Chapter 6: Iacon Under Siege

"It would seem that these pests have managed to get a little more time." Megatron said through gritted teeth, lowering his cannon, "Seeing as how we have far more pressing matters to tend to."

No sooner did Megatron lower his weapon, did everyone else in the room. With the immediate danger no longer being pointed directly at them, Steven and the Gems all let out sighs of relief. Yes, it was clear that it wasn't going to last, but the immediate danger was avoided for now, and possibly for good. Provided that things with the Autobots didn't go sour as well.

"Onslaught," Megatron said, turning to his underling, "You and the Combaticons will join the fight with our ground troops. I refuse to be taken by surprise any further today."

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Onslaught said, turning to his brothers, "Combaticons, move out."

On the command, all of the Combaticons switched into the vehicle mode, making their way for the exit. With the five of them out of the room, Megatron turned to Optimus once again.

"Don't think that this is over so easily, Prime." Megatron warned, "We will settle this matter once this issue is dealt with."

"I will allow you only this last warning to let this be, and let us deal with them." Optimus said, "Attempt anything else, and you will find any further negotiations to be near impossible."

"We'll see about that." was all Megatron said before casting his optics down at the small beings.

Steven couldn't help but bite his lip at the way the Decepticon leader looked at him. It a look that was all too similar to the ones the diamonds gave him, yet somehow more cold and calculative. As if he was trying to convey the ways he would end him using only his eyes.

With nothing else said, Megatron shifted shape, taking on what looked like to Steven, a sort of jet form. With his vehicle form taken, Megatron's thrusters ignited, and he left the room at an insanely fast speed.

With the source of standoff gone (if only for the moment), the Autobots were able to relax ever so slightly. There was still a battle to be fought, but at least it wouldn't be a complete free for all with every faction.

Yet Hot Rod was quick to remember the reason for the debacle.

"Steven?!" he shouted, "What are you guys doing here? How did you get here?!"

"Questions that do need to be answered, but not here." Optimus said before anything could be elaborated on, "We must take them to the nerve center. It will be safest there. Wheeljack, I need a ground bridge."

"Optimus, with all due respect, do you really think that is the wisest idea?" Perceptor asked, "I realize that our situation is not ideal, but that is our most secure area for a reason."

"It is our only option at the moment, Perceptor." Optimus said, before looking down at the four, "I'm sorry that this is the way we had to meet, but we must see to our planet's defense. Any questions and concerns that you have will be answered afterward."

While the four of them had their doubts about things on this planet, there was something about the way that the Autobot leader spoke that helped put them at a slight bit of ease. His voice was oddly reassuring. Despite it being so deep, it had an almost comforting tone to it. Almost like a parent.

Not long after Optimus made the call to his friend, a large green portal opened up behind all of them.

"Perceptor, you go through first." Optimus told the scientist, "We will join you momentarily."

Perceptor simply nodded, casting one last glance down at their visitors before making his way to the ground bridge. This day had been full of far too many surprises for his liking, so he was looking forward to getting back to his lab.

"Jazz, you will join me on the line with helping to drive all incoming forces back." Optimus told his friend, before looking over to Hot Rod, "Hot Rod, you will remain in the nerve center with our guests. If anything happens, ensure that they get back to their home planet safely."

"Yes Optimus." the two said simultaneously.

"Come." Optimus said to the four, gesturing to the portal.

The gems were understandably hesitant about going through. They had been on this planet for less than an hour, and they had their lives threatened. Even with the fact that they knew the Autobots were less likely to hurt them, there was no real telling if all of them were as civil the ones that came to earth.

That being said, they were not swimming in options at the moment.

Steven was the first one to step forward, looking up at Optimus with a mixture of curiosity and caution. The two made eye contact, and the mutual feeling of hesitation was shared by both of them.

Despite the very clear difference in both size and structure, Steven could see emotions in the robotic being's eyes. Despite the obvious feelings of uncertainty between them, there was a strong feeling of confidence coming from Optimus. Something that was helping to ease the tension out of him. And, if nothing else, he had come to their aid without any delay.

Looking back at the other three, Steven nodded his head.

"If they really wanted to hurt us, I don't think they would have fought that hard to help us."

While none of the gems were fully convinced, they knew that options were limited, at best. Yes, Jazz and Hot Rod had proven to be welcoming, but that could have very well been a complete ruse. It wouldn't be the first time that they were fooled by someone pretending to be friendly.

"Well, it's our best bet. Anything's better than waiting for big, grey, and angry to come back." Amethyst said.

"They're both right. We'll work out all of the details later, but we need to get somewhere safer than this. If only for the moment." Garnet said, looking to Pearl.

"Oh… alright. I can't argue with this. Trap or not, at least it will buy us some time." Pearl conceded.

Optimus nodded to the four of them, gesturing to the portal once more. The four began to walk to the opening of energy, wondering if this thing would cause the same effect that happened on the flight here. Considering they hadn't seen what brought them here in the first place, it could only be speculated at.

However, just as the three were about to go through, several explosions could be heard outside, causing the ground to shake and the lights to flicker. Everyone ducked their heads a slight bit, fearing for debris or shrapnel to come flying their way.

After the explosions, the ground bridge began to pulsate and distort. Everyone looked to it, noticing that it was starting to fade until it distorted so much that it completely vanished.

"Oh, blast it!" Optimus heard over the radio, immediately recognizing the voice.

"Wheeljack, report. The ground bridge has collapsed." Optimus said.

"Optimus, we have a situation up here. I don't know what they hit out there, but we a blew a fuze." The inventor was interrupted by the sound of another explosion in the background. "Make that three fuses."

"Was Perceptor able to get through?" Optimus asked.

"That I was, Optimus." the scientist said over the radio, "We're already working to get power back to the ground bridge, but it may take some time. Though I'm afraid that keeping the power running, much less stable, is going to consume a large amount of that time."

"Then we'll have to transport them by another means." Optimus said, trying to think of a way to get their guests to safety.

"If we need to get them out of here, we're in luck. We brought back more than just information from that planet." Jazz said, before changing into his new alternate earth vehicle mode.

Seeing this, Hot Rod did the same and changed to his vehicle mode. While the style of cars that they had chosen were not exactly roomy, between the two of them, they could hold the four and get them where they needed.

While it surprised Optimus a bit to see that both Jazz and Hot Rod in different forms, it was not something he was about to question. There was clearly more to the planet that they had visited than any of them initially thought, but further investigation would have to wait.

"Very well." Optimus said, "I will provide you with protection, should anything happen on our way there. Stay close and do not take any unnecessary risks. Let us hope that the trip there has little trouble."

With that, Optimus transformed into his alternate form. To the gems, it almost looked like some sort of truck, but there were was a noticeable difference. Behind them, they heard the sound of car doors opening.

"Hop in you guys." Hot Rod said, "We can each take two of you. Just strap yourselves in, and hold on. I have a feeling this ride is going to be a little more than bumpy."

The four did as they were asked, with Amethyst and Steven going with Hot Rod, and Pearl and Garnet riding with Jazz. As soon as they were seated, the doors closed and secured themselves.

"Nice interior, Hot Shot." Amethyst commented, looking around the inside of Hot Rod's vehicle form.

"Uh… Thanks?" Hot Rod said, not sure if she was giving him a genuine compliment.

"Welcome aboard, I'm Jazz and I'll be your driver. For your safety, I ask that you keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. We may experience some traffic today, so keep your schedules loose, and thank you for choosing Autobot transit." Jazz told the two, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

While Garnet did appreciate his attempt, Pearl was far less amused. They still had no idea where in the universe they were, or where they were about to be going. As easy as it was to make jokes, she was still longing for answers on many things.

With all of them now secured, Optimus and the other Autobots revved themselves up.

"Autobots, Roll out!"

With that phrase uttered, Optimus sped out of the meeting hall, Jazz and Hot Rod following closely behind him.

"While I have been doing a great deal of research on this planet since arriving here, yet there are still some things that even I do not understand." Peridot informed the Autobot.

"You don't say." Cliffjumper said, sounding completely disinterested.

After the scouting ship had left, Peridot had decided to keep Cliffjumper more or less distracted by offering to show him around the area of Beach City. While his previous question about where everyone had gone was unanswered, he knew that reconning the area was probably a good idea. If there were going to be more coming, than he should have at least a basic idea of everything that was around.

Not only that, but he also wanted to make sure that Soundwave's underling didn't decide to get into any trouble with the locals. He wasn't that worried about the Con himself, as he knew that he would continue to simply monitor the Communication relay, like almost always seemed to do back on Cybertron.

So there he was, in his new vehicle form, driving around the area with Peridot in his driver's seat. It all would have been fine, enjoyable even, if it weren't for one simple thing.

Peridot refused to stop talking or calm down for even a single second.

It's not that he minded having her tell him things about the planet and everything around, but she did so like a scraplet that had gotten into red energon. She talked inanely fast, and she seemed to try and justify herself as some sort of superior intellect among everyone else in the small group that they had met.

"Although I will admit that I have some problems with humans and this planet in general, there are many perks to living here as well." Peridot went on, "I'm sure it will take you all some time to get used to things as well but rest assured, I will be so generous as to help you all."

"How lucky we are." Cliff said, barely listening at this point.

He could only hope that Jazz and the rest of the bots were enduring more problems than him. He needed to do something to get his mind off of things. He then remembered that Hot Rod had earlier picked up some sort of transmission while they were making their way here. Maybe there was something he could pick up.

As Peridot continued to drone on, Cliff began turning the radio knobs in his interior trying to find something to take his mind off things.

"But anyway, what's really important is-"

"Hey, what's this?" Cliff said, cutting her off with the music.

Iron birds of fortune

Adrift above the skies

Cloudy revelations

Unseen by naked eyes

Flying tools of torment

Will penetrate the sphere

Erupt the rock of ages

Bringing final fear

Instruments of destruction

Tools of power plays

It's a violent eruption

Existence drips away

"Wow, this is really something. Mind if we listen to this for a bit?" Cliff asked, not actually wanting a response.

Peridot had her mouth still hanging open when the music started to play, trying to hold on to the words that were on the tip of her tongue. She wasn't used to being cut off like that, but she was fully intent on picking up where she left off after the music was finished.

While Cliff was enjoying the brief reprieve from the information overload he was receiving from his small friend, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before she would start up again.

In the back of his mind, he could only hope that Jazz and the others were just as bored as he was.

"Look out!" Pearl shouted, pointing out a piece of rubble that had fallen into their path.

Fortunately for both of his passengers, Jazz was quick behind the wheel, effortlessly steering away from the debris.

"Ladies, please. I will handle the driving, you dig?" Jazz remarked.

As the three sped down what was left of the roads of Iacon, Steven and the Gems were able to get their first look at the surface of the planet. And if the state of this one city was anything to go by, it was a wonder how anything was able to carve out a living here.

While the buildings of the area could certainly outclass anything seen on earth, and even some on the Gem homeworld, nearly every single one of them was in a state of disrepair. The entire city looked like a war zone.

"Hot Rod, what's going on here? What happened to this place?" Steven asked.

"I'm little busy right now, so questions are going to have to wait until later." Hot Rod said, "In the meantime, how about you answer a question for me? What you all doing here?"

"Well, the constant question dodging is part of the answer." Steven said, "You didn't exactly leave us with a lot to go on, and there were about to be more of you there. We needed to know what was about to happen."

"So after all that, you're saying you didn't trust us?" Hot Rod asked.

"Look, guys, you and your friends may have been alright, but the others were anything but friendly." Amethyst interjected, "More of those guys coming to Earth is hardly something that the planet needs."

"Look, there's a reason that we couldn't tell you that much." Hot Rod said, trying to keep his attention focused on the road, and trying to answer some of his passenger's questions. "It's called protocol, and we have to follow it. And as you can now see, there's a reason we didn't want you to be part of this."

"He's not wrong." Jazz said, putting in his own thoughts on the matter, "Prime has a very strict policy when it comes to other inhabited planets. The biggest one being, don't involve those who don't need to be."

"Well if you had just told us, we wouldn't have done this in the first place." Pearl chided, "It wouldn't have been that difficult."

"Believe me, we didn't want to involve you at all." Jazz said, "However, with you now being involved, there's no going back from here. We'll try to get you back, but with-"

"Stay focused, Autobots." Prime interrupted, "We are not alone."

Steven was about to ask what he meant, only to be cut off by an explosion that was only feet away from them. Looking out the window, he tried to see where it came. Looking up, he saw what he assumed was the cause flying straight towards them.

The flying vehicle was similar to some of the other Cybertronians, looking similar to that of earth crafts, with a notably otherworldly design to it. Thinking that it was where the explosion came from, Steven suspicions were soon confirmed when several missiles launched from it.

"Unless I missed my guess, those are heat seekers." Jazz said.

"Maintain your heading. I'll handle this." Optimus said, picking up speed.

The gems all watched as Optimus sped ahead of them, anxious about the incoming threat. Ahead, Optimus found a piece of rubble that looked suitable enough for a ramp. Taking the chance, he went to his maximum speed and launched himself into the air, transforming once he was airborne.

His blaster already at the ready, Optimus took several shots, taking out the missiles before they could get any closer. Even with those out of the way, the ship drew closer to Prime. Switching out his blaster, Optimus produced a large ax from his arm.

In a motion that was almost to quick for eyes to see, Optimus spun in mid-air and sliced through the jet, causing it to careen off course and hit the side of a nearby building, exploding on impact. Just before hitting the ground, Optimus transformed back into his vehicle mode and continued driving.

"Woah!' Steven said in awe, "That was so cool"

"I agree that Prime has some moves, but we got a rather big issue now." Jazz said, "Now that they know where he is, we are now going to be the focus of a lot of bad attention."

"How so?" Pearl asked.

Before anyone could answer, several blasts of energy came raining down. The four passengers all looked back, seeing that there was now a group of identical looking ships following them.

"That answer your question?" Jazz asked, starting to steer himself erratically to avoid more shots.

As the three Autobots kept going, they had to continuously dodge and outmaneuver shots that were raining down from above. All the while, their passengers were loudly expressing their displeasure about the situation they were in.

Optimus knew that, if this kept up they would soon be beset upon by too many to effectively avoid them. They needed help, and quick.

"Any Autobots in the immediate area, this is Optimus." Prime said, letting out a distress call, "We are en route to the nerve center and have fallen under heavy enemy fire. Requesting backup."

"This is Jetfire." a new voice said over the radio, "The aerialbots and I have your coordinates, but we're too far out from our position. We'll try to make it, but it will take us some time."

"No need, Jetfire. Prime and the others are coming up to our checkpoint. We'll cover them, and you worry about clearing the skies." a gruff voice said over the radio. A voice that sounded familiar to the Gems.

"Appreciated, Ironhide." Optimus said, "We'll make our way to you. Just ensure that you have the turret defenses ready."

"I think we've heard that voice before." Steven commented.

"If you were in the loading bay, that wouldn't surprise me. Also, sorry in advance." Hot Rod said.

"Sorry? Sorry for wha-" Amethyst tried to say before the backs of the seats pushed forward, pushing them out of viewing point of the windows.

Over with Jazz, he was doing much of the same to Garnet and Pearl. Needless to say, none of them were happy about their current seating arrangement.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Pearl shouted.

"Sorry, but it's best that the others don't see you right now." Jazz told them, "At least not until we get you somewhere safe."

"If it helps, at least you don't have to worry about seeing what's coming." Hot Rod said, knowing his comment was not helpful in the slightest.

"It doesn't." Garnet said, an explosion going off just as she said that.

As the three Autobots continued down the broken streets, continuously dodging fire from above, more of the strange airborne enemies started coming. The fire from above was getting so heavy that outmaneuvering it was becoming nearly impossible. They knew that, if this kept up, they wouldn't last.

Thankfully, the help that the group desperately needed finally arrived.

Several shots came from some ways away, all aimed at the attackers from above. While several of the shots missed, enough hit their mark that the enemies from above broke off and halted their pursuit of Prime and the others, if only temporarily.

From above, three forms came falling from above to join in the small convoy. One was large and red (similar to Optimus), another was of the same size as Jazz and Hot Rod but white, and the final one was small and yellow.

"Backup has arrived." the red one said, joining Optimus at the front, "Sorry that took so long, Prime."

"Think nothing of it, Ironhide." Optimus said, "The only thing that matters now is getting to safety and turning the tide of this attack."

In the back of the convoy, the two other vehicles joined with Jazz and Hot Rod.

"Jazz, what is up with the new paint job you and Hot Rod have?" the yellow one asked.

"No need for jealousy, Bee." Jazz remarked, "We can't all look this good."

"Well let's make sure that your finish doesn't get ruined." the white one said.

"Come on Smokescreen." Hot Rod said, "Do we look anything like Knockout?"

The conversation was interrupted when more fire started to rain down from above once again. The autobots refocused themselves, again trying to dodge everything that came their way.

"We're coming up on the checkpoint." Ironhide said, "Smokescreen and I will take up positions to keep them off your fenders. Bee, Get ahead of us and let them through."

"I'm on it." Bumblebee said, kicking in his speed boosters, getting ahead of everyone.

As Bumblebee went faster, he was met with only minor attacks from the enemies above, as they were more focused on their main target: Optimus.

The checkpoint in question was little more than a set of buildings on the road with an energy barrier blocking the path. On the top of both buildings, there was a defense turret that was taking shots at airborne enemies.

Bee reached the checkpoint, transforming into his robot form. Heading to the energy barrier, he quickly deactivated it. With the path open for the other autobots, Bumblebee brought out his blaster and took up a position to help ward off more incoming enemies, managing to take out a few before they got any closer.

"We'll hang back and keep anything from following you. It should be a straight shot to the nerve center from here." Ironhide told them, "Smokescreen, get in position and take down those fliers."

"Yes, sir." Smokescreen said, heading to help out Bumblebee.

"Stay safe, autobots." Optimus told them, "I will return to join you in the fight soon."

"Just worry about getting to where you need to be, Prime." Ironhide said, "You leave this to us for once."

Quickly changing into his robot form, Ironhide jumped up to the building to join Bumblebee and Smokescreen in the firefight. With them taking care of the threats pursuing them, the remaining three sped through the checkpoint, undeterred by any more above enemies for the time being.

Letting the seats back up, Steven and the Gems all repositioned themselves so that they were sitting properly once again. While they certainly understood the reasoning behind what they did, it wasn't at all comfortable the entire time they were in that awkward position.

"Oh, my neck." Steven groaned.

"You could have given us a little more warning." Amethyst added.

"I did say sorry in advance." Hot Rod pointed out.

"Good news is it won't need to happen again." Jazz said, "We're getting close to where we need to be. Once we're there, we can both starting answering a few questions."

"I'd say that it's long overdue but better late than never." Pearl said.

"Hot Rod, what are these things that are attacking?" Steven asked.

"They used to be us before they were changed." Hot Rod said, hoping that would be enough until they got to the nerve center.

The answer that Steven received was not something that he expected to hear, but it did offer a little insight into what was going on. It at least explained what these things attacking them were, but it also raised a lot of other questions as well.

Yet, he was now a little more appreciative of the fact that they needed to focus on what was happening. In any case, they were about to make their arrival. If nothing else, it would mean that at least some of their questions would be answered.

The base was now coming into sight, and it was just as big as one might expect from something that was to be the central operation point. Several turrets and gun positions were littered across the rooftops, as well as many more soldiers.

Between the building and the road that they were traveling on, there was a large gap that they would have no hopes of crossing on their own.

"We are approaching the main entrance. Extend the bridge." Optimus said over the radio.

At his word, a large metal bridge began to extend from the building. With the gap between the road and the building taken care of, Optimus sped up, crossing the bridge. Once across, he shifted back into his robot form, pulling out his blaster to take several shots at enemies in the sky. While the other autobots were not that far behind him, Optimus wanted to make sure that they would be alright.

As Jazz and Hot Rod got to the bridge, they began to think about what they would need to do once inside. Jazz would have to leave his passengers quickly to get back with Prime. Meanwhile, Hot Rod was wondering how he was going to explain to the troops just what their guests were doing here.

Yet all of that was rendered moot.

A small group of fliers came from above, taking shots at the bridge. While Optimus tried to fend them off, these ones were able to outmaneuver his shots. Several missiles were sent out at the bridge, causing a sizable chunk of it to fall off.

"Uh, Jazz, what are the odds of us making it over the gap?" Hot Rod asked, knowing that they were going too fast to stop.

The two went flying over the gap, hoping to make it to the other side. Yet, just as they were about to land, another one of the ships fired another missile, causing the section of the bridge they were about to land on to fall into the chasm below.

"I'd say nonexistent now." Jazz said.

As the bridge fell before them, Pearl and Steven let out loud screams of fear, thinking they were about to get acquainted with the lower depths of Cybertron. Both Garnet and Amethyst braced themselves but managed to restrain themselves from screaming.

As they fell, both Jazz and Hot Rod took their robot forms, both forcing their passengers out of their seats, and then taking them into their arms.

Seeing his comrades falling, Optimus bolted from his position. Sliding across the metal of the bridge, he stretched his hand out in an attempt to grab one of them before they could fall. Jazz's fingers came within mere inches of Prime's but to no avail.

As the two Autobots fell, Pearl continued with her screaming. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Jazz to act. Shifting his two passengers into one arm, Jazz used his energy grapple to grab onto the wall. Being reeled in towards the wall, Jazz quickly scanned the area to try and find a place to anchor himself.

It only took a cursory glance before he found an opening. Jazz managed to angle himself just enough so that he could swing into the hole he saw. Upon landing, he immediately dropped his two passengers.

"Steven, Amethyst!" both Garnet and Pearl shouted, greatly concerned for the other two.

Thankfully, Jazz was already on it. Immediately going to the edge of the cliff face, his optics saw Hot Rod plummeting to the bottom. Left with no other recourse, Jazz activated his grapple once again, aiming it for Hot Rod.

While this was happening, Hot Rod was desperately trying to both find a way to slow his fall and make sure that his passengers wouldn't get hurt in the process. He darted his head around, trying to find anything, but was greeted with nothing.

As he contemplated whether or not he could survive a fall like this, he felt a something latch onto his back, followed by a sharp tug. As he began to slow down, Hot Rod looked up, seeing that it was Jazz's energy grapple.

Up above, Jazz was straining to not only keep his hold on his friend but to also try and pull him back up. Gravity was still fighting with him, and Hot Rod fell even further down. The best he was doing at the moment was slowing him down.

Off to the side, Pearl and Garnet felt nearly helpless in that they couldn't do anything to help. Jazz was doing his best, but there was no guarantee that things would turn out alright. Just as they were thinking this, Jazz let out one final strained noise before losing his grip entirely.

Down below them, the deceleration of the fall had managed to give Hot Rod some options on what to do next. While he did have the utmost faith in Jazz, he knew that his grapple could only go for so far. With the ground still approaching, Hot Rod quickly came up with a plan.

Shifting both Steven and Amethyst over to one arm, Hot Rod attempted to get himself closer to the wall. When the grapple finally gave way, he lunged at the wall and dug his hand into it. Although it was straining and painful, Hot Rod held on as tight as he could, still trying to slow himself down.

Byt the time they were approaching the bottom, he had decelerated enough that he knew they wouldn't be hurt by the impact. Landing on the ground with a loud thud, Hot Rod let out a sigh of relief along with his two other friends.

"Quick thinking, Hot Rod." Amethyst said in thanks, "I thought we were gonna end up greasy stains on the metal for a second."

"Well, we would have been if it weren't for Jazz." Hot Rod said.

"Hot Rod, do you read?" Jazz call over his radio, "Roger me, Wilco me. Hello, Hello?"

"I'm fine Jazz." Hot Rod told his friend, "A little banged up, but we're all okay."

"Oh, thank Primus." Jazz responded, "That gave me a blast to the ticker."

"What about you? Are you and the others okay?" Hot rod asked.

"We're fine up here. The place we landed looks like it could lead down to you. We're gonna try to work our way down. If you can find a way up, we'll meet you along the way." Jazz told him.

"Sounds like a plan. We'll meet you top side." Hot Rod said.

With that taken care of, Jazz looked at the other two.

"They're alright, but we need to make our way down there." Jazz told them, "It's going to take a while. None of us have been down to the lower levels of Iacon in quite some time."

Changing back into his vehicle form, Jazz opened up his doors, inviting the two back inside. Without hesitation, Garnet and Pearl got in.

"Let's not waste any time. I just hope Steven and Amethyst are alright." Pearl remarked.

"They are. Though I can't say how things will go from here." Garnet said.

"No need to worry. Hot Rod may be young, but the kid knows how to handle both himself and others." Jazz said, turning on his lights as he began to drive into the dark catacombs of the underside of the base.

Down below, Hot Rod, Amethyst, and Steven were looking around the bottom of the chasm, trying to figure out how they should proceed.

"So what, have you guys never been down here?" Amethyst asked.

"Not in a long time." Hot Rod told her, "Ever since the attacks started, we've tried to limit the number of places that use."

"Ever since? How long have these been happening?" Amethyst asked

"Look, I'm not really the best one to be-" Hot Rod began, only to be interrupted by Steven.

"What's that noise?" he asked, creeping closer to the inner cavern of the underside of the city.

Listening closely, both Hot Rod and Amethyst heard the noise he was talking about. It sounded like metallic scraping. Something that both Steven and Amethyst thought might have been common. But to Hot Rod, it was a reason for great concern.

Pressing a switch on the side of his head, his optics lit up to illuminate the area. The underside of the city seemed to be horribly neglected and falling apart in some areas. Stepping carefully, Hot Rod looked around to try and find the source of the noise. When he rounded the corner of one of the pillars, he saw what it was.

There, on the wall of the building, there was what looked a broken, rusting, dilapidated Cybertronian, clawing at the wall of the building. A blue, glowing liquid oozing from the wall and from the creature's mouth.

At first, it didn't seem to notice them. That is, until Steven noticed it, and let out a loud gasp. The creature turned around and, upon seeing them, let out a loud howl. Getting off the wall, the thing tried running towards them, stumbling under it's crippled, breaking legs.

Seeing this, Hot Rod wasted no time in lifting his arms up and activating his blasters, taking multiple shots at the horrid creature. It let out a few pained shouts of agony before falling to the ground, unmoving and dead.

Steven and Amethyst were both in shock at what they just saw, but Hot Rod seemed to be not at all deterred as if he had seen this several times over already.

"Any and all autobots receiving this, I have a confirmed report of terrorcon." Hot Rod said over his radio, "I say again, terrorcon are ground side."

"Terrorcon? What is that? Is that what that thing is?" Steven asked.

"Looks like they were chewing on the energy pipes." Hot Rod said, ignoring Steven's question and approaching the pipe. "I should be able to give it a patch job-"

"Hot Rod, why do you keep ignoring me?" Steven shouted, finally losing his patience. "I know that we're not in an ideal situation, but that's all the more reason for us to know. If we're in danger, just tell us."

There was a moment of silence between the three. Both Steven and Amethyst were waiting for a reply, not willing to move until they got some form of answer. They had been strung along for long enough, and now they wanted solid answers.

Hot Rod simply stood they, weighing his options. He knew what his orders were but, in that same regard, this was far from a normal situation. No other species had seen this much. No one else, other than them, had known about the great evil that they were keeping at bay. There was a good reason for that, but how far could that reason be stretched?

Finally coming to a conclusion, Hot Rod figured it would be better to just tell them and deal with the consequences as they came.

"These things, that were once us, are the reason that our planet is so destroyed." Hot Rod explained. "For a long time now, we have been at war with the ultimate incarnation of evil. He's brainwashed our kind and even turned some of them into more like the creature you see here. He's the bringer of chaos. Unicron, the destroyer."