-24-

Runaway

It was a rainy day in Jasper. It was raining for a week now. And it would apparently rain for another two days. Well, it has to rain sometimes. Even here in the desert. And it was clearly universal that with a rainy weather, the majority of people were gloomy.

Speaking of people, Jack locked his locker after taking the books out and made his way to the exit. The past two weeks have been real calm. Too calm actually. He was about to exit school, when Miko appeared before him.

"Jack! Did you...?" she never finished the question.

"See Raf? No." he answered. "I hoped you may have."

"Nothing." She answered back. Then pressed her finger to her chin, thinking (something she clearly wasn't doing around the Autobots). "You think he's sick?"

Jack was about to answer, or rather share his opinion, but was beaten by other voice. "Well well, look who we have here." A familiar voice spoke. The two turned to find Vince walking towards them with his pals. "Got a message for you, Darby." He said in his usual aggressive tone. As he got near, a hand from his left grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him. All five turned to find Terry walking over to his friends, with a scowl.

"I suggest you think this through, Vinny." He growled.

Surprisingly, Vince raised his arms in defense. "Easy. I got a request from the principle for Darby." He said in a surprisingly calm manner. The red head turn to Jack. "Esquivel's homeroom teacher wants to know why the short-guy isn't coming to school for the past two days." He said and turned around, gesturing to his lackeys to follow.

"So... Raf's parents didn't call or anything?" Miko asked. "Dude. You think that his neglecting family finally had him decide to murder them and now he's keeping a low profile?"

The two teen's looked at her as if she just admitted being insane.

"I think he's just being real sick." Jack suggested. "That or he's gone on a trip."

"I dunno, Jacky." Terry said. "I just got a call from Hot Ride. He just asked if we haven't seen Bee around."

The two younger teens looked at each other with concern. Could the two be in this together? But why?

Somewhere in the desert

A yellow Suzuki Swift S-Concept rode across the desert at great speed. It was riding for hours now. And off road. And it was because it needed to hide from the sandstorm that was heading its way. Luckily, the car's passenger noticed some kind of facility nearby. Hopefully, it would provide shelter.

The sand was already limiting the vision, but the car managed to roll into one of the buildings. Once inside, the door opened, allowing a twelve-years-old to get out. Though his short height would have anyone mistake him for a much younger, which he didn't really care most of the times, not counting coach Brooks making bad remarks about it. Raf turned to see Bumblebee transform into his robot form and bleep.

"No, Bumblebee. I told not to contact the base." Raf said. "If the others learn, they'll have me go with. You know that."

Bumblebee bleeped again, as the short preteen made his way towards the corridor. "I am certain I can find something to eat here." Another bleep came from the scout. "Haha. You worry too much, Bee. What are the chances the Decepticons will even bother searching the area?"

Decepticon Island

"DIE, MEGATRON!" Starscream yelled, opening fire and laughing. He kept shooting for a while, watching sparks illuminate the room. After a while, he stopped. The drone before him fell, utterly destroyed. The Decepticon SIC was in deep thought at the sight, losing his grin for a scowl.

Then his shoulders sagged. "It just doesn't feel the same." He commented.

At that moment, the door slid open, allowing Knockout, Airachnid, Barricade and a Vehicon enter. "Something on your mind, Starscream?" The medic asked. The Seeker turned to the group and quickly caught the drone by the ankle-join and pulled him into the middle of the room.

"Here!" he said, showing the drone a bucket of sorts. "Put this on." He ordered, putting the helmet on the drone's head. After a second: "Now criticize my plans and ambitions."

"But, Commander Starscream..." the drone started.

"IT IS LORD!" he shouted, as he set his servos to launch both his missiles, destroying the Vehicon into nothingness. The explosion was strong enough to cause the other three Decepticons to cover their optics. When they looked at the flyer, his scowl turned into a sad face. "Still nothing." He said with a miserable tone.

"Um, Starscream?" Knockout started, apparently worried. "Are you okay?"

"You do look, how should Barricade put it, down. As in grounded- down." Barricade put an emphasis on the ground, as if letting the flyer know how much he'd fallen from his prideful self.

"No, I am not alright." Starscream spoke. And judging from his voice, he was very depressed. "Thundercracker and Skywarp are out supervising the project along with Soundwave. And our glorious leader is away who knows where. Without someone to criticize my dream of taking-over, and without Megatron to try and assassinate, I feel as if my life lost all meaning." He hit his chest with his fist. The trio looked at each other with complete confusion, slightly freak out.

"I, uh, think you've been having too much volcanic gas lately, Starscream." Knockout commented. "Maybe you should go out and have some air. Every mech loves to move."

"You're right." Starscream answered. "Except, I feel greatly miserable and utterly, totally useless. I do not feel like a mech anymore. I feel... like a human female named Linda." He finished, polishing his 'lips'. Then he made his way out of the room, leaving the three Decepticons in a state of shock. They looked at each other again, before doing the one thing possible: shivering. This was one of those things none had need to see.

Abandoned facility

Raf had no idea how long he and Bumblebee have been walking through this place. But the Autobot knew- about 40 minutes. And so far they found no mess hall. No kitchen. Shouldn't there be something in places like this? Well, judging by the looks of things, this place seemed abandoned somewhere in the 80s, maybe even 70s. Raf wasn't feeling too comfortable here. It was dark in majority of rooms, dirt and spider webs. In one room Bumblebee saved the boy from a serpent. Raf could take out a sandwich he had with him in the backpack, but still needed to resupply.

Finally, Raf heard Bumblebee bleep for him. The 18 foot tall Autobot found some strange room he forcibly opened. There was no sign on it, but still better find out what was in there. The preteen followed, staying close to his guardian. And for good reasons. Not because of the snake earlier, but because just now they heard a noise. Bumblebee, who had centuries of combat experience, knew him and Raf were not alone. There was somebody else with them in here. Bee pulled out his blaster, not willing to risk Raf's safety. His blue optics narrowed, searching for the enemy in different vision specters. But he saw no one. Raf backed away a bit, tripping over a can or a bucket. As he was falling, he caught the cloth near him, pulling it with him. And accidentally it hooked to a switch, activating it. Or not. Raf stood up quickly, as Bumblebee looked at him, making sure he was fine.

"I'm okay, Bee." Raf assured. "J-just terrified." He added, getting up.

"Not for long, kid." A voice said. Bumblebee turned around, only to notice a blur pass him. He looked to Raf, to find a shadow near him. He wouldn't make it to protect him.

If it wasn't for another blur. The first one slit across the room, finally coming to a stop. When he stood up, Bumblebee turned on the lights on his tights and midsection. The man before them was tall, lean, yet muscular male, with long black hair, a stubble, and a torn military suit. The man snarled, seeing the other man between him and the boy. A bit shorter than him, but bulkier man, with short black hair and sideburns. Unlike the other man, he was dressed in a biker getup, including the gloves.

"Stay out of my way!" the hostile man growled.

"Fat chance, Daken." The biker snarled. "You want to hurt someone? You'll have to go through me." The man said, ignoring the robot. The man identified now as Daken growled and dashed at his opponent, only to end up with the punch to the face. But the punch seemed strong enough to rip off the man's head. As it turned out, it was a robot. The sparks were flying from the neck joint, as the body fell. The biker relaxed his arm before turning to the boy.

"Alright, brat. Who are you?" she growled the question, making Raf flinch.

Bumblebee reacted to this, ready to pull the trigger, when Raf called. "Bumblebee! Wait!" he called. The scout seemed to hesitate, but still aimed at the biker. "W-who are y-you?"

The man growled in annoyance, before snorting. "Emilio Garra." He introduced himself. "Now who are you and what are you doing here?"

Raf was sweating cold. "We only sought shelter from sandstorm, sir." He quickly replied. "We had no idea anyone was in here." He added. The man eyed him suspiciously, before gazing at the robot, that was still pointing its blaster at him.

"You should've let that big piece of chuck blast me, kid." He said, with a little warmer tone. "If I were some psycho, you would've been hurt by now." Raf seemed ready to reply, when a growl echoed throughout the room. Everyone looked at the boy's stomach. "You hungry, kid? C'mon. I got some food stored in here." He motioned Raf to follow. But before he moved, he looked at the big device. Then quickly blushed.

"Mr. Garra? What's with the device?" he asked. The man shrugged.

"Some kind of computer, I guess." He answered.

"But why does it look like...?"

"A bra? No idea. The designer must've had dirty mind at the time." He took another guess.

Bumblebee looked at the thing for a little longer, before commenting. 'Looks like it was designed for Arcee.' He bleeped, before going after Raf. He used to observe Raf's family for the first three weeks since being assigned as the boy's guardian. And heard Miko talk a lot about fashion. Once she even had him have lots of her shopping bags full of clothes. So he knew pretty much what a bra was. Though he had little of understanding for its functionality. But oh well, human were a different race. And he was not in position to question their habits, especially since he was a guest here.

And as he left the room, he missed as the machine started a countdown.

Pentagon

In one of the rooms, the computer started to beep, as a red light buzzed. And the clock also started to count. Agent Simmons, who was working by that computer, looked at it. It took him a while, but finally recalled what it was.

"Umm, General McLoud? Remember that secret weapon we abandoned?" he asked. And before he knew it, said general got in his face.

"WHAT SECRET WEAPON, AGENT SIMMONS?! WE'RE THE U.S. MILITARY! WE KEEP LOSING OUR ARSENAL EVERYDAY!" General McLoud yelled. Well, that's what he was famous for.

"Well, sir, it's the one that looks like a giant bra. Conveniently fitting for the female Autobot." He murmured under his breath the last sentence. "It's been activated, sir."

"FANTASTIC! THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, JOHN KELLER, AND HIS ASSISTANT, SPURKBLUG WITWICKY, HAVE JUST ARRIVED FOR INSPECTION! THEY'RE GONNA LOVE WATCHING AN OLD FACILITY EXPLODE!" the general gave a thumbs up. Still, Simmons recognized he needed to remind the general the important thing.

"Actually, general, it's not some new sort of a bomb."

"WHAT KIND OF SECRET WEAPON IS IT THEN IF IT DOESN'T BLOW UP?!"

"Well, the government was working on it in the 80s. Back then, we were working on something to convince none other than very dictator of terrorist leader, Morgan Slaveman, to 'persuade' him that America is the greatest nation in the world."

"CLEARIFY, SIMMONS!" general ordered. Simmons got up and whispered into the general's ear everything. Whatever the military leader heard, must've been frightening. His eyes widened. "CONTACT AGENT FOWLER! I WANT THAT DEVICE DEALT WITH!"

"And what if he can disarm it, General McLoud?"

"THEN PRAY THAT THAT DOOMSDAY MACHINE FAILS TO WORK FOR ALL OUR SAKE!"

Above the facility

Stascream, six Vehicons and Airachnid were flying above the desert, searching for something that might bring the Decepticon SIC back to his senses. Even Airachnid, despite her sadistic nature, was freaked out by Starscream's depression. And considering Megatron was gone for a long month now, she was wondering if this situation could get any more creepy.

Now the group was flying over Arizona, hoping to find another energon deposit. So far no luck.

"Commander Starscream..." one of the Vehicons said, wanting to report something.

"It is Commander Linda, you fool!" the Seeker corrected. The femme had hoped for 'Lord', not 'Linda'. And it only caused her to shiver again.

"Scanners have detected some kind of energy spike 50 miles to the east from our current position." The drone reported.

"Those readings." Starscream set his attention on the scanners, indeed detecting something. Something quite interesting about those readings. "Follow me!" he ordered, setting course.

"Yes, Commander Starscream." The Vehicons called.

"That's Commander Linda!" he corrected again.

And once again, Airachnid shivered. This day just couldn't get any more weird.

The Ark

Ratchet kept Teletraan I to search the world wide web in search for any sign of Bumblebee. The scout did not report in two days. The whole team was disturbed. Optimus, Ironhide Bulkhead stayed behind, while Jetfire, Jazz and Arcee were in the field. So far, they reported nothing. And Prime was worried, even though he did not show it. Where did Bumblebee disappeared to? Did the Decepticons capture him?

He was brought back to reality when the ground-bridge went online, allowing Hot Ride to drive in. he opened the doors, allowing Miko and Jack to get out. Once they got out, the soldier reared back into the vortex, going back into the field.

Miko took a look around. Judging by the lack of the usual crowd, even she figured the Autobots were out looking for their friends. "So we were right." She said. "Bee and Raf are likely in this together."

Optimus turned to face the two teens. "How is Rafael tied to our scout's disappearance?" he asked.

"Well, Raf's been gone for days as well." Jack answered. "Seeing how close these two are, I bet they're together who knows where."

Optimus nodded in understanding. Then pondered if Raf talked Bumblebee into running away. But if so, what could've happened?

A sudden alarm caught everyone's attention. "What's happening?" Ironhide asked.

"Polka's taking over the world!" Miko panicked. Jack shot her a weird look.

"No. It's an unknown energy spike." Ratchet said, putting the readings on screen. "It appears to be originating from some abandoned facility in Arizona."

"Any idea what we are dealing with?" Bulkhead asked.

"Not a clue. But Teletraan I is picking up a Decepticon energy signature. And that is bad news."

"The Cons are coming to pick up some old gizmo. Big deal." Miko shrugged at the news.

"Not if it's something they can find of use." Optimus said, making his way towards the ground-bridge. "Ratchet. Activate the ground-bridge. While finding Bumblebee and Rafael is of importance, we cannot allow the Decepticons to take the source of this energy."

Ratchet nodded in understanding and approached the ground-bridge control panel, inputting the coordinates. After a few seconds, he pulled the switch. The vortex opened, giving the three Autobots the way to beat hundreds of miles in mere seconds. Optimus, Bulkhead and Ironhide transformed and entered the vortex, disappearing in the flash.

Miko and Jack were looking at the portal, before sitting on the couch in the human zone. Then Jack's cell phone rang. It was Terry. "Terry?"

"/I got somethin'./" the dread head answered. He stayed behind to learn why the preteen ran away. And he finally got the answers.

Abandoned facility, 5 minutes earlier

Raf was digging in. He was a bit disappointed to be eating canned food, but he was hardly in position to complain. Besides, the man before him clearly didn't have the patience for his whining. And that stern face did not make it easy to ease the tension.

Then the man looked up to the robot. "So what's with the Iron Giant, kid?" he asked.

Raf stopped eating and turned to look at Bee, who returned the uncertain look. "Um..." the preteen started, looking back at the man. "He... is a friend." He said simply.

"In other words: that's your nanny?" he snorted. "A little big for ya, ain't it?"

Bumblebee didn't seem to take the comment well. He scowled, curling his fists. What's with this human's attitude? He got up, as if intending to pummel him to death. And he would probably do so, if it wasn't for his charge. "Bumblebee! STOP!" he begged. The scout started bleeping something. "I know, he has an attitude. But it doesn't mean we can beat him for it."

"You're smart for a brat." Emilio 'praised', taking another sip of beer. "How is it you can understand his... beeps, whoops and clanks?" the guy was really curious.

Raf just shrugged. "I just can. Can't explain."

"Fine." Emilio scowled. "Keep it to yourself. But you'd better go back home soon. Your friends and family are probably worried." After he finished, he saw Raf's body tense.

"I don't want to go back." He said with solemn tone.

The man narrowed his eyes, looking at the boy. He seemed annoyed at first. But then he sighed, shaking his head. He stood up and approached Raf.

"Look kid. I'm not the type who talks about crap like this. So before I go with 'Ya shouldn't run away from home' talk, y'might wanna tell me what got ya to leave."

Raf was a bit caught off guard by the words. A minute ago this Garra seemed ready to kill him. Now he was playing a psychoanalyst? He was reluctant to say something when a loud noise caught their attention. Emilio snarled at the sound of it. "Stay put, kid." He ordered, heading off.

Raf got up and walked next to Bumblebee, who took the short boy into his hand. And after a few seconds considered following this aggressive man. Better to know what was happening.

Emilio entered the same room he found Raf and Bumblebee in. What he found there shocked him. Giant robots, eight of them, wandering in this place. He was growing impatient with the events of today. Then, to make things more annoying, a red sports car drove in, transforming.

"This is where the signal is coming from." Airachnid said. Then turned to the device that was active.

"Found it, Commander Star... I mean, Linda." Knockout said, with disgust.

"Excellent, Knockout." Starscream said. "Now we can take it back to base."

"You will fail, Decepticons." A new voice sounded, catching the Cons' attention. They turned to find Optimus, Bulkhead and Ironhide enter the room, armed and ready for combat. "Surrender now and leave, Starscream." The Prime ordered with his usual wise voice.

Starscream snarled at the sight. Why couldn't things just go right? "That's Commander LINDA to you, Autobot!" he said, losing his patience. Before he continued, the three Autobots had a confused look. Gazing at the other Decepticons, they just shrugged. Airachnid even added 'don't ask'. "And how exactly are you going to prevent us from taking this machine?"

"Um... Commander, sir?" one Vehicon caught the Seeker's, and everyone's else, attention. "What is this countdown for?"

Now everyone took a look. The timer was about to finish, when Raf and Bumblebee reached Emilio, who was still hiding. "Dammit. It's about to activate." The man cursed.

"B-but... what is it?" the preteen asked.

"No idea." He answered. "But whatever it is, it can't be good. In fact, I fear this is the creation of true evil."

And the countdown ended. The machine beeped three times and hissed. Finally it hummed. For a moment nothing was happening.

"Well, the machine didn't explode." Airachnid observed the obvious. "Shall we make our leave?"

"First you'll have to pass us." Bulkhead said.

"Looks like it's time to rumble." Ironhide said, setting his cannons.

Starscream eyed the Autobots, unsheathing his claws. "Indeed. But it is you who will take the tumble." He sang the final word, confusing the others.

"I'm sorry, Scream. Did you just sing that?" Bulkhead asked with a weird expression.

Starscream only snarled. "Of course I did not. No wait, yes I did. I'm sounding shrill against my will and cannot stop this singing."

Ironhide: "And in my ARs( audio-Receivers), I swear I hear a quite distinctive ringing."

Knockout: "This silly game is very lame. And somebody's going to pay."

Airachnid: "An unknown force, but where's the source that has us in its sway."

Optimus Prime: "Who is doing this to us? And on this we must concur..."

Vehicons: "They're dastardly, despicable, disturbingly inexplicable..."

Bulkhead: "And imminently wreck-able." (slams his fists together.)

Everybot: "That dirty, rotten scrap is..."

A beep caught everyone's attention. A monitor above the device activated, showing Agent Simmon.

Agent Simmons: "The Singing Virus."

The Autobot's were even more confused, while the Decepticons just decided upon aiming at the monitor.

Agent Simmons: "Put down your guns, you guys./ Now that would be wise. You all have questions no doubt,/ And answers I'll give to work things out."

At this point, Emilio, with a snarl, came out from his hiding spot, and walked towards the giant robots.

Emilio: "I then suggest, for your good sake,/ Before I get ya to break. With all the craziness 'round us,/ just what's with all the fuss?"

Agent Simmons: "The need to end war was in quick./ To that all could agree. Yet some just wanted even more./ And so power was what they were aiming for. And soon it was found with the song,/ Our hold on this world would be strong."

Vehicons: "The Singing Virus!"

At this point, The Decepticons pointed their blasters at the human. As they were about to finish him off, the Autobots attacked them. And as they brawled...

Emilio: "Put down your guns, y'guys./ Now that would be wise. Now that would be wise. Ya all have questions no doubt,/ And answers I'll give to work things out."

As the robots were fighting, Emilio ran between their legs, reaching the device. He looked over the control panel, but couldn't find the off switch. Raf was seeing the whole thing, and with Bumblebee's help managed to sneak next to the man.

Emilio: "And just what you think you're doing, kid?/ For sure I thought you were hid. For you this place is way more dangerous./ And there's no need for death of both of us."

Raf: "A help is what I believed you'd need/ before the 'Cons take it out of greed."

Emilio: "And what you think ya can do?"

Raf: "Hopefully make stop in minutes, uh... two?"

Emilio: "Then ya'd better make haste then."

Raf: "And over it'll be I'll say when."

Decepticons: "The Singing Virus."

Autobots: "The Singing Virus."

Raf started looking through the cables.

Agent Simmons: "Put down your guns, you guys."

Autobots: "Now that would be wise."

Airachinid, Starscream & Knockout: " You all have questions no doubt,..."

Emilio: " And answers I'll give to work things out."

Everyone: "The Singing Virus!"

And finally everyone stopped. Raf came out from the machine, breathing heavily from fatigue. Whoever designed this thing must've been a genius or a moron. He even found an explosive as a fail-safe. The preteen just wanted to rest now. He looked up to see the 'Cons.

"What are you doing here, human?!" Starscream snarled at the boy. Then his optics widened in realization. "I no longer feel the need to sing. I SUDDENLY FEEL ALIVE AGAIN!" he cheered. And turned to the Vehicons. "Decepticons. I, Starscream, your rightful ruler, command you to take the Autobots down!" he ordered.

He missed Knockout and Airachnid looking at each other. "Looks like Starscream's back to his senses." He commented. And the femme nodded in approval.

The Pentagon

"Um... General McLoud." Agent Simmons called to the General, who was talking to the Secretary of Defense for the past few minutes. After everyone in the building started singing, things just got awkward. But finally, everything returned to normal. Now the general and the Secretary turned to the agent. "I have good news. The weapon has been disarmed. But the Decepticons are still nearby."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Keller asked, looking at the monitor, where he could see everyone in the room. "Send the bombers. Blow the whole complex up."

"WE CAN'T BLOW UP A POPULATED AREA! BESIDES, THERE A KID THERE! WE'LL ALL END UP ON SANTA'S NAUGHTY LIST!" General McLoud yelled in the face of the Secretary. Then turned to Simmons. "TELL FOWLER TO GET THE AUTOBOTS THERE IMMEDIATELY!"

"Um... I don't think that'll be necessary, general." Simmons responded, watching the situation on the monitor.

Abandoned facility

The Vehicons were down easily. While Airachnid and Starscream fought the Autobots, Knockout approached the machine. Emilio stood before Raf, shielding him from the Decepticon. Knockout would've hurt them, if it wasn't for Bumblebee, who tackled the 'Con. As the two fought, Emilio turned to the device.

"Is this thing really that important to these big machines?" he asked.

"Maybe it's just some part of it." Raf thought. "Either way, they won't let go."

"Get away kid. I'm makin' sure this thing is of no value to anyone." He growled, as Raf ran to the nearest corridor. Soon, the man followed.

"W-what did you do, sir?" the preteen asked.

Emilio smirk. "Ya don't wanna know." He answered.

Starscream managed to slam Bulkhead against the wall hard enough to knock him out. Then turned to the device and smiled sinisterly, running over to it. Now that he could take it...

It explode. In his face.

The fighting seized. And when the smoke fell, Starscream, burned and covered in dirt, snarled. He was about to attack, when the ground bridge opened, and Arcee, Jetfire and Jazz came out. "Decepticons! Fall back!" he ordered. And all three of them ran towards the exit. The Autobots would follow, but now that they saw Bumblebee, he was a priority.

"Bumblebee. Where have you been?" Bulkhead asked.

"You're lucky we found ya, twerp." Ironhide scolded. "Personally, I think you should be trialed for desertion."

"That will have to wait, Ironhide." Optimus said in his usual wise tone. "First, let us learn as to why our young scout disappeared."

Bumblebee was about to explain things, when... "It my fault." Raf beat him. The Bots looked down at the young computer genius, who had this solemn look on his face. "I asked him not to call you."

"But why, Rafael?" The Last of the Primes asked.

"We can answer that question." A voice from behind. The group turned to find Hot Ride and the kids come out of the vortex. And Terry approached them. "I did some digging. Raf ran away from home because his family wants to move to San Francisco." He said.

Some of the Bots had their optics widen in surprise. "Is that rue, Raf?" Bulk asked the preteen. But Terry continued.

"His father's got a job offer. He was so excited about it, he just told his family to pack. Raf didn't want to move away from us, so he ran away. He would've turned to you, but was probably afraid you'd have him back home."

"But why would Raf run away instead of talking to his family?" Arcee asked.

"I've talked with the neighbors. Apparently, Raf's usually being ignored by his parents, and the majority of his siblings, aside for his eldest sister. Plus the fact that some kids don't take moving well, he must've got scared."

Hearing this, Optimus nodded. He understood Raf didn't want to be away from them. But still, he did not approve of the boy's action. He was about to say something, when this other human put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Kid, listen up." Emilio started. "I can understand. You don't want things to change. You want to stay with your friends here. And the fact you feel like an outsider amongst your family doesn't help you. But if you run away, it won't help your problem."

"B-but... I really don't want to move from Jasper." Raf said, fighting tears, which were running down his cheeks already. "From Bee." He looked at the scout, who looked touched.

Emilio looked at the other teens. "Isn't there anyone who could help you, kid?" he asked the preteen. Raf looked at the others, who smiled.

"Perhaps Fowler could pull a few strings?" Miko suggested.

"And I bet Kelly could help Raf's family with a few sessions." Jack said.

Emilio nodded in approval, before making his way out.

W-where are you going, mister Garra?" Raf asked.

"I just figured it's time I got home myself." He answered, pulling out an old photo with a military unit on it. He amongst the crowd. And a word written on it 'Headmasters'. "I've been away for long enough." He finished and disappeared in the corridors. Then they heard: "And don't worry 'bout your friends. I won't tell a soul." After a few minutes, a bike could be heard roaring.

Emilio rode down the road, away from the setting sun. then actually decided to stop to make a call. He pulled out a cell phone and picked a number. After a few seconds, he heard a voice.

"It's me." He said. "I'm fine. You worry too much. No, I'm comin' home. I've been away for too long. You want me to stop somewhere on the way? Him, huh? Don't worry, I can deal with them. You know me. I'm the best in what I do, but what I do isn't very nice, bub." He finished, and rode off again.

Decepticon Island

The three Decepticons stood in the command room, which normally was the ship's bridge. Starscream, Airachnid and Knockout, upon their return, were surprised to find Megatron waiting for them. And he was furious. Yes, he was furious with them. He could understand they went out into the field to find energon deposits, even though this planet had little of the mineral to offer. But the device that had them and the whole planet singing? That was absurd.

"You really think I am a fool, Starscream?" Megatron demanded the answer.

"N-no, my Lord." The Seeker responded timidly. "I swear upon the Allspark that it's true. We were all forced by that device into singing. I don't know how, but we were! It is the truth!" he cried. Megatron Absolute still did not seem convinced.

"Really? Well then, Linda, answer me this. One Question." He said slowly, nearing his face towards Starscream. Yet the other two 'Cons were also nervous for their sparks. Then Megatron asked them the one question they hoped he would not kill them for the lack of answer to.

"How come I didn't get to sing?" he asked.

END

A.N.: I was originally planning this chapter differently, but decided to keep things for season two. Emilio Garra- I bet you all guessed his true idendity. And if you are going to review the singing part, please go easy on me. I am NOT the musical type, sadly. Never wrote a song-fic before. And one last thing before I sign off- next chapter, the season finale. It may take longer, since I will try to make it epic in contrast to the whole story. Well, cya, ladies and none-ladies.