Real Armada

The Unseen Enemy

Cassie dragged herself through her shift, her body aching with exhaustion. Another early opening, and all she could think about was going back to sleep. She yawned for what felt like the hundredth time that morning, wiping down the counters at the Papa John's she had grown so accustomed to managing. The monotony of it all was getting to her, but as usual, one thought kept her sane: Jetfire.

She tried reaching out to him through their bond, hoping for some witty banter or teasing to get her through the rest of her shift. "Hey, Jetfire," she called out in her mind, but there was no response.

Odd. He always responded quickly. Shrugging it off for now, she returned to her work, assuming he was busy with some Autobot mission or maybe just focused on something important.

Meanwhile, deep in the Sahara Desert, the Decepticons had arrived to locate another Mini-Con panel buried beneath the vast sands. Demolishor had set up an ambush but ended up mistakenly firing on a passing helicopter—which, much to his frustration, turned out to be Cyclonus.

"Hey!" Cyclonus shouted, irritated as the blast barely missed him. "What's the big idea, Demolishor? Can't a bot fly around here without getting shot at?"

Demolishor grumbled, brushing sand off himself. "I thought you were an enemy!"

"Well, I'm not! And by the way, there's nothing out here but sand. We'll never find that Mini-Con!" Cyclonus complained, his rotors sending a fresh wave of sand all over Demolishor as he flew off again.

As if things couldn't get worse, the ground beneath Demolishor started to crumble. He struggled to keep his footing as the desert sand shifted ominously beneath him.

At the Autobot base, the Mini-Con alert sounded once again, sending Optimus, Hot Shot, and the others into action. Their destination: the vast, unforgiving desert.

"This is going to be fun," Hot Shot muttered sarcastically as his tires struggled for traction in the soft sand. "I'm not built for this terrain."

"We'll have to search on foot," Optimus ordered as the group prepared for what they knew would be another encounter with the Decepticons. But before they could make much progress, Demolishor opened fire, taking the Autobots by surprise.

The kids, with their Mini-Cons, scattered in the chaos as the Autobots took cover and tried to locate the source of the attack. Hot Shot combined with Jolt and returned fire, but a shot from Demolishor nearly took him out. Optimus quickly intervened, knocking Hot Shot out of harm's way just in time.

As the battle escalated, Alexis spotted Demolishor. But before she and the others could warn the Autobots, the ground beneath them began to give way. Rad shouted a warning as Carlos lost his footing and fell into the growing sinkhole. Grindor grabbed him just in time, preventing him from plunging deeper into the pit.

"Help!" Demolishor cried out, now sinking himself. "Megatron!"

Up on the Moon, Starscream reported the situation to Megatron, who listened intently as the Decepticons prepared to join the fray.

The kids soon found themselves trapped in the depths of the desert, having fallen into a mysterious ruined palace beneath the sand. The ancient structure had been hidden for centuries, and now they were inside it, surrounded by towering walls and strange symbols carved into the stone.

Rad, Alexis, and Carlos explored the cavern, searching for a way out. "Look," Rad pointed, noticing a Mini-Con symbol carved into the ceiling. "This place has to be connected to the Mini-Con we're after."

Alexis, always cautious, warned, "We have to be careful. The Decepticons are probably down here too."

Sure enough, above ground, the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons continued to rage. Megatron demanded to know what had happened to Demolishor, but Optimus, of course, had no idea. The fight was fierce, with each side struggling to gain the upper hand.