccadam led him to his smallish, comfortable office, and had Orion sit down in one of the chairs across from the desk. He pulled some energon out of subspace and set it down in front of Orion.

"I should attempt the trial," Orion said. "I don't have much time."

"You think you're going to be able to complete the fifth trial right now?" Maccadam said. "Mechling, you'll have a much better chance if you're not on the brink of emotional collapse, believe me."

Orion took in a deep vent and let it out. "I didn't even realize... I've been so busy lately, I haven't really had time to process anything."

"I'm sorry about Yoketron," Maccadam said. "I liked that mech."

Orion nodded.

"I'm sure he's happy in the Well of Allsparks, though. He's got a lot of mecha there, waiting for him." Maccadam smiled, then shook his helm. "I'm sure you can't stop missing him, and it's important to grieve. But I don't think he'd want you to regret what happened to him. He's not gone, not really. He's happy, and he's safe."

Orion nodded. "Thank you."

"What else?"

They talked for almost half a joor. Orion let everything out, all of his fears and anxieties and guilt. It felt so good to talk to someone who would just listen without overreacting or giving him advice or telling him to stop beating himself up about things.

By the end, Orion was feeling much better. "I think I'm ready," he said. "Though… I don't know if I have enough time for the trial."

"You do if you get it on the first shot," Maccadam said. "This one's fragging ridiculous, because Micronus is a glitch."

Orion looked up, a little shocked.

"You heard me," Maccadam said. "And I should know. He's my brother, after all. He's not so bad if you know him really well, but he doesn't have a sympathetic atom in his entire frame. It's not personal, though, so don't take anything he says or does personally. In fact, ignore him. He's part of what makes the trial distracting. You get a head start if you just walk through the wall and right into the trial without listening to his little 'you're not good enough to be a Prime' routine. Also, keep it in your processor that the trial isn't real. You're not ignoring real people, you're ignoring fake people who look like real people."

Orion stared at him. "But… doesn't that defeat the purpose of—"

"Yeah," Maccadam said. "But I checked with Alph, and he says you can cheat as much as you want, we just need to get you through these things."

Elita commed him.

"Excuse me," Orion said, "I'm getting a comm." He answered.

"Oh, thank Primus," she said. "I hoped you weren't in the middle of the trial. I mean it didn't feel like you were, but... Orion, you need to come back here now."

"Why? What's happened?" Orion asked.

"Megatron's contacted us, and he's demanding to talk to you."

Orion frowned. "Did he say about what?"

They had been somewhat worried about an attack, since the loss of the Council was stretching Orion's forces so thin. But the Decepticons had been uncannily quiet. Of course, Orion would take whatever he could get when it came to a break from the fighting, even though it probably meant Megatron was gearing up for something big.

"Elita?"

"Just come. Now."

He looked at Maccadam.

"Bad news?"

"I think so," Orion said. "I'm sorry…"

"You can go," Maccadam said. "We'll reschedule. My siblings and I are busy, but I can definitely make some time for this."

"Thank you," Orion said, and stood. "And thank you for listening to me. It really did help."

He left the building, then took a two-way groundbridge up to his office in Mirage's tower. From there, he made his way to the command center room. He could feel through the bond that it was bad news, and he was joined by Ironhide and Mainspring as he headed to the meeting room.

"What's going on?" Ironhide asked.

"I don't know," Orion said as he entered the room.

Elita approached him. "I wasn't sure if you would want everyone here, but I called them…"

"It's all right," Orion said. "What's going on?"

Everyone looked at her.

"So," she said. "Megatron just contacted me and let me know he wanted to talk."

"And that merits an emergency meeting, because…?" Red Alert said.

"They've got Jazz."

Silence fell.

"I think he wants to negotiate some sort of deal," Elita said.

"Pit," Ironhide growled.

"Well…" Orion said, glad he'd had that talk with Maccadam and was feeling a lot calmer than he would have felt about this a joor ago. "Let's talk to him and we'll see what we can do. Let me do the talking please."

Elita sent him an internal comm. "If you try to trade yourself, I won't let you. None of us will let you do that."

"I know that's not an option," Orion said. "Please trust me."

"All right," Elita said out loud. "I'll bring him up on the screen then."

Everyone watched as Orion took his place at the head of the table, and she pulled up a projection on the wall.

After an astrosecond of blank screen, Megatron's helm appeared, glaring down at them.

"Megatron," Orion said calmly.

"Orion Pax."

They stared at each other for several long moments.

"Ya mind hurrying it up?" A voice from off-screen said. "I've got places ta be."

Megatron's scowl deepened.

"I suppose you want to negotiate," Orion said. "We would very much like him back."

"I don't know," Megatron said. "I happen to have a quarrel with this mech for betraying me a while back, so unless you're willing to make a very good trade..."

"Don't do it, mech," Jazz's voice called cheerfully. "It ain't worth it. And don't bother sending anyone ta come get me, I can get out on my…"

"Shut him up!" Megatron shouted, turning to the side for a moment.

Orion took in a deep vent.

An astrosecond later, there was a clang and an angry shout and then Jazz's voice again. "Sorry mech, did I get ya in the optic?"

"Hey!"

"No!"

"Stop!"

"What are you doing?" Megatron growled. "Don't let him… catch him! Shut the door!"

There was more shouting and Orion was pretty sure he could hear Jazz laughing in the distance before the sounds started to fade, as if he and whoever was chasing him had left the room.

"Excuse me for a few breems," Megatron said, and the screen went blank.

Silence.

Ironhide burst out laughing.

The tension in the room broke, and suddenly everyone was smiling.

"Ha!" Ironhide said. "Good luck dealing with that, Megatron. I'll bet he's too ashamed to call us back after Jazz escapes."

"If he escapes," Chromia said.

"Are you kidding me?" Ironhide said. "They might have Soundwave, but Jazz is fast. He'll get out."

"We can only wait and see," Prowl said.

Silence fell, and the tension in the room rose again as the quiet stretched out for a breem.

"Well…" Elita said at length. "False alarm, I guess. I don't know whether Megatron will be contacting us again, so you're free to go. I'll let you know if we get any messages from him. Mainspring, if Jazz escapes, he'll probably contact you, so can you let us know if he does?"

Mainspring nodded.

Elita looked to Orion.

"Yes," he said. "Go back to your work. We'll let everyone know as soon as we find out what happened."

Mecha got up and started heading for the door. Orion considered going back to Maccadam's, but he didn't want to start an attempt of the trial, in case the Decepticons captured Jazz again.

He went to his office instead, working while he waited.

Megatron didn't comm. them back.

Blaster stared out the window into the darkness of the underground street. They kept having to move again and again and again, because he was in danger, and their latest move had taken them to a lower level of the city-state.

There was a way to stop hiding. There was a way to be safe without moving all over the place. But he doubted anyone would agree to it.

He took in a deep vent and turned around, then approached the table where Keepsake, Cam, and Breeze were playing a card game. Steeljaw, sensing his nervousness, followed closely behind him.

"Hi Blaster," Keepsake said. "Do you want to join us?"

Playing games like that was kind of boring when there was no way to lose. "No," he said. "But…"

Is everything all right?

Did he hear something outside?

He's seemed a little depressed lately. I wonder if it's because he's underground. I certainly don't like the perpetual darkness.

"What is it, Sweetspark?" Keepsake asked.

Blaster sighed. "I want… I don't want to stay here anymore, in Praxus, and hide, and move all the time."

Poor mechling. I hate it too. "I'm so sorry," Keepsake said. "I know you understand that it's hard for all of us."

"But we don't have to keep doing it," Blaster said.

They stared at him, questioning.

He knew how badly this was going to go, but he just had to say it. "I want to join the Autobots."

Silence.

The way Blaster had said that reminded both Keepsake and Breeze of Searchlight, and they were sad.

Cam was angry and scared. "Absolutely not," he said.

"I know they're not bad," Blaster said. "The mechs they have watching us are good. I've listened to them. All of them are nice, and they just want me to be safe. It was the Decepticons who destroyed Vos. It's always them who attack first."

"It doesn't matter," Cam said. "The fact that the Decepticons are bad does not make the Autobots good."

"You don't believe me," Blaster said. "But I know. I hear them."

"Then why is Soundwave a Decepticon?" Cam asked.

Blaster looked at Breeze, who shook her helm. "I think," Blaster said. "I think he must be angry still—about what happened to Searchlight. He wants the government to pay. And maybe he can't leave, maybe he doesn't want to, maybe he's different than he used to be. I don't know, I just know the Autobots are good, and I can help them. I want to help them."

"No," Cam said. "That fake Prime is a crafty, conniving liar. And even if he wasn't you are still a fledgling. You absolutely will not be joining an army."

Blaster looked at Cam. He could keep arguing, but it wasn't going to change his guardian's perspective. "It's what I want to do," he said instead. "It's the right thing to do."

"No," Cam insisted. "It's a noble sentiment, but very misguided. We are staying here, do you understand?"

Blaster nodded, trying to look defeated.

You know he's just worried about you, Keepsake thought. We just want you to be safe. War is a terrible thing and even if they start out good, mecha can be corrupted by it.

Blaster smiled at her to let her know he understood. They did care about him and they did want the best for him.

But they were the ones who didn't understand.

When he was younger, he'd lived in an orphanage and on the streets. He'd done a lot of hiding. Hiding only worked for so long.

And if Cam had known Orion back then, back when he'd just been that librarian who knew everyone's designation, and gave them energon treats and cared about them when no one else cared, he wouldn't say those things about him.

Mainspring got a comm from Jazz. He answered immediately, leaning back in his chair and venting a sigh of relief. "There you are. Are you all right?"

"Yep," Jazz said over the comm. "Sorry it took me a while ta comm. I figured they'd think I'd leave Kaon right away, so I decided ta stick around for a couple joors. And I found some stuff out."

"You couldn't have contacted me earlier? We've been worried about you."

"I don't have my datapad anymore, and I didn't want to risk a comm. being picked up. But I'm comin' home now."

"Good," Mainspring said. "So… you say you discovered something?"

"I don't want ta talk about it too much over the comm, but we may have an opportunity in about half a decaorn ta get that key back."

"You should come back and report," Mainspring said. "If they catch you again…"

"Yeah, that's a good point, mech. But I gotta figure out just a few more things first. I'll be back in an orn or two."

"Good," Mainspring said. "We'll see you then. Be careful, please. I don't want to run both halves of the department."

"Eh, ya got 'Raj."

That was true, but Mirage didn't have anywhere near as much experience as Jazz did.

"See ya, mech." Jazz said, and cut the comm.

Mainspring commed Orion to give him the news.

They were once again in a meeting when Jazz burst in, slamming the door open. Everyone else fell silent.

"Hey," he said. "Miss me?"

"Jazz," Orion said. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," Jazz said as Mainspring moved over to give him a spot at the table.

Orion watched them for a moment—he was pretty sure they were communicating over an internal comm.

"So," he said at length. "My apologies. Red Alert, you may continue."

Red Alert finished presenting the latest evacuation plans and plans for the new base. The construction had continued, even though the city had been in a bit of an uproar, and they were about halfway done.

When Red Alert was finished, he sat down and glanced suspiciously around the room, gaze eventually landing on Jazz.

"Jazz," Orion said. "Do you have anything to report? Were you able to find out any more about where Megatron's keeping the key?"

"Yes," Jazz said. "Actually. And we can get it back if we do it right."

Orion was surprised. He had honestly been expecting more bad news.

Jazz leaned forward slightly. "So, I found out Megatron doesn't keep that key on him all the time. I don't know where he keeps it, but it's somewhere in his new base, which I only know part of the layout for. The thing that makes this possible though, is that I found out Megatron and Soundwave are going to be gone. Four orns from now, they're planning on going somewhere and provided they don't take the key with them, all we have ta do is break in there, get it, and get out before they come back. Now, we could send 'Raj in, but he'd have ta find that key pretty quick…"

"I can find it," Orion said. "Let me come with you."

Jazz frowned.

"Jazz, I can feel the key. I can find it. If you let me come, then I'll be able to help. If you don't, then we risk wasting this chance. We need that key back."

"We have to weigh our options," Prowl said. "The opportunity to get the key back is important, but the risk of sending you…"

"The base is pretty well-guarded," Jazz said. "And it's hard ta get in, even if ya're sneaky. If we do bring you, we need a solid plan. Something foolproof. We probably want ta bring some other mecha with us too, cuz if we can't be stealthy, then we gotta have ways ta make sure we can get ya out, Optimus."

Silence fell.

"If we want," Prowl said. "We could launch a small assault on their base. If we do it right—block their communications, plan a method of retreat, bring the right mecha—this is possible… but only if you're willing to go forward with it, Orion. I know you never liked the idea of being the first one to attack."

Orion looked down. This was different, though. They had to get that key back. "Let's talk through the basics of a potential plan," Orion said. "I don't want to let this opportunity pass by."

Prowl caught up to Jazz just outside the other mech's office door. "Jazz."

Jazz looked up. "Oh, hey," he said. "Ya need something, Prowl?"

"I just…" that breem when the Decepticons had had this mech captured and Prowl had realized that he wouldn't have an opportunity to apologize for the Tagan Heights/Slaughter City battle… that had not been a good breem. "I'm sorry for what I asked of you in the last battle and how badly it went for your unit."

Jazz looked surprised. "Uh… don't worry about it, mech," he said cheerfully. "It's in the past." He tilted his helm to the side slightly, then typed in the code to open his door and went in, leaving Prowl standing in the hallway, feeling even worse about it. Jazz hadn't seemed upset, but he hadn't exactly accepted Prowl's apology either, and Prowl knew the experience had bothered the mech.

Oh well. At least Jazz knew he felt bad about it.

He walked away, toward his own office, putting the conversation he'd just had out of his processor. He had a battle to plan for, and this time he was going to be on the offensive. This time, he got to make the first move.

In four orns, they were going to get that key back, and there was nothing the Decepticons could do to stop them.

Megatron tapped his clawed fingers on the arm of his chair, thinking. Things were coming together. In four orns, he could have everything he needed to win the war for good.

Any number of things could go wrong, though. The Autobots could uncover his plan, Blackangle could make his move early… all Megatron could do was wait and see.

And if that idiot seeker didn't show up in the next two breems…

The door opened and Starscream came in. He approached the throne and bowed with a flourish. "You wanted to see me, my liege?"

"Yes," Megatron said. "Stop groveling."

The mech stood straight, looking offended.

"I have a task for you." Megatron leaned forward in his chair. "If you're feeling up to it."

"Anything for you, Lord Megatron," Starscream bowed again.

Megatron held himself back from rolling his optics. He needed Starscream to think he was taking this seriously. "It has come to my knowledge that Blackangle doesn't have our best interests at spark. In fact, he's planning a coup."

Starscream looked surprised for a moment, then shrugged. "I'm shocked it took you so long to realize—"

"So," Megatron cut him off. "I'm going to set up a trap for him, and I want you to help me. Successfully stopping him will, of course, mean you take his place at my right hand."

The seeker's wings perked up. "I… I would be honored, my liege."

"As you know from our last meeting," Megatron said. "Soundwave, Straxus, and I are going to lead an assault on Iacon in four orns. That means I'll be leaving Blackangle in charge. It will be a perfect time for him to make his move. We'll leave behind anyone we think might not be loyal, as well as a group of seekers for you to command. If you successfully apprehend or offline the traitors, I'll put you in charge. Otherwise, you'll be demoted, and one of my other lower-ranking advisors will have your place"

Starscream frowned. "Why not just arrest them now?"

"Because I want proof that Blackangle's working against me. I want to make an example of him and his friends." He paused to meet Starscream's optics. "I want to show anyone else who might try to stab me in the back that treachery comes with severe consequences."

The seeker hunched his shoulders, looking suddenly uncertain and guilty.

"So," Megatron said. "Can you do it?"

Starscream seemed to recover from his momentary nervousness. "I can," He said, lip plates curling upward. "You won't be disappointed."

"I had better not be," Megatron said. "You may go. Make preparations. And make sure Blackangle doesn't find out that I know his plan."

"Of course, Lord Megatron," Starscream said with a bow, and then turned to leave the room.

"One more thing," Megatron said.

The seeker stopped. "Yes?"

"You were at the meeting. As far as Blackangle knows, I'm entrusting him with an important task for that orn as well. I expect you to ensure it gets done, regardless of what else happens. Understood?"

Starscream grinned. "It would be my pleasure," he said, then left the room.