Chương 39: LOG-036.

We'd been rolling across the bridge for only a few minutes when we'd all collectively 'felt' our communications opening back up. Not completely, but the fact that there was someone we could speak with at all meant we must have been relatively close to each other. As our group rolled to a stop at some form of junction, my Zakus all transformed, establishing a perimeter as I idled in my alt mode. Of course in reality I was going through the process of establishing a comm link as our trio of Predacons watched on.

"This is Shockwave to any nearby allied units, please respond." A moment of silence passed, and just as I began to think that we needed to get closer, there was a response.

"This is Optimus Prime, we read you, Shockwave. What is your status?" Convenient.

"Currently nearing the core. My group and I have successfully sabotaged what I have deduced to be several of Unicron's primary organs. Additionally, we have regrouped with a trio of lost Predacons, presumably separated from your own force." The entire bridge rattled slightly as another tremor tore through Unicron's frame.

"Affirmative. Uploading a coordinate package to you now. We will regroup and settle this, once and for all." I sent back a confirming ping as a location settled in my processor. It seemed while we'd been busy playing saboteur, Prime's force had been steadily burning a direct path towards Unicron's spark, one that we would be able to travel down. Raising my voice slightly, I drew everyone's attention.

"I have reestablished contact with the vanguard force. We will fall in behind them and move with all due haste. Be prepared to terminate potential stragglers that survived their assault." As I recieved several affirmatives, my Zakus shifting back into smaller, greener versions of my own tank mode, I began to accelerate. Nearly there now, just a matter of time and application of overwhelming force.

"Come on, where do you think you're going!?" The Predacon femme's face twisted into it's angrier configuration as she dragged a screeching terrorcon back towards her, sharpened talons latched onto it's misshapen pedes.

"I'm not done with you!" If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Arcee only had a second to wince before the tri-faced terror transformed, flipping the undead Cybertronian into the air as she did so, and promptly blasted three separate streams of fire into it. Suffice to say, aside from a brief detonation that lit up the area for a moment, nothing made it to the ground.

The combat in the Autobot and Predacon's small pocket of space lulled for a moment, even as the greater battle raged on. Though Arcee hesitated to actually call it a battle. The terrorcons were uncoordinated and unintelligent. They would have been the stuff of nightmares to any civillian bot to be sure, but to a well managed military force, led by Optimus of all mechs? It was honestly more like cleanup duty, than anything else. The antibodies were more of an issue if she was being honest with herself.

Though she wouldn't lie, she was still waiting for the 'second shoe to drop', as Jack liked to say sometimes. It was a fairly accurate saying, to be fair.

"Hey!" Arcee flinched as a large, vaguely draconic helm bumped into her back, the Autobot whirling around. Three pairs of predatory optics stared back at her, one of them noticeably bobbing up and down with excitement, one glowering at everything around them and one just... focusing on her.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Went the 'excited' one. The blue femme crossed her arms, keeping an optic to the side as an antibody was torn out of the air by a roaring Bulkhead, promptly thrown to a particularly bulky looking Predacon mech and then smashed into the ground.

"Yes, what?" She resisted the urge to raise her weapons as the three helms surrounded her, the angry one glaring at her.

"I didn't get to tell you my name earlier! Because of those fragging zombots!" The focused one nodded once, lengthy neck undulating slightly.

"Indeed. It's-" It all happened in less than ten human seconds. Another antibody tore through the air, heading directly for the conversing pair. Arcee had been preparing to raise her own blasters and pepper it with half a dozen shots when a violent streak of light had sheared through the flying creature, sending it spiralling through the air for a moment only to crash into the ground as an unrecognisable mess.

"Tiamat. Her designation is Tiamat." The two femmes turned, alongside the rest of the vanguard force that wasn't currently tangled up fighting the latest horde they'd been forced to shatter their way through. Several green mechs rushed forwards, some charging towards groups with those heated axes of theirs, seemingly to take the terrorcons hounding their allies head on. Others slowly strode forward, rifles up and scanning.

A few fired several bursts, their efforts bearing fruit as a pair of antibodies were knocked out of the sky. And in their midst was Shockwave, red optic bright as he made his way out of the tunnel the group had emerged from, slowly lowering an ominously glowing AstroMag cannon. Behind him, three Predacons glanced around, before collectively transforming and charging towards the largest batches of terrorcons. Those were all background details however.

Arcee only had optics for the mad scientist as he ground to a stop, crossing an arm over his cannon. Current ally or not, one didn't forget the atrocities such a mech had committed during the hotter parts of the war.

"I actually took inspiration from human culture in her naming. Tiamat was a goddess of sorts, one heavily associated with what early humanity referred to as 'hydras.'" Shockwave's helm tilted slightly.

"It's my belief that their ancestors likely witnessed one of my original creations, Tiamat's predecessor in all but name, and based their primitive legends around them. I felt it fitting to claim the title for one more deserving of it." The Decepticon almost sounded amused as one of Tiamat's helms let out a squeal.

"That's so cool! I'm a goddess! Or like, named after one! Which was named after my great-great-great-great grandmom or grandad!" Shockwave raised a digit, then slowly lowered it.

"Something like that. Now, someone lead me to Optimus. We need to coordinate our final push." Arcee just vented air, gesturing to the rapid ball of violence that was the vanguard force's two leaders. In the distance, their resident Prime rode a writhing antibody to the ground, his blades embedded within the creature's hull. In turn, a laughing Indomina slammed a pede down atop it, before turning around and blasting apart several terrorcons with a blast of flame.

"Over there. They've been... bonding. I think." Shockwave's helm tilted once again, as the Decepticon commander let out an almost imperceptible noise in response to her uncertain statement.

"Huh."