Okay, just need to get something off my chest before I could continue. As you already know, I got a lot of love for you readers who've been sending me reviews and reading my stories. In fact, the last chapter I did got 11 reviews and 860 hits. But there is one guest reader that have been pestering me for the past couple of days. This guys name of Clay and he kept sending me reviews to force to me to update the next chapter. Even threatening me to update when he has no clue where I live. Now I don't want to sound like a broken record player but I can't just post my chapters as quickly as possible. I got college, part time work, and a lot of other things to do. I'm a thirty-year-old guy that's doing his best in making it out into the world. I cannot give up everything just to continue with my stories nor can I update an unfinished, poorly written chapter without the unforeseen consequences. But this guy doesn't understand that as he continues to clog my review page with messages on a daily basis, demanding that I update my story immediately. Had to delete those reviews for fearing that he will keep on forcing me. So Clay, before you continue your constant requests let me say this. QUIT POSTING THESE REVIEWS AND LET ME WRITE MY STORY! I'LL UPDATE IT WHEN I'M FINISHED! THIS IS VERY FRUSTRATING! Thank you. Heading to Chapter 11, while the Autobots begin their search for Optimus, the human survivors get a run in with the Decepticons. Will they be able to get out of there in time? This is going to get extremely intensive.
Chapter Notes
Now I know that the Autobots have now made an appearance. But then you need to wonder about what happened to the humans that are living underground. Normally, I can't just leave them out in the loop. So this chapter is going to be about the humans trying to escape while the next will be about the Autobots rescuing their leader. Also, that Ex Wife reference I've hinted about from the Iron Man 2 movie. Well since in the movie it became a complete dud, I thought that it would work on this chapter, but in a colossal scale. Trust me when I say this, it will get you off the edge of your seat.
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime
Chapter Eleven: Final Departure
A few minutes after the team got into Darkmount thanks to their recruits, they split up to handle two objectives. One team will get to the prison and free Optimus Prime; the other team will retrieve the Iacon relics they surrendered during the Omega Lock incident. The first team, comprised of Arcee, Ratchet, Altra, and Bumblebee, were walking down the hall approaching the closest elevator while keep optics out for any Decepticon drone and security camera in the area. Immediately, they stopped and hid against the wall while a few drones walked past them at the end of a T-junction. Once they disappeared, the group gave a sigh of relief and walked down the end. Looking around, the femme checked the corners and decided to take the left end.
Arcee: "Elevator is close by. Stay alert."
She then turned to the left as the others followed behind, trying to get close to the nearest elevator. As they were walking, Ratchet remained quiet as he was remembering what happened before they left the comm. center. When Arcee planted a kiss to Jack 'Rodimus' Darby in front of everyone. It sort of shocked him the most as he'd known the femme for a long time and never in his life did he realize that she had a soft side underneath that blue armor of hers. Since then, it bothered him to the point of no return. Knowing this confused him; he had to talk about it.
Ratchet: "Arcee, can I speak to you about something?"
The two-wheeler looked to the medic and was a little confused by what he wanted. But she brushed it away and decided to talk to him while walking.
Arcee: "Sure thing Ratch. What is it?"
He thought this through and told her straight away.
Ratchet: "Mind telling us what you did back there?"
Arcee was still a little perplexed by his question and asked again.
Arcee: "What do you mean?"
That's when Ratchet blurted out what he witnessed.
Ratchet: "What do I mean? I'm talking about what happened between you and Jack! You kissing him in front of everyone! Have you lost your processor!?"
That's when Arcee turned to him and was a little surprised by his reaction.
Arcee: "Why are you so upset about that? It's just a little kiss. It's not like we spark coursed in the middle of the room. Why are you freaking out over that?"
Ratchet: "Because we have a mission, Arcee! We're here to rescue our leader so that we can have a fighting chance against the Decepticons. We're not here to share some intimate moment with each other."
The femme crossed her arms and felt a little hurt about that, trying to explain why she did what she did.
Arcee: "Come on Ratchet. Don't tell me you're upset about it? The reason I did that to Jack is because I care for him. Not only as a friend or partner, but something… much more than that."
Ratchet: "But we're at war! We don't have time to show our affections between each other in the middle of the battlefield. I don't think that Megatron would put everything on hold just so you can admit your feelings to the boy."
June heard this argument and decided she had enough. Stepping in front of the medic, she gave him a stern look and broke up this conversation.
June/Altra: "Ratchet! I'm ashamed of you! Trying to break up a lovely moment like that? Do you have any idea how hard it was for her to admit her feelings to my son? It must've been extremely difficult bottling all that up for so long."
Ratchet looked to the nurse and was shocked to see her defending the two-wheeler. He then started to reason with her as much as he could.
Ratchet: "June, please understand that I have nothing against Arcee's and Jack's relationship. What I was trying to say is that this war can't be stopped just because two Cybertronians want to share their feelings. It just doesn't seem right!"
June/Altra: "Is that so? Well I talked to her just recently and I could tell that she had feelings for my Jack. So if she wanted to let it all out before something bad happens to him, then so be it."
Ratchet: "But in the middle of a battle?! Surely you don't think that it could be a risk when a relationship can cost us a victory."
June/Altra: "Well when I was a volunteer nurse to help aid military soldiers, the first love I encountered was my husband. So to say it in a classic way, love does conquer all. Oh, and by the way… At least Arcee wasn't the one that failed to pick up Jack and his friends up from school that nearly cost us everything. Think about that for a moment."
She then turned to Arcee and told her to move.
June/Altra: "Come on Arcee; let's go find your leader."
To that, the femme nodded as the two walked away from the medic. Ratchet though remained frozen, as he couldn't believe what the nurse told him. Never thought that she could blame him for what happened to her son during the Omega Lock incident after he said that love would cost them the mission. Bumblebee, who was watching the whole thing, got next to him and decided to break this eerie quiet.
Bumblebee: (Wow… Guess we now understand the earth phrase, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'.)
Ratch looked to the scout and grunted to himself.
Ratchet: "Do me a favor Bumblebee and keep your beeps to yourself. No one must know about this little argument."
The two then followed the femmes and decided to forget about that little fight.
Back in the security station, Soundwave and Starscream were at their usual posts as the Intel officer checked the area for the Neutrals while the second in command kept watch. But then, there was one thing different about the room. Because standing right behind him was Megatron, Shockwave, and Knockout. Ever since Scream had many failures in stopping the unknown Cybertronians, the Decepticon leader was getting extremely aggravated. So he decided to keep his optic close to him in case he made one more slip up. And that worried him the most, as one more mistake could cost him his life. He gave off a sigh in distress, as he couldn't take this type of punishment anymore. Megs looked to him feeling a little upset and decided to lighten the mood in his own way.
Megatron: "What's the matter Starscream? Don't you like basking in my presence?"
Scream gulped heavily and didn't like the sound of that question. So he turned and answered truthfully.
Starscream: "No master, it's nothing like that. It's just that, you watching my every move is making me feel a little uncomfortable."
The warlord nodded as he explained to him why he was doing this.
Megatron: "Understand Starscream, that I wouldn't want to follow your every move. But with these Neutrals making a mockery of me in my Citadel, I cannot take any more chances. Which is why I need to make sure that you are operating as the commander I can trust. This won't be a problem, will it?"
Starscream was a little nervous about that and tried to cover his fear as much as he could.
Starscream: "No my liege, of course not."
Megatron nodded that his commander won't cause any more problems.
Megatron: "Good… The last thing I want is to kill another second in command after a number of megacycles."
Scream laughed a little nervously, hoping that he won't suffer the same fate as Dreadwing. Just then, a beep was heard in one of the comm. channels. The commander heard that and approached Soundwave just to see what it is.
Starscream: "What is that? Soundwave?"
The Intel officer typed in a few keys to show where those beeps came from. The map of Jasper appeared on the main screen as it went into a closer view. The moment it switched to the sewer system, the group saw a bunch of beeps indicating Decepticon insignias underground. Starscream looked at the map and realized what it was.
Starscream: "The search team looking for the Neutrals in the sewers? What are they still doing there? They should've been heading back, now that we found out that the Neutrals are within the tower."
Megatron stared at the map too and was puzzled by this as well.
Megatron: "Indeed Starscream… It's a little strange that they were still searching for them, even though they are not there. Perhaps a certain Con would've let them in on the news instead of wasting his time trying to kill a few intruders."
He peered his red optics down to the commander, knowing that he was suppose to be the one in charge of keeping his fleet in line. The second in command looked to him and was a little nervous about his threat. But then he decided to keep it together and ordered Soundwave to connect.
Starscream: "Patch me through to the search squad."
The Intelligence officer nodded as he started to input some keys. Once he gained communication with the search unit, Scream cleared his throat and wondered what was going on.
Starscream: "Search Unit 20, come in. What are you still doing in the sewers? Return to the citadel immediately!"
The voice of one of the Airadicons came through the screen as he explained just what they found.
Airadicon 10: "Forgive us if we're interrupting, Commander Starscream, but we spotted a metal door while searching for the Neutrals. Judging by the make of it, I say it is human in design."
Starscream and Megatron heard that and found it to be a bit strange. Why would there be a door within the sewers and what is its purpose. Wondering about that, the second in command decided to let the team investigate.
Starscream: "Blast that door open. Let's see what's behind it."
Airadicon 10: "Yes sir."
Around that time, the human survivors of Jasper were on the other side of the door, waiting for rescue to come. Soldiers and police officers were at the entrance keeping watch with Major Johnson taking the lead. At the bunker, the remaining Jasper residents were doing their usual thing, eating, talking, and hoping to get out in time. But in the old communications room, the soldiers worked around the clock, trying to get in contact with the other side of the force field. One of them was typing on an old computer, attempting to make contact. But given how old it was, it seemed to be a fruitless exercise. A woman in white battle armor approached the soldier and asked whether there was any progress. That woman was none other than Commander Palmer as she checked to see if they were through.
Commander Palmer: "Well, anything?"
The soldier turned to her and shook his head, letting her know that it wasn't working. The commander patted him on his back to tell him to continue.
Commander Palmer: "Keep trying. We've got to let the military know that we're still here."
She then left his post and headed to the table in the middle of the room with Captain Lasky looking down at the maps on the table. With his hands on the table surface, he looked up to the approaching commander and inquired about any progress.
Captain Lasky: "Any luck?"
Palmer shook her head and told him the bad news.
Commander Palmer: "None. The soldiers here have been trying to get contact with the outside world for days with little sleep. Still, there's nothing else they can do since all this technology is completely outdated and hasn't been used in the last thirty to forty years. Even if we could get all this up and running, it would be impossible to contact the Pentagon, given that the shield is blocking all communications."
Lasky nodded as he looked at the map of Jasper, tracing his finger to where Darkmount is located.
Captain Lasky: "I see… So what you're saying is that no matter what we do, it's proven to be fruitless since day one."
The female commander nodded in agreement.
Commander Palmer: "Yep. Pretty much."
Tapping on the Darkmount circle, he knew that his only hope were the recruits that came up with a way of getting them out of there.
Captain Lasky: "Then the only thing left to do is wait until Rodimus and his friends get to the enemy base and summon help from there."
Palmer looked to the spot Lasky was pointing at, hoping that they could make it in time. Giving a deep sigh, she asked him straight away about these Cybertronians.
Commander Palmer: "Captain, if I may. Why are we relying on these robots? I know they have a way of getting us all out of this living hellhole, but they're trying to infiltrate an enemy base. If you ask me, I'd say it's a suicide mission."
The captain looked at the commander and sighed, giving her a desperate look.
Captain Lasky: "Suicide, maybe. But those three are the only shot we have left for getting out of here. And whether what they're doing is extreme or not, I have full and utter faith in them."
Putting her hands on her hips, Palmer thought completely differently.
Commander Palmer: "You have faith in them. I understand. Just like you have faith that we will get everyone out of this town without any casualties. That worked out really well."
Lasky turned his head away after remembering what happened in Jasper two weeks ago. Palmer saw that and realized what she had done. Lowering her head in grief, she decided to apologize right now while she had a chance.
Commander Palmer: "I'm sorry sir. I didn't really mean to…"
But the captain looked to her and lifted his hand to tell her to stop talking.
Captain Lasky: "No need for an apology, commander. I understand. In all my years in the military, I was never prepared for an alien invasion like this. Hell, I don't think anyone around here wanted to get involved with some intergalactic war. And after what happened two weeks ago, well, I don't think they want to get into another. With no way of escaping, these Autobots are giving us an open window. We've just got to wait and see if they can pull through. Until then, will stick with the original plan."
The commander looked to him and nodded in agreement.
Commander Palmer: "Got it, captain. We'll wait until the Autobots do their end of the bargain."
Just as they came to an agreement, they heard a loud thud coming from the outside, a thud loud enough that the lights started to swivel. Both Lasky and Palmer looked up at the lights and wondered what it was. Suddenly, another thud was heard, one much louder than before. The rest of the soldiers stopped what they were doing and looked to the garage door, wondering where it came from. Even in the shelters, the citizens stopped what they were doing and looked around when they heard the loud thuds coming from the entrance of the fallout shelter.
Back at the entranceway, the soldiers, black ops personnel and police officers halted their activities as they turned to the door where the thuds were coming from. Major Johnson stepped forward with a serious look on his face, while Noble Team was behind him. Carter was the first to step up and asked Johnson what seemed to be the trouble.
Carter: "Major, what is it? What's that noise?"
The Major looked at the door and squinted his eyes for a brief second. In his head, he thought that it was desperate knocking, like someone is trying to get in. But then, the knocks were getting harder, louder, and downright vicious. Almost like someone was trying to get in by force. Staring at the door, he could tell that trouble was on the way. But the others didn't know yet as Carter asked again.
Carter: "Major?"
Taking a cigar from his mouth, he told everyone to get ready.
Major Johnson: "Get everyone to their positions. We've got company coming."
The others looked at him a little confused, with Carter was at perplexed as the others.
Carter: "What? Company? What are you-"
Suddenly, a loud bang interrupted his train of thoughts as a dent appeared on their side of the door. The group stepped back a bit, shaken by that hit as the Major kept his cool and decided that now was the time for action. Turning to the group, he told them to prepare for battle.
Major Johnson: "Now! Battle stations people! We got some serious trouble coming our way. You want to live forever? Then arm up and prepare for a fight!"
Quickly, every soldier, officer, and military personnel got to their positions and loaded up weapons from rifles, rocket launchers, turrets, and detached Decepticon blasters. Soon enough, the group stood by as the hits continued to dent the safe-like door more and more. Soon enough, it looked like the door was on the verge of breaking down. Just then, after one more huge hit, the door burst through and fell like a domino, landing hard on the floor and covering the area in dust. The group covered their eyes from the flying dust and waited to see what would happen next. After a few seconds, the dust settled and a few Airadicons and two Combaticons, who knocked the door down, stood in the front with more in the back. They all saw the human soldiers within the place and couldn't believe that there were survivors. One of them activated his comm. and contacted the second in command about this news.
Airadicon 10: "Commander, we found human survivors hunkering down in some sort of bunker. What do we do?"
Starscream came though the other end and demanded that they would kill them.
Starscream: "Human survivors? Underground? What are you waiting for? Destroy them!"
To that end, he and the others armed up their blasters and began firing. Every human got their heads down as energy projectiles went over them. Johnson kept firm and told the others to fire back.
Major Johnson: "Now! Give them Hell, marines!"
He fired his assault rifle while the others followed suit. Some soldiers got their own rifles and fired away while three marines took aim with turrets at the chests and opened fire. Armor piercing bullets pierced through the breastplates of the first few and tore them open to reveal their sparks. That's when a few soldiers and police officers charged their detached Decepticon blasters and took aim, firing right at their spark chambers. They were all direct hits as their sparks were destroyed and they lay flat on their faceplates. The other drones took cover, as they didn't want to get hit by those ballistic bullets. But the two Combaticons remained where they were as the rounds only bounced off their tougher armor. All the soldiers turned to them and hit them with everything they had, but it seemed useless. On their backs, the prods charged at full power as they slammed their fists to the ground, causing a ripple effect that pushed the soldiers back, and the turrets broke apart. With those weapons destroyed, the group of Cons came back and fired at the humans, a few of the soldiers got hit with burn marks on their backs and chests; some got completely disintegrated from the hit. The rest took cover and protected themselves from the enemy shots. Johnson looked up to see the group of Cons trying to take them down and decided to move on the next plan.
Major Johnson: "Send in the flamethrowers! Burn their sorry Asses!"
On cue, a huge group of SWAT and military soldiers were carrying highly powered flamethrowers and marched to the front of the group. Quickly pulling the triggers, they blasted the cons with a blaze of flames as their armor slowly melted off their protoform skin. The Cons backed up and tried to get away from the flames as much as they could. But the soldiers got an opening as they got out of cover and retaliated, firing back at the drones anyway they could. Even Sofia got involved, as she was showing no mercy on the cons that took her SWAT unit away from the invasion.
Sofia: "This is for my team, you metallic sons of bitches!"
The group continued to fire as the drones retreated. But as they retreated, something worse came in. Three Insecticons came in and shrieked right at the surviving units. The soldiers holding the flamethrowers pointed up and fired right at the huge metal beasts as they shot flames right at them. But that didn't faze them as they charged in and attacked the group, swinging their arms right at them. The soldiers were flying in many directions, hitting their heads to the wall and killing them on impact. They then went to the rest of the group and showed no mercy, swinging and hitting at anything human. The surviving group backed away as they didn't want to get themselves hurt. Johnson though looked at this mess and decided to take the defensive. Looking up to the catwalks, he sent in his defensive group.
Major Johnson: "Bring in the snipers. Time to take them down a peg."
Quickly, a group of snipers came in from the catwalks and pointed to the group of Insecticons. One of them, Paduk, took aim and waited for the right opportunity to fire.
Paduk: "Steady comrades. Do not fire until you see the red of their eyes."
The snipers nodded and waited for the Insecticons to get into view. Once they saw their red visors, they all pulled the trigger and opened fire. The single bullets flew to them and hit them in the optics, shattering them on impact. The insect beasts were completely blinded by the shots and couldn't see a thing as they were flailing around aimlessly. One of them bumped into each other and they immediately fought each other thinking that they were the humans. The other one hit the next one as all three went into a major brawl against each other. The group of snipers watched the blinded Insecticons going against each other and enjoyed the show while Paduk made a quirky remark.
Paduk: "I always like it when the blind robots fight each other."
As they were fighting, Johnson looked at them and decided to finish it off.
Major Johnson: "Mortars! Blow them to bits!"
Just as he said that, five mortars were in place ready to fire. But instead of them pointing to the sky, they were slanted to the Decepticon's level, just to give a firing angle to the enemy. Barrick, being the demolition expert, was in charge of the group as he lifted his hand up to signal them to stand by. Once the Cons were in firing position, he immediately gave the gesture to open fire.
Barrick: "Fire in the hole!"
Immediately, the demolition crew cranked the cannons to the right distance and opened fire, sending the mini shells right to the group. The shells then connected to the Insecticons and blew them all up into pieces. All that was left of them were pieces of junk strewn across the floor. Johnson looked at that and was glad that they got out of that mess. But then, they heard loud stomps coming from the outside and knew that more trouble was on the way. He turned to the soldiers and told them to stand their ground.
Major Johnson: "We're not out of the woods yet, Marines. Get ready for a full frontal assault!"
The group stood their ground, as they were getting ready for round two. Just then, a large group of Cons came out of the woodworks firing on all cylinders. The human side fired back, hitting anything they could at them. Paduk and his sniper team were firing their Markza sniper rifles at them. Some of the shots hit a couple of drones in the optics making them fire blindly. A few of those stray shots hit the other Vehicons in the helm and spark chambers, shutting them down completely. The demolition crew fired their mortars again and blew up the blind Cons, killing them in the blast. The rest of the solider, SWAT members, and police officers were firing at more of the Cons with all the weapons they possessed. Though the military weapons showed little effect, turrets and detached blasters did as they could, ripping them apart piece by piece. Still, that wasn't enough, as more Airadicons came out of the woodwork, laying waste to the human survivors. The humans got into cover to protect themselves from the incoming projectiles. The others, not so much, as they got hit and disintegrated away. The snipers looked on and tried their best at shooting all of them down, but it there were too many to count. Within the group, Katherine, Thorne, and Emile were in cover, waiting for an opening. Throne looked back at the group, of Cons shooting away and feeling a little scared for his life.
Thorne: "Damn it! There's too many of them! No way we can take them all on!"
Kat turned to him and told him to shut it.
Katherine: "Keep it together, rookie. We just need to hold them off long enough until help arrives."
The new recruit looked to her and told her it won't happen.
Thorne: "Easy for you to say. These bastards surround us a million to one and our backs are blocked off by the damned dome around the town. As far as I'm concerned, we're the only support we have left."
Emile heard this too and didn't like the way it sounded. Without much support, they're pretty much running blind. Looking towards the group of Cons, he took a breather and knew that what he was going to do was something he wouldn't like. Pumping his shotgun, he got out of cover and ran straight into the action. Katherine looked at him leaving and told him to get back to cover.
Katherine: "Emile, what are you doing?! Get back here this instant! That's an order!"
But Emile didn't listen as he was making a mad dash towards the Con army attacking them. A few of the Cons saw him coming and pointed their rifles at him, opening fire. Emile saw those shots and swiftly avoided each of them with grace, dodging and parrying around to reach the group. While all around him, soldiers were shooting, hiding, or getting shot at by the enemy. Upon running toward them, he saw a flight of stairs that headed right up to an overhead catwalk. Thinking the height would give him an advantage, he ran up those stairs and made it to the second floor, where soldiers and snipers were shooing the drones from above. Yet still he continued to run until he reached the end of the walkway. Upon reaching the end, he jumped high into the air and over the rail, heading to one of the Cons. The drone looked up to see Emile heading towards him and fired his blaster to him. The scout managed to avoid all those shots and used his feet to kick him in the chest plate, forcing him down to the ground with a loud thud. During mid fall, he aimed his tactical shotgun at the faceplate and fired shell after shell, tearing the helm completely. The moment the body fell, the head was decapitated and torn through the circuitry. The other Airadicons saw what happened, as Emile looked to them with a sly smile underneath the skull-imprinted helmet.
Emile: "Who's next!"
The Cons looked to him and began to fire. Immediately getting into cover, he turned his shotgun on the dead drone's blaster that was still armed and fired it a couple of times, detaching it from the body. Picking the weapon up, he got out of cover and started to fire, shooting the Cons in the head, enjoying every minute of it.
Emile: "That's right you bastards! This is for Carmine! You want a piece of me?! You want some!? I'll take you all on!"
He continued to fire as he was shooting down the enemy like there was no tomorrow. Johnson looked to him and shook his head, thinking that these Black Ops soldiers are suicidal individuals. So far, the soldiers were holding their ground as they took on the Cons with everything in their disposal. But then, they heard loud footsteps getting closer to them as they prepared themselves to see what was to come. That was when they saw a Tankicon coming through the door, ready to take the group on. All the soldiers and police officers targeted the heavy and fired their weapons right at him. But the brute got the shield casing on his arms in position and protected himself from the oncoming onslaught. During that defensive, he got the cannon into offensive and fired a few shots at the humans. The first one hit the catwalk that the snipers were on and caused them to fall to the ground floor. The soldiers under the catwalk got out of the way before they were crushed, but a few of them got caught by their ankles and struggled to get out. The mortar units saw this and decided to take action. Cranking their weapons to the right angle, they fired and sent the shells sailing towards the huge Con. But as they hit and exploded, the Con was still standing with the shield protecting him from the assault. But sensing that they posed too much of a treat, the Tankicon targeted his cannon to the mortars and fired a round of his own. Barrick quickly got out of the line of fire as the shell hit the mortar squad and blew the place up, sending the soldiers flying around the room and killing them or nearly burning them to death. With the room cleared of hostility, more Airadicons came between the heavy and returned fire. Some of the shots hit the men, as they were turned into ash and dust while others tried some covering fire to protect themselves. Johnson looked on at the battle and soon realized that the Cons now had the advantage. Looking back to the rest of the group, he told them all to retreat.
Major Johnson: "Fallback! Fallback to the main hall!"
Quickly everyone left their posts and hurried back to the main bunker where the civilians were located. Carter then turned to Emile, who was busy firing at any Con he saw, and told him to move.
Carter: "Come on Emile! We're leaving!"
Emile looked to the Noble Leader and protested about leaving.
Emile: "Seriously?! I was getting into the zone!"
Carter: "If we don't leave now, the only zone you'll be into is a dead zone! Now move!"
Emile look back at the hoard of Cons that were coming through the damaged door and realized that it was a lose-lose situation. So he followed his leader's orders and ran away as well. Soon enough, everyone was running and firing while the drones charged forward and fired back. The Tankicon then fired his cannon at the retreating group and the shells hit in a couple of places, sending debris and bodies flying in all directions. As the group retreated, the Airadicon contacted Darkmount to give them the good news.
Airadicon 10: "Commander Starscream, the humans are on the run! They're falling back!"
Back in Darkmount, Starscream and Soundwave were at the main controls watching the map of the many Decepticon bleeps marching forward while Megatron, Shockwave, and Knockout watched from afar. The commander was pleased that the unit in the sewers had it under control. But they needed to do more, and told them to keep moving.
Starscream: "Just keep pushing forward! Wherever the humans are going, they won't escape."
As soon as the comm. ended, Megatron listened in, not realizing there were survivors.
Megatron: "Interesting… I never thought that the humans would be able to survive. I thought for certain that you were able to eradicate these filthy organics with that sewer treatment plant."
He looked down to Shockwave to get an explanation, being that he was the one in charge of destroying the town and the occupants that resided in it. Shockwave turned to his master, knowing that he wanted an explanation.
Shockwave: "My apologies, my liege. I thought for certain that destroying that plant would ultimately eliminate the remaining species in that town. I didn't know my calculations would be inaccurate."
Scream though turned to the scientist and gloated about his failure.
Starscream: "That's returning Cons for you. They get exiled one minute and they have the tendency to get soft when they come back."
There was a bit of an eerie silence within the group as Knockout crossed his arms and blurted something to the second in command.
Knockout: "You're one to talk, Starscream."
The commander glared at the medic, then back to Megatron to tell him that everything was taken care of.
Starscream: "Regardless of Shockwave's unexpected failure, this isn't a total loss. Those humans are in a concealed area, with no way out. They won't be able to survive this time. And once the remaining humans are exterminated, you will be pleased with the end result, master."
Turning to the map of the Cons wiping out the humans, he smirked to himself and mumbled something under his breath.
Starscream: "And this will cement his trust with me tenfold…"
Back underground; the human soldiers were fleeing as the Decepticons charged in to destroy them all. The soldiers fired back with rockets and blasters while they made their way through the exit while other soldiers got shot and killed instantly. As they left, Johnson nodded and decided to go to plan C.
Major Johnson: "Everyone is through! Barrick, seal the place up!"
He turned to the demolition expert to do what he needed to do. Barrick nodded and had a devious smirk on his face.
Barrick: "Oh yeah! Showtime!"
He rushed to the remote close by and pulled the first switch to arm the detonators. When the remaining occupants of town first went into the underground bunker, the black ops unit decided to place detonated charges on the ceiling of the entry way just in case the Cons found out about the place. Now that they did, Barrick was ready to stop them. But not before he could surprise them. Waiting, he saw the shadows of the drones coming toward him. That was when he noticed that one of the Airadicons had him in its sights and pointed the blaster at him.
Airadicon 12: "Giving up already?"
Barrick looked at him with a sly grin and decided that now was the time.
Barrick: "I never give up."
With that, he flipped the second switch and activated the bombs as they blew up above him. The drone felt and heard the blast as he looked up to see metal and debris raining down on him. Barrick ran and managed to get out of the way as the enemy got crushed from the falling debris. The rest of the group rushed in, only to back up from the falling piles of rock and metal in front of them. When it was over, all that debris was blocking their way to the humans. Sighing in shock, he contacted Starscream about what happened.
Airadicon 10: "Commander, they seem to have blocked our way through. What are we to do?"
Starscream heard him and told him to get to work.
Starscream: "Start digging. Those humans are still trapped no matter where they go. They won't escape."
Meanwhile, the remaining soldiers made it to the main hall of the bunker where civilians were looking scared and confused about what was happening. Once everyone was gathered around the room, Lasky and Palmer approached the Major, demanding answers.
Captain Lasky: "Major! What the Hell is going on out there?"
Johnson turned to the captain and explained the situation.
Major Johnson: "We have a breach sir. Some uninvited guests."
The commander looked to him and came up with one word.
Commander Palmer: "Decepticons?"
The Major turned to her and nodded.
Major Johnson: "Indeed ma'am. We tried to hold them off as long as we could. But we were outnumbered and outgunned as they overwhelmed us. We had no choice but to retreat. But don't worry, we blocked the path through here so they won't bust through."
Just as said that, there was a loud bang coming from the exit as everyone turned to see dust and dirt flying out. The civilians got back in total fear as the soldier got their weapons armed for another go. Thorne looked at the wall of debris at the far end of the tunnel and was getting a little worried.
Thorne: "Um… How long will that hold them?"
Barrick: "Not long enough."
That's when Lasky stepped in and took his pistol out.
Captain Lasky: "Then it looks like we have no choice. Everyone get in front of the civilians! Get your weapons loaded! It's time we make our final stand! Even if we don't get rescued, our sacrifice will be remembered in the history books."
The group got ahead of the remaining survivors and got their weapons poised and ready for a final assault while the unarmed civilians grouped together, scared of what was going to happen next. The solider, SWAT and police officers stood their ground with their weapons pointed at the wall of rubble. Just then, that very wall began to shake as dust and rocks spilled out of it. So the group waited patiently for their end to come while the knocking got louder and louder. As they were waiting for the enemy to come out, Palmer gripped her rifle, ready for a serious fight. Just then, she heard a strange sound from behind and turned to see what it was. What she saw was a green portal that appeared where the command center was located and expanded into a big tunnel. Seeing that, she warned the captain about it.
Commander Palmer: "Captain!"
Lasky heard that and turned around to see what it was. He too saw this green portal appearing behind them as half of the soldiers turned to target whoever was coming out of the portal while the other half stayed with the wall that was about to burst. The survivors then backed away from the portal, fearing that whatever was coming out wasn't going to be good. Just then, a lone person same out of the portal as everyone was on high alert. Lasky slowly approached the portal to see who it was. Turns out, it wasn't a Con that was going to destroy them, but a human of African American decent with a pot belly and thinning hair at the top. The person in front of him was special agent William Fowler, the former liaison of Team Prime. He looked at the captain and started to ask.
Agent Fowler: "Captain Thomas Lasky?"
Lasky looked at Palmer for a brief second and wondered what to do. When the commander gestured for him to answer, the captain sighed to himself and went on ahead.
Captain Lasky: "Yes, yes I am."
The agent nodded and made the introductions.
Agent Fowler: "I'm special agent William Fowler. I'm here to get all of you out of here."
Everyone was glad that help had arrived, but pretty much quiet as Lasky looked to him, a little confused.
Captain Lasky: "Really? Just you? No one else? Where's the back up?"
The former Army Ranger smirked to himself and told him that he didn't need any.
Agent Fowler: "Don't need any. What you need is a way out and I got your exit right here. Just step into the ground bridge and you will be out of this nightmare."
Lasky looked to the portal and was a little concerned about it.
Captain Lasky: "Is it safe for all of us to go through?"
Fowler looked to him strangely and let him know that it was all right.
Agent Fowler: "Well, look at me. I survived the trip and I've done this plenty of times. You might get a little motion sickness during the trip, but you'll get used to it."
The moment he said that though, he heard a huge bang on the other end and looked up to see something trying to break through the debris in front of them. The captain looked at the blocked path too and told the agent about the bad news.
Captain Lasky: "Well you've certainly come at an inopportune time. The Decepticons have found our location and are trying to wipe us off. We need an escape, and we need one now!"
Fowler looked to the rubble that the Cons were about to burst through. Knowing that this was extremely serious, he told the captain to get everyone out.
Agent Fowler: "Then if that's the case, let's get you guys home. Get everyone into the bridge! Now!"
Lasky nodded and turned to soldiers and civilians, telling them to move.
Captain Lasky: "You heard him people, we're leaving! Everyone into the portal! The sick and wounded first, then the women and children! Go, go, go!"
Soon enough, the citizens of Jasper hurried into the ground bridge as they were making an escape from the nightmare they'd been living in for two solid weeks. Didn't matter whether they were sick, wounded, women or children, they just had to get out. As they were making an escape, the drones were trying desperately to get in as the heavies were pounding away on the wall of rocks and twisted metal that was blocking their path. The soldiers kept their ground as the civilians made a mad dash for the portal. In a matter of minutes, the remaining survivors made it through and all that was left were the soldiers. Palmer then looked at the Captain and told him the good news.
Commander Palmer: "Captain, the civilians have made it through to the other end. They're safe."
At the same time, the sound of the knocking got louder as the wall of rubble was beginning to crumble. Turning to the sound, Lasky decided that it's now time to go.
Captain Lasky: "And just in time too. Those Cons are about to burst through. Let's get out of here before they come. Fallback!"
Quickly, the soldiers, polices officers, and SWAT units all rushed into the bridge and disappeared from the farther end. Agent Fowler then decided to follow them as he too went into the energy tunnel. As the room was getting a little empty, Carter turned to see Barrick standing there waiting for them to come. So he told him to hurry.
Carter: "Barrick, what are you doing? We have to get out of the bunker now!"
But the demolition expert turned to him with a devilish smirk and told him what he's going to do.
Barrick: "Go on ahead, I'll catch up! I just need to give our friends a little parting gift."
To that end, he armed his grenade launcher and took out a specific shell he was saving for such an occasion. Nodding and knowing what he was planning, Carter rushed right into the portal. Once everyone left, Barrick was the only person in the room as he waited for the Decepticons to arrive. After a few short seconds, the rubble blew apart and sent rocks and metal flying every which way while two Combaticons stormed in. Following them were the Airadicons, the Insecticons, and the one Tankicon that tipped the scales in their favor. As soon as they rushed into the room, one of the Airadicons noticed that it was empty with the exception of one human standing in front of them. But when he saw the ground bridge in the back, his visor was wide and realized that they have escaped.
Airadicon 10: "What the… Stop him! Don't let him leave this area!"
The Tankicons responded as he put his shielding up and aimed his cannon at him. While he was charging, Barrick decided that now would be a good time to strike and aimed his grenade launcher right at them.
Barrick: "Hello boys. Let me introduce you to my Ex Wife!"
Pulling the trigger, the launcher fired at them as it hurled the grenade to the Tankicon with the words, 'I want a divorce!' close up and in slow motion. The moment the shell hit the shielding, it started to dig in to the metal and remained stuck there, silently arming itself. Once Barrick was pleased with his accomplishment, he turned around and went into the portal, seconds before the huge brute opened fire. But it was too little, too late as the bridge disappeared seconds before the shell went into it and instead hit the command center at the back, destroying everything within. The Airadicon looked at the failed attempt and groaned to himself.
Airadicon 10: "This is not good…"
Turning his comm. back on, he told the commander what happened.
Airadicon 10: "Commander Starscream, bad news. The humans have made an escape. There was a ground bridge that opened up for them and got them out of the room. Their whereabouts are unknown."
As he was talking, a few of the drones surrounded the Tankicon and noticed some kind of projectile attached to it. They had no idea what it was and what it did. All they knew was that it was blinking with a light blue light slowly rising higher from one bar, to two, then three. Curious, one of them called the one contacting Darkmount and told him to see this.
Airadicon 11: "Hey! We found something latched onto the Tankicon's shielding. Have a look."
The Con turned to his comrades and sighed to himself, turning and heading to the crowded group. Upon reaching their position, he looked at the shielding and noticed a shell-like structure blinking wildly. His curiosity got the better of him as the fourth light appeared and all the lights turned green. Realizing what it was, he remained silent until muttering a couple of syllables.
Airadicon 10: "Oh fra-"
Just as he was about to finish, the shell exploded and sent a plume of flames that engulfed the underground bunker and outside the sewer, destroying every enemy in its path. Outside the bunker, everything was quiet in Jasper, until a huge circle a half a mile in radius imploded from underneath, causing the land to rise up. The moment it collapsed downwards, buildings, cars, and pretty much everything fell into the hole, leaving nothing but a huge crater, visible from a high view.
Meanwhile, back in Darkmount, Starscream was shocked to see every Decepticon's bleep disappeared from underground and didn't know what to say.
Starscream: "What?! The team failed?!"
Megatron looked at his commander and groaned to himself, knowing that he failed him once again while Shockwave found it to be a bit unexpected.
Shockwave: "Interesting… It looks like I wasn't the only one to make a judgmental error with the humans."
With that said, the Decepticon leader decided to head to Starscream and let him know what happened. The second in command then turned to see him approaching his position and realized what it meant. For he feared that he might suffer what Dreadwing had suffered. Getting onto his knees, he groveled and pleaded to have his life spared.
Starscream: "Lord Megatron! Please forgive! I didn't expect the humans to outsmart my armada! Just give me a chance!"
But Megatron just passed him and decided to break his silence.
Megatron: "Quit begging Starscream. I'm not mad at you."
Scream opened one optic and looked to his master with a confused gesture.
Starscream: "Er… You're not?"
Megatron: "No… But I'm quite intrigued with how the humans managed to make an escape."
He got up to dust himself off, feeling a little more perplexed than usual.
Starscream: "Whatever do you mean, master."
The leader peeked back at his commander and shared his thoughts.
Megatron: "Didn't you hear what that drone said? There was a ground bridge that took the humans to someplace safe, away from my territory. Now If I remember correctly, the energy field that surrounds the fortress was meant to keep anything and anyone from getting in or out. Yet for some strange reason, a portal appeared and bypassed our defenses. Now who would have that type of technology, besides us?"
The entire room was quiet, as all the Cons looked at each other, wondering about that too. But Megatron knew the answer all too well as he told his lieutenant to increase the hunt while returning to his position.
Megatron: "Have the drones expand the search throughout the entire tower. Let them know that we have more unexpected company."
Starscream looked to his master and was a little concerned about that.
Starscream: "Unexpected company?"
The warlord stopped and turned to him again, letting him know that more trouble was on the way.
Megatron: "If these Neutrals managed to get into our citadel with help, then I do believe that the responsible party is already inside. And I know who it is…"
Eleven, done! That was a short chapter. Of course, I had to focus on the human resistance just to see how well they survived. And what about the Ex Wife shell. Now that's something that would've happened in Iron Man 2 if it hadn't been a dud. Now as for the story solely based on the invasion of Jasper, It's still in the air as to when I will post it. Maybe after this story, maybe after the next. All and all, you will get to see more humans fighting Cons in the near future. Now for the next chapter, the Autobots search for their leader while the Decepticons search for them. Will they save him in time? This is going to get exciting. Stay tune and find out. Please Review.