Episode 1 - Darkmount, NV
[Amanda]
I should have seen it coming. No, I did see it coming, but it wasn't like I could do anything about it. With two Autobots pegging against me, there was very little I could have done. Especially since one of those Autobots was an extremely stubborn Prime that was basically my father, and the other pretty much worshipped the Prime. Believe me when I say any attempts at fighting their stupid decisions were a waste of air because none of them changed what happened.
Still, I struggled against the seatbelt holding me down as greens and blue swirled around me, the colors starting to blur in a way that told me we were almost at the end of the ground bridge. My tears had started to end, my grief turning into anger, and that only fueled the energy within me. My powers were all over the place, mirroring my emotions. I could barely get my thoughts together, a single phrase ringing through the hurricane in my mind.
Optimus is still back there with the Cons. Optimus is still back there with the Cons. Optimus-
I swear Optimus Prime, if you get hurt, I'll never forgive you.
That made me snap out my furious daze. "Smokescreen, turn around." My voice was flat and emotionless, sounding almost foreign.
"Amanda, I can't do that," the rookie said wearily as we raced towards the end of the ground bridge, the night sky now in sight.
"Smokescreen, I'm only asking once more," I said. "Turn around and go back."
"Listen, I wish I could, but I've got my orders. I can't just disobey Optimus, no matter how much you and I want to go back for him."
We had reached the end of the ground bridge, emerging in what seemed like a desert, the moon bright on top of us. That was it. In the side mirrors, I could see the ground bridge was still open. That's when I released some of my powers, allowing it to hum around me, the air almost crackling with energy.
"Smokescreen, drive back through that ground bridge or I swear to Cleona I will go back there with or without you."
There was a long pause before the seat belt strapping me down loosened. "Scrap it." Smokescreen swore and spun around, racing back to the ground bridge.
[Elsewhere]
"Leave no stone unturned!" Megatron commanded, standing over the wreckage of what was formerly the Autobot base. Around him, flames licked at the sky as his Insecticons searched through the rubble for the bodies of the Autobots. If he felt any remorse for the loss of the Omega Lock only an hour before, the leader of the Decepticons certainly didn't show it.
"Master!" Starscream's voice cut through the search, causing Megatron to turn to see his second in command being followed by two Decepticons who were dragging the body of a Cybertronian. "Look who we found, pulled from the wreckage of his ship. Wheeljack."
"So," Megatron smirked. "One survived. Take our guest back to the citadel for questioning. Back to Darkmount." He turned again, this time to face his looming new citadel, pride filling him.
"This is the dawning of a new age, my liege," Starscream said. "The reign of Megatron!"
The lead Decepticon grinned. "You do have a way with words, Starscream." He looked back at the searching Insecticons. "Make haste, and unearth the Autobot corpses!"
[Finn]
I paced Agent Fowler's office, my thoughts racing a million miles a minute. Agent Fowler sat behind his desk, talking on the phone with several other military generals.
"I understand, General Bryce," he was saying. "But I'm not sending in any men, at least not now. We need time to scope out the enemy. For all we know, Megatron could be waiting for us the moment we set foot off this military base. My intel tells me that he's still on the site of the former Autobot base, probably searching for spoils of war. As long as he stays there, we have time- Yes- Yes, general, but- No...- No sir- Thank you, sir." He hung up and rubbed his hands over his face.
"What'd they say?" I asked, stopping in front of his desk.
Fowler looked up at me. "They wanted to move in with an attack." At my surprised expression, he nodded. "I know, it's suicide. I told them that and they seem to be convinced to hold off for now, since Megatron isn't doing anything. But once that big tin head steps in the wrong direction, the military is gonna want to move in."
"And do what?" I said. "We hardly have the firepower to fight the damn Decepticons." Then I gave him a look. "Any word from the team?"
He didn't need to reply, I could read his expression the moment my words left my mouth. Still no word.
"Right." I sighed, sinking into the chair across from Fowler. My worry was at record heights. Amanda, Jack, Miko, Raf... were they okay? What about the Autobots? There was no way to tell at this point and it drove me mad. I had to know, I'd do just about anything to know that they're not hurt, but there was no way.
"We're still looking," Fowler said finally. "But listen, kid. The Cons don't have them either, or else I'm certain we'll know. Megatron isn't going to keep that kind of a thing secret. We just need to find the team first."
[Amanda]
"You're just lucky I managed to swipe this back on Cybertron," Smokescreen whispered.
I punched the side of his face, which was easy from my spot on his shoulder. "You're the lucky one, Smokescreen. Now shut up and keep looking. Optimus has to be around here somewhere."
Truthfully, I was the lucky one. Smokescreen had managed to grab the Phase Shifter during the final moments on Cybertron, which was the only reason why we were back at the base now. The sheer sight of the base's current state made tears lodge in my throat, but I shoved that all back. It was a wreck, with fire and rubble everywhere. Nothing touched us though. The Phase Shifter was doing its job, allowing Smokescreen and myself to go through anything. We had already had a few close calls with some Decepticons, being forced to sink into the Earth, but that turned out advantageous because we found a little cave we could hide out in after our search. Still, I was getting frustrated. Between trying to search through the rubble and avoiding Decepticons with the same goal, we hardly found anyone.
Come on, Optimus. Where are you?
"Wait," I whispered, causing Smokescreen to duck behind a massive boulder.
"What's wrong?" He asked, voice low. We didn't want to risk being overheard, resorting to whispers when we absolutely had to talk.
"Let me focus," I closed my eyes, allowing the powers of Cleona to surface. I used them to reach out, focusing on my last memories of Optimus.
"Optimus," I was pleading now. "Please, don't. You can't leave me. I can't-"
Grief and pain flickered across his face and I could tell he almost caved. But then chunks of the base began to fall around us, making him emotionless again.
"Smokescreen," He said, not looking at me. I didn't move. Suddenly, Smokescreen had me in his grasp and transformed so quickly, I was in the backseat of his vehicle mode and we were going through the ground bridge without me even realizing it.
"No!" I screamed, pounding against the glass of the back window. "Stop! Smokescreen, stop!"
"I'm sorry, A," He said and he really did sound sorry. "But I have orders."
"No!" Tears were falling down my face now as the base became distant, as Optimus became distant. "We can't leave him! Optimus!"
I could see the Prime watching as we drove, and I knew he could see me, but that meant I could also see how he let his emotionless mask fall. The same grief and pain was plain on his face, not concealed at all anymore, which made me cry that much more.
I gasped as I felt a tug on the end of my powers, drawing me towards a pile of rubble.
"A?" Smokescreen asked, and I could see slight concern on his face.
I pointed at the pile of rubble. "There. Optimus is there."
"What are you-"
"Smokescreen, don't question me and just go there, okay? Optimus is over there, I can feel it."
I heard the rookie mutter something under his breath, but he did as I said, ducking close to the ground as he weaved through the rubble. Smokescreen hesitated for a moment before phasing through the pile, the entire time that tugging feeling getting stronger within me. Then we saw him.
Immediately, I gasped. I think Smokescreen did too. Still, we had no time, not with the Decepticons all around us.
I tapped Smokescreen's shoulder. "We need to move. Grab his upper body and I'll get his lower. We'll bring him to that cave."
Smokescreen didn't move, so I punched him again. "Come on, Smoke, we've got to go. We don't want to deal with the Cons now, we can't!"
That snapped him out of his daze, and we got to work.
Turns out, bringing an unconscious (at least, I hope he was) Prime to a cave while the surface is crawling with Decepticons is a lot harder than you might think. Still, Smokescreen and I managed to get him to the cave, and prop him up against the wall. That's when I finally took in how bad he looked.
I've seen Optimus hurt more than a few times. I've seen him get the crap beaten out of him, I've seen him battle the Cybertronian version of the plague, and I've seen him walk away from all of that. But now, in the dinky cave and with the wreckage of the base above us, I couldn't help but feel tears lodge in my throat because I've never seen Optimus so... defeated.
His body was more than bruised and scratched, it looked bad. He had wounds with energon dripping out, his once proud exterior covered in deep wounds and dust that seemed ingrained into him. Once Smokescreen set him down against the wall of the cave, I hurried to climb off the rookie's shoulder and onto Optimus' chest, feeling terror as it barely rose and fell.
"He's hurt," Smokescreen said, but not dumbly, more worried. "But he probably looks way worse than he feels."
I put my hands on the Prime's chest, using my powers to get a sense of how hurt he really was. "No, Smoke, he's really, really hurt. I-"
The Prime groaned suddenly, shifting slightly, but enough to send pain through his body, enough pain that I could feel.
"Optimus, don't move," I said quickly, looking up to see the Prime's eyes searching for me. Once they found me, his flickering gaze filled with a million different emotions, but Smokescreen cut him off before he could say anything.
"Don't move or talk," the rookie said, his tone shockingly serious. "Just power down. Get your strength back." He looked towards me. "Amanda and I got you covered."
(I'd recommend watching the bit of the episode with Megatron and Starscream at 3:55. Since I'm not modifying it, I'm not going to include it here)
[Finn]
"A new power dominates your world," Megatron's voice filled the room from the phone. He was on speaker, Agent Fowler, myself, and countless other army generals all listening in. "Any further attempts to attack me will be met with even greater force. Your leaders should be advised that my fusions cannons possess enough firepower to decimate any densely populated area of my choosing. I would, in all likelihood, set sights on your nation's capital, for starters."
"Point taken," Agent Fowler snapped, and from his facial expression, I could tell he was really holding back from losing it on the lead Decepticon. He's been like this, stiff and ready to burst, ever since we heard that Megatron completely destroyed an entire army squadron, along with Jasper. I knew it was because of his history with the town, especially how close he became to it because of Amanda, and that was hitting close to home.
It wasn't just him though. I also got attached to Jasper and it's small buildings and narrow roads. It was so different from the big cities and military bases I grew up on, and I liked that. At least, I did while it lasted. While the town was completely evacuated by the time Darkmount appeared, it was still devastating.
"Now what do you want from us?" Fowler demanded, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Nothing, Agent Fowler," Megatron replied as though he couldn't detect the hostility in Fowler's voice. "The Decepticons mean no harm to humanity. We merely desire a place to call home."
That sparked rage within me, but my only conditions for being able to sit in on this was that I don't say anything, so I held my tongue. Luckily, Fowler was feeling similar things.
"No offense Megatron," he said. "But I'm having a tough time swallowing all this since you seem so bent on plastering humankind under molten steel."
"Agent Fowler, I admit that war brings out the worst in me, but the conflict with the Autobots is now over, and our quarrel has never been with your kind. Now that the one true enemy of the Decepticons is no more, my only wish is to coexist on this planet with the human race, peacefully. Together, Agent Fowler, I believe that you and I can make that dream a reality."
And he hung up.
"Why that no good, tin head, piece of s-" I started, my fists tight. "Don't tell me you believe a single thing that came out of his filthy mouth."
Fowler gave me an incredulous look. "Who do you take me for, kid? I'm not stupid. Megatron is going to get what's coming for him."
"But how?" I asked when Fowler's phone rang again. He sighed, but picked it up.
"This is Special Agent Fowler," he said tensely, then deflated a little. "Yes General Bryce. Special containment protocol G-1000 has been executed as planned. Evacuation of Jasper, Nevada, was 100% successful. As far as its citizens or the media are concerned, the threat was a meteor shower and the town is to remain quarantined until the resulting radiation levels can be dissipated- Sir, any form of retaliation would be too risky- I just need more time- Yes- Yes, I understand." He hung up, stress etched on his face. Before I could ask what General Bryce had said, the door to Fowler's office swung open.
"Agent Fowler, those medical supplies still haven't arrived," Nurse June Darby said, tapping her clipboard. "We have wounded men who need-"
"I'm doing the best I can, Nurse Darby," Fowler cut her off. "I've been a little busy juggling a bunch of nuke-happy generals who don't seem to care if they blow Nevada sky-high, and a Decepticon warlord who wants to make nice now that the Autobots are in the scrapyard-" At both of our startled looks, Fowler shook his head. "Megatron's opinion, not mine. He's feeding us a load of horse pucky, trying to crush out spirits."
"Still no word from anyone?" Nurse Darby asked, her motherly concern blatant.
I looked up at her. "I've been trying to get to all of them. But the fact that I haven't been able to reach anyone only tells us that the main comm link went down with the base."
She bit her lip, reminding me of how Amanda would chew her lip whenever she got anxious. That just made me worried all over again as I wondered where she was now, if she was alright. But I couldn't let myself think like that, not when there was action to be taken.
"If I could just call Jack-" Nurse Darby started, but I cut her off this time.
"You know it's too risky," I said. "So do the Autobots. The Cons can trace any cell phone signal."
Her face flashed in determination. "Then take me home. If Jack can't call, that's where he'll look for me."
Fowler shook his head. "Jasper's under complete lockdown. The only ones who can fix this mess are Prime and his bots."
We all fell silent before I spoke, my tone low. "They're out there, keeping a low profile or something. They got to be."
(again, I'm going to direct you to the episode at 9:23 to check up on what happens with Raf, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Miko, and your favorite Decepticon leader, until about 12:35)
[Amanda]
I hadn't realized that I had fallen asleep on Optimus' chest until he started to stir again. Right away, I could feel a slight panic and pain shoot through the Prime, who groaned, causing me to quickly wake up.
"It's okay, Optimus," I said quietly, seeing that Smokescreen had dozed off a little against another wall in the cave. "You're here with me and Smokescreen. We're safe."
The Prime struggled to catch his breath for a moment before speaking. "How- how did we get- here?"
I glanced over at Smokescreen again. "I made Smokescreen turn back. We made it through the ground bridge and he was holding me down too tightly with a seatbelt for me to escape, so I told him he had to turn around or I'd use my powers on him. When we got back, the blast had already hit the base, but Smoke had the phase shifter so we weren't touched by anything. The Cons had already been searching through the rubble, probably for bodies or spoils or something, so we had to search faster. I used my powers to find you and we brought you to this cave we found."
Optimus' expression turned stern, which made me happy because he was still okay enough to scold me, like I knew he would. "Amanda..."
"I know, I know, we went against your orders, but they were dumb orders and-" I began.
"We're sorry," Smokescreen's voice caused me to turn to see him heading towards us. "That we defied your orders."
I shrugged, looking back at Optimus. "I'm not."
Smokescreen shot me a look, but his focus was on the Prime. "We're safe here, but we're down so deep, no one can pick up our signals."
"The Cons are also searching for us, so it's hard to maneuver around their search efforts," I added.
The rookie nodded in agreement. "I'll have to scout above ground if I'm gonna have any hope of finding Ratchet." He looked to me for approval, which slightly surprised me, but that wore away quickly and I gave him a confirmation nod.
"No," Optimus' voice stopped Smokescreen in his tracks. "No... hope..."
"Optimus," My voice was soft. "Ratchet is the only one who can get you patched up. I don't know enough about Cybertronian biology to get you back on your feet."
The Prime's eyelids slid shut, making fear strike through me.
"Optimus?" Smokescreen said, but his voice became distant.
"Smokescreen, go scout above ground," I commanded, finding strength I didn't know I had. "Don't let the Cons see you, but get a sense of what the scrap is going on up there."
"What are you going to do?"
My gaze remained on the Prime, who seemed to slip back into unconsciousness. "Make sure Optimus stays alive long enough for us to find a solution."
[Elsewhere]
"I find myself in urgent need of good news," Megatron growled. "So please, Knockout, tell me that you found something useful."
Knockout smirked. "Some things, my liege. And, someone."
He stepped aside to allow another Cybertronian, one significantly taller, to pass through the ground bridge.
"He... lives?!" Starscream's jaw dropped.
"Shockwave," Megatron grinned. "Just the tactical advantage I need."