Chapter 3: Firefight in the Atlantic
"It. . .it's the Autobots!" cried Rumble in horror.
"I told you we should have destroyed them when we had the chance!" cried Starscream.
"Decepticons, stand your ground!" ordered Megatron. "Transform! Transform!" He then transformed to gun mode, landing in Starscream's hands. Starscream fired, but the Autobots were able to avoid the shot.
"Autobots, charge!" cried Optimus Prime as he led his troops into battle. The workers ran off, looking for somewhere to hide. The Decepticons scrambled as the Autobots charged forward, firing away. Starscream fired the Megatron gun again, but Prime avoided the shot and fired, disarming Starscream.
However, Megatron transformed back to robot mode and landed on his feet. Prime dropped his gun and he and Megatron locked hands, trying to overpower each other. "Don't interfere, Prime!" demanded Megatron.
"I will, and I must!" said Optimus defiantly.
"I made a mistake by leaving you and the Autobots to rust," said Megatron. "But I shall correct that mistake by destroying you now!"
"Not today, not any day, Megatron!" yelled Prime as he and Megatron continued their test of strength.
Optimus, however, soon fell to his knees, hands still locked with Megatron's. Megatron grinned and asked, "Getting weaker, Optimus?"
"I'm just warming up," said Optimus as he forced his way back to his feet. When he was standing again, he hit Megatron in the mid-section with his knee, breaking Megatron's grasp. He then grabbed Megatron by the arm and threw him to the ground. However, Megatron lashed out with a kick, knocking Prime back. Megatron then stood up and charged, only to be caught with a right to the jaw. Megatron yelled and responded with a right hand of his own as the two leaders traded blows.
Zack, Cody, Bailey, and Maya watched the battle while still trapped inside the force field. For some reason, however, Zack seemed to be enjoying this more than the others. "This is awesome!"
"Yeah, until we get ourselves killed!" said Maya. "We're still trapped in here!"
"Not for long," came a voice. The four of them turned to see Rewind and Eject land nearby. Eject, the previous speaker, said, "Get down." Though surprised to see the two small robots coming to their rescue, they did as they were told. Rewind and Eject fired, destroying the force field and freeing them.
As the teens stood up, Rewind asked, "Are you alright?" Not knowing what else to say, they simply nodded. Rewind then said, "Good. Now find a place to hide."
"While we kick some tailgate!" finished Eject as he and Rewind went to join their companions in battle.
Zack, Cody, Bailey, and Maya ran, searching desperately for a place to hide. When they did, they just watched the battle. As it intensified, Bailey exclaimed, "It's a war zone here! There's nowhere safe!"
Blitzwing transformed into a tank and fired at Springer, who was charging in his car mode. However, Springer avoided the shots, asking, "Losing your touch, Blitzwing?"
As both transformed to robot mode, Blitzwing said, "You will wish you hadn't said that, Autobot." Springer continued to charge, drawing a sword. A sword appeared in Blitzwing's own right hand and the two clashed. After several clashes, Blitzwing managed to kick Springer down. He then drew his gun and fired, but Springer was able to roll to the side and avoid the shot. He got to his feet and charged, avoiding some of Blitzwing's shots and deflecting more with his sword. One deflected shot knocked Blitzwing's gun out of his left hand, momentarily distracting him. This was all the time Springer needed to jump into the air. When he came down, he cut off Blitzwing's right arm. Blitzwing dropped to his knees, screaming in pain. Springer then put him out of his misery by knocking him out with one punch, sword still in hand.
As he and one group of Autobots fired away, Ironhide cried out, "Blast them, guys! Turn them to scrap!"
"I'll mow you down!" cried Cliffjumper.
"Now this is what I call a battle!" added Brawn.
"This is what I call senseless violence," protested Mirage.
"You want to try telling them that, Mirage?" asked Prowl.
"We tell them nothing!" said Slag. "We fight!"
"Me Grimlock love stupid enemies. Transform and destroy!" ordered Grimlock. Grimlock and his unit then transformed into robotic dinosaurs. Grimlock fought off multiple Decepticons with sheer brute force. Slag then charged forward and ran through several more.
Rumble and Frenzy activated their pile driver arms as Rumble asked, "What's say we shake things up a little?" They then slammed their pile drivers into the ground.
However, Sludge roared and stomped, taking Rumble and Frenzy off their feet. He said, "Me Sludge shake you up!" He then breathed fire from his mouth and Snarl joined in by firing energy from his tail.
Skywarp and Thundercracker transformed and took to the air. "Heat-seeking missiles, seek heat!" cried Skywarp as he fired said missiles. However, Swoop fired his own missiles, causing them to destroy each other. He then began flapping his wings furiously, creating winds powerful enough to cause Thundercracker and Skywarp to lose control and fall.
As he and Skywarp began descending, Thundercracker cried, "Mayday! Mayday!" The other Decepticons scrambled as the two jets crashed.
"This will stop them," said Astrotrain as he transformed to train mode. He then proceeded to run over Grimlock, Slag, Sludge, and Snarl. He then transformed to space shuttle mode, took off, and fired, taking down Swoop. Grimlock and his team then transformed back to robot mode and frowned. They each began firing on Astrotrain. Astrotrain, however, avoided the shots, transformed back to robot mode, and fired, taking them down. Apparently, they were more vulnerable in robot mode than dinosaur mode.
"Watch your back, Astrotrain!" cried Brawn as he charged forward. Astrotrain turned and fired, but Brawn jumped over the shots and landed a dropkick to his chest, causing him to stumble.
Astrotrain pointed his gun, only to find no one there. "Where'd he go?"
"Don't you worry about him," said a voice from behind. Astrotrain turned to see Hound. "You'd best worry about yourself. And me." He then fired, taking Astrotrain down.
Brawn smiled as he seemingly appeared out of thin air. Brawn chuckled and said, "Holograms are an Autobot's best friend."
"And a Decepticon's worst enemy," added Hound before he and Brawn shared a laugh. Hound then went over to Grimlock and his bunch, asking, "Are you five okay?"
"Me Swoop okay," answered Swoop.
"Why you ask?" asked Snarl. "You think we weak?"
"It take more than Astrotrain to stop us," said Grimlock. "Now, let us go." They then went to help the other Autobots.
Starscream and Jetfire were exchanging blows. Starscream smiled and said, "Hello, Jetfire, old friend. It has been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Not long enough, Starscream," said Jetfire with a frown. They traded blows and gunfire. Though Jetfire was much bigger and stronger than Starscream, Starscream was better-suited and better-trained for combat, so the two were evenly matched.
Reflector fired away at Arcee in her car mode, but the shots bounced harmlessly off of her. "Out of my way, boys!" yelled Arcee as she ran over all three robots that composed Reflector. "I want Nightracer!"
"You'll have to get through us first!" said Runabout.
"We're the hardest-charging dudes in the entire Decepticon army!" added Runamuck as he and Runabout began firing away at the charging Arcee.
Having heard Runabout and Runamuck's banter even as she fired away at other Autobots, Nightracer grumbled to herself, "And the most obnoxious."
Arcee transformed to robot mode and ran towards Runabout and Runamuck, avoiding gunfire as she did so. "Hold still, girly!" cried Runabout.
"Not a chance!" said Arcee as she jumped into the air. She landed two kicks to Runabout, taking him down. Runamuck tried to shoot her, but Arcee cart-wheeled out of the way before hitting him with a jumping spin-kick. Ravage, however, tackled her.
As Arcee struggled to fight off Ravage, Nightracer ran over to the fallen Runabout and Runamuck, asking, "Do I have to do everything for you two?"
As Nightracer pointed her gun, Hot Rod noticed the situation and transformed to car mode, charging the female Decepticon. Arcee finally fought off Ravage. However, before Nightracer could fire at her, Hot Rod transformed back to robot mode and kicked her gun arm, causing her blast to go astray. Hot Rod then punched Nightracer, picked her up over his head and tossed her away. "Sorry to do that to a femme, but you left me no choice," said Hot Rod. He then turned to Arcee and gave her the thumbs-up. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, Arcee, Hot Rod's got your back."
Arcee drew two guns from holsters on her legs and frowned, saying, "You don't have my back, Hot Rod. You don't have a clue." She then began firing away at other Decepticons.
As he fired his tailpipe guns, Hot Rod returned the frown and said, "Well, excuse me for trying to help."
Arcee and Hot Rod stopped firing as a still-frowning Arcee got in Hot Rod's face, saying, "You can help by not sticking your nose in my business!"
Springer then ran forward, saying, "Quit your bickering, you two, and hop on!" He transformed into a helicopter, saying, "We're going to show those Cons who's boss!" Arcee holstered one of her guns as Hot Rod drew his regular gun. Springer took off and the three of them fired away, taking down Decepticons in the air as well as on the ground.
However, Ramjet put a stop to that as he transformed to jet mode and took off, ramming into Springer and causing both to crash. Hot Rod and Arcee, however, were able to jump off and land on the ground unharmed. "Springer!" they both cried out at the same time, concern etched on their faces.
However, three more Decepticon jets began firing away at Hot Rod and Arcee, forcing them to scramble. These were Slugslinger, Triggerhappy, and Misfire. Slugslinger said, "You'd best worry about yourselves than your comrade, Autobots!"
"Compassion always was an Autobot's weakness," said Misfire as he and his comrades transformed and landed, firing away in their robot modes.
"And soon, you'll be ready for the scrap yard!" said Triggerhappy almost maniacally. As his name indicated, he was certainly more reckless and trigger-happy than the others, firing away without aiming.
"Whoa!" cried Bumblebee as he dove to the side to avoid Triggerhappy's shots. "That was close!"
"This will protect us," said Trailbreaker as he activated a force field.
"A force field," said Triggerhappy as he and his two teammates stopped firing.
"They can't keep it up forever," said Misfire. "Just keep firing!"
"No," said Slugslinger. "Save your ammo. There are plenty of other Autobots for us."
"You got that right," said a voice from behind. The three jets turned to see Jazz, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe charging towards them. Sunstreaker spoke up again, saying, "Like us, for instance."
"And you're going down hard!" declared Sideswipe. He and Sunstreaker then proceeded to knock down both Triggerhappy and Misfire.
Slugslinger tried to shoot Jazz, but Jazz rolled out of the way and fired, knocking Slugslinger's gun out of his hands. Jazz then smiled and said, "Rewind, Eject, do your thing!" Slugslinger turned, only to be gunned down by Rewind and Eject.
However, Ravage pounced on both Rewind and Eject, forcing Jazz to try and bail them out. "Stay out of this, Decepti-Kitty!" He tried to shoot Ravage, but he was too fast. He soon was forced to worry about himself, as he heard cawing. He turned to see Laserbeak and Buzzsaw firing away as they swooped down. Jazz was able to avoid the shots with some fancy footwork before firing back.
While all of this was going on, Trailbreaker shut off his force field as Windcharger said, "And while they're doing that, let's take care of these two." He, Bumblebee, and Trailbreaker turned to see Thrust and Dirge attempting an air attack. The three Autobots fired at the two Decepticon jets, but missed. Thrust and Dirge fired missiles, taking them down.
"Oh, no you don't!" declared Ratchet as he, Wheeljack, and Inferno approached.
"Take this!" cried Wheeljack as he fired the laser on his shoulder, Ratchet fired two guns, and Inferno fired the gun in place of his right hand as well as a gun in his left hand, finally taking Thrust and Dirge down.
Inferno laughed and said, "That'll put their fire out."
Blaster and Soundwave, the two communications officers, squared off. Blaster said, "I've been waiting a long time for this, you sorry excuse for a sound system."
"All talk, no shock," said Soundwave as he and Blaster used sonic weapons built into their bodies. Soundwave won that duel, sending Blaster flying. Blaster charged and tried to fight Soundwave head-to-head, but Soundwave was too strong.
Zack, Cody, Bailey, and Maya watched the battle. Optimus Prime and Megatron landed close to them, Prime having tackled Megatron. "Give it up, Megatron!"
"Never!" cried Megatron. "You and every last Autobot will be destroyed!" He then kicked Optimus off.
As both leaders got to their feet, Optimus pointed to Megatron, saying, "You destroy everything you touch, Megatron!"
"That's because everything I touch is food for my hunger," responded Megatron. "My hunger for POWER!" He then fired his fusion cannon, but Prime dodged the shot and charged forward, knocking down Megatron again.
"Wow," said Zack. "Those two REALLY don't like each other!"
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," said Cody sarcastically.
Optimus pinned Megatron's shoulders down, saying, "Call if off, Megatron! Call it off!"
"Never!" yelled Megatron defiantly. A smaller gun barrel clicked to his side and he proceeded to blast his foe in the midsection at point-blank range. As Optimus went down, Megatron took to the air, ordering, "Decepticons, gather the Energon cubes! We go!" The battle itself had pretty much been a stalemate, but the Decepticons were still able to escape with the cubes. Optimus stood and looked up at Megatron with a frown as Megatron said, "A little going-away present for you, Optimus Prime. Have a nice swim!" He pointed his fusion cannon and fired, blasting a hole in the middle of the oil rig.
The unsteady foundation began to crack. Once it did, the Autobots and the humans onboard began to fall into the water. Zack, Cody, Bailey, and Maya screamed as they fell in, holding onto a derrick for dear life. Soon, they found themselves trapped inside the derrick after it fell in along with them. Megatron then fired at an oil container, causing it to explode. As flames shot skyward, Megatron was right in the middle of them, laughing. Oil had spilled onto the remainder of the rig as well as into the water and soon caught fire. The Decepticons flew away with the Energon cubes.
As the fire began to spread, Prime cried out, "Prowl, Jetfire, find some level ground! We need to get these humans out of here!"
The Autobots proceeded to help the workers try to escape. Even though many of them didn't trust the Autobots, most of them were smart enough to realize this was their only chance to escape with their lives. Jetfire and Prowl were able to find a level surface big enough for Jetfire to transform onto. Prime soon joined them. When the workers were placed near Jetfire, Prime said, "Get in. We'll take care of things here."
One worker frowned at Optimus, asking, "Why should we trust you? How do we know you're not with those other robots?"
Prowl knelt down with a frown on his face and said, "Hey, we're trying to help you! Now, you can either take your chances with us, or you can stay here and die. The choice is yours."
Another worker then asked, "If you metallic freaks care so much, why haven't you done anything to help those kids?" He was pointing at the four trapped teenagers.
Optimus and Prowl turned to see Zack, Cody, Bailey, and Maya trapped in the fallen derrick. Maya cried out, "Somebody, help us! We're trapped!"
"Oh, no," said Bailey. "The fire's getting closer!"
Prime's optics narrowed as he said, "I'll handle this. Prowl, see to it that the rest of these humans are safely evacuated."
"But, Prime. . ." began Prowl.
"That's an order!" cried Optimus as he dove into the water.
The workers watched as Optimus Prime made his way over to the four trapped youngsters. Nothing more was said as they began boarding Jetfire, who said, "All aboard!" Once all the workers were inside, Jetfire took off.
"Look, someone's coming," said Cody. "I just hope he's one of the good guys."
Optimus Prime reached the four friends, saying, "Hold still!" They did as they were told, allowing the Autobot leader to raise the derrick.
As the foursome swam and got onto Prime's shoulders, the fire suddenly accelerated! Prime's optics widened as the four young humans watched in horror. "We're surrounded!" cried Bailey in fear.
"Hold onto me!" said Optimus. "Keep your heads above water!"
To Be Continued
