Not trusting Airachnid to keep her word, not to mention not wanting Arcee to go in all alone, it was easy enough to ask for and receive reinforcements. However, there is just one teeny tiny problem with bringing a small army of war-hardened Autobots onto this particular vessel.

"Hey, um, Bumblebee?"

"Yeah, Moonracer?"

"Not that I'm questioning your plan or anything, but are you sure this is such a good idea? I mean, a bunch of you guys – no offense to the Autobots or anything – but on the same ship with Decepticons? Again, no offense to them, either…"

"Moonracer, this is all to get Knockout back. Besides, it's not like I'm asking them to like each other or anything! We just need them to tolerate each other for a bit."

"I know, I know, but I'm still worried! I may not have a problem with Steeljaw, or even Starscream, but do not think for a nanoklik that I am unaware of how everyone else feels."

"I'm not saying that you do…"

"BEE! What's taking so long?" A young mech whined.

"Yeah, Bee! I'm getting bored here!" Another mech pitched-in.

"Sideswipe, Blurr, give me a minute, I'm in the middle of something right now," Bumblebee stressed.

"I thought you called us for a mission, not to sit around and do nothing," Sideswipe huffed. Strongarm immediately elbowed him.

"Shut it, Sideswipe!" The young femme reprimanded. "He said he'll get to us in a minute!"

"A minute is way too long!" Blurr argued, receiving a smack to the back of the helm, courtesy of Quickshadow. "Aw, come on! Not you, too!"

"Would you prefer it if I called Heatwave right now?" Quickshadow retorted. Blurr was smart enough not to continue pushing his luck.

With tensions rising, so was Bumblebee and Moonracer's anxiety, and they could only imagine how Steeljaw and Starscream were faring.

"Moonracer?" Bumblebee whispered, just loud enough for the turquoise femme to hear.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Not really, but I'm afraid the longer I wait…"

"The more likely they are to try and kill each other before we even leave the ship. Yeah, got it."

Moonracer quickly shuffled off to the far side of the room, away from the Autobots.

"Why did she just move over there?" Arcee asked, looking skeptically between Moonracer and Bumblebee.

"Lieutenant, I don't mean to question your authority, but I sense there's something you're not telling us about this plan of yours," Strongarm said.

Bumblebee scanned the mass of mechs and femmes before him.

Some of them already know about Starscream, and even less know about Steeljaw. But everyone else who has had nothing to do with any of this?

A servo planting itself on his shoulder plate broke Bumblebee out of his anxious processor. It was Optimus Prime, trying to comfort him. He gave the young mech a reassuring smile before stepping aside to allow him space. Bumblebee circulated his vents and began.

"I'm sorry about that, everyone, but I was just trying to figure out how to break this to you, and we don't have the time for explanations right now, so please just do me a huge favor and save your excitement for later. Okay? Everyone understand?"

The other Autobots conversed among themselves. Bumblebee's vents hitched.

Oh Primus oh Primus oh Primus… Stay calm, Bee, stay calm!

"Soldier, I expect you to tell us what you are not telling us," Ultra Magnus suggested, or rather demanded. Either way, Bumblebee couldn't stall any longer.

"It might be easier to just show you," Bumblebee said, turning and looking at the corner where Steeljaw and Starscream were still hiding. "Guys, you can come out now!"

Neither Steeljaw nor Starscream wanted to go out in front of everyone with only Bumblebee and Moonracer as their shields, but knowing that they had no other choice, Steeljaw sealed away his pessimistic thoughts and dragged Starscream out with him. The Seeker hid behind the Lupicon.

As for the Autobots…

– one scene of the Autobots trying to kill Starscream and Steeljaw while Bumblebee and Moonracer somehow manage to keep them alive later –

"Okay, has every bot gotten their first waves of rage and frustration out?" Bumblebee asked, looking around the room.

Optimus Prime, Ratchet, and a few others were keeping everyone else at bay, while Moonracer was standing protectively in front of a still-on-edge Steeljaw and a hyperventilating Starscream. No one looked happy, but at least they stopped trying to kill each other.

"Bumblebee…" Arcee started.

"Arcee," Optimus said, holding up a servo.

"Optimus, don't tell me you approve of whatever this is!"

"I will do my best to explain what I can to you, to all of you, but right now, a comrade of ours is in dire need. Please, Arcee, remember what's at stake."

The blue femme appeared not to be listening. Her glare was still fixed on Starscream, who had finally calmed down, but remained on the ground, afraid to move and face another attack.

"Fine," Arcee huffed. "For Knockout, and also because I hate Airachnid more than I do Starscream."

Bumblebee couldn't help the relieved vent that escaped him.

"Thank you, Arcee. Now, here's how it's going to go: you and Airachnid will fight each other, one-on-one. Or so she says. Anyway, Starscream and I will be escorting you, since I'm sure she'll be expecting us. Ratchet, you'll stay here with Moonracer and the other medics. Prepare for casualties. Moonracer also manages the bridge when we're out, so Fixit, you'll assist her in that aspect."

"Hey, Bee, not to interrupt or anything, but I got a question," Blurr piped.

"I was just about to get to you, Blurr," Bumblebee said, then turned to the other Rescue Bot. "You, too, Quickshadow."

"Not to make presumptions, but since we're here, I suppose Blurr and I will be in charge of rescuing your friend," Quickshadow surmised.

"Well, I figured between the two of you and your experience regarding this kind of fieldwork…"

"We're the perfect bots for the job!" Blurr interrupted, again.

"Sure…" Bumblebee trailed.

Let's go with that.

"Hey, listen, not that I'm doubting your Rescue Bot skills or anything," Sideswipe was saying. "I mean, I have seen you at work plenty of times before…"

"But have either of you ever been up against an Insecticon?" Wheeljack asked. "They're nasty glitches. Of course, it ain't anything I can't handle, but as the kid said…"

"I think they get the point, Jackie," Bulkhead interjected.

"Well, I could always go with them as extra firepower," Smokescreen offered.

"Or me! I could just punch them!" Grimlock eagerly spoke, slamming his fists together. Drift just rolled his optics at his team-mate's answer.

"Sorry, guys, but I already have someone in mind who can both sneak around and handle himself in a fight," Bumblebee explained, smirking as he looked over his shoulder plate. "Isn't that right, Steeljaw?"

The Lupicon nearly doubled-over from shock.

"What?" Steeljaw snarled, walking right up to Bumblebee. "I thought I made it perfectly clear that I can do this by myself!"

"You did, but while you weren't around, 2-out-of-3 of us agreed that you shouldn't go alone."

Steeljaw immediately turned around. He didn't need to say anything; his optics betrayed his feelings to the second party he knew went along with Bumblebee's secret decision.

"You are not going alone and that is final," Moonracer stated firmly.

"Of course, if you don't want a trained pair of Rescue Bots to assist you in Knockout's rescue, then I guess I could assign you another group," Bumblebee mused. "Like, 'Bots you're more familiar with. Say… Oh, I don't know… Strongarm and Sideswipe?"

.

. .

. . .

"So, 'Con…"

"Steeljaw."

"Right, right, my bad. So, Steeljaw, you do know where you're going, right? Not leading us into a trap or anything?"

"Blurr, this is a rescue mission in enemy territory! Be quiet!"

"I'm just making sure he isn't tricking us, Quickshadow."

Steeljaw bit back a retort. While he had no qualms with Quickshadow, Blurr was really making him lose his processor with their excessive talking and need for speed. Just the fact that he's literally a shorter version of Sideswipe is enough to irritate him.

Stay focused on the mission, Steeljaw. You'll be rid of them before you know it.

"Hey, you going to answer me or what?" Blurr demanded, pulling forward to drive alongside Steeljaw.

"Blurr!" Quickshadow snapped.

"What? He didn't answer me! Isn't it rude for…"

"Both of you, shut up and get down!" Steeljaw hissed, quickly transforming and diving behind a rock. The Rescue Bots pulled a U-E and joined the Lupicon.

"W…" Blurr was about to ask as soon as he transformed, but was abruptly cut-off.

"Stop. Talking." Steeljaw growled, his tail tightly wrapped around the annoying mech's helm.

The trio waited a few minutes. A pair of Insecticons were on patrol, and if Steeljaw hadn't noticed them in time, then the whole plan would've been screwed to the Pits, and Steeljaw would have killed Blurr. That is, assuming the Insecticons didn't get them, first. Thankfully, the Insecticons passed them; they were free to continue.

"We haven't seen any roamers until now," Quickshadow pointed out as she scanned the area. "I believe it's safe to assume that we're getting close to our target."

"If you mean where Knockout is, then yes, that would be my best guess," Steeljaw agreed, peering over the rock and sniffing the air. When he didn't pick up anything worth being alarmed about, he turned back to Blurr. "Ready to get going?"

Steeljaw's tail was hiding Blurr's pouty face, but he didn't need to see to know how the other mech felt. Chuckling, he unwrapped his tail.

"Yeah," Blurr dead-panned, rising to his pedes and transforming. Steeljaw and Quickshadow, after one last look around, transformed as well and all three left.

The remainder of the trip was completed in silence, the trio only stopping to hide from approaching patrols, which were becoming more and more frequent the closer they got to the Hive, and in turn, Knockout. Once they did reach the Hive, Steeljaw and the Rescue Bots stealthily made their way to the bottom of the cliff, and were about to enter one of the tunnels when they heard the unmistakable sound of Insecticon wings. They rushed to hide behind the closest thing to the tunnel – a large, pointed stone – and waited for the Insecticon to move.

It didn't.

"Scrap," Blurr cursed. "We don't have all day! Can't we just go another way?"

"Oh, sure, let's ignore the scent trail and risk getting lost, captured, and/or killed in a maze full of Insecticons! Great idea!" Steeljaw answered sarcastically.

"Wait, you were tracking Knockout by scent this whole time?"

Steeljaw closed his optics and face-palmed.

How… Why… I really need to meet his boss and ask him these questions at a later date, assuming the kid doesn't get us all killed before then.

"I swear, Blurr," Quickshadow mumbled, clearly sharing Steeljaw's sentiments.

"I thought he was using some sort of special scanner or something!" Blurr exclaimed. "But if it wasn't that, then what did you grab before we left?"

Due to the situation, it took Steeljaw a minute to process the question.

"Oh, that," he perked, leaning back and opening his subspace. He reached in and brought out a small, black disk with a gray button in the center. "Just a little something I put together. It's designed to force a temporary system-wide shutdown."

"Whoa! Basically a one-hit wonder!" Blurr gasped, looking over the small, seemingly harmless object pinched between Steeljaw's claws. "I mean, that's assuming it can only be used once."

"Don't worry, I made plenty of them. A whole batch, specifically designed to take care of Insecticons. It won't do anything to something bigger than an Insecticon, but something smaller…"

"Permanent shutdown," Quickshadow finished, understanding what Steeljaw was warning them about.

"Precisely. Now, let me give you two a little demonstration."

Before either Blurr or Quickshadow could stop him, Steeljaw ran out of hiding, straight for the Insecticon guard. He pressed the central gray button, leaped onto the guard's back, stuck the disk to their armor, and jumped off just before the resulting shockwave could hit him.

The Insecticon instantly collapsed, unconscious.

"Wow, those things actually work!" Blurr mused as he and Quickshadow rushed to Steeljaw's side.

"All of my devices work," Steeljaw clarified, reaching back into his subspace and taking out the rest of the disks, splitting them between him and the Rescue Bots.

Whether they've been properly tested or not is something that could be up for discussion.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Quickshadow gestured down the tunnel with an outstretched servo. "Lead the way, Steeljaw."

.

. .

. . .

Unaware of all that is occurring, Knockout remains in a painful pit of despair and doubt. After all that happened, after all that Airachnid revealed to him…

Knockout knows that he can't trust Airachnid, – never has, never will – but after their last discussion, he can't help thinking about what he knows. Or rather, what he thought he knew.

She said she killed him only out of self-defense, which I guess I can see, but she still killed him. Airachnid did not have to kill him. Then again, she is a she admitted that. And I guess as someone who's entire function has basically been one thing, of course she couldn't help the thrill.

Besides, it's not like she desecrated Breakdown's corpse. A bunch of good for nothing, disgusting flesh bags did! And what's worse, Megatron was even considering allowing that monstrosity to stay on the ship if he proved himself useful! Thank Primus he didn't, but it still doesn't change the fact that Megatron even let that thing on board and didn't immediately terminate it! Of course, I did have some fun experimenting on Silas. I'm sure Breakdown wouldn't have minded, and who knows? Maybe if he was still around, he would've had better luck talking some sense into Starscream.

What am I saying? Nobody can talk sense into Starscream! Except maybe Moonracer. You'd be proud of her, Breaky. Our little Moon, all grown up, like… What do humans call it again? Ah, yes! Sister! That's it! Moonracer, our rough and tough, and smart and caring little sister.

Knockout's thoughts abruptly stopped. He couldn't see, but felt something sliding down his faceplate. He blinked his optics to clear them, only for them to become more blurry.

"Crying?" Knockout whispered. A small, pained smile formed on his tear-streaked faceplate, and he released a coarse laugh. "Well, I guess that's all I can do right now."

Suddenly, Knockout's audials perked at the sound of pebbles scattering, signaling someone or something heading his way. Not expecting help, he kept his mouth shut and tried to curl in on himself as protection, but couldn't due to his bonds.

"Blurr, be careful where you step! We don't want to alert any more Insecticons than we already have!"

"None of that was my fault!"

Silence.

"Okay, not all of it was my fault, but still, stop blaming me for everything!"

"You two are really making me wish I was forced to bring along Strongarm and Sideswipe instead."

Wait… that third voice… isn't that…

"Steeljaw?" Knockout called out, holding onto the tiniest bit of hope that one of his team-mates was really here, and that this wasn't some cruel trick being played on him by the Insecticons.

The sounds vanished, but just as quickly as they did, they resurfaced, and it just kept getting louder and louder and more distinct.

"Knockout?"

The red medic swore he's never been happier in his life when he saw Steeljaw standing in the burrow's entrance. Behind him were two other bots Knockout didn't recognize: a tall, white femme, and a short, purple mech. Both had the Rescue Bot insignia engraved upon their plating.

"Uh, yeah, who else would there be?" Knockout jokes, now that he knew he was safe. He looked at the bots behind Steeljaw and nodded his helm towards them. "So, who're those two?"

"Blurr and Quickshadow," Steeljaw introduced before the former could open his mouth. "And I can assure you, it was not my idea to bring them."

"Bumblebee and the others didn't want you to go alone, and I for one agree with them," Quickshadow said.

"And not just because he's a 'Con and we don't trust him," Blurr inputted.

"Hey, former Decepticon medic sitting right here!" Knockout exclaimed.

"Uh, no offense to you. To either of you! I'm just saying that's how we all feel. Maybe."

"I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the Autobots had prior knowledge of Bumblebee's partnership with Decepticons," Quickshadow admitted.

"Well, it's kind of a secret, so I can't really say…" Knockout tried to explain.

"Optimus Prime said he'll give you all some of the details later, after we rescue Knockout," Steeljaw interrupted.

Sensing that they were pushing their luck, Blurr and Quickshadow kept their mouths shut while Steeljaw focused on helping Knockout. Airachnid's webs are strong, but so are Steeljaw's claws. It takes multiple, well-placed slashes, but the majority of the webbing is cut to shreds. Free of his bonds, Knockout pushes himself to his one working leg and leans back against the stalagmite.

"By the Allspark, your leg!" Quickshadow gasped.

"Yeah, I know," Knockout vented, cradling his helm in one servo while the other attempted to keep a firm grip on the stalagmite.

So dizzy, and my leg is getting worse by the second…

Just before he falls unconscious, Knockout feels arms wrap around him as he topples over.

"Okay, no transforming for you," Steeljaw stressed. He turned to look at the Rescue Bots. "I'm going to have to carry him back, so you two just keep doing what you've been doing."

"Using your disks to take out Insecticons! Got it!" Blurr replied, getting ready to rev up and roll out.

The following events – escaping the tunnels, dealing with Insecticons, scaling the cliffs, racing across the land – were nothing more than a series of unfocused clips that Knockout happened to be partly conscious of as he flowed in and out of consciousness. He couldn't remain online long enough to focus properly. That changed the moment they passed the battlefield on their way to the rendezvous point. The sights and sounds, the living and death…

Holy Primus. This is a warzone.

Just then, above the cacophony of battle, Knockout heard it: the unmistakable sound of missiles being fired, and not just any missiles.

"Starscream," Knockout whispered. Pumped full of adrenaline, – or at least the Cybertronian equivalent of it – the red medic tore away from his rescuers, transformed, and sped off.

"KNOCKOUT!"

But he did not stop for them. He didn't stop for anybody who recognized him, or called out to him, or anything. He only cared about one thing, and that's finding Starscream.

If there's one thing I know about Screamer, it's that he won't use his missiles unless it's something big. I have to make sure he's alright. I can't lose him. I can't. Not again. Not like Breakdown. Hold on, Screamer, please. Do not die on me before you have the chance to ridicule me for making such a stupid mistake! And certainly not before I get payback for it! Please, Scream. I can't lose my best friend!

Knockout had no idea why he was acting and thinking completely unlike himself, but he was in no mindset to wonder for long. When he came into view, Airachnid had thrown Starscream into a pile of rocks. The Seeker dropped to the ground, panting, and leaking Energon from multiple cuts across his frame.

"Honestly, Starscream, if you couldn't beat me back then, what makes you think this time will be any different?" Airachnid questioned, reaching down to grab the grounded Seeker by his neck.

Oh no you don't!

Before Airachnid could lay a single claw on Starscream, Knockout rammed straight into her, full speed. He backtracked and transformed to bipedal mode, standing in between Starscream and Airachnid. He wasted no time in bringing out his Energon prod and activating it.

"Knockout?" Starscream said, his vents haggard. "What… in the blazing Pits… are you doing?"

No response.

"Ah, Knockout, how nice of you to join us!" Airachnid greeted, recovering from the earlier blow and stalking closer to the heavily injured pair. "Although, I'm afraid you've come a little too late. You see, Starscream…"

"Shut up," Knockout hissed. "I already lost one partner…"

He increased the output of his Energon prod, forcing it to spark to the max.

"I'm not about to lose another!"

Lunging forward with tremendous speed and power, Knockout engages Airachnid in the fight to save Starscream's life…

But all he can see is darkness.