A Cybertronian armoured vehicle raced across the barren metallic landscape, kicking up clouds of dust as it rolled through. Its only company were four Cybertronian jets keeping pace with the vehicle, who was actually the Combaticon leader; Onslaught.

Onslaught's radio crackled into life as one of the jets above contacted him. "So according to Shockwave, one of our guys is somewhere in Protihex. But the city is huge! How are we supposed to find one bot among all that?" The voice queried.

Onslaught was quick to respond. "Not to worry Blast Off, once we get there we should be able to find out comrade's approximate location through our psychic Combiner link."

"Ah of course." The jet mused. Shockwave really did think of everything. "For once being able to sense when one of our team is nearby will be useful."

Onslaught resisted the urge to let out a laugh, remembering times when his teammates would try and play pranks on each other when bored, but their psychic link ultimately rendered their amusement null and void. Instead he replied with a simple "Indeed." though his voice sounded notably more happier than it had before. His team needed each other in order for any of them to be completely whole. Onslaught swore that he will bring all of them back in one piece, by the Allspark.

...

Not long afterwards, the Decepticons arrived in the city of Protihex. Onslaught transformed and stretched his limbs. While driving certainly used less energy than walking, it was still tiring if exercised for too long, not to mention a little claustrophobic at times.

Blast Off transformed and landed next to him with a thud, standing a few feet shorter than his leader. "Shockwave really needs to work on increasing the range on that bridge of his, I'd rather not have to fly half of the way again." He remarked while performing some stretches of his own.

Several more thuds could be heard from behind them as Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp transformed and landed. They did not feel the need to stretch their joints as much, Seekers were generally more comfortable remaining in their alternate modes for extended periods of time than most.

"So where to now, Onslaught?" Starscream asked half-heartedly, making no effort to disguise the fact that he'd rather be somewhere else.

Onslaught glowered at the Seeker from over his shoulder before turning to Blast Off. "Close your optics and focus on the link. Remember what its like to be together, as one but separate." Blast Off complied and Onslaught did the same, not noticing Starscream roll his optics from behind them. "Do you feel it?" He asked his comrade, feeling the now familiar tugging sensation in the back of his processor.

Blast Off could feel it too. "Yes." He replied, focusing on that feeling. He opened his optics, raising a servo to point at one of the buildings ahead of them. "There." He stated with a feeling of certainty.

Onslaught placed a hand on Blast Off's shoulder. "Well done." He told the bot, a smile hidden behind his faceplate. Praise was something that Onslaught did not often give, it was something that he felt should not be administered lightly, but his team had proven time and time again that they were more than worthy of such compliments.

"Fine. Let's go." Starscream said, walking forward with no hint of enthusiasm.

He suddenly stopped as a loud bang echoed throughout the ruined city, his entire body flinching at the sound and back hunching over. Starscream turned back to the others, his optics clearly dilated in fear and confusion. "What was that?" He asked, trying to hide the slight tremble in his voice.

Dark vapour clouds began to form over the city, shadowing the ruins with their dark silhouettes. Without warning, arcs of electricity crackled around the clouds before shooting into the ground with a deafening bang. The Decepticons covered their audio receptors.

Onslaught straightened, clenching his fists in annoyance. "Electrical storm." He answered Starscream's question through gritted denta. They were so close!

Thundercracker's eyes widen further in realisation. "We need to go." He told the others. "Right now."

"I-I concur." Starscream walked back to his teammates. "Let's get out of here!"

"No!" Onslaught responded with steely determination. "You three can run if you want, but we..." He looked to Blast Off. "…Have a job to do."

Starscream looked as if he was going to say something but simply shrugged and turned to his Seekers. "Thundercracker, Skywarp; maintain a safe distance from the storm! Shockwave will want us to retrieve the bodies afterwards." He said the last bit in a low mutter so the two Combaticons wouldn't hear and with a final sparing glance to them, he transformed and took off.

Now left alone, the two Combaticons began to act. "Let's go. We haven't much time!" Onslaught told Blast Off as the storm drew closer. They transformed and raced in the direction they sensed their comrade in, the pulse in their processors growing more powerful as they drew near.

They came to a halt in front of a tall cylindrical building; another residential structure, which were commonplace across most Cybertronian cities. But this one was more important, at least to the Combaticons, as it currently housed one of their long lost comrades.

Onslaught approached the building's entrance and pried it open with his servos. Quickly making his way inside, Onslaught found that most of the interior now appeared hollow; with his missing team member nowhere in sight. He desperately looked around for any signs, he knew they were close, he could feel it in his processor and his spark.

Something hanging from a ledge far above caught his optic. He focused on on it. It was a servo, left dangling limply. "There." Onslaught pointed to the inanimate limb. There was no way he'd be able to get up there, at least not in time.

Luckily, he was not alone. "On it!" Blast Off replied, transforming and soaring up to the ledge. He transformed again when he got there, hovering in place thanks to the jets on his feet. He looked the body over. The bot was strongly built, but not too large. Faded maroon and gold plating covered the Decepticon's body, complete with a featureless faceplate bearing a visor that covered his optics. Blast Off recognised this bot straight away.

"Hey, it's Vortex!" He called down to Onslaught who looked relieved despite his faceplate masking most of his emotions. However, now was not the time for reunion, a loud crash not too far away reminded Blast Off of this. He retrieved an Energon vial from his storage compartment within his chassis and injected it into the lifeless bot in front of him.

The body shuddered violently, joints flexing as systems came out of hibernation. Colour returned to his body once more as Vortex's visor lit up a bright yellow. The newly awoken Decepticon gasped heavily, gripping Blast Off's arm as a subconscious reaction. A few moments passed before the Combaticon regained his senses.

"Blast Off!?" He asked incredulously. "Wait. Where are we? How did I get here?!" Confusion overtook his processor as he desperately tried to recall his last memories. A loud bang and a collapsing ceiling brought Vortex back to reality.

"No time to answer that now let's get outta here!" Blast Off shouted above the storm. "Can you transform?"

Vortex looked at him as if he had been hit on the head. "'Course I can you idiot!"

Blast Off let out a small chuckle before they both transformed and flew out of the crumbling ceiling. Below, the familiar shape of a Cybertronian armoured vehicle raced out of the building as it collapsed under the growing pressure of the storm. They had made it against all odds. They all prayed that the next two would be easier to recover.

...

Several hours later, after rejoining Starscream and the Seekers, the group of Decepticons were close enough to call in for a ground bridge to their location. Vortex, who had recently been briefed on current events, had many questions but he doubted anyone could answer them, let alone his present company.

As the six Decepticons passed through the portal and into Shockwave's lab, none of them expected to be greeted with the sight that lay before them.

In one corner Blitzwing was actually having a conversation with someone, which was shocking enough. Though the interaction seemed to mostly consist of remarks related to violence or cackles of insane laughter. It wasn't too much of a surprise that the other bot turned out to be Quake.

What was even more surprising to see was the other recent addition of Bludgeon, who was currently conversing with Shockwave. He had his sword out, which was easily as long as Shockwave's cannon arm, and kept running his finger along it, almost as if he was satisfying a hyperactive twitch. When he saw the others come through the portal, he looked over to them, ruby optics gleaming from behind a skeletal mask that seemed to shift while he watched them approach, as if the face behind was grinning at some sort of non-existent joke.

"Well, well, well." Bludgeon spoke in a deep and raspy voice. "Its been too long."

"Or not long enough." Starscream muttered, looking less than thrilled about the recent arrival. The other Decepticons around him shuffled uncomfortably in silent agreement.

Onslaught glared at Bludgeon, optics narrowing behind his visor. "What is he doing here?" He asked, tone making no attempt to disguise his current displeasure at seeing the Decepticon before him.

Shockwave gave his usual collected and emotionless response. "Bludgeon has agreed to join us in our quest to reclaim Cybertron. With his assistance, we can more easily achieve our common goal."

Onslaught grunted in response, his glare not faltering. After he and Bludgeon shared a few moments in a silent standoff, the latter eventually averted his gaze, dismissing the other. "Well, I'll leave you to get on with it then." Bludgeon clasped a servo on Shockwave's shoulder. "I will go and make the arrangements for our exchange." With those parting words, he, Quake and Blitzwing took their leave, marching back towards the Empirion.

Onslaught did not let himself relax even after they'd left. "What in the pit are you playing at Shockwave?!" He hissed at the scientist. "There's a reason why Megatron kept him preoccupied in deep space for most of the war. He's dangerous, unpredictable! He's no more loyal to the Decepticons than he is to the Autobots! Heck, I'll bet that he'll even turn on us if given the chance!"

Shockwave raised a servo in a request for silence. "I am no fool, Onslaught. I am more than aware of Bludgeon and his...idiosyncrasies. I will monitor him closely, and if necessary, eliminate him. Now, while Bludgeon's forces will no doubt prove useful in our conquest, we still do not possess sufficient firepower to defeat the Autobots. It is imperative that you recover the rest of your team as soon as possible so we can end this war before our enemies become too suspicious."

Onslaught still seemed unhappy with their current situation, but no doubt wanted to recover the remainder of his team. "Fine." He grumbled, before realising something. "What did Bludgeon mean by your 'exchange'?"

So here I just wanted to further establish some comradery among the Combaticons, as the lack of this is often what caused the Decepticons to fail and is what makes this group far more dangerous. They may be 'the bad guys' but that doesn't mean they are without compassion, at least among themselves. So Bludgeon is also a bit of a loose cannon and generally feared by all factions for his impulsive nature, so much that even Megatron didn't want to have to deal with him directly. As mentioned last chapter, he will try to betray Shockwave eventually but is very patient about it so nothing will happen between them for a while yet, though Shockwave is more than prepared to deal with him if he becomes more trouble than he's worth.

Please review and stuff, and I'll see you next time! ;)