Machine Wars: Square One

"Alright, alright, keep moving, you're doing great!"

The sides of a large, golden crate created sparks when it brushed against the walls of the cargo bay. Dozens of security officers surrounded the Autobot shuttle, making sure that it received a full inspection. The leading member cringed when one of the metal boxes containing whatever junk was collected during the Axalon crews' mission wasn't being handled correctly.

"Slaggit you pit-brained robots," the officer cursed at the clumsy Maximals, "this is important cargo! Don't let it slip through your servos again or you can expect to be so energon depleted that you'll need to be on spark support next crack I see! Am I clear?"

The two lackeys froze upon hearing their superior's command and nodded.

"Yes sir!"

Rubbing his processor, the Maximal walked away from the two and walked inside the ship. Placing a servo on the wall he couldn't help but feel that there was something strange about this shuttle. Night Glider had been cautious to assume that this ship was either a fake or a stolen artifact and his reasoning was just. The entire construction behind both the interior and exterior was something unknown to any Maximal ship. Nothing was familiar about this Autobot tech; windows in the front of a space craft weren't used often and here there was a large glass plane in the control room. Windows were such easy targets under battle and had long since been replaced with scanners and cameras on the outside of the ship incase the internal computer couldn't tell what a particular object was. The officer ran his servos along the gold painted shell of the vessel.

"This really does look like an Autobot ship," he muttered to himself.

A loud clicking sound echoed throughout the cargo bay as the officer gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Slaggit! What did I tell you privates?"

"Sir," the private's delicate voice barely met his audio receptors, "something just fell out of one of the storage units, and it wasn't our fault."

Stiffening his knee joints the officer walked up to the femme with thinned optics, "So you're just telling me this thing flew out of the box and landed on the floor? Can it soldier! This is no time for stories! You take responsibility for your actions otherwise no one will take you seriously!"

The private nodded vigorously, but she was no longer the focus of her superior's attention. The mech blinked twice at the device on the ground, as it wasn't like anything he'd seen before. It was a black sphere with concave indentations all over it leading to red spots as if they were individual targets decorated along it's body. After nodding towards the femme he reached down and touched the orb, mentally reminding himself to include it in his report. Suddenly the red dots glowed brilliantly and the sphere hovered in the air, well above even the tallest Maximal in the room.

"By the inferno," a femme private marveled at he sight. "What is it doing?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it," the superior officer grunted.

"Sir," a young flyer mech interrupted, "it's doing something really weird!"

A low humming noise emitted from the device causing the bolts in the floor panels to shake underneath the Maximals' feet. Before anyone could process what was happening, the orb began to move around the room, going higher and lower in an unidentifiable pattern. Everyone stopped what they were doing and focused on the object. The superior officer growled at his soldiers.

"What are all of you doing? Anyone who's a flyer needs to get up there and contain that object!"

"Yes sir!" a jet Maximal and his brother saluted.

One of the flyers had a sick grin on his face as he dumped the contents of one of the crates from the shuttle and took the empty shell with him to the ceiling. He faintly heard the disapproving cries from the grounded Maximals for creating a mess, but the flyer kept on. This object was a strange one but it wasn't moving at an incredibly fast pace. For some reason the orb made the flyer release coolant through his circuitry, there was something off about the device. It's eerie glow made him wary to touch it and he approached with caution. The mech smirked as he shoved the container over the sphere and hovered slowly to the ground. A few forceful shoves and bumps were felt inside the box, but the object had been contained.

"Where do ya want this sir?" the flyer kept a firm grip on the storage unit.

His superior sneered, "You are going to clean up the mess you made, while your brother here is going to take it to the science labs."

The private lowered his shoulder joints as he handed over the object. He shouldn't have expected anything less from the strict mech. After the soldiers were sure that danger was no longer present, things continued as normal while the superior placed a servo on his com-link.

"Patch me through to Chief Night Glider."


To claim that Cybertron had about three hundred years of peace since the end of the Great War was inaccurate. Optimus's gears grew stiff from the lack of movement. Cybertron's buildings, save for a few districts still under construction, were no longer meant to accommodate his new size. Briefly he wished they had given him the Maximal upgrade before speaking with the council. During the Axalon crews' time on Earth, Optimus had foolishly believed that if he were ever able to get back to Cybertron (something he almost gave up on when his ship was destroyed) Megatron would be in custody while he and his crew could finally relax. It was a foolish to suspect that things on Cybertron would be easier to deal with.

Primal nearly busted his head through the ceiling when a ringing sound broke his thoughts. Night Glider bowed to the council members, "I apologize sirs, but my men wouldn't call me if it wasn't an emergency."

"Of course Security Chief, but please make it fast," the third MagnaBoss member chided.

Rhinox gazed at his comrade for a bit and ceased talking; Primal was left with his thoughts again, upset at himself for nearly overreacting to a comlink ringtone. Once Optimus met up with Night Glider and the Axalon crew was split up did he finally understand that the war would never be over. Even if the council agreed to all the precautions that Optimus and Rhinox suggested, for the rest of his near immortal life he'd have to live with the lingering possibility of another Great War, or worse another time storm. Perhaps Cybertron would never be safe and the war between Predacons and Maximals, Autobots and Decepticons would be doomed to repeat itself until the end of time.

Given those thoughts, Optimus found it ironic that he had found hope for peace during the Beast Wars. A Predacon of all bots, opened his optics such a possibility. Honor and compassion did exist in the Predacon Alliance and perhaps from that there was a clue to gaining tolerance among Cybertron.

"A...what?" Night Glider's cracked voice shouted in the room. "Hold on, send me a holo of this 'possessed' sphere."

The Security Cheif frowned and took out a small pad from his subspace. Night Glider's optics narrowed as he walked up to Optimus, each step threatening to dent the metal floor of the room. Primal kept his gaze neutral to the hot-tempered mech, not wanting to be tempted to do something he'd regret.

"What is the meaning of this?" a council member interrupted.

Night Glider typed furiously on a small pad he held and grunted, "My men were removing the cargo from Primal's ship and found a dangerous object stored on it! They say it came to life and nearly escaped the cargo bay. What the pit is this thing Primal? I want an explanation!"

"It can't be," Rhinox marveled upon seeing the holo. "The Transmetal driver, but that went missing after Black Arachnia was brought back online and transformed into a Transmetal Two."

Optimus's optics ran along the holographic shape of the transmetal driver. It's rigged black surface made the device unmistakeable, but neither bot knew how it had gotten on the Autobot ship let alone why it had become online all of a sudden. Primal opened his mouth and suppressed a small triumphant grin, this could be used to his advantage.

"Council, this is an artifact from the aliens we had told you about," Optimus pleaded. "It contains energies similar to the quantum surge that transformed our crew into these transmetal bodies."

"Hold up, this could just be some kind of fancy data module," Night Glider interrupted.

The Security Chief shifted his shoulders slightly when his radio cracked and hissed showing that he had not turned it off yet.

Another voice interjected from Night Glider's radio, "Actually, sir, that is not possible. We already conducted scans on the thing and it contains technology that is completely unknown to us."

Rhinox gave a small, sly grin at the Chief who quickly turned off his com-link with a growl. The middle council member raised his hand before Night Glider could speak.

"This certainly does give extra weight to Primal's argument."

Another councilor spoke up, "We apologize for our doubt Optimus, but you must realize how your story sounds."

"No problem," Optimus waved his hand as much as he could given the space, "I'm just glad that we were able to present solid evidence to you."

Primal looked at the three holograms of the MagnaBoss division and then to the picture of the transmetal driver. It bothered him and Rhiox as well, to see something that Megatron tampered with, as if the object itself was like a wound he received during the Beast Wars. When Black Arachnia had stolen the device for her own selfish purposes, he'd thought that he'd never see the blasted thing again. No one understood how the she-spider came back to life, but her transmetal form was proof enough that the driver had something to do with it. Unexpectedly, it had disappeared and the Maximals concentrated on fortifying there position; not even bothering to look for it. It wasn't that the crew hadn't been concerned about the alien artifact's whereabouts, but no one wanted to deal with anything associated with those beings and instead focused on Megatron's actions. Rhinox sighed at the thought of what damage that piece of tech could do in the hands of Night Glider's mechs.

Quickly, the rhino focused his gaze on the Security Chief, "Make sure that the security on that thing is as tight as what you have on Megatron, that particular alien artifact is very unstable."

"You can relax about Megatron," Glider scoffed at the Maximal. "The triplechanger convoy-"

Suddenly the Chief's com ringed again, earning curious glances from the council. Rhinox raised a brow, he thought he had seen bits of coolant drip from Glider's face as the Chief apologized to his superiors and accepted the call.

"Yes, this is Night Glider, we were just about to end a debriefing so please make it quick."

A smooth voice escaped the speakers of the radio in a decent volume for all in the room to hear.

"This is Onyx Primal of the Tripredicus Council Inquiry Committee. I have some unfortunate news."

"What is it Pred?" the Security Chief spat.

"It appears that the convoy carrying Megatron has been attacked," Onyx replied without hesitation.

The Chief's paint-job seemed paler in the bright lights of the room, despite Optimus's giant body overshadowing everyone. Night Glider replied desperately, "What? Are you serious? Is Megatron at least in custody?"

"I'm afraid the guards and Megatron are nowhere to be found."

The Predacon Primal's calm disposition left everyone uncomfortable, even if he could only be heard from Night Glider's radio. Optimus looked at Rhinox with his jaw open and his optics widened, the rhino Maximal matched his gaze with worry. Rhinox's processor was spinning at the idea of Megatron's escape. He clenched his servos tightly, tempted to beat the slag out of Night Glider or anyone close by. What was the point? What had been the point of bringing Megatron back if he was just going to escape again? Optimus growled and fiercely banged his fist on the floor, without breaking the metal, causing Night Glider and Rhinox to fall over from the robot's tremor. Primal knew he should have been around to guard the Predacon renegade and now he was gone.

The Security Chief carefully got off of the ground and stood up straight, his optics glowed brightly, "I want him found now!"

"Rest assured," the Predacon said with a charismatic flare, "our investigation is progressing as quickly as we can with Maximal investigators."

The link was cut and Optimus placed his palm on the floor. His optics seethed with malice as he stared at the three holographic beings.

"Councilors, I'm afraid that there is no time for negotiations. All transwarp vessels in Predacon and Maximal territories that are under construction must be secured now!" Optimus demanded.

"Night Glider," Rhinox walked up to the Chief, "I need access to your systems. We'll need to pinpoint all locations with transwarp drives, primarily ones that are near completion. Those areas will require the most security."

Optimus nodded towards his friend but raised his voice a little, "Good idea Rhinox, and Night Glider, I don't care what you say! I'm going to be a part of this investigation. The fate of Cybertron is more important than petty rivalries."

"Hold on Optimus, as I recall, the Predacon reported that both Megatron and the Security Officers were missing," Night Glider pointed at the giant Maximal, not wanting to lose this argument. "You may not know the street of Cybertron as well as the skies, but Megatron had built a sizable list of enemies in both Maximal and Predacon territories. It's likely that if Megatron is loose, he's probably been captured and he'll wish he was in Maximal hands!"

Primal sighed but kept his fierce gaze on the loud-mouth mech below him, "That is a possibility, but we can't risk Megatron's knowledge to go public. Likely, he's the only one here with the precise transwarp codes to get to prehistoric Earth and he'll use that information as a bargaining chip to keep himself alive."

"That," the Chief's circuits grew stiff, "is another possibility."

Night Glider knew he was losing the battle. The councilors' harsh gaze burned against his metal skin plating, but even the most hot tempered Maximal had to realize when he was beaten.

"Rhinox, you may have access to our systems and Optimus I'm giving you permission to join the investigation team, but don't overstep your bounds. This is still my territory."

"You've made that perfectly clear when your forces allowed Megatron to escape," Rhinox spoke stiffly and kept his servos to his sides.

The rhino transformer immediately walked out of the room without another word. Optimus didn't even look back at the council as he followed his comrade in pursuit (his size, of course, making such a thing very difficult). Night Glider hesitantly looked back at the council, his optics had a desperate look in them as all three members glared at the Chief. There was no point in arguing the facts, so the Maximal just took the gazes until the holograms had been cut off and he was alone.

Night Glider was humiliated with his pride cut, beaten, and spat on the ground. The Maximal ripped off the com from the side of his head and let it drop to the ground. It was pointless gesture, he knew, but he needed a distraction. Suddenly, before he could yell every curse in Cybertronian history, the device rang by his feet. Night Glider twitched his mouth to a frown and grabbed the communicator.

"What is it?"


"Systems scrambled, rebooting primary rotary functions to unit Megatron," the soothing feminine voice of the Predacon's internal computer repeated. "Reboot thirty-eight percent to completion."

An obscure mess of technology in the form of a transformer laid limp inside the processing tube. Nearby mercenaries hired by Cryotek hadn't moved from their hiding spots around the device, even when the screaming had damaged their audio receptors. Each Predacon was under orders not to intervene in while the machine carried out it's primary programming. Those who had helped steal the massive device before them grew anxious, waiting to see if their boss would come out alive along with his treacherous pupil. No one twitched an optic ridge when Megatron's internal network began to indicate his progress.

"Reboot is now up to sixty-seven percent."

Before the voice began to repeat its message, the doors of the other tube slid open making the hidden mechs cringe at the bright light emitted from the interior. The floor to the room did not hold up, but there were a few panels around the machine that allowed Cryotek enough room to walk over to the other pod. The older mech smirked as he admired his form in front of the glass tube. Cryotek was confident that the process would be a success and it certainly payed off in the long run.

A voice from inside the compartment made the older mech frown, "Reboot is now up to ninety-four percent."

The traitor survived, what a pity. There was no denying that Megatron had very useful information inside his processor, but considering he would be coming online in a matter of clicks meant that Cryotek hadn't received all of his pupil's assets. The new and improved mech crossed his arms and waited for the inevitable.

"Reboot complete."

"Just when I was beginning to enjoy the peace," Cryotek gave out a short laugh as he began to open the doors to the chamber.

With little effort the older mech managed to move the doors aside, grinning when he noticed the flicker of light in Megatron's optics. The stages of coming out of stasis were the same for every Cybertronian. Optics were never hazy or blurred vision unless they had been severely damaged, but when a transformer wakes up the processor needs a few clicks to take in the surroundings. Patiently the mech waited, not helping Megatron stand up after such an ordeal.

"Rise my pupil," Cryotek spread his arms with false glee. "It appears I was correct in not underestimating your power. I've obtained forty-seven percent of the transwarp data, just enough to keep you from trying to escape again."

Megatron rubbed his processor and narrowed his optics at him, "Also enough to keep you from slagging me."

Both Cybertronians shared pieces of the coordinates necessary to get to Earth, one could not slag the other even if they wanted to. Megatron felt he was safe from Cryotek's wrath, for the moment, but knew to never let his guard down on Cybertron. His authority in this world was minimal at best. The older mech suddenly laughed at his pupil's comment, causing Megatron to look at him directly.

"Correct you are, but I've received a few bonuses as well."

His jaw dropped slightly as the light from the pod revealed Cryotek's body, Megatron was eye to eye with the mech. Remembering when Cryotek had first entered the chamber, Megatron noticed that the older mech's head could only come up to the top of the first indentation on the glass pod, but now his height was far greater. Granted that neither transformer was the size of an Autobot, still their height was impressive. Though the new size wasn't what made Megatron stare so intently at his mentor. Wings that resembled the ones from Megatron's transmetal two form were now on Cryotek's back. Both mechs were completely metallic, but signs of a beast mode and vehicle mode lingered. Megatron looked down at his person seeing the dim sheen of purple, blue and black over him. From what he could tell, his dragon body had been split amongst the two as there were claws on Cryotek's feet while Megatron had, what he believed to be, a dragon head on his side; albeit the thing was a little thicker, with a wider head giving it a prehistoric look.

Cryotek looked regal with his new body, but Megatron had a fierce quality to him. The younger mech checked his systems and smirked a little when he realized he could still fly (a trait he relished when becoming a transmetal). Megatron looked at the damaged pod he was still inside of and faced his mentor with intrigue.

"Hm, it appears I've done far more damage than intended."

Cryotek tilted his head haughtily, "Once again, I won't underestimate you. If the machine were still intact, then you can make a safe bet that I would have put you back in until I received all the data."

"Yes, I would have thought so as well," Megatron rubbed his chin. "Now onto more serious matters. We must acquire a transwarp vessel immediately."

The older mech smiled while his optics brightened dangerously. As always Megatron was being the renegade, taking control when he had no power. Cryotek raised his hand in front of his pupil and spoke his next sentence calmly.

"Patience Megatron, you must realize that your Maximal counterpart, Optimus Primal, has likely told the council about your fantastical adventure."

"As if they'd believe him," Megatron dismissed.

Cryotek cornered the mech in the glass tube and shook his head disapprovingly, "Didn't I just get finished telling you Megatron? I don't underestimate my enemies. It is likely that security will be highly elevated in areas where transwarp drives are under construction, especially those that are almost ready to be tested. An assault on such a place would require an army, an army we do not have."

"So what exactly do you suggest we do then? Wait for Optimus to find us?" his pupil crossed his arms.

"It's very simple," the older mech backed away from Megatron and faced away from him, "security will be tight because of an immediate threat. If that threat is removed, then security will eventually go back to normal."

Megatron stood up straight with a neutral gaze, "So, what do you suggest we do about it?"

The warm yellow light from the pod made Cryotek's outline contrast with the dim room. This new body was strange but exotic. It was only under extreme circumstances that a Cybertronian would require a beast mode, still, the idea of having that type of alternate form was not so appealing until Cryotek laid eyes on Megatron's dragon-like body. There hadn't been fur nor scales on it, his pupil's being was completely metallic and the idea of a new weapon (one that very few Cybertronians had the opportunity of using) was tempting. The older mech felt the hum of his hand cannon charging as his grin widened; Megatron had much to learn.

Cryotek pointed his weapon at the younger mech, "It is simple: remove the threat."


Sonar gripped her processor and moaned in frustration, "All I had to do was turn on the computer! What am I going to do? I used my guns on them and even though they deserved it the council will probably want warrant my arrest and then I'll be convicted of death and I'll never be able to live long enough to get a promotion! Oh man, what if I get put in a Predacon jail? They'll eat me alive before the Maximal Imperium puts me offline!"

Cheetor stood along side Rattrap who shook his head at the crazy transformer. Granted, that her comical way of talking to herself had entertained them a little, but the situation of Megatron's escape was far too serious to really enjoy the scene before them.

"Hey," the yellow bot waved towards Sonar, "I think you forgot something else."

"What? What could it be now?" the femme twitched her servos frantically while making eye contact.

Rattrap crossed his arms, "How bout' an apology spaz bot."

"Alright, alright," she began to pace a little, "I accept your apology."

"Oey vey," the rat rubbed his processor.

The shadowed Predacon kept his body stiff, but slightly tilted his head in Cheetor and Rattrap's direction. Onyx Primal kept his processor cool when speaking with the two Maximals, as odd as they were. A job needed to be done and insight from the Axalon crew was invaluable to the mission.

Onyx's voice was deep, "If you're done here, we can get back to the investigation at hand. I've found a clue to the identity of the bots who took Megatron."

"Who are they?" Cheetor stepped forward, interested the Predacon's explanation.

"I don't know exactly which bots, but I'm picking up a faint Predacon energy signiture from the laster fire that hit the transport," Onyx placed one hand towards his processor to indicate his built-in sensors.

Rattrap gazed at him warily, "You can detect energy signatures from blaster fire?"

"It's extremely minute, but yes," the dark Primal nodded. "This is only possible if the same weapon used here is being fired again."

"Whoever took Megatron got a little more than they bargained for, huh? So what are we waiting for, we got to follow him!" Cheetor bent his knees, eager to start running again.

Onyx stared at the younger Maximal with little interest. This being, no matter what his connection to Megatron's disappearance, was useful. Onyx set a small message in his neuro circuitry to question the members of the Axalon crew later. He didn't quite understand why the intelligence officer was involved in this case, but that mattered little. For now, the enemy was close and the dark Primal didn't require the cat's knowledge to take down a band of renegade Predacons. He was ordered to take in Megatron, but bringing these Maximals along was not a part of duties.

"Excuse me, this is my investigation," Onyx stood his ground. "You have no legal authority to accompany me on this case. I'll go after them alone."

Cheetor stepped back in shock and raised his fist, "But-but you have to take us! We were the ones who brought him in!"

"And that is where your role ended," the Predacon's voice deepened.

Onyx Primal quickly transformed into his vehicle mode, revealing what Rattrap assumed was some sort of jagged plane. After burn from the dark flyer's jets brushed against the three Maximals as Onyx ascended into Cybertron's skies. The Predacon was about to activate his engines to accelerate until a very large plane came into view. Onyx waited until the vehicle approached closer and was shocked to see something of that size in the city. His scanners had to be malfunctioning as they were reading this thing as a Maximal. The plane stopped before him, revealing that the construct was, in fact, sentient.

The Predacon didn't make a sound and waited for the giant Maximal before him to speak up.

"Are you Onyx Primal?" the primary colored jet asked.

"Yes," he replied with a hint of curiosity in his voice, "but you'll have to excuse me, I'm in the middle of an investigation."

The colossal plane quickly transformed into an even larger Maximal. Onyx nearly backed his jets in surprise, but maintained his air space. It was clear who this mech actually was and the dark Primal found the Maximal to be very interesting indeed.

"I am Optimus Primal, leader of the team who brought Megatron in custody. I've been given permission by the Maximal Security Force to accompany you on your investigation," the Maximal's voice was calm.

"Alright big bot!" Cheetor yelled from the ground while pumping his fist in the air.

Onyx's smooth voice became slightly annoyed at the thought of intruders in his work.

"I don't need any help."

"But the guys in charge think that ya do!" Rattrap's mock reply carried itself to Optimus's audio receptors.

"Rattrap, Cheetor!" Optimus shouted with great relief. "It's great to see you both, but not under these circumstances. We'll need your help on this mission."

It was unfortunate that the three had to be reunited to battle Megatron again. If more than a few mega cycles had passed since Megatron's capture, he'd be inclined to say that this meeting was just like the old days. Gazing back at the Predacon Primal, Optimus continued his proposition.

"I overheard your conversation, Onyx, are you truly able to find those responsible for Megatron's capture?"

"Yes, they're currently in a battle, but we'll need to hurry before we lose the signal," the Predacon grunted.

Sonar listened intently at the Primals' plan. Her problems and potential imprisonment was a possibility, but when she had heard that the Predacon was able to track those responsible for Megatron's escape she began to think all too clearly. This was it, an opportunity like no other. Admittedly, capturing a dangerous fugitive was not a preferable way to spend her time off from work and it could be dangerous. Then again, pursuing such an obstacle was the part which made Sonar grin. If she was able to help bring the renegade Predacon to justice, then she could be pardoned for her misuse of weaponry. Better yet, she'd receive a promotion, with a raise, and new upgrades. Sonar stepped forward and waved her servo towards Optimus with a suspiciously honest glint in her optics.

"Excuse me Mr. Optimus Primal, sir," the femme flyer spoke politely. "I offer my services to you to help the forces of justice bring down the evil Megatron once and for all!"

Cheetor and Rattrap backed away from Sonar slightly while the rat whispered to his pal, "Sheesh, talk about a 180."

Sonar gave a sharp glare at the two Maximals who quickly pretended they hadn't said anything to offend the sensitive bot. As the femme was about threaten the pair, Optimus's massive voice interrupted.

"Another flyer would be useful to us," the giant bot offered his hand to his two crew members. "You two will ride with me, Onyx Primal will lead the way. Let's head out!"

Rattrap and Cheetor set themselves on Optimus's back as he transformed into his plane mode. Onyx took off when Sonar's vehicle mode reached their altitude and they all took off. The Predacon wasn't use to working with others, but the other Primal clearly had much experience. Onyx mused that most of his kind felt that they were born to rule and lead, while he was content with himself. He didn't require power nor a gang of lackeys to prove anything; Onyx believed himself to be a soldier who followed his orders yet acted on his own. Still, if he had to work with these Maximals he'd bear it for the time being.

The Predacon flyer would never dare to question his orders.

"I didn't expect so many tagalongs, though it is better than going up against one on three odds," Onyx commented thoughtfully.

"Ahhh," Sonar said in a confident tone, "I won't be a bother. Anything, to be a part of the team that will recapture Megatron."

The dark Primal's jets flared as he accelerated further in the sky, "Hmm, it would be highly unlikely if we found Megatron in the same place as those who took him. From the looks of the attack, his escape happened anytime before four and six mega cycles ago."

Cheetor gripped Optimus's left wing as the breeze ran through the bits of fur on his robot mode. The cat momentarily missed the company of his other comrades, Cheetor didn't like the idea of working with this Predacon or that insane flyer chick. On the other hand, Optimus didn't seem bothered by the idea and as much as he didn't want to admit they needed all the help they could get if it meant having Megatron back in custody.

"Four to six hours?" Cheetor commented with surprise. "What in the galaxy went wrong with the communications? How come they didn't know what went down with Megs?"

Onyx replied with his suave voice, "Why do you think I was called in? The signal went dark long after the actual attack occurred, which can only be the result of a coordinated assault from an advanced Predacon hacking network."

"So we're definitely not dealin' with amateurs here?" Rattrap's comment carried through the wind. "Any ideas on who?"

"Cryotek," both Primals spoke at once.

Onyx's optic sensors on his plane mode were vastly different from those on his robot mode. When a Cybertronian transforms, their processors were built to adapt to two different forms (three for some bots). The jagged plane mech managed to look at Optimus cautiously. Onyx hadn't worked with many people in the past, let alone those of his own rant, but he already was impressed. If this Cybertronian knew of Megatron's relationship to Cryotek, then there may be some use for him after all. Onyx flew a little closer to the other Primal and made sure his words came out more friendly than he usually was.

"You seem very well versed in your opponent. I'll need to speak with you after this mission, we're approaching the target."

"Understood," Optimus was a little surprised. "You heard him Maximals, lets make a discreet landing near the site."

Rattrap rolled his optics, "Yeah, cause that's gonna be real easy for the Autobot."

Optimus had only met the bot in last few cycles, but he was willing to speak with the equally intriguing Predacon later. The group of Cybertronians approached a wide building that was smaller than the average structure on Cybertron. Onyx's scanners squinted to read the words on etched in the front.

"It's a research station," the dark plane flew closer to the ground.

Rattrap retorted with interest, "Yeah, but researchin' what exactly?"

"Transwarp technology," Optimus relayed grimly.

Smoke rose the to skies from the factory as the cries of many Cybertronians reached the groups' audio sensors. Cheetor and Rattrap witnessed many presumed scientists running out of the structure, some severely damaged. The building itself had not been penetrated from the outside, at least nothing Optimus could see before he hid for cover, implying that these mechs had taken it over from the inside out. After transforming into their robot modes, the Cybertronians took cover behind a nearby structure. Onyx recognized this area to be in one of the less prestigious areas of the city, very few people used these buildings as housing but rather each structure was made from a different company. This place was rumored to be cursed to any corporation who wanted a building in this district as the rent tended to sky rocket to a level of credits that few bots could match. It was a good place to conduct experiments and make a quick heist. Optimus managed to fit himself in between two buildings while the others fit perfectly in the alley. Cheetor gripped his servos as he heard the mechs screaming for help.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go already!"

"It's just as I thought," Optimus ignored the young bot's pleas, "they must be trying to build another transwarp vessel."

Onyx Primal raised a brow at the Maximal's nervous demeanor, but decided to focus on the mission at hand; too many Cybertronians were getting hurt because of this mess.

The male flyer nodded towards Optimus, "Let's split into two teams."

"Good idea," the giant transformer agreed. "I'll take Rattrap and Cheetor through the side entrance."

Onyx Primal smirked at the mech, "Exactly what I was going to say, Sonar, we'll take the top and hit them from both sides."

"You got it," the femme's optics brightened. "Let's go!"


Small geysers of mech fluid poured out of the dead robot's mouth. The un-named transformer was followed by several others, carpeting the barren halls. Following the trail would lead to a large room filled with half-built ships and glass cubes that were used for testing certain parts needed to sustain an engine in space. Dirge looked broke through one of the cases and examined the piece of technology inside. Three Predacons were tearing away at the ships and records of research conducted in the facility. This place was used to construct transwarp drive cores and the three criminals sought to take all they could.

"Are you sure this is the part Megatron asked for?" Buzzbomb poked his head out of one of the ships, holding up a coil.

Dirge shook his head at the Predacon and shoved the part he had taken earlier to his partner Clamps.

"Do you know how many parts were on his list? I've actually built ships and I barely understand half of the stuff he needs."

Buzzbomb scoffed and threw the part towards the pushy Predacon, "Just take it then, we didn't plant twelve berry bombs around this place just to get caught. This place is gonna be crawling with security in a few cycles all thanks to Clamp's deficiency. Can't that piece of scrap take out more than twenty Maximals, at least then we wouldn't have to worry about the Maxcops."

"Hey!" Dirge caught the part and put it in his subspace. "He isn't defective and we'll get out of here with plenty of time to spare."

"Transwarp technology must be pretty insane stuff to risk this much attention," Buzz hoped out of the ship and walked towards his companions.

The gruff Predacon sneered at his companion, "It better be worth it if you ask me, cause I'm not gonna ask the boss."

All three Predacons stiffened when the heard the thundering clap of a cannon let loose nearby. Energy pulses course through the metal of the floor shaking the room violently. Smoke ripples around the barren room as massive chunks of the wall crash into a few of the ships behind them. The Predacons found themselves on the ground, helpless to whomever had dared to fire at the facility. Dirge knew that this couldn't be the work of the Security Force and felt a twinge of fear pulse through his wires. He stood only to be met with two incredible figures. A giant transformer emerged from the destroyed wall followed by a fearsome sabertooth bot whose gun pointed directly at his processor. The cat's eyes glowed brilliantly, waiting for the Predacon to speak but Dirge had nothing to say to the abomination.

"Sorry," the large figure's voice trembled through his circuitry, "but theft and murder aren't exactly legal on Cybertron."

"Yeah, you're coming with us!"

Dirge's optics widened at the child-like voice that accompanied such a fearsome creature and laughed. The other two Predacons stood up behind him until his mirth died down. Despite the creature's fearsome appearance, it seemed that he was nothing more than a younger protoform with a gun: it was a dangerous situation, but there may just be a way out of this.

Dirge held out his arms with a smirk, "Are you crazy? Do you know who we are?"

"No, but I can't say I'm picky about my targets.", said Rattrap.

The three criminals jolted upon hearing a third, unseen Maximal. Buzzbomb pointed upwards toward a smaller transformer whose vehicle mode was unknown to him. The rat-like Maximal, whose gun was also aimed at Dirge, stood above all of the Cybertronians on a catwalk normally used to repair the tops of large ships. Dirge's processor frantically searched for a solution out of this mess. He had pulled off many heists, and even if he wasn't successful he always managed to get away. During the theft of the golden disk he was careless, even helping Megatron get revenge on his boss. Dirge suffered greatly for leading the Maxcops to Cryotek and he vowed to never do so again. Neither Predacon knew exactly how these beings found them, especially such strange ones, but he intended to turn the situations in his favor. The Predacon leader of the group unsheathed a small gun from under his arm and was about to rush at the sabertooth.

Among all the things that Dirge thought could go wrong he hadn't expected this. Through the windows of the roof spilled two flyers, one with a very dismal paint-job transformed and shot his gun out of his servo. The dark transformer proceeded to do the same with his two lackeys and hovered directly above the three. Dirge wanted to scream; this wasn't something he had planned but perhaps he'd been underestimating the Maximal Command Security Force. If the Predacons were somehow able to live through this, he'd be sure not to make such a mistake again.

Dirge was desperate, "Clamps, I think it's time."

The quiet Predacon started to glow dimly and hovered in the air. Optimus raised a brow at the transformer, unsure of whether to shoot at the suspicious action. The dark jet's optics began to scan the shiny being and raised a servo at the other Primal.

"Wait a minute," Onyx's voice grew louder, "I recognize that energy source, it is not a transformer that's a-"

Clamps's legs split off of his body along with his torso and arms. His limbs formed into three weapons, jets appeared on the parts to propel each piece in the air while multiple cannons formed on each part. Onyx cursed to himself and shot at one of the constructs only to have his weapon fire back on one of his wings. While still hovering in the air, Sonar pushed the dark Primal out of the way as the disassembled transformer shot in their direction.

Rattrap gasped as the lasers were charging, "Hit the deck!"

Optimus cried out in pain when the blasts cut through his armor plating with ease. Buzzbomb and Dirge quickly picked up their weapons and began to fire on the Maximals. Rattrap and Cheetor ducked for cover while the other Predacons started to fire back at the group. The yellow bot attempted to give the large Primal cover fire while two of the drones swarmed around him. Optimus's size managed to fit well in a ship hanger as he ran towards a large vessel to lessen the blasts being thrown at him. Never had he seen such power cut through Cybertronian armor so easily, but it explained how the Predacons managed to kill so many of their kind so quickly.

"When did the Preds get this kind of tech," Cheetor shouted as his weapon couldn't shred the powerful barriers around the three drones.

"Apparently, progress moves on when you're rewritin' a war in the distant past," Rattrap cocked his gun.

"Regardless," Sonar dodged a few blasts in the air, "we'll have to get creative!"

The flyer femme pulled a fairly large gun from her back, one that Rattrap recognized she had used on him during their chase. Sonar's servos shook as the gun fired, shooting multiple shots at once at the three pieces of floating weaponry. The large weapon in her hand had perfect aim as she managed to break through the shielding on the drones. Rattrap cheered for the femme as his gun was finally starting to do some damage.

"Whoohoo! It's good ta know that glitch in your processor can be put ta good use!"

"Why you cheese chomping rodent!" Sonar threatened.

The femme flyer clicked the trigger on her gun, only to find that it had overheated. Buzzbomb took advantage of her distraction and aimed for her spark. A few shots managed to graze the femme's armor, but Sonar put her weapon away and took out her pistol. Optimus was pleased with his new comrade's success against the shields of their enemy, albeit the giant bot had received some damage from her blasts. Optimus barely noticed one drone approach him from behind and screamed in pain when the attack made contact. The large transformer felt his metal burn away bit by bit due to his carelessness. Optimus cringed at the amount of pain he felt on his back, but managed to prop himself up with his knees. Before the disembodied Predacon could charge up another attack, Optimus swiftly turned around and smashed the piece of technology between his hands. Dirge and Buzzbomb then threw three massive explosives at the surrounding transformers. Despite their disadvantage with numbers, the bombs kept the Maximals at bay.

Onyx Primal stood up, ignoring the small scorch in his wing and dodged an incoming grenade. No one had seen exactly how or when, but the dark bot disappeared from the battle. Cheetor briefly surveyed the room while ducking a few times from the Predacons' attacks. The young Maximal's spark jolted when he couldn't pinpoint the location of the other Primal.

"I knew we couldn't count on that Pred!" Cheetor growled.

Rattrap and Dirge were having a bit of a contest on the battle field. Both mechs threw multiple different types of bombs at each other, but the blasts kept canceling each other out. Rattrap cursed when another of his attacks proved ineffective.

"Hey, crazy lady!" the rat bot waved. "Can ya give me a hand?"

Sonar glared at the Maximal and hid behind a ship when another weapon was fired. She glanced at the rat and smirked when she saw the bomb in his hand. Rattrap nodded and threw the explosive towards the Predacons.

"Why even bother rodent? It's just gonna end in a stalemate!" Dirge taunted.

Rattrap glared at the bot, "Not this time."

Sonar swooped down and grabbed the bomb before it hit the ground. Dirge pulled a large piece of metal off of the ship with little effort to shield himself from the flyer.

The Predacon glared at his partner, "How could you let her get this close?"

"Hey!" Buzzbomb fired another shot towards Cheetor. "Don't blame me, you're the one who was playing chicken with the rat!"

Sonar made a powerdive towards the two bots. Buzzbomb quickly aimed for the femme's wings, but the flyer managed to throw the bomb at one of the ships that was covering the two mechs. Dirge grabbed his partner and ducked behind some scrap metal while managing to snag a few shots at Sonar's wings. The femme flew away from the two, pleased that she had taken away a huge chunk of the criminal's wall. Rattrap gave a thumbs up towards the flyer and surprisingly she returned it with a grin.

Cheetor gasped as one of Buzzbomb's shots cut through his shoulder. The cat bot howled, but ignored the pain; he had to watch out if Onyx decided to show up again. While Cheetor was preoccupied with his wound, a shadow loomed over the sabertooth bot causing him to face his opponent. One drone managed to sneak behind him with it's gun charged. Cheetor fired a few shots but even without the shielding, the piece of technology was still very resilient. The younger Maximal couldn't believe he had let his guard down around the common enemy; it was an amateur's mistake, no, a kid's mistake. Cheetor glared at the drone and roared as he was about to pounce on it. Before the Maximal could tell what happened, a black blur landed on top of the hovering weapon. Onyx aimed his gun at a small opening of internal circuitry in the drone and fired. The drone swerved away from Cheetor as Onyx proceeded to rip through the thing's internal computer faster than he could processes what had happened.

"Uh, thanks," Cheetor said helplessly.

Once the drone fell, Onyx stared at the cat indifferently, "I know you're just a Maximal, but I expect you to defend your position and strategize against impossible odds."

The younger bot's optics drooped a little as the Predacon disappeared yet again. Cheetor heard another crash and turned around quickly to find Onyx dismantling the last drone. The sabertooth couldn't fathom how the Predacon was able to move so swiftly from one place to another, but he swallowed his pride for once and focused his fire on the two enemies left in the room.

"I don't care what kind of future this will bring," Buzzbomb growled in frustration as he couldn't managed to get a good shot on the flyer femme, "working for that traitor Megatron isn't worth this!"

Dirge quickly shot two bombs dropped by the rat Maximal and covered his optics for the blast. Sonar and Onyx maneuvered away from the explosion while Optimus's arm began to malfunction due to the damage caused from the drones.

Dirge coughed, "Relax, I know the boss has a plan for that slag spoutin' saurian. It's under control!"

The cluster of heroes began to advance upon the two Predacons. Buzzbomb glanced at his partner nervously and backed away.

"Whatever Cryotek has in mind for that renegade won't matter much to us if we're caught," the Predacon spoke desperately.

Dirge didn't respond. He hadn't failed a theft in a long time and he wasn't going to start now. Sure, there had been many close calls in his past, but as far as the Maximal Imperium was concerned, he had never committed any crimes. Dirge took out his last three berry bombs from his subspace compartment.

"Think fast Buzz!"

The Predacon threw the explosives at a nearby wall. Though the impact was not as great as Optimus's entrance, it managed to cut a hold through the metal. As the smoke cleared from the site, Rattrap jumped from his cover while Onyx and Sonar took off to pursue them. Again outside in the streets of Cybertron, Cheetor transformed into his beast mode and approached the targets. Before the Predacons could transform, they had been cornered by the group. Sonar and Onyx hovered above the two while Rattrap aimed his weapon at Buzzbomb's head. Optimus managed to lug his damaged body towards the site while Cheetor transformed back into robot mode with a large grin on his face.

"Hold it Preds," Rattrap cocked his gun.

"You're cornered and outgunned," Onyx threatened with an even tone. "Surrender to us and your punishment will not be as harsh."

Cheetor nodded at the two criminals, "Yeah, and you'll save yourself some time in the CR chamber."

The fugitive Predacons let their weapons fall onto the ground as they raised they're servos. Dirge wanted to beat the slag out of Megatron for getting him caught by the Maxcops, and he mentally swore to do so if he got out of this. Optimus sighed in relief at the two deciding not to make this day more difficult than it was.

"Good, we'll need to ask you both a few questions, starting with Megatron's current location."

Onyx raised a brow as he heard engines fire behind him. The dark Primal looked away from the criminals to see over twenty Maximal Security Force Officers hovering towards their positions on command skiffs. His expression remained unchanged when he noticed that Chief Night Glider was leading the parade upfront. Onyx, at first, was relieved that they had back up, but he wanted time to question these fugitives on his own terms. The Predacon flyer's optics narrowed when he noticed that the officers' weapons were drawn. Onyx turned on his jets before the Maximals began to fire.

"What the slag?" Sonar cried out when one officer shot her leg.

Cheetor and Rattrap ran towards another building for cover while the rat bot fumed at what was going on, "What the-? Have they lost their circuits?"

Optimus, whose size didn't allow him much maneuvability in the streets of Cybertron took most of the shots and fell to his knees him pain. Buzzbomb smirked at Dirge and began to transform into their vehicle modes. Onyx glared at the retreating Predacons, firing on them as they took off. Unfortunately, before the dark Primal could pursue them his gun was shot out of his hand and Night Glider approached.

The Security Chief motioned for his lackeys to stop firing once everyone's weaponry had been removed. Night Glider's optics studied Onyx Primal for a moment and then face Optimus's damaged form.

"What're you, crazy?" Rattrap emerged from his cover. "We had em'!"

"Shut your trap rat! Primal's authority over matters such as these is no longer without question," Glider's vocalizer dripped with venom.

Optimus glared at the Chief and stood up, "What is going on? We had those Predacons in custody! they were stealing key components of a transwarp drive!"

The flyer femme emerged from her hiding spot and flew closer to Night Glider.

"Sir, um, yes it's true. We were about to capture them," Sonar mumbled the rest to herself angrily. "Although Megatron wasn't there."

"Intelligence officer, what is your name," the Chief glanced at the symbol of her rank on her arm.

"Uh, Sonar sir!"

Night Glider's optics glowed, "I thought your shift was over."

"It was!" she agreed. "But I wanted to help Optimus and his crew recapture Megatron."

The combined humming of the skiffs didn't help make the situation any less tense. Night Glider's grip on the controls nearly broke through the metal as he surveyed the area. His optics ran along the unusually empty streets of Cybertron.

"It's clear that Megatron is nowhere near here," the Chief spoke flatly.

"Hold on a minute Sonar," Optimus interrupted before the femme could respond, "what do you mean my authority is in question, Night Glider?"

The hot-tempered officer smirked, "I had an interesting conversation with Sergeant K-9. He and former Head of Scientific Development, Bump, have reported that you recruited Predacons who once served under Megatron in your crew."

Optimus's optics widened as he looked at the Chief with shock.

"They've told us that you were fully aware of this and yet did not mention it in your debriefing right away," he continued.

"Are you insane?" Optimus shouted. "One was tricked into thinking he was a Predacon and the other was a Maximal protoform who was overwritten with the Predacon shell program, which was later removed. They're as much a Maximal as you and I!"

Night Glider waved his servo dismissively while his optics brightened. He had the Primal beaten and the spoils were all too sweet; the Chief began to speak again holding back a large smirk.

"Be that as it may, the council does not feel it is in the best interests of the well-fare of the Maximal Imperium to give you a part in this investigation. Primarily because you will be under investigation yourself."


A/N:

I want to make an apology to my readers about the character Clamps. In the youtube video of 'Theft of the Golden Disk' I had assumed that when one Predacon had called this other one "Clamps" he meant it as the guy's name. After writing the third chapter I realized that "Clamps" was a nickname for Scorponok.

Feeling embarrassed I made Clamps into a not-Predacon (more of a weapon) to make up for this.

I don't like using OCs (at least not unless I have to) and all the other bots you haven't ever heard of in the show, such as Sonar or Night Glider, can be found in the Beast Wars Source book. Technically, besides Clamps there aren't any original personalities are kept in tact considering what their background is written about (albeit there are a few alterations done in the story). Cryotek is not like this nor is he an original character, look him up on 'Theft of the Golden Disk.' Special thanks to RulerofFire for beta reading this story!

Enjoy the chapter and please review!