A/N: I am SO sorry I couldn't update sooner! It seems like I've hardly any time to write any more. The evil things known as exams *thunder crash* are on the horizon, but my teachers seem to think that means it would be an excellent time to assign us some essays, projects, assignments.and a certain Phys Ed teacher is REALLY getting on my nerves. Ugh. Well, you didn't come here to listen to me rant. So, here is chapter 6!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Moments after the Autobots departed from the base, they emerged from the blinding colors of warping. Sasha waited for the lightheaded feeling to vanish, then she opened Hot Shot's door and stepped out.

Warm, moist, rainforest air greeted her, as did a wall of trees. Most were taller than even the Autobots, their leaves scraping the clouds. The girl caught herself staring for a few minutes. They seemed to go on forever...

Spinout tugged on his partner's hand.

"Sash'! C'mere!" Sasha turned and saw Carlos waving at her. Nodding to Spinout, she hurried over to join the rest.

All of the 'Bots had transformed, and stood among the trees. Carlos, Alexis and Rad were talking to Optimus as Sasha joined them.

"Kids, you'll be able to move around here easier than we will. I want you to keep an eye out for the minicon. The signal wasn't very strong, but it's definitely here," the commander was saying.

"You got it, Optimus!" Rad said.

"We need someone to do a recon from the air. That's you, Jetfire," Prime continued.

"Yessir" was the reply.

" The rest of you, spread out and search. The signal was weak, so it's possible the Decepticons didn't detect it, but stay alert. Move out!"

Highwire, Sureshock and Grindor switched to their vehicle modes, and Rad, Carlos and Alexis hopped on. Sasha glanced down at Spinout, who followed suit and became a dirt bike. Sasha had left her helmet at the base, she remembered now, but tucked in her pocket was a pair of goggles, which she slipped over her head, so they rested on top. Slipping out of the orange jacket so she was left with just her tank top, the older girl tied it about her waist and mounted Spinout. All four kids drove off into the trees.

Hot Shot grumbled as he walked alongside Red Alert, trying to keep the trees' many branches out of his face and resisting the urge to level a few. Sure, they were nice to look at and they helped the planet, but did there have to be so many?

A stray branch flipped down and smacked him across the cheek. "Hey!" he shouted in annoyance.

"Oh, sorry, Hot Shot," Red Alert called from ahead, "That one got away from me." The medic was trying to keep the smile that kept threatening to appear from his face, amused by Hot Shot's frustration. The younger Autobot never got on well with the trees. They were a bit in the way, at their height, Red allowed, but he'd resolved to just deal with it and focus on the task at hand.

However, the almost-smile was not lost on Hot Shot, and he saw to it that his next footstep landed a little too close to the tree ahead, so that a few large pods of nuts 'accidentally' rained down on his companion.

"HEY!"

"Sorry Red," Hot Shot said, not even trying to hide his grin, "Gotta watch where you step with all these trees and stuff, huh?"

"Sure," Red Alert muttered, and the two continued ahead.

Sasha's grin near split her face as Spinout tore through the trees and shrubs in the rainforest. Alexis rode on her left, with Rad on the older girl's right. Carlos coasted on Grindor (A/N I'm never sure if Carlos' partner is Sureshock or Grindor, but {obviously} I'm going to go with Grindor, okay?) on Alexis' left. Laserbeak hovered overhead, while the brunette kept watch on her small video screen.

"Does he see anything yet?" Rad asked, indicating the mechanical bird above.

"No, nothing," Alexis told him, "But it's gotta be here somewhere."

Spinout suggested. The other minicons seemed to agree, and they started up a steep incline to an outcropping in a break in the foliage. Once up there, the kids dismounted and looked around. "No good, amigos," Carlos said, "The trees are too thick even up here." Spinout transformed, and flipped his visor down. He beeped softly as data ran across the screen.

"Hey, Spinout? What are you doing?" Sasha asked, curious.

The violet minicon beeped back at her, looking around with his visor still down.

"Oh, I get it," Sasha said, grinning suddenly, "If the minicon's waking up, it'll start to generate heat. Good idea." Spinout told them a couple minutes later, with Sasha translating for the other humans,

Rad frowned. "I don't like the sound of that. Maybe we ought to get down from here..."

Spinout began beeping frantically. Sasha blinked at him for a second, then it clicked. "Hit the deck!" she yelled. They all threw themselves to the ground as a red flashed passed overhead, shattering some of the rocks above them and leaving a crater in its wake. A red robot hovered in the air, before transforming into a jet and flying over the rainforest.

"Who--?" Sasha began, pushing herself to her knees.

"Starscream. That was a shot from his Null Laser Cannons. Believe me, if that had hit any closer, we wouldn't still be standing here talking about it," Alexis answered.

"Yeah, Good call, Spinout," Rad said, giving the minicon a thumbs-up.

"Uh, guys? It gets worse..." Carlos annouced. A series of blasts was heard below, and a few trees toppled. A peek over the edge revealed a tank with two sets of cannons on either side. The wind carried a familiar cackling to them. "That's Demolisher. And the one laughing has to be--"

Sasha cut him off. "Cyclonus, I know. We've met," she muttered grimly. Spinout beeped in agreement. I Highwire bleeped.

"Definitely," Rad answered. Without being asked, Laserbeak took off towards an area of rainforest, searching for the Autobots.

"And we should probably get out of here. Like, now," Sasha said. Spinout transformed again, and the girl slipped her goggles over her eyes. "I get the feeling it may be a rough ride."

Blurr came to a small clearing in the forest. He scanned the area for the minicon, but saw nothing.

asked his minicon, Incinerator, from where he sat on Blurr's shoulder.

" 'Fraid not." The larger transformer was about to radio the rest of his team, to let them know the minicon wasn't anyway in his area, when an explosion rocked the ground. Seconds later, gunfire pored out of the trees. Blurr immediately ducked behind one for cover. Laser fire rained down on the Autobot and minicon, and they ducked down as Cyclonus, Megatron, and the immense warship Tidel Wave appeared just over the trees.

"Transform!" all three shouted, switching out of vehicle mode.

"Slag! Looks like we've got company," Blurr growled. He opened a link to the rest of the Autobots. "Autobots, this is Blurr. We've got a few uninvited guests. The Decepticons just dropped in."

"Gotcha. On our way," Hot Shot's voice answered.

Blurr shut off the comlink, pointed his rifle around the tree and opened fire. The two Decepticons retaliated almost immediately.

Up above, a space shuttle cruised over the area. He'd just gotten the message from Blurr, when sparks of red and violet began flying from one corner of the forest.

"That must be it," Jetfire said. A burst of pain shot up his frame as a shot tagged him in the side. "OW! Transform!" he yelled. Taking his blaster in hand, his optics took in the space around him. "Show yourself!" The Vice Commander demanded.

Another blast caught him in the back, and Jetfire whirled, firing at the spot the shot had come from. He hit nothing, but heard the sound of a jet close by. Again, he fired, and this time, his assailant appeared.

"You missed! Losing your edge, Jetfire?" Thrust snickered as he came out of stealth mode.

"You're gonna lose a lot more than that, Pencil-head!" The VC retorted, moving forward to engage the Decepticon tactician.

Meanwhile, Blurr was quickly losing ground to the massive Tidal Wave. Cyclonus flew around, shooting at anything that moved and a couple of things that didn't, and Megatron's shots were painfully accurate.

Blurr tried leaning out from his cover to shoot again, but quickly changing his mind as laser fire exploded inches away from his head and ducking back again. "Damn it! Could use some back up, here," the Autobot muttered As if on cue, he heard the roar of an engine, and Tidal Wave stumbled, as a large semi truck plowed into him. Cyclonus yelped as several shots collided with his frame, resulting in some large dents.

Blurr stood and moved from his cover as Hot Shot and Red Alert came into view. Optimus transformed to join them.

"Thanks, guys," Blurr nodded at the other three.

"Aw, don't sweat it, " Hot Shot answered, grinning at him, "Let's just kick some Decepti-butt and send 'em back to the moon...without the minicon!" Megatron growled; how did those Autobots manage to have such impeccable timing? He radio Starscream, still in the air. "Starscream, go look for the minicon!!" he barked. "Yes sir!" Starscream replied. He barrel-rolled and took off to continue the search. Megatron nodded to Tidal wave, and yelled, "TRANSFORM AND COMBINE!" "COMBINE!" Tidal wave answered, and split apart to 'accessorize' Megatron's back and arms.

Optimus detached from his trailer. "Optimus Super mode, transform!" he cried, and the trailer folded into legs, as his body became a torso, and the two joined. "Sparkplug, powerlink!" he commanded, and the small yellow minicon powerlinked onto his shoulder. The rest of the transformers were quick to powerlink as well, and the two sides faced each other. The trees shook and the ground danced as the titans clashed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There! Sasha's first minicon mission has begun, and the party's just getting started. I'll try to have chapter 7 out on Friday.if everything cooperates. (And when does everything EVER cooperate? _) Please R&R! (And if you're reading this, you've already done half.so make me happy and review as well?) Later!