"Tighten your grip, Jack," Arcee said and Jack yelled in surprise as Arcee took off suddenly. Of course, per her advice, he held on tight. After travelling a little bit down the road, Arcee popped a wheelie and began driving on her back tire. Jack wasn't sure whether to be surprised that they're actually doing this, impressed with the skills Arcee possessed in her vehicle mode, or amazed about the fact that they are actually doing this.

"Whoa! Hey! What's with you, Arcee?" Jack asked with a slight chuckle.

"Figured you might like the ride without getting shot at." Arcee replied. Jack could almost hear the smirk in her voice.

"Oh, bring it!" Jack challenged as they travelled further down the stretch of road.

◊◊◊◊

Not far from the Autobot base, Bulkhead and Miko were at the beginning of a downhill rocky terrain. Miko wanted Bulkhead to drive down that rocky hill at a fast speed for her own enjoyment. Bulkhead... well, he was a little hesitant about the task for a very good reason.

"Ready? Set?" Miko began the whole 'Ready, Set, Go' routine.

"Miko, I'm supposed to be protecting you." Bulkhead reminded her.

"Bulkhead, I'm strapped tight inside ten tons of metal muscle. I'm protected." Miko reassured the Autobot.

That was all Bulkhead needed to be reassured about: her safety. At high speeds, he began driving down the rocky hill. "Whoohoo!" Miko shouted. Her yells of excitement were music to Bulkhead's audios.

◊◊◊◊

In another part of Jasper, Primrose drove was giving Paige a ride to the Autobot base. Paige had no problem with riding with Primrose. She respected Optimus' busy times as she knew he wouldn't leave her alone.

So in the Prime's favor, one of the youngest Primes came to pick up his charge.

Using her mirrors and scanners to make sure that no one was watching them, Primrose grinned. The moment the light turned green, Primrose shifted gears and took off like a race car, burning rubber as she did. Paige was caught off guard by this sudden start and the speed that she grabbed the stirring wheel.

"Hey! What's gotten into you, Prim?" Paige asked in a surprised yet excited tone.

"I thought you'd like to enjoy a ride without having to worry about being shot at," Primrose replied with a chuckle.

"Oh, bring it on!" Paige said in excitement at the thought of racing through the dirt roads in Primrose. Primrose raced across the dirt roads, pulling off hairpin turns and other fast maneuvers, listening to Paige's excited cheers.

◊◊◊◊

Unlike the others, Raf and Bumblebee were pretty relaxed in a secluded part of the desert playing a video game. In this game, Bumblebee and Raf were racing each other in a racecar championship. Raf was using his console controller. Bumblebee had the advantage of his own steering wheel...among other advantages.

As hard as he tried, the yellow car couldn't overtake the red car. In fact, the red car crashed the yellow car, which resulted in the words GAME OVER flashing on the screen. Raf moaned in disappointment. This proved, in fact, that Raf was the yellow car while Bumblebee was the red car. Bumblebee turned his steering wheel and bleeped to Raff something that was along the lines of 'I win!' whilst turning his steering wheel to emphasize his statement.

"No fair, Bumblebee! You've been driving a lot longer than I have!" Raf laughed.

◊◊◊◊

Ratchet was busy running his tests, enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasts. "Thank goodness for peace and quiet. House guests can be such a bother." Ratchet grumbled as he continued his work on the mysterious purple substance.

Suddenly, he heard a jingly sound of some sorts. Surprised, he looked up and around but he couldn't find anything. Thinking nothing of it, he resumed his current work. Then he heard it again. This time, it was louder. More intense. Closer. That startled Ratchet even more.

"Optimus?" Ratchet asked but then he remembered that Optimus was with Firestorm in the training room. He heard the noise again coming from behind him. He turned and saw the possessed machinery rapidly approaching him. "By the Allspark!" He gasped.

The possessed machinery leapt at Ratcet. However, although he was a bit rusty, the reflexes he gained from being a medic on the front lines kicked in, allowing Ratchet to block the attacks. He even hit it with a metal bar he found lying around. He took numerous more swings at it. But the possessed machinery dodged each one. He eventually reached the microscope Ratchet was using before and sliced it in two.

Ratchet was not happy. It was the second piece of machinery that was destroyed in a short period of time. "I NEEDED THAT!" Ratchet snapped angrily at the attacking machinery before he stumbled back and widened his optics when the machinery leapt at him.

Only for a fireball to hit it, sending it falling back onto the ground. Firestorm held out his servo, his optics and servo glowing the color of fire.

The possessed machinery began to get up only for Optimus to slam his pede down on it, crushing it completely.

"And stay broken," Ratchet said, "now what could've caused that!?"

Optimus removed his battle mask, "I have a grave suspicion, Ratchet. Dark energon."

Firestorm gave a low growl, his optics narrowing as he heard the name.

◊◊◊◊

Megatron let out a low growl as he stood before the Dark Energon. "Lord Megatron," Starscream called out nervously.

"It's as if the Blood of Unicron the Destroyer flows through my veins," Megatron said, "as I hear his very thoughts. I now know what I must do." He took out another shard from the cluster.

"And what can I do to assist you, master?" Starscream asked. "Quit grovelling and await my command," Megatron said as he walked away. Once he was outside, he transformed into his aerial form and flew away from the Nemesis. In the control bridge, Starscream watched his leader fly off. Soundwave and Echo had silently come up beside the other Seeker though Starscream hadn't noticed their presence right away.

"Soundwave, Echo!" He nearly yelped, "I fear that when our master reached for the stars, he came down with a touch of space madness. Lord Megatron has not been of sound judgement since his return." He turned to Soundwave, "increase global surveillance."

"Quit groveling and await my command," Soundwave replayed Megatron's words. Echo looked at Starscream.

"I'm not deaf!" The Seeker huffed, "but if Optimus Prime lives, I believe it is in Lord Megatron's best interest that we ensure his enemy's destruction."

◊◊◊◊

"If the residue Arcee found on Cliffjumper brought your broken equipment back to life," Optimus said as he disposed of the remnants of the broken equipment, "it would stand to reason that the very same substance brought Cliffjumper back from the dead."

"That would account for his life signal inexplicably coming back online," Ratchet said, "but Dark Energon? It's so scarce as to be virtually nonexistent. What would it be doing on Earth?"

"It was transported by Megatron," Firestorm said. "For what purpose?" Ratchet asked.

"To conquer this planet by raising an army of the undead," Optimus said gravely. Ratchet let out a scoffing laugh, "well Megatron would need to break quite a few toaster ovens. I mean, where on this world would he find many Cybertronian dead?"

Optimus didn't answer. And before the Prime could, the sound of revving engines got his attention as Primrose, Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee drove into the base with their charges laughing happily. It warmed Optimus' spark. Paige giggled happily and she smiled at the Prime who softly smiled back.

A surprised Bulkhead tensed for a moment before he opened his chestplates and pulled out a guitar. "Sorry," Miko smiled apologetically, "must've left that in the backseat."

"Autobots, prepare to-" Optimus paused as he looked down at the children. He looked back at the Autobots.

"Roll out?" Arcee said, raising an optic ridge. "Remain here," Optimus said, "Ratchet, you'll come with me. Arcee, Firestorm, we will be outside communication range for some time. So I'm putting you in charge."

"Dude, you're biggest," Miko said to Bulkhead, "you should be in charge." "Eh, he never picks me," the Wrecker said.

"Optimus, with all due respect, playing bodyguard is one thing, babysitting's another," Arcee said, "besides Ratchet hasn't been in the field since the War."

"My pistons may be rusty but my hearing's as sharp as ever," Ratchet said with a huff. Paige giggled again.

Optimus looked back at Arcee, "for the moment, it is only reconnaissance." "Then why do I hear an edge in your voice?" Arcee asked.

"Arcee, much has changed in the last 24 hours. And we all need to adapt," Optimus said, "Ratchet, bridge us out." "Be careful, Optimus," Paige said, "you too, Ratchet."

"Will do," Ratchet said with a nod. Optimus gave Paige a soft, reassuring smile before he and the medic walked through the ground bridge. Everyone watched it close.

Jack looked up at Arcee, "so what's on the activity list?" Arcee frowned, "I'm going on patrol."

"But Optimus told us to stay," Bulkhead said, confused. "When you're in charge, you can call the shots," Arcee said, "Bee, Firestorm, with me."

"Aww," Bumblebee said, his doorwings drooping as he walked over to the femme. Firestorm sighed as he followed the scout.

"Bulkhead, you're in charge," Arcee said before she and the two mechs transformed into their vehicle forms and drove out of the base. Primrose chuckled softly and shook her helm with amusement.

Paige rubbed her arms. She knew Arcee was still a bit bitter with Cliffjumper's death. "So... what's on the activity list?" Bulkhead asked nervously. He flinched when there was a loud ringing and the sound came from Miko plugging her guitar in.

"How about band practice?" She asked eagerly. "But we're not even a band," Raf said as he uncovered his ears.

"Why so antisocial?" Miko asked, "c'mon Raf. You play anything?" "Uh, keyboard?" Raf asked, picking up his laptop.

"Laptops and symbols. Good. Jack?" Miko said. "I sorta mess around on the harmonica," Jack said sheepishly.

"Do I look like I do country?" Miko asked with disdain, "just... cover yourself in fake blood and jump around screaming." "Uh," Jack said nervously.

"Paige, what can you do?" Miko asked excitedly. Paige raised an eyebrow as she leaned against the wall, "well... I sing, play the piano and the violin." "Pretty," Primrose said.

"I'm also a bit of a drummer," Paige said with a small smile. "Nice," Miko said with a smirk and she looked to Bulkhead and Primrose, "Bulkhead, Prim, percussion! We'll go for a big industrial sound. D.I.Y.! We're a band. You just gotta learn the songs. This one's a ballad. My Fist, Your Face." With that, she started to play her guitar rather loudly.

Bulkhead and Primrose flinched at the loud ringing noise as Jack, Paige and Raf covered their ears. Miko continued to play her guitar until the proximity sensor started to go off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Bulkhead said, making Miko stop and look up at him. "C'mon! You can't handle raw power?" She asked.

"Proximity sensor! Quick, hide!" Bulkhead said. The kids immediately ran to hide behind the wrecker and Primrose just as the elevator beeped and Agent Fowler stormed out, looking rather angry.

"PRIME!" "Yes?" Primrose asked calmly. "Senior, not junior," the liaison said with a frown.

"Agent Fowler, he's not here," Bulkhead said, "nobody's here- except us, of course." "Well where is he? Wait, don't tell me. He's out pancaking a mini-mall?" Fowler said, "now I don't know what language you speak on your planet but Prime said he would handle the Decepticons!"

While Fowler was ranting, Jack, Miko and Raf hid behind Bulkhead's pedes and Paige was hiding behind Primrose. Unfortunately, Miko had taken her guitar with her and she kept pulling the cord.

"And blowing a crate in the middle of Nebraska is not what the word 'handle' means in English, so you tell Prime-" Fowler paused when he saw the cable hooked up to the amplifier and it kept jerking.

"Since when are you bots electric?" The liaison asked. Bulkhead jerked and glanced down at his pedes. Primrose bit the inside of her cheek plate.

Jack, Raf and Miko exchanged nervous glances before they stepped out from behind Bulkhead's pedes. "H-hey," Jack said, "how's it going?"

"Contact with civilians! Team Prime has really gone off book this time," Fowler said angrily, "wait, don't tell me- you're running a daycare center!"

Primrose frowned and she glanced at Paige who shied away from the liaison. "Uh, we're interns," Jack said.

"Student interns!" Raf said. "Earning credit in auto-" "Robotics," Miko said.

Agent Fowler shook his head as he walked down the stairs and made his way over to the kids, "alright. Let's move. I'm taking you all into federal custody. It's for your own protection."

Primrose slammed her pede between the kids and the agent, "we're protecting them." "Is that so?" Fowler said and he walked over to the telephone on the other side of the room, "well maybe you can explain that to my superiors at the Pentagon." He picked up the phone.

"Don't use that phone," Bulkhead said quickly as he unintentionally pressed the phone with his large digit, "it's... out of order." "This isn't over! Not by a long shot!" Fowler said angrily as he stormed away.

Miko rolled her eyes. Primrose frowned as the liaison walked into the elevator and it closed. Bulkhead let out a vent of relief.

◊◊◊◊

Optimu and Ratchet walked through an odd place. Tall archways created a maze around the place.

"Optimus, what do we hope to find here?" Ratchet asked his old friend.

"The sight of the largest Cybertronian battlefield in this galaxy," Optimus answered.

"On Earth? You must be joking!" Ratchet scoffed.

"Do you recall the period late in the war when both sides began hiding their Energon spoils off-world?" Optimus began.

"Of course. It's the reason Energon deposits EXIST on planets like this one," Ratchet answered.

"It is also the reason battles came to rage on planets such as this one. And I fear Megatron's memory is as long as history," Optimus finished gravely.

◊◊◊◊

Agent Fowler flew his helicopter away from the base and into the air. "Sir, Agent Fowler. We have a situation. I'm en route from the Autobot base. I'll brief you in person," Fowler spoke into his radio.

◊◊◊◊

"Agent Fowler. I'm en route from the Autobot base. I'll brief you in person." Soundwave repeated on his visor.

"Autobot base, eh?" Starscream smirked, "humans; always the weak link. Fetch us this Fowler so that he may brief us instead."

Soundwave didn't say anything. In fact, he didn't indicate that he understood Starscream's instructions or even protest them. He simply dispatched the Minicon called Laserbeak that always remained stuck to his form towards the coordinates of the federal agent.

◊◊◊◊

Agent Fowler's helicopter flew through the air. He glanced at a monitor as it started beeping. "Hey, big bird, I'm flying here," he said, furrowing his eyebrows.

Laserbeak flew towards him, much to his shock. "What in Uncle Sam's beard!?" He quickly avoided Laserbeak, "first the freeway's not safe now air travel!?"

Fowler continued flying around within the Grand Canyon in the hopes of losing Laserbeak. However, he soon came across a dead end that he would soon crash into if he did not act quickly. Thankfully, Fowler is a superb pilot and he managed to pull out of the potential collision in time and flew upwards towards the blue sky. Unfortunately, Laserbeak took the same path. Fowler maneuvered around Laserbeak and ended up behind her.

"You wanna dance, Con? I'll lead!" Fowler said with a smirk. With a hit of a button, the shots were fired at Laserbeak. But all the bullets seemed to do was ricochet off of Laserbeak's thick armor.

The shots also made Laserbeak mad. She decided to act when Fowler eventually ran out of ammo. Eventually, he did. Immediately, Fowler knew he was in trouble. Especially when Laserbeak slashed the rear engine off the helicopter, causing Fowler to lose control as the chances of a crash increased dramatically.

"Never an Autobot around when you actually need one," Fowler remarked as he tried to regain control of the out-of-control helicopter.

But regaining control of the helicopter wasn't an easy task. Especially with Laserbeak following with her greedy claws grabbing air searching for its target. Fowler did his best to avoid the large metal claws. But his effots were in vain. Thankfully, just as the claws grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him out of the helicopter, he hit the Autobot Distress Signal. Underneath him, the helicopter exploded and Laserbeak carried him away.

◊◊◊◊

At the Autobot base, the alarms began to go off once more. "My ears!" Raf whined, covering his ears. "It's an S.O.S. from Fowler," Bulkhead said as he stared at the control panel nervously. "Did you trace it?" Raf asked.

"Location scan was incomplete," Bulkhead said before he shrugged, "oh well." "Oh well? Seriously!?" Jack exclaimed.

"Fowler's a jerk," Bulkhead huffed. "Well, whether you like the guy or not, the Decepticons may have him," Paige said.

"And Agent Fowler knows your location," Raf said before he tensed and gulped nervously, "our location."

"And did we not witness how fast Fowler backs down from a bot? The 'Cons will totally make him squeal," Miko said.

"But we lost the transmission. Fowler could be anywhere," Primrose said, furrowing her optic ridges. "Maybe I can narrow it down," Raf said as he started to type into his laptop, "About five years ago, the government started microchipping their agents. You know, like owners do with pets."

Bulkhead, Primrose, Jack, Miko and Paige stared at the boy confused. Raf looked up at them, "what? I saw it on tv. Anyway, if I can hack into the government's mainframe, maybe I can pinpoint Fowler's coordinates."

"You know how to hack? But you're, like, 2 years old!" Miko objected disbelievingly.

"12...and a quarter," Raf corrected with a smug expression.

◊◊◊◊

Inside the Nemesis, a Vehicon shoved Agent Fowler to the floor. "Welcome, Agent Fowler," Starscream said.

"You treat all your guests this nice?" Fowler asked with a slight smirk. "Any friends of the Autobots," Starscream said.

"Autobots? Them coin-operated 'Wash-My-Own-Car' places?" Fowler pretended to be oblivious.

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be, hmm? Obviously, no one has told you that we have no appreciation for human humor. Make our guest comfortable," Starscream instructed before he walked away.

Agent Fowler glanced at the Vehicon that walked closer to him, his shadow looming over the agent.

◊◊◊◊

"Latitude: 39.5. Longitude: 116.9," Raf read Fowler's coordinates. Primrose activated the ground bridge.

"Let's go Prim," Bulkhead said. "Aww, don't break up the band," Miko said, disappointed.

"Jack, Paige, you're in charge," Bulkhead said before he and Primrose hurried through the ground bridge. "Guess we four have the run of the place," Jack said, looking around before he realized something, "Miko? Miko?"

"Scrap," Paige sighed.

◊◊◊◊

On the other side, the ground bridge opened and Primrose and Bulkhead jumped out.

"Fowler?" Bulkhead called out before he saw the Decepticon warship, "uh-oh... the whole Decepticon she-bang."

The Wrecker and the young Prime quickly hid behind some rocks, keeping an eye out on the Vehicons. "Alright!" A familiar voice said and the two Autobots snapped their helms around to see Miko hiding behind a nearby rock.

"What's the plan?" Miko whispered. "Miko," Bulkhead whispered harshly and he put his digit up in a way to tell her to keep quiet. However, Miko was confused and when she heard pedesteps, she looked to see a Vehicon trooper walking in her direction. When he saw her, he aimed his blaster at her.

"Oh... unwise," Miko said. "Miko, get down!" Primrose shouted. The girl quickly ran away from the rock just as the Vehicon shot at the spot.

Miko ran away from the trooper who aimed his blaster at her only to be tackled by Bulkhead.

Bulkhead pinned him down, punching at him even though his punches didn't seem to do much damage. "Hold him still!" Miko said and she smashed a seemingly heavy rock against the Vehicon's helm.

Primrose suddenly scooped the girl up into her servo and lightly tossed her to the side (while her servo was still on the ground, of course). Miko stumbled to her feet, a wave of dizziness washing over her for a moment.

"Miko, look away!" Bulkhead instructed.

"But-!" Miko began to object.

"Turn your head away!" Bulkhead repeated.
But Miko didn't look away as Bulkhead wanted her to. Instead, she watched as Bulkhead used his bare servos to rip out the Decepticon's wiring. Miko watched in pure admiration.

◊◊◊◊

"Arcee, do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Bulkhead," Arcee answered the incoming call as she and the other two mechs drove down the road.

"I have a situation...," Bulkhead sing-songed as he cradled Miko to his chest.

"Bulkhead, they're children! Humans! Just do whatever!" Arcee sighed in frustration...before she, Firestorm and Bumblebee suddenly skidded to a stop further down the desert highway, "You're WHERE? SHE'S where?"

◊◊◊◊

"What should we do? Bulkhead may not even realize that she had followed him!" Raf exclaimed in worry.

"Raf, trust me on this when I say, he knows," Paige smiled reassuringly.

"But Miko hasn't seen the 'Cons in action like we have. She has no idea," Jack sighed worriedly. "These are the coordinates. The destination is still locked in," Raf announced.

"Uh... right, you guys are in charge," Jack said as he hurried down the stairs.

"In charge of who exactly?" Paige retorted as the ground bridge opened and she and Raf hurried after Jack. The three went through the ground bridge, unaware of Arcee calling.

"Arcee to base. Come in. Jack? Listen up. We need you to bridge us back. Hello?" Arcee spoke into the commlink before sighing, "Bumblebee, Firestorm, metal to the pedal."

They didn't need to be told twice. Together, Arcee, Firestorm and Bumblebee took off at lightning speeds towards base.

◊◊◊◊

"Agent Fowler, I have one simple request that will save your family from the pain of greiving," Starscream said, "the Autobot base."

"No problem. But I need to ask you something first," Fowler requested.

"Yes. I'm listening," Starscream nodded.

"I've got an issue with the customer service around here. Can I speak to the manager?" Fowler asked. That caused Starscream's eyes to widen in shock.

"I make the decisions around here! I am in charge!" Starscream snapped in frustration before turning to the Vehicon, "the prod."

◊◊◊◊

"What's taking Arcee, Firestorm and Bumblebee?" Bulkhead murmured. "Dude, the 'Cons could be putting the clams on Fowler right now! Let's just storm the joint!" Miko suggested.

"For what reason? To end up with you getting shot at?" Primrose hissed. Suddenly, they heard the familiar sound of a ground bridge coming to life nearby.

"They're here," Bulkhead sighed in relief. However, it wasn't Arcee, Firestorm and Bumblebee. In fact, far from it. It was Jack, Raf and Paige. Primrose widened her optics in shock.

"Why don't those guys hang out with their own bots? This our one-on-one joint," Miko huffed with annoyance and Bulkhead groaned.

"Are your bones vibrating?" Raf asked Jack as he looked a little dizzy. Paige didn't answer and she stopped and looked up.

"You there!" A Vehicon exclaimed as he and the others saw Jack, Raf and Paige and began charging their blasters.

"Scrap!" Bulkhead, Primrose and Miko cursed at the same time.

◊◊◊◊

"I ask nicely one last time. The Autobot base!" Starscream snarled.

"Sure thing, buddy. Right after you eat my star-bangled shorts!" Fowler retorted. Starscream growled before he jabbed Fowler with the prod and the agent screamed in pain.

"As I imagined, Energon and human nervous systems don't mix," Starscream sneered.

◊◊◊◊

Optimus and Ratchet continued walking around the site of one of the battles on Earth during the Cybertronian War that consumed their planet, along with many others.

"For the first time in my life, Optimus, I had hoped that you were wrong," Ratchet confessed to his friend.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of jets flying above them. They looked up and saw a familiar jet fly above them towards a rock. The jet transformed into his bipedal form and it was Megatron. To say that he looked different was quite the understatement; his optics were a bright purple.

"Optimus! Been well? I see you brought your trusty watchdog. I was certain he'd be condolencing in a scrapyard by now," Megatron remarked.

"Why don't you invite him down here for a chat?" Ratchet suggested as he punched his fist into his servo.

"I know why you're here, Megatron," Optimus proclaimed.

"Hardly a surprise, Optimus. After all, you and I have been at this for a long time. And your time has come to an end," Megatron proclaimed as he hoisted a glowing shard of Dark Energon for Optimus and Ratchet to see before throwing it to the ground below.

Once the shard hit the ground, it disappeared below the surface. For a little while, nothing seemed to happen. Well...until the ground started cracking up and glowing a burning purple. Ratchet and Optimus gasped in shock as they realized what was about to happen. Megatron had stabbed himself with a shard of Dark Energon and was possessed with power. Limitless power.

"Rise, my army!" Megatron shouted as his optics and circuits glowed the same burning purple as the ground.

Upon Megatron's call, from the ground rose many Transformers who were lost in the battle that occurred here eons ago. Their optics and circuits and their rusted armor glowing purple. The shard Megatron threw to them brought back the dead Transformers buried underground in mass graves like the fallen British and Australian soldiers after the Battle of Fromelles. Immediately, Optimus and Ratchet knew that there was going to be trouble.

"By the Allspark!" Ratchet gasped quietly as more soldiers began to rise.

"Behold the power of Dark Energon!" Megatron proclaimed. Slowly, the army summoned by Megatron approached Ratchet and Optimus.