CHAPTER 10: ROAD TRIP
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
"Prime!"
Why does Agent Fowler sound so mad when all of us have been here with the humans all morning?
"PRIME!"
"Does this 'Agent Fowler' usually sound this annoyed when he wants to see us?"
I thoughtfully shook my helm at Sunburst, "Depends on what we did."
"Special Agent Fowler, to what do we owe-"
"What else?! 'Cons!" Our Agent cut Optimus off instantly. He looked angry inside his jet. "I chased them off with some hard ordnance! But not before they blew me out of the sky!"
"Again?" It sounded like Carly and Miko were trying to stop themselves from laughing at Agent Fowler's predicament…
"They tried to smash and grab for the DNGS!"
"The whatsit?" Arcee questioned.
"He called it a… dingus?"
"Innit whar you are, Sourshine?"
My friends had taken to being a part of the team and living on Earth well despite having travelled through the galaxy for so long. And that was even despite Miko and Carly both giving them and Starlight a 'crash course' of Earth - something that the rest of us didn't even get when Agent Fowler was charged with us. But at least they weren't going to make some of the mistakes we did when we first came here…
I could still remember seeing Bulkhead walking into those power lines vividly… Arcee and I couldn't stop finding amusement out of that memory…
Optimus soon assigned Sunburst and Aquastrike a routine schedule with patrols and scouts after that. It was going to easily take some of the pressure off Arcee, Bulk, 'Bee and I since we were having to still do them AND maintain a schedule with the humans. So because of that, it meant it was time for my friends to get vehicle forms!
Sunburst found a 2009 Nissan GT-R model… and straight after that, Aquastrike scanned a 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Sedan. Initially, not all of the team were exactly thrilled with their car choices - apparently Nissans of that make are a rarity in Jasper along with rally-like cars - but it's not like the town is full of the population at night…
"Dynamic Nuclear Generation System. aka DNGS." Right, Agent Fowler's situation. He pressed a button on his video feed, making it switch to footage of a tightly secured crate. "It's a prototype energy source I'm transporting to the coast for testing."
Ratchet scoffed noisily, "That's absurd. Why would Starscream and Slipstream bother themselves with primitive technology?"
Agent Fowler returned to the screen, "I'm guessing to make a big bad primitive weapon of mass destruction. If this baby were to melt down, it would irradiate this state and the four next door!"
"Uh… did Agent Fowler say what state he was currently in?"
Good question Rafael…
"I'm a sitting duck here, Prime. I need you to spin up your 'bridge and send the DNGS to its destination before the 'Cons come back for it!"
"I'm afraid that sending such a volatile device through a Groundbridge is out of the question," Optimus immediately declined our Agent's idea, "If there were to be an accident during its transmission, the radiation of which you speak could propagate through the Groundbridge vortex and harm all fifty states and beyond."
Agent Fowler briefly looked away with an eyeridge raise, "You got any better ideas?"
Optimus' 'better idea' was to 'Bridge out to our Agent's location and travel on wheels to his destination. We were going to be transporting the DNGS via our leader's trailer and with Arcee providing extra security from the inside, the rest of us - myself, Sunburst and Aquastrike - were going to be protecting Optimus, Agent Fowler and the DNGS from all angles just in case whoever it was that was targeting our Agent came back for another go.
Agent Fowler seemed reluctant to let Aquastrike and Sunburst join us as their first mission, given we don't normally perform these kinds of transport situations often. But they were going to have to get on the field eventually. Besides, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Starlight were tackling an Energon scout; we were going to be needing a lot more Energon now that we had more 'Bots on the team. It was best to let them complete it rather than waste time and swap them out.
And if we needed back-up, well, we can rely on them to be there when called if things go bad.
I flicked my rearview mirror upwards at Agent Fowler, just to make sure he was well and truly secured inside Optimus' cockpit before I could set off. I could see him clasping his hands and reaching out to the steering wheel.
"Ah, ah, no need, Agent Fowler. I will handle the driving." I would've been smirking if I was in my Cybertronian form.
Agent Fowler slumped into his seat with his arms crossed, "It's gonna be a long trip."
Considering where we were going was about six human hours away from here, it sounded like it was going to be…
Optimus started up his engine, making the rest of us follow suit. I activated my holoform on top of my form, just to keep up appearances. We were going to be in the presence of other humans, after all.
"Autobots, roll out!"
At the command, I rolled off first, immediately followed by Optimus and the others. We were going up onto a nearby road to begin the journey. Agent Fowler recommended taking alternate routes rather than the main highways, which was a fair choice all things considered.
I was running ahead of Optimus, keeping an eye on things out front and so I could react to whatever came towards us in case Optimus couldn't. Sunburst and Aquastrike were gonna circulate around the trailer when necessary, as well as take up the rear.
"Arcee to Windswept, got a copy?"
"Got you 'Cee," I responded through the private comm., "How's it going back there?"
"How long did Fowler say it was gonna take to get to his rendezvous?"
"As long as we don't get held up, I think he said six human hours roughly," I replied.
"We are locked onto your coordinates, Optimus. Barring any complications, you should reach the drop-off point by sundown."
Arcee made a noise of despair at Ratchet's report, "Six hours of road travel, and I get to spend it in a trailer." She sighed loudly. "Fowler wasn't kidding about the long trip."
Half an hour of driving felt like an eternity once we began hitting traffic. As it turns out, lots of human drivers liked taking alternate routes… especially those whose vehicles couldn't reach the minimum speed of the road… like this old pick up truck we'd been stuck behind for the last five kliks…
Optimus warned me off his backside after about the fifth time I revved my engine as a demand to move out of the way...
…And then his horn went off… but there's no way he would be rude enough to do that…
"Move it, Gramps!" So I guess it had to be Agent Fowler…
The old truck pulled to the side and finally allowed us to drive by so we could get on with the journey.
But the honking from Agent Fowler kept going…
Seriously…? Stop!
"Agent Fowler, is that really necessary?" I could sense the slight irritation through the main comm-link channel Optimus was using…
"Ahh, don't tell me you're one of those textbook drivers, hmph."
He and Arcee were right… this was going to be a long trip…
NORMAL P.O.V
A monitor flashed four orange signals, with one of them pulsing much brighter than the others. The signals showed the positions of the vehicles on the road, as a yellow custom car pulled out from behind the truck to slot in between it and a motorcycle that had been travelling ahead.
"They're transporting in an unarmed civilian truck." An camouflage-coloured helicopter appeared through the blue sky and patchy white clouds. "Send in the ground units."
It was flying lowly, heading straight for the vehicles on the road below…
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
"You wouldn't have needed saving if you had listened to Wheeljack and stayed still, Aqua."
"Y'all're dang well loopy if ya thought I was gon' sit by an' watch y'all nearly offline yaselves on mah watch."
"Don't tell me we have another Miko on our hands. One's enough!"
I laughed at Arcee's concern, "Don't worry 'Cee. Unlike Miko, she has some restraint."
"More like I-hold-her-back restraint," Sunburst scoffed.
"Ain' nobody askin' for your input up there thank ya very much."
"Hey Prime, do you think you could tell your 'Bots to tone it down for five minutes?!" I wanted to scowl at Agent Fowler's tone. "This is a very serious device we're travelling with here!"
I felt a slight twinge of frustration at him. It's been vorns since I last saw Aquastrike, and even longer since I saw Sunburst. And since they've arrived, I hadn't seen them much either with them adjusting to the way things worked at base… though our Agent hadn't exactly been thrilled to hear about their arrival only a few solar cycles later…
But, this wasn't Iacon anymore… maybe he was right and we do need to tone it down a little.
"Do y'all think we could get a new younglin'-sitter or wharever he's called? This one's a big ol' meanie."
I did all I could within me to not laugh out loud and disrespect our human liaison.
I heard a long and deep sigh from our Agent, "You know, you're saving my bacon here, Prime." He sounded a lot calmer now…
"I am proud to be of service."
"'Course, not like I'd need ya help if you and the 'Cons had stuck to tearing up your own corner of the galaxy."
"Are you suggesting that no evil existed on your world before we arrived?"
…As far as I was aware, and according to Carly and the others, evil did exist on this planet in a sense. None of them were willing to get into the discussion of what that evil was, though.
"Welll it was a… different evil."
Different how? Why was he also acting like the others and being secretive about this 'evil'?"
"How about some radio? You seem like a Nashville-sound kind of guy."
There was a whirring, chopper-like sound in the distance… kind of like the sound of Agent Fowler's helicopter back when he used to own one before… the abduction incident… I flickered my mirrors up to the sky and pulled closer to the centre of the road so I could see what was flying behind us.
It was a low flying helicopter… like it was tracking after us…
"That's the one!" Agent Fowler's yelling was so loud, I didn't even need the comms to hear him. "The 'Con who shot me down! Who is he? Wingnut? Dingbat? Skyguy?"
I've never heard of any Cybertronians, let alone 'Cons, with those names…
"Have some friendlies back here!" Aquastrike warned.
I lowered my mirrors towards Aquastrike, who was still behind Optimus covering the rear. But now she was being crowded by three muscle-type cars, all green and with a thick, black stripe adorning their roofs and bonnets. They were slighter bigger than her vehicle form.
"Ya know, it's been a lil' while since I had a round up with some 'Cons…"
"Remain in vehicular mode unless absolutely necessary," Optimus immediately instructed.
One of the vehicles suddenly pulled in front of Aqua, blocking my view of her.
Not good.
"A whole team of 'Cons!"
"What?!" Ratchet's tone suggested he was in disbelief of Agent Fowler's words. "I'm not picking up anything?" Wait, what?! "They must be utilising a cloaking technology."
Something didn't seem right… if it were 'Cons, then Slipstream or Starscream would be somewhere after us… too, not this helicopter trailing our backsides so closely. And their soldiers would not be so willing to just stay undercover like this…
"'Swept, watch your back," Sunburst suddenly warned.
I returned to the centre of our side of the road just as one of the green cars came racing past me and pulling straight in front of my form. He slowed down so quickly that I had to swerve out of the way to avoid crashing into him.
Just how many of these guys were there?!
Sunburst pulled out behind me and looked as if he was trying to drive by the green vehicle. But the green car suddenly pulled out in front of him to stop him from going further, sitting in the centre of the road as if he was ensuring that he was ready for either of our next moves.
Jerk…
If he didn't move out of the way soon, I was gonna break my cover before Aquastrike.
"Pull over!" I heard someone yell at Agent Fowler.
"Well, I'll be dipped!"
"What is it?" I immediately asked. I couldn't see from my position.
"Our assailants are not Decepticons. They are human."
They're what?! How many of them are there?!
"Human?!" I could hear a lot of voices gasping at Optimus' confirmation over the open link.
"Oh please. Taking on our bots? They're road-kill!"
If these humans were brave enough to take us on, unaware of who were and willing to take on Agent Fowler, then maybe they're not going to be the roadkill Miko thinks they'll be…
Maybe this is what Agent Fowler meant when he suggested there was a different kind of evil amongst Earth.
NORMAL P.O.V
Inside the helicopter, a masked man with a black eye mask in camouflaged clothing controlled the aircraft, maintaining his position in the sky while continuing to chase the vehicles below.
Beside him sat a grey-haired man, his body much thicker with muscle than the pilot. He had a large, red scar across the bridge of his nose, making his stare outside the cockpit windscreen even more menacing.
"Gentlemen. Stop their engines."
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
"Sunburst, what's going on back there?" I asked urgently.
"Some human is pointing his gun at Agent Fowler."
The nerve of the human!
…Look, we all weren't exactly buddy-buddy with our Agent, even on a good day. But he was our 'youngling-sitter' as Aqua had so affectionately put it as. He was still a human that was on our side, and certainly one doing some good on this world. None of us for sure didn't want to see him get harmed.
Optimus suddenly veered to the left, probably to slam the human and his vehicle away from us. There was a BANG!, followed by sudden flames erupting around my leader, but he sped up to be closer to Sunburst and I so he must've been okay.
"Who are these guys?!" Agent Fowler demanded.
"Autobots, maintain your cover and apply minimal force. Disarmament only."
It was more than his initial order of just remaining in our vehicle forms.
"Hey 'Swept?"
"What's up Sunshine?"
"Slide and dodge?"
I would've been smirking in my Cybertronian form. That was code for 'let's take this guy out'... the old fashioned way.
"Let me back in line then!"
Sunburst slowed enough to create a gap and allow me to slide back in, right between him and this green car still trying to keep control of our pace. I began moving over to the other side of the road and kicked up my speed - I was trying to lure the car over to me enough that Sunburst could get ahead of him, or least be able to knock him out of the way.
The car did exactly what I wanted him to do, starting to cover me off. I heard Sunburst's engine rev before he suddenly raced up and shoved the car into the dirt beside us. But the car managed to regain control. I could hear it racing up to catch back up to us. Sunburst suddenly slammed on his brakes. There was another CRASH! noise before the green car suddenly reappeared beside us, but Sunburst slammed into him again.
There was an even louder crashing noise… followed by the familiar sound of skidding metal on the pavement…
"Won'tcha ya look at that?! Sunshine 'nd Windy still got it!"
Damn straight, we do!
I returned my focus onto getting back to the point and navigating through the twists and turns the road was making us go on. But this battle was certainly not over; I could feel it.
NORMAL P.O.V
The monitor inside the helicopter continued to beep from the orange signals they were tracking. Behind them were their own green tracking signals, still keeping well within touch of the main orange signal.
"Those are not civilian drivers," the grey-haired man shook his head.
Having just seen one of his vehicles be taken out by the motorcycle and car in front of the track proved something he wasn't expecting. However, it still didn't answer his not yet asked question.
What were they?
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
The turns we were being forced to take were sharp and narrow. It was hard to keep up, but at least with myself and Sunburst at the front, we could prepare Optimus and his trailer with what was up ahead… even if that did mean he was skidding around the bends. The device was secure inside his trailer though, and with Arcee still in there just in case, he could still take those risks.
"Could use some air." Agent Fowler's head popped out from the driver's seat. He didn't look so good…
I heard a sound behind me. I flicked my mirrors down to another green car running alongside the trailer. There was a human climbing out from the roof with a weapon. Then he suddenly disappeared in the gap between Optimus and his trailer.
"Careful Optimus, you have another human on board!" I warned.
"Prime! Bare right!"
Optimus moved towards the right and slammed into the green car alongside him, sending him down the cliff. I could see the human again, barely hanging on and probably would've fallen out if he wasn't holding onto Optimus. He suddenly climbed back in the gap.
Optimus' driver's side door suddenly opened, and then Agent Fowler suddenly climbed out and was scaling alongside the side of my leader's truck form. I dropped back slightly to be closer to him - if something happened, at least I can somehow help Agent Fowler… even if he probably hasn't ridden a motorcycle before. He reached in between Optimus and his trailer… and suddenly held out the guy doing whatever he was doing back there.
I even saw his gun fly away so he couldn't defend himself!
"You gonna tell me everything I want to kno-"
The human was smacked out of Agent Fowler's grip by a tree branch that had stuck out onto the road, and to who knows where. I could see our Agent swing his arm in defeat and begin scaling back to Optimus' truck cabin. I remained in close proximity to him to ensure he got back inside safely, and when he was, I returned to my position at the head of the queue.
"I do hope you take better care of the DNGS than you do your captives."
Where did that voice come from?
The chopper noise sounded closer. I moved my mirrors up; the helicopter was flying closer to us now… honestly I wasn't confident of it being a Cybertronian in disguise given how all the road-based vehicles had human drivers and attackers…
"Special Agent William Fowler here. Identify yourself."
"I am Silas. But of greater consequence to you, we are MECH." Who are they? "Fair warning, we will be helping ourselves to your device. Even if it means inflicting casualties."
So they were the ones that had shot Agent Fowler out of the sky, not 'Cons like he first suspected. But why would humans be after the DNGS, and be desperate enough to even risk another human's life?
"Is that so? Tell me, Si, what's the market price for a DNGS these days?"
With the way the humans talk about money, they made it sound like it was just as valuable as Energon was for us.
"What makes you think we intend to sell it, Agent Fowler?" He's not gonna sell it? What's he gonna do with it then? "There's a war brewing, between the new world order and the newest. The victor will be the side armed with the most innovative technology."
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Better watch the trailer! They're breakin' in!"
Scrap!
NORMAL P.O.V
Another human appeared from another green vehicle, aiming his weapon at the doors of the trailer in front of them. He fired a trio of shots, all of them revealing to be small bombs that gripped onto the door. He pressed a button on his gun, making the bombs active and cackle with electricity.
The miniature bombs exploded, sending the bars of the trailer door swinging open, before the door itself began opening from the bottom up. The man still standing through the roof of the car began climbing out.
All while Agent Fowler watched through the rearview mirror… knowingly…
"So, Si, you think MECH has the most radical tech?" His voice was full of torment as spoke into his radio, aware of what else was inside the trailer.
The man began scaling across the car slowly and had just reached the bonnet of the vehicle when a revving sound made him look up. A blue motorcycle leapt out of the trailer, landing onto the man and the vehicle before bouncing off, making the car lose momentum and traction. It skidded around and caught air, making it flip over onto its roof just as Aquastrike drove around to avoid the crashing car.
Another MECH vehicle, unable to slow down, crashed into the upside down car and also caught air. It landed onto its' roof just behind Arcee, exploding into an orange and grey fireball, Aquastrike once again driving around another destroyed vehicle.
The helicopter flew through the dark plume of smoke with their suspicions confirmed.
"Definitely not civilian drivers."
"Later Si!" Agent Fowler smirked in farewell, and placed the radio down.
"Agent Fowler, do not take your 'Silas' lightly," Optimus warned gravely, "Megatron preached the very same ideology before plunging Cybertron into the Great War that destroyed our world."
"Optimus, prepare to initiate phase two. Five miles ahead to the south, you will reach the rendezvous point."
The Nemesis sat still and silently high in the sky, surrounded by white clouds that parted enough to allow the sun to shine down upon it.
"Five miles ahead to the south, you will reach the rendezvous point." Inside the Warship, Soundwave stood in front of Starscream, playing back the recording he had intercepted.
"So, the Autobots are outside the confines of their base, and sound otherwise engaged," Starscream hummed, "Which means they will never see us coming." He began turning to who stood behind him. "Find them and scrap them!"
"Yes, Lord Starscream," a group of Vehicon troops collectively nodded in unison.
In front of them, the black and pink Decepticon known as Moonlight stood proudly and smugly, "Finally. I'm looking forward to it."
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
We turned around the bend on the road just as a train began sounding its horn. The cars from this 'MECH' organisation hadn't gone away, but they hadn't been willing to make another grab for the DNGS. All of us were covering each side of Optimus and the trailer now, with me and Arcee at each side, Sunburst in front and Aquastrike still covering the rear.
"There's the destination point."
Up ahead, we were coming up to two tunnels, one for road-based vehicles and one for the train down beside us.
"Autobots, keep a tight formation."
I revved up the road and overtook Sunburst, at Optimus' instruction, driving alongside Arcee. We leapt over the road barrier in tandem and landed beside the train. The barrier behind us came to an end, allowing Optimus, Sunburst and Aquastrike to follow us down.
In my rearview mirrors, I could see the MECH vehicles copying our move down to the train… which was what we had suspected of them doing.
We entered the tunnel with the train, which was moving at a faster pace than us. I saw Aquastrike transform and activate her blasters, shooting at the roof of the tunnel. But we turned at a bend in the road, so I wasn't able to see anymore than that… However, based on the familiar sounds of a transforming Cybertronian, I could only presume Aqua had done her job justice and was catching back up to us.
I rolled back my speed so I was in line beside Sunburst. Optimus' trailer was open in front of him, and I could see Arcee was in it behind the DNGS. I revved up and transformed as I approached the inside of the trailer.
Time for phase two, "Ready Sunshine, Aqua?"
"Ah'm ready, Windy!"
"Good to go 'Swept."
I could see Arcee giving us a thumbs up, which meant she was all set too.
Sunburst transformed and leapt onto the top of the train carriage we were keeping pace with, and knocked onto its door. It slid open nearly straight away, revealing a human in dark green army gear looking straight at us. Sunburst gave a nod and looked at us.
The trailer came apart from the roof first, transforming until it was nothing but a flat deck revealing me, Arcee and the DNGS. We shared a nod and began lifting up each side of the tech towards Aquastrike now on top of the next carriage with Sunburst. She lifted it out of our servos and passed it along to Sunburst, who carefully slid it through the doors of the carriage.
"DNGS secure," I announced.
I looked down towards the tunnel where it looked to be ending… perfect timing. We immediately began returning to our vehicle forms as the trailer returned to its original appearance…
NORMAL P.O.V
"Tactical error," Silas noted after seeing the rocks in the roof of the tunnel come tumbling down and blocking their entry. He smirked knowingly, "Only one way out."
The helicopter flew over the tunnel from the outside just in time to see the vehicles they were chasing come out along with the train. They rode up a small cliff back onto the road.
Suddenly, a purple jet appeared onto his and the pilots left, and then another one on their right. Soon, they were being surrounded by purple jets as they covered the helicopter at its every side and corner. In front of them, another jet appeared, however this one was not the same as the others around them as it was black and hot pink-coloured, with a different body shape.
"Alrighty boys, let's have some fun," A feminine voice sounded, picking up speed and flying towards the vehicles on the ground with the rest of the purple jets in tow.
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
Sudden sounds of jet noises filled my audios, making me move my mirrors up to the sky where the noise was coming from.
"Air support?" Agent Fowler asked, "Ours or theirs?"
The jets were a familiar looking purple…
"Optimus, you've got company." Ratchet's page only confirmed my suspicions.
Decepticons… Firing their weapons straight towards us…
NORMAL P.O.V
Silas' eyes widened at the missiles heading straight towards the vehicles below, "Military fired on one of their own?!"
The vehicles on the ground scattered to avoid the incoming missiles, but the man's only focus was on the trailer still carrying the DNGS he was desperately trying to claim for himself. The truck semi was skidding around the corner when the trailer suddenly came off its hinges… likely already loose from the work Silas' men had been carrying out during the chase.
"Sir, the DNGS!" The pilot cried in realisation.
As the rest of the vehicles sped away, the trailer stopped and sat in the middle of the ground… leaving the missiles to hit and make it explode into orange flames and black smoke.
The pair in the aircraft could only look on in disappointment.
"Sir… I'm not reading any radiation. The DNGS didn't melt down."
"No. It did not."
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
We managed to escape the Decepticon missiles, but in the process, we had to sacrifice Optimus' trailer… which wasn't a huge concern to be honest. The DNGS was safe, and if we needed to do another transport mission in the future, then Agent Fowler could provide us with another one…
Our huge concern now though, were the Decepticons transforming behind us. We pulled up at the edge of the plateau and spun around to face them.
"Well, well… if it isn't more of my silly sister's friends." Moonlight…
She really went all out bringing a bunch of 'Cons with her…
"Agent Fowler, I'm afraid that if you and we are to survive, it has become absolutely necessary to drop our cover." Optimus transformed beside me, giving us the cue to follow suit.
I looked over at Agent Fowler in Optimus' servo… he didn't look so good. Carly was right after all about transforming with humans on board…
NORMAL P.O.V
The helicopter flew over the plateau and slowed to overlook the sight below. One group of tall, armoured and coloured robots stood on one side, while a group of purple robots, headed up by what was the black and pink jet-turned-robot stood at the other side.
"So the rumours are true. Living technology stands before us. Though perhaps not for very long."
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
"Remain here." I looked behind me at Optimus putting the still ill-looking Agent Fowler up on a rock formation.
"Will do."
Aquastrike punched a fist into her open servo, "Didn' expec' ta be drivin' on four wheels all day. Lookin' forward ta endin' it by kickin' some tailpipe." She was looking straight at Moonlight. "A'hm gon' kick it off wit' yours."
"Any dear friend of Starlights is a dear enemy of mine," Moonlight smirked.
We charged towards her and the drones without another word, Aquastrike leading the way. I immediately targeted a couple of the drones who decided to come after me. I activated my blasters and fired a few shots at one of them… before his helm was sliced off by Sunburst's axe.
I smirked beside him, "It's been a while."
"After you, partner." His tone mirrored mine.
Let's take them out the Windswept and Sunburst way!
NORMAL P.O.V
Silas observed the battle unfold below, watching every move the robots made as they easily overpowered the purple ones.
"Sir, if the DNGS wasn't in the truck…"
"Yes, that." It was time to return the focus to their initial objective. Silas reached for a button on his command board in front of him. "Special Agent Fowler, you lead a charmed life walking among titans."
At the sound of his radio, the Autobot liaison pulled it from his backside to his ear. He looked up to the army green helicopter continuing to circle the area, "Come on down, I'll introduce you."
"In good time," Silas declined, looking down at the monitor. A purple location signal appeared in the center following the route of another path, "But at the moment I'm too busy wondering how the DNGS might have vanished into thin air, without a trace."
The Agent remembered the teamwork of the Autobots, and how they had managed to pass on the DNGS onto the train carefully and without Silas' knowledge. If he was now radioing in with regards to its whereabouts, it only meant one thing…
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a train to catch."
The communication link was cut off at the same time the helicopter began flying away. Agent Fowler could only watch it head into the same direction as the same train the DNGS had been transported onto…
He brought the radio back to his face, "Prime!"
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
I nearly missed my shot on the Decepticon I was taking down when Agent Fowler's voice suddenly came over the comm-link. But his tone sounded wary, like something was going on that was concerning him.
"Silas got wise to phase two!"
What? How? Silas shouldn't have been able to track us moving the DNGS into that train?! …Unless that device has a tracking signal that strong on it he was able to locate.
"I understand!"
"Understand this!"
I looked in the direction of the sudden yell, at Moonlight holding up a large tree trunk. Something red and blue caught my vision, making me see a figure suddenly fall down the cliff.
…Optimus?
"Prime! Do you read me? PRIME!"
I needed to go find him.
I looked up at the 'Cons all gathered in front of us like they were ready for another attack. Around me, I could feel the presence of Aquastrike, Sunburst and Arcee nearby.
"One big one down, four measly ones to go." Moonlight began charging at us.
The team and I spread out in preparation for the attack… Optimus was going to have to wait…
NORMAL P.O.V
"Optimus is down!"
The humans had gathered around a monitor, panic written across their faces at the realisation the Autobot leader wasn't responding to Agent Fowler's calls because he had been taken out.
"MECH's gonna grab the DNGS!" Carly was clutching onto the chair her younger brother was sitting on.
"We need to think of something quick!" Jack agreed beside her.
"You mean like a phase three?!" Raf looked up at the elder boy in concern.
"Okay," Jack whispered, turning away, "Come on, think… Alright, if MECH wants the DNGS, they have to get on that train."
"What if we get on board first?" Miko punched the air like she was fighting an invisible enemy. "You know, run some human-on-human interference?!"
"Absolutely not!" Ratchet immediately shot down.
"Yeah, that would be suicide." Jack narrowed his eyes at the exchange student with disbelief that she would suggest such an idea.
"Hello, the United States of Meltdown! Lives are at stake!"
"Yes! Yours!" Ratchet argued, "You want me to not only 'bridge you into a confined space, but one travelling at ninety miles per hour?! I can't even count the number of ways that could go wrong! Mass displacement trauma! Twisted limbs! Metal burn!" At the last suggestion, the medic was given a look of disbelief from the four humans. "Well, maybe not the last one," he conceded, "Regardless, it is nearly impossible to fix Groundbridge coordinates on something moving at that speed!"
"I hate to say this -" Carly paused to look at Miko. "- And you're never gonna let me live this down -" Her friend smiled in glee and with knowledge of what her friend was about to say. "But she's right. Lives are on the line, and not just ours. We have to get on that train!"
Behind them, the youngest human was busy typing away at his laptop, "Would it help if we had access to the train's coordinates?"
The team looked at the monitor before them. It displayed an outline map of the area the DNGS was in, with the five Autobot life signals shining brightly on the top right to confirm they were still alert and fighting the Decepticons. The map also showed a line going diagonally from the top to the bottom of the screen. A yellow marker appeared on the line, blinking and moving upwards at a steady pace.
Ratchet raised an eyebrow, "Well…."
Carly ruffled her younger brother's hair fondly, "Ese es mi hermano."
The same soldier in the army green gear who the Autobots had passed the DNGS onto stood in front of the device, armed with a weapon in case anyone attempted to stop and enter the train… unaware that just outside hovering over it was the camouflaged-coloured aircraft that had been hunting down the DNGS all day.
Silas looked down briefly before turning to the pilot, "Immobilize them."
The pilot held out a gun, and fired a bullet straight down to the train. The bullet turned into a small device that latched onto the side of the train. It sank in and activated, sending purple electricity cackling throughout the train, and knocking out the guarding soldier
The helicopter began lowering down to the carriage the DNGS was in…
A green and blue portal opened up inside the carriage, swirling with life. A pair of teenage girls suddenly appeared from the portal and landed hard onto the ground, unable to land on their feet due to the fast pace their arrival designation was travelling at. They struggled to their feet, with the brown-haired girl holding her phone to her face.
"We're in!"
"I read you, sis! The cell phone com-link patch works!" Raf cheered with confirmation from their base.
Carly and Miko gave each other a nod before moving to the carriage door, pulling it open to look out and find who was giving chase to the DNGS. They soon discovered their enemy just above them, slowly moving lower to the train.
Carly returned her phone to her ear, "Raf, MECH's landing on top of the train."
At the news from his elder sister, Raf was immediately typing commands into his laptop, while Jack and Ratchet watched behind him.
"In about twenty seconds, you're gonna come up to a fork." The young boy looked up at the monitor, where it showed the train tracks splitting into two as he had warned. "Brace yourself!"
The helicopter was closer to the DNGS than it had been throughout the entire chase, and was only mere metres from landing fully onto the train. Unaware to the occupants inside, they were coming up to the fork in the train tracks, with one side continuing its' straight trajectory while the other was turning to the left.
Back at the base, Raf was working hard and furiously typing more commands into his laptop, pressing enter and returning his attention to the monitor.
The train tracks suddenly switched lanes, the train veering to the left and forcing the MECH helicopter into scraping off the roof of the carriage with sparks. It spun around in the air as the pilot tried to regain control.
Inside the aerial craft, Silas looked at his soldier with a mixture of shock and frustration, "What happened?!"
The pilot took a glimpse at his screen briefly. "Hacker." He pressed a button on his keypad and glanced back at his still-fuming boss. "Former hacker."
The map tracking trains route suddenly disappeared from the monitor and Raf's laptop, being replaced an orange screen with a bomb and a pair of crossed bones. The bomb's fuse was lit, slowly ticking down above an image of small crossed bones...
"What the?" Jack gasped in disbelief.
"What?" The bomb on the screen exploded, with Raf's laptop short-circuiting and cackling with electricity. "Woah!"
Behind them, an unsurprised Ratchet placed a hand on his hip as the laptop went up in smoke, "And what have I been saying all along about Earth technology?"
Determined to not give up the fight, the helicopter returned to the train, this time landing successfully onto the carriage it was targeting. Meanwhile, inside the carriage with the DNGS, Carly and Miko moved away from the door and up to the roof where suddenly, orange sparks were raining down upon them, moving in a straight line to the side before turning into another straight line in a different direction.
"Ten seconds worth of nothing," Carly remarked grimly.
"Raf is losing his touch," Miko whispered with concern.
The elder Esquivel sibling glanced at her phone, "Come on, hermano. What's going on back there?"
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
Arcee and I stood back to back, firing at a pair of drones heading towards us. Our hits easily landed on both of them and sent them down to the ground. I looked around at the others - Sunburst was punching down another drone, and Aquastrike was still rough-housing it with Moonlight.
I glanced over at Agent Fowler and zoomed in my optics - he still looked concerned about the train.
Where are you Optimus?
NORMAL P.O.V
Optimus lifted his head slowly with a weak groan, trying to regain his bearings after the hit he had taken from Moonlight. He shook his head to try and remove the lingering pain, his eyes immediately catching a glimpse of something in the distance.
It was the train, with the MECH helicopter on board.
He sat up, eyes widening in realisation and remembering what Agent Fowler had said.
MECH had relocated the DNGS, and were now only moments away from capturing it.
Carly and Miko watched as the sawing of the hole in the roof neared completion, backing away towards the wall and preparing themselves for whoever was ready to come through. Miko turned and grabbed an axe from its' hinges, holding it with a fierce expression.
Her friend looked briefly at her before also looking at the wall to see what she could also bring to a potential fight. She spotted a fire extinguisher, immediately taking it off its wall hinges and also setting herself up in a fighting stance.
The drilled piece of the roof suddenly fell through to the ground, with three masked men appearing and looking down on the two girls.
"You want a slice of this?" Miko challenged, swinging her axe, "Well, do ya?!"
Carly leaned away from her friend's axe swinging and hiked up the fire extinguisher, "What she said!"
Outside the carriage, the helicopter remained secure on the train, its occupants waiting for their men to return with the DNGS. The pilot was looking at his rearview, suddenly discovering something in the distance.
"Sir!" He was indicating at his bosses' window.
Silas immediately turned to look out, seeing the large, red, blue autonomous robot running down the cliff, his focus zoned in on the train and helicopter. He watched him transform back into his truck semi form, and begin making speed immediately on them.
The MECH leader turned away from the window, back to his pilot and pointed upwards, "Retreat."
One by one, the trio of soldiers who had started breaking into the carriage filed back into the helicopter as their leader had requested. They all secured themselves inside just before the aerial craft began lifting off the train.
Inside the carriage, Carly and Miko watched with concern as the helicopter took off in front of them. The pair turned to each other and shared a worried look - something was going on. They dropped their weapons and looked out the carriage door.
Miko looped her arms around her friends to maintain her steadiness on the moving train, "Always knew you were pretty fierce."
Carly rolled her eyes in amusement, "The worst thing is I got it from you."
"First rule of combat-" Silas began pulling out a weapon from his side. "-Never leave the enemy with the spoils."
He began climbing out from the side of the helicopter and secured himself. Holding out his weapon, he pointed it downwards and fired, sending the fired shot on a straight and downward trajectory towards the train tracks, its' thick vapour trail showing just how fast the shot was travelling. It crashed down onto the tracks further up from where the train was, blowing apart the rails along with part of the earth underneath it and sending rocks flying. It sent a large plume of smoke up into the sky…
…Which Carly and Miko immediately caught sight of, gasping with fright. They looked up to the helicopter, watching it fly away.
Carly moved back inside of the carriage with her phone at her ear, "Raf, MECH's blown the train tracks! We need a 'Bridge for us and the soldiers! Now!"
Unaware to them, chaos was erupting back at the base. The monitor that had initially been showing the tracking map of the train was flashing with reds, whites and yellows from the hacking bomb they had been sent. Raf and Jack were doing everything they could to refire the former's laptop.
A panicked Ratchet stood at the Groundbridge controls, "We've lost access to the train data! I can't bridge you back without coordinates!"
On the train, the girls gripped each other's arms in fear.
"Optimus! Carly and Miko are on that train and MECH has blown the tracks!"
"I'm on my way!" At his medic's panicked voice, the Autobot leader immediately responded by racing faster towards the train. "Maximum overdrive!"
Meanwhile, inside the train, Miko was glancing between the outside world the train was moving at a rapid pace by, and her friend, "Maybe we should jump?"
"Because that's a good idea at ninety or so miles per hour, Miko!" Carly yelled in horror at the idea.
Miko replied with a dry look, "It's the impact or the meltdown, take your pick."
Carly slapped her forehead in frustration, "This is why I never agree to do anything with you anymore."
"Thought you realised that after I got us into detention last week."
"It's not my fault you copied my math homework without me noticing!"
"Next time, you shouldn't leave it lying around for me to borrow!" Carly's eyes narrowed with irritation at her friend. "And speaking of next time, Jack needs to do a better job of talking us out of these situations!"
"Next time…" Carly shook her head, wondering if there was even going to be a next time. She glanced out of the carriage. "If only we were at the back of the train. Maybe we'd get a few extra seconds." She returned her look at her best friend and held out her hand. "Oh well, at least we're in this together."
Miko returned a soft expression to her friend and began reaching out to her friend's hand - because at the end of the day, there was no one else she or Carly would rather be stuck with if they were to die. Just as their hands were nearly touching, the exchange student caught a glimpse of what was in her friend's other hand, and instead snatched it out of her grip.
"Hey, my phone!"
"Raf, this is important! Make sure Bulkhead gets my guitar." The girl locked eyes with her friend momentarily with a smirk. "Jack, Carly has something to say to you!" She shoved the phone back into her friend's waiting hand.
She was met by a look of confusion from her friend, wondering what was meant when the latter suggested there was something that needed to be said… Miko's eyebrows wiggled knowingly, making her realise exactly what she was referring to.
With a shaky hand, Carly moved the phone to her ear, "Jack, I…"
A sudden rumbling of an engine caught the pair's attention, making them glance outside the door where a familiar red and blue truck was racing past them - Optimus had arrived to rescue them.
Carly smirked, phone still pressed to her ear, "Jack, I suggest that nobody reads the will just yet!"
WINDSWEPT P.O.V
Aquastrike swung her fist down and hard onto Moonlight, sending her flying to the ground. But just as quickly as she had fallen down, she was scrambling back up to her pedes and running away from us. There were no other 'Cons here but her now - we'd taken out all the others pretty easily when they had started getting weak.
"They say it's best to quit while you're ahead." The 'Con was looking over her shoulder. "Say a dear hello to my Starlight for me, won't you." She transformed and began flying out, probably back to wherever the Decepticon Warship was.
Arcee appeared beside me, "Where's Optimus?"
I looked around our area… our leader hadn't returned from being downed... Primus, is he okay?!
"He had a train to catch." I turned to Agent Fowler, who was looking out into the distance.
Why would he be…
The DNGS!
NORMAL P.O.V
Optimus transformed into his Cybertronian form, now running towards the front of the train as the human girls watched from their carriage further back. He grabbed hold of the train, immediately setting his feet onto the ground in an attempt to slow the vehicle down to a halt. However, it was taking much longer than he had anticipated… as the hole in the train tracks came closer and closer.
The Prime groaned out a warrior cry as he used all of his strength, digging his feet hard into the ground and kicking up small rocks along the way.
Inside the carriage with the DNGS, Carly and Miko held onto each side of the door, keeping themselves stable as slowly, but surely, the train was beginning to slow.
As the train reached the end of the tracks, it was finally stopped in part to Optimus giving everything he could to make sure the humans were saved. The Autobot leader stood up to full height, and immediately walked back to the open carriage where Carly and Miko were standing, seeing them waving to signal they were okay despite being moments from near disaster.
The sounds of chopper blades caught the trio's attention, making them look out towards the helicopter that had been chasing them the entire road trip.
"Well played, visitor, but MECH still has home field advantage and we will find a way to level that playing field." His monitor flashed with an outline of the Autobot leader, spinning the model around and giving him notes about his particular form. "Even if we have to open you up to see what makes you tick."
The helicopter began flying away, gaining speed and disappearing into the blue sky. Because while they may have not gotten what they had originally seeked, but they had gained just more than that… That was still a victory in itself.
"Optimus, are you and the children… intact?"
Optimus glanced down at Carly and Miko with a nod, "Intact, Ratchet."
"Hey!" Miko slapped her friend's arm, causing her to turn around in surprise. A smile soon graced her features when she saw her hand up, "We're alive!"
The pair shared a high five, giggling and smiling in happiness of the fact that had survived yet another life-or-death encounter.
"Crisis averted, but the world we live in is a different one then previously imagined. One that has spawned its own Decepticons in human skin."