The Autobots sat around the table in the conference room, Prime at the head of the table, his counterpart on his left, Ratchet on his right. Prowl sat on the other side of Optimus, and Sunstreaker sat next to him. On Ratchet's other side was Wheeljack, then Bluestreak, Sideswipe and Hound. Ironhide sat at the end, with Bumblebee on his left.

The Autobots looked curiously at the seating arrangement. It was pretty much the same as normal, except, the New Autobot was sitting between Prime and Prowl. As second-in-command, Prowl thought it was very improper for anyone to be sitting between himself and their leader, and they all, with the exception of Optimus, knew it. But Prime had looked at the police car with strange look in his optics, and Prowl decided it was better not to argue.

Prime turned his head to look at the Head Engineer.

"Wheeljack," He said quietly. "As an engineer, would you confirm, or deny the existence of parallel worlds?"

Wheeljack blinked in surprise at the odd question. He glanced at the New Autobot while pondering his answer, and was shocked to see a look of caution in the Autobot's optics. Not anger, and not fear, but caution, as if he didn't trust him.

Attempting to shrug it off, Wheeljack looked to Prime and nodded. "I think I can confirm that Prime." He said. "The Space Bridge uses other universes to let us travel long distances. But we cannot go to these other worlds using the Space Bridge."

Prime nodded once, and looked at his counterpart beside him.
"Do you have a Space Bridge where you're from?" He asked.

Optimus shook his head. "We don't have anything called that. We have a Warp Gate to travel around the Earth, and the Decepticons have one as well, though a different one. And they don't use other worlds to work. They just… warp."
Wheeljack straightened. "Just warp? You have warp technology that advanced?"
Optimus nodded. "We always have. Or, at least since the war started."

The other Autobots looked at each other in surprise.

"Do you use this technology to travel from Earth to Cybertron?" Prowl asked, turning his head to look at the mech beside him.
Optimus shook his head. "We did when we arrived, but that was a long time ago. We haven't been back to Cybertron since. We're in the process of building a ship to take us back when our mission is finished."
Sunstreaker huffed and leant back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Why not just use the Space Bridge?"
Optimus looked at the yellow mech. "I told you; we don't have one."

"Why can't you just warp back?" Bumblebee asked.
"We weren't able to bring the more powerful equipment with us through the warp." Optimus answered.

Prime held up a hand, as a signal for the questions to stop.
"That's enough." He paused and looked at Optimus. "Wheeljack's opinion is enough to confirm your story, at least for me."
Optimus nodded. "But what would I do if I was wrong?"
Prime chuckled at the comment before turning to his Autobots.

"Men, this mech here beside me is from one of these other worlds. And, he happens to be that world's version of one of us here…"
Prime cut off and looked at Prowl as he sprung out of his chair and stepped back away from his counterpart.

Of course he would be one of the ones to figure it out before I tell them. Prime thought. Looking around, he could see that Wheeljack and Ratchet had also connected the dots on their own. Ratchet was staring at Prime with his mouth slightly agape in shock.
His other men however were just staring at Prime blankly, wondering why Prowl, Wheeljack and Ratchet looked so distressed and waiting for Prime to tell them who the New Autobot was.

They can't all be that smart I guess. Prime thought. It'd be weird around here if they were… well, MORE weird.

"In his world, he would be where I am sitting." Prime said, pausing to hear a gasp of realisation from Bumblebee. "He is another world's Optimus Prime."
Sunstreaker and Ironhide simultaneously stood bolt upright.
"WHAT?!" They shouted together. "You have gotta be joking!" Sunstreaker added.

Prime shook his head. "I most certainly am not, Sunstreaker. He has told me his story, and I believe him."

"Now you see why I did not want to tell you all who I was." Optimus added.
"But you ended up doing it anyway." Wheeljack said flatly, now understanding the look in the Autobot's optics. The Wheeljack in his world must have done something.
"Well, that's obvious."

"Prowl, Ironhide, Sunstreaker," Prime said, addressing the Autobots in turn. "Sit down."
Prowl and Ironhide did as they were told, albeit slowly, but it took a glare from Prime to get Sunstreaker back in his chair.
After his men were seated, he looked at Optimus. "Which Autobots do you have on Earth with you in your world?" He asked.

Optimus hesitated, but then began counting the seven Autobots off on his fingers.
"To start off there was only myself, Hot Shot and Red Alert. Then Smokescreen joined us. Then Scavenger, then…"
"HOLD UP!"
Optimus cut off at a shout from Prowl. He turned and looked at the distressed police car.

"What?"

Prowl frowned. "Scavenger is a Decepticon! We've faught him a dozen times before!"
Optimus shook his head. "No, he's an Autobot. He taught me to fight before the war started."
Prowl's distressed look deepened. "But…"
"Prowl…" Prime said quietly.

Prowl retreated, but his expression did not improve.

"Please, go on." Prime said, nodding in Optimus' direction.
Optimus nodded. "Well yes, there is Scavenger, then Blurr, then Jetfire, and then, Sideswipe."
The Autobots all turned to look at the red Autobot sitting near the end of the table, who was staring at Optimus with round optics.
"R-really?" He stuttered.

Optimus blinked. "Uh… yes. Why?"

"Hey!" Sunstreaker said looking back at Optimus, putting his hands on the table and rising out of his seat slightly. "Is there a Sunstreaker in your world too?"
"Uh… might be… I'm not sure. One of the Autobots back on Cybertron might have your name sure… but probably one of the lower-ranked ones, because I've never met him."
Sunstreaker slumped back into his chair and looked positively gloomy. Sideswipe chuckled.
Optimus turned his head to look at his counterpart.
Prime nodded. "The two of them are brothers. That Autobot there," He motioned towards Sideswipe. "…is this world's Sideswipe."
"Ah, I see."

Sideswipe looked up at Optimus. "He's one of your best fighters right? If he's on Earth with you he's gotta be good."

This kid's got an ego. Optimus thought, smiling to himself.

"Well, I didn't request for him to come… he came on his own tangent, looking for Blurr. But, theoretically… he is one of my Elites…" Optimus looked away. He didn't want to hurt the Autobot's ego.
"Theoretically?" Sideswipe mimicked. "How can you be 'theoretically' an Elite soldier?"
"Well… Like you, most assume because he is with us he is skilled… he does have some skills; he is a code breaker, and one of the best I've seen. Even the more experienced code breakers I've met haven't had his skills."
Sideswipe beamed.

"However," Optimus continued, determinedly not looking at the red Autobot. "When it comes to anything else…"
The Autobot's tone made Sideswipe's smile drop.
"What?!" He cried. "Come on, spit it out!"
Optimus flinched.

"He's clumsy, socially-inept, a poor shot and likes tormenting the other Autobots with hugs!" He said quickly.

There was a pause. Optimus cautiously looked up, just in time to see Sunstreaker burst into hysterics. Optimus looked at Sideswipe. If a dark cloud appeared over the Autobot's head and started hailing on him he couldn't have looked gloomier. Optimus grimaced. He really wished Sideswipe hadn't asked.

"Alright that's enough!" Prime boomed.

Sunstreaker's laughter subsided to a silent chuckle, and Sideswipe still looked depressed, but he looked up and payed attention none-the-less.
Prime sighed and shook his head, before looking at Optimus.
"You only have seven Autobots under you?" He asked.
"That's right. But there are lots of others who work at our base with us, like the kids…"
"The kids? Who are they? Humans?" Ratchet asked, raising an optic ridge.
"Yes, they are humans. They are only young though. Rad, Carlos, Alexis, Billy and Fred. The five of them help us with our missions."
"How do you keep a pack of humans safe from the 'Cons?" Hound asked.

"Speaking of the Decepticons, how many of them oppose you?" Prime cut in.

"Ah, there are… seven of them I think…" Optimus counted the Decepticons. "Megatron, Starscream, Cyclonus, Demolishor, Thrust, Tidal Wave and…" The Autobot trailed off and looked at Wheeljack. The engineer caught his glance and held it. They stared at each other for a moment, before Wheeljack gasped loudly in surprise and realisation.

"No… the last Decepticon isn't… can't be…"

Optimus sighed and nodded.
The engineer grimaced. "Me…"

"WHAT?!"

- - -

Meanwhile, at the Decepticon's Headquarters, Megatron sat at the head of a long conference table, similar to where Optimus Prime was sitting at that exact moment, although neither leader knew it. Megatron was sitting alone, in the dark, his elbows resting on the table and his fingers steepled in front of his face.

"That Autobot…" He mused.

While observing the Autobot's battle with Menasaur, the silver Decepticon caught little snippets of conversation between him and Optimus Prime. Simple phrases and half sentences is all they were, and Soundwave could probe no further meaning from them than he could.

Megatron's train of thought lingered on Soundwave for a moment. When they had first confronted the New Autobot at the Ark, Soundwave had been there. The tall, dark blue mech was gifted with telepathy as his special power. Had he not thought of using his power while they were there and finding out who he was? Or, was he keeping the information from him? Megatron seethed at the mere thought of it.

No, he decided at length. Soundwave wasn't the type to do that. His powers made him a valuable asset, and his manner made him loyal. No, Soundwave wasn't keeping information from him… Not this kind of information, anyway…

- - -

The Autobots were in stunned silence; their stares switching from Prime to Wheeljack to Optimus then back again. Prowl especially was staring at Prime, as if to question the Autobot leader if his look-alike could be telling the truth. But Prime looked as shocked as everyone else. None of them could process what had just been said, least of all Wheeljack himself. How could he, Head Engineer of the Autobots, be a Decepticon? What could have provoked that? Was it the same as with Scavenger, who they all knew as a Decepticon, but the other Optimus Prime knew to be an Autobot?

Wheeljack shook his head, the action not breaking the stunned stillness that had befallen the room. There was more to it then they knew. If it was a simple matter of his faction being different in the other world, he knew the other Optimus Prime would not have been looking at him the way he was. If he were just another Decepticon, there would be more than simple caution in the mech's golden optics.

"There's…" Wheeljack started, the Autobots around him jumping at the sudden sound. "There's a story behind your Wheeljack, isn't there." The engineer said.
The Autobots all looked at Wheeljack, wondering what he meant, before looking at Optimus to see how he responded.
The Autobot nodded.

"It's true. He has got a story behind him. But that's not the problem. The problem that his friend, Hot Shot hasn't been able to put it behind him the way Wheeljack has. There's always a friction in the air when the two are near each other."

"Hot Shot was the name of one of your Autobots, wasn't he?" Bluestreak asked, speaking for the first time. "Why do you say they were friends, if Wheeljack is a Decepticon?"

Optimus looked down. "Wheeljack and Hot Shot, they were good friends, almost brothers. To begin with, Wheeljack was an Autobot," He paused as that statement caused many of the Autobots in the room to gasp. Strangely, Wheeljack did not seem surprised. "Wheeljack defected to the Decepticons when he thought Hot Shot had left him to die in a fire and Megatron saved him. I don't understand everything on either side, but Wheeljack has been able to put it behind him. Hot Shot has not."

There was another silence.

"Many of the names you've mentioned," Ratchet said. "I don't recognise many of them. It sounds like you have many people unique to your world as well as people who have a counterpart here."

Optimus nodded at the Medic's statement. "It is true. There are still a great deal of Autobots and Decepticons that I don't know, so I can not be sure if everyone in this world has a counterpart in mine, however, I know that every Autobot in this room has a counterpart in my world, but some in a different form."

None of the Autobots really understood what Optimus meant, but they had inkling. The sentence however, was taken as a cue by a smaller creature hiding under the table between Optimus' feet, and snuck around to behind Prime's chair, his lighter footsteps going unheard by the Autobots, and started to climb up the back of the Autobot Leader's chair.

"What exactly do you mean my 'a different form'?" Prowl asked, narrowing his optics at the Mech beside him. "Do you just mean they could be of a different faction, like Wheeljack, or whacked out like Sideswipe?"

Optimus saw Sideswipe bristle at the comment. He also saw Sunstreaker snicker quietly. He shook his head, more at the police car than at his question.

"I wouldn't call Sideswipe 'whacked out'." He said firmly, watching the young red Autobot near the end. "The Sideswipe in my world has the misfortune to be the youngest Autobot, no, the youngest of either faction anywhere in the universe. I do not know exactly when he was constructed, but he has not yet had the opportunity to mature, or receive any training. That is why he is the way he is, through no fault of his own. You have not met him, so do not ridicule him."

Prowl was taken aback by Optimus' unhesitant defence of the other world's Sideswipe. He stared at Optimus, whose look was as firm as the ones Prime would give him on occasion. It was a little unnerving, because it was just another way that he proved to be who he claimed to be.

Optimus gave Prowl a moment to consider what he had said before moving to answer his question.

"Your name is Prowl, correct?"

Prowl nodded.
"You asked what I meant by 'a different form'…" He trailed off and glanced in Prime's direction. No matter how it looked, the shorter of the two was not looking at him, but rather, the small yellow mech who clung to the back of Prime's chair, ready to leap over at his partner's word. "Well, you yourself are a good example of someone with a different form. For you see, in my world, there are creatures that help us fight. They are human sized, roughly, but they have great power. We do not yet know the extent of what they can do."

Prowl opened his mouth to say something else, more likely than not, to ask for clarification, when a small yellow mech climbed onto Prime's shoulder from behind, and jumped forward, landing skilfully on the table between them all. Prime and Bumblebee were not surprised; they had seen the small mech before, but looked at him with interest all the same as he stood up straight smiled at the congregated Autobots, turned to Optimus and let out a series of computer sounds beeps and clicks.

Prowl gaped.

Ratchet looked at the small mech curiously before looking at Optimus, pointing down at the small mech and saying, "Explain."
Optimus chuckled to himself.
"His name is Sparkplug. I am told there is a Human here who uses that name, right?" Optimus looked sideways at Prime, who nodded in confirmation. Optimus nodded, and looked back at Sparkplug. "He is called a Minicon. They are the third faction of Transformers on my world's Cybertron."

"Did you say a third faction?!" Ironhide blurted out.

"I did. In fact the Minicons outnumber both the Autobots and the Decepticons by a great deal. There are a lot more of them than there are us."
"He kinda looks like you, Bumblebee." Sideswipe commented, turning to look at the smaller Autobot.

"Yeah… kinda, now that I can see him up close…" Bumblebee smiled. He sort of liked the idea.

"You said that they are powerful. How can these little mechs be stronger than mech's our size? It just doesn't work that way." Sunstreaker pointed out.
Optimus shook his head. "I didn't say they were powerful. On their own, not many Minicons can hold their own against a larger Transformer. What I said was they have great power. What makes them valuable is they have the ability to give us their power."

"Huh?"

Optimus looked thoughtful for a moment.
"The Minicons are symbiotic. Most Minicons have Autobot or Decepticon partners, Sparkplug being my partner. They link themselves into our systems, flooding them with new power. We call it powerlinking. Some Minicons lend new abilities to their partners, like in Hot Shot's case, when his Minicon partner powerlinks with him, he can use the cannon in his back axel…"

Optimus stopped and looked at Prime, before sweeping his gaze around the room. Why was he giving them this information so freely? Was it because they were Autobots?

"Could Sparkplug powerlink with one of us do you think?" Prime asked.

Optimus shook his head. "I don't think so. In my world, Transformers are built with places for the Minicons to attach themselves. You and your Autobots probably don't have them."
"Oh!" Ratchet said suddenly. "So, that's what those little ports were for!"
Optimus nodded. "They're called Powerlink Points. Most Transformers have many of them, so they could have lots of Minicons linked at once. Megatron is a good example."

"What does your Megatron look like?" Prime asked. "I know from your reaction to seeing the Megatron here that he's not similar."
"He's not. The Megatron in my world is very tall, with a green and purple colour scheme. His alternate mode is a heavy artillery tank. I couldn't figure out what your Megatron has for an alternate mode."

"He turns into a hand-held gun." Ratchet answered. "It's difficult to explain, but he can displace most of his mass to reduce his size. But his original Cybertronian alternate mode was a tank, if I remember right…"

There was a thoughtful silence.

"Well." Prime said finally. "I think for now, we've heard enough." He looked at Optimus. "Until we can figure out a way to get you back to your world, you are welcome to stay here. I think we would all appreciate your assistance in battle until then. But if you'd rather not…"

Optimus shook his head and rose from his chair. "If you want me to help you, I will. You've offered me your hospitality here, and I'll do my best to be useful to you."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After a few weeks, I finally get chapter 8 up. Sorry for the long wait everyone! Hope you're still liking the story!

Reviewers:

Stargirl101 – Well, here is the update you asked for! As for the Armada characters….. yeah, they might make another appearance…. ;P

SpartanCommander – Yep, I know, vaguely about Roller. He was mentioned in the guide, but I never payed much attention to it. A thing Prime can do that Optimus can't I guess.
I've already got an ending in mind, so don't worry about that, but thanks for the idea.

CodeRed73 – How could he be anything BUT shocked? Heh heh. And yes, Rumble and Frenzy will need to be seen. I like them too. Sparkplug and Sparkplug will no doubt meet, but the human Sparkplug will have little luck trying to decipher what his Minicon counterpart is saying! He doesn't speak plain English after all…

Whitefang4ever – XD

Tahalli – Ah, sometime those five words can be more encouraging than a three page critique. Thanks Tahalli.

FK306 animelover – It's reading it you're supposed to enjoy! But I enjoy reading reviews, even if they are a touch confusing :D

Thatredcar – I'm more amused by the talk about themselves. I'm such a tease. XD

The Original Marisa – Glad to hear it!

Well, off to write and draw. Gotta put a bit of consideration on what should come next though… perhaps an Armada chapter, or a Decepticons chapter, or something like that. Hmmm….

Ja Ne!