Disclaimer:I do not own anything pertaining to Transformers, or anything else related to this material of which I written about. All rights are reserved by the original owners.

Author's Note: I hope that this long chapter makes up in some way for my negligence in posting :( I really appreciate all your reviews you awesome readers – thanks for the encouragement!


Chapter 9

"No – bears definitely do not have glowing red eyes!" Mikaela's voice was edged with panic.

"Didn't think so," Jolt replied.

Springer rotated a giant cannon out of his arm only a few seconds before Decepticon beast launched itself out of the darkness and towards the small group. With a combination of ducking and shooting, he managed to avoid getting pummeled and prepared for another assault.

"This guy is huge!" the smaller Autobot exclaimed. "I don't recognize him."

"It's Beastbox, which means we're in trouble."

"Why?" Mikaela and Jolt asked in unison.

"Because Beastbox is an animal; like one of your bears, but bigger, tougher, and rabid."

"Oh… crap…" the young woman muttered.

"Jolt, watch my flank and keep an eye on the girl. He's circling us, looking for a weak spot. Let me take him on though; this thing is enraged when it attacks."

Mikaela couldn't imagine how big this 'Con was – Springer was already enormous and transformed into an aircraft. Just keeping herself from getting crushed underfoot was enough to worry about, nevermind a crazed metallic alien. Suddenly the ground rumbled like there was an earthquake happening; the beast charged and caught the larger Autobot into a strong hold that sent both rolling far off. By the light of the gunfire, she could see the two forms battling it out, snapping trees in half like mere twigs.


Lennox stared up at the Deception that had just appeared in the power core of the Decepticon base. One moment he was looking at a solid wall, and in the next moment that same wall had transformed into a nasty-looking 'Con. It didn't even acknowledge the humans of the NEST team – it spoke in Cybertronian to the Autobots and they responded in their native language.

In his earpiece came a whispered voice, his Second Lieutenant Raymond Hawes. "Should we retreat? The Autobots seem in be in charge."

"No, we're not doing anything they let us know what's going on. Stay in your defensive positions and be ready to move fast."

"Yes sir."

As the alien conversation went on, Will took the opportunity to study their adversary. He was fairly tall, nearly the height of Optimus Prime, but had an almost box-like appearance. It was unlikely that it was a guard, because the entire base would have been alerted if it were; this 'Con meant business. For something like the fifth time that night, he silently praised himself for making Mikaela stay behind. Although they outnumbered the Deception four to one, the Autobots seemed uncharacteristically anxious. Will saw them tense and knew that in the next few seconds that something would happen.

The Decepticon reached out with a huge arm and all of the explosive charges that the team had clamped onto the generator detached and flew into his hand. As he raised the other arm it transformed into a gun, though for the humans it looked more like a missile launcher.

"Retreat! Everybody out! MOVE!" Lennox hollered into his earpiece.

The men bolted for the tunnel that would take them back to the surface; there was no way that any of them would stand a chance in there, the Autobots would have to handle this one. Gunfire reverberated through the enclosed space; Lennox could feel it to his core. He and the men were sprinting as fast as they could with all of their gear, but it was a long way to go to the outside, and not everyone could fit into the Humvees.

"Major!" someone called out.

He glanced back into the glare of headlights and a military buggy pulled up alongside them. "Some of you get in, we have to get out of here," Dune Runner instructed them.

"Why are we running?" Hawes asked, gasping for breath. "There are more of us and only one of him."

"That Decepticon back there, that's Shockwave. Not only is he ruthless and calculating, he's planned this whole thing."

"What do you mean?"

"He knew we were coming, it's what you humans call a 'set-up'."

Lennox grimaced. "Alright, let's go. We'll re-evaluate outside."

Dune Runner accelerated past carrying more men than should have safely been on. Another vehicle screeched to a stop in front of him. Ratchet popped open the doors of his medical truck and more men clambered inside.

"Where's everyone else?" Will asked the Autobot.

"On their way. They're trying to hold him off, but he's got a couple other 'Con's in there now."

"What? How is that possible?"

"Cloaked. The generator not only powers the base and the communications equipment, but also a cloaking device."

He blinked dully, barely able to wrap his mind around the new information.

"Gears says he's coming now, he'll take the rest of the men."

No sooner did Ratchet leave than did a dark SUV lurch to a halt. Lennox quickly got inside with the remainder of his team and they sped to the exit.

Parked in a semi-circle, the vehicles sat without their lights on. The Autobots discussed the options for completing the mission, now that everything had changed. Another voice could be heard through the speakers in Gears; it was Breakaway. He had remained outside the base to serve as a scout; his fighter jet alt-mode would allow him to take off if the need arose.

"We've got a problem…" he said quietly. "Don't make any sudden movements. You're surrounded."


Mikaela ran frantically for the edge of the clearing that the NEST team had used as a temporary camp earlier that evening. The air she inhaled was cold, and the backpack that was strapped across her shoulders was heavy, but fear made her forget all of that. She'd found a pair of night-vision goggles that Will had put into her bag before leaving on the mission, and was now wearing them. Her surroundings became a freakish green and black through the lenses, with white bursts of light punctuating the scene.

Autobot Jolt had told her to get clear of the fighting – as terrifying as it was to be in the middle of an alien death match, the concept of huddling by the edge of the darkest forest in existence was no more reassuring.

Surely this warranted making a call to Will and his team! They were probably in the middle of their mission, but this was something they had to know about… Mikaela stared at the battling Cybertronians – two on one, they could probably handle it. Besides, Jolt hadn't told her to call for backup.

Pulling the goggles up to where her tuque met her forehead, she continued to watch the fight in normal vision, despite the darkness. Jolt was now involved – it was the first time that she had seen him in action – his electric blue whips glowed and crackled as they wrapped around Beastbox, sending out powerful charges. Springer grappled with it, pounding his fists into the Decepticon and shooting at it when there was some distance between them.

Suddenly she felt a stronger than usual gust of wind, and sensed a presence overhead. Mikaela slipped the goggles back on and gazed skyward. There didn't seem to be anything in sight, but she could have sworn that there had been something there. Maybe she was just being paranoid…

After a particularly loud explosion which radiated shockwaves she could feel even at a distance, Beastbox seemed to give up and limp off into the forest as quickly as he'd come. The Autobots both remained in a defensive stance for a couple minutes until them deemed it safe.

"Mikaela! Where are you?" Jolt called out.

"Over here!" she got up and jogged back over to the two Autobots. "Are you okay? That was some brawl!"

"We're alright," Springer replied. "No major damage was sustained, just some scratches."

"Is that thing gone?"

"Well, for now anyways. He's sustained enough damages to make him re-think his position. But there's a high chance that he could return."

"How did they find us? How did they know we were here?"

"Beastbox could just be a guard that they have patrolling the area around the base, watching for any intruders."

"Kind of like one of your watchdogs," Jolt clarified.

"Should we tell Lennox and the other Autobots?"

"I think so. If that beast goes back to the base, they'll have an unpleasant encounter," Springer commented.


"Surrounded?" Lennox repeated. "Where are you Breakaway?"

"In the forest – if I move a circuit, they'll spot me."

"How many?"

"I can't be certain, but it looks like five."

"That's only one more than us," Hawes remarked. "With Breakaway we should be able to take them."

Will glanced over at his second lieutenant and nodded. "Gears, what do you think?"

The Autobot's voice also came through the SUV speakers. "I'm not calculating any other options."

"Alright – let the 'Cons make the first move, then we'll hit them hard."

"They're moving in," Breakaway warned.

Headlights flashed on and five heavy-construction vehicles rolled out of the woods. Simultaneously they halted with their beams illuminating the NEST team.

A Russian accent came over the Will's communications earpiece; Petr Andronov, their scientist, spoke hesitantly. "Are you sure those are Decepticons? They could be working in a mine nearby…"

His words trailed off into silence as the vehicles began to make a nightmarish transformation. The humans baled out of their own vehicles, which reverted out of their alt-modes to counter the new threat. As the first shots rang out, Lennox and his men scrambled for cover from the energy bolts. The Constructicons were large, as well as being heavily-armed and armoured; what had been two excavators, a dump truck, a bulldozer, and a front end loader, had become a very effective fighting force.

Out of the tunnel leading into the Decepticon base, Whirl came running at full tilt. Right behind him was Scattorshot, still in his alt-mode. The next to launch onto the scene were three massive tanks, one of them being distinctly Cybertronian – likely Shockwave. This situation had officially escalated out of control.

"Major! We're receiving an incoming transmission from the team at the base of the mountain; it's on the other frequency."

Will received the call immediately. "Mikaela? Are you alright?"

"Well, we are now. We're hearing gunfire and explosions up there – what's going on?"

We've been ambushed. It's not going well."

"We were also ambushed, by some monstrous thing. Springer was able to fight it off, but it's still out there somewhere. What about the base?"

"It's still standing; we had to retreat."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Right now just sit tight; I'll let you know how things go in the next few minutes."


The next few minutes seemed like forever to Mikaela. She and the two Autobots could only stand in the dark and listen to the battle raging higher up on the side of the mountain. At first she worried that someone in the area would see or hear something, but quickly realized that there was no one in the area. Springer suddenly tilted his head like he was on a Bluetooth receiver.

"That was Gears," he informed them. "They need my help up there. You two stay here."

"And what are we supposed to do?" Jolt asked.

"Wait. The team is going to split up and fully retreat. One group will return here, and the other will be taking the back road off the mountain and circle around. Jolt, take care of Ms. Banes."

Transforming into his Osprey alt-mode, he roared off and left the rookie Autobot and young woman staring after him.

"And then there were two…" she muttered.

"Well that's just great!" Jolt threw his hands up in the air; a human mannerism he'd probably picked up. "What if Beastbox comes back?"

"Don't even say that."

As much as the thought of that monster returning scared her, Mikaela was even more concerned about Will being in the middle of that battle. Being ambushed and cornered by aliens that were a hundred times bigger than they were… What if he got injured? What if he got killed? She tried to stop thinking about it, but her imagination kept running through all kinds of horrible outcomes.

A large series of explosions rocked the valley and a couple moments later the shockwaves could be felt by Mikaela and Jolt. They stared at the spot that billowed smoke into the night; she could feel her eyes getting wet.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" a voice abruptly spoke over her earpiece.

"Will? Are you ok? There was this huge explosion…"

"I'm fine. It was a divergence by Springer so that the team could get out of the area. We're headed down to you now; be ready to roll out."

It only took several minutes and then the NEST team was speeding down the logging trails. Along with a couple military Humvees, overhead was Whirl in helicopter form, and on the ground Ratchet and Scattorshot. The heavily-armoured truck pulled over and the door opened up.

"Mikaela! Get in! Hurry!" Will yelled.

She started running for the truck and noticed out of the corner of her eye the reason why he was telling her to hurry – a tank and a giant dump truck were barreling towards them. Leaping inside, she basically landed in his open arms, then the door rapidly shut closed again. Mikaela was barely seated before the vehicle accelerated, and she clung to a hand strap. There were several other soldiers inside the truck, all of them looking tense and clutching their weapons.

"Aren't you glad you stayed behind?" Will asked her, with a bit of a grin on his face.


A/N: Okay, I know there wasn't a lot of romance in this chapter, but there was a lot of action that had to happen; and lots Autobots and Decepticons too! While the review button doesn't transform, it still likes being clicked!