I hope you enjoy this chapter. We'll be seeing some new faces in this chapter, so be sure to leave lots of reviews! The only problem I am having is the names of the Dinobots. I don't know if I should keep Strafe or name him Swoop.
"Hi" Human's speaking
"Hi" Humans talking through phones
'Hi' Thinking
:Hi: Cybertronian communicators
"Hi" Cybertronian Talking
(Jazz's team)
Even where they were standing, the Autobots could feel the brief shaking as the ship came to a sudden halt. Several of the flyers in the other part of the hanger slid a bit, but the Ark managed to remain in place. Jazz frowned as his optics shuddered, scanning the area for any signs of hostiles. Ratchet was still examining their unconscious comrades and the hatchling. Meanwhile, nearly all the energon from the dropship had been taken, and had been successfully transferred into Omega's tanks. Arcee was able to find the controls for the hanger doors and was ready to open them. The other Autobots were on guard, ready for anything.
"It looks like signore Prowl's team was successful in stalling the ship." Commented Mirage.
"Yeah, but that means that the guards will be scrambling all over the ship. We need to be gone before they get here." Jazz said as he walked inside the Ark. He saw Wheeljack at the control station, checking all the systems. "Wheeljack! What's the news?"
"Omega's systems are all operational. I managed to upload a jammer to block Lockdown's scanners. We can leave this place safely, Jazz." Wheeljack said happily.
Jazz nodded. "Everyone get on board! Arcee, open the doors now!" He ordered.
Cliffjumper and Sideswipe were the first to board, followed by Mirage. Ironhide stayed on look out while Arcee activated the hanger doors. The circular hatch on the floor began to open, revealing the city below. Wheeljack activated the engines, and the Ark came to life. The thrusters flared as Ironhide and Arcee boarded. Once they were on the ramp closed as Omega floated. The Autobot inventor took control and had the ship move through the doors. The Ark was now out of Lockdown's ship.
"Success, we've gotten out!" Wheeljack declared. The others cheered and Steeljaw barked in joy.
"Ha! Take that slaggers!" Cliffjumper declared as he watched the larger ship from a turret cockpit.
"Prowl! We've gotten the Ark out of the ship, crew and all!" Jazz said through the coms. "We'll make contact as soon as we land." There was no response from the other end, though. "Slag, Lockdown must have the ship shielded. Can't contact the others." The saboteur said.
"I think we should focus on getting out of the city before we're spotted. Omega is invisible from scanners but not from optics." Ratchet said as he stopped his examination of the hatchlings.
Arcee than asked, "Yeah, but where are we going to go? It's not like we can just find a safe spot to land automatically."
Suddenly a loud thump from above caught their attention. The Autobots were startled as some brought out their weapons. "What was that?" Ironhide asked.
No one answered, focusing their receptors towards the sound of something walking on the Ark's roof. Whatever it was, it was nearing the forward cockpit. Ironhide took the front, with Sideswipes beside him. They had their weapons out, ready in case the thing turned out to be hostile. A few seconds past and the noise stopped, and the Autobots thought that whatever it was had disappeared. However, it was cut short when something appeared right in front of them, causing some of the Autobots to gasp as they saw what, or rather who, it was.
(Adam's Rescue Team)
The group of three humans and two mini-cons were walking through the ventilation system. They had done several turns while following Fixit. The mech had a holographic projection of the ship's layout in front of him, using it to guide him. "Not much farther now. Just two more turns and we'll reach the armory. From there we can access the Relic Chamber." The orange mech said.
"We might even be able to requisition some weapons that we can use. So long as its our size." Rewind commented. He had his laser cannon out, ready for any possible attacks.
Cade added, "Alien weapons we can use? Yeah, I'm down with that."
"Why does a robot ship even have a ventilation system?" Shane asked suddenly. "I mean, you guys don't need air, right?"
"True, but sometimes a large amount of space dust can gather inside the ship after long periods of time. The dust might clog up our systems and joints, so the system helps clear out the dust, so we don't have to worry about that." Fixit explained. "When Lockdown took over, it served also to make sure his organic prisoners had air to breathe in."
Tessa looked at the smooth walls around them, feeling a bit intimidated by their size. "What was that noise before? It sounded like something hit the ship." She said.
"Most likely the Autobots were able to fire the anchors. That gives us time to find your friends and escape before we enter space." Fixit answered. "However, the mercenaries have most likely put the ship in lockdown. Protocols dictate that the designated captain has access to all doors and outside communications are blocked. Plus, any coms network not part of the ship is jammed. Our mobility has been greatly reduced."
"That means we need to move quickly and find Adam." Cade said.
A minute later the group came upon a ventilation cover. "And here we are." Fixit said as he turned off his map. He and Rewind worked together to move it without making noise. Once they carefully placed the cover to the side, the group walked out into a large room.
The room itself was a cove-like den of the ship. In the middle of the den contained a circular platform that was built into the floor, and had six or seven swords stuck point down into the floor. They were about twice as big as the humans were. And to the left and right of those swords were standing figurines of Cybertronian Knights. They had their own swords, points down into the earth as well, and their hands resting on the hilts. Figurines were cold and dead, staring away like statues did, and yet holding the attention of the humans as they marveled. Wires and cables littered the floor, some taller and thicker than any of them, and required climbing over them as if they were fallen logs. Behind the platform sat a bigger figure, this time a wall of silver colored steel gleaming behind him.
"Welcome to the Primus Armory." Fixit said to the stunned humans and Rewind. "While the ship has many armories, this one was named after our god and creator, Primus. It was done so as this armory contains weapons for Cybertronians of all size, including Mini-cons. That is to show that no matter what your function, alt mode, or size is, all of us are equal in the eyes of Primus, and we thus fight as one." The orange mech.
"Amazing." Tessa said, but whether it was at Fixit's explanation or the armory itself, was not clear.
While Fixit was searching for the door that connected to the Relic Chambers, the others were still gazing at the armory. Cade approached the platform center, eyes looking at the sword standing in the center intently. Climbing on top of the pedestal, he reached one arm out slowly and grabbed it. When Cade tried to pull it out, it triggered mechanism that was linked to the very workings of the room. Instantly the room came alive around them. The figures split into different parts and began folding in on themselves, burying into the floor. The walls behind them split also and began to convert down, as if a door had been released and exposed an inside chamber. The walls, no, cases, bore an array of hand held weapons, consisting of guns and swords of any type one could imagine. Some were very large, while others were the size that a human could hold them.
"Holy shit…" Cade muttered as he stared at the many weapons now visible. A small-sized sword looking dagger caught his attention. Cade gave the backpack he had on his shoulder to Tessa, who took it. Then, he made his way over, and very carefully, used both hands to pick it up. Despite it being one of the smaller weapons, the dagger was still big enough that Cade held it as it was a rifle. "This" Cade began as he looked at the others. "Is freaking wicked."
"Dad, you're not really going to try and use that thing, are you?" Tessa asked in an exasperated tone. She got no response as her father continued to examine the weapon.
A noise caught their attention. Turning around, they saw Fixit standing next to a large door that was opening. It revealed a short hallway that led to another room. "I found the Relic Chamber, let's get a move on and find this human child." Fixit said to the others, before spotting the weapon in Cade's hand. "Oh, that's a gun-blade. Good choice."
"Gun-blade?" Cade asked as Tessa, Shane and Rewind hurried through the door.
"Yeah, just press this button and," Fixit began as he pressed a switch in the center of the guard. Suddenly, the dagger's blade split down the middle all the way. It stopped before it reached the sword's guard, and revealed what appeared to be a gun barrel in the middle of the blades. "See, you can also either end of the guard as the triggers to fire. Despite its size, this weapon has enough firepower to blast a full-size Cybertronian's leg off with one or two hits. The blades also make it useful to melee combat." Explained Fixit as if it was nothing special.
Cade, however, was even more in awe of the weapon than before. "Wicked" was all he said as he and Fixit went to join up with the others in the Relic Chamber.
If the armory was able to amaze the humans, then the chamber left them completely frozen in awe. The chamber was larger than the armory, and had rows of large shelves within, like bookcases found in a library. Each shelf was full of different items, all of them put into special containers. In front of each container were holographic Cybertronian letters, identifying what each item was, as well as where and when they were found, and what they could do. The containers also gave off a glow that covered the items they held, illuminating them in a divine way. More figurines of Cybertronian warriors were also in the chamber, each one on the ends of the shelves and the walls.
"Millennia of exploring the universe. Searching for remnants of our past. They're all gathered here." Fixit said as he spread his arms out.
"Unbelievable" Shane muttered as he looked at each item. Who knows what kind of story they had, these objects. "But where do we even begin to look?"
"If your friend, Adam, is here, then he would most likely be held in the further shelves, where more recent objects are placed." Explained Fixit as he began walking down the rows. The others quickly followed after him. As they moved, they saw that the items being held were less Cybertronian in origins, and instead appeared to originate from other species. Some of them were less than pleasant to look at. They realized that these were trophies that Lockdown had acquired after his takeover of the ship.
Eventually, they reached the final row, which had fewer items on the shelves. Fixit walked up to a small keyboard next to the shelves, bringing up a holographic screen. He pressed a few seconds, the shelves began to shift. One of the higher ones moved the most, a part of it disconnecting from the shelf, hovering in the air. It began to descend, it revealed a container that was twice the size of a human on it. When it reached the bottom, the group gathered around and saw Adam inside. The inside of the container was glowing blue, which was keeping the young boy afloat. Fixit pressed a few more buttons, and the light disappeared, and the container opened. With nothing keeping his body afloat, Adam fell forward, but was quickly caught by Cade. Everyone gathered around Adam's unmoving form. His skin was rather pale, and he was unconsciously shivering. Shane took off his coat and put it around Adam, trying to keep him warm.
Light shined from Fixit's optics as he scanned Adam's body. "Heart and pulse are normal. No signs of internal or external injuries, nothing fatal anyway. He is probably suffering from the container's cryo-stasis. Give him a few breems and he'll be fine, hungry though." The orange mech explained.
Cade immediately put Adam on Shane's back, the Irish young man placing his hands under the boy's legs. Adam's arms were draped around Shane's neck. "Okay, we got Adam. Let's get back to the others."
The group began making their way towards the ventilation shaft. They had just walked through the small hallway when they came face to face with a patrol. It consisted of a spherical shape security drone, several Cleaner Drones, with their dumb-looking faces, and finally of three Cybertronian mercenaries, wielding plasma rifles. The two groups stared at one another in silence, both not expecting to see the other. It was Fixit who broke the silence. "Well, scrap"
"Lockdown we found-" One of the mercenaries tried to contact Lockdown, but was shot in the chest by Rewind, who followed it up with a hit to the head, blowing the mercenary's face off.
The drones brought out their machine guns, firing at the mini-cons and humans. The two remaining mercenaries raised their rifles and joined in. The group was forced to take cover behind the pedestal, while Rewind and Cade fired their own weapons, taking down several drones in the process. Cade even managed to hit another mercenary in the leg, forcing him to his knees. The Cybertronian was finished off by a shot to the face.
As Fixit tried to avoid the bullets, his optics saw that the ventilation entrance was closing. "Frag! The lockdown system is closing our exit!" He yelled to the others.
"Fixit, take Adam! Get moving, we'll cover you!" Yelled Cade as he and Rewind continued shooting. The remaining mercenary and drones fired back. Dodging the bullets and plasma, the group made a dash towards, Fixit, Shane and Tessa at the front, while Rewind and Cade covered them. However, a shot from the mercenary made Shane lose his footing and fell, making Tessa trip over him. Rewind saw this, and since he couldn't stop his run, was forced to jump over them. He bumped into Fixit, and both Mini-cons and Adam fell into the ventilation, just as the cover came down completely, barring the humans from entering. Fortunately, Cade was able to shoot down the last mercenary, as well as the remaining security drones. The last two cleaner drones, clearly seeing their comrades killed, ran off, screaming.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Cursed Shane. He and Tessa got back up and the two were banging on the solid metal wall that denied them entry into the ventilation. But, no matter what they did, they could not make it budge.
Fixit's voice, though, managed to make it through the cover. "Humans! Listen to me! If you walk out the armory's entrance and make a right, then a left, you should see another ground-level entrance into the ventilation shaft." Fixit said. "It should help you get to the Temenos."
Cade nodded, strapping the blade-gun over his shoulder with his side bag. "Okay, we'll meet you there. You two just make sure to protect Adam!" Cade said as he took the lead, Shane and Tessa behind him. The mini-cons also began moving through the shaft, with Fixit carrying Adam while Rewind kept his cannon out.
(Prowl's Group)
As Prowl had predicted, Lockdown did indeed send out patrols to survey that section of the ship. The Autobots had already ran into three separate groups. Fortunately, they were able to terminate the patrol groups before they could get word back to Lockdown. The moment their position was compromised, as Prowl believed, the Autobots would be swarmed by mercenaries and drones.
As they walked down a hallway, Prowl, who was at the front, spoke to Drift. "Any word from the other groups?" The lieutenant asked.
The samurai bot shook his head. "Nothing, and I cannot open their coms either." Replied Drift.
"Probably Lockdown's doing. He's jamming our transmissions, so we can't communicate with one another." Hound commented from his spot in the back.
"In other words, we can't know how the others are doing." Summarized Evac.
"We just need to have faith in them. That's all we can do." Prowl said as they continued walking.
Snorting, Crosshairs said, "Yeah, faith. Like how we put our faith in the humans. Look where that got us." His comment earned him a smack to the head from an aggravated Bumblebee. "Watch it, you"
"Quiet" Prowl said, raising a hand. The group came to a halt to an observation that was overlooking a floor below. On the lower floor were twelve mercenaries, plus Hangnail. They were standing guard in front of a large circular door. The second-in-command was currently discussing something with Lockdown over the coms.
The Autobots hid behind some cover as they looked at the mercenaries. Hound stared at the large door, then the guards. "With that many guards, it has to be the Temenos where the boss is being held." Commented the commando.
"Agreed. However, with that many, we won't be able to take them out in time to prevent them from calling back-up." Prowl said. He looked at Jolt. "Do you think you could release an electromagnetic pulse to short-circuit their transmitters? Long enough for us to deal with them?" He asked the junior medic.
"I can, but I won't be able to move while doing so. And the range I can make won't be that great." Jolt replied.
"Fine, the rest of us will engage them. Wait for my signal." Prowl ordered as he looked at Hangnail, waiting for the mercenary to continue his conversation.
"A team is with me in front of the Temenos. If by some chance the Autobots get here, we'll be ready for them." Hangnail said.
:Good, we can't risk losing Prime. So far we're not having any luck in deactivating the anchors, so I've dispatched teams to remove them manually. By my calculations, we'll be leaving in a few minutes. Contact me if anything important occurs.: Ordered Lockdown.
"Understood, sir. Hangnail, out." The mercenary said as he ended the transmission. But, seconds later a powerful electric bolt struck him and the other mercenaries. It released a powerful pulse of electricity, disrupting their processors for a moment, leaving them stunned.
"Now!" Prowl yelled as he took out his sub-machine gun. He opened fire and managed to kill a guard, blowing the mercenary's head off with a barrage of neutron bullets. Hound followed suit and opened fire with his triple-barrel minigun, mowing down two more mercenaries. The rest of the Autobots followed suit and unleashed their weapons. By then, the remaining mercenaries recovered and fired back.
"Lockdown! We're being engaged by Autobots! Requesting back-up!" Hangnail shouted, only to get static. "Slag, that pulse must've disabled the coms." He cursed as he fired his photon rifle at the Autobots. Turning towards the other mercenaries, he ordered, "Cover me while I try to reestablish contact with Lockdown!" As he moved away from the Temenos door and somewhere safer. If he could just fix his coms in time, Hangnail would be able to call for reinforcements.
"Oh no you don't!" Evac shouted as he charged towards Hangnail, firing his wrist blasters. The blue mech had spotted Hangnail retreating and immediately came upon him. The mercenary tried to fire his rifle, but Evac kicked it away before delivering a punch to Hangnail's face, chipping some metal off too.
Hangnail spit out some Energon and glared at Evac. "The last two times I didn't have the time to waste with you" He said as he brought out a pair of brass knuckles. "But this time, I'm going to offline you for sure!"
"Just try it, you piece of scrap." Evac said as he fired again.
Hangnail dodged the plasma bolts and charged Evac. The young Knight delivered a right punch, but the mercenary avoided it before driving one of his knucklers into Evac's right knee. Grunting, Evac grabbed Hangnail's left arm and twisted it. Hangnail let out a roar of pain, then did a spin, freeing his arm while kicking Evac in the face. The blue mech stumbled backwards a bit from the impact, allowing Hangnail to charge him and try and ram his fists into Evac's chest. But, Evac dodged the attempt and swung another fist at Hangnail. This time, he struck the mercenary, and delivered several more punches. Combining his blaster fire with his punches, Evac shot off small bits of Hangnail's armor off with each blow.
Hangnail became disoriented as he felt each blow, and yet the mercenary knew he had to counter somehow. So, when Evac went in to deliver another punch, Hangnail stepped to the side, then grabbed Evac's arm. Gripping it hard enough that it left dents in the arm, He followed it up by throwing the younger mech to the wall, earning a loud grunt from the junior knight, who landed on his rear. Evac's processors were disoriented from the sudden action, giving Hangnail an opening to end the Autobot's life.
His processors getting back in order, Evac saw Hangnail rushing at him, fists posed to strike. Thinking quickly, Evac spotted Hangnail's discarded photon rifle beside him. Picking the weapon up, the blue mech aimed it at the mercenary just as Hangnail was above him. Pointing straight at Hangnail's chest, Evac fired three shots at point blank range. The cybertronian mercenary gasped in shock as he felt photon bolts melt through his armor. Stumbling backwards, Hangnail tried to cover the chest wound, his pain receptors flaring like never before. That gave Evac the opening he needed. Bringing both hands together, he brought them down as a brutal blow to Hangnail, destroying the mercenary's entire head in one hit. Energon poured out like a fountain as the lifeless body fell backwards to the ground, ending the fight.
Evac let out a long sigh as he stared at his now dead opponent. He almost collapsed from exhaustion, but was thankfully grabbed by Prowl, who had his hand gently holding Evac's arm. "You okay, Evac?" Asked the lieutenant.
"I'm good" Replied Evac, as he got back up. The two regrouped with the others, who had already disposed of the remaining mercenaries. Currently, Drift was using his swords to forcefully open the door.
"Jolt, check on Evac." Prowl ordered.
The junior medic nodded as he ran over to Evac. While he was scanning Evac's condition, Prowl looked at Drift. "Well?" He asked the samurai bot.
"I almost got it." Grunted Drift as he finally opened the door. "There!"
"Big boy, coming through! Move, move!" Hound shouted as he took point, followed by Drift, Prowl, Bumblebee, Jolt and Evac. Crosshairs covered the rear as the group entered the Temenos. The first thing they saw were the several cages in the center of the room.
"Lot of cages in here." Commented Drift as he stared at them from a distance.
"Oh yeah, creepy critters in here." Added Hound.
"This was a sacred chamber once. It only makes sense that Lockdown would use it to hold his most prize captures." Prowl said as he looked around.
"Yeah well" Crosshairs muttered as he looked at the larger ones. "I don't want to even know what's in them."
"A lot of the big ones are in stasis." Jolt mused as he stared at the large Cybertronians.
Movement from a smaller cage caught Hound's attention. "Huh, what's this? An't Cybertronian." He muttered as he got closer.
"Oh, Hound. I don't think that's a good idea." Crosshairs advised.
Hound let out a snort as he lowered his head to see the creature. It was a small, white-skinned alien, with four pincer-like legs that converged onto a single body. In the center of the body was a mouth with rows of sharp teeth. Shuddering, Hound said, "Oh, that's just festering ugliness."
As if understanding what Hound said, the alien spat out a glob of green goo right into the mech's face. The commando yelled as he covered his face, startling the other Autobots. "Ah, I'm hit! I'm dying!" Hound cried as he rolled on the floor. "I think it's acid!" But after realizing that nothing was happening, the green mech looked at the goo before reeling in disgust. "Ugh, it's just shizzle."
"That's nasty" Brains said as he waved his hand, blocking is noseplates from the smell. He and Wheelie had crawled out of Evac's chest compartment after the fighting was done.
"I hope that's not contagious." Crosshairs commented.
After wiping the goo off, Hound glared at the creature. "I got to hurt ya now. You're just too disturbing to live." He said as he brought out his Quad-Barrel Plasma Shotguns. "Take that, bitch!" And fired a single round that hit the alien dead center. "Boom! You're dead."
"If you're all done playing around, let's look for Prime. He has to be in one of these cages." Prowl said.
"Prowl!" A voice shouted, catching the lieutenant's audio receptors.
"Prime!" Prowl shouted back as he followed the voice. He soon found Optimus' cage, with said mech dangling upside down.
"He's alive!" Hound roared as he got up from the floor. The others followed behind him.
"Hang on boss! We're coming!" Crosshairs said as Drift forced the cage door open.
Optimus watched with relief as his comrades were okay. But, he soon got to the issue at hand. "The Ark! It's here! We need to free it and Adam." Said Optimus.
"We already have a team on it, sir. Drift cut those restraints down." Prowl said.
"Hold on sensei." Drift said as he attacked the restraints.
"We can escape from here! The arms of this Knight Ship detached. It's a separate ship!" Optimus said as he got down.
"Where's the cockpit? Right or left?" Hound asked as he picked up his weapons.
"To the right!" Optimus replied.
"Okay. I'm on it, boss." Hound said as he ran towards the cockpit.
The sound of small footsteps caught the Autobots' attention. Running inside the chamber were Rewind and Fixit, the latter carrying Adam on his back. "Adam!" Evac shouted as he bent down. He took the boy from the orange mech.
Optimus looked at Fixit. "Who's this?" He asked Prowl.
"His name is Fixit. He's a survivor of the ship's original crew. He helped us find you, Adam and the Ark." Prowl explained.
"Hey, where're the three humans that were with ya?" Crosshairs asked when he didn't see Cade, Tessa and Shane.
"We got separated when a patrol found us. Fixit directed them to another ventilation shaft, but apparently they made a wrong turn somewhere and are now heading towards the anchors." Reported Rewind.
"Bumblebee! Crosshairs! Find them. We can't leave them behind." Optimus ordered.
The yellow mech nodded as he ran out of the chamber. Crosshairs seemed reluctant. But a glare from his leader got the paratrooper moving. "There should be a small, rear hanger near them. They might have Assault Carriers there!" Fixit shouted.
(With the Humans)
"I knew we should've turn left instead of right." Shane said as he looked at their current predicament.
The three had managed to find the ventilation entrance that Fixit had mentioned, and had been running through it for some time. However, instead of getting to the Temenos, they had instead ended up outside, right where the anchors were. The cables extended from the ship all the way towards the large building. The older Yeager noted that they made a sort of bridge almost.
"Well, no where to go now but forward." Said Cade.
Tessa knew what her father was planning and immediately voiced her objection. "Oh, no. I am not doing that."
"We can't go turn around, just risk of even getting more lost." Cade said as he tested the cables. "They're stable, see. All we have to do is walk across them and reach the building."
The younger Yeager still did not seem thoroughly convinced, but followed anyway. Shane helped Tessa down and moved behind her. The next few minutes were spent with steady walking on the cables. They made sure to grip other cables to ease their balance, as well as not be pushed by the strong air current. By then they had made it halfway towards the building.
"The cables getting thinner." Noted Shane as he and Cade were ahead of Tessa. The girl was clearly uncomfortable of being so high up. It only got worse when jet fighters flew by, unintentionally shaking the cables.
Eventually, Tessa's fear won over. "Okay, this is crazy! I am freaking out here!" She shouted.
"Tessa. Calm down, okay sweetie. You need to keep moving." Said Cade, trying to encourage his daughter.
But Tessa absolute refused. "I am not moving! I am going back to the ship!" She declared as she tried moving back.
Cade said, "You can't go back to the ship, honey. We've already made it halfway."
"Oh yeah? Watch me." Tessa replied as she crawled backwards.
Getting annoyed, Cade said firmly, "You are not eighteen-years old yet. So, you're going to do what I say. Now let's go!"
His eyes widened in horror when he saw something behind Tessa. Coming out of the ship were several cyber-wolves. They were all drooling as they glared at the three humans. Two of them began skillfully walking on the cables. Tessa remain oblivious to them.
Getting scared, Cade said, "Okay, honey. You really need to come this way." He looked at Shane. "Hey, Romeo. Talk to her."
"Tessa, this isn't really the time for this." Shane said, also seeing the wolves too.
Tessa, still not aware of the danger, glared at her boyfriend. "Do not start with me." She warned, before letting out a gasp when she felt the cable she was on beginning to shake. "What the hell was that?"
"Just, just don't turn around, okay Tessa?" Cade pleaded, watching as the cyber-wolves got closer.
"Don't say that Dad, because now I want to turn around." Tessa said, her fear growing.
Trying to dismiss the current crisis, Cade added, "It's nothing major, sweetheart."
"Well then it's totally major!" Tessa shot back.
By then, the cyber-wolves were almost near them. Seeing this, Cade prepared to use the gun-blade. "Sweetie, listen. I'm going to point this in your direction, so I need you to get down." He said.
"Are you trying to kill me or something?!" Tessa yelled as she heard the wolves barking.
"Tessa, just get down!" Shane yelled as he gripped the cables.
The girl lowered her head as Cade opened fire on the wolves. The first wolf got hit in the face and was knocked off the cables. The second wolf was hit and tried to hold onto the cables. But its gripped slackened and soon followed its comrade. Seeing this, the other cyber-wolves began to chew on the cables. One by one the cables broke, causing the humans to scream as they realized what was happening.
"This is not good!" Shane yelled as he held on tight.
"Hang on! Hang on!" Cade yelled as he tried to reach Tessa.
As the wolves were halfway through, one of them got blasted off the ship. Jumping down was Bumblebee, battle mask on. A second cyber-wolf pounced on Bumblebee and tried to claw his face. A third one was still chewing on the last few cables. The yellow mech grabbed the cyber-wolf and ripped it in half. He then shot the last one in the face, killing the wolf. However, by then the cables came apart on their own, resulting in the humans losing their footing and now falling. Acting quickly Bumblebee grabbed the cable, and swung towards the three humans. Playing, "AAAAAAAAAA" from Tarzan, Bumblebee grabbed Tessa, Cade and Shane in his arms before shielding them as he hit the glass building. Using his other hand, Bumblebee slowed his descent until he came to a stop, glass and furniture falling from the building.
After a minute of screaming, the humans realized that they were not large messes on the ground. Soon, Cade began laughing hysterically, filled with relief. "Hahaha! You're the best, Bee. You are the best!" He shouted.
"You damn right! And don't ever forget it!" Replied Bumblebee as Cade hugged Shane and Tessa.
"Bumblebee! Bumblebee!" Crosshairs shouted. The paratrooper had managed to commandeer an assault carrier, one with a gun pod, and was heading towards the yellow mech. "Hurry up and get on! We got hostiles coming in hot!"
Quickly, Bumblebee helped the humans into the gun pod before jumping onto the fighter. Just in time as six more fighters had arrived, piloted by mercenaries. The pilots spotted them and headed straight towards the Autobots and humans. Crosshairs immediately charged up the engines "Hold your pants, folks, because I'm punching it!" The paratrooper yelled and took off, with the mercenaries right behind him.
What happened next was an aerial chase throughout Chicago. The fighters fired their plasma guns at the Autobots, hitting buildings along the way. Maneuvering was difficult for both Crosshairs and the mercenaries, due to the tightly fit buildings around them. It was harder for the paratrooper as he couldn't find a good spot to turn around and shoot back. The situation got worse when six more assault carriers appeared, two joining the ones from behind, and four coming from the front and flying towards Crosshairs, trying to cage them in. "Scrap! Hang on back there, this is going to get ugly." Shouted the paratrooper.
But suddenly, two fighters at the front were shot down by several rockets. The rockets hit their thrusters and the cockpits, setting them on fire. Another pair of rockets struck the last two assault carriers from behind, sending them spinning downwards in flames. "Whoa, what the hell was that?" Shane shouted.
:Look like you guys could use a hand: A voice said through Crosshairs and Bumblebee's coms. That's when a Fighting Falcon flew by, followed by a Hornet and a Lightning II. The Autobot symbol could be seen on their wings.
:Well I'll be rusted metal! Silverbolt, that you?: Crosshairs yelled as he watched three of the assault carriers fly off after the jets.
:Air Raid, Breakaway and I will keep as many of these mercs off your back. Just focus on getting out of the city. We're transmitting coordinates of where to meet up.: Silverbolt, the Fighting Falcon said as he took off in one direction. Air Raid, the Hornet, and the Lightning II, Breakaway, also split up too, each followed by a single assault carrier.
:Thanks Aerialbots! We owe ya one!: Replied Crosshairs as he continued flying through the city, stilled pursued by the three remaining fighters.
"Flying Autobots! Hell yeah! Finally, some air power!" Cade cheered as he watched the Aerialbots fend off other fighters. He had to duck, though, when a plasma bolt nearly hit him.
"Don't get too happy, we still got some of those slaggers on us!" Crosshairs shouted as he flew over the Chicago River. "Bee, don't sit on your aft. Take them out!"
Chirping, Bumblebee activated his grappling hook. Taking aim, the yellow mech fired it at a freight boat. Once he had a secure hold, Bumblebee pulled his arm back and pulled the boat into the air. An assault carrier wasn't able to get out of the way and crashed into the boat, exploding into flames.
"Nice one, Bee!" Shouted Cade.
Crosshairs did a turn and prepared his own counter. "This ones for you, aft-holes!" He yelled as he fired two rockets towards an oncoming raised bridge.
The rockets struck the bridge just as Crosshairs flew underneath it. The now destroyed bridge fell down, right in front of the two assault carriers. The pilots could do nothing as their ships were struck with debris and sent crashing into the river.
The two Autobots and humans were given a brief respite until Silverbolt contacted them. :Crosshairs, we've take out most of the fighters. But Breakaway spotted three more heading straight towards you!:
Sure enough, three more assault carriers appeared, opening fire on the Autobot fighter. Crosshairs dived back into the city, but had little luck in losing these three was proving difficult. They were very stubborn on killing them, and Crosshairs was getting annoyed.
"Ah, I'm sick of this slag!" Shouted Crosshairs as he grabbed Bumblebee. "You fly" The yellow mech let out a yelp as he was thrown into the pilot seat. "I shoot!" Crosshairs growled.
Looking down at the humans, Crosshairs began speaking. "Alright, crash course! Tracer guns; punch forward to fire, pull back to reload!" He explained.
Cade was clearly confused, "Whoa-whoa, what are you talking about?!" He asked.
"Punch, hold, slide, repeat! PUNCH, HOLD, SLIDE, REPEAT!" Shouted Crosshairs.
That didn't really seem to help. "I don't get it. Do you get what he means?" Cade asked Shane.
"N-no idea." Replied Shane.
"Okay then, good luck!" Crosshairs said as he gave them a two-finger salute.
"Wait, where are you going?!" Demanded Cade as Crosshairs pulled down his goggles.
Crosshairs got in a starting position. "To lay some hate" And the did a forward flip, jumping off the fighter. He then activated his hidden parachutes, keeping him afloat in the air as the mercenary fighters flew right at him. Quickly pulling out his machine pistols, Crosshairs opened fire on two of the assault carriers, the pilot seats to be exact. The fighters were soon set aflame and falling, going by a laughing Crosshairs.
Back with Bumblebee, the yellow mech had managed to take control of the assault carrier, and was now flying through the city. Behind him was a single fighter, firing plasma rounds at them. Fortunately, Cade and Shane managed to figure out what Crosshairs were going on about. Soon they returned fire on the mercenary fighter. Unprepared, the pursuing assault carrier's thrusters were destroyed, along with a cannon. It soon crashed into a building. Five more assault carriers appeared, but now the humans were shooting back. And, flying behind the fighters was Breakaway.
"Whoo! Alright!" Shane cheered as they shot down another fighter.
"These alien guns kick ass!" Added Cade as they pulled back to reload before resuming to shoot.
Breakaway opened fire on the assault carrier. He managed to shoot down two of the assault carriers. Flying closer to the third one, Breakaway transformed, smashed his fist into the cockpit and threw the pilot out. He then transformed back into his alt mode, but had to pull back when Bumblebee flew under a flyover. Bumblebee saw the Aerialbot flying alongside them, trying to follow them. The yellow mech realized that maybe flying underneath the flyover was probably not the best idea as it was hard to move. The same was for the mercenary fighters. One had gone to low and skidded against the pavement, with its pilot losing control before crashing, the fighter's remains rolling across down the street.
The last one managed to fire a rocket just as Cade and Shane shot it down. The rocket hit one of their thrusters, sending the Autobots and humans skidding across the ground. Bumblebee was forced to pull up, which unintentionally caused the fighter to crash through the street above. Seeing this, Breakaway flew upwards to survey the damage. The assault carrier broke apart, more specifically the gun pod was sent flying from the main body. The surrounding humans all began running away in shock and terror. Transforming, Breakaway approached Bumblebee. "You okay, Bee?" The Aerialbot asked the yellow mech.
Giving a nod, Bumblebee accepted a hand from the larger mech, who pulled him out of the destroyed carrier. Breakaway's com came to life as Air Raid spoke through it. :Breakaway, what happened? I saw the assault carrier crash.:
"It's all good, Air Raid. Bumblebee is still in one piece. As for the humans." Breakaway paused as he looked towards where said beings were. His optics saw the scene of Cade yelling at a man whose car the gun pod had landed on. The elder Yeager had the gun-blade in his hand as he continued shouting towards the person who was now running away.
"Insurance my ass! It's a freaking alien space ship asshole!" Cade yelled.
"They're okay. I'll escort them to the rendezvous. What's going on your end?" Asked Breakaway.
:I just picked up Crosshairs. We've finished taking out any fighters out here. Silverbolt's gone to check on Optimus and the others. See you soon.: Replied Air Raid.
"Copy that. Breakaway out." The Aerialbot said before ending the transmission.
(Back with Optimus' Group)
Drift and Evac had finished disposing the mercenaries' bodies, while Prowl checked the corridors. Jolt was checking on Adam's vitals with the Rewind standing beside him. Nearby Wheelie and Brains were digging through some salvaged parts for anything useful that they could use. Meanwhile Optimus was in the cockpit, where Hound was trying to get the ship started.
"Hurry Hound, we don't have much time." Optimus said.
"Don't worry, chief. I almost got it." Replied Hound.
Prowl walked into the cockpit. "Optimus, we've finished up with the bodies. No signs of additional patrols." The lieutenant reported.
"Good, Lockdown still doesn't suspect anything. By the time he realizes I am gone, he'll already be in deep space." Commented Optimus.
:Optimus! Autobots! This is Silverbolt! Do you read me? I repeat, do you read me?: Called Silverbolt as he flew in the air around the ship.
Surprised by the sudden voice, Optimus replied, "Silverbolt, is that you?"
:Optimus! Thank Primus I finally got through.: Silverbolt said in relief as he flew past the cockpit window. :We've escorted the Ark to safety. Breakaway and Air Raid are escorting Bumblebee, Crosshairs and the humans. Follow me once you guys get free.:
"Understood, Silverbolt. Thank you." Optimus said.
Suddenly the ship's engine began to run, and the thrusters were ignited. "Lockdown is about to take off!" Optimus yelled. "Hound!"
"I know, I know!" Hound shouted as he pressed a few more buttons. "I'm a suck ass pilot, but I can give it a whirl." The commando said as the transport ship began to separate from the main ship. "Hell yeah! Hang on to your afts, Autobots! We're out of here!"
As the transport ship took flight, the Knight Ship started moving upwards and away from the city. Seconds later, Lockdown's vessel blasted off, deep into space and away from Earth. The mercenary never realized that his bounty had escaped. The transport ship holding the Autobots was now flying across Chicago, following the Fighting Falcon to regroup with the others.
And thus, the rescue was a success! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and be sure to leave a review! For the person who keeps asking about Grindor's fate. Check out chapter 6.
Wacko12