They landed in front of the cave, sending up a cloud of billowing dust that got in Drake's eyes and mouth. Megatron didn't seem to care, though. He just let Drake slide of his hand and onto the floor. He brushed himself off and surveyed the cave in front of him, large enough to fit even Megatron. Rocks had piled up in the opening, but they looked almost….man made. As if someone had put them there on purpose.

Drake could feel them. Feel him. There was something down there.

Megatron was smiling. It wasn't a good look for him.

"What is this? I can feel something down there…." He said, frowning and walking up to the huge pile of rocks. Carefully, he shoved one to the side, not even bothering to use his powers.

"Our master….well, part of our master lies just past these rocks…" Megatron purred, flicking away one small rock with his finger. "We must dig to get to him…."

"Right….the bugs." Drake flinched when Megatron knelt down next to him, talon extending to brush against his cheek. It was a kind gesture, full of innocence. However, Drake could see past all the metal, all the words…he saw the monster underneath. It awed him.

"Start digging, human," Megatron barked, stepping back. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an optic ridge as Drake walked up to one rock and used his hands to shove it to the side, watching it tumble onto the grass. He rolled his eyes and stepped back, raising his hands, palms out, grinning as the boulders floated past his head.

In less than a minute, only a few rocks remained. Megatron was still standing behind Drake, smirking. His smirk turned into a frown when scuttling noises could be heard from inside the cave, tiny, sounds, like repeatedly clicking their teeth together.

Drake stopped with his hands raised, palms out. Even Megatron knelt down to investigate.

"What is that?"

"My precious pets."

They looked like something from a science fiction movie. Like an alien or a robot or something, because they were way too big, way to sinister to be just bugs.

One was silver and bronze, dully reflective. It had an insects head with bulbous, gnashing mouthparts that made Drake think of a chef flashing their knives. Wicked curved mandibles protruded from all sides of its mouth.

It smelled like curry and ammonia. Bitter, with a tingle of sweetness.

More poured out of the cave, now, scurrying up beside the first. They had red eyes that could almost pass as human. But they had nothing of human awareness, nothing of human vulnerability or emotion. Drake could have sworn he saw the Decepticon insignia somewhere on each of their sides.

They all ran on four legs or more, centipedes, spiders, wasp, moths, cockroaches. Their wings flared slightly as they scuttled out of the cave.

Drake was ready, with his hands out, and Megatron having drawn his blaster. However, Drake didn't like their chances if they were looking for a fight. A gunshot to the face was one thing, but had The Fallen equipped him with the ability to survive being ground up like food in a garbage disposal? Chewed, digested, and disposed?

"This is my master's army," Megatron purred, kneeling. Drake's eyes widened a the way one of the bugs, the largest one, skittered over to Megatron and let itself be pet. The tyrants talons stroked up and down the bugs back, in between its folded wings.

"They can only be controlled by you, or me. Faithful disciples to The Fallen."

Drake felt his throat constrict and his breathing become labored. He was still human, after all, and he could still feel fear. Just looking at these bugs filled him with fear.

And something akin to love. It showed the true power of their master.

"We still have a lot of ground to cover before we find what you're looking for," Drake said, jerking his chin past the bugs. The back of the cave had caved in, tons of rock blocking the passageway.

"This is what I have been looking for," Megatron said, not taking his optics off the bug in front of him. "The remainder of the army."

"And I can tell that their hungry," Drake pointed out, backing away. He felt Megatron's talons wrap around his face and lift him up. "So…want to go find some town and let em' feed?"

"Later," Megatron spat. "We must have a plan if we are to defeat the Autobots. They are smarter than we give them credit for. Especially with Prime in the lead."

"Enough with the planning. God, when are we going to get to kill some people?" Drake sighed, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Soon, my brother, very, very soon."

Drake laughed. A cold laugh that caused even the mighty Megatron to flinch. He looked into the mouth of the cave, feeling his master, his one, true, master, calling to him. Filling his heart and soul.

And he would not be thwarted.

Ironhide was seething. He seethed a fair amount, at the best of times, but today was different. He was still upset over the last bug fight, the monstrosities the Decepticon's had created were starting to get on his nerves. And the fact that Optimus was practically falling apart right before his eyes. The pressure, the battles…and especially the loss of one of their good soldiers was finally getting to his processors. Ironhide knew that he was being to hard on himself, that he had a tendency to blame everything on himself. That didn't help him as a leader at all.

He wasn't really supposed to be out driving along in Synapsis. Supposedly, a quarantine was in effect for some nearby towns. All everyone was concerned about was the plague going global. It had yet to leave Florida, or Synapsis, but it was only a matter of time.

But Ironhide wasn't afraid of some flying bugs that peed green goo or whatever that was about.

He sped up, tires kicking up dirt behind him. The streets were empty except for a few humans, some dressed in baggy clothing, shuffling along the sidewalk, looking like they were in their own little world.

He turned a corner, passing the same house that Zora had evidently been attacked in. He turned onto that road, seeing that it was empty of life, and tried to find the hole in the wall.

Someone had nailed long strips of metal over the hole. It looked way to neat for a human to have done it.

"What's that about?" he wondered aloud. He sighed and was getting ready to speed away when he heard a sound like chewing. Like a lot of chewing getting rapidly louder, and coming from within the building.

The metal groaned. Something slivery was pushing its way out through the cracks, moving with respectable speed.

Ironhide didn't even look around before he transformed. A human spotting him was the least of his problems. He was more focused on the metallic looking insect, each the size of a small pony. He had enough time to observe the clicking mandibles and to be utterly creeped out by its humanoid eyes.

Ironhide had seen the bugs more than enough times, and he knew that they shouldn't scare him. He had faced creatures from all over the solar system far more intimidating than the bugs. But he couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear at the things that had hatched out of Maggie Madson's gut.

The first bug launched itself at Ironhide. He sidestepped it easily.

"Hmp. Your quick, I'll give you that," he said, snarling and blasting it with his cannons. Another was on him in seconds, and he batted it away, skipping back and blasting it, feeling sticky bug guts ooze down his armor.

"Disgusting," he spat.

He would have kept fighting, it Ratchet hadn't arrived, along with Lennox, who had hopped out of Ratchet and was running toward him, gun unsheathed, yelling at the top of his lungs.

He kicked away one just as Ratchet transformed and Lennox fired.

BLAM! BLAM!

He fired at one of the bugs that was running away from Ironhide. The bullets hit and embedded themselves deep into its side, but it still kept running.

"Head shots!" Ironhide rumbled. "You have to hit them in the head!"

He pointed to the ones he had blasted earlier, but to his dismay, they were still moving. With a frown, he thundered up to one, knelt down, stuck his cannons right in its face, and fired. Once. Twice. Until there was a smoking crater in the sidewalk.

"Crush them!" Ratchet cried, standing back, looking unsure of what to do. When a bug approached him, he snarled and stepped on it.

Ironhide didn't want to get bug guts all over his armor, but he knew it was the only way. He stepped on one, and then another. Its friends seemed to get the message, and began to scurry away as fast as their sick legs would carry them.

"They are getting away! Don't let them!" Ratchet exclaimed.

Lennox looked like he was about to faint, and Ironhide could have sworn his next move would be to throw up his hands and yell, "forget it, I'm outta here!"

He just shook his head and let his gun drop to the side, watching the last of the bugs disappear around the corner.

"We should go after them," he finally said.

"Too risky," Ironhide told him, transforming back down into his alt mode. Ratchet followed lead. "If we run into a bigger swarm of those things….."

Lennox just rubbed his temples, and for the first time, Ironhide heard him mutter, "why did I sign up for this?"

Sam wasn't surprised when he found Zora down at the lagoon, alone, lying out on a blanket. He was surprised that Optimus wasn't with her. The two had become inseparable. Everyone on the base had noticed, and Sam had even heard soldiers talking about it behind her back. Something he should have put a stop, but hadn't found the courage.

He felt he should apologize, too, for what he had said about Drake. That still didn't mean that he wasn't a psycho, but Sam knew he shouldn't have said it to her face. She was a newbie, still, trying to get used to everything. The betrayal of her best friend was like a mental slap in the face. Not to mention that the Prime's had given her the power to shoot lasers out of her hands.

Bumblebee opened the door for him, and Sam motioned for him to stay.

"I sort of need to talk to her alone for a second….that alright?"

Bumblebee revved his engine and chirped in response. Sam patted his hood and walked over to where Zora was lying on her back, adjusting her pair of sunglasses.

"S'sup," she said, before Sam could even say a word. She raised her eyebrows when he sat down beside her. It was kind of odd, being with another girl his age. He spent most of his time with Mikaela. It was the first time he and Zora had really gotten to chat one-on-one.

"You aren't with Optimus," Sam said, crossing his legs and lacing his fingers together.

"Meeting. Paperwork. He's a busy bot'," Zora said, shrugging. Sam saw the disappointed look on her face. She sat up. "Hey, where's Mikaela?"

"Helping Ratchet."

"Ah. Fun," Zora murmured. "So, Sammy, what brings you here?"

Sam cleared his throat. "I just wanted to say…I'm sorry for what I said about Drake. You're already going through a hard time. I was being a jerk."

"Yeah…you were."

"Hey!"

"Kidding!" Zora playfully slapped his arm. "It's alright. After what he did to Arcee…I'm not sure he cares about me anymore."

"I'm sure he does," Sam said, trying to reassure her. The way his voice cracked when he spoke wasn't helping his cause at all. Frankly, he thought Zora was right. Drake was out of control. And any human with enough power to take out a big Cybertronian would be a main Decepticon target.

"It just hurts. I mean, think about it. If he stays the way he is….eventually, he's gonna get himself killed," Zora clenched her fist. "God, why me? This stupid war has practically ruined my life!"

Sam didn't say a word. He just gave her a pitying look and laced his fingers together.

"I don't want to be a part of this anymore. I just want to be a normal kid, with normal problems."

"I did too. But I had to accept it," Sam said firmly, wincing at the glare Zora gave him. "A-And I know this must be hard for you, Zora, but think about it. You would not have met Optimus. You wouldn't have met me, or Mikaela, Or Bumblebee. Your friends."

"I would still have Drake."

"Who knows, maybe you wouldn't," Sam said, flinching when the words came out harsher than he had intended. He softened his gaze and gave an irritated sigh. "This whole war is bigger than me, or you, or anyone else, for that matter."

Zora sighed and stretched out her legs, staring out at the ocean. The silence that followed was unnerving at the least.

"I guess you're right," Zora said, blowing a few strands of hair out of her face. "I guess…..eh…never mind."

"C'mon," Sam said, nudging her with his elbow, "that's not the only thing that's bothering you."

"Nothing else it bothering me."

"I know that look. It's your thinking look," Sam tapped the side of his head. "C'mon. You can tell me."

"No offense, Sam, but you're not Dr. Phil. You wouldn't get it. And quite frankly, I'm not sure Dr. Phil would get it, either."