At the flaming wreckage of what used to be the Autobot base, the Nemesis still hovered above and a pair of Insecticons flew down for some scavenging work. Two Vehicons were also searching the rubble with Megatron overseeing them, still missing a right arm.
"Leave no stone unturned!" Megatron ordered, determined to find the bodies of the Autobots and the human children.
"Master, look who we found." Starscream said as he approached his leader, with Skye-Byte and Lockdown trailing behind and carrying a weakened Autobot prisoner. "Pulled from the wreckage of his ship, Wheeljack."
Wheeljack let out a weak groan as he was unable to do anything with all the damage he took from the crash landing.
"So, one survived. Take our guest back to the citadel for questioning. Back to Darkmount." Megatron said, looking at his giant fortress ahead.
"Most certainly, Lord Megatron." Skye-Byte replied before he and Lockdown dragged Wheeljack away.
"Let's hope we'll be able to make this Wrecker squeal." Wheeljack said, smirking down at their prisoner.
"This is the dawning of a new age, my liege. The reign of Megatron." Starscream announced in triumph.
"You do have a way with words, Starscream." Megatron commented before turning to his other minions. "Make haste! And unearth the Autobot corpses!"
As the Decepticons kept searching through the wreckage, the scene moved away from them to reveal the body of Optimus Prime, which appeared to be slightly online even with his severely damaged condition.
Later on, the Vehicons and Insecticons showed up out of the destroyed base with only three unearthed items. The Forge of Solus Prime, which Ratchet took back to base after Optimus was done using it on Metroplex, the pod that contained Airachnid, and the Star Saber. Megatron showed up in front of them and was very unpleasant.
"The Forge of Solus Prime?! How is it that you have managed to materialize that, yet not the remains of a single Autobot?!" Megatron asked angrily.
"Answer your lord and master!" Starscream demanded with a glare. "Where are their bodies?!"
In an underground Cavern, Smokescreen was pacing around anxiously before he saw Hot Rod peeking out through a wall, "There you are," Smokescreen said in relief, "Did you get him?" He asked.
"I did." Hot Rod said with a frown as he pulled the damaged Optimus through the wall and gently laid him on the wall. "But he took the full brunt of the blast. He's lucky he's still functional."
"Optimus is hurt, but he's probably looking way worse than he feels." Smokescreen said, seeing the damage done to Optimus, as the prime managed to open his eyes and saw Hot Rod and Smokescreen.
"Optimus, don't move or talk, just power down." Hot Rod said to their leader. "Get your strength back."
"We got you covered." Smokescreen added.
Back on the surface, Megatron and Starscream were walking away from the destroyed base as the fires had finally subsided.
"The Autobots and their human pets clearly Ground Bridged from their base before it was destroyed. They could be anywhere." Megatron theorized. "Either by returning to Metroplex or anywhere else."
"We must initiate global surveillance, my lord. Send search and destroy teams to every sector of this planet." Starscream suggested. "And we will find their precious Autobot Titan whogive refuge."
"Soundwave, monitor all Earth-base transmissions for any sign of Autobot or human communication, with each other or with their human counterparts." Megatron ordered on the com-link. "And begin searching for Metroplex."
"Master." Starscream said, looking directly ahead.
Megatron followed his gaze and saw a bunch of military helicopters, jets and tanks charging straight at them for a full-on attack.
"Foolish humans." Starscream scoffed. "I shall deploy the armada."
"That won't be necessary, Starscream. Not when we can engage our enemy with new found might." Megatron replied as he looked at Darkmount, mainly the ginormous cannons that were located at the top.
One of the cannons lowered down so that it was aiming at the military army and it started to gather an immense amount of green energy at the front end of its firing position before shooting a humongous energy beam. When the beam hit the ground right in the middle of the army, all the vehicles were halted in their positions and they floated off the ground before being pulled into a single green pulse that then blew them away in a huge blast.
The next day, Jasper was shown to be destroyed from a Decepticon attack with military vehicles laying around the town in damaged states and every building being deserted. On Darkmount, Megatron was seen sitting on the throne of his fortress with his old cannon arm back on him.
"A new power dominates your world. Any further attempts to attack me will be met with even greater force." Megatron declared, speaking to a certain special agent on the communicator. "Your leaders should be advised that my Fusion Cannons possess enough fire power to decimate any densely populated area of my choosing."
"I would in all likelihood set sights on your nation's capital for starters." Megatron said with a smirk through Fowler's phone in his office.
"Point taken. Now what do you want from us?" Agent Fowler questioned with a glare.
"Nothing, Agent Fowler. The Decepticons mean no harm to humanity." Megatron replied, using a fake sincere tone.
"We merely desire a place to call home." Megatron told him.
Starscream was listening to his master's conversation nearby, smirking sinisterly at how good Megatron was at being a liar.
"No offense, Megatron, but I'm having a tough time swallowing all this." Fowler said, unconvinced.
"Since you seem so bent on plastering humankind of any living species under molten steel." Fowler said as he slammed his fist into his desk.
"Agent Fowler." Megatron started calmly.
"I admit that war brings out the worst in me, but the conflict with the Autobots is now over. And our quarrel has never been any other kind, including yours." Megatron explained. "Now that the one true enemy of the Decepticons is no more, my only wish is to coexist on this planet with the human race…peacefully." He said with a smirk.
"Together, Agent Fowler, I believe that you and I can make that dream a reality." Megatron finished as he ended the call as Fowler gave a firm glare after what he said.
When he ended the call, Megatron stood up from his throne and began walking towards the edge of the platform while Starscream began to clap for him.
"You too have a way with words, master." Starscream complemented with a sly smile. "I almost believed you myself."
Megatron laughed to himself as he stopped at the edge of the platform and looked into the darkened sky with Starscream by his side.
"Earth is our planet now, Starscream. And we shall finish what we started." Megatron proclaimed. "Human kind has no idea what's coming." He said with a smile.
Meanwhile at a far away military base, with Drift and his pupils hiding out in one of the buildings, Fowler was currently having a phone call with his superiors.
"Yes, General Bryce. Special Containment Protocol G-1000 has been executed as planned. Evacuation of Jasper, Nevada was one hundred percent successful. As far as its citizens or the media are concerned, the threat was a meteor shower and the town is to remain quarantined until the resulting radiation levels can be dissipated." Fowler explained as he got the next words from his leading general. "Sir, any form of retaliation will be too risky. I just need more time."
After a few more seconds of hearing from his superior, all Fowler could do was frown in defeat.
"Yes, I understand." Fowler said before hanging up and sitting back in his seat, less than happy at the moment.
Just then, June came into his office with a notepad in hand and Stethoscope. "Agent Fowler, those medical supplies still haven't arrived." She informed him with a frown. "We have wounded men who need…"
"Doing the best I can, Nurse Darby! Been a little busy juggling a bunch of nuke-happy generals who don't seem to care if they blow Nevada sky high, and a Decepticon warlord who wants to make nice now that the Autobots are in the scrapyard!" Fowler complained frustratingly as he stood up again before calming himself down. "Megatron's opinion, not mine. He's feeding me a load of horse pucky, trying to crush our spirit." He added as they heard clashing metal.
The two then went into the hangar where they saw Drift monitoring Slipstream and Jetstorm's training, "Watch your footing students, maintain the perfect balance of strength and swiftness." Drift told them as the Minicons continued.
"Drift, still no word from anyone?" June asked the Samurai Cybertronian.
Drift looked at her for a moment before he reached his comlink, but only received static. "No. The com channel must have been destroyed when the Autobot Base was incinerated." he explained with a frown.
"Yeah. The base was pounded into pancake batter. Not much equipment could've survived that." Fowler said in agreement.
"But if I could just call Jack?" June asked in concern.
"I would advise against it." Drift said to her. "It is too dangerous, the Autobots know this as well. The Decepticons can trace all communications frequency. Until we have the means of contacting them safely, radio silence is the safest tactic."
"Then take me home," June told him, walking forward, "If Jack can't call me, then that's where he'll look for me."
"Jasper is completely under the control of the Decepticons," Drift reminded her. "To go there now would resign your desire to live."
"Exactly, no one's getting back into Jasper while it's under Con lockdown." Fowler added, "The only ones who can fix this mess are Prime and his bots. I'm sure they're out there, keeping a low profile. They gotta be." He said hopefully before sighing, "Though one more positive note, I may have gotten confirmation that your loose cannon buddy is locked up tight in Megatron's pad." He told Drift.
"Wheeljack." Drift realized.
"Looks like the loose cannon survived the con. But he's now a jailbird of Megatron." Fowler said to them. "No surprise they're keeping him running to get a beat on the other bots."
Slipstream and Jetstorm approached, "Master Drift, for all we know, we three and Wheeljack could very well be the only remaining resistance to Megatron's rule," Jetstorm told their teacher.
"And we would stand a much better chance of survival if we are united." Slipstream added.
"Indeed, rescuing Wheeljack is the most prudent course of action," Drift agreed, "And hopefully he has means of reconnecting with the other Autobots, if they survived."
"Well, you better put your wheels to the road then," Fowler told him.
"Just be careful, and anything happens to you or Wheeljack then," June couldn't finish.
"Nurse Darby, I am certain your son is still alive, and I will not rest until you see him again," Drift promised as June gave a small smile as Drift turned to his students. "Slipstream, Jetstorm, come. We have a fellow comrade to save." He said as his Minicons retracted into his arms as he turned to the two humans. "Until we meet again, my friends." He said with a bow.
"Good luck, soldier." Fowler said with a salute as Drift then walked up to the open door and then transformed into his vehicle mode and drove off to begin his mission.
At Metroplex, Fixit was working himself to the joint to monitor the systems for any sign of the Autobot signals. "Anything, Fixit?" Chromia asked as she stepped forward.
"No. I have yet to detect any Autobot signals." Fixit said to her. "With the Decepticons monitoring the frequencies, I have to take extra precaution to ensure it's same, slay…" He glitched as he hit himself. "Safe to contact any of our comrades while keeping the Cons from finding our location."
"Well, at least some of us managed to make it here," Chromia turning to see the only Autobots who managed to get to Metroplex: Reck'n'Ruin, Ironhide, Whirl, Jetfire, Firestar, Moonracer, Sideswipe, Strongarm, and Grimlock.
"This is like the War for Cybertron all over again." Ironhide said with a down look. "We were this close to victory, and this happens."
"You think… the others manage to make it out before the blast hit?" Whirl asked in worry.
"I-I'm certain they did." Jetfire said to them.
"Yeah. We're Autobots. We don't go down easy." Moonracer said to them.
"Yeah, we just gotta wait for OP and the others to get back here, and then we go after Megatron." Sideswipe reasoned.
"If we can wait for them." Strongarm said to him with a frown. "Incase you haven't noticed, Megatron has cannons that are so powerful, they can blow cities right off the map. You saw what happened to Jasper."
"And every day we wait." Reck started.
"The worse it gets." Rack finished sadly.
"Well, how about we go out there now and start punching those cannons?" Grimlock questioned while smashing his fists together.
"We can't, Grim, not while our numbers are still too low," Chromia told him with her arms crossed, "We just need to focus on getting the Autobots back together before we can even think about a counterattack."
"If the Cons aren't hunting us down one by one." Ironhide said sadly as Chromia played a servo on his shoulder. "For all we know, they could be out right now, trying to survive while avoiding being spotted by the Decepticons, and we can't help them."
"We can't even use our Ground Bridge if we don't know where they are." Firestar added in frustration.
"Which is why I must work diligently to search for their signals," Fixit said as he resumed his work. "We will find them. I'm sure of it."
At the same time, a lone aerial Vehicon was flying above a grass field in vehicle mode and he started to scan nearby vehicles on a roadway for the Autobots.
"Scanning." The Vehicon said as he scanned three vehicles, but none of them were identified as Autobots. "Negative. No Autobot recognition."
The Vehicon then flew away from the area, but the yellow and black car he scanned drove off road and underneath a tree. The driver's door opened and Raf jumped out.
"Clear." Raf said as Bumblebee transformed and looked over the branches to see the Vehicon flying away.
"That was close." Bumblebee said in relief.
"Too close." Raf said to him. "But your paint job did the trick." He said before they heard jet engines as they looked up and saw a familiar jet flying towards them, transforming into Windblade as she landed on the ground while a certain car and Ambulance came in as Jazz and Ratchet transformed next to them. "And we were lucky you guys managed to find us."
"Yes, we were fortunate that our Ground Bridging was close to each other's position." Ratchet said with a nod.
"And we were lucky to get some distance so the cons didn't discover us." Windblade said. "Without the rest of the team, we're pretty much sitting ducks out here."
Jazz went to his comm, "This is Jazz, do you read?" He called but only got static, "Sub-link's still down," He told them.
"Guys, I realize Optimus sent us all to different locations to make us harder for the cons to find, but if we don't know where in the world anyone else went, how are we gonna find them?" Raf asked the four Autobots.
"Hey, we might not know where they are, but we do know where their going," Bumblebee reminded the boy.
"Bumblebee is correct, Optimus orders were for us to regroup at Metroplex where we could plan our counterattack," Ratchet said.
"But Metroplex is in proximity of Megatron's fortress, in Jasper, Doc." Winddblade reminded the medic.
"Then it's a good thing the Cons won't be expecting us to go back there," Jazz told them.
"So, we better get going." Bumblebee said.
"Right. Just keep heading toward Jasper. Toward Megatron's giant fortress." Raf said uneasy, knowing this was gonna be a tough time to sneak in.
Meanwhile at a roadway next to a cliffside, Bulkhead, Crosshairs, and Kup, was seen driving his way down the area and Miko was sitting in the passenger seat with a tired expression. "I never knew there were so many rockies." She muttered as she gave a sigh before she took out her phone.
"Miko!" Bulkhead shouted, skidden to a stop as Miko yelped as the other two Wreckers stopped.
"Whoa, Bulk, whatsamatta?" Crosshairs questioned.
"Miko, no Cellphones!" Bulkhead said firmly, "You know the rules!"
"Dude, I wasn't calling anyone." Miko said with a look. "Just playing a video game I already downloaded." She assured while showing a game on her phone.
"Well then, at ease soldier," Kup said in relief.
"Sorry, I… I guess I'm a little on edge." Bulkhead said as the three Wreckers drove off.
"We all are, Bulky." Crosshairs said with a sigh. "We're losing our minds hiding out like this."
"Chin up boys. We just gotta keep rolling on," Kup told them.
"Where are we headed anyway?" Miko asked. "Do any of you have a plan?"
"We're following standard Wrecker protocol, kid." Kup told her.
"Which is?" Miko started.
"An emergency procedure we followed during the War on Cybertron, in case any Wrecker got separated from the unit. We'd always rendezvous at the same coordinates." Crosshairs explained.
"If Jackie and Grim are still alive, that where they'll be," Bulkhead said as the three kept riding off.
But what the Wreckers didn't know that Wheeljack was suffering constant torture from the Decepticons. Now was Deadend's turn.
"Don't stop now. I was just beginning to enjoy myself." Wheeljack provoked.
Deaden groaned a little, but soon smirked. "Oh, believe me, Autobot. There's more where that came from, and you're gonna tell me the location of the Other Autobots." He said before allowing a sabotage droid to make two serious scars on the Autobot's chest. "One way or another."
"Like I told ya, they weren't expecting me. They never bothered to fill me in." Wheeljack said as Deadend turned back to him, "So go ahead, knock yourself out." he challenged with a smirk.
On the main platform of Darkmount, Knock Out, Clobber, and Lockdown approached Megatron as he sat on his throne and they knelt before him.
"We're here like you asked, master." Clobber said.
"How may we serve you, Lord Megatron?" Knock Out asked respectfully.
"Assemble a team and disembark for Cybertron immediately. While hunting Autobots remains paramount, we must not squander the opportunity to recover any Iacon relics left behind in the chaos." Megatron proclaimed. "For all we know, Optimus Prime is out there…planning to do the same."
"Whatever you say, Lord Megatron." Lockdown replied with a nod.
Back underground, Smokescrean and Hot Rod sat beside the injured Optimus, who groaned as they turned to him as they walked to him. "It's okay, Optimus. You're with us, Smokescreen and Hot Rod." Smokescreen said to him.
"You're safe now." Hot Rod said as Optimus managed to gain enough strength to turn to them.
"Hot Rod, Smokescreen, How did… I get here?" Optimus asked weakly.
"When we were evacuating the base, just as the cons opened fire…" Smokescreen started as he recalled how he and Hot Rod saved him. "It was our turn to Ground Bridge away."
"But we couldn't do it." Hot Rod said as he shook his head. "We couldn't let you face Megatron and his army alone. You chose me to be the next Prime, and a Prime never leaves his friends twisted in the wind."
"So we snuck back through the Ground Bridge." Smokescreen continued. "But that's when the blast hit, and the whole joint came tumbling down."
"That's when we saw the Decepticons searching for any survivors, and that's when we found you, damaged under the debris." Hot Rod said to him. "Smokescreen managed to find us this place to hide out."
"And Hot Rod manages to pull you from the wreckage before the cons dove in." Smokescreen added.
"And we did it using the Phase Shifter." Hot Rod said while showing the Phase Shifter to Optimus. "Which we manage to snag from the chaos back on Cybertron. We're sorry we defied orders, Optimus." He said in regret as Optimus panted in pain.
"We're safe here. But we're down so deep, no one could pick up our signals." Smokescreen explained.
"Smokescreen and I will have to scout above ground if we want to have any hope of finding the others." Hot Rod said as he stood up. "Come on, Smoke."
"No," Optimus muttered out as the two young bots turned to him, "No hope…from me…only…you."
"What do you mean?" Smokescreen asked in concern.
"Yeah, we just need to find Ratchet or Fixit to get you patched up." Hot Rod added as Optimus just panted again. "Optimus?" He asked in concern.
Back on the Surface, Jack and Acree went up to a nearby fuel factory as they stopped while Jack gave a nervous look. "What if Jasper wasn't evacuated in time? She could have been hurt, or taken by the cons." Jack said in worry for her mother.
"Jack." Acree tried to say.
"And even if she did get out, she gotta be worried out of her mind. Not knowing where I am." Jack continued as Acree transformed.
"Jack, calm down," Arcee said with her hands up, "We'll get Metroplex, find a way to reach your mother, and regroup the rest of the team." She said, walking forward a bit before noticing an aircraft in the sky a few distance away, "Stay here, could be a con on our tail pipes." She said, transforming and driving off.
Jack stood there as he sighed before taking out his phone that had a wallpaper of Acree before turning to a picture of his mother as he watched in worry. "Sorry, Mom. I call if I could." He said with a sigh before he gave a thought. "One text couldn't hurt, could it?" He asked as he sent a text.
In the communications room of the Nemesis, Soundwave saw that Jack's texting signal on a signal-tracking screen and Starscream was watching it with him.
"Master, we've pinpointed a signal." Starscream informed him with a smirk.
Megatron heard him on his com-link and knew that the one who sent the signal needed to be destroyed this second.
"Send in the troops." Megatron ordered, standing up from his throne. "And Soundwave, I want a live feed."
The Decepticon leader then transformed and flew down to his warship, while Soundwave released Laserbeak and the Mini-Con drone flew off towards the pinpointed signal.
At the military base, June was currently packing some medical supplies into her bag from a shelf before she heard her phone vibrating. She quickly answered it before she saw the text from her son, which made her gasp. "Jack." She whispered as she quickly read the text. "With Arcee. Safe. Love you." She said as she quivered a smile. "Agent Fowler! Jack's alive!" She called as she rushed out of the room.
At the fuel factory, Jack sent the message as he put his phone away. But then, he heard soaring sounds as he looked up and saw a Vehicon flying towards him. "Scrap." He muttered, realizing his mistake as he quickly rushed off as the Vehicon fired at him.
With Arcee, she drove up to a nearby boulder and transformed before aiming her blaster at the helicopter in her sights. The female Autobot saw it was a normal helicopter and not a Decepticon, causing her to sigh in relief.
"Civilian." Arcee whispered before she heard some explosions in the distance and turned around to see a Vehicon firing at Jack at the fuel factory, causing her to gasp in horror. "Jack!" Arcee quickly transformed and drove back to the fuel factory to rescue Jack.
With Jack, he was rushing behind some hills as he avoided the Vehicon shots, but then he saw a second one coming into view. "I am so toast!" He muttered as he quickly climbed up a cage and the shots missed, but one of them hit the cage that sent Jack flying as he landed on the ground.
As he picked himself up he rushed to the side of the building as the Vehicons shot the legs of a power tower as it tumbled down before he saw Laserbeak flying in getting a visual of him, "Smile, Jack. You're on Decepticon TV." He muttered.
Megatron, Starscream, Shadow Striker, Skye-Byte, and Soundwave looked at Jack on their screen through Laserbeak's vision.
"Master, we have a visual," Starscream said.
"Oh, this is gonna be good." Shadow Striker said with a smirk.
Jack kept moving before he rushed off and hid under a trailer truck as Laserbeak kept his sights on him as the Vehicons kept firing, which made Jack gave a yell as he covered his head as the trailer was flung up into the air and crashed into the ground as Jack saw the Vehicons still firing as he crawled back before he brace himself as they got closer to him.
Just then, a police car jumped out of nowhere and rammed the two Vehicons right out of the sky, which surprised Jack just as Acree drove by. "Jack, are you okay?!" Arcee asked in concern as she ready her blasters.
"I-I'm fine. But I think one of our own who found us should be thanked for that." Jack said as he pointed to the police car that landed on the ground as it skidded on the road as he and Acree watched it transform as Prowl revealed himself.
"Prowl!" Acree said in relief.
"How did you find us?" Jack asked with a smile.
"Your laser show gave it away." Prowl said to him. "I figured I would find an Autobot or their human partner close by." He said as they turned and saw the Vehicons flying by again. "And it looks like it just got started." He added as he and Acree started firing at them while Jack hid behind them for cover.
"How long does it take to exterminate two Autobot and their human pet?" Megatron asked in annoyance, not liking the fact that Arcee and Jack were still alive and now Prowl came to their rescue.
"Well, in my experience-" Starscream started to say.
"Not a riddle, Starscream." Megatron interrupted firmly.
"Sorry." Starscream apologized, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh, I'm sure their luck won't last long, Lord Megatron." Shadow Striker assured.
"We need to get rid of these cons and stop Laserbeak before they transmit our position to Darkmount!" Prowl said as they took cover.
"How?" Jack questioned.
Arcee then noticed a gas station close by, "I got an idea, follow me!" She said as she and Prowl transformed, with Jack riding on her as they drove to the gas station where Laserbeak followed their movement as they stopped at the gas station as they transformed and ready their weapons.
"Acree, you know these things are like giant bombs, right?" Prowl asked with a brow.
"Yeah, I agree with Prowl." Jack said in agreement. "Not the best cover."
"We're not here to hide." Acree said with a smirk, which made them realize her plan.
Laserbeak kept following their movements before the two Vehicons transformed and landed beside the gas station as they armed their weapons and saw Jack holding two gas hoses. "Hey, guys! Unleaded or diesel?!" He taunted as the Vehicons looked down and saw a huge puddle of gas in front of them as Jack dropped the hoses and rushed off.
The Vehicons were about to take fire, but then, Prowl and Acree came out from behind a car and the two Autobots fired at the gas puddle, causing a huge explosion that took out the Vehicons and destroyed the gas station as the three took cover behind the car as the blast hit Laserbeak, damaging him.
On the Nemesis, the video footage was scrambled as the Decepticons could no longer see what was happening, "Scrap," Shadow Striker complained.
Megatron gave a growl while Starscream gave a frustrated look.
Back at the explosion, the two Autobots and human watched as the flames lit up. "That might have taken care of the flyers, but that explosion will draw attention to more." Prowl said to them.
"Then we better not stick around," Arcee stated as she and Prowl transformed, "Were you able to make contact with Metroplex?" She asked the police Autobot.
"No." Prowl said to her. "Still on radio silence. And the Autobot comlink hasn't been online since we were scattered while making my way to Metroplex. You two are the first of the team I found."
"At least we found you, Prowl." Jack said as he got on Acree and put on his helmet. "Let's hope we'll run into the others on the way."
"We'll find them, Jack." Acree assured her human partner. "Let's roll." She said as Jack gave a determined look as the three took off at high speed before the cons or anyone else came.
Meanwhile on Cybertron, Knock Out, Clobber, and Lockdown were currently scavenging through the remains of the Omega Lock with a handful of Vehicons and Insecticons aiding them.
"Come on, fellas, put your backs into it!" Knock Out ordered, supervising the entire operation.
"You could try giving us a hand, Knocks." Lockdown told him annoyingly while moving a big chunk of metal.
"And get my finish covered in rust dust? Not a chance." Knock Out retorted.
"We've already found the Immobilizer, Polarity Gauntlet, and Shield Generator. Those are some good relics for us." Clobber said while holding up a large metal pile on her shoulder.
"I suppose. What's over here?" Knock Out asked as he approached two Vehicons as they moved more scrap away, looking in the hole to see another Iacon relic. "The Apex Armor. Our illustrious leader will be pleased. Now, any sign of that Phase Shifter? I really like that thing."
"No sign of it yet. Though it would be a bit faster if you he-" Lockdown stopped himself as he saw something in the distance that made his optics widen, "Knock Out, Clobber, Look!" He pointed with his hook.
The two looked ahead and spotted what Lockdown was pointing as the Vehicons followed along. "No, way." Clobber muttered.
"By the Allspark." Knock Out whispered in shock as they looked in awed at what they were seeing.
Back on the Nemesis, Soundwave attached both his tentacles onto Laserbeak, who had been recovered from the fuelling station explosion and survived. Megatron, Starscream, Sky-Byte, Deadend, and Shadow Striker stood beside the communications Decepticon to know if there was some recorded footage worth saving.
"Well? Did any of the surveillance data survive?" Megatron asked, only for Soundwave to give a silence which translated to 'No'.
"Looks like we're back to square one on finding those accursed Autobots and their fleshy companions." Sky-Byte said with a sigh.
"A shame. We might have at least learned the direction in which Arcee and the human fled." Starscream said.
"And if this keeps up, they'll get back together again in no time." Shadow Striker said with a frown.
"A pity we were unable to pinpoint to exact direction in which Arcee, Prowl and the human fled," Starscream said in disappointment, "We might have at least been able to follow them to Metroplex."
"Clearly we must improve our methods of hunting Autobots and build upon the tactical advantage we've managed to secure." Megatron proclaimed, thinking of improving their plans.
"Which will take longer than expected." Shadow Striker said to them. "While we have experience at fighting Autobots, it's been a long while since we've been hunting them."
"And since none of us possess the necessary skills, it will be a hard time to even gain an edge." Deadend said with his arms crossed.
"Lord Megatron, my team and I are ready to return to Darkmount." Knock Out informed on the communicator. "And I'm certain you'll want to see what we've uncovered."
"Soundwave, open a Space Bridge portal." Megatron ordered.
Soundwave pulled his tentacles away and his screen displayed the Decepticon Space Bridge being activated before he and the other Cons turned around. A green Vortex appeared in front of them and Knock Out walked out of it with Clobber and Lockdown by his side.
"Aah, it's good to be back," Clobber said with a smile.
"I find myself in urgent need of good news. So please, Knock Out, Lockdown and clobber, tell me that the three of you have found something useful." Megatron told his three followers, hoping to have a good answer.
"We've managed to find a few things on Cybertron, master." Lockdown replied with smile.
"And…a few someones." Knock Out added optimistically, stepping to the side with his teammates and gesturing to the Space Bridge portal.
The Decepticons started to hear a few footsteps from inside the portal and looked curiously at it before four new Cybertronians walked out of it and stood before them. One was a female Cybertronian and the other was a male, but their colors were opposite to each other. The female was red with a helmet-like feature on her head and circular pads on her shoulders, while the male was blue with car door-like features on the top sides of his back and his mouth was some kind of green screen. The third one seems to be similar to Clobber, but was bulkier implying it was a male, and the the fourth one seems to be like a seeker, but has two turrets on his shoulders as his face has a modical while having a calm face.
All four of them had the Decepticon insignia on them.
"Well, it seems that this entire warship is still intact after all these centuries." The red female Decepticon said, observing her surroundings.
"I'm still surprised all of you managed to keep in together." The blue male Decepticon told the others, chuckling in humor.
"Indeed, Dropkick, it sure has." The seeker said before his face turned to a crazy face. "Eheheh! And this is like how we remember it!"
"At last, we finally return to our brethren and our lord and master!" The clobber look-alike said.
"Lugnut, Blitzwing, Shatter, Dropkick?" Deadend asked in complete surprise. "You four were on Cybertron this whole time?"
"How is that possible? We had lost contact with the four of you after we departed Cybertron." Starscream reminded.
"We have simply been out of range on Cybertron while you were busy dealing with the Autobots on this world." The red Decepticon, Shatter, replied before she, Dropkick, Lugnut, and Blitzwing turned to Megatron and bowed respectively to him. "Lord Megatron, it's an honor to see you again."
"We're yours to command." Dropkick added.
"We are not worthy." Lugnut said graciously.
"We live to serve, Lord Megatron," Blitzwing said in a calm tone.
"Ah, four of my most capable and relentless warriors have returned." Megatron said with a grin, gesturing the four new Decepticons to rise up. "I would have never imagined that you four were on Cybertron this entire time."
"We weren't the only ones who were stranded on our lifeless planet, master." Lugnut explained to him.
"There's someone else you're gonna be happy to see, too. Especially you, Starscream." Dropkick admitted while sending a smug look to the air commander, much to his confusion.
"Yes, you're gonna be thrilled to see him!" Blitzwing said in a crazed look.
"And he has quite a few words for you." Shatter said as the four Decepticons stepped aside, another pair of footsteps could be heard within the Space Bridge.
Starscream took a close look within and gained an astonished and terrified look when he saw a third, yet familiar, Decepticon emerging from the portal.
"He…lives?" Starscream asked breathlessly as the one-eyed Decepticon walked into the room.
"Shockwave." Megatron said in surprise before he let out an evil laugh, knowing he had a new advantage against his enemies. "Just the tactical advantage I need."
Shockwave continued walking into the room to present himself to his fellow Decepticons while Shatter, Dropick, Blitzwing, and Lugnut simply stood to both sides, anxious to destroy some Autobots on Earth.
Well, this situation seems pretty bleak.
The Autobots are scattered everywhere and in small groups, Megatron has fusion cannons pointed at every capital city in the U.S and now we have five new Decepticons joining the battle, Shockwave included.
For those who don't know, Lugnut and Blitzwing are based off their Transformers Animated Series versions and Shatter and Dropkick hail from the Bayverse.
Stay tuned, as the new Decepticons fit themselves into the ranks the Autobots manage to hook up with each other and gain some new allies of their own, in "Scattered".