CHAPTER 3: DARKNESS RISING III
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
"You had your own team on your planet?"
"I wouldn't say having one, let alone even calling it one." While Carly and I traveled to base, a few questions began to pop up about our pasts, which eventually led to me discussing some of my personal life on Cybertron.
When I first left the Decepticons, I had eventually ended up in Iacon, one of the last cities on Cybertron that had barely been vandalised by war. The Autobots both stationed there and in the squadrons outside of it protecting it literally gave their lives to ensure it would remain untouched for as long as possible.
One of the groups of Cybertronians stationed inside the city were guards that were stationed at the Hall of Records. One of those guards eventually included me. Now, we weren't really a team as such to begin with, as we came from multiple stations both inside and outside Iacon. While it did take a long time, we eventually bonded into our own little group somewhat. It hurt when we lost a member of a team, and we celebrated little victories together.
...Primus, those times were simpler.
"So, just a bunch of people coming together, and acting like one?"
"Probably the best way to call it," I agreed.
"But they're not the same people that are here?"
If I was in my Cybertronian form, I would've shaken my helm, "No." The only one I had known well enough when I first joined this team was Ratchet, and that was because I happened to get a few injuries during those days of protecting the Hall. Coincidentally, he was at the Iacon hospital for a period of time. "I don't even know what happened to the rest of them."
When evacuations began, I was on one of the first solo pods to go. I didn't even get to see the end of the War for Cybertron. I could only imagine what my home looked like now, and it probably wouldn't even come close to what it looked like in reality.
"Do you think you'll ever get to see them again?"
A question I don't think I could ever have the answer to. I had spent countless nights during the first stellar cycle, a Cybertronian year in human terms, that I was here wondering about the what-ifs. Many stellar cycles later, only two new Autobots arrived in that time, and they weren't ones I knew.
Only Primus knew the answers to my endless questions. It was up to him to decide whether I would ever receive them.
There was a sudden tooting sound from down the road behind us. I flicked my mirrors behind me, finding Arcee with her new human friend racing up alongside us. Their arrival couldn't have come at a better time; they kinda saved me from trying to come up with a decent answer to Carly's question.
"Look who's up early," Jack began to joke through his helmet.
"I would've happily slept in-"
"You were already awake!" I began to protest teasingly.
"Por el amor de... let me finish!" Carly laughed back at me, looking up at Jack, "I would've happily slept in if I was able to. I barely slept last night, thinking about all this." She waved her arms lightly as if she was referring to Arcee and me. "This is a pretty big development that we're going through, Jack, you know my family well enough to know that we don't lie to each other."
...Huh, I guess her talking about never lying to her family yesterday was indeed correct. She had been raised to do so. I wonder if all humans were all raised with morals like that?
I twitched my mirror towards Jack, his eyes the only thing I could see from the visor of his helmet. For some reason, they shone this weird light of surprise, like he was surprised Carly was being so... honest with him. I watched him blink a couple of times, "At least Raf knows, right?"
Carly heaved out a sigh, "It's not the same... oh! And then when I got home, I had to lie to Mamá after school. I felt horrible, but what else could I say?"
"She probably wouldn't believe you anyway," Jack pointed out.
My human friend's hands loosened their grip on my handlebars, "True."
"Do humans always talk this much?" Arcee's mirrors twitched towards me.
I couldn't help but laugh a little at the suddenness of her words, which caused Carly and Jack to laugh slightly too. Maybe she was in a better mood today...
I could see the small smile from my human's eyes through the visor, "I'm sorry for rambling. Keeping secrets is a big deal for me. I've never kept one from my family!"
"You know this secret is one you have to keep, right?" I reminded her. No one could know that we existed - both Optimus AND Agent Fowler had made it clear too many times. Even Agent Fowler's family - presuming he had one - didn't even know.
Carly hung her head low, "Mamá and I are really close. She knows me well enough to know when I'm hiding something. She's going to be asking me a lot of questions I can't answer!"
The look in her eyes said it all - this was a big deal for her. She feared damaging her relationship with her mother because she was going to start lying to her suddenly. I mean, I could see the point of view on Carly's side, but this wasn't Carly's decision to make. Optimus laid out the rules - well, Arcee did when she practically forced Jack to come with us - and we had to follow them.
One slip up, and there would be those serious consequences like I had remembered last night.
"You'll be able to answer them because Jack will help you keep our secret," Arcee decided.
"I am?!" Was Jack's panicked response, "Since when?!"
"Since now." There was no way Arcee was going to change her mind about that - once her processor was set on something, there was no way to change it.
Still, I would've rolled my optics if I was in my Cybertronian form - how could she make certain of that?
"You're going to ensure that? How?" Is that a challenge, Jack?
"You really want to know that answer?" I certainly didn't, Arcee.
"Sounds like you guys are gonna be good friends," Carly teased.
I chuckled a little bit at her teasing, but the other two didn't respond, which only built up my amusement further.
"You're not helping me at all."
"Lighten up, Arcee," I couldn't help throwing back to her through the private comm., "It's a new situation for all of us. We need to adjust accordingly, not in a rushed manner."
"I hate when you're the voice of reason. You're just as bad as Optimus."
To stand alongside Optimus Prime as the Autobots rose to victory in this war was something that I had always dreamed about. I wanted to be a part of that group that would finally defeat Megatron and have him and his endless amount of 'Cons swear defeat to us. I wanted to be there at that moment as proof.
...In saying that, there was something about being compared to Optimus, the Optimus Prime, that didn't sit right with me. It was rare that someone compared me to him, but when they did, it would always throw me off. How could I, a lowly soldier serving the Autobot cause, could ever be like the last Prime?
"I'm not like Optimus, and I'll prove it to you," I decided. I wasn't sure how until I spotted a stop sign a few nano-kliks ahead. "You keen on a little race?"
"You're right, you're not like him at all. You're supposed to be his second but you're condoning a race?"
"We're both his seconds, Arcee. Besides, it'd only be between us," I tried to reason with a slight teasing edge in my voice.
"...Where to?"
I knew she wouldn't pass up an opportunity for a little bit of friendly fire. I looked down the road and spotted the next sign after the stop one, "Just to the next mile marker." I twitched my mirrors up at the two teenagers still conversing quietly, "It would be nice to have some fun without getting attacked..."
"Whenever you're ready." My Cybertronian form would've had a smirk on the face of it.
We slowed to a stop when we reached the stop sign, much to the confusion of Jack and Carly when I saw their facial expressions while I checked for any signs of life besides us.
"What are you guys doing?" Jack asked with uncertainty.
"You two better tighten your grip." I went back to the private comm, "Three."
"Two."
"One, go!" At my command, Arcee and I both took off immediately towards the next mile marker up the road.
Carly and Jack began yelling in surprise at our sudden actions, but as long as they weren't yelling over something else, it didn't bother me. Arcee and I remained tightly locked at each other's side, with nothing to help either one of us get an edge in this quick race.
We sped past the mile marker at the same time. A tie.
"Hey? What's with you guys?" There was a grin inside of Jack's helmet - I could hear it in his voice. He certainly enjoyed our spontaneous race.
"What's wrong with a little bit of friendly fire?" I smirked my answer as Arcee and I slowed our speed down to cool off.
"'Swept thought you two might actually enjoy the ride without getting shot at," Arcee added in a similar tone, lifting her front tyre up into a wheelie.
"What a ride!" Carly was shaking with excitement in her seat, gripping the handlebars tightly. Her helmet-covered head turned to Jack, "You know... we did cross the finish line at the same time..."
If she was suggesting another race to decide our tie, then she's definitely got my approval!
"If you're suggesting that we race again, I wouldn't. You have no idea who you're messing with."
"Is that a challenge, Arcee?" I asked my friend.
"Do you want it to be?" Jack asked coyly with amusement in his eyes.
"Oh-oh, then! Let's go!"
"Bring it!"
NORMAL P.O.V
An army-green off-road vehicle sat at the edge of a cliff. Inside of it sat a Japanese exchange named Miko Nakadai, whose facial expressions showed that she was eager for some entertainment. With the way the vehicle was waiting at the edge of the downhill terrain, it was not hard to figure out what that entertainment was going to be.
"Ready...set...-"
"Miko, I'm supposed to be protecting you."
"Bulkhead, I'm strapped tight inside ten pounds of muscle," The teenager assured, patting the inside of the door and leaning back into the seat comfortably, "I'm protected."
At first, Bulkhead remained uncertain. It hadn't been his idea to barrel down a cliff, but it had been a thrilling thought. However, he wanted to make sure that his newly acquired charge was safe. Hearing her reassure him that she was safe was enough.
He started his engines and began racing down the rocky hill, relishing in the excited yells and cheers of his newfound friend.
In the desert further away from the rural town of Jasper sat a yellow, blacked-striped vehicle named Bumblebee. Inside of his form was Rafael Esquivel, his new human friend and charge. They were playing a video racing game with the use of a monitor from inside the Cybertronians vehicle form, the screen showing two Formula One race cars, one red and yellow, racing side by side.
Using his controller, the young boy pressed multiple buttons in an attempt to beat his new guardian, who was using his own steering wheel to race with.
The race was tight and fierce; it looked like either one of the two could win the race. Suddenly, the red open-wheeler car slightly moved over on the race track, gently tapping the yellow one. This sent the latter car spinning out as a result of the contact, spelling the end of the road for one of the drivers as the words 'GAME OVER' flashed in white over the monitor.
While Raf groaned in disappointment, revealing he had been the one driving the yellow car, Bumblebee spun his steering wheel around in happiness, "I won! I won!"
"No fair, Bumblebee!" Raf pouted with a laugh, "You've been driving a lot longer than I have!"
As the sun rose upon the new day to what many hoped to be more hopeful, inside the Autobot base had a similar feeling. The Autobot medic Ratchet wandered around his study with his purple substance slid in his hand, with a happier expression, "Thank goodness for peace and quiet. House guests can be such a bother."
A sudden metallic noise interrupted him, causing him to look immediately at the sound. He looked around the room he was currently in, down the corridor leading to another area of the base and down the Groundbridge tunnel. Thinking he may have imagined the noise, he hesitantly shifted his eyes back to his work.
The sound of a scattering metal object made him look up again.
Maybe he wasn't imagining it after all.
He stepped away from his work, looking at the Groundbridge tunnel again.
"Optimus?" There was only one other being in the base that Ratchet thought could make metallic noises, but when he got no response, he knew that it wasn't his leader.
The noise started to come closer. Spinning around, the medic found a diagnostic tool, the same one Bulkhead had broken the previous day, moving around at a rapid pace towards him.
"By the All Spark!" The tool leapt up towards him…
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
Carly and I raced and raced and raced Jack and Arcee until all four of us were out of energy. We settled on three races apiece, but essentially, a tie. There was definitely going to be another few rounds between us, that was certain. We didn't know when, but I knew I was definitely looking forward to another challenge.
We parted ways with the others so they could properly bond just like what Carly and I needed to do. The racing and challenges were fun, but it didn't really give us any time to get to know each other better. There's so much of this world that I wanted to know about, and I had lived on this planet for nearly ten stellar cycles. Not just that, I wanted to know more about the beings who call this planet home too.
I drove through the entry tunnel of the base - after we left Arcee and Jack, we didn't know where else we wanted to go, so we ended up deciding on returning to the base.
There was a lot of sudden noise as we drove through. It continued to get louder and louder the closer we got to the main hub of our base.
"What's going on?" Carly asked curiously - she must've also heard what I was hearing.
"No idea." I pressed down on the brakes gently, practically crawling towards the main room. I had to be prepared for in case I needed to get Carly away from here.
I braked hard when we reached the main room. Ratchet had a metal pipe in his servo and was using it to fight... that tool Bulkhead had broken yesterday?
The fr-
"I NEEDED THAT!" The tool that had suddenly come to life broke another piece of machinery... that Ratchet needed...
Carly hopped off my motorcycle form, slowly undoing the straps to her helmet, "What is that?"
I transformed into my Cybertonian form, stepping in front of Carly, "Stay behind me." I needed to keep her safe.
Ratchet suddenly lost his weapon when the tool began charging at him to make another attempt on his life. I activated my blaster weapons and began firing wildly towards the tool - I chose my blasters for two reasons; one being that they were my go-to weapons for any attack, and the second reason being that I was panicking and I didn't know how else to approach this.
My fear and panic over the situation clouded my aim, and instead of destroying the little piece of scrap, it only grabbed its attention over to me and Carly.
That little menace took on Ratchet and probably gave him a not-so-fair fight - I was not about to fight a similar battle. I needed to protect Carly too - I couldn't imagine what it could do to something smaller than it... And I would never forgive myself for her getting hurt. So I deactivated my blasters, bent down and shielded myself ourselves, preparing for the incoming attack.
A blaster shot suddenly fired before something hitting the ground hard made a noise twice as loud. I looked up to where the creature was, electricity crackling around it. It sat still for a moment like that sudden blaster shot had done some damage.
Suddenly, it came alive again, jumping onto all its little legs.
I felt a pull at my armour on the back of my lower leg, which made me look down at Carly, who had removed her helmet and was looking at the creature with fear. I looked back at it and...
I wanted to be sick.
The creature had locked onto a new target that wasn't Cybertronian. It prepared itself for an attack...
Someone's pede suddenly stomped its way into our view, crushing the tool for good...
…I mean, surely it can't come back from there?
The crushed tool was revealed to us...
Yep, that one's a goner.
"And stay broken!" I looked over at Ratchet, who seemed to be fine despite having a freak attack from one of his own tools.
"How the heck did that thing come alive like that...?" I glanced down at Carly with concern. It must've been as if she could tell I was looking at her because she suddenly looked up at me with a similar expression.
I flicked my helm up towards who had come to our rescue. Optimus was removing his mouth guard and looking at us, "I have a grave suspicion, Carly. Dark Energon."
The same stuff that was on Arcee and I last night...
NORMAL P.O.V
The Nemesis flew through the white clouds high in the sky, but while it seemed bright enough outside, inside the Cybertronian ship looked to be a different story. The recently returned Decepticon Leader Megatron glanced down at his insignia across his spark chamber, purring in content now that he had Dark Energon flowing through his veins.
"L-Lord Megatron?" Slipstream whispered nervously, walking up a few steps behind her close and personal comrade.
She, Starscream and Rebecca stared at their leader, who had just stabbed himself with the mythical Energon. They knew that they couldn't bring him back now, not with the particular substance flowing through him.
"It's as if the Blood of Unicron the Destroyer flows through my veins. As if I hear his very thoughts. I now know what I must do." The Warlord ripped away another shard from his deposit.
"Is there anything we can help you with?" Rebecca wondered, taking a few steps to be within Megatron's optic line, uncharacteristically nervous over her leader.
"You can help me by staying here with Starscream," Megatron told her before looking at Slipstream, "Except for you. Come and help me with my next plan." At the request, the female Seeker nodded and began leaving the area.
"Are you sure there isn't anything we can assist you with, Master?" Starscream questioned as if he didn't hear Rebecca ask their leader the exact same question.
Megatron bared his denta at the two he left behind, "Quit groveling and await my command." Without waiting for another word from either Decepticon, the Warlord left the area to join Slipstream on the deck of the Nemesis.
Neither Decepticon needed to give an order or ensure that they were even ready to leave. At similar times, the two Cybertronians transformed into their fighter jet forms and flew away to the location Megatron wanted to go to...
All while Starscream and Rebecca watched them disappear away from inside the Warship.
The superpowered human used her enhanced hearing to pick on a silent figure appearing behind her. She sighed, "Nice to see you, Soundwave."
Beside her, Starscream jumped at the sound of Soundwave's name on Rebecca's tongue, having been deep in his thoughts of what to do next to even register his always sudden appearance, "Soundwave, I fear that when our master reached for the stars, he came down with a touch of space madness. Lord Megatron has not been of sound judgment since his return. Increase global surveillance."
"Quit groveling and await my command."
"Awww, must you always spoil the fun?" Rebecca pouted at the recording, her shoulders relaxed and posture looking as if Soundwave had actually ruined her 'fun'. Eventually, she straightened up, "Well, if our enemies are indeed alive, which I believe they most certainly are-" She took a glance at Starscream with a smirk, continuing to make him look like the fool he was before looking back at Soundwave, "It's in our best interests we ensure their destruction, on our Lord's behalf of course."
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
"If the residue Arcee found on Cliffjumper brought Ratchet's broken equipment to life, it would stand to reason that the very same substance brought Cliffjumper back from the dead."
I bit the nail of my foredigit nervously as I watched my leader dispose of what was left of the broken manipulator arm - we had managed to identify it despite its' state - into a container at Ratchet's workspace.
...Hopefully never to be seen again... let alone alive...
"That would account for his life signal in-explicitly coming back online," Ratchet agreed, "But Dark Energon? It's so scarce as to be virtually non-existent! What would it be doing on Earth?"
I heard a small clearing of a throat, and looked down to the ground where my human was with her helmet, "I-If this 'dark E-Energon' really is as rare as you say, and if it doesn't come from Earth, tmaybe someone found it in space." She was nervously stuttering at times like we wouldn't take her idea seriously. "A-And brought it back?"
Who would spend so much time out in space searching for this rare Energon? .
.And wouldn't return until they... found... it...?
...Primus...
I glanced down at Carly, "By Megatron."
If that was the case, that meant that he was back too...
"For what purpose?" Ratchet wanted to know.
"To lead this planet with his sick and selfish ways by raising an army of the undead," The coldness in my answer was so bitter, it was like we were back on Cybertron in wintertime.
I've been through a lot of human winters, but nothing could compare to those horrible cold periods back at home.
"Well, Megatron would need to break quite a few toaster ovens. I mean, where on this world would he find that many Cybertronian dead?!" Ratchet laughed.
There was a rumble of engines coming from the tunnel, stopping any of us from giving an answer to Ratchet, but I doubt any of us had one anyway. Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee's vehicle forms parked up in front of us, our new human friends either hopping off and stepping out of them. They were all cheering like they all just had fun getting to know each other.
"That was awesome!" Jack cheered excitedly when Arcee and the others transformed
"Can we go again?" Raf asked eagerly.
"Sweet!" Miko squealed ecstatically.
I looked down at Carly - I felt bad for ruining our fun by coming here and dealing with that reanimated tool. But as soon as she felt my glance at her, she countered my sorry look with a happy expression, "It was pretty fun earlier. Another ride soon?"
I mirrored her grin, "Absolutely."
Huh, she didn't seem bothered about the attempt on her life. Hopefully, that's the last one she has...
There was a sudden and loud rumbling noise again, but it wasn't the sound of an engine... The sound was coming from Bulkhead, who didn't look happy.
I raised an optical-ridge at his queasy expression, "You okay, Bulk?"
He didn't answer, opening a compartment from his chest and bringing out an odd-shaped black case. He bent down and gave it to Miko, who looked apologetic.
"Sorry! Must have left that in the backseat!"
I heard a small noise and looked down at Carly placing a servo on her shaking head. It didn't look like she was pleased about Miko bringing… whatever was in that case.
"Autobots, prepare to…" Confusion filled me when Optimus didn't finish his command, my helm lifting up to find a reason why, but he was glancing down between us, his team, and our new friends...
Oh...
"Roll out?"
"Remain here," Our leader corrected my friend, "Ratchet, you'll come with me." He looked over at my friend again. "Arcee, we'll be outside communications range for some time. So I'm putting you in charge."
"Dude, you're the biggest. You should be the boss!" Miko looked up at Bulkhead
A quiet sigh was his response, "He never picks me."
There wasn't really a structure to how Optimus' chose who was best suited for his second-in-command role. The others had mentioned that most of the time, it was normally me - though for reasons unknown, and somewhat surprising since I didn't quite understand what made him believe I was suited for the position. During the times that I was already attending a mission with him, he normally chose Arcee, unless stated otherwise...
Wait... "Arcee's in charge?"
"You know what that means."
I ignored Ratchet and looked down at Carly with an apologetic expression - why Optimus needed me to join him was beyond me. I wasn't going to question it, but I felt bad that I was already ditching my new friend, "Duty calls."
Carly shrugged knowingly with a grin, "I get it. We can catch up later."
"Optimus, with all due respect, playing bodyguard is one thing. Babysitting is another." Jack let out a sigh of what I presumed was annoyance at Arcee's choice of words before walking away from us, soon being followed by the rest of the humans. "Besides, Ratchet hasn't been in the field since the war!"
"My pistols may be rusty, but my hearing is sharp as ever!" I rolled my optics and refrained from making a smart comment towards our dear medic as he sorted out the Groundbridge controls.
"For the moment, it's only reconnaissance."
"Then why do I hear an edge in your voice?"
"Oh boy." I gave my temple a rub.
"Arcee, much has changed in the last twenty-four hours. And we all need to adapt. Ratchet, bridge us out." Ratchet did as he was ordered, and activated the portal for us.
I looked back at Carly, who still held the grin she gave me earlier. I still felt extremely bad for leaving her, "I'll make this up to you."
"Whenever you are ready, Windswept." I could tell that Ratchet's tone was dry and banter-like.
Our partnership could probably be described as a love-hate one. We got on each other's nerves on purpose to see who could annoy the other so badly that we'd crack and have a yelling fit. But really, I owed him my life more times than I could count on both servos. I wouldn't be here without him.
I smirked at him while stepping towards the Groundbridge, "I bet you missed me last night."
"Yes, because I love when you roam the halls at night, purposely disturbing my recharge or work."
Poor Optimus.
NORMAL P.O.V
"Okay, chief. So what's on the activity's list?" Jack asked his guardian casually when the Groundbridge portal closed.
Arcee didn't feel like being in the base any longer than she had after her small 'disagreement' with her leader, "I'm going on patrol."
"But Optimus told us to stay."
"When you're in charge, you can call the shots," The blue Autobot shot back at the former Wrecker before looking at the scout, "'Bee, with me."
Bumblebee looked down at his new charge with a sad whirr, joining his friend at the exit tunnel, "Why's it always me?"
"Bulkhead, you're in charge." With a pat on his wrist, Arcee transformed almost immediately into her motorcycle form and sped away, being followed by the yellow and black-striped custom car out of the base.
As their engines echoed away, the newly-in-charge Bulkhead looked to the kids nervously, "So, uh…what's on the activity's list?"
A sudden screeching noise stopped any members of the group from speaking, all of them cringing or covering their ears at the painful noise... except for Miko, who was adjusting the knobs on an amplifier. She looked up to her guardian, holding her black and a white guitar, "How about band practice?"
"Please no!" Carly slapped her forehead in annoyance.
"We're not a band," Raf uncovered his ears to agree.
"Why so antisocial? Come on, Raf! Can you play anything?" Miko asked him.
"Um…keyboard." The small boy held up his laptop.
"Laptops and symbols. Good. Jack?" Miko's guitar screeched slightly as she looked at the eldest teenager.
"I...sometimes mess around with the harmonica." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
Carly wanted to giggle at the embarrassment of her old friend but soon found herself being hit with an old wave of feelings she hadn't felt in a while. Her eyes darted to the side as she brushed a loose strand of her behind her ear, "Y-You still play that old thing...?"
Jack glanced at his old classmate with a fond smile… which disappeared when Miko's angered expression arrived in his face, "Do I look like I do country?! Just cover yourself in fake blood and jump around screaming."
"Uhhhhh..."
Her anger dissipated, Miko's eyes found her best friend's, and practically grinned at her pleadingly through their silent stare. Carly tried to ignore the silent pleading by folding her arms and looking away...
But she soon glanced back at her friend, and gave up trying to fight her off with a sigh, "I'm going to stop telling you my secrets one day."
Proud of herself at the success, the Japanese Exchange student pointed at her new Autobot friend, "Bulkhead, percussion! We'll go for big industrial sound! D.I.Y, we're a band! You just gotta learn the songs. This one's a ballad: My Fist, Your Face!"
Without waiting for approval, the girl began strumming the chords of her song from her instrument, an action that was soon disapproved by everyone when they covered their ears at the noise.
"Does she always play like this?!" Jack yelled to Carly when she moved beside him.
Carly shook her head, "You'll get used to it!
Bulkhead had his own ears and eyes covered from the noise. However, he soon began hearing a familiar noise that sounded louder than his charge's guitar. He opened his eyes, and realised that the base was flashing green, "Whoa! Whoa, whoa!"
His shouting stopped Miko, who pouted at the order, "Come on! You can't handle raw power?!"
"Proximity sensor! Quick, hide! Now!" Now being aware of what that meant, the four humans went running to Bulkhead, hiding behind his foot just in time for the elevator doors above to open and reveal a very angry agent.
"PRIME!"
"Agent Fowler!" Bulkhead greeted in a panic, "Uh, he's not here. Nobody's here! Well… except me, of course."
"Wh-where did he go? Wait. Don't tell me. He's out pancaking a mini-mall!" Fowler guessed sarcastically, "Now I don't know what language you bots speak on your planet. But Prime promised he would handle the Decepticons!"
As the Agent continued, Bulkhead attempted to maintain himself to not give away the humans he was shielding from Fowler's sight. However, that was becoming more of a struggle as the latter began pacing around in frustration, which was causing the Cybertronian to continue moving his foot to continue hiding the humans.
Another issue was beginning to arise - when the humans ran to hide, Miko had grabbed her guitar... that still connected to the amplifier by a black cord, that was being stretched to its' absolute limit the more Bulkhead continued moving to protect them.
"And blowing a crate in the middle of Nebraska is NOT what the word 'handle' means in English! So you tell Prime-!" Fowler stopped himself at the sound of guitar screeching noises, looking down at the amplifier on the floor, with the cord connected to it and running towards something behind Bulkhead. His anger dissipated, replaced with confusion, "Since when are you 'Bots electric?"
Bulkhead's eyes widened as he realised he had been caught, while below, a knowing shrug from Jack prompted the humans to step out from behind their bulky friend.
"Hey, how you doing?"
"Contact with civilians!" Fowler slammed his hand against the railing. "Team Prime has really gone off-book this time! Wait. Don't tell me. You're running a day-care center?"
Bulkhead couldn't help the groan that escaped him - it was always him that somehow blew it, and still, he had to clean the mess up without making it worse.
"Uh, we're interns!" He would've done so had Carly not intervened.
"Student interns!" Raf quickly corrected.
Jack nodded, "Earning extra credit in auto-shop-"
"Robotics!"
Despite their very best efforts, it wasn't going to be enough to convince the Agent otherwise, "Okay, let's move." He began walking down the stairs. "I'm taking all four of you to federal custody. For your own protection."
Optimus would disagree with the Agent's idea if he had been in the base, which was why Bulkhead decided to literally put his foot down between the kids and the man, "We're protecting them."
"Is that so? Well, maybe you can explain that to my superiors at the Pentagon!" Fowler challenged, picking up a phone hanging from the staircase.
"Don't use that phone! It's..." The former Wrecker destroyed the phone before Fowler could make the call. "Out of order."
Fowler chucked the phone away in added irratation, "This isn't over, Bigfoot! Not by a long shot!"
As the Agent made his way up the stairs, Miko glanced at her friends, mimicking Fowler's attitude with a sneer. Jack and Raf exchanged nervous looks to each other over the man's anger, while Carly folded her arms and watched the man with frustrated curiosity.
Once the Agent had disappeared into the elevator, the brown-haired girl shook her head, "Rude much? Imbécil." During her head shaking, she spotted the amplifier still plugged to the guitar, and began innocently walking over to it.
"Don't you dare unplug my guitar!" Was Miko's quick response once she realised what her friend was doing.
Bulkhead's response to the situation in its entirety was to let out a sigh. While the exchange hadn't gone pleasantly, it still ended in the Autobot's favour...
For now.
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
The fog that surrounded us wasn't really thick, but it felt like it could thicken at any moment, and slither around our neck cables to choke us so suddenly, that we'd more likely offline from shock rather than the fatal injury itself.
...Yeah, my thoughts took me to dangerous places sometimes. War could do that to you.
"Optimus, what do we hope to find here?" After a long period of silence since we arrived at this desolate canyon, Ratchet was the first one of us to speak.
"The sight of the largest Cybertronian battlefield in this galaxy."
The medic's scoff was obvious, "On Earth? You must be joking!"
I shook my helm - I remembered small whispers throughout the Iacon city of the Decepticons beginning to deploy their Energon rations off-world, which caused us to do the same almost immediately. By then, it was getting very late in the war; in only a matter of orbital cycles, Cybertron was gone.
"You know that Optimus isn't joking, Ratchet," I began. Out of the corner of my optic, I could see that familiar side optic coming from the dear medic, "Don't you remember about the deployment of Energon rations from us and the 'Cons?"
"Of course, it's the reason Energon deposits EXIST on planets such as this one," Ratchet nodded at me, his sass fading away to become serious.
"It is also the reason battles came to be waged on planets such as this one." Optimus suddenly stopped walking. "And I fear Megatron's memory is as long as history."
There was something in his tone that made me feel something that wasn't quite right. It's like there was something coming... and I doubt that I needed to let Optimus and Ratchet know that I could feel that nervy feeling. They were probably feeling it too.
NORMAL P.O.V
Agent Fowler was not in a pleasant mood after his recent visit to the Autobot base. He had discovered that the aliens had suddenly endangered four harmless human lives. Something had to be done about it, which was why he was in his helicopter, flying it away from the base.
He pressed a button on his control pad, "Sir, Agent Fowler. We have a situation. I'm en route from the Autobot base. I'll brief you in person."
"Agent Fowler. I'm en route from the Autobot base. I'll brief you in person."
What the Agent hadn't known was that his radio was being intercepted by the last people - aliens rather - he wanted to be involved with.
"Autobot base, hmm?" Rebecca smirked with her preppy attitude, proudly glancing up at the silent Decepticon tracking the radio communications.
"Humans, always the weak link." The silver Decepticon turned to the dark-coloured one. "Fetch us this Fowler so that he may brief us instead."
At the instruction, Soundwave deployed his Mini-Con partner Laserbeak, who began to fly away from his master to do what had been asked.
Agent Fowler wasn't worried about anything but the recent developments that he had just uncovered at the Autobot base. But he was going to be stewing about those issues for a long time, for the journey between Jasper, Nevada and the Pentagon, in Washington DC was a long one.
Suddenly, the monitor beside him showing what was in the airspace around him started flashing and making a whirring noise. He looked towards the screen, "Hey big bird, I'm flying here." Before the Agent could do anything, the small, flying piece of machinery came into his view, approaching him at rapid speeds. "What in Uncle Sam's beard?!" The Agent was forced to perform a rapid dodge maneuver before he could collide with a flying object. "First the freeways aren't safe! Now air travel?!"
Agent Fowler was not able to fly his helicopter any faster, meaning that Laserbeak was soon back on his tail, scraping along the underside of the aerial vehicle. While that momentarily threw the Agent off course, he was not one to give up without a brutal fight.
He looked in front of him and found the canyon to be coming towards a dead-end - something that could work in his favour. Making sure that he was still being followed, he flew the helicopter right towards the cliff face in front of him and pulled up right at the exact moment so he could lift his aerial vehicle up and over the dead-end instead, hoping that the small flying object would smash into it.
But Laserbeak wasn't just a Decepticon; he took after Soundwave. Right at the exact moment, he too flew upwards to avoid a crash, twirling in the air as it returned back on the helicopter's tail.
Agent Fowler only allowed a small smirk to play on his face, before diving closer to the ground. When the ground suddenly became further away from the aerial objects, Fowler slowed the helicopter down so Laserbeak could fly over him. The Agent set his plan into motion, returning back to the skies and following the flying object.
"You wanna dance, 'Con?" Fowler readied his finger over the red button on his control lever. "I'll lead!" He began firing rapid shots toward Laserbeak, hoping to do damage and destroy him.
But Laserbeak was too smart to allow himself to be harmed, dodging each shot with practiced carefulness. He only had to wait after a certain length of time had gone before he could make his move.
Eventually, the bullets firing out of the cannon on the underside of Agent Fowler's helicopter ceased, allowing Laserbeak to strike and perform exactly what the Agent had done earlier. Fowler could only glare as he flew to the back of the helicopter, and sliced the tail propellor clean off.
Without the support to keep his helicopter flying, the Agent lost control of the aerial vehicle, beginning his descent to the ground, "Never an Autobot around when you actually need one!" Despite his best attempts, there was nothing he could do except prepare himself for the eventual collision.
As the helicopter continued to spin out of control, Laserbeak activated his clawed tentacles, readying himself for the last part of his mission.
Agent Fowler started reaching out towards a red flashing button on the controls, hoping to press it so it would send an emergency signal back towards where he had just come from. But he couldn't reach close enough, especially when the damaged helicopter jerked suddenly, and he was met face-to-face with a clawed tentacle. He began pushing it away from him, trying to stop it from grabbing him, but eventually, a second tentacle arrived, and together, the tentacles grabbed an arm each and began pulling out the Agent from his helicopter...
...Just as he was able to press the red button.
Agent Fowler's initial reaction was to try and fight out of Laserbeak's grip, but once the destroyed helicopter landed on the ground in black smoke and orange flames, he knew he was beaten. He could only hope that the Autobots got his emergency signal and came to help him before it was too late.
The green flashing and whirring alarms sent the occupants of the Autobot base into another panic.
"My ears!" Raf covered his ears in pain.
"What's that this time?" Carly wanted to know.
Bulkhead walked up to the controls, "It's an SOS... from Fowler!" He looked down at the control panel, wondering what button to press. "Uh…" With confused mumbles, he pressed a few commands, and despite not knowing what he was doing, he was able to stop the alarms and flashing.
The teenagers glanced at each other nervously, Raf the only one stepping forward, "Did you trace it?"
"Location scan was incomplete," Bulkhead read before waving his arms up, "Oh well."
"O-Oh well?!" Jack gasped in disbelief, "Seriously?"
"Fowler's a jerk!" Bulkhead shot back, "Like... whatever Carly said."
"Whoa?!" Jack gasped even more.
Carly folded her arms and glared at the Autobot, "Just because I called him that, doesn't mean I wanted him to be harmed! Especially by those robots coming after you and us!"
"And Agent Fowler knows your location!" Raf piped in, before another realisation forced him to gulp and grab his sister's wrist, "OUR location!"
"And did we not witness how fast Fowler backs down from a 'Bot?" Miko planted her hands on her hips. "The 'Cons will totally make him squeal!"
"But we lost the transmission!" Bulkhead retorted, "Fowler could be anywhere!"
"Then maybe we could try narrowing it down," Carly decided, glancing over to Raf, "Take it away, hermano."
Raf nodded and pulled out his laptop, bending down to open it and get to work, "About five years ago, the government started microchipping their agents. You know, like owners do with pets."
His response was three confused looks.
"Hey, when you can't be bothered grabbing the remote and changing the channel, you learn a few things!" Carly defended him.
"If I can hack into the fed's mainframe, maybe I can pinpoint Fowler's coordinates."
"You know how to hack? But you're, like… two years old!"
"Miko, out of all of my sister's friends, you should know that I'm twelve…" Raf corrected with a smirk, "And a quarter."
"Is the Agent ready for us to greet him yet?" Rebecca asked impatiently for what Starscream deemed as the millionth time.
Inside the Decepticon warship, the pair waited while their Vehicon slaves dragged the Autobot liaison into the room, throwing him to the ground like a piece of rubbish.
"Welcome Agent Fowler." The enhanced human wandered up to the man, raising her arms around in a welcoming manner and showing off her best 'genuine' smile.
Fowler rose to his knees, brushing away any residue off his suit, "You treat all your guests this nice?"
Starscream chuckled, "Any friend of the Autobots-"
"-Is a friend of ours," Rebecca finished with a sweet, sarcastic tone.
"Autobots? That one of them coin-operated 'Wash-My-Own-Car' places?" Fowler asked as if he had no idea who or what the Autobots were as part of his job as an undercover agent.
Rebecca faked a laugh, wiping a fake tear from her eye, "Oh, you know, Agent Fowler?" She bent towards him slightly, with a fake pout. "If I was just a regular, ordinary human being, I would've believed you." She returned to her full height, her fake kindness disappearing, and a glare forming. "But I suppose the Autobots didn't tell you that here, at the Decepticons, we have no appreciation for human humour."
"Make our guest comfortable." At the demand, the Vehicon curled his hand into a fist.
Agent Fowler looked back at the Vehicon, heavily praying that the Autobots were almost certainly on their way to him as the Cybertronian moved closer...
"Latitude: 39.5. Longitude: 116.9."
While Bulkhead typed the commands in for the Groundbridge, Carly ruffled the young boy's hair proudly, "¡Muy bien, hermanito!"
The green Autobot turned to the humans when the portal activated, "Alright. You four stay put."
Miko moaned in disappointment, "Aww! Don't break up the band!"
Bulkhead nervously turned back to the humans, "Uhhhh Jack, you're in charge!" With that, he stormed into the portal to save the liaison.
As the Groundbridge shut down, Jack glanced at Raf beside him, "Guess we four have the run of the place?" The eldest boy went to look up at the girls, but didn't find them where they had been, "Miko? Carly?"
When Bulkhead arrived at the location the Groundbridge sent him to, the first thing he knew he had to do was immediately begin his search for the Agent. "Fowler?!" He looked up at the sky - "Uh-oh." - which caused him to run behind a large boulder. He peeked around the corner. "The whole Decepticon sh-bang."
Vehicons wandered aimlessly around the Nemesis with their activated weapons, guarding and waiting... and missing the large green Autobot sprint from one rock formation to another.
"Alright, we're here so..."
"What's the plan?"
At the sudden female voices, Bulkhead looked down to the ground, and spotted his charge and her friend on the ground, guarding themselves behind a large rock. While Carly sported an unsure, but entertained expression, Miko grinned up in excitement at Bulkhead with a thumbs up.
"Miko! Carly!" He motioned for them to be quiet.
But his warning came too late, as a Vehicon charged up to the two girls, aiming his weapon at them.
"Still think this was a good idea?!" Carly hissed.
Miko shrugged, "Maybe an unwise one?"
"GET DOWN!" Despite her guardian's yelling, Miko grabbed her friend's hand and leapt over the rock just before the Vehicon destroyed it.
They began running as fast as possible to evade the Decepticon, but just as it was preparing to fire again, he was tackled down by an angry Autobot. He began smashing his fists into his face but was forced to back up when the Vehicon suddenly smashed his arm into him. They entered a brief fist fight, which ended when Bulkhead leapt and pinned the Vehicon onto the ground.
"Hold him still!" Miko walked up the Decepticon, struggling to carry a large rock in her hands, and smashed it onto his head.
Carly sighed and face-palmed. As much as she loved her friend, sometimes her ways of doing things weren't always right.
The girls were suddenly scooped out of the way and onto the ground away from the fight. As they got up, they saw Bulkhead and the Vehicon shoving each other back and forth to gain the upper hand.
"Look away!" Bulkhead instructed.
"But!" Miko began to argue.
"Turn your heads away!"
While did as she was told and covered her head, Miko did the opposite and watched in pure admiration as Bulkhead used his bare hands to rip out the Decepticons' wiring in his chest. Carly's curiosity soon got the better of her as she peeked through her hands and saw the sparking as the Decepticons lights faded out. The girls gasped, eyes locked to the wiring that was now on the ground beside the Decepticon.
Sparing a glance at them, Bulkhead quickly began to realise he knew that he had to make a call he didn't want to make.
"Arcee, Bumblebee, do you read?"
"Loud and clear, Bulkhead," Arcee answered, as she and Bumblebee continued their patrol.
"I have a situation," Bulkhead sing-songed nervously behind a rock boulder, holding his human friends in his hand.
Carly glanced between the Autobot and down to her excited friend. The day was going in the way she hadn't wanted it. And even though she was sure of what her friend's response was going to be, she still wanted to know her thoughts, "Still having fun?"
"Heck yeah, I am!"
"Wonderful." It wasn't the answer she wanted to hear.
"Bulkhead, they're children. Humans! Just do whatever!"
But that was before Arcee allowed her teammate to explain the situation he was currently in, including the even juicier details about where exactly his charge and her friend were too.
That forced her to skid to a halt and Bumblebee to follow suit.
"You're WHERE? The girls are WHERE?"
"What should we do? Bulkhead may not even realize that Miko and Carly followed him!" Raf exclaimed in worry to the elder boy.
"Miko and Carly haven't seen the 'Cons in action like we have. They have no idea."
Raf ran over to the computer screens that were at his level, typing furiously and revealing the location Bulkhead had gone to, "These are the coordinates! The destination is still locked in!"
Jack looked away from Raf to the Groundbridge, making a decision on what to do next. As a person who always did whatever he felt was the right thing, he knew what he had to do. Sighing, he looked back at the younger boy, "Uhm, you're in charge."
"In charge of WHO?!" Raf asked in disbelief, pressing a command on the keyboard.
The command sent the Groundbridge into activation, the portal whirring to life as Raf raced down the steps to join Jack. He wasn't going to be left behind, especially when it involved his sister and her friend. As the portal opened, Raf met with Jack and exchanged a determined nod, heading through the portal...
"Arcee to base. Come in. Jack? Listen up. We need you to bridge us back. Hello?"
...Just as Arcee was radioing in.
Arcee sighed as the realisation that there may have not been anyone at the Autobot base anymore sunk in, "Bumblebee, metal to the pedal."
Bumblebee didn't need to be told twice - as soon as his teammate wheelied away, he quickly followed after her...
Both hoping and praying that the situation wasn't as bad as Bulkhead made it out to be...
"Agent Fowler, we have one simple request that will save your family from the pain of grieving."
Fowler looked up when he heard the Decepticon speak. Courtesy of the Vehicon slaves, the agent had been chained up a decent height off the ground. He looked in front of him and discovered something unusual about Rebecca.
She was floating in mid-air.
He nearly gasped in disbelief at how she was able to be doing so, but then saw her feet strapped into a pair of shoes connected to a board below her, allowing her to stay afloat.
Then he spotted the large object she had in her hands.
The agent felt his head being tilted upwards from his left, a sharp claw from Starscream's hand holding him in place, "Tell us the location of the Autobot base."
"No problem," Fowler shrugged - he could still find a way out of this mess. "But I need to ask you something first."
Rebecca waved the weapon in Fowler's direction with boredom, "Go on."
"I've got an issue with the customer service around here. Can I speak to the manager?"
Rebecca gasped silently at the boldness of the human chained up before her - he certainly had the guts to stick up for himself rather than give in and tell them everything they wanted to know.
"I make the decisions around here! I'm in charge!" But no one was more frustrated than Starscream, who was snarling in frustration. He turned to the super-powered human. "Is the prod ready?"
"Shame humans are a lot weaker than those of the enhanced kind." The prod in her hands twitched in activation...
"What's taking Arcee and Bumblebee?" Bulkhead moaned in frustration, waiting and watching the Decepticon Warship with bated breath. He was not prepared to storm the place alone.
"Dude, the 'Cons could be putting the clams on Fowler right now!" Miko yelled in a whisper, "Let's just storm the joint!"
"Because that's a good idea," Carly rolled her eyes behind her with a fold of her arms.
The sounds of familiar whirring caught their attention, making them look at a green and blue portal suddenly appearing nearby, "They're here."
But who jumped out of the Groundbridge were not the people Bulkhead had been hoping to see. Instead, it was the two human boys that had been left at the Autobot base arriving at their location.
"Why don't those guys hang with their own bots?" Miko folded her arms. "This is OUR one-on-one time!"
Bulkhead groaned in frustration while Carly appeared in front of her best friend with a sarcastic wave, "Uh hi, I'm still here!"
Miko half shrugged, "Your 'Bot's probably busy beating the scrap outta more 'Cons. I'll let it slide."
While the three prepared for their next move, Jack and Raf were unknowingly walking away from the rest of the group, trying to figure out what to do next.
The youngest of the two soon felt the effects of the portal, rubbing his front nervously, "Whoa, are your bones vibrating?"
Jack rubbed the back of his and half shrugged in response before he and Raf found something in front of them.
The Nemesis.
"You there!" On the top of the Warship, three Vehicons suddenly made their presence known, each of them activating their weapons toward the two boys.
There was only one thing Bulkhead, Miko and Carly had to say at the change of events, "Scrap!"
Rebecca Rose swung the prod in Agent Fowler's direction, "Now, I'm going to play the nice game and give you one last chance." She flew herself into the Agent's face. "The Autobot base... NOW."
"Sure thing, buddy. Right after you eat my star-bangled shorts!"
Rebecca sneered in fake horror, backing away from the man to allow the prod to charge up. "Wrong answer." Without warning, she shoved the prod into the man, sending electrical and painful jolts inside his body.
Starscream hummed in glee, looking over at the grinning teenager, "As you previously imagined, Energon and human nervous systems don't mix."
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
I could see it now, what Optimus had come here for...
My spark broke.
In front of us were countless Cybertronian bodies scattered around what had once been a past battlefield. What were once mighty warriors were now nothing but pieces of rusted armour.
"For the first time in my life, Optimus, I had hoped that you were wrong," Ratchet confessed quietly.
The sounds of rumbling jets approaching us were a terrible noise… yet it felt unsurprising. There was always that dreaded feeling that the 'Cons were always following us in some way; this time was no different with the familiar jet of Slipstream landing onto a pillared cliff nearby, along with a familiar face we hadn't seen for a long while.
"Optimus! Been well?" Megatron's greeting was too cheerful-like. Why was he in a... reasonably good mood? "I see you brought your trusty watchdog. I was certain he'd be convalescing in a scrap yard by now."
"Why don't you invite him down here for a chat?" Ratchet punched his fist into his open servo in preparation for a fight.
"Perhaps your 'so-called' second can join you." The sneer sounded as if Slipstream was innocent. "She appears to not do much these days, apart from hunting myself down like I am some... wild Cybertronian animal."
I cocked my helm side to side with a snarl, "That's because you are one, you vile sn-"
"I know why you're here, Megatron," Optimus proclaimed to interrupt me from my retort.
"Hardly a surprise, Optimus. After all, you and I have been at this for a long time," Megatron reasoned, "And your time has come to an end." He whipped out a glowing purple shard from his subspace, holding it high above himself and Slipstream in glee.
...Oh Primus...
Dark Energon...
He threw the shard down to the ground below him, the crystal seeping and embedding its way deep into the dirt and soil below us. Suddenly, cracks began forming in the ground, glowing that Dark Energon purple as the ground continued to break towards us.
I looked up to Megatron, where his Decepticon logo on his chassis glowed just as brilliantly as the cracks down where we were... It all made sense why he was so gleeful earlier. He had infused himself with the blood and was now running on it. There would be nothing but un-limitless power for him... as the legend had spoken once in the past before.
The glowing on his chassis grew ever stronger, and his circuits also shone with a purple aura. He raised his arms high in the air, "Rise my army!"
Suddenly, my optic caught sight of something on ground level.
There was a disfigured Cybertron rising up from its burial spot!
"By the AllSpark," Ratchet gasped beside me.
Another undead Cybertronian rose up, swinging its' battle weapon they would've used in their last fight up and towards us. Another undead figure soon popped up too, joined by multiple others, all groaning and screeching at us.
"Behold the power of Dark Energon!"
The undead army slowly charging toward us...