Wow! For once, this was a quick update in my story. It has been almost ten days since I made an update and now I got a new one ready for reading. This might be the quickest chapter yet. But still, don't let this mean I'm going to focus more on this story. I have a spring semester in college to get to shortly and I need to put my nose on the books. Expect a long wait until I can update another chapter again. As for what happened on my last chapter, pretty good considering the eight reviews and the over 550 hits. Hell, this story has actually reached the 100 review mark! Isn't that exciting?! I hope all of you will continue sent in your response to this story and give me some feedback. The more you review me, the more I'll continue writing. Let's go into the eighth chapter of this epic story. The recruits managed to reach the remains of Omega One and now they have to find a way in reaching Darkmount without getting detected. Meanwhile, the Decepticons were getting suspicious about these Neutrals and Starscream made an unexpected discovery. It would seem that the plot is beginning to thicken… Let's read to see where this will be going.
Chapter Notes
There are some readers that asked me why the Decepticons didn't search for the recruits, let alone any MECHicons the moment they appeared. Hell some people say that if Soundwave got the energon signatures of any of them, he would've contacted Megatron about it. Well I had my reasons why they didn't search for them, and it all centers around one second in command in the Decepticon ranks. Trust me, you will know it when you read it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime
Chapter Eight: Omega One
Deep underground, the Autobot recruits and the three human teens were walking down the long wide spillway tunnel, on their way toward Darkmount and Optimus. With their headlights on, they looked at the burnt and charred walls and ceiling and couldn't believe an explosion would do that to the tunnel. Raf looked at this mess and was a little agitated about what the Wrecking cadet did.
Raf/Firewall: "Wow… What a mess. Guess this is what happens when you fire a bunch of rockets at a broken gas leak."
Miko turned to him and felt a little annoyed about his remark.
Miko/Kaosu: "Hey! I was trying to take some Insecticons out of the equation, just as Rodimus said. Besides, do you want those freaks following us when we're getting to Darkmount? I don't think so."
The hacker turned to her and explained the situation thoroughly.
Raf/Firewall: "That didn't mean shooting a pair of rockets at a broken gas line, which, by the way, you created in the first place."
Miko/Kaosu: "Well, consider what I did was…improvisation."
Raf/Firewall: "And that improvising almost got us killed. We have a mission to accomplish and we can't just pull off some serious moves that could cost us our lives!"
Miko/Kaosu: "Look who's talking. You were taking on some MECH and Decepticon troops yourself and had no problem with it."
The two continued to argue while Jack listened, and was getting a little ticked off about it. Hearing enough, he turned to them and told them to shut it.
Jack/Rodimus: "Will you two be quiet! We might be rid of those Insecticons but there's no telling who else is around and whether they pose a threat. And Firewall, you may be right. This reconnaissance mission didn't work out the way we wanted. However, we are still alive, and we're this close to reaching our objective. It wasn't the road trip we wanted, but we now know what our friends will face off against, and found some survivors living underground. And if that's the case, this planet is in grave danger. We need to reach the fortress, regain communication to the team, rescue Optimus, and help the survivors escape. This is beyond anything we expected. If we don't save Prime, then Earth won't stand a chance against what Megatron is planning. Is that clear?"
The two stopped and listened to every word he said. They knew that this was more serious than they first expected. They needed to reach Darkmount and free their leader from his imprisonment just so they could have a fighting chance. If they didn't get to him in time, then Earth was doomed. So looking to each other, they nodded in unison, turning to him in response.
Raf/Firewall: "Of course…"
Miko/Kaosu: "Crystal…"
Rodimus smiled, knowing that they now understood the risks they needed to face. Nodding back, he told them to continue.
Jack/Rodimus: "Good. Now let's hurry. The longer we wait, the harder this mission is going to be."
So the three continued walking as they slowly approached the decommissioned missile silo. As they were walking and arguing, the three human teens were behind them, wondering when this path would end and they would escape this nightmare. As they were walking, Sari was cuddling the Scraplet she managed to control thanks to her key. While it is true this Scraplet can eat any metal, thanks to her, she managed to make it obedient and follow her every word. Not only that, but it can protect her if there was any danger close by. Cradling the little creature, she petted it on the head and it liked it. Vince and Sam were on either side of her and were a little unsure about her keeping a metal eater. Vince especially, after he'd seen first-hand what those Cybernetic vermin were capable of. He looked at her and told her about it.
Vince: "Sari, I know you want to keep that thing. But let's be honest for a second, that thing is dangerous! It can't be a pet, no matter how cute it is."
The teenage girl turned to him and glared, reminding him what she did.
Sari: "True… But I managed to make it obedient. So technically, it does count as a pet. And besides, it did save us from those Insecticons back there."
Vince: "Still, it's a nuisance and it will only be a matter of time before it could attack.
Sari though smirked and came up with a little threat to him.
Sari: "But thanks to my little key, it's completely harmless after fixing it up, especially if I tell it not to attack my friends. Plus I can even command it to attack and eat anything it wants. How about I give you an example and tell it to eat that little gun of yours?"
Vince gulped as he held the strap that was carrying his detached Decepticon blaster. He turned his head away and let her know that he wasn't interested.
Vince: "No thanks. I'm good."
Sari looked to him with a raised eyebrow and couldn't help but to laugh on the inside. She then turned to her new pet as it was a struggling a little after hearing what Vince said. So she tickled its chin and said that everything would be all right.
Sari: "Don't worry Sparkplug, it's alright. I will not let mean old Vince hurt you."
Sam turned to her and was a little confused by what she said.
Sam Witwicky: "Wait a sec. You actually named the Scraplet? And you name it Sparkplug?"
She turned to him and smiled widely.
Sari: "Uh, yeah… Thought I'd give it a name since I can't say Scraplet every time. And Sparkplug seems fitting for it, cause it is such a spark plug. Ain't that right Sparkplug? Do you like that name?"
The Scraplet, now called Sparkplug, whirled and squealed in delight, emphasizing as a yes. Sari smiled and cuddled her new pet cheek to cheek.
Sari: "Oh yes, I know you do."
Sam though rolled his eyes and didn't like it.
Sam Witwicky: "Well this is quite awkward. First you're keeping the Scraplet, now you're naming it. Are you really going to do this?"
She turned to him and nodded in agreement.
Sari: "Why, of course I want to do this. I've been trying to talk to dad about giving me a robot pet for ages. Now look at me, I've got my very own, by accident of course. I can't wait to show the others what I've got."
Miko overheard that and turned back, reminding her about her friend.
Miko/Kaosu: "Well, whatever you do, don't leave it in the base. My friend is terrified of vermin like that. Loses his processor and screams like a girl the moment he sees one."
The young teen looked to her and raised an eyebrow.
Sari: "Really? Never thought that one of them would freak out over this little guy. Don't worry; I'll just leave it at my house. I'm sure dad will let me keep it."
The Wrecking cadet rolled her optics around and was starting to be sarcastic.
Miko/Kaosu: "Oh sure… A very dangerous Scraplet that can eat anything that's metal, living in your house. Your dad would be thrilled about it."
Sari ignored her sarcasm and went back to her new pet.
Sari: "Don't listen to her, Sparkplug. I'm sure dad will love you."
Sparkplug chirped in excitement hearing about what she said. Raf looked back too and smirked to himself, as he couldn't believe what Sari did.
Raf/Firewall: "So Sari managed to control a Scraplet, and is now keeping it as a pet. Where was she when I was thinking about keeping one myself?"
He turned to Kaosu, wondering if she had answers. She shook her head and responded with her own wit."
Miko/Kaosu: "Better yet, we should've had her key to reprogram all those Scraplets. That key must have some serious power."
The group continued to walk through the long narrow tunnel, getting closer to their goal. But as they were walking, Rodimus stopped and lifted his hand to gesture them to stop as well.
Jack/Rodimus: "Hold… Looks like we've got a blockage here."
The group stopped and noticed a huge pile of debris preventing them from continuing. Kaosu looked at this and groaned to herself.
Miko/Kaosu: "You're kidding, right? After what we've been through, we've now reached a dead end? Great! Now what do we do?"
Rodimus looked at the debris and noticed something that caught his optics. Bending down to get a better look, his optics grew wide and turned to the others to let them know what he has found.
Jack/Rodimus: "Hey guys, look at this."
Soon enough, he started to pick up the item to show them. Kaosu and Firewall huddled together to see what he'd discovered while the human teens got close to figure out what was going on. Showing a closed fist in front of them, he then opened it to reveal what appeared to be a piece of a small curved horn. The two recruits looked at this object and were a little confused by his discovery.
Raf/Firewall: "Uh Rodimus? What are we looking at?"
There was an awkward silence from the former teen as he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Jack/Rodimus: "Are you guys serious? Don't you know what this is?"
The two shook their heads in unison as the humans looked on with a little confusion in their eyes.
Jack/Rodimus: "This is a piece of memory Arcee kept in honor of her second partner, Cliffjumper. She placed it on his grave site on the roof of the base in remembrance; she visited it often to talk about past events."
Miko perked up and remembered about that.
Miko/Kaosu: "Come to think of it, you're right Rodimus. Arcee told me about Cliff during Bulkhead's recovery and showed me that grave. Didn't see that on top but I do remember that he had horns adorning his head. So, what does it mean?"
Rodimus decided to open his secret storage compartment and put that horn piece in with his family picture and the Vector Sigma key, while answering her question.
Jack/Rodimus: "It means that we've been underneath the missile silo all along and we just didn't know it until now."
The three teens were surprised as Sari stepped in, asking away.
Sari: "So what? You mean that we've actually made it to this Darkmount place? Sweet!"
But Vince stepped in and decided to give them the bad news.
Vince: "That's great and all Rodimus, but we are still underground. And by the looks of this place, there is no exit that can take us up. How are we going to get to this place if we're trapped?"
Realizing that he had a really good point, the young mech turned to the blocked path and had to figure out a way of getting out of there. Looking up at the ceiling, he noticed that it was still weak from the cave-in and could break easily. Smirking to himself, he came up with a great idea.
Jack/Rodimus: "We improvise."
As he started to improvise, in Darkmount every Con was on edge. Ever since what happened down in the sewers when the Insecticon hive was destroyed, the entire force was on high alert with flyers and ground forces under constant watch. Within the fortress, Soundwave was on monitor duty, looking for any energon signatures from the surviving Autobots and tracing calls in case their human companions made contact. He'd been doing that for two weeks and furiously typed the key pad just to locate any trace of them. But so far he couldn't find any of them on the radar or map. Still, he got that nagging feeling in his processor that whoever these Neutrals were, they might be connected to what he discovered a week ago, but ignored. As he was thinking about it, the doors opened behind him and Starscream walked in with a cunning posture, letting Soundwave know about what he did.
Starscream: "Soundwave, I've already sent a search unit into the human sewer system to locate the intruders. Do me a favor and keep tabs on them, will you? I need to establish whether or not they were found."
The Intelligence officer peeked back to him and gave off a simple nod in response. Starscream smirked by that response, knowing that Soundwave was the most loyal of subjects, next to him.
Starscream: "Good…"
He was about to turn and let the Intelligence officer be, but he stopped midway as he wanted to speak to him about something important. So approaching him with the doors closed, he went next to Soundwave and explained what was going on in his processor.
Starscream: "You know Soundwave, I do believe that Megatron is losing himself."
The Intelligence officer looked to the second in command blankly and remained silent. The commander though turned his back to him and explained it in detail.
Starscream: "Don't get me wrong, we all know that Megatron is a great leader. It's just that he's a little on edge by these Neutrals that are causing us trouble. Now we all know that Neutrals aren't much fighters and they get killed if they don't join our cause. But these Neutrals… These Neutrals are completely different from all others. They seem well trained and are combat equipped. Almost like they were taught by the Autobots themselves. But that's just an assumption, nothing more. Still, these Neutrals could pose a serious risk to our global takeover of the world. Megatron knows this and now he wants those Neutrals alive. I find that completely preposterous! However, since he wants an audience with these Cybertronians, we have to follow his words. But first, we need to know more about these Neutrals and how they managed to reach this planet without us detecting any ship entering Earth's atmosphere."
Soundwave heard this and that got his attention. He did remember something about what he discovered, something important and showed it to Starscream. But the second in command brushed it away and said that it was nothing of importance and didn't involve searching for the Autobots. But now, since these Neutrals appeared, there were more questions than answers. And maybe what he found could be connected to them. Knowing that now was the time, he left his post and headed to Starscream, who still had his back turned to him. Tapping his digit on the commander's shoulder, Scream turned to him and wanted to know what he wanted.
Starscream: "Yes Soundwave, what is it?"
He turned to the Intelligence officer, wondering what he wanted. That's when Soundwave turned on the visor on his face and showed a map of the US, showing the information he'd gathered and saved into his data banks. It showed three unknown Energon signatures that had popped up in Tennessee without warning. But then he showed another file from information taken days after that, where more energon signatures kept appearing in North and South Dakota. Starscream looked at that screen and remembered the detailed information.
Starscream: "Wait… I remember that. It's those unknown Energon signatures you showed me while searching for the surviving Autobots. I told you that it meant nothing to us as Megatron would think it's wasteful. You're not suggesting that the first three Energon signatures belonged to that of the Neutrals? B- B- B- But that's impossible! Energon signatures of Cybertronian's, Autobot or Decepticon, don't just pop up out of nowhere! It would be preposterous that these Neutrals would even appear out of thin air unless a bridge was present. So as I said before, the information you gathered is both faulty and inaccurate. See to it that you remove that piece of information immediately!"
He turned his back to him and was quiet about the whole thing. But Soundwave was persistent as he tapped again on his shoulder. When the commander turned partly to him, the Intel officer pointed to the door, signifying that they should speak to their leader about it. Starscream turned to the door then turned back looking a little irate.
Starscream: "No! I'm not going to speak to our master on what you found! Why would I want to waste his time in explaining something so tedious?"
Soundwave's response was playing the voice of Megatron on his visor that had a synthesized sound to it.
Soundwave: "I must find out who they are, and why would they attack Darkmount."
Starscream was about to give a bit of a slap to the Intel officer. But before he could do that, he stopped midway and realized that he did have a point. Megatron needed to know about these Neutrals and maybe it could help him regain his trust after his small exile. So sighing to himself, he decided to give up and followed Soundwave's advice.
Starscream: "All right, since Megatron needs information regarding the Neutrals anyways…"
At the same time, in the rubble that used to be the Autobot's old base, everything was quiet, as the place had been cleared since they had found Optimus. Just then, a part of the floor began to crack, little at first but slowly expanding. But in a matter of seconds, the floor exploded as debris and concrete flew everywhere. As soon as the dust was settled, all that was left was a hole big enough for an Autobot to fit through. On cue, Kaosu slowly came out of it with Sari and Sparkplug on her shoulder and her sonic blaster peering around the area in case any Con was within the area. Once she made certain that the place was empty, she shifted her blaster back into her servo. She then looked down to tell everyone that no one was around.
Miko/Kaosu: "All right, we're in the clear."
She got out of the tunnel and dusted herself off. At the same time, Rodimus and Firewall got out of the hole with Vince and Sam on their shoulders. Once they managed to get out, Sam took a deep breather and was glad that they got out of there.
Sam Witwicky: "Finally! Some fresh air! I can finally breathe it instead of that sewer stench."
Vince looked to him and smirked to himself.
Vince: "Join the club. I've been underground for a few weeks! I haven't smelled fresh air in a long time."
He decided to take a deep breath since being trapped in the sewers. But as he took a deep breath, he not only got the smell of fresh air, but something completely burnt. He started to cough up a little bit as he started to cover his nose.
Vince: "What's that smell?! Smells like someone burnt one too many toasts!"
Rodimus, looking around the place, knew the answer. Even though there was no fire anymore, the place still smoldered. So he answered the bully's question.
Jack/Rodimus: "My guess is, we're in the old missile silo and the place is still feeling the aftereffects of the blast. We'd better find a way out of this place and head to Darkmount. At least we've managed to get one obstacle out of the way. Now we have to figure out a way of passing the next."
The two recruits looked to him and nodded, understanding that they were getting closer to enemy territory. Soon enough, they left the hole Kaosu created thanks to her blasters and journeyed through the debris and twisted metal around them. Slowly and carefully, they walked through the debris, making sure not to trip or fall, let alone get caught by any stray Cons. After all that slow navigation, they managed to get into a clearing and took a breather. But when they got out, the recruits were shocked by what they saw. Standing before them was what had once been a huge room. To Sari, Sam, and Vince it looked like a scrap yard. But to the former humans, they knew as plain as day what it was.
Looking around, they knew that this place used to be the old command center they hung out in. Some of it looked familiar, but that was before they left. Now that they had returned, they saw the aftermath of the blast and it sickened them. They looked at collapsed catwalks and melted metal girders. A huge metal pillar where the elevator took people up and down was completely slanted and looked as though it was about to fall. There were remnants of the command center that had broken and shattered screens, and parts of computer equipment scattered about. The lounge they used to hang out when they were once human was nothing more than a mere memory, with the TV broken, the furniture in pieces, and the sofas burnt completely, all scattered around the floor. The medical station looked annihilated, with broken glass and melted equipment. And the ground bridge was caved in, with metal girders and boulders covering what was left of the tunnel. The only thing left unscathed was the Autobot insignia on the metal floor. To the recruits, it was the only glimmer of hope from this nightmare. But looking at the rest of this room, they were spark wrenched by the end results. The three humans remained silent wondering why they were looking around. That's when Sari came in and asked them all something.
Sari: "You guys use to live here, didn't ya?"
Rodimus and the others turned to the teen girl and could tell they wanted answers. Jack nodded in agreement and told them what they needed to know.
Jack/Rodimus: "You could say that. This decommissioned missile silo was being used as a base of operations for the Autobots. Autobot Outpost Omega One as it was called. It was suppose to be a safe haven for the team, where we would've been protected and well hidden from the Decepticons. Of course, that was until they discovered this place weeks ago."
Vince's eyes were wide and couldn't believe what he just heard. So he boasted to Jack as he put the pieces together.
Vince: "So that's why these Cons attacked Jasper. It's because you guys lived close by the town!"
Jack turned to him and nodded.
Jack/Rodimus: "Indeed. See, we remained here after we first arrived and used it as a base of operations to protect this town and this planet for a long time. None of us wanted you or the others to get involved in this war. Of course that was until the Cons decided to make their presence known. This place used to be our second home."
Vince raised an eyebrow under total confusion.
Vince: "Second home? You mean you had a first? Where was that?"
Jack was surprised after hearing that and didn't know how to answer it. That's because he, Raf, and Miko's first home was Jasper, before they met the Autobots. If they told Vince that they lived in Jasper, then he would get really suspicious and figure it all out. But Rodimus came up with a really good idea and told him what Ratchet told the kids a long time ago."
Jack/Rodimus: "Yes, we had a first home. That home was Cybertron. It's many light-years away from this planet and was once a vibrant and lively planet. But then one day, war started due to one bot's political powers. The bots name was Megatronous. Once an undefeated gladiator of Kaon, he wanted to use his power for a political rally just so he could become the next Prime. He decided to bring an Iacon Archivist named Orion Pax, to help with his campaign. One day, they met the Thirteen Original Primes in the council chambers just so Megatronous could plead his case to them and his plans when he became the next Prime. But his methods made the Primes wary about bringing him into the fold. But then Orion came in and, with his knowledge of the Iacon databases, gave them peaceful options that would help Cybertron to thrive. Because of this, the Thirteen Primes graced him with their wisdom while Megatronous left the council feeling betrayed. Due to this unexpected change of events, Megatronous declared war on the planet and used the people that rallied to him as his own personal soldiers. Thus he turned into the cold and ruthless leader of the Decepticons, Megatron. As for Orion, with Cybertron on the brink of war, he went to the core of the planet where Primus, the creator of all Cybertronians, offered him the Matrix of Leadership, giving him the knowledge and power of the Primes. And with that power…"
Sam Witwicky: "He became Optimus Prime."
Rodimus blinked his optics as he turned to Sam and couldn't believe what he said. The others turned to him and as he looked at each of them in pure confusion.
Sam Witwicky: "What? I sort of know the pieces when it comes to history. So basically Megatron wanted to be the next Prime, Optimus took the medal, Megatron gets upset, and that started a war."
Jack shrugged his shoulders and nodded in agreement.
Jack/Rodimus: "You could say that. The war divided all of the Cybertronians into two factions, Autobots and Decepticons, and unlike the wars here that lasted a few years, this one lasted for many centuries, probably longer. During that time, the War for Cybertron consumed the planet, had friend pitted against friend, brother against brother, cost many bots and cons, and left the planet in ruins. By the time the storm settled, there was nothing much worth protecting and Cybertron went dark. As soon as the planet was no more, the surviving masses scattered throughout the stars, searching for energon deposits and surviving in whatever way they could. This planet, Earth, is enriched with energon and the Autobots wanted to salvage it any we could. But Megatron and his army arrived too as they took over whatever untapped mine they could dig. Because of this, we tried to fight them off and protect this planet in secret. Of course that was until just recently when they decided to make their presence known in front of the humans."
Vince listened to the whole story and understood how extreme this was as he shook off from the shock.
Vince: "And now they decided to start this invasion and declare war on us. Oh man... I've seen many movies about aliens attacking the planet. But this? This is beyond anything I watched."
The former teen turned to the bully and decided to finish with his story.
Jack/Rodimus: "Believe me when I say this Vince, these Decepticons are bad to the core and due to many unexpected events, they've decided to make Earth their new home and want the human population out of it. And I fear that if we don't do something soon, then Megatron will take over this planet and humankind will fall from his wrath. This is why we're here. You see, the day the Cons decided to move in, they attacked this base and blew it to bits. We and our friends managed to get out, but our leader stayed behind and destroyed any information regarding our location. But due to his last minute decision, it nearly cost him his life. Now our leader has been taken by the Decepticons and is being held captive against his will. Our mission is simple, to get Team Prime into the fortress and free Optimus from Megatron's clutches. Because if he dies, then this war is as good as over and we will all lose. Now you understand why we're here and what our purpose is. Do you understand the risks we're taking?"
Vince heard the recruit's objective and nodded in agreement, knowing the real risks they were willing to take. So he nodded and understood their mission.
Vince: "You know… Two weeks ago I was a bully working on my ride. I thought it was going to be just like any other day before it. But when these aliens invaded the town and took my family, it opened my eyes and woke me up completely. Never really thought that I would get dragged into this war or get caught in the crossfire. However, after hearing your story and this mission, I think maybe I can help you guys out any way I can. I managed to help you back in the sewers; I will assist you in this mission of yours. That I promise."
Rodimus looked to him and smiled that he wanted to help. He did prove to be effective when it came to shooting off a few Scraplets and taking on a few Insecticons by himself and he could see the fire in his eyes. And yes, it was wrong for Jack to lie about the recruits living on Cybertron once when they were really the kids he bullied in high school. But he had to play the part until Vince leaves and needed to make sure that he didn't know the real truth, or everything would get complicated. So he will play the role so Vince can help them out on this mission.
Jack/Rodimus: "I'm glad you've made your decision. Just promise me one thing. Don't get yourself too cocky. These Cons aren't anything to play with."
Vince nodded and accepted his favor.
Vince: "I'll try to remember that."
As they were talking, Sari and Miko looked at this as Sari whispered something to her.
Sari: "Hey, you do know that Sam and I know you were all once human and you all used to live in Jasper. Right?"
Kaosu turned to her and smiled, whispering back.
Miko/Kaosu: "Yeah, but Vince doesn't know. So whatever you do, don't open your mouth. The less that bully knows about the truth, the better."
The teen girl smiled and decided to keep her mouth shut. But then Sparkplug looked to the sky and reacted like it was scared of something. Sari saw her new pet acting erratically and turned to see what it's panicking about. Her expression turned to horror as she told the others about it while pointing to that object.
Sari: "Uh guys? I think we're headed in the right direction."
The group looked towards Sari and turned in the direction she was pointing. What they saw shocked them, as towering over them was the Darkmount fortress with its dark metallic sheen and small spirals dotting around it in a symmetrical view. On the top was the orb-like shape structure that was emanating the light that created the barrier to protect the Cons. The group looked on in awe as Miko snapped a photo of it with her optics.
Raf/Firewall: "Whoa… That's got to be Darkmount. Certainly looks intimidating close up."
Rodimus nodded and knew they were getting close to their objective.
Jack/Rodimus: "Agreed. By the looks of it, their defenses haven't detected us yet. That's good. Let's find a way in and see that we don't get into too much trouble."
He looked yonder for a clearing that would take them through and out of the wreckage. When he found a path that went straight into the enemy base, he pointed to it and told them where they would want to go.
Jack/Rodimus: "Looks like we've got an opening. Let's go."
As soon as the others saw that path, they all nodded and followed Jack, who was already taking the lead. Slowly, the group maneuvered their way through the debris and twisted metal while keeping their optics out in case any Decepticons were around. After a few short minutes, they managed to leave the ruins of Omega One and were close to a clearing. But once they were about to leave, they immediately went back into hiding as they looked on to see what they didn't expect. Out in the open desert field, there was a huge squadron of Cons surrounding the area and a huge wreckage of human military vehicles from tanks, choppers, and combat jeeps strewn about, either intact or in pieces. Every class of Con, from Vehicon, Airadicon, Tankicon, and Combaticon were either on the ground or in the air and were on constant watch. The group looked at this and could tell that it was bad.
Jack/Rodimus: "Just our luck, a huge armada of Cons protecting Darkmount. This day keeps getting better and better."
Raf/Firewall: "Question is, are they there because of what we did in Jasper or in the sewers?"
Miko though, shook her head and decided on brute force.
Miko/Kaosu: "Who cares? Let's just blow them all up and make a bee line to the entrance."
Rodimus turned to her with a look of seriousness on his face.
Jack/Rodimus: "Kaosu, look at that. It's a huge army of Cons, probably waiting for us, and wouldn't hesitate in killing us all. Even if we managed to pass their defenses, we now have to deal with a huge armada protecting the tower. If we can sneak our way in, then maybe we might be able to get to the comm. station without being detected.
Vince looked to the desert to see if there was any way of hiding. But he found little and sighed to himself.
Vince: "Good luck with that one, Rodimus. By the looks of the place, getting in without a shootout would seem impossible. There are a lot of weapons, not enough cover."
Sam Witwicky: "Well I don't see any way of getting in there, unless you want to dress up in a pizza delivery uniform, knock on the door, and say, 'Hello, Darkmount Pizza.'"
The young mech looked around to see if there was some other way of getting in. As he was looking for a way, he heard huge crash followed by a voice close by.
Miner 1: "Hey! Watch it! You trying to kill us?!"
Jack turned to the voice and noticed what appeared to be a hovercraft truck of Cybertronian design and a magnetic crane, carrying freight containers of what appeared to be parts of military vehicles that were strewn about. There were only a few Cons around that truck. Two were Cons with a darker purple color and two visors on their faces. It was obvious that they were miners, servant-class for the Decepticons. The other one was a Combaticon doing all the heavy lifting. Unfortunately, he nearly tripped and fell, almost crushing the miners with the freight container that he was carrying. The Combaticon looked to one of the miners to apologize.
Combaticon: "Sorry…"
Miner 1: "You should be sorry. Next time, watch where you're walking while carrying something big. This desert terrain has a few rocks in the way."
The huge brute nodded and picked up the freight and carried it over his shoulders, walking to where the crate should go. The Miner dusted himself off and turned to the second servant and talked about it.
Miner 1: "For crying out loud. These brutes are strong, but also dumb in the processor. Why did Megatron have to make these things is beyond me."
The second Miner explained about Meg's reasons.
Miner 2: "Well, Megatron did say that he needed a new class of soldiers for his new plan of conquest. So he got them. Besides, salvaging for metal is way better then mining for energon. Much safer, too."
The first Miner groaned to himself and decided to let it slide.
Miner 1: "Whatever. Soldiers these days, they continue to get stupider every breem."
He then started to walk away as the Combaticon got that crate to its proper position. The second miner then approached the terminal at the side of the truck and pushed a few buttons. The crane moved to the location of the freight container and lowered the magnet, connecting the top crate and carrying it to the others resting on the truck's bed. The recruits and the humans watched it and were a little confused by the view.
Sari: "Okay? What are they doing?"
Miko/Kaosu: "Looks like they're cleaning up around the spire. Guess Megatron likes to keep things clean around his new empire."
Raf looked at this through his visor and was putting a few pieces together. That's when he came up with a good conclusion.
Raf/Firewall: "I don't think that's the case, girls. Remember what Lasky said about sending a strike force to attack the tower that those cannons destroyed completely? Looks like they're just salvaging parts from those military vehicles."
Sam looked on and asked about that.
Sam Witwicky: "They're salvaging military parts? For what purpose?"
The hacker remembered about what he discovered by these new Cons and answered the kid's question.
Raf/Firewall: "My guess, I say it has something to do with the new classes we've encountered in the town."
Vince looked to him and raised an eyebrow.
Vince: "So wait. You're saying that these bastards are building more of them from our own weapons? That's a little messed up."
Jack though looked at the hovercraft truck and came up with a really good idea.
Jack/Rodimus: "Don't care what they are doing. What we do know is that we now have a way in. If we can just get on that truck, we might get a clear shot of getting into the tower without getting detected."
The Wrecking cadet turned to him and was a little unsure about that.
Miko/Kaosu: "And how are we going to do that? I don't think you know it yet, but those cons there are as dangerous as all others. It's not like we can just come up to them and ask politely if we can jump in."
The former teen looked on and noticed a freight car that was unattended, and although it had scrap metal, it was only half full. Looking at it, he had a clever smirk and told them his plan.
Jack/Rodimus: "Why ask them, when you can hitch a ride. Follow my lead."
Meanwhile, at the same time, Megatron was sitting in his throne room on the top of the tower while Knockout and Shockwave stood on either side of him. In front of him was the Vehicon Captain that encountered the Neutrals as he bowed down graciously. He was a little banged up from the cannon blast and had a metallic brace wrapped around his arm, but he was still standing and reporting for duty.
Vehicon Captain: "Lord Megatron… It is an honor to be graced by your presence."
The Decepticon leader waved his hand a little and told him to remain silent.
Megatron: "Please… No need for formalities, soldier. I just want to ask you a few questions regarding your encounter with these Neutrals. Now begin."
The captain stood up and took a breather, starting his story.
Vehicon Captain: "Very well, my liege. My team and I were on patrol in that human city we took over. Given that there weren't any sightings of human survivors, we thought it was best that we lay back, enjoy our victory, the usual. Of course you wanted us to be in top shape, but with all due respect, how can we be alert when there's no one around the town that poses a threat? There's not much to do but to pop a few shots and-"
Megs halted the captain's explanation as it was pretty much a waste of time.
Megatron: "Please captain, the Neutrals?"
The Vehicon snapped out of it and decided to explain about the recruits, giving that his leader was becoming impatient.
Vehicon Captain: "Of course. Anyway, while we were out on patrol, these three Cybertronians came in out of the blue and asked if they can be recruited to our cause. One of them said that they knew the location of the Autobots. But before they could give me the information, we all heard a loud crash and turned to see what appeared to be two human survivors. Me and my team were about to shoot them down until those Neutrals attacked me and knocked down the others. We managed to go in pursuit of these intruders, only to lose them for a moment. We of course managed to catch up to them and chased them down the sewer spillway. Of course that was when Darkmount's defenses hit us and caused us to lose our targets."
The leader nodded and explained about what happened.
Megatron: "My apologies captain. Starscream wanted to make sure that those Neutrals didn't reach Darkmount. He didn't want you or the team to get caught in the crossfire. But that's the price we have to pay when it comes to sacrifice for the greater good of Con kind. As for these Neutrals that managed to breach our defenses, I need to know more about them. Now tell me captain, what do you know?"
The captain envisioned the three intruders that he encountered and tried to piece together what they looked like.
Vehicon Captain: "Well let's see… They didn't give me their names, but I know their faces pretty well. Two of them were mechs; the one that talked to me was a femme. Got to say, that femme had nice bodywork. But here's the strangest part that caught my attention. See, while talking to them, I noticed that these three Neutrals were actually younglings, Cybertronians that are in the crossroads between sparkling and adulthood."
There was a bit of silence within the group as Knockout responded.
Knockout: "Neutral Younglings? That's a first. Both younglings and Neutrals never lasted that long in the battlefield. But never in my wildest dreams could these three, that are both undecided and young, take on some combat ready troops."
The captain slouched his shoulders and rubbed his faceplate from the location where Kaosu hit him.
Vehicon Captain: "Yeah, well believe it or not they caught us by surprise. Though young, they are certainly tough bots and I felt the blunt of it."
Megatron listened in and found that odd, too. Not only that these intruders were Neutrals, but they were younglings as well. None of this made any sense. Still, he needed more answers that could help him understand these intruders. The leader continued with his questioning and asked about the humans as well.
Megatron: "And the human beings that you spotted. What about them?"
He looked toward his leader and tried to piece that together.
Vehicon Captain: "Unknown, my liege. Didn't get a good enough look, but they appeared to be two human younglings like those Neutrals. Obviously they were helping them as well."
Megatron thought this through and found this stranger by the second. Neutrals that have human help? It happened before with Team Prime, could these Neutrals have pets as well? Brushing that aside, he looked to the captain and asked one more question.
Megatron: "Tell me captain, how did these younglings manage to breach our barrier?"
The Vehicon shook his head and tried to figure that out.
Vehicon Captain: "Don't know. The femme told me that they had connections. But they didn't say anything else."
The Decepticon leader rubbed his chin and was intrigued by that answer. So he decided to end this question & answer session early.
Megatron: "Thank you for your time captain. You have given me enough information to let me know more about these unknown Cybertronians. Rest assured, once you and your team is cleared, you will return for duty soon enough."
The captain's response was to bow while standing and gave a kind gesture.
Vehicon Captain: "Thank you my lord. I'm just hoping that when I'm back in the field, I will teach that little glitch about hitting me."
Megatron: "Don't worry about it. You will get your chance. Until then, you need your rest. You are dismissed."
The Vehicon nodded and turned around to return to the elevator. As soon as he left for the medical wing, Shockwave turned to his leader and thought about what the captain said.
Shockwave: "This is an unexpected development. Not only that these intruders are Neutrals, they are also younglings as well. None of this is logical in any way."
Megatron turned to the scientist, and agreed with him.
Megatron: "This captain made a compelling case, Shockwave. Whoever these young Neutrals are, they certainly fought like Autobots. But there is more to them than meets the eye. Tell me Shockwave, do you know what the Captain said about how these intruders managed to reach here without penetrating our force field?"
Shockwave: "He said that the Neutrals have connections. Why?"
Megs looked down with a curious look and came up with a conclusion.
Megatron: "It would seem that whoever these Neutrals are, they had some help getting in."
Knockout looked to him and figured out what he was saying.
Knockout: "Hey… You don't think that these intruders made an allegiance with the enemy. Do you?"
The leader turned to the medical officer and agreed with his assumptions.
Megatron: "It's a stretch, but it would seem highly likely. Since the Autobots are trying desperately to survive, they would do anything to rescue their precious Prime. That might include helping these Neutrals in getting them to his citadel. And if that's the case, they must be destroyed before they could ever reach Optimus."
As they were talking, the elevator rose up and two Cons entered the throne room while the others were unaware of their presence, yet. Shockwave heard this and decided now would be the time to deploy his creation.
Shockwave: "If that's what you want my liege, then allow me to release our weapon out there to hunt them. He will destroy those Neutrals once he has their scent."
But the leader turned to him and told him that it won't be necessary.
Megatron: "As much as I like that idea, I do believe that it's a waste of resources. I want to save Predaking for when we discover where the remaining Autobots are hiding. I can't use such a stunning creature on a bunch of young Cybertronians. Sometimes, the hunt is more exciting when the prey is the most experienced."
The scientist looked down with a dim red optic and understood the leader's reasoning. Even if Predaking was a magnificent weapon for the Cons, his talents would be wasted on the Neutrals. Still, he wanted to know more about these Neutrals and turned to the two for questions.
Shockwave: "Even so, why didn't we know of this before? Shouldn't these Neutrals have been detected?"
Knockout shrugged his shoulders and explained about that.
Knockout: "Easier said than done. If there were any energon signatures detected, Soundwave would've noticed a ship of some kind entering Earth's atmosphere. But he hasn't detected anything entering this planet for a long time. Almost like these Neutrals were invisible or something."
As soon as he said that, they all heard a voice from a distance.
Starscream: "Invisible? Maybe… But clearly noticeable at some occasion."
They all turned to see where the voice came from, only to see Starscream and Soundwave heading to the middle of the room. Megatron noticed this and had a stern look to his face.
Megatron: "Starscream… What a pleasant surprise. What excuse do you have planned for us this time?"
The second in command laughed a little as he decided to explain about the predicament they were all in.
Starscream: "What I will say is no excuse, my liege. I know that we have issues on these intruders, so I have news that regards the mysterious Neutrals."
Megatron raised a metallic eyebrow, as what he said got his attention.
Megatron: "Really? You have information regarding these young Neutrals? Please, enlighten me."
Starscream nodded and started his explanation.
Starscream: "As Knockout said before, these Neutrals haven't been detected entering the planet. But what if they didn't? What if they just appeared without us knowing?"
Now that got Megatron's attention and he told him to continue.
Megatron: "Please, go on…"
With that, the commander presented Soundwave with the evidence he needed.
Starscream: "During the search for the Autobots, Soundwave picked up a few new energon signatures that popped up from out of nowhere."
The intelligence officer approached the Decepticon leader and turned on his visor to show him the data he gathered for a week straight. Megatron looked at the map and it showed two parts. The one to the left showed four dots that appeared in Tennessee, the one on the right showed multiple dots between North and South Dakota. As he was looking at the screen, Starscream explained what he was looking at.
Starscream: "As you can see master, these unknown signatures appeared not too long ago while we were looking for the surviving Autobots. The one on the left shows the first four that appeared in a place called Tennessee. That was just about one vorn ago. But then as the solar cycles progressed, more continued to appear in between the two states of North and South Dakota. It's almost like an entire army that appeared out of the blue. No clue whether there was an Autobot army or not, but judging by the four signatures that popped up in one Earth week, my guess is that three of those signatures could be from the Neutrals that attacked our forces."
Megatron listened to his commander's theory and was a little speechless.
Megatron: "Impressive…"
Scream though crossed his arms and gloated a little about his 'discovery'.
Starscream: "It's no big deal really. Being that these energon signatures were unknown, I thought I should ignore them as it might be a glitch from Soundwave's search. But after what happened recently, I have reason to believe that these unknown signatures are related to the Neutrals."
The leader looked up to him and remained silent. He then got up from his throne and walked directly towards him with Soundwave stepping aside.
Megatron: "Is that so? Then tell me Starscream, if you encountered these unknown Energon signatures before, they why haven't you informed me about this earlier, let alone sent a team to investigate the matter?"
The commander looked on and blinked his optics, realizing that he had made another mistake in his long list of mistakes. So knowing he's in a tight spot, he decided to make a lame excuse to get himself out of it, chuckling a little nervously.
Starscream: "It was a slight oversight, master. See, our main objective was to locate the Autobot survivors and terminate their sparks. We don't have the time to waste our resources looking into some unknown signatures that pop up unexpectedly."
The second he was close to the commander, he grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up high in the air. Starscream was being choked hard as he struggled to get out as Megatron seethed at him.
Megatron: "If there was anything that was out of the ordinary, then it would've been addressed to me and be investigated immediately. But instead, you ignored it and pretended that it was nothing. I've got to say Starscream, after going rogue it would seem that you are becoming forgetful of your duties. If it were up to me, I would remove your spark here and now."
Scream was a little scared to death and the leader was choking the life out of him. So thinking quickly, he decided to apologize as much as he could.
Starscream: "Forgive me Lord Megatron… I didn't know you would be interested about this sooner… I promise never to do that again…"
The leader looked at him intently and decided to spare his life for the moment.
Megatron: "You better be Starscream. You better be…"
He then let go of his commander as Starscream coughed a little, trying to recover from Megatron's torture. Megatron though walked away and decided to conclude this little investigation.
Megatron: "Regardless of those new energon signatures, these Neutrals could be a risk to our operations."
Knockout listened in and found that to be a little far off, telling the leader about it.
Knockout: "Surely, my liege, you don't think these three intruders will breach into Darkmount. The entrance is heavily fortified and no enemy could get in, Autobot or human."
The leader turned to the medic and explained his fears.
Megatron: "I know it. These Neutrals managed to breach a shield that prevented any outsiders from getting in. As young as they are, they are certainly aren't dumb. "
As he was talking about it, the miners were finishing up gathering salvaged metal as they got the next freight onto the hovering truck. One of them looked at the stacks and notice they needed to fill one more.
Miner 1: "Just about done, all we need to do is fill one more crate and we're finished."
He started to look around and noticed a crate sitting there. He walked down to see how much needed to be put in. But when he got there, oddly enough, the freight container was closed and the locking monitor was in place. Rubbing the back of his helm, he was a little confused and turned to the other miner setting up the crane for one more pick up.
Miner 1: "Hey was anyone using this freight? Cause it looks like it's already full."
The other miner waved his servo and let it slide.
Miner 2: "How should I know? I'm the one in charge of the crane."
The first miner shrugged his shoulders and thought that it was nothing as he told the Combaticon to come and pick it up.
Miner 1: "Hey, big boy! We got one more crate for you to carry!"
The Combaticon looked to the freight and approached it, ready to pick it up. But the moment he started to lift it up, he grunted and was having a hard time lifting it up. The miner looked to him and was getting a little aggravated.
Miner 1: "Hey, what's the hold up?"
The Combaticon was trying to lift the heavy object fully as he answered the servant with one word.
Combaticon: "Heavy…"
The miner crossed his arms and was getting very pissed off about it.
Miner 1: "Heavy huh? So what? All the crates around here are heavy. Just put your back to it!"
With one loud grunt, the Combaticon managed to lift the crate and carried it to the spot that the crane will take. When the second miner got the magnetic crane to grab the last freight, it was placed on the stack as the driver in that truck started it up and sent the truck straight to Darkmount.
Megatron: "They will find a way into our base, and when they do, they will do whatever they can to rescue Optimus."
What anyone didn't know was that there were a few bots and humans in the last crate as they managed to find a way into the base without getting caught. Though that was the easy part, the hardest part was about to begin.
Boom! Done with eight. Once again, a short chapter and took me almost ten days. And now you know why the Cons didn't investigate those unknown energon signatures. Starscream is definitely lazy. Got to admit, this was the quickest chapter to date. But now the next one is going to be a long one as the recruits try to find a way in reaching the comms station. How will they pull this one off? Wait and see. Please Review.