Transformers Prime: Agent Adelaide Parks

Chapter 5

"Arcee to Optimus!"

The Prime tuned into his comm aas he heard Arcee begin.

"The cons are back! Cliff might be neck deep in scrap!"

"Understood," Optimus spoke before opening the line to Ratchet. "Ratchet, do you have Cliffjumper's coordinates?"

"I'm locked onto his signal, Optimus. But our team is scattered across time zones," the medic replied over the line. "Adelaide?"

Back at the base, Adelaide looked up as her name came through the comm lines.

"I hear ya, Optimus. What's up?"

"Prepare to bridge everyone back to base."

"On it."

She quickly got to work on opening the groundbridge for each of her other teammates to come through.

The moment everyone, save for Cliffjumper, was back in the base, Ratchet pulled the lever for the groundbridge.

"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus called before they all rushed through the groundbridge to save their comrade.

Optimus revealed his blaster as he prepared for battle, only to see an empty scene in front of him. They stood in front of what looked to have been an energon mine that was blown to bits.

"An untapped energon mine," he spoke as he pulled his weapon back into himself.

"What's left of it," Bulkhead grumbled.

Ratchet walked forward as he looked at the destroyed mine. "The first Decepticon activity in three years."

"That we know of," Optimus pointed out. "If they are still scouting for energon, they may be preparing for his return."

"But where's Cliff?" Bulkhead asked as Arcee and Bumblebee made their way down into the hole that had once contained precious energon.

Optimus knew in his spark that the worst had happened, but he couldn't bring himself to think of that.

Arcee caught a glimpse of something shining in the dust. She immediately ranover and bent down, picking up a silver horn. "No..."

She could swear her spark stopped in that very moment. Her partner, the most important bot in her world, was gone.

"Ratchet, can you track his position?' Optimus requested as he looked at the horn in Arcee's tender grasp.

Ratchet quickly checked his radar and frowned. "Cliffjumper's life signal just went offline."

The Prime just nodded with a stone face. He couldn't allow the others to see his spark break over the loss over their teammate. He had too stay strong, too be their rock.

"Miss Adelaide, reopen the bridge."

-

"We must not allow our anger over the loss of Cliffjumper impair our judgment. As of today, only we five Autobots remain on this earth," Optimus spoke as the Autobots stood around on the roof of the base, in honor of Cliffjumper.

Adelaide wiped her eyes quickly as she watched Arcee cradle Cliffjumper's horn in her hands.

"We owe it to ourselves, to the memory of Cybertron, to any Autobots in any galaxy seeking safe harbor." Optimus looked down at Adelaide before continuing, "to humankind."

Arcee gently set Cliff's horn down on the roof and stared at it for a moment.

"And we owe it to the memory of our fallen comrade to survive," Optimus finished before seeing Arcee begin to walk away. "Arcee?"