Chapter 2: The Danger Zone
The trip to Earth seemed to last forever. The Nemesis wasn't taking the pressure of its constant voyaging too well despite Earth was only a space bridge away.
Megatron stared at the humungous screen before him and once in a while typed a few things which popped up immediately after. He turned to see the rest of his new team discussing about the Metal Heads and what Tigressa may look like when they find her (since not many have actually seen her).
The Vehicons were, of course, the ever-so-present crew of the Nemesis but this time they were joined by Arcee, Bumblebee, Knockout, Rodimus, Blitzwing, and Slipstream, Starscream's sister whom Megatron hated more than the silver seeker himself.
He couldn't help but believe he was stuck with children except Arcee who has proven to be a "motherly" figure among the Autobots.
As the approached Earth, something in the far distance caught his optics. It wasn't a man-made satellite for it was straying from the orbital pattern practically all floating objects seemed to move in, and it was bigger than a majority of them. Before he could identify it as it came closer, the ship stirred slightly as it reentered the atmosphere it was already accustomed to.
The metal and the protective glass prevented him from keeping track of the figure as it disappeared from view. If that was what he thought it was, he and Tigressa would be having a long, colorful conversation.
Blitzwing observed the cities and countryside they moved over. They didn't have anything like this on Cybertron, and despite its organic nature, he had to admit it was beautiful. A crash upon the window startled him out of his daydream. He looked up to see a large white and grey bird plastered on the glass like a bug getting hit on a highway. A red substance began to slowly slip down which made the jet think twice about the "beauty" of organic life.
"Hit a bird, huh?" Rodimus asked as the supposedly dead creature started to slide down the surface with a trail of blood following behind. The Prime had a disgusted look upon his face plates as the organic finally fell off.
"Well, from what Bee has told me, birds aren't the worst things that can appear on our windshields," the red-orange and yellow mech choked out, still locked onto where the bird once was.
Blitzwing's blue face immediately switched to one of red with a yellow visor, "Yeah, but if I get any on my cockpit, Optimus is going to here from me personally! I'll put my message straight through his processor alright!"
Once again, his face switched to a black face with red sharp dentas and blood red eyes. It instantly made Rodimus jump back a few feet.
"Of course, if that does happen, I may keep the deceased birdies and stuff them into the Autobot leader's chassis when he's in recharge! That'll teach the goody two-shoes Prime not to mess with me!" The crazy persona let out a hoarse, cruel cackle as the younger Prime kept his distance from the triple-changer.
When the Nemesis finally grounded itself in Jasper, Nevada, Bumblebee stood gleefully as Raf ran towards him. Behind him was Clara, a girl who had befriended the warrior and became Raf's wife after a few years of dating. She smiled at the boys' reunion and hugged Arcee whom she grew to like over the years as well.
"It's nice to see you again, Bee. I was wondering when you would return," Raf said as he was placed on the warrior's shoulder.
"Trust me, I was thinking the same thing, although we're actually here to talk to some of the Metal Heads that were placed to protect you. Their leader made an unauthorized strike against Grimlock and we need to find out why."
Raf thought for a minute. During this time, the yellow and black mech couldn't help but think back to when Raf was a small teenager who happened to be a great hacker and accidently saw him and Arcee battling Vehicons under the bridge. Now, Rafael was a grown man with a deeper voice, a wife, and a job at one of the biggest technology companies in the world which he does at his home computer system.
Bumblebee had no doubts that Miko and Jack were doing great in their professional jobs. Miko had taken the job as the manager for the top metal band in the East while Jack opened a popular mechanic shop in Los Angeles that both cars and disguised Cybertronians go when they need repairs and no medic is available.
Thankfully, Knockout and Ratchet taught him the Cybertronian body and how to repair every problem known so far. He now has a hidden supply of ready Energon in case one of his alien customers happens to have lost a good amount from a wound or a missing limb. He even has a couple dozen personal mines the government monitors under his command. Several Vehicons help him remove their crystals when the time is needed.
"What if something's wrong with Tigressa? What if she is incapable of commanding them and they don't know what to do without a leader?"
Bumblebee stared at him confused, "Those are some serious 'what if's, and no, I highly doubt that. If there was something wrong then why wouldn't she contact us? She knows we can help her!"
That got Raf thinking harder, "Well, like you said, if there is a problem between Tigressa and the Cybertronians, then maybe a Metal Head is who we need to talk to. But, if a Metal Head attacked Grimlock out of sheer will, then maybe it's not the best idea for you to confront one. They may have some sort of grudge against you right now or something you did."
"What we did? What did we do!? We left them alone for…what…fifteen years now and they're bitching about us doing something wrong?"
Raf smiled, "Perhaps we should stick to the main problem on Tigressa. Maybe, she's…"
Bumblebee gestured to him to continue but he just blankly stared at the ground, "'What if she's…come on, you have to finish the suggestion, buddy. Don't leave me hanging in the dust now."
"What if she's in trouble!? What if somebody has taken over the army and she was killed or worse, under that person's control?" Raf's expression didn't change from pure fear.
Bumblebee was speechless. If someone was using the Metal Heads for their own ideals and Tigressa isn't in charge anymore, they were in big trouble.
"Oh no. M-Megatron! Rodimus!"
The cavern was dead silent with the exception of water dripping from the ceiling. Nothing stirred and the ever-so-present gold and fossils of the victims from the past were gone. There was even a discolored spot on the cavern floor where Tigressa's throne once stood.
Firefox roared in the hope that someone would answer. Nothing responded.
This threw the techno-organic into a panic. Never before had she felt so lost and lonely with no comfort from her brothers and sisters whom have apparently disappeared as well.
"Sweetspark? Sweetie?" Knockout called as he warily avoided the falling water.
He climbed over a few piles of destroyed rock before he finally found the depressed fox. He sat down next to her, despite the rocks being all slimy, and set her on his lap like a dog.
"Honey, I promise we'll find them," Knockout reassured, "but, I cannot guarantee they won't be harm as we try to locate them."
Firefox let out another whimper in response.
The medic watched as tears fell from her optics which made him feel broken-hearted. It almost made him burst into tears as well. Never had he seen her this way before and it actually hurt him.
The Metal Heads whispered to one another as they watched from afar through the skylights on the ceilings of the cavern. One among them grew unsettled by their words; he was now the only one without a corrupted red skull gem.
He motioned to a few of them and said something in what most would identify as clicking mixed with unintelligible words. As the group left on his command, he stared down at the weeping fox and the medic, feeling an emotion he couldn't describe.
He turned away and clasped his claws over his snout. 'Poor child, I will try to make things right again. Hopefully, you don't find us and feel the true pain of betrayal,' he murmured in his native tongue.
Luckily, the others didn't hear him nor acknowledge he actually said something. They were mindless shells now, deprived of their usual personas and separated from their true leader. He, however, was far from loyal to the new ruler. His heart only belonged to one whom he did not know where she was.
He finally signaled the others to retreat back to the new base. He then followed them despite his urge to warn the Cybertronians and his love's younger sister.
"Ma'am, Bumblebee has just informed us that the situation has just become complicated," Blurr concluded.
Elita put her servo on her face and scowled, "How is that possible!?"
"Um…," Blurr stuttered, "W-well apparently, Bumblebee's human friend has come to the conclusion that Tigressa isn't the one behind the attack. He suggests that someone else has taken command of the army and has her detained somewhere she can't call for any assistance or any loyal Metal Heads."
"Do you know what this means, Agent Blurr?"
The speedy mech shook his head and swiftly tapped his fingers together patiently.
"It means," the Commander started, "that if we can't catch the person responsible for this, we'll have to resort to unnecessary war. And if we do that, we'll have a split Cybertron all over again because some citizens will believe Tigressa is defending her home and will join her fight for 'independence', others will believe she's trying to kill their species all over again like before when she was the hunter and we were her prey!"
Blurr swallowed loudly as Elita stepped down from her platform with her seat and her desk. She stalked towards him as he began to back away.
"I do not want this world to fall again and if I have to make sure the new leader as well as the old stays quiet about their possible new "ideals" then I will see to it, both the puppet and the puppeteer are no longer a threat. I already have a new leader picked out for the Metal Heads in case an 'accident' was to happen as Bumblebee tries to save poor, old Tigressa."
"What?" Blurr whispered in shock.
Elita giggled, "Oh, you didn't think I was actually going to let Tigressa off scar free now, did you? You see, Agent Blurr, Tigressa is powerful enough to where if she were to find any undesirable secrets of ours, she would immediately disband the treaty and attack us after she regained control of her army.
"If we lose that treaty with the Metal Heads, then we'll be vulnerable and our forces will once again be divided but this time between trusting her and agreeing with us. In order to make sure that doesn't happen, I'm afraid removing Tigressa from power will be the only suitable choice. Of course, I'll have to persuade Optimus to believe she left the army behind and her whereabouts are unknown."
Blurr's optics blinked rapidly in disbelief, "You can't just destroy Tigressa! Without her guidance, the Metal Heads won't know what to do under a new leader, especially one who is Cybertronian, nor will they accept the fact that Tigressa 'abandoned' them! And you forgot about Captain Silos who is extremely loyal to her; he wouldn't believe it even if it was true and the evidence was staring him in the face!"
"That's a problem I shall also deal with. We don't need Tigressa anymore nor do we need anybody loyal to her. There is no more room for 'goddesses' anymore, only those who are worthy enough to carry the weight of power on their shoulder armor…," Elita smirked as she picked up a medallion with the fabled Dracon symbol on it.
Blurr cringed as she crushed it in her palm, "…and those willing to do anything to get it!"