Chapter 46-Revival

Debra exited the airship wearily, just wanting this day to be over with. She had worked hard coordinating Karaba forces along the mid and western states and it was starting to get to her. Her father and mother had managed to completely take over Washington and were now working with the Decepticons to secure the city. She didn't want to know what the soldiers were doing to the city's human population.

'Just one more thing to add to our long list of sins.' She thought.

"Ma'am?"

Debra turned to her companion, a golden skinned young man named Joshua. He was probably one of the best healers Karaba has ever employed.

"I'm fine, Joshua. Just tired." Debra said, giving him a smile. "Come on, let's get this job done so we can rest."

They entered the airship hangar of the base, which was bustling with activity. The facility was still being constructed, and was mostly used as a prison for the Minicons and their…guest. The thought made Debra feel sick.

The patrolling guards stood at attention as she walked past them. It was like she was a princess. Considering how Dreyas portrayed his family as a modern-day monarchy, it wasn't far from the truth.

"Welcome to the base, commander Debra." Adonis said. Looking handsome as always, he gave a salute as he greeted her. "We weren't expecting you here."

"I just wanted to see how the prisoner was holding up." Debra said. "That won't be a problem, will it?"

"No, no, not at all." Adonis said. "Shockwave just brought the boy in and we have him in the emergency room. Come with me."

Adonis led Debra and Joshua into the facility. There were several espers around, all wearing state of the art combat armor and wielding powerful assault rifles, courtesy of Utopia's stores of advanced armaments. Debra paid them no mind as she followed Adonis into the medical block. The stale smell of anesthetic and disinfectant filled her nose as she got closer to the guarded emergency room where the boy was being held.

"Here we are." Adonis swiped his ID card and entered the room with his two guests. When she saw the boy on the medical table, she almost gagged at the sight.

Darren Radcliffe looked like a corpse. His skin was clammy and pale, and she couldn't tell if he was breathing. His eyes were wide open, though blank and sightless. Debra saw dried blood matting his hair, pouring from open wounds at the top of his skull that were made with large needles. Looking down his body, she could see more blood coating his chest and limbs leaking through his torn clothing, and the sight of it made her sick.

"Oh my god." Debra breathed. "Is he…?"

"Still alive, but practically brain dead. They stuck a bunch of cords and stuff into his body. The fact that he's still alive is amazing." Adonis said, looking just as disturbed as Debra. Points for him. "Shockwave wants him healed as soon as possible."

"Why? Don't they have what they wanted?"

"Who can tell with that one-eyed psycho. God knows why they're doing this to the kid if it's not interrogation."

Joshua took a deep breath and walked over to the table. "Well…time to get to work."

"Can you heal him?" She asked.

"Yeah, I've studied enough about the human body to heal him to one hundred percent." He said moving to stand beside Darren's head and placed his fingers on the boy's temple. Before Debra's very eyes, Joshua's golden skin began shifting as if his skin was composed of liquid gold, connecting with Darren's injured body. "It's going to take some time though."

Debra honestly wondered if it wasn't merciful to just kill the boy now and spare him any more pain. But she just nodded and left the room, unable to look anymore.

XXXXXX

The stranded Autobots drove through the silent streets of Iacon in tight formation. They all surrounded Roadbuster, who was pulling a makeshift trailer with Ratchet and Optimus in it, and protected on all sides by the group's heavy hitters. Kup had Drift and Blurr go on ahead to scout the area for any threats in their path. So far they hadn't encountered any Insecticons, but everyone knew that could change real fast.

Springer, for once in his life, wished Blaster would speak up. He hated this tense silence. It made him think about things that stressed him out, like how Arcee and Bulkhead were doing on Terra.

"Springer?"

"Huh?" Springer noticed that Chromia had driven up next to him. "What is it?"

"You doing alright?"

"I'm about as fine as I can be in this situation." He replied. "Haven't suffered any glitches yet."

"I meant emotionally. I don't need to be Perceptor to know you're worried about Arcee and Bulkhead."

"Am I that transparent?" Springer sighed.

"No, but I figured it's something that'd be on your mind." Chromia said.

"How can I not be worried about them? Not to mention the rest of the team and the other Autobots across the galaxy. Megatron's got us by the bearings and he's turning Terra into his personal playground."

"You're not the only one hurting from this, Springer. Ratchet's busy with Optimus but I'm sure he's worried about Gina, as is Bumblebee. The same with Jazz." Chromia said. "I'm worried about our friends too. But right now, there's nothing we can do except stay alive on our end. Have some faith in them, Springer. They're not helpless. They'll be able to hold on until we find a way off Cybertron."

"…If we find a way." Springer muttered.

After a few more minutes of driving, Kup raised a hand and signaled the group to stop.

"Okay, we're having a short break, so use your time wisely and don't get too comfortable. I'm looking at you, Blaster."

"Hey!"

"Any sign of Drift or Blurr?" Prowl asked.

"No, won't be unless something's wrong." Kup replied. "We'll give 'em some time to scout around us and get movin' again."

"With some luck we'll make it to base without any trace of the Insecticons." Jazz said.

Kup gave him a look that Jazz deciphered immediately.

"Right, sorry. There's no such thing as luck." Jazz said, rolling his eyes behind his visor.

Elita-1 and Chromia stood off to the side watching the other mechs. It wasn't hard to see the Wreckers suspiciously eying the members of Team Prime, who were also in turn watching each other warily. Everyone moved as if they were expecting one of them to pull out a gun and start shooting.

"Do you feel it?" Elita-1 asked quietly. Chromia nodded.

"Yeah. The tension."

"Their trust is slipping. No one's said anything yet but it's only a matter of time before someone snaps." She said. "The sooner we get back to the Trion, the better."

"Ain't that the truth." Chromia grunted, crossing her arms.

Elita-1 glanced at Ironhide, who was watching Mirage like a hawk. "Keep an eye on Ironhide, Chromia. The way things are going, he might be the first to snap."

On the other side of the street, Sideswipe saw Sunstreaker heading for a secluded corner to be alone. Frowning, Sideswipe followed his brother.

"You know, we're not supposed to wander too far from the group." Sideswipe said, stopping Sunstreaker in his tracks. "You know, to avoid the carnivorous Insecticons chasing us."

"What part of I want to be alone is so hard to understand?" Sunstreaker growled.

"You're having those headaches again, aren't you?" Sideswipe said. "You really should see Ratchet about that."

"Leave me alone, Sideswipe."

"Sunny, what's going on with you?" Sideswipe asked. "You really should go see Ratchet—"

"I've had enough people rooting around under my hood." Sunstreaker hissed. Sideswipe stared at his brother sadly.

"Sunny please, talk to me."

"Talk? You?" Sunstreaker sneered. "That's fragging rich coming from you. You're always one to jump in going guns ablazing, always trying to see who's the better mech. Now you want to talk?"

"It's not like that anymore." Sideswipe said.

"No?"

"No. that's behind us now. And so are a lot of things."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You. I don't know what's going on with you, but this needs to stop. You've been acting weird ever since—"

"Don't say it!" Sunstreaker slammed Sideswipe into the wall with a look of pure rage on his face. "Don't you fragging say it!"

Sideswipe sighed and continued. "Look, what OZ did to you…I can't imagine what it was like. Taking you apart and boning your mind to their soldiers. None of us could ever imagine what you had to go through, but…it changed you." He said. "You went through unimaginable pain, and I get that, but the way you're treating your friends, treating the children—the way you treated Darren—wasn't right. He's the reason I'm still able to talk to you right now and—"

"No! You don't get to do this. This has nothing to do with any of this!" Sunstreaker shouted. "I told you that I never want to talk about it again. I told you! If you keep pushing it, Sideswipe, I will rip out your vocoder. I swear I'll do it!"

"Sunstreaker…"

"Don't you ever bring this up again!" He snarled in Sideswipe's face. "Ever!"

Sunstreaker pushed Sideswipe aside and marched away, leaving behind his twin.

Ironhide saw Sunstreaker angrily marching away from his brother and quickly ran over to him. "Sunstreaker? Hey, what is it?"

"Huh? I—It's nothing. I…" Sunstreaker could barely speak, trying to find the right words in his haphazard state of mind. "I just can't stand all of this slag right now."

"Slow down and talk to me, Sunny." Ironhide said, pulling him aside. "What happened?"

"It's Sideswipe. He was just pushing my buttons. Wouldn't leave me alone. He brought up some sensitive stuff I didn't want to hear."

"What stuff?"

"Nothing." Sunstreaker shrugged. "He just came over to tell me we're making things worse."

Ironhide frowned. "Who is?"

You and me. He thinks we're aggravating the situation. With Mirage—dividing the group—he thinks you're taking it too far."

Ironhide's face darkened and an expression that Sunstreaker had never seen before appeared on the old mech's face. "He thinks I'm taking it too far? He just told you that?!"

"Yeah. Yeah, he did." Sunstreaker said nervously.

"Too far?!" Ironhide gritted his teeth so hard sparks flew from his mouth. "I'm the one taking heat while that bastard is sitting free after selling us out! We're all in this mess because of him!"

"Ironhide?"

"Taking it to far," Ironhide spat hatefully. "I haven't taken it far enough!"

Ironhide pushed Sunstreaker aside and stomped his way back over to one of the patrol groups. "I-Ironhide, what are you doing?" Sunstreaker asked, not liking the murderous look in his eyes.

"Follow me." Ironhide growled. He was going to end this farce once and for all!

XXXXXX

Debra leaned against the wall waiting for Joshua to finishing healing the boy. Seeing a child, a human child, one of her own kind, looking like that stayed in her mind for a long time she was unable to shake it. What Shockwave had done to him was unholy. A boy who should be in middle school tortured and left for dead.

'Even if he makes a full recovery, they'll just put him back in again. And we put him there.' She lamented. Debra groaned and ran a hand down her face. 'God, I wish I drank alcohol.'

Debra felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and she pulled it out and answered it without thinking. "Yeah?"

"You sound like slag."

Debra perked up. "Thundercracker?"

"The one and only." Thundercracker said. "You sound surprised."

"I am surprised. I wasn't expecting you to actually call me." Debra said. "Did you need something?"

"…Just wanted to talk." He said after exactly three seconds of silence. "I'd chat with Knockout, but he's a fragging snitch so…ugh. I'm tired."

"Physically or mentally?" She asked without thinking.

"Mentally. Fighting's lost its flavor since we beat the Autobots. I'm a soldier, not some psychopath getting his kicks off slaughtering weaker creatures. It's like you kicking a kitten or a puppy. There's no point and no reason to do it." Thundercracker sighed. "This is why I avoid doing the final phase of the Infiltration Plan."

Debra didn't want to know what exactly that meant, though she had a good idea. "I'm feeling a bit tired of this too, Thundercracker. I mean, we've pretty much won, but all of this killing and torturing…it just seems unnecessary."

"A lot of things are starting to grow old. And I think I'm not the only one getting tired of things around here."

What do you mean?"

"It's nothing you want to get involved in." He said cryptically. "Trust me."

"Okay." Debra wasn't going to pry. "Thanks for calling. I needed a friend to talk to."

"A friend?"

"Yea, you're my friend, Thundercracker." Debra smiled. She heard the door open and Joshua walked out of the emergency room. "I've got to go. I'll talk to you later when I get the chance. Bye!"

She hung up and turned to Joshua, who looked tired. "How is he?"

"Fully recovered. Took me a bit longer than I thought, but I managed to heal him completely." Joshua yawned. "I'm gonna get some coffee. You want some?"

"I'd ask for tea, but I doubt anyone on this base even knows what that is." Debra sighed. "So yeah, I'll go for it."

Any talk of drinks was cut short when they heard a loud but faint explosion come from somewhere in the base. Afterwards they heard the sounds of the guards shouting and weapons firing.

"What was that?!" Debra exclaimed.

XXXXXX

"Where the hell is my brother?" Annie roared. She swung Mjolnir and destroyed the three talos that were charging at her. Beside her, Grindor, who was piloting the Enyo, fired a volley of missiles that blew apart the two mobile tanks that were rolling out of their hangars.

It was surprisingly easy to sneak into the base with the airship. But then again that was always going to be the easy part. The base had no energon detectors and relied on its remote location to spot incoming threats to make up for its lack of sufficient firepower. Karaba posted enough troops and mechanized units to deter any larger military force, but not when their enemies sneak behind enemy lines and raise hell in their own house.

Annie slammed Mjolnir into the ground and released a shockwave that blasted several soldiers off their feet and sent them flying.

"Annie, I already got a read on your brother and the Minicons!" Barnaby said. "Kotetsu, go find the Minicons. Let me know if anything goes wrong."

"Got it. Let's go people!" Annie said and ran toward the hall on the far left.

"Be careful, Annie!" Bulkhead said.

Annie, Brittany, Nathan and Barnaby fought their way deeper into the base. Following Darren's weak brainwaves, they ran through several halls, with Annie in the lead acting as a battering ram to bulldoze their way through any opposition in their way. No one talked Annie down from brutally wounding or killing the Karaba soldiers. They knew she wouldn't listen.

Eventually they reached the medical block, slipping inside with ease and walking passed several rooms to the emergency area. There they came upon one last obstacle—Debra.

"Move it." Annie growled, taking a step towards the woman. Nathan stopped her.

"Whoa there, honey."

"Why?" She growled.

"That's Debra, one of Dreyas's daughters." He said, glaring at the woman who stood fearlessly before them. "She has the same powers as the big guy and—"

"I don't care if she's the fucking Pope!" Annie raised Mjolnir at Debra. "Move or I'm bashing your skull in!"

"You can have him." Debra said.

Annie blinked and paused in her advance on Debra. "What?"

"You came for the boy, right? He's yours." Debra confirmed.

"There's no way you're just handing him over to us." Brittany said suspiciously, her claws extended.

"No, she's telling the truth." Barnaby scanned Debra's thoughts. Though she had telepathy defenses just like the rest of her family, he could read enough of her surface thoughts to gauge her intentions. "Annie, go with Brittany and get Darren. We'll watch your backs."

Annie wasted no time in running past Debra and Joshua into the room. She saw Darren lying asleep on the table and ran over to him.

"Darren!" Annie cried, tears breaking free as relief settled over her. She held his hand and looked him over, seeing no visible wounds on him. "Oh Darren what did they do to you?"

Brittany sniffed the air and said, "I don't smell any anesthetic. He's probably just too weak and sleeping. He might wake up soon."

Annie kissed her twin on the brow and lifted him up. "Come on, bro. we're getting you out of here."

Brittany lifted Darren into her arms and brought him outside. "Okay, we're good to go."

"Kotetsu says he's found the Minicons and they're on their way back to the hangar." Barnaby said.

"Then let's go." Annie said, wiping her face clean. "I'm not waiting for the Cons to sniff us out."

XXXXXX

In the hangar, Bulkhead, Armorhide and Grindor continued to fight off the Karaba forces. Most of the infantry had backed off to let their mecha and vehicles handle the heavy lifting, coming at them with kinetic tank shells, HEAT rounds, and armor piercing bullets.

"These guys are so tough!" Armorhide said, firing his shoulder cannon and laser rifle simultaneously.

"Be more worried about the reinforcements, kid. Once word gets out that we're here, the Cons will be on this place in a heartbeat." Bulkhead fired his blaster at a tank that narrowly missed his heat with a shell.

"Bulkhead, we've found the Minicons and Darren!" Annie said through the radio. "Clear a path for us!"

"Got it!" Bulkhead fired his wrecking back into the cockpit of a gray armored talos and swung it around, dragging the poor mecha along the ground and using it as a battering ram to bash away the other talos trying to approach them.

Armorhide looked over to the other hall and saw the Neo Knights emerging into the hangar with some new companions—the Minicons!

"Yo!" Jolt hollered, firing his assault rifle at the Karaba soldiers in heir path. "Not so tough now that we can fight back, huh? Whoa!" Rollbar pulled him down to avoid a fire blast that shot right over his head.

"Stop screwing around and get on the airship!" Rollbar yelled.

Undertone leapt over their heads and began attacking the soldiers with Emulator following close behind him. The Air Defense Team laid down aerial fire as they flew over the hangar, attacking the talos from behind.

"Don't let up, friends! Not until everyone's on the airship!" Runway said.

Sonar opened fire on a few soldiers lingering near the hangar doors and drove them off. However he nearly fell out of the air when he looked outside.

"Oh scrap. Guys, we've got trouble!" Sonar called out.

"What's up?" Armorhide asked.

"It's the—"

A strong magnetic force pulsated throughout the hangar, causing every mechanical being, from talos to cybertronian, to slam into the floor. Bulkhead's arms shook as he tried to push himself up, but he couldn't fight against the immense force pressing down on him no matter how hard he tried. A pair of large metal feet came into his vision and he turned his head to look up.

"Revealing yourselves to rescue a handful of insignificant lifeforms." Shockwave said, his yellow eye staring down at the trapped Autobots at his feet. "Illogical."

"This day just keeps getting better and better." Dreyas growled as he hovered over the air in a magnetic field. His arms were outstretched as he commanded the magnetic energy around him to render everything made of metal immobile. "Two Autobots literally hand themselves over to me on a silver platter. Today's a good day for Karaba."

Feint, Shockwave's assistant, knelt down next to Bulkhead. "What do you want to do with them, boss?"

"This one shall be a valuable test subject for creating new forms of Insecticons." Shockwave said, looking at Armorhide. Then he pointed his cannon arm at Bulkhead. "As for the Wrecker…he's recyclable."

A lightning bolt slammed into the side of Shockwave's head, making him stumble to the side. Annie's team came rushing out into the hangar, throwing attacks at them.

"Take this, asshole!" Annie leapt up and threw Mjolnir at Dreyas. The hammer flew at the man at full speed, but Dreyas hardly looked concerned.

"An electricity covered hammer. Do you know who I am, girl?" He drawled.

Dreyas waved his hand and Mjolnir's path was completely diverted by a wave of magnetic energy that sent the hammer flying completely around him and right back at Annie. Her eyes grew wide as she realized what happened just as Mjolnir slammed into her chest full force, throwing her back several feet into the wall with a sickening fleshy crack.

"Annie!" Brittany screamed. Karina and Nathan ran to help her, but Dreyas wasn't going to let that happen.

"Why don't you just give up and kneel?" Dreyas waved his arm and sent the Neo Knights flying with a magnetic pulse. Brittany was thrown off her feet and lost her grip on Darren, who landed next to Barnaby.

Barnaby looked at Annie and saw that she was hurt pretty bad. Mjolnir had caved her chest in and she was struggling to breath, coughing up blood and wheezing. Dreyas took up several metal panels and sent them at the team, but Barnaby raised a TK shield to block them.

"Don't kill the boy! We still need him!" feint growled.

"You've had your use of him. I'm not bending backwards again to retrieve him like last time." Dreyas said. Channeling electromagnetic energy into a ball, he fired another blast at the Knights, slamming it against Barnaby's barrier.

'This is bad.' Barnaby thought. Dreyas still had the Autobots and Minicons trapped and Shockwave and Feint were moving in on them. Not to mention the Karaba security forces were going to regroup and surround them.

Barnaby couldn't handle all of them alone, and the Neo Knights couldn't handle someone as strong as Shockwave. They needed to relieve the pressure. An idea crossed Barnaby's mind as he glanced at Darren, who was still unconscious. This plan was dangerous and risky, but he had no other choice.

"Sorry kid." Barnaby said and telepathically reached into Darren's mind, entering that section of the boy's brain that released adrenaline. Then he forcefully woke Darren from his coma as gently as possible.

The end was exactly what Barnaby was hoping for, though a bit more explosive than what he was expecting.

XXXXXX

"Gina…Gina…"

Gina shot up in her bed when she heard a voice in her head. Sara, who was sitting next to her bed standing guard (despite her orders) looked at her curiously.

"Is something wrong, Gina?" Sara asked.

"I…I don't know. I thought I heard a voice in my head." Gina rubbed her head. "God, this whole mess is screwing with my mind."

"Gina…" The voice came again, but louder. "It's me…Sumeragi…"

"Sumeragi?!" Gina exclaimed. "How are you talking to me?"

"Trade secret, but it's…difficult to maintain the connection." Sumeragi said. "I don't have long. Annie has found Darren."

"What?!"

"I'm emailing the coordinates now. Please, you must hurry!"

"Sara, call Sureshock and Barnett!" Gina grabbed her laptop and ran out of the room. Her best friends were in danger and she was going to help them no matter what!

XXXXXX

Darren's bloodshot eyes shot open and his body released a powerful telekinetic wave as he jumped to his feet. Howling with rage, Darren waved his hand and telekinetically shattered Feint's knees at the joints, making her fall over. Shockwave fired his cannon, but Darren diverted the beam at Dreyas, who managed to create a magnetic bubble but was still blasted back by the force of the blast. Slamming into the adjacent wall, he lost his concentration, breaking his hold over the cybertronians.

Bulkhead and Armorhide jumped to their feet and rushed Shockwave, crashing into him and sending him to the ground. Darren reached out and took hold of everything around him, from jeeps to talos parts, and threw them at Dreyas. The Karaba leader easily threw all of them aside, but a force blast to the chest sent him crashing back into the hangar doors. Gritting his teeth, Dreyas opened a hole behind him and slipped outside.

Darren jumped up and, surrounding his body in a white telekinetic aura, flew after Dreyas, tearing apart the hangar doors and throwing them at him. Dreyas dodged one and kicked another away, but Darren flew into his chest and grappled him.

"Get off me!" Dreyas snarled and threw Darren into the canyon wall. The esper boy tumbled down the slope a bit before pushing off the rock wall and sending several large boulders flying at Dreyas.

From the ground, the Neo Knights watched their battle.

"He can fly?" Nathan gaped.

"Barnaby," Annie said in a weak voice. Brittany was carrying her over as she was still healing her shattered bones and organs. Her recovery was painfully slow and it hurt a great deal. "What did you do to him?"

"I have him an adrenaline rush before waking him up. He's running on all cylinders right now, but he won't last for long. Let's use this chance to get everyone onto the airship and take off."

"But Shockwave's ship is blocking our way. We won't be able to get far." Karina said.

"Leave that to me." Grindor moved the Enyo next to them. "I'll take that ship down and give Shockwave a black eye on top of it."

A few minutes later the Enyo was flying along the Enlightenment's underside, searching for a good entry point. Rollbar, who was tagging along to guide him through the ship, pointed out a good weak point in the ship's hull.

He used the Enyo's beam saber to cut a large hole into the ship's hull. He punched his way in and entered the ship into a dark hallway.

"What is it with Decepticons and dark corridors?" Grindor said. "How the hell can they see in here?"

"Grindor, every warship has energon fuel lines that lead to and from the engine room. That's near the rear of the ship." Rollbar said. "Take that out and we'll bring this ship down."

"Say no more!" Grindor pushed down on the foot pedal and the Enyo glided down the hallway toward its destination.

XXXXXX

Darren chased Dreyas far from his base, throwing large boulders at him at speeds rivaling a bullet. They flew across the rocky landscape, which was being torn apart by Darren to use as ammunition against his agile target.

As for Dreyas, he was finding himself on the defensive. This boy was destroying everything within eyesight to attack him and he barely had any time to do more than dodge or deflect. He knew a fair share of telekinetics, but none were as powerful as this boy was at his age. The thought enraged him.

'How can this boy make me run like this?' Dreyas thought. Smashing apart two large boulders thrown at him. 'I am Dreyas! The man who will lead this world to a new future!'

Dreyas spun around and shot several magnetic blasts at Darren. Darren dodged most of them, but the last one his him in the chest and sent him crashing into the ground. He tumbled painfully over the rocky ground, but Dreyas gave him no time to recover as he channeled magnetic energy into the earth and caused it to erupt underneath his feet.

Darren went falling over the cliff and down the slope. He slowed his fall with telekinesis, landing on the ground. He groaned but still got to his feet, taking to the air once more and tearing up several large boulders. He sent them at Dreyas, one by one, like missiles. Dreyas barely escaped getting crushed into a bloody smear in the terrain and went shooting at Darren at full speed.

Gritting his teeth, Darren met his charge with one of his own, preparing to assault the Karaba leader with the full force of his power. But as he got closer to Dreyas, Darren was suddenly attacked by a piercing agony in his brain that made him stagger in the air before falling into the mountainside.

Quick flashes of images and sounds assaulted his mind, filling his vision with stars. Faces, buildings, intense emotions, he felt it all. It was too much for the boy to handle and it left him immobile on the ground while his enemy slowly approached him.

XXXXXX

Thanks to Rollbar's guidance, Grindor found the Enlightenment's engine room. The dark room was illuminated by dim lighting and the energon fuel lines connected to the main reactor, channeling power to the rest of the ship.

"That took longer than it needed to be." Rollbar muttered.

"Sorry for wasting time trying to avoid the damn Insecticons." Grindor growled. "So what now? Where do I shoot?"

"The fuel lines are full of live energon." Rollbar pointe to the energon filled tubes along the walls and floor. "One shot will ignite it and cause a chain reaction—"

Grindor fired a beam into the fuel lines, blasting the pipes apart and igniting the energon inside, causing an explosion that quickly spread to the rest of the energon. He picked up Rollbar and flew out of the engine room just as everything was consumed in flames. The flames quickly spread to other parts of the ship and soon explosions were blossoming everywhere across the vessel.

"Slag, we didn't think this through!" Grindor yelled.

"That means we're doing something good!" Rollbar said.

Back in the hangar, Shockwave was fighting Bulkhead and Armorhide. Despite having only one hand, the mad scientist kept easily held his own, tanking whatever attacks hit him and dealing enough damage to the two Minicon-empowered Autobots.

"You should have stayed in hiding, Autobots." Shockwave said, dodging Bulkhead's wrecking ball and punching him across the jaw. "You've lost this planet and this war. To fight any longer will only prolong your suffering."

"Shut up!" Armorhide growled and swung his axe at Shockwave's head. Shockwave swiftly dodged his attacks and fired his cannon into Armorhide's shoulder. The mech stumbled back, allowing Shockwave to land a kick to his face.

Bulkhead charged at Shockwave and slammed his wrecking ball into his chest, but Shockwave grabbed his arm and pulled him in close.

"I should thank you, however. That boy has proved to be a golden goose as the humans call it." Shockwave said.

"What are you talking about?" Bulkhead growled. He wrenched his arm free and swung at Shockwave again. The scientist avoided his powerful blows as he spoke.

"An organic-cybertronian hybrid. Truly the humans of OZ were intelligent beyond belief. A shame that Thornment couldn't see the potential such a creation had. The boy proved to be a suitable experiment to bring you Autobots low." Shockwave revealed. "It took some effort, but I managed to create an effective hub using the boy's mind to bypass your security systems and deactivate your defenses. The task was so easy I was almost disappointed."

Bulkhead stared at Shockwave in horror. "You…you're lying!"

"I'm not. Thanks to your human friend, we have successfully left the Autobots across the galaxy vulnerable to the full might of the Decepticons' power. You will find no help, Autobot. You are alone."

"Like hell I am!" Bulkhead fired a laser blast at Shockwave's chest, knocking him back a few feet. Shockwave glanced at the scorch mark on his chest before shaking his head. "I've faced worse odds."

"I can honestly say you haven't. this isn't going to be one of those miraculous Wrecker survival stories. The Autobots are dying, and your team is isolated on this planet that we now rule. No one is coming to your rescue and no one will be left to mourn you." Shockwave replied and pointed his cannon at Bulkhead. "There is no place in the cosmos for you anymore."

As if the universe decided to showcase its sense of humor, as soon as he said those words, the Enlightenment was engulfed in a large ball of flames, exploding in a deafening boom that could be heard for miles, and the flaming wreckage slowly fell to the ground outside the base.

"WHAT?!" Shockwave exclaimed in a rare show of emotion.

"Whoa." Bulkhead gaped.

"How did that happen?" Armorhide asked.

He got is answer in form the Enyo descending upon Shockwave firing a barrage of missiles. The Decepticon jumped back and fired his cannon, narrowly missing the Enyo. Grindor glided across the ground and fired his beam rifle into Shockwave's left leg, blasting it apart.

Shockwave grunted in pain and fell backwards, right into the path of Bulkhead's incoming wrecking ball. The blow was strong enough to shatter his optic lens and knock him out cold on the spot.

"And stay down you bastard." Bulkhead sneered and looked outside at the burning wreckage of Shockwave's ship. "Grindor, what the hell did you do?"

"Gave Shockwave's ride the same treatment the Ark got." Grindor said. "Is everyone in the ship?"

"The Minicons are, but the Neo Knights are trying to get Darren. He's still fighting Dreyas." Armorhide said. "We've got to help them."

"Dreyas will tear us apart, kid. Literally." Bulkhead said. "We need to get the Minicons out of here before Megatron comes calling with the Nemesis."

"Too late for that." Grindor said, turning the talos to the sky. "I think we've got company."

Bulkhead and Armorhide looked at the small dark speck in the distance. "I don't think that's a Decepticon ship." Armorhide said. "It's moving too fast."

"Wait, I think I recognize that ship." Bulkhead's eyes widened when he saw the ship getting closer. "That's the Ultra Magnus's ship!"

XXXXXX

"How dare you, a fellow esper, attack me!"

Dreyas flew forward and fired a blast of magnetic energy at Darren, blasting him into a rock pillar. Darren tried to break off a chunk of the pillar to throw at Dreyas, but another splitting headache made him lose control.

"We've finally conquered the shining symbol of democracy in the world, the symbol of esper oppression, and you want to fight against us?" Dreyas shouted, slamming his hands into the ground and channeling his power through the earth. Darren leapt up to avoid the blast wave, but another magnetic blast to the chest sent him tumbling down the mountainside.

Darren could barely slow his fall but as he fell off the side of the cliff, he used his powers to change his descent so that he landed on a rocky crag, landing hard on his left shoulder before sliding to a stop. Dreyas hovered over him and entrapped Darren in a bubble of magnetic energy before lifting him up.

"Karaba has never been so close to victory before since its inception and I will not allow you to ruin it after all the sacrifices my family has made to get this far." Dreyas commanded the liquid metal in his suit to slide down his arms and pool in his hand, lengthening into a long metal spear.

"No matter. I'll hang your corpse above my palace in Utopia to show what happens to anyone who goes against the new world order." Dreyas pulled his arm back to throw the spear, but a short crackle made him pause.

A flash of blue across his vision was his only warning and it was thanks to his reflexes that he was able to propel himself just out of range of the distortion sphere that manifested inches from him and almost vaporized him on the spot. He tried to put some distance from the dangerous energy sphere, only for another to explode right behind him, nearly knocking him out of the air.

"Who dares?" He snarled.

The canyon wall beside him crackled with blue energy before several diamond spears emerged from the rock and shot at him. Dreyas's muscles bulged as he exerted his power to destroy the spears in a gravitational field and he looked around for his attacker. Where were they?

"Stay away from my boyfriend!" Gina came flying at him from the cliff next to him, landing a staggering punch to his ribs. Dreyas coughed up blood and he backhanded her across the face, pushing her away with a magnetic pulse wave. He extended a liquid metal blade from his arm and slashed at her head, only managing to cut off a few strands of hair.

"How many more of you do I have to kill—"

A lightning bolt struck his magnetic barrier from above with such power that he felt the static electricity on his skin. He looked up and saw Annie descending upon him with Mjolnir.

"Round two, asshole!" She roared and swung Mjolnir down on him.

Dreyas' barrier held, but the attack sent him flying back right into Gina's line of fire. Two more distortion spheres tore apart his barrier and he was forced to retreat to avoid getting more than serious electrical burns on his skin.

"Why won't you just die!" He roared. Mjolnir flew at him, but he redirected the hammer at Gina and slammed a powerful magnetic blast into Annie.

'You first.' A male voice said in his head, making him tense up. A telepath?

Something wrapped around his neck and Dreyas felt his powers slipping away almost immediately. An inhibitor collar! He nearly howled in rage as he saw Darren charging at him like a bullet.

The boy took hold of the liquid metal in Dreyas's bodysuit and coalesced it into a long whip, wrapping it around the man's leg and pulling him down with him to the ground. Darren landed on his feet and pulled as hard as he could, causing Dreyas to crash into the ground with a loud boom and a painful crunch.

Darren waited for Dreyas to get up, but all he could hear was the man's pained groans. With the fight finally over, Darren let his exhaustion catch up to him and he fell to the ground.

"Darren!" Gina landed beside him hard enough to leave a crater under her and ran over to him. Annie landed beside him with Barnaby's help and knelt down at his side.

Gina skidded to a stop and fell to her knees, hugging Darren tightly and crying into his shoulder. Darren grunted but still hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her and Annie as they cried together.

They were finally reunited at last.

XXXXXX

Ironhide found Mirage at the rear of the group keeping an eye on the street corners behind them away from the rest of the group. He was talking to Glyph about something when they noticed him.

"Hey, Ironhide." Mirage nodded to him. "I was just telling Glyph about the how to use those weird plasma cannon things you use. Think you could show her—"

He was cut off by a punch to the face that completely laid him flat out on the ground. Glyph and Sunstreaker stared at Ironhide in shock as he stood over the fallen Autobot.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mirage grunted, holding a hand to his aching cheek.

"What I should have done a long time ago." Ironhide said darkly and pulled Mirage up to throw him against the wall, slamming his fist into his face again.

"Ironhide, this isn't—" Sunstreaker tried to say, but Ironhide wasn't letting him say anything.

"Don't try to stop me, Sunstreaker." Ironhide growled, punching Mirage again and again with the full force of his strength.

"You thought you were going to get away with this?" He sneered, pinning Mirage to the wall while delivering his powerful blows. Energon burst from Mirage's face with each punch and Sunstreaker and Glyph could only stare in horror at what he was doing. "Did you enjoy watching us tear each other apart?!"

"Ironhide…" Mirage coughed, bleeding heavily from deep cuts on his face. "I didn't—"

Ironhide punched him right in the nose and he keeled over, his vision swimming. Ironhide kicked him in the chest and nearly folded him in half. Glyph wasn't going to let this go on any longer.

"Ironhide, stop this!" Glyph grabbed his arm to hold him back. "Mirage didn't do it!"

"Let go!" Ironhide wrenched his arm free of her grasp, unknowingly smacking her across the face with his forearm. She fell to the ground and Sunstreaker ran to her aid. "This bastard has it coming to him!"

Ironhide continued to pummel Mirage with punches and kicks to the point that Mirage's face was covered in dents and bruises that made his face unrecognizable. He lifted Mirage up by the arm and roughly scratched the Autobot symbol off his chest.

"You're no Autobot. You don't deserve to wear this!" Ironhide snarled, throwing Mirage to the ground. "It's your fault we're stuck here and our friends are dying out there! It's your fault that he's dying!"

Ironhide raised his fist to cave Mirage's face in, but felt his body seize up from an invisible force. He grunted when his body contorted and he was forced to his knees. "What the-?"

Ironhide felt two blasters press up against his head and looked back to see Elita-1 and Prowl standing over him leveling their weapons at him.

"That's enough from you, Ironhide." Elita-1 growled.

One step forward and two steps back on two planets. Next chapter will have everyone making plans across the board as we lead into the final stage of this arc. Finally got started on the third and final story of the Transformers Origins trilogy: Fall. Be sure to check out the Transformers Titan website on Wordpress. Please leave a review and thanks for reading!