Man, I'm really bad at this "consistently updating a story and sticking with it" idea, aren't I?

But I think of this like going to a park and hanging out. You've wandered over to different parks by then, and you had a lot of fun in all of them, but now it's time to head back to the park you came from and race yourself to the car.

Or I'm just being mushy and sentimental.

So,

WITHOUT FURTHER ADIEU (OR ADO?) I PRESENT TO YOU, FANGIRLS FROM ANOTHER WORLD!

"Red alert, red alert, Decepticons en route. Red alert, Red Alert, Decepticons en route."

Teletraan 1's deep bass rang in the Ark, still being heard despite the dozens of Autobots charging to the entrance. And heading away from it all, were three human girls.

"I'm a adult! I should be allowed to help out! Or even at least watch!" Stephanie fumed, walking away from the entrance with her arms crossed.

"Well, it is dangerous," Rebecca said, trying to calm Stephanie down. "An actual battle. The Autobots even got hurt in the cartoon battles you know."

"For, like, a day," Abigail said. "I think the most serious injury off the top of my head is Prowl's battle computer freezing, and even that wasn't so bad, because Chip just hot-wired his body for remote control."

"There was more serious stuff, I think. Like Ironhide being really hurt by a surprise attack or something in that one episode."

"It's just that we're here for a lifetime opportunity, and we have to hide!" Stephanie exclaimed.

"Well..." Abigail trailed off, an idea forming her mind.

"Well what?" Rebecca asked.

"It's just, Spike said 'go in deeper', but he never said how deeper. If we go back near the front of the ark, but definitely further back from where we were, technically, we're following Spike advice."

Stephanie gaped at her, then broke into a huge smile. "Abigail, you're a genius!"

"I try," she said modestly. "You do understand we're recklessly endangering our own lives just to do this, right?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure we won't be killed," Stephanie said vaguely. "But come on! it's a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"Can't argue with that logic, it's Transformers," Abigail said. "Let's go!"

"We are all going to die and it will be your fault," Rebecca warned Abigail as they walked back to the front of the ark.

Abigail slung a arm over Rebecca's shoulder, smiling. "Rebecca, relax. We're like, weekly guest stars. The worst that could happen to us is we get kidnapped for a while."

As they walked, Autobots of every shape and flavor ran to the entrance, guns out. The last one, Skids, was taking position when Rebecca, Stephanie and Abigail got to the entrance. The Autobots were arranged in a half circle, one side next to the cliff drop-off, the other next to the bluff on the right. There were three rows of Autobots, the tallest in the back, with the minibots in the front, all waiting for the Decepticons.

"I don't like this," Prowl said near the back. "We're too crowded together."

The silence was chilling. Even the birds didn't sing this close to a battle. There was nothing, but then, a high pitched whine started quietly, but quickly got louder till it was the screech and roar of a jet engine.

"It's Starscream!" Ironhide shouted, his rifle pointing to the air.

With a thundering boom, The head trine passed quickly overhead, their colors that identified them a blur as the unleashed a volley of shots at the Autobots. The ranks scattered, The Autobots dodging the shots and wishing for cover.

"I hate these kind of battles!" Sideswipe shouted. "Why can't they just attack an energy plant or something?"

"Oh, shut up, Sideswipe," Sunstreaker growled.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Stunticons came flying out over the Autobots, before dropping like a load of bricks the last hundred feet.

Stepping out of his crater, Wildrider grinned. "Who wants to go first?" With a howl, Sunstreaker charged. He was just about to strike when the other Stunticons charged into the ranks, with Motormaster seeking out Optimus Prime and the others just lunging for the closest victim.

"Hey buddy, why don't you pick on somebody your own model!" Mirage yelled as he shimmered into view before lunging and putting Drag Strip in a choke-hold.

""Either way, I'll still win!" Drag Strip growled out between gasps. Prowl, having fled from the main fight, was nestled between two boulders and was giving orders. "Someone take care of Dead End and Breakdown before either one can get into their alt. modes! Or worse, Menasor!"

Amidst the confusion, three Autobots raced into the thick of the fight, cornering the remaining Stunticons against a wall.

"We'll give the one chance to surrender peacefully!" Bumblebee said.

"Yeah! So what's it gonna be?" asked Inferno as Smokescreen readied his gun.

Dead End asked, "Why bother? We're all going to die anyways, so it doesn't matter. But you can die first!" In one graceful arch, Wildrider brought his gun out of subspace and aimed it towards Smokescreen as he moved behind Breakdown, shielding his back. Breakdown had also taken his gun out, but was not nearly so forward. He merely held it, with the barrel pointing in a vague upwardly direction. A second later, he remembered that he was in a battle and not running from his brothers, so he shakily leveled the gun on Inferno, switching back and forth between bumblebee.

For a moment, no one moved, then Dead End shot at Smokescreen. Terrified, Breakdown bolted and shot randomly behind him, the airwaves from his concussive cannon breaking everything they hit into dust and dirt.

"Good! Keep them split up!" Prowl shouted into his comm. link as he loaded his gun with his favorite ammo: acid pellets.

"Jazz, up above! More incoming, and it's the Constructicons!" Outback shouted, running towards some huge boulders near the cliff, the only shelter the Autobots had if they wanted to keep attacking aerial targets.

"They're coming in like the Stunticons! rush them and then separate them!" Prowl barked, his rifle fully loaded and then aimed upwards.

Bonecrusher slammed into the ground, crouching with one fist on the ground as the dust and debris flew in the air. Mixmaster and Scavenger dropped down after him, all of them facing out in a triangle of broken stone and ground, the weapons clutched in their hands.

"Anyone and everyone is up for grabs, including personal vendettas," Bonecrusher commanded, blasting (and thankfully, missing) an Autobot.

"Even Hauler?" Mixmaster asked.

"Especially Hauler. And don't screw up, Scavenger."

"Shut up, Bonecrusher!"

"Get them! Now, now, now!" Ironhide yelled as he charged, along with several other Autobots.

"Wait, where are the rest of them?" Sideswipe asked, he and his brother no longer distracted with Wildrider.

"Right above you!" taunted Longhaul as he came crashing down on him, with Scapper and Hook also joining the fray. And during all this, Stephanie, Rebecca and Abigail had been slowly inching their way closer and closer to the actual Ark entrance.

"Woah," Stephanie breathed.

"Yeah. It's like a shark feeding frenzy. A giant free-for-all." Rebecca said, equally impressed.

"What you guys said," Abigail added. She scanned the area around her, eyes darting back and forth. "I wish we could help, but if I tried I would just get stepped on."

"By Autobots or Decepticons."

"Hey, look! More incoming!" Stephanie shouted, pointing at the sky.

"Those aren't Combaticons," Rebecca said.

"Yeah! Soundwave is one of them!" Abigail shrieked in a shrill voice. "I don't know whether to be terrified or excited right now."

"And the other three are the command trine," Stephanie said. "I think it's safe to say that we are all gonna die now."

"Hey!"

"Oh, don't be like that Stephanie," Rebecca said.

"Hey!"

"What, Abigail?!"

"Soundwave is heading this way! What do we do?"

"WHAT?!" Stephanie's and Rebecca head flipped back and forth, looking for Soundwave. They spotted him as he was snaking his way past numerous fist fights and dodging hits, and was definitely heading towards the Ark.

"We have to sneak around the rocks. We can't go back in," Stephanie said.

"It's safe there though! I like being alive!" Rebecca shouted.

"Yeah, but it's a long, straight corridor. We would never move fast enough to get enough halls between us and Soundwave. We gotta go! Now!"

With a worried groan, Rebecca followed with Abigail trailing behind. Most of the Autobots were out in the open, fighting the Decepticons in close range, with only a few sniping from behind cover. Thankfully, there was enough room for a sniper to crouch and for the trio to walk.

"I don't think Prowl knows about Soundwave," Abigail said anxiously.

"Why?" Stephanie asked, calmer now that they weren't in as much danger, the laser fire going over their heads.

Cause all the other times he shouted out orders, but he didn't say anything for Soundwave and the trine."

"Well, he's right there, see?" Rebecca said, pointing. Indeed, Prowl was still where he had first ducked for cover, and though it was well protected from most of the fight, plenty of laser blasts and shots were ringing through the area behind him. there was about forty feet between him and the cliff edge, and right amidst the firefight, was Wildrider, sneaking up behind him.

"Oh crap! We gotta help!" Because they were right next to the cliff face, it still sloped a bit before leveling out, so as they ran shouting at Prowl, they half ran, half slid to him.

"Prowl, hey, Prowl!"

"Prowl! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"You would think, with all the laser blast and plasma beams and plain ol' gunfure, he'd be able to hear," Stephanie deadpanned, slipping and sliding down the slope. Abigail and Rebecca merely ignored her and continued shouting, waving their arms for balance and notice.

"This isn't working," Rebecca said barely a few seconds later. "On three. One, two, three!"

"PROWL!" all three of them shouted. He turned, shock in his face which only grew when he spotted Wildrider, who was now back-pedaling for his life. Prowl shot him in his calf, and Wildrider shouted in pain as he retreated further.

"What are you three doing out here? You're civilians in a war-zone!"

"I, er, we know! But we saw Soundwave sneaking into the Ark. We decided we wouldn't go confront him ourselves," Stephanie shouted up at him.

"And you were about to be knifed in the back by Wildrider," Rebecca added. "We couldn't just let you die!"

Prowl held up a hand, the universal sign for "shut up, you are a problem and now I have to deal with you without ending any life", then put a finger to the side of his helm and spoke over his comlink. "Skids, Huffer, deal with Soundwave. He's in the interior of the Ark, presumably in the Energon stores. Tracks, Hound, come over to my location and escort our escaped civilians to a secured location that is not our compromised base."

Putting his servo down, Prowl glared at the three girls. "Stay here until then." Though Stephanie sputtered in indignation, Prowl turned back, starting to shoot and issue commands.

"I'm 18! I can fight if I want to!"

"Do you want to fight?" Rebecca asked Stephanie.

"No! but that's not the point!"

"We're here," Hound said, stepping between the rocks, blaster out in his hand.

"Good, they're over there," Prowl said, not looking and merely waving his hand backward.

"All right take the girls, Tracks, and I'll cover for you, because I have an open roof."

"Right," Tracks said, putting his gun away and transforming. Rebecca squeezed into the passenger seat after Abigail and Stephanie got in the driver's seat.

"Geez," Abigail grunted out. "I think I'd rather take the 'exposed to deathly laser beams roof' than be in a two-seat convertible with three people."

Tracks ignored her and sped off before the door had even closed all the way, with Hound chasing after him, his optics spanning the skies.

They were almost out of the small valley when Hound shouted, frantic.

"It's Thundercracker!" Abigail looked out the back window. Thunder was flying low, barreling towards Hound. He stood his ground, firing shot after shot, but Thundercracker only flew closer. He transformed, falling the last few feet as he lunged for Hound, a vicious smile on his face.

"Tracks! Look out!" Rebecca shouted, shrill.

He slammed on the brakes as Skywarp materialized out of thin air with a sick purple flash. Before he could reverse and escape, Skywarp slammed his foot on the hood. He leaned down with a smile.

"Mind stopping by later? Or maybe now?"

"Get out," Tracks ground out, his voice pained. They needed no more prompting, all of them running out. Tracks transformed, shrugging off Skywarp's foot and throwing a punch at him. He opened his wings and flew backwards, his gun in his servo as he shot at Skywarp.

After a hit to the arm, Skyward retreated, teleporting away with a purple flash. With a smirk of quiet victory, Tracks turned around and started to fly to Hound; who was fighting servo to servo with Thundercracker, both guns forgotten.

No one noticed Starscream charging at Tracks until he tackled Tracks in midair, flinging them both to the ground. After a roll, Starscream had Tracks pinned under him, his blue fingers wrapped around the Corvette's neck.

"I love it when our little toy car tries to fly. Especially when he falls."

Tracks struggled to escape as Hound kept backing up, avoiding Thundercracker and his fists. He stepped on a stone, and though he stumbled for half a second, it was long enough for Thundercracker to hit him right in the face. He quickly followed up with a punch to the lower torso, and then to the jaw, knocking Hound down, unconscious.

"Starscream! this is an Energon raid, not an assassination attempt! Skywarp!" Thundercracker growled into his comlink, his head scanning the skies as Starscream ceased his one-sided fight and withdrew.

"They were escorting people. Warp down here and help us find them."

There was that sickly purple flash, and a voice whined out, "All right, I'm here. Betcha two to one they're worthless."

"Why were they escorting them then?" Thundercracker retorted.

"Because the Autobots are pathetic like that," Starscream said, slamming Track's head into the ground. Tracks fell back and fell unconscious with a faint groan. "Now, O wise one, where are they?" Starscream tread softly to where Thundercracker was.

With a sudden snarl, Starscream had his blue fingers around Thundercracker's throat, not Tracks. "And why in Primus' name are you giving orders? I'm the leader, not you!"

"Of... course," Thundercracker ground out, his voice hoarse. "Forgive me." Starscream threw Thundercracker away with a slight huff of superiority, and only Skywarp heard Thundercracker mutter "prat" under his breath. Skywarp sniggered.

"What now, Starscream?" Skywarp asked.

"Look for the prisoners. They must be nearby." The irony was lost on him, however, as he walked around the area, optics scanning the rocks and crags.

Rebecca had her hands clamped to her mouth, her eyes livid behind her glasses. Abigail and Stephanie stared back at her, equally silent and terrified. As soon as Tracks told them to run, they had, though not very far. They had only gotten about a hundred feet or so while dodging rocks and shots before Thundercracker finally noticed their absence.

There they stood, backs pressed against the rock, trying to stifle their gasps, as the three seekers slowly walked closer to them.

"Wait," Starscream said suddenly.

"Soundwave... failed?" Skywarp said, obviously puzzled.

Abigail could almost hear Thundercracker's disinterested shrug. "Who cares? He asked for a retreat, and Megatron was so kind as to grant the request." There was a biting tone underneath his voice when he spoke again. "So, what should we do?"

"Look behind that rock," Starscream ordered. "I'll comm Megatron about the prisoners."

"Yes, Starscream." Stephanie started to tug frantically at Abigail's hand, trying to get her to move.

"If we could just run fast enough," she thought. "Maybe." Abigail and Rebecca started to follow, the trio sneaking around the rock, trying to get out of the natural clump, before a shadow was cast over them.

"Well, what do we have here?" A droll, bored voice spoke up. Craning their necks upwards, the girls found it was indeed Thundercracker.

"A fan?" Abigail squeaked out. Thundercracker ignored her and looked up at Starscream.

"Did you get through to Megatron?"

"No!" Starscream snapped; the girls were lead out of the rock only to see Starscream with his arms crossed, a petulant look on his face. "He won't answer me."

Skywarp started laughing hysterically, and Starscream's frown deepened as he moved to hit the purple jet, who only teleported away further.

With Skywarp still laughing, Abigail didn't know if it was hilarious or terrifying that her family acted like petty seekers.

Unless petty seekers acted like them...?

Thundercracker crossed his arms. "Shut up, way you act it's like you missing your own core programming or something." He turned to Starscream. "So, you're second in command. Whaddya wanna do with them?"

Starscream glared at the fleshlings, and then back up at the retreating Decepticons. With a growl, he decided.

"Each of you grab one," He said , snatching up Rebecca, who shrieked and started beating her fist against him. Ignoring her, Starscream jammed her in the pilot's seat and took off. Thundercracker grabbed Stephanie and flew away, before Skywarp teleported to Abigail, grabbed her, then teleported to the other decepticons, transforming in mid-air, well above the ground.

Abigail was not amused as her panicked screaming indicated.

I hope you enjoyed!