Note: The Dark Nous relic gives the one holding it the ability to control the mind of any Cybertronian they choose. This relic is of my own creation.
Jack could tell that Monica was still upset about what happened at the party. He knew she liked astronomy, so he thought he could cheer her up by showing her Wheeljack's ship. Luna tagged along to keep an eye on them.
Wheeljack was working on the exterior of the Jackhammer when he noticed them approaching. "How is the ship coming along, Wheeljack?" Jack asked.
"Just finished repairing the main engine. She's as good as new."
"Mind if I show Monica inside?"
"I don't see why not." The wrecker shrugged, opening the hatch. His optics met with Luna's.
"When you arrived to Earth, I recall you saying that your ship was damaged beyond repair." She reminded him.
"Guess I'm a better engineer than I thought."
"Clearly." Luna smiled, rolling her optics as she followed the humans inside.
Wheeljack decided to join them as well. He noticed that the newest human, Monica, was quite impressed by his ship. "Bulkhead says you know a lot about intergalactic travel?" She eagerly brought up.
"I would consider myself an expert, yes." Wheeljack replied, proudly.
"That's just . . . amazing! How is your ship durable enough to withstand light speed travel? And how does it obtain enough energy to do it?! Does it run on entirely on energon or something else?" Wheeljack blinked at her, caught off guard by her outburst of questions. She chuckled once, embarrassed "Sorry, I'm rambling. I just- I envy you. Interstellar travel is a dream come true."
"You're a scientist, huh?" Wheeljack asked.
"Student scientist." She clarified with a smile.
"Tell you what. How about I take ya for a ride? The Jackhammer needs a good flight after being grounded for so long."
Her face lit up, "Can we?"
Luna had to protest, "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not? It's completely safe. You don't want to crush her dreams, do you?"
She had never seen Monica so excited before. Plus, she wanted to cheer her up too. "Okay. Once around Earth's moon and back. Not any further, Wheeljack, understand?"
"Copy that." He said, taking a seat at the controls.
Monica almost squealed with joy, "How long will a trip like that take?!"
"Twenty minutes, give or take." Wheeljack replied, preparing to take flight.
"Incredible!" Monica grinned, looking at Jack, "How come you don't seem as excited as I do?"
He smiled with a shrug, "I did travel to Cybertron, remember? Hard to top that."
Luna lifted them above the controls so that they could see outside. Monica's nose was pushed up against the glass the moment they took off. They had to be going faster than a jet, faster than a space shuttle!
Luna sat in the seat next to Wheeljack, feeling an awkward silence between them. She had confessed the strange feelings she had for him and he flat out turned her down. She wasn't even sure if those feelings had really meant anything, or if it was all just in her head. She glanced over at him, wondering what he was thinking.
"Hey, Luna?" Jack called, interrupting her thoughts, "What was your ship called?"
"The Windscar. Before Megatron, I once had a mentor called Voltage. He had gifted the ship to the both of us. It pains me that my sister now has possession over it."
"Was it anything like Wheeljack's ship?" Monica asked, curiously.
"No, I can't say it was similar to this one. Mine was quite larger, and it was near indestructible."
"Hey, The Jackhammer ain't no piece of junk. It survived the blow from a proximity bomb, so don't think it can't take a hit."
"I wasn't implying that. No need to get offended." Luna said, simply. She looked at him, "When did you get hit with a proximity bomb?"
"Uhh . . . I met up with an old Wrecker before I came back to Earth. But Dreadwing got to him first and planted the bomb on his ship. It was supposed to take us both out."
She knew of Dreadwing. He, too, had a twin. Unlike her relationship with Nova, Dreadwing and Skyquake actually shared the same goal: living to serve Lord Megatron. Although, she heard that the Autobots recently terminated Skyquake. She assumed that Dreadwing already knew of this, and was traveling to Earth to hunt them down and avenge his brother's death.
"An old Wrecker? I'm so sorry . . . Who was it?" Luna asked.
"Seaspray. Not that I'd expect you to know him."
"I don't. But I can assume that Bulkhead did. Does he know about this?"
"I . . . haven't told him yet." Wheeljack shrugged.
"He deserves to know. You have to tell him!" Luna demanded.
"I know that, I'm just waiting for the right moment. Get off my back."
At this point, they had just finished circling around the moon. Monica couldn't believe she was in outer space. She was the luckiest girl in the world.
That's when Jack noticed one of the controls blinking. The screen showed another ship within their radar. "Uh guys? I think we've got company."
Luna gasped, "The Windscar! But how . . . How did my sister find us?" She looked at Wheeljack, "Is your ship not cloaked?"
He was aware that the ship's cloaking device was damaged. Since the Autobot base concealed his ship while it was grounded, he wasn't in a rush to fix it right away. He wished he had remembered that part before taking off, "Uh, about that . . ."
"Wheeljack, you idiot! You said this was safe! How could you be so careless?"
"Relax. I can lose her. Just hang on to something."
As Wheeljack accelerated, the ship jerked forward. Jack and Monica lost their balance, almost falling off the edge. Luna was there to catch them, holding one securely in each hand. Monica could see the sky and clouds again, which meant that they were back in Earth's atmosphere.
"If the ship isn't cloaked, then couldn't she have picked up our signal near the base?" Jack gasped, "We could have given away our location!"
"If she knew where the Autobot base was, odds are she wouldn't be chasing us right now." Wheeljack said, "The base is fine."
At that moment, The Windscar opened fire. Wheeljack swerved sharply, causing Luna to lunge forward. She glared at him, "Are we going to be fine?"
Wheeljack tried all his tricks but he couldn't shake her. His ship's blasters did little damage. The Windscar really was a much larger ship, upscale and industrial strength, and unfortunately just as fast as his.
The Jackhammer suddenly received an incoming call. It was Nova. "Wheeljack! I see you repaired your ship. Quite impressive given the damage I caused it. Listen, Wrecker, I could chase you around all day. Let's get to the point. Have you given my offer any second thoughts?"
"What offer?" Luna questioned, "What is she talking about?"
"It was nothing. Your sister wanted a re-match and I said no."
"You will have to face me sooner or later," came Nova's voice over the transmission, "I never knew a wrecker could be such a coward."
Wheeljack tightened his grip on the controls, angered by her words.
Luna glared at him, "She has contacted you before and you didn't think to tell me? Are there any other secrets you're keeping from this team? Because you seem to have many!"
"I'm hardly a part of your little team, alright? The moment I get the kids back to safety, I'm flying out of here!"
The Jackhammer took a hit to one of its engines, shaking violently. Monica could feel her stomach drop. She held onto Luna tighter.
"I'm landing." Wheeljack finally announced.
"No you are not!" Luna argued
"We're not getting anywhere with her chasing us around in circles. If we land, you and I can take her easy!" Then he gets to have his re-match, Luna gets to take her ship back, everybody wins.
"That is a horrible idea! This could be a huge trap, and I refuse to encourage this childish game you are playing!"
He landed anyway. He had no choice, one of his engines was fried. They were in the mountains somewhere, surrounded by rock and snow. The Windscar ceased fire and landed a good distance away from them.
The four of them watched as Nova exited the ship. She stood far off in the mountain, waiting patiently for her opponent to emerge.
"Well then. Looks like I'm on my own." He glanced at Luna, "Wish me luck." Luna said nothing as he opened the hatch and walked out. He pulled out his katana swords, ready to finish this once and for all.
Monica looked at Luna, surprised. "You're really going to let him take her alone?"
"I'm calling Ratchet." She said, already trying to contact the base. There was no response. Perfect.
"Now what?" Monica and Jack were looking up at her with concern.
Luna looked outside the ship. Wheeljack and Nova were already battling it out, and it looked like he was getting the scrap beat out of him.
"I'm going out there." She decided, preparing her weapon. "I need you to keep trying to contact Ratchet. The moment you hear from him, tell him to send reinforcements. Do not leave this ship no matter what, understood?"
"Reinforcements? But it's two against one. You can take her, can't you?" Jack asked.
"The last encounter I had with my sister, she had an ambush set up. I fear the worst, but I have to do something before Wheeljack gets himself killed." With that, Luna exited the ship and ran towards the fight. She could see that Wheeljack was losing steam. When he had his guard down, Nova lifted her weapon to finish him off. Luna immediately jumped in to stop her. The sound of their blades clashing echoed throughout the mountain, creating an unsettling rumbling noise around them.
"Luna?" Nova grinned, "Dear sister, what a surprise!"
"Back off, Nova! I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but Wheeljack didn't agree to this little re-match of yours."
"He was eager to battle a moment ago. Seemed like a challenge accepted to me." Nova said, pretending to act innocent. Secretly, she knew it wouldn't have been much of a challenge to end him, if only her sister hadn't intervened.
"Because you shot down his ship, you lunatic!"
Nova smirked, "I believe you owe someone a re-match as well. Our former mentor perhaps?"
She was referring to Megatron. Luna's optics widened with fear, which allowed Nova to push her down. She chuckled to herself, contacting her master over the communication link. "Lord Megatron . . . I think it would interest you to know that my traitor of a sister has just rudely interrupted my execution!"
She wasn't paying any attention to Wheeljack as he got to his feet. He attacked her from behind, hitting her hard. He got several more punches on her while she was caught off guard. It was a more than satisfying come back. Then Luna joined in, beating her down even more. She managed to pin her down beneath her massive blade.
Nova knew when she was beaten, clearly outmatched against the both of them. A malicious smile spread over her face when she heard the sound of a fighter jet approaching from up above . . . This wasn't over yet.
Luna looked up and the next thing she knew, something slammed into her, sending her flying across the snow covered ground. She groaned once coming to a stop, holding her head in pain as she went to sit up. With blurry vision, she weakly looked up at the figure hovering over her. "Lunar Mist . . . It's so nice to see you again."
Megatron. He held with him one of the most powerful relics ever to be found: The Dark Nous.
In the background, Wheeljack and Nova were fighting again. The former gladiator was starting to get impatient. He should have been dead by now. "What's it going to take to kill you off already?"
Wheeljack noticed that Luna had returned, but something was off about her. Her optics were locked on him as she approached, and she swung her massive blade at his head the moment she got close enough. "Hey! What's the deal, Luna?"
Luna didn't respond. She attacked him again and again without mercy. Wheeljack was unwilling to fight back and did what he could to avoid her. He could see Megatron close by, holding some sort of ancient relic. He realized that must have done something to mess with her brain. "Snap out of it, Luna! I'm on your side, remember? I don't wanna hurt ya!"
"Silence, Autobot! I am not one of you!" Luna declared, her optics black. "Now die!"
At this point, Wheeljack had to fight back if he wanted to live. She was too skilled to keep avoiding. Her moves were similar from their last fight so at least he wasn't completely helpless. Although, it became clear to him that she was defiantly holding back last time, which hurt his ego even more considering he still lost. Now she was going for the kill, which meant he was in serious trouble.
Nova was ordered to stand down so she reluctantly went to go stand beside her master. "She believes she is one of us." Megatron told her, admiring his relic. He seemed quite pleased, focusing his attention back on Luna. "Her first act as a Decepticon, I ordered her to kill the Wrecker."
"But that was my re-match. Wheeljack was supposed to be my kill." Nova crossed her arms, "How is that fair?!"
"There will be plenty more Autobots to go around. Don't be so selfish, Nova. The three of us can finally be together again. We will be unstoppable!"
Nova rolled her optics. Like having Luna back would make that much of a difference. "I'm going to search his pathetic ship."
Monica and Jack saw everything from inside The Jackhammer. There was still no word from Ratchet. They went to hide inside a small crevice when Nova entered the ship. They, too, were in serious trouble.
Nova looked around, unimpressed by the interior. She started to search for anything valuable. "The three of us can finally be together again. We will be unstoppable." She was mumbling to herself, mocking what Megatron had said. "What a load of scrap."
Monica poked her head out from their hiding spot to study Luna's sister. She could see the resemblance, but they didn't look like twins. There were many things different about them on the outside. Nova seemed to have thicker armor, which made her look a bit more bulky than Luna. Nova's hands were pointy and sharp, almost like claws, while Luna's were rounder and more human-like. Also, Nova had red optics and a darker paint job while Luna had blue optics and a lighter paint job. Monica assumed these things were mostly cosmetic, and could be changed as they pleased.
Nova had located Wheeljack's weapon supplies. That was about the only thing of interest to her. The Windscar was ten times better than this pitiful vessel. No matter, it was a loss to the Autobots so she considered that a victory.
Suddenly, the monitor went off. "Jack? Monica? Are you there?" A picture of Ratchet appeared on the screen. "What is the emergency? Where is Luna?"
Nova narrowed her optics, checking her surroundings once more. She wondered who he was referring to. Other Autobots perhaps? Inside this ship? Impossible, they would have to be the size of . . . humans. Knockout did mention once that the Autobots like to keep human pets.
"If you can hear me, I'm sending back up now!" came Ratchet's voice again, "Help is on the way!"
Monica could see that Nova was starting to search under things, places where only humans could fit. She held her breath, stepping back into Jack, out of fear that they were about to be found . . .