Chapter Six
Cliffjumper and the Deadly Sins

Cliffjumper hurtled past voices and places totally unfamiliar to him, through a liquid that swallowed his entire body. He tried to wipe it off. No success. Pressure mounted around his head and some mist began to cloud his vision. As far as the physical world was concerned, he did not exist. All of all the report's he'd read on Space Bridges malfunctions weighed down the sheer terror in his spark.

He'd been through Space Bridges only a few times before, and never when he wasn't on a ship. Did it always last this long? He knew it shouldn't. The duration of the ride was far too lengthy to be normal. Oh, Primus, he must be stuck in here! They'd find nothing but his shell! He'd be another helpless victim to a matter transporter!

With an electric zap, it ended.

Cliffjumper was falling.

He let out a cry of surprise. So sudden was his appearance in these foreign surroundings that he didn't have time to brace for impact. He landed like a falling comet. Dust and rock wrapped him in a protective cocoon, mixing alongside the earth-shattering blast. Vibrations rolled up from his feet to his head. His optics momentarily bailed on him, leaving him blind, shaking, and trying to remember how he'd gotten here.

After a few horrifying cycles, Cliffjumper stumbled to his feet. No more Space Bridges for him.

He rubbed his temple and climbed out of the rough crater formed upon his collision. Well, he was covered head-to-toe in dirt. His movements were understandably stiff and it ached to even lift a finger. But he wasn't heading towards the stockades. One upside.

Cliffjumper vaguely waved away the dust, coughing to get it out of his systems. He pried his eyes open and immediately got another headache.

The Autobot examined his surroundings. Asteroid. Probably part of the belt that marked the edge of Autobot territory. A star glared overhead, heating the earth on which he kneeled. He covered his optics to try and see what class. No, it was too bright, but that did suggest that he was way out of Cybertron scanner range. To his immediate right, the ground slopped upwards to a series of highlands. His left, a grand valley stretching on for a good ten kilometers. But it kept gong...and going...endless. He'd never been in a place so bleak. If he didn't know better, he'd say he wasn't where he was supposed to be.

What if he was lost?

Cliffjumper had heard stories of Autobots going into Space Bridges and ending up being stranded in other galaxies. Like Optimus's crew! What if he was deep in Decepticon territory?! And here he stood, completely unarmed for such an expedition!

He got his feet and staggered around in a circle, trying to get his bearings.

Cliffjumper checked his internal systems. Energy reserves were depleted. Probably just enough to put him into emergency stasis. No weapons, of course. Navigations...Wait, he'd traded in that program...If he really was in Decepticon territory, he was so slagged.

'That's just great,' Cliffjumper muttered. 'THANKS A LOT, MIRAGE!'

His voice echoed lonesomely back to him.

Still cursing underneath his breath, Cliffjumper began to hike up the hillside. He would start from there. Try and figure out how he was going to get back to familiar grounds. Once he did that, he could start searching for Blurr. What he'd decided megacycles ago withstood.

The incinerator had been inoperable at the time he threw the...cube...in there. They would've transported all junk deep underground to be incinerated at a later date. Standard waste management. Though he didn't handle those files, basically everyone who worked for Cybertron Command knew this. Not that they cared, but right now, it was all that Cliffjumper could think about. But what if the day Blurr had been labeled as trash something had changed? Maybe Shockwave revealing himself had altered the circumstances, and it didn't go out as scheduled, or to the right place.

This was his only lead.

So, the way Cliffjumper saw it, he somehow had to get back to Cybertron, get underground, and dig through garbage looking for Blurr.

...Question is, he thought, looking around at the barren asteroid, how the Pits am I going to get back?

The Decepticon warship reminded him of the corpse of an organic he'd once found. Mangled, soaked in its own blood. Dying slowly. Meanwhile, its idealistic planet went on. In the warmth of the meadow, he – a autonomous robotic organism – stood watching this unusual phenomena, however slowly it may come. Its own mother could see it and not recognize it as its offspring. Cliffjumper wasn't even sure of its initial appearance.

The warship was like that. It fascinated and horrified him.

Cliffjumper shook out of the memory. Later.

It had become apparent that he wasn't the first Transformer to come to this asteroid, though it was just as apparent he was the first Autobot. Cliffjumper climbed throughout the contorted structure. Well, even if he knew a lick about repairing an entire ship, he doubted he'd be able to find the right materials. Even the escape pods were completely slagged. Besides, there was a huge hole in the side of the ship! What was he supposed to do about that?!

Sighing, Cliffjumper kicked aside some of the spare debris knocked across the field. There had to be something here that would be of some use to him.

Historical tapes. Useless.

Big piece of metal with the Decepticon insignia on the side. He quickly flipped it over so he didn't have to look at it.

A servo. Hopefully it came from a Decepticon.

What were these? Flickering datapads with...maps? Well, it might come in handy, but considering what he want to –

Cliffjumper paused.

What was that noise?

It sounded suspiciously like jets. But before Cliffjumper could ponder it further, the ground shuddered. Cliffjumper fell right over, then suddenly he was begin dragged and lifted into the air.

Hovering a good ten feet off the ground, he leaned forwards to examine the one who had caught him by the foot.

'My superior intellect has defeated another measly Autobot!' proclaimed the 'bot. Except that it wasn't a 'bot. The Decepticon insignia reflected in the limited lighting, overwhelmed by a blue paint job.

(Upon reflection, he looked a lot like the Decepticon Starscream, who Cliffjumper had yet to meet. But...he wasn't.)

One thing was certain, however. It was a 'Con.

'PUT ME DOWN YOU FRAGGING DECEPTICON!' Cliffjumper swung his fists wildly. 'Wait until I get down from here! I'm going to kick your aft!'

'Oh! Oh! Get it away!' cried a second voice. Cliffjumper took a quick look around and spotted yet another Starscream lookalike, only this one with a pale purple paint job.

Cliffjumper snarled. This Starscream clone ducked behind the first.

'Ha! An Autobot is no match for my superior weapons!' cackled the egotistical one.

'We'll see about that!' Cliffjumper shouted.

'Maybe we just better let it go,' whimpered the coward.

'Yeah, you should! You wanna piece of me?!'

'No! No! Have mercy!'

'Thundercracker! Skywarp!'

Slaggit, more Decepticons?! Cliffjumper twisted his body, glaring at the approaching vehicle. He recognized the altmode at once; a truly unique tripodal motorcycle. The 'Con wasn't alone. Behind him was a six-wheeler, dwarfing her companion in comparison. He recognized this one, too.

When the 'Cons transformed, the motorcycle transformed into the lanky figure of Oil Slick. Too many files of 'bots being experimented on by this guy swarmed before his mind. The second – a femme, despite her hideous appearance – was Strika. These two were part of the team that had laid siege on Iacon and had taken Team Rodimus hostage. It had been right before Shockwave had blown his cover.

And he wasn't about to go down without a fight.

'LEMME AT 'EM!' he shouted, kicking Thundercracker's foot.

'...What is that?' Oil Slick asked.

'I'll tell you what it is!' yelled Cliffjumper. 'It's one ANGRY Autobot, and guess who's gonna pay for it?! I dare you all to face me in a fair fight! C'mon and try me!'

'I fought this inferior Autobot for three solar cycles, before I finally managed to defeat him using my brilliant tactical skills!' lied Thundercracker.

'Sure you did,' sneered Oil Slick. He leaned in to stare Cliffjumper in the faceplate.

Cliffjumper punched him. Of course, his fist was no match for Oil Slick's practically indestructible helmet. (Of course, Skywarp seemed to find this quite terrifying, and continued to cower behind Thundercracker.) The Decepticon blinked lazily, before straightening himself and regarding Cliffjumper like he was an interesting piece of trash.

'This is an interesting turn of events,' remarked Oil Slick. 'How do you suppose it got here?'

'I'll tell you how I'm getting out!' Cliffjumper yelled, attempting to swing at Thundercracker.

'Bah, who cares?' scoffed Strika.

'Well...what should we do with him?'

'I do not care, just get rid of him.'

'I suppose he could amuse us,' Oil Slick grabbed Cliffjumper by the ankle and waved him at Skywarp. The latter screamed and took off running across the plain. 'Than again, Autobots become uncooperative with time, so it might last for long...We could take him back to New Kaon.'

'You heard Megatron. We stay here until further notice.'

Cliffjumper snapped his head in her direction.

'That didn't stop Cyclonus from taking off; Primus knows where he is, now,' said Oil Slick. 'If my laboratory was still in operation...'

'Just feed him to Spittor and be done with it!'

'Woah, feed?!' Cliffjumper started. 'Put me down, ya fragging 'Con!'

'Whatever you say, Autobot,' Oil Slick smirked. 'Spittor! Dinner!'

He tossed Cliffjumper.

Cliffjumper flew a few hundred yards, hitting the ground with the force of a torpedo. Pain shot up his side. But at the moment, he had the feeling that there was more to worry about than personal discomfort. The ground shook violently with the force of something running towards him at top speed. He got to his feet, reaching for a weapon. (Swearing when he remembered that he didn't have anything on him! He was going to kill Sentinel.)

The Autobot barely had time to look up before he spotted a bipedal, monstrous Decepticon casting a gloomy shadow over him. Spittor licked his lips. A trio of metallic, slimy tongues shot out of his mouth, wrapped around Cliffjumper's waist, and sucked him inside before he even had time to swear like crazy.