Um... Hi, again?

I know it's been a looooooong time since my last update; sorry about the wait, but I got a new job and my free time reduced significantly. Plus, whenever I found a breather, I just couldn't bring myself to write anything, to the point in which I fear to be losing my connection to the stories and characters I already have on play...

Yet, I've seen that people keeps checking this fic from time to time, and I'm deeply grateful for that.

Special thanks to DaLadyofSouls for the review; I'll seek to fix those problems for future chapters and stories.

Warning: English isn't my mother language, so there's bound to be some grammar mistakes ahead.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers franchise nor its characters. It is a registered trademark of Hasbro.

-TWENTY THREE-

ECHOES

Elita was sitting on the medical berth, head down, while Ratchet finished his scans over her frame. According to his ramblings, everything seemed to be fine with her; at least, as far as he could see, for now. However, she wasn't meant to do anything strenuous for a couple days, just to make sure. Her only response was a mere nod of the head, barely acknowledging the fact that the medic had been communicating with her; reaction that made the old mech sigh and look away, knowing what ailed the femme… And, also, very much aware that he couldn't help with that pain.

"Did he-…?"

"No" hurried to answer the doctor, knowing where it was going. "I don't think so… He was in peace with his choice." Ratchet stated, turning to look at her.

Another nod.

"Elita-… Ariel" corrected himself the white and orange bot, as he walked up to the femme, "I know it's though, but he wouldn't want you to drown in your own grief due to him. We lost Optimus too, and if you ever feel the need of talking about it-…"

"I know, Ratch…" said the pink bot, finally looking up. Her big azure optics were firm, yet kind, as usual; but there was a shadow of sadness over them. One she couldn't hide, not even with the tender smile she was dedicating the medic. "It's just… That cycle, at the launching pad, I-…" Unable to finish, she leaned forward and rested her face-plate onto both of her palms. "He went down thinking that I was-…!"

As quickly as he could, Ratchet placed both of his servos on her shoulders, testing the waters; but, given she didn't leaned forward into his arms, he guessed that hugging and physical contact wasn't what his friend needed right now. As such, he dropped his hold onto her, and passed to pat her left shoulder, softly whispering comforting words to the femme… After all, what else could he do for a fem-bot who just found out about her off-lined sparkmate?

…

The next morning received the base as it usually did, when Miko called requesting a ground-bridge to go and pay a visit. She had heard from the two boys that there were new bots in the team, and was anxious to meet them; however, as she stepped into the control room, the Japanese teen couldn't help but stop on her tracks, when noticing the ginormous red mech standing on her way. This led to her staring at the bot, as he stared back at her, completely still; until a grin broke into the warrior's face, and he laughed out loud, introducing himself as Ironhide. Thanks to it, the girl recovered from the surprise and, after introducing herself as well, ran up to the platform from which she noticed the cerulean femme. This one called herself Chromia. In no time, Miko was throwing questions at the two warriors, starting with whether it was true what Jack and Raf told her about Conjux Endura ―and being completely blown away when learning that it was true, Cybertronians did get married. Although, she felt a bit disappointed when the weapons specialist stated that he never was a Wrecker…

Nonetheless, what truly surprised her was learning that mechs and femmes didn't fight on the same team at first. Especially because Arcee always talked about Tailgate and Cliffjumper as her teammates, and partners; therefore, she just assumed that it was normal among the Autobots. But, as it turned out, it wasn't; not always, at least: while Optimus Prime led the entire Autobot faction, Elita-One commanded the femmes; even though, some elements were later transferred from one unit to the other.

The girl arched an eyebrow.

"Who's Elita?"

"That would be me" a soft voice answered, as a third bot came into the room through the main hallway.

At the sight of the pink fem-bot, the Japanese girl downright gasped. The femme commander was beautiful, bright pink armor covering silver-grey protoform, with some darker rose shades emphasizing some details over her frame, such as her optic-ridges and eyelashes; her optics were also a shade darker to what Miko had seen among the bots. However, what those eyes told her was that, despite not being physically intimidating, this bot was stronger than she seemed… There was an undisputed authority on her person. It kind of reminded her of the Big Guy. He, too, had this sort of aura around him that just made the others recognize him as the boss.

"I'm taking you're the one called Miko, is that right?" The female leader asked, politely, smiling and cocking her head to the side.

"Wait! How do you know my name?" The girl countered, confused.

"Ratch told them everything yesterday, Miko" clarified Jack, who was lying on the couch, reading some books for his classes.

"Why didn't you just bridge me here?! I could've met them right away!" accused the girl, turning to glare at her friend.

"You had school yesterday!" retorted the older boy.

"So? You've classes almost all week now!"

"But I don't deal with different time zones!"

As the argument ensued, Elita blinked and turned to look at Ratchet, who was at the mainframe's keyboard.

"Are they usually like this?" She asked, arching an optic-ridge.

"Sometimes worse" admitted the medic, turning to look at her. "But, it does become entertaining after a while." He added, with a shrug, as he went back to his own duties.

The femme blinked before taking another look at the children, while Miko chased Jack around the platform. It was so ridiculous that she couldn't help but smile and chuckle.

Yes. Living here definitely would be interesting.

… … …

Meanwhile, Bumblebee and Knock Out were out the bunker. Due to the recent events, the medic hadn't been able to pay visits to the hospital; but, since that morning was pretty quiet, the red mech asked the warrior to allow him to go and check on Millie. His request was so sincere that nobody would've had the spark to deny him; reason why, at the clinic's parking lot, one could see a bright yellow Camaro parked next to a shiny red Aston Martin. Both of them were right outside a particular window, from which they had perfect view of a small girl of bronze skin and unruly dark hair. According to June, she was doing fine; plus, the nurse promised to call them the moment in which Millie wakes. "Everything's going to be fine, girl, I promise" thought the surgeon, before mentally chuckling. "I know it means little coming from a former Decepticon, but I mean every word." He wanted to keep a positive mind over the matter. Also, he was glad for not having to hide his worries over his human friend anymore; nonetheless, it was yet heartbreaking to know that she was yet in danger… And it was his fault.

After fifteen minutes of just staying still, watching from afar, Bumblebee decided that they've spent enough time in the open, that that they ought to go back to base; it was understandable for the surgeon that his parole officer was a little jumpy, considering they've been attacked by the Seekers at that very same spot in the past, so he didn't argue. Even though it had become somewhat bothersome for him the way in which the yellow mech worried whenever they were outside the base, Knock Out preferred to keep his comments to himself; nonetheless, he would greatly appreciate the guy to calm down a little bit… Especially since the younger mech's scanners had been in override ever since they rolled out of Alden.

"If you're going to be double-checking your instruments every two seconds, just go ahead and ask for a ground-bridge already" called out the medic with a resigned sigh, as they drove back to base. "It's not like there's much for us to do, anyway…"

"I thought you said that you wanted to drive, because you were starting to feel suffocated or something?" The warrior retorted, looking at his companion through his mirrors.

"I know what I said, but if you keep going like this you're going to make me develop a paranoia!"

He didn't need to be a psychologist to know that the yellow mech's sanity was breaking down… Nor did he need to ask to know why; he knew the answer: he had been failing on his mission for a long while now. First, the attacks the Velocitronian suffered, back on Cybertron; those weren't unexpected, but Bumblebee didn't count with them being so many that they needed to abandon the planet. Then, the medic got abducted by Shockwave's minions, again, under his watch; to make things worse, Knock Out didn't have an Autobot beacon on when that happened, so they needed to resource to less orthodox methods to find him. And, last but not least, the former Decepticon was left to fend for himself all over again, during the assault at the Black Moon. So, yes… He knew that Bumblebee was under a lot of pressure, and reaching his limits; but, all the same, he needed to ease up. If only he-…

That was when a sudden idea popped up on his head: if Bumblebee wasn't going to take care of his own health, then he would do it for him. It was his job, after all. He was a medic!

Ok, ok… maybe he just wanted to help the guy because he grew fond of the mech ―though he would never dare to admit it.

Sighing, Knock Out waited for them to reach the desert before speeding up, so they were now driving side by side. Then, he revved his engine in clear challenge.

"Uh… What are you doing?" The Autboot asked, not fully following his companion's intentions.

"Ugh… Do I really have to translate everything to you? I'm challenging you to a race!" The Velocitronian yelled, allowing himself to growl ―indicating that, if they were in bipedal, he would be rolling his optics. "Will you run, or not?" He asked.

"I don't know… I'm not in the right mood; not with everything that's going on…"

"Fine. It was only a suggestion."

However, as soon as Knock Out said it, Bumblebee took off, leaving him way behind, coughing in a dust cloud.

"See you at the base!" yelled the former scout as he shrunk in the distance.

"What the-…?"

Still a little stunned, the red car sped up, trying to catch up with the Camaro. Eventually, they were, once again, side by side.

"You cheated?! I'm impressed…" He said, almost in a purr.

"Oh, come on! I was just messing with you!" The warrior said, chuckling.

"Whatever you say, kid…" Then, revving up, he left the Camaro behind. "See yah!"

"Sometimes I really hate that guy…" Bumblebee muttered before trying to catch up with the former 'Con.

Meanwhile, on Cybertron, Prowl was working at his station, still attempting to decode the data they've taken from Darkmount's mainframe. Even though, from time to time, he brought up some documents he was supposed to be currently checking; after all, he was very much aware that he wasn't alone and that there were optics on him. Just as the commander had… The Praxian hadn't heard of the former Wrecker in a couple cycles now, thus he was beginning to believe that Ultra Magnus was still trying to shake off the tail that the new Council put to follow him. He perfectly understood. He has been dealing with a second shadow too…

However, that morning, the blue mech finally called: he needed a favor…

…

Ultra Magnus was, once again, waiting at the city's outskirts, carrying his old long gun on his back. It has been a while since the bot following him went quiet. Either they desisted, or were tempting him to do something really stupid. Whatever reason it was, the commander decided that he couldn't stay still any longer, waiting for the other party to make their move. His friends were facing a mad scientist, lightyears away from him, and all he could do to help was gather as much information as he could. If the Council wanted to arrest him for defying their orders, while trying to help his friends, so be it. He was determined to find a way of decoding the chief scientist's accursed files faster.

Unfortunately, however, the only place where he could do so was on Kaon; a site which he couldn't sweep on his own ―especially after the last time. Dragging the Middle Triplet into this for a second time didn't settle well with his spark, after the former second in command ended badly injured during their last incursion; besides, he had no idea as of what they may ran into this time around. Shockwave clearly didn't expect any Autobots roaming around his lair before, but he was on alert now; and if he had built a space-bridge as to run from Cybertron if needed, something told him that it was because he already had the means to return later. And, as such, Ultra Magnus wasn't hoping for an easier ride this time…

Nonetheless, without Prowl, his options for a partner dropped almost to zero, because he couldn't go to just anyone; and, if he had to guess, the Predacons would not want to help him with this… And there was no chance for him to convince those guys of ever leaving their hideaway. Not until it was safe for them, at least; and he wouldn't dare ask… They've gone through enough already. Even Optimus was cautious whenever approaching them…

All of which led to this very moment in which he was patiently expecting for his new appointed partner, whom showed up rather quickly. A revving engine called the commander's attention, as he sighed and prepared to greet the guy.

He didn't really approve this choice, but arguing with Jazz was nearly impossible ―when that Polyhexian made up his mind, he made up his mind; you just roll with the outcome (or so did the Middle Triplet warn him, back when he asked the white and black mech to call the former third in command). He guessed that Jazz refusing to come in person, stating that he had his hands full at the moment shouldn't have surprised him half as much, but, still… Why did the Polyhexian have to choose this mech as his replacement?

Coming back to the present, Ultra Magnus saw a white and orange sports car alt-mode stop and transform right in front of him, only to reveal a young mech who was carrying a pair of twin swords on the sheaths attached to his hip's sides, and a third one on his back. The infamous Drift… A former Decepticon, who switched sides sometime during the war. His past was unclear to anyone within the Autobot faction, thus making more than just one person have second thoughts about this warrior's reasons to betray Megatron; but, those doubts eventually ebbed away… For most officers ―the commander not being one of them, though.

It was hard for the former Wrecker to forget that they've fought on the battlefield, back when the swordsman was yet a Decepticon man-hunter. Sometimes he could still see this youngling sporting red optics.

On the other hand, Drift couldn't forget those times either, but for different reasons. Fitting in with the Autobots was particularly difficult for him, considering his past. Not that he blamed his new teammates… He, too, would have his doubts.

All of which explained why both mechs didn't actually greet each other, but rather stood there, staring into one another's optics, not entirely sure as of how to proceed. So, for both of their sakes, Ultra Magnus cleared his throat and explained the mission: he was planning to go back to Darkmount, see if there was anything else that he could recover; especially, he wanted a faster way to decrypt Shockwave's files. The white and orange mech was meant to be his backup, in case there were any Decepticons expecting him.

Drift, although not fully convinced, nodded and followed the other mech. He had more than just one doubt concerning his plan of storming that stronghold, considering how the last time ended; nevertheless, he promised Jazz that he would behave and be supportive of the senior officer. Plus, he was in a big debt with the Polyhexian… Nobody else would've considered him, a high profile former Decepticon, for a job such as Special Ops; despite of his good behavior throughout these past mega-cycles, ever since he joined the Autobots. Then again, the only people who actually witnessed his change of spark, and got to know his reasons for it, were located a galaxy and a nebula away, and had no intentions of returning to Cybertron. Nobody else was aware of the things he went through; so he couldn't blame anyone for not fully trusting him on the get-go. And, something told him that Ultra Magnus was going to be rather difficult to convince…

Sighing, the knight followed the commander's example and, transforming, sped away, next to the blue truck. He used this chance to take a good look at the larger mech's vehicular-mode, for this was the first time he saw a non-Cybertronian-based alt-mode. It was rather strange, but not at all bad… Wherever this 'Earth' he kept hearing about was located, it must be a nice organic planet. Maybe he would get to see it someday ―a vacation of sorts, maybe.

After a long while of driving in silence, the two warriors arrived to Kaon Walls and entered the abandoned city. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that this used to be the heart of Cybertron's industry… Most of the Energon refineries were here. Now, only the shadows of those times remained; fading at the tall silhouette of Darkmount's tower.

Suddenly, as they crossed the gate, however, Drift stopped and transformed back into bipedal without warning. This got him Ultra Magnus' attention, as the larger mech did the same, asking his companion if he heard or saw something. The knight gestured the commander to wait, as he took a couple steps forward, towards some buildings; his optics were scanning the roofs, while his right servo was already holding onto one of his twin sword's handle. His mouth was pressed into a thin line, as he inspected every single shadow.

He used to be a man hunter, and he was later trained by the knights. He was more than aware that they were on the disadvantage there… On the lower ground and fully exposed.

They waited for a couple breems, but nothing seemed to move and Drift let out a vent.

"I can't see them now…" murmured the white and orange mech, relaxing and walking up to the former Wrecker, still frowning at the buildings. "But there's someone tailing us." He added, now staring fully at the second mech. His servo was still ready to pull out his blade, if necessary.

Ultra Magnus nodded and spied the ruins from the corner of his optics, his good hand ready to transform into a blaster.

"Con, or Bot?" The blue bot wondered. His true query was whether this guy was a spy working for the Council; especially because he truly believed to have shaken off the few extra shadows behind his tailpipe already…

"Hard to tell." Drift answered, not really sure. "Nevertheless, this person has training in the trade."

Despite this warning, the commander simply nodded and kept walking, ordering the other warrior to do the same; something that didn't fully please the former man hunter, who knew that such an attitude tended to bring calamity. Their chasers would, most likely, end up pouncing on them by behaving like that… Unless that was what he intended to begin with? Play bait and lure them out? It wasn't like he hadn't used that trick before, but things were a bit complicated now, and to do such thing in an environment none of them was too familiar with would be reckless. Then again, this might be the infamous 'Wrecker-style' everyone kept talking about. He couldn't tell, because the only Wreckers he had ever spoken with were Perceptor and Kup; and, while the last one liked the more straightforward approach to a problem, the former was incredibly analytical ―a scientist. Thus, he wasn't entirely sure what the phrase 'Wrecker-style' meant… Nor to which category Ultra Magnus belonged.

Either way, they were much too exposed in that main road for his liking; however, the other available streets were either too narrow, or too dark. Thus, he agreed to follow the blue mech.

Nevertheless, he kept spying over his shoulder from time to time; intermittently catching a moving shadow jumping among the roofs. "I don't like this… Not one little bit", thought the former hunter, clenching his jaw.

It took them a joor of walking and double-checking the corners, but both Autobots finally made it to Darkmount tower, where the commander was counting with finding something useful to decipher Starscream's and Shockwave's plans… But, all he found was a broken mainframe, blown to bits. Ultra Magnus allowed himself to growl at the sight.

"He knew I would return here! He's always been a step ahead!" He snarled, walking up to the controllers to see if there was anything salvageable.

"Maybe he didn't destroy the backup yet" commented the knight, trying to help his companion.

"Do you know where to find it?"

"All Decepticon buildings are somewhat alike… All we need to do is find the main server" stated Drift with a shrug. "It's a small room. It should be a few floors below." He added, pointing towards the door.

Like it or not, it was their best shot now, so the commander nodded and started following the white and orange mech, who kept checking the power-lines from time to time ―he said that those were the best maps in Decepticon bases. Then, he finally stopped in front of a small doorframe, which was slightly ajar; voices were coming from the inside too. Voices that Ultra Magnus recognized from his previous incursion on Darkmount.

Without thinking it twice, the Wrecker forced the door open, effectively surprising Skywarp and Thundercracker, whom quickly pointed at the intruders with their blasters. Behind them, the screen showed that they were downloading the backup of which Drift was talking about; therefore, Ultra Magnus surmised that the trine was yet working alongside Shockwave. Pulling out his rifle, the Autobot ordered both jets to surrender… Instead, they laughed.

Drift was standing behind the commander, swords drawn. He didn't know these two mechs, but he had heard about the Seekers. They all came from the Energon Seeking Patrols of Vos, one of the most respected units after the Elite Guard itself; however, he had never actually interacted with one of them before, nor was much aware of how true those rumors were. "Which means, they don't know me either" thought the knight, right before a sound coming from the corridor caught his attention. It sounded like steps.

Soon, a glint made him gasp.

"Commander!" He yelled, pouncing on the larger mech, effectively sending them down to the ground, and out of the way of a blaster fire.

As soon as both bots touched the floor, they had to roll out of the way of the Seekers' attack and take cover behind the first ledge they could found; unfortunately, the third bot in the proximities soon joined the fray. It was a bulky mech of green and purple armor, with red optics. The Deception insignia was proudly craved into his arms. But, regardless of his body structure, he wasn't really impressive, and because of his size, in comparison to Ultra Magnus', it was also hard for the knight to take this enemy seriously… Until a shot from the Seekers missed them and hit the new mech; shot that easily bounced off this bot's armor without leaving so much of a scratch behind. "Scrap" was all that Drift could think the moment he realized that whoever this soldier was, his armor had been upgraded.

The Decepticon looked down at his chest-plates and inspected the area with a servo, a if not believing it himself.

"Huh… At least it was worth it" mumbled the warrior still gingerly passing his hand over the plate hit by the Seekers' blaster, making sure there was no marking of any type. "Hey! Mind to actually aim next time?!" He yelled to the jets, frowning.

"Scrapper? What're you doing here?" Thundercracker questioned, blinking wildly in surprise of seeing the Constructicon after so long. His companion in not much of a different state.

"I was called here by Shockwave, next to my team; then I got myself lock into stasis, and woke up just now to a deserted place. What the slag's going on, anyway?"

"Shockwave?" repeated Ultra Magnus, turning to look at the green bot with an arched optic-ridge.

Unfortunately for the Autobots, this reminded their opponents about them, as such, the commander reopened fire against the Seekers, while Drift pounced on the Constructicon, swords out, with a battle cry. However, the bravery of the knight was proved misplaced the moment in which Scrapper rose his arms to shield himself: the moment in which the silver blades fell upon the upgraded armor, not only they proved ineffective, but actually cracked without leaving any other mark than a thin line on the Decepticon's paintjob. Noticing this, he presumed that a retreat would be the best and most logical course of action… But before he could warn the commander, his opponent was aiming at him with his blaster again; thus, old reflexes kicked in as the white and orange bot quickly kicked the shorter mech's weapon off his face. Only one second too late he realized what he just did, when recognition bloomed on his opponent's optics.

"Your face… You look familiar. Do I know you?" Scrapper questioned, examining the younger bot's expression.

"Not really" said the knight, quickly dropping to the floor and sweeping the other mech off his feet. "Let's go, commander!" He called, indicating that the road was open now.

Nodding, the blue Autobot jumped out of his hiding and, transforming sped down the hallway, followed by his companion, whose mind was troubled now. Scrapper and he never actually met before; they only happened to share a room once, and it was by mere chance. Nonetheless, the story of how he double-crossed Turmoil and escaped the lieutenant's ship after setting up the quarantine program must've become quite popular among the troops, when he deserted. He knew how unpopular he was among the Prime's troops later on… He still experienced it once or twice a day. Why Jazz ever even considered him for the job, fully knowing who he used to be, was beyond him.

… … …

The knight could still see it as clear as day, the small recruiting room with a single desk and a chair he didn't take, believing with all his spark that he would be refused upon a single read of his personal data. In all honesty, his presence there was but an act of courtesy towards Kup, who picked him up and included him on the team. Those bots saved his life; so, when he called to tell him of this chance, and to take it, Drift felt somewhat obliged. Nevertheless, he thought himself rejected even before stepping into the Special Ops' headquarters.

And, yet, all he got instead was a chortling white mech of blue visor…

"So yah were a 'Con. Big deal!" The Autobot (Polyhexian, considering the thick accent) laughed off his worries, waving a servo in a nonchalant manner as he kept reading the knight's profile. "Ah've met two hundred others like yah in mah life, mech!"

"Maybe, but I wasn't just a Decepticon, sir…" He admitted shamefully, lowering his head and averting his optics. "I-… I was a man hunter… My designation used to be-…"

"Ah know, Ah know. Kup told meh earlier today" interrupted the white mech, not giving him a chance to end his confession; not to mention, taking him by complete surprise.

Drift felt his shoulders relaxing a little bit at this. Maybe the worst-case scenario wasn't going to happen after all…

"You've… talked to Kup, sir?" The young mech questioned.

The other simply chortled and grinned, almost as if he found his surprised face too funny.

"Sure Ah did. Told meh all 'bout yah; who yah were, where he find yah, how many times yah saved yer partners' tailpipes… The usual." The former lieutenant admitted with a shrug. "Gotta say, Ah was impressed! Plus, yer previous experience with that old rascal and the remnants of the Wreckers will come in handy for yah."

"I can't say I follow…"

"Yha'll understand when yah see yer partner, Crosshairs. Trust me…" said the former Third in Command, almost apologetically, as he signed the forms. "Welcome to tha Special Ops." He added, handing the data-pads over.

… … …

Even now he could remember his hesitance when taking back the documents, almost expecting to look down and read 'fell for it' written all over the screen. But, no. Jazz was honest; he wanted to give him a chance ―and he was honest about Crosshairs too, if he thought about it: the green former paratrooper was a walking ego, and had a temper; yet the time spent with Kup's men helped him to put up with the new partner. "I would like to have either of them here, right about now" thought the knight as he and Ultra Magnus turned around a corner and transformed again, taking out their weapons. Only now did Drift check his swords: the cracks on the blades were a problem… Another hit and he may break them in half. Biting his lip, he prepared for battle all the same.

"Do we have a plan, sir?" questioned the knight as he heard steps coming closer. Both he and the commander took a step back for each step forward their audios received.

"Not really" admitted the taller mech, cocking his gun and readying to shoot at the first sign of a Decepticon coming their way. "We can't take down this new bot, Scrapper, with our current firepower; and the Seeker known as Skywarp can create personal ground-bridges, so he could catch up with us anytime." He listed out, optics never leaving the now approaching shadow.

"With all due respect: wouldn't this merit a retreat?"

Yes, it most certainly did; and he was planning to order it, wasn't it for the fact that he didn't recognize this corridor. When attempting to gain some distance between them and their attackers, Ultra Magnus didn't precisely look where he was headed; too late he realized that he took them to unknown territory… Gritting his teeth, he admitted this to Drift, just as Scrapper appeared at the end of the corridor. Even knowing it was pointless, the commander opened fire.

"Find a way out!" The former Wrecker ordered his companion, as he kept shooting their opponent, hoping to, at least, keep him as far from them as possible.

Drift didn't need to be told twice, as he quickly took a look around. What he said about Decepticon buildings was absolutely true: once you've been at one place, you've been in all. Darkmount wasn't supposed to be any different, other than in its fortification ―it was Megatron's stronghold after all. Unfortunately, nothing told him which section of the tower were they in at the moment; and, to make things worse, Scrapper soon decided to transform and attempted to ram them. Acting first and thinking later, the knight grabbed the commander from his back-plates and pulled him inside the first room, which door opened. Thanks to it, the Constructicon missed and ended up skidding down the hallway, only to finally crash against a wall.

The two Autobots took a look outside before running back to the main corridor, where the former Decepticon seemed to be capable of reorienting himself, as he soon managed to tell which way was the exit. The pair, thus, quickly got to the stairs… Only to be intercepted by Skywarp who was aiming at them, making Drift come to full stop and draw his swords. However, a quick and loud chain of honks made the white and orange mech look over his shoulder, and, gasping in alarm, jump out of the way of Ultra Magnus who, transformed, was speeding towards the unsuspecting Seeker. This last bot, surprised, didn't warp in time, getting hit at max speed; the impact sent him flying into the wall behind his back, and lose conscience. The commander, unfortunately, didn't end in much better conditions… He attempted to stop break the crash by transforming, but, even then, he ended hurting one of his legs.

Drift hurried to help the former Wrecker to his feet, but the larger bot soon hissed and doubled over.

"Scrap!" cursed the large mech, upon noticing his injury. "It's my leg… I think it's broken. You better get out of here and call for help; I'll buy you some time."

The knight merely frowned and, helping the commander to sit down, grabbed the blue mech's long gun; then, without saying a word, shot some beams, collapsing parts of the hallway behind them. Once it was done, he turned to pass an arm around a much dumfounded Ultra Magnus, to help him up once again.

"Call me insubordinate, if you must; but I know better than to leave a wounded Autobot with a bunch of Decepticons, sir" muttered the knight, as he returned the blaster to his companion, and began to help him walk out of the fortress.

Slightly impressed for this young mech's determination, the commander simply nodded and limped as best as he could, knowing, just as his partner did, that the diversion was merely temporary. As soon as the purple Seeker came back online, he could easily bridge his teammates out of the tower without much trouble; plus, Thundercracker, being a jet, could simply jump out a window and transform in midair as a mean to escape. The only one who was actually in trouble was Scrapper, and even about him did Ultra Magnus have doubts…

Once they've gotten one floor lower, they considered to use the lifts; but only briefly. It was a bad idea to get in such a tiny space, given the circumstances, so they simply kept pushing forward… Until the sound of broken glass called their attention. Apparently, the blue Seeker did, indeed, use a different point of exit. In no time, the two Autobots saw his figure hovering at their level, cannons out; both the commander and the knight prepared to shield themselves as they jumped behind cover. Too bad, none of them actually knew why the guy was called Thundercracker: a different kind of blaster was soon deployed, but nothing came out of it. Nothing visible, that is. After all, it was a sonic-cannon.

The blast was enough as to blast off the glass from all the windows from that floor, and the two next to it; but, most important, knocked out the intruders, who could do nothing but to cover their audios in pain, before entering emergency power down.

The Seeker chuckled.

"I've got the two Auto-scums, Warp" announced the jet, pleased. "Warp?" He called again, upon receiving no sort of answer. "You there partner?"

As he was about to try again, Drift groaned and started to online his optics; his processor was still aching for the attack, but he was conscious enough as to know that he needed to get rid of the Seeker, before taking the commander ―who was, also, beginning to come to― to safety. And, considering he didn't have blasters on him anymore, his best option was to make a jump for his companion's. However, as he was about to do it, someone took care of the problem for him: a blaster fire came out of the city around the tower with astonishing accuracy, as it hit Thundercracker right on the propellant, making him lose control and fall down like a rock; wasn't because he used his last impulse to transform and get a hold from the windowsill. "Now or never" told himself the white and orange mech, as he got up and made a run for the commander… And, yet…

Sighing, he went back to the window, where the Seeker was now hanging on his servos, slowly slipping off the edge. Evidently, considering his desperate calls over the com-link, his partner was still unconscious and Scrapper couldn't arrive on time; so, Drift bended over the ledge and grabbed the blue winged bot's arms. Thundercracker stared at him with wide optics, not understanding what this mech was doing. In fact, it took him a whole breem to fully process the idea of being helped by an Autobot…

A futile intention, nevertheless. The Seeker knew himself far heavier than the ground-bounded bot. Unless he could gain a good couple of tons in the next handful of kliks, both of them were about to fall off the tower.

Situation that changed when another servo appeared in the scene: Ultra Magnus was back online, and helping. Now the Decepticon was sure of having seen it all…

Working together, the Autobots managed to pull the third mech inside, to safety, where the pair allowed themselves to let out a sigh of relief, which was short lived: soon enough Thundercracker's blasters were pointing at them again.

"W-why did you do it? Why would you save me?" The flyer couldn't help but question, utter confusion evident in his optics and in his processor. It was understandable, though. The last time he interacted with an Autobot, it was in the battlefield, where he was taken down and made prisoner for mega-cycles. If it wouldn't have been for Skywarp, he didn't doubt that he would still be within that stasis-pod, and on his way to a max security prison.

"Would you've preferred for us to let you fall, instead?" countered Drift, arching an optic-ridge. "The war's over; you're a bot and you needed help. That's explanation enough."

"But I'm not an Autobot" reminded him the Seeker.

"Neither was I." The knight stated with a shrug.

For a moment, the blue jet's pulse failed him… Did they really didn't care if he was from the opposite faction? He couldn't understand it. Not yet, at least; so, pushing aside his questions he pretended to get up and stop the intruders, but was promptly stopped by a punch from Ultra Magnus that sent Thundercracker into power down almost immediately.

"I should arrest him…" commented the blue and orange mech, glaring at the Decepticon with his shoulder's tense. "But, officially, I can't be here, and there're more 'Cons on their way." He admitted, relaxing with a long vent. "Let us leave this accursed place." He told his companion.

"Right away, sir" answered Drift with a smirk, as he allowed the taller bot to rely his weight on him and helped him down.

Now that they knew both Seekers were down, their only issue was Scrapper. Hopefully, he wouldn't find a way to an elevator before they made it out of the tower; but, anyway, they couldn't stop walking as fast as they were able.

Once they'd put some distance between them and their chasers, Drift called Jazz and requested a ground-bridge back to Iacon, which was promptly opened right in front of them. The Polyhexian and his second subordinate, Crosshairs, quickly appeared on the scene to lend the two warriors a hand. However, the knight lingered a bit longer, staring at the rooftops.

He had no idea who it was, but there was no doubt that their shadow was the person who saved their sparks that day. "Thanks" thought the white and orange mech before entering the ground-bridge, following the others. The vortex closed almost immediately after, and a purple Seeker appeared in the sky, tracking down the Autobots.

Meanwhile, a small silhouette was climbing down a wall, until landing on a dark alley; there, they waited for the flying Decepticon to resign, before walking into the street and switch modes, becoming a white and lavender car, built for speed. The Autobot insignia was proudly carved on the hood. The figure revved their engines and hurried out of Kaon, all the while opening a com-link, which was promptly answered.

"It's me" said a feminine voice. "I-… I need some advice. ASAP."

Up until now, she never questioned her assignment… Until she saw the 'Cons and realized that the commander was right…

Once again, sorry for the long wait. I truly hope you liked this part, and for my love for writing to return soon.

See ya.