01x15 - Shadowzone

[bunniefuu]

Resting comfortably, Starscream? Despite the extent of your injuries, my medical staff assures me that you shall make a rapid recovery.

Hopefully every bit as rapid as your wrath is swift.

And how swiftly things change.

To think that but a short time ago, it was you who was standing here while I was lying there, right after your failed attempt to terminate me.

But know this, dear Starscream, our positions shall never again be reversed.

Starscream, h-have you lost your senses? You haven't fully recuperated.

I feel fine, knockout.

Never better.

You're a brilliant physician.

Now get out of my way! Ah, dark Energon may have replenished your strength, master.

But how could you forget that you never reclaimed your original shard? Once the blood of Unicron flows through my veins, our positions shall be reversed.

I had hoped that my growing expertise on the subject would remain purely academic, but though faint, this is clearly a dark Energon signature, and it's moving fast.

Megatron.

Where'd find more of the bad stuff? And what's he gonna do with it, recruit a new army of the undead? Zombiecons? We cannot rule out the possibility, especially since Megatron seems to be heading to a familiar site.

Ah, the gravesite of the mighty Skyquake.

So quick to reject my authority while you lived, but as the first of my reanimated warriors, you shall bow to my command.

Yes! Power of dark Energon be mine! Symbiosis.

I can feel it! Megatron has barely emerged from stasis, and it seems he's already making up for lost time.

Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Ratchet, prepare to roll out.

Me? If we are dealing with dark Energon, I may well require your expertise.

Arcee? Bridge operator.

Got it.

Go get 'em Bulkhead.

Bring the hurt! That's not like Miko to not want to go.

She's definitely up to something.

Making a break! It's not safe! I am not gonna miss my first Zombiecon throwdown! Miko! That's not Megatron.

Rise, Skyquake! Rise! Let's see some fight of the living dead, already! Miko, what were you thinking? She wasn't.

Hey, I totally missed out last time.

This could be my only chance to take some snaps.

My cellphone! I must have dropped it back at the base.

Starscream! Autobots! Stand down.

You stand down! You cannot harm me while dark Energon flows through my veins! You clipped his wing.

He's grounded.

Come on.

Come on! Rise already! This is commander starscream requesting emergency ground bridge to my coordinates.

Ugh, I can't believe you made me lose my phone! Uh, h-how is this my fault? Oh, no.

Base to Optimus.

The kids are missing.

We have a visual.

Send the ground bridge immediately.

Two? You three, into our ground bridge -- Now! Come on.

Ugh! Ratchet, what is happening? The dueling ground-bridge portals must be feeding back on each other.

Miko.

We got to get the kids out of there.

My arm! Not a word about this To anyone! Are you guys okay? Y-yeah.

I think so.

Oh, w-what just happened? I can't be certain.

But if two ground Bridges sent to the same coordinates crossed streams, the feedback could have triggered a system overload.

Could? Hello, more like totally did.

The kids made it through, right? What's he talking about? Bulkhead, we're right here! Arcee, did the children make it safely back to base? Negative.

You don't see them? No sign.

What? "No sign"?! Okay, seriously, Bulk -- He went right through you.

We're not alive.

I don't want to be a ghost! Wait.

How can we still touch each other? Ratchet Could the children have been transported onto the Nemesis instead? Not likely.

If starscream didn't arrive at our base, the most likely explanation is a dislocation.

The children may simply have been bridged to an unintended destination.

Another place but in the same place? What do you mean? We're probably in a different dimension, some kind of alternate reality, a shadow zone.

Nerd alert.

Look.

Skyquake's tomb is empty.

How'd we miss Skyquake rising and shining? It would seem starscream got what he came for.

Another matter for another time.

Right now, our priority is locating Jack, miko, and Rafael.

Arcee, bridge us back to base.

Zombie! Guys, look out! Bulkhead! It's right behind you! Awesome.

It can't touch them, either.

If that thing can't touch the bots Just like we can't Then we're trapped in the shadow zone with a Decepticon zombie! If we aren't ghosts now, we will be soon.

Come on! Jack, my glasses! Way too dangerous.

I can't see without them.

What are you, 90? Not helping.

Fine.

Wait! Here you go, gramps.

Let's book.

Maybe we could set a trap, try to crush it.

With what? Nothing around here is solid except us and the ground.

We can't run forever.

But maybe we can hide.

Ratchet, if the children were misdirected to an unintended location, is there any way to get a fix on their coordinates? If they were lost, miko would have called me by now.

Call them? Yes! That's why miko hasn't phoned.

Let me try Jack.

The best thing about zombies -- They're slow-moving.

Is that your -- Phone! Phone! Phone! Hello? Arcee? Jack? Can you hear me? Nothing.

Hello? A-Arcee? Nothing.

Gee, imagine that.

The fourth dimension has lousy cellphone reception.

Wait, guys, guys, guys.

The phone rang.

We're getting a signal.

Maybe the autobots can't see or hear us because we're moving at hyperspeed or something.

Do you think that they could read us? Texting! Text me! If my phone's back at the base, maybe they'll see it.

Uh Can you type and run? We're dealing with fluctuating energy profiles inside a wide-distortion field.

But it may be possible to back-trace their coordinated.

DÃjà vu! What? This doesn't look familiar to you? Not really.

Dude, we just ran one big circle! Sweet.

It must have gotten trapped in here during the expl*si*n, too.

Well, if it's solid, we can use it.

Uh, starscream, I don't quite understand how this could have happened? And yet it did! Can you imagine my horror? There I am, minding my own business, when my arm just falls off! Clearly Megatron inflicted more damage upon me than you realize Doctor.

Well, uh, o-on the bright side, this provides an excellent opportunity for an upgrade.

Uh, let's see.

You could go with the sonic canon.

It's reliable, low-maintenance, although it lacks a certain flair.

Personally, I prefer the null ray.

It has just the right mix of flash and firepower.

I don't want a new mol! I just want the same arm I had before! Starscream, your equipment is a bit Uh, obsolete.

I'm not sure I have another one lying around.

Of course, we could try to salvage yours.

YouKept it, didn't you? It was Beyond recovery.

Anyone know how to fire this thing? I don't see a trigger.

Starscream did something with his fingers.

We have one sh*t.

We need to make it count.

How do you like us now? Come on! Come on! How can the zombie arm move faster than the actual zombie? Miko's phone.

It wasn't blinking before.

It's a message.

"In alternate dimension with zombie.

Help.

" That doesn't sound possible.

Ratchet, can we triangulate the geographical position of the cellphone signal? In a parallel dimensional plane? Let's find out.

My dark Energon shard -- Pulsing? My warrior lives.

Ah, look what I found in storage.

What are you doing?! You were right, knockout.

I'm much too attached to my original appendage.

I will retrieve it.

Now, calculating for relative time delays and ionospheric distortions, the signal emanated from the exact location as the original ground bridge coordinates.

But we already looked for them there.

Perhaps, but not in the correct dimensional phase, as their message stated.

But if I can recreate the feedback loop which triggered the event, I might be able to generate a rescue portal allowing passage from their dimension Back to base? No! We're talking about interdimensional travel here, Bulkhead! Attempting to redirect the vortex trajectory would be far too risky.

Everyone knows that.

If the coordinates aren't precisely the same, who knows where the humans could wind up? Oh, come on.

This place is like one big merry-go-round! Skyquake, your master summons you! How'd that freak get into our dimension? He didn't.

He can't see us.

Forget starscream.

We got to run Some more.

A ground bridge portal? That has to be our way out of here.

The autobots saw our text.

What? MineOr theirs? If we go through, we run smack into starscream.

If we don't We're zombie chow.

Option three -- We keep running in circles.

Follow my lead.

Now! Humans? Where did you vermin -- No! This isn't mine! Unhand me! Jack, miko, Rafael.

Gah! Autobots again?! Requesting emergency ground bridge now! Look, if you're gonna blame anybody, blame me.

I'm sorry.

Could you repeat that a couple dozen times? Miko, what you endured has been lesson enough.

We are just glad you are all safe.

Guess it was a good thing you dropped this.

Too bad you didn't get any pictures, though.

Nah, that's okay.

I think after today, I pretty much have zombie close-ups seared into my brain.

What happened? Megatron pound you like scrap metal again? I would rather not discuss it.

Honestly, starscream, you need to take better care of yourself.

Didn't you retrieve your limb?