While working with the Decepticons to manufacture a new type of weapon, Sidney steals the plans to sell across the world. But she learns no one can deceive Decepticons.

Sidney watched with interest alongside her colleagues, human and Transformer, as the bomb detonated. At their distance, protected by thick concrete and shielding, they watched in awe as the ripples of both sound waves up above and everything in front of them was obliterated with only dust and smoke visible where fake structures had been. It sent a pulse of energy that went over a land radius of 100 miles and reached nearly 50 miles high, confirmed by satellite, radar, and visuals from the Decepticons up high, that drained all life from anything it reached below an altitude of 20,000 ft.

It was so fast and brutal, everyone was in shock. The new weapon, dubbed the Nuclear Nightmare V-900-EN, was the first ever thermonuclear bomb built with cybernetic elements, one atom of each form of Energon from several worlds combined with hydrogen and many other Earth elements. No bomb up to now had such a horrific and devastating power as Nightmare.

"Test was a complete success. We now have the most powerful bomb in the world," her boss, Marceau, said. "And people thought we could never come close to creating the firepower of America."

"But that's thanks to us," a voice replied. Sidney and the other members of her team peered back to see Clobber, Strika, and Lugnut walking up to the balcony their controls sat on.

Strika's face mask shifted as she said, "Don't fool yourselves into thinking it was your idea now. As long as you heed Megatron's command, the weapon is yours. Blow yourselves up for all I care, just remember our deal. We give you the formula for the weapon, and you give us access to France's rich minerals in return."

Marceau nodded, "You have our word."

Sidney wanted to scoff. Maybe her boss promised, but she held no oath to the bloodsuckers. A weapon of that magnitude would be worth a fortune. To hell what any country did with it. She would laugh in the end.

Clobber smirked, "Good. We always treat those who comply the best. Ain't that right, Lugnut?"

Lugnut was silent but he peered around the control center at all the humans. He even looked at Sidney for a brief second before his multiple eyes pinpointed the others. It unnerved her how the nine optics, four on each side and one large one in the middle, seemed to move individually like spider eyes. The slit pink pupils on the red optics fluctuated in size depending on what each optic was focused on.

Despite his head pointing a different direction, one of his optics on the side abruptly snapped back to gaze at her, the pupil contracting when making eye contact. She held no fear as it remained locked on her. When she looked away, she did her best to type the data for the test log but in the corner of eye, Lugnut was keeping that one optic tracking her as if he could sense her emotions and thoughts. Sindey had to wonder if he knew. It took a minute for him to finally look away before addressing Strika.

"I think it would be in Lord Megatron's best interest if we report to him the bomb was a success," he said.

Strika replied, "Of course."

Marceau looked between the two bots and asked, "Do you think you could relay to Lord Megatron that I might have an idea for a weapon with the Energon provided but a much more 'grounded' arsenal, so to speak. I would love to hear his opinion on it."

The purple femme gave a gesture of appreciation, "Will do, buddy."

Lugnut and Strika were less than thrilled but didn't speak their minds while Clobber was openly excited, mostly because of the weapon process itself than teaming with humans as was expected of Decepticons.

As soon as negotiations had ceased, Clobber and Strika left but Lugnut paused mid-turn with a small grunt, lifting his head a bit as if to sense the air. After a few seconds, he dispersed down the hall before Sidney heard the signature sound of plane turbines. Two purple bombers flew past the window and a plum and gold tank shot out a blast from the side of her giant ion tank cannon that opened a personal portal back to the Nemesis. It was assumed Clobber and Lugnut wanted to take the long way back.

Marceau sighed in relief when the Decepticons were gone before addressing his people. "Alright, signal the President to give Megatron the all-clear that the deal is still strong. You would think the Cons would be a lot stricter. I guess Earth has finally rubbed off on them."

As he laughed to himself on the last sentence and the people under his command did what they were told with one bot immediately on call with the President, Sidney merely made a scrunching expression to mock her boss. He was a suck-up, didn't have the gall to stand up to the Decepticons and take what was rightfully his. If anything happened to jeopardize the deal, it would be on him regardless so maybe that's why.

Sidney did her job and did it well. As she recorded the blast's damage, she secretly put an external drive in and began downloading the schematics for the bomb. It was the perfect cover, and she knew where the security cameras could see. She was in the clear. No one suspected a thing. Once her boss called it for the day, Sidney went to work.

Taking the drive out casually, she hid it in her breast pocket and waved to her co-workers as she clocked out. The same boring routine was all she needed to keep any suspicions from rising. Once she clocked out and the secondary team of experts took her team's place to monitor remnants of the bomb and do some testing of their own, she waited in line for the ground bridge. Those from the same city were grouped together as they were bridged to a local port within the city where they could catch transportation.

"Exciting day, huh?"

Sidney flinched a little, peering up from her phone to see a co-worker, Genevieve, a few feet away. They both lived in Lyon. Genevieve, or Genny as she liked to call her, was a spunky girl and was responsible for the launch of the weapon. She was a key supervisor.

Sidney merely nodded, "Yes, it was good."

Genny watched the bridge coordinator change the destination to Paris where a good chunk of the team was from. "You know, I heard that this bomb was based off that big mech's, Lugnut's, nuclear punch. It's said to be powered by speed, meaning if he were to freefall towards Earth with the weapon active, the pressure of the wind upon falling would charge it. Once he hits the ground, depending on how much power he collected during the fall, it's said the punch would destroy everything and could get as big as Nightmare! Isn't that cool?"

Sidney almost rolled her eyes at the so-called "fact" and scoffed, "And how many people lived to tell the tale?"

"Plenty, anyone who wasn't in range of the blast at least. When Marceau and his supervisors were talking with Megatron and Soundwave, Megatron told them about some of the Cons' weapons systems, especially Lugnut's. I would love to see it in action one day."

"Assuming you aren't on the end of it."

Genny sneered as Sidney resumed looking at her phone. "You have no faith. If we keep our deal, Megatron's not going to backstab us because, if anything, he doesn't give a shit about what we do anymore. It's not like fifteen years ago when he was set to destroy humanity and he was hyper focused on stopping anyone that had a similar or different agenda than he did. He grew out of that. We can shape military history, and you're acting like it's just another day."

Sidney faked a smile. "I just have a lot of things to do in a day, can't stand around waiting every second for anything to work. Besides, why do you care?"

Her co-worker shrugged, "I just like inspiring other people. I always try to see the light at the end of the tunnel, you know? I can't change your mind, but I hope you remember something: sometimes life is just a leap of faith, but you have to run first."

"Inspiring, but I have work to do and so do you. You can thank Lugnut next time you see him. Me? I'm going home and getting some sleep."

Genny was forcing a smile, but Sidney could tell she was a bit disappointed with her attitude. She ignored it as Lyon's destination popped up on the bridge feed. She had other matters to attend to as soon as she got home.

They split upon exiting the ground bridge to a central train station where other individual ground bridge structures could be seen in different areas for those who either paid for the portals or by big companies and government jobs like hers that had their own through financing. Trains and aircraft were still available to those who preferred the older method or found it cheaper. She needed the train for only a few stops to her apartment.

There was still Genny's voice in her head though as she sat on the train. Her mentioning the Decepticon weapon systems hatched a future idea of perhaps finding out if each Con's unique weapons could be copied. She held the USB drive containing the classified bomb schematics with a smirk upon realizing she might have just found her golden goose in the Decepticons' deal after all.

Sidney paused when she casually put the drive back in her pocket and looked around. From people just getting off work to people going to work, the train held normality against what she was used to. A little girl riding by herself had a sparkling Toy Minicon of bright blue and yellow alert beside her, unaware a passenger had a weapon of mass destruction in the palm of her hands. A Predacon couple lay in the wide, secure middle space with their heads resting on one another peacefully from a presumably long ride. A man and his Nitrotiger were reading the daily newspaper, unbothered and carefree of the strife Sidney could cause if she opened her mouth. It was all peaceful...for now.

When she hit her stop, she walked a few blocks before reaching a complex and using the elevator to get to her apartment. As quickly as she could upon entering, she reached her desk and worked on uploading the schematics right as she sat down at her multi-computer setup. She uploaded the bomb's layout and watched amused as her computer tried to make sense of the data in such a short time frame while making herself some coffee.

It wasn't the first time she had sold plans for France's weapons or military aircraft. Canada once paid her over 50 billion for a high-tech plane, the Jadewing SF-650 designed for both sky and space but only was supposed to be used for military purposes, not for the public. Canada wanted it badly, so she delivered. She sold missiles, a noise blaster capable of rupturing enemy hearing not just through their communications, and she had a null ray prototype her boss had obtained. She didn't know where they got it, but it was hers to exploit now.

The structure of the bomb was fitted with odd holes where the various Energon crystals were placed. Normally, bombs were made as a solid mass, especially containing its radioactive particles. Why would it risk an easy leak and have the crystals almost out in the open? Then she recalled what Genny said. Lugnut's weapon grew stronger the more velocity it gained through air as he fell. If a bomb was dropped by any typical qualified flyer, it would have enough time to fall and gather energy from the battering air speed to make the Energon unstable along with the isotopes. Once pressure grew too much, the bomb would detonate and the crystals would enhance the power when ruptured by the singular explosion, creating a super weapon that could destroy anything and everything.

She smiled inward at the irony of the Decepticons basically giving their ultimate weapon to her thinking she couldn't be what they were: backstabbing liars. She knew what Megatron and his entire team was about. Half of the strife the world faced was because of them; they even betrayed their own home like the sellouts they were. All she was doing was turning the tables on them. It was nothing personal, just business and she had a weapon to sell.

Sidney had been in contact with Russia, Iraq, the United States, and even Egypt. They were the top contenders who sparked interest in the weapon. She went by an anonymous name under untraceable government-grade scrambled addresses and accounts no one knew of. They were perks of the access she had as a trusted member of communications and being an advisor of the classified military weapons program. She felt a bit bad for betraying Marceau's trust in her as a pioneer of France's uprising as a lead military force, but she wanted more. These potential buyers had her best interests at heart.

As the data was halfway done loading to a secure document trying to map all its coding, she continued to drink her coffee proudly.

Onboard the Nemesis, which lay on the mountain of Decepticon Island, various screens depicting the Cybertronian language displayed the bomb's internal workings and the formula. Soundwave added notes to the weapon's structure until something popped up as Lugnut and Strika were arguing.

"I don't trust them with our technology. They will only bring death to themselves," Lugnut said.

Strika raised a brow, "And here I thought you didn't care about humans at all aside from your friend."

"Missy has proven herself loyal and true. I couldn't ask for a better partner. The fact is these so-called scientists are so determined to be the best that they are willing to sacrifice their own lives to do it."

"Not unlike we did all those years ago. Humanity comes with many surprises, including how similar they are to us."

Lugnut couldn't help but smile at that, his nine optics peering low to contemplate how right she was. A beeping noise, however, distracted both and they turned to Soundwave who pointed at the screen. Lugnut's thick neck cables hissed as he lifted his head to read the whole section of data that suddenly appeared.

"Someone has made...a copy of the weapon's schematics?"

Soundwave nodded and Strika fumed, "A traitor? So quick to go back on their word, so typical. I guess the deal is off-"

The spymaster was quick to hold up a servo and shook his head, "Only one perpetrator, the rest are innocent."

"How do you know?"

Lugnut paused before answering for Soundwave as he growled, "I think I know who it is."

Soundwave replied, turning towards the screen away from them, "Stop them however you see fit."

The bomber glared at the information being translated on the screens with the bomb schematics, his design. In a sudden bout of rage, the panels of his neck spine rose revealing thick barbs among the armor as he roared like a beast, jaws extending to their maximum width with hidden fangs buried in the safety of the interior when his pink pupils contracted to slits.

Sidney planned on selling the information after work the following day. Uploading all the data almost crashed her hard drive as it had trouble with some of the coding towards the end. No matter because pay day was only seventeen hours away.

Marceau did his normal routine, touching up on the basics of their tasks for the day. The bomb was in production with five on the way. However, something was off about him. He seemed to refuse to acknowledge the success of yesterday like it was a sour taste in his mouth, that was until a woman with a jean jacket supporting the Decepticon symbol on her shoulder and backside, heavily torn pants with fishnets under them, and armor covering her arms down, legs and boots, and on her torso beneath the jacket walked up from behind.

She looked like a punk off the streets, yet the armor was a dead giveaway. They were among a Decepticon soldier but said soldiers were usually fully armored. The only other type it could be was a fabled Deceiver, a human leader usually paired up with one of Megatron's Twelve Commanders. They were only heard by the nicknames assigned to them. It took Sidney a second to recognize this was RPG, Megatron's human weapons expert and the companion of Lugnut.

RPG was silent in the matter as Marceau finally began talking about the bomb but there was a dark expression on her face. She was scoping the room for something or someone. Sidney was hidden in the crowd but if there were suspicions of a breach, one she was responsible for, then everyone, including her boss, was on high alert. But how could they know?

Once Marceau was done, everyone went back to their jobs. Sidney pretended she was the same as everyone else but deep down something was wrong, and she knew it. Why was a Deceiver here? Why was Lugnut's partner here?

She ignored it by acting as she usually did until Genny sat beside her. "Megatron sent his goon to watch over us, muttered something about sensitive information."

Sidney grew startled for a second but immediately calmed down and engaged her to keep Genny from getting suspicious. "Maybe that's why Marceau was acting weird. But who would do such a thing?"

"Someone who doesn't care for loyalty to the company and who makes bad decisions. I mean, how stupid do you have to be to steal classified information from the Decepticons?"

That made Sidney freeze. She felt a bit pissed at the comment but at the same time, there was a slight mix of fear. She had never been afraid before because the only danger was human interference, something she was accustomed to daily. Decepticons getting involved in her business made for a much deadlier fate if caught. Unlike humans who would imprison her, Decepticons would kill her and possibly her family whom she had donated some of her money too. They may have been current allies, but they were far from nice.

With her life now at risk, she realized the cocky pride of her achievement was nothing more than false reassurance. Now that she was a target, she no longer felt the same pleasure money could make for her, but the damage was done.

Then she noticed RPG whispering something to Marceau who looked outraged then saddened, almost like his heart had been pulled out. The only thing she could make out through his lips were "as you wish." What did that mean? What did that entail? Her paranoia was growing, and Genny caught it.

"Are you okay?"

Sidney's façade was slipping. She had never been caught before and now she had no clue what to do. "I have to go to the bathroom. Too much coffee."

Genny watched her and frowned, the same look she then noticed RPG had as well as her boss. She felt eyes on her and instinctively, she needed to get away.

Straying down the empty halls towards the bathroom, she began to feel a shiver work its way down her spine. The halls seemed ghostly, yet something was among them out of place. She paused in front of an intersection that seemed void of people. Four ways to go but nowhere to run. Three of the halls had dim lights, but the one on her right seemed darker. She ignored it to rub her temples in frustration until red light seemed to emit around her.

The darkened hall wasn't just dark. Four optics slowly opened with the signature red glow and pupils all crossed to peer down at her with a snarl. Sidney slowly turned to see them before they moved. Dragging his head on the floor to turn it and face her directly, now all nine optics of Lugnut's stared enraged. She couldn't even back away when he let out a loud animalistic bellow right in her face. Scared, Sidney ran.

She barely moved out of the way as he pushed himself up and slammed his servo down where she had been standing prior, creaking cracks on the floor. Clambering on all fours to peer around the corner quickly, he watched her flee down the hall as he rumbled, his throat cables vibrating from the deep noise. Standing up, he stomped after her.

Sidney stumbled with the shaking footsteps as she turned a corner into the cafeteria which was opened by visual personnel clearance only. The few people within looked at her confused as she ran through the tables until a raging Lugnut smashed through the concrete wall, briefly falling onto all fours again before bellowing in pursuit.

"You traitor! Run like a coward! You won't get far!" He yelled out as Sidney exited the cafeteria into the lobby. "Think you can steal from me?!"

People fled as Lugnut giant pedes threatened to crush them if they didn't get out of his way. He didn't care for their lives as he was only determined to hunt Sidney.

The lobby had no exit as the only way out of the facility was through a ground bridge or a secure access that she had no clearance to. The Nemesis had its own specialty codes for the access all Decepticons carried. Knowing she couldn't escape, she hid behind a pillar to the second story extension of the lobby as Lugnut came crashing through the cafeteria again. Pieces of debris were flung everywhere as he scoured the crowd of running humans for his prey.

"You dare betray Lord Megatron's will?! I shall make you suffer, fleshling!"

He growled and put his helm close to the ground. The sound of air being pushed and a faint cloud of dust rising past her made her shiver. She could hear his vents on the side of his neck trying to sense her. He gave a grunt of curiosity and slowly, the red haze of his optics reflecting off the floor indicated how close he was. It glowed brighter and she carefully walked around the pillar to stay out of sight when the right side of his face appeared right as she ducked out of the red glare. The four visible optics scanned the spot she had been at, and he hissed in irritation.

"Lugnut!"

Sidney barely peered around to see RPG walking up to the titan Decepticon as the latter backed off from his pursuit. He turned to face her and shook with unfathomable rage.

"She's still here. I will find her, crush her for her impudence!"

RPG laughed, "It's not like she can go anywhere. The ground bridge is offline and there's nothing but desert for miles. You will get your chance, buddy."

Lugnut punched the floor leaving cracks in it as he angrily shouted. "It is MY plans she stole. It is MY technology! And defying Lord Megatron is just as bad! I gave them the power of the greatest weapon ever seen on Cybertron and they defile it? I think not! I will kill her if I must tear down this entire facility piece by piece!"

Suddenly, Lugnut paused and began sniffing the air through the vents on his neck again, sensing the odor of coffee that was most prominent where a coffee machine was not. His optics contracted with a snarl as his spine jutted out and the barbs hidden among it rattled. He looked at the pillar with a scowl.

"Eavesdropping, are we? As if you could sink any lower, girl."

Sidney eyes went wide, and she immediately sprinted right as he hit the pillar. The whole thing came down with part of the second floor damaged with debris falling off its underside. Lugnut roared at her as RPG brought out a gun, but Sidney saw how quickly Lugnut deflected his rage at the movement.

"Don't shoot her! She's mine to kill!"

She needed to get the ground bridge up and running. It was her only chance. She went into a smaller hall towards the ground bridge maintenance. Knowing Lugnut couldn't follow this way, she heard him smash his fist through the concrete doorframe, sending the remnants of the door flying past and nearly decapitating her. She gave a fearful cry when it bounced off the wall before skidding to a halt on the floor.

The pipes for the energy required to use the ground bridge appeared from the ceiling at a certain point and led down the hall where a large metal door sat secure. She quickly used her pass to get in and ran to the console. While she tinkered with the various buttons and levers used to maintain and control the ground bridge, she heard Lugnut forcing his way through the condensed hall with a snarl.

"Come on, come on, come on!"

When she finally got the system to respond, she pulled the large lever down and watched as the pumps providing the energy came to life. The black screens turned on to show the bridge was now operational but before she could bask in her success, Lugnut tore at the door.

Sidney let out a scream as his servo tried to squash her before ripping his arm back with pieces of the floor as she fled to the only other exit to the room, a vent she was barely able to squeeze through. Going upward proved the most difficult but possible. Lugnut sneered and roared before crawling to try and cut her off in her escape.

The vent proved tiring and hot, reducing her to tears as she heard Lugnut somewhere within her range but unsure of where exactly she was. One wrong move and he could simply blow up the vent itself but there were multiple vents, so she hoped her movements weren't detectable.

She abruptly hit her head when the vent was jostled hard but only continued as fast as she could go as she heard him yell, "I'll tear you apart! Rip you in half like the spineless traitor you are!"

Despite the vents being pounded on, she managed to reach the lobby again and kicked out the grate below her only to fall several feet. She hit the floor and winced, whimpering as she held her back. But knowing time was short, she hobbled towards the active ground bridge near the lobby's right wall. Normally, a technician operated it for coming and going employees. It was forbidden for others to access unless it was an emergency...well, it was as much of an emergency as it could be.

She didn't bother putting in the coordinates as Lugnut busted through the second floor through the Transformers' entrance and stomped over just in time to see her. He jumped as she ran in, his landing causing the building to shake and threw her off balance on her way through.

The ground bridge spat her out and she hit the ground hard with a sob, clutching the dirt before forcing herself up. It closed and Lugnut had not followed her. At first, she was relieved but then she peered around and saw a desolate landscape void of all life. Shadows engrained in the dirt made no sense when there was nothing to cast them until she made out the tip of a house, a few trees, and other small objects. Then it dawned on her: the shadows were real, but they were remnants of the blast of the Nightmare bomb that seared their form into the ground like permanent tattoos. She was in the middle of the detonation site!

The sound of a plane roaring in the distance made her turn to see the airstreams barely visible coming from the far away facility she worked at. In the middle of a desert, the only place to run was anywhere but the direction of the Decepticon. As she ran, she tried to contact Marceau but found her cellphone's signal was jammed, not out of service. Suddenly, a message popped up from an unknown number.

YOU'RE FIRED!

The phone abruptly rang right as she saw it, making her nearly drop it in surprise as she peered back to watch the now visible outline of a bomber heading towards her miles above. She held it to her ear but said nothing and knew she didn't need to.

"And terminated," Lugnut hissed. "Tell me, Sidney, when the bomb over Hiroshima went off, what do you think those citizens thought in their final moments? Fear? Pain? Defeat? Or maybe nothing at all...but wait, half of that has already been expressed by you. Funny, you were oh so cocky when you sold the missiles that you didn't know were on loan from Starscream to reverse engineer, or what about that sound blaster you were excited to sell the plans of that Soundwave had graciously given as a first impression to your superiors? You think we haven't been in contact with your military from the start? You think the bomb was our only enlistment for our deal? You're a bigger fool than anyone, and you fell for it."

She slowed down until she stopped in her tracks wide-eyed, unable to respond. Her mind screamed at her to do something, but what could she do? He was already on his way hunting her down like a common animal and to Decepticons, humans always were just that. Like a stupid animal, she did what she thought she could get away with and they baited her to keep trying until she slipped. How many other transactions had they witnessed before allowing such a powerful weapon to be copied by a mere human? Her silence only made Lugnut laugh.

"Oh, and don't bother calling your trading partners about hiding their involvement. Soundwave has already dispatched them as we speak. We, of course, weren't a hundred percent certain it was you, but the bomb gave you away like a cyber-rat lured to a trap by Energon scraps. You play with fire, you get burned, Sidney, and the flames are only getting hotter."

She looked at Lugnut approaching but then noticed he started going upward instead of down towards her. Higher he climbed through the clouds up to the stratosphere. She could glimpse the power of his thrusters igniting blue to push himself at a faster pace.

Then he said in a cruel tone, "You've watched the beauty of destruction behind a closed cage but allow me to show you a new perspective of things. You want to know how the bomb works truly? I can show you, up close and personal."

Up high, Lugnut transformed once he hit a point in the stratosphere and did a small twist as air streams emitted from his wrists. In a skydiver's pose, he fell towards the ground. Sidney saw him and he knew she did. Suddenly, he shifted his left arm back to reveal a red detonator and energy pulsing along the sides. Vent covers opened and caught the air on the way down, sucking up the air and with each thousand feet, his weapon beeped. As more air was consumed, the visual energy strip on the side of the arm indicating the power level rose starting at blue before a light of green stacked on top of it.

He held his weaponized back with his normal arm outreached parallel to it in a battle-ready pose. He fell past the same cluster of clouds as his weapon gave another beep as the power increased. He sneered with all nine of his optics narrowed.

Sidney slowly came to the realization of his plan. Then she remembered what Genny said. I heard that this bomb was based off that big mech's, Lugnut's, nuclear punch. Nuclear punch...it was Lugnut's weapon of choice. To reverse engineer such a powerful instrument of destruction was unheard of, but it was like playing God for one second. What happened when God decided to take revenge? She had a feeling she was going to find out.

She watched with a mere gasp as he sped towards her from above, her cellphone dropping to the ground. She was a part of the test now; nowhere to run, not that it would matter. He was close enough that she could see the lights of the power level reach critical red.

Her ego deflated, she stared at the oncoming Decepticon. The light of the detonator was the most prominent color of crimson she had ever seen. At first, she felt sorrow that her life was now for naught. All her accomplishments were meaningless; her life was meaningless. Then her mood shifted to understanding. It was her own damn fault. She knew that, and there was no more arguing with herself that nothing that happened in the past hour wasn't deserved.

It was almost slow motion how the blaring red button of Lugnut's weapon was found to be mere feet from her face. It was funny though; Genny was right all along. Nightmare was just a knockoff of real power. The ultimate weapon was now unleashed for her to see at last.

Lugnut punched the ground, and everything went white. The desert floor nearly glowed as cracks and ripples of energy caused parts of it to burst upward, exploding with the power of 100 megatons of pure energy. The sound of its power sliced through the air in seconds. Every cloud in the sky vaporized as the faint distant mountains outlined at the corner of the desert rumbled. The quake alone caused the air pockets undisturbed for millions of years trapped in the ground to rupture, leaving chaos in their wake.

When the light died, a giant plume of smoke with blue flames was visible far past the desert's expansion. The scientists and staff in the bomb facility were forced to duck for cover as the explosion shook the very foundation of the compound. Electricity surged, some parts shattered, and consoles flickered in and out several times in seconds. The damaged second floor balcony came crashing down as RPG snuck into a crevice free from falling debris. When the quake finally died, everyone was terrified.

Marceau, Genny, and the others stared in absolute shock as the bright blue light shined down on the desert that now looked unrecognizable. The windows were shatter-proof, given by Caminus technology to be able to withstand anything, but the cracks on the exterior glass were alarming, especially to a few native Caminiens working under Marceau.

Lugnut appeared among the smoke departing and the crater in which he stood in panting heavily. His armor was darker with burn marks, but he proved immune to his weapon given it was a part of him. He stared at the ground still with his arm embedded down in it where Sidney had once been. Steam rose from him with a hiss in the silence.

Slowly, he pulled his arm out of the ground and transformed it back to his regular servo as it gave off a noise of energy depletion. He used so much of his power that his body felt drained, but he stood with a mere grimace.

"Your bomb, my power. I hope it exceeded your expectations, Sidney," he said in thin air before grinning at the hole in the ground.

He suddenly let out a roar that turned into a barking mad laugh. It was heard even at the facility where no one knew what to say.

At home in Lyon, Sidney's computer displayed the schematics for many projects before the final one appeared of Nightmare itself. The screen glitched as the bomb's ulterior design bragged its complicated formula and structure until the system unit was crushed by a pulsing dark purple appendage. The system went dead, and Soundwave's reflection was seen on the blackened screen staring as the data disappeared permanently. Like the rest of her stuff in her apartment, it was just another pile of junk out of service.

AN: Now, a bomb of that magnitude would be monstrous and arguable end a section of life on Earth. The Tsar bomb from Russia was what this was based off but with creative liberties because, well, an alien species like Cybertronians would probably have access to a different form of such bombs if not more powerful. Obviously, I had to crank up the numbers quite a bit and explain with Energon used in the mix. Real bombs are different...don't try these at home, kids, or you might end up like Sidney...