Cade was asleep after all the Autobots powered down but soon begin to wake up from a bumping feeling and the sound of the engines humming. After waking up he sees that he is inside Drift, on the backseat of course hence why he was laying down inside. "(Cade Yeager yawns.) Where—where are we?" Cade asked.
"Far from the campsite!" Drift replied.
"What happened?" Cade asked.
"TRF forces found our camp, we were lucky to escape in time!" Ratchet said.
"Oh shit….those guys can't give us a freaking break!" Cade replied annoyed by TRF constantly going after them.
"Tell me about it!" Crosshairs replied.
"Get used to it you three, it will be a while before we can somehow change their minds!" Sideswipe said.
"Highly doubt it, there are lots of racist people in this world!" Cade said mentioning how divided his own species is.
"Racist?" Hound asked.
"A racist is somebody who hates a human that is part of a different race!" Cade explained to Hound.
"Kind of like how we are with the Decepticons!"
"Atleast we have a reason for hating the Decepticons, Hound!" Dino said.
"I agree with Dino. Most of us humans hate everything that is different from us!" Cade said.
"We can worry about how the humans feel about us later, in the mean time we need to get as far away from the humans as possible and find Optimus!" Dragonstorm explained hovering above the Autobots. Suddenly Hound rams towards a light brown Buffalo H mine-protected vehicle. Both Cybertronians flip over and transform into their robot modes. Hound quickly pulled out his mini-gun and aimed it at the Cybertronian who has been revealed as the Decepticon medic "Bonecrusher".
"Bonecrusher?" Sideswipe said in confusion as he and the Autobots sped up towards Hound and Bonecrusher.
"I'll take care of him!" Ratchet said attempting to drive as fast as his vehicle mode can go.
"I'm coming with you!" Crosshairs said speeding up to Hound. Crosshairs quickly transformed in front of Bonecrusher and jumped with his sub-machine guns in hand he fired at Bonecrusher knocking him to the ground. More vehicles then came by and transformed revealing themselves to be Soundwave, Brawl, Blackout and Stinger.
"More of these goons?" Crosshairs yelled.
"Let's lower their numbers shall we?" Hound said walking towards Crosshairs aiming their guns at the Decepticons. Forgetting that Bonecrusher was behind him, the Decepticon medic quickly used his articulated arm to grab Ratchet on the head and throw him away before firing at Hound's back. The Decepticons began firing at Hound and Crosshairs and were about to deliver the finishing blow if not for Sideswipe and the others to interfere.
"I GOT HIM!" Drift yelled charging at Bonecrusher with his sword and gets shot in the face by Bonecrusher.
"Take that you traitor!" Bonecrusher growled at the incapacitated Drift but gets distracted doing so allowing Dino to cloak himself and attack Bonecrusher with one hit to the face being so powerful that it knocks one of Bonecrusher's optics out of its socket and dangling off a cord connected to the optic.
"OW MY OPTIC!" Bonecrusher yelled landing to the ground and covering his face with his hand and getting kicked in the face by Dino.
"What a lousy medic, can't even repair your own injury!" Dino insults the unconscious Bonecrusher as Drift starts recovering from Bonecrusher's gunfire and gets back up.
"Thanks Dino."
"Anytime Drift!" Dino replied while the rest of their Autobot comrades fought the Decepticons. Blackout fought Wheeljack and Jolt as usual and successfully defeated Jolt but was unable to kill him due to heavy resistance from Wheeljack. Blackout and Wheeljack continued to fight and ended up clashing together.
"Time to die Autobot!" Blackout said as his spinning propellers moved the blade from Wheeljack's spear closer to the Autobot's head but he is unable to finish him as Dragonstorm and the knights arrive as quickly as possible and fire at the Decepticons.
"THERE IS MORE?" Brawl yelled while being engulfed in flames and retreating and as they start to retreat, the Dinobots emerge from the ground and attempt to grab the retreating Decepticons in their jaws.
"You know what, as long as we have the knights we are easily going to win!" Crosshairs said.
"Don't get cocky Crosshairs. The knights are still living beings with souls not our personal weapons!" Bumblebee said.
"Is everyone alright?" Dragonstorm asked.
"Did they take the staff?" Dragonstorm asked another question and Hot Rod immediately pulled out the staff to show Dragonstorm, but they are suddenly ambushed by Starscream. Starscream pounces on Hot Rod and pries the staff from his hands.
"Lord Megatron will be pleased!" Starscream said examining the staff.
"NO!" Dragonstorm yelled as Strafe transformed into his robot mode and fired a harpoon at Starscream. It hit Starscream in the chest but far from his spark but still badly wounding him. Starscream quickly transforms into his fighter jet form with the harpoon snapping in half mid-transformation. Starscream then proceeds to take off.
"Why didn't you attack him?" Hot Rod yelled at Dragonstorm.
"Why did you let him take the staff?" Dragonstorm yelled back at Hot Rod.
"You didn't even bother to try to stop him!" Hot Rod said to Dragonstorm.
"Both of you knock it off!" Sideswipe yelled.
"We need to follow Starscream to get to Optimus and the staff and we need to do it now, so this isn't the time for arguing!" Sideswipe explained that they must not argue amongst each other as of right now. All the baldy wounded Decepticons return to Megatron, wounded and empty-handed.
"Lord Megatron, we're back!" Soundwave said.
"Where is the staff?" Megatron asked not seeing it anywhere with them.
"We were about to take it but the knights showed up and we…" Bonecrusher said
"I DON'T WANT EXCUSES! I need that staff….I need ALL THE RELICS BURIED ON THIS REPULSIVE PLANET!" Megatron yelled at the Decepticons retracting his fusion cannon and using it as a flamethrower by engulfing the ground around him in flames.
"They didn't fail!" Starscream yelled from above getting everyone's attention. Starscream then transformed into robot mode and landed to the ground with the staff in his right hand.
"I grabbed it from the Autobots but at a grave cost….One of the Dinobots shot me, I accidentally left behind an energon trail for them!" Starscream said as Megatron grabbed the staff from him and examined it.
"Everyone makes mistakes Starscream, as long as you succeed I don't care about any flaws in your success!" Megatron said not losing his temper at Starscream for one incident.
"Besides, the Autobots are weak, we easily dispose of them, all of them at once!" Megatron said realizing that the energon trail could lead the Autobots to their fate.
"The…Autobots…..aren't so….easily…defeated!" Optimus said still weak from the lack of energon.
"I wouldn't be so certain Prime!" Megatron said kicking Optimus in the face.
"The Autobots should be here soon….Onslaught!"
"Yes lord Megatron!" Onslaught replied.
"Go hide in the western hill, take Nitro and Berserker with you!"
"Yes sir!" Onslaught replied running off to the Western hills with Nitro and Berserker.
"Barricade, take Hooligan, Mohawk and Stinger with you and head to Southern hill!"
"I'm on it!" Barricade replied driving off with Hooligan, Stinger and Mohawk.
"The rest of you stay with me!" Megatron said to the other Decepticons to stay with him as he is unable to trust them after their recent failure. The Autobots arrive to Scotland but Sideswipe senses that something doesn't seem right, before he could warn anybody, Drift and Crosshairs had already driven far away from the others and the Onslaught opens fire at them. He hits the grass but both Drift and Crosshairs quickly transform in self-defense. Onslaught charges towards them with Berserker and Nitro jumps in front of them and fires his shoulder missiles at the other Autobots causing them to flip over except for Bumblebee, Hot Rod and Hound who quickly avoid the heavy gunfire from the Autobots and head towards Optimus Prime.
"Where is the boss at?" Hound asked.
"I don't know!" Bumblebee replied.
"Will you both shut up!" Hot Rod said to them trying to keep the two quiet.
"What's up with him?" Hound asked.
"I hear something!" Hot Rod replied as an engine started roaring and before their very eyes, Barricade, Hooligan and Mohawk drive towards them and Mohawk is the first to transform into robot mode and attack but Hot Rod quickly grabs him by the head and throws him away while Bumblebee and Hound fire at Hooligan and Barricade causing the two to flip over. The three Autobots then continue to search for Optimus.
"Hey guys you see that?" Hot Rod asks Bumblebee and Hound putting his two fingers on the green liquid on the grass.
"Its energon—fresh energon!" Hot Rod said.
"Who do you think that belongs to?" Hound asks.
"I have a hunch—but I don't like it!" Hot Rod said as he, Bumblebee and Hound approached a hill with a boulder on top of it and right next to that boulder lied Optimus Prime. He was badly beaten with energon leaking out of his mouth, chest and strangely his left optic.
"OPTIMUS!" Bumblebee yelled.
"Bee….Rod—RUN!" Optimus said too weak to speak.
"Don't worry Optimus we'll get you away from here!" Hot Rod said as he and Bumblebee tried to lift Optimus.
"Such Heroic nonsense!" Megatron said from behind getting Hound's attention. Hound quickly turned around but all he saw was fire blowing at his face and engulfing his entire overweight and heavily armored chassis, the fire spread to Bumblebee and Hot Rod causing the three Autobots to collapse and drop Optimus due to over-heating. Megatron stopped using his fusion cannon as a flamethrower and fired a bullet at Hound in order for him to drop dead on the ground. Hound collapsed from the impact of the bullet but his fat absorbed the bullet saving his life.
"You Autobots, are so predictable, you never believed in survival of the fittest, you always had to risk your worthless, pathetic, insignificant lives just so then a fellow Autobot can survive….I'm surprised that you Autobots aren't extinct yet!" Megatron said aiming his fusion cannon at the Autobots with the other Decepticons behind him, eventually more Decepticons showed up dropping the other Autobots right next to their dying leader, Onslaught aggressively dropped Drift causing his chest to slide open and for Cade to slide out.
"Give me—The Staff!" Hot Rod said still in pain from being burned.
"Oh this staff? I'm afraid I cannot do that!" Megatron said waving the staff in the air.
"I have a goal, to collect the Cybertronian relics from Earth and to exterminate you Autobots, I have no plans to spare any of you!" Megatron said.
"You'll wish you did!" Optimus said pointing up in the air causing Megatron to look up and what he saw was Dragonstorm and the other Knights flying above them and breathing fire at all the Decepticons. While the Decepticons were distracted by the flames that were burning their chassis and in front of them Grimlock, Scorn and Slug burst out of the ground knocking over all the Decepticons and Strafe swoops down grabbing Stinger and dropping him painfully to the ground.
"DECEPTICONS RETREAT!" Megatron yelled as all the Decepticons transformed and retreated dropping both the Matrix and the Staff. Ratchet quickly gets up to tend to Optimus Prime's wounds while the knights landed by the relics to pick them up and bring them back to the Autobots.
"HOT ROD!" Dragonicus said from behind trying to get Hot Rod's attention.
"You almost lost the staff to the Decepticons!" Dragonicus said upsetting the young Autobot.
"But I now realize that I was too harsh on you, you have just now realized your destiny and the difficult responsibility you have…so I decided to give you a second chance and give you back the staff!" Dragonicus says letting Hot Rod take the staff from his hand.
"I'll ask Sir Edmund Burton to contain it in his mansion, traveling around with it will draw too much attention!" Hot Rod said.
"That is your decision—Last Knight!" Dragonicus replied.
"Dragonicus (Steelbane places his hand on Dragonicus's right shoulder.) I require a word with you!"
"Yes brother!" Dragonicus and Steelbane walked away from the Autobots to talk.
"How is he Ratchet?" Hot Rod asked.
"He'll live….I just need someone to donate some energon!" Ratchet said.
"Allow me my Autobot friend!" Silverblade walked towards Ratchet in order to donate some energon to Optimus.
"I'm worried about Optimus, he still carries the mark of the deceiver!" Steelbane said mentioning the red mark Optimus still has on the left side of his face.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much Steelbane, he broke out of Quintessa's spell!"
"Thanks to the Autobots showing him how close and loyal they are too him!" Dragonicus explained.
"Yes but we don't know for sure whether the mark is temporary or permenant!" Steelbane said.
"We will learn eventually Steelbane that I promise!" Dragonicus said trying to calm Steelbane down.
"Knights we are leaving!" Steelbane said.
"Wait what?" Bumblebee said.
"You can't!" Hot Rod yelled.
"If you ever need our help, we will be there for you….I promise you one knight to another!" Dragonicus said.
"We will miss you Dragonicus!" Sideswipe said.
"Dragonicus, Stormreign and Steelbane. If it's all the same to you, my brothers and I wish to stay with the Autobots!" Grimlock said.
"If that is there choice!" Dragonicus said looking at the Autobots and seeing Strafe placing his shoulder at Bumblebee showing their close friendship.
"YES, YES!" Crosshairs yelled only to be pushed away by Dino.
"Optimus?" Sideswipe asked.
"We…would gladly like to have you brothers fight alongside us every step of the way!" Optimus said welcoming the Dinobots to the Autobot team.
"Farewell my Autobot friends! TILL ALL ARE ONE!" Dragonicus said combining with Stormreign and transforming into Dragonstorm with the other knights transforming into Wyverns and flying off to find a new cave to hide in until their help is needed. Far away, Megatron sits down alone and growling over their failure at keeping the staff and the Matrix.
"Oh Megatron is pissed!" Mohawk said.
"Shut up Mohawk!" Nitro said pushing Mohawk away.
"Don't push me you one-eyed punk!" Mohawk snarled at Nitro.
"I'm bigger then you and I'm higher in the rust chain buddy!" Nitro began sizing up Mohawk.
"Lord Megatron!" Berserker said walking towards Megatron.
"What is it?" Megatron replied.
"Those two task forces I told you about, they wish to speak to you!" Berserker gave Megatron the comm-link and then left while barfing up energon.
"Report!" Megatron said to the task forces.
"Lord Megatron, this is Mixmaster, both the Constructicons and Stunticons have made it to Israel under your orders!" Mixmaster said to Megatron.
"Excellent, head to the ancient fortification known as Masada, I will meet you there!" Megatron instructed Mixmaster to take the Stunticons and Constructicons to Masada.
"Understood Lord Megatron!" Mixmaster said before ending the transmission.
"The Autobots have no idea what they will be up against. They shall soon reunite with their maker for as of this day—The Combiner Wars have BEGUN!"
TO BE CONTINUED….
So that was Chapter 23, hope you guys enjoyed it and get ready for the Combiner Wars which are going to start in Chapter 24.