Lime had shut his eyes, waiting for his inevitable demise by the blade of a Decepticon. His mind had raced. He hadn't been an Autobot that long. It was too early in his career for him to die. He hadn't even been granted the opportunity to rise through the ranks. Yet, there he was, an open target for the Decepticon. Death, for him, was certain. At that moment, Lime was prepared to accept his death.

So why, in the name of Primus, was he lying down on a slab of polished black metal, in an unfamiliar room?

He sat up slowly, taking in every detail of the room. Bars of blue light were compressed into the ceiling, giving the room an alien feeling. On his left, 5 more metal slabs, devoid of occupants, stood. The sides of the slabs blinked and flashed different coloured lights, mesmerising Lime for a second. The Autobot swiveled around and placed his feet on the ground. looking around, he noticed a part of the room that was cut off from the rest of it. Lime approached it with apprehension, thinking it was some kind of secret laboratory. He hoped he wasn't the unfortunate guinea pig.

As it turned out, the cut-off part of the room was a work station, with a computer console. Lime couldn't help himself. He tapped the console once, and a display popped up. The interface was practically alien to Lime. He couldn't understand any of the symbols that he assumed were letters and words. He pressed his face closer to the console, attempting to decipher the unknown language.

He became so engrossed in attempting to understand the language, he didn't realise that a plasma cannon was aimed directly at the back of his head.

"That console is classified." said a sharp, soldier-like voice. "Step away from it."

Lime nearly jumped out of his chassis. He didn't move for fear of having his head blown away.

"I said move, mech." The voice said again. Lime turned and found himself staring into the begoggled face of a dark blue mech. Lime gave him a quick look-over. This one was built for the military. He had that kind of tough exterior that reminded him of...Ripcord. Was he okay? The last Lime saw of him was his stand against the Decepticons.

"Come with me." the mech gestured out the door, as if he were indicating for Lime to go first. Lime seemed to catch on, because he headed for the door, and the other mech followed soon afterwards. The two walked down a well-lit corridor. More light bars lined the walls, illuminating every surface and making the end of the mech's plasma cannon seem just that more threatening.

Lime coughed tentatively. "Can I ask where I am?"

"You can ask." The mech replied plainly. "Whether or not I can answer is another thing."

"Oh, okay." Lime remained quiet until they reached a single door at the end of the corridor. The mech pressed his thumb against a panel, and stepped back, as if he were waiting.

After a few seconds, Lime asked "So where are we?"

"On a ship, in a corridor, waiting for an elevator." The mech said. "Our captain can give you better answers."

"Alright." Lime shrugged. At that moment, the elevator door slid open.

"Inside." Lime found himself being forced in by the end of his companion's plasma cannon. He stepped inside the cylindrical chamber, and the mech followed. The door closed, and he felt the chamber rumble a little as they ascended the ship. The two didn't talk at all. Both kept their gaze forward, though Lime was sure he felt the other mech glance at him once or twice. He twiddled his thumbs, having nothing better to do.

The elevator slowly ground to a halt, and the door slid open.

"After you." the mech said. Lime, given that he was unarmed, was hardly in a position to disagree, so he complied and went first.

He was standing off to the side of what appeared to be the bridge. Just like all the other sections of the ship he had seen, it was very well lit. Consoles lined the rear wall, while a stretch of what Lime assumed was glass revealed the empty path ahead. Four little circular alcoves seemed to be built into the ground, each one ringed with computer consoles. Two of the alcoves were occupied by an orange mech and another red mech, both of which were looking intently at consoles. They all surrounded a large black chair, which was being occupied by a robot with obviously large shoulders.

The chair swiveled around, revealing a fembot sitting in it. Lime felt blue optics looking him up and down. There was something about the appearance of the fembot that reminded him of the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. Maybe it was the window-y and grill-like torso, or the shape of the head. The faceplate was gone, however, and Lime found himself looking at a calm, smiling face.

"Glad you're awake, Lime." she said, still smiling.

Lime raised a mechanical eyebrow. "How...how do you know my name?"

"We did a bit of research on who you are." The fembot replied. "We're the ones who rescued you."

"You are?"

"Indeed. We're calling on you to help us in our quest."

Lime tilted his head. "What quest is this?"

"I will explain everything to you." the fembot said. "My name is Diana Prime, wife of Optimus Prime and Queen of Cybertron."

There was far too much confusing information for Lime in that one sentence. He had never heard of a Diana Prime in his entire life. When he was first training as an Autobot, he had met a historian who could recite every Prime recorded up to Optimus. Lime only remembered because it had become a mantra for that Cybertronian. He recited it every morning, and Lime was always in earshot. Diana had never come up.

Speaking of Optimus Prime, Lime wasn't aware that Optimus had taken a spark-mate. As a messenger, he travelled between several parts of Cybertron, including their headquarters in Iacon. He would have heard if it was the case. He had even carried a message to Optimus once. To stand in the presence of such an inspiring Autobot was amazing. He was almost certain he hadn't taken a spark-mate.

His next thought he verbalised. "Queen of Cybertron? But...isn't there a Council?"

"Not on my Cybertron." Diana replied. "Optimus is the King and I am the Queen." She peered into Lime's optics, as if she were scanning his mind.

"You doubt my identity." she said after a few moments.

"What makes you say that?"

"I can read your processor. I'm a psychic robot." Diana said. "There's a file in our computers on me. It's quite comprehensive. Take a look if you don't believe me."

"Alright." Lime turned to one of the computers lining the wall and said "Computer, bring up the file on Diana Prime."

Sure enough, an image of Diana's head appeared, along with many, many, many lines of Cybertronian text. The computer began to verbalise the text for Lime's convenience.

"Diana Prime hails from universal stream Aurex 604.01 Kappa. Prior to the breakout of the Cybertronian civil war, she was a travelling data merchant with strong ties to the ruling body of Cybertron. She was married to Optimus Prime following the initial aggressive action of the Decepticon separatists. She became involved with the leadership of the Autobots, and discovered her abilities as a reincarnation of the long-lost Eriolite race of Transformers. She has since been named in a prophecy made by Vector Sigma as one who will save Cybertron from an unknown form of evil."

Once the computer had finished, Lime turned to Diana and could only say one word.

"WHAT?!"

"It is difficult for some to accept," Diana nodded. "but everything in that file is true."

"I have to sit down." Lime put a hand to his head and he shut off his optics. This was a lot to take in. Where did he begin? Eriolites, prophecies, and data merchants bounced back and forth in his processor. He felt himself being led to what he hoped was a chair. Moments later, he found his hopes to be true, and leaned back in his new seat.

"You're right. It is difficult for me to accept." Lime spoke after a moment. "But I guess I'll have to get used to it." He reactivated his optics. "Is this why you brought me here? To join in your quest to defeat the evil?"

"Yes." he heard Diana's voice off to the side. "Will you help us?"

Lime slowly nodded. "Yes. Yes, I'll help."