Authors Note: Some additional Autobots and Decepticons will appear much later in this story
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, The Owl House or their characters
Soaring above a large mountain was the Nemesis, which had a long yellow elevator descending down into a hole in the top of the rocky structure. Within the mountain, a bunch of Vehicons were mining for Energon crystals and loading them onto the elevator to put in storage.
Starscream was watching over the mining process from a high platform with Thundercracker, Skywarp and Brawl by his side.
"Of all the Energon deposits we have located while you were away, Lord Megatron, this one is by far the most significant." Starscream said to a large figure in the shadows.
"The Vehicon drones have been mining without pause during your absence and have amassed quite a stockpile." Thundercracker explained.
"So in truth, everything has been running smoothly whole you've been gone." Skywarp said.
"You there! Fetch me a sample!" Starscream called out to a Vehicon bellow.
"Starscream! Now that I have returned, I will issue the commands." Megatron told him as he emerged from the shadows.
"I… understand, Lord Megatron." Starscream replied.
"So, master, shall we get the Space Bridge ready to bring over the Decepticon army you were busy gathering during your three years in space?" Brawl asked.
"My army will come. But my time away has yielded a more intriguing means of materialising them." Megatron said, looking down to a glowing purple shard that was on his right hand. "The solidified form of the matter the ancient texts refer to… as the Blood of Unicron."
"Unicron the Destroyer?" Skywarp repeated as he and the others observed the shard.
"But it is said that his blood is the Anti-Spark." Thundercracker said.
"Plucked from the cosmic cores. Gaze upon… Dark Energon." Megatron introduced.
"Legend tells that it holds the power to revive the dead." Starscream replied.
"But does it really work?" Brawl asked in curiosity.
"We require only a cadaver to be certain." Megatron answered before staring at his four followers in a malicious way. "Are any of you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice?"
Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp and Brawl looked at each other before they all chuckled in nervousness.
"That may not be necessary." Starscream said before noticing something coming down from the elevator. "But if we may, Lord Megatron."
Two Vehicons arrived from the lift and they walked forward with a hovering table that was restrain the body of a dead Autobot soldier, which most likely perished ages ago.
"Consider it a welcome home present." Thundercracker commented, while Megatron smirked evilly.
(Linebreak)
At the same time in the Autobots' base, Optimus Prime was still explain the origins of Cybertron to Luz Noceda and her Boiling Isles friends.
"And since you now know of our existence, I fear that as of earlier in the morning, the Decepticons know of yours." Optimus explained.
"Okay, I guess that explains a lot." Luz said.
"Any strange vehicles that look like murderous Decepticons are gonna want to kill us." Amity added. "Thanks for telling us that."
"So, what now?" Willow asked. "Do we just go back home?"
"That does sound like a good idea." Vee said in agreement.
"Really, guys? You want to leave this place, now?" Gus questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I just got to know about a whole new species and I wanna learn more about them."
"It is best that you six remain here under our watch, at least until we can determine our enemies' intentions." Optimus told them.
"Optimus, with all due respect, the human children are in as much danger here as anywhere." Ratchet admitted.
"Children?" Luz repeated. "I'm fifteen years old, not ten."
"And that Autobot really thinks we're humans?" Hunter asked quietly.
"They have no protective shell. If they get underfoot, they will go… squish." Ratchet warned before gently taking a step to prove his point.
"Then for the time being, Ratchet, we must watch where we step." Optimus replied.
"Hey, I don't mean to bring this out too quickly, but Luz is the only human here." Amity told the Autobots.
"What do you mean?" Bulkhead asked in confusion.
"Well, I did mention two of them had pointy ears." Jazz reminded. "Why's that?"
"Because the four of us are witches from another world called the Boiling Isles." Willow explained, referring to herself, Amity, Gus and Hunter.
"Really?" Arcee asked, not entirely convinced.
"We'll prove it to you." Gus replied. "For instance, me, Willow and Amity can use different magic powers."
He, Willow and Amity then used their fingers to make magical circles of their respective track colours. That was when they began to use their magic abilities so they could show them to the Autobots. Amity made a pair of large Abomination fists, Willow caused a couple of vines to erupt from the ground behind her, and Gus created two illusions of himself that stood next to him. Needless to say, the Autobots were very surprised to see this by the three children.
"So, what do you think?" Amity asked with a smile.
"I… wow." Wheeljack said, feeling pretty speechless at the moment.
"I did say that the purple-haired girl could use purple goo for battling." Bumblebee admitted.
"We only know how to use three different types of magic, each." Willow said. "There's nine different tracks at maximum. My track is Plant, Gus' is Illusions, and Amity's is Abomination."
"I'm from the Boiling Isles, too. But what I can do is a little different from magic." Hunter added.
"The reason we're in the human world is because of a lot of complicated and intense things that happened in the Boiling Isles." Amity explained.
"And we've been living here for the past ten days." Gus said. "Still, it's been nice getting to live in Luz's world."
"Yeah, I'm the only human in this group." Luz told the Autobots.
"What about her?" Cliffjumper asked, turning towards Vee.
"Oh, I'm not a human or a witch." Vee replied. "I'm a shapeshifting creature from the Boiling Isles called a Basilisk. My kind's been extinct for a long time and I'm able to eat magic from anything. I can show you my real look later if you'd like."
"After everything you've all told us, that'd be a good idea." Wheeljack admitted.
"Anyway, that's pretty much everything you need to know about us." Luz said.
"Good to know." Arcee replied.
Just then, a loud alarm was going off in the base as some green lights started flashing. Ratchet started walking to the main console to see what was up.
"What's that noise?" Amity questioned.
"It's just our proximity sensors. It tells us that someone's ontop our base." Bumblebee explained.
"Uh, what did the yellow bot say?" Gus asked in confusion.
"He said it's their proximity sensors. Someone's on the top of the base." Hunter answered.
"Really? Who?" Vee asked.
Ratchet looked at the monitor's top camera and he saw a male human with brown skin, a light-blue buisness jacket over a white buttoned-up shirt and a long tie that was dark-blue and yellow.
"It's Agent Fowler." Ratchet said.
"Wait, I thought we were the only people who knew about you?" Luz asked.
"Special Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world, as he tends to visit only when there are issues." Optimus explained. "It may be best if you do not meet him at this time."
"Sure thing." Willow replied before the children left to find a hiding spot.
The Autobots turned their attention towards the small elevator as the lights started flickering from top to bottom before the lowest door opened and Agent Fowler walked out.
"Seven wrecks, thirty-four fender benders, a three hour traffic jam and a particular note, numerous reports of a speeding motorcycle of unknown makeup, a white speeding Porsche with some racing features, and a black and yellow muscle car." Fowler said, looking specifically at Arcee, Bumblebee and Jazz for the last thing he listed down as Luz and her friends hid behind the lower wall. "So, anything you care to get off your tin chest, Prime?"
"We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler." Optimus reassured.
"They're back, aren't they?" Fowler asked.
"If you are referring to the Decepticons, I have doubts that they ever left." Optimus told him. "Your planet is too valuable."
"Then it's time to wake up the Pentagon." Fowler said.
"Hear me, Agent Fowler. We are your best, possibly your only defence against the Decepticon threat." Optimus replied.
"Says you." Fowler retorted.
"Hey, fleshy! Did anyone get splattered on that freeway?" Bulkhead asked rhetorically before he grabbed a mechanical arm from a nearby table. "Team Prime knows when to use force. And how much to use."
Unfortunately, he ended up squeezing the arm too hard and it broke apart.
"Bulkhead, I needed that!" Ratchet complained.
"Enough!" Optimus called out before turning back to Fowler. "Military involvement will only result in catastrophe. Perhaps you can condone widespread human casualties, Agent Fowler. I, however, cannot."
"Then do us both a favour and handle this, Prime. Under the radar." Fowler replied as he walked back into the elevator. "Or I will."
The doors then closed and Fowler was taken back to the top of the base to get into his helicopter. Luz and her Boiling Isles friends emerged from their hiding spots and they looked at each other in relief.
"Pretty big bearings, for a tiny human." Jazz said with a scoff.
"Agent Fowler is concerned for his world, Jazz. As he should be." Optimus replied.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile in the Decepticon Energon mine, Megatron approached the body of the dead Autobot soldier with the Dark Energon shard in his hands.
"Let us see if power born of darkness can reignite the spark." Megatron said before jabbing the shard into the Autobot's chest.
As Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp and Brawl took a few steps back, the Dark Energon instantly absorbed itself into the dead Autobot's body and purple lights began to shine all around it. Just then, the Autobot awakened and it began to roar furiously before suddenly tearing itself free from it's restraints. The two Vehicons aimed their blasters at the undead Autobot, who immediately lunged at one of them and pinned him to the ground.
The Vehicon yelled out in terror as the reanimated Cybertronian slashed at him. He attempted to shoot the Autobot with his blaster, but it then bit onto the blaster and tore it right off before it began squeezing the Vehicon's head. Starscream and the others were terrified by this, but Megatron watched in fascination.
The second Vehicon opened fire on the undead Autobot, but the shots didn't seem to effect it as the Autobot snarled and leaped onto the Vehicon before tearing him apart in the shadows.
"Holy Primus!" Thundercracker exclaimed.
"That thing's completely insane!" Skywarp stated in shock.
"That's your plan?! Bring Autobots back from the dead to attack us?!" Starscream asked Megatron with a fearful expression.
"I really don't wanna get torn apart by undead Bots!" Brawl admitted, trembling in nervousness.
"That is no longer an Autobot." Megatron told them. "Just a mindless beast. It's only instinct is to destroy everything in it's path."
After it was done with the Vehicons, the undead Autobot roared loudly and charged at Megatron in attempt to kill him next. But, the Decepticon leader revealed a large blade from his arm cannon and swiped at the undead Autobot with it. After it stumbled about for a few seconds, the Autobot split into halves and collapsed over the platform behind Megatron.
"There, my Decepticons, rise the indestructible seed of my army." Megatron said as he approached the edge. "The ultimate weapon."
The top half of the undead Autobot was revealed to have hung onto the edge and attempted to climb back up, only for Megatron to kick it off and make it land on a lower platform.
"Once I learn to control it." The Decepticon leader said as Starscream and the other three looked down with sinister smiles.
"As long as those things don't end up scrapping me and kill all those puny humans, I guess I'm okay with it." Brawl admitted.
(Linebreak)
At the Autobot Base, the scanners started to pick up the Autobot's life signal and Ratchet was the first to notice.
"Blasted Earth tech. An Autobot signal has been detected." Ratchet informed the other Autobots.
"There's another Autobot on Earth?" Gus questioned.
"Sounds like it." Amity replied.
"How is that possible?" Optimus asked.
"It isn't. Another bug." Ratchet said, a bit annoyed. "The system's chalk full of them."
"But if there's another Autobot out there, we need to find them." Arcee told everyone.
"Arcee's right. We need all the help we can get if we're gonna take down the Cons." Cliffjumper agreed.
This was more than enough for Optimus to make up his mind and he turned to Ratchet.
"Ratchet, prepare sickbay." Optimus ordered before activating his battle mask. "We may need it."
"What about us, Optimus?" Vee asked.
"Yeah, what can we do?" Willow questioned.
"Remain with Ratchet." Optimus answered, causing the Autobot medic to groan once he heard this.
"Seriously? But we've got cool magic powers to defend ourselves." Gus replied, a little disappointed. "We can at least give you all some backup."
"I understand that you posses great talents, but the situation we may be facing is most likely too big for you to handle." Optimus told the children. "It is best for you to stay in the base for safety."
"We should listen to him, Gus." Luz told the Illusion boy.
"Alright." Gus sighed.
A green vortex then showed up in the ring-shaped machine.
"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus ordered.
The Autobots transformed into their vehicle modes and they all drove into the vortex, vanishing from the children's sights.
"Woah! What just happened?" Amity asked in surprise.
"I transported them to the designated coordinates by the Ground Bridge." Ratchet answered.
"What's a Ground Bridge?" Vee questioned curiously, causing the Autobot medic to sigh.
"A scale down version of Space Bridge technology. Since we currently don't posses the means or the Energon required for intergalactic travel…" Ratchet explained.
"You're stuck here, on Earth." Hunter realised.
"Just like the four of us." Willow said depressingly, referring to herself and the other three witch kids.
"Yes. But I constructed the Ground Bridge to enable travel from here to anywhere on the planet." Ratchet told them.
"Woah. That sounds really cool." Gus said with a smile.
"Does it work for humans, witches and Basilisks?" Luz asked.
"Naturally." Ratchet admitted.
"You mean that we could use that thing to travel to any kind of human country within seconds?" Amity questioned, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "Like Paris, Hollywood or Las Vegas?"
"Within moments." Ratchet answered before a crazy little idea popped up in his head. "In fact, allow me to send you to one of those areas immediately. All six of you."
The children said nothing and they gave Ratchet some questioning looks.
"Watch it, Ratchet." Gus warned.
"Yeah. We're not lab rats." Luz added, crossing her arms.
(Linebreak)
The other side of the Ground Bridge opened up in the Decepticon Energon mine and the Autobots drove out of it one by one, transforming into Robot mode and pulling out their blasters.
"An Energon mine." Bulkhead said.
"And it's a pretty big one, too." Wheeljack commented.
"Judging by it's scale, the Decepticons have tunnelling here for quite some time." Optimus theorised.
The Autobots started to hear some drilling noises and they all moved up to hide behind a large chunk of rock, spotting some Vehicons using their lasers to slice off pieces of Energon crystals.
"And it looks like they still are." Jazz whispered.
"Let's find that Autobot!" Optimus stated before he walked out of their hiding spot, causing the others to do the same.
All the Vehicons immediately noticed the intruders and both sides aimed their blasters at each other. The Vehicons were the first to open fire and one of them drove a Cybertronian vehicle with a large drill towards the Autobots. Bulkhead bashed the drill machine away with his wrecking ball as the other Autobots fired at the Vehicons. Arcee swiftly avoided some incoming shots and she leaped up before kicking a Vehicon down. She then jumped ontop of another Vehicon and used her feet to spin it's head right off. Bumblebee drove up to his foes in his vehicle form before jumping high and transforming, shooting down a Vehicon with his duel blasters and landing onto it. Another Vehicon tried to shoot him from the right, but Jazz used his laser grapple to pull him over and punch him straight in the face, making him fall down immediately. Jazz then found himself ganged up by three Vehicons before getting on his hands and delivered a spin kick to each of them.
The race car-themed Autobot noticed another drill machine coming his way and moved out of it's way, allowing Optimus to turn it over with his amazing strength and then shoot it before charging forward. Bulkhead rammed into a Vehicon in his vehicle mode, transforming and smashing it into the ground with his wrecking ball. Cliffjumper did a dive roll to avoid some shots and then blasted away six Vehicons with great marksmanship. The red Autobot saw another Vehicon charging in for a punch, but he quickly rammed him away with his horns. Several Vehicons opened fire on Wheeljack, who avoided them all with his skilful driving and then transformed with a pair of swords in his hands. The blade-wielding Autobot shouted out and swiftly swiped at all the Vehicons in the blink of an eye, causing them all to fall down into metal pieces.
The Autobots kept up their assault and made their way deeper into the mine, determined to find the source of the Autobot signal.
(Linebreak)
Back at the Autobot base, Gus was eyeing the entire area in fascination and then spotted a nearby console before attempting to touch it.
"So, what's this?" Gus asked.
"Broken. Don't touch." Ratchet replied as he walked over to the main computer, not even looking at the brown-skinned witch boy as he silently attempted to press on it again. "Don't touch that, either."
"Is there anything in here we can touch?" Hunter questioned.
"I think it's best to respective someone's privacy." Luz replied.
"Which you found out the hard way." Amity reminded while crossing her arms, making her girlfriend rub her arm sheepishly.
The main computer then started beeping as an error sign appeared on it.
"How come you guys using human computers?" Willow asked as she and Vee were on the higher floor.
"It certainly isn't by choice. It was handed down by the previous talents when we inherited this missile silo. I made modifications as I see fit." Ratchet explained before more error signs appeared on the screens, making him sign in annoyance.
"I think I can fix that." Vee admitted as she brought out a computer and plugged it in. "I've been taking a lot of technology and computer lessons from Miss Noceda and I've become a pro at it. I should be able to get everything running for you, Ratchet."
"Really?" Ratchet questioned, unconvinced by the Basilisk's claims. "You know this is complex technology, don't you? I mean, it isn't a child's toy."
Vee didn't respond and she kept typing into her computer before she stopped.
"Okay, I'm done." She said with a smile. "Now give it a try."
Ratchet turned to the main computer and when he typed onto it, all of the error signs disappeared and the entire system turned back to normal. The Autobot medic turned back to Vee with a very surprised expression, quite impressed by her tech skills.
"Wow. Vee's really good at that tech stuff." Gus complemented.
"My mom taught her a lot." Luz replied, smiling proudly for her adoptive sister.
(Linebreak)
Back in the Decepticon Energon mine, a Vehicon attempted to run over the Autobots with another drill machine. But then, Bulkhead made it topple over with his wrecking ball and the Vehicon flew right off it as Optimus shot him. The Autobots then continued to advance into the mine as another wave of enemies showed up.
"Maximum Overdrive!" Optimus called out as they charged forward and transformed.
Team Prime drove past all of the Vehicons' blaster fire and they drove right through them with incredible speed force. Optimus, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Jazz rammed right through them, while Arcee, Cliffjumper and Wheeljack blasted them away with their vehicle mode's turrets.
After taking care of the final enemy wave, the Autobots made it into the main mining area and transformed back into their robot forms before hiding behind some crates. They all looked around the mine and saw many Vehicons slicing apart some Energon for transport, while others loaded crates of them onto the Nemesis' elevator to be delivered up top.
"Check this place out." Cliffjumper muttered with an impressed whistle.
"Quite an operation." Bulkhead commented.
"By the looks of it, there's enough Energon in here to power a whole starship." Jazz said.
But the Vehicons noticed them immediately and began shooting at Team Prime from every direction, causing them all to shoot back quickly.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, inside the Nemesis, Megatron was in a private room and observing a large rock with a huge amount of Dark Energon that was being held inside a container, while Thundercracker and Skywarp stood by the main door.
"Blood of Unicron, how might I fathom the depths of your mysteries? Become worthy of wielding your astonishing power?" Megatron asked, studying the Dark Energon closely.
Thundercracker and Skywarp looked at each other with questionable expressions.
"Do you really think Lord Megatron can control this Dark stuff?" Skywarp asked quietly.
"Don't know, don't care." Thundercracker answered. "I just care about not getting torn apart by any undead Cybertronian."
Just then, Starscream appeared on a nearby communication console.
"Lord Megatron, intruders have been detected in the mines." Starscream informed.
"Optimus?" Megatron asked.
"Indeed." Starscream answered. "I have already sent Brawl to engage them."
"Shall we head down there to assist, master?" Thundercracker asked.
"No. I need more time to prepare an appropriate reception for my old friend." Megatron said. "Ready the ship for departure."
"Understood, Lord Megatron." Skywarp replied with a bow before he and Thundercracker left the room to inform Soundwave.
"But the Energon I've mined, the Autobots will seize it!" Starscream protested.
"Then blow the mines." Megatron ordered.
(Linebreak)
The Autobots continued opening fire at the Decepticons and managed to shoot some of them down. Arcee then noticed the Autobot laying on the platform above them.
"It's the Autobot! I have a visual!" Arcee stated.
"We'll cover you! Go!" Optimus ordered.
Arcee leaped over the crater and she shot down two Vehicons before transforming into her vehicle mode. She drove up the ramp as two other Vehicons tried to shoot her, but Cliffjumper managed to blast them and make a clear path for Arcee.
"Go for it, partner!" Cliffjumper called out.
Arcee then leaped up and she used her acrobatic skills to make her way up the lift towards where the Autobot way laying. As the rest of Team Prime gave cover fire for the female Autobot, they heard a loud shout and saw Brawl leaping down from above, crashing onto his feet at the level they were on and glaring at them.
"Hello, Autobots!" Brawl greeted as he cracked his fists.
"Brawl. Guess we should've expected you to drop by." Jazz said. "Why don't you just head back up to your ship before you get a dent in that oversized armor of yours?"
"That's never gonna happen, Auto-Filth!" Brawl stated. "I'm here to crush all your Sparks and then I'm gonna find some puny humans to squish, later!"
"Not a chance, big boy." Wheeljack said firmly, pulling out his swords as Bulkhead brought out his wrecking ball. "We'll handle him. You guys make sure Arcee gets to that Bot."
"Sure thing!" Bumblebee replied with a nod.
Bulkhead and Wheeljack got into a fighting stance as Brawl pulled out a Cybertronian club hammer with purple Energon spikes.
"Heheheh. This is gonna be fun." Brawl chuckled.
The brutish Decepticon then charged at Bulkhead and Wheeljack, who did the same before they all clashed with their weapons. While this was happening, Arcee managed to make it to the platform where the Autobot solider was laying. But then she gasped in horror at seeing the soldier's upper half body laying in a pool of purple liquid. Back at the lower level, Brawl managed to shove Bulkhead back and bashed him with his club hammer, making the dark-green Autobot tumble down. Brawl then grabbed Bulkhead by the face and hoisted him up, preparing to smash him with his hammer.
"I'll see you in the Well of All Sparks, Bulkhead!" Brawl stated.
But suddenly, he was kicked in the leg by Wheeljack, who managed to sneak behind the brutish Decepticon while he was busy with Bulkhead. Brawl ended up grunting in pain and collapsed onto his knee, dropping his hammer and Bulkhead in the process.
"Next time, you might wanna pay attention to your surroundings, Con!" Wheeljack told him before trapping Brawl's weakened knee with his swords.
Brawl turned around and growled in anger as he attempted to pull the swords out, but Bulkhead used the opportunity to smash Brawl in the face with his wrecking ball and sent him crashing into the wall. Bulkhead and Wheeljack stood side by side as Brawl got back up with an angry expression.
"Enough of this!" Brawl yelled before transforming into a Tifon 2a military tank.
He aimed his cannon directly at the Autobots and fired a missile towards them.
"Oh, scrap!" Bulkhead exclaimed.
Acting quickly, Wheeljack kicked the missile away with a ninja-like kick and caused it to explode upon hitting the wall. This caused the mine to start shaking a bit and the area where the Autobot soldier was resting on began falling off with him still on it.
"No!" Arcee stated, quickly rushing up to the soldier and grabbing it before it could fall.
Optimus, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Jazz managed to shoot down the remaining Vehicons that were trying to blast Arcee. Bulkhead ran up to Brawl and tipped him back while the brutish Decepticon was still in his vehicle mode, allowing Wheeljack to deliver a double kick to him. Brawl yelled out as he crashed into a pile of crates and transformed back into robot form, groaning in pain.
"That's him taken care of." Wheeljack said with a smile.
Arcee grunted as she managed to hold onto the Autobot soldier's hand.
"Don't worry, soldier! We'll get you out of here!" Arcee stated.
But when the Autobot showed it's undead face, it snarled at Arcee and made her gasp in shock before losing her grip. The other Autobots looked up to see the undead Cybertronian fall down and then crash into a pile of Energon to his true death. Arcee could only grunt in disappointment, feeling bad for failing to save one of her own.
Suddenly, the Autobots began to hear an evil laugh and they all saw Starscream walking along the upper level, holding some kind of device.
"Scream, it's been a while." Cliffjumper said, crossing his arms. "So, where's your master?"
"Never mind him! I am my own master." Starscream replied with a glare. "And I see you survived that Energon explosion from earlier, Cliffjumper."
"Yeah, well what can I say? I'm a survivor." Cliffjumper quipped.
"Whatever." Starscream muttered annoyingly before he turned his attention to Optimus. "Prime! I'd stick around, but I'm squeamish."
He then pressed a button on the device he was holding and it started to make a beeping noise before dropping it down. Starscream leaped into the center of the elevator and transformed into a silver fighter jet and then flew his way up to the Nemesis, while Brawl stood up and recovered from his blow to the head before shoving past the Autobots and leaping onto the lift.
"Have a nice blast, Autobots!" Brawl stated before the lift carried him up to the Nemesis.
The beeping device landed in the middle of the floor and the Autobots saw a timer counting down on it.
"It's a bomb!" Jazz exclaimed.
"The joint's gonna blow!" Bulkhead stated.
"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus ordered.
Team Prime immediately transformed into their vehicle modes and they began driving away as fast as they could before the bomb exploded, causing the surrounding Energon that was in it's blast radius to explode with it and chase the Autobots through the tunnel. The Nemesis was too high for the explosion to reach and it began to leave the area, but the explosion was getting dangerously close to Team Prime.
"Ratchet, bridge us back!" Optimus ordered on the com-link. "Use the arrival coordinates, now!"
A Ground Bridge opened up and the Autobots immediately drove into it, while the explosion followed them in it.
(Linebreak)
In the Autobot base, Ratchet, Luz and her friends watched the Autobots drive into the base with the blue explosion behind them. When they made it to the other side, Ratchet quickly shut down the bridge before the explosion could make it into the base.
"Whoa." The children said in astonishment.
"Cutting it a bit close." Ratchet admitted. "How about the Autobot?"
Optimus and the rest only lowered their heads depressingly in response, making it clear that they didn't succeed with their mission.
"Did any of you get hurt?" Luz asked in concern.
"Where'd that huge explosion come from?" Gus questioned.
"What in Titan happened back there?" Amity asked curiously.
"That's a lot of questions, kids." Cliffjumper said after a few seconds of silence. "But to answer the third one, Arcee's the only one who saw everything back there."
"Okay." Hunter replied.
"Arcee, what did you see?" Optimus asked as everyone looked towards the female Autobot.
"It wasn't an Autobot. At least, not anymore." Arcee said, feeling affected by what she witnessed back in the mines. "He was mutated. Butchered like something from those Con experiments during the war."
The thought of it was too much for Arcee to cope with as she began to collapse on her knees.
"Arcee!" Jazz exclaimed worriedly.
"Are you okay?" Bumblebee asked in concern.
"I'm fine, just dizzy." Arcee said assuringly.
"Robots who get dizzy?" Vee asked in surprise.
"Robots with feelings." Willow said softly.
"Robots… who can die." Luz added.
"They're like us in a lot of ways." Hunter said.
Ratchet scanned Arcee with a blue scanner from his arm before it started flashing red on her hand. The Autobot medic took a look and saw a small amount of purple liquid.
"Hum. What is this?" Ratchet asked.
"Don't know. That Autobot was covered in it. Leaking it." Arcee answered.
Ratchet then used a lab tool to scrape off the purple liquid for a closed inspection.
"Go take a decontamination bath. Now." He instructed before Bumblebee and Cliffjumper escorted Arcee away.
"Optimus, I don't mean to interrupt things, but I can't get a signal on my phone in here." Luz admitted while holding her mobile phone.
"Even my phone doesn't work." Vee added, showing an orange phone she got for herself a few days ago.
"A security precaution. The base's walls isolate all radio waves." Optimus told them.
"Well if I don't call my mom right now, she'll probably have the police searching for us." Luz replied.
"Have you broken a law?" Optimus asked.
"No, but it's after 10 pm. My mama has to be worried sick about us." Luz explained. "I already made her worried when I ended up in the Boiling Isles and I don't want to make her feel that way again by staying here."
"Yeah. If we don't get back to Luz's home, she'll probably ground us." Gus admitted nervously.
"Gus has a pretty good point." Hunter agreed.
"Earth customs. I hadn't considered. But the issue of your safety remains. Therefore, I shall have the six of you escorted back home with an Autobot as your guardian, each." Optimus explained before he turned towards Bulkhead. "Bulkhead, accompany Willow back to their home."
"Uh, I don't think Mrs Noceda will be very excited to have giant robots living with us, either." Willow replied in nervousness.
"And maintain covert surveillance in vehicle form." Optimus instructed.
"Curbside duty. Got it." Bulkhead replied with a nod.
"You know what? That sounds better." Willow said, smiling in relief.
"Bumblebee, you'll watch over Hunter." Optimus told the yellow Autobot.
Bumblebee looked towards Hunter, who simply smiled and waved at him.
"Cliffjumper, I want you to accompany Amity." Optimus said.
"Sounds fine with me, Optimus." Cliffjumper replied before turning to Amity. "I'm sure we'll be able to get along, kid."
"Probably." Amity said with a hand on her hips.
"Wheeljack, you will be paired with Gus." Optimus told the swordsman Autobot, who was sitting down and polishing one of his blades.
"Well… I guess hanging around with him sounds interesting." Wheeljack admitted with a shrug.
"It'll be great! You could tell me all about your species and planet!" Gus remarked. "Like what kinds of foods you eat, how you're able to transform into human vehicles, and how you were even born in the first place!"
"Let's just dial it down with the questions, little guy." Wheeljack replied.
"Jazz, you'll be accompanying Vee back to her home." Optimus told the white Autobot.
"Whatever you say, Prime. You cool with that, kiddo?" Jazz asked the young Basilisk.
"Sure thing." Vee replied kindly.
"Ratchet…" Optimus began saying, turning towards the Autobot medic.
"Busy." Ratchet interrupted.
Arcee then walked out of the decontamination room.
"Arcee, you'll accompany Luz." Optimus told her.
Arcee turned her attention towards Luz as the Hispanic teen gave her a small smile. Even though she took a slight liking to Luz after earlier, Arcee was feeling a bit unsure of herself about being partnered with a human.
"That does sound okay, Optimus, but I'm still a little dizzy." Arcee said, smiling nervously.
"You're fine. Says your physician." Ratchet reassured, earning a defeated sigh from the female Autobot.
(Linebreak)
Later on, it was nighttime in Gravesfield and Luz was riding Arcee back to her house. Amity, Willow, Gus, Hunter and Vee followed behind while riding in their respective Autobot Guardians. They soon arrived at the Noceda residence and Arcee parked herself into the garage before Luz got off her and approached the others.
"So, what're you gonna do now, Luz?" Gus asked.
"You guys can take the other Bots to the old house." Luz answered. "I'm just gonna stay here with Arcee and wait for my mom to come home so I can just explain things to her."
"If you say so. We'll see you later, sweet potato." Amity said kindly.
"Sure thing, bright flower." Luz replied with a smile before they both shared a quick kiss.
"I'll be honest, those two need to get a room." Hunter whispered to the others.
"Probably." Vee said in agreement.
Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Wheeljack and Jazz then drove away with Luz's friends so they could show them their hangout place. Luz turned her attention to Arcee and she approached her in the garage.
"Hey, Arcee. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss." Luz said. "You know, about not being able to save that Autobot earlier."
Arcee transformed and she kneeled down to not take up too much space in the garage.
"It's okay, Luz. We lost a lot of Autobots back on Cybertron." Arcee admitted while rubbing her arm. "It's just the price of war."
"Okay. Well, I guess should admit that you and the other Autobots aren't the only ones who've lost some important people." Luz said, lowering her head depressingly.
"Really?" Arcee asked.
But before Luz could reply to her, both of them noticed a pair of bright lights and a vehicle was driving up to the house.
"Cons!" Arcee exclaimed, activating her blasters.
"No, wait!" Luz stated as she got in front of her. "It's just my mom! Change back into a motorcycle before she sees you!"
The Hispanic girl then quickly turned her attention to the vehicle, which stopped in front of her as Camila got out of it.
"Luz?" Camila asked, sounding a bit surprised.
"Mama, try not to freak out. I can explain." Luz told her.
"Really?" Camila questioned as she approached Arcee, who had transformed back into her vehicle mode just in time. "Can you explain where you got a motorcycle from?"
"Uh… yeah. You see, I found it all alone in this abandoned alleyway after school was over." Luz explained as she tried to not get nervous. "I figured that a really nice-looking motorcycle like this one could use someone to take a ride with."
"Are you even able to drive on it?" Camila questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I managed to teach myself." Luz said. "And I'll also make sure to get myself a helmet."
Camila thought about it for a moment before she sighed and approached her daughter.
"Okay, Mija. I'll let you drive this thing as your own vehicle." Camila said with a kind smile. "So, where's Amity and the rest?"
"They're just hanging out in the old house. They'll be back in just a few seconds." Luz explained.
"Bueno. Now let's get inside, it's way past your bedtime." Camila said as she and Luz approached the garage door that led inside the house. "You know, I would like to go on a ride with you on your new motorcycle one day."
"I'll think about it." Luz replied, looking back at Arcee as the female Autobot watched them in her side mirror. "She's known for going on some wild rides."
She then walked into the house with her mother and closed the door behind her, leaving Arcee alone as the garage's door closed automatically.
(Linebreak)
The next morning, everything was quiet in the Noceda residence until Arcee started revving her engine. This was enough to wake up Luz as she went into the garage while holding one of her Good Witch Azura books.
"Arcee, keep it down! You'll wake up my mom!" Luz whispered drastically. "And I'm pretty sure you woke up my friends, as well."
"Sorry, Luz, but you should find yourself a helmet." Arcee told her. "It's go time. Cliff and the others are waiting outside."
"On Saturday?" Luz asked with a tired groan. "These are supposed to be relaxing days, you know?"
"You can keep reading your little fairy tale book back at base with Bumblebee." Arcee replied.
"Good Witch Azura isn't a fairy tale book, it's one of my greatest interests." Luz said in defence, holding her book closely. "You Autobots should try reading them some time."
"I'll keep that in mind." Arcee said.
Luz then walked back into the house to get herself and the others ready for the day.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, the Nemesis was flying above the clouds to stay out of human sight. Megatron was circling around the glass container that was holding the Dark Energon within, while Starscream kept away for his own safety.
"I don't think you need to worry about further Autobot interference, master. Not with Optimus gone." Starscream assured.
"And what evidence do you possess of this fact?" Megatron asked.
"I destroyed the mines, as you instructed." Starscream replied.
"Optimus is not so easily destroyed." Megatron told him, knowing his greatest enemy far longer than his second-in-command has. "We have eons of battles behind us to prove it."
"Maybe you should take a break, my lord. I'm worried that too much contact with the Dark Energon might allow it's properties might adversely effect you." Starscream warned.
"Or perhaps, Starscream, I have not permitted myself contact enough." Megatron replied before he pulled out a piece of Dark Energon, much to Starscream's worridness.
"Wait, Lord Megatron! No!" Starscream called out. "Not your Spark chamber! You do not know what it will do!"
Megatron didn't listen to him and he jabbed the Dark Energon shard straight into his chest. The Decepticon leader began to yell out loudly as the purple substance started spreading around his entire body and his optics changed into the exact colour, feeling the undead power that was building up inside him.
(Linebreak)
At the same time, Ratchet was in the Autobot base and studying the purple liquid he obtained from Arcee yesterday through a microscope.
"Hmm, the base elements of this goo are like nothing I ever encountered. Must be extremely concentrated to affect Arcee so rapidly." Ratchet said as he grabbed a pair of tongs and used them to grab a glass science container that was holding the purple liquid. "Unfortunately, complete results are slow coming without the use of proper diagnostic tools. Thank you very much, Bulkhead."
However, a small piece of the purple liquid ended up dripping from the container and it landed onto the mechanical arm that Bulkhead destroyed. Without Ratchet even noticing, the purple liquid absorbed itself into the arm and it brought the mechanical arm to life, transforming it into a robotic spider-like creature with a single purple eye. The spider drone screeched lowly as it began crawling around the base for any kind of prey.
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