A Sparks Life That Shines Season 1 (Transformers Prime)

by Trionix Prime

Emily Sparks always knew she was different from other human. After being treated badly for what she is, she moved to a place called Jasper Nevada to start a new life and to get away from her past. But what would happen when small pieces of what she is starts to resurface? Join her in her adventures to discover who she really is with the help of the Autobots, Jack, Miko and Raf.

24. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Lost Memories

Flashback starts;

A long time ago back in Cybertron during the war, Cybertronian femme was running as she was on her way to reach her partner in a specific rendezvous point. When she thought that she had taken the right direction, she had suddenly realized that she took the wrong direction and which made her stumble upon a Decepticon patrol unit.

"Scrap." Arcee cursed as she halted to a stop.

"Hold it right there, Autobot. Hands in the front." One of the vehicon troopers ordered as the Decepticons started aiming their weapons at Arcee.

"Careful with what you wish for." Arcee told them before pointing her hands in front of them and switched them to her guns and started to shoot at some of the Decepticons.

Arcee starts running around while shooting at her enemies as she takes down some cons with her shots. When she is close enough, she starts hitting them with her hand to hand combat skills. She was able to take down five cons on her own when one of them took her by surprise and pinned her down. Just like that, she has two Decepticons holding both her servos behind her back to make sure she doesn't get away.

"Not so tough now huh? What do we do with this one?" One of them taunted before asking another one.

"What we did with the other Autobots who thought they had a chance against us. We kill her." The second one said.

The Vehicon that was standing in front of Arcee, started charging and pointing his gun at her as Arcee glared at the Decepticon.

"Let's see if you can get up from a direct shot at your spark." The Vehicon said as he was about to shoot while Arcee glared at him.

The Vehicon is about to shoot at Arcee when he suddenly gets hit by a shot directly to the chassis and that hits him directly in his spark. The other Vehicons were all shocked and surprised about what happened as another Autobot came to help his partner.

"Oh hey, guys. Nice party you're having here. Do you mind letting go of my friend here?" Arcee was relieved to see that Tailgate made it on time.

The Decepticons start shooting at Tailgate as he starts moving around while shooting. Not willing to wait and be the one getting rescued, Arcee started getting free of her captors as she started to hit some cons back as both her and Tailgate started regrouping to form a better defense.

"If I had to guess, I'd said you got lost again." Tailgate said as he punched a Decepticon on the face plate.

"Yes, well, at least I didn't make a show out of all this like you usually." Arcee replied back as she switched her servos to her blades.

"You're welcome." Tailgate said as he knew that Arcee thanked him before grabbing two coins by the helm and hitting them with each other hard.

"That wasn't a thank you." Arcee told him as she pushed back a con using her blades.

"I didn't need your help. I had it all under control." She said as Tailgate shrugged with a small grin.

"Says the one who was about to get shot." Tailgate told her.

When it seemed that Arcee and Tailgate had the upper hand, Decepticons reinforcements had reached their location to aid their fallen comrades.

"Let's try to talk about this later. You take one group, I'll take the other." Arcee said as Tailgate smirked.

"You read my mind." Tailgate said as he brought out his weapons.

The Decepticons start shooting at both of them as Arcee starts attacking one group while Tailgate takes down the other group. They both took down a great number of Cons as Arcee used her agility and her sharpness while Tailgate used his strength. They were both able to hold their ground to the point of decreasing the numbers of the Decepticons surrounding them. Suddenly Arcee got hit from behind pretty hard, so hard that she was down. Tailgate saw it and threw a con that was heading towards him to where Arcee was so that it would hit the con that shot her down along with some others. Tailgate started running toward Arcee to see how she was.

"You okay?" He asked in concern as Arcee winced but nodded.

"I'll live." She said.

"Still ungrateful I see." Tailgate said as he started shooting from behind.

"You missed one." He said as he rolled his price playfully.

"Show off." Arcee said before Tailgate lends his servo to her.

"Here." He said as he lends his servo to her to help her up.

Arcee accepted the offer and took his servo and just like that he helped her get back up.

"You know I can handle myself right?" She said as she put her servos on her hips.

"Yeah but a helping hand can always be useful. After all, we're partners. Right?" Tailgate told her.

"Arcee. Arcee. Arcee."

Arcee could hear the echo of a voice calling her name three times as she started coming out of her thoughts.

Flashback ends;

"Arcee." Cliffjumper called her name again since she didn't respond when he called her three times.

Arcee shakes her helm as she snaps out of her thoughts or her trip down memory lane.

"Yeah, what is it?" She asked as she turned to him.

"Do you mind helping us here? Those Energon cubes are heavy." Cliffjumper asked as he pointed to the whole team bringing in some energon cubes from the mine at Oregon.

Arcee along with Cliffjumper, Hot Rod, Smokescreen, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were in charge of carrying the Energon cubes to the storage facility in the base as Ratchet was taking care of counting the number of Energon cubes stored before Miko spoke up.

"Hey, doc. Think we can take a pic with us beside one of those cubes?" Miko suggested as she took out her phone but Ratchet gave her a look that clearly says no.

"Out of the question. Human biology and Energon don't mix well. If you touch a single cube, your body could suffer irreversible consequences." Ratchet told her as Miko gave in and put her phone away.

"Okay, okay. But why can Emily be the only one to touch them?" Miko then asked Emily to set the Energon cube she was carrying down as she looked at her.

"Maybe that's because I have Energon in my biological system. I'm practically immune to it." Emily told her as Miko pouted.

"No fair." She said while crossing her arms.

"Trust me, Miko. You don't wanna be close to one. Those cubes are really heavy." Emily said as she moved her arms a little.

"Less talking, more working here. We need those cubes saved and stocked for future use." Ratchet said as Emily saluted.

"Aye-Aye, Captain Ratchet, sir." Emily joked but he only grunted at that and went back to work as Emily raised an eyebrow.

"What? I did say sir. It wouldn't kill you to crack a smile once in a while, you know." Emily said with a grin.

"Man. Those Energon cubes are getting heavier with time. Good thing we have you, big guy." Hot Rod said as he was carrying some while Bulkhead was carrying the most as Bulkhead smiled at him.

"Yeah, well, You know me. I'm the strongest there is." Bulkhead said as he set down the energon cubes he was carrying.

"That's a lot of Energon." Jack said as he saw the stacks of cubes.

"The more, the best. We need to step our games against the Decepticons." Smokescreen said as he grinned.

Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Hot Rod were finally done with putting the first stock of Energon cubes so that Smokescreen can take to the storage room.

"I think that's enough for the first pile." Hot Rod said.

"Right. Better stock this pile before captain Ratchet here makes me walk the plank." Smokescreen said as he laughed at his joke as Ratchet rolled his optics.

"Good one." Miko snickered.

"Yes, yes, very amusing. Now get a move on, rookie." Ratchet said grumpily while counting the cubes on the datapad he's holding.

"Yes, sir." Smokescreen nodded as he started moving the carriage full of Energon cubes to the stockroom.

"Well, that was the first pile and there's still the second one." Emily said as she saw the next pile.

"Take a break. I'm still waiting for Optimus' call." Ratchet told her since he didn't want her to strain herself as she nodded and went to the couch.

"Want some water?" Raf asked as he offered Emily a bottle of water as she nodded.

"Thanks, Raf." She said as she accepted the water bottle and started to drink as she sighed at the fresh drink.

"I needed that." She said with a small sigh as Miko looked at her.

"Are you telling me that moving those huge cubes worn you out?" Miko looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. They're pretty heavy." Emily said with a small grin.

"Well at least for now you're on break." Jack said with a shrug.

"Like most of us. When I joined team Prime while those with whom I work are still busy, I was hoping for some action. It has been a while since I fought some cons." Hot Rod said as Bulkhead agreed with him.

"Like all of us." Bulkhead agreed with him as Bumblebee whirred to say that it has been a while since the last Decepticon activity.

"Bee's right. Things have been pretty quiet. Worst of all, it's totally boring. I miss using my fists." Cliffjumper agreed with Bumblebee since the last time they encountered the cons was when Jack and Smokescreen went to that race.

"What makes this even weirder is that we haven't heard from Megatron in quite a while." Bulkhead agreed with the two as Hot Rod looked at them.

"Megatron. Last I heard, the little girl there kicked his tailpipe pretty good." Hot Rod said as he was told by Bumblebee that Megatron was beaten pretty hard by Emily.

"Hey watch it, Hot Head. I might be small but you don't want to get on my bad side." Emily told him as she gave him a small grin.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to disrespect you." Hot Rod said as he remembered that Bulkhead told him that Emily practically threw Ratchet through the ground bridge when they had to deal with the Scraplets as Bolty chirped.

"So back to the Big M. Any ideas of where he is now?" Cliffjumper questioned as Bumblebee shook his head since he didn't know.

"Who knows. With any luck, he went back into space." Bulkhead said as Miko tried to think.

"Maybe he's looking for another way to revive another army of undead zombies." Miko said as everyone just looked at her weirdly as Emily gave Bolty a snack.

"What? It could happen." Miko told them.

"Either way. Things have been pretty calm. Considering that we're talking about the Decepticons and they're always planning something. What do you think, Arcee?" Cliffjumper said before asking Arcee but didn't get a response as she seemed to be distracted for some reason.

"Arcee? Arcee?" Cliffjumper turned to her and called her again as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"Huh, what?" Arcee asked as she looked at him.

"Whoa, Arcee, are you okay? That's the fourth time you've spaced out like that today." Jack said as he was concerned about her.

"Is everything okay?" Emily turned to her as she was concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a bit distracted. Things have been pretty calm lately and it's hard to adapt to such a climate." Arcee said as she leaned against the wall.

"As warriors, you must enjoy the peace while it lasts. While it's true that things have been improving, I feel that the Decepticons are planning something. And whatever it is, we must be ready to face them." Ratchet said and just as he finished, the comm links started ringing and they saw that it was Optimus calling.

"Ratchet, do you read me?" Optimus asked.

"I hear you, Optimus." Ratchet said as he and the others came to the main room.

"I need you to open a ground bridge. Wheeljack and I are bringing the recent supply of Energon." Optimus said as Ratchet nodded.

"Understood. Stand by for a ground bridge." Ratchet said as he started to put the coordinates.

"So much for enjoying the peace." Bulkhead said as Emily stood up and stretched her arms.

"Time to get back to work." She said eagerly as Ratchet was done putting in the coordinates to the ground bridge.

"Optimus, we're ready to receive." Ratchet said.

"Understood, Ratchet." Optimus said as he turned off the comm link.

Ratchet started lowering down the lever to the ground bridge to activate it.

"Ground bridge online." Ratchet said as the ground bridge activated and opened up.

Wheeljack and Optimus enter the base in their vehicle mode as Optimus was carrying his trailer with the Energon cubes from the mine inside it before Optimus unattached himself from his trailer as both of them transformed to unload the cubes.

"Fresh Energon. Ready to be used for battle." Wheeljack said as he patted the roof of the trailer.

"Good luck with that, Wheeljack." Hot Rod said with a smirk.

"Aren't you a fine one to talk to? Optimus did assign you to take over my guard shift today." Wheeljack said as he smirked back.

"Yeah and hopefully. I might get more action than you, old bot." Hot Rod said with a playful smirk.

"Keep talking, Hot Stuff." Wheeljack said with a grin as Optimus approached Hot Rod.

"Hot Rod. I appreciate you for having decided to help us guard the Energon mine." Optimus said with a gratitude in his voice as Hot Rod nodded with a smile. Anything to help his friends.

"My pleasure, Prime. I know how much your team needs it." Hot Rod said as Optimus nodded. He guessed right.

"Remember. If you see something, call us immediately. Do not engage the enemy until all human personnel are in a safe place. If the Decepticons try to storm the mine, you must wait until our arrival. Losing a mine might be a great risk. But we cannot afford to lose even a single Autobot." Optimus said as he doesn't want to lose another close friend of his.

"I understand and trust me. I'll keep an optic out for any Decepticon." Hot Rod said with his iconic smirk.

"Just try not to blow the mine sky high." Arcee warned him.

"I'm a careful guy." Hot Rod said as Wheeljack raised an optic ridge.

"Not from my previous Wrecker experience." Wheeljack chuckled.

"That was a long time ago. Anyway gotta go." Hot Rod said as Miko approached.

"Hey, Hot Rod. If you face some cons, be sure to beat some for me." Miko said with a grin as Hot Rod grinned back.

"Sure thing, kid. See you guys later." Hot Rod said before he transformed and drove through the portal.

The portal then closes as Ratchet turns it off.

"Transport complete. Now let's get back to work." Ratchet said as everyone nodded.

"Right away, Ratchet." Bulkhead said as he started to unload the energon cubes with the others from Optimus' trailer.

"Well. Time to get back to work. Do me a favor, guys. Give Bolty his lunch. It's in my backpack." Emily said as she stood up as Miko perked up. She always wanted to feed Bolty

"Can I do it? Can I? Can I?" Miko asked as Jack look to her

"No way, Miko. Too dangerous. Bolty could bite you by accident." Jack told her.

"It's okay, Jack. Just keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn't get hurt." Emily told him to calm him down.

"Okay. But if something happens, it's your fault." Jack said.

"Yeah, yeah. Just do me that favor please." Emily said with a small smile.

"We're on it. Let's go, dude." Miko said as she ran to where Emily's bag was.

"Hey wait!" Jack yelled as he ran after her so she wouldn't get hurt as Emily turned to Raf.

"Hey, Raf, why don't you go help them? We both know how Jack can be overprotective." Emily told him as Raf nodded.

"I got it." He said and ran after the two as Emily joined the bots with piling the energon cubes in the storage room.

"Between unloading and stocking all this Energon and getting shot at. I'd prefer getting shot at." Wheeljack said as he helped them.

"You're not the only." Cliffjumper agreed with him.

"Chin up, Jackie. I'm sure something will come up." Bulkhead said as he tried to cheer him up.

"By then I'll be rusty already." Wheeljack said.

Bumblebee beeps to ask if they should have asked for Smokescreen to get back with the Energon carriage since going back and forth can be tiring.

"Nah, it's best if we pile what we can. You know how Ratchet can get cranky when we don't work fast." Emily said but Ratchet was able to hear that.

"I heard that." He said from where he was.

"Do Cybertronian get old?" Emily whispered to herself and the others.

"On Ratchet. I'd say he's about Yoda's age." Bulkhead said as he chuckled slightly.

"I heard that too, Bulkhead." Ratchet said again since he heard that as Wheeljack turned to Emily.

"What's a Yoda?" He asked in confusion.

"It's a Star Wars character." Emily said but only got a look from Wheeljack since he doesn't know what she's talking about.

"He's old, green, short, and walks with a cane. Oh, nevermind." Emily tried to explain but gave up eventually.

"I'm back. The Energon is stocked and safe for good." Smokescreen said as he came back with the energon cart.

"Great. Because we brought some more." Wheeljack said before pointing to the cubes that he and Optimus brought back from the mine at Oregon.

"You're kidding." Smokescreen said in disbelief.

"You know the drill, Smokey. Pack 'em and stock 'em." Bulkhead said as Smokescreen nodded.

"I got you." He said as the Autobots started piling the cubes in the cart.

While everyone was piling the cubes, Cliffjumper couldn't help but stop when he noticed that Arcee was a bit down as if something was distracting her.

"Is everything okay, Arcee?" Cliffjumper asked again as Arcee turned to him.

"I'm fine, Cliffjumper. You don't need to worry about me." Arcee told him but Cliffjumper wasn't for it this time. He knows that something was bothering her.

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to disagree with you." Cliffjumper told her as he crossed his arms.

"Why's that?" She asked as she raised an optic ridge.

"I can see it in your optics." Cliffjumper said as he looked at her as she looked confused.

"What's with my optics? They're the same as always." Arcee said but Cliffjumper knows her better than that.

"Come on, Arcee. I know you well enough to know something is not right with you." Cliffjumper said as he wanted to know what's bothering.

"And we both know that I like having my own space." Arcee said as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah but we both know that this is your way of proving that something's distracting you." Cliffjumper said as Arcee sighed. He got her there.

"Well... Maybe there is..." Arcee admitted before Cliffjumper had an idea.

"You know what? I got just the thing. If piling some Energon Cubes doesn't help you out, maybe some training will do the trick." Cliffjumper suggested as Arcee smirked at that.

"Training? You and me? Last time I remembered, you weren't no challenge at all." Arcee told him as Cliffjumper faked being hurt by that.

"Ouch that hurts. But being hurt won't save you this time. So what do you say?" Cliffjumper said before asking her.

"Okay fine. Maybe some training might help." Arcee said as she agreed with him before a voice spoke up.

"If you want, I can join you guys." Emily said.

Both Arcee and CliffJumper looked down and saw that Emily was there as she was looking up at them.

"Sorry I couldn't help but overhear what you guys were saying. It's my romance alert." Emily said sheepishly as Cliffjumper raised an optic ridge at that. A what now?

"What's a romance alert?" He asked in confusion.

"Oh, well, to me, it's kind of a sixth sense that goes crazy for romantic ships like yours. Just so you know, I do love the CliffCee ship." Emily said but both Cliffjumper and Arcee were still confused by this. A CliffCee ship?

"Okay." They both said with confusion.

They then heard something loud was dropped as Bulkhead had dropped some cubes by accident as Hot Rod moved out of the way.

"Watch it, big guy." Hot Rod said.

"Settle down, Hot Head, it was an accident." Bulkhead told him as he picked the cubes up that he dropped.

"Looks to me like you're getting rusty huh, Bulk?" Smokescreen teased him as Bulkhead gave him a look.

"I'm still good enough to kick your tailpipe, rookie." Bulkhead said as Cliffjumper laughed slightly at that. Better help them.

"I think I better go help the others before someone gets hurt." Cliffjumper said to Arcee as she just nodded.

"Yeah, sure." She said slowly.

Cliffjumper starts joining the others to make sure no one gets hurt and leaving both ladies to talk with each other before Arcee turns to Emily.

"What was that?" She asked her.

"What was what?" Emily asked back as she looked up to her innocently.

"You know? That whole romanced alert nonsense. What was that all about?" Arcee asked again as Emily rubbed the back of her neck a bit.

"Sorry, I was just trying to help you guys a bit." Emily said as she shuffled her feet slightly.

"What for?" Arcee asked as Emily gave her a deadpanned look.

"Oh, come on. You don't think I didn't realize what's going on. It's obvious that you want to try and get his attention." Emily said as Arcee looked a little surprised by that.

"Who me? What for?" Arcee said as she tried to come up with an excuse but Emily just gave Arcee a "are you serious" look as she was not falling for Arcee's ignorance this time.

"What, really? If this is what we talked about a while ago, I can tell you right now that it has nothing to do with it." Arcee told her as Emily just put her hands on her hips.

"Nice try. You're gonna to get up pretty early in the morning to try and fool me. Come on, admit it. You think about him is the only reason why you're distracted." Emily told her as Arcee had to stop a blush from appearing.

"No, it's not." Arcee denies it but Emily won't stop.

"Yes, it is." Emily said.

"No, it's not." Arcee starts pulling the cart of Energon cubes to the others as she and Emily continue to banter playfully.

"Yes, it is." Emily said.

While the Autobots were still taking care of the Energon, Ratchet was monitoring the scanners to try and check for any suspicious activity that could involve the Decepticons. Fortunately things were still quiet out there but the doctor knew that this peace wouldn't last very long and seeing that made Ratchet feel a bit worried as Optimus walked toward him to try and see what worried him so much.

"What troubles you, Ratchet?" Optimus asked as concern was in his voice as Ratchet turned to him.

"Well, as you've known, I've been monitoring any possible Decepticon activities. So far nothing. Normally I would say that this moment of peace is quite profitable but not knowing what the Decepticons are planning is worrying me." Ratchet told him as Optimus had to agree with him but they must be prepared just in case.

"Me too, old friend. Whatever their plan is, the best we can do for now is to prepare ourselves." Optimus told him before walking back to help the others.

Somewhere on a part of Earth, the Nemesis was flying over the lands as usual as Megatron and some of his best warriors had left to carry a secret mission and now that this mission was complete, he was about to come back. Wanting to give a proper welcome, Starscream was walking around the ship and ordering the whole crew to make sure everything was perfect and organize for Megatron's return.

"Work faster. Lord Megatron is due to come back any second. I want this ship to be perfect for his return. Make sure every square of this ship is spotless." Starscream continued to shout out orders as Knock Out and Breakdown were watching on the sidelines.

"The ship isn't the only thing that needs some cleaning around here." Knock Out joked as Breakdown let out a laugh at that.

"If I were you, Knock Out, I wouldn't be laughing right now unless you want Lord Megatron to know about your little... incident." Starscream warned him as Knock Out gulped at that.

"Oh, yeah right... sorry for that." Knock Out apologized before Soundwave signalled them to tell them that he detected four Decepticons' life signals were heading to the Nemesis and they knew that it was Megatron and the others.

"Thank you, Soundwave. Now let's give our leader a proper welcome." Starscream told him before they left to the hangar.

Outside of the ship. Megatron along with Dreadwing, Skyquake and Airachnid flew on the landing platform before they transformed and entered the Nemesis and when they got inside, they were being welcomed by two squads of Seekers standing in formation.

"All Hail Megatron!" They all chanted as Megatron had to smirk at this. It never gets old.

Megatron walked by them as he was heading to where Starscream was standing as he was accompanied by Breakdown, Knock Out and Soundwave.

"Lord Megatron, it is so great to have you back." Starscream said with a respectful bow.

"Starscream, I see you have taken good care of things during my absence." Megatron said as he was impressed that there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Indeed, my lord. I do hope that my direction will have proven to be satisfactory." Starscream said as he stood back up as Airachnid spoke up.

"Be careful, Starscream. You might fry a neuron net while trying to impress our master." Airachnid teased him as Starscream gave her a small glare.

"Forgive me, dear Airachnid, but I believe I have kept everything in a fashionable order. After all, our liege did trust me with the temporary command of his army." Starscream said as Airachnid hissed slightly.

"If you keep talking like that, your temporary command will end after I snuff out your spark." Airachnid hissed threateningly but Megatron sensed the incoming fight.

"Airachnid, stand down!" Megatron growled at her as Airachnid stopped.

Airachnid looks towards Starscream who is smiling gleefully at the sight of her not wanting to disobey Megatron's orders as she just rested on glaring at him.

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Airachnid said with a nod as the group walked around the ship.

"What's the status of our current situation?" Megatron asked as they entered the main room.

"It is going splendid, my lord, even if I do say so myself. Our Energon deposits are growing at a very impressive rate." Starscream informed him.

"And what about the Autobots?" Megatron then asked Starscream knew that Soundwave had been keeping an optic out and so far the Autobots seemed to be laying low.

"I am pleased to report that they have not detected any of our moves." Starscream told him as he hummed slightly at this.

'As hard as it is to believe, the Autobots have no idea of our current activities. To be honest, things have been kind of quiet around here." Knock Out told him as Megatron then went into thinking.

"Lord Megatron, since the Autobots are unaware of what we're doing. Shouldn't we prepare a counter attack?" Dreadwing suggested as Skyquake agreed with him.

"We should trap Optimus and the rest of those wretched Autobots and destroy them once and for all." Skyquake said but Optimus gave them both a look that shut them up.

"Do not worry. Optimus and the Autobots will get what is coming to them. But that will be when I say so." Megatron said before Soundwave's visor lit up and showed them that he had detected some weird signal.

"What is it, Soundwave?" Megatron asked curiously.

Soundwave starts showing them a map of where the signal is coming from as the others were curious.

"What's that?" Breakdown asked.

"It's a signal." Starscream replied as Knock Out took a closer look.

"Yes but not an ordinary signal." Knock Out said as Airachnid quickly recognized it. Guess it survived.

"Indeed it's not. I do believe I know that signal." Airachnid said with a smirk.

"How could you know?" Starscream asked her in confusion.

"You do remember the Harbinger right?" Airachnid questioned as she put her servo on her hips.

"Yes. The ship that crashed here on earth eons ago. What does it have to do with any of this, might I ask?" Starscream said as he remembered his research on it.

"Simple. The ship had a second cargo." Airachnid said with a sinister smile.

"A second cargo? That is impossible. The ship manifest clearly indicated there was only one cargo onboard which was the Immobilizer." Starscream told her as he was confused that he didn't know that the Harbinger had a second cargo within it.

"True. Although the crew had been ordered to keep this second cargo a total secret." Airachnid said as Starscream raised an optic ridge at this.

"On whose authority?" Starscream asked but the answer made him snap.

"Mine of course." She said as she examined her claws but was giving Starscream a smug smirk.

"What?! How dare you abuse your own authority to tell the crew of the Harbinger to carry a second cargo without proper permission?!" Starscream yelled at her but Megatron just rolled his optics at him. Typical Starscream.

"I gave her permission." He told him as Starscream stopped at this and made Megatron smirk at that.

"Oh forgive me, my liege. I was not aware that you had given Airachnid proper permission for-" Starscream tried to come up with an apology. He was not informed after all!

"Spare me your excuses, Starscream." Megatron growled at him before Knock decided to ask the question that's in his and the rest of them are having.

"My liege, if I may ask, what is that second cargo?" Knock Out asked curiously as Megatron just smirked.

"Let's just say it has something that would've helped obtain victory against the Autobots during the war. Unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to use it since our home world was devastated by countless battles." Megatron told him.

"Yes. But as fortune would have it, This cargo landed on a place inhabited by hidden Autobots. If we retrieve it, we would finally turn the tide of the war in our favor. Lord Megatron, allow me to retrieve this special cargo for you." Airachnid suggested as Starscream stepped forward.

"Lord Megatron, if I may, I don't think Airachnid is the proper element to retrieve said cargo. This honor should be given to your second in command-" Starscream started but Megatron cut him off again with a sharp glare.

"No. Airachnid shall go and retrieve this cargo." Megatron told him.

"But-" Starscream started to protest but one glare from Megatron shut him up since Starscream didn't seem to agree with his words.

"As you wish, master." Starscream said begrudgingly with a bow and stepped back to the others.

"I shall leave immediately." Airachnid said as she started walking to the doors before Megatron stopped her.

"Airachnid, are you sure you don't need a Decepticon escort to help you on your mission?" Megatron asked her as Airachnid turned to him since his voice almost held genuine concern and that was a little thoughtful of him.

"Thank you, my liege, but I think I can handle this on my own." Airachnid reassured him as he nodded.

"Very well then. You know what to do." Megatron dismissed her as she turned back around.

"Yes, I do." She said as she walked out to start her mission on retrieving the cargo.

"My lord, why didn't you insist on Airachnid so she would take an escort with her?" Dreadwing asked with curiosity in his voice as Megatron turned back to the screens.

"Because, Dreadwing, she knows far more about this cargo than we do. Soundwave, keep a close eye on her. I wanna be aware of every detail." Megatron said before ordering the silent con to send out Laserbeak.

Soundwave just nodded silently and sent out Laserbeak to follow Airachnid to the location of the cargo while a question ran through them.

What was in the cargo? And how can it help them win the war?

Meanwhile back at the base, the Autobots had just finished piling the Energon cubes.

"Finally done. Maybe now we can do something a bit more fun." Wheeljack said as he rotated his arm a little to remove the soreness from them.

"Tempting but I already have something to do with the others. Which reminds me, I'll be right back." Emily said before she ran to where the trio were as Cliffjumper approached Arcee.

"You coming, Arcee?" He asked as Arcee turned to him.

"Why? Are you so eager to get knocked down?" Arcee asked with a smirk as Cliffjumper gave a sarcastic look.

"Very funny." He said as they both started to go to the S.A.F.E.

"Where are you guys going?" Bulkhead asked in confusion as Cliffjumper turned to him.

"Arcee and I are gonna get some training. Can you guys handle this?" Cliffjumper told him as Bulkhead gave a thumbs up.

"Sure, go ahead, we got this." Bulkhead said as Cliffjumper nodded.

While Arcee and CliffJumper were walking to the S.A.F.E room and the rest was finishing piling the cubes, the kids were taking care of feeding Bolty as the poor guy was very hungry since he wouldn't stop jumping to try and get some food.

"Easy there, Bolty. We'll give you food very soon." Raf said as he was trying to keep Bolty calm.

While Bolty was waiting to be fed, Miko was rummaging through Emily's backpack and couldn't find the food that she had brought for the little guy.

"Where are those bolt thingies? I can't find them anywhere. Also Ems has too much art stuff." Miko said as she kept seeing lots of art and drawing materials.

"Let me have a look." Jack stepped up as he started looking through the bag before he found it.

And just like that, he found the bag of bolts that Emily had brought for Bolty.

"There it is." Jack said as he pulled it out.

When Bolty saw through the plastic bag that there was a huge pack of fresh bolts for him to eat, he got so eager to eat that he tried to reach for it but Raf was able to grab a hold of him, trying to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone.

"Wait, Bolty!" Raf yelped as Bolty was trying to get to the bag of bolts.

"Whoa, Raf! Don't let go of him!" Jack said in surprise as Miko was trying to look for the bowl.

"I'm trying to." Raf said with struggle.

Emily finally reached the others and saw they needed help with Bolty and so to help them out, she whistled to call Bolty.

"Bolty. Come here." Emily called him.

Bolty soon calms down at the call of Emily before he starts scurrying to where she is as he jumps on opening her hand and starts nuzzling her cheek.

"Who's a little cute Scraplet? Yes, you are. Are you hungry, little one?" Emily said before asking as Bolty started jumping as a yes as she laughed.

"Alright then." She said with a smile as Jack approached.

"Here." Jack said with a small smile as he gave her the bag of bolts.

She starts filling Bolty's bowl so that he can start eating and get his fill as Miko watches him chow down and enjoy his meal.

"I guess the little guy was really hungry." Miko said as she watched him with a smile.

"Yeah sorry about that. I should try and be more responsible when it comes to feeding him. He can go crazy when he's hungry." Emily said as she sat down with a sheepish look.

"You're telling me. One more second and he could've eaten my hand." Jack said with a smirk as she smirked back before Miko noticed something.

"Hey, what's that?" Miko asked as she found something inside Emily's backpack and pulled it out.

"Oh that. It's a chessboard." Emily said as Miko gave it to her.

"Oh, a chessboard." Jack said as he recognized it.

"I love chess. But I always have a hard time playing it." Raf said as he pushed his glasses back.

"Ah man. That has gotta be the most boring game in the whole universe." Miko said with a puff on her cheek.

"It's not that bad. This game helps you develop strategy." Emily said with a shrug.

"Yeah sorry but I'm not a huge fan of boring games." Miko said just as Ratchet approached.

"What's going on, kids?" Ratchet asked as they turned to him.

"We're talking about a game." Emily answered him.

"Again with your video games are you?" Ratchet asked but Raf shook his head.

"Not that kind of game, Ratchet. A board game." Raf told him.

"Like this one." Emily said as she showed it to him as he eyed it curiously.

"How are you supposed to play with a box made out of wood?" Ratchet asked as Emily couldn't help but chuckle.

"You don't play with the box but rather with what's inside the box. Here, let me show you." Emily said before she opened it so Ratchet could see what's inside as he saw what looked like little figures.

"What is this game of yours called?" He asked.

"Glad that you asked. This game is called Chess. It's an ancient game played by mankind for a very long time. It's a game that reunites both strategy and intelligence into one. Each side has to take out as many pawns as they can but the true goal is to try and defeat this Pawn that is known as the king." Emily explained as she took out a black and white colored pawn.

"Well, I think this game is absurd. How can a game of pawns reunite both intelligence and strategy? What a waste of time." Ratchet said as the kids then had an idea on getting Ratchet to play with them.

"Well, that's too bad. I thought this game would catch your interest. I mean you're very intelligent but then again maybe this game is too complex for you." Emily said with feign disappointment in her voice

"You should know, young lady, that I don't need to prove to anyone that I'm intelligent. I have already proven my intellect. Besides, I found this game of yours ridiculous." Ratchet said as Miko smirked.

"Sounds to me like you're scared, doc." Miko said with a grin as Ratchet turned to her.

"Is that so? Very well. I shall play this little game of yours." Ratchet said the kids smirk at each other as they set up to start playing Chess with Ratchet.

Cliffjumper and Arcee entered the S.A.F.E room and were both about to begin training.

"Ready to get into some serious training?" Cliffjumper asked as he started warming up.

"If you're talking about me kicking your tailpipe all over the place, then there's one thing left for me to say. Bring it on." Arcee told him as they both stopped warming up.

They start going into their battle stances and waiting to see who would strike first. Arcee was the first one to attack as she started sending a series of punches at Cliffjumper who was able to defend himself by blocking every punch that had been thrown at him.

"Is that all you got? Man, this training is starting to get boring." Cliffjumper taunted as he kept dodging her.

"Stay still and I'll show what I'm made of." Arcee told him as she kept trying to land a hit.

"Tempting. But no thanks." Cliffjumper said.

Cliffjumper starts attacking Arcee, who was able to dodge every attack he sent at her before she's able to counterattack but Cliffjumper was still able to defend himself properly from her counterattacks

"Still so predictable." Cliffjumper said but his comment seemed to have triggered something in Arcee's head before she rushed towards him.

While she fought him, she started remembering a flash from the past. A long memory of the war. Just like Cliffjumper and Arcee are training, she and Tailgate did the same.

Flashback starts;

In this memory, Arcee was training with Tailgate.

"You're too predictable." Tailgate told her as they both jumped back and gave each other some distance.

"At least I'm not a blabber mouth like you, Tailgate." Arcee taunted playfully.

"Says the one who still can't beat me." Tailgate taunted back with a grin.

"Today I might." Arcee said with a small smirk.

"I highly doubt that." Tailgate said before he started rushing towards Arcee who dodged him by doing a rear jump to use the wall to impulse herself to use an impulse tackle attack that hit right on target and with one hit, Tailgate was down on his back.

"Nice one. Very good use of your surroundings. Think fast." Tailgate said before spinning his leg to make Arcee trip but she dodged it to keep a distance between them.

"Excellent. You've become really fast. Let's see how you handle this." Tailgate commented before rushing towards Arcee and attacking her with some quick punches.

His punches are very quick but Arcee had no problems in avoiding them as she kept dodging his punches until she was able to find an opening to strike him. After a moment, she had found an opening and used this opportunity to hit Tailgate with a pretty good move. She stopped his right punch with one servo and then stopped the other one with her other servo. After pinning down both of Tailgate's servos, Arcee impulses herself with his servos and uses her leg to grab Tailgate by the neck and drag him down. After he was down, she got on top of him and was about to lay down a punch on him but she stopped for a moment when he spoke up with a grin.

"Impressive. But you do know that's my move right? You stole it from me." Tailgate said with feign surprise in his voice at the end.

"I prefer the term borrowed." Arcee said with a smirk.

"You borrowed my move but there is one problem." Tailgate said as he started to smirk.

"Which is?" Arcee raised an optic ridge only to get grabbed by her arms and rolled back and Tailgate was able to pin Arcee when he was free.

"It's my move. And I know it's like the back of my servo and you lost again." Tailgate said with a grin as Arcee grunted from the impact.

"You got lucky." She said.

"I wouldn't say that." Tailgate said before getting back up and helped Arcee up on her pedes.

"You really gave me a hard time. You might even be a better warrior than me." Tailgate commented with a sincere smile as it touched Arcee. It's as if behind this deadly warrior, she had a soft spot for him.

Just like earlier, she heard a voice calling her name and without realizing it, Arcee was down on the floor as she got distracted by her inner thoughts again.

Flashback ends;

"Arcee, are you okay?" Cliffjumper asked as he got worried when she didn't respond after he called her.

"Huh?" Arcee said as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"You've spaced out again and what's weird is that I knocked you down on the floor in a matter of seconds." Cliffjumper said as Arcee looked at him for a moment before looking away.

"Maybe I'm not in the mood for training today." Arcee said before getting up and started to walk to the exit of the S.A.F.E.

But before she could even leave, Cliffjumper stepped in front of her so he could talk with her about what's going on and why she kept spacing out. And he knows that something is bothering her.

"Arcee, I know something's not right and I want you to know that you can always tell me anything." Cliffjumper said as worry was in his voice.

"We've trained for a moment and now you think that just because you knocked me down you know something's wrong with me?" Arcee questioned him as Cliffjumper crossed his arms.

"I do. That move you used earlier. It was the one that Tailgate used. You haven't used it ever since... Look, I know you're not one to talk about that kind of stuff. But not talking about it is distracting you. If this happens in a mission, you could end up getting killed." Cliffjumper told her the name of her first and former partner and made her silent.

Arcee didn't say anything because deep down, she knew that Cliffjumper was right and such a distraction could get her killed in the battlefield as she crossed her arms as if to hold herself.

"Tell me. What's on your mind?" Cliffjumper asked as he put a servo on her shoulder.

Arcee wasn't able to say anything since she can't seem to find the right words on how to say what's been bugging her lately and Cliffjumper knew that it must be about her former partner.

"Is it something that has to do with Tailgate?" He asked gently as her silence deepened slightly as she still didn't say anything but after a few minutes, she was able to find the right words on how to say it.

"Yes... it has. I... can't stop thinking about him... I still find it hard to believe that... the one person I cared the most is back... and yet... it still feels like nothing has changed... I failed to save you... just like I did with Tailgate." Arcee admitted and Cliffjumper felt his spark ached at the sadness in her voice. She was still blaming herself for what happened back then, wasn't she?

"Arcee, what happened back then wasn't your fault. You did the best you could." Cliffjumper said as he put his servos in her shoulder as she looked at him with sad optics.

"And how did that work out? Tailgate is dead and it's all because of me. You have no idea what it feels like. This guilt... it's such a burden... For a while I was able to suppress it but now for some reasons, it comes back to haunt me and I don't know why." Arcee told him as her voice shook a little.

"I know how much you felt guilty about Tailgate's death. We all did and I know that you want to forget about what happened. I know that if Tailgate was here, he would tell you to move on and keep fighting. That's what he would've done." Cliffjumper told her as Arcee was starting to feel much better.

"Yeah. Tailgate wasn't one to give up easily." Arcee said with a small smile.

"Got that right. I can't count the number of times he and I trained and neither of us would give up." Cliffjumper said as he chuckled slightly as Arcee chuckled as well.

"I remember. You both tried to beat each other out. Always trying to surpass the other." Arcee said with a wistful smile.

"In the end. You were the only one who could beat him. I still remember his face when you knocked him down on the floor." Cliffjumper said with a grin.

"Yeah. I wish I could've been a better warrior back then." Arcee said as Cliffjumper smiled at her.

"You are. To me; you, Arcee, are the best Autobot warriors around. Next to me of course." Cliffjumper said as Arcee punched his shoulder playfully.

"You had a lucky shot." She said as Cliffjumper laughed slightly.

"Oh really?" He asked as he and Arcee walked back to the training room.

"Well If you want to try and take me down, please be my guest." Cliffjumper said as Arcee smiled and felt better from his words.

"Let's see how lucky you are this time." Arcee said with a grin as they both started to train again.

Meanwhile Emily was having a nice game of Chess against Ratchet while the other Autobots were so tired of piling and sticking the cubes that they didn't even pay attention to what he was doing with the kids as for the Autobot leader, Optimus was walking around the base like he tends to do when things are quiet and peaceful around the base.

"Man. My arms are hurting like crazy." Bulkhead said as Bumblebee whirred in agreement.

"Me too, guys. Pushing those cubes all day is not a walk in the park." Smokescreen said with a groan.

"If you ask me, I think we're getting too old for this." Wheeljack said as Smokescreen gave him a look.

"Hey, don't say that. I'm about to feel like I'm old just like Ratchet." Smokescreen commented.

"Will you four keep it down? I'm trying to focus here." Ratchet told them.

Ratchet was thinking of a strategy to win against Emily who had taken out many of his chess pieces. Thinking that he had found the right way to go, Ratchet proceeds to make his move but since he is a huge robot and he has big digits, he might break the whole Chess board by trying to move a pawn. So Jack had decided to move the pawns for him.

"That one." Ratchet said as he pointed to one of the smaller pieces.

"That little one?" Jack asked.

"Yes, that one." Ratchet said.

"Are you sure of that?" Jack asked him.

"I'm sure of it." Ratchet said as he was determined to win the game.

"Okay." Jack nodded before moving one of the remaining pawns from its previous position as the pawn was in position to defeat another.

But without knowing it, Ratchet had given Emily another chance to take down another of his pieces. After his move was over, she made her move and took down Ratchet's pawn yet again which scored her another point.

"There goes another one." Emily said as she put the pawn that she took down to the side.

"What? Are you serious?" Ratchet asked in shock.

"Mhm, honestly this game has been a bit easy. You've made some good moves but it's a bit predictable." Emily said with a nod.

"Don't give up now, Ratchet. It's just your first time. Besides Chess is a pretty hard game." Jack told him as he nodded in understanding.

Miko and Raf were both watching Emily and Ratchet, with Jack moving Ratchet's pieces, playing their game of Chess as Miko and Raf kept a score on the two.

"I can't believe I'm gonna say that because Chess is the most boring game ever. But I kind of like seeing Ratchet getting his butt kicked by Ems." Miko said with a grin as Raf nodded.

"Yeah. But since it's his first time, it had to be expected." Raf said as Ratchet started thinking of a strategy that could help him win.

He decided to make one of his pawns move to another square just like he did earlier.

"That one." Ratchet said as Jack nodded.

"Okay." Jack said as he moved the pawn.

With that single move, Emily was able to make her move as she moved one of her pawns in a position where Ratchet could take it down.

"Ah-ha. I have you right where I want you. Jack, will you do me the honors?" Ratchet said as he could practically tell that this match of chess was his.

"Sure." Jack said as he moved the pawn and Ratchet had taken down one of Emily's pawns.

"I knew it. That sooner or later you would make a mistake." Ratchet said as Miko couldn't help but watch.

"Is it just me or his head starting to get bigger than his ego?" Miko asked Raf who shrugged.

"I have no idea." He said casually.

"Nice, Ratchet. Very nice move. Unfortunately for you." Emily said before moving her bishop in front of Ratchet's king.

And since his king is surrounded by the other pawns around and has nowhere to go, it's checkmate for Emily yet again.

"It's a checkmate." Emily said with a grin as Ratchet was dumbstruck by this

"Again?" Ratchet asked in disbelief.

"That's 2 for Emily. 0 for Ratchet." Jack said as Raf put the score.

"Nice match." Raf said with a nod.

"I agree. Did I just say that?" Miko said before asking in confusion but the boys just shrugged as Bolty was watching the match curiously.

"That last move wasn't legal at all. There's now way you would have defeated me that easily." Ratchet said as Emily shrugged but decided to explain how it worked.

"That move was perfectly legal. It's called checkmate." Emily told him as Ratchet was curious.

"What is a checkmate?" He asked in confusion.

"It's when the king is totally pinned down and cannot move." Jack said but that confused Ratchet even more.

"What king are you talking about?" Ratchet asked in confusion as Jack picked up the pawn that looked like it had a crown and small plus symbol on top.

"I'm talking about this piece here. It's called a king. You see, every pawn in the game has names and each has its own way of moving." Jack said as Ratchet looked at the piece curiously.

"Let me explain better. The pawn with a round head on top is called a pawn. The one Jack is holding is called the king, next to him is the queen, next you have the rooks. They're the pieces that look like castle towers. You have the knights, they're the horse looking ones. Last but not least. There's the bishops. Just like the one, I used to win. Like Jack said, each piece moves differently. Here's an example. The bishop moves diagonally. It can move as many squares as it wants, which is very useful. The rook moves from up and down, to the right and left, like a cross. The knight moves like an L. In other words, it has to land in the squares that form the end of an L and it's the only piece of the game that can jump over other pieces. A very useful tactic to take down a few other pieces and finally you have the queen and the king. These are considered as the principal pieces of the game. The queen can move in all directions. It's one of the hardest pieces to beat. The king, however, had limited movement. It can only move to one square in each direction. It's not much but it makes it hard to catch. The only way to win the game is to make sure the king is blocked in every direction. That's how you get a checkmate." Emily explained it to them and by the time she finished explaining everyone went silent.

They were impressed by Emily's knowledge of Chess. However, Miko's face revealed that she felt bored since all this information had made her brain go overloaded by too much boring information.

"Oh man, my head is hurting like crazy right now thanks to all your gibberish." Miko said as she held her head.

"Are you serious?" Jack questioned her in confusion.

"Uh, yeah. This is the most boring thing that I have ever heard in my whole life. It's even worse than school." Miko said with a 'duh' look.

"Why am I not surprised?" Jack asked with a small sigh.

"Despite my recent opinion. I now see that this game is not as ridiculous as it looks. I might even say it's interesting. Very interesting. I would like a rematch. Now that I know how this game works. I believe I have all the data I need to win the next match." Ratchet said as he was looking forward to a rematch.

"I don't mean to be rude but it takes more than data to win. Trust me. It took me years to get good at Chess." Emily said as she was fixing the pieces with Jack.

"Well, I believe the correct term for this is that I have all the time in the world." Ratchet said before the scanners started beeping as it seemed to have detected something somewhere.

"Scanners are beeping." Bulkhead said as he and the others all became alert by this.

"Finally, we might get to see some action." Wheeljack said as he smirked.

"I hope so. I have this urge to hit some Decepticons in the faceplate." Smokescreen said as he was really pumped on beating some cons.

"Hold on, you two. I need to check what's going on first." Ratchet said as he approached the main computer to check what the computers had detected.

When Ratchet starts checking the scanners, he sees that the scanners have picked up the signal of some kind of beacon but not just any beacon. A Decepticon beacon. Bumblebee beeps to say that he's surprised that the scanners have detected a Decepticon beacon somewhere.

"How did the scanners detect this beacon?" Bulkhead asked curiously.

"I don't know. But whatever it is. It must have been around here for quite a while." Ratchet said with his eyes narrowed in concentration.

The comm-link started ringing and they saw that it was Agent Fowler who was calling the base.

"It's Fowler." Emily said as she sat up.

"Great, more trouble." Jack said but got a playful nudge from Miko as the two older teens stopped rearranging the chess pieces.

Ratchet then answered to see why Fowler was calling them for and it might be something important.

"Agent Fowler, mind I ask the reason for this call?" Ratchet asked through the comm link.

"Glad you asked, Doc. Believe it or not our satellites have picked up a weird signal. Some sort of beacon. First intel reveals that it's from Decepticon origin." Fowler told them.

"Very interesting. Our scanners have picked up a Decepticon signal too." Ratchet said as he was curious but confused on why the scanners were acting up.

"I see. Well, here's the thing. Our satellites aren't able to get a fix on the signal's location." Agent Fowler said as Ratchet wasn't surprised.

"Doesn't surprise me. Human technology isn't exactly reliable in these circumstances. Let's see. Rafael, would you mind giving me a hand?" Ratchet said but turned to Raf to ask for his help.

"Sure thing, Ratchet." Raf nodded.

Raf takes out his laptop and starts to see if he can get a fix on this Decepticon beacon signal and the location of it with Ratchet helping.

"I'll try to get the coordinates of where this Decepticon signal is coming." Raf said as he typed away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Did I hear that right? A Decepticon signal?" Agent Fowler asked in shock as Emily nodded.

"Yes. We just detected it." Emily said as Raf continued to type.

"This might take a moment." Raf said as he was trying to get the coordinates on the signal before he was able to get the coordinates of the signal's exact location.

"Here are the coordinates. Latitude: 60 00' 0.00 North. Longitude: 105 00' 0.00" East." Raf said as Agent Fowler looked to where it was.

"These coordinates lead toward... Uh oh. It's Siberia." Agent Fowler said as Ratchet was a little uneasy and worried at the same time.

"Siberia? Never heard of it." Smokescreen said in confusion.

"Me neither." Wheeljack said with a shrug as Bumblebee whirred in agreement since he never heard of it before.

"I just heard rumors. They say that it's a very cold place." Bulkhead said as Ratchet turned back to the screen as the coordinates were locked on.

"What is Siberia?" Ratchet asked curiously.

"Bad news, Doc. I need to inform all Team Prime about this including Optimus. I'm on my way to the base right now. I'll brief you all in person." Agent Fowler said as Ratchet nodded.

"Understood, Agent Fowler. We'll be waiting right here for you." Ratchet said before Fowler hung up before Ratchet turned to Emily.

"Emily, I need you to find Optimus and tell him that he has to come here right away. Where are Arcee and Cliffjumper?" Ratchet said before noticing that both Arcee and Cliffjumper weren't present.

"They're in the S.A.F.E." Emily said as Ratchet nodded.

"Tell them to come here right now." Ratchet said as Emily nodded.

"Understood." Emily said as she ran down the stairs of the human area before running off to find Optimus, Cliffjumper and Arcee to tell them that they were needed.

Meanwhile in the S.A.F.E room, both Arcee and Cliffjumper were still training.

"And here I thought this training would be boring. I'm starting to like this. You're really good at it." Cliffjumper said as he dodge another punch.

"I do recall that I was always better than you." Arcee said with a smirk.

"And how does getting beaten by me a few minutes early qualify as better?" Cliffjumper questioned only for Arcee to punch him and knock him down.

"Because you fell for it." Arcee said with a chuckle.

Cliffjumper rubbed his face due to the pain that he just received from Arcee's punch. Damn, she's a femme that sure leaves a mark that's for sure.

"Hey, that's not fair." He complained.

"Consider this payback." Arcee said while crossing her arms.

"Okay, well." Cliffjumper said before sweeping Arcee's legs from under him and made her fall to the floor.

"You can consider us even." Cliffjumper said as Arcee rolled her optics.

"Yeah, right." She muttered.

Cliffjumper soon gets back up and offers his servo to Arcee so she can get up as well. She grabs his servo and gets back up but for a reason, she accidentally trips on her pedes and lands on Cliffjumper's arms as he caught her on time. They then both look at each other as if they got lost into each other's gaze before they suddenly got nervous and started letting go of each other and averted their gazes from each other.

"I'm, uh, sorry my bad. I accidentally tripped." Arcee said with a small blush on her cheeks as Cliffjumper was trying to fight off his own blush.

"Yeah and then I caught you, and, uh, I'm sorry I didn't want you to get hurt." Cliffjumper said as Arcee nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Arcee said before they stopped talking since they're both trying to get rid of the embarrassing and awkward tension in the air.

"Well, this is awkward." Cliffjumper said with a small smile.

"No kidding." Arcee couldn't help but chuckle softly.

While both Autobots were trying to get past the awkward moment, someone was entering the S.A.F.E room and it was Emily as she came in.

"Hey, guys, you've got to come with me now..." Emily said but trailed off when she sensed that something happened between the two.

"Hey, something happened here." Emily said as the feeling didn't disappear as she looked at the two and noticed they were blushing.

"Nothing major. We were just training. Getting ready to beat up some cons." Cliffjumper said as he tried to make his blush go away but failed.

"No, I don't mean that. I was talking about you two." Emily said as both Cliffjumper and Arcee looked at her.

"What? Us?" They both asked in confusion.

Arcee and Cliffjumper both look at each other and just after that they started feeling nervous and looked away while wanting to make the situation to end by telling Emily that nothing happened

"As if." They both said again as Emily put a hand on her hip.

"Come on, you guys. No need to be shy. I mean I totally get it." Emily said.

"Nothing happened, Emily." Arcee said but Emily wasn't having any of it.

"Look, I know you guys wanna keep things a bit private but there's no need to. I won't tell anyone. I just feel bad I missed the first CliffCee moment. Anyway, you guys have to come with me." Emily said before getting serious as Arcee perked up.

"Is everything okay?" She asked in concern.

"We've found something. Something very important. You have to come to see it for yourself. Fowler will brief us all on it." Emily explained as best she could.

After telling Arcee and Cliffjumper that their presence was needed, they both followed her as all the members of Team Prime were assembled. Fowler had arrived and he was going to explain the details of everything that he and the Autobots know so far.

"As you all are aware, I've detected a strange signal. Further analysis suggests that it's of Decepticon origin. However, the origin of the signal itself is not the problem. The problem is the location of where the signal has been detected. Take a good look at the map." Agent Fowler said as he motioned for Ratchet to start displaying the location of where it is.

"Siberia. A very cold region. Located between Europe and Asia. In Russia." Agent Fowler said as Jack cringed with the other kids.

"Talk about a hard decision here." Jack said.

"Very hard." Emily nodded in agreement.

"What are you guys talking about?" Arcee asked in confusion.

"Nevermind that. Let's just go check this beacon thing and see if we run into a few Cons." Wheeljack said as he punched both of his fists together.

"Hold on, hot shot. It's not quite as simple as that. Take a closer look at the screen. The scanners tell us that the beacon is in an abandoned factory." Agent Fowler said with a serious look.

"What does that mean?" Ratchet asked in confusion.

"It means we might have bigger problems here." Emily said with her arms crossed.

"I don't get it." Arcee said as she looked confused on why they look so serious.

"Me neither. I mean, the bots have already been to Russia. When Mech caught Breakdown, remember?" Miko said as she was not getting the idea of why they were getting so serious and worried about it.

"Yes, although last time you kept things under the radar and luckily for us, we avoided disaster." Agent Fowler told them.

"Agent Fowler, what kind of catastrophe are you referring to?" Ratchet decided to ask since this seemed to be a serious matter.

"One that could cause a whole bunch of trouble. I'll explain so you can understand. A long time ago, the United States and Russia had what you may call an alliance. Some sort of relationship. Political relations are considered to be fragile. Their objectives are to maintain peace between the countries around the world. If peace between countries is broken, it would cause a whole lot of chaos." Emily explained and bots finally understood why the situation was serious and worrisome. If something happened, it would cause a war between two countries.

"Exactly. Which is why this mission must be done under the radar no matter what. If something happens, the Russian might think the United States might be involved in this." Agent Fowler agreed with her as he turned to the Autobots.

"Hold on. Why would these Russian guys think your country is invading them?" Smokescreen asked in confusion.

"Because the law stipulates that no country can enter another country's territory without proper authorization. If we do that it causes a major incident, the Russian would consider this an invasion." Agent Fowler explained

"Oh, come on. I'm sure that since this has something to do with the Decepticons, they can turn a blind eye for once." Wheeljack said with his arms cross but Optimus has to disagree with him

"I'm afraid not, Wheeljack. Getting involved in the politics of this world could have great consequences. I won't allow this world to suffer the same fate as Cybetron." Optimus told him. He rather not risk the planet that he considers a new home to suffer the same fate as Cybertron did.

"But, Optimus, if this thing has any ties to the Decepticons, we can't just ignore it. If we do so, we might be giving Megatron the upper hand." Bulkhead said as it seemed to have added a whole level of worry.

"For once, I agree. Who knows what it's in there? Probably a weapon of mass destruction." Ratchet agreed with Bulkhead.

"Then how about we stop arguing and get a move on it?" Arcee suggested as she stepped forward and caused everyone to turn to her.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Cliffjumper asked in confusion as Bumblebee whirred the same question.

"Fowler said that this mission had to be done under the radar. So I'll be doing this mission. Alone." Arcee said with a serious and determined look as Cliffjumper looked at her in shock.

"What? You can't be serious, Arcee. You can't go out like that alone. Who knows if it's not a Decepticon trap." Cliffjumper said as he grew worried that his friend might get hurt and Optimus seemed to have thought the same.

"Cliffjumper is right, Arcee. The risk is far too great for only one Autobot. We will have a better chance if we all go together." Optimus said as Wheeljack seemed to be excited to head out.

"You heard that, guys? Let's pack it up and get ready to roll." He said but Arcee seemed to have an opinion in mind.

"Optimus, with all due respect, I think it's best if I go in alone. If we go in together, something might go wrong. I'm the only one that can go in and out without causing any ruckus. However if you feel like I should go with someone, then Emily can come with me. She could learn a thing or two." Arcee said as she looked to Emily to see what her answer was.

"Thanks, Arcee. But I would rather watch from behind." Emily declined as she gave a polite smile.

"Then I'll go with you." Cliffjumper said as he stepped forward.

"No offense, Cliff. But you're not exactly the silent kind." Arcee said as Cliffjumper seemed to deflate slightly but he can at least try and insist that to let him come with her.

"But you can't go in alone. Optimus, you can't let her go on her own like that." Cliffjumper said as he looked to Optimus for help but it looked like Optimus had to give in. The mission needs to be done under the radar. He cannot afford something happening.

"I'm afraid it's a risk we're gonna have to take. Arcee is right. At this point she's the only one who can carry such a mission. That is if Agent Fowler approves it." Optimus said before turning to Agent Fowler to see what he has to say in the matter.

"Very well, just try not to make a big mess. I'm counting on you, Prime." Agent Fowler finally agreed.

"We will do our best, Agent Fowler." Optimus told him with a reassuring nod.

"Then you don't mind if I stay to supervise this operation." Agent Fowler suggested and Optimus had to smile at that. Some help from Fowler is appreciated when it comes to how countries and politics work.

"Not at all, Agent Fowler. Your expertise for such terrain could be of use to us." Optimum said with a small yet grateful smile.

"Arcee, are you sure you can do this on your own?" Jack turns to her in concern as she looks at him with a reassuring look.

Emily puts her hand on Jack's shoulder to reassure him that Arcee was sure of it.

"Trust me. If someone can pull this off, it's Arcee." Emily said with a small wink as Jack smiled at that knowing that it was true.

"Man, that sucks. Arcee is the one who gets out on a mission while we have to sit back and watch." Wheeljack said as he seemed to pout as Bulkhead gave a small chuckle.

"Better luck next time." Bulkhead said.

"Do not worry, Wheeljack. We will remain on standby in case Arcee needs reinforcements." Optimus said as he turned to Wheeljack who shrugged at that.

"It's better than nothing." Wheeljack said.

The other Autobots gather to wish Arcee good luck on her solo mission while making sure that she is careful.

"Good luck out there, Arcee." Smokescreen said with a smile to which she returned.

Bumblebee beeps to tell her to not let her guard down in case something was up.

"Thanks, guys." Arcee couldn't help but smile at them before Cliffjumper approached her.

"Be careful. Do not get distracted." Cliffjumper said with a smile but the worry was still present in his optics.

"Make sure you come back in one piece." Jack said as he was worried as well as Arcee put a servo on her hips.

"You know me, Jack. It takes more to bring me down." Arcee said before Ratchet spoke up.

"Are you ready for transportation?" He asked as she nodded and walked to the ground bridge.

"Yes." She said.

"Alright then. Just remember that where you're going, the temperature can go below zero. For now there's no sign of any storm whatsoever. If anything happens, be sure to contact us." Ratchet said and Arcee knew what that meant. Contact the base once her core systems reached the blue zone.

"If you need any help, be sure to contact us immediately." Optimus said as Arcee nodded.

"Understood, Prime." Arcee said with a determined look.

"Good luck out there." Miko said as she gave her a thumbs up.

"Rafael, do you still have the coordinates?" Ratchet asked as he turned to the 12 year old who nodded.

"Yes. I'm sending them now." Raf said as he gave Ratchet the coordinates to which he put the coordinates to the ground bridge.

"Coordinates received. Activating the ground bridge." Ratchet said as he put the coordinates down and activated the ground bridge.

"Watch your back out there." Smokescreen said as Arcee smirked at that.

"Right." She said before she ran to the ground bridge and transformed before driving through the portal.

On the other side of the portal, she came out and had arrived in the cold territory of Siberia. After she came out of the ground bridge, she transformed and began looking around the snowy terrain.

"It's very snowy here. At least it's not cold." Arcee said as she looked around her to see the vast area covered in snow and the good thing was that it wasn't hailing up a storm.

Back at the base, Ratchet had closed the portal and Emily let out a small breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Phew... That was a close one." Emily muttered quietly to herself but Miko was able to hear that.

"What was that?" She asked curiously but was a little suspicious and caused Emily to tense up slightly at that and became nervous.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything." Emily said as she looked anywhere but Miko.

"Why didn't you accept a mission with Arcee?" Miko asked again.

"Call it a feminine intuition." Emily said as Miko continued to look at her suspiciously.

While Miko thinks that Emily is hiding, Jack had noticed that something was bugging Cliffjumper after Arcee left through the ground bridge.

"You too are worried huh?" Jack couldn't help but notice as Cliffjumper turned to him.

"You caught me huh?" Cliffjumper said.

"You know, I used to think like that back then when you were still... you know. In a way, she also worries about me. It made me realize that Arcee has a great heart and that she's strong enough to endure anything." Jack told him.

"Yeah. But still I can't help feeling worried about her. If something happened to her..." Cliffjumper said as he tried to stop the negativity from surfacing.

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't think like that. Everything is gonna be alright." Jack stopped him from thinking of bad things that might happen to Arcee.

"I hope so. And just so you know, you're way out of your league with her." Cliffjumper teased as Jack couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you jealous?" He asked.

"Of you? Pfft, dream on." Cliffjumper said with a smirk as both of them laughed before they were both cut off when the comm links started ringing.

"Arcee to base, do you read me?" Arcee asked as Ratchet pressed some keys to open the comm-links.

"We hear you, Arcee. What's your status?" Ratchet said.

"I'm okay but I need to recheck the coordinates." Arcee said and Raf did just that.

Back in Siberia, Arcee looked around since she wasn't near the factory.

"The factory is a bit too far from where I am." Arcee said.

Back at the base, Raf checks the coordinates again to see if they're the right ones.

"The coordinates are good. Maybe we weren't precise or something." Raf said as he looked up and Ratchet nodded before replying to Arcee.

"Arcee, I have complete confirmation. Maybe this is due to a miscalculation." Ratchet replied.

Back in Siberia, Arcee nodded and knew it was time to roll out and head for the factory.

"I see. Well, I better get a move on." Arcee said.

"Be careful, Arcee. The terrain is very dangerous." Ratchet told her and she appreciated his concern.

"Got it. Time to roll." Arcee said before stopping on using her comm link before transforming before driving to where the factory is located.

Meanwhile not far from the factory, Airachnid in her helicopter mode was getting closer to her destination when her scanners had detected an incoming Autobot's signal not too far from where she was.

"An Autobot signal nearby. I do hope it's someone I know. It would make things a bit more interesting. For now, I better move fast." Airachnid purred with sadistic glee.

Once Airachnid gets close to the factory, she starts to descend slowly before transforming into her robot mode and lands perfectly on her pedes and smirks at the sight of the abandoned building.

"Here at last." Airachnid said to herself before looking around the old factory.

"This place looks like it has been abandoned for a while." Airachnid noted.

While she was looking around, she noticed a big hole in one of the walls and figured out that the capsule that she's looking for had made a hole on the wall when it was launched from the ship as the hit created an opening through the factory.

"Well, well, well. An opening. A lady sure loves when the door is open for her." Airachnid said with deadly pleasure before she shifted into her spider form to walk a bit faster towards the entrance.

She soon enters the huge holes that lead inside the factory and sees that just like outside, the factory looks abandoned since it was full of broken machines and spider webs. It made Airachnid feel very comfortable and more at home actually.

"This place is totally fit for my image. Oh where, oh where would this capsule be?" Airachnid muttered before taking out a scanner to locate the capsule.

The scanner soon started beeping normally before she suddenly saw a big hole similar to the one outside. The scanner started beeping slowly and indicating that the capsule was in the hole and it probably landed somewhere in the lower levels of the factory.

"There." Airachnid smiled before using her web to lower herself through the hole.

She soon reaches the lower level on where the capsule landed as Airachnid walked around a bit, using the scanner before suddenly the scanner detected something. It was close. Airachnid then walked to the direction the scanner was indicating and just like that she had finally found the capsule.

"Ah, there you are. And lucky for me you're still one piece. The time has come to use you against the Autobots including this pest Arcee." Airachnid said as she approached it. She wiped the frost that covered the piece of it which was glass to reveal someone familiar before opening it to release him from the capsule and stasis.

Meanwhile outside, Arcee was still driving to get to the factory. When she got there, she transformed before she informed the base that she had finally arrived at the factory.

"Arcee to base. I have reached the factory." Arcee said as small rounds of cheers from their human friends were heard.

"Thank Primus." Ratchet sighed with relief.

"Hmm, this place looks abandoned." Arcee noted as she noticed that the whole building was rusty and covered in ice and frost but not completely.

Back at the base, that was not surprising since it was abandoned for years now.

"Doesn't surprise me. This installation was used to make weapons. The Russians decommissioned the whole place a while ago. So the only thing there would be this Decepticon signal." Agent Fowler said before Raf asked a curious question that's been bugging him

"I'm curious. Why is a Decepticon signal coming from there?" Raf asked curiously as he turned to the Autobots.

"Forget the signal. I wanna know what it is." Miko said and earned a nudge on her side from Emily.

"Based on my analysis. There's a slight possibility that it's some sort of containment unit." Ratchet said after checking the scans again.

"Are you sure?" Arcee asked to be sure.

"I'm positive." Ratchet confirmed as Bumblebee whirred a questioning tone since he finds that hard to believe.

"On this planet? No way." Wheeljack said in disbelief. How can there be a Decepticon beacon there?

"I came in a Decepticon pod. What are the chances of it being the same?" Smokescreen said as he felt a little offended by it. He came from the Decepticon pod for crying out loud.

"Well if you're here, I'd say the chances that there's a con inside are pretty high." Bulkhead joked only to get a look from Smokescreen.

"Very funny." Smokescreen said sarcastically with a roll of his optics.

"Okay so it could be some sort of pod or whatever. But how come none of you asked yourself how it came here to Earth?" Miko soon raised a question and she made a point there.

"She's right." Cliffjumper said.

"It's not complicated. I mean if it is a pod. It must've been sent here from Cybertron." Wheeljack guessed but Ratchet seemed to know how it got to the planet.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I think I have an answer to it. I've been doing some research. And based on what I've found, I can tell you that this containment unit is in fact a Stasis Cell." Ratchet said as this caught Emily's attention. A what?

"A Stasis Cell? What's that?" She asked curiously.

"Stasis Cells are pods that are used for Cryo-Stasis. When used, the one inside enters into a Deep Stasis. Before the war, the Stasis Cells were used to contain dangerous criminals. But when the war began, the Decepticons started using them to lockdown many Autobots who were captured." Optimus explained as she nodded slowly.

"Okay but that still doesn't explain how this Stasis Cell thing landed on Earth." Agent Fowler said.

"Maybe it was brought by a ship. Like the Decepticon warship." Bulkhead suggested.

"Or maybe by another ship." Ratchet said before his optics widened slightly.

"No offense, doc. But the last Decepticon ship I've seen flying around this planet is the Nemesis." Wheeljack said but Ratchet had to disagree with him. The only other Decepticon ship that was on Earth's orbit before they found the Immobilizer.

"True. But there was another Decepticon ship that once navigated through earth's atmosphere upon our arrival. The Harbinger." Ratchet said and the situation became a little more serious.

"So it would stand to reason that this Stasis Cell was part of the cargo the Harbinger was carrying." Optimus said as he was worried about what the stasis cell might have in its contents.

"That would explain a lot." Arcee replied dryly.

"The Harbinger? I heard a rumor about it that said that this ship was attacked by other Autobots and was cut in half during the battle." Wheeljack said as Agent Fowler turned to them. How come he's hearing it now?

"Hold on a minute here. Are you telling me that there was once a Decepticon ship flying around Earth's atmosphere? How come I'm hearing about it just now?" Agent Fowler questioned as Team Prime had a look that said 'You never ask'.

"I'm with him on this one. How come I didn't hear about it?" Smokescreen said as he totally felt lost.

"Yeah me too." Cliffjumper agreed with him.

"We didn't say anything because that ship crashed long ago." Bulkhead said as Fowler turned to him.

"How do you know that?" He asked curiously.

"Bee and I were part of the Autobots who made it crash. We barely escaped with our lives." Bulkhead said a grim tone that tells that many lives were lost during the fight.

"I can't believe I missed that." Smokescreen said but noticed the stern and serious looks everyone was giving him.

"Sorry." Smokescreen quickly apologized.

"I wonder." Emily muttered with a thoughtful hum as Jack turned to her.

"Something on your mind?" Jack asked curiously.

"Is there a way we can access the Harbinger log to see what's inside that Stasis Cell?" Emily asked as everyone turned to her.

"What for?" Raf asked curiously.

"To see if we can find who was put inside that Stasis." Emily said but Ratchet stopped her.

"Out of the question. If we try to access the Harbinger's log, the Decepticons would detect it's signal. Besides, the only thing other than this Stasis Cell was the Immobilizer." Ratchet said since the situation is too risky if they did that.

"The-what now?" Miko questions in confusion.

"The Immobilizer." Arcee replied.

Back in Siberia, Arcee was looking for an entrance to get inside while explaining what the immobilizer is.

"A weapon created by the Decepticons. It freezes anyone touched by it's light. Some sort of Stasis. But unlike ordinary Stasis, you're still conscious. It's like a living dead." Arcee explained.

Back at the base, Miko made an 'Oh' face while nodding in understanding. So that's what froze Bulkhead and the others before.

"Oh you mean that stick thingy that froze you all at once?" Miko asked as she looked at Bulkhead and the others who nodded.

"Yes. But other than that, I don't see the connection between those two." Ratchet said as Miko went into thinking.

"Maybe the Decepticons had an Autobot in it. That would be so awesome." Miko guessed with an excited grin.

"I hate to break it to you, kid, but the Cons aren't known to be merciful." Wheeljack said as he found that hard to believe. The Decepticons putting an Autobot in the Stasis Cell? Well, Smokescreen did come from a Decepticon escape pod, who knows who it is in the Stasis Cell.

"Why do you think it could be an Autobots when it could possibly be a Decepticon?" Emily had to agree with Wheeljack.

"Oh please, now why would Megatron put one of his own in stasis?" Ratchet questioned.

"Exactly. Megatron wouldn't put a Decepticon in stasis unless this one was too dangerous even for him. That would explain why the ship carried a weapon that could induce stasis. Whatever is in that Stasis Cell, must be dangerous." Emily said and Wheeljack sensed where this was going and smirked.

"Well there's only one way to find out. Let's go to the Harbinger to find out what we want to know." Wheeljack said as the bots knew that the only way to know who or what is in the stasis cell is to go to the Harbinger to find out.

"Hold it right there, loose cannon. If you're thinking I'm gonna let you check the Decepticon ship that has been taking the dirt nap ever since Lincoln was president, you got another thing coming." Agent Fowler stopped him with a stern look as Wheeljack gave him a look.

"Listen, tiny. I don't have to take orders from a guy like you." Wheeljack warned him as Bulkhead tried to stop him from hurting Fowler.

"Easy, Wheeljack." Bulkhead said as Bumblebee helped him restrain the other Wrecker and whirred for him to calm down. Optimus quickly intervened and had already thought that maybe checking the Harbinger for info about what's in the stasis cell can be helpful.

"Agent Fowler, checking the Harbinger might be dangerous. However we must know if the Decepticons have hidden some sort of weapon powerful enough to destroy us." Optimus told him as Agent Fowler had to let them but they're not going there without him.

"Fine but I'm going with you. I don't want them to release a weapon of mass destruction on my planet." Agent Fowler said and that was acceptable before Emily stepped up.

"I'll go with you." She said as Miko turned to her.

"Whoa, wait a minute. You refused to go with Arcee to Siberia but you don't mind going to an old Cons ship. Are you sure you're not hiding something?" Miko said as she was a little suspicious on why Emily didn't want to go to Siberia.

"No, I already told you that if I didn't go with Arcee it is because I feel like she could do this on her own." Emily told her as Miko was still giving her the suspicious look.

Back in Siberia, Arcee heard that and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Emily. Good news, everyone. I think I've found a door." Arcee said as she stopped by what looked like the door.

"Arcee, keep your comm-link open." Optimus told her.

Back at the base, everyone was getting ready to depart to the Harbinger to get some answers.

"The others and I are going to the Harbinger." Optimus said as Smokescreen grinned excitedly.

"Yes. Finally some action." Smokescreen said.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go already." Cliffjumper said but was stopped when Optimus put his servo on his shoulder and made him look up to him.

"Cliffjumper. I believe it is best you stay here and keep an eye on Arcee." Optimus told him as Cliffjumper looked confused but understood what he meant.

"Are you sure? I mean it's not like I don't want to, it's just..." Cliffjumper said but couldn't finish his words as Optimus nodded in understanding.

"I know. That is why you have to stay here until we come back. Ratchet, prepare for departure." Optimus said as the medic nodded.

"Right. I shall upload the coordinates and prepare the ground bridge now." Ratchet said as Raf looked at him surprised. Did Ratchet save the coordinates to that place?

"You've kept the Harbinger's coordinates?" He asked curiously and Ratchet couldn't help but chuckle.

"Of course. You wouldn't expect me to erase the coordinates of an ancient Decepticon ship." Ratchet said with a chuckle and Raf couldn't help but smile.

"Whoa, talk about thinking ahead. Anyway if Emily is coming with you guys, can I come?" Miko asked but Bulkhead clearly has the look.

"No, you can't. You stay here where it's safe." Bulkhead told her and made her let out a frustrated groan.

"Sorry. Better luck next time." Emily said as she pats her shoulder.

Emily walked down the stairs to join the others and so did Fowler.

"Okay, I'm ready." Emily said before taking the brooch out of her pocket and putting it on before activating it as Fowler watched in shock and surprise as Emily was wearing an advanced looking battle suit.

"Sweet eagle." Agent Fowler said in shock and surprise as Emily just shrugged with a small smile.

"Yeah, I know. I get that reaction quite a lot." She told him as Ratchet finished putting the coordinates in.

"Ground bridge online." Ratchet said before activating the ground bridge.

"Autobots, roll out." Optimus commanded.

Optimus, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Wheeljack all transform and drove straight through the portal. Ratchet stayed behind to transform and to carry both Emily and Fowler inside him.

"Get in." Ratchet said as he opened both of his doors.

Emily and Fowler get inside Ratchet as they buckled the seatbelts on and Ratchet closed the doors.

"Hold on tight." Ratchet said as he drove towards the portal.

On the other side, the others had reached their destination and transformed back as Ratchet along with Emily and Fowler had caught up with them. Before he could transform, Ratchet opened his doors to let Emily and Fowler come out before he transformed while Fowler breathed in shock at the sight before his eyes.

"Well, I'll be..." Agent Fowler said in shock.

The whole team was gazing at the wreckage of the Harbinger since it was cut in half.

"Unbelievable." Smokescreen felt his optics go wide at the sheer size.

"That's one big ship." Wheeljack couldn't help but look at the ship in shock.

"I never thought I'd see this." Agent Fowler said as he was still in shock before the comm-links started to notify them.

"Base to Optimus, do you read me?" Cliffjumper asked as Optimus answered him.

"We do, Cliffjumper." Optimus said.

"That's good to hear." Cliffjumper said in relief.

They all gazed at the wreckage while most of them remained silent as Smokescreen turned to Bulkhead.

"It must've been quite a battle." Smokescreen said as Bulkhead nodded sadly.

"You don't wanna know, kid. Believe me." Bulkhead said as he remembered those that were offline during it.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Emily said sympathetically as she looked up to him.

"It's okay. I'm just glad we were able to get rid of it." Bulkhead said in reassurance as she smiled slightly at him.

"Cliffjumper, we are about to enter the ship." Optimus said as they started to walk towards it.

Back at the base, the others listened as Optimus continued.

"In order to avoid the Decepticons detecting us, we must turn off our comm-links. Keep an eye on Arcee. Be sure to contact me if anything happens." Optimus told him and he nodded.

"You got it. Good luck out there." Cliffjumper said as they looked at the screens.

Back at the Harbinger's crash site, Optimus appreciated his concerns.

"Many thanks. Prime out." Optimus said before he and the others turned off their comm links.

"So what now? We go in and get the information we're looking for?" Agent Fowler questioned as Emily nodded.

"That's the plan." She said as she and Fowler quickly went to the Autobots.

"Remember, Autobots, we must be careful. The Decepticons might have sprinted traps around the ship. Be careful of your surroundings." Optimus told them as he slid his battle mask on.

"Hey, I'm always careful of my surroundings." Wheeljack said but Fowler had to disagree.

"Not from what I've seen." He said quietly to himself as he was referring to the damage he did after encountering Dreadwing.

"Let us move now." Optimus ordered as they all started walking to the Harbinger to see if they could find any answers.

Meanwhile back in Siberia, Arcee was trying to unlock the entrance that she had found.

"Almost there." Arcee muttered and after a few minutes of trying, she was able to unlock the entrance to get inside the factory which made her smile.

"Arcee to base." Arcee said as she turned on her comm link.

Back at the base, the others perked up at hearing Arcee.

"I'm finally in." Arcee said.

"Ah, that's good." Jack sighed in relief.

"Glad to hear it. Just try to be careful from now on. You don't know what you might find there. And whatever you do, do not open the Stasis Cell." Cliffjumper told her as she couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"You really should stop worrying about me, Cliff." Arcee said as Cliffjumper just let a smile show.

"I know, I know. I just don't want anything to happen to you." He said.

"It's fine. This place looks like it has been abandoned for eons. It's not like a Decepticon might get the jump on me. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go find a Stasis Cell." Arcee told him as Cliffjumper just sighs.

"Fine... I'll stay here in case you need me." Cliffjumper said before she hung up as Jack looked at him impressed.

"Wow, you handle it pretty well." Jack said as he turned to him.

"Yeah but I can't help feeling concerned. There's something about this that worries me." Cliffjumper told him as Jack had to agree.

"You and I both, pal." He told him.

"Come on. Don't try to get all mushy on me." Cliffjumper joked as Jack couldn't help but laugh.

"Funny because I think you're the mushy one around here." Jack teased him as Cliffjumper just rolled his optics in amusement.

"This is great. The first mission where there's zero risk of getting shot at by Decepticons, I have to sit on the bench. So unfair." Miko grumbled as she crossed her arms.

"Well, while we wait for them, maybe we can play some chess." Raf suggested as he went to where the board was and set everything up.

Miko seems reluctant about playing such boring but since she has nothing else to do, she has no choice but to play chess.

"Worst day ever." Miko said as she let out a sigh before joining Raf to play Chess.

Meanwhile back in Siberia, Arcee was looking around the factory. Using the flashlight she had brought with her.

"Hmm, where could it be?" Arcee muttered to herself before taking out the scanner Ratchet gave her.

She starts using the scanner to try and detect the signal of the Stasis Cell but strangely the scanner doesn't seem to be able to find the signal. Not even a single beep.

"That's weird. The signal is gone." Arcee said in shock and confusion before turning on the comm link to tell them what happened.

"Arcee to base. We've got a problem. The Stasis Cell signal is gone." Arcee said.

Back at the base, that was worrisome. How can a signal just disappear like that? Maybe the scanner is busted.

"Maybe the scanner is malfunctioning." Cliffjumper said as he heard a small scoff.

"Possible. I'll have Ratchet check it when I get back. To be honest, I'm surprised you were left out for the other mission." Arcee said as she was a little confused.

"Me too. Look, Arcee, about what happened earlier..." Cliffjumper started but Arcee cut him off.

Back in Siberia, Arcee looked around while telling Cliffjumper not to think about it too much.

"If this is about what happened in the training room, forget it. We both know nothing happened." Arcee told him but Cliffjumper wasn't thinking that.

"That's not it." He told her.

Back at the base, Cliffjumper rubbed his helm as he sighed softly.

"I was talking about..." Cliffjumper said but Arcee beat him to it.

"I know what you were talking about. You don't have to say anything." Arcee told him in a reassuring tone.

"I know it's just that I'm sorry If I felt worried about you. I know you're a capable warrior. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you." Cliffjumper said softly as he looked at his pedes as Arcee chuckled.

Back in Siberia, Arcee chuckled softly at him. Same old Cliffjumper.

"Funny. It has been a while since you got worried about me." Arcee told him with a small grin.

"I'm not worried... I'm just concerned..." Cliffjumper said and she couldn't help but smile at that.

"Thanks, Cliff. I appreciate it." Arcee said with a smile.

Back at the base, Cliffjumper couldn't stop the smile that appeared.

"Glad to hear it. Look, I have to keep the channel open. With Optimus and the others checking the Harbinger..." Cliffjumper said but Arcee beat him to it again with a chuckle.

"Yeah. I'll call if I find something." She chuckled through the comm.

"Okay. Be careful, Arcee." Cliffjumper said before she hung up and left Cliffjumper in his thoughts.

Even though he knew that Arcee could take care of herself in battle, he couldn't help but feel worried about her. What Arcee told him about the fact that he hasn't worried about her in a quiet while reminded him of something from a distant past.

Back on Cybertron he and Arcee were on the same Squad and they were both good friends back then. Suddenly, Cliffjumper started remembering through his memories of one of the times he was worried about her.

Flashback starts;

"Thank you, Zeta Team, I'll be sure to report this to my squadron." Cliffjumper said before cutting the communication before he saw both Arcee and Tailgate returning back from the field.

"I know it might seem repetitive. But one of these days, you're gonna meet your match. A Decepticon match." Tailgate told her as Arcee just rolled her optics while crossing her arms.

"You keep saying that and I'm still in one piece." Arcee said with a smirk before they looked up and saw Cliffjumper approach them.

"Hey, you two. Where have you been?" He asked as Tailgate pointed his thumb to where they came.

"Out there playing with some cons." Tailgate said nonchalantly as Cliffjumper gave them a look of disbelief.

"Seriously, guys, you have to stop doing this. You might get killed one day or worse. We cannot afford getting caught by the Decepticons." Cliffjumper said as he grew worried about them.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah we know. Besides, the cons know better than not to mess with me." Tailgate said as Cliffjumper put a servo on his hip.

"Like the time I had to go save your tailpipe?" He asked with a deadpan look.

"Must you always bring that up?" Tailgate retorted playfully.

"When it comes to knocking some sense into you. Yes." Cliffjumper said before Arcee spoke up.

"So anything new happened while we were out there fighting?" Arcee asked as Cliffjumper nodded.

"Yes. We just received orders. The Decepticons are gathering forces. Our defense is holding however the hire ups think a counterattack would be able to repel them. They have chosen a few Autobots with the information for this mission." Cliffjumper explained.

"Great, give us the intel and that way we can get ready." Tailgate said with an excited grin.

"I'm afraid the leaders didn't want to give this information to a lot of Autobots. If the Decepticons captured one that knew about this, it could jeopardize the whole thing. For now we must get ready and await further orders and that means keeping a low profile. So try not getting captured by the Decepticons." Cliffjumper told him but Tailgate knew he was just worried.

"Stop worrying, Jumpy." Tailgate joked and used the nickname he always calls him when they were little.

"I told you not to call me Jumpy, Tailpipe." Cliffjumper teased back with a smirk and if they were in an anime, Arcee could have sworn they had vein marks appearing beside their heads as the two were going against each other.

"WANNA PIECE OF ME?!" Tailgate argued.

"WHENEVER YOU WANT, BROTHER!" Cliffjumper argued back as they gave each other playful yet fiery glares as Arcee just face palmed at them.

"Will you two grow up? Stop acting like some newborn Sparklings." Arcee said as she just sighed. For some two grown mechs, they act like sparklings sometimes

Even when Arcee had told them to stop acting like a bunch of Sparklings, they both still wanted to fight each other. And just like that Cliffjumper came out of his inner thoughts.

Flashback ends;

"Hard to believe I was once worried." Cliffjumper muttered but Miko was able to hear that as she looked up to him.

"Worried about what?" She asked curiously as Jack and Raf looked up to him.

"About Arcee getting hurt, of course. I... what?" Cliffjumper said before he stopped.

Not realizing that the kids were watching him daydreaming, Cliffjumper had told them that he was worried about Arcee as he stared at them in disbelief. Scrap, he forgot he wasn't alone in the base.

"I, uh,... What are you doing here? Are you spying on me?" Cliffjumper asked back but it was obvious that he was hiding that he was feeling embarrassed.

"Well, considering the fact that you were daydreaming, I'd say we were a bit curious. And, man, oh man. I cannot believe what we just heard." Miko said before she let out a small snicker.

"I was the first once to say that it was a bad idea. But based on what I've seen, I think it was worth it." Jack said as he couldn't stop the smirk from appearing on his face.

"Wait till Emily hears this." Raf said as Bolty squeaked in agreement.

"Knowing her. She's gonna be like 'EEEK!!!!' I mean even I'm a bit surprised about all of those." Miko said as she did the best squeal she could master.

"Who would've thought?" Jack said as he made a mental list of who had crushes on the base.

First there was him crushing on Sierra, then Miko crushing hard on Tai, Emily crushing on Optimus and he was sure that Optimus was secretly crushing on Emily and now Cliffjumper is crushing pretty hard on Arcee.

"What are you guys babbling about?" Cliffjumper asked as he was pretty confused on what they were talking about.

"Oh, please no need to pretend you don't know." Miko said with her arms crossed.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about." Cliffjumper said as he was at a loss on what the kids were talking about.

"We're talking about the L word." Miko said as she tried to emphasize what she was trying to say.

"Ladder?" Jack guessed only for Miko to shake her head.

"No."

"Lettuce?" Raf asked only to get another shake of the head.

"No."

"Library?" Jack tried again.

"No."

"Lottery?" Raf asked.

"Nuh-uh." Miko said with a shake of her head.

"Oh, I got it. Lobotomy." Jack said as Miko wanted to pull her hair out.

"No, it's not... what? Are you serious? This is the best you could come up with." Miko questioned with a look of confusion.

"I was out of ideas." Jack said.

"Come on, you guys. The L word." Miko said as she motioned with her hands what she was trying to say.

"Ah, that L." Jack said with a smile.

"You don't mean..." Raf said as he was starting to smile. Just wait until Emily hears this.

"Yep." Miko nodded with a grin.

"That wouldn't surprise me." Raf said with a small laugh.

"What are you talking about?" Cliffjumper turned to him as Miko spoke up.

"You... and Arcee... are in love!" Miko exclaimed before silence took place and no one said a word before Cliffjumper started to laugh like crazy.

"Hahahahaha! Hahahahahahahaha! Me and Arcee? Hahahahahaha. Me in love? With Arcee? Get out of here! Oh, you kids sure know how to make a fella laugh." Cliffjumper couldn't help but laugh as he wiped some lubricant from his optic as Miko made a pout look.

"Are you making fun of us?" Miko asked as one thing ran through their minds 'You are so dense, Cliffjumper'.

"It's hard not to. I mean, come on, guys. Me with Arcee? You kids have such an imagination. And just so you know, there's nothing between me and Arcee." Cliffjumper said but the kids could practically tell that he was denying the fact that he and Arcee have some kind of chemistry going on between them.

"Then how come you got so worried about her?" Jack asked.

"I got worried because that's what happens when your comrades are in battle. I mean, it's kind of normal." Cliffjumper said and Raf had to agree with him.

"He does have a point." Raf said.

"True but I've rarely seen him get worried for others." Jack told them.

"Yeah, he only worries for Arcee." Miko said with a snicker.

"Not true. I'm worried about the others too, you know. Besides, that's none of your business." Cliffjumper said while crossing his arms but a part of him knew that the kids might be right.

Meanwhile back at the Harbinger's crash site, the team had already reached the crashed ship and they were trying to look for an entrance to get inside.

"I don't see an entry. " Smokescreen said.

"Great. Then how are we gonna get in?" Bulkhead asked as Wheeljack had an idea.

"I got an idea. Let's blow this part of the ship. It will make a whole big enough for us to get in." Wheeljack said as he was eager to use one of his grenades but Agent Fowler gave him a look.

"And it could get us all squashed. The explosion could destroy part of. the structure." Agent Fowler told him only to get a roll of a pair of optics from the second wrecker.

"Ratchet, do you think you can make a hole through the ship's metal?" Optimus asked as he turned to the medic.

"It's worth a try." Ratchet said as he switched one of his servos to his welding torch but Emily stopped him when she saw some kind of hole at the top of the Harbinger.

"Hey, wait. I think I found an entrance. Look up there." Emily said as she pointed to the top of the ship.

She had spotted a hole big enough for her and the others to get inside the ship without causing a bit of destruction.

"Well, we found our entrance." Bulkhead said as Bumblebee whirred in agreement.

"Guess we better start climbing." Wheeljack said as it was the only option to get to the entrance.

"Easier said than done. There's no climbing point." Smokescreen said but Emily found a way.

"We could use the structure around us to climb. Once we get on top, all we'll have to do is jump to get inside. Simple as that." Emily said as she saw a way.

"Well, now that we have a plan. Let's move out." Wheeljack said before he ran to the wall and started climbing.

But by doing so, he accidentally made a bit of rubble fall on where Fowler was who quickly got out of the way.

"Hey watch it there, loose cannon." Agent Fowler told him as Ratchet sighed and just switched his servo back.

"This is the kind of attitude that makes me miss Hot Rod right now." Ratchet said as he remembered that Hot Rod had to go back to his charge somewhere a week ago.

"Is it me or does this sound like a bad idea?" Bulkhead asked Bumblebee who whirred and beeped to say that climbing to get inside one of the abandoned Decepticon ships is seriously a bad idea.

"Well, I think it's gonna be fun. Last one on the top is a slug." Smokescreen shrugged before starting to follow Wheeljack to get to the top first as Bulkhead and the others just watched.

"A slug? Really?" Bulkhead questioned as Bumblebee let out a small laughing noise and whirred to say 'That's Smokescreen for ya'.

After that, he and Bulkhead start climbing and following their two friends. Before joining them, Optimus and Ratchet stay behind to see if Fowler and Emily need any help to climb up the ship.

"Agent Fowler, do you require assistance?" Optimus asked as he looked at their current human companions.

"Don't worry about me, Prime. I used to climb walls like that. This will be easy." Agent Fowler said as Emily just watched the others before turning to Optimus and Ratchet.

"You guys go on ahead. We'll catch up with you." Emily told them as they nodded before the two mechs started following the others and climbed up the wall to reach the entrance.

"Alright then, time to get to work." Agent Fowler said as he and Emily walked to the wall.

"No offense, Agent Fowler. But I find it hard to believe that you could climb a wall this high." Emily said as she turned to him.

"Don't let this suit and tie fool you, young lady. Back in the days, climbing a wall like that was a piece of pie." Agent Fowler told her.

"If you used to climb a wall for a pie, that would explain a lot about your weight." Emily said with a small snicker.

"Is that so? Well, maybe it's time you starts learning from the grown ups. Watch and learn." Agent Fowler said as he started to climb.

"Okay. I'll be right behind you in case you start falling over. Oh before I go." Emily said before selecting the current slot that had her earth element and her suit change to her earth mode.

"That ought to do it. Time to climb." Emily said before following the others up the wall.

Meanwhile back in Siberia, Arcee was still looking around the factory but she couldn't find anything that led to the Stasis Cell.

"This is a total bust." Arcee muttered before hearing some kind of wind coming from inside.

"Where is this wind coming from?" Arcee asked.

Wanting to figure out where the wind was coming from, Arcee starts looking around before she stumbles upon a hole in the wall. Following the trajectory, she finds that there was a huge hole on the floor and she had figured that the Stasis Cell must have gone through there and landed on the lower levels of the factory.

"So that's where you went." Arcee said before turning her comm link to contact the base.

Meanwhile back at the base, Cliffjumper and the kids were still talking about the fact that there was something between him and Arcee.

"Okay look, kids. There's nothing between me and Arcee." Cliffjumper said as Jack was leaning against the railing.

"I find that hard to believe. Before we came in, you and Arcee spent a lot of time together." Jack said as Miko agreed with him

"That's true. Partners are known to form a certain bond." Miko said with a grin.

"Oh, come on. You seriously think that I could be with someone like Arcee? Between me and her there's a lot of difference. I'm chatty and she's not. I never think things through and she does. She's quick and agile and as you can see, I'm not." Cliffjumper said as he listed down what he and Arcee had differences.

"So you have different personalities. Big deal, being in love with someone doesn't mean you need to have the same personality. Loving someone means being together despite your differences." Miko said as Cliffjumper finds that hard to believe.

"Yeah, well, I think that she and I are a bit too different and that's why it wouldn't work." Cliffjumper said before Arcee spoke up through the comm link.

"Yeah, mostly because he knows I'm not an easy gal." Arcee suddenly spoke up and gave Cliffjumper the scare.

"Ahhh!!!!!" Cliffjumper let out a surprise scream and jumped when he heard her.

"Arcee? Is that you?" Cliffjumper asked as Miko, Raf and Jack struggled not to laugh.

"Yeah, it's me." Arcee said with a smirk in her tone.

"Cool, cool, cool. Uh, just to be sure, how long have you been listening to what I said?" Cliffjumper asked as he heard a small snort.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know." Arcee told him.

"Okay, just so you know you didn't hear the part where I said 'Kids,what I'm about to tell you, it's untrue'." Cliffjumper said.

Back in Siberia, Arcee had to stop a small laugh. Cliffjumper is so predictable.

"Nice try. Anyways, I've found something. A huge hole on the wall and one on the floor." Arcee informed them before Cliffjumper spoke up.

"Slow down. A huge hole on the wall and on the floor? Any idea of what went through?" Cliffjumper asked and Arcee had a pretty good idea of what went through.

"I think so. The signs indicate that the Stasis Cell did this. And worked its way through the lower levels of the building. I'll have to go down to check it out." Arcee told him.

Back at the base, that was worrisome and Cliffjumper had to ask.

"Are you sure you don't need back up?" Cliffjumper asked.

"Oh I see someone is caring about me. I'm flattered." Arcee said and Cliffjumper blushed lightly.

"Me? No! I mean, I do care. But not as in care-care." Cliffjumper said and his blush only worsened when Jack, Raf and Miko started to laugh.

"Can we talk about something else? How deep is the hole?" He asked.

Back in the base, Arcee was by the hole and was looking down in it.

"Very deep. I'm not entirely sure. I'll have to go down and find the Stasis Cell. And you don't need to worry. I'll be moving slowly in case I meet up with a con." Arcee reassured him as she heard a small sigh of relief.

Back at the base, Cliffjumper let out a small sigh of relief.

"Fine then. I'll contact the others to see if they found anything. Cliffjumper out." Cliffjumper told her before turning off the communication before covering his faceplate in embarrassment.

"Oh man. That was so embarrassing." Cliffjumper muttered as Miko snickered. Too bad Emily didn't see this.

"Yeah. Too bad I didn't film this. Ems would've loved it." Miko said and Cliffjumper was just relieved that she didn't.

"That reminds me. I should contact the others and see how they're doing." Cliffjumper said before starting to contact the others.

Meanwhile back at the crash site of the Harbinger, the team were still climbing the wall to be able to jump through the hole on top of the crashed ship.

"Wow. Who would've thought we would have a great view from up here. And we aren't at the top yet." Smokescreen as he looked back at the view before them.

"Great. You can write a book about it later. Now get a move on." Bulkhead said as they continued to climb.

"Less talking, more climbing." Wheeljack said and climbed up but accidentally made some dust fall into Bumblebee's face plate and optics.

The scout whirred in discomfort and told Wheeljack to be careful as he tried to get rid of the dust that got into his optics.

"Settle down, muscle car. Some dust won't kill you." Wheeljack said and Bumblebee just let out a groan sound.

"You'll get used to it." Bulkhead told him as they continued to climb.

"Of all the things I could've done today, I never thought I would be climbing a wall." Ratchet grumbled as Optimus glanced at him as they continued to climb.

"Life is full of surprises, my friend." Optimus told him.

"I just hope we find something useful in that forsaken ship." Ratchet continues to grumble.

"Oh man. I'll never get how people do this." Emily said as she can feel her muscles straining slightly.

"What's wrong, young blood? Tired already?" Fowler joked as Emily just rolled her eyes.

"Very funny. I just hope you won't be taking your nap while climbing, grandpa." Emily teased as Agent Fowler just scoffed playfully.

"Ain't no respect." He said.

While Emily and Fowler were climbing to catch up with the others, Optimus started receiving a call in his comm-link and he knew who it was.

"Optimus, do you read me? Is everything okay?" Cliffjumper asked.

"Everything is fine, Cliffjumper. What is Arcee's status?" Optimus answered.

"She thinks she might have found the Stasis Cell. I was hoping you guys had already found information about it." Cliffjumper said as Optimus knew they haven't gotten any information yet.

"I'm afraid that gathering the data we need will take some time. We haven't entered the ship yet." Optimus told him as he continued climbing.

Back at the base, Cliffjumper just sighed softly.

"I see. Please be sure to tell me if you find anything. Whatever the information you find, it might help clear this whole thing out." Cliffjumper said but Optimus knew him and knew that he's worried.

"Cliffjumper, I know you're worried about Arcee. But you must remain focused." Optimus reassures him as Cliffjumper just sighs. Maybe a break might help him ease up a little.

"Ah, I know, I know. If you don't mind, I would like to request a break." Cliffjumper said.

Back at the Harbinger's crash site, Optimus nodded for permission since Cliffjumper needed it.

"Granted. Get some rest, old friend. Prime out." Optimus said before turning off the comm link.

Meanwhile back at the base, Cliffjumper was trying to ease off his mind as he looked to the kids to see what they were doing.

"What are you doing, kids?" He asked curiously.

"Hmm not much. This game is seriously boring." Miko answered him as she and Raf were playing Chess.

Since it was Miko's turn, she moved her Knight and with that move, Raf was able to take down another of her pawns again.

"One more down." Raf said as Miko just let out a groan.

"Ah. That's the fifth one already." Miko said.

"Boy, good thing it's just Raf who's beating you now. You wouldn't stand a chance against Emily." Jack said as Miko rolled her eyes.

"Says the one who still can't beat her at the race game." Miko said with a grin as Jack faked being hurt.

"Oh low blow." He joked.

"Hey, guys. I'll be taking a walk around the base. If anyone calls, please answer." Cliffjumper told them as Jack gave him a thumbs up.

"You got it." Jack said as Cliffjumper left to walk around the base to clear his mind as the kids watched him and couldn't help but feel bad.

"Poor Cliff. He sure looks down." Miko said as she was feeling sorry for him.

"I feel bad for him." Raf said as he had to agree.

"Me too. It's not like he wants to be worried. He just can't help it." Jack said.

"If you ask me, it's because he loves Arcee." Miko said as Jack had to agree.

"Love sure is hard to handle. I just hope something will come out of it." Jack said as he hoped that Cliffjumper and Arcee would get together soon.

Meanwhile back at the Harbinger crash site, the team were still climbing the wall and were almost at the top.

"Look, we're almost there." Smokescreen said as he spotted the ledge of the ship.

"It's about time." Bulkhead said with a sigh.

But Wheeljack had reached the top first and was soon followed by Smokescreen

"I came in second place? That sucks." Smokescreen said with a small frown.

"Better luck next time, rookie." Wheeljack said with a smirk.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee had finally reached the top as Bumblebee climbed up first. After he did, he gave Bulkhead a servo to help him climb up but what Bulkhead didn't know is that his weight and Bee were making the edge crack as it started to break and fall.

"Whoa!" Bulkhead exclaimed as the rubble was falling straight to Optimus and Ratchet.

"Look out!" Ratchet exclaimed as both him and Optimus stood still and kept their heads down as the rubbles hit them only to bounce off their armors.

"What's going on up there?" Agent Fowler asked before looking up.

He saw the rubbles coming for him and he quickly put his head down. But he then saw that one was coming straight for him. It didn't hit him but made him slip and let go and he started falling with a yell but luckily Emily quickly grabbed hold of his hand. But by doing it made her hand slip a little and now she has a hard time holding onto the wall.

"Hold on, Agent Fowler. I got you." Emily said but her voice was straining.

"Oh no. Ems and Fowler are in trouble." Bulkhead said as he saw what was going on.

"What do we do now?" Smokescreen asked in shock and worry.

"Don't know but we better think of something fast." Wheeljack said. They had to get to them fast or both Fowler and Emily would get hurt by the fall.

"I can't hold on any longer. I need help!" Emily exclaimed and the closest mech to them was Optimus.

"Hang in there, Emily. I'm coming." Optimus said as he started to climb as fast as he could to reach both Emily and Fowler on time.

"Hurry, Optimus. My hand is slipping...!" Emily exclaimed as her hand was slipping.

When Optimus finally got to where Emily is he reached his servo toward her to try and grab her. But suddenly her hand let go and made her fall along with Fowler.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!" Both humans let out screams as they both started to fall.

"NOOOOOO!!!!!" Optimus shouted as he just watched helplessly as both of their friends fell.

Emily and Fowler were falling down and the ground was coming up fast but suddenly at the very moment they were falling, Emily's hands and feet started getting covered in rocks. With her free hand, she grabbed on to the wall to ease off their fall and caught Fowler quickly. This new found ability helped her hold on to the wall.

"How did you...?" Fowler breathed in shock and in disbelief.

"I don't know. But I'm glad I found out." Emily said with a small grin.

Emily started climbing up and suddenly she realized that her feet covered in rock could make her walk on the wall and it made her smile widely.

"This is new. Alright, hold on tight, Agent Fowler. I'm taking us to the top." Emily said as she let Fowler on her back.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Fowler asked only for his answer as Emily started running up the wall to the top and passing over a shock and surprise Optimus and Ratchet on the way.

When she got there, she jumped so high that she made the others look at her with their mouths open. After that jump she made a perfect landing as she looked around with a smile.

"Well, what do you know? It was a good idea." Emily said with a grin.

Fowler let go of Emily while covering his mouth because he felt like he was about to throw up and she could have sworn he looked green on the face.

"I'm getting too old for this." Fowler groaned.

"Nice jump. Here I thought you were done for." Wheeljack said as he crossed his arms and a smirk.

"Me too. Good thing, I had one last trick up my sleeve." Emily said as she smirked back as Bumblebee started asking Emily on how she was able to run on the wall so fast.

"Don't know. Maybe my rock feet allow me to walk on rock. Like some sort of climbing trick." Emily said with a shrug as her hands and feet returned to normal as the rocks fell down from them.

"Well, I'm just glad about that trick of yours got us out of this mess. Oh... I should stop eating those strawberry donuts." Fowler said before running to the side and hurled there.

Ratchet and Optimus finally join the others on the top as they quickly approach the humans.

"Are you guys okay?" Ratchet asked as Emily looked up to them.

"We're good." She said.

"Thank Primus you are not hurt. From now on, we must be careful. For we do not know what lies inside the ship." Optimus said as he was relieved that Emily and Fowler were okay.

"Speaking of which. I have three things I'd like to give out. One, the view here is amazing. Two, I have a great look at our entry point from up here. And three, it's a long way down." Smokescreen said as he pointed to the hole for last.

"How long?" Bulkhead asked curiously as Smokescreen threw a small rock down the hole and it hit the floor.

"Very long." He said after hearing a small clunk below.

"Reminds me of the time when the Wreckers invaded Darkmount." Wheeljack said.

"What do you think we should do, Optimus?" Ratchet asked as he turned to Optimus who was looking down the hole.

"Since time is of the essence, we have no other choice but to make the jump." Optimus said as he turned to them.

"In case you forgot, me and Miss know-it-all here wouldn't survive a jump like that." Agent Fowler said as Emily felt a little offended at the 'miss know-it-all' comment.

"I shall carry you with me." Optimus told them.

"Alright then. Time to make the jump. See you on the other side." Wheeljack said as he walked back a little.

"You sure about that, Jackie?" Bulkhead asked as Wheeljack gave him a confident smile.

"Hey, I'm a wrecker. I know what I'm doing." Wheeljack said before he walked back a little more and started running towards the hole as the others watched and he jumped down the hole.

With that, he successfully enters the hole and gets inside the ship however, the others were not sure if he made it or not.

"You think he's?" Smokescreen asked nervously as Bumblebee shrugged in a maybe.

"Nah, I know Jackie. I'm sure he's alright." Bulkhead said as he believed that Wheeljack is okay but a part of him feels like that he should check if he's still in one piece or not.

"But just in case. I'll try and contact him." Bulkhead said as he turned on his comm link to contact him.

"Jackie, you there? Do you need some back up?" Bulkhead asked.

For a moment there's a total radio silence and suddenly Wheeljack starts talking through the comm-link much to their relief.

"You should know better. Wreckers don't call for backup, they call for clean up." Wheeljack said through the comm-link.

"Haha, see? I told you he was alright." Bulkhead said as they were relieved to know.

"Okay, then I guess I'm next." Smokescreen said but Optimus stopped him.

"No, Smokescreen. I must go first to make sure Agent Fowler and Emily don't get hurt." Optimus said as Emily shrugged as she and Fowler looked at each other.

"Guess we're the next ones." Emily said as Optimus kneeled down so both Emily and Fowler could get on his servo.

"Climb on." He said as both of them climbed on.

"Just be sure not to drop us, Prime." Fowler said as he held onto one of Optimus' digits.

"Talk about a negative attitude." Emily said as she held on.

"Hold on tight." Optimus said before he jumped down and landed carefully on the ship with a thud but Fowler had his eyes closed shut.

"Are we dead?" Agent Fowler asked.

"Nope. We're still in one piece." Emily said as she sat comfortably on Optimus' servo.

"Good. Because I think I'm about to... throw up." Agent Fowler said before stopping himself from throwing up again.

"Glad you made it. I take it that the others will be catching up soon." Wheeljack said as the three nodded.

Outside the ship, the others all were getting ready to make a jump to get inside the ship.

"I'm next." Smokescreen said before he jumped inside and landed on the ship.

After him, it's Ratchet and Bumblebee as the two jumped and landed inside the ship too and the last one left was Bulkhead to jump inside.

"Okay. Let's do this." Bulkhead said and jumped.

But somehow he missed the entry point and landed a bit far from it and due to his massive weight and the altitude of the jump. He made another hole in the ship which he was able to land inside the ship on his back. The sound of his landing was so loud that it made everyone jump from it in surprise.

"What in the name of Primus was that?" Ratchet asked as Emily looked around and saw where it came from.

"Uh, I think It came from there." Emily said as she pointed to where the sound came from.

Everyone saw that the cause of it was Bulkhead who had made a hole in which he passed through and landed on his back really hard.

"Hey... did I make it?" Bulkhead said with a groan.

"You did, Uncle Bulk. And it was quite an entrance." Emily said with a small laugh but a smile.

Ratchet helped Bulkhead to get back up.

"You should try to be more careful, Bulkhead. One of these days you're gonna hit something that's harder than you." Ratchet scolded him as Bulkhead rubbed the back of his helm.

"No kidding." Bulkhead said.

"Well, now that we're in. Where do we go now?" Smokescreen asked.

"We go to where there is a computer that has the information we need." Emily said.

"The only place that such data will be stored is in the control room of the ship." Ratchet said as he remembered where the control room was.

"And where do we find the control room?" Agent Fowler asked.

"I think I can help you with that. It's been a while. But I know my way around. The control room is not far from here." Bulkhead said.

"This place had been deserted for eons. Are you sure that you remember where it is?" Smokescreen asked him as Bulkhead looked at him.

"Watch it, newbie. I may be an old bot. But I'm not old enough yet to teach you a lesson." Bulkhead said as Smokescreen raises his servos up in defense.

"Okay, okay. I was just asking." Smokescreen said with a nervous laugh.

"Alright then. Time for a walk." Agent Fowler said but Emily stopped him.

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe we could let..." Emily started nervously and started to blush lightly.

"Optimus carries us so that way we don't risk getting stepped on." Emily suggested.

"You're right. I never thought of that." Agent Fowler agreed with her.

"If this is how you wanted, then I have no objection." Optimus said as he saw no problem in it.

"Thanks." Emily said and tried to stop the blush from forming any further since Optimus had her and Fowler in his servo and she was seriously trying not to faint from it and it felt like a dream come true.

Meanwhile back in Siberia, Arcee was going down the hole slowly as she started to look around and saw something peculiar. A tiny drop of Energon. Looking for such clues reminded her of an old memory of her past. She saw through a flashback of how she and Tailgate once followed the trail of a Decepticon Energon reserve.

Flashback starts;

Both Arcee and Tailgate wanted to bring this Energon to help their team as the trail led them to a possible Decepticon storage used to store some Energon.

"You see that? That is where the cons store most of their Energon." Tailgate said as Arcee turned on the scanner to see the amount of Energon that was stored inside.

"Based on what this scanner tells us, there's a whole lot of Energon. With that, we can really do some harm. So do you have a plan?" Arcee said before turning to him with a questioning look.

"Sure. The plan is to hit them hard and make sure they don't call for reinforcements." Tailgate said.

"Sounds good." Arcee agreed with him.

"Let's go." Tailgate said as both of them moved out.

The Decepticon guards were keeping an eye out, in case of an Autobot attack. But the guards weren't fast enough as Arcee had shot two down and caught the attention of the others who saw her.

"Autobots?! Attack!" A Vehicon ordered as the Decepticons didn't waste any time and started shooting back at her.

At the same time, Arcee was keeping their attention on her. Tailgate started attacking them from the rear. Punching down a few of them and the Cons were completely cornered and had no way out and in a matter of seconds, they were all down for the count.

"Nice shooting." Tailgate said as he switched his guns back to his servos.

"I had a good teacher." Arcee told him

"Yeah. I hope you learned how not to get lost." Tailgate joked but Arcee just rolled her optics at that.

"Instead of working on your lame jokes, why don't you help me out with this door?" She asked as she went to the door.

"Did you try crossing some wires?" Tailgate questioned.

"Gee why didn't I think of that?" Arcee said before taking down one of the control panels to hot wire the cables that controlled the door to open it.

After crossing the right cables, Arcee was able to get the door to open as she stood up.

"We're in." Arcee said.

"Stay sharp. There's bound to be more Decepticons inside." Tailgate said as he switched out his guns.

"Aren't I always?" Arcee remarked before taking out her arm blades.

"Go ahead. Ladies first." Tailgate said.

"Such gallantry. How thoughtful." Arcee said with a smile before going inside first and much to her shock and disbelief the storage has no Energon.

"No…" Arcee said in shock.

Tailgate came in next and just like Arcee, he was shocked by what he was seeing.

"What in the name of Primus is going on here?" Tailgate questioned in shock and disbelief.

Both were surprised to see that there was no Energon and it was as if it disappeared without a trace.

"There's no Energon." Arcee said.

"The Cons must've taken it somewhere else." Tailgate said.

"Or maybe someone else did this to trap us." Arcee deduced as she scanned the room.

"Well if you ask me. Whoever did this, is new on the job. There doesn't seem to be any weapons or trapping devices. And it doesn't seem like reinforcements are coming. Guess we should go back to base." Tailgate suggested as Arcee looked up to him.

"Are you sure? The enemy could be following us." Arcee said as the whole thing is making her feel uneasy all of a sudden.

"If so. We'll take them to a very special place. Come on. If we don't get back in time, we're gonna get in trouble." Tailgate said as Arcee nodded.

"Coming." She said as Tailgate walked out first.

Arcee walked to follow him but stopped for a moment. For some reason, she had sensed that something wasn't right and it felt like someone was watching them both from the shadows. She was brought out of her thoughts when Tailgate called her.

"Arcee, come on. We gotta go." Tailgate called as she gave the room one last look as she came out.

"Right." She said.

Both Arcee and Tailgate transformed and drove back to their base. And just like that Arcee got out of her thoughts.

Flashback ends;

After inspecting the energon leak that she had found, she had deduced that the Stasis Cell was close from where she was.

"It must be close by." Arcee said before she started jumping down to the lower levels and after a few more jumps, she had finally reached the lower levels of the abandoned factory.

When she got there, she started looking around the area. The whole place was dusty and full of spider webs which gave an uneasy vibe. When she started to walk, she had stepped on something a bit sticky. She started checking what it was and then she had realized what it was and she knew what it meant. She switched out her guns just in case she was attacked by surprise as she started walking to see if she could find the Stasis Cell. Suddenly the scanner started ringing, indicating the possible whereabouts of the Stasis Cell, however the signal wasn't very clear to see where.

"This is weird. The scanner said that it should be here somewhere but it doesn't tell me where. Better keep looking." Arcee said as she kept walking around to see if she could find anything.

Later, the scanner soon showed one point of where the Stasis Cell was located which filled her with hope.

"Finally." Arcee said as she started going to where it was pointing.

When she reached the point indicating, she had finally found the Stasis Cell.

"There you are." Arcee muttered before walking towards it but stopped when she stepped on something like a puddle of Energon and it looked like that whatever it was, was inside the Stasis Cell.

"Could it be?" Arcee asked herself as she walked slowly towards the Stasis Cell.

With one servo, she started rubbing the glass to remove the frost covering it and to see who was inside but much to her surprise, the Stasis Cell was empty. Just like that, she was able to put the pieces together and found out who opened the Stasis Cell. Not wanting to get attacked by surprise, Arcee started pointing out her guns all round her for she knew who was here and she knew that she wasn't alone.

"Come on out. I know you're here." Arcee growled as the familiar voice of her enemy sounded in her surroundings.

"Hahahahaha. What gave me away?" She asked with a hiss.

Airachnid's voice started echoing through the place as her laughter could be heard all around the place as if she was everywhere.

"You know, life can be so funny sometimes. I had a feeling that the Autobots would come. But I've never guessed you would be the one to come here. It could've been Optimus. Maybe Cliffjumper. But you are here." Airachnid said before shooting her web on Arcee's servos and pedes to immobilize her.

With both her servos and feet completely immobilized, Arcee fell down to the ground with a heavy thud as Airachnid slowly came out of her hiding spot.

"This makes things more interesting." Airachnid said as Arcee struggled to break free from her bounds.

"This reminds me of something. Now where did I see that? Oh yes, I remember now. It was the time when we first met." Airachnid said as she stopped in front of Arcee before kneeling down and used one of her clawed digits to lift Arcee's chin up.

"And just like the rookie. You got trapped into my web." She hissed slightly.

Arcee didn't say anything and started moving so that Airachnid wouldn't be able to touch her chin as she gave her a glare of deep hatred.

"This is becoming a habit between us. You fall on my web and all of the sudden, you're completely powerless against me." Airachnid said as she looked at her with a smirk.

"Why don't you just kill me and be done with it?" Arcee spoke with a sneer.

"Trust me, in due time I plan to. But I feel that my prey must suffer great pain. It shall make her death sweeter." Airachnid said but Arcee chose that time to kick Airachnid on the faceplate.

"Ahhhhhh!!!!!" Airachnid yelled in shock and surprise as she stumbled back.

After that hit, Arcee was able to release her arm blades and sliced the web binding up her servos. She then started to use her blades to cut down the web tying her pedes and was finally free. After that she was finally free, she started preparing herself to fight her sworn enemy. Airachnid starts getting up as she touched her lips and saw that Arcee hit her hard enough to make her leak some Energon from the corner of her mouth which made her hiss

"Nice hit. Very nice. But I am sure that this is a fight that you shall lose." Airachnid hissed as both of them got into battle stances.

"Let's see if you're right about that. RAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Arcee said before letting out a battle cry and rushed towards Airachnid who used her arms to protect herself before she starts to hit back

Arcee was using her side blades to try and strike Airachnid down, however both femme were giving out a splendid fight. Airachnid started shooting her acid but Arcee was able to get some distance between her and Airachnid to avoid her acid attack.

"You don't like my acid? Good because I'll make sure you get a taste of it." Airachnid hissed before she started shooting more acid at Arcee who kept avoiding them.

She started using her guns to shoot at Airachnid who shifted her pedes into her spider legs to jump to get higher altitude.

"I believe we could use a change of scenery." Airachnid suggested before she started going back to the higher levels as Arcee glared.

"You won't get away from me." Arcee gritted her dentas before following her to the high levels.

Meanwhile back in the Harbinger, the team was still walking around the ship to try and find the control room where they could get the information they were looking for.

"I don't mean to complain, big guy, but are you sure you know where we're going?" Wheeljack asked as he looked at his friend.

"Trust me, Jackie, I could never forget." Bulkhead reassured him.

"I'm curious. How was it?" Smokescreen asked curiously.

"How was what?" Bulkhead asked as he looked at him

"How was the battle?" Smokescreen asked since he wanted to know how it went down.

"It was hard. A lot of good comrades have fallen by trying to take this ship down." Bulkhead said solemnly as he remembered so many of fellow Autobots gave their lives to ensure the Harbinger was taken down.

"I wish I had been there." Smokescreen said as Fowler spoke up.

"I still find it hard to believe that a Decepticon ship was flying around our solar system long before you guys came in." Agent Fowler said before Emily asked him a question that was bugging her a little.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Agent Fowler. Why did you want to come here with us?" Emily asked him as she looked at Fowler curiously.

"Intelligence of course. Inspecting a Decepticon ship that has crashed long ago is a once in a life opportunity. It might help us one day if we're trapped in the Decepticon ship." Fowler said as Emily shrugged but he did have a point there.

"I never thought of that." She said.

"Optimus, do you have any idea of what we could find here?" Ratchet asked as Optimus glanced at him.

"No, however I fear the results of such findings. There are things that are better to be kept hidden in the past. Never to be found. But the present and the past are always intertwining each other, revealing secrets that have been hidden for a very long time." Optimus said as Emily sat down in a more comfortable position.

"If you ask me, I'm starting to have a bad feeling about all of this. I just hope we can get to the bottom of this." Emily said as she held her knees close.

Bumblebee beeped to say that they had finally reached the control room where they could use the computer to finally get the information that they needed.

"We found it." Smokescreen said as they all stopped and in front of them was the door to the control room but from the looks of it, the door was locked.

"It's locked." Ratchet said before Wheeljack stepped up.

"We can open it easily. Help me out, Bulkhead." Wheeljack said as Bulkhead stepped up as well.

"Sure thing." Bulkhead nodded before the two grabbed one side of the door and started to pull it to open it with their strength.

After a few moments, they had finally opened the door to the control room as the whole place inside was wrecked.

"Whoa, this whole place is wrecked. Are you sure these rusty computers still work?" Smokescreen said as he checked some busted monitors.

"There's only one way to find out. Put us down on the panel." Emily said as Optimus nodded.

"Sure thing." Optimus said as he walked to the main computer and put Emily and Fowler down on the control panel.

After both of them got down from his servo, Emily connected her holo-computer to the control panel as she tried to turn on the computer. But since it has been off for so long, she was having a hard time turning it on.

"Aw come on. Don't do this to me." Emily said as she tried to turn it on.

"This thing hasn't been turned on in eons. I'm not sure it will turn on now, kid." Wheeljack said as he crossed his arms.

"Don't you worry. This computer just needs some power. I'll give it some." Emily said.

"Do you have a Cybetronian battery on you or something like that?" Fowler asked as he turned to her.

"Not quite. My suit has an inner core that gives it power. I just need to transfer some to the computer." Emily said as she took off her brooch.

"Be careful of what you're doing. I don't want this suit to get damaged or anything. If you use too much energy, it'll be drained of power." Ratchet warned her.

"It's okay. I modified my suit not long ago." Emily said as she attached some wires to it as Ratchet looked shocked.

"You did what?" He asked in shock and alarmed.

"Relax, I'm good with tech." Emily calmed him down.

"By the way, you never told me where you got that suit from." Agent Fowler mentioned as Emily motioned her head to Ratchet.

"Ratchet made it for me." Emily said.

"Wow. Guess I didn't get the memo." Fowler said in amazement as Smokescreen was a little worried.

"You sure the cons won't know we're here?" He asked Emily as she looked at him.

"Don't worry. The energy isn't powerful enough for them to detect it. Come on, come on." Emily said before muttering.

The computer started to turn on after Emily had succeeded in giving it the energy that it needed.

"Yes. It works." Emily cheered as she started to log in to the database.

"Nice job, kid." Wheeljack said.

"You're awesome." Smokescreen said with a grin as she couldn't help but feel flattered.

"Thank you all. No need for applause. Okay, let's see what we got here". Emily said before starting to look through the data that the computer has in store.

"Cargo manifest, logs, prisoners. That must be where we'll find the information we're looking for. Let's see where this leads us." Emily said before opening the file of every prisoner that was locked in the Harbinger eons ago.

After she opened it, everyone saw the number of Autobots that had been locked in the ship was a huge list.

"That's a lot of prisoners." Bulkhead said as he felt saddened by this.

"Uh, does anyone know what it says? It looks a lot like some nonsense gibberish." Agent Fowler said as he had a hard time reading what was written.

"It's not gibberish. It's Cybertronian. This is a list of every Autobot who was a prisoner in the ship." Emily said as she read every name and couldn't help but feel sorry for the prisoners.

"I can't believe it. They're all…" Smokescreen said in shock as Bumblebee nodded to confirm his thoughts with a sad whir.

"This ship has taken the lives of many of our brothers." Optimus said with a sad and grim tone.

"There's no time for mourning, I'm afraid." Ratchet said but he was also feeling sad and upset for what happened to their fellow comrades.

"The doctor has a point. We have to keep looking." Fowler said as they snapped out of it.

"Right. I'm scrolling down the whole file." Emily said and did just that.

"Shouldn't you let one of them handle this?" Fowler asked her as Emily shrugged with a cheeky grin.

"It's okay. I can read Cybertronian." Emily said.

"Well I'll be." Agent Fowler said in surprise.

Emily started scrolling down the file but so far, all she found was the many numbers of prisoners that were all dead in the Harbinger. She kept looking until she had found something very peculiar that caught her attention.

"I've found something." Emily said.

"What did you find?" Ratchet sked as Emily read it and points to it.

"Look at this. It would seem that a prisoner has been kept alive." Emily told them in confusion.

"Is it an Autobot or a Decepticon?" Optimus asked curiously as he was shocked and confused by this.

"I don't know. Let's see if I can see." Emily said as she entered the database about the prisoner.

"It doesn't say. Why would they keep this one alive? Wait, I found something. It's some sort of report." Emily said as she opened it up.

"A report? What does it say?" Fowler asked as Emily reads it.

"It says that this prisoner was caught a long time ago. It's an Autobot." Emily said as she breathed the last words in shock.

"How can you tell?" Smokescreen asked.

"The report says that this guy was captured during a mission. He had a full Autobot squadron with him. It doesn't say any more. But wait. There's some sort of personal log." Emily said as she noticed what looked like a journal.

"A personal log inside a report? That seems kind of weird." Wheeljack said in confusion while raising an optic ridge.

"Let's see what it says." Emily said before opening the log as she cleared her throat and read it aloud so everyone could hear.

"'My research has finally given the results that were expected. The process is now complete and ready to be used in the near future. With this procedure, we shall turn the tide of this war to our favor. Even though this procedure is quite unethical and represents a great risk. We can finally extract the information we need from any Autobot prisoner who represents a disturbing resistance to the regular methods of interrogation.' There's no name in it. Any idea of who wrote this?" Emily finished before she looked at the others since there wasn't even a signature of who the prisoner is or who wrote the personal log.

"It's best if you do not know yet." Ratchet said

"Emily, can you try and find any information about this Autobot?" Optimus asked her as she nodded.

"I believe so." Emily said before she started looking to see if she could find any information about the prisoner before she stumbled onto something that looked like it could be the key to solving the mystery.

"I think I've found it. Ah, no. It's encrypted. I don't know if I can't break it." Emily said before letting out a small sound of dismay when she saw that it was heavily encrypted.

"Didn't you say you knew Cybetronian?" Fowler questioned her.

"I know how to read Cybetronian. I never said I knew anything about their encryptions." Emily deadpan. She may be half Cybertronian and half human but she still can't understand some stuff like the Cybertronian encryptions.

"Let me handle it." Optimus said as he stepped up.

"Okay." Emily said as Optimus starts to press some keys on the control panel to decrypt the file Emily found.

After a moment, the file was finally decrypting itself slowly to reveal what they needed.

"I didn't know you could do that." Emily said in awe as Optimus let a small smile appear as he looked at her.

"There is a lot you don't know about me." Optimus told her as she just smiled back.

"Does anybody know what this is?" Wheeljack asked as he noticed that the encryption was slowly turning into an image.

"It looks like some sort of picture." Smokescreen said in confusion.

"Of who?" Bulkhead asked. If it was a picture, then who is it?

The whole team watched the file getting decrypted slowly while holding their breathe. After a few seconds it was finally done however none of them couldn't believe what they were looking at or seeing as Optimus felt his spark drop. How was that possible…?!

"No... It cannot be…" Optimus muttered in shock. This is bad! This is really bad!

"By the Allspark. It's… It's not possible." Ratchet said in shock. How was it possible?! He was told that he was offline back then?!

"I don't believe it…" Bulkhead breathed in shock as Bumblebee was in shock as well.

"What in the name of George Washington's wig?" Agent Fowler said in shock and confusion.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Emily said as she was having a hard time believing this.

"What is it, guys? Is something wrong?" Smokescreen asked in concern and worry. What's got the others so worried about? Does it have something to do with the picture on the screen?

"You mind telling us what's going on?" Wheeljack questioned.

After a few seconds of shocked silence, Optimus turned to everyone as urgency was in his optics. They need to get back to base and fast!

"We must return to base at once!" Optimus urgently ordered.

Meanwhile back in the base, Miko and Raf's Chess game was about to come to an end since Miko had lost a lot of her pawns. All that she had left were her Knight, Rook, Bishop and King and Queen and Raf only needed a few more moves to win by checkmate.

"I can't believe I'm losing at the most boring game in history." Miko groaned as she was trying to think of a strategy.

"I gotta say, Raf, I'm impressed. I didn't know you played Chess that well." Jack said as he kept the scoreboard with Bolty jolting a marker in his jaws.

"I learn a bit with my big sister." Raf said as he was checking which pawn to move.

"Was your sister an ex Chess champion?" Miko asked curiously but Raf just shook his head.

"Nah, she was once part of a Chess Club back when she went to school." Raf said.

"Personally I prefer a Rock Club." Miko said before she moved her Bishop to try and block one of Raf's pawns.

"There." Miko said only for Raf to get rid of Miko's Bishop and leave her with few options.

"Oh, tough decision here." Jack said with a snicker and caused Miko to let out a groan at Jack after that.

"Sorry." He quickly apologized.

"Let's see here." Miko mutters and starts thinking of a plan to win the game.

When she comes up with one, she moves her Rook, only to lose right after she moved it. The only pawn she had left was the Queen and she had only one chance to get rid of one of Raf's pawns.

However, that would also give him a chance to move and block her king. Since that was the only choice she had, she was about to do it when suddenly the comm-links started ringing.

"What? Oh, it's just the comm-links." Miko asked in surprise before realizing it was the comm links.

"Optimus to base, do you read me?" It was Optimus and Raf used his laptop to answer.

"We hear you, Optimus. What's up?" Raf asked.

"Rafael, I need you to open a ground bridge now." Optimus said as his tone held urgency in it.

"I'm on it." Raf said and started to use the coordinates the others used to the Harbinger to open up the ground bridge.

"Sounds like something serious is going on." Miko said as she was having a feeling that something was about to happen.

"No kidding. I'm starting to get worried." Jack said as he gripped the railing.

Raf was done with uploading the coordinates before he activated the ground bridge so that Optimus and the others could return to base.

"Ground bridge activated and waiting for you and the others." Raf said and he knew that Optimus nodded.

"Understood." Optimus said.

After activating the ground bridge Optimus and the others had returned with Emily and Fowler on Optimus' servo but Agent Fowler doesn't look too good.

"Oh dear. I'm starting to regret this." Fowler groaned before stopping himself from throwing up.

"Optimus, maybe you should put us down before Fowler let's go of his stuff." Emily said before she looked up to him as he nodded.

"Of course." Optimus said before putting his servo down as both Emily and Fowler got off and got back on the floor.

"Ah... now that's better." Fowler sighs as his stomach settles down again.

"So did you guys find anything?" Jack asked.

"We did." Emily said as her voice held unease in it. What she and the others discovered back at the Harbinger was too shocking.

"So what was it? Come on, tell us." Miko said as she wanted to know what they found.

"First things first, where is Cliffjumper?" Emily asked as she didn't see the mech that stayed behind.

"I think he went for a walk around the base." Raf said as he remembered Cliffjumper telling them that to clear his mind.

"I'll go look for him. I'll bring him right up." Smokescreen said before he hurried off to find Cliffjumper.

"Are you guys okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Miko asked in concern as she saw the worry, panic and shock in their optics and eyes.

"Believe me. You have no idea." Emily said as she leaned against Optimus' pede with her arms crossed.

"What did you find?" Jack asked in concern.

"A long hidden Decepticon secret. One that I still have a hard time believing." Emily said with a grave tone.

"You and me both." Bulkhead agreed with her.

Meanwhile in the corridors of the base, Cliffjumper was walking around as he was thinking a lot about some past stuff and how he was really worried for Arcee. The last time he was this worried was a very long time ago. The past memory started flashing through his mind as if it only just happened yesterday and it happened back on Cybertron.

Flashback starts;

Cliffjumper was waiting for both Arcee and Tailgate who went out without him knowing. Cliffjumper paced around and was extremely worried about not knowing whether Arcee and Tailgate are still alive or not.

"Where are they?" Cliffjumper questioned before turning around just as the door to the control room opened as Arcee and Tailgate came in after returning from their 'small expedition'.

"Well, that was useful. We found some Energon and all of the sudden it disappeared." Arcee said with her arms crossed.

"Talk about a total bummer." Tailgate agreed just as Cliffjumper approached them.

"Do you guys care to explain where you were all this time?" Cliffjumper asked them sternly.

"Take it easy, Cliff." Tailgate said as he raised his servos in defense.

"You guys know better than to go out like that. Are you forgetting that the Decepticons are outside hunting us? And that our orders are to avoid getting captured?" Cliffjumper said as he narrowed his optics slightly as Arcee could feel that an argument was about to rise.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we remember. And if it helps you feel better, we thought we had found some Energon. But it turned out to be nothing. So just do me a favor, brother, and stay out of it. This is none of your business." Tailgate said with a slight irritation in his voice.

"What goes around here is my business. We are part of the same squadron." Cliffjumper told him.

"Just because we're part of the same team, it doesn't mean you need to think of yourself as our leader." Tailgate retorted.

"I never said I was your leader. But I'm the one that has to keep things in check and that includes keeping you in check." Cliffjumper said as he clenched his fists.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. You don't get to boss me around." Tailgate said with a glare.

"Calm down, you guys." Arcee said as she tried to calm down but Tailgate cut her off.

"No, Arcee, CliffJumper should hear this. I'm tired of him thinking he can lead us. You're not a leader, you're not a Prime." Tailgate argued.

"Is that so? Well let me tell you something, mister. I'm sick and tired of you thinking that this is some sort of game to you. For Primus' sake, open your optics, brother. This is a war, people get killed every day as the war goes on." Cliffjumper argued back as they glared at each other.

"You think that staying here is gonna help us win this war? The only way to win a victory is to attack the Cons right here and now with all we have." Tailgate said as Cliffjumper was trying not to explode and yell at him.

"You see this is your problem. You never think things through. If you wanna get yourself killed or worse, that's fine by me. But don't you dare drag Arcee along." Cliffjumper said as Tailgate scoffed.

"Oh, so this is what this is all about huh? You're jealous. Jealous that I'm a better warrior than you are." Tailgate scoffed at him.

"That's what you think. And you know what? I'm done dealing with you. We just received orders. Prepare to move out soon." Cliffjumper said before glaring at the last sentence as Tailgate rolled his optics.

"Whatever." He muttered before leaving the control room and leaving a pissed off Cliffjumper and a concerned and worried Arcee.

Not wanting to get lectured about what he said from the femme, Cliffjumper started checking the computer to see if there's anything out of the ordinary.

"You're proud of what you did?" Arcee asked softly as Cliffjumper sighed and glanced at her.

"If you're about to lecture me, please do us both a favor and don't." Cliffjumper muttered.

"I seem to recall that you and I talked about this." Arcee sighed as she approached him.

"About what?" Cliffjumper asked as she put a servo on her hips and gave him a look.

"Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what." Arcee said slightly with a stern tone.

"Oh please we're not going to talk about it again, are we?" Cliffjumper asked with a small sigh.

"It looks like it. Cliff, I have told you a dozen times that you don't need to be worried about me. I can handle myself. We both made the promise to leave out our..." Arcee said before trailing off at the end. This caused Cliffjumper's expression to soften knowing what she meant.

"Yeah... I know..." Cliffjumper said softly as he gently took her servo in his.

"I know it has been hard. But one day we'll get over this war. You'll see." Cliffjumper said with a small and warm smile which she couldn't help but return.

"Stop that." Arcee said with a small laugh as he blinked in confusion but the smile didn't disappear.

"Stop what?" He asked.

"Those eyes. We talked about it... it's not the right time." Arcee said as Cliffjumper let out a small laugh.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Cliffjumper said as Arcee punched his shoulder plate playfully.

"I'm gonna go see Tailgate and prepare for the mission." Arcee said as he nodded.

"Right." He said as Arcee left the control room to prepare for the mission.

That memory reminded CliffJumper of a time where he got used to being worried for Arcee. At the same moment he was deep in his thoughts before a voice called for his name which made him come back to reality.

Flashback ends;

"Cliffjumper!" Smokescreen exclaimed once he found him as he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Smokescreen in surprise.

"Rookie? When did you get back?" Cliffjumper asked in confusion.

"Just a few moments ago. There's no time to chat. You have to come with me now." Smokescreen told him as Cliffjumper sensed that it was something serious.

"Take it easy, Smokescreen. What's going on? Did you find something in the Harbinger?" Cliffjumper asked as Smokescreen nodded.

"You'll know it when you get there. Hurry up, the others are waiting for us." Smokescreen said as he started to run back to the main room with Cliffjumper following.

Meanwhile back in the control room, the whole Team was waiting for CliffJumper to come back with Smokescreen. After a few minutes, the two came in as Smokescreen pants slightly.

"We're here." Smokescreen said as Cliffjumper saw the urgency in everyone's optics and eyes.

"What's going on, guys?" Cliffjumper asked.

"Cliffjumper, thank goodness you're here. Did you talk with Arcee?" Emily asked as he nodded but was still confused.

"I did a few minutes back." He said as Optimus grew worried as he turned to the three kids that stayed behind with Cliffjumper.

"Have any of you heard about her after that?" He asked but they shook their heads.

"No. Is everything okay?" Jack asked worriedly.

"Things are a bit alarming. We found the information we were looking for." Ratchet told them as Emily stepped up.

"I've downloaded the info. So everyone here can see it." Emily said as Raf approached her.

"Here use my laptop." Raf offered as she smiled and accepted it.

She connected her holo-computer to Raf's laptop which was connected to the main computer of the base as she started to type on it.

"We found out that the one inside the Stasis Cell was an Autobot." Emily said without looking up from what she was doing.

"A bot?" Miko asked in confusion.

"No way. Do you guys know who?" Jack asked in disbelief as Optimus nodded.

"I'm afraid so." Optimus said gravely.

"Look at the screen." Emily said as she pointed to the screen as she showed them some kind of scrambled image.

"Uh, what are we looking at?" Miko asked in confusion but Raf recognized it immediately.

"It's an encrypted photo." Raf said.

"But now it's getting unscrambled." Agent Fowler said as the encrypted picture started to descramble itself and reveal what or who it truly is much to Cliffjumper and three kids' shock.

"Wait a minute. That's..." Miko said in shock. So shocked that she trailed off.

"It can't be..." Raf said in shock.

"Am I seeing things?" Jack asked as he rubbed his eyes but the image was true.

"By the Allspark... This is impossible... There's now way it's true... It has to be fake!" Cliffjumper exclaimed as he stared at the picture in shock and disbelief.

"I've checked the data three times already. Believe it or not, it's real." Emily said as she looked at them.

"Cliffjumper, I can understand your concern but right now we must take care of this situation at once." Optimus said as Cliffjumper tried to process what he just saw. It can't be... He died in front of Arcee. How could he still be alive?

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go to where Arcee is to give her a hand." Bulkhead said.

"I'm afraid it won't be possible. According to our scanners, the area's level of cold is growing." Ratchet told them as he checked the area Arcee is at and saw the temperature drastically dropping.

"A snowstorm?" Fowler asked as he nodded.

"Precisely. By the time we reach the factory, our body will be frozen and we will die in an instant." Ratchet said as Cliffjumper grew worried.

"So what do we do? We sit here and do nothing?" Cliffjumper questioned.

"For now, all we can do is hope that Arcee takes all sorts of precautions." Optimus said. He too wants to go to where Arcee is and help her but it's risky.

"But, Optimus, we have to go help her." Smokescreen said.

"Trust me, Smokescreen. I too want to help our comrade. But we must stand back until the storm clears out." Optimus told him.

"That could take a long time. Let's go now while it's still weak." Wheeljack said.

"Haven't you heard what I said? The cold temperatures of this storm will kill us in a matter of seconds." Ratchet said sternly.

"There must be something we can do." Jack said as he started to pace around.

"Maybe we could contact Arcee." Raf suggested as Emily let out a hum. That may not be a bad idea.

"Hmm, well, considering the storm is a bit weak. She might answer our call." Emily said as she agreed with Raf.

"And maybe we can use her current location to get inside the factory, avoiding the storm." Jack said.

"Let's see if what you say is true." Ratchet said before turning on the comm link to try and get in contact with Arcee.

"Arcee, this is Ratchet. Do you read me?" Ratchet asked.

Meanwhile back in Siberia, Arcee was jumping up to the upper levels to try and catch Airachnid before she escaped.

"You can't hide, Airachnid!" Arcee exclaimed as she finally reached the upper levels and Airachnid's evil laughter could be heard in the whole area.

"Hahahahaha. Me, run away? Oh dear, Arcee, you should already know how much I enjoy a good hunt. Have I ever told you about my previous hunt? The fun, the pleasure of entering inside the mind of your prey, cutting down all of his options. It makes you feel so powerful. And when the moment is right, you take down your prey with a deadly blow." Airachnid told her as Arcee kept looking around with her arm blades ready as she gritted her dentas. She can't let Airachnid get to her head.

"I'm not your prey." Arcee sneered heatedly as she heard a hum somewhere.

"Is that right? Tell me, who's the hunter and hunted? You or me? In every hunt, there's the hunter that stays hidden in the shadows and the prey that's being hunted." Airachnid said as Arcee scoffed at this.

"If you think this is gonna scare me, I've got news for you, Airachnid. I'm not scared." Arcee said before turning to where she heard pedes steps coming towards her.

Airachnid soon walks out of her hiding place with a sinister

"You will soon." Airachnid hissed before starting to launch her webbings at Arcee.

Arcee quickly transforms and starts driving to where Airachnid is while avoiding the web fluids being shot at her. To get some distance from her, Airachnid jumped and used her spider mode to climb up the wall and that way she would be saved from any attacks that Arcee might try to use on her. From that safe distance, Airachnid could shoot all the web fluid she wanted to try and trap her prey.

"You're gonna have to do better if you wanna catch me." Arcee taunted.

"The prey tries to stand tall. Without realizing that her failure is at hand." Airachnid said in riddles.

"I'll show you what a prey is capable of." Arcee growled just as her comm link turned on and Ratchet's voice was heard.

"Arcee..." But the communication was a bit scrambled due to the raising storm

"Do you read me..." Ratchet tried again as Arcee tried to answer as best she could.

"Ratchet, now is not the right time." Arcee said.

"-Arcee, you... to listen to me. The one who was... in the Stasis Cell is-" Ratchet tried to explain but the interference and coming storm is scrambling the comm links.

This new found information made Arcee lower her guard slightly by accident but was still dodging Airachnid.

"Who? Ratchet, do you read me?" Arcee asked as she needed to know who it was in the Stasis Cell.

Back at the base, everyone was getting worried since the comm link was getting cut off.

"Arcee, do you hear me? We found out who was locked inside the Stasis Cell." Ratchet said but there seemed to be a battle going on with the small occasional static.

Cliffjumper pushed Ratchet away from the controls so he could warn her about the danger she was in.

"Arcee, this is Cliffjumper. You gotta listen to me." Cliffjumper told her urgently while ignoring the 'You are so getting a wrench to the helm for that' look from Ratchet.

Back in Siberia, Arcee was still driving to try and avoid getting caught by Airachnid's web fluid while trying to talk to her friends.

"Cliffjumper? I can't read you. What did you say?" Arcee said as she wasn't able to hear what he tried to say and all that was in the comm link was static.

The same was for Cliffjumper back at the base as he tried to contact her.

"Arcee? Arcee?" Cliffjumper asked but there was no reply.

"Cliffjumper, have you lost your processor?" Ratchet questioned with a stern look but Optimus stopped a potential argument.

"There's no time for this bickering. Do we still have her coordinates?" Optimus said before asking Ratchet who shook his head sadly.

"No, the storm in her current location is scrambling her position." Ratchet told them as Cliffjumper was getting extremely worried.

"Can't you try and triangulate her?" He asked desperately.

"I'm afraid that right now is impossible. For now, Arcee will have to handle this on her own." Ratchet said grimly and caused everyone to be shocked by this and one thing went through their minds and professors.

Be careful, Arcee...

Meanwhile back in Siberia, Arcee was still driving and making it hard for her nemesis to catch her.

"You can't run away forever, Arcee. Sooner or later you shall fall into my web." Airachnid said.

"We'll see about that, Airachnid." Arcee sneered while thinking of a way to reach Airachnid and gain altitude.

Suddenly she found a way that led up close to where Airachnid was. She took the road leading up and then she made the jump while transforming.

"I got you now!" Arcee exclaimed to the surprise Airachnid.

With the impulse of the jump, Arcee punches Airachnid so hard that she falls from the wall and back on the floor on her front. Arcee soon landed on the floor and started aiming her guns at Airachnid who was trying to get back up.

"If I were you, I would consider giving up." Arcee told her but tensed when Airachnid just smirked at her. That's not a good sign.

"If I were you, I would watch my back a little bit more." Airachnid said which confused Arcee.

"Huh? Ahhhhhhhhh!" Arcee questioned but didn't get an answer as she let out a pained and surprised cry.

Arcee was hit pretty hard from behind out of nowhere and the one who hit her, sent her flying and hit the wall pretty hard. After that hit, she lay down on the floor motionless as her vision was a bit clouded and she could barely see who hit her as they stood beside Airachnid.

"Don't worry, my dear. When you wake up, you shall receive a great surprise from me and I'll make sure it will be the last thing you ever see." Airachnid hissed at her with deadly pleasure.

"Airachnid... you..." Arcee said with much strain as she struggled to get back up but didn't have enough strength left and after a few moments, she blacked out unaware that she'll get a nasty surprise later.

Meanwhile back at the base, Ratchet was trying to get Arcee's location but the storm in her current location only made things more difficult.

"Arcee? Arcee, do you read me?" Ratchet tried again but static can only be heard and that there wasn't going to be an answer from the femme.

"That doesn't sound good." Miko said.

Cliffjumper couldn't take it anymore as he looked at the ground bridge.

"That does it. I'm going in there and I'm bringing her back." Cliffjumper said but Ratchet stopped him.

"If you go in like that, you're bound to be killed by the cold temperature." Ratchet told him as Smokescreen stepped up.

"But, Ratchet, can't you build some sort of warming tech or something?" Smokescreen asked as Wheeljack agreed with him.

"Kid's right. All we need is something that will keep our bodies warm enough to reach the factory." Wheeljack said only to get a deadpan look from the grumpy medic.

"Oh yeah? As if it were that simple. We can't build a warmer device powerful enough to sustain us in such cold temperatures." Ratchet told him as he will seriously grab his wrench and whack Wheeljack with it for even suggesting that. It's not that easy to even make that kind of device.

"And nor do we have the time." Optimus said as he agreed with Ratchet. They won't have time to make something to help them resist the cold temperature of Siberia.

"If you want, I can give you a vehicle that will protect you from the cold. But if Russia finds out that an American vehicle has been sent into their territory, things will get ugly." Agent Fowler suggested before everyone turned to Optimus to see what his answer would be.

"What do we do, Optimus? You're the leader, it's your call." Bulkhead asked as Optimus looked at them as he hummed thoughtfully.

"Hmm." He let out softly.

Meanwhile back in Siberia, Arcee was coming out of her unconscious after getting hit from behind that she received earlier that knocked her out.

"Ah... where... what... ugh..." Arcee groaned as she tried to shake the pain that was on her helm.

After Arcee woke up, she realized that she was tied up by Airachnid's web fluid again from the ceiling. She tried to get free from it but it was no use as she slumped down slightly just as Airachnid's voice was heard as she came out of the shadows.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up." Airachnid said nonchalantly as she approached her.

"What are you doing here, Airachnid?" Arcee asked with a glare as Airachnid just smirked.

"You haven't figured it out yet? What a shame. I guess you are not as smart as I thought you were." Airachnid said as this only made Arcee to grit her dentas at her angrily.

"We'll see who's smart when I get out of this." Arcee warned her as she struggled a little.

"If you're smart as you say you are, you'll stay put and listen to a little story I've been meaning to tell you for a long time." Airachnid said as she turned to her with that sadistic smile still on her face plate.

"What makes you think I'm interested in what you're going to tell me?" Arcee questioned but was confused on what she was talking about.

"Because it's a certain something or more like someone from a past event." Airachnid said as her smirk widened more as Arcee looked confused. What did she mean by that?

"What are you talking about?" Arcee asked in confusion.

"Curious I see. I could tell you. And see how you start crumbling down when you get to look at your greatest failure in the optics. It's okay, you can come out." Airachnid said before telling whoever it was to come out.

The strange figure that was hiding in the shadows started to come out. Little by little, the strange figure could be seen as clear as daylight and when Arcee saw him, she could not believe who it was as her spark dropped cold. She saw who it clearly was but she's having a hard time believing it. It just couldn't be... she saw him die right in front of her!

"No... It can't be... That's impossible." Arcee muttered in shock, horror and disbelief as memories of that fateful day flashed through her optics.

When the mysterious came out of the shadows, it revealed to be someone that she had thought died and gone for a long time as lubricant started to form in her optics as one single name came out.

"Tailgate...?" Arcee asked as her voice cracked.

Back at the base, everyone was still waiting for Optimus' answer.

"Time is running out, Prime. Whatever you decide, I'm with you all the way." Agent Fowler said which Optimus appreciated.

"I appreciate your help, Agent Fowler. But I cannot condone this action if it will bring war in this world." Optimus said. He'd rather avoid the planet that he had his team grow to call a new home in a war like theirs.

"With all due respect, Prime. If the cons had one of your soldiers in a tin can, we have to do something now." Agent Fowler said before Miko spoke up since the whole thing was confusing her as well as the one from the Stasis Cell.

"Back it up a moment. Are you telling me that this Autobot who was inside that Stasis Cell was Tailgate? Didn't he die on Cybertron?" Miko questioned them as Cliffjumper nodded as he looked at the picture again. It's Tailgate alright and there was no mistaking it.

"Trust me, kid. I don't even get what's going on. But what I do know is that we have to go help Arcee right now before it's too late." Cliffjumper told her as he was having a hard time processing this but Arcee needed help.

"I hate to admit how dangerous this is but Cliffjumper is right. We gotta go help Arcee." Jack said. Optimus had seen what the others wanted to do.

"And so we shall. Time is running out. The risk is very high. We have no choice. We will have to go through the storm." Optimus told them all after finally coming to a decision.

"Great, another chance at getting frozen to death." Bulkhead said as Bumblebee whirred in agreement but Arcee needed their help.

"Don't worry. I think I know how you guys can get there while avoiding the storm." Emily said as she stepped up.

"And just how are we gonna do that?" Wheeljack asked as he and everyone turned to her.

"Simple, we'll open the ground bridge inside the factory." Emily said as Ratchet looked at her like she grew two heads.

"Are you out of your mind? Without the precise coordinates, we cannot use the Ground Bridge to get inside the factory." Ratchet told her as Emily just crossed her arms.

"We'll use Arcee's signal." Emily told them but that only confused them more. How are they gonna use her signal to get inside the factory?

"But how? Her signal's gone, remember?" Bulkhead asked her as Emily rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Yes, I have something that will help us. Not long ago. I worked on a device that could register every single coordinate of anyone's movements. Including you guys. When I finished the prototype, I asked Arcee to test it for me. Since she agreed, I implanted the prototype in her Autobot shield. And now the time has come to put it to work." Emily said with a grin but inside, she knew that Ratchet was about to explode just by hearing that.

"Hold on a minute. Are you telling us you worked on a coordinate register and you didn't tell anyone?" Ratchet asked her once he registered what she said.

"Uh, yeah, pretty much." Emily said with a nervous laugh.

"Do you have any idea of what you have done? If the Decepticons found a way to hack your prototype, who knows what could happen. They might even figure out the location of this very base." Ratchet scolded her sternly but she came prepared.

"Did you think I would create a prototype without adding some security protocols?" Emily asked her as she put a hand on her hip while looking at Ratchet who looked dumbfounded.

"Well, uh, I was under the assumption..." Ratchet said and mumbled the last parts quietly.

"Right. All I need to do is access the prototype's system. This might take a moment." Emily said as she turned on her holo-computer which was now connected to the computer of the base.

"Question." Agent Fowler said as he stepped up while Emily just worked on the coordinates registration but she spared him a glance.

"Yeah?" She asked as she didn't look up from what she was doing.

"Does this gadget of yours work with car keys?" He questioned only to be met with silence as Emily looked at him like he was crazy.

"You're kidding, right?" Miko said with a look as she was trying not to laugh.

The team was exploring the new option that Emily had created for this kind of situation, hoping it could allow them to go help their friend in need.

Meanwhile back in Siberia, Arcee was still in shock after she found out that her old partner, Tailgate, was still alive after all this time and she didn't even know it until now.

"Tailgate... Is it really you?" Arcee asked him as tears threatened to well up in her optics. But Tailgate just gave her a weird look as there was no recognition in his optics.

"Who are you? Why are you calling me that?" Tailgate asked her in confusion and it made her turn to Airachnid knowing that she had something to do with this.

"What did you do to him?" Arcee demanded but Airachnid didn't do anything but let a sinister smile appear on her face plate.

"Answer me. WHAT DID YOU DO TO TAILGATE!?" Arcee exclaimed in rage and desperation. She needed answers now!

"Stop calling me that. It's not my name." Tailgate gritted his dentas at her. Why does she keep calling him Tailgate?

Airachnid puts her servo on Tailgate's shoulder to stop him from doing anything damaging.

"Now, now, stay calm and don't listen to what she says. And to answer your question, I didn't do much. Compared to you." Airachnid said coolly as Arcee has a confused look. What did Airachnid mean by that?

"What are you saying?" Arcee asked in confusion.

"Do me a favor and leave me alone. It's time you had a talk between ladies." Tailgate said before walking off somewhere in the factory and leaving the two alone when Airachnid ordered him to.

"What kind of mind trick is this?" Arcee turned her angry optics back to Airachnid who just looked at her.

"I can assure you, dear Arcee, that this is no mind trick. This is real." Airachnid told her as she examined her claws.

"This can't be real. Tailgate was killed during the war. It can't be him." Arcee muttered as she was having a hard time processing this. Tailgate is dead... isn't he...?

"My guess is that you saw a ghost of the past, your past. Do you remember our first encounter?" Airachnid told her before questioning her.

Arcee clearly remembered the first time she was captured by Airachnid and how she tortured her when she was captive during those times. It scarred her deeply even now.

"Yes... I remember..." Arcee said with a small glare directed to her nemesis.

"Good. And do you remember the little story I told you about what happened to your old partner?" Airachnid then asked her again with an evil smile.

Arcee stayed silent at this as she remembered what Airachnid told her when she was a prisoner back then.

"Yes... you told me he was dead." Arcee said.

"Oh, yes I did say that." Airachnid said as she sent her an evil look. Arcee wanted to kick that look off her face but she needed answers first.

"Please tell me what happened. Why did he look at me like that? As if he didn't know who I was. And don't you dare lie to me." Arcee told her and Airachnid could sense the desperation in her tone. She could spare her for a little bit before finishing her off.

"Well... seeing how you won't live long enough, I might as well tell you. I have always been watching you. Your technique, your skills, your capacity. I was the one who watched from the shadow on the day you and Tailgate had found one of Energon reserves. So it was no coincidence that I was there to capture you." Airachnid started to explain as Arcee clearly remembered how Airachnid caught her by surprise with their first encounter.

"My mission was simply to capture an Autobot for interrogation and seize the attack of the coordinates. But little did I know, my prey was tough to break, even for someone like me. Seeing how you wouldn't cooperate, I had a plan to capture someone I could use as leverage to force you to talk and give me the information I needed. My soldiers had been watching Tailgate's team for a moment. And when the time was right, we attacked them. They all fell in a matter of seconds. All except one. I think you can guess who it was." Airachnid continued to explain as Arcee knew who she meant by that.

"Tailgate..." Arcee muttered the name but loud enough for Airachnid to hear.

"Yes, after the attack we found him severely damaged." Airachnid finished but this just confused Arcee more.

"And you didn't kill him? Why?" Arcee questioned as Airachnid smirked.

"He didn't remember anything. His memory was lost in the battle. Poor Tailgate, he had no memory of who or what he was. His misfortune became our advantage. His amnesia had allowed us to extract the information we needed to win the war. There was only one process on all Cybertron that could do this." Arcee knew what she meant by that as she glared at her.

"You didn't..." Arcee started but Airachnid just shrugged.

"Yes. Unfortunately his amnesia was very deep for us to get any useful information. All his memories as an Autobot had disappeared. Including his memories of you." Airachnid said and this caused Arcee's optics to widen as she felt crushed by this. Tailgate doesn't remember who he is... even her. This can't be real but the way Tailgate looked at her like she was a stranger was proof enough.

"There it is. The look in your optics. I told you this would happen after you saw your greatest failure in the optics." Airachnid said with an evil grin. Arcee snapped out of her reverie as she glared at her.

"You can consider yourself lucky that I can't touch you right now. But when I get out, I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to him." Arcee sneered weakly as Airachnid just rolled her optics and turned her back to her.

"Blame me all you want. But we both know that what happened to Tailgate was your fault. All this is your fault. Yours and yours alone." Airachnid said. Arcee wanted to retort and told her that it wasn't but deep down she felt guilty deep inside her as she lowered her helm to hide the broken look that appeared.

"Do not worry. I'll take good care of Tailgate. And when he finally remembers you, I'll make sure he joins you in the Allspark." Airachnid said with a sinister smile as she glanced at her enemy.

Meanwhile back at the base, Emily was helping Ratchet crack the code of her new prototype that blocked Arcee's location registry.

"How is the decoding going?" Ratchet said as Emily was typing away on her holo-computer.

"A bit slow but it will be over soon." Emily said as Raf was helping.

"At least that proves that we did a good job on building the code." Raf said as he typed away at his laptop.

"Yeah, no kidding." Emily said as she, Raf and Ratchet continue to work on the coding to get the coordinates.

"So what is this new gadget thing of yours supposed to do?" Miko asked curiously as she looked at what their friends were doing.

"Basically it's a tracker. But unlike ordinary trackers, it can register every coordinate. And if it goes offline for a reason, I can access the coordinates registered through a specific code created for each one of you." Emily explained as Jack became curious. If Arcee volunteers to let Emily try her gadget, does that mean they each have one too?

"Just out of curiosity. Did you make one for all of us?" Jack asked curiously as Emily nodded.

"Yeah, I did. In case you were caught by the Decepticons. Better safe than sorry." Emily said with a small grin as he rolled his eyes playfully.

"When were you going to tell us about this?" Miko asked her in disbelief.

"I was going too." Emily told her as Jack looked at Raf.

"And you knew about this, Raf?" Jack asked as Raf nodded.

"Well, considering that I help her build the codes. Yeah I think I did." Raf said with a sheepish grin.

"You two were able to keep that secret for so long? I'm impressed." Agent Fowler said as he watched the trio work.

"There's one thing that I still don't get. Decepticons never keep prisoners, so why keep Tailgate alive for so long?" Smokescreen stated the obvious question.

"No idea, kid." Bulkhead said with a shrug.

"Maybe he knew something that the Cons wanted." Wheeljack guessed as Bumblebee turned to him and whirred to ask what it could be. Cliffjumper suddenly remembered something as he turned towards everyone.

"I think I know. Back on Cybertron, our squadrons had received the coordinates for an attack. Most of the teams had the info. Turns out, Tailgate was one of them." Cliffjumper told them as everyone looked at him.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why the cons kept him in a Stasis Cell." Smokescreen said as he crossed his arms but Optimus figured out why the Decepticons kept him in a Stasis Cell.

"It's quite simple, Smokescreen. They wanted to extract information from Tailgate. There was only one way to do so." Optimus said and Ratchet sighed since he knew what Optimus was talking about.

"A Cortical Psychic Patch." Ratchet said with a heavy sigh as Optimus nodded gravely.

"I'm afraid so." He said.

"To think the cons would stoop so low." Wheeljack gritted his dentas together at that.

"Shouldn't surprise you considering that they're willing to do anything to win." Bulkhead said with his arms crossed.

"Excuse me, but you kind of lost me here. What is a Cortical Psychic Patch?" Agent Fowler spoke up with confusion. What's a Cortical Psychic Patch anyway?

"A mischievous procedure, created eons ago by the Decepticons. This procedure would allow someone to enter the mind of a Cybertronian and access all his memories. The two minds would share a connection however that procedure was very dangerous, for the ones whose minds were invaded." Ratchet explained since he studied it even before the war started.

"Which is why the procedure had been declared illegal by the Autobots." Optimus said.

"Too bad. We could've used it to get some info from one of these cons." Agent Fowler said while crossing his arms. That could be useful.

"A Cortical Psych Patch might've been made illegal by the Autobots; however, the medics had the right to use that procedure if it was necessary. We used it back then when Optimus was infected with the Cybonic Plague. Which was also created by the Decepticons as a biological warfare. A virus created by the hands of the Dark Lord itself." Ratchet finished explaining.

"I'd be surprised if it weren't." Agent Fowler said before Emily spoke up since what Ratchet said caught her attention.

"So wait, you're telling us that you did a Cortical Psychic Patch connection?" Emily asked in confusion as Raf spoke up this time.

"Yes, when Optimus got infected, we had the coordinates of the Nemesis. Back then, the ship was suffering a malfunction." Raf said as Jack remembered that incident.

"I remember, Bee and Arcee went there to find the cure for the virus. But they found something worse than the virus. They found out that Megatron was still alive." Jack said as this made Emily to look at them in shock. Just how many adventures did the Autobots have with Jack, Miko and Raf and Fowler and June before she came along?

"Still alive? You mean he was dead back then?" Emily asked in confusion.

"That's what we thought until that day. However, since he was still alive, we were able to make a Cortical Psychic Patch and find the cure." Ratchet said as Raf nodded but his eyes held what looked like fear and disbelief.

"Yeah. I only wish we knew what would happen after." Raf said as Emily was curious to know what happened.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Bee's the one who dared to get inside that Rust Bucket's head to get the info. He got it, but something worse came out of it." Bulkhead explained as he turned to Raf who said one name.

"Megatron." Raf said.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked as she looked at them

"When we found out he was still alive, he was in some sort of coma. And when Bumblebee got out of his mind, Megatron followed him." Jack told her as she stared at them in shock before looking at Bumblebee who nodded to say that it was true.

"Can we skip that story for a moment? There's something that doesn't add up. The Decepticons used the Cortical Psychic Patch to see what Tailgate knew." Wheeljack said as he paced slightly.

"Where are you going with that, Uncle Jackie?" Emily asked curiously.

"Think about it. If the cons had a way to get any kind of information, why was Tailgate put on stasis?" Wheeljack stated the obvious.

"Yes you're right. It would be illogical for the Decepticons to keep an Autobot alive that could give up information that easily unless... it didn't work." Ratchet said as he realized something but he's not sure if I'd true.

"What do you mean by that?" Smokescreen asked in confusion.

"I'm not entirely sure but I think that when the Decepticons entered Tailgate's mind he might not have the information." Ratchet said as he put a servo to his chin as he thought.

"That's impossible, Ratchet. Tailgate knew the details of the mission. I should know, I'm the one who told him." Cliffjumper said.

"What are you saying, Cliffjumper?" Jack asked him in confusion.

"Well you see... When Arcee disappeared, Tailgate contacted me to see if she had talked with me. And all of the sudden there was a huge explosion and suddenly, there was no more communication." Cliffjumper explained as he grew saddened at the end of his explanation.

"It would seem that at this moment, Tailgate was attacked by the Decepticons and possibly captured." Optimus said as he voiced what they all guessed and they grew worried.

The computer started beeping, meaning that the code was opened as Ratchet smiled.

"Ah-ha. The code has been cracked." Ratchet said as Emily looked up.

"All we need to do is enter the password of Arcee's tracker. It's 217XDY-3GH23. All the letters in capital." Emily told him as Ratchet entered the password.

When he finished putting the password in, a huge number of coordinates appeared on the screens as Wheeljack whistled in disbelief.

"Whoa, that's one tracker. You've outdone yourself, kid." Wheeljack said as Emily just grinned.

"The one on top is when Arcee entered the factory. Copying now and transmitting through the ground bridge." Raf said as he quickly copied the coordinates where Arcee is and uploaded it on the ground bridge.

"Autobots, prepare for immediate departure." Optimus said as everyone got ready.

"Now that's more like it." Wheeljack said.

"I'm going too." Cliffjumper said as he stepped up but Optimus stopped him.

"Cliffjumper, I believe it's best for you to stay here." Optimus told him as Cliffjumper looked at him.

"I can't do that, Optimus. If Tailgate's there, I must be the one to bring him back." Cliffjumper said as he looked up at him as Smokescreen looked at him.

"Why you?" He asked.

"Because he's my brother." Cliffjumper admitted much to everyone's shock.

"Whoa, Cliff has bro? Talk about a huge spoiler." Miko said.

"I understand your concern, Cliffjumper." Optimus said.

"Then you know I have to go. I almost lost them once. I won't let it happen again." Cliffjumper said with determination in his voice.

"I know that you feel the need to help them both. But I'm afraid that you will have to stay here until we come back." Optimus told him. As much as Cliffjumper wanted to protest and insist that he should help, he can't disobey an order from his leader.

"Fine..." Cliffjumper said as he walked back and couldn't believe that Optimus told him to stay back at the base and do nothing.

"Poor Cliffjumper, this isn't easy for him." Jack said sadly as he watched the Mech that he grew to view as a friend and father.

"Yeah, it's not easy to find out your brother is still alive." Miko said as she pitied Cliffjumper.

While the team was preparing, Ratchet was entering the coordinates of the factory so that way the team could directly get inside and avoid the storm. In a matter of seconds, the coordinates were in and the ground bridge was ready to be activated.

"Coordinates are in. I'll prepare the ground bridge." Ratchet said.

"Get ready, boys, we're going in." Smokescreen said with a grin.

"I'm coming too. I just need to find something. Ah, there it is." Emily said and put what she was able to find in her bag.

For a moment she had a hard time doing so but she was able to put it on after a few seconds of struggle.

"A winter coat?" Miko asked in confusion.

"For protection from the cold. You never know when you could catch a cold." Emily said as she fixed the buttons on her coat.

"Okay?" Miko said in confusion before starting to whisper to Jack.

"Is it just me or is Ems acting a bit weird?" Miko asked in a hush whisper as Jack looked at Emily and shrugged.

"I really do not know." He said.

Back in Siberia, Tailgate continues to walk around. When suddenly he started to see memories going through his mind. It felt very disturbing for him since he didn't know what it meant. He saw himself doing things he didn't clearly remember with people he didn't remember. But the one that struck him the most was that he saw the blue femme who called him Tailgate earlier.

"What is this? Why am I seeing things? Why is she appearing in my mind? Could I know her? No, my mistress said that she was with the ones who did this to me." Tailgate said as he looked back to where his 'mistress' is with the femme that they both captured before stopping when he heard a strange noise.

"Huh?" Tailgate followed where the sound came from and hid behind some crates and peered to the side.

When Tailgate saw what it was, he saw some sort of portal appearing out of nowhere as dread settled in his spark.

"Oh no." He muttered before running back to warn Airachnid what he just saw.

Meanwhile back at the base, the Autobots were all getting ready to leave and go help Arcee and rescue Tailgate.

"I'll keep the channel open in case something happens." Ratchet told them all.

"It's gonna be fine, Ratchet." Smokescreen reassured him.

"Yeah nothing two wreckers can handle. Just some good old wrecker style and one grenade and this mission is not gonna take long." Wheeljack said and ignoring the glare Ratchet gave him as Smokescreen just snickered.

While the team were getting ready, Cliffjumper sneaked from behind and got through the portal without anyone noticing. Emily saw him and quietly went downstairs toward the ground bridge completely unnoticed as she followed him.

"Just make sure you don't blow the factory sky high." Agent Fowler told him.

"We'll make sure to keep collateral damage at a minimum. Autobots, roll..." Optimus nodded and was about to tell the team to roll out before he noticed that Cliffjumper was gone.

"Where is Cliffjumper?" He asked as everyone looked around and didn't know where the red meh ran off to.

"That's weird he was just there a minute ago." Bulkhead said before they realized something as Smokescreen looked to the open ground bridge portal.

"Do you think he...?" Smokescreen asked as Ratchet sighed. He's going to give Cliffjumper an audiofull later after this.

"Oh no. He went to help Arcee." Ratchet said before Miko spoke up after noticing a certain blonde wasn't present as well.

"Uh, guys, Emily is gone too. She must have followed Cliffjumper." Miko said as Optimus grew worried for the two.

"Well what do you know? This just got a whole lot better." Wheeljack said with a chuckle.

Inside the portal, Cliffjumper was running as fast as he could to get there in time and save Arcee and possibly his lost brother. He was not gonna lose them again. Not this time.

"Hang in there, guys, I'm coming." Cliffjumper said before a voice called out to him.

"Hey, wait up!"

"Huh?" Cliffjumper stopped and turned around after hearing the voice and saw that it was Emily.

"Kid? What do you think you're doing?" Cliffjumper asked in shock as Emily stopped just in front of him.

"Ain't it obvious? I'm coming with you." Emily said as she looked up to him.

"Oh no you're not. If something bad happens to you, Arcee will hold a grudge on me forever." Cliffjumper said as Emily put her hands on her hips. She won't change her mind.

"Well, good luck trying to convince me not to go. Arcee is like a mother figure to me. And if it was me who was in danger, she would do everything to save me. She's part of my family and we never turn our backs on our family. Please, Cliff, let me help you." Emily pleaded as Cliffjumper thought about it and decided to just let Emily come with him.

He kneeled down and put his hand down so Emily could get on so he could keep an eye on her.

"You're pretty convincing." Cliffjumper said with a small grin which she returned as she got on his hand as he stood back up.

"Arcee taught me that." Emily said.

"No kidding." Cliffjumper rolled his optics in amusement as they both continued to go through the portal.

Back at the base, everyone was literally in disbelief that their two friends were able to slip pass them unnoticed.

"What do we do now?" Bulkhead asked.

"The only thing we can do. Bring our comrades home. Autobots, roll out!" Optimus commanded as the whole team all ran through the portal and disappeared from sight as Ratchet, Fowler, Jack, Miko and Raf all hoped that everyone gets back in one piece.

"Good luck." Ratchet said.

Meanwhile back at Siberia, Cliffjumper and Emily finally came out of the portal. When they got out, they started looking around and saw how the factory had been abandoned for ages.

"This place looks huge. How are we going to find Arcee?" Cliffjumper said as he looked around.

"Beats me. Maybe we ought to turn on the lights." Emily said and saw her breath in a puff of smoke when she breathed.

"Any idea of how we can do that?" Cliffjumper asked as he made sure to watch where he was going while carrying Emily on his servo.

"Yes, I do. All I need is to find an electrical panel and see if I can reactivate the energy around here. It shouldn't be too hard. Just be sure to watch where you're-" Emily said but was cut off when Cliffjumper hit his helm on a low hanging pipeline before she finished warning him.

"Oww." He winced slightly as Emily laughed sheepishly.

"Going." She finished as he rolled his optics at her playfully.

"Yeah, thanks for the update. Where are we gonna find that panel thingy you're talking about?" He asked as they kept looking around.

"I think I see one right there." Emily said when she noticed a box looking panel.

Emily points out at the electrical panel that she was able to find. Cliffjumper went to where Emily pointed and put his servo down so that Emily could get off. When she got down, she inspected the panel and saw that most of the circuits were a bit old. They were still functional but they needed a huge amount of energy to work again.

"Okay, It's a bit tough but luckily I came prepared." Emily said before she unzipped the zipper of her winter coat so that she could use some of the energy of her suit to turn the lights back on.

She connected some wires of her suit into the electrical panel and with her holo-computer, she started to check the rate of the charge. It was at 80%. It was a little low but enough to get the power back on.

"The charge is a bit low but it should be enough to get the power back on, here we go." Emily said before turning the power on and at the same time the lights inside the factory started to come on again.

Meanwhile Airachnid was still talking to Arcee as the Autobot Femme was still struggling on what she just heard.

"Now that you know all the story, it's time for you to die. I'm very tempted to claw my way to your Spark but this time I'd rather go for a nice slow death. Nothing would make me happier than to see you melt on my acid." Airachnid said with a deadly hiss.

Airachnid started to produce some acid that was coming from her claws while approaching Arcee. Arcee closed her optics so that way she could withstood the pain of the acid from Airachnid bit before it could even happen, Tailgate came running back.

"Mistress, mistress! There's something weird going on." He informed her as Airachnid turned towards him while Arcee reopened her optics.

"What is it?" She asked in confusion.

"A huge portal appeared out of nowhere." Tailgate told her as Arcee hummed at this. Looks like the Autobots figured it out as well.

"I see. I take it that you're allies have come to save you." Airachnid said before they were a little surprised when the lights came back on.

"And it seems that they turned the power back on. Hmm." Airachnid said as she turned to Arcee who was watching them cautiously but she could see that the femme was worried about Tailgate.

Seeing that Arcee was tied up on an assembly line that was leading to a shredder-like machine, Airachnid found a way to kill Arcee once and for all. She could just turn on the machine and let Arcee get torn up to bits by it.

"You know what? I think I have a better idea. Tailgate, listen to me, those called Autobots are here to capture you. They wanna lock you up so that they can experiment on you." Airachnid started to tell Tailgate another lie and it seemed to have worked as he looked desperate and scared at the idea.

"Please, help me. I don't wanna go back into that pod." Tailgate voiced his fears as Airachnid had to stop herself from laughing.

"Don't worry, my dear servant. Just do what I tell you to do and you'll be free. If you wanna be free, you're gonna have to defeat the Autobots one by one." Airachnid cooed as she stood before him while putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, mistress. I am in your eternal debt for freeing me. Use me as you see fit." Tailgate said before he kneeled down on one knee and in front of Airachnid.

"And save me from those who erased my memories." Tailgate pleaded.

"Very well. Let us face the enemy." Airachnid said as she smirked at this.

With that said Tailgate got up and was about to leave with his new mistress Airachnid but Arcee chose that moment to speak up to try and get Tailgate to remember who he is as he turned to her.

"Tailgate, wait. You have to listen to me. You may not remember who you are and on whose side you're on right now. But you know inside your Spark that I'm not your enemy, she is. I don't know what she told you but whatever it is, it's not true. She's the one who-" Arcee started to tell him but was cut off when Airachnid shot some web fluid at her lip plates to make sure that she doesn't say anything that might make Tailgate have some doubts about all of this.

"That's enough out of you. And now it's time for you to die." Airachnid said as Arcee started to struggle with renewed strength as Airachnid went to where the levers are.

"I wonder what would happen if I move this lever. I hope it's not the one that activates this machine. Let's find out, shall we?" Airachnid said before pulling down the main lever and turned the machine on.

"Hmm?" Arcee looked confused but felt the thing that she was tied to started to move and noticed that she was slowly going towards some sort of shredder.

"So long, dear Arcee." Airachnid said as Arcee let out muffled cries as she struggled to free herself from the predicament but the web fluid was too strong for to even switch her arm blades on.

"Let's go." Airachnid said as she started to lead the way.

At the moment Tailgate was about to go with Airachnid, he turned around and saw how Arcee was about to die and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He felt as if something was not right about all of this. As if there was this deep sense of honor that was telling him that killing an enemy who didn't have the chance to fight was wrong and the way this Arcee femme was talking sounded like she knew him but he doesn't knew her.

"Let's go, dear servant." Airachnid's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Unfortunately he had to put that feeling aside and leave with his mistress to whom he had swore allegiance for freeing him. Poor Arcee felt crushed deep inside her spark as she just watched helplessly as her once thought dead friend left with the enemy that traumatized her. It's as if she was severely hurt by a very deep blade. She was reliving the trauma of losing a partner once again. But what truly hurt her more is that when Tailgate was still alive, she never had the chance to tell him something important. She started to remember the time that before she was captured, she and Tailgate were getting ready for the mission their squad had been assigned.

Flashback starts

Most members of the squad had left and the two were the only ones that stayed back to get ready for their assignment.

"How are you feeling? Nervous?" Tailgate asked as he readied his weapons.

"Not really. And you?" Arcee asked back.

"I'm a bit excited." Tailgate said with a grin.

"I'd be surprised if you weren't." Arcee couldn't help but roll her optics at him.

Arcee started checking her guns and blades to see if they were fit for an incoming battle against the Decepticons as Tailgate started to apologize.

"Arcee, I wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened earlier... I didn't mean for you to see this." Tailgate apologized as he looked at her.

"Look, I get it. You and Cliff used to have so many plans before the war. And it's not that I'm on his side or anything but you have to realize that this war requires absolute focus. The minor distraction could bring us towards death." Arcee told him as Tailgate looked at her like she grew two helms.

"Are you being serious now? You sound just like Cliffjumper. Why don't you just say what you really think? That I'm dangerous and immature and you think my brother is right." Tailgate deadpan as he recheck his weapons again as Arcee sighed.

"That's not what I'm saying. We both know that Cliffjumper can be immature from time to time. To be honest, you're both immature. And you both have a point. We should do more to win this war and bring back the old Cybertron that we know. But we can't go on acting like a bunch of rookies." Arcee told him as Tailgate saw her point.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. I'm sorry for what I said. I was out of line. I know things have been pretty hard. But trust me, one day when this is all over, it'll be just you and me." Tailgate told her as Arcee smiled but knew that she had to tell him something important before they could leave for the incoming battle.

"Tailgate, there's something I need to tell you." Arcee started but was stopped by Tailgate.

"Say it when we come back from this mission." Tailgate said.

At the moment that Tailgate told Arcee to hold what she wanted to say, it was time for both of them to be on their way. Arcee remembered that day as the last time she had seen her partner and as the day that she wasn't able to tell him the truth. And just like that Arcee came out of her own thoughts.

Flashback ends

She didn't know how she was going to get out of this situation. The only thing that she could think about was that this might be the last thing she ever sees as she hangs her helm as a lone lubricant falls from her optic but starts to struggle more to get herself free.

Meanwhile the rest of Team Prime had finally arrived at the factory. And as soon as they came out, the portal closed up behind them.

"Optimus, do you read me? Have you found anything?" Ratchet comm him as he answered

"Not yet, Ratchet. But there's something weird, it would seem that the power was turned back on. No doubt that it was Emily and Cliffjumper who did this." Optimus said as he noted that the lights were on and Agent Fowler did say that the factory was abandoned for years so maybe their two allies must've figured out to give the whole place some light.

Back at the base, Optimus then asked Ratchet if he knew where their friends were located.

"Can you confirm their position?" He asked as Ratchet was trying but the storm was interfering with the scanning.

"Barely, the storm is jamming their readings." Ratchet said.

"Very well. We'll have to look for them on our own." Optimus said just as the scanners started to notify those at the base that it detected something.

"Hold on, I think I've found something. Two signatures. Correction, 4 signatures." Ratchet said in surprise.

Back in Siberia, that was good news to the team.

"Are Cliffjumper and Emily part of these signatures?" Optimus asked and was hoping that their two friends are okay.

Back at the base, Ratchet was checking the scanners to determine who was there as well but the fourth signal was confusing.

"Yes, I believe so. Although the other two signatures are alarming. I count one Decepticon. Hmm strange. The other signature is weird. I can't read if it's an Autobot or a Decepticon." Ratchet said as he was trying to figure out who the last signal was.

Back in Siberia, that was at least something. But it was still worrisome since the third signal was a Decepticon.

"It must be due to the interference caused by the storm." Ratchet said as Optimus nodded while the others looked around but stayed put whole waiting for orders.

"Very well. Keep me posted if something comes up. In the meantime we shall look for Arcee." Optimus said as Bumblebee poked the snow and beeped when it left a hole.

"Be careful, Optimus. Who knows what Decepticon you might face." Ratchet warned him as he nodded.

"Thanks, old friend. Prime out." Optimus said as he turned the comm link off as Smokescreen spoke up after they heard the conversation.

"Four signatures?" He asked curiously.

"One of them is a non-Con. Any guess?" Bulkhead asked as Bumblebee whirred to tell them that the non-Con might be Tailgate.

"That must be it. Either way, that con is going down, whoever he is." Wheeljack said as he took out his swords.

"Patience, Wheeljack. We have to be careful." Optimus said as Wheeljack just sighs and puts his swords back.

"Fine. What do we do now?" Wheeljack asked as he crossed his arms.

"We find Cliff and Emily, save Arcee, and bring Tailgate back with us." Bulkhead said but Smokescreen knew another thing.

"That is if the Decepticons haven't found him first." Smokescreen said as he was worried for their friends as well.

"Don't worry, kid. We will bring him back for sure. You'll see." Bulkhead said as he pats his shoulder but Optimus watched them but deep down he was worried as well.

Meanwhile deep inside the factory, Cliffjumper and Emiy were walking around to see if they could find Arcee or even Tailgate. During the whole walk, Emily had seen that Cliffjumper was staying silent which worried and concerned her. He didn't even say a single word. Emily kept on asking herself what was on his mind. Maybe she thought that she could help him as a friend to get his mind off his worries.

"So Tailgate is your brother?" She started as Tailgate nodded as Emily walked beside him

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Is he like your average brother? Or more like your twin brother?" Emily asked curiosity as she looked up to him.

"He's my twin brother. Why are you asking so many questions?" Cliffjumper asked as he was confused why Emily was asking.

"I'm sorry it's just that you didn't say anything that I thought would help you to talk about it." Emily said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Hmm." Cliffjumper didn't answer.

"If you don't feel like talking about it, it's okay. I shouldn't get involved in your business." Emily said as she looked forward as they kept walking to find Arcee.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Cliffjumper reassured her as she smiled slightly.

"Okay if you say so." Emily said with a small shrug.

Both stay silent for a moment until Emily grows a bit curious and ask Cliffjumper what happened eons ago before the Autobots came to Earth

"So what happened?" She asked as Cliffjumper looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked as Emily looked up to him.

"I can see in your optics that something's bothering you about finding out that your brother is still alive. What is it?" Emily asked as Cliffjumper sensed curiosity and concern in her voice. Maybe telling someone might take some burden off his shoulders.

"Well… before Arcee got captured by Airachnid, Me and Tailgate got into a fight. We both said hurtful stuff to each other. Ever since it happened, I kept blaming myself for what happened. And what made things worse is that I didn't get a chance to fix things. I wished I told him how I regretted saying those things before it all happened. You have no idea how it is." Cliffjumper said with heavy sadness in his voice as Emily remembered the argument she and Jack had during the whole street race thing but she was glad that both of them worked things out.

"You're right. But there's one thing I do know. Brothers often fight with each other. But no matter what happens, you're always there for each other. That's something someone dear to me taught me a long time ago." Emily told him as she remembered her before that day.

"That's nice. Thanks, I'm glad I could talk about it with a friend like you." Cliffjumper said with a smile as she smiled back.

"Anytime." Emily giggled before they were surprised by a voice that was all too familiar to them.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Airachnid hissed as the two of them jumped in surprise but quickly raised their guards up.

"You two came here to help your friend in need and share shameful secrets. How sweet." Airachnid said as she came out of the shadows with that deadly smirk on her face.

"So sweet that it makes me wanna kill you both where you stand." Airachnid said as she examined her claws.

"Airachnid." Emily said as she got into a battle stance with Cliffjumper.

"Hello, dear Emily. It has been a while. I see you've changed." Airachnid said as she noticed that Emily seemed to change when they last fought.

"You have no idea." Emily said as she narrowed her eyes.

"Alright, Airachnid. Where are they?" Cliffjumper said as he stood in front of Emily protectively as Airachnid decided to play confused by what he meant.

"Where's who? I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific." Airachnid said as she tilted her head.

"Don't you dare play dumb with me. You know who I'm talking about." Cliffjumper said as he could feel his anger rising as Emily looked at him in worry.

"Sometimes a lady needs a little reminder." Airachnid said as she put a servo on her hips.

That did it as Cliffjumper switched on his guns as he aimed them at Airachnid as he glared heatedly. No wonder Arcee hates her.

"TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE! NOW! WHILE YOU'RE STILL FUNCTIONAL!" Cliffjumper exclaimed angrily.

"Fine, if you insist. Come on out. Show yourself." Airachnid shrugged before telling her companion to come out.

Both Cliffjumper and Emily spot a strange figure walking out of the shadows. And when they saw who it was, Cliffjumper could not believe it. He saw his brother right in front of him as he could feel sadness and the guilt from eons ago started to resurface but he was just happy that his brother is alive.

"Tailgate… it's you…" Cliffjumper said but was taken aback when he saw there was no recognition in his eyes as it only held confusion.

"Who are you? And why are you calling me that?" Tailgate asked in confusion as he stared at the red mech that looked exactly like him.

Why was he calling him that? Sure his name is Tailgate but why is the red mech spoke his name like he knew him for so long just like the femme Arcee.

"Huh?" Emily saw what was going on and figured out what's happening.

"Who am I? It's me, Cliffjumper. What's going on with you?" Cliffjumper asked in confusion as he was getting worried for him.

"Oh no…" Emily muttered as Cliffjumper turn to her.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I think… he doesn't remember you. Because he lost his memories." Emily told him as she looked at Cliffjumper who felt dread fill his body. Tailgate... doesn't remember him? This can't be possible… can it?

"What? No! It can't be! Tailgate, you know who I am. You remember me, I'm your brother." Cliffjumper turned to Tailgate as he was desperate. Tailgate has got to remember him, he can't just forget about his own brother!

Tailgate didn't say anything as he just looked at him in confusion.

"Don't bother, what your friend said is right. Your brother has no memory in him. And that's all because of you. You Autobots are to blame for all of this. Specially you, you're the one who betrayed your brother and made him a prisoner. All his memories are gone because of you." Airachnid said as she got to hand to the human girl to figure out what was going on. What Airachnid said made Tailgate to almost stumble back. This red mech, Cliffjumper betrayed him?

"You… You betrayed me?" He looked at Cliffjumper with slightly widened optics and Cliffjumper felt himself break at this.

"No. That's not what happened. She's lying to you, Tailgate. She's the enemy." Cliffjumper told him as Emily couldn't do anything but watch with worry.

"He's the one that's lying to you. He betrayed you to join the Autobots. If you fall into his lies, you'll never be free again. You swore you would serve me. So do it now, finish him. But leave the human to me." Airachnid told him as Tailgate didn't say anything as Airachnid continued to fill his mind with words.

"Brother, please, don't do this!" Cliffjumper said desperately.

Tailgate thinks about it before coming to a decision as he punches Cliffjumper out of nowhere as Cliffjumper stumbled back in surprise as Emily gasped in shock.

"Stop, you don't know what you're doing…!" Cliffjumper tried to reason with him but he wasn't able to finish what he was going to say as Tailgate continued to punch him.

Emily couldn't take it anymore. Tailgate lost his memories and it wasn't Cliffjumper's fault. She needs to help them both.

"Cliff!" Emily exclaimed in worry as she quickly switched on her plasma cannons so she could help Cliffjumper before he ended up getting killed.

When she was about to shoot, she stopped for a moment. She might hit them both or Tailgate by accident.

"What are you waiting for? Go ahead, shoot him. By doing so, you'll prove to him that everything I said was true and that you're the enemy. But if you don't shoot, your friend could get killed. If this happened, can you imagine how Arcee would feel? She would be devastated. And we both know that you would never kill anyone." Airachnid, who has been watching the whole scene, spoke up as she smirked when Emily stopped.

What Airachnid said was true. Emily couldn't shoot another who she views as her friend and family.

"You're right. I wouldn't dare to shoot at an Autobot. But for a Decepticon like you, that's a whole other thing." Emily said as she turned around quickly and charged her plasma cannon and shot at Airachnid who dodged it quickly.

"Nice shooting. But I'm afraid that it won't be enough to take me down." Airachnid smirked but let out a pained cry when she got shot from out of nowhere.

"That's enough for you, eight legs." A familiar voice said and Emily felt herself grinning.

"Good job, Jackie." Another familiar voice said.

Emily turned around and saw that the rest of Team Prime was here to help her and Cliffjumper to bring Tailgate back and rescue Arcee.

"Guys, you're here." Emily said in relief as she ran up to them.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world." Smokescreen said with a grin as she grinned back as Optimus looked at Airachnid as they surrounded her.

"Airachnid, you're completely surrounded. Surrender now and tell us where Arcee and Tailgate." Optimus told her firmly as Airachnid just smirked.

"Oh? Arcee? She's enjoying a visit to this abandoned factory." Airachnid said as if it was no big deal but Bulkhead stepped forward with angry optics.

"You better tell us where she is before I squash you like a bug." Bulkhead said as Bumblebee whirred in agreement.

"Okay, fine. If I were you, I would hurry up before she gets killed." Airachnid said and everyone knew what this meant and were all shocked as Optimus turned to Emily.

"Emily, go find Arcee and help her. We'll take care of Airachnid." Optimus ordered as she nodded.

"You got it."

Emily activates her earth mode. After that, she used the cement of the floor to transform into a rolling boulder and started to roll in a certain direction to find Arcee.

"Oh no, you don't." Airachnid glared as she started to use her web fluids to stop Emily from saving Arcee but Emily is able to avoid every shot.

"See ya, eight legged freak!" Emily exclaimed as she rolled away from the potential battle.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Airachnid switched to her spider form to go after but was stopped by Optimus who quickly stopped her from going after his charge.

"Your fight is against me." He told her as the others could sense the protectiveness that he held in his tone.

"Very well then. I've always wanted to rip the spark of a prime." Airachnid hissed as she started to get ready to attack and Optimus had to order the others quickly.

"Bulkhead, Wheeljack, go help Cliffjumper, try not to harm Tailgate. Smokescreen and Bumblebee, you stay with me." Optimus quickly sent out orders.

"We got your back, Optimus." Smokescreen said with Bumblebee in agreement as they activated their weapons.

"On it. Let's go, Jackie." Bulkhead nodded.

"Right behind you, big guy." Wheeljack said.

Both Bulkhead and Wheeljack go help Cliffjumper while Optimus along with Smokescreen and Bumblebee were taking care of Airachnid to make sure that Emily gets to Arcee.

"Do you really think you can take me on? Last time you did, it did not go pretty well for you." Airachnid said as she remembered the time she captured the bots at the canyons months ago.

"We will not fall into your trap this time, Airachnid. Autobots, attack!" Optimus ordered with their weapons drawn as the three of them started running towards Airachnid.

They started attacking her all at once which made it harder for Airachnid to defend herself.

Meanwhile Cliffjumper and Tailgate were still fighting but Cliffjumper was only blocking and dodging the attacks.

"Tailgate, listen to me! What Airachnid said to you is a lie!" Cliffjumper tried to make him see reason but this only made Tailgate to continue to attack him.

"Stop it!" Tailgate exclaimed as he punched Cliffjumper right in the face plate and it. sent Cliffjumper to the ground

"Stop talking to me. I may not remember who I was once. But if there's one thing I do know is that you're to blame for all of this. You rid me of my past. And now I'm going to make you suffer." Tailgate said with a glare.

When Tailgate was about to hit Cliffjumper again, flashes of memories started going through his mind which made him halt his attack as he gripped his helm from the sudden pain.

"Ahhh!!!" He exclaimed from shock and pain just as the pain subsided.

"Hey!" A voice exclaimed.

After hearing an unfamiliar voice, Tailgate turned around and saw two unknown Autobots standing behind him but something similar to fear and confusion flashed through his optics.

"Wanna try your luck with two wreckers?" Wheeljack smirk as he brandished his two swords.

"Leave me alone!" Tailgate yelled as he switched on his guns and started to shoot like crazy.

"Look out!" Bulkhead exclaimed and pushed Wheeljack to the side to avoid getting shot.

"Thanks for saving my tailpipe there." Wheeljack said.

Tailgate was shooting like crazy which made it harder for Bulkhead and Wheeljack to get close enough to pin him down as Cliffjumper took cover.

"That guy is shooting non stop. There's no way we can get close enough to stop him." Wheeljack said as he and Bulkhead took cover.

"Maybe we don't need to go in together." Bulkhead suggested.

"If you have an idea, I'm all ears, big guy." Wheeljack said.

"Here's the plan, I'll distract him. And while I keep him busy, you get behind him." Bulkhead said but Wheeljack gave him a look.

"You got any better idea? Optimus said not to hurt the poor guy." Wheeljack said. As much as he would like to join the battle, he can't hurt Tailgate.

"When I start shooting, you start going around." Bulkhead said.

"Got it." Wheeljack nodded as he snapped his mask on to get ready as the shooting stopped.

"Show yourselves, cowards!" Tailgate exclaimed.

"I'll show you who's a coward, horn head!" Bulkhead exclaimed and started to shoot from where he was.

He was missing his shots on purpose so that Tailgate would focus on him and that way Wheeljack could go around and get on his back without him noticing. While Bulkhead kept Tailgate busy, Wheeljack started to go around.

Meanwhile, Emily, who was rolling on as a boulder, was looking for Arcee. She was so stressed and nervous about what would happen if she didn't find her in time. She stopped rolling and got out of her boulder mode and looked around worriedly.

"Where is she? Arcee! Arcee, can you hear me?!" Emily called and hoping to get an answer

Meanwhile Arcee was trying to free herself from Airachnid's web fluid before she got crushed by the machine when she suddenly heard Emily's voice calling her name as she looked up instantly.

"Arcee!" Arcee was so glad to hear a familiar voice.

"Mmmmmmm…!!! Mmmmmmmm!!!" She started to move and let out yells that were muffled but she was sure that Emily would hear her.

Back at where Emily was, she was still looking around but she could have sworn she heard something.

"Arcee?" Emily stopped talking for a moment.

By doing so she was able to hear yells and the sound of a machine working. She had figured that the weird muffled yells was probably Arcee calling for help indicating that she was in trouble.

"Hang in there! I'm coming!" Emily exclaimed and activated her hover boots and started heading to where she heard the weird sound coming from at full speed.

Back there Arcee was getting closer and closer to get shredded to bits of scrapped metal. Luckily Emily got there in time. When she did, she turned off her hover boots and went to help her friend.

"Arcee! Oh, I'm glad I found you." Emily said in relief but became baffled at what she was seeing.

"Mhhhhmmmm! Mhhhhhmmmmmmmm!" Arcee yelled out but it came out muffled.

"What in the name of Primus?" Emily muttered.

"Mmmmmhhh!!!" Arcee tried again.

"What?" Emily looked at her in confusion. What was Arcee trying to say?

"Mmmmmmhhhhh!!! Mmmmmmhhhhh!!!" Arcee tried again as she looked to the machine and back to her as Emily figured out what she was trying to say.

"Oh right, the machine! Give me one second." Emily said as she quickly went to where the levers are.

She saw that a lever had been moved and she started to put it back to its original position by pulling it toward her. After the lever was put back to his original the machine was turned off and Arcee was saved.

"Mmmm…" Arcee couldn't stop the relieved sigh that came out.

"Phew, that was a close call." Emily said with a nervous laugh.

But Emily leaned her hand on the lever by accident and by doing so she put the lever on the direction that activates the machine and on top of that she broke it by accident as she stared in shock.

"Uh oh." Emily muttered as the machine started again much to their dismay.

"Mhhhhmmmm!!!" Arcee let out a muffled exclamation.

"Oh man, oh man, this is bad. Uh, just give me a moment." Emily said as she then used one of the levers to see if it would stop the machine. But that lever didn't stop the machine. It didn't even do anything.

"Wrong lever. Okay, let's see about this one." Emily muttered as she tried the second one.

The second lever did something but it didn't turn off the machine. What it did was make the assembly go and stop over and over again. Emily bought Arcee sometime but it wasn't enough.

"Okay that's not it. Maybe that's the one." Emily said as she tried another but it only made the assembly line go faster.

"MMMMMMMMHHHH!!!" Arcee let out a cry that sounded like 'hurry!'

"No, no, no, stop. Oh, what do I do? What do I do? I got an idea. I just hope it works." Emily said and started activating two different levers. And all of the sudden the shredder starts going super fast and the assembly line isn't stopping at any point.

"GRRRR MMMMMMMMM!!!!!!" Arcee exclaimed in frustration behind the web around her mouth.

"I'm doing what I can, you know?! And your attitude is not helping at all." Emily exclaimed back as she was equally frustrated and but doing so she had to make a call for help.

Meanwhile, Optimus, Smokescreen and Bumblebee were keeping Airachnid occupied. So occupied in fact that she was completely cornered with no way out. The three Autobots had her pinned down. She was on the floor after getting hit too much, but Optimus knows that her wounds aren't that severe, so it possibly meant that she was planning something sinister.

"Stop. I surrender." Airachnid said.

"Not so tough now huh, eight legs?" Smokescreen taunted as he made sure that he has his weapons still on just in case she tries anything funny.

"Stay on your guard. It might possibly be a trap." Optimus said just before his comm-link alerted him that someone was calling.

"Optimus, this is Emily." It was Emily. He quickly answered to see if she found Arcee.

"Emily, have you found Arcee yet?" He asked and could hear some kind of machinery was on and Arcee's exclamation in the background.

"I did. But there's one problem. She's tied up into a machine that's gonna kill her and I can't stop it. The main lever is broken. I could really use some back up." Emily said as it sounded like she was doing all she can to get the machine to stop but she needed help.

"Understood. I'm on my way." He said just as he turned off the commlink.

"I wouldn't count on it." Airachnid started to chuckle.

"Aren't you a fine one to talk to? How do you plan on getting away with three Autobots aiming their guns at you?" Smokescreen remarked and regretted for even asking as she had a smirk.

"Like this." Airachnid said and with one swift movement she shot a web fluid right into Optimus' optics which rendered him blind temporarily.

"AHHHHH!!!!!" He exclaimed in surprise and shock as he tried to get it off.

"Optimus!" Smokescreen shouted worriedly but that was all Airachnid needed and shot her web fluids at Smokescreen and trapped him against a machine.

Bumblebee beeped with alarm just as Airachnid shot a web fluid straight into his arm, trapping him right beside Smokescreen as she stood back up.

"Now that you two are out of the way. It's gonna be a whole lot easy to kill you now, Prime." Airachnid said with a sinister smile.

Optimus was trying to get rid of the web in his optics but with no success. Airachnid was able to get close enough to use one of her spider legs and damage one of Optimus legs so that it would be easier to kill him but also send paint through him as he let out a pained yell.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" He yelled from the pain and shock as he was sent down.

"No!" Both Bumblebee and Smokescreen cry out in alarm.

After Airachnid was able to damage Optimus' leg so that he couldn't move, she started shooting some web fluid at his shoulders to pin him down. Optimus struggles to get free but Airachnid wasn't planning to let him go that easy.

"Now, now, now. You're not leaving so soon are you? The fun is just about to begin. Now you won't have to worry about Arcee. You will soon join her in the Allspark. And I'll be sure to send

Tailgate after that." Airachnid said. Even though he was temporary blind due to the web fluid against his optics, he narrowed them to send her what looked like a firm yet angry look.

"You won't win, Airachnid." Optimus almost growled as Airachnid just hummed.

"On the contrary, Prime. Today I have won something great. The Spark of a Prime as my new trophy." Airachnid said with a sinister smile.

Back at the Nemesis, Soundwave was monitoring Airachnid's mission as ordered. He was seeing what Laserbeak, who he sent out to keep an eye on things with Airachnid, is showing him while recording live when something struck his attention as he visibly tensed. He saw that Airachnid was about to kill Optimus Prime. In that same moment, Starscream came and asked Soundwave if he had anything to report.

"Soundwave, do you have anything to report?" Starscream asked but Soundwave merely turned to him and didn't show him anything.

"Silent as always. I take it you have something to say. If so, please tell me. I do hope it's wonderful news." Starscream said and Soundwave showed him through his visor that Airachnid was about to kill Optimus Prime much to the Seeker's shock. Megatron is going to be livid when he learns this.

"What? That wretched Airachnid about to kill Optimus Prime! Ah, uh, well that is… splendid. Very splendid, hahaha." Starscream exclaimed but quickly composed himself in the presence of the other Decepticon.

Starscream could not believe that Airachnid was about to kill the last of the Primes, well that would be a downfall for the Autobots.

"We must inform Lord Megatron at once." Starscream said as Soundwave just nodded. Megatron needs to be informed quickly.

Starscream and Soundwave went to the main room directly to tell Megatron the huge news. They went in and Starscream called out to get his attention.

"Lord Megatron." Starscream called as Megatron turned around after monitoring the computers to see two of his comrades standing before him.

"What is it, Starscream?" He asked with mild annoyance.

"I have news, my liege. Splendid news. Wonderful news. Marvelous news." Starscream babbled which caused Megatron to let out a small growl.

"I guess I talked too much." Starscream stopped quickly at that.

"Someone's gonna get a dent on his chassis very soon." Knock Out whispered to Breakdown who let out a snicker at that.

"Hahaha." Breakdown let out a laugh.

"Be quiet. Let the fool speak." Dreadwing said as Skyquake just watch silently.

"Well, you see, master, Laserbeak just sent us a footage of Airachnid. I think it will interest you." Starscream said and gestured for Soundwave to show the others.

Soundwave shows a picture of Airachnid about to kill Optimus Prime which was a surprise to all of them. Dreadwing, Knock Out, Breakdown and Skyquake glance to Megatron. They as well as the whole Decepticon faction know that the only one who can finish Optimus is Megatron himself.

"Optimus Prime?" Megatron question as Starscream nodded.

"Yes, my liege. Optimus' demise is finally at hand. With his death, it will only be a matter of time before the Autobots are destroyed. To think that Airachnid would be the one that would kill Optimus Prime once and for-" Starscream started but was cut off when Megatron grabbed him by the throat.

"Starscream, I seem to recall. That I once told you that the only one that can kill Optimus Prime. Is me and me alone!" Megatron reminded him before throwing straight at the computer.

"Master, please forgive me. I didn't mean to-" Starscream pleaded as the others just watched.

"Silence! I couldn't care less about your pathetic excuses." Megatron sneered before Dreadwing spoke up.

"My liege, do you want us to send a squadron to arrest Airachnid?" Dreadwing asked as Megatron thought about it for a moment. He knows Optimus and himself were evenly matched. And maybe this might teach Airachnid something.

"No, Dreadwing. As a matter of fact, I think we shall let her continue." Megatron said as he turned to them all.

"But, sir, if she does that, she will kill Optimus Prime." Skyquake protested.

"From my experience, Optimus can be very resourceful. Today shall be the day Airachnid will pay for her foolishness. Soundwave, transmit the footage in our main scream. I wanna see it with my own eyes." Megatron said before telling Soundwave what to do as he nodded and connected one of his tendrils to the main computer for them all to watch what was about to happen.

"Oh goody. Some entertainment." Knock Out said with an amused look. He should have grabbed a cube of Energon if they were going to watch what was going to happen.

Meanwhile back in Siberia, Emily was still trying to figure out how to turn off the machine.

"Okay, this is not good." Emily said as she turned on her commlink to contact Optimus for help.

"Optimus? I need help." Emily said but didn't get a reply and only head static which is not good.

"Scrap! Well, I guess I'll have to do this the other way around. Hold on, Arcee, I'm coming to save you!" Emily exclaimed as she started getting on the assembly line.

After she does she starts running to where Arcee. The shredder was getting closer and closer and Arcee didn't have a lot of time before she got destroyed. Luckily Emily was able to reach her and when she did, she summoned her sword and started to use it to cut the web fluid.

"Hold still." Emily said as she started to cut it as fast as she could but it wasn't enough.

Both her and Arcee were about to be dead in a matter of seconds as Arcee looked at Emily to tell her to hurry.

"Mmmmhhh mmmmmmhhhh!!!" Arcee urged her.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Emily said as they were getting closer to the shredder.

"Almost there." Emily exclaimed sand was able to cut the web from Arcee as the femme took off the web gagging her mouth.

"Hold on!" Arcee exclaimed as she grabbed Emily in her servos and quickly jumped off the assembly line as they both avoided getting shredded.

"You okay?" Arcee asked as she glanced down at her as they both pant lightly from their near death situation.

"I'm fine. What about you?" Emily said as Arcee set her down.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good." Arcee replied but from the sound of it, Arcee didn't feel okay as this concerned Emily.

"You sure?" Emily asked to be sure.

"Yes, I'm fine. Let's just go." Arcee told her as she started to run to where the battle was as Emily watched her run.

"Oh Primus. Something tells me this is not gonna end well." Emily said before running after Arcee to catch up.

Meanwhile back to where Optimus Prime and the others were facing Airachnid. She was about to kill Optimus while Smokescreen and Bumblebee were trapped against the machine and were both completely unable to go help their leader as Optimus was desperately trying to get himself free but it was no use.

"I believe that the correct term that humans use for this kind of repetitive situation is déjà vu. It's funny how history often repeats itself. Only this time, I won't restrain myself." Airachnid said with a hiss as she approached the trapped Prime.

Back at the Nemesis, Megatron and the other were watching how Optimus Prime was facing a terrible slow and painful death.

"You and Megatron had fought one another in countless battles. But today, the honor of ripping your spark is mine, all mine. To think that I was able to get the best of you, something Megatron never did. He will certainly rip my spark for killing you. But it doesn't matter. Letting you and your friends live for so long proves how weak he is."

The others had to wince quietly at that as they could clearly tell that Megatron would surely punish her for calling him weak.

"Now that's a pretty good television show." Knock Out commented as he decided to break the silence but shut up quickly when Megatron growled at him.

Meanwhile back at the factory, Bumblebee and Smokescreen were trying to get free but that web was so thick that they could barely move.

"It's no use, Bee. We're stuck." Smokescreen said.

Bumblebee was using all his strength to at least get his one arm free. Seeing how that's not working, he whirred to ask Smokescreen how are they going to get out of this one.

"I don't know. But we have to do something fast." Smokescreen said as he continued to try and get free. They had to help Optimus.

"Let me ask you something, Prime. What scares you the most? That if you die, you won't be there to save your friends? Or that they will all suffer?" Airachnid question but her only answer was narrowed optics.

"I'm not scared of you, Airachnid." Optimus warned her and she couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Hahahahaha, oh, Prime. So defiant. Megatron often mentioned how he would be impressed about your current defiance. I have to admit that I'm impressed too." Airachnid said as she was now towering over him.

Bumblebee, not willing to watch his leader, his best friend and father figure die, decides to free himself despite how strong Airachnid's web fluids are. Thanks to that, he was able to one of his servos and he's able to unstick some of the web fluid without Airachnid noticing it.

"How does it feel to be powerless? Knowing that, soon you will be no more." Airachnid said as she prepared her claws.

"If this is how I'm going to die, so be it." Optimus said as Smokescreen couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Optimus, don't say that! We'll get you out of this." Smokescreen pleaded as Airachnid just rolled her optics.

"Please do yourself a favor and stay where you are. There's nothing more you can do to save your leader." Airachnid said as Smokescreen glared daggers at her before Bumblebee got his attention.

Bumblebee whirred quietly and asked Smokescreen to distract Airachnid while he tried to free himself as Smokescreen looked at him.

"You sure?" Smokescreen asked as Bumblebee whirred and nodded to tell him to trust him.

"You got it." Smokescreen whispered with a grin. Distracting and taunting is what he's good at as a rookie.

"Hey, ugly. Mind if I ask you a question? If you're such a good hunter, then why did you get me and my friend stuck in your web? What's wrong? Are you scared of us?" Smokescreen taunted her as Airachnid turned to him with mild annoyance in her optics.

"You just wait when I'm done with you. You're gonna regret saying those words." Airachnid hissed as Smokescreen wasn't phased by her hiss or threats, well, minus that incident at the canyon back then.

"Oooh scary. I think I know why Megatron sent you here. For him, it's a way to get rid of you. Guess buckethead doesn't like eight legged bugs like you." Smokescreen said and had to stop himself from laughing as he seemed to have struck a nerve.

"Silence!" Airachnid shouted as she glared daggers at him. How dare he!

"I mean, come on. No one likes ugly bugs. Especially those with eight legs. Just seeing those legs gives me the creeps." Smokescreen continued to taunt her.

Smokescreen's comments had hurt Airachnid's pride as a Decepticon so much that she started to reconsider her original decision to kill Optimus and then dispose of the others without actually realizing that she was getting fooled so easily. Which worked so well for Bumblebee as he was almost free.

"You know what? I think I want to save the best for last. So which one of you shall be the first to taste my claws? Hmm, how about you? Nothing would make me more happy than to silence you forever." Airachnid said as she approached Smokescreen.

"Truth hurts right, ugly? Get used to it." Smokescreen continued as she was now in front of him.

"Keep talking, Autobot. You're only fueling my desire to rip your head off." Airachnid said with a hiss but was confused as Smokescreen just smirked.

"Sounds neat. But I think my yellow friend here has a better proposition for you." Smokescreen said.

Airachnid, who didn't know what Smokescreen was talking about, got hit by surprise. Bumblebee had freed his arm. His punch had surprised Airachnid to such a point that it made her back off. After that, Bumblebee started to free Smokescreen but he stopped him.

"I'm okay, Bee. Go help Optimus, hurry." Smokescreen said as Bumblebee nodded and quickly ran to help Optimus as Smokescreen started to free himself.

Seeing how she wasn't gonna get close to Bumblebee, Airachnid decided to do what she had planned to do. Kill Optimus Prime. However Bumblebee wasn't going to let that happen. To save Optimus, he had to get there and stop Airachnid. Since running wasn't the best option, Bumblebee quickly transformed and started driving at speeds. And when he was close to Airachnid, he quickly made a turn and made her trip and at that same moment he transformed back to his robot mode and started aiming his guns at Airachnid while standing in front of his leader protectively.

"Rah!!! You'll pay for this!" Airachnid yelled before using her spider legs to make a drill below her and was able to escape.

Bee wanted to go after her because she probably went to where Tailgate was but he knew that Optimus needed immediate assistance, so instead of running after the elusive spider-con, Bumblebee decided to help his friend. When he got to where Optimus was, he took off the web fluid restraining his shoulders,and after that, he took the web that was blindfolding Optimus. With his optics free, Optimus was finally able to see as he smiled gratefully behind his mask at Bumblebee.

"Thank you, old friend. Ahhh!" Optimus thanked him before letting out a pained sound when he tried to stand.

But he had forgotten that Airachnid had wounded his leg. He and Bee saw how it was leaking Energon and it looked bad. Bumblebee beeped to ask Optimus if he wanted to return to base.

"No, Bumblebee, I must stay here in case she comes back." Optimus told him as he had to stop another grimace from forming.

"Hey, guys. Do you mind helping me here?" Smokescreen asked as the two quickly went over to where he is and started to free him.

Meanwhile back at the Nemesis, the cons all saw Airachnid's huge failure as Starscream smirked.

"Ha, Airachnid finally had what was coming to her." Starscream said with a small laugh. Breakdown had to stop himself from frowning and giving Starscream an angry look.

"Hey look. They're leaving." Breakdown said as he noticed the three were going off somewhere.

"Soundwave, tell Laserbeak to follow them. I wanna witness everything." Megatron ordered as Soundwave just nodded.

"But, sir, Airachnid escaped what's the use of-" Starscream started to protest but stop when Megatron let out a warning growl.

"Very well, Lord Megatron." Starscream quickly said.

"Big M showing Screamy who's boss. I like it." Knock Out whispered to Skyquake and Dreadwing who just smirk.

Meanwhile back at the factory, Bulkhead was keeping Tailgate busy to buy Wheeljack some time to tackle him to the ground.

"Stop shooting! You have no idea of what you're doing. And I don't want to hurt you, kid." Bulkhead told him and tried to calm him down which wasn't working.

"Be quiet! I will not fall by your lies, Autobot!" Tailgate exclaimed as he didn't stop shooting.

"Can't you see I'm trying to help you?!" Bulkhead tried to reason with him while shooting back.

While both were shooting at each other, Wheeljack was able to successfully come behind Tailgate and he was ready to strike him down. Cliffjumper started to get back up from the early beating that he got and saw Tailgate shooting at Bulkhead and vice-versa.

"What? No stop!" Cliffjumper shouted.

Not knowing that Bulkhead was distracting Tailgate because he and Wheeljack had a plan, Cliffjumper quickly got in front of Tailgate which made Bulkhead to stop shooting.

"Bulkhead, stop! You're gonna kill him." Cliffjumper exclaimed as Bulkhead had to stop himself from hitting himself on the helm.

"Cliffjumper, get out of the way!" Bulkhead told him as Wheeljack shook his head. This was not gonna end well.

"What is that guy thinking?" Wheeljack asked himself.

Cliffjumper wasn't able to get out of the way in time and was grabbed by Tailgate who decided to use him as leverage to make the Autobots back off as he pointed his blaster near his faceplate.

"Stay back! Or I'll kill him!" Tailgate warned them as Cliffjumper's optics widened at this.

"Oh no." Bulkhead felt his spark drop at this. This is not good.

Optimus along with Bumblebee and Smokescreen had finally joined the others and so did Emily and Arcee but they were all horrified by what was happening. Tailgate has Cliffjumper and was using him as leverage.

Laserbeak was flying around, filming the whole scene and back at the Nemesis, they all saw how things were going bad for the Autobots. But Starscream was confused since he never saw the other one who's holding Cliffjumper as leverage.

"Who's that guy?" Starscream asked in confusion.

"That's the Autobot called Tailgate." Megatron answered him as Starscream turned to him in surprise.

"That's Tailgate?" Starscream asked in surprise. Wasn't Tailgate dead? But he's alive!

"Wait a minute if he's an Autobot, then why is he grabbing Cliffjumper as a hostage?" Knock Out asked in confusion. Tailgate was an Autobot from what Megatron said but the confusing part is why he's holding Cliffjumper as a hostage.

"Maybe he went crazy." Breakdown suggested since they were all confused except for Megatron.

"Not at all, Breakdown. You could say that Tailgate hasn't been the same for quite a while." Megatron said as Dreadwing turned to him. What did he mean by that?

"What do you mean by that, Lord Megatron?" He asked curiously.

"During the war, we had captured the Autobot called Arcee and put her through an intensive interrogation. The officer in charge of that interrogation was Airachnid. Unfortunately all her methods proved to be useless. However she knew that Arcee had a partner. One that could've been used as leverage. A way to make Arcee tell us the information we wanted. Airachnid was supposed to bring him in but during the fight, Tailgate was severely hurt. So hurt in fact, that he had lost his memories. He didn't remember who he was and on whose side he was." Megatron explained and Skyquake knew what that meant. If Tailgate doesn't remember after being injured so severely, he must've lost his memories.

"Amnesia." Skyquake said as Megatron nodded with a smirk.

"Precisely. Even if his memories were all gone, we had developed a way to get a look inside his mind and retrieve the information we wanted." Megatron said and Knock Out knew what that meant.

"A Cortical Psychic Patch." Knock Out said with a smirk.

"Yes. We thought that with this method, we could extract all the information that we needed to win the war. But his memories were all shattered into fragments due to his trauma. In the end, we had come to the conclusion that as long as Tailgate wouldn't remember anything, we would never get the information we wanted. And when we found out the Autobots were leaving Cybertron, we had dispatched him onboard the Harbinger. We believed that if he encountered an Autobot, that would bring back most of his memories. Allowing to proceed with what was planned." Megatron finished explaining as they were all in disbelief yet shocked by the development. They weren't notified of this yet the turns of events that's happening now is intriguing.

"Yeah but the information he has is useless now. The war on Cybertron has been over for eons. What do you plan on doing with him?" Breakdown question.

"Simple, Breakdown. If something you have doesn't serve your purpose, you get rid of it." Megatron simply told them.

"So you plan on killing the poor Autobot? This is going to be fun to watch." Knock Out asked before smirking as they all turn back to the screen.

"That is if he comes back alive." Starscream said as they all waited to what was gonna happen next.

Back in Siberia, the Autobots were all in standstill while watching how Tailgate held his own brother as hostage.

"Autobots, be careful. We cannot harm our comrade." Optimus told them all as Tailgate aimed his gun at them all with a glare but deep in his optics he's scared and confused.

"Put your guns down! Or else he's done for." Tailgate exclaimed as he was aiming his game at Cliffjumper's helm.

"You better not push me, kid." Bulkhead said as he and the others tensed.

"Put your guns down now!" Tailgate exclaimed heatedly.

The other Autobots except Optimus, Arcee and Emily started aiming at Tailgate as everyone was waiting to see who will make the first move.

"Easy there. No need to make things worse." Smokescreen said as he tried to calm him down.

"We're already at the worst, Smokey. Now put your gun down and release Cliffjumper immediately." Bulkhead told him.

"Either you put your guns down or I'll kill him." Tailgate told them as he narrowed his optics at them.

"Don't do this, Tailgate. You may not believe us. But I know that deep down, you think that what you're doing is. You're not a killer." Arcee reasoned with her but for some reason he listened to what she said but didn't let Cliffjumper go.

"You're right I'm not. But then again I could be falling into one of your lies." Tailgate said as he narrowed his optics at them.

While the Autobots were trying to keep Tailgate calm so that he wouldn't kill Cliffjumper, Airachnid started coming out from the hole that she has been hiding in.

"Wretched Autobots. I'll make them pay." Airachnid hissed angrily before seeing what was happening and hid in the shadows to see what will happen.

"Guys, let's put our guns down so we can talk about this." Emily told them as she was concerned for Cliffjumper and Tailgate.

"I hate to burst your bubble, Ems, but I don't think this guy wants to talk." Smokescreen told her.

Airachnid started to see how Tailgate was using his own brother as leverage and she couldn't help but smirk gleefully at this.

"Well, well, well. It looks to me that Tailgate believes that everything I just told him was true. This is my chance to make a Decepticon out of him. And perhaps get rid of some pest. But first, I must put his determination to the test." Airachnid said before heading to where the Autobots are so she can sway Tailgate to become a Decepticon.

Meanwhile the Autobots were still aiming their weapons at their ex-comrade but didn't shoot as Arcee stepped forward.

"Tailgate, listen to me. You have to-" Arcee started but was cut off by Tailgate who aimed his gun at her.

"Stop it. Stop talking to me. I shall not fall into your lies." Tailgate told her with an angry look that made her pause.

What he said confused the others. What lies is Tailgate talking about?

"What is he talking about? What lies?" Smokescreen asked in confusion as Optimus felt that it was all Airachnid's doing.

"I don't know. But we have to assume that Airachnid has something to do with it." Optimus told them.

"If you ask me, the guy decided to join the cons and that's why he took Cliffjumper." Bulkhead said as Smokescreen tried to think of the reason.

"Could it be?" Smokescreen asked as Bumblebee whirred to say that he doesn't know.

"What do you say, guys? Let's show this guy what happens to traitors." Bulkhead said but Arcee quickly stopped them before they could fire.

"What, stop. You can't shoot him." Arcee told them as Bulkhead looked at her in confusion.

"Why not?" He asked in confusion.

"Because Tailgate is not a Decepticon. He's acting like that because he has amnesia." Emily told them which made them except for Cliffjumper and Arcee to become shocked by this.

Everyone was shocked by what Emily said and even Wheeljack who was hiding, was shocked. If Tailgate didn't join the cons, that means he doesn't remember which side he was on.

"No way." Wheeljack muttered in shock.

"Emily, are you sure of what you say?" Optimus asked her as he looked at her as she gave him a nod to confirm it.

"I'm positive." Emily said.

"Yeah, well, I'm not convinced." Bulkhead said as he still didn't believe it but the others hesitated as they looked at each other.

"She's right. Tailgate doesn't remember anything. That's why he's doing this. He thinks we're the enemies." Cliffjumper agreed with Emily and Optimus saw a reason for them to put their weapons away.

"Autobots, put down your weapons." Optimus said as everyone turned to him in surprise.

"What?" Smokescreen asked in surprise as Bumblebee whirred and asked if he was sure.

"We can't do that, Prime. If we do, Cliff's gonna be scrap." Bulkhead said and Optimus understands his concerns but they have to do so in order for Tailgate to calm down so they can help him.

"Trust me, Bulkhead. Tailgate won't do anything harsh. He's just confused about all of this. Please, put your weapon down. We must prove to him that we are not a menace." Optimus told him as Bulkhead felt reluctant about putting his weapon down.

But seeing that this was what Optimus wanted, he had no choice but to obey Optimus' orders, so he put down his weapon. The others did the same right after him as Optimus turned to Tailgate who visibly relaxed but was still on his guard.

"Tailgate, we had put our weapons down. Now please let go of Cliffjumper so when we can talk about this rationally." Optimus told him calmly.

"You think I'll let you capture me that easily? I won't let him go." Tailgate said with narrowed optics.

"We do not desire to capture you, Tailgate. We only want to help... Ahhh!" Optimus said only to let out a pained sound as the injury on his leg protested when he tried to stand to his full height.

"Easy, Optimus. You're still hurt." Smokescreen said as he steadied him while Emily looked at Optimus in concern.

"You're lying. You are all lying. You Autobots are nothing but filthy traitors." Tailgate said through gritted dentas as Arcee and everyone looked at him in shock.

"What?" Arcee whispered in shock. He can't possibly view them as traitors, does he?

"Us, traitors? What is this guy babbling about?" Smokescreen questioned in confusion before a voice made them minus Tailgate to tense up quickly.

"Well done, my servant. I knew I could count on you." Airachnid said as she came out from her hiding spot and Tailgate glanced at her with what looked like gratitude in his optics.

"Thank you, mistress." He said in a relief tone which confused and shocked everyone.

"Mistress?" Emily asked in shock.

"Did he just call her mistress?" Smokescreen asked in shock as Bumblebee whirred while nodding sadly. Arcee turned her angry optics towards the con that did this to her old partner.

"Airachnid, you'll pay for what you did." Arcee told her angrily while taking out her arm blades and was about to attack Airachnid but Emily stopped her quickly.

"No. If you attack her, Tailgate will think we're the enemies." Emily stopped her as Arcee looked conflicted on whether to attack Airachnid or not.

"What's the matter, Arcee? Are you scared of me? If you attack me now, you will lose everything. Believe it or not, I'm glad you're still alive. Now you will see what it feels to lose something you care for." Airachnid couldn't help but laugh in her processor. Arcee won't dare attack her and if the Autobot Femme did attack her, Tailgate will view her as an enemy completely with the rest.

"This doesn't look good. I better find a way to attack her from behind." Wheeljack whispered quietly.

From his hiding place, Wheeljack started to look around for a way to attack Airachnid from behind before she even noticed him. He soon found the right way to do so and started moving carefully.

"Let's show Miss Ugly a good old wrecker rear attack move." Wheeljack whispered as his mask covered the lower half of his face plate as he grinned.

While Wheeljack started to move so that he could surprise Airachnid from behind, the others were handling the situation and trying to find a way to fix things.

"Tailgate, I do not know what Airachnid has told you. But I can assure you that we do not wish you any harm." Optimus told him truthfully.

"Lies, do not trust him. He's their leader. And he wants to use you." Airachnid said. She was not about to let Tailgate fall for this.

"That's not true. Do not believe her, she's the one lying to you." Arcee told him.

"They betrayed you. If you listen to them, you will never be free." Airachnid told him as he started to feel conflicted.

"She's a Decepticon, she won't hesitate at betraying you or worse." Arcee tried to reason with him.

"I am the only one you can trust." Airachnid said.

"That's not true. You must trust us. Trust me." Arcee said as she looked at him pleadingly.

"Stop it." Tailgate said quietly as he can feel a pain in his processor appearing.

Airachnid and Arcee's voice started echoing through Tailgate's mind while he was seeing other memories flashing inside him. The echo of both of their voices was disturbing him. He felt like he was going crazy and all he wanted was for both Airachnid and Arcee to stop talking.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it. STOP IT!!!" Tailgate exclaimed as he let Cliffjumper go unnoticed as he gripped his helm to make the memories stop.

Tailgate was shot by accident but luckily enough no one got hurt. And that distraction allowed Wheeljack to hit Airachnid from the rear as he tried to hold her down but she was very squirmish.

"How you liked that, freak?" Wheeljack smirked as he pinned her down.

"You have made your last mistake, Autobot." Airachnid hissed angrily.

When Airachnid was about to use her spider legs to kill Wheeljack, Bulkhead came in quickly to hold Airachnid to the ground and help his friend.

"Good work, Bulk." Wheeljack said with a grin.

"Mistress!" Tailgate exclaimed and was about to help her but Cliffjumper quickly stopped him and pinned him down on the ground.

"Let me go!" Tailgate exclaimed as he struggled to get him to let go.

"I can't. I won't let you go, brother. I already thought you were dead once. I'm not gonna let you go again." Cliffjumper told him as Tailgate sent him a glare.

"You really think I'm gonna listen to you? You betrayed me. I will not listen to anything you say." Tailgate told him before looking up as Emily approached them. She wanted to help Tailgate remember. He already heard one side of the story but he has to hear what the other side of it.

"Tailgate, please. We are trying to help you." Emily told him as he looked at her in confusion yet curiosity. He has never seen something like her before and yet she looked so small but she helped like she was born to fight.

"What are you? You're such a small organic being. I have never seen anything like you before." Tailgate said he stopped struggling to look at Emily with curiosity in his optics.

"She's a human, a liar. She's also an ally of the Autobots. Whatever you do, don't believe a single word coming out of her. Humans are known to be good liars." Airachnid said only to get smack against the ground by Wheeljack.

"Keep it down, eight legs." Wheeljack said as she hissed at him.

"Look, Tailgate. You may not know me. But I've heard a lot about you. And that's why I ask you to listen to us. You heard Airachnid's side of the story. So it would be fair to listen to our side of the story. If you don't wanna listen to me or your brother, I beg you to at least listen to what my friend says. Please." Emily said as she looked at him almost pleadingly as he looked in her eyes and saw no malicious intent in them.

Tailgate felt reluctant about hearing what Arcee had to tell him. But this organic, human, had a point, since he heard one side of the story it's best to at least listen to what the femme Arcee had to say.

Meanwhile back at the Nemesis, the others were seeing what was going on through the main screen as Dreadwing turned to his leader.

"My liege, what guarantees us that this… Autobot won't believe this child's words?" Dreadwing asked curiously.

"Nothing. Although that won't matter." Megatron simply said.

"I doubt Tailgate will believe the Autobots. We all know how Airachnid is an expert when it comes to manipulation." Knock Out said with his arms cross.

"Even the greatest expert tends to fail." Starscream said with a sneer.

"Lord Megatron, I hope you don't mind me asking this but are you expecting for the Autobots' retrieval to fail?" Skyquake asked as he turned to him but didn't receive an answer as Megatron stayed silent and didn't answer the question as they all continued to watch.

Meanwhile back at Siberia, Tailgate was still trying to figure what to do as Emily spoke up again.

"So what's your decision? Are you going to listen or not?" She asked him.

Tailgate didn't say anything. He started to think that he should at least hear the other side of the whole story. Even with all his doubts, Tailgate decided to hear what Arcee had to say and perhaps her answer might bring clarity to all of this confusion but most of all answers.

"Alright I'll listen to whatever you have to say. But first, I want him to let me go." Tailgate finally agreed but struggled a little since Cliffjumper was still holding him down. Optimus nodded and turned to Cliffjumper.

"Cliffjumper, stand down." Optimus said as he turned to him.

"But, Optimus, what if he hurts Arcee?" Cliffjumper questioned as he didn't want Arcee to get hurt.

"He won't. He needs answers that will take away his confusion. And he knows that she might be the only one to provide them." Optimus told him as Cliffjumper nodded slowly.

"Very well." He said as he let Tailgate go but was ready to hold him down again.

"Speak now. But choose your words well. If you dare to try and betray me, I will end you." Tailgate said as he looked at Arcee after he stood back up.

"I wouldn't dare. I couldn't hurt my old partner." Arcee told him slowly as Tailgate looked at her in confusion. What did she mean by old partner?

"Old partner?" Tailgate asked in confusion.

"You think he?" Smokescreen asked hopefully but Optimus shook his head.

"It's too early to tell. Ugh..." Optimus said before letting out a small groan as his injury hurts yet again.

"I don't like this." Smokescreen muttered as Bumblebee whirred in agreement.

"What do you mean old partner? It can't be true. My mistress said that the Autobots betrayed me. How can you be my partner?" Tailgate said as his optics held confusion.

"Calm down." Arcee told him slowly as she started walking down slowly towards him.

She was being careful to not make any sudden move that would make Tailgate do something rash.

"I want you to focus on my voice. Focus on what I'm saying. I know you're scared and I know you're confused." Arcee told him gently.

"How could you not know? You and your friends did this to me." Tailgate said as he calmed down slightly.

"No, we didn't. She did, your mistress is a Decepticon. Airachnid likes torturing people and playing with their minds. Just like she did with you." Arcee explained as Tailgate looked conflicted. His mistress is a Decepticon?

"Is that the best you got, Arcee? How pitiful." Airachnid taunted.

"How about you keep your mouth shut before I put my grenade on your mouth and blow you up to tiny bits, con?" Wheeljack warned her as he put his pede on her back and caused her to grunt slightly.

"Maybe you ought to put that on hold. At least until after we have proven we're the good guys." Bulkhead told him as Wheeljack snorted but knew he was right.

"Party pooper." Wheeljack muttered.

"What is a Decepticon?" Tailgate asked in confusion as he looked to Arcee after hearing that.

"The Decepticons are our mortal enemies. For eons, we Autobots have been at war with them." Arcee told him as her voice grew grim at the end as Tailgate felt his optics widened.

"A war?" He asked in confusion and shock as Arcee nodded sadly. The Autobots and Decepticons have been at war?

"Yes. This world we are on now isn't Cybertron, our homeworld. It's a small planet known as Earth." Arcee told him but this confuses him. They were on another planet?

"Hold on. If you say that this Earth planet is not our homeworld, then why are we here? What happened to our world?" Tailgate asked in confusion as Optimus in turn decided to give his answer.

"Cybertron has been… ravaged by the war between Autobots and Decepticons. We had suffered many casualties. But none was more painful than the core of Cybertron shutting down. In the end, we had no choice but to leave our world to survive. And that's how we came here on this planet, rich with Energon." Optimus told him as his spark almost stopped at this.

He grew saddened and upset that Cybertron shut down and that they are in a new planet. Airachnid just scoffed and decided to tell him one half of the story.

"Yeah that's right, tell him about the ravages of our world. Maybe you should tell him that the Autobots were responsible for what happened to Cybertron." Airachnid almost smirked when Tailgate took a step back as he looked at her then at the Autobots in shock.

"Is that true?" He questioned in shock but Arcee quickly shook her helm.

"No, it's not. She's only telling half of the story so that we would be the guilty ones. What happened to our world is because of them. There was a time in Cybertron where we all lived at peace. But then, the Decepticons began their first attack. Many died in that first battle. And those who survived, joined forces and became something that could oppose the Decepticons. We Autobots fought them with the hopes that one day. We could bring back Cybertron to what it was before the war. A peaceful and bright world." Arcee explained and he processed her words and found truth and honesty in them but he was still confused and needed more answers.

"Peaceful for you maybe. You say that the Decepticons are responsible for the war. But you Autobots are no better. On the first day of their birth, some had been forced to follow a life of inferior work while others could live a life full of freedom. You all had a name while most of us had nothing." Airachnid said as she scoffed as Arcee clenched her servos but calmed down.

"That wasn't our fault. No one wanted this." Arcee said as Airachnid rolled her optics at her as she looked at Optimus.

"Says you. Autobots created that Caste System. Especially the Primes. Like you, Optimus Prime." Airachnid said with a sneer as Tailgate looked at Optimus.

Why would this mech be with ones who created the Caste System? He looked like he had fought in the war but something about his aura was different. He shook his helm at the question as he looked at him.

"You created this?" He questioned but his answer was a shake of the helm from the red and blue Prime.

"No, Tailgate. Even though the system was created by a Prime. This Prime wasn't one of the original thirteen. I am a Prime. And like many among society, I didn't not agree with the Caste System that was imposed into our world." Optimus told him but Airachnid just scoffed at this.

"Save your excuses, Prime. Just like your predecessors, you are corrupted. What tells us that when the war is over, you won't bring back that old system." Airachnid said as Optimus narrowed his optics slightly.

"Because I believe in equality." He said with determination as Tailgate decided to ask Airachnid a question.

"Mistress, is it true that you're a Decepticon? And that you… destroyed our world?" Tailgate questioned her as she decided to lie yet again to keep him wrapped around her claws.

"Indeed I am a Decepticon. But if you want to blame someone for the destruction of Cybertron, blame those who are trying to befriend you with their lies." Airachnid said as Tailgate glanced at the Autobots as Arcee stepped forward warningly.

"If anyone is lying, it's you. You Cons start this war. You're the ones to blame for the destruction of Cybertron." Arcee snapped back with a glare.

"I would beg to differ." Airachnid said with a glare of her own.

"Arcee's right. You shouldn't listen to her. Cons like her are the reason why Cybertron is nothing but a huge scrapyard." Wheeljack agreed with Arcee and Optimus.

"As if you Autobots didn't have anything to do with it. Long before the war, there was a revolutionary who united part of the people to his cause. A cause that would bring changes. And make us all live as one. But when that revolutionary brought his plan for a better society, a sympathizing bot opposed the revolutionary's ideal. Ruining the chance for a united people. We declared war because we wanted to get rid of the corruption that had brought Cybertron to its ruin." Airachnid said as Tailgate looked to her but this only added more to his confusion.

"You've got it all wrong, Airachnid. If it weren't for that sympathizing bot you speak of, Cybertron would've turned out far worse than it is now. He did this to preserve peace and prosperity." Optimus told her as they were unaware that Laserbeak was close by and hidden somewhere as she was recording the whole thing and sending it back to the Nemesis.

Back at the Nemesis, Megatron and the others watched and listened as Optimus spoke up.

"Because the revolutionary wanted to bring order to our world by using violence."

Optimus' words only made Megatron get angry on the inside but the signs of his anger were his optics narrowing in a small glare as his servos clenched slightly. Some saw how this was making him angry and wondered why but only Soundwave knew why and the reason.

Back at Siberia, Tailgate was listening to both sides of the story but he was becoming more and more confused as he didn't know who was telling the truth and who was lying.

"Leave it to a Prime to think that peace can be achieved without violence. You may be wise, Optimus, but you're ignorant. Listen to me, my dear servant. You know in your spark that I'm the one telling the truth. If you come with me, I can promise you that we will bring Cybertron back to what it was. Think of it. All our ravaged cities were brought back to their former glory." Airachnid explained this as she looked to a confused Tailgate.

"Don't do this. If you go with her, you have no idea of the destruction she and others will cause. They'll destroy this world and many others. They will kill those who stand against them. Including innocent beings like the humans. If we don't stop them now, this planet and its species will suffer the same fate as Cybertron." Arcee told him so he won't go with Airachnid to the Decepticons.

"It's because of them that Cybertron lies in dust. The Decepticons can bring it back. We can bring it back." Airachnid said in false pity as Tailgate looked at her and Arcee.

"The Autobots want to bring back Cybertron too. But for now, we must protect this world from them." Arcee said as she looked almost pleadingly for him to trust her and her allies.

"I'm the only one who can protect you." Airachnid said.

"If you go with them, you'll be killed or worse." Arcee reasoned with him.

This was just too much for Tailgate as he held his helm in discomfort. He doesn't know who to believe and trust!

"Stop it! Both of you!" He exclaimed as the two femmes stopped arguing but they settled with glaring at each other as Cliffjumper stepped forward with comfort in his optics.

"Brother, please calm down." Cliffjumper said but Tailgate sent him a warning look as he stopped.

"No. I see now that I can't trust any of you." Tailgate said with gritted dentas.

"You can trust me." Emily then spoke up as she stepped forward as she looked up to him as he looked back down at her curiously. Why was she telling him that he can trust her?

"What makes you think I would trust an organic being like you?" Tailgate asked in confusion.

Something about her reads trust but he can't put his digit on why. Emily sighs as she has to tell him about who or what she is.

"Because despite what you see, I'm like you. I may not look like it but I'm not entirely human. I'm actually Cybertronian just like you. My genetic code has been modified when I was a Sparkling who got sent here." Emily explained and the news had shock and surprise to Airachnid but most of all Tailgate as he looked at her in shock and surprise.

"You're Cybertronian too? How can this be?" He asked in shock.

Back at the Nemesis, everyone was shocked and in disbelief at this except for Megatron who had to stop his smirk. He was the only one who also discovered what she is. Knock Out blinked in shock a couple of times at this. This wasn't possible. How can this girl be something that he and the others are?!

"Trust me, I was shocked as you were when I found out. And just like you, I was confused. My whole life, I didn't know who I was. And when I found out… it hit me. Knowing that I came from another world and my human family wasn't even my real family."

That was enough information from her for Megatron to use for his plans. He then turned to Soundwave.

"Stop the transmission, Soundwave. That is enough." Megatron said as everyone looked at him in surprise while Soundwave sent a telepathic order to Laserbeak to stop recording.

"What, already? It was just getting interesting." Knock Out said with a complaint. It was just getting interesting. Why stop now?

"Master, do you have any idea of what the human girl meant when she said that she was just like us?" Starscream asked curiously since that was the question everyone was having right now.

"This is none of your concern, Starscream." Megatron told him sternly as the seeker stopped quickly. He was the only one who could keep this information. But it looks like everyone is curious about the girl and of her origins.

"Very well, master." He nodded as he turn to Soundwave who retracted his tendrils back to him as he looked back at Megatron.

"Soundwave, prepare to activate the ground bridge. You will come with me to retrieve Airachnid. The rest of you stay here." Megatron ordered as Soundwave just nodded as the two left the control room as everyone watched them leave.

"Well isn't that great? They cut down our television service." Knock Out said with a roll of his optics as Breakdown shrug but had to agree with him. Just who exactly is that girl?

Back at Siberia, Tailgate is having a hard time believing that a human like Emily is Cybertronian just like the rest of them.

"You say that your human family wasn't your real family? Who was then?" He asked her as she smiled at him as she looked at the Autobots with Tailgate.

"For now, Team Prime is my family. All of them. They have been protecting me ever since the first time we met. And I know they will always be there when I need them. Just like we are all here today to help you. It's thanks to them that I know who I am. I'm the daughter of Alpha Trion." Emily finally concluded as Tailgate had to double back at that. This techno-organic is the daughter of Alpha Trion?!

"What?" Both Tailgate and Airachnid asked in surprise.

Both Tailgate and Airachnid were a bit surprised. Airachnid had all the reasons to be surprised since she knew who Alpha Trion was but she never knew that he had an offspring! Tailgate was extremely surprised by this. Ever since he had lost his memory, he didn't know who Alpha Trion was; however the mention of his name started to sound vaguely familiar to him.

"Alpha Trion? I think… I heard that name once… but I…" Tailgate said but stopped as he gripped his helm as he tried to remember but nothing.

"I can't remember… and what confuses me more is that whenever I see things in my head, you guys are the ones who appear. How do I know if I can trust you?" Tailgate said as he was unsure if he should trust them. Cliffjumper spoke up next as he stepped forward with a friendly smile.

"Because we want to help you. Think about it. During this whole fight, you didn't get hurt. Not even once. Don't you see it? We're not your enemies." Cliffjumper told him and Tailgate knew he was right. He didn't get hit by those shots and Cliffjumper never fought back.

"I wish I could trust you. But I don't know what's happening to me. It feels as if my own mind is playing tricks on me. All those things I'm seeing." Tailgate said with uncertainty as Smokescreen had to whisper to Bumblebee while watching everything unfold.

"Do you think he's gone crazy?" He asked as Bumblebee gave an annoyed whirred and beep to tell him to be more respectful.

"What? I'm just asking." He said in defense.

"Fess up, ugly. You did this to him didn't you?" Wheeljack told Airachnid.

"I didn't do anything." Airachnid said and that part was true. She didn't do anything to make him lose his memories aside from the lies she told him.

"You better talk now before my big friend starts getting mad." Wheeljack told her as Bulkhead smashed both of his fists together to intimidate her.

"You think I'm scared of him? What can that big lug nut possibly do to me? He's as smart as a Dinobot." Airachnid scoffed but that irked Bulkhead.

"How about I show you how smart I am?" Bulkhead said and was about to attack her but Emily quickly stopped him and Wheeljack.

"Guys, stop. This is exactly what she wants. If we hurt her, we'll be the bad guys here. And we cannot let that happen." Emily told them as she looked worried while standing next to Tailgate.

"You can hurt me all you want. But I will never talk." Airachnid smirked. She won't talk and they won't get her to talk.

Arcee looked at Airachnid with an angry look in her optics as she wanted to hurt her for what she did to Tailgate.

"You want to hurt me don't you, Arcee?" Airachnid said with a smirk. She could see it in her optics.

"You have no idea. But Emily is right. Hurting you won't fix things. That's why I won't do it." Arcee said as she didn't make a move to attack her as Emily sent her a smile as she smirked back at her friend.

"For once you're thinking cleverly. And yet I can't help but feel that your restraint is making you weak." Airachnid had to laugh evilly at this.

"I said I wasn't going to attack you. But I never said he wasn't going to." Arcee said as she held a small smirk as Airachnid looked at her in confusion.

Airachnid was a bit confused but then she realized that Arcee was talking about Tailgate. He started to approach her so that he could ask her some questions that he needed some answers to.

"Mistress, please tell me the truth. Did the Decepticons destroy Cybertron?" Tailgate question her as Airachnid decided to play dumb.

'Well that depends on what you mean with destroyed. In war, there's a lot of casualties. And sometimes things don't go as planned." Airachnid said and Tailgate was really getting confused but he needed to know the truth.

"Just tell me the truth. Did the Decepticons kill the Autobots and destroy Cybertron?" Tailgate asked again and Airachnid went silent at this before finally she came to the decision to answer Tailgate's question since she can't hide the truth from him anymore.

"Oh well. I guess there's no point in making excuses anymore. Yes we did destroy Cybertron. And caused the death of many Autobots. But you must believe that peace and change requires sacrifices." Airachnid admitted and got glares from the Autobots but a betrayed and angry look in Tailgate's optics as he looked at her.

"So you lied to me? How could you? I thought I could trust you." Tailgate said as he gritted his dentas while clenching his servos. How could he be so foolish to believe her?! The Autobots were telling the truth all along...

"This is one reality you will have to face one day or another. In this universe. You can't trust anyone. Not even those who say they are your friends." Airachnid said with a sinister smile as Emily decided that enough was enough as she spoke up.

"That's not true at all. You can always trust a friend. I am your friend. And so is everyone. Come with us, we'll keep you safe from the Decepticons." Emily told him as he looked at her as he finally knew that he could trust her and the Autobots.

"Do not do this, servant. You forget that you swore your allegiance to me. I freed you. You belong to me. If you join the Autobots, you'll be chased. There won't be any place for you to hide. If you wanna come out of this war alive, you must choose the side that will win. Become a Decepticon." Airachnid hissed angrily but Tailgate clenched his servos and gave her a small glare.

"The Autobots might not win this war. But at least they try their best. And unlike you Decepticons they're honest. I'm sorry, but I'm going with them." Tailgate said as he stood next to Arcee and Cliffjumper with Emily.

"You will pay for this. When I get out of this, I will rip your spark with my bare hands. You will implore me to spare you. And when this is over, I shall kill you all." Airachnid said with a dangerous hiss as Wheeljack rolled his optics.

"All show and no go." He said with a smirk.

"Yeah well at least she won't be getting away this time." Bulkhead said with a grin.

Tailgate had to smile at how those two act. Maybe the Autobots will really help him remember about his past.

"Looks like today we achieved something great." Emily said with her hands on her hips as Cliffjumper pats Tailgate on the shoulder playfully.

"Welcome back, brother. I'm glad you're with us." Cliffjumper said as Tailgate had to smile at this.

"I said I would join you. But let's not celebrate just yet. I still need some answers." Tailgate said as he looked at Optimus who nodded to answer that they would help him no matter what.

"And you will. I give you my word, Tailgate. We will help you get your memory back." Optimus promised him before his comm link started to notify him that Ratchet was contacting them.

"Optimus, do you read me?" Ratchet asked through the comm link.

"I do, Ratchet. I'm glad to hear you, old friend." Optimus said with a smile behind his battle mask.

"Hey, hey, doc, ask him if Arcee's ok. We're getting worried here." He heard Miko said through the comm link and Jack as well.

"Miko, will you stop?" Jack pleaded for her to stop but Optimus can tell that Jack was also worried. He heard Ratchet sigh and muttered something before speaking up again in the comm link.

"Forgive Miko for her rude behaviour. Everyone here has been worried. Is Arcee ok? Have you found Tailgate?" Ratchet asked and Optimus gave Tailgate a reassuring look before answering.

Back at the base, everyone has been anxious the whole time when the team hasn't contacted them earlier. Optimus' answer made them smile in relief.

"We did. And Arcee is well." Optimus said as Raf and Miko high five each other as Bolty was bouncing where he was.

"Alright." Raf said with a smile.

"Sweet." Miko grinned excitedly and she couldn't wait to meet him.

"Way to go." Fowler smiled.

"Ah, I'm glad to hear this." Jack sighed in relief and Ratchet couldn't agree more.

"Thank Primus." Ratchet said in relief.

"Hey, Prime, how's the factory? I take it that you didn't wreck the whole place." Agent Fowler wondered curiously.

"No worries, Agent Fowler. We kept collateral damage to a minimum." Optimus reassured him.

"Good to hear that." Agent Fowler said with a smile before Optimus addressed Ratchet.

"Ratchet, I'm gonna need you to do certain things for me." Optimus said as Ratchet stood in ready.

"Sure thing, Optimus. What do you need me to do?" Ratchet asked and wondered what it was.

"Prepare a containment cell." Optimus told him.

Back at Siberia, he briefly looked to where Airachnid is as she was still pinned by Wheeljack.

"We will bring a special guest." Optimus said.

"You hear that, ugly? You're gonna come with us and you're gonna get what you deserve." Wheeljack said as Tailgate looked confused.

"What will happen to her? Are you going to hurt her?" He asked in confusion as he looked at Emily who shook her head but gave him a reassuring smile.

"No. Autobots never hurt their prisoners." Emily reassured him.

"Okay, that's one thing. What else do you need?" Ratchet asked.

"I need you to prepare the sick-bay. Gah! Some of us are going to need it…" Optimus said but let out a small groan of pain and Ratchet grew worried.

"Are you okay, Optimus?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine, Ratchet. It's just a scratch." Optimus reassured him.

"Alright then. Now that we're done here. It's time to get back to base." Emily said as she picked her jacket that she was able to find and tie it around her waist.

"To base?" Tailgate asked in worry but in confusion.

"You don't need to worry. We'll explain everything when we get there." Arcee said with a reassuring look.

All of the sudden, the sound of a ground bridge getting opened was heard and everyone was surprised by it as they looked to where it was as it opened up.

"Is that ours?" Wheeljack asked in confusion.

"I don't know." Bulkhead said. Even Optimus was confused.

"Ratchet, did you open a ground bridge just now?" Optimus asked in confusion.

"Negative, Optimus. I didn't open any ground bridge." Ratchet admitted and everyone started to get a bad feeling about this.

"If this portal isn't ours, then this means that…" Smokescreen didn't have to finish as everyone quickly got their weapons ready as they realized which ground bridge it belonged to.

"Get behind me, Tailgate. I won't let them take you again." Arcee told him as he nodded and did so as everyone eyed the portal cautiously.

"Come on. What are they waiting for?" Wheeljack muttered.

Everyone was standing on guard as they started seeing who was coming out of the portal and much to their surprise it was only Soundwave who stared at them blankly through his visor.

"Soundwave? The Decepticon's chief of communications himself." Smokescreen said in confusion.

"What are you doing all the way here? Came to free your friend?" Bulkhead question but the con just stayed silent as usual.

"Not too talkative huh? Let's see if you stay silent at the sight of my swords." Wheeljack suggested while everyone waited to see if Soundwave would make the first move.

When all of the sudden, a weird noise was heard that sounded like shrill chirps as everyone looked around to where the noise was coming from.

"What's that?" Tailgate asked in confusion.

They turned around to see where that noise was coming from and they all saw that it was Laserbeak. She started flying down, heading for them at full speed.

"Get down!" Arcee exclaimed and they quickly duck down but luckily no one got hit.

She only flew up to reattach herself with his owner after as everyone stood back up.

"Now that you got your pet down. How about I start putting some dents into you?" Bulkhead said.

"Not without me, pal." Wheeljack agreed.

Both Bulkhead and Wheeljack started rushing towards Soundwave but he quickly let out his two tendrils and grabbed Wheeljack by the legs and used him to hit Bulkhead. When the big guy was down, Soundwave slammed Wheeljack against the floor a few times. He then released him and used his tentacles to retrieve Airachnid but she wasn't very happy that Soundwave had come to save her as she sent him a glare.

"I didn't need your help. I could've handled this on my own." Airachnid told him but he just ignored her as there was a battle starting.

"She's getting away!" Cliffjumper exclaimed.

"Not if I can help it." Arcee said.

"I'm with you." Emily agreed with her.

Both Emily and Arcee started shooting at Soundwave as Cliffjumper along with Bumblebee assisted them while Smokescreen took care of Optimus who could barely stand up with the wound on his leg.

"Just hold on a bit longer, Optimus. We'll be out of here soon enough." Smokescreen reassured him.

"Why isn't he striking back?" Emily asked as she noticed that Soundwave wasn't counter attacking them and was just dodging their shots.

"Dunno. Maybe we're too good for him." Cliffjumper said.

"I hope you're right." Arcee said but they didn't expect what happened next.

Soundwave used his tendril and it was heading to those who were shooting at him but none of them was his target. When they saw who he was going for, Arcee warned Tailgate to get out the way.

"Tailgate, look out!" Arcee exclaimed worriedly.

But it was too late as Soundwave had already caught him again as he started to struggle. Not wanting to lose his partner again, Arcee used her side blades to cut Soundwave's tendril. But when she was about to do so, Soundwave grabbed her with his second tendril. Emily used her plasma cannon to take down Soundwave's tendrils but she was having a hard time hitting one. Especially since Tailgate and Arcee's were both in trouble.

"Ahhh! It's no good! I can't get a clear shot!" Emily exclaimed.

"Leave it to us. Bumblebee, give me a hand!" Cliffjumper said as Bumblebee whirred as Cliffjumper grabbed the tendril that was holding Tailgate while Bumblebee grabbed the one that was holding Arcee.

"Go ahead! Shoot, shoot! We can't hold on forever!" Cliffjumper said as he and Bumblebee held on.

"Right. Here it goes. Full blast!" Emily exclaimed and launched two fully charged plasma shots at Soundwave.

So that way he would let go of Arcee and Tailgate and to which he did. Emily's double shot made him let go of these two as they landed on the ground as Tailgate was impressed.

"Nice shot, human." Tailgate said as she smiled.

"Thanks." She said with a smile.

"Rah!!! What was Megatron thinking when he sent you here?!" Airachnid questioned him angrily.

While Airachnid has been complaining at Soundwave for his incompetence, both Bulkhead and Wheeljack were getting up from their beating.

"Oh my head. You okay, Jackie?" Bulkhead winced and asked him as Wheeljack got back up.

"I'm good." He said.

When Wheeljack started to get up, he saw that both Airachnid and Soundwave were trying to get to the portal that would bring them back to the Nemesis.

"They're getting away!" Wheeljack said as Emily looked to where the two cons are.

"No, they won't!" Emily said as she hit the ground with her fist as she was still in her quake mode and grabbed two balls of cement that was big enough to hit the two retreating cons.

She threw two balls at them. And when they were both about to get hit, something destroyed the balls of cement. Everyone saw those two purple shots coming from the portal.

"What?!" Emily exclaimed in shock as she took a step back.

"No way." Cliffjumper said in shock as Bumblebee was in surprise.

"Who did that?" Smokescreen asked as they were all wondering who did it.

Before they all saw who it was and they quickly got into battle stances. It was none other than the dark lord himself, Megatron.

"Megatron." Optimus growled the name silently as Megatron had to smirk at the condition of his enemy.

"Optimus Prime. You're looking well considering what just happened." Megatron snided as Optimus narrowed his optics at him.

"Who is that?" Tailgate asked in shock and confusion.

"It's Megatron. He's the leader of the Decepticons." Cliffjumper answered him.

"And the main responsible for the destruction of Cybertron." Arcee said with a glare that was aimed at the fusion cannon wielding con.

"He looks so… powerful." He couldn't help but breathe in shock.

"That's because he is. Stay back, we'll take care of him." Emily told him as Bumblebee, Arcee, Cliffjumper and her stood in front of their comrades.

"I see you have regained your lost comrade. No matter, the information I seek isn't inside the mind of this pitiful Autobot." Megatron said and that triggered something in Tailgate as he sent Megatron a glare. What did he call him?!

"Me, pitiful? I'll show this guy who's pitiful!" Tailgate exclaimed angrily but Cliffjumper quickly stopped him before he gets himself killed.

"No, brother. You can't do anything against him. He's too strong." Cliffjumper told him.

"You do well on keeping a tight leash on your brother, Cliffjumper. We wouldn't want him to get lost again." Megatron said as Cliffjumper glared at him.

"For someone who likes to brag a lot. You're all bark and no bite, Megatron." Emily said as she glared at him.

"Yeah how about you come down so we can teach you how it's done?" Wheeljack suggested as he readied his swords.

"A very tempting offer indeed. However, I do not have time to play around with you. Consider yourself lucky, Optimus Prime, you and your team shall live to fight another day." Megatron said with a smirk.

"What's wrong, rust bucket? You wanna turn tail and run?" Wheeljack taunted.

"Not quite." Megatron said before aiming his fusion cannon at the team and started shooting them as they quickly got out of the way.

"Soundwave, take Airachnid and return to the ship at once." Megatron ordered him as he just nodded and entered the portal with Airachnid right beside him.

Megatron was backing down slowly so that he could get inside. Wheeljack, who didn't want him to get away, grabbed one of his grenades and activated it.

"Hey, Megatron! Take this!" Wheeljack exclaimed and threw the grenade at Megatron only for the warlord to hit it away from him.

It started to bounce around the place until it stopped and landed in front of barrels full of flammable oil which is not good.

"Uh oh." Wheeljack said as the grenade hit zero and blew up.

The explosion quickly turned into a huge fire due to the oil and the whole place was on fire as the team looked around in shock and horror.

"Farewell, Autobots." Megatron said before leaving through the portal and left the Autobots to their fate.

Everyone started running to get out before it was too late.

"We're in big trouble." Bulkhead said as he and the others continue to make their way to get out of the fire that was growing.

"Yeah, I guess it wasn't such a good idea." Wheeljack said as the grenade and fire was clearly his fault.

"We have to get out of here." Smokescreen said worriedly as he and Bumblebee helped Optimus walk.

Back at the base, everyone was getting very worried and wondered what was going on in the factory.

"What's going on out there? Is there a fire or something?" Agent Fowler asked as Miko gave him a look.

"Are you trying to stress us here?" Miko remarked.

"I'm just speculating, young lady." Agent Fowler said while raising both of his hands.

"What's going on out there? Somebody better answer me." Ratchet said as they could clearly hear what sounds like fire crackling in the background.

"I'm here, Ratchet." Smokescreen finally answered much to their relief.

"Smokescreen. Thank Primus you're okay. What's going?" Ratchet asked worriedly.

"Four words. Grenade, oil, explosion and fire." Smokescreen said and that everyone became shocked.

"By fire, he means a big one." Wheeljack said just as they heard another explosion somewhere in the background.

"We need immediate evac!" Smokescreen exclaimed in worry.

"What are you waiting for, doc?! Get them out of there now!" Fowler said as they turned to Ratchet.

"I can't. The storm in the area is preventing me from getting their coordinates." Ratchet said as he wasn't able to get the location of the team.

"Use the Coordinates Register. Tell Raf to use my code, he knows it." Emily told him as Raf quickly got to work.

"I'm on it." He said as he typed away on his laptop.

Raf soon entered Emily's code to track her current coordinates and to open a ground bridge before the Autobots got burned or worse.

"I got the coordinates. Sending now." Raf said and the ground bridge controls got the coordinates.

"Coordinates received. Activating the ground bridge now." Ratchet said as he quickly activated the ground bridge.

The portal back to Siberia opened up so that the others can come back safely before they get more hurt.

"There's our way out." Wheeljack said.

"Come on, Optimus. We'll get you out first." Smokescreen said as the Prime just nodded as both rookie and scout entered the portal whilst helping Optimus through.

They were the first to get out and return to base and when they got back to base, Ratchet immediately ran to help Optimus walk as he noticed the state the Prime was in.

"Optimus. What in the name of Primus happened to you?" Ratchet asked in extreme worry as Optimus groaned as pain from his injury flared up.

"Airachnid... gah!" Optimus groaned in pain.

"She hurt him bad." Smokescreen said as Bumblebee whirred worriedly if Optimus is going to be okay.

"He'll be fine." Ratchet said as he helped Smokescreen to the medical area and helped him to sit down so he could start treating him and to avoid any loss of Energon.

Raf approached Bumblebee who had little scorch marks but he was worried.

"You okay, Bee?" He asked worriedly as Bumblebee looked at him and whirred reassuringly that he is since he's back at base.

"Good thing we got out when we could." Smokescreen said but Miko, Jack and Fowler noticed that the others hadn't come through the portal.

"Where's Bulkhead?" Miko asked.

"Where are the others?" Jack asked in concern.

"And what about that special guest?" Fowler questioned while looking at the rookie who sighed.

"She got away." He said as Jack raised an eyebrow.

"She?" He asked but dreaded the answer.

"That eight legged con." Smokescreen said as Jack clenched his fist.

"Airachnid. She must've been the one who knocked out Arcee." Jack said angrily.

"Right now, we have more important matters to do. We have to get back to the others and fast." Ratchet said urgently.

Back in Siberia, the fire was spreading fast and the factory was falling apart due to the fire.

"This place is coming down!" Bulkhead exclaimed over the roar of the fire.

"We better leave! Come on!" Wheeljack said as he quickly ran and entered the portal with Bulkhead not far behind.

"Hurry, guys, we can't stay long!" Cliffjumper called Emily, Arcee and Tailgate.

"We're coming!" Emily called back as Cliffjumper entered the portal.

Emily was about to go in next but she stopped to tell Arcee to hurry up as she turn to where the femme and Tailgate are.

"Arcee, hurry! We have to get out!" Emily exclaimed and her eyes widened.

Emily saw what kept Arcee from leaving. She was trying to get Tailgate to move but for some reason he didn't hear her talk to him.

"Tailgate, come on! We can't stay here! Tailgate, Tailgate!" Arcee told him urgently as she noticed the glazed look in his optics.

Tailgate didn't pay any attention. For he was seeing other memory flashes in his mind. He saw Cybertron burning into flames and it's as if the fire around him reminded him of how his world was destroyed. Ravaged by the war. Suddenly he heard Arcee's voice echoing and that's when he came back to reality.

"Tailgate, wake up! We have to move now!" Arcee told him.

When Tailgate got out of his thoughts realized that they had to leave the place. He shook his head and started running alongside Arcee, trying to reach the portal where Emily was waiting for them.

"Hurry, guys! You're almost there!" Emily encourages them.

Both were almost at the portal when suddenly Tailgate saw part of the roof coming down. It was gonna hit both of them.

"Look out!" He exclaimed as reflexes took over.

He quickly pushed Arcee out of the way so that she wouldn't get hurt and poor Tailgate didn't move in time and got stuck in the rubbles as Arcee stared in horror.

"Tailgate!" Arcee cried out in shock.

Arcee ran to help Tailgate and so did Emily but when they tried to reach him, a huge explosion was heading for them. Arcee quickly grabbed Emily on her servos so she could protect her from the blast. The blast entered the portal.

Back at the base, everyone was waiting for Arcee and Emily to come back with Tailgate but they were all getting worried.

"They should've been here by now." Cliffjumper said worriedly.

"Come on, Arcee." Jack muttered as they all watched the portal intently.

While everyone was waiting for Arcee and Emily's return, a static was heard through the comm-link causing everyone to turn to the comm-links. It was Emily and she was trying to say something but the static made it harder to hear what she was trying to say while she was coughing.

"Ratchet,... close the..." The static was making it hard for everyone to hear as they heard her cough.

"Is that you, Emily? Try to speak up. I can't understand you." Ratchet said as Emily quickly exclaimed.

"Close the portal!" She exclaimed through the comms.

"They want us to close the portal? Why?" Smokescreen asked in confusion.

Wheeljack quickly sensed the approaching heat as he turned quickly to the portal and his optics widened.

"I guess it's because of that huge blast coming right at us!" He exclaimed.

Wheeljack points out the huge blast of fire that was heading their way.

"Ratchet, close the portal! Quickly!" Optimus ordered urgently.

"Get down!" Fowler exclaimed as he led the kids to duck down.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee got in front of them so that they would both protect them from the blast but luckily Ratchet closed the portal on time as they all let out a small breath.

"That was a close one." Smokescreen said.

"But Arcee and Emily. They're still out there. And so is Tailgate." Cliffjumper said in worry.

"I'll try contacting them." Ratchet said.

Back at Siberia, Arcee started opening her servos to check on Emily who was coughing.

"Are you okay?" Arcee asked her in concern.

"I'm fine..." Emily said but started to cough again.

"Just give me a moment." Emily said and quickly activated her battle mask so she won't breathe in anymore smoke.

"Ah, finally some air. What do we do now? The portal is closed and there's no way out of this fire." Emily said as she looked at Arcee.

"We'll figure that out later. Right now, we have to help Tailgate." Arcee said.

"Right." Emily nodded.

Arcee started running to where Tailgate was. She gently dropped Emily on the floor so that she could try to take the rubbles of Tailgate who was stuck. Emily starts hearing Ratchet calling her on her comm-link.

"Emily, do you read me?" Ratchet asked.

"Ratchet? Is that you? Boy, am I glad to hear you. We're in huge trouble. Tailgate got stuck in some rubble that fell into him. Arcee is trying to free him but the fire is spreading too fast." Emily said in relief but she couldn't relax as she saw that the fire was spreading around them. She wiped sweat from her forehead from the growing heat.

Back at the base, everyone grew worried.

"There's no way out. I repeat. There's no way out." Emily said.

"We have to get them out of there before they get roasted." Agent Fowler said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's just open up a portal to bring them back." Miko said urgently.

"It's not that simple. With Tailgate stuck and the fire spreading, they won't be able to get back on time." Bulkhead said.

"What if someone gets there to help them? I'll go." Smokescreen said but Cliffjumper stopped him.

"No, I will." Cliffjumper said as everyone turned to him.

"Cliffjumper, this mission is too risky and you know it." Ratchet told him as Cliffjumper turned to him.

"Well, it's better to sit here and do nothing. And in case you didn't figure it out. I'm done with sitting and doing nothing. Will you open the ground bridge or not?" Cliffjumper said as Ratchet didn't protest at this.

After thinking it through, he believes that even if it's dangerous it's the only way they can bring Arcee, Emily and Tailgate back to the base safe and sound. He turns to Optimus to see what he has to say.

"Optimus, this is your call. What do you say?" Ratchet asked and Optimus looked at Ratchet as the medic could see that he agreed with Cliffjumper.

"Do it." He said with a firm nod.

"Thanks, Prime." Cliffjumper said with a smile.

"Emily, get ready. Help is on the way." Ratchet said as he turned back to the commlink.

"Okay once Cliff gets here, you'll have to close the portal right away. We can't take any more risk. I'll contact you when we will be ready to leave." Emily said.

"Alright then. Be careful. Activating the ground bridge now." Ratchet said and activated the ground bridge.

"Hang on, guys. I'm coming." Cliffjumper said and quickly transformed and drove through the portal at full speed to get there on time.

"Good luck." Jack muttered as all they can only do now is wait.

Back at Siberia Arcee was trying to clear the rubbles to find Tailgate with Emily trying to help as best as she can. The portal appeared and as soon as Cliffjumper came out and transformed back to his robot mode as the portal closed behind him.

"Where's Tailgate?" Cliffjumper asked as he quickly approached them.

"He's under the rubble. He pushed Arcee out of the way so she wouldn't get hurt." Emily told him worriedly.

"So what do we do?" Cliffjumper asked as he became worried.

"You go help Arcee get Tailgate while I take care of this fire." Emily told him as she walked from them a bit and stood a few feet from the raging flames.

"You have the power to summon a huge amount of water because we could need some right now." Cliffjumper said as Emily looked at the fire, Cliffjumper and then her hands which were covered in rocks and glowing magma lines.

"I don't have water. But I have earth. I can use my earth abilities to avoid the fire from spreading. If it surrounds us, we won't make it out alive." Emily said.

"Okay, kid. Be careful, try not to get burned." Cliffjumper said as Emily gave him one last look and nodded.

"I will. Now go. We don't have much time." Emily said as Cliffjumper nodded and started running to where Arcee was. She was clearing out the rubble to try and free Tailgate as she was getting worried.

"Hold on, Tailgate. I'm getting you out of this." Arcee said as she pushed some rubble off.

"Need a hand?" Cliffjumper asked as he approached. Arcee turned to him and was relieved.

"Cliff." Arcee said in relief.

"There's no time to lose. Come on." Cliffjumper said and started to clear the rubble with Arcee.

Meanwhile, Emily was using her Earth element to keep the fire away. She started using the cement on the floor to try and create a huge wall. She used all her strength to make the wall taller. After it was tall enough, she stopped for a moment.

"This ought to do the job. Now time to put this fire out." Emily muttered before using both of her hands to make the wall go down and put out most of the fire.

She then moved each of her hands in different directions simultaneously, making the wall that was down get divided in two. Her hands moved each separate part of the wall to move and took out the fire. She was able to take down most of it but it wasn't enough. Since the factory had some areas with holes, the air from the storm outside got in and made the fire grow more intense as she sweated slightly.

"Some water powers would surely come in handy." Emily muttered worriedly.

Even though taking out the fire wasn't going well, Emily knew that giving up was not an option and that she had to keep going.

Meanwhile both Cliffjumper and Arcee were still trying to get Tailgate off the rubble.

"I hope he's alright." Cliffjumper muttered worriedly.

"He is." Arcee reassured him.

"How do you know?" He asked as he looked at her.

"I just know. Instead of talking, you can try and help me out with this." Arcee told him.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Cliffjumper remarked as they continued to get Tailgate out from under the rubble.

While Arcee and Cliffjumper were trying to get Tailgate out of the rubbles, Emily was still fighting the fire. Even though she was giving it her all and her battle mask prevented her from suffocating due to the smoke, the heat was starting to get to her. The more the fire grew, the more weak she was getting as her vision started to become blurry but she shook her head to clear her vision.

"The heat... it's getting to me..." Emily pants heavily as she starts to sweat profusely and could practically feel her heart hammering against her chest.

"My heart is... pulsating..." Emily said between small coughs as she tested her hands against her knees and pants heavily.

When she thought things couldn't get any worse, her holo-computer started to beep in alarm, indicating that the level of oxygen in her suit was dropping at a significant rate. Since the suit didn't have any protection against fire, she only had at least one more minute left of oxygen before she would start suffocating. But given the fact that the heat was making her weak, she would probably faint first and won't even feel like she's suffocating.

"One minute left of oxygen... Better make it count." Emily said as she shook her head to clear her vision and stood back up.

Even if the heat and the low oxygen were weakening her, Emily still had at least one minute before she ran low on air or faints because of the heat, so she decided to keep going for her sake and the sake of others.

"Come on, Emily. Don't give up now." Emily said with determination in her eyes.

After saying those words Emily started using her earth powers to continue fighting the fire.

While she kept the flames at bay, both Arcee and Cliffjumper were still trying to clear the rubble to get to Tailgate.

"Come on. I already lost my brother once, I'm not going to lose him again." Cliffjumper said and Arcee noticed the white paintjob of Tailgate.

"Keep going. We're almost through." Arcee said as they started to double on their speed to get to him.

"Hey, guys,... You have to work a bit faster... the heat... I can't take it." Emily said as she turned to them while panting heavily.

When Emily was just telling both Arcee and Cliffjumper so they can work faster, some rubbles was about to fall on them and much to her shock.

"LOOK OUT!!!" Emily quickly exclaimed.

Arcee and Cliffjumper looked up and saw that the rubble was about to fall on them. Cliffjumper started to cover Arcee however Emily used her earth powers to create a wall above them as she fell to her knee.

"Are we dead?" Cliffjumper asked as he opened his optics.

"Don't think so. Look." Arcee said as she suddenly noticed the rock done above them.

Suddenly the wall fell down and they all saw that it was thanks to Emily they're still in one piece.

"We have to hurry. This place will come down at any second." Emily said as she tried to stand up but her arm and legs were shaking as she panted heavily.

Emily started to feel more weak as she could barely stand and Arcee noticed it and grew worried.

"Oh no Emily. She's not feeling well. It must be the fire." Arcee said in concern.

"I'm okay, guys. I still have 30 seconds left of oxygen." Emily said as she stood back up.

"Wait, you what? Why didn't you say anything?" Arcee asked in concern and alarm.

"Because I didn't want to be a burden for you." Emily told her as she looked to the fire.

"You have to get back to base, kid." Cliffjumper said. Emily might be part Cybertronian but she's still half human and humans can't survive being surrounded by fire.

"I can't... there's no way I'm leaving you guys here on your own... Just get Tailgate out of there." Emily told them before she went back to position to try and put out the roaring flames.

"Wait, kid! She's a hard headed one." Cliffjumper tried to stop her but let out a sigh with a mixture of a groan.

"She picked that from you." Arcee said jokingly with a small smirk.

"Funny I was gonna say the same thing right back at you." Cliffjumper said as they knew that Emily got her stubbornness from them.

Both kept on clearing the rubble and finally they had found Tailgate's servo coming out.

"I found him!" Arcee said as she quickened her pace.

"Keep going!" Cliffjumper said as they started working fast.

And in a matter of seconds, they find Tailgate and they take him out of the rubble and notice that he was unconscious.

"Tailgate." Arcee muttered softly.

"Is he?" Cliffjumper asked worriedly.

Arcee starts checking if Tailgate is still alive and felt a small pulse from his spark which relieved her.

"It's okay. He's still alive. Something hit him in the head." Arcee reassured him as he sighed in relief.

"He's okay. That's the only thing that matters." Cliffjumper said with a small smile as she smiled back.

While finding Tailgate was a good thing and it made Arcee and Cliffjumper feel a bit better but the situation they were in was getting worse as the fire had spread and they were surrounded by it.

Emily, who was still fighting it, started receiving an alert saying that she has no more oxygen that was coming from her suit as her vision was slowly getting blurry.

"No more... oxygen..." Emily rasped out heavily and was forced to kneel down as she gasped softly for any form of oxygen.

The heat made it harder for her to stand up and keep the fire away as Arcee and Cliffjumper were both carrying Tailgate and saw how Emily was getting weaker.

"Hey, kid, come over here. We need to get some cover." Cliffjumper called but Emily refused as she tried to stand but couldn't.

"No..." She rasped out.

"Emily, don't be foolish. You have to come now. Hurry!" Arcee tried to urge her and was getting worried.

"No... I can't stop... I can't let my friends... die..." Emily rasped out but the black spots dancing around her vision worsened and she fell on her side and fainted on the spot.

Both Arcee and Cliffjumper were shocked by what just happened.

"Emily!" Arcee exclaimed in worry and shock.

"We have to get out of here. Contact Ratchet and ask for an immediate evacuation." Cliffjumper told her as she quickly did that.

"I'm on it." Arcee said as she turned on her commlink to contact base.

"Arcee to base, do you read?" Arcee started.

Back at the base, everyone was holding its breath while waiting for the others to come back when suddenly they heard Arcee's voice through the comm-link.

"Ratchet. This is Arcee, we need..." Arcee said but her voice was breaking down due to too much static.

"Arcee, repeat that." Ratchet said to get her to speak up.

"We need you to..." Arcee said but the static interfered more and the communication was cut off abruptly as Ratchet lost contact with Arcee.

"Arcee? Arcee! Scrap! I lost contact with her." Ratchet said as he slammed his clenched servos on the console in frustration.

"There's no need to panic, doc. Use the coordinates." Agent Fowler said before Raf spoke up when he tried to do so.

"Uh, we have a problem." He spoke up nervously.

"What is it?" Miko asked as she turned to him.

"There's something going on with the Coordinates Register. Arcee's and Emily's aren't transmitting their coordinates." Raf told them in worry.

"Must be a bug or something." Wheeljack said but he was also worried.

"It can't be a bug. We both worked on it too hard. There's no way the system can have a bug." Raf said as he tried to get their coordinates again.

"You mean you lost them?" Jack asked him in concern. If something happens to his partner and friends, he won't get over it.

"I didn't lose them. But something is interfering with their signal." Raf said as he kept trying.

"It must be the heat from the fire." Smokescreen said in realization.

"It must be." Raf said. It might be that.

"Do we really need that Coordinates Register thingy?" Miko asked curiously.

"Yes, without it, I can't pick up Arcee's or Emily's last known coordinates." Raf told her.

"Yeah but Ratchet could use the previous coordinates." Jack said in hopes that it would work.

"I can't. It's too risky. The fire almost hit the base. Do you want us to get carbonized and turn into molten metal?!" Jack said as Miko gave a dumbfounded look and whispered to Raf.

"Uh, he does know that we're not made of metal right?" Miko whispered as Raf shrugged.

"Ratchet, I understand your concern. But we cannot leave our comrades to their fates." Optimus said as he can't allow his friends and Emily to their fates.

Bulkhead then perked up when he had an idea.

"I got an idea. How about we use some plaques that will stop the fire?" Bulkhead suggested and Wheeljack thought that it was a good idea. It would help a lot so they could get to their friends before it's too late.

"We could build a wall." Wheeljack said.

"How about the plaque thing you used to paint the Synthetic Energon Formula?" Smokescreen suggested as he pointed to it but Ratchet gave him a warning glare.

"Out of the question! We can't afford to lose that formula." Ratchet told him but everyone gave him a pointed look.

"Do we have to remind you what happened last time?" Smokescreen asked as Ratchet hesitated before giving in. That was one incident that he did not want to be reminded of.

"Ugh, fine. Make the wall while I open the ground bridge." Ratchet finally agreed as he went to the ground bridge controls.

"Alright then, let's get to work, guys." Smokescreen said with Bumblebee whirring in agreement.

Then everyone starts running to pile up the plaque that Bulkhead once used. While the others made the wall, Ratchet was opening the ground bridge.

Back at Siberia the portal appeared a few yards from the remaining team.

"Look, there's the portal." Cliffjumper pointed.

"That's Ratchet for sure." Arcee said in relief.

"You go get the kid. I'll take care of Tailgate while trying to reach the portal." Cliffjumper told her.

"Way ahead of you." Arcee said as she let Tailgate go and ran to Emily who was down after she fainted.

"Hey, Emily. Emily, you okay?" Arcee asked and started to check if she was and was relieved to see her chest raising up and down.

"Thank Primus you're still alive. Whatever you do, you better not die on me." Arcee said before picking her up and ran to the portal.

She was about to enter it but instead she went back to help Cliffjumper carry Tailgate back to base while holding Emily in her servo.

"What are you doing?" Cliffjumper asked in surprise.

"I'm helping you out." Arcee told him.

"You can't. You have to take the kid out of here before she gets worse." Cliffjumper told her urgently.

"No way I'm leaving you out here. Now come on. Let's bring Tailgate back home." Arcee said. Cliffjumper hesitated but knew there was no changing Arcee's mind.

"I thought you'd never asked. Is the kid okay?" Cliffjumper said before asking as he saw Emily breathing slowly under the battle mask.

"She's a tough one. She'll get over it. You'll see." Arcee reassured him.

"We're almost there. Try and contact the base. Tell Ratchet to prepare his medical equipment." Cliffjumper told her as they saw that they were almost at the portal.

"Right. I just hope this time it works." Arcee said as she started to contact base.

Back at the base, the rest of Team Prime was building the wall to prevent to base from getting burned in case the fire got through the ground bridge.

"Let's hurry up, guys. Arcee and Cliffjumper are gonna be here any minute." Smokescreen said.

"No need to hurry, kid. Building stuff is my thing. So back off and let the master handle this." Bulkhead told him in a reassuring tone.

"You sure you're not too rusty for that, maestro?" Wheeljack asked him as he placed another plaque down.

"It takes more for an old constructor like me to get rusty. Now let's make it well. Chop chop." Bulkhead said as he started packing up the plaques to build the wall.

Suddenly Arcee's voice was heard through the comm-links.

"Ratchet, if you can hear me. We're about to come back to the base." Arcee said as Ratchet quickly answered back.

"Arcee, thanks Primus you're okay. What's your current status?" Ratchet asked her. He and the others were relieved to hear that she was okay.

"Tailgate is down. And so is Emily. Don't worry they're both fine. We need you to prepare the proper medical equipment." Arcee said and this worried the others.

They were relieved that they were okay but hearing that both Emily and Tailgate were down was worrisome.

"Emily is down?" Raf almost squeaked out in concern and shock.

"You think she's okay?" Miko asked worriedly.

"Perhaps It's best not to say anything. Wouldn't wanna jinx it or anything." Jack said but joked on the list part which kinda made Miko a bit mad but Fowler was quick to calm her down.

"You ain't gotta worry. Emily is the toughest girl. She'll be back." Agent Fowler reassured her.

From how Emily saved him from the fall back at the Harbinger and how she was able to carry him all the way to the top. He just knows that Emily will be back. She's tougher than she looks.

Back in Siberia, Arcee and Cliffjumper were getting closer to the portal and in any second now, they would get back to the safety of the base.

"We're almost there." Cliffjumper said in relief.

"Yeah." Arcee nodded in agreement before she heard a strange sound which worried her.

"What was that?" Arcee asked in alert.

"I think it's coming from the roof." Cliffjumper said in worry.

When they both started looking at the roof, they saw a huge pile of metal coming down their way.

"I think we should move!" Cliffjumper exclaimed in alarm.

Cliffjumper quickly grabbed Arcee and pulled her away. They manage to avoid the rubbles while protecting both Tailgate and Emily.

"You okay?" Cliffjumper asked as she shook her head but nodded.

"I'm fine. So is Emily. Oh no... The portal." Arcee reassured him but her optics widened in shock when she saw what happened.

"What about it?" Cliffjumper asked her.

When Cliffjumper looked at what she was pointing at, he saw that the ground bridge portal was blocked by the rubbles that just fell from the roof as his optics widened in shock.

"No..." Cliffjumper said as he set Tailgate down beside Arcee and ran towards the rubble to try and get it out of the way.

"No, no, no, no!" Cliffjumper exclaimed in worry and fear. They were so close!

When he reached the rubbles, he started to try and clear the path so they could get out. Unknown to them was that there was a puddle of oil that was getting closer to the fire. The puddle came from a barrel that fell over possibly due to some rubble that fell on it. The barrel was close to some other ones that didn't fall over and were full of oil. In any moment the puddle would get in contact with the flames and would create a huge explosion that would possibly kill them.

"Ratchet, if you read me, we have a big problem." Arcee said in worry.

Back at the base, Ratchet just watched the team but answered.

"Well, I don't think that your problems can be compared to mine right now." Ratchet told her grumpily.

"Does rubble that fell in front of the portal count?" Arcee questioned him and this caused everyone to freeze.

When everyone heard that the portal in Siberia was blocked by rubble they were shocked and started to get nervous and worried.

"What happened?" Ratchet asked in worry.

"Some rubble from the roof fell. It's blocking our only way out." Arcee told him.

"There has to be a way for you to get out." Ratchet told her. There's gotta be another way out.

Back in Siberia, Arcee started looking around for a possible way out while Ratchet was talking.

"Arcee, do you read me? You must find a way to get out of the fire." Ratchet told her.

Arcee heard Ratchet's voice talking to her. But unfortunately the fire gained too much strength and blocked any possible getaway. Even worse, she saw that a barrel of oil had dripped some oil that was heading for the fire. She saw that the barrel was extremely close to another pile of oil barrels. She had deduced that when the oil and the fire would get in contact, the flames would head for the barrel creating an explosion that would make the pile of barrels explode and possibly end them.

At that same moment, Emily started to wake up slightly. She was a bit weak and her vision was a bit blurry but she saw that the fire had grown and that the portal was opened but blocked by rubble.

"Don't worry, Arcee. I'll get us out of here." Cliffjumper said as he was desperately trying to clear the rubble.

She heard how Cliffjumper desperately said that they would get out while he tried to clear the rubble. But she knew that they wouldn't be able to get out on time.

"Ratchet, I need you to listen to me now." Arcee said.

Back at the base, everyone watched commlink as Arcee spoke up.

"I want you to close the ground bridge now." Arcee told him as what Arcee said had shocked everyone to the core.

"Have you lost your mind?! I can't do that!" Ratchet exclaimed to her through the comm-link.

"I know. But please listen to me." Arcee said as her voice pleaded for him to listen.

Back at Siberia, Arcee stayed put while talking to Ratchet with a heavy feeling in her spark.

"There's no way out and the whole place is about to blow up. You have to close the portal or else you and the others will get hurt. Think of the kids. Think of Jack." Arcee told him before hearing Jack speak in the comm link.

"Arcee, if this is about me, don't do this. I knew what the risk was when I first met you. I don't care what happens to me. All I want is you to come back. If something happened to you, I would never get over it. So please come back. You'll find a way out. I know you can." Jack told her.

Back at base, Jack can't lose Arcee or any of his friends. He won't be able to get over it if they are gone.

"Jack,... I'm sorry. But this time there's no way out." Arcee apologized sadly.

"Don't say that, Arcee! There's always a way out." Ratchet told her. He can't lose four members of the team. He can't.

"Maybe you can open another portal." Miko suggested but she was also desperate for them to get back to safety.

"We can't. The storm is interfering with their signal. And the Coordinates Register doesn't work either. I rebooted it a dozen times already. It's not working. Nothing I do is working." Raf told them as he took off his glasses and started to sniff and cry softly.

"I can't do anything." Raf said as his voice cracked while tears started to fall.

Miko was about to cry at the thought of losing Emily, Arcee, Cliffjumper and Tailgate. She can't lose them like this.

"If Arcee and Cliffjumper don't come back,... then this means..." Miko said as she tried to stop the tears but they started to fall as she tried to stop a sob from escaping.

"No... I won't let this happen. Now you listen to me, Arcee, and you better listen. You'll find a way to come back right now or so help me I'll... Gah! I don't know what I'll do but one thing is sure. You're not going to like it!" Agent Fowler told her sternly but he also can't stop the sadness that was building up in him.

"You know what? Building this wall won't cut it. I say we go help them." Smokescreen said. They have to help them now.

"Smokescreen is right. All we're doing right now is just trying to keep our tailpipes safe. I feel like we're letting down our guys. And I'm not having it." Wheeljack said.

"Me neither. Let's go help them now. I'll clear those rubble with one punch." Bulkhead agreed while punching his fists together as Bumblebee agreed with them

But Arcee's voice stopped them.

"No, guys. There's nothing for you to do." Arcee told them before the next voice spoke up.

"Arcee's right..." Emily agreed with Arcee.

"That's Emily." Miko said as they noticed how her voice sounded.

Back in Siberia, Emily was able to sit up and turn on her holo-computer.

"There's nothing left to do... except this. I'm sorry..." Emily said before she used her holo-computer and activated something.

Whatever she did, had forced the portal on both sides to close. Cliffjumper got shocked when the portal was closed.

"No! The portal!" Cliffjumper exclaimed in shock. That was their only way out...

Back at the base, something started to appear in the main computer. Something that said "Emergency Lockdown Initiated". Everyone saw how the portal just closed up on its own much to their shock.

"The portal. It closed. Did you do that, Ratchet?" Smokescreen said in shock and Ratchet tried to turn it on but it didn't let him

"I didn't do anything." Ratchet told him.

"Then how come the portal closed on itself?" Wheeljack questioned.

"And what's with the message on the screen?" Bulkhead asked.

"I have no idea." Ratchet said. He was also confused. He didn't press anything.

"It's Emily... She... initiated the Emergency Lockdown protocol." Raf spoke up meekly yet his voice held sadness as everyone turned to him in shock.

"The, what now?" Wheeljack asked in shock.

"It's an emergency protocol to prevent the Decepticons from getting to the base... in case it happens." Raf told them as he looked down and sniffed.

"You mean she invented a security measure without any of us knowing?" Ratchet asked him in shock. Emily invented it and she didn't even tell them?

"She was gonna tell you, I swear." Raf said as he struggled not to cry. Bumblebee whirred in concern of his charge.

"It's okay, guys... At least you're safe now. That's all that matters." Emily reassured them.

"And you expect us to sit here while you die?" Ratchet questioned her as he looked at the commlink in disbelief and sadness.

"I know it's crazy but I can assure that everything is gonna be alright. I can feel it... In my spark..." Emily said softly through the comm link.

"This can't be happening. Optimus, there must be something we can do." Smokescreen said as he looked at Optimus who had stared at the commlink in silence just gave them a grave look.

"The only thing left to do... is to trust in our friend..." Optimus said. He was also feeling shock after what just happened. He can't afford losing Emily. He just can't lose any of his friends and Emily to the fire.

Back at Siberia, Arcee just looked at Emily in shock.

"Why did you do this, Emily?" Arcee asked in shock and disbelief.

"Because... I couldn't bear the thought... of my friends... getting hurt." Emily told her as she just looked at her with a small yet sad smile.

Cliffjumper ran back to where Arcee was standing while she took care of Emily and Tailgate.

"What do we do now?" Cliffjumper asked them desperately.

Arcee looked at Cliffjumper with a look that said that maybe that was it for them. Even though it was hard, Cliffjumper accepted it as he kneeled down beside her.

Back at base, everyone was still processing all of this before Arcee spoke up again.

"Jack, I just want you to know. That to me, you were more than a partner. You were a friend. The best one I could ever ask for. You've matured so much. And I hope I can see you grow after I join the Allspark." Arcee told him. He could feel that she was giving a reassuring smile.

Arcee's words felt like a knife had stapled deep inside Jack's heart. He tried to resist but even he wasn't strong enough to not shed a tear as he tried to stop his tears from falling.

"Arcee..." Jack whispered sadly before Cliffjumper spoke up.

"Hey, guys. If this is it, make sure you take down some cons for me." Cliffjumper said as Smokescreen just nodded.

"We will." Smokescreen said as he tried to smile but couldn't.

"You can count on us." Bulkhead said with a sad smile.

"We'll take some down in your name." Wheeljack said heavily as Bumblebee whirred sadly but agreed nonetheless.

"I have something to say too. It's something I've never dared to say... Optimus,... I... I..." Emily started as Optimus looked at the screen with slightly wide optics. Is she...? No, she couldn't be, could she?

Before Emily could finish what she wanted to say, the communication cut off. A huge moment took place in the entire base as everyone just stared at the screen.

Meanwhile back at Siberia Arcee, Cliffjumper and Emily were getting ready in case they would perish in the fire.

"So... I guess this is it." Cliffjumper said as he was sitting next to Arcee who was holding Emily in one servo and had her other servo on Tailgate.

"It looks like it. It's funny, to think I once lost you and Tailgate. And today, I get to die with three of the most important people of my life." Arcee said as she gave a small yet pained smile as Cliffjumper tried to smile back but couldn't.

"We won't die... I know that in some way... we'll get over it..." Emily said slowly as she looked at them but her vision was getting blurry again.

"Hate to break it to you, Ems. But I don't see how we will get out of this one." Cliffjumper said and Emily knew he was right but she can feel that they will get out somehow.

"Me neither... and yet I feel like... everything... is going... fine..." Emily whispered before she passed out from lack of oxygen and fatigue.

"Kid, are you...?" Cliffjumper asked in concern. Arcee looked at Emily and saw that she was okay but was only tired.

"She's fine, just a bit weak. This is all my fault. Had I known that Tailgate was still alive and that Airachnid told he was dead just to get to me, I would've searched the whole galaxy to bring him back." Arcee said as she clenched her optics shut.

She should have tried to search for Tailgate when she found out that he was alive but she already found him.

"It's my fault too, you know. If I have done my duty as a soldier, none of this would've happened. I let my personal feelings get the best of me. Because of that, both of you were captured. And I wasn't able to stop it." Cliffjumper admitted as he clenched his servos tightly. It was all his fault and he won't be able to take back what we're said in the past.

Arcee held Cliffjumper's servo to comfort in her own as she looked at him with gentle optics.

"Don't blame yourself. We both have our share of guilt." Arcee told him gently.

"Well, at least we gave it our best. I have no regret of being an Autobot. I fought for my world alongside my friends. Kicking some serious Decepticon tailpipes. In fact, I think I've set a record." Cliffjumper said with a small bitter laugh.

"I'm gonna miss your blabbering." Arcee said with a small chuckle.

"And I'm gonna miss you and your hurtful comments." Cliffjumper said with a small grin.

"Silly. Just so you know, I don't regret joining the Autobots either. Despite everything we've been through." Arcee said as she looked at him.

"Do you have any regrets? As a regular bot?" Cliffjumper asked gently.

"Maybe. What about you?" Arcee asked back as he let out a sigh.

"I do." He admitted as Arcee turned to him curiously. What did he regret?

"What is it?" She asked curiously.

"Well... you probably don't want to hear this. But if there's one thing that I regret, it was not doing one last thing before joining the Allspark. Spend the rest of my life with a special person." Cliffjumper said as Arcee almost blushed at this. Was he...?

"Cliff..." Arcee muttered.

"To think I could've left everything just to spend one moment with that special person. But knowing her, she would've held a grudge against me." Cliffjumper said as he covered his optics with one servo to stop the lubricant that threatened to fall. His words made Arcee's spark flutter in joy and happiness.

"Cliff..."

"I know that she and I agreed that because of the war, we couldn't let our personal feelings get in the way. But I couldn't help it. She meant everything to me." Cliffjumper continued.

"Cliff..." Arcee tried again.

"So that's it. That's my biggest regret. Even though she wouldn't want to hear it now. I had to be honest." Cliffjumper said. Arcee scooted closer to him until she was practically beside him as she leaned against him.

"Cliff,... what if she... wanted you to say it?" Arcee muttered softly as his optics widened slightly and looked down at her.

"What?" He asked in surprise.

"You were right. She wouldn't want to hear it under normal circumstances. But seeing how this was her last moment... maybe she wanted you to say it because... she cared too. And seeing that special person coming back in her life... made her realize that life is too short to not be true with what we feel inside." Arcee said as she looked up to him with a small smile to which he returned.

"I'm glad she said it. If I knew early that she felt something, I would have acted earlier." Cliffjumper said with a gentle and warm smile as she smiled back.

"Cliff..." Arcee started.

"Arcee..." Cliffjumper said as both of them were going to say something very important.

But deep down, they knew words were useless because they knew what they were about to say just by looking at each other.

Without realizing, a tiny wind entered the place. The wind started touching Emily. Meanwhile the fire had reached the oil and it was making its way to the barrel. When that first barrel exploded, it made the others explode and at that same moment, Emily's brooch started shining brightly.

Cliffjumper and Arcee didn't see it because they were holding each other. When they thought that the fire was about to touch them, they realized that they were being protected by a bright shield. And even weirder, Emily started floating in the air and Arcee saw that she wasn't in her hands anymore which caused her to panic.

"Where's Emily?" Arcee asked as she looked around.

"And where did that shield come from?" Cliffjumper said as he looked at the shield. It felt cold but it didn't feel cold when he touched it. Arcee noticed that something or someone was floating above them and her optics widened.

"Look." Arcee pointed and Cliffjumper was dumbstruck by what he was seeing.

"Kid, is that you?" Cliffjumper asked but didn't get an answer.

"Emily, are you okay?" Arcee asked but Emily didn't say anything.

And even stranger, her armour and her eyes were different. She was wearing a cape that had a hood that she put on for some unknown reason. Her eyes were glowing with a bright ice blue.

Whatever was going on with her, had saved Arcee, Tailgate, herself and Cliffjumper. When she started taking down the shield around them, she turned around and gave Arcee and Cliffjumper a hand motion, telling them to come and follow her.

"I think she wants us to follow her." Cliffjumper said.

"And go where?" Arcee asked in confusion.

"Dunno. But it's better than staying here." Cliffjumper said as he helped her up.

"Good point. Here, help me out with Tailgate." Arcee said as she kneeled to one side of Tailgate.

"You got it." Cliffjumper did the same.

Both Arcee and CliffJumper got back up while carrying Tailgate as they started following Emily who was floating in the air. She started using powers that she never had. It's as if she has gained the power to control the ice and with that power, she could fight the fire and create a way out.

"Check out her new powers." Cliffjumper said in awe.

"I see them. But for now, let's just focus on getting out while we still can." Arcee told him

Arcee and Cliffjumper are still advancing while Emily is using her ice powers to take down the fire and create a new way out. Even though her powers were giving her an advantage, the fire was gaining on them and at any moment, there would be another explosion that might blow them away.

"There's the exit." Arcee pointed.

"Great. This was getting too hot for me." Cliffjumper said as he smiled in relief.

"I can't believe I said I was gonna miss your constant blabbering." Arcee said with a shake of her head and smirked at him.

When Emily had reached the exit, she stopped before she pointed out her finger at the exit, telling Arcee and Cliffjumper to get out.

"Yes, I know it's the exit. Don't stop now. It's time to get out." Arcee said.

Even though Arcee told Emily to keep going, but she wouldn't move as she just kept pointing at the exit.

"Come on, kid. We have to get out of here before this place blows up or worse." Cliffjumper told her but didn't get a response.

Emily floated closer to Arcee and Cliffjumper and by using the wind from the storm, she lifted them in the air along with Tailgate much to their shock.

"What the...?" Arcee question in shock.

"We're flying? How?" Cliffjumper asked in shock and disbelief.

Emily started moving them right in front of the exit as they looked at her.

"What is she doing?" Cliffjumper asked in confusion.

Arcee quickly figured out what Emily was doing. She was taking them out of the factory while she stayed back to stop the fire.

"Emily, no! Don't do this!" Arcee pleaded but it didn't work as Emily had pushed them away from the factory and away from the explosion zone.

"No!" Arcee exclaimed.

Arcee and Cliffjumper along with a down Tailgate had landed in a pile of soft snow. Arcee quickly got up and her first instinct was to go back and save Emily.

"Stay here, Cliffjumper. I'm going back to get Emily back." Arcee said as she started to make a run for the factory but Cliffjumper grabbed her servo.

"No. If you go, you'll freeze up. And even if you get there, you might get killed." He told her.

"I'm not leaving her like that." Arcee told him as she tried to get him to let go.

"I think the kid knows what she's doing." Cliffjumper said and didn't let go. He doesn't know why but he just knows that Emily knows what she's doing.

"Let me go, Cliff!" Arcee pleaded but he wouldn't let Arcee go and get Emily who was still inside the factory.

Back at the factory, the fire grew with intensity and at any moment the whole place would explode. And when it did, the explosion was quickly heading to where Emily was. She then used her ice powers to create a huge blizzard that would push away the explosion. With all her strength, Emily used the blizzard and turned it into a huge sphere of pure cold wind, powerful enough to take down the fire. The sphere grew and when it blew up, the fire was out.

Arcee and Cliffjumper saw how Emily took down a single fire on her own and yet they could not believe what they saw. After the fire was out, Emily came back to them. When she reached them, she took her hood off and landed on the floor. Then she started to glow. When the light disappeared, her armor returned to her normal armor. The use of that stranger and powerful power had tired her out.

"Emily? Emily, talk to me." Arcee said as she gently shook Emily with a servo while Cliffjumper made sure that Tailgate, who's still unconscious, was laying down on the floor and on his back before he checks if Emily is okay.

"Is she okay?" Cliffjumper asked in concern as Arcee looked at him and shook her head.

"I don't know. Emily, please talk to me." Arcee said as Cliffjumper looked down at their unconscious friend.

"Come on, kid, snap out of it." Cliffjumper said and both of them vented in relief when Emily started to stir slowly as she opened her eyes slowly.

"Hey, guys,... are we out? In the cold?" Emily asked as she sat up slowly and she could practically see her breath.

"We are. I'll tell you about it later." Arcee said with a small smile.

"Good idea. We better call for a ground bridge before we turn into frozen metal." Cliffjumper said.

"Yeah and do me a favor. Please, cover me from the snow." Emily said while hugging her arms as she started to shiver before letting out a small sneeze.

"Why?" Arcee asked in confusion.

"Because it's cold." Emily said.

"Uh, you do know that you're wearing that coat thingy right?" Cliffjumper said as Emily gave him a deadpanned look.

"Yeah I know. Just do as I say please!" Emily practically pleaded.

"Okay?" Arcee said as she picked her up on her servo and brought her close to her chassis to cover her from the cold the best she could.

"Maybe I should call base before Miss Queen of Frost Land starts to lose her cool. Haha, get it? Lose her cool? Because of the cold?" Cliffjumper joked but stopped when he saw the look Arcee was giving him.

"Right now joining the Allspark seems tempting. At least someone there would laugh at my jokes." Cliffjumper muttered nervously before turning on his commlink.

"Cliffjumper to base, do you read?" Cliffjumper said but only heard static.

"Ah, scrap. This storm is making things harder." Cliffjumper said as Arcee looked at him.

"Keep trying. We have to get out of this place." Arcee told him.

"I know, I know. Just don't lose your cool." Cliffjumper said and made another ice pun which got him looks from both females.

"Not funny, Cliff." Arcee said.

"Yeah, I know that." Cliffjumper said and kept trying to contact the base despite the storm creating interference.

Meanwhile back at the base, everyone was feeling very sad and upset about what happened to Arcee, Emily and Cliffjumper. They had just found a lost comrade just to lose three more.

"I can't believe it… Arcee… Cliffjumper… even Emily… gone..." Smokescreen said sadly as he looked at the ground bridge.

"Not to mention Tailgate." Bulkhead said as he looked down as Bumblebee whirred sadly.

"To think they lay down their lives just to save our sorry tailpipes..." Wheeljack said as he clenched his servos.

"I should've done more. Why couldn't I find a solution? I feel so… useless..." Ratchet said as he hung his head sadly and covered his optics.

"I can't believe Emily is gone. And so is Arcee and Cliffjumper." Miko said sadly as she sat down on the couch with Bolty letting out a sad sound.

"We won't ever see them again." Raf said as he sniffed while trying to dry his tears.

"Arcee thought of me as a friend. And I didn't even say anything." Jack said as he gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. He should have said something!

"I've never thought that I would say this but I'm really gonna miss those three. Cliffjumper was wilder than a Texas bull but he was a good soldier. Arcee wasn't very talkative but deep down she was very good. And deep down, she had a good heart too. And Emily, that girl had a bright future. But she gave up on that to save us." Agent Fowler said as he lowered his head. Those three had bright futures ahead of them but now...

Everyone had said something about all of this except Optimus who felt like the words of a Prime wouldn't help the others feel better as he hung his helm sadly. He should have gone and gone back to the others but it's too late now.

Suddenly, a weird static sound was heard through the comm-link as everyone perked up and looked to the screens.

"What's that sound?" Wheeljack asked in confusion. Bumblebee shrugged and shook his head since he doesn't know.

"It sounds like… a message… like an incoming transmission." Raf said as he looked at it closely. They started to feel hope in them.

"You think it's…?" Smokescreen asked hopefully.

"It could be. Let's see if I can boost the signal." Ratchet said as he quickly started to boost on the signal to try and see who's contacting the base and hoping that it might be Arcee, Emily and Cliffjumper.

"Come on, come on." Ratchet muttered.

At first the signal was a bit weak but Ratchet was able to boost the signal and heard what it was. He heard a voice, it was faint but recognizable to them all.

"Cliffjumper to base. Does anyone read me? Hey, can someone pick up? I'm freezing here." It was Cliffjumper and he's alive!

"Cliffjumper! You're alive!" Ratchet exclaimed in joy as Miko jumped to her feet when she heard this.

"Cliffjumper is alive! Sweet!" Miko cheered.

"If he's alive, then that means..." Raf said hopefully as he looked at Jack who nodded.

"Arcee is alive too. And so is Emily." Jack said happily.

"Alright! See I told you that girl was tough." Fowler cheered.

"Hahaha. You see that they're alive!" Bulkhead cheered in joy.

Out of the excitement Bulkhead hit Wheeljack, Bumblebee and Smokescreen on the back at the same time as they all laughed happily. Optimus let out a smile, knowing that his friends were okay and alive made him feel better as he let out a small sigh of relief.

"I can't believe you're still alive. How is it possible?" Ratchet said in disbelief yet in joy. He was glad that they were alive.

"Long story. Uh, you think you can send us a ground bridge? I got a couple of ladies here that are losing their cool." Cliffjumper said only for the team at base to hear the sound of metal getting hit by someone, meaning that Cliffjumper got hit by someone.

"Ow! I'm just saying." Cliffjumper told the one who hit him on the helm.

"Well since they're alive, there's no need for the wall." Bulkhead said and accidentally hit a part of the wall made of plaques and the whole thing came down making a huge noise as Ratchet gave him a look.

"Bulkhead, I told you I needed that." Ratchet told him with a look.

"Whoops, my bad. Still a bit excited." Bulkhead said sheepishly with a grin.

After finding out Arcee, Emily and Cliffjumper were still alive, Ratchet had called for a ground bridge and brought them back.

When they returned, they were getting checked up by Ratchet as Tailgate was resting. Ratchet had put some monitors on him to check his vitals and all.

Since Cliffjumper and Arcee had spent a lot of time in a place that was cold, they had to go through a decontamination process.

"And just like that out of nowhere, Wheeljack jumped in from behind and pinned Airachnid down. Wrecker style." Bulkhead told Miko how the fight went.

"Wow, that's totally awesome." Miko said in awe.

"Yeah. Oh hey, kid, I'm sorry you almost got killed because of me." Wheeljack said before apologizing to Emily.

Emily, who was wrapped under a blanket while drinking hot chocolate, got up and walked to where Wheeljack was as she just smiled at him.

"No biggie, uncle Jackie. Anybody can make mistakes." Emily said as she took a sip from her hot chocolate.

"Uh, Ems, why are you using a blanket when you are wearing your coat?" Miko asked in confusion as she looked at Emily.

"Because I'm cold." Emily told her.

"But you stopped being cold like 10 minutes ago. Why are you…? Oh wait. Are you afraid of the cold?" Miko said before realizing why with a grin.

"No, I'm not." Emily denied.

"You sure?" Miko asked as she looked at her.

"Yes, I'm sure." Emily said.

"Hey, Miko. You're in or out? The pawns are getting cold here." Agent Fowler said.

"Yeah, come back. We wanna see how the game ends. As if we didn't know how it ends." Jack said before muttering the last part.

"I heard that. And hear this, Emily here is scared of snow." Miko said with a snicker as she came back.

"I'm not scared of snow." Emily denied it.

"Yes, you are." Miko insisted.

"I'm telling you that I'm not." Emily said with a deadpan look before noticing Agent Fowler motioning for her to distract Miko while she's not looking.

"You really wanna go there?" Emily challenged her.

"You betcha. And I'm not stopping until you admit you're scared of the cold." Miko accepted it.

"Well, since there's no way out of this one. I'm just gonna tell you what I told you earlier. I'm not scared of the cold." Emily told her as she took another sip of her hot chocolate.

"Yes, you are." Miko said.

"No, I'm not." Emily denied it.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

While both girls were arguing, Fowler took the opportunity to take down Miko's king and win the game since it was his turn and got a checkmate.

"Yes, you are." Miko continued.

"No, I'm not." Emily said as she finished her hot chocolate.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"No, you're not." Miko then used reverse psychology as she grinned.

"Yes, I am." Emily said before blinking in surprise.

"I got ya." Miko cheered.

"Yes, you did. But you should know, I had you too. With a teensy tiny little trick. If I were you, I would turn around." Emily said with a grin as she snickered.

Miko turns around and sees Fowler waving hello at her but when she looked down, she saw that her king was missing.

"Hey where's my king?" Miko asked in confusion.

"I don't know. Maybe it fell over." Agent Fowler said with feign confusion but Miko knew that she was checked mate.

"Yeah right. As if I'm gonna believe what you say. You took down my king while I was looking the other way around." Miko said with a pout while crossing her arms.

"Well you know what they say. You snooze, you lose." Agent Fowler said as he and Jack high five.

"That's low." Miko said while rolling her eyes.

"Just think of it as an educational lesson." Emily said while shrugging.

"Very funny. Ha ha ha." Miko remarked sarcastically.

While Emily was recovering slowly from the cold, Arcee, who had finished with her decontamination bath, was getting checked by Ratchet while undergoing a defrosting procedure.

"Glad, I don't smell like smoke anymore." Arcee said in relief.

"I still can't believe you guys made it out. How did that happen?" Smokescreen said.

Arcee then looked to where Emily was when Smokescreen asked her how they made it out as she thought back on how they got out of the fire alive.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how. I guess we were lucky." Arcee said with a small shrug.

"And we are lucky to have you back." Ratchet said with a relief sigh as he used his scanner to see if Arcee is good to go.

"Everything's checked, you're good to go." Ratchet said with a nod.

Arcee soon takes off the cables that were defrosting her as she stood up and stretched a little.

"Thanks." Arcee said just as Cliffjumper came back from his decontamination bath.

"Good news, everyone. No more smell of the smoke." Cliffjumper said but Smokescreen and Bumblebee took a small sniff at Cliffjumper.

"Yeah but you still smell a bit weird." Smokescreen said with a cheeky grin as Bumblebee just nodded in agreement.

"Now that you're done with your decontamination bath. It's time for your defrosting procedure." Ratchet told him sternly.

"I'm okay, Ratchet. I already told you that. Besides I can't now, I have to take care of something." Cliffjumper said.

"You'll take care of that later. The procedure is crucial to avoid any damage to your system." Ratchet told him as he was getting close to whacking him with his trusty wrench.

"My system is fine. I've been through worse." Cliffjumper reassured him.

"It's okay, Ratchet. Let him be, just for now." Optimus intervened and caused Ratchet to sigh but agreed.

"Very well. Emily, time for your defrosting." Ratchet said before calling the blond who was wrapped under the blanket.

"No thanks. I rather stay warm under the blanket." Emily said.

"Maybe you ought to listen to what I'm telling you. Today you took a lot of unnecessary risks." Ratchet told her and caused her to puff her cheek a little.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming." Emily said with a playful roll of her eyes.

Emily got up before she took off the blanket and walked to where Ratchet was as he lowered his servo to her and she climbed on.

"Guess Ratchet is a bit on the edge." Arcee said as she watched Ratchet set his servo down on the medical berth and started the procedure while Emily was looking a little annoyed.

"I'm not surprised. Considering that Emily had created a system that would lockdown the base and shut down the bridge without telling anyone." Jack said as they watched the medic checked Emily to make sure that her temperature was on the normal level.

"She did tell me. But she asked me not to tell anyone. She feared that if one of you guys knew, the cons might figure it out. She took a great risk when she activated it." Raf said meekly.

"No kidding. She almost died on that fire. Along with Cliff, Arcee and the new guy." Miko said as she sighed.

"That's not what I meant." Raf said.

"What are you saying?" Jack asked as he and Miko turned to him.

"Well, when Emily and I built that system, we made sure that it could only be used once. In case we lose the base." Raf said.

"So we can't use it anymore?" Jack asked in surprise as the 12 year old nodded.

"Precisely." Raf said.

"Couldn't you just fix the thing?" Miko asked curiously.

"We could. But seeing how we kept that a secret, I don't think it's the right thing to do. If I had told you, none of this would've happened." Raf said as he looked down.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, son. You did what any good soldier would've done. You did what was best for the team." Agent Fowler reassured him before his phone started to ring. He took it out of his pocket to see who it was.

"Great, this is getting better and better. Uncle Sam wants a report on your little Siberian escape." Agent Fowler said to everyone.

"So what are you going to say? That the Autobots accidentally put an ancient Soviet Union factory on fire?" Jack asked in concern.

"This isn't my first rodeo, son. Don't worry, I'll take care of this." Agent Fowler reassured him before answering the call.

"Hello? Mr President sir. Uh huh… Yes, sir… I understand, sir… and I believe I may have a solution for it." Agent Fowler said as he walked a bit away from them as the three kids watched him.

"I feel bad for him. Whenever the bots blow something up, he's the one that puts the fire out." Miko said.

"Let's just hope he can handle this one. And that a certain person will think twice about throwing a grenade without thinking." Jack said before giving Wheeljack a look.

"Hey, I always think things through. Well sometimes I do." Wheeljack said while raising his servos up in defense. He couldn't help it.

"No offense, Jackie. But I know you a lot to know that you never think things through." Bulkhead said.

"Yeah well it helps when we're on a tight spot." Wheeljack said with a smirk as Bulkhead just grinned back.

"It sure does." Bulkhead said before he and Wheeljack fist bumped.

Meanwhile Ratchet was making sure Emily's defrosting process was going okay. Since she was half human, it was a bit hard as he had to do a lot of tests.

"Are you done yet?" Emily asked as she talked her finger on the medical berth.

"Patience. These kinds of things are not to be taken lightly. Since you're half human and half Cybertronian, it takes more time to determine whether you're okay or not. Stay here until I come back. I have to check your early tests." Ratchet told her as Emily sighed.

"Fine." She said as she crossed her arms while she stayed put while waiting for Ratchet to come back.

She was a little annoyed at Ratchet that she didn't even get nervous at seeing that Optimus was right beside her. Optimus felt a bit nervous on the inside since he never saw Emily with this kind of attitude and yet he wanted to see if she was okay.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked in concern as Emily glanced at him.

"Who, me? I'm fine. Couldn't be better." Emily said.

"I see." Optimus said as they both ended up staying silent while the air around them just got awkward.

"How is your knee? You got hurt pretty bad." Emily decided to ask after a moments of awkward silence.

"I'll be fine. It's very thoughtful of you to worry about others. Sometimes you remind me of my old mentor." Optimus told her as she pursed her lips.

"Yeah no offense, Prime, but I don't feel like my father. Not after what I did." Emily told him as she looked down. Optimus looked at her in concern and decided to ask why.

"May I ask why?" He asked her curiously. She swings her legs a little as she puts her hands on her lap.

"Isn't it obvious? I built a program that would lock down the whole base without telling you or Ratchet about it. I took it upon myself to protect the team and I didn't even consult any of you. It was selfish and irresponsible, I know that. But I was scared that something bad could have happened to any of you. You guys are more than my friends. You guys are my family." Emily explained as her voice grew soft and slightly saddened.

"You say your decisions were selfish. But from what I see, you're the image of Alpha Trion." Optimus comforted her as he rubbed her back with one of his digits as she looked up to him.

"Really?" She asked curiously as he nodded.

"Yes. When he was my mentor before the war, I had learned that he had the knowledge of many secrets." Optimus said as Smokescreen decided to join in after hearing the conversation.

"Optimus is right. Back then when I was assigned to guard him, I asked him what those secrets were once. Here's one that he told me and that only one person knew. Turns out that Alpha Trion had mentioned an ancient member of the High Council called Halogen to convince the council to make Optimus here a Prime." Smokescreen told her as she looked surprised as she tilted her head.

"Really? Did he tell you anything else?" Emily asked curiously.

"Only that there are more secrets in the universe. And only in time I shall discover them." Smokescreen said before he walked off as Optimus turned back to Emily.

"You say that you acted out of pure selfishness. But from a certain point of view, you just wanted to protect those you hold dear. And that's a noble quality." Optimus said with a gentle smile.

Emily went silent at this before starting to smile a little.

"Maybe you're right. Just so you know, I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Emily said as Optimus couldn't help but chuckle softly. He already forgave her for not telling him or any of the team.

"I know you are." He said warmly as the two engaged in a conversation.

While Emily and Optimus were having a conversation, Cliffjumper was checking on his brother as he was sleeping quietly. Ratchet had put some wires on him to check on his brain activity and his heart rate, to see if he was hurt or anything and also to check on his amnesia.

"Hard to believe, huh? After all we've been through today. We were able to bring him back." Arcee said as she stood beside him while looking at Tailgate.

"Yet it feels like we didn't. What if he doesn't remember anything?" Cliffjumper said as he crossed his arms a little.

"Don't say that. Ratchet said that there was a chance for him to get his memory back." Arcee told him

"Yeah but it could take a while. Who knows how long it will take?" Cliffjumper said as he looked away bitterly.

"We will get Tailgate his memory back. No matter how long it takes." Arcee said. The two of them went silent before Cliffjumper spoke up quietly for Arcee to hear.

"Will you?" He asked quietly as Arcee looked at him.

"Will I, what?" She asked curiously.

"You know… tell him." Cliffjumper said and Arcee knew what he meant but she looked away sadly.

"I… I don't know yet…" She muttered quietly as Cliffjumper looked at her fully.

"You don't know yet?" He asked in disbelief.

"Look, I know I should've told him a long time ago. And I get that it bothers you. But now, it's not the right time." Arcee said as she didn't face him yet.

"Really? And here I thought after what happened that the time was right. Guess I was wrong." Cliffjumper said bitterly as he clenched his servos.

"You talk as if I want this. And it's not the case. I want the same thing you want, and that we wanted for so long. But the time isn't right." Arcee told him as she looked at him.

"With you, it's never right. But that's not surprising." Cliffjumper muttered bitterly.

"Cliff, please..." Arcee started but Cliffjumper cut her off.

"No, it's okay. I get it, you don't wanna ruin things and that's fine. Totally, fine. Now that I think about it, this is all on me. My mistake, I got carried away and looked where it brought me." Cliffjumper said as tension started to rise between them that would soon lead to an argument.

"Cliff, I know it's hard-" Arcee said but was cut off again.

"Hard? Try complicated." Cliffjumper scoffed.

"Have you ever thought that it's complicated because you make it look that way?" Arcee questioned him as Cliffjumper clenched his servos.

"Oh so now you're gonna put the blame on me? Well excuse me for wanting us to be… Well, you know what I mean." Cliffjumper said as this led to them arguing.

While Arcee and Cliffjumper were arguing, Fowler was making sure that Team Prime didn't get any incoming trouble after they accidentally set fire to the factory.

"Yes, sir… Of course. I'll make sure our assets carry their next missions carefully with no collateral damage. If such a thing is possible. Of course… Thank you, sir. You too, sir." Agent Fowler said to the phone before hanging up and facing everyone.

"Well, good news, Team. We're in the clear." Fowler said as everyone was relieved at this.

"You mean you were able to fix what happened?" Bulkhead asked him curiously as he nodded.

"You betcha." Fowler said with a nod.

"So, what did you come up with?" Miko asked curiously.

"Something simple. We told Russia that a terrorist cell entered the factory to try and search for nuclear weapons. In their search, they set the place on fire and burned it down to a crisp. In hopes of creating a civil war. But since their goal has failed, there's nothing to worry about. Uncle Sam would appreciate it if you Autobots were a bit more careful. Some more than others." Agent Fowler said and directed the last part at Wheeljack who shrugged.

"I could say I'll try. But I wouldn't wanna give you false hopes." Wheeljack said as Jack leaned against the railing with Bolty currently gnawing a bolt.

"Good thing we made sure this whole thing didn't escalate. With the war going against the Decepticons, the last thing we need is another war." Jack said with a relieved sigh. He can handle being in a war with the bots and cons but he won't be able to handle a war between two countries.

"Now all we have to do is wait for Cliff's bro to wake up." Miko said excitedly as she looked to where Tailgate was.

"You really think he's okay? From what Emily said he seemed a little… intense." Raf said timidly.

"You can't blame him, son. The poor guy lost his memory on active duty. For now, we must hope the rehabilitation might help him get his memory back." Agent Fowler reassured the 12 year old who nodded before Miko spoke up when she caught something that grabbed her attention.

"Speaking of rehab, I know someone that needs some rehab anytime soon. Look." Miko said before pointing to where Cliffjumper and Arcee are as the two continue to argue as Jack, Miko, Raf and Fowler watch them.

"Arcee and Cliffjumper arguing. That's a total classic." Jack said as he crossed his arms.

"Any idea of why they're arguing?" Raf said curiously as Miko just shrugged.

"Dunno. But one thing is for sure, they look like a married couple." Miko said with a grin as Jack gave her a look.

"Are you serious?" He asked her as Miko just shrugged.

"I'm just saying, dude, chill." Miko said.

Meanwhile, while Tailgate was sleeping, both Arcee and Cliffjumper continued to argue.

"We've been through this, over and over, Cliffjumper. We have priorities. Priorities that demand our full concentration." Arcee said.

"You know, you're right about one thing. We've been at this for too long. Long enough for me to realize that things never change. No matter how much I wanted it to change. I see that all this wait was meaningless." Cliffjumper said as he gave her a look while clenching his servos.

"You think it was meaningless to me? Well it's not. You have no idea of how much I want this. But we can't now. And I need you to understand." Arcee said as both of them looked away.

"Yeah. Of course. As usual, mind and duty before feelings." Cliffjumper muttered to himself sadly.

Suddenly they heard a tiny groan as Tailgate's brain activity was spiking up, which meant that something was going on with him as Arcee saw that he was moving his helm slightly

"Ratchet, something is going down with Tailgate. His brain activity is spiking up." Arcee called to him urgently.

"Spiking up? Is it possible?" Emily asked in confusion and worry.

"No idea. What could it be?" Smokescreen asked curiously but Bumblebee told the two that it was still too early to give away any assumptions.

"What's all the ruckus back there?" Wheeljack asked as everyone approached

"Something's off with the new guy. His brain is going crazy." Smokescreen pointed.

"Maybe we ought to go check it." Bulkhead suggested

"Good idea." Wheeljack said.

"Can we come see him with you?" Miko asked curiously.

"No, you guys stay here. And that means you too, Miko." Bulkhead told her and caused Miko to sulk.

"Gah! Is this for real? Totally not cool." Miko whined in complaint when Bulkhead told her to stay put.

Meanwhile, Ratchet was checking Tailgate's recent brain spike as his early test had spikes but not like this new one. This one was a bit stronger for some reason.

"Is he okay, doc?" Wheeljack asked in concern.

"Well, physically speaking he's doing better. However the mental side, it's a whole other thing. Right now, his brain is entering a very high form of stress. Probably caused by the trauma of the hit that erased his memory." Ratchet said as Emily knew what it meant.

"So he's having a nightmare." Emily spoke up from her place on Optimus' shoulder

"Yes. A nightmare, his memory is trying to remember." Ratchet agreed with her before Tailgate's groaning grabbed their attention.

"I think he's waking up." Bulkhead said as he noticed.

"Let's be careful here, guys. Remember that he's still dangerous." Smokescreen as he became on edge.

"Tailgate is not dangerous." Cliffjumper gave Smokescreen a look. He knows Tailgate isn't dangerous.

"I know. I'm just saying that we ought to be a bit more careful. Perhaps we should restrain him." Smokescreen said but Arcee gave him a small glare at the suggestion at the end.

"Restrain him? Are you out of your mind, Smokescreen?" Arcee deadpan with a small glare.

"I know it sounds crazy but we still don't know if we can trust him entirely. Maybe that amnesia he has is due to some possible brainwashing." Smokescreen said but the last part only got him weirded out looks from everyone.

"Brainwashing. You know, modified his brain. It happens a lot in the movie." Smokescreen said as Emily just facepalm.

"You watch too much tv." Emily said in exasperation and made a mental note to make sure that he doesn't watch too many movies.

"Smokescreen, what you're saying is preposterous. Tailgate hasn't been brainwashed or anything like that. None of his tests reveal any kind of modification in his brain." Ratchet told him sternly.

"Well, maybe the cons found a way to hide it." Wheeljack said with a shrug.

"We shall find out soon enough." Optimus told them.

Tailgate started waking up but he was a bit disoriented from the hit when he started opening his eyes. He saw someone in white and orange getting close to him.

"Where... Where am I? What is all of this...?" Tailgate asked as his vision started to clear up.

As soon as his vision was cleared up, he realized that he had some cables attached to him. All of the sudden he started to panic since he didn't know where he was and what was going on. It was a normal reaction for anyone.

"Who are you? Get this off me." Tailgate demanded fearfully as Ratchet made a calming gesture.

"Calm down now. I'm a doctor. I'm here to help you, not hurt you." Ratchet said but Tailgate was giving him a suspicious and scared look.

"It's okay, Tailgate. You're safe." Arcee reassured him as he looked at her.

"Take it easy, horn head. Don't break anything. The doctor hates when they break his stuff." Wheeljack said but Arcee just gave him a look.

"Not a good time for lame jokes, Wheeljack." Arcee told him through gritted dentas.

"Fine, just saying." Wheeljack said with a shrug.

"Now, hold still while I take the equipment off. And don't worry, I'll be gentle." Ratchet said while he ignored both Wheeljack and Arcee and started to take off the medical equipment that was attached to Tailgate as the kids along with Fowler came down to have a closer look at the new guest.

"It's amazing. When you look at him, he looks identical to Cliffjumper." Jack said as he looked between Cliffjumper and Tailgate before Miko walked forward with a curious and excited glint in her eyes.

"Okay, I think I speak for everyone when I say this. How did you get here? What do you turn into? How come you look exactly like Cliffjumper? And why are your eyes green?" Miko started firing question after question and Tailgate just stared at her in confusion.

"Miko!" Jack, Raf and Fowler scolded her at the same time as she looked at them with a raised brow.

"What? I'm just asking. The guy lost his memory. Maybe by asking him some questions. It might jog up his memory or something." Miko said as she crossed her arms.

"That isn't how rehabilitation works, Miko. Recovering lost memories takes time. There, all done. How do you feel?" Ratchet told her before finishing what he was doing as Tailgate stepped down and looked at his servos.

"My head still hurts. Guess I got knocked out pretty good." Tailgate said with a shrug.

"You did. Thanks to you, I'm still alive." Arcee said as she sent him a grateful look.

"You're welcome. Just don't expect this to become some sort of habit. Where are we anyway?" Tailgate said as he crossed his arms before looking around curiously.

"You're in a bunker. In Jasper Nevada. Allow me to present myself. I'm Special Agent William Fowler of the United States Government. I officially welcome you to Team Prime. Here are some more members of our team. Jack." Agent Fowler said as he started to introduce the human allies.

"Hi there." Jack greeted with a nod.

"Rafael."

"Nice to meet you. Call me Raf for short." Raf said with a smile while fixing his glasses.

"And last but not least. Miko." Agent Fowler finished as Miko gave Tailgate her usual grin.

"What's up?" Miko said with a grin.

"More humans? I thought they all looked alike." Tailgate looked at the four curiously as Bulkhead chuckled.

"They're all different." Bulkhead told him with a smile.

"We sure are. Also this is our mascot, Bolty." Miko said as she gestured to the white scraplet in her arms.

Miko was holding Bolty when all

of the sudden he jumped off her arms much to their surprise.

"Hey, come back!" Miko exclaimed in disbelief and surprise.

The little white Scraplet was curious about the Autobots' new guest that he ran to get a closer look at him. When he reached him, he jumped onto his leg and climbed all the way to his arm and landed on his servo as Tailgate looked at him curiously..

"Hey there, little guy. You're kind of cute. What are you?" Tailgate asked as he pats his little head with a finger.

"That's a Scraplet. Also known as the fatal metal eater." Smokescreen said as he was still wary of Bolty even after days of being with them.

"Fatal metal eater? Why?" Tailgate asked in confusion.

"Because they eat metal. Especially living metal, like us." Bulkhead explained but Emily was quick to reassure them.

"Don't worry. Bolty is different. Sure he likes eating metal but he would never eat living metal." Emily explained to him as Bolty came down from Tailgate to get to Emily.

"You could say that Bolty is a special case. Like you and me." Emily said as she rubbed the little white scraplet on the helm as Optimus walked to Tailgate.

"Tailgate, I'm pleased to know that you're well. I would like to thank you for saving Arcee's life when in jeopardy. You've shown true courage." Optimus said as Tailgate looked up to him as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Thanks... I guess. Sorry if I'm a bit nervous." Tailgate told them as he looked at the team.

"It's okay. We get it, this is all new to you. But don't worry, you'll get used to it." Emily reassured him.

"Now I know you just woke up. But I'm afraid we're gonna have to ask you some questions for security purposes." Ratchet told him as Tailgate looked taken aback.

"Security purposes? Are you saying I'm a threat?" Tailgate asked in confusion.

"Not at all. But we must be sure you're not a Decepticon. We once had one infiltrate our base once. He disguised himself as one of ours to get in."

"And let's just say he got a pretty bad sun tan." Wheeljack said as Bulkhead grinned.

"He sure did." Bulkhead agreed.

"Now, I want you to relax and answer some simple questions. Let's start with the beginning. Do you remember anything? Like, something from before you lost your memory." Ratchet started as Tailgate tried to think of one but he couldn't remember.

"No... I'm afraid not. I remember some stuff but nothing from who or what I was before it happened." Tailgate answered truthfully.

"Well based on my analysis, you've suffered a severe trauma. So it's not surprising that you ended up with this amnesia. Although it's more severe than I thought." Ratchet said as he put it down as Cliffjumper looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked in confusion.

"Well, the point is that it might be a bit difficult for Tailgate to recover his full memory. However, it's a bit early to be thinking that. Tailgate, you said you remember some stuff. Can you tell what you remembered? Fully detailed?" Ratchet explained before turning back to Tailgate after he asked who had a thoughtful look.

"Well, to be honest I'm not sure if they're memories or some sort of dream. But I'll give it a try. The only things I remember so far is... being inside some sort of facility. I remember being... attached to something. I also remember being put to sleep or something. Like I was knocked out. And just about now I've been having visions flashing through my optics. I saw myself, that blue one and that other red. We were... happy and for some reasons... we got along. Now that I think about it. It looked more like a dream than a memory. One thing is sure, it kept flashing through my mind, over and over." Tailgate told them all as he gestured to Arcee and Cliffjumper when he said the red one and blue one.

"Flashing memories can be a current thing when it comes to amnesia. It's some sort of mechanism where your mind is making you see visions. These can be often confused as dreams. Sometimes you think they are. Though in reality, they're memories coming back to you." Ratchet explained just before Tailgate kneeled over and held his helm in pain.

"Gah!" Tailgate exclaimed in pain as Arcee and Cliffjumper were by his side quickly.

"Tailgate?" Arcee asked in concern

"What's going on?" Raf asked in concern.

"I don't know." Jack said as he was worried.

"Stay here, kids. It's not safe." Fowler said but he was also worried.

"Tailgate, what's wrong?" Cliffjumper asked him worriedly.

Tailgate was holding his head as he was seeing memories flashing through his optics again.

"Tailgate, calm down." Ratchet said and he started to calm down when it stopped.

"That's it. Calm down." Ratchet soothed him as Arcee and Cliffjumper helped him sit on a berth as he held his head.

"I'm sorry. It's just that... these visions... They're so confusing that it hurts my head." Tailgate said as his head stopped hurting.

"I understand that. I'm afraid that we wanna have a chance of getting your memory back. We're gonna have to dive into a very distant memory." Ratchet told him grimly at the end as everyone looked at him.

"Which one?" Tailgate asked in confusion.

"The one where you got hurt and lost your memory. I won't lie. It's gonna be painful. And if you feel like not wanting to lean into it. I'll completely understand. As long as you realize that getting into that memory might help you understand your condition." Ratchet told him as he went into thought before looking at them all.

"I understand. And I wanna go through with it. No matter how painful it might be." Tailgate said with a determined fire in his optics that both Arcee and Cliffjumper both recognize.

"Okay, then let's start. Can you remember where you were before you lost your memory?" Ratchet asked but Tailgate shook his head.

"No, I can't." He said while looking at his servos.

"Hmm, maybe if we try to speak of some past memories, it might help you remember better. Who knows, it might even jog up your memory as Miko said early." Ratchet suggested as Miko grinned.

"Thank you, Ratchet. See, I told you my idea was a good one." Miko said before boasting it to Jack.

"Yeah, okay. Don't make a big deal out of it." Jack deadpan while rolling his eyes.

"Jealous." Miko muttered before sticking her tongue out at him.

"In case we have to try out with all possible events." Ratchet suggested before Cliffjumper stepped up to try and help Tailgate remember.

"Let me try. Hey, brother, remember the time when we jumped down off the Decagon? And we fell over into a scrap container?" Cliffjumper said but Tailgate just looked at him blankly and shook his head.

He doesn't remember that.

"Uh, no." He said as he caught Bumblebee trying not to laugh as if he remembers it. Cliffjumper deflated a little but he doesn't plan to give up.

"Okay... What about the time when we raced on the way to Iacon and we were stopped by that cop?" Cliffjumper said but deflated more when he saw that Tailgate doesn't remember that particular event.

He clearly remembered the time when both he and Tailgate were both scolded by Ironhide back then.

"No." He shook his head.

"What about the time we crashed on a wall in a construction zone? After that huge crash, you hit me on the head saying it was my fault." Cliffjumper said but Tailgate rubbed his helm and shook his helm at him. He doesn't remember and what he said doesn't sound so familiar.

"Ah, sorry. Nothing you say is familiar to me. Not even that hit on the head." Tailgate said before letting out a small laugh at the end.

"If trying to reach past memories before trauma won't help, then we'll have to go to the very source of it. Cliffjumper, I'm gonna need you to tell every detail about the day Tailgate lost his memory." Ratchet said before turning to Cliffjumper when he said that.

"Very well. It was a long time ago. By that time, you and Arcee had a mission. But something had happened, Arcee had disappeared off the grid. She was nowhere to be found. Last one that talked with her was you." Cliffjumper explained and got a pained look from Arcee who looked away and a worried and confused one from Tailgate.

"Really?" He asked in shock and worry as he threw the femme a small glance as Cliffjumper nodded sadly.

"Yes. When you lost contact with her, you got worried. And so did I. I still remember when you called, you sounded so nervous. You wanted to request permission to lead a search mission with your team." Cliffjumper explained as Tailgate grew confused. Did he really do it?

"A team?" He asked and got a nod

"Yes. We were part of the Delta team back then. We were in charge of protecting Iacon." Cliffjumper said but the name at the end seemed to have caught Tailgate's attention. That sounds familiar.

"Wait a minute. Iacon… That name sounds familiar but what was it?" Tailgate said as he tried to think of why the name sounds so familiar and thankfully Optimus provided an explanation.

"Iacon was the Autobot capital city during the war." He said grimly as Tailgate looked shocked.

"Was? What happened to it?" Tailgate asked in shock as Smokescreen answered.

"It was destroyed. The Decepticons attacked it. We gather our forces to repel them. But we lost." Smokescreen explained as he looked down sadly.

"Hey, I think I…" This struck more something in Tailgate as he stood up.

When Tailgate got up too quickly, he started losing his balance while holding his head with his two servos as something was bothering him with how his expression scrunched up.

"You okay?" Bulkhead asked worriedly as Bumblebee whirred for him to be careful.

"What is it, Tailgate?" Arcee asked as Tailgate winced but the pain disappeared a little.

"I think… I just remembered something… but I'm not sure." Tailgate said and yet he sounded distant.

"Stay focused. Listen to the sound of my voice." Ratchet offered slowly.

"His exasperating voice." Miko scoffed with a snicker.

"Miko." Jack warned her while nudging her side.

"What? It's true." Miko told him as Ratchet rolled his optics at her before turning back to Tailgate.

"Focus, Tailgate, and think back." Ratchet advised him and he started to focus while closing his optics.

Suddenly he started seeing memories flashing through his mind but these ones were different. These were more intense and more painful for him to handle as he gripped his helm in pain.

"Gah! Ahhh… ahhh…!" Tailgate exclaimed in pain as he stumbled back but Ratchet steadied him slowly.

"Easy there." Ratchet said as he vented heavily while his optics seemed a little hazy.

"What gives?" Smokescreen asked curiously.

"What happened? Did you see something?" Ratchet asked him as he nodded.

"I did…" Tailgate said.

"What was it?" He asked as Tailgate looked at him.

"It was another memory." He said.

"What did you see in it?" Ratchet asked as Tailgate tried to remember what he saw but he couldn't.

"I don't know. It was flashing too fast for me." Tailgate said.

"Well, try again." Ratchet coaxed but Tailgate shook his head.

"I… I can't..." He said hesitantly. He wanted to but it was too painful.

"You can't?" Jack asked him in concern and confusion.

"Why's that?" Raf asked curiously.

"It's too painful." Tailgate told the 12 year old.

"Too painful? Are you kidding?" Miko asked in disbelief as Ratchet gave her an exaggerated look.

"Miko, for once, can you try to be more respectful?" Ratchet asked her exaggeratedly but Tailgate reassured him that it was okay.

"It's okay… I don't mind. You see, Miko, when I saw all of this, I could feel the pain… It was intense. Way too intense." Tailgate explained to the 15 year old. Emily went into thought before looking at Ratchet.

"What do you think of that, Ratchet?" Emily asked as Ratchet turned to her before turning back to Tailgate.

"Considering that the trauma was very serious, I'd say that Tailgate needs time." Ratchet said as Emily nodded slowly.

"That's probably it." Emily said with a thoughtful look while holding Bolty in her arms.

"Perhaps our guest needs time to rest." Optimus suggested as Ratchet agreed.

"I believe you're right. Tailgate, if you feel like you need to rest, you can go ahead and say it. Your rehabilitation will take time and it's best not to rush things over." Ratchet said but Tailgate looked at him in disbelief.

"No. I can't rest. Not now." Tailgate told them all as Arcee looked at him.

"Tailgate, you have to rest. This will take time. But I promise you that we will help get your full memory back." Arcee told him as Tailgate looked at her.

"I know. But right now, I have to figure this out. I must know why this memory that I just saw is so painful. Whatever the reason is, I'm sure it may shed some light into what happened to me." Tailgate said as he looked at his servos. He was determined to get his memories back.

"Are you sure of what you're saying right now?" Ratchet asked. He was concerned that Tailgate might hurt himself but from being around Tailgate during the war at their home world, he knows that Tailgate is stubborn as an earth animal.

"I'm positive, Doctor." Tailgate nodded in determination.

"Very well. Try to reach in again." Ratchet said.

"And this time, try to be calm. We'll help you out. What do you say, Optimus?" Emily suggested before looking up to him as he glanced at her.

"If you think that whatever you're about to propose is going to help our comrade in need, then you have my full agreement." Optimus said as she smiled up to him before looking at everyone.

"Alright then, everyone, close your eyes and optics." Emily gestured as Wheeljack looked confused.

"Close our optics? What for?" Wheeljack asked in confusion as Bumblebee whirred the same.

"Because we're all about to meditate." Emily said with a raised brow. What's wrong with that?

"Meditate? As in yoga?" Bulkhead asked in confusion.

"No offense, Ems, but you forget the last time we meditated." Miko reminded her as they remembered it clearly.

Everyone starts recalling the time when they did yoga. They started doing all kinds of poses when suddenly Bulkhead had stepped into Ratchet's toolbox by accident. On that day, Bulkhead had to go through with the old 'I needed that' lecture from Ratchet and got a wrench to the helm after.

"Can we please not talk about that?" Bulkhead pleaded as Wheeljack smirked as Miko just snickered.

"With all due respect, Emily. I don't think that your human tricks will help out." Ratchet said. He was reluctant as he wasn't sure if it would work.

"True but it's worth a shot." Emily said.

"She does have a point. We won't know until we try." Jack agreed with her.

"Besides, you could use some yoga. It will help you a lot with your attitude." Miko said before she whispered to the others.

"Not to mention that it might give us a break." Miko whispered as the kids and Fowler snickered quietly.

"Okay, everyone. Let's all close our eyes and optics." Emily told them all after rolling her eyes in amusement.

Everyone started to close their eyes and optics after Emily told them to do so as she continued to speak.

"Let's all focus our energy into positive thinking. For it's the key that will unlock the door that has closed our inner pains. Negative emotions like doubts and fear will only block the pain. If you wanna reach into them, you must give into your fears. You must become one with your pain." Emily told them all and Tailgate was able to focus more.

Emily's words have helped take away all his fears so that way he could remember the painful memory and that's when it all came back much to his joy.

"It works. I remember now." Tailgate said happily as everyone opened their eyes and optics.

"Good. Now tell us what you can see." Emily said as Tailgate nodded and focused more.

"I see a fire caused by… an explosion… I can hear… screams. My team was… surrounded… They ambushed us. I remember seeing… dead bodies, many were getting killed, torn to pieces by the enemy. We were cornered… with no way out… I just stood there, watching how everyone was getting killed… and there was nothing I could do. I remember calling for help… but someone had cut off the communications." Tailgate said as he grew a little sad when he remembered how he just stood and his team was killed.

"Can you remember anything important like how you got hit?" Emily asked as he nodded.

"Yes, I do. I tried fighting them off on my own so I could get away but then… something distracted me… a dark figure. It was walking somewhere… and that's where it hit me… something blew up near me. The explosion made me hit a wall… that's where it all stopped. Now I know why I felt this pain. It's all connected, my memory loss, the death of my comrades, all of it. I still remember feeling guilty of being alive, while others didn't have that same luck. And all I did was stand there and see them die one by one." Tailgate said before opening his optics as Ratchet studied his crestfallen look.

"Are you sure that this is what happened?" He asked as Tailgate nodded as Cliffjumper agreed.

"He's telling the truth. I know that because when he called for help the communication went down. I remember it just like it was yesterday." Cliffjumper said with a heavy sigh. Miko suddenly became curious when she heard Tailgate speak about a dark figure.

"Hey, isn't anyone here curious about that dark figure Tailgate just spoke of?" Miko asked curiously as everyone looked towards her.

"Can't win with you guys. You know that right?" Miko grumbled while crossing her arms but what she said caught Emily's attention.

"No way. Maybe Miko is right." Emily said as she started to try and piece it all together.

"She is?" Jack, Fowler and Raf all looked at her in surprise as she nodded before starting to pace.

"Yeah, something about today has been weird." Emily said as she put a hand against her chin.

"What's that?" Cliffjumper asked curiously.

"Let's think back. The only one who was there at the factory before Arcee or any of us arrived was Airachnid right?" Emily said as Arcee looked at her in confusion. What was Emily going for?

"Yeah? What of it?" Arcee asked curiously as Emily stopped pacing and looked at them all.

"Call me crazy but I think that Airachnid had something to do with it." Emily said and what she said had sparked their interest. Maybe she was onto something that will help.

"The only reason she was there was probably because she wanted to hurt Arcee. She knew that Tailgate and her shared quite a bond. Her objective must've been to try and sever that bond to get to Arcee." Ratchet theorized as he looked thoughtful and Emily nodded.

"Yes. That was her objective. But the real question is how did she know who was there? She couldn't know unless she had something to do with it." Emily said to further the theory more deeper.

"That would seem like a stretch don't you think?" Bulkhead said as he doubted it a little.

"I wish I could agree with you, Bulkhead. But Emily is right. When she captured me, she said that she had watched us this whole time." Arcee said as she retold them what Airachnid said and Tailgate nodded in agreement with her.

"It's true. She said that." Tailgate agreed with Arcee. At least he now remembered what happened to him but not all of his memories are there.

"Well, what do you know? That spider harpy had the means and motives. I'd bet my flag star underwear that she was the dark figure Tailgate spoke of." Agent Fowler said as Miko looked at him like he was crazy.

"Did you say underwear? Ew… that's one imagine I won't be able to take off my head for a long time." Miko said as she shuddered in disgust.

"Make that two." Jack said as he was looking a little green.

"Three." Raf said while he was feeling a little queasy.

"Tailgate, I want you to focus on that memory again. But this time, try to recall who was that dark figure you saw on that day." Emily told him as she turned to Tailgate who nodded.

"Okay." He said before closing his optics.

After he did, he started to focus on the day when he lost his memory at the moment when he saw the mysterious dark figure. At first, it was a bit hard but in a matter of seconds, he was able to see things more clearly and that's when it all makes sense. The dark figure he saw on that day was none other than Airachnid.

"It was her. She was there on that day." Tailgate said in shock as he reopened his optics.

"I knew it." Fowler said.

"I can't believe it. She tricked me. And I fell for it." Tailgate seethed in anger as he hit the berth with his fist.

"We all did. Especially me. This never would've happened if I didn't get caught." Arcee said with her gritted dentas as she gripped her arm.

"We all fell for it, Arcee. You're not the only one." Cliffjumper said as he put a servo on her shoulder.

"What do you mean you guys fell for it?" Tailgate asked him in confusion and concern.

"Because when Arcee was captured, Airachnid had told her that you were… dead." Cliffjumper said as he gripped his other servo. He was gonna make Airachnid pay for the trauma she put Arcee in.

"She did? Why?" He asked in disbelief and worry.

"To get information. Back then, our team had received coordinates for an attack on enemy territory. She thought I knew the coordinates. That's why she told me you were dead. It was part of a sick trick to make me talk. She knew that no matter what she did, I wouldn't talk. If I had known that you were still alive, I would've searched all over Cybertron to bring you back." Arcee explained as she had to stop the tears from welling up.

"As would I." Cliffjumper agreed.

"How did you find out about all of this?" Tailgate asked. He wanted to know how they found out that he was still alive.

"The base scanners had detected an energy source emanating from an abandoned factory in Siberia. A Decepticon beacon to be precise. The beacon came from the Stasis Cell. The one in which you were locked in. We suspected that you were inside the Decepticon ship called the Harbinger. When the ship was about to crash on the planet, someone on board had sent your Stasis Pod into the surface. That would explain how you landed in Siberia. By accessing the data of the Harbinger's wreckage, we were able to figure out who was put inside that Stasis Cell. That's how we found out you were still alive." Ratchet explained to him. Tailgate felt grateful that they were able to help him but he was still confused about one thing.

"How long was I… in stasis?" He asked Ratchet.

"Long enough for them to make you their prisoner." Ratchet told him before he turned to his partner.

"Arcee, you said that you were captured. How did you escape?" He asked her as she looked at him before looking at Bumblebee and Cliffjumper with thankfulness in her optics.

"I didn't. Cliffjumper and Bumblebee came to save me." Arcee said.

"After I lost contact with you, I tried looking for you both. We only found her." Cliffjumper said.

"After we got captured, Cliffjumper had located my position." Arcee explained.

"When we got there, you were nowhere to be found. Arcee told me you were dead. I didn't want to believe it. I had spent several weeks looking for any sign that you were still alive. But then I had come to the conclusion that you were truly dead. I'm sorry I gave up on you. I should've kept looking." Cliffjumper said as he regretted not continuing searching for him.

"It's okay. I don't blame you. You couldn't know." Tailgate reassured him with a smile.

"Maybe not. But what we do know is that we're going to make Airachnid pay for what she did." Arcee said with anger directed to the spider femme but Tailgate stopped her.

"No, vengeance won't help us. I don't want you to risk your life like that." Tailgate told her as she sighed before looking at him.

"Hmm. You may not have recovered your full memory. Yet you're always protecting me." Arcee said with her usual grin.

"Guess old habits don't go away that easy." Tailgate said with a smirk.

When Cliffjumper saw how both he and Arcee were smiling at each other, he felt sad yet happy as things were going back to the way they were as his expression didn't go unnoticed by Emily and Bumblebee.

"Welcome back with the good guys. With you on our side, we might get a chance to give those cons a good beating." Wheeljack said with a grin.

"Now you're talking." Bulkhead laughs.

"Yeah!" Smokescreen cheered as Bumblebee whirred in agreement but Ratchet stopped them before they could celebrate.

"Yep, yep, yep, hold on an astro second here. The patient needs his rest. So there won't be any fight against the Decepticons until I say so." Ratchet told them sternly.

"The kids are right. You need to learn how to chill." Smokescreen said with a grin and got a snicker from Miko.

"Oh burn." Miko snickered.

"Oh for Primus' sake." Ratchet grumbled as he covered his face plates.

"So I guess this means we have a new member." Jack said.

"That hasn't happened in quite a while." Raf said as he was pretty excited about getting to know Tailgate more.

"Oh my gosh, that's right. We have a new member. Huge party tonight!" Miko let out a whoop.

"Whoa easy there, Miko." Emily said as she watched Miko.

"Too late for that." Fowler said with a chuckle.

"We have a new member! We have a new member! Well, Tailgate, since you're now part of the team. I officially want to welcome you to Team Prime. And I hope that you can help us in our fight against Megatron and the Decepticons." Miko said excitedly with a grin.

While everyone was happy to celebrate the arrival of a new member on Team Prime however Tailgate didn't seem to share that same happiness as everyone.

"No. I can't stay here." Tailgate said as everyone stopped what they were doing.

"What do you mean you can't stay here? Of course you can." Cliffjumper said as he and everyone looked in disbelief.

"I can't and I won't. I will not fight with you guys." Tailgate said with a shake of his helm.

"He's joking right?" Smokescreen asked in disbelief.

Cliffjumper was too shocked but he just covered it up with a forced smile.

"Of course he is. My twin brother has a huge sense of humor. That was a really good one, brother. Very hilarious." Cliffjumper forced out a laugh but Tailgate just crossed his arms.

"I'm not kidding." He said in a serious tone.

"Right, right. Isn't he funny?" Cliffjumper said in denial.

"Is this for real?" Jack asked in disbelief yet pity.

"I'd rather not know." Emily said sadly from her position on Optimus' shoulder.

"This is so heartbreaking. Cliffjumper can't face the truth." Miko said as she couldn't help but feel sorry.

"That's sad." Raf said quietly.

"Makes it even sadder to be the one to watch this." Agent Fowler as he was feeling sorry for Cliffjumper.

"Let me tell you something, guys. You haven't lived until you've heard the Energon Slug story. Come on, brother, tell them about your famous joke." Cliffjumper said but it sounded like he was desperate.

"Okay, first off, I can't tell you guys about that Inargon or onergan or whatever it was because I don't remember. And second, I'm not joking. I'm being very serious. I'm not staying here, and I won't help you out in this war. I can't." Tailgate told them all with a serious look in his optics.

"What's wrong, big horns? Are you scared?" Wheeljack challenged him while taking a step forward.

"Wheeljack, try to be more understandable. Tailgate is recovering from a very traumatic experience. Now I'm sure that all he needs is a good rest to clear his mind." Ratchet told him as he stood in front of Tailgate.

"I don't need to rest to clear my mind. I'm fine and I've made up my mind. If you guys don't want to accept, that's your problem. But I won't fight with you guys." Tailgate told them as he looked away.

"Whoa, back up. You mean you're quitting the Autobots?" Smokescreen took a step back from shock at this.

"Yes, I am." Tailgate said while not meeting their eyes and optics.

Tailgate's decision had shocked everyone to their very spark. Optimus, who was in control of his emotions, was shocked too even though he didn't express it like the others.

"That's one huge crusher. And nothing worse for the band to see someone quitting the band." Miko said with a deflated look

"Well, will you look at that? Mister big horns lost his cool and now he's scared to get his paint dirty. That's one way to thank us for saving his tailpipe from that ugly eight legged freak. If you ask me, the new guy is a bit ungrateful." Wheeljack mocked but this seemed to snap everyone out of their shock as Cliffjumper turned to him with an angry look in his optics.

"Excuse me. What did you just say?" Cliffjumper asked in a calm yet angered tone.

"I said that he is ungrateful. Not to mention a coward." Wheeljack added as this angered Cliffjumper.

"You better take that back. No one talks about my brother like that." Cliffjumper said as he clenched his servos in anger.

"Why don't you come here and make me?" Wheeljack challenged him as Arcee stood beside Cliffjumper.

"What gives you the right to judge him? You don't know him like we do!" Arcee exclaimed angrily as the kids, Fowler, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Bulkhead, Ratchet and Optimus all knew that an argument would break out.

"No, but I know he's a coward." Wheeljack argued.

"You better take that back before I start kicking your tailpipe!" Cliffjumper exclaimed angrily.

Bulkhead quickly stood between Wheeljack, Arcee and Cliffjumper as he tried to stop them from fighting each other as Bumblebee and Smokescreen got in to help him.

"Calm down, Jackie." Bulkhead said as he held Wheeljack back.

"Take it easy, guys." Smokescreen said as he and Bumblebee held Arcee and Cliffjumper back as Bumblebee whirred and beeped for them to calm down.

"Stop it, guys, there's no need to fight between us." Emily said as Optimus set her down via his servo as she approached them all.

"Tell him that. He's the one who started it." Wheeljack said as he and Cliffjumper sent each other glares.

"You're the one who started this whole thing by insulting my brother." Cliffjumper gritted his dentas.

"Hey, chill out, you guys. There's no need for all this fuzz." Miko said as Tailgate put a servo on Cliffjumper's shoulder.

"It's alright, Cliffjumper. I don't mind what he said." Tailgate said as Cliffjumper looked at him in disbelief.

"You don't? How could you say that?! He called you a coward and an ungrateful guy? And you're gonna take that?!" Cliffjumper exclaimed in disbelief but Tailgate held up a servo to stop him.

"I'm not, because I'm not a coward. Think about it? Is it cowardly to step back from a fight? And choose a better life rather than killing your own species and destroying a whole world? The Decepticons may have caused the war and Cybetron's destruction but you Autobots have your share of guilt. You had a lot to do with our home's state. And now you guys are here fighting on this planet, risking the lives of the humans who live on it. Take that girl for example. She risked her own life to save us. Ever thought of what would happen if she never came back? Or if something bad happened to her friends? We already lost one world. If you ask me, this war is not worth putting another one in danger. So forget it, I won't fight with the Autobots. I already lost too much because of it." Tailgate said calmly but he was feeling a little stressed.

"Tailgate, I get that it's hard for you right now. But you can't give up on us like that. The cons surpass us everyday that comes by. If we don't stop them now, all that we will be fighting for would be lost." Arcee tried to reason with him.

"Not that you wouldn't understand because you were in stasis." Wheeljack said as Arcee gave him a glare.

"Keep talking and you're about to get some dents." Arcee warned him as Bulkhead stopped them.

"Calm down, guys." Bulkhead said as Wheeljack scoffed.

"No way I'm calming down, Bulk. That guy wants to bail and no one here wants to do something about it." Wheeljack said as he looked away.

"Uncle Jackie, we have to try and be understandable." Emily said as she looked at him.

"I don't mean to take sides or anything but I agree with Tailgate." Smokescreen suddenly said as everyone turned to him.

"What, really?" Miko asked as he nodded.

"Yes, because I too was in stasis. Long before I had my first battle, I was a guard. When I joined the Autobots, I wanted to fight for Cybertron. Be part of something great. Now that I am part of something great. It took me a long time but I finally had my chance but… when I saw that I wasn't on Cybertron, it was hard. It made me realize that even though I was given a chance to fight, we would end up losing our home. You guys have a right to be angry with him for wanting to leave. But don't forget that we Autobots fight for freedom." Smokescreen said as everyone looked at each other before Wheeljack spoke up.

"No offense, kid, but when you say fight for freedom, you talk about fighting for a planet we long lost." Wheeljack said as Smokescreen just looked at his servos and clenched them.

"I know. But freedom isn't just about Cybertron. It was about fighting for our freedom so we could be free from oppression." Smokescreen said as Bulkhead had to agree.

"He does have a point." Bulkhead said as Bumblebee agreed.

"Normally I wouldn't say this but Smokescreen is right." Ratchet agreed as well.

"So that's it? You guys are gonna let him bail?" Wheeljack questioned them as he looked at the team.

"I know it's hard. But you forgot that Tailgate has been through a lot. We saved him and brought him back here. Yet the decision of him staying belonged to him and only him. I get that we were all excited to have someone new here. However, if he wants to leave, we can't stop him." Emily said as she looked at them all as Optimus agreed with the others

"I concur, it's true that right now we are in dire need of help. Despite what some of you might be thinking. It takes a lot more courage to stand down from a fight than to go into battle. Tailgate is free to leave and stay off this war if that is what he desires. After all, freedom is the right of all sentient beings." Optimus said as they just stayed silent but Miko broke it.

"Uh, can you repeat that? You lost met at the blah blah of freedom and all." Miko asked in confusion as Bulkhead chuckled.

"I'll explain later, Miko." Bulkhead said before Fowler spoke up.

"Prime, now I know that you have a lot of ideals for freedom and I deeply respect. If the new guy here wants to stay off this conflict, that's your call. However as a governmental agent, I feel obliged to tell you that having an alien robot running free all over the planet is dangerous. If someone took a picture of big horns and posted them all over the net, it could jeopardize the whole operation. Uncle Sam might even force us to close the shop for good. Unless he's sent to a facility where he can watch. Letting him go free like that won't happen." Agent Fowler said as he brought up another problem as Tailgate looked dumbstruck.

"You mean I can't leave?" He asked in confusion and disbelief but Cliffjumper reassured him.

"I'm afraid not, brother. Here on this planet, humans don't know about us. Except for them. Here's a tip, Arcee did it." Cliffjumper said before pointing to the kids who all just smiled sheepishly as Emily gave Jack and Arcee a look.

"I heard that. Bottom line is that if you go out, the risk of being seen by humans is very high. That's you're gonna need a vehicle form." Arcee explained and the words vehicle form sparked Tailgate's curiosity.

"A vehicle form? What's that?" He asked curiously as Optimus explained.

"It's a transformation mode that allows us to transform into a vessel that we have scanned. This unique ability is why we are called transformers and how we keep our appearance as robots in disguise. To the eyes of the human race, we're merely earth vehicles." Optimus explained to him as Tailgate nodded before he remembered something.

"Wait a minute. I think I'm remembering something. I think it has something to do with that vehicle mode you spoke of." Tailgate said but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"You mean you forgot? Really? A bot who forgot how to transform? Is that possible?" Miko asked in disbelief as Raf shrugged since he didn't know.

"Physically you look okay. So go ahead, transform." Ratchet said as Tailgate rubbed the back of his helm sheepishly.

"Right, okay. How do I do that?" He asked as Smokescreen grinned.

"That's easy. You just do this." Smokescreen said before he transformed into his vehicle mode.

"That looks to be a bit hard." Tailgate said as Wheeljack smirked reassuringly.

"You need to focus, newbie. Like this." Wheeljack said before doing the same like Smokescreen did.

"It's still not helping." Tailgate deadpan while looking at the two show-offs.

"Okay, well, try and relax your body. Remember to stay positive." Emily advised him as he took a deep breath.

"Okay. Here we go." He said and closed his optics and started to focus.

At first, it didn't do anything then the parts of his body started to move and made transforming noises but he still wasn't transforming into his vehicle mode.

"That's it. Keep going, you can do it." Emily encourages him.

"Come on, man." Miko cheered.

"Don't give up now." Raf joined in.

"Almost got it, almost got it. Gah! I can't do this, guys." Tailgate said before exclaiming in frustration. The transforming part can't be this hard right?

"Really? After we showed you how?" Wheeljack asked while looking at him with his mirrors.

"Let's not be too harsh on him. He hasn't transformed in quite a while so it's gonna take some time." Emily told him as Wheeljack just shrugged.

"You guys have any ideas what he will transform into?" Miko asked in excitement.

"Beats me. So far we've only seen how the team looked like in Earth vehicles. We never saw them as Cybertronian vehicles." Jack said as he was pretty excited since Tailgate is the only Autobot that doesn't have an earth vehicle mode yet.

"Trust me, Jack. If you think I look good as a motorcycle, you should've seen me back in the old days." Arcee told him as Jack looked at her curiously.

"Bet you looked swag." Jack complimented as Arcee smirked.

"Me, swag? I was a total knockout." Arcee said with a smirk.

"She sure was. She knocked me down a lot of times." Cliffjumper said with a fond smile.

"How about I knock you down by hitting your big fat head?" Arcee teased him with Miko snickering.

"My head isn't fat. Is it?" Cliffjumper said before looking confused.

"Not at all." Bulkhead said with a shrug as Bumblebee shook his head.

"Hey, guys, can we return to me not being able to transform?" Tailgate said as everyone stopped and watched.

"Perhaps you're too tense." Emily noted as Tailgate shook his head.

"I'm fully relaxed." He said but Emily could tell that he wasn't on the inside.

"Yes but you have to feel inside yourself. Let's try it again, and this time try to believe in it." Emily said as Tailgate sighed but nodded.

"Okay." He said before closing his optics again.

His body started doing that weird transforming sound again. At first, it didn't do anything but then all of the sudden Tailgate transformed into his Cybertronian vehicle mode as he revved up his engine. He looked like a futuristic muscle car. Everyone was shocked and overjoyed by it, especially Team Prime. Even the kids and Fowler were impressed.

"Wow… That's so…" Jack said but trailed off when he tried to find the right words.

"Great?" RAF suggested.

"No, no, that's not it." Jack said.

"Super?" Emily asked with Bolty on her head.

"No, no, it's something else. How can we describe this?" Jack said as he tried to come up what to say.

"How about super mega awesome?!" Miko suggested with a grin.

"I was gonna say cool but, yeah, you're totally right, Miko. This is super mega awesome!" Jack agreed with Miko.

"I gotta admit. These wheels look good on me." Tailgate said as he drove around in a small circle.

"Well, I'll be a bald eagle's uncle. You transformers sure know about fancy driving. Not to mention that it's a sweet style. Way better than my four wheel." Agent Fowler said in impressed.

"Hey, Bulkhead. How come you never told me you guys had a Cybetronian form that made you look so cool?" Miko asked as she turned to her guardian curiously.

"Well…" Bulkhead started but Wheeljack beat him to it while transforming back.

"I think I can answer that. Back then, Bulk was kind of chunky looking." Wheeljack started with a smirk as Smokescreen transformed back as well.

"He's always been chunky. What's the difference?" He asked in confusion.

"Well, he was so chunky that it even showed whenever he would transform." Wheeljack continue to explain.

"You didn't seem to complain when we used to crash some cons down." Bulkhead said as Wheeljack shrugged.

"Yeah, well, you kind of made it hard to complain. Personally I don't think that there was a highway huge enough for a big guy like you." Wheeljack snickered as Bulkhead gave him a look.

"Hey." Bulkhead started.

"Whoa… I can't believe it. Seeing you like this is, well, it brings back a lot of good memories." Cliffjumper said as he looked at his brother's Cybertronian vehicle mode.

"I see." Tailgate said.

"You always had a better style than your brother here." Arcee pointed.

"Hey, that's insulting." Cliffjumper gave her a look.

"That was the whole point of it." Arcee said with a small smirk.

"I'm glad you haven't forgotten your aptitude for transformation. But this form will not be fit for this planet. You will have to use a vehicle form." Optimus told Tailgate who transformed back.

"How about we go outside and start scanning some vehicles?" Jack suggested but Emily beat him to it.

"I may have a better way." She said before turning on her holo-computer and made a 1970 Dodge Challenger car to appear and it looked identical to Cliffjumper's earth vehicle mode.

"Try scanning this." Emily suggested as she made sure to enlarge it.

"How do I scan?" Tailgate asked as he looked at the hologram curiously.

"The same way you transform. You must focus and try to scan every detail of the vehicle." Emily said as he nodded.

"I'll give it a try." He said and started to focus.

In a matter of seconds, his eyes shot out green scanning beams and started scanning the hologram of the vehicle Emily had made appeared as a hologram. The schematics of the vehicle had been perfectly scanned. After that, Tailgate transformed as his earth vehicle mode had blue flames on the side and it looked identical to Cliffjumper's vehicle mode, only difference was their color.

"Rad." Miko whistled.

"You can say that again." Jack had to agree.

"Agreed." Agent Fowler nodded.

"Nice, really nice." Emily said with a smile.

"Hey, he has the same vehicle mode as I have." Cliffjumper said as he looked at them.

"Yeah but you don't have flames. He does." Miko pointed out.

"Hey, what gives? Mine is a racing car." Smokescreen said while crossing his arms.

"It's cool but it doesn't have flames." Miko pointed out the difference.

"Great." Smokescreen pouted.

"Looks like you guys just got burned." Bulkhead couldn't help but chuckle.

"If you want, I can throw you a bucket of water." Wheeljack teased as Smokescreen rolled his optics.

"Ha ha ha, very funny." Smokescreen laughed sarcastically.

"Well, then." Tailgate said before transforming back into his robot form.

"Now that I have an earth vehicle form, I am free to go." He said but was stopped by Optimus.

"Yes but unfortunately it is not that simple, Tailgate." Optimus said as Tailgate looked at him in confusion.

"I thought you said I was free to go." Tailgate said in confusion.

"I did. And I am keeping my word. However the risk is far too great. You must go to a place where you can be free yet safe." Optimus told him as Tailgate looked at him. What did he mean where he can be safe from and free at?

"Safe? From what?" He asked as Ratchet answered him.

"Why, from the Decepticons of course. Now that you know where our base is, Megatron won't stop at nothing to try and recapture you." Ratchet told him and this worried him.

"So if you go out, you have to be careful not to get caught again." Arcee warned him.

"Where could he go that the Cons wouldn't think of?" Jack asked curiously before Raf perked up. He knows a place.

"The mine at Oregon. The Decepticons haven't gone there ever since we got hold of that mine." Raf said as Emily perked up at that. That place hasn't been touched by the Decepticons ever since she first tried out her suit.

"That's a great idea. Plus it has a nice forest. That way Tailgate can do some exploring while hiding from the Decepticons." Emily agreed as Agent Fowler nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. What do you say, Tailgate? Seems like a good offer if you ask me." Fowler said as Tailgate thought on it. The place might be a pretty safe place to hide and be free.

"Well since I don't know very much about this planet, maybe it's best if I go to a place where I can stay and learn about some stuff. Also what are you doing on that mine?" Tailgate said before asking curiously since they said that it was a mine.

"We excavate for Energon crystals that we convert into fuel and ammo." Cliffjumper explained as Tailgate looked at him cautiously.

"Hold on. You're not trying to force me into this war are you?" He asked while raising an optic ridge.

"Not at all. As matter of fact I was thinking that a work on taking care of the Energon stock might be appropriate for you. That is if you want to." Optimus reassured him with a smile and a shake of his helm.

"Yeah I guess taking care of some stock wouldn't be bad. Just as long as things about me not going to war are clear." Tailgate said as they nodded.

"Don't worry. We respect your decision." Arcee said with a nod.

"What matters is that you're back where you belong brother. With us." Cliffjumper said with a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Cliffjumper. You too, Arcee, I really appreciate your support, guys." Tailgate said as he smiled at everyone.

"So that's it? You're leaving for Oregon?" Miko asked while looking a little bummed out.

"No need to make a big deal. I'm sure we'll see the new guy again soon enough." Fowler reassured her while patting her back.

"I'll be activating the ground bridge. It's about time the other member of our group comes back anyway. Unless of course you had a change of heart." Ratchet said as Tailgate shook his head but just smiled.

"Thanks, doctor. But I'm going with the same decision." Tailgate said with a smile.

"Very well then. Since you are fully functional and therefore making amazing progress, I declare that you are good to go. And do not worry, all your memories will come back slowly. If you ever feel something, you can contact us and we'll be right there to help you out." Ratchet told him before heading off to the ground bridge controls to put the coordinates to the mine.

"I'll keep that in mind. Speaking of mind. I just remembered something." Tailgate said before giving Cliffjumper a look as he look confused.

"What's that?" He asked only to regret it.

"This." Tailgate said before hitting Cliffjumper's helm hard with his servo much to everyone's surprise.

"OWW!" Cliffjumper yelped in pain while rubbing his sore spot.

"Hahaha. I just remembered that one. I also remember that container story." Tailgate couldn't help but laugh.

"You know what I think? I think I need to remind you how I used to kick your tailpipe." Cliffjumper said and if they were in an anime, the kids could have sworn there was an anime vein mark on the side of his helm.

"I'm sorry, you kicking my tailpipe? That's a good one. Guess we now know who's the comedian around." Tailgate said with a playful grin.

"Well, you wanna know what the comedian is telling you? That he's about to kick your tailpipe and send you flying to Oregon! How about that?" Cliffjumper exclaimed as he got into his face plate.

"Well my tailpipe would want to know how you plan to do that if I kick yours first!" Tailgate countered back.

"You just try it!" Cliffjumper challenged.

"Bring it on!" Tailgate challenged back as both of them started to growl at each other.

The others watched this whole thing and felt weird about the scene in front of them. Miko could almost see two of her favorite Fairy Tail boys fighting as Raf and Jack blinked in surprise as Emily could feel the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile as Agent Fowler just had his jaw drop while the bots just looked on and would have sweat drops on the side of their heads if they were in anime.

"Uh, did I miss something?" Miko asked as she was looking between Cliffjumper and Tailgate who were both close to starting a brawl.

"If you did, so did we." Jack answered as he let out a nervous laugh.

"No kidding." Raf said with a weirded out look.

"This has gotta be the weirdest interaction between brothers that I've seen in my entire life." Emily said as she let out a small grin.

"It's like watching a bunch of kids. But in a much larger size." Agent Fowler agreed.

While the two brothers were growling at each other, Arcee hit them both on their helms really hard and caused the others to wince.

"OWW!!!" Both Tailgate and Cliffjumper exclaimed in pain as they clutched their helms.

"HEY, WHAT GIVES!!!!" Cliffjumper exclaimed and gave Arcee a pained look and a small glare.

"THAT HURTS!!!!" Tailgate exclaimed as well while giving the same expression towards Arcee.

"Well, maybe you ought to stop acting like a bunch of immature sparklings. Who am I kidding? I missed doing this to you guys." Arcee said while crossing her arms before smirking.

"Yeah, well, I just wished I didn't remember how painful that used to be. Oww…" Tailgate said as he winced slightly.

"It wasn't pleasant then and it isn't pleasant now." Cliffjumper said as he agreed with him.

"That's what I'm talking about. Girl power." Miko said before both she and Emily fist bumped.

"Boom." They both said and laughed.

At that moment, Ratchet had finished putting down the coordinates to Oregon.

"There. The coordinates are down and I told the guard you'll be replacing not to shoot at you. Activating the ground bridge now." Ratchet said before activating the ground bridge as he turned to everyone.

"Well, I guess it's goodbye." Tailgate said as he turned to the portal.

Optimus tries to get up but is having a hard time walking right but Smokescreen helps him walk to where the others are.

"I got you, Optimus." Smokescreen said as they joined the others to wish Tailgate good luck.

"Good luck, Tailgate. May Primus help you remember everything about your past. You may have chosen a different path. But somehow I feel that deep down. You're one of us." Optimus said as Tailgate looked at him with a smile.

"Thanks, I guess. Thanks for helping me, guys." He said with a thankful smile.

"Hey, no biggie. It's always a pleasure to squash some cons and help other bots." Bulkhead said as Tailgate smiled more.

"Good luck out there." Smokescreen said with a thumbs up.

Bumblebee beeps and tells Tailgate to take care of himself and to be safe. Arcee soon walks up to him to try and say goodbye but she couldn't find the right words to say it.

"Oh, this is gonna be good." Miko said before she was shushed by the others to be quiet.

"I, uh… I'm, uh…" Arcee stammered to find the right words.

"Yeah, me too. I probably don't remember much, but from what I've just seen. I know you're not really good at that stuff." Tailgate said with a reassuring smile as she nodded sadly.

"Yeah…" She said with a small sad smile.

"Well I, uh, I wanna thank you for bringing me back. If it weren't for you and… that human girl, I would've ended up into Decepticon hands." Tailgate said as Arcee was able to smile at that.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure Airachnid pays for what she did." Arcee said with a determined look.

"I know you will. But please don't do something you'll end up regretting. I know she hurt us all. But hurting her back won't help." Tailgate advised her as she nodded.

"I know. At least now she won't be able to find you. But be careful out there." Arcee said as he nodded.

"Of course." Tailgate said as the kids walk up to him.

"Have a safe journey." Jack said as Raf nodded.

"Hope you come back soon." Raf said with a hopeful look.

"Be sure to call us every day." Miko said and made a hand gesture for a phone as he nodded.

"Good luck, soldier. I wish you the best of luck." Agent Fowler said as he saluted and Tailgate returned the gesture in respect.

"Well, until next time. Take care. And good luck on winning the war. I just hope that you find another way of ending this conflict." Tailgate said before he started to walk towards the portal but was stopped by someone.

"Hey, wait." Tailgate turned around to see that Wheeljack walked up to him.

"Next time you come back, let's hang around." Wheeljack suggested as he nodded with a grin.

"Sure thing." He agreed with a nod.

"No hard feelings?" Wheeljack asked as he offered a handshake.

"None at all." Tailgate said while shaking both of their servos.

He then turns around to head to the portal when suddenly someone calls for him again. This time it was Arcee as she walked up to him.

"Tailgate, wait." Arcee said as he turned to her.

"Hmm? What is it? Is there something you wanna tell me?" Tailgate asked as Arcee looked hesitant but she nodded.

"Uh, yes. It's something I wanted to tell you for a very long time." Arcee said as she looked at him.

"You think she will?" Miko asked curiously as Emily shrugged.

"Dunno. Let's all just watch and see what happens." Emily said as they watched as Arcee tried to say what she needed to say.

"Tailgate,… I… I…" Arcee tried to find the right words to what she needed to say as Tailgate watched her.

When he looked at Cliffjumper, somehow he realized what Arcee was trying to say. He knew that it had something to do with both of them. That's when Tailgate interrupted Arcee to tell her that he knew what was going on and was okay with it.

"It's okay. I think I know what it is. And I'm fine with it. Take care. The same goes for you, brother." Tailgate reassured her as she looked at him and nodded before looking at Cliffjumper.

"You too. Until next time." Cliffjumper said with a smile as he nodded back before turning to the blonde with them.

"See you later, kid, I mean, Emily." Tailgate said as he corrected himself as she nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, later." She said as Bolty gestured a wave with his little claw.

After saying their farewell to their comrade, this one left by crossing the ground bridge. Arcee was happy to have her oldest friend and partner back. She was finally reunited with the two most important bots in her life. However, it starts to feel like a problem. A problem that she held deep inside so that she could focus on her missions and she had hoped it wouldn't resurface yet again. After Tailgate left the base, Hot Rod came back with a grin.

"Hey, hey, hey, guys. Guess who's back? Also what's up with that white guy? Was it Cliffjumper? He looked a lot like him." Hot Rod asked as the ground bridge closed.

"I'm right here." Cliffjumper said as his arms were crossed.

"If you're here, then who did I just see?" Hot Rod looks at him in shock and confusion and looks at the ground bridge.

"If we tell you, you're not gonna believe it. That guy is this guy's twin brother." Wheeljack told him as Hot Rod looked surprised.

"What, really? No wonder I confused him with Cliffjumper. Talk about a big surprise." Hot Rod said with a grin.

"You don't even know half of it. Huh?" Jack told him before noticing that Arcee was looking sad for some reason while gazing at the ground bridge.

"Arcee, are you?" Jack asked as Arcee snapped out of it and looked at him.

"I'm fine." She reassured him.

"Arcee…" Cliffjumper knew that something was bothering her but she stopped him.

"Please, I just want to be alone. I'll be in my quarters. Don't bother me…" Arcee told them before she left for her quarters.

Everyone saw how she seemed to be sad however the reason for it was still unknown to them minus Emily who looked saddened and concerned.

"What's up with her?" Hot Rod asked in confusion and worry.

"No idea. You think we should…?" Emily said as she turned to the team as Ratchet shook his helm. It's best to give Arcee some space for now.

"I would say it's best to leave her alone for now. She's been through a lot today. And it's best to stay out and let her deal with it." Ratchet suggested but Miko looked at him.

"But shouldn't we help her?" Miko asked as Ratchet turned to her then to where Arcee's quarters are.

"Arcee is a strong warrior. Just give her some time." Ratchet told her but Emily interjected.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Ratchet. But if you ask me, someone should go talk with her. She may be a strong warrior, but even the strongest warrior needs helping dealing with painful stuff. Trust me, I know that." Emily told him as Cliffjumper agreed.

"The girl has a point. Arcee's tough but she needs the help of her friends. I'll go." Cliffjumper said as he started to go but Emily stopped him.

"No, it's best if I go by myself. I know you wanna help her. But this time, it's best to leave this to someone who understands her." Emily told him as Miko pointed to Jack.

"Then let Jack go. Nobody understands Arcee better than him." Miko told her as Raf agreed with her.

"That's true." Raf agreed with a nod.

"I'll go with you." Jack said but Emily stopped him with a shake of her head.

"No, Jack. I'm sorry but you can't go either." Emily told him as he looked shock.

"What gives? She needs my help and you put me on the bench." Jack said in disbelief.

"That's so not cool." Miko said while crossing her arms.

"I know and I'm sorry. For once please let me do this. You may understand Arcee but you don't understand her like I do." Emily told them as she crossed her arms loosely.

"You kind of lost me there." Fowler said in confusion.

"It's simple, Jack understands Arcee because they're friends, partners. But I understand her more because I'm a girl, a female Cybertronian. The only one in the team. So believe it or not. I'm the only one who can help her." Emily explained to them as Jack and Cliffjumper saw that she had a point.

"I… guess you have a point." Jack reluctantly backs down.

"Emily, your desire to help someone in need is admirable. But Arcee needs to heal on her own." Optimus told her but Emily just glanced at him with a small sad look in her eyes.

"Optimus, you can't ask me to let a friend deal with that kind of stuff on her own and you know that. Maybe you're right, maybe I should stay back and let one of my best friends be alone with her pain. But I can't… and I know that if you were in my place you couldn't turn your back on someone who needs help. Even if you want it too. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go talk with her." Emily said before excusing herself and went to where Arcee's quarters are to talk with her as Optimus' didn't even stop her knowing that she was right.

"Why didn't you stop her?" Bulkhead asked him curiously as Optimus just watched Emily disappear from view before turning him

"Because, Bulkhead, there's nothing I could've done to stop someone who's desperate to help a friend. To Emily, Arcee is more than her friend. She looks up to her. Seeing her source of inspiration hurt, makes her feel like she's been hurt too." Optimus explained before groaning in pain as his injury started to hurt more.

"Easy there. You have to lay down." Ratchet said as he and Smokescreen helped Optimus to sit down.

Raf and Miko saw how Jack felt about what Emily had told him and they wanted to know if he was okay.

"You okay, Jack?" Raf asked in concern.

"I'm fine." Jack said while feeling a little dejected.

"You sure? You look a bit down. Don't forget, Ems just sent you to the bench. That's a huge crusher." Miko said.

"Yes and no. It is a crusher but it's not a crusher." Jack told her.

"Say what now?" Miko asked in confusion.

"Emily did have a point. As partners, Arcee and I understand each other because we're good friends. But when it comes to dealing with feelings and stuff, I can't understand because I'm human and not Cybertronian, like Emily." Jack explained as Raf saw the point.

"I get it now. Since she and Emily are both Cybertronians and females, they're able to understand each other." Raf said as Jack nodded.

"That's right. I admit it's a bit hard since she asked me not to get involved but maybe it is for the best." Jack said with a small smile.

"Don't forget that you're not alone in that department, kid. Because she put me out too. I don't get it why, I understand Arcee too. I mean I am her partner too." Cliffjumper agrees with him as they look to where Arcee's quarters are and wondered what they're doing.

"That may be true. But it doesn't mean you understand her. I mean you're a guy and she's a girl. Who better understands a girl than another girl." Miko said since she knows that only a girl knows what another is going through.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but this time you're right." Jack admitted since he might have only made it worse if Emily didn't stop him.

"If there's one thing we guys don't understand at all is women." Agent Fowler said as Jack agreed.

"Yeah, no kidding." He said as Cliffjumper sighed.

"If you don't mind, guys, I think I'm gonna go for a walk around the base." Cliffjumper said as Miko eyed him curiously.

"You sure you won't eavesdrop on Arcee and Emily's conversation?" Miko asked suspiciously.

"Me, eavesdropping? Please. I don't eavesdrop, I don't even know what it means. Anyway, later, I'm going for a walk." Cliffjumper said and left to walk around the base as the kids with Fowler watched him leave.

They didn't believe a single word he said and it was obvious that he was lying.

"He's lying." Miko said with her arms cross.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out." Jack said as he facepalmed his face.

While the kids were talking with each other, Optimus was being checked on by Ratchet who was putting something on his knee to prevent further energon loss. That way Optimus could move without getting hurt too much, just as long as he didn't push himself too far.

"That should be enough. Now remember your knee may be protected. But you cannot push yourself too hard." Ratchet advised as Optimus stood back up slowly.

"Very well." He nodded gratefully.

Ratchet turns around to keep working on some stuff that he was working on. But before he turned around, Optimus had noticed that something was troubling the good doctor as he looked at him in concern.

"What is troubling you, old friend?" He asked curiously as Ratchet sighed and looked at him.

"Well… you may find that hard to believe. But I think that what Tailgate said earlier may have been true. We Autobots fought this war to save Cybertron. Yet our actions have only made things worse." Ratchet said as what Tailgate said was true.

"I concur, my friend. Sometimes in the fog of war. We tend to lose our objectives. And when the fog is no more, we see the price of our actions. That's why we must keep fighting. Or else it would mean dooming Earth and humanity." Optimus said as he knew that Tailgate had made sense as he looked at him.

"Yes. It may come as a shock to you. But this whole war feels like a game of chess with earth as a chessboard. Megatron had sent his best pawn to retrieve a pawn we had lost. And now that we have Tailgate back, he won't stop at nothing to capture him." Ratchet explained as he let out a heavy sigh.

"We will do our best to protect our comrades." Optimus said as Ratchet looked at him fully.

"I know we will. But what really worries me is not being able to know what move the Decepticons will do next." Ratchet said as he looked away to the side.

"All we can do now is be ready for when they will strike again." Optimus said.

"Yes. It's not like we have much choice. I just hope that whatever Megatron's next move is, that we'll be ready for it." Ratchet said as he turned back to his work.

"We will, old friend. We will." Optimus agreed with him.

While the rest of the Team Prime was recuperating from such a hard mission and still assimilating the fact that their new comrade chose to stay neutral in the war, Arcee was all alone in her quarters. Normally having her old partner back would've been a reason for her to be happy like never before. But that wasn't the case. Tailgate's return was something great however Arcee felt hurt and very confused. She couldn't retain her tears from falling. The regret that she had put aside eons ago had come back and it was torturing her. She had felt pain before but this time it's as if it's started to come out and she couldn't stop it. Suddenly she heard a loud knocking sound.

"Go away!" Arcee yelled at someone by the door to leave.

Not feeling like having some company, Arcee asked whoever was knocking at her door to leave her alone. However, that person didn't listen to what she said and started knocking the door again. Arcee started getting up and walked straight to the door to give to whoever was disturbing her a clear message that would make that person go away. She opens the door and starts giving her a clear message.

"Didn't you hear me?! I said go away! Huh?" Arcee exclaimed only to stop in confusion and was surprised that she didn't see anyone when she opened the door.

"Down here." A familiar voice said as she looked down.

When she started to look down she saw who knocked at her door. It was Emily who had a concerned look. Normally she would let her come in but she wanted to be alone

"Look, Emily, you know how I enjoy your company… but I want to be alone so please just go…" Arcee said with a heavy sigh.

"I know you don't feel like having some company with you. But I thought that maybe if we talked about it. It might help you. So what do you say? Can I come in so we can talk about this? It always helps to talk to a friend." Emily said as she looked at her and hoped that she could help.

Even though Arcee wanted to be alone, she felt that maybe talking about this with someone that could understand and might help her with this confusion. After thinking about it, she decided to let Emily enter her quarters as she moved aside.

"Thanks." Emily smiled softly as she went inside with Arcee following.

"Wanna sit down?" She asked as Arcee nodded.

"Sure…"

They sat down on the floor and stayed silent. At first they didn't speak much and seeing how Arcee wouldn't be the first one to talk. Emily knew that she would have to be the first one to start the conversation so that way she would know how to help her friend.

"So, huh, Tailgate is back must've been quite a shock. I mean I was shocked when I found out at the Harbinger. But what shocked me the most was how he and Cliffjumper looked exactly the same. Well I saw how Skyquake looked a lot like Dreadwing but this one blew me away." Emily started with a sheepish look as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Yeah…" Arcee muttered sadly while hugging her legs.

"Look, I know you don't feel like talking right now. And I can see how mentioning Tailgate isn't helping." Emily said as Arcee looked at her.

"No, no, no… it's okay…" Arcee tried to reassure her but Emily could sense that she was hurting inside.

"Arcee,… you don't have to pretend everything is okay with me. Whenever I'm around you, I want you to feel like you can be honest. And whatever is bothering you, I will be there to help you out. I may not understand it, but it doesn't mean I can't be there for you." Emily started softly as Arcee didn't speak and she took that chance to continue.

"If you don't want to talk about it, I can understand that. I wouldn't be a good friend if I tried to force the truth out of you. It's just that I can see how you're hurt. And seeing you like this hurts. I know it's silly but… I guess when you have a good relationship with someone. It hurts you when they're hurt. It's like a bond. One that makes you feel the same thing." Emily finished as she hugged one of her leg to her chest.

"I know… and it's not as silly as it sounds…" Arcee said but her voice cracked a little and felt herself about to cry again.

"I'm sorry… it's just…" Arcee apologized and tried to stop the lubricant from falling from her optics.

"It's just what? Go ahead. Tell me what's wrong. Does it have something to do with Tailgate leaving?" Emily asked her softly as Arcee shook her head.

"No. That's not it. Seeing him alive has made me happy. Happier than ever before but it also made me get confused about so many things that happened long ago…" Arcee started as she looked down at her pedes sadly.

"Are you sad because he's back?" Emily asked her softly.

"That's the thing. I don't know. I don't know if I'm sad about it. I don't even know what to think. Everything that I had lost had come back. I should be happy… but instead I'm crying. When Cliffjumper was brought back I was happy, seeing him again felt like he never left… and when I found out Tailgate was alive… and that everything Airachnid told me was a lie… I felt guilty. His memory loss was my fault he lost it all because of me… I failed to save him… I failed to save Cliffjumper when he was brought back into that… thing… I realize now that I can't save anyone… I can't save my closest friends…" Arcee explained as she hugged her legs closer for comfort.

"That's not true. You saved Jack when Airachnid tried to get him. You even saved June." Emily comforted her with reason as she looked at her.

"That was different. Cliffjumper and Tailgate have always been with me… ever since I joined the Autobots, being with them… helped me think that one day things would go back to normal… but now I see that the more we fought together, the more we ended being divided… and it's all because of me. Because I can't do anything to save those close to me… and be honest with them… and myself…" Arcee said as she let out a shaky vent and felt her walls around her emotions cracked.

"You're honest with me." Emily told her with a soft tone.

"So why can't I be honest with the two most important bots in my life…?" Arcee said as she looked down sadly and Emily had to blink at that.

"With the two most important bots? Oh… so that's it." Emily said as the corners of her mouth tugged into a small comforting smile.

Outside Arcee's quarters. CliffJumper was walking around while talking to himself.

"Me, eavesdropping? Come on. I'm better than that." Cliffjumper told himself.

Cliffjumper was enjoying his walk before he started looking around. When he saw that the coast was clear, he went to see Arcee at her quarters. When he got there, he started hearing Emily's voice, meaning that she was inside as he listened through the small crack of the door.

"I never would've thought this would happen." Emily said from inside the room as he wondered what they were talking about.

Inside Arcee's quarters, Arcee was looking at Emily in confusion.

"I don't know what to say. But I think I know what's the problem. You have two bots. But only one heart to give. Deep down you made your choice and it hurts. Now that one of your options is back. You're confused." Emily explained as Arcee sighed softly.

"You have no idea… I've made my choices eons ago. And yet it still hurts… not that I regret that choice… he means the world to me… but what hurts me is that I was never able to tell the truth. And when I thought he was dead,… I felt a huge regret. If only I had told the truth before it happened, things would've been normal and what makes it worse is that by trying to stay focused on my missions… I neglected something I wanted for so long… and by doing so… I hurt someone I cared… that's all I'm good at… hurting others… whether they're bots or cons… I don't know what to do… and I'm scared that no matter what I choose… I will only make things get worse…" Arcee told her as she started to cry softly as Emily tried to comfort her.

Cliffjumper, who was hearing from outside the door, started feeling bad about what he just heard. He was wondering if Arcee was talking about him.

"I think I know how you're feeling." Emily's voice was heard and it held solemn in it as well as sadness and familiarity to Arcee.

"Huh?" Cliffjumper perked up at this and decided to listen.

Inside Arcee's quarters, Arcee wiped the rest of her tears away and looked at Emily who was gazing at her feet with a somber look.

"You… You do?" She asked as Emily nodded with a sad smile.

"Yes… What you're feeling right now. I know what it is like… That's how I felt the day I found out who I really was. About my true origins. For so long there was this part of me that made me ask myself who I really was. Where did I come from? Why was I so different from the others? Why was I here? And what was my usefulness? The day Ratchet told me the truth, I felt… so crushed… so devastated… Even though I wanted to know for so long, there was this… part of me… that was filled with regret. I don't why… but I regretted finding out about all of this… That day, it felt like my heart was split in two parts even now it still is. There's the part of me that's trying to live a regular human life, well, more like regular human teenage girl life. Trust me, being a girl is tough. Super tough." Emily said with a small bitter laugh to stop a small sob from escaping.

"You could say that again." Arcee huffed slightly at that as Emily continued with a more somber look that was being replaced with sorrow.

"And then there's that part that is trying to earn its place among you guys. Always trying to be strong just like you. Alert just like you. And tough just like you… hoping it would work. You know as a human, I didn't have a very good life. Kids made fun of me my whole life because I was different… It wasn't a very pleasant life… but even so I had two special people in my life… my human parents who took care of me and were there when I needed them the most..." Emily said as she struggled not to cry as the most painful memory that haunts her that day resurfaced as she let a stray tear fall.

"Did one of them…?" Arcee questions gently but stops since Emily nodded sadly that one of her human parents is gone.

"Yes…" Emily nodded sadly with a sad smile.

"I'm so sorry…" Arcee apologized as Emily sniffed.

"It's okay. It's a part of life." Emily said as her voice cracked a little.

"I guess… Can I tell you something?" Arcee then asked as she looked at her and nodded.

"Sure." Emily said as Arcee vented slightly.

"Did Jack ever tell you about the time I felt so bad that I thought he didn't know what it was to lose someone?" Arcee asked her as Emily pursed her lips and shook her head.

"No. I don't think he did." Emily admitted.

"You know what's my greatest regret about that day? Is not even trying to listen to what he tried to tell me. I was angry and sad because we had lost Cliffjumper, but that doesn't excuse the fact that I was mean and I lashed out. What makes it worse is when I found out what he and June had lost." Arcee admitted and Emily knew what she meant. She heard the story of how Jack never met his father and how he and June lost him when he was just born.

"His father. Yeah, he told me about that one. From what he told me, the guy disappeared when he was born and was never seen again." Emily admitted sadly.

"Yeah… When I found out, I felt guilty. For so long, I thought that humans and Cybertronians were different." Arcee said as she understood that humans and Cybertronians are alike in different ways.

"Well, the only difference is that you get to turn into any vehicle you want. I kind of feel jealous about it. If I could, I would use this ability to get anywhere without walking." Emily said with a small playful smile as Arcee gave her a small look.

"Seriously?" She asked but Emily just waved it off.

"Nah. I would never do that." She said with a small shake of her head.

"Hahaha." Arcee couldn't help but laugh.

"Nice to hear you laugh. But please continue what you were saying." Emily said as she looked at Arcee.

"Well like I said. Finding out about Jack's past made me realize that we all lose something. Including those we hold dear." Arcee said as this brought the memory of that day back in Emily's mind as she looked down.

"Yeah…" She said while hugging her knees.

"So how did…?" Arcee asked her hesitantly.

"Hmm?" Emily looked at her curiously.

"Sorry, it's none of my business. Sorry for asking." Arcee shook her head. She shouldn't have asked a sensitive subject since she saw the pain it brought but Emily just offered a reassuring smile.

"It's okay. It's kind of hard to talk about it… but when it happened… I felt so crushed… I cried for days… losing someone that precious… It's the hardest thing that could happen to someone… Later, I've been told that it was a part of life… like some sort of universal thing… whether we wish for it not to happen… sooner or later it happens. And in the end,… we face a great loss… but as long as we hold those we had lost in our hearts, it feels like they're still here with us… watching us grow and live our life… no matter how hard this life may be…" Emily finished as she smiled sadly.

"Why do you feel the need to be like us? You can't be like me or like Ratchet or Optimus." Arcee told her as Emily just shrugged.

"I know… but as a half Cybertronian and Autobot, I feel like I have to give my best… and sometimes I feel like I can't do it… I can't divide my time between being a human and a half Cybertronian. If my life as a regular human was bad, what would my life as a half Cybertronian be like? What if I fail? What if I'm not good enough? Or strong enough?" Emily said as she looked at her hands before sighing.

"I see what you mean when you talk about feeling like your heart is divided in two." Arcee said as she smiled softly.

"Yeah… At least I have people that help me out. Did my story help you out? Or did I tell you all of this for nothing?" Emily asked as she looked at her and Arcee had to smile. Emily's tale did help her a lot.

"Actually it did help a lot." Arcee told her as Emily looked at her happily.

"Really?" She asked hopefully as the femme nodded.

"Yes. And I think I get your story. What you're saying is that my heart is divided in two parts. The one that wants to stay focused on her mission. And the one that wants to live a happy life." Arcee said as Emily rubbed the back of her head.

"Well, actually, it was something I was kind of taking off, well, you get the idea. You see, there's this one guy who you like because he's funny, hard headed and never stops talking. And on the other side, you have the same guy who's similar to him but a bit different. One part wants the funny one and the other parts want the other guy. But you already made your choice and if you ask me. You should follow your heart. Who knows, maybe you'll end up making the right choice." Emily told her as Arcee looked at her to be sure.

"You sure?" She asked as Emily nodded with a confident smile.

"I'm positive." She said with a smile.

"What about...?" Arcee hesitated but Emily knew what she wanted to ask.

"The other guy? When the time is right, you'll tell him the truth. I know you will." Emily reassured her.

"Thanks, Emily,… for being a good friend with me." Arcee said with a grateful smile.

"You don't have to thank me." Emily told her bashfully.

"Yes, I do. That and so much more. I know you think you're not good enough for the team. But from what I witnessed today. You're bound to become the strongest member on Team Prime. It's thanks to your new ice powers that Cliffjumper and I came back in one piece." Arcee said but what she said caught Emily's attention and looked at the femme in confusion. Ice powers?

"Wait, wait, wait. Did you just say new ice powers?" Emily questioned in confusion as Arcee looked at her in confusion. Didn't she know?

"Yeah. You used them to get us out of the factory, remember?" Arcee said as Emily scratched her head but no memory of her getting her ice powers were coming back.

"No, I don't. I don't recall using new powers or anything like it." Emily admitted with confusion in her voice.

"That's impossible. You were amazing back there. You practically saved us." Arcee said as she was also confused. Why can't Emily remember?

"Then why can't I remember anything? Let me check my brooch." Emily muttered before taking off her brooch and started to check it to see if she received a new power but strangely enough there was nothing. Not even a new slot being with a symbol other than her quake element.

"This is strange. I ought to check if the brooch is broken. Knowing Ratchet, if he finds out that this thing is broken he's gonna throw a tantrum for it." Emily said with a shake of her head before hiding her brooch in her pocket as Arcee laugh and can imagine Ratchet throwing a fit.

"That's him alright." Arcee said.

"Yeah. Well, anyway, I hope what I said earlier helps you clear things." Emily said as Arcee hoped as well.

"Me too. Yet I still have my doubts." Arcee said.

"Give it time. Things will be clear sooner or later. You just need to be patient." Emily told her as Arcee shrugged.

"If you say." Arcee said. She felt a bit better after talking with Emily however she still felt a bit doubtful of what she had decided and Emily could see it on her face plate. She immediately had an idea and started to grin and scooched closer to Arcee until she was by her side.

"I have a question. Do you know what's the best cure against sadness?" Emily asked her as Arcee looked at her in confusion and was a little wary when she saw that grin on her face.

"No, what?" She asked warily.

"Laughter!" Emily exclaimed and started to tickle Arcee's side and caused her to tensed and jolted from that.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Arcee asked her nervously as Emily continued to tickle her.

"I'm tickling you." Emily told her as Arcee tensed slightly.

"Tickling?" Arcee questioned as she tried to stop her laughs.

"Yeah it's when you start scratching a person's sensible part and make them laugh." Emily said and continued.

"Yeah, well, good luck with that because-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT! STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!" IT NA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HOW!" Arcee burst laughing when Emily found a tickle spot.

"Someone's ticklish!" Emily exclaimed but started to grow nervous when she saw the smirk on Arcee's face.

"I'll show you ticklish. Come here!" Arcee said before grabbing Emily in her servo and started to tickle Emily on her tummy and sides while being careful not to hurt her.

"HAHAHA! NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT! HAHAHAH! NO FA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAIR!" Emily squealed in laughter as she tried to get away.

Outside Arcee's quarters, CliffJumper heard the commotion and when he thought that something bad was going on. He barged in to try and help the girls out.

"What's going on here?" Cliffjumper asked as the laughter quickly stopped and Arcee stopped tickling Emily who panted heavily.

"Cliffjumper?" Arcee asked in confusion. What's Cliffjumper doing here?

"Arcee, what…? What are you doing?" Cliffjumper asked in confusion when he saw that the two weren't in danger.

"I, uh,… we were just…" Arcee stuttered but Emily finished for her.

"Playing a game, but more importantly what are you doing here?" Emily asked Cliffjumper as she sat up and looked at him.

"Nothing. I was just, you know, passing by. I was just walking around." He said but Emily knows he was eavesdropping on her and Arcee.

"Were you eavesdropping?" Emily asked him as Cliffjumper became nervous.

"Me, eavesdropping? Yeah right, I'd rather stick my head inside an Insecticon hive than do that." Cliffjumper said nervously.

"So why did you barge in like that?" Arcee asked him curiously.

"Well, I heard weird noises and I thought something bad was happening." Cliffjumper said as Emily stood up and put a hand to her hip.

"We're just having fun." Emily told him.

"Oh, okay. Sorry if I disturbed anything. I didn't mean to interrupt you guys." Cliffjumper said as Arcee looked on the floor.

"It's okay." Arcee said.

For a brief moment, no one says anything before Emily cleared her throat.

"Uh, you know what? I have to go check on something. I'll leave you two to talk to each other. Something tells me you have a lot of things to solve." Emily said after jumping off Arcee's servo and started to walk to the door

"Where are you going?" Arcee asked.

"Yeah what's the rush?" Cliffjumper also asked as Emily looked back with a smile.

"No rush. I just don't want to interrupt you two lovebirds." Emily teased and caused both Cliffjumper and Arcee to blush.

"Hey!" Both of them exclaimed while blushing as Emily laughed good-naturedly.

"Easy there, I was just kidding. Forget what I say. Anyway, I'll see you guys later." Emily told them and left Arcee's quarters and left both Arcee and Cliffjumper on their own.

"So…" Both Arcee and Cliffjumper started.

Both were about to start talking but it was such an awkward moment that no one was able to talk in full sentence.

"I… Oh, sorry... I didn't mean to…. Please stop doing that... No, you stop." They both fumbled over their words.

Emily, from her hiding spot, was listening to what was happening as she had to face palms.

"Oh brother. This isn't going well." Emily said.

"What's not going well?" Miko asked curiously from behind her and she jumped in surprise.

"Ah! What?" Emily quickly turned around to see them.

"Uh, you okay?" Miko asked as she, along with Jack and Raf, surprised her.

"What? What are you guys doing here?" Emily asked as she looked at them.

"Well, we got worried about Cliffjumper so we thought we would go talk with him to make sure he was okay." Jack explained.

"When we went to look for him, we heard some weird laughter coming this way." Raf continue.

"And here we are now. So what's up?" Jack asked before Emily shushed them.

"Shh!" Emily hissed while putting a finger in front of her lips.

"What do you mean shh?" Miko asked in confusion.

"Keep it down, you guys." Emily whispered.

"What for?" Miko asked in a whisper as Emily pointed to something and why she wants her and the two boys to whisper.

"Oh, that." Miko nodded slowly and slowly got down and peeked in.

"What's going on?" Jack whispered curiously as they peeked in but was careful not to get spotted.

"They look like they're talking about something." Raf whispered while tilting his head.

"More like trying." Emily muttered in a whisper.

"I wonder where this will all go." Miko wondered curiously.

"If you wanna see more, be quiet and watch." Emily whispered.

"Okay okay. You heard that girl. Be quiet and watch." Miko whispered.

"We get the picture, Miko." Jack whispered back.

"Shush up, guys. Do you want to get caught? If not, then stop talking." Emily hissed at them in a whisper.

Jack, Raf and Miko zipped their mouths shut and started seeing what's going on between Cliffjumper and Arcee who are still silent.

"Your quarters look nice… It hasn't changed a bit since… well, you know…" Cliffjumper commented and saw that nothing changed in Arcee's quarters last time he was there.

"Yeah…" Arcee said as she and Cliffjumper didn't make optic contact.

"It's true what they say, some things never change." Cliffjumper said as he laughed a little.

"And old habits die hard. Did you really think you fooled me early? I know you've heard what I said." Arcee said as she crossed her arms as Cliffjumper winced as he realized he was caught.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry?" He apologized with a sheepish look.

"Right." Arcee said before Cliffjumper took a deep breath and looked at Arcee as she glanced at him curiously.

"Look, Arcee, I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. I know what you're going to say. That I don't need to apologize or anything but I do. And I want you to listen to what I have to say. After what happened I really thought that we would finally… get together, you know, like we always said we would." Cliffjumper admitted as Arcee was a little stunned by that and didn't know what to say.

From their hiding spot, the kids heard what CliffJumper said and were surprised. Jack was the one who got the most surprised. Not to mention that he was even shocked too when Cliffjumper said that.

"Did he say being together?" Jack whispered in shock as he couldn't take his eyes off the scene.

"You mean to tell me you didn't notice? Boys." Miko huffed slightly.

"I didn't know they liked each other. You don't think they're going to kiss right?" Raf asked with a weirded out look. Even if he was 12, seeing adults like his parents kissing seriously weirded him out.

"Actually I don't think bots can kiss." Miko said and wondered if they could.

"Guess we're about to find out." Emily whispered as Cliffjumper continued.

"Now I know that with Tailgate's return, things are a bit… complicated. But I understand now that it wasn't because you made it complicated. I was the one making things complicated. I insisted too much on us being together and you telling Tailgate about all of this. Now I realize, I'm such an idiot. I get it now why in a human movie it's always the guy who says he's an idiot." Cliffjumper said as Jack felt a little insulted at that and made a mental note with the other three to make sure Cliffjumper doesn't watch too many human movies.

"That's insulting." Jack said with a huff.

"It is, because it's true." Miko said as Jack gave her a look.

"Okay, first of all, you have to stop watching human movies because what you're doing right now it's not working. And also you're right, you did make things complicated but I did too. And I'm sorry for that. I know I should've told him about us before he left. But with all what happened,… I guess I backed out…" Arcee confessed as Cliffjumper put a servo on her shoulder to try and comfort her.

"You did the right thing. We both want this more than anything. But we can't rush it. Well at least I think we want this. Do you... still want this?" Cliffjumper said before asking while looking at her hopefully.

"I do but… for now… we have to stay focused on what's happening now." Arcee said and shrugged his servo off while not meeting his optics.

"You're right. Guess we will have to wait a bit longer." Cliffjumper said as he hid the small sadness in his optics.

"Yes…" Arcee said sadly.

"Okay then. I'll be seeing you around." Cliffjumper said as he smiled a little and started to walk to the door while Arcee didn't say anything. And when she looks at him, she feels like saying something but she hesitates.

"That's it? Come on. Give us some more." Miko said in disbelief.

"Are you being serious? Don't you see how much they have to wait to be together?" Jack whispered to her as they were feeling sorry for the two Autobots.

"I feel bad for them. What makes it even sadder is that none of us knew about this." Raf admitted as he felt like crying right now.

"Yeah..." Emily agreed with him with a sad look.

"Wait a minute. You knew about this didn't you?" Miko turned to Emily when she realized that their friend seemed to have known this.

"I, well,…" Emily whispered with a sheepish smile.

"You knew? You knew about them and you didn't even tell one of us?" Miko whispered as Emily raised her hands in surrender.

"I thought it was obvious that they had something going on." Emily defended herself.

"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the fact that you knew there was this drama between them and we missed all of it because you didn't tell us. Some friend you are." Miko pouted while puffing her cheeks a little.

"Well she did the right thing, Miko. I get that you're on board for this relationship. But try to be a bit more understanding." Jack said as he agreed with Emily.

"Hey, I get that things are tense between them two. But that is what makes it more interesting." Miko said as Jack raised an eyebrow.

"And just how the two having problems makes it more interesting?" He asked curiously.

"Dude. Have you ever watched a love movie? It's a classic situation. The two lovers are having trouble until something happens that makes them go back together. And then, boom. The final happy kiss." Miko said with a grin as Jack was confused with Raf.

"And how is this going to happen if they're not together yet? Ever thought of that?" Jack question her and Miko went silent. She hadn't thought of that.

"I… uh… whoops. I didn't think of that one." Miko said sheepishly before Arcee's voice was heard.

"Cliff, wait."

"Huh?" The four turned back to the scene in front of them as Cliffjumper stopped.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?" He asked while turning to her.

"Yes, I… I can't do this." Arcee said as she wanted to beat herself for not getting to tell it yet.

"I see." Cliffjumper muttered.

"It's not what you think. I can't keep waiting. I can't do it… not anymore. I waited far too long for this… I didn't want to go through this now because…" Arcee started but trailed off as he looked at her curiously.

"Because what?" He asked curiously as Arcee took a deep breath.

"Because I was afraid that if we got together and something bad happened to you again…" Arcee said but Cliffjumper quickly reassured her by putting his servos on her shoulders.

"Hey, hey, hey. You don't have to feel that way. What happened back then wasn't your fault. It was mine. I shouldn't have taken those Decepticons on my own without backup. Next time, I promise I'll-" Cliffjumper started only to get cut off by Arcee who looked at him with disbelief and pain in her optics.

"Next time? Next time? Promises? Do you hear what you say?" Arcee questioned him as Cliffjumper tried to calm her down.

"Arcee, I get that you're angry. But please listen-" Cliffjumper pleaded only to get cut off again.

"No, you listen. I get that you're sorry I get that… but you can't come to me and promise me that nothing bad will happen to you again. Because we both know it's not true… In this war, there's no guarantee of survival. You of all people should know that…" Arcee said as she hugged herself while trying to stop her tears.

"I know, I know I didn't mean that…" Cliffjumper said but Arcee shook her helm.

"Nevermind what you meant… The fact is that you don't get it…" Arcee told him sadly.

"No, you're wrong because I get it…" Cliffjumper said as Arcee turned to him.

"Do you…? Did you ever consider how I felt when you died? How was your pride the reason you got killed? How I didn't make it in time to help you? Did you?" Arcee asked as her voice cracked a little.

Cliffjumper tried to speak but he was speechless as he saw the pain and hurt that Arcee went through just by looking through her optics.

"That's what I thought… and that's why you can't make promises you won't fulfill…" Arcee said as she clenched her fists.

"Arcee,... what I was trying to say is that… I can't promise that I'll come back. I can't even promise anything to you. Only that I care a lot about you. You have no idea how I felt when the cons got me. I was so afraid. Not because I might die… but because I wouldn't see you again. That thought was more hurtful than my wounds. Even more hurtful than Starscream hand piercing my heart… But compared to what you just told me… all these pains I've been through almost mean nothing… to what you've been through because of me. I now understand that… hurting you, the one I care the most… is the worst pain ever…" Cliffjumper told her as Arcee's optics widened as Cliffjumper turned his helm away.

From their hiding spot, the kids were crushed by what they were seeing as it was just too heartbreaking to see.

"I don't know if I'm gonna be able to keep watching this…" Emily said as she tried to stop some small tears from forming.

"Yeah… maybe it wasn't a good idea…" Miko agreed as she sniffed a little.

"Maybe we should leave." Raf suggested but Jack shook his head.

"No." Jack said as Emily looked at him.

"I thought you didn't agree with all of this." She reminded him as Jack looked at her then at the two bots that he viewed as both parents.

"I did… but… part of me feels like I need to see this……so I can be there in case Arcee or Cliffjumper need help." Jack said as Raf agreed.

"You're right. They're always there for us. It's time we help them a bit." Raf said. The bots have always been there for them, it's time that they did the same.

"Well just as long as you agree with this. I'm cool with helping them. But from what I see, CliffCee is broken for good…" Miko said but felt bummed that her ship was now over.

"You're right. It did hurt… yet… I wasn't angry at you…" Arcee admitted with a sad smile.

From their hiding spot, the kids' interest in the two bots was coming back as they all perked up at this.

"Or maybe not." Emily said as she was filled with new hope that the two would finally get together.

"You weren't…?" Cliffjumper asked as he looked at her hopefully and curiously.

"Crazy right? I don't know why… I felt sad… yet the only person I was angry at… was me… because I had failed again… It's funny every time you start to get on my nerves, I would get angry at you but… in the end. I couldn't hold a grudge at you… not even a tiny bit of hate." Arcee said as she smiled softly as Cliffjumper smiled back.

"Guess I'm too charming to be hated." Cliffjumper said with his charming smile.

From their hiding spot, the kids heard what Cliff just said and couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. Miko started facepalming herself because she was wishing that she had never seen what just happened.

"Oh brother… Right now I wish I didn't see that." Miko said as she facepalmed.

"And on top of that he added the charming part. Which makes it worse." Jack said as he let out a small quiet laugh.

"Or maybe I'm doomed to tolerate you as usual." Arcee said with her smirk returning as she was cheering up.

"Well, it's a mutual feeling." Cliffjumper said.

"Don't push your luck." Arcee said as she gave him a small playful smirk.

"Okay, I'm just saying I'm not the only troublesome one here in this relationship." Cliffjumper said only for Arcee's optics to widen at that.

"Wait what?" Arcee asked in confusion.

From their hiding spot, the kids got hit by some unforeseen force after what Cliffjumper just said.

"Oh no, he didn't." Miko said as she felt her left eye twitch.

"What is it?" Jack asked warily.

"Is something wrong?" Raf asked curiously.

"You bet something's wrong. Cliff just said the R word 'relationship'." Miko said as Jack was confused. What's wrong with that?

"Yeah so?" He asked curiously.

"So?" Both Miko and Emily asked him in disbelief.

"Dude, are you sleeping or something? When someone says the R word it means big trouble." Miko said as she explained.

"By big trouble, she means something catastrophic." Emily agreed with Miko with that.

"I must be dreaming. Did you just agree with Miko and her craziness? That's the craziest thing ever." Jack said as he blinked in confusion.

"Watch it, buster." Miko said as she gave him a warning look.

"No offense, Miko, but I think you're over exaggerating. All just because Cliffjumper said the word relationship. So what? It's just a word normal people use. Saying that this word doesn't mean trouble. It's like saying that every time I use it, I'll end up in trouble. It's nonsense." Jack told her as Miko rolled her eyes.

"You boys don't get it do you. When a guy says the word relationship for the first time in front of the girl he likes, it's like saying I love you for the first time. It comes like a bomb. A bomb of mass destruction. Imagine the sound of the bomb falling down." Miko explained and made a gesture of a bomb falling down and made an explosion noise to get her explanation through as Jack looked at Emily.

"That's bad?" He asked nervously as Emily nodded.

"I'm afraid so." Emily admitted as they continued to watch the two.

"Hold on. Did you say relationship?" Arcee asked in surprise and confusion.

"Yeah, why?" Cliffjumper asked in confusion. Was it something that he said?

"Well, you never said that word. It's the first time you ever used it." Arcee said almost shyly as she averted her gaze.

"Oh, you're right. I'm sorry. I just got caught up in the moment. Not that I regret saying it because I don't. Good thing I didn't say I love you." Cliffjumper said as he rubbed the back of his helm only to stop and felt his optics widened and started to blush once he realized what he just said.

"What?" Arcee asked in astonishment and surprise as she looked at him with her optics wide and a blush on her face-plate. Did Cliffjumper say what she thought he just said?

From the hiding spot, both Emily and Miko heard Cliff say the L word and felt that this wasn't gonna be pretty as they both looked at each other. Jack and Raf both had their eyes wide in shock at this.

"Oh no, he didn't." Miko said in shock as Emily facepalmed.

"Yes, he did." She said as Jack glanced at them.

"He did what?" Jack asked in confusion.

"He dropped the nuclear bomb." Miko said but that confused Jack more.

"The what?" He asked in confusion.

"He said the L word, man." Miko deadpan with a look as Raf pieced it together.

"The L world? Oh you mean…" Raf said after finally putting the pieces together.

"Yeah that one." Emily nodded to his thoughts.

"Oh dear." Jack suddenly felt nervous about that.

"Right on, bro." Miko said while patting his back as they continued to watch.

"Did you just say you loved me…?" Arcee asked in surprise and almost shyness as a blush made its appearance.

"I did? Wait a minute… I DID! Oh for Primus' sake… I didn't mean to say it, no wait. I did want to say it but not like that. What I'm saying is that I didn't mean for it to come out right after an argument. I'm such a screw up." Cliffjumper rambled as he realized he just said it by accident and he covered his face with his servos.

"You are." Arcee said slowly as her optics were still wide from the confession. Did Cliffjumper really mean it?

From their hiding spot, the kids were getting ready and nervous to see what Arcee was going to say about the confession Cliffjumper made.

"Get to cover, guys. Things are about to blow." Miko said as Raf looked at her in confusion.

"Uh, we're already covered, Miko." Raf said.

"Don't ruin the moment, Raf." Miko told him as Cliffjumper was internally panicking.

"What should I do? What should I do? Okay. Primus, give me strength. Here we go." Cliffjumper said before taking Arcee's servos in his as they both look at each other.

"Arcee, what I'm about to tell is gonna be a real shocker. You already heard it by accident but this time I'm gonna say it like I mean it. Arcee,… I love you. It's something I never told you because I knew that if I did you would punch me in the face… or worse but I don't care because I can't keep that kind of stuff inside for too long and you are worth all the hits in the world. You and I have known each other for a long time… and with all the stuff you just said to me, I finally realize something that I should've seen ever since I first saw you… and that is that you're an amazing person and I want you to know how much I care about you. To me, you're more than a warrior, you're my best friend and more importantly I want to be with someone as special as you are. Someone that could make you happy… and that won't make you go crazy." Cliffjumper confessed and Arcee's spark warmed at that. He really does love her that deeply.

"Cliff,... you should know that you are special. If anything, you're the special guy who I always wanted to be with. True, you drive me crazy but it's just like you said you're way too charming to be hated which is a good thing because I would've ripped your spark out a while ago." Arcee told him softly with a loving smile which he returned.

From their hiding spot, the kids were a bit shocked by what Arcee just said as Miko and Emily were both trying not to squeal to blow their cover.

"Ouch. Cliff sure is lucky." Miko said with a quiet squeal of delight of the two finally confessing their feelings

"Got that right. I'm surprised that Arcee was able to not hit him right where it hurts." Emily said with a small and relieved laugh.

"That's love for ya." Miko said with a dreamy sigh.

"You weren't exactly going to rip out my spark right?" Cliffjumper asked since he wanted to be sure she was just kidding.

"Not really. That would've been only in case you really made me angry but then again, you always do so. Let's just say I'm used to it." Arcee said with a small smirk.

"I see. Maybe I could try to be better." Cliffjumper said with a suggestive grin.

"Don't you even think about changing who you are. Believe me when I tell you this, you're great just the way you are." Arcee told him as he chuckled.

"Wow, that's the kindest thing you ever said to me. I think I'm going to cry." Cliffjumper said teasingly.

"Settle down, you crybaby." Arcee teased him as Cliffjumper smirked.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not ticklish like you here." Cliffjumper said as Arcee gave him a playful look.

"Oh, so you were eavesdropping on us." Arcee said as Cliffjumper grinned

"Sure was. And now I know your weakness." He said before grabbing her and started tickling Arcee as she burst out laughing instantly.

"HAHAHA! NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! STAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA HI-HI-HI-HI-HIT! HAHAHAH! DO-HO-HO-HON'T DO THI-HI-HI-HI-HIS!" Arcee laughed loudly as Cliffjumper continued to tickle her.

"Good luck trying to get out of this one." Cliffjumper said as he finally let go with a grin.

"That's it! Now you're gonna get it, mister!" Arcee exclaimed with a playful look.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Cliffjumper exclaimed back playfully and ran out of the room.

"Get back here!" Arcee exclaimed as she ran out after him as their laughs echoed through the silo.

The kids who saw it all felt happy for Cliffjumper that finally confessed his feelings to Arcee as Emily and Miko squealed happily.

"Wow… I can't believe what I saw." Raf said in awe and joy.

"I can't believe it either. This is… a huge change." Jack said as he was feeling a little breathless.

"Whoa, seems to me like someone feels a bit down about all of this." Miko teased as Jack looked at her.

"Who, me?" He asked in confusion.

"Someone here is getting a bit jealous." Miko continued to teased as Emily reassured him.

"Don't worry, Jack. Arcee won't forget about you. You're important to her too, you know. Of course you two might spend less time together because of her relationship with Cliffjumper but that doesn't mean she'll forget about you." Emily reassured him as Jack just shook his head with a smile as he looked in the direction his guardian and her sparkmate ran off to.

"I'm not worried about that. And I'm also not jealous." Jack told them both.

"Oh really?" Miko curiously raised an eyebrow.

"As a matter of fact, I'm happy for her. For both of them. But mostly for Arcee. With all the things she's been through. It's about time she started to move on and try to be happy. I just hope that one day I get to confess something like that. It won't come out as an accident." Jack said as Miko grinned.

"If it happens, I'll be sure to bring a bag of popcorn so that I can enjoy it." Miko said as Jack gave a deadpan look.

"Are you serious?" He asked her but Miko just waved it off.

"I'm kidding, dude. Loosen up. Seeing your motorcycle starting to have some fun has made you a little cranky." Miko said with a snicker.

"I'm not cranky." Jack protested.

"Yeah right." Miko said while rolling her eyes.

"I'm glad they got together. Although I must ask. How long do you guys think this relationship is going to last?" Emily wondered curiously.

"I don't know." Raf said with a shrug.

"Considering how Cliffjumper can often be immature and stupid, I'd say… three months tops?" Jack guessed.

"Hey, come on. That's unfair. I'd say 6 months. That's how long it will take before we find out Arcee had killed him." Emily said with a pout.

"That sounds… gory." Rad said with a cringe.

"Trust me. You don't know half of it." Jack said with a shudder.

"Whatever you say, man. I give them two years, three tops." Miko said with a smile.

"Honestly, guys I don't think we should try to determine how long they'll be together. It's not right. We should all wish the best for them." Rad told them and the three saw the point.

"You're right, Raf. And I do hope they get lots of happiness. And some sparklings. That would be cute." Emily said before squealing at the thought of sparklings running around the base.

"Me too. Just as long as I don't have to babysit. And I hope they don't name one Junior." Miko said as she was bouncing in excitement at the thought of sparklings.

"I doubt they'll name one of their Sparklings Junior." Emily told her.

"If you say so. Oh and one more thing. There's no way I'm changing diapers. Do bots uh…" Miko suddenly stopped and shuddered at the thought she had.

"Do bots do what?" Emily asked her.

"You know." Miko emphasized and they got the idea.

"Oh, that. I'd say that this is one of the many things we must never find out about." Emily said with a shudder.

"Agreed." Jack said with a shudder.

"Bet you anything that one of them will look like Arcee." Miko said with a grin.

"That would be cute." Raf agreed as he was curious what baby Cybertronian looks like.

"Yeah, well, if there's one thing we learned today, is that no matter what happens. In the end, love always wins. And for better or worse things, everything will be okay. Just as long as you're honest with the one you love." Emily said with a content smile.

"It's funny." Miko said as Emily looked at her.

"What's funny?" She asked in confusion.

"Well, what you just said reminds me of… a friend of mine who's in love with someone. They have a lot of differences yet they look like good friends. And this friend of mine likes the guy, like a lot. You might even say she goes nuts sometimes. And I think that she should try to tell the guy she likes what she thinks. He may not feel the same but she won't know unless she tries that honesty thing." Miko said before giving Emily the look with a grin.

Emily starts blushing when Miko looks at her. That's when she realized that her so-called friend was her and that she was talking about her having a crush on Optimus.

"Maybe someday. If a friend of mine agrees on telling the cute redhead guy she likes him so much that she's head over heels for him." Emily countered back with a grin.

Miko started to blush and quickly puts her hand on Emily's mouth to make her shut up.

"I think that's enough for today." Miko said with a nervous laugh before taking her hand off Emily's mouth.

"I agree." She nodded.

"Hey, Emily, can I ask you something?" Raf asked curiously as she looked at the 12 year old.

"Sure thing." She nodded.

"What was that strange noise we heard earlier? It sounded like someone was laughing." Raf said and Jack remembered it as well.

"Now that you mentioned. When Arcee started to laugh, the sound she made was similar to the one from before." Jack said as she saw how Arcee was laughing.

"Yeah but even weirder she started to laugh when… when CliffJumper started to tickle her." Miko said and her eyes widened at this new information.

"Wait, so this means that the bots are ticklish?" Raf asked curiously yet excitedly. He would totally try it out with Bee when gets the chance.

"I don't know. Ask Emily." Miko said as Emily raised her hands and feigned that she didn't know what they were talking about.

"Don't ask me. I got nothing to do with it." She said but Miko wasn't falling for it.

"Hey don't try to fool me, Ems. It won't work." Miko said with her arms crossed.

"Okay, fine. You really wanna know what that noise was?" Emily asked but decided to see if Miko would really wanna know.

"Yes." Miko nodded eagerly.

"You really wanna know?" She raised an eyebrow as Miko was growing annoyed.

"Yes." Miko said as Emily look to Jack and Raf.

"What about you guys? Do you really wanna know?" Emily asked them as they both nodded.

"We do." Jack said.

"We're curious. Come on, tell us." Raf said curiously.

"You're really sure that you wanna know?" Emily asked again with a small grin.

"Yes, I already told you yes." Miko said while tapping her foot.

"You sure? I'm warning you." Emily said with her grin growing.

"Yes." Miko said as she was losing her patience.

"I'm warning you. You can't take it back." Emily said and Miko just exploded.

"JUST TELL ME WHAT IT IS!!!" Miko exclaimed as Jack and Raf cringed.

"Oh man… I never thought I would see this. Miko loses her cool. That's something you don't see often." Jack said as he rubbed his ear with his pinkie finger.

"Yeah and she had a loud voice." Raf said.

"No kidding, my ears are ringing." Jack said with a laugh.

"Okay, guess I should just tell you." Emily said as Miko huffed.

"You got that right. So go ahead and spill it out." Miko said.

"Okay, well, it's not something I can tell. But I can show it to you." Emily said as she started to grin playfully.

"Okay then, what is it?" Miko asked as she was curious why Emily is grinning.

"This." The blonde simply said before starting to tickle Miko.

"Hey what are you- HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! NO, NO, STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP! STOP IT!" Miko squealed and burst into giggles.

"I told you. No take backs." Emily said with a smirk as she continue to tickle the asian girl.

"STOP IT! STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! I can't take it anymore! Okay that's it!" Miko exclaimed before she successfully gets out from Emily's tickling grip and starts giving her a taste of her own medicine.

"Hey, NO! HAHAHA! NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT!" Emily squealed in laughter.

"Oh no, you asked for it! So deal with it!" Miko said with a grin.

"Hey, back off from her!" Jack exclaimed playfully.

"Yeah, leave her alone!" Raf joined in with a grin.

Both Jack and Raf help Emily by giving Miko a double tickle

"HAHAHA! NO-HO-HO-HO-HO FA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAIR!! IT'S TWO AGAINST ONE!" Miko shriek in laughter.

"You mean three against one! Don't forget me!" Emily exclaimed and started to tickle Miko again.

"HAHAHA! Okay! That's it! You know what this means! TICKLE WAR!!!" Miko shouted and quickly got away from their grip and started running away.

"Hey, get back here!" Jack said as he ran after her.

"Let's get her!" Raf exclaimed excitedly.

"Not before I get you!" Emily said before grabbing Raf and tickling him.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Hey I'm on your side!" Raf squealed in laughter.

"It's the tickle war. Everything is fair." Emily said with a grin

"Well, good luck catching me!" Raf with a grin and quickly got away.

"Come back here!" Emily exclaimed as the kids start running around while laughing as their tickle war ensues.

Meanwhile in the Nemesis, Airachnid was getting medical attention while being scold by Starscream but she just ignore him.

"This is outrageous. Totally outrageous. Not only you let the Autobots leave with their comrade. But you also thought you could do what our dear lord never could." Starscream scolded her sternly as she just rolled her optics.

"Well isn't this, ironic? You, giving me a lecture? Guess you took some experience considering the number of times Megatron often tried to teach you a lesson." Airachnid taunted as Knock Out and Breakdown snickered quietly.

"Hahaha." Knock Out snickered.

"She got you." Breakdown said as Starscream gave them a stern look.

"Silence, you two. Can't you see I'm trying to teach this wretch to respect authority?" He told them as Airachnid continue to push his buttons.

"You really think I would listen to someone like you, Starscream? You're more foolish than I thought." Airachnid said and Starscream gave her a death glare.

"I HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOU!!!" Starscream yelled as Airachnid hissed dangerously.

"Time for you to die." Airachnid hissed but before the two could go at each other's throats, Megatron's voice was heard.

"STAND DOWN, YOU TWO!!!" Megatron roared as he came in accompanied by Soundwave, Dreadwing and Skyquake as he glared at the two.

"But, master, that insubordinate wretched-" Starscream started but stopped when Megatron looked at him with a stern glare.

"Silence. I suggest you keep your mouth shut before I start ripping your voice box with bare hands." Megatron threatened him and Starscream quickly backs down from that.

"All bark and no bite." Knock Out said as Breakdown looked at him with confusion

"Huh?" He asked in confusion.

"A human saying." The Aston Martin Decepticon said as Breakdown nodded.

"My liege, I-" Airachnid started but Megatron cut her off before she could even explain herself.

"You don't need to explain anything, Airachnid. You forget that we see everything." Megatron said as Soundwave starts showing through his visor pictures of Airachnid taking down the bots and on the verge of killing Optimus. Airachnid silently gave Soundwave a glare and vowed to take him out with his stupid minicon.

"So you think that just because I let Optimus Prime live for so long that I am weak?" Megatron questioned her with a sneer.

"No, Lord Megatron-" Airachnid answered but he cut her off again.

"Do not interrupt me. You should know that if I have let Prime live. It's because I deem him a worthy adversary. The only one capable of taking me down. And this is why I don't let anyone try to kill him. So I suggest that the next time you think you can do my bidding. Remember what I'm about to tell you. No one kills Optimus Prime except me and only me. I do hope you don't forget this, Airachnid. It would be a shame for you to die." Megatron said while he let out a low warning growl to be heard in his sentence.

"Yes, lord Megatron. I do hope you forgive me for what I did. It won't happen again." Airachnid said while keeping her head down.

"Lord Megatron, if… I may. I want to remind you that Airachnid failed her mission to bring back the Autobot. And I believe that a fitting punishment is in order." Starscream said but this only made Dreadwing to take out his gatling gun and started to shoot at Starscream.

"AHHHHH!!!" Starscream yells in shock and surprise and quickly ducks but Dreadwing misses his shots on purpose and aims for the wall instead.

"You should learn to hold your tongue, Starscream. Only Lord Megatron can give punishment, you of all people should know that." Dreadwing reminded him as Starscream got back up slowly.

"You're actually wrong, Starscream." Megatron suddenly said and everyone looked at him as if he was crazy.

"I am?" Starscream asked in confusion.

"He is?" Knock Out said with confusion.

"Uh, I'm confused." Breakdown said as he blinked.

"But, my liege. Tailgate is with the Autobots." Starscream reasoned.

"Yes, he is. And that's why the mission was a total success." Megatron said as he wasn't the least bit worried.

"My Lord, I do not comprehend how you think that the fact that this Autobot has returned to his comrades is a success." Dreadwing said as he was confused with everyone.

"It's quite simple, Dreadwing. You see, when Tailgate was caught, we wanted to extract the information he had. But since he didn't remember. We couldn't get anything out of him. But now he holds a very precious piece of information. One that would help us destroy the Autobots." Megatron explained as Knock Out decided to ask what it was.

"And may I ask what that information is?" Knock Out asked curiously as Megatron smirked.

"A very useful one." He said.

Back in Oregon, Tailgate went out for a walk in the forest before he saw a smoke in the sky and decided to go check it. He thought that it was the Decepticons looking for him.

"You see without realizing it. The Autobot have made a mistake by bringing their lost friend with them. And by doing so they created their own downfall." Megatron said.

"My liege. You say that Tailgate has precious information that could be useful to take down the Autobots. But how are we gonna get this information? With the Autobots protecting him, there's no way we can capture Tailgate." Starscream said as Megatron just chuckled.

"Who says he's with the Autobots?" Megatron laughed evilly.

Tailgate starts getting closer to the source of the smoke.

"Knowing how the Autobots played a terrible part in the destruction of Cybertron and without memory of his past, Tailgate couldn't stay with the Autobots. Rather than lose once more, he had chosen to stay out of the war in hopes of one day regaining his full memory. Even though now he can't remember anything. He knows where his comrades are. He knows the location of their base." Megatron explained as they instantly knew what that meant.

Tailgate finds the source of the fire, and it turns out that some humans were making a campfire. Since he couldn't not let them see him, Tailgate had to hide and that's when he saw something that could help him not to attract the attention. He saw that the humans had a vehicle, Tailgate scanned it and started to develop a new vehicle form. He then got away. And when he found a quiet place, he transformed and started testing his new vehicle form happily.

"He may not realize it yet but by keeping his distance from his comrades. Tailgate made a mistake. He is out there all on his own. Without any protection. And sooner or later, we will find him." Megatron said as he planned on capturing Tailgate yet again to get the location of the base of his enemies.