Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, The Owl House or their characters
Groaning painfully, Bulkhead opened his eyes and pulled himself out of a pile of Energon boxes.
"Ugh, my head gasket." Bulkhead said, rubbing his forehead.
"Bulk?" A familiar voice asked in a tired tone.
Bulkhead looked down and he saw Willow laying on one of the boxes, sitting up straight and readjusting her glasses.
"Willow? You okay?" Bulkhead asked, picking up his Witch friend and placing her on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I just feel sore in the head." Willow answered. "By the way, where are we?"
Bulkhead jumped down from the pile of Energon box pile and he and Willow looked around, soon realising where they were.
"The Nemesis?" Bulkhead questioned, stepping back a bit.
"Bulk, behind us!" Willow stated warningly.
Bulkhead quickly stopped in his tracks and turned around, seeing that he was about to step over a hole that showed they were hundreds of feet above the ground.
"Thanks for the warning, Willow." Bulkhead said.
"You're welcome. Now, we should call base for a Ground Bridge." Willow told him, earning a nod from her Autobot Guardian as he turned on his com-link.
"Ratchet, don't ask how we got here. Long story." Bulkhead admitted, only to get no response. "Ratchet, you copy? Oh, scrap."
"Does this mean we're on our own?" Willow asked in concern.
"Sure looks like it. We need to find a way off this ship by ourselves." Bulkhead replied.
When Bulkhead and Willow approached the storage room's door, they carefully looked out it and began to make their way out while not attracting the attention of any Vehicons.
"Stealthy. Stealthy." Bulkhead said to himself.
"Keep your voice to a whisper, Bulk." Willow instructed.
Just then, the two of them heard footsteps coming from the left and three Vehicons were walking towards their position. Bulkhead attempted to get himself and Willow back in the storage room, only for the door to shut in front of them. The Vehicons walked right past Bulkhead and Willow, who carefully hid themselves behind a metal piece near the door.
"We're clear." Willow whispered.
Bulkhead started to hastily walk away with the Plant Witch still on his shoulder, until he bumped into someone and brought out his blasters. Bulkhead and Willow saw that they had bumped into a Seeker who slightly resembled Thundercracker, only his blue colourings were a bit more brighter than usual as he aimed his own blasters in a startled way.
"Thundercracker?" Bulkhead asked.
"How come your blue parts look a little more…brighter today?" Willow questioned.
"Do not confuse me for that buffoon." The Seeker said with an annoyed scowl, having an all-too familiar voice. "Why is it that every time I return to my old stomping grounds, I find an Autobot or his Witch pet roaming the halls?"
"Wait, Starscream?" Willow asked with a very surprised expression. "I had no idea you got yourself a new paint job."
"Don't tell us you came crawling back to Megatron." Bulkhead said, glaring at the former air commander.
"Hardly! Now out of my way!" Starscream demanded, attempting to walk past his old foes before Willow pulled him back with a vine from her hand.
"Not until you tell us how to get off this ship. You do that and we'll let you do whatever it is you came to do." Willow told him.
"Sorry. Too busy." Starscream said simply.
"Look, when you needed help-" Bulkhead began saying in a frustrated tone.
"As I recall, we bartered!" Starscream interrupted. "So, unless you and your tiny organic friend have anything of value to offer me, step aside!"
"The exit. Now!" Bulkhead demanded sternly.
"We're not going to ask again." Willow added as her eyes began to glow green.
"I may have given Arcee a free pass when she and I last met…" Starscream scowled before he suddenly slashed Bulkhead on the torso with his claws, making him stumble back as Willow ended up falling off his shoulder. "But I won't hesitate to skewer both of you as I would have done to a certain Cliffjumper!"
As Willow stood back up and glared angrily at Starscream, Bulkhead looked at the scratch mark on his chest and then gave the former air commander a glare that made him turn quite scared. Before Willow could get a chance to attack, Bulkhead charged at Starscream with an angry shout and bashed him away with his wrecking ball. Starscream sat up immediately and aimed his blasters at Bulkhead.
"Perish, Bulkhead!" Starscream stated, only for the dark-green Wrecker to then slam on him from the air and repeatedly bash him in the face with his wrecking ball.
"Uh, Bulk…" Willow said, too nervous to get involved.
"This is for Cliffjumper! For Bumblebee! For everything." Bulkhead said before delivering an extremely powerful hit to Starscream's head.
Willow could only look on in astonishment as Bulkhead breathed heavily and soon calmed down, looking down at Starscream and realising he had just deactivated him.
"You left me no choice." Bulkhead muttered, standing up and putting his wrecking ball away.
"Bulk…are you alright?" Willow asked as she slowly approached her Autobot Guardian.
"I will be, Willow." Bulkhead said, sighing softly.
"You just needed to get your anger out. I understand. But, I still don't know why Starscream decided to get a new paint job." Willow said while looking at the deactivated body of the former air commander.
(Linebreak)
24 hours earlier…
Starscream, who had his usual paint job, was seen walking his way across a familiar stone area with large rock hills.
"Ugh, what I would not give to have wings again." Starscream complained before he spotted a familiar Decepticon ship ahead of him. "Ah, just as I left it. The Harbinger. Things are finally looking up."
Starscream began to make his way towards the Harbinger, not knowing that another Cybertronian ship was seen parked next to some hills to keep it hidden.
(Linebreak)
Starscream eventually arrived inside the Harbinger and looked around for anything useful, but found nothing and swatted away some cables.
"Really?! Not one scrap of Energon?!" Starscream questioned in anger as he was about to slam his fist on something, only to then feel a blaster aimed behind his head.
"That's the least of your concerns, buddy." A voice said threateningly.
Starscream slowly turned around and he saw the one aiming a blaster at him was Exhaust.
"I recognise that symbol of yours. You are from the Mercenary faction." Starscream said, noticing the symbol on Exhaust's chest.
"You're a sharp one. Now, why don't you tell me what you're doing in this piece of junk." Exhaust replied with a glare. "If you don't, I'm sending you to the Well of all Sparks."
"Stand down, Exhaust. That's no way to greet an old client of mine." Another voice said as Starscream and Exhaust saw Lockdown approaching them with Soundblaster by his side.
"Whatever you say, boss." Exhaust sighed, putting his blaster away.
"Ah, Lockdown. It's been quite a long time, hasn't it?" Starscream asked, smiling slyly.
"I was about to say the same thing, Starscream." Lockdown replied. "Did Megatron or any of the other Cons sent you here on a little scavenger hunt?"
"Not at all. I am no longer part of Megatron's cause." Starscream answered. "I serve myself, now. Just like you do."
"I just felt like the Decepticons were not my type of Cybertronians anymore. The Mercenary buisness is much more better." Lockdown said with a smirk. "It comes with great payments."
"And you still share some of the credit with us." Soundblaster reminded.
"I see that you haven't changed either, Soundblaster." Starscream commented. "You could have at least made a few modifications to stop yourself from looking like…you-know-who."
"Don't say his name in front of me." Soundblaster ordered sternly, getting into Starscream's face.
"Calm down, tech-head. He's just messing with you." Exhaust said as he pulled his comrade away.
"So, why are you and your crew in the Harbinger, Lockdown?" Starscream asked curiously.
"We picked up it's dormant energy signature on our ship's radar and came to it so we could see if there's anything of value on board." Lockdown explained.
"There was a powerful weapon stored away in it, but the Autobots already claimed it." Starscream admitted.
"Did they? That's just perfect." Lockdown muttered in annoyance. "You know, they already spoiled things for me when I first arrived on this planet to claim the Dark Spark."
"The Dark Spark? I thought that cursed thing was lost in deep space when Optimus Prime invaded Megatron's fortress on Cybertron?" Starscream asked.
"That was until it crashed on this world and I grabbed it for myself. The Autobots destroyed and all of the soldiers were killed in the ensuing battle." Lockdown told him. "All I have left is my ship, Exhaust and Soundblaster."
"It's the truth." Exhaust agreed.
"Well, it seems that we have a similar goal in making the Autobots pay for everything they did." Starscream told the Cybertronian bounty hunter. "Perhaps we can agree on a partnership of some kind?"
"Hmm. That does sound like a nice idea." Lockdown replied with a nod, tapping his hook hand on a nearby crate. "It might not have any Shanix, but it could still be lots of fun."
"We were just about to take a look inside this next room." Soundblaster said, gesturing to a room that was just next to them. "We'll let you have a peek at it, Scream."
The technician Mercenary tapped a nearby button and it opened the door, allowing Starscream and the Mercenaries to walk inside and see some lab equipment.
"A laboratory." Starscream identified.
"Do you think it's functional?" Exhaust asked.
Soundblaster approached a nearby terminal and typed on it, managing to make a holographic screen appear.
"Looks like it is." Lockdown said, smiling in approval.
As Soundblaster once again typed at the terminal, some lights came on and revealed five lifeless Cybertronian bodies hanging in front of the group.
"Are these what I think they are?" Soundblaster asked interestingly.
"Protoforms." Starscream answered.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, Bulkhead was currently driving down a road in an open grassland with Willow riding in the driver's seat.
"Thanks for letting me join you on your recon mission while the others are doing shopping for Mrs Noceda, Bulk." Willow said kindly.
"Anytime, Willow." Bulkhead replied before they heard a beeping sound on his radio.
"Should we check that out?" Willow asked.
"Sure. Bulkhead to base, Willow and I picked up a strong reading." Bulkhead informed on the com-link. "We're gonna go check it out."
"That's just what I said." Willow reminded as her Autobot Guardian drove off the road towards the signal's location.
(Linebreak)
Back at the Harbinger, Starscream was checking out the Protoforms' conditions as the Mercenaries were busy setting up the lab for use.
"Let's see, transference of binary bonding, sub-molecular infusion. The formula seems straight forward enough." Starscream said.
"I guess that means these little lumps of clay are right for the moulding." Lockdown added with his arms crossed.
"In that case, let's give cloning a whirl." Exhaust replied. "You wanna do the honours, Starscream?"
"Of course." Starscream answered.
(Linebreak)
Bulkhead soon reached the signal's location and he transformed, causing Willow to appear on his shoulder as he rushed towards a very deep hole. Bulkhead and Willow looked down and saw no Decepticons at the bottom.
"Well, no sign of activity." Bulkhead admitted.
"Let's go take a look inside then." Willow suggested before she hopped off Bulkhead's shoulder, summing a vine and grabbing it.
The Plant witch girl used the vine as a ripe to slowly climb her way down to the hole, while Bulkhead followed after her.
(Linebreak)
Soundblaster held up an injector with a glass container connected to it and he injected it into Starscream's arm, extracting some Energon from him. He then placed it into a machine as the terminal's screen showed Starscream's image on it.
"I've made some little extra features to the Protoforms when they're moulded." Lockdown told the former air commander. "All you have to do is flip the switch."
Electricity coursed through the entire laboratory room as Starscream laughed sinisterly and grabbed a lever.
"Give me life!" Starscream shouted, pulling the lever down.
The electricity coursed it's way onto the Protoforms and they began shaking violently before one of the lifeless robot's eyes glowed red. The next thing Starscream, Lockdown, Exhaust and Soundblaster saw was the Protoforms changing into exact copies of Starscream and standing in a single line. The only difference between the Starscream clones was that they had different colour schemes. The first one was red with black highlights, the second was navy-blue with black highlights, the third was green with red highlights on only it's wings, the fourth was only light-blue from later on, and the fifth one was blue with a red face and white highlights.
"Ahh. Like-minded company, at last." Starscream said with a smirk.
"I thought one Starscream was enough." Exhaust whispered.
"And now we have to cope with six." Soundblaster added.
(Linebreak)
Back with Bulkhead and Willow, they continued to climb down the hole before taking a closer look down and seeing what was at the bottom.
"Energon. Boxed and ready for pick-up." Bulkhead said.
"Doesn't that mean…" Willow began to ask in worridness.
Before they knew it, the Nemesis showed up from the sky above them and lowered it's way down to the hole.
"Scrap!" Bulkhead grunted as he kept climbing down, only to then loose his footing and crash down into the pile of Energon boxes.
"Bulk!" Willow exclaimed, only for her vine rope to start snapping apart from her weight. "No, no, no! Hold on!"
Unfortunately, the vine snapped in half and Willow crashed down to the Energon box pile with her Autobot Guardian before the Nemesis lowered it's lift onto the pile. The lift then brought the Energon boxes up to the ship, with Bulkhead and Willow still on it.
(Linebreak)
At the Harbinger, Starscream was addressing his clone soldiers with the Mercenaries standing from the side.
"Esteemed members of my armada, Thrust, Dirge, Acid Storm, Bitstream and Nacelle. You now stand upon the very precipice of glory, to meet the destiny which I have so tenaciously worked toward." Starscream told them all.
"Dynamic leadership of the Decepticons!" Nacelle announced, much to Starscream's surprise.
"It looks like great minds think alike." Lockdown joked, chuckling a bit.
"Eh, yes. I am delighted to hear that we are on the same page." Starscream said.
"We are as one, Commander." Bitstream replied.
"We share your memories." Dirge said.
"Your very feelings." Acid Storm added.
"Even your insatiable quest for power." Thrust admitted with a smirk.
"Uh-Hmm. I see." Starscream muttered suspiciously.
"I'd like to see how this turns out for Starscream." Soundblaster said to Exhaust, who laughed in response.
Soon, Starscream arrived outside the Harbinger with the Mercenaries and his Clones.
"Now that we've got your lookalike soldiers backing us up, this good be a good chance to get rid of Megatron." Lockdown told the former air commander.
"You are correct, Lockdown. Fortunately, the Harbinger's tracking systems have remained synced with the Nemesis." Starscream replied. "Of course, we shall require a means of reaching it. And I doubt your ship is suitable for stealth."
"Uh, guys?" Exhaust said as he looked behind them.
Starscream, Lockdown and Soundblaster turned around and they saw the clones had transformed into their jet forms.
"You can transform?" Starscream asked in surprise before regaining his posture. "Of course you can. How else would you fly to the ship? That was the test which you all…passed. Now, take flight and snuff Megatron's accursed Spark."
The clones then flew all the way towards the Nemesis, while Lockdown and his two Mercenary followers looked at Starscream suspiciously.
"Hey, Scream, why did you look so surprised when your Clones transformed?" Lockdown questioned, making Starscream stiffen in worridness.
"I was…s-surprised?" Starscream asked with a sheepish smile.
"You were. Why is that?" Soundblaster demanded.
"Well, I may have…lost my T-Cog to some humans." Starscream revealed embarrassingly, causing the Mercenaries to become silent for a moment.
"…Wow. That sucks." Exhaust said.
(Linebreak)
At the Nemesis, the clone squad arrived on the Nemesis without being seen by any other Cons. Nacelle took a peek through a right turn to see they were in the clear.
"Spread out. Keep to the shadows." Nacelle instructed.
"Anyone of us is an instant target aboard this warship." Acid Storm told the others.
"But to be seen together would sacrifice the element of surprise." Bitstream said.
"Whoever manages to find Megatron first, report your position." Thrust ordered.
The clones then split up to try and find Megatron at a quicker rate. Bitstream tip-toed his way down the corridors before he froze nervously by seeing a Vehicon and began backing away. However, he ended up bumping into Bulkhead from behind and turned around to quickly aim his blasters at him and Willow.
"Thundercracker?" Bulkhead asked.
"How come your blue parts look a little more…brighter today?" Willow questioned.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, Starscream and the Mercenaries waited at the Harbinger for any of the clones to return.
"Why couldn't we go with them?" Exhaust asked in a bored tone.
"Because I don't want to risk Megatron terminating the only two soldiers I have left." Lockdown answered firmly.
"I cannot wait to savour the vivid details of Megatron's demise." Starscream said with a smirk, until he suddenly felt pain on his body and was pushed back. "What is happening?!"
"What in Cybertron's name are you talking about?" Soundblaster asked confusingly.
(Linebreak)
Just like from the start, Bulkhead was pummelling Bitstream with his wrecking ball while Willow watched in nervousness.
"This is for Cliffjumper! For Bumblebee! For everything." Bulkhead said before delivering an extremely powerful hit to Bitstream's head.
(Linebreak)
That last hit made Starscream yell out painfully before he fell onto his knees.
"Soundblaster, can you tell what's happening to him?" Lockdown asked, helping Starscream back on his feet.
"It's possible that since the clones were made by Starscream's own Energon, they're connected to each other physically and emotionally." Soundblaster deduced. "So, Starscream can feel the pain of any clone that's been punched or blasted."
"So, my genetic provides my clones with a T-Cog I no longer possess and all I get is their agony?!" Starscream asked in disbelief.
"It definitely looks like it." Exhaust answered.
(Linebreak)
Bulkhead hid Bitstream's body away and he and Willow quickly began looking around for a way off the Nemesis.
"So, how're we supposed to get back to base?" Willow asked before the two of them spotted a console that was used for communication.
"A com unit." Bulkhead said. "That can help us."
Bulkhead and Willow then approached the com unit and the dark green Wrecker began typing at it.
"Bulkhead to base, do you read?" Bulkhead asked. "Do you copy?"
"This is Willow speaking, can you send a Ground Bridge?" Willow pleaded hopefully, but they got no response.
"Come on, stupid Con tech. Is this thing even on?" Bulkhead asked annoyingly before he accidentally set off an alarm, causing every Vehicon on the Nemesis to hear it.
"Not good, not good!" Willow stated in worridness, quickly turning the alarm off. "Bulk, I think we should hide."
She and Bulkhead quickly took cover behind the metal wall as two Vehicons showed up from the left. They looked down the corridor and noticed Thrust at the end. The red clone stuttered nervously before he quickly ran away, causing the Vehicons to chase him.
"Halt!" One of the Vehicons called out.
Seeing they were gone, Bulkhead and Willow began quietly walking away to see if there was another way off the Nemesis. However, they didn't know that the com unit was sending out a powerful signal across it's current area.
(Linebreak)
As a matter of fact, a certain rogue female Spider Con was travelling through the air in her vehicle mode when she received the Nemesis' signal.
"A Decepticon beacon. At last." Airachnid said before she transformed and landed in front of a familiar cave entrance.
She then approached the cave and looked deep inside it, knowing it was time to awaken her army.
"Devoted servants, the time has come for the ultimate retribution." Airachnid announced, activating her hive mind.
Deep inside the cave, all the Insecticons that laid asleep in their pods began to receive her telepathic message and their red visors glowed.
(Linebreak)
At the Autobot base, Ratchet picked up something on the main console as Optimus and the other Bots approached him.
"Optimus, no word yet from Bulkhead or Willow." Ratchet said. "But I am detecting some rather curious subterranean frequencies."
"Of Earthly origin?" Optimus asked.
"I do not yet know what they are, but I do know where." Ratchet replied, showing everyone where the frequency was coming from.
"Doesn't that look familiar to you guys?" Jazz questioned.
"The coordinates at which we last encountered Megatron." Optimus identified.
"And Airachnid." Arcee added.
"And Airachnid's Insecticon." Ratchet finished.
"Whatever's still in that abandoned mine can't be good." Cliffjumper admitted.
(Linebreak)
Back in the cave, one of the pods opened up to fully awaken an Insecticon and it let out a loud roar, causing all the others to begin opening one by one.
"Arise, my armada! And attack!" Airachnid ordered through her hive mind.
The Insecticons screeched furiously before they transformed into their flying insect forms and flew their way out of the cave, heading towards the Nemesis. A Ground Bridge appeared ontop of the mountain and the Autobots emerged from it, spotting the giant Insecticon swarm in the air.
"That's a whole lot of bugs." Wheeljack admitted, a little surprised.
"You said it, Jackie." Bumblebee agreed.
"We are in all likelihood witnessing the launch of a mission to terminate Megatron." Optimus said.
"I can't think of a reason to stop that, even if we could." Arcee admitted.
"But we can stop Airachnid." Optimus replied, looking at the female Spider Con bellow and activated his battle mask.
"I like that idea." Jazz said in agreement before he and the others aimed their blasters at Airachnid.
However, the female Spider Con quickly noticed them before they could attack.
"Rear guard, engage the Autobots." Airachnid ordered.
A group of Insecticons broke away from the swarm and they fired their horn lasers at the Autobots, creating explosions all around them. Airachnid smirked deviously as she thought they were destroyed, but then Arcee drove out of the explosion in her vehicle mode and dived straight at her rival. Airachnid activated her spider form and ran away, causing Arcee to land on the ground and chase after her. Optimus, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Wheeljack and Jazz were busy firing their blasters at the Insecticons.
(Linebreak)
Back onboard on the Nemesis, Bulkhead and Willow were crawling through a vent to avoid running into the Decepticons.
"Stealthy. Stealthy." Bulkhead said to himself.
"You're doing that, again?" Willow asked quietly.
"Lord Megatron." A Vehicon's voice said on what sounded like a com-link.
Bulkhead and Willow nervously looked up at a gap in the vents to see Megatron standing right over them.
"Yes, what it is?" Megatron asked.
"We have an intruder." The Vehicon informed.
"Autobot?" Megatron questioned, making Bulkhead and Willow tense up.
"Starscream. He was last seen in the vicinity of the bridge." The Vehicon said. "Also, he seems a little more different."
"I shall see how different." Megatron replied before he walked away to deal with his treacherous air commander.
(Linebreak)
In the forest, Airachnid quickly ran her way across the steep path before looking behind to see Arcee driving up to her. Just as Arcee was beginning to catch up, a blaster shot landed next to her and she flew off the ground momentarily. Arcee used her side mirror to look behind and saw two Insecticons flying behind her. Both bug-like Cybertronians fired their horn blasters at Arcee as she kept steering around to avoid them, until one of the Insecticons crashed into a tree. The other Insecticon was unable to avoid it and was hit as well, falling out of the control and headed towards Airachnid.
"No!" Airachnid yelled before she was blown away when the Insecticon crashed in front of her.
Arcee hit her breaks and transformed to look down from the small hill, seeing Airachnid tunnelling herself underground before she walked up to the deep hole.
"Underground. There's a surprise." Arcee said sarcastically before bringing out her blasters and jumping down the hole.
(Linebreak)
Megatron approached the door to the main deck and saw a couple of dead Vehicons laying next to it. The Decepticon leader walked into the main deck and he saw Dirge standing at the terminal. The dark-blue Starscream clone turned around to see Megatron aiming his cannon at him.
"Megatron, it has come time to settle old scores." Dirge said with a smirk, causing Megatron to laugh in response.
"Really, Starscream? All on your own?" Megatron asked tauntingly.
"Actually…" Three familiar voices said as Megatron found himself surrounded by Thrust, Acid Storm and Nacelle, which was quite surprising to him.
"Clones, and ones with separate appearances. Well played, Starscream." Megatron admitted. "If you even bothered to join your multicoloured underlings."
"Underlings?" Dirge repeated offensively as he and the other three clones aimed their wrist missiles at Megatron.
"We are as one." Acid Storm said.
"Though many." Thrust added.
"Bring me Starscream's head on a stick and I will reward you as my second-in-command, all of you." Megatron told the clones, causing them to look at each other.
"No!" Thrust replied.
"You are trying to trick us!" Nacelle added.
"Am I?" Megatron questioned.
"Is he?" Acid Storm asked, uncertain.
"Accept my proposal and we all win. Otherwise, you will merely end up terminating each other to get the spoils." Megatron warned. "It is our nature, after all."
"Don't listen to him!" Nacelle ordered.
"Prepare to perish at my hand." Thrust said menacingly.
"Our hands!" All the clones stated.
"Yes, only our combined firepower will ensure Megatron's destruction." Dirge proclaimed.
"Take aim!" Acid Storm ordered.
But then, the clones and Megatron began to hear some strange buzzing noises that were very faint, until they got louder as the seconds went by.
"Do you hear that?" Dirge asked.
As they kept on crawling through the vents, Bulkhead and Willow also started to hear the buzzing noises.
"Bulk, what's that noise?" Willow asked.
"Don't know." Bulkhead admitted.
Outside the Nemesis, the Insecticon swarm was at the front of it and began splitting apart to attack from multiple angles.
"Ignore! Fire on three!" Acid Storm stated, keeping his aim on Megatron.
"One…" Nacelle started.
"Two…" Thrust added.
But suddenly, some blaster shots were heard outside and the entire ship began to shake. This made the clones stumble down and loose their aim on Megatron.
"Ugh, what was that?" Dirge questioned before he looked up to see Megatron aiming his cannon at him.
"The sound of the tables turning." Megatron replied, shooting the dark-blue clone and destroying him.
The other three clones stood back up before Acid Storm and Nacelle were immediately shot and killed by Megatron. Thrust looked on with a shocked expression before Megatron shot him, too.
(Linebreak)
Starscream could feel the excruciating pain from his clones and this made him get pushed around while yelling painfully, while the Mercenaries watched.
"Will you give it a rest with the yelping, Scream?" Lockdown asked with an annoyed expression.
"It's not my fault!" Starscream retorted. "What is going on up there?!"
(Linebreak)
All of the Insecticons flew around the Nemesis while firing their laser horns at it. Thrust was able to survive his blaster shot and crawled along the floor, while Megatron approached the red clone with his cannon aimed at him.
"Exterminating you was so gratifying the first three times." Megatron said, preparing to finish the surviving clone.
However, another large bang on the ship made Megatron move his cannon away and Thrust escaped through the main entrance. Megatron decided to ignore the remaining clone and turned his attention to the main screen, which showed the Insecticons attacking as Megatron knew who sent them.
"Airachnid. A busy day for assassins." Megatron said with a scowl.
(Linebreak)
On the ground below, Team Prime was still fighting their Insecticon enemies. Wheeljack deflected some blaster shots from two Insecticons with his swords before he tossed them, making his weapons stab straight into the Insecticons' faces as they screeched in pain. Wheeljack then jumped up and grabbed his swords before landing down, while the Insecticons behind him crashed into the cliff and exploded. An Insecticon relentlessly fired it's horn blaster at Bumblebee, who ran ahead and avoided the shots before he jumped up and kicked the bug-like Cybertronian on it's back. As the Insecticon descended down, Optimus slammed another one onto it and they were both destroyed. Jazz used his energy grapple to lasso the last Insecticon and he tossed it at Cliffjumper, who blasted it to pieces. The Autobots regrouped and saw their foes were defeated, but noticed one of their team members was missing.
"Arcee." Optimus called.
"Where'd she go?" Wheeljack questioned.
"To finish what she started stellar cycles ago." Cliffjumper answered.
(Linebreak)
Inside the cave, Arcee ended up inside it after she left the hole and aimed her blaster around for any sign of Airachnid. Unknown to her, the female Spider Con was perched on the cave wall and charged her hand blasters.
(Linebreak)
Many Vehicons were seen blasting the Insecticon swarm that was attacking the Nemesis as Megatron himself then arrived. He looked up to see Thundercracker and Skywarp shooting down numerous Insecticons with their vehicle forms' missiles.
"Where'd all of these bugs come from?!" Thundercracker demanded.
"Who cares?! Just exterminate them!" Skywarp retorted, teleporting behind some Insecticons and shooting them down.
Megatron aimed his cannon at an Insecticon and he blasted it, making it screech painfully and crash into a Vehicon as they both fell off the Nemesis.
(Linebreak)
Arcee continued to search for her nemesis inside the cave, finding some unopened Insecticon pods that were deeper inside. Bringing out her second blaster, Arcee advanced forward and looked at an Insecticon pod before she noticed Airachnid's reflection. Airachnid fired her hand blasters at Arcee and the female Autobot quickly avoided them before taking cover behind some pods. After a barrage of shots from her nemesis, Arcee shouted out and continuously fired her blasters at Airachnid. This was enough to damage the female Spider Con and she fell down from the wall. Looking up in her damaged state, Airachnid saw Arcee walk up to her with her blasters aimed and ready to fire.
"When you extinguish my Spark, make it hurt." Airachnid said provokingly. "You know I would extend that courtesy to you."
"I'm not like you." Arcee replied, remembering the talk she had with Luz a few days ago and knowing revenge wasn't the answer anymore.
"Very well." Airachnid scowled before lunging at Arcee and causing her to avoid it.
Arcee brought out her wrist blades for combat, but then she noticed an opened pod behind Airachnid and got an idea. Airachnid attacked Arcee with her spider legs and she blocked all of them before charging at her nemesis and swiftly kicking her with both feet. Airachnid stumbled back and she ended up standing onto the open pod, causing it to beep as she looked around worriedly.
"No!" Airachnid yelled before the pod closed around her, cutting off one of her legs in the process.
Arcee glared at her nemesis as she struggled to get herself out of the pod before being frozen in a horrified way.
(Linebreak)
Megatron shot down another Insecticon before more of them landed behind him in their robot forms. An Insecticon roared and was about to attack Megatron, but then it backed down since Airachnid's hive mind no longer controlled it while in stasis-lock. Megatron looked around and saw that all the Insecticons had landed on the bridge of the Nemesis, bowing respectively to him.
"Forgive us, one true lord and master." The Insecticons said simultaneously.
"This day has certainly seen it's share of thwarted intentions." Megatron remarked as he now had a new powerful army in his arsenal.
"So…this has been a strange day." Thundercracker said, watching from the air with Skywarp by his side.
"True. First, Starscream shows up with a brand new paint job and now we have an army of Insecticons that tried to kill us all seconds ago." Skywarp replied. "I need a hyper sleep."
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, Bulkhead and Willow had managed to find a way out of the vent and they landed on a platform before they looked below, seeing a large engine core that was filled with Energon to help power the Nemesis. A robotic claw grabbed an Energon box and inserted it into the core, powering it up with more fuel.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Bulk?" Willow asked with an eager smile, forming two vine fists on her hands.
"Yeah. One way or another, we're getting off this boat!" Bulkhead stated as he brought out his wrecking ball.
The two of them leaped towards the core and smashed their respective weapons onto it, causing an explosion throughout the entire room. The Nemesis began to shake and Megatron and the Insecticons felt this from the bridge.
"Now what?!" Megatron questioned, getting fed up with all these fiascos.
The Nemesis slowly began to descend down without it's core engine to keep it airborne. Bulkhead and Willow quickly made it to the hanger, where Thrust suddenly stumbled back next to them.
"Out of my way!" Thrust shouted before he transformed and flew out of the hanger, making Bulkhead and Willow look at each other with bewildered expressions.
Megatron arrived at the engine control room and saw some Vehicons working at the controls.
"My liege, our power core has been compromised!" A Vehicon informed.
"Prepare for landing." Megatron said.
The Nemesis continued to descend all the way down before it finally crashed onto the ground and screeched against it, soon coming to a stop and hanging above a large cliffside. Bulkhead drove out of the Nemesis in his vehicle form with Willow seated safely inside and began making his way back to the base before any Decepticons could detect them.
(Linebreak)
At the Autobot base, Arcee showed her team Airachnid frozen in the Insecticon pod. The Hexside Squad was also there as they had finished their little shopping job.
"Stasis?" Ratchet asked. "She deserves worse."
"I intended worse, more times than you know." Arcee admitted.
"But at least you managed to stop looking for revenge, right?" Luz reminded with a kind smile. "You're way better than that spider will ever be, Arcee."
"Besides, it's way better for her to live with knowing she never managed to take you offline." Amity added.
"You did really good today, partner." Cliffjumper complemented, placing a hand on Arcee's shoulder. "I'm sure Tailgate would be proud."
"You are stronger for the choice you made." Optimus said proudly.
"Thanks." Arcee replied, grateful for everyone's support.
Just then, everyone heard an engine coming from the main entrance and Bulkhead showed up. The dark green Wrecker transformed and Willow stood on his shoulder.
"Guys, you will not believe the day we just had!" Willow stated before noticing the imprisoned Airachnid beside them, causing a moment of silence in the base.
"You too, Huh?" Bulkhead asked.
"You're gonna wanna sit down." Jazz admitted.
(Linebreak)
At the Harbinger, Thrust flew straight towards the buried ship and he transformed on the ground while clenching his wound. Thrust layer arrived in the Harbinger's laboratory to see Starscream standing alone with his back turned on him.
"Lord Starscream, your most loyal servant has returned. But I regret to inform you that our collective mission has failed." Thrust told his creator.
"Hmm, yes. I got that sense." Starscream said while frowning as Thrust began aiming his wrist missile at him. "Something to do with…a throbbing ache in my side!"
Starscream then turned around and fired his wrist missile, causing Thrust to get blown back and he ended up getting stabbed from behind by Exhaust. The Mercenary pulled his blade back and Thrust fell back with a blade wound in his chest as Lockdown and Soundblaster emerged from the sides. Starscream placed his foot on Thrust to keep him from moving.
"You…knew I would attempt to terminate you." Thrust grunted weakly.
"Of course. Different appearances, same old Starscream." Exhaust quipped with a snicker.
"I feel your pain." Starscream admitted while clenching his torso. "Really, I do."
"Just so you know, this'll hurt even more." Lockdown told him, holding his hook hand up.
"Promises, promises." Starscream replied as he was willing to take it.
Lockdown then smiled deviously at Thrust before he raised his hook and slashed it down at the red clone, instantly killing him and making Starscream cry out in agony.
"SCRAP, THAT HURT!" Starscream yelled.
"He did warn you." Soundblaster said.
Authors Note: The reason I did this next was because I knew that Grill would be too much work with all the flashbacks and such
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