Miko laid in a heavy daze, the sky above her spinning, her stomach began building up vomit again and sweat dripped off her bangs. She focused on the darkened sky above her, and the steam soar upwards from the armor. The Predacon was done using her as a chew toy, her head slapped back and forth inside the helmet, and she was thankful she was in the Apex Armor. When she jumped off Tobit's shoulder pad and onto the relic, this was not what she had in mind. But then again, a lot of things have been going that way lately. Like joining the Wrecker's on this adventure, she had hoped Ultra Magnus would have accepted since she was, technically, a Wrecker. Just a human Wrecker. Then it happened again when she ran for Ultra Magnus's ship. Of course, she had no intentions on fighting the indestructible Predacon. This last one was just another to add to her list of twists.

In the distance, she could hear Starscream scolding the Vehicons for allowing themselves to be beaten by sparklings. Miko felt a little more at eased, knowing that at least Tobit and Steele managed to get away and call for help. Her body laid frozen, waiting anxiously while listening to Starscream's footsteps approach her. He stood above her

His ruby red eyes looked down at her with heavy amusement, as if taking pleasure of her beatings. Instinctively, Miko felt her body turn ice cold with fear. Her mind buzzed with the many ways Starscream could kill her; anything from stomping to blasting.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Starscream mocked, shaking his head with an amused grin. He always found it entertaining to watch the Autobots' human allies try to aid in any way possible. Despite their bravery and loyalty, they were such small creatures easily crushed when they get under foot. Miko was the one human comrade who would barge out in the middle of a fight with a harmless, at least harmless to a Cybertronian, weapon. For a small creature, she was fast on her feet and resourceful. Now she laid in the Apex Armor, aching and wallowing in apprehension and fear, all courage and fear burnt out of her in the Predacon's blaze. Starscream grinned at the opportunity ahead of him. A deep, sinister grin spread across his faceplate, notions ran through his processor like slides on a projection screen. He looked down at her, her eyes closed, he couldn't tell if she was breathing or if she was knocked out cold. Not that it mattered to Starscream. "Even the strongest armor can't protect the weakest of creatures."

Suddenly, Starscream was grabbed and yanked down closer to Miko. Her dark brown eyes narrowed heavily at him, showing heavy anger.

"Protected you, didn't it?" She said in a sharp, challenging tone.

With the strength of the Apex Armor, she shoved Starscream back. Starscream, though still in a daze, managed to catch himself. Miko pulled herself up to her feet, courage and bravery burning in her heart, adrenaline pumped in her blood. This was her chance to take on a Decpeticon, and bring back the Apex Armor and a Preadacon bone. All of which could restore hope in the Autobot cause. While Starscream stared in bewilderment, Miko saw she had the advantage. She grabbed his wrist, quickly spun him around and threw him at one of the Vehicons. Miko fell over with a heavy thud. The Apex Armor granted her strength to match the Cybertronians, but it also made anything as simple as spinning and falling into an obstacle.

"Up, get up, get up!" She told herself, standing up just as the other Vehicon began firing his ion blaster. Miko, instinctively, gasped and covered her face with her arm.

"YE-HAW!"

Miko heard a familiar voice nearby, she wondered if Bulkhead and the others had beaten the Predacon, since he was the one who said that earlier. But, she realized, his voice print wasn't light. The blaster fire ceased, Miko looked underneath her arm to see Tobit wielding a sword and driving at a rapid pace up to one of the Vehicons. The Vehicon was on his knee pads, rubbing his head. Tobit transformed next to the Vehicon and grabbed a shield that laid on the ground at his landing pads. Without turning his head, the Vehicon went to slap at Tobit like swatting a fly. Smirking arrogantly, Tobit crouched down and rolled until he had put a few feet between himself and the Vehicon. Steele jumped and rolled out from the ship, holding his own sky blue sword and shield. His blue optics looked at Starscream and the other Vehicon in uncertainty. Starscream commanded the Vehicon to deal with Steele while he fought Miko. The silver and black Decepticon's arm transformed into a blaster and began firing. Steele yelped and hunkered down behind his shield, unintentionally activating it.

"MOVE!" Tobit screamed, grabbing a grenade off his waist pads, pressed a button at the top and threw it into the sky. Before it touched the ground, it exploded in one of the Vehicon's faceplates. Tobit glanced up at the random target, snickering when he saw the grenade hit the Vehcion he battled earlier.

Not your day, buddy, Tobit joked to himself.

He quickly went to Steele, who didn't move before the grenade detonated. Tobit grabbed Steele's shoulder pads, shaking him out of his stunned state. This was Steele's first taste of battle and real fear. His servos were shaking violently, his circuits tangled, and his audio receptors ringed sharply in his head. He saw Tobit tugging on his arm, shaking his shoulder pad, and shouting for him to move, but Steele couldn't bring himself to move. More than anything, he wanted to go home, hide behind his creator. He knew there was a difference between hearing him talk about his battles in the field, and experiencing it. Steele had no idea what real the fear is, or what it means to fight for life and defend those you love, and what it means to be a soldier.

"WAKE UP IDIOT!" Tobit shouted again, slapping Steele's faceplate hard enough that he tipped over. Steele caught himself on his shoulder pad, his system coming back to it's senses. Whimpering and stammering, he shook his fear out of his head and stood up with his sword and shield.

"Come on, don't let Miko hog all the fun." Tobit grinned, charging with the sword pointed outwards.

Adrenaline pulsated much more strongly in his system, he slashed at the Vehicons legs, causing him to stumble left and right. Tobit used his size to his advantage, dodging between the Vehicons legs and slicing his enemy's exterior. The other Vehicon stood staring dumbfounded, uncertain if he really wanted to kill a bunch of sparklings. Not only that, a fully grown Vehicon was being defeated by a sparkling about the size of his leg. Each shout of agony or curse word the Vehicon spat out increased Tobit's adrenaline. He was beginning to realize why WheelJack was always itching for a fight. Besides the adrenaline rush, holding the long and heavy sword in his servos made him feel powerful, in control, and confident enough to face any bot.

Steele, on the other hand, had never held a weapon in his life span. To even hold a few of his own felt foreign, actually more wrong than foreign. He couldn't bring himself to fight, so he stood still, admiring how Tobit was fighting a Decepticon and winning. Tobit was much braver, stronger and faster than Steele. Which was why it didn't surprise him when Tobit grabbed the sword and shield for his choice of weapon. However, it did surprise him that Tobit threw the same two weapons plus a couple of spears down at Steele's landing pads. Tobit leaped off the chair with a quiver in his servos. The next few minutes were spent tying the belt of the quiver around Steele and briefing him on how to use weapons. Steele, despite his panicked sensors, tried to listen and absorb as much as he could. And with the spears, sword and shield combined on his small husk, he was more focused on holding himself up.

'Remember, bro, just focus and shoot! Don't think! You think for even a second, BAM, you're dead'.

But that didn't help him much, he was still shaking and wasn't sure if he even wanted to use a weapon. In fact, it felt wrong like he shouldn't even be holding a weapon. He looked down at the sword, staring at his reflection almost like it agreed with him. He didn't belong in the field, he was far too scared and sheltered to even leave the base on his own. How could he even dream of being an Elite Guard if he was too afraid of his own shadow?

A loud, painful scream brought him out of his thoughts. Steele looked back up as the Vehicon shot Tobit. Tobit managed to roll away, holding his shoulder pad, pain showed heavily on his faceplate. Tobit felt his servo become hot, wet and sticky. His vision became unfocused and his husk became stone, not even his fear could move him. Steele became numb again, his servos dropped the sword and shield and he collapsed onto his knee pads. Energon oozed and linked down Tobit's servo digits, dripping onto the grass below him. It didn't take the Vehicon long to notice his advantage, and a golden opportunity to exact revenge. He kicked away the sword and shield from his path, and took a few steps towards Tobit. The Vehicon's arm transformed into an ion blaster and aimed it at Tobit's head, taking pleasure in seeing the terrified look in Tobit's optics.

Miko tried to run to Tobit's aid, but with the Decepticon duo at her heels, she could only get so far.

Tobit shut his optics and crossed his arms above his head. He remained in a crouched position, energon leaking out of his shoulder pad, silence aching his audio receptors. Then, he heard a sharp swish and a metallic thud. Tobit's optics shot up, he expected to hear Miko commanding him to run, or at least hear WheelJack's voice print. When he heard absolutely nothing, he slowly turned to where the Vehicon stood. The once angered, revenge bound Vehicon who was ready to execute Tobit, now laid on the ground, his ion blaster laying above his head. A blue pool grew from under neath him. Tobit scrambled further away, whimpering and stammering. He is a sheltered sparkling, but he is more than aware of what had just happened. His fuel tank boiled, his sight became dizzy and he started to understand how Miko felt when she was inside WheelJack's chest, and he was battling Decepticon guards.

"Impossible." Tobit heard Starscream from a distance. He had not noticed that their battling had ceased, but they were not staring at the dead Decepticon. He followed their stares, and almost, immediately, regretted it. Steele stood tall next to the corpse with his back to Tobit, the sword sticking straight out to his side, and the tip dripped energon. Tobit's mouth valve fell open, his optics stared at the younger mech in a combination of impressed and horror. Steele held up the sword with such ease, and he stood with such grace anyone would have thought he was a well experienced warrior.

Then Tobit realized it was Steele who sliced the Vehicon in half.

He killed a living being without a fight or much effort.

The other Vehicon looked between Starscream and Steele, terrified and confused beyond any that he had ever before. Just moments ago, he saw a cowering sparkling hiding behind a shield, unwilling to fight. Now he stood before them, wielding a dangerous weapon in his servo, his optics empty, both figuratively and literally.

The blue in his optics have been replaced with a dark grey, his mouth valve closed, and his faceplate cold and hard. Those empty optics were focused intently on the two remaining Decpeticons. Starscream snarled and shot out his arm, releasing a rocket at Steele. Miko and Tobit stood frozen in place, unsure why, but they were half-expecting Steele to do something they would normally see in an epic video game. And just like any epic video game character, Steele reached over his shoulder pad and grabbed a spear. Then, he threw it hard at the rocket, making the two connect at the points. The rocket exploded on impact, and Steele dashed into the thick smoke.

When Steele didn't come back out, Tobit frantically searched for his sword and shield. His spark dropped and panic rose when a sword couldn't be found, but he found a shield laying next to him. He grabbed it and held it closely in front of him, he knew he should go in and aid Steele, but something was holding him back. Instead, he scanned the smoke in hopes of finding Steele, anxiety and adrenaline mixing in his oil. Miko ran over to him, making the ground rumble with each step, she placed herself in front of him ready for anything, somehow finding bravery in her stunned heart.

"What's happening?" She whispered to herself, studying the area around them. She had hoped that the Wreckers would have shown up by now, maybe they would have answers to what happened to Steele. Neither of them could find it in their hearts to continue fighting, or run to see if Steele was still online. So they waited, the thick smoke slowly ascending to the sky. But they, still, could not see Steele or any of the Decepticons.

A loud shriek pierced the air like a knife, causing Miko and Tobit to yelp and jump back. Random bits and pieces flew out of the smoke, landing in front of them. At first, it was just dented bolts, severed wires and bits of screws which they didn't think was too big of a deal, considering those could be replaced. And then, parts of servo digits, broken and dented landing pads, and other larger, more severed parts of a Cybertronian body were thrown into the pile. Gapping in horror, Tobit stumbled backwards, dropping the shield and struggling to crawl away. In a way, it was sickingly addicting to watch just as humans could not resist watching other humans die in horror films. But both Miko and Tobit wanted to get away from the massacre before they became the next targets.

Finally, the smoke cleared and Steele and Starscream stood with their weapons facing each other. Starscream was panting, his arm was trembling, parts of his husk were scratched or dented. Hate showed heavily in his optics, his spark begging to spill Steele's energon for embarrassing him. He was facing against a sparkling much younger than he, and he was still losing. While Steele stood calm and quiet again, holding his sword at chest plate level and pointing the energon streaked tip at Starscream. Large drops of energon splattered on random parts on Steele's husk, His small, silver and black servos were dripping with fresh energon. His optics were still grey and expressionless, he held the sword up at optic level in a more tranquil manner than Starscream with his ion blaster.

In the distance, WheelJack, Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead stood with horrified looks. Their optics hopped between Starscream and Steele, baffled and uncertain who was more of a threat. Starscream analyzed his chances between fighting Steele or the Wreckers. If he attacked one, then the other would intervene, and the odds of him becoming a pile of scrap like the others were high. Either way, he was trapped.

"This is not over." Starscream threatened the two groups, turning around and transformed. Steele dropped his sword and grabbed another spear from his quiver.

"Steele no!" Tobit screamed, running as fast as he could up to Steele and grabbed Steele's wrist. Steele's focus was fixed on Starscream, and he was a bit stronger than Tobit. However, Tobit managed to hold his arm up and tighten his grip on Steele's wrist. He heard a slight cringe sound from above him, and it caught Steele's attention. Those empty optics seemed to stare through Tobit, acting like he was already dead. Tobit's jaw quivered, a darkness came over his spark, fear froze his system. The air became tense, like a dark soul was emanating from Steele, causing the tension and icey cold feeling in Tobit.

"Steele?" Tobit's voice print cracked, swallowing his fear and bracing himself. He managed to smirk a little, his other servo gently grasped Steele's shoulder pad. "Come on, man, I know you won't hurt me. We're brothers, remember?"

Steele tilted his head slightly, igniting a light of hope in Tobit's spark. The next few minutes seemed to have taken a life time to pass. The dark grey color in Steele's optics gradually became a light blue again, and the firmness melted into a child-like innocence.

"Toe?" He asked, glancing around at the mess of spare parts, noticing the fear on everyone's faceplates. Then he looked back at Tobit, glad to see his smiling faceplate. But he saw that his lips were trembling, and a new emotion showed in his optics, something Steele had never seen before. And it was concerning him. "What happened?"

Tobit's smile slowly faded, his servo released Steele's wrist and he took a step back. Steele lowered his arm and looked down at his servo. His optics widened in horror, his spark stopped, and his mouth valve dangled open. His servo digits released the spear, leaving blue imprints, and Steele dropped to his knee pads, studying both his servos. The sick smell of energon and smoke, the sounds of loose wires, and the sight of two corpses felt surreal. He shut his optics tightly and clasped his head tightly.

"Tell me this is not what I think it is." He pleaded to Tobit, his servos shaking violently. Tobit's spark became heavy, Steele was more than scared, he was nearly hysterical. He was sobbing, lubricants mixed with dry energon fell from his servos. Tobit wiped away the lubricants in his optics, he looked over at the Wrecker's for answers, praying they would say this was all a dream. How could a young sparkling like Steele know how to fight and kill like an experienced soldier?

"Come on, bro, stand up." Tobit decided, grabbed Steele's servos and helped him up. He wrapped an arm around Steele's trembling shoulder pads and guided him to Ultra Magnus's ship. "Better get you cleaned up before anyone else see's you."

The Wrecker's watched Tobit half carry, half guide Steele back to the ship. WheelJack and Bulkhead went to the dead bodies of Decepticons, analyzing whatever they could. Ultra Magnus watched Tobit with heavy caution. Already, he was having trusting issues with WheelJack and Smokescreen, now he had trouble looking at a young sparkling the same anymore. The battle they witnessed was a fight to the death between Steele and two highly trained Decepticons. However, the winner was not Steele. The way he fought was not something that none of their sparklings would even know how to do. They would expect Bumblebee, Smokescreen or Arcee to fight with such agility and fierceness to take on Starscream. How could the youngest sparkling have picked up any of those skills?