Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I cannot believe you dragged me into this. Why did you take that bet?”

“C’mon, Alexis, how was I supposed to know that coquelicot was a real color?”

“Using those brain cells of yours, Rad. Granted, you decided to argue with an art student over whether a color was real or not, so maybe you just don’t have very many.”

“She’s gotcha there, man!” Carlos added with a chuckle.

Rad sighed. “Alright, fine, I made a mistake. Can we just get this over with?”

Rad shined his flashlight ahead of him. The bet he'd made regarding the color coquelicot had been lost, so the trio had to descend into Mt. Saint Hilary, a dormant volcano that had been inactive for millions of years (at least, according to Alexis, and Rad generally trusted Alexis for reasons he’d… rather not mention here).

Alexis sighed. “Yes, it would be best if we hurried this up. I have an AP exam tomorrow, and I need to study.”

The three ventured into the darkness, the flashlight illuminating the path ahead.

“Hey, either of you leaving a trail?”

Rad paused. “Huh?”

Alexis sighed. “A trail. So we can find our way out.”

Rad and Carlos glanced at each other.

Alexis huffed. “Why did I pick you two of all people to be friends with?”

She pulled a rope out of her backpack, dropping one end near the entrance to the cave. “Now, stay to your right, and we should be good.”

“…Alright.”

The trio stepped onto the right side of the y-shaped intersection before them… and the ground beneath them collapsed.

“WHAT THE–”

“GRAB ONTO SOMETHING!” Alexis shouted.

The trio scrambled towards the ledge, but failed to reach it before the collapse dragged them down. They tumbled down the rocks, getting some minor cuts and scrapes before landing on the ground.

“Ugh…” Alexis groaned as she sat up. “Great job, Rad. Now we’re stuck.”

“Hey!” Rad shot up. “It was your idea to go right!”

“And we’re only here because of your bet.” Alexis crossed her arms. “So it all circles back to you, Bradley.”

“Uhh… guys?”

Rad and Alexis turned to Carlos as he gazed in awe at the sight before him. Their jaws dropped.

There, before them, stood what appeared to be the remains of a giant green spaceship.

“Woah…” Carlos muttered. “Is… is that a spaceship?"

“Alright. Nope. We are leaving.” Alexis turned around. “I am not going anywhere near that thing. Who knows what might–”

“A spaceship?!” Rad exclaimed. He ran over to it.

Alexis, unamused, let out yet another sigh. As they observed the ship, they a small circular object near it.

“Huh... what's this?” Carlos wondered aloud.

“Yeah, it almost looks like a… pod?” Rad reached out.

“Bradley White, don’t you dare touch that thing!” Alexis shouted, eyes narrowing.

It was too late. Rad’s fingers made contact with the metal pod. It was surrounded by a sudden glow, and let out a loud, guttural, ear splitting ringing noise. The three teens covered their ears as the sound rang out, traveling across the Earth – and beyond.

In the distant reaches of the Milky Way galaxy, on a barren planet known only as Chaar, the signal was received.

<“What is it, Demolishor?”>

<“It’s a signal, sir. From… from the Exodus.”>

The figure, a large, green and gray bot with massive horns on his head, smiled. 

<“Excellent. Prepare the Nemesis for the transwarp jump.”>

<“Sir!”>

A large, red and blue robot turned as a smaller, blue and white robot with a welder replacing one arm ran in. <“Yes, Red Alert?”>

<“It’s a signal from the Exodus, Prime!”> Red Alert replied. <“Coming from a planet in the Sol sector.”>

<“…Gather a team, Red. Prepare the Ark for departure. If we’re hearing this… Megatron won’t be far behind.”>

“What was that?” Rad muttered as he lowered his arms.

“No clue, but I sure as hell don’t wanna find out,” Alexis replied. “Let’s get outta here.”

Suddenly, the pod hissed as a previously-unseen door opened. From the pod emerged three robots, about their size. The first robot was blue with yellow on its torso. It had an orange visor over two black eyes, and a yellow mouthplate in place of a regular mouth.

The second was a black robot with light blue limbs. It was fairly thin compared to the others and had a red visor and a silver mouthplate. 

The final robot was orange with light blue limbs, save his shins, which were orange as well. It has two yellow eyes, and like the others, had a mouthplate, this one dark grey.

“Wh… what are those things?” Carlos muttered, backing up.

The black and blue robot spoke in a strange language none of them had heard before.

“Uh…”

After a moment, its eyes glowed for a brief moment before fading. “Can… can you understand me now?”

Rad jumped. “Y-You can talk?!”

“Well, now.” The robot shrugged. “I downloaded your language off of your… “internet” thing. Name’s High Wire. These two are Grindor and Sureshock.”

“‘Sup.” Grindor, the yellow and blue one, waved.

“Nice to meet you!” Sureshock, the orange and blue one, smiled with her eyes.

“...Well, this isn’t the most outlandish thing I’ve heard of,” Alexis muttered. She reached out a hand, shaking Sureshock’s. “I’m Alexis Thi Dang!”

Sureshock’s eyes glowed a little brighter for a brief moment. “It’s… nice to meet you, Alexisthidang.”

“...Just call me Alexis.”

“I’m Carlos!” Carlos smiled, shaking hands with Grindor.

“Rad,” Rad said, repeating the gesture with High Wire.

“You are… organic,” High Wire noted. “I haven’t seen organics with your sapience before.”

Alexis huffed, crossing her arms. “What, not good enough?”

“No, no!” High Wire rubbed the back of his head. “I’m just… more used to mechanical life forms.”

“There are… more of you?”

“Indeed, Rad,” Sureshock said. “We’re merely three of a whole race of Mini-Cons.”

“Mini-Cons…?”

“There’s… a lot to explain,” High Wire said. “Care to show us the way out, first?”

“We can try,” Rad replied.

“Hm…” Grindor looked around. “Sureshock, think you can use your navigational systems to lead us out?”

“On it.”

Before the humans’ very eyes, Sureshock began to change. Her legs folded up and came together, forming a seat, and the wheel halves on the backs of her legs came together. Her arms folded up and covered her face as she lay down, the orange parts on her forearms coming together to form the front of what seemed to be an orange motorized scooter.

“Woah…” the three humans muttered together.

“You… you just turned into…” Carlos muttered.

“Yeah?” Sureshock turned towards him. “Guessing you guys can’t do that?”

“Nope,” Rad replied. “That’s… pretty cool. Can all of you…?”

“We sure can!” High Wire said as he transformed into what looked like a bike. 

Grindor, meanwhile, turned into a rocket-powered board. “C’mon, Carlos, hop on!”

“Woah…” Carlos hopped on top of Grindor, balancing. “So… we can just… ride you like this?”

“You seem to be the perfect size to do so!” High Wire rolled up to Rad. “C’mon, let’s get out of here!”

Rad hopped on High Wire, and Alexis hopped on Sureshock.

“Alright, Sureshock,” High Wire said. “Get us out of here!”

“Right! Follow me!”

Sureshock rolled off down a tunnel, the other two Mini-Cons and their respective riders following close behind.

Elsewhere, within a dense forest, animals ran and trees shook as a massive purple starship landed.

<“Seems this system has a local language,”> Demolishor, a large, tan bot with mismatched eye shapes and guns all over his body said. <“I can download it to our systems so we can more easily question locals on the locations of the Mini-Cons.”>

<“Do it.”>

Demolishor pressed a few buttons, watching as a screen loaded for a few seconds. Afterwards, it changed to read “languages downloaded”.

“Alright, done,” Demolishor said, now in English. “We’re around ten kliks out from the signal’s origin.”

“Excellent,” the larger robot with horns said. “Starscream, Cyclonus, take flight. Locate the Mini-Cons. Do not fail me.”

Starscream, a red and white jet, saluted. “Never, Lord Megatron!”

Cyclonus, a blue, white, and gold helicopter, cheered. “Woo! A whole new planet to shoot up! Let’s go, Starscream!”

A hatch opened on the Nemesis, and the two stepped out. They assumed their vehicular forms and took off into the sky in search of the Mini-Cons.

“So… where did you say you come from?” Alexis asked.

“Cybertron,” Sureshock replied as she and the other Mini-Cons continued driving, now out of the cavern. “Well, technically one of its moons, but still.”

“So there’s a whole moon of transforming human-sized robots?” Rad’s eyes widened in amazement. “Woah…”

“I mean, not all Cybertronians are our size,” High Wire said. “Most of them are… bigger. Mainly the ones from the planet itself.”

“How big exactly?” Carlos wondered aloud.

“Well, it usually depends on their altmode.” Grindor’s voice trailed off after a moment. “You… you guys hear that?”

The sound of whirring helicopter blades and a jet engine could be heard growing closer. Rad shrugged. “Eh, that’s just a jet and a helicopter, sounds like. They’re vehicles we drive here on Earth.”

“So… you organics control the machines?”

“That’s right, Grindor!” Carlos said. “I imagine your place doesn’t have drivers, though…”

“Nope. We’re the only drivers we need!”

As the jet and helicopter flew over them, Alexis narrowed her eyes. “I… don’t recognize those models…”

Up in the air, Cyclonus and Starscream flew over them.

“Would ya look at that, Screamer?” Cyclonus said cheerfully. “It’s our little Mini-Cons! And looks like they’ve got some organic friends!”

“A planet of organics, hm?” Starscream muttered. “I haven’t seen a planet like this in years…”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Cyclonus huffed. “C’mon, Starscream, let’s go in blastin’!”

“Careful,” Starscream hissed. “We can’t risk destroying the Mini-Cons.”

“Ugh, you take the fun outta everything.”

Back down, the group saw the jet and helicopter turn towards them.

“Odd… what are the pilots doing?” Alexis wondered aloud.

“Wait a minute…” High Wire muttered. “That jet… it’s Starscream!”

“Who?”

“No time! We gotta get out of here!” Sureshock turned around, and the others followed suit.

“Hey!” Cyclonus shouted. “Get back here, ya runts!”

The helicopter opened fire, prompting the Mini-Cons to swerve.

“HOLD ON!” High Wire shouted.

“We’re trying!” Rad cried. “What the hell is going on?!”

“Alright, there you go, Prime.” Red Alert backed up. “Now we all have local vehicular forms.”

“Good work, Red Alert.” Optimus Prime rose. “Now, to find the Mini-Cons.”

“Won’t take much, I’m afraid,” an orange and blue bot with a crane on his shoulder said, pointing at the ship’s computer. “We got Mini-Con signatures being chased by Decepticons!”

“Aw, yeah!” a yellow and red bot said with a grin. “Finally, I get to fight some Decepticons!”

“Ease up, Hot Shot,” Optimus said. “Autobots, roll out!”

“Cyclonus, what do you think you’re doing?!” Starscream shouted.

“I’m tryna take ‘em in!” Cyclonus shouted. “Why are ya protestin’?!”

“We can’t just go in blasting!” Starscream bumped into Cyclonus, throwing his aim off. “You could destroy the Mini-Cons with your reckless attack!”

“Ugh, fine!” Cyclonus ceased firing. “Let’s get down there already and get this over with…”

The two Decepticons swooped down towards the Mini-Cons and humans.

“They’re coming down!” Rad shouted.

“Uh, yeah, we noticed!” Alexis snapped back.

The two moved in front of them before assuming their robot modes. They crashed onto the ground, glaring down at the Mini-Cons.

“Heya, li’l guys!” Cyclonus grinned. “Nice to meet ya!”

“So… you are the inhabitants of this planet…” Starscream leaned down, gazing over the humans. “Small and pathetic, like most organic life.”

“Hey!” Alexis snapped, eyes narrowing. “You dare call me and my friends pathetic?! I’m telling you, one day I’m gonna be high up in the political chain! I am Alexis Thi Dang!”

Starscream sighed. “Yes, yes. Now… hand over the Mini-Cons, organic, and you will go free.”

“Awwww…” Cyclonus pouted. “I wanna blow them up!”

“There is no need for destruction unless necessary, Cyclonus. At least have some honor.” Starscream turned back to the humans. “Again, give me the Mini-Cons.”

“No way!” Rad shouted. “Peel out, guys!”

The Mini-Cons turned and drove off. Starscream sighed, standing up. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be, organics.”

Suddenly, a blast hit Starscream in the shoulder. The Seeker winced, clutching his shoulder. “Who on Cybertron…?”

Hot Shot grinned, pistol in hand. “Finally, I get to fight a Decepticon.”

“Autobots!” Cyclonus cried gleefully. “Finally, a fight!”

“Stand down, Starscream,” Optimus Prime ordered, the other three Autobots at his side. “Step away from the Mini-Cons… and the humans.”

“Humans?” Starscream tilted his head. “Is that what these fleshlings are called?”

“Who cares?!” Cyclonus cackled madly. “I can finally let loose! I’ve been waiting a million years for this!”

Cyclonus aimed his forearm-mounted cannons at the Autobots and opened fire. The Autobots quickly dived out of the way.

“Hot Shot, Red Alert, you take care of Starscream!” Optimus ordered. “Smokescreen, you’ll help me with Cyclonus!”

“Right!” Hot Shot and Red Alert dashed for Starscream, while Optimus and the orange crane (evidently Smokescreen) opened fire on Cyclonus.

“Megatron!” Starscream shouted into his comlink. “The Autobots are here! We’re outnumbered!”

:“Not for long,”: Megatron said over the comlink. :“We will be there shortly.”:

“Yo, Decepticon!” Hot Shot shouted, running towards Starscream, pistol in hand. “You ain’t got nothin’ on me!”

“Careful, Hot Shot!” Red Alert shouted. “That’s not just any Decepticon! That’s Starscream!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever!”

Starscream sighed. “Foolish child…” He reached up as his wing folded, a handle emerging. He grasped hold of it and removed his wing, then swung it to his side as it unfolded into a sword. “It looks like you have a lesson to learn!”

With that, Starscream launched forward, his thrusters boosting him forward. Hot Shot yelped, throwing his arms up to block the strike, but it still cut into his arms.

“Yow!” he cried. “You have sword wings?! Who has sword wings?!”

Starscream frowned. “You’ve never been in a fight before, have you?”

“W-Well…”

The Seeker smirked. “This should be easy.”

“Not when there’s two of us!” Red Alert shouted, firing with his arm cannon and hitting Starscream square in the cockpit on his chest.

“You wretched Autobot!” Starscream hissed. “You’ll pay for that!”

Meanwhile, Cyclonus cackled like a maniac (which… he is) as he fired upon Prime and Smokescreen. “Hoo, boy, it’s been way too long since I’ve fought an Autobot!”

Optimus aimed his forearm-mounted cannons, firing right back. Smokescreen, meanwhile, fired his pistol.

“You can’t beat us, Cyclonus!” Smokescreen shouted. “There’s two of us and one of you!”

“Wouldn’t be so sure about that!”

Smokescreen turned around just in time for a barrage of missiles to slam into the ground around him, sending him flying. Demolishor, in his tank mode, fired from his cannons. “Take that, Autobot scum!”

“Demolishor, Starscream…” Optimus muttered. “That means…”

“Well done, Prime.”

A cannon blast hit Optimus in the back, knocking him to the ground. The Autobot leader rose, turning to see a green H-tank rolling up, its cannon aimed at him. It transformed, standing tall over him. His horned head, tall shoulder pylons with embedded treads, smug voice, and green, black, and purple color scheme instantly identified him to the Autobot leader.

“Megatron…”

“Indeed.” Megatron smirked. “It’s been a long time, Prime. Nice to see you after a million years.”

“You will not claim the Mini-Cons, Megatron!” Optimus said, getting back on his feet. “Not so long as the spark pulses within me!”

“Well, then we’ll just have to rectify that, won’t we, Prime?” Megatron grinned as he moved in to grapple with the Autobot leader.

As Smokescreen engaged with Demolishor, Cyclonus huffed. “Aw, man, everyone’s busy…”

He then noticed Red Alert and Hot Shot fighting Starscream. He scowled. “Hey! Don’t hog two of ‘em, Starscream!”

As Cyclonus rushed over to his fellow flier, the humans and Mini-Cons watched in awe.

“What the heck is happening?!” Alexis cried.

“The Autobots and Decepticons…” High Wire muttered. “They’re here…”

“The who and what?!”

“It’s a long story,” Grindor muttered. “And I don’t think we have time right now!”

As he grappled with Megatron, Optimus heard the voices of the Mini-Cons. “The Mini-Cons…” he muttered. He turned his attention back to Megatron. “Sorry, Megatron, but we have more important things to worry about!”

He grabbed the tank cannon on Megatron’s side, using it to swing the Decepticon leader around and send him flying. He then activated his comlink.

“Red, get the humans and Mini-Cons to safety!”

“On it!” Red replied, dodging a shot from Cyclonus. “Sorry, Cyc, but our dance time’s up!”

Red Alert blasted Cyclonus in the chest, knocking him back. He then transformed into his ambulance mode and drove over towards the kids and Mini-Cons.

The three humans yelped as he drove up to them and opened his door. “Get in!” he shouted. “Quick!”

“I… I dunno…” Carlos muttered.

“Don’t worry!” High Wire said, assuming his robot mode alongside the other Mini-Cons. “He’s an Autobot! One of the good guys!”

“If you say so…”

With that, the humans and Mini-Cons climbed inside Red Alert. The Autobot sped off, only noticed by Starscream.

“The Mini-Cons!” He glanced back at Hot Shot. “Sorry, kid, but you’re not worth my time.” He kicked the yellow Autobot away before assuming his jet mode and blasting after Red Alert.

Hot Shot huffed as he got back up. “Coward!”

“Well, well, well…” Cyclonus grinned, stepping towards Hot Shot. “Guess that just leaves you and me, Hot Snot!”

“Oh, you’re gonna get your tailpipe kicked for that one!” Hot Shot cried, opening fire.

As Starscream flew after Red Alert, he was quickly noticed by Megatron. The Decepticon leader scowled as he grappled with Optimus. “Starscream! Where do you think you’re going?!”

“The Mini-Cons, Lord Megatron!” he shouted. “They’re escaping!”

“Excellent work, Starscream,” Megatron said approvingly. “Taking initiative, as always. This is why I keep Decepticons like you around.”

Inside Red Alert, the kids let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay… we need to just… take all this in for a bit…” Alexis muttered, rubbing her head.

“I’ll say.” Rad crossed his arms. “Within an hour, we get caught between a bunch of giant alien transforming robots fighting!”

“I’d explain, but I think I’ll let Prime take care of that,” Red said.

“Prime?”

“Leader of us Autobots,” Red Alert explained. “Oh, and uh, I’m Red Alert. I’m the medic around here.”

“Well… nice to meet you, Red,” Carlos said.

Suddenly, the Autobot rocked as an explosion went off near him.

“What in the…?” Alexis muttered. “What was that?”

“It’s Starscream!” Red exclaimed.

“Starscream…?” The humans and Mini-Cons glanced out Red Alert’s rear window to see Starscream approaching. “That guy?”

“He’s that red and white one from earlier…” Alexis muttered. “The one who wanted to do things without violence…”

“Yeah, well, he certainly seems to be a lot more violent now!” Carlos cried.

“Give it up, Autobot!” Starscream shouted from above as he fired on Red Alert. “Give me the Mini-Cons and you may go free!”

“I’ll join the Allspark first!” Red Alert snapped.

“Then you shall!”

As Starscream continued firing, High Wire growled. “Ugh, I can’t take this. Grindor, Sureshock!”

The other two Mini-Cons turned to their team’s leader. “Yeah?”

“Starscream wants us? He’ll get us.”

“High Wire, no!” Rad shouted. “Don’t!”

“Trust me, guys.” High Wire nodded at them. “Red, open your door.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely. We got this.”

“...Alright.”

Red Alert opened up his door, and the three Mini-Cons climbed out.

“Alright, Street Action Team!” High Wire shouted. “Let’s introduce Starscream to Perceptor!”

The trio leapt off of Red Alert’s roof. Sureshock quickly shifted form, but rather than turning into her scooter form, she became a pair of legs. Grindor transformed into what appeared to be a torso and arms, attaching to Sureshock. High Wire then transformed as well, becoming a head and a sort of backpack consisting of his two wheels and landing on Grindor, forming one robot about half the size of an average Cybertronian.

“Woah…” Rad muttered. “What happened to them?”

“Call us… Perceptor!” the combiner shouted as he flew up towards Starscream. He landed on the jet’s wing, grabbing ahold of the stabilizer and pulling it up.

“What the–” Starscream yelped as he was steered towards the ground. “No! Get off me, you cretins!”

Starscream spiraled downwards. Perceptor leapt off moments before the Seeker collided with the ground.

“Woah…” the three humans muttered.

“Told ya we had it!” Perceptor said. He then separated back into his three component Mini-Cons, who then hopped into Red Alert’s vehicle mode.

“Drive!” Sureshock shouted.

Red Alert floored it, heading off.

“Where are we going exactly?” Rad asked.

“The Ark,” Red replied. “Our ship. You’ll be safe there.”

“Your… your ship?!” Carlos grinned. “You guys have a whole ship?!”

“Well, yeah.” Red Alert chuckled. “How do you think we got here?”

“You will never get your hands on the Mini-Cons, Megatron!” Optimus growled, punching Megatron and sending the Decepticon leader a few steps back.

Megatron chuckled, wiping a bit of energon from his jaw. “My, my, Prime. Worked up, are we? Well, I’m afraid we’ll have to agree to disagree there.”

As the two leaders moved back into conflict once more, Hot Shot ducked behind a boulder as Cyclonus fired wildly.

“WOOOOOOO!” he shouted, cackling wildly. “OH, I MISSED THIS!”

“Guys, I’m pinned!” Hot Shot cried.

Smokescreen, who was still grappling with Demolishor, cast a look back. “Allow me!”

His crane arm rotated around to face behind him, then extended until it reached Cyclonus. It hooked onto the Decepticon’s leg before pulling, throwing him off balance.

“HEY!” Cyclonus shouted. “What on Cybertron?! Who’s doing that?!”

Smokescreen then reeled back, pulling Cyclonus off his feet. The Decepticon helicopter fell to the ground.

“Thanks, Smokey!” Hot Shot aimed his blaster. “Now it’s my turn!”

He fired, nailing Demolishor in the back a few times.

“Autobot scum!” Demolishor cried.

Smokescreen took advantage of his opponent’s momentary confusion to toss him away, sending him crashing into the cliff face.

“Megatron!” Starscream said, having recovered from his crash. “The Autobot medic escaped with the Mini-Cons!”

Megatron sneered as he threw Optimus off him. “You’ve failed me, Starscream. Decepticons! Back to base!”

Starscream and Cyclonus assumed their flight modes and flew off, while Megatron and Demolishor rolled away in their tank modes.

“Take that, Mega-bum!” Smokescreen shouted after them.

“We did it, Prime!” Hot Shot cheered. “We beat ‘em!”

“For now, Hot Shot,” Optimus replied. “But this has only just begun.” He activated his comlink. “Red Alert, get us back to base.”

“On it, Prime! Lemme get the teleporter up real quick…”

“Prime beat us to the Mini-Cons, all because you couldn’t catch a slagging medic!” Megatron roared as the Decepticons stepped out of their own teleporter, throwing Starscream against the wall of the Nemesis ’ bridge.

“P-Please, Megatron!” Starscream cried. “How was I supposed to expect the Mini-Cons to combine?! They destabilized me, I couldn’t stop it!”

“Excuses!” Megatron snapped, grabbing the Seeker by the wing roughly, creasing the metal and pulling him in close. “You would be wise not to fail me again, Starscream.”

“I won’t!” the air commander assured. “Besides, we have plenty of other opportunities to claim Mini-Cons!”

“He’s not wrong, Megatron,” Demolishor said. “We may have lost this battle, but there’s still a whole war to fight.”

Megatron grumbled for a moment, but then released Starscream. “Get to the repair chamber, all of you. We have a war to win…”

Chapter Text

“Woah…” Rad mumbled, looking around the Ark in awe. “This place is awesome!”

“Thank you,” Red Alert said as he operated the teleporter. “This is one of the last remaining Vanguard-class interceptors. A smaller model than the others in its line, due to being created late in the war, but still a magnificent ship.”

He pulled a lever, and within a moment, the other Autobots were warped in.

“So… who are these guys?” Carlos asked.

Smokescreen chuckled. “The name’s Smokescreen.”

“Hot Shot.” The yellow Autobot winked. “And I’m all the warrior you need.”

“And my name is Optimus Prime.” Optimus knelt down. “I’m the leader of the Autobot militia. It’s a pleasure to meet you, er…”

“Alexis.”

“Rad.”

“Carlos.”

“Pleasure to meet you three. You probably have a lot of questions.”

“No kidding!” Carlos said. “What even are you?!”

“Autobots,” Optimus explained. “We are from the planet of Cybertron. The ones who assaulted you were the Decepticons, our enemies.”

“So… you’re in a war?” Alexis asked.

“Indeed.” Optimus looked up towards the ceiling wistfully. “It began four million years ago…”

“Once upon a time, Cybertron was a shimmering light in the cosmos. It had an empire that spanned across the stars…”

“That is, until the Rust Plague. Countless colonies were wiped out, and to prevent the spread, my predecessor, Sentinel Prime, shut down the space bridge network.”

“What came next was a dark age for Cybertron as the Functionist government style reigned supreme. Bots were given jobs based on their alt modes, with little to no say in the matter.”

“Everything changed when two scientists – alt-mode exempts, both jets – discovered a race of small Cybertronians on one of our moons. Dubbed “Mini-Cons”, they had the ability to link up with Cybertronians and power them up.”

“One bot dissatisfied with the system, dubbed Megatron, took this as an opportunity. Gathering his followers, he struck, kidnapping Mini-Cons and attempting to subjugate them in an effort to use their abilities to strike back against the oppressive government. Sentinel Prime fought to defend them, and while he succeeded, he perished in the fighting. I was granted leadership of the Autobots, and we fought long and hard against Megatron and his Decepticons.”

“During the war, Megatron had a scientist by the name of Predacon create a device that could brainwash Mini-Cons into serving him. We countered it with help from Red Alert and Jetfire’s own skills, creating devices that could undo their reprogramming.”

“After freeing all the Mini-Cons, we successfully managed to keep the Decepticons from reclaiming them by helping them escape off-world aboard the Exodus, a large starship that carried every single still-functioning Mini-Con. Megatron and a small crew left to find them, leaving the Cybertron forces under the command of Jhiaxus.”

“However, it did not take long for Jhiaxus and I to reconcile. We worked together to rebuild Cybertron, and now rule together on the High Council. Many Decepticons ceased conflict, though some remain loyal to Megatron, while others, such as Scorponok, still seek power.”

“Of course, then, we received a signal from this planet, one that indicated the reactivation of the Mini-Cons. So, knowing Megatron probably received the signal as well, we headed for your planet, Earth. And that catches us up to now.”

Optimus’ yellow eyes looked over the group. “I… apologize for putting you in danger. That you got dragged into our war.”

“It’s not your fault, Optimus,” Alexis said. “It’s ours. We stumbled across that shuttle and reactivated it. The war wouldn’t have started had we not found it.”

“Perhaps. But you cannot be blamed, either. You found it by complete accident, and did not know what you were walking into.” Optimus rose. “Now… it’s best that you three go home.”

“No way!” Rad stepped forward. “High Wire, Grindor, and Sureshock are our friends! If their friends are in danger because of these Decepticons, we want to help!”

“I don’t know about that,” Smokescreen said. “You’re… not exactly on the same scale as us and the Decepticons.”

“I’ll say!” Hot Shot knelt down. “I mean, you’re so small and weak and fragile!”

Red Alert frowned. “Hot Shot…”

“What? Am I wrong?”

“Not the point.”

“The point,” Optimus interrupted, “is that you should not have to deal with these kinds of things.”

“According to my information on your species, you are still very young,” Red Alert noted. “Are you sure you’d want to risk your own relatively short lives so early on in them?”

Rad looked over at Carlos and Alexis. Both of them nodded, and he turned back to the Autobots. “This is our home. These are our friends. We want to do anything we can.”

“Yeah!” Carlos and Alexis said in unison.

After a moment of silence, Optimus sighed. “It seems I can’t convince you otherwise. Alright, then.”

Then, the ship’s computer began to beep. “Alert. Mini-Con pod reactivation detected.”

“A Mini-Con’s online!” Red Alert said.

“No scrap, Captain Obvious,” Hot Shot muttered, rolling his optics. “Teletraan-1 just said that.”

“There’s no doubt Megatron has detected it as well,” Optimus said. “We must get there quickly. Hot Shot, Smokescreen, I need you to go and claim the pod before Megatron’s lackeys do.”

“On it, Prime!” Hot Shot said, saluting. He and Smokescreen assumed their vehicle modes.

“Can we come too?” Carlos asked.

“Not right now,” Optimus said. “We need you three to remain safe.”

“And I still have that exam tomorrow,” Alexis said. “We have stuff to do, y’know.”

“I guess…”

“Hey, don’t think you’re heading off without us!” High Wire exclaimed, his fellow Mini-Cons nodding.

“You… don’t want to stay here?” Red Alert asked.

“These three are known to be associated with you guys,” Sureshock pointed out. “They need protection, and we can protect them. We did take down Starscream earlier.”

“That is true…” Optimus muttered. “Alright. You three will accompany the humans back to their homes. Hot Shot, Smokescreen, go get the Mini-Con.”

“I’ll upload the coordinates to your internal GPS,” Red Alert said, tinkering with Teletraan-1. “Good luck.”

The two Autobots rolled out, while the Street Action Team assumed their own vehicle modes.

“Hop on!” High Wire said. “Let’s get you kids home!”

“Right!”

The humans got onto the Mini-Cons, and they rolled off back towards town.

“Are you sure about this, Prime?” Red Alert asked. “Letting these humans be involved?”

“Of course not,” Optimus replied. “But they won’t take no for an answer. They have a fire to them that… reminds me of myself, when I was younger.”

Red Alert chuckled. “I remember those days. You’ve grown a lot, that’s for sure.”

“Indeed…” Optimus looked out after the kids and Mini-Cons as they rolled off. “I just… hope we’re doing the right thing, letting them help.”

“Well… at least with them, we’ll get some more knowledge of this planet’s species,” Red noted.

“That’s true.” Optimus turned around. “Come on, let’s get to work trying to locate any more Mini-Cons.”

“Megatron!” Demolishor called out, turning towards the commander as he sat on his throne.

Megatron sighed. “What is it now, Demolishor?”

“Sir, the computer’s picked up a Mini-Con pod reactivating!”

Megatron smirked, standing up. “Well now… Starscream, Demolishor, go get me that Mini-Con.”

Starscream rose, saluting his commander. “Yes, Lord Megatron!”

Megatron turned to Starscream, his red eyes sending a steely glare towards the air commander. “And Starscream?”

“Yes?”

“Do not fail me again.”

Starscream nodded before heading to the exit alongside Demolishor.

“Ugh, how much longer?” Hot Shot grumbled as he drove down the rural roads.

“Relax, kid,” Smokescreen said, rolling alongside the yellow racer. “We’re almost there. Should be just up ahead…”

Suddenly, the sound of jet engines sounded across the area.

“What’s that sound?”

“Oh, no…” Smokescreen muttered as a shadow fell over them. A familiar jet was in the sky. “It’s Starscream!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him!” Hot Shot said. “It’s about time we got even for last time!”

“Hot Shot, no!” Smokescreen cried. “We need to get the Mini-Con!”

However, it was too late. Hot Shot had already transformed to robot mode and pulled out his pistol.

“Eat this, Decepti-creep!”

The young yellow Autobot opened fire on the Seeker. Starscream quickly dodged before assuming his robot form. Upon spotting his attacker, he sighed. “You again… didn’t you learn your lesson last time?”

“Get down here and fight me!”

“...Evidently not.” Starscream turned, looking towards Demolishor, who had just rolled up. "Demolishor, take care of this Autobot, will you? I'm going after the pod."

"On it, Starscream!" Demolishor assumed his robot mode and opened fire on Hot Shot. The Autobot yelped and dove out of the way.

"I've got him, Smokescreen!" he shouted. "Go, get the Mini-Cons!"

As the two fought, they were watched by a small, horned, yellow Mini-Con with details that seemed like he turned into a car watching.

“Starscream and Demolishor? Here?” he muttered. “Then that guy must be an Autobot… no Autobot I recognize, though…”

After a moment of thought, his blue optics widened. “If Starscream is here, Megatron can’t be too far behind… and then Optimus must have followed. I’ve gotta help him…”

He noticed Smokescreen still rolling along the street. “I’ll see what I can do…”

As he continued, Smokescreen sighed. “Slag it, Hot Shot… I’ll get right back after I grab those Mini-Cons. No way ol’ Screamer came alone.”

Smokescreen peeled off towards the Mini-Con pod while Demolishor and Hot Shot continued their battle, all observed by the yellow Mini-Con.

Elsewhere, a Mini-Con pod opened, and out stepped three Mini-Cons. The first had a gray head, shins, and torso, with blue arms and thighs. Thick wheels were mounted on his shoulders and hips. His yellow visor gleamed.

“We’re… we’re awake?” he muttered. “That means… Megatron will be here soon…”

“C’mon, Leader-1!” an orange and gray helicopter Mini-Con said, stepping out of the pod. “Optimus will surely get here first!”

“Like I want either of them…” Leader-1 muttered. “What do you even see in those… those guzzlers, Jolt?”

“I’m… with Leader-1…” another Mini-Con, this one blue and gray with large wheels on his shoulders and shins, muttered as he stepped out. “I just… I don’t wanna get involved in conflict if I can help it.”

“Not you too, Liftor!” Jolt sighed. “Prime can be trusted! You know that!”

“Doubtful…” Leader-1 crossed his arms.

“Um, guys…?” Liftor tilted his head. “I… I think I see Smokescreen.”

The trio turned just as Smokescreen rolled up to them and assumed robot mode. “Liftor? That you, buddy?”

Liftor smiled. “It is. Happy you’re still around, Smokey.”

“Right back at ya.” Smokescreen shot his old friend a thumbs up.

“AUTOBOT!”

Smokescreen froze, turning to see Starscream hovering in the air above him, sword drawn.

“Starscream…” Leader-1 muttered. “Just great…”

“Hand the Mini-Cons over and I’ll spare your life,” Starscream ordered. “Otherwise…”

“Like hell.” Smokescreen moved between Starscream and the Mini-Cons. “You’re not getting them, Screamer.”

“Suit yourself.” Starscream dashed forward swinging his sword towards Smokescreen. Smokescreen blocked it with his arm, but the sword still cut into him, causing him to hiss in pain.

“Smokescreen!” Liftor cried, watching as his friend struggled against Starscream. “I… I…”

“Don’t you dare!” Leader-1 snapped. “These guzzlers aren’t to be trusted!”

“He’s not just a guzzler, Leader-1.” Liftor glanced up at Smokescreen. “He’s my friend.”

Liftor jumped up, converting to his Cybertronic forklift mode. “Smokescreen! Powerlinx time!”

Smokescreen grinned. “Aw, yeah, just like the good ol’ days!”

Liftor attached to the top of Smokescreen’s shoulder crane. A glow surrounded the Autobot as he threw Starscream off of him. It faded after a moment, and a cannon folded out of his crane.

“Hey, Screamer! Take THIS!”

Smokescreen fired the cannon. Starscream quickly flew to the side, dodging it.

“Demolishor!” he shouted into his comlink. “I need backup! Get over here now!”

Elsewhere, Demolishor huffed as he held Hot Shot over his head. “Right. On my way.”

He tossed Hot Shot into the forest. The Autobot slammed into a tree with a grunt as Demolishor assumed his tank mode and rolled away.

Hot Shot grunted as he rose, seeing Demolishor rolling towards where, in the distance, he could spot Smokescreen and Starscream fighting.

“No way,” Hot Shot muttered. “You aren’t getting any wins on my watch!”

Hot Shot transformed and rolled after the Decepticon.

Smokescreen fired once again, and this time Starcream had to use his sword to deflect the blast away… and even then it took considerable focus.

“I won’t be able to hold out much longer!” Starscream called out.

“Alright, alright, I’m here!” Demolishor replied, firing his missiles at Smokescreen. Smokescreen quickly assumed his crane mode and rolled out of the way, the explosion lifting him off the ground. He assumed his robot mode again, this time opening fire on Demolishor. “Man, I shouldn’t have left Hot Shot…”

“Don’t worry!” Hot Shot shouted as he drove up, assuming his robot mode and pulling out his pistol. “I’m fine, Smoke!”

“Thank Primus,” Smokescreen muttered. “Can you take care of–”

“STARSCREAM!” Hot Shot shouted as the jet swooped down towards the Mini-Cons. Jolt transformed and flew out of the way, but Leader-1’s buggy mode wasn’t fast enough. The Mini-Con was grabbed up by the Seeker, who quickly trapped him in his cockpit and assumed his jet mode.

“LEADER-1!” Jolt cried.

Hot Shot fired his pistol, but he couldn’t get a lock on Starscream. “I can’t get a lock on him! He’s too far!”

“Let me help!” Jolt said, swooping down and linking onto Hot Shot’s back. “Powerlinx time!”

“Woah, what the–”

Hot Shot’s optics widened as he felt a surge of power within him. The axle on his back folded up, his wheels forming a cannon above his head.

“Aw, hell yeah!” he cheered. “Whatever just happened, it’s great!”

“It’s called “Powerlinxing”!” Smokescreen said as he exchanged shots with Demolishor. “Little power-up from our Mini-Con buddies!”

“Alright!” Hot Shot aimed the cannon up at Starscream. “FIRE!”

A beam of energy shot out of the cannon. Demolishor was quick to notice it.

“STARSCREAM, LOOK OUT!”

Starscream assumed his robot mode, glancing behind him as the blast blew closer. His yellow optics lit up in terror.

“We’re outmatched! Cyclonus, warp us back!”

After a moment, Starscream was surrounded in a purple light and disappeared, mere moments before the blast would have reached him.

“SLAGGIT!” Hot Shot swore.

“Starscream, get back here!” Demolishor shouted. “We have two more Mini-Cons to get!”

“Smokescreen to Red!” Smokescreen shouted into his comlink. “We’ve got Mini-Cons! Warp us back now!”

“No way!” Hot Shot argued with a smirk. “We’ve got the edge on this Decepti-creep!”

“We can’t risk the Mini-Cons being taken from us!”

“Please.” Hot Shot scoffed, crossing his arms. “Look how powerful we are now!”

However, it wasn’t moments before a glow surrounded the Autobots. Next thing they knew, they were back in the Ark.

“Aw, c’mon!” Hot Shot grumbled as Jolt disconnected from him.

“Welcome back, Autobots,” Optimus said. “I see you secured the Mini-Cons.”

“There are three Mini-Cons per pod, according to High Wire," Red Alert noted. “Where’s…?”

The Autobots averted their eyes.

“Starscream… he snagged Leader-1,” Jolt muttered.

“It’s not over, though.”

Hot Shot yelped as a small, yellow car Mini-Con leapt off his back. “Hello, Optimus. Long time, no see.”

“Sparkplug?” Optimus' eyes widened in surprise as he knelt down. “It’s been a while, old friend.”

“Good to see you too, Prime.” Sparkplug smiled. “But right now, we have to focus. Megatron’s got Leader-1.”

“Yeah, but we’ve got High Wire, Sureshot, Grindor, Liftor, Jolt, and now you!” Hot Shot crossed her arms, smirking. “Megatron’s outnumbered.”

“For now,” Optimus said. “But this was merely a battle. We still have a whole war to win…”

Demolishor huffed as he stepped out of the teleporter. “Can’t believe you just left me…” he muttered.

“Apologies,” Starscream replied. “But I needed to get the Mini-Con to Megatron.”

Leader-1 pushed against Starscream’s cockpit. “Let me go, you Energon-guzzling–”

The cockpit opened, and the Mini-Con yelped as he fell into Starscream’s waiting hand… just as Megatron entered.

“I hope you have brought me some success this time, Starscream.”

“I have, Lord Megatron.” Starscream knelt before him and presented Leader-1.

“M-Megatron…” Leader-1 muttered, shivering in fear.

“Ah, if it isn’t Leader-1.” Megatron smirked. “You and Sparkplug were the leaders of your civilization, correct?”

“Let me go… please…”

“Come now.” Megatron grabbed hold of the Mini-Con. “Let’s get you on the winning team…”

The Decepticon leader glanced back at Starscream and Demolishor. “And the others?”

“We were… unsuccessful in claiming them,” Starscream admitted reluctantly.

“But we tried! Honest!” Demolishor added.

Megatron scowled. “You are only spared because we have a small victory this time, and we need any victories we get...”

He grabbed Starscream and pulled him close. “Next time… you won’t be so lucky.”

He shoved the Seeker back a bit before turning away. “Go to the repair chamber. I will get to reprogramming Leader-1 here.”

Leader-1 screamed for help, for somebody, anybody, to aid him. Starscream winced a little at his cries, but ultimately remained stoic as Megatron took Leader-1 to his fate…

Out in a forest, mere miles away from where the Autobots and Decepticons had first clashed on this planet, a streak came down from the sky. It crashed into the forest, knocking over trees and sending animals running for cover.

A figure emerged from the resulting crater. They were obscured by the smoke, but their most notable aspects were the two large cannons on their forearms, what appeared to be some kind of horns on their head, and the glowing blue visor that shone through.

"So, they're online again..." The figure let out a dark chuckle. "Perfect."

Chapter Text

“I must say, Starscream, you did a good job in retrieving Leader-1,” Megatron said approvingly, looking down at the brainwashed Mini-Con standing silently next to him.

Starscream nodded. “Of course, Lord Megatron. Happy to serve.”

“Next time, however, one Mini-Con will not be sufficient.” Megatron rose. “The Autobots now have more Mini-Cons than we do. We need the edge in this war, Starscream.”

“I know, Lord Megatron.”

Megatron frowned. “Then don’t just sit there groveling, get a move on! Cyclonus is already scouting!”

Starscream nodded, turning and walking out of the room. He cast a momentary glance at the brainwashed Leader-1 before departing.

Within the Ark’s training room, target after target exploded as Hot Shot fired at them with his newly-unlocked axle cannon. Jolt was hooked up to his back.

“Aw, yeah!” he cheered, placing his hands on his hips as he ceased firing, looking down at the humans. “You see that, kids? Now that’s power!”

“Nice aim, Hot Shot!” Carlos said, smiling. “Bet you can take on any Decepticon with that kind of power!”

“You do need to be careful, Hot Shot,” Red Alert said as he walked in. “Using too much of Jolt’s power too fast can be dangerous.”

Hot Shot scoffed, waving the medic off. “Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Look, lemme get back to trying out this new weapon, ‘kay?”

Red Alert stared at Hot Shot disapprovingly for a moment before sighing. “You’ll wish you’d listened to me…” he muttered as he walked off.
“Sure I will.” Hot Shot smirked as he blasted another target.

“You know, maybe you should listen to Red,” Alexis suggested. “Isn’t he a lot more experienced than you?”

“Sure, but he’s also a seven million year old model.” Hot Shot rolled his optics. “I’m the new generation, and I can get by perfectly fine.”

Alexis frowned as Hot Shot returned to target practice.

A few miles away, in a desert close to the Ark’s landing site, Smokescreen and Liftor rolled across the sands.

“Y’know, this planet ain’t half bad overall,” Smokescreen said. “I wouldn’t mind hangin’ out here for a while.”

“Same here,” Liftor replied. “I bet I could get a lot of work done around here. So nice and peaceful and quiet…”

Then, a beeping resounded from Smokescreen’s internal navigator. “Hold that thought,” the Autobot said. “I’m picking up something. Could be a Mini-Con pod.”

He quickly changed direction, Liftor following close behind.

“We gotta be careful,” Liftor said. “Some Mini-Cons are particularly… sensitive about you larger folk.”

“I’m aware,” Smokescreen replied. “I’m big, but I ain’t a brute.”

The two continued rolling through the desert, heading in the direction of the activated pod…

Cyclonus groaned as he flew over the desert sands.

“Ugh… why do I have to get patrol duty?” he muttered to himself. “Why not make Starscream or Demolishor do it? I just wanna blow somethin’ up while doin’ it, at least! But nooo , Megatron has to be all “you gotta be stealthy, Cyclonus! You gotta be careful, Cyclonus! You could scare the Mini-Cons right into joining the Autobots, Cyclonus!” Ugh, I hate it! I just want some action, y’know?!”

As if on cue, Cyclonus’ radar lit up with a beacon signaling a Mini-Con pod’s activation.

“Well, speak of the Chaos Bringer!” Cyclonus laughed. “I finally get to see some action, baby!”

He veered off, making towards the pod, letting out a maniacal cackle…

“See?” Hot Shot grinned as Jolt separated and assumed his robot mode. “Perfect accuracy!”

“Yeah…” Alexis glanced at Jolt. “But… Jolt looks kinda tired out.”

“Yeah,” Rad agreed, going up to the Mini-Con. “You alright, man?”

“I…”

“He’ll be fine!” Hot Shot grinned. “C’mon, Jolt, link up! Let’s keep tryin’ out this power!”

“I can’t, Hot Shot,” Jolt muttered.

“Whaddya mean?” The yellow Autobot crossed his arms. “You absolutely can, you just were!”

“I said I can’t!” Jolt shouted. He assumed his helicopter mode and flew out.

Hot Shot huffed. “Jeez, what’d I say?”

“You were being inconsiderate,” High Wire said from the sidelines, where he and the other members of his team stood next to the kids. “Mini-Cons can only take so much use at a time. We’re not made of power, you know.”

“C’mon, his whole thing is he powers people up!” Hot Shot rolled his optics. “You seriously telling me you little guys need a break?”

“Yes, Hot Shot, that is exactly what we’re telling you,” Sureshock snapped. “Maybe you didn’t think about it, but we’re just as alive as you and your Autobots.”

“Let’s get outta here,” Grindor said. The Mini-Cons assumed their vehicle modes, and the humans got on.

“Guys, wait!” Hot Shot cried, reaching out towards them. “Where ya goin’?”

After a moment, Rad turned back. “Look, man. You gotta work on how you treat people. That’s something you need to do yourself.”

“Yeah,” High Wire agreed. “Because right now… you’re treating us like the Decepticons did back in the war.”

With that, High Wire and Rad followed the others, leaving Hot Shot alone. His arm fell to his side, and he let out a sigh.

“Aw, jeez…”

As Smokescreen and Liftor rolled across the desert, it didn’t take long for the latter to spot movement in the distance.

“There’s someone coming towards us,” Liftor said. “Looks like three Mini-Cons.”

As the two groups converged, Smokescreen and Liftor assumed their robot modes. The three Mini-Cons, consisting of a black, red, and gray rocket launcher vehicle, a gold and red six-wheeled APC with a large rocket launcher atop it, and a green and silver tank with twin rocket launchers.

“Heya!” Smokescreen said. “Name’s Smokescreen. I’m–”

“An Autobot, we know,” the tank said before transforming into robot form. The missile launchers formed arms. Treads were on the front of his body and the back of his legs. His face was covered with a silver mouthplate and he had a red visor.

The APC assumed his robot mode, which had wheels on the back of his shoulders, forearms, and thighs. His rocket launcher was mounted on his shoulder. His red face bore a similarity to a pilot’s mask, and his visor glowed a slightly different shade of red.

Finally, the truck transformed. He had wheels on his chest and legs. One of his arms was normal, with a gold fist, while the other was his rocket launcher. His head was black with a gold face… or most of one, anyways. Instead of regular eyes, he had a green device mounted on the right side of his forehead with a single glowing red optic on it.

The tank, evidently the leader, glanced at Liftor. “Liftor. I see you’re back with Smokescreen.”

“The Decepticons are back, Wreckage,” Liftor explained. “On this world. We could use help from your Land Military Team.”

Wreckage glanced at the other two before turning back to Liftor. “Sorry, Liftor, Smokescreen. I don’t wanna be involved in this. If either of these guys wanna go, they can.” He looked back. “Knock Out? Bonecrusher?”

Knock Out, the APC, shook his head. “I’m with you all the way, Wreckage.”

Bonecrusher, the truck, just let out a grunt, but it got the message across.

“We’re good.” Wreckage turned back to Smokescreen and Liftor. “If any Decepticons come after us, you know we can hold our own pretty damn well.”

Liftor sighed. “I thought as much. You… take care, guys.”

“Yeah.” Smokescreen smiled. “We’re not gonna make you do anything you don’t want to.”

“Well, I’m glad for that.” Wreckage and the other members of the Land Military Team returned to their vehicular modes. “So long. Good luck with the Decepticons.”

As the Team rolled away, Liftor sighed. “They… would have been helpful.”

“I remember them from the war,” Smokescreen said. “They were great fighters. But a war can wear on a ‘bot. I respect ‘em for wanting to just live in peace.” He turned away. “Now c’mon, let’s get to the Ark.”

Liftor nodded, and the two assumed their vehicular modes and drove off.

Cyclonus landed on the ground beside the pod.

“Mini-Cons… where are youuuuu…?”

As he searched the sands, he spotted tracks leading away from the pod.

“There you are…” Cyclonus grinned, leaping into the air and assuming his helicopter mode. He flew after the Mini-Cons, cackling madly…

Hot Shot peeked around the corner, looking around the room. It wasn’t long before his eyes landed on Jolt.

“Hey…” he said, stepping forward. “Jolt?”

“Hm.”

“I…” Hot Shot sighed. “I’m sorry. I… I was being kinda…”

“Decepticon-y?”

“...Yeah.”

Jolt sighed. “It’s okay. You’re young. You didn’t know better. Just… be more mindful in the future, okay? We’re not tools. We’re people .”

“Right.” Hot Shot nodded, kneeling down next to the Mini-Con. He held out a fist. “Friends?”

After a moment, Jolt nodded, returning the fist bump. “Friends.”

“Hey…” Knock Out muttered as the Land Military Team rolled across the desert. “You guys hear that?”

“Hear what?” Wreckage asked.

“Listen.”

The sound of whirring helicopter blades could be heard across the desert air. Wreckage quickly transformed to robot mode, followed by the other members of his team. They glanced behind them to see Cyclonus flying towards them.

“I know that helicopter…” Wreckage muttered. “It’s Cyclonus! Run!”

The trio assumed their vehicle modes, peeling off as Cyclonus approached.

“There ya are!” Cyclonus cackled as he opened fire. “Get back here, Mini-Cons!”

“MOVE!” Wreckage shouted. The Mini-Cons swerved out of the stream of gunfire the Decepticon rained down upon them.

“We can’t face Cyclonus alone!” Knock Out shouted as he fired towards Cyclonus, only for the helicopter to dodge the rocket.

“Slaggit…” Wreckage muttered. “Send out a distress signal. See if we can call Liftor and his pal back.”

“On it!”

As Liftor and Smokescreen rolled through the desert, Lifter suddenly braked.

“Liftor?” Smokescreen stopped. “You alright.”

“Just got a distress signal from Knock Out,” Lifter replied. “It’s Cyclonus!”

“Then let’s go help them!”

The two turned around as Smokescreen contacted the Ark…

As Hot Shot and Jolt walked into the main room, Teletraan-1 suddenly lit up. “ALERT. ALERT. CODE RED SIGNAL FROM AUTOBOT DESIGNATED SMOKESCREEN.”

Hot Shot rushed over to the computer, joining Optimus and Red Alert. “What’s going on?”

“This is Smokescreen!”: the Autobot crane said over the comlink. :“We’ve got some Mini-Cons here, under attack from Cyclonus! Some backup would be great!”:

Optimus turned to the Autobots. “Alright. Hot Shot, Jolt, do you think you can help?”

Hot Shot and Jolt exchanged a glance. After a moment, they both nodded. “Yes, sir!”

“You… sure about this, Prime?” Sparkplug asked as the two headed over to the groundbridge. “Hot Shot’s…”

“Young. Inexperienced.” Prime nodded. “Yes, he is. But he will never become experienced if he does not get the chance to grow, to mature. I know a bot who was a lot like him during the war. Hotheaded, rambunctious, thought he knew everything, but he had the spark of a hero. That bot sits on the Council alongside the likes of myself and Jhiaxus now. Hot Shot has great things in his future. He… reminds me of myself, when I was younger.”

After a moment, Sparkplug chuckled. “That’s fair. He… is kinda like you were, if a little louder.”

“He will pull through.” Optimus’ yellow optics looked on as the ground bridge powered on. “He and Jolt are a partnership that will benefit the both of them. It will just take time.”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! RUN, RUN, RUN, LITTLE MINI-CONS! YOU CAN’T ESCAPE!”

“This guy is crazy!” Knock Out cried.

“It’s Cyclonus, what did you expect?!” Wreckage replied. “Where’s our help?!”

“Right here!”

Smokescreen rolled in, assuming his robot mode. “Liftor, Powerlinx!”

Liftor transformed into his robot mode briefly to leap off the ground. He then returned to vehicle mode, latching onto the crane arm and converting it to cannon mode. Smokescreen opened fire.

“Aw, hell yeah!” Cyclonus cackled, dodging a shot by the Autobot and turning his attention to him. “Let the fun begin!”

As the two exchanged shots, Hot Shot warped in. “Hey, Smokey! Need some help?”

Smokescreen grinned. “That would be welcome, yeah.”

“Alright, Jolt!” Hot Shot smirked, glancing at his partner. “Ready?”

“Ready!” Jolt leapt into the air, assuming his helicopter mode and latching onto Hot Shot’s back. His axle folded up, forming its cannon mode. Hot Shot joined Smokescreen in exchanging fire with the airborne Decepticon.

“Alright!” Knock Out cheered. “Let’s get that ‘con outta here!”

“Land Military Team, transform and attack!” Wreckage ordered.

Wreckage, Knock Out, and Bonecrusher assumed their vehicular forms and opened fire on Cyclonus as well. The Decepticon yelped as he dodged their fire.

“Oh, screw this!” Cyclonus turned and flew off. “Five versus one ain’t fun!”

Hot Shot grinned as Jolt detached. “Alright! We showed that ‘Con, huh?”

“You bet we did.” Smokescreen smiled as Liftor leapt off and assumed his robot mode, landing beside Jolt. The Autobot turned to the Land Military Team, who had also returned to their robot modes. “I doubt you guys will be dealing with him anytime soon.”

“Thank you.” Wreckage nodded. “Good luck with the Decepticons.”

“Wait!” Hot Shot stepped forward. “You aren’t coming with us?”

“Nah.” Wreckage shook his head. “No offense to any of you, but the Land Military Team is done with the war. We came here to get away from the fighting.”

“We’ll survive,” Knock Out assured. “You guys just keep fighting the good fight so we can return to Cybertron.”

Bonecrusher just grunted, but a smile crept onto his face.

Hot Shot glanced back at Jolt, looking at the Mini-Con for a moment. Then, he nodded, turning back to the Land Military Team. “Alright. You guys have fun out there.”

The trio nodded before assuming their vehicle modes and rolling off. Hot Shot rose, placing his hands on his hips. “Welp. Guess it’s about time we go, yeah?”

“Yup.” Smokescreen activated his comlink. “Red, bridge us back, will you?”

:“On it.”:

As the groundbridge activated, Hot Shot and Smokescreen shared a fistbump before walking through, Liftor and Jolt following close behind.

Unknown to them, a purple and yellow motorcycle without a rider watched them from afar.

“Interesting…” it muttered. “So they are at war here, then. Wonder how this will play out…”

“So you found nothing?”

Cyclonus winced, remembering his encounter in the desert. Starscream and Demolishor stood nearby. 

“Erm… nope! No Mini-Cons or Autobots anywhere , Megatron!”

“...Right.” Megatron sighed, standing up and clasping his hands behind his back. “If I find out you’re lying to me…”

“I swear!” Cyclonus promised. “There was nothing out there! Just that weird grainy stuff!”

Cyclonus shifted his leg, causing some sand to fall from the joints. “Eugh… it’s coarse, rough, irritating… gets everywhere in my joints. I hate this slagging planet…”

Megatron sighed. “We cannot afford to lose any more Mini-Cons, understand?”

Cyclonus nodded. “Yes, sir!” the three Decepticons said in unison.

“Good.” Megatron turned around. “Prime cannot defeat us again. And once we claim these Mini-Cons, we will return to Cybertron and show our little traitor Jhiaxus what a real Decepticon is.”

Chapter Text

The sun beat down on the rocky terrain. An white and blue SUV with a siren and a yellow sports car drove over it. A small orange helicopter flew above them.

“Jeez!” Hot Shot muttered, his voice bumping as he rode over the terrain. “Why am I the one on this mission? Why not Smokescreen ? This terrain is doing nothing for my tires!”

Jolt laughed from above. “Imagine having to drive.”

“Oh, ha-ha. Laugh it up, Jolt.”

“Smokescreen is out scouting elsewhere,” Red Alert replied. “So I have to deal with you this time.”

“Hey!”

“Shh.” Red Alert reverted to his robot mode, looking at a scanner built into his arm. “The pod’s close. We’d best find it before any Decepticons do.”

Hot Shot assumed his robot mode as well, casting a glance at Red Alert. “You seem pretty focused on this pod. You insisted I bring Jolt along for this one.”

Jolt assumed his robot mode, landing on the ground. “I… did notice you being really worried once this one was activated. Is… everything okay?”

Red Alert paused, his arm reaching over to his other one, his one hand grasping the cannon that was at the end of his left arm. Memories of a time long past resurfaced…

Cybertron, two million years ago…

Explosions erupted all across the city of Praxus. The Decepticon forces, led by Scorponok, were completely destroying the city.

“Attack, Decepticons!” Scorponok shouted, grinning as a blue and yellow VTOL Decepticon jet and a black and purple Starscream lookalike rained fire upon a building, bringing it down. “Leave no survivors!”

Below the surface, in the tunnels beneath the city, a red visor peeked around the corner.

“Clear,” Red Alert whispered, holding a blaster in each hand. “Alright, team, move out.”

“Why we gotta be so quiet?” a red Autobot SUV muttered, arms crossed. “I don’t like this, kablam…”

“Ease up, Warpath,” Red Alert said. “You know we need to get back to Iacon safely. If the Decepticons get Longarm…”

“I’m right here, y’know,” a blue, yellow, and black Mini-Con said. He had wheels on his shoulders, forearms, and heels. A yellow crane arm was on his back. His red visor glinted, a small frown on his face. “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.”

“Sorry, buddy,” Red Alert replied. “Just reminding Warpath.”

“Yeah, yeah, sensitive information,” the Autobot muttered, rolling his optics.

“Ease up, y’all.” The team’s leader came around the corner, a white racer with a blue and red stripe down his chest and a blue visor shining in the tunnel’s darkness. Behind him was another Autobot, a black, red, and blue sports car.

“Sorry, Jazz,” Red Alert said. “Warpath just… gets on my nerves.”

Jazz chuckled. “It’s alright. Team, sound off.”

“Red Alert here.”

“Warpath, ready to kablam some Decepticons!”

“Cheetor, ready to go!”

“Sweet.” Jazz glanced down at Longarm. “Sorry ‘bout them. It’s true, though, Warpath. We need get this done quick ’n’ quiet. Can’t have the info Longarm here’s got fallin’ into Decepticon hands.”

“Whatever.” Warpath crossed his arms. “I’d rather be up there, fighting with the others.”

“Same here,” Cheetor said, smirking. “But Big Bot needs us to get Longarm to Iacon safe and sound, and you know I’m gonna do that! He’ll love me for this.”

“Oh yeah?” Warpath stepped up to the young ‘bot. “Y’know, you really get on my nerves, pretty boy.”

“Ooh, that’s a nice one… is what I’d say if it weren’t so slaggin’ pathetic.” Cheetor grinned smugly. “You don’t got nothin’ on me. They brought you along for muscle. I got picked ‘cuz I’m the best at what I do.”

“Hey, hey, enough!” Jazz stepped between the two. “We got places to be, things to do. C’mon, Autobots. Transform and roll out!”

Jazz, Red, and Longarm assumed their vehicle forms. Cheetor and Warpath exchanged a glare before assuming their vehicular forms. They drove off deeper into the tunnel… as an engine revved behind them.

“...Hey. You guys hear that?” Cheetor asked.

“What’s the matter, kid? Scared?” Warpath teased.

“What? No! I just…”

“You should be.”

Three rockets fired from behind them. Jazz yelped. “SWERVE!”

Jazz, Red Alert, and Cheetor swerved away, but Warpath was too slow. Thankfully, his alternate mode was only flipped by the explosion. He quickly reverted to his robot mode, a cannon folding out of his chest.

“Oh, so you wanna go, Decepticon? Well, kablam, let’s get goin’!”

Warpath fired as a green and black muscle car drove towards the group. Another set of rockets fired from its engine. Warpath blasted down two of them, but the third hit him, blowing one of his arms off and leaving a hole in his side where it used to be.

“WARPATH!” Jazz shouted.

Warpath coughed. “Don’t worry, boss, I’m fine!”

The Cybertronian assumed his robot mode. He had spikes along his neck and chest, mismatched body parts, and a hook for a hand. He aimed a blaster, and fired, blowing Warpath’s head clean off.

As the Autobot’s body collapsed to the floor, Jazz moved in front of Longarm. “Red, get Longarm outta here! Cheetor an’ I will hold this ‘con off!”

Red Alert nodded, assuming his vehicle mode and driving off alongside Longarm.

The Cybertronian chuckled. “Oh, I’m no Decepticon. The name’s Lockdown, bounty hunter. And that little Mini-Cons got a good price on his head. Megatron really wants him in particular. So, move, and I won’t have to take you down.”

“Like hell!” Jazz pulled out his own weapon. “Cheetor, let’s take ‘im down!”

“On it!”

Lockdown sighed. “You Autobots never learn…”

Lockdown quickly fired, blasting Cheetor back as Jazz leapt atop him. Lockdown thrust his hook forward, impaling Jazz on it. He then folded out his rocket launcher.

“Sorry, buddy.” He smirked. “But you gotta go.”

Jazz smirked. “Nice to have one last tune, then.”

He brought his gun up and blasted Lockdown in the torso. Lockdown winced, but then fired his launcher, blowing Jazz apart.

“JAZZ!” Cheetor shouted. “Oh, I’ll take you down!”

Cheetor lunged forward, but Lockdown ducked, bringing his hook up and slicing Cheetor across the chest. He then fired his blaster, knocking the Autobot over. Cheetor groaned.

“Y’know, Predacon’s paying well for living Autobots,” Lockdown said. “So I’ll let you live… just to deliver you to him. For now, I’ve got a Mini-Con to catch.”

Red Alert and Longarm peeled through the tunnels.

“We’re almost there!” Red Alert shouted.

“I hope you’re right…” Longarm muttered. “Who knows how long until–”

Suddenly, a blast sent the two flying. Red Alert reverted to his robot mode, landing on his feet. Longarm tumbled for a bit before transforming as well. He rose as Lockdown walked out of the shadows.

“Sorry, pal,” the bounty hunter said. “But a bot’s gotta have his credits, y’know.”

“For what!?” Red Alert aimed his pistols. “Our economy has collapsed ever since Megatron went mad and declared war!”

“You’d be surprised at what’s out there in the galaxy, just waiting to upgrade me.” Lockdown smirked. “So, if you will…”

Red Alert opened fire. Lockdown assumed his muscle car mode and drove, dodging shot after shot. He then assumed his robot mode, his hand folding in and a chainsaw folding out. He sliced, cutting Red Alert’s hand clean off. The Autobot medic screamed before Lockdown hooked him by the neck and slammed him against the wall.

“I’d like to take you alive,” Lockdown said. “Predacon will pay good money for both you and the red one.”

“Screw you…” Red Alert muttered.

“Rude.” Lockdown fired a grappling hook, grabbing Longarm and pulling him over. “Welp, it’s been fun, Autobot. Nighty-night.”

Lockdown swung his fist into Red’s face, and everything went dark.

Present day…

“Yo, Red? You good?”

Red Alert shook himself. “I… I’m fine, Hot Shot. Just… got lost in the past, is all.”

“...Alright.”

Red Alert looked down at the screen on his arm. “The pod is just ahead.”

“Right!” Jolt assumed his helicopter mode. “I’ll scout ahead. You guys follow!”

The two Autobots nodded and followed the Mini-Con on foot as they closed in on the pod’s location.

“Ugh, are we getting close, Starscream?” Demolishor groaned. “This feels like it’s taking forever!”

“Quiet,” Starscream muttered as he flew above the tank in his jet form. “We’ll be there soon, Demolishor. Please keep your whining down until we reach the pod.”

Demolishor huffed. “Whatever.”

Red Alert and Hot Shot gazed down the large drop ahead of them.

“...You sure it’s here, Red?”

“Positive.” Red Alert glanced at his display. “It… should be right on top of us.”

“So where is it?” Hot Shot looked around. “I don’t see any Mini-Cons!”

Red Alert didn’t respond.

“Red?” Hot Shot glanced over at him. “Helloooooo?”

Red Alert just stared at his display, at the signal displayed on it. He had detected a familiar Mini-Con energy signature. Specifically…

“Longarm…?”

Hot Shot tilted his head. “Who?”

“Longarm was a Mini-Con I knew during the war…” Red muttered. “We were… friends.”

“Something happen between you two?”

“You… could say that.”

Kaon, two million years ago…

Red Alert’s visor lit up. He groaned, attempting to rise, only to find that he was being held down. He struggled against the restraints on his arms and legs, holding him to the table.

“Where am I?!”

“Simple. My laboratory.”

Red Alert froze as a green beast, bearing a striking resemblance to the Earth creature known as the Tyrannosaurus Rex , flew in, VTOL fans on its thighs. It landed, looking at Red with its red eyes. While the bot was unrecognizable, Red Alert instantly knew who it was. He knew that voice anywhere.

“Predacon…?”

Predacon smirked. “Glad you recognize me, Red Alert. It’s been so long since I saw you last.”

“What… what happened to you…?” Red Alert’s gaze drifted over his new alternate mode. “You look…”

“Fantastic? I know.” Predacon grinned, assuming his robot mode. His body was a mix of the technological and the organic. One of his arms was replaced with a tail that had a claw at the end. He was a mix of red, silver, green, and orange. His green optics shined sinisterly. “Evolution in its purest form.”

“What did you do to yourself?!”

“I’ve been observing other worlds for some time.” Predacon pulled up a hologram of his new alternate mode on a nearby holoprojector, but it was completely organic rather than techno-organic. “I’ve seen promise in this world, a small, organic one. I’ve realized that organic-technological fusion is the future of our race. I will force our evolution by any means necessary.”

“Where’s Longarm and the others?!” Red Alert shouted.

“I’m preparing Longarm for a mind probe,” Predacon said calmly. “Your red and black friend is being experimented on, alongside my other subjects. The other two are dead. Lockdown is very efficient at his job. I would have preferred them alive, but two Autobots are better than none.”

“You’re sick,” Red Alert spat.

“Perhaps.” Predacon smirked. “Or I am a visionary. Now, I hope you’ll be ready for your transformation soon… after I rip the codes we need from Longarm’s head, of course. Megatron won’t be kept waiting.”

“NO!” Red Alert shouted, struggling against his restraints as Predacon walked away. “YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS!”

Present day…

“Red…”

“Hm?”

“Jolt’s back.”

Red Alert looked up as Jolt assumed his robot mode and landed. “You were right, Red. It’s here. Problem is, it’s, well… buried in the cliffside.”

Hot Shot groaned. “Great. How are we gonna get to it?”

“That’s… not all.” Jolt pointed towards the other side of the canyon. “There.”

Hot Shot and Red Alert glanced out over the expanse and froze at the sight ahead of them. Starscream and Demolishor were headed right for them.

“Slag,” Red Alert swore. “We have to get them, now!”

“How?!” Hot Shot cried.

Red Alert turned to the orange Mini-Con standing in front of them. “Jolt, can you reach them?”

“You bet!” Jolt quickly assumed his helicopter mode and flew down towards the pod.

Red Alert aimed his blaster arm towards the Decepticons. “Ready?”

Hot Shot grinned, pistol at the ready. “Ready as ever!”

“Hey… you see that, Starscream?”

“I do, Demolishor,” the Seeker replied. “Autobots have beaten us to the Mini-Cons…”

As Demolishor reached the canyon, he transformed to robot mode. “Not quite! Look!” 

Starscream assumed his robot mode as well, following Demolishor’s gaze to the pod that was lodged in the rock. He smirked. “Well, well… those Autobots can’t reach it.” He glanced back at the tank. “You take the Autobots, I’ll grab the Mini-Cons.”

Demolishor grinned, aiming his fingers up at the Autobots. “On it, Starscream!”

As Demolishor opened fire from the guns in his fingers, Red Alert and Hot Shot leapt aside.

“Demolishor’s got us outgunned on his own!” Hot Shot shouted. “How are we even gonna take Starscream on?”

“Don’t know.” Red Alert glanced back and froze as he saw Starscream swooping towards the pod. “He’s going for the Mini-Cons!”

“I got ‘em!” Jolt said, diving down towards the pod.

“Jolt, no!” Hot Shot cried. “He’s too strong for you!”

Jolt ignored Hot Shot’s cries, flying down to the pod and assuming his robot mode. He opened up the pod, revealing three Mini-Cons inside. As Red Alert predicted, one was Longarm, who tilted his head questioningly. 

An orange, tan, and red Mini-Con stood next to him. He had two wheels on each leg, and in the place of hands, he had orange blasters. His faceplate was silver, his visor a bright red.

The third Mini-Con was a racer. His spoiler was on his chest, his shoulders were wheels, the other two on his ankles. His optics, glowing yellow, had a particular glint to them. Rather than a regular mouth or regular faceplate, he had a vent-like mouth that he spoke through.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the savior?” the racer Mini-Con said with a smug voice. “How might you be, my fine fellow Mini-Con?”

“Jolt!” The Mini-Con with guns for hands lit up. “Good to see you!”

“Good to see you too, Blackout.” Jolt glanced at the other Mini-Con. “Swindle.”

Swindle chuckled. “What’s the matter? You haven’t done business with me… yet. Don’t judge a Mini-Con before you deal with ‘em.”

“Right.” Jolt rolled his optics. “C’mon, let’s get you–”

“Hello.”

Jolt froze, turning around to see Starscream. The Decepticon smirked. “Sending a Mini-Con to get more Mini-Cons? The Autobots must be desperate.”

Jolt aimed a blaster at the Decepticon. “Stand back, Starscream.”

Starcream chuckled. “Cute.” He grabbed Jolt, snapping some of his rotors in the process. Jolt cried out in pain, the sound heard by the Autobots above as they exchanged fire with Demolishor.

“Jolt!” Hot Shot cried, rushing over to the cliff in time to see Starscream throw him down into the canyon.

“Let’s see you fly without those.”

“NO!” Hot Shot dove without thinking, falling towards his partner.

“Hot Shot, no!” Red Alert shouted, quickly messing with the controls of his blaster arm.

Hot Shot grabbed Jolt, only to notice the ground fast approaching. “Scrap, I didn’t think this through…”

Suddenly, he stopped in midair. He looked up to see that Red Alert had caught him in a tractor beam.

“I… got you…” Red Alert tugged, slowly pulling Hot Shot up. As he did, Starscream flew up, the three Mini-Cons in hand.

“Got them.” He looked down to see the Autobots struggling. After a moment, he sighed. “Come on, Demolishor.”

“What?!” Demolishor glanced up at the Seeker. “We’ve got them right here!”

“It would be dishonorable to destroy them here,” Starscream said. “Let us hold onto our honor, at the very least.”

Demolishor huffed. “Fine, I guess you’re right.”

“Hot Shot!” Red Alert shouted. “Can you–”

“On it!” Hot Shot looked down at Jolt and nodded. Jolt nodded back, climbing onto Hot Shot’s back and assuming his helicopter mode, connecting to him. Hot Shot flipped over, his axle cannon folding out. He fired, hitting Starscream and causing him to drop the Mini-Cons.

“AUTOBOT SCUM!” Starscream shouted, swooping down.

Red Alert pulled Hot Shot and Jolt back up as Starscream grabbed Swindle and Blackout. He dove for the falling Longarm, only for Hot Shot to blast him out of the way as Red grabbed the Mini-Con in his tractor beam.

“Prime, it’s Red Alert! We need a warp, now!”

Moments later, the two Autobots disappeared, Jolt and Longarm in tow.

“Damn it!” Demolishor swore, turning on Starscream. “You shoulda let me gun them down!”

Starscream frowned. “We at least need to stick to our code. He was saving an ally, unable to fight.”

Demolishor groaned. “Your little “code of honor” is gonna kill you one of these days, Starscream. We’re at war! They’re our enemies!”

“Look on the bright side for once.” Starscream held up the struggling Swindle and Blackout. “We’ve gotten ahold of our own Mini-Cons.”

Demolishor sighed. “I guess you’re right. Let’s get back to Megatron.”

Starscream activated his comlink. “Megatron, we’ve obtained some Mini-Cons. Warp us back.”

:“Excellent work, Starscream. Prepare for transit.”:

Within moments, the two Decepticons disappeared.

The Decepticons materialized in the Nemesis. Megatron stood beside the teleporter, waiting.

"More Mini-Cons for you, Megatron," Starscream said, presenting the captured Swindle and Blackout.

"Excellent. Take them to the reprogramming chamber."

"Hey, now!" Swindle held up his arms. "Maybe... maybe we can cut a deal! I'll work with ya willingly if you don't brainwash me, yeah?"

"I'm with Swindle here," Blackout said. "If it means working with you willingly or losing my freedom, I'm picking the former."

"Hm." Megatron crossed his arms. "Very well. But even think about betraying us, and you will lose that freedom!"

"Of course!" Swindle nodded. "Wouldn't dream of it."

“It is a shame my fellow Mini-Cons were unable to be rescued,” Longarm noted, standing beside Red Alert as they stood before Optimus. “However, it is only logical that you retreat. You were outgunned, and Jolt was injured. Additionally, it is pleasing to see you currently outnumber the Decepticons’ ranks.”

“I… I’m sorry, Prime,” Red Alert muttered. “I… couldn’t save them.”

“Maybe.” Optimus placed a hand on Red’s shoulder. “But… you did save Longarm. And… I know what that means to you personally. Allow yourself a small victory.”

After a moment, Red Alert nodded.

Carlos frowned as he looked on. “So… what’s this new Mini-Con’s deal? He talks all formal and computer-like.”

“Yeah.” Rad crossed his arms. “Something… up with him?”

“Longarm’s… been through a lot,” Sparkplug noted from beside them. “It’s… probably best to leave it at that.”

As Red Alert entered the next room, his report finished, he saw Hot Shot looking over the wounded Jolt.

“...Hello.”

“Hey.”

After a moment, Red Alert moved over to Hot Shot. “What… what you did out there today. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Encouraging.”

“I’m serious. You’re more than meets the eye, Hot Shot.” He followed Hot Shot’s gaze to look at Jolt. “As for Jolt, he’ll recover pretty quickly.”

“...You mentioned you had history with that Longarm guy.” Hot Shot glanced at him. “What’s going on there? You’re all mysterious about it.”

After a moment, Red Alert sighed. “Longarm was a friend during the war. During a sting operation, Longarm acquired codes that could lead to the reactivation of the Omega Guardians, large Cybertronians who could turn the tide of the war. Naturally, the Decepticons came after him. We were captured by a bounty hunter and delivered to a sick Predacon scientist named Predacon.”

“And… you escaped?”

“...Not without cost.”

Kaon, two million years ago…

“Psst! Hey!”

Red Alert powered on. He looked down to see a red and gold Mini-Con car with a green visor looking up at him.

“What do you want?” he muttered. “Here to get me for Predacon.”

“Nope.” The Mini-Con pressed a button, freeing Red Alert from his restraints. Red Alert rose, but then paused as he noticed something… new.

“What in the…” Red Alert raised his left arm. In place of his missing hand was some kind of blaster.

“I… added that to prevent any more energon loss,” the Mini-Con said.

“Why are you helping me?” Red Alert asked, looking down at him.

“Because I’m on your side. Name’s Side Burn. I’m a double agent for the Autobots, keeping an eye on Predacon here.”

“You’re… risking your cover to help me?”

Side Burn shrugged. “Hey, look, if Predacon gets ahold of those Omega Sentinel codes, either he’s gonna get them to Megatron or he’s gonna use them for himself. Neither of those options are ideal, so here I am.”

He glanced down the hallway. “Longarm’s down that way, to the right.”

“And Cheetor?”

“I… don’t know.” Side Burn looked down. “Predacon doesn’t tell anyone where he keeps his “subjects”. Best you get going before Predacon realizes you’re gone. I have to get away from here so he doesn’t suspect me.”

With that, Side Burn assumed his vehicle mode and drove off. Red Alert took a moment to look down at his new appendage before transforming to his Cybertronic ambulance mode and driving off.

Predacon looked down at the Mini-Con that was held on his table. “Sorry, Longarm, but those codes in your head are important…”

Longarm groaned, the plating on his head remove. “Torture me all you like… you’ll never break me…”

“Please.” Predacon held out his hand, and needles emerged from his fingers. He grinned sinisterly, holding them up. “I have other ways of getting what I want.”

Longarm’s eyes widened at the realization that Predacon had mnemosurgeon training. He struggled against the restraints to no avail as Predacon inserted the needles into his brain module.

“Let’s find your little secret…”

As he dug around, suddenly, the door was blasted open. Red Alert stepped out of the smoke, his blaster arm aimed at Predacon.

“Bup-bup-bup.” Predacon smirked. “Might want to hold your fire. I’m already in. If you separate me now, not only will the codes be lost forever, but so will poor Longarm’s entire memory bank.”

Red Alert froze in place, his arm shaking.

“Do… it…”

Red glanced at Longarm on the table. He shot Red Alert a thumbs up.

After a moment, Red fired, hitting Predacon square in the head and knocking him back. Longarm screamed as the needles were improperly yanked from his brain, and then shut down completely.

Red Alert dashed forward, tearing the restraints off and grabbing the comatose Longarm. “Let’s get out of here,” he muttered, assuming his vehicular form and driving off.

As they fled the base, they could hear Predacon’s roar of rage.

“This is Red Alert! I’m in Kaon! I need a warp, now!”

:“Locking on!”:

Predacon flew out of his base, followed closely by a large technoorganic locust.

“SCOURGE, DESTROY THEM!” Predacon roared. 

The locust flew down, assuming his monstrous, mismatched robot mode.

“What in Primus’ name has he done…?” Red Alert muttered as Scourge charged forward, roaring incoherently.

Suddenly, he was gunned down from behind by none other than Optimus Prime. “Over here! We’ll hold the line until they can warp us back!”

As various Decepticons flew in, Optimus and Red Alert (now in robot mode) gunned down Decepticon after Decepticon. Scourge rose, growling as he surged forward towards the two. He leapt onto Red Alert.

“Jetfire!” Optimus shouted, taking careful aim. “Get us out, now!”

:“Doing what I can, Commander!”:

Optimus fired, the blast blowing Scourge’s head clean off. His body went limp on Red Alert, and the Autobot shrugged him off.

“Thanks, Prime.”

“Anytime.”

“MY CREATION!” Predacon roared. “YOU WILL PAY!”

“I doubt that,” Optimus replied, just before they were warped away. Predacon landed on the ground right where they’d been a split second later. He let out a roar of pure rage, the sound echoing across the entire city.

Present day...

“Longarm… never recovered his memory. He changed, became someone new. He lived a good life going forward. But…” Red Alert sighed. “He was the only one I saved. Predacon disappeared, probably leveled alongside Kaon by Straxus when he went mad and nuked a quarter of the planet. We… never found any of his victims.”

“Primus…” Hot Shot muttered. “I… I’m sorry.”

“I… I’ll be fine. Today just… stirred up memories.” Red Alert rose. “Come on, let’s get going. I’m sure the others are missing us.”

Hot Shot nodded. As he stood up, he glanced at the medic. “Hey. Sorry for, uh… taking you for granted sometimes. The war… it must have been rough on everyone.”

Red Alert nodded. “Yeah. It was.”

Outside the Ark, none of the Autobots or their friends knew that their ship was being observed by a purple and yellow motorcycle.

“Well…” it muttered. “I’d say it’s about time I get involved…”

Chapter Text

The meadow was normally peaceful. Bright sunshine shone upon the ground. Birds sang. It would be the perfect spot for a picnic…

…well, aside from the giant alien robots engaged in a battle to the death, that is.

Optimus swung, his fist slamming into Megatron’s face. The Decepticon leader stumbled back, a sneer on his face.

“Come now, Prime.” Megatron smirked, wiping some energon from his lip. “You’ll have to do better than that to win this war.”

“You say that every time, Megatron,” Optimus noted. “Yet I haven’t seen much progress on your end.”

Megatron’s smirk morphed into a scowl. “You bore me, Prime. Let’s finish this, now!”

Megatron assumed his tank form, aiming at Optimus and opening fire. The Prime leapt aside, dodging the shot and resulting explosion. “You’re only saying that because you know I’m right!”

“DIE ALREADY!” Megatron roared, firing at him once again.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Liftor Powerlinxed with Smokescreen, and the Autobot fired his cannon at Starscream above.

“Damn it…” Starscream swore, dodging the shot. “I can’t get in close at this rate…”

After a moment, he smirked. “A ranged battle it is, then. Swindle!” 

"Got it, Screamer." Swindle hopped out of Starscream’s cockpit. He leapt into the air, assuming his Formula 1 racer mode and latching onto Starscream. A glow surrounded Starscream, and two large cannons folded out of the intakes on either side of his head. "Glad we were able to make a deal an' all."

The Air Commander grinned. “DIE, AUTOBOTS!” he shouted, firing down at Smokescreen from above. Smokescreen rolled out of the way of the shots, returning with his own.

“Jeez,” Hot Shot muttered as he peeled across the ground, swerving around blasts delivered by Cyclonus from above. Jolt was plugged onto the rear of his vehicle mode, increasing his speed. “Leave us with the crazy one, why don’t you?”

Cyclonus cackled. “C’mon, little Autobot, stop runnin’! It won’t hurt… much!”

Another round of maniacal laughter burst forth from the helicopter as he continued to fire upon the yellow Autobot. One blast hit the ground next to him, the resulting explosion sending Hot Shot and Jolt flying. As they tumbled, they separated and assumed their robot modes.

Cyclonus lowered down closer to the ground before assuming his robot mode, landing with a thud. The Decepticon grinned as he approached the fallen Hot Shot, who was struggling to rise. “Oh, Primus, I haven’t snuffed an Autobot in a million years! I can’t wait!”

“Aw, scrap…” Hot Shot muttered.

Suddenly, a yellow and purple motorcycle flew over Hot Shot, its engine revving. As it headed towards Cyclonus, quickly transforming and revealing itself as a Cybertronian. He was mainly purple with yellow accents. The windshield and lights to his alternate mode adorned his chest. His two wheels jutted off his back. There were cannons attached to his forearms, which he quickly fired, knocking Cyclonus back. His face was yellow, though it had no notable mouth. Its main feature was the glowing blue visor on it. The handlebars of the motorcycle formed what looked to be horns.

He turned back to Hot Shot, holding out a silver hand. “You alright there, buddy?” His voice was deeper, a little menacing, but had a friendly tone to it.

After a moment, Hot Shot took his hand. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

The new Cybertronian pulled Hot Shot to his feet. Hot Shot looked him over. “So… who are you exactly?”

“No time.” He quickly whipped around and blasted Cyclonus again, knocking him back. “We gotta get to the Mini-Cons, now!”

“Uhh…”

His blue visor glanced towards Hot Shot. “Do you want the ‘Cons to get ahold of them?”

Hot Shot shook his head. “Right! Let’s go!”

The two quickly assumed their alternate modes and drove off.

A blue and yellow Mini-Con with treads on his arms and cannon on his back groaned. “Ughhhh… so where are we exactly?”

“Dunno.” An entirely black Mini-Con with a silver head and a mouthplate looked around, his red optics scanning the area. “Some backwater organic world, looks like.”

“Whatever…” The first Mini-Con lay back. “Think there’ll be anything remotely interesting here…?”

“Dunno.”

He groaned again. “Why is every world just so boring…?”

A third Mini-Con, this one silver with red optics and a mouthplate, rolled his optics. “Cheer up, Crumplezone.”

“Yeah, no.” Crumplezone glared at the Mini-Con. “I blame you for this, Crosswise.”

“Why me?!”

“Things always go to Pit when you’re around! You have a bad luck streak a mile wide!”

“...He’s not wrong,” the second Mini-Con chimed in.

Crosswise groaned. “Rook! You’re supposed to be on my side here!”

“Hey…” Rook paused, glancing off in the distance. “Is that…?”

Crosswise followed his gaze. He lit up. “It is!”

“Who?” Crumplezone muttered, glancing up from the ground. He spotted Hot Shot and the other Cybertronian as they approached. He groaned. “Great. Guzzlers…”

The two assumed their robot mode. Crosswise and Rook ran up to the mysterious Cybertronian. “Sideways!” Crosswise exclaimed. “Good to see you again!”

The Cybertronian, evidently Sideways, nodded. “Crosswise, Rook. And who’s your friend here?”

“Crumplezone.” Rook glanced back at the Mini-Con. “He’s… not too happy to be here.”

“So, Sideways, huh?” Hot Shot glanced at his ally. “So, what’s your deal?”

“I’ll explain once we get out of here.” Sideways turned around. “We’ve got company.”

Hot Shot quickly followed his gaze just in time to see Cyclonus swoop down towards them. “NOBODY HITS ME LIKE THAT AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!”

“Oh, Primus!” Hot Shot and Sideways leapt aside as Cyclonus slammed into the ground, now in robot mode. 

Sideways quickly rose. “Rook, Crosswise, firepower!”

“On it!” The two leapt into the air. Rook turned into what looked like a larger torso, while Crosswise became a waist with legs. The two combined, a new head popping up. The combined form of the Mini-Cons grinned, red eyes glinting. “Now you gotta face Mirror!” the combiner shouted, firing with his wrist blasters up towards Cyclonus.

“Oh, c’mon!” Cyclonus groaned. “Another Mini-Con combiner?!”

Smokescreen yelped as another blast of Starscream’s cannons sent him flying back.

“Autobot scum!” Starscream shouted. He then noticed the gunfire not far away. “Seems Cyclonus found our Mini-Con…”

Starscream turned towards Megatron. “I’m going to go assist Cyclonus!”

Megatron grinned as he continued grappling with Optimus. “Excellent, Starscream! Go, make your commander proud.”

As Starscream flew off towards where Cyclonus was engaging Hot Shot and Sideways, Megatron’s gaze returned to Prime. “See, Prime? My warriors will win. This battle is as good as mine.”

“Over my cold, sparkless husk, Megatron!”

Megatron swung a fist, sending Optimus stumbling back. He grinned. “That can be arranged, brother.”

“Starscream incoming!” Hot Shot shouted.

Sideways glanced over at him. “I can take ‘im. Rook!”

Rook and Crosswise quickly separated, the former leaping into the air. He assumed his alternate mode, though unlike other Mini-Cons, he didn’t turn into a vehicle. He turned into a head . Sideways grabbed hold as it fell, pulling it on over his own as an Autobot symbol appeared on his chest. He aimed his arm cannons up at the Seeker.

“Hey, Screamer… take THIS!”

Powerful blasts came from his cannons, hitting Starscream’s wings. Starscream yelped, returning to his robot mode and attempting to stabilize himself. “You’re no Autobot I’ve seen,” he noted, gazing at Sideways.

“Sucks to be you, then.” Sideways opened fire again, prompting Starscream to whip out his sword and block the blast.

“All right, Sideways!” Hot Shot cheered. This momentary celebration gave Cyclonus an opening. He blasted Hot Shot off his feet and then dove down, grabbing Crumplezone.

“Alright!” Cyclonus grinned. “Now you gimme that power up!”

“Whatever.” Crumplezone did nothing as Cyclonus forced him into vehicle mode and brought him in. Cyclonus’ chest flipped up as Crumblezone attached underneath, revealing a second cockpit with cannons attached. Cyclonus opened fire, cackling. “WOO, I’M BOUTTA MAKE A NAME FOR MYSELF HERE!”

Crumplezone, meanwhile, found himself… enjoying the rush? “Huh. Weird. This is… fun?”

As Cyclonus menaced Hot Shot, Sideways’ shots hit Starscream, sending him crashing to the ground.

“Megatron!” Starscream shouted. “Cyclonus grabbed one of the Mini-Cons, but the Autobots have the other two! We’re overpowered here!”

Megatron growled, tossing Optimus aside. “I know better than to keep fighting when we have something to lose.” He glanced down at Optimus, his red optics blazing. “Until we meet again, Prime. Demolishor, warp us back.”

As the Decepticons warped away, Smokescreen groaned. “Ugh… well, at least we won… right?”

Optimus rose as well. “Indeed. And it seems to be thanks to this one.” He gestured as Sideways, Hot Shot, Jolt, a now-disconnected Rook, and Crosswise joined them. “Who might you be?”

“The name’s Sideways, sir,” the Autobot said, standing at attention. “Elite Guard. My team was shot down and my ship destroyed by some rogue Decepticons. I was the only one who managed to get to an escape pod, which crashed down here on Earth. I’ve been looking around this planet across the past week, and then stumbled across you fighting the Decepticons. Thought I’d throw my lot in with you. Glad to see it paid off.”

Smokescreen laughed, slapping Sideways on the back. “Elite Guard, huh? Glad to have some real help around here!”

“Hey!” Hot Shot huffed, crossing his arms. “I am real help!”

“Sure, rookie.”

Sideways laughed. “Quite the merry bunch you’ve got here.” He glanced up at Prime. “And you’re Optimus Prime, huh?”

“Indeed.”

Sideways looked him over. “Nice. Good to see a strong commander ‘round here. And judging by Megatron’s presence, you’ve found the Mini-Cons.”

“Yes.” Optimus placed his hand on Sideways’ shoulder. “I am sorry about your team, Sideways.”

Sideways was silent for a few moments. “I’ll… be fine.” He looked back up at Prime. “But I’m going to help. You’re bringing along these guys when going up against Megatron? No offense, but some of ‘em aren’t the most experienced.”

“Why is everyone bashing me today?” Hot Shot muttered to himself.

“So yeah.” Sideways held a hand out. “Glad to be a part of the team.”

“Glad to have you.” Optimus shook the Elite Guardsman’s hand, glad to finally have someone new on the team.

“So, Cyclonus, I hear you finally nabbed yourself a Mini-Con,” Demolishor said, looking on as the three Decepticons stepped out of the teleporter. “Lemme see.”

“Boom!” Cyclonus revealed Crumplezone in his hands. “Now we’ve all got one, just like those Autobots!”

“Good work.” Megatron smiled. “Get him to the reprogramming chamber.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Crumplezone jumped down.

Megatron raised a brow. “Excuse me?”

“Life has been boring as Pit for years,” Crumplezone said, crossing his arms. “That is, ‘til this guy nabbed me.” He gestured to Cyclonus. “I’m gonna be real here, riding with you has been more fun than anything I’ve ever done. I think I’ll stick with you guys.”

“Another willing Mini-Con... excellent." Megatron turned. “But I saw the Autobots have a new addition to their ranks.”

“We’ll crush them regardless!” Demolishor grinned. “The Decepticon dream will never die!”

“Yes…” Megatron turned away, a shadow crossing his face. “Indeed.”

With that, the Decepticon leader walked off, his mind racing.

“So…” Sideways knelt down, looking over Carlos, Alexis, and Rad. “These are the life forms we’re supposed to protect?”

“Indeed,” Optimus responded from behind him. “They are our responsibility now.”

“Hm.” Sideways rose. “They’re… a little pathetic, honestly.”

Carlos crossed his arms. “¡Eh! ¡Estoy aquí!”

“...I don’t have that language downloaded.”

“We’ll add it in there,” Optimus said. “Come on.”

As Optimus led Sideways away, Carlos stared after him. “I don’t know about him, mis amigos,” he muttered. “You hear his voice? Intimidante…”

“Oh, you’re just exaggerating, Carlos.” Rad smiled. “So his voice is a little intimidating. So what?”

Carlos sighed. “Maybe… but I just can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong.”

He looked on as Optimus showed Sideways around the Ark, suspicions bubbling up…

Chapter Text

People ran and screamed as explosions went off on the streets. Cars blew up as Cyclonus flew over, Crumplezone Powerlinxed with him.

“Ya can’t beat a bit of mayhem, can ya?!” Cyclonus cackled madly, firing on more humans. “Look at ‘em! Pitiful!”

“Hey, Decepticon!”

“Wha?”

A familiar purple and yellow motorcycle with a rider drove up a ramp, flying up towards Cyclonus. Sideways quickly assumed his robot mode, with Rook Powerlinxing to him and making his Autobot symbol appear. He quickly blasted Cyclonus, watching as the blasts tore through the helicopter.

Sideways quickly whipped around as Demolishor charged towards him, leaping over the Decepticon. He aimed his cannons at his head and fired, blowing it clean off. 

“Ha!” He chuckled. “Easy.”

Then, a sword erupted through his chest. He looked behind him to see Starscream had gotten the drop on him.

“...Great.”

“Aaaand you’re dead.”

A moment later, the simulation powered down. Red Alert smirked, crossing his arms. “Taking out Cyclonus and Demolishor is no easy feat, though.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sideways huffed as Rook separated from him, recombining with Crosswise into Mirror. “Next time I’ll get Screamer.”

“Sure you will.”

As Sideways departed the training room, Alexis frowned. “He… is kinda brutal.”

“Exactly!” Carlos replied. “The way he takes care of them… he just guns them down without thinking!”

“Well, he’s Elite Guard,” High Wire noted. “Not Wrecker levels of brutal, but they’re up there.”

“Who are the Elite Guard?” Rad asked, glancing at the Mini-Cons beside them.

“The Elite Guard were the highest level of law enforcement before the war,” Sureshock explained. “I’d thought they were all wiped out after Simanzi…”

“Not all of them,” Smokescreen said, walking up behind the six. “A few of ‘em survived. One of ‘em even trained Optimus himself. Ferak’s Nightmare Engine did a number on ‘em, though. Most… offlined rather than live with what that thing did to their minds.”

Smokescreen looked away, mourning in his optics. “One of ‘em was my best friend.”

Rad’s brow furrowed. “Smokescreen, I…”

Smokescreen sighed. “Don’t… don’t wanna hear it. Nothing can be done now.”

He turned around and walked away.

“So… if the Elite Guard were effectively wiped out, what’s Sideways doing, then?” Carlos muttered.

“Prime and Jhiaxus reformed the Elite Guard,” Sideways said, having appeared seemingly from nowhere behind them. 

Carlos yelped, jumping back. Sideways laughed. “Wow, you humans don’t have much spine.”

“He’s right,” Red Alert said, stepping out. “The Elite Guard were reformed after the war ended. According to Magnus, Sideways is among their number. He joined in the post-war setting. Bit of a Mini-Con expert.”

Sideways shrugged. “My two best friends are Mini-Cons. What can I say?” He gestured to Mirror.

Carlos cast Sideways a glance. “Alright…”

“Now…” Sideways looked back at Red Alert. “I need to talk to Prime. There’s something I’ve learned that he should know.”

As Red Alert led Sideways off, Carlos sighed. “I dunno, man… I wanna trust him, but something feels off…”

“Hey, I get it.” Grindor placed a hand on Carlos’ shoulder. “Change is weird, especially when it comes from nowhere. But… Rook and Crosswise trust Sideways. I trust him, too. Give him a chance, yeah?”

Carlos sighed. “I… I’ll try.”

“Another… type of Mini-Con?”

“They’re incredibly rare,” Sideways said, looking up at the much taller Prime. “Only nine known ones. But yes, there’s a special type of Mini-Con out there. They’re called Weaponizers. They’re Mini-Cons who don’t Powerlinx, but instead combine with each other to form weapons.”

“Weapons?” Hot Shot tilted his head. “What… kind of weapons?”

“There are three.” Sideways pulled out a projector, which generated an image of three weapons: a sword, a shield, and a blaster. “The Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield, and the Requiem Blaster.”

“I thought those were just artifacts…” Red Alert muttered. “The old stories of them never mentioned they were Mini-Cons, just weapons of the Primes.”

“Primes? Like, plural?” Rad tilted his head, confused. “Are… are there more Primes than just Optimus?”

“There have been many across the years,” Optimus replied. “The ones we refer to are the Thirteen, the first Cybertronians born. The Star Saber, Skyboom Shield, and Requiem Blaster were once wielded by them. Specifically, according to legend, by Prima, Onyx, and Megatronus, respectively.”

“Way I hear it, the weapons were once just weapons,” Sideways continued. “Somehow, the Primes split them into Mini-Cons after most of ‘em died out.”

“And now they’re on Earth…” Optimus turned to Red Alert. “If the Decepticons get their hands on them…”

“No telling how much damage they could do,” Red finished.

Optimus looked back at Sideways. “How can we find these?”

“Dunno.” Sideways shrugged. “But with the Exodus here, if the Decepticons come across this… well, we can’t risk it.”

“Agreed.” Optimus turned to the other Autobots. “It is best we be ready should one of these Weaponizer Mini-Cons appear. Our mission has become even more paramount. If the Decepticons complete one of these weapons…”

“We won’t have to worry about them being together,” Sparkplug noted. “Over-Run had them split up upon evacuation. They each got one pod.”

“In my studies, I’ve noticed that Weaponizers have their own signature,” Sideways noted. “But I can’t fine-tune Teletraan-1 to detect it without an example of their signature first.”

“So we have to get lucky…” Smokescreen sighed. “Great.”

As if on cue, Teletraan-1 sounded off. “Mini-Con pod detected!”

“Mini-Cons…” Optimus muttered. “We can’t afford any risks going forward. Sideways, Hot Shot, with me. Smokescreen, Red Alert, remain here and keep watch for any more pods activating.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Autobots, transform and roll out!” Optimus quickly assumed his vehicular mode, followed closely by Sideways and Hot Shot.

Alexis sighed. “Left again. You ever feel like we’re getting too babied sometimes, Rad?”

“A little.” Rad shrugged. “Can you blame them? It’s a war between giant alien robots who could crush us without even knowing we were there.”

“He’s right.” Sureshock turned to her friend. “It’s to protect you.”

“True…” Alexis sighed. “What do you think, Carlos?”

Carlos didn’t respond.

“Carlos…?”

Carlos was just… gone.

“Grindor…” High Wire glared at the skateboard. “Where’s Carlos?”

“I don’t know!” Grindor looked around. “He was right next to me!”

Then, Grindor froze, his optics widening. “Wait… you don’t think…”

Alexis groaned. “That dumbass…”

As the Autobots (plus Sparkplug) drove down the road, with Jolt flying overhead, Carlos popped up from Hot Shot’s backseat. “Okay, okay… we’re cool…”

“CARLOS?!”

“...Crap.”

“What was that, Hot Shot?” Optimus asked.

Hot Shot made a noise that was some equivalent of coughing. “Erm… nothing, just… chatting with the kids on the comms.”

“Keep comms clear,” Sideways said. “We’re going to need them to contact Red immediately.”

“Right, right.” Hot Shot lowered his voice. “What are you doing here?!”

“Sorry, mi amigo, I just… wanted to keep an eye on Sideways. I don’t trust him.”

After a moment, Hot Shot sighed. “Honestly? I’m not totally sold on his shtick either. Look, you can stay, just… stay hidden. If Prime finds out you were here at all, I’m scrap.”

Carlos nodded. Hot Shot continued driving onwards, following behind Prime and Sideways.

“Megatron!” Demolishor shouted, turning towards the Decepticon commander on his throne aboard the Nemesis. “Mini-Con pod detected!”

“Excellent.” Megatron rose, glancing towards Starscream. “Demolishor, Cyclonus, with me. Starscream, monitor the computer. If another pod pops up, claim it immediately.”

“Why are you going out so early, Megatron?” Starscream asked. “Why not send me instead?”

“I need someone to warp us back, and with the Autobots currently outnumbering us, we cannot afford failure.” Megatron stepped towards the teleporter. “Get us down to Earth’s surface.”

Starscream sighed. “Just remember it won’t be exactly where the pod is. We only know the general vicinity of the pod.”

“Yes, yes, I’m aware.” Megatron rolled his optics. “Hurry up, then.”

“Crumplezone, c’mon!” Cyclonus shouted. “We’re gonna go kick some Autobot aft!”

Crumplezone rolled in in his tank form before assuming his robot mode. “I’m here!” he said, leaping to the teleporter alongside Cyclonus. “Let’s get going already!”

As the Decepticons warped away, Starscream frowned. “I hate being left behind, don’t you, Swindle?”

Swindle shrugged. "Hey, bein' a con man means you never are really left behind. There's always a deal if you know where to look."

Starscream sighed. "Yes... I suppose it's different for you."

The Autobots and Mini-Cons assumed robot mode at the base of a mountain. Carlos hit behind Hot Shot’s foot.

“Pod’s around here somewhere, according to Teletraan-1’s readings,” Optimus said. “Spread out.”

Before Optimus could even take a step, he was blasted in the chest and sent stumbling back. Atop a nearby ledge was Megatron in tank mode.

“Hello, Prime.” Megatron reverted to his robot mode. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Feeling’s not mutual, Megatron,” Optimus responded, aiming his arm cannons up at the Decepticon leader. “And I’m guessing you’re not alone.”

“Damn right!” Cyclonus cackled as he flew down to hover behind the Autobots, Crumplezone already Powerlinxed to him.

“You’re boxed in now, Autobots!” Demolishor added, rolling up with Blackout Powerlinxed with him.

“Crumplezone!” Sparkplug shouted. “If you can hear me, we’ll free you and the others!”

“Please,” Crumplezone replied, still linked with Cyclonus. “I’m honestly happier working with Cyclonus than I’ve been anywhere else. You know the thrill that comes with partnering with him?!”

Sparkplug paused. “You’re… talking? But Megatron’s process makes it impossible to access higher functions…”

“Exactly.”

After a moment, Sparkplug’s jaw dropped. “You’re… you’re not brainwashed, are you?”

“Nope. Just finally found something worth my time!”

“Siding with the Decepticons…” Sparkplug glared up at Crumplezone. “You’re a traitor to your kind.”

“Ugh, can we shoot them already?!” Crumplezone muttered. “Ol’ Sparky’s boring me, and I hate being bored.”

“I agree with you, Crumplezone.” Megatron grinned. “Decepticons, attack!”

“Autobots, hold firm!” Optimus ordered.

“I’m gonna go find the Mini-Con!” Sideways said, returning to his vehicle mode. Mirror hopped on, and the two drove off.

“Not if I get ya first!” Cyclonus cackled again, opening fire as he chased down the motorcycle.

Demolishor launched Blackout from the front of his tank mode and returned to his robot mode. “You’re gonna get it now, Autobot!” His finger guns opened fire on Hot Shot, prompting the Autobot to dodge. Blackout, meanwhile, opened fire on Jolt in the air.

As the chaos unfolded, Carlos quickly spotted a nearby cave and dashed to it for shelter.

Megatron leapt down, delivering a blow to Optimus’ face. The Prime responded by wrapping his arms around Megatron and judo flipping him.

As the battle unfolded, none of the combatants were any the wiser as the Street Action team, as Perceptor, landed above, Rad and Alexis in hand. They deactivated the repulsors in the wheels on their back that made it an effective jetpack.

“Any sign of him?” Rad asked.

Perceptor pressed a button on the side of their head, scanning the area. They quickly zoomed in, spotting Carlos heading into the cave. “Found him. He’s taken shelter in that cave.”

“Then let’s go get that dumbass!” Alexis said.

“You could be a little nicer, Alexis…” Rad muttered, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

“He ran off into a warzone.” Alexis crossed her arms. “I can call him a dumbass because he is one.”

Rad just sighed.

Sideways drove along the base of the mountain, Cyclonus in hot pursuit. The Decepticon cackled wildly as he fired upon the Autobot.

“C’mere, Autobot!” Cyclonus shouted. “I just wanna have a little fun!”

“You’ll get your fun…” Sideways muttered. “Mirror?”

Mirror nodded. “On it!”

The Mini-Con combiner leapt off of Sideways, flying up into the air and grabbing hold of one of Cyclonus’ wings. He aimed up at the rotors with his pistol and blasted, blowing one of them off.

“SLAG!” Cyclonus shouted as Mirror leapt off him. The Decepticon screamed as he collided with the mountain and tumbled down. Mirror landed right back atop Sideways’ motorcycle mode, and the two continued their search for the Mini-Con pod.

Carlos huffed as he caught his breath. “Aw, jeez …” he muttered. “This was stupid…”

“I’ll say!”

Carlos whipped around to see Alexis storming towards him, Rad and Perceptor behind her. “Oh… Alexis. Um, I can explain…”

Alexis slapped him across the face. “What were you thinking, you knucklehead?! You could have gotten yourself killed!”

Carlos sighed. “Okay, yeah, maybe I deserved that…”

“Hey, guys…” Rad muttered, pointing beyond them. “Look.”

The two followed his gaze, their eyes landing upon the Mini-Con pod. They all walked up to it.

“It’s the pod…” Alexis muttered.

“Move.” Perceptor stepped forward, pressing a few buttons on the side of the pod. It opened up, and after a moment, a single Mini-Con stepped out. He was gray with orange highlights, including orange mouthplate and visor. His chest was, oddly, somewhat transparent, and the details were clearly tailfins and jet engines. On his back were similarly transparent wings and a cockpit.

“Oh. Perceptor, old pal! How are you three doing?” His voice was cheerful, jovial.

“Doing well, Runway.” Perceptor smiled. “Glad you’re here.”

The Mini-Con, apparently “Runway”, glanced at the humans. “And… these are…”

“Rad, Alexis, and Carlos.” Perceptor gestured at the three in turn. “Friends of ours and the Autobots.”

“Ah.” Runway crossed his arms. “I take it that the war’s moved to this place, then.”

“Earth. And yes.” Perceptor extended their hand. “If we could get your help on this…”

After a moment, Runway shook it. “Of course. Anything to put a hold on Megatron’s schemes.”

Then, the group heard a crash. They whipped around to see Cyclonus and Crumplezone outside the cave, now in their robot modes.

“Ugh…” Cyclonus groaned, rubbing his head. “Fraggin’ Autobot…”

His optics landed on the humans and Mini-Cons. He grinned. “Well, well… looks like we’ve found our Mini-Con, plus a couple others!”

Crumplezone followed his gaze, his visor lighting up. “You’re right. Let’s blow ‘em to smithereens!”

“Megatron wants the Mini-Cons. But the humans can go splat!” Cyclonus punched a fist against his palm to emphasize his point as he began making towards them.

“Don’t worry!” Perceptor leapt forward. “I got this!”

Crumplezone assumed tank mode and blasted the Mini-Con combiner into a wall, causing them to separate into High Wire, Sureshock, and Grindor once more.

“Damnit…” High Wire muttered, glaring up at Crumplezone. “Traitor…”

Cyclonus stepped up to the humans, who quickly got between the Decepticon and Runway. “You can’t stand between me and that Mini-Con, fleshlings…”

Cyclonus aimed one of his arm cannons at them. “Say night night, humans!”

He fired… as Sideways leapt in the way, taking the blast.

“SIDEWAYS!” the humans shouted, watching as he flew back into the wall, a scorched hole in his chest.

“Ow…” the purple Autobot muttered, still alive but injured.

Cyclonus laughed, stepping up to Sideways. “Oh, that’s too great. I’ll finish you off, and then kill the humans!”

“Oh yeah?” Sideways chuckled. “What about them?”

“What?”

Suddenly, Cyclonus was blasted in the back courtesy of Mirror and a recombined Perceptor. He stumbled before turning back to them. “Why you little–”

He was then blasted from behind again, this time by Sideways. Cyclonus collapsed as Sideways activated his comlink. “Sideways to Red Alert. Need immediate evac, now.”

:“On it, Sideways.”:

“Hey…”

Sideways turned towards Carlos. “Yeah?”

Carlos smiled. “Thanks for that. Sorry I didn’t trust you… amigo.”

Sideways shrugged. “Eh, can’t blame ya. I’m not the easiest person to be around.”

“YOU!” Cyclonus rose back to his feet. “I’ll get you, Autobot scum!”

Before Cyclonus could do anything, Sideways, Perceptor, Runway, and the humans were gone, warped away by Red Alert.

“SLAGGIT!”

:“Prime, it’s Red. Sideways got the Mini-Con. They’re back at base.”:

“Excellent.” Optimus kicked Megatron away. “Prepare to warp us back.”

Optimus turned to Megatron. “It’s over, Megatron. The Mini-Con is already at our ship. You’ve lost.”

Megatron paused. His red optics narrowed, searching Optimus’ yellow. After a moment, he turned away. “This isn’t over, Prime.”

“It never is.”

After a moment of silence, Megatron activated his comlink. “Starscream, warp us back.”

Within moments, the Decepticons were gone. Hot Shot groaned. “Man, it’s always when it’s getting good!”

“So?”

Megatron huffed, walking right past Starscream.

“...I see.”

After a moment, Megatron glared at Cyclonus. “Prime said ‘the Mini-Con’ was at his base. Did you get the other two?”

“...Other two?”

“Yes. Three per pod.”

“There was only the one, Megatron.”

“He’s right.” Crumplezone crossed his arms, looking in thought. “I remember our leader saying something about some needing to be separated for their own sake. I dunno why, though…”

Megatron hummed in thought. “So… this Mini-Con was different, then. There’s something special about this Mini-Con, and potentially there are others who are the same.”

He glanced back. “Starscream, send word to our agents on Cybertron. Have them be prepared. Things are escalating here, and I want reinforcements to be ready as soon as possible.”

“I don’t need to tell you how stupid running off on your own like that was, do I?” Optimus said, gazing down at Carlos.

“Nope.” Carlos chuckled. “Alexis and Grindor already did that…”

“Well, I’m glad you’ve learned your lesson.”

Runway stepped forward. “Just so you know, Prime… if it weren’t for them and Sideways, I’d have been lost to the Decepticons.”

“I’m aware.” Optimus glanced at the humans and the Street Action Team. “You six were brave today. Thank you.”

“Anytime, Optimus!” Rad gave him a thumbs up.

“Thing is, this one was alone,” Sideways noted. “Meaning he’s one of the Weaponizers.”

Sparkplug’s optics widened. “That’s right! Runway was one of the ones Over-Run sent off on his own.”

Optimus crossed his arms. “Then things really are escalating. It won’t take Megatron long to figure out there’s more power at play here than we realized. We’re going to need more Autobots here as soon as possible. Red, you and Runway get to work in making a program to more easily identify Weaponizers. Smokescreen… contact Rodimus. We need more troops.”

“Yes, sir!” The two quickly headed off on their respective tasks.

Meanwhile, Sideways leaned against the wall, observing. His blue visor glowed a little brighter as he muttered to himself quietly, so no one would hear.

“One down. Eight to go…”

Chapter Text

The forest was alight with life. Animals grazed peacefully as the sun beat down from above.

Then, the leaves rustled. The ground shook. Animals sprinted away as a small, single-bot craft landed on the ground. After a moment, it opened up, and a green and purple Autobot stepped out. He had glowing yellow eyes and a particularly-shaped crest on his forehead. His arms were formed from treads, ending with five long, purple fingers.

“Ship, cloak.”

The ship cloaked itself, turning invisible to the naked eye. With that, the Autobot turned around.

“Alright, then. That signal I received said it was here. Let’s see what’s going on.”

The Autobot transformed into a green and purple Cybertronic front-end loader with a purple rear roller drum. He rolled off into the woods, leaving his cloaked ship behind.

Aboard the Ark, the Autobots were gathered in front of a strange machine, one that looked similar to the teleporter.

“So… what is this?” Rad asked.

“A space bridge,” High Wire replied. “Well, a shrunken-down version. Prime’s using it to bring a new warrior in from Cybertron.”

“Only one?” Alexis crossed her arms. “Why not more?”

“Space bridges take up a lot of energon,” Red Alert noted from nearby. “Bringing just one bot over is tapping into a good bit of our reserves. We already outnumber the Decepticons anyways, so just one more is fine.”

“Alright, Rodimus,” Optimus said, looking at a screen nearby. “Send him over.”

On the screen, a red Autobot with a yellow crest nodded. :“Will do, Prime.”:

After a moment, the space bridge glowed, and within seconds, an Autobot emerged. As it powered down, the features became more clear: the Autobot in question was blue with various red details along his body, most prominently the front of his shins. His upper arms were notably yellow, and his forearms were gray with blue fingers. What almost looked like some sort of metal cape was behind him, entirely silver with blue wheels visible beside his thighs. A yellow-tinted windshield was visible behind his head, and a gold visor glinted above a blue mouthplate.

Hot Shot immediately lit up upon seeing this Autobot. “Blurr!”

Blurr chuckled. “Hot Shot, old buddy. How’ve you been?”

“Good, good.” The two clasped hands firmly. “Working with the Optimus Prime, as you can see. And now you are, too!”

“Mind introducing us?” Alexis asked.

“Oh, right!” Hot Shot moved aside. “Guys, this is Blurr, a champion racer from Cybertron and four-time winner of the Iacon 500! We were in the same unit back when we were training to join the war. Never got the chance, though.”

“I haven’t seen you since… well, since the incident.” Blurr patted Hot Shot on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you again, pal.”

Hot Shot’s face fell at the mention of this “incident”. He looked away. “Blurr…”

Blurr paused. “Um… sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“I know. It’s okay. Just… still hurts, sometimes.”

Rad frowned at Hot Shot’s change in demeanor. He’d never seemed this bothered about… anything before.

Then, an alarm sounded off. The Autobots glanced towards Teletraan-1.

“A Mini-Con pod just activated!” Red Alert said, moving over to the computer. “We have approximate coordinates locked in.”

“Good.” Optimus turned to the Autobots. “Hot Shot, Blurr, Sideways, you’re our fastest. Get there before the Decepticons can lay claim to the Mini-Cons.”

“Hey!”

Optimus turned as Alexis crossed her arms. “Don’t leave us out of this!”

“Yeah!” Rad agreed. “We want to help!”

Optimus sighed. “Sorry, kids. I can’t let you put yourselves in danger any more than you already are.”

“¡Eso es una mierda!” Carlos snapped. “Our whole planet is in danger as long as the Decepticons are here!”

“You fought for your planet and are risking your lives for ours.” Alexis scowled. “If you think we’re gonna let you fight without us , you’ve got another thing coming.”

“I…”

“Prime.”

Optimus looked down at Sparkplug. “Listen…” The yellow Mini-Con placed a hand on his leg. “Let them come along. They’ve helped us before. Maybe… they can help us again.”

“I vouch for ‘em,” Sideways said. “If it weren’t for these guys standing their ground for even a moment, Cyclonus wouldn’t have gloated and we’d have lost Runway.”

Runway nodded from off to the side. “Yeah. They’re more than meets the eye, these bunch.”

“...Alright. Fine.” Optimus turned to the Street Action Team. “You’re going, too. They are your responsibility.”

High Wire saluted. “We won’t let them get hurt. You can count on that, Prime.”

“Alright.” Optimus placed a hand on Hot Shot’s shoulder. “Make sure they’re safe.”

The young Autobot nodded. “Will do, Prime!”

“We gonna keep talkin’ or what?” Sideways assumed his motorcycle mode, and Mirror hopped on. “Let’s roll out, people!”

He drove into the teleporter, followed closely by Hot Shot, Blurr, and the others.

Optimus sighed. “I still don’t trust this.”

“You’ve trusted us to help you in this war, Prime,” Sparkplug noted. “Maybe it’s about time to let them fight for their planet, the way you fought for yours.”

“It’s not their war.”

“Prime…” Red Alert placed a hand on his shoulder. “Whether you like it or not, it’s their war now. This is their home. They’re involved no matter what happens next. They’re among the few who do know of our existence beyond just mere rumors.”

Prime paused. “Rumors?”

“Well, yeah.” Smokescreen crossed his arms. “‘Cording to Red, it’s mostly just blurry pictures, easily replaced online. But… it won’t be long before the people here find out about us. If a Mini-Con pod is found within a city…”

Optimus shuddered, thinking about the devastation that could be caused. “I know. But we need to remain hidden until absolutely necessary.”

“Maybe we should just… contact them first?” Smokescreen raised a brow. “It’d be a lot simpler than… well, pretty much any other option.”

Optimus remained silent for a moment. “We… must stick to protocol.”

Smokescreen huffed as Optimus walked away. “I don’t get Prime sometimes. Sentinel woulda gotten contact established.”

“Optimus has seen a lot more action than you,” Red Alert said as he returned to finishing up the Weaponizer detection program for Teletraan-1 alongside Runway and Longarm. “Besides,” he added quietly. “It’s not like you knew Sentinel like he did.”

Smokescreen squinted. After a moment, he shrugged it off, turning and walking away, leaving Red Alert, Longarm, and Runway to their work.

“Megatron!” Demolishor turned around in the seat at the Nemesis’ computer. “Mini-Cons detected!”

Megatron glared at the Decepticon goon. “Starscream, Cyclonus, Demolishor, go. Get me those Mini-Cons.”

Demolishor saluted, Blackout moving to his side. “Yes, Megatron, sir!”

Cyclonus cackled as he and Crumplezone made for the exit to the ship. “I hope there are Autobots there! I’m in a really shootin’ mood!”

Starscream sighed from the side. “You’re always in a destructive mood, Cyclonus.”

“That a problem?”

“Of course not.” Megatron rose. “Now get out there before I make you.”

“Yes, sir!”

In a forest, a hill shifted as a hatch opened up from underground, tearing a tree up by its roots. Mere seconds after the pod opened, a Mini-Con with a grey torso and blue limbs leapt out. One arm ended in a normal hand, while the other had what appeared to be the front of a Formula 1 racer on it, ending with a blaster. He had a red visor with a gold outline, plus a gold spoiler on his back. He aimed the gun, looking around.

“Clear!”

Another Mini-Con emerged with a sigh. He had a gray torso with mostly white limbs, save his thighs, which were purple. Wheels were mounted on the inside of his arms and the sides of his thighs. He had a red mouthplate and glowing yellow eyes. “Do you have to be so reckless, Incinerator?”

Incinerator shrugged. “Hey, when you have speed as a gift, you try not to go rushing out first. Besides, if there was someone out here, I’d outspeed ‘em. Remember that time I outran Skywarp? He could teleport but he still couldn’t catch me!”

The other Mini-Con sighed. “I know, I know…” After a moment, he looked around. “I don’t see Sparkplug anywhere. He was right behind us when we were boarding the pods…”

“Ease up, Rollbar.” Incinerator glanced back at his friend. “I’m sure ol’ Sparky’s fine. Now, let’s take a look around. C’mon, I’ll move slow so you can keep up.”

Incinerator morphed into his Formula 1 racer mode. After a moment, Rollbar side, assuming his buggy mode and following close behind.

“So, who’s this guy?” Blurr asked as he rode alongside Hot Shot and Sideways.

“Name’s Sideways. Elite Guard.” The motorcycle pulled up closer. “You can just talk to me, y’know.”

“He’s cool,” Hot Shot said. “Helped save the kids.”

“Kids?”

“He means us!” Carlos shouted from beside them as he rode Grindor.

Hot Shot yelped. “Carlos! You gotta stop sneaking along!”

“We didn’t!” Rad shouted from the other side, riding High Wire’s bike mode. “Optimus said we could go.”

“Took a lot of convincing,” Alexis noted.

Sideways groaned. “Well, just… try to stay out of the way, yeah?”

“What?” Carlos crossed his arms, frowning. “C’mon, amigos, you know we can help.”

“I’m with Sideways on this one,” Hot Shot said. “It’s dangerous.”

“Don’t worry, Hot Shot.” Sureshock rolled up beside the Autobot. “We’ve got this. They’ll be safe.”

“...If you say so.”

Blurr groaned. “Ugh, can we go a bit faster? I do want to get there before the Decepticons.”

“You’re in luck,” Sideways replied. “I’m detecting three signatures moving in. Cyclonus, Starscream, and Demolishor, headed straight for the pod.”

“What?!” Hot Shot exclaimed. “They’re already almost there?!”

“Yup. We gotta get there fast.”

After a moment of silence, Hot Shot spoke up again. “Blurr?”

“Yeah?”

“Gun it.”

“...what?”

“Human expression. Means put the petal to the metal.”

“...what?”

“Go fast.”

“Ah, got it.” In a sudden streak of silver, Blurr was gone, spreading down the roads faster than anyone could have guessed .

“Damn…” Rad muttered. “He is fast.”

“Blurr’s an Outlier,” Hot Shot noted. “Special ‘bots with abilities most don’t. His is… well, his speed.”

“Best we catch up to him, then,” Sideways noted. “Fast as he is, he’s up against two of Megatron’s best, plus Cyclonus.”

“Right!”

The group peeled out, heading closer towards the pod’s crash site.

“They’re here somewhere!” Starscream shouted from above as Cyclonus and Crumplezone combed the ground in robot mode, while Demolishor rolled around in tank mode with Blackout attached. “They can’t have gotten far!”

“That’s what you think…” Incinerator muttered as he hid behind a tree. He turned back to his fellow Mini-Con. “You good, Rollbar?”

“Yeah.” Rollbar peeked around. “I just… the Decepticons found us.”

“Prime can’t be far behind.” Incinerator grabbed Rollbar’s arm. “C’mon, we gotta move.”

Suddenly, the tree was blasted apart, the upper part of the trunk falling towards the two. They yelped, diving out of the way.

“Found ‘em!” Cyclonus shouted, grinning. “C’mere, little Mini-Cons!”

“Drive!” Incinerator shouted.

“Can’t!” Rollbar shouted. His leg had been trapped under the fallen trunk. “I’m stuck!”

Incinerator sped over, lifting up the trunk enough for Rollbar to get out… only for Cyclonus to grab the buggy.

“Rollbar!”

“Go!” Rollbar shouted, struggling against Cyclonus’ grasp. “Get outta here!”

Suddenly, a silver streak slammed into Cyclonus, sending him stumbling and causing him to drop Rollbar. Incinerator helped him up as Blurr came to a stop.

“What’sthematterDecepticon?” Blurr asked, his mouth moving as fast as he was as he sped around Cyclonus. “Can’tkeepupwithlittleoldme?”

Cyclonus roared. “Shut up! You’re talkin’ too fast!”

The helicopter Decepticon opened fire, Blurr quickly dodging each blast. “OopI’moverherenowI’moverherecan’tcatchme!” Blurr laughed.

“SHUT UP!”

“Y’knowusuallyIworkatadistancebeingasniperandallbutdoingthisisalwaysagoodlaughformeanyways.”

Suddenly, Blurr was blown clean off his feet by a powerful blast courtesy of Starscream from above, having Powerlinxed with Swindle and activated his cannons.

“Sorry, Blurr.” Starscream landed, Swindle detaching. He unfolded his sword and aimed it down at the Autobot sniper. “I told you before, when we met, you should have been on our side.”

Blurr chuckled as he got back up. “Nah. I liked Springer’s pitch better. Miss the guy, by the way. No thanks for that, Screamer.”

Starscream frowned. Then, a blast hit him in the eye, causing him to stumble back. “GAH! Who on Cybertron?!”

“C’mon, Zippy!” Incinerator called out, the barrel at the end of his arm smoking.

Blurr grinned. “Thanks, buddy.”

Starscream huffed. “Demolishor, Cyclonus. The Mini-Cons, now.”

“Don’t think so, Decepticon!”

Sideways suddenly slammed into Demolishor’s face, Rook already Powerlinxed to him. Hot Shot and Jolt both opened fire on Cyclonus and Crumplezone. Cyclonus quickly leapt into the air and transformed, while Crumplezone shifted to his tank mode and fired on Jolt.

“Psst!”

Incinerator and Rollbar turned to see Rad, Alexis, and Carlos behind them, alongside the Street Action Team.

“Street Action Team, form Perceptor!” High Wire cried. The Mini-Cons quickly combined into their larger form, rushing towards Starscream as he faced off with Blurr.

Blackout quickly noticed them charging in. “Sorry, guys, but I ain’t letting you risk my freedom.” He quickly assumed his anti-aircraft vehicle mode and fired his missiles, blowing Perceptor into their individual components.

“Perceptor!” the kids cried.

“Heyyyyy…” Swindle walked up to them. “Look, I know it sounds weird and all, but… why not join up with the ‘cons, yeah? They’re complete and total suckers, you know how easy it is to con Demolishor or Cyclonus? No pun intended, of course. It’s kinda funny, they’re called Decepticons but they fall for everything.”

After a moment, Incinerator blasted Swindle away with his gun.

“So… let me get this straight…” Rollbar glanced at the kids. “Some of us are… working with the Decepticons? Willingly?”

“Yeah…” Alexis sighed. “Guess not all Mini-Cons are good.”

“I get Swindle, but Crumplezone and especially Blackout?” Rollbar looked back at the fighting. “It’s… strange. Even we’re becoming divided now.”

“Y’know what?” Incinerator smirked. “I like this fast guy. I think I’m gonna help him.”

Incinerator zipped over towards Blurr as he dodged both sword swings and energy blasts from Starscream in his vehicle mode. “Yo, Blurr, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Here, take a little upgrade!” Incinerator leapt up, assuming his vehicle mode. “Put you on the same ground as our friend here!”

Incinerator plugged into the back of Blurr’s car mode. A set of finds folded up, and the sides of his car mode folded down, forming what looked like wings, with his wheels become VTOL engines.

“Woah…” Blurr muttered. He hovered in the air before blasting off. “Alright, let’s take ‘im down!”

Blurr opened fire on Starscream. The Air Commander, taken off-guard initially by Blurr’s upgrade, quickly dodged the shots and charged forward, sword ready. Blurr zipped out of the way as he swung.

“What’sthematterScreamercan’tkeepup?”

“COWARD!”

“Bithypocriticaldon’tyouthinkpal?”

On the ground, meanwhile, Hot Shot and Sideways has ended up switching fighting partners at some point. Sideways was now in a showdown with Cyclonus, guns blazing, while Hot Shot was dodging blasts from Demolishor.

“How did I end up going against Demolishor?!” Hot Shot cried. One of the blasts then hit him, knocking him over.

Demolishor grinned. “It’s over, Autobot!”

“I don’t think so.”

Suddenly, Demolishor was picked up from behind and tossed across the forest, knocking down several trees. Hot Shot blinked, looking to see a particular green and purple Autobot standing there, arms crossed.

“You think you can mess with Autobots around me?” He scoffed. “Please.”

Hot Shot blinked. “Who… are you, exactly?”

“Name’s Scavenger.” He grabbed Hot Shot and pulled him up. “Why’s a kid like you facing off with Demolishor of all bots?”

“Scavenger…?” Hot Shot muttered. “Like… Elite Guard Scavenger?”

“Elite Guard’s dead, kid.” Scavenger crossed his arms. “I’m just goin’ around now. See the war’s back up.”

“Scavenger.”

Scavenger turned around to see Rollbar behind him. He smirked. “Rollbar.”

“I see your old gears are still kickin’.”

“Same as ever. I ain’t lettin’ no Decepticons get me down. Now… whaddya say we take our ol’ pal Demolishor down one more time?”

Rollbar nodded. “Hell yeah.”

The Mini-Con assumed his vehicle mode and attached to Scavenger’s waist. No noticeable physical changes occurred as he approached Demolishor.

“Demolishor, ol’ buddy.” Scavenger grinned. “Been awhile. Still have guns for fingers? I never did understand that decision…”

Demolishor growled as he rose. “I did it for the glory of the Decepticon dream! A dream you once shared!”

“The dream, I get.” Scavenger clenched his fist. “But I draw the line at Crystal City.”

Demolishor paused for a moment. For once, he… seemed genuinely guilty? “That… wasn’t our proudest moment. B-But… in the end…”

“Don’t try to justify what was done that day!” Scavenger snapped. “What our own brothers did!”

“Shut up. We fight. Now.”

“All too happy.” A missile launched out of Scavenger’s waist (evidently the ability Rollbar activated). Demolishor dove out of the way, converting to his tank mode as Blackout Powerlinxed with him. He fired his own rockets back, prompting him to gun them out of the sky.

Starscream growled as he observed the fight. “Megatron, warp us back! The Autobots have new recruits! We’re outnumbered here!”

Moments passed.

:“Very well.” :

The Decepticons vanished in flashes of light, prompting a scoff from Scavenger as Rollbar detached. “Cowards, the lot of ‘em.”

Blurr flew down and assumed his robot mode, Incinerator separating and landing next to him. “Welp, that’s done. Back to the Ark, then?”

“I’ll call Prime, let him know.” Sideways activated his comlink. “Hey, boss, we got the Mini-Cons. Beam us back.”

Blurr turned away. “Raceyathere!” He took off faster than any of them could reply.

Scavenger rolled his optics as the group were warped off.

“Welcome, Scavenger,” Optimus said, shaking his hand. Off to the side, Incinerator and Rollbar happily reunited with Sparkplug. “It’s good to have an old friend here.”

“Glad to see you, Prime.” Scavenger smiled. “It’s been a while. Haven’t seen you since the war ended.”

“Where have you been all this time?”

“Takin’ up the odd job ‘round the galaxy.” Scavenger shrugged. “Bein’ a mercenary makes good Shanix, y’know. But if the ‘cons are back, I guess I’m needed here.”

“What’s the deal with them?” Rad asked. “Old friends?”

“You could say that,” Red Alert replied. “Scavenger’s a lot older than most of us. He trained a whole bunch of Autobots back in the Academy, before the war. Optimus was his top student.”

“Woah…” Rad looked back towards the two. He had never considered that someone like Optimus was… trained. And if this guy taught someone like Optimus everything he knows… who knows how smart and wise he could be?

Scavenger picked a bit of grease out of his audio receptor and shook it off his finger, leaving it to splatter to the floor.

“Blurr?”

Starscream nodded. “Blurr. And I think the other was the traitor Scavenger.”

Megatron’s optics flared up. His fists clenched. “Fine. I think it’s time.”

Demolishor’s optics widened. “Megatron?”

“Contact Scorponok.” Megatron glared at the Decepticons. “Tell him to send me someone… big.”

Chapter Text

On Cybertron, towers collapsed as fire rained down on the Autobot outpost. One of the few survivors, a small golden Autobot by the name of Goldbug, sped across the ground.

“Slag, slag, slag!” he muttered. “I thought the ‘cons were gone!”

Suddenly, a large green, black, and orange construction vehicle erupted from the ground. It bore a resemblance to a scorpion, with the claws being large scoops. Rather than legs, it had treads. A blaster was on the end of its tail. A large Decepticon symbol was atop the cockpit.

“SLAG!” Goldbug skidded to a stop, assuming his robot mode. He watched in horror as the construction vehicle began to change. The treads formed shins, feet folding out and planting on the ground. The green cockpit became the torso. The tail folded up behind the body. The claws folded down, the front splitting apart and forming shoulder pads. A blue head with a gold face emerged, a yellow visor covering his eyes.

“Hello… Goldbug, yes?”

“S-Scorponok…” Goldbug muttered. After a moment, he whipped his gun out. “I’m not afraid of you!”

“Sure you aren’t.” Scorponok stomped on the ground next to the smaller bot, causing Goldbug to leap aside. “You were Bumblebee, weren’t you? That was your name back in the war until Megatron got his hands on you, right?”

“Stay back, Decepticon!” Goldbug shouted, his blaster aimed right at Scorponok’s head.

“I do admire the new frame…” Scorponok grinned. “I don’t want to waste it… so I want you to send a message.”

He grabbed Goldbug, squeezing him. Goldbug gasped, dropping his blaster unconsciously. Scorponok brought Goldbug up to his face. The yellow visor folded up, revealing red eyes underneath. 

“Scorponok is back. And I will bring Cybertron to its knees.”

:“Sir.”:

Scorponok sighed. “Yes, Thrust?”

:“Priority message from Megatron.” :

Scorponok sighed. “Very well…” He turned back to Goldbug. “Normally I’d take my time, be careful to leave you alive… but a corpse can send a good enough message.”

“Wait–!”

Scorponok threw Goldbug to the ground, raised his foot, and slammed it down on his upper body and head, caving them in and killing him instantly. He lifted his foot, gazing at the ruined remains of the Autobot as he twitched for a moment before going still, his colors fading away.

Scorponok leapt into the air, assuming his jet mode and flying off, leaving Goldbug’s remains behind to be found by whoever would come to clean up the station.

Scorponok walked into the base he’d established. “Move aside.”

Thrust, a green and gray Decepticon VTOL jet with the nosecone atop his head, stepped aside as Scorponok stepped up to the computer. “Megatron. It’s been a million years. What brings you to contact me of all ‘bots?”

:“I need you to send me a warrior,” : Megatron ordered. :“Someone powerful. The Autobots are stepping up their game, and until I know why, we need to match them.” :

Scorponok nodded. “It’ll be done.”

As the screen turned off, Thrust huffed. “Look, I get Megatron’s the big name and all, but… he abandoned us to that loser Jhiaxus when the Mini-Cons left.”

“Megatron is doomed, yes,” Scorponok noted. “But I dare not defy him. I have plans for this planet, and those require me not being on the DJD’s list.”

He turned back to the flier. “Get me Astrotrain. Tell him he has a trip to make… for the Decepticon cause, of course.”

“So… what’s this all about?” Rad asked, looking up at Optimus. He, Alexis, and Carlos had been called to the bridge of the Ark by Red Alert, which… was certainly strange.

“Well…” Red Alert gestured, and Longarm stepped forward, holding a box in his hands. “With some help from Longarm, I… made something for you. Since you’re so insistent on helping us against the Decepticons, we constructed these.

Longarm held the box out, and Rad took it. When he opened it, he and the others gasped.

Inside were three white, gray, and red uniforms, with Autobot symbols printed on them.

“Woah…” Carlos muttered. “Autobot uniforms?”

“I reverse-engineered this ‘fabric’ of your world and constructed something similar,” Red Alert noted. “Completely blast-proof, but not impact-proof.”

Alexis smiled, looking up at the Autobot. “Thank you…”

Red nodded. “Anytime, kids.”

As the trio ran off to try on their uniforms, Optimus sighed. “I… still have reservations.”

“Either way, protection is good for them,” Red Alert noted. “They’re involved, whether we like it or not.”

Optimus nodded. “I wish they hadn’t gotten involved at all.”

“They had no choice. Everything that happened was pure coincidence.”

“I find myself wondering if there are any coincidences…” Optimus muttered, looking towards the door the three exited out of.

“So… who are we getting?” Starscream asked.

“Scorponok promised a good warrior.” Megatron stood tall, menacingly, behind the Seeker as he activated the space bridge. “He had better deliver.”

As the portal opened, a large Decepticon stepped in. He was gray and purple with yellow highlights. Judging from the purple wings with a white pattern across them and the cockpit with gold windows, he was some sort of starship. Engines were on his heels, and one more made up a blaster he carried in his hands.

Cyclonus frowned. “Seriously ? He sent the troop transport?”

The Decepticon glared at Cyclonus with blood red eyes. “You keep your mouth shut or I’ll grind you under my heel.”

“Uh-huh.” Cyclonus smirked. “Nice try, Astrotrain. You really think you can–”

Astrotrain grabbed Cyclonus by the head and slammed him to the ground. He then planted his feet atop him and pressed down.

“Alright, alright!” Cyclonus shouted. “I’m sorry!”

After a tense moment, Astrotrain lifted his foot off of Cyclonus, allowing the goon to get up. Megatron smirked.

“Welcome to Earth, Astrotrain.”

Elsewhere, a Mini-Con pod flew open. From inside emerged a gray Mini-Con with a yellow waist and thighs. Two large yellow cannons extended from his back, going up over his head. He had a blue visor with slits, allowing his red optics to shine through. Treads hung off his upper arms and shins.

“Clear,” he muttered. “No guzzlers in sight.”

A gray and red Mini-Con emerged. A cab was on his chest, sticking out a bit. One of his arms ended in a hand, but the other ended in a large drill. He had treads on the front of his thighs and wheels on the side of his shins. His head was mostly gray. He had a “buckethead” with a yellow mouthplate and eyes.

“Slaggit…” he muttered. “I wanted to bust some heads…”

“You’ll get your chance, Drill Bit,” the leader said, looking at his fellow Mini-Con. “I promise you that.”

“Woah…” A third Mini-Con stepped out, looking around the place. He was yellow and gray, with treads for legs. While his yellow right arm ended in a green hand, his gray left instead ended in a large yellow buzz saw. He had a gray mouthplate and a green visor. “This place is… beautiful…”

“Sure, Buzzsaw, but it ain’t home.” The leader crossed his arms. “How long do you think it’ll be before Megatron or Prime get here?”

“We shouldn’t have to worry about them, Dualor,” Buzzsaw said meekly. “R-Right?”

“Hope not…” Dualor sighed. “I dunno. Let’s just try to find our brothers, alright?”

Buzzsaw and Drill Bit nodded.

“Destruction Team, roll out.”

Buzzsaw transformed, assuming the form of a bucket-wheel excavation machine. Drill Bit, meanwhile, assumed the form of a red treaded tunneling machine. Finally, Dualor became a gray and yellow anti-aircraft tank. The trio rolled off into the snow.

“Prime!” Runway shouted, running in.

Optimus knelt down next to the Mini-Con. “Yes, Runway? What is it?”

“Teletraan-1 just detected another pod!”

Prime paused. “A Weaponizer?”

“No, but… I just thought you should know is all.”

Optimus chuckled. “Well, thank you, my friend.” He stood up, turning to the Autobots beside him. “Scavenger, take Smokescreen and Blurr. Get this pod back as soon as you can.”

Scavenger nodded. “Yes, sir! Smokes, Blurr, with me. Let’s get to the teleporter.”

As the three departed, Sideways stepped up to Optimus. “So, Prime… what’re you gonna do?”

“Hm?” Optimus glanced at him. “What do you mean? About… what?”

“Megatron.” Sideways shrugged. “I dunno, I just… find it weird. You two have clashed so much, and yet neither of you are dead.”

“I… do not wish to destroy Megatron.” Optimus looked down. “He was once like… like a brother to me. And I hope that… maybe, just maybe, Megatron’s reluctance to end me is because there’s still good in him, too. Maybe… deep down, he still cares.”

Sideways nodded. “I see. See, I heard you might enjoy fighting him as much as he does you.”

Optimus paused, glaring at Sideways. “What?”

“Just a little rumor circulating around the Academy. You kinda stopped showing up to… anything outside of government stuff when Megatron disappeared. People tried to guess, and some thought it was cuz there was nothing left for you to fight, since you were a leader forged through combat and all.” Sideways shrugged. “Glad they were wrong, though.”

With that, the Autobot motorcycle walked off, leaving Optimus alone with his thoughts.

The Destruction Team rolled across the snow. As they did, a loud noise suddenly resounded.

“You hear that?” Buzzsaw asked.

“Destruction Team, transform!” Dualor ordered. The three assumed their robot mode as a dark gray and purple shuttle flew over. “Decepticons, here?”

“Well…” Drill Bit grinned, spinning his drill. “I’m lookin’ forward to dismantlin’ ‘em!”

“How are you sure it’s Decepticons?” Buzzsaw asked.

Then, from the shuttle emerged Starscream and Demolishor.

“...Nevermind.”

“There!” Starscream shouted, pointing as Astrotrain assumed his robot mode. “Take them!”

“Open fire!” Dualor shouted, assuming his tank mode.

“Are you kidding ?!” Buzzsaw backed up. “Two of us are melee fighters! They’ll snatch us up too fast to retaliate!”

“Damn it…” Dualor sighed. “Fine. Roll for it!”

Then, suddenly, a silver blur sped through the air, firing on Starscream. Starscream yelped as he dodged the blast, looking up to see Blurr flying over them, Incinerator linked up with him.

“Heywhat’supScreamerdidjamissme?”

“You little…” Starscream assumed his vehicular form as Swindle Powerlinxed with him. He took off, his cannons firing after Blurr.

On the ground, Smokescreen, Lifter, Scavenger, and Rollbar rolled in, quickly skidding to a stop at the sight of Astrotrain.

“Holy Pit …” Smokescreen muttered. “ Astrotrain’s on Earth?!”

Scavenger smirked, his eyes meeting Demolishor’s. “He’s yours, kid. Demolishor’s mine!”

Before Smokescreen could protest, Scavenger charged forward, tanking a series of shots from Demolishor’s finger guns before tackling him to the ground. Rollbar quickly fired on Blackout, who returned the blasts. 

Smokescreen looked up at the towering Astrotrain. “...Scrap.”

Astrotrain aimed his blaster and fired. Smokescreen quickly dove out of the way. “Liftor, a little help would be nice!”

“Got it!” Liftor transformed, Powerlinxing with Smokescreen and activating the cannon in his shoulder-mounted crane arm. Smokescreen opened fire, but the blasts did little to faze Astrotrain.

“Heh.” The Decepticon smirked. “That tickles.”

“Aw, slag.” Smokescreen assumed his crane mode and rolled for it as Astrotrain fired again, barely dodging the shot. Astrotrain’s next shot, however, hit it’s mark, and Smokescreen was knocked onto his side, Liftor detaching and assuming his robot mode as he tumbled away.

“Smokescreen…” he muttered, reaching out towards his friend.

Astrotrain grinned, then quickly spotted the Mini-Cons in the distance. He leapt up and assumed his shuttle mode before taking off. Smokescreen rose, pulling out his blaster.

“Blurr, you read?”

:“Yeah?” :

“Astrotrain is headed straight for the Mini-Cons. You’re the fastest one here. Get to them.”

:“OnitjustdistractStarscreamformewillya?” :

Meanwhile, Demolishor and Scavenger exchanged blows.

“Will you just quit ?!” Demolishor shouted, firing on his foe. Scavenger dove out of the way of the shots before returning fire.

“Never!” Scavenger replied.

Demolishor growled, assuming his vehicle mode and driving towards the Autobot. Scavenger grinned. “The ol’ game of chicken it is, then.”

Scavenger transformed to his front-end loader mode and rolled towards him. They kept going… and going…

…until they crashed right into one another, both their visions going dark.

“C’mon, we gotta keep moving!” Buzzsaw shouted. “Before–”

Suddenly, Astrotrain landed in front of them.

“...Slag.”

“Hey, Mini-Cons.” Astrotrain grinned, reaching down and grabbing Dualor. “Gotcha.”

“Like Pit.” Dualor’s cannons folded over his shoulder and blasted Astrotrain right in the optic, destroying the mechanical organ.

The Decepticon screamed, dropping Dualor to the snow as he stumbled back, clutching his eye. “You spawn of a glitch!” he roared, the energon staining his hand.

Blurr landed behind them, reverting to his robot mode. Incinerator detached and landed at his side. “Nice work, man! You really gave that Astrotrain guy a–”

Dualor turned around and blasted Blurr in the face.

“BLURR!” Incinerator shouted as the Autobot fell onto his bumper.

“What the Pit ?!” Blurr muttered, glaring at Dualor.

“Back off,” Dualor hissed. “We want nothing to do with your war.”

“You coulda just said that instead of shooting him!” Incinerator snapped.

“You don’t get to talk, traitor!” Dualor glared at the Mini-Con racer.

“Traitor? Me? Go yell at Swindle, or Blackout, or Crumplezone, but not me!”

“You partnered with a Guzzler.” Dualor crossed his arms, his cannons folding back up behind him. “That’s treachery in my eyes.”

Incinerator scoffed. “Well, maybe we’re better off without you extremists, then.”

Blurr sighed as he rose. “Look, one way or another, we need to get out of here. Let’s get you back to the Ark. We’ll send you off wherever you want to go from there, but this place isn’t safe anymore.”

Dualor remained silent. After a moment, Buzzsaw placed a hand on his shoulder. “Dualor… he’s got a point. Astrotrain is already recovering, and it won’t be long before he’s on us. If the Autobots can send us somewhere safer…”

Dualor paused considering. After a moment, he sighed before looking back up at Blurr. “Fine. But only to get us away. We never want to see you again after this is over.”

Blurr nodded, activating his comlink. “Red, it’s Blurr. I’ve got the Mini-Cons. Go ahead and bridge me back. Be careful, they’re a feisty bunch.”

Astrotrain rose, glaring at them. “No you don’t…” he muttered, assuming his shuttle mode and speeding forward. Moments before he reached them, the Autobot and four Mini-Cons were warped away.

“SLAGGIT!”

Darkness. Screaming. Pain. Scavenger could feel it all, plus… a sense of joy. A joy that wasn’t his.

He screamed, but was unheard. It drowned him out. He drowned him out. He begged, he pleaded for an end, for it to stop, but he would never listen. They would never listen.

Then, another voice. The voice of Demolishor, shouting out in protest with him. That they’d gone far enough. That it needed to stop.

Suddenly, the darkness lifted. Scavenger rose. He was lying atop rubble. He looked to see Demolishor, oddly wearing a purple and green color scheme, plus several others who wore the same colors. Scavenger turned and froze as he gazed out upon the ruins of the once-beautiful Crystal City. Pieces of Cybertronians lay scattered.

“...What the hell have we done? How… how long were we…?”

Then, everything went dark as Scavenger passed out.

Scavenger’s eyes lit up as he shot up. He looked around. He was in the Ark ’s medbay, lying on the medical table. Red Alert worked beside him.

“Easy,” Red Alert said. “You did a dumb thing out there. Chickening with Demolishor… you know him better than anyone. What were you thinking?”

“Red…?” Scavenger rose, stabilizing himself. “Ugh… did we…?”

“Blurr got ‘em. They’re about to leave here in a minute, though. They really don’t like us full-sized Cybertronians.”

“Minute…?”

“Earth unit of time. About a cycle or so.”

“Ah.”

Scavenger started to head out, but then Red stopped him. “Scavenger… you need to set the past behind you. I know why you keep going after Demolishor.”

Scavenger’s fist clenched. “That… that thing will never return. I can’t let it.”

“You got all the others. I understand your motive, but if Magnus or, Primus forbid, Prime ever finds out…”

“I’d go to Garrus-9, I know.” Scavenger rolled his optics. “I wanna go when it’s done.”

“...that monster is gone. It died with the others.” Red Alert turned around. “You don’t need to keep hunting him.”

After a moment of silence, Red Alert turned to see Scavenger had disappeared. He sighed. “That ‘bot is going to get himself killed…”

“YOU FAILURE!”

Megatron slammed Starscream against the wall, red optics blazing. “You were in charge of this mission, Starscream ! This is on you.”

“Megatron… please …” Starscream gagged.

“And they were powerful enough to blow out Astrotrain’s optic!” Megatron gestured to Astrotrain, who now had a metal eyepatch welded over his missing eye. “We can’t even replace it because we have limited materials here! My strongest warrior is down an optic because of your stupidity!”

Demolishor grumbled from the side. Nothing anyone could hear aloud, but he did cast an envious look towards Astrotrain.

“We tried, Megatron…” Starscream pleaded. “Blurr was too fast…!”

Megatron scowled, throwing Starscream to the ground. “Do not fail me again, Starscream. The only reason you’ve gotten so many chances is because I need you. You are one of my most competent and skilled soldiers. Do not make me ignore that.”

After a moment of silence, Starsceam looked down and nodded. “Y-Yes, Megatron…”

“Good.” Megatron turned. “We cannot afford more loss. Get to the repair chamber, Starscream.”

Starscream nodded, staggering off.

Megatron sat down on his throne, closing his optics. “I may need to get more involved soon, since these incompetent morons can’t handle the most basic of assignments…”

He cast a gaze towards Astrotrain. “But first, we need more supplies…”

After a moment, he sighed. “I’ll have to get in contact with Scorponok again soon.”

“Why him?” Demolishor crossed his arms. “He’s totally gonna try to take leadership from you someday.”

“Perhaps, but he’s the best we’ve got.” Megatron looked up, red optics flaring. “We need something to bring Prime to his knees…”

“We’re sorry you cannot stay,” Optimus said, looking down at the Destruction Team as they stood before the teleporter. “But we respect your wishes. Longarm has set the coordinates to a random landmass, so even we don’t know where you’re going.”

Dualor didn’t respond, instead turning away. “Never find us.”

With that, he and Drill Bit walked through the bridge. Buzzsaw paused, glancing back. 

“...Thank you.” 

With that, he turned and stepped through. Longarm shut down the teleporter, leaving the Destruction Team far from the reach of anyone.

“Hey, Optimus!”

Optimus, Sparkplug, and Longarm turned to see Alexis, Rad, and Carlos running in, now dressed in their uniforms.

“We wanted to show you earlier, but you were busy with the Mini-Con stuff,” Rad said.

“So…” Alexis did a light twirl. “How do we look?”

After a moment, Optimus nodded. “You… look good.”

Sparkplug chuckled as the trio ran off to find the others. “‘You look good’? That’s it?”

“I’m… not good with this ‘fashion’ humans seem to care so much about,” Optimus said. “I just don’t have much to say.”

Sparkplug shrugged. “Fair enough. C’mon, let’s go check up on Scavenger.”

As the two headed off, Sideways glanced back at the teleporter. He hummed in thought. “Those Mini-Cons…” he muttered. “This could be interesting.”

After a moment, Sideways suddenly turned entirely static and moved, losing his shape as though he were liquid. He phased right through the floor, chuckling darkly.

Chapter Text

Four million years ago…

The Vos Science Center was his favorite place to be. The red and white Seeker could never bring himself to find so much joy anywhere else as he did here, with his closest friends. Even now, as he examined a hologram of a distant planet, he couldn’t help but marvel.

“Ulchtar?”

Ulchtar turned to see larger, red, white, and gold shuttle-bot that bore an uncanny resemblance to Astrotrain save the colors, smaller size, and head, which had a mouthplate and two yellow optics. He had a Decepticon symbol on his chest. “Oh, Jetfire. Good to see you.”

“Good to see you too.” Jetfire looked over at him. “What are you looking at?”

“A planet Shockblast pointed out to me,” Ulchtar noted. “I find it interesting. One of its species, an organic one, is well on its way towards the next stage of evolution.”

“I told you these organic worlds were interesting!” a blue and white racer said from the side. “Such fascinating creatures…”

“Deluge is right.” Ulchtar smiled, looking at his friend. “The organic worlds hold a surprising amount of potential.”

After a moment, Jetfire sighed. “So… you hear about what’s going on lately?”

Ulchtar sighed. “Tensions mounting again? I told you, Jetfire, I’m not really interested in politics.”

“Ulchtar, I…” Jetfire sighed. “I just worry. Vos is a lot less strict about the Functionism stuff, yeah. That’s why we have these jobs. But if the Council finds out…”

“We’ve lived here this long.” Ulchtar rolled his optics. “It’ll be fine.”

“...I hope you’re right.”

“You two done yapping?” Deluge asked. “We have places to be, remember?”

Ulchtar grinned. “Right! C’mon, Jetfire, it’s almost time!”

Jetfire chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh, alright.”

The trio left the science center, stepping outside. Deluge assumed his Formula 1 racer-like mode, while Ulchtar assumed his jet mode and Jetfire his shuttle mode. The trio headed off towards the city square, all looking forward to what was coming.

Dozens of Cybertronians were gathered in the square. Ulchtar grinned, glancing at his friends. “Looking forward to it?”

“The star show is only once every 50 kilocycles,” Deluge noted. “So yeah, I’d say we are.”

Ulchtar just smirked. Jetfire quickly noticed. “I know that face, Ulchtar. What are you plotting?”

“Oh, nothing.” Ulchtar glanced back at Jetfire, the smirk still on his face.

“Ulchtar…”

“I swear, it’s nothing bad.” Ulchtar held up his hands. “Promise.”

Jetfire sighed. “Alright…”

After a moment, the sky flared as lights danced across it. The crowd watched in awe as the lights danced in patterns, forming images of the Thirteen, Primus, and various other things.

As the show neared its end, Ulchtar pressed a button on his forearm. The patterns changed, suddenly showing images of Ulchtar, Deluge, and Jetfire.

“What the…?” Deluge muttered. “It’s… us?”

Ulchtar grinned. “We’re the biggest minds on Cybertron. We helped make this show in the first place. I thought we deserved the credit.”

Jetfire chuckled. “Are you ever not vain, Ulchtar?”

“Vain?” Ulchtar scoffed. “Please. What’s wrong with wanting your name on something you designed?”

Deluge looked above, his red eyes lighting up. “And so the stars scream our names…” he muttered.

Present day…

Starscream’s orange eyes flickered on. He stretched his joints as he stepped out of the repair chamber.

“Much better…” he muttered, looking over his now-spotless frame. He headed out of the chamber towards the command room, pausing as he heard Megatron muttering to himself.

“Starscream is losing his touch…”

Starscream peeked in to see Megatron pacing. He didn’t dare speak.

“He’s failed me time and time again.” Megatron scowled. “If this keeps up, I may have to consider a change in leadership. Astrotrain would make a good lieutenant… or I could try and get Thrust down here, if Scorponok will actually let him go.”

Starscream tensed, a scowl crossing his face. He turned and stormed off, mind racing.

“Megatron wants to replace me?” he muttered. “I’ve been with him, right at his side, since this war began! He can’t just… throw me out!”

He paused. “I… I have to prove that I’m still worth it. That I can still get him what he wants.”

Starscream ducked into a nearby room, where the Mini-Cons generally hung out. Inside, he quickly spotted Swindle, polishing a null-ray blaster.

“Oohhh…” Swindle muttered. “Now, I bet I could get a good price for this …”

“Swindle.”

The red Mini-Con immediately turned around. “Well, well, if it isn’t Starscream! You need me for something?”

“We’re going out on patrol.” Starscream reached down and held out his hand. “Come.”

Swindle shrugged. “Well, I don’t got much of a choice, now do I?” Swindle hopped onto Starscream’s hand, and the Decepticon walked out towards the hangar. He assumed his jet mode, with Swindle landing in the cockpit, and flew off into the sky.

An alarm resounded through the Ark. Optimus immediately ran into the command room. “Red Alert, what’s going on?”

“That’s the Weaponizer alarm,” Red Alert said, turning towards the commander. “Prime, another Weaponizer Mini-Con has been activated.”

“Coordinates?”

“Here.” Red Alert pointed to the map on the screen. “Or somewhere near here. Teletraan is picking up Starscream in the vicinity.”

“Alright.” Optimus turned. “Smokescreen, Hot Shot, with me. No doubt Megatron will send others to assist Starscream once he picks it up. If Megatron learns about the Weaponizer Mini-Cons, this will escalate into an arms race.”

Smokescreen and Hot Shot nodded, joining Optimus’ side (alongside Sparkplug, Jolt, and Liftor).

“Prime, one more thing.” Red Alert moved aside, revealing a trailer behind him. “That thing you asked for is finished. Should help you level the playing ground should Astrotrain show.”

“Thank you, Red Alert.” Optimus assumed his truck mode and hooked up with the trailer. “Alright. Autobots, roll out!”

“Megatron!” Demolishor shot up. “Another Mini-Con pod! Autobots are already en route!”

Megatron sighed. “Get me Starscream.”

“Erm…” Cyclonus rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Starscream… left a while ago. Dunno where he went.”

“... What?”

“Yeah.”

Megatron sighed. “Fine. Astrotrain, take Demolishor and Cyclonus. Get those Mini-Cons, then get back here. Our next priority is finding Starscream and making sure he pays for his treachery.”

Four million years ago…

Ulchtar gaped in horror at the sight before him. The Vos Science Center… burned.

“No…” he muttered. “No, no, no!”

The Seeker quickly ran in, searching for anyone still inside. “Lifeline? Deluge?! Anyone?!”

Then, he heard a scream. Deluge’s scream.

“Deluge!”

Ulchtar dashed through the burning hallways before finding the central lab. Two large ‘bots with the emblem of the Functionist Council stood over the fallen Deluge, who had a gaping hole in his chest courtesy of one of their blasters.

“So where are the other ones, Darkwing?”

“Dunno, Skullgrin.” Darkwing shrugged. “That shuttle and his Seeker buddy don’t seem to be home.”

“YOU!”

The two turned around just in time for Skullgrin to be run through by Ulchtar’s wing blade. Ulchtar yanked the sword out before bisecting him at the waist. Skullgrin yelped as he collapsed in two pieces.

“Skullgrin!” Darkwing glared at Ulchtar. “You filthy Functionist-defying…!”

Darkwing charged, but Ulchtar activated his thrusters, propelling himself into the air. With a single clean swipe, he stabbed his sword straight through Darkwing’s head, and the flier fell to the ground dead as his body turned gray.

“Y-You…”

Ulchtar turned to Skullgrin. He didn’t even let him finish as he swiftly beheaded the ‘bot, watching as the color faded from his corpse.

“‘Bots without honor deserve honorless deaths,” Ulchtar muttered, a merciless scowl on his face. After a moment, he ran over to Deluge, scooping him up in his arms. “Deluge, can you hear me?”

Deluge coughed, looking up at his friend. “Ulchtar…?”

“Yes, it’s – it’s me.” Ulchtar’s grip tightened. “I… I’m sorry, I should have been here…”

“You… you made them scream…”

Ulchtar blinked. “Wh… what?”

“The stars.” Deluge smiled. “You made the stars… scream our names… you made us… remembered…”

Deluge’s red eyes blinked off and his head rolled back as the color faded from his body. Ulchtar was silent for a moment. 

“Those… honorless…”

Then, he let out a scream, one filled with rage and grief. He screamed to the stars as he clutched Deluge’s corpse, mourning the friend he had lost.

Present day…

“Yo, Starscream?”

Starscream’s mind raced to the present. “Hm? Yes, Swindle?”

Swindle pointed at Starscream’s scanner display. “Scanner picked something up. Not far from here.”

Indeed, the Mini-Con pod was near. Starscream sighed. “Right. Right…”

After a moment, Swindle spoke up. “Hey… you good, Screamer?”

“...Fine. Just… thinking about the past, is all.”

Swindle leaned back. “Meh, the past is overrated.”

“But who is one without their history?” Starscream asked. “Who would you be without whatever experiences you went through?”

“Don’t know.” Swindle shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. This is me, and that’s all there is to it.”

Starscream remained silent on the rest of the flight there. As he flew over the spot, he quickly spotted Autobots and Decepticons below.

“Huh. Optimus himself is involved. This must be important…”

Inside the pod, a blue and gray Mini-Con with transparent wings and arms paced. His face was entirely covered by an oddly-shaped visor.

“Decepticons… they’re outside…” he muttered. His fists clenched. “They… they destroyed so, so many lives…”

After a moment, he took a breath. “No. No, Jetstorm, stay calm. You know what can happen if you get angry. Don’t. Let. It. Win.”

He sighed. “Alright. Maybe if I just… stay in here? Yeah. Stay in here, and I’ll be safe. I hope.”

Astrotrain roared in anger as Optimus Prime leapt onto him from behind, wrapping his arms around the shuttle’s neck. “You little worm! Get off me!”

He grabbed Optimus’ arms and swung him over his head before slamming him into the ground hard.

“Prime!” Sparkplug leapt up, transforming into his vehicle mode and linking with Prime’s trailer that was parked nearby, causing a turret to pop up. It opened fire, holding Astrotrain back.

“Thanks!” Optimus rose. “But I think it’s time we even the odds!” He turned towards the trailer. “Omega Mode, activate!”

The trailer rushed forward, with Sparkplug separating from it. The trailer split open, its panels folding into what almost seemed like a waist and legs. Optimus himself leapt into the air and flipped over, half transforming to his vehicle mode. His legs folded over to the side, with golden fists extending. It assumed what looked like a torso before linking with the trailer, forming a larger body. A new head, with golden exhaust pipe-like fins and a similar golden mouthplate, emerged, yellow eyes lighting up.

“Sparkplug!”

Sparkplug assumed his vehicle mode and landed on Prime’s new shoulder, activating a series of rockets that fired from his back and flew towards Astrotrain.

“...Slag.”

Astrotrain assumed his shuttle mode and blasted off, the missiles following close behind. His cannon folded out from underneath his shuttle mode and began blasting the missiles one by one as he weaved through the sky. He dove back down towards Optimus as he destroyed the last few, quickly returning to robot mode and grabbing Prime’s head. He slammed the Autobot commander into the ground before activating his thrusters once more, dragging Prime behind him.

“Prime’s in trouble!” Hot Shot shouted as he fired at Cyclonus with his axle cannon, activated by the Powerlinxed Jolt.

“Yeah, but we’re all occupied!” Smokescreen shouted as he transformed to duck under a barrage of gunfire courtesy of Demolishor. He began to drive as Demolishor continued. “How are we gonna ever get the Mini-Con?!”

Starscream landed on the ground, setting Swindle down beside him. “Any sign of it?”

“Nope. Nothin’.”

Starscream sighed before resuming his search.

Astrotrain tossed Prime across the plains, chuckling. “A lot weaker than I expected from you, Prime …”

Then, he heard a clang as his foot hit the ground. He looked down to see that their fight had uncovered a pod. “Well, I’ll be…”

Astrotrain knelt down, grabbed the pod door, and tore it off, revealing Jetstorm within. “Hey, buddy. How’s it goin’?”

“NO!” Jetstorm shouted, dark energy starting to spark off him. “I will not let you take me like you did the others!”

He assumed his jet mode and blasted off, smacking Astrotrain right in the face on his way out. “OW!” the shuttle cried. “That actually hurt, you little whelp!”

Jetstorm flew up into the air, taking aim and blasting Cyclonus from behind… right in the rotors.

“What the–?!” Cyclonus yelped as he started spiraling downwards. “Who shot me?!”

Starscream flew up into the air near Jetstorm. “There you are… Swindle! Do you still have that null ray you tried to steal?”

Swindle scoffed. “Who do you think I am?” He pulled the null ray out. “Of course I do!”

“Well…” Starscream opened his cockpit. Swindle took careful aim with the rifle.

“Sorry, buddy,” he muttered. “Just business.”

He fired, the shot instantly hitting its mark and shorting out Jetstorm’s circuits. As Jetstorm began to fall, Starscream assumed robot mode long enough to grab him before reverting to jet form and blasting off.

“Starscream’s got the Mini-Con!” Hot Shot shouted.

Optimus quickly activated his comlink. “Red Alert, get Blurr in here, now! We need a flier!”

Starscream flew through the sky, heading back towards the Nemesis. Swindle and the unconscious Jetstorm were both in his cockpit.

“Nice work, Swindle,” Starscream said. “Now we’ll show Megatron–”

Suddenly, a silver blur sped past Starscream. The Seeker sighed. “Oh, joy. Blurr’s back.”

“HeyaStarscreamwhydowekeepmeetinglikethishuh?” Blurr mouthed off as he sped around Starscream in his Powerlinx-activated flight mode.

“Keep talking and we won’t meet again.”

“Hahlikeyou’llevermatchmyspeed!” Blurr opened fire in a strafing run, prompting Starscream to veer to the side before reverting to his robot mode. Swindle Powerlinxed with him, activating his cannons.

“You know, Blurr…” Starscream’s wing folded out, and the handle to his sword extended, but he didn’t grab it. “There’s a secret to being a good warrior.”

“Ohyeahwhatmightthatbehuh?” Blurr’s shots came from every direction as he sped around Starscream.

 Starscream grinned as he powered up his cannons, taking aim at one particular spot Blurr kept speeding through. “Don’t be predicable.”

He then grabbed the handle and flung his sword blade as it unfolded. It hit exactly where Starscream knew Blurr would be next, tearing right through the Autobot. Blurr’s engines stuttered as he came to a stop, still hovering in the air.

“...Oh.”

Starscream sped over to Blurr and grabbed his sword, planting one of his feet on the Autobot. “Sorry we can’t exchange more blows, but I need to get this back to Megatron.”

He tore the sword out of Blurr, watching as his turbines died and he fell towards the ground. Blurr reverted to robot mode, clutching his chest, where energon leaked from the stab wound. As Blurr crashed into the ground, Starscream reverted to his jet mode and flew off.

“BLURR!” Hot Shot shouted, running over to his fallen friend. “He’s in stasis lock! We gotta get him help, now!”

“Red, warp us back!” Optimus ordered. “Autobot down!”

In three flashes of light, the Autobots disappeared, leaving the Decepticons alone.

Astrotrain huffed. “Well, that works. Dunno who took out the Autobot, but at least we can grab the Mini-Con.”

“So, uh…” Demolishor looked around. “Where’d the Mini-Con go?”

“...Slag.”

“Blurr will survive,” Red Alert reported. “But it’ll take a bit for him to recover. Which means no going fast, understood?”

Blurr huffed. “Fine.”

Optimus sighed. “So now the Decepticons have a Weaponizer Mini-Con. It won’t be long before they find out its true purpose.”

“Hey, guys?”

The Autobots turned as Carlos, Alexis, Rad, and the Mini-Cons ran in. “Yes?”

“Have you seen Sideways?” Rad asked. “We haven’t seen him at all since the Destruction Team left a couple days ago...”

"I told you, Rad, relax." Alexis rolled her eyes. "Sideways is fine."

Dualor huffed as he walked across the swampy ground of Florida. “Nowhere is safe, not really. Anytime we wake up one of our brothers, the Autobots and Decepticons will be right on our tail to steal ‘em from us!”

“Well, we can just beat the scrap outta ‘em!” Drill Bit grinned, spinning his drill.

“Look, we’re safe here,” Buzzsaw pointed out. “This… whatever this biome is, it’s far from the Autobots and Decepticons. We’re safe from them locating us here.”

As if on cue, tendrils covered in what seemed to be static erupted from the ground around them, wrapping around the trio. They didn’t even have time to scream before they were pulled into the ground as a familiar chuckle rang out…

“I… apologize, Megatron,” Astrotrain muttered, kneeling before the Decepticon leader. “We failed to secure the Mini-Con. The Autobots must have managed to escape with it.”

After a moment, Megatron chuckled. Astrotrain, Demolishor, and Cyclonus glanced at one another in confusion.

“Um… Megatron?” Demolishor tilted his head. “Are you alright?”

“He just finds your ignorance amusing.” Starscream stepped out from beside the throne, a reprogrammed Jetstorm at his side.

“What?!” the three shouted in unison.

“While you three were out prancing with the Autobots, Starscream captured the Mini-Con and returned it to me.” Megatron took a look at the Mini-Con. “Oddly enough, he reports it was alone as well, like that one you tried to claim, Cyclonus. Which means that there is something special going on.”

Megatron glanced at Leader-1, who stood at his side. “I think we may need to comb the mind of one of the Mini-Cons’ leaders for some answers…”

After a moment, he rose. “In the meantime, you are dismissed.”

As the Decepticons left, Megatron turned to Starscream. “You know, Starscream, I was worried you were losing your touch. I am glad I was wrong.”

Starscream nodded before heading off, Jetstorm and Swindle at his side. He grinned. Things were looking up for the Decepticons’ air commander once more.

Four million years ago…

It had been two days since the Vos Science Center burned. Now, Ulchtar watched as the Constructicons cleaned up the rubble. After a moment, he drew his wing sword and knelt down.

“Deluge, Lifeline, old friends…” he muttered. “I swear to you, your deaths will be avenged.”

“I believe I can help with that.”

Ulchtar turned around to see none other than Megatron, oddly lacking the large horns atop his head that he had in the present day. At his side was a ‘bot who looked suspiciously like Darkwing, but he was green and silver, rather than purple and blue, as well as a Seeker in a matching color scheme.

Ulchtar blinked. “You… you’re that ‘bot everyone’s talking about. The revolutionary miner. Megatronus, right?”

“Megatron.” He nodded. “I shortened it recently. While he was my hero, Megatronus’ name didn’t have the flair I need for what’s coming.”

“Hm?” Ulchtar tilted his head.

“You know the Functionists were responsible for this,” Megatron said. “Well… my Ascenticons are rising up against them and their rule. It’s about time someone did something to save our world. And you… Ulchtar, Yoketron’s greatest student… you would do him proud to stand against our oppressors, the very ones who took not only his life, but those of your friends.”

Ulchtar looked down at the sword in his hand, studying it. After a moment, he looked up at Megatron. “Starscream.”

“Hm?”

“My name is Starscream.” The Seeker rose, looking into Megatron’s blazing red optics. “And I want in.”

Chapter Text

“Any luck?”

Demolishor sighed, stepping away from Leader-1 as the Mini-Con lay on an operating table. “Nope. We don’t have a cortical psychic patch. We need one of those, and those things are outlawed back on Cybertron last I heard.”

Astrotrain crossed his arms. “Rumor has it Shockblast has some. He invented them in the first place, after all.”

Megatron sighed. “And he’s back on Cybertron…”

“We could send someone back,” Starscream suggested. “After all, you did need materials for some other plan you’ve been muttering about…”

Megatron glared at Starscream. “You heard that?”

“You don’t really whisper much, my lord.”

Megatron sighed. “Fine. Astrotrain, prepare for a space bridge jump. You’re going to Cybertron to stock up on materials from Scorponok and to get a cortical psychic patch from Shockblast.”

Astrotrain groaned. “I thought I was done transporting…”

Megatron’s glare intensified.

“...but I can do it, yeah.” Astrotrain turned around and crossed his arms, grumbling to himself.

“Excellent.” Megatron turned to the others. “Demolishor, prepare the space bridge. Cyclonus, Starscream, keep an eye out for any pods that pop up.”

The two fliers nodded before heading back to the bridge. Demolishor and Astrotrain headed towards the ship’s miniature space bridge, while Megatron glanced down at the deactivated Leader-1.

“What secrets about your kind do you hold, my Mini-Con friend?” Megatron asked, a finger tapping the brainwashed Mini-Con’s head.

Dualor’s red optics blinked on. He looked around, searching the area as he sat up.

“Where the Pit…?” he muttered. He quickly spotted Buzzsaw and Drill Bit nearby.

“Where are we…?” Buzzsaw wondered aloud.

“And who the Pit took us here?!” Drill Bit revved his drill. “I’ll dismantle ‘em!”

“Wait a klik…” Dualor looked around their environment. The ground was gray and dusty. The Earth could be seen over the horizon. “We’re on… Earth’s moon?”

“But why?” Drill Bit crossed his arms. “This place is boring…”

“Guys…?”

Dualor and Drill Bit turned around, following Buzzsaw’s gaze, and froze. There, crashed on the moon, was a giant abandoned green ship. Or… rather, half of it. What was obvious to them was the large but faded blue Mini-Con symbol on the side.

“It’s… it’s the Exodus…” Buzzsaw muttered. “It crashed here after we ejected.”

“Well, half of the Exodus, anyways,” Drill Bit muttered.

After a moment, Dualor chuckled. “Well, well… looks like we have an opportunity here, friends. Let’s get this thing up and running.”

The Destruction Team transformed and rolled off towards the ship.

As the space bridge opened, Scorponok smirked. “Astrotrain, welcome back! Tired of Megatron already?”

Astrotrain huffed as he stepped onto Cybertron’s metal surface. “Nah, better than workin’ with you.”

Scorponok scowled. “Your optic begs to differ.” He gestured to the eye patch over Astrotrain’s missing eye, the one Dualor had shot out a week or so ago.

“Anyways, Megatron needs you to gather these.” Astrotrain held out a datapad, which Scorponok took. After a moment, he tossed it to Thrust, who just glared at the Decepticon general. “I gotta go have a meeting with Shockblast, so if you’ll excuse me…”

Astrotrain assumed his shuttle mode and blasted off into the sky. Scorponok sighed. “Thrust, take care of this.”

He turned and walked away. Thrust huffed. “Oh, sure, leave me to do all the dirty work while you lounge back and gorge yourself on the ‘spoils of war’...”

“I’m bored…” Hot Shot muttered as he drove along the road. “It’s the same thing, over and over! ‘Get this Mini-Con pod! Oh, no! Decepticons!’ Blam, blam, blam, battle’s over, win or lose, probably win.”

:“Relax, Hot Shot,” : Smokescreen said over the comlink. :“That’s how these smaller battles are. Sure, we’re up against Megatron, but it’s not like it’s one of the huge battles on Cybertron. Trust me, you are GLAD you weren’t at the Siege of Iacon.” :

Hot Shot sighed. “I guess … anything from you, Red?”

:“Nothing… wait. Actually, I think I’ve got a pod picked up nearby. Won’t be long before the ‘cons arrived, so I’ll be fast.” :

“Could call Blurr in…”

:“ Blurr is recovering from the injuries Starscream left him with, Hot Shot.” :

Hot Shot sighed. “Yeah, yeah… we’ll head to your location.”

:“Make it fast. With Astrotrain on Earth, I don’t wanna have to deal with him alone.” :

“So, uh… Shockblast…”

“Yes?”

Astrotrain paused, looking at the purple Decepticon facing away from him. From what could be made out from behind, he had treads on his legs and sticking up from his back, a three-fingered hand and dual blasters on one arm, colored black, the other being entirely green and ending in a large cannon, and what looked like two antenna sticking up from his oddly-shaped head. His voice was cold, emotionless, distant. Rumor was that Shockblast had never felt emotion in his life. He was working on what appeared to be the remains of a Decepticon. Whether he was still alive or not for whatever experiments Shockblast was experiencing him to was unknown to Astrotrain.

Needless to say, Shockblast was one of two Decepticons Astrotrain feared.

“So, uh… Megatron sent me to get one of your… cortical psychic patches…” Astrotrain muttered, shifting his feet. “We need it for the campaign on Earth.

Shockblast lowered the cannon arm, which he’d been using as a welder. He turned around to face Astrotrain, revealing the green window with purple detailing on his chest and, most notably, his “face”, which was in fact a single green eye in the center of his hexagonal head.

“Very well. Give me a moment.” As he spoke, the eye flashed with each syllable.

Shockblast stepped aside, moving to another table nearby that was covered in various tools. Astrotrain got a glimpse of the poor ‘bot Shockblast was subjecting to his experiments. It was half of a Decepticon, whom Astrotrain recognized as Flywheels, a Seeker with a body-type similar to Starscream or Ramjet (Astrotrain missed the guy). His legs were on a separate table nearby, being reconfigured with what appeared to be tank parts. Astrotrain shivered.

“Here you are.” Shockblast walked over to Astrotrain and held out the patch, a long cable with a connector on each end. Astrotrain took it hesitantly.

“...Thanks.”

“Now, I must return to my work. Give Megatron my regards.” Shockblast turned back to Flywheels. “Flywheels… let us hope you fare better at this procedure than Battletrap did.”

Astrotrain couldn’t get out of that damned lab fast enough. But before he could leave…

“Wait.”

Astrotrain froze, turning back towards Shockblast. The singular green optic stared into Astrotrain’s spark. He shivered.

“Y-Yeah…?”

“Your optic. What happened?”

Astrotrain paused, reaching up towards his eye patch. “Oh, um… some feisty Mini-Con shot it out.”

“Hm. And Megatron did not have the resources to replace it.”

“...Yeah.”

After a moment, Shockblast moved over to a pile off in the side. He dug through it before walking back over, holding out an optic and a new, red optic casing.

“Stay for a moment. I shall repair your missing optic. That way you will be more effective on the battlefield and in your regular transport missions going forward.”

“...Why?” Astrotrain tilted his head. “Why fix me?”

Shockblast didn’t have any form of physical response. He merely replied, “It is simply logical.”

“Alright, I’m here…” Red Alert muttered, looking around the swamp he’d arrived in. “Mini-Cons, Mini-Cons, where are you…?”

Red Alert activated his energon sensors, quickly detecting three signatures nearby. He followed them to a particular bank.

“Hm…”

He aimed his arm cannon and fired at the ground a few times, quickly uncovering the pod.

“Hello…”

The door opened, and from within emerged three Mini-Cons. The first was dark green with a yellow visor shaped like an upside-down T, plus a green mouthplate. He had a winch set above his head, and wheels on his shoulders, the back of his shins, and oddly, one on his right knee. The shape of his legs suggested that he turned into some sort of pickup truck.

The second was a red bot with what appeared to be two halves of a plow on his shoulders. He had glowing yellow optics, and his arms were made from treads. A crane arm was on his back.

The final Mini-Con was army green, with large, all-terrain wheels on his shoulders and the sides of his shins. His feet looked to be made from seats, and his visor glowed a bright blue.

“Hello,” Red Alert said, looking between them. “And… who are you?”

“Name’s Ransack,” the dark green Mini-Cons said as he led the others out of the pod. “These are Iceberg and Dune Runner.” He gestured to the red and army green Mini-Cons respectively. “We’re the Adventure Team. And… you’re Red Alert, right?”

“Yes. We need to hurry, the Decepticons will be here before long.”

“Let them come.” Ransack punched his palm. “We can take ‘em.”

“Now, listen, Ransack,” Dune Runner said. “You sure we should do that? The Decepticons are dangerous, y’know…”

“Agreed.” Iceberg looked around the swamp. “And it is way too hot here for my liking.”

“Really?” Dune Runner tilted his head. “I think this biome’s temperature is just fine.”

“Hello-o!”

The group froze, looking up to see Cyclonus flying above them, Crumplezone linked to the front and cannons aimed down at them.

“Well, well, well!” The helicopter Decepticon cackled. “What have I stumbled across? An Autobot and three Mini-Cons! Today must be my lucky day!”

Red Alert quickly activated his comlink. “This is Red. Backup needed.”

:“Be there soon!” : Smokescreen replied. :“I’m in your area!” :

Red Alert nodded, then turned to the Mini-Cons. “We need to run, now!”

“We can take ‘im!” Ransack said, cracking his knuckles.

Red Alert groaned. “You hothead types are going to be the death of me… Longarm!”

He paused, recalling that he’d left Longarm at the Ark to monitor Blurr. “...Scrap.”

Cyclonus and Crumplezone opened fire, cackling. Red Alert quickly assumed vehicle mode. “C’mon!”

Dune Runner reverted to his armed offroad buggy mode, but Iceberg crossed his arms. “My altmode doesn’t work in this terrain! How am I supposed to do anything!”

Red Alert sighed. “Then hop in!” He opened the door of his alt mode. After a moment, Iceberg climbed in, grumbling something about hot biomes.

“Ransack, c’mon!” Dune Runner shouted. “We gotta go!”

“I said, we can take him!” Ransack shouted. “We’ve been on dozens of more dangerous adventures before!

Iceberg groaned. “God, he’s an idiot…”

Cyclonus transformed to robot mode, Crumplezone separating from him. He landed on the ground in front of Ransack and grinned.

“Heya!”

“...Y’know, maybe Dune Runner was right.”

Cyclonus quickly snatched Ransack up, opened up his cockpit, and stuffed him in.

“One down, two to go!” Cyclonus leapt into the air and returned to his helicopter form. Crumplezone linked up with him once more, and they flew after Red Alert and the other two members of the Adventure Team.

“I see your optic’s fixed,” Thrust noted as Astrotrain shifted to his robot mode. Indeed, he now had two complete optics once more.

Astrotrain simply crossed his arms, looking down at the Seeker. “Well? The supplies?”

Thrust sighed. “Yeah, yeah. They’re ready for loading.”

After a moment, Thrust leaned back against the wall. “Y’know… I’m kinda getting tired of being Scorponok’s lackey. He’s got ambition, but… no respect for me, y’know?”

“I worked with him too, dumbaft. ‘Course I know.”

After a moment, Thrust perked up. “Say… what if I come to Earth with you? Work for Megatron? Surely he could use a brilliant military tactician like myself.”

After a moment, Astrotrain shrugged. “I don’t care. Do what you want.”

Thrust pumped a fist. “Yes! Goodbye, Scorponok! Hello, Megatron!”

“Come here, little Autobot!” Cyclonus shouted as he fired at Red Alert. “Target practice is fun and all, but I’m feeling a severe lack of Autobot parts being blown across the swamp!”

“We can’t keep outrunning him!” Dune Runner cried. “He’s flying, for Primus’ sake!”

“Don’t worry!”

Smokescreen charged in, Liftor at his side. He smirked. “Smokey’s here to save the day!”

Liftor leapt up and Powerlinxed with Smokescreen, activating his cannon. He opened fire, a blast that Cyclonus barely dodged.

“Hah!” Cyclonus laughed. “Missed!”

“Maybe.” Smokescreen grinned. “But my friend didn’t.”

Suddenly, a shot from afar tore right through one of Cyclonus’ rotors, blowing it off.

“No!” Cyclonus shouted. “Frag! Demolishor, it’s Cyclonus! I need a warp back to base, now!”

In a flash of light, Cyclonus was warped away. Smokescreen grinned. “Nice work, Blurr.”

:“No prob, Smokes.” :

“Blurr?!” Red Alert exclaimed as he shifted to robot mode, Iceberg and Dune Runner now at his side in their robot modes. “I told you–”

:“No going fast. So I’m sniping. Still following doctor’s orders.” :

Red Alert sighed. “Fine. Still, take it easy.”

“What are we gonna do?” Dune Runner muttered, pacing. “They got Ransack…”

“Sure, but we’ll get him back.” Iceberg glanced up at Red Alert. “Right?”

Red smiled. “Of course we will. Let’s get back to the Ark, though. I’m sure the kids are dying to meet you.”

“Reprogramming’s complete, Megatron!” Demolishor said, presenting the brainwashed Ransack to the Decepticon leader.

“Excellent work.” Megatron turned to Cyclonus. “Thank you for your efforts, Cyclonus.”

“All in a day’s work!” Cyclonus let out a maniacal cackle.

“Megatron!” Starscream called out from the space bridge chamber. “Space bridge is opening!”

Megatron smiled. “Excellent…”

The Decepticons entered the room as the bridge opened. From the other side emerged Astrotrain in his shuttle mode. He opened up the back to reveal crates of materials.

Megatron smiled. “Excellent work, Astrotrain.”

“But that’s not all!”

The Decepticons turned around as Thrust stepped out of the space bridge. A light shone in his eyes, indicating some sort of pride.

“Thrust…?” Starscream muttered, optics narrowing.

Thrust chuckled. “Starscream, old pal. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you!”

Megatron smirked. “Tired of Scorponok?”

“Oh, yes.” Thrust rolled his optics and crossed his arms. “Would much rather serve you, o’ glorious and mighty Megatron!”

“Excellent.” Megatron shook Thrust’s hand. “Glad to have my best tactician back on board.”

Starscream’s fist clenched. He was not about to lose his position to Thrust of all ‘bots. He wouldn’t have it.

Suddenly, an alarm rang out through the base.

“That’s a Mini-Con pod alarm!” Starscream noted. 

“Decepticons, to the bridge!” Megatron ordered.

The Decepticons quickly moved to the bridge. Megatron sat down in his throne. “Computer, show location.”

The entire army gaped at the sight.

“What in the…?” Demolishor muttered.

“Woah…” Cyclonus said in awe.

Starscream blinked, making sure what he was seeing was real. “That’s… what is happening …?”

Megatron, however, smirked. “An opportunity, Starscream. Decepticons, prepare to divide… and conquer.”

“What’s going on?!” Rad shouted as an alarm blared through the Ark. All the Autobots and Mini-Cons were gathered on the ship’s bridge.

“I’m hearing both the Weaponizer and regular Mini-Con alarms!” Sideways noted from the side, evidently having returned from wherever he’d gone.

“Red, pull up the location!” Optimus ordered.

Red Alert did as he was ordered, but froze as he stared at the screen. “What in the…?”

“Red?” Hot Shot stepped up to the computer. “What is it?”

“It’s… everywhere,” Red Alert noted. “Every single Mini-Con pod on Earth is activating at once.”

“But… but how ?!” Sparkplug’s optics traced over the dozens of locations on the map. “Only way to do that would be to send a signal from the Exodus’ communications room, but that was lost in the crash!”

“Only half the ship was there when we found it,” Alexis recalled. “Do you guys think… someone found the other half?”

“I don’t know, Alexis,” Optimus replied. “But I do know that we’re about to be very busy.”

“Signal’s broadcasting, Dualor,” Buzzsaw reported. “All our brothers and sisters are waking up.”

“Excellent.” Dualor stood behind him, arms crossed. “It’s time for the Mini-Cons to take their future back into their own hands.”

Chapter Text

A small, gray and white racer sped through the woods, weaving between the trees.

“Can’t catch me, Decepticon!” the Mini-Con shouted, laughing.

Starscream huffed as he flew above. “Not enough cover for me to land, Swindle. Are you close?”

“Closing in!” Swindle called from the woods below.

Suddenly, Swindle’s wheels left the ground. “What the…!?”

“Hey, Swindle,” Jolt said, holding the alt-mode Swindle in his arms as he flew up. “You didn’t really think I’d let you do that, did you?”

Swindle shifted to robot mode. “Let me go, you flying piece of scrap!”

“That’s no way to talk to my pal!” Hot Shot said as he dashed past them. “You got ‘im, Jolt!”

“Starscream!” Swindle cried. “Hot Shot’s inbound!”

Starscream sighed. “Fine. When you want something done right, do it yourself.”

He dove down into the woods, drawing his sword and slicing through tree after tree.

Hot Shot ran up next to the Mini-Con. “Yo. Name’s Hot Shot. Sorry about Starscream, he’s just annoying.”

“Downshift,” the Mini-Con replied as he drove. “And pretty sure we’re safe down here, as long as Swindle’s occupied.”

“He is. Jolt’s taking care of him. But don’t underestimate Starscream, bud.”

The sound of trees falling behind them cued them in to the approaching danger.

“Faster, faster!” Hot Shot shouted.

“Can you please just leave me alone?!” Demolishor shouted as Blackout linked up with him. He fired his shoulder rockets, which Scavenger swiftly gunned down with help from Rollbar.

“Not ‘til this is finished,” Scavenger snarled. “Not ‘til every single piece of that thing is dead and buried!”

Meanwhile, a yellow and gray Mini-Con with a red mouthplate and glowing silver eyes watched.

“Jeez…” he muttered. “Think maybe it’s best for ol’ Mirage to split…”

Mirage quickly shifted to his Formula 1 racer mode and sped off deeper into the forest.

Red Alert fired into the air with his cannon arm, Longarm at his side. Thrust weaved through his blasts in his VTOL jet form.

“What’s the matter, Autobot? Can’t aim for your spark?” Thrust teased from above.

Red Alert just scowled. “Longarm?”

Longarm leapt up, assuming his crane mode and linking with Red Alert, causing a shoulder rocket to fold out. Red Alert fired it, and while Thrust dodged, the explosion threw him off balance.

From behind Red Alert, three Mini-Cons watched. One was dark green, with light green stripes on his shoulders, lime shins, gray arms, and a silver rocket launcher on his back. He had a green mouthplate and glowing red eyes.

The second was a gray Mini-Con who, rather than hands, had one wheel at the end of each arm. His legs were yellow, made from exhaust pipes, and his head had a single orange eye and two handlebars atop it.

The third Mini-Con was red and blue. One of his arms ended in a cannon, the other having a solar panel on the wrist. He had a blue faceplate with a glowing yellow visor. Rather than proper feet, his legs instead ended in two wheels on each, so he rolled rather than walk. A wheel was mounted on each side of his waist.

“Is that… Thrust?” the green one muttered, looking up at the Seeker.

“Maybe?” The gray one tilted his head. “Dunno who that is.”

“You don’t know Thrust?”

“Nightbeat’s younger than us, Inferno,” the red and blue Mini-Con said. “Of course he doesn’t know.”

“I feel really talked down to here, Comettor.”

“But yeah, that does look to be Thrust.”

Inferno glanced back up at the Decepticon. “Hm…”

“I won’t fail again!” Astrotrain roared, firing his blaster. Smokescreen and Blurr quickly leapt out of the way of the shot, scattering sand in the air.

“Ugh…” Blurr frowned. “This was much easier when I could use my speed properly…”

“Get over it, Blurr, we don’t have time for moping right now!” Smokescreen fired at the large Decepticon once more, Liftor already linked to him. “Get to the Mini-Cons, we’ll hold him off!”

Blurr nodded, quickly assuming his vehicle mode. “Incinerator, we gotta get there fast, and I can’t do that alone right now!”

Incinerator nodded. “On it!” He leapt into the air and transformed, linking onto Blurr’s back and activating his flight mode. Blurr flew off, and Astrotrain scowled.

“NO!” he roared. “I deserve this win!” He reached out, grabbed Smokescreen, and tossed him aside. He charged forward, shifting into his shuttle mode and blasting after Blurr.

At the Ark, Optimus observed Teletraan-1. He let out a sigh.

“Optimus…?”

Optimus turned around to see Alexis standing behind him. “Oh, Alexis. It’s… good to see you.”

“Are you okay?” Alexis frowned. “You look… really stressed right now.”

“Of course I’m stressed.” Optimus leaned back against the wall. “Our forces are stretched too thin. Hot Shot’s dealing with Starscream in Texas. Blurr and Smokescreen got stuck with Astrotrain in Egypt. Scavenger is grappling with Demolishor in Louisiana, and I don’t even know how that’s going. He’s… different .”

He turned around. “Even Red Alert’s out in the field, because apparently Thrust is on Earth now, which means that Megatron is stepping up. No signs of Cyclonus or Megatron, though. I sent Sideways out to claim a Weaponizer Mini-Con, so I don’t doubt one of them is en route there.”

“You need more troops, Optimus,” Sureshock noted from Alexis’ side. “You have contacts on Cybertron, right?”

After a moment, Optimus sighed. “That… is true…”

On Cybertron, an orange and yellow Autobot that evidently turned into some form of semi truck with flames sighed. “Yes, Jhiaxus, I know. I just… I’m unsure on what to do. These Decepticon uprisings…”

Across from him sat an orange, gray, and black ‘bot with a Decepticon symbol on his nosecone, which protruded even below his torso. Oddly, the symbol looked different from the usual symbol; a modified version he’d created for the peaceful Decepticons, to separate them from Megatron’s loyalists. He had a mouthplate almost like a flight mask, and had four tailfins extending from his head. Engines and wings protruded from his elbows. He had three-fingered claws for hands, which were tapping the table between the two.

“I know, Rodimus,” Jhiaxus muttered, his red optics filled with thought. “It feels sometimes like peace is unobtainable. I know, I know it can be reached, but…”

“It’s difficult,” Rodimus noted, leaning back. “Scorponok’s always causing trouble, Thunderblast is somewhere out there, Megatron’s back…”

“It’s like some universal force is against us…” Jhiaxus muttered.

“Hey, now.” Rodimus leaned forward, resting his arms in front of him. “Most of the Decepticons here are on your side, Jhiaxus. It’s just a few dozen extremists still causing trouble.”

Jhiaxus pinched the bridge of his “nose”. “This all started with just one extremist… at least Megatron’s off on some other world. If he returned here, I’m not sure how many of the ‘peaceful’ Decepticons would return to their roots.”

Then, a small light on the table beeped. Rodimus’ optics widened. “A… a message from Prime?”

Jhiaxus nodded. “Go on.”

Rodimus accepted, and a projection of Optimus Prime appeared. :“Rodimus. Jhiaxus.” :

“Prime.” Rodimus leaned forward. “What’s up?”

:“We have a crisis. Mini-Cons are suddenly waking up all around the planet. We don’t have enough Autobots to cover them all.” :

“Say no more.” Rodimus rose. “I’ll get Jetfire, maybe one other. Megatron cannot be allowed to rise to power once more.”

:“Thank you.” :

Rodimus departed, leaving Optimus alone with Jhiaxus.

“I warned you when we first made contact, the Exodus wouldn’t work forever,” Jhiaxus noted, his red optics fixating on the image of the Prime. “It would have been easier to just kill Megatron when you had the chance.”

:“You know I can’t do that, Jhiaxus.” :

“Why not?!” Jhiaxus slammed his fist down on the table. “We both are tired of this fighting. That’s why we worked together on the Exodus project in the first place!”

:“Megatron is not lost. I can sense it.” :

Jhiaxus’ optics narrowed. “Or is it that you just can’t let the war end because you’ll fade into obscurity? Because you enjoy it as much as Megatron does?”

Optimus remained silent. After a moment, he spoke. :“No. I want this to end as soon as possible, just like you.” :

“Then end Megatron.”

:“...I await my warriors. Prime out.” :

As the image disappeared, Jhiaxus sighed. “I never did like that one…” he muttered to himself.

A gray and blue Mini-Con with a gold chest, white and blue wings on his shoulders, a red faceplate, and a glowing orange visor.

“Runway…? Runway, can you hear me…?” he muttered into his comlink, but all he got was the same strange garbage noise he’d gotten the last few tries. “Slag… what’s jamming our channels?”

Then, he saw the grass of the plains begin to sway as the sound of helicopter blades grew closer. He quickly searched for a hiding spot, but he didn’t see anything.

“Scrap…”

He heard the sound of a Cybertronian transforming and landing behind him. He turned around to see Cyclonus towering over him, a large grin on his face.

“Well, hello there, friend!”

Crumplezone stepped out from behind him. “So, uh, we need you to come with us, yeah, Sonar?”

“No!” Sonar backed away. “He’s a Decepticon, Crumplezone!”

“He’s also fun as hell, so…”

Sonar clenched his fists. “You… you traitor!”

“Yup.”

Two blasts hit Cyclonus in the face, knocking the Decepticon to the ground with a yelp of pain. Sideways ran up, punting Crumplezone away before shifting to his motorcycle mode. “Hop on!”

“I can fly!”

“Sure, but it’s easier to warp you outta here if you hop on!”

After a moment, Sonar nodded, hopping onto Sideways’ motorcycle seat as he drove off.

“Autobot scum !” Cyclonus shouted as he and Crumplezone took aim.

“Anytime now, Mirror!”

Within a moment, a green light surrounded Sideways as he was recalled, just barely escaping before the blasts of Cyclonus and Crumplezone hit the ground.

Sideways stepped off the teleporter, Sonar at his side. “Welp, we’re here. Make yourself at home or whatever.”

“Sonar!”

Sonar turned to see Runway running in. He ran up to his friend and hugged him. Sideways looked at them.

“Well… looks like I have a decision to make regarding the Star Saber…”

“Receiving now.”

Optimus watched as the space bridge opened. Two shapes stepped out. One could be recognized as Jetfire, Optimus’ second-in-command during the war and former friend to Starscream. The other was a much smaller ‘bot, colored gray, blue, and yellow. He had a black crest on his head and a glowing blue visor. The front of his forearms were black, the back being blue. Wheels were mounted on the back of his forearms and the sides of his shins. Two halves of an orange-tinted windshield sat on the sides of the shins as well.

“Woah…” the smaller Autobot muttered, looking up at Optimus. “Optimus Prime… i-it’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“Pleasure to meet you too, er…”

“S-Side Swipe!”

“Sideswipe.”

“Side Swipe. Two words. Th-There’s a space in there.”

“Ah. Apologies.”

“It’s okay!” Side Swipe grinned. “Can’t believe I’m working with the Optimus Prime!”

“Forgive him,” Jetfire said as he grasped Optimus’ hand. “He’s young, fresh out of the Academy. But he’s by far the best codebreaker I’ve ever seen. Anyone can find the source of that signal, it’s him.”

Optimus nodded. “Jetfire. Good to have you joining the fight here on Earth.”

“Happy to.” Jetfire released Optimus’ hand. “So, heard a whole bunch of Mini-Cons are turning up?”

“Everywhere.” Optimus led Jetfire and Side Swipe over to Teletraan-1. “Megatron’s forces have us spread thin trying to track down these Mini-Cons.”

“P-Prime…”

Optimus paused, turning towards Sparkplug, who had gone completely still. “Sparkplug? What’s going on?”

“S-Something’s wrong…” he muttered.

Side Swipe stepped closer to Teletraan. “Optimus, sir, there’s a new signal being broadcasted.”

“Can you decode and trace it?”

“Given time, sure.”

Suddenly, Sparkplug shifted to his vehicle mode and rolled off. Optimus’ optics widened. “That… behavior…”

“What is it?” Side Swipe asked.

Optimus glanced at Jetfire. “Are you thinking…?”

“Yeah.” Jetfire nodded. “Someone’s managed to access the signal.”

Side Swipe looked between the two. “I… feel like I’m missing something.”

“Lock down the Ark , Teletraan!” Optimus ordered. “Now!”

“LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES ENGAGED.”

As the Ark was locked up, the ramp began to lift. Sparkplug managed to speed out, almost joined by Runway and Sonar before Sideways grabbed them. “No you don’t!”

“Cut the channel off from the Ark, now!” Optimus ordered.

Side Swipe paused. “We do that, we can’t trace it, Prime.”

After a moment, Optimus sighed. “Fine. Trace them, immediately. Let me know as soon as you have something.”

“Let me up!” Swindle shouted, struggling against Jolt.

“Over my offline…”

Jolt paused, trailing off. Swindle stopped struggling. The two stood up, assumed their vehicle modes, and headed off.

“You guys hearing that…?” a blue Mini-Con sports car muttered, her green visor shining across the sands of Egypt, and her mouth covered by a blue faceplate.

“I don’t hear anything, Spiral.” A green Mini-Con sports car with a yellow visor and green faceplate punched her in the shoulder with a chuckle. “Maybe you’re glitching.”

“Don’t listen to him, he’s a liar and a glitch-head,” an orange racer with a faceplate and a white visor said, placing a hand on Spiral’s shoulder.

“I am not !”

“I feel it too. It feels like… I dunno. Familiar.”

“Thanks, Oval.” Spiral chuckled. “At least you listen to me.”

“We both do,” Oval noted. “Backtrack just grumbles while doing so.”

“I do not!”

“And he’s a pathological liar, so that doesn’t help.” Oval sighed. “Point is, you’re holding the Street Speed Team together, Spiral. You got this.”

Spiral nodded. “Thanks.”

Suddenly, the trio froze. They quickly assumed their racer modes and sped off into the desert… mere moments before Blurr and Astrotrain flew overhead, firing at one another.

“Hah!” Blurr laughed. “Can’t catch me, glitch-head!”

Suddenly, Incinerator detached from him.

“...What the Pit, Incinerator?!”

The two fell to the ground below, assuming robot mode before crashing into the sand. Incinerator got out first, transforming to his vehicle mode and rolling off. Blurr emerged moments later, reaching towards the Mini-Con. “What’s the deal , Incinerator?”

Incinerator didn’t respond, continuing to roll off into the desert. Blurr groaned as Astrotrain landed behind him. “Great. Just… great.”

Astrotrain grinned. “Time to get smashed, Autobot!”

Then, Smokescreen rammed into the Decepticon shuttle from behind, knocking him off balance. He quickly assumed robot mode and helped Blurr to his feet. “Incinerator bail on you?”

“How’d you…?”

“Liftor left me as well. Something’s up.” Smokescreen turned on his comlink. “Prime, it’s Smokescreen. We lost the Mini-Cons. All of them.”

:“Whatever’s going on, it’s affecting all of us. I’m recalling all Autobots to base before we all lose our Mini-Cons.” :

Smokescreen nodded. “Whatever the hell’s going on, it better be over soon.”

The two were warped away as Astrotrain got up. He groaned. “Ugh…”

“Hey, uh… can we pause for a sec?”

Red Alert stopped firing, looking up at Thrust. “Huh? Pause? Are you seriously asking to pause in a firefight?”

“Yeah.” Thrust assumed his robot mode. “Cuz the Mini-Cons kinda just… rolled off.”

Red Alert turned around to see they were gone. “What…?” He knelt down, noticing even Longarm had left. “Where…? Longarm would never leave, he’s loyal to a fault.”

Thrust landed beside him. “I saw Inferno there. He’s actually a friend of mine, and wouldn’t bail on the chance to get that rush of Powerlinxing.” He glanced at Red Alert. “Which means something else is at play here.”

Red Alert rose, turning to Thrust. “What are you…?”

“We need to find out where those Mini-Cons are going, one way or another,” Thrust said. “I can talk about this to Megatron, try to get him to realize something’s going on. You go to Prime. Maybe we can figure things out.”

Red Alert frowned. “Why would you help?”

“I’m a strategist, and if the Mini-Cons all vanish , we’ll just go back to the same stalemate we were in. Stalemates are boring for someone with an intellect such as mine. Personally, I either want fighting or an ending, with a victor. Preferably, the Decepticons. Best thing to do is figure out whatever or whoever is in play here and deal with them quickly.”

After a moment, Red Alert sighed. “Alright. You talk to Megatron, I’ll go to Optimus.”

Thrust nodded. The two assumed their respective vehicle modes and drove off towards their respective bases.

"Hey! Crumplezone! Where are you going?! Cyclonus shouted as he stumbled after the Mini-Con as it left him. He groaned. "Aw, man..."

Sideways looked at the collapsed Runway and Sonar before him. It had just taken a small shock to take them temporarily offline.

"I think it's time to... make some things known..." he muttered, chuckling as he picked the two up.

“H-Hey!” Demolishor paused, looking as Blackout and Rollbar rolled off in their vehicle modes. “Blackout, where are you going?!”

Scavenger then decked him in the face. “What are you going on about?”

“Blackout and Rollbar!” Demolishor pointed. “They’re just leaving us!”

Scavenger cast a glance over at them… and shrugged. “Fine by me. Less witnesses to what happens to you next .”

“No!” Demolishor fired his guns, knocking Scavenger off him. “Is this really how you wanna do things?! Take out all of us, when only one would have stopped it from reforming?”

“If just one is gone, there’s a chance of Shockblast making another.” Scavenger clenched his fist. “Better to wipe all of the components out.”

“That includes yourself, you know!”

“I know.”

Scavenger charged forward… only to, in a sudden flash of light, find himself back on the Ark .

“Wha…?”

Hot Shot crossed his arms. “You lost yours, too?”

“DAMMIT!” Scavenger stomped on the floor. “I HAD HIM!”

“Calm down, Scavenger.”

Scavenger turned and paused at the sight of Jetfire. “J-Jetfire? When did you get here?”

“Today.”

“...Alright.” Scavenger sighed, turning to Optimus. “So, what’s the deal, Prime?”

“Mini-Cons of both the Autobots and Decepticons have run off,” Optimus explained. “We’re having Side Swipe here trace the signal that’s being broadcast, but until then, we don’t know exactly what–”

"By the way, sir..." Side Swipe muttered. "Your purple and yellow friend, he just left the Ark."

"...What?"

"Ship is in lockdown, so it detected someone outside the perimeter." Side Swipe pulled up footage, showing Sideways outside the Ark, which was still completely locked up. He was carrying the stasis-locked Runway and Sonar, and Rook and Crosswise were at his side.

"He's got the Weaponizers!" Red Alert frowned. "Where's he taking them...?"

Optimus groaned. "As if things needed to be more complicated..."

“Wait!” Smokescreen leapt up. “All the Mini-Cons are being recalled somewhere, right?”

“Yeah…?” Suddenly, Hot Shot's optics widened. “Wait…”

Optimus quickly grasped their meaning. “The kids!”

“Huh…” Alexis noted, looking around. “I… don’t think this is the way home…”

She looked down. “Hey, Sureshock? What’s going on?”

Sureshock remained silent.

“...Sureshock?”

“Alexis!”

Alexis glanced to her right as Rad rode up atop High Wire. On her left, Carlos was riding Grindor. “Rad? Carlos?”

“I’ve lost total control!” Rad cried. “I dunno where High Wire’s taking me!”

“Same here!” Carlos stomped on the board, but there was no response. “Grindor won’t talk to me!”

“We’re going too fast to jump off…” Alexis muttered. “You think this has something to do with that signal?”

Rad’s eyes widened. “Wait… so if we stay with them, we might find the source of that signal?”

“And then we can lead the Autobots right to it!” Carlos grinned.

Alexis smirked. “Alright, guys. Let’s hope wherever this takes us, it won’t kill us.”

Carlos and Rad glanced at each other. She was kidding… right?

Chapter Text

“So… you said it was here?” Jetfire asked as he flew over the plains in his shuttle mode.

:“One of them,” : Side Swipe responded. :“That’s where these weird signals are coming from. That first one stopped broadcasting, so I can’t trace it.” :

“Maybe this place will give us some clue as to wherever the Mini-Cons are going…” Jetfire muttered.

:“And where the kids are,” : Optimus added.

Jetfire flew down over the plains. Dozens of Mini-Cons were boarding some kind of ship.

“Huh… there’s a ship here,” the commander noted. “It must be what’s broadcasting the signal.”

:“Follow it to its source,” : Optimus ordered. :“Whoever is sending out this signal must be discovered.” :

“On it, sir.”

Jetfire hovered above as the ship closed up and blasted off, with the Autobot shuttle following close behind.

Astrotrain frowned, looking at the Nemesis’ computer. “Jetfire’s leaving the atmosphere,” he noted. “The Autobots are up to something…”

“Not now, Astrotrain,” Megatron muttered, his fists clenched as he glared at the other Decepticons. “What. Happened. To. Your. Mini-Cons.”

“We told you, Megatron!” Demolishor said. “They just… left!”

Megatron grabbed Demolishor by the neck. “And why did they do that?!”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?’ Thrust muttered. “Back during the war, our Mini-Cons suddenly left us, remember? Right before the Exodus launched. Even our reprogrammed ones left.”

After a moment, Megatron released Demolishor and turned to the Seeker tactician. “So… the Autobots are behind this?”

“No.” Thrust shook his head. “Red Alert was just as surprised when his Mini-Con took off. There’s another party in play here.”

“Which the Autobots must be tracking…” Megatron turned to Astrotrain. “Follow Jetfire. Find out what’s going on.”

Astrotrain nodded and walked off. Megatron turned back to his other troops. “Prepare for battle. Once Astrotrain returns, he will transport us up to whatever he finds up there.”

“Yes, sir!”

Starscream, meanwhile, gazed at the screen depicting Jetfire’s signal. He frowned, recalling his past friendship with the Autobot shuttle.

“Jetfire…”

“Any idea where we’re going?” Alexis asked, peeking out the window of the shuttle that was flying them out of Earth’s orbit.

“Not home, that’s for sure…” Rad muttered, gazing at the Earth below. “We’re in space!”

“I’m… sorry,” High Wire mumbled, now completely in control of his functions again. “I don’t know what came over me…”

“It wasn’t just you,” Grindor noted. “All of us got pulled in by that weird signal. See, look; Blackout and Crumplezone are over there, and Jolt, and Swindle…”

“Who are strangling each other again.” Sureshock sighed. “Great…”

“What do you make of this, Crumplezone?” Blackout asked.

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Crumplezone huffed. “I was finally living and whoever this is just took it away. Makes me wanna bash someone’s head in.”

“Guys…” Sparkplug muttered, looking out the window. “That’s the Exodus.”

The group looked outside to see the back half of the ship on the moon’s surface below them.

“We’re landing,” High Wire noted as the shuttle descended towards the wreck of the Exodus. “Kids, helmets. Quickly.”

Rad, Carlos, and Alexis glanced at each other. “Helmets?” Rad asked.

“Press the green button on the wrists of your suit,” Grindor said.

They did so, causing helmets to fold up around their heads.

“Woah…” Carlos muttered. “How much else can these things do?”

“I’d ask Red, but…” Suddenly, Sureshock perked up. She turned to Longarm. “Longarm, can you…?”

“Your suits are lined with numerous functions,” Longarm stated robotically. “However, we have locked various features to restrict what you can do on behest of Optimus Prime, for your safety. Unlocked features include protective helmets and a steady supply of oxygen. Currently locked features are: combat features, flight packs.”

Carlos frowned. “Man… we can’t even fight back against these guys?”

“...Longarm. Can we remove it?”

“They are locked to my personal signature, but I shall not. It goes against directive issued by Red Alert.”

High Wire sighed. “Worth a shot. Don’t worry, kids. We’ll protect you.”

Alexis crossed her arms, pouting. “Don’t call me a kid…”

“You are a child, though,” Grindor noted. “Unless we are mistaken?”

“I’m seventeen! Sure, legally that’s a kid, but still!”

“Quiet!” Blackout hissed. “We’re landing.”

Indeed, the pods had finally docked with the remains of the Exodus. As the pods opened onto the main ship, High Wire glanced at the kids. “Stay behind me and the others,” he whispered. “For your safety.”

The three nodded, staying with the Mini-Cons as they stepped out, walking through the hallways until they eventually reached a large gathering room. On a platform above them stood Dualor, Drill Bit, and Buzzsaw.

“Wait… the Destruction Team? They’re behind this?” Sureshock muttered in disbelief.

“How did they even get here?” Grindor wondered aloud.

“My fellow Mini-Cons!” Dualor shouted from above. “My name is Dualor of the Destruction Team, and I am here to deliver you to safety!”

“You can’t hope to deliver us!” one Mini-Con, a black stealth jet, shouted from the crowd below. “You’re nowhere near strong enough to take on the Decepticons!”

Dualor crossed his arms. “What makes you say that, Razorclaw?”

A black and blue stealth jet beside him stepped forward. “I’d like to see you try to take Megatron on! We’re better led by him than some weakling like you!”

Dualor froze. He glared down at the Mini-Con. “Drill Bit. Buzzsaw. Take Shockwave here to the holding cells. No one betrays our kind and gets away with it.”

“You mess with Shockwave, you mess with the rest of the Air Military Team!” a green cargo plane shouted. “Let’s get outta here!”

Razorclaw turned away. “Sky Lynx is right. Good luck with this or whatever. See you never.”

The three assumed their jet modes and flew off. Dualor sighed. “Well, we can do without them. For now, let’s get back on track.”

The Mini-Con began pacing. “For years upon years, the Cybertronians have used us as tools, as weapons, in their war! Well, I say no more! Our two greatest enemies are right down there, on that planet below us: Optimus Prime and Megatron. So I say, we strike back! Take them and all their warriors out, then make to the stars!”

“And… how are you going to do that?” Crumplezone chirped up from the crowd.

“Glad you asked, Crumplezone.” Dualor turned. “Drill Bit here managed to get our weapons systems back online. If we have no other option, we’ll bombard the planet below and leave no survivors!”

Dozens of voices rang up in protest, but not all of them. In fact, more seemed to be muttering in agreement.

“What do we do…?” Rad muttered.

“They’re… on the moon?”

:“Yes, sir,” : Jetfire replied. :“All the pods have gone up to Earth’s moon. Gonna assume the kids are up there, too.” :

“With those suits we gave them, they’ll be alright,” Red Alert noted. “At least, when it comes to having air. It won’t last forever, and I don’t think they can hide from whoever’s up there forever, either.”

Optimus nodded before turning back to Teletraan. “Jetfire, return to Earth and prepare to transport us up. We’re getting the kids home.”

“Aw, yeah!” Hot Shot grinned. “Can’t wait to kick some tailpipe!”

“Not so fast, Hot Shot.” Optimus turned back to him. “You and Blurr are staying here.”

The yellow Autobot’s face fell. “Aw, what?”

“I need you two to locate Sideways and the missing members of the Air Defense Team,” the Prime ordered. “Find out why Sideways took them, what he wants with them.”

Blurr nodded. “We won’t let you down, sir.”

Hot Shot groaned. “Do we really have to do this…?”

“Yes, we do, Hot Shot.” Blurr turned to his friend. “The Air Defense Team are Weaponizers . Who knows why Sideways wanted them? Maybe he’s a Decepticon agent?”

“He told us about them existing in the first place!” Hot Shot argued. “If he were a Decepticon or something, why not tell them first? Why tell us ? It doesn’t add up!”

“Maybe this is all a misunderstanding,” Red Alert suggested.

Optimus sighed. “I certainly hope so, Red…”

“So… the Mini-Cons are all fleeing to the remains of the Exodus on the moon?”

:“That’s right, Megatron,” : Astrotrain replied. :“I’m already on my way back to bring you all up here." :

“Excellent.” Megatron rose. “Thrust, remain here to man the teleporter. Starscream, Cyclonus, Demolishor, prepare to board Astrotrain.”

Megatron grabbed up the brainwashed Leader-1. “We have places to be…”

As the Decepticons walked off, Thrust huffed in annoyance and crossed his arms. “Leave me behind, will you…?”

On the Exodus, Dualor looked down at the crowd of Mini-Cons as they shouted up, some in protest, more in agreement.

“HEY!”

The Mini-Cons froze as Alexis pushed through them. “How can you be so selfish?!” she shouted up at Dualor. “That’s a whole planet, our planet! The Autobots saved your damn life, and you wanna repay them by not just slaughtering them, but all of humanity as well?!”

“Alexis…” Sureshock muttered.

“No, Sureshock!” Alexis snapped at her friend. “I am done being on the sidelines when my home is at risk!”

After a moment, Rad stepped forward. “She’s right. You can’t destroy Earth like that.”

“Yeah!” Carlos joined his friends.

Dualor sighed. “Who let these… things on board?”

“We did.” High Wire stepped forward, joined by Sureshock and Grindor. “They’re our friends, as are the Autobots. We’re not going to let your mad scheme go through.”

Dualor groaned. “Ugh… really, High Wire? You got soft? You were championing against them in the first place!”

Rad’s eyes widened. “What…?”

High Wire sighed. “Back during the war, for the longest time, I… was very much against both sides. Almost Dualor-level.” He glared back up at the Mini-Con above him. “But I’ve changed. I’m beyond that now.”

Dualor frowned. “A shame. Drill Bit, Buzzsaw, get those humans out of here. Take their staunch defenders, too. We can’t have anyone in the way of Mini-Con freedom.”

“Two against three,” Grindor noted. “You sure you wanna take those odds?”

Suddenly, other Mini-Cons started surging forward and grabbing them.

“Hey!”

“What are you doing?!”

“Seems you’re the ones outnumbered here, Grindor.” Dualor smirked. “Take them away.”

As the six struggled and shouted, Mirage watched from nearby. After a moment, he looked away, clenching his fists.

“Don’t…” he muttered. “It’s… it’s not worth it… it’s not worth it…”

He sounded less like he was stating a fact and more like he was trying to convince himself. And he wasn’t the only one looking on hesitantly, either.

Buzzsaw looked away. “Mass extinction…?”

“Alright, Prime,” Jetfire said. “We’re right above the Exodus. We ready?”

Scavenger smirked. “You ready for this, rookie?”

Side Swipe grinned. “You bet! My first deployment… oh, I can’t wait!”

Smokescreen huffed. “That optimism won’t last long.”

“Stay sharp, Autobots,” Optimus ordered. “We don’t know what’s down there. Switch to internal comms, there’s no atmosphere out here, so sound won’t carry.”

“Dropping now!”

The floor opened up, and the Autobots dropped down to the moon’s surface.

::Woah!:: Side Swipe tried to regain his balance as he felt the effects of the moon’s different gravitational pull. ::Gravity’s weird.::

::Optics up!:: Smokescreen called. ::Entering Exodus now.::

The Autobots stepped up to the larger ship and into its broken halls. Optimus motioned for the Autobots to move further in.

“Erm, Dualor…?”

Dualor sighed, turning to his subordinate. “What, Drill Bit?”

“Autobots are here.” The red Mini-Con pointed at the monitor off to the side, revealing Prime, Smokescreen, Side Swipe, and Scavenger moving through the halls of the Exodus .

“Slaggit!” Dualor swore. He turned to the crowd of Mini-Cons below. “The Autobots are here to steal you back! Fight! Fight for your freedom!”

Crumplezone crossed his arms. “Well, I’m not one to turn down busting a few Autobots. What do you say, Blackout?”

After a moment of silence, Blackout nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get going.”

Swindle laid back. “Mmmm… nah. Not gonna do this. Sorry, but I’m not throwing my skidplate on the line for a buncha dudes I barely know.”

As about a dozen Mini-Cons moved out, Mirage hesitated to join them.

“Mirage?”

Mirage turned around to see Sparkplug behind him. “Oh, Sparkplug. I… was expecting Downshift, or maybe Dirt Boss.”

“You okay, Mirage?”

Mirage shrugged. “Dunno. I… I don’t like any of this. Dualor’s mad, but… he’s got too many on his side. Contesting him… it’s suicide.”

Sparkplug glanced back up at Dualor, frowning as he, Drill Bit, and Buzzsaw rolled off. “Maybe. But I think a suicide mission is better thandoing nothing and letting the extinction of an entire planet happen.”

Mirage looked down at the ground, clenching his fist. “I… I don’t want to die. But… Dualor…”

After a moment, Sparkplug turned away. “I’m gonna go rally some Mini-Cons to put a stop to Dualor’s plan. I’ll… let you think.”

Sparkplug transformed to his car mode and rolled off, leaving Mirage to think.

Rad sighed. “Nice going, guys. Now we’re all stuck on the freakin’ Moon!”

“What were we supposed to do, Rad?!” Alexis shouted back. “They’re trying to destroy the Autobots and humanity!”

“Calm down,” Sureshock said. “We’re going to be fine. Sparkplug and the others will find us.”

Carlos scoffed. “Oh, really? And where are they?!”

“Right here.”

Carlos turned around to see Sparkplug, Liftor, Rollbar, Jolt, Incinerator, Longarm, Nightbeat, Comettor, and, oddly, Swindle, behind them.

“You came!” Rad grinned.

“Yup.” Sparkplug nodded at Comettor, who quickly pressed a few buttons on the control panel and deactivated the cell’s energy field.

“There you go,” Comettor said. “You’re free to go.”

“Thanks!” Carlos said as the group left. “And… you are…?”

“Comettor.” Comettor rolled back a bit.

“Nightbeat.” Nightbeat waved. “Dualor’s plan doesn’t really appeal to us. We’re gonna take ‘im down!”

High Wire glanced over at the odd one out. “Swindle? You’re helping us?”

Swindle shrugged. “Dualor’s doomed. Anyone with a functional brain module can see that. Just joining the winning team.”

“The Autobots just got here, and Dualor brought a whole platoon of Mini-Cons out to gun them down,” Sparkplug said. “We need your help.”

After a moment, High Wire sighed. “Yeah… us being out there will help diffuse the crowd. But what about the kids?” He gestured to Alexis, Rad, and Carlos.

Swindle raised a hand. “I can watch them.”

The group cast him an unamused glance.

“What? I’ve looked after protoforms before! It’s gonna cost you, though…”

“We don’t throw you to Megatron and let him know you helped the enemy,” Nightbeat said.

“...Fair enough.”

“Longarm, Jolt, stay with Swindle,” Sparkplug ordered. “Everyone else, we have a situation to diffuse.”

The group rolled out, leaving the kids and the three Mini-Cons behind.

“...So, anyone wanna check out what this ship’s carrying on it? Could be profit…”

::Prime…:: Side Swipe said over the internal comm. ::We’ve got company. Detecting signatures all around us.::

::Hold.:: Optimus held up his fist, causing the Autobots to come to a stop.

Suddenly, a door slid shut behind them. They heard a hissing noise as the ship’s artificial atmosphere activated.

“Optimus Prime. Good to see you again.”

The Autobots looked up to see Dualor, Drill Bit, and Buzzsaw above them.

“Dualor?” Optimus lowered his weapon. “What’s going on?”

“What’s going on is I’m leading the Mini-Cons in revolution.” Dualor smirked. “You and Megatron both, you’re sicknesses. Ones that must be purged for us to thrive.”

Mini-Cons emerged all around the Autobots. They quickly prepared their weapons.

“Hold!” Optimus ordered. “We can’t risk harming them!”

Dualor chuckled. “Bleeding spark to the end, Prime. Have you ever thought that, just maybe, that’s not a good thing? Is that why you keep hiding the truth about how the war began from so many? To protect them? Or, perhaps… to protect yourself.”

“What’s he talking about?” Smokescreen asked.

Optimus and Scavenger glanced at one another before returning their attention to Dualor. “Really, Dualor?” Scavenger frowned. “We save your worthless hide and this is how you repay us?”

Dualor sighed. “Don’t you get it? That one instance doesn’t even begin to make up for your crimes against us! But… I’m here to even that debt.”

The Mini-Cons aimed their weapons. “Once you’re gone, we’ll bombard this pathetic planet and wipe you, the Decepticons, and those filthy organics out !”

Buzzsaw looked away as the Autobots reacted in horror.

“You… you can’t do that!” Side Swipe shouted. “There’s life down there!”

“Unfortunate casualties,” Dualor noted. “But it ends with the deaths of Optimus Prime and Megatron. It’s what you deserve. Now… prepare for your deaths.”

“DUALOR!”

Dualor froze, turning around as none other than Perceptor stepped in, flanked by Sparkplug, Liftor, Incinerator, Nightbeat, Rollbar, and Comettor.

“P-Perceptor…? How did you…?”

“You’re not as influential as you thought, Dualor.” Perceptor crossed their arms, a scowl on their face. “It’s time to end this. Now.”

Chapter Text

Hot Shot sighed as he drove alongside Blurr. “Some duty, am I right? Missing out on all the action…”

“We’re doing something important, Hot Shot,” Blurr replied. “Try to stay focused.”

“...Blurr? Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re… different. You used to act all carefree and stuff, but now… you’re all… down. All business.”

“Being carefree cost me my speed, Hot Shot. We need to stay on the task at hand. We’re at war. This isn’t a game.”

Hot Shot slid to a stop, assuming robot mode. “YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT?!”

Blurr stopped as well, remaining in his vehicle mode.

“YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THIS ISN’T A GAME?!” Hot Shot stepped forward. “YOU KNOW WHAT I’VE LOST! WHO I’VE LOST! YOU LOST YOUR SPEED, YEAH, COOL! I… I…”

Hot Shot paused, turning away. “...I lost my brother, Blurr. You know that. I know it’s not a game, I just…”

After a moment, Blurr sighed and assumed his robot mode. “I… I know, Hot Shot. I don’t mean to make any less of… of Wheeljack.”

“I know. I’m… sorry I snapped.”

“It’s all good.”

Then, the two heard laughter. Familiar laughter.

“Oh, how quaint.”

They whipped around, blasters ready, to see Sideways standing behind them, arms crossed. Mirror was at his side, as were the still-unconscious Runway and Sonar.

“Sideways!” Blurr shouted. “What are you doing with Runway and Sonar?”

“C’mon, dude!” Hot Shot frowned. “Why’d you have to go and run off on us like that?”

Sideways chuckled. “You really haven’t figured it out, have you? Fine, guess I’ll just show you. Crosswise!”

Mirror split into his two halves, and Crosswise leapt up, transforming for the first time and assuming the form of a gray head with a black visor. He landed atop Sideways’ own head, covering it up, and instead of the Autobot insignia appearing on his chest, the Decepticon insignia flared up.

Hot Shot and Blurr stared in shock at this reveal while Sideways just laughed.

Above the moon, Jetfire flew, observing the Exodus down below. As he did, he quickly spotted something: an orange light, getting… closer?

What the…?

It wasn’t long before he made out the shape of Astrotrain flying towards the moon’s surface. Astrotrain landed, opening up the back of his vehicle mode and allowing Megatron, Leader-1, Starscream, Demolishor, and Cyclonus to step out.

Slag…

:“Prime, it’s Jetfire. Astrotrain just pulled up. Megatron’s here.” :

Optimus sighed. “One moment, Jetfire. We’re… tied up.”

“How the hell are you free?!” Dualor shouted, storming towards Perceptor.

“Like I said.” Perceptor gestured to the Mini-Cons behind them. “You’re not as influential as you thought.”

Dualor clenched his fists. “You little…”

“Dualor…” Buzzsaw stepped closer. “Calm down. They’re Mini-Cons, they can make their own choices.”

After a moment, Dualor smirked. “You’re right, Buzzsaw… and they’ve made their choice.” His cannons folded down, aiming right at the gestalt. “They chose to betray us, and the sentence is death!”

“Dualor!” Buzzsaw moved between them. “You can’t just execute anyone who disagrees with you!”

After a moment, Dualor sighed, folding his cannons back up. “Fine. Spiral, Oval, Backtrack, take Perceptor and all their friends and lock them up!”

Then, Dualor heard the clicking of a pistol. He turned to see Backtrack and Oval with their weapons aimed at Dualor. Spiral stood between them, her arms crossed.

“Can’t do that, Dualor,” she said. “Stand down. Perceptor’s right. Your plan is insane.”

“Traitors!” Dualor hissed, stepping back. “You’re traitors to your own kind!”

Then, the entire room shook. The Street Speed team lost their footing, giving Dualor an opening to fire at their feet, knocking them away.

“What’s going on?!” Drill Bit cried.

“The Decepticons…” Optimus muttered. “They’ve found us!”

Outside, Starscream, Cyclonus, and Astrotrain did strafing runs on the ship, while Megatron and Demolishor fired from the ground below.

“BRING THEM OUT!” Megatron roared. “DESTROY WHOEVER DARED TO CROSS US!”

Crumplezone turned towards the door. “Cyclonus is here? Finally! I’ve missed linking up with him!”

Dualor took the opportunity to roll off alongside Buzzsaw and Drill Bit. “We’re getting the weapons back online!” he shouted. “You all, deal with Prime and the others!”

Once they were gone, Perceptor turned back to Optimus. “Someone needs to stop him.”

“Like Pit!” a Mini-Con shouted from the crowd. “Dualor’s protecting us!”

“Yeah!” another shouted. “You’re all traitors!”

Sparkplug stepped forward. “You three go ahead. We’ll deal with these guys.”

“You… sure?”

“Yeah.” Sparkplug smirked. “Long as Prime and the Autobots can take care of Megatron.”

Optimus nodded. “Get the door open.”

As Perceptor turned away, they activated their comlink. “Longarm, get into the systems. Open up a path from my location to the outside. Prime and the others are preparing to depart.”

:“On it.” :

After a moment, the door to the makeshift airlock opened up. Optimus and the Autobots moved into it as the Mini-Cons opened fire. The doors closed before they could take much damage.

“Ready, Autobots?” Optimus asked, glancing to the others.

Smokescreen smirked. “Ready as we’ll ever be, boss-bot.”

Optimus nodded as the door opened, destroying the artificial atmosphere. ::Then… roll out!::

“Sideways…” Hot Shot muttered, stepping back. “You’re… you’re a Decepticon?!”

“You could say that,” the agent replied as he aimed his arm cannons at him and Blurr. “Now stay back or I’ll blow you both to kingdom come.”

Blurr’s grip tightened around his pistol. “So… just a double agent for Megatron this whole time, huh? Why not just tell him about the Weaponizer Mini-Cons first, instead of just playing us and giving us the tip that they exist?”

“I have my reasons.” Sideways shrugged. “That, and it’s just fun to mess around with your loyalties and trust.”

“So you just did this for giggles, then?”

“That’s half the reason. You’re usually ahead of the Decepticons lately, and you Autobots are so trusting. So, I let you know because you had the higher chance of claiming them. But the Decepticons, once I provide proper evidence of this power, will stop at nothing until all the weapons are united under their rule.”

“And then Megatron has ultimate power.” Hot Shot scoffed. “Predictable.”

“Please. Megatron’s a fool, he couldn’t handle all that power at once.”

“So what’s your plan, then?” Blurr narrowed his optics. “Get the weapons, overthrow Megatron, lead the Decepticons?”

“My plans are my own.” Sideways started to back away. “Now… I’m going to leave here, and you will let me.”

“Like hell.” Hot Shot opened fire. Sideways quickly switched form and swerved between his shots. He then reverted to robot mode and blasted Hot Shot in the side. The Autobot yelped, stumbling back.

“How are we going to beat him?!” Hot Shot struggled to rise. “He has a Mini-Con boosting him, we don’t!”

Blurr frowned. “I… I don’t know. We can’t let him get away!”

Sideways chuckled. “Too late for that, Autobots. I’ll be seeing you again soon, though. I look forward to it.”

Suddenly, he turned entirely static, and his body moved almost like a liquid. It moved through the air, losing shape and consuming Runway, Sonar, and Rook before sinking into the ground.

“NO!” Hot Shot shouted, firing at the staticy mass. The blasts were just absorbed by this strange new state Sideways was in as he went into the ground.

“Slag…” Blurr muttered. “What are we going to tell Prime?”

Hot Shot sighed as he activated his comlink. “Red, warp us back. We lost Sideways and the Air Defense Team.”

“I… I want to help,” Mirage said. “Dualor’s going to wipe out an entire planet if he’s not stopped.”

“I think you’re right,” Dirt Boss replied, looking over at his teammate. “Surprised you’re thinking about stepping up, Mirage.”

“This whole situation has… given me some time to think.” Mirage looked down. “And… I’m done running.”

“So what are we waiting for?” Downshift asked, pumping a fist. “Let’s rev up and roll out!”

A battle between the Autobots and Decepticons raged below on the surface. Dualor’s gaze focused on Megatron and Optimus.

“Excellent. All our enemies are in one place.” Dualor turned. “Drill Bit, bring the weapons online.”

“We got a problem, boss.” The red Mini-Con turned. Doors are opening up and makin’ a path here. Someone’s in our system.”

Dualor scowled. “Slag… fine. Dispatch the Night Attack Team.”

Buzzsaw paused. “Them? You… sure?”

“I said what I said!” Dualor glared at his fellow Mini-Con. “Now, Drill Bit, send them out!”

He glanced back at Drill Bit. “Not everyone is up here. Once Prime and Megatron are gone, bombard the Earth.”

Buzzsaw looked away from the two. This… this was going too far.

“Guys…” Swindle muttered, listening to the sounds of vehicles approaching. “We’ve got incoming.”

“Stay in there, Longarm!” Jolt shouted. “We’ll take care of this.”

Three vehicles rolled up, identical to the Land Military Team aside from colors. They assumed robot mode, with the black and blue Bonecrusher lookalike being at the front. Behind him were the blue, white, and gray Mini-Cons otherwise identical to Knock Out and Wreckage.

“Scattor…” Jolt muttered. “What are you doing?”

“Simple.” Scattor smirked. “Broadside, Fetch, and I are here to stop you from interfering with Dualor’s plan. Right, boys?”

Fetch, the Wreckage lookalike, grinned. “We’re gonna pound your heads in!”

“You will suffer and fall into the darkness, where we lie in wait to take you apart piece by piece,” Broadside, the one who looked like Knock Out, said.

“...Rrrright.” Scattor shuddered, looking back at the other Mini-Cons. “Well, it’s time we get you out of Dualor’s way.”

Swindle stepped forward. “C’mon, now, you all know Dualor’s doomed, right? C’mon, let’s cut a deal, make the best of both worlds! We go free, and you can take over operations on the Exodus once Dualor goes down. Pretty sweet offer, yeah?”

“Swindle!”

“What?” The red racer glanced at the orange helicopter behind him. “Can’t help it. I’m a dealer at spark.”

Scattor fired his missile launcher, knocking the two off their feet. “Broadside, take out the others.”

Broadside marched towards the kids and Longarm.

“Longarm!” Carlos cried. “What do we do?!”

After a moment, Longarm sighed. “Situation is critical. I have no choice.”

He looked back at the kids. “Deactivate safety features. User designation: Longarm.”

“Recognized.”

Suddenly, various control systems appeared around the kids’ helmets.

“Woah…” Rad muttered. “What is…?”

“No time!” Alexis shouted, moving towards Broadside. “Get the hell away from us!”

Suddenly, an energy blade came out of her suit’s wrist as she swung, cutting one of Broadside’s arms right off.

“...Oh.”

“Woah…” Alexis looked over the blade. “We have knife hands?!”

Jolt and Swindle had risen again, their blasters ready. “You’re outnumbered, Scattor,” Jolt said. “Think about this.”

“Please.” Scattor grinned. “We can take the five of you.”

“You mean eight?”

The group turned to see Mirage, Downshift, and Dirt Boss, with their weapons out and aimed at Scattor.

“Mirage?” Jolt muttered. “You… you’re here?”

“I’m tired of running,” Mirage said. “It’s time the Race Team steps up for once.”

“Damn right!” Dirt Boss stepped forward. “Now, Scattor… you were saying?”

After a moment, Scattor sighed. “I suppose you’re right about Dualor. Megatron’s on our doorstep. He’s already lost.”

“Where we gonna go, then?” Fetch asked.

“Probably back down to Earth. Lots of fun to be had there. Move out.”

The team transformed and rolled away, allowing the group to let out a breath (except Longarm, who was still as emotionless as usual).

“So… these suits have some combat features, huh?” Rad looked over his suit. “Can’t wait to see everything these babies can do!”

“Path created to Dualor,” Longarm said. “We should probably get somewhere safer.”
“Agreed.” Jolt transformed. “Roll out!”

Jolt flew ahead, with Swindle and Longarm following close behind. Rad rode on Downshift, Carlos on Mirage, while Alexis rode on Swindle.

“No!” Dualor shouted. “Where is Scattor?!”

“He’s among the Mini-Cons fleeing,” Buzzsaw said. “Looks like we’ve lost them.”

“SLAGGIT!” Dualor slammed his fist into the wall. “We… we can’t have them turning on us now ! We’re so close !”

He whipped back around. “Drill Bit, open fire.”

Drill Bit nodded. “On it.”

The Autobot-Decepticon battle was interrupted as gunfire began to rain down around them.

::What’s going on?!:: Side Swipe cried.

::What is this, Prime?:: Megatron asked via internal comm. ::Some suicide play?::

Optimus turned around. ::Dualor…::

::Who?::

::A Mini-Con extremist who plans to wipe us ALL out.:: Optimus glanced back at Megatron. ::If we work together, we can stop him.::

Megatron didn’t respond for a moment. Then, he activated his comlink. ::Demolishor, blast me a path into the Exodus. We’re going after a Mini-Con who wants to destroy us all and has the firepower to do it.::

It wasn’t long before Demolishor rolled over to him. He fired, blasting his way in.

::What about the others?:: Optimus asked.

::Well, someone needs to draw their fire.:: Megatron glanced back. ::It’s the only way we can get in on our own.::

After a moment, Optimus followed Megatron in. By the time they entered the next room, the atmosphere had kicked back in.

“Reminds me of the good old days.” Megatron smirked. “When was the last time we worked together, again?”

“You know the last time, Megatron.”

“Of course I do. It was right before this war started.” Megatron glanced back at Optimus. “You still haven’t told them who really caused the civil war, have you? You haven’t told them the truth about him.”

“...No.”

Megatron laughed. “Of course not. You need an enemy to fight. They need an enemy, so you refuse to tell the truth about their precious old leader.”

“What he did was wrong.” Optimus’ yellow optics glared daggers at Megatron. “And I know he hurt you. But it does not condone you starting this war and enslaving the Mini-Cons.”

“You don’t get to talk about how he’s hurt me.” Megatron glanced away. “You don’t understand what he took from me.”

“I do. Or did you forget what Shockblast did, all those years ago?”

Megatron went silent. “I’d… forgotten. It’s been two million years since… I’m sorry.”

“You’re… forgiven. For the comment.”

The two remained silent as they continued through the halls, not noticing that Demolishor had split off from them.

“Where are we going, Crumplezone?!” Blackout shouted as Crumplezone pulled him along.

“We’re getting out of here!” Crumplezone shouted. “Going back to Earth, back to Cyclonus and Demolishor, and getting back to the fight!”

“I knew you’d be up here!”

The two turned to see Demolishor behind them. He grinned. “Blackout, it’s good to see you! C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

Crumplezone began walking back over towards Demolishor, but Blackout stayed put. Demolishor tilted his head. “Blackout…?”

“Sorry, Demolishor…” Blackout aimed his cannons. “But Dualor dreams of freedom for all Mini-Cons. I can’t betray that.”

Blackout opened fire on the Bulk, and Demolishor stumbled back, protecting his face. “C’mon, Blackout, you don’t gotta do this! W-We’re pals, right?”

“You kept me under your thumb !” Blackout shouted. “Sure, you’re nicer to us than most other Decepticons and all, but you still held me there!”

“Blackout, stop!”

“It’s Dualor’s time to rise!”

Suddenly, Blackout stiffened before crumpling, knocked out by a hit courtesy of Crumplezone. He dusted off his hands. “There.”

Demolishor knelt down and picked Blackout up. He sighed, looking at the unconscious Mini-Con in his hands.

“C’mon, let’s get outta here.” Crumplezone assumed his vehicle mode and rolled off. After a moment, Demolishor did the same.

“DUALOR!”

Dualor froze, whipping around as Perceptor marched in. “P-Perceptor!”

“It’s time for you to stop this,” Perceptor said, crossing their arms. “It’s over, Dualor.”

After a moment, Dualor sighed. “Maybe you’re right…”

A beat passed.

“NOT!”

Dualor’s cannons folded down and fired, blowing Perceptor into their individual components. Dualor marched over to the fallen Street Action Team, Drill Bit at his side.

“It’s over, High Wire.” Dualor smirked. “I’ve as good as–”

Suddenly, Drill Bit collapsed.

“Drill Bit?!” Dualor whipped around, only to be shocked… literally. He collapsed to the ground, and High Wire looked up to see none other than Buzzsaw standing over the two fallen Mini-Cons.

“Buzzsaw?”

“I’m done with Dualor.” Buzzsaw pulled High Wire up, with Sureshock and Grindor joining him shortly afterward. “He’s lost it.”

“Do… you want to come with us?”

“...No.” Buzzsaw looked away. “Sorry, I just… I don’t want to join the war still. I’m gonna stay here, keep Dualor distracted as long as I can, probably take out the weapons systems. You guys get outta here.”

“Buzzsaw…”

“Did you hear me? I said go !”

High Wire reluctantly nodded. “Thank you.” With that, the Mini-Cons transformed and rolled off.

With them gone, Buzzsaw turned around and walked over to the control panel for the Exodus’ weapons. He turned them off, then raised up his buzzsaw arm and activated it. He brought it down, cutting right through the control panel and rendering it useless.

“NO!”

Buzzsaw turned around to see that Dualor and Drill Bit were already back up. Much faster than he would have liked, but evidently life isn’t fair.

Before they could react, Buzzsaw shifted modes and rolled out of the room.

“GET THAT DAMN TRAITOR!” Dualor roared. He and Drill Bit assumed their vehicle modes and pursued their turncoat teammate.

Outside, the Autobots and Decepticons looked around.

::Odd…:: Starscream said over his comms. ::The Exodus stopped firing. Whoever was doing that must have stopped.::

::Does that mean we can get back to bustin’ Autobots?:: Cyclonus asked excitedly.

::...No. Not right now. We have to figure out what’s going on here.::

:“Decepticons, this is Megatron. Prepare to return to base. Our Mini-Cons are being reclaimed as we speak.” :

::Dammit!:: Cyclonus muttered.

::They’re not attacking,:: Side Swipe noted. ::What do we do?::

::Don’t fight, for one,:: Jetfire replied, stepping up beside the smaller Autobot. ::They’re having an conversation on their internal comms.::

::No sign of Demolishor,:: Scavenger noted. ::Or Prime, or Megatron.::

::They headed inside the ship,:: Smokescreen noted. ::Probably going to stop Dualor.::

::Primus, those two are working together?::

::For now.:: Smokescreen shrugged. ::Bet you fifty Shanix they’ll be at each other’s throats any moment now.::

As the Mini-Cons neared the exit, Swindle assumed his robot mode. He set Alexis down.

“Where are you going?” the girl asked.

Swindle shrugged. “Sorry, kid. I got places to be. Starscream’s waiting.”

“You don’t have to go back with him, you know,” Jolt said from above. “You can come with us.”

Swindle chuckled, waving Jolt off. “Nah. Autobots ain’t my thing. But… it was nice workin’ with you again for a bit.”

Swindle waved before assuming his vehicle mode and driving off, his navigation system quickly locating the signals of Blackout and Crumplezone nearby. Alexis sighed as she watched him roll away.

As Optimus and Megatron continued, they were surprised as none other than Buzzsaw came veering around the corner.

“O-Optimus!” Buzzsaw cried, coming to a stop.

“You… you were with Dualor,” Optimus muttered. Megatron’s fists clenched upon hearing this fact.

“Was. I shut down the weapons–”

Suddenly Megatron lunged towards Buzzsaw. Optimus quickly shoved him aside. “Megatron! What are you doing?!”

“He’s with that spawn of a glitch that tried to take my Mini-Cons from me!” Megatron roared, throwing Optimus off of him. “Now, move aside!”

He fired his cannon, knocking Prime off his feet. Megatron then assumed his tank mode and rolled after Buzzsaw.

“GET BACK HERE!” Dualor roared, seeing Buzzsaw round a corner up ahead. After a moment, Buzzsaw came back around, speeding right past the two.

“What in the–”

Then, Megatron came around the corner in tank mode, firing. The blast threw Dualor and Drill Bit into the air and against the walls, causing the two to revert to their robot modes. Buzzsaw continued as Megatron assumed his robot mode, looking down.

“And who are you?”

Dualor scowled as he rose. “Dualor. And you’re the bane of the Mini-Cons.”

Megatron smirked after a moment. “So you’re the one behind this.” He reached down and grabbed both Dualor and Drill Bit. “Let me tell you… today, I am the bane of only one Mini-Con: you.”

Dualor scowled. “Do your worst.”

“Megatron!”

The Decepticon leader glanced back as Optimus ran towards him. “Thrust, pull us back. We’ve reclaimed what’s ours.”

After a moment, Megatron vanished in a beam of light. Optimus swore, pounding his fist against the wall.

Inside the ship, Demolishor, Crumplezone, Blackout, and Swindle (now joined by Inferno) were warped away.

Outside, Starscream, Cyclonus, and Astrotrain disappeared in a flash of light.

::Well… I guess that’s that,:: Smokescreen said.

Mirage watched as the Street Action Team happily reunited with Alexis, Rad, and Carlos. Sparkplug, Nightbeat, Comettor, Incinerator, and Liftor had reunited with the team as well.

“You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” Dirt Boss asked.

“Yeah.” Mirage nodded. “I think we should probably go back to Earth with the Autobots. They’re on our side.”

“...I’m with you guys.” Downshift glanced at them. “Should we… let them know?”

“Probably.” Mirage looked down. “The Air Defense Team never showed, so they’re definitely in play. I saw the Space Team in the crowd, but they’re probably back on Earth by now. If the Autobots are going to win, they need at least one of us.”

“I’ve sent our signal to Red,” Sparkplug said. “He’s gonna bridge us back here in a klik.”

“Alright.” High Wire nodded. “We’re good, then.”

“We’re coming with.”

The Mini-Cons glanced back at the Race Team, Nightbeat, and Comettor. Sparkplug blinked. “You… want to come?”

“Of course.” Mirage nodded. “The Autobots are fighting for freedom. We want the same thing.”

Sparkplug smiled. “Welcome to the team, guys.”

After a moment, they were warped away, with the Autobots both in and outside the ship joining.

“So Sideways was a Decepticon agent and got away with the Weaponizer Mini-Cons?”

Hot Shot looked away from Optimus. “...Yeah. Blurr and I tried our best, but with Blurr still recovering from the whole… ‘getting stabbed by Starscream’ thing, we weren’t able to catch him.”

“That and he turned into liquid static,” Blurr added.

Red Alert paused, glancing at them. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me.”

“It seems there’s more to Sideways than meets the eye,” Optimus muttered. “But now the Decepticons have the entire Air Defense Team.”

“The Star Saber…” Mirage muttered. After a moment, he chuckled. “Well, don’t worry. You guys aren’t completely unprepared.”

“Hm?”

Mirage glanced at the other two. “Dirt Boss, Downshift… let’s do it. Merge to form the Skyboom Shield!”

The three Mini-Cons leapt into the air, assuming their vehicle modes. The back of Downshift’s racer mode split and folded around the front. Dirt Boss split in half and folded down the middle, with two fins folding out of his car mode. He then latched onto Downshift. Finally, Mirage attached beneath Dirt Boss, forming a shield that almost looked like some form of jet. It attached to Optimus’ arm.

“So…” Hot Shot grinned. “We got one of the Weapons!”

“That we did,” Optimus said, looking over the Skyboom Shield. “But now, the Decepticons have one as well. We are balanced, for now. Which means whoever gets the Requiem Blaster… is the one who gets the edge.”

“Well?”

“Mini-Cons reprogrammed, Megatron,” Thrust reported, gesturing down to a brainwashed Dualor, Drill Bit, Runway, Sonar, and Blackout. Inferno stood off to the side, not brainwashed. He'd been all too happy to join up with his old pal Thrust. Swindle stood at Starscream's side, and Crumplezone was beside Cyclonus. “No more rebellions from any of them.”

“Excellent.” He glanced over at Sideways, who now leaned against the wall, with Crosswise still linked with him. “And thank you, Sideways, for claiming these two Mini-Cons to add to our arsenal.”

Demolishor, meanwhile, quietly glanced down at the brainwashed Blackout. He frowned, and looked... hurt. Hurt by the fact that Blackout betrayed him, that he'd had to be brainwashed to keep him on their side.

Part of him wondered if maybe, just maybe, Dualor was right.

“I don’t think you quite appreciate the power I’ve given you, Megatron,” Sideways noted, snapping Demolishor out of his thoughts.

“Oh?”

Sideways glanced at Starscream. “Hold out your hand, Starscream.”

Starscream did so.

“Air Defense Team,” Sideways called out. “Form the Star Saber.”

Runway, Jetstorm, and Sonar transformed and flew into the air. The front of Sonar’s vehicle mode split in half, opening up for Jetstorm to fly in cockpit-first and latch onto him. With that, Runway flew up, the rear of his vehicle form linking up with Jetstorm. Once it was done, the completed sword landed in Starscream’s waiting hand, and a bright blue glow surrounded it.

“The… the Star Saber…” Starscream muttered. “The blade of Prima himself…”

“And there’s more where that came from,” Sideways said, turning back to the Decepticon leader. “I know my stuff on these guys. Star Saber, Requiem Blaster, Skyboom Shield.”

After a moment, Megatron smirked. “Well, now… this changes things…”

Chapter Text

In the starry blackness of space, a sudden wormhole opened up. Out of it flew a particularly-shaped starship, bearing the name “Darksyde” scrawled on the side.

“Alright, we made it!” one voice, somewhat raspy and high-pitched, said, as its owner struggled with the controls. “Damage report!”

“Our weapons are offline, unfortunately…” another responded, this voice more gruff. “Engines damaged. We can land, but it’s gonna be bumpy. Any sign of him?”

The first Cybertronian, a green, teal, and orange Decepticon, pressed a few buttons and looked at one of the screens. “No, he didn’t follow. We’re clear. Sorry about your friends, though.”

“Once we get some reinforcements, we can go back for them.” The other one stepped up behind him. He was black, orange, and red, and noticeably had an Autobot badge on him. “He’s mad. Madder than I heard.”

“Well yeah, no scrap.” The first one rolled his yellow optics. “Look at what he did to us!”

“Focus on getting us a clear landing, Terrorsaur!”

Terrorsaur groaned. “Doing what I can, Rhinox!”

The Darksyde flew down towards a desert area on Earth, somewhere in Oregon. The ship landed roughly, throwing up dirt and foliage as it slid to a stop.

After a minute, the ship’s hatch opened, and both Terrorsaur and Rhinox stepped out. Rhinox moved to the back of the ship.

“Engine’s blown,” he muttered, looking over the thrusters. “We’re not getting off this planet anytime soon.”

“Slag…” Terrorsaur sighed. “Should we split up, then? Search for some resources? Maybe this backwater place has some tech we can use to repair the ship.”

Then, a device on Rhinox’s arm beeped. He pulled up a holo-projected screen. “Huh.”

Terrorsaur leaned over. “What is it?”

“Datalogs just caught up. Apparently, the war ended a million years ago.”

“...Slag. Really?”

“Yup. Mini-Cons were launched off Cybertron, and Megatron went after them. Jhiaxus and Prime struck a truce, signed this thing called the Pax Cybertronia.” Rhinox turned off the screen. “Makes it earlier to let them know what he’s up to.”

“I suppose…” Terrorsaur crossed his arms. “Kinda gonna miss the fighting, though. That was fun.”

“Now’s not the time for that.” Rhinox turned, looking over the area. “We gotta head out, find someone who can help us.”

Terrorsaur nodded. “Right. Right. You scout the ground, I’ll get the skies.”

Rhinox nodded before shifting form, taking on the appearance of a red and black biomechanical rhinoceros with blue detailing. Terrorsaur, meanwhile, transformed into a techno-organic Pteranodon.

“Make sure to mark the coordinates of our ship,” Rhinox said. “We’re gonna need to come back.”

“I know, I know.” With that, Terrorsaur took off into the sky, while Rhinox rolled across the ground, both in search of help.

“Anything?”

Red Alert sighed. “No. It’s a lot harder to locate any more Mini-Cons right now. Dualor activated all of the pods, so the energy they release have long since dissipated. We don’t even know how many of the Mini-Cons ended up back on Earth.”

“Any sign of Dualor’s guys?” Sparkplug asked from below. “Or Over-Run, for that matter? I didn’t see him up there, oddly enough.”

“Dualor and Drill Bit were taken by Megatron,” Optimus replied. “No sign of Buzzsaw, though. Maybe he managed to escape.”

“Bigger question right now is how we’re going to locate the other Mini-Cons,” Jetfire said, joining the three. “We know some of them took escape pods off the Exodus, but I don’t think they had that much energy buildup if they were only closed for a few hours.”

“Longarm and I are working on a system to track the new pods’ descent,” Red Alert said. “We don’t have too many that ended up landing back on Earth. Most of them disappeared into the cosmos, but they’re so split up across so much space we might as well be looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“What?”

“Earth term,” Optimus explained. “The point is, we need our efforts focused here. Like it or not, Earth is the battleground now.”

“Then we should probably get in contact with their leaders sooner than later,” Jetfire suggested. “I like staying incognito as much as the next guy, Prime, but we can’t hide out here forever when it’s become the front line.”

“I know.” Optimus sighed. “I’d just prefer if we remain as much on the down-low as possible.”

“Humans are extremely paranoid,” Red Alert noted. “I’ve been scouring their ‘Internet’, as they call it, and based on what I’ve seen, us revealing ourselves may just cause worldwide panic. Imagine you find out beings seven times your size are hiding on your planet.”

“...I mean, the Titans existed once.”

“I mean beings you didn’t know existed beforehand. From a different planet. When you didn’t even know for sure if other life existed at all outside of your homeworld.”

Jetfire nodded. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

“Warning! Perimeter breach!”

The Autobots froze as Teletraan-1 lit up.

“Teletraan?” Optimus stepped next to Red Alert. “What’s going on?”

“Unidentified lifeform approaching Ark, ” Teletraan reported.

Optimus turned. “Scavenger, Hot Shot, Jetfire, with me. We’re going to investigate.”

“Odd…” Rhinox muttered as he walked through the forest in his rhino mode. “I’m… detecting Cybertronian life forms. There’s interference, so they’re hiding. Who would be here…?”

“HEY!”

Rhinox glanced over to the side to see Optimus Prime, Hot Shot, Jetfire, and Scavenger standing there, weapons aimed. Hot Shot smirked. “Seems someone escaped the zoo.”

“...Prime? Scavenger?”

Scavenger paused, lowering his weapon. “I… I know that voice!”

Rhinox shifted to his robot mode, smiling. “Scavenger, old friend! It’s been too long!”

Scavenger grinned, putting his blaster away. “Rhinox, ya old coot!”

As the two embraced, Hot Shot blinked. “Rhinox…?”

“Rhinox here is an old pal of mine from the Academy,” Scavenger said, turning around with an arm still around the ‘bot. “We hung out a lot . This guy’s like, one of those who was happy with the job he was assigned to.”

“What can I say?” Rhinox shrugged. “I’m an engineer at spark.” He smiled as he looked at Jetfire. “Good to see you too, Jetfire.”

“What’s with the alternate mode?” Jetfire asked. “I know you didn’t turn into… that… back on Cybertron.”

Rhinox sighed. “Yeah, that was gonna come up eventually. We need to talk.”

“Flier overhead,” Demolishor reported.

Megatron frowned as he rose. “I’m sorry, what?”

“We got someone overhead. No Autobot I recognize. Looks like… some kinda animal?”

Starscream grinned, twirling the Star Saber in his hands. “Finally, a chance to try this out!”

Megatron sighed. “On today of all days… I was supposed to get those reinforcements from Scorponok soon!”

“They’ll be through soon, Megatron,” Thrust reported.

“Demolishor, Cyclonus, Astrotrain, stay here and watch for the new recruits. Starscream, Thrust, with me.”

Megatron marched outside, followed by the two Seekers. As they reached the outside, they looked up to see a particular techno-organic Pteranadon soaring above them. It flew down towards them, hovering over the ground.

“It is you!” He laughed. “I’d heard you left like a scraplet without metal to munch!”

Starscream blinked, his eyes widened. “Wait… Terrorsaur?”

Terrorsaur assumed his robot mode, landing on the ground and grinning. “The one and only!”

“What… happened to you?”

“Long story. I bet Megatron would love to hear it inside, though.”

Megatron smiled. “Why, of course. It’s not often one of my deadliest warriors returns from the dead.”

“So…” Rhinox sat down. “The war’s back up again?”

“Yeah…” Red Alert rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry you have to go through this whiplash today.”

“Meh, I’ve been through worse.” He cast a glance down at Rad, Alexis, and Carlos. “And… these are the natives of this planet?”

“Yup!” Rad smiled. “Nice to meet you, Rhinox!”

“Any reason you turn into a rhino?” Alexis asked. “I thought those were only around here.”

“...So this is the planet he was watching…” Rhinox muttered. “Quite a coincidence.”

“What do you mean, Rhinox?” Optimus asked. “What happened out there?”

Rhinox sighed. “So… it all started around one million years ago…”

One million years ago…

Rhinox sped across the ground in his multi-terrain vehicle mode. Above him, a Seeker bearing a striking resemblance to Starscream fired down on him in jet mode. It was colored a mix of green, blue, and orange.

“Run, run, as fast as you can, Autobot!” Terrorsaur laughed as he fired down upon Rhinox. “You won’t get away from me!”

“I think my friend has something to say about that.”

Suddenly, one of Terrorsaur’s wings was blown off. He screamed as he spiraled into the ground, throwing a red and black Mini-Con off of him. A stealth bomber colored black, purple, and red. “You have got to stop getting yourself into situations like these, Rhinox,” she remarked.

“You’re the one who broke your cover, Airazor.”

“I wouldn’t have had to do that if you hadn’t come in guns blazing.”

“Fair enough. He after you?”

“Probably. Which is why we should get out of here now.”

Suddenly, Airazor’s wing was blown clean off. She transformed to her robot mode and tumbled as she hit the ground.

“AIRAZOR!” Rhinox shouted, assuming his robot mode and running over to her.

“G-Get out of here…” she coughed. “Find them…”

“You know I don’t leave ‘bots behind.”

Airazor scoffed as Rhinox helped her up. “We have a job…”

“And I’ll be damned if we don’t get it done.”

However, suddenly, Rhinox twitched violently as a Decepticon shoved an energon prod into his back. He collapsed, temporarily offline.

“RHINOX!”

Another Decepticon shoved a prod into Airazor’s neck, and her world went dark moments later.

Rhinox’s eyes flickered on. He looked around to find himself strapped to a table. A quick glance caused him to spot a few other ‘bots lying around. Airazor, Terrorsaur, and notably Cheetor were all being held as well. Airazor and Terrorsaur were conscious, but Cheetor was offline.

He was also vivisected. His chest was open, his pulsing spark visible. Various parts, including his transformation cog, had been removed.

“Primus…” Rhinox muttered.

“Primus indeed.” A large figure walked into the room, one anyone would recognize: the mad Decepticon scientist, Predacon. “At least, His will.”

“Predacon,” Airazor hissed, struggling against her restraints. “Where are they, you sickening piece of slag?!”

“All the comrades I’ve taken from you?” Predacon sighed. “Unfortunately, they did not survive the procedure. I’m conducting a second round on Cheetor here. I’ve already picked an alternate mode for him, one I feel will be… very suitable.”

“...You’re going to do the same to us, aren’t you?” Rhinox muttered, his optics wide.

Predacon grinned. “But of course. I am bringing about the next stage of our evolution, and you four will be the first in a new breed of super-soldiers!”

“Wait, four?!” Terrorsaur yelped. “B-But I’m a Decepticon!”

“Does it look like that matters to me?” Predacon asked. “I’m done working on Cybertron, with the Decepticons. I am so much more than Megatron’s petty ambitions.”

“Y-You can’t do this!” Terrorsaur struggled against his restraints. “Megatron will kill you ! That is, if I don’t do it first!”

“Sure he will.” Predacon grinned as he picked up a laser scalpel. “Now watch carefully. This will be you soon.”

With that, he went back to work on Cheetor as the others watched.

Present day…

“Predacon held us there for years. Experimented, tampered… dismembered.” Rhinox looked down at his hands. “He… succeeded, eventually. His first true successes that weren’t driven mad by the process. It turned the four of us into… well, what we are now.”

“So… Cheetor survived?” Red Alert asked, frowning as he leaned closer. “Is he… did he escape?”

“...No. The four of us staged an escape…”

Eight hours ago…

“Move, move!” Rhinox shouted as he busted down a wall in his rhino form. Terrorsaur followed close behind him in the air, alongside Cheetor (who was now a black and purple cheetah), Airazor (who was now a purple, red, black, and silver falcon), and one more ‘bot, this one a black, red, and gold wasp with green wings.

“Hangar’s gotta be around here somewhere!” Terrorsaur called out. “We can’t be too far!”

“So why’d we bring these ‘cons along again?” Cheetor asked, casting a glance at Terrorsaur and the wasp.

“They’re victims in this just as much as us, Cheetor,” Airazor replied. “They don’t deserve to be cooped up here.”

“GET BACK HERE!”

The five glanced back to see Predacon in his Tyrannosaurus mode flying after them. Alongside him were Side Burn, in his vehicle mode, and a brown Mini-Con car with gold windshields.

“Dino-bot is coming closerrrr!” the wasp yelped.

Predacon fired a blast from his mouth, blowing the wasp into pieces. His parts clattered across the ground, his head landing… and, oddly, continuing to talk.

“Ohhh, why univerzzze hate Wazzzzzpinator…?”

“We lost Waspinator!” Airazor cried.

“We’re almost there!” Terrorsaur shouted. “I can see it up ahead!”

“SHUT THE BLAST DOORS!” the brown Mini-Con ordered. “Don’t let them reach the hangar!”

"Good work, Skid-Z." Predacon grinned. "Do as he said, now!"

As doors began to shut, the group grew ever closer…

Rhinox and Terrorsaur were the first to make it in, but before Cheetor and Airazor could reach the hanger, the final doors shut, locking them out.

“NO!” Rhinox reverted to his robot mode and pounded on the door. Terrorsaur transformed and landed behind him. “CHEETOR! AIRAZOR!”

“We have to go, now!” Terrorsaur shouted, grabbing Rhinox’s shoulder.

“But…”

“We don’t have time!” Terrorsaur snapped. “If we don’t go now, Predacon will shut down the hangars, and then we can never tell Prime and Megatron what he’s doing!”

After a moment’s hesitation, Rhinox nodded. “Right. Right. But we’ll come back for them.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Let’s get the Pit outta here already!”

The two ran to a nearby ship, the Darksyde, and boarded it. The shuttle took off as the doors opened and Predacon’s troops poured into the hangar. Predacon, still in his dinosaur mode, scowled as he watched the ship leave. Various firearms outside the station opened fire, damaging the ship, but not able to stop it activating it’s Transwarp drive and disappearing. Predacon let out a deafening, rage-filled roar.

Present day…

“So… yeah.” Rhinox sighed. “Predacon doesn’t like to kill his experiments. Cheetor and Airazor are probably alive. We lost a lot in that escape attempt, though. Rattrap, Spittor, Claw Jaw…”

Red Alert took a few steps back and sat down. Hot Shot could see that the memories of the medic’s encounter with Predacon were replaying in his head. He placed a hand on Red Alert’s shoulder.

“Predacon will need to be dealt with,” Optimus said, rising. “But right now, Megatron remains the priority, Rhinox.”

“But…”

Optimus glanced at the red and black Autobot. “I understand your rage. But you cannot let that consume you.”

Off to the side, Scavenger scowled.

After a moment, Rhinox nodded. “Right. But we will bring him down, right?”

“Of course.”

“Hey, Prime.” Smokescreen turned around, having been monitoring Teletraan-1. “The Sky-Spy picked up some Mini-Cons in New Mexico. Four of ‘em.”

“Then we need to head out before the Decepticons discover them.” Optimus rose. “Rhinox, you don’t mind joining us?”

Rhinox smirked. “I’d be happy to.”

“Alright. Red, Jetfire, let’s get moving.” Optimus turned. “Transform and roll out!”

“So… Predacon has gone rogue?”

Terrorsaur nodded. “Yeah. You… you should have seen the scrap he’s doing.” Terrorsaur shivered. “It’s… revolting.”

Demolishor and Thrust glanced at one another. “If something can unnerve Terrorsaur like this…” Thrust muttered, glancing back towards Megatron.

“We’ll take care of Predacon once we finish rounding up the Mini-Cons here.” Megatron rose. “Right now, I need to finish preparations. Scorponok is sending troops in anytime now.”

“Good timing, too,” Starscream said, poking his head into the room. “Ship just picked up a jump. Prime’s on the move.”

Megatron smirked. “Ah, so the time has come for us to meet on the battlefield once more. Once they get here, Starscream, tell them to be ready to head out immediately. It’s time to get back in the game.”

Chapter Text

“Scorponok?”

Scorponok sighed, glancing back towards a ‘bot who looked a lot like Sideways. “Yes, Rapid Run?”

“You’ve been up here for a while.” The Sideways lookalike crossed his arms. “You’re not paying me to just sit around, are you? Cuz if so, I’m better off finding work elsewhere.”

Scorponok sighed. “Megatron is calling more warriors to Earth. It is clearly becoming the primary battleground of the reignited war. Just today, I have to send two of my remaining Seekers down. Why is he tapping into my warriors? Shockblast is right there, with his secret militia just waiting.”

“Maybe he’s trying to depower you,” Rapid Run suggested. “Perhaps… you’re a threat to him.”

Scorponok looked down, deep in thought.

“Well?”

“They’re coming through now, Megatron,” Sideways reported.

After a moment, two ‘bots emerged from the space bridge. One looked identical to Starscream, save the black and blue color scheme with red lining on his body. The other was physically identical to Thrust, but bore a light brown, dark blue, and black color scheme.

Starscream smiled at the sight of his fellow Seekers. “Thundercracker, Dirge, welcome to Earth.”

Dirge smirked. “I am glad to be present.” His voice had an odd echo to it, giving it a certain presence . “The Autobots shall soon know again the fear they’ve been hiding from.”

“...Whatever.” Thundercracker shrugged. “I’m just glad to be here. I’m gonna prove myself on this planet, I just know it!”

“Yes, yes, welcome.” Megatron turned. “Now, I want you two and Thrust to accompany Terrorsaur and I. We’re going to strike back at the Autobots.”

Thundercracker nodded, saluting enthusiastically. “Yes, sir!”

Dirge narrowed his optics, glancing at Terrorsaur. “...And what happened to you?”

“Predacon.”

“Ah.” Dirge sighed. “It seems we have no choice in this matter.”

“Nope.” Terrorsaur popped the “p” sound at the end of the word.

“Wonderful.”

“Enough,” Megatron snapped. “To the teleporter. Now.”

Dirge, Thundercracker, and Terrorsaur nodded, following the Decepticon leader. Starscream watched them, frowning.

“Thundercracker’s going to get himself killed,” Thrust commented. “Still, it’s nice to have another real Seeker here. Dirge, that is.”

Starscream glared back at Thrust. “Are you suggesting my unit aren’t fit for duty?”

“Hey, Thundercracker and Skywarp are cool and all.” Thrust shrugged. “But they’re loose screws, let’s be honest.”

“And you think Dirge isn’t?”

“Dirge is in a way that gives him a tactical advantage.” Thrust sighed. “You know, I miss Ramjet. Any idea where he went?”

“No.”

Thrust shrugged. “Eh, he’ll turn up. C’mon, Inferno, we got some aft to kick.”

Inferno chuckled. “Hell, yeah.” He ran after Thrust as he went after Megatron and the others, leaving Starscream alone with Swindle.

“...Jackass,” Swindle muttered.

Four million years ago…

A red and black Mini-Con bearing a striking resemblance to Dune Runner woke up, her red visor blinking on. She sat up, looking around the scattered rubble.

“H-Hello…? Fireball? Are you there?”

With no response, she quickly began digging her way out. As she emerged fully, she looked around, horror creeping into her mind at the sight of her destroyed village.

“No… no no no no no…” she muttered, searching around and passing remains of various Mini-Cons who had stood in the way of their attackers. Eventually, she found one, one that bore a striking similarity to her. However, this one was monochrome, and her visor was out.

“Fireball…” She knelt down. “C’mon, sister, please, wake up…”

No response.

She let out a strangled noise similar to a sob as she clutched her sister’s body tightly.

“Hello?!”

She suddenly shot up, looking around alertly. “Wh-Who’s there?!”

A silver and black ‘bot with an Autobot symbol emerged from the smoke. He had a crest on the front of his head, and two exhaust pipes formed what almost looked like horns on the sides of his head. He had wheels on his shoulders and heels, and looked to turn into some kind of Formula-1-styled car.

“Oh… hello, there.” He knelt down next to her, smiling tenderly. “Are you okay?”

“I… I’m okay,” she muttered. She looked down at Fireball’s corpse. “My sister, she’s…”

The Autobot looked down at the Mini-Con’s body. “I… I know how you feel. My home, Praxus, it was leveled by Turmoil. I’m the only survivor, too. I… I could have saved them, if I hadn’t just been a coward.”

He tapped the Autobot symbol on his chest. “That’s why I joined up with the Autobots. To protect. To avenge.”

She glared up at him. “Are you trying to recruit me?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.” He chuckled for a moment, but then his face fell. “In all seriousness… no. I’m trying to help you. It’s hard. But you need to just get back up.”

After a moment of looking at her sister’s body, she glanced up at him. “All of them…”

“I know.”

“...Who are you?”

“Me?” He chuckled. “I’m nobody, really. But, they call me Bluestreak.”

After a moment, she responded. “...I’m Ironhide.”

Present day…

“Ugh…” a silver Mini-Con racer that otherwise looked identical to Swindle groaned, pulling Ironhide out of her thoughts. “Where even are we? Why are we still going?!”

“We need to find some way off this planet, Zapmaster,” a white, black, and blue Inferno lookalike replied. “Or do you want to be stuck here forever?”

“I’d be fine with that as long as there’s something to fight.” After a moment, Zapmaster shrugged. “Or any sort of challenge in general, really.”

“Grapple, Zapmaster, will you two not?” a blue and white Mini-Con bearing a resemblance to Icepick muttered.

“Oh look, the brute speaks.” Zapmaster rolled his optics. “Will you stay in your lane, Armorhide?”

Armorhide sighed, looking away. After a moment, he glanced back at Ironhide.

“Hey, Ironhide. You okay?”

Ironhide blinked, looking up. “Hm? O-Oh… y-yeah…”

“You’ve been acting different ever since the war,” Armorhide noted. “Ever since…”

Ironhide shuddered. “I-I’m fine. Promise. I just… it weighs sometimes.”

“Hey.” Armorhide patted her on the back. “Everything will be okay. The Decepticons will never get ahold of you again.”

Ironhide smiled faintly. “I-If you say so…”

As Armorhide stepped forward, Ironhide’s gaze returned to the ground.

“If being free is a good thing… why does it feel so bad, then?”

“So, where’d those signals show up?” Rhinox asked as he drove across the ground behind Red Alert.

“They’re… they’re just up here,” Red Alert responded. He seemed… far away.

Rhinox was silent for a moment. “Red… is Cheetor bothering you?”

“...No. Of course not.”

“Red.”

“...Yes.”

“I know how it feels.” Rhinox moved up next to the ambulance. “I had to leave him, too, so Terrorsaur and I could warn Prime about Predacon. But once we get the chance, I’m going back for him. And… if you want, I’ll bring you along, too.”

Red Alert would have smiled if he’d been in robot mode. “Thanks, Rhinox. I… I needed that. And yeah, if we’re bringing Predacon down, I’m going to be there.”

“Alright,” Jetfire said from above. “I think I see the Mini-Cons, just up ahead.”

“Hey…” Grapple narrowed his optics. “You guys see that?”

The other Mini-Cons turned to see Optimus, Sparkplug, Jetfire, Comettor, Red Alert, Longarm, and Rhinox coming closer.

Zapmaster grinned. “Someone I can fight, perhaps?”

“No.” Armorhide stepped forward. “I recognize friends when I see them. They’re Autobots.”

“Y-Yeah…” Ironhide stammered. “Th-That’s Jetfire, there… I remember him…”

The Autobots arrived and assumed their robot modes. “Armorhide, Grapple, Ironhide!” Sparkplug said with a grin. “Good to see you!”

“What, nothin’ for me?” Zapmaster narrowed his optics, tapping his foot.

“Er, you too, Zapmaster.”

“Sure. Whatever.”

Armorhide’s optics fell on Rhinox. He blinked, processing. “...Rhinox?”

“Armorhide.” Rhinox smiled and nodded. “Good to see you.”

“You look different.” Armorhide crossed his arms. “But it’s good to see you’re not dead like I thought.”

“Yes, being alive is very nice.” Rhinox chuckled.

“Oh, how quaint.”

The group quickly turned around to see Megatron grinning at them, Thrust at his side.

“Megatron.” Optimus stepped forward. “I’d hoped after Dualor, you’d left to find the other Mini-Cons.”

Megatron scoffed. “Please. You know I’m smarter than that. There are more Mini-Cons gathered here than anywhere else.”

“Well, we outnumber you, Decepticon!” Jetfire said, aiming his cannon. “So I’d think twice before you attack us?”

Thrust chuckled. “Oh, that’s funny. They think they outnumber us.”

“Indeed.” Megatron grinned. “Last I heard, five is more than four.”

A loud sonic boom resounded across the area, briefly deafening the group. They looked up as a black, blue, and red Seeker flew overhead in vehicle mode. Thundercracker shifted back to his robot mode and drew his wing sword.

“Finally.” He grinned. “A fight!”

“Hey, I can dig with this guy,” Zapmaster commented.

“Not now , Zapmaster!” Grapple snapped.

Then, another engine sounded. A feeling of pure fear filled the sparks of all who heard it. Even Thrust shook a little.

“Why… why do I feel afraid?” Grapple muttered, looking around wildly. “Why am I afraid?!”

“Oh, no…” Jetfire muttered. “No, don’t tell me… you didn’t bring him to Earth, did you?!”

“But I did.” Megatron chuckled. “Dirge, if you will?”

“Gladly.” The brown and blue VTOL jet flew overhead, assuming his robot mode and hovering behind Megatron. “Feel terror, Autobots, for the Fear Reaper is once more at odds with you.”

Jetfire groaned. “Dirge, Dirge, why Dirge?”

Ironhide stepped back. “No, no, no no no…”

Then, she heard someone land behind her.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Ironhide!”

Ironhide slowly turned around, looking up to the familiar sight. “T… Terrorsaur…?”

2.5 million years ago…

“Slag, slag, slag, slag!” Bluestreak swore as he drove through the streets of Stanix. “Where the Pit did Shockblast come from?!”

In the sky above, a particular purple, gold, and green satellite hovered, firing and blowing buildings apart with ease. The beam also tore through a group of Autobot fliers, sending their remains falling to the ground below.

“Who knows?!” Ironhide replied as she rolled alongside her friend. “We need to get out of here!”

The two ducked into a nearby tunnel before reverting to robot mode. Bluestreak took a few moments before glancing down at Ironhide. “You okay?”

Ironhide shivered. “I… I don’t know. He’s… he’s the one who…”

“I know, I know…” Bluestreak muttered. “C’mon, we need to regroup. Sooner we get outta here, sooner we can–”

Suddenly, a green blade cut through Bluestreak, bisecting him diagonally.

“BLUESTREAK!” Ironhide shouted as the Bulk fell to the ground in two pieces, twitching. She knelt down beside him, looking into his eyes. “No, no, not you, please…”

Bluestreak twitched before his red optics blinked out, and the colors faded from his body.

“N-No…”

She looked up at the attacker to see a particular green and orange Seeker above her. His head shape was different from that of Starscream or Thundercracker, notably.

“Heya, pal.” He grinned. “Name’s Terrorsaur. And you, you’re gonna be my pal from now on.”

Terrorsaur reached down, and Ironhide didn’t have the strength to run from her fate.

Present day…

Ironhide cowered back as Terrorsaur loomed over her.

“Hey, Ironhide.” Terrorsaur smirked. “Been a while, huh, old pal?”

“Get away from her!” Armorhide shouted, getting between the two. “You’ve hurt her enough!”

The Decepticon scoffed. “Please, I stole her fair and square! Now outta my way!”

“Terrorsaur…” Rhinox said threateningly, stepping forward. “We were allied against Predacon. We were going to take him down. We don’t need to fight now.”

Terrorsaur laughed. “Right. Yeah, well, Megatron’s here now, so he’s callin’ the shots.”

Rhiox scoffed. “Typical. Decepticon goes slinking right back to his master.”

Terrorsaur scowled, drawing his wing blades. “Oh, it’s on.”

Terrorsaur charged forward, swinging his swords. Rhinox brought out his beast mode horn and used it as a blade to block Terrorsaur’s.

“We’ve gotta move, now!” Grapple shouted.

“You kidding?!” Zapmaster laughed. “We got a fight on our hands!”

“Zapmaster, can you not be crazy?!”

“I’m not crazy, Grapple! I just want a bit of action is all!” Zapmaster turned, his gaze focusing on Thundercracker as he moved into battle against Jetfire, alongside Thrust. “And I think I know exactly how to get that…”

As Zapmaster transformed and sped towards them, Grapple groaned. “Great. Just… great.”

“Watch out!” Red Alert shouted, jumping ahead of the Mini-Cons as Dirge swooped down towards them. Dirge fired, which Red Alert countered by Powerlinxing with Longarm and blasting back with his shoulder cannon.

Ironhide stumbled back, watching as Optimus clashed with Megatron nearby. She shivered, flashing back once more…

One million years ago…

“Ironhide!”

Ironhide yelped, jumping up from her sitting position. She ran into the next room, knowing what awaited if she didn’t come immediately.

“Y-Yes, Terrorsaur…?” she muttered meekly.

Terrorsaur scowled as he glared down at her. “What did I tell you about running off on me?”

“N-Not to…”

“So where did you go earlier?!”

“I j-just… w-wanted to l-look around…”

Terrorsaur slammed his foot down next to her, knocking her off her feet. She whimpered lightly. “You stay with me. Got it?”

Ironhide nodded.

“Good. Now, c’mon. We’ve been assigned to Kaon.”

Ironhide followed after Terrorsaur’s footsteps. As she walked past one room, she glanced inside to see Shockblast experimenting on some hapless Autobot. He glanced back at her, that single green eye boring right through her spark. She shivered before continuing.

Present day…

“IRONHIDE!”

Ironhide yelped as Armorhide tackled her to the ground as Dirge did another sweep, his blasts almost hitting her.

“Seems I may have to make this happen another way,” Dirge commented, switching to his robot mode. He aimed his hands towards Grapple and projected a pulse right at him. 

Grapple shivered, backing up as complete and total fear consumed him.

“Grapple?”

Grapple turned around to see Red Alert above him, but after a moment, he morphed into a giant purple and green monster of a Cybertronian. He looked to be comprised of six separate Cybertronians, with the most recognizable being Demolishor as one of the arms.

“No… no, not you!” Grapple shouted. He assumed his vehicle mode and peeled off… right into Dirge’s waiting hands. Dirge assumed vehicle mode and took off, with Grapple trapped in his cockpit.

Meanwhile, Jetfire grabbed Thundercracker by the head and flew down, slamming him into the ground. Thrust watched from behind the Autobot.

“Inferno!”

Inferno nodded. “On it!” He transformed and attached to Thrust’s chest. Thrust’s torso rotated around, and his wings moved to his arm and began to spin. Thrust launched forward, swinging at Jetfire, but the Autobot shuttle quickly blasted out of the way.
“Comettor, could use some help!”

“Gotcha!” Comettor transformed and linked onto Jetfire’s gun, causing two fins to fold out. Jetfire aimed it and it let out a blast much more powerful than its previous ones. Thrust yelped, dodging to the side.

“Why does he have a ranged upgrade?!” the Decepticon jet yelped. “All I get is this!”

“Don’t bash it or I won’t be Powerlinxing to you anymore,” Inferno commented.

“You will. Don’t lie.”

“...Fair.”

Thundercracker groaned as he rose.

“Hey.”

Thundercracker whipped around to see Zapmaster behind him, arms crossed. He waved meekly. “Um… hi?”

“Need a boost, pal?”

Thundercracker grinned. “I’d accept it.”

Zapmaster leapt into the air and assumed his vehicle form, latching onto Thundercracker’s back. Two cannons folded out of his intakes, just like with Starscream. Thundercracker aimed them up at Jetfire. "Thunder-crackin' Null Blast!" he shouted eagerly as he fired. The blasts hit the Autobot, knocking him clean out of the sky.

“I… I did it!” Thundercracker grinned happily. “I did it!”

“We did it,” Zapmaster corrected.

“Er, yeah. Sorry.”

Meanwhile, Optimus (linked with Sparkplug and his trailer) fired a barrage of missiles towards Megatron, who countered by Powerlinxing with Leader-1 and firing his own rockets.

“Megatron,” Dirge reported as he flew above. “I have seized a Mini-Con.”

“So have I!” Thundercracker called out.

“Excellent work.” Megatron smirked. “Now get the other two.”

“You won’t win this, Megatron!” Optimus shouted, slamming a large golden fist into the Decepticon leader’s face and knocking him to the ground.

“Oh, but I feel I already have, Prime.” Megatron chuckled. “You just don’t know it yet.

One million years ago…

Ironhide watched as the buildings sped past her as Terrorsaur flew through the sky in his Powerlinx-empowered jet mode. He fired down at some red and black tank ahead of him.

“Run, run, as fast as you can, Autobots!” Terrorsaur cackled. “You can’t get away from me!”

“I think my friend has something to say about that,” Rhinox replied.

Suddenly, one of Terrorsaur’s wings was blown off. He screeched as he crashed to the ground. Ironhide was thrown off, tumbling across the ground as her systems were knocked offline.

A few hours passed before her visor blinked back on. Ironhide sat up, looking around.

“H-Hello…?” she muttered. “T-Terrorsaur…?”

Nothing. Terrorsaur was gone. Nobody was around.

“Anybody…?”

Nothing.

Ironhide paused as she realized what this means. She… she was free…

She was finally free.

…And all alone.

Somehow, that seemed even worse to her.

Present day…

“We’ve lost Dirge!”

“Thundercracker’s escaping, too!”

“Hold the line!” Rhinox shouted as he continued battling Terrorsaur. “I’ll be damned if I let Terrorsaur get ahold of a Mini-Con again!”

Ironhide shivered, watching the two fight. She stepped back, right into Armorhide.

“Ironhide? You okay?”

After a moment, Ironhide shook her head. “N-No… no, I…”

She fell to the ground. “I f-feel so alone… I’ve lost everyone… and now I don’t know what to do…”

Armorhide frowned. “Ironhide…”

Then, Rhinox crashed into the ground. Terrorsaur landed in front of them, grinning. “C’mon, Ironhide. We’ve got places to go.”

Ironhide looked up at Terrorsaur as Rhinox began to rise again. The Autobot scowled. “You won’t touch her, Terrorsaur.”

Ironhide rose. Armorhide frowned, stepping a bit closer. “Ironhide…?”

One million years ago…

Ironhide watched out the window of the Exodus as the ship departed Cybertron. They were safe. They were finally safe.

She was with her people. That was what mattered.

It didn’t matter that she still felt alone.

It didn’t matter that she had nobody.

It didn’t matter that…

…

…that she missed him.

Why? She doesn’t know. Maybe he provided stability. Maybe it was because there was some form of routine, of structure, to her life with him.

But whatever the reason… she missed him.

Present day…

“...I’m sorry. I… I need him.”

Ironhide leapt into the air, transforming and linking with Terrorsaur once more.

Terrorsaur grinned. “Now that’s more like it!” He assumed his Pterodactyl mode, which now had thrusters and VTOL engines when linked up with Ironhide.

“Ironhide…” Armorhide muttered.

“We don’t have time for this!” Rhinox shouted. “She made her choice, we need to get out of here before the Decepticons stomp us flat!”

“You should listen to your friend, Prime.” Megatron grinned. “You’re outnumbered.”

Optimus glared at Megatron. After a moment, he sighed. “Side Swipe… warp us back.”

He returned his gaze to Megatron. “This will end one day, Megatron. I pray it doesn’t come to either you or me.”

“You know it will, Prime. The longer you deny it, the more likely it becomes.”

Optimus didn’t respond, remaining silent until he, the other Autobots, and Armorhide were beamed away.

“Why?!” Armorhide shouted, pounding his fist against the wall of the Ark. “Why would she choose to go with him, after how he treated her?!”

Rollbar placed a hand on Armorhide’s shoulder. “I… don’t know. Perhaps she… simply wanted something familiar, and he’s the only thing she could find.”

Armorhide groaned. “I don’t get it…”

“...Me, neither. But Ironhide’s made her choice.” Rollbar looked at the floor. “Maybe, one day, if she’s given the proper time… she can heal, finally.”

“I certainly hope so…”

"Excellent work." Megatron smiled, looking over the three and their Mini-Cons (with Grapple now brainwashed into Dirge's mindless slave). "You three earned them."

"I should have been out there," Starscream muttered. "We could have put the Star Saber to use..."

"We will put the Star Saber to use when I deem it so," Megatron snapped.

Starscream scowled, turning and storming out. Thrust observed.

"Well, now..." he muttered. "Seems like perhaps I finally have a chance..."

Ironhide, meanwhile, glanced up at Terrorsaur. And oddly, she felt a sense of comfort wash over her. A comfort she couldn't explain, a comfort that was surely unhealthy for her, but comfort nonetheless.

Chapter Text

“So…” Side Swipe leaned back against the wall of the Ark, looking down at his Mini-Con partner. “Whaddya think Red called us in for?”

“Who knows?” Nightbeat shrugged. “I’m not caring much, personally. I wanna get out and bust some Decepticon heads.”

“Relax,” Jetfire said. “I get the urge, but stay calm, Nightbeat.”

Nightbeat scoffed. “C’mon, don’t act like you wanna bust at least one Decepticon’s head right now. Like, I wanna try to take down Starscream.”

Side Swipe smiled. “Yeah, that’s put me on the map for sure!”

“Don’t you underestimate Starscream,” Jetfire said sternly, glaring at the two. “He’s a treacherous swine who’d probably use any underhanded tactic.”

“That doesn’t seem like Starscream to me…” Alexis muttered. “He was stopping Cyclonus from just blowing us up when we first ran into the ‘cons.”

“You don’t know him.”

“And you do?”

“Yes. I do, actually.” Jetfire glared at the human. “He was my friend, before he went and joined the Decepticons.”

“That’s enough.” Optimus stepped in. “Red and Rhinox wanted to see us?”

“That’s right, Prime.” Red Alert stepped out of his workshop, followed by Rhinox, Longarm, and Armorhide. “Take a look!” He held out his arm, revealing a small chip in it.

“What’s that?” Sparkplug asked from Prime’s shoulder.

“Simple; a chip designed to undo Megatron’s programming.” Rhinox took it from Red’s hand, holding it up so everyone could see. “Just stick one of these babies on a Decepticon-controlled Mini-Con, and boom!”

“It won’t work on their voluntary members, though,” Red Alert noted. “It just counters their reprogramming.”

“But how will we get these to all their Mini-Cons?” Optimus asked. “We’d need to locate and infiltrate the Nemesis, and that is no easy task.”

After a moment, Smokescreen snapped his fingers. “I’ve got an idea for that. You won’t like it, though, Prime.”

In the deserts of New Mexico, the sun beat down on the ground. Knock Out peeked his head out of the cave.

“Clear.” He glanced back into the cave. “Sandstorm’s over.”

Wreckage and Bonecrusher followed him out. “Good,” Wreckage said. “Now, we keep moving.”

“So we’re gonna just keep running?” Knock Out asked. “We can’t keep this up, you know. Just… moving with no goal in mind. I’m still on your side, whatever we do, I just…”

Wreckage sighed. “I know, I just… I don’t know what else we can do. We have no reliable way of freeing our brothers from Decepticon control, and I am not joining the Autobots in their war. I’m no Dualor loyalist, but I don’t want to deal with the war.”

Bonecrusher grunted.

“What’s up, Bonecrusher?” Knock Out asked, turning to his teammate. “You see something?”

Bonecrusher pointed out into the desert. The two quickly spotted Smokescreen and Liftor rolling towards them.

“Oh. Joy.” Wreckage crossed his arms. “Autobots.”

“It’s Smokescreen and Liftor.” Knock Out glanced to the team’s leader. “They helped us before. Maybe we should hear them out…?”

After a moment, Wreckage sighed. “Fine.”

Smokescreen and Liftor assumed their robot modes, walking up to the group. “Wreckage, Knock Out, Bonecrusher.”

Bonecrusher grunted threateningly.

“Why are you here, Smokescreen?” Wreckage asked, stepping forward. “I told you, we want to be left alone .”

“You also said you valued Mini-Con freedom above all else.”

“Not… all else.” Wreckage crossed his arms. “Unlike Dualor, we have standards. Morals.”

“My point stands.”

“What are you getting at here?”

“We found a way to free the Mini-Cons from the Decepticons’ brainwashing,” Liftor said. “But we need your help to do so.”

Knock Out perked up. “You… did? You’re serious?”

Smokescreen opened up his hand, revealing some of the chips. “It’s a chip that once applied, will wipe the Decepticon reprogramming from their systems.”

“Unfortunately, it won’t do anything for Mini-Cons like Swindle, Inferno, or Crumplezone,” Smokescreen added. “They chose the ‘cons of their own free will.”

Wreckage crossed his arms. “I…”

“Wreckage…” Knock Out placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We have a chance to do some real good for our kind here.”

“...you’re right.” Wreckage turned to Smokescreen and Liftor. “Alright. We’re in.”

Smokescreen grinned. “Excellent. So, here’s the plan…”

“Megatron!” Demolishor shouted, getting up from the Nemesis’ computer. “We got some Mini-Con signals!”

Megatron smirked. “Excellent. Starscream, take the Seekers and move out.”

Starscream nodded. “Yes, Lord Megatron.”

Thrust huffed, crossing his arms. “I’m a strategist, I should be in charge…”

“Cut that talk!” Thundercracker nudged Thrust with his elbow. “Starscream’s a great commander!”

“If you say so…”

“Will all of you cut the chat?” Dirge rolled his optics. “You are wasting precious time.”

“Dirge is right.” Starscream stepped forward as the hangar opened. “Jetstorm, Sonar, Runway.”

The three Mini-Cons flew forward, combining into the Star Saber. The sword landed in Starscream’s hand, and he grinned.

“Decepticons, transform and rise up !” Starscream cried, assuming his jet mode. Thundercracker, Thrust, and Dirge followed him as he flew into the sky.

“You sure you want him to wield the Star Saber?” Sideways muttered from the side. 

“Starscream is a competent warrior,” Megatron replied. “Proud, honorable, powerful, and most importantly, loyal.”

“How long will that last when he has ultimate power?”

Megatron frowned, considering the thought.

“There!” Thundercracker shouted. “We got four Mini-Cons and an Autobot!”

“Excellent work, Thundercracker.” Starscream lowered his altitude. “Seekers, prepare to engage!”

“Dirge, dive in!” Thrust ordered. “Fear engines online.”

“Understood.”

“Hey!” Starscream moved closer to Thrust as Dirge dove down. “I am the commander, Thrust, not you!”

“I merely made a strategic move,” Thrust replied. “Why didn’t you deduce he was the best choice to send in first?”

“I…”

“Maybe you aren’t cut out for this after all…”

Before Starscream could respond, Thrust rocketed forward after Dirge.

“Wow.” Thundercracker scoffed. “He’s a charmer.”

“Shut up, Thundercracker.”

A wave of cold went over the entire group.

“What the hell is this…?” Knock Out muttered, shivering.

“Dirge…” Smokescreen muttered. “They sent in Dirge!”

“The goddamn Fear Reaper?!” Wreckage glared at Liftor. “Since when is he on Earth?!”

Above them, the brown and blue VTOL jet flew over. “Feel the fear of your incoming demise, Autobot,” he called down, his booming voice enhanced by the effects of his special engines.

Smokescreen took up a fighting stance, Liftor Powerlinxing with him and activating his cannon, as Starscream, Thrust, and Thundercracker assumed their robot modes, surrounding him.

Starscream pointed the Star Saber at Smokescreen. “Surrender, Autobot.”

Smokescreen smirked. “Oh, c’mon, Screamer, you really think that’s gonna work this time? I thought we knew each other!”

Smokescreen fired his cannon, blowing Thundercracker right off his feet. Inferno linked up with Thrust, and the Decepticon charged forward as his wings moved to his arm. He spun them, lunging towards Smokescreen. The Autobot sidestepped his attack and grabbed Thrust by the conehead, slamming him into the ground.

“Sorry, Squidhead, but you made it too easy!”

Then, blue energy cleaved right through his cannon. Smokescreen froze, turning to look at Starscream, who had just swung the Star Saber… from about fifty feet away.

“Holy Megatronus…” Starscream muttered, turning the blade in his hands. He grinned, looking back at Smokescreen. “Seems like this has more power than I even imagined !”

“You got me by surprise with that one, I’ll admit,” Smokescreen replied. “But I’m ready for you now.”

“Maybe.” Starscream smirked. “But what about him?”

Before Smokescreen could even express confusion, he was slashed across the back by Dirge’s own wing-blade-shield thing, activated when he’d Powerlinxed with the brainwashed Grapple. Smokescreen collapsed, with Liftor separating from him. 

“All too easy.”

Starscream grabbed Liftor and brought him up to his face. “Hello there, Mini-Con.” The Seeker smirked. “Liftor, was it?”

Thundercracker and Dirge grabbed the Land Military Team as Thrust rose, groaning.

“See?” Starscream looked down at the conehead. “I was able to get the job done, Squidhead.”

Thrust froze. “H-Hey!” he cried, jumping up. “Don’t you dare call me that!”

“Now I’m going to remember that.” Starscream turned. “Seekers, transform and return to base.”

As Starscream, Thundercracker, and Dirge flew off, Thrust groaned before assuming his jet mode and following them.

“Excellent work, Starscream.” Megatron smiled. “You once again prove your worth.”

“U-Um… what about us?” Thundercracker asked.

“Yes, you all did your part, too.” Megatron waved the black and blue Seeker off. “Thundercracker, Cyclonus, get the Mini-Cons reprogrammed.”

Cyclonus huffed. “I just wanna get back on active duty again…” Regardless, he did as Megatron asked, taking Knock Out and Bonecrusher, while Thundercracker picked up Wreckage and Liftor.

“As for you…” Megatron turned to Thrust. “You and Demolishor escort our prisoner back to base.” He gestured to the unconscious Smokescreen.

Thrust nodded. “Of course, mighty Megatron! It would be my honor!”

“Go on now… Squidhead.”

Thrust froze at the nickname. He groaned. “Why, why, why, why, why is that the damn thing that caught on!?”

Regardless, he and Demolishor grabbed Smokescreen and dragged him off. Sideways watched, humming to himself.

“I just… I just wanna bust some heads, y’know?” Cyclonus muttered as he and Thundercracker entered the reprogramming chamber. “Gettin’ all cooped up here ever since Terrorsaur showed his ugly mug isn’t fun.”

“Relax, Cyc!” Thundercracker grinned. “I bet you’ll catch Megatron’s attention again soon!” He looked away. “You’ve always had it more than I have anyways…”

This brief distraction was enough. Bonecrusher quickly broke free of Thundercracker’s grip and fired his rocket arm, blasting Thundercracker in the face. The Seeker yelped, releasing Knock Out as he stumbled back. The two then fired on Cyclonus, knocking him down and causing him to release Liftor and Wreckage.

“Alright, phase one is down!” Knock Out pulled Wreckage to his feet, while Bonecrusher helped Liftor. “Now, to the brig!”

The four transformed and drove off before the Decepticons could recover.

“Seriously…” Thrust muttered as he walked back from the brig. “How can I ever deal with this kind of thing? Like, they’re all making fun of me now! I am one of Megatron’s top military strategists! I am not some… some… laughingstock!”

“The power is much more than I could have conceived, Swindle…”

Thrust froze as he heard Starscream’s voice from the armory ahead. He snuck closer, peeking in. Starscream held the Star Saber, Swindle standing near him.

“I can feel it’s power…” the Seeker muttered. “I’m stronger than ever now. Strong enough that I could even take on Megatron if I wanted…”

“Careful.” Swindle leaned back as he cleaned one of the various blasters the Decepticons stored in their armory. “Don’t want one of his loyalists to hear you say that.”

“No, no, I do not intend to betray him. It’s just an observation.”

Thrust hummed in thought. Starscream probably meant that… but it’s clear the power has awoken some form of arrogant streak within the Decepticon.

“I can use this…”

“Y’know, it’s not like you’ll be holding me for long,” Smokescreen said from within the cell, smirking. “Once I get outta here, I’ll be bashing your head in.”

“Yeah, yeah, keep talkin’.” Demolishor rolled his optics. “That won’t do you much good.”

“I think they’ll help, though.”

“Huh?”

Demolishor was then blasted from behind by the combined firepower of the entire Land Military Team. He was thrown into the wall and knocked offline.

Liftor blasted the control panel to the cell, lowering the energy field keeping Smokescreen in. The Autobot stepped out. “Took ya long enough.”

Then, a few blasts of gunfire sped past them. The group glanced over to see Blackout firing on them.

“Might as well test these things…” Liftor muttered,taking out one of the chips. He tossed it as hard as he could, and it hit Blackout square in the forehead. The Mini-Con froze, twitched for a few seconds, and then collapsed.

Liftor ran over to the fallen Mini-Con. “Blackout…?”

Blackout’s silver visor flickered on. He groaned as he rose. “L-Liftor…? What happened? Last I remember…”

He froze. “Aw, hell. I got brainwashed, huh?”

“Yeah.” Liftor pulled Blackout to his feet. “Luckily, Smokescreen, the Land Military Team, and I are here to free the other controlled Mini-Cons.”

Blackout looked between them. “So… Dualor’s scheme failed, I’m guessing?”

“Yeah.” Wreckage scoffed. “He was an extremist anyways. Anyone who’s willing to wipe out a whole race for any reason deserves to be put down.”

“Well, at least he tried to do something…” Blackout muttered. “All you guys did was run off into the desert.”

If Wreckage had fists, they would have clenched in anger.

“H-Hey!”

The group whipped around to see that Demolishor had woken up. “Get back here! Blackout, Powerlinx!”

“Like hell,” Blackout hissed, aiming his weapons at Demolishor. Demolishor stepped back, optics widening.

“Blackout, we have to free the others!” Liftor shouted.

“You do that! I’ll hold him off!” Blackout opened fire on Demolishor. “Free the others!”

After a moment of hesitation, Smokescreen, Liftor, and the Land Military Team ran off, leaving Blackout to stand up to Demolishor once more.

Leader-1 walked robotically down the hallways of the Nemesis. Suddenly, Bonecrusher grabbed him from behind, applying one of the chips to his head. Leader-1 twitched before collapsing. After a moment, he groaned and began to rise.

“Ugh…” he groaned. “What the Pit happened…?”

“Leader-1!” Liftor grinned, pulling the Mini-Con up. “Good to have you back.”

“I’m… not controlled anymore…?” Leader-1 flexed his fingers, as if testing if he really could move of his own free will.

“Yup.” Smokescreen stepped forward, and Leader-1 paused at the sight of him. “We developed a way to free you from Megatron’s reprogramming.”

“...Joy. Bulks.” Leader-1 sighed. “Well, do what you want. I’m sick and tired of being used.”

As Leader-1 turned to leave, Liftor began to follow. “Leader-1, where are you going?!”

“I’m going to find Megatron,” Leader-1 hissed. “And I am going to kill him.”

“Leader-1!”

Leader-1 ignored Liftor’s cries as he shifted into buggy mode and drove off.

“Go!” Liftor shouted, glancing back to Smokescreen and the others. “Find the others and free them. I’m going to try to talk Leader-1 down.”

“You sure about this?” Smokescreen knelt down. “If you run into Megatron…”

“I’ll be fine.” Liftor smiled. “Promise.”

After a moment, Smokescreen sighed. “Alright. If you say so.”

Smokescreen and the Land Military Team transformed and headed off in one direction, while Liftor reverted to his forklift mode and followed after Leader-1.

None of them noticed the static-like liquid on the ceiling above where they’d just been. It sploshed to the floor before taking up the form of Sideways and reverting to his more physical state, colors and all.

“Huh. This’ll be fun,” he noted, crossing his arms. He looked away. “Now… on to business…”

Sideways melted away once more, disappearing into the floor of the Nemesis.

Demolishor frowned as he looked down at the unconscious Blackout in his hands. “Blackout…”

“Hey, Demolishor!”

Demolishor turned as Cyclonus approached him, Crumplezone at his side. “C-Cyclonus! Crumplezone!”

“We got Autobots loose in the base!” Cyclonus said. “Well, one, anyways. Still, an Autobot to kill is an Autobot to kill!”

“What happened to Blackout?” Crumplezone asked, looking at his fellow Mini-Con.

“O-Oh…” Demolishor looked down at his partner. “The Autobot freed him. He… attacked me again.”

“Bummer.” Crumplezone shrugged. “Welp, guess we’d better go find the Autobot before he takes all the other Mini-Cons. Cyclonus?”

Cyclonus grinned. “Hell yeah! Let’s blast that Autobot into scrap metal!”

Cyclonus cackled as he and Crumplezone ran down the corridor. Demolishor sighed, standing up and heading back towards the reprogramming chamber.

“Sorry, Blackout,” he muttered. “But if you’re gonna keep doing this, you gotta stay reprogrammed.”

“MEGATRON!”

Megatron froze, turning towards the door to see Leader-1 storming in, right past the brainwashed Dualor and Drill Bit. “Leader-1. You’re… talking.”

“I’m free from your slagging reprogramming!” Leader-1 glared up at the Bulk. “I am tired of slaving away for you!”

Megatron sighed. “Whatever. A situation easily remedied.” He reached down for Leader-1, only for the Mini-Cons to transform and fire a rocket right into his hand. He fired another one right afterwards, blowing a hole clean through Megatron’s hand. Megatron merely grunted in paint, recoiling his arm. Neither noticed as Liftor peeked in. He glanced between Dualor and Drill Bit, considering freeing them, but ultimately deciding against it. They did threaten to destroy the Earth.

“I am not just going to let you use me again!” Leader-1 shouted. “I will–”

Megatron raised his foot and stomped down hard on Leader-1, crushing him beneath the Decepticon leader’s heel and killing him instantly. Liftor gasped, shocked at Megatron's heartless murder of his Mini-Con partner.

“Well…” Megatron sighed as he removed his foot, looking on the broken body of Leader-1 as his visor blinked out. “That’s a shame.”

Liftor shifted to his forklift mode and rolled off, though he was quickly noticed by Dualor and Drill Bit. Dualor transformed and fired after him, blowing one of Liftor’s wheels off and rendering his vehicle mode useless. Liftor crashed into a wall before assuming robot mode. He quickly limped out of Dualor’s line of fire, catching a breath.

“F-Frag…” he muttered, looking down at where the energon was leaking from his injury. “Smokescreen, you copy? It’s Liftor…”

Ransack’s yellow visor blinked on. He groaned as Knock Out helped him up. “Ugh… what happened?”

“You’re all right, Ransack,” Wreckage said. “You’re free.”

“Dune Runner and Iceberg will be glad to see you,” Smokescreen noted with a smirk. “They’ve missed you, even if they... Dune Runner, specifically... won’t admit it.”

Ransack chuckled. “Sounds like 'em. C’mon, let’s go.”

:“Smokescreen, you copy? It’s Liftor…” :

“Liftor?” Smokescreen turned around. “It’s me, I’m here.”

:“D-Damaged… can’t transform. Need some help.” :

“On my way!” Smokescreen turned. “Wreckage, Knock Out, Bonecrusher, can you…?”

“We can get Ransack outta here, yeah.” Wreckage nodded. “Go help Liftor. Save him from whatever the hell Leader-1 got him into.”

Smokescreen nodded. He quickly shifted into his crane mode and rolled off in one direction, tracking Liftor’s signal. “Alright, buddy, keep talkin’. I’ll find you…”

Meanwhile, Ransack and the Land Military Team rolled off towards the exit of the Nemesis.

Liftor braced himself against a wall, huffing. He glanced around the corner, only to duck right back behind it as Dualor fired again. 

“Liftor!”

Liftor turned to see Smokescreen driving towards him. The Autobot crane quickly transformed to his robot mode as Liftor limped over to him.

“We need to hurry,” Liftor muttered. “Megatron killed Leader-1, and Dualor’s–”

Suddenly, a blast tore through Liftor’s torso, blowing off half of his chest and one of his arms. Time seemed to slow as Liftor collapsed. Smokescreen looked up to see Dualor’s cannons smoking.

In a moment, Smokescreen knelt down and scooped Liftor up into his arms. “It’s okay, buddy, it’s okay. I’m here, I’m gonna get you outta here.”

Smokescreen turned and ran as Dualor fired after him. He dashed through the ship, quickly outrunning the Mini-Con.

“Hello, Autobot!”

Cyclonus and Crumplezone leapt out of a room behind him, firing their various cannons at Smokescreen’s back. Many of the blasts hit, but Smokescreen powered forward.

As Smokescreen stumbled out of the Nemesis, where Wreckage and the others were waiting, he activated his comlink. “S-Smokescreen to Red… prepare to warp us in… n-need medical…”

Cyclonus flew out of the ship, now Powerlinxed with Crumplezone. He opened fire, causing Smokescreen to cry out and fall to his knees.

Before Cyclonus could fire a killing shot, a green light surrounded Smokescreen, and he and the Mini-Cons were warped away.

“SLAGGIT!” Cyclonus swore loudly, kicking at the dirt.

“Smokescreen!” Rad shouted, his face filled with horror at his state.

“R-Red… h-help…” Smokescreen muttered, looking down at his arms.

As the kids looked over the Mini-Cons, they quickly noticed Liftor’s absence. “Where’s Liftor?” Carlos asked, glancing up at Smokescreen.

Smokescreen tilted down, revealing Liftor in his arms. His visor had gone dark, and the color faded from his body.

“What happened to him?” Alexis asked. “Why is he all… monochrome?”

“He…” Smokescreen’s voice broke. “He’s dead.”

The Autobots and Mini-Cons gathered around in a room in the Ark, one that hard a wall with various slots. A few of them were filled, notable names including “Brawn”, “Ratchet”, “Chromedome”, and “Sludge”. In the center of the room was what appeared to be a rectangular coffin, with Liftor’s name on it.

“We gather today to mourn our fallen comrade,” Optimus said solemnly. “Liftor helped many a time against the Decepticon threat. He was as much a hero as any of us. His sacrifice in risking his own spark to help rescue his brethren shall be remembered.” Optimus bowed his head. “‘Til all are one.”

“‘Til all are one,” the rest of the crew repeated, followed shortly after by the humans.

Optimus pressed a button, and the coffin floated up and slotted into the wall.

As the Autobots dispersed, with Red Alert helping the injured Smokescreen back to the medbay (he’d insisted on coming to the ceremony). Wreckage stepped up to Optimus and Sparkplug.

"Optimus, Sparkplug..." Wreckage paused for a moment, then sighed. "I... see now that we can't avoid this forever. We heard about what happened to Leader-1. I've talked with my team... or, well, Knock Out. Bonecrusher doens't say much. But we've talked, and... we'd like to join your side and help stop the Decepticons for good."

Sparkplug smiled, extending a hand. "Glad to have you on board, Wreckage."

After a moment, Wreckage took his hand and shook it.

“I… I didn’t even know they could… die like that,” Alexis muttered, looking at Liftor’s final resting place.

“Smokescreen’s not gonna take it well…” Carlos muttered.

“Let him take some time,” High Wire said. “It’s… difficult, dealing with the loss of a bonded partner. I’ve seen what it can do to a ‘bot. Ironhide… never really recovered from what she lost.”

The group gazed up at Liftor’s burial site, reflecting on the memories of their friend.

“You sure about this?” Demolishor asked, looking down at the remains of Leader-1. “I just… building something out of the remains of a ‘bot…”

“Do as I ordered, Demolishor,” Megatron demanded. “You were a Constructicon. I know you can do this. So do it .”

Demolishor winced at the name, but nodded. “Y-Yeah. Alright.” He turned around and walked off, looking down at Leader-1's corpse. The fact that Megatron would so readily kill a Mini-Con like that... bothered him.

He didn't like how much it bothered him.

Starscream frowned. “We did lose Ransack to the Autobots.”

“And the Autobots lost one of their own Mini-Cons, according to Cyclonus.” Megatron shrugged. “It evens out.”

“So… what now?”

Megatron smirked. “What do you think? We push forward. We’ve hurt the Autobots. So we hurt them more. Get ready to contact Shockblast. I want to bring in a heavy hitter.”

Thrust groaned as he leaned against a wall. “How am I supposed to take Starscream down, Inferno? He’s one of Megatron’s favorites!”

“Hey, don’t look at me.” Inferno put his hands up. “I’m not some tactical genius like you.”

Thrust sighed. “If I can get him taken out, I can be Air Commander.”

“How much do you want that?”

Thrust froze, whipping around to see Sideways. “Oh. Sideways. What are you doing here?”

“I asked you a question.” Sideways leaned against the wall. “How much do you wanna be Air Commander?”

Thrust narrowed his optics, standing up straight. “...Why?”

“Because I think I can help you.” Sideways’ blue visor glinted. “I’d like to let you in on a little secret. That is, if I can trust your desire for power enough.”

Thrust chuckled. “Power, eh? I’m listening…”

Chapter Text

Explosions rocked the seaside town. Residents ran around screaming, ducking for cover, as gunfire rained down upon them. Three small, red and blue boats – one a solar sail boat, one a speed boat, and one a hovercraft – fired at it with their mounted cannons.

“Let’s plunder this li’l town, mateys!” the hovercraft Mini-Con shouted. “Let ‘em burn and we’ll take their booty!”

“We should never have let Waterlog watch those pirate movies,” the speedboat muttered.

“Quiet, Stormcloud.” The solar sail boat assumed his robot mode as he drove onto the beach. His cannon was now mounted on the underside of his blue arms. His chest was silver with yellow accents. His eyes glowed a bright yellow, sitting above his mouthplate. “He’s right. We have riches to take and a village to burn.”

The other two assumed their robot modes as well. Stormcloud became a robot with a glowing yellow visor and a red faceplate, matching the rest of his helm. His body was silver, with blue thighs and similarly silver shins, feet, and fists. His cannon was mounted on his back.

Waterlog, meanwhile, had his cannon mounted on the side of his arm. His red eyes glinted, sitting above his red mouthplate. He chuckled. “I knew I liked you fer a reason, cap’n.”

Stormcloud groaned. “Oceanglide, do we really have to listen to this?”

“Stow it,” Oceanglide, the team’s leader, snapped. “We have riches to steal. Sea Team, move out!”

Stormcloud crossed his arms as he followed behind his teammates. “I miss Tidal Wave…”

“Yeah, yeah.” Oceanglide didn’t pay his teammate much mind as he blew open the bank. “Stormcloud, Waterlog, move in. Grab what you can and get ready to make for the seas.”

Waterlog aimed his cannon and blasted the vault open. He and Stormcloud quickly scooped up what money they could.

“Why are we even doing this again?” Stormcloud asked. “I’m all for blowing up the town, but why rob them?”

“Well, we live here now. Might as well try to integrate into their society.” Oceanglide shrugged. “Best place to start is currency.”

“So we be stealin’ it from ‘em!” Waterlog said triumphantly. “Let’s go, me hearties!”

Oceanglide and Waterlog walked off, with Stormcloud groaning behind them before following.

“So what do you make of this, Prime?” Red Alert asked, glancing back at his commander as a news report of the trio's escapades played on Teletraan-1.

Optimus sighed. “I think we’ve got a problem, Red. Rogue Mini-Con striking at human settlements?”

“Our cover’s gonna be completely blown if we confront them in the towns, Prime.” Red Alert frowned. “I told you we should have already revealed ourselves…”

Optimus sighed. “Not now, Red. We’ll send our fliers over to that location. Get me Blurr and Jetfire.”

“...Alright.”

As Red Alert turned and walked off, Optimus sighed. “Am… am I doing the right thing, keeping them in the dark for so long…?”

“Will you turn that scrap off ?” Dirge muttered as he leaned against the wall, glaring at Thundercracker. The blue and black Seeker had put a human western film onto the Nemesis’ computer.

“C’mon, Dirge!” Thundercracker whined. “Hackin’ into the humans’ broadcast network is a good thing! Not only does it let us keep up with world events, we get to see these… these “films” they’ve made!” The Seeker grinned as he glanced back at the screen. “Say what you want about the fleshlings, they know how to make quality media!”

Dirge sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I swear, sometimes you’re starting to sound like those things…”

Thundercracker huffed, crossing his arms and looking away. “You just don’t understand good fiction…”

“I don’t understand your ‘ fiction ’. It serves no purpose.”

“I’m kinda with Dirge on this one,” Zapmaster added.

“Nobody asked.”

“Will you all stop bickering?” Thrust muttered as he walked in, rubbing his forehead. “You’re giving me a processor-ache.”

“Alright, Squidhead,” Thundercracker replied.

Thrust clenched his fists. “Why you little…”

“Great.” Thundercracker frowned as an emergency broadcast began to play. “I was watching that…”

“This is Hector Ramirez, reporting live!” a particular mustachioed reporter said. “Coastal towns are being attacked all over the Atlantic border of the United States. From what little photos we have, it appears to be some kind of robot.”

A blurry image appeared, showing Oceanglide, Stormcloud, and Waterlog, surrounded by smoke.

“It is unknown where exactly these robots come from, but investigations are now underway.”

“Hey…” Thundercracker sat up. “Those were Mini-Cons!”

“Indeed.”

“Lucky thing I came in, then,” Starscream said as he walked in, Swindle at his side. “I’ll report this to Megatron. Thrust, Dirge, Thundercracker, prepare to move out.”

“We bringing Terrorsaur?” Thundercracker asked.

“If he doesn’t know, he doesn’t have to come,” Thrust muttered.

“Seekers, prepare for flight.” Starscream turned. “Swindle and I will report to Megatron and retrieve the Star Saber.”

As Starscream walked off, Thrust narrowed his optics. “Best hold onto that sword, Starscream. Never know when you could lose it…”

“You say something, Thrust?” Thundercracker asked, popping up next to the conehead.

“Huh?” Thrust’s optics flitted nervously. “Erm… no. Nothing.”

“Oh. Okay!”

Thundercracker stepped away, and Thrust let out a sigh of relief.

“Man, it is good to finally have my speed back!” Blurr said joyfully as he zipped through the air. He came to a stop next to Jetfire. “So… what exactly is the deal with these Mini-Cons?”

“Dunno,” Jetfire replied. “All we know is they’re raiding coastal towns for some reason. Mainly robbing banks, but occasionally just blasting the town up.”

“How are we gonna stay incognito like Prime wants with ‘bots like them?”

“Who knows?” Jetfire sighed. “I still think Prime should have revealed our existence to the general public by now. They’re gonna get the wrong impression.”

“To be totally fair, Prime hasn’t had to work with this kind of battle,” Blurr noted. “Our war never left our system, and we’re the only life there.”

“True…’ Jetfire sighed. “It’s a complex situation. I hope Prime figures out what to do, and soon .”

“Hey…” Blurr flew ahead a bit. “You see that?”

Up ahead, the duo spotted Starscream, Thundercracker, Dirge, Thrust, Runway, Jetstorm, and Sonar diving down towards an island.

“That I do, Blurr,” Jetfire replied. “Starscream’s found our troublemakers. Let’s get down there and make sure the ‘cons don’t get them!”

“Right behind you!”

The two swooped down towards the island.

“Aaand… that’s twenty billion of their currency units!” Oceanglide grinned. “We’re rich, lads!”

“Aye!” Waterlog gave Stormcloud a friendly punch on the shoulder. “We be rich, mateys! Rich !”

Stormcloud rolled his optics. “I’m just in it for the destruction.”

Then, a loud sonic boom resounded. The three froze and looked to the sky as the four Seekers and three Mini-Cons landed. The Seekers assumed their robot modes, with their respective Mini-Cons (Swindle, Zapmaster, Inferno, and Grapple) exiting their cockpits.

“Did you have to be so loud, Thundercracker?” Thrust asked, glaring at the blue, black, and red Decepticon.

“It’s my signature!” Thundercracker frowned. “How am I gonna let them know it’s me doing the fighting if I don’t use my special abilities?”

“I side with Thundercracker,” Dirge added. “Do not underestimate the fear that loud sounds can strike into your enemies.”

“See?” Thundercracker gestured to the other blue jet. “Dirge gets me!”

“Enough!” Starscream snapped. “We have a job.”

“You’re Decepticons,” Oceanglide noted. “Here to take us captive?”

“I’d prefer to see you taken in willingly, like Swindle here.” Starscream gestured to his Mini-Con.

Swindle chuckled. “Technically, I was kidnapped and I joined you to save my hide from being brainwashed.”

“Well, I went willingly,” Zapmaster noted from beside Thundercracker. “Like Inferno, and Ironhide!”

“So… ye’re the Decepticons, huh?” Waterlog looked them over. “Mighty fine band of warriors, I say.”

Stormcloud shrugged. “Meh.”

Thundercracker paused as he heard the roaring of an engine. He turned around to see a particular shuttle flying towards him, alongside a silver and blue car. “Autobots incoming!”

Starscream turned. His gaze closed on Jetfire as he approached. “Jetfire…”

“Well, fearless leader, what should we do?” Thrust asked.

“Thundercracker, take Blurr. Dirge, stay with the Mini-Cons. Thrust and I are going for Jetfire.” Starscream held up his hand. “Jetstorm, Runway, Sonar.”

The three Mini-Cons combined into the Star Saber, landing in Starscream’s hand. Thrust just scoffed. “Show-off…”

“Attack!” Starscream ordered, flying up. Thundercracker and Thrust assumed their jet modes, with Inferno and Zapmaster hopping on their respective partners.

“We got a fix on their location, Red!” Jetfire reported. “Sending coordinates and requesting backup! Starscream’s here!”

Thrust shifted to his robot mode. “Let’s give ourselves the high ground here!” Inferno quickly linked onto him, and his torso rotated around, putting his wings at the front. Thrust’s backpack with his wings began to spin, generating a powerful vortex that threw Blurr and Jetfire off.

“Can’t steer!” Blurr cried.

“Aim for the water!” Jetfire shouted. “It’s a safer landing zone!”

As Blurr and Jetfire crashed into the water and disappeared beneath the surface, Thrust stopped. “See? Easy.”

Suddenly, Jetfire erupted from the sea, Comettor linked onto his blaster. He fired, hitting Thrust and sending him spiraling, screaming, into the ocean.

“Idiot…” Starscream muttered, dashing towards Jetfire and swinging the Star Saber, sending a wave of energy towards him. Jetfire quickly rocketed out of the way.

“Is this all you are now, Starscream?!” Jetfire shouted. “Megatron’s lackey?!”

“I am his Air Commander!” Starscream snapped back. “And we will bring order back to Cybertron!”

“Order is on Cybertron!”

“Not while ‘bots like Avalon and Leviticus are still on the Council!” Starscream swung the sword towards Jetfire again, this time cleaving the barrel off his gun.

Meanwhile, Blurr zipped up and sped rings around Thundercracker. The Seeker whipped around, trying to follow him. “Hey now, partner, slow down!” he shouted. “I can’t shoot ya if yer movin’ so fast!”

Dirge groaned from below. “Letting him tune into those Great Devourer-damned channels was a mistake …”

Blurr fired his rockets, the blasts hitting Thundercracker and sending him falling to the island below. He crashed hard, becoming partially buried in sand.

“‘m okay!” he said, his voice muffled by the sand his face was buried in.

Dirge groaned. “Fine.” Dirge flew into the air. Grapple transformed and Powerlinxed with him. His torso spun around to the same configuration as Thrust’s. He blasted waves towards Blurr, and to him, everything seemed to slow down.

“Wh… why am I slowing down again?!” Blurr exclaimed. “What’s going on?! Where’s my speed?!”

His perception slowed as, to him, everyone was moving faster… faster than him.

“No… no, wait no!”

Dirge smirked as Blurr struggled under the pressure of his fear wave. “Taste your fear, Autobot. Isn’t it delicious?”

It was then that a beam of light appeared. After a moment, it disappeared, revealing Side Swipe and Scavenger.

“Aw, hell yeah!” Side Swipe grinned. “Finally, we’re here!”

“And not a moment too soon!” Nightbeat pointed up at Blurr. “There! Blurr’s in trouble!”

“Then let’s help him!” Side Swipe grinned. “C’mon, Nightbeat!”

Nightbeat transformed into his motorcycle mode and linked onto Side Swipe’s back. Side Swipe aimed his fist up, and after a moment, it flew off like a rocket, slamming right into Dirge and knocking him off balance.

“Autobot germ…” Dirge whipped around. “You will get what you deserve!”

“I don’t think so.” Rollbar transformed and Powerlinxed with Scavenger, who fired his waist rocket and blew Dirge out of the sky.

“Nice one!” Side Swipe said as a grin spread across his face.

“Welp.” Stormcloud leaned against a tree. “I’m bored. Can we do somethin’ now?”

“I wanna partner up with these laddies,” Waterlog said, pointing to Thundercracker as he pulled himself out of the sand. “They seem like a nice crew of buccaneers!”

“...Eh, screw it,” Oceanglide muttered. “Sea Team, fire on the Autobots!”

“Finally!” Stormcloud grinned. “I get to cause some real carnage!”

“Yar-har-har, mateys!” Waterlog shouted as he assumed his alternate mode alongside Stormcloud. The two boats landed in the water, their cannons taking aim at Jetfire. They quickly opened fire.

“Hey!” Jetfire cried, dodging their shots. “We’re trying to help you!”

“Sorry, pal!” Oceanglide shouted up as he joined Stormcloud and Waterlog in the water. “But we’ve picked our side!”

“Slag…” Jetfire muttered.

“Don’t worry, Jetfire!” Side Swipe shouted as his fist reattached. “We can win this!”

“Yeah!” Nightbeat agreed from Side Swipe’s back. “We can take ‘em all on!”

“We’ve already lost…” Jetfire sighed. “Red, it’s Jetfire. The Mini-Cons sided with the Decepticons. We’re pulling out.”

“What?!” Side Swipe whipped around. “We can’t pull out!”

Before anyone could say anything else, all the Autobots were warped out, leaving the Decepticons behind with the Mini-Cons.

“All right!” Waterlog cheered as he assumed his robot form. “That’s the way, lads!”

“So…” Thrust looked down at the Mini-Cons. “You’re joining us?”

Oceanglide shrugged. “Why not? I mean, you’re very much my type of ‘bots.”

“That, and Tidal Wave was fun,” Stormcloud muttered. “I miss him. Is he here?”

“Er… no.” Starscream frowned. “Apologies.”

“Probably a good thing, considering the state of him last time I saw him,” Dirge noted.

Starscream cast a look back at the blue and brown Seeker. “What are you talking about…?”

“It’s not important.” Thrust waved him off. “Right now, we need to get back to Megatron and report our success.”

“Right.” Starscream reached down and scooped up Oceanglide. “Seekers, follow me!”

Thundercracker and Thrust took Waterlog and Stormcloud, respectively. They then transformed, alongside Dirge, and followed Starscream off.

“Can’t believe we just let them get away…” Side Swipe muttered as he leaned against the wall. “All we needed to do was grab the Mini-Cons and get out of there!”

“They didn’t want to come with us, Side Swipe,” Jetfire replied.

“So?!” Side Swipe moved up into Jetfire’s space. “We need to win this fight! We can’t just let them go wherever they want!”

“Yes, we can.” Hot Shot placed a hand on Side Swipe’s shoulder, forcing him to turn to face him. “Listen, kid. Mini-Cons are as much their own ‘bots as we are. They can choose their sides, and if they make the wrong ones, we can’t force them to change their minds. I had to learn that myself, and you need to learn it as well.”

“But…”

“No buts!” Hot Shot snapped. “They’re not tools, they’re our friends. Got it?”

Side Swipe looked away, silent for a moment. After a moment, he sighed. “Yeah… you’re right. Sorry, bro.”

Hot Shot sighed. “It’s alright. Just… keep it on your mind, yeah?”

Jetfire turned to Optimus. “Sir… the Decepticons are gaining an even greater edge now. How are we going to win if…?”

“We will, Jetfire.” Optimus’ fists clenched. “We will.”

“Excellent work, Starscream, Thrust.” Megatron frowned. “Keep an eye on them, though. I don’t trust Mini-Cons lately. Not after what happened with Leader-1 and… those two.” He gestured to Dualor and Drill Bit, who were standing off to the side.

“Yes, Lord Megatron,” the two said in unison. As Starscream left, Thrust glanced back at Megatron. “Sir, if I may… I fear Starscream may be getting, erm… ambitious. The Star Saber has given him a taste of power, and I fear he’s found it wanting.”

Megatron frowned. “It’s possible. But I can keep Starscream in line, I assure you. If he steps out of line… I will ensure he never lays a hand on the sword again.”

Thrust sighed. “Yes, Lord Megatron.” He turned and walked out, an angry glint in his optic.

Megatron sighed, activating a projector on his throne. After a moment, a hologram of Shockblast appeared. :“Yes, Megatron?” :

“Is he on his way?”

:“Indeed,” : the cycloptic Decepticon replied. :“I sent some other troops to aid you alongside him. Your mention of the Autobot Hot Shot… inspired my choice.” :

Megatron smiled at that. “Ah, yes. I’m sure he will enjoy their reunion. Excellent work, Shockblast. You are more sadistic than I assumed.”

:“I am not sadistic. I merely concluded that his appearance in your ranks would throw the Autobot off. It is only logical.” :

Megatron waved him off. “Whatever the case, good work. Return to your work.”

Shockblast nodded, and the hologram disappeared as the transmission ended. Megatron smirked.

“Your destruction approaches, Prime…”

Chapter Text

Hot Shot sped across the ground with a Jolt-powered boost. He quickly assumed robot mode alongside his partner, diving out of the way as blue energy slammed into the ground.

“Hot Shot!”

Hot Shot glanced to the side as Mirage, Downshift, and Dirt Boss drove up. He grinned as they flew into the air and combined into the Skyboom. The shield attached to his arm, and Hot Shot brought it up as Starscream swung the Star Saber once more.

“What’s the matter, Screamer?” Hot Shot grinned. “Can’t just take me out with your precious sword?”

Starscream scowled. “You annoy me, Autobot! Your destruction will be very satisfying!”

“Keep tellin’ yourself that!”

Elsewhere, Scavenger leapt out of the way as missiles destroyed the ground he’d just been standing on. The force of the blast sent him tumbling across the ground. He quickly shifted to his vehicular mode, managing to stop his tumble, before returning to robot mode.

Demolishor scowled as he reloaded his missiles. “Will you just go down already?!”

Scavenger scowled. “After today, I think we’ll both be doing that.”

“Are you still on about that?!” Demolishor aimed his finger-blasters at his opponent and opened fire. “I wanted nothing to do with that! You know that!”

“Then you should understand why I have to finish this!” Scavenger shouted. “Rollbar!”

Rollbar latched onto Scavenger’s waist, and the Autobot fired the missile activated by the Powerlinx. Demolishor blasted wildly as the missile sped towards him, blowing it apart. The smoke allowed Scavenger cover to charge forward and take Demolishor off guard, tackling him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Megatron’s purple fist slammed into Optimus’ face. Optimus stumbled back as Megatron moved forward, grinning.

“Sorry, Prime,” Megatron said. “You won’t be walking away with a victory this time.”

“You don’t need to do this, Megatron,” Optimus said. “We can still find a peaceful end to this.”

“You still believe that, do you?” Megatron chuckled. “You can’t be this naive, old friend.”

As the fight raged, a black and purple Mini-Con watched from the treeline. She evidently turned into a dump truck.

“Jeez,” she muttered. “Megatron and Prime are really going at it.”

“Get over here, Knockdown!” an orange, black, and blue Mini-Con with scoops for hands called out. “I can’t keep Bodyblock from wandering off too long!”

“I jus’ wanna go see one o’ them things again!” Bodyblock, a red Mini-Con monster truck, grumbled.

Perceptor struggled against him. “We know , but we have to get to the Ark! You’ll be safe there!”

Knockdown sighed. “On my way, Backstop.”

“Alright, all three of them here?” Rad asked, looking over the Mini-Cons.

“Yup!” Alexis grinned. “Carlos?”

Carlos pressed a button on his wrist. “Hey, Red! We’re ready for warp, mi amigo!”

After a moment, a green glow surrounded the group, and they were warped out.

:“Prime, it’s Red Alert. The kids and Mini-Cons are safe on the Ark.” :

“Good work, Red Alert.” Optimus slammed his fist into Megatron’s face and then kneed him in the gut. “Warp us out.”

“NO!” Megatron grabbed Optimus’ head. “I won’t let you get away again!”

“Belay that!” Optimus shouted. “Get Hot Shot and Scavenger out. Megatron’s got me right now!”

“Prime, no!” Hot Shot shouted. “We won’t leave you!”

“Do it, Red!”

After a moment, Hot Shot was warped away. Starscream huffed. “Coward.”

Meanwhile, Demolishor threw Scavenger off of him. “Just forget it already, Scavenger! It was millions of years ago!”

“I’m going to destroy you if it’s the last thing I do!” Scavenger shouted, charging forward… only to be warped away as well.

Megatron scowled. “I’ll rip out your optics!”

“Not today, Megatron.” Optimus kicked Megatron off of him. “Red, now!”

“PRIIIIIME!” Megatron roared as he rose, charging at his nemesis. Before he could reach him, Prime was warped away, leaving Megatron alone.

“Megatron…” Starscream muttered, approaching him.

“SHUT UP, STARSCREAM!” Megatron shouted, grabbing the Seeker by the neck. “Sideways, warp us back. Now.”

After a moment, the three Decepticons were warped away.

Optimus sighed as he stepped into the Ark … right as a piece of medical equipment slammed into the wall next to his head.

“I HAD HIM!” Scavenger roared, storming towards Red Alert. “I had him, and you ripped him away!”

“Scavenger, calm down.” Red Alert raised his arms. “I got you out of there before anything bad could happen.”

“What’s going on?” Optimus asked as he stepped forward.

“I don’t know!” Rad replied. “Scavenger just… blew up at Red!”

“You enabled more bad things to happen by keeping me from finishing Demolishor!” Scavenger snapped. “If you’d just let me…”

“Scavenger, I know what you went through, but you can’t just… do something like this. You’re an Autobot.”

“Like Pit I am.” Scavenger scowled. “I’m helping you because you’re against Demolishor. I came here for no reason other than to kill him. To finally end it, once and for all.”

“Scavenger, stand down,” Optimus ordered. “You are out of line. An Autobot does not hunt down someone to execute them.”

“You think you can speak to me about what being an Autobot is?” Scavenger turned back around to face the Autobot leader. “I think you forget who taught you, Orion. You and Ariel and Dion.”

“Scavenger…”

“What?” Scavenger stepped forward. “Scared? Scared that I’ll say it? Because I will.”

“Scavenger, whatever you’re doing, stop,” Hot Shot said. “Calm down.”

Scavenger got right up in Optimus’ face. “You can yell at me, but you did nothing when Shockblast murdered Elita in cold blood, when Dion got torn to shreds by Scorponok. Under your leadership, I might add, Prime.”

Optimus smacked Scavenger across the face.

The entire room froze as Optimus glared down at Scavenger. The Autobot had fallen silent, staring at the Prime in shock. There was a coldness in Optimus’ eyes that none of them had ever seen before.

“Scavenger, you’re relieved of duty,” Optimus said coldly. “Get off my ship.”

Scavenger scowled as he stepped back. “Gladly.” He turned around and marched away.

Sparkplug frowned. “Optimus…”

“Not now, Sparkplug.” Optimus let out a defeated sigh. “Not… not now.”

As the Prime walked off to his quarters, Sparkplug watched, a sad look in his optics at the state of his friend.

“High Wire,” Rad whispered, leaning over to him. “We gotta go after Scavenger.”

“Why?” High Wire crossed his arms. “He… he’s out of line.”

“Maybe we can win him over?”

“I’m with the kid,” Rollbar said, joining in. “Let’s go find our friend and bring him home.”

After a moment, High Wire sighed. “Fine.” He assumed his motorcycle mode. “Hop on and don’t make me regret this.”

Rad quickly hopped on, putting his helmet on. Rollbar assumed his vehicle mode next to him, and the Mini-Cons drove off after the disgraced Autobot.

Near the planet of Saturn, a black and purple jet bearing a shocking resemblance to Starscream materialized out of thin air. It transformed into its robot form, which had one more notable difference in the head having a large fin atop it. The Decepticon looked around and sighed silently.

::I’m bored. How long ‘til we get there? ::

:“We don’t have too long,” : another Decepticon replied. :“Patience, Skywarp. You and our big friend both need a bit of patience.” :

Skywarp warped off, appearing back inside what seemed to be some kind of ship. He turned around towards a figure obscured in shadow. “Easy for you to say, bud. I’m the Bull’s-eye in the Sky! I gotta shoot somethin’ down to maintain my reputation! Besides, what have you ever had to wait for, anyway?”

The ‘bot in the shadows peered up at him, holding what appeared to be some sort of club. “Believe me, buddy… I’ve been waiting for a long time for what’s coming. I can be patient.”

“So… where do you think he’ll be?” Rad asked, glancing off at Rollbar.

“Dunno,” the Mini-Con replied. “From what I know, Scavenger usually works out his frustration by punching things.”

“So… like those trees falling in the distance?” High Wire suggested.

Rad and Rollbar turned their attention ahead, where a tree could be seen falling after a loud crash .

“...Yeah, that tracks,” Rollbar muttered.

Scavenger huffed as he sat down, surrounded by fallen trees. He clenched his fists. “Cast me out? No… no, I was doing what was necessary. Prime just doesn’t understand that.”

“Then help us understand.”

Scavenger whipped around to see Rad, High Wire, and Rollbar staring up at him. He huffed. “Get lost. I’m done trying to get help. I’m killing Demolishor.”

“Could you at least tell us… why?” Rollbar asked, placing a hand on his friend’s leg. “Please?”

After a moment, Scavenger groaned. “I hate you.”

“For what?”

Scavenger sat down. “Fine. You want the story? I’ll tell you. It all started four million years ago…”

“I was part of a little group. We idolized one of Nexus Prime’s guards. Constructicon Maximus, specifically. We were called the Constructicons. We all had our color schemes based on him and everything.”

Millions of years ago, Scavenger pushed some dirt into a hole, filling it before assuming his robot mode. “Ground’s level, Buckethead!”

Above, the team’s leader, Buckethead, grinned. “Alright, nice work down there, Scavenger!” she called out. She turned to another segment of the site. “Demolishor, how goes the drillin’, mate?”

Out of the ground erupted Demolishor, though then he had drills rather than missiles on his tank mode. He reverted to his robot mode, revealing regular hands. He was also in the same purple and green as his teammates. “Done, ma’am!”

“Great work!” Buckethead turned. “And where are the others?”

“Just got here!” a crane Constructicon called out as he rolled up alongside a dump truck and a cement mixer. “Long Haul’s got the stuff!”

“Load this, load that…” Long Haul muttered. “It’s like all you want me to do is carry things!”

“That’s… what your alt mode is for, Long Haul,” the cement mixer noted.

“Shove it up your aft, Mixmaster.”

“Will you two calm down?” The crane sighed as the three reverted to their robot mode. “Apologies for them, Buckethead… you know how they are.”

Buckethead chuckled. “Oh, it’s quite alright, Hightower.”

“We were a close-knit little group. When the protests began, we… we sided with the Decepticons. Myself included.”

“What? Stop given’ me that look. You don’t know what it was like before the war. Megatron had good points, back then.”

“When the war broke out… we were workin’ at an installation when an Autobot raid came in.”

“Autobots!”

The Constructicons turned as Long Haul stumbled in, clutching his side. “Autobots?” Buckethead asked.

Long Haul nodded. “They’re gonna tear this whole thing down!”

Decepticon troops around them grabbed their weapons. One of them, a tank, grinned. “Aw, yeah, time to fight!”

“Cool yourself, Quake,” Buckethead said. “I’m sure there’s a peaceful solution to all of this.”

As if on cue, the wall burst down, and in stormed a white Cybertronian who bore an uncanny resemblance to Optimus Prime. He was flanked by a Side Swipe lookalike in purple and yellow, Smokescreen, and a green Autobot with rocket launchers on each arm.

“This is Ultra Magnus,” the leader said. “Stand down, now.”

“Or shoot, I don’t care.” The Side Swipe lookalike grinned. “I just wanna blow someone’s head off.”

Magnus sighed. “Treadshot…”

“What? I’m bored. Overload’s with me, right?” Treadshot glanced at the green ‘bot. “Overload?”

Overload shrugged. “Meh.”

Quake grinned. “Let’s fight!”

Gunfire erupted around the room, and Scavenger watched in horror as, one by one, his fellow Constructicons were gunned down before he, too, was blasted. Consciousness faded…

“...But I can only wish that’d been where it all ended. Megatron had us recovered and brought to Shockblast. He repaired us, but… he changed us. Added something new.”

“Scavenger!”

Scavenger groaned as he rose, looking up to see Demolishor standing over him. Notably, at this point, Demolishor had swapped out his drills for the familiar missiles. “Demolishor? What’s… what’s going on?”

“We’re in a battle, ya idiot!” Demolishor pulled him up. “You hit your head or somethin’? Shockblast’s saying he’s got something he wants to try. Might give us an edge against the Autobots.”

“Right, right…” Scavenger nodded. “Lead the way.”

The two joined their four brethren next to Shockblast. “So, Shockblast,” Buckethead said, crossing her arms. “What is it you wanted to try?”

“This.” Shockblast pressed a button on his arm. The entire team immediately felt a chill over them.

“What…?” Demolishor muttered.

Shockblast remained silent, merely watching what came next.

“See, at the time, Shockblast was obsessed with recreating the combination process. None of his attempts beforehand had succeeded. But us… we did.”

Long Haul and Mixmaster formed legs. Demolishor became a waist and torso, his rockets folding up. Buckethead transformed into a chest, latching onto Demolishor. The launchers came to rest on the gestalt’s collar. Scavenger formed the left arm, while Hightower formed the right. A black head with a silver face emerged, eyes glowing a bright red.

“DEVASTATOR… DEVASTATE!”

“Devastator ravaged Crystal City. Demolishor and I fought back, but… we were too late. By the time we pulled the combiner apart, Crystal City was levelled. I quickly defected back to the Autobots. But… when the war ended, I knew. I knew it would never be over until Devastator was destroyed. So… I did what I had to.”

Buckethead hummed as she worked, picking up some crates. She backed up, only to bump right into Scavenger, dropping her crates.

“Oh, Scavenger!” She chuckled. “Sorry, mate, didn’t see ya there.”

Then, she froze at the sight of the gun barrel.

“Scavenger…?”

A single trigger pull, and Buckethead was left headless. Her body collapsed to the ground, color fading away, and Scavenger looked down on her corpse remorsefully.

“I’m sorry, Buckethead…” he muttered. “But I can’t risk Devastator ever forming again.”

“The others had fled Cybertron. I tracked them down. I killed them. Hightower, Mixmaster, Long Haul… and finally, I tracked Demolishor here. As long as he’s alive, there’s a chance that Devastator could return. That thing was born of all of us.”

“But…” Rollbar frowned. “By that logic…”

“Yeah.” Scavenger nodded. “I gotta die, too. And I will, once Demolishor is gone.”

“Scavenger, you can’t keep going on some revenge crusade,” High Wire said, stepping forward. “You know it’s not right.”

“This isn’t about revenge.” Scavenger’s face darkened. “This is about stopping that monster from ever coming together again. I’m doing this. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Scavenger assumed his alternate mode and rolled off. Rollbar and High Wire glanced at each other.

“Well, c’mon, then!” Rad shouted. “We can’t let him do this!”

After a moment, the two nodded. “Right!” They quickly assumed their vehicle modes, with Rad hopping onto High Wire, and drove after Scavenger, hoping they could save their friend.

“Tracking that energy source,” Demolishor reported as he moved through the woods. “Dunno what it is. Maybe some kinda energon deposit?”

:“Raw energon hasn’t been seen in eons,” : Thrust noted over the comlink. :“If you find a batch of it, that’ll give us the edge. Keep me posted.” :

“Got it.”

As Demolishor continued, he heard a noise off to the side. He glanced over, aiming his finger guns. “Is someone there…?”

After a beat of silence, Demolishor was tackled from behind by none other than Scavenger. He forced the Decepticon to the ground.

“Scavenger?!” Demolishor struggled against the Autobot’s grip. “What are you doing?!”

“You know exactly what I’m doing!” Scavenger grabbed Demolishor’s head in his hands. “I’m going to end Devastator once and for all.”

“You… you got the others, too, didn’t you?” Demolishor muttered, looking up at Scavenger. “Buckethead, Long Haul…”

“I did what I had to do to prevent Devastator from forming again.”

“They hated it, too, you know.” Demolishor looked away. “And with Shockblast controlling our ability to combine, is it any wonder we split up afterwards? That I changed up my color from our team colors? Devastator killed the Constructicons.”

“So?” Scavenger’s scowl deepened. “Even more reason to kill it.”

“Scavenger!”

Scavenger glanced behind him as Rollbar, High Wire, and Rad arrived. Rad leapt to the ground as High Wire and Rollbar assumed their robot modes.

“Scavenger…” Rollbar stepped forward. “You don’t need to do this, okay? Devastator won’t form again.”

“...There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it,” Scavenger admitted quietly. “What we did. How many died because of us.”

“You’re not the only one.”

Scavenger blinked, looking down at Demolishor as the Decepticon continued. “Do you know how many were lost that day? Seven thousand Cybertronians. Autobots, Decepticons, neutrals. Enemies and friends. Innocents. You think you’re the only one who wanted it gone? Why do you think I left with Megatron? It wasn’t only my loyalty to him, even if that’s another reason.”

After a moment, Scavenger released Demolishor, backing off. “I… I killed them, Demolishor. I can’t just… go back.”

“You can.” Rollbar placed a hand on Scavenger’s leg. “You always can.”

After a moment, Scavenger nodded. “Let’s… go back to the Ark. I need to talk with Prime.”

“Yeah, you really do.”

Scavenger glanced back at Demolishor, regret in his optics. “Demolishor, I…”

“Don’t. Just go before I change my mind an’ pound your face in.”

Scavenger rolled his optics before assuming his vehicle mode and rolling off alongside the others. Demolishor turned away, transforming to tank mode and heading off in the opposite direction.

“Optimus.”

Optimus, Red Alert, and Jetfire turned around to see Scavenger standing behind them. Optimus relaxed. “Scavenger.”

Jetfire moved forward. “You’ve got a real nerve, showing up around here after that stunt you pulled!”

“Ease up, Jetfire.” Optimus stepped forward. “Something to say?”

Scavenger sighed. “I’m… sorry I snapped, Prime. I just… I wanted to make sure Devastator couldn’t hurt anyone again, and… I didn’t realize how far I’d gone until I’d already…”

After a moment, he glanced up at Optimus. “And… I’m sorry for bringing up Elita and Dion like that. That was uncalled for.”

“And I’m sorry, as well,” Optimus responded. “For lashing out the way I did. It’s… not something that I’ve ever done.”

“War changes us,” Red Alert noted. “Sometimes, it can leave its scars deeper than one can see.”

Scavenger extended a hand. “Accept my formal apology. And…  and my acceptance of whatever punishment you deem fit.”

Optimus shook Scavenger’s hand. “You’re forgiven. Though I have a feeling once we return to Cybertron, the Council won’t be too keen on your actions.”

“I’m… I’m fine with that.” Scavenger grinned. “Now, let’s take Megatron down, Prime, once and for all.”

Chapter Text

Megatron sighed as he sat back on his throne. “And why can I not trust a single one of you to get results?! Between you two, the Seekers, Astrotrain, and Sideways, we outnumber the Autobots!””

Demolishor straightened. “M-Megatron, sir, we’re doing our best!”

“Yeah!” Cyclonus nodded.

“Well, your best isn’t good enough. Now get out there and locate my Mini-Cons!”

The two saluted before dashing out. Megatron groaned as he leaned back. “Why are my soldiers idiots?”

“I ask myself the same thing, Megatron.”

Megatron frowned, glancing over to the owner of the voice. “And what do you want, Squidhead?”

Thrust’s optic twitched at the name, but he said nothing about it. “Well… I’ve just been thinking. Starscream’s… been doing worse lately, hasn’t he? I mean, there was the last battle over the Landslide Team, and he was useless when the Autobot Smokescreen infiltrated our base…”

“Starscream is a valuable warrior, Thrust,” Megatron said, glaring at him. “His failures can be overlooked. I punish him when he does fail, and that’s that.”

“But does he truly deserve the Star Saber?” Thrust asked, edging closer to Megatron. “I mean… surely, all that power in his hands has left him with… desires.”

“You’re not suggesting Starscream wants to overthrow me, are you?” Megatron narrowed his optics.

“It’s a possibility, Megatron.” Thrust tapped his chin. “I just wonder if we really can trust Starscream with all that power…”

“...A test, then.”

Thrust perked up. “Hm?”

“A test. Starscream will be sent alone to claim the next Mini-Con we locate. If he succeeds, he keeps the sword. If he fails…”

Thrust chuckled, rubbing his hands together like the sycophant he appeared to be. “Oh, excellent thinking, Megatron, excellent!”

“Don’t patronize me.” Megatron pressed a button on his arm. “Starscream, report to the bridge.”

Thrust turned and walked off the bridge as Starscream entered. As the door shut, he chuckled.

“Starscream’s gonna fail, I just know it. And then, I’ll be the one moving up the ranks.”

“Indeed.” Sideways materialized next to him. “And once you’ve got Megatron’s ear, everything will be ready for our plan to go into motion.”

Thrust cackled. “Oh, yes. Let’s get a move on, then. Can’t hang around too long, can we?”

Thrust walked off, with Sideways and Mirror following close behind.

“Don’t you just love the beach?” Alexis asked as she lay back, enjoying the air. Carlos and Rad weren’t too far from her. Rad was doing his best not to stare at her in a swimsuit. “So nice and relaxing…”

“Are you trying to sunbathe?” Carlos asked. “There’s no sun out. These clouds are blocking everything…”

Alexis huffed, crossing her arms. “Let a girl relax, Carlos.”

“I don’t care much for it…” Sureshock muttered, punching her elbow in an attempt to knock sand out of it. “Transforming here is a pain.”
“I’ve got sand in joints I didn’t even know I had!” Grindor noted.

“Remember, we have to keep an eye out,” Optimus noted from the sidelines, in his truck mode. “If Teletraan was right and a Weaponizer Mini-Con did make it here after the whole Exodus situation, Megatron won’t be far behind.”

“Wait’ll I get my servos on ‘im…” Smokescreen muttered from beside the Prime.

Optimus turned on his comlink. “Red Alert, have you cleared out the area?”

:“Of course,” : the medic responded. :“The people are cleared from the beach. That hologram projector Rhinox built really came in handy. That, and the storm brewing.” :

“Even I was kinda convinced that shark was real, and I knew about it before!” Carlos chuckled.

:“Hold up,” : Red Alert said. :“Optimus, I think I’ve spotted our Mini-Con.” :

“Move in,” Optimus ordered. “Smokescreen and I will join you shortly.”

“Will do. Red Alert out.”

Red Alert rolled out of his hiding spot alongside Longarm, rolling down the beach towards the Mini-Con ahead: a navy blue, light blue, and red rocket transport. Upon spotting them, the Mini-Con reverted to his robot mode. He had four wheels on the back of each limb. The front of the truck split in half to form feet. The back folded down, and his head folded out. His yellow optics lit up. He watched as Red Alert and Longarm transformed.

“Longarm,” he noted, looking at the Mini-Con. He shifted his gaze to Red Alert. “Autobot.”

“Hello. I am–”

“Red Alert. I know who you are. Autobot field medic and engineer.”

“...Oh.”

“Payload.” The Mini-Con crossed his arms. “I saw you and your friends stop Dualor. Thank Primus for that. He was off his rails, he was.”

“Yeah.” Red rubbed the back of his head. “Look, I’m here to get you out of here before the Decepticons show up. Because you and I both know they’re coming.”

Payload sighed. “I know, I just hoped I would have longer to explore before I was located. Ah, well…”

Then, Red Alert froze as the sound of a Powerlinx was heard. He looked up just in time to get blasted into the sand by none other than Starscream, linked up with Swindle and the Star Saber in his hand.

“Sorry, Autobot,” Starscream said with a sneer. “That Mini-Con belongs to the Decepticons.”

Red Alert struggled to rise. “Longarm…”

Longarm nodded, Powerlinxing with Red Alert. “Go, Payload!” Red shouted as he fired up at Starscream with his now-deployed shoulder cannon. The Seeker swiftly dodged the shot before firing his own twin cannons at Red. They hit their mark, knocking the Autobot to the ground, chest smoking, and causing Longarm to separate from him.

“Too easy.” Starscream then dove down towards Payload… only for a blast to hit his leg, causing him to lose balance. He crashed into the sand as Smokescreen, Optimus, High Wire, Grindor, Sureshock, and Sparkplug rolled up, with the kids in tow.

“Smokescreen, Street Action Team, form a wall!” Optimus ordered. “Protect Payload!”

Starscream watched as the Street Action Team formed Perceptor and stood alongside Optimus and Smokescreen, in between him and Payload. He scowled as the wind began to pick up dramatically. Then, his optics moved over to the kids. He briefly considered his options…

It’s not the most honorable thing to do… but I can’t risk Megatron being disappointed in me. Not again.

In a sudden motion, Starscream reached for the kids. They dove to the side, but Starscream managed to grab Alexis. He flew into the air, holding her up.

“Hand the Mini-Con over and you can have the girl!” Starscream shouted.

“Hey!” Alexis struggled against his grip to no avail. “Let me go, Decepti-creep!”

Starscream opened up his cockpit on his chest and dropped her inside. Alexis pounded against the window.

“That’s low, Starscream!” Optimus snapped, stepping towards the Seeker. “Let her go!”

“Once you hand over the Mini-Con, I will.” Starscream narrowed his optics as the rain poured down around them. “While you’re at it, hand over the other ones, too.”

Alexis huffed, crossing her arms. “I thought you were different back when we first met. Guess I was wrong. You’re just like Megatron and the others.”

Starscream paused, glancing down at the human sitting in his cockpit. “I…”

“Optimus!” Red Alert shouted. “Storm’s hitting in full force!”

As soon as he shouted this, the wind picked up significantly. The sudden force of the winds threw Starscream off balance. He struggled to stay in the air.

“ALEXIS!” Rad, Carlos, and Perceptor shouted. Perceptor attempted to fly up towards Starscream, only to be hit by a palm tree that had been blown clean out of the sand.

“Hold on, Swindle!” Starscream shouted as the hurricane-force winds tossed him through the air. “We’re hitting the water hard!”

Alexis screamed as she saw the water coming ever closer. She braced herself for impact… and then the world went dark.

Alexis groaned as she awoke. She was lying on the beach. The sun was shining down on her. She covered her face as her eyes adjusted.

“Ugh… Sureshock? Rad? Carlos?” Alexis looked around, but it became quickly apparent that she wasn’t on the same beach. In fact, they weren’t even back on the mainland.

“...So I’m stranded on an island.” She groaned. “Great.”

As Alexis turned around, she instantly saw the smashed cockpit of none other than Starscream. She yelped, jumping back… only to see that the Seeker wasn’t moving.

She walked along, up to Starscream’s face. She quickly noticed that his eyes were out, but his color hadn’t faded. He was online still, just in stasis. She breathed out a sigh of relief… before once again reconsidering her options.

She was stranded with a Decepticon Seeker. Not just that, with Starscream , who according to Sureshock was among the most dangerous of the Seekers. Their leader. And she had no way off this island aside from him.

…So what could she do?

“Heyyyy…”

Alexis whipped around, raising her fists as Swindle approached. He waved. “Hey, hey, chill. Not here to fight.”

Alexis huffed. “You chose their side. You betrayed the Mini-Cons.”

Swindle shrugged. “I’ve only ever really been out for myself. Lookin’ out for number one. But I think right now, that means workin’ with you. Yeah?”

After a moment, Alexis sighed. “Don’t think we’ve got much of a choice…”

“Great!” Swindle clapped his hands together once. “Alright, so we should probably bring ol’ Screamer back online. He’s our only way off this island.”

As if on cue, Starscream’s orange optics lit up, and he groaned as he rose. Alexis backed up defensively. The Seeker looked around, before focusing his gaze on Alexis and Swindle. “What… happened?”

“Storm,” Swindle replied. “How are you doing? Can you transform and get us off this place?”

Starscream attempted to shift form, but quickly stopped, wincing and collapsing to his knees. “Ow… no, no I can’t. Joy.”

Alexis frowned. “Then… how will we…?”

Starscream stared down at her for a moment before sighing. “My self-repair systems will take care of the internal damage. However, my navigation and communications are also offline. That will need manual adjustment once I’m able to transform again.”

“Great.” Alexis sighed. “So we’re stuck here for a bit.”

Her stomach growled.

“And I’m hungry.” Alexis lay back on the sand. “Not the beach vacation I wanted…”

Starscream tilted his head. “Hunger… an organic concept, I believe? Somewhat similar to energon starvation, from my old logs.”

“You… know stuff about us?” Alexis sat up and looked up at the Seeker.

“I’ve studied organics for much of my life,” Starscream noted. “I was a scientist once, long before the war. Studied planets like yours.”

“Hm.” After a moment of silence, Alexis lay back down and sighed. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’ll just lay here and wait for you to finish repairing, I guess.”

A brief moment passed before Starscream rose and walked off. Alexis sighed and closed her eyes…

“The Laserbeak drone is back, Prime,” Red Alert said as a small orange bird-like drone flew back down and landed on Red’s arm.

“Well?” Optimus glanced at the medic. Jetfire stood at his side. “Anything?”

A wire-like tail extended from Laserbeak and plugged into Red Alert’s arm. After a moment, Red sighed. “Nothing. No sign of Alexis or Starscream.”

“I… I’m sorry about your friend…” Payload muttered. “I should have turned myself over.”

“No.” Sparkplug placed a hand on Payload’s shoulder. “There’s nothing we could have done. There wasn’t time. It hit us out of nowhere. Now, c’mon. Let’s get you to the Ark.”

Sparkplug turned to the Street Action Team, Rad, and Carlos. “Same with you.”

“But…” Rad glanced at the ocean. “Alexis…”

“They’ll find her.” High Wire placed a claw on Rad’s shoulder. “Nothing we can do for now.”

Sureshock, meanwhile, stood at the edge of the beach, water washing up against her feet. She looked out over the expanse, but there was nothing in sight aside from the blue ocean.

“Alexis…”

A sudden thud snapped Alexis awake as she began to drift off. She sat up to see a pile of… coconuts beside her? Swindle poked at them. Starscream stood above her. The Star Saber was in his hand now, as well, but notably depowered

“And… what are these ?” Swindle asked.

“They’re a source of nutrition,” Starscream replied as he turned away. “For the human. And before you ask, the Star Saber's not working. The Mini-Cons were knocked into stasis lock.”

Alexis blinked. After a moment, she squinted, eyeing the Decepticon air commander. “...Why?”

"Because the sword can't function if the Mini-Cons are-"

"I mean the food, Starscream."

“You’re useless to me dead.”

“Oh.”

“...That, and I used you as a shield. You are no worthy adversary for me. I apologize for that.” Starscream gazed at the sand. “I… can’t afford to fail Megatron. Not again. He’ll…”

Starscream clenched his fist. Alexis noticed that… he was shaking. Her brow furrowed as she realized that… Starscream was afraid. Not just afraid of simply failing, but of what Megatron would do to him.

“...Does he hurt you?”

“He… disciplines us. For failure. He seems to take it out on me in particular. Only when he gets upset, though. He… treats us fairly otherwise. I’ll be fine.”

“Like hell you will.” Alexis rose. “Megatron… he’s not good for you. Any of you! You can’t just take it!”

“What choice do we have?” Starscream glanced down at her. “He’s stronger than all of us, except someone like Tidal Wave. And Tidal Wave is unfathomably loyal to Megatron, so any talk of overthrowing him and we’ll all be crushed. There’s no chance, even if we wanted to. Besides… he’s the best leader we’ve got.”

“...Starscream–”

“Are you going to re-energize or not?”

Alexis paused, realizing that this was Starscream indicating that he was done with this conversation. She turned to the coconuts and observed it.

“Um… I can’t crack this open.”

Starscream sighed, reaching up and grabbing the handle to his wing blade. With a quick few swings, he chopped every single one open. “There. Now obtain your nutrients. Again, you’re better to me alive than dead.”

As Starscream walked off to look out over the ocean, facing away from her, Alexis picked up one of the cut coconuts. She cast a gaze up at Starscream.

“Huh…” she muttered. “Maybe… maybe he is different.”

“Starscream seems to have completely disappeared, Megatron,” Thundercracker reported. “We can’t get a lock on his signature.”

Megatron frowned. “Try again.”

“We’ve been trying. Nothing.” The blue Seeker frowned. “I’m worried…”

Thrust glanced at Megatron. The Decepticon leader huffed before glancing away. “Well… prioritize Mini-Cons. Starscream is competent enough to find his own way back.”

After a moment of hesitation, Thundercracker nodded. He turned back to the monitor and began searching for any Mini-Con energy signatures. He didn’t want to leave his commander behind, but… Megatron’s orders.

Starscream flexed his fingers. “Alright. Let’s try… this.”

Starscream began attempting to transform. After a considerable bit of effort, he succeeded, assuming his vehicle mode.

“Excellent.” He reverted to his robot mode. “My transformation cog and thrusters are working again. But communications and navigation are down.”

“Your systems are Earth-based, and I don’t really know how the tech here works,” Swindle noted. “From my time here, it’s… far more primitive than anything I’ve worked with. Sorry, Screamer.”

Alexis hesitated for a moment, but then raised up a hand. “I… might be able to help with that.”

Starscream scoffed. “Human, I don’t think you’re experienced enough to be able to configure navigational systems.”

“At least give me a chance!”

After a moment, Starscream sighed. “Fine…” He reverted to his jet mode, and Alexis climbed inside the cockpit. She began tinkering with his onboard computer.

“My dad worked on software like this,” she noted as she worked. “He taught me a lot about it. You could say I’m a bit of a computer whiz.”

After a moment, Alexis moved her hands back. “Aaaand… there!”

Starscream’s navigational systems lit up. She rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry I couldn’t do anything for your communications. I… don’t know my way around that yet.”

“Well I’ll be…” Swindle muttered. “Someone as young as you, even in human years, being able to do that… that’s quite a feat.”

“I… suppose it is impressive,” Starscream admitted. “Well… my navigational systems are online. Best we get you back to the Autobots, then.”

Alexis blinked, surprised. “You’re… not going to take me as a prisoner?”

“...No. I owe you for this. So, get ready for takeoff, human. You too, Swindle.”

Swindle sighed as he climbed in behind Alexis. “Finally, we’re getting off this rock.”

Sureshock kicked some sand up in the air. “STILL?!”

“Sureshock, relax.” Jetfire held up a hand. “We’ll find her. I promise you.”

“Prime, Jetfire!” Red Alert pointed out over the ocean. “Starscream incoming!”

Indeed, Starscream could be seen approaching over the horizon. Red Alert, Optimus, and Jetfire quickly prepared for combat. High Wire, Grindor, and Sureshock quickly combined into Perceptor. Rad and Carlos activated their nanosuits, forming small blasters on their arms.

“Rad, Carlos, this is Starscream,” Perceptor said, glancing back at them. “Stay out of this.”

“Like hell,” Rad snapped. “He has Alexis.”

After a moment, Perceptor sighed. “Fine. But be careful.”

Starscream slowed as he neared the beach, transforming to his robot mode.

“WHERE’S ALEXIS!” Rad shouted.

“I’m here!”

The Autobots and humans paused as they spotted Alexis on Starscream’s shoulder, waving at them with a smile on her face. Starscream carefully took Alexis off his shoulder and set her on the ground.

“The debt is repaid,” he said simply. “Go with your friends.”

Jetfire paused. “I’m… sorry?”

“She fixed my navigational systems so we could return. So, I’m returning her to you. I don’t want to owe anyone.”

“Are you all right, Alexis?” Perceptor asked, kneeling down next to her.

“I’m fine, really.” Alexis glanced back at Starscream and smiled. “Thanks to Starscream, of course.”

“Hmph.”

Alexis rolled her eyes. “Let’s get going, guys.”

Perceptor separated into their component parts, and as the Autobots and Mini-Cons drove away, Alexis had Sureshock stop for a moment. She looked up at Starscream and smiled. “Hey, Starscream!”

“Alexis, what are you doing?!” Sureshock hissed.

Starscream glanced back at her. “Hm?”

“Take care of yourself out there, okay?” Alexis called up.

Starscream paused, not knowing quite how to process her kind words. After a moment, he turned away. “...You too, Alexis.”

With that, Starscream assumed his vehicle mode and flew off. Alexis smiled before turning back around. “Let’s go, Sureshock.”

With that, the two drove off after their friends, with Alexis wondering if, perhaps, she may be able to make a new one.

Starscream slammed against the wall of the Nemesis, clutching his now-dented arm. Megatron towered over him.

“You dare come back to me empty-handed?!”

Starscream cowered back. “M-Megatron, I tried, I swear, but Prime and two other Autobots ambushed me! There was nothing I could–”

“Excuses,” Megatron hissed. "You are not worthy to wield the Star Saber."

Megatron picked up the sword, despite Starscream's protests. Upon hearing them, he sent a pointed glare to his second-in-command, instantly silencing him.

“Get to the repair chamber for now," Megatron ordered, his blood-red eyes piercing through Starscream's spark. "I shall decide how to deal with you later.”

As Starscream slunk off, Megatron sat down on his throne with a sigh. “You were right. He’s losing his touch.”

“So?” Thrust emerged from the shadows, hands clasped behind his back. “What’s your plan?”

“I’ll keep him around for now.” Megatron smirked. “But if I ever need someone to throw under the bus…”

Thrust chuckled. “Oh, splendid idea, Megatron! Making the most of him, despite his… dwindling potential. I love it!”

Unknown to the two Decepticons, Starscream stood just around the corner. His fists clenched, and the Seeker stormed off. Swindle hesitated, but after an odd pang of concern of all things, followed.

“So, that’s your game, Thrust…” Starscream muttered, a scowl on his face. “Fine. I’ll play. But we’ll see who has the last laugh in the end…”

On the half of the Exodus left on the moon, Buzzsaw looked out the cockpit. He looked at the stars dotting the sky. Space was always just so... beautiful.

Then, suddenly, a dark shape moved over them. Something huge, blocking out dozens of stars' light at once. Buzzsaw watched as the gigantic mass passed over the ruins of the Exodus... and headed straight towards Earth.

"That... can't be good."

Chapter Text

“Primus, can you guys try any harder?!” a black and gray car Mini-Con with a green visor shouted as he and Perceptor dodged an explosion. “Feels like you’re barely fighting!”

Perceptor groaned. “Nightscream, will you kindly shut up?”

The gestalt peeked out from behind the boulder they’d taken cover behind to see the battle raging on the beach. Smokescreen, Optimus Prime, Blurr, and Red Alert battled against Megatron, Cyclonus, Starscream, and Thundercracker. As Thundercracker flew overhead, he let out a loud sonic boom, disorienting Red Alert and allowing Cyclonus to get a hit in on the Autobot. However, Thundercracker was then engaged by Blurr in his Powerlinxed flight mode.

Nightscream frowned, crossing his arms. “Why are you tryna tell me what to do? Only one ‘bot who can do that, and you’re not her.”

“Whatever.” Perceptor sighed. “I’m trying to save your life, that’s all.”

Optimus (in his Super mode) slammed his fist into Megatron’s face. “Back down, Megatron! You don’t need to keep pursuing this power! We can find peace, together!”

Megatron scowled as he stumbled back, wiping some leaking fuel from his chin. “There can be no peace while followers like you continue to persist, Prime!”

Megatron charged forward, but Optimus grabbed him by his shoulder pylons, lifted him up, and slammed him into the ground. “It’s over, Megatron. Finished. Let’s not draw this out.”

Megatron gazed up at Optimus. For a moment, Optimus thought he was considering the offer.

That is, until a massive shadow fell over the battlefield.

Megatron grinned. “Oh, Prime… I’d watch yourself if I were you…”

Suddenly, a purple and black Seeker appeared behind Optimus and kicked him in the back, causing the Prime to stumble. He whipped around, only to see… nothing.

Starscream frowned as he dodged a shot from Smokescreen’s cannon. “Oh, joy. My cousin’s here.”

“Cousin?” Thundercracker lit up, assuming his robot mode. “You mean…?”

The black Seeker suddenly appeared beside Thundercracker. “The Bull’s-Eye in the Sky is here, everyone! Hold your applause!”

Thundercracker grinned. “Skywarp! Great to see ya, old pal!” He patted Skywarp on the back.

The other Seeker just grunted uncomfortably, clearly not fond of Thundercracker’s affectionate welcome. “Y-Yes… good to see you too, Thundercracker…”

“What the hell is that …?” Nightscream muttered, staring up at the sky and the thing blotting out the sun.

From a rocky area nearby, the Night Attack Team emerged. “It can’t be…” Scattor muttered, horror evident on his face.

Optimus stepped back as he focused on the shape: a massive black, green, purple, and gray Decepticon warship… or so it seemed. “You… you brought him here?!” he shouted, turning his attention to Megatron.

Megatron smiled. “Tidal Wave… attack.”

“Tidal Wave…” the massive Decepticon warship muttered, simply speaking his name as he turned his artillery towards the beach. 

“It’s Tidal Wave!” Red Alert shouted. “We need to get out of here, now!”

“He’s not that big!” Blurr shouted. “He’s just got… guns… a lot of guns… yeah, okay, maybe we should retreat.”

“Smokescreen, this is Optimus Prime!” Optimus said. “Warp us back! We’re outgunned, and if we stay, we’ll be obliterated!”

“Tidal Wave…” Tidal Wave opened fire, hundreds of lasers flying towards the Autobots. Some of the blasts slammed into the ground, one of them hitting Red Alert and blowing one of his legs off. After a moment, the Autobots and Nightscream were warped away, and the remaining blasts only hit the sand… resulting in a huge crater where they hit, one that surely would have obliterated the Autobots.

“Slag…” Skywarp muttered. “They left. Ah, well.”

“Perhaps it is best we depart before we become one with the darkness,” Broadside muttered.

Scattor nodded. He had faith in his team, but against that thing… “Agreed. Move out, Night Attack Team.”

“I don’t think so.”

The trio yelped as Skywarp appeared in front of them and snatched up Broadside and Fetch. “What’s up? Name’s Skywarp, nice to meet ya.”

“Put ‘em down!” Scattor shouted, assuming his alternate mode. “Or I’ll blow you to smithereens!”

Then, Sideways appeared behind the Mini-Con, chuckling. “Please. Try.” He grabbed Scattor, holding him up where he couldn’t hit any of the Decepticons.

“Hey!” Skywarp glared at the other Decepticon. “Teleportation is my thing!”

Sideways shrugged. “Not exactly teleportation, but whatever.”

“Decepticons, return to the Nemesis!” Megatron ordered. “Warp us back, Thrust.”

Cyclonus huffed. “I barely got to do anything! Tidal Wave stole all the glory!”

“Tidal Wave…”

“Shut up! You’re annoying! Grow a brain module!”

Starscream groaned. “This is going to get old fast…”

With that, the Decepticons were warped away, back to their base, alongside the Mini-Cons that would soon be reprogrammed.

“Jeez…” Carlos muttered, watching as Teletraan scanned over Red’s injuries. “Red took a beating.”

“He didn’t even have anything left to recover of his leg,” Grindor noted. “Like… wow. And that was just in about one second of Tidal Wave’s gunfire.”

“What even is Tidal Wave doing here?” Smokescreen asked. “Like… Tidal Wave? I thought he died!”

“Who knows?” Scavenger shrugged. “Whatever the case, Tidal Wave is here. We’re doomed.”

“Tidal Wave’s been defeated before,” Optimus noted. “We cannot lose hope simply because Megatron has a big one.”

“A couple of big ones,” Jetfire noted. “Astrotrain, Tidal Wave… he’s got pretty much the entirety of the Seekers here now, ‘cept Ramjet and Sunstorm. We’re outnumbered.”

“Prime,” Sparkplug said. “Four more signals popped up. Mini-Cons.”

Optimus grunted as he rose, evidently having been injured by Tidal Wave’s blast. “We need to…”

“You need to stay here,” Red Alert said sternly, glancing at the Prime. “You’re injured, same as me. Send out someone else.”

Optimus sighed. “Very well. Smokescreen, Hot Shot, Side Swipe, bring these Mini-Cons in safely.”

Side Swipe saluted. “Yes, sir! C’mon, Nightbeat!”

Smokescreen frowned as Side Swipe, Nightbeat, Hot Shot, and Jolt headed towards the warp room. He glanced at the ground.

“Smokescreen.”

The Autobot crane tensed as Optimus’ hand came to rest on his shoulder. The Autobot commander looked at his subordinate. “I… know Liftor still weighs heavy on you. But you can’t be off the field forever. Hot Shot and the others will need you.”

Smokescreen sighed. “I know. I just… I miss him, y’know?”

“I do.” Optimus looked down. “Loss… is never easy. Hot Shot knows that as well as you do.”

Smokescreen paused. “Hot Shot?”

“That’s a story for him to tell, I’m afraid.” Optimus stepped back. “For now, make sure those Mini-Cons get back safely. Understood?”

After a moment of silence, Smokescreen nodded. “Yes, sir.” He turned and followed Hot Shot and Side Swipe out of the room.

“Megatron!” Demolishor shouted. “We got another group of Mini-Cons detected.”

Thrust looked over his shoulder. “Area’s too crowded to send in Tidal Wave. I can take a team in.”

“Yes, do that,” Megatron said from his throne.

“If you don’t mind…” another Decepticon said from the shadows, brandishing his club in his hands. “I’d like to take a shot. It’s been a while since I’ve been around an Autobot, and I heard a certain someone is here on Earth. I have a score to settle…”

Megatron smirked. “Ah, yes. Your brother. Of course. Thrust take him and Demolishor with you.”

“Of course, my liege.” Thrust bowed. “As your chief tactician, I will not fail you!”

As Thrust, Demolishor, and the third Decepticon departed, Starscream watched from the side. His optics narrowed at the sight of the other Seeker.

“You think you can just steal my spot, do you?” Starscream muttered to himself. “We’ll see about that, Thrust…”

“Well, well…” a silver and purple jet Mini-Con muttered, looking around the dense jungle. “Not a lotta room here if anyone wanted to get in.”

“W-Well, that’s a g-good thing, right?” a purple and red jet muttered, looking around. “No fights are gonna break out, and nobody’s gonna try to kill us.”

“Shut up, Ramjet, nobody cares what you think,” the silver Mini-Con snapped.

“Ease off him, Thunderclash,” an orange and blue Mini-Con with gripper arms extending off his back said, stepping between them. “We were up in the atmosphere for a long time after Dualor’s whole thing.”

“Kinda disappointed it didn’t get off the ground, to be honest, Refute,” a black, yellow, and red stealth bomber noted. “They coulda put a stop to the Decepticons.”

“Personally, I think the Decepticons would be cool to be around,” Thunderclash noted. “Easy marks.”

“The Decepticons are no good,” the black Mini-Con replied. “My buddy Wheeljack’s gotta be fighting them right now, somewhere in the galaxy. That is, if he isn’t already on Earth.”

“We get it, you’re an Autobot pal, Wind Sheer.” Thunderclash rolled his optics. “Shut up already and let us move.”

“Thunderclash, will you not be a piece of scrap?” Refute glared at the silver jet.

Thunderclash shrugged. “Meh.”

“Hey!”

The Mini-Cons froze, turning to see Smokescreen, Hot Shot, Side Swipe, Jolt, and Nightbeat emerging from the brush.

Refute blinked, surprised at the sight. “Smokescreen?”

“Refute?” Smokescreen knelt down. “Good to see you, buddy.”

“You too.” Refute looked around. “Liftor here? I remember he was with you during the whole Dualor thing.”

Smokescreen looked away. “Liftor’s… dead.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Well… we can’t stay here long,” Wind Sheer said. He paused, noticing Hot Shot. “Oh, hey, Hot Shot! Is Wheeljack around?”

Hot Shot froze at the mention of the name. He looked away, unwanted memories resurfacing…

Cybertron, one million Earth years ago. Shortly after the departure of the Exodus…

Hot Shot sped across the ground in his car mode, weaving from side to side.

“And Hot Shot holds the lead!” he narrated. “Nobody can contest him!”

“Or can they?”

A charcoal Cybertronian sports car with yellow highlights and a large Autobot symbol on the hood sped past him. Hot Shot yelped, quickly putting the pedal to the metal. “Hey! Get back here!”

“Looks like Wheeljack’s in the lead now!” The other Autobot laughed. “Sorry, bro, but you’re too slow!”

“Like Pit I am!” Hot Shot sped forward, catching up with Wheeljack. The two were bumper-to-bumper…

“Hot Shot! Wheeljack!”

The two skidded to a stop, assuming their robot forms. In his primary mode, Wheeljack had the same charcoal and yellow coloring of his vehicle mode, but his forearms and thighs were notably white. His head was white as well, with a golden face. His optics shone the same blue as Hot Shot’s.

“Z-Zeta…” Hot Shot muttered as the blue and gold Cybertronian approached. “W-We were just…”

“Racing during training hours.” Zeta crossed his arms. “We have a drill in just a few nanocycles. Get ready.”

“Yes, sir!”

As Zeta departed, Wheeljack huffed. “Zeta, am I right?”

“We should get ready to go…” Hot Shot noted. “I mean, we don’t wanna miss this next drill. It’s supposed to be our last one, after all.”

“I guess.” Wheeljack shrugged. “Alright. Let’s get moving, then.”

The two brothers assumed their vehicle modes and drove off, heading towards their final drill… and, unknown to them, a life-changing event.

Present day…

Hot Shot looked at the ground, pushing the memories away. “About Wheeljack…”

Suddenly, a black Cybertronian sports car with blue highlights erupted from the jungle, slamming into Hot Shot and sending him tumbling back. The trees were blown aside as Demolishor rolled through the jungle, Thrust walking at his side.

“Why did it have to be a place where I can’t fly…?” Thrust muttered to himself. He then froze upon spotting the Autobots. “...Oh.”

“I’ve got Demolishor.” Smokescreen slammed his fist into his palm. “Side Swipe, Nightbeat, take Thrust.”

“Got it!” Side Swipe grinned. “Nightbeat!”

“Let’s beat ‘em to a pulp!” Nightbeat transformed and linked onto Side Swipe. The Autobot aimed his fist and launched it, hitting Thrust right in the face and knocking him over. As the fist flew back onto Side Swipe’s arm, he dashed towards the fallen Seeker. Meanwhile, Demolishor assumed his robot mode and grappled with Smokescreen.

“I’m gonna go help Hot Shot!” Wind Sheer said, transforming to his jet mode and flying after the Autobot. 

Refute glanced at Thunderclash and Ramjet. “Well? Gonna help?”

“I…” Ramjet looked around. “I really don’t feel like getting involved… I mean, I could get blown to smithereens!”

“I just wanna see how things play out. Join the winning team.” Thunderclash leaned against a tree. “Y’know, that stuff.”

“...You are unbelievable.”

“Megatron?”

The Decepticon leader sighed as he heard the familiar voice of his Air Commander. “Yes, Starscream?”

“I… just wanted to know… why not send me, or Thundercracker, or Skywarp out? We all have… advantages… that Thrust does not.”

Megatron glanced over at the Seeker, his blood-red optics boring into his spark. “Thrust has not proven himself in this campaign quite yet. I want him to lead a mission on his own and prove that he can come out successful proper. That he is still the tactician was. Besides… I want to see how our friend handles himself.” Megatron smirked. “He’s wanted his revenge for so long… let’s see what happens when he gets it.”

Starscream nodded, turning and leaving the bridge. As the door shut, he sneered. “Megatron’s trying to replace me… well, I won’t let that happen. Especially not if it’s someone like Thrust.”

The Air Commander stormed off, plotting on how to best prevent Thrust from rendering him irrelevant.

Hot Shot groaned as he rose. “Ugh… who the Pit was that …?”

“Long time no see, brother.”

Hot Shot froze. He shot up, looking over to see the sports car. From here, at this angle, he could see the large Autobot symbol on the hood… with a slash mark through it. Underneath it, towards the front, was a smaller Decepticon emblem. But… other than the colors, it looked just like him.

“It… can’t be…” Hot Shot muttered, moving back.

The Decepticon transformed. The color layout was exactly the same, save the black and blue in place of the charcoal and yellow. A Decepticon symbol was on the side of his forearm. He brandished a club in his hand. His blue optics bore into Hot Shot’s, two pairs of identical eyes meeting for the first time in a million years.

Wind Sheer flew in, landing and transforming to robot mode… but he froze as he laid his optics on Hot Shot’s assailant. “What in the…?”

“You bet it is,” Wheeljack said, frowning as he gazed at his brother with contempt. “And I’m here to get some payback.”

Chapter Text

One million years ago…

“DUCK!”

Hot Shot yelped as he was tackled to the ground by Wheeljack, just in time for the turret shots to pass over his head. “Phew… thanks, Jackie.”

“No prob, Hot Shot.” Wheeljack grinned, pulling out his clubs. “Now… whaddya say we take care of this?”

Hot Shot grinned, blaster in hand. “It’s a training exercise. We got this!”

The brothers leapt over the wall they were hidden behind. Hot Shot blasted one of the turrets, while Wheeljack fired his shoulder-mounted rocket launcher at another, blowing it apart. He turned to do the same, but the turret shot him just as he fired, causing his rocket to veer off-course. With a grunt, he lobbed his club at it, and it buried itself in the cannon. Hot Shot whirled around and blasted one last turret that had set its sights on Wheeljack. “And now we’re even.”

“Even? Please.” Wheeljack crossed his arms. “I’m over you by… what, a dozen counts?”

“...five isn’t a dozen,” Hot Shot mumbled.

“Still.” Wheeljack shrugged, putting one of his clubs away and grabbing the handle of the one now wedged in the energy cannon. “Now, let’s keep moving. Zeta will have our heads if we don’t… Primus, this thing is stuck.”

“Careful,” Hot Shot teased. “Don’t wanna break the energy core.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Wheeljack rolled his optics as he pulled it out. “I know.”

As Wheeljack turned back towards Hot Shot, he caught something out of the corner of his optic. The rocket that had veered off course earlier had broken through the protective glass and was buried in the simulator’s reactor core. He froze.

“...Hot Shot?”

“Yeah.”

“We… might be in trouble.”

Suddenly, the rocket exploded, setting off a chain reaction through the building.

“DOWN!” Wheeljack shouted, tackling Hot Shot as a piece of debris hit his chest. Explosions rocked the building, and the roof collapsed around them. Hot Shot blacked out.

Hot Shot awoke a minute later. He was in an area generally clear of rubble, but that hadn’t stopped him from being damaged. The building burned around him.

“Wheeljack…?” he muttered, looking around. He soon spotted his brother, partially buried underneath a support beam. His shoulder launcher was snapped clean off of him, lying on the ground nearby. “WHEELJACK!”

Hot Shot dashed over, grabbing the beam and attempting to lift it. However, this just caused other rubble to begin to fall.

“Wait, wait!” Wheeljack said. Hot Shot stopped upon noticing that it wasn’t working, and considered his options.

“I… I’m gonna go get Zeta,” Hot Shot said to Wheeljack, taking his hand in his own. “I’ll be back.”

“Hot Shot…”

“I will. I promise.”

With that, Hot Shot turned and ran, leaving Wheeljack behind him, and not knowing what would one day come from this.

“Zeta!”

A white and gold Autobot turned to see Hot Shot emerge from the flames. “Hot Shot, good. You’re alive.”

“Wheeljack, he’s trapped!” Hot Shot pointed back towards the building. “W-We have to get him out!”

“We don’t have time, Hot Shot,” Zeta said firmly. “The whole building’s gonna blow.”

Hot Shot grabbed Zeta’s arms desperately. “Zeta, please.”

“Off.” Zeta pushed Hot Shot off of him. “We’re not sending anyone else in there. That’s final.”

After a moment, Hot Shot clenched his fists. “Then I’ll go in myself.”

As Hot Shot turned back, Zeta suddenly grabbed him, holding him back. “I’ll be damned if I lose more than one soldier today!”

“No!” Hot Shot shouted, struggling against Zeta’s grip. “No, please! Wheeljack! I have to save Wheeljack!”

Then, with a massive boom, the entire building exploded before collapsing in on itself, and seemingly destroying anything left inside… including Wheeljack.

“WHEELJACK!”

Present day…

“Wheeljack…?” Hot Shot muttered. “Y-You’re… alive…?”

“Obviously.” Wheeljack stormed towards his brother, club in hand. “And I’m here to make you pay for what you did.”

“Wheeljack, hold on!” Wind Sheer shouted, leaping between them. “What’s going on? Why are you…?”

He froze, seeing the Decepticon symbol on Wheeljack’s chest. “Y-You’re… a Decepticon.”

“The Autobots left me to die,” Wheeljack spat. “My brother left me to die.”

“Wheeljack, that’s not–”

“You know it is.” Wheeljack stepped forward. “You didn’t come for me. You left me to rot.”

Wind Sheer froze, turning back to Hot Shot. “That’s… not true, right? You didn’t leave him…”

Hot Shot looked away. “I… I d-didn’t mean to… I didn’t w-want…”

Wind Sheer clenched his fist, backing towards Wheeljack. “I… I can’t believe this…”

“Will you just hear him out?!” Jolt said, stepping in front of Hot Shot. “He’s trying to explain himself!”

“He doesn’t need to,” Wheeljack spat. “I already know. If it weren’t for Megatron, I’d be dead.”

One million years ago…

Wheeljack had been waiting for what felt like an eternity to him. He could tell the core was about to go critical and take the whole building with it.

“Hot Shot…?” he muttered to himself, knowing his brother wouldn’t hear him. He might as well accept his fate…

Then, he heard the scraping sound of metal cleaving metal. He looked up to see two figures emerge from the smoke: none other than Megatron himself, accompanied by Starscream.

“N-No…” Wheeljack muttered to himself, struggling against the weight of the support beam to no avail. “Wh-What are you doing here…?”

Starscream stepped forward, kneeling down next to him. “...Are you alright?”

“What do you care?” Wheeljack spat. “You’re Decepticons!”

“We care for any Cybertronian in need,” Megatron said firmly. “You need not die here, like this. You are a warrior. I see your spark.”

The Decepticon leader nodded at Starscream. The Air Commander swung his sword, cleaving through the support beam and freeing Wheeljack. The Autobot struggled to get to his feet.

“What do you want from me…?”

“I want you on our side,” Megatron said, offering his hand out. “You have a warrior’s spark. The Autobots have wasted that. They have abandoned you.”

“N-No… Hot Shot wouldn’t…”

Explosions rocked the area. A humming could be heard from the reactor core.

“We don’t have time.” Megatron looked down at the Autobot car. “If they were coming, they would have.” He held out his hand. “Come with us.”

After a moment of hesitation, Wheeljack reached out and took his hand. Starscream immediately activated his comlink. “Skywarp.”

Skywarp suddenly appeared and pulled them all close. “Hold on, Autobrat,” Skywarp said, clearly not happy about bringing him along. “Teleporting’s rough on newbies.”

In a flash of light, the four disappeared… just as the entire building was consumed in the reactor’s meltdown.

Present day…

“Wheeljack, listen…” Hot Shot stepped towards his brother. “You don’t need to do this. Come back to us!” He smiled. “Come back to me …”

“You, you, you !” Wheeljack scoffed. “It’s always been about you ! From day one, you always needed the spotlight! You always needed to be the star! I indulged that, I played along, because I loved you! And you repaid me by leaving me to die!”

“I… I wasn’t the best brother, I know that, but if you will just–”

“I am sick of listening to excuses!” Wheeljack pointed his club at Hot Shot. “It’s time you paid for what you’ve done!”

“Back off!”

A familiar blue and black fist slammed into Wheeljack, sending him flying into a tree. The fist reconnected with its owner: Side Swipe.

“S-Side Swipe?” Hot Shot shook his head. “N-No, you shouldn’t be here! This is for me to deal with!”

“C’mon, bro!” Side Swipe moved to Hot Shot’s side. “You think I’m just gonna let you get yourself killed?”

Wheeljack freezes, eyeing the two. “...‘bro’?” He rose, his blue optics flaring, energy leaking from them in small sparks. “So you fraggin’ replaced me?!”

“Wheeljack, I swear to Primus, that’s not what this is!” Hot Shot put his hands up. “He calls everyone that! Except Optimus, for obvious reasons!”

“ENOUGH!” Wheeljack roared. “I am done listening! I am done talking! You are going to pay for what you did to me!”

“Wheeljack–”

Wheeljack lunged forward, shoving Side Swipe out of the way with one club while the other hit Hot Shot in the head. The Autobot stumbled back, clutching the wound. Jolt moved to help, only for Wind Sheer to intercept.

“...We don’t need to do this.”

“We do.”

Thrust groaned as he got back to his feet. He rubbed his cone-shaped head, looking around. He quickly spotted Demolishor engaged with Smokescreen, but no sign of Side Swipe. If the sounds nearby were anything to guess, he was helping Hot Shot with Wheeljack… and leaving those Mini-Cons off to the side ripe for the picking.

Perfect.

Thrust quickly swiped up Thunderclash and Ramjet, barely missing Refute. The Mini-Con assumed his alternate mode, driving off towards Smokescreen. Thrust started chasing after him on foot, muttering a bit to himself about the limited space.

“Smokescreen!” Refute shouted. “Thrust’s on my tail! He can’t go to jet mode here, but he’s coming!”

“I’m a little busy right now…” Smokescreen muttered, locked in a power struggle with Demolishor.

“Smokescreen!” Refute shouted as Thrust reached for him.

Smokescreen groaned. “Primus, why can’t these things be simple…?” He rotated his crane arm around and sent the hook flying. It hooked onto Refute and pulled him quickly over to him. Refute quickly assumed his vehicle mode and linked with Smokescreen, causing his crane arm to reform into a cannon. Smokescreen froze momentarily, memories of Liftor flashing through his mind, but as Demolishor swung a fist, he recovered and fired his cannon, hitting the Decepticon right in the face and managing to blow half of it off.

Demolishor stumbled back, clutching at the now-exposed inner workings of his face. “Thrust!” he said, his voice gargled by the injury. “N-Need to get… outta here!”

“We have two of them,” Thrust noted. “I think that’s enough for now. Thundercracker, bring us back.”

Side Swipe lunged at Wheeljack, latching onto his back. Wheeljack pulled him off and tossed him to the ground before stomping down on him.

“Out of my way, kid. This doesn’t involve you.” He glared at the younger Autobot. “You don’t need to get hurt.”

Wheeljack turned and began moving towards Hot Shot… before a green energy beam surrounded him, the telltale sign of transwarping.

“No!” he shouted. “No, I need to finish him!”

“You’re outnumbered!” Wind Sheer hissed, landing on Wheeljack’s shoulder. He pointed to Side Swipe, who had already gotten back to his feet. “Catch him on his own next time.”

Wheeljack was silent for a moment before he glared at Hot Shot. “Next time, brother.” 

With that, he was warped away, and Hot Shot was left to process the revelation that his brother was alive after all this time.

Wheeljack stormed over to Thrust the instant he emerged from the teleporter. “I was promised Hot Shot. You took my revenge from me.”

He grabbed the Seeker by the neck. “Don’t you try this again. Don’t deprive me of what I deserve.”

“Wheeljack.” Megatron crossed his arms, glaring at him. “Let Thrust go, if you will.”

After a moment, Wheeljack sighed, releasing the Seeker. “Hmph.”

“You have your desire for revenge, Wheeljack. I fully understand that feeling.” Megatron placed a hand on Wheeljack’s shoulder. “But you will not compromise our mission. If you need to retreat, retreat.”

“...Understood.” Wheeljack nodded, then turned and stormed off, Wind Sheer on his heels.

Thrust groaned as he rose. “Are you sure we should keep him around?”

“Wheeljack’s hatred of the Autobots is an asset,” Megatron replied, smiling. “We don’t need to tell him about the fact that his brother tried to go back for him. It feeds his hatred, keeps him in our control.”

Unknown to Megatron, from the other hallway, Starscream listened closely. He frowned, averting his optics to the floor. Keeping the secret was weighing heavily on him at this point. But… it was for the better. The Decepticons were the right side. If Wheeljack’s ambitions aligned with theirs, then it was a good thing that they were keeping the truth from him. Right?

“It was Wheeljack.”

A silence fell over the Ark ’s repair bay as Hot Shot spoke up. Blurr stepped closer. “Are you…?”

“It was him. I couldn’t mistake that voice, that face…” Hot Shot clenched his fists. “The accident… I left him behind. Zeta made me leave him behind, and look at where it’s gotten him…”

“Zeta was punished for what happened under his watch. He should not have been holding training there.” Optimus looked down. “I am… sorry about your brother. But…”

“I know.” Hot Shot sighed. “I can’t give up on him. I won’t. But the Mini-Cons take priority.”

“...I am sorry. I truly am.”

Optimus left the room, heading back to Teletraan-1 to continue trying to locate the remaining two Weaponizer Mini-Cons. Hot Shot down at his hand, flexing his fingers before once more curling them into a fist.

“I’m sorry, Wheeljack…” he muttered. “But I’m gonna get you back. I’m gonna make it up to you, I swear on Primus’ name.”

Chapter Text

In the ruins of the Exodus on Earth’s moon, Buzzsaw worked diligently. After a moment, the lights flickered on.

“Yes!” He laughed happily. “Power, finally!”

Suddenly, the ship’s proximity sensors went off. Buzzsaw turned to one of the monitors, which showed a starship approaching. Judging by the markings, it was an old Autobot interceptor.

“What the…?” Buzzsaw groaned, shaking his head. “Great. How many more are gonna be coming here?”

On Earth, it was a peaceful night on the Oregon plains. Well, peaceful until the wind began blowing harder, that is. An Autobot shuttle descended from the sky and landed among the grass. After a moment, its door hissed open.

From inside the ship stepped a large red and black Autobot with white and yellow detailing. He had wheels on the front of his forearms and turrets atop his shoulders. A small cab jutted out from his chest. He pressed a button on his arm.

“Overload to Elite Guard Command,” the Autobot said, looking around. “I’ve arrived at Tidal Wave’s last known location, planet-wise. Whatever he’s tied up in, I’ll find out. I know he’s nearby…”

Overload began to transform. Notably, the cab on his chest detached, his head folding into it. The rest of his body converted into a large trailer that attached to the six-wheeled vehicle that had once been mounted as his chest. Overload drove off, leaving his ship behind.

“Lord Megatron.” Sideways stepped onto the bridge of the Nemesis, a small device in hand. “I have something for you.”

“What is it, Sideways?” Megatron asked, optics narrowing. Needless to say, he still didn’t fully trust the mysterious Cybertronian who claimed himself a Decepticon. He kept track of all his soldiers. He’d rather know their names than not. Sideways was one he didn’t recognize.

“I’ve… created something.” Sideways presented the small device. “This device will allow immediate reprogramming of a Mini-Con when applied. No more needing to worry about the Autobots getting their hands on the Mini-Cons after we’ve reached them first.”

Megatron smiled, pleased. “Excellent work, Sideways. I’ve been hesitant to trust you, but you continue to show your potential.”

Sideways bowed. “Pleasure to serve, Lord Megatron.”

At the sound of footsteps, the two turned their attention to the door. Demolishor walked in, a Mini-Con they hadn’t seen before. He looked near identical to Leader-1, except now he was a dark purple and maroon, his visor green.

“It’s done, boss,” Demolishor said, presenting the Mini-Con to Megatron. “Built him from… from what was left of Leader-1. Clench is totally loyal to you. He does have a spark, but it’s not much of one. Leader-1 barely had anything left to resuscitate.”

“Good work, Demolishor.” Megatron rose and walked over to his subordinate. He knelt down and opened his hand. Clench wordlessly hopped into it, and Megatron brought him up to eye level.

Clench saluted. “Ready to serve, Lord Megatron.”

Megatron grinned. “Now… we’re one step closer towards my master plan. The Autobots’ extinction is at hand.”

Outside the bridge, unknown to Megatron, Starscream and Swindle listened in. The Seeker frowned. “Master plan…? Why is he keeping things from me?”

“I mean, after what happened last week, I’m not surprised.” Swindle shrugged. “We know Megs is probably replacing you with Thrust. Of course he’s gonna keep you out of the loop as a part of phasing you out of command.”

Starscream clenched his fists. “I won’t let Thrust take this from me. I won’t.” Starscream turned around and stormed off. “We need to find something on him. Some way to ensure he won’t take my position away.”

Swindle watched on for a brief moment before following Starscream further into the ship.

“Prime?”

“Yes, Red Alert?” Optimus moved over to Red Alert’s side in front of Teletraan-1. “Weaponizer Mini-Con?”

“No, actually.” Red Alert frowned. “Teletraan has been subtly tapping into the Earth’s satellite systems. Last night, it detected a Cybertronian starcraft landing here.” He pointed to an area in Oregon, not too far from their own ship.

“You’re tapping into the Earth’s satellites?” Carlos asked from the side. “Do… you have permission to do that?”

Optimus turned towards the humans and their Mini-Con partners. “Well… n-no, but sometimes we must…”

“Oh, c’mon!” Alexis frowned, crossing her arms. “You really need to get in contact with the higher-ups here. We don’t want them finding out about you and thinking you’re all hostiles! They could come after you!”

“They could try,” Scavenger muttered. “I wouldn’t let the fleshy things take me down.”

Optimus glared at Scavenger, quickly shutting the older Autobot up. He returned his gaze to the humans. “I… don’t want to involve your government if possible. This is our war, not theirs.”

“That’s bullcrap and you know it.” Alexis glared up at the Prime, her hands now on her hips. “This became our war the moment you guys all came here. And don’t you dare get all mopey about bringing the war here, that was our fault when we reactivated the Mini-Cons. And even then, the ship crashed here by chance.”

“Jeez, Alexis is really going all-out, huh?” Carlos whispered.

“Yeah…” Rad sighed as he watched her. Carlos narrowed his eyes, studying his friend with suspicion.

“So don’t you go saying it’s not our war,” Alexis continued. “This is our planet, and we should be able to defend it!”

“...She has a point, Prime,” Rhinox noted.

Optimus was silent for a bit. Before he could respond, Teletraan beeped. “ALERT. WEAPONIZER MINI-CON SIGNATURE DETECTED.”

“Oh, now it detects one…” Side Swipe muttered.

Red Alert quickly turned around to the computer. “It’s at a factory on the shoreline of the United States. Far from the ship crash.”

“We’ll continue this talk another time.” Optimus turned towards the Autobots. “Red Alert, Rhinox, Scavenger, you go investigate the shuttle. Smokescreen, Jetfire, with me.”

“I hope that upgrade works out well for you two,” Rhinox said as he assumed his rhinoceros mode. “I put a lot of work into it!”

“We’ll try it out while we’re out there,” Jetfire said. “Let’s get moving, people!”

“...Did we have to bring this simpleton along?” Dirge asked as he flew through the air beside Tidal Wave, Skywarp, and Thundercracker.

“TIDAL WAVE…”

“He… don’t really appreciate your words,” Thundercracker muttered.

“I can tell and I do not care.” Dirge would have rolled his optics if he weren’t in jet mode. “Tidal Wave is big, powerful, but unintelligent.”

“TIDAL WAVE.”

“I don’t understand your meaning, nor do I care to.” Dirge scoffed. “All that potential for terror… wasted on a simpleton who can’t say anything more than his name.”

“Watch your words, Dirge,” Megatron said from Tidal Wave’s deck. His hands were clasped behind his back, and Clench stood silently at his side. “Tidal Wave can crush you without a second thought.”

“I am the master of fear,” Dirge muttered. “I am not afraid of Tidal Wave.”

“Got it!” Thundercracker called out, tilting to one side as he turned to his right. He seemed to have fully leaned into the Western accent he’d picked up from the Earth’s television channels. “The Mini-Con is nearby.”

“Skywarp, scout ahead,” Megatron ordered. The black and purple Seeker glowed for a moment before disappearing.

As Tidal Wave flew overhead, the red armored tractor trailer Autobot spotted them flying overhead.

“Well, well… there you are.” He changed direction, heading after them. Tidal Wave was finally within reach.

“We’re nearing where we detected that Mini-Con energy signature,” Jetfire reported as he flew above Smokescreen and Optimus. Comettor was linked to his underside, forming a sort of landing gear and cannon.

“Good.” Optimus rolled ahead, Sparkplug, Smokescreen, and Refute close behind. “Stay close, Jetfire. It’s likely that Megatron will be there. Now that he has Tidal Wave on his side…”

“Yeah. We gotta be careful.”

“Fascinating…”

A blue and red Mini-Con focused on two bucks that were fighting over a doe. One of his arms had a cannon in its place, while instead of a regular face, he had three “eyes”, which looked similar to a microscope. “The males of this species seem to fight over the female utilizing these… ‘antlers’, I think their database called it. A primitive species, yes, but… so interesting.”

Then, he felt something on his finger. He lifted it up to see a small butterfly had landed on him. “Well, hello…” His eyes rotated, allowing him to zoom in closer. “My, my… you are… what they call a monarch, yes?” He tilted his head. “This planet… this planet is amazing. So much more diversity than Cybertron…”

Then, at the sound of an engine, the butterfly flew away. The deer stopped fighting, perked up, and listened. After a moment, they too dashed off. The Mini-Con sighed, his optics spinning back to their normal configuration as he turned around to see that Optimus, Sparkplug, and the others had arrived. They assumed their robot modes.

“Did you have to make so much noise?” the Mini-Con muttered. “I was observing the lifeforms of this planet.”

Sparkplug chuckled, shaking his head. “Shoulda known you’d be focused on observing life around here, Astroscope.”

“This planet is fascinating. Can you blame me?”

“We came to protect you,” Optimus said, kneeling down next to Astroscope. “Our systems picked you up, meaning the Decepticons can’t be too far behind.”

“You’re correct,” Astroscope said. “I was going to head out soon, anyways. I spotted them on their way earlier. I calculated I had time…”

Suddenly, Skywarp materialized over them, grinning. Thunderclash sat on his shoulder.

“...Except I didn’t account for a teleporter, apparently.”

“Hey, all!” Skywarp uncrossed his arms as Thunderclash leapt up, assumed his vehicle mode, and Powerlinxed with Skywarp. Null ray cannons folded from his exhaust and aimed them at the Autobots. “Wanna know why they call me the Bull’s-eye in the Sky?”

“Nobody calls you that!” Smokescreen shouted up. “It’s just you!”

“SHUT UP!” Skywarp fired. The Autobots dove to the side as the blast hit right where Smokescreen had been standing. The force of the explosion sent him flying about twenty feet. 

“Wow, such accuracy,” Jetfire taunted as Comettor linked to his blaster. “Let me show you mine !” Jetfire pulled the trigger, a powerful energy blast speeding towards Skywarp… that is, until the Seeker teleported out of the way.

Skywarp materialized behind Jetfire, quickly firing and hitting the Autobot flier in the back. As Jetfire fell, Refute Powerlinxed with Smokescreen, activating his shoulder cannon. “Take THIS!” Smokescreen shouted, firing up at the Decepticon. He teleported out of the way, appearing behind Smokescreen.

“Teleports behind y–”

Optimus grabbed Skywarp by the fin on his head, whipped around, and slammed the Seeker into a tree. He then tossed Skywarp to the ground, stomped on him, and aimed his blaster.

“Stand down, Skywarp!” he ordered, his yellow optics blazing. “You’re finished.”

After a moment, Skywarp grinned. “I think he has something to say about that.”

Suddenly, gunfire rained down on the Autobots, followed by a loud sonic boom. As they recovered, the three looked up as Thundercracker, Dirge, and Megatron landed in front of them, Clench, Grapple, and Zapmaster at their sides. Above, Tidal Wave began to shift modes, with Ramjet hovering near him. “TIDAL WAAAAVE…”

“Sorry, Prime.” Megatron grinned as his blood-red optics gazed down upon his former friend. “It looks to me like you’re outmatched this time.”

Rhinox, Red Alert, and Scavenger returned to their robot modes as they neared the shuttle. Red Alert aimed his arm tool at it and scanned it over.

“...Well, I can say this much. There’s nobody on board. Whoever was is long gone.”

“He didn’t even cloak…” Rhinox muttered. “Shouldn’t he know protocol?”

“To be fair, whoever it is, they’re pretty new here. They might not know we need to disguise on this planet…” Scavenger walked around the shuttle before pausing upon seeing the logo on it. It was an Autobot symbol, but with wings. “Holy… it’s an Elite Guard ship.”

“The Elite Guard’s here?” Red Alert frowned. “They didn’t tell us anyone was out here…”

“I’ll contact Prime.” Rhinox pulled out a communicator. “You go aboard, try to figure out what’s going on here.”

::“Prime, it’s Rhinox. It’s an Elite Guard ship. We may have some reinforcements.” ::

“That’s… good news.”

::“You good, Prime? You don’t sound so well…” ::

Optimus winced, looking down at his mangled arm. “...I’ll be fine. Cloak the ship and get back to base.”

::“Yes, sir.” ::

Optimus cut the line, then looked up as Tidal Wave continued to march. Ramjet was linked to his chest, causing Tidal Wave’s chest cannons to spin and fire wildly. The giant Decepticon laughed. “TIDAL WAVE…!”

Thundercracker clashed with Smokescreen, his sword digging into the Autobot’s arm. Smokescreen threw him off and then fired his shoulder cannon again, knocking Thundercracker back. Thundercracker scowled, planting his feet on the ground as Zapmaster Powerlinxed with him.

“Super Lightnin’ Null Ray BLAST!” Thundercracker shouted, firing out an electrically charged null ray blast. The blast hit Smokescreen in the chest, knocking the Autobot back into a tree. “Alright! Take that, outlaw!”

Dirge groaned as he watched Skywarp get stomped unconscious by Jetfire. “Imbeciles. I work with imbeciles. Grapple.”

Grapple assumed his alternate mode, latching onto Dirge. His torso flipped around, his wing-pack extending. He aimed it towards Jetfire and blasted, the wings spinning and generating a spine-chilling wind.

Jetfire froze as pure fear washed over him. It wasn’t natural; no, it was a simulation conjured by Dirge. Jetfire did his best to remain rational, but… it was getting hard. He whipped around and fired on Dirge, energy leaking from his optics.

“Resistance is futile,” Dirge said coldly, diving to the side and then rising into the air. “Eventually, all succumb to the fear.”

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” Jetfire shouted, blasting Dirge and knocking him out of the sky.

Megatron grinned as he towered over Optimus. “See, Prime? We outnumber you. Outgun you. Overpower you.” He slammed a foot down on Optimus’ chest. “You are done.”

“...We should help,” Astroscope whispered from the treeline.

“No!” Sparkplug hissed. “We can’t risk them getting you. You’re one of the Weaponizers!”

“I suppose you’re right.” Astroscope frowned. “Can’t afford them getting the Requiem Blaster.”

“...you’re part of the Requiem Blaster? As in, the gun that at full power can destroy planets?”

“Yes.”

“...Great.”

“It’s over, Prime.” Megatron grinned. “You’ve lost.”

Suddenly, a black, metal fist slammed into Megatron’s face, knocking him off of Optimus. Overload grinned, cracking his knuckles and offering a hand to the Prime. “Hey, Optimus. Miss me?”

“Overload…?” Optimus muttered, before taking the Autobot’s hand. “What are you doing here…?”

“Tracked Tidal Wave down here. He and I have a score to settle.” Overload grinned, turning towards the large Decepticon. “I take it you have things covered here…?”

“We will!” Jetfire transformed to his shuttle mode and blasted towards Optimus. “Prime! What say we try out Rhinox’s upgrades?”

“I’d say you’re onto something, Jetfire!” Optimus leapt up into the air, quickly assuming his torso mode. As for Jetfire, his shuttle cockpit split open, revealing a large-scaled Powerlinx port. His jet mode split in half down the middle, feet folding out from the bottom. Jetfire, now a pair of legs, connected onto Optimus’ waist. A piece of his shuttle mode rocketed onto Optimus’ chest, forming a sort of armor.

“Jet Prime, engaged!” Optimus shouted, rocketing forward to tackle Megatron. The Decepticon leader didn’t have time to react before he and Prime went flying into the sky.

“...I gotta say, that’s cool as hell,” Overload muttered.

“He can fly now?!” Thundercracker shouted, shocked at the development.

Dirge just sighed as he got back on his feet. “Yes, Thundercracker. He can fly now. We have optics.”

“Why am I the only one struggling to process this?!”

Overload then grabbed the two Seekers and slammed their heads together, knocking them out. “You two talk too much.” The Autobot then turned his attention to the much larger threat as Smokescreen fought against Skywarp. “Yo, Tidal Wave! Guess who?!”

Tidal Wave froze, turning his aim from the flying Optimus and zeroing in on Overload. His red optics narrowed in disdain.

“OVERLOAD…” he muttered. The one word he knew to say aside from his own name.

“Yup! Yours truly!” Overload grinned. “Been awhile since we last scrapped. You’re looking good for someone who got half his brain module blasted out!”

“TIDAL WAVE…”

“Eh, I did have to get completely rebuilt, I guess.” Overload shrugged. “Right, Rollout?”

“Hey, we gonna take him down or what?” another voice said from somewhere. “Decepticon isn’t gonna kick his own aft.”

“Fair enough.” Overload’s shoulders opened up, revealing missile launchers. “Let’s take this giant down for good!”

“TIDAL WAVE…” Tidal Wave frowned, his cannons rotating to focus on Overload.

As the two began to shoot it out, Smokescreen stood very still, looking around the empty air around him. At the beginning of a quick vop , he focused on the sound and fired his shoulder cannon, hitting Skywarp square in the chest and sending the Seeker plummeting to the ground.

“Alright, he’s down for now.” Smokescreen turned towards the woods. “Sparkplug, you there?!”

“Here.” Sparkplug poked his head out from behind a tree, then motioned for Astroscope to follow suit. The Weaponizer Mini-Con stepped out, joining his fellow Mini-Con as Refute separated from Smokescreen.

“Red, you at the Ark?”

::“Indeed.” ::

“I’ve got the Mini-Con. Get me back here before Skywarp gets back up.”

Within moments, Smokescreen, Refute, Astroscope, and Sparkplug disappeared as Red Alert warped them back to their base.

In the air, Optimus slammed his fists into Megatron’s face, sending him flying back. Without Optimus boosting him, Megatron began to fall. Optimus rocketed forward, slamming his fists into Megatron and pushing him straight down into the ground.

When the dust settled, the Optimus-Jetfire combiner stood over the fallen Megatron. Then, his comm beeped. ::“Prime, it’s Red. We have the Mini-Con. Ready to warp.” ::

“...One moment.” Optimus and Jetfire quickly separated, the two Autobots looked at the downed Megatron. “...You failed. You can’t defeat us. Not when we have hope and freedom on our side.”

Megatron scoffed. “I don’t want to hear one of your tryhard speeches right now, Prime. Demolishor, warp us back.”

The Decepticons quickly disappeared, with Tidal Wave showing great reluctance towards leaving before being warped away. Overload sighed. “Slag… maybe next time.”

“Overload.”

The red and black Autobot turned around to face Optimus and Jetfire. The Autobot leader held out a hand. “Good to have you here.”

Overload grinned. “Good to be here, Prime.” He took Prime’s hand and shook it.

“With Tidal Wave on Megatron’s side, we’re sorely outgunned,” Jetfire remarked. “Good to have the extra firepower.”

“Hey, I’m just happy to get the chance to even the score with Tidal Wave.” Overload released Optimus’ hand and crossed his arms. “It’s been a million years since the Siege of Iacon. I’m itching to finally take him down.”

“Ease off the guns, kid,” Jetfire warned. “We already had one ‘bot nearly drive himself mad over taking down a specific ‘Con.”

“Relax, it’s just a bit of rivalry.” Overload shrugged. “Rollout and I, we’ll be fine.”

“Alright.” Optimus turned around. “It’s time we got back to base. Red Alert, warp us back.”

Within moments, the trio were warped back to the Ark, having once again claimed victory over their enemies…

Starcream frowned as he looked over a datapad. On it was security data from the Nemesis’ bridge. 

“You findin’ anything, Screamer?” Swindle asked, walking up to stand beside his larger partner.

“Don’t call me that,” Starscream muttered, clearly annoyed. “And… no. Whatever this ‘plan’ is, they’re keeping it very quiet. Why am I out of the loop on this…?”

“Snooping?”

Starscream jumped, whipping around to see Demolishor standing in the doorway of his quarters. “D-Demolishor?! What are you…?”

“What are you doing, Starscream?” Demolishor stepped in, towering over Starscream. “Why are you going over the security footage?”

Starscream was silent for a moment, then finally relented. “Megatron… he and Thrust, they’re planning something. They won’t tell me.” Starscream gazed at the datapad. “Megatron… he’s always kept me in the loop. Am I really… that expendable, now?”

“Hey…” Demolishor placed a hand on Starscream. “Nobody’s expendable, Starscream. That’s against the Decepticon values.”

“It’s war, Demolishor. If we’re not in a command position, we’re all expendable.”

“The Decepticons were founded on the principles of equality,” Demolishor snapped. “We don’t leave ‘bots behind! You know that! You are not expendable!”

“...And the Mini-Cons?”

“Huh?”

“The Mini-Cons. Is our treatment of them equality?”

That made Demolishor falter. He recalled Blackout’s betrayal, back during Dualor’s uprising. How hurt he was by that. How… how they reprogrammed the Mini-Cons to serve them. “It’s… it’s necessary. They’ll help us win, and once we do, we’ll set them all free.”

Starscream scoffed. “I’m starting to think that Megatron is losing sight of what he started…”

Demolishor grabbed Starscream by the neck and pinned him against the wall. “Don’t you dare speak treason against the Decepticon cause! Megatron is the one who started all this!” He tossed Starscream back to the floor. “I’ll be nice this time and not tell Megatron about this. But don’t you dare talk like you want to turn to the Autobots!”

“I would never.” Starscream scowled as he got back on his feet. “I am a Decepticon. I just wonder if Megatron is anymore.”

“Megatron is the Decepticons.”

“...if you say so.”

A tense silence passed between the two before Demolishor stormed out. Starscream was left alone with Swindle, to ponder everything that had been going on lately.

Chapter Text

“Well?”

“Scanners are lookin’, Megatron,” Thundercracker said, typing on the Nemesis ’ main computer. “We’ll find those Mini-Cons, boss.”

“What is up with his voice?” Skywarp muttered from the side. “Thundercracker never talked like that before.”

“He has discovered something called… ‘television’,” Dirge replied. “He greatly enjoys works with lawmen in strange hats and over-the-top drawn scrap. He has… adopted dialect from some of them. It is annoying.”

“It’s ‘Westerns’ and ‘anime’!” Thundercracker snapped, glaring back at Dirge. “And don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it, partner! For fellers who can’t fly on their own, those humans make some good stuff.”

“Are you really complimenting organics, Thundercracker?” Cyclonus smirked. “I thought you were trying to impress Megatron!”

“I…”

“Will all of you shut up?” Megatron muttered, rubbing his closed optic shutters with his thumb and forefinger. “Demolishor, do you have any progress compared to these morons?”

Demolishor was silent, his mind racing. He hadn’t quite heard his leader. His thoughts dwelled on Starscream’s recent words. Obviously Starscream was in the wrong, for thinking traitorous thoughts, but… he’d brought up the Decepticons’ treatment of Mini-Cons. He recalled Megatron’s careless murder of Leader-1, and using his corpse to make Clench. Did Starscream have a point…?

No. He’s wrong. Megatron is the Decepticons. He can’t betray the ideas he founded them on, right? That's absurd.

“Demolishor.”

“Uhhhhh…” Demolishor shook himself out of his thoughts. He pressed a button on the terminal. “S-Scanners are up and running, and… aha!”

Three dots appeared. “Mini-Cons signals located! Total of nine pings… isn’t that all that haven’t been found?”

“Yup.” Sideways glanced over towards Megatron. “The last Mini-Cons…”

Megatron grinned. “Alright, Decepticons. It’s time to divide… and conquer.”

Inside the Ark, Overload stood before the trio of humans. 

“So you’re Overload, huh?” Carlos muttered. “You’re huge, dude!”

“Uhhh… thanks? Is that a compliment?” Overload rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know if that’s a compliment.”

“It’s a compliment, amigo.”

“Ah… so what’s an amigo…?”

“It’s Spanish, dumbaft,” another voice snarked from Overload. “Didn’t you look into the other languages on this planet?”

“...no. I don’t have time for that.”

“It’s all of ten extra seconds for us, Overload.”

“Uhhh…” Rad looked around. “Who’s that?”

“Oh! I haven’t introduced you!” Overload knelt down, and suddenly, his chest and head separated from his body. It shifted into the truck at the front of his vehicular mode, before changing into a Mini-Con. His body was mostly red, with the white lining on his chest remaining the same as Overload’s. His arms were black, and his head was a mix of black and gold in different spots (black for his face and most of his head, gold for the top of his head, forehead, and chin).

“Name’s Rollout.” He extended a hand. “Overload’s Mini-Con partner.”

“H-Huh?!” the humans yelped. Sureshock, High Wire, and Grindor were similarly confused.

“Wh… how…?” Rad mumbled.

“Well, it’s a long story, actually…”

“Prime!” Rhinox shouted out from Teletraan-1’s terminal. “We got  Decepticon movement! Three teams, warping to various locations. Sky-Spy’s detected Megatron at one of them.”

“We only have a few remaining Mini-Cons to find,” Sparkplug noted. “Do you think Megatron’s… located all of them?”

“We can’t take the risk.” Optimus turned around to face his Autobots. “We’re going all out. Sparkplug, Overload, Rollout, Rhinox, Armorhide, with me. We’re going after Megatron. Hot Shot, Jolt, Blurr, Incinerator, Land Military Team, you’re going here…” Prime pointed to one location on Teletraan’s screen, in Nevada. “...and Jetfire, Comettor, you’ll take Smokescreen, Refute, Scavenger, and Rollbar. Go to the third location.”

“What about me, Prime?!” Side Swipe called out.

“I need you and Red Alert here, Side Swipe,” Optimus replied, kneeling down next to the cadet. “The Ark must be kept safe. Understood?”
Side Swipe nodded. “Y-Yes, sir…”

“Alright.” Optimus stood back up and turned to his troops. “You have your locations. Autobots… transform and roll out!”

Somewhere in Nevada, a silver Mini-Con with a yellow visor and wings on his heels paced outside a Mini-Con pod.

“What are they doing here…?” he mumbled quietly, glancing towards the pod. “They didn’t emerge when Dualor pulled his whole stunt, so why…?”

Then, he froze at the sound of helicopter rotors. He looked up to see Cyclonus passing above. “D-Decepticons…? No, they… they can’t free them!”

“Whooo-hee!” Cyclonus whooped from above. “Found the Mini-Cons, Wheeljack! Told ya we’d do it!”

“You were complaining the whole way here,” Wheeljack muttered as he drove up, stopping in front of the Mini-Con before assuming his robot mode. Wind Sheer flew in and assumed his robot form as well, hovering beside his partner. “Come with us. Megatron wants all the Mini-Cons he can get.”

“N-No!” The Mini-Con backed up. “Stay back! I need to find the Weaponizers before they’re used!”

Cyclonus landed next to Wheeljack, a sick grin on his face. Crumplezone landed next to him. “C’mon now, lil’ buddy. We just wanna use you!”

“Wrong thing to say, Cyc…”

“I’ll say!”

Suddenly, Blurr rammed right into Cyclonus, causing the larger Decepticon to stumble back. Cyclonus scowled, glaring at the Autobot as he assumed his primary form. “Autobot scum! I’m gonna enjoy shootin’ ya to bits!”

“You can try!”

Wheeljack groaned. “Autobots. Joy.”

“Wheeljack!”

The ex-Autobot whirled around to see his brother standing there. Hot Shot took another step closer. “Wheeljack, listen, we don’t need to do this…”

“Yes.” Wheeljack drew his batons. “We do.”

Wheeljack swung as Jolt and Wind Sheer fought in the sky above, and Hot Shot raised his arms to block…

Comettor transformed, linking onto Jetfire’s gun and powering it up. Jetfire pulled the trigger, firing a large blast that Starscream only barely managed to dodge.

“Thrust, Demolishor, hurry up !” Starscream shouted as Swindle Powerlinxed with him, activating his Null Ray Cannons. “Get those Mini-Cons, and fast !”

Demolishor scowled as he grappled with Scavenger. “I’m tryin’ , Starscream!”

“Trying isn’t doing!” Thrust called out moments before he got blasted by Smokescreen’s cannon. 

“Why is it now of all times that you two have to get along…?” Demolishor muttered to himself as he swung at Scavenger.

“Scavenger! Incoming!” Rollbar shouted, assuming his vehicle mode and linking to Scavenger’s waist. Scavenger fired his hip blaster, sending Demolishor stumbling back.

Meanwhile, Thrust managed to recover from being hit by Smokescreen. Inferno linked up with him, and his torso spun around, allowing Thrust to activate a powerful blast of air. Smokescreen planted his feet into the ground, doing his best to resist the current.

Not far away, a white and black Mini-Con with an orange faceplate and visor and blue three-barreled gatling guns in place of his hands watched.

“Are they still fighting…?” a feminine voice asked quietly from behind them. The Mini-Con turned around, where three other Mini-Cons were: the speaker, a purple and orange Mini-Con with a green visor and black arms; a red and white Mini-Con with a blue visor and a large nozzle in place of one of his hands; and a blue, black, and white Mini-Con with a red visor and wheels on either side of  his head.

“Yeah, they are.” He glanced towards her. “You okay, Cliffjumper?”

“I… I’m fine.” Cliffjumper returned her attention to her book. “This book is great. I’m perfectly happy here, Makeshift.”

Makeshift sighed, then turned to the red and white ‘bot. “Firebot? What do we do?”

“If Cliffjumper wants to stay here, then she can.” Firebot stepped forward, standing next to Makeshift. “Prowl, Makeshift… let’s help these guys.”

Prowl grinned. “Pit yeah.”

Optimus grunted as he hit the ground. He quickly converted to his truck mode, spinning around and sweeping Megatron’s feet out from under him before returning to robot mode. “Fine, Megatron. You’ve asked for it.”

Optimus leapt into the air, and his trailer boosted up from the ground where it’d been in its battle mode. The trailer changed to its leg form, while Optimus assumed his torso mode. The two linked together.

“Super Mode, activated!” Optimus shouted, then aimed his blaster at Megatron. He fired, but the Decepticon leader quickly rolled out of the way.

“You have your tricks, Prime,” Megatron muttered as he got back to his feet, “but I have mine as well. Tidal Wave! Clench!”

“TIDAL WAVE…” Tidal Wave stopped engaging Overload and immediately turned to aid Megatron.

“On it, Lord Megatron!” Clench assumed his buggy mode and Powerlinxed with Megatron, causing his turret to spin around to his front. His cannon and rocket launchers aimed forward.

Tidal Wave, meanwhile, began to mass-shift to a smaller size. He transformed into his ship mode, which then split apart into three vehicles: a small aircraft carrier-like ship, a double-bowed battleship, and a troop carrier. The battleship attached to Megatron’s right arm, and the aircraft carrier to the left. The troop carrier split apart and folded out wings, becoming a jetpack for Megatron. What remained went below Megatron’s feet, boosting his height closer to Prime’s (though still not quite that size). 

“Now… face the might of Burning Megatron!” the Decepticon leader roared, Ramjet linking onto him as well and activating various new weapons in Tidal Wave’s weapon mode.

“Since when can he do that…?” Sparkplug muttered.

“Optimus!”

The Prime turned to see Overload rushing towards him. “Let’s get you jacked up, too!” he shouted, leaping into the air. He separated from Rollout, then transformed into what appeared to be a dual cannon pack. He latched onto Optimus Prime’s back, the cannons going over his shoulders.

“Well, now this is an upgrade.” Optimus glanced up at Megatron. “We don’t need to fight this out, Megatron!”

“Oh, but we do, Prime!” Megatron grinned as he flew up above Prime. “And without your precious Jetfire, I have the high ground!”

Megatron fired all of Tidal Wave’s armaments at once. Optimus dove out of the way before quickly getting back to his feet and firing Overload’s twin cannons at his rival. Megatron fired blasts from the attachments on his arms, which met Optimus’ in a massive explosion that sent both leaders tumbling back.

Meanwhile, Sparkplug held another Mini-Con back, this one a red, white, and blue shuttle with a blaster at the end of one of his arms and the shuttle’s cockpit on the other. “C’mon, Sky Blast! We need to get you out of here!”

“Pit no!” Sky Blast grinned, wrestling out of Sparkplug’s grasp. “I can take these guys. It’s time to BLAST OFF!” Sky Blast leapt into the air, assumed his shuttle mode, and flew right into the battle… only for Sideways to materialize and grab him.

“Heh.” Sideways tilted his Crosswise-formed head, regarding the Mini-Con. He pulled out the small instant reprogramming device. “Easy now, this won’t take long…”

“Like I’ll let you take me down, Decepti-creep!” Sky Blast shouted, struggling against his grip.

“Sideways has the Mini-Con!” Rhinox shouted as he assumed his alternate mode. “Armorhide, I need you!”

Armorhide assumed his snowplow mode and plugged onto the top of Rhinox’s beast mode. He assumed his ski-like mode, and rocket boosters folded out from the back of the alternate mode. He blasted forward, lowering his horn as he grew closer to Sideways. The Decepticon turned around moments before Rhinox’s horn impaled him, causing him to drop Sky Blast to the ground. He pulled out of Sideways’ torso and assumed his robot mode, picking Sky Blast up. “Red, I have him! Warp us back, now!”

“No!” Megatron shouted, scowling. “You win this time, Prime. Skywarp… get us out of here.”

In a moment, Megatron and Tidal Wave were warped away, leaving the inert Sideways behind.

“...Nevermind?” Rhinox frowned. “He… gave up?”

Overload separated from Optimus and crossed his arms. “I’d been looking forward to taking Tidal Wave down once and for all… though I didn’t know he could combine with Megatron now.”

“It’s not like Megatron to just… give up.” Optimus squinted at the area where Megatron had been. “I worry that he may have been a diversion…”

“What about Sideways?” Overload asked, lightly kicking the Decepticon and receiving no reaction. “Is he…?”

“Here, let me…” Rhinox stepped over, preparing to scan Sideways’ body, only for it to change to a static-y mess and melt into the ground. The three Autobots were silent for a few moments until Overload finally broke it.

“...I think he’s dead?”

The silver Mini-Con jet did what he could to try and push the pod away from the fighting. He would not let this group reactivate if he could help it.

“Hey, there!”

The Mini-Con yelped, turning around to see the Land Military Team behind him. He let out a sigh. “Oh… Wreckage, Knock Out, Bonecrusher. It’s just you…”

“Over-Run?” If Wreckage had a mouth, he would have smiled. “Good to see you, bud! What’s going on?”

“The Autobots and Decepticons are trying to get this pod,” Over-Run replied. “B-But I can’t let them. They’re already too close to putting the Weapons together, I can’t let them free them too!”

“Woah, calm down.” Wreckage stepped closer. “Over-Run, what’s going on?”

“These Mini-Cons, something happened to them. We sent them out on a scouting mission, and they came back… different .” Over-Run glanced at the pod. “I’m worried that…” He trailed off.

“That what ?” Knock Out tilted his head. “That what, Over-Run?”

Over-Run opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Cyclonus slammed into the ground, one of his rotors snapping off and being impaled into the ground nearby. Crumplezone was tossed clear, landing nearby. Cyclonus himself skidded along the ground, transforming into his robot mode before slamming into the pod.

“Ow…” he groaned, rubbing his head. “Forgot that guy could fly.” He got back to his feet, as did Crumplezone. “Well, whatever! I can still take ‘im down from here!”

“No no no no!” Over-Run cried. “The pod!”

The pod burst open, and from within flew three jets: a gray and orange military cargo plane, a blue and black stealth fighter, and a gray stealth bomber with gold lining. The trio flew into the air before assuming their robot modes. The cargo plane was at the lead, and notably had several marks carved into him, along with the phrase “Death from above”. The other two Mini-Cons hovered behind him.

“Well, what do we have here?” he mused, looking over the battle as Blurr landed nearby.

“Looks like a fight!” The stealth fighter would have grinned had he not had a faceplate. “Can we go in, Gunbarrel?”

“They must be after us, so sure.” Gunbarrel pointed towards the battle. “Terradive, Thunderwing, show them why we’re the Air Military Team. Death from above!”

“Pit yeah!” Terradive, the stealth fighter, transformed and flew up into the air. “Danger, here I come!”

“Why must we deal with him?” Thunderwing muttered even as he assumed his bomber mode. He flew into the air before suddenly vanishing.

“...That may be trouble…” Incinerator muttered.

“They’re loose!” Over-Run cried, backing up. “We need to go, now!”

“Why?” Blurr scoffed. “They’re Mini-Cons.”

Suddenly, Blurr was bombed from absolutely nowhere, blowing off one of his arms. Thunderwing briefly decloaked after his run, before turning towards Hot Shot and Wheeljack, who’d witnessed the attack.

“Are they crazy?!” Wheeljack stepped forward, his clubs in hand. “I’ll take ‘em down easy!”

“Wheeljack, no!” Hot Shot tackled Wheeljack aside as Thunderwing uncloaked long enough to do another bombing run. Then, he cloaked once more, disappearing from sight.

Wheeljack quickly shoved Hot Shot off of him. “The Pit is your problem?! I’m trying to take him down!”

“You can’t do that with just brute force, not when he can cloak!” Hot Shot snapped.

Cyclonus grumbled as he watched. “Aw, man, why are they having all the fun?”

“WHOOOOOO-HOOOO!”

Cyclonus looked up to see Terradive divebombing him, firing wildly. The Decepticon helicopter yelped and dodged to the side. Terradive veered up moments before he hit the ground. “Oh, yeah!” the Mini-Con jet exclaimed. “Unicron almighty, I missed that rush!”

After a moment of silence, Cyclonus grinned. “Hey… I think I like this guy!”

Scavenger flew through the air and crashed into the ground, hard. He tumbled across it before coming to a stop. Demolishor approached him, scowling.

“DEMOLISHOR! I NEED ASSISTANCE!”

The Decepticon tank froze, turning towards Thrust. The Decepticon jet had stopped engaging Smokescreen, as the Emergency Mini-Con Team was now firing on him alongside the Autobot.

“Pour it on!” Firebot shouted. “Take that Decepticreep down!”

Demolishor scoffed. “If you’re so smart, Thrust, figure your own way out! I’m ‘boutta take Scavenger out!”

“Scavenger?” Smokescreen glanced over towards the Autobot, his optics widening. “SCAVENGER!”

Demolishor planted his feet on the ground. Blackout transformed and Powerlinxed with him, and Demolishor aimed all his weaponry at the now-recovered, but still injured, Scavenger.

“NO!”

As Demolishor fired, Smokescreen leapt in the way, taking the full force of the assault. The resulting explosion blinded Demolishor and Scavenger momentarily, and a badly injured Smokescreen was sent flying back. He tumbled across the ground before coming to a stop. Some of his plating on his chest, arms, legs, and even his face had been blown off, revealing some of his internal mechanisms beneath. One of his optics had been blown out.

“SMOKESCREEN!” Scavenger quickly recovered, blasting Demolishor with his hip cannon and knocking the Decepticon off his feet. He rushed over to Smokescreen’s side. “Smokescreen, buddy, speak to me!”

Smokescreen coughed. “G… get the Mini-Cons…”

Scavenger scowled. “Oh… you’re gonna pay for that, Demolishor…”

“Scavenger…” Smokescreen grabbed Scavenger’s arm as he rose. “The… M-Mini-Cons…”

Scavenger stood still, torn. After a moment of indecisiveness, he finally relented, turning towards Thrust as the Seeker unleashed a wind attack that knocked the Emergency Team off their feet.

“Refute, stay with Smokescreen.” Scavenger planted his feet in the ground and fired his hip cannon, knocking Thrust out of the air and sending him crashing to the ground. “I’ll take care of Thrust.”

Thrust groaned as he began to get back to his feet. “Damn Autobot…”

::“Thrust, this is Megatron! The plan is complete. Pull out, now!” ::

Thrust let out a sigh of relief. “Finally. I was getting tired of waiting around.”

::“And Thrust? Make sure the Autobots have something else to gain from this. We can’t have them thinking this was perfectly convenient.” ::

The Seeker’s purple optics flicked up towards Starscream as the Air Commander continued to battle Megatron. If he’d had a proper mouth, Thrust would have smiled. “As you wish, Lord Megatron.”

Thrust quickly transformed to his vehicle mode, flying right over Scavenger and landing next to Demolishor. “Demolishor, we need to get out of here, now! Megatron has ordered a retreat.”

Demolishor grumbled to himself, but stood up. “Alright. Let’s inform Starscream.”

“No need.” Thrust input his coordinates so they could be warped out. “Let’s get out of here!”

“But…!”

Before Demolishor could protest further, he was warped away alongside Thrust. Starscream heard the noise and whipped around just as the orbital bounce was completed.

“Thrust! Demolishor! Wait!” he shouted, diving down towards where they’d been. “What about me?! You can’t leave–”

“Shut up, Starscream.” Jetfire slammed his gun into the back of Starscream’s head hard, forcing a reboot on the Decepticon and knocking him out. Starscream began to fall, his sword slipping from his hands, but Jetfire caught him.

“Is… is it over?” Cliffjumper asked, peeking her head out from behind a tree.

“Yeah, seems so.” Firebot crossed his arms. “Glad we sent those Decepticons packing.

“Smokescreen!”

The group turned towards Scavenger, who held Smokescreen in his arms. “Smokescreen, c’mon! Wake up, buddy!”

Smokescreen’s colors had not faded, indicating he was still alive. However, his optics were dark, and nothing Scavenger said could rouse him.

Hot Shot and Wheeljack had backed up to one another, looking around for Thunderwing’s next attack.

“Stay sharp,” Hot Shot muttered.

“I know.” Wheeljack rolled his optics. “You don’t have to tell…”

Wheeljack paused, looking at one particular area of the sky, tracking something. The air was shifting a little. After a moment, he tossed one of his clubs right up at the area, hitting Thunderwing dead on. The Mini-Con screamed as he lost his balance and crashed into the ground.

Terradive, meanwhile, dove down once again towards Blurr. The Autobot froze in place, while Incinerator ducked to the side. The Mini-Con stopped, looking back at his partner. “Blurr, c’mon!”

“Not yet…”

“Blurr!”

“Not yet…!”

Terradive grew closer, and then Blurr took a step. “NOW!” He dashed out of the way at blinding speed, and Terradive crashed right into the ground.

Gunbarrel, hovering above, sighed. “This is a waste of our time. Air Military Team! Retreat! We must regroup with the master.”

“Master?” Wheeljack frowned. “What master?”

“That’s for you to find out.” Gunbarrel shifted to his alternate mode and flew off into the sky, followed closely by Terradive and Thunderwing.

“Well… that’s that.” Crumplezone shrugged. “Expected a bit more, I guess.”

“Aw, man…” Cyclonus grumbled, crossing his arms. “I was lookin’ forward to tangling with that Terradive guy some…”

“Well, with them gone…” Wheeljack turned his attention back to Hot Shot. “I think it’s time I finish you off.”

Hot Shot was still for a moment, but then he sighed. “Fine. If… if that’s what you think you need, then fine .” Hot Shot spread his arms wide. “Take your best shot, Wheeljack!”

Wheeljack paused, looking over his brother with an odd expression. He stepped forward and raised one of his clubs, and struck Hot Shot, knocking him down. He stood over his brother, club in hand… and hesitated.

::“Wheeljack, Cyclonus, this is Megatron! Return to base. The next phase of my plan is already underway.” ::

Wheeljack froze. He had half a mind to complain to Megatron, to tell him he was about to finish off Hot Shot for good… but something else stirred inside him. Perhaps it was some last remaining vestiges of love for his brother. Regardless, Wheeljack sighed and backed off.

“C’mon, Cyclonus. Let’s get going.”

“Aw, man…” Cyclonus huffed. “Today is a real roller coaster, y’know that?”

Cyclonus, Wheeljack, Crumplezone, and Wind Sheer disappeared in a flash of light, bounced back to the Nemesis . Hot Shot exhaled, getting back to his feet.

“You all right?” Jolt asked his larger partner, placing a hand on his leg.

“I’ll… be fine, Jolt,” Hot Shot replied. “Let’s just get back to the Ark and tell Prime we got the Mini-Con.”

Alexis, Rad, and Carlos watched as Hot Shot’s team emerged from the teleporter, with Over-Run in tow. “Alright!” Carlos cheered. “You got the Mini-Con!”

“Prime was successful in getting Sky Blast, too,” Astroscope said from nearby, Payload at his side. “So, you have the full power of the Requiem Blaster at your disposal.”

“And…” Jetfire emerged from the brig. “We have a prisoner. Starscream himself.”

“Starscream…?” Alexis muttered, glancing towards the brig. She hadn’t seen them bring him in, but she couldn’t help but worry about him being hurt. She quickly shook the thought away; he was still a Decepticon… though he had helped her when he didn’t need to…

“Sweet!” Hot Shot grinned, glancing up at Optimus. “We’ve finally got the edge on the Decepticons, Prime!”

“It seems so, Hot Shot.” Optimus glanced back towards the teleported. “But… I still feel like Megatron may have something more planned. He retreated far too quickly…”

“Out of my way!”

Red Alert quickly pushed past the two Autobots to get to the teleporter controls, quickly inputting coordinates.

“Woah, Red Alert, what’s going on?” Rad asked.

“It’s Scavenger’s team. They got hit, hard.” Red Alert pulled the lever. “I’m not sure how hard, but he said Smokescreen was…”

When the Autobots materialized, everyone froze at the sight. Scavenger quickly rushed forward, carrying Smokescreen in his arms. “Medbay, now!”

Red Alert turned around. “Longarm, Rhinox, hurry! We need to stabilize him!”

“Smokescreen…” Rad mumbled, watching as Scavenger, Red Alert, Longarm, and Rhinox rushed the downed Autobot to the medbay. Sky Blast watched as well, his visor gleaming…

…and aboard the Nemesis, Megatron smiled as he watched the footage. “Excellent. Sideways’ instant reprogramming device worked…”

“Megatron!”

Megatron turned around as Demolishor stormed in, Thrust hot on his heel. “ Thrust left Starscream to be captured by the Autobots!”

Megatron was still for a moment, then smirked. “Well, Thrust. I suppose you took an opportunity.”

“Wh… what?” Demolishor was thoroughly confused. “Why do you seem… okay with that? He’s a fellow Decepticon!”

“Starscream was getting out of hand,” Megatron replied, standing up. “Maybe some time in an Autobot brig teach him something about failure and loyalty, hm?”

“I… I guess…” Demolishor muttered. “Still… we shouldn’t leave him too long.”

“You don’t have to worry, Demolishor.” Megatron turned around to face the computer again. “Sideways’ device has worked as planned. If only he’d survived to see it…”

“Huh?”

“Sideways unfortunately perished in his attempt to execute this plan, but his sacrifice was not wasted.” Megatron smirked. “The Mini-Con is our little mole in the Autobots… and we know where it is. Which means…”

He turned back around to face the gathered Decepticons: Thrust, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Dirge, Demolishor, Wheeljack, Terrorsaur, and Tidal Wave (he DOES fit in the Nemesis in robot form, if only barely). Cyclonus was being treated for his injuries, much to his own dismay, and Astrotrain was still on assignment.

“We have the location of the Ark.” Megatron grinned, grabbing the Star Saber from nearby, igniting it, and raising it into the air. “Decepticons… prepare for battle.”

BONUS: FANART SHOWCASE

Starscream's first swing of the Star Saber (Chapter 16) by Vanzkie

Chapter Text

Nine million years ago…

“So… what do you think she wants to show us?” one ‘bot, a yellow and blue one with a crown-like crest atop his head, asked.

“Who knows?” Another Cybertronian, this one much smaller and colored a mix of grays and blues, replied as he floated alongside him. He had the Mini-Con insignia depicted on him. “I just know Megatronus is excited.”

“To be fair, Micronus,” a taller, green, horned Cybertronian said on his other side, his cape flowing behind him as he walked, “Megatronus gets excited about most anything Solus makes.”

Micronus hummed. “I suppose you’re right.”

“It’s probably just something to help us prepare for the Chaos Bringer’s coming,” the first ‘bot noted.

“Prima is right.” The green one shrugged. “All Solus does is design weapons. Megatronus is the only one, y'know, interested in her work at all.”

“Maximo… is it a bad thing that I worry about those two sometimes?” Prima asked.

“Nonsense!” Another Cybertronian, this one a mix of grays and orange, smiled, his blue glasses-like eyes looking them over without blinking. “You needn’t worry about our brother and sister. Not yet, anyways.”

“I wish you’d be less cryptic, Alchemist," a fourth one, this one centaur-like with massive wings on his back. He was blue and gold in color.

“Sorry, Onyx. Can’t. You know how the future works.”

“No, I don’t. You’re thinking of Vector.”

Alchemist shrugged. “Well, you should.”

As the group walked into the building ahead of them, they quickly spotted two Cybertronians ahead of them. One was purple and yellow, with wires running down the back of her head, resembling hair. The other was black and purple with a yellow glow coming from vents across his body. If one from the present day looked close enough, they could notice that his face bore a slight resemblance to the Decepticon symbol. The two were talking to one another, and looked… oddly comfortable?

“Megatronus, Solus!” Prima called, smiling. The two quickly noticed him and ceased their conversation, trying to look inconspicuous but failing miserably. Maximo couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at that.

“You called us here, sister?” Micronus said as he dispelled his magnetic field and landed on the ground.

“Of course.” Solus turned and walked behind her. “I’ve built us the first of our weapons to use in the battle against Unicron.”

Prima crossed his arms. “Then let’s see them.”

Solus turned around as Megatronus stepped aside, revealing a glowing blue sword, a yellow and gray shield, and a hand cannon that was red and blue towards the barrel and black and white towards the rear. She picked up the sword.

“For you, Prima, the Star Saber.” She held it out, and the first Prime took it. He smiled as he adjusted his stance and swung it a few times.

“Well… it’s well balanced, that’s for sure.” He tilted his head as he looked down at it. “I can feel the power it holds.”

“Onyx, for you, the Skyboom Shield.”

Onyx took the shield, looking it over. "Quite the shield, I must say... well fashioned, Solus."

“I have a feeling this would be useful when the Ark goes mad, but…” Alchemist shrugged.

“...Right.” Solus picked up the final weapon. “And, for you, Megatronus… the Requiem Blaster.”

Megatronus carefully took the weapon from her hands, looking it over. “It’s powerful. I can feel it.”

“It’s powerful enough to level mountains,” Solus said. “I hope these all prove useful in the conflict.”

Prima sighed. “I just hope Primus knows what he’s doing. We don’t know when Unicron will come.”

“I assure you, he has a plan.” Alchemist smiled. “Just keep an eye on those asteroids, yeah?”

Megatronus chuckled, shaking his head. “You and your riddles, Alchemist…”

Present day…

“Smokescreen will live,” Red Alert reported, backing away from the Autobot on the operating table and turning to Optimus. “He’s going to stay out of duty for now …” He shot a look at the Autobot crane momentarily. “...but given some time and repairs, he’ll be back up soon enough.”

Smokescreen chuckled weakly. “Heh. G-Guess I overstepped a bit, huh? Now I gotta be out of the field for a bit…”

“Just rest, soldier.” Optimus placed a hand on Smokescreen’s chest gently. “You’ll be back up in no time.”

The Autobot leader turned and left the medbay. He couldn’t help but worry about Smokescreen’s condition regardless. Still… Red Alert said he’d be fine. Optimus trusted his judgement.

“Well?” Scavenger glared down at Starscream. The Seeker was cuffed, so he couldn’t transform. Swindle was being stored nearby in another cell, to keep them from Powerlinxing. “Go on, talk.”

“Yeah!” Hot Shot slammed a fist into the wall next to Starscream. “Talk, Decepticon! What’s Megatron planning? We know he’s got something up his sleeve!”

“...if you’re trying to scare me, you’re failing miserably ,” Starscream muttered. “Besides, I don’t know anything. Megatron kept me out of the loop, that ungrateful idiot.” His face fell. “Though, if he finds out I said such things about him, he’ll… probably be cross…”

“Oh, yeah?” Hot Shot grabbed Starscream’s neck. “Well, maybe I can make you talk in other ways…”

Suddenly, Scavenger grabbed Hot Shot by the shoulder and pulled him off. “Back off, kiddo. We don’t torture.”

“Maybe he deserves it.”

“He doesn’t know anything or he’s not telling us.”

“Oh, I do know one thing, actually,” Starscream said, getting their attention. The red and white Seeker smirked, looking up at them. “Thrust and Sideways… they’re up to something. I don’t know what, but they’ve been snooping around lately. With Thrust trying to knock me out of my place, I think you knowing that would be mutually beneficial.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about Sideways.” Hot Shot grinned. “He’s dead. Rhinox stabbed him and he melted, apparently.”

“...I highly doubt he’s actually dead.” Starscream shrugged. “Or maybe he is. He does do that liquid static thing sometimes, though. Which makes me wonder…”

“Well, if you don’t have anything useful, we’re going.” Scavenger grabbed Hot Shot, dragging him out of Starscream’s cell before shutting it. The two Autobots headed back towards the bridge, not noticing that Alexis had been listening in. The girl had half a mind to go talk to the Seeker, but… maybe now wasn’t the best time.

Then, suddenly, the Ark shook and the lights flickered. Alexis looked around. “What was that…?”

Alexis soon arrived on the bridge, where the other Autobots were now gathered. 

“What’s going on?” Side Swipe asked.

“It’s the Decepticons!” Red Alert replied, looking up from Teletraan-1. “They’ve found us!”

“Battle stations!” Optimus ordered. “Get me my trailer! Red Alert, stay with Smokescreen, keep him stabilized! Side Swipe, Nightbeat, Land Military Team, guard the brig!”

“Yes, sir!”

Optimus turned to the kids. “Kids, go with Red. Stay safe.”

“But, Optimus, we can help!” Rad activated his exo-suit and brought out his wrist blade. “We can fight back!”

“Now isn’t the time, Rad!” High Wire said, grabbing his friend. “We have all the Decepticons knocking at our door!”

“Aside from Astrotrain, looks like…” Rollbar mumbled. “Huh… come to think about it, hasn’t Astrotrain been MIA for a while?”

“Now’s not the time,” Scavenger replied, assuming his alternate mode. “C’mon, Rollbar!”

Rollbar quickly transformed and followed Scavenger out the door.

Outside, Tidal Wave rained fire down upon the Ark. It’s shielding kept it safe, but it surely wouldn’t last for long.

“Yeeeeehawwwww!” Thundercracker cried as he dove down, firing upon the shielding in an attempt to overwhelm it. “Come on out, Autobots! You can’t hide in there forever!”

“Gotta say, Thundercracker, I wasn’t too fond of ya at first,” the now-repaired Cyclonus remarked as he flew over the Ark , firing with Crumplezone’s weapon mode attached. “But man, you can be fun in a battle!” Cyclonus cackled madly as he fired upon the Ark .

On the ground, Demolishor (Powerlinxed with Blackout), Dualor, the Sea Team, and the Night Attack Team fired on the ship. “Draw ‘em out!” Demolishor ordered, firing off a pair of missiles.

The Ark opened up, and Blurr sped out. “Incinerator, now!” he shouted, transforming into his car mode. Incinerator assumed his dragster mode and Powerlinxed with his Autobot partner, activating his flight mode. Blurr took off into the skies, followed closely by Jetfire.

“They’re coming!” Terrorsaur shouted with a squawk. Ironhide was linked with him, giving him his much faster jet-like form. “Take them down, take them down!”

“Don’t let them take this ship!” Jetfire ordered as he and Blurr opened fire on the flying Decepticons. 

Thrust sighed as he hovered afar. “I suppose I should join the fight…” He assumed his jet mode and flew in, joining Thundercracker, Terrorsaur, and Dirge in the skies.

Meanwhile, Optimus led the Autobots out. He quickly combined with his trailer and motioned forward. “Autobots, take them out!”

“I’m going for Demolishor!” Hot Shot shouted, assuming his vehicle mode. Jolt Powerlinxed with him. “Don’t wait up!”

“Hot Shot!” Scavenger called after the young Autobot. “You can’t take Demolishor on your own!”

“He won’t be on his own!” Mirage shouted. The Race Team leapt up and combined into the Skyboom Shield, flying towards Hot Shot. The young Autobot assumed his robot mode and caught the Shield, using it to block two missiles Demolishor had fired.

“We’ll help him, too!” Firebot, Prowl, and Makeshift quickly moved in to assist Hot Shot.

Scavenger sighed as they all ran in. “I guess that’ll work…”

“Can you taste the fear, Autobot?”

Scavenger turned around as Dirge dove in close and assumed his robot mode. “You will perish tonight. Death comes to he who crosses me.”

“Keep telling yourself that, ya crummy conehead.” Rollbar linked onto Scavenger, and the Autobot fired his hip cannon at him. Dirge quickly dodged to the side before Powerlinxing with Grapple. His torso rotated around, and he began spinning his wing backpack, generating a fear-inducing wind.

“Can you feel the fear surging in your circuits, Autobot?” Dirge asked, a smirk spreading across his face. “I can. How delicious…”

Scavenger was frozen for a bit, his optics widening, but then he clenched his fist and began to step forward. “I… don’t have anything left to fear…”

“What…?” Dirge took a step back, his face falling. “No… everyone has fears.”

“Not me. Not anymore.” Scavenger looked up, meeting Dirge’s optics.  “Devastator may haunt me, but I know he’s gone. He can’t hurt anyone… not anymore .”

“W-Wait, you can’t…!”

Scavenger swung, knocking Dirge off his feet. He planted his feet onto the Seeker, holding him down. “Stay down, Decepticreep.”

Meanwhile, Optimus and Overload combined, firing up on Tidal Wave. “Megatron, I know you’re up there! Are you a coward, that you’d lead from afar?”

“TIDAL WAVE…” Tidal Wave transformed to his robot mode. Ramjet Powerlinxed with him, and he sent a barrage of missiles down towards the Ark . The missiles collided with the shield, and it went down.

“Rhinox, get the shield back up!” Optimus ordered.

::“Already on it!” ::

“Hey, Prime?” Overload piped up. “If Tidal Wave transformed, then… Megatron isn’t in him, right?”

Optimus paused. “Wait… then…” He turned back towards the Ark. “It’s a diversion!”

Aboard the Ark, Rhinox stepped back, dusting his hands off. “Welp, shields are back up. Thanks for the assist, Armorhide.”

“And just in time, too!”

Rhinox turned around, only to be gunned down by Skywarp. Armorhide, meanwhile, was shot down by Thunderclash. Behind them stood Megatron, Clench, Wheeljack, and Wind Sheer. In Megatron’s hand was the Star Saber.

“Excellent work getting us aboard, Skywarp.” Megatron grinned. “Now…” He raised the Star Saber and slashed the ship’s shield generator. The generator sparked as Megatron, Skywarp, Wheeljack, and the Mini-Cons left before exploding, leaving the Ark ’s shields down for good.

“What was that?!” Side Swipe yelped as the Ark shook.

“That was from inside the ship,” Wreckage noted, backing up to the other members of the Land Military Team.

“Nightbeat…”

“Got it!” Nightbeat transformed and Powerlinxed with Side Swipe. He clenched his fist, preparing for whatever was coming.

“What’s going on?” Swindle muttered, looking out from his cell. “Starscream, you seeing this?”

Starscream lit up a little. “Megatron! He’s come to rescue me!”

Side Swipe, Wreckage, Knock Out, and Bonecrusher stood prepared for whatever may come their way.

Suddenly, Skywarp appeared behind Side Swipe and gunned him down with his shoulder cannons, activated by Thunderclash.

“Side Swipe!” Wreckage and the others turned around, only for the door to be blasted open and hit the three in the back, taking them out of the fight. Megatron rolled in before returning to his robot mode.

“The brig, it seems…” he mumbled, looking around. His optics landed on Starscream’s cell. “Ah, Starscream. I see you’re still here.”

“Megatron!” Starscream stepped up to the energy shielding. “Come on, now! Free me, and we can win this war!”

Megatron laughed, which confused the Seeker. “Oh, Starscream, you bolthead. You’ve outlived your usefulness. I’ve already won this war without you. Oh, but don’t worry. Your sacrifice won’t be forgotten…”

“Megatron?!” Starscream pounded on the energy field as Megatron turned and began to head to the other side of the brig. “No! Wait! You can’t leave me! I’m your second-in-command!”

“That’s Thrust, now.” Megatron looked back. “Goodbye, Starscream.”

Starscream’s gaze turned toward his fellow Seeker. “S-Skywarp! C’mon, you can’t leave me here!”

“Sorry, ‘cuz.” Skywarp shrugged. “I follow Megatron.”

Skywarp, Thunderclash, Megatron, and Clench continued on, but Wheeljack lingered for a bit.

“Wheeljack…?”

“Sorry, Screamer.” Wheeljack turned away. “I… have orders.” With that, the former Autobot began to leave the room.

“...He did try to go back for you.”

Wheeljack paused, turning back to face Starscream. “What…?”

“Your brother. Hot Shot.” Starscream’s orange optics met Wheeljack’s blue. “He did try to come back for you. I saw it. Megatron lied to you, had me lie to you, to keep you on our side. That Autobot, Zeta I think, he kept him from coming back.”

Wheeljack was silent for a moment. Then, without a word, he followed Megatron out of the brig, leaving Starscream to rot in his cell.

“Side Swipe! Wreckage! Rhinox!” Optimus shouted as he and Overload ran aboard the Ark. “Anyone?!”

::“Prime?” ::

“Red!” Optimus pried open the door to the shield generator, only to find the downed Rhinox. “I think Megatron is on the Ark . Rhinox and Armorhide are down, and Wreckage’s team at the brig isn’t responding!”

::“I’ll be prepared. I’ve got all the components of the Requiem Blaster and the Street Action Team, but some backup would help.” ::

“Overload and I are on our way!” Optimus and Overload quickly continued on their way towards the medbay…

With a swing of the Skyboom Shield, Hot Shot backhanded Demolishor and sent him flying. “That’s for Smokescreen, Decepticreep!”

Suddenly, two purple and yellow arms grabbed Hot Shot from behind, slung him around, and tossed him. The Autobot tumbled across the ground before skidding to a stop. As he rose, his optics widened as he spotted Sideways standing before him. The Decepticon picked up the Skyboom Shield and placed a small device on it. With a surge, the Race Team was quickly converted to the Decepticon side.

“S-Sideways?!” Hot Shot cried. “B-But… Rhinox killed you in battle! How…?!”

Sideways chuckled. “It takes more than simple impalement to kill me, Autobot.” He turned his gaze towards the Ark . “And now, we should be close to getting the final weapon. So long.”

With that, Sideways turned into a static mess and melted into the ground. Hot Shot quickly got back to his feet and contacted Optimus. “Prime! Sideways is alive, and he’s got the Skyboom Shield!”

::“We’re in the Ark. Megatron must be going after the Requiem Blaster! But we’ll stop him before he gets it.” ::

Inside the medical room, Red Alert worked to repair Smokescreen. The orange Autobot crane grunted as Red welded some internal circuitry. “E-Easy there, Red.”

“I am being ‘easy’,” Red Alert muttered as he continued his work. “Be glad it’s not Fixit getting his hands on you, the oaf.”

Suddenly, Skywarp teleported behind Red Alert, his sword drawn. Before he could swing, the Autobot medic whirled around and blasted Skywarp square in the chest with his arm cannon, sending the Seeker flying back into the wall.

The door then burst down as Longarm linked up with Red Alert. Megatron and Wheeljack stormed in. Red’s chest opened, revealing a launcher within. “Take this, Decepticons!” he shouted, firing out energy discs from them. However, Wheeljack quickly deflected them with his batons.

“Don’t worry, Red!” High Wire shouted. “We’ve got your back!” He, Sureshock, and Grindor leapt into the air, combining into Perceptor and charging forward.

Megatron smirked. “Cute.” He assumed his tank mode and blasted Perceptor, sending them flying back into the wall. The Mini-Con combiner slid down, his visor blinking out as he fell unconscious.

“Perceptor!” the kids cried before quickly donning their exo-suits. “You’re gonna pay for that!” Rad shouted as he charged forward, extending his energon blade… only for Clench to grab him and Carlos, while Wind Sheer restrained Alexis.

“Let us go!” Alexis shouted, struggling against the Mini-Con’s hold.

“Sorry, kiddo, but if I do you’d only get yourself killed.” Wind Sheer pulled her off to the side. “I don’t want any unnecessary casualties.

“Nor do I. Not now, anyways.” Megatron reverted to his robot mode. “Keep them there. I’ll deal with the medic.”

“Not on our watch!” Astroscope and Payload stepped forward, preparing to combine into the Requiem Blaster… only for Sky Blast to put the former at gunpoint.

“Sky Blast…?” Payload backed away from his teammate. “What’s…?”

“He’s ours, now.” Megatron grinned. “And so are you.”

Suddenly, Sideways materialized in his static-y, non-solid state. He dove from one Mini-Con to the other, attaching his devices to them. Within moments, all three were under Megatron’s command.

“Now…” Megatron backhanded Red Alert, knocking him to the ground. He towered over the medic. “Form the Requiem Blaster.”

The Space Team leapt into the air and transformed. Payload formed the main base and handle, Sky Blast became the main chamber, and Astroscope became the firing barrel. The Requiem Blaster landed in Megatron’s hand as Sideways and Wheeljack stood at his side. Megatron aimed the Blaster at Red Alert.

“Red…” Smokescreen muttered, starting to stir in an attempt to sit up.

“Megatron…” Wheeljack muttered. “He’s a medic…”

“...I suppose you’re right.” Megatron lowered the Blaster. Then, he turned towards the downed Perceptor, aiming the Blaster at them. “But they aren’t.”

“PERCEPTOR!” Rad shouted, struggling against the hold of Clench. “Lemme go, you… you…!”

“No…” Smokescreen pulled himself off the operating table, glaring at Megatron. He took a step forward. Skywarp turned towards him and reached towards his blade.

“Stay down, Autobot,” the black and purple Seeker ordered. “That is, if you don’t have a death wish.”

Smokescreen’s optics flicked from Skywarp, to Megatron, to Perceptor, and then finally the Requiem Blaster as the trigger was pulled and the weapon powered up. He weighed his options… and made his choice.

With a swift move, Smokescreen shoved past Skywarp. “No you don’t, Megatron!” he shouted, tackling the Decepticon leader and grabbing onto the Requiem Blaster.

“Foolish Autobot!” Megatron growled, struggling against him. As they struggled, the Requiem Blaster’s charge cycle completed. Smokescreen pulled the Requiem Blaster towards him, the barrel happening to line up with his midsection… just as the gun went off.

The blast tore right through Smokescreen, melting a hole right through his midsection and out the top of the Ark.

“SMOKESCREEN!”

The battle outside stopped completely at the huge blast of blue energy tore through the Ark ’s roof and flew up into the sky. It vanished within a few seconds, but it was enough to tell the Autobots that something was wrong.

“That was where the medbay was!” Jetfire cried as he and Blurr flew over.

“The medbay…?” Hot Shot’s optics widened in horror. “Red! Smokescreen! The kids!”

Optimus and Overload regained their bearings after the huge explosion that shook the Ark.

“What was that?!” Overload cried.

“...I think it was the Requiem Blaster.” Optimus surged forward. “We have to get to the medbay. Now.”

Megatron stood up, holding the Requiem Blaster. “Well, I'd say that was a success.” He smirked, looking at the fallen Smokescreen.

“Smokescreen…” Carlos muttered. The kids stared in horror at the fallen Autobot… only for him to start moving.

Smokescreen pulled himself to his feet. His body was starting to melt, but he did what he could to step towards Megatron.

“Oh?” Megatron’s grin spread. “My, you are resilient… I have to say, I respect that, Autobot.”

“Meg… a… tron…” Smokescreen mumbled. Before he could take another step, something snapped inside his body, and he froze. Smokescreen fell back to the ground, and when he hit it, the top half of his body split off from the bottom. Smokescreen twitched before his optics went dark.

“NO!” Red Alert shouted, getting up and rushing Megatron, only for Wheeljack to stop him with a baton to the head.

Megatron scoffed as he gazed down on the fallen Smokescreen, energon pooling around the fallen Autobot. “Such heroic nonsense.”

“SMOKESCREEN!”

The Decepticons turned to see Optimus and Overload in the doorway. Optimus’ gaze was fixed on Smokescreen’s fallen form for a moment, but then he focused on Megatron. For the first time in years, Megatron saw hate in Prime’s eyes. “MEGATRON!”

“Skywarp, get us out of here!” Megatron ordered. Skywarp nodded, placing a hand on Megatron and Wheeljack. The Seeker teleported away, while Sideways melted into nothing, taking the Skyboom Shield with him. Optimus quickly turned his attention to Smokescreen,  kneeling down next to him. “Smokescreen? Smokescreen, speak to me!”

“We have to get him on life support, now!” Red Alert said, pushing past Prime. “Give me some room, I might be able to save him!”

Optimus stepped back, giving Red Alert room to work. He clenched his fists. They shook as Optimus composure wavered… and finally snapped.

Outside, Thrust was dodging gunfire from Jetfire when he received a transmission from Megatron. ::“Decepticons, we have what we came for. Retreat!” ::

“Finally.” Thrust turned tail and flew off. Dirge, Thundercracker, Terrorsaur, and Tidal Wave soon followed in the air, and the others on the ground.

“They’re retreating!” Hot Shot shouted. “Looks like Prime turned the tide!”

Then, every Autobot stopped as a roar of anguish came from the Ark. And not just any roar of anguish; it was one belonging to Optimus Prime.

“Oh, no…” Jetfire muttered, landing atop the Ark and looking in the hole in the ship.

“Jetfire?” Blurr flew down, assuming his robot mode. “What’s going on?”

“It’s… it’s Smokescreen. He got hit… bad.”

“Megatron?” Demolishor looked around the throne room of the Nemesis. “Where’s Starscream?”

“I left that sad sack behind.” Megatron waved dismissively. “We have no need for such a failure, not when we’re so close to winning.” He pressed a button on the computer. “Astrotrain, report. Is it done?”

::“Funny you should ask. I just got finished with the last part. I’ll be right down to provide some extra transport.” ::

“Good. Megatron out.”

“So what is your plan, Lord Megatron?” Cyclonus asked. “You’ve kinda kept quiet about it.”

“Why, Cyclonus…” Megatron grinned. “I’m pulling out one of Shockblast’s old projects, one we never had the energon to power. But now, with the Mini-Con weapons… we do.”

Demolishor’s optic widened as he realized just what Megatron was talking about. “Wait… Megatron, you don’t mean…?”

“I do.” Megatron looked out the window of the bridge and up at the sky above, a grin spreading across his face. “Decepticons, prepare for departure. It’s time to activate… the Hydra Cannon.”

Chapter Text

Optimus paced outside the medbay. Sparkplug, Scavenger, Hot Shot, Rollbar, Jolt, Refute, Rhinox, the Street Action Team, and the kids stood nearby as well.

After a moment, the bay doors slid open, and Red Alert stepped out, with Longarm at his side. “Smokescreen’s spark… is stabilized. For now.”

“For now?” Rad’s worried face fell even more. “What do you mean, ‘for now’?!”

“Smokescreen’s body is… beyond repair,” Longarm reported. “I am sorry. There is little we can do for him.”

“Lemme see…” Rhinox stepped in, looking over Smokescreen. The Autobot was still in two halves, though Red Alert had stopped the leaking as best he could. He was partially melted from the sheer heat of the Requiem Blaster’s attack. After a moment, he lit up.

“His spark is still salvageable, right?” Rhinox turned over to another section of the medbay, where several pods rested. “We could use one of the protoforms.”

“No.” Optimus shook his head. “We cannot trade lives, even for Smokescreen.”

“No, he’s right.” Red Alert stepped over next to Rhinox. “I forgot to mention it, but… Tidal Wave’s assault took out the life support for the protoforms. Their sparks went out, but the bodies are still fully formed.”

“Protoforms?” Carlos asked.

“They’re young Cybertronians,” Rhinox explained. “Ones who have been developing. They were already hooked up to the Ark when we departed, and once the development process has begun, it shouldn’t be interrupted. They were supposed to emerge within days, but… well…”

“So… you can put Smokescreen’s spark into one of the protoforms, and this will save him?”

“Protoforms are still adaptable to sparks until they emerge. I just need to carefully transfer Smokescreen’s spark.” Red Alert moved back over to Smokescreen’s body. “But this will take time to prepare the procedure.”

“...do it.” Optimus turned around and stepped out of the medbay. Sparkplug couldn’t help but frown, worry for his friend rising. He hadn’t seen Prime upset like this since… well, since Elita.

“C’mon, Red, we don’t have much time.” Rhinox hurried back into the medbay. “Smokescreen’s hanging on by a thread, and if we’re gonna save him, we have to act!”

“On it.” Red Alert and Longarm followed Rhinox in, and the trio quickly got to work on their fallen comrade.

About ten minutes later, Alexis sat on the console of Teletraan-1, lost in thought while Scavenger stood nearby. The Autobot was reviewing footage from the Ark’s various camera systems.

“Alexis?”

Alexis perked up as Sureshock walked over to her. The Mini-Con sat down next to her. “You alright?”

Alexis sighed. “I dunno, Sureshock. I… I can’t believe that Smokescreen’s…”

“Hey, he’s not dead yet. Maybe… maybe he’ll be okay, in the end.” Despite her uplifting words, Sureshock didn’t sound convinced. Alexis sighed, turning her gaze to the ground.

“Megatron! Come on, now! Free me, and we can win this war!”

The girl perked up at the sound of Starscream’s voice. “Starscream…?” She turned her attention to the console, where Scavenger was viewing footage from the brig. Megatron, Skywarp, and Starscream stood before the cell.

“Oh, Starscream, you bolthead…”

“Meh.” Scavenger cut off from the footage. “Not important.”

“W-Wait!” Alexis called up to the older Autobot, getting to her feet. “Can you… go back to that for a second?”

“Why?”

“Just… humor me.”

After a moment, Scavenger sighed. “Fine, whatever.” He moved back to the footage. Alexis watched as, one by one, Starscream’s comrades forsook him, leaving him to rot. Once Wheeljack had departed, Starscream shouted after Megatron for a bit before… just giving up. He fell to his knees and just stared at the door they’d gone through.

Starscream was a Decepticon. He was the enemy. He’d tried to kill her friends, several times. Yet, Alexis remembered her time with him on the island, how he opened up a little to her about his life under Megatron, and despite herself, she couldn’t help but… feel sorry for the Seeker.

“Starscream…”

“Oh, come on!” Skywarp whined as he and Thundercracker stood before Megatron. “Why do we gotta stay behind?!”

“A-As much as I respect you, Lord Megatron…” Thundercracker stammered, “s-surely, we’d be mighty useful in goin’ up with you…?”

“I appreciate your dedication, but I need you two to guard the Nemesis while I am away. Have it prepared for flight and await my signal.” Megatron turned away, though his blood-red gaze lingered on the Seekers for a moment. “I assume I can trust you with this task, Skywarp, Thundercracker?”

Thundercracker saluted Megatron. “Don’t worry, boss. We’ll handle it! The Nemesis will be in tip-top shape for you when you need it!”

Skywarp just sighed. “Whatever…”

“Good.” Megatron stepped away. Unknown to him, he was being observed by Wind Sheer from nearby. The Mini-Con transformed and flew into another room, where Wheeljack was accessing the Nemesis’ computer.

“Coast is clear, for now,” Wind Sheer reported as he assumed robot mode and landed on the ground next to his larger partner. “What are you looking for, exactly?”

“I’m hacking into the Autobot mainframe and looking for mission reports,” Wheeljack replied. “You… remember what Starscream said?”

“Yeah.”

“I… want to see if he’s telling the truth.”

“Well, then I recommend downloading the information to your onboard computer.” Wind Sheer glanced back at the door. “Megatron’s just about ready to leave.”

“I’m in.” Wheeljack hooked up a cortical psychic patch, one of Shockblast’s inventions, and quickly began a download. “And… done. All mission reports from that cycle.”

Wheeljack quickly disconnected. He and Wind Sheer assumed their vehicle modes and drove out of the Nemesis , where the other Decepticons waited. Tidal Wave hovered above, loaded with supplies and the Mini-Con weapons. Shortly, Astrotrain descended down in his shuttle mode, landing and opening up the boarding ramp. Megatron stepped up to the top of the ramp and turned around to face his troops.

“Decepticons!” Megatron shouted. “The time has come for us to rid the universe of the Autobots’ scourge! With the power of the Hydra Cannon, we shall obliterate this planet, and the Autobots with it!”

Many Decepticons cheered, but notably, Wheeljack, Wind Sheer, and Demolishor remained silent. Wheeljack noticed this, and as the Decepticons began to board, he stepped over to Demolishor. “Hey. Demolishor.”

The larger Decepticon turned his attention to him. “Hm? Whaddya want?”

“Does… this feel off to you?” Wheeljack asked. “Like… destroying a planet? Doesn’t this feel a bit… extreme?”

“M-Megatron, he… he’s doing what he can to help our planet, y’know?” Demolishor glanced towards the Decepticon leader. “We gotta trust his judgement.”

“Like Starscream did, before Megatron abandoned him?”

Demolishor fell silent at that. He then stormed away from Wheeljack, quickly assuming his vehicle mode and rolling up the ramp alongside Blackout.

“...You’re not thinking of stopping Megatron, are you?” Wind Sheer asked his larger partner. “You know you can’t do that alone.”

“...I don’t know.” Wheeljack shrugged. “I’m no Autobot, that’s for sure, but… this feels wrong.”

“...Whatever you should choose, just… go with your spark.”

With that, Wind Sheer followed the others onto Astrotrain, and after a moment, so did Wheeljack.

“Prime.” Side Swipe turned away from the console. “We picked up some government comms chatter. Something’s popped up on their radar in the atmosphere. Something big.”

“Tidal Wave?”

“No, bigger. Dunno what it could be.”

Scavenger paused, thinking for a moment. “No… he wouldn’t…”

“Scavenger?” Optimus turned to his comrade. “What’s going on?”

“You remember that weapon I told you about?” Scavenger asked. “The one Shockblast had me and the Constructicons build a while back?”

Optimus froze. “No… you mean…”

“I think Megatron’s bringing the Hydra Cannon into this.”

“Slag.” Optimus turned to the others. “Jetfire, Overload, with me. We’re going to find the Hydra Cannon.”

“What’s… the Hydra Cannon?” Rad asked.

“A Decepticon superweapon,” Scavenger replied. “Megatron’s had the Constructicons and I work on it, back when I was… on his side. One of his and Shockblast’s pet projects. It’s… powerful. It was designed as a last resort weapon. Megatron never wanted to use it. He considered terminating it a few times. If he’s pulling it up now…”

“How powerful?” Carlos asked.

“If Shockblast ever finished it?” Scavenger looked away. “...moon-busting. Which means… it’d do a number on Earth.”

“We can’t waste time.” Optimus stepped over to Overload and Jetfire. “We’ll go up to the weapon and get coordinates for you to bridge to us.”

“And how do you expect us to do that?” Overload crossed his arms. “Fly up there?”

“Yes.”

“...oh.”

Starscream dragged his sword along the metal floor of his cell, watching it scrape and create sparks. His orange optics just… stared at the ground. Megatron’s words ran through his head.

"You’ve outlived your usefulness. I’ve already won this war, without you. Oh, but don’t worry. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten…"

“Starscream?”

Starscream paused at the familiar voice. He looked up to see Alexis standing outside his cell. He sighed, looking away. “What. Do you. Want ?”

“Um… I guess I just wanted to check on you.”

Starscream let out a dry, humorless laugh. “Right. Check on me. Like you’d care. I’m an enemy of the Autobots, of your kind.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Alexis stepped a little closer to the energy barrier. “You… helped me out.”

“Because you helped me.”

“Still, you could have left me to die on that island, but you didn’t.” She smiled. “I… I just think there’s more to you than the others think.”

“Hmph.”

After a moment, Alexis’ smile fell, and she sighed. “I… saw what happened. With Megatron. Do… you want to talk about it?”

“...No. I want to be alone. Leave.”

“Okay, sheesh…” Alexis mumbled, walking away. “Just trying to help and you get all bossy…”

As she left, Starscream returned his attention to the floor, to the sparks it made as it dragged across the floor, once more.

“Y’know… maybe if you opened up a bit more, you could use her to get outta here,” Swindle suggested from the cell across from his. “She actually kinda cares. You could use that.”

Starscream remained silent.

Aboard the Hydra Cannon, Megatron opened up a door to another room. Inside, Demolishor and Astrotrain were adjusting some machinery. There were three slots installed, each shaped like one of the Mini-Con Weapons.

“Well?” Megatron looked over the room. “Is it ready?”

“Nearly there, Lord Megatron,” Astrotrain mumbled, turning to his leader. “Glad to finally be doin’ something aside from transporting goods.”

“Yeah…” Demolishor muttered.

“Good.”

“M-Megatron…?” Thrust poked his head into the chamber. “We… have incoming, sir.”

“What…?” Megatron stormed out of the room and onto the bridge of the giant ship. He looked out the viewscreen to see none other than Optimus Prime rocketing towards them. He was combined with both Jetfire and Overload. Rollout was holding onto Prime’s back, a handheld blaster of his own at the ready.

“M-Megatron…?” Thrust stammered, backing away a bit.

The Decepticon leader scowled. “Astrotrain! Tidal Wave! Take him down!”

Astrotrain grinned. “Finally, I get to fight!” He ran over to the door of the ship, opened it up, and leapt out into the vacuum of space. The Decepticon transformed to his shuttle mode (with Starcatcher linking up underneath his nosecone) and blasted towards Prime, with the massive Tidal Wave and his Mini-Con Ramjet following close behind.

Prime’s yellow optics narrowed at the sight of the Decepticons approaching. They opened fire on him, and the Autobot supreme commander swiftly dodged to the side. He aimed Overload’s cannons at them and fired. While the ones that hit Tidal Wave barely affected the giant Decepticon, but one of the rockets connected with Astrotrain’s wing, blowing it off.

Astrotrain lost control, spiraling from the force of the impact. The Decepticon shuttle flew past Prime. As he began to turn around, Earth’s gravity began to pull him in, and his missing wing made it near impossible to fly back out of it. Astrotrain was sent plummeting through Earth’s atmosphere and disappeared in a blaze.

Optimus landed atop the Hydra Cannon itself. Overload separated from him and assumed his robot mode, and Rollout leapt into his place as Overload’s chest and head. The Autobot blasted a whole into the ship, which the combined Optimus and Jetfire leapt into. Overload nodded and turned his fire on Tidal Wave outside as an energy shielding went up over the hole, re-engaging the artificial atmosphere. Optimus and Jetfire separated, as did Sparkplug and Comettor from their respective partners.

“We’re on board,” Optimus said. “Red, bring your team over.”

“You’re… sure you want me there, Prime?” Red Alert asked. “Smokescreen, he…”

“I can handle the rest.” Rhinox placed a hand on Red Alert’s shoulder. “We got the hard part out of the way. I’m trained in handling sparks. I was a forger, remember? I can take care of what’s left.”

Red Alert nodded. “Right. I just… worry.”

“He’ll be fine. He’s stabilized, and I’ll make sure the spark transfer and reactivation goes well.”

“Alright.” Red Alert nodded, then turned back to his team. “Scavenger, Hot Shot, Side Swipe, let’s move!”

“Why can’t I come?” Blurr mumbled from the side.

“We need someone here, just in case. You’re the fastest, you’re the best to defend the Ark right now.”

“Fine…”

Red Alert turned. “Alright. Autobots, roll out!” And at that command, they all stepped into the warp bridge and disappeared.

Aboard the Hydra Cannon, in a green flash, Red Alert, Hot Shot, Scavenger, Side Swipe, and their Mini-Con partners appeared. “Ready, Prime,” Red Alert said, saluting his commander.

“Good.” Optimus turned around. “Autobots, to the bridge!”

“Astrotrain's down!” Thrust shouted. "They’re coming for the bridge!"

“No,” Megatron muttered. “They’re coming for the Weapons. Thrust, Cyclonus, Demolishor, with me. Dirge, Wheeljack, Sideways, Terrorsaur… hold them off as long as you can.”

Terrorsaur grinned, drawing his wing swords as Megatron and the others left. “Let’s scrap some Autobytes!”

The door busted open, and the Autobots burst in. Optimus looked around, noticing the other door closing. “I’m going after Megatron! Jetfire, with me. Autobots, take them down!”

Optimus assumed his truck mode and drove right through the Decepticons, with Jetfire flying after him. Comettor and Sparkplug rolled close behind. 

Side Swipe quickly linked up with Nightbeat and launched his fist forward, towards Terrorsaur. The Decepticon beastformer blocked the attack with his swords, grinning. “You think someone like you can best someone like me ?”

Red Alert and Scavenger exchanged shots with Dirge and Sideways. This left Hot Shto and Jolt along with Wheeljack and Wind Sheer. Wheeljack slowly approached the Autobot.

“Wheeljack…” Hot Shot muttered, pulling out his blaster. “I’m sorry, but… I can’t let you do this. The Earth is on the line. I won’t.”

“Hot Shot…” Wheeljack closed in, standing right in front of his brother. Their blue optics looked into each other for a moment before Wheeljack finally spoke again. “Tell me.”

“...What?”

“Tell me what happened that day.” Wheeljack put his weapons away, looking down. “I want your side of the story.”

“Why… why now?” Hot Shot lowered his weapon. “Why of all times, now?”

“Because… I was told something. Something that… goes against what Megatron told me. Mission reports don't line up either, and... and I need to hear your side.” Wheeljack met his brother’s eyes once more. “Please.”

“...Okay.”

Terrorsaur knocked Side Swipe to the ground, causing Nightbeat to be separated from him. He pointed his sword at the Autobot. “Gotta say, you’re tough for such a small guy.” He grinned. “I’m gonna enjoy killin’ you.”

“Side Swipe!” Nightbeat cried, getting up.

Terrorsaur swung his blade down… only for a gold baton to block his swing. He looked up just in time for Wheeljack to swing another one into his face, knocking him back.

“Wheeljack?” Dirge turned his attention to the sports car Decepticon. “What do you think you are doing?”

“...I let my hate blind me for too long,” Wheeljack replied, standing next to Hot Shot. “But I’m done with that. Maybe Hot Shot did abandon me. Maybe he tried to come back but couldn’t. Evidence certainly points to the last one. But…” Wheeljack turned his gaze to his brother. “I… I’m seeing what I’m starting to become. And… I don’t want to be like Terrorsaur, like Cyclonus, like any of the others.” He pointed a baton at them as Terrorsaur got back to his feet. “I can’t let you do this. I won’t.”

Terrorsaur snarled. “Traitor.” He lunged forward, swinging his blades. Wheeljack quickly blocked them.

“Go!” he shouted back towards the Autobots. “Save this planet already, Autobots! I’ll handle them!”

“Wheeljack…” Hot Shot muttered. “I can’t. I’m not leaving you behind, not now!”

“Relax.” Scavenger grinned as he punched Dirge in the face, causing the coneheaded Seeker to stumble back. “Side Swipe and I can handle ‘em. You and Red get to Prime! He’ll need help!”

“They’re right, Prime can’t take on four Decepticons on his own.” Red Alert grabbed Hot Shot’s shoulder. “We have to move.”

“...right.” Hot Shot glanced at Wheeljack. “I… I really am sorry, Wheeljack.”

“I know.”

With that, Hot Shot, Red Alert, Jolt, and Longarm assumed their vehicle modes and drove after Prime, Sparkplug, Jetfire, and Comettor.

“Get ready to put the Weapons into place!” Megatron shouted. Cyclonus, Demolishor, and Thrust stood ready with one weapon each, their partners at their sides. Clench, meanwhile, was at the control booth above.

Thrust quickly put the Star Saber into place, and Cyclonus placed the Skyboom Shield into its slot. Demolishor, however, paused while holding the Requiem Blaster. He wasn’t sure…

“Demolishor…”

Then, he heard a revving sound outside. He turned towards the door. “Megatron… someone’s coming!”

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Prime and Jetfire entered, Comettor and Sparkplug at their heels. All four aimed their weapons at the group. “Megatron, surrender!” Optimus commanded. “You don’t need to do this.”

“Oh, but I do, Prime.” Megatron smirked. “The Decepticons are finally on the verge of victory. Once I wipe your pathetic Ark off the face of the planet, I will set this cannon on a crash course with whatever is left! You will perish aboard this vessel, with no way to return to Cybertron or contact it, while I return with the Mini-Cons.”

“Megatron, don’t!”

“Demolishor!” Megatron shouted, turning towards the Decepticon. “Put the Requiem Blaster in! NOW!”

“I… w-well…”

Megatron groaned. “Must I do everything myself?!” He stormed over, only for Prime to tackle Megatron.

“NO YOU DON’T, MEGATRON!” he shouted, slamming the Decepticon leader’s head into the wall. Megatron growled, quickly kneeing Optimus in the abdomen and then backhanding him. Jetfire rushed into combat, but Thrust quickly intercepted, Powerlinxing with Inferno and sending out a massive wind to hinder the Autobot’s progress. Jetfire crashed into the wall, but quickly recovered and aimed his blaster at the Seeker.

Suddenly, Cyclonus snatched the Blaster from Demolishor’s hands. “Let me do the honors!” he said gleefully, cackling as he put the Requiem Blaster into place. “Bye-bye, Earth!”

“No!” Optimus shouted, pushing Megatron off him and rushing for the weapons.

Megatron turned to the control center above. “CLENCH, NOW!”

Clench complied immediately like the good drone he was, activating the cannon’s power sequence. A loud boom rang out, a wave of energy erupting and engulfing everyone in the room.

The boom rang across the station. Sideways perked up upon hearing it. “They’ve been united…” He chuckled darkly. “Finally. It begins.”

When the light cleared, the combatants paused. Everyone who had been directly exposed to the flash was… different.

“Woah…” Cyclonus muttered, looking over his new color scheme. He was now mostly green, with purple on his upper arms, thighs, and rotors, a dark gray for his shoulders and forearms, a black helm, and an orange face. Crumplezone had taken on a similar color scheme, with a black torso, gray and green arms, green shins and feet, and purple thighs and cannon.

For Hot Shot, the color layout of his body had been switched; his torso was now yellow, with the rest of his body being red. Flame decals could be seen on the inside of his shins. Jolt had changed from orange to yellow, now with black rotors.

Thrust had changed significantly. In place of green, he had white. What had originally been white was now black. And all the gray on his body had turned a burgundy color. Inferno now looked very similar to Grapple, but notably with a tan cannon and shins, rather than Grapple’s blue.

Demolishor’s classic tan had been replaced with a nice shade of red. Where he’d originally had red, he was now silver. The two silver spots on his chest were now yellow. He had some blue accents on his shoulders, and black and silver ones on his legs. Blackout was now, ironically, mostly white , with a blue chest and forearms and red upper arms.

Red Alert was now primarily orange with white detailing across him. The word “RESCUE” was spelled out on his shoulder, the vehicle mode’s hood. Longarm, while retaining had black, had lost the blue and yellow in favor of gray and orange, respectively.

The bits of red on Jetfire’s body had been toned down, and instead replaced with swaths of blue. His chest had blue stripes, and his forearms, shins, wingtips, and even mouthplate had turned fully blue. Comettor’s blue, meanwhile, had been replaced with white, and his orange with red.

Megatron’s body had changed as well, with his shoulders, abdomen, thighs, and hands becoming purple, his shins and tank cockpit becoming white, and his waist, chest, forearms, and feet becoming black. His face and the tip of his tank barrel had taken a dark blue, while the rest of his head and barrel were primarily a deep maroon with gold accents. Clench, of course, remained unchanged, residing above in the protected control center.

And as for Optimus… he had become a mix of blues. Darker in his upper half, lighter in the lower half. His optics had turned red, as had his mouthplate and elbow joints. Sparkplug, however, had a much larger change. The Mini-Con logo was now embroidered in his chest, as well as various other detailing. Judging from his kibble, his alt-mode had been modified too. He was now a glistening gold, with the gray on his body now a bright red.

“What… happened to us…?” Hot Shot muttered, looking himself over.

“Theory: the power of the Mini-Con Weapons has had an unexpected effect on those exposed to their simultaneous activation,” Longarm replied. “Interesting.”

“Activation…” Optimus’ eyes widened. “No…”

“Yes.” Megatron grinned as lights whirred on across the station, and a deep voice rang out from somewhere else.

“HYDRA CANNON ONLINE.”

Elsewhere, deep in space, a lone moon hovered without a planet. Deep inside, strange internal mechanisms started to whir to life. Inside, suspended over a large screen, held tightly, was a Mini-Con, one who had a large circle in the center of his chest, with a strange symbol on it. Not the Mini-Con logo, but something else entirely. The Mini-Con itself, however, seemed to be long dead.

Then, the screen activated. After a moment of static, images of the three weapons being united on the Hydra Cannon appeared. A pulse rang throughout the moon. It's time was near…

Chapter Text

On Earth, on a beach near where the Nemesis was docked, a man happily fished. “Dum dee dum, fishin’ my day away, doo dee-doo…”

Suddenly, the water erupted as a hulking form emerged from it. Astrotrain grumbled to himself as he shook water out of his joints. “Ya there, Starcatcher?”

“Here.” Starcatcher emerged from the water, rolling onto the sand. “Can you fly?”

“Does it look like it?” Astrotrain gestured to his missing wing. “C’mon, let’s get back to the Nemesis…”

The two continued on their way, not seeing that the startled fisherman had taken several pictures of them.

Optimus Prime, Jetfire, Sparkplug, Comettor, Hot Shot, Jolt, Longarm, and Red Alert listened in horror as the various systems around the Hydra Cannon came online in horror. And before them, Megatron laughed.

“Finally.” Megatron grinned, his red eyes glaring at the Autobots. “The Hydra Cannon is online. Thrust!”

“Yes, sire?”

“Get ready to fire.”

“STOP THEM!” Optimus shouted, and the Autobots quickly ran in to face their foes.

“How’s this for fear?!” Scavenger shouted as he slammed Dirge’s head into the wall, knocking him unconscious. Side Swipe continued his shootout with Sideways off to the side, while Wheeljack clashed with Terrorsaur.

As Terrorsaur’s blades came into contact with Wheeljack’s batons once more, the former Seeker scowled. “Why? Why would you betray our cause?!”

“I was never on board with your cause to begin with.” Wheeljack kicked Terrorsaur away. “Just out for revenge. But this is too far.” He then threw one of his batons, which hit Terrorsaur square in the face. As the Decepticon was recovering, Wheeljack slammed his other baton into his head, then kicked one of his legs out from under him. Terrorsaur hit the ground, and Wheeljack quickly drove his baton down, slamming it into his head one last time and knocking him out.

With that, Wheeljack and Scavenger both turned to Sideways, approaching him and Side Swipe. After a moment, Sideways chuckled and lowered his guns. “Please. I don’t care if Megatron destroys the Earth or not. I was just buying some time to make sure it worked.”

“Huh?” Side Swipe frowned, tilting his head. “What’re you talkin’ about, Decepticon?”

“You can go ahead.” Sideways shrugged as Rook separated from him. The Mini-Con landed next to him, combining with Crosswise into Mirror. “I’m about done here anyways.”

“...You were never a Decepticon, were you?” Wheeljack asked, stepping forward. “What’s your game?”

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out, Autobot.”

“I am no Autobot.”

Sideways chuckled before he melted away into a static mass and disappeared into the floor.

“Well… what now?”

Suddenly, Hot Shot flew out of the hallway and landed in the bridge. He tumbled across the ground before reverting to car mode to stop himself, revealing the new flame pattern on his hood and bright yellow spoiler. He then reverted back to his robot mode.

“Hot Shot…?” Wheeljack muttered, looking over his brother’s new colors in surprise.

“Oh. Hey, Wheeljack.” Hot Shot wiped some energon from his face. “Glad you’re still alive.”

“Thanks…?”

“Woah!” Side Swipe grinned, looking over Hot Shot. “You look so cool now, Hot Shot!”

“Uhhhh… thanks.”

Then, Thrust flew into the room, assuming his robot mode. “Dirge, Terrorsaur, get up! Stop the Autobots so I can prepare the Hydra Cannon!”

“Ha!” Side Swipe grinned. “They’re out cold! You… you…” The blue Autobot shivered suddenly as a wave of cold rushed over him. The room darkened. He stumbled back. “What…?”

“Side Swipe…”

Side Swipe froze, turning around to see an Autobot that bore a shocking similarity to him, but in yellow. “Why’d you let it happen, Side Swipe? Why’d you let me go on that ship…?”

“S-Sunstreaker…?”

“You were on the tech team. Why didn’t you see the error? You killed me, Side Swipe.”

“I… n-no, please…” Side Swipe collapsed. “I d-didn’t mean to…”

Hot Shot looked over to see none other than Dirge, back on his feet, propelling a hallucination-inducing wind on the Autobot. “How delicious… such fear…”

“Leave him alone!” Hot Shot shouted. Jolt quickly Powerlinxed with him, folding out his axle cannon. Hot Shot fired, but the blast was quickly deflected by Terrorsaur.

About this time, Jetfire, Cyclonus, Megatron, Red Alert, and Prime had made it into the room. Wheeljack quickly went to work on fighting off Terrorsaur while Red moved over to Side Swipe, blasting Dirge aside. “I’ll take care of him, you guys keep it up!”

Scavenger turned his attention to Dirge, while Cyclonus battled Jetfire. Outside, Tidal Wave could be seen exchanging shots with Overload, all while doing his best to avoid hitting the Hydra Cannon. 

Thrust began typing on the controls. A deep, feminine voice rang through the station. “HYDRA CANNON ONLINE. PENDING TARGET COORDINATES.”

“Yes!” Thrust cackled. “Inputting Ark coordinates now, Lord Megatron!”

“NO!” Optimus shouted, only to get decked in the face by Megatron. The Decepticon leader quickly opened his communications line.

“Thundercracker, Skywarp, this is Megatron. Have the Nemesis take off, immediately!”

On Earth, Skywarp cheered. “Yes! Finally! Primus, I got so bored sitting around here!”

Thundercracker frowned, looking out the window. “Y’know, partner, I’m gonna miss this li’l ball o’ mud…”

“...Nobody asked, Thundercracker.”

Astrotrain groaned as he trudged through the forest, pushing past trees. “It’s around here somewhere …”

Then, he heard the roaring of the Nemesis’ engines. He perked up. “Wait… those are the engines of the Nemesis. But that means…!”

The Decepticon quickly pushed his way through the forest until he reached the clearing where the Nemesis had parked. However, at this point, it was high in the sky.

“Wait!” Astrotrain shouted. “Wait for me! I need to get outta here!” He leapt into the air, transformed into shuttle mode, and blasted off after them. However, his damaged wing prevented him from going far, and it didn’t take long for Astrotrain to start going down instead of up. He crashed right into the ground, knocking over several trees and leaving a trail behind him.

Upon coming to a stop, the Decepticon reverted to robot mode and watched sadly as the Nemesis departed, leaving him behind with nobody but Starcatcher.

He’d been stranded. Abandoned. Literally left to die once the weapon fires and takes out this entire side of the planet. And Astrotrain couldn’t help but wonder… was this what Starscream felt like right now?

Up on the Hydra Cannon, Demolishor had finally exited the hallway onto the bridge. He looked around at all the fighting around him, and then down at his Mini-Con partner. “Whaddya make of all this, buddy?”

Silence. Right. Demolishor sighed. “Right. You… don’t really have opinions, right now.” He looked down at his own hand, the gun-fingers he had. “...kinda like I didn’t, before… before Megatron.”

“Demolishor?”

The Decepticon perked up, looking to see Wheeljack standing before him. “Wheeljack? What’re you…?”

“You doing okay?” The ex-Autobot leaned on the wall next to him. “I took out Terrorsaur, you don’t need to worry about him.”

“...it feels wrong.” Demolishor looked down. “I trust Megatron, but this… I don’t…”

“Hey.” Wheeljack placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just… follow your spark. Yeah?”

Demolishor remained silent. Wheeljack just sighed. “Whatever. I… oh, scrap, Terrorsaur!” He raised his batons and rushed back into battle with the flier as Demolishor pondered.

Over at the control panel, Thrust laughed. “Megatron! Megatron, I’ve got the Ark in my sights!”

“Fire!”

“NO!” Prime shouted, trying to shove past Megatron. The Decepticon leader wouldn’t budge however, grinning as Thrust prepared to press the button… only for Hot Shot to tackle him.

“Oh no you don’t, Thrust!” Hot Shot shouted, pinning the Seeker to the ground. Thrust yelped, struggling against the Autobot. His now-yellow optics fell on Demolishor. “D-Demolishor! Press the button! C’mon!”

After a moment, Demolishor approached the controls for the Hydra Cannon. He looked them over, then reached towards the firing button.

“Yes, yes!” Thrust nodded. “Fire! Wipe the Autobots’ chances from the universe!”

“Do it, Demolishor!” Megatron ordered.

Demolishor paused right above the button. Then, after a moment, he began to speak. “Y’know… all I wanted was to protect Cybertron, right? But… I was born with drills. Drills are for mining, for construction, not fighting. And Functionists, they… they didn’t want us ‘mutilating’ our ‘Primus-given bodies’, y’see? We all had a purpose chosen for us. We didn’t get to choose, and if we tried…”

He trailed off for a moment, old memories surfacing. Memories of those who defied the Functionists. Shockblast’s continual desire to upgrade leading to his mutilation at their hands. The kill squads, aiming for Outliers like Skywarp. The destruction of the Vos Science Center. 

Then, after this moment of reflection, he continued. “But then there was Megatron. Talking of freedom, of equality. We would not be deceived. We were Decepticons.” Then… he chuckled. “Not anymore, we’re not.”

“Demolishor, what are you blabbering about?” Megatron snapped, pushing Optimus aside as the fighting continued around them.

“Once you were above unnecessary casualties. We killed the High Council because they were corrupt. You mourned Praxus and Crystal City. And now… you’re willing to wipe half an inhabited planet away?”

“They are beneath our war!”

“And that is the problem.” Demolishor turned to Megatron. “You say they are beneath us, which is exactly what the Functionists thought of ‘bots like us!”

Megatron paused, his red optics widening. For a moment… it almost seemed like there was clarity in him.

But Demolishor wasn’t willing to take the risk he was mistaken. He turned back to the controls. “This is not the Decepticon way. So… Blackout!”

Blackout Powerlinxed with Demolishor, and the Decepticon folded his shoulder rocket launchers up and aimed them at the control panel.

“DEMOLISHOR, NO!” Thrust shouted, finally shoving Hot Shot off him and rushing forward… just as Demolishor fired. The resulting explosion sent Thrust flying across the room and into the wall. Demolishor clenched his fists as Blackout separated from him, looking down upon the smoking ruins that were once the controls for the Hydra Cannon.

“No more.”

“HYDRA CANNON OFFLINE. TARGET LOST.”

“You… you idiot!” Thrust snapped. “That was our best shot to destroy the Autobots! To make sure they can’t get us! How could you?!”

“...It does not matter.” Megatron quietly turned his gaze to Thrust, his expression cold, yet… was there a hint of remorse in his optics? “Activate Plan B.”

After a moment, Thrust chuckled nervously. “R-Right. Plan B. Wh… what is that, exactly?”

“Oh, I wasn’t talking to you.”

Suddenly, the station rumbled, and that voice piped up again. “AS YOU COMMAND, LORD MEGATRON.”

“Is… is this thing alive?!” Thrust cried.

“Skywarp, Thundercracker, get us out of here!” Megatron ordered. He glanced at Demolishor. After a moment of contemplating silence, he scowled. “But leave Demolishor. We’re too close to victory for us to have doubt right now.”

With that, all the Decepticons were warped out, save Demolishor. The Decepticon sighed. “Fine. Make me wanna join back even less , I guess…”

Then, the station began to shift. Parts began moving around.

“Is this thing transforming?!” Scavenger shouted. He glared at Demolishor. “What did you do?!”

“Hey, I was on the Nemesis for years before this was completed!” Demolishor snapped back. “This is all Shockblast, not me!”

“Now isn’t the time!” Optimus shouted. “Autobots, roll to safety! Er, and Demolishor, too.”

“B-but, Prime…” Side Swipe piped up, “he’s a Decepticon!”

“I’ll be damned if I let anyone die here.” Optimus glanced over to his second-in-command. “Jetfire!”

“Right!” Jetfire flew forward, assuming his leg mode. Optimus quickly transformed into his torso mode, and the two combined into Jet Prime. Prime grabbed who he could (Hot Shot, Longarm, and Red Alert, specifically) as Sparkplug Powerlinxed to him, and then flew towards an area where the station was shifting. An opening formed briefly, allowing them out. Jolt flew out behind them.

“Nightbeat!” Side Swipe shouted. The Mini-Con motorcycle Powerlinxed with the Autobot, giving him a powerful strength boost. He quickly caught the shifting parts, holding them in place. “H-Hurry… can’t hold… for long…”

Demolishor, Wheeljack, Blackout, Scavenger, Wind Sheer, and Rollbar quickly made for the exit. Wind Sheer and Wheeljack were out first, followed closely by Rollbar and Blackout. Demolishor stopped outside and reached a hand out to Scavenger. “C’mon, let’s go!”

As he began to pull Scavenger, suddenly, the Autobot’s foot got caught on some of the shifting metal inside. Demolishor tugged, but he wasn’t stronger than this.

“Can’t… hold…!” Side Swipe stammered out, struggling against the two panels he was holding open.

After a moment, Scavenger chuckled. “Alright, then. My play.” With that, he suddenly punched Side Swipe in the side, knocking him into Demolishor and causing the Decepticon to lose his grip. The panels slid shut, sealing Scavenger inside. Side Swipe called out to him, but no sound came out in the vacuum of space.

::Autobots, switch to internal comms,:: Optimus ordered.

::Prime, it’s Scavenger! He’s still inside!:: Side Swipe reported.

::Slag!:: Hot Shot looked up in horror. ::I think we’ve got bigger problems, Side Swipe! And I mean BIG!::

The Hydra Cannon continued to transform, beginning to take on a bipedal shape. Parts of the cannon itself shifted, becoming segmented, almost like a tail. Small, three-fingered arms emerged from the torso. Huge feet emerged from below. An animalistic head took shape, with sharp teeth extending in its jaw.

The Hydra Cannon now bore a resemblance to the extinct Earth reptile known as the Tyrannosaurus Rex . It was mainly black with red scattered about, and glowing orange optics.

::Wh… what the hell IS that thing…?:: Red Alert wondered over the comlink.

“Megatron… what is that?” Cyclonus asked aboard the Nemesis.

Megatron smiled. “She is the Autobots’ destruction. The end of our war, and the herald of a new age for Cybertron. Isn’t that right?”

::“I AM YOURS TO COMMAND, MIGHTY MEGATRON,” :: she responded over the intercom.

“Trypticon…” Megatron smirked. “Destroy them all.”

Chapter Text

It was dark. Very, very dark. Scavenger could barely see, even as his optics flickered back on. Fortunately, the blue light of his eyes gave just a bit of illumination.

“My head…” he grumbled. “The hell happened…? That cannon was transformin’, and…” The Autobot looked around. “Primus, it’s dark in here… hang on…” He quickly turned on his shoulder-mounted high beams, allowing him to finally see the mechanisms and wires that surrounded him.

“Huh…” he mumbled. “Is this… the Hydra Cannon? Okay, so, clearly, it’s become… some giant robot thing. But where am I in it…?”

Scavenger moved around, eventually spotting a nearby screen. He squeezed his way past some internal mechanisms to reach it and began typing. Soon, he brought up a map of the inside. His optics widened as he saw the new layout of the Hydra Cannon… or, rather, Trypticon.

“Trypticon…?” he mumbled. “Primus, they put her brain in this thing?! I’d thought she’d died when Devastator was…” After a moment of looking over the plans, he paused. “She’s… still using the main cannon. If I can get to it… maybe, just maybe, I can… yes, that should work!”

::WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!:: Side Swipe cried over the internal comm. channel as he and the Autobots stared in horror at the giant dinosaur towering over them.

::Some… some sort of… of…:: Red Alert stammered. He went silent for a moment before continuing. ::I… don’t know how we can beat this thing…::

::Stand firm, Autobots!:: Optimus ordered. ::Don’t falter now! We can win this! We HAVE to!::

“The Autobots have met their doom today…” Megatron smiled. “Trypticon, begin charging your cannon. Aim for the Ark.”

:“AS YOU COMMAND, MIGHTY MEGATRON.” :

Megatron turned around. “Thrust, take the fliers. Tidal Wave is still… busy, with his target, so I need you and the others to make sure Prime can’t stop Trypticon from destroying their ship.”

“A-As you command, Megatron!” Thrust saluted him and rushed out. “Seekers, Cyclonus, with me!”

Skywarp, Thundercracker, Terrorsaur, Dirge, and Cyclonus quickly formed up on Thrust. The six assumed their flight modes and flew out into the vacuum of space… only for Cyclonus to find himself unable to steer.

::H-Hey, guys!:: he called out over the comlink. ::I… I can’t steer! The hell’s goin’ on?!::

Oh, right… Thrust thought to himself. Helicopter. Not designed for space travel. Whatever.

::Um… boss?:: Thundercracker piped up. ::What should we do about Cyclonus?::

::Leave him. We don’t have time to deal with him right now.::

::But…:: Thundercracker hesitated. If he questioned Thrust, Megatron’s new second-in-command… the Decepticon leader surely wouldn’t be pleased. As much as he’d prefer to his comrade out, he couldn’t risk losing any favor with Megatron. Not after working so hard to reach the rank he had. ::Aight, boss.::

The Decepticons flew in, opening fire on the Autobots. As they flew overhead, Jetfire assumed his shuttle mode (with Comettor linking up to him) and flew after them, firing his weapons. He managed to split Thrust off from the others, while the remaining Decepticons veered around for another attack.

:“Prime? It’s Scavenger, do you copy?” :

::Scavenger?:: Optimus turned towards Trypticon as the Decepticon began to charge up its cannon. ::Thank Primus you’re online.::

:“I may have a way to stop Trypticon,” : the Autobot commando replied. : “It’s a long shot, but I can rewire the cannon to self-destruct after the Weapons are removed. I need you to distract Trypticon long enough for me to rewire it, though.” :

::Understood. :: Optimus turned. :: Jetfire, Overload, Sparkplug! We need to distract Trypticon! ::

::On it! :: Jetfire replied. Overload, however, responded differently.

::I have my hands full, Prime!:: Overload answered as he fired up at Tidal Wave, then dodged a barrage of gunfire from the huge Decepticon. ::Tidal Wave’s got me a bit occupied!::

::Fine. We’ll have to make do.:: Optimus turned. ::Jetfire, now! ::

Jetfire flew in, quickly transforming into his legs mode. Optimus assumed his torso mode and combined with Jetfire. Sparkplug then attached to Jet Prime’s shoulder, and the Autobot commander fired off a volley of lasers up at Trypticon. The blasts hit Trypticon’s eye, causing her to let out what appeared to be a roar, one unheard by any thanks to the vacuum of space. She turned her attention towards Jet Prime.

That got her attention, alright… Optimus thought as he turned and jetted off. Trypticon began firing various turrets at him as he flew through the empty space around them.

“Secretary Aber… er, Hawk, sir?” a man said from a computer terminal. “We have visual on the situation from one of our satellites.”

“Good work, Mainframe.” Secretary of Defense Clayton Abernathy (codename Hawk) walked over to his terminal. “Let me see.” 

The man, legally named Blaine Parker, scooted aside, allowing Clayton to see clearly the situation. He stared for a moment before glancing back at Blaine. “Mainframe… are those… robots? Fighting some sort of robot Godzilla?”

“...It certainly seems that way, sir.”

Hawk sighed. “Contact the President. He’ll want to hear about this.”

“Yes, sir!”

Hawk watched as the computer specialist pulled up a line. He cleared his throat. “Mr. President, this is Hawk. We… have a situation…”

“What is she doing…?” Megatron mumbled, watching as Trypticon fired at Optimus.

“Seems she’s been… distracted, sir,” Sideways replied from Megatron’s side. “If she can take out the Prime, though, that’d be…”

“Prime dies by my hands or nobody’s at all!” Megatron snapped. After a moment, he glanced out the window towards where Jet Prime was dodging shots from Trypticon. “...Though I wish it didn’t have to be so.”

“...Right.” Sideways turned away. “Well, forgive me, sir, but I’m going to go double-check the systems real quick.”

“You do that.”

Sideways stepped out of the bridge. As the door slid shut, he sighed. “Fine. It’s time, then, for me to take things into my own hands…”

The mysterious Decepticon turned into the liquid static and melted into the floor before vanishing completely, leaving no trace that he’d ever been there.

On Earth, Starscream paced in his cell. His mind raced as he recalled all the past instances of Megatron’s disrespect. “He didn’t used to be like this…” he mumbled. “He… needs a bit of course-correction, I’m sure. He just… just…”

“Starscream?”

Starscream froze at the sound of the familiar voice. He turned around to see Alexis peeking in. The Seeker sighed. “And what are you doing here? I told you…”

“I know.” Alexis stepped into full view. “I… I just wanted to check on you. Is that really so bad?”

“...You shouldn’t bother.” Starscream turned away, clenching his fist. “Not… not with somebody like me.”

“You… seem like you just need somebody to talk to is all.” Alexis stepped closer, now just in front of the energy barrier keeping Starscream in. “I… I can listen. If you want.”

Starscream hesitated, but his gaze then went to Swindle. Swindle made a gesture for him to talk. He recalled how Swindle saw an opportunity for them to get out. If he could… then he could get back to Megatron. Prove to him that… that he was still worth something. It ate away at him a little, having to resort to manipulation… but it would be worth it. It had to be worth it.

“...Fine.” Starscream sat down. “I’ll talk.”

“Cool!” Alexis sat down as well, looking up at the Decepticon. “So… what’s your story?”

After a moment, Starscream finally spoke. “W-Well… I…” He hesitated. He’d… never opened up before. The closest he had ever come to doing so was that day on the island with the human.

His desire to be able to prove that he was worth keeping around won out. He spoke up. “I wasn’t always called Starscream, y’know…”

Scavenger stepped away from a panel on the cannon. “Alright, Prime. Cannon’s rewired. I’m gonna follow the circuitry to the Weapons, and then get ‘em out.”

::Good. Once that’s done, Red will be ready for your coordinates and warp you out safely.::

“Gotcha.” Scavenger began making his way through Trypticon’s body, squeezing his way between mechanisms within the giant. “Hey… by the way. Keep Demolishor safe, yeah? I… don’t want him dyin’ for somethin’ stupid, ‘kay?”

::I see. I’m glad you’ve moved on.::

“Hey, I had some help.” Scavenger chuckled. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I got a dinosaur to kill.”

“What is going on out there?” President Ellison asked, looking at the footage being presented to him.

“It seems… we have some robots fighting in our atmosphere,” Hawk remarked. “I don’t know where they came from, but it seems that footage Mainframe found was legitimate. Should I…?”

“...Have your team on standby,” Ellison ordered. “But don’t make any moves. If they’re fighting, it’s possible only one side poses a threat.”

“Sir…? These are giant robots. Who knows who built them? They pose a huge danger to all American citizens if…”

“I want to keep peace an option, Hawk. Have your team on standby. Do not interfere unless I give the order.”

“...Yes, sir.” Hawk turned around. “Payload, have the Defiant ready for takeoff. We may be needing it soon. Oh, and inform our dynamic duo to be ready to move as well. I could use their expertise.”

“Yes, sir.”

Skywarp teleported behind Red Alert. He quickly Powerlinxed with Thunderclash and fired off a powerful blast. Red barely managed to dodge it. ::Prime, we’re outgunned right now! We need to retreat!::

: ...You’re right. Rhinox can warp Scavenger out when the time comes. Rhinox, get us out of here!::

Within moments, the Autobots were warped off the battlefield. Skywarp scoffed. ::Oh, what? They just LEFT!::

“They what?!” Megatron rose from his throne and moved to the windows on the bridge. “What is Prime’s game…? He wouldn’t just retreat out of nowhere…”

Inside Trypticon, Scavenger forced his way through to a particular passageway deep within the giant’s core. His yellow optics finally found the Mini-Con Weapons.

“Finally!” He grinned, sprinting towards the room. “Now to take Trypticon down once and for–”

Suddenly, a pair of blasts hit Scavenger from behind. He turned around to see none other than Sideways, who blasted him once more. The blast tore into Scavenger’s chest and knocked him to the ground. Sideways chuckled, towering over the fallen Autobot.

“Really, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, Scavenger,” he remarked as Rook separated from him and reverted to robot mode. Crosswise emerged from behind Sideways, and the two quickly combined into Mirror. “I’m afraid I’ll be needing those weapons, now that I know what I’ve heard is true.”

“What… are you…?”

Sideways sighed. “I don’t have time for monologues right now, sadly. I do love a captive audience, but… you know how it is.” Sideways and Mirror headed over to the Mini-Con Weapons. Sideways removed two of them, while Mirror removed the final one.

“Megatron… will never win…”

Sideways chuckled, turning his blue visor towards Scavenger. “Oh, Autobot… who ever said I was giving these to Megatron ? No, no, my true master awaits me elsewhere. For now… tootles!” Sideways waved as he and Mirror became that static mess and melted away.

“Slag…”

“Why is Trypticon powering down?” Megatron mumbled. “Who… WHO REMOVED THE CORE WEAPONS?!” He turned around and activated his comlink. “Sideways! Get in there and stop them!”

No response.

“...Sideways? SIDEWAYS!”

:“Oooh, sorry, Megatron. I have other plans with these things. Can’t talk, gotta go.” :

“What…? It was YOU?!” Megatron slammed a fist into the purple walls of the Nemesis. “SIDEWAYS! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT, YOU FILTHY TRAITOR!”

After a moment, he sighed. “Decepticons… return to the Nemesis. I need an oil bath…”

The view of the Autobots’ Sky-Spy was currently displayed on Teletraan-1. They watched as Thrust led the other Decepticons back into the Nemesis, with Thundercracker pulling Cyclonus back in before he spiralled too far away. They watched as Trypticon went still, her eyes dimming, but not quite going out.

“Hell yeah!” Hot Shot grinned. “Scavenger did it!”

“Pull him back, Red,” Optimus ordered.

Red Alert nodded and pulled up the locator, but then paused. “...Prime? I… can’t get a lock on him.”

“What?” He turned on his comlink. “Scavenger? Scavenger, it’s Prime! Do you copy?!”

“Wow… quite the story, huh?” Alexis mumbled, glancing towards Starscream. “I’m… sorry you had to go through that.”

“Hmph.” Starscream shrugged. “It’s… standard, for my kind. In this age. Once I rejoin Megatron…”

“Maybe… don’t, actually?”

Before Starscream could respond, Alexis’ watch buzzed with a message from Carlos. :“Yo, Alexis! Something’s goin’ on over here! C’mon!” :

“S-Sorry, I have to go.” Alexis stood up. She glanced back at Starscream and smiled. “It was nice to talk, though.”

“...Hm.”

As Alexis left, the Decepticon sat back and thought. For once, he… felt heard .  He hadn’t been able to just… talk , casually, to someone, not since… well, before the war.

It was... nice.

Aboard Trypticon, Scavenger had pulled himself into the Weapons room and leaned against a wall.

“Prime? It’s Scavenger. Can you hear me…?” After a moment of silence, the elderly Autobot snorted. “Heh. Lucky shot, Sideways. Blew out my communications and transponder.”

Scavenger let out a sigh. “Somehow… always knew it’d come to this…”

:“Scavenger! It’s Rollbar!”: Scavenger perked up upon hearing the voice of his partner. : “Prime can’t reach you, but I can thanks to our link! C’mon, where are you?”:

“Stuck in Trypticon,” Scavenger replied. “Sideways stole the Weapons. Not for Megatron, though. Slimy little bastard’s workin’ for someone else. He shot me, damaged my transponder.”

:“We… we can send someone up! We’ll get you out of there!” :

“Nah. No time.” Scavenger smiled sadly. “It’s okay. Least I got to help take down a damn Titan ‘fore I went out.”

:“Scavenger, I am NOT letting you die, not now.” :

“Hey… hey. It’s okay, buddy. It’s okay.”

“Rollbar?” Carlos leaned over the railing of the catwalk above to shout down to the Mini-Con. Rad and the Street Action Team stood with him, and Alexis joined him momentarily. “What’s going on?!”

“Scavenger, please…” Rollbar turned to the monitor, which still depicted Trypticon. “We can’t let this happen.”

:“Don’t worry, buddy. I’ve… I’ve lived through worse. Trust me, compared to being in Devastator… this is noth–” :

Scavenger’s words were cut off as Trypticon’s head, and subsequently torso, exploded, sending scrap flying everywhere.

“SCAVENGER!” Rollbar and Demolishor shouted. The Autobots bowed their heads somberly, while Rad fell to his knees, tears in his eyes.

“N-No… no, not him…” He slammed his hand into the railing. “Dammit…!”

At the White House, President Ellison sighed upon seeing the footage. “Thank God. Hawk, call off your men. It’s over.”

“Yes, Mr. President.” After a moment, Hawk glanced back at him. “...But, sir… I highly doubt it’s over.”

“Megatron?” Thrust muttered, stepping up next to the Decepticon leader as he observed Trypticon’s destruction. “What… what now?”

“...We wait, Thrust.” Megatron clenched his fists. “We wait.”

“Red…?” Optimus glanced over to the Autobot medic. “Is he…?”

Red Alert folded a panel out of his arm, doing a planetwide scan. After a moment, he looked back at Optimus. “I… I’m sorry, Prime. His life signal’s… gone. He’s gone.”

Optimus clenched his fist. With a roar of anguish, he slammed it into the wall beside Teletraan-1. The Prime stormed off, leaving everyone else to process the news.

“Is… now a bad time?”

The Autobots, humans, and Mini-Cons glanced over to see Rhinox standing in the doorway. “Uhhh… I finished up with Smokescreen. Just so you all know. Smokescreen, if you would…?”

A large figure emerged from the medbay. Not huge , not as big as Optimus or Jetfire, but relatively big. He was primarily white on his torso and arms, with a bronze grill, gunmetal joints, and his fingers… which he only had on one arm. The lower half of the other arm was instead an orange excavator arm, with white hydraulics and a bronze scoop. His waist was orange, and his legs were bronze. The insides showed treads, the wheels of which were colored cyan. His head looked similar, but not quite the same. His face was the same color as his wheels, with most of his helmet being bronze aside from the exception of two orange streaks at the top.

“Hey, guys…” Smokescreen said, raising his hand up awkwardly. “...Whaddya think?”

Sideways appeared on the earth’s moon, looking over at where the wreckage of Trypticon lay. Some pieces settled into orbit, while others began to fall into the planet’s atmosphere.

“Sorry, Scavenger, but the master won’t be kept waiting.” He looked down at the two weapons he carried: the Star Saber and the Skyboom Shield. Nearby, Mirror stood, the Requiem Blaster in hand. “Come, Mirror. Let’s get these back where they belong…”

With that, Sideways and Mirror disappeared, taking the Mini-Con weapons away from the Earth… and to wherever their mysterious master lay.

Chapter Text

“So…” President Ellison turned towards Hawk. “I want a full briefing, Hawk. Tell me what you know about these… these robots that were fighting over our planet.”

Hawk nodded, motioning for another man to place a file on the desk. The man, a blonde, muscular one, did so. Hawk spoke as the president flipped through the file.

“The N.B.E.s have been sighted a few times,” Hawk reported. “Reportedly, the Adventure Team and my unit’s namesake encountered some of them years ago. Sightings have only ramped up in the last three months, with numerous reports of out-of-place vehicles: the earliest, a fighter jet and a helicopter chasing down an ambulance that was shooting back.”

“...I know Abernathy’s feelings on them.” The president looked to the other man. “Hauser?”

“Sh-Shouldn’t we… be using our codenames?” Colonel Conrad Hauser said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “That’s what Hawk said, anyways.”

“I understand that, but we are safe in here. I trust you and Abernathy. Nobody will know here.”

“...I believe they could be dangerous.”

“Could be…?” Hawk scoffed. “Duke, they’re giant machines. They’re not human. They’re weapons of war, not living beings. They’re not alive.”

“We are gathered today to… to say goodbye to a dear friend.”

The Autobots, Mini-Cons, and humans were gathered before a metal casket inside the Ark ’s memorial room. The casket itself was closed. Nobody wanted to see Scavenger’s ruined remains a second time, not after Jetfire first recovered them from Trypticon’s wreckage. 

Optimus stood behind the casket, facing the Autobots. At the back of the room, Demolishor stood alone. Wheeljack stood away from most of the others as well, though Hot Shot and Wind Sheer had taken the spots next to him. Rollbar stood quietly near where Scavenger had been laid to rest. The humans, accompanied by their respective Mini-Con partners, were at the front of the crowd.

“To say Scavenger was a model Autobot would… be a lie,” Optimus said. “He wouldn’t want me to glaze him. Scavenger was flawed. He hurt people, out of fear and self-loathing. But… he also fought to right his wrongs. He was a good friend and a great mentor, in spite of his flaws. His sacrifice… means everything.” The Autobot commander rested a hand on the casket. “You will be missed, Scavenger. ‘Til all are one.”

“‘Til all are one,” the rest of the Autobots (and even Wheeljack and Demolishor) said quietly. After a moment, Optimus pressed a button on the casket, and it floated up and slotted into the wall.

As the various attendees dispersed, Rollbar looked up at where Scavenger’s remains now rested. He sighed, placing a hand on the wall. “I’ll… I’ll miss you, buddy.”

“Hey.”

Rollbar turned around and looked up to see Demolishor standing before him. The Decepticon knelt down. “I… I’m sorry we weren’t able to save him. Even after everything he did… he deserved better.”

“Yeah…” Rollbar sighed, turning back to the wall. “I’m… glad you came, though. He would’ve been happy that you came.” The Mini-Con glanced back towards the larger Cybertronian. “Are… you gonna be staying here?”

“Nah.” Demolishor shrugged. “I’m a Decepticon, just… Megatron’s lost his way. I think I’ll take some time to myself an’ think. Maybe find a way back to Cybertron.”

“Alright.” Rollbar nodded. 

“First, though…” Demolishor stood up. “There’s something I gotta take care of.”

Blackout’s dark gray visor blinked on. The Mini-Con groaned as he sat up. “Ow… my head…”

Then, his gaze rested on Demolishor, and he panicked. Blackout quickly aimed his weapons up at him. “Y-You! St-Stay back! You may be kinda nice to me, but…!”

Blackout froze, then tilted his head. “Did… did you get a new paint job?” He then looked down at his own body, seeing that it was primarily light gray, with red arms, blue guns, and a blue chestplate. “...When did I get a new paint job?”

“It’s a long story…” Demolishor muttered. Red Alert stood nearby, putting a used-up device on the table.

“You don’t need to worry anymore, Blackout,” Red Alert said. “Demolishor’s setting you free from the programming.”

“Freeing me…?” Blackout looked up at Demolishor. “Why?”

“I was never really on board with the whole… ‘enslaving’ thing.” Demolishor looked away. “I just… went with it because that’s what Megatron said. But… he’s leading the Decepticons away from what we’re supposed to be. So… yeah.”

“Huh.” Blackout lowered his weapons. “So… you’re an Autobot now or something?”

“No, Primus, no!” Demolishor chuckled. “I wouldn’t be a stinking Autobrat. Though… they’re not as bad as I thought. I’m still a Decepticon.” He tapped the faction’s emblem on his chest. “Just… not one of Megatron’s anymore. I wanna achieve what Megatron first set out to do.”

“...Cool. You do that.” Blackout stretched. “Well… I’m gonna roll around a bit, exercise my new freedom.” With that, Blackout transformed and rolled off.

Demolishor sighed. “Well… that went better than I’d hoped.”

“You could stay here, you know,” Red Alert said. “Even if not as an Autobot, we could use you.”

“I’m not fighting on your side.” Demolishor turned away. “I… I just need some time to myself. To think. Maybe find a way off this planet.”

“Still… if you change your mind…”

“Whatever.” Demolishor shifted to his tank mode and rolled down the ramp leading up to the spacecraft, heading out into the world. Red Alert sighed.

“Well… I tried.”

“Well, Smokescreen?” Hot Shot nudged the larger Autobot. “How’s the new body treating you?”

Smokescreen flexed his fingers as he looked over his new form. “It’s… different, to say the least. It’ll take some time fully adjusting to it.” He frowned. “...I look like Ransack. I don’t like that.”

“So…” Rad grinned. “What do you turn into now? Still a crane, or…”

“Uhhh… this thing.” Smokescreen transformed, and rather than an orange crane, he became a white excavator with a bronze shovel and treads and an orange arm. “An… excavator, looks like.”

“Cool…” Carlos muttered. “So… do Cybertronians get new bodies often? Why not just build your old one?”

“It… depends.” Smokescreen shifted back into robot mode as Rhinox spoke up from the side. “The look a Cybertronian takes is often chosen by the spark itself upon their birth. The alternate mode, too, at least initially. Most of the time, they’re repaired normally. When we have to transfer a spark to a brand-new protoform body, it tends to take the same shape as the original. Sometimes, though… the spark takes on a new form. It often signifies some sort of change in the Cybertronian’s personality or mentality. Something affects them so deeply that, when their spark shapes a new body, it makes something different .”

“Interesting…” Refute muttered from beside his larger partner. “Smokescreen? Do you… feel different? Not physically, I mean.”

“I… don’t know.” Smokescreen frowned. “I’m… still adjusting to all this. I’ll need… time. Yeah. Time.”

“Alright…”

Smokescreen looked up, his gaze turning to Hot Shot, and then over behind him to the brooding Wheeljack. “...Wheeljack. Are you… planning on coming back?”

“...I’m staying on the Ark with my bro,” Wheeljack replied, glancing over towards Smokescreen. “But I am not coming back to the Autobots. They still left me to die.”

“Yeah… that’s fair.” Hot Shot rubbed his arm awkwardly. “I… wish I’d been able to do more.”

“I forgave you for that. It wasn’t your fault anyways.” Wheeljack placed his hands behind his head and leaned back against the wall. “I’m… just glad everything got cleared up.”

“Smokescreen?” Optimus stepped into the room. “Are you… feeling alright?”

“...I will be.”

“Would you like to stretch your treads?”

Smokescreen looked over to Rhinox momentarily, then to Optimus. “...Sure. What’s the situation?”

“After the events in the atmosphere… I don’t think it’d be wise to hide for much longer,” Optimus replied. “I… think it’s time we reach out to humanity. Publicly .”

“Alexis will be happy about this,” Carlos whispered. “She’s been telling Prime he needs to do this for a while.”

“Hey…” Sureshock looked around. “Where is Alexis?”

“...So, Sideways was playing his own game all along…” Starscream muttered. “I knew it. I knew he couldn’t be trusted. Megatron should have listened to me, and then maybe I’d still be with him…”

“Hey.” Alexis crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall next to the cell. “You don’t need him. I told you, he’s not good for you. Or… anyone, really.”

“...Sideways and Thrust were always talking to each other,” Starscream noted quietly. “I wonder…”

“You think Thrust is in on whatever Sideways is planning?”

“...Maybe.” Starscream sighed. “I shouldn’t be just… giving you intel like this. What is wrong with me…?”

“...Maybe you trust me?”

Starscream paused. He didn’t respond, instead just looking away. His fists clenched. He… he couldn’t let himself trust like this. That was stupid. He can’t… not after Megatron.

“...Sorry. I’ll go.”

Starscream didn’t respond as Alexis left him alone. He didn't want her to go. That scared him. He looked down to his hands as his fingers intertwined with one another, clasping the other hand. “Stupid…” he mumbled. “You can’t let yourself trust someone, not yet. Megatron, he… but no, she’s not like him…” 

The Seeker groaned and buried his head in his hands. He had some thinking to do.

“Well?” Megatron stormed over to the Nemesis’ computer, where Thundercracker sat. Cyclonus leaned against the wall nearby, looking bored out of his mind. “Have you located Sideways yet?!”

“We’ve scanned all over Earth for Sideways’ signal,” Thundercracker replied. “No sign of him. Though I think we did locate…”

“Nothing matters but Sideways ,” Megatron snapped, interrupting the blue Seeker. “Nothing!”

“Y’know, Megatron…” Cyclonus said from the side, “we… know where the Autobots’ ship is. We could just… take them out. Y’know?”

“Our priority, Cyclonus…” Megatron moved over to Cyclonus, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him in, “...is getting back the Weapons. Until we do, nothing else matters.”

“Y-Yes, Megatron!” Cyclonus stammered. The Decepticon leader then released the helicopter and turned back towards the computer, his red optics blazing.

Meanwhile, in another room, Thrust tapped his foot in the hallway. He sighed. “Primus almighty, what is taking him so long…?”

After a moment, Dirge rounded the corner, causing Thrust to perk up. “Ah, there you are! What took you so long?”

“I wanted to make you squirm, Squidhead.”

“...Screw you. Also, we literally have the same head. You can’t talk.” Thrust crossed his arms. “Anyways, Dirge, you can guess that I called you here for a reason.”

“Hm?”

“You thrive on fear, right? You live on it?”

“Yes.” Dirge leaned against the wall. “Fear is my reason for being. I love making people squirm in terror before I tear them apart. Why?”

“Because…” If Thrust could smile, he would be. “I know someone who plans to bring terror like you’d never imagine. My… colleague, he thought you might want in.”

“...I’m listening.”

At the white house, Hawk and Duke walked out of the building.

“Well… what now?” Duke asked.

“...Now,” Hawk muttered, “we wait for the President to give us the go-ahead to take those robots down.”

“Do you think they’re…?”

“I don’t know. Could be.” Hawk frowned. “But they haven’t shown their faces since Joe Colton brought down the Commander. It doesn’t sit right…”

“Hawk, sir…?”

“Hm?” Hawk looked to where Duke was pointing to see an odd trio of vehicles approaching: a black semi truck cab with red stripes, a white excavator, and a red truck and trailer. Alongside them were much smaller vehicles: a golden car and an orange vehicle with blue pincer-like attachments. His eyes widened. “It… it’s those robots! It’s got to be!”

The five Autobots and Mini-Cons stopped before then and began to transform. Optimus, Smokescreen, Overload, Sparkplug, and Refute stood before them. Optimus knelt down.

“I’d like to meet with your leader, please,” he said kindly. “If that’s not too much trouble, anyways.”

Duke’s mouth flapped, while Hawk scrambled for his walkie. “Joes! Robots! White House!” he barked.

“Calm down.” President Ellison stepped out of the White House. “I’m sure we can talk this out…”

“I’m not here to fight, I assure you.” Optimus turned his gaze towards the President. “My name is Optimus Prime. These are Smokescreen and Overload, two of my Autobots, and Sparkplug, Longarm, and Refute, our partner Mini-Cons. I… would like to shed light on the situation.”

At a rocket base in Florida, a worker hummed to himself as he monitored the airwaves. Then, he heard a loud crashing, and glanced over towards the forest.

A tree fell down into the rocket base, knocked over by one Astrotrain. The injured Decepticon stumbled onto the base, his red optics looking around. “C’mon… this is where they keep ‘em, where are they?!”

“Here, I’ll go look for ya,” Starcatcher said, transforming to his buggy mode and driving ahead. Astrotrain walked after him, optics scanning the area. The security staff began firing at him, but the shots didn’t even faze Astrotrain as he made his way towards the hangar.

“...We’re gonna need some help.”

“...and so, when we detected the signal from the Exodus , we came here to ensure Megatron could not claim the Mini-Cons first. With their power at his hands alone, he could conquer this planet and our own.”

“...Well.” Ellison sighed. “I am glad that you have been able to stop them. And… the situation above…?”

“A Decepticon super-weapon, dubbed Trypticon. We managed to stop her, but… it cost us one of our own. Scavenger.” Optimus’ gaze turned to the ground. “He mentored me, and… and he will be missed.”

“I’ll be damned,” Duke whispered to Hawk. “He… he sounds genuinely hurt . I think they are alive.”

“Nonsense,” Hawk spat. “They’re machines, they…” He paused as his phone rang. “Er, one second.”

“But as of now,” Optimus continued, “Megatron remains a threat to this world, and we have discovered that another party may be playing both sides to some nefarious end.”

“Another side…?”

“All we know is that it has something to do with a guy named Sideways,” Sparkplug said. “We barely know anything about the guy, and he’s been here on Earth for nearly six months now.”

“Excuse me,” Hawk said, looking up from his call. “But we have one of your kind attacking a rocket base.”

“What…?” Optimus’ optics widened. “Decepticons!”

“We can help take them down, don’t worry.” Smokescreen flexed his fingers, and then clenched them into a fist. “And I can finally try out this new body…”

“We can handle it,” Hawk replied.

“...Take them with you,” Ellison ordered. “To be safe.”

“Fine.” Hawk sighed. “How are we even going to get there in time…?”

“Autobots, transform!” The Autobots followed Optimus’ command, and the Prime opened up his truck mode door, allowing Duke and Hawk inside. “Red, bounce us to the indicated location!”

“Bounce?” Hawk asked, before the Autobots, Mini-Cons, and humans disappeared in a flash.

The Autobots appeared on-site within moments. Optimus opened up his doors, allowing Duke and the dry-heaving Hawk to step out.

“Jesus Christ, what was that…?” Hawk muttered as the Autobots assumed their robot modes. Ahead, Astrotrain was blasting at some fighter jets in the skies. Hawk quickly composed himself. “Alright, we need to take down that… er, ‘Decepticon’. Get ‘em, Joes!”

The Skystrikers swooped down, firing missiles at the Decepticon. Astrotrain blasted them out of the sky, and then shot down one of the Skystrikers.

“Rock N’ Roll, goin’ down!” the pilot shouted as he veered off course. “I’m gonna try and land this thing!”

“Astrotrain!” The Decepticon shuttle turned around, his red optics meeting Optimus’. “Cease this attack, or we’ll be forced to stop you by force.”

“I’m just tryin’ to get a new wing!” Astrotrain shouted. “I wanna get off this damn mudball! Is that so much to ask?!”

“It is if you’re hurting people.” Smokescreen clenched his hand into a fist. “Refute, let’s test out this new body.”

“Alright!” Refute transformed to his vehicular mode, Powerlinxing with Smokescreen. The Autobot lunged forward, his excavator arm extending out and slamming into Astrotrain’s face, causing the Decepticon to stumble back with a yelp of pain.

“Huh…” Smokescreen looked down at his arm. “I… kinda preferred the cannon, not gonna lie…”

“Autobot filth !” Astrotrain charged forward, swinging at Smokescreen, only for Overload to bodyslam the Decepticon and send him flying towards Optimus. As he grew near, Optimus grabbed him by the arm, whirled him around, and slammed him into the ground, causing Starcatcher to be separated.

Optimus aimed his ion cannon at the Decepticon, with Smokescreen and Overload joining him. “It’s over, Astrotrain.”

Astrotrain glared up at the trio of Autobots. A beat passed before he finally sighed. “Fine. Whatever. Arrest me, I don’t care. I just wanna get off this planet.”

As Overload fitted stasis cuffs onto Astrotrain, Optimus joined Hawk and Duke once more. “We will take the Decepticon into our custody. He will remain there until we can give him a trial when we return to Cybertron.

“Huh.” Hawk crossed his arms. “I must admit… I was skeptical. I still am. But… you’ve proven yourselves today. The Autobots have the backing of our special operations force.”

“Do… you have like, a name for that, or…?”

Hawk let out a small chuckle at Sparkplug’s questioning. “Of course we do. We’re called G.I. Joe.”

In deep space, a lone planetoid sat, surrounded by asteroids. Upon one of said asteroids, a familiar static, liquid-like substance formed. It took shape and regained its color, revealing itself as Sideways and Mirror, holding the Mini-Con Weapons.

“It’s finally time…” Sideways said quietly. “After all these millenia, it’s time.”

The two disappeared once more…

Inside the planetoid, Sideways appeared in a central chamber. There were three slots inside, one to fit each weapon. Held over them was a Mini-Con’s corpse, with a circle on its chest that held a glowing symbol inside of it.

“See, Micronus, you ended up being useful after all,” Sideways taunted, before turning his attention to the slots. Mirror barely spared a moment to even glance at his ancestor before joining Sideways in placing the Mini-Con Weapons where they belonged.

All around the duo, systems began to power up. Lights flickered on. The planetoid began to rumble as Sideways laughed loudly.

“Finally!” he shouted triumphantly. “Your time is at hand! Rise, My Lord! Rise!”

And then, a voice only Sideways could hear bellowed out two simple words.

“I HUNGER…”

Chapter Text

“Things have really been… nice around here, all things considered,” Oval noted as he leaned against one of the hallway walls in the Ark. “Peaceful, not forced into fighting when we don’t wanna…”

“That makes one of us,” Backtrack muttered. “I feel like we’ve been on the backburner. I want somethin’ to do, dammit! I’m not some… some hippie like you.”

“...is that an Earth insult?”

“I think so?”

“Ease off the throttle, Backtrack,” Spiral snapped, glaring at her teammate. “I won’t tolerate any mouthing off of our teammates.”

“Whatever.” Backtrack shrugged. “I’m gonna go race a bit. Later!” Backtrack assumed his vehicle mode and drove off.

“That one seems a handful.”

Spiral and Oval turned to see Refute walking towards them. Spiral sighed. “He is. He’s one of the younger ones. I’ll whip him into shape yet.”

“I haven’t seen you much around,” Refute noted, turning his attention back to the team’s leader. “You been busy?”

“Eh.” Spiral shrugged. “We’ve been in and out of the Ark ever since the Dualor incident. Outside of that, we’ve kinda just been racing around the area, learning the streets. It got boring after a while, though, so we wanna get a bit more involved around here.”

“You’d need to talk to Prime and Sparkplug about that.” Refute’s gaze turned towards the hallway. “I got other things I gotta take care of ‘round the base.”

“Alright. You do you.”

As Refute rolled off, Spiral sighed. “C’mon, Oval. Let’s go talk to the guys in charge.”