Chapter 5

The labyrinth of tunnels beneath Darkmount felt eerie and oppressive with a heavy sense of foreboding that became ever more apparent to the small team of Autobots the deeper they went.

"This place is giving me the creeps," Mirage said after a time, breaking the awkward silence.

As they approached another turn, Kup held out a hand suddenly, and they all stopped, listening carefully. Faint footfalls could be heard in the distance; it sounded like a group of three, maybe four mechs. Then they seemed to stop, and a lone voice could be heard, though the words were muffled. More footsteps followed, and then quiet. Kup waved his team onward. "Come on."

As they moved down the tunnel, it started to become brighter and larger until they could see several closed doors leading into parts unknown on both sides. The only chamber that appeared to be accessible was at the very end of the hallway. Lights were on, though no sound emanated from inside; Kup continued to move ever closer, weapon at the ready, listening intently and fully on the alert. Finally, he motioned the other two to move into position, and then he quietly stepped through the entranceway and into the chamber.

It appeared to be a large, well furnished laboratory. Several tables and shelves stacked with tools and various devices filled much of the space, though it was the central bench that immediately caught his attention. He had to venture closer to confirm what he thought he was seeing. "Sentinel Prime… is that you?" Kup said, his voice barely above a whisper.

The large figure of the mech that lay strapped to the bench strained to see who had spoken. "Who is that? Well, don't just stand there – get me the slag off this bench!" he demanded.

"Well, I'll be," Kup said, stepping over several mech parts that had been discarded on the floor as he approached the prisoner. Mirage and Guzzle followed after him, and were equally surprised to see who had been captured by Straxus, of all mechs. "I never expected to find you here," Kup continued. "How'd you get–"

"Never mind that!" the Prime barked at him, as Mirage and Guzzle worked to free him from the bench. Once he was freed, he stood up and brushed away any further help, still very much irate because of what had been done to him. If he was grateful at all for their timely rescue effort, he did not show it. "Those wretched imbeciles dare lay a single hand upon me!" He began pacing the laboratory, opening drawers and throwing their contents across the room in a rage.

"Sir?" Kup spoke up above the din created by the Prime, watching him concernedly. "Sir, shouldn't we keep the noise down just a little?"

Sentinel stopped abruptly and turned to his Sergeant. "Help me find the Matrix," he said, ignoring his concern.

"The Matrix?"

"Yes! Yes! The Matrix – that deplorable Destron stole it from me!" he said, returning to his frantic search for the prized item.

Kup looked at his two companions. "You heard him," he said, gesturing, and began to look around the room for some sort of clue that might indicate to them that the Matrix of Leadership was hidden somewhere inside the laboratory.

"You know, it's probably not here," Mirage said, and then bent down to get a closer look at the small frame of a deactivated Autobot, whose spark chamber was missing. "What happened?" he said in shock, whispering the words.

Kup glanced down at the lifeless frame and shook his head sorrowfully. "Let him be. There's nothing we can do for him now."

Suddenly, several laser shots seared through the air behind them, narrowly missing Mirage. Kup reacted quickly, taking cover, while Mirage activated his invisibility.

"Watch out!" Kup shouted out, just as Guzzle took cover behind the central bench and fired back with a volley of energy bursts.

Sentinel, unperturbed by the sudden attack, brandished his sword and leaped over the bench, charging towards the open entranceway.

"Sentinel, no!" Kup tried to stop him, but it was pointless. The Autobot Prime, already angered by his recent experience, confronted the team of guards with impatience and brazenness; he dealt several strokes at the attackers with his double-edged blade, yet his weakened state caused him to succumb to their firepower within a few astro-seconds, and he collapsed to the floor. Guzzle continued his counter-attack, as Kup shot down one of the guards standing in the open doorway, before rushing forward and aiming at a second. He counted five Destrons in all; two of them had been neutralized, while a third seemed to be having trouble holding on to his weapon, which was suddenly yanked from his grip by an invisible hand and, as if with a mind of its own, turned against him and shot him in the chest. Another of the Destrons, witnessing the defeat of the others, began to run back down the hall, successfully making his escape as the Autobots managed to defeat the last Destron guard.

"One of them got away," Mirage said, as he reappeared in front of the others. "Do you want me to follow him?"

Kup pondered the situation momentarily, and then answered. "Nah, he's probably already informed the others. Help me get Sentinel to his feet." Mirage did as he was asked and Sentinel struggled to his feet.

"The Matrix… without it I am weak. You must get it back for me," Sentinel said, as the three of them helped him out of the laboratory, moving as quickly as possible.

"No time for that now," Kup said, taking charge of the situation. "They'll be back with reinforcements. Unless you want us all to die here, I suggest we leave immediately."

And before Sentinel could protest his decision, Kup and his team helped the Prime back through the dark labyrinth of tunnels and out the way they had come.

The Constructicons' large work space was relatively quiet; the only sounds were coming from Scrapper's terminal as he busily tested his latest sub-programs through a simulator. He was so absorbed in his work that he almost didn't notice the incoming alert on his com link. When it alerted him again, he sighed, stepped away from his terminal and glanced about. Realizing he was alone in the lab, he opened the channel.

"Scrapper? This is Astrotrain."

"Oh, yes. Go ahead," he replied.

"I've got a live drone. I'm going to need your help getting it into the lab for Shockwave."

His thoughts had been fully on his latest project, and he had to think for a moment on what the triple changer was talking about. "A live drone?" Then he remembered; he had been advised earlier by Soundwave to prepare for just this moment. "Oh! Of course… uh, I'll meet you outside the Tower."

"Okay. Great."

He closed the link and then hurriedly encrypted his work with a secure code before shutting down his terminal. It was probably an over-the-top precautionary measure, he knew, but the way he saw it he could not risk a non-Decepticon gaining access to his top secret project. If his data was compromised, it could result in disaster. Then he signalled to his team mates, requesting their help.

A short time later, the Constructicons were assembled just outside Kolkular's Central Tower, watching the sky as Astrotrain came in for his landing. Blitzwing and Soundwave were also with them, as was Shockwave, who had arranged for the additional help just in case the drone got out of hand. He did not want to risk even the smallest chance that it might escape and start attacking.

Astrotrain's side hatch opened as soon as he landed; he was obviously eager to release the drone from its energy prison as soon as he was given the go ahead. Scrapper guided the Constructicons into position, and they formed a semi-circle around Astrotrain, ready to capture the drone inside a net of energy so that they could immediately transfer it to Shockwave's laboratory. If all went well, they would not need the assistance of the other Decepticons standing by.

"Okay. You can release it, now," Scrapper called to the shuttle and, no sooner had he done so, than the energy bars that were holding the drone captive instantly retracted. The drone stood watching them all for a moment in confusion, as if dumbfounded by its new surroundings, but then it quickly roused to anger, staggering forwards until it was clear of Astrotrain, its arms outstretched in a desperate effort to grab hold of the first Decepticon it could reach. The triple changer quickly transformed into robot mode and backed away cautiously, taking care not to make any unnecessary sounds so as to avoid the drone's attention.

In a perfectly synchronised move, the Constructicons surrounded the drone, forming a complete circle around it. They activated their energy net between them and dropped it over the drone as soon as it was in position. The net shrank snugly around the mindless mech, securely capturing it. It struggled frantically within its net, its mangled face plate and twisted expression a haunting reminder of its deranged nature.

Shockwave observed the drone for a long moment, studying its behaviour and erratic movements until, satisfied, he turned to face the Constructicons, gave them a nod of approval.

"Let's get this thing inside," Scrapper told his team mates, and led the way into the Central Tower, the live subject securely in tow inside the net.

As the remaining Decepticons watched them go, Astrotrain walked up to stand beside Shockwave. "I hope you take good care of that thing." The purple Decepticon turned to observe him, his singular optic emitting a gentle glow that made Astrotrain think he may have been amused by his blithe remark. "I wouldn't want to pick up another, you know?" he clarified.

Shockwave kept the triple changer guessing for a few moments longer, before he finally replied. "Neither would I."

The moment Grapple and Ironhide stepped into the access tunnel, they knew that the point of entry from the outside had been compromised. Whilst they could not yet see the drones, they could clearly hear a well of dissonant sounds coming from the furthest end of the passageway; they would be forcing their way inside the repository within a matter of a few breems, if they were not stopped.

"Aw, Pits! We've got to stop them from getting any further," Ironhide said to his partner.

Grapple looked back up the tunnel, and glanced at the door that led up to the repository. "We can't let them reach our supplies. We're going to have to seal that door," he said, hurrying back the way they had come.

The two of them retraced their steps through the open doorway, which led to an elevator platform nearby. Grapple quickly activated the door seal, and then input a lockdown code so that only high ranking officers would be able to open it again.

"Think that'll be enough to hold them back?" Ironhide asked him.

Grapple shook his head, checking the construction of the metal door. "It might hold them back for a little while, but this door isn't reinforced. We'll have to reroute the containment field. Come on, we need to get to the nearest terminal," he replied, and the two of them headed toward the platform that would take them up to the repository.

Hot Rod, Blaster and Magnus crowded around the relay station in the communications center, shoving at each other to be the first to get to the equipment.

"Hey, back off! Prowl specifically sent me here," Hot Rod told his companions, pushing them away with his hand.

"Aw, come on. He sent us, too," Blaster said, defending his right to be there. "Hey, maybe Sentinel Prime will contact us?" Hot Rod looked at him dubiously. "Or Optronix?" Blaster added.

"Do you know how to turn that thing on?" Magnus asked from behind him. "Let me try."

Hot Rod shook his head incredulously. "Of course I know how to turn the thing on," he said, examining the console, before adding in a low voice, "I think."

"Here, let me–"

"No!" the cadet insisted, blocking Magnus from accessing the control panel with his frame. "I know how to do this, okay?"

"Sometime this vorn would be good," Blaster baited him.

"Shut up." Hot Rod pressed a sequence of buttons and flicked a switch. "See? Nothing to it. Now, all we have to do is monitor the air waves until we pick up something."

As the three of them watched expectantly for any incoming communication to be picked up by the powerful receiver, Hot Rod leaned back in his seat and put his feet up on the console, then indicated some empty seats nearby. "You may as well take a seat and be comfortable."

After a few moments, the two of them sat down and they began to wait, hoping to hear from other Autobots in Iacon.