It had been an interesting day for the three from Jasper. In addition to being teleported to a new place, they were now exploring a place that none of them had ever been before. It was like an impromptu field trip that none of them had asked for.
"So that wasn't really a robot that I saw?" Steven asked the three.
"Well yes and no. It was a robot, but not a real robot." Jack explained.
"It was an animatronic, dude. It looked like a robot, but it's remote controlled. We use stuff like that all the time in Japan." Miko said.
While the three had been enjoying the tour through the city, there were several things that were still worrying them. The biggest one being how they were going to get back without drawing any unnecessary attention, and doing it without these people figuring out what it was they were desperately trying to hide.
"Why do you need one of those?" Steven asked.
Not ready for the question, Miko froze and immediately turned to Jack, making it out to seem like she was about to ask him a question. While there was no actual question asked, it was clear to Jack just by the look on her face that she was looking for some back up on what to say next.
Jack was stumped at first, but he knew he had to think of something. Rapidly his mind began to weave a story that could get them out of this.
"Uh… Look, we're not supposed to tell anyone this but, since you already know about some of it, I guess we can trust you with a little more info. It's for a movie. Miko and I are auditioning to be extras, and Raf is working with the special effects crew." Jack lied.
The other two just simply nodded and smiled, silently hoping that the story would be believed. Even if it wasn't the most believable thing they could have come up with, it was far better than anything they would have thought of.
"Woah! A movie about giant robots? That sounds amazing!" Steven said, fully believing it.
While the three were about to relax, Amethyst was not so convinced.
"Hold on there. If this movie has giant robots in it, why are you guys trying to audition in it? You don't seem like the type to voice those kinds of characters." Amethyst said.
"Oh, we're just applying for background characters. You know, people who just walk by or have nothing to do with the plot. The focus is going to be on the robots, not us." Miko explained.
"Oh, ok. I was gonna say, if they make a movie that has giant robots and it focuses on humans, that would be such a waste." Amethyst said.
"No kidding. Whoever does something like that should be thrown into a Bay of sharks." Miko commented.
While Miko had immediately switched back to her usual self, both Rafael and Jack couldn't help but sigh internally. They were skating on thin ice just being here, and they didn't want to have any more reason to have where they were from or what they were doing come into question again.
They were likely already going to get an earful when they got back, but they didn't want to add to the problem by giving away any more information than necessary. They needed to figure out a way to get out of there discreetly, and sooner rather than later.
"Soundwave, what is the projected course of this… thing?" Starscream asked.
High above the planet, the Decepticons were trying to figure out what they were going to do with their find. After losing it to the pull of gravity, there was no chance for them to attempt and pull it back. So they were left with little other option but to wait and see where it went.
Soundwave showed a calculated path on his visor, giving the projected point of impact.
"Hmm, it would seem that our little find is on a crash course far away from where the Autobots have been operating. With any luck, it may go unnoticed by them entirely." Starscream said.
Bringing up a closer view of the impact point, Starscream saw that the place it was headed was near a vast body of water. As well as what looked like a human town.
"It would also appear that we will get to have a little show beforehand." Starscream said, grinning maliciously.
Meanwhile, Steven and Amethyst had decided to end their tour of Beach City by taking their guests somewhere to get some food. Unfortunately for the group, it seemed that they had chosen things a little too late.
"Hey, Fryman, give me the bits!" Steven called out to the man.
"Steven! We're closed." Fryman said, flipping the sign of his business.
"Aww, what?" Steven complained.
While the other three didn't mind that much, this did not sit well with Amethyst.
"Give 'em the bits!" Amethyst said, hitting the counter while beginning to chant.
"The bits, the bits, the bits!" Steven and Amethyst chanted at the man.
"The bits, the bits, the bits!" Miko joined in, putting further abuse to the countertop.
"Okay, okay! Take it easy on the counter, will ya?" Fryman conceded, going to make what they asked.
"Yes!" the three shouted, passing high fives to each other.
Miko turned back to the rest of her party, noticing an embarrassed look from Rafael and a look of pure annoyance from Jack.
"What?" Miko asked.
"Let's just say I know how he feels." Jack said.
Having been working in food service for the past year, Jack had first-hand experience dealing with many customers like that before. Everything from people trying to come in after closing, all the way up to ones demanding discounts for insane reasons.
It wasn't long before Fryman got back, handing the bits over to Steven.
"I can give you actual fries if you want." Fryman said.
"Just the bits, please." Steven said, taking the bag from the man.
With the bits in hand, Steven began to slowly meander away, Amethyst in tow while grabbing a handful of the fry bits for herself. Steven offered the bag to Miko and Rafael, who both took some for themselves.
Jack, on the other hand, felt obligated to apologize for the others actions.
"Hey, I'm really sorry about that. I know what it's like to work with pushy customers." Jack said.
"Don't sweat it, kid, it's just part of the job." Fryman said.
"Isn't that the truth." Jack agreed.
"You know I don't think I've seen you around here before. What'd you say your name was?" Fryman asked.
"It's Jack, though you probably won't need to remember that. We're just here for the day." Jack said.
"Well, if that is the case, enjoy your time here." Fryman said, finally closing up shop.
Giving a nod, Jack turned to go and join the rest of his group. While it may have just been a passing comment, Jack did take what Fryman said to heart. While his time with the Autobots had definitely not been boring, it was nice to see a different part of the world without the constant threat of the Decepticons looming over their heads.
Finally catching up to the group, Jack walked up next to Raf, who seemed to have saved him some of the bits.
"Ah, sunset, my favorite time of day. When the sun goes down, and the second sun gets bigger and bigger in the sky." Steven said.
"Second sun?" Rafael said, looking to the object in question.
"Yeah, that big hot second su-" Amethyst said, laughing. Only to immediately stop upon realization of what it actually was.
"Okay, for real, what is that?" Miko asked.
"Oh no, what is that doing here?" Amethyst said, worriedly.
"What is it?" Steven asked, only to be picked up by Amethyst and carried away. "Ah, my bits!"
Looking on confusedly, the other three looked to each other before running after the two. It was clear that something was up and, whatever it was, was likely not anything good.
"This is bad." Garnet said.
"Look at the size of it, I had no idea these things were so big!" Pearl said, gazing through a telescope.
"Garnet! Pearl!" Amethyst shouted, running up with Steven raised over her head.
"We saw. Some of us are trying to protect humanity. Where were you?" Pearl huffed, angrily.
"Eating fry bits." Amethyst said, nonchalantly setting Steven down.
"Where are the other three?" Garnet asked.
Garnet got her answer when Jack, Miko, and Rafael all ran up close behind, huffing and nearly out of breath.
"What is going on?" Jack asked.
"Oh, can I see?" Steven asked, seemingly ignoring Jack.
Walking up to the telescope that Pearl had been using, he got an up-close look at what it was they were dealing with. While he still wasn't entirely sure what it was, he had a good idea of what it looked like now.
"Woah. It's a giant eyeball! Awesome!" Steven said.
"NOT awesome! It's a Red Eye!" Pearl said, angrily.
"A Red Eye?! It's going to infect us all!" Steven said in a panic.
"That's pink eye, Steven." Amethyst said, laughing.
"Yeah, red eye is when you look directly into a camera." Miko said.
"Something tells me a camera didn't make that." Rafael said.
"It's going to crash into Beach City and crush us, along with a bunch of oblivious, innocent people! We have to stop it." Pearl said.
"What are we going to do?" Steven asked.
While the other three didn't really understand what was being said, then knew well enough that there was imminent danger approaching. Not just for themselves, but for every human that inhabited this city. The circumstances had changed drastically.
While Steven and the Gems were having a conversation of their own, the other three huddled together to keep them from hearing what they were saying.
"Guys, what do you think we should we do?" Rafael asked.
"That's a question? We obviously have to help them." Miko said.
"Miko, I want to do that too, but do you think that the bots will be okay with something like that?" Jack asked.
"Considering that this involves a lot of human lives, I'd say they would." she argued.
"Yeah, but this doesn't involve cons. Even if it did, they wouldn't want to expose themselves to anymore humans than they already have." Jack said.
"For all we know, this could involve cons. In any case, I don't think it could hurt to try." Rafael said.
Jack looked to Miko, who seemed to agree with Raf. It wasn't that Jack didn't want to call the Autobots, but he wasn't entirely sure about the circumstances they were in. Yes, they were in danger, along with many more, but would they compromise their cover for something like this?
"Only one way to know, I guess." Jack said, agreeing with them.
Getting out of their huddle, Jack and the other two turned to speak with them, just in time to see Garnet toss Amethyst directly at the Red Eye. Upon impact, she simply fell off the thing and landed in the ocean below.
The three were beginning to think that Steven's guardians were not human, much like their own. But that was something that they could worry about later.
"Hey guys, I think I might have a solution to this." Jack said.
"I highly doubt that you have something that could handle that." Pearl said.
"Don't be so sure. Sometimes there's more to things than meets the eyes." Jack said.
It had been some time since the members of team Prime had heard from any of the kids. While Jack's message about them being safe did alleviate some of the stress, they still had no idea where they were.
"Optimus, it has been too long since Jack last called us. We need to start looking for them." Arcee said.
Not but a second after she said that, their monitor sprung to life, letting out a tone that indicated another call.
"Speak of the devil." Bulkhead said, watching Ratchet open the call.
"Jack? What's going on?" Ratchet asked.
"Ratchet, things have gotten ugly out here." Jack said.
"Jack, what's happening?" Arcee asked.
"We're all safe at the moment, but that is going to change very soon. Not just for us, but for everyone in this city that we're in." Jack told them.
"Woah, hold on there kid. What are you talking about?" Bulkhead asked.
"Look, I don't know what exactly it is that's coming, but I do know that it's big enough to take out not only us but this entire place we're in." Jack said.
"Jack, if what you're saying is true, then we must act quickly." Optimus said.
"There's something else you should know. There are likely going to be four new people who know about you because of this." Jack warned.
"What? Jack, that is out of the question. You must go somewhere away from populated areas." Ratchet said.
"Ratchet, if this is truly a threat to dozens, if not hundreds of lives, then I think that we can stand to break protocol this once. Jack, send us your coordinates." Optimus said, his faceplate extending out.
"Got it. Raf, you think you can give Ratchet a hand?" Jack asked.
Rafael simply nodded his, taking Jack's phone from him.
With his part of the conversation over, Jack knew that there was a lot of explaining he was going to have to do. So he turned back and readied himself for the barrage of questions that were likely about to happen.
"Who was that you were talking to?" Pearl asked.
"Believe me, I think all of your questions are about to be answered all at once." Jack said.
"What's that supposed to-" Pearl began but was interrupted when she heard a noise from the beach.
Amethyst had climbed back up on shore just in time to see what Pearl had heard. It looked some sort of glowing, green portal. While that was something to see on its own, what came from the portal was what really got her attention.
From the portal, four large bodies emerged. Larger than even some of the corrupted gems that they had seen before. What was stranger still, was the fact that, whatever these things were, they were definitely not of this planet.
As the Autobots stepped through, they readied themselves for anything. While all of them had dealt with many things in just a short period of time alone, Jack had made it sound like something pretty severe.
"Optimus Prime!?" Pearl said, astounded.
Hearing his name be said by an unfamiliar voice, Optimus turned to see who it was. When he finally set his optics on her, he was just as equally surprised, as the voice turned out to be not as unfamiliar as he originally thought.
"This is something I hadn't expected. I didn't realize you would be here." Optimus said.
Pearl was completely flabbergasted by what she was seeing. While their meeting all those years ago had been very brief, she could never forget him. Rose had been the only one dealing with them directly, but she happened upon them once and they hadn't seen each other since then.
Turning to Jack, she took him by the shirt and pulled him close to her face.
"You never said that you knew Optimus Prime!" Pearl shouted.
"Neither did you." Jack said, pulling himself out of her grasp.
"You know him?" Garnet asked Pearl.
"You know her?" Arcee asked Optimus.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. It was a very long time ago, and I intended to bring it up only when necessary." Optimus said.
"Wait! So this means that there isn't a movie being made about giant robots?" Steven asked.
"No." Rafael answered.
"Aww!' Steven whined.
"Woah, real giant robots! I'm Amethyst, what's your name?" she asked one of them, running up to the rest of the group.
"Bulkhead." he answered.
"I didn't know there were alien robots on the planet! How do you guys know Peal? How long have you been here? What are you guys-" Amethyst questioned, before being interrupted.
"Uh guys, while this is all really something that needs to get sorted out, I think we should do it after we deal with the problem we have." Jack said.
"He's right." Garnet said, picking Amethyst up once more to throw her at the eye.
While the Autobots were rather shocked to see this at first, their gaze did follow Amethyst to where she was thrown, and they finally saw just what it was they were dealing with.
Bumblebee let out a series of beeps to convey his thoughts on things.
"I suppose that's one way of putting it." Arcee said.
"What did he say?" Steven asked Rafael.
"He said something about that being the second biggest thing he's ever seen come crashing toward a planet." Raf told him.
"Optimus, you think this has something to do with Decepticons?" Bulkhead asked.
"While I doubt it, it is neither outside the realm of possibility or entirely relevant at the moment. Whatever its origin is, it must be destroyed." Optimus said, switching his left arm to his blaster.
Pointing his arm skyward, Optimus took aim at the red-eye. Once his shot was lined up, he fired off one blast. While it took a moment for it to impact, the results were instant. It had no effect on the red-eye and simply burst once it hit.
All of the Autobots were floored by the outcome, expecting the red-eye to have some sort of reaction. In response, Optimus got out his other blaster and shot off two more shots, but it had the same effect as before.
"Autobots, concentrate your fire!" Optimus ordered.
All four of the Autobots got their blasters ready, taking aim at the red-eye. They fired off a long series of shots. While it was an impressive volley to behold, all of the shots were having more or less the same effect as the ones before it.
"Scrap, this isn't working." Arcee said.
"Ugh, I'm gonna go." Steven said.
"What? Where are you going?" Jack asked.
"I think I might have something that can work against this." Steven told him.
"Really? Why didn't you say so?" Miko asked.
"We did. You guys were just busy." Steven said.
"If you have the means to stop this, please hurry. We will remain here and continue our efforts." Optimus said.
"We'll go with you in case you need a hand." Rafael said.
Bumblebee let out a series of beeps to Rafael, telling him to be careful.
"You too Jack." Arcee said.
"Always." Jack said.
"Miko, we're gonna need to talk after all of this is over." Bulk said in a tone that sounded like an irritated father.
"Oh come on, Bulk." Miko complained.
Jack motioned for them to get going. The three followed behind Steven, as he was the only one who knew where they were going.
"... Okay, good luck." Pearl said, half-heartedly.
It was a bit of a hike from where they were to the car wash that Steven led them to, but they hurried as quickly as they could. The entire time that they ran, they could hear the Autobots continuously firing at the red-eye to no avail.
When they finally did arrive, it looked like the place was all but empty. Except for one van parked out front which, judging by the style painted on it, hadn't left the eighties.
"What are we doing here? I thought you said you had something that could stop this." Jack said.
"I might, but my dad is the one who will have it." Steven told him.
"Does he work here or something?" Rafael asked.
"Yeah… as well as live here." Steven said.
The three just looked at him, puzzled by what he said. They had assumed that his father would be living with him, but they also knew that not all couples stayed together. Whatever the situation was, it wasn't their business. Not to mention, they had bigger things to worry about.
Steven approached the van, banging on it to try and get his dad's attention. When yelling for him didn't seem to be working, he attempted to climb up on the van, but tripped and accidentally set off the alarm.
"Who's there? I have a waffle iron!" Greg shouted, bursting from his van.
In response to this, the other three slowly backed away, not wanting to get any collateral damage. Though, now that they could see him, there was no denying that this was Steven's dad. The two looked quite a bit alike. Not to mention, if there was a poster boy for middle-aged dads, he'd likely be a candidate.
"Dad, it's me!" Steven called from the top of the van.
"Steven?" Greg said, looking up just in time for him to climb down and give him a hug.
"I almost waffled your face! What are you doing up so late?" Greg asked.
"The sun didn't set more than an hour ago." Rafael said.
"Oh, heh. It was a... slow day at the carwash. Uh… I don't think I've seen you guys before." Greg said, turning to the three.
"Dad, these are some people I just met. This Jack, Miko, and Raf." Steven said, introducing them.
"Hello, sir." Jack said, extending his hand out
"It's nice to meet you, sir." Rafael said, doing the same as Jack.
"Likewise." Greg said, shaking the two boys hands.
"Wait… you're Greg Universe? As in the Greg Universe?" Miko asked, starstruck.
"Uh… the one and only?" Greg said, unsure of how to react.
"Oh my god! Steven, you never told us your dad was one of the biggest underground rock artists out there!" Miko shouted.
"I didn't know that he was one of those." Steven said, not sure what Miko was talking about.
"Mr. Universe, I am a huge fan! I've heard all of your tracks, and-" Miko said, losing herself in the moment.
"Miko, fan girl later! We have bigger issues right now." Jack said, cutting her off.
"That's right. Dad, I need the light cannon that belonged to Mom, to blow up that eyeball!" Steven said.
"Eyeball?" Greg asked, pulling himself back to earth after meeting his first fan in a long time.
All of them directed Greg to the sky, pointing to the ever growing eye that was slowly getting closer. The Autobots were still trying to shoot it, but they stopped briefly when Amethyst went flying at the thing again.
"Wait, is that a magical thing? The Gems told me not to get involved with magic stuff. It... it could be dangerous or interfere with what's left of my hair." Greg said, rubbing his head.
"But they need Mom's cannon. You've gotta know where it is, like a cave dungeon or a cloud fortress, or in a clam at the bottom of the ocean!" Steven said.
"Well, I don't know about all that. But I have an idea where it might be." Greg told them.
Moments later, the five were outside of a place called U-store.
"A magical storage unit!" Steven said, running up to the building.
"Ha, not exactly. But some would say there's magic inside." Greg said, winking at his son.
While Steven didn't seem to understand what he was trying to imply, the other three simply nodded at him, letting him know that they at least got it.
"It's just a shed I use to keep things that don't fit in the van. If it's anywhere, it'll be in here." Greg said.
"Yeah, I imagine that thing not having much in the way of room. Let's open her up and see if we can't find what we're looking for." Jack said, giving Greg a hand with opening the storage unit.
Upon opening the thing, it became all too clear to everyone that this was going to be anything but easy. To say that it was packed would have been a severe disservice to the amount that Greg had seemingly managed to cram into that small space.
"Reminds me of my house on Christmas." Rafael commented.
"How many relatives do you have again?" Miko asked.
"A lot." Rafael said.
"If I'm going in there, I'm gonna need some gear." Steven said, tying a flashlight to his head with a sock.
"Hold on. With everything in there, this could take a too long. I'll go in with you." Raf said, tying himself to the same electrical cord as Steven.
"Be careful, Raf." Jack said.
"Jack, he's going into a storage shed, not going deep sea diving." Miko said.
"Don't worry, I've got him." Steven said, assuring them.
"Good luck!" Greg called out after the two as the dug their way into the storage unit.
"Woah, cool! It's like a dad museum." Steven said.
"What are we looking for again?" Rafael asked, pawing through the various items before him.
"It's supposed to be a cannon. Like a- There it is!" Steven said, reaching for the item he saw, only to realize upon pulling it out that it was a golf club. "Do you golf?"
"Eh, I'd like to think of myself as someone who would golf... eventually." Greg called out, getting skeptical looks from Jack and Miko.
Continuing to look around, Steven and Rafael were finding a lot of things, but none of them were what they needed.
"I got it!" Rafael called out, pulling out a drum from the rummage pile, "I don't got it."
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Is this-" Steven called out excitedly, thinking he had found the canon, only to find that it was a canon, but not the one they were looking for, "Buy T-Shirt cannons?"
The two continued to look, not finding much else that even resembled a canon. However, between the endless pieces of out of date clothing and strange knick-knacks, Steven did manage to find something of interest.
"Hey, there's a bunch of copies of your old CD!" Steven said, waving Rafael over to come and see.
"Huh. Oh, man, I couldn't give those things away. You know, before I ran the car wash, when I was a one-man band, I traveled the whole country." Greg called out.
"I know we're busy right now, but do you think I could get an autograph from you?" Miko asked Greg.
"Miko." Jack scolded, his voice getting testy.
In response, Miko simply huffed and folded her arms across her chest. However, Greg was a little more receptive to his fan. Tapping her shoulder, he motioned for her to come a little closer.
"Get with me later. I'll give you a signed copy of my CD." he told her.
"Yes!" Miko whispered in excitement.
Steven took one of the CDs, stuffing it into his pocket. He offered Rafael one, who took it with a smile. While he didn't know the music himself, it was only polite to take one. Even if he didn't like the music, he was sure that Miko would likely want it.
"When I came to play a concert here in Beach City, no one showed up except-" Greg reminisced.
"An Alligator!" Steven shouted, cutting him off.
"No, it was your mother." Greg replied, the other two half smiling at the absurdity of Steven's comment.
"Hahaha, I know." Steven said, lifting Rafael up so the two could dig in deeper.
"And we were always together after that. Until she gave up her physical form to bring you into the world. I don't know what a magic lady like her ever saw in a plain old dope like me." Greg said, fondly recounting his time with Rose.
While it was all a very touching thing to hear, Jack, Miko, and Rafael couldn't help but take note of what was being said. While his wording may have been a little strange, it did provide a clearer picture of what was going on with Greg Universe.
While it wasn't their place to go poking their noses into other people's business, they would all be lying if they said this didn't shed some light on the situation with Steven's dad.
So engrossed by this thought, Rafael didn't pay attention to where he was going, accidentally stepping on a glass picture frame in the process. Letting out a gasp, he looked down to see that it was of Steven's dad and his presumed to be mother. Looking over to Steven apologetically, he couldn't help but wonder how this would be taken.
"Uh, Dad, we broke a photo." Steven called out, taking part of the blame.
Rafael shot him a smile, silently thanking him for not making the issue a big problem. Steven simply smiled back in a way to say it wasn't a problem.
"It's okay buddy. If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs." Greg called out.
Looking back at the other two, Greg could help but notice the way they were looking at him. It was a kind of look that would be on par with see lobsters crawling out of his ears.
"What?" he asked them.
"... Nothing. I've uh… just never heard that one before." Jack explained.
Inside the storage unit, Rafael was giving the same puzzled look to Steven as the other two had given to Greg. Seeing this, Steven did little more than shrug with a smile. Yet, looking in Rafael's direction, he saw something glow underneath the heaps of junk. Pointing to it, Steven got Rafael to turn and look at what he was seeing.
"Huh?" Rafael said, going over to where the glow was.
The two gasped in unison when they figured out what it was.
"The light cannon!" Steven shouted in excitement.
Outside, Greg and the kids were getting more nervous over the looming threat that continued to grow ever closer.
"Oh boy, that thing's giving me the willies." Greg said, rubbing his stomach.
"Would make for some sick van art, though." Miko said.
"True." Greg agreed.
"Dad, we found it!" Steven called out to them.
"Really?" Greg asked.
"Great job guys!" Jack called to them.
Steven and Rafael quickly got to work with tying the canon to the cord.
"Get the van!" Steven called out.
Greg motioned for the other two to give him a hand. Grabbing onto the cord, all three of them heaved the canon out, Raf and Steven following close behind.
"This thing could save the city, we've gotta get it to the beach!" Steven said.
"How? We can't fit that thing inside of the van." Jack pointed out.
"We could carry it." Miko suggested.
"That would take too long. We need to find some way to… pull it or something." Rafael said.
Right as Rafael said that, a wagon came rolling out of the storage unit. Looking at each other, they simply shrugged as the three knew that they had little time and fewer options.
"Easy does it." Greg said, helping everyone situate the canon on both the wagon and the van.
They secured it to the best of their ability with the few resources they had. Once it was all in place, everyone piled into the van. Not waiting for word from anyone, Greg took off as soon as he heard the back doors shut.
"Is it gonna be okay?" Raf asked, watching the wagon bounce up and down from the back window.
"If every pork chop were perfect-" Greg began.
"We wouldn't have hotdogs!" Steven finished.
"Still not sure I get that." Miko said.
Looking out the front window, Jack noticed that the red-eye was still getting closer and closer. What was worse was the fact that the blasts from the Autobots had not seemed to be doing anything, despite how much fire they were putting to it.
"Uh Mr. Universe, not to hassle you, but can this thing go any faster?" Jack asked, frantically.
"This is faster." Greg said.
"Don't worry. Come on, let's put on your CD." Steven suggested, pulling it from his pocket.
"What? Really? Come on, you've heard it." Greg said, obvious embarrassment in his voice.
"I have, but they haven't." Steven said, putting the disc into the radio.
Once the song started playing, Steven immediately started to sing along with it. While Greg was a little worried about what other people might think of one of his least known tracks, Miko was more than interested to hear something that she hadn't before.
"Wow, an unreleased track. This is awesome!" Miko said.
Meanwhile, Jack and Rafael could only look at each other, trying to figure out what they thought of music themselves.
Down at the beach, things were not looking good in the slightest. While the Autobots had kept up a continuous barrage of fire, and Amethyst had been constantly thrown at the thing, it didn't seem like they were getting anywhere with it.
"Optimus, I don't think this is working." Arcee said, watching Amethyst wash up on shore.
"Throw me again, I think I'm cracking it. Wait, is that…" Amethyst said, noticing Steven.
Everyone stopped to look at what had suddenly caught Amethyst's attention. To their delight, it looked like Steven and the others had made good on what they set out to do and found the canon.
"Hey guys!" Steven shouted to them.
"He really had it!" Pearl gasped.
"Uh Steven… are those robots?" Greg asked, floored by what he was seeing.
"We'll explain later." Jack said.
Just as the van had made it to them, the sudden pull of the red-eyes own gravitational force started to be felt. Things started to lift up from the ground and around them. While the Autobots were still holding themselves in place, even they weren't immune to it.
"We have to use it now." Garnet said.
"How?" Jack asked.
"I don't know how it works, it was Rose's!" Pearl said.
"Dad, how do we use it?" Steven asked, to which Greg just shrugged.
"Great, we get a big gun and no one knows how to use it." Arcee commented.
"Steven, this is serious." Pearl said, before making a realization, "The gem. You have Rose's gem."
"That's it!" Amethyst said, lifting Steven up to start rubbing him against the canon.
Everyone watched, hoping that it would have some sort of effect, but nothing was happening.
"Ah, come on!" Amethyst shouted.
"Work, you overgrown peashooter!" Miko joined in, kicking the thing.
"Stop that." Garnet said.
"It's no use." Pearl said.
"Fine, forget it. Throw me again." Amethyst said, giving up on the canon.
"I really don't think that's going to work." Rafael told her.
"Optimus, we're out of options. The only thing we can do now is evacuate." Bulkhead said.
Looking up to the red-eye and then back down at everyone else, Optimus knew that there was no time left. Everything else that had been done was not effective against that thing. Yet, in that same regard, there were still so many lives at stake.
"Guys, we can't just leave them!" Jack said.
"Yeah, there's gotta be something we can do!" Miko said.
The pull of the gravity was starting to get very intense, pulling up other, much heavier object. It was now getting to the point that Arcee was needing some assistance to keep herself on the ground. Fortunately, Bumblebee was there to give her a hand. Meanwhile, Greg was trying to see if he could figure the canon out.
"I got this… Ugh, wait, nope, maybe I don't!" Greg said, trying to stop his van.
"Please work, unlock, activate, go, please! Everyone's counting on you, you can't just be useless! I know you can help." Steven said to the canon.
"I'm afraid that evacuation may be our only option. We may not be able to save everyone here, but we will save as many as we can." Optimus said.
"It's okay, Steven. We'll figure out something else, something even better." Greg said to his son.
"R-r-r-right, if every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs." Steven said.
This time it was the Autobots turn to stop and stare. They had heard a good number of strange words and phrases out of humans before, but this was by far one of the strangest. They couldn't help but stare at Steven as if he had just sprouted wings and segmented eyes.
"I'm sorry… what?" Optimus said.
Yet, to everyone's even bigger surprise, the canon seemed to turn on.
"It's working!" Pearl said, astounded.
As the canon sprung to life, it began to glow even more. By the time that it had fully activated, the thing became too heavy and fell over. Steven tried to get it back up, but it was far too heavy for him alone. Seeing this, Optimus came down to his level.
"If I may." Optimus said, referring to the canon.
Looking at him, Steven slowly backed away from the canon to let the Autobot leader do whatever it was that he needed to. Even with them only just now knowing each other, there was something about him that just said he could handle this. Almost like a memory of a long forgotten friend.
When Steven had gotten out of the way, Optimus carefully picked up the canon in one of his hands. Even with him being the largest of the group, the canon was still a very big item for him. Yet he was still able to hold it one handed as aimed it to the red-eye.
"Stand back!" he called to the rest.
Everyone did as Optimus said, stepping a ways back from where he was. The bots all took hold of the kids and gems, sheltering them with their bodies in hopes of keeping them safe from whatever it was that was about to happen.
Just as everyone seemed ready for it, the canon went off, managing to push Optimus back ever so slightly. The light that launched into the sky took on a shape, heading straight for the red-eye.
High above the earth, the Decepticons were watching everything unfold. Starscream was all too happy to sit and watch humans be destroyed, and the slow build up of it all just made it all the more satisfying.
"Oh how truly helpless they are. Only a few more moments before-" Starscream said, not finishing his sentence.
In a flash of light, the object that they had been tracking this whole time burst in thousands of pieces, making the damage to the planet minimal at best.
"What in- What happened!?" Starscream demanded.
"I'm not sure, Lord Starscream. Whatever it was, it's been obliterated." one of the vehicons said.
"How is that possible? Soundwave, investigate, NOW!" Starscream said.
Without any movement from himself, Soundwave detached Laserbeak, sending him to see what had happened on the surface.
Down in Beach City, even though it was raining shrapnel, everyone was breathing a sigh of relief. They hadn't had an encounter that close in some time.
"Woah, where do I get one of those?!" Bulkhead asked, elated.
Lowering his arm, Optimus retracted his faceplate, giving a small smile at the fortunate turn of events. Turning around, Optimus looked to their small friends and approached them, setting the canon down in front of them.
"Your quick thinking has saved many lives today. Well done." Optimus said to Steven.
"Thanks." Steven said.
"How did you get it to work?" Miko asked.
"I just said that thing that Dad always says." Steven answered.
"That thing about pork rinds?" Pearl asked.
"Hot Dogs." Garnet corrected, looking over at Greg.
While he was thankful to be alive, Greg was even more thankful for a glimpse at his beloved Rose. It was fleeting and only lasted a moment, but he would remember it for a while.
Yet he was quickly pulled out of it when he saw the tide coming towards his van.
"My van!" Greg yelled.
"It's okay, Dad, if every pork chop were perfect-" Steven started.
"I LIVE in there!" Greg shouted.
"Oh boy. Bulk, let's go give them a hand." Miko said, motioning for her guardian to follow her.
While Miko and Bulkhead ran down with Steven to give Greg a hand, the others knew that things were far from over. While the crisis had been averted, there was still the matter of what they were going to do next.
"Uh, I think that we have a lot to talk about." Jack said to the Gems.
"Yes… we do." Pearl said, looking to Optimus.
Unbeknownst to both the Gems and Autobots, there was a little eye in the sky trying to figure out what was happening below. Up in the Nemesis, the feed that Laserbeak was providing proved to be useful, but also infuriating to the Decepticon commander.
"Autobots. I should have known. It doesn't matter where it is, they always interfere with everything we do." Starscream vented, slamming his fist on the control panel.
He continued to watch the video feed, noting that there were more than just Autobots down there.
"It would seem that they are also trying to inflate their numbers by adding more… wait." Starscream said, zooming in on the footage, realizing that it wasn't just humans down there.
"Oh isn't this perfect? Now we not only have to worry about Autobots… but Gems as well."