Sparks
Official Disclaimer: The Transformers ain't mine.
Author's Note: Another chapter, this one nice and long. I tried to make this one serious...but Beth and Barricade rebelled, and the latter was rather dirty-mouthed about it. Beth just seems to be channeling Alex a bit. I blame Cliffjumper rubbing off on her. But, seriously, I have no idea what got into Beth in this chapter. I meant to write things serious...but they didn't turn out that way. Also, many questions will be left unanswered in this chapter - but never fear, they will all be answered in due time. (I swear I don't mean the very end of the story...really!...ok, maybe...) And yes, I'm aware of the technical term for the casseticons, I just find it too funny to use, and since Beth shouldn't know it, anyways...well, I wiggled my way out of using it.
- Chapter Thirteen: Soundwave and Alaska -
Cliffjumper, having been warned by the other Autobots that they were coming, was waiting outside Tranquility for the other Autobots, along with Beth. The Allspark completely ignored the human as it climbed out of Optimus' cab and headed for the Porsche. Behind the now stiff Cliffjumper and the concentrating Allspark, Optimus, Jazz and Bumblebee transformed.
"New one?" Beth asked in surprise as she saw Jazz.
"Jumper didn't mention me? I'm hurt." Jazz said, all but pouting.
"This is Jazz, my first lieutenant. Jazz, this is Beth, Alexandra's sister." Optimus introduced.
"Jazz? Didn't you..." Beth paused, glanced at Optimus, then back at her sister. "Huh." She shook herself and turned back to the Autobots. "It's nice to meet you Jazz - and it's good to have you back, Optimus."
"Thank you." Optimus said with a nod. Beth smiled in return, but the smile faded quickly as she looked over to the Allspark, still fixing Cliffjumper. Apparently the mech had a few more dents and dings than Ratchet and Wheeljack.
"She's still...?" Beth waved her hand vaguely, and Optimus nodded.
"I was able to speak with the Allspark via Alexandra's ability to access our communications network, but it said that it was not possible to speak with Alexandra." the Autobot leader said. "I haven't questioned further."
"Why not?" Beth asked in annoyance. "You obviously knew where the Allspark was heading, so couldn't you have tried to get some answers before you got here?" Optimus found himself glaring down at Beth, but Alexandra's sister just glared right back at him.
"I want to know Alexandra's status just as much as you do, Elizabeth Morgan." he said frostily. "However, the Allspark repaired Barricade shortly after I began my line of questioning, and I found myself explaining the war to a being that was beyond it."
"What?" Beth asked, suddenly worried. "She repaired Barricade?"
"Yeah, then we had t'chase him across half th'state." Jazz grumbled. "And he still got away."
"The Allspark apparently did not realize there was a difference between Autobot and Decepticon." Optimus said with a sigh.
"How could it not?" Beth asked with a frown. "From what Cliffjumper was explaining earlier, the Allspark is tied into your Matrix, which is like your guys' afterlife - so wouldn't it know who was good or evil?" Optimus shook his head.
"The Matrix does not judge the sparks it keeps. Parts of it, like the Matrix of Leadership, may look for specific traits and beliefs in a bot, but the Matrix as a whole is impartial. The Allspark, used to create life - all life, good or evil - is equally impartial." he explained patiently.
"We must go." the Allspark's voice echoed painfully and urgently through Optimus, and he looked up to see that it had finished with Cliffjumper, and was now staring worriedly to the northeast.
"Why?" Jazz asked, obviously having heard the comment. Cliffjumper, free from the Allspark, frowned down at it.
"Since when could you talk over our network like Alex?" he asked, but was ignored.
"The allies of the other approach." the Allspark said, turning its gaze from the sky and heading for Optimus. Optimus transformed and popped the driver's door to his cab, and the Allspark climbed in and immediately took control, sending Optimus speeding away so he only had time to hear Beth irritably ask what was going on, and not Cliffjumper's response. It wasn't long before the Porsche was visible in Optimus' rear mirrors, behind Jazz and Bumblebee. Beth was at the wheel but Optimus doubted she was driving.
Turning his mind from the cars behind him, Optimus instead concentrated on contacting the other Autobots, letting them know what was happening. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were the next closest, but they were several hours away, and even Beth could now see the jets approaching from the northeast. There were five of them - the full force of Decepticons left on earth, minus Barricade, but the police car Decepticon could very well be on the ground, out of sight. Even without Barricade, it would barely be an even fight, especially with two unarmed humans that the Autobots needed to guard. Optimus paused at that, wondering, and spoke to the Allspark.
"If it comes to fighting, what will you do?" he asked.
"Undetermined." the Allspark replied curtly, and as if to force the issue, the jets, now close enough to do so, launched their missiles. Optimus felt himself swerve out of the way, and then the Allspark was out of his cab, a shock from it having him transformed before he could think of it. Behind him, he could see Cliffjumper in the ditch on his left side, Beth scrambling out the passenger door with little more than bruises and scrapes. As soon as she was clear, Cliffjumper transformed and came to join the larger Autobot as they prepared themselves for the attack. Bumblebee and Jazz transformed and took up their own stations, readying for the next attack.
The Decepticons seemed unconcerned with two supposedly dead mechs reappearing, and came in fast and hard, attacking swiftly and brutally, using their flight capabilities to their advantage. The Autobots, under their barrage, were forced to slowly retreat in order to protect the two humans behind them. The Allspark watched the battle with mild interest, the most action it took being to pull Beth out of the way of stray blasts and flying chunks of earth and asphalt. Seeing that, Optimus decided that the humans - especially the Allspark - needed to get out of there. The Decepticons hadn't mentioned anything about it, but they hadn't been uttering their usual insults, either - it was almost as if they were too...focused...
Optimus abruptly whirled and fired into the copse of trees they'd been backing into. There was a roar of pain, then something rose inside the trees, red-eyed.
"Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw: retrieve." the cold, emotionless voice could only belong to one Decepticon, one that Optimus had hoped wouldn't reach earth for a long, long time: Soundwave. He was easily the most dangerous Decepticon next to Megatron, if only because of his collection of faultlessly loyal mini-mechs - three of which now emerged from the trees and headed straight for the humans, two flying like birds, the third galloping along the ground as an overly large panther.
"Jazz!" Optimus called, aiming for only of the flying mini-mechs and missing completely as it dodged agilely out of the way. Optimus briefly wished Bluestreak was nearby - the sharpshooter had always been the one Autobot capable of reliably hitting either Laserbeak or Buzzsaw.
"Little busy, boss!" Jazz replied, and Optimus heard him fire several shots from his canon before cursing in Cybertronian.
"It's Soundwave!" Optimus snapped, and almost instantly, Jazz whirled, his optics searching for a target. He found one in Ravage, who was rapidly approaching Beth and the Allspark, and fired. Optimus was trying to keep the two smaller flying Decepticons busy, but let Bumblebee have that job when the smaller bot proved himself to be a better shot - neither of them had yet to hit either Laserbeak or Buzzsaw, but Bumblebee's shots weren't so far off.
That left Optimus and Cliffjumper to deal with the five jets - an unfair fight by any stretch of the imagination. It wasn't long until a barrage of concentrated missile and canon fire sent Cliffjumper flying into unconsciousness, and Optimus took several shots to one of his knees that made it unable to support himself on it. Jazz left Bumblebee to deal with Soundwave's pets in order to protect his leader, and they might have yet managed to hold off for awhile yet had Soundwave not taken that moment to step in, blasting Bumblebee backwards and giving his pets time to grab the two humans. Optimus, glancing over his shoulder in time to see the capture, expected the Allspark to take action, free itself somehow - it certainly had the power - but it did nothing, simply hanging from Laserbeak's claws as the mini-mechs returned to its master. No sooner had it and it's brethren returned to Soundwave than a retreat was called, and the Decepticons withdrew, leaving the battered Autobots behind.
---
Beth awoke with a shiver, instinctively wrapping her arms around herself. In the process, she realized she was lying on the ground, which - judging from how much colder the side of her touching the ground was - was part of the reason why she was so cold. She pushed herself upright and climbed to her feet before wrapping her arms around herself again and looking around herself. She was in a room - large to her, but it would have barely fit Optimus, and been cramped for any of the other Autobots. The floor and walls were stone, save for one wall which looked as if it was made of glass, though it gave off a curious glow. On the other side of the glass was an even larger room with a metal door.
A touch on Beth's shoulder caused her to jump, yelping, and she turned and stumbled backwards to find Alex - no, the Allspark - standing impassively behind her. The Allspark arched one of her sister's eyebrows at her, then ambled over to the glass wall, seeming curious.
"What's going on? Where are we?" Beth asked. The Allspark looked back at her and frowned. "Right, you can only speak to Auobots." Beth muttered, then went to join her sister at the wall.
"Don't suppose you have any idea on how to get out of here?" Beth asked after only a few minutes, unable to handle both silence and cold. Surprisingly, the Allspark nodded. "Oh. Well are you going to act on those ideas?" The Allspark shook Alex's head. "Why not?" Beth asked, peeved. The Allspark looked over with another frown, then reached out and touched Beth's shoulder. Warmth spread down her frame, and even though she hadn't been aware of it being foggy, her mind cleared. "Uh, thanks." Beth said with a blink. The Allspark nodded, then faced forward again, it's attention on the door in the room beyond. Beth stood for a time, as well, staring at the door.
"Well, this sure is exciting." Beth grumbled, then glanced over at the Allspark. "Shall we play twenty questions?" The Allspark didn't move or acknowledge her. "Great, not only do you steal my sister, but you're good for absolutely no entertainment when being kidnapped by - what were those things? Decepticons?" The Allspark nodded hesitantly. "You seem unsure." Beth frowned, then recalled her conversation with Optimus. "Oh, right, you didn't know about Decepticons or Autobots until recently. Which, y'know, is weird, since you continue to say that Alex is in there, but you don't seem to have any of her knowledge." The Allspark shot Beth a somewhat annoyed look. "Oh don't give me that look. I need to talk or do something, otherwise I'm going to start driving myself crazy - never should have let Josh convince me to watch the Saw movies - and since I don't like you anyways - stealing someone's sister tends to prompt that reaction - I might as well bother you." The Allspark's eyes closed momentarily, and then, surprisingly, Alex's head suddenly swung forward to bang on the glass wall. A groan was heard, and Beth smirked.
"So how do you feel about singing? There's this great song I know, it gets on everybody's nerves..."
---
"...23 bottles of non-alcoholic carbonated sugary beverage on the wall, 23 bottles of -" Beth stopped her singing abruptly as there was motion beyond the glass wall. She scrambled up from where she'd been sitting at the rear of the room - or cell, she supposed - and headed for the glass where the Allspark still stood. Reaching the glass, Beth saw the door to the room beyond slide open, and a grey Decepticon stepped in, heading for the glass wall. He said something in Cybertronian, the alien words sounding harsher coming from him, even though they were the same ones the Autobots used, and the Allspark abruptly grabbed Beth and dragged her away from the glass wall. When they'd reached the back of the cell, the Decepticon waved a hand off to the side of the cell, and the glass wall...glittered, shimmered, and disappeared.
"Whoa." Beth murmured. "Not glass, then." The Allspark didn't acknowledge her as the Decepticon took one step forward, then grabbed a human in each hand and lifted them. Beth didn't scream - she just remained very, very still, eyes wide and hands gripping the robot hand holding her hard enough that her knuckles were white. In the other hand, the Allspark seemed completely at ease as the Decepticon turned and left the room.
They went down a long hallway, then came into a truly massive room, easily the size of several football fields, and holding two other mechs similar to the one holding them, as well as a bulkier one bearing - Beth blinked - two robotic birds perched on either shoulder, and a to-scale robotic panther following on its heels. There was also a black-and-white mech that fit Cliffjumper's description of Barricade to a tee. As for the room itself, it was made of stone, like the cell, but where the walls didn't open onto other dark corridors, they were lined with computers. There were simple fluorescent lights in the ceiling, looking suspiciously new, and as Beth watched, one of the robotic birds left it's shoulder perch and to land on one of the lights, where it glared down at Beth menacingly.
Beth drew back from the stare nervously, only to find herself unceremoniously dumped onto a table in the center of the room. She couldn't help but let out a yelp, and almost immediately, she felt her sister's hand on her shoulder, and warmth flowed through her while the remaining fogginess from hours of boredom cleared from her brain. Beth swallowed and stood, nodded her thanks to the Allspark as it took a step away from her, eyes fixed on the Decepticon with the robo-animals.
"Intriguing." that Decepticon said after a moment, and Beth shivered at the sound of it's emotionless voice. The Decepticon then glanced at Barricade, who approached the table. The police car stuck out a finger and poked Beth, sending her staggering to the side.
"Who're you?" he grunted. Beth opened her mouth, unsure what to reply, but Barricade's gaze snapped over to the Allspark, who was looking at him with a hard gaze.
"How th'blazes can she use our network?!" one of the other Decepticons burst out after a moment, and Beth realized the Allspark was talking to them through their communications network, as she could to Autobots. Beth decided then that the best thing for her would be to keep silent, then badger the Allspark later with questions. So she just sat, watching as the Allspark's gaze flickered between the Decepticons in the room, said bots becoming more and more irritated as time went on. Only the one with the robo-animals seemed unfazed, just staring impassively at the Allspark until it finally made a cutting motion with its hand. The other Decepticons stilled.
"Return them." the emotionless voice said again, and Barricade got to do the honors of picking up the two humans and carting them back to their cell.
"I feel so left out." Beth mumbled during the trip, and was surprised to hear a snort from Barricade. She looked up at him, wide-eyed, and found him glowering as he walked. "Awww, is not everything sunshine and lollipops in little Decepticon-land?" Barricade stopped and looked down at Beth incredulously, then glanced suspiciously between her and the Allspark.
"You two are of the same family unit." It wasn't a question.
"How'd you guess?" Beth asked cheerily.
"Can only be one crazy enough to throw rocks at and taunt Decepticons." Barricade grunted as he resumed walking.
"Throw rocks?" Beth asked, arching an eyebrow. "She never told me that."
"Hit that fucking yellow freak, too." Barricade said with a smirk as they pass through the door into the room beyond Beth and the Allspark's cell.
"Watch your language!" Beth retorted. She could have sworn the Decepticon rolled his optics at her as he stepped into the still-open cell and placed Beth and the Allspark near the back. He stepped out quickly and re-activated the 'glass' - or whatever - wall, far faster than either human could have run the distance between the back of the cell and the wall. Then the Decepticon turned and stomped out.
"Y'know, it's sad that a five minute conversation with Barricade was more entertaining than you've been in the past several hours." Beth said, turning to the Allspark. She received a weary look in return, before the Allspark returned to the front of the cell. With a shrug, Beth settled herself at the back again. "Now, what number was I on...? Hmm, can't remember - I'll have to start again."
---
"Where's Beth?" Optimus shook his head at the first words out of Cliffjumper's mouth after Ratchet finished repairing him and brought him back online. They were in the dam again, having been hauled back by both human and Autobot, and, along with Bumblebee, were being cared for in the room Ratchet had appropriated as his med bay. Jazz was the only one who'd escaped Ratchet's med bay, having miraculously come out of the fight with the Decepticons with no more than scratches.
"Wherever the Allspark is." Ratchet replied shortly.
"Which is?" Cliffjumper asked with a frown.
"Decepticon hands, likely." Optimus answered, and Cliffjumper's optics widened.
"That's not good." he said faintly.
"No, not really. But you can't do anything about it, because we haven't a flying glitchmouse's clue where the Decepticons are, so you're just going to lay here and rest so your automatic repair systems can finish what I started." Ratchet said firmly, glaring more at Bumblebee than he was a Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper frowned, then seemed to notice for the first time that Bumblebee was there along with him and Optimus, on one of Ratchet's med bay 'beds' (really just slabs of shaped concrete).
"I feel fine." Bumblebee muttered.
"Do you know how many sensitive system lines got disrupted with that blast Soundwave hit you with? No, obviously not, otherwise you wouldn't have tried to work. How could I expect you to know, really, since I mean, it's not like anyone on this planet besides me knows the slightest thing about advan-" Ratchet's rant was cut off as he stomped into his 'office' - really his quarters on base - and slammed the door behind him.
"Um." Cliffjumper said, eyes wide. Optimus smiled slightly, and Bumblebee sighed.
"Shoulda heard him earlier." Jazz said from the entrance to the med bay, grinning widely. Bumblebee narrowed his optics at the lieutenant, who blithely ignored him. "He went on a real rave, scared th'humans - almost got shot at when he up and deactivated Bumblebee's motor controls on him and some human security officer thought he'd turned on the Autobots or somethin'. Guy reminded me of Red Alert." Jazz frowned slightly, the returned to his usual grin.
"Is there a reason you're here, Jazz?" Bumblebee asked with a glare. Even though the occurrence had caused some much-needed relief for the tense Autobots - who were gathered at the dam, essentially waiting for all the machines on Earth to come alive and start attacking them now that the Decepticons had the Allspark - it was clear the small Autobot would have rather not been the source of the laughter.
"Actually, yeah." Jazz said, turning to Optimus. "We've been goin' over all the reports the government's collected on weird-coloured F-22s, and we think we found a pattern."
"Oh?" Optimus asked curiously.
"Well, they've had some pretty random flight patterns, but just over a third of the recorded ones aim for the general direction of Alaska. We got in contact with a few bases up there, and apparently some'a the soldier's have reported seein' a 'ghost ship', appearin' and disappearin' out of nowhere - we're figurin' Skywarp. There was also one incident where an entire costal village, 'round thirty or so people, seemed to have been attacked and killed by rabid wolves. There were organic animal corpses, but there were also some suspiciously large paw and claw marks that didn't match any of the dead." Jazz reported. "The humans are doing some passive surveillance of the area, 'n Wheeljack's got a few devices of his doing energy scans. I double-checked 'em to make sure they won't explode before I let 'im use 'em." Optimus blinked, having been unprepared for the efficiency of his second-in-command after having spent so long without it.
"Jazz?"
"Yes Optimus?"
"I'm glad you're back." Jazz and Bumblebee both snorted, then shot each other amused looks.
"You're only sayin' that because the Prowler ain't made it here yet." Jazz said once he returned his attention to Optimus.
"Well, yes." Optimus admitted with amusement. "But until then, you're a decent replacement."
"Why thank ye." Jazz said with a mock bow. "Now, if ye'll excuse me -"
"Of course." Optimus said with a nod, and Jazz grinned, saluted sloppily - something he'd, quite annoyingly, picked up from the humans - and left the med bay. There was momentary silence after he left.
"I remember him being less...cheery." Cliffjumper said after a moment.
"Doctor Adair was in earlier trying to convince Ratchet it was something called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Bumblebee mused.
"What?"
"He's compensating for dieing by being cheerful."
"Oh."
"I thought I told you three to rest!" Three sets of optics blinked off faster than they ever had before.
---
"Hold on, Jazz, I thought you said Wheeljack's energy scan came back completely negative." Optimus asked with a frown, stopping his lieutenant in the middle of his briefing. It was now a week after the Allspark and Beth had been taken, and Ratchet had only just let his three patients get back to work. He still didn't seem to think they were ready for combat, but Jazz was adamant that the quicker they moved, the better, and so the medic had relented.
"Exactly." Jazz agreed with Optimus. There were blank looks from all the other Autobots, save for Wheeljack, who was smirking, being the only other one to get it.
"Then what makes you think the Decepticons have a base on this particular stretch of Alaskan coastline?" Optimus asked carefully.
"Because, Optimus, even when there's nothing but wilderness, my scans pick up energy - heat energy from below the crust, if nothing else." Wheeljack burst out excitedly, then pointed to the highlighted stretch of coastline on the map Jazz was projecting on the floor. "This part of the coastline, though, has absolutely no energy signature."
"Which mean's somethin's cloaking energy signatures in that area. An' since the humans don't have technology powerful enough to do that over this large an area, it can only be the Decepticons." Jazz continued. "Plus, it makes sense, as this area is mainly rock, which the Decepticons could have easily tunneled into."
"Very well, but we still know nothing about the area, and going in blind would be suicide." Optimus said.
"And somehow I don't think the Decepticons are going to let the Allspark rebuild you." Ratchet grunted, and Optimus nodded.
"That's where we come in." Captain Lennox said from Jazz's shoulder, where he'd been sitting for the briefing. "There's a special ops teams en route to the area right now - they'll scout the area, and then report to us when we get there. They've got some advanced stealth technology, and they're the best we have that wasn't already in the field, so hopefully they should remain undetected."
"If not, the Decepticons will not hesitate in killing them." Ironhide grunted.
"I made very sure to impress that point on them." Jazz said dryly. "They'll be careful."
"Very well." Optimus said with a nod. Like hitting the play button on a paused DVD, his words caused a sudden flurry of movement in the underground room as everyone began getting ready - in addition to the Autobots, Lennox had gathered his team from Mission City, and they were loading themselves down with 105 shells and various other gear - just about anything one of them thought might come in handy, they took, as long as it was light enough. Finally, they were ready, and the Autobots and their human allies headed out, on their way to a nearby airbase, where a C-5 waited to transport them all up to Alaska.
---
Beth was sitting alone in her and the Allspark's cell in the Decepticon's base. By now, she was extremely bored - after that first trip, she hadn't been taken out of the cell again, only the Allspark, and singing to oneself gets boring. She'd tried convincing whoever came and got the Allspark to bring her something - anything to do, up to and including something as simple as a pile of coal so she could draw on the stone walls and floor, but they'd ignored her. Which, combined with the fact that more often than not the Allspark ignored her, as well, was resulting in a very irritable Beth. The Decepticons weren't even bringing her food or water - she hadn't noticed it at first, but anytime the Allspark touched her, sending that warmth through her and clearing her mind, Beth was also no longer hungry or tired. The latter was depressing, since it meant she couldn't even sleep away her boredom.
Looking up as she heard a noise, Beth was disturbingly happy to see one of the jet Decepticons - Skywarp, if she remembered correctly - returning with the Allspark. Her happiness disappeared, however, as she realized this time something was wrong - Skywarp was carrying the Allspark flat in his hand, and it wasn't moving. Beth rushed over as the force field - Barricade had succumbed to telling her what it was - dropped and Skywarp set the Allspark down with surprising care, then stepped back and reactivated the field before leaving. They'd become less cautious about having their prisoners near the back of the cell when they'd activated it - Beth had gotten out once, but had been caught by Ravage in a matter of seconds, and the robo-panther was now stationed permanently at the end of the hallway leading to the prison.
Turning her mind to the Allspark, Beth frowned as she looked down at her sister's body. It seemed unharmed, but Beth hadn't seen it unconscious since Optimus' funeral. It was...strange, and worrying. Especially since, without the Allspark, Beth knew she would starve. Beth's fears were unfounded, though, as even as she kneeled next to her sister's body, her eyes snapped open.
Beth did a double take.
Her sister's brown eyes snapped open.
"Beth...?" the voice was hoarse from misuse, and Beth's eyes widened as the simple, one-syllable name confirmed that this really was Alex talking, not the Allspark.
"Alex, oh my god, are you alright? What happened? How have you been? The Allspark wouldn't tell us what had happened to you!" Beth babbled, pulling her sister up into a crushing hug, only to release her hurriedly as Alex groaned. Laying her sister back down gently, Beth watched carefully as Alex looked around their room.
"What's happening?" Alex asked finally.
"You don't know?" Beth asked, somewhat surprised. Alex shook her head - and suddenly her body spasmed. Beth desperately tried to hold her sister down, to stop her from getting hurt, but the spasm was over quickly. Beth looked up - into glowing blue eyes. The Allspark blinked, seeming puzzled.
"I spoke to Alex. I know she's in there, and I know it's possible - you will let me talk to her again." Beth said, not moving as she narrowed her eyes at the Allspark. The Allspark shook it's head, though it looked worried. "No, listen to me, I know she's in there! I want to speak to my sister again!" The Allspark shot Beth an annoyed look, and then she was flung off like a rag doll - not hard enough to hurt her, but enough to get the point across that Beth was no match for the Allspark, even had she been stronger than Alex normally. As she staggered to her feet, Beth glared at the Allspark, who was now standing in her usual spot at the front of the cell, looking out. Beth debated trying a more civil argument about getting to talk to her sister again, but before she could, the Allspark turned and beckoned her over.
Wary, Beth walked over, and when she'd reached the Allspark, it grabbed one of her hands. Beth tensed, waiting for the sustaining warmth to flow through her, but it didn't - instead, she felt tingly, as if she'd just received a jolt of electricity. She frowned, and then yelped as the Allspark pulled her forward - right through the force field. The tingling increased to almost painful levels as they passed through, but disappeared entirely on the other side. The Allspark let go of Beth's hand and nodded.
"What - could you do that all along?" Beth asked suspiciously, and the Allspark gave her an amused look, as if to say 'of course, dummy'. "So what, were you just waiting around for something?" Beth asked with a scowl, and the Allspark nodded, then set off towards the large metal door leading to the hallway to the main control center. The door opened at a touch from the Allspark, and it set off, only to pause and glance impatiently at Beth. Beth sighed. "I suppose you have a plan as to how to get past Ravage and the others?" she asked, and the Allspark nodded impatiently. Grumbling to herself about the boredom she'd been forced to endure while the Allspark waited for the perfect time to make this escape, Beth followed after, staying just a step behind the Allspark.
Ravage appeared out of nowhere when they were halfway down the hall, but energy shot from Alex to the bot, and it collapsed in a heap, optics dark. Beth stared at it as they passed, and jumped when she saw one foot twitch - not dead, then, just unconscious. She wasn't quite sure which she had wanted. Then voices caught her attention, speaking in Cybertronian, and Beth sped up her pace so she was walking a little closer to the Allspark.
They emerged into the main control room to find all the Decepticon force standing there, listening to the one with the robo-pets - Soundwave, Beth had heard him referred to as - talk. They were so engrossed, Beth thought for a moment that they'd be able to walk right by them - but one of the birds perched up on the lights caught sight of them and let out a squawk that alerted the others to their presence.
"Escape: foolish." Soundwave intoned, and with a nod from him, the nearest Decepticon bent to pick up the two humans. The Allspark sent out a jolt of electricity, causing the Decepticon to collapse just as Ravage had, and kept walking. Beth froze for a moment, then hurried to catch up. Glancing over, she saw Soundwave with an annoyed look on his face. He motioned, and the birds came swooping down from the lights, but they, too, fell to the Allspark. "Get them." Beth found the emotion now in Soundwave's voice to be more scary than the previous lack - but it didn't matter, because even as the other Decepticons moved to intercept the two humans, the Allspark shocked them into unconsciousness. Soundwave snarled at them, but was apparently smart enough to realize a futile effort when he saw it, and didn't attack. As they headed into a corridor that Beth assumed was the way out, she couldn't help turning and waving cheekily back at him. He fired a rocket at her in response, but it exploded in mid-air half-way between him and his target as a bolt of energy hit it. Beth laughed, turned around, and kept walking, following the Allspark.
---
When the Autobots landed at the air force base in Alaska that was closest to the supposed Decepticon base, they were talking quietly with each other and the human team, trying to determine any unknown factors that might cause them problems, discussing what plans they might use depending on the base layout, and generally readying themselves mentally for the battle ahead. It all flew from their minds, however, when they stepped off the C-5 to find Beth waiting, sitting cross-legged on the hood of a jeep.
"Hi guys!" she said, waving cheerfully. The special ops team standing around her, the team that had found Beth and the Allspark walking away from the Decepticon base without anyone in pursuit, watched with amusement as both the Autobots and Lennox's team stood in speechless shock.