"According to local legends, numerous griffins once roamed the islands off the coast of Maine. A male griffin perched atop a mountain on the largest island, where it turned to stone for a long hibernation. This gave the island its name—Griffin Rock," Cody read from the book.
"It's only a rock shaped like a griffin," Tommy said. "Earning this folklore patch is lame."
"Folklore isn't lame," Jackie said after she tied up Abby. "It's how cultures explain the unknown, entertain one another, and warn their children."
"Let's get a closer look," Cody said.
The five Lad Pioneers (yes, Jackie is the newest member) walked the path and Jackie noticed the others acting bored.
"Cody, lets add some fun to this hike," she said.
Cody nodded.
He and Jackie motioned for the others to hide behind a boulder with them.
"He spotted us!" Jackie whispered.
"We have to defend ourselves," Cody got out his slingshot.
"Oho! Now we're talking!" Tommy said.
Cody picked up a stone and slingshot it at a rock, which bounced off and hit the mountain's 'face'.
"And that's the ricochet," Cody said.
Then a small earthquake hit.
"Okay, time we go home," Jackie herded the boys back down the path and texted for a pick up.
"Cody, get off the mountain and watch out for rockslides," Chief Burns commed.
Abby roared at something and Jackie looked up.
"A flying car?! The fuck is this?! Harry Potter?!" Jackie exclaimed as she went dragon. "You guys run!"
The red family car stopped moving in the sky and fell.
Jackie almost caught it, but it slipped from her claws and caused a rockslide.
She dove down, grabbed the boys, and curled up, protecting them from injury.
Chase and Chief showed up right after the car landed on the road.
"Everyone okay?" Chief asked.
"We are, but there's no driver," Cody said.
Chief pressed his comm. "Dani, see if you can track down the Rubios. Their car just tumbled down a mountain without them."
"On it, Dad," Dani said.
"Come on, kids. I'll give you a ride home."
"Getting this folklore patch is AWESOME!" Tommy said.
Xxx
Chief, Chase, and Cody arrived back at the firehouse.
"Dad, we've had a string of burglaries in the last 30 minutes," Kade said.
"A couple bicycles, four satellites, and a toy rocket?" Heatwave said confused.
"That's an odd assortment," Chief said.
"I'll open a case file immediately," Chase said.
"I'll check scrapyards and pawnshops," Chroma said.
Dani and Blades entered the garage.
"Raychel and T.J. found the Rubios at Griffin Point Park," Dani said. "They weren't in their car when it took off."
"They said it was as if something snatched up their car – something invisible and terrifying! I added that last part," Blades said. "Is First Aid still on psych leave?"
"Yeah," Heatwave confirmed.
"The car did look like it was being carried by something," Cody said.
"I will add that to the case file," Chase said.
"All this happed right after the earthquake," Chief noted.
"More specifically, volcanic disturbance," Graham said. "Our sensors put the origin on Wayward Island."
"But don't worry, there's no threat of eruption," Boulder said.
"But, I would like to go to Wayward and replace the sensor. For some reason, it's offline."
"Good idea. Take the Darby Ava," Chief said.
"Hey, let's all go," Cody said.
"Uh, why?" Kade asked.
"Yeah, that place is just a good place to get lost," Dani said.
"I think it'd be interesting. I just read that female griffins used one of the nearby islands as a nesting ground. Maybe it's Wayward!" Cody said.
Kade took Cody's book. "'Old Timer's Guide to Maine Island Folklore'. Yeah, I'm out." He tossed the book back to Cody.
"I don't want to go to Wayward anytime soon. Sorry, Cody," Dani said.
"Ohh," Cody looked down.
"You know those are only stories, Cody," Chief said.
"Yeah, but look at Jackie! How do we know for SURE that griffins back then?"
"What would predacons be doing on earth?" Heatwave said. "Jackie could just be the descendant of an experiment."
"That we know of," Blades contradicted.
"It would be an adventure," Cody said.
"We have had enough of that, thank you."
"It would also help me write a report for my folklore patch."
"Ugh. It's a reason," Heatwave admitted. "Count us in."
"Even me?" Blades asked.
"Yep."
"Chase, Chroma, K-9 and I will stay here," Chief said.
"Good luck," Boulder said.
"And to you in your search of a mythical creature," Chase said.
"Can we wait until tomorrow?" Blades asked. "I saw the weather report and it says the ocean's really choppy today."
"And you can rest your leg more," K-9 added.
"My leg's—ow! —fine," Heatwave said. "You're both stalling."
"I think they're both right, Heatwave," Chief said. "The wind is going to pick up in a couple of hours and your leg is bothering you."
"Fine, first thing tomorrow!"
"Let's get your leg brace on and into healing stasis for an hour or two," Blades said.
Xxx
Heatwave walked into the bunker and saw First Aid watching 'Untold Stories of the E.R.' on the couch.
"First Aid! How've you been? I haven't seen you in three weeks!" Heatwave said.
"Good. I'm taking antipsychotics," the medic said.
"Yeah… I heard about that. When do you think you'll be ready to rejoin?"
"Not for a while," Razor said as she and Blades walked up to them. "He needs to readjust to his surroundings. I'm going to stay, but I have to go to a meeting real quick with Optimus Prime, so Blades will be monitoring him."
"But, Blades is going with Wayward with us."
"Which is why Jackie and Emerald joined you for your monster hunt. Now, if you'll excuse me," Razor said.
"Well, Blades, you got your wish."
Xxx
The team was traveling to Wayward Island.
"What are we looking for?" Heatwave asked as they looked at the sky.
"Female griffins," Jackie said.
"Seriously?"
"Should've known," Boulder said.
"Any abilities they have?" Jackie asked Cody. Her blue hair went back to brown.
"According to my book, female griffins can turn invisible so no one could follow them back to their nests," Cody said.
"I don't think there's a connection to the missing metals and the car incident," Emerald said.
"Yeah, I would've killed it," Jackie said.
Xxx
Optimus was pacing back and forth in Razor's office.
"Optimus, please calm down," Ratchet said.
"I-I know, but what if this is a trap?"
"It's not a trap," Skylynx said. "And they're here."
Xxx
The team arrived on Wayward.
"The broken sensor is near the island's center. We head north," Graham said.
"Keep an eye out for anything that could be a griffin nest," Cody told the bots.
"I'll go high!" Jackie went T1 and flew off.
"Remember, look for nests made of strong materials like rock and metal!" Emerald shouted.
"Wait, if the female griffin is real—hypothetically speaking—could it use… us as nest material?" Boulder asked.
"Well, back on Cybertron I did a report on predacons. I noted that predacons that resembled griffins tore up larger predicons for their skeletons for their nests. Or they could've been scavenged," Emerald said.
Heatwave did a quick gulp and glanced at his leg. "Does that mean—i-if they're real—I-I'd be…"
"Easy prey."
Xxx
"Chief, none of the items showed up in local scrapyards or pawn shops," K-9 said.
"But the locations are high elevation locations. The others are investigating," Chase said.
"Chief, Chroma and I are going to need some help," Ally said.
"What happened?" Chief asked.
"We were talking with one of the witnesses when something yanked Chroma and dropped her down the mountain."
Xxx
"I don't remember going this way when we installed the sensors," Boulder said.
"Are we lost?" Cody asked.
"Maybe. Something's really interfering with the compass," Graham said.
Boulder scanned a pillar shaped stone. "I think it's that rock."
"I'll call Jackie," Emerald started to whistle.
Boulder scanned the rock again. "It has a high amount of iron. Could be a lodestone."
"What's a lodestone?" Cody asked.
Clank!
"ACK! Jackie!" Emerald rubbed her head.
"You know I hate whistling!" Jackie said as she picked up the bike. "I could've gone dragon!"
"A lodestone is a naturally occurring magnet," Graham said.
"That's what happened to you?"
Heatwave got a closer look at the lodestone. "There's something carved on here." He removed the vines. "Are those… griffins?" he backed away in fear.
This time Emerald scanned the stone. "These date back to Leif Erikson's days."
"Some Vikings did believe in mythical creatures like griffins."
"I found a nest carving by the broken sensor," Jackie said. "Not sure if it was a nesting ground, since we don't know how griffins gestate."
"Does anyone else feel like they're being pulled by something?" Heatwave asked.
Then the bots were yanked by an invisible force.
Jackie flew off again.
Xxx
"Chief, none of the items showed up in local scrapyards or pawn shops," K-9 said.
"But the locations are high elevation locations. The others are investigating," Chase said.
"Chief, Chroma and I are going to need some help," Ally said.
"What happened?" Chief asked.
"We were talking with one of the witnesses when something yanked Chroma and dropped her down the mountain."
Xxx
Blades and First Aid saw the footage of the tow-truck being pulled by something in the sky.
"So… things have gotten worse?" First Aid asked.
"You can't pay me to fly today," Blades said.
Xxx
Graham and Cody chased after the bots and heard Jackie's transmutate scream.
Something landed behind them.
"What is that?" Cody asked.
"It's the engine from the Draby Ava," Graham answered.
"Something's jamming the comms."
Xxx
Heatwave was crying in pain as Emerald and Boulder put a makeshift cast on his leg.
Jackie landed with two bikes.
"Where'd you get those?" Emerald asked.
Jackie got out her phone and showed her the picture.
"Heatwave!" Cody shouted.
"What's wrong with his leg?" Graham said.
"He landed funny," Boulder said.
"I-it's Rotors! He's come to finish me off! I want my mommy!" Heatwave held onto Boulder as if his life depended on it.
"Unfortunately, we can't go back to Griffin Rock with a busted boat. Something ripped the engine out," Graham said.
"Jackie may have solved to mystery," Emerald said as she gave Heatwave some pain medicine. "And I found something, too."
Xxx
"I can see why you were so nervous," Ratchet said to Optimus after Megatron had left them with his team.
It consisted of 30 new fliers and Ionix: Optimus Prime's son.
"What? Think I'm a traitor?" Ionix asked.
"I-it's just… I-I don't know how to feel," Optimus asked. "I thought…your carrier and I… we thought you died in that raid."
"And now you're a Deception," Ratchet said.
"Sympathizer," Ionix corrected. "I only hunt down those sickos like Rotors."
"May we have a moment? Ionix and I?" Optimus asked.
The others left.
"I'm not going to—"
Optimus just hugged and held his son as he cried. "I'm just glad you're alive!"
Xxx
Heatwave was pretty doped up as Boulder carried him.
"It's through here," Emerald pushed some foliage out of the way to reveal a gate entrance with an aggressive griffin sculpture on top.
Heatwave screamed like a little girl and tried to run.
"It's just a statue," Boulder said.
"What did you give him?" Graham asked Emerald.
"Zap-Pony pain killers. Probably wasn't the best, but I had to make due," Emerald said. "Wanna explore?"
"Heck yeah!" Cody walked through.
"Are we in a temple?" Heatwave whispered.
Jackie got Cody's book out and gave it to him.
"My book says that the nesting grounds are sacred and well protected," Cody said.
"With magic?" Heatwave asked like a little kid.
The bots were suddenly pulled again, but not as strong as before.
"And we're all scuffed up," Emerald said.
"The magic is EVIL!" Heatwave cried.
"Th-there's probably a scientific explanation for this," Boulder comforted.
Jackie started to drag Graham down the tunnel.
"What is it" Graham asked.
"Mm! Mm! Mm!" Jackie jumped up and down as she pulled him.
"Let's follow her lead," Emerald said. "Boulder, take Heatwave back to the boat and try to contact Razor."
"Will do," Boulder said.
"Why does cake lie?" Heatwave asked.
Jackie pointed to a light colored floor stone and motioned to not step on them.
Xxx
Heatwave was repeating "Why does cake lie?" over and over when Chase, Chief, Kade, and Dani arrived on Doc Greene's sea lab.
"Boulder, two questions: how did the Darby Ava get in a tree? And what is Heatwave on?" Kade asked.
"Heavy duty pain medicine and no idea about the boat. Magnets, maybe? Do any of your comms work?"
Xxx
Jackie pointed at the fake nest.
"Close enough, but still cool," Cody smiled and took a picture.
"What's all the scrap doing around it?" Emerald asked.
Jackie flew up and grabbed the quake sensor. "It's all this things fault," she hoarsely said.
"Can you lift it out?" Graham asked.
Jackie tried, but it surged and she dropped it.
"Whoa!" Emerald tried to back away from the machine. "I think I'm being pulled and that lava 'round the nest ain't too friendly!"
Jackie went dragon a bit, pried a crowbar off of one of the rocks and hit the sensor.
"Phew! Now how does that even work?" Emerald asked Graham.
"The rocks around the nest and maybe in it appear to be lodestones. Maybe they become super magnets whenever they're charged," Graham suggested. "Jackie, can you give us the sensor?"
Jackie threw it at them.
Xxx
"C'mon, guys! C'mon!" Jackie said a few days later. "You have to see what I found!"
"Slow down!" Heatwave called out.
"Boulder can carry you again," Emerald said.
"I said I'll walk!"
"This better not be scary," Blades said.
"I should've gone with Hayley to see that stupid movie," Kade said.
"I hope First aid's okay," Raychel said.
"Me too," T.J. said.
"C'mon! To the ledge!" Jackie said.
The team walked to the cliff edge.
"Look! Look!" she pointed.
"Uh, at what?" Kade asked.
"The griffin!"
"Is it invisible?" Cody asked.
"No. Dead. I-it's a fossil."
"Can I have your phone?" Emerald asked.
Jackie gave it to her and she plugged it into her arm.
Emerald turned to the team. "I'm gonna turn on my scanner, so you may need to stand back."
"Why?" Dani asked.
"You'll see," Boulder said.
Her scanners scanned the floor and an audio blast removed the dirt surrounding the fossil.
"Is that?"
"No way. No freaking way."
"Well, I'll be."
"By the AllSpark."
Blades screamed in fear at the enormous griffin fossil.
"The legends are real," Cody breathed.
(A/N: I wanted to tie in TFP and RB a bit more, see Heatwave on a 'trip', and introduce a new character. Optimus and Elita-1 thought he had died in the raid that killed First Aid's mother, so they used to be friends.)