This will be an AU where Cliffjumper will live (yeah, he's going to live), Airachnid will be an Autobot and some more Autobots will show up later on. For Steelfist's voice, imagine Chris Pratt. And for real life reference for Dylan Darby, imagine Dylan O'Brien, especially from the third Maze Runner film.

Darkness Rising Part 1

Being alone is just the worst feeling imaginable. The fact that you don't have anyone to rely on and you can't be able to trust people based on whatever circumstance, in my case revealing myself to the inhabitants of this planet.

If you're wondering, my designation is Steelfist, I'm an Autobot SIC Officer who had to flee from Cybertron to try and scout on other planets, but something happened that caused me to be permanently crashed on this planet, called Earth. Due to my training and abilities, I've been able to hide myself in my alt mode, which is an all silver ATV, of which the wheels are my pedes or feet in human terms, and that has been the case for 5 human years with my holoform, which was made to be an athletic young human male..

Lately, I've been depressed because I'm now missing my fellow Autobots, especially Optimus Prime and my best friends Cliffjumper and Arcee, of whom I developed a small crush on. I even missed Airachnid, who I turned to the Autobot cause and so I looked out for her like an older brother when I was on Cybertron. I was so depressed that I don't pleasure myself anymore.

But as I was speeding down a road on the outskirts of a place called Jasper, in the state of Nevada, I heard the distinct sounds of metal being hit and dented. There's only one reason for that sound…. And so I reached my top speed and I realised that it came from a crater on my left and so I transformed and I can't believe it.

There are Cybertronians here on Earth. I'm no longer alone. But I wasn't shocked for long when I noticed that it was a multiple vs one fight. The multiple being Vehicons, the grunts of the Decepticons. And they were fighting- wait, those horns and the red frame…. CLIFF! And he seems to be losing, time to even the odds.

And so I slid down the crater and pulled out my blade from my left servo and my blaster from my right.

"HEY! Ever heard of fairness, cowards?!" I yelled out to catch their attention, and it worked because they all froze and turned their helms in my direction. Cliff was shocked beyond belief to see me.

"STEEL?! What are you doing here?!" Cliff asked in his shocked state.

"Fight now, talk later." I simply replied and then I sped to the closest vehicon and sliced their helm off and blasted the other in their helm three times to ensure they're down. Cliff handled the rest with my help as we blasted, punched and sliced them up. And then a huge ship came out of nowhere, and it had cannons aiming right at us. I knew what was going to happen and so I looked around, and I saw a space between two huge boulders. I grabbed Cliff by the arm and pulled him as I made my way to the space.

"Take cover!" I bellowed as we squeezed tightly in the space as the cannons fired where we last stood and the dust clouds were forming, giving us more cover. And right after, we heard pedes walking on the ground, which made us both stay as quiet as possible.

Once we heard the pedes stop and the ship flew off to who knows where, we stayed there for a few more seconds and then we got out and looked around to see that they really blasted the place up. And then I looked at Cliff as he looked at me and we instantly hugged each other with wide grins and we laughed.

"I'm so glad to see you, Cliff." I said in joy as we parted and held each other by the shoulder.

"I was worried you were offline after you scouted ages ago. What are you doing here?" He asked me, curious to know what I've done.

"Was just drifting throughout. But wait, if you're here on Earth, who else is?" I asked him, desperate to know, since if he's here then so is Arcee since they're inseparable.

"Well, you'll be glad to know that Arcee is here on Earth. So is Optimus, Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Ratchet." Cliff answered. I sighed in relief, knowing both Arcee and Optimus are here as well. With Bee, I had a friendly bond with him, Bulk, we got along and with Ratchet, We have a respectable dynamic and I was honoured to be the only bot to actually joke with him.

And as I was about to say something, a sound came from high above the crater, and we looked to see a green portal, this must be Groundbridge tech.

"Hey, why don't you hide, so we can surprise them?" Cliff suggested. I couldn't pass this up.

"Pit, yeah." I cracked and so I went back to the space and hid there.

I heard multiple sets of pedes land and metal shifting.

"Cliff, you alright?" Arcee's lovely voice asked as she and the others made their way to him. I peeked to see them and I barely held in a gasp upon seeing them.

"Yeah, a few scratches but I'm alright." He answered with a cocky grin, I smirked. Good old Cliffjumper.

"Can you inform us on what happened, Cliffjumper?" Optimus asked him with his warm, baritone voice that instantly made me feel at ease.

"Instead of that, I'll have an old friend show himself." Cliff told him and that was my que. I took a deep breath and stepped out. They all turned their helms towards me and they were shocked upon seeing me. Especially Arcee and Optimus. I had a happy smirk on my face.

"Steelfist, reporting for duty." I said as I saluted. Arcee instantly leaped to me and wrapped her arms and legs around me in a bear hug. I instantly wrapped my arms around her as well.

"I'm so happy to see you, Blue." I greeted her with her nickname.

"I thought I'd never see you again." She whispered and then we parted looking at each other. I found myself lost in her beautiful optics. And I was snapped out of it when Optimus walked up to us.

"I'm glad to see you alive and well, Steelfist." Optimus said with his warm smile as we shook servos.

"Glad to see you're alive and kicking, Optimus." I replied. I was very close friends with him. If Ratchet never existed, I would've been Optimus' oldest friend.

"Uh, not to break the reunion, but can we get to base before the 'Cons come back." Bulk warned us and so we all made it through a groundbridge and headed into the base Bulk mentioned.

The base, I have to admit, is impressive all things considered. Apparently the team arrived on Earth a few years ago and surveyed Earth as the 'Cons arrived as well and they're fighting for the Energon that remains, here on Earth; then Cliff explained about what just happened, and apparently this is the first Decepticon activity for some time. I then explained what I did after I left Cybertron.

"Well, regardless of what has happened, we are grateful that you're still alive, Steelfist. Are you ready to continue fighting the Decepticons?" Optimus asked me.

"In every way, Optimus. As long as my spark is beating, I'll fight until this is all over." I told him without hesitation.

"Good to hear." He said with that smile yet again.

"Well, since we've got all of that out of the way, I'll go out on patrol." Arcee informed us and was about to transform until she looked at me.

"Do you want to join me, Steel?" She asked me. It would be nice to have some company while on a drive.

"Sure. Might as well learn the responsibilities here." I answered and then I stood next to her and we both transformed to our alt modes. I noticed that she was a rather sleek and downright sexy bike. It'll be nice now to have another bot the same size as me. And then we sped out of the base and activated out holoforms.

….? POV

Why can't Jasper be more exciting? Especially with the choices of jobs.

You're wondering who I am, aren't you? Well, I'm Dylan Darby. I'm a 23 year old young man with short raven hair and blue eyes. My normal wear is a blue long sleeved button up shirt with a plain white henley shirt underneath. I'm wearing cargo pants and boots as well.

Now, my job is currently working at a grocery store and I just finished for the day. I work there on Monday's and Friday's. The pay is good and the shift lasts from 9am to 4.30pm.

I'm making my way to KO Drive-in, a fast food place that sells the bottom barrel of fast food, seriously, it can be disgusting. The reason I'm walking there is because my 16 year old brother, Jack Darby works there. It's a job he does when he isn't in high school. I feel really bad for him because he feels awkward about his job and because of it, it makes him less confident and therefore, not be able to stand up to bullies like Vince, who because of his parents thinks he is better than us all because he's rich. Prick.

Anyway, I just turned the corner to see KO Drive-in and I saw a car speeding off and I heard Jack yelling something about paying. Urgh… Vince grabbing food and not paying again, seriously, what a prick….

I shook my head in annoyance as I entered and I saw Jack sighing. Then he noticed me.

"Hey, Dylan." He greeted me.

"Hey, Jack." I greeted back before I ordered a soda and we chatted until Jack's shift finished.

Steelfist's POV

The patrol was very peaceful so far, I can definitely enjoy this.

"So, you and Cliff still stuck together through thick and thin?" I asked Arcee to start a conversation. She then made the sweetest giggle.

"Yep. We're still like brother and sister. He even helped me cope when you left Cybertron." She answered, and I heard the hints of sadness when she explained that she was dealing with my departure. I still remember feeling bad about leaving because of her, I always enjoyed being in her company.

But as I was going to say something, with the side mirrors, I noticed two purple cars that look exactly alike, and they were in the same shade of purple as those vehicons from earlier.

"Twins…." I muttered.

"Follow my lead." Arcee quietly said and she got in front of me and we gained speed. As we drove down the road, I noticed this KO Drive-in and so did Arcee because she drove into the car park and so did I. Since there were people in there, eating and talking, this would be the perfect cover. As we parked, we saw the 'Cons drive down the road and continue off. We're safe for now.

"Take five, Sadie." Arcee said and then her holoform deactivated. I did the same and she then set down her kickstand and turned off her engine. I deactivated my holoform and turned my engine off.

"That was close." I said.

Then two young men exited and they looked similar, which means that they're brothers, down to their raven coloured hair. The younger of the two pulled out their phone and answered it.

"Hey mum, me and Dylan just got off…. No, I'm not going to the dance, and I don't think Dylan would be interested. Experience says I should never cut a rug… unless I'm installing carpet." He said on the phone. He seemed a bit timid and awkward, whereas his brother seems confident and headstrong. They both walk past us until the older brother looks at me and seems to be in awe of my alt form. Well, I do like to be as sexy as possible.

"Be careful? Seriously? This is Jasper." The younger brother continued but then he notices Arcee properly and is awestruck by how sexy she is.

"I love you." He uttered, and I swore I felt some jealousy brewing within me. Primus, I need to control myself. The older brother chuckled at his reaction to Arcee.

"Yeah, I-I love you too, mum, so does Dylan. We got to go." He then said and disconnected. Then he walked up to her.

"Hello, beautiful." He said. Deep breaths, deep breaths.

"Where have you been all my life? Nice." He then continued and stroked Arcee on the seat. No one touches my Arcee like that and gets away with it! WHOA! My Arcee? I need to stop.

"Jack, I don't know if you should be doing that. The owner might come back any second now." Dylan cautioned Jack.

"Eh, don't worry. And besides, I saw you staring at the ATV. I know you're a fan of them." Jack shot back at him.

"Yeah, I do have to admit, this is the sweetest ATV I've ever seen." Dylan admitted as he got up to me and examined me closely. Oh, this is awkward. Then I saw Jack sit on Arcee. Now it is really tough to not snap and teach him a lesson of personal space.

"It may take a few KO paychecks, but I am gonna own a ride like you someday." Jack stated with conviction, yeah, yeah, we get it, now get off of her. Then I felt Dylan sit on me and it felt a bit weird to finally have someone sitting on me.

"You are brilliant." He said in awe. Oh, why thank you. I think I'm beginning to like Dylan.

"Are you two talking to your motorcycle and ATV?" Someone asked the brothers. It was one of two girls that exited and they wore what I assume to be school clothes and they were laughing.

"Uh, no, just complimenting them." Dylan said, to make them not look weird. Good attempt. Then I noticed Jack was flustered upon the girl who joked, it's as though he has a crush on her.

"Anyway, how's things, Sierra? Take you for a spin sometime?" Jack asked the girl. Oohhh…. Not on Arcee you won't.

"Come on, smooth operator. Wrap it up." Arcee muttered quietly, and in a tense tone. It was then that I noticed the twins were back, scrap. Then I noticed Dylan seeing them and he was tense as well.

"You know my name?" Sierra asked Jack.

"We're in homeroom together. I-I'm Jack Darby, this is my older brother, Dylan." He introduced them.

"Uh, Jack I think we should leave." Dylan said in a serious tone, still keeping his eyes on the twins.

That is when they put their headlights on and blinded Jack, Dylan and the girls.

"Scrap." Me and Arcee said in unison. Then they were driving straight to us and the girls ran away. Great, we're gonna have to take the brothers with us as we try to get away. We both revved up and sped off, much to the shock, confusion and fear of the Darby's. We drove in between the 'Cons and we drove down the road.

"Whoa. What the hell's going on?!" Dylan asked Jack as he held on for dear life. They 'Cons still followed us.

"Do not let go!" Arcee warned the two and they were shocked to hear a voice speak to them from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Who said that?!" Jack fearfully asked.

"Us!" I said which shocked them more. The 'Cons then got between us, ready to bump us, but we pumped the brakes, which had us narrowly miss. We then gained speed and turned the corner.

We then reached an alleyway and stopped for them to get off.

"Get off." I ordered them and they did so without question.

"What the hell are you?!" Dylan asked us demandingly. We couldn't tell them for their safety since if they knew the whole picture, they're in deep trouble.

"We don't exist." I replied and let Arcee continue the warning.

"Tell anyone about us, and we will hunt you down." She told them threateningly. They then ran off, scared and we then drove off as we saw that the 'Cons' had caught up. On our side mirrors, we saw that one of them was going down the alley that the brothers ran down.

"Scrap!" Arcee cursed and so we did U turns and used the 'Con in front of us as a ramp and we continued to get the boys for their safety. And like before, we used this 'Con as a ramp to get in front of him and we caught up with them.

"Hop on!" Arcee told Jack and he did as told.

"Come on!" I said to Dylan and he jumped on. We then got back on the road, gained speed and we went down a road leading straight to the highway. It was at that point I noticed that the 'Cons pulled out their blasters on the hoods of their alt forms and fired at us.

"Why are they shooting?!" Dylan asked us, wanting some answers.

"It's best if you don't know, it's for your own good." I told him as me and Arcee sped past various cars. But then I noticed a familiar sight. A yellow and black Camaro, of which I knew was Bumblebee, was entering the highway and rammed the 'Cons, making them skid out of control and he followed us as backup, thanks little bro. Yeah, I called him little bro, because I, like Arcee consider the Autobots as family.

"Friend of yours?" Jack asked us.

"Family." Me and Arcee corrected him in unison. Dylan smirked.

"Loyal to the end." He said. But then the 'Cons caught up and they rammed Bee. Dammit!

We were coming up on a bridge that seemed to be closed for some roadwork. But there was a part that would act like a ramp and so we just kept our speed, even though we're probably scaring the brothers. We then reached the 'ramp' and flew off of the bridge. Jack yelled in fear, but Dylan roared as though he was pumped up. We sped down the hill and propelled to the ground and once we landed, we skidded to a stop and we saw a little kid standing there with his jaw open and he dropped what must be the controller for the toy car.

"Whoa." The kid said in awe. Ah, youth…. Jack and Dylan sighed in relief that they're fine.

"You have no idea." Jack said to the kid.

"Yeah." Dylan simply said. And then the two got off both of us but just as we thought we were in the clear, the twins were at the top of the hill and they drove down, got launched into the air and transformed mid jump. And they landed on their pedes, prepared for a fight.

Since we had no choice, we both transformed as well. I pulled out my blades on both servos and had my battle mask on.

"This ends here, 'Cons." Arcee warned them. We then charged right at them as they fired their blasters, and we dodged.

Arcee leaped into the air and kicked the 'Con on the left, while I rammed the other and sliced the blaster and did maneuvers to cut him up in various places which caused him to scream in pain.

Arcee then decided to repeatedly punch the 'Con up and then it managed to sneak attack with his blaster, which made Arcee backflip but then a stray shot hit her and she fell back. This made me angry and I roared at him, cut the blaster to bits and sliced his helm off, causing energon to squirt out. I then instantly ran to Arcee to check up on her.

"Hey, 'cee. You okay?" I asked her tenderly as I pulled her up on her feet. She groaned.

"I am now. Thanks." She said, which made me feel warm in my metal cheeks. Then I heard tires screeching and I turned around to see a few more Vehicons pop up, ready to attack. But then there were tire screeches from above. We looked to see that it's Bee. He transformed, mid fall, landed on one of the 'Cons and delivered a powerful punch to the other. It was so powerful that sparks flew and he flew back and then Bee stepped on his helm to knock him out. Once he did, he took a few steps back and accidentally stepped on the kid's toy car.

"I'm so sorry, little guy." Bee apologised to the kid through beeps and whires. The reason for that is because his voice box got torn out by Megatron himself in the Battle of Tygar Prax.

"No problem…. Really." He told him. WHAT?! He can understand him, how's that even possible. But my shock stopped when Bee got shot by the 'Con he landed on and the other one got back up. Then they kept him on the ground and aimed their blasters ready to fire until….

"Leave him alone!" The kid yelled. While I admire his courage there, this caused the 'Cons to aim their blasters at him and the Darby's

"Please." He squeaked.

"Bad call." Jack said.

"Run!" Dylan yelled and they ran when one of the 'Cons tried to get them. This was then the perfect opportunity to fight back and so I leaped to the other 'Con and stabbed him in the shoulder, causing him to fumble while Bee got up and chased the other 'Con after the kids.

I got distracted and that cost me a good punch in the face, which made me fumble and take the blade out of his shoulder. Then Bee and the other 'Con fought and Bee landed right next to me. Then me, Arcee and Bee positioned to fight some more until we heard a car honk from behind us and it was Bulk. Pit yeah. He then transformed and got ready for a fight.

"Who's ready to rumble?" He warned them. That was enough to make them transform to their alt modes and drive off. This allowed us to catch a breather, especially Bee. I wiped my mouth to see that the punch made me bleed.

"What kept you?" Arcee asked Bulkhead.

"Traffic." He said in a deadpan manner.

After that, we made it back to base. I had Ratchet check us over and he said that we're fine and that we'll heal in no time. Cliff was a bit concerned for me and Arcee but we assured him that we're fine as I sipped on some needed energon while taking a seat.

We then briefed Optimus on what happened.

"And the 'Cons would have been scrap metal if we hadn't been distracted by the humans." Arcee explained in a foul mood. Can't say I blame her.

"Humans?" Optimus asked.

"Yeah. Three of them. Two of which are brothers." I elaborated.

"The third must've caught us in action. I don't know. Was a little busy at the time." Arcee said.

"If the Decepticons are targeting us, anyone perceived as our ally will be at great risk." Optimus told us in a grave tone.

After that we looked up on the humans. Jack and the kid go to the high school and Dylan works at the grocery store. Optimus ordered me, Arcee and Bee to pick them up tomorrow and let them know of the situation they're in.

Dylan's POV

Holy smokes….I cannot believe what just happened yesterday. Me, Jack and Raf witnessed transforming robots fight. I can't describe how insane this all is. This means that there really are aliens in space, but what are they doing here?

I'll have to sort this all out later as since it's Tuesday today, I decided to go take a walk around Jasper to try and calm down.

No matter what, I can't seem to get those robots out of my head, especially the one who was an ATV. He moved with some grace and speed that it had to be admired. And the amount of concern he had for the one was the motorcycle showed that he cared for her. This shows that they're not just robots like in the Terminator films, they're just like us, but made of metal and can transform.

I was so focused on my thoughts though that it wasn't until I heard an engine rev up that I snapped out of it. I looked to where the rev came from and it turned out to be from the ATV from yesterday. I instantly froze. What does it want now?

"Hey, don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to you." He said to me, seeing my reaction.

"What do you want?" I asked, a bit timid, knowing he can kick my ass.

"Just to talk, okay?" He said. I guess that's fine.

"Alright, but not out in the open. Follow me." I told him and I walked to an alley that no one pays attention to. And once we entered the alley, he transformed and leaned his head towards me.

"Look, I understand you're confused and a bit weary about all of this. But your safety is important which is why I need to take you to base because you're now one of the very few who know of our existence and that makes you known to our enemy." He explained with seriousness. I can tell he wasn't trying to scare me or lying. He was just concerned for my well being.

"What about Raf and Jack?" I asked, wondering if they're involved as well.

"They're requested to base as well." He told me. If Jack will be there, then I feel a bit better about this.

"Alright. Take me to your base." I said with seriousness. He smiled and nodded before he transformed back into an ATV.

"Hop on." He told me and I did so and upon so, he drove down the roads that lead to the canyonlands. As we drove, I heard two vehicles behind me and so I turned to see the Camaro and the bike with Jack and Raf, but also- Oh no…. It's that annoying foreign exchange student I've encountered. I groaned audibly.

"What is it?" The bot asked me.

"We got an unwanted witness it seems. Trust me, she is super annoying." I told him right before she 'woohooed'. I saw that we were driving right towards this rock formation ahead of us.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" I asked, a bit worried that we'll hit the cliff face. The bot just chuckled.

"Don't worry. It'll be cool." He simply said, which calmed me down a bit and right as we were about to hit the cliff face. Mechanical doors open to reveal a military style tunnel. We all drove in and it opened up to a huge space full of tech and monitors. And I noticed something that looks akin to that portal from Stargate and a huge symbol on the floor. And there were three others here as well. One of them was at the monitors and he must be their medic since his colours look like an ambulance. The one next to him was all red and he had these cool horns on his head. And the third was walking in and he looked like the muscle. I was just in awe of it all, as were the others. Then we came to a stop in the middle of the base and we all got off and they transformed instantly.

"I thought there were three." The medic said in a confused tone. I wouldn't blame him.

"Haven't you heard? Humans multiply." The bike said in a snidely tone. We don't multiply, that's rabbits.

"I'm pretty sure that it only applies to rabbits, Arcee." ATV corrected, jeez, it's like we're connected or something. Horns laughed.

"I'm Raf." He introduced himself to the bots. Then Miko I think it was, ran up to the tank like bot.

"I'm Miko. Who are you?" She asked him, catching him off guard.

"Bulkhead." He answered in a deep toned voice, rather nervously. And then she decided to ask him rapid fire questions that were clearly overwhelming him and caught him off guard. I noticed Horns looked confused.

"So, if you guys are robots, who made you?" Raf asked in curiosity, though I think they're too complex to be simple robots.

"Puh-lease!" The medic scoffed in offence.

"Hey, watch your tone, mister. He was just asking a simple question." I warned him as I pointed a finger and they all seemed taken aback that I fired back at him, excluding Horns and ATV who looked surprised in a good way.

Then earth shaking footsteps came from behind us and so we turned around to see a goliath sized bot that must be their which he was red, blue and silver.

"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet, Cybertron. Also known as Autobots." He explained to us and his voice had so much power. It made me feel calm, focused and it was the voice of a leader.

"Why are you here?" Jack asked as he stepped forward.

"To protect your planet from the Decepticons." He said

"Those goons who tried to bump us off last night." ATV added, in case we were a bit confused.

"Okay. Why are they here? For resources?" I asked since any faction has their reasons for evil actions based on our planet's history.

"A fair question, Dylan. And you're correct." The big bot said as he leaned in to get closer. They must've searched us up yesterday after the incident.

"In part, they are here because our planet is uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war." He further told us. Centuries, that is a very long time period for a war.

"Why were you fighting a war?" Raf asked.

"Foremost. Over control of our world's supply of energon, the fuel and lifeblood of all Autobots and Decepticons alike." He informed us. He then had a look in his eyes, the look that our late father had when he told us about his experiences in combat.

"The combat was fierce and endured for centuries. In the beginning, I fought alongside one whom I considered a brother. But in war, ideals can be corrupted. And it was thus… that Megatron lost his way." He told us more and I had a pit in my stomach. It seems that the darkness of war isn't just on our planet, but also on theirs. I then saw ATV's face and he had a darkened look as though he was having flashbacks to some horrible moments in the war.

But then Miko yawned as though she was bored and then….

"Is there gonna be a quiz?" She asked casually. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH HER?! She is heavily disrespecting all of the countless lives lost in this war and isn't taking it seriously.

"Hey, femme! Watch your mouth. War isn't something to treat as though it were a joke." ATV practically growled and she looked taken aback. Bike and Horns were concerned for him and they whispered something to him. I glared at Miko for her lack of respect.

"So, what does Megatron, or any of this, have to do with us?" Jack asked once more.

"Megatron has not been seen nor heard from in some time. But if his return is imminent, as I fear, it could be catastrophic." Big bot explained in a grave manner. This must be really bad if he's speaking of this in that tone.