TFP Of Souls and Sparks

by ZeroAcception

A new Decepticon has emerged and has taken Jack. Shortly there after a group of Cybertronians pop up and announce themselves to the world, revealing there has been a civil war being waged on their planet without them knowing it, with MECH scheming in the shadows. But the biggest question of all is, "Where is Jack?"

2. The Third Faction

I do not own Transformers of any kind and any of their characters. The origin is different than that of WFC/FOC, but similarities remain. You'll get what I mean as it progresses.

Now this is my first Transformers fanfic. Just wanted to let everyone know that.

Enjoy.

Chapter 02: The Third Faction

Vehicons. Disposable foot soldiers of the Decepticon army. One questions whether or not they hold a spark within themselves considering they have no form to differentiate one from the other. They all held the same colors, nearly spoke the same, and had the same bored look on their visors as they aimlessly moved about the energon mine, collecting the much needed energy source for their lord and master, Megatron. The only one or two that stood apart were the Vehicon Seeker Generals, who sported a white/gray color scheme that resembled their former leader, Starscream. Again they looked the same, but with wings. Very bland.

They mined, broke down, and converted all energon they come across into cubes for transport. They did this regularly without tiring. All till the time their flag ship, the Nemesis, came to collect. This gave the Decepticons an edge against their hated foe, the Autobots, for their supplies were low, but the Decepticons were well stocked. So from time to time the Autobots, whenever they discovered a vein of energon that happened to be tapped by the Deceptions, would initiate a prolonged fight that would inevitably cause the vein to be destroyed.

So it came as no surprise when the event horizon of a ground bridge appeared just in front of a energon mining operation. Vehicons paused, looking to the swirling vortex as it just sat there. A minute went by and shortly, a blue and white armored vehicle rolled out, stopping a few meters away before transforming into the familiar visage of Breakdown. Knowing the former Decepticon, the Vehicons went about their duties seeming to think he was there for a check on operations and to see if they were ready for the next pick up, not realizing that said Decepticon was thought to be dead some time back. He glanced around, smirking as they tended to ignore him and continue to work. Their mistake.

Shortly there after, six other vehicles drove or flew out of the vortex with it closing shut behind them. Again the Vehicons paused, watching Breakdown just simply stroll on towards the cave while the six newcomers transformed. The two fliers were in the air, hovering overhead and looking down at the group. The femme had a disturbing grin on her face that unnerved some of the Vehicons.

Many focused on what looked to be a black armored version of Optimus Prime. Confused they looked between themselves, shrugging at the unspoken question on what to do. They came through with Breakdown. Had to be on their side, right?

How wrong they were. Soon, they were all pelted with energon fire from the six new comers, having no time at all to retaliate. Their aim was good, making sure to hit each target without striking any of the energon.

Scourge pressed forward, one blaster switching to a blade. He ducked low to one side, bringing his blade up at an angle to bisect a Vehicon in two. With a spinning kick he launched one half into two others, both knocked to the ground. They attempted to get up but Take-Off was above, raining down blaster fire whilst laughing, commenting on how the job was too easy.

Vortex danced in the air against two Vehicon Seeker Generals, both trying hard to shoot down the 'Chopper-Bot' but not succeeding. Though Vortex didn't fire back, he did brandish two swords that were made up from the propellers of his alternate mode. Any shot they did make that looked like it would connect, he easily deflected before diving at the two, blades moving faster than they could 'blink'. After passing the two, he slowly sheathed the blades to his back with a click, and the two Vehicons fell apart in four pieces each.

Onslaught and Brawl were the bruisers of the group of course, going in fists swinging or hammers smashing. At time their cannons would drop over their shoulder to lay down heavy suppressive fire along with their arm mounted cannons, making both highly deadly at long range.

Swindle of course kept back a bit, actually taking cover to do his fighting unlike the rest of his team who simply jumped into the fight. The gun placement on his alternate mode was over his shoulder, giving him a third weapon to use. It would seem to auto target an enemy without him looking, mowing it down before it had a chance to attack. He was never much for close fighting anyway. Let the crazier ones do that for him.

OOO

And while the fight died down outside, Silas/Breakdown marched into the mine. Those inside had no idea what was going on, as Vortex blocked their radio signals so they couldn't contact one another. Again they ignored him as he passed, though some wondered why he was smiling so much. Entering the main chamber, he smiled in awe at the site of all the raw energon crystals that lined the walls in the hollowed mountain side which the Decepticons had made for their mining operation. It was beautiful in its own way.

"Breakdown, sir." A Vehicon to his left approached, giving a salute. "Sir, we weren't expecting you. Is there a problem?"

"A problem?" Silas/Breakdown asked with a grin, turning to the Vehicon who was much smaller than the body of the former Decepticon. "Oh, there isn't a problem at all." A single energon blast fired from the mouth of the cave and right through the Vehicon's head, taking it completely off its shoulders. The rest of the Combaticons rushed through, again taking careful aim to not strike the energon crystals. The Vehicons had poor aim, and relied heavily on their numbers to do any kind of damage. But that didn't slow down the Silas/Breakdown's Combaticons. They easily cut down the numbers, Vehicons dwindling down to there was nothing left but scrap.

Before long, there were none left, and Silas was happy with that. "Well done my soldiers," he congratulated. "Well done." He approached the cube generator they had on site. A large machine specifically designed to form energon crystals into a liquid state for a Cybertronian to consume, or inject depending on the circumstances. "This will come in handy."

Scourge was to the side, ordering Onslaught, Brawl and Swindle to cover the other caves and remove any Vehicons that came their way. Take-Off was to the side, examining a fresh cube before taking a sample taste. Vortex arched a brow behind his visor as he watched her shudder with a smile on her face. Must have been that good. He moved over to Scourge, looking the taller 'Con in the eyes. "Area is secure. I will call in a bridge so we can begin transportation of the energon."

Scourge gave a nod and watched Vortex march back outside the cave. He himself turned and moved towards Silas. Hearing a brief fire fight and Brawl's laughter at the easy fight, he turned back to their true commanding leader. "Sir, area is secure. Vortex is calling in teams to begin shipping energon back to the Harbinger."

"We'll be taking this as well," Silas said, hand running over the machine. "MECH stumbled upon a few mines some time back, so this machine will come in use back at the base." He looked down at the remains of several Vehicons. "And some of them as well. I'm sure we can put them to good use one way or another."

"Yes sir. I'll inform the men."

OOO

Outside, Vortex stood commanding the MECH soldiers as they exited the ground bridge. He began issuing his orders, pointing to the cubes and to the mine. Trucks hauling flatbeds and crane came through and immediately got to work. As Scourge came out, he too gave his orders about collecting the most intact piece of the Vehicons for study. He himself and Vortex assisted in this endeavor while the human part of their group got to work.

But none were aware they were being watched from high up above the mining cave. A distinctive, silent and emotionless Decepticon by the name of Soundwave stood like a statue, watching what was happening below. It was only a few minutes ago he had lost contact with the dig site at this particular vein of energon. Normally he would have sent another Vehicon to investigate, or someone liked Knock-Out or Dreadwing to see what was wrong. But Dreadwing was off with Lord Megatron, and Knock-Out was off doing whatever it was he did during his spare time. He was notorious for shutting off his comms while he went out for the thrill of illegal human street racing.

There was the possibility that if it was an attack on the site a stealthy investigation was required. And none other than himself was qualified for the job. Though one could never tell, he was a little surprised to find that the site was attacked, but not by Autobots like he had originally presumed. Instead he found six different Cybertronians he had never seen before accompanied by none other than Breakdown, who by all his knowledge was offlined some time back by Airachnid. Yet there he was, whole and repaired and walking into the cave when the battled ensued. Once the battle outside had ended, the six rushed in, and Soundwave could here the battle inside. He half expected the mountain to burst into blue fire due to some fool striking the energon inside, but nothing came of it.

And now he finds that this new group were working with humans. Looking at their uniforms and immediately searching through his memory banks he all but instantly made a match comparison and saw that they were MECH soldiers. But they arrived via a ground bridge. Where had they gained the technology or the knowledge to build one?

Upon closer examination he noticed their insignia. It highly resembled the face of the Prime-look-alike. A third group not affiliated with Autobot or Decepticon? Soundwave knew Megatron was not going to like this.

Instantly he tapped the image into the Nemesis' databanks, which were connected to the humans poor information web, and stumbled across disturbing footage of the group he had watched just now, introducing themselves to the world at hand. They called themselves 'Combaticons' and were not affiliated with either faction of the ongoing civil war. They had proclaimed to be looking for asylum on earth, to get away from said war and wanted to live in peace. Obviously a lie considering they were attacking an Decepticon mine.

Other things came up, footage of the black Prime stating his designation as 'Scourge'. He also noticed the larger one called 'Onslaught' and the femme called 'Take-Off'. Searching through his data banks again, this time a little longer, he came up with no matches of any known Cybertronians by those names, or matches of their appearance. Even to the others who he marked as 'Unknown' till new information was gathered. He tapped into the data banks back on their ship, and still there was no match. A sample recording of Starscream's voice came through. /Most intriguing./

With a simple thought, a ground bridge opened behind him and he simply stepped through, quickly finding himself back on the command deck of the Nemesis. From there, he sent a message out to Megatron.

OOO

Vortex looked to the mountain side, his optics taking note of a ground bridge closing as his gaze fell upon it. He frowned behind his mask and looked to Scourge. "We may need to cut this short," he spoke, dropping the body of a Vehicon.

Scourge, hefting one who was mostly intact except for the hole going straight through it's spark chamber, turned to the flier. "What do you mean?"

"I think I saw a ground bridge. We'll need to cut this shorter than we would have liked."

Scourge gave a nod. "Inform… Breakdown," he said, catching himself before he almost said Silas. Could never be too sure, another Decepticon could be near by listening. "Let him know we're needing to pull out." He watched Vortex depart for the cave, running so as not to waste any more time. Scourge followed through with his orders and carried the body into the ground bridge. Upon his arrival he dropped the body onto a waiting trolley to be towed away to a lab in another part of the ship. With that one, it would make a total of five they had managed to offline with a single shot to the spark. "That will be the last one for now. Clear the area for the energon transports and for a cube converter to be brought through."

Scourge turned and moved back through the vortex, stepping aside as a flatbed stacked with energon was pulled through. When he arrived on the other side, another entered, followed by Onslaught and Brawl dragging two each behind them. Silas approached while Swindle, Vortex, and Take-Off were towing the cube converter. "Sir."

"Vortex filled me in," Silas spoke, taking a glance at the spot where Vortex had spotted the ground bridge. "Most likely a scout. Not surprising though. I knew they were going to send someone to check up on their operations here but I wasn't expecting it to be so soon." He nodded to Scourge. "You did fine work calling this off short. Can't be here when Megatron arrives with reinforcements. And we are not ready to face him just yet."

Scourge nodded and left Silas to enter the bridge so he may aid in dragging the cube converter. He moved behind the machine to push, adding his strength into moving the machine through the ground bridge. His assistance lessoned the strain on the other three, Take-Off making a comment about how strong he was. She blew a kiss in his direction. Swindle rolled his eyes at the gesture. Vortex didn't care.

Once back on the Harbinger, they took the converter to another part of the ship, one large enough to house it and the confiscated cubes. Of course when they were through, Take-Off helped herself to another helping, shivering with the fresh taste.

Scourge had left for the science lab, watching as Brawl moved and strapped down the offlined Vehicons to formerly empty berths, along side the single Protoform at the end. The MECH technicians immediately got to work to see about repairing the damage done to the bodies. His optics narrowed slightly. "New soldiers for a growing army," he whispered, staring into the lifeless visor of the Vehicons.

OOO

"And that's that," Fowler said to Team Prime, looking at the Autobots and their humans friends. "The agency is going to be meeting with the Combaticons in two days to discuss trade for asylum. Cybertronian tech for a place of their own."

"Not good," Ratchet said with s shake of his head. "Nothing good will come of this. Trading weapons for a home is never good. Human's potential for destruction is as bad as ours at the star of the war, and armed with anything Cybertronian can only end in tragedy."

"I agree," Optimus said, displeasure echoing from each word. "Humans armed with our technology beyond what we ourselves agreed upon will certainly lead to perhaps a new arms race between your race."

"I get what you're saying, Prime," Fowler said. "But its out of my hands. Yes, you've given some things to our people to possibly help in medical or agriculture that we manage to produce. Advancements in robots has sky rocketed in these past few months, in what would have taken us another twenty or thirty years." He sighed. "But in the end, the thing our government wants is a means to defend ourselves. Decepticons aren't the only enemy we face in this world. Other countries wishing to overpower us or terrorist groups gun for our borders almost on a daily bases."

"And if they get their hands on our technology?" Prime challenged, glaring down at Fowler.

"Again I agree with you, but I have no say in the matter. Another agent is handling."

"Then I wish to be there. To talk sense into my brothers and prevent them from making a mistake."

Fowler scratched his head, looking down at the floor. "They… thought you might request that. So I wasn't informed of the location. Just told of what was going down."

"So we're being kicked to the side, then?" Smokescreen asked, looking down at the agent. "They give your people the big guns, and now they're all buddy, buddy? What's next, they let them deal with the Decepticons as well?"

"Now hold on," Fowler pointed to the young bot. "We aren't going back on our deal with you. You still have a place here on Earth and your fight against the Decepticons. This just means you now have more back up. Weapons we'll be developing will aid in our defense against them, and aid you."

"But what if these weapons get turned on us?" Ratchet asked. "Again, if these weapons fall into the wrong hands, what happens to us? We become a large potential target for your so called enemies."

"We won't let that happen…"

"But you don't know that! Humans can no more predict the future than a Cybertronian. You're people are but children playing with fire!" And with that, Ratchet stormed from the room.

All eyes followed him till he rounded the corner.

Bulkhead stared down at the floor, then turned to Miko. Nothing was said, but she got the message. Picking her up Bulkhead marched from the room with her on his shoulder. Arcee left without a word as well with Smokescreen behind her. Bumblebee's door wings lowered slightly before turning to Raf. The bespectacled boy didn't look too happy about the situation himself, and simply let Bumblebee carry him on out and on towards home.

That left Fowler with Optimus. And the agent felt the weight of the Prime's stare. "This was not your war, Agent Fowler. Our agreement was that we would keep the humans out of it and handle it ourselves."

"Well unfortunately, these new guys just made it our war when they announced it was happening on our planet. People are already banging on the White House's front gate, demanding to know why they weren't told. Other world leaders are looking for answers as well, wanting to know why the US had an alien alliance while they didn't. And if there has been an exchange of weapons technology. These Combaticons just painted a big red target on our backs. We're considered a major threat now. More so than we were before." With that, Fowler turned and headed for the exit with nothing else to say.

Optimus watched him depart. What could be said? The human was right about the situation. This group of newcomers had made a grave mistake, and now perhaps the country that had invited their people to live on their soil would pay the price.

A communications signal from the consol behind him turned the Prime's attention away. Approaching, he saw it was from Wheeljack. Optimus' mind instantly shifted from the Combaticons to the idea Wheeljack had information on their missing human friend. Answering the call he said, "Wheeljack, report."

/Got some news, boss bot,/ Wheeljack informed. /Though I'm afraid its not about Jack. Still nothing there I'm afraid. But I just got a ping with the Decepticons. Someone hit one of their energon mines and hit it bad. Took a whole shipment that was being prepped for Megatron to come and pick up/

"Any idea as to who?" Though a small part of Optimus had a suspect, or suspects, in mind.

/No sir. Soundwave kept it brief. Sure Megatron isn't too happy. May gun for us if they don't know who it was./

Optimus pondered on the information for only a moment. "Return to base Wheeljack. Your ship may be in need of refueling. You too may need some rest. You've been gone from base for some time."

/I can stay longer if need be Prime. I want to find Jack just as much as you do./ With that, the signal was cut. Wheeljack would continue to monitor the Decepticons for any sign of Jack.

But again that left Optimus to wonder what he was going to do about the Combaticons and the other set of problems that followed.

OOO

Arcee had left the base and taken the long drive back to the Darby house hold. She remotely opened the garage and once inside, immediately closed it up. Once the door closed she transformed, huddling in her usual corner where placement mats had been set. She smiled, thinking of the day Jack had come home with them. He said he didn't feel right for her to be laying on the concrete when she was protecting him. And this was the closest thing he could come up with as a bed for her to rest on. Not that she needed one. But the gesture was nice. She sat on those very mats, knees drawn to her chest and arms wrapped around them as she silently thought of her human partner.

There was still no clue to his whereabouts. It had been so long, Fowler had actually put his name and face up on missing persons list around the country. And with each passing second that went by, was another second Arcee believed Jack wasn't coming back. And that made her shrink in on herself more.

The house door opening drew her thoughts away and she looked to see June standing at the frame, still clad in her bathrobe and looking worse for wear. She crossed her arms tightly, looking down at the floor as she bare feet shuffled. "Arcee…"

"June… I…"

"I'm sorry."

Arcee blinked. "What?"

"I'm sorry. For the way I've been treating you, Optimus… everyone."

Arcee began to move from her mats to the woman. "You have no reason to apologize. You have every right to be angry."

"But I have no right to direct my anger on you," she said, looking Arcee in the optics. "Even with Jack gone, you still come and make sure I'm safe. And I know you're out there searching for him. Or the one who took him. And I'm here, pointing fingers and blaming everyone who had no control over what was going on." She turned away, pacing a little into the garage. She briefly looked over her shoulder. "I can hazard a guess that there hasn't been any news yet?"

Arcee shook her head. "None. Wheeljack is still watching to see if the Cons have anything to do with it, but no such luck."

"Do you think…"

"No," Arcee interrupted, know what June was going to ask. It was a lie really, considering she had been thinking that a second ago, but she wasn't going to let June think that. Or maybe she was saying it so she would believe it herself. "Jacks done far too much to simply… well. I believe he's alive."

"Do I want to know what could be happening to him?" She turned and watched Arcee shake her head. That dreadful feeling began to return as her mind couldn't help but think of the possible, horrid things her son could be going through.

Arcee watched June turn and move back into the house without another word. Her shoulders sagged and she could nothing but turn and crawl back to her mats. When she got to sitting against the wall, she was surprised to see June return, blanket wrapped around her as she moved over to the Autobot and sat down, her back too against the wall. Arcee blinked down at the woman. "June…"

"I'm just tired of spending the night alone in the house," she answered. "And I'm sure we both could use the company. This is just as hard on you as it is to me."

OOO

The time had come. It was three days since the arrival of the Combaticons, and Agent Kay stood in the abandon airfield he had made as the meeting point with them. He and several armed security personnel stood waiting as the time drew near. He was neither bored nor anxious. It was agreement of terms and trade of goods. With a group of alien robots. Nothing entirely new that their agency hadn't dealt with before, obviously. If they proved sincere in their word, everything would go smoothly. If not, there were snipers armed anti-tank riffles position to take them out a moment's notice.

His men shuffled slightly around him, trying to get use to the heat of the sun that bore down on them. Though he felt it all himself, he ignored it. But the sudden gust from the ground bridge opening before him was welcomed. He showed no form of emotion as the familiar black visage of the Prime-look-alike came through, Vortex and Breakdown on either side. His dark armor made him seem even more of an intimidating factor when it was in contrast with the surrounding desert.

When the bridge disappeared, it was Scourge who spoke. "Agent Kay." The face shield was still in place, but he could just barely make out the little movement of his jaw as he spoke.

"Scourge," Kay replied. "Glad you could make it," he said looking to his watch. "And right on time."

"The decision of our asylum?" the Combaticon asked, getting right to the point.

"Is granted. As long as you keep your end of the bargain; weapons and armor for a home of your own."

Scourge nodded and turned to Breakdown, who stepped forward. Taking a knee, the blue and white mech presented a small USB drive to the agent. Kay didn't bother asking how they managed to handle such a small thing in their massive care, but it did bother him a little. "What can we expect from this?"

"Weapon specs," Breakdown answered. "We took the liberty to dumb down some of the more technical terms for humans, and brought the size down to what you could at least mount onto a vehicle. The rest is up to you. Also some armor designs that could aid in your protection. And a few more juicy treats you'll find enjoyable." A disturbing smirk spread across his face. Mostly to continue with the former Decepticon act.

Kay eyed the former Con. "I bet."

"Now, as for our supposed home on this world?" Scourge asked, keeping up the façade.

"Your standing on it."

The three looked around, seeing nothing but a few plane hangers and empty desert with a old, rested fence surrounding the area. Scourge turned and narrowed his eyes down at the agent. "Is this a joke? There's nothing here worth accommodating."

Kay couldn't help but smirk. The agent lifted his wrist to his mouth. "Open it up," he said.

Behind the three mechs a large hatch began to move, lifting into the air to reveal a hidden ramp way down under the ground. The sudden movement had startled the three mech, each brandishing a set a weapons for an attack. Kay arched a brow, seeing Vortex draw two swords from his back. Waiting long enough, Kay simply walked past the three and started down towards the ramp and into the underground bunker. Seeing the human casual stroll on down, the three sheathed or holstered their weapons and followed the agent down into the ground.

"What is this place?" Scourge asked, ducking slightly as the ceiling became slightly low for his height.

"Back during the days of the cold war, we had many facilities like this one set up as private staging grounds for soldiers, weapons, vehicles, you name it. Overtime though they got moth balled. Half of them incomplete. But they are off the maps and planes aren't aloud to fly over the regions for nearly thirty miles in each direction."

They soon found themselves in front of a massive vault like door with another agent at a consol. With a nod, Kay gave the man the go ahead and he quickly turned to unlock the gate. A loud buzzing sound echoed from the door and it soon slowly swung open. The room inside still wasn't high enough for them, but could see it stretched on for some distance with what looked to be older digging equipment and construction vehicles at the far end.

Scourge kneeled to get a better look. He eyed the stair cases to the side which lead to two other floors that were unfinished. "It looks a bit small," he grunted, glaring down at the agent who didn't seem to sweat under the gaze.

"It is, but we'll be getting this thing up to your specs as soon as possible," Kay remarked as he entered the incomplete room. "It'll take some time, but we treat our neighbors well. You have any suggestions you fill me in and I'll see that it gets done. Will it be your immediate group, or should we be expecting more of your kind arriving?"

"There may be more," Scourge answered, Breakdown passing him a look. "We had gotten a message from some lost friends from the exodus of our world. But when they arrive we are not sure."

Kay nodded, and looked back into the room. "I'll see about some extra rooms be added. What about your ship?" he asked as he turned back to the group of robot aliens.

"It'll remain hidden until it is needed," Vortex answered, his accent catching Kay's ears.

"Can't let the Decepticons know where it is. Our numbers are few in comparison," Breakdown answered.

"Yes, especially with you defecting to another team," Kay remarked, staring at the scar on the 'former' Con's face. He walked past the mechs, making his way to the surface. The trio of Combaticons followed closely behind, looking forward to being able to stand at full height once more. "We'll begin construction in the morning. I've got plenty of men and vehicles on their way to get to work and we'll be basing most of the design work that was used for the Autobot's base. Equipment and personal flare will be left to you, if that's ok."

"We'll take care of that and notify you of anything we may need," Scourge said.

Without a gesture, a ground bridge burst beside them, causing Kay to flinch slightly as he wasn't expecting it. "How will we keep in touch? I didn't exactly give you my number."

"I hacked your PDA," Vortex simply answered and entered the bridge before the agent could argue.

Breakdown simply grinned and followed the flyer, while Scourge stood before the human. "Again, we will contact you should we need anything else. Good day, Agent Kay." With that farewell, Scourge entered the bridge and just a short while later, was the bridge room aboard the Harbinger. Looking around he saw the room was still under repair, but looking better than it was when they had found it. Most of the dirt and grime was gone, replaced with new layers of paneling. New lights illuminated the room in a better shade than the standard Decepticon purple.

Looking to the side, he saw a not so pleased Silas/Breakdown who seemed to glare at him. "What was that about us possibly having a message from old friends?"

"The Vehicons we captured. I thought we were going to use them for the next set of soldiers, sir," Scourge admitted, slightly perplexed that wasn't the case. "I thought it would look suspicious if we all of a sudden had more on our team than they realized."

"Not all of them. One or two yes but they could have easily been said to have been on the ship this entire time while we've been facing the masses and the government." Silas ran a hand down his face as he paced. "Its not a complete mess up though. We can salvage this. Maybe one can be repurposed and two could be used as our 'old friends' from the exodus that Starscream mentioned. But they're still under repair so it'll take some time."

Scourge nodded, head dipped slightly. "I apologize for my lack of judgment, sir. It won't happen again."

Silas gave a smile and approached the larger bot, hand patting his armored shoulder. "Don't worry about. What's done is done. This will at least give us an excuse to push the repairs on one a little further." He turned and began to march out of the room, heading towards the communications center. "Come along Scourge. The next step in our plans will begin soon."

Scourge began to follow, again making sure to step lightly around the humans that surrounded them. It was a small trip through the remains of the ship but eventually they reached their destination. Scourge was little surprised to find Swindle at the helm of controls, looking to be speaking with someone on the other end. Approaching, he could hear the former arms dealer discussing something about weapons trade. Narrowing his red optics, Scourge moved to remove Swindle from his seat and most likely through a wall, till Silas held and arm up to stop him.

"Now, now, Scourge. Swindle is simply doing as ordered."

"Sir?"

"Swindle, before he became Swindle, was an arms dealer. Of course things went bad and I eventually enlisted him into our little group, but he still has some use via his old contacts. Part of my plan is using these contacts."

"But he's talking about arms trade with alien tech. OUR alien tech," Scourge argued.

"Exactly. The world knows aliens and their technology exist on their world, and so everyone is going to be paying handsomely for just a taste. Of course our new landlords get first dibs, but they're technically getting it for free. We need supplies, technicians, and soldiers. And not one of them are free."

"So we sell specs for cash to buy supplies and men for our cause."

"And to pay the ones under us now. Some or loyalists to our cause. Some believe they may gain bodies like ours. And of course there are the ones who do it solely for the money."

Swindle ended his communication with whoever it was on the other line, and spun in his seat. "Got the fifth one today, boss," he cheered, standing up after the third spin. "And they are willing to pay BIG!"

Scourge growled at Swindle, still not liking the idea. "And how did you tell them you would be getting the tech from the 'alien robots', Swindle?" He looked to Silas. "Sir, this is a bit too soon. Its only been three days and just made a trade with America. If other countries start getting their hands on alien weapons, it'll look bad on us."

"Hey, hey, relax!" Swindle said, stepping up to the two. "I've got this. I didn't tell them I HAD the goods, but I could get them. Just a little time. They're not paying up just yet but the prices they're giving are great. I'd say at least a few weeks before they start blowing up our communications with questions as to how its going on our end."

"Good work Swindle," Silas said. "We'll leave it that for now. Once they have their goods, others will come crawling and willing to pay at a much larger sum."

Silas began to leave the room, Swindle beside him as they discussed their future in the trade and what it instilled for MECH and the Combaticons. Not everything of course.

Scourge was left watching them, fuming. It was too risky and to early for his liking. Many things could go wrong. Their new 'home' was hardly started on. Not that they really needed it. Once the ship was complete, that would be all they needed. The bunker presented to them was just something to use if necessary.

He marched from the room, his mind drifting. He didn't pay much attention to where he was going, but again was mindful of where he stepped. From time to time, he was asked to help hold something in place while the humans work force secured it in place. Usually a large piece of shielding to put inside a wall. Or a wall itself. It wasn't long though he found himself in the brig, eyes focused on the back room that leads to Starscream's cell. He didn't know why but he couldn't help but go and check on their prisoner.

The former Decepticon commander flinched and scurried against the wall when Scourge entered. It was almost sad. As he entered fully, he noticed the untouched energon cube sitting to the side just out of Starscream's reach. Taking another glance at the Decepticon, he took the cube and slowly approached. He held it out, and the Con just stared. "Take it," Scourge said, gesturing to the cube with a nod.

Starscream eyed him for only a few seconds before shaky, thin fingers reached for the cube. Seeing that the Prime twin didn't snatch out from his reach, Starscream carefully took the cube up from Scourge's hand and began to drink. The dullness of his optics brightened at the fresh taste and soon the cube was empty, damn near licked dry. With a sigh the seeker fell against the wall, content that his systems had a brief replenishment of energy.

Scourge hunched down, arms resting on his bent knees as he looked at Starscream. "Better?" he asked.

"Much," Starscream answered, then remembered who he was talking to. He narrowed his eyes at Scourge, slowly setting the cube aside. "Why give it to me? The other two brutes seemed to enjoy teasing me with it."

"I'm not like them," he said, and stood up. "Plus you're no good to us dead. You may still have information we could use. History for example."

"You wish to know about our history," Starscream stated more than questioned. "Beyond our war."

"Correct."

"Which tells me you either came online other than Cybertron, or you're not Cybertronian at all."

"Either or, it doesn't change a thing." The door opening behind him took his attention from the seeker to see Brawl step through, pausing as he saw Scourge in the cell. "What is it?"

Brawl looked down at Starscream, who shrunk away slightly from his stare, and then to Scourge. "Just stopping by to play 'kick the con'," he said with a slight southern chuckle. "Though I see you gave him the energon we left in here," his hand gesturing the empty cube.

"Another time. When we need answers."

"What's the fun of having a prisoner if we can't beat him down a notch or two. Besides, he's just a Deception." He laughed. "Hell, not even that anymore." He took a step forward, but a hand on his chest stopped him. He looked at the black armored hand and followed to Scourge, who glared at him.

"Enough. Go find something more important to do."

Brawl narrowed his eyes. "Or wh…"

It was kind of funny, seeing someone as large and imposing as Brawl get thrown out the cell door, body smashing into another open cell with an impression of his back in the metal. Shaking the birds that circled his head away, he looked up in time to see Scourge activate the cell, barring the tank Combaticon from leaving. With a growl he charged the energy field, thinking his brute force would allow him to breach. Again it was funny seeing his size just shake and crumble upon hitting the field, lying on the floor twitching in a bit of pain.

Scourge just stared down at him, pitifully. "Just lay there for a minute and cool your circuits."

OOO

Megatron, supreme ruler of all Decepticons. The former gladiator hardly had an equal that could match any and every aspect of his being. Aside from perhaps Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader is the only being to ever match him in combat, skill, and tactics. Not even his predecessor, Zeta Prime, could boast that.

Currently the user of Dark Energon stood in the command deck of the Nemesis watching the recorded footage of these 'Combaticons' that Soundwave had witnessed attacking on of his energon mines. Beside it was the live feed from some Earth days ago when this new group made themselves known. That was how he learned of their name, their insignia. A faction outside the two known groups of their never ending war. One that had dared to steal from him.

He watched the humans exit the ground bridge, and frown even deeper as he watched them aid in stealing his energon supply. MECH was what they were called. A group of humans who used stolen and advanced technology for whatever feeble human goal they had planned. For so long they had been trying to duplicate Cybertronian technology. Now it would seem they had found allies to give them said tech, or they were made by MECH themselves and were simply posing as one of their own.

"Were you able to fix the source of their ground bridge?" Megatron asked his super spy. He watched him silently shake his head, just once, and that was all Megatron needed. He growled and turned away from the screen. "This group of human filth think they are smart. Already they've proven how foolish they are for taking this act against me." He slowly strode out from the command room with Soundwave trailing behind. He turned down the hall where Knock-Out had been standing, arms crossed and seemingly lost in thought. Megatron was no fool and could see the ship's resident doctor was a little put off at seeing the resurrected Breakdown. "Your thoughts, doctor?"

"Afraid I'm a little stumped on the matter, my-lord," Knock-Out admitted. "But his actions didn't strike me much as the same Breakdown we are familiar with." He eyed the Decepticon leader. "I'd have to get up close to know more." There was an underlying hint in his voice. One not used by the doctor so much. Breakdown and he were close. Friends as it wore. Not something you would normally see within the ranks of Decepticons, but they were there. And finding that someone had tampered with his 'friend's' corpse didn't set well too much with him.

"You may get your chance. Fools like them think they're invincible after performing such an act against a superior foe and will try again." He looked over his shoulder at the ever silent Soundwave. "I want a high alert placed on all our mining locations. If anything is amiss I want to be informed immediately." He turned away and continued on towards his throne room. "I will greet these upstarts personally, to let them know the error they have made in making me an enemy."

OOO

"I got a lead!" Raf shouted from his little perch where the human charges usually sat at. The only occupants in the room at the time was Ratchet, Miko, Bulkhead, Arcee, and himself. Bumblebee, Optimus, and Smokescreen were out on patrol, the Autobot leader once more taking his time to see ensure that June was safe, though she was now returning to work since she no longer had any vacation days to use up.

Miko jumped over and sat next to the boy genius, with the group of Autobots standing behind them to get a look at the screen. "I ran my usual match program that I use in case anyone ever spots bumblebee."

"Though you probably don't have to do that anymore now that the world knows he exists," Miko noted.

Raf sighed. "True. But I used it match anything that could tie to any of the images Fowler saved on the unknown Con that took Jack. It took some time, but I've got one match. And it's a video on YouTube."

"What's YouTube?" Ratchet asked.

"It's an awesome site where people post videos running from educational to stupid," Miko answered simply. She turned back to the screen. "So what kind of video? One of those that usually about alien sightings or something?"

Raf blushed slightly, seeing the poster image for the film. "Not exactly."

Pressing play, they watched the film begin, and there it was. The same vehicle that had changed into the Decepticon. An unfamiliar song began to play, the camera shifting from one angle to another till a set of bare, feminine legs came out into view. Raf's cheeks began to heat up even further as the camera began to pan up, showing she was in nothing but a two piece bathing suit, hand gripping a soaked sponge. She had slight Asian feature to her much like Miko, but also revealed some English lineage. Her hair was long, stopping just past her shoulder and as dark as the color of the Decepticon sitting in his alternate mode beside her.

From there, was a slow video of her washing the 'car' beside her, the speed depending on the tempo of the music. It wasn't long before Raf found his eyes covered by Miko, with her commenting he was too young to be watching that. Bulkhead however commented that HE might be too young for watching it. Arcee just stared, mouth agape with an arched brow. Ratchet sputtered, once more unable to sat anything.

But Miko was quick to pause the video as it landed at a good angle of the Con's hood, granted it showed a good portion of the woman's body stretched across it, nearly naked chest pressing against it while she too was soaking wet. "That's our Con," she said, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly. There on the shaker, the car shaker not the woman's, was the Decepticon insignia.

Shaking her head, Arcee looked to the group. "We've got to tell Prime we've found him."

Clearing his throat and making sure to look from screen, Ratchet nodded ."Yes. I'll inform him we have a lead on the kidnapper."

"But I don't get it," Bulkhead started, making sure to avert his eyes slightly. "If he's the one who took Jack, then what is he doing in a video like THAT? Doesn't exactly scream your typical Con activity. Well, maybe Knock-Out. But he'd have to be REALLY dirty and desperate."

"Any chance you can run a trace as to where that video was done?" Arcee asked Raf.

"Y… yea. I can. Sorta," he answered, and looked down in the comment section. It wasn't hard. Miko could do it actually. A link or two later, they were at the main page of the owner of the video, which then led to a Facebook page. It was the same young woman that was washing the 'car'. "Got her. Naomi Wells. She lives in a suburban neighborhood down in… Miami, Florida." He paused, looking at glimpses of her other videos. "She's got more. And from what I see, the Con is in each one!"

Sure enough, watching 'highlights' of other videos showed the same car, the woman in a different bikini but performing the same act of washing down her 'ride'.

"Man I want to be him."

Everyone jumped and looked back to see Smokescreen had arrived, very silently. He was staring intently at the screen.

"When did you get here?" Arcee asked.

"About two vids back," he answered. "So this is the girlImeanCon that took Jack?" Was a smooth save there.

Arcee nodded, glaring at the young bot then at the screen. She was instantly reminded of the staring contest they had just before he took Jack through the ground bridge. "That's him."

OOO

Shortly there after, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and even Agent Fowler arrived to set the next step in motion on dealing with the Decepticon. Wheeljack had arrived a bit earlier, and was hanging back. Fowler had watched the video, quiet for a long time before stepping back and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "All of a sudden I feel really… old." He turned back to Team Prime, especially Raf. "Good work there kid."

Raf blushed slightly at the praise. "Thanks."

"So what's our next step," Smokescreen asked. "We swoop in and get him when he least expects it?"

"Not that easy son," Fowler said, raising a hand to calm the anxious bot. "They're in a suburban neighborhood. A lot of people in the area. Can't have you going in and starting a fight while there may be kids playing ball right next door."

"I agree," Prime spoke. "We must tread lightly on this situation so as not to put any innocent people in harms way." Bumblebee beeped a few times to the Prime, who nodded in agreement. "Yes, the young woman in the video must be kept safe as well. It is obvious she does not know who it is impersonating as her own vehicle." He looked over to the agent. "Is there anyway to lure other civilians from the area to a safer location which would allow us to confront the Decepticon?"

Fowler thought for a second. It was a tricky, but there was certain ways to do it. But the problem was making sure the Decepticon didn't know. And they couldn't risk the girl knowing anything was up either, otherwise she would leave in the Decepticon posing as he means of transportation. "It's tricky, but I may a have plan," he said, looking up to Prime. "But I'll need some time to get it ready. You guys as well. Need a team in on this ready to strike in case he notices something is up."

Miko beemed, her pigtails bouncing in anticipation. "Sweet, sunny Miami, here we come!" she whooped, fist thrust into the air.

"Now, now Miko," Bulkhead started. "I think you're going to have to sit this one out. This guy is an unknown. No telling what he may do."

"But Bulkhead…"

"He is right, Miko," Prime said, gaining the young human's attention. "If he is familiar with Jack, he will most likely notice you and make you a target against us."

When Raf saw Miko look a little confused, he clarified. "What he means is, they don't want to risk the Con catching you and using you to slow them down."

"Like he can catch me."

"If you guys like, I'll stay behind and keep an eye on her," Wheeljack said, stepping up close to the humans. "This is a more personal thing for you guys. I like Jack, good kid, but you guys have known him longer. I'll sit around with Ratchet and keep the place safe while you bust the Con down a peg or two."

Unbeknownst to the group, he looked to Miko and gave her a wink. Catching on to the wrecker, Miko giggled. But quickly straightened up and 'fumed' that she was going to be left behind. "Fine," she said, looking away, arms crossed. She averted her eyes from Raf when he looked at her suspiciously.

"So who's going to catch the Con?" Fowler asked.

"Myself, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Arcee," Optimus answered. "Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Smokescreen will remain here in case there is an emergency or otherwise."

"Like discovering another Iacon Relic," Ratchet added.

Optimus nodded to the old medic. "Exactly."

Fowler nodded, and begun digging into his pocket. "Good then. I'll start making some calls and get things prepped. We should be ready to go in two days, tops."

"That quick?" Arcee asked.

"You're not the only one who misses the kid," Fowler said as he raised his phone to his ear. "I've had things prepped and ready to move in just an occasion. Plus, he's the only one to keep Miko in check. Save's me a little of my hair color. Not to mention his mother needs him just as the rest of us do."

Arcee nodded, reflecting back to June. She was back to work, but it didn't do anything to change her mood. She and Arcee had spent more time together, talking mostly. June had actually brought out old baby photos of Jack and Arcee couldn't help but admit he looked so cute. It was strange seeing something so small and… well, bland looking, turn into, and she quoted June, 'a handsome young man'. Not that Arcee didn't agree or anything.

She blinked. Where'd that come from? she thought.

To Be Continued…

Chapter 02 is done. Not as long as the first but close. But then again, I think I simply filled a page worth of author comments at the end so maybe that shouldn't count. I feel I could have done more with the fighting at the beginning, but I simply wanted to play out the story a bit more. I love leaving people guessing.

And the world is mad that alien exist on their soil. Who didn't see that coming? Think about it. What country is going to be cool with the idea that another country has aliens living right next door, and weren't informed of it?

So now we're entering my OC. He'll become vocal in the next chapter. Expect possible surprises.

You're thoughts on Scourge and the rest of the Combaticons. Remember, reviews are fuel for me.