After the Autobots discovered Smokescreen was the key that says in the Iacon data, knowing that he would be danger. Ratchet located Smokescreen position as he activated the groundbridge. As OPtimus and the others arrived, they looked around before Arcee spotted the motorbike

"OPtimus..." Arcee said, pointing at the flaming bike. OPtimus' optic widened, realizing Nova was there as well. They heard the sound of a groundbridge before they turned to see Soundwave dragging Smokescreen along with Nova( in her Titan Mode) towards the groundbridge. 

"NOVA!!" Optimus shouted before the groundbridge disappeared along with Soundwave. Leaving them silently on the dessert.

The Autobots came back from groundbridge, Optimus looking upset after their failed attempts in saving Smokescreen. He asked, "Do you have any way to locate Smokescreen?"

Ratchet looked at the screens, "He would have been taken aboard the warship, with its shielding it will be impossible to locate him."

Optimus nodded, "Continue monitoring all frequencies Ratchet. Far more than Smokescreen's fate may be at stake."

"I...don't get it." Bulkhead said, "How could Smoke be an Omega Key?"

 Ratchet answered, "Perhaps he isn't the key, but its container."

"The other Iacon relics were sent to Earth in pods...why not this one?" Arcee asked.

"When the Decepticons stormed Iacon it may have been too late for Alpha Trion to launch the final Omega Key into space...at least, by standard means." Opitmus explained.

Arcee put it together, "So Smokescreen assumed everything went black because he was hit by Decepticons-"

"But Alpha Trion's the one who actually turned out the kid's lights." Bulkhead finished.

Optimus nodded, "It stands to reason that my mentor did not want Smokescreen to know what he was carrying in the event of capture."

Arcee added, "And with a mobile relic Alpha Trion couldn't possibly supply fixed coordinates."

"So the big A slipped us a clue instead-Smoke's mugshot." Bulkhead agreed.

Ratchet sighed, "But the Decepticons got to Smokescreen first. I fear they have decoded the same clue."

'Hey guys...there was only one entry left, right?" Bumblebee said

"What do you mean Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked.

Bee pointed to the screen where the image was reconfirming into words, "What?" Optimus asked, Alpha Trion had said nothing about this in the message.

A few seconds later a single, simple sentence appeared. He looked at it for a second before it was written in Cybertronian.

'....Utilize it Crystal. '

Everyone seem surprised by the decoded message. Bulkhead asked, "Whose Crystal?"

"How do you know it's a who instead of a what?" Arcee asked, just as dumbfounded.

Ratchet turned to Optimus, "Do you any idea of what he meant?"

Optimus shook his helm, "I haven't the faintest..."

"Well that's great, how are we supposed to restore Cybertron when we're missing some stupid crystal that does how knows what." Arcee fumed.

Bulkhead put in, "Maybe it's what power's the keys."

"In any event we do not know. We can only hope that it will find its way to us and not to Megatron." Optimus concluded. As everyone hoped it, Optimus began to worry about NOva's safety after Soundwave took Smokescreen and her charge. He couldn't help but blamed himself for not being there on time when they saw her bike, He hoped that they find them soon.

ON THE NEMESIS

'Utilize it......'

Nova doesn't know how long she has been unconscious, although she has been hearing voices around her lately.

'Utilize it.....'

  Multiple voices and whispers echoed in the darkness. As the voices are getting louder and louder.  Until finally, one voice that do not belong to others......

'Utilize it.....Crystal.'

Nova suddenly flew herself up from her seat, panicked like a wild animal as she tried to comprehend what just happened. She said, "What's up with that voice? Why is it tell me to utillize? Utillize what?" Nova was about to placed her hand over her face, only to see that she has handcuffs on both her wrist, much to her annoyance. She tried to used her power but for some the cuffs is what retrained her from her abilities and weapons.She huffed in defeat as she stood up and looked around which it appeared to be a holding cell. It took her a few moments to remember the events that transpired before she fell unconscious, but when she do it isn't hard to guess where she was. 

"I'm in the Nemesis.....Great, that's just perfect. Ratchet is going to kill me when he founds out I transformed into my Titan mode." Nova groaned, slumping on the seat. It felt like being in prison all over again. 

Suddenly it dawn her mind falls to Smokescreen. Where was he? How was he? She knew hadn't waste time sitting around doing nothing. As she reached to the door, she forgotten she needed a way to get these cuffs off, but she didn't have a key. Not to mentioned can't used her technopathy either.

'Gah! I just need a key to unlock these things! Where do I even find one?'

As she thought about them and wanting them unlocked until cuffs just fell to the floor, open and she was free. She looked at them curiously for a nanosecond before deciding she would question that later. Nova placed her hand on the wall which her arm shows a blue tron-lines and the entrance opened itself

"Oh thank you Technopathy, now to find Smokescreen." Nova said to herself

As she wandered the hallways, It was strange that there were no guards around, so apparently Megatron didn't think of her as a high threat and the Vehicons from the cell hadn't commed anyone either. Running through the confusing halls nearly made her give up until she stumbled across a group of fliers as they walked towards her path.

'Scrap!' Nova thought as she pressed herself into the shadow of a beam and focus her power to manipulate light around her in making herself invisible to them. She watched as the fliers went passed her before walking slowly back behind the wall. Nova became visible as she peered behind the wall to see the coast is clear. She was about to leave when she felt someone put their servo on her shoulder so out of instinct Nova grab it and flip them over her and onto the floor...then Nova saw who it is.

"Smokescreen?" Nova asked in shock.

He groans and said, "Yep...man your tough."

Nova let his servo go so she can help him up. "Sorry. I didn't know it was you. I get a bit on the edge when it comes to cons." Nova said apologetic.

"I was in the med bay with the mad doctor. They were pilfering around in my head and unfortunately dug up some important stuff. Including the purpose of the keys." He said.

"Everything."

He nodded.

"Figures." Nova reply. "Wait a minute, How did you get out?"

"It took a little acting, but I managed to get the Phase Shifter back from Knockout and used it to trap him in the wall." He replies.

"Nice... " Nova compliment.

"Also, Megatron threatened to hurt you if I didn't cooperate." He said angrily at that.

"Well can't expect more than that...so what are our chances of getting off this thing?"

"Now that I have the Phase Shifter, good. But we're not leaving empty handed...I'm getting the keys."

"Might as well make this field trip worth it...let's go."

"Ok. It would be better if you revert to your.... mini form. Just to keep closed you to me so the Phase Shifter will work for you too." He instructs.

"Gotcha." Nova replied. She transformed into her mini form as Smokescreen hold onto her firmly. Smokescreen said, "Hang on." as then heads towards the wall. Not sure what to expect she close her optics. However, they phase right through.

"Awesome!" Nova muttered.

He leads them down the hall and then into another wall. On the other side, They saw Megatron walking down the hall walking towards what she assume is a vault.

Smokescreen leads them fully out of the wall and then turns off the shifter, placing Nova on his shoulder so he can grab the key. "Ready?" He asks quietly.

"Grab and go." Nova reply.

He run towards Megatron and once right beside him, Smokescreen grabs the key while saying,"Think fast."

Megatron isn't expecting it so Smokescreen gets it easily. He then turns the shifter back on and phases both of them through the wall, where they see the other key.

He turns the shifter off long enough to grab the other key and then phase through the wall quickly. We run down a few halls and then see a group of Vehicons coming at them. Then another group comes at  them from behind.

"Oh, this isn't the way out?" Smokescreen asked jokingly.

The cons fire at them from both sides, Nova was planing to activate her shield but thanks to the Phase Shifter the shots go right through them. The cons do all the work for them.

Nova let out a laugh and said,"Huh, That was easy."

He laughs too and said,"Now you know why I love this thing so much." He then phases through another wall and into a Hall where they go right through an Insecticon. However, they don't stop. They kept phasing through walls. They eventually find themselves outside on top of the ship...in the air. 

"Great..." Nova groaned.

They aren't not alone, Megatron was there as well as some Vehicons. They activate their weapons as Megatron holds out his servo saying,"The keys."

Smokescreen back up to the edge and can't help but look down.

"A pity, you are incapable of flight." Megatron comments.

"Yeah, like I'm gonna let that stop me." Smokescreen said. He turned to her and quickly said,"Don't hate me."

Before Nova can say anything, He then jumps over the edge...the both of them now falling down to Earth. She gripped onto his shoulder and shouted,"If this wasn't our only option, I'd call you crazy!!!"  

  "Good thing it's our only option then." He replied as he comm the base. "Smokescreen to base. Nova and I could really use a groundbridge."

  Suddenly, they start getting shot at, They look up to see cons flying after them.  Smokescreen placed the two keys behind his back and said to NOva, "Hang on." which made her hold him tightly.

As he turns on the shifter and spread his arm which end up gliding up a bit, h causing him to phase through the con that was behind them. Smokescreen then shoots the con, blowing him to bits.

"Nice shot." Nova comment.

"I thought so." He replied.

Nova then see a groundbridge open up beneath them. "Is that ours?" She asked, gripping his shoulder.

"Yeah. Ratchet just sent it."He replied. He then turns the shifter off and said,"Brace yourselves. We're gonna make an entrance."

Just as they get close, they're suddenly knocked off course by Megatron knocking into them.

"I hope proper grounding on this thing doesn't apply to actual ground." Smokescreen said as they get closer to the ground. He then activates the shifter.

"I hope so....If not, I'm going to kill you." NOva added with a threat

As they get real close, Nova gripped Smokescreen tightly and he holds her with his arm just as tightly. Suddenly, they phase through the ground. It took a few seconds but they manage to find their way into the open, but still out of Megatrons sight.

"Please, let's get out of here." Nova said quietly.

Smokescreen nodded and contacts base."Hey Ratchet. We could still really use that groundbridge." Smokescreen turned to Nova, who was on his shoulder as she smiled to their successful escape.

Back in the Base

 Everyone breathed in relief when he came in. Nova jumped onto Optimus hand, relieved to see her charge was safe. "Did I tell you? Destiny. Alpha Trion knew I'd keep it safe." Smokescreen said as he gave Optimus the two keys.

  Arcee looked downright ticked before she smiled, "Nice work kid."  She turned to Nova and asked if she's alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine but.......unfortunately my bike didn't survive."

Smokescreen said to her, "Sorry about your ride."

"Nah, It's alright.....I never needed it anyway. Beside, who needs wheels when you have wings."

Bumblebee then started counting his fingers, "so now we have one, two, three...where's the forth?"

"That was the only ones in Megatron vault." Smokescreen mentioned.

Opitmus held the keys, "Then three keys are accounted for."

"Then the fourth is still somewhere on the 'cons warship." Bulkhead growled.

Arcee didn't look so sure, "Unless...Megatron never had it to begin with?"

"But who would have it?" Bulkhead asked.

  The other's shrugged when Smokescreen asked, "Hey, you guys wouldn't happen to know about a crystal, would you?"  

Nova flinched when he mentioned that word as she turned to him, "C-Cyrstal?"

"You mean Megatron doesn't have it?" Arcee asked.

"Nah, he was grilling me about it but I had honestly never heard about one that went with Omega Keys. Shoot, I never knew of the Omega Keys till you guys did."

Optimus nodded, "Then we at least know that it is not within Megatron's grasp." Nova raised her hand and spoke, "Um.....May I ask? What do you mean by crystal?"

Arcee turned to her, "Well, OPtimus decoded entry that shows Smokescreen along with a message embedded it. It says, 'Utilize it, Crystal.' "

 Her eye's widened slightly but her back was to everyone so no one saw and she regained her composure quickly.  Then, The computer above Ratchet rang. "A high frequency signal," he narrowed his optics, herself doing the same as Nova saw who was on the screen. "With an embedded message..."

"Starscream," Bulkhead growled.

"'I have obtained something of interest to you which seems to be of no practical use to me.'" Ratchet read off.

"It's gotta be the Omega Key," Bulkhead said.

"He's the one who blindsided me!" Smokescreen narrowed his optics as well.

"What else could Scream be referring to?" Arcee added.

"Ep, ep!" Ratchet silenced. "There's more. 'Bring medical kit. I only ask for the surgical replacement of my T-cog in return,'"

Bulkhead scoffed. "Like we're going to give Scream back his wings,"

Ratchet turned to face him. "Without the missing key, Cybertron will remain devoid of life,"

"As much as I don't want Starscream to have his wings back.." Nova muttered, gaining the attention. "I have bad feeling about this."

"Broken record, I know, but it could be a trick," Arcee reminded us all.

"And, it is possible that Starscream does not yet realize the significance of what he holds," Optimus cut in.

"And we do know that he's been incapable of flight for some time," Ratchet agreed.

She watched Optimus as he thought it over. She could practically see the gears turning in his head, his optics narrowing. "The stakes are too great for us not to consider Starscream's proposal. However, we will take precautions."

Optimus set Nova down on the catwalk as Arcee opened the ground bridge, where Optimus and Bulkhead walked through first, blasters online, Ratchet following close behind. Nova was leaning on the rail began to wonder about the message. What did it mean by utilize? Nova tried to recall back when she was sent back in time, the day when Alpha Trion gave her the key which gave her the Titan mode. As Alpha Trion explained that among what they designed it for it unlocks anything that has a lock and for the Omega Lock it is what will guide the energy that is to bring back Cybertron.

Her realization dawned her which would explained the handcuffs since it can unlock anything. She was thankful for that and now she knows that she is the key to restoring Cybertron. Just as she suspected for being the Herald of Primus, she hate to admit but she was given duty to aid them in ending the war. Now that problem was solved, there's a million thoughts swirling through her mind. Should she tell them now? Should she wait until they go to Cybertron?

While her mind was roaming, She felt a dread washing over as though bad thing is going to happen. 'Strange, Why do I get the feeling that something wasn't right.' Nova thought suspiciously. While Acree, Smokescreen and Bee were still standing guard at the groundbridge, they didn't notice Nova transformed into her Titan Mode as ran to the hallway and head to the storage vault. Finding it intact she spread out her powers so she would hopefully sense if something was coming then opened it and grabbed the keys, replacing them with her own fuzzy holograms. Nova closed the door and felt a strange energy coming and knew without a doubt there was an intruder. She immediately bent the light around her and became invisible.

A sudden blast made her stumble and nearly loss the grip she had on the keys but did make her lose focus on the light around her. Her eyes glowed for a second as she felt like she was grasping some other energy subconsciously, or draining it. She saw what she couldn't believe her optics; Starscream exiting the room with an obvious snarl, "You!" He shouted as he ran towards her, only for her to manage to step out of the way a second before he reached her, "What?! Who are you? How could you have known I was coming at you?"

She was wondering that herself, not only that he doesn't seem to recognize her, even in her Titan Mode. Both missed her optics glowing and Starscream's systems depleting of its Red Energon far quicker than should have been. He attacked again but as she could only dodge she could do little to defend herself, the keys taking up most hand room. He swiped and she barely dodged as an idea came to her. The second she had an inch of breathing room she grabbed one of the keys and threw it like a javelin at his wing. It hit dead center and he cried out in pain as he reached out for the key she threw only to be kicked away as she grabbed it. "That's it!!! No more games." Starscream hissed before he fired off his other missile and it hit the floor just to the side of Nova and threw her against the wall.

She hit it with a grunt and lost hold of the keys and Starscream picked them up instantly and ran, Nova right behind him. He let out a small shriek as he saw Arcee almost done closing the ground bridge and jumped through it a second before it was fully closed, trapping Nova in the base.  Her hand curled into a fist as she furiously punched the ground for not able to retrieve it. She frowned then huffed, well...she tried, she really did.

Smokescreen stepped forward completely confused, "Huh, Where did you come from?! And how did you get over there without me seeing you?"

She shrugged as Arcee opened a bridge for the others, "Optimus?" Arcee asked hesitantly.

"Starscream, has all four Omega Keys now." He said looking down. Ratchet walked over to the computers and shut off the sprinklers as they all grabbed towels and began drying things off. A couple hours later they were finished, but Optimus was still very upset.

 Nova sighed, she knew its time that he needed some good news right now..."Optimus, can I talk to you, alone?"  

He looked slightly surprised but nodded and they went up to the roof where dawn was breaking. She sat at the edge and Optimus joined her before he asked, "What happened in the main room?"

"I felt the red Energon when Starscream came in and tried to keep him from getting the keys..."

"Oh, I guess we all failed in that respect."

She tucked her legs and placed both her arms on the knees as she said, "I guess some things were meant to happen for a reason and nothing we could do to change that...no matter how hard we try." She muttered the last part.

Optimus looked out across the horizon, "Is this what you wanted to talk about?"

"Hm? No, it's-it's about the Crystal message."

He suddenly looked up, "Do know of its location? Did Alpha Trion tell you?"

He at least sounded a bit happier and she nodded, "Yes, I know of its exact location."

He smiled faintly, "Then all is not lost."

"It was never completely lost as long as we kept trying."

"Where is it, I assume if you told me then you are allowed to tell me of its location? Was there a reason you kept this a secret from me?" Optimus asked.

Nova let out a sad sighed and smiled slightly, "Is there a reason you haven't told the others yet about the Omega Lock, the Keys are useless without something to unlock."

"How did you know about that? Alpha Trion only just connived it too me in the message from the Star Saber." 

She looked at him knowingly which a realization dawned at Optimus. "He told you while you were on Cybertron? But, why?" He said.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, he just told me not to tell anyone until he said so, and that included you."

Optimus nodded, "Alpha Trion has his strange ways I suppose...you said you know of the location of the crystal?"

She stifled a laugh, "You guys all talk about it like she's a thing."

"Well he did say it was a...wait, she?" Optimus started then stopped.

Nova nodded, "She. Optimus, when Alpha Trion gave me the A-3 Key that changed me into a Cybertronian, it had/has a second purpose...to guide the energy beam from the Omega Lock to restore Cybertron. Crystal is not a thing, it is the name Alpha Trion gave when we met."

Optimus' optics were wide as he took in the information, she had known all this this whole time!?  His intake sounded like a heavy sigh and Nova spoke again, "Optimus, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I just-I couldn't...I-"

Optimus stopped her, "I understand, there are many secrets which I carry also, do not try to explain." 

She sighed gratefully as he pulled her in close. As Optimus hold her for another few minutes before her intakes took on the regular rhythm of recharge. Sighing he held her close as he thought about what she had kept hidden for so long, the other thought on his mind was, is there anything else she's hiding from us, from me?