51- Inside Job.

When Smokescreen came back online, the first thing he saw was Knock Out standing right next to him.

"Wakey-wakey." Knock Out greeted sinisterly.

"What?!" Smokey expressed as he tried to get up, but he found himself trapped by chains on an operating table.

"If you're looking for your phase shifter, finders keepers." Knock Out revealed showing that he was now the one wearing it.

"Enough prattling, Knock Out." Megatron said entering the room. "Hand me the final Iacon relic, now."

"Yeah. I can't really help you. That's the only one I was packing." Smokescreen answered.

"Soundwave."

The silent Decepticon showed on his screen the codes morphing together.

"You got the wrong guy, chief. Optimus Prime's the one who can decode the Iacon database." Smokey said.

"Ah, but you misunderstand. The final entry has been decoded by us. And according to our filings, it would appear I do indeed have the right guy." Megatron revealed as Soundwave showed Smokescreen's image.

"The question is what is it that you are still packing?" Knock Out said before he placed an x-ray scanner above Smokescreen, and it revealed that there was an Omega Key inside. "Why! Hidden treasure, of course."

Meanwhile, in the Autobot base…

"Smokescreen must have been taken aboard the Decepticon warship. Tracing his signal through its shielding will be impossible." Ratchet started.

"Continue monitoring all frequencies, Ratchet. Far more than Smokescreen's fate may be at stake." Optimus instructed.

"I don't get it. How could Smoke be an Omega Key?" Bulkhead asked.

"Perhaps he isn't the key, but its container." Ratchet theorized.

"The other Iacon relics were sent to the planets in pods. Why not this one?" Arcee asked.

"When the Decepticons stormed Iacon, it may have been too late for Alpha Trion to launch the final Omega Key into space. At least by standard means." Optimus deduced.

"So Smokescreen assumed everything went black because he was hit by Decepticons." Arcee started.

"But Alpha Trion is the one who actually turned out the kid's lights." Cliffjumper ended.

"It stands to reason that my mentor did not want Smokescreen to know what he was carrying, in the event of capture." Optimus added.

"And with a mobile relic, Alpha Trion couldn't possibly supply fixed coordinates." Arcee realized.

"So the big A slipped us a clue instead. Smoke's mugshot." Bulkhead said.

"The Decepticons got to Smokescreen first. I fear they have decoded the same clue." Ratchet expressed.

Back to the Nemesis, the Decepticons saw the image of the Omega Key inside Smokescreen on the screen.

"Yet another of these identical relics? Remove it swiftly." Megatron demanded.

"With pleasure." Knock Out said, pulling out his buzz saw. "I do so resent a finish flashier than my own."

Knock Out approached his buzz saw closer and closer to Smokescreen, who constantly flinched. But at the last second, Knock Out retrieved it.

"Ha, made you squirm." He mocked before activating the phase shifter and prove it passing his hand through his other arm. "Trippy." He stomped on the floor, but didn't fall through. "And intuitive. Proper grounding ensures that its user won't phase through the floor."

"I said swiftly." Megatron repeated.

Knock Out inserted his hand inside Smokey's chest.

"Get your stinking hand out of my gears." Smokescreen protested.

"And…gotcha." Knock Out said pulling out the key.

"Tell me the function of these relics." Megatron demanded.

"Door stops, shavers, bling. Beats me." Smokescreen replied.

"Hmm, a pity this little gadget won't allow me to just reach into his brainpan and pluck out the info." Knock Out said looking the shifter.

"Fortunately, we possess a device that can." Megatron reassured.

At the same time, inside the Harbinger…

"And that's what I heard from the Autobots." Skywarp ended telling.

"You know what this means? This is a chance that we absolutely cannot afford to lose." Thundercracker said.

"Individually, each of these so-called Omega Keys is useless. Yet, possessing even a single one grants us tremendous negotiating power with either Autobots or Decepticons." Slipstream summarized.

"Still, imagine if we managed to acquire the other three." Starscream suggested.

Immediately, the four Seekers imagined Cybertron restored.

"We could revive Cybertron. And with that, we Seekers will be marked as the greatest Decepticons ever. Everyone will adore us as heroes, no more Megatron." Skywarp imagined.

"And I could seize the throne as Starscream the First: supreme overlord, and emperor of destruction." Starscream proclaimed laughing.

"Whoa, don't go so far, and let's be realistic. Unlike Megatron, we lack the necessary infrastructure to enforce such a reign, even if we had the whole Seeker family here."

"Huh, you're right, Thundercracker. No warship, no army…Only our meager laboratory finds, a ground bridge remote control, a small dose of red energon, and you, old friend." Starscream said looking to his dead clone. "But, I would all too gladly trade this, simply to be restored to our former glory."

"Sounds like you already have a plan in mind, right Starscream?"

"You know me too well, dear sister."

Meanwhile…

"While I am unfamiliar with the lore of these Omega Keys, Alpha Trion knew many secrets, and the ancients possessed technology that has long been lost to what we consider modern science. Whatever their function, this much is certain. We cannot restore Cybertron without all four Omega Keys in our possession. The future of our home world depends on it." Optimus told to the other Autobots, but Megatron was also there listening, so it was not real, only a memory that he was seeing inside Smokescreen's mind.

Knock Out was also seeing it through a video feed before he went to disconnect Smokey's cable first.

"That's a wrap." He said disconnecting it, waking him up.

Next, he disconnected Megatron's, waking him up too.

"The power to remake Cybertron, as I see fit." Megatron said impressed as he got off the operating table. "I will pry the other two keys from Optimus Prime's lifeless fingers. We must find the exact location of the Autobot base. Patch in and tear apart Smokescreen's mind if you must."

"Me?" Knock Out asked confused.

"Who else? Do you think I would entrust you to see this key safely to the vault containing the other one?" Megatron asked before he left the lab with the key.

Knock Out sighed. "Once more, into the brainpan."

"No, not again! Stay out of my head!" Smokescreen begged.

Knock Out chuckled. "No, no, you'll only make things worse for yourself."

But when he was close enough, Smokey took the chance, grabbed and activated the phase shifter.

"Worse how?" He smirked.

Smokescreen managed to phase through his chains trying to recover the phase shifter, but Knock Out wanted it too, so they were locked in a game of tug-n-war. They continued struggling until they passed through the wall, and Smokescreen tripped, but he had the phase shifter. He started to laugh when he saw Knock Out stuck in the wall.

"Well, aren't you the clever one." Knock Out said trying to break free, but without use. "This ship is miles in the space and swarming with Decepticons. Do you really think you can escape?"

"Who says I'm looking to escape?" Smokescreen answered as he put on the phase shifter and left, leaving Knock Out stuck, who shouted in frustration.

After a while passing through the walls, he finally spotted Megatron, with the key on hand. He deduced that inside the room in front there was the other key, so he deactivated the shifter and ran at him.

"Think fast." He said grabbing the key and disappearing through the wall.

"What?!" Megatron exclaimed in disbelief before opening the door and saw the other key gone too, which made him hit the table hard and roar in anger.

Smokescreen continued his escape, until his path was blocked by three Decepticon heavy soldiers, and other three came from behind.

"Oh, this isn't the way out?"

The Cons opened fire, but the lasers went through him, so he simply observed as the Cons simply killed themselves. During his route, he passed through the room where the Cons storage their relics, and saw one capsule in his way, the one which contained the Resonance Blaster.

"I will make sure this doesn't harm any Autobot anymore." He said before he operated the shifter fast, allowing him to grab the weapon before exiting the room.

He continued his path, ever passing through an Insecticon, leaving it confused.

Chorax

Finally, he reached the ship's roof, and fortunately for him, the warship entered a planet's atmosphere, so he didn't have to enter like a meteor. But he saw Megatron and some Decepticon soldiers in front of him.

"The keys." Megatron demanded as the troops aimed at him. "A pity you're incapable of flight."

"Yeah, like I'm gonna let that stop me." Smokescreen said before he jumped off the ship, falling in the sky.

Of course, being out of the ship allowed him being detected in the Autobot base.

"Smokescreen's signal is back online." Ratchet announced.

"The kid escaped the warship." Cliffjumper deduced.

"Smokescreen to base, I can really use a ground bridge!" He called by com-link.

"Retrieve the Omega Keys! Quickly!" Megatron demanded as he grabbed and threw one of the Decepticon overboard. And next another one.

The first one was an air trooper, so he changed to vehicle form and went after Smokescreen, but the other had a terrain alt mode so he could only scream.

"Flyers! I need flyers!" Megatron shouted.

Two more air soldiers jumped off and joined the chase. At the same time in the Autobot base…

"Setting coordinates. Strange." Ratchet said analyzing the signal.

"What's the problem?" Cliffjumper asked.

"Smokescreen's telemetry data doesn't make sense. I can't lock onto his location."

Smokescreen noticed blaster fire coming from above him. He attached the keys and weapon to his back and positioned himself to go faster. Next, he activated the phase shifter before he spread all his limbs to slow down and passed through his chaser, so then he blasted the Con in pieces.

"I've isolated the problem: Smokescreen is in free fall." Ratchet reported. "Smokescreen, I'm opening the ground bridge directly below you."

After receiving the warning and seeing the portal appear, Smokescreen deactivated the shifter. "Brace yourselves: I'm gonna make an entrance."

But suddenly, he heard an engine noise above him. He looked up and saw Megatron coming in vehicle mode before he tackled him, pushing him away from the portal.

Ratchet saw it on his monitor. "He's…off course!"

"You missed?!" Arcee asked in disbelief.

"Open another one! Fast!" Bulkhead yelled.

But there was another problem: Smokescreen saw the floor very close. So, he decided to take a crucial decision.

"I hope proper grounding on this thing doesn't apply to actual ground." He said turning on the phase shifter.

Smokescreen continued the fall, and closed the eyes, in case of the worst. Surprisingly, he passed through the ground, while the Cons simply crashed and exploded, including the Decepticon soldier who was falling behind them, except Megatron, who dodged it. That was registered in the base too.

"No." Ratchet lamented.

Megatron transformed and landed near the crash site, and two air troopers joined him.

"Scourer the wreckage! I want those keys!" He ordered.

While they searched for him and the keys, Smokescreen passed through a rock wall of a ledge below them.

"Hey Ratchet, I could still really use that ground bridge." Smokey called, making everyone to relieve.

Moments later, Smokescreen was back at base with the souvenirs he brought with next to him.

"Did I tell you? Destiny. Alpha Trion knew I'll keep it safe." Smokey said proud.

"You have surprised us again, Smokey. And I think someone owns you an apology." Cliff said looking to a certain female Autobot.

Arcee sighed, and then, she smiled. "Nice work, kid. And, sorry for what I told you before. I shouldn't have been so hard with you."

"Is okay, Arcee. Besides, maybe you were right after all." Smokescreen said, surprising her. "I needed that, after all that's what made me do what any Autobot would do in my place."

Arcee chuckled happy. "Glad to know I helped you in the end."

"(Hold on. One, two…You only found two.)" Bee counted with his fingers.

"It was the only key in Megatron's vault." Smokey replied.

"Then three keys are accounted for." Optimus said taking the keys.

"Then the fourth is still somewhere around the Cons' warship." Bulkhead deduced.

"Unless…Megatron never had it to begin with?" Arcee suggested.

Then the computer showed something, with an image of Starscream.

"A high-frequency signal, with an embedded message." Ratchet reported.

"Starscream." Cliffjumper recognized.

"I have obtained something of interest to you which seems to be of no practical use to me." Ratchet read.

"It's gotta be the Omega Key." Bulkhead deduced.

"He's the one who blindsided me." Smokescreen realized.

"What else could Scream be referring to?" Arcee said.

"Yep, yep, there's more." Ratchet announced. "Bring medical kit: I only ask for the surgical replacement of my T-Cog in return."

Cliffjumper laughed. "Like we're gonna give Scream back his wings."

"Without the missing key, Cybertron will remain devoid of life."

"Broken record, I know. But…it could be a trick." Arcee reminded.

"It is possible that Starscream does not yet realize the significance of what he holds." Optimus suggested.

"And we do know that he has been incapable of flight for some time." Ratchet added.

"The stakes are too great for us not to consider Starscream's proposal. However, we will take precautions."

Endor

The Autobots opened a ground bridge in a clear area inside a forest: the destined place for meeting Starscream. Optimus, Ratchet, Cliffjumper and Bulkhead came out with weapons ready while Arcee, Bumblebee and Smokescreen waited in the base.

"There." Bulkhead said, spotting Starscream lying next to a boulder.

"Starscream, show us the Omega Key." Optimus asked.

But the Decepticon didn't answer, so the Autobots came closer.

"Give it up, Scream." Cliff said, poking him with his gun, but the body fell down dead.

"We're too late. The T-Cog won't help him now." Ratchet observed.

But as they started to scan the body, something went through the ground bridge. With hyper speed, Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker entered the base; they saw that everything went slowly around them.

"It would seem we have the run of the place, boys." Starscream observed.

"Ah, red energon, what a wonder." Thundercracker said amazed.

Skywarp approached to Arcee. "Oh, how easy it would be to gut you." He said pointing his finger close to her eye, but he pulled away.

Starscream looked at the rest of the Autobots. "To gut all of you, but first things first."

"Where does Optimus keep his keyring?" Thundercraker questioned.

They started to inspect the storage areas.

"Not here!" Thundercracker reported.

"Nope!" Skywarp followed.

"No!" Starscream added.

"Whoa. Hey Starscream, look at this." Skywarp called, showing his brother the room where Airachnid was trapped.

"I was wondering what happened to that wretch." Starscream admired before continuing the search.

Skywarp groaned frustrated. "Do they think we have all day?"

Then, Thundercraker found it. "Ah, there you are. Found it!"

Meanwhile, Ratchet was scanning the clone's lifeless body.

"Curious. Starscream has been deceased for quite some time." Ratchet saw.

"Well, how's that possible if he just sent us a message?" Bulkhead asked.

"Unless…" Cliff started.

"We have been deceived." Optimus realized.

Thundercracker fired one of his missiles and destroyed the door, seeing the pieces move slowly. The Autobots felt the impact force.

"Whoa." Arcee expressed.

"What was that?" Smokescreen asked.

"(What's going on?)"

Suddenly, the emergency fire-hose self-activated.

"(There is no fire here!)"

"Arcee, close the ground bridge, now!" Optimus ordered by com-link.

Arcee pulled the lever up slowly while the Seekers returned, each one carrying one of the keys.

"Now that we have your trinkets, we are free to enjoy slitting your…" Starscream started, but stopped when he saw Arcee closing the portal.

"But as we appear to be pressed for time." Thundercracker ended.

The Seekers went through the portal before it closed, emerging in front of the other Autobots.

"Autobots, maintain positions." Optimus instructed, very slowly.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Skywarp asked before making funny sounds imitating the way he listened Optimus as they passed through them normally. "You Autobots think you're so superior, but you know what you really are? Slow!"

Then, Optimus looked like he heard something behind him and aimed his cannon at the Seekers.

That made Skywarp laugh nervously. "The red energon wore off, didn't it?"

"You had to open your mouth. Don't you, bigmouth?!" Thundercracker blamed.

"Whoa, three Starscreams?" Bulkhead asked in disbelief.

"No, those are Thundercracker and Skywarp." Cliffjumper recognized.

"And they have the Omega keys." Ratchet noticed.

"Now!" Starscream commanded, making both Seekers to fire their missiles at the Autobots, forcing them to dodge. Next, they started to run before he activated his com-link. "Slipstream, we have them! We need an escape route right now!"

The Autobots fired their weapons as they went after the Seekers, but both Skywarp and Thundercracker fired their weapons back, so they couldn't come much closer. Then, a ground bridge appeared in front of them all and the Seekers jumped in in time.

"Yes!" Starscream said.

"See you around, Autobot losers!" Skywarp provoked.

The Seekers's bridge disappeared before the Autobots could reach it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Optimus roared in anger.

"We'll get them back." Bulkhead said, trying to cheer him up.

"The keys can be of no use to Starscream and his minions while they scrounge in the wild like some scraplets." Ratchet said.

"There must be something that we can offer him in exchange." Cliff added.

"The fate of Cybertron now rests in Starscream's hands. Whatever his intentions." Optimus said.

Meanwhile, in the Nemesis, everyone saw what happened to Knock Out.

"I beg you, my liege, release me from this absurd predicament." Knock Out begged.

"No. You shall serve as a constant reminder to those who dare fail me." Megatron declared before he and Dreadwing left Knock Out and entered the bridge. "I cannot allow Optimus Prime to be the one to revive Cybertron. We will locate the Autobot base, invade it and retrieve the Omega Keys."

"Been there, done that." Slipstream's voice called, making them see her, Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker standing like nothing in the bridge, which made Megatron angry.

"Please, pardon our unannounced visit, Lord Megatron." Thundercracker apologized as he and the other Seekers bowed.

Dreadwing pulled out his cannon, but Megatron put a hand on his shoulder as a sign to stop.

"But we have come bearing…peace offering." Starscream said as he and his siblings showed him the Omega Keys, one each one.