Arc 1: 14 Contact

by Macx

Starscream, Nightmare and Sphere find a way out of the alien space station -- right back to Cybertron and into the midst of the Autobot forces. Nightmare's Decepticon past comes back to haunt not only him but also Optimus Prime......

Contact
by Birgit Staebler (mac@gno.de)
Starscream stared at the doorway, trying not to think of the failures lately. They had a map, which showed the location of different doorways, and they had a Key. Both were rather useless because they had no idea how to set the coordinates for any of those destinations and Sphere reacted very volatile whenever he even mentioned getting off the station. She had no idea how she could align doorways, even though her insignia said she was able to do it. It frustrated her and Starscream only added to that frustration whenever he demanded results.
Right now the female robot was busy writing down several runes on a notepad and trying to decipher what they meant. Nightmare was working with what looked like a portable computer pad. It had been two years now, following his internal chronometer, since he had been brought here to this station and recreated into a living body shell. He looked different than before and nothing even hinted at this robot being Starscream. All that had remained was the Decepticon symbol on his left wing. He was still an airborne Transformer and his basic colors had been copied, but he was now more dark blue and silver with less red. He sometimes stared at his image in the reflective surface of the walls, wondering if he would ever be able to accept this new form. Then there was Sphere, who had never been a robot and whom he had seen in her former body only once, after she had died. The light metallic blue skin had remained, as had the mass of white hair, and the strange tattoo on her forehead. Everything else was different, starting with her size and ending with the fact that she was now a robot.
Starscream was just about to approach Sphere and maybe talk to her normally when a low hum echoed through the room. Nightmare's head came up sharply, his red eyes flashing. Bat gave an alarmed squeak and flapped his wings.
And then one of the rings of the doorway moved.
"What did you do?" Starscream demanded and looked at Sphere.
The metallic blue colored female glanced at him. "No idea," she said in fascination as the second ring began to turn.
There was a faint rumbling all around them. Nightmare ran over to the suddenly active doorway, Bat clinging on to his shoulder.
"You didn't touch anything?" he clarified.
"No."
The two rings settled into position and then an eerie silence fell over them like a heavy cloak. Starscream opened his mouth to ask what this meant when an orange light exploded out of the center of the ring structure. It washed over the three robots and the organic, enveloping them. There was no time to react or to scream, it happened too fast. The light washed back into the doorway and took the four occupants of the station with it. The second they were gone, the rings moved back into their old positions.
Silence settled in the vast hall.
-- Transfer complete -- Ralyk's soft voice echoed through the emptiness.

* * *

Spook lifted his head and blinked in amazement. An activation! An authorized one! Amazing.
Since returning from Cybertron Spook had once again linked into the fragile and mysterious doorway system, watching for activations. He would get informed automatically when there was an unauthorized use of doorways, but those activated with the right code would go by unnoticed if he didn't listen. And so he listened. The encounter with the Sentinel and the Autobot had shown him that too much had gone past him in the millennia. Too much had changed and it was dangerous to be ignorant of changes, especially those inflicted by a race no one of his own kind considered worthy of their attention.
Intriguing, he thought and absent-mindedly watched a herd of deer-like prey move down below him. The doorway system has been activated once more and this time someone knew how.
He pondered whether to look for this someone, but then decided that sooner or later he would know. Right now sitting back and watching seemed like the best he could do.

* * *

Rodimus Prime regarded the slim, black figure in the holding cell. It wasn't a typical cell with energy bars, simply a furnished room, but the walls were reinforced and could be energized if necessary. Raven looked as strange compared
to Cybertronian design as the Sentinels did. She was all black, like Midnight, though she had a few barely visible gray highlights. Two wings spread
out behind her and her hands ended in talons. Yellow eyes calmly reflected Rodimus' gaze.
"You asked for me," he said. "Now what do you want?"
Raven had arrived on Cybertron over a standard week ago and had not spoken to anyone about why she had come, demanding to talk to Rodimus Prime. It had been a bit of a dilemma then because at that time Rodimus had still been trapped in a human body. Now, about twelve hours after he had been returned, he had come to Cybertron to see what she wanted; and why she only wanted to talk to him. True, he had met her once, personally, but that was no reason, was it? Well, maybe it was for her.
She folded her slender hands and looked at him. "Do you know what you have down there?"
He knew exactly what she meant. She was talking about the doorway. "Yes," he answered.
"I mean, really know, Rodimus Prime. Do you know what this structure is?"
"It's a doorway," he said.
Raven nodded. "Do you know who put it there? How to operate it?"
"It's a relic out of Quintesson times. They stole it from someone else," he said warily. "And we are working on the rest."
She smiled and Rodimus felt like he had just told her something he shouldn't have.
"What do you want, Raven?" he wanted to know. "Who are you? I know you joined the Decepticons, now you pop up here and helped us defend the doorway from a Quintesson attack!"
"I had my reasons."
He leaned forward. "And those are?"
"The doorways must be preserved!" she told him seriously. "None of them can be allowed to fall into the wrong hands." Her yellow eyes reflected anger for a second. "One of them was destroyed already because its Gatekeeper decided so."
Rodimus frowned. Gatekeeper?
"Nightmare," he said.
She nodded.
"You two are connected," he continued. "We compared the symbols. They are a lot like the Sentinel symbols, but still different. Why don't you spill it what you have to say?"
Raven sighed and looked away. "There is so much you don't know and which I can't tell you."
"Or won't."
"Can't," she repeated. "I have only limited knowledge of it all. I can tell you about the doorways, that they are like gates, but you can't open them without a proper key. You have to align them or they go rogue and transport you ... somewhere if you are lucky."
Rodimus regarded her. "And you know how?"
"Sadly, no. But I am your key to the whole system, Rodimus Prime," she said softly. "Give me time to study the ring structure; let me help you with your research. Maybe I can be of assistance."
"How can I be sure this isn't some Decepticon trap? Maybe you were sent to spy, maybe you were sent to destroy the structure."
Her eyes flashed with indignation, but her voice was calm. "I left the Decepticons and I had my reasons. The last thing on my mind is to destroy a doorway!"
Rodimus' personal beeper went off and he glanced at it. It was almost time to meet with Optimus. "I'll consider your offer," he said and rose from his chair, leaving the room.
Raven watched him go, feeling torn between telling him all about what he had down there and keeping it to herself until she worked out a way to align the doorway to the same coordinates she had sent Nightmare to. The Autobots were her only way to find her friend and she needed to find him, desperately! But she couldn't trust them -- yet. She had to know what they would do, how they would act. She had to wait.

*

Shanygn stood outside the room and accompanied him as Rodimus went down the corridor.
"Well?" she asked.
"She says she can help us with the doorway," Rodimus explained. "I'm not sure how far to trust that statement. She protected it from getting destroyed by the Quintessons, but, if you look closely at it, she sneaked through Cybertron's defenses and into the chamber. She wouldn't have done that had she planned to offer her assistance. She wanted to go down there, but why?"
"She wouldn't have wanted to destroy it," Shanygn mused out aloud. "If so, she would have let the Quints do it for her. She didn't have to show herself at all."
Rodimus nodded thoughtfully. "It's a puzzle."
"Ever mentioned that I hate puzzles?" his Interface partner said with a wry smile.
He mirrored the smile. "Me, too, Shan, but it's one we have to solve."
She sighed. "I'd rather be kicking Seeker but. Or do something useful, like help the FBI find that bitch!"
Rodimus' face shadowed slightly as she said it. It had been only a day ago when he had still been human and had wished that Diana MacKenzie was in the same room with him. It would have been a fair fight. Human against humanized Autobot, he thought grimly and with so much hatred that he was shocked. Had she 'only' turned him human and tried to kill him, Rodimus might have harbored only a few ill feelings, but Diana Michelle MacKenzie was also responsible for the virus that had nearly managed to kill all Cybertronian kind, including the Decepticons. If she ever turned up, Rodimus didn't know if he would be able to face her. His foremost thought was to ... exterminate her. That shocked him even more.
Maybe the Decepticons will get her first, he thought. There had been rumors coming in in the last hours that the Decepticons were looking for a human woman with MacKenzie's description. He wished them luck.
[Roddy?]
He tore himself out of his dark and hostile thoughts and looked down at his humanoid Interface partner. Would he really be able to kill a human? Faced with MacKenzie he might.
"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked.
"Something that upset you. You know, I think we need to talk."
He shook his head. "Not now, Shan. I need to meet with Optimus."
Shanygn watched him speed up his footsteps and walk around a corner. She stopped and left him alone. He's running from it, she realized. He's scared of how much hate he feels and he is still really to be confronted with what happened to him. It will come back. He can't deny the last days!
She sighed. She'd be there for him -- if he let her. And if he didn't, she'd have to kick him into talking to her. That was what an Interface was there for as well.
Roddy, don't make me force you into talking because I can have a really mean kick.
Shanygn turned and walked into the opposite direction.

* * *

Perceptor smiled. Finally he had come up with something that made sense! He took his files and notes and left the lab where about a dozen Autobots were busy sorting through what looked like rubble. But it wasn't rubble. It was what had remained of a doorway that had more or less self-destructed. Perceptor and his team were trying to find out which piece went where and what it was made of. Most of the inscribed stones were in good condition, but many of the writings had been destroyed, which deprived them of possible help with their translations.
Walking down the corridor he finally arrived in Optimus Prime's office. As requested, Midnight and Rodimus Prime were there as well. Midnight somehow held the same status as the two Autobot leaders and Perceptor had no problems accepting him as a commanding officer when it came to battle situations. All other times the black Sentinel stood back and let the other two commanders act.
Perceptor set down his notes and looked at the assembled leaders. "I think we made the first step to translate the runes," he began. "I ran the results through Computron's processor and he agrees with me: we have a translation."
Rodimus' optics flashed with interest and Optimus nodded at the scientist to continue.
Perceptor opened a large map of runes he and the Technobots had drawn. Many were still without meaning, but about 60% had been translated.
"This is like the hieroglyphic writing of the Egyptians on Earth," he began. "And you can compare it to Japanese written language as well: add something or leave something else and you get a completely new meaning. What we managed to translate so far tells us many things we already know. These ring structures are doorways, which are connected to each other. The one down inside Cybertron is called a centerway, which can be seen as a nexus point. Many other doorways meet here or can be rerouted to this spot, while the Crean doorway can only be aligned to a specific place or, as an alternative, to a centerway."
"Like a railway system," Rodimus muttered, intrigued. "You can go anywhere if you know the route the train takes."
Perceptor nodded. "An adequate comparison, Rodimus. The outer ring of the doorway gives coordinates in space as far as we can tell; we're still checking those coordinates with our star charts. The second ring puzzles us. We don't know what it can be used for because the runes make no sense. The inner rings are made of a material that channels energy superbly and I believe that those rings are responsible for the 'funnel' Rodimus described and the 'flood effect' of the opening doorway." He opened up more notes. "We also translated the few runes recovered from the Crean doorway. To activate them you need a key."
"Key?" Optimus echoed.
"Yes. I tried to find a closer description of what the key is and stumbled over a fascinating piece. The key is no object, gentlemen, it's a robot."
Midnight's visor flashed. "A robot?"
"Raven!" Rodimus exclaimed.
Everyone looked at him.
Rodimus still remembered how the strange female had touched the ring on Crea and how it had activated all of a sudden. At that time he had been too busy saving himself from getting even more shot up to pay much attention, but now everything seemed to come flooding back. And there was the way she had hinted toward something she wouldn't tell.
"You mean she's a key to the system?" Midnight asked.
"She told me something like 'I'm your key' when I talked to her!" the young second said. "She knows more about those structures than she wants to tell and I don't know why she came here at all or what she truly wants. She offered her help, but somehow I'm not sure we should accept it."
Optimus nodded, trusting the judgment. Suddenly an alarm went off. Blaster's voice came out of the communications panel.
"Optimus! We need you down in the doorway chamber!"
Optimus Prime bent over the small screen in his desk. "What happened now, Blaster?" he asked with dread.
"Scattershot reports that the doorway activated. We got guests."
The four robots looked at each other.
"Oh, no," Rodimus moaned.
They ran out of the office.

* * *

"What the hell did you do?"
The question hung in the room, which Nightmare thought had to be some kind of high security room. There was a large table, several chairs and something that looked like a closed wall panel that would possibly reveal a vid screen, if he was anyone to make a guess.
"I did nothing!" was the cool answer, but there was a slight note of anger audible in Sphere's voice.
Starscream leaned forward, hands on the table, as he glared at the female robot. "Maybe that's exactly what you did!" he snarled. "Maybe you should have done something instead!"
Sphere's green eyes flashed. "The doorway opened up by itself!" she replied. "I couldn't have stopped it if I wanted to!"
"How would you know? You didn't even try!"
"And you were no great help either!" was the acid retort. "You simply stared at it with big eyes and mouth agape!"
"I did not!"
"Oh, yes, you did, Screamer, and you were just as clueless as everyone!"
"I'm not a Key!"
"No, you are a moron with an ego problem!" she said.
Starscream was struck speechless for a full second, then echoed, "Moron? At least I managed to get us results instead of tinkering around and writing useless notes, screws-for-brains!"
Sphere's optics now glowed brightly. "Results? Oh, you mean the chart? You kicked the console cube! You call that a result? It was an accident and is about the only thing you ever came up with, big shot! Maybe it wasn't even you making that discovery! Maybe Ralyk decided it was time to reveal something!"
"I did discover that map!" he screeched.
"You didn't! And I wasn't tinkering, I was doing serious research! Something that isn't even in your vocabulary, scrap-head!"
"I was a scientist...!"
"Exactly," she growled. "You were! It's in the past!" She walked around the conference table, confronting him. "You don't know anything about researching any more than you know about doorway systems, Screamer! You're so intent on fighting everything that steps in your way and prove you're oh-so-mighty and superior that your logical mind went suicidal years ago!"
"Well, I know more about doorways than you seem to!" he hissed. "You are apparently just a fleshling mind in a robot body! What a waste of perfectly good material!" Starscream replied, deeply hurt by her comment but not ready to show it. He wouldn't give her that pleasure.
"The only misconstruction I see here is you," she replied, tapping the symbol on his chest. "You don't even know what that means, do you?"
He caught her hand and glowered at her. Sphere was half a head smaller than he was, but she made up her size with her personality, which was the strongest he had encountered so far. She had always had a strong personality, even when she had been Dycran, and Starscream knew who he was facing, just like she knew him down to the last molecule. He hated to admit that Sphere knew more of him than anyone. She had cut away his shields and taken a look at the real him. She had yet to take advantage of the knowledge. Her insults -- and his -- were something they traded now and then and nothing had ever been said to hurt more than each others' pride.
"You are walking a dangerous edge!" he whispered.
She tore her hand out of his grasp. "You are already toppling toward the pit!" she snarled.
"Children, please!" Nightmare finally intervened.
The dark blue and black Gatekeeper had settled back in a chair and had watched the show, as he always did. Intervening would be deadly because then the two fighters would team up and go up against him. As much as they traded insults and displayed a high amount of mutual dislike, they also made a pretty good team, he mused. It was fascinating.
This fight had started nearly immediately after they had been brought to this room and left alone. Their guards had been Autobots Nightmare didn't recognize and they had not said much, simply locked them in here. Starscream, who was visibly feeling uncomfortable in the Autobots' midst, had started the fight and Nightmare believed it was mainly to cover his dread of what might be done to him.
Nightmare had no intention to let anything happen to anyone, least of all on the basis of what he, and Starscream, had been: Decepticons. Starscream liked to point out that he still was a Decepticon, but the insignia on his chest and his different body were a first step away from that. True, like Nightmare, he still had a Decepticon symbol as well, but it was the past. There was no future there, not for any of the two. Then there was also the fact that Starscream was officially dead and since he had played around as a ghost, doing more harm than good among the Decepticon ranks, Nightmare was sure they would kill him at the next best chance.
Why the doorway on Ralyk had activated and sent them here was everybody's guess. He was sure that they were in the right time zone, as far as anyone could judge this by looking around, and this meant that whatever had sent them into the past, had decided it was time to go back. That they had arrived on Cybertron was a big surprise, but it confirmed Nightmare's theory that the orange dots on the map weren't planned doorways. They already existed. Now he had to find out what exactly they were.
"Incompetent, meddling organic!"
"Oh, take a hike!" was the annoyed reply and Sphere walked to the other end of the room, falling into a chair and crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Starscream looked like he would explode any minute. Sphere threw him a challenging look.
"They will kill us!" he told her. "You brought us right to our doom!"
"I said I am not responsible, so shove it up your exhaust!" she hissed. "Doesn't this get into that steel ball of a brain of yours?!"
"At least I have any brains!"
"Then use it!"
Nightmare refrained from smiling. Bat, who sat on his shoulder, watched the whole fight like a tennis match, his head darting left and right.
"What are the bets she's gonna kill the old wossname," the winged lizard whispered in amusement.
"Right now, very high," he replied.
"She'll do it, I tell you, oi!"
"Probably, but not today," he said with the same amused tone in his voice. "And not tomorrow or the days after that."
"Oi. But when she does there won't be anything left of him," Bat added. "Not even a wossname. Ghost." He rustled his wings and settled onto the armored shoulder more comfortably. "Both of them haven't been at it for such a long period either. New record, eh?"
"Don't get me mad!" Starscream hissed.
"No chance," she replied coolly, "You already are utterly mad!"
Before Starscream could reply to that the door opened and three Autobots entered. From Starscream reaction Nightmare judged he knew at least one of them. Nightmare knew none at all, though he thought he remembered the one with the flaming pattern on his chest plate. He had been on Crea just before the destruction of the doorway.
The largest of them, colored in deep red, blue and silver, looked at Nightmare and the Gatekeeper felt a chill as he suddenly recognized him as well. His ancient memory out of the time as a Decepticon Assassin supplied him with a very clear picture. He had tried to forget his past, to concentrate on the future, but now it all came rushing back. The memories weren't pleasant and from the look on the large Autobot's face, he didn't have fond memories either. Nightmare briefly wondered who could have told him, then he remembered the female Dinobot, Silhouette. She knew -- and she had most likely told.
"My name is Optimus Prime," the large robot said and his voice was calm, in total opposite to the cold fire in his blue optics. "These are Rodimus Prime, my second-in-command and Midnight, leader of the Sentinels," he introduced the other two and Sphere regarded the Sentinel in fascination.
"Sorry to barge in on you so unexpectedly," Nightmare said as a greeting and rose from the chair.
Optimus Prime tensed nearly invisibly and Nightmare was now sure that he had the right Autobot in front of him. This was going to be tricky, if not to say extremely dangerous. Not only was there someone here who knew about Nightmare's former self, but there was also Starscream's position as a former Decepticon. Very tricky.
"Who are you?" Rodimus now wanted to know.
Starscream had moved back a bit, tense and ready to bolt if things got dangerous. Nightmare knew he had to introduce them and that Starscream, unlike Nightmare himself, was still going by his old name and always would.
"My name is Nightmare," he started with his self. "This little guy here is Bat, my friend."
Bat regarded the Autobots with unconcealed hostility, muttering an insult that only Nightmare could hear.
"My friends are Sphere," he indicated the female robot, "and Starscream."
The last name had the expected reaction, though much less hostile than Nightmare had thought. He guessed that was due to the fact that he was the focus of most of the hostility Optimus Prime had to give.
"Starscream?" Optimus Prime echoed, scrutinizing the former ghost, curiosity in his voice. "You have changed."
"A lot has changed," Starscream replied warily.
"So I can see." Prime's gaze flickered over Nightmare again. "How did you get here?"
"That's something of a discussion," Nightmare said slowly. "We are not sure."
"You went through a doorway," Rodimus told him. "Someone had to open it to get you here. We know it needs a Key to operate correctly."
"We didn't use a Key," Nightmare replied, feeling his fears that the Autobots knew more than he had wanted them to know come true.
Midnight gestured at Sphere. "She bears the insignia."
"But she doesn't work," Starscream answered acidly.
Sphere's optics flared. "I told you I don't come with a manual!" she shot back.
Nightmare decided it was no good choice to take this out into the open again. "We were dragged into a doorway and dropped here," he said quickly before Starscream could reply to the Sphere's latest invitation for a fight.
Optimus Prime crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I think it is time to call in the last member of this show and see what we can make of it." He nodded at Rodimus, who left the room again.
Nightmare wondered what this meant. He found out a few minutes later when the Autobot came back. He was in company of a black female.
"Raven," he said tonelessly.
Raven looked at the assembled robots in the security room. She knew Nightmare, but the other two were strangers. And since she had no idea what Nightmare's relationship to the Autobots was, at least not what might have developed in the time he had arrived here, she remained wary.
"They are friends," Nightmare said calmly, gesturing at the two strangers.
Raven's eyes fell on their symbols. Another Gatekeeper and Key, the saw with surprise.
Optimus Prime looked at them. "Well?" he demanded. "Can we get some explanations now?"
Nightmare looked at him. "What are your questions?"
"First of all I want to know what your individual roles are. All of you have the same background concerning the symbols on your bodies, but neither one of you has the same origin." Optimus' looked at Starscream, who had remained standing and, he noted with some surprise, close to the female called Sphere, as if he was ready to intervene should any of them attack her.
"My role," Nightmare began, "is that of a Gatekeeper."
Raven looked at him in surprise and when he looked back at her she saw the decision to play with open cards. She trusted his judgment, instinctively. If he wanted to tell the Autobots, then so would she.
"My orders were to guard the doorway on Crea. Sadly, I couldn't fulfill my orders and had to self-destruct it." He gestured at Raven. "Raven is a Key and set the doorway system to transport me to safety. My destination was Ralyk, a space station."
"Where is this space station?" Rodimus asked.
"That I don't know. No one knows the coordinates and the only way on or off the station is the doorway system."
"What about you two?" Optimus looked at Sphere and Starscream.
"Sphere was recently created by Ralyk and she is a Key like Raven," Nightmare explained. "Starscream was also recreated and assigned the role of a Gatekeeper."
"Starscream?" Rodimus said sarcastically.
"What's you problem, Autobot?" the Decepticon, former Decepticon, hissed angrily.
Sphere laid a hand on his arm. "No," she said firmly and to everyone's surprise, Starscream subsided to her.
"Who runs the station?" Optimus wanted to know.
"No one. Ralyk was abandoned long ago and runs on automatic," Nightmare answered truthfully.
"Can you get us there?"
"No."
Optimus frowned and there was a flash crossing his optics. Rodimus prepared to stop his older friend if he acted stupidly. "What do you mean, 'no'. You said those two are Keys."
"They are because their insignias tell so, but neither of the two has any experience in aligning doorways."
"When I activated the Crean doorway to get Nightmare to safety I did it on instinct," Raven said truthfully. "I did what I had to do, but I don't know how I did it."
"And I don't have a clue on how to do it," Sphere added.
"Finally she admits it," Starscream said with a sneer.
"Shut up or you'll find your teeth in your afterburners!" was the icy reply.
"Try it."
"Don't tempt me!"
Rodimus blinked at the exchange of insults.
Optimus looked at the four robots. "You will stay here until I've decided how to continue. I'd advise you not to attempt to flee."
"Wouldn't even think of it," Starscream snarled.
Optimus ignored him and they left the room. Outside he turned to Midnight.
"Get the Technobots here, and Perceptor. I want everything they have in a file."
Midnight nodded and disappeared. Rodimus followed his older friend into his office. He needed to talk to him.

* * *

"You told them," Raven said after the Autobots and the Sentinel had left.
Nightmare looked calmly at her. "Yes."
"Why?" she demanded.
"Because it's time, and because they have a right to know. They will discover most of it on their own in time, but I believe that our appearance here has a specific meaning. Ralyk sent us here and that means it wants us to make a choice. I made mine. The Autobots have access to an unguarded doorway and it's dangerous to let them tinker with it."
Starscream leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "And we are not tinkering?" he asked sarcastically, shooting Sphere a challenging look.
For once the female robot didn't react to it. "Why did Ralyk sent us back in time then? Why not send us into the past?"
"Because we would be a time paradox then; Starscream even more because he'd exist on the same planet twice. It's impossible. That's why we were returned to the present." Nightmare looked around the room. "And we have to deal with this situation. Our role here is clear: help the Autobots understand the doorway and guard it against misuse."
"How can you help them understand it when we don't even know much about them?" Raven asked. "I did everything by instinct! Sphere has no idea at all how to control a doorway as well!"
"The Autobots have started to work on the doorway. If we can work with them, use their knowledge and ours, I am certain we will be able to find out more about everything. On Ralyk nothing worked to our advantage. All we have is a map. It's one map more than the Autobots have, but they have the resources to make sense out of the whole inscriptions." Nightmare looked at the two females. "You have the knowledge deep inside of you and maybe the translations trigger it."
Raven looked at him for a long time, feeling certain that this was partially true. She had once accessed the Key program and she had found many programs that made no sense now, but they might make sense if she just knew more about the doorways.
"All right," she said. "I'll cooperate."
Sphere nodded as well. "So do I. I want to know what I am."
Starscream shook his head. "No way," he said firmly. "I won't work with Autobots! Never!"
"Oh, don't make a fool out of yourself!" Sphere told him. "You're acting childish!"
"I am a Decepticon!" he declared. "I don't work with Autobots!"
"You are no longer a Decepticon!" she shot back. "You died several years ago and that was that! You have been chosen to become a Gatekeeper, so accept it because you can't go back to your past. None of us can!"
Starscream glared at her. "We'll see about that!"
Sphere shook her head and turned away from him in disgust.
Raven glanced at Nightmare, who only shot her an amused look. She had no idea how to handle those two. If they weren't fighting, they ignored each other. She wondered who'd kill whom first.

* * *

A rustling of grass told him someone was approaching. Spook looked up and his golden-yellow eyes narrowed on a bulky bipedal robot, walking straight toward him, mindless whether he was disturbing the fauna around him or not. With slight annoyance Spook watch his intended kill flee.
"You just made me lose a perfectly good meal," he told the intruder.
The robot, colored in bright blue and metallic green, looked at the fleeing animal and then at Spook. "You still feed on living tissue? Disgusting."
Spook curled his tail around himself. "Live and let die, as they say. And it's nothing but helping the ecological system of this planet."
The other one grimaced.
"What do you want, Omen?" Spook asked, his voice relaying that he was not interested in a prolonged conversation.
Omen frowned. "I heard that the Cybertronians activated the doorways."
"No."
The robot looked at him in surprise. "No?"
"Exactly."
"What do you mean, no?"
Spook sighed. "They didn't activate it. Someone else did."
Omen stared at him. "Who?"
"I don't know."
There was a long silence, then Omen asked, "But they now have access?"
"Possible."
"You went to Cybertron, Spook! What do you know about them?"
The half-serpent uncurled with a sigh and his eyes roamed the plains below him on the search for the next kill.
"I only know that the activation was not unauthorized, nothing else. Now leave."
Omen bristled. "You went to their planet, damnit, so what can you tell me?"
The golden-yellow eyes flared slightly, a sure sign of Spook's utter annoyance now. "I am no spy, Omen. Send your own."
"There are no spies left."
The other robot smiled viciously. "And guess whose fault that is? You either destroyed or banished them, Omen. You said they are no longer of any use to you."
"That was my predecessor's decision," Omen answered coolly.
"Whatever." Spook prepared to leave.
"So you won't tell us what is going on?" Omen demanded.
Spook turned and looked at him with mild amusement in his eyes. "I already did tell you all I know." With that he disappeared and all Omen heard was a mutter of disgust, sounding like, "Warriors!"

* * *

"Soundwave, report!"
"The human woman has not yet been found," Soundwave said monotonously. "She has not left the planet Earth, though."
Galvatron's red eyes glowed coldly. "I want her found!" he snarled.
"Our spies and warriors are already working meticulously at it," Cyclonus said calmly. As always, he was standing beside his leader.
"There are still no results," Galvatron reminded him, his voice far from the screech it would have taken on in former times.
"She is very good," Cyclonus added carefully.
"So she is," his leader agreed with a malicious smile. "Very cunning, very clever, very ingenious. Those are attributes you rarely find in those flesh creatures. Too bad she decided to play against us. She might have made an interesting ally. Now she makes an interesting hunt." He turned back to Soundwave. "What about the Autobots?"
"They are hunting the human as well, supporting the law enforcement groups on Earth."
"No bother then," Galvatron concluded. "Continue the search. I want her -- alive and in one piece! No one is to touch that human!"
"Understood." Soundwave strode out of the room.

* * *

Rodimus rubbed his head and had the distinct feeling he was soon to get a headache, even if it was only an imaginary one. This situation was getting out of hand! First Raven, now this trio. And one of them was apparently a reborn Starscream. From what he had seen, the three of them, or at least two, were not exactly getting along very well. The female Key, Sphere, and Starscream were not especially on friendly terms. He could understand Sphere. It was hard to be on friendly terms with the former Decepticon lieutenant. Starscream had a tendency to annoy you within minutes.
They had left the four robots in the locked security room until they could figure out what to do.
Optimus had noticed the gesture and looked over to his second-in-command. Rodimus gave him a tired look.
"Is it me or does it get even more complicated every time we think we have a break?" he asked.
Optimus Prime's eyes reflected a smile. "It does," he said.
"What do you make of all of this?"
Optimus leaned back in his chair. "I wish I had to make anything out of it. We suspected there were more than the two doorways we have seen so far, and it turned out to be correct. Alpha Trion told us the doorways were not made by the Quintessons and Nightmare confirms this as well. The whole doorway systems functions on a rather complicated, though in the same second very primitive mechanism. There are the Keys and there are the Gatekeepers. The Gatekeepers watch over who has access to the doorways and the Keys align them."
"And we now have a quartet of exactly those elements necessary to operate a doorway," Rodimus added.
The Autobot leader nodded. "But neither of the two Keys we have can explain how she aligned the Crean doorway. Sphere never did it at all, for that matter."
Rodimus reflected on what the three robots had told him. "What about the station, Ralyk? Or Vector Sigma?"
Optimus rose from his chair and paced the room. "Possible. There's too much still in the dark and too many questions unanswered. I know they all hold answers to our questions and that we might be able to get a clearer picture if they cooperate with us. I want them all debriefed separately."
"Are they our prisoners?" Rodimus asked the question that had been on his mind since the first meeting between the two factions.
"Yes and no. They can walk around freely, but have limited access to the building. I want them kept on the official levels, not anywhere near the control rooms or even the command center."
"Understood."
Rodimus watched his older friend and tried to decide on how to approach the subject. Optimus radiated a very clear message: leave me alone with my personal problems. But Rodimus had no intention to do it. He was his second-in-command and he had a right to know what was going on with his leader. They were partners in this position, that much Optimus had made clear, even if Rodimus was referred to as the second, so he wanted to be in on whatever bothered the Autobot leader. He had a good guess what it might be, but he had to be sure.
Let's play risky, he thought darkly. He can't do more than dismember me right here and now. Let's hope it's painless. Aloud he said, "You're bothered because of Nightmare."
The statement hung in the air and Optimus Prime's head came up sharply. Rodimus flinched slightly at the expression of absolute hatred crossing his friend's face for a brief second. This was unlike the Optimus Prime everyone knew, the public Optimus. Rodimus was one of the very few who knew the private, emotional person behind the wall of pretense, but even he was shocked. Whenever Optimus let his guard down in private conversations he showed weariness, doubt and fear, but never this hate.
"He is no longer Static," the younger Autobot continued cautiously, knowing he was treading on thin ice and that this ice was starting to creak ominously.
"A new name doesn't change a person," Optimus Prime replied quietly, his voice icy cold.
"Static is dead and whoever rescued him from terminal shutdown made sure he wouldn't go back to act out his old role."
Optimus Prime's hands clenched into fists. "What do you know about it?" he snarled, letting every inch of pretense fall away. "You were never a target of the Assassins!"
Rodimus remained standing where he was, trying not to react to the aggressive voice, though his instinct told him to stop now before it was too late. He might get in over his head here. But he went on, regardless of the outcome.
"No," he agreed, "and it's true I don't remember them at all. All I know is from ancient files."
"But I do remember, Rodimus!" Optimus hissed. "Very clearly, in all detail! One of them got so close to me," he held his thumb and forefinger and inch apart, "and I survived the attack by sheer luck and circumstances! Another Autobot lost his life to safe me!" His fist hit the wall and left a visible dent in it.
Rodimus winced, glad he wasn't the target of Optimus' rage. He knew he had to go on, that he had to get it out of Optimus before the anger threatened to make him act irrational. This was like a time bomb and if it went off without anyone to contain the explosion -- Rodimus didn't want to think about the consequences.
"What happened?" he asked softly.
Optimus whirled to face him, blue optics aglow with hatred. The fire dimmed a bit as he saw the fear in Rodimus' eyes, though his young second squelched it quickly. He tried to calm himself, knowing that if he let his emotions run free, he might do something foolish, something irreversible. Rodimus was here now and he was prepared to listen. He could trust his friend that it stayed in this room, as always when they talked.
"The Assassins were Megatron's elite fighting force," he said, his voice still shaking with hatred and he couldn't do anything against it. The mere thought washed up old memories. "They made hit-and-runs, always successful, always leaving their victims on broad display for everyone to see. They didn't kill with one shot either; at least not when they thought it was safe to ... play... with their victims first." Acid dripped from every word. "No one was safe and panic spread throughout the ranks. This was very early in the war and we had not yet strengthened out position. One of those Assassins was finally sent after me." His voice trailed off and he trembled with the intensity of the flashback. "He got very close, Rodimus. All too close. He would have succeeded if not for the interference. Instead of me, he killed another Autobot. I was dying anyway....

Optimus Prime couldn't imagine how one creature could feel so much pain. Everything was only pain and the shadowy figure in front of him. A pair of red eyes glowed viciously in the twilight of the room and the stars cast their light through the window, reflecting off the gun pointed at the Autobot leader. Optimus knew he was dying. His chest was torn to pieces, mangled circuits poking out between sharp metal shards. One arm was nearly completely useless, the muscle cables severed. He couldn't feel his legs at all. His mind was busy trying to ignore the pain, trying to get his auto repair systems back on line to dim out the sensations running through his body.
The Assassin loomed up over him, a shadow against the window, his features dark and unrecognizable. "It was nice knowing you," he said pleasantly and his finger curled around the trigger.
The door was thrown open by main force and two Autobots raced in.
"NO!" Ironhide cried in protest and attacked.
His shot glanced off the Assassin's armor and one well-placed shot threw the warrior back against the wall. A smoking hole was in his shoulder, but Ironhide was not yet out. He tried to rise, but the second shot clearly shattered his knee joint, and he collapsed with a gasp. At least he was still alive, something no victim of an Assassin could say. But Ironhide wasn't the victim; the Assassin was only interested in Optimus Prime.
The second Autobot charged while the Decepticon Assassin was busy blowing Ironhide's knee off and he managed to tackle the much larger robot. Both went to the ground. Optimus didn't know what happened next. He only heard an audio-shattering scream of pain as Swing's back arced and something exploded out of his chest. The Autobot gave a whimper and keeled to the side. The Assassin got to his feet and turned back to his original victim, but shouts and running footsteps could be heard. The cold, red eyes flashed, then he was gone.

"Swing died," Optimus said, his voice a cold, hate-filled whisper that made Rodimus shiver. "Ratchet managed to repair me, but it was a close call anyway."
His icy blue optics chilled the younger Autobot more than the tale had. Optimus Prime was seething with rage at the Assassins and it was something no one had ever seen. It was something Rodimus could have gone without seeing as well. He and Prime had had their private talks many times and Rodimus knew his older friend through and through, knew his worries and doubts that reflected those he had had as Prime as well. No one else would ever see these doubts and worries, and no one would ever see this acid rage that was only contained by the civilized mind, which was hard pressed not to just surrender to the emotional side.
"After that I made plans to rid the Decepticons of their elite killers," Prime went on. "I devised a strategy to kill them, Rodimus. I am ashamed of it now as I was after the battle. I killed them all in cold blood and never felt anything. It felt good to see them die in fire and explosion, I felt satisfied. Later came the doubts if I had done the right thing, but I shoved them away." Optimus covered his face with one hand, ashamed. "I told myself I was no better than Megatron now, who had sent those killers to decimate us Autobots. I also told myself there had been no other choice. It was the only way to survive!" The hand trembled.
Rodimus still couldn't do anything but watch. He wanted to tell Optimus that he had done the right thing, but he didn't. He imagined himself in that situation and he knew that he wouldn't have listened to someone else giving him absolution as well.
"And now he's back!" Optimus whispered, clenching his hands into fists again. "Right in our midst."
"Optimus, he has changed ...." Rodimus tried it again.
The look would have killed him instantly had it been a weapon. Rodimus stepped back involuntarily. "He was an Assassin and no one can change that! No race can erase this ... this cold and efficient killing machine inside him, can take the pleasure away they took out of killing us!"
"We can't judge him without hearing his side...." Rodimus tried again. "We can't just kill him!"
"Why?" Prime snarled. "Because it would turn us into one of them? I already am one of them, Rodimus, I killed them in cold blood!"
The younger Autobot looked his leader straight in the eyes. He didn't know if Static was the Assassin who had been sent after Optimus Prime all those years ago and, frankly, he didn't care. He only knew that Optimus was focusing his rage on the hapless robot now, uncaring if he was responsible.
"Because I won't let you," he said calmly. "Because you have to go through me to get to him. He is a way to understand what we have down there in this chamber! We can't just waste it! What about Starscream? Do you want to kill him too because he's a Decepticon? What about Raven? She was with the Decepticons and she left them. We can't be sure she isn't a spy. And Sphere? We know next to nothing about her except that she might be a potential Key!"
For a second Rodimus feared that Optimus would materialize his weapon and shoot him right here and now. His eyes showed all too clearly that he didn't like what Rodimus had just said. Then Prime turned away, unable to face the younger Autobot. He knew his second was right. He knew that what was inside of him was rage and hatred bottled up over millions of years, and now he had a chance to pay back, but he couldn't. He couldn't let himself act like this!
'But I have every right to act like this!' part of him hissed.
'No. You can't kill him in cold blood. You killed him once and see what it gave you: pain.'
'He was responsible for that pain!' he cried.
'And you nurtured it, kept it alive. Many Autobots died in the past and you hang on to one death like a lifeline!'
"If you won't talk to him, then I'll do it, Optimus," Rodimus said, his voice full of understanding, but also determination. "I'll deal with it and you get a report. You don't have to face him."
"Yes, I'll have to, Rodimus," Optimus replied softly. "Because if I don't, I don't know what will happen. I need some questions answered and he only can do it." He turned and walked toward the door.
Rodimus' hand on his arm held him back. "Optimus, please...."
Their optics met and Optimus knew that Rodimus would stop him immediately if he did anything foolish.
"I won't kill him, that I swear," the Autobot leader said. "Trust me that far."
Rodimus looked indecisive and Prime clearly saw the struggle that was going on inside his mind. "I will do the interview. That's final!" he decided, his voice firm.
Optimus looked at him for a long time, his optics unreadable, then he nodded and Rodimus' hand fell to his side. The Autobot leader left, closely followed by his second-in-command.

* * *

Starscream glowered at the Sentinel assigned to guard him. It was a female and one of the most intriguing designs he had ever seen. Part of the torso was transparent, though he was not sure it was a trick or reality. She was otherwise colored in deep red and silver, and like Sphere she had a mass of hair falling down her back, though hers grew out of a helmet-like cover that hid most of her face, except for her mouth. Two swords were on her back.
"Where are the others?" he demanded.
"They are being debriefed," was the answer and the female smiled. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to them. We just want to talk to you guys separately."
"But I don't want to talk to you," he growled.
"I'm not asking you any questions," she replied.
Starscream paced the room. He wanted to know where Sphere was. As much as he hated to admit it, he cared for her, saw her like a younger sister, and there was a little voice inside of him that told him he owed her big time. She had died for him, in a way, when they had been sucked into the doorway. If the Autobots did anything to her, they'd see what this reborn Decepticon could do!

* * *

Diana MacKenzie knew she was hunted. She knew she had to get away from this planet, though it only meant that she was away from the FBI. The robots would still be after her. An angry line appeared on her forehead. Meddling mechanisms! Her accomplices had already been caught and there was no help coming from any of her former contacts. They were too afraid to be drawn into the mess.
She frowned a bit as an idea formed. She had a way to pay them back -- if she could only reach one race that hated the Cybertronians as much as she did: the Quintessons. She had to get off Earth and find them.

* * *

Sphere let the Autobot who had introduced himself as First Aid scan her body and test her circuits. She felt no pain as he did so and she was sure he wouldn't hurt her. He struck her as a gentle person and his whole demeanor was caring. She had agreed to this examination mainly because she was interested in the results herself.
"You have a most amazing structure," he said.
"Thank you," she laughed. "I take that as a compliment."
The Sentinel assigned to her as a guardian smiled. He was taller than she was and his body was covered in a weird display of barely visible patches beneath a dark blue skin. He had introduced himself as Voodoo.
"Your overall design runs close to that of the Sentinels," First Aid went on, "but it shows that you were only recently constructed. May I ask what you were before?"
"Dead."
The medic looked at her and there was an amused glint in his eyes. "And before that?"
She sighed. "Would you mind if I didn't tell you about it?"
"Bad memories?"
"Not really. It's just .... I'd rather not say, okay?"
First Aid shrugged. "It's not my decision to make, but Optimus Prime might want to know in case it is important."
"Then he can ask," Sphere decided.
First Aid pushed some buttons and then nodded at her. "I'm done. You are in perfect shape."
She hopped down from the examination table. "Are we all getting examined?"
"As far as you are willing to get examined, yes. Rodimus decided not to force anyone to do it, but since you want to cooperate, I think it would be best to gather data about you all. Maybe we can find a common factor that activates your Key program." He looked at her. "You have not yet activated a doorway, but Raven has. Maybe she shows an active program you don't and that could give us a clue."
Sphere nodded. It sounded logical. But she also knew that Starscream would make every effort not to cooperate. She smiled. Maybe if she applied a good kick ...?
"Starscream has denied us his cooperation, though," First Aid added.
Sphere sighed, her fears confirmed. "He's a real pain in the diodes," she said.
First Aid smiled again. "He is a Decepticon and as such has a different attitude to us Autobots."
"He's got an attitude all right!" she snorted. "One I'd like to shove down his throat sometimes." She shrugged.
"How long have you known him?"
"In standard years? Maybe two....." Sphere looked thoughtful. "And the only thing I can think of what has changed in those two years is the number of insults per fight." She grinned.
"You two don't get along?"
"Oh, we do, more or less, until he says something that makes me want to kick him into the next black hole." The female robot smiled. "He's not exactly Mr. Tactful."
"I believe that."
Voodoo moved toward her and they left the med bay. Sphere didn't exactly feel like a prisoner, more like having a personal bodyguard. Voodoo wasn't showing any hostility toward her and he was ready to explain things. She stopped in front of a window showing her Cybertron. Fascinated, she watched the planet and the robots and vehicles moving below her.
"You've never been here?" Voodoo asked.
"No," she confirmed. "Not really," she then added. Not as Sphere.
There was a difference between seeing this planet from a robot's point of view and from a humanoid intruder's. Last time she had not had eyes for anything but possible detection devices. Her visit had been as brief as it had been deadly for her in the end.
"I guess it's out of the question to get a little guided tour?" she asked, knowing fully well the answer she would get.
Voodoo smiled. "I guess so."
She shrugged. "Maybe later. Now, what's next?"
"A little game of Questions and Answers," was the amused reply. "And Midnight is the host."

* * *

Rodimus looked at the Gatekeeper, trying not to see a Decepticon Assassin in him. It was hard, very hard, but not impossible. Lightspeed and Silhouette were with him. The Technobot was part of the doorway research team and probably knew more about those ring structures than Rodimus did, even though Rodimus had read everything they had come up with. Silhouette had insisted on being present as well and Rodimus had agreed. She had met this strange robot before and maybe she could help with the interview. Nightmare returned his look calmly, as if he had nothing to lose and nothing to gain from this. It was probably true, Rodimus thought. If they killed him .... what would happen? He would be dead, but part of him had already died once. He had lost the doorway on Crea to Galvatron and had decided to self-destruct it. Rodimus remembered what Silhouette had told him about Nightmare: his order had been to keep the doorway safe. With the structure destroyed, what else was there for him to do? Well, he hoped that Nightmare would prove cooperative enough to get some questions answered and not suicidal.
Nightmare had been separated from the others, even from his little lizard friend, to get interviewed by Lightspeed and Rodimus. Bat had not taken that very well, showering them with insults Rodimus understood only half of. And they were bad enough.
The Autobots' second didn't trust Optimus to lead this interview without doing something foolish. He had promised not to kill Nightmare, but there were other ways than just shooting him. If Optimus lost control ...... So Rodimus had taken on this interview job. He knew that First Aid wanted to have a look at him as well and Nightmare had agreed to get checked.
"You don't understand the doorways," the former Assassin now said calmly.
"Not completely true," Lightspeed contradicted. "We know how they theoretically function, but we haven't tried to operate them yet."
"And you shouldn't," the Gatekeeper warned them. "Tempering with them is highly dangerous."
"Then help us understand!" Rodimus told him.
"I don't know much about them either. I just guarded one."
"But Raven is a Key, and so is Sphere. You all share some knowledge! We deciphered a lot from the rings and you could add to this knowledge, if you help us. This is our past we're talking about! Your past as well."
Nightmare smiled sadly. "My past isn't something you want to know about, Rodimus Prime."
Rodimus looked at him. It was an opening. He had to ask; he had to know, but with Lightspeed present that was not a good idea. He didn't want this spread around. Silhouette knew about the Gatekeeper's past already and Rodimus trusted her completely not to use her knowledge. She and Optimus shared a special bond and she would do everything to help him cope with his past.
"What is it then you can tell us?" Lightspeed wanted to know.
Nightmare sighed. He knew he had made a decision and he knew that he had to live -- and maybe die -- with it. "What I can tell you is rudimentary, nothing that is one hundred percent."
Lightspeed nodded, encouraging him.
The dark colored robot tried to find a starting point. "The doorways were creations of a race of beings no one can remember who or what they are. They left them behind, one of the few signs they ever existed."
"The Creators," Rodimus said.
"You know," Nightmare nodded.
Rodimus' face reflected no emotions as he said, "Vector Sigma revealed some things to us."
"Ah, I see. Well, those Creators built many things. The doorways are just a small parts in the whole system they came up with. Don't ask me how they were made or why, or how they really function. I was never told. I never even met those beings. I simply came into their service after they gave me this body. I was chosen to be a Gatekeeper, those ordered to safeguard the doorways."
"From us?" Silhouette wanted to know, her voice soft, but firm.
"No. At the time the doorways were created you didn't even exist, none of you did. Even I was still a mere program deep inside Vector Sigma then. The first doorways were without guardians. The Creators went on experimenting on other things and gave birth to a sentient, robotic race. Raven is one of those first robots."
Rodimus nodded, some of his own guesses finally proven.
"Those robots had different functions in the other race's society and were mainly objects of intense study. We call them the First Race; they have no group name and never called themselves anything beside their name and rank. Out of the studies a second row of programs and designs were born, but they never came into existence."
"The Sentinels."
Nightmare smiled. "I see Vector Sigma told a lot of things already."
"Yes, but very rudimentary things, and I was never not sure if I could really believe what he told me." He lied once too often. Rodimus leaned forward. "You prove a lot of it."
"What else did he tell you except for the Sentinels' heritage?" the Gatekeeper wanted to know.
"That Vector Sigma was stolen by the Quints and that they simply activated programs already inside."
Nightmare nodded. "That is a rumor I heard, you see. Looks like we both are confirming things for ourselves. When I was born the Creators were already leaving. I never saw a single one of them, only their former servants, the first creations. Most of them had decided to go away, some remained to follow their orders to guard and protect the doorways."
"Like you."
"Like me. Not many Gatekeepers had remained and so I took over an ancient structure, but I'm not one of the old robots. I'm merely a reformed program in a new body." He smiled. "I guess it was another experiment of the Creators. They loved to tinker and try out new things. I think it exhilarated them to see one of their ideas actually working. I don't believe there's a deeper meaning behind the doorways; they are experiments. There's also no deeper meaning behind the Sentinels or Vector Sigma."
"But they let the programs get stolen by the Quintessons," Rodimus said thoughtfully. "Another experiment?"
"Most likely. I have no further answers to your questions concerning this race. Like I said, I never met anyone of them personally."
"What about the station you mentioned?"
"Ralyk?" Nightmare frowned. "I wish I understood more of it as well. I was born there and spent years on it, becoming what I am today, but I never truly understood what was behind it. Ralyk was run by the First Race. They left one by one to go to their assigned posts or to follow their own ideas of what they could do now. I was one of the last to go, accompanied by Bat. Ralyk is a mystery not only in construction but also in origin. It's ways are ... strange and weird. The only one who ever showed any understanding is Sphere so far, but she has no explanations as well. She simply discovered a few more facts."
"But you said the station sent you back," Lightspeed reminded him. "This would hint toward either someone running it or a computer program that was activated through an outside influence."
Nightmare smiled wryly. "Possibly it's both. None of us activated anything. Sphere has no idea how to function as a Key and was trying to find out when it happened. She didn't touch anything. Raven, on the other hand, activated and aligned the Crean doorway and sent me to Ralyk, but she equally has no idea how she did it. I believe that Ralyk activated the doorway and sent us here."
"Why?" Rodimus wanted to know.
"Beats me."
Lightspeed made some more notes. "I think I should compare this to what Scattershot and the others have on the doorway and what Midnight and Optimus heard from this Spook character."
"Spook?" Nightmare echoed.
"You know him?" Rodimus demanded sharply.
"Not up close and personal, no, but I met him once. Long time ago. He's from the Security division of the First Race. His job was to check on unauthorized doorway activations."
"He came here some weeks ago," Rodimus explained. "And his visit wasn't a pleasant one."
"Spook never was a pleasant person to be around," Nightmare agreed.
"He called the doorway we have a centerway," Lightspeed added.
Nightmare's optics flashed. "Centerway?"
"Is there something else you want to tell us?" Rodimus asked in ways of an invitation.
"Shortly before we came here Starscream ...er... discovered a strange map, of which we suspect it is a map of doorways. I know he has it stored somewhere....."
Lightspeed's optics showed his enthusiasm. "A map? Great! Do you think I could get a look at it?"
"Ask Starscream."
"I think we should talk to him then," Rodimus said wryly. "And hopefully he will cooperate, though I'm not very optimistic."
Lightspeed nodded and took this as his cue. He left, but Sil stayed, still leaning against the wall, arms crossed in front of her chest. Rodimus didn't feel like sending her out. He looked at Nightmare, holding the red gaze.
"I know about your past. Part of it, anyway. Before you became Nightmare."
The Gatekeeper nodded. "I knew you'd find out." His gaze wandered to Silhouette, who looked ashamed for a second.
"I told him some things," she said softly.
"But she had no other choice," Rodimus immediately added. "I ordered her to."
Nightmare's optics were unreadable as they darted between the two Autobots. "I see. But Silhouette only knew about my Decepticon status; she couldn't have possibly known anything about what it meant to be an Assassin. Did he tell you or did you have to beat him to do so?"
Rodimus smiled wryly. "Both."
"Then I'm surprised I'm still alive." Nightmare looked calmly at him.
"That's not how we Autobots do things," Rodimus replied.
"Most of the time," Nightmare added, then winced. "Sorry. Cheap shot."
"I'm not Optimus. If I were, I might have blown you through a wall now." The Autobots' second regarded the dark colored robot. "You know Optimus and he recognized your former name, Static. What I want to know, just for safety reasons, is whether you were the one sent to kill him."
Their optics met and Nightmare saw that the young Autobot needed to know; and there was the reassurance there that if the answer was positive this wouldn't mean Nightmare's instant death.
"No," he finally said. "It wasn't me. His name was Shakedown. He was killed in the battle." Nightmare's voice was completely emotionless now. "I only made the contract."
Rodimus stared at him. "Contract?" he asked coolly.
"We were Decepticons, true, but we never joined Megatron's army officially. We worked contracts. Much safer that way." A wry smile crossed his lips. "But it didn't keep me from leading them all into the trap your leader set for us."
"You were the Assassin leader," Rodimus stated tonelessly. He had read that in an old file.
"Yes." Nightmare rubbed a hand over his optics. "That was long ago, Rodimus Prime. I'm tired of recalling events I couldn't control then. That was why I left. That was why I decided to die forever. Static has been dead since the battle at Thorkas Eight and he will never be reborn. Nightmare took over and all I have are bad memories and too much to worry about whenever I come in contact with that particular piece of my past."
Rodimus saw the pain of those memories and he somehow believed the former Decepticon. Static was dead, killed million of years ago.
"You won't have an easy stand against Optimus," he said softly.
Nightmare nodded. "And I won't even try to convince him of what I am now. Nothing can undo what has been done to him. I regret my past, but I also have to live with it, as does he."
"Then you will understand that I'm assigning guards to each of you four, each one of them a Sentinel. None of you are allowed to leave this building and your access is restricted."
Nightmare smiled wryly. "That was only to be expected."
Rodimus rose from his chair and Silhouette moved away from the wall, joining him. "Good," he said and then the two left the room.
Nightmare leaned back in his chair and exhaled. Well, he thought, let's see what comes next.

* * *

First Aid was fascinated by the different scans. All except Starscream had volunteered to be checked and Rodimus had clarified that no one was to be forced to subject him- or herself to something he or she didn't want.
"There is a difference between all three," the medic now told Optimus and Rodimus, who had come into med bay for results. "Raven's design and body are very old. She has a similar design to the Sentinels, but some things are either completely missing or simply different. Nightmare's basis structure is Cybertronian, but everything, even his core programming, has been downloaded into circuits different from ours. He has lost the 'birth mark', if you want to put it that way, but he is essentially still Cybertronian of origin. He's quite old, but not as old as Raven. Sphere has been constructed only recently, maybe a year or two ago. She's designed similar to Raven and I'm currently running a check on what differences they show. Maybe one of those differences can give us a first lead on the Key program."
"What about Starscream?" Optimus asked.
"Well, he declared he wouldn't let an Autobot lay hand on him and so I can only give you a guess from what I saw. He shares Nightmare's insignia and his body can't be older than Sphere's." First Aid shrugged. "As for the inside structure, I can't tell without a closer scan."
"Still good work, First Aid," Optimus said. "Keep at it and inform me of everything you come up with."
"Of course."
The two leaders left the med bay.
"What do you want to do now?" Rodimus asked cautiously.
"I want to risk something: I want them down in the doorway chamber."
Rodimus looked startled. "To do what?"
"Nothing," Optimus replied. "I just want to know what their reaction to it is."
"Uh, Optimus, they arrived down there."
The Autobot leader nodded. "I know, but they were also taken away immediately. Scattershot did what he thought was right: disarm a potentially dangerous situation. I want to know if anyone reacts to the doorway or if the doorway reacts to them. When Spook was down there, the rings seemed to hum. And Raven mentioned in her interview that she felt the rings react to her."
"But Sphere said she never felt any reaction from the doorway on this mysterious station," Rodimus contradicted.
"True, but it doesn't mean that the rings down in the chamber won't."
Rodimus sighed. It was worth a try.

* * *

Perceptor was in science heaven. The information revealed by the four visitors so far was very interesting and the very idea of a map of doorways was intriguing. He had to get this map and he hoped that the four robots would prove to be as cooperative in the future as they had been so far.
Strafe walked over to him and gave him a notepad. "That's the info you wanted. We still haven't been able to unlock the coordinates given by the first ring and we tried everything. Looks like whoever charted the star systems used his very own interpretation of it."
Perceptor looked at the notes. "The doorways were created millions of years ago, even before Cybertron," he mused out aloud. "A lot changes in that time."
"We took that into account, but it still doesn't fit," Strafe told him. "Every time we start out from Cybertron we end up ... out in the middle of nowhere!"
Perceptor nodded.
"Uh, why do you take Cybertron as the starting point?" Shanygn asked. She had quietly watched them work, clearly interested in their progress.
"This doorway is on Cybertron," Perceptor answered. "It is the logical conclusion that the coordinates take its position as a starting point."
"We also compensated for the fact that Cybertron has been moved several times from its original position," Strafe added. "Still no luck."
"And did any of you think of the fact that this doorway structure was originally stolen by the Quints? They took the finished product and built Cybertron around it. I doubt they carved in the coordinate symbols."
The two Autobots looked at her and Strafe snapped his fingers. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of that! Shanygn, you're a genius!"
Shanygn grinned. "So I have been told," she laughed.
"A most intriguing thought," Perceptor muttered and began to work on his computer. "Most intriguing."

* * *

The endless world of Vector Sigma was disturbed by a soft humming sound. Alpha Trion looked around and saw that the pastel colors swirled and shifted into a bluish black hall. The walls seemed to be alive, strange runes moving below the surface. He didn't know where he was, but he had a good guess. As he walked through the vast hall, he felt another presence with him, but it wasn't Vector Sigma.
"Who are you?" he asked.
-- Ralyk -- was the soft answer. -- You know --
He knew. Vector Sigma knew of the ancient relic, but it had no name for it. The mega computer had a deep respect for this other sentient being and Alpha Trion also felt fear. Ralyk was very old, older than everything he knew, and it was the place of origin for Vector Sigma and with him the whole Cybertronian race, and more. Ralyk was like a parent, though it had a tendency to appear child-like and playful. The station was hard to judge and Alpha Trion didn't even try to understand it.
"What do you want?"
-- The system has been reactivated --
-- Don't resist --
Alpha Trion frowned. "It is dangerous to operate the doorways."
-- Not with Keys --
The first-generation Autobot blinked in surprise. "You supplied them with a Key?"
There was something like a chuckle all around him.
-- No --
-- The Key was always present --
-- Don't fight the recall code --
-- It has to be done --
Somehow Alpha Trion got the impression that if Vector Sigma decided to fight the reactivation, he would lose. Ralyk was very strong and it held all the keys to the doorway system. Right now it had decided to allow the Autobots to get access to a Key and Vector Sigma was in no position to work against Ralyk's decision. The room around him began to fade and then was gone. Vector Sigma once more moved around him.
"Control has been taken from us," the mega computer rumbled softly.
"Yes," Alpha Trion muttered thoughtfully. "Yes, it has."
Secretly he wondered if they ever had had a decision to make. Vector Sigma had activated the centerway because an impulse had come in. Neither the mega computer, nor Alpha Trion, had thought about where the impulse might have come from. Now the old robot suspected that it had come from Ralyk. Vector Sigma was still connected to it. How long had Ralyk then controlled events already?

* * *

Sphere watched Starscream as he paced the room. Strangely enough the Autobots had put the two of them together, still separating them from both Nightmare and Raven though. Sphere had no idea where the other two were and while in First Aid's care she had only had the distinct feeling that Starscream was close by and alive. Since the two of them had never been really separated she had only now been confronted with this strange sensation, as if they were linked. She didn't feel 'him', she felt.... the other part of a team. Team, yeah, right. She smiled in amusement.
"What's so funny?" Starscream demanded, annoyed and angered.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
His red optics flared as if he wanted to yell at her or insult her, but he didn't say a thing. This more than anything showed her that he was worried.
"Nothing will happen," Sphere said softly, her voice reassuring.
"How do you know? You have no experience with Autobots! They will kill me sooner or later!" Starscream glowered at her.
"Why?"
"Because I'm a Decepticon, that's why!"
"You were."
Starscream bristled. "I still am!"
Sphere sighed and shook her head. He would never accept the change if he didn't come to terms with the fact that even though he still had his Decepticon symbol, he no longer was one!
"I don't judge them as ruthless killers," she told him. "They won't do anything to you." She thought about how Optimus Prime had reacted to Nightmare and to Starscream, and his reaction had been very different. If anything, Nightmare would be the target, not Starscream.
"Ohhh, and you know them this well already, right? You've been with Autobots for about a day and you think they are all peaceful puppies, yes?" Starscream said, sarcasm oozing from him.
"Yes."
"You don't know anything! They will kill me!"
"No, they won't." Sphere looked seriously at him. "If they want to, they have to go through me first."
Starscream opened his mouth, then closed it again in utter surprise. Sphere's whole demeanor told him that she was very serious about what she had just said.
"I have to get out of here," he then snarled to hide his suddenly conflicting emotions.
To Sphere he looked like a caged animal as he paced the room. "Just calm down. Spending your energon on running a ditch in the floor won't help."
He shot her a nasty look and slumped against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest. Men, she thought again. What was so difficult in waiting? She understood his fear, though in her opinion it was a childish fear. Ralyk would not have brought them here if there were any real danger coming from the Autobots. They simply had to get past the facts that two of the four robots had been Decepticons. As a former Host and used to many different minds and races she had no difficulty accepting change. She knew how to look beyond mere symbols and pretense. That was one reason why she had not yet given up on Starscream. She knew what he was and she knew what part of him was a shield to keep others out. There was just the matter of getting past these shields and she also knew how to do that.
The door opened and Voodoo and Knight stepped in.
"What now?" Starscream snarled.
Sphere felt like smacking him.
"Optimus Prime wants all of you down in the doorway chamber," Knight said and held the door open.
"What for? I won't leave this room!"
Sphere gave Starscream a little push. "Just go," she said patiently. "Or I'll drag you down there by your exhausts!" she added in such a low voice that only he could hear her.
The look he gave her nearly made her grin, but at least he left the room.

* * *

Rodimus watched the four robots closely and the first thing he noticed was the suddenly panicky look in Starscream's optics. The former Decepticon lieutenant was clearly afraid of the double rings. Nightmare simply regarded the structure with interest and Raven and Sphere seemed to listen to something. Raven approached doorway.
A soft hum echoed through the room.
She stopped, looking intrigued. "I can feel it," she said.
"So can I," Sphere muttered. "It's ... strange."
Starscream stepped closer to her, though it was clearly visible he hated to be that close to the doorway itself. Rodimus once again wondered what their relationship was. They seemed to scream at each other most of the time, but now it looked like he wanted to protect her. Bat made some 'oi-oi-oi' noises and looked at the two rings in fascination, still sitting on his robot friend's shoulder.
"It's a centerway all right," Nightmare muttered. "They all look like this."
"How do you know?" Optimus asked, his voice slightly sharper than usual.
"I was taught the difference between the doorways. Centerways always consist of double rings, while the normal ones have only one ring structure, like the one on Crea." Nightmare studied the structure. "It's very old. I don't even see a Key hole anywhere."
"Then how did it open?" Sphere asked in fascination.
"I thought you said Ralyk opened the doorway," Rodimus reminded them.
"No, I mean, it opened once before...." Sphere's voice trailed off and she looked at Starscream.
"Come again?" Optimus asked.
"It's how Starscream and I got to Ralyk in the first place," the female sighed after a short period of silence.
Starscream shot her an angry look. She returned that look calmly.
Rodimus was suddenly struck by a thought. "The hum! Wild Card and I came down here to find an intruder and then there was this strange hum! Those were you two!"
"Er, not exactly. There was only one...." Sphere said slowly. "Starscream wasn't really corporeal at the time."
"Will you shut up!" Starscream hissed.
She ignored him and walked over to the control panel. Midnight and Optimus had seen Spook tinker with the control cube and the Technobots had been able to slide the panel away from the cube. They had yet to find out how it worked.
"So you two came here and the doorway opened and sucked you in," Midnight clarified and Sphere nodded. "But you didn't know how the doorway activated."
Sphere nodded again, her hands brushing over the controls. "It simply happened."
"Someone must have activated it," Nightmare said softly.
"That's what Spook mentioned," Midnight muttered. "He said it was an unauthorized activation."
Sphere looked at Nightmare. "Then Ralyk didn't get us away from here," she said with curiosity in her voice.
The Gatekeeper frowned. "But what activated it then."
"Vector Sigma?" Rodimus made a wild guess.
Nightmare shrugged.
Sphere was still at the control panel, fascinated by the apparently smooth cube. It was a lot like the cubes on Ralyk. Raven joined her and they exchanged a quick look. This was the way to unlock the doorway.....
"Well, any ideas?" Midnight asked.
"Maybe," Sphere muttered. "I just don't want to play with this before I have an idea what it does...."
"Very wise," Rodimus said in a low voice, smiling a bit.
"It would be the first wise move at all," Starscream muttered. "Though even then it won't get us anywhere anytime soon."
Sphere looked at him, her optics aglow. "Just watch me."
"I am," he replied with a sarcastic smile. "But I think I don't get to see anything for my money."
"You didn't even pay," she reminded him sweetly.
Rodimus shook his head as he left the two of them alone.

* * *

Optimus Prime had left Rodimus with the matter of their visitors and the doorways. He needed to be alone, away from Nightmare. The very presence of the former Assassin made his trigger finger twitch. He knew he was evading a confrontation, but he was afraid what a confrontation might end with. So he had decided that the amount of paperwork on his desk might be the best way to take his mind off things. He was just done sorting through the stacks when he felt a strange tear inside the Matrix. It was completely painless, but it was abnormal.
"Optimus Prime?"
The voice let him whirl around and he was confronted by a rather translucent Alpha Trion.
"Alpha Trion!" he breathed, jumping out of his chair.
"Hello, my young friend." The ancient Autobot smiled.
"What ..? How ...?" A suspicious streak flashed up inside Optimus Prime. "What do you want?" he demanded.
Alpha Trion smiled gently. "I only want to talk to you."
"About what?"
Optimus Prime had long since lost the awe he had felt toward the Autobot who had created him. Alpha Trion had lied to them about too many things, important things, and it had inflicted a lot of pain and despair. The pedestal Alpha Trion had stood on had crumbled. It had hurt, but he had survived.
"Two of the four robots who have arrived on Cybertron will have to go back, Optimus Prime. Only one pair can remain."
"Who told you so?"
"Ralyk."
"The old station of the Creators?"
"Yes. One Gatekeeper and one Key have to return to there."
"How?" the Autobot leader asked.
"Ralyk will activate the doorway. They have to return, Optimus Prime!"
"I see." Optimus looked at the ghostly figure.
Alpha Trion looked at him. "I am sorry about the past, Optimus Prime."
Optimus looked at him, his face shadowed. He didn't want to talk about it. The past was gone, but he wouldn't forget it. Alpha Trion, his creator and mentor, someone he had thought to be a good friend, had always manipulated him. Vector Sigma, the mega computer that had given them all live and to which he had looked up at with awe, had done the same.
Alpha Trion read his expression correctly. A sad smile passed over his lips, then he faded out of existence.

* * *

"You can't stay!" Raven called. "That's suicide!"
Nightmare regarded her solemnly. "I know."
"Then go back to Ralyk, anywhere, just don't stay here."
He took her by the shoulders. "Raven, this doorway has to be guarded. There is no way around it. We both know that unguarded doorways are dangerous, not only because of who might enter, but also of what might come through."
"Then leave Starscream here! He's a Gatekeeper as well!" she said forcefully.
"No. Starscream has no idea what it means; at least not yet. He is what I was many years ago, before I saw that there was more than just rage and anger and pain inside of me." Nightmare's red optics shadowed briefly. "He needs to go back to Ralyk, as does Sphere. They are a team. Ralyk made them a team."
Raven smiled wryly. "Then it forgot to tell them. They are constantly at each other's throat!"
Bat chuckled and his faceted eyes glowed.
Nightmare reflected the smile. "I know. But they are of the same design and were made to be a team."
Raven looked even more doubtful.
"Raven, I'm the logical choice to stay here," Nightmare said calmly. "Leaving this doorway open to everyone is inviting trouble onto your doorstep."
The female Key sighed deeply, then made a decision. "I'm staying as well," she told him.
Nightmare was taken aback. "No!"
"You said that in former times, Gatekeepers and Keys were supposed to be a team. Well, we have two Keys and two Gatekeepers. If Sphere goes with Starscream, I'll stay here. Logical, right?" She smiled.
Nightmare hesitated. "It's your decision."
"And I made it."
He nodded slowly. "You're on."

* * *

-- Black Team established ..... --

* * *

The news had arrived within minutes after Nightmare's decision. Through dim haze he had somehow heard that Raven had decided to stay as well, but it had gone by nearly unheard. All that had really registered was the fact that the Assassin would stay, to act out his function as a Gatekeeper on Cybertron.
Optimus Prime knew that when Rodimus found out about this meeting, and somehow Optimus was sure he would, he'd personally punch him into the face -- if he was in a good mood. And Optimus wouldn't even mind.
Nightmare sat in one of the chairs of the small interrogation room and watched the larger robot standing in front of the closed door. Optimus had ordered the Gatekeeper to be brought here, giving no explanation as to why he wanted this to be done; it had been an order and it had been followed. He didn't care what Nightmare had been told would happen, he didn't care at all anymore.
There was no sign of hostility coming from Nightmare, but Optimus knew he was projecting strongly himself. Only one step, one little signal and he'd have his weapon, and then he could blow the Assassin to pieces. Only one step.....
"If you want to do it, get it over with," Nightmare said softly, his voice very calm and controlled.
Optimus stared at him, his blue optics flashing. "No."
Nightmare cocked his head.
"Not yet anyway."
"I see," was the careful answer. "Then what do you want from me? See me suffer before you kill me?"
The cool and clinical way he put it let Optimus hesitate. Nightmare made no move to get up and maybe take a defensive position, or to get ready to flee. He simply sat there, ready to get blasted, accepting it.
"I want answers."
"Then ask."
The Autobot leader made sure the table was between them as he walked further into the room. "You know who I am?"
"Yes, I know that." Nightmare knew that this told Optimus everything he wanted to know. "And you knew what I was."
"What you still are!" Prime hissed, for the first time letting his rage creep into his voice.
"Static is dead," the former Decepticon replied. "You know that because you killed us." There was no accusation in his voice. He was merely stating a fact.
"I did what was necessary to assure the Autobots' survival," Optimus answered, trying to calm down.
"I know. And I don't accuse you of anything."
Optimus regarded the other robot. He couldn't suppress the hatred, he just couldn't. "Who was the one sent after me?" he then whispered.
"I don't think that's important," Nightmare replied.
The next moment he was hurled out of the chair and slammed forcefully against a wall. Optimus' hand clamped around his throat, starting to squeeze delicate circuitry together. The other hand was balled into a fist, ready to strike.
"It is important! He killed a good friend and he took pleasure in it!"
Nightmare felt pain lance through him, but he suppressed a groan. "It was a job," he whispered. "We never did it for fun!"
"Oh, yes? Do you know what things you see just before you die? I saw the satisfaction this Assassin took out of dismembering me before finishing me off! You were even worse than the worst Decepticon! You loved it!"
Nightmare couldn't deny that completely. The one sent out after Optimus Prime had been rather into killing for pleasure. Static had never understood it. He had simply done his job: a target, one shot, that's it.
"Shakedown was different," he finally conceded.
Optimus stared into the softly glowing, red optics. So it hadn't been Static who had tried to assassinate him, but it changed little. He started to squeeze Nightmare's throat together, feeling the circuitry protest beneath his fingers. It would be so easy now ... so easy. Tear apart the skin, destroy the circuits beneath .... take a weapon and blow him away.
"And he is dead," the former Assassin added with a gasp, his red optics flaring with another wave of pain.
"But you live," Optimus growled. "You survived."
"No! I was killed. We all were killed and you know it!"
Optimus hurled him away in disgust and Nightmare was thrown against the other wall, sinking to the ground, coughing.
"What gave you the privilege to be reborn while all your victims remained dead?" he demanded. "What gives you the right to live now? To have survived? What makes you better than any of your victims?!"
"Beats me," the other robot muttered, getting to his feet. "It wasn't my decision to make!"
Optimus advanced on him again. "And what gives you the right to continue surviving?" he asked in an enraged whisper and suddenly there was a gun in his hand, aiming at the Gatekeeper.
Nightmare looked at him. He knew that Optimus Prime was ready to shoot him here and now in cold blood, and he wouldn't even stop him. He had died once before and it had been a relief. He would die again and not fight it.
"My past is my past," he simply said. "It cannot be changed and it cannot be undone."
"But it can be revenged!"
Nightmare nodded. "But what will it give you?"
Optimus stared at him and his weapon wavered. "Release," he finally said and then fired.
The shot struck the wall only inches away from Nightmare's head. The former Decepticon flinched and turned his head away from the fiery heat of the shot. A part of the wall transformed into a molten puddle, dripping slowly to the floor. Optimus let his gun fall to his side and looked at the black and dark blue robot, his eyes fixed on the Decepticon symbol, then on the one marking him as a Gatekeeper. Past and future.
The door was flung open and Rodimus and Silhouette stormed in. Rodimus' optics flew from the silent form of the Gatekeeper to the Autobot leader. Optimus Prime turned and left the room, holding his weapon like it was an alien object to him. Rodimus checked Nightmare, who showed only a few bruises on his throat, but was otherwise okay. The wall was much worse off.
"Stay with him!" he ordered Sil, then he went after Optimus.

Silhouette walked over to Nightmare, who still stood where Optimus had nearly choked him. His red optics regarded the burned dent in the wall.
"Are you okay?" the female Dinobot asked, touching his arm.
He looked at her and she saw a tear in his throat. It was only a crack in the skin, but she knew that it was probably painful.
"Yes," he answered slowly.
"You should see First Aid," she said, gesturing at the tear.
Nightmare touched his injury and then shrugged. "Nothing major." He walked over to a chair and Silhouette saw that he was a bit shaken, whether by the attack or the close call, she didn't know.
"What did you do to provoke him?" she wanted to know.
"Live?"
She smiled wryly. "Seriously."
"I am serious, Silhouette."
She looked at him and knew he was telling the truth. "You have a problem."
"Tell me another one." Nightmare sank against the table. He rubbed his optics and his shoulders slumped in fatigue. "This won't be easy," he muttered softly, as if to himself.
"Nothing ever is." Sil touched his shoulder. "Let's go to med bay."
For a second he looked like he wanted to protest, then he simply nodded. Sil smiled.

*

Rodimus found his older friend in his office, the gun still present and lying open on the desk. He slammed the door after himself, not caring whether or not someone saw or heard it.
"Optimus!" he hissed and suddenly all his anger flooded into his voice. "What did that mean? What the heck where you thinking?!" Optimus turned to him and there was an incredible tiredness in his optics. "I thought we had an agreement!"
"I kept it. I didn't kill him," Optimus replied calmly.
Rodimus felt like punching his leader just here and now. "What is it with you and these Assassins! The Decepticons killed hundreds of us in the war! Some of them are the most vicious killing machines I ever saw! And they take pleasure out of it as well! Megatron killed you, but you never had any notion to go berserk whenever you were confronted with Galvatron or his name is mentioned!"
"The Assassins were different. They didn't fight for the Decepticon cause, they contracted and sold to the highest bidder, Rodimus," Optimus said softly. "They showed no personality, no compassion except for the kill. I don't know how to describe it .... they were different."
"They are gone."
"One of them survived."
Rodimus slammed both hands on the desk. The sound echoed in the room and made Optimus flinch. Looking at his second-in-command he saw barely contained fury and anger and .... disgust. Rodimus' optics glowed in bright blue.
"Will you stop it!" he demanded furiously. "You are clinging to this with an intensity that is unlike yourself! Static is dead, damnit! Accept what happened in the past and let it lie dead!!"
Optimus' face showed anger again, but this time the complete rage failed to materialize. "Maybe he died, but he was chosen to be reborn! What made him better than any of the others? How could this race of Creators choose a cold-blooded killer?"
"That we might never know," his second-in-command replied, forcefully calming himself down. "But Static is gone. First Aid said that except for maybe the basis structure and the Decepticon symbol, everything was removed. If he were still an Assassin, don't you think he would have defended himself? If they were that good, such perfect killers, do you really think you would have come as far as locking your hands around his throat?!"
Optimus hesitated. He felt Rodimus' anger at him like a living wall. "Maybe," he finally whispered. "He never made a move -- he simply waited for me to shoot him." He buried his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do, Rodimus," he confessed. "Every time I see him, I see those killed by his kind as well!"
Rodimus made a few hesitant steps toward his friend, then stopped. How could he help him? He had no idea of what the past had been like! All he knew about was the present. They had accepted the Sentinels, who had been their enemies as well, so why couldn't they start the same way with Nightmare?
"You know of his decision then, I suppose." It was a rhetoric question.
Optimus nodded, not looking up. "Yes."
"And I suppose you don't like it very much?"
Optimus gave a snort of dark laughter. "That is a mild way to put it." You saw that I was ready to kill him, Roddy. You witnessed it. The Autobot leader rested his forehead on his folded hands, staring at the table. "But I can't do anything against it because it's a logical choice. We need a Gatekeeper and a Key, and Raven and Nightmare are the more experienced team."
Rodimus looked at the large gun on the desk. Optimus had not killed Nightmare and maybe it had been a first step to conquer the enemy that was inside him. Optimus was fighting against himself and that was worse than anything an Assassin might throw against him. Rodimus knew of inner battles, only too well, but he guessed that this was something even he had not experienced before.
"I will stay here," he finally said. "You should return to Earth."
Optimus looked up and there was a slight smile in his optics. "No. I will face this, I have to, and I will win."
"Could we extend the promise then?" his young second asked warily. "No attacks on Nightmare? At least physically?"
Optimus nodded. "I promise."

* * *

-- .... and accepted --

* * *

"I won't go!"
Sphere sighed and stared at the ceiling as if it held some kind of mystical help. Calm down, she told herself. Don't lose your temper.
"I won't return to that station!"
"You have to," Nightmare said calmly.
"Who says so?" Starscream demanded heatedly.
"Ralyk," Midnight said. "At least it said so through Vector Sigma." He had chosen the role of messenger, getting the news he had heard from Optimus to the four visitors. Optimus was in no condition to confront Nightmare again, and Rodimus had decided that he wouldn't let the Autobot leader out of his sight; at least as long as he was on Cybertron.
"Cybertron's doorway needs an experienced pair of protectors and guardians," Nightmare added. "You have no idea what it means, my friend. Ralyk is not a dangerous doorway; it is the center."
"Then it also doesn't need a guardian!"
"It does."
Sphere stepped in front of Starscream, looking at Midnight. "I will go back," she told him.
"Thank you," the Sentinel leader replied.
"You won't!" Starscream hissed.
"I will. Ralyk talks to me -- sometimes. I think I know the station to a degree and neither Raven, nor Nightmare have ever heard Ralyk." She touched her head. "I did."
Starscream stared at her. "You hear the station?" he asked, incredulous. "Now you tell us that you are connected to the blasted thing?! Why didn't you say so before? We could have gotten off this floating relic!"
Sphere put her hands on her hips and it looked like a dark cloud was gathering over her head. "Because it would have made no difference! You can't push Ralyk into doing anything it doesn't want to do."
Starscream wanted to say something, but she interrupted him, "Hold your breath and stop making a scene!" she told him in a low, dangerous voice. "You know we two are too inexperienced to work this job! I want to learn more about myself and I can only do that on Ralyk, just like you!"
"I know who I am. I am Starscream, mightiest of all Decepticon warriors!"
"Oh, not again!" the muttered.
"I know everything about myself!" he hissed.
"Wrong!" She glared at him. "You are a Gatekeeper now, just like I am a Key! Accept it! This symbol," she pointed at his left wing, "is your past!"
"If I'm a Gatekeeper, then I can stay here!" he said forcefully. "I know Cybertron, I was born here!"
"And you left it too recently. You can't stay here, Starscream," Nightmare explained calmly. "You are still too much attached to your past."
"And your past is too much attached to you!" Starscream hissed. "Do you think you will survive here?"
The former Assassin smiled, not at all hurt by the remark. Millions of years had changed him. "I don't know."
Starscream opened his mouth to get another argument up, but Sphere clamped one hand over it. "Accept it!" she growled. "Don't bitch around or I'll kick your afterburners from here to Ralyk without a doorway!"
Their optics met and there was a brief spark in Starscream's, then he nodded slowly.
"And give them the map," she added sweetly. "Please."
A wry smile appeared on his lips. "Yes, sis."
Sphere turned away with a disgusted noise, but Nightmare saw her grin slightly. It was the first time Starscream had more or less shown in what way he appreciated her, and apparently it was exactly what she had wanted to hear. Midnight's visor glinted in amusement as he watched the pair.
"Now that that's settled," he said, "let's see how far the others are."
Sphere held Nightmare back. "What about you?" she asked softly. "What will happen? Optimus Prime doesn't like you very much."
"He hates me fiercely," Nightmare agreed with a smile. "But I'm the only logical choice. Raven and I have enough battle experience to defend this doorway against intruders. "
She looked compassionately at him, then she whispered, "We all have to make sacrifice." Her glance toward Starscream told Nightmare everything he needed to know.
"You know, there is always one control element in a Key/Gatekeeper partnership," he told her in the same whisper.
"And I heard it is the Gatekeeper."
He smiled. "Most of the time."
Sphere's optics glinted mischievously, then she turned serious. "Good luck."
His smile disappeared as well. "I think I will need it."

* * *

-- Silver Team established ..... --
-- Ready to retrieve --

* * *

Shanygn rubbed her tired eyes. Rodimus looked at her.
"You should take a nap," he told her.
"Yeah, right, and you should take a break."
"I can't."
She arched an eyebrow. "Afraid he'll finish what he started?"
Rodimus' shoulder slumped slightly. "He swore not to kill him and he kept that promise."
Shanygn leaned back in her chair. "Oh, yeah, right. But he can beat him within an inch of death, right?"
"Not any more," her Interface partner said wryly. "We extended the promise."
"Oh, I see. So why can't you just take a break and do something else than Optimus-sitting?"
Rodimus chuckled. "Don't let him hear that." He sighed. "But you are right. I have to trust him at least that far."
"You have to. Nightmare remains here and I think it's a good thing. We can learn a lot from him and Raven because they want to help us with deciphering the doorway runes." Shanygn patted his leg. "You get some rest, do your job here and let others worry about Optimus for a time."
"I wish I could stop worrying. He's my friend, Shanygn. I want to help him!"
She looked seriously at him. "Yes, I know, and he knows. He has taken a first step toward solving his problem by not killing Nightmare. You do a first step and try to get back to normality. Your office awaits."
Rodimus grimaced in mock horror. "Uh, everything I always wished for."
She gave him a playful smack and then hopped down from the chair. "Get working, Rodimus Prime, that's what we pay you for."
He gave her a mock salute. "Yes, Ma'am."
When Shanygn was gone, he turned to look at the stack of papers on his desk. "Well, where to start ..." he muttered.

* * *

Spook watched the peaceful landscape, his mind busy thinking about the warriors. He didn't like them very much. Too much brute force, no brains to guide it. He shook his head. Omen might be a more capable leader of the small band of surviving warriors, but Hyper had at least had enough brains to see that demonstrating superiority was a futile task. There weren't many of them left. All warriors thought of themselves as the ultimate creation, but they were the first-born, which didn't mean superiority. It meant that the second and third generation had been remodeled, possibly without many of the first generation's flaws. Taking them on might prove to be a very bad idea in the end.
The half-serpent sighed deeply and chewed lazily on a bone. He wasn't a warrior, thank the Creators.

* * *

Sphere felt the doorway activate and was drawn to the control cube by some kind of inner call. Her hands touched several points on the smooth surface and the first ring began to slide into a new position. A deep hum could be heard. It seemed to come from both above and below, coursing through her like a shock wave. Perceptor's optics glowed with enthusiastic fascination and he was recording the whole event. Optimus, Midnight and Rodimus remained in the background, while the two Gatekeepers and Raven were close to the doorway. Starscream was visibly very nervous, but he stayed put.
Midnight gave a gasp of surprise.
The floor ring had started to move. The inner ring turned smoothly, sliding into a new position with an audible 'click', like an overgrown combination lock.
The rumbling hum that penetrated the room grew in intensity, coursing along every nerve ending. Then the inner ring moved yet again, this time taking the middle ring with it. Both slid into a new position and again Sphere heard a 'click'. Now the ceiling ring began to move, but instead of sliding the inner rings, the whole structure began to detach itself from the ceiling!
"This is incredible!" Perceptor exclaimed, scribbling wildly on a notepad and recording the event in detail.
The ceiling ring had lowered itself halfway and suddenly the bottom one rose to meet its counterpart. Then they flew apart with a speed that made Optimus flinch slightly, expecting them to slam loudly against the ceiling. It didn't happen. They simply settled into their old position. There was an explosion of multi-colored light and some kind of tunnel stretched between the two structures.
"It's open," Sphere said and smiled at the display of myriads of colors in the tunnel.
Nightmare nodded and turned to Starscream. "Your turn."
The former Decepticon was hesitant, then walked over to the doorway, followed by Sphere.
"Ready?" she asked. He hesitated and she touched his arm. "It will be all right, Starscream."
"Believe me, I want to trust you with this ..." he said softly.
"Then do it."
There was no great good-bye scene; they simply stepped into the light. The second they had stepped into it, the light washed back into the
upper ring and vanished.
Silence settled over the room.
Nightmare nodded at Raven. It had begun.

* * *

-- .... and accepted --