For those of you who watch the 'Transformer's Prime' show, you'll recognise the scenes from the five part pilot episode "Darkness Rising'

Chapter Two

Searching

After walking a few paces away from the woods, Optimus soon found what he was looking for.

It was a large rock formation and the energon signal was coming from within it.

Optimus once again looked around.

As far as he could see the landscape was vast with fields and woodlands as well as a long river running through it.

There were a few houses and barns, and Optimus was worried that his size would make him stand out, but he knew he could transform into his truck form if there were any humans or animals nearby.

As he studied the rock formation he tapped his earpiece again.

"Ratchet?" he asked, "Come in Ratchet."

"Reading you loud and clear Optimus."

"I have located the energon." He said "Yet it is within s rock formation, I will attempt to mine it without attracting attention from the humans."

"Hope you can do that." Ratchet replied, "The others have gotten more luck in finding some already exposed."

Optimus frowned slightly then his voice turned sad.

"May I ask how the others are faring, despite the loss of Cliffjumper?"

A sigh was heard, and Optimus stood still waiting for an answer.

"Arcee just wants time on her own, Bumblebee and Bulkhead are searching for Energon just outside of Las Vegas, and Ironhide, he's scouting near Boston." He sighed again "Despite the loss of our friend and fellow solider, as you said, we can't stop doing what we can to stay ahead of the Decepticons. I still can't believe they've suddenly materialised after three years."

Optimus nodded and he thought back to a mere few hours ago.

Flashback

Optimus drove as fast as he could from his location upon hearing that a fellow soldier was in distress, he had soon saw the ground bridge and drove through it, before long he appeared on the other side transforming into his robot self as he did so.

He soon landed next to a group of other robots like him.

One was a male with white and reddish orange detail that stood at twenty-seven feet, another was yellow and black male that stood at twenty-six feet, a dark green and black wide male at twenty-eight feet, another male robot at a similar build coloured red and black at twenty-nine and last of all, a slender female blue and silver with pink detail at twenty feet.

"What's happened here?" he asked as he looked around and saw a large crater in the ground in the middle of a forest at dusk.

The large red and black robot stepped up to him.
"We traced Cliffjumper here Prime." He said in a thick Texas accent.

Optimus frowned.

"An untapped energon deposit, Ironhide!" he said as he saw the crater as well as the aftermath of what had taken place within it.

"What's left of it!" the green and black one commented.

"The first Decepticon Activity in three years!" the red/orange and white robot said in a worried tone as he analysed the crater.

"That we know of Ratchet." Optimus said gravely "If there are scouting for energon, they may be preparing for his return." He narrowed his eyes as he investigated the crater and walked closer, the others following him.

As he did, the female robot known as Arcee, along with the male yellow one named Bumblebee, went on ahead and Optimus saw the female walk over to a spot in the crater where she stopped and knelt to the ground.

Optimus then saw her face fall as she picked up what appeared to be a silver horn.

Optimus hurried over with Ratchet and Ironhide along with the green and black robot who was revealed to be Bulkhead, and they too saw the horn in the female's hands.

"No way!" Ironhide cried out "He can't be!"

Optimus looked over to Ratchet.

"Ratchet!" he said, "Can you track his position?"

Ratchet quickly looked at his wrist where a screen appeared with some moving signals, he watched it where a red dot flashed but then it faded.

"No..." he breathed.

"What!?" Ironhide looked over.

"Cliffjumper's life signal just went offline." Ratchet confirmed sadly.

Optimus gasped in shock then looked over at the female robot who lowered her head in grief as the yellow one wrapped his arm around her in comfort.

"Arcee..." he said softly "I'm so sorry..."

End Flashback

Optimus lowered his eyes as he thought of it, and it weighed heavily on him.

Seeing his teammate look so upset at losing a comrade, he only knew how it felt, yet as leader, he needed to keep everyone together.

After learning the fate of their friend and team-mate, he decided to give a memorial to him, to give Arcee some peace and comfort.

Flashback

Optimus stood with his team on top of a high cliff in a vast rocky desert, the sun beamed down on them as they stood together and Arcee cradled the horn in her servos sadly.

"We must not allow our anger over the loss of Cliffjumper to impair our judgement." Optimus said boldly as the other robots stood around him and listened intently as well as paid homage to their fallen friend and team mate.

"As of today, only we five Autobots remain on this earth. We owe it to ourselves... to the memory of Cybertron... to any Autobots in any galaxy seeking safe harbor... to humankind... and we owe it to the memory of our fallen comrade... to survive."

Arcee placed the horn on the ground and looked at it as she thought of her fallen friend then stood up, squaring her shoulders.

Optimus saw her demeaner and cocked his head.
"Arcee?" he asked concerned.

"If Cliff's gone." She snapped "Standing around here sulking's not going to bring him back!"

She walked to the edge of the cliff.

"So if anyone minds?" she muttered "I think I'll get back to protecting humankind!" she growled then leapt off transforming into a blue motorcycle before speeding off into the distance.

Optimus watched her go, then he saw Ratchet walk over.

"Optimus." He said, "Helping humans will only result in more tragedy."

"Your opinion is noted." Optimus replied softly.

End Flashback

Optimus sighed again and looked to the sky then at the rock formation.

"Cliffjumper would have wanted us to keep going, for him and for all we hold dear." He said as he placed a servo on the rock formation "We owe it to him, and all others who gave their lives..."

He narrowed his eyes as he got ready to break into the rock formation to find the treasures within.

Meanwhile on the other side of the woods, Pandora and Kemeko were exploring in the greenary.

After they had had supper at the barbeque, the turtles and Monalisa had said they could go exploring in the woods until 10pm when they had to come back to go to bed.

Pandora hummed to herself as she walked amongst the trees, the thoughts of what she had seen earlier in the afternoon played in her head and she kept on walking.

As she did, Kemeko saw her and run over grabbing her arm.

"Pandora?" she said "Are you alright? What's up?"

Pandora stopped and looked back at her cousin.

"When you hit me with the cricket ball." She said, "I was sure I saw something!" she pointed towards the other end of the woods "I kept trying to tell myself it was just a figment of my imagination, but my gut says otherwise."

Kemeko narrowed her eyes.

"Really?" she asked "You're not pulling leg are you?"

"No I'm serious Kem!" Pandora insisted "I did see something! And I'd rather check it out and be proved wrong!"

She then ran off towards the edge of the woods.

"Hey! Wait!" Kemeko shouted "Pandora! Come back! We can't go too far! The boundaries! Remember the rules!?"

But Pandora was out of earshot.

"Oh shell!" Kemeko cried throwing her hands up and groaning "Once again, her curiosity takes control and I have to follow to make sure she doesn't get into trouble!"

"Pandora! Wait for me!" she shouted.

Pandora kept running until she stopped at the edge of the woods.

As she did, she pointed ahead.

"Kemeko!" She shouted "Look! Look!"

Kemeko ran up next to her cousin and she too looked ahead yet she wasn't sure at first what she was looking at.

"Can you see that Kemeko?" Pandora asked.

"What?" Kemeko asked, looking at where Pandora was pointing.

"There's something shining ahead." Said Pandora "And I don't mean like a mirror reflection or a car, but it looks like a giant crystal."

Kemeko narrowed her eyes as she looked ahead, placing her hand above her eyes to shield the setting sun and she blinked as she saw a strange blue light ahead.

"Come to think of it," She said, "Yeah I think I see something!"

"Told you so!" Pandora replied, "Let's check it out!"

Optimus is looking for energon, and Pandora and Kemeko are not too far away, and the way things are going, their paths might just collide! Keep checking in to see how things go!