#41 - There and Back Again

Waspinator exhaled softly as he watched Snowbelle, who was curled up sniffling on his lap. He did feel sorry for the poor little femme. He was still suffering from his own pain from Starfeather's death. He rubbed the youngling's back in some sort of an effort to comfort her and himself. She took a shaky breath and looked up at him, almost all sparklinghood brightness gone from her minty green optics.

"Why did they have to die?" she asked hoarsely. The green mech shook his head.

"I don't know," he said, trying his hardest to speak properly for once, but he couldn't keep the buzz out of his voice. "Zzometimez... 'botzz juzzzt die. Optimuzz Primal died becauzzze Megatron tricked him. Zztarfeather... zzurge muzzzt have killed her."

Snowbelle looked down blankly at her hands. She had never seen Megatron and never tried to envision him in her mind. His name had just been a word. Now, she pictured him as a big, evil monster with evil red eyes and big teeth and claws and guns. She hoped that he wouldn't kill anyone else. She understood little of the Pit and the Well. She just knew that the Pit was where bad Transformers went and the Well of All Sparks was where good Transformers went. She hoped that her daddy and Starfeather were happy in the Well.

-x-

As a matter of fact, Starfeather also believed she was dead. She knew she wasn't in her body anymore, but there were no bright lights or soft clouds to welcome her to the afterlife. Nor were there any signs of eternal fires or darkness. She knew that she was being drawn to somewhere, but to where, she didn't know. She just hoped that everyone she cared about was alright.

Soon, Starfeather could tell that she was nearing a nebula. She came closer and closer until she was drawn inside. She was unsure about this and tried to fight the force pulling her in, but that did nothing. In the gloom, she sensed glowing eyes watching her. They were all different colors and brighter and eerier than optics. She also heard voices in a language that she couldn't even begin to comprehend. She was eventually drawn to a clearer area in the nebula. She also found that she had a body again. She was human and was naked. Before she could be concerned with hiding herself, she saw three ghostly skulls with glowing eyes silently float toward her from the mist. They stopped a few feet in front of her. The skull in the middle, who had dark crimson eyes, rose higher than the other skulls and spoke first.

"Emily White," it addressed her in a strongly deep and masculine voice.

"How do you know my name?" Starfeather asked.

"We have been watching you ever since you helped to destroy the puzzle paradise island we made for you and your kind," the skull to the right said in an equally deep and masculine voice. It had blue eyes.

"You made it for the transformers?" She was confused.

"No," said the skull to the left. Its voice was deep but clearly feminine. "We made it for the first species that would develop the intelligence to solve the puzzles."

"Okay... so why am I here? What happened to the others?" Starfeather understood a little bit, but these questions still remained.

"The others are no longer of your concern," the skull with the deep feminine voice said. "We have brought you here so that we may send you back to your proper timeline. You will have no memory that any of this has happened to you and you will continue with your life as you were."

"What? You can't just take me away. They need me!" Starfeather was shocked and now truly knew that she was not dead.

"Yours and their presence on the project could cause great damage to the timeline," said the first red-eyed skull. "It is imperative that we remove you and create another means of sterilizing the project."

"But-" She had nothing to say. What could she say? How could she convince these powerful beings not to take her away or kill her friends and family? Perhaps, if they made this planet and were studying how it developed, maybe she could say that the transformers could be made part of it?

"But why just toss this new possibility aside? I've learned so much since I came to this place. Think of what you could learn," she said, hoping that she could earn their attention. The skulls looked at each other then back at her.

"What possibility?" the second one asked.

"The transformers," Starfeather went on hopefully. "You didn't intend for them to come, but they did anyway. Aren't any of you the slightest bit curious as to just how they will affect things? Perhaps everything will turn out as it is supposed to if you do nothing?"

The skulls glanced at each other, but said nothing so she continued, wondering if she was winning them over.

"Not only that, but I was turned into one of their own kind. Aren't you just a little bit curious how one of your creations would adapt to being a completely different species?"

There was a long stifling pause until the first skull spoke.

"You do present an argument worthy of consideration," he said. "But it is not our authority to decide this matter. We are merely messengers. We shall take your plea to the Elders." With that, they dematerialized and were gone. Starfeather looked around, seeing more sets of glowing eyes around her. She sighed and sat on the ground or whatever was holding her up, folding her legs underneath herself and wrapping her arms around herself. She wondered how long she would have to wait and how long she had been gone.

-x-

The Predacons, plan in mind, went to back up their leader as the Maximals went inside their base to regroup. Rhinox was fine, but they didn't know if what he had been trying to do would work yet or not. In the meantime, they rearmed themselves as the Predacons lined up once again. Snowbelle was told to stay in the bridge and not come out for anything. She promised. However, she would call Rhinox if anything happened with the stasis pod he had hooked up to that odd machine he had been using.

So, the Maximals made a counter line once they were outside. Fire rained down on them and they fought back with all they had. It carried on through the night. Snowbelle tried to faithfully watch on the monitor, but she eventually fell asleep on the console. Megatron couldn't help but notice what terrible shots everyone had suddenly become. He and Inferno were the only ones actually hitting the Maximals. He narrowed his optics in suspicious thought.

-x-

Meanwhile, inside the Axalon, while Snowbelle was still snoozing, someone came into the room. They looked around the room with some confusion. They already knew that their body was different than before, but what they didn't know was how they had ended up in another room than this one, as this was the last place that they remembered being. They came up quietly behind the sleeping vixen and lightly touched her shoulder.

"Snowbelle?" the Transmetal figure spoke gently. She moaned and turned her head the other way, away from the figure. "Snow, sweety, can you tell me what's going on?"

Snowbelle finally woke up enough to look up. She stared groggily at the other person until she thought she recognized them. But... this couldn't be them, could it?

"...Starfeather?" she questioned. The other nodded.

"Yes, it's me." Starfeather looked down at herself. "I don't know what happened. That's why I was wondering if you had any idea because I can't find anyone else."

But Snowbelle wasn't listening. One of the happiest grins she could muster brightened her face like the sun. She slid from her chair and clung tightly around a surprised Starfeather's waist.

"I can't believe it!" she squealed. "You're not dead anymore!"

"You thought I was dead?" The Transmetal raven chuckled.

"Well yeah," the youngling nodded and looked up at her. "Cheetor said you were when you wouldn't wake up after that surge thingy."

"You mean the quantum surge?" Starfeather asked, but that was all that was able to come out of her mouth when something else happened. There was a flash of light and the stasis pod Rhinox had set up opened. Another Transmetal body came out and looked curiously at the girls.

"Snowbelle? Starfeather...?"

Neither of them could believe it.

"Optimus!?"

"Daddy!"

He had made it. He had kept his promise.

-x-

Terrorsaur suddenly stopped his mock attack and just hovered dazed where he was. He could feel something in his spark. It grew stronger until he could sense where it was coming from. A small eager and hopeful smile came to his face.

"Starfeather?" he whispered. He reached out to her through their link... and felt her reach back. He couldn't contain a squawk of joy as he punched at the air. In his mind, he heard her wonderful laugh.

You thought I was dead too? Her beautiful voice sounded clear as a bell. He couldn't reply for a moment until he regained himself.

Yes, he replied. I couldn't sense you after the surge hit. What happened? Are you alright?

I'm perfectly fine, Screechy, she assured him. But... I look different now.

You do? he asked, but Megatron shouted at him to stop daydreaming and start shooting. He did so, but wasn't paying any mind to where his shots hit. Are you a Transmetal too?

I, uh... Look, I'd love to talk and you seem desperate to, but right now, we need to be enemies and you guys need to retreat.

No wait. He stopped her from withdrawing just yet. We have a plan.

Who's 'we'? she asked. He then very briefly explained what had recently transpired and the agreement to partially help the Maximals. She didn't respond for a second as she took it in.

I'll tell Optimus then.

Optimus is back too? This was getting ridiculous, not that he was complaining or anything, but still. It was almost as if this whole thing were some bad fanfic.

Yes, but I really think we should stop talking now and get on with things, she said, but he could hear the smile in her voice. I promise I'll tell you everything that happened to me then you can tell me all that happened to you later, okay? Terrorsaur nodded and smiled warmly, though she probably couldn't see.

Alright, Star. I really, really love you, he said.

I love you too, Starfeather replied and he could almost feel the warmth of her lips on his cheek before she withdrew. He sighed, happier than he could put to words. He could barely believe it. She was alive! Feeling like he had drank a week's worth of energon in one sip, he continued his stream of plasma near the Maximals' position until he, as well as everyone else, looked up to see one of the lift doors on the Axelon coming down.

On the lift stood the Transmetalized forms of Optimus Primal and Starfeather. The raven was now almost completely black all over, only having silver and blue coloring in a few places, and was covered in chrome plating instead of feathers. She had some sharper angles in some places where she used to have curves and her legs were double jointed, giving her feet and appearance similar to her beast mode's. Her wings were still on her back in robot mode, but they were bigger and had sharper looking feather-shaped plates. Her beast mode head still made up her upper body and instead of organic eyes, there were currently dark purple optics. Her regular optics were now an icy blue, her face still smooth and light silver. Her new armor gleamed in the morning sun and Terrorsaur was caught in a momentary spell. Starfeather caught his eye and she smiled sheepishly.

I told you I looked different, he could just hear her say.

Megatron was also taken by the sight of the Transmetal forms, especially Optimus. He had killed him, he knew he had. How could he possibly have risen from the dead and come back? Then he thought perhaps it had something to do with that beam he had seen coming from the base hours before. The rest of the Predacons, and even the Maximals, were also shocked. What would this do to the plan?

However, Terrorsaur decided that this exciting development changed nothing. After all, this was his plan. He raised his gun to the dawn-painted sky.

"Predacons, now!" he shouted and aimed his sights on Megatron. The others were a bit confused for a second before also training their weapons on Megatron and Inferno. The Predacon leader took a surprised step back.

"You fools, what are you doing!?" he roared. "Destroy the Maximals!"

"No," Terrorsaur said, changing some points to his speech that he had been formulating for the past few hours. "Optimus has come back and he doesn't look happy. Remember the last time you did something like that to him?"

"I should have known you would be behind this, Terrorsaur." But Megatron did remember. He had Scorponok design a virus that would make the Maximal leader a coward, but it had the opposite effect. A now highly aggressive and trigger happy Primal had stormed into the Predacon base and... Megatron didn't care to recall the rest.

"It's not just him, Megatron," Scorponok spoke up. "We've all had enough."

"Scorponok?" he questioned. "What is the meaning of this?" The Predacon leader was shocked once again. The Second in Command didn't answer for the longest time.

"We're going back to base and leaving the Maximals alone," he finally said. Megatron was genuinely stunned. He looked at all of his troops' faces. They were all serious and all of their gun barrels were pointed at him and his only truly loyal servant left. How could his men have organized such a standoff in such a short period of time?

However, Tarantulas was set apart from this rebellion. He was more concerned with what Blackarachnia was doing back at the base. The Maximals watched with growing intensity. What would Megatron do? Would they turn and attack anyway? Leader and rebel starred eye to eye. Neither seemed like they were going to submit. At last, after several minutes, Megatron spoke.

"You all are going to pay dearly for this act of treason."

"Then we will take it," Silverbolt said boldly. Without waiting for an order or even a retort, G-Force began leading the way back home. The others quickly followed. Megatron stood almost shaking in rage. He knew there was nothing he could do. They weren't listening to him now. He hated this helpless feeling. When he got the chance, he would extinguish this spark of rebelliousness. For now, he faced Optimus.

"This isn't over, Primal," he called. "I don't know how you came back, but I will be rid of you yet!"

They waited until the Predacons were out of sight before anyone dared to say anything. Cheetor grinned as he looked Optimus and Starfeather over and gave them a thumbs up.

"Lookin' good, guys."

Everyone laughed at that.