Chapter 29

Agent 000 ran up and lay directly against the wall in the Decepticon hallway. Holding out his sword, he used the blade as a mirror to see if there was anyone roaming around the corner, a smart tactic that was suggested by Jack. Seeing that there was no one there, he motioned for the other two to follow as he walked out from his cover.

"Man its creepy here" Miko said quietly in a loud whisper.

"You're telling me. I was kept prisoner on one of these for months" Smokescreen said, shuddering from the memories.

The sound of footsteps approaching raised their awareness and ended their conversation. Unit One quickly hugged the wall, staying completely still as possible.

Once again, Agent 000 looked in the blade of his sword and saw three Vehicons monitoring the halls. Just as Megatron had commanded, security was extremely tight and there was a group of scouters at every turn.

"I'll take care of them" Agent 000 said quietly.

The agent moved from the wall and jumped. From their angle, Miko and Smokescreen couldn't see anything, much to their disappointment. A moment later, the agent appeared, motioning for them to follow.

"Woah" Smokescreen gasped, stepping over the mangled headless bodies of the Vehicons.

The three of them continued further down the hallway, following Agent 000's lead. Although, the agent didn't exactly know where to go either.

Kid, how do we find where the Forge is?

Try using a computer. Smokescreen will probably be able to find it.

"Smokescreen, do you know how to access the Decepticons' computers?" Agent 000 asked.

"Um, I think so. I learned some basic stuff about tech but that was about it" the rookie confessed. "But I should be able to find a layout of the ship if that'll help."

"That will do. The Forge must be stored in either their armory or their vault. If you can pull up a map and locate those two rooms, our job becomes much easier."

Unit One ran towards the front of the ship, even though the armory or vault was probably in the back. They needed access to a computer and where better than the control center itself.

Eventually, the three of them turned the corner to see four Vehicons guarding a double door. Judging by the frame work, location, and the fact that there were guards stationed outside, that was no doubt the control center.

"Alright team, once we take out the guards, we'll storm the control center. I expect a lot of resistance inside so keep your guard up" Agent 000 said. "Smokescreen, your job is to get those blueprints pulled up from one of their computers. While you do that, Miko and I will watch your backs. Ready?"

The two nodded their heads and they prepared to attack. Agent 000's heart thumped when he realized that this was the first time he led a team into battle and he was starting to second guess his commands. Should they attack straight on? Should they try to find a different room? Should they even bothering pulling up the map of the ship?

Agent 000, relax, you got this. You're doing fine. Jack reassured him.

Alright, I just don't want to get my ass kicked by Prime when we get back.

Agent 000 set up on the side and gave his team a signal. As soon as his hand shot out, they charged. Smokescreen started to shoot the Vehicons, taking out two with his blasters and catching the other two off guard. One of them tried to aim at the rookie but Miko jumped on top of him, punching his face in. The other one tried to get to the door to warn the Decepticons inside but was stopped by Agent 000's blade.

Once the guards were disposed off, the three readied themselves. The agent started to count down with his fingers and signalled for them to get closer.

3... 2... 1...

Agent 000 slammed the side of the wall, opening the double doors as they slid apart. As soon as the doors opened, Smokescreen started to fire at the Decepticons.

"We have Autobots!" one of the Vehicons yelled before he was shot by Smokescreen.

Agent 000 did a quick scan of the area. The place was packed and it looked like every computer was being used. There was at least three dozen Vehicons, and not to mention the three Decepticons who actually had distinct looks. There was a blue one, firing back with his shoulder blaster, a red one who activated his staff, and a tall slender purple one who had a visor for a face.

Breakdown, Knock Out, and Soundwave. Be careful, those guys aren't easy to take down.

A shot from Breakdown's blaster made Agent 000 re-focus on the task at hand as he just managed to jump out of the way. He quickly dove behind one of the consoles Smokescreen was using as cover.

"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be" Smokescreen yelled, firing twice above his cover before sinking back down.

"Where's Miko?" Agent 000 asked.

The rookie pointed off to the side where Miko could be seen jumping from Vehicon to Vehicon. She was having way too much fun and the fact that she was practically indestructible in the Apex Armor didn't help calm her adrenaline.

"Smokescreen, focus on taking out the Vehicons. Once they're gone, get to a computer and start working."

"And what about Soundwave, Breakdown, and Knock Out?"

"We'll save the three boss battles for last. If we don't need to fight them at all, even better. The longer we fight, the more time is wasted."

Smokescreen nodded and aimed at an approaching Vehicon. It took three shots but on the third one, he nailed the Decepticon in the face, off-lining him immediately. The rookie wanted to celebrate but he knew that there was no time for that as he kept shooting at the Vehicons.

Meanwhile, Miko and Agent 000 were in the middle of the room, slicing and smashing Vehicons left and right. As always, Miko took the entire situation as a joke, laughing along when she off-lined a Decepticon.

"Miko smash!" she yelled, bringing her fists down on a dazed Vehicon.

Agent 000 rolled his eyes and dodged the foot of a Decepticon. He jumped up onto the robot, driving his sword into the Vehicon's body. He then repeated the process with several more, using his enhanced speed to finish them off quickly.

Knock Out and Soundwave hid behind a pillar and Breakdown. Without any projectiles, they were unable to fight without being shot at by their own soldiers. In fact, Soundwave didn't have any weapons at all other than his drone.

"Who the scrap is that?" Knock Out pointed at the moving figure of Agent 000. The doctor watched in awe as the agent off-lined one Vehicon, after another, after another.

"Not sure but he looks like one of those fleshies" Breakdown answered, shooting his blaster at Smokescreen's cover.

"What kind of fleshy can do that?"

"Well we're about to find out."

Unit One finished off the remaining Vehicons and the blasting ceased. The ground was littered with unmoving robots but none of it mattered. They had a job to do and they needed it done as soon as possible.

Seeing that it was his cue to go, Smokescreen quickly jumped over to a computer, rapidly typing on the Cybertronian keyboard searching for the map of the ship. As he did that, the other two faced the Decepticons who had left their cover.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Knock Out asked rhetorically.

"Where is the Forge?" Agent 000 demanded but only earned a chuckle form the doctor.

"Hmmm, I might have told you if you had asked nicely" Knock Out said sarcastically, tapping his chin.

"Enough chit-chat Knock Out, let's fight" Breakdown said, activating his hammer.

Miko knew that Breakdown was Bulkhead's rival and wanted to see just how tough he really was.

"Breakdown's mine!" she yelled running at Breakdown. The girl jumped, trying to give him a Superman punch to the face but instead was sent flying to the side. She got up quickly and stared at the Decepticon, squaring him up.

"I know you, you're Bulkhead's little pet" Breakdown said.

"Yeah, well you're about to see what a pet can do!"

The two giant figures clashed, exchanging punch after punch. As it was, the Apex Armor lived up to its name, delivering powerful blows while taking no such damage back. However, Breakdown's hits did put a toll on Miko since the force of each attack knocked her around the suit. Not only that, but her inexperience in fighting put her at a huge disadvantage.

While those two were busy beating each other to a pulp, Agent 000 faced the remaining two Decepticons. He studied them both, sizing them up and trying to decide who he should fight first. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't given a choice because Knock Out noticed Smokescreen off to the side and immediately ran towards the rookie.

"Smokescreen, watch ou-"

A tentacle hit the agent from behind, knocking him into one of the consoles. Agent 000 looked up and saw the tentacle coming towards him. He rolled out of the way and the limb slammed into the console, leaving a dent in the metal.

Agent 000 used that as an opportunity to slice the tentacle, cutting the limb in two as Soundwave quickly retracted the broken part. Agent 000 eyed the Decepticon, looking for any weakness and found open areas on his chest where his armor did not cover. He quickly ran towards Soundwave, jumping up and attempting to slice at the chest only to be blocked by the Decepticon's plated arms. He tried again but got the same result. The lanky Decepticon may be unmoving most of the time, but he was extremely quick with his movements.

"You just going to stand there blocking all my attacks while I do all the work?" Agent 000 teased.

Soundwave didn't respond, which was reasonable. Instead, he pumped out his chest slightly and the middle of his chest plate came off, transforming into a bird-like being. Laserbeak flew up and behind the agent, doing a flip before firing down.

"Silent type huh?" Agent 000 asked, jumping out of the way as the blaster fire rained down in a line.

He had to jump back again when Soundwave's fist came crashing down. The Decepticon reeled back, pulling out his second tentacle. The end of the limb started to spin in a circle, turning the three little fingers into a deadly drill. Agent 000 had to dive to the ground in order to dodge the tentacle when it shot forward.

He tried to get up but was blasted in the back by Laserbeak. The blast burning through his clothes and skin as he could feel the heat of the burn. Agent 000 fought through the pain, rolling to the side and getting back onto his feet. He knew he had to take out Laserbeak somehow, but he also had a tentacle to deal with.

Things weren't looking too bright for him.

...

Smokescreen was busy working on the computer when he heard Jack's warning. He turned around just in time to sidestep Knock Out's staff. Electricity pulsed from the end of the baton and the rookie was glad that it didn't make contact.

"Just me and you again Newbie. I want revenge from last time and I'm going to get it" Knock Out said.

"In your dreams" Smokescreen spat out. He got a nice punch in on the doctor's face but was booted away by his foot.

Knock Out twirled the staff in his hands, mostly to show off his skills. He was pretty confident that this fight was his since the rookie didn't have any melee weapons except his fists. He swung the staff, aiming for Smokescreen's chest. The rookie saw it coming and jumped back. He tried again but the young Autobot dodged it once again.

The doctor continued his onslaught, even though he wasn't connecting his hits. He knew that he was backing the rookie into the wall and soon, there would be nowhere to run. Smokescreen knew this as well and if he didn't want to get fried, he was going to have to get that staff out from Knock Out's hands.

When Knock out swung downwards, Smokescreen sidestepped the attempt. He then grabbed the staff with both hands and began to wrestle with Knock Out for it. He pulled and pushed, trying to get the doctor off but they both held on tight.

"This is my staff, get your own" Knock Out said.

"No thanks, I think I'll take this one!" Smokescreen said, punching the doctor in the face.

Knock Out was slightly fazed by the surprised hit but recovered quickly. He kept his grip on the staff and gave his own punch every so often.

The two racers battled it out with the staff between them, no one giving in at all. Punches were shared, mostly to the face but they were determined to get the best out of the other.

...

Agent 000 jumped and weaved around the tentacle, also paying close attention to Laserbeak who was flying above him. He had been shot twice by the drone and had been clipped on the shoulder by the spinning drill. All in all, he was in pain but he forced himself through it. He had to take out one of them fast but how he did that was the biggest question.

Knowing that Laserbeak would be the biggest problem since the drone had aerial advantage, the agent focused on disabling the tentacle. He moved to the left and the tentacle gazed his body after a stab attempt. He used the opportunity to jump onto the limb and stab his sword into the limb, running up the limb to make the cut deeper and longer. The head of the tentacle adjusted its path and followed the agent, but the extensive damage to its support line stopped it in its tracks. The spinning drill stopped turning and fell still as the entire tentacle went limp.

Agent 000 saw that he had disabled it but wasn't done yet. He saw an opening where the tentacle was connected to Soundwave's body and sprinted towards it. If he could take out the headmaster, the drone would soon follow. Still having his sword inside the limb, he ran upwards, not noticing Laserbeak following him close behind.

The drone scanned the pathway that Agent 000 was taking and realized what he was trying to do. Laserbeak quickly started to fire upon Agent 000, his blasts lining up with the tentacle as they neared the agent. With nowhere else to go, Agent 000 pushed forward as fast as he could, however even with his enhanced speed, he couldn't beat a flying drone.

The blast connected with the agent's leg and another one sent him falling off the dead limb. Pain shot through his body as he fell but he made sure to stay alert. He saw that the drone had stopped above him and its stomach was facing him. He quickly pulled back his sword, and let it fly through the air like a javelin.

The katana hit its target right on the spot, impaling Laserbeak right through the center and severely crippling its inner systems. Agent 000 didn't get to see his handiwork because the ground started to get near. He grit his teeth and prepared himself for a hard landing as he hit the ground with a thud.

"Fuck!" he yelled when he heard a pop in his shoulder. His arm had taken the blunt of the fall and he clutched his injured limb as he got to his knees.

A moment later, Laserbeak also fell, landing a couple meters away from the agent. He slowly walked over to the twitching drone, recovering his sword and placing it back into its sheath. Next, he inspected his body to see how severe the injury was. Other than a couple blaster burns that seared his flesh, there didn't seem to be any major injuries. As for his shoulder, he could still feel all his bones so at least they weren't broken. The only visible difference was that his left arm was now much longer than his right and he knew that he had dislocated it.

Kid, the arm's dislocated. Know how to pop it back in?

Yeah, but it's going to hurt a lot.

It hurts a lot now, no difference there.

Jack quickly gave the agent instructions on how to pop a dislocated shoulder back into place. The agent grit his teeth as he moved his left arm up and behind his head, reaching for his right shoulder. The pain was excruciating and was a lot worse than the time Optimus stabbed him in the leg, but a second later he heard a pop and he relaxed himself.

God that hurt. He said, stretching out his left arm and rotating it.

Suddenly, a plated arm came from behind him and swatted him away. He had completely forgotten about Soundwave and now he flew through the air. Seeing that he was headed straight for Miko and Breakdown's battle, he grit his teeth once more, prepared for another hard landing.

The two titans didn't notice him above them as they exchanged punches. Miko tried to get Breakdown with an uppercut but the Decepticon easily say it coming. He dodged it, moving around her punch and landing his own uppercut with his hammer. The force of the hit lifted her up into the air and that's when she felt a little ding on her shoulder.

Agent 000 had clipped her shoulder while falling and the hit started to rotate his body. He rolled down Miko's armored body for a while until he fell off, tumbling on the ground until he came to a stop against broken debris on the ground.

Another thump on the ground told him Miko had also fallen on her back. He groaned as he lifted himself up, once again checking himself for any new injuries. He's just about had it with flying and falling today and was not looking forward to anymore hard landings.

"Agent 000?" Miko asked, making eye contact with him as also started to get up.

The agent spat out some blood in his mouth. "In the flesh. Now how about we switch up on the opponents?"

Miko nodded, tired of getting pummeled by Breakdown. She got onto her feet and ran towards Soundwave who had been disabled of all possible weapons except his two arms. Miko quickly unleashed a barrage of punches at the communications expert, resulting in them getting blocked every time. Soundwave countered with a sharp jab to the side but was surprised when his hand harmlessly bounced off the armor.

Miko smirked, realizing she finally had the upper hand in this fight.

"You're going down 'con!"

...

Smokescreen and Knock Out continued to struggle over the staff. They were practically dancing now, just with a baton in between them.

"Let go!" Knock Out yelled.

"No you let go!"

Their 'fight' looked more like two toddlers wrestling over a toy. The only difference was that whoever got the toy would probably fry the other guy to a crisp.

"Give me the staff and I'll make it quick" the doctor said.

"I was about to say the same thing princess" Smokescreen sneered. Wheeljack had told him that making fun of Knock Out's appearance really got the doctor going. Apparently he was right because when Smokescreen finished his comeback, Knock Out pushed the staff into him, pinning him against one of the consoles.

With the advantage of being on top, Knock Out positioned the staff so that he was now pushing it against Smokescreen's throat. The rookie struggled to push the staff away from him but with Knock Out putting his entire body weight on it, it was getting to be really tough.

"This is it newbie, you're done."

"Alright, if you want the staff so much, you can have it!"

Smokescreen brought his legs up and pushed Knock Out off of him. The doctor flew through the air, clutching onto the staff as he slammed onto his back. He groaned and saw that Breakdown was looking down at him and his partner helped him up.

The two Decepticons faced Agent 000 as Smokescreen ran up to his commander's side.

"Smokescreen, I'll deal with these two. Go d what needs to be done" Agent 000 ordered.

The rookie looked at the agent and saw the blaster burns on his body. There was also some blood around his shoulder and he could tell that he's been taken quite a beating.

"No, you can't take-"

"That's an order" Agent 000 cut in with a serious tone.

Reluctantly, Smokescreen left the agent to face the two Decepticons while he got back to work.

"Two versus one? Hardly seems fair" Breakdown said.

"I could take you two clowns out with my eyes closed."

"The fleshy's got guts" Knock Out said. "I can't wait to dissect him in my lab."

"We'll see who dissects who when this is all over" Agent 000 said, unsheathing his blade.

Breakdown started by shooting his blaster at the agent, in which he easily dodged. Knock Out used his staff as if it was a pole and repeatedly tried to crush him. Even with his injuries, Agent 000 was able to get around the attacks without breaking a sweat.

"That all you got?" he teased.

Breakdown activated his hammer and brought it down, missing the agent by a mile. Before he could raise his arm for another swing, Agent 000 jumped onto his arm. He ran up the limb dragging the sword along just as he did with Soundwave's tentacle.

"Get it off!" Breakdown told Knock Out. His partner quickly brought his staff around, swinging it at the agent. His attempt didn't go as planned and Agent 000 dodged the swing, the energon probe striking Breakdown in the chest instead. The blue mech shook violently as the agent jumped off of him. He spun in the air, holding his katana in a reverse grip, he sliced at Knock Out's arm holding the staff, making him yelp and dropping his weapon.

The agent landed on the ground with a roll and looked up at his two enemies. Breakdown had finally stopped seizing as he fell to a knee while Knock out was closely inspecting his arm. A deep and long gash was shown and his face instantly changed to a state of rage.

"You're dead fleshy!" Knock Out yelled, picking up the staff with one hand while activating his buzz saw with his other.

"Let's dance" Agent 000 said, the phrase becoming one of his signature taunts.

The doctor brought the saw in front of the agent, holding it horizontally so that he couldn't move out of the way. Although, he wasn't trying to move out of the way, instead he jumped onto the small unmoving part of the saw, moving along to the doctor's arm and once again leaving a trail behind him.

Knock Out yelled out in rage and brought his staff forward, anticipating the position Agent 000 was running to. He saw the attempt and jumped off, stabbing his sword into Knock Out's arm and holding on with one hand. The doctor yelled in rage, trying to smack him with his staff but the agent moved around it, hoping back up.

Agent 000 ran up to his shoulder and jumped to his chest, landing on the crease of his design.

"These look important" he said, referring to Knock Out's headlights.

Agent 000 stabbed the headlights with his sword, destroying the polycarbonate plastic that protects the light itself. Knock Out turned his saw back into his hand and tried to slam the agent again, but only struck his own headlights, destroying them even further.

"Argh! Do you know how hard it is to replace that?!" Knock Out yelled. He was getting fed up with the human.

Agent 000 jumped off of the doctor, landing on his feet and running towards a fallen Vehicon. He inspected it for any exposed blasters but was disappointed to see none.

With Knock Out bearing down on him, he grabbed the Vehicon's arm and whacked the doctor with the body as if it were a bat. Knock Out, who was more shocked at the fact that Agent 000 was able to lift a Vehicon's body, stumbled back.

"How the scrap did you do that?" he asked bewildered.

"Like this" Agent 000 answered, throwing the Vehicon at Knock Out.

The force of the throw knocked the doctor flat off his feet and he fell, landing with the Vehicon on top of him.

What Agent 000 didn't realize was that Breakdown had disappeared from the fight. As he was busy dealing with Knock Out, the blue mech had attacked Smokescreen. Without a melee weapon to help him out, the rookie was desperate to get away from Breakdown.

"I remember you newbie" Breakdown growled, hitting his across the chest with his hammer twice before picking him up and throwing him down. "You and Ultra Magnus beat me to a pulp and almost got away with the Forge."

"Yeah? So what?" Smokescreen said, spitting out energon from his mouth. Breakdown picked him up again, throwing him hard against the wall. As he started to fall, he used his hammer to knock him back up.

"I think it's time I repaid you for that beat down" the blue mech said, kicking the hurt Autobot across the floor.

Smokescreen moaned, getting to his feet slowly. He didn't get a chance to stand up because Breakdown kicked him in the stomach once again. The blue mech picked him up, and then slammed him down. He repeated the process multiple times, adding in an extra hit with his hammer once in a while.

"Last words newbie?" he sneered.

Smokescreen answered by spitting energon into his face, earning a hit to the head. There was no hope left and the rookie closed his optics, putting his head down. He sighed and accepted his defeat. Maybe this was his destiny

Well, I had a nice run. Short, but nice. He thought to himself. He hoped that maybe his story would be passed on, or maybe at least be remembered for his place on Team Prime.

As Breakdown raised his hammer to finish the young Autobot, Agent 000 looked back, having heard the sound of metal scrapping behind him. The agent's eyes widened when he saw the state of his fellow teammate and realized that if he didn't act soon, the rookie was going to die.

"Smokescreen!" he yelled, moving away from the pinned down doctor.

Without any projectiles, Agent 000 had only one thing that he could get to in time; Knock Out's staff. Not focusing on anything else other than saving Smokescreen's life, he picked up the staff. He only had one shot, one opportunity to stop Breakdown, and he took it.

Agent 000 threw the staff as hard as he could, the baton flying through the air as if it were a javelin. While it was in mid-air, it seemed like everything slowed down and the agent could only hope that his throw was on target.

Smokescreen squeezed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable to happen... except it didn't. A small gasp, almost like an agonizing last breath was heard from Breakdown and the rookie opened his optics. The end of Knock Out's staff appeared only a couple inches away from his face, having impaled Breakdown right through the chest. If the blue mech had not been holding him away, he might have also been pierced by the baton.

Breakdown's one optic widened to the point where it looked like a giant plate. He looked down at the staff that was inside of his body and let go of Smokescreen. The blue mech started to pry at the baton but slowly, his strength started to fade away. He struggled to even keep his arms up, and with a final attempt at pulling it out, he collapsed.

Breakdown's optic flickered for a moment before going dark. The once brutal Decepticon that tried to eliminate Smokescreen was no more.

"Breakdown!" Knock out yelled, seeing his unmoving partner on the ground. He immediately started to struggle underneath the Vehicon on top of him, trying to get out. Agent 000 saw the doctor trying to escape and quickly moved over to another fallen Vehicon, throwing him onto the pile and adding more weight. Knock Out groaned, realizing that he was completely pinned down and no way of getting out.

Once Agent 000 knew that the doctor was out of the picture, he ran over to Smokescreen who was lying on the floor.

"Smokescreen, are you okay? How are your injuries, you took quite a beating" the agent said, seeing the multiple dents and cracks all over the rookie's body.

"Y-you killed Breakdown. You saved me" Smokescreen said slowly, ignoring the agent's questioned.

"I... didn't have a choice" Agent 000 responded quietly.

"Thanks Agent 000, I owe you my life" the rookie said.

"Don't worry about that now, we still have a mission to complete. Do you think you can stand?"

Smokescreen struggled to lift himself up but could only make a few inches off the ground before falling back down. He did take a beating and he felt like his strength hasn't come back to him yet.

"I can't... too much pain."

"That's alright, take your time. We still need that map of the ship though. Do you think you could keep working if I got you to the computer?"

The rookie nodded. "But I don't see how you can-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Agent 000 grabbed his side and back plate. He lifted the Autobot up, hauling him over his head and making his way over to the computer. The agent felt like he was really pushing his limits today, having to use his strength significantly already and he felt the strain getting to him. Nonetheless, he forced himself forward and eventually reached the monitor, setting the rookie into the chair gently.

Smokescreen groaned, forcing himself up and typing away at the keyboard.

"You sure you can do this?" Agent 000 asked worried.

"I have to, the team's depending on it." Smokescreen answered, gritting his teeth as he fought through the pain throughout his body. "I'm close, I need a couple minutes."

As soon as he said that, Miko came flying over and landing on her back right beside her. She got up quickly since she wasn't actually hurt and stood next to her teammates. Her eyes scanned over them, seeing Smokescreen's injuries.

"Wh-"

"No time Miko, we need to give Smokescreen time to finish. Don't let Soundwave near him." Agent 000 commanded.

"What about Knock Out and Breakdown?" the girl asked, oblivious to the recent events.

As if he was waiting, Knock Out groaned, still pinned under the two Vehicons.

Miko looked at the agent in which he merely shot back with a knowing look.

"And Breakdown has been... dealt with" he said.

Miko looked for Breakdown in the room and saw him lying on the ground with the staff still impaled inside of him. Her eyes widened and she slightly stumbled backwards.

"Y-you killed him?"

"I didn't have a choice. He was going to kill Smokescreen."

The Japanese girl didn't seem to buy it and dropped the conversation. Mostly because she was afraid at what might happen to her if she got him fuming.

Just as they finished talking, Soundwave stepped forward in front of them. The communications expert looked around the room and saw he was the only one left, raising his two arms and preparing to attack. Suddenly, he saw Smokescreen behind the two humans, taping away at the computer and immediately changed intentions.

Not exactly knowing what they were trying to find on the Decepticon database, Soundwave knew that he had to stop them either way. However, with two damaged tentacles, it was going to much tougher.

The slender Decepticon activated his least damaged tentacle. It was the first one Agent 000 had sliced and it was missing the head. Nonetheless, Soundwave turned to the computer consoles nearest to him and stuck his tentacle on the keyboard. His limb sparked and flinched a couple times as the little hairs inside started to take control of the system.

Agent 000 and Miko watched as Soundwave struggled to keep his tentacle on the keyboard, not quite sure of what to do.

Kid, what's he doing?

It looks like...he's cutting the power! Stop him before he shuts down the entire system!

It's too late, he's already done it.

A second later, all the screens in the room turned black, including the one Smokescreen was on.

"What was that?" the rookie asked, turning around. He saw Soundwave still connected to the computers and had his answer.

"Dude, did you get it?" Miko asked urgently.

"Yeah, all the artifacts are stored in the vault which is in the back on the second level. If Soundwave was a second faster, I wouldn't have been able to find it" Smokescreen answered. The young Autobot struggled to get off the chair but only managed to get himself back onto the floor.

Agent 000 looked back and saw that Soundwave was also having some difficulties detaching his tentacle from the computers.

"Quick, Smokescreen is hurt badly. He can't walk so I'll need you to carry him." The agent said to Miko. "Soundwave's distracted right now so we better get going."

Miko rushed to Smokescreen's aid and lifted him up, bridal style. Without the Apex Armor giving her extra strength, there would be no possible way that she could lift an Autobot, but since she did, she didn't waste time enjoying the moment.

"Aww, look at the little baby Smokescreen" she teased, cradling him slightly. If Cybertronians could blush, the rookie would certainly be doing that.

"Let's go, there's no time to lose" Agent 000 reminded and the three quickly made their way to the doors. "Smokescreen, give me directions and I'll lead the way."

"Ok, as soon as we get out, take a right." The rookie said, running the directions through his head once more.

Agent 000 opened the door and the three of them left, leaving behind an absolute mess in the control center. They had gotten their location and now, all they needed to do was secure the area and contact the base.

...

Moments after Unit One left the control center, Megatron, followed by Dreadwing and Airachnid, stormed the room. They had been warned of an attack inside the Nemesis but had to scout out area to make sure there wasn't another attack from outside. Seeing the mess and unmoving Decepticons in the room told them that they had been too late.

The first thing they saw was Breakdown's unmoving body and the staff that was inserted inside of him. Dreadwing rushed over to the fallen Decepticon, testing for a life signal but found none.

"Lord Megatron, Breakdown has been terminated" the Decepticon lieutenant said with a subtle sadness in his voice. Breakdown was one of the few Decepticons on the ship who he had a connection with and seeing him dead on the ground made his slightly depressed. Lucky for him, no one noticed his changed tone.

"Optimus did this?" the warlord asked, a little bewildered if it was. He knew that Optimus had become more ruthless since their last fight, but terminating Breakdown would be the last thing he expected from the Prime.

A groan and the sound of shifting was heard and Dreadwing pulled out his sword, slowly making his way over to the noise. What he saw was not an enemy but Knock Out, pinned to the ground by two off-lined Vehicons. He hastily removed the weight on the doctor, allowing him to stand back up.

"Arghh, he'll pay for what he did to my paint job" Knock Out said, inspecting his body.

"Knock Out, where is Optimus?" Megatron asked.

"Optimus? Optimus wasn't here."

"Then who attacked the control center and terminated over three dozen Vehicons as well as Breakdown?"

"There was three of them, Lord Megatron. The Autobot Smokescreen, Bulkhead's human inside a giant armored suit, and a human." Knock Out replied, tallying off his servos.

Megatron walked over to the doctor and picked him up by the chests.

"You allowed a human to destroy my control center? Give me a reason for why I shouldn't terminate you this instant Knock Out."

"M-my liege, this was no ordinary human. He has incredible speed, strength, and reflexes that I have never seen before. I watched him cut down the Vehicons with his sword and throw my staff to kill Breakdown."

The warlord let go of the Knock Out and he fell on his backside.

"Interesting, a human with extraordinary abilities. Where have they gone off to?"

"I'm sorry Lord Megatron but I was trapped when they left. Soundwave should have seen where they have gone."

Megatron turned to his communications officer and saw him still struggling to retract his tentacle. Sparks flew as Soundwave attempted to disconnect with the keyboard. Eventually he got his tentacle free and the limb fell to the ground, unresponsive.

"Soundwave, Knock Out claims that you have seen where the attackers have gone." Megatron said and the slender Decepticon nodded.

Soundwave's screen went from black to a line that waved with every sound and he replayed Smokescreen's words.

[Yeah, all the artifacts are stored in the vault which is in the back on the second level.]

"They are attempting to reclaim the Forge!" Megatron said. He turned to his Decepticon officers and gave the order. "Dreadwing, Airachnid, accompany me to the vault so we may deal with our visitors."

"At once my lord" Dreadwing bowed and moved towards the door with Airachnid right behind him.

"As for you Knock Out, show me that you are still of use by repair Soundwave's tentacles as well as any other injuries he has received. And clean up this mess afterwards."

"Yes Lord Megatron." Knock Out said. The doctor gave one look at his fallen partner and felt the guilt run inside him. He had lost a close ally today, someone he could call a 'friend'.

The warlord headed out of the control center and ran towards the vault with his two officers right behind him.

Megatron grit hit teeth and clenched his hand as he just realized the Autobots had become one step closer to whatever they were planning.

"You will not have that Forge Optimus, for I will not allow you to take it without a fight."

...

Author's Note: Sorry about the late update, had some... technical difficulties. Will try to update again tomorrow at around noon. Reviews and enjoy.