The Autobots were trying to think of a way to stop Shockwave. They knew that he'd make more Predicons to replace the batch Starscream destroyed. And was probably making them at that very moment.

Plus they had the whole issue with Ratbat. The Grand Council had been told he'd left on a trip. But if they found out the Autobots were actually holding him prisoner they'd be in serous trouble for holding one of the counsel against their will.

Luckily even if Ratbat escaped he couldn't exactly tell the counsel what happened without letting them know he was working with Shockwave since the whole reason for his capture had been because he tried to finish off Knock Out.

And all the counsel would have to do is see the red medic was still functional to raise a lot of unwanted questions for Ratbat. All Knock Out would have to do is tell them what happened to him and show them the records of the repairs Red Alert had done on him. And Ratbat would be facing attempted murder charges. So at lest the Autobots had that in their favor.

But they didn't know if any other members of the counsel were working with Shockwave or for all they knew the whole counsel could be corrupt so what were they going to do?

Then they hard something outside the base. And went out to see what it was.

"What is this?" Asked Bulkhead looking at a box that had suddenly showed up outside the base.

"I don't know but it's addressed to us." Said Wheeljack.

"Let's take it inside and see what's in it then we'll decide what to do with it." Smokescreen suggested.

"OK but let's be careful since we don't know where it came from." Ultra Magnus told them.

So they were taking the box inside when Bulkhead dropped it and it came open and out came a whole swarm of scraplets. And everyone was having kill them and avoid being eaten alive by them.

"What do we do?" Asked Smokescreen.

"I'm going to lockdown the base so they can't get to the med bay or weapons vault." Ultra Magnus answered.
_                                                       

Meanwhile in the med bay Starscream had just come out of recharge and screamed as his optics opened wide.

"What wrong?" Asked Rocketgale who was concerned by how frightened the seeker looked.

"I just had a nightmare." Said Starscream. Who was now more relaxed since it was over.

"What was it about?" Asked Rocketgale. "I know whenever I have bad dreams it helps to talk about it."

"I dreamt Predicons were attacking me and you, Knock Out and the Autobots were all dead." Starscream told her as he cringed at the memory. "They killed everyone."

"Don't worry it was just a dream." Rocketgale reassured him.

"It's just that every time something starts to go right for me it ends up falling apart in the end." Starscream said sadly. "Shockwave said it would be illogical for anyone to care about me." "And he's right all I've done is cause harm and everything I do just backfires and I don't want to drag all of you down with me."

"That's not true your an Autobot now and you just put your spark on the line to help stop Shockwave's plan and managed to set it back." Said Rocketgale. "And there is good in you or you wouldn't have risk everything to help stop Shockwave." "And it's not illogical for someone to care about you because I care about you."

"I care about you too." Starscream told her.

"Starscream I didn't know you before or during the war but whatever you did back then is all in the past." Rocketgale tried to reassure him. "Try to forget what happened back then and start hoping for the future instead."

"OK that sounds good." Starscream said to her. And then he and Rocketgale kissed.

"Hey Starscream I just finished checking the results on some of the tests I ran on you earlier and you should be fully healed in a couple of days." Said Knock Out who then noticed the two seekers kissing and that they didn't hear a word he said.

Knock Out just smiled and set Starscream's chart on a table and was about to walk out to give the lovebirds some privacy when alarms started going off and then Ultra Magnus informed everyone about the scraplets and that the base was on lockdown.

"This is probably Shockwave's doing." Groaned Starscream. "Wait Knock Out how long have you been in here?" He asked after just noticing the red mech.

"Oh long enough to know you two are getting close." Joked Knock Out making both seekers blush.

Then they heard a ground bridge open. And saw Shockwave come through it. Having once been Decepticons Starscream and Knock Out both knew what was going on. The scraplets had been a detraction so Shockwave could sneak into the base for something.

They saw him but he didn't see them yet so they decided to try a sneak attack. They saw him go to the holding cell and let out Ratbat and Rattrap. And the three of them went to the weapons vault. Knock Out, Starscream and Rocketgale followed them.

But when they made it to the weapons vault Shockwave surprised them. They thought he lost them for a second only for him to come out of seemingly nowhere and grab Rocketgale.

"Let her go!" Yelled Starscream who was angry and afraid at the sometime.

"What are you after?" Asked Knock Out.

"I made a deal with Arachnid that if I give her someone to suck energon from she'll let me have one of her infected Insecticons to study so I can make Terror Predicons a Predicon with the terrorcon virus would be unstoppable. Said Shockwave.

"And uncontrollable!" Shouted Knock Out. "Your beyond insane to think Arachnid would keep her end of the deal."

"Please leave Rocketgale out of it." Begged Starscream. "If you must give Arachnid energon give her mine."

"No Starscream don't trade your future for me." Rocketgale told him.

"Maybe I don't want a future if your not in it." Said Starscream almost in tears.

"Hey you don't have to have an Insecticon I was the one who made Arachnid that way or at lest the stuff that infected her." Knock Out said to Shockwave. "And I'll try to make it again for you and if I can't you can give Arachnid my energon."

"Your reasoning is logical." Shockwave told him then pushed Rocketgale forward with his arm cannon aimed at her back as Knock Out switched places with her. Then he use a circuit booster on Knock Out causing the red medic to fall to the floor unconscious as he dragged him through the ground bridge.

Starscream wasted no time running to Rocketgale and the two just held each other and sobbed uncontrollably but then Ratbat who they didn't relies stayed behind until now fired his blaster at Rocketgale and Starscream jumped between her and the blast and closed his optics not expecting to survive this.

But to his surprise the impact never came and it sounded like two shots went off at once. Both seekers looked and saw Ratbat had been shot right in the spark chamber and now laid on the floor dead. And Rattrap the one who shot him was also laying on the floor with a hole in his chest where he had been shot because he put himself in the way of the blast that would have killed Starscream at the same time he shot Ratbat.

"I'm sorry I told Shockwave you were spying on him." Said a mortally wounded Rattrap.

"It's OK you didn't know what he would do to me I forgive you." Starscream told him. "And you just saved me now we'll get you to the med bay and Red Alert will fix you right up."

"No it's to late for that." Said Rattrap who's spark went out.

"No Rattrap is dead and Knock Out is a prisoner." Starscream said as he and Rocketgale were both still trying to process all that had just happened. "Shockwave will pay for this."

To Be Continued

Yet another cliffhanger for you.