CHAPTER 20

Hard Knocks

By the time Megatron had returned to the warship, it was dawn. Upon his return, the Combaticons welcomed him back, and Megatron was pleased to see that Onslaught was awake and well-rested. After the Combaticons had refueled and taken an oil bath, Megatron sent them off again to search for Vortex and Blast-Off.

Now, he was standing in the command center, merrily boasting about his victory against Optimus Prime to Soundwave, who really was just trying to concentrate on his work to decode the next Iacon relic, thus only partly listening to his master's bragging. Soundwave certainly was more tolerant and less distracted than Thundercracker, who couldn't concentrate on his own work, instead listening to Megatron's speech.

"You should have seen Optimus Prime's face when his precious Star Saber shattered like glass," Megatron chuckled, "and with it, his dreams of an Autobot victory! Granted, Optimus will be more determined than ever to discover the locations of the remaining Iacon entries before we can."

Despite Megatron's bothersome talking, Soundwave managed to finish decoding the next entry and displayed it on the big screen.

"Ah, very good," Megatron replied pleased. "I see you have decoded the next set of coordinates."

No thanks to you, I bet, Thundercracker thought. Soundwave was good at concentrating, but even he must find Megatron's behavior annoying at times, right?

"Way to step things up, Soundwave," Knock Out said, approaching the pair from the bridge. "I do hope this Iacon relic is something less sacred than more profane, like an electro-disrupter cannon. We could use one of those."

"Indeed, Knock Out," Megatron replied and opened a comm. "Dreadwing, report to the bridge immediately!"

"Please, Lord Megatron," Knock Out protested. "Allow me the honor of retrieving this relic for you."

Megatron turned his attention to the doctor. "I'm surprised you would risk your finish," Megatron said in a mockingly pitying tone, "so soon after your accident."

Knock Out cringed with embarrassment over the reminder of his mission in the tunnels of Manhatten.

"Nonetheless," Megatron continued, now in a more normal tone, "I remain unconvinced that you are the best choice for the task, since you failed to secure the Phase Shifter."

"I lacked the proper tools," Knock Out said undeterred, "but since Soundwave's currently occupied, I can't imagine he'll mind if I borrow this." The doctor held forth the Resonance Blaster, which Soundwave had retrieved himself, after fighting Wheeljack for it. The blaster caught Thundercracker's attention.

"So that I might better secure your prize," Knock Out finished, "and heap some hurt on the Autobots!"

Megatron thought for a moment. Soundwave didn't comment - he never did, but he did indeed not seem to mind Knock Out borrowing his signature weapon.

"Very well," Megatron finally replied. "Thundercracker, you will accompany Knock Out."

Thundercracker and Knock Out both perked by the order.

"You don't trust me, my liege?" Knock Out accused.

"Considering I currently have more warriors at my disposal," Megatron said, "I see no reason why you should go alone, doctor."

Knock Out gazed from Megatron to Thundercracker, who approached the others on the bridge, ready to go. "But... but I..." Knock Out sighed in annoyance and turned to the Seeker. "Oh, what the Pit, let's go!"

Thundercracker cracked a small smile at the Grounder. "I'm looking forward to this," he said. "My first relic hunt."

Soundwave opened a portal and let the pair of scientists off the warship. Then he turned back to the computer and went on to decode the next Iacon entry.

Meanwhile in the Autobot base, Starscream was resting in the medbay while Ratchet tried to fix his wing back in the right position. It took some blowtorching and hammering, but eventually he got the bended wing into somewhat its original position. Good enough that he would be able to fly again, at least.

The many scratches the Seeker had gained from the sandstorm could be fixed with an Energon shower, which Ratchet would put him in as soon as he had cleaned the optics to avoid permanent damage to them. The Seeker was unconscious, which made the whole procedure easier, with some solution and very careful dabbing with a cloth. There was also still sand in his internal systems, but the damage caused inside would also get healed via an Energon shower. The remaining grains would have to wait with removal until they acquired more advanced tools. Until then, the Seeker would have to live with some irritation.

Having cleaned his optics the best he could, and having provided him with a sufficient amount of Energon to his internal systems, Ratchet removed the drip and carried the still-unconscious Starscream to the Energon shower, where the med-grade would heal the minor, yet plentiful wounds, both internally and externally.

With Starscream in the Energon shower for recovery, Ratchet turned to other work at another monitor. Meanwhile, Smokescreen stood and admired Optimus, busy decoding the next set of coordinates for the second Omega Key.

"I'm gonna be a great warrior some day," Smokescreen said with glittering optics. "Like Optimus."

"Well, train hard and gain some wisdom along the way, and I'm sure it'll happen," Bulkhead said.

"Oh, it will," Smokescreen said, looking back at Bulkhead and Arcee with excitement. "It's my destiny."

"Is he for real?" Bumblebee bleeped at the others.

"How so?" Arcee asked skeptically.

"Well, one minute I'm on security detail at Iacon," Smokescreen explained, "the next I wake up on the other side of the galaxy to find myself under Optimus' command! I mean, what are the chances, right? Things happen for a reason."

"Huh," Bumblebee buzzed.

"We get it, Smokescreen," Arcee said and waved her arms dramatically. "You're special, we're lucky to have you."

"All I'm really saying is, I've come a long way, and this is one opportunity I don't plan on messing up," Smokescreen said.

"Autobots," Optimus announced from his spot, drawing everyone's attention. "The next Iacon coordinates have been decoded. Ratchet, ready the GroundBridge!"

Ratchet moved to the GroundBridge and triangulated the coordinates.

"Last one to the Omega Key has to scrub the Energon tanks for a week!" Smokescreen said energetically and ran over to the GroundBridge.

Arcee shared glances with Bulkhead and Bumblebee. "Didn't know we were keeping score," she commented.

Smokescreen was stretching out when Optimus announced: "Arcee, Bumblebee, prepare to roll out."

"Yeah, let's go!" Bumblebee said in excitement and headed to the GroundBridge.

"Wait, what about me?" Smokescreen complained.

Bulkhead grunted and put his servos on his hips.

"Uh, I mean me and Bulkhead," Smokescreen corrected himself.

"The two of you will remain here," Optimus replied, "in the event I am able to decode a subsequent database entry before the others return."

As soon as he was finished talking, Optimus returned to his monitor to start decoding the next entry.

"Optimus is right," Ratchet said. "Considering the very fate of Cybertron is at stake, response time is critical."

That said, Ratchet opened a GroundBridge portal to let Arcee and Bumblebee set out for their mission.

Starscream felt strangely peaceful, despite being surrounded by darkness. Shortly after having regained his sense of hearing and confirming he had indeed been brought back to the Autobots' base, his body had gone into a minor stasis-lock, in attempt to repair itself and to allow him some rest.

After a long time in the darkness, he suddenly felt a strange light surrounding him, yet at the same time it didn't light up the darkness around him. Every time one of the lights hit him, he felt a pleasant sensation, taking away some of the pain and discomfort that he felt in several places in his body. Being unconscious, he couldn't put any thought into what was happening, but he knew he must be in the Energon shower, healing his wounds.

Starscream didn't know how much time had passed in the darkness with the strange lights, but at some point they just disappeared, returning his surroundings to the same, black void as before. A few minutes later, he regained feeling in his arms and legs, enabling him to move again.

Starscream grunted as his senses began returning to him, and slowly, he opened his optics, blinking at the light from outside. His optics didn't hurt anymore, and he could see again.

"Ugh... what happened...?" he said with a strangely hoarse voice, hoarser than it usually was. He reset his vocalizer, but it ended up causing him to cough at the sensation of prickly grains of sand in his ventilation system.

"Easy," Ratchet's voice sounded. "Your ventilation system is still in recovery. You may be in discomfort for some time."

Starscream whined in annoyance. "Great. Just great," he grumbled and got out of the Energon shower, flapping his wings. He turned to gaze at them, specifically at the left one. "Well, at least my wing seems to be better."

"Yes," Ratchet replied and put on a stern expression. "It didn't seem like the damage on the wing was caused by the sand. Were you injured already before that?"

Starscream stiffened and tried to look anywhere but at Ratchet or any of the bots. "Maybe," he said. "I guess. I hadn't noticed until it was too late."

"That would explain your crashing then. You should know better than to enter a mission injured, Starscream."

"I know, I know," Starscream replied. "I was so caught up in the mood of returning to Cybertron that I forgot about it. To think such a tiny injury almost caused my termination..."

Starscream stepped out to the floor of the command center and looked around. "Where are Arcee and Bumblebee?" he asked.

"Out to find the second Omega Key," Smokescreen replied with crossed arms and a small pout. "Which should have been me."

Starscream's gaze fixed on the recruit. He looked him up and down. A sudden thought struck him. "You were the one who found me, weren't you?" he asked.

Smokescreen's pout disappeared and he let his arms fall to his sides, turning to the Seeker instead. "Uh, yeah," he replied. "How'd you know?"

Starscream didn't answer right away. He didn't know how he knew, it just made sense to him somehow. "Just a feeling," he replied and smiled. "That was all I could sense, after all." He went silent for a moment, his smile disappearing, his gaze falling to the floor. "Thank you... Smokescreen."

Smokescreen perked as the Seeker used his name, and smiled. "Anytime, Scream," he said and crossed his arms again. "Just doing my part for the team."

Starscream chuckled, which caused him to cough a little. He groaned in annoyance. "Stupid sand," he grumbled. "I hate this planet."

When Thundercracker and Knock Out arrived at the coordinates, it was noon. It was by a river, among some rocks.

"Looks like we beat the Autobots to it this time," Thundercracker commented upon seeing the open Iacon container on a rock, a strange key-like object floating in the air just above it, as if it was electro-magnetic. He hummed. "What is that?"

Knock Out looked behind the rock, spotting something. He smirked. "Looks like we've got company," the doctor said.

Thundercracker looked behind the rock from the other side, spotting the Autobots Bumblebee and Arcee arriving from the wooden bridge by the river.

"Well, well," Knock Out said and stepped out from the cover of the rock, "just the Autobots I wanted to see."

Thundercracker stepped out from the other side of the rock, smirking at the two surprised Autobots. "It's been a while, Autobots," he said. "How is Starscream?"

The Autobots took on battle stances. "Wouldn't you like to know, Thundercracker," Arcee snarled, readying her blaster. "Bee, I'll handle the 'Cons, you grab the Key."

"Got it," Bumblebee bleeped in reply. Arcee was tougher than she looked. She could handle two Decepticons like them.

"I've been waiting to thank you both for all the memories," Knock Out said and activated the Resonance Blaster, shooting a sound wave beam at the Autobots.

It hit Arcee, but Bumblebee avoided it and kept running. That is, until Thundercracker raised his own sonic cannon and shot a similar pulse of sound at the Scout, knocking him into the rocky wall. Bumblebee tried getting away, but he seemed to be stuck. As Thundercracker approached the Scout, the sound pulse caused his chestplates to crack.

Arcee was likewise unable to do anything against Knock Out's Resonance Blaster. They hadn't taken this into account. Two Decepticons with sound for weapons were too much to handle. Had only Knock Out been there, or had Thundercracker been the only with sonic attacks, then it might have been a different story.

Unable to stop their enemies, Arcee and Bumblebee fell into stasis, the sound attacks causing too much damage on their armor and beginning to affect their internal systems. As soon as the Autobots fell limp, Knock Out and Thundercracker turned off their blasters and watched the Autobots fall to the ground, unconscious.

"Well, that was easy," Knock Out commented. "We should do this more often."

"Indeed," Thundercracker remarked and turned to the relic on the rock. "The more sound, the greater the chance of victory."

"Yeah, who knew sound waves could be such a knock out?"

Thundercracker couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Wow," he said. "That was... that was so not funny."

Knock Out smirked annoyingly. "Yes, you keep telling yourself that," he said and opened a comm. "Oh Soundwave, we need a 'Bridge back to the ship. We have secured the relic!"

Later, Ratchet opened a GroundBridge at Arcee's request. They were surprised to see the two bots all cracked up - literally - and emptyhanded.

"Where is the Key?" Ratchet asked concerned.

"We lost it," Arcee admitted. "Knock Out and Thundercracker were there."

Starscream perked by the last name. "Thundercracker..." he hissed lowly.

Ratchet guided Bumblebee into the Energon shower, as he seemed to be worse off than Arcee, with large cracks on his chest. Arcee sat back on one of the boxes by the medbay, waiting for her turn.

Optimus stepped forward, observing his wounded comrades.

"I'm sorry, Optimus," Arcee said quietly. "They were waiting for us. Seems the 'Cons are improving their decoding skills."

"And it seems that with two Keys already seperated," Ratchet said, "no one currently possesses the means to revive Cybertron."

"While our quest to restore our planet may have reached a stalemate," Optimus said calmly, "securing the remaining Keys is still the most prudent course of action."

Starscream gazed between Arcee and Bumblebee, both drooping their winglets in shame of their defeat. Starscream's own wings flicked a little at the sight. Wing emoting was a very important part of Fliers expressing themselves. When conversing with other bots, Fliers tended to depend on their wings expressing how they felt to the other bot without having to voice it. Fliers who lost their wings in some ungodly way felt it harder to express themselves and tended to close themselves off from others because they didn't openly talk about their feelings.

This was easier when conversing with other winged bots who knew the signs, but it was more difficult when conversing with Grounders, even those who had winglets. Winglets were smaller and less expressive than actual wings. Most of the signs winglets made were the same as the wings though, but winglets could only really express sadness, fear and anger. Wings could show so much more, with flicking, fluttering, hiking and many other positions. There used to be books on Cybertron on wing emoting for Grounders to read and understand, but most of these had been lost to the war, Starscream assumed.

"Man, it must have been crazy with Knock Out and Thundercracker going all sonic," Smokescreen said and made energetic movements, hitting the air in front of him. "Ah, I wish I'd been there, I would've-"

"Would've what?" Arcee interrupted while Ratchet was scanning her left arm. "Recovered the Key like you did the first one?"

Smokescreen stood still in the same position for a few seconds. "Maybe," he said before turning and continuing to hit the air in front of him. "Who knows? I just want us to be firing on all cylinders! You know, now that the Star Saber's gone. And I have a pretty good track record so far."

Arcee grunted and rose to her pedes, clutching her left arm and walked past the recruit, her winglets still drooping. Starscream made sure to step out of her way as well. She was not very happy right now.

Smokescreen gazed after her, his smile faltering.

"Look kid," Bulkhead said and caught the recruit's attention, "Arcee and Bumblebee are no slouches, and Optimus managed just fine for eons without the big sword. Of course you wouldn't know about that. You've been locked in stasis the whole time we've been fighting this war."

"Exactly!" Smokescreen said and made gestures with his servos. "And I'm ready to make up for lost time."

"When Optimus says you're ready," Bulkhead pointed out. "You gotta be in this for the long haul." Bulkhead side-glanced to Optimus, working on decoding the next set of coordinates. "Slow and steady wins the race."

Meanwhile, on the Nemesis, Thundercracker and Knock Out happily showed their prize to Megatron, who hummed, strangely intrigued by the relic they had uncovered.

"It appears identical to the one taken from me by Optimus Prime," Megatron remarked and accepted the relic. "Ah, perhaps it is a decoy the Autobots allowed you to seize, as a means of sabotage."

"Unlikely, my liege," Knock Out replied, "they battled too desperately for it."

"The container was open when we got there, though," Thundercracker mused. "But they seemed to have just arrived as well.

Megatron hummed. "Then pieces of a larger puzzle, perhaps," he assumed.

Soundwave announced silently that he had decoded another entry.

"Excellent, Soundwave," Megatron praised the intelligence officer. "With any luck these new coordinates will shed some light on the subject."

"Soundwave's on fire," Knock Out cackled and posed with the Resonance Blaster still on his arm, turning to leave with Thundercracker beside him. "And so am I!"

"Keep your vanity in check, doctor," Megatron warned.

Knock Out turned back to Megatron, while Thundercracker simply paused in his walking.

"Haven't I proven myself?" Knock Out exclaimed in disbelief.

"Your scientific expertise remains of greater use to me," Megatron pointed out, "analyzing our latest acquisition. I must know what this relic is and what it can do."

Knock Out sighed and accepted the relic from the warlord. "Fine," he said and walked past the Seeker. "Come on, big guy."

Thundercracker followed the doctor out of the command center, and they both headed for the lab, where Knock Out did most of his work and research.

"Do you have any idea what this is?" Knock Out asked and held out the relic.

"Not exactly," Thundercracker replied, "though its shape looks familiar somehow. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before, maybe in a text or a picture."

Knock Out sighed. "That's a lot of help, do you know what it's called or how it's categorized?"

"No."

"Then you know as much as I do."

"We'll find out, I'm sure."

Just before they reached Knock Out's lab, they encountered Skywarp heading in the opposite direction. The two Seekers paused and greeted each other with a flick of their wings.

"Where are you off to?" Thundercracker asked.

"Got paged by Megs," Skywarp replied with a smirk. "Probably got a mission for me. What's that you got there?"

"We're about to find out," Knock Out replied. "You better not keep His Lordship waiting, Skywarp. Come on, Thundercracker."

"Later," Skywarp said with a wave of his servo and moved on, heading for the command center.

Thundercracker kept his gaze on his partner for a few seconds longer before heading into the lab with Knock Out, determined to find out what this relic was.

Meanwhile in the Autobot base, Optimus stepped away from his monitor to announce his results to the others, gaining their attention.

"The next coordinates are ready," Optimus announced.

"There remains one set left to decode," Ratchet said and triangulated the coordinates, followed by activating the GroundBridge.

"On it, boss," Bulkhead said and headed for the GroundBridge, with a hyperactive Smokescreen right behind him, punching energetically in the air still.

"I'm gonna bring back that Key!" Smokescreen promised and punched in the air, until his gaze fell on Arcee's judging gaze. He let out a small sound and stopped his punching, slumping his way over to the GroundBridge. Arcee couldn't help but crack a small smile at the young bot's seemingly endless amount of energy.

Starscream chuckled at the sight as well. Oh, to be young and energetic again, he thought to himself. Granted, he didn't know how old Smokescreen actually was, but he seemed young enough to have been Forged a good time after Starscream's own creation, maybe even during the beginning of the war. Perhaps he was around the same age as Bumblebee, one of the last bots to be Forged before the AllSpark had been launched into space, rendering their planet and species infertile.

"Uh, Bulk," Arcee called and caught the Wrecker's attention. She held up the tracker needed for finding the relic. "Forgetting something?"

Bulkhead sighed in embarrassment and turned back to Arcee, leaving Smokescreen to wait by the portal. He reached down and accepted the tracker, but as he was about to pull back, Arcee grabbed his wrist and pulled him down again.

"Make sure you keep an eye on destiny's child, okay?" Arcee said lowly with a crooked smile.

Bulkhead glanced back at destiny's child, his back turned and resumed punching the air, impatiently waiting for his companion to join him. Bulkhead chuckled and rose up.

"Compared to watching Miko, piece of cake," Bulkhead said and turned, running through the GroundBridge, soon joined by Smokescreen, eager for some action.

Starscream looked on as the GroundBridge closed before turning his gaze back to the others. "He's got spunk, doesn't he?" he said with a chuckle.

"Certainly does," Arcee replied. "Hope he stays on task."

In a maple forest on some mountain, Dreadwing, accompanied by Skywarp, arrived via GroundBridge and took a look around. The birds were chirping, and orange leaves were dropping, as autumn had arrived.

"Nice place," Skywarp remarked.

"You go look for the relic," Dreadwing said and wandered to the trees. "I'll set up a trap for the Autobots when they arrive."

Skywarp looked back at Dreadwing in confusion. "Uh, don't you think it's better if we both go look for the relic?"

"Do as I say, now!" Dreadwing hissed at the other Seeker, who winced.

"Alright, alright, geez," Skywarp said and strode off into a random direction. "What a grump."

While Dreadwing set up his 'trap', Skywarp wandered through the forest, looking from side to side, admiring the many colors of the leaves.

"Pretty..." he said, then shook his head. "Focus, Skywarp, focus!"

He looked between the trees, among bushes, gazed at the ground, looking for anything that looked like a relic or something that could contain a relic.

"Relic, relic, relic..." he muttered. "Where could it be? Where could it be, where could it be... ooh, what's this?"

Skywarp stopped short as he spotted something peculiar; a round gray ball thing hanging from a low branch of a tree. A low buzzing could be heard from it.

"Is that the container?" he said and poked the ball. "How the Pit is it hanging on the bottom of a branch?"

As he poked it, the ball fell to the ground below. His gaze followed its path to his pedes. Suddenly, a swarm of tiny insects emerged from the ball and went straight for his face. He let out a shriek of surprise and stumbled backwards, waving his servos in front of him.

"WHAT THE FRAG," he exclaimed and swatted several insects on his face and chest. "Get away from me you pests!"

Granted, these Earth bugs couldn't actually harm him, but the surprise of the attack was enough to make a fool out of a bot like Skywarp who was easily distracted.

Suddenly, the buzzing was deafened by loud explosions coming from behind Skywarp. He flinched and turned quickly, now ignoring his tiny assailants. Large red and yellow clouds could be seen in the distance, a bit too close to him for comfort.

"Looks like Dreadwing made use of his trap after all," the Seeker said to himself and initiated jet mode, then activated his warping ability, finally escaping the insects and avoiding getting caught in the explosions.

Skywarp reappeared in the air just a few dozen meters from the forest, and quickly turned to fly away from the continuous explosions setting a part of the forest on fire. He noticed a dot not far from him and approached it, meeting up with Dreadwing.

"Sup, Dreadwing?" Skywarp greeted the royal Seeker.

"Have you secured the relic?" Dreadwing asked as the two flew beside one another.

"Nope."

"Then get down there again and find it! I will handle the Autobots."

"Oh, they actually showed up? Leave some for me when you're done, huh?"

"Just get on with your task!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

And with that, the two jets descended into the forest yet again, Skywarp seperating just a little bit from Dreadwing before both initiated bot mode. Instead of moving on, Skywarp followed Dreadwing to a clearing made from the explosions, where, indeed, two Autobots had shown up. He hid himself among the trees, watching and listening.

Suddenly, one of the Autobots, the big fat green one called Bulkhead, threw a tracker to the other, younger and white bot called Smokescreen, who caught it and began running off. Bulkhead remained and engaged Dreadwing in battle. Skywarp kept his optics on Smokescreen and snickered. Why search for the relic himself when there was an Autobot to do all the dirty work for him?

Skywarp scurried among the trees, closely following the white Smokescreen with his optics, hyperfocused and letting nothing distract him this time. The white and blue paintjob of Smokescreen stood out in contrast to the orange and brown colors of the forest, making him an easy target. He made sure not to make too much noise, so the recruit wouldn't catch a whiff of him.

Before long, Smokescreen stopped near the rocky parts of the mountain forest, and Skywarp ceased his running as well, hiding among the trees. In the distance to the left, he could hear an explosion. Dreadwing must have taken care of the Autobot by now.

Smokescreen put down the tracker on a rock beside him and started clearing rocks out of the way in front of him. He seemed to have found the relic and was currently unearthing it. Skywarp kept himself hidden, letting the Autobot do as much of the dirty work as possible.

"Skywarp..." Dreadwing's strained voice sounded over the comm. "Autobot... on his way... to your position..."

Skywarp stiffened by the comm. That explosion from before hadn't been Dreadwing finishing off Bulkhead after all. Perhaps Dreadwing had been caught in his own explosion. Which meant soon he would have two Autobots to deal with instead of just one.

A faint click made Skywarp look ahead. Smokescreen had rosen up, seemingly holding something. Skywarp had to work fast. It was now or never.

With a low chuckle and his flat servo in front of him, Skywarp activated his teleportation ability and plopped right behind Smokescreen, launching a karate chop right in the back of the recruit's head, before the bot even knew he was there.

Smokescreen let out an exclamation and fell right onto the ground, quickly losing consciousness. Skywarp snickered and knelt down, picking up the relic. It seemed to be of the same design as the one Thundercracker had returned with. Skywarp snickered again. He just had a great idea.

Rather than leaving the area right away, he instead teleported on top of a tall rock right above the unconscious Smokescreen. He laid down flat on his front, watched the Autobot and waited. Waited for his partner to arrive.

In a matter of minutes, Bulkhead arrived, shocked to find his partner unconscious. Skywarp sharpened his audio receptors, listening in on the upcoming conversation.

"Smokescreen!" Bulkhead called, trying to wake the other bot up. "Wake up!"

It took only a few seconds for Smokescreen to awaken and lift himself onto his servos.

"Wh-what happened?" he asked confused.

"That's what I wanna know," Bulkhead said with a sigh and helped Smokescreen onto his pedes.

"The Omega Key!" Smokescreen exclaimed and looked frantically around. "I had it! Until... something hit me from behind."

Skywarp perked by the name. Omega Key, he noted. Now I know what it's called. But what does it do? Please tell me, Autobots...

"Dreadwing must have had backup," Bulkhead assumed. "That relic's long gone. Ratchet," he said over a comm. link, apparently, "we need a 'Bridge."

"I... I told Optimus I'd return with that Key," Smokescreen said in disbelief.

Behind Bulkhead, a GroundBridge portal opened. Skywarp felt anxiety rise in him. No, no, no, don't go yet! he thought with panic. Please say what this thing's for!

"Listen, kid," Bulkhead said, and Skywarp froze, deeply focused on the bot's words. "Alpha Trion said we need all four Keys to restore Cybertron, remember? We just need to hang on to the one we have, find a way to get the others back from Megatron."

With an arm around the winglet-drooping sad Smokescreen, Bulkhead and the youngster entered the portal, which closed behind them almost immediately.

Skywarp felt his Spark racing faster, rising to his pedes. He trembled as he stared down at the Key in his servo.

"Restore... Cybertron...?" he gasped, barely able to get the words out. "Four Omega Keys. Alpha Trion. Restore Cybertron."

Skywarp's mouth contorted into the widest, wavering smile he could make. He had just gained information that would make Soundwave seem like an amateur!

"Megatron is so going to love this!" Skywarp shrieked and initiated jet mode, cargo securely stored in his cockpit, and took off into the sky, having completely forgotten about Dreadwing lying unconscious in the woods somewhere. This was his moment to shine.

Back in the Autobot base, Smokescreen was much less elated than Skywarp currently was. His first failed mission weighed hard on him. Bulkhead tried to cheer him up, but it didn't go very well.

"Smokescreen was sucker-punched," Bulkhead said and laid a servo on the young bot's shoulder. "Could've happened to any of us."

Smokescreen pushed the servo off his arm. "But it didn't," he said. "Because I was the one who dropped his guard. I was the one who blew it. Some great warrior I'm turning out to be."

"You still don't get it, do you?" Arcee said sternly from the front. "A couple of victories aren't gonna make you a legend. And not every mission results in success. Not for me, not for Bee, not even for Optimus."

Arcee's lecturing of Smokescreen made Optimus, Ratchet and Starscream gaze over at the scene.

"We've gained relics, and we've lost some," Arcee continued. "We've also lost friends. We've even lost a world! But this is one time we get a do-over. We have a chance to bring back Cybertron, and everyone in this room needs to be in sync. This isn't about you or your destiny."

Smokescreen's gaze fell to the floor in shame.

"Arcee, you have made your point," Optimus said, turning away from his work to settle the commotion.

"Optimus, he needs to hear this," Arcee protested, ignoring her leader's indirect order to stop. She turned back to Smokescreen. "You might actually become a great warrior one day, and I sincerely hope that you do. But greatness begins and ends with putting the team first, not your personal scorecard."

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you guys," Smokescreen protested, his voice beginning to tremble.

"Then stop trying to be a hero, and start being an Autobot."

Ouch. Starscream could practically feel the sting of Arcee's words, even though they weren't directed at him. Smokescreen seemed even more hurt by the words, briefly gazing over at Optimus, staring silently at the scene.

Smokescreen's winglets drooped slightly, then hiked. "You know what, maybe I'm just not good enough," Smokescreen snapped and transformed to car mode, driving off through the physical exit to the base at high speed. Starscream looked pitifully in his direction. He knew the kid was going off to cry on the roads. Nobody wanted to be seen crying by their comrades. Starscream should know.

"Next time Optimus advices you to stop," Ratchet said, approaching the others, "perhaps you should listen."

Bulkhead was already heading for the exit. "I'll bring him back," he said, but was stopped by Optimus' servo on his chest, blocking him.

"Smokescreen is young, Bulkhead," Optimus said and removed his servo from the other's chest, "and has much to learn. But right now he needs to clear his thoughts. And I need to finish decoding the final Iacon entry."

Optimus returned to his monitor, continuing the work he had been interrupted in. Starscream gazed at Arcee.

"He did save my life, you know," Starscream said quietly.

"I know," Arcee said with a sigh. "But that alone won't make him a hero. He had to know."

"I know," Starscream replied, letting out a sigh himself. "Well, I hope the last Key isn't going to be in another desert. Or in any of the poles, for that matter."

"Why? You feel good enough to be deployed now?" Arcee asked.

"More or less," Starscream said. "It's only this irritating itchiness on my insides that's bothering me, otherwise I feel fine."

"Your voice sounds better."

"I know."

"I'm glad you made it out okay, you know?"

Starscream gave the femme a small smile. "I know," he repeated. "I'm your invaluable Seeker, after all, aren't I?"

Arcee cracked a smile. "Sure, let's go with that."

Megatron stood and watched Soundwave continuing to decode the last Iacon entry, when the door to the command center opened.

Ah, Dreadwing has returned... the warlord thought.

"Lord Megatron!" a voice squeaked, definitely not belonging to Dreadwing.

Megatron turned around and saw, to his surprise, Skywarp, walking in, alone, holding a relic like the one they already had.

"Skywarp," Megatron greeted as the black Seeker approached him. "Where is Dreadwing?"

Skywarp seemed to stiffen, just as he stood a few meters from his leader. "Oh, woops, forgot about him," he said. He shook his head. "But nevermind that, here ya go, boss! One Omega Key delivery from yours truly!"

Megatron raised an optical ridge and accepted the Key from the eager Seeker. "Omega Key, you say?" he repeated, studying the relic in his servo. "Another one of these."

"Wanna know what they do?" Skywarp asked, barely able to keep his excitement.

Megatron looked at the Seeker with surprise. "You know what it does?"

"Yeah!" Skywarp began making gestures with his servos and body as he explained his tale. "I snatched it from the one called Smokescreen, after I had karate-chopped him to unconsciousness from behind. Then, I hid myself and listened to the bots' conversation, and-"

"Enough!" Megatron interrupted, silencing the Seeker. "I don't care how you found out, I want to know what they do!"

Skywarp's good mood sank a little, but his smile was quick to return. "Alright, fine. See, there's four of these Omega Key things, right? And if you have all four of them, then you can use them to restore Cybertron!"

Megatron's expression fell. He gazed down at the Key, and a wide, toothy grin made its way onto his face.

"The restoration of Cybertron..." he marveled at the relic. "You have done very well today, Skywarp."

Skywarp's smile stretched as widely as it possibly could, reaching above his optics. He restrained himself from screaming of joy. He had received a compliment from his leader! He had pleased his master! He had made Megatron smile! He bounced a bit, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Always happy to be of service, master!" Skywarp squeaked, folding his claws together.

"Maybe you should become an intelligence officer," Megatron mused, gaze still set on the Key, "under Soundwave's command, of course."

Skywarp gasped and gazed at Soundwave, who seemed to pay little attention to the others' conversation. They knew he was listening, though, even while working as hard as he did. Soundwave could multitask.

"I'd be happy to, my liege," Skywarp said and giggled, grin still wide.

Megatron's own smile shrunk a bit as he handed the Key back to the black Seeker. "Bring this to Knock Out's lab and have it analyzed," Megatron ordered. "We must still find out how they can restore Cybertron."

"Right away, sir!" Skywarp squeaked and grabbed the Key, skipping across the bridge and heading for the doors. Just as he was about to pass through them, Dreadwing appeared from behind them, and they nearly bumped into each other. Skywarp's smile fell at the sight of the less-than-happy Seeker.

"Oh, hey, Dreadwing," Skywarp greeted and squeezed his way past the other Seeker, staring after him. "Just gonna drop this off, and I'll be right back!"

Dreadwing moped at the black Seeker with a relic in his servo, but shook his head and went to face his leader.

"Master, I have returned," Dreadwing reported.

"Ah, so you have, Dreadwing," Megatron said, not as pleased this time. "Sadly for you, Skywarp has already returned, with the relic, not to mention information on how it works."

Dreadwing looked stumped at his leader. "That lunatic?" Dreadwing said in disbelief. "He figured it out?"

Megatron chuckled. "It seems we have underestimated Skywarp," the warlord said. "He's more clever than I thought. To stay behind and listen to the enemy's conversation, when he already had the prize in his hand..."

In the lab, Thundercracker and Knock Out were trying their hardest to scan and research the relic they currently had, unable to make any results. Suddenly, the door opened and in barged none other than Skywarp.

"Hellooooo," Skywarp sang happily, gaining both bots' attention. "Guess what I have here!"

Thundercracker studied the relic Skywarp eagerly presented. "Another one of these?" he commented. "How many are there?"

"Four, actually," Skywarp said. "They're called Omega Keys, and together they can restore Cybertron!"

Thundercracker and Knock Out both stared in shock at the excited, bouncing black Seeker.

"You found out how they work?!" Knock Out exclaimed, perhaps a bit more surprised than intended. "How?! Even we, a pair of real scientists couldn't figure it out, how could you?"

"Simple," Skywarp said and stood still, as Thundercracker accepted the Key from his servo. "After I stole this from the Autobots' new recruit, I waited behind cover and listened in to the bots' conversation. They spoke over themselves, they said what it was called, how many of them there are, and even what they do! Oh, and they also said something about Alpha Trion, I think..."

Thundercracker stared at Skywarp for a long time. Skywarp noticed and looked back at the blue Seeker. "What?"

Thundercracker put on a wide smile. "Skywarp, you're a fragging genius," Thundercracker said. "I didn't know you had it in you."

Skywarp laughed at the compliment. "Oh, stop it, you!" he said, his face heating with embarrassment. "You're embarrassing me!"

Thundercracker looked his partner up and down. "Why are you covered in goop?"

Skywarp's smile fell, but his cheekplates still blushed blue. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Knock Out accepted the Key from the blue Seeker and put it with the other one. "Uh, I think I'll just get on with working on this, if you don't mind," the doctor said.

The Seekers barely paid any attention to the doctor. Thundercracker placed a servo on Skywarp's shoulder.

"Come on, Warp," Thundercracker said and led him out of the lab. "We gotta celebrate this with an oil bath and some Energon cubes!"

"And some Ninja Warrior Samurai!" Skywarp added excitedly.

Thundercracker chuckled. "Yeah, sure, that too."

As the Seekers left, Knock Out sighed. "Finally some peace and quiet."

Back at the Autobot base, Optimus let out a sigh as he had finished his mission at last.

"The final entry has been decoded," he announced relieved.

Instead of coordinates, however, the screen instead replaced the words with pixels in the middle of the screen. Something was wrong.

"Has it?" Ratchet asked skeptically.

Optimus looked back at the screen, seeing the pixels rendering something. He hummed.

"Perhaps it is a layer of secondary encryption?" he mused.

The coordinates seemed to be forming an image. Why would the final Iacon entry be different from the others? Every bot gathered around Optimus, all staring at the image forming.

"Maybe it's a picture of the relic?" Bulkhead suggested.

"Of what possible use could that be to us without knowing its location?" Ratchet protested.

"I trust that Alpha Trion had his reasons," Optimus replied.

Soon enough, the picture finished rendering, and the complete image popped up was of...

"Smokescreen?!" Bulkhead exclaimed in disbelief.

Everyone stared at the image in disbelief, none of them understanding what this meant.

"Is this that hotshot's idea of a joke?" Arcee asked unamused.

"I don't think it's a joke," Bumblebee bleeped skeptically.

"Maybe he knows where the Key is," Bulkhead suggested.

"And never bothered to mention it?" Arcee countered.

"A more likely possibility," Ratchet said, "is that Smokescreen himself somehow is the Key, without knowing it."

"Whatever the case, he could be in grave danger," Optimus said darkly and put a digit to his audio receptor. "Smokescreen, return to base immediately!"

They waited for several seconds. There was no response.

"He may have deactivated his comm. link," Ratchet suggested.

"Locate his position," Optimus ordered, "and prepare the GroundBridge!"

Before Ratchet could do that, however, Starscream set off running towards the physical exit. The others stared after him.

"I'll search for him from the air, you ready the GroundBridge!" Starscream exclaimed without stopping, as he reached the opening gate, having been unlocked since the Seeker became an official Autobot. Now that it was unlocked, it would automatically open when one of the Autobots neared the gate, making it easier to enter and leave as needed.

As soon as the gate was sufficiently open, Starscream reverted to jet mode and took off into the sky, his radar effectiveness on maximum power, desperately searching for Smokescreen's signal.

"The future of Cybertron rests on that brat," Starscream hissed to himself, "and he's gone off sulking! Where are you? Oh!"

Just ahead, he saw Smokescreen getting shot by... Soundwave! Starscream felt a rush in his tanks, his Spark racing faster and a wild urge to protect Smokescreen welled up in him. Just as Soundwave was about to approach Smokescreen, Starscream fired his lasers at him.

"DON'T YOU FRAGGING DARE, SOUNDWAVE!" Starscream screamed as he descended and approached the dodging Soundwave, reverted to robot mode and swiped his claws at him.

Soundwave jumped back to avoid Starscream's claws. Starscream placed himself between Soundwave and the unconscious Smokescreen, shielding him.

"You're not getting this bot," Starscream hissed, "nor the relic! I know that's why you want him. But I won't let you."

Soundwave deployed the two tentacles from his abdomen, swinging them at Starscream, who had a hard time avoiding them. He tried swiping after them, but Soundwave was an excellent fighter. He used to be a gladiator too, fighting alongside Megatron, long before Starscream joined. Pit, Soundwave had been with Megatron since the beginning of the Decepticons, even before the war started! Soundwave was not the kind of bot you underestimated. He never wasted his time on simple talk. He made his loyalty clear through his actions, hence why he was Megatron's favorite, as well as possibly his oldest friend.

The fight didn't last long before a GroundBridge portal opened right next to them. Starscream didn't take his optics off Soundwave; it was the most dangerous thing you could do. Besides, he already knew who exited the GroundBridge.

"Grab him and get back to base!" Starscream shrieked. "I'll hold him off!"

With that, Starscream aimed his right arm at Soundwave and clenched his fist, launching the missile. Soundwave jumped out of the way before it exploded, avoiding getting hit.

The distraction had done the trick. As the dust cloud cleared, Starscream followed the Autobots through their GroundBridge, carrying the still-unconscious Smokescreen with them.

Soundwave extended his tentacles, trying to capture the Seeker, but he was too late. The portal closed right as the tentacles lashed out into the thin air.

Soundwave stared ahead. Rage welled up in him, but being the mech he was, he was quick to dwell his anger - by erasing it, resetting his state of mind.

He had failed his mission. Megatron would not be pleased. But Soundwave was not worried as he opened a portal in front of him to return to the warship.

He still had the location of the Autobots' base to work on, thanks to Laserbeak and that fool Smokescreen.