Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.

Authoress: Finally! Just a weekend with little to no worries!

Pandimala: *laughs in disbelief* Sure. Let's see how that stays with you.

Authoress: *hopeful* I don't have work, so it should be easier than you are thinking.

Pandimala: We shall see. *hears something* Oh, and you better run. Trecke and Fable are going to be hunting you down and I think I hear them coming.

Authoress: *dashes away*

Chapter 17: Unexpected Side of Events

Trecke's 1st P.O.V.

I had never felt like agreeing with Fable to the point that I now did. It had only been a few cycles since the capture of my love by the Decepticons and I wanted, as he did, to tear a path through everything that stood between us and our lovely leader. However, it was only due to the input of the rest of our team that we were holding back.

Pastel had pointed out that diving in helm first against the Decepticons when they had our leader would be pointless and could get our Prime hurt. At first, that argument was weak until Pandimala added her own to it. From what she knew of the Decepticons, they would not injure our leader unless he caused them to do so. And I knew my love. He would not give the Decepticons cause to injure him. That was especially after what we just went through with Ebony Void.

I should have kept a better optic on him. My Prime…I had allowed myself to get so wrapped up in the battle that I hadn't realized what the Decepticons were planning. To my surprise, it was Bumblebee that had realized what was going on and warned Fable the best he could. My love bug had tried to save our Prime when I was sure that would not earn him any favor with his team. We needed to think of a way to thank him.

However, before that, we needed to get my love Sentinel back. I wasn't sure how long the Primes of the other two teams would be able to keep their watch over us. That was especially since we were still waiting on word to get back from Cybertron on how we should proceed. Well, how they wanted us to proceed. Once we had returned to base, we had immediately gone to Pandimala's quarters and informed the femme what had occurred. Pandimala, my love, had been shocked at what we told her. While I could see anger in her optics after we finished telling her what happened, I noticed that she also seemed to hesitate as well.

So, I asked her what she was thinking, and that was when she told us some more about her time with the Decepticons. They weren't the monsters that we had heard about since we were sparklings. No, they wanted this war to end as much as the next bot. However, they wanted equality on our homeworld that, in the past, they hadn't had. They wanted an end to the corruption that was evident to see on Cybertron to this solar.

Of course, the misconceptions were not only on the side of the Autobots. Pandimala admitted that, when she was growing up, she had heard her own horror stories about being taken from her berth in the middle of the night by the evil Autobots if she tried to stay awake. This war had taken such a toll on both sides of the fight that it was going to be difficult to move past them. At that point, some of the strangeness that we had seen from the Decepticons here on Earth was starting to make sense. If what Pandimala was insinuating was true. It was obvious that the Decepticons were the more tolerant faction, and that they did not have the same sort of brainwashing that was easy to see in the Autobots.

In the Decepticons, she said to get to the top you had to work your way up there. You had to prove that you were the best for that position, and you could be challenged for that if a bot thought that you weren't. With the Autobots, it was about knowing the right bot and buying your way to the top, either with credits or favors. Not all Autobots were like that, but the corruption that was affecting Cybertron ran deep.

A growl slipped out of my vocals as I thought about the secret that my lovely Prime had been keeping. The Council had threatened him to keep us in check. They were afraid of us. We couldn't be bought and they weren't used to dealing with bots like that. Bots either bowed to their power or stayed out of their way. That wasn't how Team Apocalypse worked though.

And now, I needed to make a strategy to get Sentinel back. Using the information that I had personally gathered along with the information that we got from Pandimala, I felt like I had what I needed to move forward. It was just trying to figure out where they could be holding him. Unfortunately, the area around this portion of the planet was riddled with caves and lots of fragging carbon deposits. That made tracking them even more difficult.

"You alright Trecke?" I was surprised to see Vox Prime walking up to me. Strange. I figured that they would stay clear of us given what happened this solar. "I've never seen a bot look so focused and so distracted at the same time."

I glanced at the Prime, studying him for any sign that he was here for more than it seemed before I turned back to the map of the region in front of me. "I will be once my Prime is back where he should be."

Instead of leaving, as I was hoping he would, the Prime walked so he was on the opposite side of the table from me before he studied the map. "You might be able to reduce the area a little. Given that they couldn't transform while taking Sentinel, they would need to be a little closer to the mine than your parameters currently have to make the capture feasible. If they were in the air for too long, especially with how many there were, we could have tracked them easier."

He was right. With that in processor, I changed the parameters of the map to show less of the landscape surrounding the mine. "Thank you, my love," I thanked the mech before I studied the remaining parameters.

Unfortunately, there were still so many options possible and if we picked to raid the wrong location, we would risk losing my Prime. I would not lose my love to the whims of either side. It was obvious, from 'Mala's analysis, that the Decepticons felt as if they could use my Prime for whatever their plans were. And maybe they could. However, my Prime would not follow anything that he wouldn't agree with. And regardless of what he decided, I knew that the rest of us would follow him. I would follow my love into the arms of Unicron if he asked it of us.

"Trecke," I glanced up at the Prime across from me. From the hesitation in his vocals, I realized that he was here for more than just to help me with locating where the Decepticons took my leader. "I know that you and the others won't listen to Rodimus and me if you don't agree with what we ask. As difficult as that is going to make it for us, we understand." Well, at least the mech was smart enough to realize that. "However, I need to ask you something…and it isn't going to be easy given all of the scrap that has been going on."

My optics focused on the mech as he seemed to dance around what he wanted to ask. Of course, I appreciated him doing that. It wasn't easy for intelligence bots, as I was referred to since strategists such as myself fell under the category, to avoid a topic if we wanted answers. It was fragging difficult. I had a natural ability to do that and that was one of the signs that I was a prodigy to the processor-lacking morons that used to evaluate me. Back when I was normal. For him to be able to hold back in asking, just to make sure that I would be alright with that…I appreciated the move. So, I nodded to him. "Speak what you will my love. I promise not to react too poorly to what you are going to ask." It was the most I could promise at the click. I didn't know the Prime that well yet, though with how this conversation was going, that might change.

The Prime across from me seemed to study me for a click before he let out a vent. "I need to ask that you and others on your team control yourselves as best as you can during the next few solars. I'm sure that, with all that has happened, it was easy to forget that a member of the Council is going to be arriving here this solar. Their ship is about to arrive through the space bridge." At first, I wanted to be mad at the Prime for asking this of us. However, when he explained more, I realized why he would. A member of the Council, arriving now of all times, was a big deal. "Though, I have to admit that I did not expect him to be traveling alone. I'm sure that Cybertron is not aware that he is coming here or they would have sent at least a guard with him."

Wait, a member of the Council was traveling alone? That didn't sound right. From little I knew of the individual members of the Council, they didn't even leave their quarters without a guard with them. "That doesn't make sense, lovely Vox. Are you sure that this mech is traveling alone?"

Vox nodded. "Yes, though out of all the bots on the Council, he would be one of the few to pull this, and probably the only one to get away with it."

There was a glance of appreciation that I caught in the mech's optics when he said that and I realized that the Prime in front of me must have a personal connection to the Council member that was arriving. I had to be careful. If it was an enemy, then trusting Vox Prime might put my team in more danger than we already were. "From the way you said that, you seem to know this bot." I had to be careful. Between the threat against my Prime from the majority of the Council along with the situation at servo, this could be very dangerous for us. "Just who is this bot?"

"I've known Alpha Trion since I was a youngling. He took me in and trained me personally. Saw a lot of promise in my future as an intelligence bot. He was also supportive when I decided to become a Prime. If there was ever a bot that I would want here right now, it's him." Vox answered with a hint of admiration in his vocals.

And, while I felt hesitant to do so, I relaxed as Vox revealed who would be arriving. While I didn't know much about Alpha Trion, I did know that he was at least trustworthy to a degree. Sentinel, my love, had even mentioned that the mech had been openly supportive of him, even after the Archa Seven incident. If it wasn't for that Councilmech, then I might not have met my love on that fateful solar.

So, while it was still going to be a risk to cooperate in this fashion for now, I felt like it was the right move. "For now, we will try and act accordingly," I sent a private message to the others on my team to let them know. "However, if anything is said against my team or our Prime, I will not let that slide."

Instead of looking worried, like most bots did, Vox simply nodded. "Of course. But, I don't think you need to worry. Alpha Trion is a pretty smart mech. I don't think he would say anything against your team." I would still be on alert until I saw this for myself. Just because the mech had helped us out before, that didn't mean that he couldn't have changed. Recent events told me that I needed to be on high alert. I could not allow my team to be even more hurt than we were just because we let our guard down too soon. But, for now, we would see. "Now, let's see if we can't reduce our search area even more."

I focused back on the map as Vox suggested. Yes. We needed to focus on retrieving my Prime. Our Prime. We would bring him home, that I swore.

Sentinel's 1st P.O.V.

A groan escaped my vocals as my systems came online. Frag, what happened? My helm was fragging offlining me. I hadn't taken a hit that hard since boot camp, and that was from our instructor during a demonstration. Kup was never one to hold back during a demonstration. Always said that it would prepare us for if we ever fought the Decepticons…

I quickly opened my optics as thoughts of the Decepticons came to my processor. Frag it! From the way that I was behind a stasis field, I could only assume that I had been taken captive. I needed to get out of here. My team was close to taking out Team Orion as it was with me there. With this added stress, and obviously without me there, then I knew my team might be in some major trouble.

Even though I knew better, I let myself get distracted while I was fighting. It was a rookie move that we were trying to train out of Bumblebee. When you were in a fight, you needed to make sure that you paid enough attention to your opponent so they couldn't get the better of you. And yet, that was exactly what I did. I couldn't stop thinking about the fight my team had with Ebony Void and that had given Megatron all the opening that he needed to land a blow to my helm.

However, as that memory passed by me, I had to wonder why I was still online. I knew that, as a Prime, I was an excellent choice to offline. My offlining would destabilize my team and cause even more chaos and destruction through the Autobots as they tried to take them down. While I did not doubt that the Autobots would be able to take down my team, I also knew that it would cost them.

Instead, though, it seemed like they chose to take me hostage. What their endgame could be, I couldn't even begin to guess. Since I was a high-value target, they could try and barter for something from the Autobots. While the Allspark…well, what was left of it, was out of the picture, then it stood to reason that the next thing that they would want would be for one of their comrades that we had imprisoned on Cybertron to be released in exchange for myself.

But, that wasn't settling right either. From my knowledge, there were no Deceptions currently being held by the Autobots that would be worth a trade for a Prime. No. Either there was a Decepticon currently in Autobot holding that had a more personal connection to one of the Decepticons that they wanted to be released, or there was another play that I was not seeing.

Given everything that we had witnessed on Earth, the final option at least had some merit. The strange way that the Decepticons seemed to not be taking full advantage of their greater strength before the other teams arrived, and even how they seemed to be holding back with their arrival… might just mean that they had something else in processor.

"So, you're awake." I glanced up and mentally berated myself for not paying attention to my surroundings. It seemed like, as I was in my thoughts, Megatron himself had arrived in front of my cell. Or, he had been in the room the whole time and was just waiting for me to come out of the stasis lock he put me in. "Good, for a moment I thought I hit you too hard when I knocked you into stasis." I then watched as he seemed to focus on me. "Firstly, I believe we should have introductions. Battlefield introductions are no way to truly introduce oneself to somebot. I, of course, am Megatron. Leader of the Decepticons."

Interesting. In the past, I know that his troops referred to him as 'Lord', yet he seemed to have dropped the title. That would give even more merit to the idea that they were using me for something else that they were planning. And, while most Autobots wouldn't entertain the idea of being cordial with their botnappers, I knew better. There had been a small seminar that had become available during my training as a Prime that I felt would be beneficial to take. Even Pandimala had been unsure if I should take the limited-time class, but I had the time and the topic was interesting.

Concourse with the Enemy.

I was glad that I took it now. "Sentinel Prime, Autobot, leader of Team Apocalypse." It was almost satisfying to see the surprised look flash across Megatron's faceplate at that. Guess most Autobots weren't so logical when they were captured. Of course, the fact that there were only two of us in that class outside of the instructor spoke volumes.

"A pleasure, I'm sure," Megatron responded to my introduction before he motioned to me. "Not many Autobots would care to speak with me so easily. I must say that I am impressed. The fact that we are currently enemies should not detract from our ability to be civil with each other."

It was hard to not let out a vent at his response. From the way that most Autobots interacted with my team, that idea wasn't hard to believe. "Not that this isn't pleasant, but is there something that you specifically needed to capture me for, or was I just the first Autobot you had the best opportunity of grabbing?"

"In time, Autobot. For now, you should make yourself comfortable. I'm sure that what we will be discussing later on will challenge much of what you think you know." He responded. "But for now, I am here to give you your ration of energon. I also wanted to see what you were like outside of the battlefield. So far, you have not disappointed."

What was that supposed to mean? Being civil with the enemy for as long as they had me captured was one of the first lessons that they taught during that class. So, I had been. However, while it seemed to be keeping them from beating whatever they wanted out of me, I was now even more confused than I was before. They had to know that they were not going to have a lot of time with me. Despite attitudes from Cybertron, my team would risk anything to free me as quickly as possible. My time here would be limited. So, whatever they wanted to get out of me, they couldn't afford to waste too much time. Something told me that the break that I was going to have would not last very long.

Until then, I was stuck in this fragging cell, worrying about the trouble that my team might be facing…or causing. Fragging creation of a glitch I was going to have a mess to clean up when I eventually got away from here. Honestly, if my team was here with me, then I would enjoy being away from the stress that Team Orion put on my team.

But, as I continued to sit here, the silence was almost painful. I got used to being around my team and being without them was…something else. Whether it was Trekce and Fable going at it, talking with Pastel about the random topics we often found ourselves in these solars since her inclusion into Team Apocalypse, and even the private messages Pandimala and I would send between each other when I was at my processor's end. Lately, there has always been…something. This was what it would be like if our opponents on Cybertron and Team Orion had their way…

Cybertron…

Frag it! That Council bot was supposed to be here soon. As far as I knew, they could even already be at the base. Slag it! Slag it all! I was stuck here with the Decepticons while my team faced this trial without me. I believed in them, but many on the Council would do anything to get us disbanded. And that would be easier for them to do without me there. Hopefully, Rodimus or Vox had taken over command of my team until I could be rescued. If I saw the chance to escape, then I needed to take it. I would be cordial with the Decepticons like that class had taught, but I would not give them anything vital and I would be as sure as the Pit to take advantage of any slip-up that might occur.

I calmed myself down when I heard the doors down the hall. Not much of a break. I was curious as to who they were going to be sending in. I had heard of a number of the Decepticons currently present on Earth and I knew that many of them had ways of making even the most loyal Autobot talk…most of those were not pleasant. I needed to be ready for whatever they decided to throw at me.

"So, it seems as if you are still alert. Good," A black seeker mech that I did not know spoke as he stopped in front of me. Was this their play? Start questioning me with a bot that I didn't know to throw me off of any defense I might have? "I have a few personal questions I would like to ask you, Sentinel Prime, and Megatron has given me permission to do just that."

Wait, he didn't call Megatron 'Lord'. It was one thing for Megatron to not introduce himself to me with his given title, since that might make him sound pretentious, but for one of his Decepticon troops to leave it off of his designation was strange. Did I somehow get sent to an alternate dimension without realizing it? "Shouldn't we start with introductions? Seems in poor taste for you to have my designation and leave me without yours." That was another lesson that the class had given me. Anything I could use to throw them off of their scripts, the better chance I had to make it out of an encounter with my spark still pulsing.

"You do know your manners, Sentinel Prime. I thought perhaps you had only used them for my leader to ingratiate yourself with him. It pleases me to be proven wrong," The mech seemed genuinely pleased at my interruption before he motioned to himself. "I am Pandemonium, Decepticon, soldier, and scout. I must say that I was worried about how you would react to capture, once we decided to focus on you." So, they had gone to that fight to take me captive. But why?

"I try to overcome expectations." And I did. Ever since Pandimala came into my existence, I worked hard to be the best I could be. So far, my hard work has paid off.

Though, now that I looked at the mech, he looked strangely familiar to me. But, I had never met this 'Pandemonium' before his arrival here on Earth. But, I couldn't shake this feeling. "Now that I know you, and you know me, I hope that these questions can go by as cordially."

Doubtful. Just because I was on the edges of proper Autobot society, that didn't make me a traitor. But, I would continue to be cordial to this mech for as long as it might take. No point in getting on the bad side of these Decepticons yet. At least, not until the official questioning. From how Pandemonium had started talking, he had asked Megatron to talk to me about something a little more personal than the Autobot agenda. "It depends on what you plan on asking me about."

I was surprised to see a doubtful look cross the Decepticon's faceplate before he spoke. "Honestly, I have doubts that you will know anything. However, I am not one to squander an opportunity such as this and any information that I might learn from you would be useful, no matter how small." He then seemed to bore his gaze into my optics before he continued. "Thousands of stellars ago, a member of my family…disappeared." Strange. Why did he hesitate? Maybe they ran away and he was ashamed of that fact? "Ever since then, my bondmate and I, along with her brother, have been searching for her constantly." Wait, these were two Decepticons, three if you counted this brother into the mix, that were searching for a femme that had disappeared. They couldn't be…could they?

"I doubt I've heard of this Decepticon, but what's her designation?" Though I had a feeling I knew who he was asking about already.

He shook his helm and, at first, I thought that he was going to refuse to give me this femme's designation. "She is not a Decepticon, but I worry about her all the same. Her designation is Pandimala."

Well, frag.

Alpha Trion's 1st P.O.V.

"Alpha Trion, sir, it is an honor," It was difficult to hold back a vent as Optimus Prime greeted me. He had so much potential. His entire boot camp had if I was being honest. Yet, he had allowed himself to fall to this state along with Elita-One Prime. Looking back, there had only been one bot from that boot camp who I thought, when I first met them all, would fall as these two had.

Sentinel Prime had not had the greatest prospects moving forward after boot camp. From the path he first seemed to be on, he would have been lucky to make Prime, though a poor one he would have been. It was what changed his fate that had brought about this impromptu visit. The Prime deserved an explanation and, despite the thoughts of others, I was going to give it to him. After all that I had stood back and watched happen to Sentinel Prime, it was the least I could offer him.

Well, offer them to be more precise.

However, as I looked upon those who were assembled, I was surprised to see the absence of said Prime and his team. "I thought there were four teams on Earth? Where is Team Apocalypse?"

"I summoned them here to greet you, but they refused to come," Elita-One spoke up.

To my surprise, Vox stepped forward, throwing an annoyed look at his fellow Prime. "I gave them the order to remain behind, sir. You may not have heard, due to your journey here, but Sentinel Prime was recently captured by the Decepticons. His team has been spending every nano that they can try and locate him while also planning for his recovery."

I would have to meet with Vox later in private. He was a very logical mech. I felt like I knew the mech enough to refer to him as a friend, and he never let himself get dragged into team politics that did not include his team. At least not without doing the research on the issue for himself. And while I was sure he knew some of what divided Team Orion and Team Apocalypse, I was almost certain that he did not know the full extent of it. Even with all the information that I had in my possession, I was sure that I was missing some information about the situation between Team Orion and Team Apocalypse.

"Without a word from the Decepticons, there isn't much they can do right now," Elita argued with the mech. "They are just wasting what little processor power they have between them."

"Which is a hundred times more than your team can hope to have," Vox's inventor, Optivic, growled at the femme. "and Bumblebee has most of that processor from what I've seen. At least he knows when he is wrong and works to make it better."

"You want to say that somewhere I can actually see you?" Elita-One Prime shot back.

"The fact that you could only attack my height is sad femme. Did it take you all solar to think of that one?" Optivic continued to argue.

"That's enough Optivic," Vox stated while there was a break, though I noticed restraint in his vocals. "We have a guest right now. Alpha Trion, would you like me to show you to your quarters?"

While I appreciated the gesture, and his stopping the fight that had been about to start, I shook my helm. "No, I should be alright wandering around here alone. I will be contacting you later though. I feel there is much we need to catch up on."

"Of course sir."

As I left the landing bay, I could hear the arguing start again. The infighting was spreading. What seemed to be solely a problem between Team Apocalypse and Team Orion was spreading the longer other teams were in contact. I wouldn't interfere yet. That wasn't why I was here. While this problem with Team Orion and Team Apocalypse was concerning, I knew that I first needed to meet with one bot on Team Apocalypse in particular. And that meeting, since Sentinel was currently not here, had to be alone.

However, as I moved down the halls of this base, I did allow myself a small thought of worry about the disunity in the Autobots as I had witnessed. And while the fighting between Team Orion and Team Apocalypse was among the worst that we were currently witnessing, they were not the only teams that were starting to go after each other. The most notable instance in current stellars was the team feud that had risen between Team Astro and the Guardians. Of course, there was still tension between the Guardians and the Wreckers. However, given the results of the team feud between Team Astro and the Guardians, the Wreckers seemed to have backed off a little. And more and more, we were seeing reports of different teams getting into skirmishes with each other over a wide variety of subjects. And I knew where the root of the problem was; The Council. Even being on said Council, I could see how the bribes and favors that were awarded to those who agreed with certain members was starting to allow a collapse in our society.

Arriving at the door that I was looking for, thanks to the security access I had kept up with, I raised a servo and lightly knocked. "I know you are in there. I've come to talk."

At first, silence was all that greeted me. Perhaps the bot was in recharge? It wouldn't be unheard of, given their isolation. However, that thought soon vanished as I heard heavy pedesteps move on the other side. Another few nanos later, I heard the lock deactivate before the door opened. I would be honest, even though I was expected to see the bot in question, it was still slightly intimidating to physically be in said bot's presence.

"Who are you?" The femme asked with narrowed optics.

She didn't trust me and, given her past, I could not blame her. "My designation is Alpha Trion, and I believe that I owe you a personal explanation. I wished to give one to your Prime as well, though given the current state of things here on Earth, I am not currently able to do so. May I please come in?"

Green optics stared down at me, moving in a studying way before a vent escaped the femme and she stepped aside. "Since nobot outside of my team should know that I am here, I have a feeling you know more than me right now. So, I might as well."

I gave the femme a nod before moving into her room. Once the door was shut behind us, I sat in the sole chair in the room while she took a seat on her berth. "I appreciate the chance to meet with you," I started the conversation with her. "And I believe that introductions are the best way to start. I am Alpha Trion, currently a member of the Council."

"I know you already know who I am, otherwise, you wouldn't be here to talk to me." The femme jumped in, "Though, I guess I should add that I am a member of Team Apocalypse."

The femme was as sharp as we always suspected. Good. It would save us time during this talk. "I suspected as much once I saw you on the security cameras here. Now, if you will allow me, I would like to tell you a story that started thousands of stellars ago. More specifically, it started fifty stellars before the Archa Seven incident."

My mention of that specific amount of time caused the femme to show curiosity in her optics as she studied me. Interesting. If I was being honest with myself, I expected the femme to show more anger than I was seeing. It would be interesting to see if that continued as we moved along in my tale. "I see. Well, don't keep me in suspense, Alpha Trion. This sounds like a story that I am most certainly wanting to hear in its entirety."

"As you wish, Pandimala."

Authoress: *dangling from the ceiling* You know, this isn't even the worst thing I have had to deal with here.

Trecke: I wasn't trying, lovely Authoress. I just need to keep you in sight so you can fix this mess that you have made.

Authoress: *rolls eyes* Look, I have told you I don't control these things. I just tell them how they happen.

Fable: *smirks* And I'm sure that fate will move things along in your favor if you thought you were going to lose your head over it.

Authoress: *obliviously confused* I don't know how I would lose my head over, *feels blade against neck* Oh. I see now. I'm in danger.

AN: And here is the next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! It seems like the tensions are spreading among the teams on Earth, and even with those that aren't here. Poor Alpha Trion is showing up right in the middle of this mess. Thankfully, he seems able to keep his processor on what he needs to. And that seems to be talking to Team Apocalypse's triple-changer. It seems like he is going to have an interesting story to share. And of course, I would not be doing my job if I did not mention poor Sentinel's situation. While he seems to be holding his own, Pandemonium just threw our Prime a curveball in asking about Pandimala. Given all that Sentinel recently learned about Pandimala, and her wish to stay clear of her creators, then this is going to up the ante during his time there.

And I need to stop there before I give anything away. What I can give away are the names of the next chapters!

Chapter 18: Truth and Consequence

Chapter 19: Prisoner Exchange

Chapter 20:... (find out next time!)

That's all for now! Again, I hope you all enjoyed this, and thanks so much for continuing to follow my work. Until next time, TTYL! *enjoying the Great British Bake Off*