Chapter 12: Face the Music


[Cross Ange OST - Yawaraka na Jikan]

The sun was rising over the Solomon Islands. Peaceful skies, peaceful land, and a peaceful sea. After the intense night that the group had, a peaceful morning was just what they needed. They could finally rest their tired bodies and minds, and properly continue on with their mission later in the day. The mysterious warship was about to become their new base. They've succeeded in clearing out the base of all unknown enemy forces, and stopping it from exploding. The only thing left to do was to figure out if it was repairable, and if they can get it to fly with such little forces.

The Autobots were already hard at work investigating the ship, and making repairs to both it, and themselves. Wheeljack was overseeing the majority of the work being done to the interior, which involved Cliffjumper, Sideswipe, and the three other soldiers working to dismantle the prison holds that made up much of certain areas, including the place where Gundam and Gundam Alex were being held. Slipstream was being watched by Jazz at all times while the Autobot commander was examining the exterior. The Decepticon however, didn't have plans to try and run away at the moment. Not as long as Starscream was in charge of the Decepticons. Jetfire was still incapacitated. Wheeljack examined him and determined that his spark wouldn't go offline permanently, and did whatever repairs he could to the Autobot flyer. Though he was still damaged, and wouldn't be moving for a while. Optimus Prime patrolled around, checking up on everyone as well as lending his aid to those in need.

Meanwhile, the starboard hangar was where Ange was sleeping, snoring as she was in the pilot seat of Villkiss, resting her head on the side of the Ragna-mail. A small slab of metal fell from above and bounced off the Ragna-mail before hitting the ground. The sound of metal hitting the floor caused Ange to stir. The Norma grumbled as she slowly opened her eyes and sat up. Though she stretched her arms and yawned, Ange's eyes were still half lidded like she was trying to go back to sleep.

"You look like you're still asleep." Amuro walked over to the Ragna-mail and the barely awakened Norma. He was also holding a sandwich on a plate.

"Heeeey…" Though half asleep, Ange was up enough to at least greet the Newtype. "You're up early…"

"If you think that, then you should see the Autobots," he replied. "They don't seem to sleep after all, so they've been working ever since last night without a break."

"Oh, is that right, huh…? Well they are robots…" Ange leaned back in her seat. "Anyway, what's with the sandwich?"

"Pamela made these for us. The ship crash was recent, so she managed to find a lot of things that were both in good condition and not expired. They're pretty good too. You should eat something since you're up now."

"Does it look like I'm fully awake? But it here."

Amuro sat the sandwich down on top of the Villkiss. Ange grabbed it and yawned before she started eating with her eyes barely opened. "Huh. This is actually really good," she said. "I'm surprised Pamela was able to make it taste this decent considering the state of this ship. Hell, I'm even more surprised that all the ingredients survived the crash."

"I was as surprised as you are," Amuro replied. "Then again, we haven't eaten since we've arrived."

"Yeah you have a point…" Ange yawned, again. "Dammit. I really don't wanna get up. Between the fire fights and the stress of a bomb blowing us all to pieces, my ass is just burnt out."

"You've been working in overdrive too. Without Nu Gundam, I couldn't join in and help you. And I haven't had a chance to check on Gundam or test out the Alex."

"Oh yeah… those…"

Both Gundam and Gundam Alex were standing upright, still in the same spot as the Autobots were working on dismantling parts of the warship.

"They're Gundams too, like your Nu Gundam back at Arzenal, right? They look old compared to yours."

"They are. Gundam was the first of its kind, and the first mobile suit I piloted during the One Year War between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. And that was fourteen years ago."

"Fourteen? You don't look a day over twenty-five. How old are you?"

Amuro smiled. "Thank you. I'm actually twenty-nine now. I was fifteen when I first piloted Gundam."

"A child fighting in a war, huh…"

"You'd be surprised how common it was. Both sides had resorted to having children fight."

"It's not like I'm any different. I'm only sixteen. Making children and young teenagers fight… It's more common than you think in such a shitty world." Once again, Ange yawned. "So what about the other one? The Alex, or whatever."

"The Alex was supposed to be a replacement when my Newtype abilities exceeded Gundam's capabilities, but the war ended before it was finished."

"Newtype? What are they?"

"Think of a Newtype as a human whose body has adapted to the conditions of outer space. Our perception and awareness increases, similar to having a sixth sense. Though, there's still a lot about Newtypes that we're still discovering."

"Sounds like your kind must be popular where you're from."

"Hardly. Most people are either afraid of our abilities or they seek to use us as tools and weapons for war."

That statement made Ange wake up a little. "Sounds like how people treat us Norma. We were meant to fight to protect those ungrateful bastards, and stay the hell away from their kingdoms and cities."

Amuro nodded. "People found a way to control Norma, just like they did with Newtypes. Whatever our purpose was doesn't matter to them."

Ange took another bite of her sandwich. "Well, you do know what your purpose is, right?"

"Hm?"

"If Newtypes were made for something greater, then I suggest you try and get other Newtypes together for that purpose. This probably won't make any sense to you, but the reason Norma exists is because of human genetics naturally defying the will of a smug, narcissistic asshole."

Ange was right. Saying it out loud sounded extremely weird and made no sense at all. Amuro wasn't sure how one could respond to that statement.

"But hey, that's our purpose. Frankly, we don't mind. I'm sure whatever Newtypes are for is much cooler than that. All that's left is for you to try and achieve that purpose like we did."

Ange resumed eating while Amuro thought about her words. "Easier said than done. Showing the world the light within the human heart, and pushing humanity towards the future, their next stage of evolution. It sounds impossible to do in just my lifetime."

Meanwhile, after making breakfast for Ange and Amuro, Pamela took a look around the warship and found an old fishing rod, probably belonging to one of the soldiers aboard. Even though she wasn't sure how they'd like fish, she decided to head outside and do some fishing regardless. Setting food aside, she found fishing to be very relaxing as she stood on the edge of the island by herself.

Pamela hummed as she placed a bread crumb on the fishing hook, unable to find any actual bait. She reeled her arms back and casted the rod to the ocean, watching as the hook entered the water with a "Plop!" She sat down on a nearby rock and waited for something to bite, not caring what exactly bites. As she kicked her feet back and forth, the woman felt extremely relaxed as the hair blew gently in the wind. She let out a sigh as her smile started to fade away. There was clearly something on her mind, and whatever it was, it bothered her.

"…Huh?" Pamela heard something behind her, and turned her head around. "Oh!" Heading past her was Optimus Prime, who was still patrolling around the islands in his alt form. She turned herself around and signaled for the Autobot leader to come over. "Optimus Prime! Over here!"

Optimus slowed down when he heard her voice. Noticing Pamela, he turned to the left and rolled towards her fishing spot. Suddenly, Pamela felt something tug on the fishing rod, making her turn back around to get a good grip on it. The Norma held onto her fishing rod tight as she reeled in her catch. As Optimus transformed, Pamela managed to reel the rod in all the way, revealing a small trout at the end of it.

"Aww, it's so tiny~" she giggled. "I know I should be looking for something for the three of us to eat, but I just can't bring myself to keep the little guy." Pamela carefully unhooked the fish and put it back into the ocean. She looked up at the Autobot leader kneeling down beside her. "Oh, Optimus. I know you're from another planet and all, but have you ever tried fishing while you were on Earth?"

"No, I have not." the Autobot answered.

"I see…" Pamela giggled as she casted her rod back into the ocean. "I would invite you to come join me but… I don't think there's a fishing rod that's your size."

"That's alright. I have other duties to attend to around the ship."

"Optimus, even you Autobots need to take a break every now and then, right? You've all been working so hard since last night while we were sleeping. Even if you aren't like us, that's not good for you. Sometimes, you just need to take a break and unwind, recharge your batteries, and relax. Surely you can relax every now and then, right?" Pamela began reeling her rod back in after feeling a tug. "We can't have our leader get burned out after all."

"I suppose you're correct. However, with the impending danger of our combined enemies and the current state of your home Arzenal, my priority should be-"

"I know, I know. But if you take a moment to clear your head, you'll be able to work even better once you're refreshed. After everything you've done for all of us, you deserve it more than anyone." Pamela reeled in her latest catch. Another trout that looked slightly smaller than the last one. "Aw… This one's even smaller." She placed the fish back into the ocean and faced Optimus. "So what do you say? Will you sit out here with me for a few minutes?

"Well…" Optimus thought about it. He wanted to decline and continue working, but he could see that Pamela had a point. Even the leader of the Autobots could use a break every now and then. "Alright. I shall stay for a few minutes."

Pamela smiled as the Autobot leader sat down on another formation of rocks beside her. Placing another bread crumb on her fishing rod, she casts it into the ocean a third time. The Norma let out a relaxed sigh.

"You know…" she said. "Sitting out here without any distractions… it really gives you time to be lost in your own thoughts. You think about things that you never would've had time to dive into with your daily routine. The conversations a person could have with themselves… they're far longer and more complex than any book or piece of writing you'd ever encounter. It's strange really. Even to me, my own mind is an enigma sometimes."

"Were there any thoughts in your mind that stood out to you?"

"There was…" Pamela laid back against the rock, looking up to the sky. "Sometimes, I wonder if I've been doing enough to carry my weight after everything that's happened… Without the command center, I feel like I've just been a burden. All I can do is run, hide, and hope that nothing bad happens while you, Ange, and the others are fighting to protect us. I know, I'm just a communications officer, but… Hikaru… Olivier… and everyone else… It feels like I can't do anything to help and protect them. Norma are like family to me after all, especially since I am one."

"It is only natural for you to want to protect those you call family. Yet, I don't believe any of them see you as a burden."

"That won't change the fact that it's how I feel. It's the reason I wanted to come along so badly. I wanted to see if I could be any help to all of you." Pamela sighed. "And all I did was manage to make things worse. Something bad could've happened to Amuro and Cliffjumper because of my foolishness. I couldn't do anything to prevent the ship from blowing up, even though I was there in the engine room. I haven't done anything to help anyone, and I just ended up relying on everyone to protect me." Pamela started standing up, tightening her grip on her fishing rod. "I don't even know why I came here… so much for wanting to help. The moment I stepped up, I got shot down like it was nothing… All I want is to be useful to everyone, but I can't even accomplish that. All I can do is make mistakes!"

Letting her anger get the best of her, Pamela cocked her arm back and threw the fishing rod out into the ocean. Optimus extended his arm and caught it before it could fall in, bringing it up to Pamela again. The Norma was breathing heavily as she slowly reached for the fishing rod.

"Sorry…" the Norma apologized. "I just…"

"No matter the situation," Optimus started to respond to her rant. "All of us, man, Norma, or machine, will make errors and mistakes, regardless of our knowledge. Those mistakes are not meant to be constantly lamented. Instead, use them for learning."

"For my learning…"

"The mistakes of your past are meant to teach you. The lessons you learn will be used to forge your future. Amuro and Cliffjumper hold no animosity for what happened, and the three of you survived. Think about what must be done to ensure you can improve from this. What actions you can take should that situation happen again."

"Even if neither of them died, can I really learn from this?" Pamela looked at the ground. "Can I really improve? Is it not too late?"

"It is never too late to begin learning. You have your allies to help you grow. If it is them you wish to aid, you must also allow them to aid you. There is no need for you to try and play the hero alone, lest in the end, you were to instead become a memory, a martyr in your quest."

"You're saying it's not a bad thing for me to have to rely on others all the time?"

"That is the source of the strength you will use to grow. Using the same courage you had to come out here with us, and combining that with the support of those around you, you can become the hero that you want to be."

Pamela started to smile as she held the fishing rod to her chest. "Optimus… Thanks. I don't know why I couldn't figure out everything you said on my own… But I guess that is part of the problem. I have a lot to think about now that I've had the chance to talk with you."

"If you ever require my opinion on anything that troubles you, I will do my best to provide assistance. Furthermore… Once we've settled matters with the warship, perhaps we could create a fishing rod for someone of my size."

Pamela giggled. "That would be nice."


"…It's quiet."

Salia strolled through the halls of Arzenal's dorms. The Arquebus pilot hadn't been up for very long, but she was already out of bed and dressed in her normal uniform. To her, everything felt quiet… far too quiet. Granted, it was still early in the morning, something just felt off to Salia. She's had this feeling ever since her encounter with the girls last night.

"Not a peep from anyone yet…" Salia said as she looked around. "It might be early, but I can't be the only one who'd wake up at this time. I'll just have to silently check up on everybody."

Salia made her way towards the rooms of the other girls. She started with Ange and Momoka's. The Norma slowly creaked open the door and peeped inside, looking for the human maid. She wasn't as surprised as she should be when she saw Momoka was nowhere in sight. Her bed wasn't made, but it looked like it hadn't been touched not once during the night.

"I thought so…"

Closing the door, she proceeded to do the same to the other girls. She moved on to Zhao Mei's room, where the situation was the same. Upon opening the door, she covered her nose. The smell of someone who constantly works with Para-mails was strong. As she checked the room, the situation was the same. No Mei, no sign of her even coming in during the night or her usual nightly routine. She shut the door quickly as she left. Next, Hikaru and Olivier's room. She didn't have to creak the door open since Hikaru has a habit of leaving it open whenever she or Olivier aren't there. Salia walked in, and saw both beds neatly made up, something Olivier makes sure to do every morning. Walking over, she put her hand on one. It felt cold, as if there was no one laying on it recently. The other bed felt the same way. Salia walked out of the room, shutting the door.

[Cross Ange OST - Kataki Machi no Saki e]

"I took the liberty of memorizing the daily routines of the girls here," Salia thought out loud to herself. "Ange said that Momoka normally prepares another maid outfit for the following morning before she goes to bed, and always makes their beds. There wasn't a new outfit, so she may have gotten up and gotten dressed. But, Momoka's bed wasn't made. Zhao Mei keeps some of her tools under her bed, and pulls them out before getting to work. But there was nothing under there." Salia visibly gagged for a moment. "And note to self: Tell her to bathe at night rather than when she wakes up. Her room smells horrible. Those fragrant things she hangs up to mask the smell aren't working."

Salia stopped walking and leaned against the wall, right next to the door of another room. "And then there's Hikaru and Olivier. Everything I observed seemed to be normal. Hikaru would leave the door open and Olivier makes the beds. But what doesn't add up is the order that both tasks were done. Both of the beds were made up, indicating that Hikaru was up before Olivier. But with the door left wide open, that suggests she either came back to her room and left, or Hikaru left the room after Olivier. And if they left together, why wouldn't Olivier close the door?" She sighed. "Maybe I'm overthinking things. But after last night, there's no way they'd be up this early with everything so peaceful. They looked dead tired. Something feels incredibly wrong."

Salia turned and creaked open the door. Inside was Hilda's room, formerly belonging to her and Zola Axberg, the former first squadron leader. The redhead was still fast asleep, right where Salia left her after helping her on the bed. The blunette sighed.

"At least you seem fine, Hilda," she said, closing the door. "Alright. I should check on Alektra next."

Salia walked off towards Jill's room, hoping that the commander of all people would be alright. On her way, she saw something run across an intersection in the halls, moving very quickly. Surprised, she pulled out her pistol and ran up to the intersection, standing against the wall. She stepped out from cover and aimed, but saw nothing suspicious. Except for one thing. At the end of the hallway, there was a single gray cassette tape lying on the floor. Examining her surroundings, this didn't seem to be any trap. Salia walked over to the tape and picked it up, dusting it off.

"This looks like one of the tapes to that cassette player Momoka fixed." she said. "Maybe everyone did go to bed, and they all got up earlier than I did. One of them might've dropped this when they were heading out… Doesn't explain why they'd come down here though." Salia put the tape in her pocket and continued walking to Jill's room. "I'll check on Alektra quickly and then swing by the hangar."

Arriving at the commander's room, Salia peeped in, just like before. Much to her relief, Jill, like Hilda, was still asleep. Whatever was wrong, she felt as if those two were excluded. She heard Jill yawning, indicating she was waking up. Salia quickly closed the door and left. Salia walked out of the dormitories and went towards the hangar, intending on heading through the remains of the command center to reach it.

"What the…?" Once outside, she noticed something very unusual. It appeared that part of the command center had been repaired. Well, not fully. But enough of it was fixed that she noticed. Mainly, the outside was fixed, as if to give the appearance of being fixed. At the very end of the command center was the frame of a large satellite, half completed, and a communications tower, which hadn't had much progress. "What the hell is all this?" Salia wondered. "Did… Bumblebee do all of this? Were the girls helping him?"

Now that she thought about it, it's been a while since she's seen the Autobot scout. Unaware of the predicament Bumblebee was in, Salia thought that he might be somewhere else on the island, out of her field of view. She shook her head and walked towards the command center quickly.

Walking downstairs, she was greeted to the sound of a welding torch, letting her know someone was definitely here. Salia came to the doorway of the hangar, and saw that Zhao Mei, Momoka, Hikaru, and Olivier were back to work, picking up from where they left off. She kept herself hidden in the doorway as she observed the four at work. She wasn't sure exactly what they were doing, but judging by the metal Mei was welding together, she suspected that they were constructing the pieces that were being used to build the satellite atop the command center. She spotted Hilda's Glaive, or what remained of it. From the looks of it, the girls tore it apart completely, and were recycling it's parts for another purpose. But, that purpose clearly wasn't repairing the Arquebuses. A concerned Salia whistled loudly, alerting the four to her presence as she walked into the hangar.

"Um… Hey, everyone…" Salia said, warily.

"Oh, Salia. Good morning," Olivier greeted her. "Sorry, we didn't hear you come in."

"It's fine, I just got here. How long were the four of you up last night? I didn't hear any of you go to bed, yet alone wake up and come here."

"We wanted to finish what we were working on right away, " Mei explained. She stopped welding and looked back at Salia. "Don't worry. Even though we got up way earlier than usual, we got plenty of sleep for us to focus."

"About that… What ARE you doing? What happened to the Arquebus? Why is the command center looking like it's being fixed, and what's with the giant towers being built on top of it?"

"Hilda's Glaive was beyond repair after the cockpit was smashed in like that. We decided to tear it down for scrap, and decided that we would put it to good use. We got the idea for the communication towers from our mutual Cybertronian friend." While she was hiding it well, the lack of sleep was making the brainwashed Zhao Mei forget Bumblebee's name.

Salia raised a brow at the weird phrasing, and pointed it out verbally. "Cybertronian… You mean Bumblebee?"

"Yeah, him! The one and only! We were gonna use the tower to search for more allies, since we don't know how long we're gonna be stuck at Arzenal. We should try and put ourselves to good use, right?"

"Right…"

Momoka patted Salia on the back, pushing her forward. "You should help us, Salia!" she said. "The more hands, the better!"

"We wanna get this done as quickly as possible, so why not lend a hand?" Hikaru suggested.

"No, I can't…"

"Why not? Why come here if not to help out?"

Salia was taken back when all four asked her in unison. It was creepy, unnerving, she knew that something was very wrong. The girls focused on the blunette as if they were demanding an answer, here and now. Truthfully, Salia just didn't think this was a good idea. The looks on their faces made her realize that saying that would be a bad idea. In a desperation move, she sought to change the subject, hoping they'd follow suit.

"Uhh-Oh right," Salia reached into her pocket and pulled out the gray cassette tape she found in the dorms. "I found this on the floor in the dormitories. I thought one of you might've dropped it on your way out, s-so all I really came here for was to return this…"

"Ohh, I'd been looking for this one!" Hikaru exclaimed, taking the tape from Salia's hand. "I didn't realize I dropped it."

[Transformers G1 OST - Trans-Europe Express]

Salia sighed in relief as the girls seemed to calm down afterwards. They stopped looking at her and returned to what they were doing. Hikaru put the cassette tape inside of the player, and pressed play, letting the music play at max volume while she got back to work.

"You should really consider staying, Salia," Mei said. "Aren't you worried about where the others might be? Rosalie? Vivian? Everyone else? Once we complete this tower, we'll be able to search for all kinds of allies, even up in space."

"Stay and enjoy the music while you're at it," Hikaru added. "I think you're the only one who hasn't really sat down and enjoyed listening to these tapes. All the music on 'em straight up rocks!"

Salia found herself tuning out Hikaru and the others, and staring at the cassette. It was as if she could sense it… That the music player, the Decepticon Soundwave, was the mastermind behind all of this. At the same time, she felt… mesmerized by the music. It felt like all her troubles were slipping away, and her mind was going numb. All of her atte was on Soundwave's music. However, the Decepticon was unable to fully capture her. The Norma suddenly put a hand on her head and looked away from the cassette player.

"Salia? Are you alright?" The girls asked.

"S-Sorry, I was… thinking about something…" Salia replied. "A-Anyway, I have something else that I need to take care of. We can talk more about whatever this is later."

Before anybody could say anything or stop her, Salia turned around and ran back up the stairs to the command center. Olivier walked over to the staircase to see if Salia was still nearby. She didn't spot the Norma anywhere on the stairway, and assumed she must've run off immediately. Olivier looked back and nodded at the group.

"Ravage, playback." Soundwave spoke as music stopped playing. Suddenly, the girls heard Salia's voice coming from the Decepticon communications officer.

[Transformers G1 OST - Strike Force]

"I took the liberty of memorizing the daily routines of the girls here. Ange said that Momoka normally prepares another maid outfit for the following morning-"

"She's too suspicious," Mei said in a monotonously eerie voice. "She doesn't have any concrete evidence, but she's definitely onto us. If Salia isn't taken care of, she may attempt to interfere with our tasks."

"She looked like she was about to give into the music," Momoka spoke up in the same tone. "Maybe if we keep playing, she'll fall under Soundwave's control, and learn to obey."

"Laserbeak, eject." Soundwave said, ejecting the minicon in quest. "Operation: Surveillance."

Laserbeak cawed before flying out of the hangar. The four girls got back to work.


"Hilda. Hilda, wake up."

After leaving, Salia went straight back to the dorms, and entered Hilda's room. She had a suspicion and wanted to warn Jill and Hilda right away, but the former had already left her room. She immediately went to Hilda's, and shook the redhead gently, trying to wake her up. The redhead stirred slightly before realizing someone was shaking her, and waking up. Instinctively, her first move was to grab the pistol under her pistol and aim it at whoever was messing with her, prompting Salia to put her hands up and step back.

"Salia?" Hilda put her gun down and sat up. "What are you doing?"

"I had to come and warn you and the commander right away," Salia explained. "There's something seriously wrong with the others. Momoka, Mei, Hikaru, Olivier, they're all acting strange. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I have a slight idea what the cause of their behavior is." Salia reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of earplugs, handing them to Hilda.

"What are these for?"

"If you're planning to get up, I want you… no, I need you to wear these when you leave your room, and especially if you try to go around the girls. Whatever happens, we can't succumb to the music. We have to resist it by any means necessary if we want to snap the others out of it."

"Music? What? Salia, you're not making any sense."

"I know, I sound like an idiot right now." Salia starts walking towards the door. "Once I've warned Alektra and gotten a full understanding of the situation, I'll explain everything as clearly as I can. Just trust me for now."

"H-Hey Salia wait-!"

The blunette walked out of Hilda's room, shutting the door behind her. The redhead groaned as she shifted herself to a position to get off the bed, her leg causing her pain with almost every move. Grabbing her crutches, she pulled herself up. She kept the earplugs in her hand. Hilda looked at them while thinking about everything Salia said. She sighed, but complied, and put the earplugs in.


[Transformers G1 OST - Battle Unit]

Elsewhere, Starscream made preparations for the Decepticon warship's journey towards South Africa, the place where Megatron's plan, the same plan that pulled everyone into this situation, was enacted. With the limited remaining forces on Earth, the stand-in leader was looking to use the hopefully remaining and functioning space bridges to bring the Decepticon forces on Cybertron to Earth, despite Shockwave initially refusing. Did he intend to inform Neo Zeon and the Diamond Rose Knights? Not at all. If they were present during the briefing, it did not matter to him. With the limited aid that both sides could give to the Decepticon cause, he found their presence to be an annoyance.

Starscream made his plans known to the rest of the Decepticons. As he expected, not everyone would be on board right away.

"Leaving this area?" Onslaught asked in protest. "Starscream, now isn't the time for us to take the Nemesis and leave. We haven't received any word from Soundwave. And Slipstream is still-"

"Soundwave already made his true intentions clear when he left the Nemesis," Starscream replied. "That fool clearly has no intention of coming back. And Slipstream is merely a deserter, just like the Constructicons. If I had access to the Nemesis' space bridge, I would use that instead. But until we can get Shockwave to repair it, we'll have to do things the hard way. I've already sent Hotlink and Red Wing to scout ahead. We've been picking up an unknown signal in that direction, and I don't want to fly right into an Autobot trap."

"We won't be flying anywhere without the sufficient Energon." The Combaticon Swindle stated, approaching the two Decepticons with Skywarp and Thundercracker not far behind him.

"Is there a problem with our current supply of Energon?"

"The problem is that we don't have enough of it. The Nemesis is gonna run out of fuel before we make it all the way back to Africa. And then we'll be stranded in the middle of the ocean. You're gonna have to put a pin in your plans."

"And you're going to have to start searching our surroundings for somewhere we can generate a new Energon supply, Swindle. Take a team of Decepticons and explore with a dropship."

"Where are we supposed to start?" Skywarp asked. "We're in the middle of nowhere."

"I doubt we'll just find a human power plant or something," Thundercracker added. "Plus, we need Soundwave to generate a mass amount of Energon cubes."

"Actually we won't have to worry about that," Swindle said. "I've also got some good news and bad news."

"Then you should've said that from the beginning." Starscream said. "Start with the good news."

"I managed to locate a large power source nearby our current location. Human's call this place 'Singapore' I believe. There's Decepticons down there too."

"And the bad news?"

"Well… It's Octane."

Starscream blinked, and then let out a loud groan. Onslaught also looked exasperated.

"Octane, that vile Decepticon," the Combaticon leader said. "You expect us to go to him for Energon? I'd rather try towing this ship across the ocean by myself."

"Hey, I don't like the guy as much as the next 'con," Swindle replied. "But when it comes to Energon, you know Octane is the one Decepticon that can locate a fuel supply, no matter where he is. Says he's sitting on a large stack of it too."

"As much as I detest the idea of going to him for supplies…" Starscream said. "The Nemesis is a necessity, and I can't have it crashing into the ocean." The Decepticon leader walked off to the control room. "But I don't intend to play his game. Inform everyone that we're changing course. We're going to pay Octane a little visit… And not a very friendly one."


Almost an hour's past since Ange, Amuro, and Pamela all awoke. Optimus Prime had put a pause to the ongoing repairs of the unidentified warship, and called almost all of the allied forces on the islands to a meeting. The only Autobots missing from this were Jetfire, who's still out of commission due to injuries, and Jazz. Optimus informed his right hand man of everything beforehand, and assigned him to keep an eye on Slipstream. Despite helping them, she's still a Decepticon at the end of the day. Optimus doesn't want her to know more than she should, and he doesn't want to give her any opportunity to take off and rendezvous with Starscream while they're all underprepared.

With Jazz and Slipstream nowhere around, Optimus and everyone else gathered in front of the warship, the Autobot leader and Wheeljack standing in front of the rest of the force.

"First, I would like to congratulate each and every one of you," Optimus started speaking. "Though we may have lost good comrades in this operation, we made sure their sacrifices were not in vain. This warship has come under our control. Rich with resources and still functioning, I have decided that this will become our new base of operations. Should the Decepticons launch another attack on Arzenal, that island base will not stand. That is why I have had Wheeljack examine everything we could find about this vessel, and prepare it for our benefit."

"Did you manage to figure out why the ship's full of things that we're all familiar with?" Ange questioned. "The Para-mails, Gundams, and not to mention everyone we found that were already dead."

"Wheeljack's digging has uncovered many answers, and has also led to more questions."

As Optimus spoke, to everyone… It looked as if he felt uneasy about the information that he was getting ready to reveal.

"Well? Don't keep us in suspense, Optimus." Sideswipe said.

[Transformers Galaxy Force OST - Remains of Sadness]

"Further searching has proved what we all assumed to be true," Optimus explained. "This warship that we found was indeed… a prison ship. Autobots, Decepticons, and humans alike were its prisoners. More than likely, both friends and foes of us all were aboard. Some were executed by the group behind all of this. Others appear to have rioted, and attempted to take control. Judging by the design, this ship journeyed through space before entering Earth's atmosphere, and it was at that time that the prisoners fought." Optimus turned and faced the Autobot scientist. "Wheeljack shall explain in more detail."

"Right," Wheeljack stepped up and began displaying projections in front of the group, starting with detailed diagrams of the warship. "The name of the warship that we've commandeered is the 'Throne'. Even though it was being used as a prison, it's more than capable of being a front line battleship. According to the mission logs, it was transporting prisoners found off planet to a base located on Earth." The projection changed, showing several blurred camera shots of prisoners breaking out and soldiers gunning them down while calling for reinforcements. "About two hours after atmospheric re-entry, the prisoners attempted to take over the ship. The result was that they crash landed, and the Throne was rendered immobile. All of this happened about one week ago. It appears that there were very few survivors, and any that made it out of the crash were found and killed. The force that owned this ship must've been repairing the comms the whole time, which is why they were still here after a week passed. And that brings us to where we are now."

"Did you manage to find anything else?" Amuro asked. "Who's the organization that's behind all of this? What is their goal for hunting us down?"

"Unfortunately that information is still ambiguous. When we were on the ship's bridge, one of their soldiers snuck up on us and shot everything in sight, especially a lot of their internal storage systems. After the ship's self-destruct sequence had been stopped, I spent hours trying to salvage whatever data I could. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything relating to this group's name or anything."

"Oh, I see." Cliffjumper commented. "So whoever that person was, they fired those shots to make sure we couldn't find out their name or any other important data."

"That's the neat thing—That has nothing to do with that info being gone."

"What?"

"Wait, what do you mean?" Ange questioned.

"I'm saying that the damage done to the bridge didn't have anything to do with that." Wheeljack replied. "I was able to save quite a lot of data despite the damage. But as I was searching, I noticed something. It felt like there wasn't any information about this group in the ship's database. It was as if it was wiped clean of anything that would give us a clue about their identity, and I think that was done before we even arrived, possibly before the crash. Whoever these people are, they want to remain anonymous."

"So there wasn't anything majorly important in the Throne to begin with?" Sideswipe asked. "Then why did someone go through the trouble of trying to destroy it?"

"Now hang on, I didn't say all of that. Take a look for yourself. This is some data I was able to find in the salvaged bridge."

Another projection appeared. This one took everyone by surprise, excluding Optimus and Wheeljack. It was a large table that contained a list of people from each of their universes. Autobots, Decepticons, members of the Earth Federation, Zeon, organizations like Karaba and the A.E.U.G, dozens of Norma, DRAGONs, and even citizens of the Empire of Misurugi. All of this was located inside of that prison ship, the Throne.

"Wheeljack…" Amuro spoke. "What the hell is all of this?"

"If I had to guess…" the Autobot replied. "This is the information they didn't want us to get our hands on. They have records on a lot of us. Names, faces, whether they know our location or not. That's the gist of each profile. There's a lot of stuff that's missing, but there's enough here that we should be worried."

"You're saying they know who the majority of us are?" asked an Autobot grunt.

"I haven't had the chance to go through every profile, but I think every Autobot here is on this list. At the very least, I know I'm up here."

While Wheeljack answered questions, Ange, Amuro, and the others continued looking at the infinite scrolling list as it cycled through dozens of profiles. Everyone was watching, hoping that their friends and loved ones wouldn't show on the list. And if they did, they hoped they were alive. A mix of reactions went through everyone's heads as one after another, names that they recognized were shown in the records. Even their own profiles were shown, as Wheeljack predicted.

"But the point is," Wheeljack continued. "This has to be what they didn't want us to find. Even if we didn't learn anything specifically about their organization, we at least have a list of people they'll probably go after."

"If that's the case then we should try and use this list to reunite with as many of our friends as possible," Pamela said.

"That brings us to our current situation," Optimus said, taking over. "In the condition our forces are in, I am afraid that it will be some time before we can pursue our allies. Even after we rendezvous with the forces at Arzenal, we will not be able to move until we've finished overhauling the Throne. We lack the manpower to get this done in an efficient time period, and therefore the Solomon Islands are going to become a temporary base. Now, our focus should shift on getting in contact with Arzenal. However…"

"None of us are able to contact the island, right?" Sideswipe asked. "Think it's because we're too far away?"

"I don't think that should be an issue." Wheeljack answered.

"But then again," Ange commented. "Wheeljack could only perform a quick fix on Arzenal's communications. There's a chance that wasn't enough to keep in contact."

"Ange may be correct," Optimus said. "My other concern is that Bumblebee is also silent. We haven't been able to reach our fellow Autobot as well."

"I'm sure the others are just fine," Pamela replied. "All we need to do is take the dropship and pick them up."

"I'm afraid that's a negative," Sideswipe said. "That last battle did a number on it. It'll take too long to get it up and running again."

"O-Oh…"

"I'll go." Ange said. "I'll take the Villkiss and let them know what's up. Besides, they still have the spare dropship. Bumblebee can pilot that here."

"I'll need to bring back Nu Gundam anyways," Amuro said. "I'm coming with you."

"Let me come along too!" Pamela suggested.

Ange sighed. "You know the Villkiss is a one seater right? The trip back to Arzenal is going to be a pain with all three of us on one Ragna-mail."

"Oh, that's right. And Jetfire's still inactive so we won't be able to ask him."

"Don't worry," Sideswipe stepped up and pointed at himself. "I'll get you there."

"Sideswipe?" Ange raised a brow. From what she knows, Sideswipe's alt form is a sports car, not a fighter jet or something that can fly.

"You're not planning to swim all the way back are you?" Amuro asked.

"And the Villkiss isn't made for carrying giant robots." Ange added.

"Of course not." Sideswipe answered. "We're gonna fly!"

"How?"

The Autobot turned around and pointed at the device on his back, something the three never paid atten to. "My jetpack should get me from here to Arzenal easily. I can even carry the three of you if you want."

"Woah, you have a jetpack?!" Pamela responded, surprised.

"Are you sure you'll have enough fuel to get there?" Cliffjumper asked.

"I'm fueled up on Energon and ready to go at any time," Sideswipe replied.

"Good." Ange gestured to Amuro and Pamela. "Then you can carry these two back to Arzenal. I think I'd prefer to fly on the Villkiss. No offense."

"None taken."

Sideswipe turned and faced Optimus. "This alright with you, Optimus?"

The Autobot leader nodded. "Alright. I shall leave the rendezvous in the hands of you four."

"Don't worry. We'll be there and back before you know it!"

[Transformers Cybertron OST - Autobots! Roll Out.]

Moments later, the group gathered at the edge of the island facing in Arzenal's direction. The Villkiss was in Flight Mode, Ange ready to take off at a moment's notice. The three Autobot grunts were holding the Ragna-mail up, trying to act like a makeshift catapult. Sideswipe held Amuro and Pamela in his hands, jetpack on and ready to take off. Of course, Slipstream was also present when the four were getting ready, still in close proximity to Jazz as ordered.

"If you run into any communication issues on the way, let me know when you get back," Wheeljack said.

"Roger that." Sideswipe replied.

"I don't think 'Autobots, Roll Out' wouldn't be an appropriate send off this time," Optimus said.

"Yeah, that definitely won't work," Ange said, thinking. "How about… something like, 'Everyone! Launch!' Or something like that." She said that in her best Optimus Prime impression.

"Hmm… I believe that just might work." Optimus held his hand out commandingly. "Alright everyone. Launch!"

On command, Villkiss' engines fired up. The Autobot grunts threw the Ragna-mail towards the ocean, Ange using the momentum and acceleration to fly upwards and towards Arzenal. Sideswipe activated his jetpack. The thrusters blew smoke before the combusting fuel came out as flames, sending the Autobot and the two in his hands after Ange. Optimus and the other Autobots stood by and watched the quartet head towards Arzenal, unaware of what awaits them at the Norma's base.


[Transformers G1 OST - Teletraan 1]

One hundred fifty minutes was all that remained until the makeshift Thermal Detpak would explode, and take Bumblebee with it. With the hypnotized Momoka, Zhao Mei, Hikaru, and Olivier all hard at work, and Decepticons allowed to nearly roam free. In such a short time, the communication system and satellite Soundwave set up was operational. Not finished, but it would work. The communications officer was inside of the command center, still in his alt form due to the size restrictions.

With the way that it was set up, Soundwave was connected to the communication systems from in that room. It was impressive that with what little construction has been completed, the strength of the communications network was greater than expected. The connection managed to go all the way from Arzenal into space, towards Cybertron. The communications officer made a connection to a specific location; Shockwave's Lab.

"Connection established." Soundwave said. "Communication incoming."

"Starscream informed me that you were not aboard the Nemesis," Shockwave's voice could be heard coming from the comm system. "While I cannot confirm your location from here, I am positive that this is the real Soundwave, yes?"

"Correct. What is your current status? Have you learned of Lord Megatron's whereabouts?"

"Negative. I'm afraid that the situation on Cybertron has changed. The Autobots stationed here are no longer the only threat. I've been forced to recall Acid Storm and Nova Storm from their search and back to Cybertron via Space Bridge. If all of this keeps up, Ion Storm will be called back as well."

"Have you been able to confirm the identity of this threat?"

"That is also negative. However, I believe they may be human. I've had Lugnut steal a few of their robotic suits. They're currently in my laboratory, which I've only recently been able to regain control over. It's quite vexing to know that of all things, an army of humans has Decepticons on the defensive."

"The disappearance of Lord Megatron has most likely affected the morale of our forces on both fronts."

"Starscream was adamant that I send reinforcements. What is the situation on Earth?"

"With Starscream in command, several Decepticons have already left the Nemesis, and gone rogue. This includes the Constructicons, Razorclaw, Blackarachnia, Leozack, Skullsmasher, and others, including myself. Furthermore, the Autobots led by Optimus Prime have allied themselves with two groups of humans. In their absence, I have taken over their base, and intend to use it to search for Megatron as long as possible."

"You've decided to abandon Starscream and the Nemesis, I see. With Starscream's arrogance, I would say that you've made the logical choice to search for Lord Megatron. But, after the incident with the spacetime vortex, this is truly illogical."

"Elaborate."

"Without the support of a united Decepticon army, you do not have many you can turn to against the Autobots. Assuming from your report, Optimus Prime and his allies work together as a united front. With this move you've made, avoiding detection will not be possible. I suggest that if you detect Autobots returning to your location, abandon it, and return to the Nemesis."

"That shall only be the case if I do not detect Lord Megatron on Earth."

"I cannot confirm that he isn't there. That statement is logical." Explosions could be heard in the distance on Shockwave's end. "If you'll excuse me, I have another battle I must attend to… One more thing, Soundwave."

"I am listening."

"Have there been any… strange detections on any radars, be it yours or the Nemesis'?"

"Define 'strange.'"

"'Strange' as in a signal similar to what I used to spacetime towers. There's been a strange signature in the Sea of Rust and other places, similar to the signature used by me. However, I cannot investigate them at this time. If they are the exact same ones, then it would be logical to assume that there's a similar scenario on Earth, where the corresponding tower was located."

"No such signals have been detected."

"I see…" Another explosion was heard. "I must be going. Shockwave out."

The connection to Cybertron was cut.

Soundwave and his minicons were unaware of who was outside of the command center, outside of the view of any cameras. She let out a silent gasp and fell over upon realizing that Arzenal had been taken over by Decepticons, and made sure not to keep any noise as she got back to her feet and took off running, away from Soundwave, and away from the hypnotized girls.

"Oh my God…" That was all Salia could quietly say in the situation she's in.

However, just like Soundwave and the others did not seem to notice her, Salia was unaware that someone else was watching her. Somebody that's not Cybertronian.


[Transformers G1 OST - Roll For Home]

After Sideswipe, Ange, Amuro, and Pamela departed, the remaining forces on the Solomon Islands resumed working. Slipstream was kept in close proximity to Autobot forces at all times. She already figured out that she wouldn't be allowed to leave anytime soon, not with everything she knows. The Decepticon didn't intend to lend a hand in their work, and more than likely, the Autobots wouldn't want her to.

"What do you want?" She turned to face Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader approached the Decepticon seeker.

"I never got the chance to thank you," Optimus replied. "Because of your actions in aiding Jetfire, we were able to survive a plot meant to destroy us all within this ship. We would not be here this morning if it wasn't for your assistance."

"Awfully kind of you considering you're talking to a Decepticon. I doubt that's the only reason you came here. You can't exactly let me go now that I know everything that I do."

"I am aware of how unwise that would be. And yet… I sense that you do not wish to return to your fellow Decepticons."

Slipstream sighed. "Can't even let that pass by you, huh? But can you blame me? That arrogant Starscream probably couldn't give two scraps of what happened to me."

"I understand. While I cannot allow you to leave, instead, I would like to ask if you will consider joining the Autobots."

"…What?"

"As a seeker, and former seeker, you and Jetfire make an excellent team. While I wouldn't expect you to easily accept my request, I must extend the offer regardless."

"Just because I said I don't want to go back to Starscream's rule doesn't mean I wanna defect. I'm still a Decepticon, loyal to Megatron. I'm not looking to join the Autobots, who sound like they're desperate for my help at this point."

"I do not wish to admit it, but truthfully, we are desperate. Despite the warship we've obtained, we are severely undermanned in comparison to the crew of the Nemesis. I would not attempt to obtain a Decepticon's help like this if I could help it. But with the way things are now, I require as many allies as I can obtain. That includes you."

"And if I refuse? I don't think you would let me leave."

"If you will not join the Autobots, then I ask you, what do you intend to do if I allow you to leave these islands?"

Honestly, Slipstream wasn't sure. Her only option was to go rogue and hope she doesn't run out of Energon, or try and find the Nemesis and go back to dealing with Starscream. Neither of those were options she wanted to take. At the same time, she didn't have any plans to swear loyalty to the Autobot cause. Regardless of her allegiance, what mattered the most was surviving. None of that will mean anything if she dies on Earth. At this point, she couldn't answer Optimus' question.

"I can't answer that right now," she replied. "But. You know who I am. I'm not the type of girl that can't think on her feet. So I don't need you Autobots or Starscream if I'm going to make it."

"So you intend to hold out hope that Megatron is alive?"

"If you and I can make it out of that vortex, then so can the leader of the Decepticons."

"I see…"

"Unless you intend to terminate me, right here, right now."

"I do not. This is my way of repaying you for your help. As long as you remain under our watch, the Autobots will do you no harm. It'll be as if you're a prisoner of war, and will be treated as such. Once we've finished on the Solomon Islands, then we may discuss releasing you."

"Then I'll wait for that time to come."

Optimus turned around and walked away.


[Cross Ange OST - Arena]

Elsewhere, Sideswipe, Ange, Amuro, and Pamela were flying over the Pacific Ocean on their way towards Arzenal.

"It didn't take us that long to get to the Solomon Islands, right?" Ange asked. "How far are we from Arzenal?"

"At this speed, we should make it there within the hour," Sideswipe replied. "Between your Villkiss and my jetpack, I'd say we could have a race to see who gets there first."

"No thanks. I'm not in the mood."

"Something on your mind?"

"It's nothing."

What Ange wasn't talking about was the fact that the list of names from earlier was actually bothering her. It wasn't just the fact that some unknown organization had all of this information on them, in what seemed like only about three weeks no less. The part that alarmed Ange the most were the statuses of several people she knew. The one that caught her attention the most; Salamandinay, as well as multiple DRAGONs. Nobody could confirm the legitimacy of the list, but Ange's mind was racing as to what could be true.

Recalling the list, she was worried mainly about its contradiction when it came to Salamandinay. Her status was listed as "DEAD", the first thing to make Ange's heart feel like it almost stopped. But looking further made her confused. Despite the first thing she noticed, when it came to her last known location, the word "UNKNOWN" was written in all capital letters.

"I don't get it…" Ange thought as she flew. "How the hell can they say Salako's dead, but they don't even know where the hell she's at? One of those things isn't true… and I damn sure hope it's the part of her being dead that's wrong. And even setting that aside…"

There was one other thing on Ange's mind. Before learning everything she did, she couldn't help but think back to the fight outside the Throne earlier. Chances are, they would've been done for, had that unknown mobile suit not appeared out of nowhere. Even though she left to stop the warship from exploding, the mobile suit did not stay after the battle. It hasn't been seen since, and it bothers Ange.

"What the heck was that blue mobile suit's deal?"

"She seems like she's lost in thought," Pamela said.

"It's probably because of everything we've just learned," Amuro replied. "Frankly, it's still on my mind too. That's not something you can just hear and process in an instant. Ange's just concerned, that's all."

"Well I don't blame her." Sideswipe chimed in. "I don't like the idea of me or any Autobot being on the list of some secret organization. I can only imagine what Bumblebee and the others will think when they hear about this."

"Hey, Amuro." Ange spoke up, calling out to the Newtype. "If I were to try and… describe a mobile suit to you, could you tell me about it?"

Amuro wasn't sure why she was asking this now, but he didn't have any reason to say no. "I can try to."

"For starters, it didn't look like it was a Gundam. Part of it was colored blue, and the rest was… grey, I think. If I remember correctly, I think I saw the letters 'M.Z.' written on one of its shoulders. It came in riding some weird platform and had a shield. Both of those got blown up. Sound familiar?"

"Unfortunately, that doesn't narrow it down much. The only thing that I can gather from that is that the mobile suit showed up on a Base Jabber."

"What is that?" Pamela asked.

"They're hovercrafts designed for carrying a mobile suit. That way, it can cover long distances in a stable manner, and saves fuel. The mobile suit itself can control it as a bonus. The mobile suit Ange's talking about must've been using one. Although it sounds like it was destroyed during the fight at night, wasn't it?"

"It was." Ange answered. "Anything else?"

"From the sound of it, chances are it's just a mass produced mobile suit. It'd be hard to tell which one from just that description."

Ange sighed. "Sideswipe, you saw it too, didn't you? Do you remember anything else?"

"Not anymore than you do, other than it saved us back there." Sideswipe replied. "Sorry."

"Maybe it'll come back to the islands," Pamela commented. "From the sound of it, it's friendly. Maybe whoever's piloting it will come back to the island to help us out."

"I hope it's friendly." Ange said. "Honestly, I'm not one-hundred percent sure. But we'll worry about that later." The Villkiss sped up. "Come on, let's get to Arzenal already.

"Right behind ya!" Sideswipe boosted after Ange with his jetpack.


A little over two hours remained before the thermal detpak was scheduled to explode. Bumblebee was still chained in place, unable to move and remove the detpak to save himself. With his comm sabotaged and the majority of Arzenal's staff under Soundwave's control, the only thing he could do was wait and hope that Optimus and the others show up to save the day.

For a moment, it seemed like that would come true. Not in the form of Optimus Prime, however.

After finding out Decepticons have taken over, Salia started planning out her next move. She wanted to figure out where Bumblebee was as soon as possible, praying that he's still functioning. She began searching while avoiding all of the girls that she knew were mind controlled. And eventually that search led her to the bottom of the island, the beach at the base of Arzenal. The woman was hiding in the doorway as she secretly observed her surroundings. Salia went wide eyed when she saw the captured Bumblebee. She stepped out into the open, aiming her pistol despite knowing it might not have any effect against a Decepticon. Seeing the cost was clear, she ran over.

[Mobile Suit Gundam OST - Pathetic, But Decisive]

"Bumblebee!" she cried out. "Bumblebee!"

"Salia?" The Autobot scout noticed the Norma running towards him, and felt relieved. "Boy, am I glad to see you! You're not mind controlled right?"

"I'm not, I swear." Salia stopped running when she reached one of the chains around Bumblebee's foot. "Hang on, I'll try and see if I can get you out of these chains. We need to stop those Decepticons and-"

Salia was cut off when a bullet from a pistol struck the side of the island, making her stumble back to avoid any more shots. Salia tried to hold up her own pistol, but wasn't given the opportunity.

"Sorry, I cannot allow you to do that, Salia." The Norma was surprised when she saw who the gunshot came from. Jill was walking up to Salia with a gun in hand, and aimed at her. "The Autobot is to remain in chains until his time is up."

"Alektra?!"

"Oh no, he got to Jill too!" Bumblebee exclaimed.

"I was looking everywhere for you. But it looks like they got to her first…"

"Looks like we missed one." Suddenly, Rumble came sliding down the side of the island, and aimed a blaster at Salia as she turned around. "Sorry missy, but Bumblebee's not going anywhere."

"Son of a…" Salia tensed up.

"Zhao Mei said you might be a problem," Jill said. "I don't know how you've been able to resist us for so long but that ends now." The commander noticed something about Salia. "Are those… earplugs?"

"Shit…!"

Jill started walking towards Salia. "Out with them, else I'll take them out myself."

Salia was now between a rock and a hard place. Jill was in front of her, with the intent of making sure that she gets mind controlled. And Rumble was behind her, and could take her out with one shot if she ran. She could never save Bumblebee in these conditions. The Norma was shaking as she had no idea how to get out of this situation.


In the command center, Soundwave was still monitoring the comm system, and suddenly picked up on an approaching signature.

"Autobot alert," he said.

[Transformers G1 OST - Autobop]

As if he were summoning the mind controlled girls, Soundwave began broadcasting music across the island.


The music being broadcasted across the island wasn't the only thing that was heard. In the distance, the sounds of Sideswipe's jetpack and Villkiss' thrusters could be heard, even from those on the beach. Salia noticed that it distracted Jill and Rumble, and used that moment to act on her feet as she undid her uniform's top half.

"What the heck is that?" Rumble asked. "Doesn't sound like it's music-"

The Decepticon suddenly had the long bottom part of Salia's uniform thrown at his face, blinding him. Before Jill could react, Salia blinded her with the uniform top. Now in just her bra and skirt, Salia made a run for the doorway back upstairs. Jill threw the clothing off her face and ran after Salia.

"H-Hey! What's this thing off my face?!" With Rumble, the bottom piece wrapped around his head, and he didn't even see it coming. He was left confused as he tried to pull it off.

Salia didn't look back and tried her hardest to outrun Jill. However, the commander was too fast for her and tackled the girl to the ground. Salia and Jill rolled along the ground, wrestling as one tried to get on top of the other. Everytime Salia did, she tried to escape and was just pinned down by the commander. Once Jill got the advantage, she held both of Salia's arms tightly in her mechanical one. Salia struggled and wiggled around to break free, but to no avail. Jill reached for the girl's right ear, Salia turning her head to try and resist. The commander grabbed hold of and pulled the earplug out of her right hand, then did the same to the left. Salia managed to finally wiggle out of Jill's grip and put her hands over her ears while trying to stand up. Jill sweep kicked her and pinned her down on her stomach. She forced Salia's hands away from her ears and kept her knee in her back to keep her from moving.

Salia struggled endlessly to get free. Suddenly, she felt Soundwave's music making her mind go numb. For a moment, she ceased all resistance and started to give in to the Decepticon's hypnotism. But, she managed to save herself and snapped out of it, shaking her head. Salia moved her body around and threw Jill off, getting her arms free as well. She crawled away and then stood up, running to the ocean. Salia fell to her knees and started splashing water on her face, doing everything she could think of to keep to her senses.

"I have to keep free from his control," she said to herself repeatedly. "I have to keep free from his control. I have to keep free from… huh?"

As she splashed herself, something felt… different. It was almost like she couldn't feel the music's hypnotic spirit anymore. It had no effect on her. It wasn't controlling her.

"Water…"

Salia looked back and saw Jill walking into the ocean behind her. Quickly, she turned around and tackled the commander into the water. The two rolled around until Salia submerged Jill's head underwater. She kept her there for a few seconds, regardless of her struggling. When she let up, Jill immediately came up and gasped for air while coughing and spitting out water.

"Salia…?" Jill groaned as she looked at the relieved blunette. "What are we- Where are your clothes?"

"That's it!" Salia exclaimed. "Water's the key!"

"The key to-"

Rumble, after finally getting the clothing off his face, fired a beam into the water, nearly hitting the two. The Decepticon put away his blaster and ran after the two Norma.

"Wait, I remember," Jill said. "So that's what you meant. Water can snap us out of this musical mind control."

"I need to go and free Bumblebee," Salia said.

"Got it. I'll keep this one off of you."

Salia ran towards Bumblebee to try and free the Autobot, while Jill went to keep Rumble from going after her.

"You looking to rumble with Rumble?" Rumble taunted as Jill put her hands up. "Come on, what's a human like you gonna do against a Decepticon?"

"Get this into your head, we're Norma! Not humans!"

BONK

Jill ran up to the minicon, and threw a mean straight shot with her mechanical arm. To everyone's surprise, not only did the punch manage to make Rumble stumble back, the Decepticon actually FELT the shot.

"Hey, I actually felt that one…" Rumble said, surprised.

Salia made her way to Bumblebee in the meantime. Pulling out her pistol, her first move was to shoot the chains. The bullets had little effect, so she pulled out her knife to try and cut them, but to no effect either. Salia stepped back, trying to figure out what to do. As she looked up, she noticed the device placed on Bumblebee's chest.

"Huh? What is that?" she asked.

"Oh, that's a thermal detpak I think the girls made," Bumblebee answered. "It's set to explode in about two hours."

"It's what?!"


On the main part of the island, the group of four landed. Immediately, they noticed two things. One, the comm system that Soundwave had constructed. Two, the music that was playing over it. Sideswipe sat Amuro and Pamela down.

"I don't like the sound of that," Sideswipe said, referring to the music.

"I don't like the looks of that," Ange said, pointing to the comm tower.

The four heard beeping as Roller came rolling over quickly.

"Hey, it's Roller," Pamela said.

The Autobot drone beeps as there were several sets of earplugs in its seat. It felt as if Roller was gesturing for Amuro, Ange, and Pamela to take a pair.

"I think he's saying he doesn't trust this music," Amuro said.

"I don't blame him," Sideswipe replied. "I'm gonna go check things out with that tower over there."

Sideswipe transformed and rolled towards the command center. Amuro, Ange, and Pamela each took a pair of earplugs before heading off. Amuro and Ange went to investigate things inside the command center, and Pamela ran off towards the dorms.

"Get a load of this…" Sideswipe skid to a stop just below the comm tower on the command center. The Autobot pulled out his twin swords. "Definitely looks like Decepticon handiwork."

Before Sideswipe could get to tearing apart things, a blaster bolt nearly struck him. He heard cawing coming from behind the tower as Laserbeak and Buzzsaw started flying towards him, shooting at the Autobot. Sideswipe turned around and ran out of the way of the blaster fire. As they flew over his head, he ducked and transformed, activating his flamethrower in an attempt to catch the pair of condor minicons. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw easily avoided the flames and turned around, firing on the red sports car as he drifted out of the way.

As Sideswipe moved the fighting away, Ange and Amuro each stood on one side of the door to the command center, arming their pistols. Although, neither of them noticed that they were in camera view.

"Ange, follow my lead," Amuro said. "I'll open the door and-"

"Huh?" Ange put a hand to her ear, unable to hear him due to the earplugs.

"I said follow my lead." Amuro spoke louder.

"Dammit, I can't hear shit out of these!" Ange exclaimed, removing the earplugs. "What did you say?"

"I'll go in first. You back me up."

"Oh. Got it."

The Norma didn't think about putting her earplugs back in. Amuro and Ange turned to face the door. As part of their plan, the Newtype opened it and went in first, pointing his pistol ahead of him. Ange followed him in, watching their surroundings for anything suspicious.

"You were expected." The suspicious thing, being the lone Decepticon in the room.

"What the… That's the cassette player the others found." Amuro stated.

"I am Soundwave. I am a Decepticon." No longer needing to hide in plain sight, Soundwave restored all his original colors and displayed the Decepticon insignia on his chest for all to see.

"A Decepticon…?!" Amuro walked forward and aimed his gun at Soundwave. "You've been hiding in plain sight this whole time. Waiting for us to leave Arzenal so you could take over!"

"Correct. My acquaintance is behind you."

"Acquaintance?"

Amuro turned around, and barely avoided a gunshot that grazed his hair. Ange's face changed to an emotionless stare as she aimed her gun at Amuro. The Newtype didn't take long to react before she pulled the trigger again. Amuro grabbed Ange's wrist and forced hand up. She pulled the trigger and the bullet went straight into the ceiling. Ange tried to wrestle for both control over her wrist, but also to try to take Amuro's gun from him. Both of them dropped their guns as Amuro managed to take control of the situation, and knock Ange down.

"Ravage, eject." That's when Soundwave decided to step in, and ejected Ravage. While holding onto Ange so that she couldn't retaliate, Amuro stepped back as the panther minicon closed in on him while he was unarmed.

"Amuro!"

The man heard someone calling out to him from the stairwell. Standing plain for him to see was an injured HIlda, using her crutches to get around. She was wearing the earplugs Salia left for her, a gun strapped to her waist, and a grenade in her right hand.

"Grab Ange, and get over here!" Hilda yelled.

Holding it up to her teeth, Hilda pulled the pin out of the grenade and chucked it into the command center at Soundwave. Amuro grabbed Ange and quickly ran for the stairway, Hilda making her way down as fast as she could on crutches. Ravage growled, and grabbed hold of Soundwave before leaping out the window, just as the inside of the command center blew up. Strangely, the music didn't stop playing across Arzenal as one would think.

Once outside, Soundwave transformed to robot mode. Looking around, he noticed Laserbeak and Buzzsaw fighting with Sideswipe. The communications officer pulled out his signature gun, and ran towards the Autobot.

Inside, Amuro, Ange, and Hilda managed to get far enough down the stairs that the explosion didn't catch them. However, they were knocked down by the rumbling of the building. Hilda was the closest to the bottom, Amuro in the middle, and Ange was near the top where Amuro had let go. The Newtype got up to his feet and walked down to help Hilda up. Right above them, Ange started picking herself up off the stairs.

"Are you alright?" Amuro asked, lending a hand as he picked up her crutches.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hilda replied. She took her crutches from Amuro so she could stop having to lean on him. "What about you Ange?" She asks as she looks past Amuro. "Are you-"

Hilda didn't finish her sentence and just gasped as Amuro turned around. Ange pulled out a knife that she had on her and started running down the stairs, attempting to drive it through Amuro's chest. The Newtype reacted in time and grabbed Ange's wrist to stop her from stabbing him, and lifted her arm up, making her lose control and drop the knife. Hilda jabbed the mind-controlled Norma in the stomach with her crutches, making her groan before Amuro kicked her legs out from under her. He kicked her knife down the stairs and then picked up Hilda, surprising the redhead even more than she already was.

"What are you doing?" Hilda asked. "What the hell got into Ange? Why did she-"

"I'll try and explain later!" Amuro exclaimed. "We have to get to Nu Gundam!"

Amuro ran down the stairs with Hilda in his arms bridal style. Ange groaned as she started to pick herself up and glared at the two as they got away. She turned around and ran back upstairs.


Meanwhile, Pamela began patrolling around the dormitories, on the lookout for any of the girls, or anyone who should be here. Truthfully, she was nervous to be all on her own right now. But, she wouldn't let that stop her from pressing forth.

"Hello…?" she called out. "Hikaru? Olivier? Zhao Mei? Momoka? Hilda? Salia? Commander? Are any of you back here? There's something going on and I want to make that sure that-"

Suddenly, she heard footsteps and tensed up. No one announced themselves and made her think that it was an intruder. She held her gun in front of her as she turned the corner, only to have it pushed down to the ground. She went wide eyed as the next thing she saw was Hikaru, holding a pistol towards Pamela's face.

"Hikaru?!"

"Don't move, human."

Pamela was in complete shock. The situation only got worse when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning her head slightly, she saw Momoka walking up behind her, aiming a pistol at her back.


SKRRRRT

Outside, Sideswipe's tires could be heard burning rubber as he skids to a stop while firing his flamethrower. Buzzsaw and Laserbeak avoided it while shooting at the transforming Autobot. Suddenly, a stray blaster bolt came from the left, leaving Sideswipe to turn his attention towards the minicon Frenzy.

"You didn't think this would be a set up, did you?" the minicon laughed. Though as he opened fire, Sideswipe casually flash stepped out of his line of sight. "Hey, no fair!"

Buzzsaw and Laserbeak cawed before turning around and flying away. Sideswipe looked and saw Soundwave walking up to him, both of the condor minicons perching themselves on his left arm. Ravage was walking next to the communications officer as Frenzy ran over.

"What's the matter, Soundwave?" Sideswipe taunted while pulling out his swords. "Afraid to fight me bot-on-bot?"

"You are an unexpected interference." Soundwave replied. "Commence Operation: Termination."

Soundwave held his right hand out in a commanding gesture. Suddenly, right in front of him landed both the Arquebus Salia and Arquebus Hilda. Sideswipe was surprised when he saw both Para-mails touch down in front of Soundwave, but they aimed their rifles at him.

"Oh…" the Autobot said. "I… see what's going on here."


Back at the landing hangar, Amuro and Hilda both noticed that said Para-mails were missing, and the remains of Glaive Hilda were nowhere to be seen (not that it would matter with the condition Chris put it in.) Both of them made it to Nu Gundam, which was thankfully still outside on the landing platform. Amuro held onto Hilda as he raised the two of them up to the cockpit.

"Wait, you don't even know what's going on, do you?" Hilda asked.

"Not exactly," Amuro answered. "When we showed up, things looked suspicious so we went to investigate. And when we met that Decepticon, Ange just turned on me and tried to kill me."

As they reached the cockpit, Amuro went inside first, and then HIlda fell in afterwards, landing in Amuro's lap as he closed the door and powered on his mobile suit.

"Don't you have another seat in this thing I can borrow?"

"Nu Gundam was designed for two people." Amuro activated the mobile suit's monitors first. "Right now, we just need to get moving. We'll be safest if we're inside this mobile suit."

However, Nu Gundam didn't get the chance to take off before it was attacked. After being knocked down, Ange ran back outside and hopped in the Villkiss. Entering Assault Mode, she flew around to the other side of the command center and found Nu Gundam, just as it powered on. Villkiss fired its beam rifle at the landing platform, destroying it and leaving the mobile suits in freefall. Amuro gritted his teeth as Hilda shrieked, trying to activate the thrusters to no avail.

"Dammit, that's right!" he exclaimed. "The thrusters were damaged in that last fight. I can get airborne!"

Amuro moved the mobile suit against the side of the island, making Nu Gundam slide down in an attempt to control its fall. The mobile suit reached for its beam rifle, but was unable to find it.

"The beam rifle's missing too?!"

"That's my fault, remember?! I destroyed it when I thought you were going to kill Chris back then! I'm sorry!"

Villkiss flew around to the front and started shooting at the falling Nu Gundam. Amuro fired the vulcans to ward off Ange. The mobile suit reached the ground, still coming down as if it had crashed and shaking around the two inside the cockpit. As Ange fired again, Amuro tried activating the thrusters once more, only to perform a boosted dash instead of flying before it gave out. Left with no other choice, the mobile suit started running while the Ragna-mail continued shooting at it.

"We need to see if we can find Salia!" Hilda exclaimed.

"What for?" Amuro asked, he and Hilda grunting as one of Villkiss' beam blasts exploded next to his mobile suit.

"I think she has some idea about what the hell's going on!"


With the Norma in question, Salia wasn't having an easy time trying to figure out how to disarm the thermal detpak. While it was clear that someone her size could most likely do it, considering Zhao Mei was the one who activated it, she didn't know where to start, and the way it was designed was different from anything Bumblebee had seen.

At the same time, Jill succeeded in keeping Rumble distracted, most likely the minicon's annoyance at how agile she can be. Aside from her mechanical arm, the commander couldn't throw any other punches or attacks. She focused on staying out of Rumble's reach and occasionally knocking him down by putting all her weight onto that mechanical arm. After being knocked down once again, Rumble noticed what Salia was up to. Before getting up, he push kicked Jill with both legs, knocking the Norma away from him.

"I don't think so!" Rumble exclaimed, his arms transforming into his piledrivers. "Get ready to tumble with Rumble!"

Rumble slammed his piledrivers on the ground one after another, causing an earthquake on the beach. Jill was unable to get back to her feet and kept stumbling. Salia lost her footing on top of the Autobot scout, and nearly slipped off. She grabbed onto Bumblebee's knee joint and stopped herself, and started hyperventilating for a moment before she began pulling herself up. Rumble deactivated his piledrivers and pulled out his blaster, but Jill jumped on his back before he could use it.

"Salia!" Jill yelled out. "Get back up there! Hurry!"

"Get off me, will you?" Rumble said, just before grabbing Jill's wrists. He threw the Norma over his shoulders. Immediately she got back up to try and stop him, but wheezed and went down as Rumble threw a punch to her midsection. Rumble aimed his blaster towards Salia. Just before he could, Jill slammed her arm into his leg and threw him off balance. The shot fired into the air. The Decepticons got back up and kicked the Norma into the ocean, leaving her there in pain.

"Alektra!" Salia exclaimed. She looked back and saw what happened after the gun was fired.

"Salia, you'd better get out of here," Bumblebee said. "I think Rumble might be looking to blow us all away."

"Not a chance!" Salia kept climbing. "I'm not going to leave you!"

Rumble slowly started targeting the thermal detpak, backing up towards the ocean to get a couple more feet away. "I think two more hours might be too long to wait." He said. "Just a few more steps…"

Suddenly the sounds of thrusters could be heard approaching very quickly.

"Huh? What in the world is-"

At that moment, Nu Gundam crashed into the ocean, courtesy of being knocked down by a pursuing Villkiss that landed on top of it with its sword. The crash landing created a tidal wave that went straight towards Rumble, who tried and failed to run away and was washed away from the others.

"Alright this isn't fair!" he yelled out.

"Nu Gundam-Amuro!" Salia yelled out, signaling to the mobile suit as it escaped Villkiss' grasp. "Amuro!"

Inside, Amuro and Hilda spotted Salia on a zoomed in monitor.

"Salia, are you alright?!" Hilda called out through the mobile suit's speakers.

"Hilda too? Oh thanks goodness- Ah!" Salia gasped when the Villkiss suddenly rammed the mobile suit into the side of the island. "What the hell?! Ange, what are you doing?!

"She's not herself!" Amuro replied. "Something happened when we arrived and she suddenly turned on us!"

"What are you talking about?! I feel just fine!" Ange spoke up, refusing to let Nu Gundam escape as she held up Villkiss' blaster. "I'm just making sure none of you get in Soundwave's way!"

Villkiss aimed its blaster directly at Salia, who shrieked as she was staring right down the barrel.

"Speaking of, you're in the way!"

"Ange, DON'T!"

Amuro attempted to aid by igniting one of Nu Gundam's beam sabers. In its current position, there's no way the mobile suit could take out that arm. However, he was able to burn off the chains around Bumblebee's left arm. The Autobot scout's hand transformed into a minigun and opened fire on the Villkiss. Ange grunted, letting up and flying away as the gunshots were just outside her cockpit. Taking advantage of an opening, Bumblebee started shooting off his other chains, and freed himself from the side of the island. Salia stumbled around and fell off the Autobot, but he caught her and let her down gently.

"Thanks." Salia said, sighing in relief. "What about that detonation thing?"

"Don't worry, I'll get it off," Bumblebee said. "But first…"

Bumblebee gestures to the brawling Nu Gundam and Villkiss.


Back in the dorms, Pamela still found herself staring down the barrel of Hikaru's pistol. Momoka stood behind Pamela, making sure that she didn't make any sudden movements.

"Drop the gun," Hikaru ordered.

"A-Alright, I-I'll put it down, alright?" Pamela said. She slowly squatted down and set her gun on the ground, putting her hands up in the air as she stood up. Hikaru bent down and picked it up. "There. H-Hey listen-"

"Earplugs."

"Huh?"

Hikaru gestured to her ears. "The earplugs that you're wearing. Remove them. Now."

"Listen, Hikaru-"

Pamela yelped and stumbled back. Since she held two guns, Hikaru fired the one Pamela sat down at said girl's feet, missing but scaring her enough that she jumped back.

"Remove them. Now." Hikaru repeated. "You will be killed if you don't do so."

Pamela was scared shitless of the situation. Her friend had not only turned on her, but was threatening to kill her. She trembled. Her legs shook as tears began rolling down her cheeks. Pamela screamed as Hikaru fired the second gun twice, missing purposefully. Momoka stepped forward and pressed her pistol against Pamela's back.

"Remove them within the next ten seconds." Hikaru ordered. "Or I will kill you."

"Okay! Okay!" Pamela exclaimed in a panic. "I'll take them out! Please, just don't shoot!"

Shaking with every move, Pamela began reaching for her earplugs. Placing her hands on them, she slowly began pulling them out. As she was in the middle of all this, she couldn't help but think back to the time on the Solomon Islands. She was in a similar situation and panicked just as much when she realized that she was about to die…

"but… Hikaru… Olivier… and everyone else… It feels like I can't do anything to help and protect them."

…And her conversation earlier today came to mind. Once again, she felt helpless. She felt like there was nothing could do to help Hikaru, Momoka, or even herself. Pamela slowly started reaching for her earplugs… And then stomped on Momoka's foot while the two were distracted. The maid yelped as she jumped back and held her foot. Hikaru blinked and in that second, Pamela shoved her out of the way, grabbing her gun in the process. The only sane Norma in the dorms turned a corner and took off running down the hall.

"Not like this," she said to herself. "I have to do something!"

As soon as they recovered, Hikaru and Momoka took off after Pamela. The Norma hid behind a corner as the two began firing on her. As soon as they stopped, she ducked and rolled in the opposite direction, prompting the two to shoot again as she made her escape. Hikaru silently gestured for Momoka to try and cut Pamela off while she chased her. Both mind controlled girls went in different directions.

"I don't know what…" Pamela thought. "But I have to do something!"


On the island's surface, Soundwave moved his attention back to the communications system. With the command center blown up, he attempted to salvage his plan by manually accessing them. The Decepticon wasn't worried about Sideswipe, as he left him to have his hands full with two brainwashed Norma piloting Para-mails. Sideswipe didn't know who was in there precisely, but he knew enough not to do anything that would risk killing them. So the Autobot played a mostly defensive game, stepping out of their line of fire and defending himself with his swords.

"You know," he started to say to the two Norma. "I'm starting to think you're not the usual pilots of these two, right?"

Arquebus Hilda charged forward, swinging its battle axe vertically. Sideswipe dodged with minimal effort. Based on their movements, he could tell that he wasn't fighting Salia, Hilda, or Jill. The pilots were fighting like total amateurs. Arquebus Salia fired its sniper rifle at a much slower pace as well. Sideswipe used the inexperienced opponents to his advantage.

"Hey! Over here!"

Suddenly, the Autobot zoomed on top of the command center, right behind Soundwave. By the time the communications officer realized, Sideswipe was gone. Arquebus Hilda rushed over with an axe in hand while Arquebus Salia fired another sniper round. The Decepticon jumped out of the way as the two Para-mails accidentally damaged the communications tower. A vexed Soundwave pulled out his blaster and aimed it at Arquebus Hilda, since it was the closest. Sideswipe stepped in front of him and smacked the gun to the side, making Soundwave misfire. Holding onto the Decepticon's wrist, the Autobot grabbed him and threw him into the comm tower. Sideswipe transformed and drove off towards the edge of Arzenal. As he was expecting, the two Para-mail not only gave chase, but transformed to Flight Mode.

"Aha!" he exclaimed. "I knew it was someone else in there!"

Now in Flight Mode, the two pilots were revealed. Zhao Mei in Arquebus Salia, and Olivier in Arquebus Hilda. Sideswipe drove off the edge of the island and down the side, transforming once he reached the ground.

"Hey, Sideswipe!" Suddenly he heard Bumblebee call out, looking over to the waving Autobot as Nu Gundam and Villkiss were fighting behind

"Hey there Bumblebee," Sideswipe replied, walking over. "What'd I miss?"

Zhao Mei and Olivier fired on the two Autobots as they descended, forcing the two to jump out of the way. While everyone was busy, nobody noticed Rumble sneakily head back up the stairs to the island.

Arquebus Salia and Hilda landed, the latter being knocked down when the Vlilkiss was thrown into it. Nu Gundam walked up to the two Autobots, with both Salia and Jill, who the former picked up and gave a pair of earplugs, on its shoulder.

"Something's gotten into the two of them too, hasn't it?" Amuro asked, referring to Zhao Mei and Olivier.

"It's Soundwave's doing." Bumblebee explained. "He's been hypnotizing the girls right under our noses!"

"Get them into the water!" Salia exclaimed.

"The water?" Hilda questioned.

"It'll snap them back to their senses. The water nullifies the hypnosis effect. And neither Para-mails nor the Villkiss are waterproof."

"That sounds like it should be easy!" Sideswipe exclaimed. "Come on Bumblebee!"

The two Autobots ran towards the ocean, Bumblebee firing at the three hypnotized Norma to get her attention. Only Zhao Mei and Olivier took the bait as the two Arquebuses chased after the Autobots in Assault Mode. Ange however, saw through this, aiming Villkiss' blaster at Nu Gundam. The mobile suit braced itself, setting Jill and Salia on the ground and out of the way..

"We're gonna have to push Ange in manually, aren't we?" Hilda asked, sighing.

"She's not completely hypnotized, so she can still think for herself without acting like a robot." Amuro replied. "She knows that's a trap."


BANG

"What do I do…?!"

BANG BANG

Gunshots rang through the dorms as Pamela was still being chased by Hikaru. Only the hunter was doing the shooting. Pamela refused to return fire. Hikaru, by this time, knew that Pamela wouldn't fire. She walked towards the corner Pamela was hiding behind, pistol ready to fire.

"Hikaru, I know you're still in there!" Pamela shouted. "I'm gonna stop calling out to you until I figure out how to bring you back to your senses!"

Pamela peeped off out of cover, and barely avoided getting shot at. Suddenly, Pamela nearly froze when she turned back to see herself cornered by Momoka from down the hall. Pamela ducked as the maid fired her pistol. Suddenly, all of the girls heard an alarm going off in the dorms. The bullet went all the way to the other end of the hallway and hit a fire alarm, setting it off. The sprinklers came on across the entire building, all three girls covering their heads intentionally.

"Now I have to risk slipping as I try to run away…?" Pamela said to herself.

"Pamela?"

The blonde jumped when she heard Momoka say her name. She slowly turned around to see the maid no longer having an emotionless look. She spoke normally, holding her pistol down at the ground.

"Momoka… You're you again!" she exclaimed.

"Huh?" Momoka tilted her head, looking confused.

"Ugh, gross…" Hikaru spoke up as she walked towards the two, also looking normal as she was covering her hair with her hands. "This can't be good for my hair. I think I got some of it in my mouth… Blech!" The redhead looked over at the two. "Uh… What's going on?"


"Ready, Sideswipe?"

"Ready!"

Both Autobots transformed into vehicle mode once far enough in the water, having lured in both Arquebuses. Sideswipe and Bumblebee revved up and spun their rear tires around, creating a wave behind them. As the two Para-mails were in range, the wave was large enough that it started splashing the cockpits, making both pilots have their mechs stumble back. Suddenly, the Arquebuses fell down as the cockpits started opening.

"Stop!" Zhao Mei shouted. "Stop, stop, stop!"

"I can't breathe!" Olivier yelled.

The Autobots stopped and transformed, giving each other a thumbs up.

The Villkiss landed in the water right next to the Autobots, Nu GUndam not far behind as the two mechs locked arms, trying to push one another back. Ange knew that something was up with the water, and was trying her hardest to avoid being pushed in. Meanwhile, Amuro and Hilda are doing all they can to snap their friend and ally out of mind control.

"W-What's going on?!" Olivier asked frantically. "Why are the Villkiss and Gundam-?!"

I'll explain later!" Salia called out, running over to the two. She pulled out two pairs of earplugs and threw one at Olivier, the other at Zhao Mei. "Put these on and hop out of the Para-mails!"

Villkiss threw a punch at Nu Gundam's head, knocking it back. The Ragna-mail reached back and armed itself with its sword before flying towards the mobile suit, which countered with dual beam sabers. Amuro was doing his best not to injure the Ragna-mail, as well as Ange, if possible, which made things much harder. Villkiss stayed airborne as Ange swooped down, swinging its sword against the beam sabers. Amuro tried to ground her by firing the vulcans, but it wasn't long before that option ran dry.

"Damn!" he exclaimed. "I'm out of ammo!"

Villkiss kicked the mobile suit down into the water, shaking the two inside. As Amuro and Hilda looked up, they witnessed Arquebus Salia come from behind them, and grab hold of the Ragna-mail from the front.

"Salia's Arquebus!" Hilda exclaimed, looking over to see her Arquebus now open, as Olivier exited it. "They've managed to snap the other two out of it!"

As Ange struggled to break free, Sideswipe flew up with his jetpack and grabbed hold of the Villkiss, pulling it down.

"Get off me!" Ange shouted.

As Nu Gundam got up, it ran towards the grounded Ragna-mail from the right, Bumblebee joining it. Both of them tackled the Villkiss' legs, sending it to the ground and forcing its cockpit down into the ocean.

"Ange! Can you hear me?" Salia asked, via radio. "We're not letting you up till you snapped out of it! I know you can still speak once you're normal. Answer me before you drown!"

The group waited a moment, but didn't hear a peep. The Ragna-mail was still trying to lift itself out of the water. Salia suddenly heard gurgling noises and what sounded like Ange's voice coming from the radio.

"Ange!"

"Are you people trying to fucking KILL ME!?" the Norma screamed at the blunette. "GET OFF!"

"Let her up!"

Everyone moved away from the Villkiss as it quickly turned itself over, the cockpit opening as water poured out. Ange was coughing and spitting up water as she stumbled out of her Ragna-mail.

"Son of a bitch…" Ange said in between coughing.


Meanwhile, Pamela, Hikaru, and Momoka were all running out of the dorms. Soaked, pistols in hand, and all of them wearing earplugs since Pamela took spares from Roller. The three girls were trying to make sense of everything.

"And after we found Bumblebee unconscious, this Decepticon showed up out of nowhere!" Hikaru said, trying to explain everything that happened after Optimus and the others left. "After that, everything's just a giant blurr. The only thing I can remember clearly that's recent is seeing you a few minutes ago. Why were we pointing guns and trying to kill you?"

"I don't know why, but I think this Decepticon you mentioned must have done something to you girls. LIke hypnotism." Pamela replied.

"We were mind controlled?!" Momoka exclaimed.

"That's the only thing I can think of. And if that's the case, we need to warn Ange and the others about this Decepticon." The three exit the dorms. "But where could it be?"

"Right over there!" Hikaru pointed to the communications satellite on top of the command center, where Soundwave was making adjustments. "That's the one!"

"That's where Ange, Amuro, and Sideswipe went to investigate too… What are we supposed to do if we go that way?"

The three stepped when Roller came driving up to them from the side. The Autobot drone had a blaster mounted on his rear, and was beeping as if he was gesturing for them to hop in.

"Roller?" Pamela said. "What are you doing?"

"Woha, check out the gun on this bot, am I right?!" Hikaru stated, jumping on the back of Roller as she examined the mounted gun. "Think we can use this to destroy… whatever that Decepticon's doing?"

"Should we really be trying that on our own?"

"We have to!" Momoka exclaimed, jumping in Roller's front seat. "Come on!"

Momoka pulled Pamela in as Roller started driving towards Soundwave's project. As the Decepticon and his minicons worked, the Autobot drone looked to use this chance to get the drop on them with the girls. Momoka and Pamela straightened out in the front seat, now completely upright. Hikaru was hanging onto the mounted gun, Roller leaving her in charge. As they approached the command center, Roller beeped again.

"I think he's prompting you to fire, HIkaru!" Pamela exclaimed, the drone beeping again in confirmation.

"Right!"

Hikaru pulled the trigger and fired on the tower. She missed completely, only alerting the Decepticons to their ambush.

[Transformers Devastation OST - Soundwave]

"Intrusion detected." Soundwave said, pulling out his blaster.

"Crap, that backfired!" Hikaru yelled.

Laserbeak and Buzzsaw cawed before flying away from the communication satellite, shooting blaster bolts at Roller. Frenzy did the same. Ravage growled and ran after the Autobot drone, firing his side rockets. The girls were screaming as they grabbed onto anything in Roller, fearing for their lives as they had five Decepticons turn their attention towards them.

"Okay!" Pamela exclaimed. "Bad idea!"

Roller started zigzagging and avoiding blaster shots, Ravage's rockets just narrowly missing him as they flew overhead. The Decepticon panther was right on their tail, ready to fire again. As Roller drove straight ahead, Rumble suddenly stepped out into the open, having recently come up from the beach. Roller immediately skids his tires and makes a hard left turn. Just in time too. Rumble didn't realize what was going on before nearly being hit by Ravage's rockets.

"Hey, watch it!" the blue minicon shouted.

"Quit yapping, and start firing!" Frenzy replied.

"Rumble, status report." Soundwave said.

"Bad news, Soundwave." Rumble started explaining. "The Autobots and their friends are-"

"Right here!"

Sideswipe cuts the explanation short, flying up from the beach with his jetpack ahead of everyone else. He put his hand on the rocket on his shoulder, and fired it. Soundwave shot it down before it could reach the satellite, and jumped down to fight with the red Autobot.

"Minicons," the communication officer said to his subordinates. "Operation: Protection.".

While Soundwave engaged Sideswipe, the minicons piled onto Roller and the girls, firing away to keep the drone from getting a free shot at the communication center. Even though she didn't have a clear view, Hikaru took another shot at the tower. Once again, she missed it, and hit the remnants of Arzenal's command center.

"They can't make this easy, of course!" she shouted.

"Thanks for protecting us, Roller, " Pamela said. "But, I'm sorry. It feels like the two of us can't do anything to help out."

"I really wish the Light of Mana still worked right now!" Momoka exclaimed.

Roller was shaken up as a rocket exploded on the ground next to him, nearly causing Hikaru to fall off. The redhead hung onto the mounted gun for her life and pulled herself back up. Growling angrily, she started turning the weapon around, aiming for the cassette tape chasing them.

"Hey you overgrown black cat!" Hikaru shouted at Ravage. "Let's see if you've got nine lives!"

The redhead started shooting the mounted gun at the pursuing Decepticon. Ravage jumped out of the way of all blaster fire, and responded with rockets, which Hikaru shot down. Rolled made a harsh turn again, and went for the communications tower, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw flying above and firing. Pamela and Momoka shrieked when one of Laserbeak's blasts hit Roller, almost exactly where they were sitting. Rumble's arms transformed into piledrivers and started shaking the ground, causing part of the island to split apart and start falling, ruining some of the road for Roller to drive on. The Autobot suddenly had two wheels dangerously close to an edge as he was close to driving off. Frenzy, Laserbeak, and Buzzsaw were all targeting the Autobot drone head on. If Roller keeps going, there's no escape for them, other than to fall off. Hikaru hopped off the mounted gun and into the back seat.

"What are you doing?" Momoka asked the redhead.

"We're not shooting our way out of this," Hikaru replied, admitting defeat.

The Decepticons all fired as the girls held onto each other. Roller turned and dove off the edge, entering freefall. Thankfully, he wasn't in it for long. And even more fortunately, everyone was alright. The girls opened their eyes and saw that the drone landed in the arms of Nu Gundam, Jill, and the other Norma resting on its shoulder. All three sighed in relief.

Meanwhile, Sideswipe and Soundwave continued throwing hands. The Autobot spun around and kicked Soundwave, who went spinning into the side of the communications center. Standing back up, Soundwave fired literal sound waves from his forehead, with enough amplitude to knock the Autobot around the island. Soundwave shot at Sideswipe, who flash stepped through all of the blaster fire and swung his sword. Soundwave backdashed, barely avoiding as Sideswipe scraped the communication officer's shoulder. Soundwave held up both his arms, and fired a large sound wave, sending the Autobot flying a good distance as Sideswipe crashed into the ground. The Decepticon let out a creepy laugh before firing another one, the amplitude being too much to possibly stand against. He approached Soundwave and pointed his blaster at the red Autobot.

"Any last words, Autobot," he started asking. "Before you face termination?"

"Yeah." Sideswipe said. "Look above you."

VROOM

An engine roared as Bumblebee came sailing up the side of the island. The Autobot scout transformed and used both Sideswipe and Soundwave's heads as a stepping stone, jumping and flipping over the Decepticon.

"What?!" Soundwave said, surprised.

Bumblebee pulled out his twin blasters. Having taken the Decepticons by surprise, neither Frenzy, Ravage, Rumble, Laserbeak, or Buzzsaw could respond in time. He fired on both the communications tower and satellite, causing them to spark as Frenzy started running away from the impending explosion. Landing, Bumblebee transformed and drove away quickly. Soundwave turned around and ran to the tower, vainly trying to save it. He didn't make it, and was sent flying to the edge of the island by the explosion of the comm center.

"Nice shot, Bumblebee!" Sideswipe said, getting up and walking towards the downed Decepticon.

Soundwave recalled all of his minicons as he found himself cornered. Bumblebee and Sideswipe were now walking over to him, and Nu Gundam flew up from the side, blocking another point. Roller and the girls were back on the ground, Hikaru manning the gun to help out again. And then, the two Para-mails, Arquebus HIlda and Salia, now piloted by the girls they're named after, and Villkiss flew overhead. Soundwave's only other route was to fall into the ocean, but it's not like they couldn't chase him. However… he was oddly focused on the sky above. Specifically, he was tracking the Para-mails as they flew around in the sky above before transforming and hovering over him as well.

"Alright Soundwave," Bumblebee said, getting his attention. "Looks like you've lost, so now start talking."

"We don't know what you were planning to do with that equipment, but your plan's been foiled." Amuro stated. "We're getting answers out of you, and we're taking you prisoner."

"Escape route; Determined." Soundwave said.

"What?"

[Transformers Galaxy Force/Cybertron OST - Whisper of the Devil]

The Decepticon suddenly turned and jumped off the island, down towards the ocean. Before anyone could pursue him, they were taken back as something started to… change.

"Scan complete. Commencing adaptation."

The Decepticon's body began changing. His shoulder, normally blocky and more broad, changed to be more sleek and curved, and looked as if it had a thruster built in on the side. The sides of his arms grew slim and longer without changing shape, and sprouted wing guards. His legs became less bulky and longer, extra armor appearing over them, and wings appearing on the back.

"What in the world…?" Pamela said.

"Wait…" Salia said. "Is that a…?"

On his left arm, Soundwave's body had been modified to have a green tubing that extended through his hand, just like the freeze bullet launchers of the Arquebus. Lastly, his entire main body altered itself. While still retaining the look of a cassette player, his torso shaped itself to look more suited for an aircraft. Along with that, two large wing bits appeared on his back, pointed downward.

"Adaptation complete." Soundwave said.

"What's with the new look all of a sudden…?" Amuro asked.

"Wait a minute…" Bumblebee said. "How did he have time to…"

"Transform."

Before everyone's eyes, Soundwave transformed with his new look. Ange, Salia, Hilda, all the rest of the Norma and Momoka went wide-eyed upon seeing his new alt form.

"No way…" Ange said.

"How in the hell…?!" Hilda questioned.

"That's…!" Salia gasped.

"A Para-mail?!" Jill shouted.

Soundwave's new alt form; A custom Arquebus, mixed with features of a Cybertronian jet.

"He scanned the girl's Para-mails that quickly, and gave himself a new transformation?!" Sideswipe said, surprised.

"Frenzy, eject." In this form, Soundwave was still able to eject minicons, ejecting Frenzy into the cockpit.

"Catch you later, Auto-butts!" Frenzy laughed. "And thanks for the new getaway vehicle!"

Soundwave activated his thrusters and started flying, red fire coming out as he shot right past the Villkiss and Arquebuses, and flew off into the distance. The speed that he was going was faster than either Salia or Hilda could ever reach in their machines.

"He's getting away!" Ange said, about to transform Villkiss into Assault Mode.

"Let him go, Ange…" Salia said regrettably.

"What?!"

"We can't catch him."

As the three landed on Arzenal, everyone now watched with awe and concern. Soundwave escaped, now in possession of Arzenal technology.