The Arrival

((Warning: This story is based on a combination of fact provided about the Transformers universe from 1984 onward, theories I have deduced on my own, a few toys and the movie produced by Michael Bay. Some of the things written here may not fit into your "perfect" vision of the Transformers universe...but I didn't really write this for that purpose.

This is just a theoretical possibility of occurrences during the period starting from the end of the Michael Bay Transformers movie to the next one (circa 2009 or 2010 - stupid strike). There's the potential for some of the characters mentioned here to be in it -- I'm guessing on some, some are obvious -- but for now, I've picked the most-plausible characters based on research and an overactive mind.

P.S. Some things said by the bots are actual thoughts I have about toys, stories, and backgrounds. I just had to ask/say it... ))

The protoform was considerably smaller than most that had landed before, but it still made a sizable crater and took out a tool shed behind a mechanic's garage. Unfurling to its full height, the protoform slowly stood and flexed its arms and legs, working feeling into limbs stiff from confinement in a tight space and the crash landing afterwards. It blinked slowly, blue optics glancing over vehicles whole and otherwise in search of the perfect match for its mass.

No, the protoform thought, crossing its arms after a moment of thought. Nothing here I'd use.

A dull clatter caught the protoform's attention and it turned quickly, the weapon on its left arm deployed in preparation for potential attacks. The protoform's optics fell on a cat frozen in fear at the sight of something so massive, the soda can it knocked over rattling as it rocked back and forth. A slight smirk came from the protoform and the cat fled, leaving the Cybertronian to holster the weapon and continue on.

Vaulting a chain-link privacy fence to move into a nearby alley, the protoform moved cautiously, its fingertips grating chips from the brick walls as it came to a side street and peered from the shadows. Police tape and construction blockades were strategically stationed all down the street; debris still littered the oddly quiet sidewalks as the few pedestrians brave enough to walk at night hurried along, heads down and intent on their destinations. It still resembled the war zone and had been a few short weeks ago, when Decepticon and Autobot held the final battle for the Allspark, but now there was an eerie sense -- as if this was merely the preamble to a larger, longer battle to come.

"Didn't go nearly as well as we thought," the protoform muttered as it squinted, making its eyes less visible to the people rushing by.

The sudden rev of an engine brought the protoform's head up and a brightly colored shape raced by. It was little more than a blur to the human eye, but the eye of a Cybertronian was quite adept at tracking movement and estimating mass. A brief line of soft blue came as the protoform scanned the shape and stepped back, its body collapsing and folding down into a copy of the vehicle and its driver.

Twenty-nine seconds, the newly transformed bot thought as it revved its engine and carefully eased from the darkness. Not bad if I say so...and I do.

A slow cruise down the road brought the vehicle to a slight dent in the asphalt, causing it to stop and the driver to plant a foot as it leaned over to glance at the road. Dull blue light flashed over the visor of the driver's helmet as it registered slight traces of the Allspark's energy and multiple branches from that larger trace. Some branches were more intense than others, but the largest one was here...in the middle of the road where a crimson smear seemed to be.

"New bots were spawned here," the driver managed, blue lights fading away as its head snapped up. "At least three... So where are they? Or do I even want to know?"

A whistle caught the bot's attention and the holographic driver looked up, catching a glimpse of a small group of men staring from a nearby building. There was a visible tense in the hologram as the leg was raised -- it seemed that human men liked female motorcycle riders. With a slight incline of the head to let them know it appreciated the attention -- though definitely not the idea -- the bot quickly sped away before they could come closer.

Not my type, not my species....

Heading west through the main street, it passed battle-damaged buildings and torn streets, a somber reminder of the war's continuance as it headed for the nearest major highway. Traffic was minimal and the Cybertronian used it as an excuse to stay close to the speed limit, the holographic driver carefully studying other vehicles and their passengers as it whipped by and cringing at the sight of a carload of humans singing out of tune to some random song.

"Strange and tone deaf," the driver said with a shake of the head as it continued on and merged into heavier traffic heading west on U.S. Route 60 -- following an encrypted beacon set by Optimus Prime himself. "That's an ugly combination."

It continued on I-10, passing areas of scorched highway where Bonecrusher took out a public bus and guard rails were placed until the cement walls of the overpass were repaired. And onwards until the sun rose, reaching the outskirts of a seeemingly average city with an average suburban population amongst which were two human teenagers that helped bring about the fall of Megatron. The motorcycle eased to a stop as dawn broke, the driver placing a hand to its visor -- the signal had come to a halt with the sudden increase in light. The Cybertronian was on its own.

Makes sense, the robot thought as it looked around, seeing the city awaken a house at a time. Hard to hide a landing in the daylight hours.

The motorcycle began to drive the streets, maintaining the speed limit and keeping noise low as the driver committed the roads to memory. Elita One had always stressed the importance of a good scout knowing where everything was stationed...and this Autobot intended for nothing to be left to chance. It started maneuvering, working from east to west throughout the mazelike streets of the city; moving slowly in the direction of one of a dozen schools, a high school that was about to have some very, very ugly afterschool activities....

                                                   *   *   *   *   *

((about 2:57 pm PST...))

Sam and Mikaela sat quietly in the back of the library, each taking a chair in front of a school-owned computer as they tried to find suitable vehicles for the Autobots to scan. The major battle between Optimus and Megatron seemed like a far away dream after all that happened, but both teens knew it had been less than a month ago. Of course school was back in session, but after the ordeals they had been through the history final was the least of their problems and they both knew it.

Taking a moment to stretch, Sam stifled a yawn and gazed wearily at the construction outside of the window. He knew that the school was having some problems with the water lines, but the length of time was particularly disturbing -- a week without working bathrooms and the students were ready to riot. But what made this construction odd was every time the workers were close to finishing someone would vandalize the site, pushing completion back another week or so...

Something tells me the soda machines are going to have a price hike, Sam thought absently as he saw a construction worker throw his helmet at a pile of rubble. How long does it take to fix a water main?

"Ugh, this is frustrating," Mikaela grumbled and Sam looked away from the construction, leaning forwards in his chair.

"What?" he hedged. "More rumors getting you down?"

Mikaela shook her head as she pulled her hair back, though even she had to admit there were a fair amount of rumors flying now that she and Sam were a couple. Trent and the rest of the football team were being stupid and mean, not that either she or Sam cared. But after his H3 had an unexplainable accident, the rumors were for a much different reason and Mikaela couldn't help but smile at Bumblebee's expense.

"No," she answered at length. "Although, they're still finding pieces of Trent's Hummer here and there. The engine block mysteriously appeared in a tree outside of his house the other night."

"Gotta remember to thank Bumblebee for that," Sam said with an absent nod. "But still, what's frustrating?"

"Trying to pick vehicles for Autobots we haven't even seen yet."

"Is that it?" Sam asked, pausing when a librarian walked past with a squeaking cart and sighing when the old man turned the corner. "Optimus just said to do our best and the Autobots would pick when they landed. But seriously, that can't be the only thing bugging you."

An odd look appeared on Mikaela's face as she thought of how to break it to Sam. "Okay. The truth is, I'm worried. Didn't Bumblebee say that two Decepticons were unaccounted for ever since Mission City?"

Sam swallowed hard. "Yeah. And that doesn't count what the Special Forces ran across in the desert...or when I dropped the Allspark."

"You dropped it?" Mikaela whispered harshly and Sam shrugged, looking over his shoulder.

"Well, not 'dropped' exactly. When I fell after almost getting squished, it hit the ground...and Ratchet said something about trace radiation after the battle, but he didn't go into detail."

A loud tone sounded someplace above their heads and Sam and Mikaela gathered their belongings, glad for the end of another school day. They waited a bit, intent on allowing the library to clear out before walking the hallways to the student parking lot in the back. Bumblebee was likely to be waiting on them, provided Optimus hadn't called him away during the day -- but in recent weeks that hadn't been the case.

In fact, Sam realized that the Autobots were now going out of their way to keep an eye on him and Mikaela. Just the other day, he almost freaked out when Ironhide drove past the school during gym class...at the very least he missed a hurdle and skinned his knee. Bumblebee had peeked through the gym windows during a pep rally and Ratchet...

"You haven't seen Ratchet out of the base recently, have you?" Sam asked suddenly.

Mikaela stopped, her eyes focusing on the door ahead. "Only once during auto shop. He drove by, but that was a couple of weeks ago. What's going on, Sam?"

"They're guarding us. I think the Decepticons are still after us."

"Please tell me you're joking," Mikaela said as she gave Sam a look -- the Look. "After Megatron went down, the Allspark was destroyed, and the remaining Decepticons are gone, we're still being hunted? If this is your idea of a joke--"

Sam shook his head slowly. It made some sense, especially since he was the direct reason for Megatron's spark and the cube being destroyed. Vengeance seemed to be the only logical thing that fit, or at least the only thing Sam could understand in the Decepticons' twisted programming. This was probably also a good explanation for the period of time they were spending on locating new vehicles -- the Autobots didn't need help in that area, they just needed to keep Sam and Mikaela someplace easy to patrol. "After what I did to Megatron, it should make sense they want to get rid of me...and I'll never let them hurt you."

"That's sweet and all," Mikaela said and her face softened. "But maybe we should just let the Autobots do their job."

A far away scream came and the two of them stopped, cautiously peering through the library door windows. Sam's mouth dropped open as what could only be described as a massive stag beetle burst through the door of the women's restroom, shaking its head to clear broken tile and toilet paper from its face as it made its way down the halls. The size of the insect alone was enough to send people running, but there was one feature aside from its girth that made Sam whisper a very terse 'Oh shit' -- the beetle was purely mechanical. Its violet and black chassis clashed horribly with the institutionalized shades of brown adorning the high school, the six legs flexing alternatively with insane speed as it moved down the halls.

The beetle snapped at a fleeing student with oversized mandibles, missing intentionally before giving a screech and transforming. At the end of the conversion, the final robot stood some six feet tall -- a spine-studded monstrosity easily capable of fitting anyplace a human could.

"Listen to them scream-scream, Antagony," the robot rasped, its high-pitched voice grating on the eardrums and causing both Sam and Mikaela to flinch even through the library doors. "This alone was worth agreeing to find the boy-boy. Bombshell and Kickback will be most envious-envious."

A second hissing noise came as a robotic ant climbed from the hole the wall, moving deliberately because its weight was pulling holes from the ceiling. It paused once it found a corner of the hall that could support its girth, addressing the former with an equally high but more controlled voice. "Soundwave said to capture Witwicky, Shrapnel. Witwicky is to be captured for the glory of the fallen Megatron and to make Starscream feel better."

"Yeah, whatever," Shrapnel replied, ripping a small cluster of lockers from the wall with his mandibles and swinging it above his head. "That's what we get-get for converting an Autobot. Don't know how to have fun-fun..."

"Take Witwicky to Soundwave once you have him," Antagony snapped before turning her rear to the beetle. "I will patrol the southern half of the floor, you take the other."

"I don't need-need some mindless drone telling me what to do-do," Shrapnel answered curtly as he turned in the other direction. He didn't like Antagony, but for now he seemed more intent on causing mayhem and searching than attacking her from the rear. There would always be a chance to make her pay.

Me, again? Do I have an invisible magnet in my ass that attracts stuff like this? Sam thought as he backed up and pulled the library doors closed. "You can't stay with me. I'll draw them off and you can go get Bumblebee."

"Bumblebee and the others can't get in here, Sam," Mikaela whispered. "It's the second floor and they could crush people on the ground floor if they burst in."

"Staying here sure isn't going to happen," Sam said as he began pulling Mikaela into a dash for the library's door to the stairs.

"Witwicky!" the beetle Decepticon called as it rounded a corner, its voice echoing down the hallways. "Come out and play-play!"

"I don't think so," Sam gasped as he wrenched the door open and let Mikaela through first, running to the metal banister on the stairwell. "How d'you think it got in without alerting the Autobots?"

"How do ants and bugs usually get into buildings?" Mikaela said breathlessly as she began jogging down the concrete stairs with Sam close on her heels. "They find a hole or weak spot in the foundation and dig up. I want to know how it found us here with hundreds of schools in the area."

"I don't know many people under the listing for Witwicky," Sam said grudgingly as they hit the ground floor and lurched through the door marked 'Stairs'. "Still, it would take some planning. Waiting for us to be away from the Autobots, finding Decepticons small enough to sneak into our school without being detected--"

At that moment, the ceiling caved in and Sam grabbed Mikaela, backing into a door which flew open under their combined weight. They caught a brief glimpse of the ant Decepticon as it transformed, pausing just long enough to brush concrete dust and carpet from its violet chassis with three-clawed hands. It turned to look at them, hateful green eyes narrowing in recognition as the gym doors slowly closed and Sam and Mikaela scrambled to their feet.

"Wanna pretend that didn't happen?" Sam said.

But he and Mikaela immediately started running for the opposite door -- they knew better than to pretend. A loud clang came as the doors were suddenly launched from their hinges, clattering left and right from the sheer strength of Antagony's push.

"I shall be rewarded greatly for taking you to Soundwave, Witwicky," the Decepticon managed, the bulbous projection on her back opening to reveal a tight cluster of boosters.

"Keep running!" Sam shouted as he pushed Mikaela ahead, moving to block her from view.

The floor squeaked loudly beneath Sam's sneakers and it wasn't until he felt a sharp pain at the base of each of his arms and looked down that he realized he was about five feet off the ground...and gaining altitude. Mikaela screamed as Sam and the Decepticon flew over her head, moving at a high speed towards a far set of grate-covered windows. She pumped her legs as hard as she could, still losing ground and shouting for help she knew would never come.

"For Lord Megatron!" the Decepticon shouted as it neared the window.

"Get Bumblebee," Sam called to Mikaela as he kicked and tried his hardest to get loose. "Put me down!"

"Not on your life, boy," Antagony hissed, looking down at her prey.

A loud roar came and the upper window of the gymnasium shattered, a large hot pink and black shape appearing in midair. Its appearance was a complete surprise to Sam and an even bigger surprise to the Decepticon as a wheel slammed into her chest. Sam felt himself drop and suddenly jerk in mid-air, flung sideways over something relatively narrow with a tight grip on the back of his pants. The thundering roar of an engine throttled under him as he and his rescuer rattled down the stairs of the bleachers, jarring his stomach in ways which would result in bruises. A loud crunch of metal on wood came as Antagony hit the ground, slowly crawling to her feet as the motorcycle pulled into a skid on the basketball court -- tracing a half-circle of black on the waxed hardwood floor and spilling Sam at Mikaela's feet.

"Ow," Sam managed as he rolled on his side. "For the love of--"

"Sorry about that," the motorcycle's driver said. "First time I've ever handled waxed floors."

"Not complaining," Sam grunted as Mikaela suddenly stooped to grab him. "Thanks."

Mikaela looked up at the motorcycle, noting the aggressive lines of the hot pink Buell Ulysses and how they contrasted with the female figure dressed all in black perched on the seat, an embossed Autobot insignia on the forehead of the helmet. The visor on the helmet was down, but even then several lines of blue were visible through the gaps of the visor as the rider planted a foot and effectively cut Sam and Mikaela off from their attacker. For a moment the driver of the motorcycle merely sat in front of the two, revving the engine as it studied the Decepticon. After a moment's pause the driver inclined its head and the motorcycle's tail end swung around, lining the front of the vehicle for the Decepticon -- a thin line of blue appeared under the visor.

"You're an Autobot?" Mikaela managed and Sam looked up as the driver looked at them.

"Call me, Arcee," the Autobot answered smugly, the driver giving a curt nod.

"You dare challenge me?" Antagony hissed, her claw-like hand flexing. "As I serve Megatron, Witwicky must be captured!"

"That's a Decepticon for you," the holographic driver muttered as the motorcycle reared and jetted forwards on its back wheel. "You're nothing more than another pest in need of an exterminator and I'd be more than happy to do the squashing."

"You can try, Autobot wench."

Antagony moved deliberately, her fist slamming through the floor and pulling a massive swatch of hardwood up at an angle in a makeshift ramp.  The motorcycle began to overbalance as it took the ramp, tilting over backwards and ultimately making a parallel line to the ground, ready to crush the driver. But as Mikaela raised her hands to cover her mouth, as Sam scrambled to stand in a futile gesture to catch the driver, the motorcycle suddenly gave a familiar grating noise -- a noise the teens were all too familiar with. Transforming, the motorcycle shifted and spread, a pair of mechanical hands slamming down on the gym floor as the rest of the body unfolded and the pink and black Autobot performed a handspring, finishing the move off with a reverse somersault and landing in a crouch in front of the shocked humans.

It was an amazingly graceful move for a form so large, but a lopsided smile appeared on Arcee's face as she stood to her full height of around ten feet and assumed a combat position. "If you think that's impressive, wait til' I get warmed up. Besides, shouldn't you two be elsewhere?"

"No need to tell us twice," Sam blurted as he rushed Mikaela for a second set of gym doors. "Be careful."

"You will not stop me from serving the Royalty!"

"Get a grip, sister," Arcee sniffed as she deployed her gun and let loose with a few shots at the basketball hoop and ceiling above the Decepticon's head.

A large section of the ceiling collapsed, dumping hundreds of pounds of metal, concrete and other building material on Antagony's head. Arcee was forced to restrain a wince as a portion of the wall collapsed and Shrapnel suddenly appeared, mandibles snapping repeatedly at the sight of the Autobot.

"What is this?" Arcee groaned as she raised her gun to aim. "Tag-team insect day?"

"Antagony, re-respond," the beetle called and the pile of rubble that fell from the ceiling suddenly peaked and scattered, revealing a very angry mechanical ant.

"Shrapnel," Antagony answered. "We must destroy the Autobot."

"Negative, humans are coming-coming with weapons. Soundwave has issued a retreat."

Arcee's optics widened and a slight shiver could be seen at the tip of her gun barrel. No way. Soundwave's here?

Antagony hissed angrily as Shrapnel flapped his wings and disappeared through the hole in the ceiling, leaving the ant to rip up more pieces of the floor and dark soil as she dived down in retreat. "Enjoy being shot at, Autobot...." the ant's voice echoed gruffly through the new tunnel. "Let the humans give you a proper welcome."

"If I ever see you again I'll pull off those skinny legs of yours, you floozy!" Arcee managed as she transformed back into her vehicle mode and burned rubber, making her way up the bleacher stairs at top speed. "Then we'll see how well you dance."

She barely registered the sound of feet on linoleum as the motorcycle's holographic driver twisted the front wheel at the top stair, shortening the profile just enough to slam through another gymnasium window and out onto the school's veranda. Arcee felt bad for the additional property damage, but as Shrapnel hit top speed flying south she quickly veered after through the courtyard after him. The students and faculty had abandoned the school, leaving Arcee with a lot of extra room to maneuver in and no fear of running over anyone. She used a picnic table to jump a low hedge and turned her head just in time to see a bright yellow Camaro peeling away, Sam and Mikaela looking back through the windows.

At least the kids are okay, she thought as she grudgingly broke off from the fleeing insect and began to follow the car until a massive black vehicle cut her off. "Leakin' lubricant!"

Arcee suddenly transformed, her hands slamming down on the Topkick's hood just long enough to vault over the cab and land hard in the flatbed. The small Autobot began to grumble as the Topkick suddenly went into reverse and pulled into a wide skid, literally circling the back end of a building in less than a second and rolling Arcee onto the asphalt. She caught a glimpse of the Autobot insignia embossed on the tail gate and knew she was in good company...though it didn't make it hurt any less.

"I thought I was the only one here when the kids took off," she managed softly as she climbed unsteadily to her hands and knees and reverted to vehicle mode. "No offense, but that sucked."

"Arcee?" a gruff voice emerged from somewhere inside the vehicle.

"Oh, hey, Ironhide." The motorcycle's driver gave a wave as Arcee eased to a stop just within the arc of his side view mirror. "It's been a while."

Yeah. Nearly three-point-two million years, Ironhide thought as he sent a signal to Bumblebee to rendezvous at his location. "What happened in there?"

The Buell eased up on the Topkick's driver side, stopping when its reflection was visible in the vehicle's heavily-tinted windows. "I was trying to map the streets when I saw some people running out of the school screaming. Decepticons were after the kids, especially that Witwicky boy. I stopped one of them from taking him, even brought the house down on it."

"Please tell me you didn't," Ironhide sighed, his optics rolling internally.

"It didn't hurt her though," Arcee said grimly. "She dug through the gym floor when the police arrived and the other one flew through the ceiling."

Loud curses came from a group of construction workers as a sudden spurt of sewage exploded from the hole outside of the library, a pair of mandibles snapping to ward them off. Ironhide gave a slight exclamation as he rolled forwards enough to see Antagony climbing from the hole where construction was occuring, quickly digging back down when a group of armed humans came towards her. She did not resurface.

"Damn those wretched Decepticons. They dug through the construction site, probably used it as cover at night when we weren't here. Explains exactly why construction was taking so long..."

There was no argument from Arcee as she eased up to see police officers blocking off the area, turning away when a bright yellow Camaro pulled up on her left side and Sam and Mikaela looked out. For a moment they could only stare at the Buell, but Bumblebee suddenly spoke. "Arcee, you made it."

"Swindle was a pussy," Arcee said as the driver leaned on the handlebars. "I'm just glad I showed up at the right time. That could have ended worse."

"No kidding," Sam said as he rubbed a darkening bruise on his side and hip. "I've never seen Decepticons like that. Giant insect Decepticons... We can call 'em 'Insecticons' or something."

"We've never met a female Autobot before," Mikaela suddenly said as Arcee's driver shook its head and sat up straight.

"I'm from Elita One's original squadron," Arcee answered proudly. "All-female, perfect battle record. We were deployed separately, so I'm not really surprised. Meetings with the boys seem to be entirely coincidental, but they're going to increase with Optimus Prime's signal going out. I got the transmission after Mission City, that's how I found my way here."

"Besides," Ironhide said with an odd sense of stiffness. "Once the war started we were no longer really designating ourselves as male and female. The only thing that mattered was if you were an Autobot or a Decepticon."

"I'm willing to bet Chromia wouldn't be too happy to hear you say that," Arcee said and Bumblebee chuckled.

"Quiet you," Ironhide snapped.

"Chromia?" Mikaela said with an undisguised smile.

"Imagine a female version of Ironhide," Bumblebee answered. "But shorter with a temper to match."

Then Arcee added grimly. "I also saw Starscream before I made planetfall... He was in a big hurry, but not enough of one to escort a few pods. One of them could have been Soundwave."

There was a very long silence before Ironhide spoke. "We need to report back to Optimus immediately."

"Oh, and welcome to Earth," Bumblebee added.

"Thanks, I think," Arcee answered as she revved her engine and followed Ironhide as he pulled away.