Unknown shuttle. Solar System, Milky Way galaxy.

(Normal POV)

"Skywarp! Get back here!"

The purple seeker gave a laugh and sat on the ship's support beams. Pedes dangling below as his optics roamed across the empty corridor. The dark blue seeker's shout could be heard throughout the whole vessel. He laughed once again, one of his servo grasping the beam for balance.

Operation: Paint Thundercracker neon green and draw crude drawings on then while he was recharging then run away, hide and don't get caught and probably get a shorter name for this operation but whatever, was an excellent success!

It was hard to rile up his normally calm wing-mate. But neon green?

Skywarp held a servo over his mouth when he heard pedesteps underneath where he was hiding. Mischievous red optics locked on the form that was slowly making their way over.

Thundercracker looked irritated. But he knew from his trinelink with the blue seeker that he was downright furious. The mech thought to himself on why didn't he saw this sooner. He knew from the giddy sensation he felt through his bond with the warping seeker meant that bad things we're going to happen.

He forcefully dragged his pedes in front of one another as he walked with a frown on his face. This was humiliating, yes. But the mechs on board the shuttle knew better than to laugh at someone who was a victim of one of Skywarp's pranks. All of them had experienced that before and it was no laughing matter.

The blue seeker knew that his wing-mate was right above him. He had two choices.

A. Strangle him right here and now.

Or B. Head to the washracks to scrub the hideous paint and scribbles off his frame.

He chose the latter. He can get his revenge later, now he needs to clean himself.

As he walked away, Skywarp watched as he disappeared around the corner. When he made sure that the other was far gone, he let out a laugh from his vocalizer. The aftermath of his prank would be horrible in many different ways, but it was worth it.

A few hours later. The alarm sounded and Shockwave's voice rang throughout the shuttle.

"Approaching planet Earth. All Decepticons to your escape pods."

Skywarp, who was in a brawl with Barricade, froze and looked over at his wing-mate. The blue seeker gave a nod as they all went to their respective pods. The warping seeker gave a cheeky grin to Thundercracker before he went into stasis lock.

×∆×∆×∆×

Command Center, Nemesis.

The Decepticons just discovered another energon mine. A great accomplishment in a long while. They were low on fuel and finding energon mines we're harder than it looks. All they need to do now was make sure that they claimed that place first before the Autobots does.

Megatron was pleased.

Soundwave expressed his feelings through his bonds with his creations.

Knockout was delighted.

Breakdown is appreciative.

Dreadwing is in a good mood.

Skyquake cheered.

All were glad to have finally found an energon mine. A large-sized one too. The cave was filled with energon crystals. One didn't pay attention to what they were doing. A certain seeker stood beside his leader as they supervised the mining process from the screen.

Starscream gave a twitch of his wings.

He was glad that they found more energon. The accursed Autobots had been able to grab more than they could. But he could faintly feel another emotion. His spark throbbed slightly in his chassis.

The seeker subconsciously rubbed the area right above his spark. It gave a low pulse through his frame in response.

"Starscream."

The growl from Megatron cut off his thoughts. He let his servo fall to his side and looked up to face his leader.

This could wait.

Medical Bay, Nemesis.

Meanwhile, in the medbay, Breakdown had just finished buffing his partner's finish until it was smooth and not a single scratch was in sight. The yellow opticed mech grumbled as the other looked at himself in a mirror.

"Perfect, come on now you big lug. Our glorious leader wants us to meet in the landing deck." Knockout waved with an arm out to the door.

Both walked out and went to the landing deck where Megatron and Starscream were. The warlord's optics narrowed when the pair entered. Starscream just told him that there was something wrong with his spark. Usually, he would care less and just ignore his SIC but on rare occasions, he would listen. Unlike the tales that the Autobots tell, he was not sparkless. Megatron suspects it has something to do with the new arrivals that were coming shortly. He dismissed the thought and called Knockout to scan the Air Commander.

"Hmm..."

The medic's mouth was formed in a thin line as he used his scanner over the SIC's frame. They all watched Knockout's optics brighten as he processed the information he got.

"Well?" Megatron demanded.

Knockout's optics reverted back to their normal hue then he gave a short laugh.

"It appears that nothing is wrong with 'Screamer today. He's functioning in optimal condition."

"Then why does my spark feels odd?" Starscream interrupted. He glared at the shiny red mech when he used the dreaded nickname that he oh so hate.

"That is because your bond with your trine is reforming itself subconsciously." The medic finished.

All was quiet for a few seconds.

Then Starscream broke it with a loud screech.

"What?!"

Megatron shuttered his optics. Great. All he needed now was two more seekers to deal with. As if Starscream wasn't enough trouble on his ship but at least Thundercracker is reliable on most occasions. He grits his dentae and bit back a disgruntled groan as he could already visualize what will happen.

Fan-fragging-tastic.

Then Soundwave came into the room. The mech stood in front of the door as his visor lit up.

"Message from Shockwave: Arrivals have landed."

Megatron gave a menacing smirk.

"Excellent. Send a spacebridge to their coordinates at once," he ordered. The purple mech gave a sharp nod as he opened the swirling portal.

Starscream, who was squabbling with Knockout, fell quiet when he saw the spacebridge open. Then all of a sudden, a purple blur zoomed past them and tackled the grey seeker. Starscream toppled over with a yelp and managed to sit down and not hurt his wings.

Knockout was pushed back as this happened. Breakdown caught him before he fell down. The ex-wrecker held the smaller mech up against him. The medic shuttered his optics rapidly before his face heated up and he pushed Breakdown away.

"Don't touch me," he muttered. Breakdown held up his servos in surrender, gave a shrug and backed away.

A happily grinning Skywarp cuddled with Starscream. The latter had to reboot his optics before he wrapped his arms around the purple seeker.

Thundercracker stood next to them, arms crossed and a gentle smile on his face. Barricade, Astrotrain, Blitzwing, and Shockwave had just walked out of the portal. When they entered it closed behind them. Soundwave was in his usual position on Megatron's left with his servo's clasped behind his back.

Megatron evaluated each of his new troops. Starscream will perform better and hopefully less annoying than usual with his trine together, he is the leader after all. Barricade will be useful for he is one of his best scouts. Astrotrain and Blitzwing will return to their normal roles in the army. Shockwave will be an important part of his scheme for the human girl.

His army was getting stronger. And when the rest arrive and they will soon conquer the earth and destroy the Autobots once and for all.

Oh yes, he could see it now. All the destruction and chaos he will cause to the pathetic life forms on this planet, the distress of the Autobots when they lost the war, and the satisfaction he will feel when he will finally offline his arch-nemesis, Optimus Prime.

A maniacal giggle snapped him out from his thoughts.

He turned his helm towards Blitzwing and watched with dim and exasperated optics as Random became the current dominant personality. The triple changer poked on Barricade's helm while humming to an unknown song.

The black and white mech gave a low growl and moved an arm to smack the unwanted servo off his helm. Blitzwing jerked away from him, gave a whine and hid behind Astrotrain's frame, who gave a roll of his optics and a let out a clicking sound from his vocalizer.

Megatron pinched the space between his optics with steady digits as he let an exasperated sigh escape his vents.

It couldn't possibly get any worse than this. Can it?