Chapter 17: The Hunt Begins
A beep sounded from the Autobots' holographic communications panel, showing a familiar face to the silent protectors of the planet.
[[Prime! We have problems, the Pentagon is in disarray because of one of our enemies.]] Said Agent Fowler, better known as William Fowler, a government agent in charge of assisting the Autobots in missions to protect humanity, while also helping them maintain discretion on certain occasions.
Optimus Prime approached the communicator with his characteristic seriousness as the Autobots and human companions looked on in curiosity. "What is the urgency, Agent Fowler? Have the MECHs made any hostile moves again?"
[[Worse, the Decepticons decided to park in a restricted area of a forest, fortunately there were no injuries, but there are reports of a UFO falling from the sky at the same speed my mother tells me to brush my teeth.]] Fowler chose to be irritated by the situation. [[I'm sending you the pictures now.]]
The board showed an amateurishly shot image from a mobile phone of an alien ship falling from the sky at high speed, drawing the attention of the Autobots as they recognised this type of design.
"A Decepticon escape pod, did it come from space or Nemesis?" Arcee asked, crossing her arms.
"Hard to say, but it's pretty obvious the Decepticons are up to something." Ratchet said, his hand cupping his chin in deep thought.
[["We don't know if the Decepticons want this, but it's obvious they're going to be at the crash site, I can cover for you, but only you can mitigate the damage caused by those killer robots.]] Fowler said, almost giving an order because of his personality.
"Don't worry, Agent Fowler, we're on our way." Optimus didn't hesitate to take on the task, something the team spirit shared.
Bulkhead bangs fists together as a tradition to prepare for battle. "Let's go crush some metal heads."
"A robot fight? Awesome!" Miko said, almost wanting to go on the mission with the Autobots, completely ignoring how Jack and Raf looked at each other as if they could read each other's minds and knew what they had to do to stop their friend from doing something stupid.
"I'm excited, now that we've collected so much Energon, I feel completely empowered to give even Megatron a beating." Arcee shared her excitement.
"Don't be fooled, it's a Decepticon escape pod, we don't know what to expect, it could even be an old enemy from the past trying to join the Decepticons." Optimus warned, grabbing everyone's attention with his words. "With or without Megatron, we cannot let our guard down, so we will fight with alertness, not arrogance." He watched everyone carefully, making sure everyone understood his words, even Miko. "Ratchet, activate the Earth Bridge at the coordinates!"
***
"We have to be quick, Breakdown, or Megatron will rip my head off!" Knock Out said, holding an Energon reader with one hand and being guided to an energy signature.
"Why did you call me? I don't want to share your problems!" Breakdown complained, looking around for any sign of life in the forest they were both in.
"Let's not discuss this now, we only have an idea of the location of the escape pod because of the human internet, which means the Autobots might also show up to investigate the place." Knock Out explained, making sure the branches didn't scratch the paint on your body.
"You were so desperate that you begged Soundwave to help you triangulate the closest possible position to the human." Breakdown rolled his eyes.
"Soundwave has been studying the singular energy for a long time, so I simply used the logic that we shouldn't waste time and the opportunity to use our tactical advantage now that Megatron has returned. If the Autobots find out we're after a human, that souped-up truck will certainly interfere, so we can't fail! My weekly painting depends on it!" Knock Out declared with determination, noticing that the Energon reading was higher.
Knock Out and Breakdown finally reached the landing site after walking for a few minutes, and saw the trail of destruction left by the unpleasant landing, which had destroyed a dozen trees.
"Do you think the human survived the fall?" Breakdown asked, not believing that a creature so small that he could easily crush it with his feet could survive such damage.
"You saw what he did to the Decepticon ship, if he can do that, then surviving a fall like that would be the least he could do." Knock Out approached the door and opened the lock, finally able to see inside the cabin. "He's not here, which means Lux is in the woods on foot."
"Okay, but... How are we going to find him? Do you know where to start?" Breakdown asked, looking around, not knowing which direction to take.
Knock Out put his hand to his chin, trying to think of a solution to this problem, until an imaginary light bulb went off in his head. "Let's make a call!" He synchronised his radio systems and started to make a call, hoping they could hear the sound of a call in the forest.
A rock and roll song began to play a few metres from where the two Decepticons stood, both looking at each other and nodding silently, walking as quietly as their heavy metal bodies could make them.
It wasn't long before they arrived near a cave, the music playing at a high volume, making them both think they were close to completing the mission.
***
A portal appeared a few metres from the crash landing position of the escape pod, from which Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Arcee emerged.
"Autobots, be alert for enemy movement, we may still be walking into an ambush." Optimus said, transforming his forearm into an Energon cannon.
Bumblebee emitted his characteristic beep and transformed his forearms into his cannons, moving into battle formation alongside his leader. His action was mimicked by Arcee and Bulkhead, both of whom covered the team's flank.
Optimus Prime led the way, suspicious of a surprise attack, his robotic retinas analysing every movement, even the leaves on the trees. His attention was drawn when he heard a strangely familiar sound to his right, which also drew the attention of the Autobots at his side.
"Ohh! I know this song, it's on Miko's playlist." Bulkhead said, almost wanting to dance due to his rock and roll addiction.
"That means we should go there." Arcee said, walking towards the music, one of her arms transformed into a cannon.