> Top Of The List
>  by dudenotactive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Cybertron
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cybertron, what was once a barren wasteland now a planet full of life. Years ago, Optimus Prime made the greatest sacrifice in all of history to restore the planet back to its greatest form. Many bots were born on the planet and populated the cities that were rebuilt in the name of those who had gone through hell just to bring back their home for all Cybertronians alike. 

But it was not as peaceful as the heroes had envisioned. Decepticons still exist among them, the Autobots had made sure to bring back the police force to keep any Decepticon in check. 

Nonetheless, Cybertron had returned to being an advance society with thousands of Cybertronians walking on the surface. It was what Optimus would have wanted. Bumblebee had become an Elite Guard lieutenant and Ultra Magnus is now part of the council to keep the peace and order. Bulkhead and his pal Wheeljack were in charge of both demolition and construction, a calling true to who Bulkhead was, but not so much for Wheeljack. Ratchet had vanished, leaving only a single note to his friends and allies. Smokescreen followed Bumblebee in his steps and became a guard as well, using his skills from what he learned on earth to keep the city in order. 

As for Arcee. 

It was simply undecided yet. For years after the restoration of her planet, Arcee had bounced around, city to city looking for anyone that needed help in any way that she could. Ultra Magnus offered her a seat in the council with him, but she simply declined. It wasn't a job fitting for her, she was not as collective and wise as Optimus or Ultra Magnus. But there were some perks of being the hero of Cybertron. 

Such as being free to speed through the highway without any problems with the authorities. Unlike the Cybertronians that now inhabit the planet, she had retained her motorcycle form which she was fond of. Two wheels instead of hovering around. Sure, some Autobots had wheels, but her second form was practically a trophy itself. It was evidence of her time on Earth, a reminder of someone that was close to her spark, her family who had long since passed to the sands of time. 

She sighed deeply as she drove past the other bots, her engine roared as she dashed through. The wind cooled her engine as she throttled, the needle on her speed dial started to inch towards the right. Everything started to blur as she drove along the highway, trying her best to reach maximum speed. And as she was starting to finally clear out her mind of worries, a very familiar jet roared passed overhead. She screeched to a halt and quickly shifted to her first form, her eyes narrowed at the jet in the distance.

"Starscream." She spoke bitterly, the name lingered on her tongue with a sour taste that only made her sick to her stomach. 

Without wasting time, she transformed to pursue Megatron's former second in command. Her wheels screeched once more as her engine went full overdrive. She drove against the flow of traffic, dodging any bots that was stupid enough to stay on their lane. 

Meanwhile, Starscream had circled around and flew towards her. But instead of what she had expected, Starscream had launched his missiles towards the building far from her. Then he stared through the air as if he was trying to keep his distance before circling back again to launch another missile at a different building. 

"Damn it Starscream!" She shouted as she quickened towards the jet. 

As Starscream flew within her range, Arcee switched back to bot mode with her guns out and ready. Her eyes trained on the jet that was getting a little too close to the ground, then she blasted him right then and there landing two consecutive hits. She heard a yelp as Starscream started spinning out of control in the air before crashing into another building. She groaned loudly as she numbered the damages, but there were far more important things to do. 




Starscream groaned loudly, his optics fluttered open and he was greeted by the clear open sky through an open ceiling, which was caused by him. His large form shifted among the debris that cluttered on top of him. 

"Where did that come from...?" He asked himself as he pushed off the ground. "He couldn't have hit me from where he stood, somebody must've felt like a hero today." He growled loudly as the sound of an engine grew louder. "And that somebody is about to see why no one dares to attack me..."

Seconds later a motorbike leaps through the hole he created and landed right on his face. Starscream couldn't react in time as the bike bounced off him and shifted just before they landed. As soon as he recovered, his optics widened as they land upon the femme in front of him. 

"Arcee!?" His jaw dropped, he had not expected her here of all places. 

"Surprised, Screamer?" The blades on her arms came out and she took on a stance, preparing herself to fight if needed. And with Starscream, there will be a fight, or a chase. 

But then Starscream smiled, not a smile filled with foul intent, but an honest smile that looked strange on his face. Arcee couldn't help but cringe a little from this reaction. "Arcee!" To her own surprise, the Decepticon dropped to his knees with his servos raised in the air. "Thank the Allspark! Please, take me in, chain me up, and throw me in a secured cell!" He then moved his arms forward towards her with his wrists close together. 

"What game are you playing, Starscream!"

The 'Con shook his head. "N-no games! Just please, bring me in, throw the holopad at me if you need to! There is a psycho on my tail!"

"Really?" She raised a brow at him. "I don't believe it at all Starscream. There are hundreds of bots out to get you, so what makes this one special huh? And why were you attacking the city?"

"You don't understand! He's here, he's here to rip out my spark and drag my corpse through the streets!" He whimpered. 

Arcee sighed. She brought out a pair of cuffs and quickly placed them on Starscream's wrists. There was no objection from the seeker, he simply and gladly accepted it. 

"Oh thank you, thank you!" He repeated, and much to Arcee's disgust, the seeker began kissing the tip of her foot.

"Alright, enough!" She pulled her foot away from the groveling Decepticon. "Now, why are you just blowing up stuff?"

"He's here!" Starscream reasoned. "I don't know how, but somehow that crazy bot is here! And alive if I may add."

"Who is?"

"Starscream." Arcee whipped around with her guns and pointed them to a certain cyclops.

Arcee scoffed. "Shockwave, I should've known."

It was indeed Megatron's scientist. The large and imposing Decepticon stared at them both with his blood red eye. His large arm cannon was not pointed at her, which was strange since he didn't just blast Arcee when her back was turned. 

"Shockwave!" Starscream gasped as he hopped up onto his feet. 

"Starscream, you were supposed to meet me an hour ago. But instead, I find you here conversing with this femme." Shockwave ignored Arcee and simply took a step closer to them.

The Autobot fired a warning shot in the air and the cyclops stopped just before he could get any closer. "Easy there Shockwave. Why are you out for Starscream's spark?"

He looked at her silently for a second. "You are mistaken. I am not here for his spark, he is helping me with a project." He answered. 

"So wait, who's after him then?"

If Shockwave had a face, his would be a look of shock right now. "Starscream, are you being pursued by him?"

"Y-yes Shockwave! He's here in the city, and he's not just here for me, but you as well!" Arcee was even more confused, but she opted to listen since the two didn't seem to be a threat as of now. Whatever or whoever was chasing them must have really shook them to their core. Or maybe Shockwave was not bothered, it was hard for anyone to see his expressions. 

"Impossible. We had not left any tracks after our last encounter." The scientist spoke calmly as he lifted up his weapon. "We must hurry."

"Woah there boys, no one is going anywhere until I get an explanation!" Arcee trained her guns on the larger Decepticon, Starscream was unable to fight due to the cuffs. "And besides, both of you are going behind bars for a very long time."

"I will not be denied my freedom." Shockwave aimed his massive cannon towards the Autobot. "And I will not allow you to keep Starscream, he is... important to my plan."

"W-wait Shockwave!" Shockwave looked past Arcee to glare at Starscream who was hiding behind the smaller bot. "Think about it... if we just turn ourselves in, then our chances of survival are greater than your plan!"

The scientist scoffed. "Do you honestly believe that there is a prison on this planet strong enough to keep him out." It was not a question, merely a statement of what lengths this new threat would go to just to see Starscream's insides. His hand reached behind himself to bring out a small cylinder.

"Put that down Shockwave!" Arcee warned him. "I said put that down! And who exactly is chasing you!?"

"That... would be me."

From the opening on the ceiling came a calm yet frightening voice. It was a voice that shook the cores of not just the two Decepticons, but Arcee as well. Starscream immediately scrambled over to Shockwave's side. Arcee snapped towards the hole with her weapons ready. And from it, a Decepticon larger than Shockwave had dropped down from the hole. Starscream made true to his name and screamed like a little sparkling while Shockwave moved his cannon towards the new bot in the room. There was a strange aura coming from this particular Decepticon, Arcee couldn't really understand, but she felt her body run cold from the sight of this 'Con. 

Everything about this mech screamed "Danger!", the way he carried himself, the way he just stood there under the light from the opening on the ceiling. And she could tell that even Shockwave was frightened. The nameless Decepticon's dual cannons were intimidating for sure, but what really made Arcee feel uneasy was his face, or his mask to be accurate. 

Because on his face was the badge and symbol of the Decepticon.

"Tarn!" Starscream cowered behind the one eyed Decepticon. 

"Who!?" Arcee asked as she trained her weapons on the imposing Decepticon now named Tarn. 

"Though my entrance is a bit underwhelming... I am Tarn, it is a pleasure to meet the great Arcee of team Prime." Tarn bowed gracefully. "Sadly, you are in the way of my mission. I advise that you step aside, or else I will... move you myself."

"I'd like to see you try 'Con."

"Tarn," Shockwave shoved Starscream forward with his hand that still held the cylinder. "I wish to make a deal."

"Shockwave, how could you!?" Starscream whimpered. Even Arcee was giving Shockwave a disappointed look.

Tarn chuckled. "You wish to sacrifice him over you?" He shook his head very slowly. "Forgive me, but I must decline. Both of you are too high on my list."

"And what list is that?" Arcee inches away from the threat. 

"My list of deserters and traitors." Tarn grinned under his mask. "And Starscream had been high on the list for so long now."

Shockwave sighed. "If you do not accept, then I must continue with my plan." With one quick throw, the cylinder flew towards Tarn. 

"And that plan is?" Tarn questioned as he caught the cylinder, only for it to explode in his hand. The blast consumed Tarn in a thick smoke. 

"We must leave, now!" Shockwave pulled Starscream aside and started running for the exit. 

"Hey wait!" Arcee tried to stop them but she herself found that her own legs were running as well. Instincts were telling her to get as far as she can from Tarn for whatever reason. 

"I can't believe you tried to throw me under the bus!" Starscream nearly impaled Shockwave right then and there, but he knew that he needed the scientist right now. "How could you just do that to me!?"

"Tell me Starscream," Shockwave glanced behind him as they ran down the hall towards the exit. "how many times have you left me to die? When the captives escaped and used my Space Bridge, what did you do? When the Terrorcons were raised from the dead, where were you?"

Starscream tried to argue back, but found himself stuttering. Then he closed his lips tightly and frowned. 

"Boys, I need answers, right now!" Arcee spoke. "Who is Tarn!?"

"Tarn is one of Megatron's most loyal soldier back in the war, far more loyal than Soundwave." Shockwave explained. "But unlike Tarn or Soundwave, there were many Decepticons who chose to leave or betray the Decepticon cause. And that is where the Decepticon Justice Division comes in. They are in charge of tracking deserters and traitors alike and punishing them whatever they see fit."

"And what's worse, is that Tarn is after me!" Starscream added. "I mean, he's after us!" Starscream corrected himself once Shockwave's glare landed on him.

"And why don't you just take him down? It's a three on one!" Arcee suggested. 

"Did you not listen to us, femme! He leads the DJD, which means he is not-"

The wall in front of them collapsed and through the destruction entered a hulking Decepticon with a cavity in his chest, big enough for a smaller bot to be inserted in. And there was the big red "X" on his face as well.  

"-alone... H-hello, Tesarus..."

The giant smirked. "Starscream! I've been itching to get my hands on you all day!" The two arms on his back flipped over and reached for the defenseless seeker "Now come here and get in my belly!"

Starscream once more screamed like a little girl, luckily for him, Arcee had intervened just in time and her guns blasted his face point blank making the giant stutter back a step. Using this chance, the three went through the new opening in the wall and out of the building. As quick as they could, the three had run from the giant. Tarn had just entered the scene and stared at his targets in the distance as they ran. He looked over to the giant and sighed. 

"Are we getting rusty, Tesarus?"

Tesarus stammered for a second after his vision returned. "M-maybe... I don't know."

Just then, sirens started to fill the streets, and a dozen guards were approaching the building fast. Tarn sighed once more as he stepped back into the shadows. 

"Regroup with Kaon and Helex, Vos is in pursuit with the targets. I will follow soon after." He ordered, Tesarus quickly did as he was told and left Tarn by himself. Tarn watched the guards nearing him, he eyed every single one of them with intent, foul intent. "Now, I need to do a little bit of stretching..."
> Out Of This World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the three ran, Arcee couldn't help but question where they were heading. All she could think of was running, Tarn lingered in her mind, a sense of dread filled her spark from the mere thought of that Decepticon.

"Alright you two, you better give me more information!"

Shockwave continued running as he turned his head and stared at her. "The DJD is composed of five Decepticons, these five are specialists upgraded to take down even the toughest Cybertronian there is. Tarn and his team do not listen to logic, once you are on the list, it would be very troublesome just to bargain."

"And what's worse, is that they are relentless unless something higher on the list pops up!" Starscream squirmed a little on the spot. "And I hate to say it, but I do believe that our chances are better with you Arcee."

"Smartest thing that has ever come out of your mouth Screamer!" Arcee for once agreed with the seeker. "So how about you convince grumpy over there?"

"Hey uh... Shockwave?"

"Silence you fool, our plan comes first, then I'll reconsider if it fails." Shockwave glanced over to the Autobot. "And I will look pass our differences just this once."

"And I'll try not to call you names..." Arcee replied. 

Before Shockwave could even retort, Starscream had raised his hands up to point towards some blinking lights up ahead. "L-look! The authorities!"

"Wait," Agree came to a halt followed by Shockwave. "what are they doing here?"

"Who cares?" Starscream scoffed as he continued running towards the lights. "The farther away I get from Tarn the faster I can begin my master plan!"

"Starscream wait!" Arcee tried to stop him but he simply brushed her off and went straight towards the guards. 

"Officer! Officer! It's me, the one and only Starscream! I'm here to turn myself in and..." His steps began to slow until he just stood there with optics wide open and his jaw quivering as he attempted to form a word. 

What greeted him was not an Autobot guard, but simply sparkless corpses of what they used to be. Their bodies are riddled with holes caused by blaster shots. All shared the same fate, all but one. Corpses were littered around the empty street but one was just standing there. It shook Starscream to the core as he stared at the work of one of Tarn's lapdogs. He came to the conclusion since this was a signature style of none other than Vos.

Arcee had finally caught up with the seeker and gasped audibly once her eyes landed on the carnage, especially the corpse that still stood on his feet. She scowled as she approached the dead and inspected it. There were no blaster wounds, the obvious cause of death was on the face. Holes, dozens of them were drilled into this bot's face destroying everything. Arcee pulled down the corpse and laid it on the ground to finally rest, her spark ached that she once again meets death in the field. 

Shockwave was passive and unreadable, Starscream simply fidgeted in place as his eyes darted around warily. Reacting to the softest of noise in fear of whatever lurks in the shadows. 

"This is Vos' work." Shockwave commented. 

"Thank you for your observation Shockwave. What would we do without your intelligent mind and your one eyed face!?" Starscream scowled at his fellow Decepticon. 

"Hey!" Arcee scolded the seeker and straightened herself. "If you want to live to see tomorrow, you have to work together! So no bickering."

Shockwave eyed her carefully then shook his head. "A millennium of war, maybe more, yet you allow us to live. If the situation was not dire, then-"

"Yeah, yeah. You would have shot me by now." Arcee rolled her eyes at him. "Optimus would have helped you guys despite the past, he would even try to reason with this Tarn guy."

"Right before he smashes Tarn to pieces or the other way around." Starscream added. "Trust me, the only way we can even get through Tarn is if we have something he wants. And let me tell you what I have: Nothing!"

"Shut it Screamer, let's just move on." Arcee motioned for Shockwave to lead the way, to which he obliged. 

"Optimus would have helped us indeed..." He muttered as he walked past her. 

And just as the two followed, a slim Decepticon had stepped out of the shadows watching the three running off. He raised a small device close to his face and spoke a strange language. 

"Affirmative," Tarn's voice came from the device. "keep shadowing them and we will converge to your location. Over and out, Vos."

Vos chuckled lightly as he stored away the device, his eyes focused solely on Starscream as he ran with the others.




Shockwave came to a stop and so did the rest. Arcee stared blankly at the area the cyclops had led them to. An old unfinished construction site that was untouched for so long that the place was practically covered in cobwebs. There were some construction machines laying around and were just so dusty that Arcee was sure they would be useless without a maintenance check first.

"We are here." Shockwave said as he walked into the area.

"So what exactly do we do here?" Arcee inquired. 

Shockwave did not answer, he sauntered over to one of the vehicles and slammed his fist into it then pulled out a strange weapon. It was a small gun with a really short but thick barrel. It looked too weak to even harm a target, it also does not seem to be able to take out farther targets.

"You hid a gun... in a backhoe?"

"This construction site was left unfinished for two years, and the place you stand on right now was previously a lab of mine. I had anonymously sent a cease and desist order to the ones in charge of the operation using a deed to the land owned by me. Then I simply gathered what was left and hid my... inventions where no one would ever find them. And this is not just a gun you simpleton, this is a project that I have been meaning to finish."

"Yes, yes." Starscream rolled his eyes. "And yet they did not question it. Autobots these days are just too stupid." He said before receiving a glare from Arcee.

"I will go into details of how I succeeded in reclaiming what is mine for another day. First, I must finish my work." Shockwave placed the gun on top of the backhoe and began to tinker with it. 

"Then I bring you both to the council." Arcee added. 

"I have ways to escape imprisonment, but you may take Starscream once we defeat the DJD."

"What!?" Starscream exclaimed with disbelief. 

Arcee rolled her eyes at both mechs. "Whatever... I called for backup, they'll be here any minute now."

"I'm afraid that you three do not have a minute to spare." A blaster round slammed into Starscream's back sending him down to the ground with a yelp. 

Shockwave and Arcee snapped towards the direction and saw what Shockwave Starscream feared to see today. The DJD of all its glory. Tarn stood with a large high powered rifle in his hands while Helex, Tesarus, and Kaon stood next to him. There was also a strange rabid looking creature at their feet which snarled towards Shockwave. 

"Starscream, are you alive?" Shockwave inquired as he raised his cannon towards the DJD. 

"N-never better..." The seeker said meekly as he rose back to his feet, only to feel a little lighter than before. That's when he noticed the odd looks he was receiving from the femme and his fellow scientist. "What?"

"Later." Arcee said before taking out her guns. 

"I agree." Said Shockwave. 

Starscream began checking himself for anything that was out of place, only to find his right wing nonexistent. "My wing!"

"Yes," Tarn smiled under his mask. "I had to take the chance and ground you Starscream. This way you can't fly off to who knows where."

"I call dibs!" Kaon shouted as the Tesla coils on his shoulders charged up with electricity. 

"Only after I tear Screamer's legs off." Tesarus chuckled deeply. 

"What now? It's a five on two situation, six if we count that... drooling thing." Arcee didn't want to admit it, but it was the truth. 

"Wait, what about me?" Starscream questioned. 

"Cuffs stays on Screamer!" She said much to Starscream's disappointment.

"You are useless in your current state." Shockwave said nonchalantly. "I have a better plan, we distract them while you finish my project."

"A grand idea!" Starscream smiled as he swiped the gun out of Shockwave's hand with his cuffed ones and started inching away. "Now, how about I take this weapon and-"

A blaster shot stopped Starscream from taking another step. "Sorry Starscream, but you're not getting out of my sight this time." Tarn said as he tossed aside his rifle only for it to transform into Vos. 

Vos said something in a foreign tongue that is unknown to Arcee, which was unnerving since he was pointing a finger at her. 

"You're right Vos, this is a great day to play with some Autobots." Tarn chuckled. "So let us show the great Arcee how the DJD deals with traitors."

"Not so fast!" All optics snapped towards the entrance to find a lone Autobot standing there. He stood there proudly for all to see. "Am I late to the party Arcee?"

"Who's this shrimp?" Helex asked the others. 

"No clue." Answered Kaon. 

The Autobot's face shifted to a look of dejection. "Aw come on! It's me, Smokescreen! You know, the rookie of team Prime? One of the heroes of Cybertron? I have a statue at the capital!" The DJD sans Tarn only stared at Smokescreen, the names were not known to them and none could really give him the answer he wanted. "Welp, sometimes you can't have them all..."

"Smokescreen!? Where's my backup!?" Arcee asked. 

"Oh, they'll be here, I just thought of getting ahead of Bee and the rest to see if you were holding up. Guess I'm a little early, aren't I?"

"Yes you are." Tarn said eyeing every single one of them. "A spectator to witness our work before experiencing it after. This day just keeps getting better... Bring me Starscream alive!"

"Heck yeah!" Kaon dashed towards the seeker, palms out ready to fry the seeker with over 2000 jolts while Helex and Tesarus went after Smokescreen. 

But Arcee intercepted his attacks, two swift blades to the chest sent Kaon straight down. Vos decided to take a few shots at her with his rifle only to miss them as Arcee was quicker. 

"Starscream, get to work immediately!" Shockwave ordered, taking aim at his opponents. 

"Right away!" Starscream did not complain, he began to work as fast as he could despite being cuffed. He hunched over the weapon and tinkered as fast as he could, he needed it done before it's too late.

Smokescreen howled with excitement as two behemoths were charging straight towards him. He took out his issued pistol and shots were fired, but each shot that landed were just like tiny little pebbles for the giants. 

"Come here shorty, let's see what you're made of!" Helex said as he dived for the Autobot. 

"Hey, I'm not short! You guys are just incredibly big!" Smokescreen said before he sidestepped away. Only to meet a hulking fist to the mouth sending him sprawling on the ground. 

His hand reached for his sidearm and quickly fired away at Tesarus. The giant stuttered back as his face was pelted with shots, luckily his ally Helex came to the rescue and lifted Smokescreen off the ground with his maw wide open. Helex went straight for the head but instead had a teeth full of Smokescreen's gun. To which the Autobot paid kindly with a left hook. 

"Did you just try to bite my face!?" Smokescreen asked at the largest of the two giants. 

"What? It's what I do." Helex answered. 

Kaon dashed side to side escaping Shockwave's devastating cannon, shot after shot and none could land a single hit on the electrifying fiend of the DJD. And just as Shockwave had a clear shot of Kaon, their little pet jumped in and tackled his cannon away. 

Shockwave grunted, clearly displeased that a creature such as this had the gall to assault him. But before he could even stomp on the wretched mutt, Kaon had finally reached his destination which was right on top of Shockwave's back. Kaon wrapped his legs around the larger Decepticon tightly and raised his palms up to send a wave of electricity into Shockwave. 

Starscream looked up from his work when he heard the screams of his current ally. But there was nothing he could do since he was cuffed and unable to fight properly. Shockwave tried to pull Kaon off of him but his hand could not reach the fiend. But to Kaon's surprise Shockwave limped over to Starscream, suddenly he grabbed hold of the tip of Starscream's remaining wing. Before the seeker could even complain the wing itself popped right off much to the surprise of Kaon and Starscream before it transformed into a sword. 

"Oh... I forgot it does that..." Starscream muttered as Shockwave took a swing at the foreign object on his back. 

Kaon yelped as the blade hacked into his left shoulder causing him to release Shockwave from his lock and falling off the cyclops. The shocker glared at Shockwave with a hand on his wound, he gritted his teeth and backed away. Shockwave simply raised his cannon and blasted Kaon point blank with no question asked. Then he trained his eye towards the rest of the DJD.

Tesarus and Helex were busy with Smokescreen, Vos was really trying to get Arcee. And then there was Tarn, he simply watched from where he stood, still as a statue yet his eyes under that mask followed every step that was made. Shockwave had enough so he aimed his weapon at Tarn himself only to be tackled down by Kaon who smiled twistedly and glared at Shockwave with those empty eyes of his. 

"Shocking, isn't it!?" He quipped before raising the power up to a hundred and electrocuted Shockwave once more. 

"Room for one more?" Kaon looked up just in time to see blue. 

Smokescreen tackled Kaon off of Shockwave and threw him across the construction site like nothing. 

"Guess lighting does strike twice, huh, Shockwave?" Smokescreen jokingly said before continuing his fight with the behemoths. 

"I will tear your voice box out just for that." Shockwave threatened as he joined Smokescreen's side against Helex and Tesarus with Starscream's sword at hand.

But before anyone could even make another word, Tarn's voice boomed in the area. "Enough!"

Shockwave, Arcee, Starscream and even Smokescreen gasped before crumbling down to their knees. Shockwave tried to glare at Tarn but found that he could not move, his body and everyone else's quaked and shivered for no reason.

Arcee felt as if she was drowning, but it was impossible since they had no need to breath. Smokescreen clutched his chest as he felt a sharp pain. And Shockwave tried and failed to raise his weapon while Starscream was still hunched over Shockwave's invention. 

"Bring them together." Tarn commanded. 

Tesarus and Helex grabbed Shockwave and Smokescreen by their arms and tossed them over to Starscream who was still hunched over the weapon. As for Vos, he simply kicked Arcee towards the others and chuckled with delight.

"Now, what is about to happen is that you four will experience first hand what the DJD will do to all traitors and deserters. Starting with you, Smokescreen."

"D-don't you dare!" Arcee managed to shout. 

"What's happening!?" Smokescreen asked as he gasped for air.

"Shush, all will come to an end, so let's savor what little time you have left, Smokescreen." Tarn chuckled deeply. "So save that voice of yours, you'll need it."

"Tarn... my offer still stands..." Shockwave made one last attempt, but it was futile. 

"I don't need your offer, I have you right where I want you to be..."

The Justice Division circled them with Tarn closer than the rest. He motioned for Vos to grab Smokescreen, but something else caught his attention. 

"M-Megatron!" It was Starscream, and he had just uttered the name of their supreme leader. 

"Ah Starscream, the only time you are ever loyal to lord Megatron is when death is near. I have no idea why he kept you alive for so long." Tarn commented as he approached the seeker. 

"Megatron... He is a deserter!"

Tarn stared at him blankly. And the rest was unsure of what was currently running in his mind. He was silent but his aura was like fire burning anything that comes too close. Tarn simply raised his cannon towards Starscream and scoffed. "Megatron is dead. Died in Earth's atmosphere and was left there to rot. And you did nothing."

"Fool!" Starscream shouted as he turned to meet the dual cannons trained right on his head. Starscream and the others had regained control over their bodies yet they were still surrounded by the DJD. "Unicron who was imprisoned on Earth revived him and took over Megatron's body! But once Unicron was vanquished, he had given up on the war, leaving Cybertron to those filthy Autobots! And more importantly, allowing me to take over the Decepticon as the rightful ruler!"

"Then how come we have not heard of this!?" Tarn almost just shot Starscream right then and there but he held back. 

"Only the victors write history Tarn," Starscream grinned. "and today, that victor is me!" He said as he raised Shockwave's invention right at Tarn and pulled the trigger. Only for the gun to shake violently and flashed a series of colorful lights as it screeched. "Oh..." He said as he noticed something out of place. It was not supposed to do that.

"Starscream!" Shockwave would've scolded him for his incompetent mistake but the weapon blew up and consumed anything near it. 

"Tarn!" Helex shouted as he tackled his leader away from the blast. 

Vos and Tesarus shielded their optics as the explosion was too bright to see through. And once it faded away, there was nothing left but the weapon itself as well as a large crater. 

"What now?" Helex asked his boss as he brought Tarn back to his feet. 

"Aw, I wanted to grind their servos..." Tesarus whimpered.

Tarn scowled under his mask and stared at the crater. He growled deeply as he approached the weapon before picking it up to inspect it. Somehow it survived the blast with no damages. Not even a single scratch was on the invention. Sirens could be heard in the distance telling Tarn that the authorities are heading their way. 

"Get Kaon and call Nickel for an exfil." He sighed and lifted up a device filled with numerous names on its screen, and this is where he keeps the list. He was about to remove Shockwave and Starscream off it but something stopped him from doing so. 

The device showed vital signs that the two Decepticons were still alive somehow despite the explosion. He glanced towards the weapon in his hand then back at the device. A grin formed on his face as he puts two and two together. 

"Looks like our hunt isn't over just yet boys."
> What's A Kansas?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a land called earth, in a place called Canterlot, one girl was rudely awakened by a beeping menace. She jolted up and off her bed and earned herself a harsh awakening. Thud, it was the noise that met her as she hit the ground. With a tired and pained groan she rose to her feet groggily. 

Her hair was still disheveled and her pajamas were wrinkled. So her first task of the day was to freshen up and get into some comfortable clothes. She wasted no time preparing and brushed her hair to perfection. After that she wore a much lighter amount of clothes, black shorts and a regular pink t-shirt as well as some boots good for a long walk. Today was the day for her to finally spend some quality time with her friends. Next she grabbed her bag with all of her stuff, wallet and other things she may need. 

Such as some snacks, bug spray, sunscreen, compass, and an umbrella. Of course she wouldn't forget her tent and sleeping bag. Everything she needed for camping with her friends. They had been planning this all week, nothing like the great outdoors to broaden your perspective.

Once Sunset was sure she had everything needed she headed straight to the door where she picked up her brand new bike that she had recently bought for a low price. Then she made her way out of her home and locked the door until she returned after an exciting weekend of camping. With all things taken care of she mounted up on her bike and zoomed down the sidewalk. 

She then entered the main street and went straight towards the east, where the closest forest to Canterlot is located, the Everfree forest. Sure there are some memories that she made in the forest and would rather forget, but this weekend she will make some new ones. Sunset made sure to relax during the ride to save up some energy for the fantastic fun that Pinkie would surely give to Sunset and the rest. And just as she breezed down the main road, her eyes finally set upon the forest just ahead. 

And once her surroundings were replaced with nothing but trees, she took in that forest air, nothing like some green for your eyes. As Sunset was leisurely riding on her bike she took a sharp turn into an untouched dirt path just to the left, one that she and her friends had recently discovered. It was not used for so long that the dirt path that used to be there was covered in grass, weeds and other shrubs that exist in the Everfree. There were even some berry bushes in the middle of the path causing Sunset to swerve around it. 

There were some other obstacles such as a random deer, but Sunset had no other problem on her way to the spot Dash had chosen. And just as she arrived she was met with... nothing. It was a clearing in the forest with no signs of her friends, and right in the middle of it was the perfect place to make a campfire. And of course there was nothing and nobody, Sunset was here earlier than the rest and it goes to show, being the early bird isn't as good as it sounds in some cases. Nonetheless, she went on ahead of her friends and set up her own tent. It didn't take that long to bring it up, the stakes she hammered down with a rock was solid. 

The tent was ready before she even knew it. Now she wouldn't have to worry of getting soaked by the rain, not that it would, the weather forecast said it would be sunny for the whole weekend. And that's what they wanted. So with everything ready, and the campfire prepared for some sweet marshmallows, Sunset Shimmer waited for her friends to arrive. Best part was, it was just 10 in the morning. She got all the time in the world.

Seeing that she did, Sunset decided to go on ahead and take a little walk. Not before leaving a note in case her friends get here. With that taken care of, off Sunset went for her little stroll through this mystical forest rumored to have mysterious anomalies. But enough about that, there was nature to take in.  

There were a lot of interesting sights to behold, weird things you just don't see in the city. Especially the strange dirt road that was untouched for so long. And since curiosity got the better of her, Sunset had decided to follow it to wherever it may lead. As she silently trekked through the forest, she couldn't help but recall a few things, such as her time back at Camp Everfree. Fun times. 

And just as her trip down memory had just begun, it came to a screeching halt as she entered another clearing. Her eyes widened, shocked to discover what lies in the forest.

"Woah." She said as she stared upon what lies hidden in the forest. 

Because right in front of her was something she had not expected to see today. In the Everfree forest is an abandoned airfield.

A single rusty and old hangar sat in the distance, and the runway was full of cracks and potholes. There were shrubs and weeds all around as well as some old planes parked around, they were damaged by time and nature. Worn out, definitely unable to fly at this point. Older models if she had to guess since these planes had propellers instead of the modern engine ones. She approached the airfield curiously, she had read of these before and sometimes Sunset wondered how the humans would fare against the ponies of her world. 

And sometimes she was impressed with what humans are capable of. 

But just as she neared one of the rusty planes, she heard a loud clunking coming straight from the hangar. And against her own judgement, she decided to investigate. Upon closer look, the building was covered with moss in various areas. From what she could tell the hangar had holes everywhere as well. But further inspection of the hangar was halted as the clanging returned. Off to her left was a hole big enough for her to peer inside. And what she saw this day would be etched on her mind forever. 




"You fool!" Shockwave struck Starscream across the face with his cannon, sending the seeker sprawling on the ground. 

"Hey!" Smokescreen rushed over and pushed Shockwave back. 

"You..." Starscream seethed with anger as he stood back up. "You dare to strike me, Shockwave!?"

Arcee was quick to hold Starscream in place, though their sizes were different she was strong enough to keep the lanky seeker still. 

"Release me!" Starscream demanded. 

"Easy Screamer, let's not do something we would regret." Arcee tried her best to convince Starscream to turn the other cheek. 

"If it weren't for these cuffs Shockwave, I would have ripped you apart!"

Shockwave glared at him. "You are welcome to try, you imbecile."

"That's it!" Starscream glared at Arcee and raised his servos up. "Take these off me now, Autobot!"

"They stay on, final decision." Arcee glared back. 

Shockwave scoffed snidely. "You may take away his bonds, as long as he has no wings, then he is easier to watch over." Shockwave said as he rested the sword which was Starscream's remaining wing over his shoulder. This gesture was a sign of dominance, and it insulted Starscream so much that he seethed under the cyclops' glare. 

The seeker growled and Arcee, against her better judgement, took away Starscream's cuffs and allowed the seeker the feeling of freedom returned to his wrists. Starscream glared back at Shockwave and flexed his claws at him, he was not backing down at all. The cyclops was right, Starscream would be unable to fly again unless his broken wing is repaired. But that didn't mean he'd allow Shockwave to keep his wing.

With a mighty roar he jumped at Shockwave and dug his sharp claws into Shockwave's chest. The cyclops grunted as the sword slipped out of his hand, he struggled to pull the seeker off but Starscream's claws were just in too deep. 

"Hold on now!" Smokescreen tried to pull the seeker off the cyclops but was only awarded by a cannon to the face thanks to the larger mech. The young Autobot could only groan in pain as he dropped to his knees with his hands on his face. 

"This is just getting ridiculous!" Arcee groaned as she picked up the sword off the ground. 

As the two Decepticons struggled, Shockwave had accidentally backed into Smokescreen's hunched body and fell right through the old rusty wall of the hangar. Both 'Cons were separated as Shockwave tumbled out. Shockwave stared at the blue sky which replaced the ceiling of the hangar. He grumbled something as he sat up, but then he heard a soft gasp coming from his left. 

His head slowly shifted towards the sound, and he simply froze there. Starscream had recovered and was about to continue his assault, but he became confused as to why Shockwave was just sitting there like a statue. Then his optics followed Shockwave's example and landed them upon a small orange girl. 

"Seriously you two," Arcee stepped through the hole that was just made and glared at the two culprits. "if your lives weren't in danger then I would have shot you both myse-"

The three titans stared at the human girl, and she stared back. It was as if the world itself was frozen and time was nonexistent. No noise was made, only the wind shuffling the forest and a regular woodpecker pecking away on a tree. 

"Hey, why's everyone being so quiet?" Smokescreen asked as he pokes his head out of the hole. "Oh sweet, a human! Dibs!"

With that, the human screamed and bolted towards where she came from. 

"We've been compromised!" Shockwave quickly straightened himself and took aim at the fleeing human. Only for his weapon to be knocked off target and blasting the old plane close to the human instead. 

"You idiot!" Arcee scolded Shockwave. "We do not just shoot at humans!"

Starscream raised a digit in the air. "I have a better idea! Smokescreen, run her over!"

"I should've worded it better!" Arcee nearly hit Starscream on the face. "Smokescreen, watch these two while I go get the human."

"On it!" Smokescreen saluted. 

Arcee quickly ran after the human who had just entered the treeline, she only hoped that she would catch the human in time. And as Arcee disappeared into the forest, Smokescreen glanced over to Starscream with a disappointed look. 

"'Run her over'?" He repeated what the seeker ordered him to do. 

Starscream rolled his optics at the Autobot. "I wasn't the one who called 'dibs' on an organic life form."

"Hey, Arcee and most of team Prime had human buddies. I just wanted my own."




Sunset leaped over a bush that was in the way. Fear and confusion filled her mind and heart as she dashed through the forest. She had no idea of what those four were, but it was obvious that they were not friendly, it was evident when one of the planes on the airfield was reduced to a smoldering piece of metal. And what's worse was that one of them, the one who sounded female, was after her. 

She risked a glance back to see the giant slicing away at the canopy with a gigantic sword. Especially when Sunset made an attempt to lose the giant in the denser side of the forest only for it to cut through like butter. As Sunset ran, she pulled her phone to call for help, but much to her horror she had forgotten to charge her device the night before. 

"Stop!" The giant ordered her, but Sunset knew better than to do what some alien wants. Who knows what she'll do if Sunset ever did stop. 

And just as she entered the clearing where she set up camp, her eyes landed upon her bike. Her only chance to escape was just a few feet away and she needed to hurry. But just as she was half way, a blue light flew past her and decimated her bike, leaving nothing but a single smoking wheel that just bounced off to who knows where. 

"My bike!" Sunset exclaimed. 

But her concern for her property was replaced for the concern for her life as the giant finally caught up with her. The titan loomed over her, it was almost as tall as the trees that surrounded them. Sunset could only watch as the giant planted her sword down and kneeled to a lower level. 

"S-stay back!" Sunset warned the titan.

"Easy now," The giant raised her hands in the air. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I just want to talk."

"You're not gonna attack me? Like your friends?"

The giant machine frowned. "For your information, those two scary looking mechs are not my friends. Anyways, the name is Arcee."

Sunset recoiled back a little when Arcee brought her robotic index finger towards Sunset. But she gathered up the courage and wrapped the tip of Arcee's finger and lightly shook it. 

"I'm uh... Sunset Shimmer..." She introduced herself to the giant. 

"Alright Sunset, nice to meet you." Arcee smiled as she raised herself back to her feet. "Why don't we talk back at that old airfield so we can straighten this out?"

"I don't know..." Sunset did not trust Arcee just yet, it was common sense to be doubtful around such an anomaly. 

"I understand how you feel, I mean, even I would be cautious around some aliens from another planet." The way Arcee spoke was soft and understanding, it was as if Sunset wasn't talking to a machine but a living creature just like her. 

"Aliens?" Sunset received a nod from confirming Arcee. "Alright... But you guys won't... lay eggs in my chest, are you?"

Arcee smirked. "If I was gonna do that, then I would've done it by now. Now Hop on."

"What?" Sunset was confused even more. 

But confusion turned to amazement as Arcee's body shifted into a blue motorcycle. 

"Woah!" Was all Sunset could say as she stared at the outstanding bike that now stood in front of her. 

"Well kid?" Arcee waited for an answer. To which Sunset wasted no time and accepted the offer. "Hold on, this will be a lot quicker than your bicycle!"




"So," Sunset sat on top of an old metal desk inside the hangar, she glanced over to the larger bots curiously. "You guys are from a race of advanced mechanical life forms and all four of you are war veterans."

"Correct." Shockwave simply answered. 

"And you guys were in a war with each other? That's just crazy, I mean, wow."

Smokescreen nodded. "Yeah, it's a lot to take in. And I was asleep for most of it."

"I understand that it's a lot to take in, and it may be something you might not have expected before, but I assure you that we mean no harm." Arcee assured Sunset. 

"Then if you guys restored peace and order to your home, then why are you all here on earth? And why exactly are you four together?" Sunset wanted to comprehend the whole thing. 

Starscream scoffed. "You may know from your puny little human history that not every soldier is loyal, and there were hundreds of Decepticons who chose to run. That's where the Decepticon Justice Division comes in. They punish and execute any Decepticon that is on their list."

"And you two are on it?"

"A mistake that Tarn must reconsider." Starscream growled. "For you see human, my master had left the Decepticons and surrendered Cybertron to those filthy Autobots. Allowing me to take over the Decepticons as the rightful ruler! I am lord Starscream, you may address me as such."

Shockwave palmed his own face once Starscream was done with his little speech while Arcee rolled her optics at him. Smokescreen only found it amusing. 

"Then why is this Tarn guy after you?"

Smokescreen quickly raised his servo in the air. "Oh, it's because Starscream had tried to kill his boss numerous times but always failed terribly!"

Starscream sent a glare at the Autobot. 

"And now that Megatron is no longer in control, the DJD had seen it as an opportunity to eliminate Starscream for all the crimes he committed." Shockwave added. 

Sunset had many more questions to ask, but then her mind reminded her about Twilight and the rest of her friends. She pulled her phone to check if she had any messages but was again reminded that her phone was out of batteries. 

Starscream became aggressive when he saw Sunset's phone. "Put that down human!" Starscream demanded as he aimed his missile at her. 

"Starscream!" Arcee stepped in the way and glared at the seeker. 

"Wait!" Sunset stood up and raised the phone away from her. "I was just gonna check to see if my friends contacted me!"

"That's how it starts!" Starscream snarled. "First they learn about us, then it spreads like wildfire. And finally Tarn could easily pinpoint our location once he comes to your planet!"

"I'm sorry," Sunset tried not to be intimidated, but it was hard when someone has a missile pointed eight at you. "and it's alright, I forgot to charge my phone anyways."

"Here, let me help you with that." Smokescreen offered to help and transformed to his alt mode. "Hop in and just use the charger port, I don't mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I have some energon to spare."

"What are you doing!?" Starscream exclaimed. 

"Starscream." Shockwave spoke.

"What!?" He snapped at his fellow Con. 

Arcee took a step forward, making sure she was right in Starscream's face. "He's saying that maybe you should try and be a bit trusting towards Sunset."

"Really Shockwave? You would trust an organic like a filthy Autobot!?"

Shockwave sighed weakly. "I have promised that if our original plan fails, then I will join your alliance with the Autobot for the sake of survival. In numbers we have a stronger chance to succeed against Tarn. And it would be best if we follow their example, it was with the human factor that helped them against us during our battles on earth."

"Right." Starscream growled. "Fine, be that way. Wait... where's my wing?"

Back with Sunset, she was currently regretting not charging her phone. As she sat there in the passenger seat of Smokescreen's alt mode, she read a message on her phone with dread in her heart. The message which came from Rainbow Dash read "Hey Sunset, I'm really sorry but the rest wouldn't be able to make it, same with me. So we have to cancel our camping trip. Hope you can fill in your free time with something awesome."

She sighed deeply and leaned on the dashboard, as she did so she did nothing but listen to the conversation the machines were having. She was curious to learn more about them and wanted to find out what made them tick. 

"You know, Bee would have really loved it to be here right now!" Smokescreen was talking to Arcee. 

The femme nodded. "Yeah, Bee would kill to be here, even just for a week. Well maybe not kill I guess."

"You know, Knockout would also feel the same." Starscream added to the conversation. "As much as he despised the inhabitants, he was fond of street racing and humiliating the humans. Where is Knockout anyways?"

Arcee shrugged her shoulders. "Last I heard he was pursuing a medical profession as well as entering local car shows. He was honestly well respected back at the capital."

Starscream hummed. "Makes me wonder what he is up to now."




Knockout was slammed into the wall by two hulking giants. "Hey, watch the paint!" Knockout snarled. He stared at his assailants and felt a nagging feeling that he knew them from somewhere. He never thought that he would be cornered in some alley in the city by some two behemoths.

"That is the least of your concerns." Knockout's optics widened as they landed upon the Decepticon symbol which glared intently at the medic. 

"Tarn!" He exclaimed. "W-what are you doing here!? I thought y-you were dead!"

"I am very much alive, Knockout. As for you, there could be a chance that you will not be." Tarn approached Knockout with quiet steps which scared Knockout with the way Tarn walked. 

"Wait, I am innocent! I didn't do anything!"

Tarn scoffed. "History says otherwise."

Knockout started to stutter as he feared for his life. "Please, don't kill me!"

Tarn clicked his tongue. "Knockout, there is no use in begging. But I do have a proposition for you."

"Y-you do?"

Tarn only grinned as he motioned Helex and Tesarus to release Knockout. "Yes, and if you accept then I will remove you from the list."

"Really!? Then of course! I'll take the offer!" Knockout was quick to accept, but he was blind jumping too quick. It was all in the name of self preservation. 

"Good." Tarn smiled as the Peaceful Tyranny flew over their heads and hovered just a few feet away from the mechs. That was one Decepticon, Tarn would need a few more, and he has a list of all the crew members of the Nemesis.
> Attention All 'Cons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shockwave was busy fixing the hole he had made on the wall of the hangar with his blowtorch, one of the many tools the scientist had on him, the others were also doing work as he did so. Starscream, who had his wing returned, was simply gathering old technology for Shockwave to use. Arcee was trying to contact Cybertron with any device she had on her which predictably failed, Shockwave had even told her a minute before yet she chose not to listen. 

As for Smokescreen, he was doing something that doesn't help the group at all. The Autobot was busy with the human and was helping her relocate her camp to the airfield. It was utterly pointless and illogical that Shockwave was tempted to correct the young Autobot. But he knew that Arcee would simply punish Shockwave if he crossed the line. 

Once Smokescreen was done he simply sat down next to Sunset right in front of the campfire. The little human brought out a bag of marshmallows, a snack for the organic creature, but a nightmare for mechanical beings like Shockwave since these marshmallows could easily gunk up their joints. 

The cyclops brought his hand to the holes in his chest, he would need proper materials to fix himself which brings him to the important problem that needed to be solved, they had no energon. 

Their previous experience showed that Earth had some energon, but they were extremely rare to find. That's where Starscream comes in, the seeker had knowledge of untapped energon veins on Earth. One of the reasons he didn't just behead the seeker right then and there. 

"Alright!" Arcee called for their attention. "Looks like we are on our own. Can't reach anyone, and I fear that we could be stranded here for a long time."

"Oh bummer," Sunset shared their feeling of distraught. "I wish I could help."

Smokescreen simply smiled and shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. If anything, this can totally be an epic adventure!"

"Yeah Sunset, there are loads of things to be worried about, but we gotta stay positive." Arcee said as she sat down next to Sunset. 

"But what about food? Do you guys even eat?" Sunset inquired. 

"That will not be a problem." Shockwave spoke up as he approached. "If we are accurately on Earth, then that would mean that there are energon veins that Starscream would know of."

"Did someone say my name?" Starscream entered the conversation with a pile of junk in his arms. "I told you all to address me as lord Starscream."

"I didn't vote for you." Smokescreen quipped. 

Starscream grumbled as he walked away from the fire. And just then, Sunset's phone buzzed to life, she picked it up and checked who would call her so late at night. On the screen was Twilight's name and picture showing who was calling her. Unbeknownst to Sunset, the machines were curious and had taken a peak on who was on the phone and caught a short glimpse of Twilight. 

"Hey Twilight!" Sunset quickly answered. "What's up?"

"Sunset, I came to check on you here at your place but you aren't home!" Twilight was obviously worried. 

"Oh, yeah," Sunset chuckled awkwardly. "funny story. I forgot to charge my phone and just recently received Dash's message. Kinda too late though since I already kinda set up camp."

"Oh, are you alone?"

Sunset glanced over to her new acquaintances. "No, I met some interesting people and they are... friendly."

"Well that's great! So you're going to camp the whole weekend?"

"Yeah, I got some food so no problem. Just want to get to know these interesting people."

"Well I hope that you keep safe. Good night."

With that, the call ended. But something else was in everyone's mind once Sunset was finished with her phone. "What?" She asked, noticing the odd look on Smokescreen's and Arcee's faces. 

"Why was your friend... pinker than usual?" Smokescreen tilted his head to the side. 

"What do you mean?"

"Humans aren't supposed to be as pink as the one on your phone." Arcee explained. 

"And the color of her hair," Shockwave began. "is that natural?"

"Yeah," Sunset nodded. "just like mine."

The Cybertronians recoiled with shock. "What!?" Smokescreen exclaimed. 

Arcee couldn't believe what she was hearing right now. "Woah hold on now, I know that I have been away from Earth for so long, but I'm pretty sure humans just don't get multicolored hair."

"I don't understand, humans always had colorful hairs." Sunset was even more confused. "My friend Rainbow Dash literally has rainbow colored hair. Throughout human history and po- um... stuff, a lot of people had different colored skin as well."

"No..." Shockwave muttered, but it was loud enough for all to hear. 

"What?" Sunset asked.

"If what you say is true, then that could only mean that this planet is not the one we know of." Shockwave explained. 

"That would mean..." Arcee gasped. "There is a chance that there's no energon on the planet!"

"What are we gonna do!? We're gonna starve!" Smokescreen nearly broke down and started panicking. 

"Hey look," All eyes turned towards Starscream who held a glowing blue crystal in his hand. "I found a human mine filled with energon nearby!"

"Oh thank the all spark!" Smokescreen sighed in relief. 

"That is right," Starscream smirked as he approached with the crystal. "praise me, I deserved it."

"Whatever Screamer, we have bigger concerns." Arcee crossed her servos over her chest. 

"What's more important than me, Autobot?"

Arcee sighed. "This place might not be where Unicron is."

There was a moment of silence, then the seeker simply chuckled. "I knew that, it was obvious with the inhabitants!"

"What do you mean you 'knew'?"

"You are foolish, Autobot!" Starscream laughed, confusing the others. "I knew from the start ever since I laid my optics on the human that is currently with us. Her skin color is much too orange than ordinary humans, her hair has two colors instead of one, which was obvious by the way. Then there's the stars above us, it looks like the ones you would see on Unicron's Earth, but there are a few constellations missing. And most important of all is that this human and the world we stand on gives off a strange aura. As if there's something inside you, Sunset Shimmer." Starscream hissed as he glared at Sunset.

Sunset shrunk under his gaze, he literally towered over her with his titan size. Those crimson red orbs burned deeply into her soul, as if it was trying to understand what she truly is. 

"I am impressed, Starscream," Shockwave was honestly also surprised that the seeker managed to figure it out before he did. "but how did you know that her skin was natural as well as her hair?"

Starscream simply rolled his eyes and began to walk away. "I am the air commander and I lead the seekers, it is our job to be observant!"

They waited until Starscream entered the hangar with the energon crystal, Shockwave would also follow the one winged seeker to offer his help on liquefying the crystal, even if they did not have the required tools for it. 

But something got Arcee thinking, it was a surprise to be on a planet similar to Earth, but it was strange that there was energon on the planet as well. No matter how much she tries to solve the question, she ends up in a dead end. There was something odd about it, Arcee just needs to know how.




"And then this idiot had the gall to touch me!" Knockout raised his servos in the air to show how disgruntled he was with the event. "What's worse, he fraggin scratched my paint!"

Nickel, who had been leading the medic through the Peaceful Tyranny towards the hangar bay for an important  meeting. The hallway was empty, there were no sound other than the metallic footsteps from the larger of the two Decepticons while the other only used her wheels. The DJD medic was irritated by the larger bot, he had been talking for twenty minutes now and he showed no signs of stopping. 

Knockout still continued retelling his encounter with some Autobot when he was buying oil from the store. Nickel gritted her teeth as he went on and on. She would've silenced him, but Nickel was given clear orders not to harm their new addition to the "team". She scoffed at the idea of working with some egomaniac with fixing any of the DJD crew if they ever get hurt in the field. Much less when her fellow medic was also a stinking turncoat. 

"So," Knockout stopped telling his dumb story and Nickel praised Primus for it but she prepared herself for the question that will come. "how did a small gal like you get a seat in the DJD?"

"I killed a traitor who looks exactly like you." She answered with sarcasm. 

"Ooh, so spicy!" Knockout chuckled. "You know, you reminded me of an Earth creature- what was it again? Oh yeah, a chihuahua! Extremely small, but very fierce!"

Nickel snapped a glare towards Knockout and snarled. "Compare me to an organic creature again and I'll shove my fist in your aft so far up, that I'll be knocking your teeth out of your mouth!"

Knockout was unfazed by her threat and simply smirked. "Right, I don't doubt you, but honestly I'm pretty sure you'd need a step ladder first, sweet cheeks."

"Sweet cheeks?" She scoffed. "Is that an Earth slang you've picked up? Really, why did Tarn pick you of all Decepticons?"

"Knockout,"

Both Cons flinched upon hearing Tarn's voice, fear overridden Knockout's emotion as he turned to meet Tarn who was standing behind Knockout with his servos crossed. 

"I'm impressed that you have the bearings to even speak with our medic in such a way, but I must advise that you do not antagonize her or else she'll make true with her threat." Knockout went stiff as a statue when Tarn leaned closer to his face. "Speak to Nickel with respect, or else I'll throw you back on the list."

Knockout smiled nervously under Tarn's gaze. "I-I was just messing around Tarn! It's not like I see Nickel here as someone below me, she's my senior! I truly respect her as a model Decepticon! And I would never ever think of even harming her!"

"Good." Was all he said before turning away and retreated down from where they came from. "Remember Nickel, he's your partner now so try not to break him."

"No promises." She said frowning towards Knockout. 

"Just please try. Now go on and take him to the others, I'll be there in a few minutes. Still got some things to do."

After Tarn turned the corner, the two were finally alone. Nickel turned to face Knockout and she received a mischievous look from the larger Con. "Shut up." Nickel sneered. 

"So, what did he mean 'others'?" He asked as they continued towards their destination. 

"Let me be straightforward, you aren't the only Decepticon Tarn had given a second chance. Most of the time they just grind anyone on the list, but sometimes they make an exception if they proved useful, like you."

"Oh, guess I won't be alone on this, huh?"

Just as their conversation ended, both arrived at the hangar and they stood just close enough for the ramp to go down. As it does, Knockout had finally learned that they were on a small world of grey and craters, which meant that they were probably on the moon or some dwarf lifeless planet. But that wasn't the thing he noticed first in truth, it was the numerous red orbs that glared his way. As the ramp touches the cold planet, Knockout felt all eyes on him, how their glares burned into him like a raging flame.

Knockout chuckled awkwardly and walked off the Peaceful Tyranny leaving Nickel's side, the eyes followed his every move even after he had touched the ground. He simply stood there as the center of attention. Much to Knockout's relief, the eyes moved away as if they were satisfied with what they saw. 

Knockout was honestly surprised to see a large gathering of Decepticons, he scanned through the very diverse group with a cautious eye. There were some familiar faces such as a large number of Vehicons, and even some Decepticons from the war. One who was notable was a one eyed mech with a silver chain around his neck, Nitro Zeus was his name if Knockout recalled, and that Con was currently flexing and showing off his literal guns with a number of spectators.

But since he was so occupied with watching Nitro showing off his metal, Knockout was unable to see what's in front of him and accidentally bumped into someone. A big green Decepticon sneered at Knockout, two cannons were on his back and a pair of four barreled missile launchers on top of both shoulders. Finally there was a very intimidating pair of claws on his left hand which had fresh energon on the blades. 

As soon as he landed his optics on the giant, Knockout already knew who this 'Con was. "Brawl?"

"You must be Knockout," Brawl growled. "heard you were considered a hero back on Cybertron. How's that going for ya?"

"I get free oil baths and waxing for life, other than that, everything's great!" Knockout chuckled. "So what's a good tank like you doing here? And where is your crew anyways? I don't think I see them."

"My reputation precedes me, I guess." Brawl scoffed. "No clue, Swindle went on to who knows where as some space merchant while the rest of us rotted in prison, separated from each other. Luckily Tarn found me after breaking out, sadly not the others."

"Oh, so sad for the Combaticons." Knockout patted Brawl's shoulder with empathy, which the tank disliked. 

"How about Breakdown, heard he works for you and I'm actually itching for a rematch." Brawl slammed his fist into his open palm to show how eager he was for a fight. 

Knockout sighed heavily. "Sadly, Breakdown and his gentle touch are no longer with us. Taken by a dirty traitor, oh how I wish to see her squirm right now."

"My condolences," Brawl's appearance shifted from rough to soft after hearing Breakdown's fate. "he was a good 'Con, and a damn great fighter."

"I know." Knockout smiled. "Say, you wouldn't be interested in a partnership are you?"

Brawl paused for a second, then silently nodded but he was a bit unsure if he really was interested.

"Perfect!" Knockout clapped his hands. "First question though: How gentle are those hands?"

"It isn't." Brawl answered. 

Knockout shrugged his shoulders. "We can work on that later, stick around and I can help with those dents." Before Knockout could even list the benefits of working under him, his optics landed on a tall red femme with automobile features and a pair of wings. "Woah, who's that hot rod?"

Brawl followed his gaze, then chuckled. "Who, Shatter? I just met you, but I'm helping you out already. My advice? Forget it."

"Never hurts to try, my good friend." After making sure that sure that he had no speck of dust on him, the medic sauntered over towards the imposing femme.

As he and his new partner made their way towards Knockout's latest interest, Knockout came to notice that she was accompanied by three other Decepticons, ones who looked strangely like Starscream. Two of the Starscream clones were in shades of purple, one of which had blue while the other was just plainly purple. The third jet was simply red.

They looked almost the same as the seeker in subject, but the two purple ones were far smaller and were femme in build, while the other was just taller. Their faces were different, showing that they weren't merely clones but a whole different bot. While the mech had a cone for a head, the two femme wore helmets which fitted them nicely. And lastly two of them had missiles on their arms just like Starscream, but one of the femme jets had machine guns instead, making her much more unique. 

As he approached, Shatter slowly turned to meet him and Brawl as if she was expecting the medic. "Hey there, the name is Knockout, Hero of Cybertron. I'm kind of a big deal."

"Knockout," Shatter's voice made the mech shiver. "I would say it's an honor, but I do not appreciate your choices as a traitor who joined the Autobots of all factions."

"Oh don't be like that," Knockout chuckled. "times changed, I'm here right now to correct my mistakes!"

"Even so, you are an insult to the Decepticons. I am against Tarn's decision of bringing you here and it sickens me that you of all 'Cons have the bearings to speak to me." Shatter faced the Decepticons she was conversing with. "I will take my leave now, my offer still stands." With that, she left, but not before scoffing at Knockout one last time. 

"Playing hard to get, huh?" Knockout smirked. 

"Yeah, I don't think she likes you." Brawl pointed out. "Besides, I doubt Dropkick would let you near her."

Brawl's words did not reach Knockout, he was too busy appreciating Shatter's beauty. "Did you see her engine? What I would do just to feel it purr, really scrumptious."

"So, are you related to Starscream?" Brawl growled deeply as he faced the trio of jets, there was an obvious hostility in his voice which Knockout made a note of.  

The one with the guns scoffed. "Frag no! I would rather be dead than be related to that coward!"

"Good." Brawl relaxed a bit. 

"They call me Slipstream, this is Nova Storm and Thrust." Slipstream made an introduction for her crew. "You a traitor, or a deserter?"

"More like wrongly imprisoned." Brawl answered.

"And what's a 'Con like you hanging out with this Autobot lover?" She sent a burning glare at Knockout for simply being there. 

Knockout rolled his eyes. "I'll have you know that I am here to make things right. Honestly, with the way you're acting I much prefer Starscream over you, wanna be."

"Wanna be!?" Slipstream nearly jumped at Knockout for that remark if it weren't for her underlings. "I am Slipstream, and I currently have Starscream's seekers under my command! I am much more capable than that fool in every way possible!"

"And yet, he was Megatron's second, and you aren't." Knockout pointed out. 

"That's it!" Slipstream shrugged off the seekers that held her back and trained her weapon at Knockout only for Brawl to blindside her with a punch that sent her down.

"No fighting." The larger bot warned her. 

"Thank you, partner." Knockout chuckled as he retreated behind the tank for safety.

"I didn't do it for you, I'm just making sure no fight breaks out. I don't think Tarn would want that." 

"Sure. But just a minute ago you were eager to meet Breakdown, but alright then, Brawl."

"This isn't over Knockout!" Slipstream promised to him as her Seekers helped her up. With nothing else important to do, the trio left to be as far as possible from Knockout. 

"Well ain't she a bundle of fun." Knockout commented. 

Before Brawl could even speak his mind, a giant projection of Tarn himself had been created right in the middle of the Decepticons. The imposing leader of the DJD was the center of attention and every Con waited patiently for what's to come. 

"Greetings, my fellow Decepticons..."
> Trust Issues
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset awoke with a jolt, she shot up from her sleeping bag as the ground quakes. Quickly, she gathered her thoughts and left her tent to investigate the cause of this strange anomaly. She shielded her eyes as she got out, the morning sun was glaring right at her as it rose over the treeline. Then everything that had transpired yesterday had returned to her memories, Sunset remembered that she had met some extraordinary people from beyond the stars. The two Autobots who uphold peace and justice, Arcee the quick and skillful warrior who fought alongside other Autobots in a war that lasted eons. Smokescreen, the youngest of the group but older than Sunset by a million years, maybe more. 

Then there were the Decepticons, she barely knew them but from what she had learned from the Autobots is that Starscream was a conniving liar who would kill anyone who opposed him given the chance. In short, he is a Decepticon. Lastly was Shockwave, the biggest one in the group, from what she knows, Shockwave is a bot of science. He is cold and calculative. His crimes were inhuman, something that Sunset knew too well in the history of this planet. The cyclops did not like it that the Autobots shared his projects to Sunset, a mere human who would never understand. And from what Sunset did understand was that Shockwave was playing with things he should not be tampering with. 

And speaking of the bots, they were currently inside the hangar with the doors wide open for all to see. Inside, the two Autobots and Shockwave were gathered around Starscream's sleeping body, or as they had called it "recharging". It was a strange sight, the seeker was on his stomach and Shockwave was tinkering with something. 

"Hey guys, what's going on?"

The two Autobots quickly shushed her to which Sunset complied, then Arcee simply motioned her over and Sunset walked over to them as quietly as possible. 

"So what's up?" Sunset whispered.

"Shockwave is fixing Starscream's wing." Arcee explained and Shockwave was indeed fixing the seeker's wing. The scientist was putting a newly built wing onto Starscream's back using a series of tools, not just a simple blowtorch. Shockwave was sure to be as careful as he could as he guided the blowtorch down, fusing the wing and the seeker. 

"Then why is he asleep? Is it like operating on a human?" Sunset asked the Autobot.

"No, not really. In some cases, yeah, but we just wanted him to be out cold for..." Arcee stopped, her eyes glanced between Sunset and Starscream, she was reluctant to explain their true intention but she feared Sunset would never understand.

"For a fail-safe." Shockwave finished for the Autobot. 

"So I had to hit him with my issued taser!" Smokescreen gleefully waved the object in the air, a giant taser which crackled to life. If a human were to be on the end of this taser, Sunset was sure they would be fried from the inside. 

"Wait, fail-safe? What exactly do you mean?" She asked Shockwave to explain. 

"Starscream is not one who should be easily trusted, it is only logical to make sure that he does not turn against us." Shockwave gave her their reason. "So that is why we will plant an explosive deep within him, close enough to destroy his spark."

"But that's wrong!" Sunset snapped at him, shocking the Cybertronians. She took on a horrified face as she stared upon the machines in front of her. Never had she thought of something like this, especially from someone like the Autobots. 

Arcee kneeled in an attempt to be on Sunset's level. "Listen, you may not have known him as long as we did, but Starscream is the kind of bot that would sacrifice his own troops to save himself. I just want to be sure that he would never try anything against us. And trust me, when the chance comes, he will stab us all in the back."

"But what if he doesn't!?"

"Then we remove the bomb if he ever shows any improvement, but I'm not gonna risk it." Arcee sighed as she rose back to her feet. "And I will make sure of it that Starscream will be brought to justice for all the crimes he committed in the war."

Sunset looked away, unsure what to think about this whole thing. She knows that he was evil in many ways, but everyone deserves a second chance, just like her. 

"You shouldn't worry about it Sunset," Smokescreen spoke, trying to assure the human girl that everything is alright. "Starscream is the kind of guy that is always scheming. Heck, I'm sure he's scheming in his sleep right now! Listen." Smokescreen leaned close to Starscream's face and listened closely to the unconscious seeker. 

Shockwave paused his work to glare at Smokescreen for playing around, especially near him while he was doing something important, but he continued after. Not caring about the Autobot and his antics.

Sunset sighed, she sat down next to Smokescreen to join him on this silly moment. She stared at Starscream's face, it was so passive and normal, just like a human's. Sunset never thought about it for the first time since they all met, they are almost alike in this scenario. She and these machines are in a world not their own, but Sunset had come to accept this world as her own. Yet she was still an alien among these humans. 

She looked over to Smokescreen, he reminded her of Rainbow Dash, young and energetic. Eager to be the best, yet Smokescreen was not easily swayed by the opinions of others. He was calm and collective, and most importantly, skillful. 

Shockwave, he was a hard one, the 'Con was smart and cold hearted. His intelligence was beyond her, he could even be smarter than Twilight, and that's something Sunset was afraid of. She would wonder about what if these two brainiacs would come together, perhaps Shockwave would simply see Twilight as an inferior species that does not deserve his time and logic. 

Sunset could tell that Shockwave never liked her at all.  

Then her mind wander over to Arcee, the femme proved too hard to read with her rough exterior and emotionless expression, as if she was trying to out do Shockwave with his style. Only showing her truer self whenever she speaks with Sunset. The human could only wonder about what was running in that Autobot's mind right now. 

Lastly, there was Starscream. 

"Please Windblade..." The seeker stirred a little and was currently talking in his sleep. "I don't want to be queen of Cybertron... why are you king...?"

Smokescreen stifled a laugh and tried not to fall as he shook with delight. Shockwave simply ignored the ramblings coming from the seeker and continued with his work. As for Arcee, she silently chuckled a little from how ridiculous the words that came out of Starscream. It was at this moment that Sunset felt a bit much closer to these cold machines, how they acted was a sign that they were practically human. But there was this thought, the idea of placing an explosive in another is what separates her and these automatons who have fought in a war.




Arcee zoomed through the highway in her alt mode with Sunset right on top of her, both heading straight back to Sunset's town. "Thanks again Arcee!" Sunset said as they drove by a few cars, Arcee was just quicker than Earth automobiles.

"No problem kid. Besides, it was me who blew up your bike." Arcee snickered. "Just my way of saying sorry."

Sunset shook her head. "Nah it's fine, I got that bike for a cheap price."

"Still... If there's anything I can do, just say the word."

"Well," Sunset paused for a bit. "maybe you can let me come by and hang out?"

"Hang out with giant robots? Sure why not, I could use the company. Smokescreen is great and all, but sometimes he's just a bit too energetic. And don't get me started with those 'Cons."

"Awesome! Hey, you can drop me over there, I can walk back to my place after." She pointed at an alleyway just ahead, away from curious eyes.

"Sure kid," Arcee swerved towards the sidewalk, she pretty much did the driving herself seeing as Sunset had no skill with the motorcycle, and the fact that she did the driving when she was with Jack. 

"Hey Sunset!" And just as Sunset was about to hop off of Arcee, someone called out to her from the mouth of the alley. 

Arcee became silent, Sunset was afraid of turning to see who spoke, but from the voice alone she already knew who it was. "Hey Flash! What are you doing here?" An awkward smile now on her face as she greeted him. 

Flash Sentry of Canterlot High. Not a very great title like Trixie's, but it's what most people knew him of. "Oh, I was heading to this new fast food shop called KO Burger, but then I saw you." His eyes then wandered away from hers and went down, down to the beautiful blue machine in front of him. "And this sweet ride."

"Y-yeah! Sweet ride..." She stuttered. 

"So where did you get her? This bike of yours seems like it cost a lot." Flash hand ran across the dashboard, inspecting the bike with a fascinated look. 

"The bike? Well... I kind of got it from... a friend?" 

"Awesome, you should let me have a spin with it sometime."

"Sure, I'm free tomorrow after class!"

Flash smiled. "See ya then, Sunset." He said before leaving. 

Sunset watched as he left, her eyes concentrated on that blue head of his. Once he was gone, she finally exhaled all the air she was keeping in.

"Who's that, your boyfriend?"

Sunset flinched once Arcee started talking, scared out of her own shoes if possible. She was quick to shoot down Arcee's question with a big "No!"

Sunset flushed red a bit and cleared her throat, straightening herself. "He isn't. Well, he was, but... Uh..."

"Easy kid, I get it." Arcee chuckled. "Was he a jerk or something?"

Sunset sighed weakly. "No, he was honestly... great. It was more like he broke up with me because I used to be... mean to others."

"But seeing how he acted earlier, seems like you and him are fine now, and you're much nicer than a lot of humans I met."

"Yeah, we're friends now, and both of us are behind all that."

"One problem though, you kinda promised him a joyride tomorrow."

She gasped upon learning what she did. "Oh no... Arcee, I'm really sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. Reminds me of the old days with a friend of mine." The Autobot reassured her. 

"You don't have to show up, I can just say that you had a flat or something."

"Like I said, kid, it's fine. You and that Flash guy should have a little fun sometimes. And even if you did meet a bunch of aliens, I'm sure your weekend was boring. Some wind behind your back would really be an exciting moment."

Sunset couldn't help but feel a little warm inside, she couldn't just decline anymore, the Autobot insisted with that ride. If Arcee doesn't mind, then why not, Sunset could hang out with Flash tomorrow and maybe she could learn more about Arcee after. 

"And if you ever want to, you can visit us back at that old airfield whenever you feel like. Just give me a call so I can pick you up."

"Thanks Arcee, but..."

The bike shifted a little. "What's on your mind?"

"Can I tell my friends about you guys?"

There was a minute of silence before Arcee could speak. "Sorry Sunset, but Starscream wouldn't like that, he's already tense around you. Maybe next time, when the chance comes."

Sunset sighed, but then smiled. "Thanks, guess I'll see you tomorrow." She said before hopping off of her.

"See you too, kid."

With that, the two went their separate ways, both making sure that no one would see them as they leave the alleyway. 




An ear piercing beeping screeched through the air as a purple monitor blinks alight continuously in a dark room. This goes on for minutes before the door opens, flooding the room with a red light. And in came a mech who had the Decepticon badge displayed on his chest. The 'Con's other features was covered in shadows, but the two square lenses on his face glowed deep purple giving him an intimidating aura. 

Slowly and sluggishly, the Decepticon dragged his feet towards the monitor and groaned tiredly as he approached it. "Honestly if that's you Astrotrain, then I'm gonna have to cancel all of your energon orders and watch you starve!"

His hands hovered above a console and began tapping away with a few buttons until the screen stopped blinking.

"Now... who's the wise guy that woke me up?" Suddenly the screen flashed the Decepticon logo, and the bot in front of the screen was shocked to find what was the cause of the pesky beeping. "Decepticon life signals? Close by!?"

Quickly, he investigated further into this event trying to understand who was behind all this. He gasped upon learning of who these signals belong to. 

"Starscream and Shockwave?" At first he was shocked to find them so close to his current location, but then a mischievous grin formed itself on his face. "Guess I got myself some customers."

The Decepticon chuckled as he peered out the nearby window, what greeted him on the other side was the vast sea of darkness of space, and the big blue planet which many would call Earth. As it would turn out, this 'Con's current location is inside his very own ship that orbited the planet, and right now, he was thinking of landing just to earn some profit today.
> Break In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starscream awoke with a painful sting in his back, he felt a little heavier than before also. The seeker pushed himself back on his two feet stumbling a bit as he did so. He stretched his body, shaking off his drowsy self. Both of his wings fluttered as he yawned, then it hit him, his eyes landed on the new addition to his body. The wing that was attached to him, he smiled widely as the wing flicked once. 

The seeker became overjoyed to see that his wing was repaired. He spun and turned on his heel as he gleefully examined his own wing. He wasted no time and transformed on the spot, his jet mode hovered happily and Starscream could only squeal in delight now that his ability to fly has returned. 

And he would've flown to the sky, but he heard something coming from the forest. It was an engine, it roared deep within the forest and it was just getting louder and louder. Quickly, the seeker shifted back to his bot form and ran towards the others to warn them. Starscream entered the hangar and found the four wheeler Autobot and Shockwave, the 'Con was busy with building some kind of energon processor while Smokescreen simply watched. But now both mechs turned towards the seeker with a curious look on Smokescreen's face. Before anyone could even question, Starscream alerted them both of the incoming vehicle of unknown origins. Both bots immediately snapped into action, Shockwave with his cannon and Smokescreen with his issued baton. The Autobot had no other weapon to use, so he had no choice but to use what he had on him, which was just his baton and taser. He had lost his pistol after the blue mech of the DJD had eaten it. 

As soon as they were ready, the group quickly hid away from the light and waited for whoever it was that was coming. 

Starscream peered around the entrance and scanned the treeline for any movement, he could hear it, but couldn't see any signs. Then there it was, a single car burst out of the forest and entered the clearing. Starscream was right to be worried, it was as he feared, Earth military. This was bad, if the humans on this planet were to discover them, then they would practically kiss their freedom goodbye. Unless they managed to bargain with them, maybe give Smokescreen as an offering for a new alliance. 

But that was against the Decepticon cause to align themselves with organics unless it was merely business. 

Speaking of which, the military car that entered the scene was a brown Humvee with purple highlights and windows. On top of it was a cannon, one that was big enough to deal some damage to a Cybertronian. Whoever this human was, they were armed with enough power to put a large hole into their chests. 

Starscream had taken the lead and raised his servos in the air, signaling the two mechs with him to be ready. It was like he was a natural born leader, which he is. But before he could even order the attack, the Decepticons and Autobot were taken by surprise as the Humvee shifted and transformed into a bot. A mech by the looks of it, he wore a basic helmet which most Decepticons shared, but two square lenses that glowed brightly purple was what made him different. 

Starscream gasped, even Shockwave was shocked by the discovery. The bot was looking around as if he was finding something, or someone. "Starscream? Shockwave?" They heard him call out. 

It was then Starscream took a step out of his hiding spot and into the light. "Swindle you son of a glitch!"

"If it isn't the Red Baron of the skies!" Swindle smiled, both mechs quickly locked into a fearsome handshake which none of them show no sign of letting go. "Last time I saw you, my pals were still on the Nemesis!"

"And last time I saw you, I bought a defective laser rifle from you!" Both then laughed it off as they retracted their servos away. "May I ask you what you are doing here, my fellow Decepticon?" The seeker asked. Meanwhile, the two bots that were hiding were now out in the open. 

"Ah, just doing business! Selling scrap and junk across the stars, until my Decepticon life signals picked up your sparks!" He explained himself, that was when he noticed a certain out of place character among Megatron's two lieutenants. "Hey, is that Soundwave? He sure does look different."

"Uh, no, I'm not Soundwave." Smokescreen corrected the merchant. "I'm Smokescreen, the hero of Cybertron!"

"You guys have an Autobot here?" Swindle questioned with a brow raised. "I honestly thought he'd be taller."

"It is merely a short truce," Starscream explained. "Smokescreen is currently aiding Shockwave and I against a dangerous foe, the Decepticon Justice Division."

Swindle gasped. "My condolences, I honestly thought you'd stay off the list, by Megatron's orders."

"Sadly those fools ignored the rules for once just to snuff out my spark!"

"Guess you're starting to regret all those times you tried to take out Megatron, aren't you?" Swindle chuckled.

"So what do you do?" Smokescreen asked the merchant before Starscream could even retort. 

"I, my good sir, am what many would call a salesman! I left the Decepticon cause to travel across the universe making businesses with many lifeforms!" Swindle brought out three datapads and quickly placed them into their hands each. "Guns, energon, or even spare parts! I have them all! And for the right price my friends, you can get yourself a one of a kind ultra rare trading card of lord Megatron!"

"Wait, you left the Decepticons?" Smokescreen was honestly shocked to find out about it. "Does that mean the DJD are after you?"

Swindle gave a hearty chuckle and waved a dismissive hand. "Of course not! Megatron was my number one customer, and he saw fit to make Tarn himself sign a contract to keep me off the list! That's right, I'm off limits for the DJD. As long as I don't make any deals with Autobots." Swindle narrowed his eyes at Smokescreen for a second then simply shrugged his shoulders. "Meh, I can make an exception, as long no one finds out that is."

"Swindle," Shockwave spoke as he browsed the datapad. "do you perhaps have a ship to offer?"

"Nope! You'll have to speak with a friend of mine when it comes to ship deals! Sadly, he's currently at the planet Kamino. So tough luck buddy."

Shockwave took an intimidating step forward. "What about yours."

"Hey now! That's not for sale! I also don't give rides to anyone!" Swindle was quick to retreat, making sure he had some distance between him and that cyclops. 

"What if we take it."

Swindle glowered at the three bots. "I don't like your tone, Shockwave."

Starscream was quick to pull back his fellow Decepticon. "Shockwave, it would be logical to accept what we can get and simply purchase the things we require."

Shockwave stared at the seeker silently, but then nodded. "I will need proper tools for my projects and experiments as well as maintenance. These tools must be of high quality." He ordered, selecting everything he needed on the datapad that was generously given to him to use.

"Done!" Swindle received Shockwave's orders on his own datapad. "Anything else?"

"Weapons," Starscream requested. "we will need guns if we were to stand a chance against the DJD if they ever find Shockwave and I. We would also require ammunition, I am running low on missiles right now. Maybe your best null ray if possible."

"My friend, you will not find any better guns than mine!"

"Oh, we should buy something for Arcee!" Smokescreen suggested. 

"We must only purchase things that would be of help to us." Shockwave said monotonously.

"Let him be Shockwave, if the Autobot wishes to purchase something meaningless, then we should not stop him." Starscream snickered. 

"Fine."

"Alright, go ahead hero, if you want it I have it!" Swindle waited for Smokescreen to make an order. 

Smokescreen paused to think about what he should buy for his friend, there were certainly a number of options, so much that he just couldn't choose. "I honestly don't know..."

Starscream scoffed. "Are you serious!? Just buy that femme a perfume or something!"

"Like you would know what a femme even wants."

"Wait," Starscream came to a realization. "where is Arcee?"

"The Autobot went to deliver the human, Sunset Shimmer, back to her home." Shockwave answered. 

"She left us!?"

"Easy Starscream, let's just get back to business." Swindle spoke softly. 

"Fine."

"Oh," Smokescreen smiled, his finger tapped on the screen of the datapad, and there it was, the perfect gift for his friend. "this one!"

Swindle took a closer look and whistled. "My friend, that is a Triple Minigun mark X! Three devastating machine of death on one gun! Enough to shred even the toughest armor on any bot! Six barrels on each equally, a total of eighteen! And trust me on this my friend, it spins! But, I don't think someone like Arcee could even hold that piece of machinery."

"Are you kidding?" Smokescreen scoffed. "She's the toughest gal I know! This gun is right for her."

"Well I have to warn you though, I picked this off a dead Autobot, I think his name was Hound. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, if anything, that's better than getting a Decepticon owned weapon."

Swindle clapped his hands together. "Alright then! That would be a total of 60,000 Shanix!"

"What!?" Starscream exclaimed. "But we don't have that kind of money!"

"He is correct," Shockwave sighed. "ever since the war ended, I could no longer access my back account."

Smokescreen quickly raised both his servos in the air. "Don't look at me, I only get discounts on stores. Doesn't mean I'm rolling in Shanix."

"Then I'm afraid that we must cancel all your orders and end our business here. Oh well!" Swindle turned with a smirk. 

"Wait! We'll do anything! There's an energon mine close to us, I can trade you some!"

"Sorry, but I have my own energon mine in this solar system, a planet called Pluto." Swindle continued his stride. 

"Weapons," Shockwave started. "I can build you weapons that would be praised by Megatron himself."

"Nope! I have all the guns and swords I need." But then he stopped just half way to the forest. "There is something that you can do for me, Starscream."

"If it is our only option, then who are we to say no." Starscream sighed as he awaited for whatever Swindle had in mind just for them to get their orders. 

"You see, trading cards are quite popular these days for collectors, and just so you know, business is booming."

"I will not participate with this foolish game." Shockwave was quick to back off. 

"Hey now, I'm not gonna challenge you in some card game, I simply want the help of the resident seeker!" From out of nowhere Swindle produced a camera. "You see, I have most of the famous seekers, everyone except for Skywarp since I can't find him."

"And you want me to pretend?" Starscream guessed right. 

"That's correct my deceitful friend! You, Thundercracker, and Skywarp share the same body design. So a change of color would be enough and no one would even notice!"

Starscream's wings and shoulder sagged a bit. "Fine, as long as we get what we want."

"That's right! Do this for me, and I'll give you everything for free! Now strike a pose Starscream," The 'Con chuckled for a second. "or should I say, Skywarp?"




Bumblebee was in a moment of dread, the sight in front of him was not for the faint of spark. Bits and pieces of Autobot guards and Decepticon prisoners were all over the place, this was the darkest day in Cybertron's strongest prison, Alcatraz. Named after one of Earth's federal prison, Bulkhead had chosen that name after he built the impenetrable prison. Only for a break in just to happen. Reports were called in earlier about an alarm being set off, the next thing anyone knew was that the whole prison was emptied out. 

A big giant whole in the wall leading into the building itself, a trail of devastation and death went straight through. Bumblebee, against his own energon tank, followed this trail. Just as mentioned before, guards and 'Cons were scattered everywhere he looked, it was like a bloody picture painted by a sadistic artist. As he moved forward past all these broken cells and shattered flooring, Bumblebee couldn't help but feel remorseful for not just the guards, but the prisoners they guarded as well. 

Whoever did this, they were strong. 

Bumblebee then entered the courtyard and found an interesting sight, the surrounding was littered with parts and bodies just like inside the prison, but the courtyard had a large Decepticon insignia painted against the wall with what he could only guess as energon. Upon closer look, Bee could tell that the energon used for this painting was in the middle of processing, not processing to be used by bots, but it was energon straight from someone's tanks. 

Quickly, he called for HQ and reported his findings, he was met with a gasp. Bumblebee could tell that who ever answered had never thought to hear something like this in all their life. After making sure that he's getting a clean up and some proper detectives for this butcher show, Bumblebee returned to his own investigation.

His mind and body led him over to a corpse slumped against the wall just to the left of the symbol, the body was mostly intact, legs but no arms. A Decepticon by the looks of it. The only thing different for this bot other than the lack of arms was the large chunk missing from his head. There were no burn marks, meaning that no bullet or laser round was used. This points towards close execution.

"You know this guy?" A voice spoke from behind him, Bee didn't need to turn to tell who it was for it was none other than Prowl, the current captain of the guards. 

"Never thought you'd get here so quick." Bumblebee said as while his eyes were so focused on the dead bot. 

"I was having a leisurely drive until I got phoned by HQ saying there was a massacre, never thought it would be Alcatraz." Prowl sighed as he scanned his surroundings. "All these 'Cons were given a second chance, but now look at them."

"I know, I was there when they tried to start up some trouble." Bee glanced over his shoulder. "Five hundred Decepticons were housed in this prison, all of which were veterans who didn't surrender after the restoration of our planet. For so long they all were just waiting for their time to end, but then someone broke in."

"Just to slaughter them all." Prowl added. 

"That's right, but why exactly?" The yellow mech pondered it for a second, trying hard to understand who and how. 

Before Prowl could even speak a word, his comms buzzed to life, the guard was quick to answer. Then his face shifted to a look of confusion, he then locked his eyes with Bumblebee's making Bee feel another wave of dread. Once his call was over, Bumblebee immediately questioned him. 

"The Winglord of Vos has issued a full lockdown on the whole city and they aren't letting anyone in or out. Something is wrong, Bee."

"You're right," Bumblebee stared at the corpse he was inspecting before. "First Arcee goes missing after finding Starscream, next, there are over a hundred missing Decepticons, then this attack on Alcatraz. And now Vos."

"You see what I'm seeing, Bee? All of those are related to Decepticons, you reckon that this is some plot by Starscream?"

Bumblebee kneeled down to examine the corpse even closer, especially the 'Con's face, after a short second of searching, he turned towards Prowl with a face of worry. "I don't think it's Starscream." Bee claimed as he raised a brain module in his hand that he found straight from the mouth.

"Wait... please don't tell me..." Prowl didn't want to believe it, he wanted to think of it as merely a coincidence, but he knew that there was no denying it. 

Bumblebee felt the same, he didn't want it to be true. "All signs point towards five certain Decepticons who could be as ferocious as this, and I wish I was wrong."
> A Rainbow In The Sky
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arcee drove happily on the road, for once since a long time, she felt a little bit of home even if she wasn't on Cybertron. She had missed the air on her decals. It felt like how she remembered it. Arcee recalled her moments with Jack and the rest of his friends just enjoying a leisurely drive on the asphalt right under the scorching sun. 

It would've been better with the rest of team Prime, Bumblebee would really loved it the most, he was the one who was always gushing about Earth culture. One thing for sure, he loved cowboy movies and sometimes she would join him whenever he caught some movies at the drive-in cinema in their free time. Arcee would've liked it if they would do it again, just spend time with the Autobots she would come to call as her family. The only issue with that was Optimus' sacrifice. Sometimes she just wished that there was another way and he would be here to help her. 

If he was, then maybe he wouldn't be on this planet, maybe he'd find a way to help Megatron's lieutenants. Arcee quickly put those thoughts aside, he isn't here, it was just her, Smokescreen and the two 'Cons. She will deal with the DJD and throw Starscream behind bars. That's her main goal, though she is still trying to believe that there was a way to even put Shockwave in a cell, sadly he claimed that it was impossible. So she'll have to watch out.

After driving through the forest and entering their current base of operation, Arcee had come to a surprise that she never would've expected. The airfield was cleared out of any old and broken planes, replaced with weapons and ammo crates. Inside the hangar, Arcee could see through the open doors that Shockwave was moving around some boxes. Not only that, there was some furniture inside. A table with some strange gizmos that Arcee couldn't really name, and a berth for medical reasons. 

Smokescreen was also inside helping Shockwave with moving boxes. Arcee transformed into her bot form and scanned the area for the resident seeker, it was there she found Starscream speaking with a Decepticon just next to the ammo crates. Her eyes widened as she recognized who the 'Con was, Swindle of the Combaticons.

"Excuse me, where did you come from?" Both mechs stopped their conversation to face the femme. 

Swindle smiled. "Arcee!" The grounder gleefully greeted her. "You certainly have changed since the last time I saw you."

"I thought you died when Bruticus stepped on a landmine." Arcee said.

Swindle chuckled. "Ah yeah, I remember that! But I managed to recover from the blast thanks to my good pal Starscream here. Anyways, I should be going, our transaction is over and I would like to start selling these trading cards now. If you need me Starscream, I'll be in Pluto." With one last farewell, the right leg of Bruticus switched to his alt mode and drove off into the treeline. 

Once he was gone Arcee turned to face the seeker. "Transaction? Please tell me you bought us a ship. Or better yet, something to call for help."

Starscream scoffed. "Sadly, Swindle doesn't sell ships, he did have a long range communication device. But he had told me that we are too far from Cybertron or any other settlements to even contact anyone. We have no way off the planet, or any way to call for help."

"What about his ship?"

"Swindle would not allow us anywhere near his ship, so I doubt we can make use of it."

"Maybe we can steal it." She suggested. 

"And ruin the relationship with our only ally? I would rather call Megatron for help."

"Fine. Did you at least have some proper tools to liquify energon crystals?" Arcee hoped for it. 

"Of course, and luckily, we didn't need to trade our energon for these."

"What'd you do for it? Not like you have Shanix lying around."

"I have Shanix, Swindle and I had made a deal, I did him a favor and he gave us all these for free." Starscream turned to leave. "Now if you excuse me, I have a flight to catch." The seeker flipped into the air and transformed into his jet form, before Arcee could even protest, he shot towards the sky quicker than she could blink. 

"Hey Arcee!" She turned to see Smokescreen walking over to her. "I got you something!" He said excitedly as he presented the massive weapon to the femme. 

She stared at it, and quickly recognized the weapon knowing who it belonged to. "Where did you get this?"

"I bought it from Swindle, said it belonged to-"

"Hound, he was an Autobot from the war. But he died a long time ago, so where did Swindle get his gun?"

"Who knows, he mentioned that he trades weapons on a daily basis, so maybe he got it from some shady Decepticon." Smokescreen guessed. 

"Right, I'll take that answer." Arcee sighed. "At least we aren't defenseless."

Arcee took the weapon off Smokescreen's servos and examined it closely. The weapon was indeed Hound's, she had seen the exact same gun tear through countless Decepticons like butter. Hound wasn't as famous as Jazz or Prowl, but he was still as dangerous as them with a number of dead 'Cons under his name. And now, this weapon is back in Autobot hands. 

She smirked as she gave the gun a little spin, it whirred to life after such a long time. Arcee would whisper, "Welcome home, Hound."




Prowl and Bumblebee waited for the elevator to stop, both bots had some trouble entering the city of Vos, but in the end the Winglord had allowed them. It was a good thing too since at least twenty seekers were just about to blast them both for entering their borders. Now here they are, on their way to meet the Winglord of Vos. 

The only issue was that this city was populated by Decepticons only. Worst, the Winglord was one of the first generation of Decepticons to ever exist. He was there when it all started, he was there when Megatron rose to power. Even worse, he served under Starscream. Seekers during the war were quite loyal to Starscream, and because of that, the Decepticons gained air superiority.

Even after the war and the restoration of Cybertron, Starscream was still considered a hero in the city of Vos. They said the reason the Winglord was even in power was that Starscream allowed it. Merely a rumor, but so many seekers believed it.

The elevator pinged as it reached its destination, the two Autobots prepared themselves to meet the leader of Vos. Once the doors parted, they came to find a throne room in the highest tower in Vos. But no one was on it, both mechs scanned the room looking for the Winglord. When their eyes landed on the large window that overlooked the city, they found the ruler standing there. A seeker who resembled Starscream was standing quietly by the window, he paid no mind on the guests. His blue body was as still as a statue. 

"Winglord Thundercracker." Prowl called for the seeker's attention as he and Bumblebee stepped out of the elevator. 

Thundercracker turned with an uninterested look in his eyes. "What do you Autobots need?" Unlike Starscream or Skywarp, Thundercracker didn't slouch. He stood taller than the two seekers in his trine, and unlike them, he had no claws. 

"You know why." Prowl glowered at the 'Con. 

"And you yourself know why." Thundercracker glared back at the Autobot as he walked towards his throne. 

"So you know about the break in?" Bumblebee questioned.

The seeker sighed. "Yes, I do. But I have no interest in your problem."

"At least over a hundred missing Decepticons are reported this week. And one of them is Slipstream."

"So?" Thundercracker asked as if it didn't concern him.

"Aren't you a bit concerned about that?"

Thundercracker scoffed. "She's missing, which is fine by me. As long as he takes only a few, then the rest of my people will be safe."

"He? Who is 'he'?" Prowl narrowed his optics. 

"Don't play dumb Prowl, you Autobots know who I am talking about." Thundercracker spoke with bitterness in his voice as he sat down on his throne. "He is also the reason why Vos is in lock down."

"You think locking down the city is enough to keep the DJD out?"

"Then I would have been a fool... No," He sighed. "He was here."

The two mechs froze upon the discovery. None of the Autobots had ever encountered the infamous DJD. The 'Cons were always chattering about them in the Decepticon private frequency. Optimus thought it was just propaganda to keep the 'Cons in check. But a mech named Jazz had the worst luck that earned the bot a front row seat to one of the DJD's shows while scouting in enemy territory. During the debriefing, Jazz was clearly disturbed yet he showed no emotion as he recalled his findings to the rest of the Autobots. 

But Prowl and Optimus knew how he truly felt. It was that day the Autobots learned of the truth and many Autobots would suffer under their hands for merely being in the wrong place. 

"Were you on the list?" Prowl's expression darkened. 

"Yes..." Thundercracker was hesitant, but he admitted to it. "I was, and so are most of the seekers in Vos. And they would have shred me into nothing, yet he didn't. Instead he asked me to denounce the council and cut our ties with the rest of Cybertron. And that is why you two are here."

"But why?" A simple question coming from Bumblebee. 

"It was either that, or I along with the citizens of Vos would suffer. And you know what I chose." 

"I see. That would be all, thank you for your time." Bumblebee turned on his heel to leave, followed by Prowl. 

Thundercracker said nothing, he watched them carefully as they entered the elevator. The two bots stared back at him as the door closed. And once he was alone, he let out a heavy sigh. 

"You did good, Thundercracker." Tarn's voice filled the room. From behind the throne itself, Vos had taken a step out of his hiding place. In his hands was a datapad with Tarn on the line.

"Are you satisfied?" He scowled at the leader of the DJD. 

"Yes, but there are still more things to do. I will require your best seekers to return with Vos back to my ship, preferably those who are faster than any plane or jet on Cybertron."

"As you wish... Will you uphold your end of the deal?"

"I will give you Starscream's head, undamaged. I promise you that." Tarn scoffed. "A funeral for the greatest coward in the universe. I don't understand you seekers."

"It's... It's all that I'm asking."

"Be careful Thundercracker, showing such weakness is not very Decepticon of you. Out." With that, the screen went black. The room was silent once more with only Vos and the Winglord. 

Thundercracker sighed once more as he wrapped his hand over his head, seemingly having an inner conflict within his own mind. 




His engine roared as he soared through the sky, everything was just a blur to Starscream as he cut through the air faster than the small number of land vehicles below him. He laughed at them for being bound to the ground, unlike him. He felt so in tune with the clouds, he was in his true element. 

Faster he went, the blurrier his surroundings got. Feeling a little courageous, he decided to fly much closer to the ground. He flew over the street and countless cars started honking in fear as he zoomed past them. He relished the thought of causing pathetic little humans to quiver in fear as he streaked through the highway. But then he caught something in the corner of his optic. 

A trail of rainbow on the side of the road, and it was going the same speed as him. "R-rainbow?" He stuttered. 

Upon closer look, he noticed that at the front of this multicolored streak was some sort of human. Not just that, but a human girl!

Starscream was baffled at the speed this human was going, not only that, she was as fast as him. He didn't like the idea of being beaten by a mere human, so Starscream added more thrust earning him an increase of speed. But then the rainbow simply followed suit, if his face was not inside his jet mode then he would be scowling right now. 

He decided that it would be better to fly towards the nearby forest and dared this girl to follow. And much to his surprise, she did. The girl had hopped over the road to avoid any oncoming traffic and left Starscream baffled. She followed him to the forest and she was just getting faster. And before they even knew, the two racers entered the forest. 

He expected the girl to slam into a tree or something, but she showed great reaction time. She dodged the trees as if they weren't an obstacle, but more of a short hindrance to her daily life. As for Starscream, he was making tight turns and good choices. A seeker with a talent like his was not deterred by this race through a forest.

"Woah, you are awesome!" The girl complimented his skills. 

He would've smirked, but he had a human to humiliate. Or so he thought. No matter what he did, how many trees he dodged, or how many cool tricks he performed. The girl still persisted. Tree after tree, she was still in the race. It wasn't about out speeding the other anymore, it was simply a competition to see who would crash and burn. 

But as Starscream twisted and turned around an obstacle, he lost sight of his opponent. He could not see or even locate the human girl, and he wanted to believe that he had won, sadly there was a strange feeling in his tank that tells him otherwise. It was then when he felt a few knocks on the canopy of his cockpit. There he saw a girl who is blue, she stared right into him with curiosity as the girl held on to his vents tightly.

"Hey, you should stop!" She advised him. 

"Get off you worm!" He screeched at the human. "If you don't do as I say, then I am not responsible for what will become of you!"

Starscream decided to give this human a little ride, if she can stomach it. He gave her time to let go, but yet she held on. He started climbing up towards the clear blue sky. 

"Hey, wait a second!" Her words fell on muted audio.

He climbed even higher, humming a little tune as he watched the human clung tighter to him. Soon enough her hands would slip off, and then splat, a gross human mess. But as he ascended, she showed no fear, her mouth was moving, screaming. But he could not hear her voice. He kept going and going. Somehow, she was not affected by the thinning of the oxygen around her, she was still breathing normally like she wasn't close to the top of the highest mountain. 

He would've reached the ozone but then he simply came to a stop. The human girl sighed in relief, but then she gasped as the jet tilted over. The aircraft started falling towards the earth, his descent grew faster as he straightened himself. Even so, the girl wouldn't let go. With the rate he was going, it was bound to happen. But something in his mind started screaming at him, it was telling him not to go through with it. He tried to silence the voice, but it only grew louder. 

And before he could slam into the ground, he turned just in time. He aimed himself towards the forest once again and just as he entered his air brakes were opened. Amazingly, the girl was still on him like a sword through the chest. And when he had control with his speed, he transformed to his bot form and finally flung the girl off of him. Before she could go splat on a tree, the seeker quickly caught her in his servo. 

The girl didn't know what happened, for a moment she was just racing with a jet, then it tried to kill her. And now, she was in a daze. She would've thought she'd hit a tree but something had caught her. When she finally recovered, she would come face to face with a red eyed monster made of metal. Her eyes widened, she let out a gasp. 

"Rainbow..." The monster hissed as he looked at her.

"Y-you..." She couldn't really think of any words to say. She was still comprehending the situation.

"Primus, you are just harsh on the optics. Just looking at all those colors is hurting me!"

"Who... what are you!?"

The giant chuckled in a creepy way, a shiver ran down her spine. Even the grin he wore was disturbing, and ignoring the fact it was not the same race as her, his grin was just inhuman in every way possible. 

"I am lord Starscream, leader of the Decepticons!" He boomed with pride, he introduced himself in a way that just radiated with power and grace. "And who might you be my little human? Such speed and resilience, I am curious of your origins little girl."

"I'm Rainbow Dash!" She had no choice but to introduce herself to the imposing leader of the so-called Decepticons. 

"Rainbow Dash?" He repeated, his brow cocked up. Then he chuckled. "I remember a seeker with such a name."

"W-well she sounds awesome, would love to meet her." Dash spoke, the fear in her voice was apparent. She had faced many trials, but Starscream was something new to her. 

"Oh, it would certainly be interesting. She was arrogant, stubborn, and always competitive. Prideful even. Really grinds my gears whenever another seeker in my regime would come straight to me just to complain about her dangerous stunts." Rainbow Dash froze, those were the things people would say when they would describe her back in the day. He wasn't joking or lying about someone with the same name, this universe is truly small indeed. "Though she was eager to please just so she could be a part of my elite army of seekers. She was an excellent flyer, the best in her trine. Tell me, little human, are you the same as her?"

She sat there, in his palm. Frozen and unsure of what really is happening. Who was this machine and why is there someone with her name? It was as if he really did meet her at a different point of his life. So with no way to bring out the words in her mind, she just nodded to his question.

"I see," He chuckled. "this just reminds me of the days back in the war. How I would debrief every single one of my seekers. And it would've been great to meet Rainbow Dash again, she was always so fun and daring. Sadly..." His face transformed from a smiling demon to one that scowled. He glared at Dash with fiery hatred. "Sadly, that femme betrayed the Decepticons over a failure of a seeker, a fragging Autotrash of all things. She especially betrayed me. She misplaced her loyalty, so I had personally crushed her spark myself." 

Then he started grinning again, how that scowl shifted had paralyzed Dash. His hand started to close around Dash, she gasped as it wrapped her in a hold. The air was being pushed out of her. She was so caught up in a web of fear, that she choked in the wrong moment, she drilled herself not to freeze in times like these, but yet here she was in a giant's hand. 

"And right now... I'm feeling a bit nostalgic." 

She would've done something, anything to save her life, but the grip on her loosened. And soon enough she was released onto the ground. She gasped and inhaled, she quickly filled up her lungs with air. 

"Consider this a warning, I am no Autobot, if you ever tell anyone of my existence then I will not hesitate next time. There is no power on this planet that could stop me, so I would advise that you keep your fleshy lips sealed. Remember that I felt merciful, remember why you are alive to see the sun rise again. And I would certainly regret extinguishing your life, you are very promising, Rainbow Dash. Even if you are a human filth."

Dash couldn't say anything, he quickly transformed into a jet, and before she knew it, he was gone. Now she was alone in this forest, still registering what had transpired just now. She pulled herself together to stare off to the direction he had fled to. The sky. Something about his story had struck in a way that she could only wonder what happened. Question after question, she wanted to know more about this Starscream. But she feared that if she delved into it further, she might just meet her demise. 

And yet, behind all that, and past the whole attempted murder, Rainbow Dash felt motivated. She silently dared him to come back, just so she could speak her mind. She has the power, she has friends. And they'll hear her story.

Next time, she won't stutter.
> One Last Secret Remaining
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The school bell rang, students mingled into the hallways heading towards the cafeteria for lunch. This was Canterlot High. An odd place to be in when there's an anomaly afoot. Many examples would be used, such as the time an alien had entered the school right under their noses. Ever since then, the students of Canterlot High started experiencing odd events. But yet they still go on with their lives like normal. 

As Sunset Shimmer walked along with her fellow students, she was greeted by a few while on her way to the cafeteria. She greeted them back of course, it would be rude not to. When she finally reached her destination, something strange had caught her eye. It was her friend Rainbow Dash, the athlete was standing close to the windows with a pair of binoculars in her hands, seemingly transfixed towards the sky. 

Sunset wanted to ask, but first she needed to get some lunch. After waiting in line with her own tray, and getting some food for the day, she went over to the table where her friends were. When she sat down, she noticed the same confusion on the faces of her friends, and all of it was directed towards the rainbow headed girl. None of them spoke as they ate their lunch, their eyes still on Dash. Except for Pinkie Pie, she was just enjoying her lunch as usual. 

"Oh Fluttershy, dearie," Rarity began. "Did you perhaps convince Rainbow Dash to take on bird watching as a hobby?"

"Oh no, Rainbow isn't really the type to... um, take such a simple hobby." The shy girl answered. 

Applejack then pointed a spoon at Dash. "Then what's up that girl? She's been starin' out the window since this morning!" 

"That is, strange..." Twilight pointed out the obvious. "Anyone know what could have made her this way?"

"Nope!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. 

As the rest of her friends were questioning Dash's mentality and current behavior, Sunset couldn't help but eavesdrop on the nearby table where a few students were talking about a strange moment from yesterday. What caught her curiosity was the mention of a fighter jet playing in traffic. 

"Telling you dude, it just zoomed through the highway dodging cars like nothing!" One student claimed. 

"Yeah, we didn't get a video of it though. But still, you should've seen how fast this jet was going." Another supported the first. 

"Really? What kind of idiot would fly too close to the ground?" A girl at their table was of course skeptical. 

"They didn't just fly into traffic, he flew into a forest!"

"What? No way that happened!" A boy in glasses couldn't believe it. 

"Yeah it did, and we didn't really see what happened but the jet burst out of the forest and was going straight to the skies! We both watched it climbing higher and higher, but then..."

"Then what?" A student sitting at a neighboring table asked, curious on how the story ends. It would seem their strange tale had caught the attention of a number of students. 

"He dropped." Silent gasps were made all around them. "That's right, he was plummeting down towards the earth, both of us were in awe with such a dangerous stunt. Soon enough, he was closer to the ground than ever. We expected it would crash with the speed it was going, it was like a bullet. We were totally wrong. Instead, just before the tip of the jet's nose could touch the ground, it snapped towards the forest again!"

"No way, the pilot would've hurt themselves with that kind of whiplash!"

"Yeah way! It just made an awesome turn, so cool that we were cheering before we even knew what happened. It was so dang awesome!"

Sunset didn't notice it, but her friends were also listening to the story, when it was over, the students went back to their own businesses to talk and ponder about what they had just heard. Especially Sunset and the rest of the mane six, sans Dash.

She was curious of why this jet would ever think of flying too close to traffic. Honestly, only a mad man would ever do such a thing. 

"Who in the world would ever do such a stunt?" Sunset flinched when Rarity spoke, she was brought back to her own circle of friends with jolt. "It is very dangerous, and someone should really teach whoever was piloting that jet a lesson on safety!"

"Ah hear ya, wouldn't want that kind of trouble near my home." Applejack agreed with the fashionista.

Twilight nodded. "I also believe the same, there are too many risks when a jet, a military one of all things, flies too low. What was that pilot even thinking?"

"There was no pilot." The whole table nearly screamed at Dash's sudden claim. She appeared out of nowhere, which shocked her friends. Especially when she wasn't being herself lately. 

"RD, are you tryna give us a heart attack!?" Applejack snapped at the girl in blue. 

"And whatever do you mean when you say that there was no pilot?" Rarity inquired.

"You heard it right, and I should know, I had an up close encounter." She whispered, earning her a variety of reactions. Applejack gave her a doubtful look, Twilight leaned even closer out of curiosity, Rarity was honestly surprised by Dash's claim. Fluttershy didn't want to say how absurd it was, but she chose not to speak to not hurt anyone's feelings. Pinky just gasped like a cartoon character, not really out of character for her. 

As for Sunset, she was frozen with the straw of her drink just an inch away from her lips. She already knew what Dash meant, because there was a certain alien with wings that comes to mind. Just yesterday she had met these new creatures from the stars, and yet, there was already trouble brewing. 

"I see," Twilight spoke, eager to learn more. "could you perhaps explain to us?"

Dash looked around, she made sure that no one was eavesdropping on them. Then she ushered her friends closer to whisper in amongst themselves. "Because it wasn't even human to begin with, it was a robot."

Pinkie quickly shot up from her place. "A robot! Now Dashie, that is just-"

Dash pulled her back, this earned the group a few odd stares and glances. She smiled awkwardly before returning to their private conversation. "Yes, the jet transformed into a robot. And he had this jerky attitude."

Sunset would've choked on her food if she was eating right now, luckily she wasn't. Her eyes darted at Dash and the others, her knowledge weighed down on her heavily. It seems that Starscream made the mistake of showing himself to Dash. 

"Like a Gundam?" Fluttershy inquired, there was a slight excitement in her voice for some reason. 

"It isn't like the shows you watch Fluttershy, this one was mean and dangerous."

"You said 'he', the robot has a gender?" Twilight, the only one who was seriously interested more in the mechanics and working of the robot. 

"Oh please, how are you sure that this 'robot' is real? For all we know, Dash is simply making things up." Rarity voiced her thoughts. 

"I don't know Twilight, his voice was shrill and high pitched, but he seems like a 'he'. And Rarity, I'm telling the truth. I mean, this wouldn't be weird, we faced some strange stuff for a while now."

Applejack couldn't help but nod in agreement. "She's got ya there Rares, we have been kicked, dunked, and buttered by the weirdest things. Remember that time y'all had to face a talkin' tree? It wasn't the strangest, so I'm inclined to actually believe Dash for once."

"What do you think, Sunset?" When Pinkie asked the question and brought all attention towards the girl from another world, Sunset felt like she was suffocating. With all their eyes on her, waiting for an answer, she couldn't help but sweat as numerous thoughts ran through her mind. 

She weighed in her options, she could either tell them about her findings or simply claim ignorance. One could possibly create a distrust among her friends, the other might break the ones with the Cybertronians. She glanced over to her friends, they waited patiently for her answer. She chuckled awkwardly as the idea of Starscream crushing her for telling anyone came to her mind. But then Arcee entered the picture, acting as her protector from the evil Decepticon. 

It was then she made a decision. She had finally chosen a path and she hoped that there would be no repercussions.

"Girls... I need to tell you something..."




Shockwave stared blankly at the monitor of his computer, as usual. He stood there silently, uncaring of all things around him. His hand would occasionally tap away on the keys before being still once more. This was his only action ever since Swindle's visit. Smokescreen wanted to ask what he was doing, but a single shake of Arcee's head was enough to dissuade the four wheeler. 

Starscream was not with the group, he would always stand so close to the forest, keeping his distance away from the rest. Seemingly lost in his very own world. Sometimes Smokescreen would try to call for his attention, but the seeker kept his back towards the Autobot and refrained from answering. Arcee could tell that the Decepticon could hear Smokescreen, he would flinch very time his name was called. Yet he pretended like nothing was happening. 

The seeker became a bit distant, and the cyclops was busy with his work with no signs of stopping. So it was basically just the Autobots. They didn't really have anything to distract themselves with, there was some idle chat between the young mech and the femme. But they couldn't really find anything to break the ice with. So it just ended up with Arcee leaving to scout the area, leaving Smokescreen in charge of the two 'Cons.

And he was still bored, so he decided to go and bother Starscream because there were less chances of losing his hand, unlike Shockwave. 

He approached the seeker, no sound was made as his pedes walked over the grassy field towards Starscream. But once he was close enough, the Autobot could hear Starscream speaking to himself. Quickly, Smokescreen stopped dead in his tracks, he listened in closely out of curiosity.

"How is that possible..." Starscream muttered. "Out of all things to find on this planet, never would I have thought it was... I'm going off track with this. Listen, I will require something to help us, maybe... No," The seeker scowled. "I am not becoming an Autobot, they are simply here to aid me against the DJD."

He scoffed. 

"When all of this is over then I will leave as quick as possible, hopefully it will all go smoothly. I don't want to encounter any trouble."

"Who are you talking to?" Starscream yelped when Smokescreen spoke, the tree he leaned on tilted over thanks to Starscream's frightened reaction. 

"How long have you been there!?" The 'Con snapped at him. 

"I just got here." He lied.

Starscream growled for a second, then he returned to his own business. "Sorry Swindle, the annoying Autobot snuck up on me, we'll have to continue our conversation in the near future." There was a pause. "Yes, I will be there."

With that, he ended the call, then he turned to glare at Smokescreen. "So what's up?" The Autobot asked. 

"There is nothing 'up', I was just talking to Swindle, nothing more. Why are you sneaking about?"

"Just bored," He explained himself. "got nothing better to do, and I don't really want to disturb Shockwave."

"Ah, yes, Shockwave..." Starscream hummed. "I am a bit curious of what he is currently doing, so perhaps you could go and check on our resident scientist."

"Slag no, I know who to mess with and who I shouldn't." Smokescreen stated. 

"And you believe I should be trifled with? I wonder sometimes why I am allowing you to live."

Smokescreen smirked. "Because I'm helping you right now?"

The seeker scoffed. "You are indeed correct. You and Arcee are important and  valued allies, for you see, I have a plan!"

"Well let's hear it, 'Scream."

"Oh I'm sorry, but the plan is top secret, just play along and soon we shall be on our separate ways." Starscream walked past the Autobot. "Now if you excuse me, I need to speak with Shockwave about a little project."

Smokescreen could only wonder what this project is, as he stared at the back of Starscream's head, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy by the seeker's words. 




Knockout doesn't really understand what exactly he was staring at. Sitting motionless on the table was an odd looking gun. The barrel was really thick, yet the exit was small, the gun itself was tiny as well. It honestly looked too weak to harm anyone. With him was the DJD's medic, Nickel, and as well as Shatter. The three seekers were also there, but Slipstream was the only one paying attention to their work. 

Brawl was present as well, but the big brute was more interested with Slipstream's goons. He chatted with them, waiting patiently for Knockout to finish. 

The minicon, and the two red Decepticons were entrusted to find out how this invention of Shockwave's ticks. They had been at it for hours, constantly breaking it apart and putting it back together, yet there was no progress. Shatter tried her best to see the inner workings, but it alludes to them. The real issue here was that Tarn's group of Decepticons had no scientists or professional researchers. It was only two medics and an intelligent triple-changer. This was hardly a proper team to work with, yet Tarn demanded that they figure things out. 

So here they are, a lab in another ship called Storm Slicer, orbiting a barren planet and far from Cybertron. A ship that Shatter had kept after the war which now serves a purpose.

"This is getting us nowhere!" Nickel snapped, startling the larger 'Cons. "All we got is a bunch of numbers, that's it!"

"I have to agree with shorty there," Knockout spoke. "we aren't exactly the right bots to do this."

Shatter dipped her head. "Indeed, we are not experienced with this kind of work. Shockwave's mind is beyond our understanding. We need someone who is almost as intelligent as him."

"There are many Decepticons that fit the bill, but sadly Nickel's friend harvested them of their T-cogs. So we only have a few options." Knockout said as he leaned back. 

"There is someone who would be able to understand this complex creation, but they had been very uncooperative with Tarn. Blitzwing." The two red grounders stared at Nickel, surprised to hear that apparently there was still hope. 

"What exactly is the problem?" Knockout inquired. 

Nickel was hesitant, then she sighed. But before she could explain, a vehicon had stormed into the room holding a datapad in his hands. "Commander Nickel! We have an incoming call from an unknown source." 

Nickel groaned deeply, she hopped off the stool she had been standing on and approached the vehicon. "Shatter, begin tracing the caller now!" The femme did as she was ordered.

Shatter brought out her own datapad and connected it to the vehicon's. When she was ready, Nickel motioned for the drone to answer it with the screen facing the group while Knockout and Brawl as well as Slipstream gathered behind Nickel and waited for the datapad to relay the message. Then the screen came alive, and now someone was on it, a Decepticon that they come to recognized as Blitzwing. Speak of the devil, and he will come. 

The thing is, this was the first time Knockout had ever seen Blitzwing, and he had not expected him to look this way. A red visor covered his eyes of course, an iconic part of him really. But it was the lower face that really made Knockout feel sick in his tanks. Blitzwing's face was mangled, like it was peeled of his outer exterior and was stabbed a dozen times, but then was partially fixed up. It was just rows of mismatched and jagged teeth, and painted black as if it would cover it up. His face was locked into an eternal smile, one that sent fear towards the enemy. 

His appearance was what Knockout has heard, two cannons on his back and wings, because he was a triple-changer. Not just any though, but one of the originals. Blitzwing cackled, three voices echoed out of his mouth. "Little frau~!" He sang. 

"You!" Nickel screeched. The other bots were startled once again by Nickel. The minicon made a quiet glance over to Shatter who nodded in the minicon's direction telling her that Shatter was currently tracking the triple-changer down. "What do you want Blitzwing!"

"Ve vant you to surrender!" His tone changed, it was much stricter than before, and he was even louder. "Your pretty little head on a spike, that's vhat ve desire!"

"Or perhaps we can settle with a limb, maybe your T-cog?" A calmer Blitzwing offered. "Ve vant to kiss ze spider!"

"What's with Two-Face over here and why isn't he in Arkham Asylum?" Knockout asked, but all he received were odd looks from his peers. "It was an Earth film, honestly, you guys just don't understand."

"Dead End, is zat you?"

"Nein you imbecile, Dead End has been terminated eons ago! Zat is obviously Knockout, ze traitor!"

"Knockout, zat is truly surprising. Ve vould've thought zat Tarn killed you."

"Enough Blitzwing, why are you calling us!?" Nickel demanded answers. 

The triple-changer chuckled, then he stepped out of the side to reveal a ship he had hid away from the camera, every 'Con in the room gasped once they could fully see it. "Zat is right, ve have ze ship~!"

"How did you get the Nemesis!?" Knockout was the one who asked, his confusion lingered in his voice, even the rest of the bots were shocked. 

When the war ended, Ultra Magnus had ordered to retrieve what was left of the Nemesis and fixed it. And when numerous Autobot refugees had returned to Cybertron and helped rebuild their cities, the Nemesis was then taken to a secured museum. It was part of everyone's history, but many Autobots saw it more as a trophy. Which is why it would have been impossible to steal the ship. 

"Ve had help," Blitzwing chuckled as he panned the camera towards his left. A yellow Decepticon femme, a seeker with a large cannon strapped on her back, was busy painting herself to even notice that there were some audience watching her work. 

"Thunderblast!?" Slipstream exclaimed. 

"Slipstream?" The femme perked up, her wings flickered for a second, it was then she realized that she was being watched by a number of bots. 

"Yes, though she is a dummkopf, her appearance is quite useful against young mechs." If Blitzwing was able to smile, he would have. 

Slipstream gritted her teeth. "You idiot, what are you doing with this screw loose!?"

Thunderblast simply huffed and turned away. "You wouldn't understand, you never do! And I'm still mad, so I'm not talking to you of all people."

"Thunderblast, if you don't surrender yourself right now, I will make sure that you are punished for your idiocy!"

"Zat von't do!" Blitzwing pulled the camera back to him. "Ve vill not be punished for our choice! Tarn is not ze right mech to lead ze Decepticons, he is an unhinged psychopath! Hundreds of our kind have been offlined by his hands, some vere made an example. Ve know zat zis is not just about kommandant Starscream or Herr Shockvave. Ze Decepticons deserves a proper leader, someone who vould stand vith ze people. Tarn is not ze one."

"War is over Blitzwing," Nickel scoffed. "Starscream and Shockwave are no longer your superiors. So why would you address them that way and what do you need with the Nemesis?"

"Starscream is a coward, ve know zis, but even after all ze punishment lord Megatron had given him, Starscream still stands. After all these years he still stands, he is by far one of the oldest Decepticons there is, so he earned my respects. Shockvave is simply a mech of logic and science, so it is vise to keep him as an ally. As for ze Nemesis? To search for a leader zat shall bring ze Decepticons back to ze light! Vith ze Nemesis, our search can begin." He turned towards something off camera. "Flamevar, ready ze engines!" He stared through the camera one last time. "Blitzwing, out." He cackled violently as the screen faded away. His voice echoed through the room for a split second. 

The 'Cons who were present felt a shiver go down their backs, but Nickel remained stoic. She was unfazed, Nickel did not fear the triple-changer, she was simply annoyed. Nickel glanced over to Shatter hoping for the best results, but the femme only answered Nickel with a shake of her helm. 

Nickel sighed deeply. "Tarn won't like this..."
> Next Steps
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Peaceful Tyranny was deathly quiet, the DJD dared not to speak as their leader glowered towards the vast expanding void of space. Even with the fact that there were more 'Cons on board did not change it, they too were silent as a corpse. Tarn sat on his throne, contemplating the news he had received from his medic. The Nemesis, the flagship of the Decepticons, a symbol of defiance and hope to all its soldiers. Was now out of his reach.

No longer would he be able to claim it back for his brothers and sisters, no longer would he walk down the halls of the Nemesis once more. It laid on the hands of the Autobots for far too long, he should've struck the museum first. But he was busy with his plans instead. It was taken from him by the dastardly Blitzwing. 

"I should've ripped out your spark." Tarn muttered out loud. The crew cast a worry glance over to their leader. A vehicon who was closest to Tarn literally feinted, he fell down with a thud and now his body laid on the floor, yet none made a move to remove the vehicon. 

"You uh... alright there boss?" Nitro Zeus asked, not because he was brave, but because he was simply stupid enough to approach the calm and collective leader of the DJD.

"No, everything is not alright." Tarn sighed. "Nitro, could you perhaps play that Earth song? What did Knockout call it again? Oh right, Queen Of The Night by Mozart, I believe." He chuckled with delight, truly an odd scene for the rest of the crew. "As a connoisseur of fine music, I have to express myself for this beautiful song. Truly, gold among copper, Knockout has exquisite taste."

"Yeah, sure thing boss." Nitro Zeus proceeded over to a control panel and played the requested music. The silence was replaced by a beautiful symphony that quickly filled the bridge, though some 'Cons expressed distaste, they chose to keep their opinions to themselves. There were of course people who appreciated good music, such as Clobber, the Lugnut look alike, who was open to any forms of music.

"This sounds cool." She whispered to the closest 'Con to her. To which the bot simply scoffed as he tuned out the music. 

"A bit crass, but I agree Clobber, it is as you say 'cool'." Tarn spoke. "Kaon, contact Nickel. I wish to speak with her with something important."

"Contacting now." Tarn's communication officer said as he connected with the Storm Slicer. Soon enough it was answered. 

"Nickel here," The minicon answered, just behind her was Knockout, he was busy working on a vehicon who looked like he fell off a cliff. "What do you scrapheads need? Tarn, did you break your T-cog again?"

"Nickel, please, my T-cog is fine." He assured her. "I just wanted to talk about Blitzwing."

"Ah, yes, the lunatic." She scoffed. "Did you send out a team yet? There were sightings around the Delta sector and I believe that is our best bet."

"I will send out a search and capture team, but there is still one more thing. Our number is small, I am still trying to reach out to every Decepticon who would listen. So that is why I decided that I am sending your team to capture Blitzwing."

"What!?" Nickel exclaimed, her sudden outburst caused Knockout to slip and caused his buzz saw to cut the vehicon's arm who screamed in pain. Ignoring the commotion behind her, she glared through the screen and at Tarn. "Why us!? Tarn, if you send me out, then who's gonna patch you and the others up!?"

"We have capable medics on board and on the field as well as some certified doctors ready for emergencies. The reason why I chose you is because you already have a ship of your own as well as soldiers experienced enough to face any conflicts that would come your way. Three seekers, two triple-changers, one of the Combaticons, and a battalion of vehicons that are ready to die for you."

"A-and a fellow medic!" Knockout added. 

"But Tarn! I am not suitable for this kind of mission, we are more of a research group!"

"Look on the bright side Nickel," Kaon spoke up from his side. "You'll be making good use with that title of yours, Commander Nickel!" This earned the shocker a few stifled laughs coming from Tesarus and Helex. 

"Kaon," Tarn shushed his com officer. "Listen Nickel, the Nemesis holds millions of Decepticon secrets and we have been trying to get that ship back for ages now. It would be easier to simply take it from Blitzwing's hands. We can only hope that Flamewar and Thunderblast are his only allies. Make sure that you bring them all alive, I wish to have one last chat with Blitzwing."

Seeing that she had no other options but to obey, the minicon scowled at Tarn. "Fine, we'll get the ship! But you boys better not do anything dangerous while I'm gone! Or else I'll rip you a new aft! Nickel, over and out!"

When the screen went black, Tarn relaxed into his seat. Helex walked over to his superior to ask a simple question. "Was it a good idea to send out Nickel? We have some bots to spare."

"But I need them here, we are at the dawn of a new age, Helex. A future where Decepticons will rule, and all are equal. It is simply a recovery mission, so Nickel could handle that alone. But there is something that is a possible chance."

"What is, Tarn?"

"How did three or more Decepticons successfully steal the Nemesis which is displayed in a museum?" He revealed the one question that had been bothering him all day to Helex. When the giant didn't answer, Tarn continued. "You see Helex, there are many possible ways to steal that ship. But one answer stands above it all, and it's the possibility of an inside job. One that requires years of work just to earn everyone's trust. But there is another way to do so, and it's to be an Autobot from the very start. And Primus help me if I am correct, or else the fate awaiting Blitzwing will be... tragic."




"You have to take us!" Dash tried her best to convince her friend, Sunset Shimmer. 

"Easy RD, it's not that simple." Sunset argued back. 

"Come on, this Arcee sounds like a reasonable person, so I'm sure she won't mind!" Dash shot back. 

As they were speaking just outside of the entrance, the rest of Sunset's friends spectated them both. They had their own opinions, such as Applejack who chose to distrust the aliens since one of them had openly threatened one of her friends. Fluttershy was predictably scared of meeting the Cybertronians, countless horror movies had taught her to be fearful of creatures beyond the stars, which she watched said movies because of Dash. Pinkie for one was excited, never would she have thought that there was a day in her life where she would meet visitors from outer space, and honestly, she was totally hyped.

Rarity was only curious if these machines have any fashion senses. Hopefully they do. As for Twilight, she was ecstatic of discovering a whole new species from another galaxy. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about all the possibilities, like their way of life. Sunset had mentioned something about a crystal called "energon" when she was recalling her encounter with the aliens. Which Twilight guessed as some sort of fuel for the Cybertronians. There was just too much to ask, and she wanted to see them as soon as possible. But unlike Dash, Twilight made sure to be mature about the whole thing and be patient, it was entirely up to Sunset when it came down to it. She did say that Starscream wouldn't like it if they just popped into the abandoned airfield. 

While Dash was trying her best to convince Sunset, the redhead noticed something in the corner of her eye. It was Arcee in her alt mode, she was parked just next to the sidewalk. Sunset excused herself and quickly rushed over to the bot in hiding. But as she walked past the statue that decorated the front of the school, she didn't notice that her friends trailed behind her. When she finally did notice, Dash had flashed towards the bike quicker than Sunset could blink. 

"Are you Arcee!?" Dash questioned the bike, no answer came. "Hey, talk! Where's Starscream!?"

"Arcee!" Sunset quickly rushed over to the Autobot. "I am so sorry."

"Save it kid," Dash leaped back when the bike finally spoke. 

"So you can talk! Now then, where's that jerk!?" Dash demanded from the femme.

"Okay, what did that creep do?"

"Oh I don't know," Rarity hummed. "Playing in traffic, attempted to kill our friend, and especially threatened Dash's life to keep her in silence."

The front wheel shifted towards the rainbow girl. "And you didn't listen? You're braver than I would've thought. Arcee, nice to meet ya."

Dash was taken aback by Arcee's kind introduction. "Oh, I'm Rainbow Dash." With this first action, the rest of the Sunset's' friends introduced themselves in their own colorful ways. Arcee was honestly impressed to see such an interesting group of friends. And honestly, she was surprised how accepting they were so quickly. If they were disturbed that there was a talking motorcycle, then they didn't show it. 

"So, guess this was the chance, huh?" Arcee sighed. "Do you girls have some questions?"

"Uh, yeah!" Dash stepped up. "I want to have a little talk with his lordship!"

"Easy there Rainbow, there's gonna be plenty of chances. So just relax. I'm actually itching to have a talk with ol' Screamer." No could really see her face, but underneath her disguise she was secretly scowling. One of the few things she didn't trust Starscream with was the lives of every human around. She worries that the seeker, who is stronger than Dash, would do something Arcee would regret. A regret that would surely haunt her.

"Oh, I have a question of my own!" Twilight took a step closer, her hands were already holding a notebook and a pencil, ready to write down any answers that came her way. "First is, who made you? Are you a living machine complete with self preservation, desire, and emotions? Are you able to experience the five senses such as touch and taste? Do you have any organic parts somewhere in your body? Second, what is the point of having genders besides as a part of your character? Are robots able to reproduce in the same way as us humans?"

Arcee chuckled. "Sorry kid, but I can't answer all of those questions. But tell you what, I'll find someone who can and you just wait. Besides, we have some plans, right kid?"

"Plans?" Sunset asked once the bike faced towards her. Then it hit Sunset like a sledgehammer to the face, she had completely forgotten what she and Flash had planned out for today. "Oh right!"

"What is it sugarcube?" AJ asked. 

"Sorry guys, but Arcee and I got this thing to do. You see, I kinda invited Flash for a ride and I don't really want to disappoint."

"Flash you say?" Rarity zipped between her friends just to get closer to Sunset. "Well, maybe we can put a pin on the whole alien thing and save it for tomorrow after school."

"Oh, and you're okay that I'm ditching you girls over Flash?" Sunset asked. 

"Well..." Fluttershy looked away awkwardly. "It's fine that you want to hang out with Flash."

Applejack nodded. "We can go talk to Dash's new friend tomorrow, it would certainly give us enough time to get over the fact that big giant robots are out in the Everfree doin' whatever it is they're doin'."

"I can put a hold on my research, I mean, we still have the chance so there's no need to be worried about it." Said Twilight. "And I can't wait to tell other Twilight if she ever visits us again, she would totally flip!"

"I need to make a 'Welcome To Planet Earth!' cake anyways! Just to make you all feel welcome!" Pinkie informed them. 

"That is not necessary, we don't eat organic food like you guys, but I'm sure my pal Smokescreen would like an oil cake." Arcee turned towards the athlete. "What about you Rainbow, you cool if we put a hold on your meeting with the big bad Decepticon?"

Dash huffed as she looked away. "Fine."

"Thanks everyone! I will totally pay you guys back for this!" Sunset promised. 

"No need dearie," Rarity assured her. "just go on and enjoy your ride, just make sure that you ride safely!"

"I'm not the one driving Rares." Sunset said with a smile as she went back towards the school to wait for Flash Sentry. 

Seeing that they were done, the group gave their goodbyes to Arcee and went off in one direction. Dash waited when they were out of earshot and quickly huddled everyone together and against their will. 

Applejack cursed. "Dagnabbit RD! What's runnin' in that head of yours!?"

"Watch the hair Rainbow Dash!" Rarity warned the athlete. 

"Shush!" Dash silenced them. "Listen, I know that we said we'd meet the aliens tomorrow, but I decided to go and see the jerk today! I know where the spot is, and it would definitely be easy to find the airfield."

"Dash, I think it would be smarter to wait for Arcee, she seems to be the leader of the group." Twilight said. 

"Well I don't need that, I'm going straight to that moron and give him a piece of my mind. With or without you guys." With that said, she broke off the huddle and started marching towards the direction of the Everfree, leaving her friends behind. Determined to do through with her plan and face off the seeker in mind. 

They stared at her as she walked down the sidewalk, the group could only sigh as Dash had already made a large gap between her and the group. Left with no other choice, they decided to follow Dash's lead, just for her safety. It would be terrible if something were to ever happen, and hopefully, everything would be fine. 




"There's nothing here, oh Commander Nickel." Knockout had pointed out the obvious as the Storm Slicer drifted through space. They have been searching for the ship for hours, yet they found no results. The crew started to lose morale and were already bored out of their processors. 

"One more word out of you and I will recycle you into my glitch!" Nickel warned him. 

To which Knockout simply laughed in response. "Sorry, but minicons are not my type." He said right before his optics moved toward the red triple-changer. "I am more of an automobile enthusiast. If you catch my drift." He winked at Shatter with a growl. 

"Do that one more time and I shall make sure that you will only be able to intake energon with a pump." Shatter would threaten the mech. 

As this was happening, Brawl and the seekers stood on the sidelines and we're watching the whole thing. Entertained and distracted, they no longer felt entrapped in a ship with nothing else to do. At least for the time being. 

"Oh come on Shatter, you and I should totally go see a movie together." Knockout slipped to her side and wrapped an arm around her. "I know this great Earth film about a magical girl who quite literally let it go."

"That sounds appalling." She hissed.

Before Nickel could scold Knockout, a vehicon by the communications panel called for her attention. The officers of the Storm Slicer approached the vehicon and prepared themselves for whatever news that was to come. 

"Commander, I am receiving a distress signal coming from an unknown source!" He informed them. "We are trying to decode it, but we are only receiving an unreadable message."

"Is there any way to find out who is sending this distress signal?" Nickel asked. 

"I do not- wait, we are just receiving some kind of recording, ma'am!"

"Play it." She ordered. 

"Stop!" Thunderblast's voice boomed out of the audio. "Flamewar, Steve, help! He's trying to throw me out of the ship!"

Then a mech's voice would be heard by the crew. "No point in running Decepticreep, come here so Ah can show you how we Autobots give seekers like you a good hello! POW!" They heard a heavy slam from the recording, and it sounded as if some bot had their lights knocked out. 

Then the audio cuts there. The groups stared at the screen for a second, then Nickel slammed her palm into her face. "Did... Did Thunderblast send us a distress signal by mistake?" She hoped she was wrong. 

"No," Thankfully Slipstream was quick to shoot down Nickel's guess. "Thunderblast is an idiot, but she isn't dumb enough to accidentally call an enemy for help. So it is either a trap, or someone else sent that distress signal."

"Then it's a trap." Shatter concluded. "There is also the fact that an Autobot exists on the ship. We do not know how many, but it is definite that we must be careful with our next move."

"But we can still work with this," Knockout spoke. "If we track them with the distress signal, we can bring them down easily. And there is a possibility that they do not know about the distress signal, so there's a silver lining in the clouds."

"Very well," Nickel had finally come to a conclusion. "vehicon, lock on that signal and do not let it out of your scanners!"

Brawl slammed his fist into his palm. "Finally some action! I'll go freshen up, and hopefully we'll have a fight!"

"Oh yeah," Thrust agreed. "I can't wait to get out and fly! I was getting some cramps in my joints."

"Remember!" All eyes turned to Nickel as she stood among the taller bots. "Tarn wants them all alive, so please, don't break 'em."

With that, the whole room cheered. They prepared for a battle that would certainly come. Meanwhile, Blitzwing was in a lab within the Nemesis. Leisurely working on a device of unknown purpose, unaware of the threat that would come.
> Purple Is Better Than Red
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blitzwing silently worked on a little project. His hands moved and tinkered with a device of unknown purpose. His tools clanked loudly as he discarded them onto the table just to pick up another. Hours would pass, he was in complete silence. No words were said as time went on. But then he became still. His face, frozen into a demonic smile, his optics under his visor shifted to the left. 

"You have not moved since you entered," Blitzwing whispered. 

"Never thought you knew I was here." A voice came from behind Blitzwing. 

"Vell I vas busy, vorking with a little project that vill help us in ze near future."

"Alright, but I'm curious about who I'm talking to." The voice sounded as if they were moving closer, it was apparent when the sounds of pedes against steel reached Blitzwing's audio sensors. 

"Ze original." The triple-changer answered. 

"Right, still not used to it, Blitz."

"I'm not used to having an Autobot not dying around me, Vheeljack."

Wheeljack chuckled as he was now out of the shadows and next to the Decepticon. "There's a first time for everything."

"Vhy are you here, Autobot?"

"Just bored, there's nothing to do around here but mess with Miss Thunderthighs."

"Right, she complained about those silly and ridiculous pranks you did to her. I vill ask you to cease! I grow tired of her vhining! So could you please refrain from doing it again."

"Eh," Wheeljack shrugged his shoulders. "I'm bored of it anyway. She just can't take a joke."

"Thank you. I vill give you a lollipop as a revard!"

"Heh, I appreciate that, Decepticreep. Just remember our deal."

And much to Blitzwing's disappointment, the screen nearby came to life and greeted the two mechs with a sobbing Thunderblast. Blitzwing's much more aggressive side had let out a tired yet loud groan. "Vhat is it now you useless vaste of spare parts! Zat is a bit harsh, ve should be nicer. I don't care, now tell us vhat is wrong or I vill- Give everyone a big hug!"

"Blitzwing!" Thunderblast whined. "Warpath is trying to throw me out an airlock!"

"Ah am not!" A red mech with a large cannon protruding out of his chest entered the screen. "Ah'm just showing this pretty lil' lady how we real Autobots deal with seekers!"

"See! He's so mean! Can we please just scrap him?"

"Go ahead sugarcube! Do it, and Ah'll show you the one-two punch, and the kapow!" Warpath was extremely loud, so much that Flamewar struck the tank out of the screen. 

"I'll show you something Autotrash!" She hissed. "Steve, get the buzz saws! We're having tanks for dinner!"

"Ah like to see you try two-wheeler! Ah'm gonna enjoy shooting you out of an airlock!" With that, the larger bot tackled Flamewar to the ground, both crashing into Thunderblast in the process. 

"Warpath, Warpath..." Wheeljack tried to call out to his current partner and the new addition to the Wreckers. But the grounder couldn't stop laughing.

The tank returned to the screen when he heard his name being called. "What's that!? Speak louder, Ah can't hear you!" He tried to listen to Wheeljack but was pulled away by Flamewar. 

"We ain't done yet two tons! I'm gonna make myself some stew out of your treads!"

Wheeljack who had finally recovered from his fits of laughter started to leave the room so he could go and break the fight off. Blitzwing simply shut off the screen, creating a moment of silence in the room. Then he returned to his work, the sounds of his tools clicked when they came into contact with the device. It was great to have some silence, and hopefully, they will stop with the noises. But that hope faded away when the sounds of gunfire filled the halls of the Nemesis. Blitzwing could only sigh as he continued with his work. 

Unbeknownst to the triple-changer, the screen behind him started to show static. This continued until it revealed a live feed of an oncoming ship before going black. 




Dash marched through the forest with haste. Her friends followed behind the athlete. They walked on the path that led towards the clearing Dash had previously discovered. It was also the place they had originally planned to make camp on. The teens kept their eyes peeled for any danger that could come out of the thicket. 

"I wish that we'd have waited for Arcee instead of walking to who knows where!" Rarity complained. "I am just happy that we made a stop at my place, or else I would have ruined my shoes!"

"And because of you, we wasted time!" Dash pointed out. 

"Unlike you, I was wearing my expensive heels! So I was forced to wear something proper for forest trekking!" Rarity countered. 

"Girls, stop fighting!" Applejack cuts in before it could get ugly. "Besides, we are here to make sure that you don't hurt yourself RD. We are talkin' about some big giant robots! They can crush yer skull like a blueberry."

"Ha!" Dash laughed. "I'd like to see his lordship try! With you girls on my side, we can scare him straight!"

"I don't think we can do such a thing." Twilight voiced her opinion.

Before Dash could even correct the girl in glasses, something in the corner of her eye had caught her attention. The rest followed her gaze, and they all felt their blood run cold. There in the distance, was a gigantic creature of sorts hidden beneath a cloak of shadows. Two crimson eyes glared back at them with a burning passion. 

Before any word could be said, the large figure started running. Dash gave chase much to the sake of her friends. 

"Dash!" Twilight tried to grab the athlete by her arm but it was too late. There was only one thing left to do in the situation, and it was to follow after Dash.

"That's him!" Dash claimed as they sped through the thicket. "That's the jerk!"

"If that's him," Rarity huffed and gasped, she struggled to keep up and was lagging behind. After all, she was the least athletic one in the group. "Then it would be wiser to seek out this Smokescreen fellow since he is far more friendly!"

"I already told you, we don't have to be afraid when we're together!" Dash reassured the fashionista.

"I have a bad feeling about this!" Rarity cried out as they continued their pursuit. 

Soon enough, the group would enter a clearing. And that was it. Their big bad robot was nowhere to be seen, they were hot on his trail but he had vanished from sight. Dash and the others couldn't help but feel confused. It is honestly impossible to lose a giant such as Starscream, and yet, the scheming Decepticon was nowhere to be seen. Dash tried to listen for the roaring engines of a jet, but the forest was deathly quiet as normally as it does.

But there was something else, the ground shook under their feet. It wasn't noticeable at first, but when they all stood still they felt the small tremors. None spoke, only waited. Their patience was paid generously when a tree just next to them had fallen with a loud thud. Fluttershy yelped in surprise when the tree crashed down, the rest took a stance, preparing themselves for what's to come. 

Something big, something loud. A large creature emerged from the forest, every eye in the vicinity widened in shock. It was a machine, just like Arcee. The only thing different is, none could recognize who this one was. 

When the Cybertronian glanced over to them, his eyes flashed purple. "Oh..." He said aloud. "This is awkward." He raised his arm towards them, he did not question them or anything, he only opted to just blast them with his cannon. 

The girls saw this, Dash and Applejack were about to jump into action, but then Twilight took the initiative. "Wait! We're friends with Arcee!"

The machine faltered, his weapon pointed away from the teens. "Are you now?" He doubted her. 

"Yes! So please understand, we are not a threat."

There was a short second of silence before the bot shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, I don't see the appeal of having humans for pets. You guys are gross."

"We are not pets!" Rarity was offended the most. 

"Yeah tell yourselves that." He huffed before turning away. 

"Wait! Hold on a second!" Dash called out, thankfully the titan was kind enough, or at least he was right now, to give her some of his time. "Starscream, where is he!?"

"Starscream?" He eyed her confusedly. "He's not here..."

"You're lying! We saw him!" Dash pointed an accusing finger at the bot. 

This was a bad move on Dash's part, the bot's eyes shifted into a glare. "And I'm telling you now that he isn't here, and that's the truth humie. He's back in the airfield the last time I saw him. Which is an hour ago."

"But..." Fluttershy spoke up as she shuffled towards the titan, strangely uncharacteristically of her. "We all saw him, then we all chased him over here."

The bot stared at her for a minute, then a small smile cracked on him. And much to everyone's surprise, he laughed. It was an honest laugh with no trace of ill intent in his voice. Once he was done, he walked closer to the group just to squat in front of them. "I get it now!" The titan boomed. "That wasn't Starscream you saw, that was a hologram!"

"Hologram?" The group repeated, but Twilight was more excited to hear about it. 

The bot took a second to go through his compartments before producing a strange-looking drone. It was circular, like a disc. Painted green to blend with their surroundings, a red bulb acting as its eye. "Yep, a hologram projected by this drone here! And to be specific, that wasn't Starscream you saw, but just a basic seeker build that is common on Vos. You all must've confused it with the ol' red baron."

"Amazing!" Twilight quickly coveted the gap just so she could get a closer look at the drone. "A drone from another world! May I see?"

"Eh, this is an older model anyway." The bot lowered it for Twilight to reach, but when she held it in her hands, the drone crashed down just in front of her feet. It was far too big and far too heavy for the human to hold. "The name Swindle! Don't let that confuse you though, my products and items are as legit as my license!"

"Well, nice to meet you, Mr.Swindle, I'm Fluttershy." The shy girl introduced herself. On cue, the rest would do the same in their own unique way.

Swindle waited until the introductions were over, he smiled at them and proceeded to lightly pat Fluttershy on the head. "I gotta say, those names are kinda cute!" He chuckled. "Maybe I should keep one of you."

"I don't think Arcee would agree with that." Applejack shot down the idea before Swindle could act upon it. 

"Yeah, you're right." The Con sighed. "Autobots are always about that hipster stuff. 'All life is precious and should be free to choose' they say."

"Well, since we're done here. Mind telling us what are you doing all the way out here?" Twilight asked curiously. 

"Me? Well, I was actually testing the drone, as you've all seen. Other than that, I am also collecting water from a nearby lake." Swindle explained himself. 

"Water?" Rarity arched a brow.

"Water!" Swindle smiled as he rose back to his height. "Water, my disgusting human, is the rarest thing on Cybertron! You would barely find a single drop on the planet! So that's why they cost so much Shanix on the market! Best of all, it is also known to cure Cosmic Rust! Before you ask, it's a plague that consumes all sorts of metals."

"Fascinating!" Twilight practically had starry-eyed. Learning something new was just amazing from her point of view. 

"Whatever!" Dash stepped between Twilight and the titan. She was getting irritated with the lack of Starscream being punished. "Listen! We don't have much time, so can you just take us to Starscream! I got a bone to pick with him."

"Woah, I like this one!" Swindle crouched and leaned over to Twilight. "Hey, how much do you want for that blue one? I got some trading cards to trade if you like."

"Hey!" Dash whined. 

"Sir, my friend is not for sale." Twilight informed him. 

"Your lost." The titan straightened himself before facing towards the forest. In one quick motion, the Decepticon transformed to his disguise, impressing the teens in the process. 

"Woah!" Dash exclaimed. "That is awesome!"

"I know, I picked the best just for me!" Swindle chuckled. "I don't do this much since I kinda find organics gross, but I'll let it slide just this once. Hop in!"

"Cool!" Faster than Swindle could process, Dash was already on the driver seat. "This is fricken rad!" 

"Hey AJ, could you help me with this?" Twilight requested, a hand pointed at the drone. 

"Sure thing sugarcube." Applejack accepted before grabbing the drone on the edges. Thanks to her inhuman strength, the drone was lifted off the ground with ease. 

"Well, you humans are just full of surprises!" Swindle praised their abilities. 

"You haven't seen anything just yet!" Pinkie claimed. 

"We'll see."

One by one, the girls entered the Humvee. Twilight sat on the passenger side while the rest sat on the back. Pinkie on the other hand had perched herself in the gunner's place, the cannon just within her reach. Once they were comfortable, the engine would roar like a beast, catching the teens off guard. With everything set, Swindle proceeded to drive back into the forest and towards Starscream's location. 

Possibly, the biggest mistake they would ever make yet. Or perhaps it'll turn out great for them. Only time could tell.
> Metal And Organic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starscream, the rightful leader of the Decepticons. A mech of science just like his current partner, Shockwave. His only ally in the team who is a Decepticon like him. There is of course Swindle, but the combaticon was more of an arms dealer than a 'Con. So this just leaves the seeker with only Shockwave. And as of right now in the makeshift lab of their base of operations, the two scientists were working on a little project. 

"Will this work?" Shockwave asked as he scanned over a blueprint made by yours truly, Starscream. 

"Of course it will!" Starscream said with pride in his voice. "I have done the numbers and rid of any flaws in the design! All we have to do now is to create a power source strong enough to keep it running."

"Seeing as it is quite small, we can have a simple generator with energon as a fuel source. That way it can charge with your spark. We have the materials to do so."

Before Starscream could speak, an explosion rang through the lab. Both Decepticons jumped into action as quickly as possible. Shockwave ran towards a monitor and activated it with a push of a button. The screen then displayed a live video feed of the airfield and other spots that covered their surroundings. 

Smokescreen entered the lab soon after. "We're under attack!" He said as he rushed over to their side.

"Curses! The humans have found us," Starscream dreaded this day, he knew it was about to happen sooner or later. "Shockwave, activate the sentries!"

"Sentries are online," Shockwave said just a second after. "Huh!?"

If Starscream had skin, he would've paled right now. "What is wrong?"

"The sentries are not detecting any threats!"

"Impossible!" Starscream exclaimed. "Scan for any biological lifeforms! We are not looking for Cybertronians, humans are the threat to our lives!"

Shockwave wastes no time, he punches in the commands and sets the sensors to detect any signs of humans. And to his surprise, there were only six. Even Starscream was caught off guard, he expected more to come after him and everyone else. But this was good, with only six, then he could easily take the humans on. 

"Humans, six in total." Shockwave would have scowled if he had a face. "But the sentries cannot engage, something must be making them ineffective." 

Starscream roared in frustration. "Forget this! There's three of us, we can just eliminate the humans the old-fashioned way!" He said as he brought out his null ray. 

"Easy Starscream, we want them gone, not dead." Smokescreen told him. "Non-lethal, remember."

"Fine, we do it the Autobot way." The seeker huffed.

This would be difficult, it will be easier to just do away with any human military, then their problems would be solved. But nope, the Autobots just had to have a soft spot for organic life, it sickened Starscream. Always had, always will. 

Both Starscream and Smokescreen prepared themselves just by the entrance, they gave each other a nod before counting down. Three, two, and one. The two bots burst through the entrance ready for a brawl, but just as they took a step outside, a missile flew past between them and landed square on Shockwave's back. He yelped as he was propelled into his computer. Other than being covered in ash, the scientist was fine, he was a tank in more ways than his alt form. 

More missiles burst into the scene, yet something was not right. Their journey towards the end was meaningless, they serve no other purpose but to create chaos and destruction. Landing on Shockwave was merely a fluke, the rest was just a series of failures one after another. Didn't make any sense if they were being attacked by Earth's military. 

Their confusion would soon be cleared as Swindle barreled through the treeline in his alt mode, and a pink human teenager in the gunner's seat revealed to all that it was her who was blindly shooting rockets. And she hasn't stopped yet. 

"Woo!" The cotton-headed girl cheered as she unleashed another barrage of rockets. This time they were dangerously close to Starscream and Smokescreen. 

One rocket nearly hit the tip of Starscream's wing, he was just happy that it missed and instead blew up the upper part of the hangar. Swindle had a lot of explaining to do, and Starscream was very "eager" to hear his reasoning. Because of him, the sentries could not engage the humans. 

"Swindle!" Starscream roared as he stomped his way towards the merchant. 

The girl manning the cannon stared with wide eyes, then she adopted a sheepish look as she giggled with guilt. "Oops." She said as she sunk into the vehicle. 

"Starscream!" Swindle greeted cheerfully. But before he could get another word in, Rainbow Dash leaped out of Swindle with an aura of rage that was hot enough to burn steel. 

Instead of being surprised or anything Dash expected, Starscream only stared at her with a blank look, as if he had expected this to happen. But that didn't deter Dash, she was here to have a word with his lordship and God as her witness, she'll speak with this titan. 

"Starscream!" Dash called out with bravado, she showed not a single ounce of fear. 

"You..." He replied dejectedly. "Ugh, I am actually impressed that you came to see me despite the fact that I can crush you like the insect you are."

"Can it tin can!" Dash snarled.

"Swindle, explain to me why you would allow organics to use you like earth transportation?"

Swindle pushed the remaining humans out and transformed into his bot form to properly speak with Starscream. But it would seem that Dash was determined to put Starscream in his place.

"Hey, don't you ignore me!" Dash demanded Starscream's full attention. "You and I have unfinished business."

"Pitiful," The seeker chuckled smugly. "you cannot face me alone so you brought your little friends. I expected nothing more from a mon'keigh such as you."

"What did you call me!?" 

"Mon'keigh," Shockwave started as he exited the hangar with his only hand dusting the ashes off his exterior. "a race that lived before your star system even existed, the species who wiped out the mon'keigh uses the name as an insult to those who are inferior. Like the human race."

"Now that's just uncalled for!" Applejack said, clearly offended. Well of course she was, they were being insulted by an advanced alien race which was just plain rude.

Ignoring the human girl, Starscream faced Swindle with a defeated look. "You have not yet explained to me why you brought these humans here."

"They said they were Arcee's friends, so I figured I could squeeze in some good guy points so she'll trust me more. I am a business mech, and making my customers happy is a top priority!"

"Your reason is laughable, but it is something I will accept. Smokescreen!" Starscream called for the Autobot. "I believe it would be best if you remove these humans off the premises or else I will do something I might regret. Might."

Smokescreen scowled. "I'm warning you 'Scream, don't do anything stupid."

But despite the obvious threat, Dash and her friends were unfazed. The country girl marched up towards Starscream determined to show that she means business. Shockwave watched with a curious eye, unsure why such a small creature would dare to stand against something far stronger than she is. 

"What?" That was what Starscream said once Applejack stood just a few inches away. He arched his brow when the girl rested back a leg, but his face of confusion would shift into one of agony as Applejack kicked him right on his toes.

His howl of pain filled the forest, disturbing any birds around. Shockwave stared with disbelief and Smokescreen held back a laugh. Swindle on the other hand only smiled. 

It was a sight that no one had ever seen before, Starscream being assaulted by a minuscule human girl. The idea would be hilarious to many, and a certain Decepticon tyrant would've relished the day Starscream suffered in the hand of Applejack. The tyrant in question would even reward her, even if she was organic. 

"Why you!" Starscream lunged at Applejack only to be blocked by a large barrier. "Gah! What is this!?"

"Please dearie," Rarity sighed, she was the culprit behind the barrier that separated them and the seeker. "We are just small frail humans, and you are a very large machine. I believe it is best to just turn the other cheek, I advise it."

Starscream noticed the look in everyone's eyes, they were ready to take him on, especially Dash. But he had a trick in his sleeves, something that he is quite talented in. 

"So it would be," He chuckled deeply. "Oh, poor, poor, Dash. You cannot defeat me alone, so you brought your friends to fight your battle. This only proves that you are nothing but a small rodent among wolves."

"He's trying to lure you in, don't fall for it," Twilight advised Dash, she saw through Starscream's words and knew exactly what he was planning. 

"Right." Dash nodded. 

Starscream scoffed. "From what I can tell, your friends are quite the humans, having powers and such. But I can tell that is where the difference begins. They have potential, but you only have your speed."

"No, I don't!" She argued. 

"Dash, don't listen to him. We aren't here to fight, but to talk." Twilight reminded her. 

"There are creatures quicker than you are, one day you will learn that in a very difficult way."

"Starscream," Shockwave was the one who stepped in. The seeker looked at Shockwave with surprise written all over his face. 

Both Decepticons glared at each other, but only the smaller one backed off. "Ugh, fine." He said as he stormed off. 

"Hey, what are you doing?" Dash demanded him to answer. 

"Something I do better than you, mon'keigh, now if you all excuse me." In a blink of an eye, he shifted to his jet form and immediately zipped towards the sky. It wasn't long before he was just a dot in the vast blue canvas. 

"Hey! Get back here!" Dash shouted after him. But to no avail, it was useless.

She honestly expected something out of this, but instead, Starscream ran away. They wasted time getting here, Dash wanted to settle the score with the seeker.

"Well," Rarity sighed. "We sure showed him."

"Ha! You're a coward, Starscream! A coward!" Dash directed her insult to the skies. "So much for the fearless Decepticon leader title!"

"Now this is just anti-climatic..." Applejack commented. 

"Can you please stop trying to antagonize the jet with rockets?" Smokescreen pleaded to Dash.

Dash stared at him for a second, unsure what to actually say. She was so filled with hate for Starscream that she was not prepared to be kind. Of course, she barely knows any of the bots around them, she just knows that Smokescreen was the good guy while those who wore the purple badges were bad. Quite literally a black and white spectrum. 

"Oh, uh... sure, I'll stop."

Smokescreen smiled warmly. "Oh thanks, I'm Smokescreen by the way."

"Rainbow Dash," She introduced herself. To which the rest followed her after. 

"So, you're friends with Sunset Shimmer, and since you all know who and what we are... Welcome to the team!" He said joyfully. "You know, as an Autobot and member of team Prime, I have experience with human relationships!"

Music started to play from Smokescreen's speakers, a very upbeat tune filled the forest which surprised the girls. 

"I can show you guys around if you like, we have been working on the base nonstop!"

"I am highly against that." Shockwave voiced his opinion. 

"And big and scary over there is Shockwave, don't mind him, he's just a stick in the mud." Smokescreen said.

Shockwave stared down on Smokescreen, the Autobot knew that the 'Con was scowling at him. "The definition of 'stick in the mud' does not suit me, I accept change and see it as progress to a new age."

"Whatever you say," Smokescreen rolled his eyes. "Anyway! Let me show you guys Starscream's sleeping quarters, I bet we can find something juicy in there!"

"Count me in!" Swindle followed Smokescreen. 

Twilight shrugged her shoulders. "Well, while we're here, we should learn more about these alien species."

"We got nothing better to do..." Applejack admitted. 

"Oh wow!" The girls looked over to the hangar and found Pinkie inside with a look of awe. "There's a gigantic elevator here!" She informed the rest. "Is that a giant space gun!?"

"Wait!" Dash exclaimed. 

Before Shockwave knew it, organic life forms were already invading their base of operations. He watched with disgust as the humans flocked towards Smokescreen who was eager to show them around. He wondered how the Decepticons even lost to these Autobots. If it weren't for the fact that he allied himself with them, Shockwave would've exterminated these creatures. 

A click caught his attention and his head swiveled towards it. Most of the humans were already spreading their earth germs in the base, except for the one with glasses. She stayed behind to tinker with what looked to be a projector drone, something he and many others had used during the war. It was a larger scale version of their holograms used to fool the humans, for example: having a rider on the driver's seat and so on. 

He watched with utter disappointment. She clearly had no idea what she was even doing, the tools she brought were too small for the job. Twilight needed a proper Cybertronian tool just to even open the drone. But much to his surprise, she had managed to do just that, now a panel was opened revealing the interior. 

Shockwave scoffed as his eye followed her tiny little hands worked on the drone with no knowledge of its design. It was like watching a vehicon trying to work with a vending machine for the first time. 

"If you wish to be incinerated, then proceed carelessly." He warned her before going back inside. 

"Oh, thanks, I guess." She said shyly. She did not notice the malice in the tone of his voice. She merely saw it as concern, oh how ignorant she was to the Decepticon.

As Shockwave entered the hangar, he noticed that the monitor was blinking repeatedly. His fist tightened and a low growl escaped him.
> Swindled By Swindle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And this is the Ground Bridge! Well, still in progress... But a few bugs won't keep it down, this Bridge will take you anywhere!" Smokescreen gave the girls a tour of their base, Swindle followed silently. 

None of them knew how far they were underground and were treated to wonders that are out of this world. Everything was bigger so the Cybertronians could work better, but the girls noticed that there were platforms and steps that would help them climb to different levels. One staircase led to another elevator made for humans, so they could come in and out of the Autobot/Decepticon base. 

Not enough sci-fi movies would ever prepare these girls for this grand discovery. Computer screens as big as a jumbotron, cases that held the inner workings were displayed for everyone to see, never have they thought they'd find a device far more advanced than theirs. It puts those in high-tech government computers to shame. As expected from aliens of living machines. 

Large wires ran across the floor which connected the Bridge with the main console. Smokescreen explained how easy it was to open the Bridge anywhere on the planet, even other planets in their solar system. Such complex technology, and yet Smokescreen acted as if it was merely child's play. This showed the difference between their kind, the humans are still growing while the Autobot was wiser than most. Smokescreen is younger than his current allies, if he was human he would be classified as a teenager just like Dash and the others, but thanks to his experience on Earth, he was mentally mature.

They find him more respectable than Starscream, who was far more childish than Smokescreen. Dash didn't like that Starscream did as he pleases all because he's a giant robot and she's a tiny human. It made her mad thinking how she was so close to teaching the Con a lesson. But the coward flew off to who knows where, and hopefully he'll be back before Dash and her friends are gone, just so she could teach him that lesson. 

Speaking of Starscream, the Autobot brought the humans and Swindle to Starscream's room, of course, there was nothing noteworthy, to be honest. Just a berth for daily recharge, an empty table, and a display of Starscream's cape and crown. 

Dash held back a laugh, but couldn't stop the tears from forming as she eyed the display. "Pfft! What is that!?"

"Starscream's crown?" Swindle answered, but with a question of his own. 

"Apparently he carries it around him," Smokescreen said, his smile as wide as Dash's. "I found that out when I slapped his shoulder a little too hard, both the cape and the crown fell out of his cockpit. Should've seen the embarrassed look on his face, funniest thing I've ever witnessed!"

"Actually, Ah'm kinda curious..." Applejack turned towards Smokescreen. "Why are y'all Earth vehicles anyway?"

"AJ is right." Rarity also questioned the same. "If you are all so advanced, then why do you change into normal cars?"

"We have to stay hidden, and seeing as we are as tall as a house, our kind are better off disguised as Earth transportation." Smokescreen explained. "There are of course those who didn't need to transform into cars or planes, they are Cybertronians who have a rare gene which allows them to change their size when transforming, they are called mass-shifters. Arcee counts as one, which still surprises me to this day!"

"Another example would be Astrotrain!" Swindle added. "He is a Decepticon triple-changer who could transform into a train and a space shuttle! And he could change the size of his alt mode so he could transport other Decepticons to where they are needed!"

"Yeah, I'm almost jealous!" Smokescreen admitted. "Imagine, just transforming into a human disguise, we wouldn't need to sit around parking lots waiting for humans to go away!"

"So, about the cape?" Dash steered the conversation back to Starscream's belongings. 

Rarity hummed as she gazed longingly at the cape and golden crown. "Though I have to be honest, this cape does look great with Starscream, the color doesn't clash with his silver! The gold crown really goes well with him. But those shoulder pads? Just demands respect!"

"Made with the finest cloth material you would ever find in the universe!" Swindle informed them. "I should know, I was the one who commissioned the tailors for it! The crown on the other hand was made by yours truly!"

"Oh, you must introduce these tailors, I would love to meet them!"

Swindle chuckled. "Sorry, but that was a long, long, long time ago."

"Oh, a shame..." A shame indeed, what Swindle didn't tell her was that the tailors were killed after, because Decepticons don't align themselves with organics.

Not like it mattered to Swindle, he was a businessman now, unlike then there were strict rules. Now he's free to make deals with anyone, except for Autobots. But don't tell anyone about his exchange with Smokescreen and Arcee. If Tarn finds out, Swindle could kiss his spark goodbye. 

While the humans walked around and spread icky germs in Starscream's room, Swindle watched with a careful eye. These humans were not ordinary, something about them was different than the ones he had seen. He could sense it, deep within these girls is a power beyond him. He looked over to Smokescreen and wondered if the Autobot felt it too, he didn't want to risk asking for it might bring trouble to Swindle. 

He would rather not break the trust between him and this small alliance. Though they don't exactly have that much money on them, he was sure he'd make a profit some way. Thankfully, Starscream's cooperation will finally help Swindle sell his trading cards; it will be popular with today's youths. Maybe he could even sell to the humans. Wait...

"Hold on a minute!" Swindle boomed, all eyes stared at him surprised by his excitement. "You humans, I have an offer for you!"

"R-really?" Fluttershy asked shyly. 

"Yes! Are any of you interested in trading cards?"

They looked at each other, the only ones who showed any interest were Dash and Pinkie. Though they are unsure of what this bot even has to offer, they are curious. 

"Well, partner, we're interested..." Applejack said. 

Swindle sat down with his legs crossed and his holopad in hand. "Over the years of the war, I have been collecting information on many soldiers from both sides! And when the war ended, I managed to gather so much, enough for a total of 1,000 cards! I got Optimus, Sixshot, heck, I have all the Combaticons with yours truly!"

He faced his holopad to them and revealed all available cards. Several faces were on screen, soldiers who were either dead or alive, only Swindle would know. It was then they noticed just how similar their kinds are. They have heroes and villains, history, and more. The cards are categorized by rank and class, from one star to six and scout to gladiator. 

Swindle was titled as Arms Dealer, he was a Combaticon and a Specialist class. Though he wore his Decepticon badge proudly, he was part of a different faction, one the girls are not familiar with. This caused Pinkie Pie to ask about it. 

"Oh, that's the Mercenary faction! Soldiers who fight for the highest bidder, I and the other Combaticons mostly did mercenary work more than fighting for the Decepticons."

"Oh, I love the color of that one!" Rarity pointed to a seeker who looked almost like Starscream, but more feminine, the heels fit her more than Starscream. "Trading cards aren't really my thing, but I'm willing to buy some if I can get Slipstream."

"Feel free to try your luck! Forty cards per order, just $10! Great deal right?"

"Why so cheap?" Dash couldn't help but ask. "This kind of stuff should sell for like, a million dollars!"

Swindle smirked. "I know how customers work, they buy because they want it, and they will buy again because they want more." 

"Oh, that doesn't sound evil at all!" Pinkie laughed. 

With a deal that's practically a steal, the girls all bought their own, even though Fluttershy was reluctant to do the same. They were all surprised that the cards were printed out of Swindle's hand, and they were just the right size. All packed for the five of them, forty for each. 

Swindle watched with glee as the girls ripped open their new deck, and on the first, Rarity received the card she desired. 

Fluttershy was honestly surprised she received a card called Scraplets, but was shocked to learn that it preyed on metal, meaning every living being on Cybertron. 

Meanwhile, Dash stared at hers with a frown. "Swindle, did you do this on purpose?"

"Oh, I don't know what you mean Dash!" He feigned ignorance, whatever he did, he was guilty of it. 

"Swindle," Dash raised her deck in the air, and Smokescreen couldn't hold back a laugh. "these are all Starscreams..."

"Aw come on, I may have tampered with yours, but I didn't give you just Starscream!" Swindle said with so much honesty, a certain apple pony would approve. 

Dash scowled. "This one is just Starscream in a different color!" She said as she showed him the "Skywarp" card which was indeed just Starscream with a color changer upgrade.

"I gave you one of his brothers though, Thundercracker is a cool guy, I tell you what!"

"Ugh, I'll just buy another and maybe burn all these later." Dash said.

Though she knew what the cards were, she couldn't help herself going through the deck. One after another, she sees the ugly mug of the Air Commander. The cards even gave a short description about the 'Con, she learned that Starscream was apparently a force not to be reckoned with, and he was also a scientist before the war. And yet, he was still the egotistical Decepticon he is today. 

But then she stopped at the final card, her hands felt cold, sweat ran down her brow as she stared silently at this card in her hand. 

"What you got there Dash?" Pinkie peaked over Dash's shoulder, the athlete quickly pocketed the card before her friend could see it. 

"Nothing! I um... I'll just get another deck." She excused herself. 

Before she could even do so, Swindle suddenly stood back on his feet with a serious look on his face. He glared at the holopad as it blinked a couple of times before facing Smokescreen. 

"Hey there buddy, could I trouble you for a second?"

"What do you need, Swindle?" The Autobot asked.

"My ship is going crazy with a malfunction, so I need you to Bridge me to the moon for a second."

"The moon!?" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced on Swindle's shoulder, how she got there, Swindle will never know. "Oh, can we come!? Please!"

Swindle shook his head. "Sorry! But the lack of oxygen is gonna suffocate you, and I don't think Arcee would want that."

"Aw come on!" Pinkie whined. "I want to know if the moon is made of cheese!"

"I assure you, humie, that the moon is made of rocks." 

"Alright Swindle, Bridge is open!" Smokescreen informed the Decepticon, a bright blue rift behind him. The girls stared with awe, enamored by the portal and its light. "So are we gonna see you later then?"

"Buddy, I'm a businessman, just call and I'll be there!" Swindle chuckled. He set Pinkie on the floor and waved goodbye to the girls, Pinkie was so dejected that she was not able to follow. 

Soon the Decepticon stepped into the portal and was gone, his destination, the moon. Only Dash and Pinkie showed interest, the other three weren't that keen on going somewhere dangerous and full of risks. Guess they should just get back with the tour. 

"I'll trade you a Sunstorm for a Starscream." Pinkie offered to Dash. 

Maybe they could spend this time enjoying their new alien cards? 




Swindle stepped through the rift, he felt the shivering cold of the emptiness of space on his chassis. The moon, no air or any sign of life, just the smell of gunpowder and dust. Grey as it'll ever be, except for the brown-colored shuttle in the distance, which was his, hidden in the center of a large crater. 

Though there was indeed something in need of checking on the moon, it wasn't about Swindle's transport shuttle, no, something activated the motion sensors and he could not ignore it. He raised his holopad and began tracing the source. This was bad, something or someone was just a little too close to his property. And it might spell disaster if left unchecked. 

There was no sound in space, but Cybertronians could still hear well even if they were in the void thanks to their superior senses. One would think that shooting a blaster in space would be the ultimate assassination, but Swindle's first experience with Starscream's attempt on taking Megatron's life would say otherwise. A funny attempt too, the Red Baron thought he'd get away with shooting the big cheese himself, but that just gave Starscream a good beating. 

He chuckled, that was also his first time off of Cybertron, he was filled with wonder with the stars and countless opportunities. Never would he think a bot like him would end up an arms dealer.

He stopped just as he stood on the top of the crater, his eyes widened with surprise. Two ships had crashed deep into the surface of the moon, and one of them was the Nemesis!

What a find it was. Not only that, but it looked like there were Decepticons around too. Like a young protoform receiving his first alt mode, Swindle rushed over to the wreckage gleefully. 

He walked along the open area, several drones running about to fix the damage of the nameless ship. None even bothered to notice Swindle, it was like he was invisible. 

But Swindle saw something that caught his interest, two Autobots on their knees with their wrists in cuffs. Not only that, but his not-really-a-buddy Flamewar was also there, with the Autobots for some reason. He walked over to the gathered group of Decepticons, he glanced at every one of them. Knockout was there, which was surprising, Dropkick and Shatter, two very impressive triple-changers. And... the DJD's medic? What was she doing here?

Welp, whatever the reason, Swindle was more focused on his buddy Brawl. He thought he was in prison or something. 

"Is this it? This is what we were after!?" Nickel said with disappointment.

"Ha!" Wheeljack laughed. "Maybe next time shorty, can't say I didn't have fun crashing your ride."

"That was my ship you crashed." Shatter sneered as she struck him. "Dropkick, bring me my tools, I will extract information from this insect myself!"

"Good luck, Red, you'll have to try real hard to make me talk."

"I will eat your sparks!" Flamewar snapped. 

"Yeah! What the little darlin' said!" Warpath screamed. 

"This isn't good," Nickel sighed. "we are missing three others, Blitzwing, Thunderblast, and... why is the drone even named Steve?"

"Steve? Oh, I know that guy! He got hit on the head a little too hard and the first thing he saw was the name Steve." Swindle explained to the others. 

Everyone around him stopped and stared at Swindle, a surprised look on their faces as he stood there with them. He smiled innocently as he recalled the time he met Steve back on Cybertron. 

"Swindle?" Brawl said confusedly. 

"Hey Brawl, old buddy! Been a while!" He chuckled as he patted the tank. "Say, you guys look like you need some materials, luckily for you, I'm here!"

"We can get back to that later!" Nickel pointed an accusing finger at Swindle. "What are you doing here!? Where did you even come from!? And why are you even here in the middle of nowhere!?"

"I wouldn't say nowhere exactly," Knockout interrupted. "I mean, that continent over there is Asia." He pointed at the nearest planet. "Hmm, did not think that I'd be back on Earth so soon... I hope Miss Unoriginal is having fun doing seeker work over there." He said with malice in his voice, he was clearly jealous.

"Oh, that isn't Unicron! Just a planet which is similar to Earth, but the inhabitants are much weirder." Swindle said. 

"Enough! Explain yourself, Swindle!" Nickel made sure to shush her fellow medic. 

"Me? Well you see, the dwarf planet Pluto is filled with energon, so I'm just here to mine it out to sell." Then he smirked. A wicked idea came to his evil mind. 

The only reason a member of the DJD is around, must be because of a certain seeker. This was the moment to make some quick cash. 

"You know, I made a deal with the Air Commander earlier."

The moment Swindle said that it sent the group into a frenzy. Nickel was already on him, her tiny little hands gripped his helm, which she then violently shook. The others quickly surrounded him and demanded to know where Starscream was.

"Easy there, easy there!" Swindle pulled the minicon off him. "Being the kind merchant I am, I will give you this information free of charge!"

"Spill it Swindle, or I spill your fuel tanks!" She threatened as she got back on the ground.

Swindle could only laugh, though he did not want to betray Starscream, he was a Decepticon, it's what they do best. But, if he gave him up so easily, then he'd skip out on some quick cash. A bit of lying isn't gonna hurt anyone, and it'd be in his best interest to keep both connections. 

Well, the "leader" of the Decepticons will understand, Starscream is the definition of deception. 

Wait... There are seekers on Earth?
> Seeking The Seeker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Smokescreen, we need to talk," Shockwave spoke in his native tongue, none of the humans understood the language, it sounded too much like gibberish. 

The girls could only watch as the two titans conversed with each other. It would seem to be something so important that Shockwave did not wish them to hear about. 

The way the Autobot moved, it concerned them. Though they could not understand their words, Smokescreen's body language was all they needed to tell that something was afoot. The younger bot rushed over to the console and smashed a few keys, after a second he turned towards Shockwave with a worried look. He mentioned Starscream's name, then Arcee's before he returned to the computer. 

"Arcee here, what's the problem?" 

"Hey, guys!" The girls flinched when they heard Sunset Shimmer speak. "Just wrapping things up here on our side, I'm coming over to talk about something."

"Yeah, it's about her friends." Said Arcee. 

They paled once Smokescreen glanced over to them. "Friends?" He spoke in English. "Wait, that's not important right now! We have trouble."

"You guys okay, did Starscream do something?" Arcee said with concern.

"It's worse," Shockwave took over with a deep and ominous tone. A shiver shot through the girls like a jolt of lightning as they grew weary. "Moments ago, my sensors detected signs of life in the outer rings of this star system. After reading through the findings, I have concluded that we are not alone."

There was silence, no voice was heard as the two large machines waited for a response. It was deafening to say the least, the two bots were static as if they were not alive to begin with. The girls knew that the situation was dire, none could even make a squeak. 

"Where's Starscream?" Arcee finally broke the silence. 

"We do not know, I am still in the process of tracking his signature. But it will not be long until we find him, I believe that he is somewhere close to the coast and will make confirmation soon."

"I will be there ETA in five minutes! Find Starscream, and set the defenses on high alert!"

With that, Arcee ended the call. 

Shockwave immediately returned to his task of finding his "leader" before they are found by someone else. While on the other end, Smokescreen was left with nothing to do, there was no way he could help the 'Con with his set of skills. All he could do was wait until an emergency came. 

As for the girls, it would seem that their caretaker was too on edge to even remember that they were there. He stood by the console ready to activate the Bridge if needed. Optics focused on the screen as he scanned for any change around the base. 

There was almost a moment that Smokescreen acknowledged them, but it was only a short apology for the random interruption on their tour.

One can only wonder where the Decepticon leader is and what he's even doing so far out of their shelter. That question will be answered soon enough. 




"Steve!" Thunderblast called out. "You're alive!"

The drone stared at her for a moment as the light returned to him, then he simply shrugged his shoulders. 

"Oh Primus, this is bad, this is bad!" 

The seeker paced aggressively on the sands, fire and ash surrounded them along with some debris of their escape pod. The shore next to the wreckage was tainted with energon which would soon catch alight if left unchecked. 

Though the sky was blue as usual, Thunderblast could see the moon above, where the two ships were currently located. One moment there was a simple cruise through space, the next, well if Thunderblast was being honest, she fainted when the Storm Slicer attacked. But Steve was awake, and yet he would not disclose any information to her, which annoyed the femme. 

"What do we do now!?" Steve only sighed. "You don't understand, back then I had my hubby lord Megatron, but since he's dead I have no one with great influence to depend on!"

Just then, a portal opened out of nowhere, before both could even draw their weapons, a single blast knocked the seeker into the water. Steve, who opted to live, quickly raised his servos in the air and surrendered. 

"Wrong signal." A massive mech muttered. 

Though he wanted to do something, Steve was reluctant to play the hero, but he was paralyzed under the glare of a giant hand cannon that would surely decimate him before he could even bring out his guns. 

He was powerless as the larger bot walked over to Thunderblast's body. "You are..."




Starscream stood upon a cliff, he stared at the sun that neared the horizon. He waited for time to pass him by so he could go back to base and not meet the pests that dared to even speak to him. 

Such an insult would have gone unpunished if it were not for Smokescreen. Oh, how he wanted to crush Rainbow Dash under his heel like the insect she is. Though he must respect her courage to face him after nearly killing her, if it were not for his mercy, she would have been lost to the well of... Where exactly do humans go when they perish? 

Now he wondered about other races that were not related to Cybertronians. One single question started the gears in his head. As he stood on the edge, he began to think of the afterlife. When his kind loses their light, they simply return to the Well of Allsparks so their spark could be passed on to a new cycle of life. 

Does the same go for other races? Do they have a well of organic sparks? 

This thought ran through his mind for several minutes. Though he was an esteemed and respected warrior of the Decepticon core, he was a scientist as well. Which meant he was one to tackle the mystery of the universe no matter the subject. May it be energon, whether metal or plastic is better to use for the wounded, and the many chemicals that would possibly be of use to him for his quest to silence Megatron. 

Sometimes he wonders about the tyrant that abandoned the Decepticons, and Starscream. Truth be told, sometimes the seeker misses the bucket head, he would not admit it though. Sometimes... Sometimes he doubted his leadership, not because he wasn't good enough, but because... he was a coward, that is a fact that seemed to follow wherever he went. 

Starscream witnessed real leaders despite the two differences. The two bots he had in mind were Optimus and Megatron. 

Two opposites whose rivalry lasted for eons, leaders of their own way who were supported by thousands if not millions of followers. 

That was the time, he would make schemes about disposing of Optimus Prime once and for all, then Megatron would become furious and tell Starscream that "Your foolish ideas are useless against a Prime!"

To be fair, there were many opportunities to kill Optimus but it all failed because of... unexpected outcomes. 

His thoughts were derailed as something caught his eye in the distance. His mouth formed a grimace, three jets were headed straight towards him. 

"Great, just great." He groaned loudly as he waited not for time, but for whoever these jets are. 

That was when he spotted it, one jet that stood out from the other two. With his superior optics, he saw two important details, forward-swept wings and the most awful color combinations of purple and teal. 

"Slipstream." He hissed. 

No seeker fits the description more than the most horrid femme in Vos, that conniving, backstabbing, filthy opportunist. Just when he thought his day couldn't get worse, somehow Slipstream and two seekers are here on the planet with him. Though he is curious, there are bigger problems to face right now. 

Soon enough his patience was rewarded, the three seekers landed a few feet away from the cliff and away from Starscream. His scowl deepened as he met Slipstream's smug look. 

"All hail Starscream." She sneered. 

Starscream sighed. "Slipstream, Thrust... Who's the other one?"

"Nova Storm of the Rainmakers, sir." 

He arched a brow at her. "Huh, I think yellow fits you better."

"You know, we were after a different kind of prey, but imagine my shock when I detected your pathetic spark!" Slipstream hummed with a sadistic tone. "Forget Blitzwing, if we bring you back then you can explain everything to us about Shockwave's strange invention."

"You brought the Void Gun!?" Starscream beamed up. 

But soon his excitement was replaced by a sense of dread as Slipstream sauntered over to him. The way her hips moved seductively sent fear through his spark with every swing. That smile, that deceitful smile of hers, oh how he hated it. She was like a venomous snake ready to pounce on him once the chance arises. 

The worst part was that he couldn't just simply escape, though he was faster than Slipstream thanks to his jet mode, the two seekers with her were almost or just as quick as him. If he ran then they would simply shoot him out of the sky, if he fought them head-on then he would lose quicker than a bot hyped on red energon. 

His best option is to just reason with them, he knew the cone head and the rainmaker more than anyone, they have history. 

"Focus Starscream, you have bigger concerns than the gun."

"Such as?" He shivered slightly as Slipstream's claws traced the edges of his wings. 

"You and your small group of corpses are outnumbered, a battalion of drones are awaiting my orders to converge on this area to detain you. It will only be a matter of time before reinforcements arrive to escort you back to Cybertron, old friend."

"Slipstream-"

Starscream could not continue as the muzzle of Slipstream's gun was pressed against his lip. "It's Air Commander Slipstream to you, seeker."

"Does Thundercracker just throw that title around like candy?" He scoffed. "It would seem that I overestimated that fool if he was foolish enough to put you in charge of Cybertron's greatest Air Force."

"Hmm, it would seem that you haven't been living under a rock just like I had thought." She snickered. "Though you'll be sleeping under one soon enough."

"On your orders, Commander," Nova said as she and Thrust readied their rockets. 

"A shame that you won't see the bright future of Vos, I will succeed where you have failed. How will you escape this situation, might I ask?"

There was a moment of awkward silence, he stared down her optics with malice, if it was not for the fact she was with two seekers, he would have torn open her throat by now. But sadly, the odds are stacked against him, that much he knew. 

Though there was an odd feeling as he listened to her, the way she spoke seemed familiar. Then it hit him like a blow from Devastator's fist. 

"Is this how Megatron felt about me?"

Confused and stunned, Slipstream recoiled with an odd look on her face. "What?"

"The way you talked, you almost sound exactly like me!" He shivered. 

"I am nothing like you!"

An explosion clouded them with ash and dirt. Starscream had managed to fire off both his rockets into the ground which gave him the opening he needed. 

Once the air was clear, Slipstream was livid. Her fists clenched so hard you could hear her gears screech with stress. 

"You idiots, go after him!"

The two seekers in her command followed her orders and launched off the ground with haste. 

Stasrceam zoomed through the skies for his life, he knew that there was no way he could ever outrun them and it would be only a matter of time before Slipstream would catch up to him. He had better chances against the cone head and the rainmaker than that wannabe. And just as he thought, the two seekers he had in mind were already at his tail. 

Both fired shot after shot from their null rays with the intent of pacifying Starscream, but unlike these grunts, he was the lord of the skies. No matter how hard they tried to shoot him down, he would just dodge their shots like a professional dancer, if anything, his skills are beyond theirs. 

"Are you even trying!?" He mocked them. 

"Shut up!" Thrust snapped at him. 

"This is Nova Storm, we are in pursuit of Starscream! I repeat, we are in pursuit of Starscream!"

"So useless that you would call for help, pathetic!" Starscream snickered. 

"That's it!"

"Wait, no!" Thrust couldn't warn Nova in time, the rainmaker went for a tackle which was a flawed idea. 

Starscream smirked as she played right into his hands. The moment she was close enough, he transformed right at her face with his sword in hand, that was when she knew she made a grave mistake as her wing was severed. Thrust could only watch as Nova plummeted towards the green earth as she screamed for her life. 

Starscream quickly shifted back to his jet form, he could tell that Thrust was reluctant to even pursue him. One decisive move was all Starscream needed to break Thrust's spirit. 




Slipstream entered the scene but found no one else but Thrust. Any sign of Starscream was nonexistent as if he disappeared from thin air. 

"Where is he!?" She demanded to know. 

"Gone..." He said to her. 

"You let him escape!?"

"No, he went after Nova."

"Nova? Why didn't you-"

She could not even ask her question as the seeker transformed into Starscream, not Thrust. Slipstream had barely any time to dodge two rockets but thanks to her superior maneuverability, the rockets only scraped the edge of her wings. 

She watched as the colors faded away to confirm that it was indeed Starscream. "But how!?"

"Color change module, courtesy of an old friend!" Starscream laughed as he transformed back to his jet form. 

"What did you do to Thrust!?"

The two jets continued to race across the skies in blinding speed, but it was evident that Starscream was faster in the long run. "I already told you, he went after Nova, poor seeker had lost her wing!"

"That's it!" She snarled. "I'm bringing you back in pieces!"

"Then, by all means, catch me if you can!" 

Starscream dived towards the trees below, Slipstream did not give up so easily, she flew after him with a boiling rage in her spark. Both zipped around trees and other dangerous obstacles, they were equal when it came to control in the air, Slipstream was designed for this while Stasrceam trained for it. 

Both proved themselves that they were superior seekers by flying through a dense forest.

She tried to blast Starscream down, but all she did was cut through the forest with waves of bullets. The flashes of her muzzles could be seen from above, anyone would be able to notice the odd lights from miles away, especially a Decepticon with a keen eye. 




"My drones have discovered Starscream's whereabouts!" Shockwave informed Smokescreen. "Activate the Bridge immediately!"

"Wow, you're super concerned about your friend, aren't you?" Dash teased. 

"If I wish to escape Tarn, my only option is to keep Starscream alive, this is merely for survival." He claimed. 

"Well whatever, but count me in!"

Smokescreen placed a foot in front of Dash. "You can't just go like that, this is official Cybertronian business and no human should come between us."

"But I can help!" Dash claimed. 

"Rainbow Dash, just let the big robots do their thing!" Applejack scolded the athlete. "Besides, we still have to wait for Sunset and she'd be worried if y'all just up and gone like that, especially when there's danger afoot."

"Ooh, there's gonna be an awesome giant robot fight!" Pinkie squealed. 

"T-there is?" Though Fluttershy was not one for violence, she was fond of the idea of robots battling for truth and justice. Sadly these aren't like the ones she knew of. 

"None of you are going!" Smokescreen said with a boom. "You are all my responsibility and if anything happens, then I can't forgive myself."

Dash looked away shyly, but she understood him, they were all small compared to these aliens. And it would certainly be troubling if something ever happens to them. "Fine..."

Smokescreen sighed. "Good, I'd rather not get any flashbacks of Miko... Alright Shock, Bridge is ready!"

"I will contact you once I have Starscream, be vigilant."

The portal ripped reality open, the blinding lights roared to life as it formed a connection from their base to wherever Starscream was at. Shockwave made heavy and calculative steps towards the portal, but something caught his eye, a rainbow blur dashed past him and into the rift. 

"The human!" Shockwave snarled. 

"What!?" Everyone exclaimed but it was too late, Shockwave and Dash were already gone. And what was worse, the Decepticon could not find Dash anywhere on the other side.
> Déjà Vu
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Slipstream cut through the air as she dodged any chances of one good crash. Danger was the name of the game, one wrong move and both she or Starscream would be scrap metal, maybe both at the rate of their speed. 

If there were any woodland critters around, they would have been rendered homeless by now with the amount of destruction that Slipstream made. 

It was a surprise that there were no casualties of any sort, perhaps maybe a few insects, but no animals were harmed. Though, a Decepticon could care less. 

What mattered the most to Slipstream as of now, was ripping Starscream's head out of his torso. 

"If you had earned the title of Air Commander, then I may have been impressed, sadly you only got that rank because of Thundercracker!"

"Quiet!"

Starscream shifted to his bot mode and fired back at her, his null ray struck her square on the nose of her jet, he smirked as she was paralyzed for a few seconds, enough time for a wing to slam into a tree. 

Starscream laughed triumphantly. "You are as foolish as ever you treacherous snake!"

But sadly, he had underestimated her fury. A hand latched onto his ankle and he was pulled into the same tree Slipstream had that broke her flight. Both seekers fell to the ground with an echoing thud. 

Both writhe in pain as they rested against the dirt, they both took a short break to catch their breath. Starscream couldn't help but notice how the greenery above him was like the stars, the light that peered through the thicket was somewhat beautiful, even in the afternoon. 

It would seem the whole chase had left these two winded and tired, and if anything, Slipstream was out of ammunition by now with all that shooting. Both simultaneously sat up and glared at each other, Slipstream even bared her rows of jagged teeth.  

"I will end you!" She made her claim. 

"Many had said the same, but here I am."

Slowly, the two rose back to their feet. Slipstream brandished her claws while Starscream, his sword. Step by step, the two walked away from the tree without breaking away from each other's glare. 

Starscream drew his sword against the ground, it screeched a horrid tone.

None spoke a word, nature itself was dead silent. The trees were still and the wind was motionless. 

Finally, the silence was shattered as both roared with fury. The seekers charged at each other with the intent to kill, when they clashed once more, the earth shook under the combination of their titan-like strength. 

Slipstream caught Starscream's full strength with her claws, but she knew she was in trouble with the difference between unarmed and armed. He had more reach over her, one wrong move and she would be cut in two. 

They broke off each other, Slipstream delivered a flurry of swipes in hope of leaving a fatal wound, but the seeker before her had proven himself with his sword skills. 

This was a surprise to her for it was the first time she witnessed Starscream with a sword. What she did not know was that Starscream had a trick over her, he knew her better than she does herself. He did teach her everything he knew. 

Starscream kept his eye on her form and stance, he watched her joints with careful thought and waited for an opening. As much as he wanted to goad it over her, Starscream knew it would be unwise to point out her flaws, for it would only take away his advantage. 

They clashed, sword against claws, their steel echoed through the forest. Slipstream snarled as her frustration grew, while Starscream only fueled the fire in her chest with a simple grin. 

Victory was just an arms reach away, and he would have gotten it if it weren't for... 

"Starscream!" Brawl dropped out from above and connected his fist against Starscream's mouth.

The femme recoiled back as she understood what had just happened. 

Starscream had only a moment to even realize the situation before another Decepticon entered the scene, Starscream only saw a flash of blue before he was sent to the ground. 

"Dropkick to Shatter, we have Starscream in our possession."

Starscream stared wide-eyed upon the two larger 'Cons, he had run out of time. He was once again outnumbered, worst, he was disarmed. His sword had fallen out of his hand when Brawl first struck. 

"Been a while, Brawl." Starscream smiled sheepishly. 

The tank strode over to the seeker and grabbed him by his neck. "Yes indeed, all hail Starscream." Brawl said mockingly before he struck him again. 

Starscream was left heaving in pain on the ground. 

Dropkick quickly pressed his foot against Starscream's back to keep him down, Slipstream could only stare as the two placed cuffs on Starscream. 

After all that trouble, they finally caught him, the one Decepticon the DJD despised the most. All it took was one good distraction and two dangerous mechs. 

Brawl pulled the seeker up to his feet. "I've been waiting so long for this. Of all the prisons you sent me to, it had to be Grindcore."

"Oh, but it had such good reviews!" Starscream teased. 

"Where are the other Combaticons?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Come on Brawl, we go way back! Without me, you and the others wouldn't even be the Combaticons that you are today!"

Slipstream sneered. "Shut it, seeker."

"I will not be silenced! We real Decepticons are believers of free speech!"

Dropkick sighed. "When is that damn Bridge opening!?"

"Hold it right there, busters!" 

All heads turned towards a small little creature that stood on the roots of a large tree. She was small, and to say that she was human was a bit inaccurate. For she had the wrong pair of ears and wings. 

"That's right, I'm here to save your butt, Starscream!"

"Ew," Dropkick said. 

"The heck is that!?" Brawl nearly shot Dash right then and there, but his disgust was stronger than his thirst for blood. 

"Ugh," Starscream was honestly disappointed to have Dash there with him. "Is the others coming? I'd rather be saved by the smart one, well at least you brought Shockwave or Smokescreen right?"

"Well, about Shockwave... I kinda left him in the dust to get here." She told him. 

"Rainbow Dash, you better save me!" He snapped at her. 

"Rainbow Dash?" Slipstream stared. 

The Decepticons were not ready for the amazing powers of Rainbow Dash.

Her speed was unmatched, no optics in the universe could see her with how fast she was going. Brawl was the first to feel the brunt of Dash's wrath, he tumbled over his feet as something impacted against his cheek. 

Dropkick had no idea what happened, all he knew was that something took down Brawl with one swift move. Dash appeared on top of Slipstream's head with a prideful smile, one that said "Yes, I did kick a tank!"

But sadly, her foot suffered for her actions. "Gah, bad idea to go around kicking giant robots."

She dodged in time before the seeker could catch her. "Wait, hold still!" Slipstream pleaded. 

"Blast it!" Dropkick took aim, Slipstream stood in his way and prevented him from firing. "Move Slipstream!"

"Don't shoot!"

Starscream took this chance and made a run for it. The two Decepticons all snapped towards the seeker on the run, when they attempted to give chase, one hero stood in their way. 

"Final warning before I kick your butt, get lost!" 

"What is that thing?" 

"Don't shoot, that's an order!" Dropkick would be wise to follow Slipstream's demand. "He called you Rainbow Dash..."

"Yeah?"

"The resemblance is uncanny." She leaned forward to examine Dash further. "Your colors match... Do you know who I am?"

Dash stared at the seeker, there was a moment of silence among the three. It was awkward to say the least, Dropkick was confused and disgusted. Brawl still laid on the ground, he was conscious but was too overwhelmed by the fact that he was attacked by something small as a damn scraplet.

Slipstream waited for Dash to answer, Dropkick had better things to do so he went after Starscream who was top priority. Dash tried to stop him, but she only opened herself to Slipstream's attack. 

Rainbow Dash felt a giant fist tighten around her, she came face to face with a titan. "What is my name?" She asked Dash once more. 

Though she struggled, Dash had taken a few seconds to make a guess, but then she rendered something earlier. "Slipstream?" That was it, the seeker's name, Dash remembered from Rarity's trading card, the one she cherished the most in her deck. 

"It is you..." Slipstream seemed to misunderstand, that was merely a guess on Dash's part, but somehow this only solidified what Starscream had told Dash before. "Did Shockwave do this to you? Are you able to transform? I... I think we can work around this."

"W-what?"

"I can't believe it, you were here the whole time." Slipstream almost collapsed, her knees felt so weak as she stared at Dash with an empty gaze. 

"Hold on now, I think you got things wrong!"

Slipstream did not listen, she said something in Vosian to her comms. This was bad, she was trapped right after Starscream had escaped, but with Dropkick on his tail. 

If she doesn't think of a way out of her predicament, then she'd either face imprisonment or worse, be experimented on. Who knows what they'll do to her, especially when she's being confused as another Rainbow Dash. 

"Release the mon'keigh, Slipstream."

"Shockwave," She hissed. "What did you do to my trinemate!?"

"I only recall ever interacting with Thunderblast." He said blankly. "Her triple-changer T-cog was an improvement, I doubt you would say otherwise."

"I'm not talking about Thunderblast!" She whipped around and slammed her face against Shockwave's hand cannon fearlessly. "What did you do to Rainbow Dash!?"

For a moment, Shockwave stared at them both, he did not like being confused. It was not logical for him to be, and it made him furious. "Autobot seeker Rainbow Dash was terminated eons ago, cause of death: Executed by Starscream for treason."

"He did what?" Slipstream shook. 

"The one in your hand is not the seeker, but a human." His cannon started to power up. "Now release her and tell me where Starscream is located."

"I don't believe you." She stated. "She's right here, and I will make you turn her back!"

"Illogical." Shockwave decked her across the face, Dash got loose from Slipstream's clutch and soon enough made some distance between her and the giant robots.

"Alright, Shock! Now let's find Starscream before the blue guy finds him first!"

"And what of Brawl?" Shockwave asked as he made sure that Slipstream was out of the picture, no point in killing her now if it only wastes his time. 

"You lot go ahead..." Brawl mumbled. "But next time I see any of you, you're all scrapped!"

"Remain disposed." Was all Shockwave said to the Combaticon. "Lead the way, human."

"Ha, I bet Starscream is crying like a little baby without us!"




Starscream felt like he had done this before, he ran with his wrists cuffed, and some lunatics were after him. 

Though he wondered what Dash was doing not out of worry, but because he liked the idea of a red smear on the forest floor. That would make an awesome wallpaper for him. 

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the awful sound of one of the worst alt modes there is, well second. "Dropkick, at least your partner Shatter is a bot of good taste." 

"I heard that!" Dropkick crashed down right in front of Starscream, guns already loaded. "Both of us were grounders, you know?"

"Ah yes, but you were given a chance to be... better."

"Give it up, you have no way to escape!"

"But I'm not alone, am I?" He smirked. "Any second now before my reinforcements arrive! Then you'll be sorry!"

"Yeah right, last time I saw that bug, Slipstream got a hand on her." Dropkick claimed. 

"Oh," He frowned. "that just means she's alive."

Before Dropkick could even question, he was pulled away by a larger 'Con who was none other than Shockwave. Starscream beamed up at the sight of his ally, he cheered loudly even as Shockwave pummeled Dropkick with his only fist. 

The triple-changer couldn't get a footing as the cyclops continued his assault. The earth quaked as metal hit metal, Shockwave was relentless and poured out his frustrations on Dropkick. 

"Yeah, tear him apart!" Dash cheered from Starscream's shoulder. 

"Oh, you are here." Starscream sighed. "I would have thought Slipstream took you back to their base."

"As if, she couldn't handle me!"

He arched a brow, the two continued their conversation as Shockwave continued his punishment. "Doubt there was even a fight, Slipstream would be too overwhelmed by your name alone."

"She was-"

She stopped herself, there was no point in explaining if Starscream already knew the outcome of their encounter, it would seem he understood it better than most. 

"Hey, what's a trine?"

Dropkick gasped as he was slammed into a tree. Shockwave did not allow him to even breathe for a moment, only pain. 

"Something we seekers have close to a family, to her, she must have seen a long-lost relative."

Dash paused for a moment. "Did you kill her?" It was obvious who she had in mind.

Starscream avoided her gaze, he silently watched the fight instead and left no answer, as if he was filled with some regrets. Though he was unreadable, there was a small bit of pride on his face. 

Dash chose not to pursue her curiosity in fear of losing bits of sanity, this was a war criminal she was with, there's no telling how many skeletons there are in his closet. 

Took a few more minutes before Shockwave was satisfied. Though it was a primitive outburst, somehow he felt a little lighter. Dropkick was left broken, but still alive it would seem. If anything, Brawl dodged a beating. Finally having the stress relief he deserved, Shockwave called for Smokescreen and told the Autobot his current location. 

Starscream for a moment watched as the larger bot walked away from the defeated Dropkick as if it was just a small inconvenience. He was reminded why Shockwave was one of Megatron's lieutenants, not only was the cyclops smart, but he was a force not to be reckoned with. 

"He's still alive," Starscream pointed out. 

"We don't need to kill him!" Dash argued. 

But for Shockwave, he already decided. "Dropkick is one of my creations, before, he was a simple Decepticon foot soldier, but through my genius, he is a triple-changer. I cannot, in good health, simply destroy my creations, unless needed to."

"They are not your sparklings, Shockwave, they are the enemy." Starscream scoffed. 

"That's just weird, tbh." Dash said. 

The Bridge opened in front of them, quickly, the three rushed through in fear of another wave of enemies. But once they were on the other side, Arcee came out of nowhere to slam her fist into Starscream's face. 

"You scrap head! Why did you turn off your comms when we are being chased by a group of lunatics!?"

While the seeker suffered Arcee's wrath, Dash had problems on her own side, her friends were at her throat for pulling a stunt like that. Even worse, Sunset only glared at Dash without saying a word. One thing was for sure, the girls were worried to death. Pinkie Pie even prepared a speech just in case, which did not help at all during their wait. 

"I'm just glad you're alright, 'Scream." Smokescreen said. 

"Please, as if some nobodies could defeat the great and powerful Starscream!"

"You were caught, twice." Shockwave said as he went back to his work. 

"You were lucky that Shockwave even went after you," Smokescreen teased the seeker. "You had no idea how thin our numbers are!"

"Just get these cuffs off me, Autobot! If I had it my way, then those pathetic excuses of Decepticons would be- Why is Steve here?"

Dash and the others turned to look over to the vehicon who was busy with the consoles. Steve gave Starscream a wave before he glued his visor back on the screens. 

"Starscream!"

"Oh no..." He groaned loudly as he heard one of the most horrid voices in the galaxy. "Please tell me that was you, Arcee."

"Lord Starscream!" Thunderblast barreled through the other bots to tackle Starscream with all her might, he dodged in time just as she was about to wrap her arms around him. 

"What is that idiot doing here!?"

"I tracked a Decepticon signal which I had thought was yours because of similar build types, but instead found these two. Though I injured Thunderblast and require a long rest, I will not apologize."

"Great, useless and stupid, my favorite combo."

Thunblast sprung up and locked Starscream in a tight hold. "But lord Starscream, I can provide anything that could be of help! I can even do the commanding for you!"

"Is it too late to toss her out?" Starscream questioned. 

"Who is she?" Dash asked her friends. 

"You're not off the hook yet!" Applejack scolded. "But to answer yer question, her name is Thunderblast."

"Weird girl, honestly." Rarity commented. "First thing she did was ask who was in charge, but when the boys said it was Arcee, she asked who was the 'male' leader, to which the two shrugged and agreed on Starscream. Seeing as he is the acclaimed leader of the Decepticons."

"And she's all buttered up on him?" Dash wondered. 

"No clue," Rarity answered. 

"Get off me woman!"

"Aw come on, you can't say no to me!"

Arcee leaned over to the humans and whispered. "We will speak later, and Dash, you better have a good excuse."

Steve merely focused on his task, he cared not about the others, only to make sure that the base was maintained. 




"Really went ham on him," Brawl commented on Dropkick's fate. 

"This is Slipstream, we have two injured on the field and are in need of that Bridge ASAP!" 

"Negative, we are sending a shuttle to your location." A drone answered. 

"What, why can't we have a Bridge!?"

"We are experiencing unknown malfunctions as of now, the Bridge will be fixed soon enough but Knockout advised us to send a shuttle instead."

"Unicron be damned!" 

"Scrap," Dropkick managed to curse. "I don't want Shatter to see me like this..."

"I knew it was smart not to fight Shockwave," Brawl sighed. "this would have been me."

"You're lucky... but that doesn't change the fact you got hit by an ant." Dropkick shot back. 

"That ant was Rainbow Dash," Slipstream corrected. "And I won't be having you bad-mouthing her when I'm around."

"Guh, whatever... where is that damn shuttle?"
> Trouble In Iacon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The tension was high in the capital of Iacon, right in front of the Hall of Justice where hundreds of disgruntled Decepticons gathered. Picket boards and holographic signs sprouted from this ocean of bots, all had something to say, most simply wanted justice for their kind. 

A few familiar faces could be seen at the head of this massive protest. Bumblebee could only spectate from the safety of his office, weary and tired, he was helpless in the face of all these Decepticons.

Hatred, it was the only thing he could feel from these protesters, all because the fate of Alcatraz and its prisoners was leaked to the public. A rumor was spread through Cybertron like wildfire, word went around that the culling of Decepticons started and it did not help with the tension between the two factions. Many began to act against the council, they demanded many things from those who were in charge.

It was painful for Bumblebee to witness this event, there was something brewing in the distance and he was unable to do anything. All trust could only be left to Ultra Magnus, Bumblebee prayed to Primus that a solution could be made. 

He wondered if he came out there and informed these Decepticons about the DJD, would it cease their defiance against the council? 

Perhaps not, these bots already had set their mind against them, those who stood for justice, those who upheld the law. They saw Bumblebee and the guards as nothing more than oppressors, which only filled Bumblebee's spark with dread. 

The door opened, Bumblebee snapped around and armed himself, "Greetings, hero of Cybertron." -but found himself frozen midway, his eyes widened with fear upon landing on the one who started it all, Tarn. 

"Y-you!" He managed to let out. 

"I will allow you to regain function, it would be rude to speak with an Autobot like you in this way. But do not, test me."

Bumblebee got back all control over his body, he nearly collapsed onto the floor but managed to catch himself on his desk. "How..." He huffed. "How did you get in here?"

Tarn chuckled. "A desperate Decepticon prioritized survival over honor, you should have thought twice about hiring him as a guard."

"What did you do to Barricade?" 

If Tarn was perceptive, he could tell that Bumblebee was furious, not at the Decepticon that betrayed him, but at the leader of the DJD. "I sent him to Vos for further orders, he is quite the asset with all his knowledge of the council."

Bee relaxed a little, but he did not allow himself to be unaware of the danger that posed a threat to his spark. 

This was the first he ever met Tarn, or seen to be in fact, he only had the description but Tarn was far more intimidating face to face. The Decepticon only stood there, his red optics glared at Bumblebee with a mysterious glint in his eyes. One wrong move and he was scrap metal, there was no way that help would arrive in time before Tarn forces Bee's spark to explode. 

"Why are you here Tarn, are you after those who are in jail too?"

"Them?" He clicked his tongue. "No, I have plans. They need to be alive for something bigger than you and I."

"Public execution?" Bumblebee scoffed. 

Tarn smiled under the mask. "Yes. A sacrifice that shall inspire millions."

He gritted his teeth, rage started to cloud his eyes. "You monster... These Decepticons are only here because of minor offenses! They are part of the new generation, and all you want to do with them is use them for such vile things!?"

"Captain Bumblebee, is something the matter?" A voice called out from outside. 

"Best not to tell them," Tarn advised. "Or else, they will suffer."

There was a moment of silence, both glared at each other as seconds ran. "I'm watching a movie, trying to relax! Sorry if it's too loud."

"Of course Captain!" The voice said with a strange tone. "I understand how stressful these past few days are, and if y-you need anything, just call!"

With that, the two were alone once more. Bee did not want to sit down at his desk, there was no way he could just do that with Tarn around. 

"Why are you here Tarn?"

"Waiting, watching, wondering..." He answered. "But mainly, I wanted to speak with you."

"Well here I am, let's hear what you have to say."

"I met Knockout, such a great guy... No, I did not hurt him." Tarn saw the look in Bee's eyes, such an odd Autobot to show concern for Decepticons. "I asked him about the death of Lord Megatron, he only told me that he could not remember the day, but all records showed that he was there. Further investigation, my research team has discovered a portion of his memory banks devoid of any... memories."

"Why do you want to see him dead so badly?"

"Closure," He simply answered. "and I was just curious actually." Tarn walked over to the wall. "There was something that Starscream said that really stuck."

"That is?"

A single red optic glared at Bumblebee with a wrathful gaze. "Megatron is a traitor."

"He's dead, no clue why he'd tell you that. Probably to confuse you."

"Perhaps..." He paused for a second, he pressed a hand against the wall and felt its cold surface. "Have you heard about the missing Nemesis?"

"Three Decepticons and a vehicon broke into the museum, fixed the ship, and launched it out of Iacon. Was that your work?" Bumblebee was not telling the whole truth...

Tarn growled. "No, it was treasonous traitors. They stole it so I would not find out the secrets left before the end of the war." Tarn could tell that Bee knew something, but there was no point to pursue it without a shred of evidence.

"Tough luck,"

"This has been a marvelous chat, Bumblebee." Tarn faced the Autobot with an unreadable look. But there was something about his silent stare that made Bee tremble. 

"Disperse the premises or we will use force!"

Bumblebee snapped towards the window as the PA system warned the protesters below. He saw that it aggravated the crowd and was enraged by the gall of the Autobots. Only one problem: The voice was not someone Bee knew. 

"What are you doing?" He hissed at Tarn. 

"Sacrifices must be made."

"Final warning! Return to your homes or we will have to use lethal force!"

"Tarn, what are you doing!?"

"Today will be one for the history books." Tarn chuckled. "Many will remember today as the day that the Autobots took a step too far."

"Tarn!" Bee howled as the sound of jets filled the air. 

Before anyone even knew it, a series of explosions rocked the earth, screams shattered through space. Bumblebee rushed towards the window with fear and shock. His hands shook as he witnessed the aftermath of a quick bombing run on the protesters, it was horrible. Many were injured, some... some didn't make it. Limbs and metal shards littered the ash-covered street. 

Slowly with a quivering jaw, Bumblebee swiveled his head up towards the culprits, his eyes widened with disbelief. 

There in the sky, a trine of seekers lapped around the Hall of Justice, and what was worse was that these seekers wore the Autobot badge. They were not anyone he knew, but it was obvious who commanded them. 

"And Bumblebee, this office is unclean, please be mindful next time you have a visitor."

"Tarn!" Bumblebee snapped around and blasted at nothing, Tarn vanished. "TARN!"

The news spread like wildfire, a total of twenty dead, unknown number of injured. 

This caused an uproar in the Decepticon community, many started to join arms with their fellow Decepticons against the council. They demanded justice for Alcatraz, justice for the innocent protestors that suffered. The seekers were to be held responsible for such a tragic event, but no guard could catch any one of them, this only fueled the hatred in the Decepticons who believed that the council was hiding the seekers.

There was no point in telling the truth, they would not listen. 

The situation got worse than it was, Bumblebee knew that it wasn't the end, and the bad news is, every Decepticon in their holding cells went missing without a trace. He was worried for them and who knows what Tarn would do. 

He could only hope that a silver lining of hope would come to their hour of need.

"Excellent work, Kaon, no secret will be kept from us... execute phase 2..."
> Phantom Of The Moon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm sorry, okay!"

Dash boomed to the top of her lungs, she had apologized several times already, but it would seem her friends won't let her mistake be forgotten so easily. 

Our heroes were already back in the city after they were dropped off by Smokescreen and the new guy, Steve. First impressions, Steve was a silent kind of vehicon, as if he had no personality of any kind. But from what they understood, he was a simple drone made to be foot soldiers for the Decepticons to substitute lack of manpower, or as a way to defeat Autobots through sheer numbers. 

So that was it, he was a drone like the one Twilight got from Swindle, but much more complex. 

Speaking of drones, it was truly a strange sight to see a giant machine hovering just behind the girls as they head home. Twilight's progress was on the right track, but she was far from finish. 

"Sorry isn't enough," Sunset said. "You went behind my back and confronted Starscream, then you risked your life for him! What were you thinking!?"

"They needed help! I just couldn't stand there and do nothing!"

Rarity scoffed. "As admirable your selflessness is, you shouldn't have put yourself in harm's way, especially for someone like Starscream, who you hated if you have forgotten."

"Yes, I hate the guy, but aren't we heroes?"

"We are..." Fluttershy muttered. 

"That's true," Applejack agreed. "But that doesn't mean we should just go and fight robots the size of two barns!"

"Three of them no less," Rarity huffed. 

"I took down Brawl like it was nothing!"

"Brawl was there!?" Pinkie popped into Dash's view. She presented a card of Brawl's likeness to the athlete. "You think he'd sign my card!?"

"Probably?" She took a step away from the cheerful girl. "I don't know, but from what I can tell, most of the Decepticons aren't really the kind you should feel buddy-buddy with."

"That's true, Star and the Shock fella don't really like us, can't even hide their prejudice around us." Applejack said. 

"But Steve is cool!" Pinkie reasoned to them. 

"He seems like the strong and silent type," Rarity commented. 

"Are we forgetting what Dash did?" Sunset reminded the others. 

"I said I was sorry!"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow after school, but..." Sunset paused for a second. "Do you girls still want to go back?"

"Still need to buy more cards from Swindle, I got too many Starscreams for my own good." Dash made a plan to dispose of all the unwanted cards when gets home. 

Sunset turned towards Dash. "Who's Swindle?" 

"Wait, what cards?" Twilight wondered. 

Pinkie bounced ahead of them with a joyful spring. "Yeah, Swindle is this cool intergalactic arms dealer who also sells cool nick-nacks that sold us these cool trading cards about the Transformers!" 

"Transformers?" Everyone parroted.

"It fits, right!? They all transform and junk, all robotic and stuff also!"

"Y-yeah," Fluttershy managed to say out loud. "Like um... a Gundam that can transform into flight mode."

"Like Starscream?" Dash arched a brow. 

With that said, Fluttershy brought out a smile bright enough to blind. "You're right! He does look like a Gundam, and Shockwave also reminds me of the Zaku!"

With that, their conversation switched from the Cybertronians to Earth-based interest on what show they preferred these days. Somehow they forgot about Dash's dangerous stunt back at the airfield and focused more on the new subject.

As time went on, the girls started to probe into Sunset's personal life and asked for details about her recent encounter with Flash Sentry. As much as she tried to play it off, Sunset was forced to spill to her friends her experience. Wasn't much to talk about, they rode through the streets and Sunset drove like the greatest driver ever existed, or so Flash believed. It was all done by Arcee who knew the streets better than most. 

Slowly, the girls would give their farewell to each other as they returned home one by one, first it was Sunset who was closer to her house than the others, then Twilight with Rarity after her. Fluttershy left the remaining three since her house was on the same road that led to the rest. 

Pinkie hugged her two friends before she rushed home, but only after she gave Dash and Applejack each a card of someone named Bumblebee.

"Well here's mah stop, sugarcube!"

At the final intersection, Dash waved Applejack goodbye as she walked down to the end of the street where her home was located, with that, it was finally just Rainbow Dash. She would've gone through a boring walk home, but she had the speed, so once they were on their separate ways, Dash ran home at blinding speed. 

She gave her parents a quick greeting before she ran all the way to her room for a well-deserved rest. With her things tossed one floor along with her shoes, Dash dived into her bed and nearly broke it with her speed. As she laid to rest after a long stressful day, a thought ran through her mind. 

It was about Slipstream, she recalled how her eyes sparkled to life when they both met as if Dash lifted the weight of guilt from Slipstream's shoulders. From that short moment, somehow, Dash felt as if she had saved a life. 

A single card was fished out of her pocket, she stared at it with an unsure feeling. 

The card which she received from Swindle showed a seeker, an Autobot. It was Rainbow Dash, the one Starscream had killed off. But... Slipstream had her doubts. 

This Autobot looked like a standard seeker, small and femme in build, Dash disliked that she was small, it reminded her too much of... her? The resemblance was a surprise to say, a rainbow-colored tail fin acted as a mohawk, the color schemes were identical. Even had a few lightning symbols to make her stand out from an ordinary seeker. Two on both shoulders, two on the lower parts of her legs. 

This was the Rainbow Dash Slipstream knew, and Dash could not help but feel a sense of guilt of her own. 

She wondered how this seeker lived, why she betrayed Starscream. Many questions filled her mind and she felt a burden upon her so heavy that it was suffocating.




"So... you got me."

Starscream glared with a furious fire. "I suppose so,"

"What are you gonna do next, Air Commander?"

"I will rip out your spark," He claimed. "Then I will make you watch as I crush it in my hand."

"I ain't scared!"

"You should be, I hope you said goodbye to that failure of a seeker."

"You don't talk about my friends like that." She hissed. 

"Be happy that it was me who caught you and not the DJD, sometimes death is a mercy... Till all are one..."

Starscream awoke with a haunting scream as he shot up from his bed. His null rays were armed and aimed at the door. 

"It was a dream..." He muttered in his dark room. "It was just a dream..."




"Look who's awake!" Thunderblast chimed. "It's Lord Starscream!"

"Ugh, not now Thunderblast, I had a rude awakening and would be better without hearing your voice." 

"But I have something to show you, I got myself an Earth-based alt mode just like you asked!" She said excitedly.

Starscream arched a brow as he looked over to Steve for confirmation, the drone only nodded at him. "Ugh, fine, show it to me."

"Okay!" 

Now that he saw her, Thunderblast was bigger than before, not by height, but with larger wings along with extra pieces that would form her second alt mode. Steve even handed her a large missile battery launcher. 

She took a few steps back to create enough space for her to change, with one single flip, her transformation activated. Starscream watched as Thunderblast shifted her limbs around to take on the form of her second mode. Her T-cog screeched its familiar tone. 

Then it was done, and Starscream was static, with a face comparable to a statue. 

"I knew you'd be speechless!" Thunderblast squealed. 

"Thunderblast..."

"I'm awesome, I know! But please, tell me more about how you love it!"

"Thunderblast... YOU IDIOT!" 

"What's going on?" Arcee entered the scene. 

She came across Starscream and Steve who stood over what seemed to be... a boat with a missile battery?

"Is that Thunderblast?" She hazarded a guess. 

"Oh, hi." There was poison laced in Thunderblast's voice. It was clear that she did not like the other femme, perhaps for a few certain aspects, such as the fact that she is unable to bend Arcee to Thunderblast's will with her charm. 

Or maybe she saw her as a threat to what power she could hold. 

Starscream growled. "Thunderblast, when I said I wanted you to have an Earth-based vehicle mode, I mean that you take on a four-wheeler vehicle!"

"Ew," The triple-changer returned to her bot mode. "Are you hearing yourself, my Lord? One thing to be a ground-pounder, with offense-"

Arcee frowned. "Noted."

"-But when you ask me to take on that kind of disguise, then you'd be out of your mind!"

"That is hardly a good reason!" He snapped at her. "When Shockwave gave you that triple-changer T-cog eons ago, it was to make you useful, and you didn't even get yourself a second vehicle mode after all this time!"

"Why would I? I can fly anywhere I want, plus, I really like boats. They are, like, totally cool."

Starscream wanted to explode, just end it then and there. The frustration he felt was so suffocating that he'd rather accept death than continue his suffering. 

"Why are you so insistent on the grounder thing?" Arcee inquired. 

"Do you remember what we did back on Unicron?" Starscream asked her a redundant question. "Back then, we hunted your human friends down so we could use them against you, and that was one of your weaknesses."

"Get on with it, Scream."

He sighed. "You and the other Autobot aligned yourselves with seven humans, Slipstream along with Brawl and Dropkick knows about Rainbow Dash. They will employ to capture her to use against you."

"And you need people to watch over them?" Arcee finished for him. "I would say you care, but it's obvious you're scared that Smokescreen and I would turn against you."

"Of course I'm scared, we are outnumbered and alone on this planet with no escape!"

"Well if we rescue Flamewar and the Autobots, I'm sure we can fight back," Thunderblast suggested. "Oh right, we still need to find Blitzwing, he's out there somewhere."

"Hold on a second, Autobots?" Arcee questioned further. 

"Yeah, they helped us steal the Nemesis from the museum, it was that guy named Wheeljack and a very stupid one called Warpath."

"Wait, that just adds more questions." Arcee said as she tried to wrap her mind around the idea of Wheeljack helping Decepticons, but then having the wild card in this solar system would benefit Arcee, so there was no problem on her side. 

Starscream arched a brow. "You also said Blitzwing is somewhere on this planet?"

"From what Steve told me, our shuttle got shot as it entered the planet's atmosphere, which made a hole big enough for Blitzwing to get thrown out."

"Ha!" Starscream laughed enthusiastically. "That's it, Blitzwing is the key!"

"How?" Both femmes wondered. 

"You'll see, but first I must speak with Shockwave this instant!"

Starscream rushed out of the room to seek out the scientist, both Thunderblast and Arcee were left alone as they heard Starscream's footsteps receding down the hall. 

"Just an FYI, mechs don't like brutish kinds of femmes."

"One more word out of you Thunderblast, and you'll be back on the medical bed soon enough."




"What happened to him, boss?" Wheeljack asked with deep curiosity as he stood behind an energy field. 

Located in the private medical room in the Storm Slicer was Knockout, with him were the prisoners kept in a cell made from one of the many vacant rooms where the patient would rest. 

"Silence is all I ask for, old friend, so please keep quiet." Knockout glared. 

Wheeljack chuckled as he pointed a thumb at Warpath. "You're just asking too much with the big guy around."

As if on cue, Warpath slammed against the energy field that separated Knockout and the prisoners. "LET ME OUTTA HERE YOU VARMINT! OR ELSE AH'LL GIVE YOU A GOOD SLAM BAM!"

"Honestly, I feel myself going deaf around him!" Knockout complained. 

"Speak for yourself, chief," Wheeljack chuckled. "Warpath is just as deaf as a rock."

"Must be that cannon in his chest, it certainly wouldn't surprise me. As for Dropkick?" All eyes landed on the injured Decepticon, battered and broken. It was a terrible sight for the squeamish. "He met Shockwave on the field, as you can see it did not end well. Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why are you two here with Blitzwing?"

A smirk found itself on the Autobot. "Looking for Arcee." He had nothing to hide, everyone knew about Starscream's small alliance with Arcee and Smokescreen. So there was no point in lying. 

"I see... You know anything about this... void gun?"

"Only Blitz knows," He answered. "Listen, as much as I am glad you took us away from Shatter, I don't have any information that's useful to you Decepticreeps, so let's just talk about something else."

"I see..."

"And Doc?"

Knockout faced Wheeljack with a blank look. 

"All hail Starscream."

"What?"

"Guess you don't know how to take a joke," Wheeljack laughed. 

"Forgive me if Autobot humor isn't part of my programming." Knockout sneered. 

"He's sayin' y'all got a bird brain for a leader!" Warpath explained the joke. 

"Doubt Tarn would make a better leader," Flamewar hissed. "Heck, even Blitzwing thinks someone else could do things better."

"That's what I'm curious about, Blitzwing hates Tarn, so please explain."

"Do know about operation Triple Takeover?" Dropkick groaned back to life, he regained consciousness and had managed to catch some snippets of the conversation. "Back in the war, Shockwave made a breakthrough with his research thanks to the help of Blitzwing, and with that research, they increased the population of Triple-changers by tenfold."

"Easy Dropkick, don't strain yourself." Knockout warned him. 

Dropkick continued. "As time went on, Blitzwing started to change, everywhere he went he would speak with other triple-changers suspiciously, I was one of them. He talked about how we were a superior race of Cybertronians being able to take on any form we wanted without being bound by our builds. That's a red flag for Megatron, he saw through Blitzwing and his schemes. Sent a bunch of spies to watch over him."

"What exactly was he scheming?" Wheeljack was deeply curious just as Knockout. 

"Triple-changer supremacy."  Those words sent a chill down Knockout's spine. "Blitzwing believed that we are a superior race over others. He had such a way with words that even Autobots started to listen, triple-changers from both sides. Heck, if it wasn't for Shatter, I would have attended one of his rallies blindly."

"And Tarn was sent to disrupt it."

"Not just Tarn, I was used as a tail to find out where they host the rallies. I saw what they did... The DJD dropped onto the stage while Blitzwing was in the middle of his speech... They ripped him apart in front of everyone, like a bunch of animals starved of blood." Dropkick shuddered. "First they tossed him into the grinder, bathed him in acid, and electrocuted him... No one could even run because Megatron had all exits blocked with an army. I stood there, we all did... We watched it happen. What was left of Blitzwing was just a heap of metal, barely even alive."

Knockout stared blankly at the empty space above him, an odd sense of fear within his spark as he learned the truth, even Warpath and Flamewar were silent. Wheeljack sat down against the wall, a scowl on his face. 

"Blitzwing didn't deserve that punishment... The DJD and Lord Megatron left afterward, the message sent out to all." Dropkick admitted. "When they managed to fix up whatever was left of him, he changed drastically, started to talk weirdly. I understand why he'd be against Tarn, I really do..."

"That's enough, Dropkick," Shatter entered the room with a silent stride. The gloomy mood quickly dissipated as she made her prescense known, Wheeljack even wore a smirk as their eyes met for one single second. "you need to rest."

"I know, just wanted to have a chat with lover bot here."

She scoffed at her partner, injured and unable to stand on two feet, yet he still had the strength to make a tasteless joke.

"Don't worry, Shatter, under my care your friend will be back on the field soon enough!" Knockout assured her. "I can even trim down some weight, that way he'll be faster than ever before. Ask one of my previous patients, Wheeljack. Am I right buddy?"

"Oh, yeah. Guy got magic hands for sure." Wheeljack snickered. "Thanks to the Doc, I beat my own speed record." 

"As much as the offer is tempting, I will have to reject it for Dropkick's sake." She turned to leave, her cold glare went over Wheeljack who kept his mischievous grin with the intent to antagonize the triple-changer. "As soon as he is able to fight, report to me immediately, Doctor."

As soon as she was out of earshot, Knockout smiled and said. "I think she's starting to warm up on me."

Dropkick only laughed, but quickly the noise died as he recoiled in pain. 

Wheeljack returned to his passive state, with no point in doing anything if he was locked in a cell. Knockout tended to the injured Decepticon with utmost care. 

What some would believe a moment of peace would be deceived, for there is danger afoot, for they have dug their own grave upon the cold barren surface of the moon. The first victim would be a lone vehicon who traveled too close to the remains of the Nemesis. 

First, his comms were filled with white noise. Then he felt a cold chill go through him. 

His screams were drowned out by the silence of space as if his voice was stolen from him. The vehicon vanished into the Nemesis as a sinister aura flooded the ship's surroundings.

The communication did catch something just before the vehicon vanished, something that truly made other drones question, it was his final message as he succumbed to darkness. 

"M-my Lord...?"
> First Contact
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No signal detected."

Starscream huffed loudly, his eyes tired after a whole night of searching, Shockwave on the other hand seemed to be unaffected by all the work they did. Throughout the night the two focused their mind and power on finding Blitzwing, as ordered by Starscream of course. 

Well, Steve was also there, but all he could find were rumors of a giant rat lurking in the Everfree Forest. 

Thunderblast strolled cheerfully behind them, an energon cube held in her hands as she planned to create a tastier brew for herself. Arcee and Smokescreen had just arrived to bear witness to the progress the Decepticons made. 

Starscream was almost at his last foot while Steve had already been vanquished by the sandman. Shockwave remained autonomous. Countless locations flashed through the screens, hundreds of possibilities, and yet they only scratched the surface. 

"Huh!?" Starscream exclaimed which caught the attention of every bot in the room. "N-nothing, someone keeps spamming the internet with these infernal apes. As adorable as they are, it got annoying after the fiftieth time."

"Could you at least tell us why you want Blitzwing found that badly?" Arcee questioned. 

"Any ally that is far more useful than Thunderblast is welcome, and he and I have fought together back in the war, I can vouch for him."

Smokescreen had a curious look. "So who exactly is Blitzwing?"

"I feel like we've already had this conversation, but to keep it short: Powerful triple-changer, both a marksman and a swordsman, that's all you need to know." Said Starscream. 

"Oh yeah, he's also very crazy." Thunderblast added to the description. "Like, really crazy. Three personalities and junk, I named the loud one Blitzbomb -BB for short- because he's always bombing the fun around the Nemesis. And the weird one Candy, since he seems to like sweets. Funny story with Candy, I woke up one time in the middle of the night with him at the foot of-"

"OKAY, Thunderblast." Starscream snapped at her, the energon in his veins boiled as she talked. "Please Shockwave, give her a better personality, I beg of you!"

"Negative," Shockwave rejected Starscream's request faster than he could fly. "Despite her vexing traits, she is still a skilled seeker in her own way. The upgraded T-cog only boosted her performance in the battlefield, and she also incorporated her charms into her technique, no mech could resist her."

"That's right!" Thunderblast puffed out her chest. "All sparks beat for me, no mech out there could ever say no, not even Megatron. Bless his spark, till all are one..."

"But you're still an idiot." Starscream seethed. "And he isn't dead, Megatron is alive out there in his self-exile."

Thunderblast gasped. "B-but if he's alive, then why are you leading the Decepticons!?"

"Can't really say he's leading anyone," Smokescreen smirked. "There's only like, um, three other Decepticons who'd follow his lead."

"For your information, brat, I have the support of over a thousand Decepticons"

"Right," Smokescreen tried his best not to laugh. "and the war for Cybertron was caused by a curly straw."

"And another thing, Shockwave had no interest in climbing the ranks, and Soundwave is out there somewhere. So that in turn meant that I am the rightful ruler of all Decepticons."

After Soundwave was mentioned, the Autobots looked at each other with silent guilt, this went unnoticed by Shockwave, curious as he was, it was not his priority to press further. 

"That's right!" Thunderblast beamed up. "My hubby Starscream has no competition, he earned that title fair and square!"

Arcee sighed. "Hubby?"

"Thunderblast, for the last time..." Starscream slammed his fist against the console and woke up the slumbering vehicon. "YOU ARE NOT MY CONJUNX ENDURA!"

"Oh my silly Starry," 

"Don't call me that..."

"Don't you know that every great leader has a femme by their side? As long as I stand by you, the Decepticons will flourish into something beautiful! Together, we can rule the skies and the ocean! Nothing can stop us thanks to the power of love!"

"The moment I lose my title you'll forget me in a spark beat," He pointed out. "If Shockwave is the leader, will you be his conjunx endura?"

"Pit no!" She screamed. "Have you seen him? He's weirder than you and Soundwave, at least Soundwave is a great listener."

"I am taking note of every word." Shockwave informed the room.

"I mean, uh... He's too much of a busy guy to even care for me." Thunderblast reworded her reason.

"Correct," Shockwave continued on his current objective. 

"Optimus give me strength," Arcee prayed to the heavens. 

These were her allies, an egomaniac seeker, a scientist with questionable morality, some drone, and finally a femme who might as well be useless with her injury still present. 

This was what she had to stand against Tarn and the DJD, it would only be a matter of time before their enemies converge on the planet and bring ruin. If that would ever happen, then she feared for the humans, once again they are fated to bring war everywhere they go. Arcee felt her spark ache, she knew what this feeling was, it was the same one Optimus felt when he first fought on Earth. 

She wasn't there when the humans became part of the war between Decepticons and Autobots, but he told stories of valiant heroes who fought with all their might to repel the tyrannical evil of Megatron. 

And now, there is a possibility that she herself will experience the same thing. 





"Why are we here, Swindle?" Nickel demanded to know. "I have some bots to fix up."

She and Swindle walked through the empty halls of the Nemesis with Brawl to keep watch for anything dangerous. 

Swindle had a spring in his step as memories flooded his mind with nostalgia, he remembered every transaction that happened in these halls, every deal he made with vehicons and other fellow Decepticons. 

"You mentioned Steve last time, and I just remembered something very interesting!"  He swiveled his head to face her. "And from what the others told me, your Bridge is in need of repairs!"

He should know, it was Swindle who sabotaged the machine. For good reasons of course, if they caught Starscream then, there was a possibility that they would end their hunt and return to Cybertron. Nope, he can't have that. 

So using his invisibility upgrade, he destroyed the Bridge with a small burst of EMP, enough to ruin the inner workings of the Bridge forever. That way he could sell them materials and save Starscream in the process. With that said, he had some idea on what to sell to Starscream when they meet again. 

"Get on with it, Swindle, and when will that long-ranged communication tower be done?"

"Patience, Nickel, I had to ask Astrotrain to deliver the important parts from a star away. That tower will be done in no time, then you can make all the calls you want." He informed her. "As for why we are here, well Steve once told me about a powerful Space Bridge located somewhere in the ship."

"A Space Bridge!? On this ship!?" She was honestly flabbergasted. A Space Bridge is a giant ring station near a planet or a quadrant. To have something used in a ship such as the Nemesis is unheard of. 

"Yes, Steve told me everything when he and I were in MacCadam's- Ever been there? Place was a neutral zone during the war, good history I say. Though nowadays someone else runs the shop, but Blurr got some magic, that's for sure."

"Primus," Brawl groaned as he listened. "I miss MacCadam, he was funny, and his brew was the best. I hope this Blurr guy lives up to MacCadam's legacy."

"Trust me, buddy, though he's an Autobot, Blurr will give you a taste of the past!"

"Whatever happened to the guy? He just vanished when Cybertron lost the Allspark..."

"Back to the subject at hand!" Nickel steered the conversation back on track. 

"Oh right, well Steve said Soundwave was able to open up Space Bridges. Remember the Airachnid incident? It was Soundwave who put her on one of the moons of Cybertron, all the way from Earth." This was valuable information, if Megatron had managed to create a smaller scale of the Space Bridge and gave the control to the communication officer, then this was a real game-changer. "So if we find the machine, then we don't have to fix the Bridge, just install an upgrade!"

"That's brilliant!" 

Their excitement died as they came across a gruesome sight. Nickel and Swindle stared as they bore witness to this scene. A vehicon, torn apart, limbs scattered everywhere. One of the most notable things was the fact that the floor itself was clean of any stains, which meant that no energon was spilled. 

The hallway suddenly felt devoid of oxygen, they felt a suffocating aura around them. 

"V-77?" Brawl muttered. 

"The drones did say he went missing..." Nickel pointed out. "But, who did this?"

"Can't be Blitzwing," Brawl said. "We would have spotted him miles away if he had gone back to the Nemesis. And to top it off, he was seen plummeting down the planet."

"Call Shatter, she is free to extract any information from the prisoners. There is a possibility that there are more in Blitzwing's group." Nickel made a wild guess.

Suddenly, the hallway lit up and they were bathed by the purple glow of the ship. 

"Well that's ominous..." Swindle said meekly. 

"Who's there!?" Nickel demanded to know. 

And to answer her, a large and imposing figure appeared at the end of the hall, the three stared as their knees quivered. It couldn't be... No, this must be a mistake... They all thought the same, it was impossible that's what they believe. For this shadowy silhouette at the end had the striking resemblance of the deceased, and yet he was back from the dead. 

"Lord Megatron?" Nickel said dryly. 

"Get off my ship..." The figure spoke, a familiar voice greeted them which sent another wave of fear. His voice was accompanied by white noise, it screeched into their ears like a banshee. His face was shrouded by shadows, but his crimson red eyes glared brightly. 

"That's not possible!" Brawl declared as he took on his tank form and shot at the figure. Only for some unknown force to push away his cannon which sent the projectile off course, it missed, nearly clipping the tip of the figure's shoulder. 

"This place is haunted!" Swindle exclaimed. 

"You idiots, stop!" Nickel demanded. 

Brawl tried again but was met with the same result. "S-something is moving my turret!"

"Get out..." The figure hissed with a dreadful echo. 

"Brilliant idea, my lord!" Swindle said as he inched away. 

"That isn't Megatron!" Nickel snapped at the cowardly merchant. "I don't know who that is, but he must be with Blitzwing."

Before she could even continue with her rant, she felt the ground stolen from her. Nickel watched with eyes wider than dinner plates as she was pulled into the ceiling. Lower body now trapped in the vents, Nickel struggled and cried out for help. 

She felt something on her side, she looked towards a strange device clamped onto her body which was siphoning her energon. 

"Help me you scraps!" Her arms flail about as if she was drowning and desperate to grasp onto something just to hold. 

"Get the commander!" Brawl ordered Swindle as he grabbed one arm while the other had Swindle around it. 

"Leave..."

"Then let her go you... scum!" Swindle struggled to find an appropriate insult, fear had control over him.

"When I get my hands on you, you're going to be so sorry!" Nickel threatened as she continued her struggle. 

After what felt like hours, the two Combaticons pulled Nickel out of her bind. With a sigh of relief, the three then ran straight out of the ship. They encountered more oddities on their way to the exit, whoever this phantom was, they were everywhere. They could see them in the corner of their eyes, he's on every corner just glaring at Nickel and crew. 

It was unbelievable how fast this impostor was. 

To make matters worse, they somehow landed themselves in a dead-end, and by Primus, Nickel wished that she was digging through Dead End's corpse instead. That would have been much better than this. 

The three found themselves in front of a blast door that closed off their escape, it was too strong for Brawl, and unlocking it would take them too long. Cornered like a pack of rats, an impending doom approaches. 

"I can't call for help!" Swindle said as he tried to find a solution.

"Whoever this guy is, they're after our energon!" Nickel only made the situation worse with that information, now the two larger 'Cons panicked even more. "Calm down you sissies! There's three of us and only one of him!"

"Easy for you to say, once they catch us, they are definitely gonna go for the big one, which is me!" Brawl said.

An explosion nearly pushed them down, they looked over to the door and discovered that it was reduced to rubble. There stood the seekers, all armed to teeth with weapons made to destroy a combiner. It also worked well against blast doors if needed. 

"Commander?" Slipstream was confused to find her superior in the ship. 

"No time, get out!"

Before they could even question, the jets noticed the ominous silhouette of Megatron slowly approaching. With fear shared between all of them, the Decepticons ran for their lives. Thrust tried to shoot at Megatron with a rifle big enough to punch a hole in the side of the Nemesis, and surprisingly enough, that is what happened when the large-caliber only phased through the tyrant. 

This only solidified their fear, so they ran faster than an Autobot could drive. Several doors closed with the intent to slow them down, but Slipstream and her crew were luckily armed. 

Soon enough they managed to make it to the exit, just in time too as a tentacle had almost grabbed Nickel, but it retreated back into the ship once the six were outside. Safe and sound, the group gathered their wits and tried to come up with an excuse or an explanation. 

"What were you three doing in the Nemesis?" Nickel popped the question out of curiosity. 

"The boss wanted to check on something, to..." Thrust ended his sentence as he felt the glare of Slipstream. 

With his silence, Slipstream continued where he left off. "I wanted to check if we could download any important files in the Nemesis to a backup, but then the ship started to act weird. We were lucky that we were near the weapons storage."

"Enough with that, there's an actual ghost on the moon! It's slagging haunted!" Swindle said as he continued to panic. 

"Calm down idiot!" Brawl smacked his friend on the back of the head. "Ghosts aren't real, that was obviously some kind of weird tech thing, or maybe magic."

"Then how can you explain that bullet just going through him!? Scrap, this is bad, it might come after us!"

"Enough!" Nickel snapped at both of them. "Contact Shatter and tell her to set up a perimeter around the Nemesis. No one goes in, or out until we find out who we are messing with!"

"We need to call for reinforcements. When is Astrotrain coming with those materials?" Slipstream asked. 

To which Swindle shrugged his shoulders. "No clue, Astro is close, but it'll take him a while to get here."

Nickel could only groan in frustration, this retrieval mission ended in disaster. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, their main target is just on the planet, and now the moon is haunted. This couldn't get any worse. 

Though they had escaped a mysterious entity, their trouble had yet to pass, as they spoke about a possible solution, an unwanted listener in the shadows. For a second, his body was illuminated by a purple glow, its slim build and hunched figure was still as a statue. Its claws flexed as he drifted back into the shadows like a puppet held by some strings. 

In truth, not even Blitzwing knows of the entity. 

This phantom was a mystery to all, and now Nickel had to watch out for two threats.
> Trinity of Krieg
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So how does this work?"

Shockwave nearly crushed the console with his hand as Dash continued to pester him. The blasted insect of an ape ran about the base, along with the rest of the infestation. The pink one especially annoyed him the most, the little human was decorating the base for some party for the Cybertronians.

"Hey, that's a big rat!"

If she does not cease her behavior, Shockwave might just open her up like an Amphiboid, but Arcee would never allow him to divulge in the inner workings of this speedster. 

"Human," Dash stopped just as she was about to press a random button. "If you continue to bother me, then I am not to be blamed for what I might do."

Dash smirked smugly. "Yeah right, we know Starscream has you on a tight leash!"

Shockwave slammed his fist against the console. "You grow too faithful to that seeker, and I promise that it won't be me who breaks you."

Dash was not deterred, she marched around the keyboard nonchalantly. "So what's all this? It's like you're looking for someone."

"This does not concern you, mon-keigh, go back to your trivial human business."

She blew a raspberry at him. "You do know we can help right?"

"And what would any of you humans do? None of you could even use the console or any of this Cybertronian tech."

"You're literally browsing memes..."

"They serve better as news outlets than your Earth cable. Do you see that giant rodent? After extended research, I discovered that this giant rat is located somewhere here in this Everfree Forest, and I have the evidence to prove it."

"Woah, so the giant rat is real!?"

"Affirmative, now go bother someone else."

"Hey, Twilight!"

Shockwave watched as Twilight rode the drone she acquired from Swindle, it was amazing that she managed to fix up that old machine and found a way to control it. Twilight hovered above the console right in front of the monitor. "Did you need something, Dash?"

"Yeah, so the cyclops is looking for something and he doesn't want our help." Dash explained to her friend. 

"Oh, I am confident that we could help!" Twilight claimed. "Here, just let me see what I can do."

"Fine." He said to her. 

Twilight sat down to get comfortable and opened up her laptop. Shockwave watched as she punched in some keys and brought up a series of search engines. And this was the only moment Shockwave had felt a tinge of interest as the human in front of him worked efficiently.

"Can I know what you're looking for exactly?"

"We are looking for a Decepticon called Blitzwing." Smokescreen decided to take the initiative and answer for the scientist. "He's a triple-changer that turns into a tank and a jet. From what the others told me, he's kinda sandy in color with purple highlights."

"Hey, Smokescreen!" Dash greeted. 

"Short stuff, glad to see grumpy pants finally want some help!" Shockwave simply scoffed at Smokescreen. 

"Yeah, been trying to get the guy to ask us, but luckily, he's as smart as you all say!" Dash said with a sly grin. "Now my friend here will show off her big ginormous brain! Bet she's even smarter than him."

"Unlikely." Shockwave seethed. 

"I got something!" 

Shockwave snapped towards Twilight, eye glowed intensely. "Impossible!"

"Possible!" Twilight said cheerfully. "After searching for anomalies and oddities, I've discovered that there was a sighting of a phantom tank in the borders of Poland!"

Smokescreen sent a grin at Shockwave who only glared back. He then turned towards Twilight to speak about her findings. "So, since Shocks couldn't find anything, I'm sure you can explain to us what you found so far, Twilight."

"A Japanese tank was spotted in Poland, it looked to be a prototype which resembled a Type 10, the biggest difference is that this tank has two barrels instead of one. It also has the colors that fit your friend's description." Twilight explained. "And it says here that the government of Poland is in a heated meeting with Japanese officials. And right now, the tank is still out there."

"Ha, see Shockwave! Twilight did it better than you, and let me guess, Twi', you found it all from Sellit!" Dash loved Shockwave's reaction, it was clear that he detested the fact he was beaten by a human, who is still in her adolescent years. 

"No, I was just looking around Clover."

Dash gagged. "That place? Heard it is full of icky stuff."

"Well that's what happens if you have too much free speech, no one really cares what you do and stuff, Sellit has too much censorship. Anyway, I triangulated the location of the tank and believe that he is currently between Czech and Poland, seems like he is heading towards Germany."

"Brilliant work, human!" The thunderous applause echoed through the room as Starscream entered. A vile grin plastered on his face as he approached them. "Now that we know where he is, we can rescue Blitzwing and receive a formidable ally! But we must purge the internet of any information about this mysterious tank and make sure that no one talks about it again. That means you must stay here, Shockwave."

Shockwave did not protest, he said nothing and focused more on the task given to him. Before Twilight knew, every source she had was deleted everywhere. Which left the small conflict between Poland and Japan to be without context. The scientist worked fast, everything was gone before the minute.

The other Decepticons joined them as soon as they heard the Starscream's voice filled with joy. 

"Smokescreen, you are with me!" Starscream ordered. "Thunderblast! This is a simple grab-and-run mission, but we will need you to vouch for us. Blitzwing might not know who is friend or foe yet."

"Sure my love, I will be right by your side, I promise!"

"Where is Arcee?" Starscream finally questioned. 

"She's on the moon scouting out the enemy base," Shockwave explained. "Before you express your anger, need I remind you what her role is other than your bodyguard? She, just like Optimus' favorite, is a scout. Her smaller build will help her spy on our enemies without getting noticed."

"Well, I see... Alright then, let us embark!"

"Wait, can we come?" Dash asked. 

To which Smokescreen was quick to step in. "Oh no you don't! The last time you went out, a Decepticon nearly snatched you!"

"Wait, Starscream told you!?"

"No, it was I who debriefed everyone after our return." Shockwave said. "Especially when Slipstream attempted to take you back to their base."

"You almost got what!?" Sunset exclaimed. "Dash, you didn't tell us about this!"

"I got caught up with something, okay! The whole thing bothered me so much that I kinda forgot to tell everyone about it."

Pinkie hummed confusedly. "But you didn't seem to be that bothered when you told us everything."

"Well, whatever!"

"Actually," Starscream spoke and stole their attention. "This is just a simple grab mission, so I doubt that there is any harm in bringing these humans along. I mean, we can think of it as a bonding outing as well, there's no danger I'm sure."

"Starscream, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Oh please, you brought those humans to your missions all the time."

"When we needed their help with something." Smokescreen argued. 

"Well whatever, I may dislike them, but these humans can follow us if they like." Starscream turned away from the Autobot. "Shockwave, open the Bridge and send us to Blitzwing!"

"Alright! Hey girls, we're going to Poland!" Dash was quick to tell the others. 

"You're on thin ice, Starscream, if Arcee hears about this she'll have your spark."

"She'll be happy to hear how well I took care of them," Starscream smirked at Smokescreen, the Bridge opened behind him and the room was bathed in bright light. 





Blitzwing drove through the forest, he cared not for tracks he left, his voices argued in his head for hours now. He still remembered the time he was thrown out of the escape pod. His treads crushed everything in his way, and honestly, he was happy that he discovered an alt mode all the way out here. Though he was unsure why a tank from another country was driving along the border of Poland, that same tank belonged to Japan mind you, but he couldn't really bother to find out. 

He stole its design, destroyed the tank, and scared off the weird little humans. 

Blitzwing would've chased them down as well, but he wanted to see what Germany was like and wondered if he could take over the country. Of course, they were all puny humans, so he couldn't really see how it would work out for him. Too small and frail, if anything they were better off as food.

Wait no, that's disgusting... Maybe... 

He shrugged off his previous thought and continued forward. But then his treads came to a halt, something in the air caught his attention. His body shifted and his tank form broke apart so he could stand on his two feet. 

"I smell it, ve are not alone."

"It appears so," Blitzwing hummed. "But, if they vanted us dead, then they vould've attacked us by now."

He snapped around and his cannons came to life, the trees in his sight were reduced to nothing, but his optics beneath his visor widened. A barrier had caught the brunt of his wrath, and the humans behind the light were unharmed. 

"What the heck man!?" A tiny blue human shot up to his face, furious that he had attacked them out of the... blue. Strangest part was, this human had wings.

"Mein Gott, ze humans, they have evolved!"

"Excuse me," Fluttershy approached, she could not hide her fear when the giant stared at her. 

"You've caught my attention, speak now vhile I am merciful!"

"Hey, don't talk to our friend like that!" Applejack warned him. "Or else Ah'll show y'all a thing or two!"

"Forgive me, but that's just how he speaks calmly." He explained. "Now why have you come for us, candy horses!?"

"Didn't I say not to run off from us!?" Smokescreen entered the scene, only to be brought down by the larger bot. Blitzwing did not end his attack, he tossed Smokescreen against the tree and trained his cannons at him. 

"Wait!" Sunset ran in between them, though she was small and weak, Blitzwing hesitated. Especially the fact that there was a sword on his neck. 

"Blitzwing, calm yourself!" All eyes turned to Starscream, who wore a disgruntled look. "This isn't my fault, Smokescreen, you should've kept these humans on a tighter leash."

"Hey, we aren't pets!" Rarity told him. 

Blitzwing relaxed. "Knowing the DJD, you wouldn't stand with them, ze strangest part is zat you brought humans and zis Autobot, and I can smell zat perfume, Thunderblast."

"Oh, hey Blitzwing!" Thunderblast greeted Blitzwing as she peeked over her hiding spot. "I was just... hiding here..."

Starscream snapped back his sword and glared at Dash and her friends. "And you humans, we told you not to approach him like that, this little trip of ours could've ended horribly!"

Smokescreen groaned as he was helped up to his feet by Blitzwing. "Guess we didn't have to bring Thunderblast with us if you were this easy to convince."

"Forgive me if I had acted on my instincts, I am still a soldier even after ze var."

"It's alright, just happy that you didn't hurt the girls." Smokescreen said as he silently glared at the teens. 

Twilight was too occupied in her notes to even notice, she wrote down the fact that the Cybertronians had the sense of smell. She learned so much about their race and she was hungry for more. What she didn't see, unlike her friends, was how close Blitzwing was to them, his face hovered over the tiny humans and his eyes stared with a strange look. 

"Uh, Twilight, you might want to step back," Sunset told her. 

"You all smell strange..." Blitzwing pointed out. 

Twilight shuffled away. "Fascinating, you could tell that we are different from other humans?"

"Ja, considering zat one of you could fly, and be able to conjure a large shield, I'm inclined to believe zat you seven are... unique."

"Well, we do have magic." Pinkie said with honesty.

"Fascinating," Blitzwing hummed. "Do you know about this, Kommandant?"

"Blitzwing please, address me as Lord Starscream from now on, since I am the only Decepticon worthy to take charge. And yes, I did notice their irregular traits." He then ignored Blitzwing and waved the thought off as something else important came to mind. "Shockwave, we have found Blitzwing before he could disappear once more."

"Are there any traces of the enemy?" 

"No, Shockwave, we are clear for exfil, open a Bridge on my coordinates."

"Bridge is opening, move with haste."

Just as Shockwave said, the Ground Bridge tore open a rift in reality and was ready for extraction. Starscream said nothing and motioned for the rest to go through, Dash was honestly disappointed that the mission went without any action. She hoped that there would be another encounter with the big bad robots just so she could show off, but instead everything was as peaceful as this forest. 

Though there was also the fact that Thunderblast started to take interest in Dash, she could tell that the seeker stared intently at her as if Thunderblast had remembered something. Rainbow Dash looked back at Thunderblast who averted her gaze when they met. Strange, Dash felt a familiar aura between her and Thunderblast, it reminded her of Slipstream. 

"I say this field trip is going great!" Starscream laughed as they all returned home. 

"It's not over yet," Shockwave told him as the Bridge shut down. "There's trouble..."
> Rules Of Nature
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The moon was deathly silent, every vehicon stood on guard and was careful with their surroundings. An energy fence was erected around the Nemesis, a line of sentry watch with open optics for any sign of danger. 

This whole picture was an odd one for Arcee, she would've expected that the Decepticons would guard the ship and keep intruders out. But instead, it looked more like they were keeping something in. A few officers patrolled around, the members from both the Rainmakers and Coneheads. The two seekers walked around as if they expected an ambush or a full-scale attack. 

Whatever it is that got them spooked, it certainly made it harder for Arcee's scouting mission. And all she could get from all this is that there was something about the Nemesis that worried them. That wasn't Arcee's concern, her focus was on a small structure instead, and a very familiar Decepticon. Two of them. 

Swindle and Astrotrain.

A scowl appeared on her face as the former conversed with a Minicon, she seemed to be the leader of this sad bunch. As for Astrotrain, Arcee had forgotten how large he was, some could mistake him as a combiner if he was tall enough. Arcee wondered if Swindle had betrayed them, and there was only one way to find out. One quick change of frequency, she called him on the spot. 

Swindle excused himself from the Minicon and answered. "Swindle here, if you bought it from me, no refund!" He sang to his communication.

"Hello, Swindle."

He tensed up upon hearing Arcee's voice, he glanced over to Astro and Nickel before shuffling away awkwardly. "Ah, Nightbird!" He said the name aloud to avoid suspicion. "Is there anything you need? I'm kinda busy with another client."

"I see you Swindle, talking to the enemy."

Swindle nearly panicked as soon as he learned that Arcee was around, and Swindle turned to face her. It was a random act, but somehow he discovered her the moment after their call started. But in turn, Arcee could see his fear. 

"No, Nightbird, I haven't told the mafia about your involvement with that hit."

"Really?" Though he was speaking about unrelated things, Arcee knew that he merely masked their conversation just so he wouldn't be found out. 

"Nightbird, we go way back, like I'd rat you out to them! Listen, I know I may seem suspicious most of the time, but I am just... making business. So maybe we should all go home before one of us gets hurt?"

"Swindle, is Wheeljack in there?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, but whatever it is you're planning, I can't help. The mafia will be on my aft if I do anything out of line."

"Tell me where he is and I'll bust them out myself."

"Sure, Knock-" He winked in her direction. "yourself Out. And Nightbird? Please clean up after, the cops nearly bagged me instead of you the last time I helped."

"So, guess the comms are in working order, you were all lucky that I was nearby! It would have taken about a year if you had tried to call anyone else." Astrotrain commented. "I get paid for this, right?"

Swindle chuckled. "My friend, you and I have been working together for so long, I'm sure you know now how fair I am towards my colleagues."




Slowly, Arcee sneaked behind enemy lines towards the Storm Slicer. Infiltration was easy when most of the patrols were around the ship, not inside. There were a few vehicons in her path, but she easily avoided them.

She did thank Swindle for his little hint. Knockout was here, not only that, he had Wheeljack and the others. This meant that Arcee must search for the medical room if she wanted to free her friend. Arcee traversed the halls like a shadow, no drone noticed as she linked past them. 

As she peeked around a corner, she came face to face with a terrifying sight. Brawl. 

The combaticon stood there with his back turned, both hands resting on his hips. It was a stroke of bad luck, if she was caught by him then she'd be in bigger trouble than she already is. But something caught her eye that prevented her from fleeing. Brawl was busy with a holographic map displayed in front of him.

"Stupid security system, how was I supposed to know I wasn't allowed there?" Brawl grumbled loudly to himself. "Stinking ghost probably was Starscream messing with us."

Arcee took a quick good look at the map and memorized the path to medbay. She quickly rushed over to where her friend was imprisoned. If she had looked back, then she'd realized that Brawl was staring right at her as she headed for Wheeljack.

It wasn't long before she arrived, the door to the medical room was wide open. And from it, she could hear... Singing?

It was indeed what she had thought, once Arcee had a good look inside she discovered Knockout and Wheeljack singing despite Flamewar's frustration. She recognized it as a song from a movie back on Earth. 

Knockout laughed as he finished. "This reminds me of karaoke night back in MacCadams! Oh, those people were so clueless about the culture from Earth."

"You said it, buddy, Blurr got it stuck in his head for so long. Bet he still hums it today."

"Oh, how is Blurr anyway? Been busy lately, especially now as you can tell."

Wheeljack shrugged. "Nothing new, still making drinks. Though I did hear that he was looking for some help. Guess running the whole joint alone is starting to take a toll, despite being one of the fastest Autobot on Cybertron."

"Well unlike back then, there are more customers nowadays and-"

His sentence was cut short as he felt a blaster pressed against the back of his head. Knockout remained calm and wore a smirk on his face. 

"Arcee, you should really call first."

"Nice to see you too, Knockout, how's the academy?"

"Ah, well, I had to put a pause on my study. A business that needed my attention, if you hadn't noticed." He answered as he faced the Autobot. "Before you say anything, I was forced."

"I don't blame you," She said. "Though I will be needing those three there if you don't mind."

He chuckled. "Of course, and if they ask, I wasn't here."

Arcee smiled a little as she went over to open up the holding cell, only to stop as she came face to face with someone she'd rather not see again.

"Arcee," Flamewar hissed, her eyes glowed intensely as she stared at Arcee with a strange glimmer in her eyes. "Arcee, I found you."

Arcee sighed. "Honestly, I was reluctant to help you guys knowing she's here." She said to Wheeljack. 

Wheeljack grinned. "Oh, you know crazy wheels here? You two do kinda look alike. Sisters?"

"I wish..." Flamewar said with a manic smile. A low chuckle escaped her as an aura full of malice filled the room. 

"Hi, I'm Warpath! Rookie member of the Wreckers, nice to meet you!" Warpath went on to introduce himself with his loudness.

Arcee scowled at Flamewar, she ignored Warpath as her attention was on the Decepticon. "Listen, I am in a truce with Starscream, and if you so much as do anything I don't like. Well, there will be consequences."

Her threat only excites Flamewar. "Yes, it's been far too long, Arcee! Once this is all over, I will keep your spark as a trophy!"

Knockout just went ahead and deactivated the barrier that separated them. "Sheesh, didn't expect her to be this crazy."

"Why are you even with these Decepticons, Wheeljack?"

Before he could even answer Arcee's question, the alarms blared and the halls were flooded with red lights. 

"Quick, hit me!" Knockout immediately ordered his former allies. To which Flamewar obliged. "Thanks," He said as he caressed the dent on his face. "You should all get out of here before the others arrive."

With that said, the four ran out of the room and bolted towards the exit with Arcee in the lead. 

They rounded a corner and came right into the enemy's line of fire. A wall of vehicons stood in their way, weapons ready to blast them all off the face of the moon. Quickly, Arcee and Flamewar acted before their enemies could. The two ran on each wall and towards the drones, the bullets trailed behind them. And before Wheeljack or Warpath could shoot back, the two femmes had already eliminated the threat.

With the drones out of their way, they continued forward.

Somehow, everything became a maze to Arcee as she realized now how unfamiliar the ship was to her. It didn't help with how much Flamewar stared at Arcee as she kept her pace. And though Arcee was at odds with the Decepticon, they worked together well. The two were like two peas in a pod. Arcee and Flamewar gave each other a nod of recognition, it was a chance to prove themselves as they dealt with every encounter. Every drone that crossed their path was terminated with quick and precise strikes at the weakest point. 

Honestly, Wheeljack started to feel left out. He tried to keep up, but the two were far too fast for him even after Knockout's surgeries. Warpath at least weighed as much as an actual tank, he got a pass and a good excuse. 

"You know what? I need to stretch my legs here!" Wheeljack declared as he finally outpaced the smaller bots. 

"I'm with you, boss!" Warpath transformed into his tank mode just so he could gain enough speed to follow his superior into the front lines. 

Once both were upon the Emmy drones, Warpath shifted back into his bot form and blasted the first vehicon with the cannon on his chest, and of course, he let out a loud "Kaboom!" after decimating the drone. 

Wheeljack tore through the waves of drones with his swords, he silently thanked Knockout for not removing his weapons after imprisonment. And now he finally could let loose on the Decepticons.

"Shockwave!" Arcee contacted the cyclops. "We need a Bridge on my coordinates right now!"

"Arcee-?" Only static came through. 

"Scrap," She cursed. 

Flamewar cackled. "Yes, a chance to really tear at them!"

"That's the first sane thing you've said this week!" Wheeljack grinned wildly as he hacked through another wave. 

The battle continued until something far worse than a vehicon arrived. The four came to a full stop as a behemoth of a Decepticon stood in their way. 

Brawl.

Warpath wasted no time and ran up to the opposing tank, but Brawl caught him by the neck and slammed Warpath into the wall. The Autobot tried to land a hit, but Brawl simply headbutted Warpath deeper into the interior of the Storm Slicer. After making sure that Warpath was now stuck as a modern art piece, Brawl turned to face the other three. 

"Who's next?"

Flamewar was kind enough to oblige and humor the bigger Decepticon. Brawl stood defiantly as Flamewar dashed towards him. He opened his palm and tried to catch her, but Flamewar ducked in time just to deliver a jab into Brawl's abdomen. The tank shrugged it off and replied by bringing down both his fists at her, but the femme proved to be quicker than he. 

The other two did not stand idle, they quickly rushed in to give Flamewar some help against Brawl. As for Brawl, he welcomed the challenge, and he'd very much enjoy crushing them.




"This just had to happen now!" Nickel felt her patience run thin. Her hands gripped the edge of the console tightly, some drones feared that she might even break it. "Shatter, hurry up and patch us to Tarn!"

"Diagnosis is nearly complete," Shatter informed the commander. "We will contact Cybertron soon enough."

"Swindle, Astrotrain! Go make yourselves useful and detain the escaping prisoners!"

Swindle raised his hands in front of his chest. "Woah now, fighting isn't really part of my business, I supply fights, not join them."

"And I don't even know what's going on!" Astrotrain reasoned. 

"Fine, if you two won't fight, then bring me crates of ammunition!" She then turned towards Shatter. "How is that call!?"

"Everything is in order, I am connecting to the private channel of the Peaceful Tyranny now." Shatter finally brought Nickel some good news. 

"Nickel, you've finally called." And just like that, Tarn had already connected their calls. His voice sounded as if he was glad to see Nickel. "Is there something to report?"

"Tarn, we have discovered the whereabouts of both the Nemesis and Starscream."

Tarn wore a mask, but Nickel knew that he was smiling behind it. "I am impressed, good work my friend. Kaon, take note of their coordinates, we will prepare some supplies and join you soon enough."

"Bring materials to construct a Space Bridge, we will need it if we were to return to Cybertron faster."

"Nickel, what is that noise?" Tarn finally questioned. 

"Our prisoners escaped, but do not worry, we have everything under-"

The screen turned to static, the ship shook violently and tossed Nickel to the floor. 

"Tarn!?" She called out, but no answer was given.

"Communication is down!" A drone informed them. "A Decepticon aircraft spotted, commander! It's Blitzwing!"

"What!? Slipstream, intercept!"

"Yes sir!" The seekers rushed out of the bridge.

Nickel pulled herself up and held a scowl on her face. She glared out the window and saw the decimated long ranged communication tower. "Why in Primus is Blitzwing attacking!? That doesn't make sense, unless... Starscream!"

Thanks to the fact that Blitzwing had everyone's attention, none noticed Starscream who stood on top of the highest point on the Nemesis. A prideful smirk plastered on him as he witnessed the destruction that Blitzwing brought upon the enemy. And as he expected, the seekers had gone and chased after Blitzwing. With their only air warriors out of the way, it was only a matter of time before Starscream would strike. 

This was just how it is with Cybertronians, they can't deny the rules of nature, for war and conflict is just a part of them. 

He still had other plans.

"Are you here to report something?" He asked out of the blue. "I see, so they tried to enter my room. Forget it, they will not find anything there. I have a mission for you, the Void Gun is in their possession, retrieve it and bring it to me after the skirmish. If you excuse me, I will now go save an annoying Autobot and her friends."

Starscream leaped off the Nemesis, he waited until he was close enough to the ground before he shifted into his jet form. The guards that patrolled closest to him could not react in time as he zoomed through their defenses and towards the Storm Slicer. 

As the battle within the ship continued, and Slipstream's seekers were distracted, a shadowy silhouette stood where Starscream was. It did not move, the shadow simply spectated the chaos below. After a few more seconds, it vanished.
> Sound of Silence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The plan is simple, open a Bridge here," Starscream placed a claw on the map that the monitor displayed. "so Blitzwing and I can deploy at a strategic point. From there, Blitzwing will cause a distraction to draw out Slipstream and her seekers so I can enter the ship without any trouble. Blitzwing, destroy anything that seems useful to the enemy."

"This looks like a communication tower, it would seem they desire to-" 

"What about us?" Dash asked, only for Applejack to bop Dash on the back of her head. 

"In case you don't remember, the moon doesn't have air! Best we can do is just sit and hope all goes well."

"But we can help!" Dash reasoned. "We just need something to deal with the no air problem."

Starscream scoffed. "Why are you so insistent on helping us? If it were up to me, then I would keep you all in a safe pen, or a terrarium."

"Dash, face it," Sunset held the athlete by the shoulder, a serious look on her face. "We all have our limits, and besides, we can't just put ourselves in danger like that. Especially now with the problem being off the planet."

"But Arcee needs us! We can't just sit idly by and do nothing while some group of villains is out there doing who knows what!"

Smokescreen kneeled. "Rainbow Dash, if this is about feeling useless, then I know what you're going through. Sometimes it's important to know when or where you're needed. We're all limited by our own power. And Sunset is right, you're just not the right one for this job."

Rainbow Dash looked away, for a moment she thought about his words. She glared at Starscream who had a look of disinterest, Dash gave one last huff before she marched off to who knows where. Sunset tried to follow, but Applejack stepped in her way before she could even take a step. 

"Best let the girl blow off some steam, she was always the difficult one and hard-headed."

Once she was gone, the Decepticons continued their business, all except one. 

Dash walked about the base, the halls were more enormous than what she was familiar with. And it would seem that they had been working on the base after they left yesterday. It was a surprise to discover that there were more rooms to accommodate the new bots.

And as she remembered the fact that soon there would be more Cybertronians, she realized how minuscule she was. Before, she and her friends were just girls with supernatural abilities that had their own problems. Now, they're part of something far bigger than dimensional hopping and magical threats. The stars brought themselves to Earth, her home, and with the growing evil from a world with a history of great suffering. Dash felt useless. 

A terrible feeling she despises the most about human weakness. She stopped in her tracks right in front of Starscream's room. A thought ran through her mind as she wondered about someone similar to Starscream. 

Slipstream.

"You're not as stealthy as you think you are," Dash commented. 

"Oh, hey there little... Rainbow Dash?"

It was Thunderblast, the seeker had thought that she could shadow Dash around. But since her heels were as loud as a suppressed pistol, Dash immediately discovered her before Thunderblast rounded the corner. 

An awkward silence was shared between the two as they simply stood there in the middle of the hallway. Dash tried to walk away, but the clicks of Thunderblast's heels continued to follow her. 

"Do you mind?" Dash faced Thunderblast with a look of displeasure.

"Not at all!" She said cheerfully. "So I saw you all sad and stuff, I figured that I should try and cheer you up. Even though you're a very icky human and have tiny little hands, which is gross BTW. I mean, why would anyone design humans so small? You guys are like Minicons, have you seen them? Their tiny little hands are so gross, they could just put them anywhere. Like, they could just reach into my Spark chamber and touch it. Gross, isn't it?"

Dash stared at the Decepticon oddly. She heard words, they were in English, yes. But Dash barely understood anything that came out of Thunderblast.

Rainbow sighed as she rummaged through her pocket. 

"Hey, what are you doing? Oh, do you have some kind of gift for me? I mean, I am very pretty and deserve all the gifts on Cybertron. So what did you get me? No, don't tell me! Wait, actually, tell me, I love surprises!"

Dash revealed what she had and it was one of Swindle's trading cards. A card that was about Thunderblast.

"Oh, thank you... I love it!" For a moment there, she had a dejected look, but then her mood changed as she stared at the card with a look of adoration. But as she reached for the card, Dash pulled it away. 

"Thunderblast, the Siren of the Great Skies." Dash read aloud with the card in hand. "The weakness of all mechs, and envy of all femmes. While most Decepticons use sonic weapons that could decimate their opponents, Thunderblast instead uses hers as a way to lure in victims to traps. Though she is at odds with her trine leader... Slipstream?"

Dash had to take a second glance at the card to confirm it; it did in fact say that Thunderblast was Slipstream's trinemate. Now that she recalled it, Slipstream did mention Thunderblast before but Dash didn't think much of it. Which meant... 

"Is that why you're following me?" Dash finally connected the dots. Her hand then pulled out the card of her Cybertronian doppelganger. "I'm not who you think I am, I'm human as far as you can tell."

Thunderblast stared at the card that Dash now held towards the 'Con. "Oh hey! That's Dashie! Wow, now that I actually had a good look at you, and my best friend, you two have so many differences!"

"Well that's good to know," Dash said as she pocketed her cards. "Why are you even following me?"

"As I said, you looked really down, and Dashie always feels better hanging out with me! She loves to listen to all my problems and junk!"

"That doesn't sound like me." Dash pointed out. 

"Oh my gosh, that's what she would've said! Wow, you really are just like her!"

"Wait," Dash suddenly had an idea, she had with her a clue about this mysterious doppelganger that could shed some light. "You know who she was, right? Could you tell me everything about her?"

"Well... I don't normally talk about others since I know everyone prefers to know more about me instead. I mean, look at me! I am by far, the prettiest seeker in all of Cybertron! I've even won Miss Decepticon fifty times over, and am still undefeated! Well, I was the only participant since everyone else was busy with the war. Also, I kinda cheated with having Steve as my only judge-"

"Thunderblast!"

"Oops, sorry, let's take this to my room."




Smokescreen stuck to the shadows, the Decepticons were all in a panic as they rushed to find the escaped prisoners. And while this happened, Starscream was somewhere else on the ship. All three of them had an objective, and Smokescreen was tasked with the easiest job for all of them. And that was to find Knockout and break him out. Pun intended. 

What he didn't intend was to come across Dropkick.

The Decepticon tackled Smokescreen from his blindside, and before he could even counter, Dropkick had thrown him against the wall. 

"Smokescreen, Hero of Cybertron." He laughed. "I would ask for an autograph, but a souvenir from your carcass will do."

"Big talk, let's see if you can own up to it."

He needed the fight to be finished quickly, so he armed himself with his trusty tasers to deliver one good attack. Smokescreen needed to land a good hit and then the fight was over. But it would seem that Dropkick was someone he shouldn't underestimate.

And while he fought with Dropkick, Starscream had managed to get a trace on Arcee's Spark.

The seeker flew past every line of defense and zeroed in on Arcee's location.

As that happens, Shatter entered the medbay and discovered Knockout's body on the floor. She gave him a nudge with her foot only to receive no response. So she pulled back her foot to deliver a heavier kick, somehow Knockout sensed the oncoming danger and sprang back to life.

"I'm up, I'm up!"

"You were not responding, you're needed up on the bridge!"

Knockout scoffed at her. "Well, I'm sorry if I got blindsided by an Autobot! I was hoping that I didn't have to fight just after I got my paint scratched!"

"You are such a child, Knockout, we are under attack yet you continue to bicker!"

"Excuse me!? Don't you see this damn bruise on my face!?"

"I'll add another if you don't take your aft up to the bridge!"

Knockout suddenly smirked. "How about you kiss it better, maybe then I'll move?"

Shatter would've unleashed her wrath upon him if it weren't for the dreadful aura that seeped into the room. It would seem that Knockout noticed that something was wrong as well, as he was the only one who could see the door. Slowly, she turned to whoever had interrupted their little argument. But soon she regretted her decision as a shadow towered over them.

Shatter's words were caught in her throat as this being clamped its claws on her.

Knockout was quick to grab a tool off the table and rushed towards the intruder with it. The being used Shatter as a weapon and bat Knockout to the wall.

The medic struggled to his feet, he managed to dodge in time as Shatter crashed into the same wall.

And to make things worse, the lights died on him. He tried to use his headlights but his vision was limited to one angle. He snapped around in search of the enemy but he found no trace of them.

"Shatter, wake up!" He called out to her, and thankfully she responded.

After a short groan, Shatter lifted herself back up and activated her headlights as well. "Damn it, never thought we'd be caught by one of Starscream's lackeys."

Knockout turned towards the table and felt greater dread as he realized something was wrong. "He took the Void gun!"

"Curses, that's what he was after! Be on your toes, this traitorous junk pile could still be in the room."

Knockout was about to say something to Shatter but found himself speechless. An arm was hovering just above Shatter menacingly. He threw the tool in his hand at it as soon as it was discovered. The arm retreated into the shadows.

"Have you gone mad!?"

"He's still in the room!"

Just as he notified Shatter, Knockout was pulled back by an unseen force. Shatter raised her blaster but couldn't get a clear shot at the culprit. A tentacle emerged from the shadows and pinned her against the wall.

Knockout caught himself and resisted the pull. He spun around to finally face this shadowy figure. That's when true fear settled in. The visage of Megatron was present in the room, who's wrathful scowl focused solely on Knockout.

Though he was scared down to his core, Knockout chose to fight whoever this being was. And it would seem that they were surprised by Knockout's bravery as they flinched the moment his fist connected with them.

That's when everything turned upside down.

Right where Knockout's hand touched, on their left cheek. It was revealed that there was indeed someone else in the room, but what Knockout had not expected was that there was a second layer underneath this image of Megatron.

"A hologram...?" He croaked out as the truth set in.

A familiar face glared at Knockout, despite being faceless. A hologram that hid the true identity of this bot.

"Soundwave!?" Shatter exclaimed from her side of the room. 

All went black as a hand descended on Knockout. No questions could be asked as the medbay grew silent.
> Starscream's Victory
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Years now, perhaps a decade.

That was how long Soundwave traveled through this barren planet, both starved and tired. War had ended, yet he was still a prisoner of it as a result. He watched it all happen before his eyes.

The defeat of the Decepticons.

The return of his lord.

The sacrifice of the last Prime.

And finally, the foundation of the new age of Cybertron.

He was but a ghost, simply there yet non-existent. He tried to call out, for anyone, any help that he could get. As the years went by he grew delirious and desperate.

He stalked all of team Prime. He called out, and screamed, even after he damaged his own voice synthesizer. Yet no one listened and no one heard.

Ever since the restoration of his planet, Soundwave attended every opening of any business. He followed Autobots and Decepticons around the newly built city of Iacon. There were some rare moments when he could feel the warmth of others as he loomed over them. Sometimes he swore that this new generation of Cybertronians could see him in certain lights.

But perhaps that's just a sense of hope within him. 

He often followed a certain Autobot that caught his interest. At first, he simply stalked her with a dash of curiosity. A shadow with no voice or body.

He watched the Autobot and her every move. With nothing better to do, Soundwave took notes of everything about her and all the daily activities she did. For the next few years, he followed this Autobot. For the next few years, he started to lose any sanity he had left in him.

As he continued with his only life in this new world, Soundwave realized that this was his destiny. To be nothing but a damn memory.

But... He swore that this Autobot somehow kept him sane. He knew not how, but he only believed. He wanted it to be that way. 

One day his sanity lowered to the point he started to converse with this Autobot. He started to believe that she could see him. Heck, he even thought that they lived together as friends.

If Megatron could see him now.

Another day passed in this world, another moment of suffering. Gone were the days he'd serve Megatron, all he could do was be with his friend no matter where she goes.

But that fateful day was different. The Autobot whose name escaped him was visiting the museum. A new historical piece had been added and all were excited about this event. The Autobot spoke to Soundwave, she told him that she was excited to see what the museum had placed on their display.

He told her that he felt the same.

And after waiting in line along with others, Soundwave and his friend finally saw the newest addition to this museum, and the Decepticon couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity with it. It was a warship, one used during Megatron's reign. He didn't catch what the name was, only the fact that it was important.

He and his friend would've continued elsewhere, but something caught Soundwave's attention. A Vosian snuck into the warship.

He pointed it out to his friend but she waved him off and said it was a staff busy with something. Against her better judgment, Soundwave went to investigate.

These halls were familiar to him, Soundwave traversed the ship as if he was home. He didn't realize it, but Soundwave knew where this Vosian was. He and this ship were connected somehow. He knew where they were, and soon enough Soundwave was by their side.

This Vosian tinkered with some device, muttering something to themselves.

Soundwave called out to them, yet the seeker did not acknowledge him. He took a step forward to confront them closely. But as he did so, something flashed before him and for a moment he was blind.

Once he regained his vision, the seeker was there with arms open wide and a smile that would've split his face open.

"Soundwave!"

For once he could see color after so long. He was honestly speechless as he stood there in the halls of the Nemesis. Wait, Nemesis?

...

Soundwave stared at the unconscious bodies of Shatter and Knockout. The lights returned and the shadows were chased away. The only issue was that his identity was revealed by these two Deceptions. If only he had time, then this little problem would have been solved. Sadly it won't be long before others will come to find these two.

Starscream will not be pleased.

With his objective in hand, Soundwave made haste for the exit. He owed the seeker everything for freeing him from that damn prison. And as his honor dictated, he must repay his debt. 





Starscream flew past every guard he came across. He had no time to be distracted and none of these Vehicons could even match him in a fight. So his priorities are to save Arcee and the others as well as put a wrench into Nickel's plans. 

Easier said than done. 

They were most likely too late and Nickel had alerted Tarn of their location. A terrible time to be alive. That just meant time wasn't on his side. He had originally planned to stick around Earth until he had the resources to fight Tarn and his army of Decepticons. Starscream needed his own army if he wanted to stay alive. 

That meant he'd need all the help he could get.

His patience was rewarded.

Just straight ahead was Arcee and the others. They were locked in a one-sided battle with a goliath of a Decepticon. Brawl, the muscle of the Combaticons.

Even though he was alone, the three were overwhelmed by Brawl's size and superior strength. Not to mention that he was armored with plates thick enough to shrug off attacks. All they could do was scratch him. Wheeljack's blades barely left a cut. The combined power of Arcee and Flamewar was nothing to Brawl.

Starscream also noted that there was an Autobot heavy unit lodged into the wall. If he was in the fight then Arcee and her group would've won by now.

Looks like it is up to the greatest leader of the Decepticons to save the day.

The jet slowed himself and prepared a rocket. Once the others split apart and gave him a clear shot, Starscream launched both missiles. The result was expected as Brawl propelled backward with the result of a massive explosion.

He transformed in the air and slammed his feet against the floor. Sparks erupted as he skidded to a halt. With a prideful strut, he launched one last missile at Brawl to make sure that he was down for the count.

"Rejoice! For I, Starscream, have come to save you!"

"Can't say I'm not happy to see you, 'Scream," Wheeljack smirked before he went to help Warpath. 

Arcee sighed with relief, her body ached from that skirmish with Brawl. "Just glad you got here, I was beginning to feel tired."

"A lesson for next time you battle someone like Brawl, always bring explosives."

"Shut it, the next time we infiltrate this place, I'd be sure to pack some anti-armor missiles." She said as the group collected themselves. "Glad you made short work, now we just need to get out of here."

"Smokescreen is still on his way to Knockout for extraction. Sadly the jammer they deployed prevents any outside communication channels. If we were to escape, we'd need to group up with Blitzwing outside."

"And I can't let Smokescreen wander this ship alone, especially with all this heat." Arcee said. "Best to find him as soon as-"

The lights died on them.

Plunged Into darkness, the group prepared for the worst. Like Knockout and Shatter, their vision was limited by the lights they could create. All were unsure of what would happen next.

One thing they do know was that they weren't alone.

Something was wrong, yet they were clueless about what that is. Suddenly Flamewar tensed up, a deep growl escaped her as she snapped around. A look of fear and dread upon her face. Panic and paranoia consumed her soon enough

"He's here, I can smell him!"

"Who?" Arcee questioned as fear slowly seeped into their hearts and minds.

"Megatron?" It was more of a question, Flamewar doubted herself as she is just as confused as the others. "No... This stench reeks of death. Who... Who is it!?"

Starscream clamped his hands onto her shoulders. "Calm yourself, Flamewar!"

In turn, Flamewar wrapped her hands around Starscream's throat. "You! You're fault! It was you all along!"

The others quickly went to separate the two. It was a struggle as Flamewar was determined to crush Starscream's neck.

Suddenly the lights came back.

As did Flamewar's sanity. She turned docile the moment the lights returned and acted as if she hadn't tried to kill Starscream.

"I- Damn you Flamewar, I have half the mind to peel your exterior for that!"

"You'd want that don't you, Soundwave!?" She snapped at Starscream. "Yes, you'd take the plates off my face and wear them!"

Starscream was taken aback by her response, he was honestly conflicted to either keep her alive or simply end her there. But she mentioned Soundwave, which confused him greatly. So were the others. Only team Prime knew of Soundwave's fate, or so they believed.

A murderous look appeared in Starscream's eyes. "Blast that..." He muttered something under his breath. "We must hurry and find Smokescreen before they surround us. It is only a matter of time before Slipstream finds out that Blitzwing is only a distraction."





Dropkick crumbled onto the floor. 

Smokescreen had finally managed to land a hit after a very long dance. He was lucky that he was short of stature and Dropkick was bulky and large.

With his obstacle out of the picture, Smokescreen rushed through the ship for Knockout. Quickly and stealthily, he dodged every sign of a threat.

"Oh no, it's Smokescreen!"

Smokescreen stopped in his tracks as he came across Swindle and Astrotrain.

"Swindle!?"

He feigned cowardice before the Autobot. "We surely cannot stand a chance against one of the heroes of Cybertron!"

Astrotrain stared at him strangely. "Can't we beat him up? He's just one guy."

"Are you willing to put in the effort to fight? I know I'm not, besides, I'm just a lowly arms dealer who doesn't like getting his hands dirty."

"You do realize that if Tarn finds out we just ignored an Autobot, he'd eat our sparks, right?" He argued.

"Who says he's gonna find out? We were just out gathering Nickel's order." Astrotrain tried to form an argument but found that he couldn't. "Well, Smokescreen, if you're looking for Knockout he's down that way. Just be warned, Shatter was sent out to retrieve him."

Smokescreen said nothing, he thanked Swindle with a smile and a thumbs up.

"Is it smart to just let him go like that?"

Swindle waved a dismissive hand at his partner. "Astro, when have I ever been wrong with my judgment?"

"The mafia tried to sink me in the toxic ocean." Astrotrain reminded Swindle.




The door to the medbay opened, and Smokescreen dashed in with his taser drawn. But much to his surprise, he was greeted with two unconscious Deceptions. One of which was the bot he was looking for.

What exactly happened is a mystery to Smokescreen, all that mattered was to get Knockout back to the base before anyone could discover them.

"As expected, you're here."

Smokescreen turned around to see Starscream at the door. He walked in and scanned the room. Smokescreen thought it was strange of him, but chose not to question it. 

The seeker scowled at the other Decepticons. Smokescreen was clueless to the fact that Shatter and Knockout had encountered Soundwave. But Starscream knew. 

"I'll grab Shatter, you go handle Knockout."

Smokescreen was confused yet he did as he was told. The Autobot hoisted Knockout up to his feet as Starscream picked Shatter up. 

"Arcee and the others are holding back the vehicons, we must regroup and call Shockwave for an exfil."

"Got it, but why do you need Shatter?"

"She can benefit us?" Smokescreen could clearly see that it was a question. Whatever Starscream was planning on would be best to be vigilant. "Yes, she can give us the information we will need to fight back."

He didn't question that logic. Sounded reasonable enough for Smokescreen to drop the subject.

The two and their cargo hurried back to Arcee and her group. It wasn't long before they reached a skirmish between Arcee's gang and a horde of vehicons. They were not faring well. From what Smokescreen could tell, the drones were armed with superior firepower. Must've been Swindle who armed them. 

All this happened just outside the ship. 

"Shockwave, we need a Bridge now!" Starscream ordered. Thankfully the jammers were only effective within the ship. "Lock on Arcee's location, we will return to base soon! Blitzwing! Get your scrap back here!"

"Jawohl!"

The plan was to regroup on Arcee's location, the only issue was that Blitzwing would carry with him Nickel's air support. 

Luckily Shockwave thought ahead. 

The portal ripped open and out came the scientist himself. Before Arcee could thank Shockwave, he pushed a massive weapon into her arms. Hound's Gatling guns. 

She smirked the moment her hands took hold of the weapon. 

"I'm coming in hot! Slipstream and her seekers are right on my tail!" They heard Blitzwing call out. 

With new-found fortitude, Arcee let loose a storm of lead. The seekers that pursued Blitzwing had to abort, or else they would fall prey to Acree's wrath. With the power of destruction in her hands, she paved a way through the horde of vehicons. With a path cleared of any obstacles, Starscream and Smokescreen carried their cargo toward the Bridge.

Nickel seethed as she watched them all escape with not only the prisoners but two of her officers as well. It was disappointing enough that they had trouble with such a small number of bots. Now the others in the DJD would never let her forget this blunder.

Defeated, the Decepticons had nothing better to do than regroup whatever is left with their forces.

No problem, it would only be a matter of time before Tarn arrives. Then Starscream would wish he had hid instead of attacking. 

For now, Nickel needed to attend to the injured. 




"Is that so?" Thundercracker said bemused. "So Tarn is leaving to retrieve Starscream. But what of the riots he is causing?"

Barricade sighed. "From what I can tell, the Decepticons won't just give up. Tarn made sure that they see the council as the enemy and it'll take a miracle to calm them down now."

Thundercracker relaxed into his throne. "Right, who is he taking for this journey?"

"Everyone stationed in the Peaceful Tyranny, a smaller transport ship will accompany them as well. They're taking the rest of the Rainmakers and the Coneheads. They're also bringing in Devastator."

"All that to capture Starscream and Shockwave?" He rose to his feet, a scowl adorned on his face. "Tarn must be desperate."

"Careful in my opinion." Barricade believed. "Starscream was always the slippery one."

"Where is Acid Storm? I will speak to him before he departs."

"Better hurry then, they're leaving in a few hours. He's holed up in the Drunken Stork." Barricade stood as well. "Whatever it is you're planning, it better be good."

"If I play my cards right then perhaps we can avoid any more bloodshed in our home. Maybe even avoid the impending war."