Time has passed and the Autobots had put away a couple of 'Con criminals while Steeljaw worked out ways to build a pack and take care of the Autobots. But all the while he kept thinking about that femme, it was torturing him that he didn't know her name. He had run into Thunderhoof after the elk 'Con escaped the Autobots and avoided arrest. Steeljaw goes up to him and talks him into joining him, after Thunderhoof joins him they work on finding a base and figure out how to free the other 'Con criminals. 

Steeljaw meets a Cyber-tech called Minitron who can control any bot it comes across. It gets on Grimlock and controls him, making him attack his own teammates, and knocking them all out. Then he goes to search for the 'Cons that are locked up and finds Underbite. After he smashes the controls on the ship where Fixit and Russell are, he leaves with Underbite and heads to the dam where Steeljaw is waiting.

Once he gets there, Steeljaw greets him, "I didn't expect you back so soon. Thunderhoof is out looking for a bigger base, but I'll be more than happy to help you with the pods. After all, a good leader is first among equals."

"I uh... had a little problem, boss. I could only get one pod."

Steeljaw let out a growl, "Let me guess, you ran away."

"It wasn't my fault, the Autobots were all over me. But I took care of them. And I snagged Underbite. Between him and me, how much more muscle do you need?"

"That's a rather cowardly way to justify failure but as far as my plans go to make this planet a home for all Decepticons you and Underbite are at least a place to start."

"Or end, Steeljaw!"

Steeljaw looks over to see the Autobots at the entrance with their weapons out and ready to fight. His optics immediately went to the unknown femme that's been haunting him and he let out a slight growl, "You took care of them!" He appeared angry on the outside but on the inside, he felt relief to see the femme was alright.

"Mostly," Grimlock said as Bumblebee started walking towards Steeljaw.

Steeljaw unleashes his claws, "Savor the daylight, it's gonna get really dark!" He runs forward to attack Bumblebee as Bumblebee runs towards him. The two clash and fall to the ground, they roll around as each tries to get the upper hand. Steeljaw slashes at him trying to kill him as Strongarm tries to shoot him.

Grimlock was fighting Sideswipe who was trying to talk some sense into him, he tried to attack Sideswipe who was standing on top of a spool but he moved out of the way and Grimlock ended up with a spool in his mouth. He picked it up with his mouth and threw it but Sideswipe dodged it and it hit Strongarm, sending her flying into Steeljaw and Bumblebee just as Steeljaw was getting ready to throw a blow on the yellow mech. They landed in another pile of spools, Steeljaw removed the spools off him and he noticed the femme was lying on him, knocked out.  

Usually, he would get mad and throw the 'Bot off him while making a threat, but it was different with her, he couldn't bring himself to do that. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. So instead he gently pushed her over to the side then got up while growling and walked over to Grimlock. 

He was upset that the femme he had fallen in love with got hurt like that, though he didn't know why he even cared so much. He made it seem that he was upset about the careless action of the mech he was walking towards, as well as the fact that he was knocked down and prevented from getting rid of the yellow mech.

He walks towards Grimlock growling, "Get a hold of yourself!" He says just before Sideswipe jumped on his back and grabbed his ears.

"You mean like this!?" Sideswipe asks as Steeljaw grabs his arms and tries to pry him off. One thing he hates more than anything is having his ears grabbed, his ears, and his tail. He can't stand any bot grabbing or touching them. "What have you done to Grimlock, Steeljaw?" Sideswipe asks as he hangs on.

Steeljaw manages to get the mech off and he slams him onto the ground, "Aw, is it so hard to believe a Dinobot would choose me over all of you?"

"Yeah, it kind of is!" Sideswipe replies as Steeljaw unleashes his claws, he brings down his claws to kill the mech but he moves out of the way and Steeljaw's claws slam into the floor instead. Sideswipe kicks him in the face, right on the nose, and Steeljaw puts his claw on his nose.

He looks over and sees Bumblebee and the femme stand up from the pile of spools they had been under. Thank Primus... Stop it, she's the enemy! Stay focused on the task at hand! He puts his focus back on the red mech in front of him. Sideswipe comes at him swinging his sword and he blocks every swing, but he almost messed up when he saw out of the corner of his optic the femme being slammed onto the ground by Grimlock. He could care less about the mech but for some reason, it pains him to hear the cries coming from the femme.

"Whatever you've done to Grimlock undo it!" Sideswipe demands as Steeljaw grabs his sword.

"Looks like you have more pressing matters at hand," Steeljaw says as he looks over to the other three. Sideswipe looks over as well in shock, "I doubt they'll survive this." As soon as those words were out of his mouth he felt a pain in his spark. Dammit, why does the thought of her dying pain me?

Sideswipe runs over to help his comrades and Grimlock picks up Strongarm and throws her at him, but Sideswipe catches her and puts her down on her feet. "Nice catch."

"Anything for a team--" Before he could finish what he was saying, Bumblebee was thrown into them.

Steeljaw went to grab the pod with Underbite in it and he pushed it out. He looked over to see the Autobots jumping on Grimlock to take him down. "Farewell, brother, I need Decepticons who don't turn simple tasks into debacles!" Steeljaw says as he walks off with Underbite, leaving Grimlock to deal with the Autobots. They soon found out about Minitron and after a bit of struggle, they managed to capture him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steeljaw gets away from the dam and meets up with Thunderhoof who is on his way back, "Hey, Steeljaw, where are you going?"

"Autobots found us, needed to leave the dam. Did you find another place?"

"Yeah, found an abandoned Saw Mill."

"Good. This is Underbite, take him there. I need to take care of something then I'll meet you there."

"Eyo I am no servant to be bossed around!" Thunderhoof said in retaliation.

Steeljaw glares at him with a growl, "For now you work for me. Just take Underbite to the Saw Mill and I'll be there later. Then we'll figure out our next move," he said with a sense of warning in his tone. Thunderhoof backed off and then told Steeljaw where the Saw Mill was, Steeljaw just nodded and walked off as Thunderhoof walked off with Underbite.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Autobots headed back to base with Minitron in hand. Bumblebee, Strongarm, and Sideswipe were in vehicle form driving on the road as Grimlock stayed in dino mode running behind them. They drove along a stretch of road that went by a forest when suddenly a tree came falling down right in front of them, making them screech to a stop. 

They transformed and went to check it out, "Wonder what made that tree fall. It couldn't have been natural as it seems to be a strong tree and there aren't any storms," Bumblebee wondered out loud as he inspected the tree. 

Sideswipe and Strongarm inspected the tree as well and they noticed some markings on the tree, "Lieutenant, look. These marks indicate this tree was cut down," Strongarm pointed out.

"Yes, this tree fell in front of us on purpose. Whoever cut it down was trying to stop us," Bumblebee responded.

"Or damage us," Sideswipe added.

"Look around and stay vigilant," 'Bee says as he pulls out his gun.

"Yes, sir!" The others said as they pulled out their weapons and went separate ways to have a look. They go searching through the forest for the one who cut the tree down while Grimlock stays behind to watch over Minitron. Nothing was found. 'Bee called for all of them to meet him back at the road.

Strongarm was about to head back when suddenly she was grabbed from behind, one servo clamping over her mouth while the other one knocked her gun out of her servo. She tried to fight back to free herself but it was no use, the being had too strong a hold on her. She felt herself being pulled backward, away from her team and she struggled with everything she had in her.

"Stop struggling, you're only making this harder for yourself!"

Strongarm's optics widened and her spark dropped as she recognized the voice. She knew she was in trouble.