Weeeelll.

That took a while, eh?

_ Sorry about all that. But I'll have you know I churned out over 4000 words of this document in less than 2 hours today. Because I wanted you guys to have this chapter after more than 3 months of wait.

This chapter is rather choppy, as it bounces back and forth between scenes quite often. But I kinda like it that way.

"Two fragging years?!?" Ratchet exclaimed, making a dive for the scientist. Optimus and Prowl had to restrain him.

"Stand down, Ratchet! Attend to our injured!" Optimus commanded, almost shouting. "We are lucky to even be alive now, and once again owe our lives to Wheeljack. Better time travel two years in the future than die." He gave a reassuring nod to the scientist, who had backed into a corner for safety.

"I'd understand a few days but two slagging years…"

"Enough, Ratchet."

"We have to get to Artemis," Jazz said urgently, looking around. "There's enough of us that can make it--"

"You're not going anywhere," the medic grumbled.

"Why not?!? She's out there, in their grasp--"

"You're missing an arm, Jazz."

"So? I can still walk there--"

"No you can't."

"Yes I can!"

"You're missing a leg, too."

The saboteur looked down, and sure enough both an arm and a leg were detached. "Damn."

Luckily the blast from the bomb had cauterized his opened energon lines, leaving him in relatively stable condition.

Thoroughly put out, Jazz resorted to pouting in his corner, while simultaneously figuring out a plan to get Artemis back.

Ratchet was angrily mumbling to himself as he scanned over the mechs in the cave. None seemed to have immediately life threatening injuries, but there were still some that had to be taken care of soon. There was also the problem of having limited supplies for repairs, both in replacements and equipment. The medic glowered even more. He was not looking forward to the next few hours.

For once, the Primes were actually frightened of the Weapons Specialist before them. And rightfully so…the sheer fury and anger emanating from Ironhide was enough to even make Megatron retreat.

"How the frag could you just let that happen?" Ironhide growled dangerously. His cannons powered up in the most ominous fashion. "How could you just let them die? And let the Decepticons win? Whose side are you on?"

One of the Primes bravely stepped forward. "Contrary to popular belief, we do not control what happens. Only influence events."

"Then you should have influenced that event a little more strongly in our favor!"

"It was not our place to do so."

"You also must keep in mind that it may not be as bad as you think," another Prime added, still keeping a careful optic on Ironhide.

"NOT AS BAD AS I THINK?!?" the black mech bellowed, all self control gone. "Artemis and Will are prisoners, and Optimus, Jazz, and all the others are DEAD! HOW is that not bad?!?"

Still managing their everlasting patience, the first Prime continued. "If you won't believe us, then look through here." He gestured to a newly formed window.

Ironhide contemplated telling them where they could look, but decided against it and walked towards the window. His already deep frown deepened further upon seeing what lay on the other side.

"If this is even a joke, I swear you're all dead."

"We could tell by your thoughts."

"Not the right time for a joke, Prime number whatever."

"This is real, Ironhide. Two years into the future since the explosion at the Autobot base. This is happening right now for all of them."

"But…but how?" the Weapons Specialist asked, still suspicious.

"Wheeljack invented--"

"Say no more. I'm sure even you can't make full sense of his inventions."

"Actually, it was us who granted him the processor capability and imagination to create such things."

Ironhide turned to the Prime, optic ridge raised. "So why does he keep blowing things up?"

"…We were a little too heavy on the imagination side."

"How are we holding up, Ratchet?"

The medic let out an exhausted sigh before turning to Optimus. "Well enough, I guess. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are pretty battered, but most of that is self-injury from Jet Judo, and they'll be fine. I've reattached Jazz's arm, but I would like to keep his leg off for now, just so he doesn't go off on his own. Bumblebee was in pretty bad shape but he's been improving. Wheeljack, Perceptor, and Prowl just had minor injuries that their own systems can heal. Jetfire had some bad damage to his wings, but he should be able to fly soon enough."

Nodding, Optimus added, "And what about you?"

"I'll be fine. Anyway, I still have to check over Jolt and Red Alert." The medic looked around the cave. "Where are those two, anyway?"

Optimus also looked for the two. "Hm…come to think of it, I haven't seen them lately."

"Jolt, Red Alert, get over here!" Ratchet called out, but there was no response. "I don't like this, Optimus…" the CMO added in a quieter voice to his commander.

Optic ridges furrowing, Optimus looked around once more before speaking. "Has anyone seen Jolt and Red Alert?"

The other mechs in the cave looked around, and the same realization hit them as it hit Optimus and Ratchet. Their sparks stopped momentarily as the fear set in.

The missing mechs had not been seen at all in the cave.

They had not been seen, because they had not been transferred with the others.

They had not been transferred because they were either too far away…

…or they were already dead.

Megatron loved his life. Things were going perfectly smooth, thanks to the obliteration of the Autobots. What weak fools, giving up so easily…

The last two years had been so enjoyable the silver mech almost wished he could relive them. Almost. But, there was still conquering to do.

Most of the world's governments surrendered once they realized the Autobots had vanished. Megatron reveled in the shock that followed the realization that they had not just vanished, but were killed by Megatron himself. Many were in disbelief of this truth, but upon showing the world two mangled corpses of dead Autobots, it was easy to convince the fleshlings that the others had been completely disintegrated. But there were those pesky few countries that refused to give up their pathetic attempts to destroy him. Among the two biggest annoyances were these places called the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

"Such futile attempts from such fragile fleshlings…" the Decepticon mused, reclining what was the chair of Abraham Lincoln at his memorial, but Megatron took for himself. The United States may have been still fighting him, but they could not keep him off their soil. Megatron had no particular use for the throne; he used it only to further insult the fleshlings still against him. But there was little time for relaxation. He was a busy mech, after all.

Sighing contentedly, Megatron rose from his throne and set off for his base of operations. He had work to be done.

"What have you got, Red Alert?"

The mech turned to the soldier addressing him. "Megatron is leaving the Lincoln Memorial. I might be able to track him this time to his base."

"Excellent. Alright, men! Get ready for another attack! I want us ready to roll out in ten minutes!"

"Yes sir, Major Chapman!"

Graham winced. He was still getting used to being called by his last name after receiving his promotion. He honestly preferred "Graham," but in today's chaotic world, the men needed some normalcy to hold on to. If calling him "Major Chapman" instead of "Major Graham" made them feel better, then so be it.

The Major looked up to the mech next to him. "You sure you can't come with? We could really use your help."

Red Alert looked down at the human. "I'm sorry, but the Decepticons must not know I am still alive at this point. They have to believe that fake corpse was me."

"I understand."

"I will reveal my existence soon enough, it is just not the right time yet."

Red Alert watched the humans pack up and prepare to attack once more. For such fragile beings, they were very courageous and persevered through towering odds. They had definitely earned his utmost respect. The past two years had been hard on everyone, especially those who had known the Autobots personally. Red Alert was surprised to find he had survived the blast, albeit heavily damaged. He tried to search for more survivors, but his team had been completely obliterated, minus Jolt. He too was online, but much too damaged to live for much longer, even if medical help was available. The young mech made Red Alert promise to take his energon whips, not wanting the Decepticons to return and take them for their own. The security officer agreed, and not even an astrosecond later, Jolt was gone.

Red Alert blocked out the pain of such terrible loss and focused on survival. He promised in his own processor that he would live on, keeping the memory of his fallen comrades alive with him. He managed to contact the NEST forces, and they transported him and Jolt's body to a secure location where Red Alert could rest and heal. It would have been easier to leave Jolt behind, but Red Alert couldn't bring himself to leave him behind. NEST also put together a replica of a battered Red Alert and Jolt in record time and placed it back at the destroyed Autobot Base, in case the Decepticons noticed their bodies. Surely they would become suspicious if they mysteriously disappeared. This way, Megatron would believe without a doubt that Red Alert was really dead.

Months later, Red Alert was healed enough to start helping the NEST forces in their counterattacks, although he stuck to technical work and strategic planning, deciding not only was he not strong enough to fight, but it was also not the right time to reveal his existence.

The security mech looked down at the energon whips now attached to his own arms. The pain of losing so many comrades, so many friends, refused to lessen at all. He suffered the agony of it in his spark every night, and was plagued by their memories as he recharged. He awoke each morning, making a new promise to make his friends proud that day. But nothing made the pain go away. Nothing helped him cope with such a devastating loss. Not even the humans who had worked with Optimus could even begin to understand the sudden, abrupt severing of so many relationships that had lasted for millions of years.

The now red, white, and blue mech clenched his fist as he regained control over his thoughts. After being damaged, Red Alert chose not only to take Jolt's energon whips, but also to alter his appearance. He gave most of his body structure a blue color, to honor Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, who had once painted him blue as a prank, while his outer plates remained red and white to keep Perceptor's memory alive. He also adopted a visor in memory of Jazz and Prowl. His new alt mode was a H2 Hummer, like Ratchet's old one, and gave himself "door wings" much like Bumblebee's. His left hand was torn off completely in the blast, so he constructed a photon missile launcher, like Jetfire's, to replace it, also including a fire suppression system like Wheeljack's. In addition to the missile launcher, Red Alert also created an energon sword reminiscent of Optimus's pair, which he trained with every day in hopes of becoming as skilled as his leader. And in memory of Ironhide…the first to die…Red Alert not only adopted his "tough as nails" attitude, but also the scar he used to have over his right optic, with a matching one over the right side of his visor.

He had transformed himself into a living memorial. Sometimes the only thing that kept the mech pushing on was the fact he was surviving for the sake of his fallen friends. He did nothing for himself anymore; it was all in memory of his team.

"Starscream, I'm home!" Megatron growled, striding into his base. "I take it things have gone well in my absence?"

"Of course, my leige," Starscream replied, inclining his head in acknowledgment.

"Excellent. And that fleshling male, how is your progress?"

The Seeker scowled before replying. "Not to be the bearer of bad news, but he refuses to give in. He is much more strong-willed than that female."

Megatron shoved the smaller mech aside, but retained his good humor, at least somewhat. "Two years, Starscream. It shouldn't take that long to convert such a weak species."

"My apologies, master," Starscream replied from the floor, but still managing to bow.

"Do not bother, cretin. I will have to take care of this myself."

The silver Decepticon strode off down a hallway, approaching the hostage room. Well, only one hostage was there at the moment, a fleshling by the name of William Lennox. He had arrived with that fleshling female two years ago, but refused to listen to what anyone had to say. In a way it was amusing to Megatron, watching the fleshling struggle to keep hold of his sanity. It was probably the only reason it was still alive. For similar reasons that female, Artemis, was also kept alive. Though it had broken down already, and proved to be a somewhat useful member to the Decepticons. Oh, how he enjoyed ripping into its mind with only his words. It was such enjoyment to watch the female break, apologizing over and over to no one in particular, while the male tried to comfort it. Once the female was broken, it was easy to brainwash it into following the Decepticons. Megatron knew he could have forced the female to work for him, through various ways of torture and blackmail, but the joy of having it freely choose to follow him was like one last kick to the Autobots.

At last Megatron reached the door to where the male fleshling was kept. He entered and immediately turned to the wall, where a small shelf was constructed at about optic-height, to be used for the fleshling to stand on instead of dangling by its arms from the wall. Let no one say Megatron was inconsiderate.

"Greetings, Will," Megatron laughed evilly, enjoying the disgusted response he received. Though he despised calling humans by names, for they deserved no such distinction, this particular one seemed to hate it.

Major Lennox spat at the Decepticon, his eyes still managing to glare daggers at the mech, despite two long years of mistreatment and abuse. He was barely fed enough to be kept alive, and was too weak to even stand, and was thus slumped against the ground with his arms attached to the wall above him. His clothing was ripped and torn from various torture techniques, with his shirt missing completely. His skin was covered in sweat, blood, and grime, built up after two years, and his hair was tangled and clumped together in places.

Upon receiving no further greeting, Megatron continued. "What shall we talk about today?" he asked in a mock-jovial voice.

"Its not gonna happen, Megatron," Lennox growled. "You're not gonna break me."

The soldier could have sworn he saw a twinkle of delight flash in the mech's optics.

"Oh, we will see about that."

Just as the Autobots were "celebrating" their victory over death, the realization that two of their own had not made it crashed into the already somber cave.

"But there has to be a way to get them-"

"No, Sideswipe, there isn't," Perceptor replied sadly.

"But if Wheeljack can time travel forward, we should be able to go back too!"

"You do not know the full consequences of traveling back in time!" Ratchet interjected over the silver twin. "You are naïve to think we could simply travel back in time and grab them. Think of the consequences of it, even if we could get back to that exact moment. Change one small detail in the past and it could completely destroy the present as we know it!"

"But we don't even know what this 'present' is like! We could change it for the better!"

"Or we could make it worse. No one knows what will happen. Time travel is not something to be messed with."

"So we're just going to let Red Alert and Jolt stay dead?"

"We have no other choice," Optimus said sadly, resting his forehelm on his hands. "Mechs will die, no matter what we do. We've suffered losses before. Instead of worrying about the past, we must fight on in their memory."

Still unsatisfied, Sideswipe crossed his arms and strode away to the other side of the cave without another word.

"Sideswipe did make a point, Optimus," Jazz said after a moment, thinking quickly. "We have no idea what its like out there. We need to send at least a few of us out there to check it out."

The Autobot Commander could sense Jazz's eagerness to find Artemis, if she was even still alive, but he could not deny the truth. They did need to see what they were up against.

"Alright, Jazz. Get Ratchet to reattach your leg and find two volunteers to go out with you. Stick together, and don't make any rash decisions."

Artemis was standing at a street corner not far from the Decepticon base, inconspicuously keeping an eye out for NEST forces. She wore sunglasses and a hat to help conceal her identity from any familiar soldiers, and placed her hand over the Decepticon faction symbol Megatron had tattooed to her skin once she joined them. The Decepticon leader had been kind enough to give Artemis a hologram projector, which she used to cover her metal arm with the image of a normal one to blend in with normal humans. Though the Decepticons were taking over, people managed to adapt and still went about their daily lives, albeit with much more fear and paranoia than before.

Artemis noticed some unusual movement out of the corner of her eye, and she instantly recognized it as a military strategy.

"Lord Megatron, NEST activity spotted, heading east towards the base," she said into her earpiece. "Small army, shouldn't be too much of a problem. Probably thought they had the element of surprise."

"Indeed, the pathetic soldiers," came the reply. "I will have them dispatched immediately. I would advise leaving the area, unless you want to be accidentally killed in the crossfire."

"Thank you, Lord Megatron," Artemis said, before slipping away. The first few times, the knowledge that she helped kill other humans plagued her conscience, but after so many missions she had grown immune to the pain. After all, they were the enemy now. The enemy had to be destroyed before peace could reign.

Artemis had gotten about two miles from the NEST forces when she heard the unmistakable sound of a battle taking place. She chose to head towards a secret haven of her own, instead of back to the base, something which Megatron allowed her to do at times. She paused to turn off the hologram projector and take off the hat and sunglasses, before continuing again. She didn't really like disguises.

Soon Jazz, Prowl, and Perceptor were cautiously leaving the safety of their hidden cave out into the open. Luckily Perceptor had a few signal suppressors with him. They allowed the Autobots to keep in contact with one another, which normally gave off a signal, but the suppressors kept that signal hidden while out in the open.

The three mechs proceeded through the wilderness, in search of some sort of sign that would give them a clue as to what life was like now. They traveled carefully, alert to anything that could become a threat. Soon the road brought them closer to a populated area. Jazz could see the unmistakable signs of a fight happening not even three miles away. Add it to the already war-torn landscape they traveled through, and it didn't equal good news for the Autobots.

"There are Decepticons close by," Prowl commented, though it was really unnecessary to say aloud.

"Let's be careful. Keep a low profile while we search out Artemis."

"Jazz, I know you want to find her, but the odds of coming across her are very small," Perceptor said, but he may as well have been talking to a wall for all the response he got.

The three Autobots moved on as cautiously as ever, Prowl and Perceptor mainly going on only to keep Jazz in check. They had seen enough to know the odds were fully against them.

Suddenly the saboteur slammed on his brakes, causing the other two to swerve around him to avoid a collision. Prowl would have loved to ask why Jazz did so, but a human female was close by, and he didn't want to risk showing themselves just yet. The girl just had to believe they were three normal vehicles.

…unfortunately, Jazz transformed right then and there, causing the girl to stop dead in her tracks.

After a few seconds of angered confusion, Prowl saw why.

The girl was Artemis. It was unmistakably her, even without the dead giveaway of the one-of-a-kind metal arm Ratchet had constructed. With that realization, both Prowl and Perceptor transformed as well, happy to see that Artemis was alive and well, even with their two year absence.

"Artemis!" Jazz said excitedly, approaching her.

Artemis's face turned pale white as she stepped back. "No…no. No no no no no. You're dead. All three of you are dead!" she said, her deep green eyes wide with shock.

"No, its okay. We're really here. We're not dead! Wheeljack saved us with one of his inventions!" Jazz added, trying to convince Artemis.

"NO! You were killed two years ago! I saw it! You aren't real!" she yelled hysterically. Her mind was reeling with the sudden reappearance of the mechs she saw die. Her reality began to crumble, and with it, her ability to think straight.

Prowl knelt down to Artemis. "We are real. See?" he said quietly, slowly holding out his own hand. "Don't be afraid, Artemis, because if we are real, we won't hurt you, and if we aren't real, we can't hurt you."

Artemis accepted this logic after a few minutes of intense contemplation, and slowly reached out and touched Prowl's offered hand. A second later she broke down into more tears, feeling the warm metal beneath her fingers. But still...how could all this happen?

"How? How are you alive? How do I even know you aren't some trick of Megatron's?" she cried, still hesitant to believe they were truly alive.

"Long story short, a Wheeljack Invention saved all of us from the blast," Perceptor said factually.

"And you can know its really me, because you know the Decepticons have no knowledge of the close relationship Ironhide and I had," Jazz added softly. This statement was enough to send Artemis over the edge. The knowledge that the Autobots were not dead was too much for her to take in, and she immediately passed out on the ground before the three mechs.

Jazz gently picked up the limp girl. "We need to get her back to the cave," he decided, holding her protectively.

Prowl was just about to transform when he saw something unusual.

"What's that on her arm?"

"Huh?" Jazz said, looking down. He spotted a medium-sized, uncomfortably familiar black marking on Artemis's arm that wasn't there two years ago. The saboteur bent down for a closer look.

"Oh, Primus… no…"

So...was this chapter worth the wait? ...Probably not. Even I don't think you deserved to wait this long for the chapter. Sorry again, everyone.

A few notes!:

1. Graham is the English guy from ROTF. He didn't have a last name so I gave him one. Why "Chapman?" Because Leland and Duane Lee Chapman are the greatest bounty hunters ever and I love those two to death. :D

2. Megatron is really enjoying the fact he has "once and for all" destroyed his Autobot arch-nemesis and his followers. Thus his abnormally good mood.

3. More on what caused Artemis to be brainwashed into joining the Decepticons in the next chapter.

4. SO! ...You know how in one chapter I did something that I said I was not going to undo, ever, EVER? WEEEEELLL...I might be undoing said permanent event.

5. I'm sorry, Jolt really had no purpose for my story. I had absolutely no personality to work with and I couldn't really create a good one of my own, so I had to. Anyway, the Autobots can't all survive while Decepticons die in fights. The Cons aren't THAT incompetent.

6. Red Alert's new look resembles to his Armada counterpart. Why? Because I love Armada Red. Just like Prowl is modeled after Animated Prowl because I love him.

Anyway! Glad to have finally gotten this chapter up. Hope you liked it!