Hey guys, sorry for another long wait. Though this is a long chapter so I guess it evens out. Thanks for giving the time to read and review. It always helps a lot. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

PS. Had to republish this chapter because FFN got rid of my scene changes!

The powerful metal fist cut through the hologram like it was air, dispersing the blue image into tiny particles that dissolved and then disappeared. The Autobot Springer turned to see more of the holographic shadows rush towards him. Each one was identical, having the exact same shape and proportions as a vehicon foot-soldier. The half a dozen enemies charging him didn't faze Springer one bit however, and he prepared to strike. In one fluid motion Springer drew his sword from his back and swung around, decapitating the entire horde of make-believeDecepticons, causing their bodies to dissipate into specks of blue light.

Springer grunted and dropped to his knees in exhaustion. He had been training for hours without so much a milli-cycle's rest. The Autobot warrior strained to stand, trying to move to the other side of the training room and restart the simulation. He couldn't give up now. Not when so much weighed on his success. Tightening hisgrip on his blade, Springer stumbled forward with only one thought on his mind: to extinguish Blitzwing's spark.

...

Ultra Magnus paced the front of the briefing room, slightly troubled by the news that Bumblebee had just unloaded onto him. "So, the Predacons have volunteered to stand guard over the next generation of Cybertronian life?" Bumblebee simply nodded in response. The commander stopped for a moment, in thought. "What makes you think we can trust them?" Unlike the young warrior Magnus did not believe trust was something that was earned through a few good deeds, he had seen enough Autobot turncoats to prove it.

"Please, commander." Bumblebee responded, something he would not have been able to do a few mere months ago. "We've seen it ourselves, the Predacons want nothing to do with the Decepticons. They came to our aid to fight Unicron did they not?"

"Not to mention that without Predaking's rampage Ratchet would never have been able to let us board the Nemesis." Bulkhead added, backing up his friend's argument even though it meant going against authority a little.

Though it was out of his character, Magnus couldn't help but scoff. "Both times they were in pursuit of their own interests. I can think of more than two reasons not to trust them however." He clenched his clawed hand, which for some reason was shaking slightly. Was it out of anger? Or fear of the Predacons? Both were unlike the Autobot commander. Though it made sense for him to be so cautious of Shockwave's clones. Predaking had crushed his right hand beyond repair, and nearly killed him and Wheeljack back on Earth. Then, not long after returning to Cybertron two more appeared in the sea of rust, and had him confined to a medical berth for several weeks, leaving him fighting for his life for the second time as a result of an encounter with those beasts.

Bumblebee instead tried to appeal to the commander's tactical side. "But we still don't yet have enough Autobots to guard both the Well and Iacon, at the moment we can't afford not to trust them. Their loyalty is to Cybertron. Isn't ours as well?" For someone who was confined to silence for so many years, Bumblebee was surprisingly good with his words.

Ultra Magnus frowned, more than usual. He knew Bumblebee was right. For now he would have to take some risks. Besides, it seemed like something Optimus would do. "Very well Bumblebee, you have made your point. We shall leave them be for now. But when we have enough troops to divide our resources appropriately, I will have the Well closely monitored."

Bumblebee relaxed. That sounded reasonable to him. Autobots and Predacons working together to nurture the next generation seemed like fair play. He had a hunch that the Predacons wouldn't mind too much either, as long the Autobots don't try and encroach on their territory too much they should remain neutral.

Magnus turned back to face his audience. "Now, is there anything else we need to discuss?"

"There is." A voice said from the far end of the conference table. Everyone's optics turned to Swoop, who was waving his hand in the air you ensure he was being payed attention to.

"Yes Swoop what is it?" Magnus nearly didn't bother asking the question. He already knew what was on Swoop's mind.

"Where's Grimlock?"

Of course. Not too long ago the other Dinobots had returned back into the Autobot's fold. Now they were eager to recover their leader. The commander looked to Ratchet for an explanation.

The medic stood. "Unfortunately I've lost Grimlock's signal. There are many possible reasons to why this may have happened, but without being at the other end we're in the dark I'm afraid."

"Its the cons." Swoop stated with conviction. "Shockwave must've found Grimlock and now he wants to make him his slave again."

"Calm down soldier." Magnus told the Dinobot. "We can't go jumping to conclusions. Especially not in times such as these. We will send another small group down there to see if Grimlock has moved somewhere where we cannot detect him. But you are not, under any circumstances to engage the Decepticons. Understand?"

Swoop paused, he knew that the Decepticons had to be behind this. Grimlock didn't exactly leave Shockwave on good terms last time they met, he dreaded to think what the cold scientist might do if their paths crossed again. "Ok then. I'll gather the others and we can go and see for ourselves." He told the commander, fighting his initial instinctual reaction. With that he dismissed himself from the meeting.

Ultra Magnus looked to a green Autobot sitting towards the back of the room. "Kup, I want you to go with them. Make sure they don't try anything rash."

The senior bot nodded. "Will do commander Magnus. I'll keep those rookies in line."

Magnus looked to the rest of the meeting room. "Now, does anybody else have anything to report?"

Bulkhead cleared his non-existent throat. "The construction team have nearly completed the new landing platform for returning refugees, uh, sir."

"Good. Hopefully it can be put to use soon." The commander looked across the room again. Not seeing any of the other Autobots bring up anything if value he proceeded to dismiss them. "As you all know, these are difficult times. The Decepticons are still very much at large but as we've seen, we currently do not possess the force necessary to defeat them. Ironhide, now that you've recovered I want you to act as head of security. I want to know about any suspicious activity in and around Iacon. At least if we see an attack coming, we can prepare for it."

Ironhide, who was sitting with his arms folded, nodded in acknowledgement. "I can keep a watch over Iacon for you but it might become difficult to maintain security if we expand to other territories."

"For now we will stay in Iacon. Only when a more suitable number of Autobots have returned will we consider laying claim to other city states." He paused for a moment, seeing if anyone else had anything to add. "Very well, that seems to be all for now. You are dismissed." Despite Cybertron being in relative peace Ultra Magnus could not help but stay to his militaristic roots.

...

As the Autobots began to file out of the meeting room, Bumblebee shuffled through the small crowd to gain the attention of one of his friends. "Arcee!" He called out, jogging alongside the blue Autobot.

"Yeah Bee what is it?" She asked in response.

"Have you seen Springer since..."

"Since Magnus chewed him out? No. I hear he's spent most of his time in the old training room that Ratchet fixed up a few mega-cycles ago."

"Have you thought about..."

"No Bee I'm not talking to him. He's in one of his moods. He doesn't want to see anyone." Arcee firmly stated.

"Yeah but I thought seeing as you two have a..." Bumblebee chose his words carefully. "...history that you might be able to...?"

Arcee gave a small scoff. "Not exactly the best."

"Bulkhead said he would go but the big guy's got his hands full right now. Look, I don't know the relationship you two had in the past, but Magnus is concerned that his recent behaviour is going to cost us more than just one victory."

"Oh, so he put you up to this did he?"

"No. Well, not directly. The truth is we're all worried that Springer is going to do something dangerous sooner or later, and I know you are too."

Arcee huffed. "Fine. I'll go see him, but I'm telling you it's a waste of time."

"Thank you Arcee."

She didn't respond. Instead the small Autobot just walked down a separate corridor in silence, hunched over like a fed up human teenager.

"Ooh. You sure you should've done that?" Bumblebee looked to see Knock Out leaning against the wall next to him.

"Why not?" He asked.

"You'll see." The crimson bot smirked at him. "There is such a thing as making things worse you know."

The ex-decepticon strode down the opposite corridor that Arcee went down, leaving Bumblebee even more confused and concerned.

...

The metal door slid open to admit Knock Out into the laboratory which he shared with Ratchet. While they were both supposed to be using it Ratchet found that he spent substantially more time working in it than his counterpart.

Knock Out strode past the Autobot medic, who was busy looking at something on a computer screen. "I don't know why we bother having these meetings. We just go over the same old things. Did you know that Autobot briefings are actually more boring than Decepticon ones?"

"Why don't you tell Magnus that." Ratchet responded, not taking his optics off the screen in front of him. "Have you ever considered that perhaps the reason we won is because we planned things out more?"

"Hmm." The red bot mused before shifting his attention to the contents of Ratchet's screen. "What're you looking at?" He asked, peering over the medic's shoulder.

"Just working on a little side project." He told his accomplice quickly.

Knock Out was becoming more intrigued by the Autobot's shifty behaviour. "What are you doing with those star maps?"

"Don't you have something better to be doing Knock Out?"

The ex-con raised an optic ridge, now even more curious. "You, looking for something?" He asked. "Maybe I could help."

Ratchet scoffed. Knock Out rarely helped with anything, especially not out of the goodness of his spark. "I'm...just doing some research to help me with rebuilding the Nemesis's spacebridge."

"To bring Autobots back or are you planning on going somewhere? Or maybe..." Knock Out leaned in close to the medic's audio receptors. "...planning on going back somewhere?"

Ratchet sighed, admitting defeat. "How...?" He began.

"Oh you Autobots are easy to read. I could tell you missed that place as soon as we left. What I'm wondering is why you don't already know where it is."

"I...I lost its coordinates when the Nemesis's spacebridge was destroyed."

"Don't you know roughly where it is?"

"I could probably find it again if I looked manually, but it's lightyears away from Cybertron. That would take a very long time. This is spacebridge technology, the coordinates have to be astronomically precise."

"Well I'm no engineer so I can't help you with that. There were some ancient starmaps in a complex that Shockwave took over in the sea of rust, but it was destroyed during the war. Meaning that the only surefire way to find it again is through Shockwave."

That was never going to happen. Even if they won what was left of the war there was no way Shockwave was going to give them any information they asked for. Ratchet doubted that even a cortical psychic patch would work on its own creator. Knock Out moved to the other side of the room to work on his own interests, seeing the conversation as over.

"Knock Out." Ratchet called to him. "Promise me you won't tell anyone else about this. We've got enough to worry about as it is."

The crimson bot shrugged. "Sure. As long as I'm allowed to show the humans who's king of the road when you go back. Oh, and can you fix this rotary buffer for me?"

...

Arcee stood outside the door to the training room the same way she'd done for the past few minutes. She had no idea what to say. Why did she agree to this? Springer was one of the most stubborn people she knew there was no way an old 'friend' such as herself would be able to change his mind on anything. Maybe that's why Bulkhead didn't go either, he wouldn't be able to do anything more than she could.

Arcee moved her hand to the door controls before reflexively withdrawing. She really didn't want to go through this, but if only for the sake of proving Bumblebee she was right she must. Gritting her denta Arcee opened the door, expecting a lot of resistance.

Springer barely payed attention to her, instead continuing to tear through holographic facsimiles of Decepticons. "We need to talk." She told him sternly.

"Do we?" The Wrecker didn't stop, slashing his sword through more holograms before throwing it at the last, shattering the blue image and embedding itself in the opposite wall.

Arcee composed herself, choosing her next words carefully. "We're...I'm worried about you. You've been acting odd since the battle in Kaon." Well, more odd then usual she thought to herself. "Since you fought Blitzwing."

Springer stopped, halting his walk to the embedded sword. After a brief instance of tense silence, Springer resumed. "Yeah, well. What's it to you guys anyway. Magnus didn't so much as thank me for saving his worthless spark."

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Arcee told the Wrecker, moving closer to him. "You can trust me, remember?" She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to take a less confrontational approach.

Springer seemed to relax for a moment. He sheathed his sword, turning to face Arcee. "Can I?" Arcee's expression dropped. "Or maybe you can't trust me?"

"I want to trust you, but its not as easy as it was. You've changed Springer, and I'm not sure if its all for the better."

"Hmph. How do you know you're not the one who's changed?"

"I-I have changed, but I've learnt not to hold onto the past too much. Whatever it is, please let it go-"

"The past always matters! Just because you, Bulkhead, and the others have moved on doesn't mean the rest of us have."

"But I want to help you-"

"You can help me after I've done what I need to do."

"But-"

"This conversation is over."

The door hissed open and in stepped Drift. Seeing no point in debating with two revenge-driven bots, Arcee gave a frustrated sigh, storming out of the training room while giving each a deadly glare.

"What was that about?" Drfit asked Springer after she had gone.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter." Springer felt a strong wave of frustration wash over him. Though he didn't know if it was directed at Arcee or himself.

...

Meanwhile, thousands of lightyears away a small shuttle received an important message.

The bridge of the ship was dark, the crew having to shut down all non-essential systems due to their current shortage of fuel. A console beeped, drawing the attention of the nearest figure.

"Jetfire, Silverbolt! We're receiving a transmission!" Said the crew member excitedly.

The other two silhouettes looked to him, their bright blue eyes the only distinguishable feature in the darkness. "From who, Air Raid?" Asked one of them in a strong voice.

Air Raid looked over the console again, proclaiming excitedly. "From Cybertron!"

Not waiting for the others to respond, Air Raid immediately played the message and a familiar powerful voice boomed throughout the bridge. "This is Optimus Prime, calling all Autobot frequencies. The war is over. Megatron is no more. I invite you to join us on our now rejuvenated planet. I repeat. This is Optimus Prime calling all Autobots. The war is over. It is time to come home."

The ship was silent for a few moments, no one knowing exactly what to say. "Do you think it could be a trap?" One eventually asked cautiously.

"I've known Optimus Prime long enough to know that voice Silverbolt. There's no faking it. That's the real Prime alright." The one called Jetfire replied confidently.

"So do we go home then?" Air Raid asked, still at the console.

"We don't have enough fuel." Silverbolt told him. "We spent the last of it fleeing from Scorponok on Nebulos. We'll have to go into stasis and wait until the ship finds a place where we can refuel, or until we're found by someone else who has some spare."

"That'll take too long." Jetfire said. "We could be floating around space for eons for all we know." He paused, considering their only remaining option. "We'll have to make a quantum jump."

"But that's-"

"I know Silverbolt, but its not like we have many more alternatives. Provided we get the coordinator right, we should have just enough fuel to reach Cybertron."

Air Raid voiced his opinion. "I'm willing to take the risk, rather than stay here in stasis for terra-cycles."

"Fine. Guess I'm overruled." Silverbolt sighed. "I'll go transfer the rest of our fuel into the quantum drive. I hope this works, Jetfire."

Jetfire stood, looking into the stars as his fellow Autobots made the relevant preparations. It'll have to work if they were ever to have any hope of getting back home.

So that was way longer than I intended but I think it turned out pretty well for the most part.I'm going to try and get at least one more out before I go to Uni in September so keep an eye out! Though knowing me, the busier I am the more I write.See you soon and leave a review of you can!

Also if anyone's down for being a Beta Reader then lmk because my work could always do with another check over before it goes live! ;)