"A champion is defined not by their wins, but how they can recover when they fall."

"-But when the Insecticons suddenly backed off, I got inspired by my proximity to the power core and did what I do best," Bulkhead finished.

"You trashed Megatron's ride like a rock star in a hotel room!" Miko cheered for her guardian proudly.

"We should hit the 'cons right now while they're vulnerable," Arcee suggested.

Ratchet shook his helm, "Megatron's warship may be grounded, but let's not forget that we remain vastly outnumbered, especially since has added the insecticon hive to his ranks."

Fowler spoke up next, drawing the attention of the 'bots, "Then maybe it's time for me to call in an air strike."

"Or for us to consider more extreme measures, Agent Fowler," Optimus said finally. 

The Prime let for a short bit before coming back with an item in his servos. 

"The Spark extractor?" Ratchet's optics widened, "Optimus, are you certain you want to travel down this path?"

Optimus hesitated for a nano-click, "While I am deeply reluctant to deploy a weapon of this calibre, especially one forged by Decepticon hands, this may be our only chance to end the war once and for all."

Pan frowned, disapproval from the Primes only fueling her own.

Suddenly Pan had to bite her lip to stop herself from gasping in pain, a massive headache thundering through her. She only barely noticed Raf wincing slightly next to her through the pain. 

"Yes. I can feel it!"

Pan's entire body stiffened at the voice. Only barely registering that Raf glanced at her with a puzzled look.

"What the slag was that?" Pan asked the Primes worriedly, the remains of the headache trembling through her mind.

A dark shudder came from the Primes, "Megatron," Onyx growled out, the normally rather chill beast mode changer's tone was furious.

"He used dark energon, again?" Pan asked, her eyes closing as she fought off the pain that fluctuated through her mind again.

"More of it," Alchemist confirmed. 

Pan shuddered, "Did he use it to try and fix Trypticon?"

The name of the former Cybertronian had come up in conversation when Amalgamous had accidentally spilled it when they were talking about Cybertron's history as well as the Autobot/Decepticon war.

"You know too much," Vector sighed.

Pan's eyebrows furrowed, "Is that a bad thing?"

The girl wasn't given an answer.

"Optimus," Ratchet called to the Prime, his voice grim, "I'm detecting a massive energy spike at the Decepticon crash site. It appears to be dark Energon."

Optimus nodded, "Autobots, transform and roll out."

"Hold on, Prime," Fowler's voice made the 'bots turn to look at the Agent, "If you are gonna deploy some kind of super weapon in the final showdown with the 'Cons, it's my job as a representative of planet Earth to bear witness."

🌟

:[Sweet lady Liberty]: Fowler's voice muttered. 

Pan and Raf shared a look at that, unknowingly they moved closer together, their hands nervously brushing against each others. 

"Optimus, you never disappoint," Megatron's voice came.

It was nerve-racking for the four humans that waited for news. 

:[Team's down]: Fowler's voice said over the comms, :[Requesting medevac]:

🌟

"Do not tamper with my systems! This will be your only warning!" 

"Warning?" Megatron demanded, his violet optics hard. 

"My mission assumes priority!" Trypticon answered, "Any Cybertronian who interferes will be neutralized."

"My own vessel dares to address me in threatening tones?!" Megatron bellowed, his face plates scowling.

The Warlord was ignored as something started beeping in the room. All the Cybertronians turned to look at one of their computers where the Cybertronian language was being decoded.

"It also seems to be doing a better job of decoding the project Iacon database than we were. It's already deciphered a new set of coordinates," Knockout mentioned.

Dreadwing said, "And judging by our current course, that is precisely where the ship is headed."

"As I desire," Megatron said, grinning, "You see, this warship is nothing more than an extension of my very will."

"Your will is nothing," Tryticon's voice snapped at him, "The Iacon artifact will belong to me."

"I am Lord Megatron! I command you to cease operations!" 

"You are no longer in command," Trypticon shouted at him, using the dark energon in its systems to overpower the dark energon in Megatron.

The silver mech was pissed by the time the pain from the attack on his processor(and spark) was over, "Regain control of this vessel by any means necessary," He ordered.

Soundwave immediately turned to a computer and attached his tentacles, only to be shocked into forced stasis lock.

An awkward silence settled in the room as the Cybertronians all stared in shock as their Communications Officer was neutralized. 

"All hands, cut power to the mainframe and disconnect data relays now!"

🌟

"They're alive," Ratchet confirmed, "But I've never encountered this form of stasis lock."

"The 'cons are crossing the Atlantic, making a beeline for North America," Raf told the mech.

"Wait," Jack interrupted as he and Pan shared a confused glance, "We can track them? Why aren't they cloaked, like usual?"

Raf shook his head as he shot Pan a look.

"None of this makes a lick of sense," Fowler agreed with Jack, "They had us in their cross hairs, but the 'Cons just took off. They even bailed on that Spark extractor thingy."

"Well, if the ship isn't cloaked, maybe the communications relay's open, and-" 

"Yep, yep," Ratchet interrupted, "Are you suggesting that we just call Megatron and ask him what's happening up there?!"

The five humans looked at each other before glancing up at the medic who sighed. 

🌟

"I do not require permission!"

Pan winced at the intensity of the voice of the Decepticon. 

"Autobot outpost Omega One to Decepticon warship," Ratchet said through the comms, "Megatron, please respond."

"This mutiny ends now," Megatron's voice said before a searing pain flashed through Pan's mind. 

"Pan?" Raf's quiet voice made the girl blink at him through the faze of pain in her mind.

'Yeah?' Pan signed. 

"Are you okay?" Raf asked her, his eyes showing how worried he was for her. 

Pan debated on telling him or not, only to be interrupted by another searing pain tearing through her mind. 

:[Megatron has been relieved of his command]: Trypticon said over the comms, and Pan had to force herself to not react to the voice of the Decepticon. 

"Who is this?" Ratchet asked, his optical ridges furrowed in confusion.

:[Who is this?]: Trypticon countered.

"Have you taken control of the Decepticon vessel?"

Trypticon scoffed, :[I am the vessel]: he said, :[Any Cybertronian who interferes with my mission will be neutralized]:

"What mission?"

:[Priority one decrypt Iacon database and recover Decepticon technology]:

"For what purpose?" Ratchet asked, only to find that the communication link had been shut off.

"It hung up?" Miko said, crossing her arms(with a small pout), "Rude."

"Rude?!" Fowler exclaimed, looking at the girl like she just came out of a mental asylum, "There's a giant spaceship flying around collecting Decepticon weapons of mass destruction!"

"A giant spaceship filled with neutralized Decepticons," Pan's phone pointed out, a smug grin on her face as her guardian turned to look at her.

"Point?" Fowler asked the girl, confusion on his face.

Jack understood what Pan was thinking, "This could be our only chance to slip aboard and download the Iacon database."

"So Optimus can decode it," Pan typed, finishing her and Jack's thought process.

"Ingenious," Ratchet grinned nodding to then, "I will infiltrate the Decepticon warship."

"Not ingenious," Miko grimaced, "You saw what it did to the Decepticons."

"And probably Megatron, too," Raf added, his eyes darting to Pan who grimaced.

"And Team Prime," Jack finished, looking towards the frozen 'bots.

"But that tub had me dead to rights, and I'm still breathing," Fowler pointed out.

"The ship is blind to humans," Pan pointed out, "Afterall it said Cybertronians. And it didn't notice Fowler when he was on the field."

"Very well, Agent Fowler," Ratchet relented, accepting that he'd have to at least let the Agent go, "But at the first sign of trouble, I am bridging you right back here."

The mech turned to retrieve an item, "Now, in order to download the database, you will need a compatible transfer drive."

"A what?" Fowler blanched.

"He'll also need tech support," Raf spoke up, a small chuckle leaving his lips as the Agent looked relieved.

"And backup," Miko spoke up eagerly.

Ratchet sighed as he looked over the five humans who looked confident that they could do it.

Ratchet's optics connected with his charge's. A flash of blue sparked in her green eyes and he sighed again in acceptance.

Pan's lips twitched trumpaintly.

🌟

"Fowler to base," Agent Fowler said into his phone as he and the four kids looked around the Decepticon warship, "We're in."

:[Good]: Ratchet said, :[Their data core should be accessible from any console]:

Raf and Pan had ventured into the next room, their hands brushing against each others.

"H-here's one," Raf called to the other three who looked surprised before running to catch up with the oldest and youngest teens.

Miko's eyes lit up with amusement, "Doc Knock is knocked out."

"Look," Raf said, pointing to a screen, "The ship's decoded two sets of Iacon coordinates."

"Three," Jack said as the screen beeped again, "Let's rip and run."

"There's the port," Raf said pointing up onto the computer's keyboard.

The four humans looked at each other before suddenly noticing that they were missing one of their numbers and looked around, only to notice the silent girl already up on the keyboard peering curiously at the screen.

"Hey!-" Fowler stammered, "Pan!"

Raf easily managed to climb up first and smiled to Pan as the other three took a slightly longer while

"Um, why is the warship heading for Manhattan?" Jack asked, making the older and youngest teen glance at him.

"Because that is where the first set of coordinates are located," Raf answered simply as he and Pan shared a look, a message easily going between the two.

"What would a relic from Cybertron be doing in the Big Apple?" Fowler asked, his darker skin going rather pale.

:[The Iacon relics landed on Earth eons ago, Agent Fowler, long before the city was built atop it]:

"Which means if the ship wants this one it may have to move some buildings out of the way," Jack grimaced.

"Our mission just got complicated," Miko winced.

"How do we deter this ship?" Pan typed out, biting her lip nervously.

:[I would advise disabling the navigation module]: Ratchet said, :[Call up the main navigation menu]:

Pan elbowed Raf who pointed to a button, "There."

Fowler rolled up his sleeves, "Step aside, son."

Pan's eyes widened, "No!" She tried to tell him, only to be too late as she watched the adult be shocked into unconsciousness.

"Agent Fowler!"

The other three teens reacted as well, not noticing Pan's shout as they raced to grab the man before he fell off the keyboard.

Pan and Raf flinched as Trypticon's voice came over the speakers, "System access detected. Interference will not be tolerated!"

The four teens froze as a camera came out of the ceiling, the camera moving around as it tried to find the teens.

"Reveal yourself!" Trypticon demanded as his cameras looked around for the interference to his systems.

"It doesn't see us," Miko half hissed and half grinned.

"Yet," Pan unknowingly muttered the same time Ratchet said it from Fowler's phone.

:[The ship must not be scanning for carbon-based life-forms]: Ratchet continued, worry in his voice, :[But once it widens its search parameters-]:

"We're toast," Raf finished with a gulp, his hand being taken up by Pan's protectively.

:[I'm bridging you back]: Ratchet said firmly.

"No!" Jack said as Pan shook her head firmly, "There are millions of lives at stake in New York, and we four are currently the only ones who can do anything about it."

:[You're out of your element, Jack]: Ratchet said, the humans could hear the strain in the medic's voice, :[These readings..... the ship's rapid recovery all point to the fact that Megatron employed Dark Energon to repair it]:

Pan wanted to facepalm, only to get a warning glance from Solus which made her stop and realize that the others didn't know the things she did.

"Hold on," Jack said, "If you're saying the ship is fueled by dark Energon, we can dump it, right?"

:[Hmm]: Ratchet hummed thoughtfully, :[You'll need to reserve the warship's Energon infuser]:

The four teens left Fowler by the entrance to the room as they started following Ratchet's directions, :[Follow the main overhead conduits. They'll lead you to the power core]:

Pan barely noticed as she followed the direction that all her instincts screamed at her to go away from. She noted that Raf was able to keep up with her as Miko and Jack glanced at each other, confusion in their eyes as they followed the other two.

Pan lost all contact with the Primes when they arrived in the engine room, the amount of Dark energon that was there had blocked the light that was their bond.

Pan gritted her teeth as a wave of pain slammed into her head, a faint whimper from Raf made her realise something.

"Raf?" Pan tried, her eyes watching him carefully as they all took a second to process the image of the frozen Decepticon Warlord.

Raf glanced up at Pan, "Yeah?" He unknowingly answered back.

Pan wanted to bash her head against a wall, "Stay with Miko," She said, "Promise me that."

Raf's eyes narrowed in confusion before he gave the girl a nod.

Neither of their mouths moving during that exchange.

"Megatron had the same idea," Jack said, a quaver in his voice as his eyes watched the Cybertronian nervously, despite knowing that he wouldn't move.

"Then we're on the right track," Miko grinned.

Of course, Ratchet had to be the bringer of bad news, :[The Energon injection valve can only be operated manually]:

"Manually?!" Raf, Jack and Miko groaned.

Pan rolled her eyes at their childish("Hypocrite," Amalgamous muttered despite the human not being able to hear him.) behaviour as she walked forward.

Her head tilted slightly as her eyes drank in the expression on the Warlord's faceplates. Oddly enough, regret shone in his optics. Whether it was because of giving the ship so much Dark Energon, or something else, Pan couldn't tell.

Thanks to all her years of rock climbing, Pan was easily able to climb the silver Decepticon onto the controls.

"Give me a boost," Pan heard Jack say to Miko and Raf.

"Want a hand?" Pan's phone asked as she offered her other hand to Jack who smiled gratefully.

"Thanks."

Pan looked back down at Raf who waved up to her, "Stay with Miko."

Raf gave her a thumbs up, not realizing that Pan hadn't typed or spoken aloud the demand.

"Pan," Jack called over to her, "Help?"

Pan giggled as she jogged over to the Darby boy. The two shared a glance before they attempted to move the Silver Warlord's servo so that he was pulling the lever instead of them.

The oldest teens grunted as they tried to move the silver servo.

Pan's entire body stiffened as she felt the dark energon focus its attention on the engine room.

"I am infested with alien life-forms!"

"Uh-Oh," Raf gulped, his terror shone in his eyes.

"We just got made," Miko gulped.

The claw that had been inserting energon cubes into the engine suddenly turned on Miko and Raf, "Woah! Hurry."

"All parasites will be eradicated!"

Pan's eyes widened. Her fingers immediately rushed to her phone.

"Hey-" Jack was cut off by Pan's phone belting out The World Belongs To Us by Marina Kaye.(Because it was a government updated phone it was way louder than normal phones)(Waking up to that alarm was terrifying for the Bishop/Hammer household).

"Jack, Pan, no!" Raf shouted.

"Run for it!" Miko screamed.

Pan and Jack scattered and ran for it as the claw came after them.

"Too slow!" Jack shouted as he dodged the claw.

Only to turn around and see the claw right behind him, "Oh, no."

Jack's face paled before his eyes widened. Pan was signing from behind the claw.

'Dodge!'

Jack nodded. His eyes widened when he saw the girl's eyes glow a faint purple.

Pan's lips were turned down in a hateful frown as she focused on the claw.

The claw suddenly went forward towards Jack, the boy dodging as Pan signed and the claw flew into the silver Warlord at the control panel.

Megatron's frame pulled the lever as he fell backwards, his servo releasing the lever.

"Critical power drain," Trypticon said, his voice weakening, "I am in command. Prepare to be neutralized-"

Pan's shoulders sagged in relief as the worry of the Primes swept back to her, the dark energon fading away from the ship.

"I'm so sorry," Pan muttered, her hands shaking.

"It's alright, Panacea," Solus said immediately, her motherly warmth washing over Pan.

Pan choked back a sob, "I-I, did- I u-used-..."

"Pan?" Raf's voice made the shaking girl look up, "We have to go," the boy said, grabbing Pan's hands.

Pan's green eyes noticed the shifting Warlord then she nodded to Raf, "Let's go."

Raf faltered, finally realizing that Pan wasn't actually speaking, "How?"

Pan's eyes ghosted over towards the silver mech before shaking her head, "Later. We need to go."

Raf nodded, and the pair chased after Miko and Jack.

🌟

"Ratchet! Fire up the ground bridge!" Jack shouted into the phone.

"On your feet, soldier," Fowler said in his half daze, "And beavers and ducks and walnuts and grandma?"

Miko looked at the man and blanched at his words. The four then looked at the screen, "That's all that's been downloaded?!"

"The Iacon file must be huge!" Raf reasoned.

A ground bridge appeared behind them, "Sa-weet! Come on! Here's our ride"

The three then noticed Pan climbing back onto the keyboard

"Pan!" Jack shouted, "What are you doing?"

"Get Fowler out of here," Pan told Raf before she signed to the other two, 'Some is better than nothing.'

Pan was relieved to feel Raf, Jack, Miko and Fowler leave the ship.

Pan had to put more than a little effort into pulling the cybertronian USB stick out of the slot.

Pan grinned as she pulled it out, only to feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise.

Pan gulped as she turned around to see the red Decepticon medic grinning wickedly at her.

"What do we have here?" Knockout grinned, his servo transforming into a saw, "Say "ahh."

The red mech was confused as Pan smiled, the 'con turning around to see a certain orange bot.

"I'm here to offer a second opinion," Ratchet said, a grim look on his faceplates as he punched the 'cons lights out.

Ratchet offered his servo to his charge and she grinned happily as she stepped onto it, "Thanks, Ratchet," Pan said.

Ratchet smiled before he was turning and making through to the ground bridge with his charge safely in his servos.

Luckily for the Autobots, the ground bridge closed before Megatron could enter.

"Lord Megatron, I-" Knockout stammered.

Megatron's now ruby red optics were furious, "You let them escape with vital intelligence!"

🌟

"The download of the Iacon database may have been incomplete, but we now possess four sets of coordinates decoded by the ship," Ratchet said, looking back at the Autobots.

"Then we must act quickly, for Megatron possesses the same four sets," Optimus said grimly, "And he will not hesitate to obtain the potential doomsday devices which lie at the site of each."

The small triumphant win, however, wasn't all good as Raf looked up at Pan.

The girl sighing, knowing that she'd have to explain something she'd rather didn't exist.

Here's Chapter Eleven.

I'm surprised you guys haven't fetched the pitchforks yet.
(Not with that cliffhanger I just gave ya'll.)

Okay, just an explanation on why Pan would rather the thingy between her and Raf didn't exist; She doesn't want to involve him with something that wouldn't have happened if she wasn't there. She loves him too much(as a brother) to have wanted this upon him.

Also, just a heads up, my phone's microphone has stopped working so we've sent it away to see if it can be fixed, so updates may be of less quality than normal.

Hope you enjoyed!
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