Writer's Note - A huge apology for the mini hiatus. I chose, at the very last minute, to re-write the next few chapters of the story and it's taking me longer than it should. Thank you so much for being patient!

-Duma


With a grind of metal, Scrounger's mask slid up from his chin and covered his lower face.

They had one last shot at this. One last shot at getting what they wanted.

The only question was: should they wait until they were out in the open, or take advantage of the underground and be prepared to sacrifice a few bots?

He had tried sending a message to Chainlink before while they had been seperated but the earth had interfered with the signal and she hadn't responded. Chainlink might be able to see a vital problem which would ultimately decide where they carry out their plan of attack.

They had gone on too long without a successful hunt and Scrounger could sense the frustration of the other Poachers that worked for him. They wanted a win. They wanted a score. They wanted energon!

And the thrill of having the Last Seeker within their sights was tantalising. Every step they took had to be held back otherwise they'd rush forward in a frenzy. They were like hounds pulling at their leashes, ready to bite.

"Chainlink," Scrounger spoke through his silent frequency.

A second went by before he got an answer.

"Scrounger."

"At last, we can talk. Did you get anything from my last attempted message?"

"It was a severely broken message. I got nothing except something about executing a procedure."

"Group Procedure Five Twenty One."

"I see. Is that why you had me take a group in front?"

"Of course. I plan ahead."

"How far ahead? You want us to execute the procedure here or above ground?"

Scrounger looked about at his squad and immediately sent out a group message consisting of very basic orders.

"...Here," he decided.

"Now?"

"Now."


Bumblebee whined as Bulkhead gently tapped the back of his head with one of his fingers, keeping him awake.

"Hey, stay online, Bee," Bulkhead chuckled, "You've earned this."

Bumblebee whistled a few notes.

"Yeah, I'll bet it was hard!" answered Bulkhead, "You got brass bearings to put up with both of them so long."

"I'll kindly remind you that it's rude to talk about others behind their backs," Knock Out grumbled a few feet away, in the arms of Breakdown.

Bulkhead smirked. "He ain't talking behind your back. We're making sure you can hear every word."

"How about you quit the yapping and keep walking," Breakdown then snapped, "Having you so close is making my knuckles itch."

Bulkhead matched his steeled gaze. "Feeling's mutual."

"Now, now, boys," Knock Out hurriedly interrupted with a nervous laugh, "We don't need a brawl just yet. Injured soldiers, remember?"

Everyone was thrown to a stop when, up in front, Chainlink suddenly wheeled around with the other Poachers and each drew a weapon, some aiming at the Autobots and Decepticons and others aiming up at the ceiling.

"Oh, what did I just say?" Knock Out protested, craning his neck to look back at where Scrounger's group was standing, also with their weapons drawn, "I just said! I JUST said!"

"Yeah well," Scrounger chuckled darkly, "we're done listening to Decepticons."

His arm canon pointed to the floor and out shot a cannister which began to vomit heavy green smoke into the area. It wasn't poisonous and it wasn't designed to get into a Cybertronian's systems but it did impede vision gravely and their spacial awareness became seriously compromised. Scrounger used his smoke to blind would-be prey from escaping but blinding would-be rivals was an equally effective use for it.

Arcee felt someone shove her aside in the fog and she was pushed back painfully against the wall. Seconds later, Bulkhead's growl was heard as he was hauled to the ground amidst a chorus of angry cries and a few wild shots in the dark.

"Hold your fire!" Optimus bellowed, grappalling with someone on his shoulders who was trying to hit him in the face.

"Ow!" the voice of Knock Out yelled, "What the-? No! Who is that? Get off me!"

Breakdown was trying to fumble around in the smoke, growing more and more aggitated after losing his partner. He collided with Bulkhead who was trying to pick himself up and was looking for Bumblebee in much the same manner.

Arcee had only one option and that was to make use of her smaller size. She ducked down and tried to look through the lower layer of smoke where it was thinner and she was able to make out the shapes of confused Decepticons and Autobots being struck at by Poachers. The Poachers must have had specialised equipment for when they had to resort to the old smoke bomb trick because they appeared to be moving about with ease.

She thought she saw a brief flash of yellow in amongst the legs and she immediately crawled towards it, hoping to get to Bumblebee before someone stood on him. Unfortunately, it was her that recieved a good tramping on and by the time she'd dealt with the assailant, she'd lost visual on her team's scout.

Not that she had time to worry about it when an energon-curdling screech, courtesy of Starscream living up to his name, deafened every bot in the tunnel. This was followed by a murderous roar of rage which could only belong to Megatron.

"THIEF!" thundered Megatron, "FOUL and WRETCHED THIEF!"

Dozens of feet began to dash by and Arcee was struck down again but not before she could bury her weapon into the back of a fleeing poacher.

The sounds of battle quickly faded and all that remained was the confused and disoriented movements of the soldiers left behind.

"Bee? Yo, Bee?" Bulkhead was heard calling furiously. "No-one move a circuit! I've lost Bumblebee!"

"Sound off, Knock Out," Breakdown wheezed. But there was no answer from the medic.

"PRIME!" Megatron hollered, still blindly raging.

"Calm yourself, Megatron!" Optimus replied, beginning to recover his sight.

"Calm?" Megatron growled savagely, "That Poacher scum has run! They plucked Starscream from my own grasp and they've RUN!"

"Bumblebee?" Bulkhead went on calling, "C'mon Bee, help me out! Give us a noise so I can find you."

Arcee was scanning the ground, beginning to see the shapes of Autobots and Decepticons more and more clearly through the smoke. But her optics were wide and scared. For as much as she searched, she couldn't see any sign of a living poacher... or of Bumblebee.

Optimus began to sense that something was amiss and his aggitation, fuelled by Megatron's roars, were adding to his own rage and frustration.

"Knock Out is missing!" Breakdown yelled, momentarily glaring at Bulkhead and Arcee's silhouettes as though they were responsible for it.

"He's not the only one," Optimus muttered darkly.


"Move it!" Scrounger ordered his bots, "Those guys didn't survive the eons-long war by sitting around and doing nothing! I said move it!"

"We're going as fast as possible!" moaned one poacher, from the back as they all hurried along, "But we've lost bots. And these tunnels sure are cramped."

"You're welcome to stop then!" Scrounger snorted, pushing past to fall into step beside the poacher who was carrying a very sulky Starscream, "Make that heroic sacrifice and delay Optimus and Megatron for a bit!"

"Why did we have to grab these guys?" asked another poacher, hoisting Knock Out further over his shoulder, "It's just a medic and a scout."

"They're already injured," answered Scrounger, "Can't fight back. Those fools were all too eager to dig down here to find them so they're clearly valuable to them. Good to use as a bargaining chip if the Autobots and Decepticons catch up with us."

"What if they don't catch up with us?"

"Then we'll be on our merry way with some fresh Seeker wings." Scrounger looked eagerly at Starscream in the gloom. "We can either dump them out into space once we're clear of this planet or we can take them with us."

"Boss," murmured Starscream's handler, "we're poachers. Not kidnappers..."

"And we've just thrown ourselves between two warring factions so our options are wearing a little thin, don't you think?!"

"I reckon the Boss means we'll take 'em and THEN we poach 'em," the poacher handling Knock Out chuckled, "Medics have all kinds'a crazy stuff on 'em."

That was when Knock Out lifted his head. "Now look, as prisoners of war, you are obliged..."

"You aren't prisoners of war!" Scrounger shouted back at him, "How many times...? We are not involved in your flaming war!"

Bumblebee, being carried very carefully by another poacher who seemed aware that the scout was hanging onto life by a thread, gave a small squeak.

"No;t inv"olve'd he s)ay but loo!ks li:ke pretty in}volv_ed to m(e. Goe*s stea^lin,g s{oldie"rs fr|om w!ar."

Scrounger sneered over his shoulder. He didn't know the old form of communication.

"What did the defect say?" he asked rudely.

"He said," Knock Out translated, "that you look to be pretty involved in the war despite your claims. You've gone and stolen some soldiers."

"On^e is use!d to b/e Fi\rst Lie"ute)nent to'o," Bumblebee pointed out.

"He said I'm a First Lieutenent too," repeated Starscream, "so that's quite a major involvement."

"Is u;se'd to be, I s~aid."

"Yes, you used to be," Knock Out nodded, "But as a former First Lieutenet and a wanted soldier, it's still a serious strike against the Decepticons, you know."

"Shut up!" Scrounger snapped, "We don't intened to be involved for very much longer, if that has to be the case."

Bumblebee made an unintentionally humorous noise which made it perfectly obvious that he'd just said, "That's for sure."

"W*on't be i,nvolved as soo"n as l|ea:der fin!d's," he added on the end.

"What was that?"

"He said," Knock Out smirked, "that you look like you've been run over by a Constructicon."

"No,t s?ay tha/t!"

"Oh, sorry, the combined force of the Constructicons. Which was that? Bruticus?"

"No, not Bruticus. Devastator," Starscream corrected.

"Scrounger!" Chainlink announced, cutting in before her boss started getting violent, "We're nearly to the surface!"


It was dark when the poachers emerged from underground.

"At long last!" Scrounger cheered as Chainlink stepped forward a few paces.

"Okay," she announced as her team began to crawl out with their prisoners, "now we just need to head towards-"

Her body hit the floor before she could say another word. Energon poured from the gaping hole in her chest.

"Chainlink!" cried a poacher.

"We're under attack!" Scrounger shouted, grabbing Starscream from his handler and yanking him behind a rock.

In a panic, the poachers scattered in an attempt to find cover. Three more died before they could decide on a direction to run in.

"WAIT!" Scrounger called into the open and he gestured wildly towards Bumblebee and Knock Out. "You don't want to risk damaging one of your own bots, do you?"

The shooter HAD to be either Autobot or Decepticon. The chances that it was a Neutral like himself were extremely slim.


Click went Wheeljack's gun.

"Oh don't you worry," he murmured to himself as he stared down the sight of the gun, "I'm not anywhere near Bumblebee."


Next to the poacher carrying Bumblebee, the poacher carrying Knock Out collapsed and the down went the medic with a bump. Both Knock Out and Bumblebee's handler screeched in terror.

At a command from Scrounger, the poachers with firearms began to shoot back at where they thought their attacker might be hiding. But it was an allusive shooter and no matter how often they fired in one spot after the other, there was no sign that they'd done any damage or even come close to shooting the hiding bot.

With his options running out and his First Mate now dead, Scrounger was turning to desperate measures. If he could get to his ship... but no - there was no way he was trusted his bots to keep the Seeker away from the others.

Looking around, he worked out that the majority of fire was being rained down at his poachers around Bumblebee and Knock Out.

It was now or never and, fortunately, there were some decent rocks to provide cover. Using the shadows as much as possible, Scrounger dashed from rock to rock until he and Starscream were a fair distance from the main battlefield. He felt sorry to leave his bots but he sent them all a promise over the line that he'd get back to the ship and return to provide cover fire and escape.

Starscream, in the meantime, flexed his claws slowly, itching to satisfy his growing lust to maim something. He had not taken kindly to being treated like an item.

"You've forgotten your team, wretch," he snarled like a cat. He was leant against the wall of the canyon while the Head Poacher made a check of his surroundings.

"I haven't forgotten them," Scrounger retorted, eyeing the area. "I'm just getting my priorities in order. You haven't a say in the matter!"

"What makes you think you can get out of here without getting shot?" Starscream asked, for once in his life rooting for whichever Autobot was picking off the Poachers. "Or before Megatron or Optimus Prime poke their merry faces out into the fresh air of Planet Earth?"

Scrounger knitted his metallic brow and narrowly glanced at Starscream.

"...You know who it is that's shooting at us?" he asked.

Starscream pondered the question and considered the possible options. Ratchet was the obvious one, of course, but he was a medic, not a sniper. That would suggest a different Autobot and it HAD to be Autobot, judging by the way the hidden assassin was covering Bumblebee. Scrounger might not have noticed that but Starscream, as an experienced soldier, certainly had.

A smile wormed itself onto the Seeker's face. "I may have an idea."

"If I use you as a shield," Scrounger asked next, "will I be shot at?"

Starscream raised his eyes in disbelief. "...You are aware of who I am, aren't you?"

"Air Commander Starscream," Scrounger replied, unable to stop himself from grinning. "The finest pair of wings that ever emerged from the Well."

"Mmm, yes, of course." Starscream now rolled his disbelieving eyes. "Also a Decepticon traitor and an Autobot enemy. A target to every affiliation. You won't be getting out quite that easily. Best leave me here. You're chances of survival are greater."

The grin quickly wore off after that. "I've never lost a prize piece of prey before. What makes you think I'll start ruining my reputation today?"

"You jumped into a war," Starscream told him in a low voice, "and there are no winners in war. Especially not for Neutrals."

Frustration was mounting in the face of the poacher. He clentched his fists and thumped the canyon wall with a grunt.

"Our hands were forced," he muttered, "We wouldn't have got involved in this ridiculous shoving match if our lives didn't depend on it!"

"Shoving match," Starscream repeated with a laugh.

"...Actually," Scrounger began to say in a strange, quiet voice, "given how far we are from the main group and with the minimal shelter we have at the moment, there's no reason why I shouldn't get to work now..."

Starscream stiffened. "And what are you implying by that?"

"My time appears to be somewhat limited," explained Scrounger, making another check of the route that he was intending to take, "I might manage better if I were to just take what I need from you now and leave you behind."

The familiar alarm bells began to chime away again.

"...What happened to preserving them with Seeker energon?" Starscream asked hurriedly, inching away as discretely as possible, "Keeping them fresh?"

Scrounger let out a chuckle. "I doubt a few clicks without an energon circuit is going to impede them greatly."

"Now just hold on! I find it very hard to believe that you've managed to get so far in your illustrous career by being hasty!"

"Up until now, I haven't had a need to be hasty." Without warning, Scrounger kicked at the Seeker which caused Starscream to fall onto his front, grimacing with pain as something twanged inside. "Now lie and try not to make too much noise."

"What!?" Starscream shrieked, wiggling his bound arms to try and right himself but Scrounger's hard foot pinned him to the floor.

"Unfortunately," Scrounger sighed, "I haven't the equipment that Chainlink has and I haven't her precision either. We'll have to make do with what we have." Starscream heard something slide into place with a mettalic scrape. "We can clean up the wings later."

"Don't you dare-!" Starscream began but he stopped as he flinched away from a sudden shot that hit Scrounger in the chest and threw him to the ground.

Looking up, Starscream knew it couldn't have been the Autobot that had openly fired on the poachers to begin with and he was right. It wasn't the mysterious sniper.

It had been another Autobot that had saved his life. Again.