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Chapter Text

Iacon, Cybertron

Iacon Freeways

32nd Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086

2 Quartexes After Optimus Prime's Death

Smokescreen sped down on of the partially restored Iacon freeways, adjusting his mirror slightly to eye whoever was driving behind him. A red Cybertronian car with yellow flames emblazoned on it, a large yellow spoiler, and a pair of triple exhaust pipes on the side swiped out of the way of some remaining debris.

"Careful, hot shot, hate to mess up that paint job of yours!" Smokescreen taunted his rival.

"You learn to run your mouth instead of your wheels on Earth, Smokescreen?" The other Autobot taunted back.

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?" Smokescreen shifted gears and drifted around a corner, slipping onto a side ramp that led to a backroad he remembered was a great shortcut. These were the streets he grew up on, racing between buildings as he and some of the other young mechs tried to escape the boring parts of their jobs while avoiding the various patrol officers around the city.

It felt strange to be back on the metal roads of Cybertron after so much time spent on the variable terrain of Earth. It was good to be home, even better to see home healing, but there was a part of Smokescreen that was paradoxically homesick for Earth. He had gotten used to the little blue organic marble. The lush trees, the crystal clear water, the peaceful wind, it was serene in a way that Cybertron would never achieve as a fully mechanical world. Perhaps there was something of Earth he could introduce to Cybertron, though.

Optimus had always talked about hoping to find open peace between humans and Cybertronians, something that was hard to do when they were living as robots in disguise on Earth, but maybe Smokescreen could bring that vision to fruition now. There was so much empty space on Cybertron, especially now in the wake of devastation. He could import some earth from Earth, bring in some plant species, add a little organic to the technology of Cybertron.

Smokescreen drifted around another corner, emerging from the backroad and onto the main freeway again. His rival was no where to be found, getting a small chuckle out of Smokescreen.

"Couldn't take the heat, I guess." Smokescreen put rubber to road again, speeding up. As the finish line came into view, he saw the infuriating sight of the Autobot from before, now in robot mode and standing smugly next to the finish line. Smokescreen transformed as he reached it, groaned and shaking his head.

"Just a little too slow, Smokescreen." The other Autobot winked.

"I call shenanigans, Rodimus." Smokescreen rolled his optics before chuckling and sighing. "Nah, I slowed down because I got distracted. Thinking about Earth. Thinking about Cybertron. Thinking about rebuilding Cybertron with some Earth involved." Smokescreen walked over to a crater on the side of the freeway that had only been filled in enough to support the freeway. "Earth has these... Massive trees, they're even taller than Bruticus when fully grown. They're called red maples, they've got these beautiful red leaves all year long that become this super bright scarlet before their seasonal foliage loss."

"Hey, you're one of the High Councilors. If you want to bring trees to Cybertron, it's your wheelhouse to make it happen." Rodimus punched Smokescreen's shoulder. "We should probably get you to the Council tower anyways, you've got a meeting." Smokescreen groaned a little, leaning his head back before transforming again.

Temporary Iacon High Council Chamber

Bumblebee sat in one of three chairs positioned at the head of a large table in a room covered by a massive glass dome. It was the current temporary High Council chamber until more permanent ones could be established in the major Cybertronian cities, with Bumblebee serving as one of the three new High Councilors. Team Prime had decided that in lieu of Optimus, someone had to take command. Ultra Magnus had been nominated by Bumblebee and Wheeljack, who reasoned that as Optimus' closest lieutenant, he would be able to hold authority amongst the returning refugees. Arcee and Bulkhead had both suggested Bumblebee, as he had rather handily taken command during the Unicron crisis without Ultra Magnus or Prime available. In a move that shocked the remaining members, Ultra Magnus and Ratchet both pitched Smokescreen, with the remaining members being even more shocked when those two revealed that both the Matrix and Optimus himself had deemed Smokescreen worthy of being a Prime, therefore he was worthy now. Smokescreen, in an attempt to diffuse the surprise suggested Ratchet, as Optimus' oldest friend and most trusted confidant. Knock Out abstained from taking part, but made the suggestion that all three top choices lead together.

Bumblebee was beginning to regret saying yes. Smokescreen had the charisma of a leader and Ultra Magnus had the cool and calm reason of a commander, but Bumblebee?

Bumblebee was a scout who dreamed of being a warrior and that was it. He had no idea how to deal with logistics or command Vehicons, that was beyond his wheelhouse. He had tried to supervise work at an Energon refinery earlier and his performance was frankly laughable. He confused himself, his Vehicons, it was almost a disaster before Bulkhead showed up and Bumblebee asked him to take over. Bumblebee had put the Star Saber through Megatron, stared down Predaking, and held back Unicron with nothing but the Polarity Gauntlet, only to now have difficulties giving simple instructions to Vehicons.

What he give to have Optimus there to reassure him right about now.

Bumblebee was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of the door opening. A red Seeker reminiscent of Starscream but with a softer and less angular face, a yellow cockpit on her chest, large intakes to either side of her head, fins covering the sides of her hips, and upside-down wings in her back walked into the room and saluted Bumblebee.

"Redwing reporting, sir." The Autobot jet smiled. She was a younger Cybertronian, somewhere around Smokescreen's age but still slightly younger. She had been a recent defector from the Decepticon cause, but did have the distinction of defecting before the war ended. She had joined a team of Autobots stationed on Velocitron, offering her aerial services to the ground-bound Autobots. They had accepted, with Redwing proving herself skilled and loyal to her new cause. When her team left Velocitron to return to Cybertron, she came along to see the home planet she had no memory of. Upon arrival, she requested a trial for her actions during her short tenure as a Deception, but Ultra Magnus vetoed this request and offered her clemency immediately. She was then assigned to work as Bumblebee's bodyguard, ensuring he had an eye in the sky available to him at all times.

"At ease, Redwing." Bumblebee waved his hand. "Has anyone else arrived yet?"

"Yes, High Councilor. High Councilor Ultra Magnus and Prowl will be in shortly, as will Commander Jetfire, Ratchet, Knock Out, and Arcee." Redwing stepped up behind Bumblebee, folding her arms behind her back. "High Councilor Smokescreen is en route according to Rodimus." As if on cue, Ultra Magnus limped his way into the High Council chamber, supported by a quietly grumbling Prowl. Prowl helped him to his seat beside Bumblebee before taking his place next to Redwing. The two bodyguards shared a nod, Redwing offering Prowl a Shanix chip. Ratchet and Arcee entered next, sitting further down the table, before Jetfire entered, ducking his head slightly as he did.

"Consider this my formal request for the permanent chambers be built with taller doors." Jetfire joked before taking a seat between Ratchet and Knock Out. The three began to compare notes on their various ongoing projects, mumbling amongst themselves. After a few minutes passed, Smokescreen and Rodimus entered, taking their places on the High Councilor platform.

"Thank you all for coming, we are awaiting our guest now." Ultra Magnus spoke, his voice still slightly weak from the attack by Skylynx and Darksteel. Predaking's roar rang out as he transformed and landed on a landing platform just outside the dome, stomping in slowly as he held some kind of bundle tenderly in his arms. He ducked down to fit his head through the door, with a vindicated looking Jetfire motioning at him as he did.

"Autobots, I thank you all for coming. I bring glad tidings and great news for the future of our races." Predaking shifted his arms to reveal a Sparkling. Everyone in the room except Redwing gasped loudly, Ratchet shooting up instantly. "I was out surveying my kingdom when I came across what records indicate was once a Sparkfield before the war extinguished this planet's heart."

"What alternate mode are they?" Ratchet asked, leaning against the table excitedly. "Aerial, ground, liquidcraft, spacefaring?"

"None of the above." Predaking offered the sparkling to Ratchet, leading the newborn to open their yellow optics and grasp at the old medic's arm with her nascent claws. "She is a beast and I know not how."

"Optimus." Ratchet whispered. "Optimus, when he restored the Core and became one with our planet, he must have reignited it in such a way that allowed Predacons to be sparked on this world just like any other form of Cybertronian." Ratchet laughed excitedly. "He's given your species a future, Predaking."

"Then I offer my thanks to your late Prime." Predaking nodded. "I ask then that any beast sparkling found within the Sparkfields around Cybertron be offered to my people."

"Of course. We ask the inverse of you regarding sparklings with non-beast forms found within your territory's Sparkfields," Smokescreen requested. Predaking paused for a moment before making a noise of agreement. "Additionally, with your permission, I'd like to dispatch a message to the Cybertronian colony world of Eukaris. Its Cybertronians have adopted animalistic forms, I seek inform them that they have a kingdom and a king on Cybertron if any wish to come here."

"I shall gladly accept that. It would be delightful to have my like-kind here." Predaking sat down next to Arcee, watching Ratchet, Jetfire, and Knock Out analyze the sparkling. To him, nothing quite illustrated the forthcoming peace between the races of Cybertron like this sight. Three scientists fascinated by this new sparkling not because they were searching for a weapon, but because the sparkling represented the end of the war that they had fought and bled and watched comrades die for.

"Arcee, how are refugee return efforts going?" Bumblebee asked.

"As well as they can be, considering all of the barriers. A lot of Autobots out in the cosmos lack ships, a lot of Decepticons are still holding out, and a lot of neutrals just... Don't want to come back after everything that happened here." Arcee folded her arms. "We've had three arrivals in the past quartex and a half, Jetfire not included because he flew here alone. I'm going to keep pushing comms signals out into space, but I'm not very hopeful that there's going to be a mass return any time soon."

"That's disappointing but it can't be helped. We'll have to focus on what we do have here then." Bumblebee nodded.

"As for our Shockwave situation, we are still searching for him. Given that he has not yet been found on Cybertron, we must begin considering that he may be off-world." Prowl cut in to the meeting.

"Duly noted." Bumblebee nodded. "Meeting adjourned, unless anyone else has anything." The room was quiet, with Bumblebee nodding again. "Dismissed."

Queensland, Australia

Daintree Rainforest

33rd Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086

February 18, Earth Year 2013

A trio of humans dressed in Unit E body armour made their way through a jungle, two of them much taller than the third. The two taller ones carried human-sized Cybertronian blasters while the shorter one simply had a large backpack of Cybertronian technology slung over her shoulders.

"Nakadai, Epps, we're nearing the signal." One of the taller soldiers said.

"Roger that, Lennox." The voice of a now seventeen year old Miko Nakadai came from the shorter soldier. In the year since the Autobots had left Earth, Jack, Miko, and Raf had come into the employ of Unit E's Cybertronian response branch, the Nonbiological Emergency Special Taskforce, codenamed NEST. While Jack served in a command position as Director Fowler's immediate aide and Raf was NEST's communications specialist, Miko operated in the field. This mission was no different. NEST had discovered a radio signal deep within the Daintree Rainforest matching that of an Autobot distress signal, so the field team had been dispatched. Miko, Lennox, and Epps were the humans involved in scouting for Decepticons, but when the going got tough, they had a secret weapon making his way through the opposite end of the rainforest towards them for help.

The trio emerged from the dense foliage and saw a crater in the ground with a crashed Autobot escape pod in the middle. However, there was no Autobot to be seen around it, with Vehicons of a new design milling about instead. These ones were taller and slightly bulkier than the Vehicons that Miko was used to, largely due to the vehicle kibble on them that indicated that they transformed into helicopters instead of cars or jets. Epps pulled out his binoculars and began to look over the operation.

"Pod's cracked open. Cons already got inside. Not sure about survivors." Epps shook his head. "ETA on the big gun?"

"Two minutes." Miko checked her watch. "I don't want to sit and wait for him, though. I'll distract them, you two check the pod for survivors, we hold out until he gets here to help clean up."

"Alright." Lennox shook his head and chuckled. "You're the one with the magic armour." Miko smiled beneath her balaclava before sliding down into the crater. She activated the disk on her back, the Apex Armour forming around her as she reached the floor of the crater. She charged at the Vehicons, smashing one of them with a leaping punch. The remaining Vehicons opened fire on her, though their blasts were either absorbed, dispersed, or deflected by the Apex Armour. Miko watched out of the corner of her eye as Lennox and Epps sprinted through the chaos to reach the downed escape pod, grabbing one of the Vehicons and using it as a flail to bludgeon another one.

"Nakadai, we've got survivors!" Epps yelled into his comms. Miko made a noise of acknowledgement before letting loose a flurry of attacks into a line of Vehicons. The roar of an engine came through the trees as a red and black pickup truck crashed through the underbrush. It sped over the edge of the crater, transforming in the air and landing. Ironhide charged up his cannons and held them out, grinning slightly.

"You feeling lucky, punks?" Ironhide opened fire on the Vehicons as Miko continued to bash her way through the small army. Ironhide reached up onto his back and grabbed a rifle from it, tossing it to Miko. Miko caught it and blasted a Vehicon getting too close to the escape pod. After a brief firefight, the Vehicons had all been felled, with Ironhide clicking his cannons offline. "Done and dusted." Miko handed the rifle back to Ironhide, who slipped it back into its holster. The human and Autobot walked over to the escape pod, finding Epps and Lennox standing guard over a group of three young Cybertronians. "Alright, lads, where're you from?"

"We come from Aquatron," One of the young Autobots, a white and red bot with boat parts scattered about his body, said. "My name is Drydock." He pointed to one of his companions, a dark grey Autobot with fins on his back and legs, eyes on his chest, and long chainsaws on his shoulders. "This is Sharp Edge." He then gestured to the largest of the trio, a dark blue and grey Autobot with both aerial and aquatic kibble dotted around her body. "And her name's Skywave."

"I'm Ironhide, commander of Autobot operations here on Earth." Ironhide began to help the Autobots out of the escape pod. "You're in luck as far as terrain too, folks, this planet's got plenty of water. And plenty of kind inhabitants." Ironhide gestured to Lennox, Epps, and Miko. "Meet Major William Lennox, Master Sergeant Robert Epps, and Commander Miko Nakadai." The three humans pulled off their masks, revealing that Miko's hair was now cropped short to avoid getting in the way of her gear. "We're with NEST, a human and Autobot alliance, and we're here to welcome you to Earth."

"Thank you, Ironhide, it's been a long journey." Sharp Edge sighed happily. "Decepticons took out our ship, it was full of weapons and supplies that we were supposed to bring to Earth."

"We were stuck in orbit around this planet's star, our comms offline and us in stasis. We finally woke up not too long ago and directed ourselves here because our scanners picked up Cybertronian life," Skywave explained. "Now here we are."

"Well, I'd better tell Cybertron you're here. If y'all want to go there, by all means, the planet's in the midst of rebuilding and I'm sure they wouldn't say no to your help." Ironhide tapped a few buttons on his wrist to summon a Groundbridge. "But if you feel like staying on a water world, Earth's doors are open to you." Ironhide gestured to the now open Groundbridge, with the three humans and four Autobots stepping through.

Chapter Text

Scotland, United Kingdom

Gruinard Island

33rd Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086

February 18, Earth Year 2013

Ironhide, Miko, Drydock, Sharp Edge, Skywave, Lennox, and Epps emerged from a Groundbridge onto a bustling airstrip located on the far side of Gruinard Island, an aircraft carrier with Autobot insignias floating gently in the water nearby. An Autobot jet sharing its grey and red colour scheme with the aircraft carrier soared over to the ground before transforming and landing next to the group. His jet cockpit formed his chest while his wings folded up around his shoulders and his tailfins formed jointed heel spurs. His most unusual feature, though, was the fact that his back seemed to have collapsed up parts resembling his own faceplate and antennae. The Autobot scanned his optics across the three newcomers from Aquatron before laughing heartily and scooping them up into a hug.

"Brothers and sister of the Waters of Life, welcome to Earth!" The Autobot set the young Autobots down before putting his hands on his hips. "My name is Broadside, the Autobot naval commander here on Earth and another son of Aquatron! It is my immense pleasure to show this world's waves to you! We need to get all of you some proper Earth forms, come along, come along!" Broadside gestured for the three young Autobots to follow him. Drydock, Sharp Edge, and Skywave all gave Ironhide a hesitant look, but he waved them off to join their compatriot. The three young Autobots followed Broadside towards the water, stepping around various NEST personnel as they did. "So, from looking at you three, we have a Waterwalker, a Depthstrider, and a Tideflyer?" Drydock, Sharp Edge, and Skywave nodded slowly. "Alright, Tideflyer, what's your name?"

"Skywave, Captain." Skywave bowed her head.

"Haven't been called that in years." Broadside grinned before pointing at a small patrol boat in the water. "It's a British design, we've got a lot of those around here because I've been working with MI5 since coming to Earth and they decided to lend the Autobots this island." Skywave optics flicked around as Broadside rambled. "Anyways, you should scan it as your aquatic form. And then grab one of those-" Broadside pointed to a twin tiltrotor plane landing nearby. "-as your aerial form." Skywave nodded, blue beams emerging from her eyes as she scanned the plane first. Her body shifted, the wings on her back deforming and then reforming with propellers and a waistcoat forming from the plane's tailfins. Her chest then shifted into the nose of the craft while windows emerged on her arms. She scanned the patrol boat next, her calves forming from the boat's bow while her shoulders took on the appearance of the boat's bridge. She then ran at the water, jumping into the air and transforming into her boat form. She sped towards the aircraft carrier, her parts shifting again as she transformed into her plane form. "While she's getting used to the new forms, let's hunt down alt modes for you two too."

"Broadside!" One of the NEST soldiers yelled. "The white and red one, get him one of the pilot boats!" Broadside pointed at the NEST soldier in agreement before leading Drydock and Sharp Edge towards the water.

Ullapool

Skywave soared towards a human settlement, transforming into her boat mode as she reached the harbour. She brought herself into shore, transforming once more into robot mode as she stepped onto land. The humans gathered nearby took out their phones and began recording her presence, whispering amongst themselves and pointing up at her Autobot insignias. Skywave looked around curiously, taking care not to step on any humans or damage any property. The hustle and bustle being temporarily interrupted by a new sight reminded Skywave so much of Aquatron. Whenever the workers in the Energon wells saw a Leviacon, all work would stop for a few moments so that they could gawk at the gigantic techno-organic beast.

Skywave supposed that on this world, where she walked as a titan, she was the giant beast to be gawked at by the smaller lifeforms.

An orange vintage car that brought to mind the rounded face of an insect rounded a corner, driving slowly around various humans who regarded it with friendly familiarity. It came to a stop in front of Skywave, transforming into an Autobot that somewhat reminded Skywave of a mix between Cliffjumper and Bumblebee.

"New Autobot, huh?" The orange Autobot asked. "Good to meet you, name's Hubcap, welcome to Earth." Hubcap leaned on a building gently. "Listen, I just got called in for a mission. If you're itching to take your T-Cog's new toys out for a spin, I'd love a bit of backup. It's supposed to just be a scouting mission, but I wouldn't mind some air support to cover me if it gets messy." Hubcap tapped a few buttons on his wrist to request a Groundbridge. "At least until an Autobot with big guns can show up." The portal opened a moment later, with Hubcap motioning for Skywave to follow. "What do you say?"

"Alright, I'm coming." Skywave nodded, following Hubcap into the Groundbridge.

Vermont, United States

Lake Saint Catherine

A red articulated dump truck drove through a slate quarry, a small Decepticon insignia decorating each side of its front bumper. It drove past various other pieces of construction equipment before arriving at a partially excavated Decepticon warrior's stasis chamber. The dump truck transformed into a hulking four-armed Decepticon with three talon-tipped fingers on each of his hands. The Decepticon transformed both of his right arms into triple barreled blasters and opened fire on the rubble concealing the stasis chamber. The stasis chamber was quickly exposed, the Decepticon retracting his blasters and transforming his innermost left hand into a spiked club. He smashed the front of the stasis chamber repeatedly, tearing open the chamber with his free hands when it was damaged enough. Within was a stasis locked Seeker that looked identical to Redwing, but with a blocky head and painted in a blue and yellow colour scheme. The red Decepticon tore his compatriot from his stasis chamber and hurled him aside so he could get his arms into the stasis chamber. The red Decepticon began to download data from the console within, collecting all of the data before smashing the console to destroy evidence of the download. He then shoved the Seeker back into the stasis chamber, looking over his shoulder as a Groundbridge manifested on the plateau above the quarry. The red Decepticon quickly pulled a purple-tinted Energon cube from within his chest, pushing it into the chamber's energy well before transforming into his vehicle mode and driving into the mass of construction vehicles, hiding out among them as a pair of Autobots emerged from the Groundbridge.

"Energon levels are spiking here, rookie," Hubcap said, Skywave and him kneeling down over the edge of the quarry. "Mind giving me a quick lift down there?" Skywave transformed into her plane form and hovered next to Hubcap, letting him grab on as the two descended down into the deep quarry. Hubcap let go and landed comfortably on the ground, Skywave transforming into robot mode again as the pair walked through the idle construction vehicles. "I haven't had a chance to ask yet, what's your story? What brings you to Earth?"

"My crechemates, Drydock and Sharp Edge, and I grew up on Aquatron together. We were raised by the sweetest old Captain, her name was Alliance. We lived in peace throughout most of the Great War, but then towards the end, the Decepticons showed up. They slaughtered so many Aquatronians, including Alliance. Just before she died, she put my crechemates and me into an escape craft and sent us out into the stars. She said she was going to aim us for the one Autobot who would end the war as soon as he could." Skywave looked into the night sky. "Optimus Prime. He was a legend on Aquatron, on every single colony. The Last Prime."

"He was a living legend on Cybertron. Some bots said he was the second coming of the Thirteen." Hubcap nodded. Skywave turned back to Hubcap. "I had the honour of serving on the Ark with him. We had a mission on Aquatron, you're probably too young to remember, it was early in the Exodus era."

"I don't remember it, but I remember the stories. Optimus Prime riding atop a Leviacon like the great Commodores of old." Skywave smiled and sighed. "My crechemates and I went into stasis and by the time we woke up, the war was over. Megatron was dead and then revived and then... Gone. Unicron had risen, but Optimus became one with the Allspark and gave Cybertron his life so that it could support new life." Skywave touched the quarry wall, the hard stone a vast departure from her home of seafoam and sediment. "And now I'm here."

"It's good to have more Autobots here. Earth was such an integral part to the end of the war and humans did so much for us that it's only right we help them out now too." Hubcap's Energon detector beeped angrily at him. "That's a big surge, come on."

Hubcap and Skywave broke out into a sprint, Hubcap transforming his fists into blasters resembling Wheeljack's as he did. Skywave transformed her own hands into blasters she had only ever used in training, blasters where were similar in design to the photon burst rifles seen during the days when Cybertron fell. The two rounded a pile of rocks in the quarry, finding the Seeker within the stasis chamber had awakened. The two Autobots pointed their weapons at the Decepticon, who shook the stasis from his optics and stomped out of the cell.

"Behold the glory of Requiem!" The Seeker, evidently named Requiem, yelled. "Each and every one of you foolish and insignificant Autobots shall die a slow and painful demise!" The Seeker fired missiles from his arms at Hubcap and Skywave, who both dodged out of the way before opening fire. Neither Autobot noticed that, in the midst of the firefight breaking out, one of the construction vehicles managing to drive itself out of sight and out of the quarry.

"NEST Base, this is Hubcap. That Energon surge turned out to be a juiced up Seeker. Skywave and I are on site, we need an assist immediately." Hubcap ducked away from hot stony shrapnel kicked up by one of Requiem's blaster shots. Requiem cackled maniacally before transforming into a tetrajet, soaring into the sky. Skywave growled before jumping out of cover. She ran forward, transforming into her vehicle mode as she did and taking off after Requiem. While the Seeker was swifter in the air, the Autobot's tiltrotors gave her the control she needed to keep him in her sights and evade his attacks. A Groundbridge opened up near Hubcap, with Ironhide and a black and red Autobot flier with a jet nosecone positioned behind his head, wings folded up against his back, tailfins on his ankles, and twin cannons on each forearm emerging from the portal.

"I'm not going to lecture you, I'm glad you brought the rookie for air support and called for backup instead of trying to take that fella on yourself." Ironhide chuckled. "Skydive, help the kid ground that punk." Skydive nodded before transforming into a jet and soaring into the sky. Skydive twirled around Requiem and Skywave, transforming and flipping around to dive straight at the Decepticon.

'Skywave, Skydive here. You triple change into a boat. Do you have an anchor?' Skydive transmitted over his radio so Requiem would not heard his question.

'Yes,' Skywave replied, transforming into robot mode but keeping her wings extended so she could somewhat unsteadily hover. She readied her hand to transform into an energy anchor and chain as soon as Skydive gave her the signal. Skydive fired two missiles from each wing at Requiem, who rolled away from the attack but ended up right in Skywave's line of sight. She hurled her anchor forward, latching onto the Seeker as he flew past. Requiem stopped in his tracks, his thruster fighting against the large Autobot's rotors. Skydive then soared at Requiem, transforming into a leg and smashing his gestalt foot into Requiem. Skywave spun around in the air as Skydive shifted back into jet mode, hurling the Seeker at Ironhide and Hubcap on the ground. Requiem transformed and skidded to a stop near them, carving a trench into the quarry floor. Ironhide pointed his cannons at the Seeker while Hubcap planted a foot on his back.

"Surrender, Decepticon. The war's over. The Autobots won. We'll make sure you get a fair trial and then you can enjoy the peace," Ironhide offered.

"No peace, only victory," Requiem growled. He armed both of his missiles and aimed them at his own chest. Ironhide's optics widened, tackling Hubcap off of the Seeker and creating a glowing silver shield around his body. A massive explosion of Dark Energon-tainted Energon and Spark energy surged through the quarry, shaking the ground and shattering the windows of the construction vehicles gathered. Skywave and Skydive soared down, transforming and searching for Ironhide and Hubcap. Skywave dug through one of the large piles of rubble, finding Ironhide supporting it with his second skin. Hubcap had been knocked into stasis lock by the force of the impact, but Ironhide had managed to save his life at the very least.

Iacon, Cybertron

Temporary Iacon High Council Chamber

"I'm glad this... Skywave is fitting in Earth. You guys were due for another force. Sounds like she may be green, but she'll make warrior quick," Bumblebee said to a hologram of Ironhide. "How's Hubcap? Do you need a Spacebridge? I think we can send you Jetfire or Knock Out. Ratchet's occupied setting up a medical school here now while trying to get Magnus back to fighting condition."

"We can manage here. Meltdown has Hubcap awake already, he'll be up, about, and gambling with humans again in a few days." Ironhide chuckled. "How are you holding up on Cybertron?" Bumblebee opened his mouth to respond. "And I don't mean as a whole or as a planet, I mean you personally."

"I'm doing fine. Magnus has the military covered, Smokescreen handles the public, I'm just in charge internal commands and things. I'm doing fine, not overwhelmed at all." Bumblebee chuckled, an act he hoped was convincing. "I'm one of the leaders of Cybertron in peacetime after the end of the Great War! It's great, this is the best time to have this kind of influence to- To build the future!" Ironhide sighed and shook his head.

"There's a saying, Bee. Heavy is the spark which bears the Matrix," Ironhide said. "Alpha Trion said it when he was appointing a new Prime. It was his warning to a young Cybertronian that the power of the Matrix and the burden of leadership were not things offered lightly." Bumblebee nodded slowly. "The last bot he said it to was a young archivist named Orion Pax. Orion replied with a simple phrase: Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing." Ironhide leaned against his hologram projector. "Orion wasn't much older then than you are now when he became Prime, Bee. And do you know what he did when he didn't know what to do?" Bumblebee stayed silent. "He relied on his friends, his Autobots. From the start of the war until he joined with the Allspark."

"Thank you, Ironhide." Bumblebee nodded, stopping Ironhide from saying anything else. "Keep me posted on Hubcap."

"I will, Bee." Ironhide shook his head slightly.

Chapter Text

Iacon, Cybertron

Great War Memorial

34th Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086

Smokescreen and Arcee watched as the Nemesis lowered a chunk of desert rock from Nevada into place before a memorial dedicated to all of the victims of the Great War. Embedded within it was the Star Saber, placed there by Optimus himself as an offering to the future. Between the death of Megatron and the start of the Unicron Crisis, Optimus had brought a piece of rubble from the former Autobot Outpost Omega One to Cybertron, a tribute to the world that had allowed him to call it home for years. After he knighted Bumblebee and just before he departed with Wheeljack to find the Allspark, he had placed the Star Saber into the stone in the presence of both Smokescreen and Arcee. He had reasoned that there was no need for such a weapon in these times of peace, but the Star Saber should still be offered to future generations should the forces of evil rise and tear the peace from Cybertron once more. Etched into the hunk of stone was a pattern in the language of the Primes, including the legions of names that had been lost during the Great War.

As there was no one left on Cybertron able to write that language, the Star Saber now represented not only peace, but also the name of the data clerk who had fought for it.

"Cliff's in there. So's Tailgate." Arcee smiled sadly. "I just wish they could see this stone being moved instead of being on it."

"Instead of fighting on in their names, we get to bring about peace for their memories." Smokescreen nodded. "I need a favour with a bit of a personal quest I'm looking to take on." Arcee raised an optic ridge at him. "We've got the Star Saber, the Apex Armour is in NEST's hands, I want to recover the other Relics of the Thirteen and get them into Autobot control." Smokescreen produced a map of Earth, a beacon showing a location in Alberta, Canada. "And I want to start with the Forge. I've been taking a dive into Alpha Trion's archives, there's a way to fix it and recharge it. Solus Prime had something called a Creation Lathe, it was the recharge point for her power. Maybe, just maybe, recharging the Forge in the Lathe would allow us to use a little bit of its power without a Prime, just enough to tune up Ultra Magnus."

"It's a good plan, Smoke. You got NEST digging for it already?" Arcee asked. Smokescreen pointed and winked at her as confirmation. The two walked away from the Great War Memorial and onto one of the footpaths. Cybertron was slowly beginning to regain some hustle and bustle as Vehicons milled about. Now that the war was over, Team Prime had begun encouraging the soldiers to find identities for themselves. Most had remained as they were, but a few were slowly adopting new colours and varied vehicle forms, usually from Earth rather than those pre-war Cybertronian models that had survived in the form of scannable archive data. "You saw the holo from Jack, right?" Smokescreen nodded. "I'm glad he's doing good, I just wish he'd... Visit." Smokescreen smiled faintly. "I brought him to Cybertron before, but that wasn't how I wanted him to see my home." Smokescreen opened his mouth to say something, but Arcee cut him off. "I've been meaning to ask. We're watching him, right?" Smokescreen turned his head in mild confusion. "Not Jack, him." Smokescreen pondered it for a moment before a look of realization swept over his face. "I know he gave his whole speech about losing his taste for oppression, but still." Smokescreen smiled and leaned on one of the statues nearby,

"Yes," Smokescreen replied. "Jetfire has scanners watching him, but we're not constantly checking. It's what Optimus would do with him, give him new chances to be better until he proves that he shouldn't have another one." Smokescreen touched the statue, a crumbling depiction of Alchemist Prime. "It's like I heard Ultra Magnus and Prowl talking about earlier. We're at the point where we have to choose between peace and justice and until Cybertron is healthy again, we have to choose peace so we have a chance to come back to justice."

"You're really becoming a leader, Smokescreen." Arcee touched Smokescreen's arm. "Optimus was right to choose you, so were Ultra Magnus and Ratchet."

"What can I say, I had good teachers." Smokescreen grinned.

Scotland, United Kingdom

Gruinard Island

36th Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086

February 21, Earth Year 2013

Miko sat in her dorm room with headphones plugged into her guitar as she strummed away. When she told her parents that she was joining Unit E, they were excited for her to finally have found a form of excitement and fulfillment in life. They had been even more excited when she had gone to Tokyo between the end of the Great War and the Unicron Crisis to see them again. They were shocked when she revealed she had brought along a blue semi truck, a white muscle car, and a green monster truck, but both had been thrilled when Miko introduced them to Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Ultra Magnus, thanking the three Wreckers for giving their daughter a place on a team. They had both given Miko their blessing to work with NEST and wear the Apex Armour.

Part of Miko wished they had been a little less supportive so she could have stood up for what she wanted, but she was happy to have them on her side.

Besides, they had objected enough to her new cropped haircut to make up for it.

Miko was stirred from her thoughts and her guitar by her phone buzzing next to her. She grabbed it, seeing it was Ironhide calling all field personnel to a meeting in the situation room. Miko set her guitar down and removed her headphones, grabbing her phone and slipping it into her shirt pocket before opening the door to her room. She walked quickly, taking care not to run to unnerve the people not involved with combat. After a few moments of dodging technicians and support staff, she arrived at the situation room. Miko jogged up the gangway steps, stepping up next to Lennox and Epps. Ironhide, Broadside, Skydive, Skywave, and Drydock stood in the middle of the room alongside five more Autobots. The first was a sleek dark red and silver Autobot with wheels for feet and a sports car front for a chest plate; the second was a white and black Autobot with muscle car kibble and two wheels in each of his legs; the third a slender blue and yellow Autobot with a black spoiler on her back and roll cage bars on her forearms; the fourth was a blue and white Autobot with blades retracted into his forearms and a racecar's front wing folded up behind his head; and the fifth was a massive silver, yellow, and red Autobot with ramjets on his forearms and a split airplane cockpit for feet who was forced to duck to fit into the briefing room.

"Autobots, NEST operatives, we've picked up a massive spike of Decepticon signals centralized in the Belgian city of Antwerp. Cons got reckless, we managed to get our hands on a boosted signal." Ironhide began his briefing, activating a map as he did.

"Apparently they're not the same without Soundwave." The dark red and silver Autobot commented, much to the other Autobots' amusement.

"Antwerp's a coastal city, which is good for us because we have a surplus of naval forces. Sharp Edge, Sunstreaker, and Alpha Bravo are already on site doing recon, we'll be bridging the naval and aerial teams into the port via the carrier while the ground team will go ashore directly," Ironhide continued. "Ground forces will divide into three teams. I will lead the first, Mirage and Miko's squad will join me." Miko and the blue and white Autobot nodded. "Sideswipe is in command of the second, he will be joined by Doubletake and Lennox's squad." The dark red and silver Autobot gave a snarky salute while the white and black Autobot and Lennox both simply nodded. "Sunstreaker will command the third based on her existing intel, Epps' squad and Catapult will join her on tactical duty." Epps and the blue and yellow Autobot shared a quick look. "Silverbolt, I'm assuming that Air Raid, Fireflight, and Slingshot remain on other missions?"

"Indeed, we shall be without the unified Aerialbots," The massive silver Autobot replied. "Given the number of the Decepticons, however, I believe we won't need the full force." Ironhide nodded, noting it in his battle plan. "Given my alternate form's speed and long range scanning capabilities, I shall fly myself to the destination to coalesce the recon reports. I will arrive in twenty Earth minutes. Is that sufficient time for the rest of you to gear up?"

"It is, get going," Ironhide ordered. Silverbolt ducked out of the room, trying not to hit his head as he exited. "All other fliers and naval units, report to the carrier. You're getting bridged as soon as Silverbolt gives the go-ahead." Broadside, Skydive, Skywave, and Drydock made their way out of the briefing room and towards the dock. Broadside closed his optics for a moment, powering on the Autobot carrier remotely. The four Autobots broke out into a jog, transforming and racing towards the carrier. A small door opened on the side for Drydock to enter while the three fliers landed on top. Broadside, Skydive, and Skywave landed on the flight deck as the door closed behind Drydock.

"Raf, this is Broadside. Carrier is loaded." Broadside spoke into the comms. "We're ready for a bridge on Silverbolt's signal."

Atlantic Ocean

Silverbolt ripped through the skies towards Antwerp with a trail of sonic booms forming in his wake. While Earth was not Cybertron, it had come to be just as important to the Autobots as their homeworld had been. Though its people may not have known it at first, it had opened its doors to Autobot refugees from across the stars and given Optimus Prime a place to call home with no Cybertron. It had been the world which Optimus had been willing to sacrifice a return to Cybertron for, an ultimate showcase of his philosophy that freedom was everyone's right. He asked that the ties the Autobots had forged with their human allies not be forgotten, no matter how far removed they would find themselves from the war. That had been the founding tenet of NEST: An alliance. That had been what brought this many Autobots to Earth, it was a place for them to be in ways that no other world could hope accomplish. Earth was not a colony like Velocitron or Caminus, she was a sister planet to Cybertron, two worlds united by common history and origin.

There was no better planet that could have received Optimus Prime's blessing than Earth. It was a beautiful world with a creative species who would rush to her defense against any threat. They were a young race of flesh and bone and yet had still cracked so many technological secrets of steel and oil. They had taken flight through the means of creation rather than any natural gifts, creating aircraft which could reach supersonic speeds and nigh-unimaginable altitudes. Silverbolt had been offered one of the most advanced reconnaissance aircraft to scan as his vehicle mode, a sleek and stylish craft designed during the height of a cold war between superpowers to see while unseen. It was such a remarkably designed craft that Silverbolt would be keeping it for as long as no one on Cybertron could outclass its craftsmanship.

The skill that went into his jet form was almost enough to make Silverbolt forget his fear of heights.

Silverbolt's radar pinged at him, alerting him to the fact that he was now in sensor and comms range of Antwerp. He could now see the city in the distance, a sensor ping confirming he was about to be two miles out from the harbour. A small compartment at the back of his jet form opened up, allowing a small buoy to ride a sonic boom out of its storage compartment. The buoy sailed down towards the water, deploying a parachute as it did to slow down before it splashed down smoothly. He opened the Autobot recon network on his comms, alerting Sharp Edge, Sunstreaker, and Alpha Bravo to his incoming presence.

"Silverbolt here, requesting update from recon team. Groundbridge beacon is in place, I want reports from you three before I authorize a jump," Silverbolt said.

"Full Decepticon tac team here, boss." Alpha Bravo's voice came over the comms. "Mostly just Vehicons, but we've got some Constructicon drones here too."

"Those aren't issues, but the 'Cons have some kind of new soldier on the battlefield. Not sure about where they're from, but they're big and beefy and big and beefy." Sunstreaker joined in, her voice cutting off Alpha Bravo's. "They're like the other Vehicons, but they're huge and they turn into trucks. They're about as tall as Meltdown, little shorter maybe. I've counted a dozen, dozen and a half of them. They've got electroshields built into their bodies so they're going to be tough nuts to crack."

"I want a scan uploaded to my network, Sunstreaker," Silverbolt ordered. Sunstreaker obliged, transmitting the data to Silverbolt. He then transmitted it into the main Autobot frequency so that the ground teams would be prepared for the new truck Vehicons. "Calling all NEST forces, this is Silverbolt. I have uploaded the relevant tactical information I have thus far been able to compile. All teams, if we wish for the element of surprise to be maintained, all units must be in position to Groundbridge within the next minute." Silverbolt slowed down just enough that he would not generate window-shattering sonic booms over Antwerp, dropping three more beacons in locations he felt were best for the ground teams to bridge to. "All beacons are set. Raf, is everyone ready?"

"Everyone's locked and loaded." The sound of a now older Raf came over the comms.

"Autobots, roll out!" Ironhide ordered.

Belgian Airspace

A white and purple spaceplane flew high in the sky above the city of Antwerp, above even Silverbolt's scanner range and high enough to see the Earth curving away from the sky. The spaceplane rolled slightly in their air, the light of the sun glistening off of its hull and shining upon its split-top tail fin, revealing an insignia made from the Decepticon one emblazoned over a pair of crossed swords on each side of the stem of the fin.

"Seems a waste of my talents to have me up here on recon, but I guess I'm following orders." The Decepticon scoffed before activating his comms on a secured frequency. "This is Wingman reporting in to Bruiser," The Decepticon said into his comms. "The Autobots have made their way into the city, they're dealing with the rogue faction just as planned."

"This is Bruiser to Wingman, we're reading you loud and clear," The Decepticon's contact on the ground responded. "Vanguard is currently taking the Big Red Payload to the drop point while the Autobots are distracted, should make splashdown tomorrow. Road Brawler is authorizing you to finish up your recon mission after you take one last tactical scan and return to the rendezvous point. Harbinger and Tanker will be waiting for you there to head to the next mission waypoint."

"Finally, some action." The Decepticon, evidently codenamed Wingman, chuckled. "Wingman out, readying for scan." The Decepticon flyer quickly flew a tight circle, sensors pinging quietly as he did. The Autobots had begun flooding out of their Groundbridges to attack the Decepticon troops in the city. With a flick of exhaust fumes, the Decepticon activated his rocket engine in addition to his jet engines to speed off towards his destination.

Chapter Text

Pacific Ocean, Earth

Point Nemo

36th Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086

February 21, Earth Year 2013

Shockwave walked into the command room of a Decepticon base located on the ocean floor, a pair of large Vehicons with shields on their arms, large cannons on their backs, and tank kibble bowing as he entered. Shockwave stepped over to his command console, finding a red and black Decepticon with parts of a sports car hood on her shoulders, a collapsed windshield, car roof, and doors composing her chest, four bladed wheels on her back, and a face resembling an insect's head.

"Milord, the Autobots have taken the bait, they have engaged with the Decepticon forces in Antwerp." The red Decepticon gestured to the console next to her. "It will keep NEST distracted whilst we retrieve our prize."

"You have located it then, Stinger?" Shockwave asked.

"That I have." Stinger pulled up a series of data pings along a road in Nevada. "It is being transported by undercover military convoy from temporary storage at a human facility known as Area 51 to a seperate secret laboratory located within the Hoover Dam. The mission is so classified that not even NEST is aware of its nature or occurrence."

"Excellent. I shall have you lead the offensive. I will remain here in my laboratory in order to receive you and the subject." Shockwave stepped over to the control console, beginning to calibrate the Groundbridge. "I will need to fire a concealed pulse of the Groundbridge to prevent Autobot scanners from detecting it. Your team will thus be limited to four members including yourself. I trust that will not be a problem."

"Not at all, Lord Shockwave." Stinger bowed before walking out of the control room.

Belgium, Europe

Antwerp

Broadside, Skydive, and Skywave soared above the battlefield, the two fighter jets occasionally breaking away to intercept an oncoming Vehicon jet. Skywave was the target to be protected, as within her cargo hold was a payload from the aircraft carrier's cargo bay: A pair of shield generators for the ground teams to take advantage of. Due to their unstable nature, they could only be transported in a Groundbridge when within a special containment module that would preclude them from being set up while under heavy fire. Skywave had quickly volunteered her vehicle mode as a means of transport just as long as the other flying Autobots could cover her.

The three fliers descended down towards the streets below, Skywave's cargo door opening as the shield generators slid out, Broadside transforming into robot mode to cover its landing. Skywave closed her door again as she and Skydive flew back into the sky, a white, blue, and orange stealth-attack helicopter with large missile batteries on either side of its fuselage joining the two of them. Broadside landed on the ground with a fist slam, transforming his left hand into a blaster resembling the tip of Dreadwing's cannon and firing a shot at a car Vehicon. Sideswipe skated over on his wheel feet, sliding close to the ground so he could slice another Vehicon in half. Doubletake walked slowly through the battle, firing Energon blasts from twin barreled blasters that resembled a cross between Ultra Magnus and Arcee's blasters. Lennox and a team of seven other NEST soldiers jogged behind Doubletake, ducking behind the Autobot when an occasional shot strayed too close to them.

"Status?" Lennox asked.

"Shield generator's ready to deploy." Broadside lifted off slightly with the thrusters embedded into his feet. "I'll give you some flight cover while you get it set up." Broadside transformed and jetted off into the air as Doubletake retracted his cannons and crouched down next to the shield generator with one of the NEST soldiers, a Japanese woman with her hair tied in a tightly braided bun and with a nametag reading 'K. Ishihara'.

"What do you think, Kami?" Doubletake asked. "Two minutes?"

"If we get done in one, you're going to that drive-in with me." Kami grinned, setting down a timer. Doubletake scoffed before opening the side panels on the generator as Kami started the timer. Lennox waved for the other humans to gather around the two as they worked, Sideswipe zipping around the area to thin out the herd before it became too big of a problem. A loud truck honk roared through the streets as a massive flat nose tanker truck came barreling towards the group. Doubletake looked over his shoulder and growled quietly, his shoulder shifting slightly to reveal a missile rack akin to those the Seekers had. Sideswipe jumped over the truck and fired a grapple hook from each hand at the truck's front wheels, knocking it off balance and forcing it to transform into robot mode. Doubletake fired his missile, blowing the massive Vehicon back as Sideswipe deployed a twin bladed sword from each hand. He drove them into the Vehicon's shoulders and pushed against the nigh-immovable force. Lennox gave the signal for his soldiers to open fire on the Vehicon, the Energon rounds bouncing off of the Decepticon's thick plating with almost no visible marks. The Vehicon chuckled quietly as it grabbed Sideswipe's face and yanked him up into the air, the Autobot's swords being ripped free from the Decepticon's shoulders as it happened. The Vehicon smashed Sideswipe into the ground and stomped on him before grabbing him again and holding him in front of itself.

"Hold fire!" Lennox yelled, not wanting his troops to hurt Sideswipe. "Kaminari..." Lennox looked at Kami over his shoulder. Kami nodded at Doubletake, who released the wire he was tampering with and turned to face the Decepticon truck as his hands both transformed into blasters.

This new Vehicon was big, about the same size as Breakdown had been, but Doubletake had fought bigger. Before he had defected to the Autobots, he had stared down Wreckers and Elite Guards. After he had stepped into the light, he had gone toe-to-toe with two Combaticons and lived to tell the tale. Even if he would not be able to take down this Vehicon with blasters and blades alone, he was not about to stand aside for the Decepticon to kill his allies.

Doubletake opened fire on the Vehicon as he walked towards it, the Decepticon shrugging off the shots but stepping off of Sideswipe as Doubletake walked closer. The truck Vehicon crouched down, charging forward at Doubletake. The Autobot transformed into his vehicle mode, his chest forming the car's hood and his back transforming into the car's roof as his legs split apart to form all four wheels and his arms shifted to become the doors and trunk. Doubletake, now in the form of a white and black muscle car, zipped out of the way of the attack before transforming behind the Vehicon and leaping onto its back. He punched at the Decepticon's head, but was grabbed and hurled at the humans. Just as he left the Vehicon's hands, the shield came online and Doubletake impacted it with a clanging thud. He groaned, sliding down the shield and hitting the ground with a quiet crash.

The Vehicon transformed its hand into a quad-barreled cannon and pointed it at Doubletake, but was swiftly crashed into from the sky by a massive object. Sideswipe, Doubletake, and Lennox's squad watched as Silverbolt and the Vehicon rolled down the road, skidding to a stop as Silverbolt's right hand split apart and he unleashed a stream of both natural and Synthetic Energon from within the ramjet that made up his wrist which instantly ignited into a brilliant cyan flame that torched the Vehicon's faceplate. It roared in pain as its faceplate and optics melted, Silverbolt reforming his hand and picking up the Vehicon. The Aerialbot leader gripped the Decepticon's chest and pelvis tightly, shouting as he ripped the Vehicon in half before throwing the two halves aside. He then trudged over to Sideswipe, helping him to the NEST line as Doubletake limped through a small hole in the shield that Kami opened. Silverbolt set Sideswipe down inside before reaching behind his back, grabbing a shield-like device with a handle that quickly transformed into a long rifle.

"Meltdown, this is Silverbolt. Sideswipe and Doubletake need a look. I will cover you." Silverbolt fired over one of the shorter buildings nearby, blowing a Vehicon car apart in a single shot. A Groundbridge opened nearby a moment later, with a bulky yellow and silver Autobot stepping out of it. He had wheels for knees and shoulders, though the shoulder wheels were largely hidden by his massive shoulder pads. His chest was formed by the collapsed front end of an off-road ambulance while his forearms each had half of a lightbar on them. Most notably, though, was the massive monocle that covered his right optic, telescoping slightly as he focused on the downed Sideswipe. Meltdown stepped into the shield, which sealed behind him as he gave Doubletake a quick look. He pulled an injection vial from his waist containing two separated fluids, one of SynthEn and one of CNA. He jabbed it into Doubletake's arm, triggering the barrier between the CNA and SynthEn to break and allowing the new liquid Cybermatter to flow into Doubletake and patch him up.

"How bad does it look, Doc?" Sideswipe groaned. Meltdown smiled sadly, gripping Sideswipe's hand gently.

"Nothing I can't fix." Meltdown assured his patient.

Ironhide ducked behind a damaged shipping container to avoid a barrage from one of the truck Vehicons, countering with a blast from his left cannon that barely seemed to inflict any pain on the Decepticon trooper. Ironhide watched as Mirage sprinted at the Vehicon firing at him, but the racecar Autobot was met with a massive pulse that instantly dissipated the hologram. Three more Mirages then attacked the Vehicon with their blades deployed, utterly confounding the Vehicon as he tried to attack all three of the Mirages. The two holograms were felled by the shots while the real Mirage slid under the shot aimed at him, slashing his blades through the Vehicon's abdomen.

"All Autobots, this is Mirage! The trucks, they can diffuse Energon-based blaster fire. Stick with melee, blades if you've got them, fists if you don't!" Mirage yelled over the comms. He generated another hologram of himself as he dodged away from the truck Vehicon's fist, the real Mirage and the hologram both transforming into their race car modes. Mirage's back flipped up and around his head, becoming the front of his car mode as his arms folded into the sides, his shoulders shifting to become the front wheels. His lower half spun around at the waist, his feet becoming his back wheels as his shins formed his spoiler.

"They are no more resilient against elemental attacks than any other Vehicons either. My flamethrower was devastating to their armour," Silverbolt added over the comms. "I have no idea what electrical attacks would do to them, nor am I particularly inclined to try." Ironhide scanned the port for a moment while Mirage kept the Vehicon busy with both his agility and more holograms. His optics finally hit a barrel labeled as being filled with liquid nitrogen.

"Miko, cover Mirage!" Ironhide ordered as he transformed his left hand and part of his forearm into a strange device with both an intake valve in front of a storage tank slung under his forearm and an output nozzle where his fist had been, dashing over to the barrel. Miko charged into the fight, her NEST team lagging slightly behind her as she activated the Apex Armour and clobbered the Vehicon in the face. Ironhide grabbed the barrel of liquid nitrogen and hooked his intake nozzle into it, absorbing enough of the freezing liquid to fill up his storage tank. He dropped the barrel and walked towards Miko and the Vehicon, raising his liquid gun at them. Miko pinned the Vehicon in place to give Ironhide a clear shot, allowing him to expel the subzero spray all over the Vehicon. The Decepticon screamed as its systems froze solid, allowing Miko to break it in half. Ironhide was about to attack a second Vehicon coming up behind Mirage, but the Vehicon was quickly felled by a sniper shot from a crane hanging above. Ironhide looked up, seeing Catapult hanging by her legs from the truss, lowering her sniper rifle away from her optic for a moment to take stock of the battlefield again.

"Sharp Edge reporting in, all Decepticon forces have remained on land. None have gotten into the water and escaped."  Sharp Edge reported over the comms.

"Sunstreaker here, Decepticons seem to have been routed. Alpha Bravo, Silverbolt, please confirm." Sunstreaker called in.

"I can confirm, we are now dealing with vestiges. We have won the battle." Silverbolt finished off the comms chatter.

Nevada, United States

Highway 93

A red and black sports car, a blue and black muscle car, and a purple communications van ripped down a dark desert highway, the blue muscle car leading the pack and the red nd black sports car taking up the rear. The early morning moonlight glistened off of the muscle car's exposed engine, revealing an engraved Decepticon insignia atop it.

"Hotwire, are the humans' comms jammed?" Stinger asked as she passed the purple communications van.

"Not just jammed, fully redirected. We can hear them on our tertiary channel," The purple communications van replied. "I'm also maintaining an all-clear transmission to their emergency air support. They won't know anything's gone wrong until we've already snatched and grabbed."

"Good. Blackout, what's your ETA?" Stinger asked.

"Five." A deep voice came over the comms. "Optics up, you have a checkpoint in front of you."

"Dropkick, you're on deck," Stinger ordered.

"Can't wait to see 'em pop." The blue and black muscle car, evidently Dropkick, chuckled. He sped up, leaving his two compatriots in the dust as he charged headfirst at a military checkpoint that had been set up in the wake of the convoy. The guards gathered at the checkpoint pointed their guns at him and one illuminated a sign ordering him to stop, but Dropkick kept going. As he reached the checkpoint, Dropkick transformed; his front wheels folding into his shoulders and his back wheels shifting onto the outside of his elbows, his doors forming wings his back, his feet emerging from beneath his trunk, and his engine splitting to reveal his head. He transformed his left hand into a cannon with spikes on the tip of the barrel, firing a blast at one of the soldiers.

"Open fire!" One of the guards yelled as the human soldiers shot at the Decepticon enforcer. Dropkick scoffed, grabbing the soldier and hurling him off into the desert. He then shot two more of them as bullets from the last three soldiers bounced off his chest. Dropkick picked up one of the armoured cars stationed nearby and slammed it down into the screaming soldiers repeatedly until there was no more noise from them. He then transformed back into vehicle mode as the other two Decepticons sped past, rejoining them on the road.

Two humans sat in the cab of an armoured semi truck hauling a covered trailer in the middle of a convoy consisting of six covert armoured SUVs. The soldier in the passenger drumming his hands against his thighs as he looked around the cab. The driver sighed and gave him an annoyed look out of the corner of her eye, making the passenger sit still.

"So, uh, we're still on for dinner tomorrow, right?" The passenger asked. The driver groaned and glared at him before sighing and nodding yes. "Great! I got us a reservation at this really nice Greek place in town. I know you love souvlaki, so I wanted to take you out for it for your birthday."

"Aw, Guidi, you're sweet. That sounds great." The driver giggled a little bit. She looked out of the window of her truck, seeing a massive heavy-lift helicopter flying towards the convoy. "Did someone call in air support? We've got a chopper on our seven." The driver growled and grabbed her radio. "This is Agent Roche, who called in the helicopter and didn't let me know?"

"Agent Roche, we called in the helicopter. Don't worry, he's much friendlier than he lets on." A female voice that Agent Roche didn't recognize came over the radio. Roche's eyes widened as the helicopter fired a series of four missiles at the convoy. The convoy took evasive actions, but the car directly behind the trailer was hit by two of the missiles and exploded. Roche slammed her foot down on the accelerator as Agent Guidi reached into the back of the truck cabin and began to ready a rocket launcher. Agent Roche's head whipped around as she saw a red and black sports car pulling up beside the semi, a pair of twin barreled blasters identical to those of Bumblebee emerging from the hood. The sports car drifted around an oncoming corner, blasting away at the front left tire of the semi truck as it did.

"Guidi..." Roche growled. Agent Guidi made a noise of confirmation as he held up the rocket launcher. Agent Roche pressed a button hidden beneath her console, the window dropping open in an instant and allowing Agent Guidi to fire a rocket at the sports car. The rocket made impact with the road in front of the car, which flipped into the air from the force of the impact. To both Roche and Guidi's shock, the car transformed in midair; the front of the car forming the robot's arms, the windshield, roof, and doors forming the robot's chest, the back of the car forming the robot's legs, and all four wheels spinning around on an apparatus onto her back to reveal the robot mode of Stinger.

"Surprise." Stinger's voice came over the radio and out of the robot's mouth. She then deployed one of the blasters she had used in car mode from her right arm and fired a shot into the cab of the truck, just grazing Roche's chin but hitting Guidi square in the chest. As Stinger landed on the ground, she rolled forward and transformed back into vehicle mode, resuming the chase. Roche collected herself as she rolled her window back up, looking at Guidi's dying body with rage and grief in her eyes. She watched in her rearview mirror as a blue and black muscle car rammed into the side of one of her support SUVs, causing it to flip over before being destroyed by more missiles from the helicopter. Roche then watched as the three SUVs in front of her suddenly stopped and pulled aside, the action the only thing that alerted her to the massive crater in the road. She slammed on the brakes and braced for impact as her truck sailed over the edge and smashed into the wall of the crater, the cabin crumpling under its own weight and momentum. Stinger and Dropkick transformed into robot mode as the soldiers in the four remaining SUVs got out and opened fire on them.

"Base, base, this is transport team! The Decepticons are here, they're going for Black Convoy!" One of the soldiers yelled into his radio. He then heard stomping behind him, looking up to see the imposing form of Hotwire standing behind him and smiling. His van mode's headlights and front fenders had formed his shoulders, his front wheels formed his hips while his back wheels formed his ankles, his sideview mirrors sat on his forearms, and the roof and windshield collapsed up to form his chest. Hotwire picked the soldier up and laughed, plucking the radio from the young man's hand and crushing it.

"They can't hear you and they can't help you." Hotwire turned to Dropkick, squeezing the squirming human a little tighter. "Dropkick, got one for you." Hotwire tossed the soldier into the air to be blasted by Dropkick. The two then turned to the trailer that Blackout had come to a hovering stop over. Blackout transformed into robot mode, his helicopter form's rotor transforming into a cape-like structure suspended behind his head as the front of the front of the vehicle split and compressed to reveal his head. His legs formed from the bulk of the lower fuselage while the tail and upper fuselage transformed into his arms, his tail rotor becoming a spinning weapon mounted on his left forearm. Mounted on Blackout's right forearm was a piece that had not been visible in his vehicle mode, a black and yellow Cybertronian torpedo that he fired at the trailer as he stomped towards the remaining human soldiers. The torpedo transformed into a Decepticon Minicon with flames emitting from his head.

"Swelter, get it open." Blackout ordered before opening fire on the convoy. The Minicon cackled as his little claws heated up, tearing into the trailer with reckless abandon. Stinger strolled over as the other three Decepticons dealt with the remaining soldiers, though she noticed one attempting to make his escape. She created an Energon dagger in her hand, hurling it at the soldier and cleaving into his chest as he fled. She turned back to the other Decepticons, seeing them powering down their weapons.

"No other life signs in the area. That's done and dusted." Hotwire began to evaluate the battlefield. "Shames these humans have such shoddy tech, I can hardly any credits off of this." A loud clang rang out as Swelter finished melting a chunk of the trailer's side off, the debris falling to the ground. The four Decepticons looked inside, Hotwire grinning widely. "But that right there... That's worth something."

"Lord Shockwave, this is Stinger." Stinger radioed her lord. "We have it."

Scotland, United Kingdom

Gruinard Island

Meltdown stepped into the Autobot lounge within the NEST base, slipping his data tablet onto his waist. He nodded at the bartender, a red and white Autobot whose truck hood was folded up on his collar and behind his head and had wheels on his shoulders and shins. The bartender handed him a premade Energon cocktail, which Meltdown picked up.

"Thank you, Swerve." Meltdown walked over to a table where Sunstreaker and Alpha Bravo were sitting. Sunstreaker looked very similar to her brother, but her chestplate was formed from the back of her car mode rather that the front of it, while she had actual feet instead of wheels. Alpha Bravo had three missiles mounted on each forearm, toes formed from two longer parts and one shorter part that were all jointed like fingers, and rotors folded upwards against his back. Meltdown gestured to the table to get the attention of the two Autobots there, taking a seat next to Sunstreaker as she scooted over to give him more room. "Neither of you were injured then?"

"I took a grazing shot-" Alpha Bravo pointed to a small scorch mark on his chest. "-but in my opinion as Aerialbot field medic, it's just a detailing problem instead of a medical one. Sunstreaker here said she'd patch up my paintjob before the rust sets in." Meltdown looked a little closer at the scorch mark before making a noise of agreement, sipping from his cocktail. "I hear Hubcap's out of constant medical. How's he doing?"

"Much better. The Omega Matter that Ratchet pioneered, it's a miracle of science. It regenerate entirely lost matter like a removed limb, but it can most certainly patch up even the most severe wounds." Meltdown surveyed the bar. The Autobots working with NEST were mingling about and laughing in a way that had not been seen since the war began. "I..." Meltdown sighed. "It's difficult. Ratchet was supposed to mentor me further, but his return to Cybertron had meant that I alone serve as medical officer here. He's a comm and a Spacebridge away if something dire happens, but I am most certainly feeling the weight of my duty."

"Hey, none of that." Sunstreaker punched Meltdown in the shoulder. "You're a damn good medic, that's why Ratchet put you in charge in the first place." Meltdown sighed and nodded. "Besides, you're not alone here. You've got Alpha Bravo, who's a damn good field medic." Alpha Bravo gave a small salute. "And Swerve over there can triage a wound like no one's business." Meltdown smiled slightly and leaned his head back. "You just have to ask for help. No one's going to hold that against you." The door to the bar opened again, with a pensive Ironhide stepping in. He bypassed the bar entirely and walked over to the trio sitting at the table, leaning against it and looking at Alpha Bravo and Sunstreaker.

"Silverbolt said to double-check with you two about no Decepticon distress signals getting out." Ironhide said. Sunstreaker and Alpha Bravo looked at each other and shook their heads. "Alright, that's... Confirmation then." Ironhide folded his arms and looked out the window.

"Something wrong?" Sunstreaker asked.

"We found those 'Cons because their comms were sloppy. Why didn't they radio out to other factions that they were under attack?" Ironhide asked. "Only thing Silverbolt can think of is that they managed to reencrypt them, but it's still bugging me." Ironhide pulled up a chair and sat with the group. "It's almost like someone wanted them to get caught."

"Turncoat in the Decepticon ranks, maybe. We've got a few, look at Doubletake here with NEST or Wedge over with the Rescue Bots or Jetfire and Knock Out and Redwing back on Cybertron." Alpha Bravo leaned back slightly. "Not out of the question that someone undercover could have leaked those comms."

"That's a good theory." Ironhide nodded. "I think I'm gonna have Silverbolt keep on looking into it. Touch base with Chase over on Griffin Rock, see if the Rescue Bots got any chatter." Ironhide stood up again with a quiet groan, raising his voice to address the whole bar. "Can't stick around any longer, but the next round's on me!" The Autobots in the bar cheered as Ironhide walked out, Swerve starting a tab for him as he left.

Chapter Text

Technahar, Cybertron

Technahar Stadium

36th Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086

February 21, Earth Year 2013

Wheeljack and Bulkhead stood in the middle of a partially demolished stadium, looking around at the ruins. Wheeljack tossed a lobbing ball up and down as he pondered the damages, making the occasional noise of disappointment. The two Wreckers turned as the sound of a truck cut into the silence, both of them gazing upon the form of an Earth fire engine. The fire engine came to a stop and transformed into a tall red Autobot with a slight resemblance to Ultra Magnus and Optimus' original body, but with his big windshield becoming his chest, boxy shoulders formed from the split bumper of his fire engine mode, a ladder sticking out of his back, a wheel on both sides of both calves, a wheel on each forearm, and a head resembling a human fire helmet.

"Looking good, Heatwave." Wheeljack smirked, banging his forearm against Heatwave's.

"When Jetfire sent me and the other Rescue Bots some upgrade schematics, I really wasn't expecting to end up like this," Heatwave joked. He took in the arena around him, grimacing as he did. "Hurts to see homefield like this."

"That's why we called you in." Wheeljack tossed the lobbing ball at Heatwave, who caught it. "See, Bulk and I came up with an idea to attract some bots back to Cybertron: A lobbing tournament starring three time MVB Heatwave." Heatwave smiled, fondly remembering his sports career before his stint as a Rescue Bot. "We figure we'll dust off the ol' Tritanium Hex, give returning Cybertronians a chance to see you go for four."

"Only if you want to, though. We don't want you forcing you back on Cybertron if you've got a mission on Earth still." Bulkhead assured Heatwave.

"Rescue Bots disbanded when NEST formed, Optimus' orders." Heatwave smiled, slightly saddened by it. "He said that I was supposed to train new rescue forces for rebuilding efforts, so my human partner, Kade, he and I tracked down a living pod here on Cybertron, one designed to work for Minicons. We're living here now as of... This morning." Heatwave twirled around and lobbed the ball in his hand at the goal line, triggering a still-working scoring mechanism. "So I think I can fit lobbing in during my downtime."

Mauritania, Africa

The Sahara

The white and purple Decepticon spaceplane soared down towards the sprawling sand fields of the Sahara. For a planet with so much water, this little blue marble had far too many deserts for the Decepticon's liking. Fortunately, it was only to be a temporary meeting point with his comrades before they departed for a less awful place. The spaceplane screeched through the air just above the sands before it saw a green tank and a light brown armoured car. The spaceplane transformed into a slender Decepticon with jets on his thighs, spaceplane windows on his shoulders, wings collapsed into his back, a waistcoat formed from his tailfins, and feet with two toes and a heel spur jointed like fingers. The tank transformed into a bulky Decepticon with two cannons on his back, a massive tank cannon slung underneath his right arm, a claw weapon on his left arm, and treads on his shoulders. The armoured car transformed into an average sized Decepticon with a three-barreled cannon to the left of his head, wheels for shoulders and one on each shin, forearm armour composed of his car form's front doors, and his car form's hood and front bumper forming his chest. The white Decepticon jogged to a stop next to them, greeting both of them with clang on their fists. The spaceplane looked around, scoffing at their desert surroundings. The tank let out an amused huff before clapping his comrade on the back.

"It's not all bad, Blast Off. None of those annoying little fleshies around." The tank chuckled.

"You and Swindle have it easy, Brawl, being ground-pounders and all that. I have to worry about this sand clogging up my air intakes." Blast Off scoffed again. "Demolishor said we were meeting about a mission from the boss. Since he and Vortex isn't here and we don't do big jobs without either of them, I can assume it's just some standard mission that other 'Cons could be doing but we have to do it because we'll get it done faster."

"Shockwave got in touch with Onslaught across lines, he needs our help with putting down a rogue experiment of his that managed to escape a lab here on Earth before the Autobots catch wind of it," Swindle explained. "Not one of his stupid beasts, so we'll be plenty for the job." Swindle tapped a few buttons on his wrist, decloaking a Decepticon shuttle. The three Combaticons walked towards it, Swindle handing Blast Off the mission summary. Blast Off squinted with confusion when he saw that the location was off-world, located on Earth's moon. "Also, Onslaught said that Shockwave said that he just wants the experiment killed and disposed of and doesn't care how, so it looks like I get to sell off some parts to some friends of mine on Junkion. Fear not, my friends, I'll cut you both in on the profits. What do you both say to... Fifteen percent each? Generous, yes? Tell you what, I'll sweeten the deal. If one of you takes out the target, you get an extra five percent. I, of course, have the biggest share because it's my market contact and I have to deal with the dramatics of transporting Cybertronian parts and it's my genius idea so a finder's fee applies here. Really I'm being super gracious by giving you a chance for a combined thirty-five percent." Blast Off shook his head and walked up the ramp into the shuttle, taking his seat in the pilot's chair. Brawl sat next to him in the gunner's seat as Swindle slid into the communications booth. Blast Off started his check of the shuttle's instruments before closing the ramp. After a few moments of checks the shuttle lifted gently into the air, its cloaking device rippling before cloaking the shuttle. The Combaticons then jetted off into the sky with only a slight ripple against the air.

As the shuttle flew away, a Cybertronian-sized techno-organic falcon emerged from behind a sand dune. She tilted her head to the side as she watched the hot desert air make the cloaking device ripple in such a way that was imperceptible to humans but visible to her enhanced optics. When she was satisfied that the Combaticons were entirely unaware of her presence, she unfurled her wings and took to the air in the opposite direction.

Predacon Territory, Cybertron

The Talon

37th Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086

February 22, Earth Year 2013

Predaking stepped over a piece of debris, his tail flicking around as he sniffed the air. The light from Cybertron's star, Hadean, shone out over the plains through which he walked, a giant curved spike sticking out of the ground casting a shadow down upon him. He lifted his head and roared, scaring the sparkling that he had shown the Autobots out from beneath a shelf of rent and shorn metal. The sparkling giggled as Predaking transformed into robot mode, the early morning sun glistening off of his plating. Predaking smiled slightly, kneeling down next to the sparkling. In just the past few days of life, she had already grown half of a head taller and had gained the ability to walk on her own.

"Careful, Naasho, you are still a little hunter." Predaking stood up to his full height and gestured for the sparkling to follow him. "The time has come for you, on the morn of your fifth sunrise, to learn to control the beast energy which flows through you." Predaking let out a quiet sigh. "The five sunrises are meant to symbolize the five Predacon clans; the Clan of Waves, the Clan of Wings, the Clan of Blades, the Clan of Tricks, and the Clan of Lords. In a perfect world, you would be surrounded by Predacons of every clan as the clan elders witnessed your ascension into your birthright, waiting eagerly to welcome you into their fold. But alas, no such clans exist yet. If you do not ascend into the Clan of Lords or the Clan of Wings, you will be the first of your clan in this new era."

"I understand, Mighty King." Naasho bowed her head. "What does this ritual mean?" Naasho followed Predaking into a makeshift arena where Darksteel and Skylynx already waited. The two of them bowed before Predaking, stepping over to one of five daises crudely carved from metallic rock that stood surrounding a pool of glowing orange ichor. Each dais was marked with the Predacon insignia, though each had unique iconography representing the five clans. The dais occupied by Skylynx and Darksteel had wings and imagery depicting flight, while Predaking stepped up onto the dais marked by crowns and fire.

"Predacons, and all those who carry the beast blood within them, we do not scan our forms like other Cybertronians. We are born with them, but they remained locked within us until we are blessed with them by the living flames of this world." Predaking gestured to the pool of ichor. "Step into the pool and be anointed by the flames of your fellows." Predaking, Skylynx, and Darksteel all transformed into their beast modes as Naasho stepped up to the edge of the pool. She closed her optics, stepping into the pool slowly. She reached the bottom of the steps, the pool only coming up to about her waist, so she looked up at Predaking. The dragon gestured for her to continue off the edge, which she did after a deep intake of air. Naasho plummeted down into the depths of the pool, the three older Predacons unleashing a plume of fire from their mouths as she vanished into the ichor. The ichor ignited, the orange liquid burning hotter and hotter before swirling around and slowly changing colours. Green flames erupted from the pool as the ichor turned the same colour, Naasho's talons shooting up out of the ichor as she clawed her way to the surface. Rather than a beast of Cybertron's past, however, she emerged in the form of one of Earth's. Naasho let out a loud screech, her frill emerging from the neck of her Dilophosaurus mode. She transformed, her dinosaur form's frill forming a crest behind her head as the dinosaur head folded into her chest to reveal her robot mode head and her tail up to form her back. Her robot mode arms emerged from her beast chest, the beast arms shifting behind her shoulders as the legs shifted around into her robot mode configuration. Predaking, Darksteel, and Skylynx transformed into their robot modes, looking at her with shock.

"Naasho, as the emerald flames anoint you in their light, you have become the first of the Clan of Tricks!" Predaking declared. "And it seems that the Prime has played a trick of his own. Our species is bolstered by the beasts he witnessed amongst Earth's cultures." Naasho walked over to her compatriots, revealing that she had doubled in size with her rebirth, now coming up to Predaking's waist. "Prudent. It was Predacons being too alike which wiped us out in the Cataclysm."

"You're a clan of one, little hunter, which means that you're on the same standing as me." Skylynx said, examining his claws. "Gonna be tricky for you to keep that standing when you get others in your clan. Fortunately for you, tricks are exactly what you're meant to do."

"It is time, little hunter-" Predaking leaned over slightly so Naasho was not forced to look straight up at him. "-for you to seek out your clan's territory. The Talon is neutral ground in Predacon lands, while I have claimed the Great Fissure as the Clan of Lords' domain. Skylynx has chosen the Coronet Mountains for the Clan of Wings. It will be up to you to pick of our ancestral lands for the Clan of Tricks to settle within. There are many landmarks for you to give your kin, you must choose one of them by seeking them out on your own." Predaking grabbed a stone from the edge of the ichor pool, crushing it in his hand and scattering the dust into the wind. "Naasho, First of Tricks, your Great Hunt begins!" Naasho transformed into her Dilophosaurus form and screeched, sprinting off into Predacon territory. Predaking smiled as the three remaining Predacons watched her run off.

"She really is a little young to be a clan of one." Darksteel noted. "I mean, she's not going to do too good if another Trick comes along and decides to seize power. Imagine her in a mortal duel for power. Little thing like her would be a morsel for a big bot." Skylynx laughed at the thought, but both of them were silenced by a glare from Predaking.

"You two are lucky enough that Starscream failed to kill you before I buried that rod in his spark." Predaking snarled as Skylynx and Darksteel looked away from his glare. "I would not belittle those you deem as beneath you. It is tricks and cunning, largely due to your own lack of them, which have proven to be your greatest weakness." Predaking transformed into his dragon form and screeched at the sky, flying off towards his territory.

Edomex, Mexico

Popocatépetl

The door to a Decepticon base contained within the Popocatépetl volcano opened, revealing a tall dark blue Decepticon with two pairs of missile cannons on his back, truck windows on his forearms, and nine wheels scattered around his body; two on the outside of each calf, one on the back of each elbow, one on the back of each shoulder, and one split in half on either side of his waist. He made his way into the base, the door closing behind him as he walked deeper into the facility. He was approached by a bronze Decepticon with an eyepatch covering his right eye, massive rocket launcher racks on his forearms, treads folded up into his back, and the bumper and headlights of an armoured vehicle forming his feet.

"Demolishor, what is the ongoing situation?" The blue Decepticon asked.

"Hello to you as well, Onslaught. Long time no see, it's good to have you back." Demolishor joked, causing Onslaught to roll his optics and scoff. "Blast Off, Brawl, and Swindle are in transit, they're heading towards the last known location of the target. Vortex radioed in a few minutes ago, she said she's nearing the drop point." The two Combaticons began to walk together through the facility, Onslaught looking around every few moments. "Most of everyone else is out on other missions. The big one, the turtle femme whose name is eluding me right now, she's out on an Energon gathering mission. Switchblade, Astraea, and the red flying dinosaur thing are out scouting. Barricade is on comms duty with the little guy who won't stop talking about how the universe hates him." Demolishor paused. "The spider's in his lab doing Primus knows what because of course he is." Onslaught gave Demolishor an inquisitive look. "Obviously I have no idea what he's doing, I don't want to go down there, it's freaky as the Pits."

"Delightful update. Unfortunately, I must excuse myself. Our lord has requested a meeting with me alone, though I expect his two little minions will be there regardless." Onslaught gave Demolishor a good natured clap on his shoulder. Onslaught walked off into the base, weaving his way through various Vehicons. Unlike those under the command of Shockwave, these three models of Vehicons were vastly different than the forms they had taken under Megatron's command during the Great War. Some of them were small and had the front wheel and wheel cover of a motorcycle folded up into their chest while they walked around on feet made of the split halves of their back wheel. Some of them were much larger, with arms formed from and airplane cockpit, chests formed from the airplane body, engines, and wings, and legs formed from the airplane tail. Rounding out the set were bulky Vehicons, with tank treads forming their forearms and calves, clawed hands, and a massive turret over their left shoulders.

Onslaught arrived at the central command room, opening the door with a press of a button. He walked in, listening as two beings scuttled towards him. One of the beings, a dark red and silver Decepticon resembling an Insecticon with a folded up ant head on his chest and a large abdomen hanging from his back, clicked his teeth at Onslaught, who brushed him aside. The other stepped into the light much slower, a purple and grey Decepticon with large pincers for hands, a scorpion tail looming over his head, and legs made from the folded up underside and legs of a scorpion.

"You're late, Onslaught, the Majesty will be most displeased." The red and silver Decepticon scolded Onslaught.

"Inferno, Scorponok, that's enough." A voice came from deeper in the room. Onslaught approached the source of the voice, kneeling before the throne upon which the owner of it sat. "I must assume that you bring me good news, Onslaught. It is one of your greatest talents, my combative friend."

"I do indeed, Milord." Onslaught raised his head. "It would seem as though Shockwave has grown desperate to maintain his incognito status on this planet, leaking the location of some of his troops who internal intelligence reported were considering defection to the Autobots and their allies with false orders that they were to invade a human port. The Autobots, naturally, dealt with them most severely."

"Most intriguing, yesss." The voice on the throne drew out his 'yes' as he spoke. "How fortunate that our rival seems perfectly willing to sabotage his own forces so violently just to keep himself hidden." The voice chuckled to himself. "I assume that your Combaticons have accepted Shockwave's request for assistance?" Onslaught nodded, folding his arms behind his back. "Excellent, yesss. I want to know, as best as we can, the general locale of his base of operations as a contingency in the event he becomes too much of a thorn in my side."

"I will have Vortex take as good of scans as she can. Additionally, I will see if Swindle can salvage usable tracking data from Shockwave's experiment on Earth's moon," Onslaught said.

"Thank you, my dearest Onslaught. Dismissed." The voice shooed Onslaught away once more. Onslaught bowed his head before leaving the room, Scorponok and Inferno scuttling their way to their master and his throne as the door closed behind the Combaticon.

Guatemala, South America

Jakawitz

September 4, Earth Year 887

Mayan Day 1,460,994, 6 Ix, Tzolkin Cycle 13

A giant techno-organic bat soared through the dense jungles of Guatemala, her face twisted into a fearful grimace as she intermittently looked over her shoulder. She clenched an Energon crystal in her teeth, evidently both her goal and the reason she was being pursued.

"Camazotz, oh Camazotz, your cannot run forever!" A creepy sing-song voice cut through the trees. The bat banked right, emerging from some of the denser jungle to find a temple amongst the trees. She flapped her wings a few more times to bring herself behind a rock wall, stopping for a moment to get her bearings.

"Nyx, maximize!" The bat twirled around in the air while her body shifted into the limbs of a slender robot with wings on her back and her bat mode head splitting into tall shoulder pads to reveal her robot mode head within. She slammed her fist into the ground before peaking around the corner of the rock wall, deploying her battlemask and engaging a cloaking device as she did. She watched as a massive techno-organic feathered cobra slithered out from within the trees, his tongue flicking through the air as he searched for her.

"Camazotz, I can taste your fear! My people, they saw you! They saw your form, demon of the night! They came to me and they pled with me! They cried out for their god, they cried out for Qʼuqʼumatz, and Qʼuqʼumatz will answer them by ripping you limb from limb!" The feathered cobra spewed out a cloud of poison gas, making Nyx very glad she had deployed her faceplate. "It is you who damns their grains and their animals and their children! It is your heart that will counteract your dark powers, your blood spilled to restore them!" Nyx closed her eyes for a moment, taking stock of the situation. This Predacon, Corhada, had been crazy enough before coming to this planet, but it seemed as though he had found human worshippers since coming to Earth and that had been enough to fully shatter his already fragile psyche. Now he truly thought he was their god and that Nyx was a demon from their folklore. Corhada slithered closer and closer to Nyx's hiding spot, making Nyx's intakes of air hitch as the towering Predacon hunted for her. "I will give you a good death, Camazotz, one much better than you deserve. My subjects will celebrate over your lifeless form, feasting and drinking and chanting and sacrificing in my name!"

Corhada brought his head next to the invisible Nyx, opening his mouth to taunt her further. Before he got a chance to, however, Nyx broke her cloak and transformed her hands into blasters which resembled the Resonance Blaster, unleashing two bolts of sound down Corhada's throat. Corhada shrieked in pain, lashing out at Nyx with his tail and smashing her against the wall of the temple before she had a chance to run. He slithered closer, crushing her beneath his serpentine body before scooping her up with his tail. Corhada began to wrap his serpentine body around her, snarling as he crushed and constricted her.

'Nyx, your vocal modulator. You managed to override my mode lock with it. Perhaps you override another Predacon's with it.' A deep yet snarling voice spoke from Nyx's memories, recalling a conversation she had in her time. 'You would need a specific type of Predacon for it, it would not work on Megatron or me again now, but it could work on someone like Waspinator or Corhada.'

"Corhada, terrorize!" Nyx yelled in a perfect replication of Corhada's own voice. In Corhada's distracted state, it was just enough to override his internal mode lock safeguards, forcing him to transform into robot mode. His body writhed and compressed, shifting around as his head became his left arm, his tail became his right arm, and his body and legs formed from the compressing and transforming middle of his serpent form. Nyx fell to the ground with a groan, getting her bearings before standing up again. She lowered her voice, now her own once more, to a whisper. "Dinobot was right." Corhada looked down at his transforming body, examining the robot mode that he had seemingly forgotten he had.

"DEMON!" Corhada screeched. "You have bewitched me with dark magicks, transforming my form in an unnatural way just as you have done to yourself! How dare you? I am Qʼuqʼumatz, you are nothing!" Corhada swung his right arm at Nyx, a whip formed from his serpent tail. Nyx ducked under the Predacon's whip swipe, groaning with exhaustion as she retracted her left blaster. A blade shaped like a Greek harpe emerged from her wrist, which Nyx held at the ready as Corhada lept at her with his left hand transformed into a whip formed from his serpent tongue. She twirled around, bracing her arm as the blade sliced into and through Corhada's neck, cleaving the Predacon's head off. The Predacon's body crumpled behind Nyx into a pile with a clang as his head dropped to the ground, his optics deactivating as it made impact with the ground.

Nyx retracted her sword and blaster and fell to her knees, evidently exhausted from the fight. She crawled over to the Energon crystal she had taken earlier, biting into it as her eyes and biolights glowed slightly from the infusion. She leaned her head back against the temple and deployed a map from her wrist. The only life signals it was detecting were horrifically far away; with one in Russia, one in Mauritania, and one in Australia.

"I'm not even in the same hemisphere..." Nyx hung her head sadly.

Chapter Text

Iacon, Cybertron

Codexa Memorial Technical Institute

38th Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086

February 23, Earth Year 2013

Knock Out tapped away on a console as Ratchet stood in the middle of their lab, toying around with a hologram of a the Well of All Sparks. One of the massive windows to the laboratory opened, with Jetfire transforming as he flew through it. His faceplate receded into his face while his visor retracted, revealing his eyes once more. He shook his head at the expectant Ratchet, who groaned and threw up his hands.

"We can't rush it, Ratch. Predaking showed us that Cybertron can do it, it's just likely that the Well isn't quite ready to do it in full yet." Jetfire assured Ratchet.

"Besides, it's not as though we really have the infrastructure yet to support any real new life." Knock Out added. "Pits, best we can actually do is bunk them on the Nemesis or send to Earth. Cybertron's not prepared, we have almost no domiciles and no real trained caretakers."

"I know, I know!" Ratchet sighed and shook his head. "But she has the Josgen polarity, which means that our systems haven't changed, which means there should have been six more! Sparklings come in sets, there should have been seven and not just one! I asked Predaking specifically if he saw the hallmarks of six lost sparklings and he said no!" Ratchet leaned on the table projecting his hologram. "This is precisely part of the reason I stayed on Earth in the first place, I knew I would be too anxious for things to get better so much faster than they reasonably could." Ratchet gripped the table tightly. "And I can't leave, not now. Not after my best friend gave his life to restore this planet. And certainly not while Ultra Magnus is in the state he's in." Ratchet held his hands out and turned around the room. "Look at us! We are in the shattered remnants of Cybertron's greatest technological institute and we barely have the technology to refine Energon because of scavenging during the war." Jetfire's face fell slightly at the sight of his old friend breaking down like this. "I'm going to retire until tomorrow. Contact me if anything severe comes up." Ratchet sighed and walked out of the laboratory. Knock Out turned to Jetfire, folding his arms.

"We have to consider my idea," Knock Out said. Jetfire glared at him, turning away from his fellow defector. "It's part of Cybertronian biology, we both know we can do it! Shockwave is going to and we need to beat him to it. What happens to the Autobot victory when Cybertron is repopulated by Shockwave's creations, his loyalists?"

"I cannot bring myself to do it, Knock Out!" Jetfire whipped around to face him, his faceplate deployed as the massive Autobot snarled behind it. Jetfire sighed and retracted his faceplate when he saw Knock Out taking a small step back. "I'm sorry. Tensions are high." Jetfire had long since declared himself tired of war and dedicated himself to scientific endeavours, but he was still one of the Autobots' most powerful warriors.

Megatron had once remarked during the war that there was no other like Optimus Prime, but Jetfire was one of four Cybertronians who came close.

"I have a proposal, one that involves less dark science than Shockwave's methods." Knock Out pulled up a file listing data entries. "These are Cybertronian stillsparks, spat out by the Well as the Core was deactivated. Since the Allspark was long gone, they had no life in them. They crystallized into solid pellets of CNA." Knock Out turned to Jetfire, reading his expression. "We would not be tampering with creation as Shockwave does, but rather fulfilling creation. The Well wanted these Cybertronians to be born, but it couldn't do it. If we employ Hyperevolution technology to bring them to life, is that any different than any other medical procedure which aids in the sparking of our kind?" Jetfire stroked his chin. "Does that aid your moral objections?"

"Somewhat." Jetfire gently turned the stillspark around in his hand. "On the condition that we inform the rest of the Autobots that we are going to attempt it. It may get their hopes up, but I will not have the future of Cybertron depend on a clandestine project done in the hushed moments of the day."

"I accept." Knock Out held his hand out to Jetfire, who shook it.

Temporary Iacon High Council Chamber

Jetfire and Knock Out stepped into the High Council Chamber, Jetfire ducking as he almost banged his head against the door. They looked around the room, seeing that the Autobots already present were in the midst of a tense argument. Notably absent were Ultra Magnus, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen, with Ultra Magnus otherwise occupied by his injuries and Bumblebee and Smokescreen evidently late.

"It's not what Optimus would want!" Rodimus yelled.

"Perhaps if Megatron hadn't played with forces beyond his understanding, he wouldn't have been a vessel for Unicron that forced Optimus to absorb the Allspark!" Prowl countered.

"Do I dare ask what's happening here?" Jetfire raised his voice over the chaos. The room fell silent, looking over at the massive Autobot with varying levels of shame. Jetfire may not have held the rank of High Councilor, but his presence in a room was enough to force everyone to pay attention to him. "Primus below, you're squabbling like Sharkticons! Why?"

"We received a message with coordinates... From Megatron," Wheeljack explained. "Didn't say much, just said that there was something there we needed to see. Something from Optimus, he said."

"Prowl here thinks we should disregard the message, track Megatron's signal, and bring him in for trial." Rodimus glared at Prowl.

"And the High Councilors? What is their opinions on the matter?" Jetfire crossed his arms.

"Ultra Magnus has deferred to the will of Bumblebee and Smokescreen for medical reasons. Ratchet is with him now." Arcee sighed. "That's part of the reason we were fighting. It has us on edge." Knock Out looked around the room and walked out, pulling up Ultra Magnus' medical files as he did. On his way out, he brushed past Smokescreen and Bumblebee.

"Jetfire, can we ask you to lead the team to investigate Megatron's message?" Smokescreen asked. Jetfire deployed his visor, taking a datapad from Arcee. "Arcee, Rodimus, Wheeljack, go with him." Arcee nodded while Rodimus and Wheeljack both gave snarky salutes. "Prowl, you're on Bridge duty. We're expecting supplies from Earth soon." Prowl stood at attention in response, walking out of the room. Jetfire gestured for his team to follow him to the door to the Council Chamber's balcony exit. The four Autobots walked down the steps outside the door as Jetfire assessed the location.

"I'm familiar with this locale. It is in the Coloucon River Delta, near the city of Pellechrome." Jetfire slipped the datapad into a storage compartment in his chest before lifting off the ground slightly with jets embedded into his feet. "Autobots, roll out!" Jetfire, Wheeljack, Arcee, and Rodimus all transformed, heading off towards their destination.

Nova Cronum, Cybertron

Coloucon River

The Autobot search party sped across and over the Coloucon River's floodplain, Jetfire's sensors pinging periodically.

"What do you think it could be, Jetfire?" Wheeljack asked, swerving slightly to avoid a jagged chunk of metal. Jetfire stayed silent, focusing on locating the exact coordinates. "Big guy?"

"According to Autobot records, a data clerk named Orion Pax emerged from a Sparkfield in the Coloucon River Delta." Arcee jumped in to explain for Jetfire. "Optimus may have lived in Iacon for most of his life, but he always said that the Delta was home."

"I'm picking up a faint Autobot life signal at the coordinates provided by Megatron." Jetfire finally spoke up. He engaged his afterburners, rocketing off towards the coordinates. He rose slightly higher into the air, seemingly forgotten all about his comrades whomst he had left in his wake. Jetfire flew for a moments, apparently trapped in deep thought as he looked down on the floodplains that had given birth to who he believed was Cybertron's greatest Prime. He saw a figure standing on a ledge that loomed over the Sparkfield, swinging back down towards the ground, banking severely, and transforming back into robot mode. He walked slowly towards the figure, seeing that they had jagged and broken off points on their armour, as though they had carved into their own body with their bare hands in an attempt to rend the pieces away. The figure turned, revealing the visage...

Of Megatron.

"Jetfire. Exactly who I was hoping to see." Megatron let out a quiet hum. "I have both a pair of gifts for you and a request." Jetfire deployed his battlemask, but kept his visor retracted as a showcase of his caution, but that he would hear Megatron out. "Thank you." Megatron held out a pair of carrying cases towards Jetfire. "I have been traveling between old Decepticon fortresses and newly reignited Sparkfields in the quartexes since Optimus' departure. I hold no illusions about the fact that I am a large part of why he is not here to lead Cybertron in peacetime and I am seeking to, perhaps, redeem myself by walking in what I believe may have been his footsteps." Megatron handed the first case to Jetfire. "That case contains every prototype of the Spark extractor I could locate on this planet. I may have declared my former cause dead, but I know that will not be enough for some. As such, I did not want those falling into the hands of those that might use them."

"I'll let Wheeljack decommission these," Jetfire said, setting the case aside. Megatron smiled slightly, but his face quickly shifted back to a neutral expression as he offered Jetfire the second case.

"Those are from before the war. They are the last of the stillsparks, taken into Decepticon custody during the war." Jetfire's brow narrowed as Megatron coincidentally presented him with the exact thing that he and Knock Out had been discussing the night before. "Ah, you've heard of them? I must imagine that Knock Out has mentioned them, then. It was always a Decepticon plan to convert the stillsparks when we had the means and the planet, but we lacked what we needed to give them proper life." Jetfire opened the case, seeing seven within. "If I may recommend one, the second from the left shares three of her four polarities with the Autobot named Arcee." Jetfire closed the case and eyed Megatron up and down. He had snapped off and scraped away many of the pieces that Unicron had added to his body, leaving himself a scarred patchwork of self-administered medical attention.

"What it is you want in return for these, Megatron?" Jetfire asked.

"A new form," Megatron explained. "Not an improved one. In fact, I would like to request a weaker one, one that draws not from the great war machines of Cybertron, but from the human vehicles of Earth." Megatron looked around Cybertron, his homeworld, the world he plunged into chaos. "If I am to redeem myself in the eyes of Optimus, I wish to see this world and all worlds as he did. I cannot look upon it from on high as a warrior, able to leave this world by simply transforming. I must view it in the same way as that archivist I met so long ago." Megatron sighed. "That was the difference between Orion Pax and D-16. D-16 strove to seize the power he had been denied no matter the cost, claiming the name of one of the Thirteen Primes. Orion Pax sought nothing for himself, only a chance for other Cybertronians, and was thus given the name Prime." Megatron touched the spot in his chest where Bumblebee had impaled him. "That is why the war ended with an Autobot victory. Optimus led you so that you might help one another see another tomorrow."

"Do not make me regret this." Jetfire warned Megatron. He then tapped a few buttons on his arm, generating a hologram of a flat nosed truck with a rounded roof for the former Decepticon leader. Megatron smiled slightly at it, green scanning beams emerging from his eyes as he absorbed Jetfire's data on the vehicle. Megatron writhed and yelled as the rest of his Unicron-granted parts fell away from his body, the metal underneath reconfiguring itself into his new form. His legs shifted around, with two rear wheels emerging in the back of each of his calves and a front wheel forming on each hip. His chest became slightly boxier, with his chest armour developing the appearance of truck doors covering the windshield beneath. His back sprouted the kibble of both the truck's grill and bumper, while his shoulderplates became rounded parts of his roof and his arms developed exhaust pipes and paneling from the back of the truck's cabin.

"I will not." Megatron bowed his head. "I promise." Megatron transformed into his new truck mode, driving away across the floodplains. Jetfire stood alone for a few moments until the rest of the Autobots appeared, transforming to meet him.

"Megatron here?" Wheeljack asked.

"No. He's not." Jetfire shook his head, withholding the information that Megatron had been there in favour of the technical truth that he was not there currently. "But these were provided to me." Jetfire handed the case of Spark extractor prototypes to Wheeljack. "Those are the original attempts at the Spark extractor. I trust you to destroy them." Wheeljack smiled and nodded, apparently eager for a chance to rip apart Decepticon weapons of mass destruction.

"And what's in the other case?" Rodimus asked.

Iacon, Cybertron

Codexa Memorial Technical Institute

Team Prime, with the exception of Ultra Magnus and the additions of Predaking, Redwing, Prowl, and Rodimus, sat in seats brought into Ratchet, Jetfire, and Knock Out's laboratory as Jetfire held up the same stillspark that Megatron had recommended to use for the experiment.

"This is a Cybertronian stillspark which emerged from the Well just before it shut down. During the war, we lacked the ability to bring them to life. However, with the Hyperevolution technology reverse-engineered from Shockwave's notes and both Knock Out and my experiences that we have now, we can," Jetfire explained.

"And you're sure this science'll work?" Wheeljack asked. "Seems a little... Iffy to me."

"It'll work. Predaking is living proof of the technology's capabilities and he comes from far more limited and degraded CNA than a stillspark," Knock Out explained before pausing. He looked over at the massive Predaking, pursing his lips as he looked the Predacon in the optics. "I mean no offense, of course."

"And I take none." Predaking leaned his chin on his fist. "As my kind saw its rebirth accelerated by science, it is only fitting that your kind be offered the same chance. No matter what arguments are made today, I will vote in favour of this course of action." Knock Out and Jetfire both nodded in thanks at him.

"What, precisely, would be required to make this work?" Prowl asked with unusual enthusiasm. "As we are still establishing contact with the colony worlds once more, our resources remain limited but we should absolutely prioritize onto something like this." Knock Out eyed Prowl with some suspicion.

"Major resources have already been acquired. I kept many caches of vital scientific tools during the war that I've started going back for. Raw materials are coming from Earth, I've negotiated a deal with the Chancellor of Germany for some metals I require. Aside from those, all I need are three things." Jetfire leaned on the table. "A protoform, one of those set aside in the waning days of the war. Smokescreen should have access to those." Smokescreen nodded. "Besides that, I need CNA donations from two Autobots, one specific one and one volunteer." Jetfire looked at Arcee. "This stillspark shares three of your genetic markers, those being Origin-C, Morph-Fe, and Heroic-X. I need some of your CNA so I can properly replicate her genome." Arcee smiled and held out her hand, almost wanting to touch the stillspark. "Additionally, we will require someone else amongst our number to serve as a secondary donor. Knock Out and I cannot serve that role, Knock Out due to sharing no genetic markers with her and myself due to having the antithetical Primal marker to hers, that being Primal-Q versus her Primal-Alc."

"I will do it." Prowl stepped forward. Ratchet and Jetfire flashed each other knowing looks that were lost on everyone else present. "Provided Arcee agrees."

"Absolutely." Arcee shook Prowl's hand, though her voice was very confused by Prowl's immediate jump to taking part.

Predacon Territory, Cybertron

Djyatt Bluffs

Naasho sprinted across the Djyatt Bluffs, transforming into robot mode as she came to the edge of one of the cliffs. This had been the place she liked the look of most within Predacon territory and thus had decided to make a claim on it, but it was beginning to seem to her that her enthusiasm had been misplaced. She was unable to find any Energon, the gnawing feeling inside of her emphasizing her hunger. She had scoured every bit of her clan's territory that she could but had come up entirely short. However, she refused to return to the other Predacons with nothing to show for her efforts except for barren lands and a plea for their aid.

Naasho heard a noise behind her, whipping her head around to see what had caused it. She transformed into robot mode, transforming her left hand into a cannon with a triangular barrel with a spike on each corner. She approached a rock slowly, listening closely for noises. She heard the sounds of heavy footsteps followed by rock cracking and shattering, whipping herself around the corner as she pointed the blaster forward. Rather than coming face to face with an attacker, though, she found a slowly forming deposit of Energon crystals affixed to the back of the rock. While it would not keep her fueled forever, it would be enough to provide for the foreseeable future.

As Naasho transformed back into her dinosaur form to begin processing the raw Energon, she was none the wiser to a figure in the distance slipping away into the scattered rocks and metal of Cybertron, their apparent mission there evidently complete for now.