"Normal speech"

'Normal thoughts'

"Translated speech/special"

*sound effects/noise*

[comms]

~Transitions~

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime

Cybertronian terminology (subject to updates)

Spark = heart, Helm = head, frame = body, Chassis = chest, Breastplate = female chest area, servos = hand, digits = fingers, pedes = feet, aft = ass, core proccessor = brain, audio recievers/sensors/receptors = ears, optics = eyes, tanks = stomach, vents/ venting = breathing/ sighing, T-cog = trasforming part, online/offline = life/death, core conciousness = personality, alt mode = altenate form, frag = fuck, scrap =crap, slag = shit, glitch =bitch, subspace =storage compartment, Astro-klik = millisecond, Micro-klik = a second, klik = a minute, breem = an hour, Solar cycle = a day, Mega cycle = a week, Deca-cycle = month, orbital cycle = a year

Chapter 2: New arrival to the base

Every bot apart from Cliffjumper had their blasters aimed at the unknown in the shadowed newcomer as they could still not tell what it was.

Arcee was a little trigger happy as she was stressed out a bit and the optics staring back at them was not helping. "What is that thing?"

Cliffjumper gave a small chuckle "I don't know. But it saved me from the cons."

Bulkhead took his eyes off the red optics to look at Cliffjumper "you sure about that? I mean, it doesn't look friendly."

Cliffjumper laid back onto the ground "well, I'd tell ya but I'm really low on Energon and there is still my missing arm. Someone mind giving me a servo?"

Optimus looked at his downed soldier before activating his comm "Ratchet? Do you read?"

[Barely Optimus. I *static* the human's assistance *static* of all those errors but I *static* the communications *static* beyond him.]

"Don't be so sure Ratchet. We are at the moment inside a dep cavern and we are still able to speak with each other."

[hmm, I *static* *static* have improved a tad if *static* functioning, albeit barely.]

"We can save the usefulness of the humans later. Are you able to bridge us back from our current location?" Optimus waited for a few Micro-klicks he got a response

[unfortunately no. the cave you *static* causing some disruptions *static* best leave for *static* signal.]

The message may have been distorted but Optimus could piece together what was asked. Turning to Bumblebee he gave an order "Bumblebee, assist Cliffjumper outside so that he may be bridged to safety

"Uh, Optimus."

Optimus turned to Bulkhead who was now pointing to their guest. He looked to it and he got a clearer view of what it was. "By the Allspark." Optimus had seen records of these creatures from ages long before his time.

A creature that was known to be extinct and denizens of old Cybertron.

A panther-like creature, slightly bigger than Arcee's alt-form, stared at them from the shadows. It had blue plating set as it's armor around parts of its frame but in between them, he could see what could only be thought of as it's protoform giving Optimus the impression that it was extremely young and has yet to format properly. Three knife-like digits on each of its servos and a few nodes that had a red tint to them. (Cover art should show you what it looks like.)

The animal moved at the edge of the darkness and circled around them as it kept its optics on them as if it was a predator hunting its prey.

Optimus heard the sound of a blaster ready to fire before he lifted his servo "hold fire."

Arcee shifted her optics to Optimus before going back to the animal "sir do you know what that is?"

"A creature long thought lost…..a predacon."

Everyone looked to Optimus in shock as this was something none of them ever thought it would be

Bulkhead was the first to speak from his shock. "You can't be serious! Those things haven't existed since before the days of the primes!"

"I thought the very same. But we cannot deny what we see in front of us."

"Uh, guys? It's moving!"

They all looked back to the predacon to see that it was moving towards the exit. Once it got to the tunnel that led to the exit it turned around and bolted out.

"Autobots, follow it."

"Say what?"

Optimus looked to Arcee before looking at the rest "regardless of what the Predacon will do, we must reach outside so that we may bridge Cliffjumper back to base."

Getting understanding nods from the team, Bulkhead and Bumblebee helped Cliffjumper to his feet and they all began to leave with Cliff leaning on Bumblebee.

Once outside, a bit of curiosity, they all looked for the predacon to see what it was up to.

Bumblebee was the one that spotted it and pointed a digit in its direction "Over there!"

They all turned to where Bumblebee was pointing to see the Predacon biting into an Energon crystal

Bulkhead grimaced at this "how can he eat that raw?" he couldn't keep the slight disgust from his voice as it was both unwise and….unsatisfactory to eat Energon raw.

Optimus narrowed his eyes in thought. After half a klick he voiced an idea he had on it "perhaps it is the only source of Energon that it is aware of."

"What do you mean?"

"Predacons are animalistic in nature. The fact that Cliffjumper had found it close to an Energon deposit allows me to surmise that it is using it as a food source."

Arcee put her servo on her hip as she gestured to it "but raw Energon? I'm no scholar but I know for a fact that raw Energon can cause major issues in our systems."

Optimus nodded "I doubt it had any other choice." he looked to the predacon once more before bringing his servo to his helm "Ratchet, bridge us back."

After that was said, the portal appeared a few feet away from them and the team moved to enter. Arcee being the last one in, noticed that Optimus was moving towards the Predacon. "Sir?"

Optimus got close to the Predacon that was still crunching through one of the crystals it had ripped off one of the larger ones.

The Predacon stopped what he was doing when he noticed the arrival of the large Autobot. In defense, it growled at Optimus and got low, as if to attack.

Optimus spoke in a soft voice so as to not startle the predacon into an attack "Are you able to understand me?"

Not sensing the big red and blue bot to be a threat, the Predacon slowly stopped his growl but did not change its posture. If he got any sense of danger he will not hesitate to attack

Optimus took the lack of growling as a positive and continued "my name is Optimus Prime and I would like to offer you a safe haven with us at our base." seeing that he had its attention he continued "if you are to stay here, you are more likely to be spotted by the Decepticons…" he paused as he saw that the Predacon grew stiff, with the claws digging deeper into the earth and the plating on the back of its neck shift a bit and growled more fiercely than before "I see you have dealt with them before. If you come with us, you will not have to worry about them coming after you. We can also provide you with processed Energon which may be more beneficial than the raw crystals that you have been using as sustenance."

The Predacon looked down at the shard he was eating. It was the only source of sustenance that he knew but he has experienced its negative effects. Looking back up he shifted his gaze from the mech to the still swirling portal. As he looked over to the portal he noticed the femme standing there.

Optimus looked back to the portal and smiled as he got to his pedes and began to move back towards the ground bridge with the Predacon following.

Arcee crossed her arms and watched as the two came closer "I assume he's coming with us?"

"That he is Arcee. It would be unwise for him to be left for the Decepticons to retrieve and use for their own whims."

Arcee looked at the panther and nodded "I suppose you are part of the team if Optimus is willing to vouch for you."

The panther tilted it's head before he looked up at Optimus.

Optimus nodded at the newcomer and moved to enter the Ground bridge with the other two following.

~Autobot base~

Ratchet watched as Bulkhead helped the heavily damaged Cliffjumper into the base. "Thank the All-spark that it wasn't a bug."

"Clif looked up to see the stern look of Ratchet "hey doc! You mind giving me a servo?" he then looked past him to see his arm laying in the medical area "oh wait, you got my old one. You mind if I have it back? Lotta good memories with it."

Ratchet shook his helm "no time for your humor…" he looked at Bulkhead. "Help him onto the medical berth so I can look him over." he watched as Bulkhead nodded and moved Cliffjumper to the medical area. Looking around he noticed that Optimus and Arcee weren't with them. "Where are Optimus and Arcee? Did something happen over there?"

Bumblebee, who was greeting Raf, stopped talking to his new human friend before he turned to Ratchet to respond to the inquiry "they are most likely talking to the one we ran into."

"Who did you run into? The computer didn't catch any other Autobot signals out there."

Before Bumblebee could say anything the three heard the sound of the two they were speaking of.

Ratchet gave a small sigh of relief as he preferred that the whole team arrive at the same time. If even one of them did not come through the portal, the pessimistic part of him would think the worst had happened. Looking at the arrivals, his optics widened "by the All-spark…"

The panther mech shook a bit as it had felt odd to his frame going through the ground bridge. Once the feeling had settled, he looked around at his new surroundings but paused when his optics landed onto Raf

Raf shifted his glasses before looking up at Bumblebee "I didn't know you guys can become animals too."

"We can't."

"Then what about…!"

"Raf!"

Raf felt a puff of air blow his hair a bit. Turning back forward he tilted his head back to look up at the panther that stood over him. He gulped as he felt nervous at this as it was somewhat intimidating.

Bumblebee was nervous at this as he did not know what the predacon would do to his friend.

The Predacon sniffed the human as he was fascinated with it. He circled around it before coming to a stop in front of him again. It was then that he heard talking further ahead. Looking in its direction he moved towards it

Raf felt relief flow through him as the predacon moved away from him. after fixing his glasses, he thought about what it did and figured that it was just curious about him

Miko was talking with Bulkhead as the mech took a step away from Cliffjumper. "So who's the new guy? What's his name? Oooh does he break stuff like you."

Cliffjumper smirked at the human female. His optics shifted just above her as his smirk grew "looks like I wasn't the only one to bring someone back eh Bulk?"

Bulkhead chuckled at this as he nodded

Miko was about to ask what the red mech meant until she took a step back and bumped into something metal. Tilting her head, she thought she would have accidentally walked into one of the other bots, most likely Ratchet but when she looked up, she saw that she was looking into the glowing red optics of something much smaller than the others. "Woah." she immediately turned around to see the panther mech looking at her with interest. "Wow, an animal bot! What are you called? Are you also an Autobot or do you have a different name? Speaking of, do you have a name?" she began to move around the Predacon, who sat down and turned his head to keep an eye on the girl. "Why don't you have a tail? Looks weird. But still cool."

The Predacon tilted his head as the girl walked around him in an over-excited manner. His response to her spontaneous questions was to vent out of the venting ports on his nose.

Bulkhead stepped to stand next to Miko "Miko I don't think he can speak. And we think he is a predacon."

Miko looked up with a questioning look "uh you 'think'? How can you not know?"

Arcee had walked in on this conversation as she wanted to make sure her partner was sitting still "we 'think' because the species has been extinct for eons."

Ratchet put in his own opinion when he moved over to Cliffjumper to begin his analysis of the damage. "And the fact that you found this one on this planet just makes it even harder to think it is an actual Predacon. Once I have finished with Cliffjumper, I will be doing a complete diagnosis on it"

A growl was heard coming from the predacon as it glared at Ratchet.

Arcee smirked as she crossed her arms "looks like it doesn't like you calling him an 'it'."

Ratchet only scoffed, though in his processor he was fascinated with the prospect of examining a species once thought to be extinct. He was a scientist before he became a medic so learning something new excited him.

Before anyone else could say anything, Raf walked up to Optimus with a bit of apprehension "Um Optimus?" seeing that he had the leader's attention he continued "I have to get home soon, otherwise my parents will start to worry."

Miko slumped as she realized how late it was getting and moved to stand by Raf "ugh! And my parents are going to nag me if I'm not home soon either."

Optimus knelt down to speak to the humans "I had not considered your situation with your creators. Though it is not safe for you to return to your residence with the Decepticons knowing of your existence." looking up to his troops he gave out an order to two of them "Bulkhead, you shall accompany Miko home and ensure that she remains safe."

"Guard duty? sure I can do that."

Miko pumped her fist in excitement "sweet."

Optimus nodded before looking to Raf. "And Bumblebee shall be your guardian, young Rafael."

Raf looked up at Bumblebee and smiled get excited beeps in return

Optimus then looked over to his SIC "Arcee, would you please retrieve an Energon cube for our new potential ally."

Arcee shrugged as she looked to the panther and gestured with her helm "come on, let's get you something that is actually consumable." before she left she looked to Cliffjumper "try and stay in one piece this time I leave you alone, will you."

Cliff shrugged the shoulder that was missing a limb "I'll have to listen to you this time since I'm kinda attached to my other limbs."

Arcee sighed in a bit of exasperation before she left, leading the predacon to their Energon supply

Arcee grabbed one of the Energon cubes before she opened it and laid it next to one of the empty cues for the predacon to jump onto and consume the Energon. 'Almost feels like we gained a pet.'

The predacon sniffed the liquid Energon before it dipped its muzzle into it and began to drink it. Once it touched its taste receptors it was a major change as he began to consume it at a rapid pace.

Arcee quirked an optic ridge (I think that's what it's called. Correct me if I'm wrong) at the display "it's like you haven't refueled in several cycles."

In no time, the predacon had emptied the cube and began to vent heavily before shaking his head.

Something that Arcee noticed was the color of his optics. Before he had consumed the Energon, they were colored red, which to her was a bit unnerving since red optics were something the Decepticons had. But now they have changed. They, along with the orbs that rested on each of his legs, were shifting into a bluish-grey. She couldn't think about this long as she heard that she was being raised on the comms. She brought her digits to her helm to answer "Arcee here."

[Arcee, I require you to watch over the predacon to make sure that it does not do anything that could warn the Decepticons.]

"Sir?"

{although it has not shown any malicious intent toward us, Ratchet has brought up a point to keep an eye on him. He could potentially be a spy that we are unaware of. Just maintain vigilance on his actions. I will be out scouting as another Energon signal has appeared.]

"Understood sir. Arcee out." she looked to the Predacon with a bit more suspicion as she thought about how they came across it. It was a random encounter but it could also be a setup.

The predacon left the room and moved back to the main area of the base with Arcee following him. Once he arrived, he saw both Bulkhead and Bumblebee leave with the humans. His optics eyed the exit the two had gone for a klick before moving over to a corner of the room and laid down before closing his optics.

Arcee eyed the Predacon for a few kliks before going over to Ratchet and Cliffjumper "so how is he?"

Before Ratchet could even speak, Cliffjumper beat him to it.

"Oh, I'm offlining, call it."

Ratchet grumbled at the joke "you have been watching too much human entertainment."

"Hey, some of their shows are interesting to watch. You should try it sometime, doc."

Arcee smiled at the fact that her partner was well enough to crack jokes "if he can still joke around, then he's fine."

Ratchet huffed "hardly. He will be out of commission for a while with all the internal damage he has. Not to mention that we still need to reattach the limb. I'd say a few Mega -cycles of rest if not a Deca-cycle."

"Oh come on doc! It shouldn't take me that long till I'm fully repaired!"

"I'm being kind in this since I am adding your inability to hold still. For a soldier, you should know that rest is just as important as the fight."

Cliffjumper could only grumble at this. "Fine."

Arcee shook her helm before looking back at the recharging predacon

~Later~

The Predacon opened its optics to see that it was alone in the room. The only one that was in the darkened room was a recharging Cliffjumper. Getting to his pedes, he silently moved to the exit that the other two Autobots took. At the mouth of the tunnel leading out, he looked back to make sure he didn't grab anyone's attention. Seeing no one, he bolted out of the base, not noticing blue optics watching him

~outskirts of Jasper~

The predacon looked down at the town of Jasper with an analytical optic. He had followed the scent of the humans and the Autobots to lead to where they live. And now here he was. With a goal in mind, he began making his way into town while making sure that he wasn't noticed.

Once he made it into town he followed his nose to his target. He made his way through the alleys and empty streets. He looked around the town and noticed a few areas that had the scent he was looking for. A school and a fast food place called K.O burgers had them. Making his way to the living area, he hid in the shadows as he noticed Bulkhead parked across the street from a house that had the scent of Miko. He observed the house for a klik before moving away. He made his way to another house that had Raf's scent and there he saw Bumblebee parked just a block away. Same as before he moved through the shadows to make sure that he wasn't spotted by the Autobot scout. His last destination had both Miko's and Raf's scent. Watching the house for a klik, he was getting ready to leave, when a car came up and parked into the driveway. Out came a woman with black hair tied into a ponytail. He watched as the woman got out of the car and tiredly walked to the front door before opening it.

"I'm home."

He gave a soft growl as he heard her say that before she entered the house. Before he could move again he was grabbed by the neck and brought up to look at the angry optics of Arcee

"Mind telling me what you are doing?" Arcee glared into the blue optics of the predacon as he limply hung by her servo. He processed her question before shrugging his shoulders. He couldn't really answer her. "You being out here and scoping out the living area of our new charges makes you suspicious and you not talking doesn't help your case."

He vented out a sigh as he shook his helm.

"Well we can talk more once we are back at base." she turned around and began making her way back to base with the predacon.

He looked back at the house with a confused look on his faceplate.

Arcee eyed him as she noticed how he was looking at the house. Looking back at it she thought to herself 'why would he come here? Miko's and Raf's dwellings I can understand but why this one?'

she felt like there was something the predacon was hiding and she promised herself that she would find out what it was

End of chapter

For those who figured it out, please keep it a secret from the ones that haven't yet.

This chapter would have come out sooner but I was busy with other things as well as drawing the cover art.

Not sure how I feel about this chapter. As I wrote it, it felt like it was going how I wanted but when I finished, something just felt off. I might come back to it and rework this but I hope you readers enjoyed it at least. Though nothing much happened here. Apart from the predacon coming into the base. He needs a name, so if any of you have any suggestions then please leave it in a review or om me the name and I will consider it.

Had to look up how the bots consume energon and the only thing I found was that processed energon was a liquid, which makes sense, so I figured that they would drink it.

Name of the Fic might change in the future since I could not think of a proper name for it.

Oh something that I forgot to put in the first chapter

Flames will be ignored.

Criticism is accepted

Ideas are taken into account and considered

Positive reviews are appreciated

Favs and Follows are motivation

And your enjoyment in reading this is the goal

So please Read, Favorite, follow, and review