Jackie and Cody took the elevator to the bunker with snacks.
"You guys got your food?" First Aid asked.
"Yep!" Jackie said as she held up her Cheetos.
"Just don't wipe your fingers on the couch again," Chroma said as Emerald helped her sit down on the couch.
"Alright, guys, take your seats," Heatwave said. "This story's a doosy."
"This better be good," First Aid said as he and Emerald got crates to sit on.
"It was a regular patrol…"
xxx
The Sigma flew through the vastness of space.
"Attention Sigma-17 crew," Chase said. "We are now entering the last quadrant on our patrol."
"Finally. I can't wait to get back on Cybertron again," Blades groaned. "All this flying makes me cranky."
"So, what's your excuse on the ground?" Heatwave jokingly asked.
"I think it's beautiful out here," Boulder said. "So mysterious and quiet."
Then the rescue alarm began blaring.
"Mostly," Boulder said.
"That's the emergency channel. Blades, patch the message through," Heatwave ordered.
Blades did as he was ordered.
"Damage… can't… need help…" the message played.
"We've lost contact," Blades said.
"Call HQ," Heatwave said. "This patrol just became a rescue mission."
Blades attempted the call. "Cybertron isn't responding."
"We must be too far out of communications range," Chase said.
"I might be able to boost the signal manually. But I'd have to go outside the ship," Boulder said.
"No time. Chase, follow the coordinates of that distress call, max velocity," Heatwave ordered.
"Affirmative, Heatwave," Chase said.
The Sigma quickly arrived to the coordinates to a damaged cargo ship.
"Looks like we might be too late," Blades said.
"Chase, stay here and keep trying to contact Cybertron HQ till you get through. Blades, bring your medi-kit for survivors. Boulder and I will stabilize their ship," Heatwave said.
"Heatwave, our radar is detecting a strange object nearby. And getting nearer," Chase said.
"It'll have to wait. We've got a job to do. Rescue Bots, power to the rescue."
"Wow, that was incredibly cheesy," Chroma said.
"Hey, I was working on it," Heatwave said.
The trio put on the rocket packs, got out of the Sigma, and propelled themselves to the ship.
They then saw some unknown space creature move behind the ship.
"What was—"
Boulder was cut off when the creature revealed itself and hissed at them.
"AHH! Energon eater!" Blades screamed as he dropped the medi-kit.
The energon eater roared at them.
Xxx
Heatwave stopped telling the story.
"Aw, come on. You can't stop telling the story there," Cody said. "What happened next?"
"I stopped because of the faces Jackie and First Aid are making," Heatwave said.
Jackie had a look of confusion on her face and First Aid rolled his optics.
"How can it roar in space?" Jackie asked. "You were in a fucking vacuum!"
"Well, it DID!" Heatwave said.
"And we found out what happened to the missing medi-kit," First Aid said. "That was really bugging me."
"So there we were, in space, the energon eater so close I could feel it's stinking breath—Jackie, I KNOW WE WERE IN A DAMN VACUUM!
Jackie closed her mouth as she rolled her eyes.
"What happened?" Blades whined as he sat down on another crate.
"You were there," First Aid deadpanned.
"I'm invested in the story," Blades said as Boulder and Chase joined them.
"Oh, boy," Heatwave rolled his optics.
Xxx
"Back to the ship! Hurry!" Heatwave said as they fled.
"I never knew energon eaters were real," Boulder said. "I've heard the stories, but no one's ever seen one before."
"Or maybe they just haven't lived to tell about it," Blades said.
"Clearly, someone did," First Aid said.
"No interrupting," Heatwave sternly said.
The bots sped back to the ship, but the energon eater got between them and the ship.
"You two make a run for it. I'll hold this thing off," Heatwave said as he got ready to tackle the space ell-leech.
"No, Heatwave!" Boulder said.
"You can't!" Blades said.
Chase rammed the Sigma into the energon eater, knocking it a good distance from his team. "Quickly! Inside!" Chase brought the ship close to his team.
The bots got inside the Sigma, took off the rocket packs, and got to their posts.
"Thanks for the save, Chase. Now let's get out of here," Heatwave said.
"The max velocity drive requires more time to charge," Chase said. "Initiating cloaking shield."
The shield activated, confusing the Rescue Bots' equivalent of a xenomorph.
"You think we lost it?" Blades asked as they flew off.
"I've heard once an energon eater gets your scent, it never stops hunting you," Boulder said.
"Well, THAT'S just GREAT!" Jackie deadpanned.
Blades whimpered like a puppy.
"It is said that energon eaters can smell flowing energon," Chase said.
"So, any bot that crosses it's path is dinner," Heatwave said.
The energon eater then bumped the ship.
"Hold on the something!" Heatwave ordered as it attacked.
"Our ship can't handle anymore hits like that," Boulder said.
"How long until the velocity drive is ready, Chase?"
The ship was struck again, almost knocking everyone down.
"At this rate of attack, too long," Chase said.
"AH! Can't we hide our smell somehow?" Blades asked. "A gas cloud? Lots of blankets?"
"Stasis. If we use the emergency pods to freeze ourselves, our energon will be solid, not flowing," Heatwave said. "That thing won't be able to scent us."
"But our ship runs on energon too," Boulder said. "We'd have to shut it down. Then how will we get home?"
"I'll program the Sigma to restart when it gets a Priority Prime message. Cybertron will send one as soon as we miss our check-in."
"Less talking. More freezing!" Blades said as he got in his pod.
The energon eater struck again and Blades fell into his pod.
Heatwave started to program the ship.
"Heatwave we have not yet answered that ship's distress call," Chase said. "Rescue Bots exist to provide aid, no matter how dangerous the circumstances.
"We won't be able to so ANYTHING if that energon eater gets us," Heatwave said.
The energon eater began to drain the ship of its fuel.
"Into the stasis pods, now!" Heatwave ordered.
Chase hesitated.
"Chase! That's an order!" Heatwave said as he got in his pod.
The bots went into the stasis pods and the ship powered down.
Xxx
"And the next thing we knew, our craft was heading for earth," Heatwave said.
"If Optimus hadn't called us, we would have drifted in space FOREVER, ever, ever… forever," Blades said.
"Woah. Best story night ever, guys," Cody said as the lights turned on.
"You know, I think the Protectobots might've found you, too," Jackie said. "They were looking for other ERB's who survived the war."
"I didn't know space had vampires."
"I think it's more of a leech."
"Nor did I," Chase said in response to Cody's statement. "What are vampires?"
"They're creatures that live by drinking your blood—uh, energon," Cody said.
"I thought they drained your life energy," First Aid said.
"It's circumstantial," Jackie said.
"I know about what Cody's talking about," Boulder got a book from the bookshelf. "They're called mosquitos."
"Uh, not really, Boulder," Cody said.
"Yeah, LOTS of animals drink blood," Jackie said.
"Ooh, I've seen vampires on TV," Blades said. "Energon eaters are WAY more scary. They don't brood handsomely."
"Ugh! That's fucking Twilight!" Jackie ragdolled to the floor.
"I heard of a story where one woman had a leech—one of earth's 'vampires'—stuck in her vagina," First Aid said.
"Ew!" Chroma and Cody said.
Heatwave and Blades gave looks of disgust, Boulder began to look it up, and Chase gagged at the word 'vagina'.
"How'd they get it out?!" Emerald asked.
"And that's another reason I don't like swimming," Jackie said.
"Um, what about that other ship? The one that needed help?" Cody changed the conversation.
"We left it behind. The one mission we did not accomplish. Some days I find it hard to call myself a Rescue Bot," Chase said.
Jackie got up, walked over to Chase, and patted his hand in comfort.
"Realistically, everyone on that ship's probably dead, but I can ask my old team to check their rescue archives," First Aid said.
"Yeah, I don't think that's really helping," Chroma said.
"Emergency, team," Chief Burns said over the comm. "The rivers are flooding, and the area needs to be evacuated now. Cody, I'll need your eyes in the command center."
"On my way, Dad," Cody said.
Xxx
The team arrived at the emergency.
Blades hovered over a mostly submerged house with a group of people on the roof.
"I can't carry that many people inside. How are we supposed to choose who to save?" Blades asked.
"I got this!" First Aid made a bridge from the house to dry land with his EMPs. Geez, it looks like post hurricane news coverage!
"All citizens without gills and/or fins must evacuate this area," robot Chase said.
"Okay, folks, river's rising, and there's not much time," Chief said. "We'll secure your houses. Get to city hall and ONLY take what you need."
The crowd of people hurried in a panic to get their stuff.
Well, except for Mrs. Neederlander. She just got a lamp and put it in her car while K-9 got Mr. Pettypaws' cat carrier.
"Everyone, don't worry about your pet food. Animal control is working with the pet store to handle the feed," Jackie said into a megaphone as she and Mach passed by on an elevated street.
Boulder and Emerald added more sandbags to the river bank.
The group of people on the roof was almost to dry land and Mrs. Neederlander was almost done packing her stuff.
Xxx
Cody was viewing the security cameras and saw a man holding onto a rock in the middle of the river.
"Quick! Is anybody near the falls? Mr. Levy's about to go over!" Cody said.
Xxx
"I got this. Let's move, Heatwave," Kade said.
"Oh, do you mean we got this?" Heatwave said.
"Doy. You're my sidekick."
"your side will be the second place I kick," Heatwave muttered.
The two arrived at the riverbed and Heatwave extended his ladder so Kade could crawl to Mr. Levy.
Kade began his crawl. Mr. Levy almost got swept away, but Kade got him.
"All right. Gotcha. Bet you're not used to being the one caught. Huh?" Kade quipped.
Mr. Levy gave him a puzzled look.
"Ah, just come on," Kade said as Heatwave pulled them in.
A house started to fall in and its female occupant started crying out for help.
"I got this. Cody, tell my sidekick I'm sorry," Heatwave said.
"Sorry about wh—AAAHHH!" Kade screamed as Heatwave flings him and Mr. Levy off his ladder and to the ground. Kade face planted into the mud and Mr. Levy landed in a bush.
Heatwave transformed into bot mode and pushed the house onto more stable land.
Why didn't this chick evacuate?! He thought.
She gave him the biggest smile.
He gave her a salute… and then he was hit by a car in the river.
Xxx
The neighborhood was almost fully evacuated, with the exception of Mrs. Neederlander, who was still packing.
First Aid heard metal crashing and saw Heatwave and the car heading to the sandbags.
"Everyone in your bots!" he shouted.
Graham got in Boulder, Lindsy and the twins got in Emerald (who was in truck mode), Chief in Chase, and Jackie and Mach were picked up by Blades and Dani.
K-9 pushed Mrs. Neederlander and Mr. Pettypaws into the car.
First Aid dived and used his EMPs to make a force field around him and the car just before the water hit.
Chase walked over to them once the water settled.
"Mrs. Neederlander?" Chief asked.
First Aid stood up with Mrs. Neederlander's car in the force field above his head.
"All occupants are safe," robot First Aid said.
Chief sighed. "That was too close. All right, team. We need to set up a new water break. Most of town's flooded. Let's start cleaning up."
"I'll get you three to dry ground," Emerald said to her occupants as she drove through the water to high ground.
"Hey, where's Heatwave?" Kade asked.
Heatwave stood up as he held onto the roof of a house. "Guys? I-I think I need to head back to the firehouse."
"What's wrong?" Chief asked.
Heatwave brought his right leg into view. His knee had sparks coming from it.
"Head back to the firehouse and get into stasis," Blades said.
"I'll contact backup," Chroma said.
Xxx
The team arrive back at the firehouse in the early evening, where Heatwave, Chroma, and Cody were waiting.
"Hey, guys. I just heard from the mayor. All townsfolk are safe and accounted for," Cody said.
"Finally, a little good news," Chief said. "Hit that showers, team."
Don't have to tell me twice," a muddied Kade said as he walked to the elevator.
"It'll take us weeks to clean up after that flood," Dani said.
"And… a lot of rebuilding," Graham said.
"What are you talking about? Building stuff's fun!" Inferno said.
"He means we'd be happy to assist in the town's recovery," Firestar said.
Chase sighed. "It is unthinkable. We have failed our first mission on earth."
"WHAT are you talking about?" Blades asked. "Didn't you hear Cody? We saved everyone. This is high-five time!" he raised his hand to receive one.
First aid looked around. "Eh," he shrugged his shoulders and gave Blades the high-five.
But we were unable to stop the river from flooding the town," Chase said.
"It's an occupational hazard," Firestar said.
"We can't control nature, Chase," Chief said. "And our job isn't over yet. It might take us some time to get the town back to normal, but we won't give up on our mission."
"Well, see you later," Raychel wave before she and her brother left to go home.
The rest of the humans went upstairs with K-9, and the bots took the lift to the bunker.
Chroma hugged Chase when the lift came to a complete stop. "Why don't we get some rest and refuel. You guys had a pretty stressful day today."
"By the way, Chase, try not to beat yourself up after today. I should've seen that old junker car," Heatwave said.
"Yeah, he was too busy flirting with a human," Inferno joked.
"I wasn't FLIRTING, I was SALUTING!"
"Guys, it's late. We ALL need to refuel and recharge. I'm going to see if the Protectobots are available to help out tomorrow," Firestar said.
Xxx
It was early in the morning—three a.m.—when the Protectobots arrived.
"Huh? Think we got here too early?" (PB) Blades asked.
"Probably. I think they're usually up at five a.m.," Hot Spot said. "Bet they're still recharging."
"Not everyone," Groove pointed to the command center, which had a light on.
As they walked to the command center when Groove almost stepped on Cody.
"Woah!" Groove moved to avoid stepping on the human and fell in the command center.
"Geez, Groove! We keep telling you, you may be the smallest of us, but you still need to watch your step," Streetwise said as he picked up Cody.
"Shouldn't you be recharging, Cody?" Hot Spot asked.
"I was, but I woke up and couldn't sleep, so I decided to see if anyone else was up," Cody said.
"Well, Chase is," Groove said as said bot helped him up.
"Chase, what were you doing?"
"Attending to unfinished business," Chase said. He walked back to the console. "Please respond. Over."
"You're trying to contact that ship you guys couldn't save," Cody said.
"I have never forgiven myself for abandoning them in need."
"Chase, you had to. The energon vampire probably got them, and it would've eaten you too."
"Perhaps you are right. It seems I must learn to live with my failure as a Rescue Bot."
"Are we-?" Groove was cut off by the radio's response.
"Damage… can't… need help…" the radio said.
"No way. That's the message from your story," Cody said.
"Those aboard the ship bust still be alive, and in need of rescue," Chase said.
"Okay, somebody start explaining stuff right now," Streetwise said.
Xxx
"We must return to space immediately, Heatwave," Chase said as soon as everyone had refueled.
"Hold on. You expect me to believe that damaged ship's been in danger all this time?" Heatwave asked.
"That's kind of a long emergency," (RB) Blades said.
"And it could be a Decepticon trap," Chroma said.
"Maybe the ship's crew went into stasis, like we did," Boulder said.
"And used a prerecorded S.O.S. to attract help," Streetwise said.
"'Cons used that trick on us several times, bro," Groove said.
"Or, Chase's message woke them up," Hot Spot said.
"Exactly. This is our chance to return and finish our mission," Chase said.
"What about the mission Optimus gave us here?" Heatwave asked.
"We may be the only ones ever to hear this message, Heatwave. My spark insists I must attempt to help, whatever the consequences."
"No, Chase. And that's an order!"
"Heatwave, why don't we put a pin in this conversation until after we help clean up the town?" Inferno asked.
"I think he should go," First Aid said.
"Or we can just continue!" Inferno threw up his hands and went to get his equipment for the day's work.
"Heatwave, my team's willing to assist Chase," Hot Spot said.
"I'll stay behind to cover him," Streetwise said.
Heatwave sighed. "Fine. But be careful."
The two bots shook hands in agreement.
"You'll need back up. I'm going too," Boulder said. "Uh, if that's okay, Heatwave."
Heatwave looked at (RB) Blades.
"What? Oh. Not going, but DEFINATLY rooting for you," Blades said.
"We'll let you use our ship as soon as we finish up fixing the town," Hot Spot said.
"This time we'll be prepared," Boulder said.
Xxx
After a week, both teams had finished cleaning up the town, and the Protectobots were preparing their ship for the mission while Chase and Boulder were preparing their kits.
Chase was double-checking his kit for the fifth time when Chroma walked into their shared room.
"Chase, are you sure you want to do this? I don't want to be a single parent," she said as she rubbed her belly.
"Yes, Chroma. I have to do this. My spark won't be at ease until then," Chase said.
Chroma made him sit on the berth with her. "Chase. Look at me. If you become one with the AllSpark, our sparkling will grow up without their father." She put his hands on her belly.
"Don't worry," Chase hugged her. "I'll be back, and, besides, Emerald is joining us on this mission."
"Oh, geez," Chroma rolled her optics before they widened. "Hey! The sparkling just kicked!" she put Chase's hands on her belly again.
Xxx
Both rescue teams (minus Chroma) were at the mainland base getting ready for Chase and Boulder's mission.
Hot Spot, (PB) Blades, Groove, and Emerald were going with them while Streetwise, Slayer, and Ionix were going to cover for them.
"Remember, Boulder, as soon as your ship's in deep space, turn on Doc's odor-blocking shield," Graham said.
"Hey, can we get some of that technology for Kade's feet?" Dani asked.
"My feet don't smell," Kade said. "Much."
"Thanks, Graham. If that energon vampire's still out there, at least it won't be able to catch our scent," Boulder said. "Goodbye, everyone."
"Sir, it has been serving with you," Chase saluted Chief Burns.
"One I plan to continue," Chief saluted Chase in return. "Be careful. And come back soon."
"That's an order, Chase," Heatwave said.
"Streetwise, Ionix, make sure Heatwave and First Aid—"
"Not happening," Heatwave and First Aid cut Groove off.
"And it better not," Groove crossed his arms.
The energon eater hunting team went into the Defender after finishing their goodbyes and the spacecraft took to the air.
Xxx
Streetwise was watching TV with Blades and Cody, and was having difficulty understanding the program.
"Oh, come on. You call THAT a tap-dancing cat? I've seen squirrels with better rhythm," Blades said.
"THIS is ENTERTAINMENT?!" Streetwise was very confused.
"What? The show's called Can Your Cat Dance? It IS entertaining. Or, at least, it's supposed to be."
"Well, it's dumb!" Streetwise sank into the couch and crossed his arms.
"Not all shows are for everyone," Cody said.
Chief entered the bunker and cleared his throat.
"Hey, Dad, what's up?" Cody asked as he turned off the TV.
"It's time for me to go out on patrol. Streetwise, ready to go?" Chief asked.
"Sure. Anything's better that whatever the pit Blades was watching," Streetwise said as he stood up.
"We might even enforce the law."
Xxx
"Wow! I didn't know that Griffin Rock was such a nice little town! All I know is from pictures and we both know why my team couldn't exactly go for a drive," Streetwise said as he and Chief drove to the more forested area of the island.
"Well, I'm glad you like it here, Streetwise," Chief said.
Don zoomed past the intersection they were approaching.
"Follow that car!" Chief ordered.
"Yes, sir! Now, how do I turn on my lights and sirens?" Streetwise asked.
"You focus on driving. I'll try to—Jesus Christ, what model did you scan?"
"The one police in New York City use. Why?"
"Well, the last police car I used is from the 80's and Chase's alt mode was built in japan. And they've updated the cruisers since I was in training. I think it might be this," Chief pressed a button and Streetwise's wipers turned on. "What?! That doesn't even make sense!"
"Stealth mode?"
"Stealth mode."
Xxx
Firestar walked past Inferno in the training area.
"I'll be right back, Inferno," she said.
"Where are you going?" Inferno asked.
"Taking Dani meet someone at the airfield. Blades did NOT want to fly today unless there's an emergency."
"Kade wanted me to drive him to his girlfriend's house, but I told him to walk and he went back upstairs. Lazy aft…"
"What's Heatwave doing?"
"Helping Graham with his meth homework."
"Oh, Primus…"
Xxx
Heatwave was holding up a machine for Graham.
"Hold her steady, buddy. Uh, er, Heatwave," Graham said as he unscrewed the bottom of the machine.
Heatwave grunted. "Ugh. Here, let me help you with that." He ripped the bottom off and the insides fell to the ground, making a mess. "Oops."
"Uh… maybe I should start on my Grimski Tech homework instead," Graham said.
Heatwave threw the machine across the room with a grunt.
"What the frag was that?" Ionix asked from outside.
"I can help with that too," Heatwave said.
"Uh, that's okay, Heatwave," Graham said as he picked up his math homework.
"I'm filling in for Boulder. This is what he does, right?"
"Well, yes, but…"
Heatwave held out his hand.
Graham sighed as he handed the book to him. "You can read me the equations as I put them on the board."
Heatwave groaned as he looked at the book. "Um, squiggly sign, X, upside down two, triangle… this is supposed to make sense?"
First Aid walked in. "Let me see." He took the book. It's upside down. He turned it right side up and gave it back to Heatwave.
"I knew that."
"Really?" Ionix asked as he joined First Aid's side and crossed his arms.
Xxx
Chief and K-9 went to the roof to get Cody for dinner.
"Cody? It's time for dinner," Chief said.
"You trying to find the Defendor?" K-9 asked.
"I know they're too far out to see," Cody said as he turned away from the telescope. "But I miss Chase and Boulder."
"Me too, son. Me too," Chief hugged Cody.
"And don't worry. The Protectobots are armed and don't team kill," K-9 said.
Chief and Cody gave him a weird look.
"Good to know," Chief warily said.
Xxx
"We should be nearing the coordinates of the damaged ship," Boulder said.
"Bringing up a visual," Groove said.
Instead of just the cargo ship, there were now many wrecks.
"Damn," Blades breathed.
"More space wrecks?" Boulder said.
"It seems our rescue services ARE desperately needed," Chase said.
"Lowering odor-blocking shield for deployment," Hot Spot activated the device.
Emerald sniffed the air. "Anyone else smell lavender?"
"Let's get our firearms," Groove said.
"We should probably use the plasma rifles instead of our energon blasters," Blades said. "We don't want to find out what it's like to have our energon drained."
"Chase, you want one? We have a few extras," Hot Spot said.
"Optimus Prime gave me orders to not use firearms," Chase said.
"Optimus ain't here, Chase," Emerald said as she went to get a plasma rifle.
Chase did a nervous gulp.
"Here, use this," Groove tossed Chase a pair of gauntlets. "Shock punchers. They can stun a herd of zap-ponies in one shot."
"Chase, Boulder, Emerald, you guys check the main wreck. My team will check on the others," Hot Spot said.
Xxx
The bots used their jet packs to get to their targets, unaware a space leech was targeting them.
Chase, Boulder, and Emerald entered the cargo ship.
"Hello? Anybody here?" Boulder asked as they shown their flashlights around the wreck.
"Damn, it's like a ghost ship in here," Emerald said as they entered the bridge.
"Hello?" Boulder asked again.
"This is the Rescue Bots. We are here to assist. I am Chase. If you are in need of help, please respond. We are not selling anything," Chase said.
"Why in the Pits of Kaon did you have to clarify that?" Emerald asked as she got her fiream ready.
"I'll explain later," Boulder said as he went to a computer. "Guys. Look at this. It's the captain's log. 'No one responded to our distress call. The ship has malfunction beyond repair. All my crew escaped in survival pods. I am taking what cargo I can and abandoning this vessel. End log'."
"But the time stamp on this entry shows it was made BEFORE we received the ship's original emergency call—long before," Chase said.
"Damn, that's creepy," Emerald said as the screen went static.
"How could anybody have contacted us if nobody is on board?" Boulder asked.
Their comms crackled to life.
"Guys, an energon eater's in contact with the ship!" Groove yelled.
"Fall back!" Hot Spot ordered.
The trio ran to the window as the message the Sigma-17 crew heard all those years ago replayed.
The energon eater was revealed to be powering the ship.
"Oh, SCRAP!" Emerald shouted.
"I led us into its trap," Chase's optics widened.
The energon eater began to tear into the ship.
"I guess we're not the only ones here to finish a job," Boulder said.
"That actually explains all the corpses!" Blades said.
"I could almost respect the creature for that," Chase responded to Boulder. "Were it not diabolical, lawless, and about to eat us."
"Hey, it's just nature! But, yeah, I ain't too thrilled on bein' eaten by that thing!" Emerald said.
"Head for the ship! We'll cover you!" Hot Spot said.
"Power up and energize!" the trio used their energizers to jet out of there while the Protectobots shot at the energon eater.
They got inside and took to their stations.
"Activating odor shield!" Groove tried to power the shield.
The ship's power began to fail.
"Uh, someone's chugging!" Blades said from the window.
The bots ran over and saw the energon eater draining the ship.
"Doesn't this guy get full?!" Emerald exclaimed.
"Game over, man! Game over!" Groove said when the ship lost power.
"Maybe one of the wrecks has some energon left?" Blades asked.
"With his appetite?! Chances are ziltch!" Emerald made an 'x' with her arms.
"Yeah, it probably lured those other ships to feed on them," Boulder said.
"The only energon is inside that thing!"
Emerald pointed at its tail.
"Then THAT is what we'll use," Chase said.
"Are you INSANE?! We'll get sucked dry!" Groove exclaimed.
"Like you have a better idea?" Hot Spot asked Groove before turning to the others. "We'd have to catch that thing first, and that fragger's fast."
"Thanks to Chief, I am excellent at high speed pursuits," Chase said.
"I'll go with. Groove, try that alt power generator we nabbed from the 'Cons to power the ship and cover us. Blades… prep sick bay," Hot Spot said.
Xxx
Chase and Hot Spot got out of the ship and confronted the energon eater.
"You are under arrest for energon theft and general unpleasantness," Chase taunted.
"Cravin' some fast food, you incestuous motherfragger?!" Hot Spot shook his backside in the creature's face.
The energon eater pursued them through the debris field, and the two mechs flew into a ship hull with one end opened and the other closed.
The energon eater went in to ram them, but they dodged it and got out of the enclosure.
They thought they were in the clear until the beast grabbed Chase with its tail and pulled him toward its mouth.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Hot Spot shot the creature with his plasma rifle in the side, causing it to release Chase.
Emerald and Boulder used some scrap to trap the energon eater and welded the enclosure shut.
Xxx
Boulder and Chase were groundbridged into the bunker after their mission.
"Chase!" Chroma hugged her mate.
"Welcome home!" Chief said.
"Finally!" Kade said.
"Good to see you, bud," Graham said.
"Where are the others?" Streetwise asked.
"What happened? Did you help the people that sent the message?" Cody asked. "Did you see another energon vampire?"
"See it? We CAUGHT it!" Boulder said.
"Unfortunately, it expired on the journey back," Chase said.
"Pictures or it didn't happen,"
"Uh, I think my brother did you one better," Streetwise showed Blades a video his twin shot of the energon vampire draining the ship.
"AAH! It happened! It happened!"
"Yeah, now I know why he was freaking out."
"Did you talk to Optimus?" Heatwave asked.
"That is a tale for story night," Chase said.
"Where's Emerald?" Raychel asked.
"She's helping dissect the energon eater," Boulder said.
"Jackie'll want to see that," K-9 said.
"I don't know, she can get pretty grossed out," First Aid said.
"What did my team find?" Streetwise asked.
"They are still going through their find, mostly salvage materials," Chase said.
"By the way, Streetwise requested to stay in Griffin Rock for a little while longer to learn more about humans, so you can have some time off," Chief said.
Chase looked at Chroma. "That is appreciated."