I don't own Transformers or the Riordanverse; they belong to their owners.

Chapter 45: Battle for the Allspark Part 2

Hound just stood there frozen as he looked at Barricade and Quake. The two Decepticons stared him, Nightprowler, and Luke down.

"What...what are you doing here?" Hound asked in disbelief.

"Are you really so stupid, Autobot?" asked Quake condescendingly. "We're here for the Allspark."

"But how did you know it was here?" asked Luke. "How'd you know we were coming here?"

"Like we'd tell you." Barricade stated. "Now hand it over," he ordered.

"Not gonna happen." Hound said defiantly. He pulled out his rifle and got ready for a fight.

"Fine by me." Quake stated deviously. He started firing at the two Autobots and Luke, and the ensuing shots sent them scrambling.

"Take cover!" Shouted Hound. He grabbed Luke in his arms, and he and Nightprowler ran for a nearby rock.

"Like that's gonna work." Barricade said as he started shooting his twin pistols at the rock.

Nightprowler winced as he heard the shot whiz behind him while crouching behind the rock with Hound. "I'll distract these guys," he said. "When I say move, you and Luke run with the Allspark."

"Got it." Hound responded.

Nightprowler ran right for one of the downed plane's wreckage and ran as fast he could towards them.

"Hey, where do you think you're going!?" asked Quake. He aimed his rifle at Nightprowler, but the nimble Autobot was too fast for him.

Nightprowler felt the shots nearly hit him as he reached one of the wreckages. He grabbed one of the shards of metal and flung it at Quake. The metal plate hit Quake right in his face plate, causing him to groan and stagger backward.

"Quake!" yelled Barricade in concern, momentarily distracted.

"MOVE!' shouted Nightprowler.

That was Hound's cue. From the side of the rock, Hound in his Jeep mode with Luke in the driver's seat and the Allspark in the passenger seat came roaring forward and made a beeline for the distracted Barricade.

Barricade couldn't react in time. Hound's Jeep mode drove into his legs, flipping him over forwards, head over heels, before landing on his back.

"Damn it!" Quake muttered.

"After them!" Barricade shouted. He transformed into his police car mode and started following Hound down the canyon. Quake followed suit, turning into his tank mode.

Nightprowler in turn transformed into his snow leopard mode and started following all three of them…

Hound dipped and dove through the canyon path as Barricade and Quake followed close behind him.

"Quake; Give me some covering fire!" Barricade ordered.

"You got it!" Quake yelled. His tank turret suddenly started firing shell after shell in Hound's direction.

"WHOA!" cried Luke as he tried to steady himself inside Hound's cab.

One of the shells exploded right in front of Hound, and he ended up driving right through the resulting smoke and cinders. Luke coughed as he inhaled the fumes.

"Luke you okay?" asked Hound.

"I'll be fine." Luke coughed. "We just gotta get out of here."

"I still don't understand how the Decepticons found us." Hound bemoaned.

"Worry about that later." Luke said. Another shell exploded right beside them. "We need to call Optimus now."

"Right. On it!" Hound said. He turned on his radio right away. "Optimus!" Hound shouted into the radio "This is Hound! We found the Allspark, but the Decepticons are here too! We need back up!"

There was no response.

"Optimus!"

"Hound, look out!" shouted Luke.

Hound put his attention back on where he was going and saw Soundwave right in front of him.

Hound put his brakes on right away.

"Give the Allspark to me," Soundwave demanded. "Autobot scum!"

Hound didn't respond. He just started going in reverse as fast as he could. Soundwave began to charge his shoulder cannon. "Target. Aquired." He said coldly.

"So's mine!" yelled a voice.

When Soundwave turned to look, he saw Hot Rod's foot slam right into his face. Soundwave spun around, but the shot he'd been charging still released. The laser went off course, narrowly avoiding Quake and hitting Barricade, who were still following Hound.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA!" screamed Barricade. The laser blast had sent him spinning out of control, and he was unable to get traction.

It was the opening Nightprowler needed. Sill following close behind in leopard mode, he transformed into his robot mode and kicked Barricade with a mighty force, sending the Decepticon flying through the air and crashing into some rocks.

"Frag!" Quake muttered. He turned into his robot mode and slammed his fists together. "Time to do this the old-fashioned way."

"Guess that's our cue, Luke." Hound said as he turned into robot mode.

Luke jumped out of Hound as he transformed and pulled out his sword. "Let's get this guy," he said.

Quake roared and charged at the two Autobots.

"Nightprowler!" called Hound.

Nightprowler looked over at Hound.

"Catch!" Hound flung the Allspark at Nightprowler, who nimbly caught it.

"I have it!" Nightprowler cheered.

"Get it out of—GRRRRRR," Hound groaned as Quake tackled him and slammed him into the nearby canyon wall.

Nightprowler took his cue and started running off with the Allspark in his arms.

As he fought off Hot Rod, Soundwave looked over and saw Nightprowler running away with the Allspark.

"Quicksand. Now!" Soundwave ordered.

As Nightprowler ran forward, suddenly out from the ground, a giant scorpion burst out. Nightprowler stopped running in shock, and then in midair, the scorpion's claw opened and a barrage of missiles flew out from it, knocking Nightprowler back.

Nightprowler grunted as he got back up, Allspark still in his hands, and he looked at the scorpion. The scorpion transformed into his old enemy Quicksand.

"Missed you at the energon battle." Quicksand taunted.

"Sorry. Optimus didn't want me there." Nightprowler said. "He didn't want to risk the cons capturing me."

"Guess that doesn't matter now, huh?" asked Quicksand.

Nightprowler paused. "Quicksand, please stand down," he begged. "Our conflict is over. The War of Atlantis has ended. Let the Autobots take the Allspark back to rebuild their home so they won't lose it to war like we did."

Quicksand scoffed. "Honestly, Nightprowler, I don't give a damn about all that junk," he laughed. "I just like being part of something again. Besides, these cons seem to have a lot in common with the rulers of Atlantis. I think I'm gonna stay."

Nightprowler pulled out his sword; he held it in his right hand with the Allspark still gripped in his left. "Should have figured you'd say no."

"As they say in this time..." began Quicksand as he deployed his stinger on the back of his tail. "Come get some!"

Nightprowler charged in ready to slash as did Quicksand...

Hot Rod swung his fist at Soundwave, but the Decepticon pushed himself backwards.

Soundwave pressed the button on his shoulder. "Buzzsaw, attack, operation evicieration!" he called. From his chest, a data disc burst out before changing into the robotic condor Hot Rod hated so much.

"Oh no, not good." Hot Rod managed to squeak out before Buzzsaw charged right at him and slashed at Hot Rod with his beak. He ripped right into Hot Rod's chest, causing him to grunt in pain and distract him momentarily.

"Now!" ordered Soundwave.

At that moment, from the cliffside, Ravage pounced forward, ready to strike the distracted Hot Rod, but before he could, in midair, a lightning bolt struck Ravage and sent him flying down to earth.

"Don't even think about it, buddy!" Thalia said as she charged in, spear and shield raised. As Ravage picked himself back up, she stabbed him right in the gut. She sent an electric shock through the robotic jaguar, and Ravage screamed in pain.

"No!" cried Soundwave with concern.

Meanwhile. When Buzzsaw came around for another pass, Hot Rod grabbed the robotic bird by his wings and threw him to the ground, stepping on him for good measure.

With the two data bots incapacitated, Hot Rod and Thalia looked at Soundwave, who gave them both a cold glare.

"Ready to be tag-teamed Soundwave?" asked Hot Rod.

"Yes," said Soundwave.

Just then, Hot Rod heard a VOP behind him. Skywarp had just teleported in, and he put his wrist gun to Hot Rod's back.

"Hot Rod, look out!" cried Thalia.

Hot Rod reacted just in time. He swung around and smacked Skywarp right in the head with his arm. Skywarp was caught off balance, and his shot went off and hit the cliffside.

Soundwave still saw an opportunity though, and he fired his shoulder cannon, landing a direct hit on Hot Rod.

Hot Rod winced in pain.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Thalia shouted. Her spear danced with electricity, and she charged at Soundwave.

"And you will pay for what you did to Ravage!" Soundwave retorted as he braced himself for the human's attack.

A fair distance away, Sunstreaker was approaching the scene in his vehicle mode. He saw Hot Rod fighting Skywarp and Thalia fighting Soundwave. Both of them looked like they could use a hand.

"Hang on guys!" called Sunstreaker. "I'm com-" just then he felt two hard claws grip into his side. "GAAH!" he cried. He looked to see what had just happened.

Spinster in his helicopter mode had happened. The Decepticon had gripped Sunstreaker in a pair of claws connected to a winch and was lifting Sunstreaker into the air.

"Hey, put me down!" Sunstreaker pleaded.

Spinster wordlessly released his claw, and Sunstreaker began to fall down to the earth.

"That was probably a poor choice of words!" Sunstreaker shouted as he flew straight towards the ground.

He instinctively changed into robot mode just before he hit the floor of the canyon with a massive THUD. Dust and dirt scattered everywhere from the impact.

Sunstreaker gave out a weak groan. Before he could even think about getting up, Spinister, now in robot mode, landed on top of him, pressing one leg onto his chest.

"You scratched my paint job." Sunstreaker tried to sound defiant, but all that came out was a weak, raspy voice.

Spinster wordlessly raised his arm and prepared to strike Sunstreaker in the face when he was shot in the back. The shot caused him to stagger and lose his focus.

He turned around to look, and on the nearby cliffside, he saw Chromia with her sniper rifle aimed right at them.

"Bullseye," Chromia muttered to herself.

Spinster growled, transformed back into his helicopter mode, and started flying up towards Chromia. Chromia aimed and fired at him again, but this time Spinister was prepared; he dodged her shot just in time and sent a barrage of missiles on the cliffside Chromia was sitting on.

"Uh oh." Chromia remarked. She moved to try to shoot some of the missiles out of the air, but it was no use. The missiles impacted the cliffside and caused a part of it to collapse, including the part Chromia was sitting on.

"Oh frag!" Chromia cried as the ground beneath her crumbled and she started falling in a pile of stone and dirt.

By now, Sunstreaker was picking himself back up, and he saw what was happening to his friend. "Hang on!" he shouted as he rushed toward Chromia and the collapsing wall. When he got close, Sunstreaker leaped up and grabbed Chromia before she could become buried by all the rocks. The two landed in a heap on the side.

Chromia took a moment to refocus. "Thanks, Sunstreaker," she panted.

Sunstreaker smirked. "But of course. I am just that amaz-'

"Save the bragging for when we're out of this!" Chromia suggested, as if on cue, Spinster launched another barrage of missiles at the two of them.

"Oh right…" Sunstreaker said nervously as a missile flew past him. "Probably a good idea!" He pulled out his gun and started shooting at the Decepticon helicopter, but Spinister dodged every shot.

"Where's Prowl?" Sunstreaker asked.

"He should be somewhere here." Chromia said as he pulled out her gun and fired at Spinister. "He went off to secure the Allspark!"

Hot Rod wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out. He was a skilled fighter, one of the best, and Thalia was a powerful demigod. But Skywarp and Soundwave were proving more of a match for them.

Skywarp teleported right in front of Thalia and tried to step on her, but the girl managed to dodge just in time and send a lightning bolt at the con. Skywarp grunted in pain.

"Just die already!" he ordered as he made another attempt to squish Thalia, this time with his fist, but Hot Rod whacked him in the side. Soundwave reltalied by grappling Hot Rod from behind.

"This is for Buzzsaw." Soundwave said in a voice that somehow sounded both emotionless and full of anger-fueled vengefulness at the same time. He began to squeeze Hot Rod as tight as he could, his grip ironclad.

Hot Rod screamed in pain; he struggled to get free, but Soundwave had him locked up pretty good.

Thalia turned to look and saw her friend having the life squeezed out of him. "Hot Rod hang—" before she could rush over, Skywarp took advantage of her distraction and pinned her to the ground with the palm of his hand.

"Now it's time to go squish-"

Before Skywarp could press down, he felt a jabbing sensation in the back of his leg. He instinctively launched himself into the air with the jets on the bottom of his legs, crying with pain.

The now freed Thalia looked up and saw Annabeth nearby, her dagger covered with Skywarp's inner energon.

"Took you long enough." Thalia commented dryly.

"Took us a while to find you." Annabeth explained.

Thalia heard a large "thud" behind her and looked back. Prowl had arrived, and he was currently trying to get Hot Rod free from Soundwave's grip.

"Need some help, Prowl?" Thalia asked

"I wouldn't mind it!" Prowl muttered as he struggled.

Thalia smirked, and she shoved Ageis forward right at Soundwave. The sight of it caused him to stagger and loosen his grip. It was enough for Prowl to pull Hot Rod free. The sudden jolt of Hot Rod being released from his grip caused Soundwave to stumble backwards.

"Alright, we got him!" Thalia said.

Hot Rod took a moment to get his bearings. "Right. Now let's kick these guys–"

Just then a massive thunder boom erupted from all around them. Thalia and Annabeth covered their ears, and Hot Rod and Prowl winced.

"I think Thundercracker's been repaired…" Prowl muttered.

"Ya think!?" Hot Rod asked.

As if on cue, the blue Decepticon landed nearby with a thud. The two Autobots and two humans looked at him in shock.

"Oh honey!" said Thundercracker. "I'm home!"

Optimus, Sideswipe, and Ratchet rushed over to the location Hound had given his distress call. When they arrived on the scene, Optimus took a moment to take everything in.

Hound and Luke were currently fighting Quake. They were holding their own, but it was only a matter of time.

Nightprowler had the Allspark with him and was fighting Quicksand, struggling to fight and keep the Allspark safe.

Hot Rod and Prowl were engaged in a losing battle with Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Soundwave. Even with Thalia and Annabeth's help, they probably wouldn't last long.

Sunstreaker and Chromia had the upper hand on Spinister, but there were sure to be other Decepticons out there.

"Sideswipe, Ratchet!" Optimus said. "Let's move before—"

"Before I get here?" asked a familiar voice.

Optimus sighed and turned to the side. There, a few meters away, was Megatron, with the other two Decepticons, Starscream, and Skytread.

Optimus was silent at first. He just glared at Megatron.

"What? Nothing to say, Prime?" Megatron asked mockingly.

"No," Optimus replied. I'm just interested in what you have to say first."

"You kidding!?" Sideswipe asked. "Let's get in there!" He said this and charged right at the Decepticons.

"Sideswipe wait!" Optimus said, but Sideswipe didn't listen and kept running at them.

Starscream grinned and transformed into his jet mode. He flew right at Sideswipe and collided with him, and the two flew into the canyon.

"Seems you need to teach your Autobots some patience, Prime." Megatron said.

Optimus was silent again.

Megatron was silent for a minute too before he sighed. "So this is it, Prime," he said. "After months of searching, we have finally found it—the key to the survival of our home."

"And your domination." Optimus retorted.

"I wouldn't call it domination…" Megatron remarked. "More like... Peace Through Tyranny..."

Optimus clenched his fist.

"But in the name of our old friendship and our species. I'm going to give you a chance, Optimus." Megatron proposed. "Surrender. Let us have a truce. We can take the Allspark back to Cybertron together. Once our planet's future is secured, we can start killing each other all over again"

Optimus narrowed his optics. "Can you guarantee it?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"Can you guarantee that you won't try to make another play for the Allspark? That you'll never try to use it again?"

Megatron scowled. He stayed quiet.

"That's what I thought." Optimus remarked.

"So…this is how it's going to be then?" Megatron asked.

"Yes." Optimus said mournfully.

"Then let the final battle for our planet begin here! On Earth!" Megatron raised his fusion cannon. "Skytread attack!"

He and Skytread started charging forward, and Megatron released several blasts from his cannon right at Optimus. Optimus sidestepped the blasts and brought out his energon axe, ready to bring it down on Megatron and stop him once and for all…

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