Hey, hey, hey! We're back and rocking this story, baby! Wow. I haven't said THAT for a while. Well, I'm glad to see that so far, the story is being received well. Speaking of reception, there's something I have to do. And that is…

REVIEW REPLIES!

Grievousorvenom: love it update soon

How's this for an update? Thanks for the review!

Sailor Shinzo: Now this is a cool and interesting story. Please update it soon.

Well, I aim to please. Thanks for the review!

Well, here is Darkness Rising, Part 2. I have to admit. In this show, Megatron gives me the freaks. Does anyone else agree with me when I say that?

Remember how last chapter, I would be choosing songs that are related to the episode to make appearances in the episodes? Well…I'm still doing that since I've received no complaints about it. Last chapter, I used Who Knew by Pink because Pink wrote it about the death of her friend. And this episode is about the use of Dark Energon and how they were unable to get Cliffjumper back because they were too late to get him back. So I thought that the song You Found Me by the Fray would fit. When you think about it, it kinda does. Great. Now I'm wishing I used this song last time. If you want to, you can suggest songs.

© Transformers Prime belongs to creators, Hasbro and the Hub.
© Talida Prime belongs to me.
© You Found Me belongs to The Fray and their respective record label.

Also, the other reason that I used You Found Me is because it's one of two songs that I love from The Fray (the other being How to Save a Life) is because I thought the song was beautiful and I cried when I heard it the first time.

Also, with Talida, do you think she should get together with Jack or Bumblebee with this? In the series, it appears sometimes that Jack has a thing for Miko. In this story, I intended that Talida would have a thing with Bumblebee. But when I read the chapter after I uploaded it, I realized that I unintentionally wrote the relationship with Jack and Talida as if they had feelings for each other and I also wrote that Bumblebee and Talida have a thing for each other. So I'm leaving it to you guys, the fans, to decide whether Talida should hook up with Bumblebee or she should get together with Jack. Who do you think would suit Talida? The majority will win.

ENJOY!


"I found God,
On the corner of First and Amistad.
Where the west,
Was all but won.
All alone.
Smoking his last cigarette.

I said, 'Where you been?'
He said, 'Ask anything.'
Where were you,

When everything was falling apart?
All my days,
Were spent by the telephone,
That never rang.
And all I needed was a call,
That never came,
To the corner of First and Amistad.

Lost and insecure.
You found me. You found me,
Lyin' on the floor,
Surrounded. Surrounded.
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late.
You found me. You found me."

Previously on Transformers Prime…

"The 'Cons are back. Cliff might be neck deep in scrap," Arcee proclaimed.

"Cliffjumper's signal just went offline," Ratchet announced gravely.

"Oh my God. No," Talida mumbled sadly as she and Arcee clung to each other sadly.

"As of today, only we six Autobots remain on this Earth," Optimus proclaimed.

"What are they?" Raff asked.

"Talking cars that turn into robots…or the other way around," Jack answered.

"Autonomus Robotic Organisms," Talida corrected.

"Look. You may be in danger because you are one of the few – one of the only – to have seen us," Arcee informed Jack.

"Why are you here?" Jack asked.

"To protect your planet from Megatron. And if his return is iminent, it could be catestrophic," Optimus warned.

"I have returned!" Megatron proclaimed.

Uh…where are we? Don't know. Don't really care. But it is special to the Decepticons because it houses their Energon mine. I can't believe I'm saying this. But I feel so sorry for the Decepticons who have to slave around in that mine day and night. But…let's keep that between us, OK? Because I don't really need any trouble from either the Autobots OR Decepticons.

"Of all the Energon deposits we have located while you were away, Lord Megatron, this one, by far, is the most significant," Starscream boasted to Megatron.

"The drones have been mining without pause during your absense and have massed quite a stock pile," Malita piped in.

"You there! Fetch me and my lady a sample!" Starscream requested.

"Starscream! Malita! Now that I have returned, I shall issue the commands," Megatron proclaimed.

"We understand, father," Malita nodded obidiently.

"But Malita should be co-leader, Lord Megatron. Because in your absense, as your heir, she IS the Leader of the Decepticons," Starscream stated, earning a growl from Megatron, "I'll shut up now." (AN: I just had to add that. :D)

"Then as your humble servants, shall we ready the space bridge to bring forth the Decepticon Army you have surely gathered during your three years in space?" Malita offered.

"My army will come, my daughter. But my time away has yielded a more…intriguing means of materialising them. The solidfied form of the matter the Ancient Texts refer to as the Blood of Unicron," Megatron announced as he held up the purple flaming crystal for Starscream and Malita to see.

"Unicron the Destroyer?" Starscream and Malita gasped.

"But it is said that his blood is the anti-spark," Starscream added.

"Plucked from Cosmic Shores. Gaze upon Dark Energon," Megatron said.

"Legend tells that it holds the power to revive the dead," Malita recalled.

"We require only a cadaver to be certain," Megatron nodded before turning to Starscream, "Are you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice?"

Starscream laughed nervously at Megatron before bravely replying to him, "That may not be necessary. If I may, Lord Megatron…"

He gestured to the body of the fallen Autobot, Cliffjumper, as Decepticon drones brought him down on an electronic stretcher. The stretcher was brought forward towards the threesome. And let me just say…Cliffjumper looks worse for wear. Especially considering the hours he's been dead.

"Consider it a homecoming present," Malita offered to her father.

TRANSFORMERS PRIME

DEVELOPED FOR TELEVISION BY
Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman

AND

Duane Capizzi
Jeff Kline

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Jeff Kline

"In the end,
Everyone ends up alone.
Losing her,
The only one who's where known,
Who I am.
Who I'm not. Who I wanna be.
No way to know,
How long she will be next to me.

Lost and insecure.
You found me. You found me,
Lyin' on the floor.
Surrounded. Surrounded.
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late.
You found me. You found me."

Hey! We're back in Jasper, Nevada. More specifically, at Autobot Outpost Omega One. Still inside was Optimus Prime, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Arcee, Jack Darby, Raff Esquivel, Miko Nakadai and Talida Prime. They had just dropped the bombshell of the existance of Autobots and Decepticons and the fact that Talida is a techno-organic being rather than an actual human being.

"And since now you know of our existance, I fear that as of last night, the Decepticons know of yours," Optimus announced to Jack, Miko and Raff.

"And Talida's," Miko piped in.

"They knew since I was born," Talida retorted.

"Got it. If we spot any strange vehicles, call 911," Jack summised.

"If only it were that simple, Jack," Talida sighed.

"Can we go now?" Jack asked.

"Are you insane? I'm living a dream here in Botsuana! And I'm not gonna allow you or anyone else to shatter it!" Miko screeched.

"It is best that you three remain under our watch. At least, until we can determine our enemy's intentions," Optimus interrupted the little chat between Jack and Miko.

"Optimus, with all due respect, the human children are in as much danger here as anywhere," Ratchet warned Optimus quietly.

"Children?" Jack and Talida repeated in offence.

"They have no protective shell and Talida doesn't have the capabilities to defend herself!" Ratchet went on.

"HEY!" Talida exclaimed.

"If they go underfoot, they will go…pssh. Squish," Ratchet finished, "And you know it's true, Talida. You have no means of defending yourself. Why else wouldn't Optimus let you join us in the field?"

"Oh really? I thought he was just being overprotective," Talida remarked sarcastically, "But I can hold my own fight. I mean, I can kick Bulkhead's tin butt on occasion."

"That is not the point. Sure. You can BARELY fight Malita without problem. But a DECEPTICON? Megatron? You have no means of defending yourself," Ratchet retorted.

"Well, why don't you take a swing at me and see how well I can defend myself?" Talida challenged.

"Believe me. I am tempted," Ratchet growled.

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Arcee yelled, causing everybody to look at Arcee in surprise.

"Wow. Who knew you could yell like that?" Talida remarked.

"Simply, Ratchet, we must watch where we step. Like we've been doing since Talida was born," Optimus told him before alarms started going off.

"What the mech?" Talida said as they checked the computers.

"What's that?" Jack asked nervously.

"Proximity sensor. Someone's up top," Raff translated Bumblebee's beeps and bleeps.

"It's Agent Fowler," Ratchet announced as he checked the security screens.

"Aw great," Talida sighed in frustration, "Whenever Fowler's here, it means trouble."

"I thought we were the only humans who knew about you guys," Jack recalled earlier conversations.

"Special Agent Fowler is our designated liason to the outside world. As he tends to visit when there are…issues, it may be best if you do not meet him at this time," Optimus advised.

Immediately, Jack, Miko and Raff scrambled around the place looking for somewhere suitable to hide from this Agent Fowler. Optimus scooped Talida into his hand and settled her onto his shoulder. He liked having her up there. Especially when Agent Fowler makes his regular visits. Speaking of the man himself, Special Agent Fowler stepped out of the elevator. Did he look happy? No.

"7 wrecks. 34 fender-benders. A 3-hour traffic jam. And a particular note: numerous reports of a speeding motorcycle of unknown make," Fowler began listing his complaints. Wow. So he's a down-to-business kind of guy. Hmmm…BORING!

"Our bad," Arcee and Talida apologized sheepishly.

"And a black and yellow custom muscle car. So anything you'd like to get off your tin chest, Prime?" Fowler asked.

"We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler," Optimus reassured the agent.

"They're back, aren't there?" Fowler realized.

"If you're referring to the Decepticons, we have doubts they ever left. Earth is much too valuable," Talida answered.

"Then it's time to wake up the Pentagon," Fowler proclaimed.

"Hear me, Agent Fowler. We are the best – possibly, your only – defence against the Decepticon Threat," Optimus retorted.

"Says you," Fowler shot back.

"Hey, fleshy! Did anyone get splattered on that freeway? Team Prime knows when to use force. And how much to use," Bulkhead interrupted as he grabbed one of Ratchet's inventions, ripped it off the console and crushed it, much to Ratchet's dismay.

"BULKHEAD! I NEEDED THAT!" Ratchet exclaimed. (AN: YAY! THE FIRST 'I NEEDED THAT!' OF THE SEASON!)

"Enough!" Talida snapped before turning her attention to Fowler, "Military involvement will result in catestrophe. Perhaps you can condone widespread human casualties, Agent Fowler. We, however, cannot."

"Then do us both a favour and handle this, Prime. UNDER the radar," Fowler requested before leaving, "Or I will."

"Pretty big bearings for a human," Bulkhead remarked.

"Agent Fowler is concerned for his world, Bulkhead. As he should be," Optimus told him.


"Let us see if power born of darkness can ignite the spark," Megatron proclaimed before stabbing the shard of Dark Energon into Cliffjumper's chest.

Starscream and Malita slowly backed away as they saw the shard shine brightly and slowly disappear into Cliffjumper's chest as his spark was reignited…after being quenched by Starscream in the first place. All of his circuits changed to a bright glowing open. When he opened his mouth to speak, he didn't sound like the Cliffjumper he once was. Instead, he sounded like a monster. A baby monster, to be exact. When his eyes snapped open, they were amythyst purple instead of being their usual sky blue. With his newfound strength, Cliffjumper broke free of the holds pinning him to the stretcher. The Decepticons nearby activated their guns, ready to shoot the reborn Transformer in the case of him attempting a means of escape. He did. He tackled one guy to the ground and started beating the absolute scrap out of the guy. Malita couldn't help but be scared of Cliffjumper…not that she would admit it to anyone. Megatron could only watch on pleased with the results of Resserection by Dark Energon.

"That's your plan? Bring Autobots back from the dead to attack us?" Starscream screeched.

"Father, I have never doubted your plans before. But this? I have to agree with Starscream. This is absolutely insane!" Malita took her lover's side in this argument.

"That is no longer an Autobot. Just a mindless beast. It's only instinct is to destroy anything in its path," Megatron corrected his daughter and second-in-command.

Hense that when Cliffjumper charged at Megatron, Malita jumped in front of her father and sliced the 'mindless beast' right across the middle into two pieces. Did it kill him again? No. Did it limit its abilities? Yes. Both halves of Cliffjumper tumbled over the edge into the Energon mine below.

"See, Starscream? Rise the indestructible seed of Lord Megatron's army. The ultimate weapon," Malita proclaimed as she kicked Cliffjumper back down towards the mine, "Once we learn to control it."

"Now, my daughter, I hear that during my absense, you went after the spark of Optimus Prime. Tell me. How did you do it?" Megatron asked his daughter.

"By kidnapping that brat and torturing her for two weeks non-stop. By the time that Prime reached us, she was 90% dead. She shouldn't have been able to be revived. He was ready to kill. But when I threatened to kill the one they call Arcee, he left us alone and took that brat with him," Malita smiled proudly.

"You have done well. Out of all the things that would make me happy, hearing how you torture and kill our enemies makes my spark swell," Megatron proclaimed.

"And you have done well also, father. With our new weapon, the Autobots wouldn't know what hit them," Malita smirked as she and her father chuckled evilyl before gazing at the mine down below.


Please tell me I'm not the only one who's seeing this anomally. Thank God I'm not! Ratchet noticed it too. So did Talida. She was amazed by it. Ratchet was…surprised and shocked. Well…who wouldn't be? This is no ordinary anomally. After all, anomally's aren't meant to be ordinary.

"Blasted Earth tech!" Ratchet cursed.

"Hey! Don't blame the tech!" Talida defended the technology.

"Cliffjumper's life signal popped back online!" Ratchet announced.

"Who's Cliffjumper?" Miko asked.

"An Autobot like us. He was patrolling for Energon in New York when he was attacked and kidnapped by Decepticons after he found an untapped Energon deposit. By the time we got there, the Energon deposit was completely destroyed and Cliffjumper's life signal went offline. All we could find of him is one of his horns," Talida explained to Miko.

"He was that family friend you told me about at the KO," Jack realized.

"Me and Arcee were pretty close to him," Talida nodded.

"How is this possible?" Optimus asked.

"It isn't. Another bug. The system's shock full of them," Ratchet grumbled.

"DON'T BLAME THE TECH, YA FOOL!" Talida shouted.

"If there's any chance Cliff's alive," Arcee trailed off. Everyone, especially Talida and Optimus, since they are her closest friends, knew what she was going to say.

"Ratchet, prepare sick bay. We may need it," Optimus remarked, "Talida, I need you to stay here and control the GroundBridge."

"Why do you always tell me to stay here when you know I'm gonna sneak along anyway?" Talida asked with a smirk.

"She does have a point. Optimus, I reckon she should tag along," Arcee suddenly announced.

"WHAT?" Optimus boomed.

"She's not going anywhere," Jack proclaimed as he pulled Talida close to him.

"Choking! Not breathing!" Talida rasped as she struggled against his grip, causing Jack to let go of her sheepishly.

"Arcee, you know how I feel about letting Talida come with us to potential battlefields! What is with you?" Optimus hissed.

"Talida and I were closer to Cliffjumper than any of you! Besides, she can stick with me. I'll keep her safe," Arcee promised him, "She is almost sixteen, Optimus. You can't keep her locked up in the base for the rest of her life. She needs room to grow. I may not be a parent myself. But I know I wouldn't ban my sparkling from leading a life."

"She's all I have left," Optimus retorted.

"I know, Optimus. Trust me. I feel the same way. But she needs to get out more than she does. She needs to live a life," Arcee reasoned with Optimus.

Optimus sighed in frustration. He was at one of those crossroads he would occasionally face when it came to Talida's upbringing. To be honest, he thought he was being too overprotective of his spirited teenage daughter. And when he was at those crossroads, he always went to Arcee for help. Not Ratchet. But Arcee. Because she always knew what to do and he trusted her more than anything - (cough) he also loves her (cough) - …well, that and Ratchet and Talida don't get along on occasion. Her advice had never steered him wrong before.

"Alright. She can come along," Optimus decided.

"YES!" Talida cheered as she jumped down and hugged her friend tight.

"Hey! What can we do?" Miko asked.

"Remain with Ratchet," was the answer that came from both Optimus and Talida.

"Awwww…," both Miko and Ratchet moaned in disappointment as the GroundBridge was activated.

"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus instructed as they transformed into their vehicle modes (while Talida hopped onto Arcee) and they rolled out into the GroundBridge.

"What just happened?" Jack asked in worry.

"I transported them to the designated coordinates via the GroundBridge," Ratchet answered.

"What's a GroundBridge?" Raff questioned.

"A scaled-down version of Space Bridge Technology," Ratchet explained with the 'You-kids-know-nothing' attitude. Wow. He's like a grouchity old man (Ratchet: Grouchity old man? Me: …Your mother is a*beep beep beep*ing*beep*lorem ipsum*beep beep beep*admenumvenium*beep beep beep beep*trrragula*beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep*hippopotamus*beep beep beep beep beep beep*Republican*beep beep beep*ingDaniel Radcliffe*beep beep beep beep*with a bucket of*beep beep beep beep*in a castle far away where no one can hear you*beep beep beep beep beep beep*soup*beep beep beep*with a bucket of*beep beep*Mickey Mouse*beep beep*and a stick of dynamite*beeeeeepppp*magical*beep beep beep beep*ALAKAZAM! Ratchet: …did you just say the Elder Swear? Me: Yes I did.), "Since we don't possess the means or Energon required for intergalactic travel…"

"You're stuck here on Earth," Jack realized.

"With the likes of you, yes. But I constructed the GroundBridge to enable travel from here to anywhere on your planet," Ratchet boasted.

"Does it work for humans?" Raff asked excitedly.

"Naturally," Ratchet nodded.

"You mean we could just shoot on over and visit my parents in Tokyo?" Miko questioned.

"Within moments. In fact, allow me to send you there immediately. All three of you," Ratchet offered hopefully.

"Watch it, Ratchet," Miko warned.

"Talida would kill you," Jack smirked.

"To damn with her. You know, when we first arrived, Optimus was eager to get back to Cybertron and forget about this planet. Then he met that human and had a daughter with her. He forgot about his plans of returning to Cybertron and desiring to stay here so Talida could actually have a stable future!" Ratchet snapped.

"He's just being a normal father by wanting the best for his child! Everyone does that!" Jack retorted, "And from what I've heard about you guys, you can only fall in love once!"

"Optimus really wasn't 'in love' with the woman. His spark lies with someone else," Ratchet scoffed before resuming his work.

"Wow. He's a grouchity old man," Raff remarked, earning nods in agreement from Jack and Miko.


The GroundBridge arrived in the Decepticon Energon Mine and coming out of it were Optimus, Arcee and Talida, Bumblebee and Bulkhead. Immediately, they transformed and activated their guns in case they were attacked by Decepticons upon arrival. However, that's not the case.

"Energon mine," Bulkhead observed.

"Judging by its scale," Optimus started.

"The Decepticons have been tunnelling here for some time," Talida finished her father's sentence.

They found a whole bunch of rocks to hide behind so they could observe what's going on. It was horrible. Inhumane, even for them. The drones just kept on working on the Energon non-stop. They never even get to celebrate Christmas, New Years, birthdays and Easter! How rude! Wait. This is MEGATRON and the DECEPTICONS we're talking about. OF COURSE THEY'RE INHUMANE!

"Let's find Cliffjumper," Optimus proclaimed as they prepared to fire.

"Stay close to me, Tally," Arcee instructed Talida.

Together, they all approached the Decepticon dones. As soon as they did, a fire battle started. One took his drill directly towards them…until it got smashed in by Bulkhead. As they fired shots, they advanced. They were driven by their desperation. They desperation to find Cliffjumper before the Decepticons did something horrible to their comrade. Arcee and Talida avoided shots and fired their own back, taking down a few Decepticons with their good old hands and feet in the process. What? No reason why they couldn't go back to old school fighting tactics on occasion. Basically, they never stood a chance against the Autobots.


"What is this, anyway?" Miko asked as she went to touch a piece of machinery.

"Broken. Don't touch," was Ratchet's short and rather rude answer, "Don't touch that either!"

"Is there anything in here we CAN touch?" Jack questioned.

"How come you are using human computers?" Raff asked Ratchet as one of the computers went into system overload mode.

"It certainly isn't by choice. It was handed down from the previous tenants when we inherited this former missle silo. I make changes as I see fit," Ratchet explained before even more computers went into system overload.

"I think I can fix that," Raff said as he went to plug his laptop into the control console.

"Really? You know this is complex technology, don't you? I mean, it isn't a child's toy," Ratchet laughed as Raff typed in some commands.

"Now try," Raff invited.

Ratchet stared at the screens as all the computers went back to normal. It was as if the system overload never happened. AMAZING! Raff is a super computer kid! Wow! Can he fix my laptop? Well, one thing's for certain. Raff's actually earned Ratchet's respect. Well, that was easy. If only Jack and Miko can do the same…


At the little Decepticon Energon Mine, the battle continued. The Autobots still come out victorious. Even Talida managed to kick the tin cans of some of the Decepticons. HA! And Ratchet said she had no capabilities of self-defence. Well, she's certainly proving them wrong. After defeating the first wave, they ran towards the oncoming second wave. Wow. With this wave, they'll need everything they've got.

"Maximum overdrive!" Talida advised as she hopped on Arcee in her motorcycle form.

Well, let me just say…Optimus is a bloody brilliant driver. So is everyone else, of course. They managed to get into the main mine where they immediately transformed and hid behind crates. Bulkhead and Talida couldn't help but whistle in admiration of the handy work they've done.

"Quite the operation," Bulkhead remarked.

That was when the shooting started all over again. Do they ever get tired of using their guns? What happened to the good old punch and kick and down they go? Seriously!


Oh boy. Megatron + Dark Energon = WE'RE SCREWED! Just wait for it… Wait till you see what will happen later…

"Blood of Unicron, how might a fathem the depths of your mystery? Become worthy of wielding your astonishing power?" Megatron asked the massive crystals.

"Lord Megatron, intruders have been detected in the mines."

"Optimus?" Megatron said hopefully.

"Indeed. Along with his daughter."

"Talida? Father, allow me to go down to the mines. This is my chance to eliminate that brat once and for all!" Malita begged her father.

"Patience, Malita. I need more time to prepare an appropiate reception for my old friend. Ready the ship for departure," Megatron instructed.

"But the Energon I've mined! The Autobots will seize it!"

"Then blow the mines!" Malita snapped.


Aw come on! They're STILL using guns? Wait. Since when am I old-fashioned. Doesn't matter now. Besides, something is about to happen here. What? We all know. And we are about to find out. After narrowly avoiding a shot, Arcee and Talida saw the body of a familiar friend.

"It's Cliff. We have a visual," Arcee announced.

"We'll cover you," Optimus reassured his daughter and close friend.

"Let's go, Arcee," Talida said as they rode to where Cliff was.

Once they were there, they saw that Cliffjumper wasn't Cliffjumper anymore. In fact, they gasped in horror at the sight of their dear friend. Only the top part of his form remained. Surrounding the ground around him was a strange purple substance. Dark Energon from when Megatron revived him then sliced him in two. When the Decepticons fired at them, Arcee clutched Talida to her chest over where her spark chamber resides and turned her back to the shots. She didn't care if she got hit. All she cared about was making sure that Talida was safe. If something happened to Talida, Optimus would kill her, revive her and then kill her again. He almost did it to someone else once before. When they turned around, they saw a bit of the floor collapsing: the bit Cliffjumper was lying on.

"CLIFF!" Arcee cried as she and Talida dove for him.

Together, they grabbed his hand. Optimus and the other Autobots continued providing them the cover from the Decepticons they had promised. Rocks began crumbling down around them. That was when they realized that the place was beginning to collapse around all of them. And that they needed to abandon the mines. Now.

"Let's get you home, partner," Arcee and Talida said to him.

That was when Cliffjumper began howling at the two of them, causing them both to gasp in shock…well, it was shock for Arcee. For Talida, it was realization.

"Cliffjumper's not Cliffjumper anymore," Talida proclaimed.

As she said this, Cliffjumper wriggled himself out of their grips and plummited to the mines below. Optimus watched in vein as Cliffjumper tumbled. That was it. All was lost. Suddenly, they heard cackling. They looked up and saw Starscream and Malita overlooking the mines. Armed with bombs.

"Prime," Starscream rasped.

"Malita," Talida growled.

"Talida. Long time, no see," Malita sneered.

"I see you're still draping yourself over Starscream," Talida observed.

"What can I say? I have a thing for bad boys," Malita remarked.

"Well, we'd love to stick around. But…what can I say? We're squeemish," Starscream remarked as he and Malita activated the bombs and dropped them.

Together, they jumped, transformed and flew away. The bombs they dropped landed amongst the Energon in the mines.

"Primus. Please don't tell me," Talida begged all of them.

"The joint's gonna blow!" Bulkhead yelled to everyone.

"DAMN THEM!" Talida cursed.

"Roll out!" Optimus instructed.

Immediately, everyone transformed and drove away as if their lives depended on it. Well…their lives DID depend on it. Behind them, the bombs detonated, blowing up every single smitherine of Energon. The exploding Energon followed them. It was ready to consume them all. Ready to take them all to the Well of the All Spark.

"RATCHET! BRIDGE US BACK! USE THE ARRIVAL COORDINATES NOW!" Talida yelled.

Before them, the GroundBridge appeared. Of course, the Autobots escaped. But it was a close call. Behind them, all the Energon blew up and the explosion followed them into the portal.


Ratchet, Jack, Miko and Raff turned to face the GroundBridge as they heard the explosions and the sound of them arriving. Once Optimus was out, Ratchet closed the GroundBridge, preventing the exploding Energon to follow them in and kill them all. Optimus transformed and backflipped away. Once he saw that his team and Talida were all safe, he melted in relief.

"Whoa!" Jack, Miko and Raff gasped as they all glomped Talida.

"Cutting it kinda close. How about Cliffjumper?" Ratchet asked, causing the five Autobots who went out to battle to lower their heads sadly.

"What was that explosion? Can I come with next time?" Miko immediately began asking her friends.

"Look," Arcee growled.

"Hey, hey, Miko. Let's go see what the bots hide in their sock drawers," Jack suggested as he guided Miko away.

"Seriously?" was all Miko said.

"Arcee, Talida, what did you see?" Optimus asked his daughter and second-in-command gently.

"Not Cliff. At least…not anymore," Arcee answered.

"He was mutated. Butchered like something from those 'Con experiments during the war," Talida added.

Suddenly, the two of them felt a wave of dizziness wash over them. The colour was drained from Talida's face and the life in Arcee's optics seemed to fade away. In fact, they did. Arcee literally fainted and Talida collasped. Neither of their legs could support the dead weight of their bodies. Not anymore, at least. Bumblebee beeped in worry as he swooped forward to catch them before they hit the ground.

"I'm fine, Bee. I'm just dizzy. Help Arcee," Talida begged her friend.

"Bots who get dizzy," Miko gasped.

"Robots with emotion," Raff added.

"Robots who can die," Jack piped in before racing to Talida's side.

Immediately, Ratchet did a scan on them both. On Arcee's hand, the blue beam turned red. On Talida, her entire torso turned red. This intrigued the Autobot medic as he noticed the purple substance making its mark on the female Autobots.

"What is this?" Ratchet asked himself.

"Don't know. Cliff was covered in it. Leaking it," Talida recalled before gazing worriely at the unconscious Arcee, "Is she going to be OK, Ratchet?"

"She'll be fine," Ratchet reassured Talida as he took samples from both girls, "Both of you go take a decontamination bath. Now."

"Hello! Unconscious Arcee!" Talida reminded them as she pointed to her unconscious friend and Bumblebee beeped to her, "Thanks, Bee."

After Bumblebee scooped Arcee into his arms, Ratchet guided the three of them to the decontamination showers.

"Optimus, I hate to bug. But…no bars," Jack waved his phone in front of Optimus' face to prove his point.

"A security precaution. The silo walls isolate all radio waves," Optimus explained to Jack.

"Well, if I don't call my mum, like NOW, I'm pretty sure the cops will come looking for me. Talida as well since we're supposed to have a movie sleepover at my place tonight and…her cover story for you is that you're in the Navy and you're dispatched to sea," Jack told Optimus.

"Have you broken the law?" Optimus asked worriedly as he bent down so he was eye-to-eye with his new human friends.

"Uh, curfew. It's after 10pm," Jack corrected.

"I'd better get home too. Or I'll be grounded for a year," Raff piped in.

"Earth customs. I haven't considered. You'd think that after having a teenage daughter with a human, you'd learn of these customs," Optimus chuckled, "But the issue of your safety remains. Bulkhead, accompany Miko home."

"AWESOME! MY HOST PARENTS WILL FREAK!" Miko cheered.

"And matain covert surveilance in vehicle form," Optimus added.

"Curbside duty. Got it," Bulkhead nodded, earning a moan in disappointment from Miko.

"Bumblebee, you'll watch over Raff," Optimus proclaimed, "Ratchet?"

"Busy," Ratchet waved him off as Talida and the now conscious Arcee walked out of the showers.

"Arcee, if you feel up to it, you'll accompany Jack," Optimus decided.

"Still dizzy," Arcee informed Optimus.

"You're fine, says your physician," Ratchet butted in.

"I have a sleepover with Jack tonight. So I'll be coming with," Talida said the last sentence in a sing-song manner.

"Hop in," Arcee immediately responded as she transformed.

"So what are we gonna watch first? Harry Potter? Twilight? Transformers?" Talida asked Jack excitedly. (AN: See what I did there?)

"I'd rather stick pins and needles into my eyes than watch Twilight? How about some Die Hard?" Jack suggested as Arcee started her engine.

"No way, Jose," Talida answered, "Transformers?"

"I'm down with that," Jack nodded as they drove away.


The entire way home, Talida and Jack talked about random things. School, family, friends, movies, music; basically, anything a boy and a girl who are best friends talk about. They even made plans for other times they can hang out, which included attending some of the festivals that will soon be in Jasper, Nevada.

As they arrived home, Talida opened the garage door while Jack drove Arcee onto the driveway. Once they were safe inside the garage, Arcee shut down her engines and Jack gently kicked the side and centre stands down so Arcee wouldn't tumble over. Jack climbed off and helped Talida off, being the kind gentleman he is.

"Arcee, I'm really sorry for your loss," Jack started tentively.

"What could you possibly know about loss?" Arcee asked coldly.

"What? You think you're the only one with problems?" Jack retorted, which caused Arcee to transform and to glare at Jack very hard. Talida knew not to get involved so she kept her quiet for everyone's sake.

"I'm not sure girl trouble counts," Arcee shot back dangerously.

"I'm pretty sure my girl troubles started the night I met you!" Jack returned defence before they saw another car roll up onto the driveway.

"'Cons!" Arcee gasped as she activated her guns.

"No! Mum!" Jack corrected as he ran out to stall her for as long as he could.

"Arcee! Vehicle mode! NOW!" Talida hissed to her as she tried to look normal.

"Jack? Talida?" June Darby said as she climbed out of the car.

"Mum! Don't freak! We can explain!" Jack promised his mother.

"Can you?" June asked before approaching the motorcycle, "Jackson Darby, we talked about this."

"I know. And-."

"You don't know!" June cut her son off, "I worry about you enough when you're not here. Now I have to worry about you driving a motorcycle?"

"I'm 16! I can't be driving a ten-speed forever!" Jack retorted.

"How did you afford this?" June demanded.

"I gave it to him. Dad bought me a motorbike and there was a really sweet deal at the place he bought it. You know, buy one and get one free? And we knew how much Jack wanted a bike and how he was having some trouble saving up so we gave it to him for a pretty cheap price," Talida lied.

"The point is I may have been a kid when I bought this," Jack recalled as he gestured to his helmet sitting on the old desk nearby, "But I'm not anymore. You always tell me to make responsible choices. Well, I chose her. And I'll be responsible. I promise"

"Her?" June repeated teasingly, "I didn't think you'd be bringing girls other than Talida home just yet."

"I'd like to think she brought me," Jack corrected sheepishly.

"Well, I'm glad you finally have a reason to wear your helmet. EVERY SINGLE TIME you ride. Same goes with you, Talida," June proclaimed as she guided the two kids inside, "You will take ME for a spin every once in a while?"

"We'll see. She's kinda tempramental," Jack said loud enough for Arcee to hear as he turned out the lights and shut the garage.

Once Talida and Jack were in their bedroom, they looked at each other and burst out laughing. Yep. That's a regular night whenever Jack Darby and Talida Prime have a sleepover together. They talk, laugh, watch movies, eat lots of junk food, play video games and, of course, sleep. Like the gentleman he is, Jack gave Talida the bed while he took the mattress on the floor.


The next morning, Jack and Talida were awakened by Arcee revving her engine in the garage. Fearing that it would wake June Darby up, Jack and Talida raced to the garage to hush her roaring engine.

"Are you crazy? You'll wake up Mrs Darby!" Taldia whisper-yelled to Arcee.

"Grab your helmets. It's go time," Arcee announced.

"Are you kidding? It's Saturday!" Jack moaned.

"You two can watch cartoons back at base with Bumblebee," Arcee promised them.

"Cartoons? We're teenagers," Jack and Talida scoffed as they left.

"Make sure you leave a note for your mum! She worries!" Arcee called after them.

"Ya think?" was the response Jack and Talida gave Arcee.


Aw man! Do we seriously have to be back here? We're at the Nemesis! AGAIN! I can say this. As usual, Megatron's one unhappy Decepticon…while he's away from the newly-acquired Dark Energon, that is.

"I don't think you need to worry about further Autobot interference, Master. Not with Optimus gone," Starscream reassured his master.

"And what evidence do you present of this fact?" Megatron asked.

"Starscream and I destroyed the mines as you instructed," Malita answered, "At least I don't have to worry about trying to destroy his brat anymore."

"Optimus is not so easily destroyed. And Talida is every bit like her father when it comes to personality. Optimus and I have millenia worth of battles behind us to prove it, my daughter," Megatron retorted.

"Maybe you should take a break, my lord," Starscream suggested, "I fear too much contact with the Dark Energon might allow its properties to adversely affect you."

"Or perhaps, Starscream, I have not permitted myself contact enough," Megatron pondered as he ripped a shard from the main source.

"Wait! Father, no! Not your spark chamber! You do not know what it will do!" Malita begged.

But her pleadings came too late. Megatron stabbed the shard of Dark Energon into his own spark chamber. Starscream and Malita could only stand back and watch in horror as the Blood of Unicron began overtaking the Decepticon leader. Before they knew it, Lord Megatron wasn't exactly Lord Megatron anymore. But a shadow of his former self.


Back at the Autobot base, Ratchet was analyzing the components of the purple substance he had scraped off of Arcee and Talida when it began having an ill effect on both girls. It bestounded him. Not in all his years as a medic had he seen anything like this. He couldn't even recognize what it was. And we can't read the screen because it's in Cybertronian, a language we don't read or understand when spoken.

"Hmm…the base elements of this goo are like nothing I've ever encountered. It must be extremely concentrated to have affected Arcee and Talida so rapidly. Unfortunately, complete results are slow-coming without the use of proper diagnostic tools. Thank you very much, Bulkhead," Ratchet rambled as he removed the slide from the hard-drive.

As he did, he unknowingly spilt some of the substance onto the diagnostic tool that Bulkhead broke when Agent Fowler was here. It burnt its way into the very wiring of the machinery and glowed a bright purple for a brief moment before moaning and groaning and standing on its newly-acquired legs. But Ratchet didn't notice. With its only instinct to destroy everything in its path, the revived machinery approached the nearest object to destroy…

To be continued…

"Early morning,
The city breaks.
I've been callin'
For years and years and years and years.
And you never left me no messages.
Ya never send me no letters.
You got some kinda nerve,
Taking all I want.

Lost and insecure.
You found me. You found me,
Lyin' on the floor.
Where were you? Where were you?

Lost and insecure.
You found me. You found me,
Lyin' on the floor.
Surrounded. Surrounded.
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late.
You found me. You found me.
Why'd you have to wait?
To find me? To find me?"


Wow. Got that done quick. Things are slowly getting more and more intense, people! Feel free to suggest a song for next chapter.

BYE!