Solar sighed as the lecture came to an end. Finally, the nightmare was over! "So," he started cautiously, "why did you want me to find everyone anyway?"

Optimus turned away from the monitor, "I have decoded a set of  the four coordinates. We need to retrieve the relic as soon as possible."

Everyone stood up straighter in attention.

"For now it is simply a retrieval, there are no deceptions signals in the area. I would like smokescreen, solar, and Arcee to go. If there are any deceptions there I want you to ask for a ground bridge immediately. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

Ratchet started up the ground bridge after entering in the coordinates, "good luck."

Time skip, brought to you by my sister's obsession over doctor who

Smokescreen, Arcee, and Solar walked through the desert. This place had many strange structures scattered around.  There were things like gigantic triangles, and this weird thing that had the body of an animal and the head of a man that looked like it was wearing a hat with fins of some sort.

Definitely not something you see everyday. Solar looked around with wide optics and pointed at one of the triangles, "what is that?!"

Arcee spared a glance at the object in question, "it's called a pyramid. The people of ancient Egypt built them as tombs for their kings when they died." She turned back to the tracker in her servos.

Solar frowned, "how do you know all that?"

"The kids."

"Assuming Miko didn't contribute to that knowledge...." Smokescreen smirked.

Arcee rolled her optics, "all she talked about was monster movies."

Solar smiled, "I believe that."

They approached one of the "pyramids" entrances. Solar whistled, "they really went all out...." he ran ahead to get a glimpse before they had to go inside. As he ran off he heard smokescreen say something to Arcee but couldn't make out what.

After a few minutes of gaping in wonder the others caught up and walked towards the entrance of the tomb.

"Wait, you lost two partners?"

Solar blinked in surprise at Smokescreen's remark. "What?"

Time skip! Brought to you by Sunstreaker's wax.

"Nice of the humans to pile a bunch of rocks on top of our relic, huh?" Smokescreen remarked as they walked through the maze of hallways.

Solar smiled, "it's not all bad. Think about it! All these "rocks" are probably what kept the deceptions from being able to locate it's signal with there scanners!"

Smokescreen shrugged and they walked in silence for a few more minutes.

Arcee came to a stop as their locator started beeping rapidly, signifying the relic being close. There was a stone block with Egyptian carvings on it showing two men standing under a strange object.

Smokescreen smirked, "pretty much spells things out, Doesn't it."

Arcee rolled her optics, "come on, help me move this."  They moved forward to pull out the stone and Solar stayed back, not wanting to get in the way.

They pulled out the stone block and pushed it to the side, revealing an old metal object.

Arcee grabbed it and started walking back the way they came.

Solar hurried to catch up, "can I see?"

Arcee showed him the object in question.

"That's not what I thought it would look like...

Smokescreen grinned, "what did you think it would look like?"

"I dunno, but not like that..."

Smokescreen chuckled and rubbed solar's helm in a way that if he were human would have messed up his hair.

Solar swatted Smokescreen's servo away playfully. "Stop it!" He laughed.

Smokescreen gave him a lopsided grin before putting solar in a headlock and giving him a noogie, "no way! This is way to fun to just stop!"

Arcee looked back at them to see a giggling solar trying to squirm out of smokescreen's grip. "alright, that's enough." She ordered with a small smile.

Smokescreen gave a disappointed groan but let solar go. the mechling stumbled back a few steps, still laughing, and gave smokescreen a glare, but it was empty of any annoyance or anger.

Smokescreen laughed, "try it again when you actually look threatening, pal."

Solar gave him an unimpressed look and rolled his optics, "I can be threatening when I want to be!"

"Really..." Solar could practically feel the sarcasm rolling of of smokescreen in waves.

"Yah! I just don't want to!"

"I've never, ever seen you look even the slightest bit threatening."

"Well I can be!"

"Right"

"I can!"

"I really don't....."

"That's enough." Arcee cut in, "we're nearing the entrance. Call the base and let them know"

They walked out into the open and froze, there, standing right in front of them with his normal cruel smile, was Megatron.

Solar's optics widened and he took a step back, hiding behind smokescreen.

Megatron growled, "the relic, now."

Smokescreen smirked, "three against one, we can take him."

Solar shook his helm frantically from behind smokescreen but it went unnoticed.

Megatron pulled something out from behind his back. It was a blade, a glowing purple blade. Solar held back a whimper when he realized what it was made out of.

"Ratchet, ground bridge, now!" Arcee spoke into the com.

Megatron swung his new weapon, sending a blast of energy towards them. Arcee and Smokescreen braced themselves but we're thrown back anyway.

Solar cried out as Smokescreen slammed into him, sending him flying with them.

Megatron took a few steps forward, preparing another blast.

Smokescreen stood up and charged at him, firing his blaster as he went.

Arcee also started shooting at the warlord but all of the blasts were deflected.

Solar tried to stand up but froze when he saw smokescreen get hit by the blast of energy. He could only watch in horror as Smokescreen was slammed into the side of a pyramid....and vanished.

"SMOKESCREEN!!!!!" Him and Arcee yelled at the same time.

Solar tried to stand again but froze once more when he felt the presence of someone looming over him. He turned his helm slightly and gasped when he felt Megatron press the dark purple blade to his neck.

Arcee stood up and turned to face them in a daze. She took one look at Solar and seemed to slump in despair.

Megatron smirked, sharp denta gleaming in what little light there was, "tell me, autobot." He spat out the word like it was poison, "what manner of treasurer has iacon sent us this time?" He bent down and picked up the omega key.

He moved his sword away from Solar and held it to Arcee's neck, but not before slamming his ped into Solar's back to keep him down, "I would slice you in two right now..." he removed his sword, "but I need you to deliver a message. Tell Optimus Prime that if he wants this relic, and his son, he must come and claim them himself!" He threw the omega key into the sand at Arcee's peds.

Arcee slowly called for a ground bridge and turned to give Solar a concerned look before walking through.

Megatron smiled, a disturbing sight, when the ground bridge closed, leaving solar alone with the warlord. This was not gonna end well....

"So, S-31...."

"That's not my name! My name is Solar! Solar Pax!"

Megatron rolled his optics, "I've called you S-31 for centuries, i am not going to stop just because some brat told me to!"

Solar flinched at his tone but growled and tried to squirm away, "let me go!"

The warlord pulled Solar onto his peds, "if i were you I would watch that tone, before I do it for you..." the last part was said in a threatening growl, causing solar to immediately freeze, his first instinct was to either brace himself for a punch, or reply with a snide remark, and he couldn't really do the first one at the moment....

"I'll be sure to let dad know I need lessons on manners next time I see him...."

Megatron growled and dropped him to the ground, pulling out a remote of sorts once he had his servos free.

Solar stared In confusion at the object, "wha....?"

Megatron smirked at him, "if you will recall to your last encounter with Soundwave, you were injected with something....."

"What, more night toxin?"

"Oh, no..." Megatron bent down so he was face to face with solar grabbing his face ,solar realized with alarm, with an arm that wasn't his own, "this is much, much worse, my dear boy..." he stood back up, "well, worse for you. This is actually rather helpful for me..." he pressed red a button.

Immediately solar fell to the ground crying out in pain. His frame felt like it was on fire and his helm felt like it was being crushed from the inside, "Ahhhh!!!"

Megatron simply smirked, "don't fight it. It will only make hurt more....on second thought, fight it all you want! It won't do a thing to help you."

Solar felt tears drip down his faceplates, it just hurt so much! He couldn't even move! It would only make it hurt more. But he had to do something!

He gave another cry as the pain in his helm intensified. It was so hard to think straight.... why was his vision fuzzy? Was his sight acting up again? Why was he in so much pain? He just couldn't make sense of it... was he tried? Sometimes his sight would get blurry if he was tired, but it shouldn't hurt like this! Maybe he did just need some sleep......what were all those black spots everywhere....?

That was his last thought before his sight went completely black.

Time skip brought to you by jazz's visor, which I like to think of as something akin to sunglasses.

Optimus walked through the ground bridge and looked around, it was simply  desert, the only things visible was the Egyptian structures, the omega key.....and Megatron.

Even though they were a ways apart Optimus could hear Megatron plain as day, "claim your prize Optimus! ...if you can."

His optics landed on "Megatron's" arm, "by the all spark, Megatron. What have you done?!"

"This?" Megatron smirked and lifted his new arm, clenching it's servo into a fist, "I find it affords me certain...advantages, such as the use of the forage of Solus Prime!"

The warmonger drew his blade, "my first creation, forged from the very blood of unicron. I call it the dark star saber, slayer of primes if you will!"

Optimus and Megatron's  blades clashed, resulting in an energy field surrounding them. Optimus frowned behind his battle mask, "where is my son?!"

Megatron gave a twisted grin, "you'll see him soon enough, prime. But I wouldn't be so eager to die..."

Optimus gave and outraged yell and swung the blade again.

They fought for a good three minutes in a complete balance of power until.... the star saber broke.

Optimus fell down from exhaustion and stared at the hilt of the star saber, the only thing he had left of the most powerful relic they have, correction, had. They didn't have it now.

Megatron grin was an embodiment of all the most twisted and demented things you could think of, "and so it ends, just as I envisioned. With your head beside my new trophy." He lifted the star saber, preparing to land the final blow when...

"Oh, you mean this?" Megatron turned to see Smokescreen holding the omega key. "Finders keepers."

Both Optimus and Megatron stared at him in shock for a second until Optimus took advantage of the others surprise.

He hit Megatron as he climbed to his peds and used what was left of the star saber to slash him across the chest. "You....!"

Smokescreen broke into a run directly towards the battle.

Optimus frowned when he saw him approaching, "Smokescreen, fall back!"

Smokescreen maintained his run and lept out of the way of a wave of energy. He crawled to a short stone wall that crumbled the moment Optimus and Megatron crashed into it. His optics widened when he saw Optimus get punched in the face and he lept into action, phasing through the wave of energy with Optimus, "we need a ground bridge!"

Optimus grunted at he felt something collide into him from behind, he twisted his body as he fell so he would land on his back. He blinked in shock at what he saw, it was solar!  He wasn't dead!

He was almost going to hug the child when he actually looked at Solar, his visor in particular. It glowed a deep, blood red.

He hesitated, "Solar..?"

There was no response nor visible recognition. Like he wasn't really there.

"What did he do to you?"

The youngling gave him a cold look but still did not respond.

Megatron smirked triumphantly at the Prime, "S-31, change of plans, don't kill him.....not yet at least. Come here..."

Immediately solar stood up and walked over to Megatron. Optimus and Smokescreen could only watched in shock.

The ground bridge appeared behind them and they couldn't do anything but leave, no matter how much they wanted to stay.

~end~

Wow! Longest chapter I have ever written! 2190 words! Holy cow! And this is the 30th chapter! I feel so accomplished! XD