Chapter 28: Skin Deep

Hot Shot looked around frantically. Though the sun had risen beyond the horizon, it was still rather dark and his optical units were getting used to the change in lighting. What had for a moment been peace had once more become a race for survival. Now he had nowhere else to turn. His very leaders had tried to kill him and thus he needed to do the only thing he'd really ever done since things had heated up, run. That's all his life was, a constant chase. Never stopping, never letting loose for even a second. He'd run from the older bullying bots when he was younger and he'd always tried to find shelter behind someone else despite his immense power.

He assumed that's why Rodimus had chosen him as part of his squadron though. With Hot Shot's unique powers to generate an immense heat in the fashion that similar protoforms produced electric currents for offensive capabilities he was a rare find. Able to reduce even the toughest metals to ashes in mere seconds there was pretty much no opponent that he couldn't handle. But that was if he did things right.

For Hot Shot things had never been right. If it wasn't how frightened he would get it would be his ego, another element he had developed to cower behind. When things got done and he got rewards, Hot Shot would let his processor soar pretty high. But not because he was arrogant, oh no, far from that. Even if he purposely made himself out to be better than others that was simply because he didn't want them to see what lay beneath, Hot Shot didn't want people to know just how fragile and frightened he actually was. He was nearly scared offline at the mere suggestion that he might need to get an amputation when Team Chaar attacked them.

What was done was done though. Once he'd made it back to recovery he'd been put on duty along the rim of Cybertron's galaxy. And that's when hell struck. The instant that the dark god of chaos had revealed itself, Hot Shot bolted for the communications tower. He knew they needed help, he knew that he needed something to hide behind. To shield himself from the inevitable. But when fate disagrees it wins. He had been abducted just as everyone else at the outpost had been. The fear that he'd so longed to stay clear of had struck, and it had changed him forever. Knowing just how horrible things could turn out, Hot Shot's only instinct was to run now whenever any sign of danger showed. He no longer had a mask.

But where the facade had been destroyed he'd never forget. Those Decepticons, those Autobots, those creatures, everything within Unicron had just...gone. All in an instant they no longer existed. That older Decepticon, the ones that had been set to fight each other in the arena. Firestar. All of them. That was what had broken him. Seeing the face of the devil viewing what it was capable of. Knowing that it was superior, that compared to it, everything else was nothing. That unmatched sense of fear and death. Hot Shot felt as if he had stared into the face of pure evil. And it had ruined him.

Exhausted, he sat down in a clearing surrounded by a ring of trees. Hot Shot sighed. He hated himself. He just wanted to be what he longed for, what he'd pretended to be for so long, to impress others, to make them believe that he was worth their time. But there was no use in denying what he was any longer. He now understand, at least simplistically, what it was about. There was no time to waste hiding. Every second that was spent living needed to be used to the fullest. Any moment wasted risked damnation.

Slowly the Autobot looked around to see if there was something that he might be able to use for shelter as clouds began to gather in the sky above. Hot Shot didn't want to have to spend his afternoon scraping rust off of his stabilizers again. Upon looking to the right though, the readings suddenly spiked. Curiously, Hot Shot walked over and stared down. Beneath him was an enormous crater. The smoke seemed to have subsided hours before, but it was still rather warm around the body of the space craft. Taking as much caution as possible, he slipped down into the hole and looked inside the window of the craft. His optics widened as he spotted who the pilot was. "Firestar!"


Sari opened her eyes and yawned. It was so nice to be in her own bed after all the commotion that had happened. But something didn't feel right. Raising an eyebrow, she looked beside her. Bumblebee wasn't in the bed. After yawning again, the girl stretched and sat up to look around. After a few seconds she spotted her Sparkmate on the couch clutching his arm. Unnoticed, she got out of bed and walked over to the other piece of furniture.

"Bumblebee?" Sari asked wrapping her arms around his throat from behind causing him to jump in fright, "You okay? Normally I have my best friend with me when I wake up." "Oh hey Sari," Bumblebee laughed lightly as he grabbed one of her arms, "I-I'm alright. Just feeling a bit of a sting in my arm." "Well there aren't any wasps around," she told him with a smile and jumped over the back of the couch. Upon landing next to him she smiled and he smiled back. "It's nothing," he told her, "I'm sure its just one of the annoyances of being a human is all." "Annoying to be a human?" Sari asked wiping her fingers along his chest delicately, "Do tell." Blushing, Bumblebee lifted the hand away and smiled again.

"And how are you?" Bumblebee asked. "Well I'm doing just fine," Sari told him, "Had nice dreams and have the greatest Cybertronian ever to keep me company." "You know it!" Bumblebee boasted proudly. Seeing Sari's expression shift he just laughed and ruffled her hair, "What was your dream about?" "Weird things," she told him closing her eyes, "In one I was going up against all these human sized Transformers that were attacking what seemed to be an ancient village of human ancestors. Naturally I was able to slag every one of them, but then their leader appeared. He was purple and had a Tyrannosaurus head for a chest."

"Did ya kick his exhaust port?" Bumblebee asked. He was sure he knew the answer. "Of course," Sari laughed, "and I ended up destroying this gold disk he was using. Unfortunately, I ended up dying from using up so much energy, but a bunch of good human sized Transformers were there to give me a happy end. Their leader looked like sorta like a robotic ape. Then I had a dream where I was this kid that could sense Energon and had made it on board Unicron's head with a bunch of Autobots and found this thing that looked like a warped Sharkticon with tentacles for legs and four faces in it an-" "Unicron's...head?" Bumblebee asked in an odd tone. Her eyebrow's slanting sympathetically, Sari nodded her own head, "Yeah. It was just floating out there in space and all..."

"Geez humans are weird," Bumblebee said under his breath. Sari rolled her eyes and he smiled again. But his happy demeanor didn't last long. His thoughts drifting back to the dark entity, Bumblebee's smile faltered. "You thinking about him?" Sari asked quietly. Bumblebee nodded. After a few seconds of silence, the boy felt a pat on his back and looked at his companion. Sari gave him a reassuring look causing Bumblebee's smile to return. "When he gets here he gets here," she told him, "We'll deal with him when the time comes. Until then, might as well make the most of life." "Right," Bumblebee agreed with a nod, "So...agenda for the day?" "I'd say we should probably get back and check up on Nobel tonight," she told him, "You got any ideas?" "Well, we never did go to that movie theater thing you talked about when I first became a human," Bumblebee reminded her. "The movies it is then," Sari said happily and tilted her head against his.


"Why the pit didn't you just slag him?" the clone's body yelled angrily. Starscream sighed. "Don't you ever shut up?" he asked in annoyance. "No!" the clone complained, "Not when such a magnificent plan ends up as abysmal as it did yesterday! And now look where we are! Drifting through space! Our destination unknown! Who knows how long we'll have to wait before we get picked up by anything!" "Well, then we'll wait," Starscream told his companion, "Hopefully in a much quieter manner than you've been displaying." "Don't count on it!" the clone fumed, "Not after what happened! Why did you let Galvatron live?"

Starscream looked down at the cuffs. "I don't know," he sighed, "It's just...something came over me. I felt...like I was in another life." "Well hopefully something comes over you again to burst us out of these chains!" the clone grumbled, "or at least to offline your sorry fender! I mean what kind of Starscream are you?" The blockier figure just rolled his optics. Suddenly he felt something hit his side causing him to let out a yelp. Laughing, the clone looked down at the object that had slammed into his counterpart only for his face to drop upon seeing what it was. It was a ring. A familiar ring. Both of the bots could feel their Sparks dim as the body of the planetoid loomed over their figures. "Unicron..." the blocky Decepticon whispered to himself. "We're slagged..." the slimmer Decepticon finished.


"Ugh..." Galvatron moaned. Gritting his teeth, he forced his optics open and tilted his head to the side. "Good to have you back sir," Shockblast greeted from where the purple tyrant looked. "Are you sure I'm not dead?" he muttered getting to his feet, "cause I've sure felt better...tell me Shockblast, did that thing with the Starscreams, was that really-" "It was real my liege," he told Galvatron while his feet carried him behind his leader across the throne-room, "Every last alloy of it. You wouldn't believe how much of an uproar occurred down here cause of it. One of the Seeker Brothers-" "Spare me their nonsense," Galvatron ordered, "Were you able to hit them?" "Sadly no sir," Shockblast sighed, "But something did get them out of the picture..."

"Oh?" Galvatron wondered and stared out into the blue abyss of the underwater setting that their base resided in, "And that would be?" "Well, after my initial attack on them, a strange aircraft arrived," Shockblast continued, "It moved at an amazing speed and with great dexterity. The craft was far more professional than any Decepticon I'd ever seen." "Really?" the purple leader muttered, "Is it a Transformer or just some new human interaction?" "That's somewhat the trouble..." Shockblast said slowly, "it's not an Earth-based vehicle, but it's not of any Cybertronian affiliation that has appeared in recorded history."

"You say in recorded history..." Galvatron repeated curiously. Upon looking at his trusted operative he received a nod. "From what I can tell, the very design of the...unique vessel allows its inner workings to let it traverse across time and space in an unparalleled manner." "Meaning..." "It can time travel." Galvatron's eyes widened. "Do we have a-" "I'm not done yet my liege," Shockblast told him, "I know how much of a problem that would represent if it were against us so I did a bit more analysis and came up with an even more precise conclusion about the nature of this ship. It can time travel, yes, but not in a fashion that would normally be thought.

"How this aircraft traverses the time stream is much unlike any nature that's been thought up for time travel by this point. While it can go through time, it can only do it in an organized manner." "What the slag's that supposed to mean?" Galvatron asked. "Sire, think of it like this," Shockblast elaborated by drifting one of his claws across the air to indicate a line, "This is the path that the universe follows. Now this aircraft has been following this timeline and can not go back and forth in it at its leisure. It must stay stuck in aging through that timeline as everything else must." Galvatron nodded his head. "However," Shockblast said drawing another line below the first, "There is another universe's timeline-" "You're talking about parallel-" "I know sir," Shockblast sighed, "Only theoretical for all we know, but just for the sake of the discussion there's another universe. The aircraft, at any given point in the original universe, may go to the other universe and place itself at any point in the timeline that it wants to. But once its put itself in the timeline it can't place itself at another point in time again."

"So what you're saying is..." "When that aircraft incorporates itself into a timeline it can't time travel through it," Shockblast explained, "In a sense it's stuck. It can still go back and forth between the universes, but wherever it leaves off in one universe it continues at that point once it returns there. It can only time travel the first time it puts itself into a universe. After that it must follow the timeline like everything else does." "That's all nice and dandy," Galvatron muttered, "But you obviously wouldn't have looked that far into it unless you knew that it would be a threat if it could time travel whenever it wanted. So I'm guessing that the alliance that it is is-" "Yes," Shockblast sighed, "It's an Autobot..."

Galvatron hung his head. If he didn't already have bad enough news from the troublesome twins the night before, he now had to deal with a time-displaced hunk of machinery. "What did the craft look like?" he asked. "I think you can guess sir," Shockblast replied. "Clockwork in design?" Shockblast nodded his head. "Slag..." Galvatron growled.

"You honestly think that some old relic like Vector Prime is the worst of your troubles with who you're working for?" a voice laughed. Immediately, the two Decepticons twisted their heads towards the door to the chamber. Standing there quivering was Rattletrap between Blitzwing and Flareup. "Who said that?" Galvatron asked in an icy tone. The three bots pointed down. A bit surprised by the small size of the figure his optics had been lead to, Galvatron glared at the almost human-sized crustacean-looking humanoid Transformer. "Who are you?" he asked. "My name is Shokaract," it replied, "I'm here to apply for the Decepticons."

"At your size?" Shockblast mused, "Sorry, but all positions are full." "Why do you want to join?" Galvatron asked, "Considering that you just pointed out what we're now being lead by." "Ha!" Shokaract scoffed, "You mean what YOU'RE being lead by. I'm here because I share the vision that the ever glorious Megatron does. Therefore, I see myself as a Decepticon." Galvatron rubbed his chin in thought. After a few seconds he nodded his head. "Fine," he said, "I have enough to deal with as is. Just prove yourself worthy and you can join. We need all the help we can get right now. That is, if you're up to it." "Oh don't worry about that, I'm up to anything," Shokaract assured him, "Yesss..."


"Where might thou take up residence in such a day and age as thine?" the Angry Archer wondered aloud upon landing on the edge of a roof, "For thou art thy most highly esteemed of all that be gay and frivolous." Intently, the green cladded human peered over the district he'd ventured into to find the final member of the Society of Ultimate. Nothing. All that could be seen were the morning pedestrians getting into their cars and going to work or whatever they did to start their daily interactions with the community.

It sickened the villain. For what lie beneath the busy people's work were the fruits that they harvested. The endless streams of money and wealth that poured into their pockets from the advancements that had been made in the past century and how easily it'd become to get a job for many. But with wealth also comes poverty. Though great changes had been made throughout the recent history of the world, one thing that would never change would be the economy. No matter what the situation there were always poor people. That's how it'd been in ancient times, and that's how it'd remain until the end of time. It was an unfortunate system that people were born into. For those it wasn't their choice. It was fate.

Why then did A.A. Archer seeks so strongly to change the natural order? What was the use? There was no use. He just simply figured that if he had the abilities, and he did, he might as well try to give himself a purpose in life. Sure he stole mainly for himself, but that didn't mean he didn't have a heart. Whenever he found a pour unfortunate soul in poverty, he'd fill their life with riches beyond anything they'd imagine. He really did do what he could for the greater good, but when he wasn't able to make a difference, he just kept the wealth for himself to afford greater means to change the pace of society. That's what he'd tried to explain in the short time that he'd had a sidekick. In thought, the Angry Archer rubbed his chin and looked towards the sky. He wondered just where that orange trash-comprised Transformer was now.


"See ya dad!" Sari Sumdac exclaimed as she lead Bumblebee towards the elevator. Isaac blinked and looked up from Soundwave toy that he was working on. "Where are you two going?" he asked getting up from the table. "I'm taking BB to the movies," she told him holding up a wad of dollars, "We forgot all about our little trip that we were going to take back when he originally became a human." "And after that?" "We're heading back home," Sari said. Professor Sumdac raised an eyebrow. "I mean, the facility," Sari laughed, "That alright?" "I guess," her father said rubbing his arm, "Its just that it's felt so empty here and when you came back last night..."

"Dad it'll be alright," Sari told him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, "I'm a big girl now. And besides, you're normally caught up in your work enough to keep ya entertained anyhow." Professor Sumdac laughed and pried himself out of his daughter's grip. "I guess you're right," he said, "You two have fun at the movies." "Thanks dad," Sari said as she pulled Bumblebee into the elevator. They both waved as the doors shut and it lowered.

"Operative Lightning Hair to Green Giant, come in Green Giant," Isaac Sumdac said into a communicator once the children had departed. "Green Giant here, I read ya loud and clear," the lower voice replied, "I see them descending. What should I do?" "Just wait for me in the parking lot like we planned," Isaac told his companion, "Once they're at least a quarter of a mile ahead of us we initiate Operation: Insight Into Youthful Living." "Green Giant has one last thing to say before we get started," the communicator stated. "And that would be?" "You really suck at naming things Isaac." "It's Lightning Hair!" the professor yelled and shut the device off.


"Firestar..." a distant voice called, "Firestar..." It seemed so far away, yet so near. A faint echo ran through the audio receptors with each call that was made. "Firestar!..." the voice said, its tone louder as consciousness began to fully return. "FIRESTAR!" With a gasp, the robotic female humanoid jolted awake and sat up. Taking in deep breaths, mainly due to the instincts that she'd picked up in the lifetime before, the reddish Autobot looked around at her surroundings. She seemed to be on the outskirts of some forest, and not of a planet all that unfamiliar either. Firestar was on Earth. Though its look was slightly altered and different, it was still the planet she knew, that Cybertron had become such close allies with. The planet that's fate had been tied to her own, and in turn the fate of the universe.

"Firestar!" Hot Shot repeated, "Firestar, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Slowly, the female Autobot turned her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe that she was staring into the face of the bluish Autobot that she'd attempted to integrate into the society in her previous captivity. But if Hot Shot was there... "Primus..." Firestar muttered and wrapped her arms around her legs, "So I didn't get away then..." "What are you talking about?" Hot Shot asked in confusion. "You wouldn't understand," she sighed, "You're probably just like every one else. You more than likely don't even know what a Transformer is..." "Uh...they're what we are..." Hot Shot stated, his mind boggled as to why Firestar was acting so weird. Though it was wondering just how she was even there in the first place. The last he'd seen of her was at the coliseum when...

Curiously, Firestar looked at Hot Shot. Scanning over his body she could tell that he looked exactly as he had when they'd last seen each other, right down to his glowing blue optics. But that could be mimicked couldn't it? Had she even known that she was a Transformer in her time as a citizen of Unicron's world? There was no way to tell, her mind had been completely rewritten. More curiously, she looked down at herself. Firestar was still cloaked in her metal plating. But what did that matter? It had been made abundantly clear that she was needed whether or not she had remembered just what she was, what all had happened.

"Where am I?" Firestar asked as she stared off into the bright horizon basking the city of Detroit in its illumination. "You're on a planet called Earth," Hot Shot told her, "How did you-" "And how can I be sure it's Earth?" she said cutting him off, "after all, entire universes have been done away with before. I'm sure there's more than enough knowledge to recreate such a minuscule speck in the cosmos..." Hot Shot raised an optic brow. He didn't know just what the fembot was asking, but it was unnerving to say the least. "How do I know I can trust you?" Firestar asked after a few minutes of staring at the scenery. "Well, cause I'm Hot Shot," the blue Autobot laughed, "Don't you remember me?" "I remember where I saw you," she muttered, "and I remember what those that succumbed to that place were like."

Hot Shot rubbed his arm. He didn't know what Firestar was trying to get across at all. "Tell me something," she said turning her face to his, their optics locking, "Who is our creator?" Hot Shot's jaw hung. He didn't know how to respond to that question, nor had he been prepared for such a random sentence. How the slag should he remember who his creator was? It could have been anyone from Alpha Trion to Ultra Magnus. "I...I dunno..." he mumbled in embarrassment. Firestar's head drooped. "So I didn't escape..." "What are you talking about?" Hot Shot asked finally, "I mean the only answer I can really give is Primus if that's even acceptable."

Firestar's optics lit up and her face turned to Hot Shot's in surprise. The male Autobot was just as surprised, if not moreso at the female's actions and baffling conversation. "What did you say?..." "I said Primus..." Hot Shot repeated slowly. Instantly, Firestar's arms wrapped around his body and she nuzzled her face into his neck. Hot Shot could feel his internal mechanisms heating up from the interaction. "Uh...I like you too?..." he mumbled and patted his companion's back uneasily. "So I did make it out!" she cried joyously and then lifted her head to look at Hot Shot's face again, "But that means...you did too then...and this is Earth..." "Yeah," Hot Shot sighed remembering the hellish experience he'd had before arriving on the organic planet, "Though not as traumatic as what happened to you it seems."

Firestar embraced Hot Shot tighter. "You don't know how traumatic..." she whispered, "It took every one positron of my Spark to even get back to this realm of existence...dear god I'm so happy..." A small smile appearing on his face, Hot Shot returned the hug and stroked his hand along her back. "Well it's alright now..." "You mean for now..." she corrected, "You know he's still out there." She didn't need to see Hot Shot's head nod to know that he understood, "But Primus...to be safe, if only for a megacycle even, and on Earth of all places..."

"You weren't planning to come here?" Hot Shot asked as he pulled the fembot away from him. Firestar shook her head. "I was just following the trail of a...friend's data readings. And it just so happened that he ended up here." "Well what a coincidence," Hot Shot laughed. "And since there are Autobots here-" "I wouldn't recommend them for help," he told her. Now it was Firestar's turn to raise a brow. "They're trying to keep everything about our dear old creator's brother hushed up," Hot Shot continued, "For instance, they tried to offline me after getting the information they needed. Firestar put a hand to her mouth in surprise. She knew that some Autobots were strict, but offlining someone, especially Hot Shot, was going a bit far.

"Relax, I'll help ya find your friend though," Hot Shot assured her. Firestar smiled and hugged him again. "And to give ya more reason not to trust my leaders I'll fill ya in on what all they've done on our trip. By the way, what's your pal's name?" "Shokaract," Firestar told him.


"Remember the emergency break," Bumblebee reminded. Nodding, Sari lowered it and put the car into drive. "Do you really think I should be doing this?" she asked warily, "I mean yeah, we know I can drive now, but I still don't have-" "What we have is Fanzone's car," Bumblebee said, "And if he shows up here..." "Good point," Sari replied with a grin, "Wanna listen to something?" "Just hit us up with the usual," he laughed as he shrugged his shoulders, "I'm kinda getting interested in this whole Sector Seven thing." "Alrighty," Sari said while her hand split apart and interfaced with the radio, her eyes never leaving the black tar of the parking lot in front of her, "Did I miss anything last night?" "Your dad and the rubber duck is all I watched."

Sari giggled slightly at the memory. Her dad really did have bizarre ideas that popped into his head it seemed. The tone of the new video log entry however was not as joyful as the one she'd remembered. "This is...Professor Isaac Sumdac..." it began, the scientist's voice rather shaky. "Something's sure got your dad stressed," Bumblebee commented. "Today...I regretfully am here to say that Sector Seven...must be shut down..." Both Sari's and Bumblebee's brows rose. "Though it's under the premise of an accident, even if it wasn't I wouldn't be able to live with myself with what has happened.

"Earlier today...after the initial test we received a response from A.V.S.N. that told us that it would like to have the fragment that we had initially used to activate the facility, the one from my childhood from what inspired my robotics revolution of Detroit. It said that it was very important and that we would be helping the greater good if we participated. I was more than happy to help, but Powell seemed rather...uneasy about the idea. Regardless, we prepped up the rubber duck to test out the transferring capabilities once Black had set the co-ordinates. It worked and I got the crystalline structure and we were getting ready to send it when all of a sudden...well...it happened. The event will never leave my mind and I need not go into the horrific details here.

"With the death of nearly twenty scientists, we finally shut down A.V.S.N. and managed to wipe it clean of the virus that had infected it. The virus though was unlike any I'd ever seen, and its very nature was more than just technological. It was more like an uncontrollable energy when not contained. But that's besides the point. It turned out that Black had apparently set the co-ordinates for a different destination entirely when we had brought to fragment to transfer. The main thing though is that Sector Seven...is over. We failed and with so much on our hands I will not allow anyone to continue on with this insane project even if A.V.S.N. is back to normal. For the sake of Detroit and the rest of the world Sector Seven is shut down. This is Isaac Sumdac signing out."

For a few minutes the couple just sat in silence after the message had ended. Only the sound of other vehicles passing them filled their ears. "Well that was depressing," Bumblebee eventually said. Sari nodded her head. "Wonder what happened," Sari added. "We can always ask your da-" "Probably not the best idea," she told him, "some things dad doesn't wanna talk about. That'd probably be one of them with what happened to the people involved." Bumblebee sighed. "You should be happy though," Sari told him causing him to look at her in confusion, "We're here!"


"Ugh, my aching processor..." Starscream muttered. After rubbing his head, his optics lit up and he turned. Surprised at his fluid motions, he looked down to find the stasis cuffs gone only to be restrained now by more organic rocky-looking structures. He struggled. It was in vain. Even if he had the energy, it wouldn't be anywhere near enough to break free from his new prison. "About time you woke up," the sleeker Starscream commented upon noticing his company's movement.

"Where are we?" the blocky Starscream asked. The slimmer one just nudged his head to his front. Where Starscream's optics followed to was the source of the lighting of the chamber. What lay before them was what appeared to be a large pulsating rock with a greenish hue and organic structures tying it to the ceiling and walls. Something about the place seemed familiar to the blockier Starscream. It was giving off a unique presence, one that filled every single circuit of his being with a horrific amount of fear all at once. A presence that he'd felt before. Before...a lifetime before...

For a split second Starscream thought he knew. For that short moment, the secluded mysterious part of his mind, the one isolated from everything else overtook him, filled him with emotions, with memories. Memories of Cybertron, his home. That which Galvatron hoped to conquer. But not the Galvatron he had become familiar with, nor the one in this new reality. Rather, it seemed to be another Galvatron, though it carried the essence of the one he'd worked under. Violently their swords clashed, his bright red and Galvatron's bright blue. Even in defeat Starscream felt victorious. After yanking the blade from his chest-plate he used the last of his power to send a beam hurtling through the sky towards the planet's moon. However, it never reached. Instead the astral object, the presence that pierced his very Spark, respond with a bolt of energy of its own. He remembered the searing pain, the crackling and disintegration of his very being. Then...nothing.

"I...died..." Starscream said quietly. "What?" the other one asked with a yawn, "If you're gonna start a conversation right now I suggest you speak up." "Nothing..." the blocky Starscream muttered, "But that presence, that's...that's Unicron!" "Indeed," a dark voice echoed. At the sound of the new participant, both Starscreams fell silent with sheer terror. "I welcome you both to my heart," Unicron continued darkly. "If you're Unicron..." the blocky Transformer managed to say, "wh-why are we still alive?..." "I advise that you try to keep as quiet as possible around this guy," the clone Starscream figure told him, "At least while you have a body..."

"Silence!" the voice ordered. The Starscreams obeyed without hesitation. "The reason that you are not, as you call it, dead," Unicron continued, "at least in your case is that I know what you are." Nervously, the slimmer Starscream chuckled. "And I've already had enough trouble with someone acting without a body in me. But that's nothing compared to the travesty that you put me through!" With the change of tone, the slimmer Starscream gulped. He felt like he would go offline from the fright that accompanied the rage. "Because of you I had to wait an ungodly amount of time before I could begin reparations and even had to leave your universe! If you'd just simply hooked me up to Cybertron I would have gotten my new body and done away with my brother's all at once!"

A spell of silence followed allowing the slim Starscream regain as little of composure as he had left. "What about me though?..." the blockier Starscream asked breaking the quietness. "Ah yes..." Unicron muttered, "You. I'm sure you remember the black hole, the Unicron Singularity." Uneasily, Starscream nodded. "That whole mess was nothing but trouble..." the dark voice explained, "warping things, completely altering some universes...but regardless, it ended up resurrecting you." "Resurrecting?" Starscream repeated. "Why yes," Unicron mused, "I'm sure you realize it, even if it's on just the brink of your processor, at least by this point."

Starscream thought. He did indeed know that something was up, he just wasn't sure what. Ever since being drenched in the Spark of Primus he'd been having odd feelings. "Yes," Starscream replied, "Yes I realize...something. But I can't put my servo on it..." "Understandable," Unicron replied, "Considering that you were spawned from my remains. Allow me to fully bring about your realization. After all, it's my responsibility to take care of my...offspring."

Starscream didn't even have a chance to speak another word. In an instant it all came rushing back to him. He remembered the start of the war. He could see Megatron as his pledged his undying oath to him. He remembered the pain, the annoyance building up as all the Decepticons found Minicons before him, all of it adding up for some personal contempt that his leader seemed to hold for him. The betrayal to the Autobots, the rejoining to the Decepticons. His upgrade after the fight against the demonic evil Optimus Prime. Alexis. His realization that Unicron was real, and his agenda to join the Transformers into one alliance. And the sacrifice he'd make for his dedication. But it did not end at his death. Even before his memories of the Cyber Planet Keys Starscream remembered being resurrected, completely loyal and obedient to his leader, up to his end alongside him where they forced Unicron's body into the new sun. And caused a black hole. The black hole.

Starscream gasped. His memory was complete. The separate sides of his mind, the knowledge of his deceitful acts to godhood and the isolated memories that had been cut off from him were now one. He now remembered everything. "Unicron!" he yelled furiously. "Now now, is that any way to treat he who you owe your life to?" the dark entity asked. Starscream clenched his teeth as he felt the surge of energy tear through his body. "Why?..." Starscream panted as the pain ended, "Why did you have me remember?..." "It would have killed you from curiosity had I not." "And why keep me alive?" Starscream spat.

"Why indeed," Unicron muttered, "That is the question isn't it? Well, if you must know, I do wish to do away with you. Considering your agenda against me, your persistence that ultimately lead to my defeat in your reality, you should be smitten upon me even glancing at you. However, I can not kill you." Starscream's brows rose. "You see, due to your actions before your arrival in this universe, the same thing that caused you to begin to recollect your memories protects you from my reaping." "The Spark of Primus," Starscream said with a grin. "Yes," Unicron's voice said darkly, its tone nearly growling, "My brother's essence. Due to it, the effects of you being reborn from my remains were counteracted and your new mind began to be purged from its presence. However, besides all this, that doesn't mean you'll be going anywhere. Either of you!"

Hesitantly, the two Starscreams looked at each other. "Just because I can't kill you doesn't mean I can't try to change you," Unicron said. The blocky Starscream looked down. His bindings begun to move upwards! Before he could cry out, his body became encased in the organic structures and they sunk into the floor. The remaining Starscream gulped, his optics wide with fear. "As for you..." the voice continued, "How would you like to make another deal?..."


"What on Earth was Sari thinking?" Isaac Sumdac exclaimed frantically. Bulkhead had to try with all his Spark to keep the professor strapped down in his seat, "They drove in Fanzone's car again! Not only is that breaking who knows how many laws-" "One." "-but they're exposing themselves to the public again! Your leaders will easily find them out here in the open!" "Isaac-" "Lightning Hair!" the scientist yelled. Bulkhead sighed, "Fine, Lightning Hair, my people just suffered having to defend the city from two Starscreams and there are still damages they have to work on back home when Devastator attacked. I'm pretty sure they've got their servos full without having to worry so much about Sari and Bumblebee."

Professor Sumdac grumbled and folded his arms over his chest. "Not to mention that it's Fanzone's car..." "How many of those does he have?" Bulkhead wondered. "...currently two hunder and thirty seven..." The adult human blushed in embarrassment. He couldn't help it though, it was his daughter after all. "Is-er-Lightning Hair, what should be our next course of action?" Bulkhead asked. He may have been a whiz when it came to space bridges, but for spying on small organics, that was something he had never seemed to get the hang of. "Well...hmm..." Professor Sumdac stroked his chin. He was a bit puzzled himself.

Just then something caught the corner of his eye. Through the glass hallways of the movie theatre he could see two adolescents talking as they walked. Sari and Bumblebee. Slowly, Sumdac's mouth curved into a grin and he looked towards the back of the vehicle. "Say, Green Giant," he said, "You wouldn't happen to have a police uniform in here would ya?" "Well yeah," Bulkhead replied, "Fanzone always says I should at least keep a spare one around in case there's an emergency. Why?" "Well, I think this qualifies as an emergency," Isaac told him as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got up. A few seconds later he came back to the driver's seat with his gloves removed, his lab coat undone, and a pair of police pants on. To say the least he looked...relaxed for once.

"Uh..." Bulkhead said a bit in awe, "Isaac?..." "It's Lightning Hair," the human corrected ruffling his hair up as he did so, "Even if I don't look it." "Well, what's with the change of style?" "Disguise," Isaac told him getting out a screwdriver, "Gotta be in kaugneto in enemy territory. Think of what would happen if I went in as Professor Sumdac, robotics extraordinare. I'd never get in without the kids noticing." "And the screw-hey! Watch where you're putting that thing!" "I doubt you wanna be stuck out here and missing out on all the fun," Professor Sumdac laughed as he fiddled around with a panel beneath the ventilation system. "Well yeah," Bulkhead said quietly, "But what's that gotta do with, whoa!"

Just then Bulkhead's vision caught sight of machinery. No longer were both of his optics staring at Captain Fanzone's car. Instead one was being pulled back through a technological corridor until it exited. Upon being turned around, the optic stared into the face of Isaac Sumdac. "You wanna go to a movie?" he asked smiling at the optical chip. "With all the hard work we are always dealing with?" Bulkhead laughed, "I would be delighted!"


"So who're you again?" the frog-like mechanoid gurgled as he loudly through the underground sewer system of Detroit. "Shokaract," the smaller crustacean sighed atop the metal beast, "Shock uh rak t!" "I heard ya," Spittor grumbled, "Don't have to repeat yourself." "Apparently I do," Shokaract muttered to himself in annoyance.

He honestly didn't care if the blue and orange Decepticon heard him or not. Shokaract was annoyed. The human-sized Transformer had not spent the countless millenias in the indisputable god of chaos just to be shoved back into some ranking system amongst other Cybertronians! Especially not amongst one of the most disgusting bots he'd ever come across. Shokaract's eye twitched as he watched the digestive drool drip into the sewage from Spittor's maw. If there was one thing he'd come to dislike it was the tendencies that organic beings had to excrete things from their bodies. Even though it was a robot, Spittor came pretty damn close to matching the unnerving habits of the organics.

But it wasn't him though. Shokaract hadn't felt such feelings until he had been freed, until he'd been unleashed from the chains that Unicron had bound him in. Until he'd been rescued by him. The voice, the entity that had prodded him deeper and deeper through the forest, through the illusion and mental restraints that had clung to him so dearly, the chains that seemed to be integrating he himself into the body of the evil one in an attempt to even begin to understand that which it sought to end. Shokaract felt a surge rush through his spinal column. Never in his existence had he felt such horror as when he'd realized just what Unicron had done to him. It hadn't been bad enough that he'd been manipulated before, but to be brought back from the connection he'd made, to be the dark god's never ending test subject.

No more! Shokaract would have even taken a trip to the Well of Allsparks over what had become of him! He had never asked for the position he'd been given, nor the power with which he had welded. But it had been so intoxicating...the power, the glory, the...Matrix of Conquest...In the end however, it had amounted to his undoing, and his captivity within the body of Unicron himself. He had no way of knowing that through his actions he'd created a bond with the unholy being that wouldn't be broken by just a simple shattering of one's physical structure. The instant he'd been done away with, his optics looked into the dark eerie corridors of the inner workings of Unicron. As long as he was bonded with the bringer of chaos, he would remain his puppet.

But the bond had been broken. With his escape from his previous captor, Shokaract had linked with his new savior. One which knew power and one which he seemed to have some vague memories of. Even though it hadn't been Cybertron they'd ended up on, both he and his new lord recognized Earth once they'd found it. If it possessed what he'd been instructed to track though, it being Earth would no longer matter. Nothing would matter. Even Unicron would meet his match in due time. It all rested on staying on track...

"We're here!" Spittor exclaimed and leapt one last time. With the final hop, the large Decepticon burst through the manhole and streets above into the glistening daylight. What lay before them was rubble. A facility that seemed to have recently collapsed in on itself. "So...what the slag is so important about this place?" the frog-like being wondered as he shifted into his humanoid form. Suddenly he felt a pang of agony race through him and he looked downwards. The smaller Transformer's hand was through his stomach. "GAH!" he cried and fell over, oil leaking from the wound, "By the pit! What the slag do you think you're doing?"

"What's in there is something you don't have any business touching if I'm correct," Shokaract told him as some tentacles made their way out of his arm. Spittor just stared in disbelief. "Those tentacles...are mine!" he cried. Shokaract laughed as he approached. The larger Transformer couldn't even crawl with the blow that had been dealt to him. "Thanks to the abilities that my master found before our arrival here them and their digestive elements are mine now," Shokaract told him as they snaked themselves along the ground and began to work their way into Spittor's inner body, "and will never be yours again." Spittor could only gurgle as two final tentacles made their way into his optics.


"Are you sure this isn't a horror movie?" Bumblebee asked as the lights dimmed. Sari smiled and shook her head. "Bumblebee, just cause the lights go out doesn't mean its gonna be a horror one." "Tell that to every time we've seen a movie at night," he muttered rolling his eyes. Sari giggled and rubbed his shoulder.

From the seating the couple had chosen, they were at the second to last row in the theatre, pretty much above everyone else except for a much older male that had taken a seat to the upper left of them. It was how Sari had always liked it. She loved the feeling of being above everyone else and having a clear view of just what was going on. The girl also knew that Bumblebee liked being taller than anything he could also. Though it be impossible for him, she knew that one of the things that he had envied about Prowl was his significant height. That and his sleek moves. Not that Bumblebee would ever admit that. He'd more than likely rather go servo-to-servo with Grimlock before admitting to such a fantasy.

That didn't annoy Sari though. Ever since she'd known Bumblebee she knew how he worked. She could see through his acts and annoying attitude to the sweet caring Autobot beneath. Even if it was obvious that he was irritating to the others of his group that didn't mean he was an idiot. He knew how to keep things covered up...a lot of times. But she herself was never annoyed. Sari actually found how the short yellow bot acted as kind of cute in many cases. Its just when he persisted on things like being the fastest thing alive that he began to grate, and even then he was somewhat tolerable to her.

As the theatre got even darker once the previews had ended, Sari felt something strain the arm of her chair. From what she could see through the dim illumination that the screen provided, Bumblebee was clutching the structure for dear life. A small smile crossed her face and she slowly drifted her arm behind the boy's back. Just before the screen got brighter, Sari's fingers poked Bumblebee's neck and she felt him stiffen in fright. After looking towards the side she'd touched him from, he glared at the girl. Sari just continued smiling and turned her attention back to the screen. She doubted even Bulkhead was that worried ever.

It wasn't the touch that had completely got Bumblebee though. Just before Sari's fingers had met his neck, the boy had felt a jolt of pain race through his body. He hoped he wasn't getting some sort of genetic malfunction like Sari had had. Ever since his bath the day before he'd been getting the weirdest sensations throughout his figure. It was almost like a swarm of anti-electrons, except he wasn't being kept from transforming. Moreso, it felt as though his body was trying to rip itself apart from the odd ripples.

Hesitantly, Bumblebee reached for the cup to his right and leaned his head forward. That's all he needed, some coolant. It always fixed everything. When his hand stopped however, he had grabbed something else. Curiously, he peeked at the hand his had met and followed it to Sari's face blushing. Bumblebee mentally slapped his forehead. His drink had been on the left! Sari's cheeks filled with an unseeable shade of red too as she also had been about to take a sip. After a moment, she smiled and kissed his cheek. "Enjoy the movie," she told him after rubbing her cheek against his. Bumblebee could feel his blushing dim as the screen's lighting filled the chamber. As long as Sari was with him Bumblebee felt alright.


"It's so nice to have an actual facility to work in!" Ratchet exclaimed happily. Currently, he had taken to looking over samples of some Rheanimum. "Where'd you say these were from again?" he asked strapping on an optic-observation piece. "Tykos," Red Alert replied, "We managed to get some from where we'd stored it on Cybertron before Unicron's attack. Had some bots stationed out at E'Brutoc." "That's right!" Ratchet realized, "We still have Autobots scattered across the universe! Optimus told us that you guys had started warping before the gate to Earth was opened." "Not that that matters," she sighed, "besides we only got about forty off before your leader showed up."

Ratchet's expression became cross. No longer was he looking at the encapsulated samples, rather he was viewing the female Autobot. Her head was down and her lips bent inward. Red Alert seemed rather distressed. "Is something wrong?" Ratchet asked cautiously. He didn't want to have an outburst like one Bumblebee would make when he was irritated. Red Alert sighed and turned her head to him. Ratchet was both relieved and worried. He couldn't have the best medic of Cybertron other than him being in such a state with what all had been going on. They still had jobs to do in order to keep Autobot City running.

"Mind if I ask what's up?" he asked. Red Alert looked downwards again and nodded her head. "It's just...I'm questioning things..." "Such as?" "What the point is," she muttered, "questioning why we should keep going on, Unicron, myself...just all sortsa stuff..." "Why yourself?" Ratchet asked curiously, "You're one of the best bots I know in this line of work." Red Alert glanced at Ratchet and shook her head. "With what I'm affiliated with that matters very little when the decisions that have been made have been made." "What are you talking about?" he asked. Red Alert bit her lip. "What I'm about to tell you you can't discuss with any normal bots." Ratchet nodded and she sighed.

"Recently," Red Alert began, "I've been involved in some pretty...morally confusing stuff. The Autobot Council has always dealt with such matters, but now, with so much at stake things have amplified and I...I'm just not sure if I can handle doing what I'm asked to now." "Are these things that the public..." Red Alert shook her head slowly. "No," she told him, "they don't know. Do you remember Hot Shot's escape?" Ratchet nodded his head, his optic brow lifted. "That was cause of us," she said quietly, "Perceptor had had us operating on him to retrieve information from his time in Unicron. Afterwards we were instructed to offline him."

Ratchet felt his optics nearly crack in surprise. "Well no wonder that outburst was so big! The kid was already unstable as is!" he exclaimed. Red Alert's head tilted downwards further as Ratchet's mouth curved in the same direction. Delicately he patted her back, "It's...alright. I know you're not that bad a bot, you were just following orders." "Orders that I shouldn't be bothered by," she grumbled, "We did things like that back in the War sometimes..." "That was the War," Ratchet reminded her, "this is Unicron. This is the omega, the end of everything. Think of just how much stress that can put on one's processor. Even if you don't realize it, it will build up, and with that kind of revelation people might act...differently than normal. Though I'm glad you're questioning Perceptor now."

"I never sai-" "But it was him," Ratchet stated, "he's the last of the Autobot Council." "But Rodimus is the lea-" "You know he's not." Red Alert lifted her head and looked at the medic. Ratchet gave a small smile back and patted her shoulder. The corners of her mouth managed to curve up as well. "You're really easy to talk to," Red Alert commented, "Maybe you could be the leader." Ratchet laughed. "Wouldn't be the first time someone's said that," he told her doubtfully. Just then he spotted something in her hand. The sample Red Alert had been looking at was quite different from his.

"And just what are you looking into?" Ratchet asked as he picked up another capsule from her desk. The greenish hue of the substance seemed to send a loosening through his circuits. "We don't have a name for it," she told him, "But we do know some things about it. Hot Shot encountered large quantities of it in the cycles that he'd been surviving in Unicron." "That's the kid's memory though," Ratchet said, "But I don't doubt that it's there, I got the same feeling inside that abomination that I do staring at this thing, but where did you get these samples from?" "Last night Arcee told us about a shooting star that she and a Decepticon captive saw," Red Alert explained; Ratchet's eyes peaked at the mention of the fembot, "So we sent a team out to investigate where it landed an hour ago."

"I'm guessing it wasn't just some rock from space?" Ratchet muttered. "You'd be right," Red Alert confirmed and held up her sample, "It turned out that what they'd witnessed was actually a ship that had crashed on the outskirts of Detroit. It was covered in this stuff and any plant or animal that had come in contact with it was dead. Sometimes the bodies showed heavy signs of mutations." "Slag," Ratchet commented on the edge of his breath, "Dangerous. I'm supposing this is being kept from the public as well?" "What do you think?" Red Alert asked sarcastically. Ratchet's mouth straightened into a line and he walked to the door to the main hall. "Where are you going?" she asked. "Just to have a word with our "logical" Autobot advisor," he told her.


"Ban video games!" the young buck-toothed girl hollered, "Down with violence! Snap out of your zombie-like states and participate in the rally! Tired of all the explosive and hate-fueling toys? We'll take this straight to Edsel!" "Shut the hell up ya little brat!" Penny Princess's eyes drooped from the response and she lowered her picket sign. It was no use. No one would ever listen to her, not without her alter ego. But she wasn't allowed to do such activities anymore. Being a child, instead of being put in prison like the other members of the Society of Ultimate Villainy Penny was simply sentenced to serve time as a peaceful protester until her parents saw a change in her behavior. Unfortunately, she'd not been able to fool them yet.

"Come on Powdered Sugar," Penny muttered stroking her robotic horse's mane, "We're not wanted here." "Thou aren't?" Penny's eyes widened. She knew that voice. Instantly, she looked up and the guest dropped down in front of her. "Archer!" she growled, "What are you doing here? Can't ya see I'm still in trouble?" "Thy doust notice," the Angry Archer replied, "And thy doust notice a familiar ally." Penny glared at him. She couldn't risk another time at court, not after her parents had threatened cutting off access to Barney and Sesame Street. "I never did understand what you say exactly, but I do understand ally," she spat, "Forget it."

"But Professor-" "It's Penny," she corrected. Angry Archer raised his brow. "Thou is?" She nodded her head. "But thou is still parading around in thy costume," Angry Archer said confused. "Well yeah, I'm trying to get people's attention," she said. "Perhaps french maid would attract more-" "I'm a kid, not a stripper," the girl muttered through her teeth. "Point taken," the man laughed nervously, "But either way, thou must come with I. We are getting the Society back together!" "Forget it," Penny told him. The villain's expression drooped. "But child-" "I said no," Penny reiterated, "being like I was back then just got me in trouble with the law." "And doust thou remember thy goal?" the Angry Archer asked. "To get rid of violent stupid boy toys and games and stuff," Penny replied, "Which I'm doing by protesting." "And has that got thou anywhere?" Penny looked at her feet and blushed. "You guys have cable right?"


"What in the name of Primus..." Shokaract muttered. His eyes tracked over the item that he held in his hands. In the dimly lit chamber that had caved in, the object glistened. But not with life. Now it was nothing more than simple metal reflecting the sun's rays across the room. After a few moments of silence, Shokaract let loose a loud roar and threw the key in anger. "SLAG!" he yelled slamming his fist into the side of the chamber causing a few i-beams to fall onto a nearby monitoring system, "SLAG! I take the time to come all the way here only to find that the scrapping thing has no more power?"

Shokaract was fuming with anger. It wasn't just the fact that he had done all of what he had for nothing, but now he was scared. That's how he actually was. The great and mighty Predacon Hunter, scared and frightened. That's what his Spark always told him. But the power he sought, it demanded for more, an ego to cover up such pitiful emotions. They were things that a tyrant should never have. That he should never have. He was the one that had been chosen! Chosen by Unicron, no...used by Unicron. His new affiliate is what had chosen him, what had found promise and potential in him and had offered him a way out of his slave-like state. All for a simple price. To take him with him.

And so Shokaract had, and so he was helped. He knew what his new leader thought. Shokaract had to since his body was now home to two beings. His partner was smart. Never did he seem to neglect his intellect. The unknown amount of time that it had spent within the dark god had given it time to mature in tactics even moreso than it had already been. That's how he'd managed to obtain the mimicking abilities that he'd blessed Shokaract with. They still had the Decepticons at their disposal, and they still had the Autobots waging war against them. Even if they didn't have the Allspark to work with there were still ways.

Shokaract let out a deep sigh. He was calm now. That was something his partner had learned to cope with as well in his own imprisonment. At least Shokaract was calm until something caught his attention. The bot bumped his head as he stood. He still wasn't used to the new height that he'd obtained from absorbing Spittor. Rubbing his head, he listened. A voice was saying something. A voice other than his partner. It was distant but he could make it out. It was a feminine voice, and one that he knew. It was calling his name. "Firestar..." he muttered and began walking towards the opening he'd made.


"So, what'd you think?" Sari asked as she and Bumblebee exited the theatre. "For a hundred-year-old flick it wasn't that bad lookin," he replied turning his eyes to the sky, "The story was crap though. I mean seriously, if you die in the computer you die in real life? The mind doesn't work like that, especially not for organics! Besides that, Resident Evil 5 pulled off those dodging-bullet effects better than that movie, and that game came out like only a decade after it if I remember right." Sari laughed and pulled the tip of Bumblebee's cap down over his eyes, "You criticize too much. Those ancient black-and-white films get to your circuits if you've forgotten." "Hey! That was only-" "Seven times?" Sari finished with a grin. Bumblebee blushed and bit his lip causing the girl to giggle.

"And why's the thing called the Matrix anyhow?" Bumblebee muttered, "it had nothing to do with a matrix, or did your race already know about what Sideways wanted before we even came-oof! Hey man, watch it!" "Sorry, just trying to get out before..." the older more out-of-shape human that had been seated behind them in the theatre replied before realizing who he was talking to. His eyes wide, Isaac Sumdac stared at the two teenagers for a second and took off running. "Dad?" Sari wondered and rubbed her eyes. Looking back at the retreating man she could tell it was him. Sure he was dressed differently, and his hair was down, but it was undoubtedly her father. Once the confusion had passed, Sari and Bumblebee nodded to each other and took chase after him.

For being so much older though, Isaac Sumdac was sure fast on his legs when he needed to be. That was apparent when Sari saw him round a corner of the theatre into the parking lot about thirty feet ahead of them. "How're we gonna catch him?" Bumblebee panted. With a stern look on her face, Sari leapt into the air and transformed. Her bladed skates are what touched the ground when she landed. "Grab on," she told Bumblebee holding out a hand to him. Without any argument, he leapt onto Sari and wrapped his arms and legs around her from behind. "Now this is what I call speed," he laughed as the cars and bricks beside them began to blur slightly. "Doesn't mean I can see dad though," Sari told him, "where could he be?"

Bumblebee put a hand above his eyes and looked around the parking lot. All he could see were vehicles and two figures on a bench, which was almost collapsing from the weight of the far bigger one, with newspapers in front of them and hats on their heads. "Maybe he took to the street?" "Maybe..." Sari repeated taking notice of the two figures as she skidded past them and spotted a billboard above with pieces blatantly missing from the advertisement. "That was a close one," Bulkhead said once the teenagers had left and peaked out from behind his enormous newspaper, "There sure are some weird billboards on your planet. This paper doesn't even have any words on it." "Well mine says there's a sale on Destronium," Isaac told him. "Ah no way! Lemme see!" the green giant exclaimed and leaned down to peak at what was on the page.

"AHA!" Bumblebee and Sari said lifting their own heads out from behind the two. Frightened and surprised, Isaac fell off the bench and it broke as Bulkhead tried to turn around. "So it was you!" Sari exclaimed. Bulkhead's artificial paper and hat made a loud crash as they shattered on the ground. "Sari, loo-look, I can explain," her father laughed nervously. The girl crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Dude, what happened to you?" Bumblebee asked Bulkhead upon noticing his non-functioning optic, "musta been some party I missed." "It was me," Isaac sighed taking Bulkhead's optical chip out of his pocket, "We can discuss things after I get it hooked back up."


"Shokaract!" Firestar called, "Shokaract! Where are you?" "How can you be sure this guy's even here?" Hot Shot asked as he scratched the back of his head. "It's the last place that the ship's locator said he was," Firestar told him putting her hands on her hips. "How's it know to track him?" he wondered. Firestar shook her head. "Does it really matter?" she questioned, "If you must know it was tracking him based on the data I'd scanned of him when we first met. For being the apocalypse, Unicron sure has some high tech equipment to handle things with in his underling's vessels. Now are you gonna help? SHOKARACT! COME OUT! Where are you?"

Just then the fembot felt something tap her leg and she looked down. Staring up at her was a blond mustached human with his hands on his own hips. "Ahem," Fanzone grunted disapprovingly, "Yous is an Autobot right?" Hesitantly, Firestar nodded. "Alright, now then, I gots reports of you two, well mainly some loud-mouthed mechanical broad, namely you, disturbing the peace around here with your hollering. You're gonna have to stop shouting or you're comin' to the station with me. Got it?" "Well excuse me," the female Autobot retorted and stamped her foot causing Fanzone to bounce a bit, "I can't help it if I can't find my friend!"

"Sure you can," a familiar voice replied. All eyes and optics turned towards the crumbling bits of rubble that the words had come from. As the crustacean-like Transformer emerged, Captain Fanzone unholstered his gun while the two taller figures just stared. "Shokaract..." Firestar said quietly as she put a hand to her mouth in awe at his new height and look, "Is that...you?..." "In the flesh and metal," Shokaract replied with a bow, "Well mostly just metal now. What dare I ask brings you by these parts?" "She was looking for you," Hot Shot told him. His optics narrowed as he tried to focus his vision better. He could have sworn he'd seen something like this newcomer in Unicron's coliseum.

"Oh how touching," Shokaract laughed lightly. Slowly he began to approach the group, "It's good to see you too Firestar." "Well if this is the guy yous was yelling your lungs out about, here he is. Don't go about making trouble in my town again. This plant here already caused enough when it exploded...wait a sec, you just came outta that place!" "Observant aren't you human?" Shokaract jested as he bent down and flicked Fanzone into his car, "But I'm not the thing that demolished it, sorry." "Hey!" Hot Shot exclaimed setting his arms into attack-mode, "we don't hurt people!" Shokaract raised an optic to the younger bot and laughed. "Says you," he scoffed.

Confused by the odd change in behavior, Firestar got in a fighting stance as well. Shokaract stood back up and observed them. In all the time that Firestar had known him, Shokaract had always been more cold and serious than the other bots, something he had told her he started acting like when he made a deal with the devil. Once they ended up in Unicron, their pasts didn't matter. He had needed to start a new way of life, otherwise he wouldn't stand a chance, just like so many they'd known before. But now...he was different. He was more cocky and self-confident it seemed. Shokaract actually showed emotions, and what he showed disturbed the fembot.

"It is nice of you to follow me all the way here and all," Shokaract told Firestar with a yawn, "But I don't need rescuing." "You think I came here to rescue you?" she asked. Shokaract shrugged, "Why else would you come groveling to my feet? You're always looking for someone to prove yourself to." Firestar gritted her teeth. Shokaract had always been stern, but never was he actually rude to others. "I came here to be with you," she told him, "With Unicron here we need to stick toge-" "Unicron won't be a problem, I assure you," Shokaract laughed. Curiously, Hot Shot and Firestar looked at each other before turning their attention back to the other Transformer. "What makes you say that?" Hot Shot asked, "And from what I remember, you were smaller when I saw you..."

"Oh this?" Shokaract asked opening his arms to display his more complex body, "it's just from a little meal I had before you two showed up. It's also what will allow me to rise to godhood as I should have so long ago." "Godhood?" Firestar muttered. "Primus do you two ask a ton of irritating questions," Shokaract sighed, "Perhaps it'd just be better to show you!" Already anticipating the attack, Hot Shot and Firestar dove away from each other as a slew of tentacles shot forth from Transformer's arm. "What the slag?" Hot Shot exclaimed and began firing at the snaking structures, "Those are just like...Spittor!"

He remembered it as clear as day. The day Team Chaar attacked the Space Bridge that he, Rodimus, Red Alert, Brawn, and Iron Hide had been protecting those exact same tentacles had yanked Red Alert into Spittor's mouth. Though he spat her back out, it was well known amongst the Autobot military that the disgusting monster could digest even other Cybertronians with the process starting at the tentacles.

"How'd you get those?" Hot Shot yelled. A bit off guard by his own question, a tentacle swiped Hot Shot's stabilizers out from under him and he fell to the ground. "The same way I'm going to take your abilities!" Shokaract replied. Hot Shot felt his throat tighten as the other tentacles worked their way around his arms and into his body. He could feel himself being dismembered, his mind shutting down its connections to the rest of him. His vision began to blur. Hot Shot had almost never been so scared in his life.

Just then though he felt it stop. The tentacles had suddenly retracted a bit. Hot Shot used as much energy as possible to glance over at Shokaract. Firestar had managed to knock him to the ground. Realizing just what had happened, Hot Shot took the opportunity to yank his arms from the tentacles and aim at them. He poured all the fire he could into the blast. With a scream, Shokaract retracted the tentacles back into his arm and slammed his foot into Firestar's cheek. Though she did fall, the fembot rolled right back to her feet and held her arm to her chest defensively.

"You sure are more prepared than most bots I've come across," Shokaract commented. "Most bots weren't part of the Female Autobots if I recall," Firestar spat, "So this is the thanks I get? I come all the way here to help you and you try to kill us?" "I have no friends..." Shokaract muttered. Angrily, he lashed out with the tentacles from his other hand but Firestar just kicked them away. This wasn't at all how things should have been. Shouldn't he have been happy to see the fembot, or hell, even see anyone that he'd known from his previous life? She had gone out of her way to reach him and had always tried to get him to open up more to her and Demolisher. They were his friends...right?

Before he could lay another attack Shokaract felt something rip through his body. His very Spark seemed to be suffocating as the new presence took hold. The presence of his partner, his master, the one who was really in control. Clutching his chest, Shokaract forced his teeth closed and shut his eyes in pain. Though she was a blur, he could still see Firestar coming towards him, still caring and trying to help. But it didn't matter now. He was gone. What lay between his teeth now was no longer the inside of his mouth, but the skin of the mouth of another being. The horns of his helmet began to flatten into a more cylinder shape and his very body seemed to shift with each passing second.

Eventually, Shokaract's eyes opened, no longer his own, and the new being's face grinned as he stood up straight. "You..." Firestar said in shock, "What the slag did you do to Shokaract?" "Oh I wouldn't worry about him my dear," the egotistical Transformer laughed, "His Spark's still in my grasp, safe as a caged rat. Besides, it's not like he isn't used to betrayal." Furiously, Firestar charged at the new figure. Unforunately for her, the evil bot decided to test out what all he had managed to take in and held his arms out in front of him. Firestar's optics expanded as the limbs began to fold into two enormous cannons and she leapt back. Just barely did she manage to escape the flames that spewed forth cutting off her path to him as he ducked into the sewer that Shokaract and Spittor had emerged from earlier that day.

"Halt!" Hot Shot heard Ironhide order as he morphed into robot-mode with a bunch of Autotroopers behind him, "You two are under arrest!" "What?" Firestar yelped. "Do not resist or we will have to use force!" Ironhide continued. Biting her lip, Firestar remained with her hands in front of her towards the opposing Autobots. She looked at Hot Shot who shook his head slowly. With a sigh, she dropped the arms and the Autotroopers approached them. "This is why I hate machines..." Fanzone muttered spitting out a bit of blood as he toppled out of his car.


"So you were spying on us!" Sari scolded, her hands on her hips. Isaac Sumdac clenched his teeth uneasily and attempted to look elsewhere from the bench he was collapsed in. No use, Sari was too prominent of a subject to ignore in such a state. "Well...I wouldn't exactly call it spying..." he mumbled. "Yeah, do spies use code-names?" Bulkhead added. Professor Sumdac smacked his forehead. "Yeah...they do..." Bumblebee answered. Silence passed over the group for a few seconds. "Well..." Sari muttered glaring down at her father. Finally, Professor Sumdac sighed and stared back at his daughter's eyes.

"Sari," he said, "You know that I would never do anything to hurt you." "Yeah, that's so not what an invasion of privacy is," she said sarcastically, "Besides that, I don't care that you came, what I wanna know is why you were spying on us." "Cause you would have acted different if we weren't there," Bulkhead told her. "So?" "So, that'd defeat the whole purpose of the mission," Bulkhead said, "We wanted to know just what you guys did with each other normally when you hang out now." "Dude, it's just like how we always used to-" "I don't remember Sari ever rubbing her face into your neck for over a minute," the green Autobot said cutting the shortest member of the group off. Isaac would have laughed at the sight of how red the two teenagers' faces got from the comment if he wasn't being interrogated.

"And that's why you shouldn't spy on us..." Sari grumbled through her teeth, "There are some things that humans in a relationship like me and Bumblebee's do that are only supposed to involve two people." "Well excuse me for wanting to know how my best friend is doing," Bulkhead grunted and folded his arms over his chest disapprovingly, "It's not like we really get to hang out or anything anymore." Bashfully Bumblebee rubbed his arm and Sari's expression became less hurtful. Maybe they were being a bit too hard on their respective companions. "So this is just cause you...miss us?" Sari asked. Isaac and Bulkhead nodded their heads. "Sari, we're glad that you two are with each other and stuff now, we really are," her dad told her, "But we never really get to see you guys at all anymore, what with the Autobot government, and the going into hiding..."

Bumblebee and Sari smiled and at each other and then at the other two. "Alright," Sari laughed and hugged her father, "once everything gets more settled down we promise, things will go back to normal. We'll all be hanging out again and everything. But that doesn't mean that you get off without a scratch." Isaac glanced at Bulkhead uneasily. "Whatcha mean?" Bumblebee asked curiously. "You remember how I said he wouldn't probably wanna talk about what we heard about?" she replied. Bumblebee nodded his head. "Well he's gonna," Sari said turning her attention back to her dad, "cause if we're hiding there we need to know."

"What are you talking about?" Isaac Sumdac asked. Sari bit her lip. She wasn't exactly sure if she was doing the right thing, but curiosity was getting the best of her, especially now that they'd been spied on. They needed some sort of revenge, if only just to show that they were still kids at heart. "Dad, what happened at Sector Seven?" "Sector Seven?" he repeated and smiled, "Oh good, so you found it!" "Oh good?" Sari and Bumblebee repeated and blinked at each other in confusion. "Well yes," Isaac laughed, "That's the whole reason I put you there silly. I didn't tell you due to what might happen if someone found out you knew about it on your way there, but since you found it this is amazing! You have the abilities to open it after all. That is the single safest place in entire city, possibly even the world!"

Bumblebee and Sari's eyes were wide. They hadn't expected such a joyous response. No scolding or anything. But he hadn't answered the question. "Dad, what HAPPENED there?" Sari emphasized. Her dad lifted a brow. "What happened?" "Your recordings," she told him, "Your video log. Something happened that got the place shut down. You didn't say what it was." "How did you find out about those?" he yelped. There was the more proper response. Rolling her eyes, Sari held up a hand and split it apart. "Oh right," Isaac mumbled, "a daughter that can hack things..." Sari nodded her head. "Will you please tell us?" she asked.

In thought, Isaac put a hand to his chin and looked towards the sky. It didn't take long, but he definitely considered not discussing it. "Over time I thought it might get easier to cope with what happened," he told them, "But some scars never fade. You of course heard about A.V.S.N.?" The teenagers nodded their heads, but Bulkhead shook his. "What's that stand for anyway?" Bumblebee asked, "You have some slagging weird acronyms." "It means Artificial Vector Sigma Node," Isaac told him, "It's the very heart of Sector Seven, deep beneath everything else. It was the reason that the operation was stopped.

"It was many years ago, back when I had first discovered Sari. I analyzed her and realized the kind of potential that she had. To avoid sacrificing her though, we designed our own version of her, one without a gender or thought pattern using the most basic DNA strand we could create of human coding in a now abandoned base on what you call Dinobot Island." Bumblebee's eyes lit up. "That stuff musta been what Blackarachnia used on me..." "It's very possible," the adult said with a nod, "Sector Seven linked all sorts of places together through transforming underground passageways. The only one that I know still works though is the one directly above Sector Seven where you two have been hiding. A.V.S.N. though did not have thoughts or emotions that it'd experienced so it remained genderless since the DNA didn't hold enough information to base that kind of feature off of on its own."

"Well this is very very interesting and all," Sari said, "But...what happened there?" Isaac sighed again and looked at his feet. "What happened there...was an accident. A terrible accident. As my recordings imply, A.V.S.N. was capable of multiversal capabilities. Due to Sari's design, A.V.S.N. was able to link up to a network far beyond anything I had even begun to comprehend, one that links all realities together. It is from that network that we communicated with a being from another universe who eventually asked for a fragment that I had. I didn't know it at the time, but what it was was the piece that Megatron used to power his fusion cannon before he fell to Earth. One of the most powerful weapons that this universe has ever seen if my theory is correct."

"My processor hurts, and I'm a Space Bridge genius..." Bulkhead muttered. "You wish," Isaac commented, "Either way though, our friend gave us the information we needed to pass things to other universes using A.V.S.N. and the next day we got ready with a test object to send to our friend." "The rubber duck?" Sari asked. Her father blushed and pulled at his collar. "Seriously, what's with that thing?" Bumblebee asked. "It was just a test..." Isaac insisted, "But we weren't prepared to receive a present in return. I later found out that Prometheus Black, or as you know him, Meltdown, was the one to set the co-ordinates that day. But he didn't do it correctly and we ended up communicating with something else entirely. Something that infected A.V.S.N. with a virus.

"Once the foreign contaminate took hold there was no stopping it. A.V.S.N. started killing anybody that came near it and it put up a defense barrier around it that couldn't be destroyed. Eventually, Captain Fanzone managed to put an end to it and the place was shut down. A.V.S.N. couldn't be destroyed though, its defenses had been built up too much even after we disinfected it. With so much potential lost, we returned to our normal lives in Detroit. Ever since then, Prometheus Black hated me for my accusations against him and viewed me as his mortal enemy. Can't say that he wasn't right to do so though..."

Silence filled the air once more as the story ended. Sympathetically, Sari put a hand on her father's shoulder and smiled at him. "Dad, it wasn't your fault what happened and you can't change it. Your still the best dad in the world and I love you." Isaac smiled back at her and gave her a hug, "I love you too Sari. I just wish I knew where that fragment went." "You don't know where it is?" Bulkhead asked. Isaac shook his head. "Once I regained control of the company after Sari became a teenager it was gone."

Suddenly there was a thud and the group turned to look towards the tree it had come from. "For sueth, what on yonder doth thou grace thine eye with?" the Angry Archer declared with Professor Princess and her Pony in his arm, "For not are it thine Autobot and his companions! Make haste I must or thy shall feel much the agony of thine law!" "Who writes this guy's stuff?" Bumblebee yelled. Hastily, the villain shot another arrow towards a sky scraper and sped away. "Bulkhead, get into vehicle mode!" Sari exclaimed. "Why so eager?" her dad asked curiously. "You said you couldn't find the fragment once you got control of the company," she told him, "I'm pretty sure that that bozo will lead us to our old CEO somehow..."


A loud rapping echoed through the corridors of the main hall of Autobot City's central building. No answer. Ratchet huffed and knocked a few more times. Still no response. He was getting rather annoyed. What use was it though? There were cameras all around him, it's not like they didn't know who was there. He was obviously not wanted.

"Having some difficulties?" a familiar voice asked. Ratchet was surprised to see Arcee standing next to him. "Oh hey!" he laughed, now broken out of his fixed state, "What brings you by here?" "I was just stopping by to check on a...prisoner," she told him, "The Constructicons were let out earlier today. Why are you making so much of a racket Ratchet?" The medic smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, just wanted to speak to the bots in charge is all," he replied. "Got something on your processor?" Arcee asked curiously. A bit hesitant to answer, Ratchet nodded his head and looked back at the door. "Well, I always have an open audio receptor," she told him placing a hand on his arm, "I am a teacher after all."

Ratchet thought for a minute and shook his head before smiling at the fembot. "Nah," he said calmly, "No one wants to listen to an old rust nut like me." "Sure they do," Arcee told him smiling back, "You're a good bot Ratchet." "If you say so..." "Ratchet," Arcee said as her hand tightened on his arm, "you went through slag to save me. You are a good bot. You know what's right and wrong. People will listen." Ratchet shrugged. Maybe she was right. "Speaking of which, we haven't really had time to be together after I came to Earth," Arcee reminded. "You wanna hang out?" Ratchet asked, a bit in disbelief. Arcee nodded her head. "I would like that."

"Well as soon as things get settled down we can," Ratchet laughed lightly, "I promise." "Good," Arcee replied. For a moment they just stood there smiling at each other, the afternoon sun reflecting off of their metallic bodies from the windows lining the hallway. It was harmonic. "Can't keep you waiting all day though," Arcee eventually said. Ratchet lifted an optic brow at the remark and followed where she'd lifted her arm to. The door had opened. "Looks like someone wants to hear what you have to say." Ratchet smiled at her and nodded before walking through the doorway.


"Wow, you were right," Isaac commented. Bulkhead screeched to a halt outside the front gate to Porter C. Powell's estate. A few seconds before, they had seen the Angry Archer sneak into the building with Professor Princess in his arms. Obviously something was going on. "Why'd you think to come here though Sari?" Bumblebee asked curiously. "Well, Powell was never all that good a guy," she reminded them, "he was always getting involved with pretty shady stuff and hiring people like The Headmaster, especially after dad had left. Besides that, he was the other person involved in Sector Seven."

"So?" Bulkhead muttered. "Well, like Bumblebee told dad, the other night Meltdown came by our hideout," Sari replied, "A friend we met there told us that he mentioned Powell, and since he normally enlists criminals it only makes sense that he'd be involved in all of this." "Then he wants to get back into Sector Seven..." Isaac said quietly, "But why?" "Well gee dad, you basically have a way to do anything you want with what you've implied Sector Seven can do," Sari said dully, "Why would anyone want that in their control?" Professor Sumdac blushed in embarrassment.

"Well, what're we gonna do about it?" Bulkhead asked, "You sorta have to have evidence against him to take him into court and stuff. He is a business man after all." "Well we aren't taking him into court," Sari told him, "And we've got all the evidence we need against supervillains anyhow. Besides, Fanzone hates the guy." "Well get out and I'll transform," the vehicle told them. "Nope," the girl said, "No offense big guy, but the people in there will hear you coming however close we are away. This is strictly a human-sized operation." "Slag yeah!" Bumblebee exclaimed happily, "Something that I qualify for more than any Cybertronian for once!" "So you aren't the fastest," Bulkhead said. Bumblebee could almost hear the entire group mentally laughing at him as he grumbled.

"Well, I haven't really had time to get in much shape for this kinda thing, but-" "No dad," Sari said as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got two pairs of sunglasses out, "it's me and Bumblebee. You're not-" "Sari," it was her father's turn to cut her off, "You can't just go in there. Even if Powell's no longer part of Sumdac Industries he still has some of the highest quality security there is! Assaulting him is a deathwish!" "Dad, it's alright," Sari told him gently, "You wanted to know what me and Bumblebee do when we're with each other right? Well here it is. We always get in dangerous situations. We always have and always will. We can handle it, don't worry." Isaac sighed. "Fine."

"Great!" Sari giggled and turned to the boy to give him one of the pairs of sunglasses, "Here ya go Bumblebee...you okay?" "What?" he mumbled looking up from where he'd been rubbing his arm, "Oh, ye-yeah, I'm fine. What're those for?" "Well, you wanna do this in style right?" she asked closing her eyes. She smiled upon feeling the glasses leave her hands. "Where'd you get these things?" Bumblebee asked. "Hammerspace," she replied as she stood up, "See ya dad. Bulkhead, make sure you take care of him." "Gotcha," the low voice replied. "Wait, what about me?" Bumblebee asked, "I don't have any weapons!" "Just grab something from the back of the tank," Sari told him, "This is a police vehicle after all. Just make sure it looks good."

Once Bumblebee had picked out a firearm, he and Sari gave one last look at Professor Sumdac, slipped on their sunglasses, and stepped out of Bulkhead.


"Hello Ratchet," Rodimus Prime muttered. He didn't need to turn around to tell who had entered the room. "Hello sir," the medical operative replied staley. Curiously, Ratchet looked around the room. There was nowhere for him to sit. "Sir, there isn't a chair here." "Why should there be?" Rodimus asked, "This isn't some meeting after all." "Actually sir, it is," Ratchet told him, "I came here to talk about-" "Things that I don't give a slag about," Rodimus finished. Ratchet glared at the chair behind the table. "If you weren't gonna listen to what I have to say then why'd you let me in?" "Simple," Rodimus replied and spun around slowly, "We're going to find out where Sari and Bumblebee are." "We?" Ratchet asked. A second later he fell to the ground in stasis lock from the blow that had been dealt to the back of his head by the Autotrooper. "Get his processor hooked up," Rodimus ordered Red Alert, "And make sure the patient doesn't escape this time." Sadly, the female medic looked down at Ratchet.


BANG! Another shot echoed through the front chamber of the estate as Bumblebee dove behind a support beam. "Maybe this wasn't such a hot idea after all..." he said quietly. "Relax," Sari told him morphing into robot-mode and sending forth a blast of her own from the pillar she was hiding behind. All seven men were knocked to the ground from the wave of energy, three of them unconscious, "Just think of it as Duke Nukem Forever." "Well alright," Bumblebee muttered and lifted his gun as he peaked around the corner. Almost instantly one of the men saw him and fired. Just barely it whizzed past him and he shot his own projectile.

Though the firearm seemed to juggle about in his hands uncontrollably from the unusual feel of the human-sized recoil, the shot hit the man and he toppled over spasming. "Remember, don't hurt them too much!" Sari reminded. "Don't worry, I got it on stun," he replied taking aim and firing at one that had taken to targeting his Sparkmate, "he'll be out for a good fifteen minutes or so. BANG! The man firing at Sari fell after Bumblebee had missed about two times. Confidently, the girl leapt out from behind her pillar and sent a few orbs of energy raining down on the remaining two security operatives. One of them managed to get out of the way, but the other was sent hurtling across the ground and into a counter.

"And you're telling me not to hurt them," Bumblebee commented as he walked forward. "Well, we still gotta have some fun," Sari shrugged. After giving a quick grin to her, Bumblebee noticed the final operative and pointed at him. Upon seeing the teenagers raise their brows at him, he took off running through up the staircase. "Hopefully he's not as bad to chase as Sexton," Bumblebee said. "Doubt it," Sari replied as her roller blades unfolded from her feet, "But you might need a lift since you aren't your old self." "Don't mind if I do," Bumblebee laughed and got on Sari's back. With their weapons drawn, Sari raced up the stairs and soared into the room above. The seventeen operatives below looked up in amazement at the figures for a second before firing. They acted too late however, as Sari's newest expulsion of energy pelted the group.

Skidding to a halt as they landed, Sari looked over her shoulder to see two of the operatives still coming at them. Before she could act though, they fell over. "I'm really getting the hang of this human weapon thingy," Bumblebee said as he held up the smoking gun, "A lot like the standard Cybertronian Servo Gun." "Well glad to know you got my back," Sari laughed lightly. Bumblebee smiled as the girl began skating through the halls, her blades leaving indentations wherever they touched the floor. Just before they reached the next set of stairs though, Bumblebee spotted some people hiding behind the archways that lined the walls of the hall.

"DUCK!" he yelled. Immediately, Sari did as she was told and fell backwards as her arms popped open and used their blades to slide along the ground with her feet. Bumblebee's eyes grew wide as he saw the bullets fly above them. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion like in the movie they'd seen earlier that day. He watched as one in particular just barely flew over his nose. Once they'd made it to the other side however, time seemed to shift back to normal and Sari stood up and through her arms open to the operatives that hadn't been casualties of their own. Without any time to think, they were all thrown back into their archways and knocked out.

"Nice..." Bumblebee said quietly. Just then he felt something. Sari's body seemed to be moving up and down at a faster pace than he'd been used to whenever their bodies were together. "You okay?" he asked. "Yeah," she panted lightly, "just a bit...worn out. Using a lot of energy." "Well don't put so much force into the blasts," Bumblebee instructed, "Just let it come out naturally. Not everything has to be about doing damage." "That's coming from you?" Sari asked. They both laughed and looked up. Beyond the stairs lay a door. "Maybe just one more big blast," Sari suggested.

Porter C. Powell glanced up from his desk at the explosion that had launched the rooms door off its hinges. Though blurs, he could make out two figures in the smoking aftermath and smiled. "Sari Sumdac and her...friend. Please come in. We've been expecting you," he told them. Both teenagers glared at the smiling man. He seemed so calm and collected behind the table. "Just hold on a second Slo-Mo, I have some company." "So you are working with them," Bumblebee said. "Why of course. They're the best in their field," Porter laughed, "It's just business. And who might you be?" "Bumblebee," the boy growled.

Slowly, Powell took off his glasses, wiped them on his shirt, and put them back on before peering at the boy more intently. "I have got to get my prescription changed..." he muttered to himself. Bumblebee just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in annoyance. "Anyhow, what brings my old boss's daughter here?" the former CEO asked. "I think you know," Sari muttered as she began to walk towards him, "Meltdown nearly killed us the other night. You sent him." "Guilty," Powell laughed, "But I hold no responsibility over what happened with you. I just sent him to break in and gain access to Sector Seven."

"Well here's some news," Sari told him as she stopped at the front of his desk, "Sector Seven's operational again, and you better keep your slagging crooks away." "It is?" Powell exclaimed. His smile grew even wider. "Well great! Now we can-" "You're not sending anyone else there," Sari repeated and held her arm's blade to the man's face. Powell just simply looked at it and then back up to her. "Do you really want a repeat of what happened to Meltdown?" Powell laughed and shook his head. "I don't give a damn what happens to him," he told her happily, "If I'd known things would have gotten so complicated, I'd have made sure that he set the co-ordinates to an even worse location back when we were operating down there so that he wouldn't have become such a problem to deal with."

Sari and Bumblebee's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean?" Bumblebee asked. Leisurely, Powell stood up and walked over to the wall. "Back when we had first made Sector Seven, your father had managed to contact a being from another realm Sari," he informed them as he typed a few things into the panel on the wall, "a being which he was going to hand this over to." As the sequence of keys were put in, a part of the wall hissed and slid open. What Powell took out of it appeared to be a glowing shard of some sort floating within a capsule. "That's-" "The power that the one you call Megatron used to devastate the cosmos," Powell finished with a grin, "Black was the one that set the co-ordinates when the place was shut down. I made sure his co-ordinates weren't the ones that Sumdac had used so that he couldn't hand this over to it." The teenagers gave each other worried glances. "Now I'm no scientist, but I'm not an idiot," Powell said as he approached his desk and set the shard on it, "Once I looked into Sumdac's old files, I instantly realized just what this was."

"Hand it over," Sari ordered. "Fine," Powell replied with a smile. Just then Bumblebee let out a yelp causing the girl to turn around. There behind him was the security operative that had fled on the first floor with his arm locked around the boy's throat. "As long as you're willing to give up your boyfriend's life." Sweat beginning to form along his brow, Bumblebee shook his head at Sari. The girl stared for a few seconds, and turned to Powell, her eyes glowing brightly beneath her helmet. "Give it to me," she demanded, her voice seeming to take on a more calm and echoing tone. Surprised by her reaction, Powell raised his eyebrow. "And what incentive do I have to do that?" he asked.

"If you do not hand that fragment over to me, you may possibly be dooming this world, if not the rest of the universe," she told him, "And believe me, you do not want that on your conscience, no matter how evil you are. What you're involved with as long as you have that is a battle that has been in motion far beyond any amount of time you can even begin to comprehend. However, if you give that to me, you may in fact help keep this reality, as well as any others, from meeting a very horrific fate." Powell was at a loss of words. He thought he had everything under control, but looking into those glowing blue eyes and hearing the explanation...he didn't know what came over him. "Please Porter," the girl said, "You're not beyond redemption."

"...take it." Powell muttered. He turned his face away, his eyes felt as though tears were forming along the rims, "Take it and leave." "Thank you Porter," the teenager said as she grabbed the capsule. "Let him go," the man ordered. Uneasily, the guard backed away from Bumblebee. "You ready to get out of here?" Sari asked, her voice now normal. Bumblebee nodded his head, unsure of what had just happened. Nodding to him, her hand slipped into his and they began tsloo walk down the staircase. Glaring at Slo-Mo's screen, Powell knocked it to the ground and it shattered.


"My liege, how are your recoveries doing?" Shockblast asked as he approached the throne. "They're doing sustainable," Galvatron muttered, "Rise." Shockblast did so. "What have you been able to find out?" "Well, I have not found any traces of our dear old ancient clock," the one-eyed Transformer informed, "Nor any sign of suspicious energy readings." "What about Spittor and Shokaract?" Galvatron asked, "They haven't reported back yet." "I knew you cared," a rather cocky voice laughed. Shockblast turned around to see a much taller version of the cretaceous humanoid behind him. "Shokaract?..." Galvatron questioned cautiously.

"Sir, his outer coating appears to be Shokaract's but his Spark signature is nothing like his was-oof!" Shockblast clutched his leg as he fell over from the smaller figure's kick. "What do you think you're doing?" Galvatron asked sternly, "And where's Spittor?" "He's right here," the Transformer chuckled patting his stomach. Galvatron's optics narrowed. "Aw, is the little Decepticon leader upset?" he laughed making his way towards the imposing bot, "And about what I'm doing, I'm taking over. So get the slag off my throne." Galvatron just sat where he was and lifted his arm cannon to the Transformer's face.

Before he could fire however, a beam of energy launched Galvatron across the room. Looking up, he could see a rather white Starscream-like figure with a coned headpiece. "Ramjet..." he growled. "I always did love you sir," the clone told Galvatron. Ramjet smiled upon seeing the bot that had lead the attack trek up to the throne and sit in it, his own grin plastered on his faceplates. "Now this is the life," he laughed. With a snap of his finger, the windows of the lair flickered to holograms of schematics and video links to the other Decepticons. "This'll do, yesss..." he chuckled, "Oh my, there's an Autobot City here? And would you look at that, some Autobots amongst your ranks as well..."

"Why are you doing this?..." Galvatron muttered, a bit numb from the blast he'd taken. Two betrayals in a week, he sure wasn't getting the respect that his reputation promised. "Why am I doing this?" the figure in the throne repeated stroking his chin in amusement, "So many reasons...well, I guess the most direct one is because my original plan isn't going to work now. Another is just simply because I love power. I am the greatest leader ever after all." "You certainly aren't the nuisance of a bot that stood before me earlier today," Galvatron growled, "Just who are you?" The bot smirked, his optics glowing. "I am the alpha and the omega. I am that which will rewrite reality as I see fit. I am Megatron!"


"Well looks like we're out of a job, caput, on ice," the woman babbled, "Besides I don't even have my powers anymore and Powell's not coming in." "Yeah, guess it's back to the old bank robbing eh babe?" Nanosec agreed, "Thanks for breaking us out though Archer." "Does that mean no Sesame Street or getting Cabbage Patch toys?" Professor Princess cried, "I can't go back to my parents now! With how late I've been out and who I've been with they'll make sure I never see the light of day again whenever I'm not potesting!" "You think you got it bad kid?" Nanosec yelled, "This was supposed to be my big score!"

"SHUT UP!" Angry Archer yelled. All eyes turned to him and the bickering subsided. Not only were they shocked that'd he'd actually used proper English, but he out of all them had never blew his top. "The Society of Ultimate Villainy is still here in one room," he told reminded them, "While we art together, shalt not thou partake in planning for the future? After all, I did not go out of my way to get all you losers back together for nothing! With or without a benefactor, we're the S.U.V. understand?" Slowly the other criminals nodded their heads.

The Angry Archer sighed and rubbed his temples. He needed to think, and fast. With how quickly the group had gotten into an argument, there'd be no telling how long it'd take before they all decided to split up if things got out of hand. "Now then, Powell," he started, more thinking aloud than actually talking to the other people, "While thou was still on thy screen, we could see him talking to Sari Sumdac." The group nodded. "Thy glowy eyed female talked of something happening, something that threatened our world." "So?" Nanosec muttered. "So, with no world there is nothing to profit from," he stated. The group's eyes widened at the realization. "Then what should we do?" Professor Princess asked. "I was thinking that thy Society might contemplate upon possibly lending a helping hand to thy enemies. After thy enemy of my enemy is my friend right Slo-Mo?"


"Sure was nice to see Bulkhead and your dad again," Bumblebee said. Sari nodded while the boy let out a yawn. It had been quite a day. "I'm very confused," Nobel told them from behind them, "What is going on?" "Old stuff," Sari replied, her rapidly clicking fingers nearly drowning out her voice. With each passing second, images from the computer screen flashed across her face, her mind sifting through all the coding and firewalls embedded in Sector Seven's database. "And the crystal thing?" he asked. "Megatron's old fusion cannon basically," Bumblebee said. For a second he thought he saw Nobel's eyes widen, but with how smooth his movement normally was he couldn't rightly tell. "Megatron, well now he's called Galvatron, is the leader of bad bots," the boy added. "What if he just sees things differently?" Nobel asked. Bumblebee shrugged and turned his attention back to the computer monitor. The screen had gone black.

"Got it!" Sari exclaimed, "Just need to enter the password and the door comes open." "How'd you figure all of this out?" Bumblebee asked curiously. Sari smiled at him. "Well, had to pass some time on the way over here so I went about hacking through a copy of this place's database." "But are you sure we should even be doing this?" he questioned, "I mean when your dad tried-" "It was set to wrong co-ordinates," she reminded him, "He thought they were set to the correct ones, so all we have to do is put them in when we get down there and send the fragment." "And if the co-ordinates turn out to be bad?..." Bumblebee mumbled. "They won't be," she told him, "Trust me."

Bumblebee raised an eyebrow and peaked over Sari's shoulder as she typed in the password. Oracle. The group turned their attention to the door at the end of the room. A loud whirring sound was heard for a few seconds and it stopped. Nobel and Bumblebee looked at Sari and she nodded happily. After grabbing the fragment, she joined them at the door and it slid open. "So...how do you know all this stuff?" Bumblebee asked. Once the door had shut, the floor beneath them shimmered a light blue and a sphere lifted into the air in the center of the cylindrical chamber to hold their gravity in place as the floor descended. "I told you I hacke-" "Not that," Bumblebee said, "how'd you know the password? How'd you get Powell to give that thing to us?"

Sari looked at the ground for a minute. She hadn't really given it a second though. The truth was she didn't know how she knew. It was as though something else had been there with her. Her mind had been instructing her what to say and what to do. She hadn't been thinking about it. "I just...knew," Sari told him. Bumblebee's eyebrows bent in frustration. He was worried about Sari. But at the moment he figured that wasn't really what he should be focused on. Right now they were on their way down into the depths of the Earth. He didn't know how far they'd gone, but by looking at the clear walls of the chamber, he could see the rocks and dirt blazing past them in blurs, ones he'd never even reached before in a race.

Just then it stopped though. It didn't even slow, it just cut off. The blurs stopped replaced by a fine black surrounding. What Bumblebee thought to be rocks seemed to be glowing as though they were stars in the black cosmos. It wasn't until he looked around that he realized he was the only one left in the elevator and broke into a run to catch up with his companions. He almost ran into them when he did rejoin them though, as they were standing at the archway to the new chamber.

In front of the group was a massive see-through cylinder made of what seemed to be glass. But it wasn't the cylinder itself that caught their attention. Inside the structure appeared to be some sort of human. The form of it was that of a child, one seeming to be the age that Sari had been before her upgrade, except it had no external organs. It showed no physical sign of possessing a gender like normal humans did. Stringing out of its back seemed to be thousands of cords connected to the top of the cylinder. Off to the right was what seemed to be a capsule the size of a human and across it on the right of the cylinder was an old computer terminal. Though primitive, the setup seemed even more advanced than Quantum Mechanics.

"What the slag?..." Bumblebee said quietly. "Put this in that big thing on the left," Sari ordered thrusting the fragment into Bumblebee's arms. Too much in awe to really complain, he did as he was told while Sari approached the computer terminal. "You just gonna stand there?" Bumblebee asked Nobel once he'd locked the fragment into place. "I'll...be back at the elevator..." the bird-like humanoid told them slowly. After he'd left, Bumblebee turned his attention to the being in the cylinder. It had dull red eyes like Sari had when she was its age. She however wasn't pale skinned and bald.

"Co-ordinates," the computer terminal said. "Two One Six dot Three Three Three dot Eight dot Six One Six," Sari replied. Bumblebee began to back up. The eyes of the humanoid inside the cylinder seemed to widen once the code had been spoken and the capsule that Bumblebee had put the fragment in began to glow. "We're going to die!" he cried diving behind Sari. A second later he looked back at the capsule. The fragment was gone and the eyes had gone back to their original shape. "We're...not going to die..." "Bumblebee look," Sari said. Getting up he saw his own language on the computer screen. Below the Cybertronian writing were the words 'Thank you.'

*End of Chapter*

Hooray! New chapter done! Going to Florida this July! Unfortunately though there's no art this time. Mom deleted everything on my camera and scanner's not working...but here's the main course! Hopefully it was a good enough chapter.

So where do we go from here? This chapter was basically all just a set-up of things to come. Once the next chapter goes up it's pretty much gonna be a roller coaster ride to the end...wait...did I just say this thing would have an end?...