Onboard the Nemesis.
Starscream was seen laying on a medical table in the room Megatron used to sleep in. He was covered in multiple injuries and had a bunch of tubes connected to his body. When Starscream opened his eyes, he gasped when he saw Megatron staring down at him.
"Resting comfortably, Starscream?" Megatron asked with a sinister grin. "Despite the extent of your injuries, my medical staff assured me that you shall make a rapid recovery."
"Hopefully every bit as rapid as your wrath is swift." Starscream replied before he began coughing painfully, while Megatron laughed.
"And how swiftly things change. To think that but a short time ago, it was you who was standing here while I lying there, right after your failed attempt to terminate me." Megatron said. "But know this, dear Starscream, our positions shall never again be reversed."
The Decepticon leader then walked away to leave Starscream by himself, while the Decepticon air commander groaned annoyingly before pulling off the cables that were connected to his body. Outside, Knock Out, Thundercracker and Skywarp were having a conversation with each other.
"Can you believe Megatron was inside the mind of that Autobot Scout and he uses him to revive his body?" Skywarp asked.
"It was a shock to me, too. I'm just glad our master's finally back on his feet." Thundercracker replied.
"I guess." Knock Out muttered.
Just then, the three of them heard the door behind them open up and they saw a still injured Starscream limping his way out.
"Starscream, ha-have toy lost your senses?" Knock Out asked in disbelief. "You haven't recuperated."
"I feel fine, Knock Out! Never better! You're a brilliant physician, now get out of my way!" Starscream demanded before shoving Knock Out away, taking his leave.
"I guess he's still mad about Megatron being back." Thundercracker whispered, earning a nod from Skywarp.
When Starscream found an area of the Nemesis with no one else in it, he opened the door and walked into it.
"Dark Energon may have replenished your strength, master, but how could you forget that you never reclaimed your original shard?" Starscream asked as he reached into a certain place in the room and pulled out the Dark Energon shard he claimed from Megatron's Spark chamber. "Once the Blood of Unicron flows through my veins, our positions shall be reversed."
Meanwhile at the Autobot base.
the realm defenders and Lunella were currently sitting on the couch at the hangout spot and were watching a news report on the TV.
Today is the second year anniversary of the inhuman tarragon mist.the news man said.
Ratchet was busy working at the main console before he started getting a familiar energy signature on the Earth's map.
"I had hoped that my growing expertise on the subject would remain purely academic." Ratchet admitted. "But though faint, this is clearly a Dark Energon signature and it's moving fast."
"Megatron." Optimus said as he and the rest of Team Prime showed up, figuring it was the revived Decepticon leader that was currently moving across the Earth with some Dark Energon.
"Where'd he find more of the bad stuff?" Arcee asked.
"And what's he gonna do with it?" Bulkhead questioned.
"Probably to recruit a new army of the undead." Cliffjumper replied.
"Zombie Cybertronian?" Gus repeated with an interested smile, having overheard their conversation.
"We cannot rule out the possibility. Especially since Megatron seems to be heading to a familiar site." Optimus said, recognising the type of coordinates that were shown on the map.
At a very familiar canyon.
Starscream flew through the cliffs in his jet mode before he arrived at his intended destination and transformed, landing on the ground with the Dark Energon shard in his hand. The Decepticon air command walked towards a large pile of rocks that was being used as a grave for a certain Decepticon Warrior.
"Ah, the gravesite of the mighty Skyquake." Starscream said. "So quick to reject my authority while you lived. But, as the first of my reanimated warriors, you shall bow to my command."
Starscream split his Dark Energon shard in half and tossed one of the pieces into Skyquake's grave, causing a bunch of bright purple energy to emit from within it. Taking a small look at the other shard, Starscream impaled it straight into his chest and it's undead power began to surge through his whole body, while also making his optics turn purple
"Yes! Power of Dark Energon… be mine!" Starscream stated with a devious smirk before purple flames shot out of himself, making him shout out loudly. "Symbiosis! Hahahahahaha! I CAN FEEL IT!"
The ground beneath was beginning to emit some powerful Dark Energon energy, meaning that Skyquake was soon going to rise from the dead.
Meanwhile.
Optimus was preparing his team to depart on their new mission.
"Megatron has barely emerged from stasis and seems he's already making up for lost time." Optimus said. "Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Bumblebee, Jazz, Ratchet, prepare to roll out."
"Me?" Ratchet asked in surprise.
"If we are dealing with Dark Energon, I may well require your expertise." Optimus told him before turning to the last two Autobots in the room. "Arcee, Cliffjumper."
"Bridge operators. Got it." Arcee replied with a smile.
"Try not to have too much fun without us." Cliffjumper said jokingly.
"Go and crush some Cons out there, Jackie." Gus said to his Autobot Guardian, who sharpened his swords and then placed them away.
The rest of the realm defenders looked at each other confusingly, thinking that Gus had a trick up his sleeve.
"That's not like Gus to just turn down a chance at seeing something involving Cybertron." Hunter whispered.
"He's definitely up to something." Amity replied.
"We're gonna have to wait and see to find out." Vee said.
I'd rather not take that chance Lunella said.
Cliffjumper activated the Ground Bridge and Optimus,blurr,hot rode,drift,Bulkhead, Bumblebee,blurr,Wheeljack, Jazz and Ratchet transformed into their vehicle modes before driving into it. Gus smiled at his chance and he quickly hopped off the couch, running towards the open Ground Bridge.
"There he goes!" Amity exclaimed.
"We totally called it!" Willow added before she and the others chased after the Illusionist Witch boy.
Just as Gus began to get inside the Ground Bridge without Arcee,chromia or Cliffjumper noticing, Luz was able to catch up with him and grab his wrists.
"Gus, it's not safe!" Luz protested.
She's right Lunella said.
"I can't miss a chance to see a real undead Cybertronian!" Gus declared before tugging his wrist out of the Hispanic witch girl's grip and rushing into the Ground Bridge.
"He's just impossible, sometimes!" Vee complained as she and the others followed him, with the Basilisk girl not noticing her phone dropping out of her pocket.
When Gus jumped out the other side of the Ground Bridge, he found himself in the rocky canyon and saw Team Prime walking their way towards the source of the Dark Energon. He ran behind the Bots and climbed up a nearby pile of rocks, while the others showed up from the Ground Bridge and followed him.
The Autobots arrived at their destination and saw who was really carrying the Dark Energon in this area.
"That's not Megatron!" Jazz stated as Starscream waited for his undead minion to awaken.
"Rise, Skyquake! Rise!" Starscream ordered, while the rock grave began to shake a bit.
"So that's how a Terrorcon is born, Huh? Sure is interesting." Gus said to himself, observing from the hill.
Just then, the rest of the realm defenders showed up and crouched down next to Gus.
"Gus, what the Titan were you thinking?" Amity questioned with a glare.
"We thought you learned your lesson last time you did this." Hunter said in annoyance.
If I almost got killed cause of you your dead Apollo threatened.
"Hey, I just wanna learn more about how undead Cybertronians work." Gus replied. "I just need to get a much closer look. Vee, can I borrow your phone for that?"
"I guess so." Vee sighed as she reached into her pocket, only for her to realise her phone was missing. "Hey, I don't have my phone. I must've dropped it back at the base!"
While the realm defenders were busy with their own issues, the Autobots approached Starscream with their weapons at the ready.
"Starscream!" Optimus called out, earning the air commander's attention.
"Autobots!" Starscream snarled angrily.
"Stand down." Optimus ordered while aiming his blaster at him.
"You stand down!" Starscream replied before firing his rocket at the Autobots, causing them to quickly take cover behind some large rocks. "You cannot harm me while Dark Energon flows through my veins!"
But when Optimus shot his blaster at Starscream, he shot off his right arm and caused the air Commander to yell in pain while his arm landed on the ground.
Starscream looked at his shot off appendage and gasped in horror before running up and grabbing his arm, taking cover behind a boulder.
"You clipped his wing. He's grounded." Bullhead told Optimus.
"And he's definitely gonna need a hand." Wheeljack joked with a chuckle.
"Really, Wheeljack?" Bumblebee questioned, unimpressed.
I thought it was cool hot rode said.
Team Prime then advanced towards Starscream, who saw that Skyquake still hadn't risen from his tomb.
"Come on! Come on!" Starscream stated desperately. "Rise already!"
When he noticed that the Autobots were getting closer, Starscream begrudgingly had to make a quick retreat.
"This is Commander Starscream, requesting emergency Ground Bridge to my coordinates!" Starscream said on the com-link.
Before the Autobots could reach Starscream, a familiar voice from behind caught their attention.
"Ugh! I can't believe you made me lose my phone, Gus!" Vee shouted, making the Illusionist witch boy hold up his hands in defence.
"I said I'm sorry!" Gus protested.
"Oh no." Jazz said worriedly.
"Base to Optimus, the kids are missing." Arcee informed on the com-link.
"The two of us were just turning the Ground Bridge off when we noticed they were gone." Cliffjumper added.
"We have a visual." Optimus replied. "Send the Ground Bridge immediately."
Just then, two separate Ground Bridges showed up in the area. The Autobots' one was near the realm defenders and the Decepticons' one was next to Starscream.
"Two?" Ratchet asked surprisingly before turning to the realm. "You eight, into our Ground Bridge! Now!"
"You don't have to tell us twice!" Willow replied.
Same here Chris said.
"Come on!" Luz stated as she grabbed Gus' hand, jumping off the hill with him and the others.
Optimus looked towards Starscream, who ran straight into his Ground Bridge while the realm defenders did the same. But, the Ground Bridges' energy waves began to fuse with each other and the Autobots noticed this.
"Ratchet, what is happening?" Optimus asked.
"The duelling Ground Bridge portals must be feeding back on each other!" Ratchet answered.
"Willow. We've gotta get the kids out of there!" Bulkhead stated before he rushing towards the left Ground Bridge, only for him to get blown back by a powerful shockwave.
Both Ground Bridges then exploded at the same time, sending Optimus,drift,hot rode,Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Jazz and Ratchet flying away.
On the Nemesis.
a Wildrider was busy working at the communication console and he had just sent Starscream his way back onboard.
"I don't know why I was chosen to be on communication duty while Soundwave is busy on the main deck." Wildrider muttered annoyingly.
Just then, the Decepticon Ground Bridge opened up and flying out of it was Starscream, who got on his only hand and realised that his other one was missing from his possession.
"My arm." Starscream said with widened eyes.
"Starscream?" Wildrider questioned in surprise, causing the air commander to look at him. "Where've you been? And… what happened to your arm?"
"Not a word about this, Wildrider! To anyone!" Starscream ordered sternly in the bladed Con's face before he walked away through an open door.
"I really don't like this job." Wildrider said to himself.
When he was all alone in the corridors, Starscream pulled out the Dark Energon shard from his chest and looked at it in complete disappointment while wondering why it didn't work for him
Back at the stone canyon.
the entire area was looking a bit more blank than it did before. The realm defenders was laying on the ground and groaning a but as they all began to recover from the Ground Bridge burst.
"Are you all okay?" Luz asked.
"Yeah." Amity answered.
"I think so." Hunter added.
My head hurts Chris said.
"I've felt worse on bigger occasions." Lunella commented, sorting out her glasses.
"Plus, none of us got killed." Vee said with a relived smile.
But something feels weird apollo said.
I'm glad we're alright willow said.
"I guess that's a win win." Gus admitted.
When they all stood up and turned around, they saw the Autobots groaning painfully on the ground as they began to recover as well.
"Well, what just happened?" Wheeljack asked.
"I can't be certain, but if two Ground Bridges sent to the same coordinates crossed streams, the feedback could have triggered a system overload." Ratchet explained.
"Could?" Gus repeated. "Hello! More like totally did."
"The kids made it through, right?" Bulkhead asked, much to the realm defenders's confusion.
"Huh?" Amity questioned.
"What's he talking about?" Hunter asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Bulkhead, we're right here!" Willow called out.
"Are you guys a bit blurred from the explosion?" Luz questioned.
"Arcee, Cliffjumper, did the children make it safely back to base?" Optimus asked on the com-link.
"Negative. You don't see them?" Arcee asked in response.
"No sign of them here." Jazz replied.
"What? No sign?" Willow repeated.
"Why are you guys even saying that?" Lunella said.
But when Bulkhead started to move his foot towards Willow, it went straight through her like she was completely intangible and this caused the Plant witch to scream in shock. She backed away in astonishment as Amity and Vee quickly caught her.
"He went right through you." Hunter said with a surprised expression.
"Then that must mean… we're not alive!" Luz exclaimed.
"I don't want to be a ghost!" Vee stated worriedly.
"Hold on, how can we still touch each other?" Gus asked, placing his hand on Hunter's shoulder.
The realm defenders then began following Team Prime, who were now walking towards Skyquake's tomb.
"Ratchet, could the children have been transported onto the Nemesis instead?" Optimus asked.
"Not likely. If Starscream didn't arrive at our base, the most likely explanation is a dislocation." Ratchet answered. "The children may have simply been Bridged to an unintended destination."
"Another place, but in the same place." Chris muttered to herself, catching his friends' attention.
"What're you talking about?" Amity asked.
"He's We're probably in some alternate world. A place where anything that's alive is just a shadow to the real world." Lunella explained.
No wonder why I don't sense any spiritual energy here apollo said.
"So, like some sort of Shadowzone?" Gus questioned.
"You could say that." Vee replied.
Kim and chromia are lucky there not here to handle this luz said.
The Autobots approached Skyquake's tomb, which now had no body in it.
"Look. Skyquake's tomb is empty." Optimus said.
"How'd we miss Skyquake rising and shining?" Wheeljack questioned.
"It would seem Starscream got what he came for." Ratchet admitted.
"Another matter for another time." Optimus replied. "Right now, our priority is locating Luz, Amity,Apollo,Chris,Lunella,Willow, Gus, Hunter and Vee. Arcee, Cliffjumper, Bridge us back to base."
Suddenly, the realm defenders saw a huge shadow looming over them and they looked up in horror to see Skyquake, who was now an undead Terrorcon, showing up from a rock wall and snarling menacingly at the Autobots.
He began to approach the Bots from behind as they didn't even notice him due to focusing on the Ground Bridge that appeared in front of them.
"Guys, look out!" Luz called out.
"Zombie Con!" Gus yelled.
"Get out of there!" Amity stated worriedly.
"It's right behind you!" Hunter added.
"You've got to hear us!" Willow shouted in nervousness.
Look behind you apollo said.
Skyquake prepared to swipe at Jazz, but his attack only phased through the Autobot Lieutenant and this mean that Skyquake was trapped inside the Shadowzone, as well. Team Prime then walked into their Ground Bridge and it closed up.
"Nice. It can't touch them, either." Gus said with a relived smile.
Unfortunately for him and his friends, Skyquake was listening and the undead Cybertronian turned around to spot his next targets with a deadly growl, making the realm defenders realise what this meant.
"If that thing can't touch the Bots…" Luz said, backing away with the others in nervousness.
"Just like we can't…" Hunter added.
Wait can't apollo just opened a portal out of here Lunella said.
Apollo hand glowed purple he tried to open a portal but nothing happened.
My portals may not work her the zone must neutralize my powers apollo said.
Luz tried to fire a Kai blast but nothing happened. And said my powers are gone this zone it's effecting our powers.
And I'd tried to use my gauntlet but it scrambled when the ground bridge's crossed Chris said.
"Then we're trapped in the Shadowzone with a Decepticon zombie?!" Vee asked fearfully.
"If we aren't ghosts now, we will be soon!" Amity admitted as she began to sweat worriedly.
Skyquake stood over the realm defenders and let out a ferocious roar.
"Run!" Willow yelled.
The realm defenders then began to run for their lives, causing Skyquake to slowly chase after them. Since the Terrorcon was much larger than the kids, it wasn't considered slow to them. As they all ran into the cliffside area, Lunella accidentally tripped up and fell onto the ground as her glasses flew off her face.
Hunter noticed this from behind and quickly rushed up to Willow, helping her back on her feet before Skyquake could reach them.
"Come on!" Hunter stated, running back to the others behind a cliff.
"Guys, I lost my glasses!" Lunella told her friends.
Luz looked out their hiding spot and saw Lunella's glasses, which was also where Skyquake was beginning to approach.
"That's a bit too dangerous." Luz said.
"But I can't see without them." Lunella protested.
"I'll get your glasses,Lunella. That zombie Con won't be able to hold it's against my magic, after all." Amity replied with a confident smile.
She rushed out of the hiding spot and managed to reach Lunella's glasses before picking them up. But then, Amity noticed Skyquake was above her and the Terrorcon attempted to flatten the Abomination witch with his foot, causing her to roll out of the way.
"Alright, you undead metal head, why don't you taste some magic?!" Amity called out as she summoned an Abomination fist from the ground.
However, the Dark Energon within Skyquake began to glow and the Abomination fist dissolved itself into a puddle of sludge, much to Amity's shock.
"What?! But how?!" Amity questioned.
When Skyquake attempted to grab the Abomination witch, she quickly ran away and got back to her friends.
"Here you go, Lunella." Amity said, handing Lunella back her glasses. "Now let's get out of here."
The realm defenders once again started to run away from Skyquake as the Terrorcon himself chased them deeper into the canyon.
"Why didn't you use your magic, Amity?!" Gus questioned.
"It just shut itself down before I could even use it!" Amity stated. "I don't know why, though!"
"Wait! The same thing happened to me when I was fighting Megatron, who was still in Bumblebee's head!" Hunter said in realisation. "He was holding a Dark Energon shard and if glowed when I tried using my flash ability!"
"Of course! Ratchet told me that Energon is able to help generate magic almost similar to the boiling isles because it's basically the blood of the Cybertronian creator! Dark Energon must have the opposite effect on magic!" Luz exclaimed.
"So it's able to make our magic useless?!" Willow asked rhetorically. "Great! Now we're going to have to find another way to stop that zombie Con!"
And I don't have my weapons Lunella said.
"Maybe we could lure it into a trap? Try crushing it with a giant boulder?" Gus suggested.
"With what?! Nothing here is solid, except us and the ground!" Vee reminded.
"We can't run forever! But, we can still find somewhere to hide!" Luz replied.
Meanwhile at the Autobot Base.
Team Prime was currently trying to locate the realm defenders.
"Ratchet, if the children were misdirected to an unintended location, is there any way to get a fix on their coordinates?" Optimus asked, slightly concerned.
"If they were lost, Gus would've sent me an illusion of himself as a message." Wheeljack replied.
"So how do we find them?" Cliffjumper questioned.
"Why don't we try calling them on their phones?" Bumblebee suggested.
"Call them? Good idea." Jazz said with a nod before he activated his com-link to access Vee's mobile phone.
But then, the Bots began to hear some music nearby and they saw that it was coming from the Ground Bridge. Jazz walked towards it and he found Vee's phone on the ground.
"Oh, Vee's gotta be upset about losing this." Jazz admitted, picking up the device.
"Too bad we can't call the others. Their scrolls work with magic, not technology." Bulkhead said.
"Let me try Luz." Arcee replied.
Back with the realm defenders.
they had managed to get away from Skyquake and were panting heavily in their break from running.
"The best thing about zombies is that they're slow moving." Gus said in relief.
Just then, the children began hearing a ringing vibration nearby.
"Wait, is that my…" Luz began to ask before the realisation hit her.
"Phone!" The realm defenders exclaimed.
Luz quickly took out her phone and saw that the caller was Arcee before answering it.
"Hello? Arcee?" Luz asked, desperate to get an answer.
Back at the autobot base.
"Luz? Can you hear me!?" Arcee questioned in concern as she only got static, causing her to sign. "Nothing."
"Guess we've gotta try something else, then." Cliffjumper said.
With the realm defenders.
"Hello? Arcee, say something!" Luz called out, but she only got static as well. "Nothing."
"Well how about that? The fourth dimension has bad internet." Amity said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"Guys, the phone rang. That means we're getting a signal." Luz told her friends.
"Maybe the Autobots can't see or hear us because we're moving at hyper speed or something." Chris theorised.
"If they can't see or hear us, maybe they can text us?" Hunter suggested.
"Of course! Texting!" Willow realised.
"Text Vee's phone. If it's still at the base, the Autobots will see it." Gus said.
Luz nodded and began typing a text message to Vee's phone. But then, Skyquake showed up again and he found the realm defenders. Amity heard the Terrorcon's noises from behind and she looked up to him in fear.
"Uh, Luz? Can you text and run?" Amity asked worriedly.
The realm defenders immediately saw Skyquake when she said this and the Terrorcon roared at them, causing the children to run straight under him before the undead Decepticon could grab them.
"This is really starting to look like a monster movie!" Luz stated.
Back At the base.
Ratchet was currently trying to figure out where the realm defenders was.
"We're dealing with fluctuating energy profiles inside a wide distortion field. But, it may be possible to back trace their coordinates." Ratchet explained as none of the Bots noticed Vee's phone was beginning to buzz, meaning that Luz's message got through.
Back at the shadow zone.
The realm defenders continued to run from Skyquake in the Shadowzone as Gus noticed something familiar about the area they were in.
"Okay, talk about Déjà vu!" Gus commented.
"What're you talking about, Gus?" Amity asked.
"None of this looks familiar to any of you?" Gus questioned.
"Not really!" Willow answered.
"We just ran one big circle!" Lunella stated.
But as they didn't look where they were going, the children ended up crashing into something made of metal and fell back. They all quickly recovered and saw that it was Starscream's missing arm in front of them.
"Well, that's a little but freaky." Vee muttered with a creeped-out expression.
"But didn't Starscream carry that thing with him into that other Ground Bridge with him?" Willow asked.
"It must've gotten trapped in here during the explosion, too." Hunter replied.
They then heard Skyquake roaring within the distance before turning back to Starscream's arm, realising that they now had something to fight back with.
"Well if it's solid, that means we can use it." Luz said with a smile.
"I like that idea." Amity agreed.
On the Nemesis.
Starscream was laying on a medical table with his arm still gone while Knock Out, Thundercracker and Skywarp were treating him.
"Uh, Starscream, I don't quite understand how this could have happened." Knock Out admitted.
"Neither do we." Skywarp added, gesturing to himself and Thundercracker.
"And yet, it did!" Starscream said in anger. "Can you imagine my horror?! There I am, minding my own buisness, when my arm just falls off! Clearly, Megatron inflicted more damage upon me than you realise, you three."
"I'm very sure he did, Scream." Thundercracker muttered, not really buying the air commander's story. "You looked worse than you thought when Megatron pounded you."
"Well on the bright side, this provides an excellent opportunity for an upgrade." Knock Out said before he swiped through some weapons designs on the console. "Let's see, you could go with the Sonic Cannon. It's reliable, low-maintenance, although it lacks a certain flare. Personally, I prefer the Null Ray. It has just the right mix of flash and firepower."
"Either that or you could go with the Electro Bolter, Gear Shredder, Riot Cannon or Subsonic Repeater." Thundercracker suggested. "Those are very useful."
"I don't want a new model! I just want the same arm I had before!" Starscream demanded.
"Don't get snappy with us. It's not like we can just wish you an exact copy of your arm." Skywarp retorted with his arms crossed.
"Skywarp is right, Starscream. Your equipment is a bit… obsolete." Knock Out added. "I'm not sure I have another one lying around. Of course, we could try to salvage yours."
"You kept it, didn't you?" Thundercracker questioned.
"It was… beyond recovery." Starscream answered, hiding the fact that he lost it while entering the Ground Bridge.
The shadow zone.
Speaking of his lost arm, the realm defenders was pushing it around with their combined might and managed to get the rocket pointing towards where Skyquake would arrive.
"So, how're we supposed to fire this thing?" Willow questioned. "I don't see a trigger anywhere."
"Starscream did something with his fingers." Vee said. "That's what I remember."
Just then, Skyquake showed up and the realm defenders got behind the arm's hand.
"We have one shot. Let's make it count." Luz told everyone.
Skyquake got more closer to the children as they waited for the right moment to open fire.
"And… now!" Hunter stated before they all pulled on the hand's fingers, causing the missile to fire itself straight at Skyquake and successfully hit him.
"Alright! That's a direct hit!" Amity remarked.
"Eat that, zombie Con!" Gus stated with a victorious smile.
Unfortunately, Skyquake appeared out of the smoke cloud and was unharmed, letting out a loud roar towards the realm defenders. Things only got more worse when Skyquake's arm detached itself from the Terrorcon's body and slightly began to twitch. The children got very horrified when the arm stood itself up and began crawling towards them on it's fingers.
"Come on! Come on!" Luz shouted fearfully as they went back to running.
"How can the zombie arm move faster than the actual zombie?!" Willow asked in disbelief.
"That's something I don't wanna know the answer to!" Gus replied as the arm jumped onto some rocks and climbed across the cliff.
In the base.
Jazz began hearing some beeping noises and he followed the source to Vee's mobile phone.
"Vee's phone. It wasn't blinking before." Jazz realised before he pressed on the phone, making it open up to reveal something on the screen. "It's a message."
"What does it say?" Bulkhead asked.
"In alternate dimension with Decepticon Zombie. Help." Jazz said, reading Luz's text message.
"That doesn't sound possible." Arcee replied.
"Ratchet, can we triangulate the geographical position of the cell phone's signal?" Optimus questioned.
"In a parallel dimensional plane?!" Ratchet asked in disbelief before putting a little bit of thought into it, liking the sound of this challenge. "Let's find out."
Meanwhile.
Starscream was still laying on the medical table with cables hooked into him again as Knock Out, Thundercracker and Skywarp had decided to give him some alone time due to his anger issues. But then, the air commander noticed a purple glow near him and he sat up to pull out his Dark Energon shard, which was getting very bright.
"My Dark Energon shard. Pulsing?" Starscream asked as he realised this meant one thing. "My warrior lives."
Just then, Knock Out showed up by himself and was holding an arm similar to Starscream's with a bunch of rockets on it.
"Ah, look what I found in storage. Thundercracker and Skywarp are busy helping me get the tools I need to attach it." Knock Out said before he noticed Starscream was once again leaving. "What are you doing?!"
"You were right, Knock Out. I'm much too attached to my original appendage. I will retrieve it." Starscream declared, taking his leave.
At the autobot base
At the same time, Ratchet was using all the smarts in his mechanical mind to figure how to get the realm defenders out of the Shadowzone.
"Now, calculating for relative time delays and ionospheric distortions, the signal emanated from the exact location as the original Ground Bridge coordinates." Ratchet explained.
"But we already looked for them there." Wheeljack reminded.
"Perhaps, but not in the correct dimensional phase, as their message stated." Ratchet replied. "But if I can recreate the feedback loop which triggered the event, I might be able to generate a rescue portal allowing passage from their dimension."
"Back to base?" Bulkhead asked.
"No. We're talking about interdimensional travel here, Bulkhead!" Ratchet stated. "Attempting to redirect the vortex's trajectory would be far too risky."
"Everyone knows that." Arcee added.
"If the coordinates aren't precisely the same, who knows where the children could wind up." Ratchet said.
The shadow zone.
The realm defenders was still running away from Skyquake and managed to get far away from him, but then they found themselves back with Starscream's arm.
"Oh, come on! This place is like a huge carnival wheel!" Gus said in complaint.
"I just hope the Autobots got our message." Amity admitted.
"Skyquake!" A voice called out as the realm defenders saw Starscream approaching, quickly hiding behind his arm. "Your master summons you!"
"How'd that freak get into our dimension?" Willow questioned.
"He didn't. He can't see us." Luz said, realising that Starscream wasn't in the Shadowzone.
"Forget Starscream! We need to keep running!" Vee stated as she directed everyone to Skyquake's arm, which was still crawling towards them.
"Yeah, some more." Hunter muttered.
The children began running away from the arm and headed straight for Starscream, but then a Ground Bridge appeared right between them as Starscream narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"A Ground Bridge portal?" Amity asked in surprise.
"That has to be our way out of here." Gus said. "The Bots got Luz's message."
"It's about time." Willow admitted.
"What? Mine or theirs?" Starscream asked himself.
"If we go in, we'll be running straight into Starscream." Vee told her friends in concern.
"But if we don't…" Hunter said.
"We're all zombie chow." Luz finished.
I'm with you guys to the end apollo said.
I'm good as long as I get home Lunella said.
Skyquake's arm kept crawling towards the realm defenders, who knew they needed to make a choice right now.
"Well, we can't keep running in circles." Willow said.
"Follow my lead." Luz instructed as they all prepared to run into the Ground Bridge.
Amity looked behind them and saw Skyquake's arm getting closer by the second, making her even more worried.
"Anytime now, Luz!" Amity stated.
"Now!" Luz told everyone before they leaped straight into the Ground Bridge.
Once they were on the other side, the Hexside Squad quickly stood up and ran away as Starscream noticed them.
"Hybrid? Witches?" Starscream questioned with a frown. "Where did you vermin…?"
Before he could finish his sentence, Skyquake's arm appeared from the Ground Bridge and latched itself onto his face. Starscream yelled in shock as he collapsed to the ground and managed to pull the arm off, keeping it from attacking him.
"This… isn't mine!" Starscream exclaimed while struggling. "Unhand me!"
The Hexside Squad managed to get far away from Starscream before a much larger Ground Bridge appeared in front of them, allowing Optimus, Arcee,Drift,blurr,Bulkhead and Wheeljack to walk out of it.
"Luz, Amity,Apollo,Chris,Lunella,Willow, Gus, Hunter,Vee." Optimus greeted.
"Thanks for getting out message, Optimus." Vee said, smiling in relief.
Starscream kept on holding Skyquake's hand away from him before noticing the Autobots.
"Autobots, again?!" He asked in complaint before throwing the arm away, only for it to come crawling back. "Requesting emergency Ground Bridge, now!"
Back at the base.
With everything now better, the realm defenders and Team Prime were back inside the base.
"Look, if you're gonna blame somebody, blame me." Gus said, taking full responsibility for his actions.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Amity asked with a jokingly smile. "A couple dozen times?"
"You did literally put us in a bigger life-threatening situation than usual." Willow added.
"Gus, what you've endured as been lesson enough. We are just glad you are all safe." Optimus said, smiling down at his human friends.
"Here's your phone, kiddo." Jazz said, giving Vee her phone back. "I made sure to take care of it."
"Thanks, Jazz." Vee replied kindly.
"Sorry you didn't get to learn more about Terrorcons, Gus." Wheeljack said to his human friend.
"It's okay. After what happened today, I've pretty much had enough of undead Cybertronians." Gus admitted.
And Gus let show you way skill of peoples way of combat with you apollo said.
No I'm good gus said scared slowly backing away.
No I insist Apollo said as he starts to chase him.
"Plus guys, we all know that Dark Energen is able to nullify magic, now." Luz said.
"That's going to be a bit of a problem for you three." Bumblebee admitted.
"It is. But I'm sure we'll find a way to manage." Hunter assured.
Ahhhaa i said im sorry gus said still running.
We should probably Apollo from killing "gus" Lunella said.
On the Nemesis.
Starscream was on the medical table for the third time this day. He received even more damage than before due to Skyquake's detached arm.
"Yeesh, just look at you." Skywarp said as he, Knock Out and Thundercracker were treating the air commander. "You're way more banged up than before."
"What happened? Did Megatron pound you like scrap metal, again?" Thundercracker asked jokingly.
"I would rather not discuss it." Starscream replied in annoyance.
"Honestly, Starscream, you need to take better care of yourself." Knock Out told him.
"Say, didn't you retrieve your limb?" Skywarp asked, raising his metallic eyebrow in curiosity.
In the Shadowzone.
Skyquake was still walking about and searching for something to feed on until he found Starscream's arm. He picked it up and tried to place it on his dismembered arm, but it didn't fit and he threw it away in annoyance. The Terrorcon then went back to waltzing around the Shadowzone for the rest of his undead life