The Energon Pub

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Ground Level

Mirage and Blurr picked their way through the trees and vegetation that led up to Mt. St. Helens and the Decepticon base. The sounds and sights of the nearby distraction battle were more than enough to cover their own quick and stealthy approach to the base. They continued to move forward, towards where the presumed ground level entrance to the base was.

*

Command Center

Starscream could barely keep the smirk off of his face as he elegantly bowed at Megatron. “As you command, mighty Megatron.” Even after just scolding him for some perceived error, Megatron now found himself relying on him. Perhaps he would do well to remember those officers who his rule of the Decepticons rested out. His little infiltration groups couldn’t work without the highly intelligent and capable Decepticons who ran them. When so many Decepticons were nothing more than mindless brutes and savages you should cherish the few capable of holding and intelligent conversation.

Of course, he was far above even all of that. He would never be satisfied with being some simple little officer under Megatron’s rule. That was a place for far more simple minded and less ambitious Decepticons. He would play the role for now and continue to prove himself invaluable to Megatron. He would wait and watch the Decepticon leader grow complacent and lazy. There would come a day when he would make the fatal mistake, whether it be a misstep, a miscalculation or he simply overlooked something. When that day came, it would be time for Starscream to make his move.

For now though there were Autobots to deal with. A constant nuisance the other faction was. If there was one thing he could agree with Megatron on it was that the Autobots needed to be stamped out. Not only did they constantly attempt to thwart their plans, but they also provided an enemy Megatron could rally the other Decepticons against. The seeker had often wondered what would happen when there was no enemy to unite all of the disparate Decepticons. He hoped to one day find out.

The seeker commander left the command center in a brisk walk. He opened a comm. Line to the remaining seekers in the base. >>”Hellion, Nightraven, make to the hangar bay and launch immediately. The base is apparently under attack by multiple Autobots. Thundercracker and Skywarp are already engaged and I will be joining them shortly.”<< He continued to briskly make his way to the entrance, musing at the convenient timing of the Autobots arrival.

Decepticon Headquarters – Entrance

The massive armored doors slid open as Starscream stepped out of the base. He glanced up at the skies overhead and the battle raging in them. He transformed and rocketed up into the air. >>”Thundercracker, Skywarp, report! What are we up against and in what numbers?”<<

*

Mirage had cloaked himself before getting in visual range of the base entrance. He left Blurr behind, knowing the other Autobot could easily get inside the doors without anyone noticing anything but a slight breeze even from that distance. He, on the other hand, had to make sure he was in the perfect position at the right time. Invisible, he made it to the doors just as they slid open and Starscream stepped out. He quickly slipped inside as Starscream studied the skies. As the doors began to slide close he felt a burst of wind as Blurr made it inside next to him, Hex’s device in his hands and active.

The Autobot spy remained invisible as he whispered to Blurr. “Go, and move fast. My energy won’t last forever and neither will that diversion. Blurr nodded and took off down the corridors. Mirage let out a quiet sigh. Now all he could do was wait and trust that the rest of his team would fulfill their assignments. It was the part of the mission he had been dreading.

Above Decepticon Headquarters

Skywarp received Thundercracker’s transmission and began checking his internal sensor logs. It didn’t take long to acquire the information he needed and it revealed what his blue friend had been suspicious of from the beginning. ‘Warp opened his comm line back to Thundercracker:

>>”I just checked my sensor logs, ‘Cracker. No heat signature or pressure waves were registered from my hit on Slingshot’s wing. You were right, ol’ buddy! They’re not real, which means that Hound is probably down there somewhere creating these holograms, but not for long! Alert command of what's going on while I take care of our Autobot pests below.”<<

Not caring to see if his previously fired missiles would strike the faux Air Raid and Fireflight, Skywarp abruptly changed course and flew down towards the forest below. His scanners were directed at the ground, looking for anything metallic down amongst all the green foliage. It was very difficult to see anything through the dense canopy of trees, but he knew there were real Autobots down there somewhere. He just had to find them.

Before long, Skywarp’s sensors picked up a metal object moving quickly along a thin stretch of dirt road. It was small, but according to his scanners it was definitely a mech of Cybertronian origin. And, more importantly, it was real. The mech in question then disappeared from sight beneath the trees. >>”I spotted one, Thundercracker! He’s beneath the trees! I’m engaging now!”<<

“Now, let’s heat things up down there!” The teleporter took aim at the general area and unleashed several missiles down into the trees, hoping to hit whatever Autobots were hiding beneath them.

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Ground Level

Smokescreen’s attention to the skies above was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Hex, who came running up behind him. The diversion expert whirled around and looked down on the smaller mech. “What in blazes are you doing here, Hex?! I thought Optimus told you to stay behind at the base. Does Mirage and Blurr know you’re here?”

Just then, Smokescreen heard the roar of jet engines overhead and the sound of missiles streaking through the sky. Spinning back around, Smokey looked up through the trees and saw Skywarp heading in their general direction along with several missiles the seeker had just launched at them! “Incoming! Everyone take cover!”

Smokescreen grabbed Hex and pulled him to safety behind a large tree as the missiles rained down around them. Explosions erupted everywhere, sending dirt and rocks flying through the air and knocking over several nearby trees in the process. “Great, if the ‘cons keep this up, we won’t have many places left to hide,” Smokey commented as he looked over at Hex. “You alright, kid? Hope I didn’t dent your ego there.”

The diversion expert then got to his feet and looked around for his other teammate. “Hound, you okay, buddy? Where are you?” Not seeing the Autobot scout through all the dust that still hung in the air, Smokey turned back to Hex. "You wanna help, huh? Go see if Hound is okay while I take care of our airborne attackers."

Smokescreen then readied his shoulder-mounted rocket launchers for a counterstrike. Looking skyward, he noticed that Starscream was now heading up into the skies to join his seeker brethren. Well, it’s about time more showed up. Let’s see if they can still fly when their circuits are scrambled.

The red and blue mech took aim at the seeker formation above and launched two of his ECM missiles into the sky. When they reached the appropriate altitude, he sent a detonation signal to them and watched as the rockets exploded, sending thousands of tiny shards everywhere. Smokey hoped that the resulting magnetic waves and intense radio signals would disrupt the seekers’ guidance systems long enough to allow the distraction team to regroup after Skywarp’s attack.

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest

Hound was so intent on creating his elaborate illusion, jinking his creations out of the paths of missiles and unleashing harmless lasers, that it took him a few seconds to realise he'd lost his audience. Skywarp had changed course and was heading towards the Autobots, launching a volley of missiles into the trees as Hex flies towards them. Hound rolled away as the missiles hit, churning up the forest and covering the scout in mud and rocks. Scrappit! Guess they're more paranoid than I thought.

The Scout looks up as he hears Smokescreen calling for him, and heads over to his allies. He appears around a mound of upturned earth as the Diversion Specialist unleashes one of his powerful ECM warheads. "Uh, Smokes, if that missiles works like I think it does, it'll also block my holograms from working. I can still fight with my heat sensors, but are we in good enough shape for that? Or should we regroup elsewhere and try a new strategy?"

One things for sure, I'm not leaving until Bumblebee is safe! Even if I don't have anything but bare hands, I can't fail the little guy or Mirage! They're counting on us!"

Above Decepticon Headquarters

As he had suspected, the maneuvers Thundercrack put Skydive through revealed the Aerialbot being nothing more than a holomatter projection. Skywarp's reply to his earlier transmission soon cleared any doubt about whether or not Slingshot was real as well. >>"Roger that 'Warp. I am informing Screamer."<<

>>"Thundercracker to Starscream. We have sight confirmation of five Aerialbots. Out of them Skydive and Slingshot are definately holomatter projections. Others remain unconfirmed. Hound must be present but has not been sighted. Skywarp is engaging unconfirmed target in the forest..."<< Thundercracker's report soon changed into a warning directed at Starscream and the seekers with him after he spotted rockets launched from the woods. >>"Proximity alert! Incoming surface to air missiles towards your position!"<<

Safe from the impact area of Smokescreen's ECM rockets but unable to lower altitude to avoid having his own circuits scrambled, Thundercracker could only wait and see what happened next.

Level 23 – Living Quarters

A wide grin spread across Hellion’s face as she received the signal from Starscream. “Now that’s more like it. A good fight is a perfect way to break the boredom of unpacking.” She grabbed Nightraven’s arm and began pulling her along behind her. “It better not be a false alarm. I could really go for some Autobot smashing right now.”

*

Above Decepticon Headquarters

No sooner than Starscream take off into the sky and receive the report from Thundercracker than he found himself evading incoming missiles. The seeker activated his afterburners and shot almost straight up into the sky, avoiding the cloud generated by the two missiles. It meant his guidance systems and radar weren’t scrambled, but the cloud was going to prevent clear scans of the ground. From the looks of things Skywarp might not have been so lucky to dodge the missiles effect.

The seeker commander pulled alongside Thundercracker. “Circle around and begin attacking their approximate position, but keep out of range of that cloud. We are going to strafe them and force them to move closer to our base and out from that cloud. I’m betting those other fliers are holograms as well since those missiles would interfere with their systems as well. Hellion and Nightraven will be joining us shortly and then we can pick these annoying little Bots between us and finish them off.”

*

Inside the Decepticon Headquarters

Mirage waited patiently for Blurr to return. He knew it wouldn’t take the other Autobot long to map out the entire base and find what they were looking for, but every second it took subtracted from their chances of success. The distraction outside wasn’t going to last forever.

A gush of wind accompanied the arrival of Blurr, the jamming device still in his hands. Mirage quickly decloaked next to him. “Did you find it?”

The other Autobot nodded. “A single door, reinforced with a locking mechanism. I didn’t see any other rooms with a door like this one.” He began bouncing from foot to foot, his excitement and anxiety apparent. “If Bumblebee’s not in there I don’t know where he could be.”

Mirage nodded. “Alright, that sounds like the place. Take me too it and we’ll get to work on that door.” Blurr nodded and took off at a jog, which to Mirage was a full sprint. They turned down several corridors and he couldn’t help but be impressed at Blurr’s memory. The prison was obviously buried deep inside of the base, which made sense to help prevent escape attempts.

They finally arrived at the door. Mirage gave it a cursory examination, confirming that it was the door they were looking for. He quickly went to work, prying off the door control panel as he broke out a series of tools. “Alright Blurr, keep a look out while I work on the door. I’m going to move as fast as I can but its going to take a few minutes. Hopefully most of the security is on the inside to prevent people from escaping. They probably don’t expect many break ins, not this deep inside their base at least.

Blurr nodded, his foot tapping on the floor as his optics scanned up and down both hallways nervously.

Level 23 – Living Quarters

Nightraven set down another unusual object, a quizzical look on her face as she did so. She dug back into her sister’s storage container as both Seekers received a communiqué from Starscream. Before Nightraven had a chance to react to the message herself, Hellion had grabbed her by the arm and began pulling her out of the room and into the corridor. Before the door slid shut Nightraven tossed whatever was in her hand back into the room and then tried to keep up with Hellion. After tripping twice Nightraven stopped and jerked her arm away from her excited sibling.

“For Primus sake, Helly calm down. It’s probably nothing anyway. Besides, I can walk on my own.”

He black seeker femme moved through the corridor and to the lift where she and Hellion could make it to a level where they could reach the outdoors.

Some Distance from Mount St. Helens

Before Hex could tell Smokescreen that he had just spoken to Mirage and Blurr a missile fired by the moronic Skywarp was sent towards them. In an instant Smokescreen had grabbed Hex and pulled him out of the way. The young mech looked back at the area they had just been standing in and back at Smokescreen.

“No, but I’m sure you dented some part of my frame. I’ll send ya the bill.”

Hex stood up and began brushing the dirt and debris off of him as he continued to address the diversion expert.

“Mirage knows I’m here. Anyway,I suggest we get those Seekers further away from the base. How’s about you and me fire at them from further in the tree line, and Hound can put up a few ground based Bots to confuse the hell out of ‘em.”

Above the Decepticon Headquarters

>>"Acknowledged."<< Thundercracker replied to Starscream, making sure his camoflauge unit was still operational. He knew very well it did not make him invisible to Autobot sensors but he didn't want to preach the infiltration protocol of Megatron's either. How the possible humans witnesses would react to weaponfire coming seemingly from nowhere wasn't his problem. He was only following orders after all. So we are going to endanger the infiltration by setting the forest ablaze? I don't have a single weapon that wouldn't start a forest fire. I suppose Screamer knows what he is doing, he did replace all those volcano researchers and park rangers with facsimile avatars after all. Still I don't understand why we had to choose a volcano for a base... not that I like salt water, sand or ice but at least there would have been many locations further away from the prying eyes of these meatbags. Oh well...

Pulling his thoughts away from issues that weren't his responsibilities, Thundercracker began circling the approximately position of the Autobots where Skywarp had fired earlier while raining incendiary fire to the forest below - not really expecting to hit anything but orders were orders.
__________________________________________________

Decepticon Headquarters

"I slagging hate this!" Blitzwing roared, throwing an empty energon cylinder against the wall facing him - the impact shattering the cylinder and leaving a large crack to the volcanic rock. Turning to face Astrotrain, his visor gleaming and fists shaking of rage - Blitzwing continued his raging. "There are Autobots in the woods and I am sitting here! Waiting for a call to action!"

Standing up from his seat, Blitzwing kicked the table in front of him, the bolts keeping the table attached to ground breaking under the impact and the table flying across the lounge. "I am the most efficient killer on this mudball just after Megatron himself and I am kept off the frontlines while some pretty boy flight jocks get all the action!"

Turning back towards Astrotrain, his electron-scimitar pointed towards the other triplechanger, Blitzwing continued his angry ranting. "We should do something about this! Or do you want to be a gloried cargo transport for the rest of your life like Octane?!"

Above Decepticon Headquarters

After unleashing his missiles into the forest below, Skywarp ascended the skies and immediately noticed that Starscream had finally entered the fray. ‘Warp was going to answer Screamer’s communiqué, but Thundercracker had already taken care of that. Updates always sounded better coming from his blue friend, anyway. ‘Warp’s strong suit was fighting and not giving detailed reports.

As Skywarp banked left and came around, preparing for another strike on the Autobots, his sensors detected incoming surface to air rockets fired from the forest. There was no need to teleport as ‘Warp easily avoided the two projectiles with a simple maneuver. However, what the black and purple seeker was not prepared for was the tiny shards that rained down onto him after the rockets detonated. Skywarp’s guidance systems went haywire from the effects of the magnetic waves that engulfed him. It was the same feeling he had previously experienced during the battle at the oil platform where he ended up splashing down into the ocean. ‘Warp quickly opened a comm line to the other seekers:

>>”May day! May day! I’ve been overcome by magnetic waves! I’m going down!”<<

Blind in the sky and unable to fly in a straight line, the teleporter began to lose altitude and descended helplessly towards the forest below. Crashing through the trees, the F-22’s tumble was slowed by the various limbs and branches that comprised the green plant life. Skywarp then struck the forest floor and slid a short distance before coming to a rest with his nosecone buried in the muddy dirt.

Transforming to robot mode, Skywarp stood up and brushed the muck and grime off himself. He looked skyward through the hole he had just made in the canopy of the trees. He could still see Thundercracker and Starscream overhead and opened another comm line to them:

>>”This is ‘Warp. I’m fine. Just a little banged up. My systems are still scrambled so I’ll have to stay grounded for the time being. I’ll search for the Autobots while I’m down here and report back their exact coordinates. That way you’ll know where to strike at them. Skywarp out.”<<

With a scowl forming across his faceplate, the teleporter made his way through the woods, heading towards the origin point of those ECM missiles. Skywarp knew who he was looking for. It was the same Autobot whose rockets had forced him down at the oil rig. Smokescreen!

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest

Once his ECM missiles were detonated, Smokescreen turned towards Hound and smiled broadly as the scout appeared from behind a mound of upturned earth. “Good to see you functioning, buddy! I thought for an astrosecond that idiot Skywarp had gotten you.” Smokey responded happily. “Don’t worry about your Aerialbot holograms. I’m pretty sure the seekers know that they’re fake now, and they apparently know we’re down here, as well.”

Smokescreen then regarded Hex with a nod of approval. “Good idea, Hex,” the diversion expert replied as he returned his gaze back to the Autobot scout. “Hound, what we need now is some ground based holograms to confuse the ‘cons into thinking that there are more of us down here than there really are. While you do that, Hex and I will try and draw the seekers further away from the base." Smokey looked at both of his teammates before continuing. "This area is compromised, however, and we’re visible to aerial attack. So, as Hex suggested, we all need to move deeper into the tree line to hide our presence. Now, if there are no questions or other ideas, let’s get started."

Smokescreen made his way towards the tree line as more explosions began to erupt around them from Thundercracker’s incendiary fire. “Come on, guys, let’s move it! We’re sitting duck-bots out here!” Running for the tree line, Smokey dived into the woods and quickly found a good position to strike back at the seekers above. He drew out his electro-disruptor rifle and checked to make sure it was fully loaded. The diversion expert then looked skyward and noticed that only two seekers remained airborne. Where’s Skywarp? Ha! My missiles must’ve got him. Stupid ‘con.

With that thought out of the way, Smokescreen raised his rifle up, taking careful aim at Thundercracker, and returned fire on the blue seeker.

Outside Decepticon HQ - Forest

"Right, Smokescreen, I'll get right on it!" Hound started running into the trees, away from the laser shots and the flames, while adjusting his hologram gun to new settings. The already-fuzzy images of the Aerialbots dissipated, to be replaced by a new set of images.

Just sending in more legions of warriors will tip them off. Better to let them see someone they already suspect is there...

A dozen Hounds rushed through the forest, pausing in clearings to launch missiles at the orbiting Seekers. The real Hound paused as well, to launch a real missile at Starscream, just to keep the Decepticons on their toes...

Outside Decepticon Headquarters

Hellion and Nightraven made their way to the base exit. The two femmes transformed and launched into the sky. Hellion opened a channel to Starscream. >>”Comm ander Starscream, Hellion and Nightraven reporting for duty. Orders?”<<

*

In the Skies Near Decepticon Headquarters

Starscream opened fire on the forest below. His attack wasn’t aimed at the Autobots, who he could not see, or at igniting the forest below. The fire was only to force the Autobots to move in the direction he wanted them to, or, failing that, to keep them pinned down until the cloud of interference was gone and they would be able to make clear attack runs on them. Collateral damage was on a side benefit or a minor nuisance. His only concern was terminating the Autobots.

The seeker would have smiled if he were in robot mode at the arrival of Hellion and Nightraven on the battlefield. Everything was falling into place perfectly. >>”Hellion, Nightraven, our targets are in the forest below but they have set up a cloud of interference over it. We are firing down to herd them back towards the base. As soon as you can detect them coming out from under the cloud take them out. Skywarp has been grounded so keep alert for him as well.”<<

He turned his attention now to his grounded comrade. >>”Skywarp, try to keep clear of our fire but keep with in visual distance of the Autobots to keep us informed of their position. If you see an opportunity for an attack, take it. Ground reinforcements are being summoned to support you.”<<

Now Starscream sent out one last communiqué. >>”Blitzwing, we have Autobots on the ground outside the base and Skywarp is grounded. Your unique expertise in ground and air combat are required. Join with Skywarp on the ground and help us herd the Autobots towards the base where we will all join forces to wipe them out.”<<

*

Inside Decepticon Headquarters

Mirage continued to work on the lock. As he had hoped it wasn’t the most sophisticated one he’d ever encountered. The Decepticons obviously never expected anyone to penetrate this deeply into their headquarters. He held small charging unit to a wire and looked up at Blurr. “This is it Blurr. I bring this wire to this and the door will slide open. I’ll go in first and take care of any defenses. Your priority and only mission is to get Bumblebee and get him out of here. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. Understood?”

Blurr stood in front of him. The Autobot was nervous and had been pacing back and forth. He was never any good at standing still in situations like this. He was built to move, to be in action. Patiently waiting wasn’t his specialty. He nodded quickly at Mirage’s words.

Mirage nodded back and tapped the wire against the charge unit and the door slid open. The Autobot spy stepped into the room, his rifle in hand. He carefully looked around, training his gun on anything that looked to be a possible threat. Blurr followed after him, rubbing his hands together in another show of nerves.

In the Skies Near Decepticon Headquarters

Nightraven shot out and made her way next to her sister. After receiving Starscream’s orders she turned and made her way back towards the forest area where the Autobots might be located. She made sure to head out towards the edge of the tree line and began to fire down in an attempt to herd the Bots back towards the base. The black Seeker femme made sure to watch out for any movement and for Skywarp. The last thing she wanted was to hit one of her own.

Outside Decepticon Headquarters - Forest

Hex didn’t bother responding to Smokescreen, instead the young mech moved away from the the other Bots deeper into the forest and took aim up through the canopy. He could barely see, but he could make out the forms of two more Seekers, and orange one and a black one, however the moment he saw the black one it vanished from his sight, but not because of the trees; the Decepticon must have a cloaking device. Perfect.

Instead of dwelling on it he carefully took aim with his 20 Megavolt stun gun and fired on Hellion. Hopefully she wasn’t took heavily armored. If she was and she wound up shrugging off the attack, then he would have just given away his position.

Interrogation Chamber

Darkride had been busy grafting the remainder of the human skin to Bumblebee’s frame. He was sure to integrate the nerve endings directly into the Autobot’s neural net. He wanted to make sure that if the mini bot happened to get rescued his repairs would be further torture. The interrogator stood upright and removed the optical device form his own optics. As the last of the nerves were connected Bumblebee let out a low moan. Darkride patted his patient on the shoulder and gave him an evil grin.

“You’ve done well. I must say, your anguish was quite……..delectable. I’ll let you rest for a while. I have some data to input along with the video and the audio. But don’t fret, I have some other things in mind for you. You see, you belong to me now, and I have some very interesting things in store for you.”

Unable to move his body or his head, Bumblebee could only stare back at Darkride, another moan escaping his beaten and tortured body.

The interrogator left the darkened room and made sure to lock the door behind him. It was then that he heard the door to the chamber slide open. Without turning around and revealing his position he listened carefully. Whoever it was made sure to step lightly, obviously, for that reason, and because no one would dare enter his chamber without telling him first, his visitor could only be an Autobot.

Darkride slowly turned around and quietly drew his sword.

“I was wondering when you would come. After all, he is your comrade. When I take you I’ll be sure to let you see him. I think you’ll like what I’ve done with him.”

The interrogator crept around the chamber slowly making his way towards the door and Mirage.

In the Skies Near Decepticon Headquarters

While Thundercracker's initial attack forced at least some of the Autobots on the run, the situation quickly became worse for him and the other seekers. As the Autobots got back into the woods they effectively dissappeared from visual sensors. And with Smokecreen's cloud of interference still keeping their other sensors out of play - the airborne Decepticons became free game for the Autobots to shoot at. To Thundercracker's misfortune, he soon found himself as a target of a blast from Smokescreen's electron disruptor rifle. With his avionics going haywire and other electronics starting to give false readings, the blue seeker found himself spiralling towards the forest below and soon crashing into the trees unable to transform in time to land less dramatic way. Ow, my head...

Not certain if his comm-unit was working any better than his other systems, Thundercracker tried to reach Starscream. >>"Thundercracker to Starscream. I got my circuits scrambled by somekind disruptor weapon, propably Smokescreen's. Beginning system calibration in order to join the battle."<<
____________________________________________________

Entering the battle

"About the slagging time!" Blitzwing howled when he received the transmission from Starscream, completely forgetting whatever he had been raging to Astrotrain. Grabbing his weapon, Blitzwing headed out of the lounge and practically ran into the hangar where he transformed into his F-15E Strike Eagle mode and flew off the base just in time to see Thundercracker being shot off the skies and the following spectacular crash.

>>"Eh, looks like you are really trashing the Autoscraps Starscream! Dropping seekers on them seems to have them on a run!"<< Blitzwing teased the seeker commander before diving guns blazing towards the general area where the blast from Smokescreen that had dropped Thundercracker had come from. Instead of pulling up in time to avoid crashing into the forest and hopefully into whoever that had shot Thundercracker - the triplechanger transformed in mere fractions of a second before the inevitable crash. Emerging only seconds later from a small crater in the forest floor veiled by a dust cloud as an M1A2 Abrams main battle tank.

With the Autobots now between him and the Decepticon Headquarters and all sensors on optimum sensitivity, Blitzwing began to scan his surroundings in order to see if he had hit any Autobots or whether he could find new target to eliminate within range.

In the Skies Near Decepticon Headquarters

Starscream shot up into the sky both to avoid the cloud of interference and a flight of rockets fired by some Autobots below. It was ridiculous to think this many Autobots could get this close to base, even if Soundwave was deactivated this couldn’t happen. They were obviously falling prey to some sort of ruse. He sighed as he received the communiqués from Blitzwing and Thundercracker. “Fools,” he muttered to himself. The battle was rapidly degenerating into one on the ground. The Decepticons still had an advantage, especially if there were fewer warriors due to whatever trickery they were using, but it would be narrowed a bit in a ground battle. Well, in the end he had received no intel on what he was up against. The battle degenerating into this could only be blamed on the poor preparation of Megatron and his lackey Soundwave.

>>”Decepticons, between the interference cloud and the forest the Autobots seemed to have found the perfect cover. They are challenging us to face them on their terms, next to our own base! We will accept this challenge and defeat them. Decepticons, land and engage the Autobots!”<<

With the order given and having out flown the various rockets fired at him, Starscream dived back to the ground to join the fight.

*

Hellion was particularly thrilled with Starscream’s initial orders. It basically sounded like she would have to wait for the Autobots to come to her. She wasn’t big on waiting, especially waiting to fight. She let out a sigh just as a blast from the forest below caught her dead on.

The seeker let out a grunt as it hit her but she mostly shrugged it off. It wasn’t a high powered shot and she was very well armored for a seeker. It did, however, give away the position of one of the Autobots. At the same time she received the new orders from Starscream. With a triumphant cackle she rocketed towards the ground and the Autobots position. She transformed and landed on the ground next to Hex and opened fire with her machine guns. “Stupid little Autobot! Now I’m going to squash you!”

*

Interrogation Chamber

Mirage had his rifle trained on the Decepticon the instant he spoke. He was hoping that perhaps the Decepticon would simply surrender or give up. Jailers and interrogators seemed to be notorious for their cowardice, probably why they took these jobs well behind the battlefield. Unfortunately the tone and words from this con indicated that wasn’t about to happen. The Autobot spy noticed the sword and acted.

“Never bring a sword to a gunfight.” With that he opened fire on Darkride, aiming several shots at his chest. At the same time he nodded at Blurr.

The Autobot speedster dashed through the doorway and around both Mirage and Darkride, running towards a door in the back of the room. He pulled to a stop in front of the door as it refused to open for him. The blue Autobot quickly looked around and spotted a door panel with a key code entry. He blasted the panel with his gun and went to work on the wires inside. While he wasn’t as savvy as Mirage he should be able to short the locks, especially since he didn’t have to worry about being quiet with the battle taking place next to him.

In the Skies Near Decepticon Headquarters

When Nightraven received Starscream’s orders she turned back around and dove towards the forest below. She kept her speed steady and quickly transformed to robot mode. She gently landed on the ground and brought her arms up, her weapons at the ready. She carefully made her way deeper into the area when she spotted a large dirt drift.

She silently made her way around the drift and saw Thundercracker. Keeping her guard up she made her way over to him.

“Thundercracker. Are you alright?”

Nightraven kept her optics at the tree base as she made her way around Thundercracker. From the looks of it he only sustained a few scratches and dents, but he was still in one piece.

Outside Decepticon Head Quarters - Forest

Hex was surprised when Hellion landed near him and opened fire. He most quickly to get out of her line of fire. As he dove behind a nearby boulder he was caught in the side by a few of her rounds. He placed his back against the rock and swiftly loaded his crossbow with explosive tipped arrows. Once loaded he peaked around and took aim at the much larger Seeker femme.

“You’re gonna have to be faster than that, sister!

After taking his shots he hid back behind the boulder and reloaded his crossbow.

“I didn’t come here for this slag.”

Interrogation Chamber

When Mirage opened fire Darkride moved quickly to avoid being hit, but he was caught in the shoulder. The pain was intense, but instead of crying out he simply laughed. After a moment he grew silent and then moved quietly towards Mirage. Everything was working in his favor. The room was quite dark and he knew the layout.

The interrogator stepped carefully over human remains as he worked around the perimeter of the room. When he felt he was as close as he could get he struck. With a primal scream he swiped down with his sword nearly cleaving Mirage’s hunting rifle in half. The move caused Darkride’s energo sword to short out, without the power supply in place Darkride yanked what was left of Mirage’s gun out of his hand and tossed both weapons across the room.

“Now, how about we do this the proper way?”

Darkride jumped slightly and kicked his leg up in an attempt to hit Mirage under the chin.

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest

As Skywarp made his way through the forest, he received Starscream’s communiqué and opened a comm line back to the Seeker Commander:

>>”No problem, Starscream. I’ll relay the Autobots’ position to you and the others once I get a bearing on them. ‘Warp out.”<<

Without warning, Skywarp then heard a loud rumble overhead as Thundercracker crashed through the trees to the forest floor a short distance away. Being his friend, ‘Warp considered going to help his seeker brother. However, he decided against doing so when he saw Nightraven quickly rush down to help her blue crush. How touching, Skywarp thought as he continued further ahead through the woods. He knew full well that ‘Cracker could take care of himself, anyway, with or without anyone’s help. Instead, the teleporter’s time would be better served finding the Autobot scum that shot down his friend.

Skywarp then came upon an unusual sight as he pushed his way through the next clump of trees in front of him. The teleporter expected there to be Autobots down on the ground, but he didn’t expect them to all be Hound! “Well now, this is certainly interesting,” Warp muttered quietly to himself. He knew that most of them were holograms created by the real Hound, but one of them was most certainly not a fake. He just had to find out which one!

Taking aim with his arm-mounted lasers, Skywarp opened fire on the group of Hounds, hoping that he would eventually strike the real deal.

---------------

Smokescreen smiled as he watched his blast strike Thundercracker, sending the elite seeker crashing into the trees. Yes! That’s one down and.... Smokey’s thoughts trailed off as he saw Hellion and Nightraven emerge from the mountain. ....several more to go. The diversion expert remained hidden in the forest as Starscream unleashed more laser fire into the woods. While the Seeker Commander didn’t appear to be aiming at anyone in particular, he did succeed in creating numerous fires that served to keep the distraction team from easily escaping.

Smokescreen opened a comm line to Hound and Hex: >>”Guys, watch yourselves! The Decepticons are trying to force us towards the mountain. Don’t allow yourselves to be pinned down. Keep moving as far away from the base as you can. Try and....”<<

Smokescreen’s communication was suddenly cut short as a new round of blasts struck all around him, sending dirt and rocks everywhere. The red and blue mech quickly turned and dove for safety as Blitzwing came crashing down directly in front of him, causing the tree Smokey had been hiding behind to uproot and tumble over onto its side. Several other trees were knocked over in the process as debris covered Smokey over like a blanket.

A few astroseconds passed as things around him began to settle. Then Smokescreen picked himself up and brushed off the leaves and branches that clung to his metallic form. Smokey’s armor had sustained numerous dents and scorch marks from the recent attack, but all were minor and only superficial in nature. It’ll take more than that to get me, the diversion expert thought as he scanned the area for his assailant.

As the dust started to clear, Smokescreen spotted the unmistakable silhouette of Blitzwing in tank mode having just emerged from a crater in the ground nearby. Grabbing his disruptor rifle, Smokey ran sideways and opened fire on the triplechanger. Let’s see if you can hit a moving target, Decepticon!

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest, Thundercracker

Thundercracker's crash landing had not really damaged anything else than his pride. But like with most seekers damage to pride hurt far more than physical damage. He had to get back at Smokescreen somehow, sooner or later. Unfortunately for him, that would definately be later. The Autobot diversion expert had hit him dead on, not just clipped him by a wing or anything like that. When Nightraven landed next to him, Thundercracker was still stuck in his jet mode, his sensors still feeding him inconsistent data. Still, at least the hardcoded protocols that allowed him identify other Decepticons were still working.

"I-I a-am... fi-fine. Jus-just... l-little... scr-scrambled. G-give me... few kli-kliks... to c-calibrate my ser-servos."
______________________________________________

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest, Blitzwing

"Didn't hit eh?! Too bad!" Blitzwing snorted after his initial sensor sweep showed first signs of Smokescreen getting up. "Lucky you..."

He had read Smokescreen's file. The Autobot was a trickster, fast and agile and not too bad with his aim as he had shown to Thundercracker. It was time to get close and personal, out of the diversion expert's comfort zone.

Just as the triplechanger had driven out of the small crater he had created, he could see that Smokescreen had recovered and was starting a combination of running sideways in order to make it more difficult to hit him while firing at the triplechanger at the same time.

"Oh give me some slack Smokescreen! You can run all you like but that is not going to save you from becoming a smoking wreck!" Blitzwing taunted the Autobot, opening fire with his machinegun in order to rattle Smokey's composure while tracking the movement of the Autobot with his main weapon. It would take for a while for Smokescreen's rifle to penetrate his shielding and all it would take from him was a single blast from his turret to finish of the Autobot, so Blitzwing was content on taking his time with his aim.

In the Skies Near Decepticon Headquarters

Starscream dived back to the ground after losing the missiles, transforming and landing on his feet inside the forest. He looked up and sighed in annoyance as he saw Nightraven flying towards Thundercracker. Truly, how was he supposed to win with these troops? Even his two closest comrades had both been shot down. It appeared it would fall to him once again to save the pride and honor of the Seekers.

Starscream trudged through the forest towards the sounds of battle. It was another humiliation piled on top of the others, the seekers being driving to fight on the ground like some common grunts. He would have to simply prove himself better than that by slaughtering as many Autobots as he could. >>”Skywarp, give me your coordinates so that I may join in the battle.”<<

*

Outside Decepticon Head Quarters – Forest

Hellion grunted as the crossbow bolts struck her. Unlike the earlier shots these actually did some damage. That fact angered the seeker, and she could feel the rage boiling up inside of her. She transformed back to her jet mode and rocketed towards the Autobots position, her razor edged wings tearing through trees and vegetation as she stayed low to the ground.

The seeker switched back to her robot mode as she landed on the other side of the rock Hex was hiding behind. She grabbed a hold of it and with a mighty heave lifted it up into the air over her head. “Fast enough for you you ugly little piece of scrap!” She snarled the last words as she flung the boulder down at the annoying Autobot.

*

Interrogation Chamber

Mirage was irritated. It seemed the jailer or interrogator wasn’t all just bravado but had some considerable skill as well. That’s what it would take to dodged shots from him. His irritation only grew as he sliced into his gun with his sword, destroying it. It wasn’t exactly a cheap gun by any means and it would be a pain to replace.

His thoughts were interrupted by a swift kick to his chin. The blow was enough to send him staggered backwards. The Autobot quickly recovered, spitting a glob of oil from his mouth from the damage he had received. This Decepticon had some skill and strength. It looked like this was going to be a much tougher match than he had originally envisioned.

The Autobot spy took up a fighting stance, his feet spread and his fists up. He slowly moved towards Darkride. He feinted a jab from his right hand, instead spinning his body to launch a roundhouse kick at him.

*

In what seemed like an eternity for Blurr but was only a minute or so the Autobot had wired the door to open. He stepped inside, only to be greeted by the horror of the various organic body parts, fluids and torture devices that littered the room. It was enough to make the Autobot speedster stop in his tracks.

He quickly shook his head. He needed to keep his optics on his goal and get Bumblebee out. As both a racer and a courier he had learned to block out some of that external stimuli to get the job done and he did it here. Blurr rushed over to where Bumblebee was trussed up and carefully began freeing him. “Don’tworryBumblebeeweareheretorescueyou!” The increased pace of his talking was the only sign of his nervousness.

Outside Decepticon Headquarters - Forest

Hex was quick to dive out of the way when Hellion smashed the boulder into the ground. He then got up on one knee and took aim with his crossbow once again. This time, however, he was sure to load it with his armor piercing arrows. Hex chided himself for not using them earlier, they were probably the only ones capable of cutting through even the thickest of armor plating.

After he let loose a barrage of arrows he got to his feet and took off further into the forest, making sure to move away form the Con base. Coming unannounced to get what he wanted was one thing, but to have to fight some crazed seeker femme was not something he signed up for, fighting any Con wasn’t something he signed up for.

****

It pained Nightraven to hear Thundercracker speak. She was sure to keep her arm mounted lasers at the ready as she looked down at him.

“Take your time. I’m sure the others can hold out for a few minutes.”

Her attention was drawn skywards when she heard and saw Starscream finally made his way into the forest with the rest of the them. She let out a sigh as she looked back down at Thundercracker.

“Strike that. Screamer just joined the fray. You might wanna hurry it up before he finds his way over here.”

Interrogation Chamber

Darkride never flinched with the feinted jab, but he was caught off guard by the quick roundhouse kick to his mid section. The interrogator grunted in pain, but quickly recovered. He slowly raised his head to reveal a jovial smile. Once his optics met Mirage’s his smile faded, his hands clenching into fists.

Darkride moved in a flash, within seconds he had grabbed Mirage by the sides of his head and pushed him back against the wall. With a cruel smirk on his face Darkride rammed his cranium against Mirage’s and then began to squeeze the Autobot’s head in an attempt to crush it with his bare hands; for good measure he also dug his thumbs into the spy’s optics.

“I’ve often wondered what it would feel like to crush an Autobot’s head in my hands. Now I have that opportunity. Thank you.”

****

Bumblebee had given up some time ago, so when he heard the door open he didn’t even turn his head to see if Darkride had come back. Instead he simply closed his optics and waited for the inevitable. And then he heard Blurr’s voice. His optics closed tighter as Blurr began to free him.

He finally began to speak, his voice ragged and pained.

“You…..you’re not….re…real. You……you’re hi….him. Jus…..just….kill me.”

Outside Decepticon HQ - Forest

Hound kept his head down as the battle raged, Starscream firing seemingly blindly, Blitzwing tearing up the forest, and seekers everywhere. He concentrated on keeping his holograms active, and spread out, to confuse the Decepticons as much as possible. Despite this, few of them seemed to be paying them much mind, with only Skywarp deliberately firing on them.

Ok, 'Warp, since you're the only one, you get my undivided attention... Adjusting his hologram emitter, Hound sent 4 of his illusory copies at the black and purple seeker, from all directions, as he transformed and tried to flank Skywarp. He knew shooting at the teleporting Seeker would be a waste of ammo, but if he could get into hand-to-hand, he might be able to pin the Seeker down. As he closed, he transformed and leaped at the Seekers back, hoping he'd still be there when he hit...

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest

Skywarp blasted away at the Hound holograms, watching as each of his shots simply passed through them one after another. The seeker quickly became frustrated at not being able to ascertain which one was the real Hound. “Slaggit! Show yourself to me, coward!” Skywarp roared at the illusions, as he received the communiqué from Starscream. ‘Warp opened his comm link to the Seeker Commander:

>>”Roger that, Starscream. I’m sending you my coordinates now. Be careful, though. The Autobot Hound has created numerous holograms of himself in the forest. I haven’t found the real one yet, but I soon will. Skywarp out.”<<

The black and purple seeker then turned his attention back at the holograms as four of them raced towards his position from different directions. An irritated Skywarp charged at one of them with the intent to run the green mech over, but instead the teleporter found himself passing right through the fake Autobot.

“I grow tired of this game, Autobot!” Skywarp bellowed as he caught sight of yet another Hound transforming behind him and leaping at the elite seeker. ‘Warp quickly turned and stood his ground against what he thought would be just another illusion. However, he was met with quite a surprise when this Hound struck him dead center in the chest plate, tackling the seeker to the ground. “Arrgh!” Skywarp shouted as the Autobot scout pinned him to the forest floor. “So, you finally show your real self. Good! Let’s play!”

Skywarp threw a vicious heat butt at Hound’s faceplate, hoping to disorient him, and then vanished from underneath the green mech. Reappearing behind the scout, ‘Warp opened fire with his arm-mounted lasers. “Stupid Autobot! Never get into a brawl with a teleporter! Hahahaha!”

*********

Smokescreen came under intense machinegun fire as he continued running parallel to Blitzwing’s position. The diversion expert’s own lasers were doing little to penetrate the tough armored plating of the Decepticon tank. A new strategy is in order, Smokey thought as he dived behind one of the fallen trees. Multiple rounds from Blitz’s machine guns had chafed the Autobot’s chassis in several places, but it was only surface damage.

Keeping his head down, Smokescreen crawled along the length of the tree, hoping to avoid a shot from the triple changer’s main weapon, which he knew had been tracking his movements before. Only having mere astroseconds to act, Smokey readied one of his missiles, this time using a standard warhead instead of the usual circuit-scrambling type that he was most known for. Since the enemy was on the ground now, messing up their guidance systems would have little effect. His intent was to cause more direct physical damage if possible.

Quickly popping up from behind the fallen tree, Smokescreen aimed and fired a single rocket directly at Blitzwing with the hopes of piercing though his strong outer shielding. "Take that you triple-changing freak!"

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest, Thundercracker

"Starscream... can take care of himself." Thundercracker grunted, not wanting to say anything that would make the seeker commander more agitated than he probably was - were Starscream to approach his position. And considering how often he whines about our performances, it would be good to see him doing something on his own for once without me and 'Warp backing him up.

"And I am afraid there's no hurrying a recalibration procedure after getting hit by a circuit scrambler." The blue seeker added as he finally managed to transform into his robot mode. His stature hunched, Thundercracker leaned against the largest three nearby and turned to look at Nightraven. "A while yet and I can fight. Any idea of the enemy positions?"
_________________________________________________________

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest, Blitzwing

Just as Blitzwing was about to remove Smokescreen from the battlefield permanently, the Autobot dove behind a massive husk of a fallen tree that ended his tracking efforts momentarily. A mere tree however could not stop other types of scanning equipment the triplechanger possessed. However, when he could find Smokescreen again, it was too late to begin tracking the Autobot again. The diversion expert was on a move and clearly planning for a counterattack. But what type of an attack? Smokescreen had likely understood that he couldn't get through his defenses with the ordnance he carried. And considering he had not tried to run away, he had to have something up his sleeves.

Then came clarity. Those slaggin' rockets! From that point on, Blitzwing's combat instincts took over. As Smokescreen appeared behind the tree husk and fired his rocket, Blitzwing did something only triplechanger could do. A transformation into robot form, followed by a jump boosted by his thrusters over the incoming rocket and in a time an average transformer would still be in the middle of transformation.

Not wanting to give Smokescreen any time for a breather, Blitzwing corrected his position in the air and fired his thrusters to achieve a collision course with the Autobot, hoping to ram Smokescreen, pin the Autobot down and finish him off. Or at least enter melee combat which would greatly favor the triplechanger.

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest

Hellion roared as the arrows struck her, this time doing some quite visible damage to her chest armor. She snarled as she saw Hex running off deeper into the forest. All the seeker could see now was red, her berserker rage having taken over. With another roar she took off after the Autobot, her machine guns blazing as she fired at him.

*

Starscream rolled his optics as he ran past Nightraven and Thundercracker. It wasn’t that a disoriented seeker and the little reconnaissance femme would be of much use in the coming battle, but they should still show a little more professionalism. Really, there were much better times for the two of them to flirt then now.

He received the signal from Skywarp and increased his pace. The seeker paused briefly as he saw Hex darting through the forest. He trained his guns on him until he spotted Hellion running after him. He had no particular desire to get between her and the current focus of her rage. She would most assuredly tear him apart without his help anyway.

The seeker commander continued running until he spotted Skywarp under attack from multiple Autobots. Starscream smirked and raised both of his arms, firing shots at each of two of the Autobots attacking him. He let out an annoyed shriek when both shots passed harmlessly through the holograms Hound had created. “Are there no Autobots out here for me to fight?!?”

*

Interrogation Chamber

Mirage was seeing stars and sparks after Darkride head butted him. Yes, this Decepticon was clearly stronger than him, and he was fast. Now he would just have to hope he survived long enough for Blurr to get Bumblebee the slag out of here. That wasn’t exactly the sort of plan he had hoped for when they got in here, but he was used to making things up as he went.

The Autobot spy began feeling an intense pressure on his head. He heard Darkride’s words and quickly began fighting back. He began prying at his thumbs, trying to keep them from smashing his optics in. He finally got one loose and he was able to pull it towards his mouth where he promptly bit down on it, hard. It wasn’t exactly his preferred method of fighting, but then he was getting his head caved in. At the same time he lashed out with his right leg, trying to kick Darkride’s knee. Hopefully that would be enough to get him to let go.

*

Blurr did his best to smile at Bumblebee, despite the horror surrounding both of them. “Comeondoyouknowanyoneelsewhotalkslikethis? Doyouthinkhecouldreallycopythis?” He carefully unhooked the last bit of cables holding the minibot and carefully cradled him in his arms. “Nowhangon.” The Autobot speedster took off running. While he wasn’t exactly moving at top speed, hampered as he was by the additional wait of Bumblebee, he still moved faster than any other Transformer could on foot.

Outside Decepticon Head Quarters - Forest

Hex made sure to keep Hellion as far back from him as possible, the greater the distance the less likely she was to be an accurate shot, but she was swiftly closing in. Hex quickly transformed and accelerated even further.

****

Nightraven caught sight of Starscream when the Seeker Commander ran past her and Thundercracker. She quickly lowered her weapons and turned to face the blue Seeker. She let out a low sigh before she moved closer to him.

“They’re somewhere southwest of here. Approximately 10 klicks. Look, Thundercraker, there’s no need to rush back there now, the others can handle things.”

Interrogation Chamber

Darkride could feel Mirage begin to fight back, but nothing prepared him for what the spy did. Before Darkride could react Mirage bit down on his thumb as hard as he could. Darkride growled in pain as he pulled his hand away from Mirage’s mouth; in retaliation he pushed his left thumb through the spy’s optic shattering the glass and destroying the inner mechanism.

Still gripping the now broken socket, Darkride tried to break a chunk of Mirage’s head off, but he lost his grip when he was kicked in the knee. The interrogator let out a pained cry. Anger welling deep within him, Darkride sneered at the Autobot as he yanked him away from the wall and kicked out the spy‘s own knee socket. He then pulled Mirage close to him as he spoke.

“I’m going to rip you apart, and when I’m done with you I’ll mount your head on my wall.”

With his grip tight on Mirage’s shoulder Darkride kneed him in the midsection. Once the spy was able to stand up straight again the Decepticon reared back with his right fist and punched him in the face sending him to the floor. Darkride flashed his prey and evil grin before he straddled his prone form. There was no more fight in this specimen; the only thing left was put him out of his misery

“Pay attention, Mirage. I want you see it when I pull your spark from your body and crush it in front of you. Oh, and I’ll make sure it hurts………….very much.”

Darkride reared back with his right fist ready to smash it through Mirage’s chest; ending his existence.

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest

Hellion snarled as Hex took off running. She was going to crush this little Autobot if it was the last thing she did. As the Autobot raced away in his alternate mode Hellion transformed as well, rushing after him. She quickly fired off one of her missiles before transforming back to robot mode. She prepared to pounce on whatever would be left of Hex after the missile had done its work.

*

Inside the Decepticon HQ

Blurr dashed through the corridors, dragging Bumblebee along with him while he still held the sensor jamming device. Hopefully he would get back to the interrogation room in time before anyone detected Mirage’s presence. He rapidly approached the door, stopping only to activate it before racing outside.

The courier raced away from the base and mountain, getting clear of any sort of blockers or jammers that the Decepticon base might have. He quickly opened a channel to the Ark-19. He concentrated and slowed his speech as he contacted them. >>”Ark-19, this is Blurr. The target has been recovered. Bounce him back to base from these coordinates.”<< He glanced down at the mini-bot and smiled. “I’ll see you back at base.” He then transformed and race back towards the mountain as Bumblebee disappeared behind him.

*

Interrogation Chamber

Even with all the pain he was feeling Mirage couldn’t help but smile as the Decepticon let out cries of pain from his attack. “Not so much fun with the prisoners fight back is it pal?”

He didn’t get to say anymore as Darkride returned with his own brutal attack. In short order the spy found himself pinned to the floor. Hopefully Blurr had succeeded in getting Bumblebee to safety and this wasn’t all for nothing. As a spy he was always ready to be captured and tortured and, if need be, he was more than ready to end his own life. Better that than live only to be tortured or give up information to the enemy. Even with his face smashed up and leaking fluids he sneered at Darkride. “I guarantee I take pain better than you can coward, do your worst.”

Mirage braced himself for the inevitable, only instead to hear a series of bangs, almost like a rapid fire gun. He looked up in confusion only to see Darkride’s optics flash and then go dark as he collapsed next to him. That’s when he saw Blurr standing over him with a large wrench in his hands. “I thought I was going to have to hit him all day with this thing.” He dropped the wrench and helped Mirage to his feet.

Mirage took a second to steady himself before speaking. “Did we do it? Did you…”

Blurr was already nodding. “Yup, he’s already back at base. Now let’s go join him.” The two Autobots transformed and tore out of the interrogation room, all attempts at stealth and subtlety thrown out the window. As they roared out of the base Mirage opened a channel to the Hound, Smokescreen and Hex. >>”Mission accomplished. Fallback to the bounce point and lets get out of here!”<<

Outside Decepticon Headquarters – Forest

Smokescreen watched as Blitzwing easily avoided his rocket by transforming to robot mode and using his thrusters to help him jump over the projectile. Slaggit! He’s good. I’ll give him that, Smokey thought as the triplechanger then flew at him with incredible speed. The diversion expert knew that he had to avoid getting into a melee battle with Blitzwing. Smokey was not good at hand to hand combat. His strengths were more mental rather than physical.

Smokescreen had only one option to avoid a severe beating at the hands of this Decepticon. Turning away from his attacker, Smokey quickly transformed into his 350z alt mode and unleashed a cloud of magnetized smoke directly at the incoming Blitzwing. He then zoomed off though the woods, bouncing over the uneven ground as he went. “Suck on that, Decepti-chump!”

The red and blue Autobot’s taunt was interrupted as he received good news from Mirage over his comm. Bumblebee had been recovered and the team was ordered to the bounce point.

>>”Roger that, Mirage! That’s great news! I’m on my way now!”<<

Smokescreen continued forward happy that the mission had been a complete success while also hoping that his smoke cloud would keep Blitzwing busy long enough so that he could get back to the Ark-19 in one piece.

Moments later, the diversionary tactician entered another clearing where he found Hound under fire from Skywarp! The seeker had the Autobot scout in a bad position that would require some help to get out of. Consequently, Smokescreen sped directly towards the teleporter as fast as he could. As the diversion expert neared Skywarp, he turned and skidded around 180 degrees, sending dirt and rocks through the air.

“What is this? YOU! You’re the one who shot me down twice in as many cycles!” Skywarp bellowed as he ceased firing on Hound and turned his attention to Smokescreen. “I’ll make you pay, Autobot! Prepare for annihilation!”

Skywarp was about to unleash a volley of lasers down on the red and blue car when Smokescreen released a second burst of smoke from his tailpipe. The dark smog quickly surrounded the seeker. “Ahhhh! NOOOO!” Skywarp shouted as the smoke began sticking to him like glue. He tried teleporting away, but since the smoke was magnetic, it simply teleported with him.

“Okay, Hound! Let’s get to the bounce point before more ‘cons show up! Follow me!” Smokescreen said as he lead the way to their destination.