A new year has dawned upon us and it's a year of great stories coming our way. My Transformers Prime Fanfiction stories have been a big hit to most viewers and they were way better then the other stories I did. I gotta thank the readers for checking my stories out. You all have made my day. This is especially true with the last chapter I posted up. I got thirteen complete reviews and around 550 hits on it. Not bad to end the year. Still, there were a few issues we need to work out. First of all, there were some people that didn't like my idea of bringing Vince into the team. I can understand that a bully like him doesn't deserve to be part this and other future episodes. But some characters need to be fleshed out just so they have a meaning to the whole show then what they are being portrayed. If you don't like this direction, too bad. Still, I'll let you guys read on to see what happens next. Another thing I want to address is that recently, I've been getting guest reviews to update immediately. Now that had been an annoyance for me on my last story and now it's becoming a hassle for this one as well. I know you people want me to post a new chapter as soon as possible but let's face it. I'm thirty, I have school and work, I had to do errands here and there, my schedule is pretty much complicated. I can't do anything but tell you all to be patient with my work. The last thing you want is a chapter that is poorly written and won't make any sense. Again, patience. Time to move on to the next chapter of Prime. The recruits and their human companions are making the journey through the sewers just to reach the ruins of Omega One. But along the way, they encounter some serious 'monsters' as the survivors said. Will they be able to reach their goal in time and survive the wrath of these monsters? This will be intense.

Chapter Notes

Now here are what said monsters are. I'm sure you know that the Insecticons weren't present throughout the whole story yet with the exception of the first chapter. Well I have a reason why I kept them at bay. And since they are into hibernating underground, you will never guess where they are. Also, I'm adding another type of bugs into this chapter as well. The series gave them two episodes worth of their mayhem. Why not let them go another round? I bet you can't guess who they are. They're small, cute, and have many sharp teeth. Yep… We're going there…

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime


Chapter Seven: Infestation

Meanwhile at the Lake Erie base, Team Prime waited patiently for the recruits to contact them. So far, they hadn't heard a single word since they had entered Jasper, and they were getting worried. Arcee especially, since Jack was the one that came up with the idea in the first place. She always questioned Jack's plans and yet for some reason, he always managed to pull through. But going into enemy territory with little training was a risky move, even for him. She just hoped that he made it there in time or she will lose yet another partner. While everyone was waiting, Ratchet decided to contact Agent Fowler. Now that they had news about Optimus being online, he wanted to let him know of the situation. Even though Fowler was no longer liaison for the Autobots, he owed him that much. As he finished explaining his story, Fowler, who was on the screen, was in complete shock and at a loss for words.

Agent Fowler: "Whoa, Whoa! Back up. What are you trying to say Ratchet? Optimus is alive? That's impossible!"

Ratchet nodded as he responded to his outburst.

Ratchet: "That's what we all thought. But if I know Optimus, he's never the type of bot that gives up easily."

Agent Fowler: "But I saw the base get blown to bits. Ain't no way Prime could have survived that!"

Wheeljack then walked right in and asked about the agent's words.

Wheeljack: "Tell me something tiny, did you ever get a closer look to confirm Optimus's termination? Because maybe you could've rescued him the way you and your boys rescued me."

Fowler looked to the Wrecker and was about to say something. But Ratchet lifted his servo to silence Jackie and went on with the conversation.

Ratchet: "Regardless of how our leader survived the ordeal, he is still in grave danger and is being held captive by the Cons. Which is why we have to save him before it's too late."

Fowler nodded, understanding the situation they were all in. But there was a lingering doubt that the only person who heard of Optimus was Jack himself.

Agent Fowler: "Still though, there's the matter that the only person who heard that Optimus is still with us is Jack. I mean, how did he manage to get that information, and who sent it to him? It seems a little farfetched that a boy his age could gather sensitive information like that."

Before Ratch could explain, Arcee stepped in and decided to defend her friend.

Arcee: "Why should we ask that question? If Jack believes that our leader is still online, then there is still hope. Even if he's alive, he still needs to be rescued if we are going to protect this planet from the Cons."

Though Fowler believed that they had no choice than to save Optimus, he didn't like the plan Ratchet told him.

Agent Fowler: "Even if it was the case, it wasn't wise sending the recruits into a Con controlled area with who knows what they're packing, even with the means of bridging past the barrier. That's like Washington crossing the Delaware with a boat filled with nothing but school children."

The team looked on and was a little confused about his analogy until Ratchet explained the reason for why they were sent there.

Ratchet: "Agent Fowler, please understand it was all Jack's idea from the start. Think about it like this, the Decepticons are still searching for us. If we were to bridge into Jasper, then the Cons wouldn't hesitate to shoot us all down without mercy. However, Jack, Raf, and Miko are now Cybertronian, which makes it easier for them to reach the citadel undetected. And once they manage to reach the tower and regain contact through the enemy's comm. channels, we will bridge to their coordinates and begin the rescue. Is it a risk? Maybe… But it's the only shot we have."

Agent Fowler: "And if they get spotted, how do you think they're going to defend themselves? They had a week's worth of training. One week! And you expect them to take on a huge group of heavily trained and fully armed Cons?! That's suicide, even for them! It's not like when they rescued all of you from the Director's MECHicons. This is a whole 'nother playing field for them."

Arcee could tell that he didn't like that plan and tried to reason with him.

Arcee: "I know you're just as concerned about our friends as we are. But what they lacked in training, they gained in experience. And believe me when I say this, they've seen more Decepticon battles than the military. I have complete and utter faith that our friends will make it to the fortress and get us in there for a rescue mission."

The former Army Ranger rubbed his temples in disbelief. He'd resigned as liaison of the Autobots mere hours ago and then this happened. He never expected the team to do something this risky, let alone having the recruits dragged into it. He would've court marshaled each of them for doing something this stupid if it hadn't been for his resignation. But with the news of Optimus still fresh in his mind, he understood their reasons. If this planet was to survive an intergalactic war, they needed to rescue their Autobot leader from the prison by any means necessary. And if that meant having the former human kids go into a dangerous place just to bring the team in, then so be it. Thinking this through, he made his decision and let them know what he was going to do.

Agent Fowler: "All right, fine… I'll give Bryce the news about Optimus, but only Optimus. The last thing I want is to tell him that you sent your recruits into enemy territory just to get you guys in. He would lose his mind if he heard that. Meanwhile, keep me updated about your friends' progress. I'm hoping they will make it there in time."

Ratchet: "You and me both, Agent Fowler. We haven't received word from them since leaving the ground bridge. And with the comms scrambled by the barrier, it's impossible to pick anything up from them. Our only hope is for them to reach the Decepticon base and contact us through there."

Agent Fowler: "Well let me know if they made it through. Last thing I want is three recruits getting KIA. Fowler out."

The window closed as Fowler ended communications. Ratchet rubbed his helm and sighed knowing that they dodged a bullet. Smokescreen heard this and breathed a sigh of relief.

Smokescreen: "That went well."

The medic turned to the Elite Guard member and told him to not celebrate yet.

Ratchet: "We're not finished yet, Smokescreen. We still need to get into the fortress and free Optimus from his imprisonment. But we cannot do that unless our recruits reach the enemy base and contact us."

Professor Sumdac though, was listening in on the conversation the whole time and had his head thinking about his daughter. Ever since realizing that she snuck into one of the recruits, he started to worry about her, and Sam.

Professor Sumdac: "I hope they make it Ratchet. Because I can't spend another minute, fearing what might happen to my Sari. I just can't believe that she and Sam went into the recruit's mission, not realizing the dangers ahead. The least you should've done was to tell Fowler about Sari and Sam."

He looked at Ratchet while saying this. But he turned to the professor and responded with the worst case scenario.

Ratchet: "Even if I did tell him about it, do you think he would be happy? It's bad enough that he's upset about the fact that we let recruits into the citadel. Can you imagine what would have happened if I told him that your daughter and this Witwicky fellow were dragged into this mission as well? He would pretty much have had a heart attack!"

Bulkhead heard Sumdac's worry and decided to ease him by stepping in and telling him that it would be all right.

Bulkhead: "Take it easy there professor. No need crying over spilled energon. Our friends might be a little young to fight, but they're not that stupid. We've been guardians of these kids back when they were human. I'm certain they don't want your daughter and Sam to get hurt. They are pretty much in good servos."

Sumdac though turned to the Wrecker and explained how he really feels about it.

Professor Sumdac: "You don't get it, do you? Ever since my wife died in that accident, Sari is the only family I have left. Every day I worry about her getting into trouble. But now that this has happened, and what went down in MECH, I fear for her very safety."

As he was talking about his relationship with his daughter, June 'Altra' Darby heard it and felt her spark sink. For just like him, she too worried about her son and what he was getting into. Hearing that, she decided to leave the command center and think about it privately. Arcee noticed the nurse leaving and was a little concerned about her.

Arcee: "June?"

She followed her, wondering why she would be leaving before they would begin. Bumblebee noticed it as well and wondered where the two femmes were going. But before he could follow, Smokescreen placed his servo on the scout's shoulder and told him not to.

Smokescreen: "Let them go Bee. I'm certain it's just a little girl talk."

The scout turned to him and nodded in agreement, then turned back, wondering what they were talking about.


Altra was walking down the hall with her arms crossed and her head held low. When she heard Sumdac talking about his daughter, she started thinking about her son. Sure in her processor Jack was strong and wouldn't give up, but in her spark, she feared for his very life. While she was thinking about it, she heard a familiar voice right behind her.

Arcee: "Is everything okay, June? You seem a little quiet."

The nurse turned around to see Arcee standing there with a worried look. Sighing to herself, she looked to her with a sorrowful expression and explained about this mission.

June/Altra: "It's nothing Arcee. I'm feeling fine. It's just that… After what the professor said, I'm scared for Jack. I know that he can take care of himself, but this? This is too extreme, even for him! I was always nervous when Jack was late during curfew. Now I'm scared to death that he's going into an enemy base filled with an army of Decepticons! For all we know they could've taken him, tortured him, or worse! How am I supposed to relax when my only child is going on a mission that could…"

But Arcee raised her servo and told her to calm down.

Arcee: "Easy there June! I know you're concerned about your son, but everything will be okay. Jack is a strong kid; he's proved it from time to time. I'm certain that he will do his part in the mission and get us in without any trouble. Have faith in him."

Altra looked at the two-wheeler and could tell that she was relaxed about it all. So she asked her if she's afraid.

June/Altra: "Tell me something Arcee, do you fear for Jack's safety?"

Arcee looked to the nurse and nodded in agreement.

Arcee: "In all honesty June, yes I do fear for him. But I know deep within my spark that he will pull it off no matter what."

June stared at her and noticed that there was something different about her. Instead of feeling strict and serious with Jack, she was more calm and confident with him. Curious, she started to ask another question.

June/Altra: "So you care for Jack?"

Arcee: "Of course I care for him. I care for him more than anything."

That is when the nurse turned her head away and giggled about it. Cee looked at her and was a little confused by her reaction.

Arcee: "What?"

June turned to her and knew she got her answer.

June/Altra: "Oh, nothing… It's just that you seem to have feelings for my boy."

The two-wheeler blinked and turned her head away, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks.

Arcee: "Feelings? No, it's nothing like that. Jack and I, we're partners, great friends. That's all there is."

With her servos on her hips, Altra smirked and could tell she was lying.

June/Altra: "Really? Cause the look on your face says differently. I know deep down inside, you love Jack. And you know what? I do believe he loves you too."

Arcee slowly looked up to her and was a little silent about it. June could tell that she was right and explained it further.

June/Altra: "Listen Arcee, the first time I met you, well, the real you during that whole Airachnid debacle, I could tell that there was a connection between you and Jack. I couldn't tell if this relationship would work due to your differences, and yes, I did joke that you're not the type of girl I thought Jack would ditch me for. But now, everything's changed in a matter of weeks, and looking at the two of you, you guys are a perfect match."

Arcee listened and couldn't believe what she'd heard. She and Jack, a match? Sure they are partners and friends, but could they be more than that? Crossing her arms, she turned her head away and was hesitant.

Arcee: "I don't know, June. Even if I do love him, I'm not so sure if he loves me back."

June/Altra: "But he does, I just know it. Just yesterday his friends and I told him that you would be the one that can help jump-start his new life. Then I told him to talk to you and say that he loves you. Besides, I think your love for each other is really starting to show. You did kiss him on the forehead for luck, let alone that kiss on the cheek after we rescued you all."

That immediately got the femme's attention as her optics were wide and she couldn't believe what she heard.

Arcee: "Hold up! You know of that? But how…"

June simply smirked and reminded her who she really was.

June/Altra: "You're forgetting something, Arcee; I'm still Jack's mother. And as a mother, I need to make sure that my son is all right. By the time I got there, I saw you talking to him and noticed you kissing his cheek. The moment I saw it, I knew you two had a connection. So you go ahead and deny it all you like; deep down inside, you and Jack were meant to be together. Just admit it to him and maybe, just maybe, you won't have to keep it bottled up all the time. Just think about it."

Altra decided to head back to the command center, feeling better after her little talk with Arcee. But as she left, the two-wheeler stood there thinking about what Jack's mother said. At first she was surprised that June was watching them that night. But after hearing those words of wisdom, she began to question herself. Are she and Jack in love? Sure there are connections, but that's because they are partners and friends. But are they now more than that? The team told her to tell Jack about her true feelings for him, and now the mother is saying the same thing. Placing her servo to her spark chamber, she could feel it flutter in anxiety and it wanted her to let out her true feelings. Thinking of no other options, she lifted her head up and looked determined.

Arcee: "It's official. When I meet up with Jack again, I'm going to let out my feelings for him. I've got to do this before something happens to him."

She then followed the nurse and went back to the command center, waiting for the group, waiting for her partner and the other recruits to complete their job.


As that was going on, the sewers of Jasper were quiet and dark. Just then, a cluster of lights pierced through one tunnel's darkness. That was when three huge bots walked through the wide sewer tunnel with their headlights illuminating the way. Those bots were the recruits Rodimus, Firewall, and Kaosu. On the sidewalk of the sewer tunnel, Sari and Sam were walking beside them, but leading the way was Vince with a detached Decepticon blaster strapped to his back, the sewer map in one hand and a flashlight in another. After they'd managed to survive the Decepticon onslaught and the blast of the cannon, the recruits were surprised to discover that there were survivors living in an old nuclear bunker under the town. But they were even more shocked to find out that one of the survivors was their bully from high school, Vince. Being that the citizens and soldiers were still alive, they had to do something to save them. So Jack promised Captain Lasky that once they reached Darkmount and regained communications with Team Prime, he would tell them about the survivors and bridge them out of Jasper. The Captain was pleased with the news and offered assistance in getting close to the enemy base by taking the main spillway that goes straight to what was left of Autobot Outpost Omega One. But first, they had to get to the sewer's main hub to the reach the missile silo.

But just as they were about to leave, Vince came forward and asked to join them on their mission. Given the history they had between them, Jack told him to stay with the others in the bunker and wait for the ground bridge to get them out. But then the bully told them about his family and what happened to them, showing them a picture of his family and the necklace he gave his little sister. Telling them about what happened to them, and how they all died, Rodimus felt sorry for him and never really knew that he had feelings. And even while he protested against this, the voice of Vector Prime echoed in his processor, telling him that enemies will become allies. With the little choice he had left, he decided to let Vince join the mission. The other two recruits didn't like it; Miko was seething over the decision. And so that's where they were now, walking down the tunnel to reach the main hub of the sewers.

During the journey, Vince studied the map and searched for anything that was familiar. Since joining the group, Vince was very helpful with leading them to their destination, so far. Despite a few dead ends, they managed to get out of them thanks to the bully. Searching the wall, he spied a number that read, 'B4 – C5' like that of a street. Checking his map, he spotted the same numbers and could tell that they were getting close.

Vince: "Okay, looks like we're near the center of the sewer system. Just need to make a right and straight ahead to reach it."

So they all turned to the right and headed to their goal. As they were walking, Sari looked to him and talked to him about it.

Sari: "Wow Vince, never really thought you'd know your way around."

Vince looked back to her and smirked.

Vince: "Well like I said before, I know my way around the town, especially the sewers. Me and the boys usually hung around this place from time to time just to get away from the cops. The sewer system has enough tunnels to get lost in."

Sam rolled his eyes around and never thought he was still a troublemaker.

Sam Witwicky: "Boy, aren't you a role model."

Vince looked to him and retorted back.

Vince: "Hey! Sometimes you got to adapt to survive. And trust me, when this invasion started, survival was the only option."

As they were walking, Jack, Raf, and Miko were following Vince as he was leading the way. But during that walk, they were quiet the whole time. Ever since Rodimus decided to let Vince tag along, the other two were both shocked and sour at the same time. Kaosu especially since she was giving ice daggers to the bully if he wasn't looking. Figuring now would be a good time, she turned to her friend and asked to chitchat.

Miko/Kaosu: "Rodimus? Can I speak to you about something?"

The former teen turned to the Wrecking cadet and wondered what she wanted.

Jack/Rodimus: "Sure thing Kaosu. What do you want to talk about?"

The femme though looked back and forth between him and Vince and asked again.

Miko/Kaosu: "Actually, can I talk to you in private?"

Jack looked to the teens leading the way and understood what she was saying. Turning to the three, he told them what to do.

Jack/Rodimus: "Hey guys, Kaosu wants to talk to me about something important. Can you go on ahead while we discuss some matters?"

The three teens turned to the young mech and were a little confused by this. Looking at each other for a few seconds, they all turned to him as Vince responded.

Vince: "All right. We'll go and scout ahead. Just don't take too long all right? Soldiers did say that they heard strange noises from unknown monsters."

Jack nodded in agreement as he heard that part from Lasky.

Jack/Rodimus: "Understood. But if you see any of these so-called monsters, just scream. We'll be there in a matter of seconds."

Vince nodded in agreement as the three moved ahead to reach the main sewer hub. As they left, Rodimus, Firewall, and Kaosu grouped together and started the conversation, quietly so the teens wouldn't hear.

Miko/Kaosu: "Hey Jack. Remind me again why we're doing this?"

Jack rolled his optics around and had to let her know the plan again.

Jack/Rodimus: "I told you already. We need to get the survivors out of this town. Once we reach the Decepticon fortress and gain access to their communication center, not only will we bring the team in to save Optimus, but also let them know that there are people under Jasper that need a bridge. It's going to be rough, yes. But we'll pull it off."

The two remained silent for a few seconds until Miko decided to rephrase it.

Miko/Kaosu: "No, that's not what I meant. What I'm talking about is what the slag were you thinking?! Bringing him into the mission? Might as well shoot ourselves in the head and call it a day."

Rodimus blinked a couple of times and was a little confused with what she was saying. That was until he immediately realized it.

Jack/Rodimus: "Wait, you're talking about Vince? Come on Miko, what other choice did I have?"

Miko/Kaosu: "Well… The least you should've done was to tell him to go frag himself. That would've saved us some time."

The hacker then joined in and agreed with his friend.

Raf/Firewall: "Miko's right Jack. It's one thing trying to protect Sari and Sam from the Cons. But Vince? This guy is far worse than Megatron. Let him get scrapped for all we care. Better yet, let us scrap him! No one would ever notice the difference."

The two looked at him and were shocked by what their youngest friend just said, as he looked back at the two and told them that he had his reasons.

Raf/Firewall: "What? He harassed me the most. Plus, I'm now bigger than him and a full Cybertronian. He deserves what's coming to him."

He then finished his statement by pounding his fist into his open palm and was ready for some major payback. Jack though shook that thought from his processor and told him that wouldn't be a good idea.

Jack/Rodimus: "Guys, listen. I know you don't like Vince as much as I don't like him. But as much as we want to teach him a lesson in messing with us, he's still an innocent in all of this. If we leave him to die in the hands of the enemy, or worse, hurt him ourselves, we're just as bad as the Cons. We cannot have another human get hurt or killed by them."

They listened to him and realized that he does have a point. Though they hate his guts, he's still a victim of the whole war. So they had to protect him from the very enemy they were fighting. Still, Miko had her doubts as she rubbed her chin and thought about it.

Miko/Kaosu: "Okay… You make a valid point there. But this is Vince we're talking about, right? The bully that treated us like trash back in high school? You don't honestly think that we should trust him after what he did to us in the past."

Jack/Rodimus: "True… But let's think of the positives on all this. He doesn't even know who we really are. So as long as we go by our codenames until he leaves, we'll be all right. Plus, you heard what happened to Vince's family. He's completely devastated by his loss. I do believe he deserves a chance to redeem himself. Sometimes, we must rise above ourselves for the greater good.

The two listened and were silent about what he said. But when Miko heard it, it reminded her that Optimus said those words that time when they had to rescue Breakdown from Silas and MECH. Thinking about it, she stepped in and told Jack about what he said.

Miko/Kaosu: "Hmph… Rise above ourselves for the greater good, huh? I swear Jack, you're starting to sound and act just like Optimus."

Rodimus blinked a couple of times and didn't realize it till now.

Jack/Rodimus: "Really? I never thought I sounded like him."

Just as he was thinking about it, they heard the voice of Vince from a distance.

Vince: "Guys, you need to see this."

The three turned in the direction of the voice and wondered what he wanted. Jack then turned back to the two and told them to come.

Jack/Rodimus: "Come on guys; let's go see what the others have found."

Soon enough, the three headed in that direction to see what Vince and the others discovered. Once they reached their location, they saw Vince, Sari, and Sam standing there looking at something that was impossible to see due to the dark. Curious, Jack asked them what they found while they had their headlights on.

Jack/Rodimus: "Vince, what's the matter? What did you find?"

Just as soon as he asked that, he shined his headlights in front and found something he didn't expect.

Jack/Rodimus: "Oh…"

In front of the group, they saw what appeared to be debris, rocks, and metal all blocking their path. The Wrecking cadet looked at it and groaned to herself.

Miko/Kaosu: "Terrific… A dead end. Now what do we do?"

Raf observed the blocked path and was curious about it.

Raf/Firewall: "Odd… Could be from an explosion above ground that must've caused the ceiling to collapse."

Sam took a closer look at the debris and noticed something that wasn't right.

Sam Witwicky: "I don't know if that's the case, Firewall. By the looks of this, I think the collapse was caused from inside the tunnel. Look at this."

He took out a piece of metal from the wreckage and showed it to everyone. To their surprise, there were bite marks on the metal ridges. The group looked on in awe as Sam explained what it was.

Sam Witwicky: "Check it out. It looks like someone, or something, has been eating the metal support of the tunnel. Guess that could explain the cave in."

Sari took a closer look at the bite marks and was fascinated by it.

Sari: "Whoa… That is freaky. Never really thought Cons could eat metal. Guess you learn something new every day."

But Jack noticed it too and remembered something about those bite marks. Certainly, no Decepticon could ever eat or drink anything other than Energon. But looking at the marks, it reminded him of something he'd not seen in a long time. Something far worse than Decepticons.

Jack/Rodimus: "I don't know about that, Sari. Judging by the bite marks, I say it's something far worse than Decepticons."

Vince looked at it too and remembered about those marks.

Vince: "I can agree with Rodimus. Whatever these things are, they like to eat a lot of metal."

Sam turned to him and asked about it.

Sam Witwicky: "And you know this because…"

The bully then turned to him and answered as clearly as he could.

Vince: "Because I encountered them before, at the bank vault."

Sam remained silent, fearing what Vince had encountered while the bully opened his map to find an alternate route.

Vince: "Since our main path was blocked, it would seem we have to find another way to reach the main sewer hub. Looks like there are two separate routes that can take us there. But the east side is a little longer than the west. So we'll take the west end. Come on."

Vince took the lead again as he turned to the left and into another tunnel while the others followed. The group walked through the dark tunnel in an attempt to reach the old Autobot base. What they didn't know was that there were a few shadows scattering along on the ceiling pipes. As they were walking, Sari felt a little nervous and asked Sam about all of this.

Sari: "Man, these guys are a little on edge. What do you think is down here? Crocodiles? Lizardmen? Zombies?"

Sam groaned to himself and told her none of the above.

Sam Witwicky: "Are you kidding me? I don't think any of those things could eat metal. And let me remind you that you and I wouldn't be in this mess if it hadn't been for you sneaking a ride."

The teenage girl turned to her friend and protested.

Sari: "Hey! I wanted to help this team out. You can't really blame me from the start."

Sam Witwicky: "Oh really? Well ever since you started to tag along, it certainly wasn't a picnic. I mean look what happened to us since then. We nearly suffocated, almost got crushed, were about to be fired upon, and blasted off the path! And now we're walking through a dark and smelly sewer tunnel, trying to get closer to the enemy base where there will be more surprises waiting for us. This has been some trip you dragged us into."

Sari: "At least we're still alive, thanks to our friends. And what about you? I thought your family was the adventurous type. No sacrifice, no victory. Remember?"

Sam Witwicky: "Yeah well my great grandfather was sailing through the Arctic, not surviving a Decepticon onslaught. I swear, what we're going through is way over our heads."

Rodimus overheard the two and decided to talk them out of it.

Jack/Rodimus: "Will you two keep your voices down? Lasky said that the soldiers were hearing noises coming from monsters. If we are going to Darkmount, our best option is to keep quiet so no one would…"

Before he could finish with what he was going to say, Vince stopped dead in his tracks and then signaled the others to stop as well.

Vince: "Wait. Keep quiet."

The group then stopped as they all turned to him, wondering what he was up to. Once he was done looking around, he turned to them and told them to listen.

Vince: "Do you guys hear that?"

There was a bit of silence as the group looked at each other feeling a little confused. But then, they all heard a noise coming from close by. They couldn't make out much, but from what they were able to put together, it sounded like a combination of a chainsaw and a drill. Firewall heard this and responded to the bully's question.

Raf/Firewall: "Yeah. It's almost sounds like drilling, but a little off."

Miko turned to her friend and agreed with him.

Miko/Kaosu: "That's right Firewall. It certainly sounds like drilling. Could it be Cons trying to dig into the tunnels to search for us?"

Rodimus listened as well, and told everyone to be on their guard.

Jack/Rodimus: "I don't know… But it sounds like it's close by. We'd better go in and investigate. Stay close."

He then changed his servo into a blaster and remained cautious. The other recruits did the same as they prepared themselves for what was going to happen. They slowly walked through the tunnel while the humans stayed close by. As they were walking, they approached a T-junction that went to the left. That's where the sound of drilling was getting near.

Sari: "Sounds like it's getting closer."

The others nodded as they approached the corner.

Jack/Rodimus: "Stay alert. Who knows what's down here."

Quickly, they turned to the left where the sound came from to see who they were up against. What they saw was the last thing they wanted to see, as Vince got really serious.

Vince: "Oh, I think I know what's down here. Vermin…"

The others looked on and could tell that what Vince mentioned wasn't vermin, but of the metal kind. They were small like a puppy with gray metal plating, small little peg like legs and arms, and huge dark blue optics. Half of them were scurrying on the walls, floor, and ceiling while the other half were chewing on the metal support of the tunnels. Rodimus looked at the creatures and gave a nervous sigh.

Jack/Rodimus: "Great… This is just what we need. Scraplets…"

The bully turned to the former team and felt a little confused.

Vince: "Scraplets? Is that what they're called? Thought they were metal mice, and a nuisance."

Rodimus looked down to him and explained about these things.

Jack/Rodimus: "Scraplets aren't metal mice, but they are certainly a nuisance. These things can eat anything that is metal and leave nothing behind except for a scrap heap. I should know, I saw them nearly devouring a base and devour a con with my own optics."

Firewall turned to his friend and was a little confused about their presence.

Raf/Firewall: "But how can they be here? I thought Bulkhead lured them into the ground bridge so they could freeze themselves into stasis."

Looking intently, Jack could tell that these weren't the Scraplets that attacked the base a long time ago and nearly offline the team. Then, he remembered the hacker telling him about the new class of Decepticons that were created in the fortress they're going to.

Jack/Rodimus: "Looks like the Decepticons have whipped up a new batch and judging by the damage they are causing, they certainly want them to decimate the entire town from underneath."

Sari stared at them and noticed how cute they were by the way they look. Yet she was surprised that they could do that much damage.

Sari: "So they were the ones that caused that cave in back there. They look really sweet."

Jack/Rodimus: "Oh sure, they look adorable. But the moment they open their mouths, you won't really like them in a matter of seconds."

Sam Witwicky: "Well, let's hope they aren't hungry for us."

Miko looked down to Sam and had a slight grin to her face.

Miko/Kaosu: "Relax Sam. Scraplets don't have a taste for human flesh. I think we'll be safe."

The moment she said that, Jack and Raf slowly turned to her with silent, odd looks on their faces. The Wrecking cadet looked to them and was a little perplexed by their expressions.

Miko/Kaosu: "What?"

Rodimus stared her down and told her that she almost gave out the truth by explaining more about the Scraplets."

Jack/Rodimus: "Kaosu, these Scraplets can eat any metal they see."

Miko/Kaosu: "So?"

Jack/Rodimus: "So, they could eat even living metal, including us!"

Kaosu looked at him strangely and started to argue back to him.

Miko/Kaosu: "What do you mean by that? We are not…"

But she stopped mid sentence and realized what he meant. Slowly looking down to herself, she'd forgotten that she had become a robot with purple pink flame highlighted armor. She then turned to the hoard of Scraplets and started to fear for her life. As she was looking at the metallic vermin, one of them turned to the group and blinked its blue optics, and the others followed suit. On its visor he looked at the group. Although the humans were just green with no metal signatures, the three recruits emanated strong metal alloys from their bodies. The Japanese femme slumped her arms and knew that they were in some serious trouble.

Miko/Kaosu: "Oh scrap…"

The moment she said that, the faces of the metal creatures shifted as they opened their mouths to reveal their many sharp teeth around and within their mouths. The group watched and soon realized the trouble they were in. Although the humans weren't in danger, the recruits were as Rodimus told them to move.

Jack/Rodimus: "Go, go, GO!"

Quickly the recruits scooped up the three teens and transformed into their vehicle modes, turning right to the opposite direction. Sari was in Kaosu's McLaren while Sam was in Firewall's Scion XB. But Vince was caught by surprise as Rodimus picked him up and transformed into his Hummer H2 with him in the passenger seat.

Vince: "What the… What happened? What's going on?!"

The young mech responded on his dashboard radio and told him to keep quiet.

Jack/Rodimus: "Just shut up and hold on tight! This is going to get a little bumpy!"

So Vince gripped his seat belt tightly and held on for dear life, fearing what was bound to happen next. As they left, the Scraplets went after them. Half were crawling fast on the walls and ceiling while the other half hovered and flew with blinding speed. And so the chase was on, as the metal vermin took after the recruits, mouths opened, ready to feast. They went past the blocked path they were supposed to take and took the long hallway just to find a way of losing them. They sure as hell wouldn't take the short route because they wouldn't be able to take them on at the sewer's center, way out in the open. They needed to do it in close quarters so they could dispose of them easier. But how were they going to do that, as there were so many of them? Vince looked in Jack's review mirror and could tell that the Scraplets were gaining on them. Figuring now was a good option to strike; he unbuckled himself from his seat and removed the severed Decepticon blaster from his back. Jack saw this through his dashboard mirror and asked what the bully was doing.

Jack/Rodimus: "Vince, what are you doing?"

He turned to the dashboard and told him.

Vince: "Giving you some help. You drive, I'll shoot!"

With that said, he pushed the window button and the window on his passenger side slid down for him to peek out. With his weapon armed, he aimed it at the small critters and opened fire on them. With each shot, the Scraplets were blown to pieces one after another and scattered all over the floor. The former teen looked on and was amazed by the many accurate shots he pulled and whistled through the radio.

Jack/Rodimus: "Nice shooting Vince. Who would've thought you were a pro at this."

Vince kept on shooting as he responded to the mech's reaction.

Vince: "Thanks. And who says playing 'Call of Duty' was bad for you?"

Jack laughed a little nervously and was glad that Vince didn't know who he really was; otherwise he would've shot him too. Looking out his other review mirror, he could tell that it wasn't enough, as more Scraplets were heading their way. So he decided to take this to the offensive.

Jack/Rodimus: "Regardless, we need more firepower if we are going to lose them. Firewall!"

Raf looked in his review mirrors too and could tell that they needed to get rid of them, and fast. So he responded on his dashboard.

Raf/Firewall: "Acknowledged!"

He pressed on the break hard while cranking the shift gear back at the same time, drifting into a 180-degree angle and going in reverse. He then opened the compartments of his front sides to reveal his tazer blasters and charged them to full power. In a matter of seconds, he fired a pulse wave that spread through the tunnel, catching the little cretins off-guard as the electricity short-circuited them and put them in a deep stasis. As they fell to the floor and into the sewer water, Sam looked on and was amazed by it all.

Sam Witwicky: "Wow! Now that was electric! Good going, Firewall!"

Though Raf didn't have much of a face, he was smiling on the inside due to his accomplishment. But that mental smile soon faded as he saw yet another swarm of Scraplets coming down the tunnel, ready for dinner. Turning back to his proper driving position, he told Jack the problem.

Raf/Firewall: "It still isn't enough, Rodimus. Those scrapers are still gaining on us!"

The recruit turned his review mirrors to get a good enough view and saw the little biters coming from afar.

Jack/Rodimus: "I can see that! We've got to find a way of losing them and fast. No way am I going to get eaten tonight!"

Miko looked through her review mirrors and came up with a really good idea.

Miko: "Don't worry; I've got this!"

Quickly, she did the exact same thing the hacker did and opened her trunk to deploy her missiles. Sari saw this and was a little confused with what she was planning.

Sari: "Uh, Kaosu? I don't think those rockets will slow them down."

But the Wrecking Cadet looked at her through her dashboard mirror and smirked mentally.

Miko/Kaosu: "Who said I was going to aim at them?"

The moment she asked that, she fired her rockets as they flew high into the ceiling. The moment they exploded, the ceiling started to crumble and created a cave in, blocking the Scraplets' reach for their meal. But during the crumble, one slipped through and avoided the falling debris, trying to get close to the group. With the smoke cleared, there was a huge mess blocking the enemy's path as Jack looked on in amazement.

Jack/Rodimus: "Great quick thinking, Kaosu. That will keep them busy while we make an escape."

Miko turned back to her driving and laughed through the dashboard.

Miko/Kaosu: "You know me, Rodimus. Sometimes you got to Wreck with the best."

With the Scraplets out of the way, Vince relaxed after getting back in the car to see if they were near the passage that would take them to the main sewer hub. Looking right at the front, he saw a tunnel with a sign on the wall that said, 'Main'. Pointing to it, he told the others the direction to go.

Vince: "There. That's where the main sewer hub is located. Just make a left and we'll be halfway there. Let's hope we don't run into any…"

Before he could even finish, the three recruits turned left to enter the hub. What they didn't know was that the moment they entered the tunnel, there was a steep slope with water gushing downwards. The group didn't expect that coming as they dropped to the ground and slid down the slope. In mid-slip the recruits transformed back into their bot modes while they and the human teenagers screamed for their lives. The moment they hit bottom, they made a huge splash, as they all got completely drenched in sewer water. Vince, Sam, and Sari scrambled up to a shallow area, trying to take a deep breather while Vince looked at himself and was soaking wet.

Vince: "Surprises…"

The group took a breather and looked up to see the slope that brought them down. Jack looked on and groaned to himself.

Jack/Rodimus: "A slope that took us down to the main sewer center. Didn't see that coming."

Miko though looked up at it and had a wide smile from audio receptor to audio receptor.

Miko/Kaosu: "That was so cool! Can we do that again?"

Everyone turned to the Wrecking cadet and had very deep glares on their eyes and optics. She looked at them staring at her and could tell they had no time to play games.

Miko/Kaosu: "Right. Mission first, then we'll celebrate."

Jack sighed to himself and decided to let them all in on the good news.

Jack/Rodimus: "Well, at least we managed to get away from those Scraplets. So at least we are very thankful for that. Now we just need to find a way of getting to the decommissioned missile silo. Vince, do you know where we can go?"

He looked down to Vince to see if he had any answers for that. But the teen shook his head and told them the bad news.

Vince: "Unfortunately, no. The map I had was long lost during the fall and even if I retrieved it, it'd already be damaged when it sank into the water. So as far as we can tell, I don't know how to get to that silo."

As they were talking, something else slowly emerged from the water and tried to regain its composure. But none of them noticed it as they were having a conversation. Raf was thinking of a way of getting into the old base and remembered what Lasky said back at the fallout shelter.

Raf/Firewall: "Well, Lasky did say that there's a main spillway that can take us straight to the silo. I'm certain if we find a passage that can take us there, then it won't be a problem."

Sam slowly turned to the slope just enough to see something getting out of the water. Upon closer observation, it looked like it was a metal critter. Still, the others didn't see it as Rodimus thought of Firewall's plan.

Jack/Rodimus: "Seems like a long shot, but it's the best we've got. Don't want to pick a random exit, only to be stuck in a dead end."

Sam continued to watch this creature only to find out that it was a Scraplet recovering from the fall. It was obvious that this Scraplet managed to get through the mess Kaosu created and followed them down the tunnel. Fearing the worst, Sam started to warn the team about what he found.

Sam Witwicky: "Um, guys? I think we got bigger problems to worry about."

The group turned to him and wondered what he was talking about. That's when they saw the one Scraplet that managed to escape the wreck. Once it was able to regain its composure, it looked to the group and blinked its optics once, seeing the heat signature coming from the Autobot recruits. Jack sighed to himself and didn't like it as one Scraplet could do as much damage as many.

Jack/Rodimus: "You've got to be kidding me!"

The moment it saw them, it's opened its jaws and rushed right to the three. But the moment it crossed near the three teens, they reacted and jumped on the creature, holding it as long as they could. Sari and Sam pushed its body down to keep it from moving while Vince charged his weapon and aimed it at the creature.

Vince: "Hold it still, I got this one."

Sari held on to it tightly as it was struggling to escape. But then, she felt a glowing in her chest as she looked to see it with her own eyes. Using her free hand, she took her key out of her shirt and noticed that it was glowing brightly. Looking back at the Scraplet, she came up with something

Sari: "Wait! Don't shoot! I have an idea."

Vince looked to her with a confused expression and was a little irate.

Vince: "What?! Sari, this thing is dangerous! It needs to be destroyed!"

Sari looked to him was determined in what she was doing.

Sari: "I know what I'm doing."

Vince looked at her and wondered what she was up to. Quickly, the teenage girl removed her key necklace and placed it near the back of the Scraplet's dome-like head. That's when the back of its head opened up to reveal a keyhole; at the same time the end of the key shifted to that of the hole in particular. Feeling determined about it, she inserted the key into the socket and turned it. In an instant, it glowed as brightly as the creature's eyes. Sari held on to it for a few seconds until the Scraplet managed to get itself free and her key was removed by force. Both Sari and Sam landed on the filth soaked floor as Witwicky watched it heading to the group and was a little perplexed by her plan.

Sam Witwicky: "And what exactly did that do?"

Now that it was free, the Scraplet made a bee line to the three recruits with jaws wide open, ready to eat them to death. Jack, Raf, and Miko got into their battle stances with their weapons armed and were ready to strike the critter down. The Scraplet was close enough for striking range, ready to feast on the three. But just as it was about to do that, it heard the voice of a human female.

Sari: "Stop!"

The Scraplet stopped dead in its tracks and closed its mouth to turn to that voice. The voice was none other than Sari Sumdac as she stood up straight, surprised with what she said. Both Sam and Vince looked on and were in complete disbelief. Sam then got close to her and asked about it.

Sam Witwicky: "Uh… Did that Scraplet actually listen to you?"

Sari scratched the back of her head and was just as baffled as the others.

Sari: "I think so… I mean, I thought that I could use my key to shut it down completely. But it seems it did… Something…"

Vince just raised an eyebrow and was a little concerned about this.

Vince: "Yeah, it sure did something all right. Question is, is it good for us - or it?"

The Scraplet blinked a bit wondering why it listened to her. But it then turned back to the three bots and went back to the task in hand, opening its jaws for a big meal. The three kept their ground, as it was about to eat them. But the metal-like creature heard that voice again.

Sari: "No!"

The Scraplet stopped again and closed its mouth, turning to see the girl telling it to stop. She had her arms crossed as she told it to not eat her friends.

Sari: "No! You will not eat my friends! Do you hear me?! The Autobots aren't your own personal chew toys! You got it?"

The Scraplet stared at the young girl and blinked its optics. It then turned back to the recruits, who were still on high alert, and wondered if it would eat them or not. But that was short lived as Sari told it not to.

Sari: "Hey! What did I tell you? No eating my friends! Now get over here and apologize. Now…"

The Scraplet slowly turned to her and surprisingly enough, scampered right to her. As strange as it seemed, it was obeying the girl with ease and had little control over itself. Almost like a misbehaving child that was listing to his mother. The moment it approached the girl, its apology was rubbing her foot and whirling in misery. Sari smirked to herself as she picked the metal critter up and petted it on its head.

Sari: "There, there. It's okay. Sari's here to take good care of you. You don't need to worry anymore."

She then hugged it tight like a teddy bear while the three recruits relaxed and retracted their weapons, looking at this bizarre scene playing in front of them. Slowly, they walked to the three teens as the Wrecking cadet asked what they witnessed.

Miko/Kaosu: "Sari, what did you just do?"

The teenage girl looked up to her friend and answered with what she thought happened.

Sari: "To tell you the truth, I really don't know. But from what I could put together, is that the key I used made the Scraplet obedient to me."

Vince looked at the creature the girl was holding and had a disgusted look on his face.

Vince: "That thing? Obedient? Its family tried to devour me on a few occasions and nearly eat these three. That thing needs to be destroyed!"

He approached the thing and was about to take it away from Sari. But the moment he did that, the Scraplet opened its optics to see his and opened its jaws to threaten him. Sari looked to the Scraplet and eased the creature's nature while scolding at Vince.

Sari: "Easy boy. Easy… Don't listen to what the mean Vince is saying. As long as you're with me, you won't cause any more trouble. And you, Vince, need to be careful with what you say around it. After all, you did try to attack those things up there when they were trying to eat our guys. So if I were you, I would keep that big mouth shut and watch that tongue of yours. If you don't, well then I will take that gun and use it as a toy for the Scraplet to play fetch with. You hear me?"

Vince was a little shocked by this as the girl was becoming overly protective of the little pest. Understanding the situation he was in, the last thing he wanted was to be both weaponless and embarrassed. So he turned his head away while remaining silent after that little scold. Rodimus though looked at the Scraplet and was a little unsure about bringing it on the mission.

Jack/Rodimus: "Regardless of what Vince said, we cannot keep that thing with the group. It might jeopardize our mission."

The young teen looked to him with serious eyes and argued about it.

Sari: "Oh please… You want me to just leave it here, all alone with no one to love? It needs to be taken care of now that I managed to make it well trained. Plus he could be a big help for us given that he likes to eat some living metal. So can we keep him? Please…"

Jack had just about enough of this and was ready to tell her that it was a really bad idea. But the moment he saw those pleading eyes, he could tell that Sari was the type of girl that would get anything she wanted. She then smirked and asked him something that would seal the deal.

Sari: "You can trust this face, can't you?"

After and eerie and awkward silence, the former teen sighed in defeat and made his decision.

Jack/Rodimus: "All right. You can keep him."

Hearing that, Sari smiled widely and fist pumped into the air while the Scraplet whirled with excitement.

Sari: "YES!"

But Rodimus said something else that would keep her and the Scraplet in line.

Jack/Rodimus: "But under one condition. You keep that Scraplet close to you at all times and keep it out of trouble. The last thing I want is that creature eating anything it can get, especially our friends.

Sari looked to him and nodded in approval, knowing that keeping a pet like this creature carried some big responsibilities. So she nodded and did a scouting salute with her free hand.

Sari: "Not a problem Rodimus. I'll take good care of this cutie. Girl scouts honor, again."

Rodimus smiled and was lucky that she would take good care of the creature. He just hoped that the Scraplet wouldn't go crazy with the recruit's friends. With that said and done, he turned to the others and told them to move.

Jack/Rodimus: "Come on team, we're wasting enough time as it is. Let's get going."

Soon enough the group left the slope's exit and headed straight to the sewer way's center. As they were walking, Sari was cuddling the Scraplet and was enjoying her new pet. Raf looked back to the Scraplet the girl was holding and groaned to himself, whispering to his friends about it.

Raf/Firewall: "Well this is just great… First we had to bring Vince into our group, and now we have to take this Scraplet on our mission. What's next, a Con joining our team?"

Miko/Kaosu: "I agree with Firewall on this one. A bully is one thing, but a tiny creature that wouldn't hesitate in eating us alive, that's a hell of a lot worse than getting shot down by Decepticreeps."

Jack looked back at the two and told them at it was all right.

Jack/Rodimus: "Look guys, I can understand that this isn't what we all wanted. First Vince and now this Scraplet. But rest assured, this could be the start of something much bigger than we anticipated. Besides, Sari made that Scraplet loyal to her and her only. As far as I'm concerned, it will attack us only if the girl asked it to. So yeah, we're pretty much safe from it."

Miko rolled her optics around and still didn't like it.

Miko/Kaosu: "Right… Safe from a creature with many teeth that could eat us in one bite. Well at least it won't get any worse."

The moment she said that, she looked straight ahead to the path and stopped instantly after seeing something unexpected. Standing in front of her was what appeared to be a huge bulky creature with mandibles and sharp teeth with a dimly lit glowing visor. Miko stood there in complete fear and didn't know what to do. Almost immediately, she armed her hammers and got into a stance, ready to fight. But Jack and Raf held her down and told her to stop.

Jack/Rodimus: "Wait! Don't attack!"

But the Japanese femme was freaking out as she was trying to fight the creature.

Miko/Kaosu: "No! That's an Insecticon! One of the most dangerous of Cons out there! We have to stop them!"

Jack/Rodimus: "No Kaosu! Don't! Look at him. Does it look like he's attacking us?"

Miko stopped what she was doing and looked at the creature again. Looking at a farther angle, it didn't look like it was attacking, more like the creature was just sleeping. More so, the Insecticon was wrapped in a metal-like capsule that was keeping it asleep. Looking at it, she could tell that the creature was in a stasis pod and was sleeping peacefully. The Wrecking cadet relaxed and took a deep breather.

Miko/Kaosu: "Oh good… It's asleep. I thought that thing was going to attack me."

Vince approached the stasis pod where the creature lay dormant and was a little amazed by it.

Vince: "So they are called Insecticons huh? I got to say; when they're not attacking they certainly are intimidating."

Raf turned to the bully and was surprised by his reaction.

Raf/Firewall: "You faced them before?"

He turned to the hacker and nodded in agreement.

Vince: "On a couple of occasions above ground. They are very destructive and lethal and Noble tried their best to get by them. They're really a tough bunch and are certainly bad to the core."

Rodimus looked to the pod as well and remained stern about it.

Jack/Rodimus: "You are right about that, Vince. The Autobots faced them on a number of occasions. They are by far the deadliest of the bunch, as one of them tried to terminate one of our own."

Miko turned back and remembered what happened to Bulkhead during the whole Tox-En event.

Miko/Kaosu: "Yeah… I remember that pretty well. An Insecticon named Hardshell blasted him in the back while he was recovering from the exposure of some toxic energon. I had to blow him up with a rocket just for a little payback."

Sam turned to her and was a bit surprised by this sudden news.

Sam Witwicky: "You blew up an Insecticon?"

She looked down to the boy and smirked.

Miko/Kaosu: "Sort of… I was in Wheeljack's ship when he was battling that Insecticon. He was pretty much losing the fight and was about to die. If I hadn't used the controls to fire a missile at Hardshell, he would've been long dead."

Jack looked back to her and told her to remain quiet.

Jack/Rodimus: "Whatever the case, we have to be careful. Even if they're sleeping, any sudden and loud noise will ultimately wake them and they will attack us. We've just got to remain quiet and not make any mistakes."

The group listened to Rodimus and nodded in agreement, knowing that they didn't want to wake it up. But as they made an agreement, Sari came in and interrupted them.

Sari: "Hey guys?"

They all turned to see Sari as the Scraplet snuggling close to her chest, emphasizing that it was afraid of something.

Sari: "Something is spooking this Scraplet."

The young mech heard this and turned to the tunnel that would take them to the main sewer center. Feeling a little worried, he told the others to move forward.

Jack/Rodimus: "Come on. We have to get to the center. Just stay close and stay alert."

Slowly the group walked through the long hall as they remained in tight formation, just in case something bad happened to them. But as they were walking, they noticed another Insecticon pod, and then another. Few at first, but they continued to multiply slowly. Soon enough, the group was walking through a narrow hall loaded with stasis pods. The team looked at each of the sleeping insect-like bots and was a little nervous. But that was nothing compared to what they found at the end of the tunnel. By the time they reached the end, they entered a huge dome-like room with a piece of sunlight showing through a small hole in the ceiling. There were even multiple floors with many access tunnels that went to different parts of Jasper. The group looked around and knew that they were at the sewer's main system. But when they entered, they were in for pretty much the mother of all shockers.

Jack/Rodimus: "Good god…"

What they found in the sewer system was a huge hoard of Insecticons by the thousands, all of which were sleeping in those stasis pods. They were pretty much everywhere, on the floor, walls, and ceilings and it would seem they found a good place to hibernate. Everyone's jaws dropped, as they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Raf/Firewall: "An Insecticon swarm, underneath the town. This is bad, very bad."

Jack looked around too and could tell this is far worse than the Scraplets.

Jack/Rodimus: "You can say that again Firewall. Looks like these Insecticons managed to find a place dark and dank enough to live in. Good news is that they are all in stasis. We just need to find the main spillway that will take us to the missile silo. Just watch yourselves and whatever you do, don't wake them up."

So the team walked down the steps, reaching the center, trying to avoid contact with the many stasis pods that were around them. What they didn't know was that one of them was on guard as it watched them intently with its mandibles twitching. Slowly it started to stalk them as it hid through the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. Meanwhile, the team walked through the pods, searching for that spillway they needed to take. But with so many tunnels, it would be impossible to reach their main objective. Sam looked at each tunnel and was feeling a little confused over all of this.

Sam Witwicky: "Guys, this is pretty much useless. There are so many tunnels in this place; it might take us hours to find the right one."

Jack/Rodimus: "And we don't have the time to look through each of them. We need to figure out which one takes us to the main spillway."

As they were looking through each one, Raf thought this through and remembered something.

Raf/Firewall: "Hey wait. Remember what Lasky said? He said that the spillway is a wide tunnel. If we could find a wide tunnel, we can find the spillway."

Rodimus looked to his friend and nodded in agreement. He started to look around to find a tunnel wide enough that would take them to the old Autobot base. Looking around, he found the tunnel, but he didn't like it.

Jack/Rodimus: "Oh I found it. But it's the last place we want to go. Look."

He pointed up just to show the team where he found the tunnel. The others looked up to see where he was pointing at and discovered that the entrance to the spillway was at the top floor, four floors up. The group sighed in disdain as Miko didn't like this at all.

Miko/Kaosu: "Up there? Well that's just perfect… How are we going to get up there?"

Vince looked around and noticed something in the distance. So he pointed to it and told the others what he found.

Vince: "Over there. We can take that."

They all looked to where Vince was pointing and discovered a huge mechanical lift that can go up to all four floors. Rodimus looked at that and rubbed his chin over while grinning.

Jack/Rodimus: "An access lift, eh? Well, better then climbing, that's for sure. Come on, let's get going."

The group then walked toward the lift so they can reach the spillway entrance quicker. But as they were walking, something was coming closer to them, waiting to strike at a moment's notice. They were completely unaware of it as they were getting closer to the lift. Miko then smiled and was glad that they were getting close to leaving the sewers.

Miko/Kaosu: "Well, that was easy. At first I thought we were going to take on a lot of these bugs. Now it's just smooth sailing from here on out."

Rodimus overheard her and found that to be a bit off. Almost like someone was watching them.

Jack/Rodimus: "Yeah... Almost too easy..."

As they were getting close to the lift, Sam looked back to see Sari and noticed that she was struggling to get the Scraplet to be quiet.

Sari: "Hush... Be quiet boy. Do you want to wake these things up?"

Feeling a little worried, he started to ask his friend what was going on.

Sam Witwicky: "Hey Sari, is everything all right?"

She looked up to him and explained the problem she was having with her new pet.

Sari: "I don't know Sam. This Scraplet is behaving oddly and squalling like crazy. I tried to tell it to stay silent, but it won't listen. Almost like it wants us to know about something.

Jack continued to hear the conversation and could understand most of it. He doesn't understand how Scraplets behave, being that they do tend to eat metal, a lot. But the way it sounded, it would seem that the Scraplet was trying to get everyone's attention. Almost like it was giving them a warning... Suddenly his optics grew wide as he realized what they were stepping into. He turned around and warned the others about it.

Jack/Rodimus: "Everyone get out! It's a trap!"

Before the others could react, something came out of the shadows and shoved the former teen away from the group. That unknown attacker was none other than an Insecticon in its beetle mode, using its heavy body to ram him to the wall, creating an impact that caused him to fall to his knees. The others looked on and were shocked and unprepared by this.

Raf/Firewall: "Rodimus!"

The Insecticon then transformed into its robot mode and was in a position ready to deliver the final blow. Rodimus slowly tilted his head up just to see the creature shrieking out loud with its pincers and sharp talons ready to strike. But the moment it was about to kill him off, the recruit closed off his visor and mouth guard and armed his shield, putting it in front to block the attack. The Insecticon then staggered back, shocked to see him block its attack, but it didn't give up that easily. So it charged in and went on the offensive while Jack got up and activated his sword to get to the defensive. The Insecticon used its talons to swipe at him while he blocked them off with his shield. Finding an opening, he positioned his sword and began to slice it diagonally to the side, as a cut appeared, oozing out a little bit of energon. The creature looked at that wound and was completely irate as it shrieked and switched to its blaster, firing it at the youngling. Rodimus quickly used his shield to deflect those shots and charged in with his sword poised and ready. The moment he got close to the creature, he used his defensive weapon to knock the Insecticon in the face while using his offensive weapon to slice its blaster arm. The Insecticon had it with him and went berserk. With its remaining arm, it twisted back and backslapped him, knocking him down to the floor. Jack shook from the impact and looked up to see the Insecticon ready to deliver the final blow. But before it could do anything, it was hit to the side by a forceful blow. The creature flew to the end and hit one of the stasis pods, knocking it unconscious. Rodimus looked at the result and was glad to get out of that. But looking to the front, he saw Kaosu there with her gravity hammer and a slight grin on her face.

Miko/Kaosu: "Need a helping hand?"

She shifted her hammer back to her server and offered it to him. He sighed to himself as his shifted his weapons back into his servos and revealing his face, grabbed Miko's and got himself back up. Dusting himself off, he looked to her and smiled.

Jack/Rodimus: "You know, I had it under control until you showed up."

The Japanese femme raised a metallic eyebrow and thought that was amusing.

Miko/Kaosu: "Really? Cause how I see it, it didn't look like you were doing too well."

Jack groaned to himself and hated when she was right.

Jack/Rodimus: "All right… You make a valid point."

The others soon joined in after the fight and were glad that he was all right.

Vince: "I got to say Rodimus; you've certainly got the fighting instincts in you. Much better than this kid I usually beat up. I don't know if you met him yet. His name's Jackson Darby. In fact, you have pretty much a striking resemblance to him."

Rodimus looked down to see Vince and realized what he said. He told him about the young student that he harassed and made that student's life miserable. He wasn't fully aware that the Autobot recruit he was talking to was in fact Jack himself, much less the slightest clue about who he really was. So with that said, he smirked silently and responded in a slight lie.

Jack/Rodimus: "I don't know him yet Vince. But I'll meet him one day."

Just as he said that, they heard the sound of grunting at a distance. Turning in the direction of where the Insecticon had gone, they saw that it was struggling to get up. The former teen turned to the hacker and asked him to do the honors.

Jack/Rodimus: "Firewall?"

Raf turned to his friend and knew what he wanted them to do. Nodding in approval, he turned to the downed insect hybrid and armed his tazer blaster.

Raf/Firewall: "I got this one."

He aimed it at the metallic creature and charged it at full power. In a matter of moments, he fired it at the creature and made a direct hit. The Insecticon convulsed in a few seconds before it fell flat on its face, going into deep stasis. Once it was down, Sam stared at the creature and was impressed.

Sam Witwicky: "Got to admit, for an Insecticon, it certainly knows how to fight."

Kaosu put her servos to her hips and let him know a little bit about these deadly Cons.

Miko/Kaosu: "You can say that again. Though not well organized or bright, these Insecticons certainly are vicious and attack without mercy. It's a good thing it's just one, cause if the others were awake this would've been real complicated."

The moment she said that though, something unexpected happened. When Miko knocked the Insecticon senseless, it hit one of the pods with a loud thud, loud enough for the entire chamber to echo. When the echo faded a red light on the visor of the Insecticon that was in that very same pod glowed brightly. And then the one next to the first pod. And then another. And another. And another.

Soon enough the entire chamber was glowing a bright red color as all the pods began to stir. The Wrecking cadet and the others looked around and realized that they were in some serious trouble.

Miko/Kaosu: "Uh oh…"

Firewall look back to her and told her about what she said.

Raf/Firewall: "You really had to open your big mouth, did ya Kaosu?"

As soon as every pod was activated, they slowly started to awaken the Insecticons inside. One by one, the compartments were opened followed by a hissing noise as air escaped the pods. Sari stepped back in fear while holding her Scraplet tight and reminded Kaosu about her earlier words.

Sari: "Well, you did say you were going to take on a lot of these bugs. Now you got your wish."

Just then, one of the pods opened fully and the next Insecticon got out of it, looking at the team and shrieking at them. On instinct, Rodimus closed off his visor and mouth guard and armed his blaster, charging it to full power and firing it at the creature's chest. The moment he made a direct hit the bug died on impact. He told the others to move.

Jack/Rodimus: "Fallback to the lift! We have to get out of here!"

Soon enough the three picked the teens up and ran to the lift while the pods opened around them, awakening the Insecticons. The moment they made it to the lift, the three recruits brought the teens down as they prepared their weapons for a major firefight.

Jack/Rodimus: "Get the lift working! We'll hold them off as long as we can!"

Vince, Sam, and Sari nodded in unison as they headed to the controls. Upon reaching the controls, they noticed that it was offline and looked like it hadn't been used in a while.

Vince: "Great. The controls are offline. Either the invasion knocked the power in the entire town or this lift hadn't been used in a long time."

Sari looked at the controls and noticed a key socket at the top right corner. Removing the key from her neck, she got it close to the socket as the end shaped into the distinct shape.

Sari: "Let's see if I could jump start this thing."

She inserted the key into ignition and turned it. Soon after, the key glowed blue and the elevator went back to life. Sam saw it turned on and was happy that it was working.

Sam Witwicky: "It's working! Nice thinking Sari! Now let's head on up!"

Looking at the four buttons on the console, he pressed the one at the top that said: '4th Floor' and the lift started to go up. But just as he pressed the button, something unexpected happened. For some strange reason, the lift they were all on was moving slowly and isn't going any faster. Sam noticed it and told everyone about it.

Sam Witwicky: "Wait… Something is wrong. This lift is moving too slow! This is really bad."

Rodimus looked down and could tell that they were in deep trouble. He then looked up to see some of the Insecticons armada awakening and transforming into their insect modes, flying towards them. The group got into a stance and armed their blasters for a fight.

Jack/Rodimus: "Looks like we have to fight our way up. Get ready guys. They're going to board us!"

Soon enough, the group fired their blasters at the flying hoard and they were about to get on the lift. The group then started to attack the enemies. It starts when Miko used her sonic blasters to push the Insect monsters away from them. Raf then fired his tazer blasters and short-circuited them until he then fell to the floor sleeping. The others that hadn't gotten hit with an electrical shock were picked off by Jack's blaster. As they were flying, they've managed to reach the first floor as Sam told them about it.

Sam Witwicky: "We've reached the first floor! Three more to go."

The Wrecking cadet looked down and was shocked by the news.

Miko/Kaosu: "That's it?! How long can this stupid thing take to go up? Sari, can you at least speed it up so we won't have to be stuck here?"

Sari looked to her and shook her head in response.

Sari: "Sorry, but I can't. This is an old piece of machinery. If I try to give it a little more speed, it might break on us. And trust me when I say this, it's the last thing we want."

The young mech looked to her and nodded in approval.

Jack/Rodimus: "Well it looks like we're going to have to wait it out while fighting these creeps. Here they come again!"

Looking up to see more Insecticons approaching them, they went back to the offensive and fend the lift against them. So far, they did the exact same pattern with Kaosu blasting them away, Firewall shocking them, and Rodimus taking out what's left of them. One however got out of the pod on the ceiling and fell near them, transforming into its bug mode and flying to them with the horn sharp and ready for impalement. Yet the group was distracted as they were shooting with everything they had. But as Kaosu was preparing for another blast, with optics peered to the sound of fluttering and spotted the Insecticon to the right that were getting close to kill them. With quick thinking, she switched her blasters into hammers and swung to hit it with both at the same time. The Insecticon flew down to the floor and hit the ground hard. So much so, that one of the gas lines cracked as flammable vapors escaped out of the crack. Firewall notices it from his angle and told his friend about it.

Raf/Firewall: "Rodimus, the gas line!"

Jack turned to the hacker and then down to the floor to see the cracked pipe and warned the team to avoid the pipes.

Jack/Rodimus: "Check your fire team! One hit near that crack and this mission is going to crash and burn."

The two looked to him and nodded in agreement, knowing that hitting near the gas pipe could lead to them burning to death. Just as they thought about it, two Insecticons managed to jump on the lift in their bipedal modes and were ready to strike. Rodimus and Firewall switched to their defensive weapons and decided to fight them off while Kaosu went back to her sonic blasters to push them away. The three teens saw this and got their heads down while Sam looked at the gauge and could tell they were halfway there.

Sam Witwicky: "Approaching the second floor."

Vince listened to him and groaned to himself.

Vince: "This lift really likes to take its time. It is no wonder why no one goes into the sewers much."

Just as he said that, an Insecticon landed on a guardrail near the humans and shrieked out loud to attack. The three stumbled back and were scared at what it was going to do with them. The Scraplet though was thinking differently as in its head its master, Sari, was in grave danger. So opening its jaws, it flew to the creature and began eating at its chest plate. The insect Con panicked at it tried to get the little vermin off of it. As it was eating the chest, it exposed the spark chamber with the spark pulsing wildly. Vince looked at the spark and found the opening he needed. Aiming his blaster at full power, he fired it at its spark and that spark exploded, shutting the brute down. It then tilted backwards like a tree and fell to the floor with a loud thud. The Scraplet though got off the creature seconds before the blast and flew to Sari, landing around her arms and nudging her chest. The teenage girl smiled and rubbed its forehead with her cheek for a job well done.

Sari: "Good boy. You're a really good boy."

Sam took a breather too as he almost had a near death experience. But now that the Insecticon was out of the way, he decided to check the console again and saw it was still operational. Looking at the next floor they're in, he told the others about it.

Sam Witwicky: "Entering the third floor. Just one more floor to reach."

As he said it, the recruits were busy as they tried their best to hold off the hoard until they could get to their goal. Rodimus was using his sword to slice any Insecticons that got close to him while using his shield to deflect any strike performed by them. Kaosu continued pushing the army of metallic insects away with her sonic cannons, hoping to give the team enough breathing room till they get up to the fourth floor. As the fight went on, two Insecticons noticed the group reaching the fourth floor and had to do something. Looking at the mechanics underneath the lift itself, they came up with an idea and flew up to below the elevator. Once there, they used their sharp claws to begin ripping them away as wires and circuitry were being torn apart. At the same time, the group heard the sound of ripped metal as the lift they were all on begins to shake violently. Looking down, they all came to a conclusion as Miko said it out loud.

Miko/Kaosu: "They are trying to destroy the lift!"

Jack looked down to see if they were down there, but they were completely underneath. So he turned to Firewall and told them to take care of it.

Jack/Rodimus: "Firewall, see if you can get them out from under us!"

Raf looked to the former teen and nodded in agreement.

Raf/Firewall: "I got this!"

He started to open his compartments on his arms and the two cables came out of it, extending and reaching the bottom of the lift. The Insecticons meanwhile were trying to disable the gears under the lift so they could ground the intruders. But they failed to notice those very cables approaching them and wrapping around their torsos. That is when the cables tightened around them, making it impossible for them to get out and pulled them away from the machinery. Once he got them away from the gears, he clamped them together and banged them into submission. But looking up, he saw more Insecticons coming their way. Looking at the two he was holding on to, he decided to use their own weapons against them. Positioning himself, he turned to swing his cables in separate directions. During mid swing, he let go of the two metal bugs and they were flailing to the others. They both collide into two more creatures and they crashed and exploded on impact. Kaosu looked at the end result and was overly excited.

Miko/Kaosu: "Rock on Firewall! That was amazing!"

She then spotted more Insecticons heading their way in their beetle like modes and used her sonic cannons to blow them away. Sam looked at the last floor and told them that they were almost to their objective.

Sam Witwicky: "There it is! The fourth floor! Almost there!"

The group nodded as they were ready to step onto the platform. But just as they were going to leave, they heard a strange noise as the lift shook again, only more violently this time. The team stopped what they're doing to moment they felt the shake and wondered what it was.

Vince: "What was that?"

They all waited to see what happened. That is when they felt another dangerous shake under their feet. Figuring it all out, Jack came with a really good conclusion.

Jack/Rodimus: "It would seem that the damage the Insecticons did to the mechanics was far worse than we thought. We better get off this now before we make a plummet!"

They then felt another shake and could tell that it was about to get dangerous. Sam then looked down at the lift and also noticed something worse coming their way.

Sam Witwicky: "Um, I think we should get off soon before they can get to us."

Both Sari and Vince looked down too and saw what appears to be more Insecticons crawling on the walls, getting close to the intruders. Sari gulped as Vince looked at this seriously.

Vince: "Looks like we got more trouble on the way. We better get off this lift quick before it's too late!"

Rodimus saw the hoard crawling up to them and knew they were in grave danger. So he looked at the floor they were just about reaching and had to make an immediate decision.

Jack/Rodimus: "Whatever the case, we have to get out of here before it's the end for all of us."

Slowly the lift started to reach the fourth floor, but barely. The moment it shook and the restraints were breaking, he told everyone to make the jump.

Jack/Rodimus: "Now! Jump!"

Soon enough, the group got off the lift as Sari removed the key on the console before she could make the jump. Once they managed to get out to safety, the lift shook one last time until the restraints and the mechanics broke down at the lift itself fell to the bottom. But that wasn't before it mowed down dozens of Insecticons in its path. Looking down as the end result, Rodimus and the others were glad that they got out of the frying pan. But when they looked at the front where the wide spillway was located, they immediately got into the fryer. Standing in front of them all, was a huge army of Insecticons that got out of their stasis pods just now and were ready to destroy the trespassers. Jack looked at this and rolled his optics around behind his visors, knowing that this was just the beginning. Looking to Miko, he decided to say something that he will regret in the near future.

Jack/Rodimus: "Kaosu, you think you can go ahead and…"

The Wrecking cadet turned to him and smirked very devilishly.

Miko/Kaosu: "Bring the Chaos? Oh yeah… I hear ya."

Getting into a Wrecker's stance, she shifted both her servos into her gravity hammers and looked ready to fight.

Miko/Kaosu: "All right boys, one creature feature is coming right at ya!"

In a matter of seconds, she charged in and powered up her hammers for a brawl while the Insecticons did the same thing and began their attack. The moment she reached one of them, she swung it to the creature and was hit hard, knocking it off the ledge and to the ground. On her second swing, she hit the next one, which in turn collided with the one behind it. And then she hit the third metallic bug upwards, sending it flying into the air and straight towards the other recruits and human teens. As it was getting near, the young mech armed his sword and swung it high in the air, cutting the creature to the waist area and in half. As it was destroyed, Jack turned to the others and told them to get going.

Rodimus: "We got a clearing! Follow Kaosu! We have to get out of this place!"

The others nodded in acknowledgment and followed Rodimus's orders. Soon enough, everyone ran to the spillway of the missile silo while Kaosu took the lead and smashed her way through the wave of Insecticons. As they were running, more Insecticons flew to the group and were about to go for a kill. Thankfully, Jack and Raf saw this and took action as they armed their blaster and fired their projectiles at the enemies, blasting them out of the sky or electrocuting them in the air. The battle was fierce and riveting as the recruits were using anything in their power to get the metal insects away from them. Miko kept on hitting the hoard with her hammers as they flew around and colliding to each other. There were some occasions that the Insecticons managed to make a few good strikes, but they were just minor scratches to her armor and nothing too serious. Regardless, she was beating up bugs like she was an extreme exterminator and was enjoying every moment of it. Jack and Raf were also preoccupied as they were running and shooting down Insecticon drones that were flying towards them. For Firewall, his electric blasts short-circuited half the group as they all fall to the ground in complete stasis. Rodimus then used her blaster to pick the rest and with the help of his lock on targeting sensor on his visor, aimed for them at their heads and spark chambers and killed them in one blow. As for the teens, they were running close to the recruits as they were surviving as much as they could. But then, they got stopped by an Insecticon and came between them and the Autobots. It screeched as it wanted to tear some humans apart. Vince got his blaster at the ready to defend the innocent civilians while Sari and Sam stood behind him with fear in their eyes. The Scraplet Sari was holding though didn't want its master getting hurt so it jumped out of her arms and flew in to the attack with its mouth opened and the many razor sharp teeth ready to bite. The creature saw the vermin heading up to it as it was about to fire back. But Vince found it distracted and decided to fire the detached blaster to its own. After a couple of quick shots, he managed to hit the blaster and it was deactivated on the metal bug's arm. With its blaster disabled, the Scraplet took the opening as it went right up its head and started biting the creature's neck. In a matter of nano seconds, the little pipsqueak managed decapitates the monster's head, as it remained headless before falling back limp. The Scraplet then returned to its master's arms while Vince smiled at that accomplishment.

Vince: "You know what? For a small bot that could eat a lot of metal, he certainly is pretty helpful. Hell, I'm really starting to like this guy, almost."

Looking up, he could see that the recruits were already ahead. So he told the others to run.

Vince: "We better hurry! The others are already ahead!"

So the three teens went around the Insecticon's dead body and ran as fast as they could to reach their friends. While they all running, the Recruits were hitting and shooting any insect they saw while reaching closer to their goal. After the brutal beat down and intense firefight, they all managed to reach the entrance of the spillway. Kaosu saw two more Insecticons blocking their path and were ready for a brawl. So the Wrecking cadet got her hammers in position and swung them at both ends, hitting them in the heads and forcing them to collide next to each other, knocking them both unconscious. Looking down at the two bugs, she turned to the spillway entrance and smirked.

Miko/Kaosu: "Hmph… Like I said before, this was too easy."

Rodimus and Firewall caught up to her while the three teens managed to catch up to them. The former teen looked to the entrance and was glad that they had made it.

Jack/Rodimus: "Well, looks like we made it to the entrance. The rest would be pretty much smooth driving from here on out."

Just as he said that, they all heard shrieks from behind and turned around to see a huge armada of Insecticons heading towards them, all awaken and ready to kill.

Raf/Firewall: "Yeah? Well that's the good news. The bad news is that we now have to be dealing with these freaks of nature."

Sam looked at all of it too and turned to Rodimus to give him his two cents.

Sam Witwicky: "I could agree with Firewall here Rodimus. We surely can't take them all on without getting ourselves killed in the process and no way are we going to be followed while we make our way to the base."

Jack though got into a stance while shifting to his sword and energy shield to defend the entryway.

Jack/Rodimus: "Either way, we need to stop them at all costs. There has to be a way in removing them from this factor."

Miko looked at this too and was thinking of another way of losing them as well. Looking down at the main floor, she saw the gas pipe with a crack that exposed the gas vapor. That is the very same pipe one of the Insecticons landed on when she knocked it down. Smirking to herself, she armed her rockets and was prepared to fire. Jack looked to her and was in a panic, knowing what will happen.

Jack/Rodimus: "Whoa! What are you doing? You can't fire those rockets here! We have a gas leak remember?"

She turned her optics to him and told him what she was going to do.

Miko/Kaosu: "I'm fully aware of that. But you did say that we need to lose them and this is the only way in stopping them. Once I fire these rockets, you guys better start transforming and drive like Unicron is being reawakened."

The two recruits and three humans looked at her and were shocked by this little stunt she's going to pull. But the moment they were about to protest, she went on ahead and fired those rockets anyways. The second she fired, she bent down and grabbed Sari, transforming midway and drove into the spillway.

Miko/Kaosu: "You guys better start driving! Unless you want to see the fireworks way up close."

Rodimus turned to see those rockets heading towards the pipeline. He then silently gulped and decided to follow her advice.

Jack/Rodimus: "You heard Kaosu! Fallback!"

Quickly the two grabbed Vince and Sam, transformed, and sped into the entryway as fast as their speedometers and tires can take them. At the same time, the Insecticons saw them leaving and went after them. What they didn't expect is that the missiles Miko fired hit the gas line and created a huge explosion that engulfed the entire sewer center in flames, burning anything and anyone in their path. The Insecticons got caught in the blast as they bodies burned and melted until they were nothing more than melted, disfigured candles. What no one knows is that one Insecticon managed to escape the fiery blaze with a few minor burns by flying up to the open light on the ceiling, hoping to get to his master in time. While that was going on, the three recruits in vehicle mode sped as quickly as they could while a wall of fire entered the spillway and getting near to them. Raf looked through his review mirrors and didn't like the view of the fire that was getting closer to them. Turning his mirrors to Miko, he starts to argue in a panic.

Raf/Firewall: "Really great idea Kaosu. You plan is going to get us killed!"

The Japanese femme looked to him with her review mirrors and argued back.

Miko/Kaosu: "Well, I didn't say it was a perfect plan."

But Jack told them to shut it and let them drive.

Jack/Rodimus: "Let's not place the blame on anyone yet. We just need to get out of here quick before we're burned to death. Maximum overdrive!"

They all went nitro as their speedometers pass the breaking point. The three teens though held on tight as Vince was getting a little whip lashed by the speed.

Vince: "Oh man… And I thought my car was fast. This is insane!"

Looking at the dashboard mirror, he could see the wall of flames getting closer to them. So close that they were warming up the back ends of the recruit's vehicle forms. So he warned them on the situation.

Vince: "Guys? The fire is getting closer to us!"

Jack looked at that and notices it as well.

Jack/Rodimus: "Scrap, you're right Vince. I don't think our speed can get us out of this predicament. We've got to find another way of losing it."

Raf looked around to see where they can get away from the flames and spotted another spillway on the left side. Noticing it, he told his friend what he found.

Raf/Firewall: "There's a small spillway for us to hide until the flames dissipate, but I'm certain that it would catch us no matter where we're going."

Rodimus saw the small section on his left and knew the hacker was right. But he then came up with a way in avoiding the flames and knew he wasn't going to like it.

Jack/Rodimus: "It's a long shot, but it's the only way out of this predicament. Everyone get into hiding! We're already out of time!"

Quickly the three made a quick drift into the small spillway and transformed into their bot modes the moment they got in with their human comrades getting out midway. That's when Rodimus stepped in and did something really extreme. Activating his shield, he placed it at the exit of the main spill way and made it both big and strong at the same time. In a matter of seconds, the huge fire appeared and engulfed the main hall. Yet the shield Rodimus was using is preventing the flames from spreading to their position. He held on with all of his might as flames seeped through the shield and started to crack it. In a matter of seconds, the flames immediately disappeared and everything was completely quiet. As it was long gone, Jack sighed in relief and removed his shield while bits of his armor looked a little sheered. The others looked on and were amazed of Rodimus's bravery. Kaosu then stepped in and applaud his courage.

Miko/Kaosu: "Wow Rodimus. Never thought you would do something that extreme."

The young mech took a quick breather and was turned to the Wrecking cadet with a small grin.

Jack/Rodimus: "Well, I didn't have any options left. What I did was pretty much at the last minute."

Miko/Kaosu: "Last minute of not, that was so awesome! I'm sure Optimus would be proud of that."

Jack turned his head away and was silent for a brief moment.

Jack/Rodimus: "Yeah… Optimus… That's the reason why we're here. To rescue him. Now let's hurry, we got a leader to save."

He then left as the other recruits and humans followed him. When they got out of hiding, they noticed the end result of the explosion. All they saw was a long charred tunnel with debris and pieces of Insecticon parts that were completely burned. The humans looked at it and were surprised by what happened.

Vince: "Whoa… So that's what the place looks like after degree burns of over five hundred."

The Scraplet jumped down off of Sari's arms and investigated the burnt arm of one Insecticon. It then opened its jaws and started to eat it. Almost immediately, it spat it back out as it didn't like the taste of burnt metal. Sari got to her new pet and pets it slightly, letting it know that it was all right.

Sari: "Most of the place must've been hot enough that not even the Scraplet could eat it. I'm surprised that we've managed to survive it."

Jack turned to the direction they need to go and knew they need get to their objective as soon as possible.

Jack/Rodimus: "Whatever the case, we've wasted enough time as it is. We need to reach Darkmount and regain communication from our team. Let's hope we don't run into any more surprises on the way."

The group nodded and walked down the long tunnel. But Sam looked back at the Insecticon hive they were in was a little worried about something.

Sam Witwicky: "Um… Shouldn't we head back to see if there were any survivors?"

Jack continued to walk to through the tunnel and answered Sam's concerning question.

Jack/Rodimus: "Don't bother. That blast created them out in one blow. No way would anyone survive that."

Sam stared at the way back and felt a little weary about that. But he brushed that aside and hurried to them, hoping not to lose them. What none of then realized was that one managed to escape and even as they spoke, was returning to the fortress were they were going.


Minutes later, Darkmount was completely silent as jets were passing by under constant watch after what happened at the ruins of Jasper. At the throne room on the top floor, Megatron was sitting on his royal throne with Starscream on his left side and Shockwave on his right. Knockout was standing in front of the leader, explaining about the recovery effort.

Megatron: "Report Knockout. What is the progress of the recovery team?"

The medical officer brushed off some dust from his chest plate and explained the progress.

Knockout: "So far, so good my liege. The recovery unit managed to find some Decepticon survivors from the aftermath of our cannon blast. Few managed to have minor injuries, but the rest were pretty much wrecked. They are already in the medical wing for treatment, but judging by the damage, half of them would take them solar cycles until they are back in the field."

Megatron: "And what about the Neutrals that appeared in that human town. Did they manage to find their bodies?"

Knockout simply shook his head and gave him the bad news.

Knockout: "Sadly no. The recovery team combed the entire site and didn't find any Cybertronian that doesn't have any insignias on them. It's like they vanished without a trace."

The Decepticon leader sat back and didn't like the news he heard.

Megatron: "I see…"

But the medic chirped up and gave the leader a bit of good news in the search.

Knockout: "However, we do have news regarding the Neutrals that arrived unexpectedly. You see, there was a Vehicon captain that was in charged to a search party in that human town. Don't know much, but it would seem that he was talking to those Neutrals before they started the attack. I'm certain that he has any information regarding these intruders. He's already being treated even as we speak."

Megs looked on and find that to be intriguing. If one survivor made contact with these trespassers, they might have important details about them. So he relaxed and told Knockout on what to do.

Megatron: "Very well Knockout. When the captain is fully recovered, bring him to me. I would like to ask him a few questions."

Knockout bowed down gracefully and responded in a kind gesture.

Knockout: "Understood your lordship. I shall arrange an audience."

With that said, he turned and walked away to the elevator that would take them down. Once he left, Shockwave turned to his leader and wanted to know about these intruders he heard about.

Shockwave: "So three Neutrals managed to breach our security and laid waste to our platoon. That seems incredibly illogical."

Megatron nodded and gave him a little clarity.

Megatron: "Indeed it is Shockwave. Though I never thought it seemed impossible, these Neutrals were very resourceful and managed to make it far enough to reach Darkmount."

But Starscream butted in and let Shockwave know about what he did.

Starscream: "Yes, they were this close in reaching this fortress. But thanks to my quick thinking, I've managed to stop them from intruding to our new home."

The scientist turned to the commander and let him know of what he left out.

Shockwave: "And you also attacked our own forces with the tower's defenses. By my calculations, you made a desperate attempt in stopping them without isolating the consequences."

Scream was a little surprised by the one eyed Con's deduction and explained his actions.

Starscream: "Well one action does require sacrifice Shockwave. Those brave men down there knew the risks as any other Cybertronian."

Megatron though peered down to his commander and wanted to know more about their new enemy.

Megatron: "You're certain Starscream that these Neutrals were destroyed in the blast?"

He looked up to his leader and smiled wickedly.

Starscream: "But of course master. You heard what Knockout said. The recovery team couldn't find any bodies of any of the intruders. As far as I know it, they are as good as dead."

Just as he said that, they heard an unexpected shriek from above them. All of them look up to see an Insecticon flying down towards them. Once it landed, it transformed into its bipedal mode, showing off the burn marks on its armor. It bowed to its master and gave him some unexpected news.

Insecticon 2: "Forgive my intrusion Lord Megatron, but I have some news of the utmost of urgency."

Megatron was a little surprised that an Insecticon would come and looked a little damaged. But he let that slide and he told the bug to continue.

Megatron: "Please, go on…"

The creature was silent; not knowing how well his master would react to this unsettling event.

Insecticon 2: "A few breams ago, one of our hives were destroyed."

That was when the leader got up and snapped by what he had heard.

Megatron: "DESTROYED!? HOW?! BY WHO?!"

The Insecticon was quivering as he was explaining about the situation.

Insecticon 2: "It's hard to tell my liege. But there were three Cybertronians that were trespassing in our lair. We were awakened when our watcher was destroyed and attacked by the intruders. But they managed to defend themselves really well and showed no mercy to the swarm. We were about to surround the group and pull a full frontal assault on them, but that it when one of them fired a missile at a gas leak to destroyed the entire hive in seconds. I barely got out of there alive just to tell you."

The leader listened to what happened and was a little intrigued about what the metallic insect said. So he went ahead and asked one more question.

Megatron: "These intruders you speak of, do you know who they are?"

The Insecticon shook its head and explained about them.

Insecticon 2: "No master, I don't. But from what I saw, they appear to be Neutrals with no insignias on them."

Now that got the leader's attention as he rubbed his chin and understood who was within one of the hives. With a smile, he gestures to the bug to leave.

Megatron: "Thank you for sharing my loyal servant. You may head to the medical wing where Knockout will treat the injuries you've sustained in the attack."

The Insecticon bowed down and turned to reach the elevator. The moment it left though, Megatron glared right at Starscream, who was cowering a little after hearing that the Neutrals managed to survive.

Megatron: "They are as good as dead you say?"

The commander laughed nervously as he tried to cover up what happened.

Starscream: "Well, there was a slight chance that they could've survived."

But Megs wasn't buying it as he stood up and grabbed the flyer by the throat, threatening and giving orders to him.

Megatron: "If they survived the blast, then that could mean they are finding a way in reaching Darkmount! We cannot let them in here no matter what. I want the perimeter around the tower under high alert. And bring a search party into the town's sewer line to find them. If I were to guess, I say that they are still trying to look for a way to get to here. Fail me again, and you will soon join Dreadwing in a list of commanders I've extinguished! Do you understand?"

There was a slight nervous chuckle coming from Scream as he understood and depth of the situation.

Starscream: "Right away my master. I will see to it that these Neutrals won't cause any problems to your operations."

The leader stared him down coldly and had an icy sound to his voice box.

Megatron: "For your sake, you better not fail me again. Now go!"

He then let go of his commander as he was trying to breathe hard after that unexpected choke on his throat. Clearing it, he walked down to the lift to start forming a search party to go to the sewers. But as he was leaving, he had a sour look on his face and was mumbling to himself. He never thought that these Neutrals would survive the cannon blast, let alone taking on a hoard of Insecticons by themselves. That's when he uttered one question to himself.

Starscream: "Who are these Neutrals?"


That the first chapter of the New Year. Now I had to put a few details into the work and some quick changes. Especially with the Scraplet the Sari made obedient and keep as a pet. I'm certain most TFA fans know where I'm going with this. As for the rest of you, you have to wait and see on the next chapter, when the team made it to the old base and are now finding a way to get into Darkmount. This is going to get interesting. Hope you all have a great new year. Please Review.