Finally, the first addition since the Once Human... arc? I suppose that's what it is. This 'arc' will be shorter, and another chapter is practically complete, but Part 2 will arrive in a few days.

I would also like to say thank you to everyone who followed and/or favorited this story. I appreciate it a lot.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Mad Metal, Part 1

It all felt like a wild dream: Giant Robots from outer space, battling each other on Earth? A fuel of sinister origins that powered you to heights unknown? All ending with a rescue mission that resulted in a massive mine explosion?

What a load of nonsense.

Jasper leaned up from his resting position, trying to rub out the exhaustion from his eyes. He looked at his watch: 8 AM. Quite early for him… too early. He had to wake up, and maybe forget that bad dream.

He tried to get on his feet, realizing quickly he was resting inside of… a truck? Odd. He opened the driver's seat door, and looked around, still beyond groggy. He barely recognized the surroundings of the massive room he was in, and had to stop when he saw a little tabby cat on the ground, curled up and purring.

"Aw… Rascal," Jasper knelt down and scratched the cat's little head, nearly rousing it from its nap.

… Why was Rascal here?

Jasper's thoughts were slow and unresponsive; he desperately needed something to wake him up. And then he saw it: a bathroom sign. Maybe there was a shower there?

Jasper walked down the concrete hallway, which was bigger than he thought, and kept following the signs until he reached a bathroom. It seemed to be unisex, so he just went on in. It was not the cleanest bathroom, but far from the worst: white tile walls stained a light yellow, some stalls closed up, and the mirrors were cloudy and occasionally cracked. But then he saw it: a row of shower stalls.

Perfect.

He quickly removed his clothes, not hearing them land on the ground, and went into one of the stalls. He braced himself as he grabbed the valve. He didn't know what setting it would start, ice-cold or blazing-hot. But either way, it would wake him up.

He turned the valve…

And jolted awake as the water caused him to shake on contact. His voice short-circuited as it made random noises, some of which were not human. He looked down at his body in shock, seeing his pale skin disappear into chaotic, bluish light and reveal… circuitry? Metal? What!?

Jasper jumped out of the stall, crawling back while watching as his endoskeletal hand slowly brought the bluish lights to a form, becoming more orderly… until his arm returned.

Oh… it wasn't a dream. It was all real. The transformers, the Dark Energon, the explosion, everything. But the one thing he forgot about, that he hoped wasn't true, was that he was one of them.

"Hardlight forms don't mix well with water. Or so I'm told."

Jasper jolted his head toward Aiko, the Division Major of this base. She was leaning on one of the ceramic walls, looking at him with amusement. Jasper quickly covered himself, only to realize that his naked body quickly reformed into his clothed self.

"Ah. Gotta be honest, I was so tired I forgot that this was fake," Jasper said as he looked at his arm, stretching it while looking at its uncloaked form.

"Well, you seem rather awake now. Optimus and Ironhide are busy on missions, but Bumblebee is here to help you on your first training session."

"Huh… right. Okay." Jasper said, trying to remember if he had anything planned today.

His train of thought was completely derailed as he saw Aiko walk right past him to check the water of the shower… and nodded as she took off her jacket, revealing her dress shirt.

"Uh, Major, what are you–"

"I'm taking a shower. What does it look like to you?"

Jasper quickly turned away, saying, "You couldn't wait until I was out of the room?"

"Jasper, I'm a soldier, I've used communal showers while you were still in diapers. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can leave."

Jasper had no clue why he was even hesitating, but eventually, he got his feet moving right outside the room.

He had to admit though: She kept herself fit.

Decepticon Warship - The Nemesis

Up high in the Nemesis, standing on the commanding platform and staring at all the monitors with his arms behind his backside, Starscream was pondering. After the demise of Megatron, Starscream made the promise to the Decepticons to avenge him, to destroy the Decepticons. And so, he pondered: how should he do that?

"Starscream!"

Starscream cringed as he heard the loud voice of Brawl as he stomped his way in.

Starscream inhaled sharply before saying, "It is Lord Starscream to you, Brawl! Try your best not to forget that."

"Oh, right…" Brawl said, seeming to have forgotten that fact, "I am here, Lord Starscream, to ask what is our first action to take against the Autobots!"

"... Scrap," Starscream said under his breath before continuing with, "You must be patient, Brawl. I have many plans to use, but each one has its time and place."

"Ooooh… Does that mean that there's one where I get more Combaticons!? With enough Combaticons, we could move mountains! I'd like to see the Autobots try to deal with that!" Brawl then let out a hearty laugh as he thought over his own hypothetical.

"No, Brawl, I will not get you any more Combaticons. Now leave, Brawl! I have to go over my plans," Starscream ordered.

Brawl begrudgingly sighed and muttered, "First Megatron, and even Starscream. I'm never gonna get my Brawl Battalion."

Starscream ignored that, and leaned over the railing with a sigh. Do they think that he was made of plans? Did they expect an immediate attack on the Autobots to collect their headpieces? As much as Starscream would have loved that, he knew he had to take steps to ensure that. He made that promise to the Decepticons, and it was not a false one. He would destroy the Autobots. He would win this war. But he could not do that if he had Decepticons pestering him about extra forces and–

Starscream froze and widened his optics. Of course. What better way to gain power, than with greater numbers? He quickly turned to Soundwave, who was silent as he was operating two computers at the same time.

"Soundwave! Bring up a list of Decepticons we have not recruited to the Nemesis… Soundwave!?"

Starscream urged Soundwave to listen. This was unlike him, to seemingly not hear him. He was their Communications Lieutenant, after all.

Starscream got closer and then yelled, "Soundwave!"

Finally, Soundwave looked away from his monitor and at Starscream.

"Yes, Lord Starscream?" Soundwave said without a waver in his synthetic voice.

"I need you to bring up a list of every Decepticon on this planet that we can recruit."

"Understood, Lord Starscream."

Both Soundwave and Starscream then went to another monitor to access the data. On Soundwave's original monitor, was a simple Energon scanning procedure. And it was scanning over a familiar area with a destroyed hill. On and on, it kept scanning for an Energon signature, but not of regular Energon.

Autobot Hideout - Missile Silo

Atop the hill where the silo was embedded in, surrounded by trees and sparse mountains, Bumblebee was hopping from pede to pede, punching at nothing as he prepared. Jasper was but twenty meters away, not far away from the closed silo opening, watching Bumblebee getting ready.

"You're in good hands."

Jasper looked down next to his pede to see Ralph standing there, holding Rascal in his arms.

"Why's that? Is Bumblebee a good teacher?" Jasper asked, curious.

"... Actually, I meant he's a great fighter. He's never taught anyone before."

"Well that's reassuring…" Jasper said dryly, before asking, "Why are you here, then?"

"Well, unless you suddenly learned the Cybertronian alphabet, I'm afraid you're gonna need me."

"Oh, right." Jasper said, minorly embarrassed before continuing, "I suppose I have to start from somewhere."

Jasper then looked to his shoulder and, just next to the tank tread, was a symbol. One soldered onto it by fire and raised by metal, of the Autobot insignia. Ratchet really didn't waste time, did he?

Their attention was suddenly brought to Bumblebee as he beeped aloud, now standing still.

"'Bee says he's ready to begin the lesson," Ralph said, scratching the cuddly Rascal in his arms.

Jasper then walked up to Bumblebee, and the muscle car proceeded to get into a fighting stance in an instant, his helmet sliding down to cover his face.

"Listen, before we start, I just wanna thank you for doing this," Jasper said.

Bumblebee then beeped a few beeps, and Jasper looked over to Ralph.

"He said no talking during the lesson, Jasper."

"Wha–"

Jasper couldn't finish his question as a quick jab hit his jaw, sending him back a few steps and groaning. Jasper looked back to see Bumblebee ready to attack, throwing out some informative beeps.

"'Never look away from your enemy', he said," Ralph translated, "And that when facing an enemy, only answer to 'Hollowpoint'."

"Could've just told me before…" Jasper muttered under his breath before copying Bumblebee's pose.

Jasper knew it well: this would be tough. But Jasper has seen his fair share of fighting movies. He knew about keeping up a guard, using the body's weight to swing a fist, and to keep his pedes planted in the ground. The problem was that he had never ever gotten into a fight before all of this. Much less one against an advanced robotic soldier from a war that spanned a galaxy and millions of years. Bumblebee practically danced around Jasper, who could only turn in place to face the silent Autobot.

Jasper didn't attack first, instead thinking… Perhaps if he used his bigger body to his advantage, he could overwhelm Bumblebee with his durability and some devastating punches. Perhaps he could distract him somehow, maybe with a fake-out into a real attack. Or perhaps–

Bumblebee suddenly jolted forward, closing in on Jasper fast. Jasper panicked at the sudden move and swung hard at the yellow-and-black bot, only for him to duck under the wide punch. Before Jasper could even turn, Bumblebee elbowed the back of his knee, causing that leg to collapse and Jasper to go down on one knee. And just as Jasper was about to blindly swing behind him, Bumblebee caught his arm and forced him down, shaking the ground with the throw. Bumblebee was on top of him, holding his arm behind his back rather painfully.

Jasper blinked in surprise. That fight… barely lasted three seconds.

Bumblebee let go of his arm, speaking in multiple beeps and drones.

Ralph was holding a shocked Rascal as he spoke up, "'You were thinking too much, Hollowpoint.' His words, not mine."

Jasper sighed before Bumblebee held a servo out to him. Jasper grabbed it and was pulled to his pedes, his knee still a little weak from the attack. Bumblebee signaled for Jasper to put up his servos, and they both got into poses.

Perhaps he'll try attacking first this round.

Twenty rounds later…

Jasper was thrown to the ground… again. He groaned in frustration at the fact. No matter what Jasper did, Bumblebee countered it like he knew it would happen. Attack first? 'Bee would fake a punch to the face to scare Jasper back then follow with a real one. Feint an attack? 'Bee would just grab that arm and then give three punches to the chest piece. Go for a grab? 'Bee would get caught, only to twist his arm around and elbow him down. The black-and-yellow Autobot was just that good.

"'Don't swing too hard, it leaves you open, Hollowpoint.' That's what he said." Ralph said, typing away on his laptop with Rascal on his shoulder, now used to the sudden tremors.

Jasper growled aloud before slamming his arms into the dirt and getting up again.

"Come on, another round!" Jasper put up his servos.

"What's going on out here!?"

Jasper, Bumblebee, and Ralph all stopped to look at an impatient Jackson, who had a brown stain on his shirt and an empty mug.

"I feel like I'm in the middle of an earthquake down there. What are you doing?"

Ralph was the first to speak up, saying, "'Bee is training Jasp–Er, Hollowpoint, Sir."

"Oh?" Jackson's tone changed from frustration to intrigue, "Doing a little boxing, civvy?"

"Less 'boxing' and more 'being rag-dolled'. The longest I've lasted against him was ten seconds, and that's it."

"Ten seconds? I expected worse. Well, go on then," Jackson then sat next to Ralph, "Don't let me stop you."

Jasper was surprised, before shaking his headpiece and getting into his stance against Bumblebee.

"Stop." Jackson quickly said, freezing everyone in place, "Your stance is too narrow. Your hands, er, servos are too far from your body. And you're standing too straight."

Jasper blinked at the advice and adjusted his stance as he started looking closely at Bumblebee's movements.

"Don't think, react!"

Jasper got confused at the piece of advice, before throwing up his arms to block the yellow blur headed for his face.

"Answer back after a block!" Jackson continued.

Jasper followed the on-the-fly instructions, sending a wide swing at Bumblebee which he easily dodged back from.

"Too wide! Don't hit hard if you're not gonna connect!"

Bumblebee jumped forward, throwing more punches at Jasper which he barely blocked. He threw a fist forward as fast as he could, only for the muscle car to block and respond with a swing to the face, sending Jasper back a few meters. He growled in anger as he looked back at his opponent.

"Use that anger to keep going, Hollowpoint!"

Then something clicked inside of Jasper, and his visor slid down his face. He yelled out as he charged at 'Bee, throwing a flurry of punches at him. Bumblebee merely kept stepping back at the relentless attack, either blocking or dodging the hits. Ralph recognized the strategy: he was letting Jasper wear himself out to exhaust him. And while Jasper was feeling his energy leaving him, he didn't care. His goal was to get a single hit off of Bumblebee. A single hit, just so he knew that Bumblebee wasn't invincible.

Bumblebee's plan was going well… until his back hit a large tree, restricting his movement.

Jackson's eyes widened as he yelled out, "He's trapped! Capitalize on that!"

Jasper thought the same thing and threw a heavy punch with a furious screech. Bumblebee dove under the punch that practically chopped the tree in half, and he was rolling back up behind Jasper.

"He's still recovering! Strike now!"

Jasper's dentas were gritting under his visor, and he let out another, final screech, not realizing that his swinging servo had unknowingly turned into his hollow blade. Ralph and Jackson went wide-eyed at the sight.

"Jasper, stop!" Jackson ordered.

"'Bee, look out!" Ralph screamed urgently.

The blade swung down… being barely held back by both of Bumblebee's servos, the sharp tip getting ever closer to his mask. Bumblebee beeped in protest as he quickly used his pede to kick Jasper back, sending him into a stumble. Jasper growled in response, but the beeps of Bumblebee and the yelling of Ralph cleared his vision, and he looked down to see his blade out.

"Oh, God… Oh, God! I'm so sorry, Bumblebee! I… I don't… I…" Jasper couldn't say anything as he tried to force up his visor.

But Bumblebee held his arms still, looking at him with a hardened stare. He beeped a message that almost seemed… calming. He barely realized that he himself was breathing hard and fast, and steadied himself. Eventually, his blade transformed back into a servo, and his visor rose back up, revealing his widened optics.

"What was that, Jasper!?" Jackson ordered with concern in his voice.

"I… I– I don't know. I got pissed off, and my thoughts just… disappeared. I don't know if that was me, or… if it was this," Jasper said as he looked at his body.

Ralph pondered for a moment, before saying, "Perhaps. But the last time you went into a rage, you were practically feral. Like a rabid animal."

Ralph's words only seemed to concern Jasper further, making him feel… shame? Whatever the feeling was, he despised it with every fiber of his being.

But that feeling was quickly overwhelmed by exhaustion, and he nearly fell over before Bumblebee caught him. Bumblebee beeped a message right to Ralph, and then started aiding Jasper back to the base.

Jackson's concern flared in his voice, "What? What's wrong with him?"

"'Bee said he's gonna take him to Ratchet. Said something about 'Energon exhaustion'."

"Energon exhaustion? Seriously?"

"Seriously? According to your readings, your Energon levels are down to thirty percent." Ratchet said, amazed.

Jasper was lying down in the medbay medical bed, looking over Ratchet's shoulder at the screen.

"You sound shocked. Why? Is that abnormal?" Jasper asked, scared of an answer.

"Very abnormal! The last time we gave you that Energon transfusion, you were at forty-five percent. Yet you already drained that much in an hour!?"

Jasper became confused, hesitantly asking, "How… How long can you guys last without a refuel?"

"If we completely refuel, then we can survive without Energon for two weeks. Perhaps half that if we're in combat for long periods of time. But in your case, you seemed to suddenly drain through your reserves rapidly… strange."

Jasper was shocked at that. He'll starve, or dehydrate, or run out of fuel, faster than other bots?

Jasper sighed in frustration, "I swear, I find more and more downsides with this body each day. But… okay, apparently it's a glutton for Energon."

Ratchet tried to pick up his scanner, only to jolt back once he realized that there was a certain cat resting on a tray on his table.

Ratchet scoffed, asking, "This… fur creature of yours… keep it off of my table."

Ratchet then picked up Rascal with one servo and handed it to Jasper, who apologized before play-fighting with it using his digit. Ratchet tilted his headpiece at the sight, but shook it off as he then used the scanner on Jasper.

"At the moment, your Energon is draining at the normal pace. So it must have been due to the training." Ratchet said, theories forming in his mind.

"So what do I do?"

"With our Energon reserves always on the low, you should do no more training with Bumblebee. Not until I figure out why you drained so much so fast. Eventually, I will have to examine your body to see how it works."

Jasper sighed. His goal in training in how to fight will have to be put on pause.

"If I can't learn to fight, then what else can I do? So far, I haven't been able to do anything yet," said a glum Jasper.

"There's always something to be done here. Ironhide is both doing his standard patrol, Optimus is currently investigating some potential Decepticon mine locations, and I was working on the datapads until now."

"Again, sorry about that." Jasper apologized.

"Ep ep ep. Doesn't matter. The only one not out there yet is Bumblebee because he was helping you out. Perhaps now he can scout out any Energon signals… in fact, maybe you should go with him. We can always use more Energon scouts."

"Hmm… shouldn't be so bad. When do I do it?"

"Well, Bumblebee will need time for Teletraan-I to select a quadrant and section, so in a few hours."

"Leaves me with a bit of time… wait a minute…"

In Jasper's vision, he pulled up the digital phone to check the clock. 12:30 PM was on the screen. That meant he had until 3 or 4:30 to do… something.

Then it hit him.

He went to his contacts and rang a certain number. It rang… and rang…

Until someone picked it up, exciting Jasper.

"Hey, Roe? How do you feel about lunch in thirty?"

Decepticon Warship - The Nemesis

Starscream was looking at multiple screens while Soundwave was on the side bringing up multiple files of rogue Decepticons. While seeing multiple images of dangerous Decepticons, wondering why Megatron never did this so long ago. Though after a few files, he began to understand: some Decepticons would choose not to return, some cannot return, and some should never return, to the Nemesis.

Starscream growled, saying, "When I thought of recruiting rogue Decepticons, I didn't expect this."

Soundwave was silent as he brought up another file, one of a rather large, bulky Decepticon that was mostly a deep blue color. His more notable features were his contrasting copper-colored face, and a large plasma cannon mounted on his shoulder pad.

"Ah, Breakdown. As much as I would prefer a graceful flier, this tough brute can serve a purpose. Though I'm confused. Wasn't he already on the ship? As Knockout's comrade?" Starscream looked to Soundwave for an answer.

"According to some reports, Knockout and Breakdown had a disagreement that led to a fight, and Breakdown left the Nemesis without a trace. His current status is 'missing'."

"To think the big guy can be stealthy… onto the next one."

Another file was brought up of a large white-and-red flier Decepticon, pictured hovering in the air with a soft, red-optic stare.

"Jetfire? I thought he was no more."

"He was going to be sent to Earth on a mission, but no one heard from him since then. His current status is 'missing' as well."

"Scrap. It would have been good to have another Seeker on the ship. With my new position and Slipstream's passing, all we have are Thrust and Thundercracker."

"Then the next one should be of interest," Soundwave said, enticing Starscream's attention to the monitor as its next file was brought up.

Starscream's optics widened as he saw an image of the Decepticon, his colors an odd mix of purple and desert-brown. His most notable features were his bulky build with a tank cannon on his back, mixed with the chest cockpit and back wings of a flier. A triple changer, most clearly. But Starscream was looking at his face, the one most often seen on the ship when not in combat: a bluish face with one of the red optics replaced with a magnifier scope.

"Absolutely not! Blitzwing's not allowed back on this ship after his processor shattered! The last thing I need is for the Decepticons to always be looking over their shoulders to see if he'll suddenly shoot them in the back."

Soundwave understood entirely, though he expected this from their new Lord. He knew that Blitzwing and Starscream never saw optic-to-optic.

Starscream growled before looking at Soundwave, "This can't be all of them!"

Starscream then suddenly took the place of Soundwave, who took a step back and watched Starscream go through the files at three times the speed, simply skimming them to find some bot that can join them.

"There has to be one that can join our ranks! Someone that can prove a challenge to the Autobots!" Starscream gritted his dentas as he kept scanning, and scanning…

Until one entry's image enticed him.

"Wait."

Starscream scrolled back up to a file with a rather intimidating shot of a Decepticon's faceplate. A Decepticon with a black-and-white color scheme, average build and size, and no particular outside weapons of note. Yet his face… it was hunched over, his red optics barely visible at that angle yet trying to bore a hole through Starscream's chest. The mouth was curled wildly on one side, revealing slightly rusted dentas that looked like they belonged on a sharkticon. This unassuming Decepticon gave off a look that only promised pain and demise to whoever he was looking for.

And his name?

"Barricade…" Starscream read off as he opened his file, "A Decepticon who's developed a taste for slaughtering Autobots. He's offlined a staggering number of soldiers on his own… He was in the battle of the Ark's Rise? But that was a failure. When the Ark blasted off, the fires destroyed most of the Decepticons down on the ground. If he survived that…"

"He's even on the planet in stasis with a marked location," Starscream took a step back, giving Soundwave a shocked look, "How has Megatron ignored this recruit candidate? He would make an incredible addition to our armies."

Soundwave said nothing as he simply got back on the monitor and zoomed in on one part of the report labeled 'psychological condition'.

"Oh my…"

"'Violent tendencies, brutal interrogation methods that led to no results, a focus on tearing Autobots to shreds with his dentas'," Soundwave looked back at Starscream, who was analyzing the list, "These conditions were created shortly after the battle of the Ark's Rise. Lord Megatron himself saw his behavior as problematic and put him in a stasis pod for one hundred stellar cycles as punishment."

Starscream pondered at the new info. Megatron himself deemed him a problem? So much so that he was locked away for centuries? Perhaps their previous leader had a good reason to punish him…

…However… Megatron was less tolerable on poor behavior. Starscream knew that well. Yet that behavior was only targeted at Autobots, not Decepticons. And though one hundred stellar cycles in stasis seemed harsh, that sentence was already twenty cycles ago. With eighty cycles left, it could be argued that the new leadership reconsidered his long sentence and would cut the rest of it in a deal. This punishment could lead to more loyalty if Starscream chose his words right.

Starscream grinned. He had made his decision.

"Soundwave, activate the pod's tracker, and prepare the ground bridge. We're about to recruit a promising candidate."

Back in Kamilo…

Jasper was sitting at a table in his hardlight form, looking beyond nervous. He looked at his internal cloned phone, and saw that it was already 2 PM. Over an hour had already passed, yet Jasper felt that his time was getting shorter faster than he planned. Was this what people felt when they tried to plan around their jobs?

"Hellooooo? Earth to Jasper."

Jasper was brought back to attention, as he saw Roe snapping her fingers right in front of his face. He remembered where he was at: sitting across from her at a table outside in the sun. They were at Cap'n's Catches, a fast-food chain local to Washington and relatively famous for their good fish, yet even better chicken meals. One can try not to find one in Washington, though they would have to bury their head in the ground to not see the tall, spinning bluish neon sign of an old, distinguished man in a captain's cap and outfit, proudly holding a large fish hanging by a hook in his hand.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just… checking the time," Jasper hastily said as an excuse.

"You don't have a watch," Roe bluntly said.

"I meant, uh… checking out the clock. See it in there?" Jasper pointed into the restaurant at a clock that can barely be seen, "See? 2 o'clock."

Roe squinted her eyes, saying, "Jeez, you can see that far?"

"It doesn't matter. How is your meal?" Jasper distracted.

Roe's attention was brought back to the tray in front of her, containing a half-eaten juicy chicken sandwich with a special breading that was soft yet crispy, with a special sauce spread across both well-formed buns. On the side, a batch of large, crispy fries perfectly cooked and paired with a delicious-looking cilantro sauce.

"I wouldn't be eating it if it wasn't good. And I wouldn't be coming back for four years if it wasn't great. But enough about me, what about you? Why didn't you get anything? I wanted to bring you here to try it out." Roe asked with a sad tone.

Jasper froze in a silent panic. It was one of the many things he really didn't think about upon planning this date: his form looked human, but it couldn't eat. He tried to eat a single chip at the base just before going on the date, but found out that not only was he still unable to taste anything, but there was also nowhere for the chip to go. No digestive system to speak of. All he could do was spit it out seconds before exiting the ground bridge.

But he couldn't tell her that.

"Uh… I've got a bit of a stomach bug. Just can't seem to keep anything in. Trust me though, I would love to try that out," Jasper said, internally drooling at the wonderful-looking meal.

"Oh, damn. Well, there's always next time… Hey, Jasper? When did you get that?"

Roe pointed behind Jasper, and not thirty feet away from them was a desert-brown, worn-down truck. His truck form.

"Uh, uh, the job! Yeah, one of the guys there had a truck that needed to be driven around, and they gave it to me to do that. So bam! Free truck." Jasper hastily lied yet again, being worn out by the back-to-back lies he was giving Roe.

"Wow, aren't you lucky? Although it's odd that it looks so… military."

"Yeah, surprised me, too. You know, I'm pretty sure that thing's been in an actual war before I got it." Jasper said, glad that he could actually speak the truth once.

"Wow, a veteran truck? That's interesting… So how is the job? I'd imagine you'd still be working considering it's a weekday. How did you manage this?"

Jasper paused for a moment, and furrowed his fake brow trying to remember.

Over an hour ago…

"You want to leave the base?" Jackson said, the surprise present in his voice as he walked down to his office.

"O–Only for a few hours. I've got plans with someone that I want to see through." Jasper corrected, following just behind Jackson.

"Jasper, I don't know if you forgot this, but you can't exactly just leave for some plans. That requires telling us, getting our approval, and setting a schedule. Not to mention the fact that you're a massive, transforming robot."

Jackson opened his office door, revealing to Jasper the room often covered by the window shades. It was a rather sparse room for standard office space, with some typical desk-chair combo, file cabinets, and a couch, all looking rather worn down. The only things that decorated the wall behind the desk were one plaque containing all of Jackson's medals, and another of a picture of Jackson in a boxing outfit with another, older man at his side looking upon him with pride.

"I have a hardlight form, I can walk it pretty far from the truck. No one will ever suspect a thing."

"Bold of you to assume nothing bad will happen," Jackson pulled out his chair and stopped as he noticed a curled-up tabby cat napping right at its base.

"How did it even get in here?" Jackson picked up the small cat with one hand and held it out to Jasper, who quickly took it and settled it in his lap while he sat on the sofa.

"I don't know why you're doubting me, Sergeant. You let the other Autobots go out all the time."

"Yes, for missions. They rarely do much for leisure. Optimus especially. That 'bot is all work and no play."

"Well, I'm asking you to let me out for some leisure. I have a… a…" Jasper faltered. He was hesitant to tell someone else of his own personal plans.

"... A… what, Jasper?"

"I have… a date with a girl. It took me a lot of courage to finally ask her out. And I just promised her that I'd go on a lunch date with her. All before I was kidnapped and turned into… that." Jasper pointed outside to his truck form before saying, "Just give me a few hours, that's all. Then after that, I'm off on a mission with Bumblebee."

Jackson pondered for a moment while Jasper nervously stroked Rascal's fur. He was truly hanging on the next answer coming from the Sergeant's mouth, internally hoping for the answer he wanted so very much.

Jackson stopped pondering and looked dead into Jasper's eyes, "... okay."

Jasper sighed suddenly, not realizing that he was holding his own breath.

"Thank you."

"But remember, you're a robot in disguise. You cannot, I repeat, you cannot reveal your robot form to anyone. Not even to this girl you like. Just as well, that tank mode? You're only allowed to use it in combat or in training. If I hear anything on the news of a tank rolling down the street, I will break you."

Jasper froze at that sudden threat, which definitely sounded more like a promise than anything else.

"Uh, yeah, of course."

"Also, you better be back here by 4. Or else–"

"You'll break me?" Jasper answered for Jackson.

"No, Division Major Aiko will. And you do not want that."

"Okay, got it…" Jasper was somehow more nervous from hearing that.

Jasper got up with Rascal in his hands and was ready to walk out of Jackson's office… until a thought crossed his mind and caused him to turn back.

"By the way, sir, I just realized that I don't have my wallet, so… could I get my first week's wage upfront? Please? I'll put in more hours after that."

Jackson simply tilted his head, and said, "Wage?"

Present…

Jasper was brought out of his mind and simply said, "Oh, it took a lot of arguing, but I told them I'll be back for the next shift."

Roe seemed satisfied by that answer, which left out a lot of the debate Jasper had with Jackson about why he needed a wage when he didn't eat, drink, and had shelter provided for him. He was minorly disappointed that he ended up with minimum wage, but not needing to pay for necessities would make it more viable.

"Well, next time, why don't we plan for the weekend, huh? You won't have to jump through as many hoops." Roe reasoned.

"Heh, I highly doubt that," Jasper quietly muttered to himself before saying out loud, "But enough about that. Now we're here, and we can talk about other things."

Roe gave a little grin upon hearing this, "Alright, Jasper. How about…" Roe trailed off into her thoughts.

Then all of a sudden, Jasper heard the familiar ring of his phone, and looked into his vision to see an unknown number. His first instinct was to silence it, but… his second one told him that it wasn't just a random person.

"Uh, while you think on that, I need to take a call," Jasper said as he got up and walked a distance away before answering.

"Uh… hello?" Jasper asked while holding his hand to his ear.

"Where in the world are you?" Aiko's voice sounded off, already impatient.

"... Damn it," Jasper said aloud.

"I heard that," Aiko responded, and Jasper could just hear her frowning through the call.

"S-sorry. I'm out with someone. Hasn't Jackson told you that I'll be back by 4?" Jasper asked.

"He did. And I'd rather you ran it by me first. But it doesn't matter. Their computer has already discovered an area for you and 'Bee to search, so we need you back."

"What– But I'm in the middle of something, Aiko. I can't just leave all of a sudden."

"Jasper, that's on you. You can't just plan stuff out of nowhere just before missions. What we do is for the sake of national security."

"But Aiko–"

"No. I need you back here, pronto."

Jasper was mad. He wanted to yell out loud and tell her off. He understood that what they were doing was important to Humanity, but… would that mean that he would have to drop everything just to do it? He thought he was being reasonable, planning something before a mission and not slowing anything down, but apparently not. And while he knew he wasn't faultless here, he was certain he was reasonable to Jackson. Why else would he allow him to take this time off to see Roe?

Jasper… simply gave a long sigh, all of these thoughts and concerns leaving him with a long breath.

"Just… could you give me thirty minutes to wrap this up? Please?" Jasper pleaded with the silent Aiko, not expecting any good answer.

Yet Aiko instead said, "... Fine. Thirty minutes and you better be here."

Jasper could barely contain his sudden happiness and said, "Oh, thank you. I promise I'll be there."

"And you better be quick. Timer's just begun, civvy. Over and out."

Aiko hung up the phone, leaving Jasper frozen for a second. Quickly, he shook the concerns out of his head and haphazardly set up a timer on his internal phone. Thirty minutes… He could do that.

29 minutes later…

Jasper was sitting across Roe, chuckling as he was recalling a joke that he once heard a comedian tell a year ago. Roe was laughing, though Jasper wasn't sure if it was because of his delivery, the actual joke, or if Roe was just laughing because. But nonetheless, he was having a good time. A really good time. As he was looking right at the laughing Roe, looking right at her shoulder-length raven hair and her rosy cheeks, all he could think about was this moment. Nothing else. No other concerns, fears, or doubts. He felt… content.

Roe finally stopped laughing as she rubbed her eye, saying, "Hehe… that was a good one, Jasper. You really know how to pick 'em."

"Only the best for you, Roe." Jasper simply said.

"Oh, stop, mister Comedian."

"Heh, like I'd ever want to get up on stage and tell jokes. I wouldn't have the heart for it."

Then he heard it: the loud, panging alarm from his internal phone. He now remembered: his thirty minutes were up.

"Jasper?" Roe asked, confused at Jasper's sudden shock.

"I… give me a moment."

Jasper quickly left for his truck, internally swearing as he wondered what his next step was. He entered the driver's seat, suddenly sighing as his form recharged. Another detail he didn't think of before this date: his hardlight form had a limited duration of only an hour. Then he would have to head back to his truck to recharge. Thankfully, it's the one thing his new body does that doesn't make him feel horridly exhausted.

Oh, what do I tell Roe? He thought.

His thoughts were brought to a stop as he felt a banging on his body– the truck– right near the cargo area. He instinctively turned his sideview mirror and felt himself fill with dread. It was Aiko banging on his cargo walls, looking dead at Jasper through the reflection.

This was much worse than he thought.

Hesitantly, he exited his truck and faced the very upset Division Major.

"It's been thirty minutes. And you're still here." Aiko said, her stare boring a hole through Jasper's head.

Jasper looked at his internal phone and found it to be exactly thirty minutes from the call. So why…

"I thought when you meant thirty minutes that I had to end the date after that," Jasper asked, quickly regretting his words.

"I said that you had thirty minutes and you'd better be there. I don't tolerate poor time management, Jasper."

Jasper's anger flared up again, and said, "Poor time–I said that I'd be back at 4. I planned it with Jackson. How was I supposed to know that you'd call me beforehand and demand me back there? Are you seriously going to be this strung up on me being late to something I didn't even know would happen?"

Aiko didn't like that. Not one bit.

"Listen, you're going to have to get used to this new way of life. You're in a war, so now it's time to stop acting like a civvy and start acting like a soldier!"

Jasper started growling under his breath, almost ready to explode at the Division Major, damn the consequences.

"Jasper?"

Jasper looked back, his anger disappearing as he saw Roe look upon him with concern.

Jasper started talking without thinking, saying, "Uh… Hey, Roe! Sorry, I was just talking with my boss, and–"

"Roe!?" Aiko said in shock, surprising Jasper. How did she…

"Mom!?"

It was that one word from Roe that sent him overboard. His jaw was dropped and his eyes were wide as he looked between Roe and Aiko.

"... What!?"

Destroyed Decepticon Mine

Within the broken Energon mine, nothing could be seen apart from what little daylight shined through the opening from the top. But what was seen was destruction. Machines busted and buried under rubble, Energon leaks and fragments just about everywhere, and shattered lights that were running out of energy. It was no longer looking like a mine, and more looking like a ruin.

But in one spot, under a massive pile of rocks and stone, a few silverish metal claws poked out of the debris. Mangled beyond recognition, they were still connected to an also mangled body, which leaked a purple substance onto the cracked ground.

Here laid Megatron's body. The Warlord. The Decepticon Leader. Now broken. Buried. Unmoving. Not a sound was heard at the burial site, as the mine was dead silent…

Until a long and quiet gasp was heard, and one silverish digit curled in the pile.