Meanwhile on the Nemesis, Megatron was enraged about what happened as the others just watched on from a fair distance to not get caught with their leader's temper.
"RAHHHHHHH!!! The Dark Energon was within my grasp! Until that little human pest destroyed it and not only that but she was able to bring back life to a dead Cybertronian! How is it possible?!" Megatron growled angrily as he let out a roar of frustration. Everything was going smoothly but that human girl destroyed his plans to get more energon.
"Well..., my liege, to... to be honest... I have no idea. You see, the legends say that the Sword of Creation has unknown powers. Maybe reviving Cybertronians is one of these powers." Knock Out said sheepishly since he read something about the sword that he saw the human girl used but he only got a threatening glare from Megatron.
"Instead of telling me what I know, you should tell me what I don't know!" Megatron yelled at him since he knows what the legend states of the sword of creation or sword of Primus but he just didn't understand why and how.
Soundwave walk towards the computer and replayed what happened at the battle moments ago and showed Megatron and the others what happened earlier when Emily grabbed the Dark Energon shard and they took notice that she seemed to be in so much pain as they noticed that her optic-eye were an eerie purple.
"Hey check it out." Breakdown watched the footage curiously and couldn't help but shiver at the sight of the eerie purple color and the aura surrounding the girl. It all just seemed so dark to the feeling.
"Hmm... oddly weird. Energon could cause negative effects on human biology and yet this little human girl was able to grab it." Knock Out informed since he found it strange how the little human was able to grab the shard and not get any symptoms from even touching it since he knows that humans and Energon don't go well together.
"So why was she acting like that?" Airachnid grew interested in the footage as she watched how the human girl was trying to fight for control as if fighting someone.
"That's a total mystery." Knock Out agreed with Airachnid since they don't know how or why.
"Or maybe it's not. It seems that this human girl could not control the power of Dark Energon. If we had some, we could use it to control her." Megatron observed the footage closely and took down the information on what he was seeing.
"Too bad the Dark Energon was destroyed." Breakdown reminded them since they didn't get one measly shard.
"Speaking of which. Where is Starscream?" Airachnid asked as she noticed the absence of the seeker.
"He's checking the mine. To think that is because of this massive brute that my Finnish got ruined. I mean look at that." Knock Out complained as he noticed that his paint job was ruined again as he sent Breakdown a glare.
"Well next time try to hit an Autobot instead of me." Breakdown sneered at him as he could still feel the pain from getting hit by Knock Out instead of him hitting Bulkhead.
"Oh, please. None of you could hit an Autobot." Airachnid told them smugly since she was able to hit Arcee and injured her.
"Oh really? Look who's talking. You were able to hurt the Autobot called Arcee and yet you failed to kill her." Knock Out sneered at her as she sneered back with an angered hiss.
"Perhaps I can remedy this situation by taking care of you!" Airachnid hissed angrily as she was ready to take Knock Out down as Knock Out sneered at her.
"You just try it!" This escalated to a full blown argument as Dreadwing and Soundwave just watched on in amusement and this made Megatron more pissed off as he turned around and growled loudly.
"ENOUGH! I will not tolerate your childish bickering inside my ship!" This caused the arguing trio to stop instantly but were sending each other death glares.
"Forgive us, Lord Megatron." Airachnid apologized as she sent a glare to Knock Out who glared back while Dreadwing shook his head at them before turning to Megatron.
"Lord Megatron." Dreadwing called as he took notice that Megatron was calming down slightly.
"What is it, Dreadwing?" Megatron asked curiously as he turned to the other seeker.
"I received Starscream's report from the mine and I think you should see what he found." This made them all curious and interested as they all went to the lab to see what Starscream found.
They arrived there and noticed the dimmed crystal on the table and they knew that it was Dark Energon but it was a faded purple color as this confused them. How can there still be Dark Energon? The explosion blew the whole place up.
"A Dark Energon crystal?" Megatron asked curiously as Starscream entered right after they entered.
"How is it possible? Nothing could've survived that explosion." Knock Out said as he took a closer look and noticed that it was faded and didn't give out that bad vibe.
"Apparently Dark Energon can. It's prodigious to see how this very rare form of Energon survived but it's completely useless. If you look at it, it's completely drained as if-" Starscream started only to be cut off by what happened next.
The Dark Energon crystal starts glowing and Megatron's own Dark Energon shard is pulsating as if it activated the dormant crystal as the shard started to regain its power which shocked them all.
"This... cannot be." Starscream looked shocked as he took hold of the shard and noticed that it was now a dark energon shard as Megatron started to laugh by the turn of events.
"Hahahahaha. It appears that this Dark Energon shard has been activated by my very will." Megatron smirked evilly as he was starting to like what will happen if they gather more.
"Quite impressive, my liege." Knock Out was surprised by this but was liking it slowly as Megatron turned to the seeker.
"Starscream, go back to the mine and bring back more of these crystals. Breakdown will accompany you." Megatron ordered as the seeker just bowed down as Breakdown nodded.
"Yes, master." Starscream complied as Megatron turned to Knockout to give him instructions.
"Knock Out, I want you to examine this Dark Energon sample and try to explore weaponry possibilities." Megatron handed the shard to Knock Out who took it carefully in his servos and was careful not to break it.
"Right away, my liege." Knock Out went to where his equipment was to start the research as Starscream started heading out to prepare the orders given to him.
"I'll prepare our mining team for the task." Starscream said as Airachnid decided to taunt him.
"I hope you will have learned how to kill an Autobot by the time you get back." Airachnid taunted him and caused Starscream to growl at her before he left with Breakdown following to start the mining process.
Dreadwing approached Megatron since he was curious about what he had in mind for the Dark Energon that will regain its power.
"Lord Megatron, if I may ask. What good could Dark Energon provide us?" Megatron turns to him as Dreadwing can see that he was formulating a plan for their newest target.
"A lot of good and perhaps maybe give us control of a certain asset that belongs to the Autobots." Megatron said as he started to think of the things he can do using Dark Energon to control Emily.
Meanwhile back at the Autobots base, Arcee's status was stabilized as Cliffjumper was being checked from head to pede by Ratchet, the kids were talking about the fact that Emily's sword brought back Cliffjumper from the dead as they still couldn't believe it.
"I can't believe that a sword was able to bring back Cliffjumper." Miko said as she was sitting on the couch as Emily was leaning against the railing with her hands in her pockets.
"Me neither. I bet Arcee won't believe it either when she wakes up." Jack said as he thought on how Arcee would react to seeing her once dead partner was alive.
"She's gonna think that she might be dreaming or dead." Raf smiled as Emily just giggled at the thought before they looked up to see that Wheeljack went up to them.
"Hey speaking of the dead. I've gotta go back there and find my ship." Wheeljack remembered that his ship was back at the mines and had to retrieve it as Bulkhead came up.
"I'll go with you." Bumblebee beeped and they knew that he wanted to come along as well to help as Smokescreen nodded and joined in.
"Me too. You might need some help." Smokescreen said as Bulkhead patted his back.
"Sure thing, kid. Ratchet, can you open the bridge?" They turn to Ratchet expectantly but he just waves his servo at them without turning away from what he was doing.
"Can't you see I'm busy?" Ratchet told them as Bulkhead rubbed the back of his helm sheepishly.
"Oh right." Bulkhead laughed sheepishly as the others gave him a look while smirking as Raf put the coordinates to the mine.
"I'll do it. Opening the ground bridge now." Raf said as he pressed the final key and the ground bridge went online.
Wheeljack walked up to Emily who looked up to him curiously.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, girl. If you ever need some shooting tips, I might take some time off to show you some tricks." He gave her a grin as she grinned back. Maybe someone with expertise in handling the plasma cannons might help her get a good aim.
"I'll think about it. Be careful out there, guys." She nodded before turning serious since she sensed that the cons didn't leave the place yet.
"We'll be alright. See you later, kids." Wheeljack turned to the others who waved to them as the foursome all ran to the portal and disappeared through it before Miko replayed what Wheeljack said. What did he mean by Emily needing shooting tips? She didn't have a gun, right?
"Uh... what did Wheeljack mean with shooting tips?" Miko turns to Emily in confusion and she almost facepalms for forgetting to tell them.
"Oh right. I totally forgot." She said sheepishly as she outstretched her left arm and it transformed into her plasma cannon much to their shock.
"Whoa! You have guns?" Jack asked in amazement as he saw that it looks powerful and will pack quite a punch.
"Amazing." Raf said as he pushed back his glasses.
"Sweet." Miko fished out her phone from her pocket and took a picture as Ratchet turned to them and had to warn Emily to be careful with her new weapons. Seeing Emily using a sword is one thing but her having plasma cannons was another.
"Be careful with those things. They're dangerous." Ratchet warned them as Emily looked at him in confusion.
"Come on, Ratchet, there's no need to worry. I've got it all under control." Emily said but it seemed that she proved herself wrong as Emily accidentally shot out a plasma shot straight at Ratchet's toolbox and it scattered the tools on the ground.
"I needed that!" Ratchet gave Emily a stern and scolding look as she laughed sheepishly and nervously as Ratchet picked up his scattered tools back.
"Oops sorry." She apologized as she turned her cannon back into her hand.
"I'll just put them down." She rubs the back of her head as the others snickered while Cliffjumper approaches them. After seeing what happened, he knew that Emily was a powerful one.
"Haha. Same old Ratchet. Glad to see that some things haven't since I was..." He trailed off as Emily knew exactly what he was gonna say.
"Must have been hard to be back huh?" She asked solemnly as he nodded as he looked around the base and noted small changes but that's all.
"Yeah... I don't remember much except that Starscream made a hole in my chest. And then it all went black... I also remember joining the Allspark but then nothing." Cliffjumper explained as Ratchet approached. He couldn't stay mad at Emily since it was an accident but she would definitely need a lesson for handling those plasma cannons of hers.
"Yes, well... It's best for you not to know. The best thing for you now is to rest. There'll be plenty of time for catching up." Cliffjumper knew he was right but before they could move, Arcee was starting to stir, signifying that she was waking up from her slight stasis.
"Hey look. Arcee is starting to wake up." Emily noted with relief as they went to see Arcee is indeed waking up as Ratchet went to check on her before he uses his light to see if she's alright.
"Are you feeling okay, Arcee?" Ratchet asked her as she opened her optics slowly.
"It still hurts. But I'll live." Arcee said but winced slightly at her wound. Before she could even utter another word, a familiar voice made her freeze knowing who the voice belonged to.
"Good to hear." Cliffjumper said in relief as Arcee turned to him slowly with wide optics. Was this for real? Is Cliffjumper alive and standing before her?
"It's been a while." Cliffjumper laugh softly as Arcee was still in shock.
"Cliffjumper? I must be dreaming or under a Cortical Psychic Patch." Arcee sat up while shaking her head as she didn't believe it.
"I can assure you, Arcee. This is very real. Cliffjumper is back." Ratchet told her as she looked shocked by what he meant and she looked at the mech before her and was still shocked to see that her old partner before Jack is alive and back.
"Is it really you?" Arcee whispered softly as she tried to keep her composure in check but she was failing.
"Of course it's me. I know it comes as a shock but-" he was cut off by Arcee giving him an upset glare as the others didn't expect that kind of reaction from her but they understand why.
"What were you thinking, Cliffjumper?! Facing the enemy on your own like that?! Do you have any idea of what we've been through?! Of what I've been through...?" Arcee whispered the last parts as Cliffjumper felt his Spark break by hearing how broken and sad she was. She already lost Tailgate and just seeing him alive and back just throws her off.
Everyone remained quiet as they watched what was going on as they knew that Arcee was upset with Cliffjumper for not having back up and leaving Arcee all alone.
"Arcee, I-" Cliffjumper started but was cut off again as Arcee rushed toward him and gave him a hug as lubricant started to fall down her optics as he was taken aback but let her.
"I'm glad to have you back." Arcee whispered as her voice shook as they could clearly tell that she was trying to hold back tears. She can't stay mad forever as she was just happy and glad to have the mech she grew close to was back. That's all that matters for now.
Cliffjumper sighed softly before hugging Arcee back as he felt bad for leaving her just like that. The others watch on as the two hug happily as Miko wipes a small tear from her eyes while Jack smiled as he was happy for his partner as Raf and Ratchet smiled at the sight while Emily kept her emotions in check but had a soft smile at the sight of Arcee being happy again.
"I'm sorry for what happened. It's good to be back." He whispered softly as Arcee started to calm down but she was still confused about one thing as she pulled away from the hug.
"But I don't get it. How were you able to come back?" Arcee asked in confusion as Cliffjumper shrugged since he didn't know.
"To be honest. I don't know." Cliffjumper turned to Ratchet who shook his head since he didn't know either.
"Don't ask me because I don't know either." Emily cleared her throat as they looked at her as she looked up to them.
"It's thanks to me. It would seem that my sword had the power to bring Cliffjumper back. I just need to put it in his spark chamber and... there he is." Emily finished her explanation as she gestured to the now alive Cliffjumper as he smiled thankfully at her.
Arcee then approaches Emily before getting down on one knee and let's her climb on her servo to give her a hug as Emily smiles up at Arcee who smiles back.
"I can never thank you enough for this." Arcee brought Emily to where her Spark is as Emily patted her chest plate as she smiled up to her as Cliffjumper looked at them with curiosity.
"I'm glad I was able to help a friend. Speaking of friends." The two pulled away as Arcee lowered her servo to the floor as Jack approach the femme when Emily got off.
"Hey, Arcee. Good to see you're okay." Jack smiled up to her as she smiled back.
"You should know better not to worry about me." Arcee told him as Jack just chuckled. Same old Arcee.
"Is that guy your new partner?" Cliffjumper asked as he saw how the two interacted.
"Yeah. He's also my friend." Arcee nodded as Cliffjumper kneeled down to look at Jack closely.
"So... you've been having Arcee's back while I was gone?" He asked him curiously as Jack nodded as he turned to him.
"You might say that." Jack said before Emily remembered something.
"Oh now that I think about it. I've got something for you, CliffJumper." Cliffjumper turns to her as she walks toward him.
Emily reached inside for her pocket before grabbing something from it inside it and opened her hands to show what it was. It was Cliffjumper's broken horn. After getting it from her pocket, she showed it to him as he looked surprised before he patted the side of his helm and took notice of the missing horn.
"Consider it a welcome back gift." She smiled up at him and he couldn't help but smile back.
"Thanks, kid." He smiled at her as she smiled up more.
"Call me, Emily." She introduced herself as Cliffjumper nodded before he kneeled down and accepted his missing horn back as he stood up.
"Thanks, Emily. I would love to have my two horns." He turned to Ratchet as the medic nodded as he turned his servo into a welder.
"Hold still then." Cliffjumper sat down as Ratchet aligned it before making sure that it was okay before reattaching the broken horn back on Cliffjumper's helm. After a few minutes, he was done as he stood back and nodded to Cliffjumper.
"There. It is good as new." Ratchet put the welding back where it belongs before going back to the computer to resume his work before the whole mine incident.
"Thanks, Ratchet. If anyone wants to go for a ride." Cliffjumper said before turning to the kids with a grin as they got curious.
Cliffjumper then transformed into his vehicle form and ignited his engine before opening the doors and they smiled excitedly at the prospect of riding Cliffjumper in his vehicle form.
"Come on in." Cliffjumper told them as the trio ran up to get in to start the fun.
"Whoa... nice." Raf said as he got in the back seat.
"So awesome." Miko grinned excitedly as Arcee just smiled at them.
"You'll have to go without me, guys." She said as Cliffjumper was disappointed by this but understood.
"Too bad. It's been a while since we went out together." That came out wrong as Jack, Miko, Raf and Emily looked surprised and confused by this and Ratchet had to hold back a laugh by their reaction.
"Together? Were you two dating or something?" If Cliffjumper was still in his robot form, he would have the same blue hue on his faceplates like Arcee as she averted her gaze with her faceplate a soft pink color.
"No. Just go." Arcee went to her berth room to recharge and to avoid further embarrassment by the idea of her and Cliffjumper being mates but it sounds like a nice idea to think.
"Come on, guys. You coming, Emily?" Jack laughed at Arcee's reaction before turning to Emily expectantly for her to join but she shook her head with a smile.
"You guys go ahead. I need to check my motorcycle." She pointed to her motorcycle by the sidelines as Jack nodded in understanding.
"Okay." He nodded as she nodded back before he got inside CliffJumper on the front seat so that way it would look like he's driving and they took off with the kids whooping in joy and delight.
After watching them go, Emily started checking her motorcycle for any damage as she started thinking back at what happened at the mines. She took out some small rocks that got in slightly in the engine of her motorcycle and she guessed that it would need to be cleaned later on.
"What a load of rocks." She muttered to herself as she wiped her cheek but got slight grime on it. She heard footsteps and glanced up to see that Optimus came in as he walked up towards her and stopped while looking at her curiously.
"Do you need help?" He asked her curiously and it caused her to blush when she caught herself staring for a bit since she got lost in his optics.
"Optimus,... oh, uh,... well..." She stuttered slightly as he raised an optic ridge at her curiously as she shook her head to clear her mind while making the blush go away slightly.
"Yeah, I could use some help." She admitted as she saw that a rock got lodged in the front wheel of her motorcycle.
She started to tug on it but it wouldn't budge a bit but it was stuck good.
"Come on." She gritted her teeth as she kept tugging it but it didn't help.
She laughs sheepishly as she looks up to Optimus who chuckled warmly before Optimus grabs the rock to help Emily. They both removed some rocks that got in the base and they were done after a few minutes.
"Oh thanks. That should be enough for now. Cliffjumper surely loves to have his horn back." She smiled up to him as she dusted the seat of her motorcycle as he smiled back.
"A very generous thought coming from you." He told her as she tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.
"Thanks, Optimus. Are you okay?" She thanked him before looking him over to be sure that he wasn't hurt badly by their battle.
"Yes it's just that I was asking myself how were you doing?" He asked her as he looked at her optic-eye which was an interesting color.
"I'm doing okay. I gotta admit today was kind of... hectic. You know, with the Dark Energon and everything." She sighed softly since she remembered how she felt after grabbing the shard.
"I saw how the shard was trying to control you." He told her as he was worried and concerned moments ago as he couldn't get the way she looked at them when she was fighting the influence of the Dark Energon shard that was trying to put her thought out of his processor. She looked so scared back then and he got scared that he might lose her to something.
"Yeah... it was... scary. I started hearing a voice telling me to take the shard and use it. I believe that this voice called himself Unicron or something. Whatever it was, I'm glad I got rid of the shard." She shuddered slightly at the memory of it. It just made her feel sick and uneasy like she almost lost a part of herself to the darkness.
"Today you have shown great courage and great strength. And you were able to perform that not even a Prime could do. There is more to you than meets the eye." He told her before he patted her head with his digit before he got up for a drive to clear his processor of what happened as she smiled as she watched him go before checking her bike again.
While Emily was checking her bike, She wondered what Optimus meant with what he said as she looked confused and wondered what he meant by them. She accomplished something that not even a Prime can do? That was something.
"What did Optimus mean with that? Mm... ah well. Guess I won't figure out the answer today. Time to go catch the others." She said in confusion but she shook her thoughts away before grabbing her helmet.
She got on her motorcycle while putting on her helmet before turning on her engine as she revved up the ignition before turning to Ratchet who was watching her as she smiled at him.
"See you later, Ratchet." She waved to him as he nodded back before going back to his work.
"Yes, yes." Ratchet waved back before she made her engine roar with life and left the base and quickly caught up with the others.
Meanwhile Bulkhead, Smokescreen, Wheeljack and Bumblebee were inspecting the crash site of the Jackhammer as they found it and saw that it had a lot of damage and will be a few days before it's fixed.
"The Jackhammer took quite a hit. Let's try to fix this thing." Wheeljack said as he started to fix his ship as Bulkhead knew what he was going to do.
"Planning to leave soon, Jackie?" Bulkhead looked at him curiously as Wheeljack looked at him and nodded.
"You know me, Bulk. I like flying around." Wheeljack said as he continued fixing the Jackhammer.
"Can I go with you?" Smokescreen asked since he wanted to experience and learn more of his more experienced team mates.
"Sorry, rookie, I like working alone." Smokescreen sighed but understood.
"Ah man." Smokescreen pouted as Bumblebee beeped and comforted him before they all froze when they heard some weird noise. It sounded like drilling.
"You guys hear that?" Bulkhead asked as Wheeljack nodded as he recognized the sound anywhere.
"Sounds like a... Decepticon drill?" Wheeljack said in confusion. What are Decepticons doing back there? The place is not worth going back to... Right?
Bumblebee beeped as if telling them that they should check it out to make sure.
"Let's go check it out." Smokescreen said as they walked to the ledge and crouched down to check it and to their biggest surprise and shock they saw that Decepticons were still there and mining the whole place as gears like drills and crates were being played out.
"Are you guys seeing this?" Bulkhead whispered in shock as they stayed hidden and quiet to avoid getting caught.
"Yeah. It's weird." Wheeljack had to agree with Bulkhead. It's strange to see their enemies back at the same place where they battled.
Wheeljack watched each cons before noticing a certain seeker and wrecker as he motioned for the others to see.
"There's Starscream." Wheeljack said as they saw the cons as they were giving the workers orders to mine some kind of crystals.
"And Breakdown. Hmm... Something big is going on here." Bulkhead glanced at Bumblebee as he beeped quietly while shaking his head.
"Yeah, well, whatever it is, it's going down." Wheeljack was about to go for round 2 but Bulkhead stopped him before he could even jump down.
"Hold up, Jackie. We should call, Ratchet." Bulkhead said since this was a big thing and they need someone with enough knowledge to know what's going on.
"On it." Smokescreen said before he turned on his comm-link.
"Ratchet, come in."
Back at the base, Ratchet was just putting his tools away before he looked up and saw that Smokescreen was on and using his comm-link.
"Ratchet, come in. Do you hear me?" Ratchet approached the computer to answer.
"I hear you, Smokescreen. What is it?" Ratchet replied but he could hear faint sounds in the background.
"You might think it's crazy. But right now the cons are mining." Ratchet had to blink at this. Did Smokescreen say that the Decepticons were back at the mine they have been to and we're mining? But the whole place doesn't have anything worth mining unless some Dark Energon survived the explosion.
"In the mine we've been in? That's impossible. The explosion should've destroyed all the Energon in it. But since it's Dark Energon there is a possibility that it might've survived." Ratchet tried to think of why the cons would start mining again if the Dark Energon survived somehow.
Back at the mines, they kept watching the cons put faded and dimmed colored energon on the crates which gave them more confusion but were getting a bad feeling about why they needed it.
"Looks like it. Although it's weird. All the Dark Energon looks drained." Smokescreen said as he saw the crystal shards that were being loaded in the crates.
Back at the base, Ratchet was typing away at his computer as Smokescreen was keeping him updated on what's going on.
"What good would that be to the Decepticons?" Smokescreen asked curiously as Ratchet went into thoughts before telling them what he came up with.
"Hmm. The Dark Energon shard that was destroyed earlier acted like some sort of energy. Like a battery. Without another shard, this Dark Energon would be useless... Oh no... This is worse than I thought." Ratchet started to feel his Energon run cold as he started to realize why they were mining the dimmed Dark Energon but it can't be true. It just can't.
"What is it?" Smokescreen asked in concern through the comm-link since he heard what Ratchet said.
"I can't be sure yet. Be careful and make sure they don't see you." Ratchet told them as the four needed to get back before they were caught.
"Roger that. Smokescreen out." Smokescreen then hangs up and leaves Ratchet alone with his thoughts.
Back at the mines, the others look at Smokescreen since they heard the conversation.
"What did Ratchet say?" Bullhead asked as Smokescreen glanced at him.
"He's not sure. We should try to move the Jackhammer far from here." Smokescreen told them before gesturing to the Jackhammer and to move it someplace else so they won't get caught.
"I hate to run out from a fight." Wheeljack huffed in annoyance but Bulkhead gave him a look.
"But we have to." Bullhead told him sternly as Bumblebee beeped and whirred in agreement with Bulkhead
"Let's go." They all nodded before going towards the Jackhammer to try and move it someplace secluded so they won't be caught.
Meanwhile back at the base, Ratchet was asking himself what Megatron was planning with the Dark Energon.
"What could Megatron possibly be planning with that Dark Energon? Whatever it is, it can't be good." Ratchet said as he grew worried since he still couldn't get the way Emily was looking at them when she was trying to fight for control against someone out of his processor.
He just hope that they can protect Emily before something bad or worse happens to her and he would blame himself for failing something that he vowed to do.