Author's Notes: Ok so I can explain…. I am so hilariously late to update due to some unforeseen circumstances I swear! In the span of three weeks, just in real life alone, one family member had to go to the hospital, all is well with her by the way. Then an unexpected death and funeral of a family friend of course drew my focus. Then the most perplexing of all, I have been helping my friend with crazy legal trouble as her job attempts to pin some convoluted plot onto her.

And then in our Transformers world, I was halfway done with the normal chapter despite it all, a little late but otherwise nothing to bad… until I found a GLARING plot hole I had just totally forgot to address until the last few chapters of this story snuck up to slap me in the face! My options were to just ignore the plot hole, and let the truth slowly drive me insane, or I could exhale a very deep sigh that lasted three weeks straight and write an entire chapter just to fix said problem and resolve the issues I have been dealing with in the final climax. As we all stand here, laughing at my failures, I assume you can all guess which option I took.

So, despite it all, here is the fruits of my labor, rolled out finally with a lot of duct tape holding it together! So as always, please read, comment, favorite and of course, enjoy!

And if I ever vanish again, please feel free to rise as one and slay me. You have my blessings to murder me with righteous vengeance.


Location: Boarder of Iacon

Bumblebee

"They're retreating higher." Bumblebee said. It was less of a statement and more of a worried observation. With MacCadam and the bots from the Kaon Capital's help, they had managed to turn the tides of battle. And once Grimlock's gang and Predaking's hoard arrived the Peaceful Tyranny's retreat halted completely.

But now, Arachnid's swarm switched from a brutal attack to a cluster of defense. Bumblebee hadn't expected a surrender from Arachnid's side, not by a long shot. And if one did come, there was no way it wouldn't be a trap. But he knew, like everyone else did, Arachnid was plotting something devious. They outgunned her and she lost Unicron's canister. She was bound to be desperate.

'Does anyone have a visual on Arachnid?' Arcee Commed to no one in particular.

'Bah!' Wheeljack retorted with a healthy dose of sarcasm. 'She's tucked her thorax between her collection of freaky legs and ran. There's no way she can salvage this.'

Bumblebee saw his team turn from their victories to rendezvous at his location. Bumblebee couldn't keep the coy smile from his lip plates. 'Hope Soundwave won't feel to left out we finished things up without him.'

'He doesn't strike me as the 'glory hog' type.' Arcee offered in the Con leader's defense. 'Which is an improvement over the Con's previous management.'

'So Buckethead and Starscream exclusively?' Smokescreen added with a snicker.

An auditory splitting sound of wrenching metal interrupted the banter. The Peaceful Tyranny came down, a cloak of smoke trailing it. It smashed into the ground; just short of what could be considered a crash landing. More metal shredded. The familiar silhouette of Predaking's beast form exploded from the top of the ship. He launched into the air, an ex vent of flames scattering the swarm of rising Insecticons. Predaking swirled in the sky, then came down fast in a dive. His wings pressed close to his body until the last possible moment to break his fall. His landing rumbled the ground and sent Bumblebee and the others into the dirt. As he transformed to loom over them in a different form, Bumblebee dusted himself off with a laugh. "That's one way to make an entrance… What made you decide to help out King?"

Predaking huffed excess ignition fumes from his vents. "A sincere plea for our help came from a Decepticon clone Trooper of all bots."

"Sharpshot?" Bumblebee guessed.

Predaking nodded. "The plea for help aside, I decided this was a perfect opportunity. This is a show of strength to this world as a reminder of the Predacon's might!" Predaking shot a glance to the Peaceful Tyranny as individual sections burst into roaring infernos. "And perhaps, I felt a kind of kinship to said Decepticon Trooper. Cloned only to be used as a tool, yet they rose beyond the confines of their intended purpose. They fight well, for a creature so limited in strength. Their courage is admirable." He glanced about the battlefield again. His optics narrowed more towards the fallen ship. "I lost sight of your own beasts tasked to protect those weaker Decepticon Clones. Has the beast's fool leader emerged yet?"

Wheeljack chuckled. "I assume you mean Grimlock?"

As if summoned by his name or dramatic irony, a large airlock door blew off from the ship's upper haul. Grimlock leapt out, landing on the still airborne haul door and surfing it to the ground. His wild shout of excitement would have been louder, if not for a piece of ship control panel lodged in his teeth.

Even over the commotion of Grimlock's landing, Bumblebee heard the clear exasperated vent of Predaking.

"Right on time." Bulkhead snickered.

Grimlock threw the control panel aside and laughed. He spotted the group watching him with bemusement, though still didn't censor his insanity. He transformed out of his beast form before he lumbered over. "So, you're the great Predaking I hear so much about? That was one hell of an entrance you made back there bud. And that is coming from me, who is notorious for making sure me and my boys leave a lasting impression." He said, giving Predaking a 'playful' punch in the servo. Predaking would be one of the few in the solar system who could take Grimlock's roughhousing without lasting injury.

Predaking glared at the Dinobot, who was only a few helms shorter than him. He seemed to be fighting back a snarl when he retorted. "Despite your strength, I cannot conceive how you managed to survive for so long with such a moronic attitude."

Grimlock rose a bleeding optic ridge at the comment. "How old are you?"

The random question seemed to throw Predaking. He recovered quickly to answer. "I was forged from the bones of my ancestors ten orbital cycles ago, if you must know."

Grimlock stared, jaw hinge gaping. "So fragging young and already so serious? Kid, you gotta loosen up a little. Your people will thank ya for it, trust me."

"It's true." Agreed Swoop as he landed by Grimlock's side. "Nothing's better than a fun boss. But hey, Bee team! We rounded up the leftovers in the ship. They didn't get word from their creepy leader in the Pits of Kaon, so they surrendered."

"That's good news." Bulkhead said, addressing Bumblebee with a grin. "Even with Miko's playing messing with their Comms, they got no response from Tarn at all? That mean's Soundwave took care of it."

"The battle is not won until we have terminated the infected Spider Queen." Predaking snapped, stepping on the premature assumption of victory. "She will continue to be a threat if we allow her to escape."

"A factual notion I can attest to from many firsthand experiences." Arcee grumbled.

'Come in, Autobots, is this the Team Prime frequency?'

Bumblebee pressed a digit to his auditory. Despite the Decepticon frequency in their chatter, he recognized the voice. 'You got us, Sharpshot. Go ahead.'

'We are still unable to communicate with Lord Soundwave.' They reported, clear worry in their inflection.

'No worry there.' Wheeljack interrupted. 'So he'll be late to his own victory party. We'll save a seat for him. Is Lord Spooks even the party type?'

'I'm not sure what Lord Soundwave's celebratory preferences are.' Sharpshot admitted. 'But, I have something significant to report... I already have all the other Decepticon troops in the area trying to ping our Lord's frequency. It's a Decepticon related security risk, so I could get in serious trouble reporting it to you. We're sort of out of options though.'

'Spill it.' Grimlock encouraged. 'If Waves tries to get you in trouble, he'll have to go through me first.'

'What's going on? We'll help.' Bumblebee promised.

Sharpshot relented. 'According to our radar, three Decepticon war ships are about to enter the upper atmosphere.'

'Slackers.' Smokescreen grumbled. 'They couldn't have showed up anytime before we already won to help out?'

'That's the trouble.' Sharpshot said, and this time Bumblebee caught the edge in their voice. 'These ships, are the same ones that had been hiding from your Autobot New Council, awaiting Lord Soundwave's return so they could provide back up in the Decepticon execution.'

Recent memory came flooding back. The dastardly plan forged by Decimus and Sigil and who knows who else on the New Council to turn the factions against each other again. It was the desperate want to eradicate the remaining Decepticon presence on Cybertron by terminating as many possible Con allies as possible in a flamboyant execution. A plan that thankfully ended in failure, due to their combined efforts. But what did this have to do with what was going on now?

'I don't remember any back up at the first executions. We were the back up.' Bulkhead pointed out.

'That's because the New Council sent Arachnid's infected swarm via Groundbridge onto those ships.' Sharpshot explained. 'She eradicated the crews before Lord Soundwave got here.'

The chatter fell silent for a beat. Unsure glances exchanged between parties before Bumblebee brought his Comm back on. 'Then, who is piloting those ships now?'

'No idea.' Sharpshot said. 'They aren't responding to any Comms. They don't show any signs of slowing down for a normal landing.' Another pause, and Bumblebee waited with baited intakes for whatever else there could be. When he got his answer, he wished he had never wanted it. 'And I should mention, each one of those ships is equip, under our previous Lord Megatron's orders, with Nuclear Fusion Collider Engines. An experimental back up energy source we used in deep space when Energon was scarce… The only downside was the engine's, explosive tendencies, that would encompass a rather impressive radius.'

Bumblebee's gaze found the sky without thinking. He wasn't the only one either. Their group observed the clear sky with a collective weariness. Three distinct twinkles grew in size as they approached at full speed.

'"And no one had the bearings to talk Megatron out of that idea of linking up the deep spaceships to literal bombs?"' Smokescreen asked, breaking the silence amongst their group and the Comm link.

'It vas pretty common place actually.' Came the accented voice of Blitzwing onto their chatter. Bumblebee vaguely wondered how many Cons were listening in as they all watched literal death careening out of the sky towards them. 'Those experimental engines got very good fuel efficiency, vhen they vere not blowing up that is. You vin some you lose some.' Bumblebee could almost envision the fickle Con shrugging along with the lackadaisical comment. 'There is one equipped on the Renegade too, I believe. As a backup.'

"The Renegade that the kids are on right now?" Bulkhead gasped with widening optics.

"We can…worry about that later." Bumblebee said with a forced vent.

"Arachnid really planned this out, didn't she?" Arcee hissed. "The lunatic was accounting for every scenario."

"So that's her grand plan?" Bulkhead demanded. "If she can't win, then she blows up everything?"

"It's a distraction." Bumblebee realized. "We will be so busy trying to stop the ships, she can sneak past us and get to the Iacon Space Bridge hub."

'Good guess.'

Arcee stiffened like stone. Arachnid's smug tone had invaded their collective chatter. 'Really, I had hoped to avoid this scenario… I would have liked to keep at least one of those ships for my own use. But times are hard these cycles. We all need to make do… We can also all thank the New Council for not seeing this coming. I practically begged them to Bridge me onto those ships with hardly any questions asked. Just kill the Cons on board. That was their only condition! Well, it was a small price to pay for such a massive back up plan. Of course, I am willing to give up the remote controls to the ships. All I would want in return is that pretty Unicron canister and a one-way trip to Earth.'

'It's not going to happen, Arachnid.' Bumblebee growled.

She tutted a laugh. 'Well then sit back and enjoy the fireworks display. In the meantime, I have a world to devour.' She clicked off, abandoning them in the silence of their panic.

'Do you have where and when the ships will crash?' Bumblebee demanded of Sharpshot.

After a brief moment of calculation later, they answered. 'One will land here on the battlefield. One on Iacon's outer expanses, and the last, the Kaon Capital. All at once in 30 kliks.'

Bumblebee glared up at the sky again. It would take out both the recovering Autobot and Decepticon cities. And of course where they all stood currently. "Ok. We all have 30 kliks to keep that from happening. Predaking." Predaking's skyward focus flicked down to Bumblebee's gaze. "With enough Predacons to grab onto the haul, could you stop those ships?"

"There are not enough of us to stop all three." He admitted morosely. "One crash location would have to be sacrificed."

"We can't make that choice." Bumblebee said.

"We could flip a coin on it." Sludge offered with an awkward shrug.

Bumblebee glared at him, then refocused the look on Grimlock when he started to chuckle at the suggestion. "I mean, we won't make the choice to sacrifice one city over the other. Arachnid wants us fighting over this. But I won't have either Bot or Con blown off the face of Cybertron. We'll find a way to save everyone."

"What if we Bridge someone onto the ships themselves to take back control manually?" Arcee recommended. "And if we can't pull that off, do any Cons know how to disable the engines to remove the explosion aspect of them before they crash?"

There was a pause from the Decepticon Commlink. Anxiety revved as the twinkles in the sky started to take distinctive shapes.

'There is.' Sharpshot confirmed at last. 'Shockwave would be one of the only bots to know how those engines work. He could render them harmless even in a crash landing or explosion.'

"Oh boy." Wheeljack said with a worrying chuckle. Bumblebee feared he already knew what he found funny.

Reluctantly, he turned to see Grimlock. The leader of the notorious Dinobots wore a truly alarming grin, cracking the pistons in his knuckle joints. It was the type of look that promised a gruesome murder of a certain Con Scientist. "Now Grimlock." Bumblebee began.

"Yeah?" Grimlock wondered with a smile.

"We need to work together here to save Cybertron."

"I hear ya." Grimlock acknowledged, still smiling like a lunatic.

"And Shockwave is the only one who knows how to deactivate those bombs." Bumblebee added, though assumed he had already lost his intended audiences focus. "So, we need him alive to do that, ok?"

"Yep."

"Repeat what I just said." Bumblebee huffed.

Grimlock nodded. "The good scientist Shockwave is going to be here to stop the bombs, so when he shows up, I'll kill him."

"NO." Bumblebee snarled, risking a glance at the sky to note their dwindling time limit. "I know this is hard. We are all trying to get along. And we are! We are a team right now. We can get past old grudges, I believe in you and your team, I do Grim."

"A team." Grimlock vented. His smile faded, some semblance of peace casting over his features. "Sure. We're a team. Autobots and Cons. Minus Shockwave."

"Grimlock!" Bumblebee spat. It took every bit of strength he had left to not throttle the massive bot. Or Wheeljack and Swoop, who were in his immediate peripheral laughing it up. "We have three bombs crashing down and I need you to focus here."

"He really hurt us." Sludge mumbled. Bumblebee found the simple bot's focus on his fumbling peds. He kicked an Insecticon helm down the path in a juvenile fashion. Grimlock broke away from his and Bumblebee's back and forth and stomped slowly over to his teammate. He draped a massive servo around Sludges shoulders in a comforting way. He gave his teammate an encouraging shake, urging him to continue. Sludge forced a shrug, unable to look up to meet Grimlock, or anyone's gaze. "He hurt me. When he turned us into Dinobots. I don't remember much like the boss does, but it was still plenty scary."

"And you can tell Shockwave that!" Bumblebee insisted. "You should tell him how it made you feel, that's healthy! And he deserves to hear it! This is your chance to be the bigger bot in the situation and move on from the past."

Sludge only nodded. "I'll tell him. I want him to know how much he hurt me. I think the only way for me to feel better, is to tell him that, and chew on his struts."

Bumblebee threw up his servos as the frustration finally got the better of him. HOW had Optimus had the patience to do this leadership thing for as long as he did?

"Really, how can you say no to this face plate Bee?" Grimlock demanded, pointing to the downcast gaze of Sludge.

Predaking ex-vented hard, servos crossed tight over his torso. "The fact all your collective idiocy didn't destroy this world three times over is nothing short of a miracle."

Arcee clapped her hands together loud to draw focus onto herself. She was clearly trying to bring some semblance of productivity to the moment. Primus knows Bumblebee had lost full control over it. "Ok! New plan. Grimlock, Swoop, and Sludge, I know how you feel. Not the forced chassis modification horrors, but the want for revenge. Its normal. Really, we could all use some right now. The actual difference is simple. Arachnid is actively trying to kill us all, while Shockwave is rather indifferent to us living or dying. In fact, he is our best bet for survival. A bit ago I had the perfect moment to get my vengeance, but I let it go so I could protect my team. It was the right thing to do at the time. Will I get another chance to kill Arachnid? I don't know, the day is still young. But the point is, you now need to make the same choice I had to. You can take revenge, and doom two cities and everyone here who fought to save Cybertron or put Shockwave's much deserved dismantling off for one more day and save the damn day."

Grimlock clicked his jaw hinge as he staired down at Arcee. Before he could answer, a small jet came down into their group. It was Sharpshot. They either were here to help convince Grimlock not to murder their last collective hope or figure out why they were dwindling their limited time away.

They rushed over to Grimlock and the other two Dinobots. The trooper leader barely came up to Grimlock's waist in height. They considered Grimlock in a moment of quiet. The larger of the standoff raising a single optic ridge in question. "I'm sorry for what my faction did to you and your team." They said.

"Nope! You ain't taking the fall for what the one opticed scientist did to us. Nice try though, Sharpshot." Grimlock growled.

"Somebot has to." Sharpshot insisted. "Shockwave can't. He is incapable of it. Because-"

"Because he's nuts?" Swoop guessed.

Sharpshot winced. Some unknown hesitance kept them from elaborating as they clearly wanted to. "I want you to appreciate how much trouble I can get into for this…" They vented, then reached up to switch off their Commlink. "Shockwave can't appreciate what he did, not like he used to, before the Autobot Senate Empurated and sterilized his emotion centers."

A silence of implied horror washed over the small group. Not even the distant cheers of the fighters who thought the battle was won turned the tone. The mere mention of the barbaric pre-war practices had even Grimlock quiet. Only Predaking glanced about at the grim faceplates, unsure what context he had missed. No one felt comfortable enough to enlighten him. Sharpshot continued despite the discomfort. "Shockwave was different back then, we all were. He can't comprehend empathy anymore after what they did to him. So, I will say sorry on his behalf. Horror was done to him, on many of us. We then did it back to you for revenge. Now you want it from him again… I want it all to stop, because unchecked it never will. If you want a Con to kill to feel better, use me. No one will want to avenge a cloned trooper. We can end at least this one line of hate with me. Do it, then save Cybertron."

Grimlock's broad shoulders slumped. "You had to go ahead and ruin this for me… didn't ya?" He vented. He approached the smaller bot, then placed a hand on Sharpshot's shoulder. "And you do think mighty high of yourself, if ya think me killin' ya would be equal to me wantin' Shockwave dead. And it ain't cuz you're a trooper. It's because you're too damn good to be a Con."

"And you're too murderous to be an Autobot." Sharpshot countered.

A genuine smile returned to Grimlock's lip plates. One that lacked the want to kill. "Fair enough. And for Primus sake, stop sellin' yourself short. If I killed ya, plenty of folks would want revenge. Your team, and probably my own would rip me apart if I hurt ya. And they'd be right to." He turned up to look at Bumblebee, his expression tired. "Shockwave has exactly the amount of time we have left to defuse them bomb engines. Then he better run like the Pits because my pity well only goes so deep."

"Thank you Grimlock." Sharpshot said.

Grimlock waved them off. "Eh shut up, I'm angry at you still."

Sharpshot snickered, reactivating their Commlink.

Bumblebee managed to nod to them gratefully. The Vehicon leader had pulled off the impossible. They had convinced Grimlock into doing something he didn't want to. Back in the day, Optimus couldn't even do that. '"Commander Shockwave."' Sharpshot said respectfully out loud and into their commlink. '"You are needed at my coordinates. We have three Nuclear Fusion Collider engines about to crash with the surface of Cybertron. They need to be deactivated in…"' they checked the sky, then flinched. '"Um, as fast as you can get it done."' They turned to the expectant group. Everyone ignored Grimlock's sour mood as it radiated annoyance. "He's on his way… Without Master Soundwave to operate the Groundbridge, all we have is the one in the Decepticon bunkers to work with. I'll have one of my trooper's head through. It will be slow, but it is all we have until Master Soundwave reports in."

"We'll make it work." Bumblebee promised. "We always do."

Predaking crossed his servos again. "And I suppose I will remain with my creator, so the fool here does not kill him, and with it, our only hope."

Bumblebee nodded in agreement. That was probably a good idea.

"So the big guys will go with Shockwave to handle whatever horrific traps Arachnid has probably set on those ships," Arcee said and motioned to Grimlock and Predaking. Then her helm turned to the smoldering expanse. "And we spread out and find Arachnid before she sneaks into the nearest Spacebridge bound for Earth."

"Arachnid won't head to Earth without Unicron's vessel." Bumblebee noted. "But with what army she has left, she can't take on MacCadam to reclaim it."

"She can try." Wheeljack snorted. "MacCadam is a spinning torrent of death. The last few bugs will be a breeze if they try and take him on."

Besides the dramatic word picture, Bumblebee agreed. "We'll search for her and wear her remaining forces down while Shockwave takes down those ships."

As if on cue, a Groundbridge burst open before them. Sharpshot was the first to move. They positioned themselves in the way of the swirling vortex and Grimlock. Heavy ped steps trudged forward, a large dark form coming through. Bumblebee stole a glance at Grimlock. He was a mess of conflicting outward expressions of both joy and aggression, sneering wide as his fists open and closed.

Shockwave stepped out of the Bridge before Bumblebee could offer any more words. Not that Grimlock would hear it. Shockwave's red optic scanned over the collection of faceplates. Of course, he was impossible to read. He didn't comment on any of the glaring Dinobot's presence. He either had some hidden weapon assuring his safety from them, or he trusted Sharpshot. Bumblebee tried to spot anything different on the Decepticon Scientist, because he was sure it was the first option.

Shockwave focused downward at Sharpshot. They saluted as if this was just another normal solar cycle on the job. "Has there been word from Lord Soundwave?" he inquired coldly.

"None at all, Commander." Sharpshot explained.

"Then we will continue regardless until such a time communications are reestablished." Shockwave said, devoid of concern for their new leader. He gazed above, taking in the three ships as they came ever closer into view. Flames consumed the ships as they blasted through the first layers of the atmosphere. He remained standing in silence. Bumblebee turned nervously towards Sharpshot for some sort of confirmation of the Scientist's continued consciousness.

"Don't interrupt." Grimlock suddenly spat. "I recognize that look. He's usin' that big brain of his to scheme something."

"Calculating, actually." Shockwave corrected, which only caused Grimlock's glare to turn even deadlier. "Factoring for the ships current velocity, and assuming all variables will remain the same, I can triangulate the coordinates for a Groundbridge to take us to all three locations without causing catastrophic displacement."

"Eh, I must have missed that day of math class." Bulkhead offered, trying to lighten the mood of murder boiling just under the surface.

"It is within my abilities, if we execute the plan immediately." Shockwave assured them all.

"Thank you for working with us, Shockwave." Bumblebee said. "You're saving a lot of lives here."

"Truly, a nobler deed was never seen." Grimlock teased. His tone somewhat assuring Bumblebee he had calmed down to an acceptable mind space. Still grinning, Grimlock searched the ground, looking for a distraction, or so Bumblebee thought. "This should work." He mumbled to himself while snatching a fist sized jagged piece of metal shrapnel. He then hurled it at Shockwave's helm at near terminal villosity before anyone could think to react.

The shrapnel exploded into particles just before it made contact with Shockwave. The shield encompassing Shockwave turned invisible once more, returning to standby. Grimlock snorted in the stunned silence that followed. "Yeah, figured. I had to try, or it would have driven me crazy." He offered as the only means of explanation.

Shockwave seemed neither surprised or intimidated, as if he hadn't almost been bludgeoned to death. Bumblebee offered Grimlock a final warning scowl before he addressed the group. "Alright. Our group goes to smoke out Arachnid. Shockwave's team works on dismantling the ships. We call if anything changes. Any questions?"

Both groups were resolute. Though Grimlock, unable to stick to any plan but his own, found a hefty length of pipe, ripped it free from the ground, and swung it hard at Shockwave. It disintegrated much like the first improvised weapon he had attempted. "Nope." He said with a shrug. "Plan is crystal clear."


Location: The Decepticon war ship, the Star Slayer

Sharpshot

All things considered; things could be worse. True, they had just Bridged onto the Star Slayer, and Grimlock had already tried to kill Commander Shockwave, twice. But, Shockwave's emancipating energy shield was still in top working order at least.

The lights on the Star Slayer were powered down to their lowest emergency setting. The violent entry into Cybertron's atmosphere caused the ship to shutter. It felt like they were a wrench in a spinning turbine. It was only a matter of time before the artificial gravity gave out. Then they would be crawling along the ceiling. Great.

The Predacon leader took point, ripping doors out of their way when they refused to yield. Sharpshot had only offered their usual station as forward scout once. They were firmly turned down. They decided not to argue with Predaking on that and let him lead the way. Shockwave was less concerned with giving Predaking directions, so Sharpshot allowed him to handle that.

Sharpshot also kept a keen visor on Grimlock, Swoop and Sludge, who made up the back of their mismatched party. They were all scowling, only sometimes throwing things at Shockwave's shield. Otherwise, they were behaving.

"It's up ahead." Shockwave informed their inherited guide. Predaking acknowledge the remark with a low growl. He freed the final door in their path from the wall with a firm yank. Shockwave let himself into the engine room past Predaking without further comment. Sharpshot tried to glean some sort of deeper context between Shockwave and Predaking. They weren't sure what they had expected… but as creator and creation, one of them had to feel SOMETHING for the other. If there was any inkling of deeper understanding between the two, Sharpshot had missed it miserably. Shockwave regarded his creation with the same level of indifference as he did with anybot, even Lord Soundwave. Predaking did not seem to care either way. Though it was far from the healthiest relationship, it appeared to benefit them both just fine.

"Hey king." Grimlock said. Sharpshot gave a hesitant glance over their shoulder, sensing trouble. "Can I borrow that?" he elaborated while motioning to the rendered door in Predaking's claws. Predaking gave him a sideways glance but surrendered the door without further question. Sharpshot realized their intuition was right when Grimlock hurled the door like a throwing disk at Shockwave's back. His shield tore the door in two as it sailed past, both pieces flying to either side of the dark room.

"As was previously established, that will not accomplish what you intend it to." Shockwave informed him.

"Meh, it's givin' me something to do." Grimlock countered. "We're here to deal with any traps the big bad spider may have left for us to stumble into. So far, no excitement, and you are too tempting a target."

Not surprisingly, Shockwave didn't acknowledge that and instead got to work. His whole focus shifted to the experimental engine that was their reason for being in this dangerous, all-around awkward situation in the first place.

Feeling the heat of anger still radiating from Grimlock's group, Sharpshot decided it was a good idea to try and speed things along. They didn't know much, or anything, about this particular engine model. Shockwave would more than likely turn them away. But in at least this aspect, they could relate to Grimlock, well, not the murder part anyway. But having nothing to do did make Sharpshot uneasy.

"Can I assist you, Commander?"

"Absolutely not." Shockwave said.

The deadpan frankness of the answer almost made Sharpshot laugh. They refrained to maintain some semblance of professionalism. Shockwave pointed to a wall mounted control panel across the room with his cannon arm. "I have almost completed this first task. Before we Bridge out, you will check to see if there is enough fuel left in the ship to divert course from its intended crash location."

Relieved to have something useful to do, Sharpshot hurried to the terminal. It was painfully slow to start up. They had to crack open the bottom panel to rewire a few things, but they did manage to persuade the thing to remain on. It wasn't great news. There was seven percent Energon levels in the reserve tanks, and that was only keeping the emergency lights on.

"No good, Commander. There isn't enough to steer or do anything but blare the alarms." They reported with a vent. As far as they knew, things couldn't get much worse.

"So, Shockwave." Swoop piped up with a tone of mock interest. "What were ya like back in the day before the Senate, ya know…" He made a snipping motion with two fingers near his own helm. "Cut a bit too much off the top of the old noggin?"

Sharpshot could have sworn they felt their own processor stall. So much for not getting in trouble for letting that secret slip.

Shockwave paused his tampering in the engine for hardly a nano klik, but Sharpshot noticed it. "I don't know how you came by that information, but regardless, the answer you are seeking is irrelevant."

The engine buzzed to life and the ship's lights came alive along the ceiling. Sharpshot startled. The terminal they previously struggled to keep on blinked to full brightness. The screen showed a rising power level in the back engines.

"Uh, I thought the point was to break the engine?" Grimlock pointed out.

"That is still our primary objective." Shockwave agreed. "But even with the explosive components of the Nuclear Fusion Collider engine dismantled, the ship will still crash onto a large Decepticon population. I intend to reroute the ship to crash nearer to the abandoned Slaughter City."

"That's, noble of you." Predaking offered, raised optic ridge betraying his surprise. Sharpshot smiled inward at the news. It really was noble. There had been rumors Commander Shockwave's emotional range was recovering from what the Senate had done. True, it had taken the span of the whole war and some change, but it was progress. Sharpshot could have sworn even Grimlock arched a brow.

But then Shockwave had to elaborate. "It's proximity to the bunkers will allow me easy access to sort through the debris for valuable parts."

"Yep, there it is." Grimlock rolled his optics as Predaking's expression returned to its normal scowl.

"Did… you agree to help just because you wanted spare parts to work with?" Swoop asked, voice somehow even more annoyed then when they started. Sharpshot tried not to let their cringe show to obviously. They only typed into the ship's navigation an abandoned part of land outside of Slaughter City. If they pretended not to notice the building resentment, the less awkward this would be.

"New coordinates set Commander." Sharpshot said. As their course adjusted, Sharpshot could feel the metal of the ship's hull screech in protest. When the new shake had stabilized, Shockwave ripped something from the engine. The clarity of their surroundings thanks to the fleeting light plunged once again into darkness.

"Good work team." Grimlock said with an encouraging grin. He picked up a broken piece of metal and hurled it at Shockwave. "Damn, that shield has an impressive charge in it." Grimlock almost complimented after his projectile was reduced to particles.

"I designed it for extended use." Shockwave confirmed, then turned his focus to Sharpshot. "We are ready to Bridge to the next location."

Sharpshot nodded without comment. They activated their personal Commlink with their team in the bunkers. They also retained a careful watch on the three Dinobots. Sludge sniffed around Shockwave, trying to find some weak point in the invisible shield.

"It has a spherical radius." Shockwave explained, seeing the lumbering bot's intentions.

"That some kind of circle?" Sludge grumbled.

"Correct. The structural integrity is all encompassing." Shockwave specified.

'Ready for the next location. The sooner the better.' Sharpshot vented silently to their team's Commlink.

'Coming up.' Came the response from their second, Crossflare. She had sustained damage in the last fight, so she was the logical choice to operate the Groundbridge from the bunker. She was also trying to refrain from chuckling. 'How are the Dinobots holding up with Commander Shockwave?' She sounded far too excited to ask.

If it were possible to glare over a Commlink, Sharpshot would have. 'About as well as it could be… They are taking about every opportunity to test Shockwave's shield. But, I guess if they actually wanted to attack him, they would have worn down it's charge by now. Aside from blowing off steam, I think... Grimlock is taking my advice.'

'I wish you wouldn't get involved so much.' Crossflare said, her promised Groundbridge bursting into being before them. 'It always gets you into scrap. And by extension it gets me into scrap too. Some bots are just stuck in their ways. It's not worth the processor power to try and convince the Dinos not to kill Shockwave.'

'True.' Sharpshot acknowledged. They jumped through the portal after Predaking with their weapons out as they scanned the dark hallways of the new ship.

'That didn't sound very convincing.' Crossflare said.

'Hey, I have a knack for getting into other bots business. I can get any feuding groups to work together. It's only a matter of time.' Sharpshot said.

'Whatever you say, lieutenant.' Their second hummed, sounding far from convinced. 'You're good, but you may have met your match in this one regard.'

'We'll see.' They blew off.

'Repeat after me, lieutenant: Other bot's emotional states are none of my business.' She said.

'What's that, you're breaking up.' Sharpshot grumbled. 'Standby for the final Groundbridge.'

'Heard you loud and clear.' She informed them before Sharpshot cut the Comm. They cleared the room, having to brace against the wall as the ship's tremble grew more violent. They were running out of time.

The clank of something else Grimlock threw echoed through the dim room, followed by Shockwave's shield disintegrating it. Sharpshot vented.

They repeated the same steps as before. Re-rout power from the backup engines, force the ship off it's intended crash course, dismantle the engines. Aside from the hostility within their own group, everything was going great. Sharpshot didn't trust anything seemingly so simple. Hadn't Arachnid set any traps on the ships?

"Do ya miss who you used to be?" Swoop asked Shockwave out of the blue. Sharpshot winced from their post near the door. This had the potential to be helpful or very hindering.

"Elaborate." Shockwave said as he ripped a wire from the engine out of its housing.

Swoop rolled his optics. "I mean, do you ever want to go back to how you used to be, before the old Senate, you know… Took a little too much off the top? Left more to the imagination if you catch my drift?"

"Took your helm off." Sludge offered.

Shockwave never paused his work. "Your hypothesis is irrelevant. I am no longer the Cybertronian you speak of. Though I have concluded you are utilizing these questions in a foolhardy attempt at upsetting me. However you came across my pre-war files, you should know I am now immune to such illogical emotional expressions. Besides, before the Senate saw fit to lobotomize my emotion protocols, the arbitrary concept of 'morality' limited my previous potential. My experiments are no longer limited by such things."

"Which explains project Dinobot, I figure?" Grimlock growled.

"Correct. It would have always remained a hypothetical in the past." Shockwave confirmed.

So, this conversation wasn't going to help much. Sharpshot wracked their processor, desperate to find any means of keeping this from degrading even further into scrap. Shockwave's shield was starting to flicker with each new projectile Grimlock launched at it, showing its ware and tear.

Metal clanking the floor echoed, and at last Predaking snarled. "Your juvenile tantrums are not helping this campaign, fool." He snapped in Grimlock's direction.

"That actually wasn't me this time, champ." Grimlock informed him coldly. They all froze as that realization sunk in. Sharpshot's weapons shifted into being when the shadows in the corner lunged at them.

They shot low, aiming to damage but not destroy. The shadow snarled. Purple droplets of dark Energon splattered the floor. An infected. The diseased bot stumbled but was far from down. They lashed out at the closest bot to their vicinity, which was Shockwave.

In one clean motion, Shockwave stood from his work. His shield came down and he struck fast. Sharpshot didn't know exactly what happened. The shield reestablished around Shockwave before Grimlock could take advantage of its absence. The infected bot was on the ground, chassis wracked with violent tremors. In Shockwave's free hand was a used injector.

"The cure needed more testing." Shockwave said in the stunned silence that followed. The bot writhing on the ground purged dark Energon from his tanks. His vents wheezed, clawing at his chest and neck. "I decided to take this opportunity to run a trial test in the field."

"Looks like you need to add more 'cure' in the mix." Swoop observed while taking a disgusted step back.

The bot moaned, dark optics starting to flicker yellow. "Where?" they purged more infected Energon.

"They should no longer be contagious." Shockwave informed the group. He typed a few notes down into a portable data pad he materialized. "This one has survived the initial immunization…Very promising." He mused, finishing whatever he was jotting down before he returned his singular focus onto Sharpshot. "We may proceed to the last set of coordinates."

"Um, hold on, Commander." Sharpshot said while trying to keep their amazement in check. They had no idea the cure had come along so well. Despite the nervous lump in their tanks, Sharpshot approached the still trembling bot on the ground.

"This is a waste of our limited time." Shockwave informed them flatly.

"Watch out Shot." Grimlock growled. "As much as I'd love to have faith in the good scientist's work… You don't want to get yourself bit if this one ain't healed."

"The subject has survived the immunization process. There is nothing to worry about." Shockwave repeated.

Grimlock took the chance to hurl a broken bit of wall at Shockwave in response. The shield again vaporized it. "Funny you mention that. Your shield is still working, so you don't have anything to worry about either." Grimlock said.

Sharpshot knelt to be optic level with the bot. The familiar Decepticon emblem caked with dried dark Energon adorned their chest. Sharpshot pulled a small canister of emergency Energon from their subspace. Being careful not to make any sudden moves, they offered it. The bot flinched. They had just noticed Sharpshot beside them. "The virus should be almost out of your system." Sharpshot assured them, though wasn't entirely sure they were telling the poor bot the truth. Whether it was the truth or not, it seemed like a reassuring thing to hear.

The bot's yellow optics no longer reflected any trace of darkness. They only staired at Sharpshot and their offered Energon in confusion.

"More." They whispered and finally took the small canister.

"That's all I got, sorry." Sharpshot said with a shrug.

With the ingestion of chemically enhanced Energon, clarity crashed into the bot. They shook their helm with a sudden frantic panic. "No, there are more… more on the ship!"

"Eh?" Sharpshot managed to say before the bot grasped onto them with weak, desperate claws.

"It's fuzzy… But I know I heard it when I was under. I heard HER."

"Arachnid?" Sharpshot guessed.

Trembles assaulted the bot's frame again, but this time it wasn't due to the lasting effects of the virus. "It's a trap! We have to tell Lord Meg… I mean. I…"

"Lord Soundwave already knows." Sharpshot assured them. "That's why we are here. We are going to stop the ships from exploding."

"That's not the trap." The fellow Con whimpered.

Sharpshot hesitated, feeling a similar unease radiate from those behind them. "Then, what is?"

The ship shuttered violently. Sharpshot snatched the bot before they were both thrown to the ground. It was still too early before they entered the second layer of their atmosphere, wasn't it?

"More of them on the ship!" The bot insisted. "All of the ships! They will emerge before the crash landing. You can't stop them!"

"We can stop a few more bugs." Swoop promised with a grin. "You should see what we did to Arachnid's forces on the ground. Whatever she stashed on the ship will be no big deal."

Sharpshot took in the bot's alarmed expression, their frantic helm shaking. Signs of somebot who was not being understood. "Are those on the ships, not Insecticons?" they guessed.

Optics wide, the bot looked gratefully to Sharpshot. "No. They are monsters… Massive beasts."

Going by the vague description alone, Sharpshot knew exactly what they were dealing with. They looked back, along with everyone else. Predaking became the group's new focus.

"Arachnid's forces had not been able to best my people's might." Predaking explained. "But, some of my people had been bitten. Most were restrained and placed into stasis lock."

"Most?" Grimlock growled.

"Fifteen infected Predacons remain unaccounted for. All attempts to locate them have proven fruitless." Predaking explained.

"Looks like we found where Arachnid was storing them." Sharpshot vented. They helped the bot up, now retaining a weary visor on the door to the Engine room, leading into the dark of the ship. "Do you know how Arachnid planned to control them? Or how she kept them quiet here for so long?"

The bot could only frantically shake their helm again.

"It would have to be stasis." Shockwave intoned. He was foraging in his supplies again. "I assume she has set said stasis to unleash the infected Predacon's at a certain moment of intended impact. That last unaccounted for ship wide tremor may have not been from reentry, but Predacons emerging from stasis. If that is the case, they would have already picked up on our Energon scent." He retrieved three more injectors full of the virus's cure. He deactivated his shield long enough to throw one to Predaking and another to Grimlock. The final one he kept to himself, safe behind his reestablished erected shield. "These samples are the only ones I have brought along with me. I did not expect the need for fifteen vials. Use them wisely as we proceed."

Grimlock flashed him a fanged grin. "You didn't think of it? Losing your touch, I guess? Just more chances for you to slip up for me to take advantage of I guess. Lucky me."

Shockwave seemed to ignore him and continued. "Make sure the injector gets past the plating and into the proto mesh of the infected, or it will be a wasted effort. We will consider how to deal with this new development when the final ship's explosive engine is dealt with."

Predaking snarled, snatching Sharpshot's attention and scaring the wobbly bot in their grasp. "To use my people in such a way, Arachnid will rue the day she concocted such a scheme! When my infected people emerge from this ship, I will take care of them."

Sharpshot called a Bridge back to the bunker for the bot they had saved. "But fifteen infected Predacons will be a colossal challenge, even for you. Remember your majesty… you don't have to go it alone. We are here to assist."

Predaking considered them, bold optic ridge raising. "I am aware." Was all he said.

Sharpshot helped the bot limp into the green vortex, and overheard Predaking's gruff voice. "How such a creature has survived amongst the Decepticons this long, I will not know."

With their cured victim taken care of, Sharpshot and the others arrived on the final ship. It's darkness now taking on a new eerie nature after what they had learned. The hull creaked, heat stress from reentry contributing to the unnerving symphony of sounds.

Shockwave strode by Sharpshot and the others. He appeared the only one unconcerned with what lurked in the darkness. "Has there been any news from the team in Kaon?" Shockwave inquired as they approached the final engine room. Sharpshot took too long responding to that. It was the few times he had directed any question to them.

"No… Nothing at all."

"Hm." Was all Shockwave said. Sharpshot wondered if it was his way of worrying over Lord Soundwave and the others. They had known each other longer.

"What will you Con's do if Sounders is laying in a pile of his own servos?" Grimlock asked. "Your group has never been the kind to have back up plans."

"And you were, Boss?" Swoop countered.

Grimlock shrugged. "Not even almost. But I ain't leadin' all the Autobots. Thank Primus. When we stop Arachnid, what's next if you're leaderless again?" He was also not talking to Shockwave. Yet another imperative question placed on Sharpshot's small shoulders. They regretted not having their frame upgraded a few mechanometers taller. That way they could have at least faked a more authoritative presence.

Sharpshot mulled the question over. "I guess… We hand it down to the next Bot in charge. That would be Lord Soundwave's Second in Command, Thunderblast." Though the eccentric flyer had never showed a terrible interest in leadership. Sharpshot figured she wouldn't have much of a choice if Lord Soundwave had gone to the All Spark in the fight against Tarn.

"She'll lead the Cons, until old Starscream arranges an accident for her." Grimlock chuckled.

"Then he'll take over?" Swoop asked, not bothering to hide his grimace at the concept.

"No." Sharpshot promised. "Demolisher would be after Thunderblast. Then Commander Shockwave. Then Lieutenant Commander Blitzwing after him I think…" That was as far as they had bothered to study up on. If there were a scenario where so many high ranking Decepticons were offline, leadership would not be their immediate worry.

Swoop started to laugh. "Oh, Starscream would find a way. The Renegade may be the most 'accident' prone ship this side of the galaxy if Screamer is left unchecked. He may find a way to kill ya before we do, Doc." He added, an innocent smile aimed Shockwave's way.

"Who'd die to make you in charge, Shots?" Sludge asked.

Sharpshot glanced him across the dark hallway. Unlike Swoop and Grimlock, he had done little talking on this excursion. Sharpshot had to crank his visor's power to see clearer in the dark. They could have sworn Sludge wore a look of rare thoughtfulness.

"No one did. We all voted while we waited to receive orders from any passing Decepticon ships. I voted for my Second, Crossflare. Everyone else, including her, picked me." They explained with a shrug.

Sludge blinked a few times in the quiet that followed the explanation. His lower jaw hinge, larger than his upper portion, pursed his expression lopsided. Sharpshot had assumed they had moved on from the topic until he added, "That sounds the best way to pick a Con boss, I think. That way it's fair. No one dead, and no way Starscream will get in."

Swoop burst into a fit of too loud laughter. "Yeah, Screamer will get one vote, the vote he caste."

"Funny we talkin' about the silver idiot so much." Grimlock added. "I got a private Comm from some Con by the name of Slipstream. She asked me how much she could pay me to deck Screamer as hard as I could. I told her I would pay her for the chance if she is offerin'."

"Wow, would it be a full-time gig or like, an annual thing? Either way I'll be in on that work too, what's this Con's Comm number?" Swoop insisted.

Predaking's massive transformation shoved Sharpshot into the walls of the tight gangway. Before anyone could question his reasoning, the left wall exploded.

A familiar snarl shook their already unstable servos until they collapsed. The black eyes of an infected set in the feral helm of a Predacon. They had finally found one of Arachnid's traps. The massive beast snapped its jaws, desperate to bite down on Predaking's long neck.

Both beasts struggled for dominance in the cramped space. Predaking pushed his infected brother against the wall. The metal warped and whined under their combined weight.

Sharpshot shook off the shock and crawled back onto their peds. They scanned the chaotic scene in search of Shockwave. The deep purple coloring was almost invisible in the dim light. Shockwave was standing up from the floor on the other side of the fight. His shield flickered, no longer able to remain invisible. His defensive tech had taken a direct hit from the Predacon's entrance. He was still unharmed, but his shield's continued endurance was now up for debate.

"The engine room." Shockwave insisted. There was no time to idle, even while under attack.

Predaking shoved the other beast harder into the wall. Sharpshot took aim and fired into the infected beast's optics. The more distracting they were, Predaking was less likely to get bit.

"Ack!" A tail swooped under Sharpshot's peds, again introducing their skid plates to the floor. The attack wasn't random. Predaking's tail shoved at them more. His glaring yellow optics aimed down to catch their visor. Then he threw his gaze down the hall, then back to them.

It finally clicked. Sharpshot shuffled upright. A rolling injector clanked between the brawling beasts. Sharpshot managed to snatch it as it rolled from under foot. "The cure!" They threw it. Predaking snatched it between his massive claws. "Past the plating, into the proto mesh!" They shouted Shockwave's reminder. Predaking nodded, grappling his kin farther out of their way so they could pass by the brawl.

With a growl, Grimlock shoved Sludge towards the fight. "Give the king back up! We got to get our favorite mad scientist to the damn engine room."

Another unfamiliar transformation warped the small hall. Sludge crashed through to Predaking's defense. "You use the cure thing; I can sit on 'em!" He offered.

The next moment, Sharpshot was once again reminded of their mediocre size. Grimlock raced by, snatched them up and hurled them over his shoulder. He started to run after Shockwave and Swoop with Sharpshot bobbing along as if they were a lobbing ball. "I do know how to run myself!" They complained.

"And get flattened by another Predacon in hiding? Not gonna happen, Shots!" Grimlock said. Even bounced around on the brute's shoulder, Sharpshot caught Grimlock's grin. "Plus, there are so few good Con's in this messed up place we call home. Can't risk losing one."

"If I had optics to roll…" Sharpshot grumbled.

Rounding a corner, Sludge's voice echoed after them. "Good luck guys! And if Soundwave and all them others you said is dead, You got my vote for Con leader, Shots!"

They lurched to a stop. Grimlock finally put Sharpshot down, and they managed to get their spinning helm to calm. Shockwave was about to attempt to break down the door to the engine room before Swoop waved him off. "Please, let a Dinobot show ya how it's done." He transformed, ready to pry the doors open with his clawed peds.

The door burst open from the other side. From the dust, Swoop yelped and flapped his wings in a flailing dance of panic. A Predacon with black optics chased him back down the hall. Only Swoop's manic gyrations kept him from getting bit.

"You're really showing him all ya got there Swoop." Grimlock said, crossing his servos in leu of helping.

"Go frag yourself Boss! Ah!" Swoop managed to snap.

Grimlock vented deep. "Ok, let me get the idiot."

"Your services are still required here." Shockwave informed him. His servo cannon was charging, aimed into the dark room. More growls and black optics awaited them.

Grimlock stormed past him. He made sure to make his glare obvious as he came dangerously close to the shield. "You are damn lucky we need you alive, or I would let them eat you. But don't you try givin' me orders." His body shuttered, plating shifting in what looked just as painful as it usually did. "Can ya help Swoop while I manage this?" he asked Sharpshot and tossed the injector in a long arch before he transformed into his monstrous form.

Sharpshot lurched forward to catch it. "Consider it done." They promised, racing back down the hall.

"Time is not on our side." Shockwave called after them.

"We'll make it work, Commander! I promise!" They rounded the corner and found Swoop. Following the frantic curses the Dinobot produced helped in the search. He positioned himself between a large support beam with the Predacon on the opposite side. They circled the beam after each other comically in an endless game of tag.

Sharpshot fired off a round, forcing the Predacon's focus onto them. It spun, fangs dripping infected lubricant. "Catch!" Sharpshot yelled to Swoop before they tossed the injector to them. They then slid down into an open vent before the Predacon could bite down. They pressed as far from the opening as possible, caustic liquid spewing as the Predacon snapped and snarled in the small space.

"How does this thing work?" They heard Swoop demand from behind the beast. "I ain't a science guy. You gotta help me out here!"

Sharpshot edged farther down the vent. They searched for an escape rout that wasn't the monster's mouth plates. "It's pressure activated! Stab it in past the armor! And how am I supposed to help from my position?!"

"It has armor everywhere!" Swoop countered. "Help me help you, you gotta be part of your own rescue!"

"Joints, neck cables, where the helm meets the first vertebrae plate! Pick one!" Sharpshot shouted back. Dark Energon splattered their left ped, and they gasped. It burned the moment it made contact. They tried wiping it off, then grimaced at once when it only spread the burn to their hands. Well, that wasn't smart. So far, they still could think straight. They weren't infected, so long as it didn't enter their Energon system through a wound. They didn't have any wounds… did they? The Predacon ripped at the metal, more of its helm shoving into the small space after them. Swoop would have it injected any moment.

"Stabby bit goes in first, right?" Swoop's voice asked. "Recall I'm not a science guy."

"Primus, Swoop!" Sharpshot snapped. They ran out of room, the vent ending with a thick grate. They groped the wall until their claws hitched a panel. They ripped the panel off and found a cascade of wires. Lights, security measures, emergency blast doors… perfect! With the Predacon's hot vents spewing into their back, Sharpshot rerouted wire after wire. They flung their focus behind them, waiting as the beast's helm got ever closer…just a little further. The near invisible seam in the small vent they were cowering in shifted with a final rewire. A thick metal panel slid down onto the Predacon's neck. It thrashed to free itself, Sharpshot no longer it's primary concern.

They didn't waste time gawking. They activated the security lockdown protocol with what little power was left. The sound of another blast door came down. If Sharpshot's calculations were correct, it landed on the beast's back, better pinning it in place.

"Oh that's helpful!" Swoop's muffled voice commented from behind the two ajar blast doors.

The Predacon's frantic thrashing jarred to a halt, black optics widened to round globes. Sharpshot assumed Swoop finally got the 'stabby bit' to hit its mark.

Then reality set in. Recent memory of the bot cured on the other ship flashed behind Sharpshot's vision. Standing right in front of the Predacon's mouth would be the worst place in the universe to be in a moment. Sharpshot spun around to rip away at the same wires they had meticulously placed. The blast doors creaked as they gave way. Sharpshot pushed past the now convulsing Predacon to get back out of the vent.

Just in time. The Predacon gagged. It spewed dark Energon into the vent and onto the floor as its system was able to finally fight off the infection.

Sharpshot groaned, falling against the wall when the adrenaline chemicals stopped pumping. Swoop landed by them to watch the Predacon convulse and purge the infection. He spun the used injector in his claws and gave Sharpshot a proud grin.

Despite dark Energon covering them and being beyond done with this cycle, Sharpshot patted him on the wing. "Good job… You're a science guy now."

The Predacon groaned, pulling its long helm free from the vent. It was disoriented like the bot previous, but its optics were yellow and clear.

Grimlock's primal roar echoed up the hallway, and Swoop gasped an intake. "We gotta get back!" He flew off into the darkness after the roar. Sharpshot was ready to rush after them, but hesitated. They turned back to the Predacon, who only staired confounded back. "You, um, have to get off this ship. It's crashing. Do you understand me." After a delayed pause, the beast nodded. It stumbled, looking lost at the many hallways it could take.

Sharpshot had to go, but guilt pricked at the back of their processor. "O-ok. Here, over here." They pressed a digit to their auditory. 'Crossflare. Bridge please. I have another cured to come through… This one is, um, a bit bigger than the first.'

'Are you still on that fragging ship?!' Crossflare demanded. 'Do you know how much time until impact?'

'No, and please don't tell me, I don't want to think about it.'

Crossflare vented, then a Bridge burst open. The Predacon flinched, probably never having seen the technology before.

"It's a portal to somewhere safe. See?" Sharpshot ran a hand through the vortex to prove it didn't maim on contact. "Go through it to get help. Your king will come for you later."

Still dazed, the Predacon only nodded. It glanced over its broad shoulder at Sharpshot before vanishing into the portal. The vortex closed. Sharpshot transformed to blast down the hall. Their Spark pulse raced every time they thought of how little time they had left.

'Gah!' Crossflare's yelp came through the Commlink. 'Imma need more of a warning next time when you send a whole fragging Predacon through the Groundbridge! I opened the portal behind me and didn't know until it was RIGHT HERE.'

Sharpshot smiled inwardly before they raced back towards the engine room.

The whooshing of rushing wind rang out and natural light flooded the hall. Sharpshot had to transform to grip the sides of the wall, so they weren't thrown out of the gaping hole in the ship. Why was there a gaping hole in the ship? Soon enough the purpose of the rudimentary window became clear. Grimlock's beast form crashed out from the engine room, grappling an infected Predacon. With a roar of exertion, he tossed the Predacon out of the hole and into the sky.

Sharpshot spotted Shockwave in the chaos. He was still not able to work on the engine as another infected beast crawled out from the shadows. His arm cannon blasted it back, but the beast shook off the shot and continued forward.

"The last cure?" Sharpshot shouted over the wind's roar.

Shockwave paused his attack to address the question. "I only have the one left, and there are multiple adversaries. I am saving the cure for if one of us gets bitten."

"Boss, more are after Sludge and the King!" Swoop informed them, managing to flap towards them despite the new gash in one of his wings.

Grimlock hurled another Predacon out of the ship's hole. He had to brace the jagged edges so he didn't tumble out after them. "Loads of stasis pods around this last engine. Our bug princess sure did think this trap through. Imma pluck each one of her spindly legs off, one a cycle for the next…" he paused to do the math. "Twelve cycles, I guess? I'm counting her peds and servos too."

The fangs came around the jagged edge of the outside before Sharpshot had time to even gasp. A Predacon who must have held on outside threw itself back in. Its snout wrapped around Grimlock's neck, catching even the Dinobot leader off guard.

The blast of a powerful cannon blew the Predacon off its target before it could sink its fangs in. The attack forced it back out the open hole, spinning off into the void of Cybertronian sky.

Grimlock blinked, then turned to take in Shockwave's still smoking cannon. "What in the Pits was that?" Grimlock demanded.

"I saved your life." Shockwave explained.

"Why?" Grimlock growled.

"Because we are a team." Sharpshot assured over the roar of the wind.

Then Shockwave had to elaborate, again. "I still intend to regain control over you and my other experiments. Strength like yours is very hard to come by." In the cold silence that followed the statement, Shockwave glanced into the engine room to assure it was clear. "By my calculations, one Predacon is still unaccounted for on the ship. Remain vigilant."

Grimlock glared at his back, the metal of the wall he grasped bending as he clenched his fists.

"Are you ok?" Sharpshot asked, tugging him away from the hole in the ship.

"I will be when I bite him in half." Grimlock informed him coolly. "Every time he opens his nonexistent trap, I want to pound him into scrap even more. I don't want to kill Arachnid this much."

"I know it would help me feel better." Swoop said; wing shoulders slumped. He watched Shockwave with a glint of murderous longing.

"I don't think it will." Sharpshot stated. Both Dinobots turned to frown down at them. "And I'm not only saying that because he's on my team."

"I'm still gonna do it." Grimlock informed them.

"And I don't think anybot could stop you." Sharpshot agreed. "But it isn't only a want for revenge. You want something from him. It's why you guys were asking him so many questions, right? You're trying to figure him out." They glanced this time at Swoop. The winged bot only shrugged, his optics finding the floor.

"I don't know about my boys." Grimlock offered. "But I want him dead. If he's dead, I'm free."

"I disagree. Dead, alive, or indifferent, he can't give you guys any peace, because he can't give you what he doesn't have."

"So what, I'm not allowed to even hate the guy?" Grimlock demanded.

"You're allowed to." Sharpshot said. They trailed Shockwave into the engine room, the two Dinobots following stiffly behind. "But if you hate him, you're locked to him forever. Even if you kill him. You'll always be bound to him by hate. It's a force stronger than anything in this universe. Trust me, I saw firsthand what that kind of bond did to a good cause… Just ask my old lord how he felt about Optimus Prime."

Grimlock only snorted as Sharpshot casually compared him to Megatron. Swoop could only shrug again. He looked lost. No one continued the conversation. They instead watched Shockwave prepare to get started on the final engine. Sharpshot didn't add anything else. They were pretty sure they made their point. Plus, Crossflare said they tended to come off preachy if they pushed it.

Shockwave startled upright and away from the engine. Sharpshot was alert, guns pointed up in search of the final Predacon… There was nothing.

Shockwave wasn't retreating from a beast. Instead, he yanked a device from the plating around his waist as he stumbled back. His shield vanished from around him as the device disconnected. "She calculated this." Shockwave typed frantic into the shield generator then threw it at the targeted engine. Neither Dinobot took the opportunity to jump his unshielded chassis. They were as confused by the scientist's strange actions as Sharpshot was.

Then the flash of an explosion drowned the darkness of the engine room in light. Slowly, Sharpshot came out of their defensive crouch. They hadn't vaporized or melted to the floor. The heat of a blast didn't follow the light and sound of a normal explosion. Swoop was in front of them, with Grimlock having jumped in the way to shield them both.

Inexplicably, the light from the explosion remained. It burned in a silent raging ball next to the even more explosive engine… in a perfect circle.

"The shield." Sharpshot realized.

Shockwave's shield flickered against the inferno. It contained the volatile power at bay, keeping it from spreading to the engine and blowing them all to pieces.

The only one among them worse for wear was Shockwave. He stumbled to his peds, burns from the initial blast having scorched his armor. "I discovered; a proximity bomb placed by the engine's core control panel." He explained, hesitating between words, which was uncharacteristic of him. He was more than likely hurt.

Sharpshot shook off the shock and rushed towards his commander to assist. "Thanks for using your shield to save us."

"It was the only logical option." Shockwave concluded. "True, I would have been protected while the ship was reduced to ashes. But the shield would do little to decrease my terminal velocity or the force of impact when I inevitably reached the ground."

"It's like he goes out of his way to assure nothing he does is for anyone's benefit but his own." Swoop pointed out.

"The energy barrier will not contain the blast for long." Shockwave went on to explain while of course ignoring the Dinobot's commentary. "It was already at fifty percent capacity when I utilized it for this new task, due to continued projectiles assaulting its surface."

Sharpshot glared at Grimlock on Shockwave's behalf. It wasn't a normal glare, like bots capable of expressions would utilize. It relied a lot on a deliberately slow helm shake and a healthy aura of contempt. Sharpshot liked to think they had mastered the art of glaring without a face.

Still in his primal mode, Grimlock offered a not so guilty grin in spite of Sharpshot's faceless scowl. "Still worth it." Sharpshot saw the smile vanish from the Dinobot's face plates in real time. "Shots, up top!"

The impact hit before clarity had time to. Sharpshot was no longer helping Shockwave stand. Instead, they smashed into the engine alongside the silent explosion. Their vision crossed a few times, finding the ceiling as the sound of beasts clashed. That's when they saw it. Ripped from the metal above them, once hidden away. A rudimentary stasis pod stashed between panels. The hiding place for the final Predacon. To drop down on the helms of whoever would be in the engine room if they discovered the bomb. Arachnid had planned this all through hadn't she?

The ship's tremor never stilled. The sound of metal ripping from the outer hall as the final layer of Cybertron's atmosphere clawed away at the ship. The shield flickered around the explosion, losing the fight to contain the blast. They had to finish this…

Shockwave. Sharpshot didn't see the scientist against the far wall. Where had he…

Crunch.

Sharpshot followed the distinctive noise of metal armor plating bit by powerful jaws. Grimlock and Swoop were avoiding the Predacon's whooshing tail. What had the beast bitten?

Sharpshot's focus found the Predacon's jaws. Their Spark skipped. The beast had Shockwave's arm cannon locked between its teeth. His desperate yanking did nothing but make his captor clamp down harder. Shockwave's Energon leaked from between the Predacon's fangs, deluded with contagious fluids.

Sharpshot was still wobbly on their peds, but they fired into the Predacon's face plates. They had to get them to release their vice like grip. Shockwave scrambled to pull the final injector from his subspace. He attempted to align it with the groove of his arm cannon, desperate to inject himself. He fought against the shaking of the ship and his own personal tug of war with the beast with his one limb as the rope.

The Predacon shook him, and the injector flew from Shockwave's grasp. Sharpshot dove to grab it, the glass vial rolling this way and that as the ship lurched. Grimlock's massive peds were slamming down around them, grappling the Predacon.

The injector rolled into the opposite wall. Sharpshot dodged out of the way of the crashing peds to snatch it. How long until the infection would take hold of the Commander?

The Predacon turned, tail flicking hard. Sharpshot managed to duck, keeping their helm attached to their chassis. The tail continued on it's wild trajectory, smashing the vile between the wall.

Sharpshot stumbled to a stop. Their Spark crashed into their peds as the cure seeped into the grooves of the floor.

Grimlock hit the Predacon broadside. It finally made the beast release Shockwave, who slammed into the ground. Sharpshot rushed to him, unsure at all what to do. Disoriented, hurt, and now infected, Shockwave was still busy. He was fiddling with the connections in the shoulder of his bitten appendage. He was cutting connections and pinching off Energon lines. A last-ditch tourniquet to slow the infection before it snaked up his servo. Sharpshot watched, helpless and unable to do much of anything. Call a Bridge? Where would they go? The bunker laboratories? Only Shockwave knew where the cures were, and if he was the one infected what...

Sharpshot heard Grimlock and Swoop shoving the final Predacon from the ship through the hole in the hallway wall. Then their hurried Ped steps returned.

"Not much time." Shockwave informed Sharpshot, his voice still somehow monotone, but strained. "Only a few nano kliks, before it spreads out of my servo. I cannot, disable the engine once it spreads."

"But it's still only in your freakish cannon arm right?" Grimlock asked, casual tone not matching the situation at all.

Sharpshot tried to glare up at the Dinobot because this was no time to-

They gasped an intake as Grimlock's open maw lunged for Shockwave.

Grimlock sank his teeth into the scientist's weaponized servo. Shockwave recoiled in a rare show of pain. Before Sharpshot could try and stop the assault, Grimlock shoved Shockwave down into the floor. He locked him down with a large ped on his chest.

"Grimlock, no!" Sharpshot pleaded.

Sharpshot's attempts to stop the attack was pitiful. Shockwave's own struggles to fight back from under Grimlock's weight was worthless. Grimlock's jaw locked together. It crushed the plating and proto mesh of Shockwave's shoulder joint like it were thin foil. Then he yanked his helm upward, wrenching the servo free from its owner.

As soon as the assault started, Grimlock stopped it himself. He lifted his ped from Shockwave, hurling the servo to the side with a disgusted growl.

Sharpshot took the opportunity to rush to Shockwave's side. They took in the damage from the botched amputation. Fresh blue Energon seeped from the main lines in Shockwave's shoulder. Sharpshot hesitated as the unlikely reality of the situation dawned on them. They then took in the extensive damage in a different light. Blue Energon. There was not a trace of the purple or black infected fluid. They looked up at Grimlock's smug faceplates in renewed shock. "Did you… do that to save him?"

Grimlock spit some of Shockwave's excess Energon onto the ground. He seemed insulted by the accusation. "Hey, I promised you I wouldn't kill him. But, I also promised him I would bite his real arm off a while back. It just so happened to work out in his favor this time."

"Illogical." Shockwave managed to mutter. His free hand held the bleeding stub of a shoulder joint left behind.

"What is? Me saving you or biting your arm off?" Grimlock asked, acting blissfully ignorant. "What can I say, I'm an illogical kind of monster."

"Lay down Commander. I can stop the bleeding." Sharpshot insisted. They did everything they could to pinch off the main lines to keep him from bleeding out right there. Shockwave didn't respond to Grimlock's question or expand on his own. He fell still, allowing Sharpshot to close his wounds. "Our time is limited." Shockwave informed them quietly.

Heavy ped steps in the hall came running. Predaking and Sludge were coming to rendezvous.

"We'll do something." Sharpshot promised. "Can you stay conscious?" they asked, trying to help him up. Asking Shockwave if he was ok seemed a stupid thing to do, seeing as he was missing an arm. But it was also hard to tell when he was into much pain to function.

Shockwave's piercing focus remained on Sharpshot before it lulled over to the engine. The shield flickered like a dying flame. The explosion was winning the fight against the tech trying to contain it. Sharpshot could almost hear the scientist's thoughts from the look alone. He knew he couldn't continue his work alone in the condition he was in.

"Can I assist you Commander?" Sharpshot tried again. They accompanied the offer with a shrug that suggested they might as well throw caution to the wind at this point.

Shockwave vented. It was the first time Sharpshot had ever heard him make the sound. Save for when he interacted with Starscream. "I do believe we have little choice. Help me to the engine. I will walk you through the process."

Grimlock snatched Shockwave a bit to roughly by his non injured shoulder. Sharpshot winced along with the scientist. He dropped him down against the engine, earning a pained grunt from Shockwave. Well… at least Grimlock hadn't smashed his helm through the thick engine housing. Sharpshot decided this was progress.

"Deactivate the main power coupling from the reactor core." Shockwave ordered. He watched Sharpshot from his awkward position leaned against the engine. Grimlock knelt, helping to tear off panels that stood in Sharpshot's way.

Shockwave leaned his opticed helm back against the engine. He was fighting the encroaching exhaustion. "Don't touch the surrounding thermal shielding. It will cause the internal temperatures to rise, and the engine will explode…"

"Would have been a good thing to lead with there doc." Grimlock snorted. He then glanced Sharpshot, who managed to stifle their chuckle. Grimlock growled despite it. "I know you're grinning behind that visor of yours." He accused.

"If I had a mouth plate, I'd be doing it in the open." Sharpshot said as they worked.

Grimlock scoffed. "I did what I had too, so we didn't blow up."

"Sure."

"Shut up." Grimlock growled.

"I am proud of you. You made the right choice." Sharpshot assured him.

"I am not above shoving you into this explosive engine." Grimlock warned them.

With a final liberated power coupling, the engine's eternal buzz dimmed to nothing. Sharpshot pushed themselves up and activated their Commlink as fast as possible. 'Ok Crossflare. Time to send the Bridge and save us.'

The Bridge burst open and relief flooded them. Sharpshot decided the green vortex was the most beautiful spectrum of colors they had ever seen. They also decided they could set aside time to admire a random Groundbridge when they weren't about to crash and burn.

Predaking had a cured and disheveled Predacon trudging behind, and another still infected but unconscious beast on his shoulder. Sludge was burdened with another of Predaking's unconscious kin. Their team was wounded, but all alive. Sharpshot considered that a tremendous victory.

With Predaking's servos occupied, Grimlock again snatched Shockwave from the ground. They all hurried into the Groundbridge as the sound of Shockwave's shield started to finally give out. In an instant, the calm of the Decepticon Bunkers encompassed them.

The vortex closed before the explosion could make it through, further adding to the serenity. Their Second in Command stood by the Bridge control panel in the center of the massive room, her EM field radiating relief. Laid out behind the same console was the Predacon Sharpshot and Swoop had cured and the first of the bots they had utilized the cure on. The bot from the first ship was crumpled on the floor in recharge, or stasis more then likely. The Predacon however, managed to raise its helm to observe the group enter. Recollection touched its optics as it noticed Predaking. But it's focus soon found Sharpshot, optics softening. Sharpshot offered a nod of solidarity.

Shockwave grunted as Grimlock dropped him to the floor. "Home sweet home." Grimlock announced to the mostly empty cavern. Sharpshot was far more careful with their injured Commander as they hurried to help. The familiar colors of Sharpshot's second came into their peripheral vision. Crossflare limped over, her own injuries forgotten in the sight of Shockwave's horrific wound.

"I've called medical. They'll be here soon." She promised.

"I need to get back to my laboratory." Shockwave insisted. Under normal circumstances, Sharpshot would have been unable to stop him. But between them and Crossflare they firmly kept Shockwave from standing.

"With all do respect, Commander, let's just have a doctor check you over before we head back." Sharpshot insisted.

Shockwave vented, his remaining hand pulling out a scanner from his subspace. He was far from in the condition to argue.

"You couldn't have cut that any closer." Crossflare informed them.

"Ok, now you can tell me." Sharpshot said,

"You had exactly one klik left before impact." She said.

Sharpshot could only laugh. "Terrific. I love that."

"And I love how this team just worked somehow!" Swoop exclaimed too loudly before he came out of his transformation. The other Dinobots soon followed his example, statures shrinking as they returned to there normal, still rather intimidating selves.

Predaking placed his unconscious brethren on the ground and wasted little time returning to the deactivated Groundbridge. "Assure these two are given the cure. I am needed on the battlefield." he said to Crossflare. "My people thrown from the ship have wings to break their fall. When they land, they will continue to run rampant. I must recover them."

"No breaks, only violence. My kind of style." Grimlock said. "If I can't kill Shockwave here, then at the very least I'm going to focus all of this unyielding rage into killing Arachnid!"

"I'm pretty sure there's going to be a line for her helm." Swoop warned him.

"Use this to sidestep your figurative line." Shockwave offered. He held up the device he had retrieved moments before, the screen showing a single beeping beacon. "In addition to the cure, I have been working on a means of tracing Arachnid's corrupted life signal from the Decepticon files on hand. She had done well to hide her location, but I have finally broken through. She is near the crash sight of the ship we just vacated, moving Northward at a swift pace."

Grimlock snatched the device, examining it right side up then sideways. Sharpshot managed to glance the screen. The blinking life signal was moving fast just outside Iacon City. She was finally making her move.

Grimlock's grin darkened. "Not bad. You are doing a great job being useful enough not to kill." With the device in hand, he motioned to Swoop and Sludge towards Predaking and the Groundbridge. "Let's go crash the bug's party. Arachnid has been ridin' high for way to long."

"Wait!" Sludge snapped. His usual flitty expression was turned downward, bulky body stiff and focused on Shockwave. Seeing the simple bot suddenly angry was somehow more frightening then Grimlock, who was just always angry.

Grimlock didn't argue as Sludge marched towards Shockwave. Sharpshot stiffened, trying to place themselves in the way.

Sludge drew in a deep intake, glaring at a vulnerable Shockwave on the ground. Shockwave said nothing, merely remaining alert and locked on Sludge. "Shockwave." Sludge huffed. "When you kidnapped me and my friends, and turned us into Dinobots… It made me sad, because we didn't want to be no Dinobots in the first place, and it was wrong." He looked uncomfortable, but resolute, waiting for Shockwave to acknowledge the blanket statement in some way.

Every piston in Sharpshot's frame cringed in preparation for whatever cold explanation Shockwave would offer to no doubt enrage the Dinobots all over again. They assumed the word 'Illogical' would play a large roll in whatever he was going to say. Sharpshot looked to Shockwave as the silence drug on. They saw the scientist contemplating the statement, dissecting every syllable. Either his injuries caused him to slip into stasis lock sitting up, or he didn't know how to respond.

"Acknowledged." He finally offered, careful, and sounding almost unsure.

Sludge nodded firm. He spun around, and a smile returned to his face plates. "Ok, Boss. We can go now." He said merrily.

Swoop started a slow clap, trying hard to hold back a laugh. "That was beautiful man."

The Commlink in Sharpshot's auditory pinged. Crossflare and Shockwave jolted in a similar way. They recognized the Comm frequency on the airwaves instantly, a message echoing across the Decepticon chatter.

"Someone ringing all Cons?" Grimlock guessed after reading the room.

Sharpshot looked to him, hope creeping into their Spark. "Lord Soundwave is back on the airwaves… He's terminated Tarn, and now he's headed straight for Arachnid's current location, fast."