Starscream was still walking when his sensors picked up the energy signatures of both the Decepticons and the Autobots. That was something the Seeker didn't welcome at all. It meant that he didn't have to outrun just Megatron and the others, but also Optimus Prime and his own band of idiots.

Just then, the sound of shouting echoed through the tunnels. Intrigued, Starscream set up his audio receptors to the maximum and listened carefully. His dismay changed to satisfaction as he realised that he was listening to the clamour of battle.

Well, that's making things easier for me.

Even better, Starscream could tell that he was getting close to the Sadjen's signal. All he had to do was take two more turns and…

… the signal vanished.

"What?!" the Seeker exclaimed. He rushed forward to see what the meaning of this was, and he found himself in a cavern, looking at the offline form of that accursed minibot. Next to the minibot was some sort of large quadruped, now staring back at Starscream warily.

That didn't make any sense. Starscream was sure that the Sadjen was in that cavern. What was going on?

Starscream didn't have the chance to ponder on things for long, though. Just then, his sensors picked up the Sadjen's energy signal again… and he was behindStarscream.

Gasping, the Seeker made a motion to defend himself, but it was too late. A terrible surge of energy coursed through his relays, burning his circuitries and making his fluid almost boil. His systems started overloading rapidly, making his processor receive dozens of error messages all at once. He screamed, unable to stand the searing pain; then blissful darkness claimed him and he knew nothing more.

----------------------

Optimus ducked before Megatron's energy mace hit him. Pieces of rock flew everywhere as the mace hit a stalagmite behind Prime, but the Autobot leader wasn't deterred. Lunging forward, he swung his axe to hit Megatron across the chest. Megatron proved just as fast as he avoided the hit, and he even tried to kick Optimus off his feet, though unsuccessfully.

"Give it up, Megatron," Optimus said. "As long as I'm functioning, I'll always stand in your way."

"Then this is something that we'll have to remedy, Prime," Megatron said, renewing his attack. Optimus blocked the mace easily, and the duel continued on as strong as ever.

Still, being locked in fierce combat didn't mean Optimus didn't keep an eye on the rest of the Autobots. He caught sight of Ratchet battling with Soundwave, while Brawn and Cliffjumper were busy fighting the cassetticons. Mirage couldn't turn invisible because of his injury, but he could still put up a good fight against Skywarp. Hound made use of his holograms in order to confuse Thundercracker and Dirge, whereas Beachcomber and Perceptor took care of Astrotrain and Reflector. Jazz and Wheeljack fought Ramjet and Blitzwing without much problem either.

However, Prime noticed that someone was missing from the picture. Starscream was nowhere to be seen, and the Autobot leader knew that this wasn't a good sign. It meant Starscream had probably gone ahead.

- Jazz, take Perceptor and move on, - Optimus transmitted through the secret frequency, then blocked another of Megatron's attacks.

Jazz kicked Ramjet on the ground. – What about the other Decepticons? – he transmitted back.

- I'm more concerned about Starscream right now, - Optimus replied. - We can't let him find the creature first. -

- Say no more, we're on it, – Jazz said. Leaving Wheeljack to take care of Blitzwing, the saboteur signalled to Perceptor.

- On my way, - Perceptor said, already knowing what Jazz wanted of him. Moving gracefully, the scientist stepped aside before Reflector had the chance to tackle him. Perceptor wasn't sorry in the least when the Decepticon ended up on the rocky wall of the tunnel and knocked himself out. He simply hurried to Jazz once he was sure that Beachcomber could deal with Astrotrain just fine on his own.

"I apologise for the delay," he said.

"Apology accepted, but we'd better move on. In this race, there's no prize for us winnin' second," Jazz replied. Grabbing Perceptor by the wrist, they both rushed down to the next tunnel. "According to Wheeljack, the signal was last comin' from this direction."

"But how can we be sure which way to go now that the signal is gone?" Perceptor wondered.

The sound of roars reached their audio receptors, and the two Autobots stopped in their tracks in surprise.

"Never mind. I have my answer," Perceptor noted.

Jazz didn't say anything. He just cocked his head, listening intently. Perceptor blinked, unsure what to make of that reaction.

"Jazz?"

"Just listen," Jazz replied.

Indulging the saboteur, Perceptor tuned up his audio receptors and listened too. He was shocked when he realised that he was picking up two different sets of roars, one snarling and the other growling.

"Come on," Jazz said, setting off once more. Perceptor followed closely behind, and it wasn't long before they reached a large cavern. Their sparks felt like they missed an energy pulse when the two Autobots saw Starscream and Bumblebee. The Seeker was offline, sprawled on the ground with smoke coming out of his mouth. Worse, Bumblebee was also offline, collapsed a couple of feet away from Starscream.

Perceptor couldn't help it. He winced when he noticed the pool of fluid underneath the minibot, and he could only hope that their friend wasn't beyond help.

Jazz, however, pointed at an even more disturbing sight. Two Ravage-like creatures were engaged in battle, their roars reverberating through the entire cavern. Neither of them seemed to notice the newcomers as sharp claws and fangs tried to sink deep on their adversary's body.

Perceptor decided that no, things weren't looking good at all.

"I'm going to Bumblebee. We need to get him out of here," he declared.

Jazz nodded and held up his gun. "I don't know if this will work with these two, but I've got you covered," he said.

Perceptor nodded his acknowledgement and moved cautiously forward, trusting Jazz to keep him safe. Still, the brutal clash was quite discomfiting, and it took all of Perceptor willpower to force himself closer to Bumblebee.

Finally, he was beside the minibot. Without losing any precious time, Perceptor assessed the damage on the yellow form and he sighed in relief. Bumblebee was in stasis-lock, but at least he wasn't as weakened as Perceptor had feared. In fact, the minibot's energy levels were on a satisfactory level, so Perceptor only had to do some primary repairs on the damaged relays and fluid system to get Bumblebee out of his stasis-lock.

With jaw clenched in determination, Perceptor started working. He kept himself focused on the job, trying to ignore the deafening roars that made his audio receptors ache. However, Perceptor also noticed something very odd. Bumblebee's circuitry felt almost hot to the touch. That meant Bumblebee's temperature was much higher than normal.

Just like Roller's had been.

"Perceptor, look out!"

Perceptor turned, horrified to see that one of the creatures had tackled its opponent, throwing it in his and Bumblebee's direction. He watched as Jazz fired at the creatures, but it was of no use. The laser fire only ricocheted harmlessly off their black skin. Not seeing any other way, Perceptor quickly covered Bumblebee with his own body and braced himself for the impact.

He certainly didn't expect the second creature to dig its claws on the rocky ground and stop its fall at the last minute. In fact, if Perceptor didn't know any better, he'd say that the particular creature tried to protect the two Autobots. But it was also a costly action. At the next moment, the first creature lunged forward and sank its teeth deep on its enemy's throat.

The roar of pain that tore out of the fallen one's chest sent a chill to Perceptor's very spark, yet it wasn't the end. With eyes narrowing dangerously, the injured creature used its front claws to push its attacker away.

The ripping sound that reached Perceptor's audio receptors was sickening, to say the least. And Perceptor could only stare appalled at the gaping hole on the injured creature's throat, as well as the strange green glow emanating from there.

"You okay?" Jazz cried.

"Y-yes…" Perceptor faltered.

Realising his mistake, Perceptor quickly composed himself. This wasn't the time to feel squeamish. He had to fix Bumblebee so that they could get out of there. But how was he supposed to do that when two savage beasts were fighting out their differences just a foot away from him?

"We need to get rid of them!" he called to Jazz above the ruckus of battle.

"Tell me about it!" Jazz said. "But how? The laserfire doesn't affect them!"

"Isn't there anything else you can do?"

"One thing only!"

"Then do it!" Perceptor cried. One of the creatures landed again so close that its tail hit the scientist on his arm.

"Okay! You'd better cover your audio receptors, though!" Jazz warned.

"Oh dear…" Understanding what Jazz implied, he instantly turned down the setting of his audios.

Jazz's plan worked. The moment that the saboteur activated his woofers, one of the creatures jumped in the air with a painful roar. The injured one, on the other hand, just flinched momentarily before it lunged at the stunned look-alike. After a powerful headbutt, it started swatting its adversary again and again, until the latter had no choice but to retreat back in the shadows.

Several minutes passed. The injured creature remained perfectly still, breathing heavily and its ears moving furiously in an attempt to pick up any suspicious sound.

- Should I try again? - Jazz asked through the private frequency.

- Let it be for the moment, - Perceptor replied. – I'm almost done. -

Jazz complied, though he kept his woofers on standby just in case. Finally, Perceptor fixed the last relay and then rebooted Bumblebee's systems.

Bumblebee came online with a loud, drowsy groan.

"Ow… what?" His optics locked on the scientist. "Perceptor?"

"That would be correct," Perceptor said. "Try not to exert yourself, you're damaged quite severely."

"But how did you get here?" Bumblebee asked in confusion. "The last thing I remember was…" His voice trailed off and he looked around. "Where's the creature?"

"Currently starin' at me," Jazz said at that moment. Indeed, the creature was now regarding the saboteur closely, a very familiar, questioning look reflected in its eyes. However, it held its head awkwardly because of the wound, and it was clear that it was in much discomfort.

"Oh no…" Bumblebee said, pushing himself in a sitting position before Perceptor could protest. "What happened?"

"There are actually two of them," Jazz replied, pointing at the creature. "And they don't like each other."

"Or Cybertronians, judging by what happened to Starscream," Perceptor completed.

"No, you have it wrong," Bumblebee argued. "I don't know about that other creature you're talking about, but this one is friendly." He looked at the creature, which was watching the conversation between the Autobots in a calm manner; then turned to Jazz, who was looking at the creature suspiciously. "Trust me, it won't hurt you."

"Hey, man, don't get me wrong, I really want to believe you. But that thing was fightin' like a berserk turbo-wolf just minutes ago," Jazz replied.

"It was probably defending itself," Bumblebee insisted. "Come on, guys, let me straighten this out."

"I fear that that's unwise," Perceptor said, placing a hand on the minibot's shoulder in order to make him stay down.

"But it's my friend!"

"The answer is still no, Bumblebee," Perceptor said. "How can you even ascertain that this creature is the one you got yourself acquainted with?"

Bumblebee opened his mouth to object, but he closed it again at once. It was obvious Perceptor had made a valid point. At least, that was what Perceptor thought. At the next moment, Bumblebee and the creature exchanged a look. The scientist couldn't possibly tell what the minibot managed to see within the creature's feral eyes. However, he couldn't deny Bumblebee's certainty when the minibot turned to Jazz and Perceptor, his mind made up.

"It is the friendly one."

That was why, against his better judgement, Perceptor nodded his defeat and gave Bumblebee the go ahead.

Bumblebee sighed in relief. With the help of Perceptor, he managed to get to his hands and knees in order to crawl towards the creature. After all, though repaired for the most part, Bumblebee was still far from fully recovered.

To Jazz and Perceptor's surprise, the creature also took a couple of steps forward. And neither the saboteur nor the scientist expected to see a look of concern in its eyes as it gently nuzzled Bumblebee.

"Yeah, I'm okay, more or less," the minibot answered to the creature's silent question. "I wish I could say the same for you."

The creature just shook its head, dismissing its wound as nothing life-threatening. Its gaze drifted to Jazz and Perceptor, and it rested its claw on Bumblebee's insignia.

"That's right. They're friends," Bumblebee said. "You can trust them."

The creature didn't seem sure, though. Its eyes locked on Starscream's form.

"That's a Decepticon," Bumblebee answered. "I guess he was looking for you."

"Although, by the look of things, he underestimated your species," Perceptor said, aware that he was actually conversing with the beast. "Did you do this?"

The creature shook its head.

"Then it must've been the other one," Jazz noted, looking at Starscream. "It did quite a number on him. He'll be out-cold for a long while."

The creature made a motion in understanding. Still, there was something else bothering it. The Autobots could easily tell by the way it swayed its tail. In fact, it was almost as if the creature was pondering its options before finally reaching to a decision.

What happened next caught the Autobots by surprise, for the creature suddenly pushed itself on its hind legs. A trail of green light surged through its whole body, followed by the sound of something burning swiftly. Moments later, ashes fell from the black form, landing on the creature's feet.

Except… the creature was gone. In its place stood a humanoid being, looking very much like an Earthen woman covered in a hard exoskeleton, whose colour and texture resembled the creature's 'skin'. Her hair was short, and her blond bangs did little to hide a pair of green eyes, missing the characteristic black pupil.

Though the wound was gone too, it was obvious she still felt a bit sore. She rubbed her neck with long, flesh-like fingers, and then she directed her gaze to the Autobots, who could only stare back at her in disbelief.

In the end, Bumblebee broke the stunned silence that reigned in the cavern and asked one thing only.

"You?"

She nodded.

TBC...