It was currently nighttime at the military warehouse Team Prime was now living in and a large ground-based vehicle drove into the facility where Optimus was currently standing. The vehicle parked in front of Optimus and director fury emerged from the driver's seat.
"Prime, what we have here is an experimental all-terrain expeditionary fighting vehicle." Director fury introduced. "Designed by the finest in our MASK division."
"Thank you, director fury This will most certainly do." Optimus replied before he shot two blue beams from his eyes and scanned the expeditionary vehicle, acquiring a new vehicle mode.
Later in the morning.
as Optimus and Elita One left on an important mission, the rest of Team Prime and the Hexside Squad stayed in the Unit E facility as Ratchet and marcy opened up a large Ground Bridge inside.
"Looks like the new Ground Bridge is working just as good as the last one." Luz said with a smile as Stringbean hissed in agreement.
"We were just lucky to have salvaged all the parts we needed from that Harbinger ship and with some help iron man." Amity replied.
"The return trajectory fluctuations' are stabilised, Ratchet!" Marcy told Autobot medic.
"Ultra Magnus, we are ready to receive you." Ratchet informed, pulling on a lever.
Ultra Magnus then drove out of the Ground Bridge in his new vehicle form, which was the same as Optimus' original form with the main colour being blue. Ironhide also drove out the green vortex as a red Ford F-150 SVT Raptor pickup truck. When Bumblebee and Jazz took some Energon boxes they were carrying in their trunks, Ultra Magnus and Ironhide transformed into their robot forms.
"How was your salvaging mission, sir?" Jetfire asked.
"We didn't find much else in the rubble of the former base." Ultra Magnus answered.
"The only stuff we got were a few Energon cubes. Nothing really important." Sideswipe said casually before Seaspray emerged from the Ground Bridge with the large metal ball in his hands.
"Seriously? This isn't important?" Seaspray asked while smiling, immediately lobbing the ball towards Wheeljack.
"Oh, scrap!" Wheeljack exclaimed in surprise as he wasn't ready and put up his hands, causing the ball to bounce right off.
Seeing the metal ball was headed their way, Luz and her friends quickly jumped out of the way and the ball ended up crashing into a nearby door.
"Seaspray! You could've caused serious damage!" Ratchet scolded.
"Yeah, to all of us!" Gus added, pulling Skara back on her feet.
"Try to think before you toss a giant metal ball, idiot!" Maria yelled angrily, causing Seaspray to roll his eyes.
On the other side of the door, coulson groaned from being knocked down from the surprise smash on his office's door.
"What in the heck?" Coulson questioned, opening the door and seeing the metal ball was blocking his way out. "A little help here?!"
"Sorry, Agent coulson." Hunter apologised.
"What were you thinking, soldier?" Ultra Magnus asked Seaspray in sternness.
"I was thinking Jackie could've catch that lob." Seaspray answered simply.
"And ya didn't think to let him know, first?" Drift questioned, scowling a bit.
"Wreckers don't give out warnings to each other." Seaspray replied.
"Allow me to make myself clear. As Optimus Prime's Second in Command of all Autobot military operations, I have no intention of tolerating Wrecker behaviour." Ultra Magnus declared.
"Guess some thing's just don't change." Seaspray muttered under his breath and if my ship wasn't a burning pile of scrap metal at the moment, I'd do that. Sir." Seaspray proclaimed in a bitter tone before he shoved past Ultra Magnus and stormed off somewhere.
"Are you feeling okay after all of that, Mr Magnus sir?" Luz asked Ultra Magnus, who only signed in response.
"I will be, young one." Ultra Magnus replied. "So, any work from Optimus and Elita?"
"They're investigating recent Decepticon activity they were informed of by an unknown source." Ratchet answered. "Hopefully an Energon mine."
"So, who exactly is this unknown source?" Arcee asked curiously.
"Someone that I pretty much owe big time." Hunter replied with a soft smile.
Elsewhere in the sky.
Optimus was currently flying through the clouds and he looked around for the one who tipped him off about the Decepticon activity. Just then, he heard some soaring noises and looked back to see Dreadwing flying towards him in his vehicle.
"I'm glad you received my message, Prime." Dreadwing said. "I would not have sent it if it wasn't important."
"I will always be willing to hear out someone who has chosen a better path, Dreadwing." Optimus replied. "What have you found out about the Decepticons?"
"Communication that I intercepted from the Nemesis confirms that a mining squad is in a cave at this area and searching for something valuable." Dreadwing explained. "There wasn't any confirmation of what is was exactly, but Megatron's tone suggested that it was important."
"Understood. Elita One and I will investigate the mining operation at once." Optimus said with a nod.
"Good. I wish you the best of fortune, Prime." Dreadwing told the Autobot leader. "Be sure to tell Hunter that I will always be available to offer you all assistance."
With that said, Dreadwing flew away to another part of Earth as Optimus watched for a moment. The Autobot leader looked down at a specific mountain area and flew down to it, slowing his descent and landing on the ground when he got near it. Optimus looked to his left when he heard engine noises and driving towards him was a pink Aston Martin Vantage car with white highlights. When the Aston Martin came to a halt, it transformed into Elita One and the female Autobot Commander approached Optimus.
"So, this is where that Decepticon activity was reported?" Elita asked as she gestured to a nearby small hole in the mountain.
"Indeed, Elita. We must find out what the Decepticons are mining for." Optimus replied.
"Of course, dear." Elita said kindly, holding Optimus' hand gently. "It's about time we worked together, again."
Optimus gave his love-interest a kind smile in response and they both approached the hole, knowing it was far too small to walk in.
"I'll let you lead the way." Elita assured.
Optimus nodded and he transformed into his new all-terrain military vehicle form before driving straight into the hole, while Elita also transformed and drove in after him with their headlights on.
Meanwhile.
Team Prime and the realm defenders were seen doing their own things back at the facility.
"I'm just saying that it would be pretty nice if the rest of you got jetpacks like Optimus." Gus told the Autobots, referring to how Optimus gained a new flight ability following his upgrade.
"Quite nice, Gus. But the Forge has enough power to restore the omega lock." Ratchet reminded, gesturing to the large golden hammer.
"Well, I don't really need a jetpack to help me,skyfire and windblade fly." Jetfire admitted.
"We all know that, Jetfire. The 'Jet' part of your name gives it away." Amity replied.
Just then, everyone heard engine noises coming from outside and they turned towards the entrance, where a familiar racing car, now mainly coloured blue with yellow and white highlights, drove right into the facility with skilful swerving moves.
"Smokey?" Darrel asked in surprise as he Autobot Guardian transformed.
"Aw! What gave me away?" Smokescreen asked disappointingly, earning a dumbfounded look from a few of the others. "Come on. Robots in disguise, right?"
"Getting a new paint job ain't exactly being a total robot in disguise, kid." Sideswipe replied while crossing his arms.
"Where have you been, soldier?" Ultra Magnus asked, approaching Smokescreen.
"Scanning new war paint. Thought it'd be proactive to follow Optimus' lead, and Bumblebee's." Smokescreen said, gesturing to the Autobot scout.
"I only got a new paint job to avoid detection." Bumblebee replied.
"I'll admit, blue's a good look on ya." Jazz complimented.
"Now you can look your best while stacking those empty cubes." Ultra Magnus instructed as he directed Smokescreen to some Energon boxes.
"Yes, sir." Smokescreen replied with a depressed expression, turning away. "I was nearly a Prime, but somehow I'm still a rookie."
However, Ratchet slightly overheard what the Autobot rookie whispered.
"What was that about a Prime?" Ratchet questioned, a little bit alarmed.
"Uh…time. Time to stop acting like a rookie." Smokescreen replied worriedly before he continued walking away.
"That got a bit suspicious right there." Luz admitted.
"Sure did." Cliffjumper agreed.
"To be honest, I think Smokescreen deserves better after the really heroic thing he did back at Darkmount." Willow said sympathetically while leaning forward against the railing.
"Smokescreen was the only one who went back." Arcee recalled. "If it weren't for him, Optimus might not be with us today."
"And we all would've been killed by Megatron back at Darkmount." Willow added.
"Hey, I had a bit of involvement in that, too." Darrel reminded.
"That is true, but we were under the strictest of orders. Arcee, Bumblebee and the rest had their own young friends to protect along with Smokescreen being responsible for darrel, but we are fortunate that he's inexperienced enough not to follow protocol." Ratchet said.
"I still say the kid made the right call. Sometimes, it's better to follow your guts instead of following your orders." Drift proclaimed.
"That's one way of putting it, drift." Luz said in agreement.
Back in the mountain cave.
two Vehicon miners and a group of Insecticons were seen using a drilling machine to pierce through the stone wall, with their leaders being Breakdown and Wildrider.
"Are we almost done? The last thing we need is those Autobots finding us before we get what we're after." Breakdown said impatiently.
"We've almost got it, Breaks." Wildrider replied before one of the miners reversed the drill machine.
Breakdown and Wildrider walked up to the hole and took a look inside, seeing a massive skull of a somewhat familiar creature.
"That's got to be it." Wildrider said.
"Abandon the excavation!" A voice called out as the Decepticons turned to see Optimus and Elita, who were at the end of the left side in their vehicle modes. "Now!"
"This is your only warning!" Elita announced before they both drove up to the Cons.
"What're you waiting for?! Get them!" Breakdown ordered, bringing out his sledgehammer.
The Vehicon miners and Insecticons charged at Optimus and Elita before the Autobot leader fired three missiles at them, instantly destroying the three Insecticons. Another Insecticon fired it's blaster and Optimus swerved to avoid the shot, tripping the Insecticon when he rammed into it's legs as Elita transformed and shifted her hand into a blade before stabbing the Insecticon straight onto the floor. The two Vehicon miners fired their blasters at the two Autobot leaders and they both instantly shot them down with their own blasters.
"My turn! I've been waiting to have a shot at the biggest power couple of the Autobots!" Breakdown declared as he charged at Optimus, intending to pound him with his hammer.
Unfortunately for the muscular Decepticon, Optimus swiftly punched Breakdown upwards and dragged him through the cave celling. When he shoved Breakdown back on the floor, Optimus and Elita fired their blasters at close range together and sent Breakdown flying back to where Wildrider was, crashing against a drilling machine.
"Don't you ever stop trying to get in over your head?" Wildrider asked rhetorically, bringing out one of his blades.
Wildrider swiftly cut off a small bone piece from the skull and pulled it out from the hole before activating his com-link.
"Soundwave, send a Ground Bridge!" Wildrider ordered.
A Ground Bridge soon appeared behind Breakdown and Wildrider, giving them a way back to the Nemesis.
"We'll be leaving with our gift for Lord Megatron, now!" Breakdown called out to Optimus and Elita.
"Have fun with the scraps, Auto-losers!" Wildrider stated mockingly before he and Breakdown transformed and drove into the Ground Bridge, which closed up instantly.
Optimus and Elita stopped rushing towards where their foes previously were and they turned their attention towards the big skull in the drilled hole.
At the new Autobot base.
Seaspray was seen leaning outside against the facility's wall due to needing a much needed break from Ultra Magnus. Skara was standing standing near them at the facility's entrance.
"I just wanted to let you two know that Optimus and Elita are coming back." Skara said.
"We'll be there to hear what happened with those two." Seaspray assured.
"Okay then." Skara said before she walked back inside the facility.
Inside the base.
Marcy opened up a Ground Bridge and Optimus and Elita walked out of it, with the Autobot leader carrying the large skull.
"Hey, Optimus, Elita." Luz greeted. "It's good to have you two back here."
"Did you find Energon?" Ratchet asked.
"We didn't, Ratchet." Elita answered.
"But we did uncover this." Optimus said before placed the skull on a table for everyone to see.
"Sweet Solus Prime." Jazz said with a shocked expression.
"It cannot be." Ratchet whispered.
"Be what?" Amity asked.
"Yeah, what is that?" Hunter questioned curiously
"The ancient remains…of a Predacon." Optimus answered in a grim tone.
"Though it remains unclear why such a skull would be found on this planet, it's presence reveals all too much about the Predacon which Megatron recently sent in pursuit of us." Ratchet theorised.
"You mean that giant Cybertronian dragon that we froze in the Arctic?" Willow asked.
"The very same." Jetfire replied with a nod.
"Except that Predacons have been extinct since…well…" Ratchet began to say, having trouble with the end.
"Since before most life began on Cybertron." Smokescreen finished.
"They were all wiped out by a great cataclysm in the blink of an eye." Cliffjumper said.
"Extinct? Like my kind is supposed to be?" Vee asked in surprise.
"You got that right, kid." Sideswipe answered.
"Guess you were right, Luz. They are prehistoric Cybertronians." Gus told the Hispanic Hybrid girl.
"Yeah. That means you Bots seeing one is like Humans like me coming face-to-face with a Dinosaur." Luz commented.
"A Dino-what?" Maria asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Gus told me they're huge creatures that uses to live on the Human Realm, but they got killed by giant rocks falling from the sky." Skara explained.
"I wonder what a Cybertronian Dinosaur would be like." Amity muttered to herself.
"With Megatron seeming new interest in the excavation of prehistoric skeletons, and a certain scientist back among the Decepticon ranks…" Ratchet started.
"It would stand to reason that Shockwave cloned the beast from one such find." Optimus finished.
"They made that Predacon by cloning its own Cybertronian biology? Reminds me of that movie about scientists recreating Dinosaurs with their fossilised DNA." Luz admitted.
"And now, Megatron's looking to clone another." Ultra Magnus said.
"What makes you think bucket-head would stop at just one?" Wheeljack questioned.
"He already tried to takeover Earth with an army of undead Terrorcons." Seaspray reminded. "Now, it looks like he's trying to do the same thing with Predacons."
"We could have beast wars on our hands." Bulkhead said in concern.
"I like a tough opponent as much as the next Bot, but a whole army of Predacon clones would tear us to shreds in nano-clicks." Ironhide added.
"And if Shockwave only requires a single strand of CNA from which to clone a beast…" Ratchet said.
"He already possesses all the equipment he needs to engender many more Predacons." Elita said in realisation.
"Autobots, Witches, we must become beast hunters." Optimus announced.
"But, none of us are experienced in Beast Keeping magic." Gus replied, referring to himself and his Witch friends.
"Beast hunter, Gus. Not beast keeping." Wheeljack corrected.
"Oh, right." Gus realised sheepishly.
"One thing still doesn't follow." Smokescreen admitted to everyone. "Predacons went extinct on Cybertron. So, what would their bones be doing here?"
At the same time on the Nemesis.
the Predacon bone that Breakdown and Wildrider collected was resting on a Cybertronian table and being scanned by Shockwave, with Megatron, Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp standing by.
"On Earth?!" Starscream asked in disbelief. "I mean, isn't it just a little preposterous?!"
"Predacons weren't born on this backwater planet, they were born on our planet." Thundercracker proclaimed. "It doesn't make sense why their bones would be here."
"These are not the remains of Predacons, Thundercracker. But rather, the remains of Predacon clones." Megatron revealed. "For you see, our recent Autobot hunter wasn't the first beastly super soldier Shockwave ever attempted to breed from prehistoric matter."
"Wait, it wasn't?" Skywarp asked surprisingly.
"No, it was not." Megatron answered before he had flashbacks of Predacon clones awakening from stasis pods in a lab and then attacking Autobots on Earth in ancient times. "During the War for Cybertron, I sanctioned the dispatch of a small army of these Predacons to Earth. To unleash the beasts on unwitting Autobots forces. Once they accomplished their mission, the surviving Predacons held sentinel on this very world for ages to come, guarding the Energon reserves they've managed to secure while awaiting my arrival. Of course, our reunion here was much delayed and it would seem we lost the beasts to the ravages of time."
"But not their endo-matter, from which I am logically able to extract their very CNA." Shockwave said, holding up the Predacon bone.
"Pfft, another scavenger hunt?" Starscream asked with a scoff. "How logical would it really be to locate all the dusty remains of your former pets?"
"You are not suggesting that I would send my creations to a distant planet without first having them microchipped?" Shockwave questioned in response.
"Uh, well…well, I was…" Starscream stuttered. "Seriously, you did?"
"It's the best way to detect where the Predacons perished so we can recover their bones faster." Thundercracker replied.
Just then, the study room's door opened up and the five Decepticons saw Shatter and Dropkick walk in, but there were a few things different about them. Shatter had a pair of fighter jet wings mounted from the top sides of her back and Dropkick had some helicopter propeller blades sticking out of his back, including a helicopter cockpit.
"Shatter, Dropkick, where might you two have been?" Megatron questioned.
"We've just been getting ourselves some upgrades, Lord Megatron." Dropkick answered.
"We will be much more efficient for finding Predacon remains and battling the Autobots now that we possess a secondary alternate form each." Shatter said.
"So you're both Triple Changers, now?" Skywarp asked.
"We sure are." Dropkick said, crossing his arms arrogantly.
"Oh, how wonderful." Starscream muttered in sarcasm.
At the Autobot base.
the Autobots and realm defenders were looking at pictures of what appeared to be Predacons on the terminal's holographic screen.
"This is all the information we managed to collect from our historical texts." Ratchet said.
"They sure look like Predacons." Jazz replied.
"But, those are the types of mythical creatures I've seen on my Good Witch Azura books or movies." Luz commented, a little surprise. "They're also from Greek Mythology and Medieval history."
"We have creatures that are similar in the Boiling Isles, too." Amity added.
"I don't get how extinct alien monsters could resemble them." Kim said.
"It would stand to reason that Predacons did indeed all upon this Earth in ancient times. As they seem to have been some of the basics for much of humankind's folklore." Optimus theorised. "And since the Boiling Isles is the natural home of many of these mythical species, it would stand to reason they also obtained these forms when the presence of the magical realm started to enter the Human Realm and create these myths."
"Showing, once again, that the pasts of Earth, the Boiling Isles and Cybertron are linked towards each other." Elita added. "It's almost as if fate had wanted all three of our worlds to be connected in this way."
"Or it could just be a coincidence." Skara said simply.
"So, what're we supposed to do now?" Gus asked.
"For now, we'll just need to wait until we get a lead on where the Decepticons are searching for some more Predacon skulls." Cliffjumper answered.
"I guess that means we're all sleeping in, tonight." Luz told her friends
Later at night.
The realm defenders were seen sleeping on some couches, Ratchet was currently working on the materials of a familiar substance as Optimus and Elita approached him.
"Ratchet, what are you working on right now?" Elita asked in curiosity.
"Synthetic Energon?" Optimus questioned, noticing the familiar green compound on the terminal.
"Indeed. I am concerned that without access to any Energon reserves since our base was destroyed, our ability to deal with impending crises will be severely hampered." Ratchet explained.
"A wise decision, old friend." Optimus said in agreement.
"Just please, manage your expectations." Ratchet said before gesturing to some very old Earth equipment. "I am working with even more rudimentary hardware than before but im doing a little bit well then what i was before the thanks to mel-var."
"We will." Elita replied reassuringly.
"Prime!" Fury called out as he rushed onto the railing platform, earning the Autobot leader's attention. "Satellites surveillance has picked up two signs of Decepticon activity. One near an oil field outside of El Paso, the other near the Hiberties Bluffs in Scotland. So don't forget to pack your kilts."
The rest of Team Prime walked into the main hall after hearing this, while the realm defenders was also woken up.
"Two Decepticon signals?" Marcy asked while yawning.
"Wonderful." Amity muttered tiredly while leaning against Luz, who only smiled at her girlfriend.
"We must divide our forces if we hope to intercept both Decepticon signals in time." Elita stated.
"Indeed, Elita. Ultra Magnus, lead the Wreckers to the bluffs." Optimus ordered the Autobot Commander.
"Yes, Optimus." Ultra Magnus replied before he then stepped forward with a confused expression. "Uh…what's a kilt?"
Optimus silently looked to Fowler and leaned towards Ultra Magnus a bit.
"director fury can at times be oblique. I find it best to simply nod mobilise." Optimus said.
"We'll make sure to keep that in mind, Optimus." Elita replied, smiling softly.
Ultra Magnus then approached the Wreckers to get them ready for their mission.
"Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Seaspray, let's roll." Ultra Magnus instructed before he walked away.
maria stopped him,me,emerald and bismuth made something for you she said as bismuth was carrying a hammer that like ronan the accuser's universal weapon it's called ultra hammer she said.
All Seaspray could do was groan in annoyance as Ultra Magnus then picked up the ultra hammer, holding it up with both hands, looking at it with interest.
"I would be honoured to use." Ultra Magnus commented.
"Should we stay behind at base in case you all need to call us for backup?" Luz asked Optimus, referring to herself and her friends.
"Indeed, Luz. You can also start searching for other sightings of Predacon bones." Optimus answered.
"We'll do that." Hunter replied, nodding in confirmation.
At the oil field in El Paso.
a Ground Bridge appeared on a bridge and Optimus, Bumblebee,Jazz, Smokescreen, Elita and skyfire emerged from it in their vehicle modes. All six Autobots transformed and Optimus looked at the oil field ahead before turning to the others.
"skyfire and I will search this quadrant." Optimus said.
"And I'll lead the ground search at the oil field." Elita replied.
"I'm with you all the way, Optimus." Skyfire told his leader.
Optimus activated his jetpack and flew into the sky, while skyfire transformed into his cybertronian jet and flew straight after his leader. Seeing both airborne Autobots were long gone, Bumblebee, Jazz, Smokescreen and Elita transformed and drove right down the bridge before they eventually arrived at the oil field. The four Autobots transformed and brought out their blasters, aiming around for any Decepticons.
"Stay vigilant. The Decepticons might try to ambush us before we can find the Predacon bone." Elita warned.
"You got it, Commander." Jazz replied with a nod.
The four Autobots kept searching the area with caution, until Smokescreen decided to start up a conversation.
"Hey, Bee? Jazz? Commander Elita? Have any of you ever thought you might wanna be a Prime?" Smokescreen asked.
"Uh, what kind of question is that?" Jazz questioned confusingly.
"Just curious." Smokescreen replied.
"Do you mean right now?" Bumblebee asked.
"Not now. Someday." Smokescreen said.
"I'm not sure that I would ever want the title of Prime, Smokescreen. Optimus is more worthy of being a great leader for the Autobots then I will ever be." Elita admitted, smiling at the thought of her Spark-mate.
"Nobody's tighter to Prime than you, ma'am." Jazz quipped. "As for me, I'm better off being the cool, tailpipe-kicking lieutenant that I am."
"Same here. I'm just working hard to become a warrior, one day." Bumblebee said.
"Warrior, yeah. You and me both, Bee." Smokescreen replied in agreement. "But I've seen you in action. Optimus knows you can scrap with the best of them. Why won't he just promote you from scout already?"
"I made a choice to stay as one." Bumblebee answered.
"Your choice? Huh. So, why wait?" Smokescreen asked.
"Figured it'd be better if I got promoted on my actual home planet." Bumblebee said.
"Guess it would be more meaningful to be graduated back home, on Cybertron." Smokescreen admitted.
"Bee's a patient guy, Smokey. You could learn a thing or two from him, sometime." Jazz told him.
"Wait. Do all of you hear that?" Elita asked as they all started to hear some drilling noises.
The four Autobots got behind some nearby containers and they looked ahead to see some Vehicons using a drilling machine to blow through a large piece of rock. Elita signalled Bumblebee, Jazz and Smokescreen to move forward and they all did exactly that, but they didn't know that a bunch more Vehicons were behind them on some facility buildings for an ambush. Fortunately, the Autobots quickly noticed the ambushing Vehicons around them.
"You all ready to dance?" Jazz asked, smiling confidently.
"Definitely." Smokescreen replied before the Autobots rushed separate ways, avoiding the Vehicons' blaster fire.
Smokescreen and Jazz got behind an oil machine while Bumblebee and Elita were behind some crates for cover. Bumblebee and Elita managed to shoot down some Vehicons as Smokescreen and Jazz moved to the side and shot two more from atop a silo. But then, a pair of Vehicons started rushing at Smokescreen and Jazz while shooting their blasters before Smokescreen ran out and suddenly disappeared behind one of the oil machine's pieces. The Vehicons looked around in confusion, but Smokescreen suddenly jumped down from the oil machine and instantly shot a Vehicon before tossing him into his partner, making them both fly into another machine. The remaining Vehicon looked at Smokescreen, who pointed upwards as the Vehicon saw he was sitting under the machine's crane piece as it smashed right onto him.
"Ooh! That's gonna be a hard dent to fix." Jazz cringed before shooting a Vehicon on his left without even looking.
Bumblebee skilfully blasted apart a Vehicon on that was attacking on his left side, only for another Vehicon to start attacking. Elita jumped in front of the Vehicon and used a powerful spin kick to knock him down before one last Vehicon tried to shoot her from behind, only for the female Commander to shift her right hand into a blade and cut off the Vehicon's blaster, stab him through the chest and cleave through his torso to his head as he then collapsed back. Bumblebee could feel two more presences nearby and aimed his blasters immediately, only to see it was Jazz and Smokescreen.
"Easy with the trigger, Bee." Jazz said, putting his arms up assuringly.
"Like I said, you've got nice chops for a scout." Smokescreen complimented as Bumblebee put his blasters away.
"We've eliminated all Decepticon forces here. We should head to the dig site and recover that Predacon specimen." Elita told them.
However, the four Autobots began to hear footsteps and they turned towards the dig site to see Shockwave walking out of it from the dust, holding a Predacon jaw bone in his hand. Bumblebee, Jazz, Smokescreen and Elita got into battle stances and Shockwave fired his cannon at them, causing the four Autobots to avoid the blast and fire their blasters at the one-eyed scientist. Shockwave attempted to fire his cannon again, but the enemy blaster shots ended up making him misfire and the shot blew up one of the oil machines. Oil started raining down from the explosion, but this caused a chain reaction as many more nearby oil machines began exploding. The Autobots attempted to run away and were blown back from the huge explosions, crashing against the ground and slowly getting back up.
"How epic was that?!" Smokescreen asked enthusiastically.
"Not the best time, kid." Jazz replied.
But then, Shockwave jumped right over the Autobots in his vehicle mode and started driving away.
"We can't let him escape!" Elita stated before she and her team transformed, driving after Shockwave.
As they drove down the hill, Shockwave aimed his cannon back towards the Autobots and fired at them, causing the four Autobots to swerve and avoid the laser shot. Shockwave soon arrived at the bridge and started driving down it, but Optimus and skyfire showed up in the air to intercept him. Shockwave already saw them and rotated his cannon towards the airborne Autobots, shooting at them as Optimus and skyfire avoided the laser shots. Optimus then fired a his own blaster at Shockwave and skyfire released three missiles, with all four shots hitting Shockwave at the front and making him tumble forward a lot before the one-eyed scientist transformed and collapsed on the bridge. The Predacon jaw bone also fell out of his grasp and landed far from him.
"Woo! And that's why he's a Prime!" Smokescreen remarked.
"Nice aim, you two!" Jazz called out to Optimus and Jetfire, who flew over the ground team.
However as Shockwave began to stand back up, a Ground Bridge suddenly appeared and Soundwave flew right out of it in his vehicle mode.
"Soundwave." Elita identified in unhappiness as she, Bumblebee, Jazz and Smokescreen avoided Soundwave's incoming laser fire.
To make things even more bad, two more vehicles flew from the Ground Bridge, which were revealed to be a red and silver Harrier jet and a blue and grey Bell AH-1 SuperCobra helicopter as they flew towards the Autobot ground team.
"Oh no. Tell me that isn't who I think it is!" Bumblebee exclaimed in concern and anger.
Shatter and Dropkick transformed from their aerial vehicle modes to their car forms and then into their robot forms, running towards the four Autobots. Shatter fired her blaster and the Autobots didn't have time to avoid it as they were blown back by the shot's explosion, transforming and crashing against the bridge as Shatter and Dropkick approached them.
"Time for round two, Autobots." Dropkick sneered as the four Autobots stood back up.
"Fine by us!" Smokescreen retorted.
"I've got a score to settle with both of you!" Bumblebee stated.
As Shatter and Dropkick charged at their Autobot foes for a battle, Shockwave turned his attention to the Predacon jaw bone and ran straight for it, which Optimus noticed while Soundwave was firing at him and skyfire.
"skyfire, I'm going after the Predacon bone! Keep Soundwave diverted!" Optimus ordered.
"I'll do my best!" Skyfire replied before he did a u-turn flying technique, headed towards Soundwave. "Over here, Mr silent and ugly!"
skyfire fired some blaster shots at Soundwave and the communication Decepticon avoided them before he chased after skyfire. Optimus took this opportunity to fly towards Shockwave, who grabbed the Predacon jaw bone and headed towards the Ground Bridge.
"Jazz, Smokescreen, stop Shockwave!" Elita ordered as she blocked a kick from Shatter and knocked her back with a couple of swift jabs.
Jazz and Smokescreen managed to transform and drive around Dropkick, who attempted to fire his blaster at them before Bumblebee grabbed him from behind and tossed him hard onto the other side.
Jazz transformed once he was close enough and launched his energy grapple at Shockwave, lassoing the one-eyed scientist and tugging him back before Smokescreen jumped him and kicked him onto the bridge by his head. Jazz took the opportunity to run forward and grab the Predacon jaw bone, but couldn't pry it from Shockwave's grip as the one-eyed scientist smashed him against the bridge's railing.
Smokescreen started shooting his blasters at Shockwave, who was unharmed due to his body armor and shot down Smokescreen with a blast from his cannon. Bumblebee aggressively punched Dropkick four times, but the blue Decepticon caught the fifth punch and uppercutted Bumblebee away. The yellow scout transformed and drove a small distance away from Dropkick before driving forwards, transforming and tackling right into Dropkick.
Both opponents rolled against the bridge while repeatedly attacking each other, until Bumblebee managed to stay ontop and prepared to hit Dropkick in the face. But then, Bumblebee felt something press against his chest and saw it was Dropkick's blaster.
"Surprise!" Dropkick shouted sinisterly, shooting Bumblebee and making him land on the railing with smoke emitting from his torso.
"Bumblebee!" Elita exclaimed before Shatter quickly knocked her down with a side kick.
"Never get distracted during battle, Elita One!" Shatter said with a smirk.
Optimus was starting to get closer in the air, but Soundwave saw this and deployed Laserbeak to intercept the Autobot leader.
"Optimus, I can't shake Soundwave at all!" Jetfire called out, until one of Soundwave's blaster shots hit him in the thruster.
skyfire yelled out as he began descended down and crashed onto the ground on the right side of the bridge, transforming back into robot mode.
"Enough!" Optimus declared, turning around and bringing out his mini gun.
The Autobot leader fired the mini gun at Soundwave, managing to hit him on his wing. But then, Laserbeak latched onto Optimus' jetpack and caused the Autobot leader to start descending down before the Mini-Con drone placed a pair of claw cables on Optimus, zapping him with powerful electricity. Optimus groaned painfully as Laserbeak flew from him and he crashed against one of the bridge's support beams, colliding into the canyon walls and landing on the ground motionlessly.
"And down goes Optimus Prime!" Dropkick announced as he ruthlessly punched Bumblebee and slammed him on the right side of the bridge.
Soundwave started descending due to his shot wing and transformed, landing on the ground and running towards the edge of the bridge canyon. The communication Decepticon saw Optimus was struggling to stand up and he turned his attention to Shockwave, who tossed Jazz on the bridge from his back and aimed his cannon directly onto the Autobot lieutenant.
"That's a bit too close for comfort, one-eye." Jazz joked, smiling smugly.
Before Shockwave could destroy him, he felt a tug on his spinel belt and saw that it was Smokescreen. Shockwave threw Smokescreen against the railing using his superior strength and the Autobot rookie laid down with a very painful groan.
Smokescreen then saw Shockwave rushing at him for another attack and he activated his Phase Shifter, phasing straight through Shockwave and grabbing the Predacon jaw bone in the process. When he landed feet-first onto the other side, Smokescreen started tugging on the jaw bone in an attempt to get it away from Shockwave, who held onto it with a very tight grip. Jazz recovered and grabbed onto the bone jaw as well, helping Smokescreen pull against Shockwave for it.
"Bumblebee, they need out help!" Elita called as she was currently holding back Shatter's fists with all her might.
"Got it!" Bumblebee replied, avoiding a swipe from Dropkick's blade and then delivering a round-kick that knocked him down.
Elita managed to shove Shatter back and elbow her in the chest before Bumblebee grabbed her by the hands and swung her directly at the red female Autobot. Shatter had no time to react and Elita delivered two kicks to her, sending her crashing back against the bridge. Bumblebee and Elita then rushed over to Jazz and Smokescreen and they stared helping them with pulling the bone jaw away from Shockwave, who was starting to slip back from the amount of added strength he was up against. Shatter and Dropkick managed to recover and they went over to the struggle, grabbing the bone jaw on Shockwave's side and pulling with him.
"You Cons ain't getting this Predacon bone!" Jazz declared.
"We won't let you foil is, Autobots!" Shatter replied angrily.
After a few seconds longer of tug and war, the bone jaw ended up snapping apart and the Autobots ended up holding onto both pieces. However, a single fossilised tooth flew out from the jaw and it descended down from the bridge into the canyon. Optimus recovered and saw the tooth headed down to where he was before quickly activating his jetpack, flying straight up to the tooth.
"Soundwave, we can't let Optimus get that tooth!" Shatter stated on her com-link.
Knowing that she was correct, Soundwave tracked the tooth on his face screen and knew what to do. Just as Optimus was about to grab the tooth, a Ground Bridge suddenly appeared beneath it and the tooth fell through it and right into Megatron's palm on the other side. The Ground Bridge closed up before Optimus could reach it.
"No." Optimus said grimly.
Shockwave saw the fossilised tooth was transported to his leader and he turned towards Soundwave, Shatter and Dropkick.
"We have all that we need." Shockwave informed.
As Laserbeak flew back onto his torso, Soundwave transformed into his predator drone form and flew over the bridge as Bumblebee, Jazz, Smokescreen and Elita fired their blasters at him.
"You did a bit of a good job, Autobots! But it wasn't good enough!" Dropkick mocked with a laugh before he, Shockwave and Shatter ran into the Ground Bridge.
"No!" Bumblebee shouted upon seeing the Triple Changer duo escape.
Soundwave then flew into the Ground Bridge and it closed up, causing the Autobots to cease their fire. Optimus flew up to the bridge and landed beside his team, while Jetfire arrived while limping and clenching his left side.
"A single strand of CNA." Smokescreen whispered, looking at the Predacon bone in his hand.
"Bee, why do you always get mad whenever you see those two new Decepticons?" Skyfire asked in curiosity.
"Because they're the ones who ambushed me back at the battle of Tyger Pax and brought me to Megatron so he could tear out my choice." Bumblebee replied with a hard glare. "They're the second reason I can't speak, anymore."
"Bumblebee, you mustn't let the past continue to cause you pain and anger." Elita said, placing a comforting hand on the scout's shoulder.
"Elita is correct. Revenge will not be able to restore what you lost." Optimus added. "But, you will one day have another chance to defeat your two greatest enemies."
"I hope so." Bumblebee said.
On the nemesis.
Shockwave was scanning the fossilised tooth on his table before Megatron approached him.
"Shockwave." Megatron said, earning the one-eyed scientist's attention. "I understand that you engaged Optimus Prime in the field."
"Only in order to secure the specimen, Lord Megatron." Shockwave replied.
"We made sure to be there in order to assist in the recover, master." Shatter added as she and Dropkick stepped forward.
"That still doesn't ease my concern over the possibility of what might have happened with Shockwave." Megatron replied as he picked up the tooth. "I believed that you had perished once, my most prized engineer. And I highly doubt that Project Predacon can be completed without you."
"I shall leave the fetching of bones to Starscream and the rest and confine myself to my laboratory in order to accelerate results. Although, I have higher expectations for Shatter and Dropkick in their success of retrieving more specimens." Shockwave said, gesturing to the two Triple Changers.
"You don't need to say that, Shockwave. We already know we're the best duo." Dropkick commented.
"Like when I must think of strategies and the correct approach in battle while all you think about is your weapons and ways to kill Autobots." Shatter snickered teasingly, causing her partner to eye roll in response.
"Excellent. For I am rather impatient to witness my army of beasts trample humankind and Witches underfoot." Megatron proclaimed, staring at the tooth in his fingers.
Meanwhile at dusk
Gravesfield was seen going under some major construction to repair all the damage that was caused by the Decepticons and Darkmount. But as the construction workers were busy crafting all the buildings and filling in damaged roads, the scene shifted to reveal a familiar Cybertronian ship parked deep within the Gravesfield woods with Lockdown, Soundblaster and Exhaust currently trekking their way through the tree-infested area.
"Ugh! This place is too crowded for me!" Exhaust complained. "Why did we have to come here, Lockdown?"
"Because the Bots and Cons might have left some valuable equipment or Energon behind after that big battle at Darkmount." Lockdown replied. "So, shut that voice box of yours and keep looking."
"My scanners keep coming up empty, boss." Soundblaster admitted, using his screen face to search the woods. "It could be impossible to find anything here."
"Just keep searching. I don't plan to leave this area empty handed." Lockdown said. "If either of you have a problem with that, I'll just leave you on this stupid planet."
"Fine. We'll keep looking." Exhaust said with a sigh.
As Soundblaster and Exhaust looked in different parts of the woods, Lockdown then heard a strange noise from the distance and he started to walk towards the source. When his foot tapped on something in front of him, Lockdown looked at the ground and became very shocked at seeing the body of a deactivated Vehicon, which also had strange marks on parts of it's body.
"What in the scrap? How did this happen?" Lockdown asked in disbelief, taking a closer look at the body.
Before he could even react, a familiar gooey substance of evil shot out from the Vehicon body and right onto Lockdown's face, where it started entering his body through his face and the Cybertronian bounty hunter gagged out loud in agony. Once the goo was completely entered, Lockdown fell limp and remained that way for a few seconds before he then stood straight in a very unsettling way.
"Hey, boss!" Exhaust called from the distance, earning 'Lockdown's' attention.
"I'm coming." 'Lockdown' said in a familiar sinister tone.
He walked back to where he was before and saw Soundblaster and Exhaust waiting for him.
"Are you alright? We heard some strange noises coming from your position." Soundblaster said.
"Everything is alright, my good allies. But…there is something bothering me." 'Lockdown' replied, smiling eerily.
"Really? And what would tha-" Before Exhaust could even finish, 'Lockdown' suddenly stabbed his hook through the sword-wielding Mercenary's chest and he stuttered in pure pain.
"HOLY SCRAP!" Soundblaster exclaimed in absolute shock.
"It's you." 'Lockdown' said with a sadistic smile as his eyes started to glow bright blue.
Exhaust soon fell down from the hook and went offline due to the fact he was stabbed right through the Spark.
"Boss, what are you doing?!" Soundblaster asked horrifyingly, only for 'Lockdown' to swiftly swipe his hook at the Soundwave lookalike and cut off his head as it fell into a nearby bush while his body fell down.
"I'm simply purging my world of you pathetic pieces of machinery. Honestly, I don't know why Luz and her Witch friends would consider you living beings." Belos scoffed mockingly, wiping some Energon off his hook. "Then again, your bodies do have their uses."
The Witch hunting madman who was in possession of Lockdown's body walked back into the deepest part of the woods and vanished into the darkness. As everything seemed quiet right now, some noises could be heard from inside the Mercenary ship.
"Hey, what was that?" A voice asked.
"I don't know. It sounded like there was a commotion out there." A second voice replied.
"And it sounded like Lockdown and his cronies were attacked by someone." A third voice said. "Do you think they're offline?"
"Who cares? This is our chance to finally escape this stupid ship!" A fourth voice stated.
"He's right! We're not going to be anyone's prisoners, anymore!" A fifth and very angry voice announced with some low growls. "All of you, step back! I'm breaking through this piece of scrap metal!"
"We know you can do it, big guy." The first voice said encouragingly.
A bunch of pounding and smashing could be heard in the Mercenary ship as it slightly moved about from the attacks inside. Suddenly, a very huge first bursted out of the ship's top part and it started to pull apart the metal, freeing whatever prisoners were inside.