Optimus and Ratchet both frowned as Ratchet scooped up the dead spider like Machine the dark energon had brought to life. Ratchet was in pure shock at how one accidental drop could do such a thing. Optimus recalled old story's he read while a data clerk and shuddered. The story's were true after all, He thought as he saw Elita, bulkhead and bumblebee enter followed by Arcee. Prime looked to ratchet and said.

"Elita, Ratchet your with me"

He readied the ground bridge. Jack climbed out of Elita and she Transformed and nodded.

"Another scuffle with the cons?"

Miko asked excitedly which irked Freddy and Arcee.

"No it's just a simple recon mission, a hunch if you will"

Optimus responded as he pulled the leaver activating the ground bridge. Ratchet checked his gear as Bulkhead questioned.

"What do want us to do?"

Prime smiled and responded.

"That is for you all to decide"

And with that they left and Miko began playing her guitar much to Arcee's annoyance. Freddy noticed this and said.

"If you wanna take a hike go ahead, I'll stick around here"

That warmed her spark to see he thought that she wanted to.

"It's alright, if You must suffer so shall I"

Freddy weakly laughed as he walked towards the kids.

Elita looked at the ancient battlefield in a mix of awe and horror. Dead body's all laid everywhere some in half and some intact. Some even laid buried beneath their feet. Optimus walked to the center of the canyon and looked at the destruction and wished it could've been avoided. Till all are one, He thought as Ratchet used his scanner.

"Sweet primus this looks over 2 thousand years old"

Ratchet exclaimed as he scanned a long dead Deceptacon. Rust dominated the air and would make it nearly unbearable for Human lifeforms. Optimus looked over the dead in grief, when would this damn war end?. A sudden Wirral of a jet sounded and shot over them at ludicrous speeds. The alien plane pulled up and stalled over a cliff face and transformed into the last thing Optimus wanted to see.

"Megatron"

He grumbled in anger but quickly quelled it. Megatron laughed at the sight of Optimus and smiled wickedly.

"Well, well, well, My dear friend it is good to see you after 30 long years"

Optimus looked up at the The tyrannical Lord and responded in his head. If only a space slug ate you, He mused. Elite drew her blaster and aimed it at Megatron in hatred. He held a shard of purple energon and it made Ratchets scanner go wild. Ratchet looked down at the scanner and saw that Dark energon Emanated from the crystal and megatrons own body. He looked up in shock as he muttered.

"He's given himself an injection"

"Very observant of you doctor, now witness the true power of dark energon!"

Megatron yelled Throwing the dark energon into the ground, The ground suddenly began to shake as life returned the undead. Hundreds if not thousands of dead soldiers began to rise as Megatron bellowed.

"My army destroy them!"

Back at base Miko was jamming on her guitar as Raf did homework. Jack watched Miko play as did Freddy. Bumblebee was doing work that he been meaning to do as Bulkhead and Arcee both remained with their humans. Freddy was fiddling with a minidisc player that he bought last week. He felt Arcee watching him in Curiosity.

"You know theirs MP3s right?"

Freddy kept his attention on the player as he slid in two double A battery's.

"I like physical and I don't trust company's to let me keep digital copy's I bought, I might be paranoid but I rather not get caught with my pants down"

He explained as he popped on the back battery cover. Arcee understood the paranoia and sat down next to him. He glanced at her and smiled, She was like an angle on his shoulder.

"Hey Freddy wanna play?"

Miko asked making Freddy smirk. Arcee looked at him and realised he played the guitar also. He said with slight cockiness.

"Sure"

Just as he grabbed her guitar the proximity alarms began blaring like hell. He jumped thinking he triggered it somehow and Arcee looked over too see on the monitor Fowler making his way too the elevator. Bumblebee grabbed Raf and sped outta the base like hell as Miko and Jack hid behind Bulkhead as the doors slid open and Freddy slid behind the box Arcee sat on which was straining the cord from the guitar to its amp which had a distortion foot pedal only a few feet away. Crap crap crap!. He peeked out to see Fowler stepping out clearly upset and ready to rip someone a new asshole.

"Not even an hour i after I left and you blew 4 miles of Ohio forest sky high!"

He quickly noticed the cord connected to the amp and saw it leading behind Arcee. It clicked and he grew enraged by this and jumped down and grabbed the cord and yanked pulled the unready Freddy out into the open. Arcee stepped between the two as Fowler's rage peeked.

"You bastards dragged a kid into this shit show!. I was going to go over look Ohio but this is it"

He said as he calmed through several long breaths knowing anger wouldn't do him any good at the moment, he let his emotions get to him and needed control. Freddy had let go of the guitar and gently placed it on the ground. He pulled himself up to his feet and saw that Jack and Miko where still hidden and had a mini plan if this went where he thought this was going. Fowler looked Arcee dead in the eyes and said calmly.

"I'm taking him into protective custody and if you got a problem take it to my superior"

Arcee stood firm and responded coldly and didn't hint to the others.

"He's my responsibility and if you got a problem take it to Prime"

Fowler looked to Freddy and said catching her off guard.

"You can explain to his mother why he's six feet under when the cons murder him"

Freddy stepped out from behind her and patted Arcee on the leg saying.

"It's alright Arcee, I'll be back when I help my fellow morons understand"

She looked down at him in fear of this being a mistake that could get him killed. She replied in an effort to deter him from this path he'd taken.

"Freddy please don't make me bury another friend"

He warmly smiled and replied.

"You won't, I'm just gonna explain this and probably sign a nondisclosure contract and be back alive and well"

Fowler saw in her optics she was willing to go to protect the kid and grew a bit of respect for the bot. Bulkhead remained silent and reminded rooted to hide Jack and Miko. He had nothing to add anyway and knew this was between them. Freddy waked to the elevator with Fowler and rode it up to the helicopter. Arcee sat back down and buried her face in her hands and began mumbling an old Cybertroian prayer.

"Oh please Primus please protect him I beg you with all of my spark"

She was stuck with him and she'd be damned if anything happened to him in anyway shape or form. Jack peeked stepped out from behind Bulkhead followed by Miko. Bulkhead walked over to Arcee and said reassuring her.

"Don't worry as soon as Optimus gets back we'll have this all sorted out... hopefully"

Arcee quickly responded and countered Bulkhead's optimism with cold cynicism.

"Murphy's Law exists and my doubts still remain. Oh great I'm getting philosophical"

She groaned as the helicopter reached the bases out sensors before winking out on the radar. Arcee suddenly felt cold as she began to feel something was gonna happen. Back with Freddy who gazed out the window with a blank expression, watching the landscape roll under the helicopter he was now a passenger in as Fowler flew the flying Machine. He hummed Good bye blue sky by Pink Floyd as Fowler grabbed the radio microphone mounted above him and pulled it just a few inches away from his mouth. He said dryly into the microphone on a open channel.

"Fowler here, I'm returning from the autobot base and got a problem that needs to be sorted out"

He hung up and kept on flying the copter, he glanced to Freddy who was still and dead silent for pretty obvious reasons. He knew this wasn't gonna go well if his suspicions were right on the nose. He could be wrong but he highly doubted it given his track record in luck had been shit since he was fucking born.

"How ya holding up kid"

Fowler asked in an effort to ease the kid and get info at the same time. Freddy glanced back and towards the window and shrugged. He noticed a small object coming from the sky and so did Fowler. He cursed and sent the helicopter into a dive to avoid the incoming object.

Ratchet sliced a terrorcon in two with a clean swing of his blades as it's wires spilled out and began gushing dark energon like a fountain. He saw Optimus absolutely devastated a terrorcon with 5 precise blaster shots, one to the head, one to each leg and two in the chest. Elita one used her blade to cleave twos heads off with one well timed swing making the body's drop like rocks. It would be a long bloody battle as unknown to them trouble was brewing.

End chapter