"So, you really were scared of Megatron like we were at first." Jack said. "I can't imagine it was easy living with him."
"It wasn't. I slept with Hound's knife for the first few months." Charlie answered. "For his friendship quest, we started off with getting him used to humans; helping out in Crown City and talking to people. That, that was hard."
"If our Megatron's like yours, he hated humans." Jack said.
"Yep. Took a while for him to appreciate them. In fact, he only started letting people ride inside him a month ago, followed by adopting a holomatter avatar. Then last week, he changed his alt-mode to be comfier to humans." Charlie added.
"I wonder if our Megatron's going through something like that." Jack wondered.
"How'd you kids fall in with the Autobots? Did ya put up your ancestor's glasses on eBay?" Charlie asked.
"For me, it started when I got off work at K.O. Burger…" Jack began explaining.
"…And that's how we joined the Autobots." Miko concluded.
"He survived, didn't he?" C-81 asked.
"Yeah, he did. Our Megatron's a pretty hard bot to kill." Miko answered.
"I remembered my first waking experience on Earth. I was killed by a child within the first few hours." C-81 recounted.
"Hours? That's a record if it ever was one." Miko chuckled.
"Who was he?" Raf asked.
"A young man named Sam Witwicky. He took the Allspark meant to revitalize Cybertron and shoved it into my chest, destroying my spark." C-81 answered. "I should've known then that humans are not to be underestimated."
"Yep, we're pretty awesome if you let us." Miko said.
"Indeed. Your species is full of surprises, doing and making amazing things the average Cybertronian could never even imagine. I almost couldn't believe I tried to wipe them out a lifetime ago." C-81 said.
"What's your favourite part about humans?" Raf asked.
"Music. It's so… expressive. All we had on Cybertron was electronic music, and believe me it was repetitive." C-81 answered.
"You really are different from our Megatron. He wouldn't want anything to do with anything human." Raf commented.
"You could say that it was the human factor that helped change me." C-81 smiled to them. "And please, call me C-Eighty-One."
Soon, the two exit the highway and travel down a desert road leading to a military base.
C-81 rams through the chain-link gates, allowing entrance into the abandoned compound. They drive around the empty hangars, each marked alphabetically. "There, Hangar E!" Jack pointed to a hangar matching his description. The Cybertronians park and let the humans out before transforming into robot mode.
"This was home base for your Autobots?" Bumblebee asked them.
"It was after Megatron destroyed the old one with the Nemesis." Miko answered.
"Unit:E was generous enough to give this to us." Raf added.
"When the Autobots left, Unit:E left it and set up shop in Tranquility in the next county." Jack concluded.
"Back home, we had a human alliance called N.E.S.T. that gave us bases all over the world; Diego Garcia, Washington, a couple in Nevada. In fact, this place looks oddly familiar…" Bumblebee recounted.
"Let's hope they left the power on." C-81 said as he goes to the hangar doors. He pries them open, and to their surprise, they see a platoon of green Transformers with car alternate modes and tactical military masks, armed with large rifles waiting for them.
"It's a trap!" Jack screamed as he and his friends turn around, only to be cornered by sleek, green sports cars that transform into metal particle clouds, then into green robot soldiers.
"Get behind me!" C-81 shouted to the humans as he and Bumblebee take arms, preparing to fight their way out. They hear the snap of metallic fingers, and the troops lower their weapons. The soldiers inside the hangar part to make way for a large Transformer with an S.U.V. mode like C-81, only with a green paintjob like the troops and a helmeted head bearing an oddly human-like face of a stern, block-jawed man.
"Oh… oh no…" Jack said in horror as he looks up to the robot's face, as if he's seen him before.
"Silas…?" Raf wondered as his eyes widen.
"Last we heard of him, Bulkhead said he used Breakdown's body to turn himself into a cyborg." Miko said.
"Bumblebee. Megatron." the robot greeted them with a low, commanding voice.
"C.Y.L.A.S., what an unpleasant surprise." Bumblebee growled as he points his plasma cannon at him.
"You have a Silas in your universe, too?" Raf asked.
"Apparently." C-81 said, pumping his shotgun. "He's an anti-Cybertronian terrorist who survived for a millennium by converting himself and his organization into cyborgs with research made by humans on Cybertronian cadavers."
"The furthest our M.E.C.H.'s gone with their research was Nemesis Prime; a drone." Raf noted.
"They're not the only ones to know how to make Transformers on our Earth. Far from the first." Bumblebee told them. "What do you want from us? Here to give us to Lockdown?" Bumblebee asked C.Y.L.A.S.
"I want to talk." C.Y.L.A.S. said.
"Bullscrap." Bumblebee growled.
"If I was here to destroy you, you'd both be scrap by now." C.Y.L.A.S. responded.
Bumblebee sustains his battle stance before lowering his weapons. "Talk." Bumblebee groaned for C-81 to put away his shotgun.
"Darby." C.Y.L.A.S. said for Jack to look up to him, then to a cyborg soldier approaching Bumblebee with a holographic projector displaying a topographical map of Nevada. "This is where Galvatron is mining Dark Energon: east of Las Vegas, near Lake Mead. It's yours." C.Y.L.A.S. informed a puzzled Bumblebee, who takes the device.
"Why're you telling me this? You work for Lockdown: the guy you people worked with in hunting down my people." Bumblebee growled.
"Bumblebee, you may not realize it, but we fight for Earth too." C.Y.L.A.S. said. "Due to recent developments, Lockdown's goals now conflict with ours, and as a result, we quit."
"And you want to get back at him by giving info to the enemy?" C-81 asked.
"I'd do it myself, but our resignation was bloody, costing us loyal men and women." C.Y.L.A.S. said sorrowfully. "I'd rather bestow this task to someone more willing."
"I'm more than willing, especially if it means seeing Galvatron's head on a pike." C-81 growled, a bit of the old Megatron seeping out in his tone.
"Until we meet again." C.Y.L.A.S. said before transforming into S.U.V. mode and leading his army away.
The five looks to the green fleet, and see the rear-most trooper transform into robot mode and turn to them. "Jack." He spoke in an oddly-familiar voice, gaining the young soldier's attention. "Quit the army while you're still young." the cyborg advised before turning around and re-joining the fleet.
"That… was terrifying." Raf noted.
"Imagine if our M.E.C.H. had these guys. They'd give the Decepticons a run for their money." Miko commented.
"Human ingenuity is as miraculous as it is terrifying. After a Decepticon attack on Chicago that left millions dead, human and Cybertronian, the people of Earth began to reverse-engineer us from mere scraps." C-81 said.
"That's how Galvatron was born." Bumblebee added.
"Humans created Galvatron?" Jack asked.
"He was supposed to be a military drone, but because of Megatron's endless pile of Plan Bs, it gained a copy of his consciousness." Bumblebee explained.
"That's the future M.E.C.H. fought for. We feared it, and here you two are living it." Miko said.
"Let's keep moving. We can't waste any more time." Bumblebee said before transforming.
C-81 kneels down to the humans with a concerned look. "It's not too late for you to turn back. From here on, this could be dangerous."
"No, we can handle it!" Miko said confidently.
"Like we said, we're tougher than we look." Jack added.
"We may not fight as well as Cybertronians, but we can still help in other ways. Just you wait." Raf said.
"Heh, I should've expected as much." C-81 smirked confidently.
As Jack runs to Bumblebee, Raf darts his head between the two Cybertronians before settling on C-81, who he walks to.
"Dude, really?" Miko groaned as she follows him.
Jack is about to enter Bumblebee, when he turns to the M.E.C.H. fleet driving down the highway in the horizon, eyeing the rearmost car. "You coming?" Bumblebee asked as his voice transitions to Charlie's voice before she projects onto the driver's seat.
"Yeah." Jack said before hopping into the passenger seat.
They travel down the desert road, alone with no cars in sight. Miko and Raf are slightly unnerved by their encounter with Bumblebee and C-81's universe's version of M.E.C.H., wondering if their M.E.C.H. would advance into such a state had they not "mysteriously" disappeared. C-81's holomatter avatar takes notice and turns to them. "Are you two okay?" he asked.
"I guess so. Meeting your M.E.C.H. is kinda scary." Miko answered.
"Thanks for trying to protect us." Raf said.
"It's what friends do." C-81 smiled.
"Since when were we friends?" Miko crossed her arms.
"You don't need verbal confirmation for friendship. It just… happens." C-81 responded. "Why don't I put on some music? I have a Love Live playlist my daughter recommends."
"Let's change it up. For once, I'm tired of twenty minutes of J-rock." Miko responded.
"I have other choices: Linkin Park, My Little Pony—"
"Pfft!" Miko giggled. "Sorry, I still can't believe you watch My Little Pony!"
"Well, I do." C-81 answered confidently before selecting "MY PAST IS NOT TODAY" on the dashboard screen, which starts with a simple synth beat.
"Power… was all I desired… but all that grew inside me was the darkness I acquired…" a woman sang sorrowfully.
As the song plays, the three sit silently, C-81's avatar tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. "Raf, Miko… thank you." C-81 said softly.
"For what?" Raf asked.
"For riding with me. I've… taken a liking to have someone, humans, with me. It's pleasant having company during travel." C-81 answered.
"I'm glad to have met you, too, C-Eighty-One. It's nice to see this side of you." Raf said.
"I guess you're pretty alright. Who knew an ex-intergalactic overlord would make good company?" Miko added.
C-81 smiles, then focuses on the road. "It's great to make new friends. Knowing I have people that care about me, and people I care about, makes me more confident in fighting Galvatron." C-81 said.
"What? You gonna beat him with the Power of Friendship?" Miko scoffed.
"No… the Magic of Friendship." C-81 smiled as Miko groans.
"I may not know what the future holds, but hear me when I saaay: that my past does not define me, 'cause my past is not todaaay!" the singer rang out as the song concludes.
By evening, they arrive at Lake Mead where the humans disembark from the Cybertronians, and Jack just got off the phone before meeting his friends. "I called Unit:E. They're be coming, but we're still on our own." Jack informed everyone. "At least we'll have backup once we locate Galvatron."
"Thanks, Jack. I hope we won't need them when the time comes. As much as I appreciate the help, I don't want unnecessary human casualties." Bumblebee told Jack.
"So, where's Galvatron and his crystal army?" Miko wondered as she looks around. "His ugly face can't be that hard to find, since we've got a reference right here." she thumbed to C-81 behind her.
Bumblebee rotates the topographic map to find the marker deep underground at the bottom of a winding cavern. "There's a cave system under us. That's where he must be." Bumblebee informed them. He looks around and sees a cave entrance next to the water, then walks to it. He examines the mouth of the cave, finding it artificially widened by mining equipment.
"Stay close to us." C-81 turned to the humans as he and Bumblebee goes in. Soon, everyone enters the cave and descend into the earth.
"How's riding with Megatron?" Jack asked his friends as he lights their way with a phone light.
"Surprisingly pleasant. He made for a good conversation." Raf answered.
"We listened to my debut album… and he liked it." Miko said in embarrassment.
"I figured he was into metal." Jack commented.
"That, and music from a kid's show, not that it's a bad thing. He's got surprisingly okay taste in music." Miko added.
"How 'bout you? Did you talk with Bumblebee about anything?" Raf asked.
"We talked about our old team. Sure, he knew Optimus and Ratchet, but he's never actually met his version of Bulkhead before." Jack said.
"But, he does exist in his universe, right? A universe without Bulk isn't a universe worth being in." Miko asked.
"Sure he does. He's just never met him." Jack answered.
"What about Arcee?" Raf asked.
"He seemed kinda uncomfortable talking about her." Jack answered.
"Is she dead?!" Miko asked in shock.
"No, she's still alive. He just said she's going through a rough patch in life." Jack assured.
"I wonder what our Autobot friends are doing now." Raf wondered.
"Living their best life on Cybertron, I hope." Jack commented. They traverse the dark tunnel when they hear drilling, and see a purple glow around a corner. They peek around and see an entire cavern lit up by Dark Energon being mined by Crystal Terrorcons.
"So much Dark Energon…" Raf noted.
"What's that?" Miko pointed to a large bacteriophage-shaped machine drilling into the earth before skittering to the left.
"According to our intel, it's responsible for creating these Crystal Terrorcons." C-81 explained.
"Before we took on this mission, two Earth agents were initially tasked to find this thing." Bumblebee added. "It actually looks familiar, but I can't remember where I've seen it."
"Where's Galvatron?" Jack wondered.
"Not here. One less obstacle to deal with." Bumblebee said.
"What's the plan? Going in guns blazing?" Miko asked.
"We must prioritise destroying that machine, but for that to happen we must go through those Crystal Terrorcons." C-81 said.
"Leave that to me." Bumblebee volunteered confidently. "Stay here with the humans. I'll give you the go when it's clear." He instructed before running into the cavern, gaining the Crystal Terrorcons' attention. "Hey, you oversized glass sculptures!" Bumblebee screamed for the Crystal Terrorcons to look to him. He jumps in the air, and his body disassembles into separate body parts and float in the air, loosely kept together by magnetic forces. "I'd like to see you try pulling me apart like a Bionicle again!" Bumblebee taunted before deploying his battle mask.
"Our Bumblebee definitely can't do that." Miko commented as she watches Bumblebee throw his parts at the Crystal Terrorcons.
"It was a recent upgrade, courtesy of friends from another universe we visited." C-81 said.
"Cool…" Raf said in awe as he sees Bumblebee swinging his arm pieces at the Crystal Terrorcons, who dodge every time they come by.
From his disembodied forearm, an array of other weapons pops out, from plasma cannons to machine guns, and some missile launchers join the magnetic storm surrounding the Autobot, unleashing a bullet barrage upon the Crystal Terrorcons, who arm themselves with giant shurikens. Try as they might, they're knocked around by missiles and body parts flying into them, distracting them enough for Bumblebee to aim guns at some unlucky few's chests, shattering their Dark Energon cores. When he attracts enough away from the machine, he flings his right hand towards the cave entrance where it lands before the four, and it gives them a thumbs up before being pulled back into the fray, hitting a Crystal Terrorcon at the back of its head on the way.
"I think that's the signal." Raf said before being grabbed by C-81.
"Then let's go." C-81 takes the other two and transforms into vehicle mode. Raf, Jack, and Miko yelp as they tumble through C-81 body as a comfy S.U.V. interior forms around them.
"Buckle up." C-81 advised as seatbelts are strapped onto the humans. He revs his engine and darts into the cavern, speeding past the distracted Crystal Terrorcons fighting Bumblebee, making a beeline for the machine.
"Hang on!" Jack yelled as he holds onto the ceiling bar, while Miko hugs Raf. They soon make it to the machine where C-81 ejects the humans from himself as he transforms.
"We're here. Let's blast this thing!" Miko pointed to the machine.
"It shouldn't be so easy, not when we're this close." C-81 aims his laser shotgun at the machine, and fires. The humans shield their eyes from the smoke and lower their arms when it settles, finding the machine intact, surrounded by a holographic shield wrapped around its surface.
"A force field." Raf noted.
"As Bumblebee said: I have an endless supply of Plan Bs, and that goes for Galvatron." C-81 observed.
"How're we supposed to take this down?" Miko wondered when two Crystal Terrorcons suddenly grab C-81 by the shoulders.
"It's up to you to—!" C-81 advised before he's pulled away by the Crystal Terrorcons into the crowd.
"No!" Raf reached out to C-81 before Jack and Miko pull him behind the machine's leg.
C-81 is thrown to the ground where he sees Crystal Terrorcons standing above him with shurikens, preparing to shred him. C-81 parries with his mining claw before rolling aside, tripping three Crystal Terrorcons before he gets up and shoots them with his laser shotgun. The Crystal Terrorcons zip around the lasers at breakneck speed before they all line up.
"Are they gonna do that thing again?" Bumblebee looked to the Crystal Terrorcons. They both witness the Crystal Terrorcons locking arms in pairs and square-dance before them, confusing the humans watching them and alarming Bumblebee and C-81.
"Kill 'em!" Bumblebee fires missiles at the Crystal Terrorcons, just as they coalesce into a blob of dark energy that reforms into an even bigger Crystal Terrorcon.
"They combined!" Jack exclaimed.
"I didn't know they could do that either!" Miko added.
"Focus, guys." Raf said before they all look up at the machine's drill.
"How'd we destroy this thing? We can't get through it, and it won't budge." Jack wondered when the machine moves to the right suddenly.
"Unless it wants to." Raf added. He observes the machine drilling a small hole into the ground before moving aside. He looks into the hole and sees a faint purple glow. "I think it's putting Dark Energon back into the ground.
"Why would they mine Dark Energon just to put it back?" Jack wondered.
"This must be how Crystal Terrorcons are made. Dark Energon is planted into the ground like seeds, and they pop out when ready." Raf hypothesized.
"Yeah, but how'd we stop it?" Miko wondered before they turn to an explosion that knocks a Crystal Terrorcon their way. They watch as it gets up, when Jack aims his pistol at it. As the Crystal Terrorcon creates a shuriken, Jack's pistol opens up to reveal alien circuitry before shooting the shuriken away with a blue laser. Before it could retaliate, Jack blasts its shoulder, injuring it before shooting its chest, shattering its core and destroying it.
"Woah. Is that new?" Miko asked.
"Yup, courtesy of the brains at Griffin Rock." Jack responded, when he notices Raf staring intensely at the machine when it moves again.
"I've been timing its movements, and mapped out its path… and I have a plan." Raf told his friends.
Bumblebee and C-81 continue to fight the giant Crystal Terrorcons surrounding them; Bumblebee providing C-81 with cover within the circle of zipping parts. C-81 shoots the Crystal Terrorcon while Bumblebee's missiles shake up the ground under them, knocking them to their feet but also disturbing the Dark Energon planted below, awakening more Crystal Terrorcons that claw themselves from the earth. "There's too many!" Bumblebee shouted.
"As if that ever stopped us!" C-81 said before leaping at a combined Crystal Terrorcon as it tries to get its footing, burying his claw in its chest and separating it into five, two of which are alive. Before he could finish them off, purple hands burst from the ground and grab his legs, which he shoots at the cost of being accosted by the remaining two Crystal Terrorcons. They pin him to the ground and attempt to pry his arms off, but Bumblebee throttles his hands at them, punching them away before helping up C-81.
"Thanks." C-81 responded as Bumblebee's hands return. Just as his hands return to Bumblebee, Crystal Terrorcons burst from the ground below and grab his parts floating around his torso.
"They're touching me again!" Bumblebee whined before retracting all parts, slamming them into the Crystal Terrorcons as he reassembles himself. He deploys machine guns from his hands and blasts them in the chests before C-81 bashes the rest with a spiked wrecking ball.
"I hate to say it, but we've bitten off more than we can chew." Bumblebee said as he sees Crystal Terrorcons surrounding them.
"I hope the humans know what they're doing." C-81 said as he pumps his laser shotgun.
Meanwhile, Jack buries a glowing blue ammunition magazine into the ground just when the machine lifts itself from its position and walks towards him. "Jack, c'mon!" Miko shouted to Jack before he runs to her and Raf.
"You sure about this, Raf?" Miko asked.
"Assuming there's an opening on the tip to allow crystal injection, yeah." Raf responded. They look to the machine plunging its drill into the ground where the magazine is buried before retracting, seeing a blue glow stuck in the tip.
"Here goes." Jack takes his blaster and aims at the drill, then fires at the tip, blowing up the drill before the rest of the machine follows, exploding from the inside-out.
"Woo! Yeah, we did it!" Raf celebrated.
"Alright! It feels good to blow something up again!" Miko roared.
Bumblebee and C-81 notice the great explosion behind the wall of Crystal Terrorcons turning around to glare at the destruction. "They did it…" C-81 smiled.
"Yeah, but we still have these bozos lining up to tear us apart." Bumblebee said as he sees the Crystal Terrorcons turning back to them. Instead of resuming their attack, they start square-dancing again, once more confusing the humans.
"What's with the dancing again?!" Miko exclaimed before Bumblebee and C-81 rush to them, grabbing them and stuffing them into their chests before the Crystal Terrorcons all combine into a giant energy blob big enough to crack the cavern ceiling. To protect them, Bumblebee and C-81 transform around the humans before they're lifted by the ground elevating below them. Dark energy from the ground merges with the ever-expanding blob until the ceiling bursts, caving in the place.
As it breaches the surface to meet the night sky, Bumblebee and C-81 are thrown out of the fissure and are flung away, landing atop a mesa. They land in a slightly-dented state, covered in dust and sand, then let out the humans, who stumble out the doors; Miko rushing to a bush to puke.
"Is everyone okay?" Bumblebee asked them.
"Never… better…!" Jack hyperventilates. Raf walks to the edge of the mesa to witness a multitude of colossal, combined Crystal Terrorcons letting out an unholy roars before turning to the lights of Las Vegas shining in the distance.
"They're huge…" Raf said in horror as his friends join him.
After getting his bearings, Jack takes his phone and dials a number. "Fowler? Change of plans, evacuate Las Vegas, we've got a big one coming, like Darkmount big." Jack communicated.
"This looks like a job for Big Buddha." Bumbebee said.
"Big Buddha?" Miko repeated.
"I believe you know him, and know him well." C-81 said before taking a human-scaled white smartphone from a compartment in his chest, gripping it with sub-pincers on the tip of his right index finger. "Prime. I need you." C-81 spoke, just when a rainbow portal materializes behind them. Emerging from it is a tall, blue-and-red robot with flame decals, and alien engravings on his helmet.
"Here I am, C-Eighty-One." The robot announced himself with a commanding, deep voice.
To be continued…