Wardens of Cybertron

Scorcher watched as the drop ship he was in passed over battlefields and dead bots, seeing how much this war has taken from both sides, His squad were besides him, but they were to preoccupied looking at these strange looking bots, but noticing they had the same sigil they had. Celina looked to Scorcher. "We didn't look like these savages, did we?" Her comment caused some of the 'savages' to growl at her and speak in an ancient dialect. Scorcher looked back, catching her in the side of his vision.

"No. You and A.M.Y. were always the way you are. Trouble is the only one who wasn't originally a Warden. He was a Decepticon, and passed the requirements." He answered, getting a shocked expression from Trouble.

"Wait, so there was an actual Warden that was in your team before the replacements came in? Who were they?" He asked, wanting to know the original combat engineer for Scorcher's squad.

The team leader looked forward, releasing a heavy sigh. "It's been ages, but I still remember her name. It was a simple name, and straight to the point." He paused, turning around completely to face his team. "Her name was Tech. She was lost in one of the first few battles when the war started. When the Decepticons first hired us." Celina and A.M.Y. looked away, while Trouble just stared at Scorcher, listening. "Blade.....Blade and his men had her surrounded, and we had to pull out of the combat zone. The mission was to rescue a Con by the name of Vortex. He was shot down while scouting and couldn't alt out of the area. We saved him, but lost Tech."

"And so began the long saga of the Engineer replacements in out squad, which eventually lead to you." Celina picked up where Scorcher left off. Scorcher turned away from his troops and looked out of the drop ship once more, spotting a familiar looking mountain formation.

"None of that matters now. We're here." Scorcher said, seeing a portion of the mountain shifting, revealing a hangar imbedded in the mountain itself. The three other members of Scorcher's squad moved to look out and watched as the Cybertronian landscape altered to reveal not just the hangar, but as well as a plethora of turrets scanning the skies.

"How have these Wardens stayed under the radar for so long? I'm almost certain that either the Decepticons or Autobots would have discovered this base and either destroy or try and recruit the whole group." Celina said, looking up to Scorcher, who was looking down at her, his metal face showing no emotion.

"Who's to say they haven't?" He simply replied, looking to one of the turrets which began tracking the drop ship they were currently in. "These guns are a hell of a deterrent, and tend to leave no survivors." Celina's face went grim, and she turned to focus on the turret and watched it until it vanished behind the hangar walls.

The drop ship landed and the "savages" that came to collect them focused on Scorcher, expecting him and his team to disembark first. Scorcher sighed, looking to Celina, A.M.Y., and Trouble. "Come on, I know where we're expected to go." Scorcher stepped off of the drop ship and began walking to a threshold that led deeper into the mountain as the mountain face began sealing shut, leaving only the artificial light as a source of illumination in the hangar. The three bots looked to one another before following Scorcher as well as the large Warden that had addressed the four bots when they went to pick them up.

The doors opened and the five bots went deeper into the Warden stronghold, not wanting to keep Warlord waiting.

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The five walked quietly in the halls of this base, doors closed and showing that they were not allowed to enter. While they knew Scorcher knew the way, it seemed like they were making sure he would not deter from the path. The three members of his squad remained quiet, trying to avoid optical contact with the large Warden that followed the four members. Scorcher turned his head to look at the large brute. "Does Warlord truly have such little faith in me? I know where the command center is, I don't need the paths blocked, Raider."

The large bot did not shift his gaze, looking forward. "Warlord would not want you to get lost in conversation. Your next assignment is already prepared and he needs for you and your team to be ready." Raider responded, looking to a closed off passage that lead to the cells. Raider knew who filled them, and Scorcher knew as well. He made no comment on it, simply turning and focusing on the large door that they were approaching.

The five members reached the door, seeing that the command center was more of a treasure room, different treasures from all across Cybertron hanging on the walls and covering the floor. A large throne made of crystalized Energon sat in the middle of all of these riches, and behind that throne, standing over a large table stood a mountain of a bot, wearing a metallic cloak. Raider hit the hilt of his battle axe on the floor, causing the man to turn. His plating was a deep dark green, and his optics shined blue. The goliath turned and moved to the throne, walking past it and looking down at Scorcher. Celina was astonished. She always thought Megatron and Scorcher were the largest bots on Cybertron, but this Warlord towered over Scorcher.

Warlord's face curved into a smile. "Welcome back, my most successful agent." He said, patting Scorcher on the back. Scorcher did not acknowledge it, simply letting Warlord pat his back. Once the brother was done, Scorcher focused on his larger brother. He had grown since the last time he'd been here, making him wonder what exactly Warlord had been up to.

"Yeah, yeah, tell me what my next assignment is." Scorcher demanded, the smile on Warlord's face disappearing. Warlord turned around and moved to his throne, falling into it and causing the whole room to shake, some of the treasure mounds shifting.

"Sentinel Prime has paid a high price for my best men, and I intend to deliver." Warlord said, his brotherly façade vanishing and replaced with the tone of a boss. Scorcher's face, as well as the rest of his squad's faces, showed shock.

"The Autobots? We just spent the last hundred cycles killing them. Now we're going to work for them? Are you insane?" Scorcher shouted, getting Raider to shift from his stationary position. Warlord raised his hand, getting Raider to return to his passive form.

"You and your team will go, or I will have to replace Celina with a more loyal agent." This threat went over Celina's head, but Scorcher understood the true implications of this threat.

"Sir, what is he talking about? If there is a better agent for this mission, I will gladly-"

"No!" Scorcher shouted, causing Celina, as well as A.M.Y. and Trouble to jump. Scorcher turned back to face Warlord, who had a devious grin on his face. Scorcher knew exactly what would happen to Celina. The same thing that truly happened to Tech. "We'll go, brother." He stated before turning around to leave Warlord's chamber. The other three followed, still unsure of both this new mission and the previous encounter between their "boss" and Scorcher.

"Sir?" Celina tried to inquire, only for Scorcher to shake his head.

"Not now. They're still listening. We need to get to Autobot territory before I begin to explain." The group began to pick up the pace as Scorcher did, seeing that this place was more of a hell for their leader.

The four reached the hangar and moved to a drop ship. No one was piloting it, and it had unique markings on it, markings similar to Scorcher's paint job.

"Is this your drop ship?" Trouble asked, studying the different weapons and unique shape of it.

"Get in." Was all Scorcher replied with, hopping into the cockpit and starting the ship. The three complied and entered the passenger hold, watching as the hangar opened once more. Scorcher did not wait for the mountain face to open completely and flew out, leaving the home of the Wardens.

The only thing he focused on was how far his great group had fallen.