47- Hard Knocks.
On the Nemesis, Soundblaster continued his job on decoding the database as Galvatron was laughing.
"You should have seen Optimus Prime's face when his precious Star Saber shattered like glass, and with it his dreams of an Autobot victory." Galvatron boasted. "Granted, Optimus will be more determined than ever to discover the locations of the remaining Iacon entries before we can."
In that moment, Soundblaster unlocked the next set of coordinates.
"Ah, very good. I see you have decoded the next set of coordinates." Galvatron observed.
"Way to step things up, Soundblaster." Knock Out congratulated as he entered the bridge. "I do hope this Iacon relic is something less sacred and more profane. Like an electro disruptor cannon, we could use one of those."
"Indeed, Knock Out. Dreadwing, report to the bridge immediately." Galvatron called by com-link.
"Please, lord Galvatron, allow me the honor of retrieving this relic for you."
"I'm surprised you would risk your finish, so soon after your accident. Nonetheless, I remain unconvinced that you are the best choice for the task, since you failed to secure the phase shifter."
"I lacked the proper tools, but since Soundblaster's currently occupied, I can't imagine he'll mind if I borrow this." Knock Out said pulling out the Resonance Blaster. "So that I might better secure your prize and heap some hurt on the Autobots."
At the Autobot base, Smokescreen was watching Optimus alongside Elita as he was decoding the Iacon database.
"I'm gonna be a great warrior someday, like Elita and Optimus." He said.
"Well, train hard and gain some wisdom along the way and I'm sure it'll happen." Warpath said.
"Oh, it will. It's my destiny."
"(He surely thinks he's special.)"
"At least one of us has dreams." Wheeljack opined.
"How so?" Sideswipe asked.
"Well, one minute I'm on security detail at Iacon, the next I wake up on the other side of the galaxy to find myself under both Autobot leaders' command. I mean, what are the chances? Right? Things happen for a reason." Smokescreen defended.
"We get it, Smokescreen. You're special, we're lucky to have you." Hot Rod said giving up.
"All I'm really saying is I've come a long way and this is one opportunity I don't plan on messing up."
Moonracer chuckled. "Fear nothing, Smokey. I'm sure you will not."
"Autobots, the next Iacon coordinates have been decoded. Ratchet, ready the ground bridge." Optimus ordered, and Ratchet started the portal.
"Last one to the Omega Key has to scrub the energon tanks for a week." Smokescreen challenged as he ran to the ground bridge.
"Didn't know we were keeping score." Arcee said.
"Arcee, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Hot Rod, prepare to roll out." Optimus called.
"Yes! It's finally our turn." Sideswipe said cheered.
"(Yes! I'm already checked and ready to go.)"
"Wait! What about me?" Smokescreen asked in disbelief, before he heard Warpath cough. "I mean me, Warpath, Wheeljack and Moonracer?"
"The four of you will remain here, in the event I'm able to decode a subsequent database entry before the others return." Optimus explained as he returned to his work.
"Optimus is right: considering the very fate of Cybertron is at stake, response time is critical." Elita supported as he activated the ground bridge.
"Keep your engines idling, kid. Come on boys, destiny awaits."
"You've said it, partner." Hot Rod nodded.
"Don't provoke, Arcee." Moon told her.
"I'm not."
The four Autobots changed to vehicle form and went through the portal.
"We call it a pit stop." Wheeljack reassured him as he saw him with a look of disappointment.
And Warpath slapped him in the back. "We'll get back in the race."
The portal took them to a shore of the Lake Valor. Once they arrived, they changed to robot form and started to check the place.
"Thank Primus we are not at sight of the nearest human population." Sideswipe thanked.
"Over there." Arcee said spotting the Omega Key, which was on top of a rock and already out of the box.
"Well well." Knock Out said coming out from behind the rocks. "Just the Autobots I wanted to see. Although I hoped Moonracer to be with you, but you also brought Hot Rod, so I guess he can replace her."
"We two will handle the mad doctor, you grab the key." Hot Rod instructed as he and Arcee pulled out their weapons.
"(You got it.)" Bee nodded before he and Sideswipe moved.
"You must be really crazy for coming to face us all by your own, Doc Knock." Sideswipe mocked, making Knock Out groan.
"Wait and you'll eat your words, Sideswipe. After all, I've been waiting to thank you all for all the memories." Knock Out said before he activated and fired the Resonance Blaster.
The sonic beam hit both Autobots very hard, knocking them down. Seeing that, Sideswipe decided to go help them, pulling out his swords and jumping above Knock Out, but the red Decepticon saw him coming and fired at him, taking him down before reaching him. Next, the beam pinned Bumblebee to the rock wall. As he tried to fight back the beam, Knock Out advanced to him, intensifying the beam, causing Bee's finish to crack.
"Who knew that sound waves could be such a… knock out?" Knock Out said as he surprisingly fired at Arcee before she could attack him from behind, pinning her against other rock wall and making her scream in pain. "What's that, dear? I can't hear you!"
A few shots that almost hit him forced him to stop firing at her, made by Hot Rod, who fired behind a rock. Knock Out fired at him, but the rock was strong enough to resist the sonic beam.
"Guys now, the relic!" He yelled.
"(Right, we got it.)" Bee nodded as Sideswipe helped him recover and headed for the relic.
"Scrap." Knock Out cursed as he saw Arcee going for it too. Then an idea came to his mind. "Hum, how low can it go?"
He aimed the weapon to the ground and fired, generating big sound waves on the ground that hit all the Autobots and caused a rockfall.
"Soft whooper or death charge?" Knock Out smirked.
Moments later, when the dust cleared, Bumblebee and Sideswipe pushed a boulder away, breaking free.
"Ouch, my head is spinning a lot." Sideswipe groaned holding his head.
Hot Rod broke free too, very hurt, before getting Arcee out of the rubble, but Knock Out was no more. And unfortunately, the key's container was empty.
"Scrap." He cursed.
Knock Out returned back to the Nemesis and showed the key to his leader.
"Hm, it appears identical to the one taken from me by Optimus Prime." Galvatron observed as he took it. "Ah, perhaps it is a decoy the Autobots allowed you to seize as a means of sabotage."
"Unlikely, my liege, they battled too desperately for it." Knock Out reassured.
"Then pieces of a larger puzzle perhaps." Galvatron deduced before he saw Soundblaster finish with the next set. "Excellent, Soundblaster. With any luck these new coordinates will shed some light on the subject."
"Soundblaster's on fire, and so am I." Knock Out said preparing the sonic weapon and about to leave.
"Keep your vanity at check, doctor." Galvatron stopped him.
"Haven't I proven myself?!"
"Your scientific expertise remains of greater use to me, analyzing our latest acquisition. I must know what this relic is, and what it can do."
Meanwhile, back to the Autobot base, Ratchet was healing Bee in the medical chamber after they returned, while Arcee, Hot Rod and Sideswipe waited for their turn.
"I'm sorry, Optimus. Knock Out was there, waiting for us." Hot Rod apologized.
"Who would have seen coming that Knock Out would play dirty with a superweapon as an advantage?" Sideswipe defended.
"We should, after all we know he's not the most experienced warrior." Moonracer answered.
"Seems the Decepticons are improving their decoding skills." Elita deduced.
"And it seems that with two keys already separated, no one currently possesses the means to revive Cybertron." Ratchet added.
"While our quest to restore our planet may have reached a stalemate, securing the remaining keys is still the most prudent course of action." Optimus reassured.
"Man, it must have been crazy with Knock Out going all sonic." Smokescreen said. "Oh, I wish I had been there, I would have…"
"Would have what? Recover the key like you did the first one?" Arcee interrupted a little mad while Ratchet was examining her.
"Maybe. Who knows? I just want us to be firing on all cylinders. You know, now that the Star Saber is gone. And I have a pretty good track record so far."
Arcee scoffed and limped away.
"Look kid, Arcee, Hot Rod, Sideswipe and Bumblebee are no slouches, and Optimus managed just fine for eons without the big sword. You can't just judge them the easy way thinking you may have won in their places." Wheeljack explained.
"The members of this team need to support each other in their most needed hours, that's something we surpass the Cons." Moon added.
"Of course, you wouldn't know about that: you've been locked in stasis the whole time we've been fighting this war." Warpath added.
"Exactly, and I'm ready to make up for lost time." Smokescreen defended.
"When Optimus or Elita says you're ready. You got to be in this for the long haul."
"Slow and steady wins the race." Moon ended.
Meanwhile, inside the Harbinger, one of Starscream's Genesect was keeping a close eye for the red energon, which was being processed.
"It is not over yet?" Starscream asked arriving, which the pokémon denied with its head, making its leader groan. "Hurry up already!" He yelled as they saw another drop dripping in the container. "How is it possible that speed enhancing energon takes longer to process than regular energon?"
Suddenly the machine beeped, signaling the process' end. Starscream took the container and saw that it was only a quarter full.
"An entire chunk of red energon and this is all I get?! There's enough here for one dose! Maybe two!"
Then the monitor beeped, and other of the Genesect showed it to its master.
"Hum, Decepticon movement. While speed is hardly a suitable replacement for the might of the Apex Armor, it should provide us with enough of an edge to obtain a more formidable relic."
The entire Genesect squadron formed in line in front of its leader.
"Oh sorry, boys. I wish you could accompany me, but the energon is unfortunately…harmful for beings like you. I prefer you to remain here, in case for any complications."
Back with the Autobots…
"The next coordinates are ready." Optimus announced.
"There remains one set left to decode." Elita added, preparing the ground bridge.
"On it, chief." Wheeljack nodded as he, Moonracer and Warpath headed for the bridge.
"I'm gonna bring back that key." Smokescreen added getting more than ready, but he calmed down when he saw Arcee staring at him.
"Eh, Moon? Forgetting something?" Arcee called holding the scanner device.
Moonracer returned for it, but when she grabbed it Arcee came closer.
"Make sure you keep an eye on "destiny child", okay?" She asked.
"Ha, compared to watching Bonnie? Piece of cake." Moonracer reassured before she joined the others and went through the portal.
The portal took the trio to a forest near the Bell Tower in Johto where the leaves were already falling because of autumn. The Autobots readied their weapons.
"Stay close." Warpath advised.
"And stay focus." Wheeljack added.
"Gotcha." Smokey answered.
"We mean it."
"Me too."
"Shush." Moonracer whispered as she heard something besides the chirping of Hoothoots: a beeping noise.
"What is that?" Warpath asked.
Then they heard a rustle from the hill top above them, and saw Dreadwing emerging from between the trees.
"One of the last sounds that you will ever hear." He said.
"Dreadwing." Wheeljack cursed.
Dreadwing changed to his flying form and charged against them.
"Scrap." Moon said as they jumped out of the way.
As Warpath got up and tried to aim his cannon at Dreadwing, Wheeljack heard the noise beeping faster, and saw a bomb attached to a tree in front of him, and many more around them.
"We gotta get out of here, now." He said grabbing both Moonracer and Smokescreen and pushing Warpath.
They ran through the forest with many explosions around them, jumping fallen trees, scared pokémon escaping and evading flying pieces of rocks. When they reached to a ledge they jumped as the final explosion was triggered, while Dreadwing circled around to see the results. The Autobots rolled down the hill and hit the ground hard, while Dreadwing transformed and landed in front of them.
"It seems he's not going to let us do our job the good way." Wheeljack deduced, activating his battle mask.
"Smoke, we'll handle Dreadwing. Go get the relic." Moonracer ordered as she passed the scanner to him.
"You got it." Smokey nodded as he started to run.
Dreadwing was about to go after him, but a shot from Warpath's cannon stopped him.
"What's wrong, flying bully? Do you like to KABLAM things from a safe distance, you coward?" Warpath provoked.
"Too bad you don't have the ball bearings to perform dirty job close and personal." Wheeljack challenged smashing his fists.
"In this particular case, I will be all too happy to make an exception." Dreadwing said before he jumped high in the air against his opponents.
Warpath and Moonracer charged first, but Dreadwing landed on him and pinned on the ground and pushed Moonracer aside as Wheeljack tried to slice him with his swords. But he pivoted him aside in the last moment and sneakily planted a bomb on his back. Wheeljack tried to slice again, but Dreadwing jumped back and slammed his fists on his shoulders. Then, Moonracer kicked Dreadwing, pushing him against a tree, but Dreadwing disposed of her with an uppercut before pushing Wheeljack back before he kicked him in the chest and again in the head. Suddenly, a rock hit him in the head: he spotted Moonracer throwing him pieces of rocks. That forced him to cover his face, but when he thought the Autobot was over and took a look, he saw her and Wheelajck coming with a large tree trunk that caught him off guard. That allowed Warpath to jump and hit Dreadwing's face with his hammer, followed by a punch in the torso and some rapid fire from his gatling guns of both arms. That sent the Decepticon to a rock, making him to collapse to his knees.
"An admirable effort, but you obviously forgot how our last encounter ended." Dreadwing said pulling out his detonator and pressing it.
"You're sure about that?" Wheeljack questioned.
Dreadwing got alarmed when he heard the beeping noise coming from his own back, so he tried to remove the bomb as fast as he could. Once he took it he launched it, but it exploded very near, making the impact force hit him hard. Once the smoke cleared, the Autobots saw Dreadwing lying on the floor unconscious.
"Never forget, no one knows all the use for explosives than me." Wheeljack declared proud.
"I'm sure he now gets the idea." Moon reassured.
"Smoke, we're on our way." Warpath said by com-link.
Smokescreen was already where the scanner signaled where the relic was buried, right at the base of Bell Tower's back. Now he was setting aside all the dirt until he saw the container, not realizing that something passed next to him so fast that like it was impossible to see. He opened it and the key came out.
"Destiny." He said taking the key.
Suddenly, something approached at him very fast, but before he could notice it, something smacked him in the back of his head, making him collapse. While he lay on the ground unconscious, a shadow passed near to him.
"Smokescreen!" Moonracer called.
"Wake up!" Warpath shouted.
He finally came back. "What happened?"
"That's what we wanna know." Wheeljack said helping him up.
"The Omega Key!" Smokey said alarmed as he searched around, but there was no sign of it. "I had it! Until…something hit me from behind."
"Dreadwing must have had backup, that relic's long gone." Wheeljack deduced before pressing his com-link.
"Then we are done here." Moonracer decided before she called to base. "Ratchet, we need a bridge."
"I…I told Optimus and Elita I'd return with that key." Smokescreen said disappointed before the ground bridge appeared.
"Listen kid, Alpha Trion said we need all four keys to restore Cybertron, remember?"
"Warpath's right. We just need to hang on to the one we have and find a way to get the others back from Galvatron." Moon pacified as they entered the bridge.
But they were unaware that Starscream heard everything from above the top of the tower.
"The promise of a new Cybertron in the palm of my hand, when I obtain all four." The Seeker said, and suddenly, he disappeared at high speed.
The Autobots reported what happened back at base.
"Smokescreen was sucker-punched. It could have happened to any of us." Wheeljack explained as Warpath put a hand on Smokescreen's shoulder.
"But it didn't, because I was the one who dropped his guard. I was the one who blew it. Some great warrior I'm turning out to be." The young Autobot argued.
"You still don't get it, do you? A couple of victories aren't gonna make you a legend, and not every mission result in success. Not for me, not for Bee, not even for Elita and Optimus. We've gained relics and we've lost some. We've also lost friends, we've even lost a world, but this is one time we get a do-over. We have a chance to bring back Cybertron and everyone in this room needs to be in sync. This isn't about you or your destiny."
"Arcee, you've made your point."
"Elita, he needs to hear this. You might actually become a great warrior one day, and I sincerely hope that you do, but greatness begins and ends with putting the team first, not your personal score card."
"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you guys." Smokey defended.
"Then stop trying to be a hero and start being an Autobot."
Smokescreen looked down before he looked to Optimus, who said nothing. "You know what?" Then by his own, manipulated the ground bridge's controls to some coordinates and activated it. "Maybe I'm just not good enough." And he changed to vehicle form and left base entering into the portal.
Moonracer was about to do something, but it was too late for that. She sighed before turning at Arcee mad. "What a way to smooth things, Arcee. You could have been quiet."
"What?"
"I'm with Moonracer. Next time Elita advises you to stop, perhaps you should listen." Ratchet supported.
"I'll bring him back." Warpath offered, but Optimus put a hand in front of him to stop him.
"Smokescreen is young, Warpath, and has much to learn. But right now, he needs to clear his thoughts, and I need to finish decoding the final Iacon entry."
Inside the Nemesis, Soundblaster was still decoding the final Iacon entry too while Galvatron was arguing with Dreadwing.
"You've never even spied the relic?" Galvatron asked mad.
"By the time I reached the location, it was gone. As were the Autobots." Dreadwing reported.
"It would serve us well to not only decode the final Iacon entry before Optimus Prime does, but to recapture those relics currently held by the Autobots." Galvatron told him before turning to his communications officer. "Soundblaster, despite your primary task, I trust that you have been making progress pinpointing the location of their base."
Soundblaster nodded before showing a live feed of Buzzsaw scouting on the plains of the Unova region. He also changed to another one, displayed by Ravage, who was researching between the streets of Petalburg City.
"Good. Since it seems that the Autobot human allies look to come from different distant regions, finding their base represents such a challenge." Galvatron recalled as Ravage zoomed to a newspaper of the Professor Oak's pokémon meeting long ago, with a picture of Ash and all his friends on it. "Nonetheless, thanks to some of the recent evidence, we are starting to get an idea of where they most congregate at most. Your Minicons should soon determine whether the Autobots dwell in proximity."
Meanwhile, inside the Autobot base…
"Ah, the final entry has been decoded." Optimus announced with a smile.
"Has it?" Ratchet asked seeing something.
Optimus looked at the screen and saw all the codes morphing together.
"Hmm, perhaps it's a layer of secondary encryption." Optimus deduced.
On the Nemesis, Soundblaster was showing the same result to Galvatron.
"The coordinates are forming an image. Why would the final Iacon entry be different from the others?" Galvatron asked.
Back with the Autobots…
"Maybe it's a picture of the relic." Sideswipe suggested.
"Of what possible use could that be to us without knowing its location?" Ratchet discussed.
"We trust that Alpha Trion had his reasons." Elita said.
Once the codes finished morphing together and showed the image of a cybertronian, one that no one expected.
"Smokescreen?!" Wheeljack asked surprised.
Back in the Nemesis…
"Prime's latest recruit is the final relic of Iacon?!" Galvatron asked in disbelief.
Back with the Autobots…
"Is this that hotshot's idea of a joke?" Hot Rod asked.
"(I don't think so.)"
"Maybe he knows where the key is." Warpath suggested.
"And never bothered to mention it?" Arcee added.
"After how did you talk to him, it doesn't surprise me." Moonracer pointed.
"A more likely possibility is that Smokescreen himself somehow is the key without knowing it." Ratchet deduced.
"Whatever the case, he could be in grave danger. Smokescreen, return to base immediately." Optimus called by com-link, but he earned no response.
"He may have deactivated his com-link." Elita realized.
"Locate his position and prepare the ground bridge."
In that moment, outside the Village of Dragons, Iris was enjoying of a peaceful meal of fruit outdoors with Axew.
"You're getting better with your moves. Who knows? Maybe you will end evolving sooner than we expect." Iris suggested.
"Axew." The little pokémon nodded excited.
Right then, she heard the sound of a car driving at high speed and looked to the nearest road, and spotted a very recognizable Autobot.
"Is that…Smokescreen? I wonder what he's doing here." She asked to herself.
"A…axew!"
Axew immediately got alarmed looking above them. When Iris did the same, they both saw Buzzsaw following Smokescreen. She immediately knew that couldn't be good.
"Come on, Axew." Iris called.
Axew jumped into the hair of his trainer as she started to make her way to the Autobot through the trees. About Smokescreen, he was driving all the way down the road, unaware that Buzzsaw was following him. Soundblaster relayed it to Galvatron.
"It seems our side project is already paying off."
Buzzsaw fired at Smokescreen, making him serpentine before return to robot form. He saw the Minicon circle around.
"You picked the wrong day to mess with me, Con." Smokey warned activating his weapon.
Then a sonic beam hit him hard, knocking him out. The blast was made by Soundblaster, after firing the Resonance Blaster. Next, a ground bridge appeared and the Autobots came out with their weapons ready.
"Smokescreen." Optimus spotted as Soundblaster dragged Smokescreen through his own ground bridge, so they sprinted to them.
"No!" Hot Rod yield when the portal disappeared before they could reach them.
Not only the last Omega Key was gone, but Smokescreen with it.
