Author's Note: I'm loving how this story is coming together, not gonna lie.


Chapter Eight: Return to Sender

Vert stared at the vehicle upgrade module, which sat on a table next to the Mobi, far longer than he should have. He knew, logically, that they didn't need the upgrades yet. The upgrades were meant for dealing with the larger parts of their mission and, besides, he didn't want to upgrade the cars before they even had a chance to get used to them again. However, that didn't stop him from wanting to try, just in case. The upgrades would give him peace of mind, give the team something more powerful to protect themselves with, and, if things were to go terribly, it would be that little bit of extra assurance that everything would work out.

Still, it wasn't necessary, and he was just being paranoid. So, he left the vehicle upgrade module behind, leaped into the Saber, and lead the seven vehicles - and god, it was strange to have all seven heading into a battle zone at once. That never happened. Never had been able to happen, before all this started - through the desert.

"Tezz, did you get the coordinates into the key?" asked Vert, his grip tight on his steering and his gaze flickering between the key on his hood and the desert in front of him.

"Yes. It will take us to the location of the signal," said Tezz. He hummed, obviously checking his own readings, before continuing with, "Sherman, I am not mistaken, am I?"

A hum from Sherman as he checked the readings as well, and a quiet noise of confusion from Spinner. The cars rumbled around the eight and Vert gripped the Saber's steering tighter, frowning as he wondered what the three could see that he couldn't.

"No, you're right," said Sherman. "There's a Sark signal in all this."

"What?" asked Stanford. "That's impossible. The Sark only work with the Sentients now. Zemerik and Zug are dead."

From the corner of his eye, Vert saw Zoom look at him through his helmet, a frown marring his expression. Vert shook his head and looked away, gripping the steering tighter. He wasn't going to explain it. Not unless he had to. And, right now, it didn't seem like it would help. He didn't need the others worrying about things they might never run in to.

"Probably just an old storage house for them," said Vert. "We ran into a few of those during the war, remember?" The others made various noises of agreement, though Zoom still looked pensive. Vert was grateful he and Zoom were at the front, so no one else could see their expressions. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Now come on, hammers down, guys. Let's get that key!" With that, he fired off the new battle key and opened the storm shock. The sound of it whistled passed his ears as the seven vehicles shot into the vortex.

On the other side, the Saber touched down in what looked like a massive outdoor factory, purple lines denoting the power that ran off the massive generators that rested in the centre of the zone in massive towers. Vert smiled as he saw the zone. It was a nostalgic smile, memories flickering behind it as he remembered the last time they'd been in this zone.

"Hey, Sherman, recognize this place?" asked Vert. Above them, great storm clouds rumbled and thundered, ominous and lumbering. They reminded Vert of the clouds in the memory zone, and he wondered if all the zones would have that sort of weather phenomenon, and if indoor zones would have a much different effect, seeing as they had no sky to have clouds in.

"Yeah," said Sherman. He sounded a touch awed and a touch embarrassed all at once. "This is where uh, Viv and I got together." He coughed and Spinner made the same cooing noise he'd made for Vert and Zoom.

"That's adorable," said Spinner, voice growing steadily higher with each syllable. There was a grunt, and squawk, then Spinner yelped, "Hey!" Vert cracked a smile at that and shook his head. He remembered this zone. Viv had been brought in because they'd needed the Buster but Spinner had had a broken ankle. Usually, they would have just brought in the Gearslammer or Splitwire, but the Buster had had the tech they'd needed for the zone. So, Sherman and Vert had sat down with Viv and explained everything to her.

Vert still remembered her response, 'Only if I get a cool racing outfit like you guys.' Hers had been somewhere between the colours of Sherman's and Spinner's. They'd only kept her on for a few missions, until Spinner's ankle had healed. But she'd loved it all, and ended up becoming a mechanic for the team until the war ended.

"Right," said Vert. "Tezz, Sherman, find me that signal. I want to know where we're headed." He scanned the zone with both his eyes and his scanners, focusing on where the power lines seemed to be going. Last time they'd been in here, the zone had been a lot brighter. Vert wondered if the power cells in the zone had finally started to die. It had certainly taken long enough.

"So, if you and Viv got together in… the purple power line zone," said Spinner. Vert snorted at the name. "And AJ and Tezz were outside of battle zones, same with me and Jax, then what about Vert and Zoom?"

"I dunno," said Zoom, leaning forward on the Chopper. "I guess, for me, it wasn't a zone. It was, you know, just the garage, between zones." He tilted his head and looked to Vert, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You?" he asked.

Vert bit the inside of his cheek. He'd never actually told Zoom the full answer to that question. His own damn wedding vows had skipped over it. If only because he knew the team would mock him endlessly over it. "The clockwork zone," said Vert, quietly.

There was a long pause. Then, Zoom said, "That's the first zone we ever went through together." His words were slow, slightly confused.

Vert nodded. "First time I ever heard you laugh, I knew I was fucked," said Vert, quietly. He cracked a smile. "You said you'd always been my favourite." Vert shrugged. "You weren't wrong." He hesitated a moment, then said, "And the time Hatch froze time would have been when I realized I was in love with you."

Zoom smiled, his eyes vaguely shining, then chuckled and shook his head. "Man, I love you."

"You guys are so sweet I need a better dental plan," said Stanford, dryly. Vert rolled his eyes, cheeks burning.

"I have located the coordinates, if you are all done," said Tezz.

AJ gave a little scoff and a laugh. "Ah, come on, Tezz. A little romance never killed anyone."

"Commercial romance is not something I specialize in," said Tezz. "Uploading the coordinates." Vert nodded. A moment later, the beacon appeared on his scanners.

"Yeah, but I like your version better," said AJ. Tezz cleared his throat, and Vert didn't have to be able to see him to know he was blushing.

Deciding to spare Tezz the embarrassment of being focused on, Vert said, "All right. Looks like we're headed for one of the factories. Let's check it out. Zoom, lead the way."

"Try to keep up," said Zoom, a familiar cocky teasing entering his voice. Vert bit the inside of his cheek, amusement and warmth flushing his face. Oh, it had been a while since he'd heard that in an innocent context.

Zoom shot off, Vert following behind, and the rest followed after. Gearslammer and Buster spread out to flank, Tangler hung next to Buster and Splitwire next to Gearslammer, and Reverb drove between them all, creating a loose sort of wedge that was driven by the Saber, which, in turn, followed the Chopper. Together, the seven vehicles drove through the zone, passing other factories, massive power lines and power cells, and various piles of half-built Sark drones that, Vert hoped, were causing the second signal.

"There it is," said Zoom. He shot off ahead, darting into the opening of the factory. Vert followed behind, his headlights coming on as he entered the dark and dreary building. High above, in the ceilings, massive chains hung down, holding old hollowed out shells of Sark vehicles and other things that Vert didn't recognize, but knew were probably cars. On the ground, the assembly line was covered in a fine layer of dust. The various machines and trays hunkered in the shadows, as if watching, waiting, for something to change.

"Talk about creepy," said Zoom, looking around at it all.

"Tezz?" said Vert, tilting his head slightly back toward the Splitwire while never taking his gaze off the room around him. "Don't suppose you can get the lights on in here?"

"It would reactivate the assembly line," said Tezz.

Vert nodded, mouth twisting slightly. "Right, probably not a good idea then." He rubbed his hand over his mouth and stared at it all, a chill running down his spine and lingering at the base. "So, where does the signal point to?"

"This way," said Tezz, pulling ahead and leading them forward. Vert raised an eyebrow. It was strange, to see Tezz pushing ahead and telling the others to follow, rather than simply disappearing with the same sort of suddenness Zoom specialized in. Though, Tezz lacked the tact and ability to stay vanished that Zoom did. Or at least, he had, when the team had been fighting the war.

Zoom and Vert followed close behind Tezz, the others spreading out more to check out all the angles. Tezz led them into the back of the factory, where the power cells were, and stopped, climbing out of the Splitwire. In his uniform, and in the shadows, partially silhouetted by the glowing purple of the power cells, Vert could see that Tezz had finally stopped looking emaciated. It had taken years, long after the war had finished, and, even at both weddings, Tezz had still been abnormally thin. Now, he was still thin, but at least he looked healthier, and not like the mostly starved guy they'd rescued from the Red Sentient moon.

"It should be over here," said Tezz, studying his tablet, which he held in the same hand that wore his gauntlet. Vert and Zoom hopped out, or off, and followed Tezz. Vert cast a glance to Zoom, who frowned slightly and cast a glance back as they kept pushing deeper into the shadows the power cells cast.

"Strange," said Tezz. He shook the tablet a bit. "The signal is… fading."

"Are we going the wrong way?" asked Zoom.

"No," said Tezz. "No, my calculations were correct. It is almost as if…"

A second voice, from the shadows, spoke up. "It zone jumped." Tezz jumped, tablet hitting the ground with a hard crack as he scrambled backward toward the others. Vert caught Tezz's shoulders and stepped back, already reaching out to call his sword to him.

From the shadows came a pair of glowing red eyes, then, glowing blue circuitry. As the figure came into view, Vert felt himself relax, just the slightest bit. He shouldn't have, considering who it was, but he, more than the others, had his reasons.

"Zemerik," said Vert, a dry twist to his words and to his expression. "Fancy seeing you again."

"Zemerik?!" The voices over the coms all sounded the same. Vert released Tezz's shoulders and let Tezz straighten himself up. The man cast a glance at his tablet, and Zemerik bent down and picked it up, dusting it off before holding it out. His body was different, these days, much slimmer and sleeker, and with much less exposed wiring and joints. His head was the same, if slightly smaller, and he was shorter as well. Almost as if he'd stolen the body from one of his Sark and fit his own head to it, modifying as he went.

Hesitantly, Tezz took his tablet back.

Footsteps, then the others were behind Vert, further back near the cars, and hesitantly watching.

"You know what we're looking for?" asked Vert, ignoring the whispers and confused noises his teammates were making. He'd explain later. For now, he needed to know what was going on with the meta key.

"The Meta Key," said Zemerik, nodding. "Yes, I am well aware of it, organic." He looked over his shoulder and frowned. "The Ancient Ones pose a threat to you and I alike."

"Most things that threaten the whole multiverse do, dude," said Zoom.

Zemerik cast a glance at Zoom and frowned. "You still have strange taste in mates," said Zemerik, glancing back at Vert. Vert couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

"Hey, I think I picked pretty well, considering he helped me save your tin ass," said Vert.

Spinner shoved up between them, grinning at Zemerik. "Dude! You're supposed to be dead," said Spinner. There was a light in his eyes, and Vert shook his head slightly. Leave it to Spinner to be happy to see one of their old enemies again. Granted, Vert couldn't really say anything, all things considered. "What happened?"

Zemerik nodded to Vert. "Ask your leader."

Almost in unison, the entire team, bar Zoom, all cast confused and accusatory looks at him. Tezz was cradling his tablet close, as if he expected Zemerik to reach out and snatch it from him.

"After the war, Zoom and I went back into the battle zones, hopped over to Sark world, and rescued Zemerik from the scrap heap. Machines don't die, not really, so we rebooted him and freed him of the Alpha Code," said Vert. He folded his arms. "That doesn't explain how you ended up here, though."

"I travelled through storm shocks which opened periodically, traversing through the multiverse until I could find a battle zone which would allow me to save Zug and rebuild both of us," said Zemerik. He gestured with his much smaller than usual hands at the zone around them. "Here, is where I have remained, ever since, gathering information about the battle zones and about the changes in them, since the end of the war." Vert wondered where Zug was, but figured he was probably recharging or something. Zemerik never went far without him.

Spinner folded his arms. "Really? You never tried to rebuild your army?"

"Why did you save him?" asked Agura, her words overlapping Spinner's.

Vert grimaced and answered first, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck as he turned to face his team. "Zemerik saved me, back when Krytus first woke up. Without him, I would have died. I owed him my life, and nothing he ever did for us, nothing I ever did for him, made that up." Vert sighed. "It was my way of balancing the scales." He shrugged, mostly with one shoulder.

Agura nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

"Okay, but your army," said Spinner. He waved wildly at the zone around them. "This place is like, Sark central. You could build a totally awesome army here. Why not do it?"

Zemerik frowned. "My hubris was my downfall. My want to control the multiverse almost cost me that which was most dear to me. I will not make the same mistake again," he replied.

"Zug," said Spinner, grinning. Zemerik gave a singular nod. Spinner chuckled and shook his head. "If robots could love, Z, if robots could love."

"So, you know about the Ancient Ones," said Vert, changing the subject before he had to think much about what Spinner was saying. He folded his arms over his chest. "And the key. You know where it is?"

Zemerik tapped something on his wrist and some screens appeared between him and the others. "The Meta Key periodically shifts across planes of existence, travelling from the shadow zone to regular battle zones, and it does not stay in any one place for long. If you are to find it, you will need to study its patterns of movement." He frowned more deeply. The screens showcased a few zones that Vert recognized, likely locations the key had been, by Zemerik's words. "I have not been able to study its movements, due to my own limited technology in this zone."

Overhead, the thunder rumbled, shaking the roof of the factory.

"You should go, organic," said Zemerik, casting a look to the shaking ceiling, high above them. The chains swayed and Vert swallowed, wondering if they'd hold. "This zone is no longer safe for you or your kind."

Vert nodded and cast a glance back to the rest of the team, before looking back at Zemerik. "Thank you," said Vert. He hesitated another moment, then pulled out a one-way com from his suit and tossed it to Zemerik. "If you need anything, you know where to find us. Let's go, guys." He headed back to the Saber, and the others headed back to their vehicles as well.

"Wait," said Zemerik. He tapped his wrist again. "I am uploading what I managed to study into your vehicle. Use it well, organic." Vert nodded and closed the Saber, his gaze following Zemerik as he disappeared behind the power cells once more.

"That's it?" asked Stanford. "We're not going to stick around and see what he's up to?"

Vert backed up the Saber to the rest of the cars. "Honestly, Stan? I don't think he and Zug are up to anything. I think Zemerik's just trying to live his life, and I'm okay with leaving them here. Besides, that com will track him. We can make sure he doesn't do anything too like his old self."

"It's cool that you, you know, saved him," said Spinner. "I know he's bad but, he's a cool guy, deep down in all that evil programming."

"He is," agreed Vert. The seven vehicles headed back out of the factory, the lightning flashing across the sky above them. "Now, let's head back to earth and study those key signatures. I wanna find out if we can track that Meta Key. The sooner, the better."