CHAPTER 19
Alpha/Omega
Night had fallen by the time Brawl reached Swindle's location. He was hiding behind some large boulders, scouting at a nearby human military base. As the tank rumbled up behind him, Swindle flashed his back lights to acknowledge the other's presence.
"I'm sensing his signal from that base over there," Swindle whispered. "Can you see him?"
Brawl focused his vehicle vision system and zoomed in on the army vehicles of the base. Naturally, they didn't know what Onslaught had scanned for an Earth-based vehicle mode, but they both guessed he would choose something about his size and build.
After about a minute of searching and studying the vehicles, Brawl noticed one of them was a large anti-aircraft truck with two silver cannons on the top. The truck was a grayish blue and green color scheme and seemed pretty worn and battle-scarred. Particularly the color scheme caught the two Combaticons' attention.
"I see him," Brawl replied quietly. "It's his colors, no doubt."
"I was thinking the same," Swindle replied. "None of the other trucks have those colors. It's Onslaught alright."
Brawl lifted his cannon a little up, pointing at the base.
"Let's destroy some stuff!" he growled lowly.
Swindle chuckled and peeked from his hiding spot, also pointing his roof cannon at the base.
"You took the words out of my mouth."
Meanwhile on the Nemesis, the Decepticons were still recovering from the experience of Optimus Prime's magic sword attack. Skywarp had joined Thundercracker by his monitor, telling him about his fight with Starscream and then how the Autobot Seeker used himself as a ramp to allow Optimus to reach the Star Saber. Dreadwing seemed to be the only one not concerned enough with what they had just witnessed.
"Forgive me, Lord Megatron," Dreadwing spoke. "While I do not question the wisdom of our tactical retreat, know that I am fully prepared to lead the troops in a counterattack against the Autobots."
"Counterattack?" Megatron replied surprised to his second-in-command. "Perhaps you failed to notice Optimus Prime cleave an entire mountain with a single blow. With the Star Saber in his possession, my enemy can obliterate us all with a wave of his hand! I must find a way to tip the balance of power back in our favor."
"Do we not also possess a powerful relic of the Ancients?"
"Indeed. The Forge of Solus Prime. But it is useless, except in the hand of a Prime." Megatron thought for a moment and chuckled. Dreadwing and the other two Seekers in the back gazed puzzled at their master. "But I might wield that power, if I were to control such a hand."
Skywarp and Thundercracker gazed confused at each other. "What does he mean?" Skywarp asked his Trinemate quietly. "Is there another relic thing that can turn him into a Prime?"
"I doubt it," Thundercracker whispered back. "But I somehow have a bad feeling about this."
"Like, a good bad feeling?"
"When are bad feelings ever good?"
"Like, bad feeling for the Autobots, but good for us, right?"
Thundercracker squinted at his Trinemate for a moment. "I can't imagine what it's like inside that head of yours, Warp," he replied. "But fine, make sense of it as you will." He gazed ahead at Megatron, who ordered the pilots to steer the ship upwards. "Surely Lord Megatron has a plan. Hopefully one that will benefit our cause."
"Lord Megatron, I have some good news for you!" Swindle's squeaky voice sounded over the comm. link. "Brawl and I have found Onslaught!"
"Excellent," Megatron replied. "Have you secured him?"
"Sure have! Those humans stood no chance against me and Brawly! So, we'd like a GroundBridge back to base, please?"
"Soundwave," Megatron ordered.
Without another word, Soundwave opened a green portal on the flight deck, where there was more space for the three returning Combaticons.
"Now that that's done," Megatron said and faced the large windows of the command center, "set course for the Earth's moon!"
Back in the Autobot base, Optimus was still in a trance, apparently speaking to Alpha Trion through the glowing Star Saber somehow. Everyone was still taken aback a bit by news of the caller, who only Optimus could hear.
"Optimus," Ratchet tried, "what is Alpha Trion saying?"
Optimus didn't reply to Ratchet's question. He stayed silent for about ten seconds until he finally spoke, though apparently not as a reply to Ratchet.
"So you speak to me from across the ages?" Optimus said in his strange hollow voice, staring into the sword.
The others glanced at each other before looking back at Optimus.
"It appears he can't hear us," Starscream remarked.
"Nice observation," Arcee mocked jokingly.
"Come on, guys, be quiet," Smokescreen hushed. "Maybe he'll say more."
Optimus remained silent for two whole minutes, his blank expression never faltering for even a second. All the Autobots could do was wait, watch and listen to nothing but the screechy noise of the bright glow of the Star Saber, which seemed to be encasing the entire command center in darkness, sucking out all the artificial light from the lamps, leaving it as the only source of light.
Ratchet was about to call Optimus again when suddenly the Star Saber's light turned off, returning the command center to its normal lighting, including the return of the lamps' artificial light. As the Star Saber's glow disappeared, so did the mystical glow from Optimus' optics disappear, and slumped forward, the sword almost hitting the floor. Optimus groaned as he returned to reality. Ratchet rushed to his aid.
"Easy, Optimus," Ratchet said and held his servos on the mighty mech's arm to help steady him.
After a few seconds of recovery, Optimus rose up on his own, holding the inactive Star Saber in both servos.
Smokescreen took a few steps forward. "So, did Alpha Trion ask about me?" he asked jokingly, earning a shove from Bulkhead.
"What was the message?" Bulkhead asked Prime with anticipation.
"It is paramount that we recover the final four Iacon relics," Optimus finally replied. "The Omega Keys."
"Omega?" Starscream repeated curious.
"Keys?" Arcee repeated right after.
"To what?" Ratchet asked with anticipation.
"To the regeneration of our home planet," Optimus answered.
As the Combaticons arrived on the flight deck of the Nemesis, Swindle made sure to head for the medbay right away to retrieve a few Energon cubes - one for him, one for Brawl and two for Onslaught. They needed one to revive him, but he certainly would also want a cube to feast on when he woke up, right?
Swindle wasn't worried about the Seekers anymore. He had an arm cannon to protect himself with now, and given his greater importance than either of the Fliers, he would not hesitate to use it, should it be necessary. Megatron would understand.
Speaking of the sun, Swindle passed Megatron and Dreadwing, both apparently heading for the flight deck. Swindle stopped short to bow his head in respect.
"Lord Megatron," Swindle greeted and looked at Dreadwing, giving him a smirk. "Commander Dreadwing."
"Swindle," Dreadwing greeted back.
"Going somewhere, my liege?"
Megatron chuckled. "You will see when we get back," he replied and moved on, Dreadwing following close behind. "Soundwave is in command while we are gone."
Swindle didn't look back at the pair as they headed for the flight deck. He had other matters to attend to.
A pair of shadows caught Swindle's optic. Without turning his head, he side-glanced the two Seekers, emerging from the command center. As the three locked gazes together, they all stood in silence for a while, tension filling the space between them.
After a while, Swindle simply nodded at them. "Seekers," he greeted and continued his path.
The Seekers didn't greet the small bot back, but they also didn't follow him. They headed in the opposite direction, toward one of the several training rooms onboard the Nemesis. They needed some combat practice to blow off some steam. Especially now that the Combaticons had returned with yet another member.
"One of these days..." Skywarp muttered. "I swear..."
Thundercracker placed a servo on his partner's shoulder. "Let's forget about him, Warp," the blue Seeker said and gave the other a smile. "And let's focus on us."
Back in the Autobot base, everyone was overjoyed and celebrating.
"Pack your gear," Bulkhead said excitedly and hit his fists together. "We're going back to Cybertron!"
"I can't believe it," Bumblebee bleeped with excitement.
Ratchet laughed at the Scout's comment. "Well, believe it now, Bumblebee," the medic said jolly. "Civilization at last!"
"But I just got here..." Smokescreen almost complained.
"Remember oil baths?" Arcee said dreamily. "First thing I'm gonna do planetside is soak for an entire solar cycle."
"You said it, Arcee," Starscream said in agreement. "I can't wait to see Vos again! Though, it's not much more than rubble right now..."
Bulkhead chuckled. "I can't wait to tell Miko!"
Suddenly, the mood fell among Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee.
"And... Jack," Arcee said quietly.
"And Rafael..." Bumblebee bleeped sad.
Starscream gazed at the bots. He had forgotten about the humans.
"You can always visit them," Starscream suggested half-sparked.
They didn't seem to sense the Seeker's words. He sighed and let them be. To be honest, I'm going to miss those brats too, he thought to himself. Though it will be nice to live without their constant questions.
Smokescreen approached Optimus, busy decoding the Iacon locations. "Uh, Optimus," Smokescreen began uncertain. "Keys open doors. Can they really revive an entire planet?"
Optimus turned around to face his comrades. "While I am unfamiliar with the lore of these Omega Keys," Optimus said, "Alpha Trion knew many secrets. And the Ancients possess technology that has long been lost to what we consider modern science."
The Autobots gathered around Optimus, giving him their full attention.
"Whatever their function, this much is certain," Optimus continued. "We cannot restore Cybertron without all four Omega Keys in our possession."
"Which means we can't afford to lose a single one to Megatron," Arcee concluded.
"Four sets of coordinates from Alpha Trion remain encrypted," Optimus continued and turned back to the monitor. "It is logical to conclude that each corresponds to the location of one of the Omega Keys. I must not waver until I decode them all. The future of our homeworld depends on it."
On the flight deck of the Nemesis, Swindle returned with four Energon cubes, gaining Brawl's attention.
"Energon," Brawl remarked with eager. "Give me."
"Coming right up!" Swindle replied and threw a cube to Brawl's awaiting servos. The brute caught it and turned to the immobile truck before them. Swindle put down the stack of three cubes on the floor and joined his comrade.
"How do we revive Onslaught?" Brawl asked uncertain.
"Well, from what I've learned, all he needs is some Energon in his systems," Swindle replied with crossed arms. "Even outside crevices will do. I say just dump the whole cube on him."
"Alright," Brawl replied and opened the lid.
Brawl tipped the cube and poured its contents over the grayish truck, staining it blue. Swindle followed the liquid's paths and noticed some of it trickling down into some of the seams and crevices of the truck. He smirked widely. Now to wait and see if what we got is actually Onslaught, he thought anxiously. There was always a chance they had the wrong truck.
Brawl stepped back and put the empty cube on the floor, and both Combaticons stared at the truck, waiting for something to happen.
"So... what now?" Brawl asked uncertain after about ten seconds of nothing. "Do we just wait?"
"Pretty much," Swindle replied, gaze still set on the truck. "He's big, it could take a while. Took a few minutes for you to wake up."
Five minutes passed without anything happening. The Energon still stained the truck's armor here and there, some of it was dripping on the floor of the flight deck, the rest having seeped into the inner works of the vehicle. The grayish coloration remained the same, and the armor was still heavily scarred.
"Are you sure we got the right truck?" Brawl asked concerned. "Nothing's happening."
"Of course it's the right truck," Swindle snapped at his companion. "I'm sure of it! I'm pretty sure of it..."
Swindle felt panic rising inside. What if they had got the wrong truck? What if there had been two trucks with the same color scheme? What if they had gone colorblind?
Megatron is SO gonna screw me up, if I've just wasted an entire Energon cube on a regular Earth truck! Swindle thought anxiously.
"Look!" Brawl exclaimed and pointed, pulling Swindle out of his thoughts.
All of a sudden, the grayish tone of the truck slowly changed to a brighter tone. Instead of dark and gray, the truck now appeared as a soft teal and lime color scheme, and most of the scars on the armor disappeared, along with the majority of the wear.
Swindle's Spark leaped with relief, knowing they had indeed got the right truck.
"Primus, don't scare me like that, Onslaught," Swindle said with an exasperated sigh. "I almost had a Spark attack."
A low chuckle sounded from the truck in front of them. They both perked to attention. A few seconds later, the truck split up and rearranged itself, until a tall, Megatron-sized teal and lime mech stood before them, with two silver cannons mounted on his back. His face was covered by a mouth mask and a yellow visor, just like Brawl. But Swindle could tell he was smiling behind his mask.
"Nice to see you two again," Onslaught greeted. "It's been far too long."
"Onslaught, you live!" Swindle exclaimed excitedly and raised his arms. "Thank the AllSpark!"
Onslaught gazed between his two henchmen and gazed down at his chest, currently without a visible insignia. He reached a servo up and seemed to grab something invisible, before ripping said thing out with a tearing sound. Swindle stiffened as he saw it was the rubsign sticker he had torn off, revealing his purple Decepticon insignia underneath.
"I'm guessing things didn't go according to plan, did they, Swindle?" Onslaught said with a strangely calm yet ominous tone.
Swindle stared at his leader for a moment before letting out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, we should probably remove those from Vortex and Blast-Off before we revive them," he said quietly, meant more to be for himself than for Onslaught to hear.
"When we find them, you mean," Onslaught replied. "Now, where is Lord Megatron?"
"He just left for Cybertron," Swindle replied, wanting to get away from the subject of rubsigns. "But he should be back soon."
"Cybertron?" Onslaught replied surprised. "For what reason?"
"Don't know," Brawl replied. "But he said he'd tell us when he gets back. So we wait."
Onslaught nodded in understanding. His gaze fell on the cubes on the floor. "These for me?"
"For all of us," Swindle corrected with a smile, handing a cube over to his leader, then one to Brawl before grabbing the last one for himself. "Thought we should celebrate your return, Captain."
The Combaticons sat down on the floor of the flight deck and raised their cubes in the air in a toast.
"To the Combaticons," Onslaught toasted. "And to the upcoming return of Bruticus!"
Back in the Autobot base, Ratchet was working on a scabbard for the Star Saber, resting on a small rack right beside the medic.
"You shall require more practical means of carrying such a blade," Ratchet informed to Optimus in the other end of the command center, still busy decoding the location of the Omega Keys.
Starscream stood with the other Autobots in the open space, as they discussed about the children.
"I feel funny saying this, but," Arcee said, "I'm not sure I wanna go back."
"Who knew we'd ever get to used to our new home?" Bulkhead said.
"And our human partners," Bumblebee beeped.
"Yeah, I don't think I'd ever wanna leave Miko."
"We've made friends here," Arcee said. "Family."
"We could always... text them," Ratchet suggested from the medbay, before resuming his work on the scabbard for the Star Saber.
"Well, I for one won't miss those kids at all," Starscream remarked with crossed arms and rose his head. The others gazed briefly at him with unamused expressions that said 'We know you don't mean that'.
"Besides," Bulkhead continued, "I've been fighting for so long, I don't know if I can do anything else."
"You can go back into construction," Ratchet suggested and paused his work, gaining the others' attention. "The power of the Ancients may breathe life back into Cybertron's core, but our war-ravaged cities will surely require rebuilding."
"Especially Vos and Tarn," Starscream commented. "They both blew each other into smithereens. I would like to see my city restored to its former glory..."
"I wouldn't make any travel plans just yet," Arcee said. "We still have to locate these Omega Keys and secure them before the 'Cons do."
"Yeah, like that'll be a problem," Smokescreen said confident. "Optimus has the Star Saber now. Megatron's end is in sight."
Unless he has a plan of some kind, that is, Starscream thought anxiously to himself. And knowing Megatron, he may very well have that.
On the Nemesis, Thundercracker and Skywarp stood by the entrance to the medbay, listening in on Megatron and Knock Out's conversation. They had seen the returning warlord enter the room with a strange large red right arm, and told the Seekers not to disturb them. They couldn't help but listen in from behind the closed doors, however.
"Yes, I can do it, Lord Megatron," Knock Out's voice sounded from inside the medbay. "If you're certain that's what you really want."
"Like nothing I've ever desired before, doctor," Megatron's deep voice rung through the doors.
"I shall induce stasis," the doctor sighed.
"No!" Megatron growled, making the Seekers wince. "I wish to bear witness as you attach my new appendage."
There was a few seconds of silence before the sound of a buzzsaw was heard. "Coming up," Knock Out's eager voice sounded.
The next second, the buzzsaw whirring was accompanied by horrible screeching noises and sparks surging, making the Seekers dim their audio receptors.
"Knock Out is lucky," Thundercracker whispered to Skywarp beside him.
"Yeah, he gets to give the boss a new arm," Skywarp replied with a chuckle.
"No, he gets to mutilate our leader without punishment," Thundercracker corrected. "He gets to maim Megatron per Megatron's own request."
Skywarp chuckled again. "Yeah, you're right," he said, then thought for a moment. "Hey, you forgot to call him Lord."
Thundercracker silenced for a moment, as the sound of the buzzsaw seemed to cease. "I slipped," he whispered. "I must be more careful."
Because in reality, Thundercracker always forced himself to address Megatron as 'Lord', as did everyone else on the warship.
In reality, Megatron was not their true lord.
That honor had always belonged to Starscream.
And hopefully, one day, it would be so again.
"Autobots," Optimus announced later, after much work at the monitor, "I have decoded the first set of the final four coordinates. Divide into teams in the event that I am able to decode another before the first team returns."
"I'm on Team One," Smokescreen announced right away. "Who's with me?"
"I'll go," Arcee declared and walked past the hotshot.
"After you, sir," Smokescreen said. "Ma'am," he corrected and started following her. "Commander?"
"This should be interesting," Ratchet said to himself as he activated the GroundBridge.
Starscream gazed from Arcee and Smokescreen to Bumblebee and Bulkhead several times.
"Uh, I'll go too," he announced a little late and hasted over to join the Grounders. "Air support."
Without anyone stopping him, Starscream walked through the GroundBridge alongside Arcee and Smokescreen, who briefly acknowledged his presence. On the other side of the portal, they found themselves in the vast sandy desert of Egypt, right among several pyramids and even the giant Sphinx monument.
The trio pointed their blasters to the sides before deducing there were no Decepticons nearby.
"First ones here," Smokescreen announced.
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Autobot," Starscream said and held a servo in front of his face to shield his optics from the strong wind, sweeping sand across the landscape.
"My name is Smokescreen, not Autobot," Smokescreen replied irritated. "Can't you at least acknowledge my name?"
"I will call you whatever I like," Starscream sneered.
Arcee studied the tracker. "No locator beacon," she said. "Which means the relic's still buried. Right about..." She turned the tracker until its fast beeping pointed at some ruins some hundred meters away. "...there."
Starscream took a few steps forward to look at the ruins. "Inside the pyramid?" he deduced. "No thank you. I will stay out here and keep a lookout."
"Good idea, Scream," Arcee said. "Let's go, Smoke."
"Right behind ya," Smokescreen replied.
The pair began wading through the soft sand, heading towards the ruins where the first Omega Key was supposedly buried. Starscream watched them for a few moments before assuming alt mode and taking off into the sky, patrolling the area.
On the Nemesis, Dreadwing, Knock Out, Thundercracker and Skywarp all gazed in wonder as Megatron - now wielding the right arm of the former Liege Maximo, one of the Thirteen original Primes - used the Forge of Solus Prime to hammer a chunk of Dark Energon.
"The Forge of Solus Prime possesses the ability to create anything from raw material," Dreadwing remarked, almost in a question, as he gazed at Knock Out.
"And in this case, said raw material would be a big hunk of Dark Energon," Knock Out commented.
"So that's what he meant by controlling the hand of a Prime," Skywarp remarked at the red, four-fingered arm. "He was being serious! Though I wonder why he chose the right arm. I mean, he can't use his fusion cannon now."
"That's exactly the bad feeling I told you about before," Thundercracker said quietly, staring at the arm. "Our leader has desecrated a grave to salvage body parts like a ghoul."
"Oh please, TC, I know you care as much about the Primes as I do," Skywarp replied and clapped his partner on the back and smiled. "Which is sinch!"
"Of course I don't care about the Primes," Thundercracker replied and brushed the other's servo off. "I just have a bad feeling about this, is all. I don't like where this is going..."
"Are you questioning our master's decision?" Dreadwing asked threateningly.
Thundercracker waved a servo. "No, not at all. Lord Megatron can do what he wants, as long as it serves our cause well. I'm just curious how well this will serve our cause..."
"You will see," Dreadwing growled and returned his gaze to the warlord, working his magic, ignoring the Seeker's doubts. "Soon enough."
Starscream circled the ruins within a few hundred diameters distance in a slow pace, watching as Arcee and Smokescreen entered the entrance to the underground pyramid. There were still no foreign energy signals nearby, so he dared to fly a little further away, just wanting to explore the desert a little bit. He made sure to mark the ruins' location in his inner map so he wouldn't get lost from them.
"Great open space," Starscream said to himself. "Though it would probably have been nicer without the wind blowing sand into my seams."
He flew above the pyramids and the Sphinx, just taking a moment to admire the handywork. Had humans in ancient times without technology really built these huge monuments, large enough to have Transformers inside of them? He had read in one of his datapad books about human history that many believed the pyramids had been created by aliens. Had ancient Cybertronians perhaps stopped by on Earth to create these things? It would certainly explain why an Omega Key was buried under one of them...
Starscream's scanner suddenly beeped a warning. Starscream stopped to hover midair, trying to assess what the scanner was saying.
He quickly got his question answered, as right next to him, several hundred meters away, a giant sandstorm was heading his way. It was very thick and very fast, getting closer and closer to the Seeker with every second. Duststorms on Cybertron were larger than these, but he was uncertain if Earth's sandstorms were any less dangerous.
Not wanting to find out, Starscream did a quick turn to take off. Only, as he turned, he began loosing altitude and began falling to the left. His Spark skipped a beat as he tried to keep himself up. His left wing was still bended and damaged. He had completely forgotten about it, due to the prospect of getting a chance to restore Cybertron.
"Scrap, scrap, scrap," Starscream swore, desperately trying to keep upright.
Realizing he wasn't going to fly out of there, Starscream instead descended to the ground and initiated bot mode, attempting to run from the storm. But he had greatly underestimated the force of Mother Nature. The sandstorm caught up to him in a few seconds, pushing him onto the ground with great force.
"SCRAAAP!" he screamed and coughed as he was enveloped in sand, the tiny grains prickling his armor like needles. It hurt like the Pit, and he found himself unable to move or transform again. The storm bellowed around him, deafening his audio receptors.
"Ar-" he tried comm'ing but coughed and harked, getting sand in his mouth and optics. "Ar-Arcee! Smo-"
Before he could relay any further, Starscream's mouth was filled with sand, filling up his ventilation system, making him unable to say anything or even cough anymore. Before he knew it, Starscream was enveloped in darkness and lost consciousness, getting buried alive in the sand.
On the Nemesis, Megatron was almost finished with whatever he was forging from the Dark Energon chunk, when Soundwave stepped in to report his work to his master. Knock Out and the Seekers stepped aside to let the intelligence officer pass. As the silent mech displayed a map on his visor, Megatron paused his work.
"You have decoded the next set of Iacon coordinates," Megatron remarked pleased. "Excellent work, Soundwave."
Megatron continued hammering the Forge into the table for a few more minutes. Then, with one last, powerful slam, he stopped. He smiled and slowly pulled the Forge away, gazing down at his work.
"It is finished," he announced and chuckled. "This is the key to defeating the Autobots, once and for all."
The Decepticons stepped forward to see what it was Megatron had crafted. Several gasped at the sight before them.
"Pretty..." Skywarp squeaked.
"Marvelous..." Thundercracker said in awe.
"Shiny," Knock Out remarked with a smirk.
"Magnificent," Dreadwing commented.
Megatron's chuckle turned into a laughter. He put down the Forge, only to replace it with his creation. A large sword, with a purple, hissing and bubbling blade, situated on a black hilt. The Seekers hadn't seen where the black material had come from. Maybe that was Dark Energon too, just in a denser, darker form?
"Behold," Megatron announced and lifted the sword into the air. "The Dark Star Saber!"
It was close to dawn back at the Autobot base when Ratchet noticed something strange on Team One's status meters.
"Strange," Ratchet remarked while looking at the deployed Autobots.
"What is, Ratch?" Bumblebee asked.
"Starscream's energy signal seems to be weakening." Ratchet tried calling on the comm. "Starscream, come in. Do you read me? Starscream!"
All they got from Starscream's comm. was a lot of static noise.
"He's not responding," Ratchet remarked concerned. "Something's wrong. Arcee, Smokescreen, come in!"
Neither Arcee nor Smokescreen answered their comms.
"Maybe they're underground?" Bulkhead suggested. "Maybe the signal is weak where they are."
"Maybe, but it still doesn't explain why Starscream seems to be unconscious while the other two aren't," Ratchet said. A sudden thought struck him. "It can't be..."
"What?" Bulkhead asked impatiently.
Optimus stepped forward, equally worried about the scanners. "I believe Arcee's team is no longer alone," Prime said darkly. "They have company."
In the ruins, Smokescreen and Arcee had just located and recovered the first of the Omega Keys and were on their way out.
"The ancient humans must've thought the Omega Key was a gift from the gods," Smokescreen suggested as they made their way through the narrow tunnels of the pyramid, nearing the exit.
"And in a sense, they weren't wrong," Arcee commented. "Signal should be stronger here." She put a digit to her audio receptor to open a comm. "Starscream, what's the situation outside? Still clear?"
There was no answer on the comm. She tried again. "Starscream, are you there?"
The only answer was a lot of static noise. Arcee turned off her comm.
"Something's wrong," she said. "Scream's not responding."
Smokescreen shrugged. "Maybe he decided to fly back to base on his own or something," he suggested.
"He wouldn't do that," Arcee protested, then fell silent for a moment. "At least, he shouldn't. Not anymore. I have a bad feeling about this."
"I was joking, he's probably fine. Come on, I see the exit just up ahead."
They hadn't noticed the exit right away because night had fallen outside, and it was now windstill. They could see a glimpse of the crescent moon and a few, faint stars on the dark blue night sky. As they approached the exit, they also saw something else. A figure stood in front of the entrance, a large and menacing figure, with shiny silver spiky armor and a well-known scarred face.
As the two Autobots stepped outside the ruins, they stood face to face with Megatron himself.
"The relic," Megatron demanded. "Now."
Arcee stiffened and looked up, seeing only an empty sky. She put a digit to her audio receptor again. "Starscream, come in, do you read me?"
Still there was no answer. Only static. Megatron gazed at them in bewilderment at first, then he chuckled.
"So you have Starscream with you?" Megatron asked with a toothy smile. "Not anymore."
Arcee and Smokescreen stared at the warlord in disbelief. Arcee's expression turned into a glare.
"Where is he?" she snarled. "What did you do to him?"
Megatron laughed even harder. "Wouldn't you like to know," he growled and reached for something on his back. He pulled forth a long, purple glowing sword with a sharp, jagged edge along the blade, which was emitting a disturbing hissing and bubbling noise, almost like... Dark Energon.
"Ratchet, GroundBridge, now!" Arcee called on the comm.
Megatron spun around, and the sword released a glowing purple magic energy slash, just like the Star Saber had. The force of the slash knocked Arcee and Smokescreen backwards, dropping the Omega Key and landing hard on the sand.
As Megatron took a position to prepare another strike, Smokescreen rose to his pedes and charged at the warlord, blaster out and firing at the former gladiator. Megatron simply swung his sword, knocking every shot away, not getting hit a single time. Arcee regained consciousness and began firing her blasters at Megatron too, but these shots were also simply slashed away.
As Smokescreen was about to approach him, Megatron swung his sword one more time, delivering another magic energy slash right at the Autobot recruit. Smokescreen was pushed by the energy slash and crashed into the nearest pyramid. Arcee stiffened and stared in Smokescreen's direction. As the dust dispersed from the pyramid, Smokescreen was nowhere to be seen. He had been obliterated.
"Smokescreen!" Arcee screamed in disbelief.
Arcee's shoulders slumped, her gaze falling onto the ground. Not only had she lost Starscream, she had also lost Smokescreen. And she hadn't been able to save either of them.
Arcee turned as Megatron approached her with the Omega Key in his servo, but kept her gaze on the ground. She had lost the will to fight.
"What manner of treasure did Iacon send us this time?" Megatron asked gleefully and used the tip of his sword to lift Arcee's gaze by the chin, forcing her to look at him.
Arcee didn't say anything. She just stared blankly at the mech who had just taken two of her partners in the same night. She just wanted him to end it.
"I would slice you in two right now," Megatron continued, "but I need you to deliver a message. Tell Optimus Prime that if he wants this relic, he must come and claim it himself!"
Megatron swung the Omega Key into the sand, causing it to stand still in the ground before Arcee. Arcee gazed down at the Key, barely even considering taking it and returning to base with it. Megatron wouldn't let her leave with it. And what was the point anyway?
Thanks to her, Team Prime had just lost two members.
Arcee turned to the GroundBridge next to her, leaving Megatron to wait behind in the desert with the Omega Key, dreading the bad news she had to tell the others back in the base.
Indeed, when Arcee arrived alone back to the base, it was a shock to everyone present in the command center - which was everyone except for the humans and Wheeljack.
"Arcee, what happened?" Ratchet asked concerned upon seeing she was the only one to return. "Where are Smokescreen and Starscream?"
Arcee looked down at the floor, barely able to get the words out. "Megatron terminated Starscream before we even got outside," Arcee said quietly, trying to keep the pressure behind her optics under control. "And Smokescreen..." She trailed off.
The bots gazed shocked at her and each other. Ratchet went over to her and led her to one of the boxes lying on the floor by the medbay.
"Sit down," Ratchet said calmly. "And tell us what happened."
Arcee explained how she and Smokescreen acquired the Omega Key, but when they tried to comm. Starscream he hadn't responded. Afterwards they had exited the ruins and found Megatron before them, wielding a weapon they had never seen before. And how the warlord had made it sound like he had personally terminated Starscream before he could call for help. She then went on to explain the battle, which ultimately ended with Smokescreen's demise.
"... and then Smokescreen was just... gone," Arcee finished. "Like he turned to dust."
The Autobots all wore saddened expressions by the femme's explanation.
"Poor kid," Bulkhead said quietly.
"Starscream..." Bumblebee bleeped sadly.
Ratchet could see by Arcee's body language - the hunched back, gaze fixed at the floor, winglets drooping - that she took both mechs' deaths very hard. Having already lost two seasoned partners and almost losing Jack to the Insecticons, this loss weighed heavily on her. It might just be too overwhelming for her.
"Arcee, do not blame yourself," Ratchet said in an attempt to comfort her. "It could just as easily have been you."
The sound of a blaster activating caught the bots' attention and they looked at Bulkhead, more furious than ever.
"Well, I say we go claim a piece of Megatron's miserable metal hide!" Bulkhead growled, already heading for the GroundBridge.
"Right!" Bumblebee bleeped angrily, following Bulkhead.
"No," Optimus protested darkly, getting everyone's attention. "We have already lost another two of our own today. I will not risk more lives."
Optimus started walking towards Ratchet and Arcee at the medbay, where the Star Saber was also situated. His expression was unusually ominous.
"Given what Arcee witnessed," Optimus said, "it stands to reason that Megatron now possesses might to equal the Star Saber. Which means only I have a chance of recovering the Omega Key."
"The fate of Cybertron rests upon its retrieval," Ratchet replied in agreement.
"Whether Megatron knows it or not," Bulkhead said quietly.
Starscream found himself standing in the command center of the Autobot base. He looked around at the Autobots present. Everyone was there, except for Smokescreen. The humans were missing. The Autobots present all looked sad for some reason.
What's going on? Starscream tried to ask, but found his voice had disappeared, speaking with his mind instead.
None of the Autobots seemed to acknowledge his presence. He gazed between the bots, waving at Optimus who stood right in front of him, facing him. The Prime did not even seem to sense the wave. Something wasn't right here.
Arcee, Starscream thought and tried to put a servo on her shoulder, only to find his servo phasing through her frame. He stiffened at the sight.
What? What's happening? What's going on? Starscream faced Ratchet and tried to touch him, but he too phased through the Seeker's apparent spectral body.
A sudden thought struck the Seeker. Am I dead?
Suddenly, he remembered. He had been in the desert, flying above the pyramids when he got caught in a sandstorm.
I'm buried alive, aren't I? Starscream thought anxiously. What am I doing here? Is this a dream? Or is this, perhaps... my Spark? Am I a ghost? Why can't they see me...?
Suddenly, the ceiling above them began collapsing, the Autobots getting buried beneath the rubble. Starscream tried to scream, but no sound came out. The rubble had no effect on him.
What the Pit is going on here?! he thought with panic.
Suddenly Megatron came crashing through the ceiling, wielding a long, jagged, dark purple sword which hissed at the Seeker, as if it wanted to eat him alive.
Megatron glanced at Starscream, lifted his sword, and swung it.
There was a light.
Then darkness.
Starscream harked and coughed, his internal systems full of foreign material. He tried opening his optics, but it only caused them to sting with pain as tiny grains of prickly sand invaded the sensory organs, so he quickly closed them again.
Starscream was once again in the darkness. He had regained consciousness, but he couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't even breathe. Yet despite his ventilation system being completely blocked off, he felt cold, freezing cold. He felt weak, as if the sand in his systems was sucking up the Energon in him, draining his energy. He had to get out of there, or he really would become a ghost.
Gathering all his strength, Starscream began digging his claws through the soft, endless amount of sand around him. He wasn't even sure which way was up; was it behind him? In front of him? Under him? Above him?
He decided to go for a gamble and dug above him, first with one servo, then with the other. Slowly, very slowly, he started ascending from his grave. With what little processor he could use, he considered using his back thruster to shove him out, but on a further thought, realized it would probably only turn the sand into glass and get him stuck even further.
He tried opening a comm. as he slowly dug himself forward, sand in his mouth and his systems, blinded, deafened, but nothing seemed to work. His comm. link must be broken, or perhaps the signal was too weak to be detected so far under the sand. He was alone. Only he could save himself from this predicament.
Starscream did not know how much time had passed since he was caught in the storm, nor how long it was taking him to dig through his trap, but he did know that the longer it took, the smaller his chances of survival were.
After everything I've been through, Starscream thought anxiously, already feeling about to lose consciousness again. Millions of years of war fighting the Autobots, getting smacked down, blown up, shot at, THIS is how it ends...? This is how my light goes out...? Getting buried alive in a giant sandbox. How ironic. To think that something as simple as sand was to take the life of the great Starscream...
Starscream's movement slowed, until he paused, again unable to move his limbs. He relaxed his cables, ready to just give up.
Suddenly, something tickled the tips of his claws, and they were met by a cold breeze. Starscream snapped awake to the sensation, his Spark rate increasing in anticipation.
Air, he thought anxiously. Wind. I'm almost out! I made it!
With renewed hope and an adrenaline boost, Starscream lashed out violently with his left claw, then his right claw, then left, then right, and repeated until both servos could feel the harder, cold sand on the topside.
Starscream planted his free servos on the hard sand and started pulling himself up, desperately reaching his arms forth to dig himself completely out.
At long last, after several minutes of digging, Starscream's head reached the surface and he felt the cool breeze caress his faceplate. He dared peek open a pained optic, confirming he was indeed outside, before promptly closing it again, even more determined to get all the way out.
Having his upper body reach outside, Starscream dug his claws further ahead, until his wings popped up and he could shake the sand off them.
Now able to rest his chest on the ground above, Starscream coughed and harked, releasing several pounds of sand from his mouth, but it was hard to get it out in his current position. Simply breathing was impossible, coughing was also something near impossible for him at the moment. He needed to get all the way out before he could empty his systems.
Using the last of his remaining strength from the adrenaline boost, Starscream pushed against the hard sand and scratched the ground in front of him, until he found purchase on some especially hard sand. He grabbed onto the hard ground and pulled with all his might. Finally, after about a minute of pulling, his legs popped out from the sand, and Starscream shot forward, landing face first on the hard sandy ground.
Now free, Starscream rose to his servos and knees and tried to cough, but it was almost impossible due to the poor ventilation. Rather than giving up, though, he instead initiated a gagging reflex, trying to release the sand invading his tanks.
After several minutes of discomfort and pain, Starscream finally managed to purge his tanks, releasing dozens of pounds of wet, bluish sand along with a little bit of liquid Energon. The purging did the trick. Starscream could now access his ventilation system, though rather faintly. The little air left in there granted him access to dozens of coughs and harks, releasing several more pounds of sand from his ventilation system.
Starscream coughed and purged for almost half an hour before enough sand had left his systems to allow him breathing. He let out gasps and sucked in all the cool air he could get. There were still several grains scratching his insides, irritating his defense system, but it was faint enough that he could wait with the rest until he returned to base.
The base. Starscream tried opening his optics and saw the dark blue night sky, a glimpse of the crescent moon and hundreds of stars. They still hurt, and he couldn't keep them open for long before his autonome system forced him to shut his optic lids again. He tried calling out for help, but it only made him cough, and he found that he couldn't even hear his own cough. The sand had damaged his audio receptors as well.
Starscream was alone, blind, deaf, wounded, weak and in pain. He had no idea where he was or where the others were, and his comm. didn't work. Despite all this, he was surprisingly calm.
Having lost both sight and sound, he instead focused on his inner map of the area. He still remembered where everything lay in his processor, he still remembered the mark of the location Arcee and Smokescreen had gone to.
Taking a couple of minutes to recover, Starscream slowly rose to his pedes, staggering on his legs. He was incredibly weak. The sand had drained him of much Energon, and it had taken much energy to dig himself out of the sand. But he was determined to return to their rendevous point. It was the only way he could return to the others.
Slowly, steadily, carefully, Starscream took one step at a time, making sure not to stumble or trip over something. Following his inner map of the area, he calmly made his way across the desert. Hopefully he would run into the Autobots. And if he should run into the Decepticons, hopefully he would receive a swift, painless end.
Back at the ruins, Optimus and Megatron had fiercely battled it out, Prime's Star Saber versus Megatron's Dark Star Saber.
Unbeknownst to the two battling mechs, Smokescreen had survived and made his way outside the pyramid, having borrowed the Phase Shifter once again, ensuring his survival against the dark energy slash from the dark sword. Smokescreen had hidden himself behind the ruins, watching the two mechs fighting an epic battle of mighty power.
A strange, cough-like noise sounded from behind, and Smokescreen turned around, blasters out. He stiffened and lowered them when he saw what had made that noise.
"Starscream...?" Smokescreen gasped and left his hiding spot, heading over to the Seeker.
Starscream was heading to his position, slowly and staggering on his legs. His armor was incredibly battered and scarred, Energon stains smeared several places. His optics were closed, his left wing was horribly bent backward in a seemingly painful way, and overall he seemed pretty exhausted and depleted of energy.
"Starscream, you're alive!" Smokescreen said joyfully and approached the Seeker. His smile fell when the Seeker didn't respond, didn't even stop moving.
"Starscream?" Smokescreen repeated, stepping aside as Starscream continued to stumble forward. "Hey, I'm right here..."
Smokescreen placed a servo on Starscream's shoulder, which prompted a shriek and a jolt from the Seeker, causing him to turn around and swipe out with his claws. Luckily, because his optics were closed, his attacks missed miserably.
"Hey, hey, calm down, it's just me," Smokescreen exclaimed and grabbed Starscream's wrists. The Seeker stiffened and tried to wrist himself free.
"Hey, can you hear me? Starscream?" Smokescreen tried, but the Seeker still didn't respond. "Open your optics if you can hear me."
Starscream didn't open his optics, but he did stop struggling, breathing heavily, accompanied by loud, hard coughs. Grains of sand came out with droplets of Energon.
"Hhhhaaaaaaa..." Starscream wheezed. "Hooo's herr... Ashi...? Mehadom...?"
Smokescreen stared at the Seeker talking gibberish. Smokescreen let Starscream's wrists go, but the latter did not attack again. Smokescreen held a servo at one of the Seeker's audio receptors and snapped his digits. No response.
"He can't hear," Smokescreen concluded ominously. "What happened to you, Scream?"
Suddenly a thundering roar sounded behind them, and Smokescreen looked back at the two mighty mechs fighting. He stiffened as he saw Optimus' Star Saber shattering into pieces by Megatron's Dark Star Saber.
"Oh scrap," Smokescreen swore and looked back at Starscream. Making a quick decision, he grabbed Starscream's servo and pulled him along, earning a strained yelp from the Seeker. "Come on, Scream, we gotta save Optimus!"
Starscream didn't know what was happening. He had been following his inner map for perhaps an hour or two, almost reaching what he believed was the rendevous point, when suddenly someone had touched his shoulder, startling him. They had then proceeded to grab hold of his wrists. Starscream had panicked, thinking it might have been Megatron who had found him, vulnerable, alone and at his mercy.
But the servos holding him were not Megatron's. They weren't big, sharp and painful, they were smaller, blunt, rough and with a lighter grip, as if the bot was trying not to hurt the Seeker. It could only have been one of the Autobots, prompting Starscream to calm down and trust whoever had found him. He couldn't get back by himself, he was completely dependant on this bot to get back to the base for recovery.
As soon as the Seeker had calmed down, the other bot had released their grip on his wrists. Afterwards nothing happened for about half a minute before Starscream was suddenly pulled violently by his right wrist. He found himself forced to follow his guide at a pace he could barely keep up himself with his current energy levels.
Before long, the bot put a servo on the Seeker's back and seemingly helped him sit down, leaning against a wall of some sort. They had then released Starscream's wrist once again and placed a servo on the Seeker's shoulder before disappearing for good.
Starscream somewhat understood what the bot was trying to tell him. Stay here. Wait for me. I'll be back for you.
So Starscream waited. And waited. And waited. For several minutes, he waited in darkness and silence, unable to sense the world around him other than by touch. He tried to open his optics, but the pain was too great for him. Apparently the sand in his optics was also beginning to drain the sensitive organs of their lubricant, rendering them dry and dysfunctional. He couldn't even move his optic lids.
Starscream waited anxiously for his guide to return, hoping they hadn't forgotten about him. If they did, he would perish for sure. Starscream had never felt so helpless before in his life. Never so weak, so vulnerable, so useless. He'd be embarrassed about it if it wasn't because of the pain, discomfort and fatigue that currently weighed on him. He could always get embarrassed later, if there was a later.
Suddenly, Starscream felt someone grab him by the wing and he let out a shriek of surprise. It wasn't a hard grip, but he was roughly dragged across the sand, while coughing and screaming in distress, not knowing if he had been caught by the enemy or his allies.
A few seconds after getting grabbed, Starscream felt a strange yet familiar dizzying feeling, the kind one felt when going through a GroundBridge. That could mean one of two things. Either he had been rescued by the Autobots and brought back to base, or he had been captured by a Decepticon and brought onboard the Nemesis as a prisoner, completely helpless and unable to defend himself.
Soon the one grabbing his wing let go of him, and he fell together on his back on the floor. Starscream let out quick vents of distress, still not sure if he was safe or not. He still couldn't open his optics or hear anything. He tried speaking nonetheless.
"W... where...?"
Starscream felt a large servo grab his own and help him onto his pedes. It was rough around the edges, but blunt and without claws. It couldn't be a Decepticon. Which meant he must be back in the Autobot base.
"Optimus...?" he asked, the best he could articulate without his sense of hearing.
The servo holding Starscream's own clenched slightly, as if answering his question.
Suddenly Starscream's entire body stung with pain, everywhere he had been pelted with sharp sand grains. His fatigue became more prominent, and he could barely keep himself standing, and the uncomfortable feeling of sand in his internal systems became sharp pain in his chest and abdomen. He groaned and keened in pain, unable to do anything about it himself.
"R... Ratchet," he tried, unable to hear if he pronounced it correctly. "R... Ratch..."
The one holding Starscream's servo, probably Optimus, gently pulled him forth, signalling him to follow his lead. Soon his other servo was met by a different servo, belonging to another bot. It was also blunt, but not as big as Optimus'. He hoped it was Ratchet, which it probably was, as the new bot guided him to sit on what felt like a table. Soon he lay on the table and keened as his left wing prevented him from lying flat on his back, sending pulses of pain through his spinal strut.
Despite the pain and discomfort, Starscream tried to lay as still as possible, so Ratchet could do his work.
The Autobots had been nothing but relieved to see not only Smokescreen, but also Starscream arrive back in base with Optimus, safe and sound. Well, almost safe and sound. Smokescreen had received little if no damage at all. Starscream, on the other hand, was a mess.
"He can't hear anything," Smokescreen relayed to the others as Starscream just lay still on his back by the GroundBridge tunnel, not responding when they tried to get him to stand up. "I think his audio receptors are damaged."
Ratchet hummed concerned at the distressed Seeker on the floor, letting out quick vents. "He might not even know where he is right now, since he seems to be blind as well," Ratchet assumed.
Without further ado, Optimus stepped forward and knelt down before the Seeker, grabbing hold of the smaller clawed servo, making sure not to squeeze too hard as he helped him off the floor.
For a moment, Starscream just stood, optics closed and vents hard and wheezy. He paused his venting and tried to speak. "Ub... deh-moss...?"
The Autobots looked on with pity. Because he couldn't hear anything Starscream could not hear what he was saying. But he tried his best to be articulate, and the bots understood what he meant.
Instead of answering him verbally, Optimus gently squeezed the Seeker's servo, as a signal that Starscream had the right name. Afterwards, Starscream almost fell together and began groaning and keening, seemingly in a great deal of pain.
"W... wah-ted," Starscream said, but he was too inarticulate for the bots to understand. Starscream coughed and tried again. "W... Rrash..."
This time the bots knew what he meant. He was asking for Ratchet. Naturally, considering his condition.
Optimus gently pulled Starscream along, guiding the Seeker to the medbay. Arcee and Smokescreen stared pitifully at him.
"Starscream," Arcee said quietly. "What happened to you?"
"Did Megatron do this to him?" Smokescreen wondered. "Or one of the Decepticon Seekers?"
As soon as Optimus and Starscream reached the medbay, Ratchet grabbed hold of Starscream's other servo, guiding him onto the table and allowing Optimus to step back.
"We'll ask him as soon as I figure out what's wrong with his audio receptors," Ratchet replied.
Ratchet began his work on Starscream while the others asked Smokescreen about how he survived, and he began telling them his tale of surviving thanks to the Phase Shifter. Ratchet barely paid attention, other than a quick acknowledgement for Smokescreen to keep the Phase Shifter as his signature weapon.
Ratchet ran his scanner across the still-blind and deaf Starscream's audio receptors. He could deal with the optics later, but it was more important to get his hearing fixed. If he couldn't hear, it would be very difficult, if not impossible for him to return to the battlefield ever again.
Fortunately the problem seemed to be a simple one.
"His audio receptors are filled with sand," Ratchet announced. "And he seems to be pretty drained of Energon too. Maybe Megatron didn't cause his predicament after all."
Arcee looked at Ratchet in disbelief. "But Megatron said himself-"
"Did he say he terminated Starscream?" Ratchet interrupted, getting a small vacuum-cleaning device forth.
Arcee silenced for a moment. "Well... no, not really, but..."
"Then he may have been lying, whatever he told you," Ratchet replied and turned on the mini-vacuum.
Starscream flinched as the vacuum reached his audio receptors, but soon settled as he could seemingly feel the sand getting removed from them. Starscream absently scratched the table underneath him with his claws, trying to distract himself from the pain and discomfort.
After several minutes of vacuuming first the right audio receptor and then the left one, Starscream suddenly began turning his head quickly from side to side. Ratchet paused in his vacuuming and decided to test something. He held his digits in front of Starscream's face and snapped them. Starscream almost immediately turned his head to where the sound came from.
Ratchet sighed of relief. "You can hear again," the medic said. "Good."
Starscream seemed to stiffen by Ratchet's voice. "I... I can hear..." he said and smiled by the sound of his own voice. "Yes... Thank the AllSpark..."
"What happened, Starscream?" Ratchet asked. "How in the name of Primus did you end up this way?"
"You were just fine when we went out," Arcee asked as well. "Where did you go?"
Now that he could hear and speak clearly again, Starscream felt that awful embarrassment he had only briefly thought about earlier, hit him in the head like a hammer. He didn't answer right away, worried what they might think of him if he said anything.
"Was it Megatron?" Smokescreen asked.
Starscream bit his lip. Instead of saying anything, he simply shook his head.
"Then what?" Arcee asked.
Starscream felt warmth rising in his face, ashamed of his condition. "... Sand," he simply whispered.
The Autobots perked in confusion. "Sand?" Smokescreen repeated.
"Sand... everywhere..." Starscream repeated, too tired to string long sentences together this time. "Wanted to... explore a bit... got caught... in a storm... crashed... buried..."
It wasn't a lot of words, but they were enough for the bots to understand what he had been through.
"Earth weather did this to him?" Smokescreen said in shock. "All this damage, he received just from sand?"
"Everywhere..." Starscream repeated, before he lay still, seemingly falling unconscious.
"You'd be surprised how powerful sandstorms can be," Ratchet replied and went on with the repairs on Starscream's frame, as well as giving him drip due to his huge Energon loss.
The bots left Ratchet to work on Starscream. Arcee and Smokescreen shared a brief glance.
"We should have taken him with us down there," Smokescreen remarked. "Then he wouldn't have ended up like this."
"You don't know that," Arcee replied. "He'd just have ended up getting mauled by Megatron instead. Unlike you, he doesn't have a Phase Shifter, and Megatron hates him. If he hadn't been caught in that storm, Megatron would have done much worse to him, I'm sure."
"Regardless of what may have happened, had you acted differently," Optimus said as he prepared to work on decoding the next set of coordinates, "Starscream is alive and still with us. And Smokescreen is alive and well too. That simple fact is enough to call today a victory."
"Not to mention this shiny Omega Key we got, huh?" Bulkhead replied gesturing the Key currently lying on one of the tables.
Arcee allowed herself to crack a smile. "Yeah," she said. "Despite everything today, we survived. Good enough for me."
With that, silence fell over the command center, as morning arrived and everyone continued each their own important tasks, preparing for the upcoming day.
Today was going to be yet another very long and hard day for the Autobots.