The Decepticon 'deck' was merely the top of a keel-shaped vessel that extended one hundred metres below the surface. It stood off the reef; it was too large to cross it.

"I'm going to risk surfacing," Kwame said.

As the sub bobbed to the surface, they saw the two jets taking off from the flight deck, and an amphibious jeep and tank running as a surprisingly high speed through the sea.

It seemed to be the day for amphibious vehicles. An amphibious car, some kind of Cadillac painted an unpleasant shade of pink. The windows were tinted but a female voice (not, as they momentarily feared, Doctor Blight's) shouted, surprisingly loudly, "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Come on," Wheeler said, "Let's get after them!"

Ma-Ti looked indecisive, "But if they're all heading to shore, we can rescue Gi!"

"You are right, Ma-Ti," said Kwame, his eyes locked on the carrier ship, "we should take this chance while it presents itself. Let's go!"

They drove the sub forward and brought it sharply alongside the carrier. "Alright, let's rumble!" Wheeler said as they jumped from the sub hatch to the rim of the deck. It seemed deserted, but the windows of the bridge rose from the tower at the stern. Linka looked wide-eyed at it, "They will know we're here!"

Wheeler smirked his wise-guy smirk, and then looked to the floor: "Fire!"

Tracing the laser-beam of his fire power, he cut a hole through the deck, albeit with some difficulty. "Wow, that stuff's tough!"

Linka stepped up boldly, "My turn: Wind!"

A vortex of wind roared up around the four Planeteers and carried them down the forty-five-foot distance to the next level.

"Planeteers, always making an entrance in the wrong place."

They found themselves confronted by Zarm, with Rumble and Ravage alongside.

"Where is Gi," Kwame demanded.

"It hardly matters," Zarm said coldly, "you won't get there except as prisoners yourselves."

"We'll see about that," Linka snapped, "Wind!"

"Fire!" Wheeler activated his ring, with the result that a raging cloud of fire, propelled by Linka's wind power roared into the faces of the spirit and the two robots. Zarm vanished, teleporting away. The Decepticons were thrown off-balance and they dashed past them. Wheeler wielded his power yet again, and when Ravage leaped to pursue them, his tail was welded to the floor!

"Well done, Wheeler," Ma-Ti said as they pelted down the corridor. Rumble was still chasing them, but they found the way to what seemed to be a very large version of a service stairway.

They descended into a cavernous space like a factory floor. Something was being built there, and in front of it rose a column of blue light, within which they saw…

"Gi! Commander Clash!"

Kwame's heart clenched to see both of them lying on the floor inside the field. Clash stirred at their approach, and called out, "Don't touch the containment field!"

They skidded to a halt. Kwame's mind jammed. He hadn't counted on a force field! He methodically scanned the room, but saw nothing he could recognize offhand as being the controls for the field.

"Gi looks unresponsive!" Linka stared wide-eyed into the prison, "How do we get them out?"

"They do not come out. You go in."

Soundwave emerged from the shadows alongside the cell, pointing a menacing-looking weapon at them. Behind him, an elevator mechanism appeared to be descending behind.

Dr. Blight appeared behind him, half her attention on the large seaplane on the bay floor she was working on, and screeched, "Don't just stand there, noise-box, shoot them!"

"Planeteers," Clash rasped, "Run!"

"Negative," Soundwave replied flatly, "Humans to be taken into custody, by decree of Megatron."

Wheeler raised his fist, "One more step and I'll melt your face off!" It was a surprisingly vicious threat for a Planeteer to make, but rarely had their backs been so firmly against the wall.

Dr. Blight cackled suddenly, "He's got backup now, Planet-pests! It's ready, Soundwave!"

Dispassionately, Soundwave commanded, "Maleficent, transform!"

As the other Decepticons had done at Reunion, the seaplane broke apart and began rearranging itself. What finally stood there was the robotic version of a lean but powerful humanoid, clad in armour from the plane's hull, with shoulder-mounted cannons that were apparently its pontoons. But the face was what transfixed them: it was a solid version of the sinister MAL, Blight's computer sidekick!

"The Decepticons' part of the bargain," Blight said proudly, leaning on Maleficent's leg, "my sweet MAL, with a body of his own, and weapons to match!"

"It's…extraordinary," MAL, or Maleficent, said softly, "my most sophisticated reasoning algorithm could not have imagined the range of motion…the sensation…"

Abruptly his shoulder cannon let loose a blast of white-hot plasma. A section of the service stairs was blasted into pieces and tumbled in a heap to the floor.

The elevator in the wall of the bay finished its descent. Soundwave turned to regard the arrival, "Megatr-"

There was a roar of an engine, a screech of brakes, and a crash as Soundwave's legs were knocked out from under him.

The Planeteers stumbled out of the way, leaving an open space between Soundwave, the cell, and the pink amphicar that had just screeched to a halt at the end of the bay.

"Whoa," Wheeler exclaimed, "it's the, pink, motorized…amphibious…cavalry!"

The same female voice that had heckled them in the submarine spoke again, "Yep, you got that right, mate!"

The car, not altogether surprisingly, promptly transformed into a robot: a lean, sleek, pink-and-silver, albeit armoured and carrying a short rifle, oddly feminine-looking robot.

"What is it?" MAL cried in alarm, stumbling back, apparently not yet in total control of his new body yet.

Soundwave, scrambling to his feet, likewise retreated several paces, "Autobot alert! Autobot alert!"

"Autobot?" Linka queried to no-one in particular.

"Name's Arcee," said the new robot perfunctorily, "don't talk, just run!"

"But," Wheeler spluttered, "the catwalk's out and our friends are in there!" He pointed to the force field.

The Autobot's shoulders seemed to droop briefly as she took aim at Soundwave, "Oh, slag all, I gotta do everything?" Then she fired. A red bolt lanced out at Soundwave and hit his knee, knocking him back into a kneel. Then she shot again in his collar, and he tumbled back into the wall. "Right, you lot," she added, "get your mates and run!" She turned and dealt a roundhouse kick to a conduit in the wall. A massive fount of sparks and flame erupted and the containment field abruptly winked out.

"Get them," Ma-Ti cried.

Kwame and Wheeler hoisted Commander Clash under each arm. Linka and Ma-Ti did the same for Gi.

"To the lift," Arcee yelled. They hobbled as fast as they could to the platform. Arcee backed in, her gun trained on the prone Soundwave and the few erratic potshots from Maleficent.

Then there was an almighty crash and a growl of anger. They looked up. Rumble had fallen from the landing to the bay floor far below. Marooned on the catwalk landing stood Megatron, his eyes blazing red at them. The Planeteers were alarmed by this, but even more frightened by the sound of shock and fright Arcee seemed to make upon seeing him. He swung his arm cannon round and fired.

The blast was cacophonous and so bright it lit up the whole bay like daylight. The blast grazed Arcee's side and heated the deck of the lift red-hot. Megatron's flanged rasped roared, "Another time, Autobot!" Arcee staggered back into the lift and triggered the lift. They ascended smoothly and rose promptly into salty wind and sun of the Coral Sea.

"You lot get to your ship, and head for shore!" Formerly grim and brusque, Arcee seemed to have an edge of fear in her mechanical voice now.

The Planeteers, heads whirling from the bizarre situation, obeyed…mechanically.