VOMF

The dead moon suddenly erupted into life the moment Rodimus' feet hit the ground. A billion orbs flashed brightly, lighting up from the swirling spark trails within. The rest of the crew touched down close behind, staring in wonderment. (Well, most of them.) Slowly they began to disperse, moving to explore and get a closer look at the balls of light. Among them was Tailgate who wandered a bit, curious, but distracted. His diagnosis was weighing on his mind, making it difficult to focus on much else. That was, until his full attention was captured by a single glimmering spark. He found himself drawn to it like a beacon; crouching low and letting a hand hover near it, not daring to touch. In all honesty, it was no different than any of the other half-sunken orbs covering the surface of the moon; but for some reason it was this one that he found he couldn't leave alone. He glanced up, casting around for help, noticing and hailing Brainstorm to come and help him. As soon as he saw that the Jet was heading his way he turned back to his little ball of light. Brainstorm arrived, his own spark orb in his arms.

"So, you want me to get that for you?" he questioned, already pulling out his tools. Tailgate nodded

"Please."

"On it!" He tucked his green orb under his arm carefully where it flickered merrily. Carefully he extracted the spark from the earth, handing it off to Tailgate with a self-satisfied smirk under his faceplate. The mini-bot held it gently, watching in awe as the color inside started to shift to a lighter blue.

The moment was interrupted by an explosion somewhere to their far left. Brainstorm grinned and took off, handing his spark orb to Rung while he jumped into the fray. Tailgate was taken aback, stumbling backwards and tucking his new companion close to himself protectively. Little did he know that Cyclonus was on his own mission.

The moment the purple seeker recognised Pharma from the stories Ratchet told about their time in Delphy, he pounced. The motion knocked them both away from Ratchet, and left them to tussle amid the nearby spark cluster. Cyclonus over powered him easily, grabbing him by the chest plates and slamming him into a rock.

"How are you alive?" The question was deadpan, but the look in his eyes was dangerous. Pharma was too shocked to respond, causing the other mech to shake him in warning and his tone to become more dangerous.

"How?" The medic shrunk back a bit, replying quickly.

"The spring! The spring in the cave under the ruins - now let me go!" The purple bot glared. "I-It's got something to do with Primus- his blood! I don't know, when Ambus explained it I was almost dead; right before he threw me in!" Cyclonus tossed him aside, having got the information he needed and walked away, leaving Pharma for Ratchet to deal with.

It only took him a moment to spot Tailgate, hovering a ways away from the fighting, clutching something in his hands. The jet took off, snatching his friend(?) up in his arms and speeding them off towards the ruins. He spotted the cave quickly enough, the entrance having been polished reverently. Tailgate was babbling in alarm, clinging to purple plating desperately with one arm, while cradling the spark in the other. They sped through the ancient tunnel as it took them deeper and deeper into the moon. Finally they reached the cavern; a huge space cut from the rock and lit by the shimmering lake of water in its center. Cyclonus slowed to a walk, bringing them to the water's edge and setting Tailgate on his feet. The smaller bot was still chattering away softly, sounding nervous and confused. The purple mech hushed him, and then held out a hand for the spark orb.

"Tailgate, calm down and hand me the spark." It was passed over without too much of a fuss, Cyclonus taking it and bringing it in close to his frame to keep it safe; before pushing Tailgate unceremoniously into the shining water.

Cyclonus watched for a moment while the mini-bot flailed about in the depths, not noticing a light purple start to mix into the blue in the orb, trailing from where his fingers touched the sides until the whole sphere was glowing a pale lavender. Tailgate had calmed down and was lounging back in the glowing water, looking peaceful as his frame began to shine with the same light. Cyclonus quirked an optic at the sight, but didn't bother questioning it. Unconsciously he started to gently rock the orb as the other's glow grew and then faded. Then it was just Tailgate again, blinking and looking around as if he just noticed he was in the lake. He quickly clambered out onto dry land to stand next to his companion, taking his orb back, surprised by the new color. Along with that, the glow was no longer steady, pulsing brighter and dimmer in a content rhythm. The blue and white bot smiled widely, and looked up at Cyclonus, his optics starting to bead happy tears.

"I.." He stammered, overwhelmed, "I think it's ours now…"