Chapter Thirteen: Beasts Unleashed

Humans were screaming and running, but Prowl couldn't really do anything for them given his present situation.

He struggled against Swindle's tight grip. It was not enough to crush his voice box, but it still hurt. And he could not do anything more than glare at the Con and punch at his arm feebly.

How could he have not noticed the signs? In hindsight, Prowl should have expected it already. There was no way that Megatron would only send two Decepticons, especially if he knew that a Knight was here. Of course, Shatter and Dropkick would have backup from the most fearsome Decepticons on Cybertron.

After all, Prowl realized, Swindle was definitely not alone. He could hear the sound of explosions going off across the city.

The matter of their appearance was terrifying, to say the least. They had not registered in his scans, which meant that more enemies could be scattered throughout the city. If that was the case, they may well already be surrounded.

"We have to thank the doctor for these signal dampeners. It gave us the advantage we need for this operation." Swindle smirked. "Well, how about it, Autobot? I'll release you, but for a price."

"How about you release him, and I take your spark as a souvenir?"

With a fierce cry, Drift sailed into the air, bringing down his katana toward Swindle's back before landing on his feet next to him and delivering a roundhouse kick at the Decepticon's armored chest, sending him reeling back and releasing Prowl.

There was no time to waste. Prowl vaulted to his feet, transforming his right hand into an electric steel baton, and thrusting it forward even as Drift struck again. Swindle roared from the surge of electricity, but he managed to block Drift's katana and send an uppercut, which Drift avoided in time.

"It'll take more than this to stop me, Autobot scums," Swindle snarled.

Prowl's optics widened as the Con crushed the baton with his bare hand, the electricity bursting outward and dissipating until only sparks remained. Swindle's other arm turned into a blaster, and Prowl dove out of the way at once before the plasma blast hit him.

Gravel flew from where it struck the road, giving Prowl a brief advantage. He met Drift's optics and they both nodded, then charged.

Fighting Swindle was like fighting an entire squadron itself. Though Prowl and Drift had the advantage in numbers, Swindle had faced worse odds back on their homeworld. The Decepticon warrior was too skilled, too cunning, even for a tactician and a former assassin. Prowl's punches were always blocked, and Drift's katana sliced empty air. It was as if Swindle could read their movements, allowing him to evade at just the right moment.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the two Autobots.

Drift leapt into the air, hoping to sever Swindle's head in one blow, but the Con's arm shot forward and latched onto Drift's leg before hurling him toward Prowl. The two crashed onto one another, tumbling back across the road until they struck an empty double-decker bus.

Prowl groaned as he extricated himself from his friend and the vehicle, slowly rising to his feet. Energon trickled from various wounds in his frame. Thankfully, they were just minor ones despite Swindle's relentless assault, and he trusted his self-repair systems to patch them up.

Drift was in the same situation. His leg remained intact, thank Primus, but Prowl knew it could only hold for so long against Drift's fighting style. They had to finish Swindle before the leg gave in to the stress of combat.

"Prowl to Cliffjumper, do you read?" If they had any hope of defeating their opponent, they would need everyone.

Cliffjumper's response came immediately. "Sorry! A little busy here!" In the background, Prowl heard the unmistakable sound of metal clashing against metal and blaster fire. Cliffjumper chuckled. "You're still as vicious as ever, lady."

"And you're still as obnoxious as ever," an all-too familiar voice said.

Prowl cut off the line at once. If Cliff was facing Shatter, he did not need the distraction.

"So it's just the two of us," Drift said, adjusting his grip on his katana, moving into a stance with the tip pointing toward the approaching Swindle. A few human police tried to stop him by firing their pistols, but Swindle merely retaliated with several shots from a missile launcher in his shoulder, engulfing them in a blazing firestorm.

Nodding with a grim expression, Prowl drew his blaster while looking around. Cade and the others were nowhere in sight, but that did not ease his worry. If the tank and military truck he had seen earlier were who Prowl thought they were, Cade and Viviane were in even greater danger.

Swindle charged, one hand wielding a Cybertanium sword, forcing Prowl to focus on the present. Drift met the Decepticon head on, and they began a clash of sword and katana whose sound filled the tactician's audio receptors. Though Drift was fast and nimble, Swindle was vigilant, parrying his blows and avoiding even the most subtlest of feints—feints that even Prowl would never have seen despite having studied together with Drift once.

With Swindle engaged, Prowl sprinted to the left, aiming his blaster and taking potshots at weak spots. But Swindle blocked them all with his sword, even when his optics were focused solely on Drift. A minigun popped from his shoulder, and it roared as it fired in Prowl's direction.

Prowl holstered his blaster and put up a burst of speed, hurling abandoned vehicles in front of him to absorb the rapid-fire shots. The bullets tore through them, reducing the makeshift shields into shredded lumps of scrap metal as Prowl moved from one spot to another. He could not let that minigun corner him, or else it would be a painful death.

Fortunately, Drift noticed his predicament. He dove out of Swindle's swing, came up to his side, and sliced off the minigun in one smooth stroke. Swindle whirled around to lunge, but Drift had already flipped backward to evade the blow.

"Not bad," Swindle said with a smile. A smile that quickly turned into a snarl. "But nowhere near the skill of a Combaticon!"

At his declaration, his free hand transformed into a different blaster. Prowl recognized it at once and ran for better cover while Drift did the same.

The Scatter Blaster fired, louder than the minigun was. But it was nothing compared to Swindle's cackle as he swept his weapon in an arc, pulverizing anything the bullets touched. The road was riddled with small craters, buildings exploded, and glass shards showered everywhere.

Prowl and Drift were both lucky to have found cover behind a relatively tall building, but Prowl knew it was only a matter of time before even this was reduced to a pile of rubble. They had to find a way to deal with Swindle soon.

"I can act as a decoy again," Drift suggested. He peeked over their cover, but ducked quickly when Swindle fired a short burst.

Prowl shook his head. "It won't work the second time." No, what they needed was another diversion, one that Swindle would not expect. But they did not have that luxury at the moment. Cliffjumper was engaging Shatter, and Prowl did not doubt that Bee was similarly preoccupied with Dropkick.

His internal radio crackled to life, and heard Fowler spoke, "Fowler to Prowl. Do you copy?"

"This is Prowl," Prowl said at once. "What's your status? Are the others safe?"

"We are hunkered down in a church three clicks away," Fowler answered, much to Prowl's relief. "Viviane and the Key are both safe. Listen, the city is being evacuated and British Army and Royal Air Force will be there in three minutes. I've also called Folgan castle for reinforcements. Can you hold out for that long?"

"Yes. But send some help to Cliffjumper and Bumblebee. Agent Fowler, our enemies are not to be taken lightly. But if we can defeat them here and now, Megatron's army would suffer a major blow." Prowl knew how difficult their future missions would be if the Combaticons were left alive. They had to neutralize them quickly.

There was apprehension in Fowler's voice as he acknowledged, "Understood. Just stay put. Help is on the way."

The comm line was cut off after that, leaving Prowl to return his attention back to Swindle. Unlike before, the Combaticon was just standing there, his arms crossed, a victorious grin splitting his face.

"I forgot how arrogant they are," Drift commented, his optics narrowed in irritation. "Especially him."

"Come out, Autobots," Swindle shouted. "You two cannot hope to best me. If you surrender quietly, I will be willing to let you go… for a price, of course."

Drift muttered, "He could give Daytrader a run for his money."

"Who?" Prowl stared at him in confusion.

"Ah, it's nothing. Just a Junkion who often rips us off. Anyway, what's the plan?"

Prowl shook his head and gathered his thoughts. They could either hide here and wait for reinforcements, or resume their fight with Swindle. Both options had accompanying risks, but Prowl was sure that the latter was the most logical path to take; if they stayed here in hiding, it would only give Swindle the chance to formulate a winning strategy that would take out both of them.

A loud engine drew Prowl's attention, one that he had already heard earlier. "Move," he shouted as the same AH-64 helicopter came into view, firing a salvo of rockets that shrieked toward their hiding spot, forcing Prowl and Drift to break cover.

It was the opportunity Swindle had been waiting for. He charged at Prowl, firing his Scatter Blaster as he ran. Prowl altformed into his vehicle mode, speeding out of its firing range and driving around Swindle as fast as his maximum speed would allow him. Guns popped out from Prowl's vehicle mode, and this time he took the offensive, unleashing a salvo of Energon shots and high-heat projectiles.

Overhead, Vortex soared away, no doubt chasing Drift.

Separating from each other was not a wise tactic that Prowl would consider, but two Combaticons working together would reduce their chances of winning. At least Drift would not worry about another Bot except for himself, allowing him to fight as he pleases.

Swindle tried to evade Prowl's attacks, but he was going too fast for him. Snarling in frustration, Swindle altformed as well and drove straight for Prowl.

The Autobot tactician saw him coming and swerved hard just as he drew close. Swindle barreled past him, the momentum carrying the Con forward before he braked hard and turned. However, Prowl was already back in his bipedal form, tackling Swindle in the middle of his altformation.

Prowl rained punches on the Con's face and chest, never giving him the chance to recover. He wrenched the missile launcher off Swindle's shoulder and bashed it across the Combaticon's face—once, twice. On the third, Swindle caught it with one hand and punched Prowl straight in his head with the other.

The blow sent him tumbling off Swindle, and for a moment, Prowl's vision flickered. When he finally recovered, Prowl found himself on all fours with Swindle looming over him, his sword raised.

"Last chance, Autobot," he said with a smirk.

Prowl shook his head and glared. No matter what happens, he would not surrender and beg for mercy. "Sorry, but I'm out of money right now. Maybe I can borrow from you?"

Swindle chuckled. "Of course. But first, let me borrow your head!"

Prowl glared as Swindle swung his weapon down…

…only for the Con to roar in pain as explosions sounded and a searing heat struck Prowl.

The tactician swiftly rolled away. An air wing of F-35B Lightning IIs flew overhead, their first pass done. In the distance, a dozen tanks rolled into view and fired a barrage. Half struck Swindle, all in the chest, but to Prowl's shock, the Decepticon blocked the remaining ones and hurled his sword at one of the tanks. It exploded at once, but the rest stood their ground.

With a roar, Swindle transformed his right hand back into a Scatter Blaster. However, another salvo of missiles struck him, and he knelt on the ground in agony. The tanks continued their barrage, and Prowl saw several trucks driving behind them, unloading at least two hundred soldiers who aimed rocket launchers and heavy support weapons at the downed Combaticon. Further back were four mobile artillery, their massive guns trained on Swindle.

"Prowl, get out of there," Fowler's voice came through the comm line. "Those soldiers will not harm you, but you have to leave before they unleash hell."

"Copy that, Agent Fowler," Prowl acknowledged. He was about to transform and drive away when he saw Drift racing from where he had escaped into earlier. Vortex was still hot in pursuit, but Prowl felt a chill in his spark when he saw the A-10 Thunderbolt next to the helicopter, as well as the green Oshkosh M1070 truck and M1 Abrams they had passed by on their way to Westminster Palace.

"Fall back," he shouted at the soldiers. But his warning fell on deaf ears.

The British Army unleashed hell, covering the area in fiery conflagration. Missiles, rockets, and bombs showered over them, forcing Prowl and Drift to head for the nearest building. Drift altformed and tackled Prowl to the ground, barely escaping the army's barrage.

In response, the sky lit up as Blast Off's main weapons burst to life, raining death on the defenders.

The air squadron tried to intercept the airborne Combaticon, but Vortex altformed into a Eurofighter Typhoon and engaged them. Though outnumbered twenty to one, Vortex's superior skills obliterated half of the human fighter jets in two minutes. A lucky shot from one of the remaining aircrafts struck the Con, and he dove to the ground before altforming and landing next to Swindle, who had barely survived the combined attacks of the army.

Up the road, the tank stopped and fired a powerful blast into the British lines. Half had survived Blast Off's assault, and they retaliated with the same ferocity they had displayed before. Shells and bullets struck the tank in volleys, forcing it to drive backwards at the sheer volume. And it would seem that the humans would prevail, but the military truck altformed into a massive Combaticon that Prowl would recognize anywhere.

Raising an arm despite the relentless torrent of tank shells and bullets flying toward him, Onslaught bellowed two words: "Combaticons, combine!"

Swindle was the first to respond, avoiding the attacks long enough to altform into a gigantic leg. The tank went next, driving at his maximum speed to stop next to his companion and mirror Swindle's form.

Onslaught leapt onto them, and together with Vortex, the torso and left arm formed above the legs. Up in the sky, Blast Off barrel-rolled to avoid the missiles from the rest of the F-35Bs. Seeing the monstrosity almost completed, the army unloaded everything they got to bring it down. The left arm shielded the torso, and soon Blast Off had formed the right arm, crossing with the other one.

With a mighty roar, the head finally emerged, and Prowl and Drift beheld the towering behemoth looming over them. Seventy feet tall at least, with two massive cannons on his back, aiming at the human army below him, and enough secondary weapons to wipe out the entire city of London.

"BRUTICUS, ONLINE!"

Prowl and Drift exchanged glances then raised their respective weapons and faced their opponent. There was no chance of escape now, not from Bruticus. All they could do was help the humans hold him off long enough for more reinforcements to arrive, whenever that would be.

Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, I do hope you two are in a better spot than us, Prowl thought before and Drift charged just as Bruticus fired all of his weapons.


It was definitely not his best day. That was Cliffjumper's thought as he went flying over a building once again, courtesy of Shatter.

He wondered how everything went to scrap in just a short amount of time. After leaving the others to scout the area, he and Bee were simply looking around when Shatter and Dropkick just appeared out of nowhere and engaged them, forcing the two to retaliate viciously.

Since then, the humans have fled, and what few police who tried to stop the two Cons were now smudges of blood and organs on the road. The street had become an instant battlefield, and pity filled Cliffjumper at seeing the destruction around him. All those pretty houses were gone thanks to Shatter and Dropkick.

"I must admit," she said in that smooth and mocking voice that Cliffjumper really found annoying, "you've vastly improved ever since our first encounter."

"Well, what can I say?" Cliffjumper pushed himself off the rubble that had piled on him. He grinned despite the dents in his armor. "I love being challenged, especially by a lady."

Shatter smirked. "Oh? Then let me see how far you've come." She lunged.

Cliffjumper barely avoided her blade, ducking under the blow and swinging his fist straight into her chest. Shatter caught it with her free hand, but Cliff was already moving, sweeping a leg under her. Shatter collapsed with a curse, then altformed and drove away just before Cliff's fist struck her.

"Aww, look who's running away." Cliffjumper immediately altformed and gave chase.

He pursued Shatter through the streets, gunning down his engines, firing his blasters while in vehicle mode. Bee was nowhere in sight, but Cliff was not worried. If there was anyone who could defeat Dropkick, it was the scout. As for Cliffjumper, he had a date with Shatter.

The Decepticon assassin altformed without warning, her blade already sliding out as she spun to bifurcate Cliffjumper. Seeing his approaching doom, Cliffjumper swerved hard and altformed, leaping into the air and landing behind Shatter. His roundhouse kick sent her sprawling to the ground, but she rolled and struck with her blade.

He blocked the strike. The second one came fast and unexpected, grazing his right shoulder and scratching his paint. A third nearly decapitated him, but he sidestepped just in time to avoid it and threw a punch.

Shatter grabbed his arm and twisted around, using her own weight to swing Cliffjumper over her head and smashed him to the ground. The shock was enough to disorient the Autobot, and he rolled away just before Shatter's foot could crush his head.

He could not recover fast enough to evade her knee, and Cliffjumper found himself knocked back by the blow, landing unceremoniously on his back. With a laugh, Shatter leapt onto him, her blade extended to its full length as she drove it straight to his spark.

Cliffjumper barely caught it in his hands, and he growled as Shatter loomed over him with a cruel smile. "Well, what can I say? You turned out to be less of a challenge."

The blade came closer and closer, even with Cliffjumper's strength, and it took every drop of it for him to hold back the weapon. His arms shook from the effort, but he maintained his grip on the blade. He could not give up now.

And then a building nearby exploded, and Dropkick sailed toward Shatter with a howl, crashing onto her and sending them tumbling across the street in a heap of tangled limbs.

Cliffjumper grinned as Bumblebee emerged out of the collapsing building. One of his doors was missing, and the right side of his battle mask was shattered, exposing his bright blue optics. But he looked fine, setting aside the dents and scratches on his armor.

"Thanks for the assist, Bee." Cliffjumper gave him a thumbs up. The scout returned it as he helped Cliff to his feet.

A growl drew their attention. Dropkick and Shatter were already rising to their feet, and both had expressions of fury. Cliffjumper had to admit; Bee did a good job taking a good chunk of Dropkick's armor. Energon caked the assassin's blue paint job, and both of his doors in his back were missing. And the glares they were sending was simply icing on the cake.

The Decepticons charged, and it was an all-out brawl afterwards. Dropkick slammed into Bee, but Cliffjumper soon lost sight of their furious fistfight as Shatter threw a powerful punch in his direction. Cliff blocked it, but Shatter pressed on, and he was soon on the defense, twisting and ducking under her fierce assault.

"Woah, lady. No need to get so worked up over a simple scratch," Cliffjumper taunted while pulling his body low to avoid her decapitating strike. He stood back up and sent an uppercut to her chin that connected with a clang. "Technically, it's your fault. You were just standing there before your partner crashed onto you."

"I forgot how much of an annoying chatterbox you are," Shatter snarled. Her previous composure was gone, replaced with an overwhelming killing intent that chilled Cliffjumper's spark.

She struck again with her fist, going for his chest, but changed direction at the last moment. Cliffjumper cried out in pain as his left thigh received the blow and it buckled against the force. Something whistled in the air next to him, and his optics widened as Shatter's blade slashed across his right shoulder before she grabbed him by the throat and threw him onto the ground, right beside a kneeling Bumblebee.

Scrap! Cliffjumper groaned as he tried to move. It was only a mesh wound, but Shatter certainly knew which part to hit to cause excruciating pain. However, Cliffjumper was more concerned with Bumblebee. Though the scout was still moving, Dropkick had dealt him enough injuries to send him kneeling on the ground.

Shatter approached, her smirk returning. "Looks like the tide has turned, Autobots. Now you are the ones on the ground."

"At our mercy," Dropkick chuckled. His right hand transformed into a sword heavier and thicker than Shatter's, pointing it at Bumblebee. "Any last words?"

Cliffjumper looked at the scout, but Bee was not even seeing him. For some reason, he was staring at something behind Shatter, though the two Decepticons did not seem to notice it. Cliffjumper followed Bumblebee's gaze and immediately smirked as a car seemingly rose in the air behind Shatter.

"What's so funny, Autobot?" the femme asked with a sneer. "Are you actually smiling at your approaching death?"

Cliffjumper shook his head and grinned broadly. "Why don't you look behind you?"

The Decepticon assassin tilted her head in confusion just as the car swung to her side, knocking her off her feet and sending her crashing onto Dropkick. But it was not over yet, as the car flew in the air as if someone had thrown it, where it ended up landing on Shatter and Dropkick.

Whistling in amazement, Cliffjumper turned to look at his and Bee's savior.

There, standing with his right arm fully encased in the Apex Armor, was Cade.


Cade was starting to love the Cybertronian relic. Sure, he looked like that guy who bombed the UN meeting in Vienna, but his new capabilities more than compensated for his appearance.

It was not hard for Cade to convince Fowler to let him help the Autobots. Though they were certain the Cons were here for the Omega Key, Cade knew that it would be safe in Viviane's hands while she, in turn, would be protected by Fowler and his team. The church was quite far from the battlefield. And from what they had seen, the Cons had deployed only a small team.

Besides, according to Fowler, the TRF was already on their way. Cade may have hated those assholes, but even he knew that they would need their help.

Thus, he went out to assist Cliffjumper and Bumblebee. And just in time to test his abilities. He did not know that it would feel satisfying to lift a car and smash a Decepticon with it, especially the one who had tailed Viviane.

"You guys all right?" Cade asked the two Autobots, brows creased in worry. They looked pretty banged up, especially Bumblebee.

Cliffjumper pushed himself off the ground, his legs wobbling a little. "We've had worse injuries," he said, chuckling. Bumblebee beeped his agreement.

Nodding at that, Cade glanced at their enemies. The Decepticons were starting to get to their feet, the car having already fallen off. The red one groaned, untangling herself from her blue companion. She saw Cade and narrowed her eyes as she rose on unsteady legs.

"You will pay for that, human."

Cliffjumper and Bumblebee readied themselves and stood protectively in front of Cade. However, Cade calmly walked toward a broken Mercedez and lifted it at the front fender with his armored hand.

Without a word, Cade hurled it toward the femme as Cliffjumper and Bumblebee charged.

The femme roared and batted away the enormous projectile, only to find Cliffjumper leaping at her while Bee grappled with the other Con. Cade moved to a wrecked motorcycle, hefted it like a club, and dashed toward Bee. He swung at the Con, decking him in the face, allowing Bee to follow-up with a powerful kick. The Con stumbled, but he recovered and transformed his right hand into a large blaster, aiming for Cade.

Bumblebee was onto him in an instant, smashing him with the car that Cade had thrown, using it both as a weapon and a makeshift shield. The Con sliced it in half, but Bumblebee pressed on with his assault, driving him away from Cade with kicks and punches.

The Con was soon pushed back, and he growled before leaping into the air and transforming into a helicopter. He rose quickly to a higher altitude, swerving away as Bee attempted to grab onto him, and circled far above, out of their reach. When he was at a safe distance, his autocannon roared.

"Shit!" Cade immediately dove out of the way, hiding behind a pile of rubble while Bumblebee shielded his hiding spot. Though the bullets did little damage to the scout, Cade could tell from his determined expression that it still hurt.

The barrage continued for several minutes. When the Con realized that Bumblebee was not even fazed by his attack, he fired a salvo of missiles. Bumblebee shot down most of them, but one managed to get past him and went straight for Cade.

Bumblebee beeped in distress.

Without hesitation, Cade leapt out of his hiding spot and into the missile's path, his armored arm outstretched. The missile rammed into his palm, the force pushing back by a dozen feet. But he managed to do what he thought was impossible; he had caught the projectile.

He swung his arm, redirecting it so that it zoomed out of sight before exploding somewhere behind him. Then he looked up and stared at the hovering Decepticon in defiance, with Bumblebee by his side.

The Decepticon dropped down at once, roaring as he charged, his left hand transforming into a spinning rotor blade. He grabbed Bumblebee by the throat, ignoring his punches, and hurled him toward where Cliffjumper and the femme were still locked in fierce combat. Bee was about to attack again, but the femme pulled him by his shoulder and threw him at Cliffjumper.

Cade saw all of this and realized the situation he was in. The blue Con towered over him with a sadistic smile, so close that the sound of his rotating weapon was loud in Cade's ears. There was no way he could escape, not with Bee and Cliff preoccupied with surviving the Decepticon femme's relentless assault.

The blue Con's arm swung down, and Cade reacted instinctively, crossing his arms over his head in defense. He closed his eyes, waiting for that excruciating pain that he knew was coming, hoping that Tessa would live long and healthy. But instead of that agony, Cade felt warmth suffusing his right arm, flowing like water across his chest, and moving over his left arm. There was a mighty clang, followed by the Con's cry of shock. When Cade opened his eyes, he could only stare in awe.

His entire upper body was encased with the Apex Armor, including his arms. He looked up higher and saw that the Decepticon's blade had completely bent from hitting the impervious metal, and it was now nothing more than a tangle of twisted steel, barely recognizable from its previous state.

The Con stared at it, bewildered. Then he glared at Cade and snarled, bringing his other hand down to squash him.

Cade did not even flinch. He punched the arm just as it came down on him, and the resulting shockwave blew him back by several meters. Fortunately, his body was not broken, though his legs hurt from sliding on the hard ground. Grunting in pain, Cade straightened up and stared at his handiwork with interest.

The Con's arm was all but shattered, sparks flying from exposed wiring, Energon pooling into the ground beneath his feet. He clutched it with his undamaged hand, but it was clear that it only angered him further. His baleful red eyes were full of hate that Cade was surprised that he had not yet combusted from the intensity of it.

"You'll pay for this," the Decepticon said in a menacing voice. He stood up despite his injuries and began to approach Cade.

It was then that the ground shook as if there was an earthquake, and a loud explosion rang throughout the city, filling the sky with a bright flash. Cade ducked behind the rubble as a shockwave swept across the area, knocking everyone off their feet. When Cade looked, he saw in shock a giant Transformer looming over the area where the Westminster Palace was. Except there was no palace anymore; instead, there was only a smoking crater where it once stood.

Apprehension filled Cade. The thing was massive, easily dwarfing most buildings within the vicinity. He could see an array of weapons scattered along his body, though they paled in comparison to the two gigantic cannons on his back, pointing at something on the ground. And as Cade watched, he saw it stomping its foot, almost like a human crushing bugs.

He remembered that Prowl and Drift were still in there, and he grew worried. But he could not do anything until he and the others had dealt with their current opponents.

A clang drew his attention. The Decepticon femme was backing away from Cliffjumper and Bumblebee, her companion joining her. Odd, Cade thought. Both of them had devious smirks on their have a plan, he could sense it. And it was definitely not good for him and the Bots.

Sure enough, the femme touched the side of her head with an index finger and spoke, "Shatter to Thundercracker. All conditions cleared. We will now proceed to Phase 2. Send a Groundbridge."

Cade's eyes widened as a swirling green portal blossomed behind Shatter. He knew that the Transformers were technologically advanced enough to create space bridges, but he had never heard of Groundbridges before.

"Sorry, boys," Shatter said as she and her partner retreated into the portal. "As much as I want to keep playing with you three, we have another business to attend to. But don't worry," she chuckled darkly, "you'll soon have a new friend that will play with you."

And then they were gone, swallowed by the portal that soon dissipated afterwards, almost as if they had never been there.

"What the hell was that?" Cade asked the two Autobots next to him.

"Groundbridge," Cliffjumper answered with a sigh. "It's a scaled-down version of a Spacebridge. Works only on, well, ground."

"That's not what I mean!" Cade waved a hand at the empty space in front of them. "Why did they leave? What's Phase 2?"

Cliffjumper raised his hands defensively. "Hey, don't ask me. I'm just as clueless as you. Besides, are we really going to discuss this now?"

Cade glanced at Bumblebee, who pointed at the rampaging giant Decepticon in the distance, and relented. They were right; there were still enemies left for them to deal with, and they had to do it before Prowl and Drift were overwhelmed. However, Cade could not shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

Nevertheless, he nodded and said, "Right. Let's go."

They were about to head in that direction when Cade gritted his teeth as a sudden gust of wind swept over them.

Thud.

As if drawn by some force, Cade tilted his head toward the sky, an act mirrored by Bumblebee and Cliffjumper.

Thud.

Cade froze in horror. From out of the clouds broke out a huge and terrifying creature, the sun reflecting off its dark red armor. It looked like Steelbane in his dragon form, only it had four horns curving out of the back of its head. Massive black wings bore it aloft in the wind, supporting a broad torso and thick limbs. Huge could not even describe the size of the creature; it was larger than the Westminster Palace itself.

"What in Primus's name is that?" Cliffjumper actually screamed. He stepped back along with Bumblebee, their terror-filled gaze fixed on the creature.

Cade shook his head. Whatever monstrosity the Decepticons had unleashed, he knew they could not fight it. To do so would be suicide. He doubted if even the Apex Armor could even scratch the thing.

The hovering dragon opened its maw and roared, long and loud, shattering glass everywhere. Cade covered his ears as the deafening sound seemingly reverberated across the city. The sound alone caused his legs to tremble in fear. It was like the call of an apex predator, challenging all those who could hear it.

From another part in the sky, there came an answering roar.

Like a streaking meteor, a green blur shot toward the metallic monster, sending it crashing to the ground with a resounding boom. Cade and the Autobots had to brace themselves as the ground shook from the shockwave. The creature thrashed and bellowed, enraged at how easily it had fallen. But its attacker was not finished.

Soaring in the sky, Steelbane dove and transformed, landing in front of Cade as the knight drew his greatsword, both hands grasping the hilt, and pointed the tip at the creature. His battle mask slid over his mouth as he spoke.

"Leave this beast to me."


Yet another long chapter at more than 6k words, and a fast update too. At this point, expect this to be the standard with each chapter, though special ones might be longer.

First of all, the Combaticons and Predaking are finally here! I've really enjoyed writing this one because I've always wanted to introduce them into the story. For those who have guessed correctly that the vehicles in the previous chapter are indeed the Combaticons, well done. For those who didn't, that's fine since it most likely surprised you.

Regarding Bruticus's height, I based it off primarily it on his Fall of Cybertron version. I knew he could not be huge, but neither could he be as small as Infernocus in The Last Knight, who was just slightly taller than Optimus and Megatron. To better grasp Bruticus's height, he is as tall as Grimlock's robot mode in the films.

Also, Onslaught being a truck here is inspired both by his TLK version AND his Combiner Wars version.

Now, regarding Brawl. Yes, I know that it was confirmed that the movie mislabeled him as Devastator, and the tank that we saw in the first movie was indeed Brawl. But for the sake of this story, I will consider Devastator as that tank, and Brawl is still alive to complete the full line up of the Combaticons. I would have gone for Quake, but it will create confusion when I introduce a certain character from TF Prime. So I decided on Brawl.

As for Predaking, there's some aesthetic differences compared to his Prime version, but rest assured that he will be more vicious and terrifying.

Writing the fight scenes in this chapter is quite a challenge for me. For one, I'm really a fantasy author, so writing sci-fi isn't my forte. For another, I wrote fight scenes for 3 different POVs, which is really exhausting. You may notice that many sentences are repetitive, and I apologize for that. In fact, this should have been 4 POVs, but I decided to move Steelbane's POV into the next chapter.

The thing I loved most though was writing the Cliffjumper vs Shatter scenes. I don't know if I did it justice, but I really wanted to do that ever since I watched Bumblebee. Not to mention seeing Cliff in TF Prime.

Now, to answer some reviews!

In response to Wacko12, the Autobots listed thus far are Hound, Bumblebee, Prowl, Drift, Cliffjumper, Canopy, Trailbreaker, Longarm, Sqweeks, Nightstalker, Ramhorn, Stripes, Wheelie, and Brains. Obviously, Crosshairs is dead, though Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen are mentioned. I wouldn't include Steelbane and Daytrader since they are technically not Autobots per se.

In response to Julien Caeg, first, thank you for noticing that error. I was almost finished with writing the chapter when I realized that I had typed "strike" instead of "storm", so I had to read and edit it again. Unfortunately, one slipped past me. But it's fixed now, thanks. Second, some of the relics will indeed appear, but not all. Burton definitely has one, though I'm still deciding on whether or not I should give Fowler his own. But yes, there are indeed just four Omega Keys. However, I can't really spoil what I plan on doing with the Star Saber because it's a major plot element in the third act. As for the Dinobots/Grandmasters, they will appear very, very soon.

Anyway, I think that's it. I might take a one week break to settle other projects. But you can expect at least two to three chapters before Christmas day.

Please Read & Review! Until next time!