Well, get ready for a new OC coming in this chapter. And it's quite the surprise. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: As the Kospego Commands!

At the Scrapyard, Fixit was about to be crushed by a pile of stasis pods. He quickly leapt out of the way before they did, bumping into 3 of the damaged ones along the way. "Whew! Nearly flattened because of a simple bump." He said in relief. Suddenly, one of the pods behind him tipped and fell over. "Oh no." He said with worry as it was about to crush him. But luckily, Bumblebee and Arcee appeared, and caught the pod. "Nice catch." Jack said as he and Miko walked up. "You alright, Fixit?" Arcee asked. "Yes. Many spanks-*glitch*-glanks-*glitch*-thanks, ma'am. I will finish stacking these stasis pods immediately." Fixit said. "Fixit, didn't we ask you and Sideswipe to work on this together?" Bumblebee asked. "Well, yes, sir, but Sideswipe's stabilizer is sore. So, he thought it might be better if I did it myself." Fixit said. Bumblebee, Arcee, Jack and Miko looked ahead to see Sideswipe sitting down with headphones on, looking rather sad. "He does look upset about something. But I don't think it's his stabilizer." Miko said. "I just hope Sideswipe isn't just taking advantage of you, Fixit." Bumblebee said. "Hardly, sir. Sideswipe offered to cover my elephant cage cleaning duties for the next 5 cycles. Fair trade." Fixit said. "Uh, Fixit, we don't have any elephants." Arcee said as she and Bumblebee walked over to Sideswipe. "Oh." Fixit said, until he horribly realized. "Then what have I been cleaning?!"

Bumblebee and Arcee walked up to Sideswipe as he sulked. Sideswipe noticed them and took off his headphones. "What're you doing, Sideswipe? I thought we asked you to help Fixit stack the stasis pods." Bumblebee said. "I was helping. But then I realized that…maybe I'm no good with being on a team." Sideswipe said. Bumblebee and Arcee were confused when they heard that. "Look, I'm always a bit of a bad Bot. I've been put in jail more times than I can count for all accounts of speeding. I thought after meeting Strongarm and coming to Earth, I thought I could make a fresh start. But I'm not sure if catching Decepticons is the fresh start I was hoping for." Sideswipe explained. Bumblebee put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't think like that, Sideswipe. Being on this team and helping us capture these Decepticons can be the fresh start you need." He said. "Yeah. You just need time to soak it in." Arcee said. Sideswipe started to think on that. "By the way, what are you listening to anyway?" Bumblebee asked. Sideswipe handed him the headphones and he put them on. "Oh. OH! I love this song!" Bumblebee cheered, getting in tune with the beat. Arcee sighed playfully. "The music on this planet is very interesting. The melodies are complex and the lyrics frequently have multiple meanings." She explained. "I like those *beatbox sounds* parts." Sideswipe said.

Suddenly, the bell at the entrance rang. "Customer!" Denny called as he, Katie and Russell ran up. Bumblebee, Arcee and Sideswipe transformed into vehicle mode while Fixit posed like a statue. A van drove up to them and 3 men wearing weird antler headgears got out. The driver, apparently the leader, approached and held out his hand. "Give us what we desire…or the Kospego shall DESTROY YOU ALL!" He demanded.

(Intro)

"Kospego?" Russell asked in confusion. "What's a Kospego?" Miko asked. "Local legend. Some kind of giant, cranky elk-like creature, walks on 2 legs and has the strength of 1,000 humans, right?" Denny said as he explained. "But it doesn't exist. It's just a myth. A campfire story Denny told me and some our old friends to try and scare us." Katie said. "Oh, I too thought the Kospego was but a myth…until I saw it!" The leader exclaimed. Denny, Katie, Russell, Jack and Miko looked at him unamused as a cuckoo clock went off behind them, gesturing his being out of his mind.

[Flashback]

A silhouette of the alleged 'Kospego' stood in front of a fiery forest. "The Kospego said…" "I need stuff and yous gonna get it for me. Or else I'm gonna break some junk. And by junk, I mean yous." The 'Kospego' demanded, taking a tree, breaking it in half with his knee and throwing it.

[Flashback End]

"I share the story with others. They came to witness the Kospego. And they too are now believers!" The leader finished. "We all must follow the Kospego's commands or *breaking noise*." "Uh huh. And will the 'Kospego' be paying in cash?" Denny asked. "Uh, no. Arnold will. That's me." The leader, Arnold, said. "And what can we get you and the 'Kospego', Arnie?" Denny asked. Arnold snapped his fingers and one of his followers gave him a scroll. He unrolled the scroll and revealed a really long list. "We have already found many things, but the Kospego still demands 15 pounds of sauntering lead, 441 2-inch nails, 37 yards of steel cable and 1 high voltage electrical generator." He explained. "Okay. Just stay here and we'll see what we can find for you." Denny said as he, Katie and Russell walked off to find the requested parts. Bumblebee, Arcee and Sideswipe looked through the list. "Look at this list." Arcee said in disbelief. "14 relay switches?" Bumblebee asked. "Guys, you don't think?" Sideswipe asked. "Katie, Russell, don't give them the generator. We'll explain later." Bumblebee whispered. Katie and Russell nodded.

A while later, Denny, Katie and Russell came back with 2 carts of the supplies Arnold ordered, minus the generator. "Well, here's most of everything. Give me a minute to fire up the crane and I'll bring a generator over." Denny said. "Denny darling, we sold the last generator yesterday, remember?" Katie lied. "What? We have one in the back." Denny said. "No, we sold it to Mr. Bumblebee?" Russell lied, gesturing to Bumblebee. Denny quickly caught on to what his family was saying. "Oh. Sorry." He said. "Hmm. The only other high-capacity generator in the area is at the dam. And that's not for sale. The Kospego will not be pleased! He may very well kabob us on his antlers! Off we go!" Arnold exclaimed with worry.

Later, after loading their supplies into a trailer and hooking it to their van, the Kospego worshipers drove off. "Boy, is somebody taking those poor saps for a ride, pretending to be the Kospego." Denny laughed as Bumblebee, Arcee and Sideswipe drove up. "So, why couldn't I sell them a generator?" He asked as Bumblebee, Arcee and Sideswipe transformed. "Because, Denny, we suspect-" Bumblebee tried to say, but was interrupted when Strongarm, Gears and Mirage returned from their scouting mission at the Alchemor's crash site. "We're back, lieutenants. But the mission was a complete failure." Strongarm said as she, Gears and Mirage transformed. "We searched the entire crash site and there's nothing there that we haven't previously seen." Gears said. "Well, except for these things." Mirage said, holding up a couple of rods. Suddenly, one of the rods activated, transformed into an axe and fired an energy slash. Bumblebee and Arcee quickly moved out of the way as the slash hit one of Denny's vintage refrigerators, slicing it in half. As everyone was shocked by what happened, Denny rushed over to the fridge and dropped to his knees. "Well, this thing won't be bothering us anymore." Grimlock said, causing Denny to glare at him.

"Whoa. Something tells me those things could totally take down a Decepticon." Sideswipe said. "I was thinking the same thing." Strongarm said. "What are they?" Russell asked. "They're Decepticon Hunters." Fixit said. As he rolled up to the team, Mirage gave him the Decepticon Hunters. "Sideswipe, how is your stabilizer feeling?" He asked, forgetting about the Decepticon Hunters. "Oh. It's…actually feeling much better." Sideswipe said. "Fixit, a little more info?" Bumblebee asked. "Oh, right. Sideswipe damaged his stabilizer, so I-" Fixit started to say. "On the Decepticon Hunters." Arcee corrected. "What?! We have Decepticon Hunters?! Where?!" Fixit asked eagerly, looking around. "The ones I just GAVE YOU!" Mirage exclaimed loudly. Fixit looked at his hands and saw the Decepticon Hunters. "Decepticon Hunters!" He gasped. "Oh, somebody put him out of our misery." Gears grumbled as he walked away. Fixit handed the Decepticon Hunters to Sideswipe, who gave one to Strongarm. "Careful. They can be quite dangerous. Decepticon Hunters were stationed on all prison ships." Fixit explained. "So, what do they do?" Shawn asked. "The Decepticon Hunters connect with their user's neural transmissions, so whatever combat device is imagined, the Decepticon Hunter generates within certain parameters." Fixit explained. "That doesn't sound dangerous. It sounds awesome!" Russell exclaimed happily. "Sheesh. Sounds like something I would've said." Miko mumbled.

Strongarm walked up to the fridges and prepared to test out her Decepticon Hunter. "Proto-Blaster!" She called. But the Decepticon Hunter transformed into a sword and sliced off the door of one of the fridges. Denny cringed from that. "I said Proto-Blaster!" Strongarm repeated. But the Decepticon Hunter changed into a flail and crushed another fridge. Denny cringed again. "Proto-Blaster!" Strongarm exclaimed angrily. The Decepticon Hunter changed into a scepter, fired a laser at the second-to-last fridge and crushed it into a ball. Again, Denny cringed. "I must be doing it wrong." Strongarm said as the Decepticon Hunter changed back. "Let me try mine." Sideswipe said, walking up with his Decepticon Hunter. He started to think about what weapon he wanted and then thought of something. "Double Edge Sword!" He called. The Decepticon Hunter transformed into the exact weapon he wanted. He started swinging it around, showing off his moves. "Whoa! Sideswipe, be careful!" Katie exclaimed. Too late. Sideswipe sliced the last fridge into slices. Denny nearly fainted before Mariposa and Nalu caught him. "Wow. You got some moves." Strongarm said. "I…had a lot of practice back on Cybertron." Sideswipe said, blushing.

"So, why couldn't I offload the generator? I could've used the space to display my vintage refrigerators. My poor, poor refrigerators." Denny cried as Katie comforted him. "We read that list from the Kospego. Those items may have seemed random, but they weren't." Arcee said. "We suspect the 'Kospego' is one of our Decepticons tricking humans into thinking that it's your creature of legend." Bumblebee said. "And using them to jury-rig a Space Bridge." Sideswipe added. "A Space Bridge? So, we can go home to gather reinforcements." Strongarm said with hope. "We could. If we thought the Space Bridge would work." Arcee said. "What do you mean?" Mirage asked. "It's far more likely that the slightest misalignment of the components would create a Black Hole-like phenomenon that could badly damage or…even destroy Earth." Bumblebee explained. That made everyone gasp in horror. "Which would be bad." Grimlock said.

"So, is there any Decepticon that resembles an elk?" Dominick asked. Fixit opened up the prisoner manifest, found a direct match and pulled up the file and mugshot of a Decepticon with elk-like horns. "The Alchemor's prisoner manifest does list a Decepticon named Thunderhoof matching the general description." He said. "Thunderhoof. Then this just got serious." Mirage said. "What do you know?" Strongarm asked. "Thunderhoof is one of Cybertron's biggest and baddest crime lords. And believe me, you don't wanna cross him. I've seen what he can do with those big hooves." Mirage explained. "And judging from what those followers said, there's a good chance Thunderhoof will try to steal the generator at the dam." Gears said. "We better make sure that the generator at the dam stays where it is." Strongarm said.

Suddenly, before anybody could say something else, Fixit picked up a signal on his scanner. "Cybertronian signal approaching the Scrapyard!" He alerted. "Autobot or Decepticon?" Bumblebee asked. "I…I'm not sure. It must be a glitch. The signal appears to be reading as…both Autobot and Decepticon." Fixit said. "Both?" Miko asked in shock. "But that's impossible. Isn't it?" Jack asked. "Open up the gates. Let's introduce ourselves to this mystery character." Bumblebee said. Denny opened up the gates as a bright orange and scarlet 2015 Prototype H-24 car enters the scrapyard. The team got ready for any form of resistance. "Alright. Transform and identify yourself." Bumblebee ordered. The car transformed into a beautiful female Cybertronian with a sleek body like Arcee's, neck-length metal hair and purple optics. Bumblebee suddenly became entranced by this robot's beauty. "Take it easy. I'm not a threat." The female bot said. "Who are you?" Arcee asked. "My name's Cinderray." The female bot, Cinderray, introduced. "Do you know this bot?" Strongarm asked. "Never seen her before." Sideswipe said. "Me neither." Mirage said. "Cinderray, if you would be so kind, what exactly are you? When my scan detected your signal, you were listed as both Autobot and Decepticon." Fixit said. "That's because I am both Autobot and Decepticon. I'm an Autocon." Cinderray said, revealing her insignia. It had the top of an Autobot and the bottom of a Decepticon. Most of the team gasped at that.

Bumblebee snapped out of his daydream, remembering the mission. "Uh, Cinderray, would you care to accompany us on our mission? We're looking into the possibility of a Deception fugitive using humans to build a Space Bridge. Maybe we could use your help." He offered. Team Bee was surprised to hear Bumblebee make such a quick offer. Cinderray was reluctant at first as she thought about it. "Very well. I accept." She said. "Alright. Autobots, let's Rev Up and Roll Out!" Bumblebee called as he and his team transformed, driving off. "Nice." Cinderray said as she transformed and followed Team Bee.

Later that night, as Team Bee drove their way towards the dam, Cinderray drove up beside Bumblebee. "You have quite the team, Mr. Bumblebee." She said. "Hehe. Thanks. We sort of found each other when Optimus himself asked me and Arcee to come back to Earth." Bumblebee said. "The Optimus Prime. Unbelievable." Cinderray said in awe. "So, what's your story, Cinderray? How'd you end up here on Earth?" Bumblebee asked. "Well…I don't really remember." Cinderray said. "You don't?" Bumblebee asked. "All I remember is waking up here on Earth. It all started a year ago. I woke up in a forest and I couldn't remember how I got there. After I scanned my vehicle mode, I took the time to explore my surroundings. The only friends I had during my time was a family of humans." Cinderray explained. "You interacted with humans?" Bumblebee asked. "Yes. They gave me a good place to stay and rest whenever I needed to, and they helped keep my secret from others. But then one day, I heard about an earthquake that occurred outside Crown City. I figured it wasn't an ordinary earthquake." Cinderray said. "You figured right. That was the Alchemor crashing down on Earth." Bumblebee said. "So, I said goodbye to my friends and told them that if they're around, just come find me. And with that, I left. It took a few days for me until I finally reached the city. And that brings us to right now." Cinderray said as she finished. "And there's nothing else that you can remember?" Bumblebee asked. "No. Nothing." Cinderray said.

Later, Team Bee arrived at the dam and saw that the generator hasn't been touched. "Looks like we beat our Con here." Arcee said. "Sideswipe, you, Grimlock and Mirage stay here and protect the generator. Strongarm, Gears and Cinderray, let's make a circular sweep of the area." Bumblebee said. After he, Arcee, Strongarm, Gears and Cinderray drove off, Sideswipe, Grimlock and Mirage transformed and stood guard over the generator. As the hours passed, Sideswipe felt the doubt inside himself build up again. "I'm gonna go scout the perimeter." He said before walking away. "Bumblebee told us to stay here." Grimlock said. "Let him go, Grim. Sideswipe has a lot going on in his head." Mirage said. Grimlock watched as Sideswipe sulked away before getting back on guard.

Later, Sideswipe sat down around the perimeter, listening to his music as he still doubted his position on the team. He even thought about what Bumblebee and Arcee said back at the scrapyard. Just then, Bumblebee, Arcee, Strongarm, Gears and Cinderray drove up. Sideswipe noticed them, stood up and took off his headphones. "Sideswipe, why are you here and not with Grimlock and Mirage?" Arcee asked. "Having doubts again?" Bumblebee guessed. "Lucky guess." Sideswipe said. Just then, they picked up Grimlock and Mirage over the com-link. "Who's there? Who are you?" Grimlock asked. "Team, come in! It's him! He's here!" Mirage exclaimed. Suddenly, they started shouting and then their com-links went dead.

As the team drove back to the dam, they found Grimlock and Mirage injured on the ground and the fence torn open. "Anyone see where that bus went?" Grimlock asked in a daze. "Those antler-heads took out Grimlock and Mirage?" Strongarm asked in confusion. "No. It had to be the Decepticon." Bumblebee said. "And he's got the generator." Arcee said, noticing the generator was gone. Sideswipe lowered his head in shame and guilt.

Bumblebee and Arcee helped Grimlock and Mirage to their feet. "Grimlock, Mirage, are you 2 alright?" Bumblebee asked. "Of course, we are." Grimlock said. But he and Mirage nearly fell over, showing that they weren't alright. Bumblebee and Arcee steadied them. "Hey, are my arms and legs still attached?" Grimlock asked, not feeling his arms and legs. "Can't tell. Everything still looks blurry." Mirage said, seeing only blurs of Bumblebee and Strongarm. "Did either of you 2 see what hit you?" Gears asked. "Only thing we saw were horns coming at us. And before we knew it, we were on the ground." Mirage said. "You know that feeling when something throws you through a mountain?" Grimlock asked. "No." Strongarm said. "Yes." Bumblebee said. "Well, it was like that. Only painful-er." Grimlock said. Sideswipe felt even guiltier. "Grimlock, Mirage, head back to the scrapyard and have Fixit take a look at you." Bumblebee said. "Okeydokey." Grimlock said. He flapped his arms as if attempting to fly, but couldn't. "Oh yeah, you can't fly, pal." Bumblebee said. "And I don't think I have the strength to transform. Or drive." Mirage said. "Strongarm, Gears, help them back." Bumblebee said. "Will do, sir." Strongarm said. "US?! Why should we have to do it?! It was clearly Sideswipe's fault!" Gears exclaimed angrily. "Hey! Sideswipe's going through a lot already, and he doesn't need a hothead like you making it worse!" Cinderray said, defending Sideswipe. Gears wanted to argue, but he just walked over to Grimlock, grumbling as he helped him. Strongarm put Mirage's arm over her shoulders as she helped her. "Call if you need help." She said as they all left. "Since when can't I fly?" Grimlock asked.

Sideswipe now felt really, really guilty. "This is all my fault. We're already down 4 team members against an enemy strong enough to knock Grimlock and my sister easily silly. This is why I doubted my position on this team." He said. "Hey, you messed up. It happens." Cinderray said. "Has it ever happened to you?" Sideswipe asked. "No. But my friends made many mistakes just like you did. But even they learned from them. You can learn from your mistakes too." Cinderray said. "She's right, Sideswipe. Even we made mistakes and learned from them." Arcee said. "And learning from those mistakes made us the Autobots we are today." Bumblebee said. As Sideswipe put this to thought, the team transformed and drove off into the forest.

Later, they found the spot where Arnold and his loyalists were assembling the Space Bridge. And getting their antlers caught on each other. "We can deal with the Decepticon later. But we can't just roll in and let those humans see us." Bumblebee said. "So, what do we do?" Arcee asked. "Wait. I have an idea." Sideswipe said. "What is it?" Bumblebee asked. "If these humans are dead-set on following a fake spirit's orders, then we'll have to become spirits ourselves." Sideswipe said. "Oh, I see what you're doing, Sideswipe. It's a good idea." Arcee said. "Alright, Sideswipe. What do you have in mind on becoming spirits?" Bumblebee asked. "Just follow my lead." Sideswipe said as he walked off with Bumblebee and Arcee following. Cinderray decided to stand by and watch the performance.

One of the followers prepared to connect a red wire to a blue wire. "No. Red to red, blue to blue! If we don't build this alter precisely the way the Kospego ordered, you know what will happen!" Arnold exclaimed. The followers imitated the tree snapping in 2. Just then, Sideswipe, Bumblebee and Arcee walked towards the followers, covered in tree branches. "There are other legendary spirits of great legend that walk the forest! Such as me, Sideswingo!" Sideswipe bellowed dramatically. "And me, Bumbeego." Bumblebee said. "And me, Arceego." Arcee said. "We've never heard of you." Arnold said, getting suspicious about them. "JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW US, DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE NOT LEGEND!" Sideswipe shouted. Arnold and the followers grew nervous at this. "The Kospego has been a very naughty creature." Sideswipe said. "Criminal, in fact." Bumblebee added. "He has acted against our wishes and must be punished. So, unless you'd like to share the punishment, you better leave here. Now." Sideswipe said. "Or this will happen." Bumblebee said. Arcee leapt off the rock wall and kicked a nearby tree, breaking it into 2. Arnold and the followers took off. "Why do legendary creatures hate trees so much?" Arnold asked himself as he continued running.

As Bumblebee, Arcee and Sideswipe took off their disguises, Cinderray slid down the rock wall and joined them. "Not bad, Sideswipe." Arcee said. "Let's save the not bads until after we capture this Con and dismantle this Space Bridge. We're not out of the woods yet." Bumblebee said. Just then, as they walked towards the Space Bridge, they turned towards the forest as a tractor appeared and drove towards them. But then, it transformed into the Decepticon, Thunderhoof. "Hey-oh! What's going on here? Where'd all my little worker weirdos run off to?" He asked. "You're under arrest." Bumblebee declared as he and Arcee walked up to him. "Don't go barking rules and regulations at me, Officer. I'm Thunderhoof, see? I ran some of the biggest criminal enterprises on Cybertron. Half you cops were on my payroll." Thunderhoof explained. "Oh, we know who you are. Mirage told us about you." Arcee said. "That Space Bridge is dangerously unstable." Bumblebee said. "What's unstable is you if you think I ain't bridgin' back to Cybertron to take back my turf. Tell you what, seeing as you're fellow Cybertronians and all, if you help me, I'll cut you in on a piece of the action." Thunderhoof offered. "You are going back to Cybertron…in a stasis pod." Bumblebee said, drawing his blaster. "Yeah. As much as some of us want to believe that your Space Bridge 'might' work, we don't make deals with criminals like you." Sideswipe said, drawing his sword. "That's right. You're coming with us." Arcee said as she drew her blaster too.

"Hey-oh, where's the respect? Usually, I let underlings do the dirty work. But that don't mean I don't remember how to do it myself." Thunderhoof said. He charged towards them, antlers-on. Cinderray got out of the way as Bumblebee and Arcee started blasting to no effect. As Thunderhoof bashed into them, Sideswipe flipped over them, landed on top of Thunderhoof's head and grabbed his antlers. As the 4 struggled against each other, Cinderray kept looking between the fight and the Space Bridge, unsure about what to do. "Flip him!" Sideswipe exclaimed. Bumblebee and Arcee grabbed Thunderhoof's arms and flipped him. Sideswipe followed with the flip and threw Thunderhoof at the rock wall. "Cinderray, a hand?" Bumblebee called as he, Arcee and Sideswipe ran towards Thunderhoof. But Cinderray was still torn between helping the team and the Space Bridge. Just then, Thunderhoof stomped his hoof into the ground and unleashed a powerful thunderous earthquake attack, knocking the 3 Autobots down. The 2 Decepticon Hunters were knocked loose and landed near Cinderray. She watched as Thunderhoof walked up to her new Autobot friends. She had to do something. And she knew what it was.

"You mess with the boss, you get the hoof!" Thunderhoof exclaimed as he prepared to stomp on the Autobots. "Thunderhoof, wait!" Cinderray exclaimed. Everyone turned to look at her. "These Autobots aren't worth it." She said, revealing a Decepticon insignia where her Autocon insignia was. "What?" Bumblebee asked in shock. "I've grown sick of being on this planet. I want off and away from any and all Autobots." Cinderray said. Bumblebee, Arcee and Sideswipe couldn't believe what they were hearing. "Finally, someone with a little intelligence. Come on, sweet spark, let's do the Autobot Stomp." Thunderhoof said as he prepared to continue with his stomping attempt. "Seriously! Don't waste your time with them. They can't stop you. Just leave them and their friends to rot on this mud ball with no way home." Cinderray said as she stopped him. "Would serve them right. Okay. Let's go." Thunderhoof said, walking towards the controls for the Space Bridge. "Wait, Thunderhoof. Shouldn't we check the connections to the Space Bridge before-" Cinderray tried to ask. "Hey, you're a smart kid, but don't tell me my business. I got an empire to get home to." Thunderhoof said. "But…" Cinderray tried to say. But Thunderhoof patted her head and activated the controls. The generator booted up with electricity and activated the Space Bridge. For a while, it seemed to be intact. But then it started sucking up air rapidly. And then, the Space Bridge transformed into a massive Black Hole. Cinderray was scared at the sight of it. "I've been through my share of Space Bridges! But I ain't ever seen one do that!" Thunderhoof exclaimed. "Black Hole!" Bumblebee, Arcee, Sideswipe and Cinderray exclaimed in shock.

The Black Hole's suction was growing stronger with every second. Bumblebee, Arcee and Sideswipe got behind some steel beams to protect themselves. "Something ain't right here." Thunderhoof said. "You think?!" Cinderray asked sarcastically. Suddenly, as she turned towards the Decepticon Hunters, Thunderhoof grabbed her. "Why don't you test it out for me, kid?" He asked rhetorically as started pushing Cinderray towards the Black Hole. "Hey!" Cinderray exclaimed as she tried to push back. As Bumblebee, Arcee and Sideswipe peeked out to see Thunderhoof trying to push Cinderray into the Black Hole, when they turned towards the Decepticon Hunters, someone picked them up. "You thought you could scam me by pretending to switch sides?! How did that work out for you?!" Thunderhoof asked. "Actually…" Cinderray's voice said, coming from behind Thunderhoof. They looked and saw, to their shock…another Cinderray with an Autobot insignia. "…it's going better than we planned." Team Bee couldn't believe their optics. There were 2 different Cinderrays right in front of them.

Autobot Cinderray brought out the Decepticon Hunters and tossed one to her Decepticon partner. "Flail!" Decepticon Cinderray shouted. The Decepticon Hunter transformed into the exact weapon. "Now you're in trouble." She said. She whacked Thunderhoof in the head with the flail twice. Thunderhoof turned around, feeling disoriented. "Hammer!" Autobot Cinderray shouted. Thunderhoof looked up to see her before she slammed her Decepticon Hunter, transformed into a war hammer, right into his chest, pushing him into the Black Hole's suction. But Thunderhoof managed to grab the Space Bridge and catch himself. Both Cinderrays prepared for a counter attack, but their Decepticon Hunters transformed back into rods. "Scrap!" They exclaimed simultaneously. They attached the Decepticon Hunters to their backs, leapt for the control panel and held on as the Black Hole's suction grew even stronger. Thunderhoof started to climb his way out of the suction. "I said you were going first, kid, and I mean what I says." He said. He reached out for both Cinderrays, getting ready to grab one of them by the leg. But then, Bumblebee, Arcee and Sideswipe untied the steel beams, sending them flying into Thunderhoof. "HEY-OH!" Thunderhoof bellowed as he disappeared into the Black Hole.

But victory had to wait. The Black Hole was getting even more stronger. Team Bee transformed and drove with all their strength towards the generator, protecting them from the suction. Both Cinderrays managed to climb over the control panel and save themselves. Bumblebee flashed his headlights at them. Knowing what it meant, the 2 Cinderrays transformed and drove with all their strength towards Team Bee, shielding themselves behind the generator. "We need to close that hole before it grows any bigger!" Bumblebee exclaimed. "How?!" Sideswipe asked. "We need to cause a detonation! Inside the hole! Releasing more energy than the rift itself is generating!" Arcee exclaimed. "The generator!" Both Cinderrays exclaimed. The team pushed the generator as hard as they could, tilting it on its side. As it got pulled into the Black Hole's suction, the team drove out of the way as the generator detonated itself inside the Black Hole's void. Just then, the entire Space Bridge sucked itself inside out, destroying itself and leaving nothing, but a small Energon fire.

The team transformed as they looked on at what they did. "So…that happened." Sideswipe said. "You did good today, Sideswipe." Bumblebee said. "I had to do what I could for my team." Sideswipe said. "Speaking of which. You had us worried there for a minute, Cinderray." Arcee said. "How did you even split into 2?" Sideswipe asked. "It's kind of a hidden talent. Since we're technically both Autobot and Decepticon…" Autobot Cinderray started. "We can split our spark into 2 separate bodies for surprises such as the one you saw." Decepticon Cinderray finished. Just then, the 2 started to glow and merged back into one body with the Autocon insignia. "Whoa. That's a neat trick." Sideswipe said. "Really nice." Bumblebee said with impression. "But what happened to Thunderhoof?" Cinderray asked. "Well, the Space Bridge wasn't stable, but when he disappeared, it looked like a teleportation to me." Arcee said. "So, where'd he go?" Sideswipe asked. "Who knows. But I got a feeling that the teleportation wasn't strong enough to send him back to Cybertron." Bumblebee said. "Meaning he might still be on Earth." Arcee said. "But where?" Cinderray asked.

Meanwhile, the Space Bridge portal actually reopened and dropped Thunderhoof and the steel beams back in the middle of the forest. "Cybertron?" Thunderhoof asked as he recovered. But as he stood up, he saw that he was still in the forest…on Earth. "Argh! I'm still stuck on this backwater planet!" He groaned, rubbing his optics. "Fine! I'll just set up a new empire here. Hey, I get those crackpot locals to help. They bought it once, they'll buy it again." Suddenly, someone slashed his Decepticon insignia. "Hey-oh!" He exclaimed, turning towards his attacker. Steeljaw. "Sorry about the pain. It's temporary, and you'll soon come to understand, necessary. In the meantime, you want to remain free, you stay with me. I'm Steeljaw." Steeljaw introduced. "This better not be a trick. I've had enough of tricks lately!" Thunderhoof warned. Steeljaw only chuckled as he led Thunderhoof away, taking the first step to making his dreams reality.

Meanwhile, the next morning, after returning to the Scrapyard, Bumblebee found Cinderray sitting by the wall. "Thought I'd find you here." He said. "What's up?" Cinderray asked. "Well, the team and I were talking and…we want to offer you a spot on the team." Bumblebee said. Cinderray was surprised by this sudden proposal. "You sure? Even though I'm technically part Decepticon?" She asked. "Sure. Grimlock's a Decepticon, but he's proven to be a reliable teammate at times." Bumblebee said. Cinderray was hesitant to give an answer. "If you joined us, maybe we can also help you unlock the secrets to your past." Bumblebee said. Cinderray put this to thought before standing up. "I'm in." She said, holding out her hand. "Welcome to the team, Cinderray." Bumblebee said with a smile, shaking Cinderray's hand.

Meanwhile, Arnold and his followers, now dressed with branches on their robes, wandered through the forest, looking for Bumblebee, Arcee and Sideswipe. "Sideswingo, Bumbeego, Arceego, we look to you for wisdom!" Arnold called. Just then, one of the followers, named Morton, bumped into him. "And for the last time, Morton, WATCH IT WITH THE SACRED GIRDLE!" Arnold exclaimed. And with that, they just continued into the forest.

Oh man! That was intense! After Team Bee came across a list of items capable of assembling an unstable Space Bridge, they received an unexpected visitor, an Autocon! Together, they managed to stop the plans of the Decepticon, Thunderhoof, from using his unstable Space Bridge to create a portal back to Cybertron. Unfortunately, Thunderhoof has become the first to be recruited into Steeljaw's new pack. Will Team Bee ever discover any other Autocons? Will there be others recruited in Steeljaw's pack? Leave a review if you'd like.

Special thanks to FoxyKhai0209 for Cinderray the Autocon.