Co-Authered by Ultra Rodimus Prime and Omicron Of Ice

Guardians' Quest

The big blue and coppery-gold mech moved quickly through his territory, trusting the other Life Guardian with his precious charges, while Ultimus went to investigate the pool sites. Using shortcuts he'd either found or made over the long vorns he'd been in Cybertron's depths, he moved from site to site, searching for the unique scent of Vector Sigma's special energon. What he scented was only traces, dried residue in the pools, and utter silence where once there had been the chirping of newborn sparklets. The pools were gone, as Pinion had indicated. Ruffling his armor uneasily, Ultimus headed back to his lair, detouring on the way to collect one of the several caches of energon and supplies he'd built around his territory.

A low snarling growl came from Ultimus' left, the sound metal and animalistic. It was a known sound of a cyber-crocodile, and the familiar echoes of a heavy tail dragging on the ground before the massive creature slid out of a low Insecticon tunnel. The bugs themselves have been strangely absent for a long time, and it had been a long time since any of the smaller scout came begging to Ultimus for scritches or attempting to give him a grooming session, seeing the mech as a 'Drone' rank and thus to be cared for as well as their own Drones and Queens.

The rusty red and orange creature turned spotting the Guardian and rumbled, "Ubimus?" it asked, Ultimus' name muffled as it had his jaw's mostly closed and carrying pouch full with its two tiny charges. The mecha beast that wasn't, split apart and transformed formed into a heavy, massive mech, covered in his beast mode hide and scales.

Outrack had a broad sword in hand and a shield generator on his other forearm, he was mostly rust colors and stained, but was one of the few mechs alive that were immune to rust. That hand touched the mech's beast mode head that was now covering his strongest armor pocket where his charges snuggled in, "Ultimus, its good to see someone again."

"It has been getting unnervingly quiet down here." Ultimus extended his hand to clasp the other Guardian's forearm. "Pinion showed up a few breems ago, telling me Vector Sigma itself was gone. I just finished checking all the pool sites." He glanced back toward the last site, armor flaring and resettling. "I don't like this."

"Mine are long gone," Outrack rumbled, worried himself and added, "Terrahorn and Howltrack are just gone as well, nowhere to be found in their territories. I checked for them all over."

"The territories on the other side of mine have been too quiet, as well, and it's been decaorns since I've heard anything from anyone. Not even from the Wrecker crews. Have you seen any platforms in your area? The crew that was doing repair work in my territory is missing." Ultimus began heading for the next cache, keeping his pace to something Outrack could match comfortably.

"You didn't hear from the Forman?" Outrack blinked, then took a deep breath to scent the air. The mech though the same size as Ultimus was a little slower in pace from habit of his beast mode and personality to stay steady, "There's no scent of the Dark Energon here... you are very lucky my friend." he added rubbed a nasty looking burn on his left shoulder.

The blue and coppery mech shook his head. "I was deep in; I don't think the Foreman could find me." He looked at the other Guardian sharply. "Dark Energon? I thought that stuff was under lock and key in orbit."

"Apparently not, we have a lot to talk about, has anyone other than Pinion come here?" The croc-mech asked, slowing to tilt his head at another Insecticon tunnel, aiming his better audio at it and listening for the clicks and trills that were no longer there.

"So far only Pinion had arrived when I stared my checks. If anyone else has shown up, they would've done so while I was out, so we'll know when we get back to my living area. Just two more caches to collect before we head back... I have an uneasy feeling we'll need the supplies." The big quad-changer slowed down, inhaling deeply but smelling no life in the tunnels.

"All the bugs are gone," Outrack hesitated and added, "Their predator spiders are either dead or in stasis webs as well." he worried, "The echo systems are just blank as well."

"Even the wildlife is either gone or in stasis... This is bad. Very bad." Armor rattled as Ultimus shuddered, trying to process the implications.

"The last I heard from the Wreckers in my territory before they started to pull up to the surface, was that some mech called Megatron was trying to infect the core." The other mech started, running a hand over his shield generator, then swung his broadsword around to his back, "I took all my stores as well, not sure if I can put anything more into subspace. But I can carry."

"Infect the core? Was the mech insane?" Ultimus picked up the pace a bit. "Gone to the surface... That would explain where the Wreckers all went."

"Yes I think he was," Outrack, snorted and then gave a soft keen as he struggled for a moment with something, "If I get my claws on him I assure you Ultimus that mech won't live long for what he did."

Yellow optics fixed on the other Guardian. "What happened?" That soft keen had Ultimus' armor bristling, claws sliding from their sheaths in his fingertips. "What did he do?"

"The extending Dark Energon vains," The mech looked down at the croc head where his two remaining charges were, "...one of the little scraplets was caught in the path before I could get to him. I don't really remember what happened next, my beast mode took over."

A soft keen escaped Ultimus. For a Guardian, losing a sparkling was one of the worst things that could happen. "The poor thing."

"I don't think these two have left my armor since," Outrack admitted with a soft sound, he didn't admit aloud he wasn't ready for them to be out either.

"I can't blame them for that. It's the safest place for them to be." The other mech nodded. "Mine have been sticking close, but are not quite as clingy... My territory's been quiet. I left them with Pinion in my lair while I checked the pools." Spotting the second cache, he headed toward it, pulling aside the hidden door and sub-spacing all the supplies inside.

"Take the parts too," Outrack said as he picked up a box with asorted things for joint care that must have been given to Ultimus by a Level Worker. "as much as can hold, not just the energon, I have a feeling we might need them for us or the little ones."

"I plan on stuffing my subspace to bursting, along with the trailer section of my ground vehicle alt." Ultimus moved in farther, fishing out boxes of supplies covered in crystal spider cobwebs.

"Might be worth seeing if any of the others left their stashes," The other mech realized, with only a beast mode he didn't have the option of stuffing an extension of an alternate mode.

"I know at least one of the others had so many caches she couldn't keep track of them all... Might be worth seeing if she left anything really useful behind. My last cache is near her territory, so we can check while we're over there." The sulfur-eyed mech scanned for anything he might have missed, then extricated himself from the storage area.

"Leave it open?" Outrack asked, lingering as he to checked as well before following after the bronze mech. He didn't protest the idea so with him it meant he was okay with the idea.

"No reason to hide the entrance again. There's nothing inside to take." Ultimus tilted his head in the direction of the next cache.

Outrack offered Ultimus the box he was holding, "Here, I can move just as fast in beast mode, there's a stream not far, along your path if I remember right."

Ultimus took the box, stashing it in subspace while pinging the other Guardian the coordinates of the last cache, as well as several he'd found in the next territory over. "As long as the stream hasn't run dry... The way things are going it wouldn't surprise me if it had."

"You never know until you see it," Outrack said firmly, "And I can handle even rust-water."

"Let's hope it's not tainted." Ultimus nodded to him. "I'll see you at the next cache."

"I'll meet you there, but I will stop by Pinion first," The mech transformed, folding into his beast mode, and opened the great maw enough for Ultimus to see the two sparklings that squeaked in protest at their shielder opening.

The blue and coppery mech reached over to gently touch the sparklings' cheeks, then rested his palm on Outrack's snout before nodded and turning down the tunnel, sprinting out of sight around a bend.