Greetings my friends! First and foremost, I apologize for the extremely long overdue update of this story. These past few months have been very taxing on me mentally, emotionally, and physically. I have not had enough energy to do updates for this story, and others. However, I would like to thank you for your patience, it is greatly appreciated. This chapter was written over a long span of time, while I was battling inner demons, I would write small pieces here and there, and I am very happy with how it turned out, and I hope that you do too. As always, please let me know what you think, what you hope happens in the future, any and ALL opinions are wanted! I am still deciding between two different directions, and I like reading what you the readers would like to see, or other ideas (I take them all into consideration before writing). I love hearing what you have to say, but of course keep it positive, no rude or nasty comments please, we are all friends here. Special Note: I have already begun writing chapter 10, and I hope to post that one as soon as possible, to make up for the delayed wait. So yes, please fave, follow, and review, review, REVIEW! Until next time my friends - AP


The tall femme leaned against the old broken doorway, raising her arm canon beside her. She breathed deeply before bursting around the corner, pointing her canon into the darkness. She checked her internal map, sprinting quickly through the rubble, keeping her weapon at the ready. Her long cables sprung and recoiled effortlessly, as she bound over the metallic obstacle course in a mixture of grace and agility. Her optics narrowed, letting her heightened and expertly trained senses to take over, continuing relentlessly down the abandoned underground tunnel. Her lips remained tight beneath her facemask, controlling her ventilated breathing, scanning the shadows that stretched endlessly in front of her. The subtle eerie breeze whistled through the charred metallic ruins, as rusted dust particles danced gently above her.

Her helm tilted upwards while she paused at a crossroads, sliding her forearm panel back to reveal a small data monitor. Her optics ridges furrowed, reading the graphs. The wind is blowing in a south-by-south east direction… however that rust is following a north-western pattern… She checked her internal map; the route had ended, further indicated by her marker blinking tauntingly at the edge of the boundary. The map ends in this exact location… his Space Bridge must be here… She looked around, only seeing more endless tunnels, while she searched for Energon signals, to her dismay there were none. Frag, the walls must be shielded… and it'll take me deca-cycles to search these tunnels. Her iridescent optics looked back up to the blowing rust, her processors whirred before she smiled faintly under her facemask. The Bridge is here… that dust has been ventilated from within the walls… and that's why its direction does not match the winds. It must be originating from the hidden Sector's location. So much for the energy shields Doc, the Bridge machinery requires proper air dispersion and redistribution to the cooling vents, even if it is not currently operating. It would appear you never accounted for such a basic engineering design to give away your secret.

Her vision focused on the small particles blowing in the subtle wind as she followed slowly. Her audio receptors channelled the barely audible whistle of the dust through the old pipes behind the large corridor walls. The sound led her through the intricate metallic and rusted maze, a labyrinth of destruction and death while she continued slowly, turning the corners skillfully and as quietly as her cumbersome size would allow. Soon, the raspy ventilations faded further behind the wall, she had arrived at the secret Sector. She retracted a fingertip, revealing the high intensity laser began to cut through the metal wall.

The metal barricade creaked beneath her long fingers tight grip, pulling it to the side cautiously, allowing her easy passage. Her optics narrowed in the darkness, scanning the quickest route through the labyrinth of cables and vents. She crawled into the tight space, closing the wall opening behind her as she squeezed in between the large piping. Her scathed armour scraped against the sharp edges while she slowly navigated the inner workings of the wall, grunting slightly. Frag these hips… just not going to make this any easier huh? She groaned audibly, pulling herself along the cold and rusted floor, trying to kick her legs as a means of propulsion, her efforts were in vain as she could barely bend her knee joints, let alone extend them. So help me Primus, if I get stuck in this wall and rust to death… She huffed again shimming her hips through the barricade as a pipe snapped at her side. Cold dusted air erupted beside her helm, hissing intensely while simultaneously obscuring her vision in a mixture of smoke and rusted particles. Perfect, let's add optical blindness while we're here shall we? She engaged her ventilators with an inward groan, desperately trying to clear the smog as she choked on the toxic air underneath her facemask. The thick and heavy air began to clear and she pushed forward, weaving her long, curvaceous body through the Decepticon piping.

With a final pull she reached the metal divider to the hidden Sector. She retracted her fingertip, making a small incision in the wall using the small precision laser. The dim light glowed softly through the hole as she peered through, surveying the other side intrinsically. She held her forearm to the small opening, scanning for a life signal. Seeing none, she began cutting the wall, making a small doorway to the other side. With a final stroke of the laser she pushed the wall opening with a slight grunt, it was heavier than she had predicted, although this came to no surprise to her, in order to hide the large amounts of energy from Autobot detectors the walls would have to be thick to block the signal. She turned to the side, slamming her full weight into the cold opening as it collapsed to the other side with a resounding clang. She winced, raising her arm canons instinctively as though expecting a sudden attack. The Sector remained still while the last few reverberations of the echo dissipated into the eerie silence. She crawled through the space, rising to her full statue slowly, scanning the large space around her.

The space was lit from dim lights over head, as well as running Energon lines through the various cables along the floor to multiple monitors and to the Space Bridge. Lifeless vehicon bodies lay scattered across the surface, unbothered and undisturbed from their eternal slumber, causing her faceplates to harden. She knelt down to one, scanning the rusting chassis with her forearm as she read the results. These vehicons haven't been off-lined for long, maybe only a few cycles… that would mean the Autobot attack was fairly recent. But who were they… and where did they escape too?

She took a tentative step closer to the main monitor, noticing the newly replaced screen. Must've been damaged during the escape… explains why it remains completely intact, unlike the rest of the damaged equipment. Hopefully the information still remains on the internal drives. She furrowed her optic ridges, making her way cautiously to the looming computer module that remained idling. She scanned the surface for bugs left behind by the Decepticon experimentalist, and detecting none, she began typing commands. Her iridescent optics scanned the running graphs, lines of code, and streaming data that filled the multiple screens slowly around her. Why wouldn't he place this under a passcode lock… something doesn't feel right… Shaking her helm, she typed in the commands, searching for the Autobot prisoners that escaped his hold many orns ago. Her long fingers decrypted the files easily, finding the Autobot prisoner log within nano-seconds. She tapped a single key, playing the video.

A small blue femme lay helplessly beside a larger red mech, both awaiting the impending torture from their Decepticon captors. The feed filled with slight static as it cut in and out, but the audio remained to function perfectly. The familiar low drone belonging to Shockwave filled her audio receptors as he stood before the Autobot prisoners holding a cable. The scene played out and all she could do was watch in horror, narrowing her optic ridges furiously. The cortical psychic patch was complete as the smaller femme off-lined temporarily, she punched the keypad quickly, trying to focus the image of the femme, but it was in vain, the video log was too damaged to increase the video quality. The feed filled with more static and Shockwave's private log began to play. The vehicon attendants worked diligently behind him while he continued to log the success of the patch, before the audio of a voice she had long since heard played quietly.

"This is Optimus Prime. To all surviving Autobots who hear this message, I ask you to join me in a remote corner of the galaxy, on a small planet rich with Energon. I have reason to believe that this world will soon become a new target of Decepticon conquest. Our team is small but strong. Join me at these coordinates so that we might plan our resistance. Safe journeys." She paused the video feed instantly, as her hand trembled, hovering over the keypad.

"He's… he's alive… no, it can't be… that's not possible…" She whispered to herself in a myriad of painful and joyous emotion. She shook her helm in disbelief, trying to order the timeline, desperately wanting her new discovery to be true. "According to the log, this event occurred 2 maybe 3 cycles ago… calculating the time from when the message was first sent would make Optimus' last known existence to be about 4 cycles in the past… at the most…" She breathed to herself, closing her optics. "4 cycles…"

She didn't know how to think, to feel, all that she had known had shattered by this revelation, her optics shot open with new found determination. "If he still lives, the small chance that he still exists, means that the Key restored his memories… which means that they are currently with him…" She played the video watching the Autobot escape, searching for other clues as she typed furiously into the keypad, trying to track down any pertinent information. The small femme caught her optic and she hastily paused the static filled video. By the All-Spark… that's the same femme who was here with that strange creature… and she has the portable processor drive… She smiled beneath her facemask as her optics brightened. I knew it. I knew I was right in my decision. She'll lead me straight to them on the planet! The tall femme took a breath, steading her excitement. Slow down… you have to get there first, they'll soon realize the message contains a locator beacon… unless they already have… never mind that now, get to the planet, figure out the rest later.

She continued scanning the coordinates provided from the patch, analyzing them on the large grid map connected to the Space Bridge. To her dismay the coordinates only led to the planet's position within the galaxy, not their specific location, sadly this was no surprise to her, she knew better than to expect such a miracle. Optimus would never give specified coordinates through Autobot codes, for reasons such as this, capture by the Decepticons. She began surveying the Space Bridge's energy levels and functional integrity, feeling a slight pain in her spark arise.

"SPACE BRIDGE STATUS: INCOMPLETE." She bit her bottom lip in frustration, feeling desperation begin to creep into her processors. Frag it! Marooned on this Pit forsaken lifeless husk of a planet! With no means of communication! I thought the bridge was supposed to be completed by now? Slag it to the Pit! She slammed her fist into the metal keypad heavily, causing a booming echo to reverberate around her loudly. She lowered her helm as the machines hummed around her mockingly, causing her to grip the surface angrily under her fingertips. I should've just gone with them… I should've just followed… why did I stay here? Why didn't I just go? She took a contemplative breath, ventilating slowly, trying to calm herself. You had to be sure… you had to protect Vector Sigma… you didn't know if they could be trusted.

She took a step away from the monitor, pacing slowly as she continued to war with herself. You could've trusted them! They were in possession of the Key! Hand chosen by the Matrix bearer, whom ever it may have been! You know this! She closed her optics, stopping in front of the looming Space Bridge archway. But what if the Decepticons had taken control of the Matrix? What if they had been enemies, and not allies? You had your reasoning, and you'll find them. Keep it together femme, you have to focus… you have to think… She took another step closer to the monitor noticing a small transmitter beacon blinking. She took a sharp breath, feeling her spark skip a pulse. The transmitter signal was currently broadcasting to a Decepticon warship, that much she had figured as she felt her knee joints weaken. Primus… what have I done?


"What do you mean we're receiving a signal from Cybertron? That's not possible…" Megatron's low voice cracked wickedly as he stormed over to his Chief Surveillance Officer, clasping his hands behind his back heavily. The silent mech turned, playing the data on his face-screen. Megatron narrowed his red optics before smiling devilishly. "It would appear some bot has tripped one of Shockwave's old communicator beacons… is there any indication as to whom it may be?" The telepath turned, typing commands into the computer module as he scanned the codes wordlessly, before turning to his leader again, shaking his helm. The Gladiator straightened, furrowing his optic ridges in contemplation.

"It is possible that they may be a surviving Decepticon begging for aid… or a helpless, unsuspecting Autobot accident. Regardless, ready our Space Bridge for immediate departure to those coordinates." The slender figure nodded before turning back to the computer module, typing commands with his long black fingers. The ruthless warmonger turned his helm, yelling hoarsely across the dark flight bridge to his Air Commander.

"Starscream!" The Seeker jolted from his work, trudging towards the impatient Megatron hastily.

"Yes, Lord Megatron?" His high voice hissed, as he tried to stifle his apparent irritation. The Decepticon leader paid no attention to his tone, turning to face the helm of the ship.

"Ready a small recovery team. There is a guest on Cybertron that is need of pick-up." The Air Commander raised an optic ridge questioningly, trying to hide his sudden worry.

"And…and who would-would this bot be… exactly… Master?" His long sharpened fingers fidgeted timidly, while his wings gave a slight nervous tick. Please don't say Shockwave… any bot but Shockwave… if it's Shockwave I'm scrapped for sure… The titan of a leader turned his helm, peering over a large, pointed shoulder pad.

"That is the very same question, I would like answered too."