Autobot Outpost Omega One

3rd person POV...

"I told you, doc, we're fine," Bulkhead grumbles irritably.

He starts ripping out the tubes attached to his chassis and gets to his feet while Bumblebee watches in bewilderment. Before he could go far, Ratchet swoops over and shoves him back down with a stern glare.

"The only way to be certain you're fine, Bulkhead, is to endure standard defrosting procedure," he retorts in exasperation. "You know prolonged exposure to sub-zero conditions can cause permanent system damage!"

"I'd listen to him Bulkhead, unless you want a wrench to the helm," Ironhide comments, crossing his arms, and Arcee rolls her eyes.

"Ratchet, have you learned anything more about our arctic find?" Optimus asks, he and Elita both walking forwards.

"Not yet. The pod can't be opened while it's frozen solid," Ratchet explains, gesturing to an image of the pod on the monitor.

Just recently, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were on a scouting mission in the Arctic in the search for more energon when they came across the pod. Calling in the find, they both hauled the pod through the ground bridge and stored it further back in the base, waiting for it to thaw out. At the moment they were unable to identify it's origins, and decided against informing Charlie and S.H.I.E.L.D. about it until they knew more.

Ratchet especially wasn't keen on the idea of a bunch of human scientists coming into the base to poke and prod at it.

Unbeknownst to the Autobots however, the pod was flaring with hidden activity from the inside. Ice continued to melt off of its exterior as the sound of scuttling came from within. The pod shakes as something bangs against the side of it, and small cracks start to form in its surface. The pod is then busted opening with a screech, allowing for a small, spindly leg to poke through it.

An hour later, Ratchet opens up the ground bridge as Optimus and Elita step forwards.

"Elita and I will search for any clue which might explain the origin of our arctic find," Optimus says.

"Only until your sensors sound. Remember, once your core temperature drops into the blue zone, system failures aren't likely. They're imminent," Ratchet warns them.

He activates a blue beacon on both of their shoulders that beeps blue for a second, testing the function. Elita glances at her beacon as it goes off.

"Thanks for the pep talk Ratch," she says with a small grin.

The sound of engines down the hallway gets their attention, and they look over as the rest of the Autobots come driving in, bringing Jack, Alex, Miko, and Raf with them. Because of the mission, Ironhide was sent to go pick up Alex instead of Elita, something that he felt like grumbling about before doing it anyways. The kids get out of or climb off their rides, allowing the Autobots to transform back to bipedal mode.

"Miss us, doc bot?" Miko quips instantly.

Ratchet groans. "Shouldn't they be in school?"

"Nope! It's summer vacation time! We get to spend the next three months with you!" she exclaims cheerfully.

"I wasn't expecting to carpool Elita," Alex remarks, looking up at her. "What gives?"

"I'm tag teaming Alex. It's my turn for a little 'exploration duty.'" she replies.

"Oh, too bad. It's a beautiful day outside, y'know, to do whatever," Alex says with a small smile, turning away mischievously. "Would hate for you to feel guilty about leaving me behind indoors."

"Arctic exploration duty," Elita states with a wide grin.

"Indoors where it's warm!" she replies quickly, walking off with Jack and Miko.

Elita looks up at Optimus and shrugs in amusement when Raf approaches them.

"The arctic? I've always wanted to see snow," he admits hopefully.

"I would invite you to join, Rafael, but the conditions are much too extreme, even for we Autobots," Optimus informs him grimly.

Raf looks down in disappointment but nods his head in acceptance. "I understand."

Optimus turns around to the portal before stopping, looking back down at Raf. "But I will bring you back a snowball."

"That would be awesome," Raf replies with a wide smile.

Elita smiles down at Raf and then turns around with Optimus, patting him playfully on the shoulder as they walk through the bridge together.

"You big softie," she teases.

They both disappear through the ground bridge, cutting off Optimus's response for her from the others. Ratchet watches them go with a satisfied nod, and the turns around towards the bridge controls.

"Transport complete," Ratchet says to himself. The controls however then spark up in a small explosion, blowing up smoke and causing the monitor to glitch up, much to his surprise. "By the Allspark!"

"What's wrong Ratchet?" Ironhide asks with a frown, noticing the trouble.

"I'm not sure... but the ground bridge is down..." he mutters in concern.

Meanwhile, the kids all make their way up the stairs towards their living area on the catwalk, where they spent most of their time in the base. After joining Team Prime as human companions, the area was transitioned into a human friendly environment equipped with a couch, armchairs, a few desks, and a TV with connection to several satellite stations and a video game console. They were all moved in courtesy of Charlie, although it was kept fairly secret aside from Director Fury and a couple of other trusted agents. They didn't want it to be known by anyone that four children were spending their free time with alien robots for several reasons, the largest of which concerned their safety.

"So, what do you guys think we should do today?" Miko asks, flopping down onto the couch.

::How about we play some video games?:: Bumblebee suggests eagerly.

"Video game tournament! Last one standing wins!" Raf exclaims cheerfully.

Bumblebee and Bulkhead both look at each other in excitement while Arcee cross her arms, rolling her eyes fondly.

"Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee! Here! Now!" Ratchet calls out.

The three Autobots look at each other before Arcee shrugs, walking over. Bumblebee and Bulkhead both slump over in disappointment but follow after her. The former beeps at Raf apologetically, and he waves back with an understanding smile, reaching out to grab a controller. However its snatched up by Miko, who holds the other one out to Jack with a grin on her face.

"Prepare to be destroyed," she declares.

Jack glances at her from where he was slouching on the couch, and looks over at Alex, who shrugs in response from her own chair.

"Yeah, not really my thing, Miko," Jack replies.

"Oh? Scared of losing? To a girl?" Miko taunts.

"Oh go figure," Alex groans in exasperation.

Jack sighs in response, but accepts her challenge with a determined gleam in his eyes. "Bring it!"

He snatches the controller from her and starts up the game while Miko smirks, focusing on the TV as well.

"No mercy," she declares.

As they start playing, Alex looks over and takes notice of how disappointed Raf is. Clearing her throat loudly to get Jack's attention, she gestures over to Raf with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey Raf, you wanna take on Miko for me?" he offers, holding out the controller.

"Nah... I have stuff to do," he replies.

Raf stands up from the couch a little bit glumly, but attempts for a reassuring smile that doesn't reach his eyes. He starts walking down the steps and over towards the side of the base, while Alex and Jack watch a little bit sadly. Before they could say anything, Miko starts the game and lets out an excited whoop in challenge, and Jack quickly refocused his attention on her, getting serious.

"Oh, this'll end well," Alex sighs, resting her head on a propped up fist. "You know what I'm going to follow after Raf."

With the announcement given, she gets up from her chair and also heads down the stairs to follow after Raf, while the two rigorously continue their game in fierce competition.

Over by the ground bridge control panel Ratchet angrily smacks it as it lets off a huge amount of sparks, and the other Autobots walk over to him.

"You can't boss us around just because the boss is out!" Bulkhead complains with a frown.

"Would you rather I boss you around Bulkhead?" Ironhide replies with a warning glare.

"I need some heavy lifting. The ground bridge is down!" Ratchet explains irritably.

"Huh? What for?" Arcee asks with a frown.

"I'm not sure," he replies with a frustrated scowl.

::What about Optimus and Elita? Are they alright?:: Bumblebee asks worriedly.

"Optimus and Elita made it through just fine. It's bringing them back that concerns me," he says urgently. "Now, remove those panels. Chop-chop."

Alex POV...

For such a small kid, Raf could sure disappear fast whenever he felt the need to do so. Still, there are only so many places that he can go to, sin'ce while the rooms themselves are huge there aren't many too many areas. As I move through the corridor I start to hear his voice up ahead, hearing that's he's imagining himself in an arctic environment.

"Temperatures sub-zero and dropping..." he fake-stammers, making a few whooshing sounds. "Got to... get back... to base!

I turn the corner to see him slowly staggering forwards, hands stretched out to cover his face as if he were in the middle of a blizzard. I cross my arms with a small smile of amusement and lean against the wall, watching as he goes through the motions.

"Having fun playing role play?" I eventually ask, startling him. "Or should I go find some real snow?"

"Ah! Alex, you scared me," Raf remarks in exasperation.

"Sorry about that," I reply with a small shrug. "You doing alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he says, glancing down. "Still kind of wish I could see some snow."

"Yeah, doesn't really snow here," I comment with a nod. "Maybe some day."

"If I can ever move someplace other then Jasper," he mutters bitterly. "There's just... nothing to do around here."

"Well you're super smart, I'm sure you could get accepted into any college you want," I suggest. "Maybe BYU, or Harvard, something like that."

"I'd like to, but mama says our financial situation isn't the best, so I don't know," he explains helplessly.

"I'm sure something good will happen," I reply, trying to be reassuring.

Before he could respond, the sound of metal clanking nearby gets out attention, and I look over in confusion to see a metal bolt rolling to a stop. Raf moves over and picks it up, looking over at me curiously. I look up when I hear the sound of rapid clattering from the ceiling, and for a moment I thought I saw movement. Then I hear more clinking around the corner, and quickly turn my head in that direction.

"Hello?" Raf asks, adjusting his glasses.

A loud boom has us both jump in momentary fright, and we look down the hallway in the direction of the sound.

"Raf, get over here," I tell him quietly, feeling a little nervous.

He does so with a look of apprehension, before letting out a startled cry as he trips on something, falling down onto the ground. I widen my eyes in surprise at the sight of a small metal creature, looking kind of like a bug, scuttling over to him. I rush forwards and grab Raf by the shoulders to pull him back up, moving him behind me.

"Ah! Woah!" Raf exclaims at the sight of it. "What is it?"

"I don't know..." I reply cautiously.

He then completely bypasses me and moves over to the little robot, much to my protests.

"Raf!" I hiss at him.

"Hey... where did you come from?" he asks curiously.

The robot bug blinks its wide purple optics a few times before scuttling closer. I ease up a little upon noticing it doesn't seem to be threatening, although I'm still getting a bad vibe from it. What is it anyways, and why is it prowling around the base?

"The Autobots never said anything about pets," Raf remarks.

"I don't think that they have pets..." I say doubtfully.

"Well, what else could it be?" he replies.

I glance at him with a raised eyebrow, looking back down at the little robot apprehensively.

"A lot of things..." I suggest.

"Aw come on, look at him!" Raf states in exasperation, looking at the robot with a smile while holding up the metal bolt he picked up. "You want to play fetch?"

The robot jumps up and down in excitement, scuttling around in a circle. Grinning, Raf chucks the bolt down the hallway.

"Good boy. Go get it!" he exclaims.

The tiny robot dashes after the bolt excitedly, and at this point I can't help but smile softly in amusement too. Maybe it's nothing to worry about... until I widen my eyes in shock as the robot grabs the bolt out the air. A drilling sound comes from the robot as it starts chewing through the bolt, sending sparks flying. I gasp at the sight, my apprehension returning even faster now. That... that can't be good.

"No! Don't eat that! You're gonna choke!" Raf cries out in alarm, although for a different reason than what I'm feeling.

Instead of hurt however, the little robot turns back around to face Raf and scuttles closer with apparent happiness, much to his surprise.

"Or... not?" he remarks in amazement.

I'm staring at the robot with wide eyes as it cuddles up against Raf's leg, my mind working overtime. From my experience with Cybertronian's so far, something tells me that a small robot about the size of an insect for them is something to fear. It just devoured that metal bolt like nothing... and the Autobots are made of metal. Sparking sounds nearby then catch my notice, and I don't pay attention as Raf and his newfound 'friend' start walking down the hallway.

"Come on!" he tells it.

Ignoring them, I cautiously walk along the corridor to wear the sparking sound seems to be coming from, and stare at the cause with a worried gaze. There's an electric panel along the wall, covered in horrible bite marks and sending forth lots of sparks. The thing is damaged practically beyond repair, and seemed to have been eaten from the inside. The horrible feeling in my gut only grows bigger, and then I hear the sound of lots of drilling. Looking up, my eyes go wide with horror at the sight of dozens, maybe hundreds of those same robotic bugs, chewing through metal cables and components, causing sparks to flare wherever they ate.

"Oh my gosh..." I murmur nervously.

Those things eat metal... and the Autobots are made of metal! With that thought in mind I whip my head around to where Raf should still be, only to see he's disappeared. I can only imagine he took the robot bug one place.

"Oh no... Raf!" I shout. "Raf!"

I take off at a run down the corridor, leaving the several dozen bugs behind to keep chewing through the metal.

3rd person POV...

Jack and Miko were still battling it out in the racing game, both super focused and intent on beating the other.

"Ah, come on. Come on. You want some?" Jack mutters in challenge.

Miko's mouth drops open in disbelief as Jack overtakes her in the race, crossing the finish line while also causing her to wipe out. With a joyous whoop, Jack gets up from the couch and tosses the remote down behind him.

"In. Your. Face!" he shouts triumphantly, making taunting gestures.

Miko waves him away with an irritated scoff while Jack starts his own celebration dance, a grin on his face. The lights then start to flicker as the power temporarily cuts out, catching him by surprise.

"Whoa! What the?!" he asks in bewilderment, before realizing the problem. "Great. Power failure."

"Aww. It wiped out our game," Miko says, putting on a show of mock disappointment.

She gestures to the TV where sure enough, the screen was completely wiped and on a static mode, much to Jack's horror.

"B-But I was winning!" he exclaims in protest.

"Bummer," she sighs, tossing the remote behind her.

Down with the Autobots, Ratchet analyzes the different power chips in the electrical grid and instantly spots the problem. Reaching down, he pulls out one of the chips to find it sparking and burned, a few holes in the sides of it.

"We most definitely have a problem," he says in concern. "But what could have caused this?"

The lights then flicker against as the base contends with another power failure, getting everyone's attention.

"Or that?" Bulkhead asks.

"Isn't this just wonderful," Arcee sighs.

"Might be the main grid," Ratchet suggests. "Hopefully, it isn't a substation malfunction."

"Ratchet, let me see that," Ironhide says with a frown, holding out his hand.

"What for?" he asks with a confused frown.

"Just give it here!" he demands.

Ratchet sighs and mutters to himself, but hands over the broken chip anyways. Ironhide holds it up and narrows his optics to analyze it for a few moments, before his facial expression morphs to one of horror.

"Oh slag," he murmurs anxiously.

"What? What is it?" Arcee asks, noticing the fearful tone in his voice.

"Hey, guys. Look what I found," Raf calls out from across the hangar.

"We're busy!" Ratchet replies irritably, before widening his optics. "AAHH!"

Held in Raf's arms and snoozing like a baby was a single scraplet, which Raf was smiling at. The Autobots all get to their feet with terrified yells and whip out their blasters on sight, aiming them at the scraplet regardless of the fact it was in Raf's hands. Ironhide's massive cannons whirl to life as he drops the eaten chip. Jack and Miko instantly rush over in surprise and bewilderment, standing in front of Raf defensively.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Bulkhead yells.

"Hey, hey! What's with you guys?" Miko exclaims incredulously.

"Scraplet! SCRAPLET!" he screams loudly.

"What's a Scraplet?" Raf asks uneasily, holding the scraplet protectively.

"The most dangerous vermin ever to crawl upon the face of Cybertron," Ratchet explains through clenched teeth.

Jack and Miko both ease up with incredulous looks on their faces.

"This? Are you kidding me?" Jack asks with a scoff.

"This isn't a joke Jack! Those things are dangerous!" Arcee growls at him, blasting still raised.

"You're giant robots. Scrappy here is... Teeny," Miko says sarcastically.

"You have no idea of the damage that teeny thing can do!" Bulkhead states nervously.

"Now put that slagging vermin down so I can blast it Rafael!" Ironhide growls furiously, charging up his cannon.

"What?! No!" Raf protests. "He wouldn't hurt anything!"

The scraplet then starts to wake up, blinking its purple optics slowly while Alex bursts in from the far side of the room, having come at a sprint.

"GUYS!" she calls out in a panic. "We have a serious- WHOA!"

Right at the moment the scraplet opened its eyes, instantly spotting the five Autobots standing with their blasters raised. Without a second thought, the scraplet leaps out of Raf's arms and makes a charge for the closest Autobot: Bumblebee. It's entire face is now a giant mouth filled with drilling, rotating teeth, and it quickly chomps its jaws in a frenzy as it scuttles over.

Bumblebee fires his blasters, but the scraplet quickly dodges and keeps moving. Bulkhead and Arcee also try to shoot it down, but the little bug just keeps ducking out of the way on its path to Bumblebee. Ironhide growls and fires one of his cannons, blowing up a portion of the ground; even that doesn't manage to hit the scraplet, which finally reaches its prey. With wide open jaws in leaps up and latches onto Bumblebee's leg and starts eating away, creating wide gashes in his metal alloy.

Alex, Jack, Raf and Miko all watch with wide eyes at the sight, disbelief and horror filling them.

Bumblebee collapses onto his back with a fearful cry as the scraplet chews through his leg, moving up to his knee in a frenzy. He tries grabbing at it to crush it in his fist, but then the scraplet switches to start eating into his arm instead, much to his panic. Arcee then dashes forwards and brings out her wrist blade, slashing her arm in a quick and calculated swing, intending to kill the scraplet. However it jumps above the blade and then latches onto her instead, and she starts to panic as well. Yelping in fright, she smacks the scraplet to the ground with her other hand, finally dislodging it from them.

The scraplet gets back to its feet and begins charging again, only to come to a screeching halt as a crowbar slams into its head. Raf starts wailing on the scraplet with angry yells, creating huge dents in it and smashing it to pieces. Jack quickly comes in and stops the crowbar before he could swing more, the scraplet having already been killed.

"Whoa, easy there killer," he says.

Alex comes forwards and lays her hands comfortingly on Raf's shoulders as he takes a moment to regain his breath. With a worried gasp he then rushes over to Bumblebee while Miko walks up beside them as well.

"Woah. I did not see that coming," she remarks.

Ironhide then takes three massive steps forwards and brings his foot up, slamming it down on top of the scraplet with a growl and squishing it flat for good measure. The three of them back up quickly to avoid being hit by Ironhide, looking up at him incredulously.

"Hey! Watch it!" Miko shouts.

"Was that really necessary?" Alex adds.

"Just had to be sure," he scowls, grunting in satisfaction.

Ratchet and the others were checking up on Bumblebee, who sitting on the ground with a pained and fearful expression on his face. Ratchet glanced at Arcee to see if the scraplet harmed her, but she waved it off as it only got to biting her wrist blade.

"I'm sorry Bumblebee!" Raf cries out guiltily.

::It's not your fault Raf, you didn't know,:: Bee replies.

"Is he going to be ok?" he asks Ratchet anxiously.

"Only a mesh wound. He'll live," Ratchet replies after a few seconds.

"Now do you believe me? All scraplets do is dismantle machinery and eat anything metal," Bulkhead explains, his optics wide in fright. "Especially living metal!"

"Well... bug squashed, game over. Right?" Jack asks, he Miko and Alex walking up to them.

"Actually I was coming to tell you guys," Alex interrupts uneasily. "I just saw a whole pack of a few dozen scraplets tearing up a hallway."

"Seriously?!" Miko asks incredulously.

"Alex is right," Ratchet states with a nod. "When it comes to scraplets there's never just one. And I fear I know how they got in here."

With that grim statement Ratchet glances in the direction of the storage area, and the other Autobots all realize the implication, groaning in despair.

"Oh great," Arcee mutters, her wings twitching anxiously.

"Fraggit," Ironhide growls.

Sure enough, when the team timidly walked down the hallways of the base to the Cybertronian pod, they found the ice completely melted, with the pod busted wide open. There was absolutely nothing inside of it.

"It's a trap. A Scraplet trap," Ratchet says grimly.

"Uh, an empty Scraplet trap," Bulkhead adds nervously.

"How would it have gotten here?" Alex asks.

"During the Great War on Cybertron, hundreds of pods were filled up scraplets for containment, and then left as traps for the enemy to find. It was a Decepticon metho: brutal, horrible, and highly effective," Ironhide explains, appearing unsettled.

"I thought we managed to clear up all of the scraplet pods," Arcee replies with a frown.

"Yeah, we ejected them into space 'Cee!" he states with a growl, and Arcee grimaces.

"Clearly this pod eventually found its way to the arctic after it was ejected, where the temperature kept them in stasis," Ratchet explains.

"Until we brought the thaw," Jack finishes.

"Now they're wide awake and ready to brunch," Miko remarks.

"So... how many are we talking about?" Raf asks.

"Thousands. And the power malfunctions and ground bridge damage are sure signs that their infestation is well underway," Ratchet says grimly, shaking his head.

The Arctic - Earth

Elita POV...

Me and Optimus have been patrolling the area around the crash site of the pod for almost an hour now, and so far haven't found much. The spot at the bottom of the ice cliff where Bulkhead and Bumblebee found the pod is nearly covered up already, so we had to dig into it for more clues. Upon finding nothing, we decided to split up and search the nearby area for anything else before deciding to call it a day. While I was covering the ground level, Optimus was busy scaling the cliff in efforts of reaching the top.

"Elita, what's your status?" Optimus asks through our sparkbond.

The sensors placed into the Autobot symbol on my chest armor beep in warning with a blue color, signifying the potential for system failures in the cold.

"I've reached the blue zone Optimus. We should probably head back to base before we start having some problems," I suggest. "At this point I doubt we'll be able to find much else."

"Agreed," he replies.

Breaking off from my search, I head back over to the cliff while Optimus brings a hand to his helm to activate his comlink.

"Optimus to base, core temperature readings have reached the blue zone. Prepare to activate ground bridge," he calls in.

To my surprise however, I hear the sound of static over the comm lines, clearly startling him as well. He jersk his head momentarily in response before looking down at me with a worried gaze, an expression I equally share.

While on earth, our comlink's have never gone out before...

Autobot Outpost Omega One

Alex POV...

With the knowledge of a scraplet infestation, we all rushed back into the main room of the base so that we could try and contact Optimus and Elita so that they knew of the problem. But much to my worry that wasn't seeming to be the case, since the entire control monitor was getting screwed over with glithces.

"Ratchet to Optimus, do you read me? We have a situation!" Ratchet says urgently, slamming his fist on the console when it fails altogether. "The Scraplets have gotten into the com-link system! If we don't eradicate these creatures immediately, they will reduce the entire base to a scrap heap!"

"Well I say we bug out of here and let them keep it!" Bulkhead exclaims, and Bumblebee beeps in agreement.

"Bulkhead!" Arcee scolds.

"What?!" he demands.

"You better shut your mouth wrecker before I feed you to the scraplets!" Ironhide growls in warning. "We have to get these things out of here now!"

"Oh and what are you gonna do Ironhide? Blast them with a cannon?" Bulkhead retorts doubtfully. "Face it, we'll never get them out of here!"

"Evacuation is not an option!" Ratchet states firmly. "If we don't get the ground bridge back online stat, Optimus and Elita will perish."

"They will?" I ask fearfully.

The idea that Elita and Optimus could die today is terrifying, and I'm particularly worried for Elita. I've never been faced with the situation of someone I'm close to being on death's door, knowing full well what's going to happen and being unable to do anything about it. I don't want to lose her, neither of them!

"Bulkhead, you never run!" Miko says chides.

"Miko, you haven't seen a swarm of these things devour a bot. I have," Bulkhead replies with a haunted look in his optics. "They pick you apart from the inside out, going for the small, juicy bits first. Fuse by fuse, circuit by circuit, till there's nothing left, and I mean nothing! Not even your optics."

"Bulkhead, I once lost a whole squad to a scraplet trap laid by Decepticons," Ironhide says with a firm intensity. "I will not let anyone else die because of these vermin."

"We have to take a stand Bulk," Arcee says gently.

"You have to let us help," Jack says, moving forwards.

"We're not made of metal!" Raf comments with a grin.

"Yeah. The Scraplets can't hurt us!" Miko adds confidently.

"No they can't," I say with a smile.

"Typically, I find your fleshiness to be your least engaging quality," Ratchet comments, and I make a face at him. "But it would appear to provide an advantage under these extremes."

"Great! So we pair off then," I suggest, looking at the assembled group. "One bot, one human. Ratchet, Ironhide and I can watch your back while you repair the ground bridge."

"Good enough for me. We need that bridge up first before anything else," Ironhide grunts in agreement.

"And we go on a bug hunt," Miko remarks with a smirk.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee gape at her in shock before glancing at each other, shivering fearfully at the prospect. Arcee, to her credit, doesn't let the idea shake her too much but I could tell from the look in her optics that she was anxious: her wings twitching were proof of that.

"Guess I'm the protector now?" Jack comments in an attempt at humor, looking up at her.

"Don't push it Jack," she retorts with a roll of her optics.

The Arctic - Earth

Elita POV...

At this point we've been trying consistently to contact the base over and over again, but to no avail. The signal for whatever reason was being blocked, leaving us unable to reach them. I even tried Alex's personal phone, but that wouldn't pick up either. Considering she's most likely still in the base as well I shouldn't be too surprised, but it is really worrisome.

During this time Optimus and I have walked through the frozen wasteland against the freezing wind in the hope of seeking shelter. Already I could feel a bit of numbness and pain as my systems began to shut down and freeze. Movement now felt stiff, and I was lagging a bit behind Optimus.

"Optimus to base. Do you read?" he tries again.

With a groan of pain one of my joints freezes up, and I collapse to the ground on my hands and knees. Optimus notices instantly and rushes back to help me to my feet, his worry clear across our sparkbond.

"Are you sure a nice long drive wouldn't help Orion?" I murmur in suggestion. "I hear Miami's beautiful this time of year."

"The nearest temperate climate is too distant, Elita," he replies I disagreement. "Attempting to reach it would expend too much energy and hasten the freezing process. Until Ratchet sends for us, and he will, our best option would be to seek shelter and insulate ourselves."

"Figures," I grumble in reply.

Autobot Outpost Omega One

Alex POV...

Jack, Raf and Miko each split off down the base with their respective Autobot guardians, while Ironhide and I both stayed behind in the main room to guard Ratchet. So far we've been fairly undisturbed since the split off, although I was anxiously waiting for any sign of scraplets to come surging out at any point. Glancing at the crowbar in my arm however, I couldn't help but dryly think how pitiful this would be against huge swarms of scraplets. I'm broken out of my thoughts when I hear a short and startled squeal echoing out of one of the hallways.

"Oh my gosh... are they alright?" I ask worriedly.

"That was Bulkhead..." Ironhide mutters with a groan. "He thought he saw a scraplet."

"Thought? How do you know that?" I ask in confusion.

"He screams like a femme when frightened. Plus the lights flickered off down that hallway for a moment," he explains irritably.

I make a face at the thought of Bulkhead squealing like a girl, but put it off for now. Every little sound had us on edge, and I could just make out the sounds of a blaster being fired every so often, making me extra jumpy. Looking at my crowbar once more, I then spot a fire extinguisher on the wall, brightening up at the sight of it. Dropping my crowbar, I dash over to the extinguisher and grab hold of it, walking back to my original position while Ironhide stares at me in confusion.

"What're you getting that for?" he grunts.

"I'm not a genius, but I know a little bit about working with cars. The engines don't do very well when they're cold," I tell him, grinning. "I'd figure the same principle applies to scraplets."

Ironhide nods his head, and I think I see the faint sign of a smirk breaking through his otherwise grumpy expression.

"Smart femme," he compliments. "How's it going over there Ratchet?"

"I've repaired the damaged conductors and rerouted the central conduits, but the ground bridge still won't receive power!" he replies in frustration, pounding his fist into the ground.

"Still no power?" I ask with a frown.

If he's still not getting any power, then maybe it's because...

I'm broken out of my train of thought when I make the mistake of looking up at the wall above me, where hundreds of scraplets were crawling out of the pipeline. I widen my eyes in horror at the sight, no longer feeling as confident with my fire extinguisher.

"Uhh... Ironhide?" I mutter timidly.

He looks in the direction I pointed out and widens his optics in fright, whipping out his cannons.

"Son of a glitch!" he exclaims.

As one, the scraplets all look up from where they were chewing along the metal walls. Their purple optics roam around me for a moment, and then narrow in on Ironhide and Ratchet. With a buzzing roar, their wide mouths all snap open and they jump off of the wall, flying through the air.

"What the heck?!" I exclaims incredulously. "You guys never said they could fly!"

Ironhide doesn't bother with a response and starts blasting off at the scraplets as fast as he could, causing the entire room to shake with the power behind his guns. Even so it looks like he barely managed to put a dent in the swarm, and I start blowing my fire extinguisher as they zip past me. Thankfully I'm unharmed as they go by, but the same can't be said for the other two. Ratchet backs up fearfully while Ironhide continues firing his cannons, but the scraplets instantly latch onto them and start biting all over their bodies, chewing through their metal skin.

Ratchet is instantly on the ground, panicking and trying to claw at all of the scraplets attached to him, several large gauges already marking him. Ironhide doesn't fair much better, swinging his arms around in a desperate but futile attempt to get them off of him. They chew on his arms, legs, head, cannons, everywhere, swarming around him. He bangs against the wall in his attempts to get the swarm off before collapsing heavily to the ground as well, falling beside Ratchet.

"Ironhide! Ratchet!" I shout in horror, sprinting forwards.

I do my best to blow off the scraplets with the fire extinguisher, hitting several with each blast. Thankfully it seems a couple seconds is enough to freeze each one, but for every scraplet I get three more replace it. Ironhide and Ratchet are sprawled helplessly on the ground, desperately trying to get off all the scraplets while I help in any way I can. Ironhide tries to get to his feet, but collapses onto the floor once more with enough force to shake the ground. Nevertheless I keep trying to freeze all of the scraplets I can, covering Ratchet and then Ironhide in a cloud of cold icy spray.

To my immense relief the scraplets back off for the moment and get away from them, probably because of the large clouds of ice blowing out from my fire extinguisher. Still, there are hundreds more swirling around in the air in their vicious swarm. Just then the others come back into the main room, and at first glance I could see Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead were all limping by with huge gashes all over their armor.

"Ratchet, get the patch kit," Bulkhead says. "We're leaking energon like- Whoa!"

He cries out in surprise at the sight of all of the scraplets still flying around in the air, and Jack, Raf and Miko all look up as well, just as shocked as I was at seeing them fly. Upon their arrival the scraplets instantly switch their targets towards them, mouths wide open and ready to drill. Arcee and Bumblebee shoot their blasters wildly at the swarming scraplets, and Bulkhead swings his mace at a clump of them.

"Eat this!" he roars.

Lifting his mace up, he glances at it for a second and then at his other hand, seeing that the scraplets were indeed eating his mace: literally. Screeching in fear, he starts clawing at the scraplets in much the same way as the others were, falling to the ground. Jack, Raf, Miko and I all rushed forwards in their defense to take out as many scraplets as we could, going for our respective guardians while I covered Ironhide and Ratchet with my fire extinguisher. The others were doing their best to bat them out of the air with their crowbars, but it was ultimately proving to not be very effective, as there were still hundreds more swarming around.

The Arctic - Earth

Elita POV...

It's probably been over an hour since our sensors reached the critical blue zone, and we still have yet to receive any response from base. After a bit of walking we eventually managed to find some shelter underneath an icy overhang, but it wasn't enough to keep the cold blowing wind out completely. I've been curlced up with my legs pulled close to my chest, optics shut to try and conserve some semblance of body heat.

"Elita, wake up," Optimus urges.

I lift my head up and little and rub my optics tiredly, glancing over to see him staring at me in concern.

"Just... resting my optics," I offer weakly.

"The longer we remain alert, the longer we remain alive," he says seriously.

"I know Orion, I know. What do you suggest?" I ask glumly before perking up. "Wait. How about a game? Why not take turns suggesting who messed up back at base?"

"Our predicament could be the result of a simple malfunction," he suggests.

"I'd take a guess on Bulkhead. No comlink, maybe even no power. Probably tripped over a cord or something. Ratchet would be furious," I comment with a quiet chuckle. "Remember when we finally found each other again Orion?"

He looks down at me, and I continued on.

"Our moment was kind of interrupted when Bulkhead made the mistake of walking into those power lines," I recall fondly, a soft smile on my face.

"Despite your attempts to warn him," he replies with a small amount of exasperation.

"He's never been the most graceful of bots. Who knew he could've danced the way he did?" I say in amusement.

"Bulkhead may be... too large for this world, but his inner strength is without bounds," he tells me. "One should not be measured by size alone."

"Believe me, I think I know that better than anyone," I reply knowingly, staring out at the icy plains.

"You're referring to Jarik," he remarks knowingly.

"Yeah... he changed me in more ways then I could've imagined. If it wasn't for him I would still be trapped underneath that island," I say softly. "I can't help but worry about him almost as much as I worry about Alex."

"Our human friends are strong, sometimes even more so than us," Optimus comments.

"Wish there was a way I could repay him for all that he's done for me," I murmur glumly.

"I believe you already have," he replies with a reassuring gaze. "And I'm sure he believes so as well."

Autobot Outpost Omega One

Alex POV...

After what felt like ages we finally managed to get all of the scraplets down. The bots were all hanging out beside the consoles in the center of the silo while the rest of us went around, making sure the scraplets stayed dead. I used my fire extinguisher whenever I spotted movement while the others used their crowbars to pummel them to pieces.

"We get them all?" Jack asks with heaving breaths.

As if to answer Jack's question, the echoing sound of drilling flows out from the corridors of the base to reach our ears. I swallow nervous at the sound, already able to tell that it would take a lot of scraplets to produce a noise like that.

"Hardly. These were just scouts," Ratchet groans.

Bumblebee whines and collapses onto his back, while Arcee and Ironhide share a worried look with each other, shuttering at the idea of there being even more.

"So, the rest of them know we're in here?" Bulkhead asks nervously.

"What're we going to do now? We can't hold out against that many scraplets," Arcee states anxiously. "We barely pulling together already!"

"Don't you guys have any more fire extinguishers?" I ask them.

"No. I never saw a need for us to use them," Ratchet replies with a grimace.

"Uhh, how about now Doc?!" Miko exclaims incredulously.

Ratchet at least has the decency to look a little guilty.

"If we allow ourselves to become food for those vermin, then Optimus and Elita will never make it home," Ironhide states with a grunt, pushing himself to sit up straighter. " Ratchet, are you sure you've fixed everything on the ground bridge? We need to get it online."

"I don't know, I've repaired everything in here, but it still won't receive power," he replies with a frustrated groan.

"If the bridge was operational, then could we use it to send the Scraplets anywhere on earth?" Raf asks.

"Yes," Ratchet replies.

"Why not back to the arctic?" Jack suggests, gesturing to my fire extinguisher. "We already know they don't do cold."

"Sweet! One-stop shopping!" Miko cheers.

"Yeah, I think I need more of it. This thing feels nearly empty," I inform the others, hefting the fire extinguisher.

"Given the body mass of the scraplets, sub-zero temperature should freeze them on contact," Ratchet says in agreement with the plan. "So think, Ratchet. Think! What else could keep the ground bridge from operating...?"

I try to think harder on the idea as well, mulling over my knowledge of mechanics. The principle can't be too different from any other engine, right?

"If everything is fixed, and you still don't have any power... would the fuel line be the problem?" I suggest.

Ratchet's optics light up instantly, and he rapidly nods his head.

"Y-yes, that must be it! The energon fuel line must be breached!" he states, looking down at me in amazement. "How did you figure that out?"

"I've tinkered with car engines. Similar principles really," I say proudly, a small grin on my face.

"Huh, I can see why Elita likes you," Arcee comments, making me turn away sheepishly.

"If we weren't breaching, one of us could get back over there and fix it," bulkhead groans.

"Where do we find it?" I ask determinedly.

"And how do we fix it?" Jack adds with the same determination.

After receiving the instruction from Ratchet, which I instantly took in with a confident nod, I gathered up all of the materials we'd need and led the other three down the corridor to where the energon fuel line runs. Along the way we came across a swarm of scraplets, all scuttling along the ground and walls quietly with their mouths wide open. We carefully stepped over them on our way to the breach, unable to help feeling anxious despite knowing we're safe.

"Remember, we're okay. We're not metal," Jack reassures us.

"Still doesn't help knowing that," I admit uneasily. "Just look at those mouths!"

"I'm glad mosquitos aren't like this," Miko mutters with a grimace.

I do my best to ignore the scraplets and roam my eyes along the wall, where the pipeline for energon ran. Soon enough I spotted the breach in the pipeline, where it was leaking streams of energon into a puddle on the floor.

"There's the breach," I inform them.

We rush over to the pipeline and crouch down beside it, getting our tools out. I analyze the damage for a moment and then turn to the others.

"Alright, here's what I need you guys to do," I say firmly.

3rd person POV...

While the kids worked on fixing the breach in the energon fuel line, the Autobots could only hang out on the ground in the main part of the silo, anxiously waiting for the rest of the scraplets to eventually find them.

"So, if we get-" Bulkhead starts, faltering when Ironhide and Arcee both glare at him. "When we get the ground bridge open, do we send the creepy-crawlies out or bring our bots in?"

"I don't know if bringing them in first is the best idea," Arcee says.

"Optimus and Elita will be fresh meat. If we bring them in first, the Scraplets will have no reason to leave," Ratchet states grimly.

"We'll need bait then," Ironhide declares.

"Where are we gonna get bait?! The Scraplets already helped themselves to everything in here!" Bulkhead exclaims incredulously.

Ironhide only looks at him, narrowing his optics.

While I worked on welding the metal plates back together, the others helped keep them in place, taking special care not to touch any of the exposed energon. Apparently it's toxic to 'organic' creatures, and could lead to serious harm if we were to ever come into physical contact with it. Luckily it take us too long to fix the energon line, and I pulled away my welding mask to smile at the repaired pipe.

"I think it's done," I say in relief.

The smile is instantly taken off of my face when the scraplets all take to the air with a loud buzzing whir, zooming through the hallway and disappearing up the ventilation shafts.

"They're getting ready to feed!" Raf exclaims in a panic.

The Arctic - Earth

Elita POV...

It was all I could do to keep from going into stasis, forcing my optics open whenever they tried to close. Orion and I were both beyond the point of trying to remain sitting upright, and resorted to just laying sprawled on the ice beside each other.

"You know the worst part? After battling the 'cons all these years, getting smacked down, shot at, blown up, in my case trapped in stasis for six thousand years, this is how our lights go out?" I ask with a disbelieving scoff.

"Elita, this may not be the finish that we had planned, but if this is indeed the end, if we are to become one with the Allspark..." he trails off.

I slowly reach a hand up and lay it in his massive servo, and he tenderly wraps his metal digits around my hand.

"I'm glad we were able to be together again, before the end Orion," I say softly, smiling weakly up at him.

"So am I Elita," he replies gently. "So am I."

3rd person POV...

Alex, Jack, Raf and Miko all ran back into the silo as the scraplets began swarming around the ceiling, blowing off ventilation vents and taking down catwalks and other bits of scaffolding in their massive numbers.

"Ratchet, all systems go!" Alex yells.

"Fire it up!" Miko adds.

Groaning, Ratchet pulls himself to his feet and stumbles over towards the ground bridge control, placing his hand on the lever.

"Ground bridge... Activated," he murmurs.

Gripping the handle, he pulls the lever while also collapsing at the same time, hitting the ground hard. Thankfully however he manages to get the ground bridge portal open, and it whirls to life with an array of bright colors. Ironhide stares at the portal, knowing that Optimus and Elita could come through any second: something he does not want to happen. He glances over at Bulkhead, who gets the message and looks up at the scraplets.

"Bait, huh?" he deadpans.

"You know it wrecker," Ironhide grunts, struggling to his feet. "Get up!"

He and Bulkhead both stomp to their feet and pull themselves over to stand in front of the ground bridge. Once they get there Bulkhead starts waving his arm at the scraplets while Ironhide brings out his cannon, shooting a single blast in the direction of the swarm.

"Ready for the main course?" Bulkhead says tauntingly.

"Come and get it you vermin!" Ironhide roars.

The scraplets are sent into a frenzy within moments, and the two heavy Autobots turn around and start lumbering through the portal, the swarm following after them. They instantly converge around both Autobots and begin chewing through them viciously, both Ironhide ignores the pain in favor of glaring forwards, jumping through the portal with a loud yell. When he and Bulkhead emerge on the other side and into the arctic wasteland, he spots Optimus and Elita up ahead struggling over to them.

"Prime! Get down!" he shouts.

Taking one last step, he and Bulkhead collapse onto the ice with groans of pain, letting the scraplets swarm out of the portal after them. Optimus widens his optics in alarm at the sight of the scraplets, and stands protectively in front of Elita as they get closer, mouths wide open. Just as they're ready to chomp down on the two of them, the freezing temperatures kill all of the scraplets in seconds, and they bang harmlessly off of Optimus and Elita, falling down into the snow all around them.

Opening her optics, Elita takes a moment to survey all of the frozen scraplets and then looks over at the others with an incredulous look on her face.

"What in the name of Primus happened?!" she exclaims.

"I'd invite you in, but the place is a mess," Bulkhead comments.

"Scrapheap is more like it," Ironhide growls.

Autobot Outpost Omega One

Once back at base, all of the Autobots were gathered around the infirmary while their human friends did most of the check-ups under the guidance of Ratchet in the aftermath of the scraplet infestation.

"Report bio-circuitry status," Ratchet says.

"Levels are rising," Jack reports.

"Excellent. Rafael, keep a close watch on Bumblebee's electro-pulse monitor," he continues. "Miko, check bulkhead's interface patch."

"It's steady," Raf replies.

"Looking good," Miko adds.

"Alex, make sure Elita's core systems are gaining more heat," Ratchet says.

"They're doing fine," Alex replies from her computer next to Elita.

"Perhaps you should get some rest yourself, old friend," Optimus suggests with a small smile. "You saved quite a few lives today."

"It, wasn't all my doing," Ratchet admits sheepishly. "We're just fortunate that this infestation happened... on summer vacation."

"Our human friends may be small, but they are strong," he replies proudly.

"Elita's friend already has some of my respect," Ironhide admits with a small grin.

Just then, Miko lets out a terrified scream, prompting Alex, Jack and Raf to leap forwards with their crowbars at the ready.

"What is it?" Jack demands.

"Scraplet?!" Alex asks, hefting her crowbar.

"Spider!" she shrieks, and everyone instantly turns to look at her. "Is it on me?! Aah! Get it off!"

Miko continues squealing and shrieking in fright as she scampers off, wiping at her shirt desperately while the others look on in disbelief. Alex groans angrily to herself and tosses the crowbar aside the lay a hand on her hip, blowing a raspberry in frustration. Ratchet and Optimus share a look, the latter even looking exasperated, while Bulkhead leans over to watch Miko run away.

"Did she just scream like a little girl?" he asks.