"Come on, come on!"
Spike was trying to push the door open of the door to the underground cellar beneath the stage. The holoforms of Blaster and Jazz were with him while their vehicle modes were parked outside the stadium. The Autobots would be arriving shortly.
"Are you sure they're in there?" Jazz asked.
"I'm sure of it! I saw the Bopcrew trap them in here!" Spike stated.
"Out of the way little man, I'll take care of this." said Blaster.
He waved the boy aside, as he took a couple steps back. He cracked his knuckles before charging forward, body slamming into the door as the hinges of the doors came clean off, the door collapsing to the floor. Once Blaster got through, Spike and Jazz jogged in. They found Daphine, Raoul, Andrew, and Josh all inside, but it seems their sudden entrance didn't catch their attention.
They were all too busy arguing with each other to even notice that they had arrived.
Spike stepped forward, looking at them as he noticed something odd about them. They were each glowing a shade of green, as a green, smoke like energy seeped through the ceiling above them and on to the stage. His eyes widened with realization. The Mesermizers were up next.
"Stop, stop it!" He yelled, getting into the middle of their little circle, separating them. "This is what they've been after all along. They're feeding off of the powers inside of you."
"But how are they doing that?" Blaster asked.
Spike sighed. "Ever since we started this band, we've all been letting the little things get to us. I didn't say anything at first because I felt it wasn't my place, since Vaughan knew you all a lot better than I did. But I do know, that if you don't solve those little things right from the start, your powers can be turned into something else."
"I can't believe all of this tension was happening and we didn't even notice." Jazz shook his head, ashamed with himself.
"Vaughan felt like she was supposed to have all the answers. Maybe why she hasn't come back is because she's worried that she may have let us down." Andrew sulked.
"I don't think anyone is supposed to have all of the answers." said Spike. "But we can count on each other to find them."
"Sorry we took so long busting you guys out. Spike warned us what happened so we can as quickly as we could." Blaster apologized.
"Prime and the others should be arriving shortly." Jazz added.
"But what about Vaughan? Oh I do hope she's alright." Daphine spoke with worry.
"I'll give her a call." Raoul brought out his cell phone, dialing the girls number as he brought it up to his ear. "Vaughan?... Come on, pick up... Ugh! Okay, the good news is, her cell phone is on, the bad news is, she's not answering her phone."
"She sometimes does that. Use the iFinder app to see where she is." said Josh.
Raoul brought up the app, typing in Vaughan's number. It scanned and then a green blip appeared on screen. "I got her!... She's just entering the stadium now!"
"Perfect! Come on, it's time to prove to the Decepticons that we're not through with them just yet." Jazz grinned.
"And there's only one way to do it." Spike agreed.
"We're getting the band back together?!" Josh exclaimed.
"We're getting our band back together." Raoul replied as Josh cheered with excitement.
"But which version of the 'Counter Attack' song are we going to play?" Daphine asked.
"I don't think it matters which one we play, just as long as we're together again." Blaster answered.
"I know just the song." Raoul smiled. The others were skeptical at first, but when he walked over to Andrew, they all sighed with relief as he placed a hand on the boys shoulder. "Andrew here has written a good one."
"Thanks, man." Andrew smirked, using Raoul's slang as a tease.
"Hold up! We're about to save the world here." said Jazz. "Personally? I think we should do it in style." He grinned, looking up at the red head. "Daphine?"
Daphine squealed, jumping up in down before running over and bear hugging the holoform. "I thought you'd never ask!"
********
Vaughan raced into the stadium, using her Student I.D. to get in through the entrance. She made her way through the crowds of people. This is was a pretty big event. Especially since the finals are being broadcast live all over the world. If The Mesmerizers were waiting for the right moment to unleash their full power, Vaughan knew without a doubt that they would do so tonight.
"The second and final band to perform in the finals will begin in 1 minute."
Vaughan acted quickly, making her way to the stairway as she jogged down to the field. Crowds of people stood and sat everywhere across the field as she walked across the field, trying to find her way around to get to the stage. "Where is everyone?" She thought.
She brought her phone out, noticing a missed phone call. It was Raoul.
"Crap." She cursed.
She quickly shot the boy a text message, asking him where everyone was. Almost instantly, he replied with his message.
"We're up top. Meet us up on the center bleachers, we're heading there right now." - Raoul
"On my way." - Vaughan
As Vaughan turned her phone off, she was about to make a run for it for the destination for her objective, until the lights of the stadium dimmed and the crowd began going crazy, hooting and hollering.
Vaughan froze as she slowly turned around to face the stage as the strobelights turned on. Lights flashed onto the stage as green smoke hovered on the stage floor.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the second finalists for tonights Battle of The Bands; Dagio, Mitso, and Sanato. We give you, The Mesmerizers!"
"Oh no..." She gulped. "I'm too late..."
*******
The Decepticons flew through the air of New York City, Soundwave closely behind them. They spotted the stadium just as the song kicked in, the bass pounding in their audio receptors.
They all hovered down, landing on a stop on the roof of the stadium as they all got comfortable.
"It's time to sit back, and watch the show." Megatron grinned.
"Lord Megatron, look!" Starscream yelped, pointing a finger.
Megatron followed the seekers gaze to see a strikingly familiar human female among the crowd down on the field.
"Vaughan Witwickey." He growled.
Starscream glared daggers almost immediately at Soundwave, stalking over to him, grabbing him by the neck. "You let her escape, didn't you?!"
"I would never-!"
"Starscream! Release my Communications Officer." Megatron ordered.
"But... Lord Megatron!" Starscream pleaded.
"That. Is. An. Order!" Megatron yelled.
Starscream vented with a snarl, releasing his grip on Soundwave, who collapsed on one knee. "Then what of the human?"
Megatron grinned. "We'll let our new allies finish her for us."