As he approached the "Kentucky" territory, Pathsmasher eyed the map that Starscream created. He mentioned that the remaining members of his team could be found in this area, but didn't have an exact location. But as the Decepticon approached a forest, he could see several shapes sticking up out of the ground. Transforming to robot mode, he scanned the area before grinning.

"This is more than I could have anticipated," remarked Pathsmasher, activating his comm. "Pathsmasher to Starscream, I've found the site of the stasis pods, and there are eleven of them here!"

"Pull the other one, Pathsmasher."

"I swear by Onyx, I've found more than you predicted. Four of them are the rest of the Crushers, yes, but I believe the others may come from the Exodus."

"Stay right there, and do not touch those pods until I can get a team together. We need all of those pods! Starscream out."

Pathsmasher was willing to comply, especially because the reward would be worth the wait. "Eighteen to five… this war is as good as ours."

Chapter 9: Pod Race

Evac had to admit, Bonecrusher did a good job repairing the ground bridge. All it took was a few more wires and the device was operational, ready to go wherever they chose. Naturally, Speedstar wished to go find the Second Chance and revive the crew, but T-AI had an announcement before that happened.

"I've intercepted some Decepticon comm chatter," she told the assembled Autobots, replaying what she had heard.

"...found the site of the stasis pods...even of them!"

"Was that a 'seven' or 'eleven'?" asked Evac.

"Who cares, it's a buttload of stasis pods, and the Decepticons are after them," responded Hot Rod. "There's seven of them and five of us-"

"It'd still be six if someone hadn't let Bonecrusher walk free," muttered Speedstar under their breath.

"-and if any of these are Exodus pods, we can't let the Decepticons reprogram them."

"Hot Rod is right," agreed Optimus. "T-AI, where did you find this transmission?"

"It was in Kentucky, the state directly above ours."

"Then that is where we go. T-AI, ready the ground bridge, we leave for Kentucky."

In the Decepticon's base, Megatron was still in the CR chamber, having the damage to his frame repaired. But he was functional enough to hear the commotion outside, as Starscream addressed the Decepticons present.

"Our comrade, Pathsmasher, has discovered the location of eleven stasis pods. If we recover them before the Autobots, we'll have more than enough troops to wipe them all out. Bonecrusher, you and Beater shall take the ground bridge to reinforce him, while the flyers will meet you there. Solon, I want you to stay here and keep us updated on Megatron's condition. Now let's move out!"

The troops did as instructed, Starscream stopping by the CR chamber to speak with its occupant. "I understand Bonecrusher is loyal to you, my liege. But once I have the Crushers under my command, the Decepticons are mine."

The Seeker grinned smugly and strutted off, preparing to join Chopblock and Overcast; while inside the pod, Megatron's fists clenched tightly.

Beater and Bonecrusher were first to find Pathsmasher, who had already dug out one of the pods. It was a deluxe-class, and as the bruiser opened it, he found a purple and silver jet sitting inside of it.

"Rageduct," he called, as the jet opened her optics. "Welcome back to consciousness."

"Thank you, boss," replied Rageduct, getting to her feet. "Where are we?"

"Earth. Megatron is here, and once all of us have been reunited, nothing will stand in our way."

"If Megatron is here, then let us reunite."

"Sorry, lady, but that reunion will have to wait." The two of them looked over to find the Autobots standing there, with Hot Rod having spoken. "We'll take the rest of those pods, if you don't mind."

"We do mind, Autochumps. Smashy, can we destroy these guys?"

"Of course, it would be my pleasure."

So the two Decepticons joined Beater and charged at the group of Autobots, leaving Bonecrusher to deal with the remaining pods. As he dug one up with his beast mode, he discovered that it was the same orange as the Exodus pods. Steadying his hands, he took a moment to think. It was Megatron's orders that all the civilians be reprogrammed into Decepticons; but this felt very similar to his own situation. Taking a minute to consider things, he opened up the pod, allowing the occupant to awaken.

The orange and black figure flashed her optics-all four of them-and took a glance at her surroundings. "Where am I… oh, Decepticon!"

"Listen to me," whispered Bonecrusher. "Get out of this pod and run as far away from here as you can."

The civilian barely had time to nod and grab a tool from the pod before Bonecrusher all but threw her in the direction the other Decepticons weren't looking. He then closed the pod back up as he found another Decepticon pod. Inside was a khaki green mech with an orange face and a blocky helmet.

"Smashface, your teammates need assistance," called Bonecrusher, the figure turning to him. "Go, I'll deal with the pods."

"I guess I'll have to carry this team," he remarked smugly, before charging headfirst into battle, knocking Hot Rod onto his back.

Now that both sides were evenly matched in terms of fighters, the battle was slowly turning in the Decepticon's favor. The Autobots were concerned; if this was how things were going with just two pods opened, how would they fare against the other nine, along with any other Decepticon forces?

"We need to get around their fighters, and recover the remaining pods," ordered Optimus.

"I gotcha, but how do you suggest we do that?" replied Speedstar

"I'll do it," said Mountrek. "My alt mode's fast enough to pass the Decepticons."

With the decision made, Mountrek transformed and scurried past the enemy fighters. She managed to trip up Beater on her way, which was a plus in her book. As she reached the pods, she found Bonecrusher digging up another Exodus pod.

"That's mine, Ceppie," she began, baring her teeth for dramatic effect.

"I… agree," conceded Bonecrusher, moving away from the pod and turning towards another. "Any of the stasis pods from the Exodus are yours to take."

Mountrek was surprised, she didn't realize it would be that easy. Deciding not to pass up the opportunity, she transformed and carried the pod away. Calling T-AI for a ground bridge, she pushed the pod through before jumping on Pathsmasher from behind.

The forests of Earth all seemed completely identical to the Dinobots passing through them, so Grimlock decided the group could rest for a few moments before they went anywhere else. As they waited in the clearing, they heard sounds of metal colliding with metal, and Slash stalked ahead to investigate. She returned moments later, stammering and swinging her raptor arms wildly.

"Think about what you're gonna say before you say it," advised Grimlock.

"Right, right. Uh, I saw a group of Autobots and Decepticons fighting in that clearing. And, and, and Optimus Prime was with them!"

This caught the attention of the others. "Prime's here?" asked Scald. "So that wimp's not dead?"

"If he's there, then it's a losing fight," sniffed Grimlock.

"C'mon, Grim, I'm sure the Autobots there could use our help," said Swoop.

"Yeah, Swoop's right. We're stronger as one unit, guys," the raptor replied.

Grimlock stood up, pointing in the direction Slash had come from. Without another word, the Dinobots transformed and headed in that direction.

The fight was still in the Decepticon's favor, with the remaining two prison pods being activated by Bonecrusher. One was brown and silver with treads on his shoulders and legs, and the other was green and brown with rotors on his back.

"Treadhead, Windsong!" called Pathsmasher, letting Beater and Bonecrusher handle the fight. "Come, I have alternate modes selected for you and the others."

"Should we really be worrying about appearances now?" asked Treadhead. "I feel like destroying those Autobots is more important."

"Hey, we'll need new modes for this world," replied Windsong. "Plus, we'll look a lot better when we do our thing."

So Pathsmasher projected images of four vehicles, which his teammates scanned; they promptly transformed, with Windsong becoming a helicopter, Treadhead becoming a tank, Rageduct becoming a jet, and Smashface becoming a humvee.

"Uh, guys?" said Speedstar, pointing to the five Decepticons. "I think we should be worried about that."

The five transformed further, with the smaller ones becoming arms or legs, and Pathsmasher forming a giant torso. The massive combiner chuckled darkly, a massive energy mace forming in his right hand. As if things couldn't be worse, Starscream and the other flyers arrived at that moment, the leader transforming in mid-air.

"Oh, this is too good!" he screeched, turning down to the Autobots. "You've met your doom now, Autobots, now that the Crushers have combined! You could take them one-on-one, but you'll be like insects to Tumultor! Destroy them!"

"With pleasure," Tumultor grunted, bringing his mace down hard.

The Autobots scrambled for cover, with the exception of Optimus. He projected a shield from his left arm, straining to keep the mace from hitting the ground. As Tumultor put more effort into squashing him, the Decepticon's attention was drawn by a loud roar, Grimlock and the Dinobots appearing from the trees. Starscream shrieked in terror and bolted, hiding behind the combiner.

"Take the rest of the pods!" he shouted to the other Decepticons.

"Grimlock, help me distract this combiner," said Optimus. "We cannot allow those pods to be taken by the Decepticons."

"For once, we agree," responded Grimlock. "Dinobots, let's bring this glob of tin down!"

The four transformed and roared, charging at Tumultor. "What is this? Do you puny beasts think you stand a chance against me?" Tumultor taunted, right as a burst of flame hit his right leg. "That's uncomfortable, begone!"

But as this was happening, Swoop came in from behind and fired at the combiner's neck. He grunted, lifting up his mace to swing at the pteranodon. The aerial Dinobot managed to avoid these clumsy swings, once again firing at Tumultor's neck in hopes of disabling him.

Meanwhile, Hot Rod and Slash had gone to secure the remaining five stasis pods before the Decepticons, but they were met by Chopblock and Overcast, hovering ominously over the last of the payload. Hot Rod brought out his sword, ready to fight, when he noticed one of the pods; it wasn't orange or green like the others, but a pure black, with a giant yellow "X" painted atop it.

"No..." he whispered, taking a step back. "How did that get here?"

"What is it?" asked Slash, confused by his reluctance.

"Whatever it is, it's making the Autobrat nervous, so it comes with us!"

So the two Decepticons grabbed the black pod, as well as two Exodus pods, disappearing into a ground bridge portal before Hot Rod could stop them.

"Bad news, we lost two of the pods!" called Slash.

Hearing this news, Optimus' optics narrowed. He didn't say another word, instead swinging his axe at Tumultor's legs.

"Your feeble attacks are pointless, foolish Prime!" the combiner jeered. "We have already won!"

Pointless as they may have been, Optimus didn't stop swinging, not until Tumultor was driven onto one knee, temporarily disabled.

"Get his knee joints!" The Autobots turned to this new voice, seeing the orange neutral from before standing there, holding the tool up at the combiner. "The knee joints where the limb joins the gestalt are it's weakest areas."

"Dinobots, attack big Decepticon knees!" bellowed Grimlock, spotting flames at the knees.

Scald and Speedstar also proceeded to fire, Tumultor struggling to repel the three attacks. Finally, the confined effort became too much, and the combiner came apart, the five components plummeting to the ground.

"Get back up!" screeched Starscream from above. "We still have two more pods to collect!"

"Forget it, Starscream!" shouted Pathsmasher. "We still have strength in numbers, regardless of those two pods."

To the Seeker's frustration, the other Decepticons agreed on retreat, and so a ground bridge portal was opened up for them to abscond with their stolen goods. As they retreated, Hot Rod and Slash walked over with the final two pods, one from the Exodus and the other from the Second Chance.

"Well, we still got four of the pods," the former said, rubbing his arm awkwardly.

"We could have had all of them if we were stronger," grunted Grimlock, who had transformed to robot mode and walked up to Optimus. "Now two of them will be forced into evil, because no matter how tough your armor is, you still have the spark of a data clerk."

The Autobot leader stared up at the other, his expression unreadable. "Grimlock, we may have our differences, but this isn't the time to be feuding," he stated, his tone neutral, but with a degree of warmth to it. He held a hand out. "If we hope to survive this strange, new world, we must do it together."

Grimlock scoffed, slapping the hand away. "We've survived just fine on our own," he said. "Dinobots, we're leaving!"

His followers said nothing as they left with their leader, but Slash gave them a shy little wave as she left. Once they were gone, the Autobots turned to the strange orange newcomer.

She looked back at them, her four optics taking them in, before she realized just why they were staring. "Oh! Greetings, Autobots, my name is Quatrei," she introduced, tossing her scanner forward, "and this is my research partner Scourpuss."

The scanner transformed into a dog-like robot, who looked back at Quatrei with an annoyed expression. "I wish you'd stop throwing me," she complained.

"We were aboard the Exodus because I wanted to study the Andromeda galaxy," the orange bot continued, ignoring what her partner said. "But, obviously, we aren't in the Andromeda galaxy. Still, it's a new world nonetheless, and I'd like to study it with you!"

The Autobots glanced at each other, wondering what to think. "Well, I guess we could use a scanning team," shrugged Mountrek, looking to Optimus.

"If you wish to join us, Quatrei and Scourpuss, then I hereby welcome you to the Autobots," he declared, as the newcomers cheered from this. "Now secure the last two stasis pods and call for a ground bridge, we have much to discuss."

"Yeah, we certainly do," interjected Hot Rod. "Like how the Decepticons have Protoform X!"

This chapter introduces a ton of new characters, so I hope I did a decent job of bringing them all in. But if not, I will write chapters showing them all individually. Anyhoo, the Decepticons now outnumber the Autobots, so that'll be an issue going forward. This contains a plothook for the next chapter, which I was hoping to have done by the end of October, but the fact that I could only post this chapter now means those plans are out hte window.

Next time: While Solon goes out for lunch, Bonecrusher and Speedstar must work together to stop a monster on a rampage.