3rd Person POV

Country Road

"No one's seen or heard from you since Cybertron went dark," Arcee said. "How did you find your way to Earth?"

"Soldier," Ultra Magnus said firmly. "We may not be on Cybertron, but military protocol remains."

Arcee straightened. "My apologies... sir."

"Sir?" Katie asked in confusion.

"Advise the native lifeform to watch its tone as well," Ultra Magnus said, not even looking at Katie.

Katie growled and started slipping her weapon out of its sheath.

Arcee noticed and quickly put a calming hand on her shoulder. "Ultra Magnus was Optimus's key lieutenant during the war on Cybertron," Arcee whispered hastily. "Very by the book. Just go with it."

"Going by the book doesn't really protect you from the apocalypse," Katie protested.

Arcee gave her a meaningful look.

"Fine," Katie grumbled. Dante is not going to like this guy, she thought.

"As for your broader question," Ultra Magnus stated, "my story is that of all Autobots since the Exodus. I wandered the spaceways in search of others. Reuniting with some... often to only see them fall at the hands of the Decepticons."

"Until you detected the Omega beam and followed it here," Arcee realized.

"If you are referring to the massive energy burst originating from Cybertron... that would be affirmative," Ultra Magnus replied. "Upon my arrival it became evident that this planet had been invaded. My scanners also detected Autobot life signals. Yours being in closest proximity to my position."

"How many signals?" Katie asked.

Ultra Magnus raised an eyebrow.

Katie stared back at him defiantly.

"Six total," Ultra Magnus replied finally.

"Out of eight, not counting Dante," Katie muttered.

"Katie, that doesn't necessarily mean what you're thinking," Arcee assured her. "Autobot signals can't be detected when they're shielded."

"Let's just hope it's only that," Katie muttered.

Somewhere in Texas

Dante sat down on a couch across from the others in a hidden bunker.

"So... let me get this straight," Grace said slowly. "You came back from the past, joined forces with an alien race to defend the world, took down the organization responsible for Legion's creation, traveled to another world galaxies away, met the creator of all Cybertronians, gained the ability to grow to Cybertronian size, prevented the Cyberforming of Earth, and are now separated from the other Autobots?"

"And you have Arcee as a girlfriend?" Robbie added. He shook his head. "Only you."

"I know it's farfetched," Dante said. "I would show you my Cybertronian size, but the ceiling's not high enough."

Sarah Connor eyed him suspiciously. "I don't really know what to think. Transforming aliens sounds impossible."

"But then again, so do human-like robots from the future," Dani added.

The three humans were seated on a couch parallel to the Rev-9s while Carl sat on a seat diagonal to both. Robbie had changed his appearance from flight officer to blue jeans, black sneakers, and a jean jacket with grey sleeves.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Dani asked.

"I'm going to try to join up with the others," Dante replied. "With my brother helping me to search, it shouldn't be that hard to track them down and hook up with them again."

"And what about us?" Dani asked, turning to the group. "What are we going to do now that we're all wanted fugitives? Well, except for Dante."

Dante grinned. "I got you all covered. One of the perks of working with the Bots is that I've got some connections. I'll call up one of my friends at the Pacific naval base. He can give you all safe haven until he can get your names cleared."

"Just like that?" Sarah asked disbelievingly.

"Just like that," Dante affirmed. "However, I might need to call in a few favors now and then. Mainly from Robbie or Grace."

Robbie nodded. "Fine with me. And if you get your hands on that Groundbridge tech again, I'll just be a portal away."

Dante nodded and turned to the others. "So, we all good?"

Grace nodded. "We are. You call your friend in the morning, and we'll move from there."

"I'm not really sure about having my father's killer with us," Dani said, glancing at Robbie.

"Nor I the killer of John." Sarah glared at Carl.

Dante groaned. "And here I thought we were over this," he muttered.

Before an argument could occur, Dante sat up straight.

"What is it?" Grace asked.

"A Decepticon life signal," Dante replied. "Faint. But it's close."

"What do we do?" Dani asked.

"Wait here," Dante replied, standing up. "Robbie, Grace, you coming?"

The two nodded and stood up.

Timeskip

Dante, Robbie, and Grace darted through the trees. "This way," Dante whispered.

The three of them fell silent as they heard flames crackling beyond the edge of a ridge.

Walking to the edge and peering down, Dante stared in surprise at the sight of a Vehicon lying on the ground, a large wound in his torso.

Grace aimed her gun, but Dante stopped her. "Don't."

Robbie frowned. "It's a Con."

Dante's eyes narrowed. He recognized this Con. "Remember what I told you about the battle for the Omega Lock?"

They nodded.

Dante pointed. "That's the Con who saved Katie."

Robbie's eyes widened. "What?"

"Come on." Dante shifted to his Cybertronian size. "We're going to help him. He saved Katie, so we'll save him." Bending down, Dante picked up the Con and slung him over his shoulder.

Together, the four of them trekked back to the bunker, Grace and Robbie leading the way, while Dante walked behind them carrying the Con.

Timeskip

"And you brought it here, why?" Sarah demanded again as Robbie and a now human-sized Dante worked to repair the Con's wound.

"Con or not, he saved Katie's life," Dante retorted sharply.

"That alone makes him good in our book," Robbie agreed.

Before Sarah could reply, the Con groaned and his visor lit up. "Who... who are you?" He saw Dante and edged away from him. "You... you're the one from the Omega Lock."

"That's right," Dante said.

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

"Not unless you give me reason to. What's your name?"

"ST3V3. But most call me Steve."

"Alright, Steve, first things first, why did you turn on the other Decepticons?" Dante asked curiously.

Steve hesitated. "I think it started back when you were being tortured on the Nemesis," he recalled. "It didn't sit well with me. Torture, I mean. And then seeing how you always protected your partner in combat... It made me realize that all I was for the Decepticons was cannon fodder. They could care less about me; I was just another drone in the field. I'd always thought Autobots were cold and heartless, but after seeing you in combat... I couldn't bring myself to believe that anymore.

"Eventually I was chosen to go to Cybertron after capturing the children. After seeing how Megatron was willing to kill children and destroy a planet of innocents... I couldn't serve him anymore. Plus, I kept on getting killed.... I waited until I had an opening to strike.

"After we returned from Cybertron, I was punished... severely. Megatron himself threw me from the Nemesis. Again. I only survived by changing into a Seeker halfway down and flying as far as I could before the Energon loss got to me."

Dante nodded. "I believe you."

"That's it?" Steve asked in surprise.

"Believe it or not, I was once in the same position as you," Dante said. "More or less." He went on to explain about Legion and the future war.

When he finished, Steve was at a loss for words. "And here I thought we Cybertronians had it bad," he said with a chuckle.

Dante laughed. "Sorry, pal, but you've got nothing on us." He exchanged nods with Grace and Robbie. "Though one thing still doesn't make sense. I've seen you get killed many times, so how come you keep on coming back?"

Steve shrugged. "I'm not really sure. But for some reason, no one ever seems to be able to kill me properly, and I always heal within a few days, no matter how bad the wound is. If I had to guess, it's probably an ability given to me by Primus. That, or I have serious plot armor."

"Makes sense," Robbie admitted.

"That's pretty cool," Dani said. "I mean, when you think about it, you're practically immortal."

"Guess so."

Everyone was silent for a long moment.

"So, what now?" Grace asked.

Dante thought for a second. "Steve, you said you were able to change into a Seeker. What did you mean by that?"

"I'm able to change into the different subtypes of Vehicons," Steve explained. "Not sure why, but it's probably the same reason I can't die."

Dani frowned. "Subtypes?"

"Vehicon cars, Seekers, and miners," Steve clarified.

Dante thought for a second. "Steve, if you were to change into your car form, could you act as a chaperone for the others and take them to the Pacific naval base?"

Steve nodded. "It shouldn't be much trouble."

"Good. Do you have a holoform?"

Steve nodded and transformed into his car form.

Grace stared at the car in interest for a long moment before whistling. "That's a nice car."

"Thanks," Steve replied.

A ball of light materialized outside the car and gradually formed into a young man about eighteen, with black jeans, black boots, dark hair, a purple jacket, silver shirt, and purple eyes.

"How's this?" Steve asked, spreading his arms.

"It's good," Dante replied. "Alright, so here's the plan. Steve, do you still have access to the Decepticon mainframe?"

Steve shook his head. "They severed my connection to Nemesis. But it's a two-way street, as I believe the humans call it. They can't track me either."

Dante thought for a second. "Alright. So here's the plan. I'll call in the favor while I'm making my way toward Jasper. You guys head to the naval base."

Everyone nodded.

"Thank you, by the way," Steve said. "If you hadn't saved me, I would have been scrap."

Dante nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Anytime. We rogues have to look out for each other, you know?"

Steve nodded. "What are you planning to do now?"

Dante smirked. "Probably something stupid. One thing I learned a long time ago is how to hide a signal. Do the Cons have access to the satellites?"

Steve thought for a second. "Yes. They're monitoring all the satellites."

"Who do they have monitoring them?"

"Soundwave. And before I was thrown off the Nemesis, I heard a couple of guards discussing the return of Shockwave. Apparently, he brought something back called a Predacon."

Dante winced and nodded. "Interesting. Thank you, Steve."

"It's the least I can do," Steve replied before his holoform dissolved. "Grace can take the driver seat," he announced. "And Robbie can take passenger. No kissing, alright?"

"What?!" Grace yelled and kicked Steve's tire.

If he had a face right now, Steve would have been grinning like a lunatic.

"Steve," Robbie growled. "Don't make me regret saving your aft."

"No promises."

"Just great," Dani sighed. "I'm going to be traveling in a transforming vehicle that is both alive and sarcastic."

"This almost makes me not want to shoot you," Sarah said, shooting a glare at Carl.

Carl shrugged. "The chances of someone following us are minimal, and traveling with a Cybertronian increases our chances of survival substantially."

Shaking his head, Dante turned to his brother and clasped forearms with him. "Be safe out there."

"You too, brother." Robbie grinned. "Go get back to your girlfriend." Chuckling as he dodged a kick, Robbie jumped into the passenger seat.

Shaking his head, Dante exchanged nods with the rest of the party. "Keep in contact when you can. Robbie can contact me if you need me."

"Noted," Grace replied.

Dante watched as the group drove off. "And Grace, no flirting with my brother!" he called.

"Turn around so I can kill him!"

Steve, thankfully, did not.

Dante shook his head and turned to the computer. "Now. Where are you, Cee?"

At the Harbinger

Arcee, Katie, and Ultra Magnus had reunited with Bulkhead, Miko, Elita, Jack, and Wheeljack, and had just arrived at the Harbinger where Ultra Magnus had said the others were located.

As soon as the ramp touched down, revealing Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Raf, Katie wasted no time in jumping to the ground and running over to them. "Check it out! We're still alive!"

"Raf!" Miko shouted and ran to hug the poor genius.

"Girl's got a grip, doesn't she?" Jack asked in amusement as he two embraced the young genius.

Katie giggled. "You would know. She hugs you often enough."

Jack's face turned red, and Miko punched at Katie, only for the resistance girl to dodge it with a grin.

"You're alive," Ratchet said in relief.

Arcee, Elita, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack walked off the platform, revealing Ultra Magnus.

"Ultra Magnus?" Ratchet said in shock.

"Doctor." Ultra Magnus acknowledged him with a nod.

"Wait, where's Optimus?" Elita asked, scanning the group. "And Smokescreen?"

"We... don't know," Ratchet admitted. "Optimus stayed behind at the base, and Smokescreen was supposed to bridge out before him."

Elita nodded tensely and looked at over where Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack were reuniting.

"What do you think of the new look?" Bumblebee asked, gesturing to himself.

"New paintjob looks good, Bee," Bulkhead said.

"At least you had something to work with," Arcee pointed out. "If I reversed my colors... I'd be pink."

"Hey!" Elita protested while Bee and Katie laughed.

"The communications link needs further calibrations to be compatible with Autobot frequencies," Ratchet was saying. "The Groundbridge, however, is fully operational."

"That would have come in handy when Robo-dragon was trying to eat us for breakfast," Miko pointed out.

Katie nodded in agreement.

"Robo-dragon?" Raf asked.

"Predacon that the Cons had chasing us," Katie said, waving a hand dismissively. "No biggie."

"No biggie?" Ratchet asked in disbelief.

"Compared to dealing with a Goliath cannon, that was nothing," Katie said dismissively, then added as an afterthought, "or your wrench-throwing fits."

"Yeah, that last one almost destroyed the base," Miko snickered.

"The indigenous population of this planet..." Ultra Magnus said. "Do they all display the same disregard for authority?"

"No," Ratchet said hastily. "Mostly just Miko. And Katie..." he muttered.

"Hey!" Katie protested.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of jet engines and looked up.

Ultra Magnus constructed his blasters and took aim, but the Autobots stopped him.

"It's Fowler," Elita explained hastily as the jet set down and Fowler and June got out.

"Oh great," Katie muttered. "It's helicopter mom."

"You don't like her?" Arcee asked in amusement.

"She tried stopping my spar with Dante once," Katie complained. "Said it was too dangerous! Can you believe that?"

Arcee just shrugged as June reunited with her son.

"The only signals Ultra Magnus was able to isolate are standing right here," Elita said to Fowler, pointing to those assembled and answering his unasked question.

"Maybe his scanner's faulty," Wheeljack muttered.

"So, the kid's still unaccounted for," Bulkhead muttered.

"Smokescreen bridged out unaccompanied," Ratchet confirmed. "Only Optimus knows where. And Optimus remained behind to destroy the Groundbridge, to ensure that everyone else made it to safety."

Fowler nodded grimly. "I watched the base go down. No one or thing walked out of there."

"Not that we could see," June pointed out, walking over.

"Maybe he got out of there, and no one saw him," Katie said hopefully.

"We can only hope," Ratchet replied.

"What about Dante?" Arcee asked.

"He bridged out after you and Katie," Ratchet replied. "We haven't heard from him since."

"So that makes three unaccounted for," Bumblebee pointed out.

Upon seeing the down looks of Arcee and Katie, Bumblebee added hastily, "But that doesn't mean anything. Dante probably knows how to hide in plain sight better than anyone else."

"You're right about that, yellow," Fowler agreed after Raf repeated what Bumblebee had said. "The boy's got some tricks."

"Are you sure you haven't heard anything from him?" Katie asked Fowler desperately. "Like a signal or something?"

Fowler shook his head. "I'm sorry. But no, I haven't."

"Until now," a familiar voice called.

Everyone perked up.

"Dante?" Arcee asked hopefully, looking around.

"Sort of." Everyone turned to Katie as she pulled out a tactical commando phone.

Miko whistled. "What is it with you and Dante and your commando phones?"

Katie shrugged and turned back to the phone. "Dante?" she asked hopefully.

"It's me," Dante replied.

"Dante!" Arcee quickly made her way over to Katie and crouched beside her.

"Arcee!" Relief flooded his voice. "I'm so glad you're both alright."

"Me, too." Arcee smiled before her face turned angry. "You're lucky I don't kick your aft," she growled. "Why didn't you contact us sooner?"

"Sorry," Dante replied. "I was a little busy trying to stop Judgement Day. Had some run-ins with a few terminators, but I'm alright."

"Terminators?" Katie asked worriedly.

"I'll explain later. Where are you guys?"

"We're at the Harbinger," Katie explained.

"Hold on," Fowler said. "As much as I'm glad to hear you're alive, aren't the