Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

So this story idea is not mine. It comes from a friend on TikTok, Deckar Terdax (I would add him as a co-creator but he doesn't have an account). He came up with this plot,  pitched as a movie concept in a slideshow on TikTok,  and I liked it a lot! I asked if I could write the idea as a fanfiction and Deckar said I could, so here we go!

Deckar also came up with the title.

This is the story of Deadlock becoming an Autobot and how he settled on Earth.

I hope you all like this idea as much as I do! :)

God Bless and Good Day!

~The Lupine Sojourner

Deadlock ducks behind a decrepit wreck in the shipyard, gritting his teeth as he prepares to take out the Decepticon guard nearby.

He had been slowly realizing how tyrannical and oppressive the Decepticon cause is, but his sense of honor had demanded loyalty, so he had bitten his tongue and done as ordered as the war continued to wreak havoc on the planet.

His loyalty had begun to slowly come into question, however, after Optimus Prime had been forced to eject the Allspark to keep it from Megatron's hands. He had then led a mass exodus with as many Autobots as he could find ships for, leaving some of his troops behind to carry on the battle.

Deadlock had at first been angry at the Prime, thinking him a coward for dooming their planet and running away, but then he came to realize the extent of the damages done to Cybertron throughout the war and that Megatron had been the one to drive Optimus to that extreme.

Deadlock saw that Megatron was blinded by his hatred of the Prime, beating or executing any who dared question him or his pursuit of Optimus.

Things grew worse on Cybertron without the Allspark, but the few Autobots left on the dying planet bravely fought on despite overwhelming odds.

Deadlock grew to admire their courage and their valiant struggle to save their planet, hoping the Allspark could be restored to Cybertron before the planet completely died.

Then he and a team of Vehicons were ordered to take out a ship full of Autobots that were escaping Cybertron.

He could not carry out the order, but the troopers had seen no issue with the heartless and cruel command.

Deadlock had gone ahead to scout out the ship, which had been caught before they'd even left the atmosphere, and when he saw the desperate refugees huddled in fear he could not bring his Spark to harm any of them, so he lied to the team, going so far as to say he had eliminated the crew aboard.

The team had been impressed at the alleged show of brutality and returned to their ship, but Deadlock had hesitated, talking briefly with the leader on the ship, a Wrecker he didn't recognize.

Deadlock agreed to help them reach their destination, even pointing out a better route for them.

Then a Vehicon came back aboard and saw Deadlock talking to the Wrecker, and the refugees behind them.

Deadlock had been forced to kill the trooper there and then, feeling for the first time a flicker of disgust with the Decepticons in his Spark. If they were willing to slaughter refugees, they did not have any honor.

After lying that the trooper had been killed in a surprise attack by a survivor to the other troopers on the ship, Deadlock had to assess his loyalties.

He had killed one of his own side in defense of Autobots.

He took a long look at himself in the reflection of his ship's cockpit.

What he had done was the right thing, he felt it in his Spark. How could he kill innocent refugees?

But killing the trooper was dishonorable to the Decepticons and would be seen as treason if it were discovered.

He had covered his actions as best he could and hoped his deceptions were accepted as truth. It was too late to do anything else.

As the cycles went on and nothing came of the incident, Deadlock grew increasingly conflicted. The Decepticons had repeatedly shown dishonor in their actions, but because he had sworn allegiance to them, he felt stuck.

Defecting felt like a betrayal, but more and more of his orders made him see just how dishonorable the Decepticon cause is.

The breaking point occurred when there came a new order, pairing him with Bludgeon (who Deadlock considered a brother. They had joined the Decepticons together, even).

Spies had discovered a small refugee camp and Megatron ordered it to be cleared out with no survivors.

Deadlock recoiled, but his sense of duty would not let him protest in front of Megatron, so he kept it to himself until he and Bludgeon were en route to the camp.

"Why should we kill innocents?" Deadlock asks, frowning. "It is dishonorable."

Bludgeon, surprisingly, scoffed. "There are no innocents when it comes to Autobots, Deadlock. You know that."

Deadlock shakes his head. "They are merely trying to survive. They have done nothing to deserve such a fate." He insists.

"Way I look at it, any Autobot is an enemy, and enemies should be eliminated with extreme prejudice." Bludgeon retorts, frowning at him, the tension rising.

Deadlock knows he'd likely be reported to the Decepticon Justice Division if he continues protesting against killing Autobots, so he holds back anything else he wanted to say and when they arrive, he says he will monitor the perimeter and ensure none escape.

But what he really did is watch in horror as his friend slaughtered everyone in the few buildings that made up the camp.

Bludgeon had a grin on his face the entire time, which made Deadlock shudder.

The vicious attack was over soon, and to make his story believable, Deadlock moved further from their transport and spun on his heel to start walking back as Bludgeon arrived, his swords dripping with Energon.

Splatters of the glowing blue liquid covered Bludgeon, making him look barbaric.

"You make sure we got all of them?" Bludgeon asks casually, almost making Deadlock's Energon pump reject its Energon.

How could he talk about slaughter so casually? Does he have no sense of honor at all?

Deadlock could do nothing but nod and head into the transport.

His mind was reeling from what he had seen. He had never once seen that side of Bludgeon. Certainly, Bludgeon had been the more aggressive of the two, typically speaking, but Deadlock had never thought his closest friend and brother capable of such a brutal attack on unarmed refugees. This threw their relationship into a whole new light. Could he still call Bludgeon a brother? Deadlock shifts uncomfortably, staring sightlessly out the window.

His mind was whirling and Spark flared in outrage at the loss of innocent life, at the way he had simply stood by, DJD or no DJD.

He knew it had been dishonorable to allow that terrible slaughter, but the thought of being hunted and perhaps tortured by the DJD was too terrifying for him to commit to preventing the slaughter.

Deadlock resolved there and then that he will never stand by again.

He could also no longer deny that the Decepticons he'd thought on the right side of this conflict would continue to spread cruelty, fear, and tyranny throughout the galaxy.

He had no choice but to defect. He understood that clearly now.

To that end, he makes up his mind that, upon his return, he would gather whatever intelligence he deemed valuable (in the hopes the intel would convince the Autobots to allow him to join their side) and then seek out a long-distance escape pod to take him to Earth, where he'd find the Prime and officially join the Autobots.

Now, after finding intelligence he knew Optimus would find extremely valuable, downloading it and hiding the data cylinder, he had snuck into the shipyard, where a few guards had spotted him, but had quickly been disposed of before an alarm could be raised.

However, it hadn't taken long for the other guards to see the bodies, and now he was being hunted.

This will not stop me. Deadlock thinks cooly, turning the tables on his opponents and eliminating them one by one as he searches for a pod.

He soon has only one final opponent, cornered against a mostly functional ship.

"Traitor!" The guard yells, blasting at him, but Deadlock grits his teeth, dodging the blasts as he races forward, stabbing the unfortunate guard directly in the Spark Chamber.

Deadlock watches as the life seeps from the guard. "May you all find peace with Primus upon your return to the Allspark." He bows briefly in the general direction of his victims, acknowledging he had taken lives precious to Primus, before sheathing his sword and climbing into the ship.

There! At last, an operational long-distance escape pod!

He programs it for Earth and settles in for the long flight as the pod's thrusters ignite and start its journey.

He reaches out on any Autobot frequency he can find to let the Autobots know he had stolen valuable intelligence to give to Optimus, and that he is defecting and joining their side.

"This is Decepticon Deadlock. I am trying to reach Optimus Prime."

Chapter Text

Once again, and I will say this every time, this story idea is not mine. I have a friend on TikTok, Deckar Terdax, who came up with this plot idea, that he pitched as a movie concept, and I really liked it. He gave me permission to write it as a fic, so here we are!

I hope you all enjoy! :)

God Bless and Good Day!

~The Lupine Sojourner

Perhaps this ambush may not have been the wisest course of action… Optimus feels a little ashamed he and Brawn are having trouble with this team of Vehicons. It had been Brawn who discovered the signals indicating the Decepticons had mobilized…again. For the fifth time in the last two Earth weeks. Perhaps he was a bit rundown from chasing Decepticons nearly constantly, and that was why he couldn't deal with them as quickly as he would like.

Regardless, Brawn had been forced to concede ground and was out of Prime's sight. He feels sure the Wrecker would have notified him if he were in real trouble, so he focuses on the battle in front of him.

He slams his ax into a Vehicon's abdomen, then uses the momentum to send the trooper flying into another. He forgot there was a third trooper and the Vehicon manages a solid roundhouse kick that sends him sprawling nearly ten feet away.

Prime groans as he slowly sits up. As he does, trying to move quickly, the Vehicon that attacked him made his way toward him, blaster aimed for his Spark Chamber. Suddenly, a shot ring's out. Optimus flinches slightly, but as he looks up, he sees the Vehicon has a smoldering hole in his chest. The Vehicon collapsed and, revealed in the glow of the sunset, stands a figure with a rifle raised. Optimus couldn't make out any details of his savior, but he did recognize the silhouette.

"Commander?"

The figure walked forward, lowering its weapon, and confirmed Prime's suspicions. It was Ultra Magnus, the Autobot's second in command, commander of the Autobot Elite Guard, and one of Prime's closest friends.

"Ultra Magnus, reporting for duty, sir." He said, offering a three-clawed prosthetic to Optimus. Optimus took it and allowed Magnus to help him to his feet. "It's good to see you again, old friend."

Under his battle mask, Optimus smiled. "Likewise, Ultra Magnus. It has been so long that I had begun to fear the worst for you."

Magnus nodded in understanding. "I apologize for not reporting in sooner, but the comms on my ship never got repaired-" The commander is interrupted by a shout as a pair of Vehicons start rushing toward them, one showing the gash from Optimus' axe. Optimus and Magnus quickly take a fighting stance and square off against their opponents. "-after we left Cybertron," Magnus continues as he parries a punch, quickly returning it, "my ship was attacked, and we had to divert all necessary power to stasis lock." Magnus blocked a kick to his midsection and delivered a powerful blow to the Vehicon's head. Optimus, in the meantime, grabbed the Vehicon he was fighting by the arm and threw him into the one Magnus is fighting, giving the commander a quick breather to finish what he's saying. "We weren't sure how long it would take for anyone to find us."

At the mention of "us", Optimus takes a moment to look around, half-expecting to see someone else, but he didn't see anyone. "Is your apprentice here with you as well?" Before Magnus could answer, the two Vehicons were back on their feet, blasters aimed at the two Autobots.

But before they could act, sparks came flying out of one of the Vehicon's head and he collapsed. His companion looked over in surprise until he suffered the same fate. The two Autobots stand momentarily perplexed until a female voice comes over their radios. "Been here the whole time. Just waiting for the right time to help you out, sir."

Magnus is the first to respond, finger on his earpiece. "Moonracer, how many times do I have to tell you…" he is cut off as a gunshot and a cry of pain are heard.

On a ridge not too far from the battlefield, a Vehicon was lying on the ground, clutching his leg and groaning in pain. Above him stood a young mint green fembot holding a smoking pistol in one hand, and a sniper rifle resting on her shoulder. She looked down at the injured Vehicon with a bright smile on her face. "'Cockiness in battle will end in defeat', and 'Always mind your surroundings'. Got it, sir." She said with confidence, saluting with her pistol.

Ultra Magnus couldn't help but smirk slightly at his protégé's response. Moonracer had come a long way since Prime assigned her to him. But she still had a way to go before becoming an official member of the Elite Guard. Optimus also couldn't help but smile.

"I'm glad to hear you're here as well." Prime said over the radio. Magnus spoke up next. "Is the Vehicon you injured still functioning?" he asked.

"Only got him in the leg." Moonracer answered. "Do you want me to bring him in for questioning?"

Magnus looked up to Optimus, who only nodded. "Affirmative. Bring him here and Optimus can lead us back to base." Magnus ordered.

"Yes sir, Commander. I should be there in a few minutes."

The radio clicked off, and Magnus turned to Optimus. "I trust you do have somewhere safe we can take him?"

Prime again nodded and turned pointing away from the sunset. "About twenty miles from here is an abandoned military base we have been using. We will be able to interrogate our prisoner there." Optimus replies, looking around to make sure the skirmish is over as Moonracer approached, leading the limping Vehicon toward her mentor and commander, her pistol aimed at its back, just in case.

Optimus transforms and leads the way to the Autobot base, Magnus and Moonracer in the rear to prevent their prisoner trying to make a run for it. Along the way, Brawn joins them, reporting all the troopers he'd engaged were 'down for the count'.

True to Optimus' word, the abandoned military base soon looms up and as they pull in, a few other Autobots register who is with Prime and salute, murmuring among themselves.

"Is that really Ultra Magnus?"

"I heard his ship was lost in space."

"I heard he'd been either captured or killed."

Optimus clears his throat to gain the Autobots' attention, transforming to address them in robot mode, Moonracer leading the prisoner to makeshift cells with Mirage as her guide, the younger Autobots chatting amiably as they walk.

"Ultra Magnus and his apprentice, Moonracer, have indeed arrived to join us." Optimus begins. "They are a valuable addition to our ranks here on Earth. As he and Moonracer adjust to life here, we must aid them in learning how best to function on a new planet. I trust you will all make them feel welcome here." Murmurs of agreement and welcome ring out. "Additionally, we have obtained a prisoner in hopes of gaining more information regarding the Decepticon presence this planet has faced in recent days." He looks around as whispers continue to circle the gathered Autobots. "He is being detained as we speak. That is all."

As the Autobots process the new information, a green fembot with door-wings and goggles on her head walks over, her left leg noticeably injured, causing her to limp, but her face showing no signs of pain. "Good to see you, Commander Magnus, sir." She greets, throwing a quick salute.

"Good to see you, as well, young Mayfly." He replies, smiling a little as he returns the quick salute.

Mayfly nods, then turns to Optimus. "I wanted to tell you, sir, the pod we've been tracking is nearing Earth. I know you said you needed time to think about the situation, but he's almost here."

Magnus tilts his head. "To what is she referring, sir?"

Optimus nods to a side room. "If you follow me, I will explain, Magnus. It is rather fortunate you arrived when you did."

Magnus follows, holding in questions he knows will soon be answered, instead eying Mayfly's limp and injury with a bit of concern. "I'm curious; how were you injured?" He asks.

"'Con got in a lucky shot the other day, that's all. I'm almost recovered." Mayfly replies.

"Magnus, if I may, how did you come to arrive here?" Optimus asks, wanting to satisfy his curiosity before revealing the situation with Deadlock.

"Our ship's computer detected a massive energy reading and we decided to make our way to it to investigate. When we arrived in this sector, the energy surge was gone, leaving us pondering our next move. We then found your signal with the embedded message offering refuge, so we decided to follow the signal, detecting your specific life signal when we entered the atmosphere. You know the rest." Magnus sums up briefly. "Now, if I may, what is the situation Mayfly referred to? Who is coming?"

"Mayfly, please bring up the transmission we received." Optimus says, turning to the young scout.

Mayfly nods and makes her way to the computer and types for a few moments, then hits a final key and turns to the holographic display as the Decepticon Deadlock appears and begins speaking.

"This is Decepticon Deadlock. I am trying to reach Optimus Prime. I have stolen valuable intelligence that will prove useful to the Autobot cause. I am coming to Earth to deliver it in person, that I may apologize for my previous actions and align myself with the Autobot cause." He bows in an apologetic gesture. "I wish to express my regret for my error in aligning with the Decepticons, and to express my desire to amend my mistakes by fighting for you, Optimus Prime." He straightens. "I pray this message reaches you before my arrival."

After the message cuts out, Prime and Magnus stand there in silence, staring at the last frame of the transmission. Finally, Magnus spoke. "When did you receive this message?" he asked.

Prime turns to him. "We picked it up three days ago. From what we can gather, he had sent it long before then. Mayfly brought the message to me and vouched for him, but I did not have the numbers to spare for a retrieval team at the time."

Magnus looked back at the frozen image of Deadlock. The implication was clear; Optimus was asking him to lead the retrieval team. If he is being honest, he feels wary of helping an enemy that would have no qualms of backstabbing him if the chance arose. And yet, he could hear the sincerity in Deadlock's voice. Plus, Magnus knows Deadlock has a different reputation than the other Decepticons. And Mayfly is no fool; she would not vouch for this Decepticon with good reason. After a moment of thought, Magnus comes to a decision.

He turns to Mayfly. "You vouched for him?" He asks.

Mayfly nods. "Yessir. He and I were once trapped together in the old tunnels beneath Cybertron after he intercepted me on a scouting mission. I was searching for a rumored Energon cache, and found it, but when I engaged Deadlock, a stray shot hit the Energon, closing off the tunnel and trapping us. Instead of killing me and escaping, he helped me, and didn't resume our battle after we got out of the tunnel. He just…left. I feel like he is different from other Decepticons. I trust him when he says he's defecting." She says, her face showing her faith in Deadlock.

Magnus nods. "Then I'll find him and bring him back to our base."

Optimus smiled and set a hand on Magnus' shoulder. "I knew I could rely on you, old friend." He turns to Mayfly. "You are dismissed."

Mayfly salutes and walks away. However, she pauses at the door, turning back to eye Optimus. "Sir…if possible, I'd like to help bring Deadlock back to base."

Optimus shakes his head. "We have discussed this before, Mayfly."

She sighs. I'd hoped with Magnus arriving and agreeing to the mission, I'd be allowed to go… "Yessir."

"Tend to your injury and recover, then we will discuss your return to the field." Optimus says kindly, smiling at her, and she salutes before leaving.

Magnus looks to his leader with a grim expression when the doors close again. "You're right not to allow her to go. If Deadlock has defected, we both know he'll be after him." Magnus says in a low tone.

Optimus' smile fell at this statement. He knows all too well who Magnus is referring to, and what they are capable of. "Even so," Optimus replies, "if he has chosen to leave the Decepticons, we cannot turn him away for that reason."

Magnus nods solemnly, knowing Optimus is right, before turning to walk to the hanger doors, then he pauses and turns back to face Optimus. "I hate to ask, given your circumstance, but I will need assistance for this mission."

Prime walks over to Magnus. "I can spare a few of my soldiers for your mission." Optimus said. "I will ask to see if there are any volunteers."

Smirking a little, Magnus puts a hand on the hanger door with a knowing look in his optics. "I already know of one volunteer." He says as he opens the door.

Giving a startled yelp, Moonracer tumbled into the hanger in front of Optimus. Seeing the two looking at her, Moonracer suddenly snapped to attention. "Apologies, sirs." She said rather hastily. "But I was coming to report that our prisoner… well…" Her troubled expression says more than words.

Optimus and Magnus exchange a knowing look. Their prisoner had opted to offline himself.

Despite this, Optimus turns to the young bot. "I gather you heard what we were discussing?" he asked in a calm tone.

Moonracer gave Magnus a quick glance, where she shriveled slightly at the rather displeased look he was giving her for eavesdropping. But she turned back to Prime and straightened herself up. "I did, sir. And Commander Magnus is correct; I would like to volunteer for this mission."

Magnus didn't like the idea of his student accompanying him on this particular mission. Given what it could possibly entail, he didn't want to see her at the mercy of the Decepticon that would most likely be after Deadlock. But when he turns to Optimus to voice his opinion, the Prime is giving him a look that said he had made his decision.

So, begrudgingly, Magnus turned to Moonracer. "Very well. Once we have more information on Deadlock's approximate landing area, we will be leaving."

Moonracer gave a sharp salute. "Sir, yes sir."

At this, Optimus stepped out of the hanger, but not before giving Moonracer a warning. "Be careful," he said in a serious tone. "This will not be a simple recovery mission. What you may face should not be taken lightly."

Optimus left the two in the hanger to see if he could round up a few other volunteers. Magnus turned to Moonracer to admonish her for listening in on a private conversation when she suddenly spoke up. "A Decepticon that wishes to join our side? I didn't think such a thing was even possible."

Magnus was caught off guard by this remark. He had known the young bot to be extremely optimistic, perhaps naively so, yet he never expected that she couldn't believe that this was a possibility. Maybe bringing her along wouldn't be a bad idea after all. She wouldn't be taken in easily if this proved to be a deception. However, he recalls Mayfly's story, and the evidence that Deadlock had a strong sense of honor.

"Deadlock has a reputation very different from most Decepticons." Magnus explains. "I often heard stories of how some of our troops were ambushed by him, and yet, he would allow them the time to prepare themselves to fight if they were unarmed." Moonracer looked up at her mentor, optics wide in surprise. Magnus continued. "I had even heard rumors that if he was beaten in combat, he would allow the winner to leave peacefully." He turned to face his apprentice. "Not all Decepticons believe fighting for their cause is the right thing to do. Deadlock is proof of this. But they stay loyal out of fear of what may happen to them."

"That Megatron would execute them?" Moonracer asks, frowning a little.

Magnus' face suddenly went dark as he turned to face the base in front of him. "Not Megatron," he answered grimly. "Someone worse."

Moonracer felt a chill at the answer. Someone worse than Megatron? Shockwave maybe… she thinks to herself, then suddenly realizes something. "If I may ask, sir, is it who you said would be after Deadlock?"

Magnus didn't turn to face her but nodded. Moonracer looked down, feeling a growing sense of dread fill her. She looked up and asked.

"Who is it?"

Chapter Text

Hi guys! I feel like I owe everyone interested in this fic an apology! I am so sorry! I did not intend to leave this fic without an update for so long!

What happened is that I also have a Fanfiction . net account and I accidentally forgot to make sure I was updating the fic here as well as on the other site, since my co-author doesn't have an A03 account. 

Anyway, just wanted to apologize and say I will be uploading the rest of the fic here cus I did finish it! Yeah, that's how long I've neglected this fic. I am just making final tweaks to the epilogue and then I will upload it to FF and here. 

So sorry again and I won't bore you all with author's notes for the rest of the fic! I will get right to work uploading the rest of the chapters, so hang tight! 

Before I forget, as one last reminder to keep in y'all's minds this is not my original idea! The idea for this fic came as a movie plot idea by a friend on TikTok, Deckar Terdax. He posted this idea and I liked it a lot, so I asked him if I could write it as a fic and we've been collaborating on it! 

Hope you all like the rest of this story!

God Bless and Good Day!

~The Lupine Sojourner

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

[Earth]

[Tokyo, Japan]

Kenji Sasaki had never been one for parties, but as the local construction tycoon, there was only so much he could do to avoid them.

His wife left him for a coworker nearly ten years ago, never to be heard from again, leaving him to raise their young daughter, Etsuko, by himself. Kenji had been forced to pick himself up, do the best he can, and provide for his daughter.

He had done well in the company, rising to become the tycoon, which surprised him.

Now, Etsuko was nearly through with high school. Just a few more semesters and she would be ready for college, where she would study business so she could one day inherit his company. And, as the heir to his company, she sometimes accompanied him to parties, if Kenji felt it safe enough.

They always took a cab or bus, since sake was borderline a weakness of Kenji's (not that he indulged often outside of parties; but when he did, it got to the point where he was unable to drive, but remained coherent).

Tonight was one such night. He'd had a few glasses of sake and smiles as Etsuko walks over to him.

He lets her side-hug him briefly. "Is everything alright?" He asks, seeing the subtle signs that Etsuko is uncomfortable.

"Otōsan, you know I do not enjoy these parties. May…may we go?" She asks softly, not wanting to make a scene.

Kenji holds in a small sigh. He'd planned on staying a little longer, but he couldn't ignore his daughter. She was his everything.

So he nods. "We will farewell the host and leave." He replies. He never blamed Etsuko for wanting to leave and never made it seem like leaving was his idea.

He'd never expected to become a tycoon, much less so fast, but here he is. To be frank, the pressures he faces are why he drinks sometimes.

After giving a polite thanks and farewell to the host, Kenji and Etsuko leave the venue arm in arm.

The father and daughter are walking toward the nearest bus station when out of nowhere a group of thugs grab their arms and yank them down an alley, cornering them and demanding money.

Kenji figures he can take them, even if he and Etsuko are outnumbered. Etsuko had not taken as many self-defense classes as he had, but she knew enough to at least get away.

No one sees the strange car pull up to the head of the alley.

That car would change Kenji and Etsuko's lives forever, but they didn't know it yet.

[Half an hour earlier]

[Deadlock's Perspective]

Crash!

Deadlock jolts out of stasis, the pod vibrating and the horrid sound of crunching and scraping metal filling his ears.

When the pod settles, Deadlock sits up and shifts to look out of the viewport.

He finds he has arrived on Earth, not far from a populated area, judging by the structures on the horizon that he could see through the small pane of the viewport.

The pod had crashed into the base of a large hill, it seems, perfect for looking around and getting his bearings.

He opens the hatch and steps out, feeling sluggish and worn down as his systems come back online.

This is an organic planet, Deadlock realizes, a new experience for him, who had never left Cybertron. He found himself quite enjoying the feeling of the soft green…things covering the ground.

He's not sure what it is, but it seems organic, as do the sprawling brown things with green, white and pink organic matter on them not far away.

Deadlock feels a little guilty about the wide path of destruction he had carved out of this area with the pod, but decides to explore a little and try to get his bearings before seeking out the Autobots to deliver the intel and hopefully gain a meeting with the Prime himself.

To that end, he ascends the hill, zooming in with his optics on the nearby buildings. He found the populated area larger than he initially guessed, and more advanced, as well. But it was also further than he thought. He'd have to drive if he wished to explore the city.

He began attempting to access any kind of Grid this planet may or may not have and finds a more primitive version of Cybertron's Grid, referred to as the 'internet', and takes time to familiarize himself with the planet, at least enough to move into the city and begin his search.

He discovers he landed somewhere the local sentient carbon-based organic population, 'humans', refer to as Tokyo, Japan, a rather large and heavily populated city.

He runs a few scans for Autobot signals and does not find anything, so he decides to make for the city, hoping he could boost his signal using better sources of this 'internet' to locate any Autobots that may be in the area.

He transforms and drives for the outskirts, assuming these 'humans' might not be used to a Cybertronian walking around, especially when he sees how small and fragile they look. Hardly any of them come close to even his knee, and their carbon-based forms look like he could injure them without even trying.

Of course, he would never do so intentionally, but he recognized the hazard all the same. Along the more primitive roadways Deadlock finds himself on, he sees some vehicles with humans inside, apparently piloting the vehicles. He notices several different kinds of vehicles and even some strange looks from humans.

Apparently, even his vehicle mode stood out. He hadn't considered that…perhaps at some point he could select an Earth vehicle for his alt-mode and blend in better. But for now, he spots nothing he wishes to scan, so he continues on his way.

When he arrives in the city, he pulls into an alley and, while assessing if he could boost his signal and scans, he spots around 5 male humans cornering another male that appeared older, standing protectively in front of a younger female. Clearly, the younger males did not have good intentions.

For the moment, Deadlock decides to monitor the situation as he scans again for Autobot signals.

When the humans start speaking, Deadlock runs translator systems and determines that the younger males intend to steal whatever goods the older man and female have. Bravely, the older man refuses to hand the demanded items over, resulting in the current tension.

Suddenly, the leader of the group lands a heavy gut-punch to the older man's abdomen and the victim doubles over, leaving himself open to be grabbed by more of the group. He engages them, even managing to throw one over his shoulder. He is kept busy by most of the males as the leader approaches the young female.

The leader is then free to grab the female, who had been moving to help the older man.

She gives a cry of pain as the man shoves her roughly against the wall, grabbing some kind of container on a strap, snapping the strap. The female grabs his wrist and twists, leaving the man to struggle, giving his own grunts of pain before he yanks his hand free and slaps her hard across the face. She falls and the man, still holding the container, reaches into his pocket, grinning as he walks over to the downed female and grabs her roughly.

The older man, having knocked out a few of the males, turns to the leader, only to pale in horror.

The leader held Etsuko's arm twisted behind her back with one hand, and a knife to her throat in the other.

Deadlock had seen enough, driving toward the group to intervene.

The humans had not noticed him at the top of the alleyway and out of reflex, Deadlock transforms and draws a sword. He runs what he wants to say through the translator system he used before. "Enough!" He thunders, making all the humans shake in terror. Deadlock doesn't give the robbers time to think. "Leave them! Now!" He points the sword at them, a menacing dark look in his eyes.

In the confusion, the female grabs the wrist holding the knife, moving it from her throat and quickly twisting the knife out of the leader's hands, tossing it aside before punching him hard on the cheek.

The older man, also taking advantage of the group's surprise, pulls his daughter behind him as he backs toward Deadlock, a strange device in his hands.

Deadlock leans protectively over them, daring any of the others to try something.

"I am calling the police." The older man growls, tapping the device a few times before raising it close to his face.

He talks briefly to the device (some kind of communication device, Deadlock realizes), summing up the events, but leaving out Deadlock's intervention, before he thanks whoever he is speaking to and puts the device back in his strange coverings, now tattered.

The leader, hell-bent on one final attack, yells and charges forward, having found his knife.

Deadlock steps forward as the other men run away, slamming his sword diagonally into the ground so the flat of the blade is facing the charging male.

The leader cannot stop his rushing momentum and runs full-tilt into the flat of the blade, knocking himself out with a metallic clang.

Deadlock can't help a small chuckle before sheathing the sword and turning back toward the older male and female. "I will not harm you. Please, allow me to assist you." He transforms and opens the right side door for them.

The male and female process what he is offering, glance at each other, then make a decision, bowing at the waist in gratitude to Deadlock.

"Whatever you may be, we thank you for the assistance." Kenji straightens, gesturing to the unconscious male leader. "The authorities will arrive shortly and take this man into custody. He will be prosecuted according to Japanese law."

"As he should be." Deadlock agrees.

True to the male's word, the authorities, piloting cars with flashing red and blue lights, arrive quickly, the words 'Tokyo Police Department' written in Japanese on the sides. Deadlock waits for them nearby in vehicle mode, wanting to talk more with the humans.

It doesn't take long, as it is pretty evident what had happened, and these thugs had apparently gained notoriety robbing innocent passersby of their possessions.

Throughout the entire discussion, Deadlock is left out completely, the man explaining that there simply weren't that many thugs this time, and mentioning his study of martial arts.

The gash in the ground from Deadlock's sword is either not noticed, or assumed to have been there previously.

Soon, the leader, having regained consciousness, is fuming as his hands are put in something like stasis cuffs, keeping his hands behind his back, and he is sat in the rear of the police car. He glares at Deadlock and the humans, knowing no one would believe him if he were to tell the police what he'd seen.

Then, Deadlock and the humans he'd saved are alone again.

The male turns to Deadlock. "May I direct you to our home? I must repay you, at least by offering you shelter."

Deadlock thinks for a moment. It might be good to settle somewhere decently secure while he tries to figure out what his next move should be.

He would nod if he were in robot mode. "I would be honored to accept your offer." He again opens his right side door. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

The humans climb inside, making themselves as comfortable as they could in the strange interior. Clearly, Deadlock's vehicle mode isn't designed to have any passengers.

It's a strange feeling, Deadlock muses, having anything living sitting inside his vehicle mode, but he gets used to it quickly and follows the man's instructions.

"My name is Deadlock." He muses during a quiet moment. He did not know what these humans called themselves, and found he wanted to know. "What do you two go by, if I may?"

"I am Sasaki Kenji, and my daughter is Etsuko." The man says, gesturing to the female, who nods as she is introduced.

"Thank you for your assistance." She says.

"They acted without honor. I did what any honorable person would do." Deadlock replies. "Are either of you injured in any way?"

The man shakes his head. "No. At least, no major injuries, thanks to your intervention." He looks around. "Our home is not far now."

Soon, Deadlock is pulling up to a gate with high walls (nearly as tall as Deadlock, which was a surprise to the Cybertronian) and Kenji gets out briefly to speak with someone over some kind of communication device before returning to the lefthand front seat as the gate opens. Deadlock follows Kenji's instructions and heads for a structure attached to the rather large dwelling and Deadlock finds it rather spacious as he lets the humans out and transforms.

He isn't sure what to do or say now as the humans look him over once more, now that they know a little more about him. They didn't seem to know what to say or do, either, so silence hangs in the air for several moments.

"I do not wish to be rude," Kenji begins, staring at Deadlock and drawing a few conclusions. "But you are clearly not of Earth. What are you?"

Deadlock settles a bit more comfortably, sitting back on his ankles as Kenji and Etsuko do the same. "You are correct; I am not of Earth. I was created on a planet far, far away; Cybertron. I was embued with a Spark by the Allspark of our creator, Primus, emerging from the Well of Allsparks into a world fraught with tension that soon escalated into war." The Sasakis could deduce more or less what the Well of Allsparks is and don't interrupt him to clarify. "I chose my side."

Etsuko tilts her head a bit. She finds herself staring at the strange purple symbol displayed on Deadlock's chest.

It's metal, made of harsh sharp angles, from what she could see, heavily scratched as if by some animal or tool, but she could see enough to compare it to a stylistic wolf head. But why would a robot have a wolf head on his chest? Was it the mark of the side he'd chosen in the war? And why does he look so much like a samurai? How could he know about samurai? There is much Etsuko and her father do not know about their savior and guest, but perhaps they can start learning.

So, hoping Deadlock would not find her rude, she gestures as politely as she can to the symbol. "Excuse me, Deadlock-san, but what is that symbol you wear?"

Deadlock frowns at it, wishing it would fall off and leave him free of its stain. He had attempted to remove the insignia before going into stasis in the pod, but he could not fully erase it. "It is the insignia representing the side I chose in the war." He explains simply. He hates seeing that insignia, and wants to exchange it for the Autobot insignia as soon as possible. "I came here to this planet in order to amend my past mistakes, and to join the side of honor and nobility."

Etsuko nods. "I see." She didn't want to anger Deadlock by pressing for more information.

Kenji comes forward a little as well to get a closer look at the insignia. He, too, finds himself intrigued by his guest. "So this symbol is a sign of your allegiance in the conflict on your planet?" He asks. From his actions in the alley, Kenji could clearly tell Deadlock is a skilled warrior. He'd been fighting for a long time.

Deadlock nods, focusing on Kenji, not the insignia. "Indeed. However, any who bear this insignia and the name Decepticon can never be trusted." He taps the insignia grimly. "And if past experiences are any indication, I am already being pursued."

Etsuko and Kenji exchange looks. "...Pursued by who?" Kenji asks.

Deadlock shudders, eyes closing as if to shut out some mental picture. "Someone I hoped I would never face as an enemy."

Chapter Text

Before anyone knew it, it had been two days since Ultra Magnus and Moonracer had arrived on Earth, and they had no update if Deadlock had arrived yet.

The two took the time to not only learn about their new home and how to operate in it but also managed to scan new Earth forms for themselves, Magnus a semi-truck and Moonracer a sleek sports car.

Magnus also brought his ship to the base so he and Wheeljack could make repairs on it. While Magnus and Wheeljack are busy, Moonracer sits outside one of the hangers chatting with Mirage, Arcee, and Bumblebee, the new name being a bit of a surprise as when Moonracer last saw him, he was called B-127. Mirage also told Moonracer M-196 now went by Mayfly, which was also a bit of a surprise.

The three are telling her stories of what's been going on with them, but one thing stuck out to Moonracer. "Hold on, I was told that we were not supposed to make contact with humans." Moonracer said in a confused tone. "So why are you talking about making human friends?" Mirage was about to answer, but Arcee beat him to it.

"That was the general idea, but someone," She shot a glare at Mirage, "Dragged a human into our situation of his own accord."

Mirage threw his arms up in frustration with a loud groan. "How many times do I have to tell you," he cried in annoyance, "I wasn't the first to break that rule! Mayfly technically was! She crashed right next to a chick named Robyn! And my dude, Noah, was in the car when the call came out! And if I remember correctly, us making human friends ended up helping everyone out, or there wouldn't be an Earth today!"

Next to them, Bee rolled his optics before he spoke up. "Still…against…Orders. Mine was…accident, too. But…I had…no memories." Moonracer turned to the young scout. He had explained what happened to his voice, and while Moonracer found his replacement with the radio and various recordings amusing, she still felt sorry for him.

Mirage was still going on about what had happened with Unicron and the Maximals (who visited the Autobots occasionally) when Arcee suddenly stood to attention. "Commander Magnus, sir!" The three other Autobots all snapped to attention as well, though not as quickly as Magnus would like.

Moonracer had noticed in the last two days that her mentor had an effect on the Autobots. When she first arrived, they were a bit more relaxed. But after Ultra Magnus returned, Moonracer saw everyone being a little more military. Yes, Magnus is very strict about military protocol, and truth be told it was one of the things Moonracer respected him for. Even so, it was clear the Autobots here haven't had that kind of enforced protocol in a while.

"At ease." Magnus replies, and the Autobots relax a bit. He then turns to Bee. "B-One Twenty… apologies, Bumblebee, any luck on discovering where the Decepticons are hiding?"

Bee took a second before answering. "Afraid not, sir"

Magnus stared at the scout, a little put off by how he replied. Moonracer stepped in on Bee's behalf. "Bee was just explaining how he had lost his original voice box to a Decepticon, sir. The car radio is the best he could do, given the circumstance."

Magnus' stern expression softened at the explanation. He knows all too well what it's like to lose part of yourself. His prosthetic right hand is proof of that. "I'm sorry that had to happen." He spoke in a softer voice than he normally did.

Bee nods, hand briefly touching his throat. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

At that moment, Mayfly comes up to the group, her leg still limping a little, but less than a few days ago. "Sir," she salutes and looks up at Magnus as he turned to face her. "We just got word on where Deadlock has landed." Moonracer and Magnus share a look before facing Mayfly.

"Where'd he land?" Moonracer asks enthusiastically.

Mayfly fiddles with her goggles a little nervously, her door-wings lowering a little as well. "Well… that's the thing, we didn't get a precise location."

Magnus crouches down in front of her a little and asks, "Do you at least have a general location we can start?"

Mayfly smiles a little bit in response. "We do." She answers, pulling up a holographic projection of Earth. "We lost the signal when the pod hit Earth's atmosphere, but we do know it was somewhere over Japan." As she speaks, she displays what she is describing, ending with the country in question being highlighted.

Magnus stood back up. "Thank you, Mayfly. If you are able, I would like some more information on where we will be heading. That is a rather large area to search." Mayfly gives a sharp salute before turning and limping away.

Moonracer turns to her friends. "Did any of you want to help us out with this mission?" She asks optimistically.

Magnus glances over to see the three other Autobots exchanging unsure looks, not knowing how to answer. But he sees something else under it all. Fear.

Magnus then spoke up, knowing the reason for their hesitation. "If you are not comfortable joining us for this task, I will not force you to come."

The three Autobots stand at attention. "Sir, yes sir." They responded in unison. Though they sounded professional, both Magnus and Moonracer could hear an underlying tone of relief in their voices.

"Let's get the ship prepared, Moonracer." Magnus holds in a sigh, turning and beginning to head for his ship, followed by a slightly downtrodden Moonracer.

Magnus glances at his student and sees a disappointed frown on her face. He could understand her feelings. It had been so long since she saw any of her friends, and yet, they didn't wish to accompany them on this task. Not that Magnus could blame them; Tarn is not someone to trifle with. Optimus, when asking for volunteers, had explained everything, including who could be pursuing Deadlock, since it was only fair to give them all the facts.

Magnus would have to explain it all to Moonracer on the way. He hadn't wanted to spoil her good mood while she reunited with her friends and caught up on what's been happening.

As they reach the entry ramp to the ship, a loud car horn blares out behind the two. They both turn to see a yellow Earth jeep driving their way, only to transform so the bot is standing right in front of them. "I understand you could use an extra hand for this mission?" The male bot asks.

Magnus stands staring at the Autobot in front of him with his usual stern gaze. Next to him, Moonracer's frown had been replaced with a small smile. Magnus sighs subtly. "I'm assuming you are volunteering to join us?"

The Autobot slams his fists together with a confident smile on his face. "I am, Boss. Wrecker Brawn, at your command."

Though Moonracer was watching Brawn, she swore she saw Magnus' hand twitch slightly at the mention of the word Wrecker out of the corner of her optic. She looked up at his face to see the same stern expression, but she had been with him long enough to see the subtle annoyance in his optics. "What is your specialty, soldier?" Magnus asks.

"Demolitions." Brawn answers nonchalantly.

Magnus' optic twitched slightly, and from his side he heard a quick snicker. Turning his head to stare at his student, Moonracer suddenly went quiet. "Sorry, sir." She mumbles softly before turning her attention to Brawn. "We would be happy for your help."

Brawn smiles at the young bot's welcome before turning his attention to Ultra Magnus. "I know it's not what you would like, but it seems like I'm the only one crazy enough to help out."

In spite of his feelings, Magnus has to agree. Prime had to stay to deal with the constant flow of Decepticons, Mayfly had tried to volunteer but was rejected since she was still healing, and the others aren't too keen on joining and possibly running into Tarn. So, in the end…it was just the three of them, it seems.

"Very well, you may join us." Magnus acquieses, albeit with a hint of reluctance in his voice. Brawn gave a shout and rushes up into the ship. Magnus simply stands there, muttering to himself. "Undisciplined, reckless…"

It took everything for Moonracer to keep from laughing at her teacher's attitude, as his annoyance isn't something she's often seen from him. She normally sees him as a stoic leader that let nothing get to him, and here he was complaining under his breath about a Wrecker. Though that did beg the question…

"I thought you were the leader of the Wreckers at one point." Moonracer muses.

Magnus spares her a quick glance before responding. "A temporary assignment until they could work out new leadership." He said before adding in a very irritated grumble. "Though it took them far longer than anyone thought to find a new leader for the Wreckers."

Moonracer can't hold it in any longer and bursts out laughing. Magnus suddenly realized he had said that last part out loud and turns to glare at the young bot, but she barely noticed. "Sorry, sir." She manages to wheeze out between bouts of laughter when she sees his irritation lingering.

Magnus rolls his optics and said, "Let's get going."

Brawn appears at the top of the entranace ramp, grinning. "Oh, hey Boss. One quick thing; Mayfly caught me up to speed on the mission details and gave me a rough estimate of where the pod made landfall. She says Optimus still won't let her go, and that I should, quote 'give any 'Cons scrap' for her."

Magnus, with an effort, reigns in his irritation. At least Mayfly had found more information on where to start looking. But why did she have to entrust Brawn with that information? Why not come herself? Regardless, he gestures to the navigation computer. "Very well. She provided coordinates?"

Brawn nods. "Yep. Found a good place to enter Japan, along the shore of the ocean." He starts putting in the coordinates. "This oughtta be fun!"

{Several Hours later, Over the Pacific}

Magnus' ship flies hidden in a storm just off the coast of Japan. While still a distance away, the crew onboard still needed to be careful not to be spotted. It was relatively quiet during the trip, outside of Brawn and Moonracer swapping war stories.

"We are nearly at our destination" Magnus informs the two, turning his seat away from the ship controls towards the others. In the middle of the cockpit, a small holo-table rose from the floor, displaying their ship and the Japanese coastline ahead of them with a section highlighted where they would start their search. "Once we are close enough we will jump from the exit ramp into the sea below and make our way to shore." As he speaks, the holo-table displays what he was explaining, a red circle appearing over the jump point. "The shore is barren, so no humans will see our approach. Once we reach the shore, there is a roadway not too far away. We make it there; we shouldn't have any worries blending in as we begin our search."

Brawn leans back in his seat and puts his hands behind his head. "Should be an easy job." He notes with confidence. "Get in, get our guy, maybe bash in a few 'Con heads, and call it a day." He knows who they may face, but doesn't want to scare Moonracer just yet, leaving it up to Magnus whether or not to tell her.

Magnus turns to the Wrecker with an annoyed look. "This isn't a game, you know. Deadlock is in the possession of Decepticon intelligence. These 'Cons', as you put it, will be willing to do whatever it takes to get it back, if not destroy it, on top of eliminating their quarry."

Brawn leans forward in his seat, still feeling hesitant to share the full details of the mission. "If they're willing to send a whole squadron after Deadlock, it's nothing I haven't dealt with before." He replies a little smugly.

Magnus leans towards Brawn asking, "Even the DJD? Have you dealt with them before?"

Brawn tenses up slightly at the question, and while he wouldn't admit it out loud, Magnus feels a strong sense of satisfaction at Brawn's reaction. But the Wrecker then simply leans back and replies, "I knew that having to face them was a high likelihood when I volunteered. And I know that we're both praying it's not the case."

Across from Brawn, Moonracer looks between the two, confusion on her face as she turns to her mentor. "The DJD?" she asks.

Magnus turns to her and replies, "The Decepticon Justice Division."

This just confuses Moonracer even more. "I thought you said someone named Tarn was going to be after Deadlock."

"He's their leader, kid." Brawn explains. Moonracer looks over at Brawn, seeing his confident demeanor now lessened.

Turning back to Magnus, she asks, "Could you tell me a bit more about who this Tarn is?"

Magnus' face drops its stern expression, replaced by unease. He looks over at Brawn who simply returns the same look before shrugging and saying, "She might as well know, Boss, if you want to tell her."

Magnus has to agree, so he leans to the holo-table and pushes some buttons. "I should warn you," he says to his protégé, "What you're about to see will not be pleasant."

With that, Magnus hits one more button, and the display is replaced by a recording of a massive Cybertronian absolutely decimating a large squadron of Autobots in the most brutal fashion Moonracer has ever seen. And she had seen and heard a lot.

Megatron was a former gladiator that brutalized his opponents, Shockwave would use his victims for his experiments, and she'd even heard of a bounty hunter called Lockdown that took Sparks for trophies. But this, this is something else entirely.

The recording ends with a still image of Tarn having ripped off an Autobot's head, holding it above his own like a prize. And it was here that Moonracer could see the Decepticon's insignia in place of an actual face.

She stares at the image and could only stammer out a frightened "Whoa."

"No kidding" Brawn agrees from across the table. "And that's just a minor inconvenience to him."

Moonracer slowly turns to Magnus, who now had a look of anger that spooked her a little. "And you said this is the guy we need to worry about hunting Deadlock?"

Magnus still glares at the frozen image as he answers. "He is just one." He stands abruptly from his seat, causing Moonracer and Brawn to shrink into theirs slightly. He continues. "He leads a team of the most brutal, most violent hunters the Decepticons have at their disposal. They took on codenames of the first five cities that fell to the Decepticons on Cybertron: Helex, Kaon, Tesarus, and Vos." As he speaks, the holo-table displays the Decepticons in question. Two of them were hulking bots, while the other two looked to be about as tall as Brawn.

"They are the Decepticons go-to squad whenever they find a traitor in their midst, or, in Deadlock's case, to hunt down a deserter." Magnus leans forward on the table, his optics still fixed on Tarn. "They don't execute you; they make you beg for death." He finishes in a dark voice.

Moonracer had been watching Magnus the whole time, but at that point, she turned to look at the images of the DJD. "Torture?" she asks. She'd heard of the Decepticons torturing their prisoners, but had never seen evidence of it.

"Just to start." Brawn answers, causing the younger bot to freeze. She was starting to regret her decision to volunteer for this so hastily.

She looks back up at Magnus and takes notice of something. She and Magnus had fought together long enough to where she could tell when there was something he knew but didn't wish to disclose. There was a certain look in his optics, but this time, she could see a fury burning unlike anything she had seen before in either an Autobot or a Decepticon. Following his gaze, she realizes what was making him so angry.

He knew more about Tarn than he was letting on.

But Moonracer felt it best not to pry. She would maybe ask at some other point.

However, Brawn seems to notice as well, but deduces something else entirely. "Is he the reason you lost your hand, Boss?"

The tension in Magnus' shoulders drops as he stands straight and looks at his replacement prosthetic. "No," he answers, his voice sounding more calm. "The loss of my hand is the result of a skirmish I had with the Constructicons some time ago." A slightly calmer air seems to replace the tension in everyone, at least a little.

A small signal beeps from the control panel, causing Magnus to turn and look at his display. "We've reached our location. Be ready to jump." He orders as he hits a button to open the exit ramp.

Moonracer and Brawn stand from their seats and collected their gear as they made their way to the top of the ramp, bracing a bit against the wind.

Brawn looks over at Moonracer and asks loudly, "You sure you're ready for this, kid?"

Moonracer takes a moment to compose herself before turning to Brawn with a bright smile. "Well, it's a bit late to swim back to base now." She jokes back, earning a laugh out of Brawn.

Magnus comes up behind them, staring out into the storm with a look of determination.

"Autobots, roll out!" He orders.

"YAHOO!" Brawn cries as he runs to the end of the ramp and jumps without a second thought. Moonracer chuckles to herself and follows him. Magnus runs after the two and leaps as well. As he fell, he had one thought on his mind. Brawn had been wrong about something.

Ultra Magnus wanted to face Tarn.

Again.

Chapter Text

Here's a new chapter for you guys! :) Like I've said before, I'm going to just dump the rest of the fic and let y'all enjoy it, so buckle up! I didn't complete uploading it before because I frankly got sidetracked by a different fic, but anyway here we go!

Once again, this plot idea is not mine! My friend on TikTok, Deckar Terdax, came up with this live-action movie plot concept and I really liked it, so I asked if I could write the concept as a fanfiction, and he said yes, so here we are!

I did write this one, but Deckar gave me bullet points to follow and as always gave me feedback. It's been fun working with him!

Hope you guys like this chapter! I included a fun easter egg! See if you can pick up on it!

God Bless and Good Day!

~The Lupine Sojourner

[Earth]

[Southern Nevada]

Why am I always late? Nick, a demolition derby driver, grumbles as he fumbles to put his keys in his pocket. He drains the last of his travel mug of tea as he continues trying to find the jacket pocket with one hand.

When he lowers the mug, he notices two cars that looked exactly alike not far away. The only difference is one doesn't have normal exhaust pipes but Tesla coils.

Before he can think too much about it, though, the keys fall out of his hand and clatter to the ground.

Bending over, grumbling outwardly now, Nick swipes up his keys, noting with dismay that he had spilled some of his tea, as well, when he bent over.

But when he straightens, the other car is gone, leaving only the car with normal exhaust pipes. Nick rubs his eyes, but the car didn't change. It still sat there, alone.

"Musta been seeing things." Nick shrugs.

"Hey! C'mon, man! You're almost due to roll out!" Someone yells and Nick runs inside, his thoughts about the mystery car banished.

That car, turns out, is currently speeding away along the roadways, soon joined by a tanker truck.

The two vehicles continue on their way side by side, and if anyone were to see inside them (unlikely, considering it was after dark and their headlights were on), that person would be surprised to see no driver in either vehicle.

But by a stroke of luck, no one spots the two suspicious vehicles as they pull into a large area that had been cleared out for a mining operation, but was left alone for the night, except for the hulking purple figure lurking in the shadows, watching as the tanker truck and derby car drive up to him.

With a clattering of metal, two large robots are revealed, saluting as they come to stand at attention.

The purple figure acknowledges them with a nod, then looks around.

"Kaon, Helex, where is Bludgeon?" The figure, none other than Tarn, demands.

The pair are about to respond when a tank rolls into the mining station, coming to a stop next to Kaon and Helex, and with another clang of shifting metal, Bludgeon transforms and comes to attention.

"Subtle." Kaon snarks, scoffing.

Bludgeon, irritated, turns to Kaon, barely maintaining a calm voice. "Given my stature, this is the only vehicle I could find to accommodate it." A thought occurs to him and he gestures to their leader, Tarn, who is only slightly bigger than him. "Besides, it's going to be his best option, as well." He turns to Tarn, nodding respectfully. "There was a transport carrying these vehicles not far from here." He notes.

Tarn shakes his head in disgust. "And disgrace myself by scanning a primitive, unworthy vehicle?" He scoffs.

Bludgeon nearly replies when Kaon clears his throat. "Word of advice, mate' it's better for your health not to argue with him." He chuckles.

Bludgeon, still a little irritated, nods.

He didn't like Kaon much. He's small, snarky, and disrespectful, but Helex, on the other hand, was larger, quieter, and hadn't spoken against him when Bludgeon met them like Kaon had.

Kaon had, like Tarn, questioned Bludgeon's loyalty, considering how close he had been to the traitorous Deadlock. Things had escalated between the two and they'd nearly fought before Tarn pulled Kaon to the side and confirmed that Bludgeon was still loyal, but promised they could mete out punishment together, should Bludgeon prove to have been lying.

Bludgeon knows what the punishment would be and vows to crush whatever private misgivings he has about hunting Deadlock and prove his loyalty.

He can't understand why Deadlock would not only betray the Decepticons, but steal intelligence that would draw the DJD out to hunt him down.

Surely he didn't think he could fight off the Justice Division…did he? Or was Deadlock going to go the cowardly route and hide behind the Autobots for protection? That didn't seem like Deadlock, but Bludgeon had been blindsided once. He apparently did not know Deadlock as well as he thought he did.

Bludgeon then refocuses as Kaon, Helex, and Tarn discuss their next move.

Kaon crosses his arms, smirking. "We should just blow things up, cause some chaos. That'll draw that cowardly traitor out."

Tarn faces him, a stern look in his optics. "No. This is a covert operation. Should we draw attention to ourselves, Prime and his Autobots would investigate, and we would become the prey instead of the hunters." He then stares at Bludgeon. "Additionally, it seems the primitive life forms on this planet are not without defensive weapons, if Bludgeon's vehicle mode is anything to judge by. We don't need to draw their ire, as well as the Autobots', and that is final."

Kaon nods, subdued. He never liked it when Tarn was displeased with him.

Bludgeon takes stock of the team.

It was only three members of the Justice Division, when he knows of more members.

Kaon was a small but effective warrior and communications officer, nearly as good as Soundwave. His red paint gleams in the moonlight as he shifts. Bludgeon feels certain that, should it ever come to blows between them, he could defeat Kaon.

Helex on the other hand was more intimidating. His extra arms, though smaller, made him stand out, and Bludgeon had seen many interesting Cynertronians in the Decepticons. Strangely, even though he'd chosen a large transport truck as his vehicle mode, when he was in robot mode, his chest resembled an aircraft cockpit, not a truck.

If he ever had to fight Helex, Bludgeon isn't certain of the outcome, but he's determined not to get on Helex' bad side. He'd heard enough screams and rumors of his interrogation tactics to know better.

Even given how effective each team member is, he didn't understand why the full team isn't here.

"Tarn?" He asks. "I don't mean to distract us, but I can't help wondering why the others in the Division are not present."

Tarn hides any emotion he might have felt at the question (and Bludgeon's lack of respect) and tilts his head as if amused. "Simple; with you here, we don't require anyone else…that is, if you can prove useful in helping us apprehend the traitor." He turns to continue discussing their plans when Bludgeon steps forward, hand on his sword hilt.

"What does that mean, Tarn?" He demands.

Tarn faces him without an ounce of fear, waving the others to stand down as they prepare to attack. "I will explain simply; given that you failed to see Deadlock's betrayal coming, I wonder how useful you will prove to be in this hunt."

Bludgeon is about to snarl a reply when Helex comes between them, eyeing Bludgeon. "Bludgeon, you know him best; had he given any indication of his traitorous intentions? Was there anything he said or did that would tell you he had doubts about his loyalty?"

Bludgeon shakes his head, running through his recent memories. "No...I don't…" Then, he remembers a brief conversation en route to a refugee camp. Deadlock had once voiced reluctance to kill, the day before his betrayal. "I remember only one incident. We were ordered to clear out an Autobot refugee camp and leave no one alive to speak of it." He crosses his arms. "Deadlock expressed that it would be dishonorable, as the refugees were supposedly innocent and had done nothing to deserve death, that they were merely surviving as best they could. I reminded him there are no innocents in the Autobots and that they were enemies to be eliminated with extreme prejudice. He seemed to understand, but refused to take part in clearing the camp, offering to patrol to ensure none escaped. When I returned, his sword was in it's sheath and there was no sign of combat that I could see. He would not speak to me as we returned to our base in the city of Kaon."

Kaon frowns. "Why not report him for treason?"

Bludgeon faces him, unafraid. "It was Deadlock's first offense, and there was hardly any time between our arrival back to Kaon and his betrayal. Rest assured, my loyalty is true. And I know Deadlock well enough to bring him to justice."

Kaon puts his hands up, rolling his optics. "If you say so."

Tarn waves arm arm. "Enough! Kaon, scan for any transmissions. With luck, Deadlock will be trying to contact the Autobots and we can intercept and trace his signal." Tarn orders.

On the other side of the mining station, there is a small landing craft. Kaon boards it and goes to the computer to do as ordered.

He picks up no Cybertronian transmissions, but on this planet's primitive version of the Grid, he does intercept interesting transmissions. "Sir, I may have found something!"

The teams boards the ship and gathers around the computer.

"Is this…some form of reporting?" Helex asks, listening to several voices discussing something in a language it takes his translator systems a moment to translate.

"It would appear so." Kaon confirms, playing the relevant portions for them.

It soon becomes clear why he had called them in. There was evidently some disturbance recently. Something to do with a meteorite crashing into some country called Japan, near the large body of water the sentient life forms called the ocean.

Tarn grins behind his mask. Finally, they had a starting point.

[Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Japan]

[The Sasaki house]

Things had, more or less, settled down once Deadlock was shown around the gated area by the Sasakis.

He expressed his gratitude at being shown such hospitality and kindness and offered to help them any way they could before bowing their heads briefly in gratitude and walking into the house, saying they needed to get 'get some sleep'.

When Deadlock asks what sleep is, they explain humans need sleep, essentially powering down or going into stasis to re-energize their bodies. They also explain they will stop resting after the sun comes up.

He doesn't fully understand, but nods and bids them farewell.

He is then left alone on a new world, unsure what to do.

For a little while, he connects back to the Internet and searches for any mentions of large robots, finding nothing, so he tries a few Autobot frequencies, making sure to secure the connection quickly. No one picks up his transmissions, so Deadlock gives it up, not wanting to risk attention. If he knew the Decepticon Justice Division, they would have wasted no time in starting their hunt. They may even have arrived on Earth.

He'd have to stay sharp. To that end, he makes his way to a larger open area he was assured he could use if needed and draws his swords.

It had been a little while since he had run through some katas in Mettaliko. It never failed to calm him, give him clarity.

He begins, careful not to damage anything as he performs a few smaller, simple katas to warm up and stretch out his limbs before advancing to more advanced katas.

As he moves through fluid swings of the sword and other movements, he notices light from an open door behind him. Finishing the kata, he turns to see Kenji sitting on the edge of a open platform that wraps around the house, tucked under the roof.

He had changed clothes into something that looked looser, more relaxed, and he was watching almost in recognition.

"Is everything alright?" Deadlock asks, sheathing one sword.

Kenji nods, moving off the platform to walk closer. "That's martial arts if ever I saw it." He notes, arms crossed loosely.

Deadlock nods respectfully at him. "You are very perceptive." Had Kenji trained in martial arts, as well? Deadlock wonders. "It is Metalliko, a martial art taught on Cybertron. Very few chose to learn it, and even fewer go on to master it. I trained with one I considered a brother…until recently." Deadlock sheaths his other sword, crossing his arms and making a noise like a sigh. He then realizes Kenji might not have come out here just to talk about his martial arts training and his complicated feelings about Bludgeon. "Apologies. Was there something you needed?" He asks.

Kenji sighs and scratches the back of his head. "It's nothing you can assist me with, just an error in shipping at my company."

Deadlock frowns, curious. "An error?"

Kenji nods. "A rather large one. We received faulty equipment that nearly resulted in a workplace accident." He runs a tired hand over his face. "And the replacements will not arrive for a few weeks at least. I've had to stop work at the construction site until the new machines arrive." He hangs his head with another sigh.

Deadlock may not understand everything Kenji was talking about, but it was clear it was a source of stress for Kenji.

Deadlock smiles a little, crouching closer to Kenji's level. "Kenji, would you let me teach you a method of stress regulation I learned from my Mettaliko instructer?"

Kenji tilts his head a bit, wondering how alien robots regulated their stress or emotions and if it would help him. But he can tell Deadlock wants to help, so he may as well try whatever it is Deadlock wants to teach him. "Certainly."

Deadlock shifts his weight as gently as he can, maneuvering his legs into a stance Kenji easily imitates. "You must move fluidly, or this will not help." Deadlock notes, then straightens and takes a moment to center himself before extending his arms out, letting them rest at a lower angle.

Kenji imitates him, wondering where this is going.

Deadlock then flows more smoothly then Kenji though possible over to the side, extending a leg behind him without moving it off the ground, his other bending to accommodate for the shifting weight. His arms then flow up, palms out as if to push something away, and back toward his chest in a circle. He repeats the motion, noting Kenji copying him perfectly.

"No fear…no hate…no anger." Deadlock murmurs, his usual mantra, taught to him by his instructor. The mantra brought to mind his own feelings and emotions.

He did not want to risk these kind humans who'd taken him in, should the DJD find him before the Autobots, but until he discovered where the Autobots are based, he had shelter here. It is better than wandering isolated and alone, at least.

No fear…no hate…no anger.

He would protect the Sasakis if need be, and seek out the Autobots as best he can. If the Justice Division engages him before he finds the Autobot, he would have no choice but to fight, and if he should be overcome, trust that Primus would take his Spark back into his arms.

Everything else was simply weighing him down. He had to let those burdensome thoughts of possible scenarios go and trust in the will of Primus.

He opens his eyes, still reciting the mantra, to see Kenji still moving through the motions with his eyes closed, so Deadlock continues for just a little longer before stopping, feeling better himself, hoping it had also helped Kenji.

Kenji soon notices the lack of mantra and subtly creaking metal and opens his eyes, resuming a normal standing position. "Thank you, Deadlock-san." He says, smiling. "There is a similar practice here on Earth called Tai Chi. It involves breathing techniques." He takes a deep breath to illustrate breathing when Deadlock tilts his head, confused. "It's a little hard to explain, since I assume you don't breathe, but just know your technique did help me relax."

Deadlock holds in more questions, seeing how worn down Kenji looked, and puts his hands together as if in prayer, bowing his head. "I am happy to be of assistance." He replies.

Kenji looks at him curiously. "That mantra…I assume your instructor taught it to you."

Deadlock nods. "Indeed. He was a wise elder Cybertronian named Yoketron. I feel honored he took he in as his student." Deadlock recalls wondering what became of Yoketron after he and Bludgeon completed their training and shortly afterwards joined the Decepticons in the perpetual war they are still fighting, albeit now on different sides. What would Yoketron say if he knew what became of his students? Had the master joined the Autobots? Or had he somehow been slain? Deadlock couldn't picture Yoketron as a Decepticon, no matter the circumstance. He turns to Kenji. He had taken enough of the human's time. Kenji looked tired, making a strange noise into his hand. "You should go back inside and rest."

Kenji nods, making another strange noise as he starts turning to walk back inside. "I will see you after the sun rises in the morning. Goodnight, Deadlock-san."

Deadlock nods. "I will see you then."

Deadlock figures he has some time on his hands, so he does some research on the questions he has from his discussion with Kenji, finding himself fascinated with just how different humans are from Cybertronians.

Humanity and Cybertronians are both sentient, but humanity is so vastly different from Cybertronians that it's hard for Deadlock to understand everything. So he stops researching and continues a few more katas before he decides he had done enough.

He moves to the sturdy wall around the Saski residence, sitting cross-legged and leaning his back on it as he starts maintaining his swords from a small kit in a compartment in his side.

He must be ready, should the Decepticon Justice Division turn up to punish him for his defection and retrieve or destroy the intelligence he'd stolen.

Chapter Text

Ultra Magnus is starting to get frustrated, though he does his best to hide it.

It has been nearly a full 24 hours since they'd landed in Japan, but there is no sign of Deadlock to be found.

"Well, that was a bust." Brawn grouches, driving along beside the former Wrecker leader.

"Indeed. This is getting us nowhere." Magnus replies, then notices they're missing the third member of the team. "Where is Moonracer?"

Brawn slows. "She was right behind us, I thought."

Before either Bot can get too worried, the mint green sports car pulls up behind them, slowing down to match their pace. "Sorry, sir!" Moonracer says quickly, sounding rather flustered. "Every time we stop, I get swarmed by teenagers wanting to take pictures of me!"

Brawn laughs. "That's what you get for choosing a flashy vehicle mode, kid."

Moonracer groans. "Next mission we're assigned, remind me to switch vehicle modes to something that'll blend in better."

Magnus chuckles. "Noted."

Brawn, a bit surprised, but playing it up to help Moonracer relax, slows a bit. "Is it strange I find him laughing odd?" He asks.

"Maybe?" Moonracer answers, unsure. "I know he's really strict, but he does have his moments where he drops it."

Brawn hums, intrigued. "So he wasn't always like this?"

Moonracer is quiet for a moment before asking, "Does the name Windblade mean anything to you?"

Brawn's rear view mirror adjusted to reflect her. "Are you kidding?" He asked in disbelief. "Every Autobot knows her. She defeated Tidalwave on her own. And that was the largest thing the Decepticons had at their disposal."

Moonracer slowed down slightly. "Well she and Magnus worked together for years." She explains. "Back then, he said that he was a lot more lenient with protocol. That changed when he allowed Windblade to take charge of a mission into Decepticon territory."

Brawn had a bad feeling about where this was going. "Was this the same mission that she..." He drifts off.

Moonracer sighs. "Yep."

"Primus." Brawn swears under his breath. He had heard all about that mission. "I see why he's so strict." To this day, no one is sure exactly what happened to Windblade and her team. They just…disappeared.

Moonracer hums in agreement. "He's a good commander and teacher, but that mission left its mark."

Brawn would shake his head if he were in robot mode. "No kidding." He would look at Magnus with just a little more respect from now on.

The pair then focus on following Magnus before he got too far ahead.

[Tokyo, Japan]

"Otōsan, I'm ready. I'll be in the garage!" Etsuko calls, walking down the few stairs to the garage, but stopping mid-step.

There is an unusual blue and black car in their garage. She didn't remember her father discussing a new car, so where did it come from?

She hears Kenji walking over and turns to him. "Did you buy a new car?" She asks.

Kenji frowns at it. "No. I've never seen that car…"

Just as Kenji recognized the dark blue and black color scheme, a voice comes from the car's radio.

"I selected an Earth-based vehicle mode after watching the nearby roadways last night." He says, startling the Sasakis. "Apologies. I did not intend to startle you." He chuckles just a little as Kenji and Etsuko recover.

"No need for apologies, Deadlock-san." Kenji replies, clearing his throat.

"I need to adjust to this new form, so I can transport you anywhere you need to go." Deadlock explains.

The pair bow at the waist gratefully. "We appreciate it." Kenji smiles as Deadlock opens the driver-side and passenger windows.

After explaining where Etsuko's school is, and that a school is a place for education, Deadlock starts driving, and has to look up traffic laws on the Internet quickly, as he realizes what goes on Cybertron (everyone just drives around and tries not to get in each other's way) doesn't seem to apply on Earth and he didn't want to bother his hosts more than he could help.

"I'm curious, Deadlock-san," Etsuko begins, "who is it you mean to join?"

"The Autobots, under Optimus Prime, leader of our planet." Deadlock replies, sounding almost reverent.

"But you haven't found them yet?" Etsuko presses.

Deadlock sighs. "Not yet, sadly. I am hoping they received a transmission I sent while I was en route, but there has been no sign of them."

Etsuko and Kenji exchange a glance. "I'm certain you will find them, or they you." Kenji assures Deadlock, who isn't convinced.

He knows how fast the Justice Division moves. It is unlikely, given his luck so far in locating the Autobots, that they would find him, or vice versa, before the ruthless hunters arrived.

But he can act like he believes Kenji, for their sake. "I hope so." Just ahead, the traffic light turns yellow, then red, so Deadlock slows, then stops behind a car. Etsuko glances at the car pulling up next to them and seems to recognize someone inside. "Is that a friend?" He asks, curious.

"I know him, that's all." Etsuko replies hastily, but doesn't elaborate further.

Though still curious, Deadlock decides not to press, since they were close to Etsuko's school.

Deadlock joins a line of cars dropping off other students and soon Etsuko grabs her backpack and opens the door.

She gets out and bows at the waist. "Thank you, Deadlock-san and Otōsan." She says softly, then heads inside.

"Should we return to your dwelling?" Deadlock asks.

Kenji shakes his head. "I would like to go to a construction site office to pick up some documents, if you'd be so kind."

"Of course."

Kenji directs Deadlock to the office, and when they arrive, Deadlock finds himself rather impressed at the height of the structure, especially relative to average human size.

"You like it?" Kenji asks as Deadlock stops beside the temporary office.

"Most impressive." Deadlock replies. The site spanned at least two blocks, with multiple buildings, and it had most of the steel structure that would form the base of the building done, with cranes stationed around the complex to get more steel beams high enough to continue working on the structure. Only a few still held beams.

Kenji nods humbly. "Thank you. It will be an apartment complex, or housing for rent, as well as some shops to provide some jobs for the residents, but unfortunately, it will not be finished until this faulty equipment issue is resolved."

"I see."

Kenji sighs. "I wasn't always in this position. I started as an ordinary construction worker, but rose through the ranks to become the head of the company. I like to remind myself of my origins on occasion and help the workers where I can." He opens the door. "I won't be long, then we can return home." The window of the office is open to allow for ventilation, so Kenji hears Deadlock drive a little closer to the site.

But then Deadlock stops suddenly and backs up as a loud snap is heard, followed by a thunderous clanging of several steel beams.

Grabbing the documents, Kenji leans out of the window. The beams had barely missed Deadlock, who seemed unaffected by the failure of a crane hook.

"I presume that was related to the faulty equipment you had mentioned?" Deadlock asked, rather nonchalantly. From the office window, Kenji nods, relieved Deadlock wasn't hurt. "You were wise to shut the site down, my friend."

Kenji sighs. "Indeed. Your reflexes served you well."

Deadlock chuckles and backs up to let Kenji in. "Years of training, my friend."

[Two Days Later]

[Japanese countryside]

The team rests in a shaded and secluded forest off the road. It was hard to keep up morale after two days of failed searching, the team is doing it's best, taking a break to stretch and spend a little time in robot mode.

"We're running out of places to look." Moonracer sighs, stretching her arms above her head.

"Indeed, which means we ought to find Deadlock soon." Ultra Magnus replies, trying to sound optimistic. "Though I hesitate to search larger cities. Too many unknown variables."

Brawn leans against a tree, his arms crossed casually. "So, what's the plan, boss?" He asks. "I mean, when we find Deadlock? The odds of us finding him at the same time as the DJD are pretty high."

Ultra Magnus frowns, that intense hatred flashing in his eyes briefly before he gathers himself. "I instructed the ship to land not far away. If we are forced to engage the Justice Division, I will call the ship so we don't have to fight to the finish and risk losing an Autobot or the intelligence Deadlock carries." He explains, though secretly he hopes he can fight Tarn to the death. He longed to settle the score with him.

Then his prosthetic hand twinges with pain, the fingers twitching oddly, and despite efforts to hide the pain, he can't help wincing and holding the prosthetic.

Brawn walks over, concerned. "Hand giving you trouble?" He asks. "I can take a look at it."

Ultra Magnus lets Brawn look over his hand, and can't help a question. "You've had medical training?"

"Just a bit from Ratchet. Working with explosives, there's always a risk. Figured it would be smart to learn some stuff, so I asked Ratchet to train me a bit."

Ultra Magnus nods. "Sound reasoning."

Brawn opens a small cover to reveal some wiring that had snapped. "I see the problem, boss; this wiring snapped, and a few ends got disconnected." He reaches into a small compartment and pulls out a wire repair kit. "Here, Moonracer, come over here. Your hands are smaller than mine." She walks over, looking nervous. Brawn smiles as he claps a hand to her shoulder. "Nothing to it! Just gently connect the wires, then wrap this tape around it. Ratchet can swap out the wires when we return to base, but for now, this is the best we can do. Oh, and make sure to reconnect those loose ends right there." He shows her the disconnected wiring.

She swallows, but nods and takes the tape. It was a relatively quick fix, and then Moonracer eyes Brawn. "I've been meaning to ask you something, Brawn."

He tilts his head, eying her. "Yeah?"

"Not to be blunt, but why exactly were you so eager to volunteer? It doesn't seem like a Wrecker to care about an ex-Con." She asks, shrugging.

He smiles, chuckling a little. "Oh, Deadlock isn't any ex-Con. I owe him a debt."

Ultra Magnus shifts his hand, finding it a little better and settles back, intrigued by the story.

"What debt?" Moonracer presses.

"Mostly one of gratitude, really." Brawn continues. "See, after Cybertron fell and Optimus led the Exodus, he sent out a message calling all remaining Autobots near Cybertron to make a trip to retrieve any refugees we could find before making our way to wherever Prime was going. I did so without hesitation, but…well." He sighs. "We got caught by the Cons before we even left the atmosphere."

Moonracer gasps.

"What happened then?"

Chapter Text

[Cybertron's Upper Atmosphere]

[Refugee Ship]

[10 years before Deadlock's defection]

Brawn feels the ship shudder as the boarding tube attaches to the portside entrance.

"Oh, Primus." He grumbles, moving to put himself in front of the refugees, prepared to fight if need be. He turns to the gathered bots behind him, trying to put on a brave face as worried murmurs ring around the room. "Alright, listen. I'll handle the Cons and try to detach us, so just stay put. Shouldn't take long."

The group moves backward into the open area they'd gathered in, but there is nowhere else for them to go, Brawn realizes as he moves further into the ship. There was some distance between him and the breached entrance, but he couldn't go too far from the refugees. They're target practice if anyone gets past him.

So I won't let 'em past me. No matter what. Brawn decides grimly as he settles in a good spot, an intersection between a few hallways so he could tell where the Cons would come from. Unfortunately, it was a straight shot down the hall to the room.

He's surprised when only one mech comes down a hallway a few painfully long kliks later, glancing around and moving as if ready to be attacked at any moment.

Brawn readies a blaster.

The mech is a black and dark blue Decepticon Brawn had never encountered before, one who wields swords instead of blasters. He takes in the situation at a glance, hand ready on a sword hilt on his shoulder, but he doesn't say anything.

"Yer not getting past me." Brawn warns, blaster aimed right for the Con's Spark Chamber.

The Con tilts his head, eying the gathered refugees behind Brawn. "Are you the only warrior on the ship?" He asks, his voice just a little condescending.

Brawn tightens his grip on the blaster, annoyed at the Con's arrogance. "I'm enough."

"I'm certain." He says in an almost monotone voice Brawn finds insulting, proceeding to walk in the direction of the cockpit without acknowledging Brawn further.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Brawn snaps, keeping the blaster pointed at the retreating Con.

The Con spins on his heel. "If you want these refugees to survive, do as I say." He snaps, eyes narrowed.

Brawn does a double-take, the blaster dropping a bit in shock. "What?" He moves forward to demand straight answers, then stops as the Con whirls on him, reflexively pulling out a sword, the point inches from Brawn's chest.

"I am not here to fight. We don't have much time." He says, glancing around as if to confirm they are alone. "I will confirm your route, then leave." He explains, sheathing the sword.

Brawn splutters a bit as he once again approaches the confusing Con. "Why in Primus' name would I let you confirm our route?"

"So that I know I'm sending you to safety."

"Why would you care about our safety?" Brawn presses, optics narrowing suspiciously.

"There are only innocents here, and I have no interest in cold-blooded slaughter. It is dishonorable to attack those who cannot fight back." His voice and eyes show sincerity, but Brawn grits his teeth.

"I can fight back." Brawn defends himself.

"But then who would lead the refugees to your destination?" The Con points out.

"Look, I don't know what you're playing at-"

"I assume you intend to rendezvous with the Prime and his followers. Correct?"

Brawn takes a step back, still wary, but something in his Spark said he could trust this Con. After all, he had made no move to summon any Vehicons that were surely with him, and he seems genuinely concerned for the refugees. "...Yes."

"We received word he is fleeing deep into space, either to hide or seek out the Allspark. I can provide-" The Con starts to say, then the two hear approaching troopers. "Stay where you are, and do not make a sound." The Con hisses, and Brawn reluctantly does.

The Con leaves and before the troopers can see Brawn, he barely hears the Con talking to them for a few moments, sounding insistent and terse.

Once the troopers had left, the Con comes back.

"Quickly. I told them I have taken care of everyone in this ship, but they won't wait long to disembark." He's moving quickly toward the cockpit, leaving Brawn to try his best to catch up. "The route you are taking to the Prime goes too close to regular Decepticon patrol routes. I myself have patrolled this area when not otherwise engaged. I will show you an alternate, safer route."

Brawn and the Con soon arrive at the cockpit and sure enough, the route is soon entered and the Con starts back toward the refugees and the portside entrance without another word.

Brawn jogs after him. "Hold on a second!" He catches the Con's shoulder and the Con whirls, removing Brawn's hand with a sharp movement. "At least tell me yer name."

"...It is better you do not know." The Con starts marching quickly again.

Brawn's eye twitches and he huffs, but continues jogging after the Decepticon.

He finally turns to Brawn as he reaches the hallway back to his ship. "Continue on your journey, and may Primus be with you." He puts his hands together and bows before the pair hear an approaching trooper, too late to hide.

The trooper comes around the corner and sees Brawn, the Con talking to Brawn, and behind them the gathered refugees.

After an instant of shock from all concerned parties, the trooper's hand shifts into a blaster and it's pointed at Brawn.

"No!" The Con roars, sword flashing in a smooth, fluid movement.

For a few nano-kliks, nothing happens, then the blaster falls with a loud clatter to the metal floor, followed an instant later by the trooper's head.

Silence hangs in the ship for painfully long moments, Brawn staring at the sword, now splattered with Energon, and the Con staring at the lifeless corpse on the floor, a pool of Energon leaking out and forming a large pool.

"...oh frag…" Brawn breaths, shaking himself. "I…thank you."

The Con wipes his sword on the body and sheaths it, showing an unreadable emotion before he turns to head into his ship. "Speak of this to no one." His voice, trying to be menacing and cold, came out subtly shaky, but insistent enough that Brawn nods.

"Only if you tell me your name." Brawn insists, knowing he'd likely never get another chance to learn this Con's name. He had to know!

"Why do you insist on knowing my name?" The Con stops walking away, but doesn't turn to look at Brawn, his voice now steady, but irritated.

"I have to. I won't spread it around!"

The Con takes a few nano-kliks, then sighs. "...Deadlock." He marches away before Brawn can say anything else.

Brawn, for his part, stares after the Con, realization hitting him. "...That explains a lot." He mumbles softly.

Deadlock had a reputation for being fair and honorable, for a Decepticon. How Deadlock came to side with the Cons, no one knows, but he would let his adversaries go if they had fought well, and refused to attack without giving his opponent time to arm themselves and put up a fight. Even if he could have ambushed said opponent.

All in all, Brawn thanks Primus that it was Deadlock, not anyone else, that had been assigned to stop his ship.

No one else would have thought twice about killing him and his charges.

Moments later, the Cons' ship disconnects and flies away, leaving Brawn to reassure the refugees, asking a few to clean up the corpse before going to the cockpit to start them on their new route.

I wonder if he'd ever consider defecting and joining us. Brawn wonders. He'd make a great Autobot. I'd vouch for him if it came to it.

Either way, I owe him a debt of gratitude.

=#=#=#=#=

[Earth]

[Japanese Countryside]

[Present Day]

"Whoa…" Moonracer breathes, almost finished doing what she could for Ultra Mangus' hand, surprised at how far Deadlock went to protect the refugees.

Brawn nods. "Now you see why I have to help him. He saved not only my life, but the lives of all the refugees on the ship."

Moonracer nods. "Yeah! I wonder if anyone found out he'd killed a trooper."

Brawn shrugs. "Who knows? Likely not, since the Decepticons don't take those things lightly, but I haven't seen him since that day."

Moonracer smiles as she closes the hand up. "Well, good thing we're looking for him."

Brawn nods as he starts to walk away. "I'll run a quick patrol of the perimeter while you figure out where we're looking next, boss."

Magnus nods. "Good thinking." With the looming threat of the DJD, they couldn't afford to be careless.

Brawn transforms and heads off.

Magnus looks at the ground in thought. He'd always thought of the Wreckers as the most reckless band of Autobots he'd ever seen, but now…

He watches as Brawn drives nearly out of sight. Magnus would view Brawn with a little more respect from now on. He'd bravely stood between the Decepticons and the refugees, even if no one actually fought him, he was still willing to risk it all to protect those in his care.

Having him along for this mission suddenly doesn't seem as irritating as it had previously.

Chapter Text

This chapter does have some switchbacks between perspectives, so please make sure to read the bolded words, as they clarify where the scene is set. Feel free to ask any questions you have!

God Bless and Good Day!

~The Lupine Sojourner

Tarn stands at the entrance of a cave he and his team had found and decided to camp in for the night. His optics are closed as he listens to his music, occasionally swaying slightly to it. In the cave behind him Bludgeon sits in meditation with his head down, while across from him Helex and Kaon are playing a game of Cyber-Poker. It's actually quite pleasant, Tarn has to admit, and rather calming.

The group has spent several Earth cycles hunting their prey without success, and Tarn is getting rather impatient.

Given his and Bludgeon's alternate forms, that left only Kaon and Helex to do any real searching, especially in the more populated areas. Kaon had made note that the signal's getting stronger, albeit by only a slight margin. The pod is most likely losing its power soon, he also noted, which means they won't have anything to track anymore.

Tarn's retreat into his music is interrupted when Kaon speaks up. "Hey big guy, you want in on the next hand?" The soft groan from behind him told Tarn Kaon is addressing Bludgeon, who has no interest in their game.

The assassin is tired of having to associate with this group. All he wants to do is get this mission over with so he'll never have to see them again. Even though he has proclaimed his loyalty to the Decepticons several times over, he can still tell that they have their doubts.

Kaon especially. "Come on, don't be antisocial." He chuckles, a snide, taunting tone to his voice.

Bludgeon remains still. "If I wish to play games, it would not be with the likes of you."

Tarn switched off his music and turned his head slightly to listen in.

He heard Kaon speak next. "'The likes of us?'" He jabs, laughing and leaning his back against the cave wall. "My, my, he must think he's better than us, Helex."

The larger Con in question, simply glares down at his companion as if to say to 'leave him out of this'.

Bludgeon raises his head to shoot Kaon a glare of his own. "Whenever I have a target, I don't waste my time, or theirs, by administering pain. I do what is necessary and move on. Unlike your brutal methods."

Kaon laughs harder at this accusation. "We have brutal methods?" Even though Tarn still has his back turned, he could tell Bludgeon is on edge as Kaon continues. "Look, mate, I read your last mission report. Apparently, when you got back to base, you were covered in the Energon of all your victims. Refugee camp, wasn't it?" Next to him, Helex slowly backs away. Not noticing, Kaon goes on with his taunts. "It would seem to me that you're just as bad as we are. No mercy, no survivors, just results. You know, I've heard about your little Metallikato, and from what I understand, you don't qualify to be accepted." Tarn can tell Kaon just crossed a very sensitive line with Bludgeon. But he chooses not to interfere just yet. "So, by all accounts, you deserve to be stuck with us." Kaon chuckles sadistically. "What you did and what you're capable of doing shows you don't have what they call 'honor'-"

A loud shot echoes sharply through the cave and Tarn spins around to see Bludgeon pointing a blaster at Kaon, a smoldering hole just an inch from the smaller Decepticon's head. Kaon eyes the hole, wide eyed in fear of what just happened.

Tarn calmly walked toward Bludgeon, his voice casual. "I may not know as much about Metallikato as you do, but I think I recall hearing something about firearms being seen as dishonorable."

Bludgeon lowers his blaster and glares up at Tarn. "Things change in a warzone." He replies coldly. "You must be willing to make certain sacrifices in order to achieve victory."

Tarn glances at the new hole in the wall, then at Kaon, then back to Bludgeon. "Does that include shooting at a fellow Decepticon on a mission?" he asks dryly.

Finally having enough, Bludgeon stands and marches over to Tarn. Helex and Kaon tense up, ready to defend their commander, but Tarn subtly raises a hand telling them to stand down while keeping eye contact with the assassin.

"I never asked you to be here!" Bludgeon shouts angrily. "I am fully capable of dealing with Deadlock on my own. You're only here because you have a sick delight in hunting down and torturing any who turn on us, which, by the way you three act, includes me!" Tarn simply stands silently as Bludgeon vents his frustration at him. The two stand facing each other as Bludgeon continues, "You're only here to help me find him. But when we do, I will be the one to administer judgment. Not you or your puppets."

Tarn stares Bludgeon down without a trace of emotion. "If you get to him first." He challenges.

With that, Bludgeon pushes Tarn out of his way and leaves the cave. Tarn watches him leave, a sinister thought crossing his mind. He hears a buzzing sound behind him. "Put the List away, Kaon." He orders without even looking.

The smaller Con looks up from the data-cylinder he was holding in surprise. "You saw what he did, sir!" Kaon protests.

"Because you provoked him." Tarn responds coolly, still not turning around. "But I think physical torture is too good for him." Kaon and Helex share a confused look as Tarn continues. "If Bludgeon truly considers Deadlock a brother, then being the one to execute him will haunt him for the rest of his days, but if he's a true Decepticon, then he won't give it a second thought, much like those refugees. If he tries anything like that again, you're free to do whatever you wish."

Kaon and Helex now understand what Tarn's thinking. Physical torture lasts only till the victim is dead, usually shortly after the torture begins. But living with the knowledge that you killed your own brother, that lasts far longer.

Tarn continues. "Tell me, Kaon, do you want that responsibility, should the time ever come?"

Kaon shut off the cylinder containing the List as he placed it back on his hip, grinning wickedly. "Of course I do! What kind of question is tha-aahhh!" He looks up to see Tarn's mask was suddenly an inch away from his face, the anger evident in his optics.

"Then never interrupt my music again." Tarn threatens. Having said his piece, he returns to his spot at the cave entrance, leaving Kaon shaking in fear, while behind him, Helex chuckles to himself.

Kaon will never learn to stop picking fights, would he? He thinks.

=#=#=#=#=

[Tokyo]

[Sasaki Household]

It's late afternoon, heading into the evening, and Etsuko is enjoying a nice swim in the pool after school when she notices a shadow blocking the westering sun. Curious, she looks over and sees their large metal guest balancing skillfully on the edge of one of his swords, the blade and the robot rotating as he chants a mantra.

"No fear…no hate…no anger." As he spins, he adjusts his legs and subtly swings occasionally to maintain the slow spinning motion.

Etsuko is stunned the giant robot can balance on such a small point and watches him, fascinated, before she swims closer to him, resting her arms on the side of the pool. "Deadlock-san, may I ask what you're doing?"

Deadlock opens one eye and smiles at her. "Meditating." He explains simply, now simply balancing on the swordpoint.

Etsuko smiles. "I see. That takes amazing balance!"

Deadlock skillfully flips up and lands as gently as he could, but the ground still shakes a bit. He sheaths his sword. "Thank you. My master, Yoketron, taught me to do this when I am in need of a clear head and internal balance."

Etsuko sighs. "I could use a clear head, too."

Deadlock tilts his head a bit. "What troubles you?"

Etsuko's cheeks warm a bit, realizing her troubles might seem trivial to a robot involved in a long war. "It will seem silly to you, but school can be stressful."

"Learning new skills or information is often difficult." Deadlock agrees, showing no sign of finding her issues amusing or too small.

Etsuko chuckles, relieved he's willing to take her somewhat seriously. "You have schools where you're from?"

Deadlock shakes his head, smiling. "No, not exactly. However, when we emerge from the Well of Allsparks, we are a completely new being, and have much to learn about ourselves and the world around us."

Etsuko nods. "I see. Well, I have a while longer to go with school." She sighs and splashes the water a bit. "I will need to learn how to run Oto-San's business one day."

Deadlock raises a brow. "I could teach you meditation, as I did for your father not long ago. It helped him relieve the stress on his shoulders."

Getting an idea, Etsuko shakes her head with a smile. "Oh, no thank you. I have my own ways of relieving stress."

Seeing the mischievous glint in the girl's eye, Deadlock frowns a little. "And what might that be?"

She just looks down, still smiling, as she gets out of the pool and grabs a towel.

"You'll see."

=#=#=#=#=

[Japanese countryside]

[Temporary Autobot camp]

"I'm telling you, this next town better turn up something." Brawn grumbles. "I'm gonna lose processing power out of boredom if this keeps up."

Ultra Magnus sighs, trying to remain patient. "We will not know until we arrive."

Moonracer chuckles. "The tough old Wrecker can't handle searching?" She teases.

Brawn rolls his eyes. "I'm just saying! It's been days and still nothing!"

Ultra Magnus is about to reply when his comm beeps. He taps into the line and motions for quiet. "Ultra Magnus here."

"Commander, I have some good news." It was Optimus himself.

Ultra Magnus grins a bit. "We could use some. Our search is proving more difficult than anticipated. We are still unable to locate Deadlock."

"Understood. We have managed to narrow down the location of the pod Deadlock used to come to Earth."

"That is good news." Magnus notes with a bit of surprise.

Moonracer and Brawn perk up, unable to help hearing the discussion, but remain quiet.

"We continued attempting to narrow the search coordinates, as the pod will likely power down soon. However, we determined he landed near the city of Tokyo. Based on your current position, it will take approximately 24 hours to get there. I will send you the updated search parameters."

Ultra Magnus holds in a groan at the news they'd been searching in the wrong direction and nods automatically. "Thank you, sir. We'll begin heading toward the city while we await the new parameters."

"Copy that. Good luck, Commander."

"Appreciated, sir. We'll report again when we find Deadlock. Magnus, over and out." The comm line goes quiet and Ultra Magnus sighs. "I assume you two heard?"

Moonracer nods, trying to remain optimistic. "Well, at least if we start now, we'll get there with a little time to search before nightfall."

Ultra Magnus nods. "Indeed. As Moonracer and I are unfamiliar with the city in question, perhaps Brawn should take point, at least until we receive the information from Optimus."

Brawn throws a quick salute. "Sure thing, boss."

The trio transform and start driving.

"I wonder what Tokyo will be like." Moonracer can't help commenting.

"I suppose we will have to see." Ultra Magnus replies patiently. "But I am intrigued as well."

=#=#=#=#=

[Tokyo]

[Sasaki residence]

Kenji, in his home office filing the paperwork he'd picked up, looks up as Etsuko walks into his office. He notes she's wearing a t-shirt, black jeans, black combat boots, and her black leather jacket.

"Oto-san, may I ask Deadlock to take me back to school? I forgot some homework."

Kenji takes a moment to consider.

"I believe that would be up to our guest, but you have my permission, as long as Deadlock is willing to take you."

Etsuko smiles. "Arigato, Oto-san." She gives him a quick respectful bow at the waist, then turns and heads to the area Deadlock is usually in.

Kenji sits back in his chair with a sigh, rubbing his tired eyes. He's known Etsuko's been lying to him for a while. She never forgot anything from school and he knows exactly where she's going. And yet, he never stopped her as he could see the joy in her eyes whenever she got home.

He stands up and walks to the office window as Deadlock drives off. As the car is lost to view, Kenji can't help a smile, shaking his head and chuckling to himself.

I wonder how Deadlock will perform in a street race?

Chapter Text

Deadlock had let Etsuko drive, and soon realizes she isn't driving toward her school.

"Etsuko, where are we going?" He asks, seeing a large gathering of cars and humans. One that Etsuko was driving him towards.

Etsuko smiles a little sheepishly, hearing the slight discomfort in his voice. "I'm sorry, Deadlock-san. This is what I meant when I mentioned my methods of relieving stress. This is a street race, technically illegal, but we haven't been caught yet."

Deadlock uses the mirrors to look around, slowing a little, taking in the loud music, flashing lights, and excited crowd.

It had been a long time since he'd raced…

Soon, Etsuko parks in what seems to be a meeting spot and gets out of the vehicle, calling to someone in the crowd, some of whom are staring at Deadlock in surprise and something like envy.

Deadlock adjusts his rearview mirror to see who Etsuko is talking to and is a little surprised to see it's the same person he had asked about a few days prior on their way to her school. Deadlock hears Etsuko call him Yasu as they shake hands.

"I'm surprised you would bring something so nice to an event like this." Yasu notes, nodding at Deadlock.

Etsuko simply smiles confidently. "It may look nice, but I guarantee it'll perform well."

Their attention is then drawn away from their conversation as someone in the crowd shouts something.

The two now glance at each other with a competitive fire in their eyes.

"Well, the prize money is pretty big this time, so may the best car win." Yasu muses smugly as Etsuko laughs him off.

"Please, you know that I don't race for the money. I've got plenty of that. You know I donate any winnings to charity." Inwardly, Deadlock smiled at this response. Very honorable. "Besides, watching all the boys cry when I beat them is reward enough."

I like this girl. Deadlock chuckles to himself. She has an honorable spirit, with the energy and playfulness of youth.

"We'll see who takes home the prize money, Etsuko." Yasu says, waving as he walks off, presumably to his own vehicle.

Etsuko waves back before getting back in the driver seat and buckling in. "I'm sorry if I upset you, Deadlock-san." She says apologetically. "I should have been honest with you."

Deadlock would shake his head if he were in robot mode. "I appreciate the apology, but it does not upset me. I happen to have raced before, you know."

Etsuko tilts her head, surprised and curious. "Oh?"

"Indeed, before the war, and even before I began studying Metallikato with Master Yoketron, I occasionally raced on Cybertron."

"There are races on Cybertron?"

"Not since the war, I'm afraid, but yes there were races once. In fact, some bots from a colony world called Velocitron would come to participate. Not all of them were legal, either."

"Fascinating." If Etsuko wasn't idling at the start line, she'd ask about the colony worlds, but she figures there's time for that after the race.

A young woman on a small platform above the racers holds a flag down toward the racers, waiting for a signal.

"The race starts when she waves that flag." Etsuko says.

"I see." He didn't need to tell her he could deduce that on his own.

The flag is soon waved and Etsuko skillfully maneuvers into a good position as the racers strive to pass each other.

However, she's not used to driving this particular car, so she struggles to keep her spot. Deadlock's vehicle mode doesn't handle like the other cars she races in.

The race is set as three loops, each different than the last, similar to a clover.

Deadlock is fine with letting Etsuko have control, and finds that, though Etsuko drives well, she can't help struggling around turns, especially tighter turns. He notices, as the pair continue into the third lap, a dangerously sharp turn coming quickly closer, so he suddenly rips control of the steering wheel out of Etsuko's hands and punches the throttle, managing to drift around the corner without any difficulty, putting them back in action again in second place, closing in on the first place driver.

Etsuko shouts aloud, her blood pumping in her ears as adrenaline takes over. "That was amazing! Where did you learn to drift so smoothly?"

Deadlock chuckles, about to answer, but a different voice comes out of the radio on a communication line, in a language Deadlock had not used since meeting the Sasakis.

"Deadlock, do you copy?"

[A Few Minutes Earlier]

[Japanese countryside, miles from Tokyo]

Finally, I'm in range to contact Deadlock.

Bludgeon always intended to get in contact with Deadlock before engaging him in combat as a traitor, to give him one chance to turn himself in. In the name of the many years they had considered each other brothers, he owed Deadlock that much.

So as soon as he notes he's in range, he slips back from the others for a moment and opens the communication line they'd used all these years.

"Deadlock, do you copy?" He's, frankly, a little surprised when Deadlock opens the comm line to talk to him.

"I did not think you would have anything to say to me." Deadlock says, tone not betraying any emotions.

"We are brothers, are we not?" Bludgeon replies, maintaining an even, almost friendly tone.

"I am not sure I can still call you that, after what you did." Now there's underlying anger and resentment in his voice.

"Come now. We had our orders." Bludgeon counters. "I could say you are no longer my brother since you failed to complete the mission."

"It was dishonorable and cruel!" Deadlock snaps. "Have you forgotten Master Yoketron's lessons?!"

"Do not talk to me about that old fool!" Bludgeon growls, then regains his temper. "Because of our past friendship, I give you one chance to return of your own volition. One."

"The Justice Division does not believe in second chances. Much like you and those refugees." There's something happening in the background, a crowd cheering wildly, with a louder voice speaking in a language Bludgeon had never heard. Must be an Earth language. Perhaps this voice will give me insight into his location. He quickly runs the voice through a translation system and hears a male voice announcing someone. "-winner is…Etsuko Sasaki!" With that, the line is cut off.

Bludgeon starts to catch up, intending to simply act like he'd never dropped back, when he notices Tarn and the others standing not far away, staring at him.

"Couldn't resist talking to the traitor, could yah?" Kaon taunts, laughing.

Before Bludgeon can respond, Tarn holds up a hand, looking over his shoulder at the smaller Con. "Kaon, we should be thanking him. You were able to track him, were you not?" The coy tone irritates Bludgeon, but he holds back a retort, unsure what Tarn is talking about.

Kaon nods, still looking amused. "Yeah, right to a large city. He hasn't moved far from the pod, it seems."

Tarn chuckles a little. "But, thanks to Bludgeon, we now have his location." Tarn's tone is too condescending for Bludgeon any longer, and just as he whips out his sword, Tarn lunges forward, tripping Bludgeon neatly and pinning him down, one of his integrated serated-edge swords dangerously close to Bludgeon's Spark Chamber. "Pull a stunt like that again, and we will have no choice but to label you a traitor and subject you to the same punishment we intend to inflict on Deadlock. Do I make myself clear?" Tarn's tone held no emotion or mercy. It is pure menace.

Though he is fuming and ready to fight Tarn here and now, Bludgeon somehow finds enough restraint to nod sourly and Tarn chuckles cruelly as he withdraws.

If Tarn did not hold such favor with Megatron, Bludgeon might have pressed the issue and sought his brand of justice for their treatment of him, but he dared not give the Justice Division any further cause to doubt his allegiance.

So he grits his teeth and pulls himself to his feet.

The sooner I am through with these arrogant bots, the better.

=#=#=#=#=

[Tokyo]

Etsuko had been forced to take over the race, and manages to win, but she is concerned for Deadlock as he remains quiet after he finished speaking to that strange voice.

It had startled Etsuko, but she had to quickly focus on the race as Deadlock surrendered control to her, responding to the voice in a strange language Etsuko did not know.

She assumes he is speaking to another of his species, and given that he spoke angrily to them, she could assume the person is not friendly.

Now, she accepts the check for the prize money with a practiced smile, gets back into the driver seat, and heads home, still a little rattled.

When she's driven a good distance away from the race, she fidgets, her curiousity getting the better of her. "Deadlock-san, I have to ask, who was that you spoke to?"

"Someone dangerous." Deadlock replies, taking over again and driving quickly home.

Though Etsuko is still unnerved about the mysterious voice, and the obvious concern Deadlock felt about his conversation with its owner, Etsuko still feels the adrenaline of her win as she walks toward the house.

She doesn't see her father at first, standing on the front steps, smiling at her. "So, how'd it go?"

Etsuko looks at him and smiles, memories of the race jazzing her up again. "It was amazing! You would not believe how well Deadlock performed and..." She freezes, her eyes wide in panic as she realizes it's her father asking her. "I mean…I…" She can't think of anything to cover her tracks. She'd blown her cover! There's no way her father wouldn't figure out what she's been doing now!

Thankfully, Deadlock distracts them by transforming, already scanning the area like he is looking for pursuers.

Kenji immediately picks up his tension and frowns at him. "What is it?"

"Decepticons." Deadlock growls. "They're getting close."

Kenji looks at him, frowning a little curiously. "You mentioned you were pursued by these Decepticons, but why are they hunting you? And who exactly are they?"

Deadlock, taking one last look around, crouches a little. "A wicked and cruel faction of our people, under the leadership of a former gladiator turned tyrant named Megatron. He seeks conquest and total control of Cybertron, possibly the universe itself for that matter. I have defected from their ranks and stolen valuable data to give to the Autobots when I find them."

Kenji nods. "I see." He pulls out his phone and steps aside to make a call.

Etsuko, feeling more shaken, looks at Deadlock. "So the person you talked to during the race is a Decepticon?"

Deadlock hangs his head. "He is. One I considered a brother, until we were ordered to eliminate a refugee camp. It was that order that made me realize how truly cruel the Decepticons are, but my former companion carried out the order with no hesitation, and when I protested that they were innocents, he simply justified their slaughter. I'm ashamed I did nothing more to stop the slaughter, but I knew then I must defect, no matter the consequences."

Kenji raises a brow. "Forgive me, Deadlock-san, but…why did you join the Decepticons? From what I can tell, you don't seem to fit in at all with them."

Deadlock frowns a little. "My former brother, Bludegon, and I witnessed the broadcast of a murder performed by the Autobots, the victim a high-ranking member of the High Counsel on Cybertron, and in our anger we aligned ourself with the Decepticons. I never heard the full details, only what was broadcasted over the public channels, but it was enough for me to make my decision. I only regret allowing myself to stay aligned with the Decepticons for as long as I did." He grimaces and turns his head in shame. "I should have seen them for what they are far sooner."

Sensing Deadlock didn't want to talk more about the injustice he'd seen right now, Etsuko looks up at Deadlock with a small smile. "At least you are doing the right thing now. So, what happens now?"

Kenji walks back over before Deadlock can reply. "I've called headquarters and told them Etsuko and I will be going to our countryside home for a few days."

Deadlock nods. "Very wise. I will stay here. I do not wish to involve you and your daughter in my fight. My pursuers are ruthless hunters and torturers, calling themselves the Decepticon Justice Division. They will not rest until they find and kill me."

"Then you must come with us!" Kenji protests.

"They won't find us in the country!" Etsuko adds.

Deadlock shakes his head firmly. "No. If the Justice Division sees that we are associated, they will not hesitate to either use you to get to me, or simply kill you both. Go, and do not worry. I will handle them." He has no confidence in his ability to actually fight the Justice Division, but he will go down fighting if he must.

Kenji sees the logic in Deadlock's words, and reluctantly puts a hand on Etsuko's shoulder. "We will do as he says. He is an honorable warrior. We must honor his wishes."

Etsuko glances between Deadlock and her father and, knowing when she's overruled, she quietly nods, but she hugs Deadlock's leg before following her father to grab some spare clothes and other items they'd need.

To distract herself, Etsuko pauses walking to her room. "Oto-san, about earlier. I…" She fumbles again with her words, searching for some excuse.

Kenji smirks a little at her. "No need to lie or make excuses, Etsuko. I know what you've been up to."

Etsuko blinks. "And you're…not upset?"

Kenji shakes his head. "Slightly concerned, as they are illegal races, but I'd be a hypocrite if I punished you."

Etsuko frowns in surprise. "Really?"

Kenji nods, chuckling. "Indeed. I was a member of an illegal fight club when I was not much older than you."

Etsuko laughs a little, partly in amusement that her and father have something in common, and partly in relief that she was not in trouble. "I would have liked to see that." She muses coyly.

"I'll have you know I was usually the victor, young lady." Kenji replies, pretending to take offense. He then gets a little more serious. "Etsuko, I only ask one thing."

"Yes?"

"Be sure you choose the right races. Never allow yourself to go too far. Understand?"

Etsuko nods. "Hai, Oto-san."

The two hug briefly before Kenji lets go. "You know, I could come to a race sometime. I'd bet on you for sure." Etsuko laughs and playfully smacks his shoulder. Kenji chuckles, then nods toward her room. "Now, we will need to leave tomorrow after I finish some things for work, so make sure you are ready before then."

"Yessir." Etsuko nods and walks to her room, glad to have the matter resolved, and a little bonding with her dad never hurt.

Despite the looming danger of the Decepticons, Etsuko can't help feeling almost relaxed as she starts to pack.

Deadlock completes a more through perimeter check, then ducks into the garage he'd gone into when he first met the Sasakis.

He had hoped, somehow, that they wouldn't be involved in his fight. He'd grown quite fond of them, especially young Etsuko, and would rather face the DJD alone than risk the humans being hurt or killed by those cruel hunters.

He sits in the garage, checking his swords once more, contemplating the inevitable encounter.

But as he does, something keeps crossing his mind like a racer around a track. Something Etsuko had said during the race. One word in particular.

He can't help but smirk slightly as he says it aloud to himself.

"Drift."

Chapter Text

Moonracer finds herself very bored as they drive into a more mountainous region.

"Don't get too far ahead, kid!" Brawn calls. "Remember, we're not the only ones out here looking for Deadlock."

Moonracer slows just a little, sighing. "Yeah, yeah. I just hate long drives when I can't transform." She grumbles.

Brawn laughs. "Me too, Moonracer, but we're getting close…more or less."

Before Moonracer can reply, there's a distant muffled explosion. Moonracer adjusts her mirrors to look behind her and sees-

"Brake!" She cries, following her own advice.

Thankfully, the other two Autobots are quick to react, dodging the missile speeding past them before another explosion detonates right in front of them.

"Off the main road! We can't involve humans!" Magnus calls, noticing a side road leading into the mountains, missing a sign that the road was blocked due to high risk of avalanches in the area.

Just as Ultra Magnus is about to make the turn behind Moonracer and Brawn, he's suddenly hit and knocked clean off the side of the road by a large Cybertronian tank with a Decepticon insignia proudly displayed.

"Magnus!" Moonracer cries.

"Keep going!" Brawn calls back, not stopping. "The 'Cons are on our tailpipe!"

Tarn transforms and slides down the mountainside with ease as he watches the truck tumble end over end until it hits the bottom of the canyon on its roof, wheels spinning in the air. "I must admit, Prime," he sneers, savoring the moment, "I wasn't expecting to see you here. I would love to terminate you myself, but sadly, Megatron wants that honor to himself. I'll not deny him his prize, but he never said in what condi-" The truck in front of him transforms and Tarn suddenly freezes, optics wide as if he's just seen a ghost. "You?"

Ultra Magnus glares up at his enemy with contempt. "So glad you remember me." He growls.

A sudden explosion draws his attention, and Magnus looks up to see the other Decepticons chasing his team. Magnus hesitates slightly, looking between Tarn and the Autobots, but ultimately decides to help his team.

Charging forward, Magnus leaps into the air and delivers a powerful left hook to Tarn's face, making the surprised Decepticon spin and fall to a knee.

Magnus rolls to the ground and begins transforming.

Behind him, Tarn regains his composure, using a punch-like motion to deploy two fusion cannons from his right arm. He fires, barely missing Magnus.

Meanwhile, Moonracer and Brawn barely manage to dodge another of the tank's blasts.

This guy is good. Brawn admits inwardly. The color scheme of the tank looks vaguely familiar, but Brawn can't focus on that right now. He does his best to continue dodging and leading Moonracer away from the Cons.

However, just as Brawn gets ahead of Moonracer, she's slammed into the mountain by a tanker truck with a Decepticon insignia on its grill.

"Moonracer!" Brawn cries in worry as the young Autobot is nearly slammed again, but then, when Brawn quickly adjusts his rearview mirrors, he notices no wreckage…and no sign of Moonracer.

"Where'd she go?" Helex asks in confusion.

Unbeknownst to him, Moonracer is currently crouched on the top of his fuel tank, a smug smile on her face as she begins firing at Bludgeon.

Growing annoyed by the constant barrage, Bludgeon aims his weapon at the green bot in front of him. Moonracer grins. My plan is working!

Steadying her aim, she pulls the trigger on her rifle and fires a shot straight down her opponent's barrel. A split second later, there's an explosion and the Decepticon roars in pain and fury at his weapon is now rendered useless.

Kaon, adjusting his mirrors to see what was going on, notices the small green Autobot immediately. "Helex, she's on top of you!" He calls.

Helex immediately began swerving back and forth in an attempt to dislodge the unwanted hitchhiker, left with no alternative before finally slamming on the brakes.

Thinking quickly, Moonracer nimbly leaps off and lands on the hood of Kaon's vehicle mode, causing him to lose control for a moment as the young bot leapt forward again and transformed, giving the Autobots a slight edge as she starts to catch back up to Brawn.

"Good job, kid."

Moonracer would be smiling if she were in robot mode. "That should stop Bludgeon from causing any problems."

Brawn adjusts his mirror back to the tank. So that's why I recognize him. He notes inwardly. "How do you know him?" He asks, curious.

Moonracer adjusts her mirror to look at him. "I've seen his handiwork in person."

Brawn is about to press her for details when he spots a dirt road ahead, branching off deeper into the mountains, a bridge barely visible, and he gets an idea to take care of their pursuers. "I've got an idea!"

With no further explanation, he breaks away from Moonracer up a different road. Moonracer, unsure what to do, continues down the road she's on, wondering what Brawn's plan is.

A little ways behind his team, Magnus accelerates, trying to catch up, dodging Tarn as he runs after him in robot mode, intent on a fight.

However, Magnus quickly slams into Helex, causing him to skid and before the Con can regain control, he's slammed into Bludgeon, causing the two of them to stall.

Any satisfaction Magnus feels in the small victory is soon dashed as Tarn simply leaps over the two and continues thundering after him.

Magnus inwardly grits his teeth and puts on a burst of speed. He has to catch up to his team and back them up!

Up ahead, Brawn transforms and skids to a halt, his hand forming a drill to place grenades, but as he's grabbing the grenades, a sudden collision makes him slam into the road, nearly falling off the side and down the mountain.

Grimacing, Brawn has only time to register that it's Kaon who ambushed him when his vision goes a little glitchy and his circuits vibrate with the sensation of electricity.

Brawn hears Kaon's cackling laughter. "Thought you could leave the party, didn't you? Or maybe set a little trap?" He increases the voltage and laughs harder. "Not a chance! I thought Wreckers were supposed to be tough, but that was embarrassingly easy! Caught you without even thinking about it! How's that feel, huh?!"

Brawn merely regains his footing, smirking at the cocky Con. "It tickles."

Enraged, Kaon leaps forward with a yell, managing to tear off Brawn's drill hand and drive a knife into Brawn's chest before the Wrecker can dodge.

Brawn looks up, then back at Kaon, scoffing with a knowing smirk on his face. Kaon doesn't like that look, so he follows Brawn's line of sight, only to realize too late that the drill, which had magnetized the grenades, somehow activated, onto it is hurdling right for a large collection of boulders balanced on the edge of the summit.

He'd played right into Brawn's hands!

Just before the explosion, Brawn laughs. "Yoink!" He thrusts Kaon off him and more in line with the boulders' path before he rolls off the edge of the road.

BOOM!

Kaon only has time for one terrified scream as the boulders start their descent…right toward him.

Down below, Magnus and Moonracer reach the bridge nearly at the same time, Moonracer just a bit ahead.

At the sound of an explosion and a scream, the two look up to see the rapidly approaching avalanche and Magnus acts quickly, pulling Moonracer off the bridge, positioning himself protectively over her as the boulders thunder down the mountain, a few knocking off Magnus' back, causing the large Wrecker to grunt.

Luckily, the remaining DJD members aren't so lucky, and Magnus swears he sees both of them caught by the dirt, trees, and boulders sliding down the mountain.

When the rumbling stops, Magnus stands and he and Moonracer examine the wreckage.

The bridge is completely destroyed, and much of the road would need a good amount of repair, but at least the DJD have been thrown into the ravine far below.

Moonracer and Magnus look over the edge where they stood and-

"Sir! It's Brawn!" Moonracer cries worriedly, spotting the Wrecker not far below them. "He's hurt!"

That's an understatement. Brawn must've been caught in the worst of the avalanche, his legs nearly completely crushed and dangling by wires, and the arm holding him to the cliffside isn't any better. In fact, it's creaking and straining under the weight of Brawn's body. It wouldn't hold long…

"Hang on!" Magnus calls, reaching down to grab Brawn's hand.

But Brawn weakly shakes his head, his other arm, slightly less damaged (but not by much), tosses something up. "Catch!" The voice is weak, too weak. Magnus had heard similar voices countless times on Cybertron and he knows what it means. Brawn's Spark is fading…

He automatically catches the object and looks down to see it's a data cylinder.

"Take it," Brawn mumbles weakly, his optics now flickering. "And tell Deadlock my debt is paid."

Magnus looks at Brawn in shock, then grits his teeth and leans down, reaching out again. "You can tell him yourself!" He doesn't want to lose any of his team, not like this!

However, Brawn's arm continues to break away, only being held together by a few wires now. Brawn smiles up at Magnus, his optics fading fast. His now free hand rises one last time in a feeble, sloppy salute. "Wreck and Rule!"

With that, the wires snap, and Brawn falls silently into the dirt cloud and fog below.

"No! Brawn!" Moonracer screams, falling to her knees and reaching down as if to catch him, but he's lost to view in seconds. She stays there, staring wide-eyed at the last spot she'd seen Brawn, her hand still outstretched toward the now swirling fog that holds Brawn's body. "No!"

Just like that…he's gone. His Spark is with Primus in the Well now, she knows that, but that brings little comfort as she struggles to process what just happened, trembling in grief.

Magnus lets her have a few moments, processing the loss himself.

Brawn could be an unruly Bot at times, but he was loyal to the end. Magnus had never once called into question Brawn's dedication to the Autobot cause.

He felt that Brawn would want to be remembered that way, going down fighting for the cause he dedicated everything to.

So after several minutes, Magnus puts a gentle hand on his apprentice's shoulder. She is still young, not having seen death like he has. "He died as he wished; fighting to the end." Magnus says quietly, unsure what else to say to comfort her. "Let us remember him that way."

Moonracer tries to compose herself, but struggles. Then she sees the cylinder in Magnus' hand. She decides to ask about it as a distraction.

"What is that?" She asks.

Magnus has a hunch, wordlessly activating the cylinder. "By the Allspark…" he breathes. It's just what he thought it would be…The list of the DJD's targets, and it's more extensive than he could've guessed. "This is the Decepticon Justice Division's list of targets, those the division are hunting, be it Autobot, traitor to the Decepticon cause, or simply a Decepticon in need of punishment." Magnus explains coldly, deactivating the cylinder before tucking it into a secure slot on his waist. "This is invaluable information, and we can potentially use it to delete the list from the Decepticon database, when we return to base with Deadlock."

Moonracer nods, glad that at least Brawn's death is not in vain. "Should we keep moving, sir?" She asks, wondering what their next move is.

Sad as she is about Brawn's loss, she knows he'd kick her tailpipe if she doesn't keep moving forward and find Deadlock.

Magnus nods, sighing. "Yes. Unfortunately, with this road now destroyed, we'll have to take a longer route, which will put us in Tokyo after dark. You alright to move out?" He eyes his apprentice, wanting to ensure she's alright.

Moonracer looks down the ravine sadly, then sighs heavily. "Brawn wouldn't want us to sulk around here. He'd tell us to make sure we finish the mission, so I'm ready."

Magnus nods back down the road, feeling a bit of pride in his young apprentice. "Alright, then let's head out." But he hesitates as Moonracer passes him, glaring down into the wreckage the avalanche left behind as she transforms to start heading down the mountain as best she can. "I should have dealt with you back on Cybertron." He growls before moving away from the edge.

Moonracer pretends she didn't hear as she see Magnus transform and head down the mountain, but inwardly she realizes a few things about her commander.

One, that he had spoken to Tarn.

Two, that whatever conflict the two of them had with each other, it was deeply personal...and unresolved.

Chapter Text

A mech slowly regains consciousness, finding himself in a laboratory, strapped down to a table. He's confused, as last he remembered-wait, what is the last thing he remembered?

Suddenly, several shadowed forms surround him and begin pulling out what looked like tools. "Is he ready for the procedure?" a familiar voice asks. Turning his head, he spots who it belongs to.

One of the other figures speaks up. "He is sir. But with all due respect, don't you think this is a bit extreme? He's done nothing wrong and by all accounts-"

The voice is suddenly silenced as the other voice continues. "Proceed with the operation."

He began to panic, thrashing around violently. Soon, he broke his right arm free. The shadowy figures rushed forward to restrain him again, but as they tried, he threw them off and punched upwards.

Tarn is suddenly pulled from the waking nightmare when he feels something grab his arm. In an instant, he's pulled into the light from under a pile of boulders. Looking up, he sees to his surprise that it was Bludgeon who'd helped him, albeit with a rather disgusted look on his face.

"You should be grateful I even stayed to help you." Bludgeon sneers, helping Tarn to his feet. Tarn doesn't say anything but does give a brief nod of appreciation to the assassin before stepping away.

"Sir!" Tarn and Bludgeon turn to see Helex, battered and dented, but still functioning as if nothing had happened, holding what looked to be Kaon's mangled body in one of his large hands.

He looks offline, but as Bludgeon looks closer, the body is still moving slightly, but his vocal processor had been damaged in the avalanche, something that had gone unnoticed by his other compatriots.

A dark smirk forms on Bludgeon's face as an opportunity presents itself to the assassin.

"So, you found the dead chassis of Kaon, so what?" Bludgeon asks. Unnoticed by the other two, Kaon gives Bludgeon a glare of hatred before Helex continues warily.

"It's not that. He doesn't have the List copy on him."

Tarn tenses in fury before turning away from the group and walking off. Without saying a word, he simply makes a gesture with his hand, one Helex knew the meaning of and the cockpit in his chest springs open.

Kaon's optics go wide in horror as he's suddenly crammed into the cockpit and the lid snaps closed. In the next instant, the cockpit lit up a fiery orange and Kaon screams silently, unnoticed and unheard by Helex and Tarn.

While it's a gruesome sight to witness, Bludgeon can't turn away, watching with sadistic satisfaction as the irritating Decepticon he had come to loathe so much melts away into nothingness.

As Kaon melts, Bludgeon also notices that certain areas on Helex glowed as well, along with the sound of something powering up.

With that out of the way, Bludgeon can't help a question. "What is so important about that copy of this 'List', anyway?"

Helex turns to Bludgeon, an almost panicked look on his face. "That copy has a direct link to the main computers back on Cybertron" he explains. "If the Autobots somehow got ahold of it, they would be able to use it and delete all copies and files containing it." Helex turns back to Tarn, who has his back to the two. "And with Kaon gone, sir, we have no way of tracking down Deadlock's precise location once we've reached the city. How will we be able to find him now?" Tarn stays silent, seemingly not hearing the question, so Helex steps forward with noticeable caution. "Sir?" he asks again.

Still no response. Helex, though nervous, is about to ask again, until he hears, "Etsuko Sasaki."

Helex turns to face Bludgeon, who has his head down in thought. "Come again?" Helex asks.

Bludgeon looks up to face Helex. "When I contacted Deadlock," he explains with minimal patience, "I overheard something in the background. An announcement of sorts. I heard a particular term, something called 'Etsuko Sasaki'. That could be a potential lead."

Helex stares at the assassin with what looks like a combination of fury and shock that the troublesome assassin actually had a lead for them.

Bludgeon had not said anything about this to the DJD, but as Helex thought back over the last few days and the others' attitudes toward the assassin, he could somewhat understand his refusal. Taking the initiative, Helex accesses the internet to begin searching for the term.

Soon, he got a hit. "I've got something. 'Etsuko Sasaki' isn't a term, it's the name of a human." Helex raises his arm and a holo-projector displays the image of two humans, one older male and a young female, on what looked like a news bulletin. The female, Etsuko, had apparently won some kind of award. "Deadlock must have some kind of connection with the female."

Bludgeon stares at the image, memorizing every detail of the young female human.

"Perfect," he muses with a wicked grin. "We find her, and we can use her to draw Deadlock to me, then." He says coldly.

Helex switched off the projector and steps forward to protest.

"You've got your wish, assassin." Confused, Bludgeon and Helex turn to look at Tarn, who still had his back to them, but they could see that his posture is full of rage. "The traitor and the female Autobot are yours to do with as you please. But if either of you lays so much as a finger on Ultra Magnus before me…" Tarn finally turns around, causing both Helex and the usually stoic Bludgeon to recoil at the unbridled rage in Tarn's optics. "I will have your head on my desk next to his!"

#=#= (The Sasaki House) =#=#=

Etsuko feels a bit anxious as she sets the final few things in a backpack, waiting for her father and Deadlock to return. She feels the danger they're in if these Decepticons find them, so she's eager to get as much of a headstart as she can.

But her father was called away to a last-minute work meeting that he could not get out of, much to his chagrin.

But he had called and told her he was coming home, so Etsuko feels a little relieved…until she feels the ground trembling.

At first thinking it's an earthquake, Etsuko starts to run, but realizes it has a pattern, almost like footsteps. She then hears an almighty screech of metal on metal and frowns.

Is Deadlock back? Why would he have transformed?

She glances out the window, only to be met with a face even larger than Deadlock's, far more intimidating and menacing, looking like a metal skull. She catches a glimpse of the insignia on his chest. Just like Deadlock's, only not scratched, proudly displayed.

Deadlock's words come to mind; 'any who bear this insignia and the name Decepticon can never be trusted' and her eyes go wide as she backs up.

That's not Deadlock!

#=#=#=#

Kenji can feel his nerves rising as he and Deadlock speed home. He's eager to get Estuko and leave before the Decepticons Deadlock is so scared of show up.

The meeting had gone on longer than he anticipated, but now he was finally able to go home. He had called Etsuko as he left the office, but would not relax until he and Etsuko were on their way to the countryside.

He then sees a thin trail of smoke…right where his house is and curses, eyes wide in fear. "Etsuko!"

Deadlock sees it too and wordlessly speeds up, arriving at the house to see that the gate had been wrenched aside, completely wrecked, and right where Etsuko's room is is a rather large hole, the smoke Kenji had seen trailing upward in thin wafts.

Kenji gets out of Deadlock and runs into the hole, but of course there is no trace of his daughter. I was gone less than two hours! Kenji thinks, guilt and worry consuming him. Was Etsuko alright? Had the Decepticons captured her, or…worse?

He tries to calm down, reasoning that, if they had killed his precious daughter, they would still be here to lord their work over Deadlock, but the question remains…

How did the Decepticons know who Etsuko is and her connection to Deadlock?

Before he can even speak to Deadlock, who is examining the destruction grimly, the sound of approaching vehicles is heard and just as he sees a blue and red semi-truck and a mint green sports car reach the gate, they transform into two Cybertronians Deadlock had yet to encounter face-to-face.

As such, he gets into a stance, his swords in his hands. "Who are you?" He demands.

The larger, a blue and red mech, puts his hands up. "Deadlock, I presume?" He asks.

Deadlock narrows his eyes. "Depends on who is asking."

The mech nods, making sure to show his Elite Guard insignia. "I am Ultra Magnus, second-in-command of the Autobots." He gestures to the smaller mint green femme beside him. "This is my apprentice, Moonracer."

She waves, looking a bit nervous. "Pleasure. We heard an explosion and came to investigate."

Deadlock looks back at the smoking hole in the house and scowls. "The Decepticon Justice Division's handiwork, if I had to guess."

Ultra Magnus nods, gritting his teeth. "I believe so, as well. The cowards."

Deadlock sighs, sheathing one sword. "Despite the circumstances, I am grateful to finally meet Autobots."

Ultra Magnus nods. "It is good to finally meet you, as well."

Moonracer tilts her head a little, looking up at the commander. "What do we do now, sir?"

#=#= (The Decepticon Justice Division) =#=#=

Etsuko had never been more terrified in her life. She had tried to run away from the huge Decepticon, but an explosion had knocked her completely over just as she escaped her bedroom. A metal hand had then grabbed her before she could recover and she found herself restrained by seatbelts inside some kind of tank.

"W-what do you want from me?" She asks timidly, but receives no answer. Over the radio, she hears the same language she heard when Drift and the Decepticon were talking during the race, but she couldn't understand a word. "Are you the one who talked to Deadlock-san?" She assumes so, but again gets nothing that seemed to be directed at her in response.

Helex, having preemptively set his translation routines to the local dialect, listens to the girl. She'd obviously never been in a situation like this before, being seemingly young for the local lifeforms. It would be easy to torture information out of her, if need be.

"Sir, where do we set the trap?" Helex asks, knowing now was not the time to potentially extract information out of their hostage. "We have the bait now." What he doesn't fully realize in the moment is that his translation systems translated his speech as well as incoming audio.

As such, Etsuko hears the question, a wild and probably stupid idea forming in her head. "You are all cowards!" She calls boldly, trying to keep her fear out of her voice. "I've seen Deadlock in action! He knows this city inside and out! The only place he doesn't know is the construction site over-" She stops herself, pretending like she hadn't meant to mention the construction site.

She waits only a moment or two before another angry voice comes over the radio. "Where is this site, fleshling?"

Tarn knew it may be a bluff of some kind, but in lieu of any other ideas, he decided a construction site might prove a good place to lay a trap.

Etsuko cheers internally. Her crazy idea is working!

However, her joy is short-lived when Bludgeon, as soon as he realized the Justice Division were actually talking to the hostage in it's own language, runs a translation routine and catches the majority of the conversation.

"I-I don't know what you're talking-" She replies, doing her best to keep up the act when Bludgeon decides to tighten the odd belts in his alt mode around the hostage, feeling a bit of satisfaction when she groans in pain.

"Where is it?" Bludgeon growls. "I won't ask again."

#=#= (The Sasaki House) =#=#=

Kenji desperately tries to contain himself, but his panic at the thought of his daughter in the hands of the Decepticons was too much and he steps forward.

"Forgive me, but they took my daughter! Please! Isn't there anything you can-" His phone starts buzzing and, thinking it's Etsuko (forgetting she likely doesn't have her phone or access to it if she does somehow have it), he quickly answers the call, barely seeing it was the office. The giant robots were discussing the situation and didn't seem to have heard him. "Moshi-moshi?"

"Sir, surveillance cameras picked up vehicles entering the construction site. However they are, they didn't hesitate! They even have a tank, of all things! Do you want me to contact the authorities?" It was one of the security staff. He was about to say yes when he realized what may have happened.

Had Etsuko somehow convinced the Justice Division to go to the construction site to presumably lay a trap for Deadlock so the security staff would pick up them breaking in and alert him?

He feels a mix of pride in his daughter's quick-thinking and concern that perhaps the Decepticons would end up hurting her or worse when they realize she had played them and helped lay a trap for them?

Hoping against hope he was doing the right thing, he swallows. "No, I'll do it. Thank you for alerting me."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll call them right now."

"Of course, sir." With that the staff hangs up and Kenji puts his phone back in his pocket.

The robots had reached a lull in the conversation so he once again approaches them. "I think I know where they took my daughter." He says, making sure to speak louder this time.

Deadlock crouches to speak to him. "Where?"

"The construction site. I got a call from the security staff saying the cameras picked up vehicles breaking in. I think she may have convinced them to set their ambush there."

"Wait, your daughter?" Moonracer asks, crouching as well. "You think they have your daughter?" She'd learned about human families during her few days on Earth before leaving on this mission.

Kenji nods. "I am certain of it. I don't know how they discovered we have a connection to Deadlock, but that is her bedroom there." He gestures to the wreckage that had now stopped smoking. "And she is nowhere to be seen."

Deadlock places a gentle finger comfortingly on Kenji's shoulder. "I will get her back, I promise."

Moonracer turns to Ultra Magnus. "Sir?" Her face makes it clear she's asking if they'll help rescue the girl.

Magnus considers. He knows the Prime prefers to limit contact with humans, but it seems these two were already involved in this situation. And the fact that the Justice Division took the girl as a hostage did not bode well. She would likely be killed if they did nothing…and he knows the mandate to protect all sentient life overrules Optimus' preference not to involve humans.

And, well…this way, he can finally settle things once and for all with Tarn.

"We will help you, Deadlock." He decides. "I will check in with the Prime and notify him we have found you, then we will leave." He holds up a hand to stall Moonracer's excited reaction to his decision as Deadlock stands, bowing in gratitude for their help. "You know where to go?" He asks.

Deadlock nods. "Yes." He glances down at Kenji. "Remain here. We will return with Etsuko when the Division have been dealt with, I swear on the Allspark."

"Not a chance!" Kenji protests, face determined. "Please!"

Deadlock shakes his head. "It is not a good idea. You could be hurt."

Magnus steps closer, nodding but not crouching down. "Deadlock is correct. You'd only get hurt if you were to come with us."

Kenji looks between the giant robots desperately. He had to help rescue Etsuko! He just had to! "She's my daughter! I can help you! I know that site very well! I can tell you where to go to get the upper hand on the way there!"

Moonracer sighs. "We can leave him outside the site once he's explained where we should go." She suggests. "I know if someone I cared about was a hostage, I'd want to help rescue them any way I could."

Deadlock hangs his head for a moment and then groans. "...very well. I will bring you with us if you promise to remain outside the site until the battle is over."

While it wasn't what Kenji wanted, he knows the robots would only be concerned about him if he were in the middle of the battle. "...alright. Thank you."

Magnus nods. "Now that's settled, we must get going if we wish to have any element of surprise."

Deadlock nods. "Agreed."

Magnus steps aside to motion for Deadlock to take the lead. "We will follow you and the human."

Deadlock pauses for a moment, grateful they trust him to guide them, then nods and transforms. "Thank you." He opens his driver-side door for Kenji, who climbs in quickly.

As the mechs leave, Moonracer hesitates, realizing one of the reasons Magnus agreed to help Deadlock rescue the girl.

He wanted to take on Tarn alone.

She sighs, then transforms and follows her commander and the former Decepticon they'd come all this way to find.

Primus, please be with us.

Chapter Text

Deadlock led the Autobots to the construction site, all the while mentally preparing himself for the inevitable battle with his former friend. When they arrived, the Autobots transformed while Kenji stepped out of Deadlock to allow him to do the same. In front of them, they saw that the gate had been smashed open and saw tread marks in the dirt leading them inside.

Moonracer looks around with some concern. "This place is huge. Impressively so, but it'll take forever to find them." Magnus doesn't seem to acknowledge her, stepping through what is left of the gate to follow the trail until it splits off in three separate directions.

"They're trying to separate us." He notes, glaring down at the separating tracks.

Deadlock walks up next to him and frowns. "Bludgeon never utilizes these sort of tactic," he comments grimly, "He normally charges in and kills everything in his path."

Behind them, Moonracer kneels down to examine the tracks. Looking up, she sees Magnus in that same tense posture from earlier, staring at a particular set of tracks. She knows exactly what he's thinking.

"With all due respect, sir," she begins cautiously before blurting out "You can't seriously be considering facing Tarn alone!" Magnus spins around at his student's outburst, his stern expression painted with that same unfamiliar fury for Tarn, but Moonracer doesn't shrivel back at it, firm expression on her face. She knows she is talking back to a superior officer, but she also knows he can't win against Tarn. Not alone, anyway.

Magnus' face softens slightly and he sighs. "I know it's dangerous, but-"

Moonracer cuts him off with a stern look and pointed finger, knowing she may be getting herself in trouble, but out of concern for Magnus, she can't help speaking up. "But nothing! We are not here to settle old scores!" Magnus flinches slightly at this, as he never said anything about old scores. Moonracer lowers her head and continues shakily, "You don't have to explain. I can see it in your optics; Tarn did something to you and you want payback for it." She turns away, arms folded across her chest, her nerve to talk this way to her commander fading.

Ultra Magnus has been her closest companion, her family even and she can't bear the thought of losing him.

Deadlock turns to Magnus, who now looks conflicted. "She's right." Deadlock said. "Etsuko is in danger and is our main priority." Magnus spares the warrior a glance. While the former Decepticon is correct, he still knows that Tarn will never stop his brutality. Even if they saved the girl, Tarn would just hunt them down wherever they went.

Sighing, Magnus says, "I have to do this." He gestures to Kenji, "For their safety." He doesn't notice Moonracer tense up at what he said. Deadlock looks down on his human friend, and with a great deal of reluctance, has to agree. He looks up at Magnus and says coldly "Do not deny yourself our help, should you need it."

Magnus nods in agreement. Deadlock then motions to one of the set of tracks. "I'll take Moonracer and try to find Etsuko." Moonracer turns around slightly, the anguish evident on her face. Magnus felt a strong feeling of regret, knowing that he had to abandon his student, but he had to do what he felt was right. This way, she was at least spared fighting Tarn.

Deadlock places a hand on Moonracer's shoulder and motions with his head to follow before going on ahead with Kenji in tow. Moonracer spares one last glare at her teacher before following. She had only made it a few steps, however, before she heard, "He was an Autobot once." Moonracer froze at this revelation as Magnus continued to explain. "And…one of my closest friends."

The young bot's optics were wide in shock. So that was it. The hatred towards Tarn. The desire for revenge. He had betrayed his friend and the Autobots. Moonracer spun around to speak but Magnus had already walked away. She stands there in stunned silence for a moment until she hears footsteps come up behind her. "War is a terrible thing to live through. It forces you to realize what kind of person or monster you can become."

Moonracer turned her head to see Deadlock standing just behind her, giving her a sympathetic look. She almost wanted to lash out at him but realized something. "But that doesn't mean the monsters can't see the error of their choices and choose to redeem themselves." She replies, turning to face Deadlock with a small smile. "You alone are proof of that."

Deadlock smiles back before bowing a little. "Thank you for allowing me the chance to repent and atone for my past sins." He stood up straight before motioning to the tracks. "Come on, we need to find Etsuko."

"I'm coming, too!" Kenji says quickly, causing Deadlock to turn back to him.

"That was not the agreement." He says, equally as firm. "You need to remain outside the site."

Kenji narrows his eyes. "I know, but I need to know she's ok. I need to see her." His face then shifts, showing a concerned father that would do anything for his daughter.

Deadlock groans after thinking it through for a moment. "Stay close and do as I say."

Kenji nods and the three continue moving into the site.

Soon, several minutes have passed as Deadlock, Kenji, and Moonracer creep along, keeping an eye out for any Decepticons. Just in front of them, Kenji focuses on the tracks, telling them which direction they need to go next. The site is far too quiet, and it had all three of them on edge.

Deadlock decides to break the silence by asking, "If you don't mind, were you and Ultra Magnus the only ones who chose to come find me?"

Moonracer looks at the warrior before sighing, looking down in sorrow. "No," she replies somberly, "We lost one when the 'Cons ambushed us on the road. Brawn."

Deadlock bows his head in reverence. "I'm sorry for your loss. If you wish to blame me, I won't…"

Moonracer suddenly waved her hand to stop him. "No! Please don't. He knew what he was getting himself into when he joined us and wouldn't want any of us blaming ourselves. But he did have a message to pass on to you."

Deadlock frowns. "Oh?"

Moonracer smiles a little. "He wanted to say, 'My debt is repaid.' I'm not sure if you remember, but you helped him direct a refugee ship he was captaining to a safer route."

Deadlock takes a moment, and smiles as he remembers that meeting. He turns to Moonracer, nodding gratefully. "I wasn't aware he felt as if he were in my debt. But he had true honor and a pure Spark, to wish to help a mech who was once considered an enemy."

The two continue on their way, but Deadlock stops suddenly as something falls in front of him.

Moonracer nearly bumps into him as she looks in front of him. "What is it?" she asks cautiously.

Kenji turns around, having been ahead of Deadlock when the object fell, and his eyes go wide as he processes what it was. "Etsuko's jacket."

Deadlock kneels down and gingerly picks it up to examine it, fear starting to flood through him.

Moonracer quickly raises her sniper rifle and peers through the scope at the top of the building they're standing by on a hunch, and sure enough she sees a small figure, shaking with fright.

"She's up there. She's alive" Moonracer points up and Deadlock and Kenji stared up at where she pointed.

Kenji then pieces it together, eyes widening. "She must've dropped that jacket to tell us where she is. Come one, let's go!" He began to run, but Deadlock put his hand in front of Kenji to stop him.

"You need to stay here." He ordered but Kenji is persistent.

"I am not losing my daughter. Even if I have to tie myself onto one of your swords, I'm going."

Deadlock looks down to reason with him, but he sees a stubbornness he only really saw in one other person: himself. Sighing, he carefully picks Kenji up and places him on his shoulder. "Hold on tight," He murmurs, not liking the situation, as he points to the steel support beams near where they stood. "It's going to be a long drop if you don't."

Kenji steels himself and, using Etsuko's jacket, secures himself as best as he can to the handle of Deadlock's sword.

Deadlock and Moonracer then position themselves at the base of the building and with a leap begin their climb to the top. With every beam they grabbed hold to, each one gave a groan as if they couldn't hold the Cybertronians' weight for long.

But outside of that, it was pretty easy going until about fifty feet up, when a large explosion rocked the building, causing Deadlock to lose his grip. Thinking quickly, he pulls out the sword Kenji isn't strapped to and manages to position it between the supports to catch himself and keep him and Kenji from falling.

Moonracer, on the other hand, isn't quite as lucky. She loses her grip and falls off the structure, landing with a hard thud on the ground below.

Deadlock looks down to see her land. "Are you alright?" He shouts down to her.

Moonracer slowly stands up, groaning in pain. "I've been better."

Deadlock sighs in relief that she's alright.

But on her left, she then hears the roar of an engine and a pair of bright headlights switch on, momentarily dazing Moonracer. As she looks over, she sees that it's the tanker truck from earlier about eighty feet away, positioned to drive right at the base of the structure Deadlock was climbing.

Moonracer quickly realizes what he was planning; ram into the support beams and try to shake off Deadlock. Moonracer panics briefly, wondering what she could do before she comes to a decision. Pulling out her sniper, she aims at the truck, all the while thinking, I'm really going to regret doing this. With that, she lets off a shot that knocks one of the truck's mirrors off, causing it to slowly turn on her.

Deadlock sees what she's doing and immediately calls down, concerned. "Are you mad?!"

Moonracer looks up and shouts back, "I got this! Go get the girl!" She continues to fire multiple times at the truck.

Deadlock shifts, wanting to drop down and help the young bot, but he knows she's right. Kenji gives him a look that says he isn't happy about this either, but he knows they need to push on and save his daughter. So Deadlock continues his climb, gritting his teeth.

Moonracer keeps drawing the Decepticon's attention towards her, and with one final hit, the truck begins driving fast towards the young bot. Trying to keep calm, Moonracer looks around for somewhere to take cover, and behind her, about forty feet away, there's an opening at the base of the building just large enough for her to at least slide through.

Figuring there isn't a better choice, she bolts for it as fast as she can. Behind her, she hears the truck getting dangerously close, then begins transforming. At the last second, Moonracer falls to her back and slides into the opening, just missed by the 'Con's large hand. It was a close call, but Moonracer fails to notice that the ground beneath her led to a pit as she yelped, falling into it.

When she hit the bottom, she accidentally fires a shot from her rifle. She only got a quick glance as the bullet hit a tank on the other side of the pit and explodes. She winces slightly. I'll have to apologize for that, if I survive this. She stands up, but as she does, a pair of small arms reach through the opening to try and grab her.

She backs up quickly, but one of them manages to grab her shoulder and slowly begin dragging her outside. Looking around, she spots a container full of scrap metal, one piece looking particularly sharp. With effort, she reaches down and grabs it, but before she can use it, the second arm reaches in for her.

Moonracer gives a shout as she swings her makeshift weapon and slices the extra arm off, earning a scream of pain from her attacker. She then swings again at the arm holding her and with another scream, Moonracer falls to the ground and begins crawling backwards.

Outside the pit, Helex pulls back and looks down to see his secondary arms were now worthless. Growling, he bent over as a nozzle sprung out of his forearm.

Moonracer heard a hissing sound and as she looks up, she sees what looked like the barrel of a blaster pointed toward her, a flame lighting the tip. Instinctively, she leaps to the side before a torrent of flame erupts from it, melting some of the steel beams just behind where she'd been not a second ago. Knowing she can't fight an adversary like this alone, she decides to retreat to the other side of the pit, all the while worry gnaws at her, and not just about herself.

Ultra Magnus, where are you?

[Several minutes earlier]

Magnus follows the trail for a while, flinching slightly at every shadow that moves, his mind only half-focused on his task. The image of Moonracer's glare continuously flashes in his mind. He knows she was right; this wasn't supposed to be about revenge. It was supposed to be a rescue mission and a retrieval of a new Autobot.

Magnus sighs to himself, beginning to wonder if he is as good a mentor as Prime had told him he could be, if their retrieval mission is proving less important than settling an old score and making sure Tarn could no longer hurt anyone else.

Magnus stops for a moment, trying to gather himself. Maybe he should have stayed with the others after all…

But his thoughts are interrupted as he notices the trail he's following suddenly disappears not ten feet from where he stands. He turns around and sees that he is still on the right track, but the tread marks just stop abruptly. He glances around cautiously, but the only thing around him is all the human construction equipment, the building behind him, and a large pit about thirty feet away.

Suddenly, the wall behind him exploded, sending Magnus flying. A moment later, as he slowly starts to pick himself up off the ground, shaking his head to clear his vision, spotting a large unmistakable silhouette walking through the smoke and debris, with two glowing red eyes glaring at him.

Magnus, now alert, moves quickly back to his feet. In an instant, he charges forward, and from the smoke in front of him, Tarn burst forth, charging as well. Magnus' previous thoughts all seemed to dissipate, as he was ready to face his opponent. And when the two are finally close enough, they both throw a heavy punch.

There's no going back now, Magnus notes grimly, even if I wanted to.

Chapter Text

Deadlock could hear the sound of fighting below him and spared a glance to see that Ultra Magnus had engaged Tarn off a little ways away from everyone else. He had yet to see or hear anything from Moonracer after she drew the other Decepticon away, but he had to focus on rescuing Etsuko.

Kenji had kept a firm grasp on Deadlock's shoulder and Etsuko's jacket as Deadlock climbed up the scaffolding, face set in determination to not only hang on, but to rescue his daughter.

The two reach the landing they'd seen Etsuko on and Deadlock carefully jumps onto it, setting Kenji down and drawing one of his swords. He stays against the wall and slowly makes his way to a corner just ahead. Kenji follows closely, keeping his eyes out for anything that could leap out at them.

When Deadlock reaches the corner, he stops suddenly and uses the flat of his sword in front of Kenji to stop him as well. When Kenji glances up to see what was the matter, Deadlock is peering around the corner. Kenji walks the short distance to see what Deadlock is looking at and gasps, seeing the gigantic Bludgeon, who is kneeling, head down in meditation. And there, just off to the side at the edge of the building, watching Bludgeon with fear in her eyes, is Etsuko.

"Etsuko…" Kenji nearly sprints to her, but Deadlock stops him and pulls him back behind the wall. "What are you doing?" He whisper-yells at Deadlock.

The warrior simply stands, eyes now on Bludgeon. "Wait for an opening." Without another word, he walks around the corner, using his sword to point to what looks like an air duct just big enough for a human to crawl through. Kenji suddenly understands. He just needed to wait a little.

Deadlock walks up to Bludgeon, his sword held firmly in his hand, and occasionally sparing a glance at Etsuko, who took notice.

"Deadlock…" She whispers in fear.

Bludgeon chuckles. "I knew this would draw you out." He calls tauntingly, keeping his head down. "You should be grateful. The others are occupied, from what I hear." Deadlock doesn't respond, simply glaring at his old friend. How he had not seen Bludgeon's true nature before he didn't know. Perhaps he had willfully ignored it, but now it oozes from him like a bad odor. Bludgeon raises his head to face Deadlock. "If either of them got to you, you know what they would do to you. But I will give you what they never would; a quick death." He then stands, allowing Etsuko to fully realize how much bigger he is than Deadlock.

Her fear for herself quickly shifts to fear for her friend. However, despite Bludgeon's imposing stature, Deadlock remains cool and collected.

"I would never have thought that you would lower your standards to work with such vile beings," Deadlock said in a low tone, "I suppose that's what happens when you only do what is necessary for the Decepticons. Then again, now I see that with your disregard for defenseless beings, you fit right in with these monsters, 'brother'." He shudders at the word, gripping his sword tighter in anger. "Just calling you that disgusts me."

Bludgeon can't believe what he's hearing; his brother, who joined the Decepticons with him, is not only insulting him, but denying their long-standing friendship. Fury builds up in him as he tilts his head. "You also chose to join the Decepticons with me." He growls. "And now, you insult me, after all the years we trained and worked with each other?" Slowly, Bludgeon takes out his blaster and aims it at Deadlock. "I thought you were better than this, that you would never turn on me, but if that's the case, if all the years we spent meant nothing, then you will die with the rest of the Autobot resistance."

"Without honor?!" Deadlock snaps back, tone full of icy anger, causing Bludgeon to pause for a moment and Etsuko to stare at her friend in shock. "We both vowed that one of us would become a Metallikato master." Deadlock continues, recalling the better days spent training with Master Yoketron. "That one of us would best the other. And when that day came, we were both granted the rank. Even now, are you so far gone that you will not grant me the honor of a deciding match?"

Bludgeon glares at his brother, a smirk slowly forming. If that's how my former brother wishes it, very well he thinks to himself, confident he can overpower Deadlock. Bludgeon lowers the blaster and throws it off the side of the building, gesturing for Deadlock to prepare himself.

Etsuko watches as Deadlock draws his second sword, and Bludgeon draws his katana. She silently prays for her friend to win what she now knows was an inevitable confrontation, given their history together.

With a cry, Bludgeon swings his katana at Deadlock's midsection, only for him to parry it with his left sword. Using his right sword, Deadlock pushes Bludgeon's katana away and swings both his swords at Bludgeon's neck and chest. The larger Con leans back, dodging both blades, but is met with a kick to the side of the head.

The attack hardly phases Bludgeon as he backhands Deadlock hard, throwing him to the side. Deadlock spins himself around in mid-air and lands on his feet, just in time to parry Bludgeon from stabbing him in the spark. Then, in a flurry of swings nearly too fast for Etsuko to keep up with, Deadlock attacks Bludgeon, only to be blocked at every turn, albeit with some difficulty as Bludgeon was barely able to keep up with Deadlock's speed.

Etsuko watches, mesmerized, as the two samurai robots fought, then realizes, with how much the ground is shaking, that she has to get away from the edge of the roof and the lethal fall that would follow. Taking the chance, she bolts for the wall opposite of where she stood.

Once she gets there, she leans against the wall as Deadlock performs an impressive leap over Bludgeon and tries to slice his back, only for the larger bot to spin around and block just in time.

Bludgeon pushes Deadlock back and swings his katana again. This time, Deadlock leaps nimbly over the sword, spinning and managing to land a quick slice to Bludgeon's left bicep.

Groaning, Bludgeon swings his leg around and catches Deadlock's legs, tripping him onto his back. Etsuko gasps, but Deadlock quickly leaps back to his feet and parries another swing from the katana with only milliseconds to spare.

Etsuko doesn't realize she had slowly been backing away from the fight on instinct until she fell backwards from where the wall had ended. She quickly stands back up, only for a hand to cover her mouth. Giving a muffled scream, she spins around to see her father holding his finger up to his mouth to get her to be silent. With a quick sob of relief, Etsuko throws her arms around Kenji.

"It's okay now. I'm here." Kenji assures her, stroking her hair. But he's quickly distracted by the continuing battle in front of him. Etsuko also turns around to see Deadlock perform a spinning leap in the air, all the while landing three consecutive kicks to Bludgeon's face, forcing him back. In spite of what was happening, Kenji couldn't help but let his jaw go slack in admiration of the mech's skill.

"He's gotta teach me some of that." He murmurs in awe.

Etsuko looks up at her father's awestruck expression and can't help a small chuckle, despite the still tense situation they're in. "We can ask for lessons later, but we need to get out of here. Any ideas?"

Kenji collects himself, then nods over his shoulder. What Etsuko sees is a kind of chute that's used to send debris to a dumpster below. It isn't perfect, but it would work. The two run for it just as Deadlock is thrown into the corner of the wall, smashing through it and landing hard on the ground.

Shaking his head, he notices the Sasakis heading for the chute. Now that his friends are safe, he turns his attention back to Bludgeon, who was coming in for another attack, his katana slicing down too powerfully to parry.

Deadlock rolls to the side and back up practically in one movement, ready to continue. He just has to stall long enough for the Sasakis to get out of the site. Just a little longer…

The Sasakis, meanwhile, make it to the chute and Kenji has Etsuko go first. After she had gone, Kenji follows after, praying all the way for a soft landing. When the end of the slide came into view, he's relieved to see an empty dumpster sitting on an elevated platform at the bottom. Kenji comes flying out of the chute with a loud thud, groaning in pain at the not-so-pleasant landing. But the pain could wait as he moves over to Etsuko.

"Are you alright?" he asks, parental worry evident in his voice.

Etsuko smiles even as she rolls her shoulders. "If I can be honest, that was actually a lot of fun." The two sit in silence, looking at each other for a moment before they both start laughing, the comedy of using a slide to escape into a dumpster amusing them both.

But the laughter is abruptly stopped as the dumpster suddenly shakes as something stomps nearby.

"Where are you, little Autobot? I'm looking for you." The two hear from below. Getting out of the dumpster onto the platform, they look down to see a large robot scouring the site for something, occasionally shooting a jet of flame from its arm. Not too far away, Kenji also sees Moonracer, trying to keep from being discovered.

Kenji knows immediately that the smaller bot doesn't stand a chance, but what can he do against something that large? Suddenly a metallic creak above him draws his attention. Looking up, Kenji finds his solution and grins.

Moonracer cautiously moves toward a half-constructed wall and ducks behind it. Peering around it, she spots her hunter's back turned to her, as well as a pair of tubes running down his right forearm. Another burst of flame caused them to glow brightly, and the young bot realizes that those lines are fueling the flamethrower.

Looking around, thinking quickly, she sees a small bundle of metal rods and picks it up.

Getting a quick feel for the weight, she turns and throws it just to the right of her pursuer. The loud clang drew his attention, and he spins around, firing another stream of flame towards the sound. "I know you're around here somewhere!" He snarls.

The distraction working, Moonracer aims her rifle and fires two shots in quick succession. Her aim, as always, is true and the glowing tubes burst open, causing molten metal and hot fuel to pour out and burn the Decepticon's arm causing him to go into a panic, waving his arm and crying out in pain.

With his weapon no longer in use and the Con's arm injured, Moonracer takes the chance, firing a few more rounds at the large Con. He spins in the direction the shots had come from and growls in annoyance. This little Autobot is proving to be a real pain… He grumbles inwardly, but soon he smirks. No matter. I'll find her eventually.

Looking above him, Moonracer spots a weak point in some of the scaffolding supports, quickly raising her rifle again and firing off another shot. With a loud clang, the supports fail and begin raining debris on her enemy, forcing him to the ground. She chuckles in satisfaction, then runs for a new hiding spot.

#=#=#=#=

Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus and Tarn fight with a savagery unlike anything anyone had ever seen or would expect from usually stoic bots. They've been going at it for only a few minutes, but they both have several dents and gashes as if they had been fighting for hours.

Tarn, for one, is a little shocked that it's taking this long. Normally, he would have finished someone like Magnus long before now, but the Autobot is holding his own better than any opponent he had ever faced.

Seeing an opening, Tarn kicks his leg out and sweeps Magnus' legs out from under him, causing him to fall to the ground with a loud groan. Tarn lifts his foot up over Magnus' head and slams it down quickly, but Magnus rolls out of the way in the nick of time, Tarn's foot leaving a sizable crater where his head was a few mere milliseconds ago. Magnus scrambles to his feet and throws a punch with his good hand, but Tarn catches it with little effort and begins twisting his opponent's arm, causing Magnus to hiss in pain and collapse to a knee.

"I must admit," Tarn muses, tilting his head a bit, "With as loyal as you are to the Prime and his precious Autobots, I would think that you helping a Decepticon would be considered an ultimate betrayal for you."

Despite the pain, Magnus gave Tarn a dark look of defiance. "You have no right to talk about loyalty to the Autobots, Damus."

At the mention of that name, Magnus sees a flash of unbridled fury in Tarn's optics. "Damus is dead!" Tarn roars. He immediately twists Magnus' arm in the opposite direction and then delivers a powerful kick to his chest, sending him sprawling face first to the ground. "He died when he was falsely subjected to Emptura and became 'Glitch'. I am what remains from that ordeal!" The memories of what happened came rushing back to Tarn. Being fully aware, feeling the pain of having his hands replaced with claws, his face removed and replaced with a singular optic. He continues, rage fuelling every word, "You have no idea the torture Halogen subjected me to, all to gain an insignificant plateau that I had control over."

Tarn slowly advances on Magnus, who is slowly trying to get up. His injuries are starting to catch up to him, but he can't afford to show weakness. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." Magnus groans, but Tarn can tell he isn't being sincere. He looms over his prey and grits his teeth.

"Save your pity until you have lost both your hands…"

Magnus suddenly spins around and lunges forward, driving his clawed fist into Tarn's abdomen, making him to double over into Magnus' raised knee, leaving him to stumble backwards, wincing.

"I have some idea what that's like." Magnus said, showing his prosthetic hand as it forms the closest thing it can to a fist. Tarn then lunges forward and lands a left hook to Magnus' face. Magnus didn't have time to recover before he was struck by a right hook, followed by an uppercut and a strong kick to the chest, sending him flying back, where he stumbles, ending up on his knees, barely able to keep from falling over.

Tarn then deploys his fusion cannons from his arm and opens fire. Magnus barely has time to react as the first shot narrowly misses him by an inch. He manages to get to his feet and run, dodging all the shots fired at him by some miracle. He ducks behind an uncomplete wall, pulling his rifle out to prepare to return fire.

"Prime spoke of ending corruption on Cybertron, and yet, he provided protection to a council member fueled by it!" Tarn shouts, venting all his pent-up rage. "You say that we're in the wrong, but aiding Halogen just proves you're all hypocrites!"

Magnus takes a moment to gather himself and peers over the wall. "What Halogen did was wrong, Prime and I have accepted that," he's briefly cut off as Tarn fires off another shot, barely missing as Magnus ducks down. "If you had reported what he had done to you, we would have had him prosecuted. But instead, you chose to kill him!" Magnus bursts out from behind the wall and begins charging Tarn, firing his rifle all the way.

Tarn simply holds his arm in front of his head, blocking all the shots from hitting his face and laughs. "I? I killed Halogen?" he asks, tone mocking and cruel.

When Magnus got close enough, Tarn swats the rifle out of his enemy's hands. He then goes to grab Magnus' throat, only for him to catch Tarn's hand mere inches away. Tarn then raises his left arm over his head and brings it down towards Magnus' head, but the Autobot manages to stop that as well. The two grapple for a moment as Tarn continues taunting his opponent.

"As I recall, the Council records indicate that you led a team of Autobots to recover a kidnapped Halogen." Tarn then begins to push Magnus backwards. "And when the Autobots found him, they had him brutally executed and broadcasted it for all of Cybertron to witness."

Magnus makes direct eye contact with his enemy, and Tarn pauses as he sees a blazing fire in Magnus' optics. Something about the sight sends a chill down his spine, and for the first time since he became a Decepticon, Tarn feels a slight twinge of fear. "We both know you murdered him and had me framed for it!" Magnus thunders, throwing his head forward to headbutt Tarn's mask. He repeated the action a second time, much stronger than before, causing Tarn to stumble backwards, his hands over his mask.

This is why Magnus was so adamant about facing Tarn again, alone. What he had done to Magnus had nearly destroyed his career in the Elite Guard and made many Cybertronians choose to align themselves with the Decepticons. If it wasn't for Optimus speaking up for Magnus against all odds, he would have lost everything and even been executed for it. But what really drove his anger, more than the framing, was that Tarn-no, Damus-was once an Autobot, one of his closest friends, and yet he betrayed him so severely. Old friend or not, Magnus would put Tarn down, once and for all, ending his cruelty forever.

With Tarn still holding his mask, Magnus takes the opportunity and delivers a powerful roundhouse kick to Tarn's face, sending him flying to the ground. Tarn growls like a beast as he gets up to a knee, and Magnus notices his last attack had left a mark. He sees a pair of cracks in Tarn's mask, just above his right optic. As Tarn gets back on his feet, Magnus realizes that he can't keep this up for much longer. He's starting to slow down…He needs to end this quickly.

In a flash, a weapon handle extends from Magnus' back, and in a fluid, practiced motion, he pulls it out, resting it in both hands as it finishes forming into a mighty war hammer. Tarn watches and chuckles in amusement. "Your disdain for the Wreckers is well known, and yet, you choose to wield one of their primitive signature weapons?" As he goads Magnus, the cannons on his arm retract, replaced in a moment with his serrated blades.

Magnus tightens his grip on his hammer and replies coolly, "They may be a reckless, undisciplined group, but they have Spark, I'll give them that. Besides," He raises his hammer, pointing it at Tarn's chest, letting the Decepticon see a certain glowing emblem on the side of the hammer; the mark of Solus Prime. "this has served me well over the years." With that, Magnus and Tarn roar out a battle cry as they charge each other and swing their weapons, locked once again in grim deadly combat.

Only one of them would be walking away if either had anything to say about it.

Chapter Text

The battle between Deadlock and Bludgeon continues on grimly, neither being able to get the upper hand on the other. But this comes as no surprise to the two combatants. They are both masters of Metallikato, and while their tactics and methods may be different, each balanced out the other flawlessly, with Deadlock's speed and agility matching Bludgeon's brute strength.

Deadlock leaps up and delivers a kick to Bludgeon's head, but the larger bot takes the kick, spinning around and delivering his own kick, this one stronger, to Deadlock's abdomen, sending him flying into the wall.

Groaning, Deadlock slides down the wall, shaking his head to clear his vision just in time to see Bludgeon's fist coming straight at him. Deadlock ducks as the large fist punches a hole in the wall before Bludgeon swings the same arm back to try and strike Deadlock.

Deadlock ducks again and surges forward. He places a foot against Bludgeon's waist and uses it to propel himself up to deliver a powerful knee to Bludgeon's jaw. The assassin stumbles back slightly as Deadlock flips over and lands neatly on his feet.

"Good," Bludgeon says, as his back shifts a little, allowing a dagger handle to reveal itself. "Very good." With that, Bludgeon grabs the dagger and throws it at Deadlock.

Seeing the dagger flying his way, Deadlock tosses his left sword in the air and performs a spinning leap just as the dagger hurdles closer. When it is close enough, Deadlock barely manages to grab it by the tip of the blade, and (using the momentum of his spinning) throw it back hard at Bludgeon.

The assassin barely has time to react as the blade buries itself in his shoulder.

Bludgeon groaned in pain, but then he smiles in amusement. "Impressive." He remarks sincerely, looking up to see Deadlock rushing towards him, wielding both swords again. Pulling the dagger out of his shoulder, Bludgeon throws it again. This time, Deadlock simply falls to his knees, sliding and leaning back as the dagger whizzes over his head with only inches to spare. Once it passed over him, Deadlock gets smoothly back to his feet, quickly swinging his left sword, followed by his right.

Bludgeon easily blocks the two with his arm, and then swings his katana towards Deadlock's left side, the move quickly parried and matched with a swing of Deadlock's right sword to the head, but Bludgeon simply raises his arm again to defend himself.

Deadlock quickly delivers a kick to the side of Bludgeon's knee, causing him to fall on it. Using the chance, Deadlock plants both feet on Bludgeon's chest and sprung himself away to gain some room.

The assassin got to his feet but is met with a spinning whirlwind of blades coming towards him as Deadlock leaps into the air, his blades outstretched like a buzzsaw. Bludgeon feels a momentary surge of panic as he backs away to avoid the attack.

But he isn't fast enough, one of the blades managing to chop off not only Bludgeon's right shoulder guard, but part of his shoulder as well. The metal pieces clatter to the floor as Bludgeon cries out in pain.

Covering the wound, the assassin watched as Deadlock landed and looked up, giving a surprised look at what he had managed. That surprise then gives way to a smirk of satisfaction, one that caused the larger bot to grow furious.

His anger fueling him, Bludgeon lunges forward, raising his katana over his head and swinging it down, only for Deadlock to cross his swords in front of him to block the blow. But Bludgeon, in a swift motion, made a circular movement that caused Deadlock to lose his grip on his right sword and have it fly out of his hand. It may have worked, but the attack also affected Bludgeon, his katana stuck in the wall beside them.

Deadlock's optics widen in panic as the sword skitters toward the edge of the building. With his opponent preoccupied with his own weapon, he dives for it. He landed on the edge, nearly going over himself, and in a desperation he reaches over, barely managing to grab the hilt of his sword before it fell out of reach to the ground below.

Giving a small, quiet sigh of relief, Deadlock hears the heavy footsteps of Bludgeon coming towards him and refocuses, quickly rolling out of the way just in time for his enemy's katana to wedge itself where he had been lying mere milliseconds ago.

Deadlock quickly gets to his feet and faces his enemy again as the assassin pulls his weapon out and turns to face him.

"I won't deny it;" Bludgeon muses, an entertained smirk on his face, "I wasn't expecting this to go for as long as it has. But as much fun as it's been, I can tell you're holding back." Deadlock scowls back at him, but can't deny that he's right. He was stalling to be sure his human friends had made it out safely. But, given how long the two have been fighting, Deadlock is certain they made it out of the construction site by now.

No more holding back.

"I have always enjoyed a challenge," Deadlock responds coolly with a small smirk of his own. "but I have stalled for long enough. My friend is safe by now."

Bludgeon glances over to where the human had been to see that she is now gone. Unconcerned, he simply shrugs. "She served her purpose. I was hoping to make you watch me execute her," Deadlock tightens his grip on his weapons, fury rising in him that he tries to resist before it clouds his judgement. "but I suppose I can just bring her your head. Let her know you failed, before I kill her."

Deadlock assumes a fighting pose, his right sword raised above his head, and his left pointed at Bludgeon. "I will make certain that your blade no longer harms the lives of the innocent." He promises grimly.

Bludgeon, seeing how serious Deadlock is, takes a ready stance, as well.

The two stare each other down, waiting, watching every little detail of the enemy's movement.

Deadlock's foot inches forward slightly.

Bludgeon's hands tighten on his katana.

A slight breeze stirs up the dust from the battle.

Deadlock adjusts his grip on his right sword as Bludgeon shifts his stance slightly.

The larger bot narrows his optics as the smaller one closes his, giving one final sigh.

Then, snapping his optics open, Deadlock lunges forward, optics narrowed in determination. Bludgeon follows suit as they charge each other. When he was close enough, Bludgeon swings his sword down hard and fast.

Deadlock, seeing the attack coming, drops to his knees, sliding across the ground while raising his left sword up, blocking the attack. Time seems to slow down as Deadlock continues sliding, sparks flying off the impact and friction of the blades, all while never breaking eye contact with his enemy.

Then, with a spin, Deadlock slides under Bludgeon's arm and brings his foot out to come to a stop a few feet behind the Decepticon, his back to his enemy, with only his left sword remaining in his hand. And a moment later, behind him, the assassin falls to his knees.

Bludgeon stares down in shock at the sword now sticking out of his Spark chamber. He couldn't believe it. He, one of the greatest assassins the Decepticons had at their command, who never failed any task that was given to him, had been beaten. And yet, he didn't feel rage or hatred for the one who beat him.

In truth, he felt proud, causing him to chuckle.

Bludgeon had always wanted to die fighting a worthy opponent in one last grand battle.

But, until now, he had never found it. He was sure he could have found one in the Prime or Windblade, but Megatron demanded his own victory over the Prime and Windblade fate remains unknown to everyone.

And, despite all his ego and insistence that he is the greatest master of Metallikato history would ever know, he always knew in a tiny corner of his Spark that Deadlock is the better of the two. Not that he ever would have admitted that to anyone.

Deadlock walks slowly over to stand in front of Bludgeon. The assassin looks up at his brother with a small smile. "Well done, Master Deadlock." He then presented his katana to Deadlock as a sign of defeat. Deadlock looks at the weapon, then back at Bludgeon. He could hear no sign of malice in his voice, just sincerity and pride. "Very well done."

Deadlock lifts his hand to take the weapon, but it hovers for a moment. Giving a sigh, he eyes Bludgeon one last time. "Drift." He reaches around the offered katana for the handle of his own katana. "My name…is Drift."

Bludgeon nods, still smiling at his brother, before he bows his head and his optics fade out. Slumping to the side, his body falls over the edge of the building as Deadlock, now renamed Drift, holds his sword as it slides out of Bludgeon's Spark with a small screech of metal on metal, the light within the chamber now extinguished.

Drift watches as his brother's body falls to the ground below, feeling a small sense of sorrow. He knew he had done what he had to do to keep the Sasakis safe, but a small part of him had hoped, perhaps naively, he could try to get Bludgeon to change. But now, he sees that Bludgeon never would have changed and, if nothing else, those refugees his one-time brother massacred mercilessly would have their justice.

After the moment of reflection, he refocuses and remembers that the battle is not fully won yet. Not until Tarn is defeated. But before that, he knows Moonracer needs backup to handle Helex.

#=#=#=#=

In another part of the site, not far from Drift and Bludgeon's battleground, Moonracer peeks out of her hiding spot to be certain that the coast is clear. Ahead of her is another building, this one still in the initial stages of development, meaning that the metal girders and support beams are still exposed. She decides to climb up the building to get a better view of the site and hopefully catch her enemy off guard.

Taking one last look around, Moonracer slowly makes her way out of her hiding spot towards the other building. Then, seeing the way clear, she bolts. She had only made it roughly a quarter of the way before something heavy lands behind her, the impact resounding enough that she stumbles, falling and dropping her rifle, which continues with the momentum out of her reach.

The next instant, she feels a massive hand grab her by the ankle and drag her back.

Moonracer scrambles to get a grip on something, but luck is not on her side. Another large hand roughly grabs her by the shoulder and turns her around to face Helex, a sadistic grin on his face. Getting a firm grip with both hands, the cockpit in his chest springs open. "Caught you." He sneers joyfully.

Looking down, Moonracer sees a series of bright blue flames emitting from nozzles around the inside of the cockpit. She struggles in vain to try to loosen the vice-like grip Helex has on her. Laughing cruelly, Helex slowly lowers her towards the jets of flame, enjoying watching his victim writhe and struggle uselessly.

Moonracer soon realizes this is it, and there is nothing she can do to stop it. She stops struggling, feeling the heat of the flames now as she closes her optics and awaits her grisly fate.

In the next second, a loud metallic snap resounds sharp and clear, followed by a strange clattering, above the two.

Looking up, both Cybertronians see a large bundle of steel bars falling towards them. In a moment of panic, Helex drops Moonracer and raises his arms to catch the heavy bars, causing him to collapse to a knee from the weight as he struggles to keep from getting crushed.

Any sound he made is drowned out by the almighty rumbling of metal clanging against metal.

Moonracer lands on the ground, scrambling quickly away from the steel bars on all fours, and looks around, spotting a large crane the steel bars had clearly fallen from, and at its controls, she's relieved to Kenji and his daughter standing there, the former giving her a thumbs up. Moonracer gives a quick nod of thanks before remembering that her battle isn't over yet.

Looking behind her, she sees her rifle. She quickly crawls over to it and as she grabs it and starts to get to her feet, she spots another of those exploding tanks not too far away, an idea immediately coming to her.

Behind her, Helex manages to get to his feet and drops the heavy load he's holding behind him. He turns his head to face the young bot again, but is greeted with the sight of a large tank flying towards him, lodging itself into his smelting core before he could even react. Glaring around, he spots Moonracer, now kneeling and aiming her rifle at the tank. Knowing his fate is sealed, he can only accept it. "Scrap."

The shot is fired, quickly followed by a large explosion. Up by the controls, Kenji and Etsuko duck down and cover their ears. When the explosion's echos start to die down, they slowly stand back up and look down to see the result.

On the ground, Moonracer lowers her arm after the last of the debris settled on the ground. Where Helex once stood, there is nothing but charred ground and bits of half-melted metal that may or may not be Cybertronian.

The young bot lowers her rifle and slumps to the ground, shaking out of both fear and excitement. She had come close to death several times in the war, but this time she came much closer than before. And yet, she had managed not only to survive, but to bring down a member of the DJD, a feat she guessed few could rival.

A sound of grinding metal from above draws her attention, and she points her rifle in the direction of the sound, fearing another Decepticon. She tenses, spotting a figure sliding down a wall through the smoke. But when it lands, Moonracer breathes a sigh of relief, as Deadlock lands on the ground and hurries over to her, kneeling down.

"Are you alright?" He asks, concerned, as he looks her over.

Moonracer nods, still shaky. "A little shaken, but it's nothing I haven't faced before." Deadlock cocks a brow, clearly unconvinced, and Moonracer sighs, giving up the brave face she'd tried to put on. "Ok, maybe not something exactly like this."

Next to them, Kenji and Etsuko climb down the ladder out of the crane's control room and rush over to the Cybertronians.

Kenji looks Moonracer up and down worriedly. "Are you injured at all?"

Moonracer smiles and shakes her head. "No, but thank you," she said gratefully, "I couldn't have defeated him without your help." She watches Etsuko hug Deadlock's arm, the samurai giving her a comforting smile in return, neither needing to say anything.

Moonracer can't help laughing a little as a thought occurs to her. Deadlock glances at her with a quizzical raised brow. "What's so funny?"

Moonracer laughs a little more into her hand before she gathers herself to explain. "I was told we couldn't make contact with humans, that it was a risk, but a friend of mine was right; without our human friends, victory would have been a lot harder, if not impossible."

Deadlock smiles and stands up, offering a hand to Moonracer, who gladly takes it. "Having the Sasakis as my friends is one of the greatest honors I have been granted in my life." He bows to the two, the Sasakis smiling and bowing in return.

But their moment is cut short before anything else could be said as a loud cry of pain from a short distance away rings out in the now quiet construction site. Everyone turns in the direction it came from.

Moonracer's optics widened in panic, recognizing the voice as a cry of her own rises in her throat.

"Ultra Magnus!"

Chapter Text

[Ultra Magnus and Tarn, several minutes earlier]

Ultra Magnus leaps back, narrowly avoiding Tarn's blades before swinging his hammer at Tarn's head. The Decepticon ducks slightly, letting the hammer head to harmlessly fly over his head just for Magnus to drive the end of the handle into his face. Tarn stumbles back with a groan before his legs are suddenly swept out from under him.

Tarn lands on the ground with a loud crash, but immediately rolls to the side as Magnus slams his hammer repeatedly into the ground, missing his opponent by the slimmest margins, much to Magnus' chagrin.

The Decepticon gains a bit of luck as the hammer got caught on a piece of heavy machinery, hurrying to his feet and swinging his blades at Magnus.

The Autobot manages to free his weapon and swing the handle up to block the attack. Maintaining momentum, he kicks Tarn's arm away before spinning around and landing a blow to his back with the hammer. Unfortunately, all this did was cause Tarn to stumble forward a few steps.

Magnus hefts his hammer, gritting his teeth. He has to end this quickly, before he grows too exhausted to continue.

To that end, he spins around and aims his hammer at Tarn's legs again only for him to block the hammer with his blades. Tarn kicks the hammer away from his weapon and brings his blade over his head and down to strike Magnus' head. Acting fast, Magnus raises his weapon's handle and blocked the blades. Tarn leans his full weight against the hammer, and Magnus begins to succumb to his exhaustion, the hammer falling inch by inch. He spares a glance at Tarn only to see his enemy seemingly unaffected by the battle.

Tarn's strength forces Magnus down to a knee as he valiantly continues trying to push back the blades that are inching towards his face. Tarn makes sure to continue the pressure of his full weight.

Thinking quickly, Magnus lets go with his right hand, allowing the weight of the hammer head to drop to the ground.

Caught off guard, Tarn's blades slide along the length of the handle, leading him to lose balance and stagger forward, nearly toppling over completely. With his opponent off balanced, Magnus tries to knee Tarn's face, but is quickly blocked by his enemy's other hand. Tarn pushes Magnus' knee back and stands upright while thrusting his elbow into Magnus's face, making him drop his hammer, his blades snapping toward the Autobot's neck with barely any time for the Autobot commander to react.

Magnus raises both his arms up in defense and barely stops the blades before they make contact with their intended target. Magnus then kicks Tarn in the abdomen, sending him back a few steps, just enough for him to retrieve his hammer and back up to give himself some more room.

He barely has enough time to rest as Tarn lunges forward, his blades poised to strike.

Just in the nick of time, Magnus raises his hammer up and planted the head on Tarn's right shoulder in order to keep him back. But Tarn snarls and grabs the back of Magnus' head, beginning to pull him towards the blades.

As much as Magnus holds firm, he starts to feel the handle of his weapon slowly slip through his grasp, bringing the blades closer to his face. Magnus groans as he tries to back up and keep the distance, but Tarn is not going to allow him that luxury.

Suddenly, from somewhere in the distance of the construction site, the battling mechs are distracted by a large explosion, the combatants turning their heads to see a large plume of smoke and fire rising over the incomplete rooftops of the site.

Taking the initiative, Magnus crouches down and steps out of the way to allow Tarn to stagger forward once again. Magnus felt himself stumble as well; the fight has taken a lot out of him. More than he'd ever admit. But he can't let that stop him. He knows if he gives up, or allows Tarn to leave, he would not rest until he had destroyed everything Magnus holds dear. Optimus, the Autobots, Moonracer. Magnus can't allow that, no matter the cost.

Tarn spins around to face his enemy, and with significant effort, Magnus swings his hammer upwards in a powerful uppercut that lands a powerful blow to Tarn's head, lifting him off the ground, and backward into the wall of one of the incomplete buildings around them. Tarn slides down to the ground, grimacing. He looks up to see Magnus advancing on him, hammer raised for one final strike.

In a reflexive move, Tarn raised his arm up to stop the hammer, catching the handle between his blades. Before Magnus could react in his tired state, Tarn is back on his feet and in a quick motion, he twists his arm, twisting Magnus' weapon out of his hands before he tosses it aside. Tarn then thrusts his blades forward.

Magnus only makes it a step toward his weapon before one of the blades pierces his abdomen, igniting a blaze of agony as Tarn slowly lifts Magnus into the air, his optics relishing the victory before him.

Magnus holds the blade to prevent it from going in further and causing more damage, teeth grit to prevent Tarn seeing how much pain he's in. Tarn quickly slams Magnus to the ground and before the Autobot could stop him, Tarn slams his foot down, right on his wound.

Ultra Magnus cries out in pain, desperately clawing and shoving at Tarn's foot, but to no avail as the monster above him sneers down at him, malicious joy in his optics.

"Ultra Magnus," he begins, taking sadistic joy in his words and the pain Ultra Magnus is in, "As a leader of the Autobot resistance, and for aiding a wanted criminal to the glorious Decepticon cause, you are hereby declared a traitor to Cybertron and are hereby sentenced…" Tarn's blades retract, once again replaced by his fusion cannons, "To death."

In that moment, Ultra Magnus feels the cold grip of pure fear. More fear than he had ever felt in his life…he'd even dare to call it terror. Helplessly, he watches the fusion cannons aimed at his head begin charging up. He had failed. He would die here and Tarn would go on to unleash more pain and terror in the name of the Decepticons.

But, even in his last moments, he refuses to give Tarn the satisfaction of watching him squirm or beg for mercy. All he can do now is glare defiantly into Tarn's optics, gritting his teeth.

"Then do it already."

However, in an instant, before anything happened, the sound of clashing metal rings out, couples with Tarn rearing back, screaming.

With Tarn's foot gone, Magnus sits up in confusion, only to see that Deadlock had stabbed a pair of daggers into Tarn's back to climb up the large Decepticon.

"Back away, monster!" Deadlock cries as he continues stabbing Tarn and climbing closer to his head. "Leave him! I am the one you're after!" Tarn thrashes around wildly, trying to dislodge the interloper. All the while, he reaches behind him to grab at anything to throw him off.

Deadlock manages to cling grimly on while making his way up to Tarn's shoulders, where he proceeds to stab both of his daggers into the sides of Tarn's neck. Growling in pain, Tarn finally grabs Deadlock's left arm and throws him off, simultaneously pulling both of his daggers out, as well. As Deadlock hits the ground, Tarn's fusion cannons begin charging up again, this time aimed at the newcomer in the fight. The traitor first, then Magnus. he growls to himself as he glares at Deadlock.

But in the next instant, his optics are overloaded by a bright flash of light as intense pain rips through his head. Tarn reels back, screaming in agony as his hands fly to his right optic, which had been shot out.

On a rooftop not too far away, Moonracer glares through the scope of her rifle, intense determination on her face. She fires again, landing a hit to one of the wounds in Tarn's back that Deadlock had made, causing more Energon to pour out.

Determining where the shots are coming from, Tarn whirls in Moonracer's direction, Energon oozing from where his optic used to be, but instead of seeing the Autobot, a large metal object strikes him in the face, knocking him off his feet and towards the edge of a large pit several feet away.

From the crane they are operating, Kenji and Etsuko celebrate briefly as the loading crane ball finds its target. noticing Tarn get up, Kenji pilots the crane and swings again as quickly as the crane could move. This time, it struck Tarn's shoulder, making him fall over. Before he is able to stand again, Deadlock lands in front of him and kicks his face, backing up quickly as the wrecking ball swings again.

Magnus watches the crane ready itself again, but a blur of green distracts him. Eyeing the edge of the pit, he sees Moonracer running towards his hammer before, with a lot of effort, beginning to drag it to Magnus. She slides down into the pit, setting the hammer beside Magnus before kneeling down in front of him and examining his wound with wide eyes.

"Don't worry," she tries to reassure him in a shaky voice, hands trembling a little. "I'll get you patched up and we can-"

"I'm sorry." Moonracer is caught off guard, looking up to see the regret and guilt on Magnus' face. "I should have listened to you. I allowed my need for vengeance and justice to cloud my judgement and-"

This time, Moonracer raises a hand to cut him off. "Let's finish up here first. I'll grill you for your stupidity on the flight back." Magnus only smirks as Moonracer moves the handle into his hand.

She may be acting in a slightly insubordinate way, but he can't deny the relief he feels seeing her and Deadlock alright.

Tarn, however, has had enough. He looks up to see the metal ball heading towards him again, but this time he catches the cable it's hanging from and violently jerks it down, ripping it clean off the crane. As he does, he spots Deadlock charging him, swords raised, and quickly takes the cable in his hands, swinging the ball.

The warrior tried to evade it, but the ball and cable snap around his neck, and with a sudden pull from Tarn to tighten the loop, Deadlock drops his swords, falling to the ground. Before he could even try to stand or free himself, he's being dragged toward Tarn. Deadlock struggles to free himself, but without his weapons, he can't cut the cable off his neck and can only tug helplessly on the cable.

A glint of light caught his attention, and he looked up to see one of his swords flying towards him. Reaching up before he is dragged out of reach of the sword, he catches it by blind luck, quickly turning himself over to slice through the cable trapping him.

Tarn roars, furious at being denied, rushing forward as Deadlock scrambles up, removing the cable from his neck and readying himself for a fight. Luckily, in his rage, Tarn forgot about his new blind side, and is suddenly tackled on his right side, knocking him off the edge and back into the pit. The two land hard on the bottom and Tarn glimpses Ultra Magnus rolling away.

Magnus manages to stand up, his good hand holding his wound while he shoulders his hammer with his prosthetic as he walks over to Tarn, still on the ground. Glaring at the Autobot, Tarn aims his fusion cannons, but before a shot is fired, something pierces his arm and pins it, and him, to the ground, earning a cry of pain. Glaring at the wound, he spots one of Deadlock's swords had not only pierced his forearm, but also his cannons, effectively rendering them useless. Deadlock straightens from a crouch to throw the sword, staring down in disgust at Tarn as Magnus climbs up next to him. There, too, is Moonracer glaring at him, her rifle aimed right at his head.

"I was never a traitor to Cybertron" Tarn scowls up at Magnus as he narrows his eyes with unmatched hatred at his old friend. "You were, Damus." Tarn feels himself blinded by his pure fury. He would not fall by this fool's hand. He will make him regret the day he emerged from the Allspark! He will broadcast his screams of torture for all to hear. He is a Decepticon, one of the best, damnit! But before he could do anything to make good on his plans, Magnus raises his hammer over his head and is slamming it down when a massive explosion unexpectedly rips through the air, blasting Magnus and Deadlock off their feet. Dazed, Tarn looks up, his blurry, glitching vision barely able to make out two Vehicons standing over him.

He isn't sure what was happening, but he grits his teeth as the sword is pulled out of his arm before he is lifted up and dragged away. Hearing the sound of an engine, he looks up to see his warship, The Peaceful Tyranny, hovering over the construction site before he blacks out.

Deadlock helps Ultra Magnus to his feet as Moonracer runs up to the two, pointing at the warship. "Tarn's getting away!" She exclaims.

Magnus grits his teeth, watching the ship slowly move away from the site. He looked back to his two companions, forming a plan. "Get the Sasakis to safety. I'll make sure they don't escape." He runs to the sloped edge of the pit and painfully climbs out as quickly as he can.

Deadlock follows, about to ask how when he hears the roar of another ship's engines heading their way. He and Moonracer turn to the sound and see Magnus' ship descending in front of its owner. Huh, the autopilot actually worked. Who knew? Moonracer thinks to herself, smirking a little. The ramp lowers and Magnus, with some difficulty due to his injury, runs inside. The ship soon takes off after the Decepticon ship.

Onboard the Tyranny, Tarn groans and slowly regains consciousness, realizing he's being hauled by a pair of Vehicons.

"Are you alright sir?" One asks, noticing that he's awake.

Without responding, Tarn lings the two off him and runs for the bridge, ignoring the two behind him calling after him that he needs medical attention.

Thundering into the bridge, everyone snaps to attention as Tarn slams himself into the command chair. "Target that construction site and destroy it with extreme prejudice!" He snaps.

The bridge crew scramble to their positions when a loud warning signal went off. A moment later, the ship rocks violently, knocking several Vehicons off their feet.

Ultra Magnus has caught up with the Tyranny as it broke the atmosphere, firing at the ship's engines. He's not going to let Tarn escape so easily. Instead, he's going to cripple the warship as best as he can. As he skims over the surface of the ship, he fires on any turret he comes across, rendering them useless before swinging around for another go at the engines.

"Damage report!" Tarn orders as the ship continues to shake violently under Magnus' attacks.

"Over half the turrets are decommissioned, and we've lost two of our engines." A Vehicon reports, knowing their chances are slimming by the second.

Tarn growls in anger, wanting nothing more than to destroy Magnus and the others with his bare hands, but reason eventually catches up to him, much as he hates to leave an enemy like Magnus alive. He curls his fist, hating the words leaving his mouth. "Power up the dark matter drives and set course for Cybertron."

Another Vehicon speaks up reluctantly. "Sir, with our engines damaged, the drives might cause the engines to overload and-" he was cut off as Tarn ripped his head off.

Tarn drops the head with a loud clang, glaring at the other Vehicons. "Anyone else?!"

The instruments on Magnus' ship blare, signaling that the Tyranny is powering up its drives to leave. Magnus looks out of his viewport, gauging the distance before punching the throttle into full. He has one final chance to stop it, and that is to hit the bridge with everything he has.

Tarn sits back in his seat furiously, his hand over his missing optic trying to stop the Energon leaking when a ship suddenly comes into view alongside them, outpacing them by just enough for it to get in front of them.

Looking up, he saw the ship spin around, revealing the cockpit, but Tarn already knows who it is. He clenches his free hand into a fist. "Open fire!"

Magnus narrows his optics in a glare at the warship in front of him as the forward guns swivel to point at him as he waits for his targeting system to get a lock.

The instant it beeps, Magnus punches the throttle forward, his ship careening toward the bridge as he pulls the trigger.

The missiles smash through the Tyranny's viewport, causing massive damage to the bridge. Tarn is thrown back into a wall by the blast, hearing a multitude of warning sirens. Emergency shields slam shut to prevent anyone from being pulled out into space while fires lit up all around the bridge.

"Sir! The navigation system is damaged!" A Vehicon reports.

Tarn gets to his feet, running to the navigation console, seeing that it's now flashing different coordinates every second.

"Engines are overloading! They're gonna blow!" Some Vehicon exclaims.

Tarn shakes in fury before he whirls to the now shielded viewport, roaring in rage.

Magnus speeds away from the warship as fast as he could, watching it on a viewscreen in front of him. He knows the damage he caused to the engines would force the dark matter drives to overload, and he didn't want to be anywhere near the blast radius. He pushes through the atmosphere when the viewscreen lights up with an explosion. Magnus frowns. It wasn't as large as he expected, and upon further inspection, he spots a thin trail of fire leading away from the origin of the blast.

Magnus relaxes slightly and slows the ship down. If that trail is any indicator, the ship must have jumped, but the damage to the engines would have caused the explosion.

Magnus sets his jaw grimly. With that trail, he can't follow the ship to confirm or deny if Tarn is offline or not.

Regardless, it was over…at least for now.

Chapter Text

The drive back to the Sasaki estate is quiet, no one really sure what to say as the streets of Tokyo pass by.

"I'm glad you're alright, Deadlock." Etsuko begins, realizing she hadn't said that yet. "And I'm grateful you came to rescue me."

"Of course." Deadlock replies.

"I don't know what I would have done if you and the other Autobots were not able to help me." Kenji admits, shuddering at the thought of how helpless he'd felt when he realized his precious daughter was in the hands of monsters like the DJD. "You have my eternal gratitude." He takes his daughter's hand, squeezing it gently, almost unable to believe she's beside him, safe and sound again.

"It was the honorable thing to do." Deadlock replies humbly. "And besides, I would never have left an innocent in the hands of the DJD, even if I were not already opposing them."

"You're not like any Con I've ever met, I gotta admit." Moonracer chimes in, chuckling a bit awkwardly. "No offense."

Deadlock chuckles. "None taken, young one."

"The name's Moonracer." By now, the estate is in view and everyone pulls in, realizing life must go on now.

The Cybertronians transform, the wall barely able to hide them anymore, especially Magnus. "What will you do concerning the destruction at the site of our battle?" He can't help asking.

Kenji sighs. "I'll have to think of something, but don't worry. We've been having trouble with a few vandals and faulty equipment. With any luck, they'll buy that this time the vandals were extra thorough and the equipment worse than previously thought."

Magnus nods. Earth customs are still new to him, but he understands enough. "I see." He turns to Deadlock. "We will need to depart for the Autobot base soon. You will need to say goodbye."

Though Drift and the Sasakis knew this moment would come, it's still hard for them. Drift kneels, hugging his friends gently (really, put his hands on their backs while they hugged his leg) before putting his hands together, one with his fingers up and one fist, bowing his head to them. "I will always remain your friend, even if circumstances keep us apart." He says, unexpectedly emotional. Cybertronians can't cry, but humans can, Etsuko living proof and even Kenji has watery eyes as they hug what part of his arms they can, Etsuko staying after her father had let go.

"I wish you didn't have to go." She can't help saying.

"I wish I did not have to leave, but the information I carry with me is invaluable to the Autobots. I must give it to the Prime." Drift explains patiently.

Etsuko forces herself to let him go. "I know. I'll miss you."

Drift gently puts a finger on her shoulder. "I will always be with you in your Spark."

She smiles through her tears. "You mean heart."

Drift nods, smiling back at her. "If that is what you call it in your carbon-based body."

"Goodbye, Deadlock, and thank you again for everything." Kenji says, hand on Drift's arm.

"I will always be grateful I was given the chance to meet you, no matter what the future holds." Drift replies, then stands. "Before I go, there is one more thing I wish for you two to know; I have decided to take on a new name, in honor of the new life I will now lead. I will be known as Drift from this moment on." He nods at Etsuko. "And I have Etsuko to thank."

Etsuko tilts her head. "Me?"

Drift nods. "You mentioned my drifting during the race, and for an unknown reason, the word 'drift' remained in my mind. I decided to adopt it as my new name." He bows at the waist for a moment. "Thank you."

Etsuko bows back instinctively. "I'm happy to help." She then smiles, looking over to where Moonracer and Magnus are waiting, trying not to appear impatient. "I'm…not sure they'll wait much longer…so I guess this really is goodbye." She sniffs, trying not to cry again.

Drift nods. "It is goodbye, but if fate is on our side, it will not be forever. I will…miss you two." He had never been one for goodbyes like this, and yet here he is, his Spark torn at having to leave his friends. "Farewell."

Kenji nods. "Farewell, Drift."

With that, Etsuko waves until the vehicles are out of sight, and Drift keeps the house in his rearview mirror until it is lost to view.

He'd see them again, someday…or at least, he hopes so with all his Spark.

#=#= (Two days later, at the Autobot base) =#=#=

It took longer than expected to get back to the Autobot base, as protocols had to be followed so there was no possibility of the military or any Cons that might be out there discovering where the base is located. There are precious few military personnel that are aware of the Autobots, something the Autobots (namely Optimus) would prefer to maintain if at all possible.

But, when the ship finally lands, the ramp is lowered and when Magnus and Moonracer descend first, carrying the body of Brawn, they are greeted by Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Arcee, and Mirage.

The group are surprised to see Brawn's sad state, even Mirage unable to joke.

"He was a brave soldier. His death will not be in vain." Optimus says somberly, hand on the fallen Wrecker's one intact shoulder.

"He promised he'd kick Con tailpipe for me…" Mirage mumbles, probably more to himself than anyone else.

"He did, right to the end." Moonracer replies.

Magnus salutes Optimus. "Sir! We brought back Brawn's body to limit any evidence of Cybertronian life on Earth, and also…Deadlock, now preferring to be known as Drift, wished to give him a proper burial."

At the mention of his name, Drift comes down the ramp, having waited to let the Autobots reunite first. That, and he was taking a moment to sit alone with the other body they had brought back for burial; he knows the Autobots might not approve of him burying Bludgeon near their base, but he can't help wishing to honor his one-time brother with a burial.

A few murmurs sound in the group, the tension rising a little at the sight of the former Con.

"Moonracer, please aid Ultra Magnus to Ratchet's medical bay. He seems in need of repairs." Optimus says, taking charge of the situation, and Moonracer salutes.

"Yes, sir."

The pair walk off, Moonracer barely needing to help Ultra Magnus at all.

Optimus turns to Drift, who is waiting patiently to be addressed. "Welcome, Drift." He offers a hand. "I am Optimus Prime."

"It is an honor to meet you as an ally." Drift replies, shaking Optimus' hand.

"I believe you mentioned you gathered intel before your defection. Do you still have it with you?" Optimus asks.

Drift is silent for a moment before he nods, reaching onto his back and drawing one of his swords.

The other Autobots immediately pull their blasters out and aim them at Drift, even Mirage watching his every move carefully.

However, Drift doesn't notice (or chooses not to react) and flips his sword around to hold it in a reverse grip. Then, with a small click, something emerges from the end of the handle.

Optimus steps forward and sees a data cylinder poking out of the sword. Drift removes it and sheaths the sword. "I knew that if the Decepticons found me before you did, or before I could find you, that they would search me for this. But I also knew that they would discard my weapons. Thus, my sword was the perfect place to hide it." He explains.

The other Autobots slowly lower their weapons as Drift hands the cylinder to Optimus. Optimus holds it up and switches it on, his optics widening at what he saw. "Wheeljack!" he calls, and soon, the scientist appears from inside the base, taking the cylinder from his commander.

"Optimus?" he asks quietly, his optics also going wide. "Am I seeing this right?

Drift nods. "Space Bridge portal conduits, and their locations. Commissioned by Tarn himself."

The Autobots perk up at the news, Arcee in particular. "Does this mean that we have a way back home?" she asks, more to Wheeljack than Drift.

Wheeljack fiddles with his glasses and frowns. "I hate to say it, but these look like they were designed to be only one way." He hands the cylinder back to Optimus before continuing. "And it seems that they only got far enough in development to only allow one Cybertronian at a time through."

As Optimus scans through the locations of the portals, he notices one location in particular. "It would seem that one of those locations is not far from where we are now."

Mirage snaps his fingers in realization. "So that's why we've been having so much trouble lately. They've been dropping in on our front door from this space bridge!"

Optimus nods, frowning. "Indeed. But, with this new information, we may be able to turn the tides at last." He nods to Drift. "Thank you.

From inside the base, a smaller iridescent green femme with goggles emerges. "Not to interrupt, but-" She pauses, noticing Drift. "Oh. Hello again." She walks over, her injury fully healed now. "I'm not sure you remember me, but-"

"I do. We were trapped together when the Energon cache we were both after was detonated." Drift interrupts, smiling. "It is good to see you again, and to be your ally instead of your enemy."

"To that end, there is much to discuss, Drift. If you'll join me?" Optimus calls, gesturing to the base and Drift nods, but turns to Mayfly before walking inside.

He takes his swords off his back, handing them to her. "If you would, put those in the ship." Without even a backward glance, he walks after the Prime into the base, and Mayfly smiles as she adjusts the swords in her grip.

"You got it! Welcome to the Autobots!" She calls after him.

He glances over his shoulder and smiles at her, waving in acknowledgement before he turns to follow Optimus further into the base and is lost to view.

"Did I-see-that right?" Bee asks, confusion clear despite the various radio clips he uses.

Mirage simply shrugs. "I guess this dude ain't so bad after all. I kinda like him, to be honest."

Arcee frowns, eyeing the last point she'd seen Drift. "I still don't trust him."

Bee rolls his optics at her pessimism. "Give-him-a chance."

Arcee just walks away, still frowning.

Once Drift is through speaking with Optimus and getting a tour of the base, he takes an opportunity to return to the ship to begin burying Bludgeon, having asked the Prime privately for permission.

Optimus had agreed on the condition that he not be buried near where Brawn would be buried, as he didn't wish for a member of the Decepticons to be buried near any Autobot.

He's surprised, but grateful, when Mayfly assists him. "I…saw the body when I put your weapons back on the commander's ship." She explains, eyeing the mound they'd just finished. "Was he your friend?"

Drift nods. "Once. He and I were like brothers."

She shakes her head, sighing. "I can't say I feel anything but relief about his death, but I am sorry. I know your feelings about him must be complicated."

Drift frowns. "I…wish things had been different between us, but I should have realized long ago we were too different. It was always going to end like this and I was always going to grieve what could have been."

The pair stand there in silence for a little while, Mayfly offering a comforting hand on his back.

Hours later, around sunset, Moonracer finds herself sitting alone by one of the bunkers, unable to join everyone else inside.

Now that she had a moment to really process what all had happened on the mission, she can't help feeling rattled, sort of unsteady.

One thing replaying on a loop is not only her near death experience, but also the way she had let Magnus, her commander, her mentor, fight Tarn alone. She hadn't exactly liked the idea, which adds to her guilt.

She'd yelled at him, criticized him. If she and Drift didn't intervene…

"But nothing! We're not here to settle old scores!" She'd snapped at him."You don't have to explain. I can see it in your optics; Tarn did something to you and you want payback for it." Those would've been her last words to Ultra Magnus. Yes he was being foolish, but she didn't want those to be her last words to him.

She sighs, wishing there was a way to ease this feeling weighing down her Spark.

"I thought I'd find you here." Comes the voice of Ultra Magnus himself as he walks over to her, doing his best to hide the pain of his injuries, but he can't help a small grimace. She sits up a little straighter, trying to pull herself together. "I have a task for you." He says without further preamble.

She nods, grateful for a distraction. "What is it, sir?"

Ultra magnus gives her a rare smile. "Keep in contact."

She tilts her head. "Sir? Are you going somewhere?"

He nods. "I will go wherever the Prime needs me. You, however, are taking a few cycles to recover. A mission like this, an experience this trying, is not to be taken lightly. I'm giving you a break from combat, effective immediately."

Moonracer is surprised, but smiles. "Thank you, sir." She then tilts her head. "Anything else?"

"Actually," Magnus replies, a hint of pride in his voice. "there is one thing." He pulls out a small box and opens it. Reaching inside, he pulls out something and shows it to Moonracer. The young bot's optics light up brightly, smiling as she sees an Elite Guard badge.

"Moonracer, having proved your bravery and your loyalty, I hereby instate you as a full member of the Autobot Elite Guard." Magnus leans over and places the badge onto Moonracer's chest, over her spark. Moonracer feels like she's going to cry, or would if she were human. Magnus stands back up and looks down at his student with pride. "When you return, we can discuss where you wish to be assigned." With that, he snaps to attention and salutes her. Moonracer returns the gesture, still smiling giddily. "Dismissed."

Magnus turns to head back to the main hanger when he suddenly feels something wrap around his waist. Looking down, he sees Moonracer hugging him tightly. He stands there awkwardly for a moment, but soon a smile forms on his face as he places his good hand on Moonracer's shoulder. She soon lets go and stares up at her teacher with that bright smile. "Thank you, sir."

Magnus nods and with that, Moonracer turns around and transforms, leaving the base. Magnus watches her go, still smiling, as he hears heavy footsteps behind him.

"She reminds me of another Guardsman." He hears Optimus muse from behind him. "Eager, wanting to prove themself, committed to the cause, though admittedly they weren't as young."

"There's just one problem with that," Magnus retorts, watching Moonracer drive out of sight. "I never had her level of optimism." his smile turns into a slight frown as he turns to face his old friend. "Is that why you chose me to train her?"

Optimus smiles as he places a hand on his commander's shoulder. "You may think you're unworthy, but what happened with Halogen, Windblade, and recently with Tarn should not make you question your ability. Moonracer showed great potential, and I wanted her to learn from the best."

Magnus smiles as the two look back at where the young femme had gone. "Thank you for your faith in me, sir."

"I'll need your help in organizing a strike against the portal," Optimus continues, nodding in acknowledgement of Magnus' thanks, "and finding a new position for Drift in our ranks." He looks at Magnus and sees a small glint in his optics that Optimus had not seen for a long time.

"About Drift, sir," Magnus replies with a slight smirk. "I think I know what he can do."

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