Sky Dancer

By: PhantasmBabeIvory

Disclaimer: Don't own them; Hasbro does.

Author's notes: I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter and that you don't think me too evil once you reach the end. I don't yet know how long the next chapter will take to flesh out.

In the meantime, I have a brand new poll going on my profile for those who would like to participate, which was partially inspired by another story on this site, Keep Driving.

And now, on with the show:

Chapter Seventeen

Given that there was no satellite footage of the battle thanks to the jamming device, Red Alert's only way of cataloging what had happened was to download what each of the participants (save for Hot Shot and Grindor) had seen during those critical moments. As soon as the medic was done gathering the needed data, each of Optimus' soldiers were free to go their separate ways.

While this procedure was going on, Red Alert mentioned to Kicker that Misha had come to Ocean City to visit with his family members, prompting the teenager to go and seek her out. As the boy began to walk off, Alexis threw a glance his way, making another mental note to have a talk with him at a later point.

Though Alexis and Starscream made a detour to pick up their adopted child (and got a good laugh over how overjoyed Starxis was to see them), they were soon gathered in the surveillance room along with all the other battle participants to review the feeds. As Alexis thought, apparently everyone was curious to see if there was some clue as to who had saved them.

Given that all the videos were running in sync with one another, though they were slowed down to give those gathered time to look between all the screens and still get a good idea of what was happening, Alexis was not sure of just which of the Autobots had gotten a glimpse of where the mystery shots had originated. In any case, she was startled to see that the third laser beam had seemingly materialized out of thin air.

Optimus was soon requesting for Red Alert to freeze the image and then to enlarge it. In seconds, the picture was displayed on the main monitor. After a moment of silence, Optimus said, "Can you apply a thermal screen to this, Red Alert?"

The medic nodded, doing just that with a few simple keystrokes. Alexis couldn't make sense of the random heat signatures until Optimus said, "Seems we have some mystery ally looking out for us." He turned to look at his troops, adding, "The outline of this ship suggests that it's of Cybertronian design."

Resisting the urge to give a silly smile at the way Starxis was cuddling against her neck, Alexis turned to look at Optimus. "How could anyone have responded so quickly to the fact that we were in trouble?" she asked.

Optimus tilted his head downwards a notch, remaining silent for a time before saying, "Rather than question it, we should just be glad that salvation came when we needed it most." He looked back at her. "Sometimes, things just happen by pure chance, Alexis… Every soldier that we have on our side, here on Earth, was pretty much accounted for, and there were no reports from Cybertron that would indicate someone was coming to help us out. Unless someone comes forward to claim responsibility, we may never know who our savior was."

Alexis gave a slight nod, then turned to look at Scavenger when he spoke, offering some sort of praise on her accomplishment. When she saw he was looking at the smaller monitors off to the left, she turned to see that the pictures on each of them had been frozen as well. Right now, a view of the damage she'd inflicted on Cyclonus, as seen from her own perspective, was clearly visible.

Earlier, in the heat of battle, Alexis had been simply focused on protecting Kicker, by any means necessary. But now, seeing just how much harm she'd caused the eccentric bot made her flinch. As Starscream came to comfortingly lay one hand on her shoulder, she said, "I hope I didn't kill him."

Red Alert turned towards her. "You didn't," he assured her. "The videos we have of the aftermath proves that. Although…" The medic paused, scratching nervously at the side of his face before adding, "I'd say that Cyclonus is more in danger of suffering from Megatron's wrath than from what you did to him, Alexis." Seeing that she didn't exactly look reassured by this, Red Alert continued with, "Don't worry. It's not as if Megatron has plenty of seasoned warriors on his side. He wouldn't execute Cyclonus, no matter how angry he is, when it wouldn't be easy to find a suitable replacement."

Alexis let out a deep breath, letting the tension drain out of her, before kicking off another topic. "So, how's the construction of our new defenses going?"

Red Alert gave a soft sigh. "If the work progresses at the same rate it's been going, and even if we take everyone's getting a good night's sleep into account, it should be completed by sometime tomorrow afternoon."

Ironhide drew attention to himself by saying, "Let's hope it proves to be effective in holding off future attacks."

Optimus cleared his throat. "If there even is a future attack," he said, causing several of his soldiers turn to look at him curiously. "We can't assume that Sideways is going to fail. If he hasn't gone after Megatron by now, then odds are great that he will be doing so soon. Megatron would have to come up with a very good plan, and fast, if he's to have any hope of surviving…"

Figuring out how to reformat Cyclonus had been remarkably easy, once Megatron had patched in to Unicron's processor, and thankfully, there was just enough Energon to pull off the feat. The cable that Alpha Q had been utilizing was still present, and the Decepticon leader had been quick to hook it into his own CPU. Forging a new body for Cyclonus (designed from an Autobot that Megatron had once fought) didn't take very long, as Megatron discovered that simply thinking about it had willed it into existence. The same applied when it came to transplanting the spark and memory banks of the eccentric bot.

Once Cyclonus had been rebuilt, Megatron shortly decided that he didn't have the patience to just stand around and wait for his soldier to wake up. For the next several moments, he just wandered aimlessly through Unicron's expansive frame, occasionally throwing punches at or kicking the walls as a way of burning off steam. While he was still fuming quite a bit by the time he reached the chamber that was the dark god's stomach, he had calmed down just enough to realize that he needed to stop dwelling on his failure and focus on coming up with an alternative plan for dealing with Sideways.

The name of the rogue bot had barely passed through Megatron's mind before it brought on an unexpected development. Until a freestanding window appeared before the Decepticon commander, displaying some sort of video of Sideways, Megatron had literally forgotten that the cable he'd used to tap into Unicron's processor was still attached.

Megatron blinked, unable to focus for a moment, until the sound of Sideways' voice drew his full attention to the video. At first, he couldn't make sense of why the rogue bot would be complaining about having had too much High Grade the night before, nor did he recognize the dingy little metal room that Sideways was residing in.

Megatron got his answer when a familiar silky smooth voice sounded from somewhere off frame, causing Sideways to look up groggily towards whatever was recording these images. "Wow, you really are pathetic," the off-screen voice said, causing the Decepticon leader to brighten considerably.

The visage of video-Sideways showed he was definitely hung-over, but he was still irate over having gotten a seemingly-unwanted visitor. "Didn't I tell you to get lost last night?! What are you still doing here?!" Sideways said gruffly.

There was a short pause, then, "Because I believe you're worth more than drinking yourself into oblivion, Sideways."

Megatron cast his optics downwards at this point, his mind reeling. "Am I seeing how Sideways and Unicron first met?" he murmured thoughtfully, going on to muse that it would have been easy for Unicron to take on the guise of a normal-sized Transformer specifically for this meeting.

For a long while, Megatron silently contemplated this, wondering why he'd not seen just how beneficial it could be to tap into Unicron's abilities. Perhaps accessing the memory banks of the dark god to learn as much as he could about Sideways would end up giving Megatron some sort of edge.

And if not… Well, maybe it was time that Megatron found out what kind of possibilities that Unicron's powers could offer him…

Once the meeting had ended, Alexis made a request to Optimus to arrange for a special training exercise, for the purpose of honing her shooting skills. Hearing her, Ironhide was soon asking to join in on the exercise, and it wasn't long before both rookies were sequestered within one of the virtual simulation rooms on the lower levels.

Alexis and Ironhide barely said a word to each other before activating the needed program and focusing wholeheartedly on their targets. This lasted for roughly forty minutes, with the two trainees occasionally throwing out comments designed to help one another, before Ironhide decided they could use a break and called out for computer to abort the simulation.

Alexis lowered her rifle, taking a deep breath and relaxing her fighting stance. In the next instant, she called for the computer to display a statistics page to see how she and Ironhide had done. While she was surveying their progress, Ironhide loudly cleared his throat, causing her to look at him in slight surprise.

Wearing an unreadable expression, he said, a slight note of shame in his voice, "I… I don't think I ever said I was sorry." When this lone statement caused Alexis to look at him questioningly, Ironhide clarified things with, "When I accused you of not knowing what it takes to be a soldier." He paused, looking downwards. "You handled yourself amazingly out there today. I don't think I could ever improvise as well as you can."

Alexis tilted her head to one side, a glint of sympathy coming to her optics. After a brief silence, she said, "In all honesty, Ironhide, you shouldn't have to." When he looked up at her in surprise, she stated quietly, "Part of what makes the Autobots such a good team is that they all excel in different areas. It's just a matter of discovering what your own individual strengths are and running with them." She waited a moment to see if he would respond, then prompted him by saying, "If it helps, I'd say that you have a lot of sheer determination going for you, Ironhide. Even when the odds are against you, you're not one to give up easily."

Ironhide considered this, then gazed across at her with a smile. "I guess that the two of us really do make a great pair, in that case," he said in an amicable tone. After a moment, he stuck out his hand. "Friends?" he asked tentatively.

"Agreed," Alexis replied, reaching out and clasping his hand firmly in hers in a cordial gesture. "And, apology accepted," she added, earning a short laugh from him.

Past that short exchange, Alexis launched another, though much shorter, training simulation. Once this exercise was completed and the two trainees had viewed the results, she excused herself and walked from the room, her thoughts focused on seeking out Kicker.

She found her teenaged partner and Misha on one of the upper balconies on the exterior of the city, talking in low, peaceful tones. Alexis even cracked a smile at the sight of Misha's hand resting on top of his. At least Kicker has always had someone he trusted and could confide in, Alexis mused, but then went on to wonder if even Misha had known what his father had done.

After a moment, in which she was tuning out whatever the teenagers were talking about to give them some privacy, Alexis took a step forward, clearing her throat to catch their attention. Tentatively, she said, "Sorry to interrupt, but… I was hoping we could talk, Kicker."

Misha answered first, looking towards Kicker and responding to the slight irritation that crossed his face. Her soft-spoken words drew his attention back to her. "You forget what I said that quickly?" she teased lightly, accentuating it with a slight giggle. "No getting angry at someone who's trying to help."

Kicker reddened considerably, but answered with a simple nod. Seconds later, Misha pardoned herself by saying she was going to see Sally, leaving Kicker and Alexis to their own devices.

Deciding that the sounds of the construction that were still going on around them was a little annoying, the first thing that Alexis suggested was that they go somewhere a little more quiet. Moments later, she and Kicker were seated near the top of Ocean City's central spire, side by side on the ledge with their legs dangling over the edge.

Looking down at the teenager, Alexis tentatively said, "Things got pretty scary out there today, huh?"

Kicker looked back at her, giving a hesitant nod. "I guess Megatron has always had that effect on people."

Alexis shook her head, surprising him by saying, "That's not what I mean." There was a long pause, then she went on with, "Did something happen when you were a kid, to make you terrified of being in outer space?" When he gave another, though even more hesitant, nod, Alexis said, with as much sympathy as she could muster, "There's no shame in being scared, Kicker. But I've found that perhaps the most tried and true way to get over those fears is to talk about them."

He remained silent for a while, as though he needed time to absorb the full meaning of what she was saying. "It's, uh, nothing big, I guess," he said haltingly. When Kicker didn't say anything further, Alexis cast a glance his way, simply watching the conflicted emotions crossing his face. At last, he went on with, "Did you ever, as a kid, get scared when you were in the center of a crowded mall and couldn't find your Mom or Dad?"

Alexis nodded. "Many children have experienced such a moment, I suppose."

Kicker looked up at her with slightly haunted eyes. "Then imagine what it's like to be left floating aimlessly through an asteroid field for twenty minutes because your own father couldn't locate you." After a slight pause, Kicker was prompted to go on by the questioning look in her eyes. "It was one of the worst things he did. For the most part, he would keep me on a tether, attached to the ship, while I used a jetpack to go searching for you-know-what."

Kicker bit his lip, continuing with, "One day… I don't know if it was impatience or if his eagerness got the better of him. He made me remove the tether and venture deep into the Asteroid Belt. Promised he would come to pick me up immediately if I needed him." Kicker paused again, giving a deep, pained sigh. "To make a long story short, my jetpack eventually ran out of fuel…"

Alexis would have been shedding tears if it had been possible. "And your father hadn't been keeping track of where you were," she said quietly, filling in the blanks.

A long silence ensued between them following this revelation; Alexis deliberately said nothing, simply allowing him to quietly work through whatever grief or hard feelings he was experiencing right now. At last, she said, "I know you may not want to hear this, but it may help to have it out with your Dad, one of these days."

Kicker's eyes flared with anger, his defensiveness returning. Alexis didn't allow him to get a word in edgewise before saying, "One of the worst outcomes you could face, if this isn't resolved, is to be estranged from your whole family… If you think about it, it wouldn't exactly be fair to ask your Mom and Sally to take sides in what's happening. Ask yourself how much you want to risk losing them too, because of this grudge you have."

After a long while, Kicker looked up at her curiously, asking, "How do you do it? How'd you get to be such an expert on family issues?"

Alexis sighed, then said with a slight note of humor, "Because I've technically been someone's mother since I was fifteen. Over the years, I've delved into a number of family psychology books on how to deal with Starxis, alien or not."

Kicker's eyes widened in disbelief. "And they were actually helpful?" he asked skeptically.

Alexis offered a slight chuckle. "More than you know." A slight pause, and then, "Feeling better now? Promise you'll talk to your Dad?"

Kicker stared up at her for a lengthy moment, then gradually adopted a consenting smile, some of her positive attitude rubbing off on him. "I promise," he answered, then went to staring out towards the horizon, along with Alexis, for a long while…

It took Demolisher and Tidal Wave a full two minutes, once their eccentric comrade returned, alone, to the battleship, to comprehend that this was indeed Cyclonus. It helped to some degree that the latter's voice was unchanged. Still, Demolisher forced himself to bury his shock over this development and ask after Megatron.

Having gleaned from his teammates that he resembled some kind of arctic exploration vehicle, Cyclonus gazed down at the ski-like blades attached to his feet with a new comprehension. Still, there was an ample amount of irritation in his voice when he said, "I can't believe he did this to me!"

Demolisher tilted his head to one side, feeling an unexpected wave of sympathy. While he wasn't an aerial soldier (and probably never would be), he had seen by observation just how much his comrades loved ruling the skies. Even Tidal Wave, dim though he might be, seemed to enjoy being airborne.

After a moment, Demolisher said, "How did Megatron even manage this?"

Cyclonus looked over in irritation. "You should know, Demolisher!" he said sharply. "You were there when he asked Scorpinok what it took to create the Terrorcons!"

Demolisher froze, and it took him a long while to formulate a single question. "Unicron?"

Cyclonus scoffed. "Give the groundling a prize," he said with a strong note of sarcasm.

At that, Demolisher lost his temper, and he strode forward, seizing Cyclonus roughly by one arm with an enraged look in his optics. "I don't care if you don't like it! That doesn't give you the right to be disrespectful!" A pause, then, "Better get used to it, Cyclonus, because Primus knows that Megatron would likely never be kind enough to give back what he took!" Without giving the eccentric bot a chance to respond, Demolisher released him and stomped off.

Cyclonus watched dumbfounded as the hard-edged bot departed, and turned to look up at Tidal Wave after a long moment. "When did he get so touchy?" Cyclonus asked, barely surprised when the big guy simply shrugged…

It didn't take Sideways long, upon learning the location of the Decepticon commander, to venture to that very place. It was something of an experiment, seeing if he could use his ties to Unicron to simply teleport instantly to the remains of the dark god. When the attempt had instantly landed him somewhere within Unicron's interior, Sideways smiled wryly beneath his faceplate.

It took the assassin a moment to get his bearings, and he soon began to move stealthily through the ruins. From there, it didn't take him long to find Megatron, and Sideways had to strongly resist the urge to chuckle when he saw the Decepticon commander was dozing in some sort of solid organic throne within Unicron's spark chamber.

You are so conceited and predictable, Sideways thought wryly as he stepped quietly into the chamber, holding his sword at the ready. Hope you're ready for whatever awaits you on the other side, Megatron.

Until he attempted to run the sword straight through Megatron's spark, Sideways hadn't had even the vaguest clue that he was being deceived. It shocked him when the blade didn't meet with any resistance, effectively throwing Sideways off balance until the tip of the sword planted itself in the throne. For a few seconds, the assassin stared, dumbfounded, at what he slowly began to realize was a very convincing hologram of Megatron.

Upon this recognition, Sideways didn't even have a chance to look around before someone's hand closed around the scruff of his neck. He hadn't realized that he'd turned visible (or solid for that matter) in his shock. Before Sideways could even react, Megatron spun him around, simultaneously pressing one hand to the assassin's chest.

Sideways grunted as an unexpected jolt of pain passed through him at the instant that Megatron touched him. A couple seconds later, Sideways noticed some sort of three-dimensional oval (he didn't know how else to describe it) of blackness had appeared to his left, and he had barely comprehended this before he was thrown towards it, through it.

All these events had happened so quickly that it took Sideways an extraordinary amount of time to comprehend it. With wide optics, he looked around, disturbed when he saw he was seemingly trapped within some kind of black void. Rising to his feet, he tried the only recourse that seemed to be left to him. "Alpha Q," he called out, hoping that the spindly bot might be able to do something to salvage the situation. Sideways did not want to think about what otherwise might happen. "Get me out of here."

The answering chuckle that sounded through the darkness was the last thing that Sideways wanted to hear. "He can't help you now," Megatron said, his voice seeming to thunder through whatever this place was. "I made sure to sever your connection to Unicron so your so-called employer would be unable to retrieve you." There was a slight pause, then the Decepticon commander continued with, "At ease, Sideways. If I wanted you dead, it would have been easy to use that same connection to finish you."

Sideways blinked, torn between confusion and curiosity. After a moment, he squared his shoulders, staring guardedly out into the vast darkness. "What is it that you do want then, Megatron?" he asked, a hard note in his tone.

There came the sound of another chuckle, then, "First off, simply to say that perhaps we got off on the wrong foot." At that, a series of images began to appear around Sideways; it didn't take the rogue bot long to recognize that he was seeing a progression of sorts of how he and Unicron had come to be allied.

Megatron was silent for a couple seconds before continuing with, "It's a very interesting history you have, Sideways. And it's quite easy now to see how Unicron was able to earn your loyalty." There was another short period of silence before the Decepticon commander stated, with an ironic laugh, "It's funny. I never pegged you as someone who was seeking revenge against a whole planet whom you blamed for having destroyed your homeworld… What better way to retaliate than by getting a powerful deity at your back who was willing to seek out and annihilate those you call enemies?"

Sideways sneered. "Don't pretend to care about such a trivial vendetta, Megatron," he snapped. "You've probably gotten a good laugh out of less."

For a long while, there was no reply, then Sideways was caught off guard once more when a ghost-like image of Megatron appeared before him. The rogue bot was even more caught unawares when he didn't see a trace of humor in the Decepticon commander's optics.

Calmly, Megatron said, "You interest me, Sideways. Until I saw these videos, I'd not realized just how much we had in common… You're a fool if you believe I wouldn't react similarly if it were Cybertron that had been lost, under the same circumstances." Megatron paused, waiting for a response that never came. "But I'm also inclined to agree with what Unicron once said. You have potential to be more than the shortsighted fool with a big chip on his shoulder… On that note, let's talk about Optimus Prime. You'd do far better inflicting some psychological hurt instead of resorting to a straight-up assassination."

Sideways hesitated, then gave a loud, ironic laugh even though something about Megatron's words niggled at him. "You're advising me now, is that it?" Sideways said derisively. When Megatron didn't answer, the rogue bot went on with, "Well, you're a little late. Optimus is dead…"

Megatron's lips twisted up in a wry grin. Even as he spoke, a new window opened up just to his left, playing some sort of video. "Just what I thought… Would make sense for Alpha Q to lead you to believe that."

Puzzled, Sideways looked towards the video as it played out, gaining more and more of a comprehension as he viewed the aftermath of his supposed victory. By the time it was over, the rogue bot was virtually seething with rage, giving voice to a single statement that indicated just how steamed he was. "That slagging aft!" Sideways roared, the murderous look in his optics leaving no doubt that he was talking about his "employer."

Sideways would have loved nothing better at this point than to have a shot at Alpha Q for having deceived him, but gradually realized that his connection to Unicron had (according to Megatron) been severed. While Sideways was glad that this had prevented the spindly bot from retrieving him, he eventually comprehended that it meant he'd not be able to venture across space to wherever Alpha Q currently resided. And unfortunately, Sideways had never gotten a look at the stars during the few moments he'd been inside the part of Unicron that was controlled by the pest, meaning there was no way to chart a course to that location.

Sideways grudgingly related this information to Megatron, leading the Decepticon leader to question his companion how much he knew about the nature of Alpha Q and Scorpinok's relationship. Letting out a deep breath, Sideways said haltingly, "I don't know… All I have to go on is how they related to each other prior to your return." Sideways preceded to tell Megatron everything he had speculated from observing the talks between the two, then said, "I'm not sure, but one of the reasons that Alpha Q might have resorted to seeking my help was because he wanted his lackey back."

Megatron bowed his head, spending a moment in quiet reflection. "Alpha Q did express regret in having to leave Scorpinok in my company," he said thoughtfully. After a couple seconds, Megatron shook his head as if to clear it, refocusing on Sideways. "Well, I imagine that we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Sideways recoiled, thrown by the audacity Megatron displayed with this statement. "You're not serious!" he blurted out. A slight pause, then, "You're actually assuming I'd agree to join your team!"

"I am," Megatron said simply. "Because as I said earlier -- it would be more rewarding to inflict a psychological revenge against a certain Autobot commander that we're both at odds with, Sideways. I have just the perfect plan in mind, but I'd not be able to pull it off without someone possessing your unique talents."

Sideways looked downwards, considering this offer for what seemed like forever. At last, he focused back on Megatron, expressing his interest and willingness to agree to his companion's terms by saying, "Count me in…"

Scorpinok couldn't have been more pleased when Cyclonus had told him in passing that Megatron had requested that another raid be led on a remote planet. As he flew from the battleship with the Terrorcons at his heels, Scorpinok breathed a sigh of relief, instantly glad to be away from the stifling atmosphere generated by his three Decepticon companions.

He was quick to venture to the same locale as before, though he made sure to lead the Terrorcons to one of the other planets. He didn't see any problem in allowing the predatory bots to do a little digging.

Scorpinok didn't know how long he had stood there watching after the jaguars had burrowed beneath the ground, with the falcons close behind each of them. Eventually, the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind made him turn with a start. Scorpinok was even more surprised when he saw who his company was.

"How did you find me?" Scorpinok asked with wide optics.

Rodimus took a step forward, making it a point to show that he had a gun held firmly at his side. "My girls and I had been keeping an eye out for you," he said simply.

"Girls?" Scorpinok questioned.

Rodimus shook his head, giving a dry laugh. "Don't read too much into it… I've merely raised Elita and Chromia from when they were sparklings." After a short silence, he went on with, "In any case, we're not here to talk about me."

It only took seconds for Scorpinok to see what Rodimus was driving at. "You wish to know more about me."

Rodimus nodded. "You mentioned before that your intentions are not the same as Megatron's, and that you're using the stolen Energon only for a good cause. Prove to me that I'm not making a mistake in trusting you… I'm guessing you have time now to tell me the full story."

Scorpinok nodded after a tense moment, opening his mouth to speak. Before he could say a word, however, the communication screen in his visor was activated. A second later, the sound of Alpha Q's three most dominant facets thundered through, all talking at once and at such a volume that even Rodimus could hear them.

Feeling flustered, Scorpinok cast a quick apologetic look at his companion, then lowered the visor, focusing on the image of Alpha Q. It instantly bothered him that the oversized cone housing his liege's interior heads was spinning so fast, so each of the faces was coming across in a blur. After a few seconds of listening to and trying to make sense of the frenzied, near-unintelligible rant, he said loudly, "Calm down, my friend! I can't understand you!"

It took a few moments before Alpha Q was able to relax enough to put forth what had him so agitated. Upon hearing this lone statement, Scorpinok froze for an instant, an enormous amount of dread descending on him. Though he'd been worried that this particular outcome (in a manner of speaking) might befall them, he'd not expected that Sideways would doublecross them to this extent. "He did what?!"

Shortly after he had sent Sideways off to Earth to set the plan in motion, Megatron was surprised when Scorpinok and the Terrorcons put in an appearance to deposit their bounty from the latest raid. Megatron spent a moment just studying his companion while engaging in idle chatter, but didn't see any sign that Scorpinok knew what had transpired.

Perhaps Sideways had been wrong, and Alpha Q didn't care about his lackey very much after all. If Scorpinok had been warned in any way, then surely he would not have come back here.

Scorpinok shifted his weight, undoubtedly disturbed by the way Megatron was staring at him. "Is there a problem, sir?"

Megatron shook his head, wondering very much now if he'd been wrong in questioning Scorpinok's loyalty. But then, he reminded himself that he could always assign Sideways to secretly watch their "friend" for any sign of deceit. "Nothing, Megatron said simply. A pause, then, "I imagine you'll be adding to our army's ranks then."

Even as he said yes, Scorpinok was wryly thinking, An army that I can one day use to ensure your downfall, Megatron. One way or another, Unicron will once more belong solely to Alpha Q…

When a full day passed with no sign of the Decepticons, the mood around Ocean City was, for the most part, more positive than it had been in days. Around noon, the construction of the force field towers had been completed and successfully tested to be sure they were working.

Feeling confidant that there was no harm in making certain allowances, Optimus summoned Starscream and Alexis into his office that very evening. After mentioning in passing that he would soon be organizing a venture into the Alaskan tundra to lay the groundwork for a new Earth-based colony, Optimus got straight to his reason for calling the two jets to see him.

Clearing his throat, Optimus said gently, "It's my opinion that our new defenses will prove quite effective against future raids. That being the case, I feel that all of us can be allowed a chance to get back to more normal lives." There was a slight pause, and then, "On that note, I'm giving the both of you a temporary leave of absence… I'm aware that you have a brand new house on the mainland that you've barely been able to take advantage of since this whole debacle began."

A soft, joyful cry passed through Alexis' lips, once the realization fully hit her. She turned to gaze at Starscream, exchanging an overjoyed look with him, then focused back on Optimus. The Autobot commander went on to say that he would be calling them back in case they were needed, but that he didn't foresee any problem. Alexis answered with a single nod and said, "Thank you."

Optimus stepped around his desk, offering a cordial smile as he prepared to see the two out of the office. As the two jets began to leave the room, all three Transformers were surprised when Starxis turned to look at Optimus and said, "Family time appreciated…"

Organizing the operation to take place in Alaska went far easier than Optimus had hoped it would. Despite the fact that the established camp would be quite small and that there was every likelihood that he'd be unable to avoid his father in the few days spent there, Kicker still agreed to help out. That very evening, once the tents had been set up, a small group of Autobots, humans, and Omnicons made their way out into the wilderness.

The Transformers, too, had their own adequately-sized tents available for use, though not all made use of them. For the entire first night, Scavenger sat out in the open, partially focusing on keeping his own gears from freezing over and acting as a lookout in case of trouble.

Just before dawn, Scavenger was surprised when Optimus emerged from his tent; one good look at the Autobot commander told him that Optimus was undoubtedly on edge about something.

Hazarding a guess, Scavenger said, even as Optimus closed the distance between them, "Are you that concerned that we'll be facing another attack?"

Optimus shook his head. "None of Megatron's men even knows about this location, Scavenger. It's unlikely that they'd be looking for us all the way out here," he said, though there was an odd note in his voice. After a long pause, he sighed and added, "I'm worried about what might be going on amongst the Decepticons. I was so sure that we would have heard something of Megatron's fate after two days."

Scavenger tilted his head to one side. "That doesn't mean we won't. As far as Cyclonus, Tidal Wave, and Demolisher go… Assuming that Sideways was successful, maybe they just need time to recover from losing Megatron again."

Optimus gave a second, much deeper sigh, making Scavenger turn to regard him curiously. For what seemed like forever, the Autobot commander remained silent, appearing for all the world like he wrestling with his own thoughts. At last, he looked up, quietly saying, "There's… There's something I should have trusted you with, if anyone. I thought that it would be better if no one knew." He paused again, shaking his head. "What I'm about to tell you, Scavenger, has to stay strictly confidential for the time being."

Scavenger nodded, letting out a deep breath. He couldn't remember if he'd ever seen Optimus look this dead serious. "You have my word…"

All things considered, the day passed by rather uneventfully. Sometime during the morning hours, Optimus caught the tail end of an argument between Miranda and Brian Jones; the latter was told in no uncertain terms that he was not to do or say anything that would put pressure on their son. Shortly after, Miranda had gone to Kicker to say simply that he should never be afraid to tell her anything.

The expedition to pinpoint where they should place the newest mine commenced shortly after lunchtime, with the "hunting party" trekking in a northeasterly direction from the camp. To speed things up, the humans were riding on board ordinary snowmobiles, which the Autobots had no trouble keeping pace with.

As soon as Kicker pinpointed a specific location where the Energon deposits could be found, Optimus was quick to place a marker in the ground that would allow the Omnicons to find it. Once that task was accomplished, the group returned to the base camp, where they would stay for several days until a sufficient tunnel system had been dug into the Earth. The Omnicons were notorious for working fast at establishing mines, and they would be working in shifts to ensure a nonstop progression towards their goal.

Phase two of this task would be allowing Kicker to venture into the tunnels to get a sense of where the Omnicons should more specifically being focusing.

It wasn't until after three in the afternoon that a disturbing message came in from Ocean City, via Hot Shot. For a moment, Optimus, Scavenger, and Ironhide could only stare speechlessly at the monitor that had been set up in the tent that was serving as their command center, their optics darkened with worry. According to their impetuous comrade, someone had hacked into Ocean's City database and had apparently done so from inside the colony.

Optimus let out a deep breath, knowing that there was only one bot that could have gone undetected. "Sideways," he murmured. In a louder tone, he added, "Do you know what he was looking for, Hot Shot? Does he know where we are?"

Hot Shot cleared his throat. "According to Red Alert, he was digging into information on all our colonies… But, and this is kind of puzzling, he was also spending some time looking into personnel files. I don't know just what he was up to, but it may be a good idea to beef up security at the camp out there."

Optimus nodded, noting just who he'd like to be dispatched to their location. "Thanks for the heads up, Hot Shot. It never hurts to be prepared for anything…"

As they set about painting the upstairs rooms of their home on the mainland, Starscream couldn't remember when he'd ever seen Alexis this playful or giddy. Sometime after they had started at this task, she had caught him off guard by swiping at his arm with a roller coated in coral-colored paint.

Somehow, this kicked off thirty minutes of the two jets taking shots at each other. By the end of it, both Starscream and Alexis had been reduced to fits of giggling, both of them coated in numerous streaks of pale pink. Even Starxis had not escaped this little game, as minute splotches of paint were present in his brown fur.

Fearing that he may drop the roller in his hand, Starscream held his breath long enough to set it down in the paint tin on the nearby covered desk, then grabbed hers to do likewise. A second later, he found that he shouldn't have worried, as he noticed that there were footprints of said paint strewn across the floor. Curiously, he lifted and angled his left, and then right, foot to have a look, soon idly wondering just when he stepped in some.

It took a few minutes for Alexis to recover from her laughing fit, after which she stepped closer to Starscream. Laying one hand casually on his chest, she said cheerily, "It's been a long time since we've had that much fun."

He smiled, brushing lightly at the splotch of paint running down the side of her face. "You are crazy, you know that?"

Alexis looked down at the near-solid line of color running across her stomach with a silly grin. "Look who's talking," she teased with a mockingly-angry note. A second later, she reached out, grasping him by one arm. "Now come on. Let's get cleaned up."

Starscream responded with an equally-silly grin and a single statement that had Alexis swatting playfully at his chest. "That could be fun too…"

There was not even the slightest hint of trouble for the rest of the day. Come nightfall, Optimus didn't know whether to be relieved or deeply concerned by this, but he instructed his men to be on high alert for the entire evening.

Those in the camp had just begun to turn in the night when the sound of an almost-distant explosion boomed across the tundra. Even as he fought back panic over the cause of the commotion, Optimus, who'd been preparing for every contingency, was quick to order Ironhide to evacuate the humans back to Ocean City for their safety.

Moments later, Optimus and the remainder of his troops were racing across the frozen landscape in their respective vehicle modes. As they neared the dig site, the sounds of battle began to reach them. The Omnicons may be built for mining, but that didn't mean they couldn't hold their own in a fight.

The last thing that Optimus had expected to see, upon arriving at the scene, was for Scorpinok to be the one who was leading the charge. But it sure looked like that was the case, given that the latter was directing the Terrorcons who were battling their way into the tunnels. In addition, Tidal Wave, Demolisher, and an unfamiliar mech (though Optimus tentatively guessed it had to be Cyclonus given the cackling laughter) seemed to be looking to Scorpinok for direction.

Drawing his rifle in preparation to enter the fray, Optimus still took heart that there was no sign of Megatron. Yet, even as the battle commenced, the Autobot commander felt a small twinge of worry that Sideways might also be present, even as he wildly thought, Why would Megatron's troops be in Scorpinok's service?!

Anyone who could have seen a certain family as they were turning in for the evening might have said that the two jets and their furry little child made for quite a cute picture. Both Starscream and Alexis had removed their specialized weapons prior to lying down. This allowed Starscream to lie on his side for a change, with his arm draped lovingly around Alexis to hold her close to him. Starxis was nestled comfortably on Starscream's upper arm, content that his adopted father would not be shifting position at any time throughout the night.

The three of them had been sleeping for perhaps twenty minutes when Starxis' green eyes suddenly snapped open in the darkness, wide as could be with alarm. In the next instant, he began moving swiftly over to the nearby nightstand, screeching for all he was worth.

Starscream and Alexis had barely been roused when the very room they were in shook violently, coinciding with a loud bang just outside in the hallway. After a tenuous second or two of incomprehension, Starscream abruptly began moving, scrambling off the bed and frantically reaching for his sword. At the same time, Alexis turned her gaze to Starxis, her wild thoughts telling him to get out of harm's way.

Alexis didn't stop to watch where her adopted child went to; it simply reassured her that he took off running with a scared chirp. Moving swiftly, she too got to her feet, going for her own weapon.

Armed or not, Alexis still froze for an instant when the sounds of clashing swords reached her from the doorway and she turned to see Starscream engaged in combat with the last (and worst) mech she'd ever have expected.

Megatron.

The siege had been initiated so quickly that neither jet was fully prepared for it. That being the case, it didn't take much for the Decepticon leader to get the better of his opponent, tossing Starscream effortlessly across the room so that the red and white jet landed awkwardly against the mattress.

Fortunately, this single act broke Alexis from her stupor, and she raised her quarterstaff, taking a step forward and sending a telepathic message to Starscream that it was still two against one. By working together, they had every chance of getting through this.

With that thought in mind, she charged towards Megatron, though it hardly surprised her when he countered the swing she took at him and simultaneously knocked her back across the room until she collided with the far wall. Outnumbered or not, the Decepticon leader was still quite skilled; Alexis hadn't expected this to be easy, but odds were good that she and Starscream combined would still triumph over him.

Seeing the jet she loved was fighting Megatron and heartened by the fact that Starscream was more effectively holding his own, Alexis regained her composure and started forward once more, raising her weapon to strike.

Just before she reached Megatron, however, Alexis was startled when she met with some unexpected resistance. She blinked, trying to make sense of the fact that her quarterstaff's forward motion had been halted even though there was nothing there. A millisecond later, she was caught off guard to be shoved backwards once more, throwing her very much off balance.

Alexis didn't even have time to recover before she both felt and heard something whistle by her, and an unseen hand gripped her from behind by one shoulder. A second later, Alexis completely froze, as she felt the unmistakable sharpness of a blade pressed lightly but threateningly against her throat.

She didn't know if Sideways shimmered into view or not, but she was leaning towards the former when he loudly called out Starscream's name to grab the attention of her fellow jet. For an instant, Starscream's optics were blazing with fury when he gazed in Sideways' direction; the red and white jet was even poised to deliver a devastating blow to Megatron. It died when the full situation hit him.

Megatron didn't give Starscream even the slightest chance to react, as he roughly shoved the jet's sword so it was pointed away from him. Megatron then surged forward, nailing Starscream square in the face with a punch that sent his opponent sprawling awkwardly across the bed behind him.

The two subsequent point-blank shots that Megatron fired at Starscream's chest had Alexis jerking involuntarily in Sideways' grip. Later on, she would be surprised that she wasn't cut by the sword at her throat. "No!" she cried out, causing Megatron to glance at her with infuriatingly amused optics.

Megatron cast one last glance at Starscream, idly saying, "Seems the only time you ever stood a chance against me was when you carried an insane amount of hatred. Too bad you didn't have that on your side this evening." Megatron paused for the briefest of moments, then added, with a slight chuckle, "Goodbye, Starscream…"

Alexis gulped, preparing herself to run to her fellow jet's side as soon as Megatron and Sideways departed. A second later, she was sorely disappointed, as the Decepticon leader made it clear, in response to the look in her optics, that they were taking her with them.

Alexis couldn't move for an instant after hearing this, then she began bucking wildly in Sideways' grip even as his arms snaked around her to get a better hold. Though she fought for all she was worth, she realized it was fruitless when her captors moved to vacate the house with her in tow.

Shortly after Megatron and Sideways had absconded with Alexis, Starxis ventured, shivering wildly, out from his hiding spot inside the closet. Though the youngling was very scared, he still made his way up onto the bed were Starscream was sprawled.

For a few moments, Starxis could only nudge his adopted father's face periodically, hoping beyond hope that such an act would sufficiently rouse the jet. When it didn't provide results, Starxis wandered down to Starscream's right arm, and it took some effort on the youngling's part to open up a very needed panel.

Once that was accomplished, Starxis pressed the small button located within with his snout, giving a heartened chirp when he heard the buzz of static that indicated his efforts hadn't been wasted. Lowering his head towards the speaker just above this button, Starxis said simply, "Help."

After a few seconds, a questioning voice sounded through the speaker. Starxis ignored the inquiry as to who was speaking, answering simply by repeating his demand. "Please, help…"

This is so not where I want to be, Alexis thought with a sense of dread, even as she struggled ineffectively against the organic cuffs that were binding her, facedown, against some sort of biological slab. Near as she could tell, she was somewhere inside Unicron, and Megatron and Sideways were simply milling around, making preparations for something or other.

Even though she knew that she was probably wasting her breath, Alexis twisted her head down and to the right so that she could see the Decepticon leader. "Let me out of here!" she said heatedly.

Megatron answered with a cruel smile, though he did step closer to the slab so she could see him better. Even as he ironically questioned just why he would want to do that, he reached down, touching her shoulder in an oddly-affectionate way that served to rile her further.

Through gritted teeth, she said, "Whatever you're planning, Starscream, Optimus, and the others will make you pay for it."

Megatron shifted his weight, his smile not diminishing in the slightest. "Oh, I think you'll find that you have that backwards, my dear. Not that you'll realize it once we're through."

Alexis blinked, a sense of dread slowly welling up inside her. Vaguely, she realized that Sideways was coming to stand on the other side of the slab, but she kept her focus on Megatron. "What…?" she started, only to have the Decepticon commander cut her off.

With a dry chuckle, Megatron said simply, "It's not unheard of for the memory of a Transformer to be tampered with and replaced with a false set of information. In many ways, such a process is more effective in aligning soldiers in the enemy camp than if they merely agreed to be spies." Megatron paused momentarily, seeming to delight in the panicked look that came to her optics at this implication. "And it just so happens that our friend, Sideways, here is quite the master at rewriting memories." Without letting her respond, Megatron leaned closer, saying simply, "Welcome to the Decepticon team, dear girl. You'll make for quite an interesting addition."

After a second, Alexis began fighting anew, pulling wildly at her cuffs and growing ever infuriated when she heard Megatron getting a good laugh at her expense. A moment later, she found herself being forcefully held down by the Decepticon commander and Sideways both; the latter thumbed open a panel at the back of her neck.

An instant later, Alexis could feel her systems powering down, and she realized immediately that she was being temporarily taken offline while Sideways rewrote her entire life. Wishing more than ever that she could at least cry, Alexis had time only for one thought before she lost consciousness.

Starscream… Help me…

Next up: Demolisher makes a difficult choice. (And for those of you who may be wondering, he did not know what Megatron was going to do.)