Hello.

You’ve never been a big fan of robots.

  Now, do you dislike technology? Absolutely not. It would be quite hard to have a phobia of all things electronic in this modern world. No, you just find robots…strange. There is something about their distinct inhumanity which throws you off and makes you wish to avoid them altogether.

  Now that you think about it, perhaps living on an island practically dominated by robots isn’t such a good idea for someone like yourself.

  The convention is bustling with activity while the beep-boops and mechanical whirrs of showcased inventions fill the air along with the mingling murmur of excited visitors talking. A loudspeaker welcomes guests, cheerfully inviting them to explore the possibilities of tomorrow! You watch little nanobots buzz overhead like busy bees, some of them coming together to create neon logos of the sponsors funding the program. Booths are set up side-by-side, displaying all sorts of wondrous creations. You see the prototype for a flying car, an android who can bartend, and even a little machine throwing and catching balls for dogs. It’s quite the variety, and you honestly can’t help but be astounded.

  Yet, when you see the four absolutely massive robots standing at the forefront of everything in their shiny new glory, your honest fascination dies at the claws of deep unease.

  Your friend stands beside you, offering you an inquisitive look when they see your stone-faced expression. “Hey,” they say. “You alright? Helloooo? Earth to Y/N!”

  You startle, blinking. “Oh. Um, y-yeah, I’m okay. Just…not really liking the sight of these things, you know? They’re…” You eye the robots again, stomach coiling. “Unnerving.”

  “Unnerving?” Your friend snorts. “They’re just robots, Y/N. Nothing really unnerving about them. They aren’t even alive!”

  You stare into the visor of the very helicopter-esque orange-and-white-mech standing proudly before the crowd of enamored humans and feel a chill travel down your spine. “I know that,” you say. “I’m just not a fan of them. They aren’t my favorite things in the world. I mean, look at how big they are!”

  “They’re robots meant for search-and-rescue, of course they’re going to be big. But I get it, you think they’re creepy, so we don’t have to go see them if you don’t want to.” Your friend grabs your arm and points to another booth. “How about we check out Dr. Greene’s nanotech instead?”

  You know Dr. Greene; he’s a sort of strange man, clumsy in personality and clumsier with the experiments he makes. Too many times you’ve seen his creations accidentally create havoc across the island, with the fire department and police almost always having to step in to put a stop to the chaos. He’s a good man, you think, because he genuinely seems like he’s aiming to make the world a better place. He just needs to be a bit more…careful with his technology’s programming.

  “Ah, welcome, welcome!” Dr. Greene bids you a greeting with a wide smile. “A great day to see the sights of the future, is it not? Allow me to introduce you to the latest upgrade of my most recent invention!” He gestures enthusiastically to five bipedal robots which look distinctly like mechanical versions of velociraptors from Jurassic Park. Instead of having the angled, sharp-toothed head you expect, however, they simply have a narrow, sleek searchlight with at least three antenna blinking green. “Say hello to the newest version of my search-and-rescue bots, designed specially to work alongside the police department! These beauties have all the best reconnaissance technology within them, giving the police a very helpful hand in tracking down criminals, finding those who are lost, and so much more! They can even read license plates and print car tickets! Isn’t that amazing?”

  “I mean, sure, I guess,” your friend says. “But, don’t we, like…already have people who do that? Plus, those big guys over there seem to have search-and-rescue covered.” They jab a thumb towards the large mechs you two passed.

  “Oh yes, indeed we do! These robots aren’t meant to take people’s jobs. They’re simply here to assist! Cases can be completed 50 times faster than without them! At least…” Dr. Greene glances fleetingly at a clipboard on his table. “That’s what my calculations tell me. I…may have to redo the numbers. But, my belief in the search-and-rescue robots stands! Griffin Rock would greatly benefit from them! And, if they really take off, so would the rest of the world!”

  “...Uh huh. Cool!” Your friend nods. “Can we see them in action?”

  “What?” you exclaim.

  “Why, certainly!” Dr. Greene looks ecstatic. He grabs a touchpad and begins typing something into it. “Just give me a moment to boot them up…”

  “Wait.” You take a step back. “Wait, I-I don’t think I want to see them moving.”

  “Y/N, come on!” Your friend takes your arm and gently steers you back over to their side. “It’s fine! We’re in a controlled environment with the doctor taking care of everything!”

  “A massive convention with creepy-looking robots who are near images of velociraptors doesn’t make me feel like everything is fine!”

  “They aren’t real dinosaurs. They don’t even have mouths! They can’t hurt us. What could possibly go wrong?”

  Five individual beeps sound from the robots. Their heads perk up and their antennas jump to attention. The searchlights sweep over you and your friend, then continue onwards to the rest of the town-wide gathering, taking in every sight they can see. One of them steps off of its perch. The three-toed metal feet thump concerningly against the blacktop as it strides forward.

  Dr. Greene laughs, delighted. “Look at that! It’s already starting to cover ground! Incredible!”

  “You mean, you aren’t making it do that?” you ask him.

  “Well…no. No, I’m not,” he admits. “But, this is in its programming! So everything is going as it should!”

  A crowd congregates around the robot. Everyone gasps in delight and begins taking pictures. A man steps closer and snaps a close-up shot of the bot’s searchlight. This causes it to stumble back a little, its antennas erratic as it shakes its head.

  “Oh, please don’t do that!” Dr. Greene cries over the crowd’s murmur. “They are very sensitive to other technology and their signals! You are allowed to take photos, just do so from a distance!”

  The robot begins making a strange keening noise. It continues throwing its head back and forth, like it's trying to drown out the loud noises and constant flash photography. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say the poor thing is growing quite flustered in its current environment.

  That sense of pity, however, gives under the weight of fear when all five of its antennas turn red.

  The robot thrusts its neck back and screeches. Quicker than you think anyone can anticipate, it turns and charges the same man who took the first flash photo, slamming into him and sending him careening backwards. The crowd’s awe turns into shock; screams echo in the air. Someone’s child starts crying. Mothers and fathers take their kid’s hands and start to run. Others follow suit, and before you know it, a stampede of panicked chaos floods the area around Dr. Greene’s booth.

  “Oh…oh no.” Dr. Greene furiously taps away at his touchpad. “Nonono! It’s too much for the bots’ audidal sensors! They can’t take the amount of stimulatory tension!”

  The robots are going absolutely crazy. People are running and you nearly get stampeded by the panicked mob as they try to get away from the threats. You feel your friend’s hand get ripped from your own, separating the two of you while they scream your name. You scream back, trying to recover and reach them, but someone hits your shoulder, and you fall with a grunt. Dr. Greene’s booth is in shambles. The search-and-rescue bots are off destroying other inert robots and unsuspecting property. One of them, however, focuses on you. It gives a screech, very unpleased with your presence.

  Oh, shit, is all you think. And then you are running as fast as you can, while the robot pelts after in pursuit. You can’t outrun it. You know you can’t outrun it. It’s going to catch you, and then who knows what it will do. You will die, you will be injured, this is why you hate robots, you-

  You look behind you just in time to see a massive mechanical foot slam down on the search-and-rescue bot. It completely shatters, sparks flying from its flayed parts as its roars stutter and gradually go out with a drooping groan.

  You follow the sturdy body of the thing now in the bot’s place with your eyes, up, up, up, until you meet the gaze of the gigantic helicopter mech. It regards you with a tilt of the helm, the ground reverberating with its heavy steps while it moves closer and bends down on one knee. Your heart stutters in your chest while you watch its arm rise with fluid mobility, fingers extending for you, ready to grab you and trap you in their hold. Horror bears upon you. Run, your brain howls. Run.

  You resume your escape just as you feel an index finger touch your shoulder. The mech makes a startled noise, joints creaking as it rises and quickly follows, nearly causing you to fall over again with how absolutely thunderous its feet are when they hit the ground. You don’t know where exactly you are running; you just need to get away from the thing chasing you. This is just too much for you to handle.

  Luck doesn’t seem to be on your side, unfortunately, because as you are pelting across the road that is directly across from the convention’s parking lot, another giant robot skids into view and cuts you off. This one is blue-and-white, with qualities that define it as part of Griffin Rock’s police force. Its sirens are wailing as it holds out both hands, mouth opening to bellow a very authoritative “HALT.” Whoever is controlling this thing does not seem to be happy with you. It takes a lot for you to not just freeze like a deer in the headlights, yet you find it in you to steel your courage and run right between its legs. The robot makes for you, the momentum of its hand whooshing right against your spine. You don’t know how you are still alive at this point, yet you aren’t questioning. As long as you can keep running, you will.

  The street is lined with cars, yet it is empty. Police sirens, not from the robot chasing you, blare in the distance. Your breath comes out in short, frantic puffs, legs protesting with pain in your muscles. But you don’t stop. You can’t stop. You can’t let these robots catch you, you can’t.

  A fire engine’s horn bellows as it makes a sharp turn from a side road and screeches to a halt in front of you. Another vehicle, a large green bulldozer, follows from behind, rumbling past its right and essentially cutting off a possible escape route. You turn in a circle, watching with impending dread as the two robots close in. “Nononono,” you whisper. “What is happening? Why are you doing this?!”

  Loud crunching sounds release from the fire engine and bulldozer as they suddenly condense upon themselves with a shifting of metal. You can only watch in horror as they expand, arms and legs forming along with heads. Both turn into robots equally in stance with the other two. The four of them keep you trapped within the circle. There’s no way out. Panic completely overtakes you, and you collapse to the ground, pulling your hair as you begin to cry.

  The orange-and-white robot gasps-actually gasps-and drops to its knees. “Heyheyhey, c’mon little guy, don’t cry,” it murmurs. “We aren’t going to hurt you. We just want to make sure you’re okay, that’s all.”

  “Blades,” the police robot hisses, lightly shoving the other’s shoulder. “You just gave us away.”

  “Oh, come on Chase, look at them!” The newly-dubbed Blades gestures to you. “They’re scared of us already! Knowing that we’re sentient won’t change anything!”

  Actually, that changes a lot. No longer are you simply dealing with rogue machines. Now you’re face-to-face with robots who can think?! Your panicked wheezes grow worse, and more tears spill down your cheeks.

  “Oh. Oh, geez.” Blades looks like it-he?-wants to help you, yet every time he moves his digits towards you, you shy away with a pathetic cry. “Heatwave, w-what do we do?! How do we calm them?!”

  The fire engine bot steps forward. When you look up at him, the blue vizor over his eyes somewhat obscures his expression, giving you no impression of what to expect. You drop your gaze, unable to hold eye contact for long.

  “Human,” the robot says. “Dry your tears. We are not going to harm you.”

  “Yes, he is right.” The green robot finally speaks. “You see, we are Autobots, hailing from the planet Cybertron, and we have been tasked by our great leader Optimus Prime to protect this island and all the organisms living on it! We-”

  “Boulder, let’s not start with all of the facts right now,” Heatwave cuts off. “They are overwhelmed.” He bends down and closes in on you, huffing out a low exhale of exhaust that lightly tosses your hair back. “Little one, lift your head.”

  You whine softly, responding with a shaky “N-No…”

  “I need you to. Look at me. Please.”

  A single mechanical digit gently tucks under your chin and tilts your head up. When you see the gazes of the four robots now all crowding around you, it makes you want to flinch back. But Heatwave doesn’t allow you to, and he simply murmurs a low reassurance. “Do not be afraid. I swear on my title as an Autobot that we have no intentions of harming you. I mean it. We work together with the Griffin Rock Firehouse Headquarters to protect this island and its inhabitants with the blessing of Optimus Prime himself. We are not Decepticons. We are good.”

  “Optimus huh? Decepticons? I-I don’t know what those mean.” You hold your head in your hands. “I’m so confused…”

  “We know you are, tiny human,” Boulder murmurs sympathetically. “But we promise, we will explain everything to you when the time is right.”

  “Well, maybe not everything,” Chase points out.

  “The point is,” Heatwave continues, “ you are safe. There is no reason to fear us. I promise.”

  “Yeah!” Blades pipes in. “And…for all it is worth, I’m really sorry we chased you. It…wasn’t our best move, I admit. But we just wanted to make sure you were okay. Those robots could have really hurt you.”

  He sounds so sincere. While you are still scared, these mechs…don’t actually seem like they want to kill you. They’re…kind of nice? Your terror begins to fade into mere fear. Swallowing, you whisper a soft “It’s okay.”

  Chase, Blades, and Boulder coo to you affectionately. Heatwave sighs. “You will grow used to us as we spend more time together. Now that you know what we really are, I regret to say that we simply cannot just let you go.” He lowers his hand to the ground and presents it palm-up. “Come with us. We will take you to the firehouse. The Burns family can explain more.”

  You eye the hand warily. Going with them will certainly mean your life will never be the same. But like he said, do you have a choice? You certainly don’t think so. Besides, you know the Burns family. They’re good people, and if these robots are telling the truth, then they can certainly provide more answers for you. So, although with great reluctance, you climb over the massive mechanical fingers and onto the center of his palm. Curling up with your knees tucking to your chest, you let out a low whimper when everything shifts with him lifting you up.

  “Do not be afraid,” Heatwave repeats. His voice is a rumble of thunder. His metal exudes a soothing warmth. “I won’t let you fall.”

  Blades and Boulder smile, with the former giving you a little thumbs up. Chase dips his head in an affirming nod. And Heatwave simply offers a soft look. “Don’t worry,” he says. “You will be okay.”

He first met you while on a mission to Earth after meeting up with Optimus and his team, you were present as a type of liason to represent Earth

At first he flirted with you just in a friendly way, and was pleasantly surprised when you flirted back, much to the annoyance of your team. You end up working well together, and when Rodimus ends up having to stay longer than originally planned, the two of you are put to work together

Missions go much better than anybody could have hoped. Rodimus has the trust of his comrades, but they weren't expecting him to take to Earth so easily. He credits this to your involvement, claiming you're the best teacher he could've gotten while stationed there

As cheesy as it sounds, he fell for your personality first. It wasn't often he came across somebody who was willing to banter with him, let alone keep up with his antics

Seeing you hold your own when the situation arises puts him at ease, he worries that you're going to get hurt while out in the field and he knows that he can't always be there to make sure you're safe

Even though he's got feelings for you, he considers you a friend first and foremost, keeping his romantic feelings on the backburner. As a captain he's honed his ability to keep his emotions in check, and leaves little to no hints as to what he's feeling

Despite this, he's still the one to confess. It happened after a particularly hard mission, the two of you coming more banged up for anybody's comfort and the realization that you could've gotten seriously hurt dawns on him, and he decides that waiting isn't an option anymore

It's an improvised and he'll admit even a bit messy, but he's sincere and he's honest when he speaks to you, and he's happier than words can say when you say you feel the same

He tries to get permanently stationed on Earth, but you both understand that sometimes he's going to get called away for work, but the smile you give him when he comes back always makes up for it

The TFP ‘Cons might get up to some hijinks when left to their own devices, what with all of the backstabbing plots and the ever-present desire to one-up each other, but they’re still a serious threat.

Their structure has been organized so that they can function well without (and, occasionally, in spite of) Megatron—and they’re packing some serious firepower, not to mention the fact that they can clone Predacons. They’re intelligent without (and in spite of) their Megatron, and seasoned combatants.

So, what would Sentinel, Jazz, and the Jettwins think when meeting these guys?

Aside from “holy shit, run”? 😂

Well, let’s see: who’s still alive (or, at the very least, undead) by the end of TFP?

The TFP Decepticons have been disbanded, so let’s… just use our imaginations.

I’ve already discussed Knockout, so we’re just gonna focus on those who didn’t switch sides.

—————

Starscream

Like TFA Starscream, this Starscream can be quite sadistic. He’s one of three ‘Cons to take down an Autobot on-screen; it’s Starscream who gets Cliffjumper, Airachnid who gets Tailgate, and Dreadwing who gets Seaspray.

He’s taken human prisoners, he’s tortured a human as well as many Autobots (including Wheeljack), and he’s crafty. He’s survived being Megatron’s punching-bag and getting his T-Cog stolen while he was unaligned, and he also managed to make it to the end of the series.

This guy has tried to betray Megatron multiple times and almost succeeded in killing him once or twice, he’s managed to hold up the roof of a collapsing mine for a certain period, he’s likely the most-gifted flier we see in TFP, and he just doesn’t die. Like, Megatron keeps coming back to life—but Starscream? You can’t kill him.

He’s also a bit of a loose cannon. He wants to lead the ‘Cons, but he can also take or leave them. He’s merged his spark with Dark Energon and resurrected the dead, he’s mistreated a Predacon, and he’ll cut and run if needed.

This guy is just an unpredictable force to be reckoned with… but he’s also a coward, which is something that we still have going for us.

And just look at the physical difference:

TFA Starscream is a bit more sturdily-built, while TFP Starscream is a living razor-blade who has to land in a special way to keep from impaling himself on his own knees. Our TFA counterpart let himself go crazy with the paint colors while TFP is a bit more grayscale. They are both around the same height, and they both have the heels and the claws.

One of these guys has an Allspark shard in his forehead, keeping him alive. The other doesn’t, but he simply refuses to die anyway.

So, what do our Elite Guardsbots think?

Jazz is probably curious right at first-glance. I mean, he’s always curious—and a ‘Con from another dimension? That’s fascinating. He doesn’t lower his guard, though—he’s a cyber-ninja, and Starscream is always a threat.

Jetfire and Jetstorm are also curious. Their flight abilities come from their Starscream, so meeting another one would be intriguing. They probably want to race him, for kicks.

Sentinel probably underestimates him at first, makes some jokes about this Starscream being “sickly” because he’s thin and bird-like. He’ll learn his lesson quick enough, then he’ll be yelling at the other three to help him.

TFP Starscream is a manipulator and an opportunist, but he doesn’t play around.

He will strike when he sees an opening.

—————

Airachnid

Sentinel will take one look at this spider-‘Con and her army of Insecticons and hit “nope”.

Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope!

Not today!

Sentinel is terrified of anything reminiscent of organics, especially spiders—and someone as sadistic as Airachnid makes that fear entirely rational. He’d want “fight or flight”, but he’d just freeze because she is fucking terrifying.

And that terror would probably override any curiosity that Jazz and the Jettwins feel. I mean, Sentinel’s an ass—but they still care about him, and Airachnid’s enjoyment of his fear would make them all want to step in.

Soon enough, they’ll figure out it was a good call. Airachnid is not one to turn your back on.

—————

Shockwave

There’s a lot of bad blood here.

TFA Shockwave, using the guise of Longarm Prime, infiltrated the Autobot ranks and caused some serious damage to the government as chief of communications.

He manipulated Bumblebee and got Blurr sent to the stockade when he was just a cadet, he sabotaged communications, he exposed the space-bridges, he turned Blurr into a cube, he attacked Ultra Magnus and stole his hammer, and he kidnapped Arcee. That’s just what I can name off the top of my head.

TFA Shockwave’s bad news—he’s crafty, and he’s a brilliant scientist.

So, how do we make him worse? Oh, just make him the fucking Terminator.

Like, OH GOOD LORDY!

TFP really said “make him huge, make him operate solely based on logic, and give him a laser-cannon for an arm”. This guy also made the cortical psychic-patch, and then he went and he cloned himself some Predacons.

He is seriously SCARY!

Now, put him in a room with Sentinel, Jazz, and the Jettwins to see what happens.

While the Autobots are just going “holy fuck, holy shit”, TFP Shockwave is thinking.

Like, he’s retired. He fucked off to a secret lab so he could keep restoring the Predacons and doing some other Weird Science—out of sight, out of trouble, and out of mine.

But a pair of Autobots with flyer alt-modes? That makes him quite intrigued.

Sentinel and Jazz have their guard raised as the massive mech approaches. He doesn’t seem hostile, but this is Shockwave.

Then…

“How is it that you came to posses the ability to fly?” TFP Shockwave asks.

Jetfire and Jetstorm blink, then it’s Jetfire who replies: “We were injured and close to the Well of Allsparks, so the Elite Guard had scientists test a scan from Starscream. They made us fly.”

“Mr. Other-Wheeljack says that was wrong, that we were used by the Guard,” Jetstorm adds cautiously. “Everyone seems to agree.”

TFP Shockwave tilts his head, his unblinking optic analyzing them. “… Your usefulness as test-subjects ensured your survival. Had you not been experiments, you would be one with the Allspark.” He gestures. “Given that the Autobots cherish life, their use of the word ‘wrong’ would -logically- be the wrong choice for what happened to you according to their own subjective understanding. The system which made your lives forfeit and your frames raw material to be exploited for science, that was subjectively ‘wrong’. The act of saving your lives was not ‘wrong’.” He rights his head. “The motive of preserving your lives in order to serve a different goal need not change that.”

Sentinel and Jazz are still on their guard, but Jetfire and Jetstorm seem intrigued.

Sentinel and Jazz know enough by now to see that there’s something wrong with what the scientist said. The Jettwins are young.

“You said ‘subjective understanding’,” Jazz says cautiously. “What would be objective?”

TFP Shockwave has an answer: “They were in critical condition anyway, and the experiment was a success. If it had not been, much could have been learned. The next attempt at it would have been made with the information gathered from their experience.”

“That’s not objective.” Jazz’s optics narrow as he steps between the Jettwins and this mech, and Sentinel activates his shield. “That’s just being a sparkless asshole.” He hopes he’s using that human curse right. Wheeljack tends to use it, sometimes. “It was wrong.”

TFP Shockwave just looks at him. “They are alive, aren’t they?”

Because, logically, that’s what the experiment was: killing two birds with one stone.

Putting two young mechs who were already on their deathbeds through pain for science in a procedure that luckily saved them.

They should’ve just been saved.

So, these four visitors decided that they don’t like TFP Shockwave very much.

He’s not hostile, but he’s a bit of a jackass.

At least he makes dragons?

The Jettwins love the Predacons and Jazz finds them very interesting. Sentinel just lumps them in with other organic-like creations and keeps as much of a distance as possible.

—————

Soundwave

Update! The living-boombox revolutionary has become a sadistic eldritch horror who had to be trapped in an alternate dimension!

Sentinel, Jazz, and the Jettwins wouldn’t have had a lot of interactions with TFA Soundwave, but one run-in with the TFP version will be enough Soundwave for a lifetime.

Like, we know that all of these ‘bots would be terrified. Sentinel wouldn’t even try to deny it later, TFP Soundwave’s that scary.

And it would be on-sight.

TFP Soundwave, like his TFA counterpart, is very mission-oriented. But unlike the TFA version, there’s no trying to push the Autobots into his movement. He chose violence.

After Sentinel, the Jettwins, and Jazz are somehow removed from whatever dangerous situation brought them face-to-face with this gladiator, they’re gonna need hugs.

Seriously, help them-

—————

Megatron

Somehow, this would be the most jarring.

You know I’ve made my jokes about post-war TFP Megatron just fucking off to be a space-hermit. I stand by that, as it seems appropriate.

But consider where the Elite Guard’s coming from. Megatron was a horror story told to scare protoforms into staying in their berths.

TFA Megatron won’t stop, not until he gets what he feels he is owed: power, control. He is an elite manipulator who is relentlessness in Cybertronian form. He’s a menace!

Then, there’s the TFP version—who would have been comparable, until the script flipped. He made poor decisions, but he was scary—his own worst enemy, but still a threat.

Then, he changed. He quit.

But still, first impressions:

Scary.

Sentinel, Jazz, and the Jettwins will all be on their guard—but they’ll be intimidated.

They’ve heard the stories. They’re seeing this massive titan of a mech before them.

If TFP Megatron decides they’re dead, they’re pretty fucking dead. That’s just how it is.

But… he doesn’t.

He seems to consider it when he hears the name “Sentinel”, his optics narrowing. There’s a weight to that name in TFP, a blame.

But TFP Megatron looks at these four, and he can tell that they’re just kids—all of them.

And if someone tells him about Sentinel’s mistakes, is he really one to judge?

So, he’ll just roll his optics and carry on with whatever business brought him to the Autobots in the first place. He can prioritize.

And he’ll raise an optic-brow as the two small, young mechs get comfortable far too quickly once they learn he means no harm. They’ll run around him, lifting his arms to feel the weight and asking him a slew of questions.

He might humor them and answer a few, and constructively critique their flying.

Sentinel doesn’t like this one bit and thinks that the former warlord is pulling something, but Jazz lowers his guard after a while.

TFP Megatron is remarkably patient with the young Jettwins, and… that’s a quality worth putting a little bit of faith in.

Then, this Megatron learns how the Jettwins became to flyers in the first place and all of the Autobots have to stop him from hunting TFA Ultra Magnus for sport.

Even if they do agree.

That, strangely enough, wins Jazz and the Jettwins over—and Sentinel, while still very skeptical, stops making jabs and instead seethes in silence.

The blue and orange Prime might ask what the former Decepticon’s deal is, and Wheeljack will just say “he’s retired”.

—————

So, that’s it for named ‘Cons who would still be alive to meet these guys.

As for the Vehicons, I think that these four would be interested to see a uniform force of Cybertronians who served with the Decepticon army—and their individualism would surprise them, especially Sentinel.

But in general, these visitors from TFA would be intimidated by the ‘Cons from TFP. They are larger, darker in character, and not to be trifled with in any case.

These ‘Cons fought their war with armies, clones of themselves and ancient beasts, Relics, and engineered plagues. They can reach into minds and are willing to engage in torture, and they’re organized.

Even as a single force, names forgotten, they are frightening.

And I think that meeting them would make the TFP Crew all the more impressive. With eight Autobots, this team managed to defeat this terrifying adversary.

Major respect points.

And I think that, after all of these encounters, it would be amusing for Sentinel, Jazz, and the Jettwins to come back to the base and see Knockout filing his claws in the main lounge.

Sentinel: So… you used to be a ‘Con?

Knockout: *dry* Oh, no. What gave me away, the optics?

Jazz: *trying to ease the tension* Clearly, you weren’t as bad as some of the other ‘Cons. You switched sides, after all.

Knockout: *snort* Oh, yes—I suppose I wasn’t “as bad”. After all, I held half of the common sense on the Nemesis. If you’re wondering, Soundwave had the rest of it.

Sentinel: Uh… The faceless nightmare with all of the tentacles?

Knockout: Yep! That would be him! *optic-brow raise* How’s he doing, by the way?

Jetfire: He’s haunting another dimension!

Jetstorm: He tried to kill us!

Knockout: *nodding* Ah, so: same old, same old? I figured as much.

Sentinel: *optics wide* Seriously, why are you not in a cell?

Knockout: *deadpan* I broke the Immobilizer over Starscream’s head, and someone had to hold the common sense while Ratchet was busy and Prime was dead. I was simply the best candidate.

Jazz: … Fair enough.

Sentinel: How is that-?!

Jazz: It’s fair enough.

It’s honestly just funny to imagine Sentinel experiencing TFP while Jazz and the Jettwins are on a sightseeing tour.

There are retired ‘Cons just hanging around, metal mythical creatures are being cloned by a war criminal and it’s just allowed to happen, Megatron’s a hermit who drops in at Space Costco, and they have Unicron in a lava lamp.

TFP is just like that.