Miko walked out onto a stage that had a massive theater screen behind her. In her right hand, she held a microphone.
Raising the microphone her mouth she shouted. "Good morning, readers and writers of Fanfiction!"
A massive roar of applause and cheers rang out from an invisible audience.
The Japanese girl pointed out to the crowd. "Last time, on Macross Rising."
The screen flickered to life showing clips from the previous chapter as Miko described them.
"Everyone was enjoying free time in our new base when suddenly the Nemesis appeared! Everybody scrambled, and in an hour we were ready to start laying on some smackdown! But! It turns out that Megatron was being a wimp and asking for help."
On the screen, it showed Megatron stepping forward and declaring. "Optimus! I request an audience! I have important news discussing the future of all Cybertronians."
Miko continued her recap. "Megatron told us that some crazy robo-zombie virus had devastated his army and there was a horde hiding out in Washington. After the 'cons left, Optimus and Gloval sent a recon Drone. It found not only a zombie-horde but a really important Cybertronian ship. After the Drone was captured, Arachnid wanted a close-up."
Then the video switched to Arachnid sitting in her vehicon throne. "Hello, my friends. Unfortunately, since this isn't two-way, I can't see you."
Miko clenched her fist in anger. "Then she started teasing Arcee about Jack's death and his mom. Just when Arcee is about blast the screen into oblivion, Phoenix starts screaming in pain before deactivating…going into sleep mode…whatever counts for falling unconscious for a Cybertronian. Then to make matters worse, Arachnid gave us three days to kick her butt before she invades L.A. If we don't beat Arachnid soon it's gonna be 'Battle: L.A.' all over again."
…
…
BOOTING CYBERNETIC NEURO-CAPSULE…
TESTING NUERO-CIRCUITRY CONNECTIONS…
TESTING DATA-RECEPTOR CONNECTIONS
CONNECTIONS ESTABLISHED
TESTING COMMAND CONNECTIONS
CONNECTIONS ESTABLISHED
TESTING PROCESSING CONNECTIONS
CONNECTIONS ESTABLISHED
ALL NEURO-CIRCUITRY CONNECTIONS ESTABLISHED
FORMATTING …
SELECTIVE FORMATTING IN PROGRESS…
FORMAT COMPLETE
UPLOADING BOOT RESULTS TO SMS_COMMAND
AWAITING COMMAND
R.D.F. Base, Phoenix's Hanger, Nevada
September 28, 2014, 2205 hours
Lang and Phoenix's deck crew had gotten work as soon the incapacitated mech was set down, removing the canopy and the Cranium. It was the first time she saw which she realized was kind of awesome considering they had been partners for two months. The thought that everything that made Phoenix who he was as well as all of Jack's memories was in something as small and fragile as the Cranium. It was about the small orange in comparison to her.
Lang hooked the Cranium up to his computers and started working. He gave Arcee the spiel on how the 3D model represented Phoenix's mind. There was a lot more red than blue. It looked like a cracked ruby. Lang had to go in and repair each neural pathway one by one, reupload Phoenix's combat data, even some of his memories were fragmented and disordered and had to be reassembled. Despite the difficulties the scientist managed to pull off a miracle and fix it all. It took Lang a day and a half and steady diet of caffeine and sugar and lack of sleep to get the AI to this state. However, he couldn't even begin to guess Phoenix's mental state or whether he remembered being Jack or not. Now it was matter of waiting for him to wake up.
Arcee was sitting down on a large cargo crate her helm resting against her folded hands. She whispered. "Wake up, Jack."
The lights on the Cranium flickered to life. The inactive 3d model on the computer flared to life but instead of multilayered rings of code, it was a flowing organic construct constantly changing shape. Flashing lines of sparks were dancing across it like a heavy lightning storm. All under a sphere of code. Then it flickered back to the previous model showing its normal signs of activity.
Phoenix's voice came through a speaker on the computer in a tired groan. "Anybody get the license plate of that Destroid?"
Arcee's head shot up in surprise. "Phoenix?"
"Last I checked." He groaned.
"Dr. Lang, he's awake." She called.
The doctor who was sleeping on a nearby cot. Pulling on his lab coat that he left on the floor, downing a cold cup of coffee that he left on the computer stand, and started a diagnostic. "How are you feeling, Phoenix?"
"Disoriented. Can't get my bearings." The AI answered. "I feel foggy too. My thoughts won't line up."
"That should pass. You're trying to find your way through the neural network again. I repair most of them from scratch."
"Optimus, he's awake." Arcee radioed
"We're on our way."
"What's the last thing you remember?" She asked
The model of the network flickered furiously as he thought. " I remember Megatron showing up, the Ark and...Arachnid! What status on her? What's her plan?"
As Arcee was going to answer, Optimus stepped in and answered. "That is a complicated story."
"It's not like I'm gonna die of old age, I've got time," Phoenix replied jokingly.
Optimus stepped in front of them and explained. "After your incident, Arachnid unveiled a slumbering army of Terrorcon protoforms. In less than a day, they will hatch then she will invade L.A. Captain Gloval and I have been going over mission plans and loadouts while we were waiting to see how you were doing."
"Not that complicated," Phoenix commented. "When are we going?"
"'We?!'" Arcee stood up anger in her voice. "Just what makes you think you going with us?"
"One, because you're going." He countered. "Two, because Doc is gonna give me a clean bill of health, right?"
Dr. Lang, who had been ignoring the conversation to observe the network model in detail, when he suddenly realized that he was being watched with intent. He looked up at the two pairs of expecting optics. "What?"
"Is Phoenix mission ready?" Arcee asked expecting the answer she wanted.
Lang looked at Phoenix's neural network again. Something seemed off about it but any of the diagnostic scans couldn't find anything wrong with it. "He seems to be in near perfect condition actually. I can't exactly say no."
Arcee frowned in annoyance but accepted that response as it meant that Phoenix was okay so she couldn't argue it entirely. Though a part of her was concerned that if he had reacted as he had to when he saw Arachnid on a monitor then what would happen if he saw her in person?
"A loadout is already prepped," Optimus said as Lang rounded up the Deck Crew. "We roll out in an hour."
MISSION: CLEAR THE ARK OF ALL ENEMY THREATS
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES :
-NEUTRALIZE ALL TERRORCONS ON SIGHT.
-NEUTRALIZE THE PROTOFORM EGGS
-NEUTRALIZE HVT-T1
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES
-MINIMIZE DAMAGE TO THE ARK
LOADOUT: HIGH-DAMAGE CLOSE RANGE.
-1 X ENERGON AUTO-SHOTGUN/2,000 EXPLOSIVE SLUGS/2 X SPARE SHOTGUN MAGAZINES
-1 X ENERGON PULSE CARBINE/3,200 AHEAD ROUNDS/2 X SPARE CARBINE MAGAZINES
-2 X FASTPACK FUEL MODULES
In his VTF-0, in Battloid mode, Phoenix stepped outside where Skull and Vermilion Squadrons with Team Prime were waiting. The veritechs were in Battloid mode with similar loadouts to Phoenix. The entire Autobot team, save for Ratchet, was present, each equipped with an auto-shotgun. The shotguns are among the many of the new weapons R&D cooked up. It's similar to the shape of the gunpod just shorter in length and the magazine was larger to accommodate the larger ammunition. However, the mech noticed that Optimus was without the Starsaber, which made sense, as they were trying to recover the Ark not wipe it from existence.
Roy's Battloid turned it's head to look at Phoenix and declared over the external speaker. "Well. Looks like sleeping beauty is awake. I thought you were gonna need a kiss."
Phoenix laughed sarcastically. "Kiss my exhaust."
"Are we ready?" Optimus asked the team. After he received confirmation he radioed Ratchet. "Open the ground bridge."
The whir of the ground bridge responded.
Optimus nodded to Roy who gestured to a pair of his Skull fighters to head in first. They drew their gunpods and charged in the wormhole.
One of them radioed in. "Clear."
Roy turned to the others. "Alright, Phoenix, Rick and I will move in first. The rest of you move in by teams of four. Autobots move in last. You're our VIP's. The last we need are you getting infected."
Ultra Magnus leaned over to Optimus. "Why are the humans giving the orders?"
"We need to be more careful on this mission. Our tactics differ from theirs. They tend to be overly careful in their maneuvering. We tend to… 'hang out in the open like a bunch of jackasses.'"
Magnus raised an eyebrow.
"It was something one of the destroid pilots said."
"Let's move out!" Roy ordered.
'Here we go.' Phoenix thought as he, Roy and Rick charged through the portal.
OPERATION BUGSPRAY COMMENCING SEPTEMBER 28, 2014 2245 HOURS
MISSION: ELIMINATE ALL TERRORCONS
LOCATION: CASCADE MOUNTAIN RANGE, WASHINGTON
MISSION TIME LIMIT: 17 HOURS AND 19 MINUTES
Arcee rushed through the ground bridge behind Bumblebee. She was the last one to go through, thus the bridge was shut behind her. She looked around to see that they had been placed in front of the cave. The veritech pilots had placed their mechs with the Autobots on either side of the cave. She joined them and ended up beside Phoenix. He nodded to her as he quietly racked the slide on the shotgun. The femme nodded back as she did the same.
Roy came in over the radio, "Shadow devices on, and activate motions trackers. I don't want to be flacked. Move in."
Two by two they moved in, they kept the pace between a quick walk and a jog. After seeing that the tunnel wasn't ending soon, they slowed. Having nothing to do most of the group struck up conversations.
Arcee turned to Phoenix. "When you passed out, did you remember anything?"
He adjusted his grip on his weapon as his head shifted slightly to the left. "No. Nothing."
In the distance, Arcee saw Roy looking back at them.
Phoenix looked at her. "So, tell me more about the Ark."
"I'm not what you call a history buff but I'll try," Arcee admitted. "A while back, the council had created the Ark in case of the off-chance that our race became extinct or close to it."
"They must've been psychic."
"No kidding. It was said that it could bring salvation to us when the need arose. How? No clue. Only the council and Primes knew that particular knowledge besides the rumors that floated. The fact that it held a Protoform factory inside was certainly more than a surprise."
Phoenix tilted his head in thought. "If all Cybertronians start out as Protoforms then you were one too. What was it like?"
Arcee barked out a sharp, quiet laugh. "It was terrifying. One second I was trapped in nothingness, the next…everything. I had words in my head with meanings but nothing to relate them to. Colors and images that I had no idea what they were. It took several cycles before I got used to my name."
The white and orange mech nodded. "I think I get it. When I was first activated, everything was just numbers and orders. Missions and objectives. One day they were testing a new Destroid model and somehow Minmei stumbled on site."
"Whose Minmei?" She asked.
"She's a friend of Rick's and was bringing lunch to him." He continued. "The controls locked up and the machine went wild, the entire area was covered in bullets. One of the missiles fired and headed straight for her. I don't how but I… awoke for the lack of a better term. Everything became more than just data. A personality came to be, morals. I jumped in front of the missile and saved her. It was more than disorienting to go from seeing the world in ones and zeros, to color, emotions."
"Any idea why it happened?" The femme asked.
He shook his head. "No clue. Lang theorized that it was a memory flash. According to him, the memory was strong enough and fast enough that I reacted to it and not real life and was left with no recollection. I don't remember what happened between the time I saw the missile and when it exploded against my arms."
"Cut the chatter." Roy ordered. "We're here."
Everyone stepped out of the cave, onto the large ledge that extended to either side endlessly. The ledge dropped into a massive sixty-meter cliff, a lethal drop for a human but a jump off the roof of a house for a mech. An open plain was between the cliff and the Ark. The cavern roof was high enough for basic maneuvers in guardian mode. The ship itself was in no better condition them when they had last saw it. Visible damage to the hull and there was an open cargo bay door close to the cliff. No light emitted from the inside suggesting the power is off
"That looks like our way in." Rick pointed out the cargo bay.
Fokker gestured for everyone to follow as he jumped down the cliff. The rest unit followed suit, dropping off the cliff to chase their in-field CO. On Roy's orders communicated through silent gestures, two Skull Squadron Battloids formed up on either side of the door while the others waited. After nodding to each other, the Battloids ran inside the ship. Once they were sure it was clear, the rest of the group moved in. It was completely dark on the inside.
"Night vision." Ordered Fokker as all the visors on the R.D.F. mechs flashed green.
Thankfully, Cybertronians already have near-perfect vision in the dark. The inside of the ship was similar in design to the Nemesis but brighter colors-indiscernible from the night vision- with softer edges. The cargo bay was massive, inside was two empty sets of frames that looked like they were meant to hold something cylindrical in shape.
Rick asked. "Are those…?"
"Empty containers from unprocessed Protoforms?" Finished Bulkhead. "Yeah."
Roy raised his carbine and turned to the others. "Alright, according to the map Optimus and Smokescreen pulled out of the Iacon database, this ship is massive. We're going to split up into three teams. The Bridge Team led by Optimus, the Protoform Factory Team with Ultra Magnus in the lead and I'll command the Engine Room Team. Phoenix, Arcee, Rick with Skull two and three will accompany Optimus."
Phoenix nodded to Arcee in a gesture of trust and she nodded back almost comforted by the gesture.
Roy continued. "Magnus take Smokescreen, Wheeljack, Ben, and Skull four and five with you to the engine room."
"Understood, sir." Responded the Autobot second-in-command.
"Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Max, Skull six and Skull seven." Roy finished. "You're coming with me. Skull eight through ten, stay here and guard the door. This isn't your standard mop-up. Be on alert and stay frosty."
"Yes, sir!"
With that, the four teams went to their designated locations. All three planning on success and Arcee prayed that they'd find it.
Somewhere else on the Ark
September 28, 2014, 2303 hours
Mission time left: 17 hours and 1 minute
Arachnid laughed quietly to herself as she watched the Autobots and their human friends split up.
'How futile their efforts are… and so predictable.' She thought. 'They split up to take the three objectives. However, a predator separates his prey and takes them down… one-by-one.'
A Terrorcon walked into the room and kneeled. "My queen, the ship is ready."
She smirked. "Good. Stay on standby, don't turn on anything. As far as they think, this is a ghost ship. Let them trap themselves."
Onboard the Ark
September 28
Mission time left: 16 hours and 25 minutes
"So," Phoenix asked. "Anyone else has a ghost ship kinda feeling about this ship?"
Every human responded with a simultaneous. "Yep."
"So it's not just me. Don't know if I should take comfort in that."
Arcee raised an eyebrow in confusion. "A what feeling?"
"Ghost ship feeling." Noticing that Arcee was still confused, he explained. "A ghost ship is a derelict ship that floats on the sea being carried by the waves and any unfortunate soul that finds it is beset with misfortunate."
"That's comforting."
"Right?"
Phoenix was starting to feel a sense of déjà vu as he looked around. Each and every hallway they've gone through looks identical. He's not sure if they've actually gotten anywhere or if they're lost. They have been traveling nonstop and they've yet to reach the bridge. The only reason he hasn't gone insane yet is the mini-map that's on his HUD. It's programmed to show paths they've already traveled and according to the map he hasn't gone in circles. A personal relief, if he wasn't so edgy about the Vehicon torso he nearly tripped over.
'Wait, what?'
Phoenix looked around to see the floor littered with Vehicon body parts. Not whole bodies, but limbs, heads, and torsos are just scattered everywhere. What's worse, is the lack of Energon. The entire slaughter area was completely clean.
"Holy shit. They really do drain Energon." Exclaimed skull 2, a woman by the name of Mikayla.
Optimus stared grimly at the bodies. "They may have been our enemies but even they do not deserve a death like this. We must keep moving."
Following protocol, Phoenix radioed the other teams. "We have Vehicon bodies up here."
"Same here." Replied Skull 4 aka Taylor from the Engine Room team.
Skull 6 or O'Neil called in. "We got vehicons too, and a dead terrorcon."
"Well, what does it look like?" Rick asked.
Team Protoform
Rafael looked at the dead Terrorcon in disgust. "Yeah, ugly."
"Big boy words, O'neil, big boy words."
Skull six looked at the thing in disgust. 'How in the hell do you describe something like that.'
The Terrorcon in question was prone on the floor, with obvious blaster fire damage. It was massive, at least the length of two or three train cars. In simple words, a giant centipede with a humanoid torso at the front. It had no head, but a snout extended from the chest. It sported two pairs of pincer-like arms or it used to. One of the arms was blown off, several of the legs were missing and It was bisected in the middle. Evidence of an explosion was there.
"It's the goddamn demon love-child of a giant-ass centipede and centaur."
"Well, that's descriptive," Roy commented jokingly.
"Thank you… I think." Phoenix responded.
O'Neil smirked. "Anytime."
"Back on track, men. The factory is just beyond this next hallway." Fokker ordered. "Move out."
O'Neil nodded and walked away. As the team disappeared into the next room, one of the legs on the Terrorcon twitched before curling inward.
Engine room team.
"This is the Engine room team." Magnus notified the other teams. "We've reached the Engine room. What are our orders?"
Roy answered. "Start the engine, turn on the power, and get us some lights. After that, plant explosives and set them to detonate at the end of the mission time limit."
Smokescreen disagreed. "Blow up an Iacon relic? Not my watch."
Wheeljack crossed his arms. "Normally I'd be happy to set some bombs but not this time."
"I'm sorry, sir. I can't comply." Ultra Magnus argued. "I will not allow the destruction of an important artifact from our history."
Before Roy could retort, Optimus cut in. "Do as he says, Ultra Magnus."
"But, sir…"
"We need to be sure that the Terrorcons do not make it off this ship, for that, I am willing to sacrifice the Ark."
"I…" Magnus hesitated. "Understood. Smokescreen, start the engines, Wheeljack prep to blow. Skull four, watch 'em."
"Yes, sir!" The named mechs called out before heading out to complete their objective.
"As for the rest of us, we will continue to clear out this section."
The pinging of a motion tracker sounded over the radio.
"Who's tracker is that?" Roy demanded.
Bridge team.
Phoenix spoke up. "It's our team's, sir. A group of bogeys three hundred meters to the northeast, do we investigate?"
"You and Arcee check it out while the rest of the team moves on to the main objective."
"Understood, sir." Phoenix turned to the femme. "Arcee, did you catch that?"
"Yeah."
"Optimus, we're moving out."
The Autobot leader nodded to them. "Stay alert, you two."
"Aren't we always?" Phoenix replied.
Phoenix and Arcee split off from the team and turned at the next junction that would lead them to their intended destination.
"Is this gonna be that misfortune you were talking about?" Arcee asked
"Oh yeah. Without a doubt."
Protoform Factory team.
The team formed on either side of the open door. Roy looked at the map on his HUD. According to it, the next room is the location of the Protoform Factory was in this room. This is also where they believed Arachnid was holing up. This is where Roy was expecting the shit to hit the fan. If it didn't then they could capture the factory and figure out the exact numbers of the Terrorcon army. Roy nodded to his teammates and they nodded back, assuring their readiness. On a silent count to three, the team rushed.
Roy made sure to explain military breach tactics to the Autobots long before they even stepped through the portal. Thus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead were ready when the team spread out as they moved into the room. Roy didn't even notice his surroundings until he was sure that there were no enemies. The room was large, not massive, but large. Piping ran along the walls into what must've been the factory. It was grafted into the back wall where it placed. Lines of blue light ran along it symmetrically. No way it could be the whole thing. It barely came for or five meters out of the wall.
"Is this it? No way it could be that small." Jason aka Skull seven asked incredibly.
Bulkhead shook his head. "Uh-uh, I heard that it's massive. It probably takes up a good portion of the ship. This room is probably where they pick up the Protoform incubation tubes after they've been processed."
"What are they even fertilized with?" Ben asked.
"Energon and a Spark usually, but Arachnid seems to be skipping the Spark part."
Bumblebee buzzed to the others. (Over here. I've found something.)
Roy looked over to see the scout standing partially inside an open door by the machine. Roy followed by O'Neil was led by the Autobot inside the room. It was much smaller in comparison to the one they were just in. The walls were lined with deactivated computers.
(This is probably the control room.)
Roy nodded. "Is there any way we can tell when this was last used and many eggs were produced?"
(If we had power)
Roy radioed the engine room team. "How long till we got power?"
"Not long, ETA five minutes if that." Smokescreen answered.
"Keep me posted."
"Yes, sir."
"This is Optimus, we have reached the bridge. There is no evidence of a Decepticon or Terrorcon presence."
"Set up Operations, and when the power turns on, ran a scanner. If we've been duped, I want to know."
"Understood."
Arcee and Phoenix
Phoenix glanced at his motion tracker. They had followed the device into a nearby storage area and were now nine meters away from the blip. They were surrounded by large metallic boxes of getting sizes. Someone was kind enough, to at least put a path in the middle. Curious, Phoenix popped open a skinny but long rectangle box. Inside was a massive sniper rifle of obvious Cybertronian make. It was black with red decals.
Arcee walked over and whistled. "That's a Dai-con 387. It'd blow holes in just about anything."
"How big a hole?"
"Size of your head."
"Impressive." Phoenix closed the container. "Come on, we're getting closer."
They moved down the preset path before them until they reached a set of blast doors. Obviously built to withstand almost anything. Phoenix looked at his motion tracker and according to it, the source of the movement was on the other side. He knocked on the door and was rewarded with a hollow thump. However, nothing decided to knock back. The motion tracker stopped reading movement on the other side of the door. Arcee and Phoenix looked at each other with suspicion.
"There's no way we're opening that door. Not without power." Phoenix stated. "We could cut a hole, peek in but we see what's on the other side."
"Be right back." Arcee turned and walked away, holstering her shotgun.
"O…K…?"
It wasn't long until she came back with the 387. "Move."
Phoenix dashed off to the side as she fired the massive weapon at the door. A bright orange bolt flew shot and tore a large hole in the obstruction. Phoenix walked over and looked into the hole.
'It really is as big as my head.'
Looking inside, Phoenix received a shock. There was a Terrorcon on the other side with a hole in its chest. A deformed, clawed hand reached out at Phoenix.
"Frak me!" He cursed as he stumbled back.
Arcee raised her weapon but did not fire. "There might be more compartments filled with Terrorcons, like this one."
"As long they're closed, we should be fine."
Arcee shook her head. "See that busted switch over there. It's on open."
Realization dawned on Phoenix. "The power…"
As though someone had planned it the radio crackled. "This is Smokescreen. Please should be coming on… now." The sound of humming electricity ran through the walls.
The blast door thrummed to life and started to open. Arcee and Phoenix sprinted off in the direction of the exit.
Phoenix screamed into the radio. "It's a trap! There are compartments all over this ship filled with Terrorcons, rigged to open when the power is turned on! Be ready for combat!"
When they reached the storage room door, Arcee shut it. Phoenix flickered out his blade and charged it with Synth-En. Using the heat, he wielded the door shut. Just in time as something slammed into it.
The radio burst into life with gunfire and screeches. "This Lieutenant Roy Fokker! Retreat, everyone fall back to the Cargo Bay! Now! We have to lock them inside!"
"Let's go!" Phoenix shouted as he transformed to Guardian.
Arcee transformed also with the sniper rifle and the shotgun holstered on the sides of her bike. The two of them made a mad man's break for the Cargo Bay.
Bridge team
"It's time we left." Optimus declared as he ran outside of the bridge.
Immediately, he noticed the Terrorcon swarm charging at them from the side. He pulled out his Gatling gun and his aimed the auto shotgun, releasing a hail of blaster bolts and explosive rounds. His team turned and ran the other direction. After he was sure they were on their way to safety, he holstered the gat and followed.
Engine room team
Smokescreen, Wheeljack, and Skull four ran out of the access hatch for the engine.
Wheeljack cussed. "Scrap!"
The team was in a semi-circle around the hatch, defending against the swarm of Terrorcons. Wheeljack slid his faceplate into place as the trio joined the fray.
"We need an exit!" Shouted Magnus.
Wheeljack smirked beneath his faceplate as he held up a grenade. "One exit, coming right up."
Priming the grenade, he threw it in the general direction of the way out. The resulting explosion cleared the path of Terrorcons. Sending body parts everywhere.
"Go! Go! Go! Transform and roll out!" Magnus commanded.
The Autobots transformed while the veritechs shifted to Guardian mode and they dashed for the exit.
Cargo Bay Team
Skull eight fired endlessly into the Terrorcons that were attacking him and his team. Though they were fighting with everything they had, it was a losing battle. Skull nine disappeared under a tidal wave of Terrorcons. The sound of tearing metal and skull nine's screams filled the air. Quickly, Skull ten's screams joined skull nine's.
"This is skull eight. We…I can't hold the bay. I can't…ahhhh!"
A Terrorcon clamped his jaws around the cockpit and squeezed, killing him.
Protoform factory team
Roy had already navigated his team out of the factory room and was heading for the exit. An echoing, deafening sound filled the hall it almost sounded like the changing of a train. Roy held his first up telling the team to stop. The sound grew closer as the team transformed and formed up back to back. The centipede-like Terrorcon appeared down t hallway and charged the team. As they scrambled to get away, a massive blast door closed behind them.
Over the radio, various cries of alarms sounded, each voicing similar situations.
A maniacal laugh filled the air. "Welcome to the Ark!"
Arcee and Phoenix
The femme growled. "Arachnid."
Phoenix was trying to cut his way through the blast door.
Arachnid laughed again. "I want to thank you for falling in my trap and even better you split yourselves up. You really couldn't have made this anymore easier. Optimus will soon be infected then he will pilot the ship himself. I wish I could see your incredulous faces."
They both heard a sound of clamoring terrorcons
"Now then…" Arachnid declared "…PREPARE TO DIE!"