AN: So here's episode 2. Like TFPrime I'm doing a five part opening that sets up the Macguffinite for this story. I'll try to keep the chapters to a similar length.

Episode 2: The Awakening Part II

Cave in the Cascade Mountains: July 11, 2008

As the moon glistened in Earth's sky a bomber and a fighter jet descended into the mountain range. When they were flying through the valley they came upon a huge opening in the rocky face. The aircraft split apart and re formed into two huge robots. Another robot was growing out of the floor as the shunted mass returned to its rightful place.

"Report: Energon retrieved. Abnormally high energy."

"Hmm… This is interesting Soundwave. Give me an Energon cube of this abnormal Energon."

Soundwave said, "Will need refinement. The Energon was raw. Preparing refinery." Soundwave retrieved a complex machine from his subspace pocket. The machine could take in nearly any form of energy and purify it into Energon. Lugnut set down the crate full of raw Energon at Soundwave's feet. Soundwave broke off a small chunk of glowing crystal and fed it into the input slot. The machine whirred and beeped as the crystal was liquefied into glowing viscous fluid. The blue liquid poured out into a crystal clear cube and the machine became quiet. Soundwave disconnected the cube and handed it to Megatron. "Energon refined into cube form."

Megatron drank from the glowing blue cube and shuddered as his system took in the new more powerful Energon. In his overlay he saw his energy level go from 36% up past 100% up to 530% of his normal energy storage. "By the Pit! This is incredible! This Energon is almost 5 times as powerful as Cybertronian Energon!" With a supply of this Energon we could take Cybertron in days!" Megatron laughed as his energy readings went even higher with another sip of this planet's Energon. "This planet is a worthy target. Soundwave prepare to build a siege bunker. Use local metals and we'll fortify it with Energon later.

O-O-O

The Ark, Mt. St. Helens: July 10, 2008

"So Optimus, basically we're stranded on an organic world and the Decepticons are somewhere on this Primus forsaken rock. We have no idea where they are, but in the realm of good news this planet has abundant resources that can be converted into synthetic Energon."

"Thank you Prowl. This is very troubling. If this planet is not prepared for the Decepticons we must protect them until we can get a signal back to Cybertron."

Blaster stood up from the seat he was in and said, "I'll do my best Prime, but The Ark's systems are pretty well slagged."

"I appreciate your candor Blaster. We should send a scouting party out to learn more about this planet. Jazz, since we know so little about this world this mission will be under the Special Ops division. You are in charge of the scouting party."

"Thank you Optimus. I'll talk with my bots and figure out who should scout this planet."

"This Council is now adjourned."

Jazz walked through the door and walked towards the rec room, where most of the Autobots were staying for now. The hallway now had gravity facing in the correct direction thanks to Wheeljack powering up the ship's systems. As he walked into the rec room he saw the rank and file Autobots look up from the floor. Some smiled at him but the morale was very low. They were stranded on an alien world with little hope of return.

"Special Ops bots, I've got a mission for us. Come wit' me." Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Hound, and Mirage got up from the tables they were sitting at and filed after the white and black saboteur. Once they reached the hallway Jazz said, "Alright. We have an unknown organic planet with a decent amount of energy. We know almost nothing about this planet except that us and the Decepticons are on it. We need a 2 bot scouting party to investigate the area around the crash site. Hound, Cliffjumper you will go on this mission. Do not provoke the natives, if there are any. If you encounter Decepticons try not to engage. Report back using standard protocol gamma."

Hound and Cliffjumper both saluted and walked towards the airlock.

"Well Cliffjumper, we get to explore this world. This reminds of back before the war. I could take my ship and go to planets and just explore. What I wouldn't give to back to then."

"Ah whatever Hound." Cliffjumper waved his hand at the taller bot. "I'm just glad to get off this ship."

"Don't be so dismissive Cliffjumper, the wild can be quite beautiful." They reached the doors that led to the outside world and pressed the button to open it. "Oh." The outside world was less than beautiful. Ash and dust was raining down on scorched ground and there were fires burning in various spots. The Ark stuck partially out of a mountain that was currently smoking and steaming. Hound's long range sensors detected a huge cloud of ash rising high into the atmosphere. "Well. That would explain the quake that the ship logged. We must have crashed into a volcano. Well, let's see if we can find a healthy part of this planet. Roll out."

Hound's legs folded into the rear of a Jeep as his chest and arms formed the front. Cliffjumper's feet compacted into the front of a Mini Cooper as his chest and arms formed the rear of his alt mode.

"Let's ride Hound! I wanna see what this alt mode can do!" Cliffjumper's tires spun as he drove down the mountain. Hound followed behind him a little more cautiously and began scanning for local life. Several hours of careful driving later they had reached a black road made out of rock and sealant.

"Cliffjumper I have large amounts of activity on my sensors this way. Follow me."

"Roger that." The red Mini Cooper and green Jeep drove up the road towards the activity. As they got further from The Ark more of the planet's life was visible. Green plants lined the road. Soon they reached a post sticking out of the ground. "Huh. What is this? Is this writing?"

"Let me see. It says," Hound paused as his exploration software ran a database search and attempted to decode the alien script. "Huh. It's very similar to Nebulan. It says Portland, OR 20 miles."

"Great. What does that mean?"

"A mile is likely a unit of distance and it is possible that Portland is a city."

"Great, natives! We may actually be able to learn something about this planet." They continued in the direction the arrow pointed and soon found a native. They turned around a corner and nearly ran into a silver car that was driving right at Cliffjumper. All three cars screeched to a halt and a small pinkish biped got out of the silver car and started making loud angry noises at Cliffjumper. It walked up to Cliffjumper and knocked on his window while making more loud noises. When the biped saw the car was empty he got much paler, backed away from Cliffjumper, got back in his own car, and sped away. "Hmm that was strange."

"According to my translation software he just cursed at you and told you to drive in the correct side of the road. He then was terrified and ran away. Apparently cars can't drive themselves on this planet." Also it looks like we should be driving on the right side of the road."

"Alright Hound. Let's find this city."

As they drove down the road they were suddenly surrounded by buildings. Many of the buildings were smoking and burning and some were collapsing. "Whoa. I've just got wireless signals. There's so many! I'm relaying these signals to Blaster!"

Back at The Ark Blaster received Hound's relayed signals and rubbed his hands in delight.

~Wow! These natives are using so much of the EM spectrum!~ Blaster paused as he decoded the alien signals. ~I've been able to derive some information about the natives. The natives are called humans. They are approximately 2 meters tall and organic. They're fairly sentient and have existed for a while. Our ship crashed landed in a volcano called Mt. St. Helens. It just erupted and these humans are struggling to contain the damage.~ Blaster then looked to Optimus and said, "Prime these 'humans' may be simple but we should help them."

"I agree Blaster."

~Hound, I am sending Inferno and Red Alert to assist. See what you can do without revealing yourselves.~

~Roger that Prime. En route to the disaster area. Transmitting coordinates to Inferno and Red Alert.~

~Blaster is transmitting a preliminary database on humans.~

O-O-O

Red Alert and Inferno sped down the road toward the human city named Portland. Their vehicle modes' sirens blared as they raced towards it. Once they arrived Inferno immediately noticed that many buildings were smoldering or still burning.

He commed Red Alert, ~I'll start with the biggest building and work my way down.~

~Remember to stay in alt mode! These creatures may be cyberphobes!~

~I know Red.~ Inferno drove towards a building as tall as his root mode that had a fire raging in the top floors. Carefully, he extended the ladder attached to the top of the alt mode up. He could sense that a pair of fire suppression guns were on the bucket at the tip of the line. The ladder reached the top of the building and Inferno started spraying a foam onto the flames that snuffed them out with ease.

~Inferno to base, I can extinguish these flames but the humans are having some major difficulties putting these out. Compared to an Energon fire, this is nothing. Pit, I could walk through this fire and I wouldn't even singe my color nanites.~

~Acknowledged Inferno. Meet up with Hound and Cliffjumper, when possible.~

~Roger, Inferno out.~

O-O-O

Several hours later Hound and Cliffjumper had met up with Inferno, though they could not help put out fires.

Hound commed the group, ~Hey guys, I'm feeling really useless. I can't put these fires out without resuming my root mode. Permission to return to base?~

~Optimus Prime to Hound, permission granted. Units Hound and Cliffjumper cleared for return.~

Hound and Cliffjumper made a careful 180° turn and began to drive back to The Ark. After about ten minutes of driving Hound screeched to a halt. "Cliffjumper did you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"I just felt Energon. Lots of it! A huge pulse wave and then it was silenced!"

"Are you sure that being in Stasis Lock for that long didn't scramble your sensor circuits? Energon has only ever been found on Cybertron."

"I'm sure of it! The signal was so strong it could only be Energon!"

~Hound to Optimus Prime, Did you feel that? We just detected a huge Energon pulse. Please advise.~

~Have you checked the signature to make sure.~

~Of course Prime, I wasn't protoformed yesterday. It's the good stuff. Here's the reading and the diagnostic of my sensor systems.~

~But we have never observed Energon on another world. We've only been able to make poor substitutes from hydrocarbons and other energy sources.~

~Well I detected it! It's somewhere in the region known as Nevada.~

~I'll dispatch the twins. They are the fastest Autobots we have.~

O-O-O

Optimus walked into the rec lounge and looked around. "Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, I need to have a word with you."

The twins looked at each other and over the bond simultaneously yelled, "SLAG!" The yellow and red speedsters got up and followed Optimus's large frame towards the bridge. Sunstreaker said over the bond, "I don't think he's mad about the you know what, we're not going the right direction."

"Thank Primus for that 'bro. If he was our afts would be slag."

"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker Hound has detected an Energon pulse from the desert. Since you are the fastest Autobots we have-"

Sideswipe interrupted, "Yeah, but I'm faster right?"

Sunstreaker snapped back, "No way! Remember Nova Cronum? I smoked you!"

"Yeah but I was damaged! You hadn't even been hit!"

Optimus stepped in between the bickering twins and held them apart. "It doesn't matter who is faster. The only thing that matters is figuring out why there's an Energon signal on an organic planet! Follow me, quietly." Optimus stepped through the doors on to the bridge and with a simple gesture turned on the holoprojector. "According to Hound's sensor sweep the Energon pulse came from right here." Optimus poked the holographic Earth and the state of Nevada enlarged. "It came from around here." He gestured to an area that was then tinged blue. "Your mission is to get in and secure this Energon. Try to avoid contact with natives. If it is some sort of Decepticon trap, I am confident you can fight your way out."

~Optimus Prime to Wheeljack, is the orbital bounce possible?~

~Yeah. It'll be slow and showy though. This planet's orbital infrastructure is fraggin simple. I'm routing them through the Sky Spy that scanned our alt modes. Since there's only one, the signal will be very direct and very 'loud.' I'll bounce them in away from humans. Wheeljack out.~

"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, you will be traveling by orbital bounce. Go outside and get line of sight to the Sky Spy."

"Yes sir!" Both twins saluted and walked out of the bridge and to the aft airlock. Once they were out of Optimus's audial range, Sideswipe said, "I hate orbital bounces. They rattle up your gyros and Pit do they hurt."

"Agreed brother. Orders are orders though." The door hissed open and the two twins walked into the mellow sunlight of Earth's sun. Once they were clear of The Ark they signaled Optimus that they were ready. Neither of them bothered transforming, the orbital bounce forced any Cybertronian back to root mode. One moment they were looking out on the battered landscape and then they were engulfed in a bright orange beam. As the beam lifted them off the ground their systems screamed as the beam transported them across the Earth. As they were put down on the desert sand there was a loud bang as air was displaced by the Cybertronians.

Sideswipe shook his head and said, "Primus. Is there any better way to travel than a pit damned orbital bounce?"

"Regardless there goes stealth. They could probably hear that all the way back at The Ark." Both brothers transformed into vehicle mode. Their legs compacted into the rear of their alt mode and the hood flipped over their heads as they fell to the ground. Sunstreaker admired his brother's alt mode in the dusk sunlight and purred his engine. "Man if you look half as good as I do I must look good!"

"Hey! Our alt modes are identical! We look the same!"

"False. I have a better color scheme. Let's go." The yellow and red Lamborghini Gallardos drove forward over the rough desert terrain navigating via infrared.

"Sunny, do you sense any Energon? I can't get anything."

"I can't get anything either. Reading nil. Let's go to the last known position. I'm getting heat signatures and motion around where the pulse was detected." Once the twins crested a shallow hill a military base came into view. "Sideswipe, do you think the base is supposed to be on fire?"

"No. For some reason I think most of these fires shouldn't be burning." After a moment of thinking he exclaimed, "Could the natives have accidentally detonated the Energon? There wouldn't be much signal and that would explain the fires."

"We probably would have detected that, right? If Hound's readings were right the detonation would have registered." The twins reached a metal fence that separated the desert from the base. Sideswipe chuckled as his headlight panel folded to the side and a small cutting laser sliced through the fence.

"Heh. This security is scrap." A moment later a large section of the fence fell away from Sideswipe. "In we go brother." The two sports cars drove through the sizzling hole in the fence and into a nightmare. The military base had few standing buildings. Those that still stood were broken or on fire, or both. Dead humans were laying on the ground around the buildings. Sideswipe pulled forward and saw a human who had been charred to a crisp. "Yech. That's disgusting. Can humans do this to each other? This doesn't look like an explosion, it looks like an attack. And the only thing I can think of that could do this to a human is- " They shouted in unison, "Decepticon weapons!"

O-O-O

Lennox motioned with his hand to group around him. He then whispered, "Does the radio work yet?" The man carrying the radio shook his head and clicked the knob. The radio hissed with quiet static. "Damn. Why doesn't it? Those robot things left half an hour ago. Surely they can't be jamming it from that far away." The man handed him the radio and Lennox jumped as a bright red light flashed and a bang rumbled the desert on the other side of Groom Lake. One of his men gasped as the ground rumbled with the sound. "I don't know what that is but I don't think we want to meet it. Let's try and call backup."

Lennox whispered into the radio, "This is Colonel Lennox calling anyone who can hear me. We are the only survivors of the attack on Groom Lake Air Force Base. Is anyone receiving me?"

O-O-O

"Sunstreaker, I'm getting a radio signal. Boosting and decoding."

"This is Colonel Lennox calli- ZZZZKKKKRSH can hear me. KKKKKSHHHT only survivors of the attack on Groom Lake Air Force Base. Is anyone receiving me?" Sunstreaker prepared to respond. It's from human survivors of this base. I'm responding to the hail.

"Autobot Sideswipe receiving signal. Signal is weak, recommend boosting signal at transmitter."

"Thank god! Someone is KZZZST us."

"Signal still weak. Boost signal then respond. What is your location?." Sideswipe received the location from a much clearer signal.

"Roger that Lennox. En route to your location."

Sideswipe fishtailed as he accelerated over buckled concrete and cratered dirt. "Wait up Sideswipe!" Sunstreaker accelerated after him. The red Autobot skidded to a halt a few minutes later in front of a group of dirty humans wearing green clothing and head coverings. One of the humans pulled out a flashlight and shined it on the sports car and muttered, "What the hell?" A human stepped forward and said, "I'm Colonel Lennox. Who the hell are you?" and rapped his fingers on the hood.

Sideswipe split apart and pushed himself onto his feet as he resumed his root mode and looked down at the humans. Before he could speak the humans began firing guns at him. "That's really annoying you know." He crossed his arms in front of his optics and yelled, "STOP! I'm trying to help you!" The humans stopped firing but backed away. "I'm the person who was responding to your hails on that primitive comm channel."

He sent over his bond, "Don't come any closer, the humans are skittish." Sunstreaker responded with a feeling of acknowledgement.

"You're just like those tin cans that attacked our base! Why should we listen to you?"

"For one, I could kill all you where you stand. I'm not going to do that, but take that a gesture of goodwill. Also I fight the 'tin cans' we think attacked your base." The humans stopped backing away and lowered their guns. Sideswipe sat in the sand and shook his head. "Let's start this again. I'm Sideswipe. I'm an Autobot. We fight for the preservation of freedom."

One of the military men yelled, "Yeah! This is my kinda robot!"

"Thank you human. The most likely assailants of your base are the Decepticons. We Autobots fight the Decepticons. Tell me a bit about the 'tin cans' that attacked this base."

Lennox stepped forward and said. "They flew in as jets and then turned into giant robots. One also turned into a tank. That one was was tan and purple. Another turned into a bomber and was gray and purple. Then there was a blue and white one that launched all these tiny robots about our size. Their armor was impenetrable. No matter what we threw at them they just kept going. Their weapons were terrible. They burnt right through any armor our vehicles had."

"Why did they attack? Decepticons don't usually attack natives when the don't need to."

"The tan and purple one said they were looking for a crystal. Once they started destroying shit I tried to call for help."

"Of course, the Energon pulse. Did your base have any pink crystals? They would have given off a fair amount of energy."

"Not that I know of. We do deal in classified materials so we may have had some of these crystals."

~Sideswipe to Prime, I've found some humans who used to be stationed at a military base that may have had Energon. Location matches the detected pulse. The base was destroyed by a Decepticon attack starring Lugnut, Soundwave, and Blitzwing.~

~This is troubling. Please confirm that the base had Energon. This could be good news for us.~

"Alright humans, I've just checked with my commander and I need to confirm that this base had Energon. One of you could come with me while I search."

Lennox stepped forward and said, "I'll go." To his men he said, "Epps, you're in command until I get back." As Lennox was talking to his squad, Sideswipe had shifted form into his alt mode. The left door popped open and the interior lights turned on.

"Get in human." As Lennox got in the door shut and the engine rumbled to life. Sideswipe activated his sensor suite and started searching for Energon traces. After a minute of driving around the dark ruins of the base, Sideswipe registered an Energon signal.

Sideswipe pulsed "Sunstreaker, converge on these coordinates." over the bond while telling Lennox, "My brother is meeting us at the Energon trace. Don't panic when he shows up."

"Thanks for the warning Sideswipe. Can you help my get back in contact with the military? I've got some info I need to pass up the chain of command."

"My brother is sending a pick up request." A moment later he said, "We're here. Get out so I can transform." Sideswipe transformed into a kneeling position and reached into the hole that was cut into the ground. "Yeah I'm getting residual Energon readings. Sideswipe pulled his hand out of the hole and yelped. "Ah! That hurts! What kind of Energon was in there? It really isn't supposed to hurt you."

"Man. What did those Decepticons want with this Energon stuff?"

Sunstreaker transformed and walked into the light of the burning fuel. "It's our fuel and lifeblood. We run on it and it powers our technology. It's very rare. Before this it's only known source was our homeworld, Cybertron. But now that we've found it on a dirty organic world like this, our race may have a chance. Your human military is sending a helicopter to pick you up. Have one of your men set a green flare. Now if you excuse us we will be headed back to our base. Goodbye human."

As Sunstreaker walked away Sideswipe leaned down and whispered, "Don't mind him, he's had some bad experiences with organics. He's also just a bit of a prick." Lennox laughed as Sideswipe drive him back to his men. As Sideswipe drove away he heard the sound of helicopter blades in the distance.

~Sideswipe to Wheeljack, ready for bounce back to The Ark.~

AN: If you liked or disliked the story feel free to give pointers. Remember to follow and favorite to see these episodes/chapters as they come out! I'd like to get the next chapter out in about a week maybe... I'm not sure. Regardless, I do run on reviews so do leave them.