It had been two days since Ravage had seen the Autobots. Two days of thinking over the information he had learned from Teletraan and pondering his options. Two days of a growing temptation to risk a visit to the surface in hopes of more information.

So, he was initially relieved that the Autobots were coming into his territory, but that relief vanished at the first glimpse of Steeljaw. The leonine Autobot would be able to pursue him into any hiding place, and with his keen scent detection, it was unlikely that Ravage could eavesdrop without being noticed.

Nevertheless, Ravage continued tracking the small party, bitterly noting that all four of them had been freshly repaired since he had last seen them. He remembered taking out Steeljaw's optics in Autobot City; he remembered being shot by Rewind and Frenzy crushing the Autobot's hand in retaliation. Now they were back at full strength—any Autobot who escaped today would come again, fresh and whole.

He filed that at the back of his mind and focused on Steeljaw. The lion-cassette had not been on Cybertron two days ago; he had surely come to hunt Ravage. As Ravage had nowhere else to flee to, he needed to deal with his Autobot counterpart sooner rather than later.

"According to the accounts I've received from Ultra Magnus, this particular sector hasn't been used since the Ark left for Earth!" In his heritage-fueled euphoria, Rewind appeared to have forgotten he was here for his espionage skills. "We're walking through an area of Iacon that is essentially unchanged from the time Optimus Prime governed it."

"Not sure 'unchanged' is accurate, Rewind. Everything that could be removed has been," Arcee pointed out.

"But the layout alone is so fascinating… especially since Cybertron's urban structure appears to be unique in the galaxy—at least, from our modern perspective. Perhaps Wheelie finds this all perfectly normal." Despite the warnings, Rewind kept circling back to the topic of Wheelie's past.

Wheelie gave Rewind a direct look, struck again that he had to lower his optics to do so. "That other time, I'll lose in rhyme," he told him. It was the most explicit that he had been so far on the subject, and he was aware that Arcee was watching him though she kept quiet.

"Oh, I just meant…" Rewind made a brief attempt at demurral, but Steeljaw casually shouldered against him, causing his fellow cassette to stumble. The two exchanged a look, and Rewind's face turned rueful. "Sorry, Wheelie… I have a habit of getting carried away by my own enthusiasm. I'll try to be more sensitive."

Steeljaw looked back at Wheelie, and although it was harder to read the lion's expressions, he seemed… amused? Resigned? Wry? Wheelie suspected Steeljaw would not blame him if he refused to accept Rewind's apology, despite the familial affection between the two cassettes.

He shrugged. "No harm, drop alarm."

With the conflict defused, Arcee relaxed, and Rewind cheerfully started explaining how their fellow cassette, Ramhorn, was usually the one to shut him up and how he and Steeljaw would have to adapt to it being just the two of them while they were on Cybertron.

That was the difference between the cassettes and himself, Wheelie realised: there was nothing defensive about them. They did not need to prove themselves, nor did they feel any vulnerability over their size. They had total confidence in their place. It was the sort of complacence that would get you killed in the wilds of Quintessa, but it did make them more attractive as friends.

For all Rewind's prattle, he stayed aware of their mission; the moment Steeljaw tensed, the historian fell silent.

"Ravage," Steeljaw hissed. He was casting his head back and forth, trying to isolate the scent.

Silently, Wheelie ran forward to where a screen covered a vent. Ravage liked to lurk in air ducts. Pulling away the filter, he felt out the darkness: the faintest of whines came vibrating down the tunnel's walls, a draft in the air; he envisioned Ravage turning and fleeing.

"Runaway, no delay!" he called. Steeljaw was already alongside him, and at his words, he bounded into the tunnel. Wheelie fought the impulse to plunge after him. He had agreed to work as a team.

He turned, and Arcee shoved a bundle of photon flares into his hands. "Take Rewind and go! I'll track your position—if you need help, I'll blast a way to you!"

Rewind let out a horrified gasp. "Arcee, these hallways have been standing for millions of years! You can't blow them up on our account!"

While Rewind vacillated over which was the bigger threat, Wheelie climbed into the tunnel and transformed, retracting his windscreen. "Come on Rewind, or be left behind!"

With one last remonstrative look at Arcee, Rewind jumped towards the duct, transforming into his smaller cassette mode and landing in Wheelie's interior.

Wheelie sped off, swiftly catching up with Steeljaw who barely checked their position behind him before joining Rewind. Now carrying both cassettes, Wheelie started chasing down Ravage.

Ravage could outpace Steeljaw if he had to, but he had no hope of beating Wheelie's vehicle mode in a straight race. Fortunately, the course was his to set and he knew this particular labyrinth by heart.

He took a couple of random turns to buy some extra time then he plunged into a specific tunnel that had been buckled and twisted at some point in the past. Ravage leaped over the upheaval then wriggled through a crumpled section. It barely slowed him, and once he reached the other side, he raced on, knowing Wheelie would waste a few minutes in robot mode while getting through.

A clatter of feet sounded behind him, and fear drove his own faster. Steeljaw was chasing him again, closer than before.

Silently, Ravage cursed the Autobots' strategy. Steeljaw would track him through all obstacles, while Wheelie would eat away at his lead whenever they were on level ground. He was not going to be able to get enough distance from his pursuers to lose them.

Well, he had known it would come to a fight today. Rapidly, he scanned his nav-banks, choosing a new route. He could not fight them all at once, and he must take out Steeljaw first—once the lion was gone, retreat would be an option again. It was a point in his favour that Steeljaw was the easiest of the group to isolate.

He heard Wheelie's engines again, and his mouth formed a silent snarl. He could not afford to let the hunters get any closer.

There was a break in the wall, an ancient blast zone, and Ravage dove through it. He had explored this area yesterday: ruins of tortured metal but just about navigable for somebody his size. It was agonisingly slow going when he could hear Steeljaw so clearly—the lion must be only a few yards behind him—but he fought the instinct to find a faster route, reminding himself that the other two were being left behind.

Finally, he reached the fissure he had been looking for, and he bounded upwards. He found the girder that still spanned the breach, laid himself flat along it, watched for Steeljaw to emerge below… When the lion appeared, he had time to hesitate but not look up. Ravage fell on him.

Steeljaw roared, but the Decepticon had the advantage. With his front claws sunk deep into the Autobot's shoulders to secure his grip, he lay between his side-mounted weapons and well out of reach of claws and teeth. Finally, Ravage could give voice to his snarls, letting the full power of his hind legs slash at Steeljaw's torso, while he bit hard into his neck, seeking to sever cables and fuel lines.

The lion tried to rear, then rolled over backwards, struggling to dislodge his attacker. Ravage clung to him, using the impact to drive his teeth and claws deeper. His life depended on this.

Despair struck when he heard Rewind and Wheelie scrambling towards them. He needed to finish Steeljaw off. Bracing his legs against his opponent, he started tearing at his neck, snapping for something that might cripple him. It must be now.

A flurry of movement in his peripheral vision, a stinging impact on his nose and then his optics were burning with light. Now was too late.

It was not the flash of an explosion for the light stayed constant, blinding him, and he could hear the hiss of a flare. No, multiple flares… more hissing starting up in all directions. He was still entangled with Steeljaw, half-shielded by the Autobot, but the other Autobots need not use their guns. They would subdue him by hand once they got close enough.

His optics were screaming at him, but he strained his remaining senses, focused on a mental image of the area… Get out of the open. An enclosed space will shield. Wrenching himself away from Steeljaw, he leaped blindly for a remembered crevice, slashed out in case somebody was in his way, in case Steeljaw was able to follow…

He recognised the sound of Rewind's blaster. That was the shot that dropped him, unconscious.

While Rewind checked Steeljaw, Wheelie cautiously approached Ravage, sling-shotting a scrap of metal at him before nudging him with his foot. The Decepticon remained limp and unresponsive, so he knelt and lifted the head: no signs of activity, though he could feel the faint buzz of vital processes continuing.

He looked over to the others. Steeljaw was on his feet, making grumbling noises. The lion looked a mess, but Rewind was relaxed, chuckling sympathetically at his friend's winces. He met Wheelie's optics. "Ravage out for the count?"

"Sweet defeat," Wheelie confirmed, and he ran a gaze over Steeljaw's wounds, assessing them for himself.

"Ravage is always a nasty fight—the worst one of Soundwave's bunch," Rewind told him. "But he didn't have time to do critical damage today. Good idea using a flare with the slingshot—you blinded him immediately."

"The weapon's compact, but not the impact." Wheelie raised his slingshot and tapped it lightly against Rewind's own diminutive blaster.

Rewind grinned appreciatively and activated the com-link. Arcee, Ravage is down, and the situation is under control. No further intervention will be needed.

Understood, Rewind. I'll cancel my rampage of senseless destruction, came the dry response. Wheelie, can you give me a rendezvous point?

Wheelie re-synched his nav-tracks and climbed up a bundle of cables to his right. The wreckage was loose here, and there was a mapped corridor just a few feet away. Destination: my location.

On it.

Rewind clamped a restraining lock on Ravage, ensuring the Decepticon stayed unconscious while they cleared their path to the corridor. Arcee pulled up in car mode as they carried Ravage through.

"Team muscle, reporting for haul-out duty," she quipped. "Looks like you took the hit for the team today, Steeljaw. Need a ride back?"

The lion grumbled again, but Rewind rapped him on the shoulder. "You know Blaster would be carrying you by now if he were here. Transform, and stop stressing those wounds."

Like many Autobots who had been stationed on Earth, Arcee had had a tape deck installed in her vehicle mode, and Steeljaw dutifully slotted into it to Wheelie's renewed fascination. Wondering if he had ever been that trusting, he caught himself touching on raw memories and pulled back to the present, helping Rewind sling Ravage into Arcee's seats.

"Work, team; teamwork; team works." He absently ran through the semantics until he realised Rewind was looking oddly at him. Wheelie merely tossed him on a careless grin, deciding that anybody who wanted him on their team was going to have to learn to deal with his loose screws. "One job done; next job begun."

Rewind looked down at Ravage's limp form. "That's going to depend on him."