Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.

Pandimala: *nervous* I don't like how you are updating so quickly.

Authoress: *smirks innocently* I already explained that. I'm on vacation. That means I have more time to update.

Pandimala: *frowns* And that usually means more trouble for us.

Authoress: *innocently* Would I ever do that to you?

Knockout: *bluntly* Yes.

Chapter 10: Resurgence

Dr. Arkeville's 1st P.O.V.

Finally, after months of struggling, I had done it. This control program was my greatest masterpiece, a pinnacle of alien and human technology merging to form the platform at which MECH would rise. It was working and working to perfection. For the past thirty trials, every test I performed on this program had come back positive. This was it. My dreams could finally be realized. I would be recognized as the genius I was instead of being held back by illogical chains such as morals.

Ever since college, those constrained by their morals have held me back. That damn professor who got my scholarship pulled because she disapproved of my using the simpletons on campus as test subjects. They received their due credit, holding such an honor as to be used by me for the future. I showed her. The Necrotizing Fascilitis that I enhanced made short work of her, and thankfully, I was never suspected.

Though that fool, Silas, was furious. He connected the dots and realized what I had done. But no one could trace me, so I didn't see what the big deal was. But, he was adamant with his anger and had cut the funds for my work—the fool.

So, I made sure that he could never interrupt my work again. Switching those wires in that husk was simple enough. When he woke, he was a completely different monster and took out my competition at MECH. They were cockroaches skittering in my way, and Silas allowed them to so he could realize his great ambition. As cautious as Silas had been, he allowed his overinflated superiority complex to put him in a stranglehold until he burst.

I just helped move things along.

But, we couldn't forget the most damning enemy of mine. Paul Muskogee. I was hired at his company, before my time with MECH, as a researcher. I had such marvelous ideas for the future, to improve mankind and vault us into a new age, ready to take on the universe on equal footing. Instead, his little head scientist, the mongrel who was standing in the way of my ascension in the company, discovered some human testing I was performing and had me fired. Me fired! I went to show Muskogee the error of his ways and to show him that I was the only…the only choice as lead scientist for a company as supported as his was, and he showed me out without seeing reason.

Now, he would pay, and Prometheus was giving me the freedom to do just that. I had all the test subjects I would need and the drive to see my dreams come through to the end. Finally, my genius would be recognized. Given my bad luck with impotent people above me, I hesitated to put faith in Prometheus. However, this project showed me that Prometheus had the vision to boost my own vision forward. Morals were not going to get in my way.

However, that didn't mean I trusted the man—not by far. I already had a contingency plan in place just in case Prometheus lost this drive he had now.

"Doctor Arkeville, you had better have good news for me," Direct and cold as ever. I glanced at Prometheus as he came to a stop next to me.

Holding up a vial, I smirked. "Through extensive testing, the control program is perfect. Whoever you inject with this programming will fall under your sway," And mine. "And will do whatever you wish of them, regardless of their own wishes." I allowed a smirk to move slowly onto my face as glee filled my soul. "I tested it most thoroughly. Simply insert it into the subject; location does not matter, and it will circulate the program quickly."

The man stood there, those toxic green eyes seemingly boring into the fabric of existence itself, before he glanced down at me. "Good. As long as you have not deceived me, you have accomplished what I asked of you. Continue with your other projects while I implement this within our newest subjects. Inform me of any that may try to get in your way. I value your research. It will be the catalyst that moves my forces forward.

Speaking of those forces, Prometheus had not allowed any near the new human subjects. But this advancement in our plans may change that. "And are the infiltration troops ready?"

My pulse raced as Prometheus's hand pressed against my throat, fingers digging in like vices. "That is information you do not need to know. Continue your research, doctor, and keep other thoughts away." He held his grip for a few more moments before he released me. A gag was all I could form as I sucked in the air I had momentarily been deprived of. "If you don't keep your thoughts to yourself, I am sure I can find others who will put forth similar efforts to you."

It was hard to keep the fury I felt off my face as he walked away. Fucker. But, he did allow my research to continue, so I would keep out of his business…for now. I had my sources and would soon discover the information he refused to share.

Until then, though, I did have other projects that needed my attention. That included the contingency plan that I was saving. Prometheus was being cooperative for now, but there would be a tipping point where I would have to take him to heel. Men in power above me had a way of tearing me down right when I was making breakthroughs. This time would be different.

I smiled as I studied the black viscous liquid in front of me. Yes, if all else failed, then this little beauty would put the man back in his place. He was the leader of MECH on the surface, but I did what I wanted when I wanted. No one would stand in my way, and soon, the universe would discover that truth. No one stood in the way of the great Doctor Arkeville. What I wanted was what I got.

Prometheus's 1st P.O.V.

That sniveling doctor thought he was so clever. Yet, I knew what he was planning and already had contingencies against him. That black liquid would be useless if he could not remove it from the container without my approval. Nanites were marvelous things, and the ones I had another of our scientists work on without the man's knowledge would be enough to take down the acid he was playing with—more than enough. While I knew the man's ego could be dangerous, I had plans to remove him should he overstep his bounds.

Since the break-in that cost me my five perfect test subjects, I kept my plans close. No one knew enough to foil my plans as they did then. No one was above suspicion. Not the doctor, not the troops that remained faceless, and not the new test subjects that we had created. Three new subjects had been formed since that infiltration. This time, we were not taking any chances. They were loyal troops, but this program would guarantee that they would remain focused on the missions that we would give them. I needed weapons that I could use to strike out against the obstacles standing in the way of MECH achieving world domination and beyond.

While it was quite tempting to do the procedure on myself, the results of Silas's attempt at merging with their kind caused me to realize that the risk I would be taking would not be worth the advantages I may get. As powerful as I would be, I needed subordinates who would follow me without question. The power high that I may have, as Silas did, may cause me to turn against the organization I had saved from Silas's folly. These aliens could not turn into our sole focus. They were simply tools, and that was a concept that Silas had not been able to grasp.

I was better than that, and thus, I could overcome the weakness of temptation.

Once I arrived in the testing room, I smirked as I saw my new tools on the metal platforms before me. They were perfection. And, as fate would have it, each covered a mode of travel our enemy may use. Once was a large land-based vehicle, one was a sleek jet, and the third was made for deep space. While I inserted the program into each one, I studied each. Each of their modes reflected their pasts, and I was sure it would not take us long to train them.

Not as long as our enemies were training the subjects they stole from me. If my inside forces could be believed, there was a struggle teaching them that I could take clear advantage of. And I would. However, while I wanted those five returned to me, there was a different target that I needed to destroy first.

By the end of this campaign, Paul Riley Muskogee would be dead.

Yes, I knew that it would be difficult. He was a god, and gods were powerful. But he wasn't immune to pain. If there were a way to kill the god, I would find it. If I had my way, I would carve into the god's chest and rip out whatever he had that constituted a heart. Then, I would hold it before him before crushing it. He was the reason that I was so far behind in my plans. I had been so close before. If he hadn't come onto the technology scene when he did, I would have had the government eating out of my hands. I would have had them!

I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind as the large vehicle bot started to come to. His red optics moved across the room before settling on me. "Prometheus, sir," He addressed me before saluting me.

Good. He still retained his sanity. Given what happened to Silas, I was cautious. It was the reason I wanted the control program in before they awoke. It seemed as if I was just on time for that. "It seems as if your transformation was successful." I then studied the mech and realized that he would need a new name to keep just how far we had infiltrated the government away from those who might be spying on me. "From now on, you will be known as Arx, for you will be the power that will allow me to regain that which I have lost."

"I live to serve you, Prometheus sir," The newly named Arx spoke, his voice deep yet sharp.

"We shall see." I wasn't ready to completely believe the mech yet. He was still too new to show how his transformation would fully affect him. "Since you are the only one awake, I will start training you for your first assignment. It will begin in one week. In that time, you will learn the basics that will successfully see you through your mission."

"Yes, sir."

At least he was consistent. In a week, we would see if he could succeed in what I had planned for him. If he should fail, I would gather valuable information on the other two subjects. "Return to rest for now. Your training will begin in five hours. Be prepared."

"Yes, sir."

With that response, I felt no more need to stay. So, I moved out of the room without another word. However, just because another word was not uttered did not mean my mind was at rest. I needed all of my plans to come together. Muskogee would pay. I would see his blood, whatever color it was, run in pools before me. God or not, he made a mistake in making me his enemy. Now, he would learn his folly.

And I felt I was getting close to the perfect way to do just that. My investigators had been working on tracking down his missing right hand, and I knew that he cared for the woman. Whether or not she knew of his godly status did not matter. She was his ally, and that made her my enemy. As my enemy, I would use her pain to inflict whatever damage I could against the god. But, I first had to find her. With Paul's reappearance, I was sure it was only a matter of time before I found her. The upcoming mission would hopefully give me the information I needed to find her and make Paul's world a living hell.

Paul's 1st P.O.V.

"So, we are getting close to expunging MECH from our ranks." General Bryce asked as we looked over the files from the investigations. "It still shocks me how close some of their operatives were to us."

Yes, we were so close. There weren't many left among us. There were only a few members of the squads that we were still looking into. Unfortunately, those we had discovered were part of the other teams that were not cleared. As I thought of them, I picked up each of their files. "Bertram Lusky, Team Alpha. He has been using his connections in supplies to doctor inventory reports and supplying MECH with the tools they have used against us."

He nodded and picked up the next file. "Cyrus Rhodes, Team Theta. He has been openly reporting to MECH about the disunity that we have been facing. Through deeper analysis of his background, we found that he was a close friend of Prometheus's when they were younger and was able to keep it out of his personnel file."

"And they all probably had help with their files by Norman Galloway, Team Kappa." I pointed out as I grabbed the man's file. "He was high on the cyber teams in the army for a long time until he got on the bad side of one of his commanding officers. That dispute caused him to lose rank and get reassigned to Unit E, given that he still had a lot of information. He has also been feeding that classified information to MECH."

Bryce nodded and pulled up the last file we had so far from the squads involved in the retrieval mission. "And lastly, for now, is Edgar Pruitt, Team Lambda." This was the team we were most worried about having a traitor, and they had indeed had one. "Not the most notable soldier, but he is easygoing, and many reports say he is easy to converse with. From messages we intercepted, the man has been in contact with Doctor Arkeville, who, from the incident reports we received from the five, was the head scientist in MECH's ranks and was directly responsible for their transformation."

I stared at the file as Bryce threw it on the table. "With him supplying information to MECH and being in the squad that worked with Knockout, I am worried about how much he got about Pandimala." I then glanced at the pile of files that we still had to investigate further. While much smaller than what we began with, some of those names caused me concern. "And with some of that squad still under investigation, along with Team Epsilon, we could be losing even more valuable intel to MECH. Once that man discovers Pandimala's past, he will move focus to her. That I can guarantee."

The general sighed as he stared at the piles on his desk. "All of the traitors we have weeded out is harrowing, and it pains me that there could still be more among us. I received a report from the Secretary of Defense, and he said that they have weeded out hundreds of their troops from their investigations at other bases. From our numbers, our base is the only one with MECH loyalists."

We both jumped as my cell phone went off. Not many people had my number; most of them were at the base and knew that I was in a meeting with Bryce. This had to be important. So, once I got a confirming nod from Bryce to answer it, I did just that. "This is Paul Muskogee."

"Mr. Muskogee, sir," That was the voice of Billy Parson, my head of security at my headquarters. "We are currently under attack by MECH's forces. If you have backup to send, it would be appreciated."

"We will mobilize immediately. Just hang tight for me, Parson." I responded to the man before hanging up and turning to the general. "MECH is attacking my headquarters." The man jolted from his seat as those words left my mouth. "We need to head out immediately."

"Agreed," Bryce responded before getting on the walkie. "Lennox, get your squad ready for action, along with the bots with your group. MECH is attacking Cyber Tronic's Headquarters." He then turned to me. "I'm assuming you are going with. Go meet up with them in hanger C. I'm sure using the bridge to get there will be faster."

While my headquarters weren't terribly far away, it would be much faster to travel the distance than drive the two hours. So, with a nod, I ran out of the room and toward Hanger C. Once we were all geared up and gathered, it did not take long for a bridge to be opened, and we all went through. Having three bots plus this squad would be enough backup for my headquarters.

Once we were through to the other side, I took note of the situation. My security was a little more armed than the average company, in part thanks to Prometheus's constant attacks on me before his involvement with MECH, and they were holding their own. But I could see where they wouldn't hold out for long. "Fig, take Keller and Graham, and go support the field," Lennox yelled out as he seemed to be surveying the field.

"Let's go help them out, bots," Ironhide said to Joe and Vox. The two bots nodded before falling in line behind Ironhide and moving to help with the fighting.

And that left four of us here. If I was right, I knew what Lennox would say next. "Paul, lead Epps, Donnelly, and me inside to take care of anyone who has broken through."

Exactly that. So, I nodded and headed toward my emergency exit. It was supposed to give me a better exit outside the building, but today, it would be our ticket to getting inside without MECH knowing we were moving in.

As we moved inside, however, clearing the rooms we were moving by, I felt concerned. There were files that I stored here that could be detrimental in the hands of MECH. Military prototypes, advanced energy uses, and, most importantly, personnel files were all here. My headquarters housed everything I had on each of my employees, which could cause major issues if Prometheus got his hands on them. Given that she was my employee, I even had a file for this dimension for Pandimala's past self, Lizzie. It mirrored her old life as if she had lived here, including her trip to Jasper. Thankfully, I put highly secure protections around that information, so it would take time for him to open it even if he got it. Funnily enough, Arthur Shaw from Team Lambda set up the security for me. I'd have to thank the man when we returned from this. He had left my company amicably to serve his country, which I hadn't denied him.

My files…

Shit!

"Lennox, we need to get to my office!" I yelled at the man before running ahead. I knew moving ahead of the soldiers was reckless, but I had to reach my office. That would be a goldmine for Prometheus to search through. Given that the main focus of the fight was outside, my office would not be nearly as watched as the main entrances themselves. If MECH was able to sneak in, then they could do so much damage by getting access to that information.

Bursting through the doors to my office, I felt my heart stop at what I saw. There, standing behind my desk, was Prometheus Black himself. "Well, isn't this an honor, your godliness." Prometheus mocked as he moved out from behind my desk. It did not escape my notice that he slipped a flash drive into his pocket. "Such a wealth of information you have. I'll have to take a closer look at my headquarters." He then smirked. "Nice office, by the way. Cozy."

I tensed as he moved closer. A fight was coming; that much was obvious. "Surrender Prometheus. You are outgunned and will soon be outnumbered."

"Then I better take you out while I can!" The man yelled before he launched forward.

My arms barely made it up in time to block his first strike. As he moved against me, I realized I was lucky the man wasn't as militaristic as his predecessor. Silas would have had a gun to shoot me down where I stood. Instead, Prometheus was stuck using his hands and the knife I could see at his side. "You will not see victory in this attempt, Prometheus," I taunted the man to try and get him to mess up.

Instead of falling for it, the man simply raised an eyebrow as he tried to force me into a corner. "That is yet to be seen, Paul. You don't even realize how far I have gotten into your organization. The reach of MECH will ensnare you all before you can do anything about us." To my surprise, he ran toward my desk and threw my chair toward the window. As the glass shattered, I saw a line drop beside him. "While this has been fun, I have what I need." I could hear the steps of Lennox, Epps, and Donnelly as they came in next to me. The man must have had his people hack into my security and was told they were closing in. Shit.

"Stand away from the window and surrender," Lennox yelled at the man with his gun up.

Instead of looking worried, Prometheus held up his hands, and I felt my pulse quicken as I saw a small device in his hands. "This is only the beginning of your end, Paul Muskogee…Primus. The death of a god is just the push MECH needs to move forward, and yours will be slow and painful."

"Move!" Epps yelled as the man grabbed the rope and pushed the button.

I barely saw the helicopter fly away with the man as I was pulled through my office door and it was shut. An instant later, said door dented as an explosion went off from the other side. We all stood there, haggard breathing evident from all of us. Over the ringing in my ears, Prometheus's words echoed in my head.

'This is only the beginning,'

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

This wasn't settling right with me. I wasn't sure why, but Prometheus wasn't acting like we thought he would. Attacking Paul's headquarters now made no sense. He would want the five back before going after Paul. It would cause him more pain, and that was what Prometheus would want. I had gone over the man's files in my spare time, and that was what everything told the strategists and me. Gather everything that would hurt Paul and destroy them for his viewing before taking out the god. It made sense.

Going after Paul's headquarters before he had the five did not fit into this plan.

There had to be something we were missing. Some piece of information that was out of our sight. And if MECH had proven anything in their time as our enemy, it was that us not knowing what their goals were could be dangerous to us. That was taking into account both of the leaders they had. With Silas, the Autobots allowed him to go under their radar, and they were able to build a remote-controlled replica of Optimus that, with Silas piloting it, could stand pede to pede with Optimus. I wasn't sure if I could even do that in a full fight. Then, he had gone under their radar after that incident, and MECH figured out how to merge the man with Breakdown's offline chassis, becoming a twisted monster I had witnessed. MECH would have been a terror to both sides if that trial had been more successful.

Now, we had to deal with Prometheus. We had allowed ourselves to forget about MECH, as did this government, when we left Earth, which had left our allies open to retribution. If we couldn't figure out what Prometheus was planning, that could all come crashing down around us.

"You look deep in thought," I glanced up to see Soundwave had joined me on my walk.

To my surprise, though, it seemed like Laserbeak was the only symbiot with him. "Where are the other symbiots?"

"Rumble and Eject are watching Freelancer, Frenzy and Rewind are keeping an optic on Arzen, Ratbat is watching Morphia and Romanus, and Ravage is at the ground bridge to learn what he can when those at Paul's headquarters return. Laserbeak and I were going to check on Lunarblaze."

"That's a good idea. I'll join you if you don't mind." I didn't even think to check on the bots right now. With the commotion the attack on Paul's headquarters caused, they would be confused about what was happening. While I was sure that Soundwave told Arzen what was happening, given that the intelligence mech was not going to check on his student right now, the others would need reassuring.

Soundwave simply nodded, and I fell in step with him as we moved toward Lunarblaze's warehouse. We couldn't afford to let our guards down right now. MECH would use any weakness against us, and we had to make sure we protected everyone.

'You're starting to sound philosophical. That usually doesn't lead anywhere good in your thoughts.'

I had to resist the urge to roll my optics when Plena spoke up. 'I'm just fine, worrywart. I thought I proved that the other solar with that fragger from the inspection?'

'Eh, you did good, but it's still in the air. You're still carrying around a lot of guilt. I should know, after all.'

I hated it when he made a good point. 'Fine, whatever. But I'm getting better.'

When I felt him drifting off, I realized we must be getting close to the warehouse. As we walked closer, however, I felt my spark pace increase in panic as I heard the sound of a scuffle inside. Throwing open the doors, my optics widened as I took in the scene. Lunarblaze was defending herself against a larger grounder mech I had never seen before!

"'Mala!" Lunarblaze yelled out as she ducked under a swing.

That movement moved us into action. Soundwave moved straight against the new enemy while I moved to Lunarblaze. The femme had gotten some scrapes from her tussle against the mech Soundwave was fighting against. As I worked on her, I felt relief that Soundwave and I got down here when we did. While Lunarblaze was currently the most advanced when it came to the fighting aspect of their training, even having surpassed Freelancer, she wouldn't have lasted much longer from what we walked in on. He must have been in special forces before MECH changed him.

A loud crash caused me to glance up to see the mech had thrown Soundwave through the warehouse wall before he transformed and drove off. This situation was not getting any better. MECH was making their move, and we were going to have to be ready for whatever plan they had next.

Pandimala: Fragging glitch: When I get my servos on you, I am going to make you regret breathing!

Authoress: *shrugs* Sure you will. I'm just telling it how it is happening. I'm sorry that you don't like what fate has planned for you. Go take it up with fate.

Pandimala: *determined* I will! *storms off*

Knockout: *glares at Authoress* That's Great. Now I have to go and calm her down. Thanks a bunch.

AN: And here is the next chapter! As was foretold, the excitement is starting to culminate! Prometheus makes his first moves, and his plans confuse his enemies. Plus, he was successful in taking the information from Paul's computer. Now, it is a race against time to stop the man before he learns what Paul does not wish him to.

With our bad guys, it seems they do not trust each other and are making plans against betrayal. I wonder what that will bring about? It also seems as if Arkeville is much more vicious than his G1 counterpart. He will be one to look out for.

Finally, the first of MECH's soldiers tried to kidnap Lunarblaze! Thankfully, Pandimala and Soundwave were on the scene and stopped the mech from succeeding. Before people wonder how the mech could throw Soundwave off, the mech has special abilities that Soundwave was unprepared for. If there is ever a rematch between the two of them, it will end differently. Soundwave learns from any mistake that he may make.

And I better stop typing before I give anything away. Here are the names of the next chapters!

Chapter 11: Consequential Enmity

Chapter 12: War Council

Chapter 13: ...(find out next time!)

I hope everyone has enjoyed this story so far. I have enjoyed bringing it to you all and appreciate all of you. Until next time, TTYL! *listening to Gravedigger by Livingston*