A/N THIS IS INFINITYARK! I have finally rewritten this chapter! I will no longer get a migraine from it for some time!

It has been quite a long time since I have done really anything on Fanfiction, I hope that this will make up for that.

Changes: For one, it is a whole lot longer (I rather like that), many embarrassing errors have been fixed, and the story is much more developed since when I first posted.

For those clueless people who have no idea what I'm talking about... Forget what I just said, you weren't here for the debut of this story.

All rights go to the respectable owners (why do I even say this? this is Fanfiction!).

Now,

Enjoy!

The Straw

Chapter 1

Jackson Darby sighed as he walked down the sidewalk to his bike. Couching down to unlock the chains that secured his bike to the bike rack, he began to think of the things that had gone horribly wrong since this morning.

First, Arcee wasn't in the garage. At first he panicked, but after a quick call he found out that the Autobots had a lead on the Decepticons and were waiting for them to attack. So he had to take his bike to school and tell his friends that his motorcycle broke and put up with a full day of Vince's 'comments'.

Second, Raf got sick sometime during the end of the day and Smokescreen (Who was placed on restrictions due to his poor judgment) had to come pick him up from school. That ended with everyone talking about the crazy sports car driver that had appeared on campus.

Third, and thankfully last, Miko once again had detention, which wasn't surprising in the least.

Jack took the chain off and stood up, scratched his head and let out a small smile as he sat onto his bike. He'd been through worse. After all, just a few days ago he almost got squished by Insecticons.

Then the rest of the Autobots had showed up. Arcee saved his life and Optimus got the Star Saber. Jack still remembered the way Optimus had cut the mountain sized boulder in half. The sword had tipped the balance in their favor. After that they returned to base and Optimus gave Smokescreen a lecture in responsibility and everyone admired the sword and congratulated the Prime. Then Jack left with Arcee as did the others with their respective guardians. Jack remembered seeing Optimus turn back to Smokescreen and the young Autobots doorwings dropping.

He had just gotten off work and was more than ready to get home and sleep, or do his homework. He found his latter thought much more mandatory since he didn't want to get his mother upset or his teachers.

Backing out into the parking lot, Jack then peddled into the street. The wind blew into his face and through his raven hair.

After riding down a few blocks he felt it. Eyes staring at him intently, watching him. Jack stopped next to the sidewalk and looked down the street behind him. A few people were walking on the sidewalks talking to each other. A car drove beside him and turned right as soon as the light turned green. Another car drove by at the intersection behind him.

Jack blinked then shook his head. It had been nothing. He had just been spending too much time with the Autobots. Jack was confident that the Cons couldn't find them here.

He began to make his way home again. After turning a left he peddled on the road next to the park. As he rode he began to notice that something seemed off. Looking around he tried to find answers. He turned to look toward the park and that's when he noticed that there were no children playing in the play sets. In fact there was no one in the park at all. There were no cars in the street either.

Jack quickly stopped. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest. Everything was eerily quiet. The wind blew ominously and he could hear the squeal of a swing swaying in the breeze. Something was wrong; the park would have been blocked off if something had happened.

Looking around for danger, Jack grabbed his phone out of his pocket. Flipping it open he looked at the bars more out habit than anything.

He blinked.

Zero bars. But the phone always worked in the city. Now he was sure something was off and it either involved M.E.C.H or Decepticons. Probably M.E.C.H since they knew where he lived.

Unfortunately, Jack was about to be proven wrong.

The sound of something heavy hitting the pavement and the whirl of a groundbridge made him look up. Above him in front of the groundbridge was a slender, creepy blue Decepticon with long, almost flat arms and a mask for a face.

For a few precious seconds Jack simply gaped. Then he quickly turned his bike around and peddled forward just as the Decepticon spy unleashed his two tentacles. As Jack surged forward one of the tentacles impacted the ground beside him. Small pieces of rubble hit his legs and his bike. Then the other tentacle come from the left and Jack was lifted off the ground and into the air.

Jack yelped as the tentacle tightened around him. Soundwave drew both tentacles back toward him and looked at Jack. The teen gritted his teeth as he tried to free himself. As he struggled Jack noticed that he still had his phone in his hand, but he couldn't see the screen since Soundwave had trapped his arms. Jack began to press the buttons that he knew by memory would contact the Autobot base. He knew that his effort might be futile but he had to try.

The teen looked up at the Decepticon definitely. "What do you want?" Jack yelled at the faceless robot. There was no reply as a small wire whipped out of the tentacle that held Jack and connected to his arm. Jack let out a gasp of surprise as a small pinch of pain came from the spot.

"Hey! What was…?" Jack trailed off as he felt the darkness of sleep take him over and he fell unconscious in the 'hands' of the Con.

Behind his mask Soundwave blinked as power was restored to his systems. He disengaged the holograms that kept the other humans away from the area. Turning toward the portal he thought about Megatron's strange orders. He didn't know why Megatron wanted this, but he wasn't going to question his master.

He stepped through the portal, and it disappeared behind him.

Miko Nakadai sat on a bench just outside of the doors of her school. Her eyes where narrowed and she bit her lower lip. She was currently in an intense staring competition with a rock. Problem: the rock always won since it possessed no eyes. Or was it losing? Miko couldn't decide which. She stared at it for a few seconds longer, before standing up and swinging her leg back to kick it.

Slumping back down on the bench Miko stared angrily into the distance. She had tried to call for Bulkhead repeatedly, but it was always Ratchet who answered and he kept saying that the big green bot was busy with something. If Bulkhead didn't pick her up soon, she'd have to call her foster parents or try to walk home. By this time of day it would be too late for her to visit the Autobot base without Bulkhead. She had school tomorrow and she knew the Autobots would want her to rest. Also she was missing the Monster Truck Rally on TV, and she was sure Bulkhead knew how important that was to her. So, where was he?

Sighing, she decided she would wait a few minutes before she would have to make the call to her foster parents. Grabbing out a sketch journal and a pencil, she looked up at the rays of the setting sun for inspiration. Finding it, she began to doodle.

Out of her peripheral vision she noticed a car pull up, but she paid it no mind. Until of course she heard the all too familiar sound of transformation. Slowly looking toward the car her eyes widened as she saw it had been replaced by a Decepticon Vehicon.

She quickly dropped her journal and ran toward the doors of the school. Zipping out her phone she quickly began to dial the Autobots. Just as she was about to grab the door handles she felt metal fingers wrap around her body and trap her arms. In the process she dropped her phone.

"No! My phone!" she cried. The drone seemed as though it could care less as it transformed. Miko was quickly tied down into the seat. She only had a few seconds to look around franticly for any escape before she was electrocuted and knocked unconscious. Then the drone drove away, not even caring if any other humans had seen it.

It was only about half an hour later that Bulkhead drove up to the school. He looked around, but could only find her bag and journal near the bench she had been sitting. "Miko?" he said cautiously, hoping she was somewhere nearby, but there was no reply.

The sun had begun to set, painting the sky orange, pink, and purple. Long shadows spread out from the surrounding canyons, hiding parts of the landscape. A few miles away the lights a city glowed against the light of the setting sun. A long road wound around the desert leading to the small city.

On this road, with a trial of dust behind it, was a white and blue sports car with red thirty-eights painted on the sides. It blew past every other car on the road, if there were any cars at all. Sometimes a loud cry of excitement would be heard as the car drifted on a turn although none of the windows where down.

In the passenger seat a short brown haired boy nervously held on to the seat belt, trying to keep his lunch in his stomach as the car swerved around another turn.

He put a hand on his mouth and prayed that Smokescreen would notice his discomfort. However, his prayers where unanswered as Smokescreen speed up at a straightaway.

Rafael Esquivel was beginning to have doubts about going along with Smokescreen. He should have been at home hours ago, his mother was probably worried sick, and he was definitely grounded. He looked his watch and groaned. 8:45. Yep, his mom was going to kill him.

Smokescreen began to slow down when he heard Raf. He knew Raf was sick, he just wanted to the kid to feel a little better.

Smokescreen ran his scanners over the boy. His temperature had increased and so had his heart rate. The boy was clearly in distress. Smokescreen sighed and slowed down to the speed limit. He heard a sigh of relief escape the boy, which came with immediate consequences. Raf started coughing, using his elbow to cover his mouth.

After a moment, Raf sighed miserably then opened his bag and grabbed a tissue. Then he sneezed and Smokescreen was both amazed and disgusted as the contents of Raf's nose where forced into the small white cloth.

Smokescreen shivered. He was just happy that the stuff, wasn't all over his interior, that would have been a hassle to clean.

He was driving over a rather long bridge when his radar binged. Raf looked toward the dash and Smokescreen quickly tried to determine the objects direction, but the radar went silent. Raf looked around outside.

"I don't see anything," He said his voice horse from all the coughing. After a moment Smokescreen laughed lightly.

"Must be a glitch," Smokescreen said.

Raf shook his head and said, "I hope you're right." I hope I am too, Smokescreen thought to himself. He had run a diagnostics test this morning, there should have been nothing wrong with radar. He just didn't want Raf to worry. Besides whatever the threat was, it was gone now.

Smokescreen kept driving, but he was uneasy. There was something wrong. He could feel it.

They were nearing the end of the bridge when he heard the buzzing. He had heard that sound many times before, and knew it only belonged to one kind of creature. Raf heard it too and he looked out the window. The boy gasped and gripped the seat belt, bracing himself. Smokescreen slammed on the brakes.

But he was too late. A giant Insecticon rammed into Smokescreens side, right where Raf was sitting. Smokescreen felt his doors slightly dent painfully. The bug threw its head up and before Smokescreen could recover, he was flying through the air.

Smokescreen quickly and carefully transformed in midair, flipping uncontrollably.

He flew off the bridge with Raf in his hands and held the boy close to his chassis as he tried right himself.

The ground reached him before he could even make a move and he landed on his back. A loud bang and snap echoed through the canyon as his doorwings where crushed beneath him. He bit down on his glossa and grunted in pain. For a moment everything went white and he thought he might have fainted, but eventually he could see the bridge above him and long shadows of the canyons in the dying sunlight.

He groaned and moved slightly and a violent tremor of pain wracked his body, mainly from whatever was left of his doorwings. They both seemed to have been thoroughly crushed.

He tried moving again and the pain rushed through him again, but this time he ignored it and sat up. He opened his hand and Raf laid in his palm. His head lolled to the side, eyes closed shut. Using his sensors, he checked the boys pulse and was relieved to find it. However, he did not get the chance to revel in his discovery.

A dark chuckling echoed out from under the bridge and Smokescreen froze. Blue electricity spun in a lazy circle in the darkness and red optics glared at him slowly walking closer into the dying light of the sunset.

Knockout stepped into the light and planted the butt of the electric staff on the ground. He smirked as he noticed the light glimmer off his ruby paint job. He stared at the polished surface for a moment, then a low growl from above reminded him of his objective.

Knockout groaned in annoyance, and Smokescreen rushed to his feet, ignoring the pain in his doorwings. The Insecticon jumped down from the top of the bridge and landed on his feet next to Knockout with a loud crash. The rock splintered underneath him and dust flew into the air.

Smokescreen looked at the Insecticon. The bug towered over Knockout, far above any other Insecticon.

"I hope you didn't damage our prize," Knockout said, lazily taking a small but intimidating step forward.

Smokescreen held Raf close to his chassis and transformed his other hand into a blaster. He aimed at the Insecticon and it growled at him. Knockout took a fighting stance and twirled his staff, his face twisted into a maniacal grin.

A part of Smokescreen knew, or rather thought he knew, that he could take them both out hadn't it been for the fact that he was carrying an unconscious human in his hands. The other part knew that running was his only chance of saving them both.

Smokescreens quickly turned his blaster back into a hand and reached down to press on the phase shifter on his other wrist. The Insecticon stared blankly; his mind wasn't capable of understanding the Autobots sudden choice to disarm. Knockout however, wasn't so dumb, he lunged toward Smokescreen the electric point of his staff aimed straight for the youngling's neck.

Smokescreen activated the phase shifter and the staff went straight through his face. On instinct he jumped back and he heard Knockout let out a frustrated groan. Smokescreen took this time to try and comm. Ratchet, but all he received was static.

He instantly knew the Decepticons had some sort of jamming device. All he had to do was get far enough away from them. He checked to see if the boy in his hand was still there then turned and ran straight through the nearest canyon wall.

Smokescreen ran through the rock. All he could see was darkness. After a few minutes of running he heard a crackling sound and electricity jolted through his arm. He ignored it since it was the arm that held Raf.

Finally he exited out the other side. The sun had set and night sky was filled with stars, the last of the sun dying rays still lingered in the east. They were in the middle of a canyon, to the right was a dead end and to left the only exit. Smokescreen felt another jolt go through his arm and he switched Raf over to his other hand. He looked down at his wrist and…..

The phase shifter was sparking.

A blue gas leaked out of the phase shifter. He grimaced as he felt electric energy painfully flow through his arm. He tried to keep focused as he carefully set Raf on the ground and then pulled the phase shifter off his arm. The metal clamps where twisted and it sparked. Smokescreen felt a shock run through his hand and he made a small yelp and dropped it. It hit the ground and small blue embers shot out through the gas.

"Problems, Smokescreen?"

Smokescreen whipped around. His optics widened in shock. Knockout stood there at the entrance his electric staff in his hands. Smokescreen heard the clicking of the Insecticon above him.

"But...but…how did-" Smokescreen stuttered as Knockout thrust his electric staff into the stunned Autobot's neck cables. Smokescreen screamed as the electricity seared through his systems and he convulsed.

Knockout knocked the young Autobot to the ground keeping his staff on his neck. His face plates twisted into a smile as he relished in the youngling's pain.

The Insecticon jumped down to the ground and the ground shook. Knockout swung around to the Insecticon his optics narrowed and his mouth turning into a frown, "Are you mad? If you damage the human, Megatron will have both are heads!"

The Insecticon let out a groan and Knockout powered down his staff and lifted it off of Smokescreen. Knockout had no intention to fry his circuits, yet. He folded it up and stored it away. He kneeled down next to the human and slid his hand underneath Raf. He examined the boy and was disappointed to find his temperature usually high and some organic fluids clogging in his throat and nose. Knockout didn't investigate it any further. He rather that someone else had been selected for this mission. He'd rather that the mission didn't exist at all.

Knockout stood back up and tested for the electronic device the humans called 'cell phones'. He didn't find any so he wrapped his fingers around the human, injecting a proper amount of sedative. Knockout stood up and called in to the Nemesis.

"Mission success, returning to warship," Knockout paused for a moment and he looked at the unconscious Autobot, "Tell Megatron I'm coming in with a little extra baggage. Knockout out," he let out a little chuckle and turned to the Insecticon.

"You! Worthless bug! Carry that for me," he said pointing to the Autobot. The Insecticon groaned and Knockout glared at him. The Insecticon then leaned down and grabbed Smokescreens head dragging him around.

A green swirling portal opened up and Knockout and the Insecticon walked through it and disappeared into the night.

A/N Its good right? Tell me what you think of this rewrite! Do you like it, or not? Was it any good at all?

Please feel free to review people! If you find any errors please tell me! See you guy/gals next chapter!