Hello, bots and cons. Centurion here and welcome back to Dustformers: Season 2. At the end of the last chapter/episode, something that emerged from inside a crashed meteor attacked a small family in a farmhouse and barn just outside a tiny town in Anima. What could it possibly be? This is one of my ideas for season 2 coming to light.

In Atlas, the very first robot of Project: Cyber Warrior has been completed with the name Iron Phantom. All it needs is a soldier to operate it. If you have any ideas for Iron Phantom, please let me know in the comments/reviews or personally PM me about it. Not to mention that the Atlas Military has been in Vale still, discreetly monitoring the eight kids.

How will the Autobots deal with all of this while continuing to cope with Bumblebee's death? We'll just have to read and find out.

Now, let's dive headfirst into the Insecticon Swarm Part 1!

*Atlas. Atlas Military Headquarters. Junior Lieutenant Cryos's Quarters. 8:10 am*

Wilma Cryos was sitting in her quarters, thinking how quiet it was since there wasn't any activity from the alien robots for two months. Still, she wanted to keep vigilant in case something similar to what happened at Vale's Beachfront happened again. Who knew if something else would happen. While she approved of Project: Cyber Warrior, agreeing that it was needed if those robots ever attacked again.

However, at the same time, she was wondering whether or not all of the robots were bad. From what the recordings she recovered showed, it looked like some of the robots were fighting to protect Remnant. At this point in time, she was torn between wanting to find out which robots were friend and foe and destroying them all indiscriminately.

*Atlas. Atlas Military Headquarters. Private Lodestone's Quarters. 8:40 am*

Private Frederick Lodestone was currently writing down things in his notebook as he wanted to contribute to Project: Cyber Warrior very badly. Though, he kept it in his head that he might not get the chance even though he already contributed by finding and retrieving the robot corpse that started the whole project.

He did overhear some conversations of his comrades talking about how Private Lodestone was too inept to actually be recognized for something. He growled slightly at remembering overhearing those conversations. Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. He went to answer it. When he saw it was, General Ironwood, he immediately saluted. "Sir!"

General Ironwood chuckled. "At ease, Private Lodestone."

The private did just that now knowing he wasn't in trouble. "May I ask why you are at my quarters, sir?"

"I am here to see you regarding Project: Cyber Warrior." General Ironwood responded which made Private Lodestone's face light up.

"Are you serious, sir?!"

"Clearly, I am. As you know, we have been testing many people in the Atlas Military in hopes of finding someone to operate Designate: Iron Phantom."

"Yes, sir."

"We still haven't found the right candidate, though. I was hoping you would like a try in operating our prototype."

Private Lodestone's mind was lit up? General Ironwood himself was asking him to try out Iron Phantom? This was a chance and he wouldn't squander it! "Of course, sir! I'll do it!"

"Right this way, then." Private Lodestone followed General Ironwood out of his quarters.

*Vale. Vale City. Schnee Residence. 9:23 am*

Weiss had just finished conversing with her mother about dust. Soon after, Ruby came over to hang out with her for a bit. That wasn't all Weiss wanted Ruby at her home for. She wanted to know what the Atlesian Military was up to for the past two months.

Soon, the two went into Weiss's room. "Ready, Ruby?"

"Always, Weiss." Ruby smiled.

Hopping onto Weiss's computer, she put in an anti-tracker that Wheeljack gave her a few days after the Vale Beachfront battle. Then she hopped onto the Atlesian Military network. "See anything yet, Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"Nothing yet, but I'm sure I'll find something in here," Ruby assured. She continued working her way around the network until Weiss spotted a file.

"Wait! What's that?" Weiss asked.

"What is it?" Ruby asked back.

"I just saw a file named Project: Cyber Warrior just a second ago," Weiss said.

"Project: Cyber Warrior, huh?" Ruby was getting curious. "Let's check it out." With that, Ruby and Weiss dove into the file. When they saw the file's contents, they saw photos of the Iron Phantom robot. Both of them were wide-eyed at what they were seeing. "I don't believe it."

"I never realized Atlas was this far in this new project. It seems they are making their own Transformers!" Weiss quietly exclaimed.

"We have to let the Autobots know of this." Ruby suddenly stated. Weiss agreed and the two got ready to do just that.

A few seconds after they left Weiss's house, Winter was waiting for them. "Sister. Good to see you." She greeted.

"Winter. It's good to see you again and to know you are still doing well," Weiss greeted back. "Now, why are you here?"

"I'm sorry to do this, Weiss, but you and Miss Rose are under arrest by orders of the Atlas Military." Winter sighed.

"What?!" Ruby exclaimed. "What for?! We haven't done anything wrong!"

"Really?" Another soldier that hopped out of a Bullhead questioned. "Then how bout withholding highly valuable information regarding our alien robot visitors, huh?"

Weiss and Ruby were shocked at hearing that. The Atlas Military did know about the Transformers! That was bad on a number of levels! Who knows what more they might do with this information as well as any other Cybertronian knowledge they might've been able to attain. "We've already rounded your friends and their folks. They're sitting tight right in the Bullhead. We would like to avoid a fight, so please come quietly." Winter softly ordered.

Weiss and Ruby saw their friends and their families in the Bullhead and they were just getting Willow, so it looked like they had no choice. They silently walked to the Bullhead and hopped on. Once seated, they had handcuffs slapped on them and they took off.

This gave the families a little time to talk with their kids about what was happening. "Blake, sweetie. What is going on?" Kali asked.

At first, Blake said nothing in response. "Does it have anything to do with those alien robots we've been repeatedly hearing about?" Ghira added. Blake merely nodded.

"What is she talking about, Nora?" Nora's mother, Thora asked softly but sternly.

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I'm sorry I had to keep a secret from you." Nora apologized.

"Jaune, is this why you've been sad for the past two months?" John questioned. Jaune couldn't will himself to look at his family except for Violet.

"Young man, you had better tell us what's going on before we arrive in Atlas," Marian said sternly.

"I knew something was happening," Raven muttered. "And I knew you and Ruby were involved in it, Yang."

"Sorry, Mom." Yang hung her head low.

Raven leaned her head on her daughter's own head. "Oh, Yang. I can tell that this wasn't easy for you or Ruby. I just wish either or both of you told us anything."

"I wholeheartedly agree with Raven," Summer added in. "Little Rose, I'm proud of you for keeping this whole thing a secret for this long and disappointed that you didn't tell us."

"Renny, did you not tell us this for a reason?" Ren's mother, An questioned.

"Yes, mother," Ren answered stoically.

"Pyrrha, why didn't you tell us?" Her father, Hercules asked out of curiosity.

"Believe me, Dad. I really wanted to. However, If I did, you'd be in danger." Pyrrha explained while beginning to tear up.

"Oh, honey. This must be a big secret." Athena said hugging her daughter.

"It is." Jaune suddenly said a little darkly, worrying his family and friends. His friends knew why he was talking with that tone. It was still very clear he wasn't handling it well as they could only pull him out of it for a little bit, and then he'd revert right back to his current state.

*Atlas. Atlas Military Headquarters. Main Airship Hangar. 10:34 am*

It took a little bit, but the Bullhead had made it back to Atlas. When it landed, General Ironwood and General Faust were waiting for the kids and their families to emerge so that he could start questioning them.

"Seems you brought them here in one piece, Specialist Schnee. I'm surprised." General Faust lightly mocked.

Winter turned to her with a partial glare. "Of course I did, General Faust."

"Well, I hope you all are ready for some questions." General Ironwood said.

"We won't tell you anything," Ren said stoically.

"You'll have to one way or another." General Ironwood started, but before he could say something else, a soldier ran up to him. The soldier had his helmet off. He had black hair, blue eyes, a tiny piece missing from his right ear wearing the standard Atlas Military Private uniform. "Private Bueller. Report."

"Sir! We just received word that a small town in Anima has gone off the radar a couple of days ago. All its inhabitants have just vanished." Private Bueller reported.

"Why was I not informed of this right away?!" General Ironwood shouted.

"The report only came in yesterday, sir!" Private Bueller exclaimed.

General Ironwood took a minute to calm himself down. "Alright. Put them in a cell for now. Then let's get a unit formed to head to Anima tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." Private Bueller confirmed. He let the kids and their parents to the holding area. Putting them all in a cell, he then proceeded to stand guard. This gave the families time to find out what was going on.

"Ruby. Please tell me what's going on." Summer said with pleading eyes looking at her daughter.

The kids looked at each other. They knew this would happen sooner or later. Right now, they just wished that they didn't have to get captured by the Atlas Military to get them to tell their parents. Jaune sighed but nonetheless was the first one to speak. "The truth is… we're involved in a war of alien robots."

"What?" One of Jaune's older sisters, Brittany gasped.

"There are two sides to this war." Blake continued. "The Autobots who are fighting to protect our world, and the Decepticons who want nothing more than to take our world's resources for their own purposes and even conquer our world if they have the opportunity."

"So, aliens are real?" Qrow asked.

"Yes," Weiss answered. "One day, we stumbled upon a strange object in the forest that got us all involved in this.

"So, Jaune. That car I gave you for your birthday…" John started.

"Was an alien robot that's been protecting me up to two months ago." Jaune finished with his head hung low, attempting for no one to see his tears.

"Same with most of us." Ren chimed in. "Some of us have these robots have made it their duty personally protecting us."

"So, not all of these alien robots are bad." Willow surmised.

"Exactly," Yang said. "A big problem is that now that the Atlesian Military knows about them, they're probably going to go out, hunt them all down, and kill them."

"The Autobots are not only allies, but they're also our friends." Nora lightly sobbed.

"Well, I think I can speak for all of us when we say we may be very disappointed in you for not keeping us in the loop, we do understand why you did it: To protect those you love and care about. That is the part we're all proud of after hearing this." Taiyang explained with a small smile.

That broke the dam for the kids as they hugged their respective parents. This was a big moment for everyone at the moment. "So, how have these robots protected you so far?" Raven asked, genuinely curious.

"There's a young Autobot named Hightrail who has saved Rubes on more than one occasion," Yang said. "Not to mention she's incredibly adorable." She began to squeal at how cute Hightrail could be sometimes.

"Pursuit used to be a Decepticon until he saw the error of his ways and defected to the Autobots. Now, he's an honorable warrior looking to make up for the horrible deeds of his past." Blake explained.

"Wildfire's Yang's guardian. She's a thrill seeker, but she's there for Yang when it counts." Ruby smiled.

"I'm afraid Ren and I don't have Autobot guardians ourselves, but that doesn't mean we're unprotected. We can take care of ourselves just fine." Weiss said holding her head high.

"My Autobot guardian is Snipewing. She told me a sad story while giving some advice on a topic I find important." Pyrrha remembered.

"Ironhide's my guardian!" Nora quietly cheered. "He's one of the oldest Autobots but he can still kick a Con's ass from here to next Sunday. A dozen even if he has to."

"My guardian is… was Bumblebee." Jaune quickly corrected. "He was my best friend from another planet who I could talk to if things got rough. Two months ago, he was killed by the Decepticons in a battle at Vale's Beachfront. Now, I will make the Decepticons pay for what they did. All the Autobots help out when they can. Their main objectives are to protect Remnant and fight the Decepticons."

"I just can't believe your sister is going along with all of this." Blake hissed.

"I don't think she has much of a choice, Blake." Weiss sighed. "Most of the time, she works directly under General Ironwood, and he commands the entire Atlas Military along with the other generals."

"Meaning that old Jimmy is probably gonna screw things up sooner or later." Qrow assumed.

"Now, Qrow, you don't know that." Hercules said, trying to calm Qrow down.

"Cmon, Herc. You know Ironwood. You know that's what he's gonna do." Qrow continued.

"We have to get out of here." Yang said.

"Have you forgotten where we are, Yang? We're in a cell surrounded by guards." Weiss reminded.

"Why don't we call the Autobots?" Yang suggested.

"No!" Jaune shouted all of a sudden. "We don't want the Atlesian Military getting their hands on our friends. They'll probably dissect them."

"Wait a minute!" Pyrrha realized. "Remember the objects we have? They're also our weapons."

"Pyrrha, what are you talking about?" Athena asked.

The kids didn't say anything and instead brought the small Autobot symbols they had managed to hide from the military. In seconds, they transformed into their weapons. Their parents and siblings were wide-eyed. "Well, that's a thing." Raven muttered, surprised nonetheless.

Ruby brought out her Thermal Knife and cut the bars once and then Blake used Gambol Shroud sliced through the bars, freeing them from the cell. "Now that we're released early, we've got to find a way out of this place." Blake said.

"Agreed, Blake, but remember, this is Atlas Military Headquarters." Ren reminded. "We have to use stealth to get out of here." He looked at Nora and Yang.

"Why are you looking at me and Yang, Ren?" Nora asked.

"You and Yang are the loudest and most destructive." Ren deadpanned. "Thus, I feel the need to emphasize the point of being quiet."

"Let's just get out of here and get back to Vale. After this, we'll have to keep looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives. " Jaune said sternly and darkly, cutting the conversation off. The others looked at him with concern and shock. They knew he wasn't very positive for any outcome, but this was full-blown negativity.

"I'm afraid you lot won't be leaving here, Jaune Arc." General Faust echoed.

"However, we have a little proposition for you." Winter added. The families looked at each other, wondering what this proposition was.

*Anima. Small Town. Barnhouse. 13:11 pm*

All was quiet in the barnhouse, but there was not only scraps of hay, wood and other materials everywhere, there was also a large hole in the ground where skittering and slight buzzing could be heard.

Suddenly, something crawled out of the hole. It was a mechanical insectoid with six legs, a slightly pointed head that kept twitching to other directions, a pair of red eyes that kept moving sporadically, and it was purple and a pale dark green-yellow color. It walked out of the barn and made its way to the town.

Once in the town, the robotic insect knew there were no people around, so it could roam freely. A couple other robotic insects looking just like it popped out of the darkness and joined it. One thing was for sure, the town was infested.

*Atlas. Atlas Military Headquarters. Storage Room. 16:37 pm*

In the storage room, the three stasis pods began blinking on and off. All of a sudden, the blinking stopped. Then, the trio of pods opened. The three Mini-Cons stepped out of their respective pods, analyzing their new surroundings. They figured out that there were on a planet alien to them.

Hello, everyone. I hope you all enjoyed the first part of Insecticon Swarm! Now, like in the last chapter/episode, things are heating up. The kids and their families have been taken to Atlas. The kids tell their folks about the Transformers war. Now, the Autobots didn't show up in this chapter/episode, but they will show up soon.

While in Atlas, we get introduced to a new soldier character: Private Mitchell Bueller who has reported to General Ironwood regarding the small town in Anima where all of the people have mysteriously disappeared. This is all part of the multi-parter. This makes you wonder how the Atlas Military will respond now that they're thinking it might be more Transformers.

Be prepared for a slew of Atlesian Military OC characters. If you have any ideas for these characters, please let me know. Private Bueller was only the beginning of this.

Finally regarding Atlas, those three Mini-Con in those stasis pods have woken up at last. What will they do? Whose side will they be on? I give special thanks to OC contributor: cryo threshold for providing these three OCs from back in Dustformers: Season 1.

I know the Decepticons haven't shown up, but they will. However, the kids, military, and Autobots won't fight them. It'll mainly be Insecticons which will be fought. The Insecticons seen at the end of this chapter/episode are the ones from the Fall of Cybertron and Rise of the Dark Spark. These won't be the only Insecticon drone designs I'll be using.

If anyone has any ideas for Insecticon Swarm and/or Dustformers in general, please let me know in the comments/reviews, or personally PM me.

My OC contributors:

Spartan-100

SnowBranwen

PaperView

Mobian

cryo threshold

Invictus113

D3ADPOOLK1d

Invictus113 and D3ADPOOLK1d are my two newest OC contributors. Like all the people that contribute to Dustformersl I wouldn't have gotten this far without your support. So, I give a special thanks to the OC/story idea contributors and I hope more join. I like reading your ideas and I do my very best to include them into the story.