Chapter 3 – The Signal

Tracking duty was never a favorite job at the Autobot headquarters in Iacon. No 'Bot ever volunteered to take it, which was why Ultra Magnus was very skilled at the art. Being the only 'Bot that took the job, he knew all of the tricks to tracking. Whether it was a Decepticon spy or an Autobot requesting landing clearance, he would know about it. Nothing could get past his tracking expertise. Except for one thing.

"'Sup, Magnus," Cylinder slapped him on the back, making the Autobot second in command jump in surprise. The blue jet was the only known Cybertronian completely invisible to radar. Not even Cybertron's best tracking systems and radar frequencies could pick up her energy signature, as if she were installed with a signature shield before coming online. But that was proved false many times by several of Cybertron's best medics.

Ultra Magnus placed a hand on his helm to calm his stunned systems. He noted Cylinder's upbeat mood – something rare for her nowadays. He also noticed that she was actually in HQ. Usually, she spent her days down in her All Spark-forsaken lab several levels beneath the surface. He turned to the Autobot, eyeing the smirk on her face. Her armor was dirty and covered in soot, yet her optics seemed brighter than usual; her energy levels remained the same as they were before she left Cybertron a few days ago. Being gone on a reconnaissance mission always took a lot out of Autobots – they were to remain in the shadows and spy on Decepticon activity for a few days. Cylinder probably did not fully understand the definition of reconnaissance though, seeing as how her armor was as dirty as it was.

"And I'm assuming your mission went well?" Ultra Magnus asked in annoyance.

"Let's just say that Scourge got a good yelling at when he got back to Chaar." She merrily grabbed an untouched Energon cube and walked over to Rodimus Prime's vacant desk, "Where Dorkimus?"

"He's . . . helping Cosmos with something – what happened to Scourge?" Ultra Magnus turned, frowning in disapproval when the blue jet sat down and propped her feet up on the desk. She lazily took a drink of Energon, ignoring the dissatisfied glares she received from the other troops in the building.

"Don't those morons know not to fly near the Delta 9 Sector? I mean, that place is always swarming with recon 'Bots. He flew near that area with a search party – loads of Energon cubes. I scrapped every piece. They never knew what hit 'em." Cylinder took another triumphant gulp of her cube before placing it on the desk. She knew how desperate the 'Cons were getting these days. They would do anything to get back to Chaar faster, even if that meant wandering into Autobot territory to do so. Since she was "volunteered" for recon duty often, she always knew where the Decepticons would go when searching for Energon. By now, she knew their favorite routes, harvesting areas, and tactics when searching for the lifeblood of the Transformers. It was almost funny to watch them flee in horror after being ambushed.

Turning on her sensors, she silently searched for Rodimus' energy signature. She chuckled when her results showed that he was close. Keeping an optic on the door she continued, "I followed them after that, landed on Chaar near their joke of a command center. Galvatron went berserk and left the planet, I don't know what for. That idiot put Bunny Ears and the Dragon Wagon in charge, though . . . I have no idea what was going through that processor of his at the time. I mean, I've seen some seriously fragged-up stuff, but as the humans would say it, that has to 'take the cake'."

At that moment, Springer, a green Autobot turned form where he sat, "I hear you're really scrappin' them. They don't like you very much for that." Cylinder and Springer never got a long with each other. Most of their conversations, if any, were composed of mainly insults. She turned her attention to the tall, bulky warrior. His dark blue optics stared into hers. Too bad he never knew that she could read his mind. Though, then again, she never tried – nor did she want to.

"And you think I care? Those fraggers deserved everything they got – they take away those we care about, they face me. Simple as that."

Rodimus suddenly appeared in the doorway of the headquarters, optics dull, walking slowly. He approached the front of his desk, where Cylinder was still sitting. He looked to where her peds were propped up and then back to her own gaze, "Why?"

"Does it bother you?" She placed her hands behind her head and leaned back, keeping an eye on the maroon Autobot.

"Yes," he replied.

"That's why." Cylinder swung her feet off the desk and rose from the chair, gesturing the Autobot leader to sit down.

Rodimus huffed some air before sitting, allowing the blue Autobot to crouch next to him, the large grin still on her face. "How'd recon go?" He asked tiredly, hoping that her answer would not be packed with blows and insults.

"Fine – I'll write a report later."

"Anything specific that you can tell me now?"

Cylinder thought for a moment. She never had a thing for recalling information. She knew it was all inside her processor somewhere; it was accessing the information that was a pain. Even though she had just recited it to Ultra Magnus, the file had stored itself away. Silently, the blue Aerialbot let her thoughts circulate and search through her massive systems, scrolling through data file after data file until she found the correct one, "Scourge was leading a small scouting group, loaded with Energon cubes. I ambushed them and destroyed the cubes, letting them go after that." She paused and tried to recall what had happened next. "I followed them back to Chaar, and remained there for the rest of the mission. Galvy got all pissed and took off, leaving Bunny Ears and Dragon Wagon in charge." Both she and Rodimus laughed at that – Cylinder because of the nickname she gave to Cyclonus and Scourge, and the leader because of the very thought of leaving them in charge to lead the Decepticon faction.

"Anything else?" Rodimus turned to her, even more curious than before with her findings.

"Yeah," she replied, "Galvatron returned with a really strange substance that–"

"Rodimus!" The conversation broke, as Ultra Magnus stood up, panic strewn across his face. It was not often that the second in command expressed this emotion, but when it was, something serious, and possibly dangerous, was going on. The other Autobots in the room stopped working and laid their optics on him. Rodimus and Cylinder rose and also stared at him. The entire attention of the HQ was now directed towards the large red and blue Autobot.

"What is it?" Rodimus approached his second, noticing the drastic change in the taller robot's tone. He seemed . . . uneasy. His face – worried, and his vents exhaled heavily.

"I just picked up a few energy signatures – eight 'Cons and one . . . odd signal. I've never tracked something like that before. They're heading towards us and they're coming fast. Whatever this energy signature they're carrying with them is, it probably is not good. We should send troops out immediately to investigate before they reach Cybertron."

Rodimus stepped forward and stared at the screen. A small red dot towards the center flashed and beeped. It moved closer and closer to Autobot territory, as the Autobots in the room grew nervous. The atmosphere became uneasy, awkward. Whatever this new signal was, it could not be good. "Cylinder, run a diagnostics test and figure out what's going on here."

The blue robot obeyed and stepped forward, tapping into Cybertron's massive systems with ease. She searched through the files and locked onto one in particular. The file she found contained lists, charts, and records of known Decepticons, giving information such as biographies, weaponry, battle strategies, alt-modes, and their last recorded position. The screen before the Autobots flashed and began to display pictures and stats of the Decepticons as the Aerialbot began linking the energy signatures with well known 'Cons. She stepped away from the screen and broke her concentration. Turning to Rodimus she spoke clearly, "I can match up the signals pretty well," she pointed to the screen, "Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, two Sweeps, Soundwave, Laserbeak, and Ravage. The only one I cannot match with anything is this one," she pointed to the one signal that had no data in the system, the so-called "odd" one. "I'm assuming it's another 'Con."

Rodimus sat back down at his desk in deep thought. He knew that he had to act fast if he wanted to keep the Autobots and Cybertron safe, should this be a threat. It had been so long since the Decepticons had attacked the planet. The only explanation for this would be some type of energy, something that could fuel them up quickly and give them enough power to travel across space – but what? He turned to Cylinder, who sat down next to him again. All he had to do was think of something to say, and she would respond. It was a much better way to talk without others hearing or eavesdropping. The leader was one of the few Autobots who knew about the femme's special ability to read minds, and he was certain that she was doing so right now. You lied about that last part, didn't you?

In a way, she responded. Why?

Rodimus looked straight at her, trying to find the right words. Before we were interrupted, you said something about Galvatron and a substance that he brought back to Chaar, or, something like that. What were you trying to say?

I picked up a strange signal after Galvatron returned. I couldn't tell what it was, but he was holding a massive clump of energy, and the signature was very similar, if not the same, to the one Magnus picked up just now. I noted how the energy was unstable and very powerful. Whatever this power is, we should probably confront Galvatron before he gets to Cybertron. Only Primus knows what it could do. Cylinder gave Rodimus a slight smile and nodded towards the other Autobots, all of them waiting for an order to be given.

The young Prime turned to Ultra Magnus, authority in his tone, "I will go and investigate this energy source."

"By yourself?" Springer interrupted and rose from where he sat, "All due respect, Rodimus, but you're letting your old, impulsive self peak through again. I mean, eight 'Cons and some unknown energy source? That's just asking to be killed. You should take at least somebot with you." The green Autobot stepped forward, volunteering for the job.

"Actually," Rodimus turned and placed a hand on Cylinder's wing. She tensed from the contact – all flyers, Aerialbot, Seeker, or neutral, had exceedingly sensitive wings. "I was thinking of bringing Cylinder."

"What?" She spun around, an angered expression on her face. She threw the Autobot leader's arm off of her wing and rubbed the area where he touched, trying to calm down her stunned systems.

"You heard me, let's go," he began to head towards a nearby runway, only to be slowed by Springer.

"Uh, Prime, I don't mean to sound rude here, but don't you think you might need a few more soldiers – maybe a few mech soldiers. Be reasonable here, Cylinder's just one of the many you cold use . . . and she's a femme." He whispered the last part, but Cylinder heard it, scowling in his direction.

"Based on her skill in battle, she already counts as ten soldiers right off the bat." Rodimus continued on, ignoring the disapproving grin.

Springer looked down at Cylinder and sneered. He towered over her, dark blue optics glaring into her own. Too bad he did not know that he had set himself up to be a slave of the blue Autobot's own power. In an instant, the green mech slipped and fell, making a loud crashing noise upon impact with the hard, metal ground.

"Careful, floor's slippery," Cylinder smirked; yet she kept up her normally sour attitude. She followed after Rodimus, leaving the rest of the Autobots in shock as they tried to piece together what had just happened, much to the Autobot leader's annoyance. He looked at the blue Autobot, who had reverted back to her old self, the robot who was always depressed, always saddened and confused with her existence.

"Y'know, after awhile, they're going to figure out that you've been doing that."

The taller femme chuckled slightly, "Sure they will."

Rodimus sighed and directed his attention away from her. Sometimes he just needed to get his mind off of the things that frustrated him, and looking around at the world before his optics helped a lot.

Cybertron was a beautiful world. It's gray metal gleamed in the faint light from its sun, Alpha Centauri. Before the War, when Rodimus had first come online as a brand-new sparkling, the metal haven used to have a definite day and night, the days bright and sunny, the nights dark and cold. Yet the War pushed the beautiful star away from the planet, making it become darker and darker until there was no true "daytime" to define or speak of. While its light still shone every once in a while, it was never like it used to be afterwards. There was still beauty on the planet's surface, though. The tall buildings of Iacon, the city the two Autobots were in, rose mightily in the sky. Circuits and lines filled with Energon covered the landscape like rivers and streams. The highways leading from city to city buzzed with other Autobots, each one going to one of the many different places of the large metal world, such as Vos, Praxus, or even Kaon. Everywhere he turned Rodimus saw life, energy – Cybertron was slowly becoming what it once was. Even the reminders and evidence of battle and war were slowly fading away. Sometimes it even felt that their gorgeous yellow sun was drawing the planet closer and closer once more. It was peaceful; it was home. Maybe not to Cylinder – whom he wished would just enjoy the beauty like she used to – but to him, it was a dream come true. The peacefulness and tranquility of Cybertron always lifted the burdens of leadership from Rodimus, as he felt more and more like his old self. Thinking about it made him almost oblivious to the fact that he and Cylinder had approached the nearest runway in the city.

"Ya sure we don't need a ship?" She asked in frustration.

"Nope," he replied

Cylinder lowered her head and sighed. She hated being a taxi. Quietly, she shifted into her alt-mode. The beautiful, blue Hornet gleamed in the dim light of Alpha Centauri. The jet engines rumbled as her afterburners ignited, a brilliant orange haze glowing from within. Slowly, she began to roll along the runway, picking up speed as she went. Eventually, the plane lifted into the air and circled around Rodimus, signaling him for the all clear.

Using a small pair of micron jets he had installed for more powerful jumps, he propelled into space, getting just high enough to be outside of Cybertron's atmosphere, where Cylinder flew by slowly, allowing him to garb onto her wing.

"Still think we should have used a shuttle," she said in frustration at the sensation dancing through her wing.

Rodimus sighed, "You'll live . . . It'll go by faster than you know it."

The next few hours of Rodimus Prime and Cylinder's mission were spent scanning the area around them. Cybertronians had hardly touched the region they had found themselves in, which was odd considering how close it was to the planet. Cylinder had found out why quickly, measuring and logging how different this part of space felt from the normal places she had been before. The temperature had dropped severely, and many small rocks and ice particles drifted about, making it seem like they had found themselves in a miniature asteroid belt. The blue Aerialbot came to a conclusion, summarizing that this part of space used to be along a common orbital path for comets and meteors that had been wiped out and extinguished sometime during the War. She only wished that she could have been alive to see it, to fully understand why this had happened, but she quickly pulled herself from the thought.

Cylinder collected every piece of data she could gather – recording, photographing, and examining every bit of information she got. It was painstaking, but both she and Rodimus knew it would pay off sometime later. The Autobot leader beside the blue femme, who was currently in jet mode, did his best to take samples of the nearby objects, gathering the small ice-like shards and chunks of rocks to store and put away. This may not have been the original mission, but since they were out there, it would be a good time to investigate.

"I know you're busy, but can you verify the coordinates of the Decepticons now?" Rodimus placed the remainder of his findings inside Cylinder's cockpit before she transformed.

"No matter what, we'll run into them. Right now we're between Cybertron and the 'Cons, so if they want our planet, they'll have to go through us . . . mainly me." She raised an optic ridge and looked at her leader, who was floating in a casual manner and smiling dumbly.

"Well that's good to know," he joked, "But I, too, can help."

"Mm-hm," she huffed and scanned again, this time for the Decepticon energy signatures. "They're getting closer; we should see them any minute now." Cylinder returned to her alt-mode, allowing Rodimus to grab onto her wing before accelerating. She hated the sensation that tingled through her sensors as he kept a firm grip on it, but did her best to ignore the pinch just as much as she tried to ignore the dark voices, or one single voice, perhaps. The jet speed along, keeping the Decepticon signatures in the sight of her radar.

Rodimus could almost feel their presence right on top of him. Their cold, menacing gazes, chilled to the touch – the perfect soulless killing machines. Every one of them – programmed to destroy. It seemed that it was all they knew how to do. Only a few of them ever questioned the cause, and most were hunted down and killed if they had committed such treason.

Strangely, Rodimus felt unafraid when he saw the bright, ominous gaze through the blood red optics of Galvatron's. Soon enough, his purple body became clearer, as did the rest of the Decepticons with the group – and the unknown energy signature with them. Cylinder scanned what she could of it, shuddering a bit when her scan results came back. Rodimus only knew that whatever she had found must not have been very good.

Galvatron smiled as soon as he knew Rodimus could see him, hinting that he was expecting the Autobot leader the whole time. "It's good to see you again, Rodimus Prime. How are things?"

"Cut the scrap," Rodimus replied flatly, "What is that thing? And why are you and your troops headed towards Cybertron with it. According to the Cybertronian code, what you're doing is considered a threat."

"Hmph," the Decepticon leader clutched the blue crystal tightly, "So much for friendly greetings . . . You like my treasure? I found it on a small planet – some power it's got."

Sighing, Cylinder transformed. She looked at Rodimus and spoke softly, "That thing is an exact match to what I saw on my mission earlier. I just took a test on its energy – Rodimus, it's Energon." The Prime briefly looked at her and shifted uncomfortably. "I don't how, but it has the same energy output as Energon ten times over. That stuff's unstable . . . be careful." The leader's optics widened a bit as he took the information and let it sink in.

Cylinder turned towards Galvatron, disgust on her face. The slime ball of a leader had a lot of nerve to show up in Autobot territory. After everything he had done, he did not deserve to come anywhere near Cybertron, let alone be in her presence.

"Well look who's come along with Rodimus. Look there, Decepticons: that is the result of our doing. Our actions are the cause of her broken spirits. Take note."

Cylinder sneered at this, but calmed when Rodimus placed a hand on her shoulder. The Aerialbot sighed and settled down. She quietly thought about the lives Galvatron had devastated. The millions of innocent lives he deserved to die for. Not a single creature should have perished beneath him. She gazed at him. The soulless purple shell stared back and smirked. For a brief second, the two shared a moment of silence. The universe went still and the noise around them fell silent. Both tuned out everything else, and shared the feelings of one another. After everything you've done to me, my friends, how can you even show your face in this sector without the slightest bit of fear of what might happen to you? Cylinder knew that, by now, the Decepticon leader would have known about her special power, and if not, she hoped it would shock him enough to give her an advantage should the situation they were in come to a fight.

You're still distraught about that? Believe me, every death nowadays is just like another star in the universe, the leader thought clearly. Galvatron smirked and turned his attention back to Rodimus.

Cylinder felt as if the universe was caving in on her once more. She had finally come face-to-face with the killer of her friends. Sure, she had seen him before, but never like this. Yet despite what she had been taught, the Aerialbot could not bring herself to forgive him for it. She wanted him dead, to pay for what he did, to suffer for everything he put her through. Her processor ached as she switched off her optics. All she could think of now were the bots that died at his hand – Ironhide, Brawn, Optimus, and so many more. It made her feel sick.

"Galvatron, what is that thing?" Rodimus Prime repeated, now annoyed with the Decepticons' delay of actions. He noted how they had become cocky and arrogant upon this discovery – but could this thing really be as powerful and dangerous as they thought?

"This, my dear Prime, is the source of the Autobot's greatest downfall!" Violently, the Decepticon pulled a large chunk of the crystal from its place. The substance snapped like glass, glowing in protest as it was severed from the blue crystal. The Decepticons behind Galvatron began to surround both Autobots, pushing them closer and closer to their leader and the Energon. The insane look on his face added nothing to Rodimus and Cylinder's already shattered hope that they would escape. Silently, both Autobots, outnumbered and doomed, lowered their heads in defeat. Not even Cylinder attempted to fight. This Energon, while still unknown to the Autobots, looked menacing, and surely appeared to be some type of doomsday device for the Decepticons.

In his moment of triumph, Galvatron threw the shard as hard as he could, laughing maniacally. The mere thought of victory seized him, energized him. How long had it been since he last tasted the sweet flavor of triumph? He could not recall – it had been so long ago, like a barley recognizable memory. Everything slowed down as he gazed in awe at the crystal that propelled itself towards the two defenseless Autobots. Galvatron was too caught up in the moment to notice that the Energon, on its way to devastating the Autobots, stopped. It just . . . stopped, as if it had been caught. And indeed it was.

Slowly, a form began to appear from where the Energon was suspended in space. The phantom figure was nearly transparent as its body took a robotic shape. Every line was exact and definite, and soon after, colors began to appear. Red, white, blue, black, yellow – all were very familiar colors to both the Autobots and the Decepticons.

Starscream.

The ghost, clutching the blue Energon in his hand, turned and faced Galvatron, a deranged smiled on his face. In his annoying, high-pitched voice, he spoke, "Not the Autobot's greatest downfall, Galvatron – yours!" He quickly balled his free hand into a fist and shoved into his other, crushing the large shard with ease. The mist began to rise from the broken shard again – familiar to the Decepticons, but not to the Autobots. It swirled around Starscream, but then moved to Galvatron, then Cyclonus, and Scourge, until it eventually covered every Cybertronian in the area.

"But . . . how?" Cylinder whispered softly, examining the mist that soon began to engulf her like it did to the others.

"How is this doing . . . this?" Rodimus asked uneasily, pointing at the mist. He tried to pull out of the fog that was glued to him, and attempted to kick it away will little luck.

"No. How is that even physically possible for a ghost to do that? And . . . yeah, what in the Pit is this stuff? It feels nothing like the power and energy readings that I got earlier."

The mist, after swirling around the others, began to move towards the center of the large circle formed by the Decepticons. It moved in a circular path as if it were covering another invisible figure. The circle grew larger and larger until it was bigger and taller than everybot combined. Electrical charges began to flow through it, sparking every now and then, charging itself up. A large wind soon picked up, followed by a huge electrical storm around the mist, which now sported a large hole in the middle of it. It extended into a tunnel-like object – a wormhole. The transwarp energy started pulling the Cybertronians towards it, as if it had sprouted its own gravity field.

"Starscream, you idiot! What did you do?" Galvatron demanded as he tried to resist the pull of what had become a massive portal.

"I – I don't know!" The ghost was flung like a rag doll into the gaping hole, as were Cyclonus, Galvatron, and the rest of the Decepticons that were frantically trying to hang on.

Cylinder transformed in one last desperate attempt to flee, allowing Rodimus to grab on before igniting her thrusters at full force. It did little, though, as the massive energy of the portal caused the jet to stall out, dragging both Autobots in.

Once inside, Cylinder could see nothing but blue smoke. Most of the robots around her had passed out from the extreme pressure. Some awoke, only to be knocked offline again. The portal continued to pull on her, making her whole body feel heavier than ever. The Aerialbot began to feel weak and her metal shell grew softer and felt number by the second. She felt nauseous and sickened as everything began to spin. The universe finally came crashing down on her as she fully prepared for the end. This was nothing like the space or ground bridges back on Cybertron. The feeling was more intense, more extreme.

A small light appeared at the end of the void. It was white-hot, yet promising. Cylinder's hope reappeared – she had a feeling that everything would be all right. Everything would be okay. She grabbed Rodimus' hand, thinking of the possibilities of them getting separated if she had not held on. He would never survive without another allied robot around. She ignored the fact that his hand felt different, considering everything on her felt different as well. Closing her optics, the blue Autobot prepared for impact. The last thing she remembered was a large explosion and a blast of light. Then everything faded to black.