Code Prime and Attack on Prime React to Transformers WFC Game Trilogy

by Osric Primus 270

Two universes that collided with the Transformers react to the history of the War for Cybertron. (based on the WFC trilogy of games, WFC, ROTDS and FOC along with some bits from Cybertron Adventures on the Wii. For WFC, the story will be based on the console version, with small nods to the DS version of WFC) Couldn't fit Attack on titan into the crossover section, apologies.

3. Chapter 2 Fuel of War

Chapter 2 Fuel of War

Hey there all! Hope you're doing well when you read this. Here is the second chapter of the story.

I want to thank everyone who has shown support for this story, as it means a lot to have a fair few readers within just a month.

Besides character additions, I've added a thing or two that wasn't in the game version, to keep things interesting and provide some new stuff that I'm hoping people will enjoy.

With that said, let's start!

With the Black Knights, the Survey Corps and Vector Prime still assembled, the screen lit up again:

Anxious to prove themselves worth of the Decepticon name, Starscream and his minions fly to Cybertron.

There they must reconnect the Energon Bridge that will enable Megatron to manufacture more Dark Energon and conquer the Autobots once and for all.

"So, we're going to find out how Starscream reconnects this 'Energon Bridge' to provide a means of manufacturing Dark Energon" stated Kiyomi.

"Indeed, from what he said last time, the Orbital Station has almost run out of the necessary resources to manufacture it, and for what Megatron has planned, no doubt he'll need a lot of Dark Energon" Nina explained, worried about the implications of this plan.

Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Slipstream and Dreadwing, who had joined the group per Megatrons orders, appear on the screen, flying downward into what appeared to be a Cybertronian underground section, with huge metal pumps and beams all around them, and a vast pool of Energon beneath them.

Slipstream was a purple and cyan coloured jet. Unlike Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker she had a completely different build and vehicle mode to them. Her jet mode notably had six wings, two long ones in the centre and four smaller ones at the back of her jet form, two on the top side and two on the lower side.

Meanwhile Dreadwing was a bulky blue jet with tinges of yellow, with two wings which were slightly longer and larger than the others. Along with two small wings at the back of his jet form.

Megatron could be heard giving orders. "Your orders are clear Starscream! Infiltrate the Cybertron underground, and reactivate the Energon Bridge. I want that power online!"

The group then came across a large metal fan, which Starscream blasted. He then responded to Megatron's demand.

"Megatron, Thundercracker has detected several Autobots up ahead. Jetfire must have warned Zeta Prime and moved to intercept us already!" he reported.

Megatron cared little for Starscream's concerns "Enough of your whining! If the Autobots try to stop you, crush them! Report back to me when you have found the bridge, Megatron out!"

Starscream didn't take kindly to being dismissed so rudely "That imbecile thinks I'm expendable. ME?! He'll soon learn never to underestimate Starscream."

"Wow, Starscream just met Megatron and he's ALREADY planning to usurp him" Ymir said in disbelief. "You weren't kidding about him being a duplicitous douchebag."

"Yeah, Starscream's desire for power is certainly one of his most notable characteristics" Monica affirmed.

"True, but Megatron didn't need to be a rude to Starscream about the warning of Autobots ahead, especially since it will be Starscream's team that need to deal with it not Megatron." said Misty, with many seeing her point: While Starscream was a devious schemer, in that exchange Megatron had been rude to Starscream with little justification or reason, showcasing his awful behaviour once more.

The group flew past a waterfall of Energon and flew through a passage where they spotted a circular drone.

"What is that?" Skywarp asked.

"An Autobot probe, we should avoid it to prevent detection." elaborated Thundercracker.

"Like that puny probe could stop me. Blast them and get on with it." Starscream impatiently ordered.

Dreadwing was the first fire, destroying the probe with a jet rocket. Megatron had sent him to monitor this new group, and from what he could observe this Starscream certainly was someone to keep an eye on, his arrogant personality made him stand out compared to his colleagues, though Dreadwing knew to keep an eye on them as well, for they too could be trouble. For now he would observe and talk with them when needed, but if needed he would step in to straighten them out.

"It would seem that Dreadwing has noticed Starscream's prideful nature. That will be useful, should Starscream become a problem later on." Erwin observed.

Suzaku and Euphemia watched in silence, on seeing Dreadwing again. Whilst they knew he would appear based on the previous viewing, it was still surreal seeing their friend again. Many of their loved ones noticed this, but chose to leave them be for the moment.

As the group proceeded through the area, with Skywarp and Thundercracker destroying one security probe each, they passed through a transforming door and into a tight aerial corridor.

Thundercracker took note of their surroundings. "I have never traveled this deeply into Cybertron's interior before."

"Ugggghh, you're as boring as ever Thundercracker." Slipstream groaned as they flew upward.

The group flew further through the corridor, before transforming as they ran into a door, which had a switch on the left.

"She says it's boring, but I think it's great to be able to see Cybertron itself, even if it's just the planet's underground, rather than a city or some other notable sight." Shirley said in disagreement

"I agree, being able to see other environments and places carries a wonder that cannot be put into words." Onyankopon responded.

Starscream activated the switch, only to find a trap door, with security lasers spreading all across the door.

"What is this? Some kind of Autobot trap?" he scoffed.

"It's an enemy detection barrier" Thundercracker answered plainly.

"So it's a trap" responded Skywarp dryly, irked that Thundercracker basically said the same thing as Starscream.

"He's certainly good at stating the obvious" Levi remarked, also unimpressed with Thundercracker's observation"

"Considering who he's traveling with, that "straight obvious talk" is kind needed" Rai joked, which caused some of the other Black Knights to laugh.

"The power conduits along the floor should direct us to it's power source" Thundercracker reasoned.

"Indeed, but this trap can be easily disarmed" said Dreadwing as he pulled out his signature Cluster Cannon and fired a rocket straight towards a glowing red powercore directly opposite them, destroying it and disabling the security lasers.

"Stupid Autobots, to think their measly tricks could ever fool Starscream." Starscream boasted as if he disarmed the trap himself, much to the chagrin of his fellow Seekers and even Dreadwing, who glared at him from behind.

"What the hell is he boasting for? He didn't even do anything!" Connie exclaimed in frustration.

"Seriously, is he gonna do this every time something good happens?" Gino groaned, aware of how obnoxious Starscream's boasting could be, and thinking back to the mission to retrieve the immobiliser.

"Unfortunately, considering how arrogant Starscream is, I doubt this will be the last time we hear of his "achievements" Ohgi added scathingly.

They proceeded further into the room, only to find another set of security lasers covering the exit, preventing them from proceeding.

"Oh great, another trap!" Skywarp moaned in annoyance.

"The powercore has to be somewhere in this room." speculated Thundercracker.

"Pah! Another nuisance. Spread out and find the powercore!" Starscream ordered as everyone separated to locate the powercore.

Starscream transformed and flew across a pool of Energon and turned left, where he found the powercore on the left side to the door. Starscream equipped his Null Ray and shot the powercore, disabling the lasers.

"Pathetic machinery" he said dismissively, as the other four regrouped with him, having heard his gunshot.

The five of them continued on, going further down into the underground until they stumbled upon a broadcast coming from beneath them. They looked down to see a projected transmission of Sentinel Zeta Prime, the Autobot leader before Optimus Prime.

Zeta Prime was a tall transformer, coated in blue and gold colours, with broad shoulders that went up to his head, long, firm arms and big, tall legs with flat feet.

He certainly looked powerful and regal, but when everyone looked at him, they felt he did not inspire confidence or hope the same way Optimus Prime did. Still, this was many people's first impression of Zeta and a hologram at that, so time would tell more about this Prime.

"He certainly looks regal, with that colour scheme and chassis and sense of power he gives off, it's almost as if he were a King." Leilla noted

"So that's the Autobots' current leader? The one who came before Optimus?" Shadis asked.

"Indeed, he was leader for a considerable amount of time, most notably during the 'stalemate' before Megatron defeated him" Cera explained, to the surprise of many in the Survey Corps.

"It's strange though, I know he's meant to be the Autobot leader, but there's something about him that just feels… off. Like despite the 'mighty' presence he gives off, he isn't as strong as he looks." Jean was skeptical of Zeta as a whole.

"I know what you mean, especially when you compare him to Optimus, he just seems different, like he isn't the proper fit to be Prime." Kallen was just as unsure of Zeta, as she admired Optimus and knew how incredible he was; in contrast, Zeta just didn't seem to compare, even at a first glance.

"Hopefully we'll find out more about him as this goes on" Historia assumed, curious to find out more about the Autobots' previous leader.

Upon seeing this projection Eren couldn't help but feel… disappointed looking at Zeta Prime, he heard briefly about the history of Cybertron, particularly about the caste system, which was a core part of Megatron's movement and even a root cause of the war in some respects. And here was the bot who ruled Cybertron during that time. And knowing that made Eren angry, whilst he had no love for Megatron, the fact remained that Zeta had been complacent with a system that discriminated against and controlled the freedom of it's citizens, like cattle in a pen. And Eren loathed such a concept. Still this was only a glance of the Autobot leader, and despite not being a good first impression so to speak. Eren would wait to find out more, he was accustomed to having to wait for things by now.

As for Lelouch, he wasn't as incensed by Zeta compared to Eren. However, he too had knowledge of the caste system that was rife across cybertronian society and the effect it had on many. So this made Lelouch look at Zeta not too fondly, combined with the fact that others had mentioned that he didn't carry the aura or strength as Optimus was another factor that diminished Lelouch's view of the Prime. Still, it was too early to form a judgement, especially on someone who was leader of a faction in war time, which itself is complicated. Lelouch was willing to give it time to learn more about Zeta, and what he was like. As he had seen that people can change over time and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't slightly curious about Optimus's predecessor.

Zeta began talking to the receiving Autobots.

"Autobots, this is Zeta Prime. Be on high alert! The Decepticons are planning to re-activate the Energon Bridge. This would grant them access to an unstable energy source powerful enough to jeopardise the entire planet. Any Decepticon activity must be reported immediately, and all Decepticons are to be shot on sight! Zeta Prime out." Zeta then signed off

"How boring!" Starscream mocked dramatically, "I've read more interesting maintenance reports."

"Then why don't we make things more interesting?" Skywarp smirked as he equipped some nearby Flak Grenades and threw one at the Autobots, exploding three of them in an instant, before jumping down himself to finish the job.

"Alert! Alert!" one Autobot cried out, before he was bludgeoned by Skywarp's Cybertronian Club. Two Rocket Troopers then arrived, attempting to provide back up.

Skywarp was quick to dispatch them, killing one of them with a blow to the head, then killing the other by smashing his club into the Autobot's chest, breaking through his chest plate and crushing most of his internal machinery.

Many once again noted the ruthless and brutal way the Autobots had been killed.

"Well so much for being 'shot on sight'. Those guys were wiped out before they even had the chance to shoot the cons." Ryo said in annoyance.

"Skywarp excels at ambushes and close quarters combat. Though he isn't very smart, he's a scrappy fighter and a lethal threat in the air. The moment he got the drop on those soldiers, they stood little chance." Cecile explained remorsefully, thinking about the Autobot soldiers.

"From the looks of it, he fits the bill for that kind of fighting" Louise agreed.

"That was easy!" Skywarp gloated upon finishing.

"Perhaps, but the other Autobots will likely be tougher. I suggest we proceed with caution" warned Dreadwing.

Unfortunately, the group couldn't proceed just yet as they encountered a stronger security laser trap, which was emitting both a high powered electrical current and a high frequency sound, which were damaging even when getting close to the trap.

"My neural circuitry is stinging, getting past this thing is just impossible!" Skywarp groaned.

"Keep looking you fool." chastised Starscream "The answer is around here somewhere!"

Upon that, the Seekers began searching the room in hopes of finding the power core. Time passed, however, and no-one had found the power core yet.

Starscream began growing impatient. "I would prefer a solution sometime TODAY." he emphasised dryly.

"You're the brainy one Thundercracker, you figure it out!" Skywarp demanded, just as impatient as Starscream.

After scanning the room more thoroughly Thundercracker noticed a possible solution. "Ahh! Of course!" he exclaimed intuitively.

"You got the answer? What? What? What is it?!" Skywarp quizzed impatiently.

"I'm not telling you." responded Thundecracker smugly.

Starscream went along with Thundercracker's "Eureka" moment, so that he would seem just as clever. "I see it as well. Plain as day. Right in front of us."

But Slipstream saw right through Starscream's charade "You don't really see it, do you Starscream?" she mockingly asked, much to the annoyance of Starscream, while Skywarp and Thundercracker were amused by his attempt to look good.

This got a few chuckles from some people, as they were amused by the antics on screen.

"There he goes again, trying to claim credit for things that he has no real right to." Milly laughed.

"It's like watching a dog run frantically for a bone that's out of reach." Alice joked as she stifled a chuckle.

"It does make for good comedy, seeing how desperate he is to look good." Sasha found the comparison to be perfectly suitable and laughed more.

Dreadwing, meanwhile, was focused on actually finding the solution instead of engaging in the pointless back and forth of the others. If Thundercracker had spotted something, then it shouldn't be too difficult to spot.

He looked upwards to see a door with two locks on both sides, and considering that there was little else in this area, he figured it was worth investigating. He transformed into his jet form and flew up to the door and blasted the locks.

With the door open he went through and found the power core, swiftly destroying it with a burst of Jet Machine Gun bullets, disabling the lasers.

He flew back down to rejoin the other Seekers, who noticed that the lasers had turned off.

"I have disabled the lasers, we may proceed now" he reported, to which the others acknowledged him, and with that they proceeded into the tunnel.

"Seems there's at least one bot who's properly serious." said Kenshin.

"Indeed… Dreadwing certainly came through there..." Euphemia trailed off, with Suzaku holding her hand. With some noticing the somber tone Euphemia spoke in, but decided to leave it alone for the moment.

As they made their way through the tunnel, they were happened upon by Autobot soldiers.

"Rockets!" Slipstream called out.

"Quickly, get to cover!" Starscream ordered, as the group prepared to attack the Autobots.

Slipstream engaged first, having got to cover the soonest, she used her Photon Burst Rifle to eliminate three soldiers, reducing the amount of fire the Decepticons were taking.

Seeing an opening, Dreadwing rushed over a gap towards the remaining Autobots, and unsheathed his Cybertronian Flip sword, cutting down one soldier, then bisecting the Rocket Trooper with a swift slice.

Thundercracker reported to the group. "My scans indicate that door should lead us to the next canyon." He motioned to a door ahead of them down a corridor to which they all then moved.

They continued on to find seven more Autobots in their way.

"You Autobots are all pathetic fools." Starscream scoffed, as he used his Scatter Blaster to ignite a nearby explosive battery, eviscerating four Autobots in the explosion, before turning to the remaining three and gunning them down with the rest of his ammo clip.

The Survey Corps were surprised by how well Starscream fought: for a designated 'coward'

"Wow, he managed to take out all those Autobots by himself." Mikasa stated.

"I half expected him to fly away like some scared bird." Niccolo was equally surprised.

"Starscream may not be the bravest Bot there is, but he's well capable of putting up a fight when needed, especially if he's cornered" elaborated Lelouch, being very familiar with the seeker's unpredictable and dangerous nature.

The group then across a switch to the next door, but upon activating it they encountered a surprise. Behind the door were more Autobot soldiers, but more notably there was an Autobot Shotgunner running towards them.

"Diiiiiiiiieeeee" he cried out, whilst activating an Overshield, providing him with protection.

As the group went to engage the Shotgunner, they could overhear a transmission from the opposing side.

"Decepticons! Seal the door!" A soldier shouted in alarm closing the door behind the Shotgunner.

Skywarp attempted to get in close, but was hit by the Shotgunner's EMP Shotgun, damaging him and forcing him to fall back.

"Damn, he's pretty tough!" said Floch as he saw Skywarp fall back.

"That Overshield and EMP Shotgun, pose a problem as attacking up close becomes impossible without taking significant damage." Marrybell evaluated.

"But like with most soldiers, there has to be a weakness of sorts, and no doubt the Decepticons will figure it out soon." Pixis theorised.

"We can't move up! His overshield and weapon make dealing close range damage too risky!" Thundercracker shouted, using his Energon Repair Ray to heal Skywarp.

"Then we need to engage him from a distance! Switch to long range weaponry if you have it!" Dreadwing suggested.

"Not a problem" Starscream acknowledged, as he swapped to his Null Ray and used it to snipe the Shotgunner alongside Dreadwing and Slipstreams' supporting fire, which disabled the Overshield.

With the Shotgunner vulnerable, Starscream immediately took aim at his head, and blasted it to smithereens.

"Looks like they dealt with him pretty swiftly." said Nile.

"Perhaps, but seems they've got a new problem to deal with." Claus countered.

"Those punks locked us out!" Skywarp stated, quite obviously referring to the large door in front of them now being locked.

"Stop whining and find another way!" Starscream responded in an irritated tone.

Slipstream then noticed there was a gap near the right side of the door, and saw that it lead downwards to an area beneath, which would allow them to go around the door, so to speak.

"Here's our way in." she sneered as she transformed into jet mode and flying down the hole, with the others following shortly after her.

They flew down into what turned out to be an Energon canyon with a low ceiling, beams to hold up said ceiling and Energon flowing beneath them like a river.

"Holy shit, look at all that Energon! Ohhhh what I could do with that!" Hanji was ecstatic about all the different possibilities they could explore with that Energon.

"Energon is incredible, whether it's used as a fuel to power industrious machines or even power transformers, Energon is always fascinating to see." Rakshata was just as enthusiastic, for she enjoyed tinkering with Energon whenever she could, like when she helped to perfect the Synthetic Energon formula.

Skywarp was curious about their location. "Where are we?" he asked aloud.

"We're NOT where we NEED to be Skywarp, so keep moving!" Starscream once again rudely answered.

As they flew through the canyon, Dreadwing noticed that there were numerous valves emitting crude Energon, and immediately alerted the others.

"Crude Energon is highly volatile and flying this close to it is highly dangerous, we should proceed with caution." he warned.

"Tighten your logic sensors will you Dreadwing? We can easily avoid this stuff, besides it can't be THAT bad." Skywarp brushed off Dreadwing's concerns as he dodged multiple crude Energon valves.

This comment caught many people's interest.

"Volatile? I thought Energon was their life blood?" Kiyomi questioned.

"The issue is that crude Energon is like raw food, if ingested it can cause sickness or even kill Transformers." Anna explained.

"That makes sense, and considering that different types of Energon like Synthetic and Dark Energon can have negative effects, it's not hard to see how crude Energon could be dangerous." Nina added, to which Kiyomi nodded in understanding, though she was curious about the mention of 'Synthetic Energon'.

Once they had flown through most of the canyon, the group came upon two Autobot rocket troopers and two rocket sentries at an outpost, who opened fire on the Seekers.

"Time to dive bomb some Autobots." said Thundercracker, as he fired at the three Rocket Troopers, obliterating them with a barrage of Jet Rockets, with Skywarp using his Jet Machine Gun to rip the rocket sentries to pieces.

With another nuisance rid of and another jet fan blasted by Starscream, they soon flew across a giant lake of crude Energon. Starscream noticed that they were reaching the end of the canyon.

"The canyon is so large, and look at the lake of Energon below. It makes most lakes and rivers on our planet look like puddles!" Kaguya said in awe of the sight of the vast canyon.

"To be able to see such a view up close… it's incredible!" Armin observed.

"We're getting close! The next entrance is just on the far side of this canyon!" Starscream declared.

However, his moment of pride would be interrupted as a large Autobot ship suddenly descended in front of them from above, and activated a shield generator at the front of the ship, sealing of the next entrance. Then the ship began firing three mortars that were positioned on the top of the ship, forcing the quintet of jets to evade the incoming volley.

"That's a helluva lot of incoming mortars, wouldn't want to get hit by one of those!" Tamaki shouted.

"It's an impressive ship, with those types weapons and armour, it could definitely take out most armadas in our world." said Kenshin, impressed by the ship's technology and firepower.

"That Autobot ship is generating an energy shield over the entrance!" alerted Thundercracker.

"I can see that for myself Thundercracker" Starscream groaned, as it was again blatantly clear what was happening. "Enough babbling-destroy it!"

"Target the mortars first, that will make it easier for us to deal with the ship" said Dreadwing as he destroyed one mortar.

Starscream and Slipstream weren't far behind him, destroying one mortar each.

Two more mortars emerged near the front of the ship where the shield generator was.

"Holy hell, more mortars?! That ship packks a punch!" Ashley exclaimed.

"Like it didn't already?! This thing packs double the punch!" Sancia added further.

"This thing is as crazy as I am!" Skywarp exclaimed, as he dodged a rocket, then returning fire at the mortar.

Starscream cared not whether that was true "Just blast it! It breaks, like everything else!" Starscream then destroyed the other mortar after Skywarp.

With another pair of mortars destroyed, the group were closer to dealing with the giant ship itself. However, they soon found that Aerialbot fighters were being dispatched from the ship to run interference and stop them.

"Seems the ducks have decided to try flying, instead of staying in place to be shot." Kenny mocked.

"With the mortars being taken out one by one, it's natural the Autobots would move to intercept the Decepticons in the air." Xing Ke reasoned.

"We have incoming hostiles!" reported Thundercracker.

"Bothersome pests! Skywarp, Slipstream take care of those Aerialbots, the rest of us will disarm the ship!" Starscream ordered.

Skywarp and Slipstream flew in to engage the Aerialbots. Slipstream sprayed her Jet Machine Gun at two incoming jets, whilst Skywarp used his Jet Rockets to take out another.

Meanwhile Dreadwing and Thundercracker took care of the last two mortars.

"Excellent! Now target the Aerialbots!" Starscream declared, as he turned his attention to the remaining Aerialbots and began firing upon them, shooting them out of the air.

"I'll show them some REAL flying" boasted Skywarp as he flew towards an Aerialbot, transforming mid air to swing his Club at the jet, knocking it out of the sky in a crushing fashion.

"Looks like they dealt with the Aerialbot fliers in quick succession." Historia observed.

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean it's the last of them, look" Sayoko pointed out.

With that wave dealt with, they were soon met with more Aerialbots.

"Here comes another wave!" shouted Slipstream as she flew in to start shooting at the Aerialbots, eliminating three of them.

"More reinforcements?" Thundercracker quizzed, having already shot down a few Aerialbots himself.

Whilst the battles in the air were raging, Dreadwing noticed something on the ship.

"The blast doors are open! Board the ship! Quickly!" he shouted urgently.

"Watch out for those Rocket Snipers!" Skywarp warned, as he saw them on the outer decks.

"Enough of this nonsense! We'll bring this nuisance down from the INSIDE. Fly in and target it's power core!" commanded Starscream, as he and the others flew towards the blast door at the back.

"So, the Decepticons found an opening to exploit, quite literally" Orpheus observed.

"Now they can take down the ship from inside and once they do, they can proceed through the door the ship was guarding" Akito followed.

Skywarp flew in first. He transformed and pulled out his Scatter Blaster and demolished two Rocket Troopers, then went on to push through the left side and shoot two more Autobot soldiers dead.

On the right side, Slipstream encountered a group of Autobot soldiers. "Let's have some fun" she sneered sadistically, bringing out a purple coloured Lance and a Shield. She ran towards the Autobots, blocking any bullets coming her way with her Shield, then she began piercing and slashing through Autobot after Autobot.

At the centre, Dreadwing deployed a Molecular Bomb, rolling it into a crowd of soldiers. Once the bomb was close enough, it detonated demolishing all Autobots caught in the blast.

"The Autobot troops inside don't appear to be holding up very well against the Decepticons." Nile commented, somewhat concerned.

"Standard infantry are effective in large groups, but against transformers whose abilities are outside the norm, they are often overpowered due to the gap in ability." Diethard explained.

Once they were halfway through the ship, an announcement blared out.

"Close the blast doors, and seal the ship! We'll trap them inside!"

"Trap us?" Slipstream questioned, unsure of the purpose of this.

"Orders Starscream?" Thundercracker shouted, expecting Starscream to have a plan now that they were trapped with their enemy.

Rather than scared, Starscream was amused by the announcement, to the point of laughing.

"Hahahaha! Those idiots locked us in here with their power core? Plant a Det Pack on it!"

This idea alarmed many watching.

"Is that a good idea? Planting an explosive in a falling ship, with all of you inside?" Rivalz was not convinced that this was safe or even possible.

"There's a lot of risk and harm involved with this plan if anything goes wrong." Sasha was equally concerned about the plan's likelihood of success.

"While Starscream seems to have a "unique" mindset, his cunning and devious nature allows him to create plans that almost no one would think of to create unique advantages." Erwin added his own thoughts, seeing the possible "validity" in Starscream's plan.

"Indeed. Whilst the plan is dangerous, the group don't have much time or too many options, as the ship is sealed and falling from the sky with them trapped inside." Tohdoh concurred.

Dreadwing had to admit it was an interesting idea to turn the tables on the Autobots, and whilst it was not a full-proof or even safe idea, right now it would certainly be decisive. "Very well, allow me". Dreadwing pulled out one of his unique bombs and planted it on the power core, as he was familiar with explosives and how to control the damage, so they would not be destroyed in the blast. Once he moved a safe distance away, he detonated, causing the ship to shake violently and begin falling out of the sky

"Warning! Warning! Warning!" the ship's warning system repeated in response to the damage it had suffered.

"Unbelievable! These Autobots are dumber than Skywarp!" Starscream crassly remarked.

Many couldn't help but feel exasperated at Starscream' statement.

"Is he serious?! It was his idea to plant an explosive on the ship power core to get it open!" Oldrin questioned, frustrated with Starscream's hypocrisy.

"Exactly! And why did he make that comment about his teammate? If anyone's "dumb" in this moment it's him!" said Floch, equally baffled.

"The thing with Starscream's plans is they start off impressive, but often end up backfiring on him, either in hilarious or stupid fashion." added Ohgi.

"Well, the plan seems to have been a double edged sword! Whilst the ship has 'opened up', its now falling faster, so to avoid disaster, the Decepticons will need to find an escape quickly." concluded Jeremiah.

"Perhaps Starscream, but have you considered an escape route for US?" Thundercracker demanded, not amused by Starscream's antics.

"Try the upper deck. Hurry!" suggested Starscream, as he quickly transformed to see if there was a way out above.

The five of them made their way up to the upper deck, only to find it closed.

"They sealed it off!" shouted Skywarp in alarm.

As the ship itself began coming apart, it created a large gap where door was once sealed.

"Now's our chance! Fly through the gap!" Dreadwing called out.

The group flew out of the ship and back towards the entrance, which was now accessible as the ship was no longer blocking it.

Whilst they were flying out of the ship and to the entrance, Skywarp had a few choice words for his commander.

"Dumber than Skywarp? I'll show you dumb, Starscream!'" he declared, clearly not happy about Starscream's plan nearly backfiring on them and the insult about him being 'dumb'.

"You always do" Starscream responded sarcastically, as he and the others flew to the entrance. And the screen faded to black temporarily.

This caused a few more chuckles from those watching.

"Damn! He walked into that one!" said Ayano, holding her stomach as she laughed.

"Don't you mean "flew" into that one?" Jean joked, making Ayano laugh even harder.

"Well he certainly ain't the sharpest tool in the shed, the dumb fuck." Kenny smirked.

As they were talking, an image came up on the screen, along with a tech spec.

Skywarp: Strike when the enemy isn't looking.

Strength 7

Intelligence 2

Speed 9

Endurance 8

Rank 4

Courage 7

Fireblast 7

Skill 9

"Speak of the devil, looks like we have a tech spec and it's on Skywarp." Gino observed.

"Lets see, most of Skywarp's abilities are pretty highly ranked, with his speed and skill being the highest and endurance being his second highest. His strength, firepower and courage are equally good as well." Kenshin noted aloud.

"The downside for Skywarp is that he's dumb as a brick, with his intelligence being way below average and reaching near stupid levels" Chiba smirked, having had some experience with the seeker's stupidity. "That and his below average rank means Skywarp won't be outsmarting or making anyone believe he's a grave threat anytime soon."

"Skywarp has many attributes that make him a good fighter and suit his affinity for ambushing opponents. But his sheer lack of intelligence and low rank means he's just a strong grunt, nothing more." Guildford concluded.

The screen shifted to the Seekers proceeding down a hallway and turned right, but as they did, they saw a mysterious figure. The figure was relatively lanky, it's face looking like a skull and it's eyes a pale yellow, attached to it's right arm was a Plasma Canon. It was an unusual, freakish appearance to be sure. However before the Decepticons could blink, the figure cloaked itself and jumped over the ledge.

"What the hell was that?" Niccolo asked, somewhat spooked by what he saw.

"No idea, but it's got the ability to cloak." Orpheus noted as he'd seen cloaking tech before.

"Whatever it is, it will pose a problem for the Decepticons when they follow." Jeremiah added.

"Did you see that?" Skywarp asked in disbelief, somewhat bothered by what he saw.

"You mean that creepy looking thing that just jumped over the side?" replied Thundercracker.

"Yah" Skywarp confirmed.

"Nope, I didn't see anything" Thundercracker answered, intent on trolling Skywarp.

"Me neither, you might need to get your optics checked Skywarp" Slipstream joined in on the joke.

"I should've left you three on the Station" Starscream groaned in exasperation, with Dreadwing also shaking his head at this. The five of them then jumped down to pursue the figure.

Some watching found the sarcastic exchange to be humorous.

"Funny, I didn't know the Decepticons actually had a sense of humour" Dalque laughed.

"Yeah. If they were like this more often, maybe they'd actually be a bit more tolerable" chuckled Sokkia.

"Well considering their leader is Megatron, it's a miracle they have any humour at all" Ymir joked, causing the others to laugh more.

Following the creepy figure, the group entered a room with a squared layout, with two supporting beams in the middle and one square shaped piece of cover in each corner of the room. Upon entering, the Decepticons heard a noise and looked in the direction it came from.

Feeling the tension of the scene, the mood returned to serious as everyone watched in anticipation for the Cloakers to strike.

"I think I saw something." said Skywarp somewhat nervously.

"You think you saw what?" Slipstream questioned incredulously.

"SILENCE! Your inane prattle is not helping." Starscream silenced the both of them.

"It could be an Autobot Cloaker - keep your optics sharp!" Dreadwing suspected, as he had faced similar types of enemies before.

"This feels like watching a horror movie, just waiting for a killer to pop out" Shirley said, somewhat anxious.

"Well at least this isn't as bad as when Optimus told us those scary stories for Halloween" replied Sasha.

This piqued the interest of some of the Black Knights.

"Optimus told you stories?" Nunnally asked.

"That sounds like fun! What stories did he tell you?" Rivalz asked excitedly.

"Well, he told us all sorts of stories, like about Medusa, Kelpie, The Bride of Tola, even about the Wailing-". Before Sasha could finish, Jean covered her mouth.

"Shut it! I don't wanna be reminded of that story. I couldn't sleep for days after hearing that!" Many of the Survey Corps agreed upon hearing this.

The Black Knights found themselves interested in the fact Optimus had shared Earth stories with this other group of people. How close was he to them? Regardless, it seemed that these people had their own experiences with Transformers, Optimus in particular.

After a few moments, a red glow could be seen straight ahead of the group, signifying the Cloaker's position, as he had to charge his Plasma Canon in order to attack.

"There! Destroy it!" Starscream shouted as he fired his Scatter Blaster several times toward the red glow, destroying the invisible menace.

"Looks like they were able to find the Cloakers through a pretty blatant weakness." Chigusa noted.

"Yeah, that plasma canon they use is basically sending a signal saying "Look I'm here! Shoot me please!" Rai added.

"It defeats the whole purpose of being "silent and unseen." Levi pointed out, somewhat disappointed by how counter intuitive the Cloakers were.

Unfortunately three more Cloakers appeared and began charging their Plasma Canons to fire at the Decepticons.

Thundercracker equipped his Cybertronian Hammer, dashed towards one of the Cloakers and swung his Hammer towards his foe, taking him out with one blow.

Meanwhile Slipstream decided to even the odds, activating her own Cloak ability to sneak up on the two remaining Cloakers. Once she had closed the gap, she charged up her Thunderblast ability to shock and destroy the remaining Cloakers.

With the Cloakers killed, Starscream let out a triumphant laugh.

"Hahaha! Feel the power of my wrath!" he boasted.

"Again with this? He only took out one Cloaker." Anya was becoming annoyed with Starscream's gloating.

"His need to boast about everything he does is becoming tiresome." Zhou was also exhausted with his antics, being reminded of high eunuchs and their sense of pride.

Needless to say, the other four Decepticons weren't exactly as enthusiastic as Starscream.

"When your finished celebrating, can we get a move on?" Slipstream questioned impatiently, much to Starscream's annoyance.

"Indeed. Now, time to get the power back online so we can move on!" said Dreadwing, as he activated the switch to open the exit.

Through the exit, the five Decepticons found a large area with two distinct sections, which were guarded by Autobot forces.

"There it is, the entrance to the underground." observed Thundercracker.

Starscream, however, noticed that there was an obstruction preventing them moving forward

"Another shield generator?! These Autobots are getting on my nerves." he grumbled, obviously irritated at the amount of resistance they were encountering.

"It would seem the Decepticons have run into an Autobot garrison." observed Pixis.

"There's a lot of Autobots, from infantry to fliers. Even some Rocket Troopers". Akito was analysing what type of defences the Autobots were mounting.

"They must really not want the Decepticons getting further in." Tian Zi speculated.

"Judging from what the Decepticons intend to do, it's no surprise the Autobots are resisting to this extent." Eren surmised.

"We need to bring down the shields if we wish to proceed. However, I have noticed that there are two control panels we need to access." said Dreadwing.

"Any ideas on how to approach this? One that hopefully won't get us scrapped?" Slipstream questioned, as she pointed to the Autobots garrisoned near the switches.

"The most efficient way to handle this is split up, Thundercracker, you take the left side, Dreadwing you take the right, Skywarp deal with any Aerialbots that try to intercept either of the other two, Slipstream and I will deal with the snipers and cover you three with our long range weapons. Now MOVE!" Starscream ordered.

The team moved into position, with Slipstream and Starscream eliminating the snipers on the left and right hand side, then taking out any rocket trooper that could be a problem, with their Photon Burst Rifle and Null Ray specifically, allowing Skywarp, Thundercracker and Dreadwing to fly in.

Skywarp engaged the Aerialbots to prevent them interfering with the others, blasting them with his Jet Machine Guns, before switching to rockets when his machine gun magazine was empty.

Meanwhile Thundercracker flew left and transformed to gun down a rocket trooper in front of him with his Neutron Assault Rifle. Three regular Autobots then prepared to open fire on him, but Thundecracker dashed to cover and activated his Remote Rocket Sentry, spawning a Sentry Turret that proceeded to shoot and kill all three of the Autobots with a few rockets.

"Thundercracker doesn't seem to be as aggressive or 'out there' as some of the other cons, what's his deal?" Hanji questioned

"Thundercracker isn't really a 'fighter' per se. He's more of a scientist/ support than a head on soldier. He actually joined us in our final battle against the Decepticons, and has now joined the Autobots. We haven't known him as long as the Autobots themselves, but from what I've gathered, he isn't really interested in conflict or politics. He seems to be more of a pragmatic Bot than anything else. But make no mistake, he's not stupid, being one of the more sane Decepticons. And he can fight if needed." Kaguya explained, recalling her interaction with him in the Chinese Federation.

"I see… Thank you for the explanation young lady!" Hanji enthusiastically thanked Kaguya, to which the latter smiled and nodded.

As for Dreadwing, he had already begun engaging the Autobots on his side, shooting his own Neutron Assault Rifle at a group of Autobot soldiers, taking out two before switching to his Cluster Canon and blasting two more Autobot Troopers.

With the Autobots out of the way, Both Thundercracker and Dreadwing activated the control panels. Upon doing so, they saw some machinery begin to move.

"The battery case is opening!" Skywarp exclaimed.

"With the shield batteries exposed, if we destroy them, we can lower the shield." Slipstream added as she destroyed the right side batteries, with Skywarp destroying the left hand side.

"They managed to get rid of this shield generator as well." said Yukiya with a glare.

"And with the shield no longer protecting the door, it's not hard to guess what comes next." Toto grimaced.

"Excellent, now we can proceed" Starscream said. However, Thundercracker detected something from the shield.

"Wait, scans show high density ubarium shielding on that door."

Starscream, however, had little patience for Thundercracker's warning "I don't care! Focus all firepower on their pathetic door!"

Thundercracker grimaced, as he knew challenging Starscream's impatience would make little difference and so he and Dreadwing fired at the door along with Starscream, pulverising the door and blasting it apart, revealing a tunnel that led even deeper into the core.

"Move Decepticons, into the tunnels! We have a bridge to activate!"

"Starscream is beyond impatient, the guy doesn't like waiting even one second for anything if he's got an immediate answer he prefers." mentioned Floch.

"That's another notable trait of Starscreams', his lack of patience. Unless he's biding his time for some dubious plot, he does not like having to wait for results or people, which results in him making hasty decisions." Nonnette explained, as she remembered a number of times Starscream showed his impatience first hand.

Once inside the tunnel, it was apparent how Dark and old the area was. There was little light, the machinery clearly showed age, and pipes and tubes were in disarray and had fallen out of place.

"This place gives me the creeps" Skywarp commented as they flew through.

"These tunnels were decommissioned long ago. We'll have to activate the power terminals to get the Station back online" Starscream explained.

"Decommissioned? So this area hasn't been accessed in a long time?" speculated Louise.

"That appears to be the case, similar to some parts of the Orbital Station, the area has fallen into disrepair." acknowledged Cera.

"Still, what a sight. These tunnels look so sophisticated and intricate." Anna said in amazement.

No sooner had Starscearm spoken, than a large explosion rang out, putting the five Seekers on alert

"Incoming! Take cover! Wait! That's not Autobot weaponry!" Dreadwing exclaimed.

"Interesting, I've never seen these lifeforms before". Thundercracker pondered, knowing no more about lifeforms than Dreadwing.

"Who cares… if they get in my way BLAST THEM!" Starscream ordered, as he flew past a set of explosive batteries.

"Are those another type of Cybertronian life? Ooooh wouldn't it be marvellous to look at and study in person?". Lloyd was excited at the thought of analysing such creatures.

"A fellow curious scientist?! Ooooooh you and I think alike. I could spend hours learning about that lifeform!" Hanji was ecstatic at the thought.

The two mad scientists shared a glance with each other, as if they'd found a long lost sibling, which made everyone shiver or groan, as they could sense that this excited new duo could cause a fair few headaches.

"Good grief, as if one headache wasn't enough." Levi scoffed under his breath.

"Oh my, we may have another 'earl of pudding' on our hands!" Rakshata let out a hearty laugh, while Cecile just signed in resignation, preparing to lose more of her sanity.

Soon enough, the Decepticons ran into two of the unknown lifeforms, who began moving towards them at a rapid speed, forcing Starscream and Dreadwing to shoot them before they got too close.

As they kept moving through the tunnel, more and more of the lifeforms kept popping up, attempting to attack them, forcing the Seekers to shoot them down, with Skywarp, Thundercracker and Slipstream taking care of the 2nd batch.

Eventually they came upon the terminal they were looking for.

"There, just as I told you! The Energon Bridge terminal. Find a way inside and activate it." commanded Starscream

But before they could get too close, three rocket sentries emerged along with two Autobot probes similar to the ones they saw at the beginning.

"I thought this place was deserted?" Skywarp shouted in surprise.

"We must've tripped the Station's automated defences" speculated Starscream. "Open fire!"

"The Station's certainly well armed, considering it's 'decommissioned'" Jeanne said in surprise

"And look at the defences? They're not too different to the sentries we saw on the orbital Station, which means the weaponry is still relatively up to date, or at least still effective" Armin observed

"Which in itself is impressive, and once again shows how sophisticated Cybertronian tech is. Even the oldest machinery is miles ahead of most of the technology we have." Misty added.

Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker vaporised the turrets with Jet Rockets, whilst Dreadwing and Slipstream destroyed the probes. With the outside defences out of the way, the five Seekers transformed and ventured further into the Station.

Inside the Station, the group moved down onto the lower floor where the control room was. However, before they could activate the power, they saw Plasma Canons being charged, and realised they'd encountered more Cloakers.

"More Cloakers? These guys creep me out!" Skywarp groaned.

"What's the matter, Skywarp – afraid?" Thundercracker teased.

"At least I'M not ugly." Skywarp retorted.

"Ugly? You and I look the SAME!" Thundercracker replied in disbelief.

Hearing this caused many to laugh once again, which is not what they were expecting when watching the Decepticons.

"Honestly these guys crack me up!" Lucretia said as she again held her stomach in laughter.

"Seriously, why didn't these guys become comedians or something?" Connie laughed heartily.

"The fact that Skywarp didn't even realise they look similar makes it even funnier". Kallen began laughing even more.

"Well, Skywarp proves again that he really isn't the smartest looking Bot." Akito joked, which caused some people to look at him wide-eyed, and even more laughter to erupt in the room, as they realised the corny joke. Akito simply smiled, with Leila holding his hand, smiling back at him, proud that he was able to make such jokes after all he'd been through.

"Ugh cut the comedy routine you two, you're destroying my brain circuits" Slipstream groaned, he she began firing at the Cloakers with a Plasma Canon of her own which she'd equipped earlier from the upper floor of the Station, and killing two with a charged shot.

Following this, Starscream equipped his dual purple Swords and began hacking and slashing at any red energy he could see, cutting down three of the Cloakers in quick succession.

"Pah, puny Cloakers. As if they ever stood a chance against Starscream" he gloated, much to the others frustration, as he activated the switch the Cloakers were guarding. But the switch activated a plug to seal off the exit to the Station! It was an ambush!

"Seems like the Autobots knew that the Deceptiocns might make it into the Station." Monica noted.

"They managed to seal them in there, which suggests that the Autobots have control of the entire Station." Guildford deduced.

"Considering Jetfire managed to give the Autobots warning in advance, it does make sense that Autobots would have nearly the entire area under their protection" mentioned Xing Ke.

"Detecting Autobot energy signatures!" reported Thundercracker.

"More fools rush to their death. Destroy them!" Starscream shouted as he and the other four went in to battle the Autobots ambushers. Starscream engaged both a Rocket Trooper and a Regular Trooper, having re-quipped his Swords to do the job.

Suddenly Megatron radioed in: "Starscream, report!" he demanded.

This sudden interruption startled many.

"Holy hell, that gave me a fright." said Floch.

"Hearing Megatrons voice all of a sudden is enough to make my heart freeze" Nunnally said as she place her hand over heart, with Lelouch, Euphemia and Cornelia putting their arms around her.

"The fact he called in to demand a 'report' doesn't help, as the last thing Megatron likes is things not going his way." Ohgi gulped.

"Umm Megatron!". Starscream was caught off guard, as he was in the middle of battling the Autobot troopers and needed to dodge an incoming rocket whilst Megatron was transmitting. "We are encountering significant Autobot resistance but…"

Megatron interrupted Starscream: "I will not tolerate excuses. Do not fail me!"

"You really told him Starscream", quipped Skywarp, having just shot down a hovering seeker in jet mode with a Thermo Rocket Launcher he had picked up in the base.

"Indeed, what a magnificent display of leadership" Slipstream added sarcastically, as she dealt with a Rocket Trooper of her own with her Plasma Canon.

"Silence!" Starscream screamed at them both, as he took out his Autobot opposition in a fit of anger with his Thunderblast ability. "Soon the Decepticons will be mine to control and Megatron will serve me!"

This 'proclamation' made many groan and stare flatly at the screen.

"He really does love talking about how he'll be leader someday, doesn't he?" Historia stated, unimpressed.

"Yeah, he only just got off the com with Megatron and he's once again talking about leading the Decepticons and having the big M serve him. Like seriously, give it a rest". Milly was also growing weary of Starscream's flagrant display of ambition.

"Especially considering the fact that the moment Megatron called, Starscream folded like a house of cards and lost his 'confidence' right there on the spot. It's almost pitiful" Cornelia joined the 'insult' Starscream train.

"He may come off as desperate, but he certainly doesn't waver in trying to achieve his goals, however impossible or dangerous they may be. And that in itself means Starscream should not be underestimated." Tohdoh weighed in.

"Whatever you say Starscream." Slipstream responded, not taking Starscream's claims seriously.

Meanwhile Dreadwing engaged with two Autobot Rocket troopers and one regular trooper. Deciding to take them out in one quick blow, he equipped one of his Remote Bombs, which was shaped like a traingle.

"Consider this a gift, from me to you!" he said as he threw the Remote Bomb like a frisbee at the trio of Autobots. Before they could blink, he detonated the bomb with his detonator in his free hand, blowing them all apart.

As for the last two remaining Autobots, they were fliers who were in jet mode, firing down at the group with their jet machine guns. Thundercracker used his Neutron Assault Rifle to shoot them out of the sky with a series of controlled bursts.

With the ambush thwarted, Slipstream found the switch near the sealed exit and disabled it, allowing them to leave the Station and proceed deeper into the core.

The entered a wide tunnel, with pylons shifting up and down in the middle of the room and cables running along the lower part of the tunnel.

"The Station is only showing power levels at 50%, so there must be another terminal deeper underground." speculated Thundercracker.

"So it looks like they're only halfway to reactivating the Energon Bridge." observed Chigusa.

"Whilst it hasn't been easy, the Decepticons were able to tear through any Autobot they encountered." said Lelouch in frustration.

"Combined with the fact that this bridge will enable more Dark Energon to be manufactured. And to say that is 'troublesome' is an understatement." Cera added grimly, which made many feel anxious and worried.

Once they dodged the moving pylons, they entered a narrower tunnel with more ancient creatures guarding the tunnel, who tried to attack the Seekers, but were quickly taken care of by Slipstream and Skywarp.

"I'm reading Autobot energy signatures up ahead" warned Thundercracker, as they exited the narrow tunnel and found themselves in new, larger tunnel, with a long platform in front of them and numerous other platforms ahead of them, all lined up with Autobots.

"I do enjoy sniping!" cheered Starscream.

"Afraid to take them head on Starscream?" goaded Skywarp. "Guess I'm flying solo on this one." he said, as he activated his own Vloak ability to stealthily close the gap on a nearby Sniper to his left. Once he was close, Skywarp transformed and bashed the Sniper off the ledge, before quickly transforming to jet mode again and attempting to take on more Autobots.

Further back, Starscream was playing a back and forth game with a Rocket Trooper, who was hiding behind a barrier. Growing frustrated, Starscream came up with a plan to deal with this 'irritation'.

"Slipstream, fire at that trooper and draw his attention. When he attempts to fire back at you, I'll blow his brain module out!"

"Ugh, you'd better not miss" Slipstream groaned, as she used her Photon Burst Rifle to get the rocket troopers attention off Starscream. Once the Rocket Trooper saw her, he looked away from Starscream and lowered his barrier, ready to fire at Slipstream, but had his head blown off before he could do so, courtesy of Starscream.

With the 1st group eliminated, the other four joined Skywarp in getting near the end of the big tunnel. Slipstream even grabbed some Proximity Mines from the first platform the Autobots were holding. They soon found that the last platform had more Autobots to deal with, along with two fliers.

The relatively confined space made it difficult to engage in a dog fight, without being exposed to the Rocket Trooper below who also had a Barrier. With no other platform from which to safely engage the trooper either, this situation posed a problem.

Realising this, Slipstream flew towards the Seekers above the Rocket Trooper and quickly transformed midair to deploy a Proximity Mine that was too close for the fliers to dodge, before it detonated and killed them both.

"That Slipstream is quite skilled, pulling off a maneuver like that". Shadis was impressed with Slipstream's trick.

"She's certainly a tricky one. Being a seeker it's dangerous to engage her in the air. Besides that, her sarcastic personality and skills set makes her somewhat similar to Skywarp, but Slipstream's much smarter than him and is just as swift on land when fighting". Ohgi had seen her fighting in the arctic during the quest for the Iacon relics.

"Thundercracker told us that before our final battle with the Decepticons, Slipstream deserted and left the planet, so we have no idea what she's doing now, but she still remains an enigma to us, even to some Decepticons as she wasn't the most open Bot."

With the aerial cover gone, Dreadwing flew above the Trooper's barrier and transformed, unsheathed his sword and thrust it downward into the Rocket Troopers head, swiftly taking him offline.

The group continued through the tunnel to find that at the end, a large door with a switch in front of it signified another area lying beyond. To the left and right sides, weapons and ammo could be found. And the Decepticons wasted no time making use of these discoveries.

Thundercracker prised open the door, and beyond it was an Autobot Outpost, with entrances on the left and right side and heavy ion turrets above each door. An Autobot trooper noticed the door opening and sounded an alarm.

"Alert Alert!" he called out, resulting in the Autobots guarding the area to begin taking defensive positions, including two mounting the Heavy Ion Turrets above. The incoming fire forced the Decepticons to hide behind two large crates in front of them to avoid being shredded.

"It seem the deeper the Decepticons go, the more Autobots they encounter and the tougher the defences." Shadis observed.

"Well, as the Decepticons get closer to the core, it becomes all the more pivotal that the Autobots stop the Decepticons getting any further." Jeremiah speculated.

"Well, it'll be interesting to see how the cons get through this outpost", said Claus with a wry smile.

"We're pinned down! How do we get through?" Skywarp screamed over the loud sound of turret fire.

"We need to neutralise the turret gunners, otherwise we might as well be sitting around to become spare parts!" Thundercracker pointed out.

Dreadwing took charge: "I can put up a Barrier to provide us with additional cover and a means of getting closer. Skywarp, Thundercracker. you two push up with me to the left side. Starscream, Slipstream, lay down cover fire with your ranged weapons, whilst we move to neutralise the right side gunner. Once he's down you can focus on eliminating the left side gunner. Afterwards, push the right hand side and we can pincer the Autobot outpost."

As much as Starscream hated taking orders, in this case it was not like he had any better alternatives. "Argh, very well" He equipped his NullRray and prepared to fire at the left hand gunner and Slipstream charged her Plasma Canon.

"On my signal" Dreadwing raised his hand and then… "Go!". Dreadwing lowered his hand and he, Skywarp and Thundercracker began running towards the left side, firing their weapons at the right side turret to draw attention away from the remaining two. The right side turret tried to shoot back, but Dreadwing activated his Barrier ability to block any incoming damage, and he along with Skywarp and Thundercracker hid behind each corners of the barrier, shooting at the Right turret again, this time finally neutralizing it after a barrage of bullets from all three.

As for the left side door, they found it wouldn't open, but that wasn't a problem as Dreadwing planted some Remote Bombs and ushered the other two stand back, which they could do since the turret above couldn't fire down at them. Dreadwing blew the charges and the three moved in.

With the right side turret dealt with, Starscream had more room to maneuver. Starscream continued firing at the left side turret, even hitting the gunner in the shoulder, but the gunner held on. But before he could fire again, Slipstream, having moved away from the crates without the gunner seeing, fired a charged Plasma Canon shot at the gunners head and obliterated it, ending his life in an instant.

"Your welcome, by the way." she remarked as Starscream scoffed, the two of them moving to the right side door and meeting up with the others. The door was sealed but Starscream noticed an explosive cannister near the door and shot at it, causing it to detonate and take out the door with it, allowing the two inside.

"That was clever plan by Dreadwing, what else is he capable of?" Mikasa asked.

Many of the Black Knights went quiet, as they knew that the topic was a sensitive one, for two individuals in particular.

Suzaku and Euphemia hadn't said much, if anything. They weren't surprised by the question, as deep down they'd expected someone to ask about Dreadwing eventually. And they'd made peace with his death, but once they saw him on the screen, as if he were still alive, it hit them in a way that was difficult to describe. And how could they explain the connection they had with Dreadwing to a group of strangers …?

After a few moments silence, Mikasa could sense that something was amiss.

"I'm sorry, should I not have asked that?" Mikasa asked?

"There's no need to apologise", Suzaku replied.

"It's a long story, but I'll try and keep it brief. Dreadwing was a Decepticon that we knew, who I knew. He and I were essentially partners when I was with the Decepticons."

Suzaku's explanation shocked the Survey Corps, but they kept silent, as Suzaku continued

He was honourable and like a brother to me, Amongst the Decepticons he was one of the few that wasn't an abhorrent or cruel monster. He was even with me when I joined the Autobots and Black Knights. But then..." Suzaku trailed off, struggling to find the words.

Just then Euphemia placed her hand on Suzkau's shoulder, seeing how hard it was for him to recount what had happened. Then Euphemia spoke.

"Unfortunately Megatron had captured me and after me, my sister. It was part of an elaborate plot to destroy our homeland's capital. Dreadwing was part of the rescue team who saved us from captivity, but he was critically wounded in the rescue and… he stayed behind to buy us time to escape. He sacrificed himself in an explosion, to prevent us being followed.

As she finished, welled up in her eyes. Suzaku wore a solemn expression, as they remembered their friend's sacrifice.

Many of the Black Knights looked on with sympathy, as many of them knew how close they were to Dreadwing. Lelouch, Nunnally and Cornelia wrapped their arms around Euhpemia to comfort her, with Shirley, Milly and Rivalz doing the same for Suzaku. Even Nina, who offered her hand to Suzaku.

Kallen looked on in sympathy, as they had both lost someone close to them that day.

Both Euphemia and Suzaku felt grateful to have friends and family that were there for them. Even though they'd long since accepted Dreadwing's death, it still hurt deep down to know that he was gone, and to have their loved ones care for them in this moment was a reminder they weren't alone in that grief.

As for the Survey Corps, they were just as sympathetic in their own right. Whilst they may not have been able to truly know the depth of the pair's relationship with Dreadwing, it was more than apparent that Dreadwing's death was still affecting them even now. And that was a sensation many of them were more than familiar with, having known others for so long who were there one minute, and then they were just… gone. Even after time passes, the memory of the lost and dead never fades. Nor should it.

"I'm… really sorry for your loss." Mikasa said. "I didn't mean to remind you of your grief. We've all lost our fair share of friends and family as well, so I know all too well what losing someone close to you feels like."

"Like I said before, there's no need to apologise" Suzaku replied. "You didn't know and there's no way you could have. Besides you said it yourself, you've lost people close to you as well."

Hanji joined in: "Losing comrades and friends is never easy" Hanji was thinking about Petra, Oluo, Eldo, Gunter Moblit, Mike… the list went on and on in her mind. "It hurts like hell, and you may never truly get over the pain of losing them, but so long as you hold onto their memory and keep going... then you not only keep them alive but you also make their deaths mean something, that they were not in vain."

On hearing this Suzaku and Euphemia smiled. They completely agreed with Hanji, as the best way to honour their friend truly was to keep him alive in their memory and live their lives to the fullest, to make his sacrifice meaningful.

Many Black Knights and Survey Corps saw this and smiled, with some even emotionally touched. Here were individuals who had only just met a few moments ago, and here they were, relating to something as sensitive as the loss of a loved one and coming to an understanding. It instilled hope that even in the face of strife, something good can come about.

After some time, when everybody was ready, they resumed watching the screen.

On the left side of the outpost, Dreadwing, Skywarp and Thundercracker ran into two Shotgunners near an ascending stairway with their overshields active. Dreadwing had taken damage from one of the Shotgunners.

"Facing them in close combat in this area is suicide. We need another plan of attack", said Dreadwing, as Thundercracker healed his wound with his Energon Repair Ray.

"Bug out, I got this." exclaimed Skywarp. "Thundercracker throw one of those Stun Grenades you got earlier."

"Alright, get ready. It'll only hold them for a short period". Thundercracker Threw a stun Grenade as asked, which immobilised the Shotgunners and deactivated their Overshields.

Skywarp moved in and activated his Whirlwind ability, battering the two hapless Autobots into scrap and clearing the way for the others. When the three reached the top of the stairs, Thundercracker noticing something close by:

"No point in letting this just sit here" he thought to himself as he equipped the weapon and moved towards the main room.

"Seems those Shotgunners have a few weaknesses of their own." Chiba spoke up.

"Yeah, besides their range being pretty ass, those Overshields aren't as tough as the real thing. Add on the fact that Stun Grenades turn off the overshields and they're basically toast" listed Ayano.

"So as long as you engage from a distance, or have a way of overpowering the Overshields, Shotgunners aren't a big problem" Lucretia concurred.

On the right side, Starscream and Slipstream were facing similar problems, as they encountered Shotgunners of their own to contend with.

"Slipstream, throw out your remaining Proximity Mines. They're in such close range should disable their Overshields!" Starscream ordered.

"Let's hope this doesn't blow us up as well" Slipstream remarked, as she sent the remaining proximity mines towards each Shotgunner. But the blast worked and both Shotgunners were left vulnerable.

Starscream moved in and activated his Hover ability to boost his Scatter Blaster's effectiveness, allowing him to blast each soldier with close up shots. He and Slipstream pushed on up on their side.

At the top, Slipstream saw one of the unmanned turrets that had been causing them problems earlier and decided to capitalise on the weapon.

"Ooooh, a girl's best friend" she sneered as she detached the turret and converted it into an Ion Displacer and returned to Starscream, who was waiting by the other door to the main room. Seeing Slipstream was back and ready, Starscream activated the switch and opened the door.

Beyond the door was the main control room of the outpost, with many monitors and computer modules and two batteries near the top which were powering the room. Three Shotgunners were waiting inside, preparing themselves for the incoming assault. Both the left and right doors opened and the Shotgunners aimed their weapons and prepared to fire. What they didn't expect was Thundercracker and Slipstream, both wielding Ion Displacers.

"Let's send the Autobots to the scrapheap!" declared Thundercracker as he and Slipstream fired their Ion Displacers and eviscerated the three Shotgunners with a wave of bullets that even their Overshields couldn't withstand, truly sending them to the scrapheap.

"Ahh! Seeing such firepower in practice is always a pleasing sight!" Lloyd said with excitement.

Some of the Survey Corps raised their eyebrows in response to Lloyds' nonchalant attitude to the fact that he'd just watched some Autobots get shredded by two large machine guns, and was essentially gushing about it.

"Uhmmm, aren't you in the least bit bothered about the killing spree you just saw?" Nile questioned, somewhat bothered himself.

"What can I say? I'm a trueborn sociopath" Lloyd casually responded, to the disbelief of the Survey corps and the annoyance of the Black Knights.

"He's fucked up … I like him." Kenny chuckled quietly.

"How do you put up with someone like that?" Louise quietly asked Cecile, who was sitting close by.

"After all this time, I still couldn't tell you", Cecile groaned in reply.

"Nothing will stop me!" Starscream screamed, boasted once again, despite not having had anything to do with clearing this room, "Now, blast those locks!" he ordered, referring to the two locks on a door on the opposite side to the batteries.

Slipstream and Thundercracker blasted the locks with their Ion Displacers and the group went downward into the next room.

This room was filled with see-through condensers with four on each of the left and right side and a large condenser in the middle. There were small sized crates laying around, both on the floor and on ledges up above. The fact that this room could channel so much energy indicated that the Decepticons were getting closer.

"Wow, look at all of those energy condensers. Imagine all of the energy that could be controlled in this room." Toto was amazed at the capabilities the room demonstrated.

"Unfortunately, instead of using the energy for a positive purpose, the Decepticons are going to see that it goes towards the manufacturing of Dark Energon." Leila grimaced, which made Toto frown upon realising this harrowing truth.

"The Decepticons' focus on destruction over more peaceful methods is more than apparent." Pixis stated with a concerned look.

"Alright. This Station seems to funnel power directly to the Energon Bridge." Starscream observed.

"Look there, those are the Energon Bridge's power control panels." Thundercracker pointed to a console linked to the large condenser in the centre of the room.

Starscream went up to the control panel and began interacting with it, causing the room to shift, but after he was done, the only noticeable difference was that the condensers began moving up and down slowly.

"Wow, Starscream - that WAS impressive." Slipstream mocked sarcastically.

"Silence fool!" Starscream shouted in frustration "We need to supply these side terminals with their Energon power cells."

"I believe I may have found the means to do exactly that", Dreadwing notified the others, as he interacted with a new panel that had emerged just behind the main condenser. Behind the switch was an array of power cells being held in a casing unit, which the switch should open.

However, when Dreadwing pressed the switch, the battery units didn't leave the casing.

"Looks like the Autobots have locked these power cells down." noted Dreadwing.

Starscream looked to see what could be causing the obstruction and saw two locks one on each side of the casing unit, preventing it from opening. "There! Quickly - destroy the locks!" ordered Starscream, as he and Dreadwing shot at the locks keeping the casing unit closed.

Dreadwing tried the switch again, and this time the power cells moved… but the Decepticons noticed that something was wrong.

"What happened now?!" Skywarp groaned in annoyance.

"The Autobots have booby-trapped this room. Fools!" answered Starscream

"Wait! Are you calling US fools or the Autobots fools?" Skywarp dmended, "Because I'm not getting the sense that you respect me!"

"Silence! Fool" Starscream emphasised, much to Skywarp's frustration.

"He just keeps falling face first into the pit, at this point it's just ridiculous." Louise held her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"And the fact Starscream wastes no opportunity to try to make Skywarp look dumb makes it even more ridiculous." Milly agreed with an amused grin.

"Frankly it's a miracle this group even made it as far as they have, with this kind of childish dynamic." Sayoko stated, shaking her head, which made some people laugh as they could see where she was coming from.

Slipstream looked around the room and found a power core in the far right back corner and shot it with her Photon Burst Rifle. Once destroyed, the room began to shift showing that the power core was interfering with the power cells' configuration.

"Looks like I found the issue. The Autobots are using more of those power cores to interfere!" she explained.

"Heh, this is almost too easy." Starscream scoffed. "Quickly find the other power cores."

Hearing this, the other four began looking for more power cores to destroy.

Dreadwing transformed into his vehicle mode to look around the area from on high. As he was searching, he spotted a glowing red cable on the top left hand side of the room and he followed the glow back to it's point of origin. Hidden between and behind some crates on a ledge, was another power core. Dreadwing shot it with his Jet Machine Gun, taking it offline.

"Excellent! Now keep looking – there should be just one more." ordered Starscream.

Thundercracker soon found the last power core on the right hand side of the power cell casing unit near the ground and smashed it with his Hammer. "Energy barriers are 100% offline", he reported.

"Perfect! Now get these power cells into position!" commanded Starscream.

"Looks like they managed to get rid of those power cores causing the disruption." said Anya.

"Now, watch those bastards begin generating power to fuel their creation of Dark Energon." Alice commented warily.

Skywarp tried the switch near the casing unit one last time and this time, the power cells finally moved into the condensers and began generating energy.

"The side terminals are showing power levels at maximum. The energy should be flowing directly to the Orbital Station." reported Thundercracker.

Starscream was pleased, "Excellent, this should provide us with enough power to… What the…!?"

Suddenly the condensers stopped working and the power in the room cut off, preventing any further energy being generated.

A voice then spoke over the intercom in the room, though due to distortion and the technology's age, it was difficult to identify who was talking.

"Did you really think we'd allow you to drain the life essence of Cybertron without a fight? If you want that power online, you'll have to go through us first!" The commanding voice spoke with authority and defiance.

This surprised many, as they'd thought that most of the Autobot resistance at this point would be finished.

"Guess the Cons energy supply has been put on hold." Ryo smirked smugly.

"That'll show em!" Connie shouted.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, the Decepticons will not give up on getting the power back. They'll stop at nothing." Tohdoh wryly observed.

"He's right, it's unlikely the Decepticons will take this lying down, they'll fight to get the bridge reconnected, one way or another." Eren said with an intense glare.

"Great. The Autobots have gotten in the way again, now what?" Slipstream asked, infuriated by the constant disruptions to their plans.

"Cursed Autobots! We'll annihilate them and their obstructions!" Starscream declared.

Thundercracker managed to detect the transmission's location. "The origin of the transmission came directly up ahead."

"So be it. It is time to deal with these Autobots, and connect the Energon Bridge once and for all" Dreadwing decreed.

The screen fades to black, a moment later an image of Thundercracker appears, with a tech spec.

Thundercracker: The deadliest weapon is terror.

Strength 6

Intelligence 7

Speed 10

Endurance 7

Rank 5

Courage 5

Fireblast 8

Skill 7

"Ah, here's a tech spec for Thundercracker." Akari stated.

"According to this, his speed and fireblast are his highest stats, with his intelligence, endurance and skill being tied above average." Nile evaluated.

"However his strength is only slightly above average. And with his courage and rank being what they are, Thundercracker won't be intimidating anybody in a staring contest anytime soon." Rivalz joked.

"Thundercracker specialises in fast attacks with his strong firepower, and his generally rounded stats make him an adept fighter. But with his courage and rank being in the middle, and lacking sufficient strength, you won't see him in a leading position." Pixis concluded.

The screen shifts back to the Decepticons. A new switch appeared underneath the central condenser, and Dreadwing activated it, which opened a door beneath them that led even further down into the centre of the planet.

The five of them went through the door and walked along a wide corridor, which led to a large room with a massive condenser in the middle and two pathways on the left and right to a control room behind the condenser, the likely answer to how the Autobots cut off the power beforehand.

The Decepticons noticed four Energon suppressors along the sides of the left and right hand pathways.

"Those must be stopping the energy flow to the condensers." Cornelia assumed.

"The cons will need to destroy those to get the power back." Yukiya followed.

Armin had a thought: "If these really are important to stopping the Decepticons' plan, they're going to be heavily guarded."

As if on queue, the screen would prove him right.

Just then, an order rang out over the intercom from the voice earlier: "Autobots attack! Protect the suppressors and the main control room".

Immediately, a Melee specialist appeared along with two Rocket Troopers from the right side. On the left side was a Bruiser and, most dangerously, a Heavy Ion Soldier.

"Damn, that's quite a bit of resistance" Jean's eyes widened.

But Guildford had his own thoughts "Maybe, but considering their opposition is the Seekers, I wouldn't count them out. This won't be a quick fight". Guildford was well aware of how capable the Seekers were: he knew all about when they had attacked Pendragon.

"That's a lot of Autobots… so lets scrap them!" Skywarp shouted.

"We've wasted enough time with these pions, we have to activate the Energon Bridge!" said Starscream.

"The right side is more lightly defended compared than the left. I will go right, destroy the suppressors there and take the control room, the rest of you engage the left side and destroy the suppressors there." proposed Dreadwing.

"Fine, whatever rids of us of these Autobots fastest." Starscream conceded with irritation, both at being told what to do and the Autobots constant meddling.

"Alright then, we have a plan, let's tear them to shreds!" Slipstream said sadistically as she rushed towards the left with Skywarp not far behind. Starscream and Thundercracker followed behind them, while Dreadwing made his way to the right.

Skywarp and Slipstream began firing Thermo Rocket Launcher and Plasma Canon shots at the Heavy Ion Soldier, who flinched at the explosive damage. He attempted to return fire, but after they'd fired a few shots more they both cloaked and he lost sight of them. Skywarp and Slipstream then switched to their Scatter Blaster and Photon Burst Rifle respectively to start chipping away at the Heavy Ion Soldier's armour, whilst trying to avoid their own armour being shredded.

As for Starscream and Thundercracker, the two of them were weaving and dodging the Bruisers' hammer swings and the occasional rocket or two he fired. Starscream took one hammer swing, forcing Thundercracker to heal him. When the Bruiser went in for another running charge attack, Thundercracker had to duck out of the way, while Starscream used his Hover ability to evade the incoming attack, using his Scatter Blaster, which damaged the bruiser's backpack. But it wasn't enough to kill him.

"You dare to stand against STARSCREAM?!" Starscream taunted, as the two Seekers readied themselves for the bruiser's next attack.

Meanwhile on the right side, Dreadwing was running towards the two Rocket Troopers, who in return fired their rocket launchers at him.

"Think you can take me down? Think again!" He declared as he jumped over some incoming rockets and landing in front of them. He then drew his EMP Shotgun, which he'd acquired earlier from the Autobot outpost, demolishing them with a close range shot each.

This left only the Melee Specialist, who ran towards Dreadwing with his red triangular Axe, forcing Dreadwing to draw his Sword and block the incoming slash.

The two exchanged slash after slash before Dreadwing eventually managed to parry the Specialists' attack, rendering him vulnerable and allowing Dreadwing to swiftly thrust his sword into the specialist's spark chamber, making him the winner of this duel.

Historia was impressed by Dreadwings' individual fighting prowess. "He's good. You weren't kidding about Dreadwing being a strong fighter."

"Without doubt, his skill could always be depended on when called." Euphemia smiled at seeing her friend's abilities recognized once again.

With his opposition defeated, Dreadwing destroyed the two suppressors on his side with sword slashes and then proceeded to the control room, which was a large open spacke, which also contained a large gate to the right. Inside the room, was an Autobot guarding a nearby switch. The Autobot in question was Silverbolt: an elite Autobot flier.

"Well this is interesting, so it must have been Silverbolt who was speaking over the intercom earlier." Nonette commented.

"Considering how far the Decepticons have made it, it makes sense the Autobots would place a capable Aerialbot to challenge them." Cornelia reasoned.

"Who is this "Silverbolt"? Can he fly like the Seekers?" Onyankopon asked curiously.

"Silverbolt was the leader of the Aerialbots. A reliable, courageous warrior in his own right. He aided us many times in the fight against the Decepticons...". Zhou looked down.

Onyankopon noticed this and also how she spoke in the past tense. "Did something happen to him? Pardon me, I don't mean to be intrusive."

"Not at all." Zhou replied immediately, sensing he didn't mean offense. "He was unfortunately killed in a significant battle with the Decepticons… evaporated by a superweapon in the blink of an eye." Zhou continued.

Many of the Black Knights looked down in respect, whilst others had mournful looks on their face, as they remembered the casualties and losses they took in that battle, and the many friends and comrades who lost their lives.

The Survey corps, looked on in sympathy, once again, sensing the scale of the losses that this other group had suffered: some of those losses being other transformers.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope I didn't cause any unnecessary pain or grief to surface" Onyankopon apologised.

"Don't apologise, you meant no ill will." Zhou assured him.

Xing Ke stepped in. "Whilst it was regretful that Silverbolt lost his life, he was a trusted ally who helped us win our war, which made his death mean all the more. We will always remember him and what he contributed.

Nearly everyone smiled upon hearing Xing Ke's words, as it was a reminder that even though losing allies and loved ones hurt, remembering them and all they did was the best way to honour them as well as ease the pain of loss.

Shortly after this, the group turned their attention back to the screen.

"Relinquish the control panel to us Silverbolt, and I will spare your life." Dreadwing bargained.

But Silverbolt rejected his offer. "I won't let you destroy this planet for your own selfish needs."

With that Silverbolt opened fire with his Photon Burst Rifle. "For Cybertron!", he roared. Dreadwing rolled to the side, firing back with his EMP shotgun as both combatants fired back and forth, rolling and dodging the incoming bullets.

After continued exchanges of gunfire, Silverbolt decided he needed to change things up, and swapped to two Pulse Canons, firing a vertical line of lasers from left to right. Dreadwing anticipated this and slid under the laser fire, then fired some rockets from his Cluster Canon at Silverbolt, who blocked the explosives with his own Barrier ability.

Silverbolt then fired five small heat seeking missiles into the air, which began descending upon Dreadwing's position. Dreadwing had to move fast, as he'd already taken some damage and the missiles would do a chunk more if they hit, so he ran to his left to avoid the raining missiles, as they rained down and missed.

Realising that Silverbolt was trying to keep him at a distance, Dreadwing readied himself to rush down Silverbolt when the opportunity arose. He would get his moment when Silverbolt attempted to catch Dreadwing off guard by firing a series of small plasma blasts across the floor.

Dreadwing ran at Silverbolt, jumped over the plasma blasts and drew his Sword midair to swing downward, only for Silverbolt to block the sword strike with a thin slender red Blade of his own. Adorning a red Shield on his other arm. Silverbolt pushed Dreadwing back and the two adopted a stance, ready to strike.

"Holy crap this is cool!" Ashely exclaimed.

"Damn right. The way they keep dodging and countering the others attacks, it's incredible!" Sasha was glued to the fight.

"To watch two equally skilled transformers fight is truly a spectacle." Rakshata agreed.

"Impressive effort." Dreadwing said in acknowledgement of Silverbolt's skill.

"I could say the same, however, I cannot allow your mad plan to succeed!" Silverbolt replied, as he charged at Dreadwing. Dreadwing charged back as they each gave out battle cries.

Meanwhile, Starscream and Thundercracker had managed to significantly damage the Bruiser's backpack. Thundercracker was keeping the attention on himself whilst clashing his Hammer against the Bruisers'own, but he was struggling to resist the Bruisers' strength.

Before the Bruiser could overpower him, Starscream thrust his dual Swords into the Bruiser's backpack, then pulled them out, jumping back as he and Thundercracker watched the Bruiser explode.

"That's the bruiser taken care of, courtesy of Starscream, of all bots?" Oldrin quizzed.

"I wonder how the other two are doing? Dealing with that Heavy Ion Soldier and all." Cecile pondered.

As for Skywarp and Slipstream they'd diminished the Heavy Ion Soldier's armour by quite a lot, but had taken quite a lot of damage themselves and had been forced to find cover. They needed to end the fight now.

"This guy is starting to annoy me!" Skywarp groaned.

"That's one thing we can agree on." Slipstream concurred in a rare moment. And then she came up with an idea.

"Our Cloaks should've recharged by now, you sneak up behind him and attack his back armour, when he's on his knees I'll put him down" she challenged.

"I like the way you think." Skywarp replied with a smug grin, as they both cloaked and moved to flank the Heavy Ion Soldier.

The soldier stopped firing and began walking towards their cover spot to see if they were alive, but before he could get too close, he felt a sharp pain as Skywarp shot him from behind with his Thermo Rocket Launcher. This caused the soldier to fall down on one knee, allowing Slipstream to stab him through the head with her Lance.

With their enemies terminated, the group rejoined, Thundercracker tending to their wounds with his Energon Repair Ray. Then they destroyed the remaining suppressors.

"Well, there goes the rest of the Autobot soldiers in the area, along with the last two Energon suppressors." Marrybell glared.

"And with them gone, all that's left is Silverbolt, now outnumbered 5-1." Diethard added.

"Which means that Silverbolt's in a lot of shit, to say the least." Levi finished.

"The suppressors have been dealt with, but we need to get into the control room to re-establish the link." Thundercracker reported.

"Then let's not waste any more time - move!" Starscream ordered, as the four made their way into the control room, with Skywarp noticing the Ion Displacer lying on the ground.

"Can't just leave this here." he thought with a smirk, as he picked it up and followed the others to the control room.

Back with Dreadwing, he and Silverbolt were striking their blades and parrying each other's attacks. The two seemed locked in a stalemate, clashing blades, until the door behind Silverbolt opened and revealed Starscream along with the others, preparing to join the fray.

Skywarp fired the Ion Displacer at Silverbolt's back, wounding him. Silverbolt looked behind and activated his Barrier to block the incoming bullets, which gave Dreadwing an opening to knee Silverbolt in the stomach area, breaking the sword lock and then slashing at Silverbolt's chest, wounding him and drawing Energon.

Seeing that this battle was lost and that he wouldn't be able to fend off five Decepticons in his current state, Silverbolt used his Thunderblast ability to push the Decepticons back, then he transformed into jet mode and flew out of the door that Dreadwing had come through earlier.

"He's weak! Let's finish the job!" Skywarp shouted.

"No! We've wasted enough time dealing with the Autobots just to get this far", Thundercracker rebuked.

"Besides he is no longer a threat. To pursue him now would only waste more time. We must remain on task." Dreadwing agreed, much to Skywarps' annoyance.

"Well then, lets get on with it already." Slipstream was forced to concede.

"Guess Silverbolt wasn't strong enough to stop them." Sokkia sighed, concerned that the Decepticons had managed to win that battle.

"Despite his courage, the odds were too great." said Sayoko, who was just as displeased about the Decepticons victory.

"Ultimately it's no surprise, considering how outnumbered he was and the fact that we all know what Megatron intends to do in the future with Dark Energon, which he could only acheive if this plan works." Eren explained, which many found to be an interesting observation, using what they knew about the transformers history to begin with.

With Silverbolt dealt with, Starscream was ecstatic over the fact their goal was nearly complete. "Hahahaha! We are but one click away from activating the full power of the Energon Bridge!"

Thundercracker activated the switch in the control room. The power came back on and the energy flowed once again.

Starscream was basking in the 'glory' of the moment. "I did it! Look at all that power flowing!"

Everyone could see how much energy was flowing across the massive condenser and could only imagine the amount of energy that was in the room they'd seen prior.

"Wow! Look at the inside of that condenser… there so much energy flowing!" Shirley was astonished.

"I'd be more impressed if I didn't know the cons were gonna do some bad shit with it." Rai said.

"Nonetheless, the technological prowess and display of energy is still a sight to behold." Erwin countered, which Rai acknowledged.

"Onward Decepticons!" Starscream transformed with the others following suit, as they flew through the gate and into the deepest part of the core yet.

Once through the gate, they flew down a long winding tunnel filled with see-through pipes and condensers, which were glowing a gold yellow, channeling all of the energy the underground Station was funnelling. It was a magnificent sight.

Thundercracker began sensing something ahead of them.

"I am detecting an unknown energy signature nearby, off the scale" he warned.

"Then we are close – the Energon Bridge must be close by." Starscream reasoned.

As they emerged from the tunnel, they came into a large circular room that was held up by six massive metal beams. Beneath them was lava contained under a sealed floor. A big machine stood in the centre, though it was hard to say what exactly the machine was.

"That's a very large machine. What is it?" Akari pondered aloud.

Sancia was also puzzled. "Judging from it's design, it doesn't seem like any ordinary piece of machinery either"

Erwin had an idea. "Based on Thundercracker's earlier warnings, the energy signature may be originating from that machine." he speculated.

"Well shouldn't the Decepticons be more wary then?" Tian Zi asked.

"Anyone sane would be cautious, but since this is the Decepticons we're talking about, I doubt it." Monica mused.

"The device must be inside that machine. We should plant a Dark Energon Det Pack on it's power cable to activate it." Starscream thought aloud.

Thundercracker interrupted: "My scans indicate that-"

But Starscream had grown tired of Thundercracker's warnings "I've had enough of your readings! I WILL use Dark Energon and corrupt the machine!" he declared as he armed the Det Pack, expecting it to corrupt the machine. Unfortunately this caused the machine in the centre to begin moving.

"Whoa- ! Whats happening?!" Skywarp asked in alarm.

Thundercracker could only sigh as his suspicions were proven correct. "Precisely what I was afraid of… Cybertron is trying to purge itself of contamination."

"What contamination?" Skywarp asked, as the machine began transforming and now had three large turret canons armed, with one of them firing at the Seekers.

"He means US you idiot!" Starscream and Slipstream shouted back, as the five of them transformed into jet mode to avoid getting blasted.

Everyone could only stare in disbelief at the stupidity of what they had just seen.

"He was warned multiple times that there was a strong energy signature to look out for." Nunnally observed.

"And what does he go and do? He completely ignores the advice and then wonders why something bad happened." Alice was also done with Starscreams incompetence.

"This behaviour is exactly what I'd expect from Starscream" Suzaku glared.

"Quit blabbing and destroy this nuisance!" Starscream ordered as he fired his jet machine gun at one of the turrets, destroying the two canons on the turret. Immediately the machine transformed again, withdrawing it's turret heads and emitting vertical burning plasma beams, spinning in circles in an attempt to swat the Seekers out of the sky.

"Avoid those beams!" Dreadwing alerted.

"Move! Move! Move!" Skywarp reiterated, as he began flying up and down to avoiding getting hit by the beams

After a few rotations, the machine retracted the plasma beams and transformed again, this time lifting it's centre module to reveal a power core.

"Fucking hell, that machine certainly has a variety of ways of killin Bots." Kenny remarked.

"Yeah! Three big ass turrets and loads of plasma beams is hella metal for scrapping bots!" Tamaki exclaimed.

"What an incredible sight! I wish I could inspect that machine in person!" Hanji was ecstatic at seeing such a big Cybertronian weapon.

"The machine is vulnerable! Focus your fire on the core!" Starscream yelled, as he began shooting the core with rockets, with the others firing at it also with their vehicle weapons.

After a barrage of bullets and rockets, the centre module lowered itself, protecting the core and transforming into it's multiple sentry mode again. It began firing it's remaining two turrets, only this time, the machine was also firing plasma blasts from it's lower half, giving the Seekers even more projectiles to worry about.

"That didn't seem to stop the machine or even slow it down." noted Leila.

"A weaponised machine like that won't be defeated easily, They'll need to attack a few more times to get the job done." Nonette speculated.

"Are we even hurting this thing?" Skywarp shouted.

"Not with your pathetic aim! Focus fire on those guns" Starscream insulted him, for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"Ugh, do I have to do everything?" Slipstream muttered to herself as she fired a cluster of rockets at one of the remaining turrets' guns, obliterating them and rendering the turret useless.

As for Skywarp, just to prove Starscream wrong, he began spraying his jet machine gun at the last turrets canons, disarming the turret mode for good.

"Hah! It's not so tough!" he scoffed in satisfaction at destroying the machine further.

Skywarp wouldn't have long to celebrate though, as the machine changed into it's plasma beam form again. Except this time there were more beams than before and it began moving faster than before, forcing the Seekers to react before they'd end up a smoking wreck.

Out of nowhere Megatron radioed in: "Starscream! What is taking so long?!" he asked, oblivious to the peril Starscream was facing at that moment.

"Urgh, just a slight delay" Starscream grunted, as he narrowly dodged a high incoming beam, before having to dodge a low beam shortly after.

"I'm beginning to question your ability to deliver, Starscream. Do not disappoint me!" Megatron demanded, completely unaware of the situation as he signed off.

Starscream could only grunt to himself as he and the others avoided being scraped by the machine.

"God, Megatron's timing's as shit as always." Kallen scoffed.

"He always seems to call right when Starscream is in the middle of a desperate situation." Ymir observed.

"Not only that, he's always dismissive of him and only reiterates that failure isn't an option, with no actual concern for his own. It's... abusive... even though that's not surprising to anyone I'm sure. With Starscream it feels like Megatron mistrusts him on purpose, and then takes a cruel pleasure in his misfortune", Jeanne said, as she thought back to Shin's treatment of her. Ashely noticed this and place a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

Many could understand what Jeanne was saying. Sure Megatron's rude and awful behaviour was nothing new: seeing him in the previous chapter was proof of that. But with Starscream, there were elements of a personal vendetta: Megatron was abusing Starscream deliberately. The Black Knights in particular knew of Megatron's poor treatment of the Seeker commander, and whilst they didn't feel overly sorry for him, Megatron's behaviour was duplicitous. As for the Survey Corps, notably Hanji, some of them had heard about this abuse from when Arcee lost her temper with Optimus, and for them it was an unpleasant thing for someone to go through, even for an obnoxious egotist like Starscream.

Once the machine was done rotating, it retracted it's beams and revealed it's power core.

"The core is vulnerable again!" Skywarp shouted.

"Now's our chance! Give it lead!" Slipstream added, as the group began pelting the core. After a flurry of gunfire and explosives, the centre module covered the core again, but instead of immediately going into turret form, the machine remained still for a moment, before emitting an explosion from it's lower half. The red light in the middle of the centre module began spinning, as did several visible gears on the outside.

"What is it doing NOW?!" Skywarp questioned in alarm.

"Who cares?! Just be ready for it!" Starscream answered.

Before they knew it, the room temperature rose and became extremely hot. Then they saw why. The floor containing the lava had been destroyed by the machine causing the lava to rise up. Fireballs began shooting out from the lava nearly hitting a few of the Seekers.

This put many watching on edge, upon seeing the battlefield change

"Good lord! All of that fire and lava, you'd think they were inside a volcano!" Cornelia exclaimed.

"I don't even want to think about getting touched by any of that stuff: You'd get a burn that nothing could counter". Gino looked extremely bothered by the thought.

"Evasive manoeuvres!" alerted Thundercracker, as he barrel rolled to dodge some incoming fire balls.

As if that wasn't enough to deal with, the machine also converted into it's plasma beam form and began firing it's beams in the same direction, making it so the Seekers couldn't dodge either of them now. As they were flying and evading all kinds of dangers, the machine would suddenly change direction, or change it's moving pattern for the beams, meaning the Seekers had to be alert at all times, or they'd soon be in a fiery grave.

But eventually, after dodging hazards for a few cycles, they saw the machine retract it's plasma beams once again, revealeing it's power core, which was showing significant signs of damage.

"It's time to finish this!" Dreadwing called out, as the Seekers fired upon the core, hoping to finally destroy it this time. Starscream and Dreadwing fired the final rockets which destroyed the core, causing the machine's top half to explode.

"They did it, they destroyed the machine." said Niccolo in disbelief.

"Certainly took quite a bit of time and a lot of bullets and rockets." Dalque was amazed they'd managed to destroy such a machine.

"But that doesn't appear to be the end, look, somethings happening." Marrybell pointed at the screen.

Long, mechanical, crane like arms began sprouting from the top of the machine's destroyed lower half.

"Wait! Something's happening!" Skywarp exclaimed.

"YES! It's crumbling before the MIGHT of STARSCREAM!" he boasted arrogantly.

One of the crane arms smashed a hole in the ceiling, providing an escape route for the Seekers

"To the surface Decepticons!" Starscream rallied, as the five of them flew out of the hole.

As they ascended, the crane arms began corrupting their surroundings, causing Dark Energon spikes to shoot out at random.

"It would seem the Det Pack from earlier has taken effect, Dark Energon has corrupted the machine." Lelouch stared in disbelief at the sheer scale of the corruption.

"It's done more than just corrupt it, the machine's crane arms are moving all over the damn place." Ymir was alarmed by the machine's sporadic movements.

"The machine is out of control!" Slipstream pointed out.

"It must be a side effect of the Dark Energon!" Starscream announced.

"Avoid the machine arms and Dark Energon spikes as you fly up!" suggested Dreadwing, dodging an incoming spike to his left.

As they kept flying, the machine became more erratic, corrupting the area ever more frantically.

Eventually the Seekers made it to the surface and saw that the crane arm had linked up with the Energon Bridge, establishing a consistent power flow that could fuel the Orbital Station.

"So that's what the Energon Bridge looks like when functional, if it wasn't for the fact that it's being used for Dark Energon I'd love to know how it works." Lloyd said somewhat nervously.

"For the sanity's sake, it's best that such technology is not interacted with any further." Kiyomi dismissed the idea.

"We've done it! The Energon Bridge is activating!" Skywarp celebrated.

"Incredible. The Energon Bridge is active once more" observed Thundercracker in awe, as the bridge began moving into place to transfer the energy.

"Well, that was certainly a day out." Slipstream joked, albeit proud of their accomplishment deep down.

"Quiet! You're ruining my moment of glory!" Starscream silenced the other three as they transformed briefly on a ledge, to observe the Energon Bridge sending the energy to the orbital Station. "Soon my orbital Station will be at full power!"

But he would soon be interrupted by Megatron: "YOUR orbital Station Starscream? Surely you mean MINE", he said, as the Energon Bridge began to transfer the energy upward into the sky, to the orbital Station.

"I see you have finally succeeded in the simple task I gave you, perhaps you're not as worthless as I thought… report back to base - at once!"

"On our way Lord Megatron." Dreadwing acknowledged as he and the others transformed and flew back to the orbital Station, though Starscream was irked by Megatron's comment.

"It seems Megatron is capable of giving a compliment, albeit a back-handed one" said Rai, with a dead pan stare.

"Whilst I'd normally say that Starscream's ego doesn't need any more stroking, the fact that Megatron was so awful to him earlier and they were in dangerous situations. He probably doesn't need any more abuse hurled his way." Nunnally responded.

The screen shows an outworld view of the Energon Bridge firing the energy at a relay, which then moves the energy through a whole series of relays and eventually into the Orbital Stations' power conduit.

It then cuts to Soundwave working at a terminal and monitoring the energy levels back at the Orbital Station after receiving power from the Energon Bridge, with Megatron standing close by.

"All systems online, Dark Energon manufacturing at optimal efficiency" Soundwave reported to Megatron.

"Now I can introduce Dark Energon into the planet's core… and as it spreads through Cybertron, my power shall travel with it." Megatron exclaimed, as he walked closer to a holo table, near Soundwave.

Hearing this proclamation gave everyone a sense of dread, as they realised what was on the horizon.

"This is it. This where Megatron starts with his batshit insane plan", Kallen growled, as the thought of Megatron dooming his own homeworld infuriated her no end.

"The plan to corrupt Cybertron's core… all so he can try and bend the planet itself to his will" Armin trailed off with unease. Despite his view of Megatron having changed since they first met, it didn't change the fact that he'd come up with this plan in the past and acted on it.

"But to even attempt such a thing… it's beyond belief, it's more than insane! It defies all reason and sanity!" Diethard uttered, his voice shaking in awe and fear

"Entrance to the planet core is heavily shielded behind the Omega Gate." Soundwave pointed out.

Megatron already had a solution in mind. "I will acquire the Omega key. We launch a full scale assault on Iacon IMMEDIATELY and wipe Zeta Prime and his pathetic Autobots off the face of the planet." Megatron ordered as he grasped the holo image of Cybertron into his hand...before crushing it. And the screen faded to black.

"Well Megatron certainly doesn't waste time. The moment the orbital Station receives enough power to produce Dark Energon, he prepares to attack the Autobots in their own capital city, to further his destructive plan", Kaguya said disdainfully.

"No doubt he'll see to it that Dark Energon is 'tested' on Iacon as well, just to ensure he acquires the Omega Key" Cera was also disgusted by Megatron's vision.

Lelouch couldn't help but scowl at the reminder of Megatron's plan. To subject your own planet to the devil's blood, all so you can control the planet at will… the thought was sickening to him. Combined with the fact he knew of the aftermath to this plan, all of the suffering it would cause and what would befall Cybertron - and that he didn't even think twice, or demonstrate any remorse for this madness he'd instigated, angered Lelouch further.

Eren wasn't much better, for he loathed Megatron's callous, cruel nature. And whilst he didn't have as much knowledge of what had happened in the past as Lelouch, he knew more than enough, as he'd witnessed how Arcee and Wheeljack acted around the Decepticon Warlord. Even Optimus's reaction to seeing him arrive on Eren's planet again gave it away.

The only reason they'd be that way was because Megatron had done heinous things in the past, and the plan he had just heard was likely one of them, if not top of the list. And seeing this vicious display of Megatron's character only made Eren despise Megatron more than he already did.

Vector Prime appeared at the end and spoke.

"That is how the Energon Bridge was re-connected to the orbital Station, and thus would lead to Megatron attacking Iacon in a mass assault to acquire the Omega Key. Are you now ready to see this attack?"

Everyone looked at each other before nodding in agreement, and thus, with the consent of everyone present, Vector Prime began preparing the next screening.

"Very well. So begins the attack on Iacon".

And that's chapter 2 done!

The Seekers were successful in reactivating the Energon Bridge, albeit their bickering and 'unique' personalities certainly made the task trickier than necessary. But hey, they're Decepticons, and infighting is to be expected. We also got to see that despite being new recruits to the Decepticons, the Seekers can hold their own, and Dreadwing is still just as strong as always, going toe to toe with Silverbolt, the soon to be Aerialbot leader.

With the Station receiving power again, Megatron plans to attack Iacon in order to acquire the Omega Key and bring his plan of control and dominance over Cybertron to fruition: a plan that nearly everyone dreads, for it is the beginning of a dark period in the Transformers history.

In this chapter I added Slipstream and Dreadwing. For Slipstream it's because she's a Seeker in other continuities and in Code Prime.

Also, she was available in Multiplayer/escalation as a reward for beating the Decepticon campaign, so she did appear around this time and I thought it was a good place to include her along with the other Seekers.

As for Dreadwing, I mentioned in the last chapter that I would include him, my reasons being that:

1. I thought Megatron would be somewhat suspicious of Starscream, even with the promise of more destructive power through Dark Energon, and so would send one of his most loyal soldiers to make sure Starscream carried out orders without deviating through his own ego.

2. Since it was a flying chapter, Dreadwing fits the bill and is one of the more prominent characters in Transformers Prime (at least in Season 2 as well as in Code Prime). Despite Dreadwing not appearing in the WFC Games, I thought this chapter would be a good place to introduce him, considering many characters spoke of him in the past, implying that he did fight in the War for Cybertron, athough possibly earlier on than here.

With regards to Dreadwing, I hope I did Euphemia and Suzaku's reaction to seeing him justice: although they'd made peace with his sacrifice, it still hurt to remember his loss and, as we saw in Code Prime R2, Kallen, Suxaku and Euphemia still think about their deceased friends. I hope it's a tender moment, and that I gave it the respect it deserves. The same extends to Silverbolt: although he wasn't as central as Dreadwing, he was still a high-ranked Autobot and he contributed to the Black Knights victor, which should be remembered.

Also, as the two groups are slowly learning a bit more about each other, they will become more familiar as time goes on, as we saw when the Survey Corps mentioned how Optimus told them stories, or when they were all agreeing about the loss of friends.

Lastly, I added Silverbolt into this chapter, along with the Autobot's last attempt to stop the Decepticons with the Energon suppressors, as a reference to the WFC Decepticons DS Mission 5 - "Reactivating the Uplink." Let me know what you guys think of this addition to the chapter, as this is an example of me integrating the DS version's content into the overall story.

For this chapter's tech specs I used Generations Thundercracker (2013) and Generations Skywarp (2014) as the basis. I found that some of their individual stats were better suited to the other, and so I made some adjustments based on their incarnations in Code Prime, to better suit their personalities as a whole.

Anyways, I hope you liked reading this chapter and I'll see you next time!