Hey, long time, no see. So this will probably be the last side chapter as it covers the last two episodes of Rescue Bots season 3. ('Now and Then' and 'Today and Forever') Anymore Rescue Bots interaction will go directly into the Epilogue fic. This chapter falls right after chapter 5 of that fic.
Blades left the dome while flying. He did not get very far before a chunk of ice broke off the cliff above him and hit his tail rotor on the way down.
"Blades, what was that?" Dani asked.
"I don't know," Blades replied, "but here comes more of it."
More ice broke off and crashed down toward them. Blades evaded as best he could, but the cold was starting to get to him.
"Dani, my rotors are freezing up."
"Try to keep them moving, Blades! We're going down!"
An especially large chunk of ice broke off. Too large for Blades to avoid in his freezing state.
{LOOK OUT!} came a voice over the comm before something slammed into his side and sent him spiraling out of the way.
"Dani, hang on!" Blades cried as he transformed. He crashed into a snowbank.
"Blades! Are you ok?" Heatwave yelled as he raced over to him. He had quickly left the dome as soon as he saw Blades was having trouble.
"I think so," Blades groaned as Heatwave helped him up. "Are you ok, Dani?"
"Yeah," she replied. "But what hit us? There was someone on the comm just before that."
"I think I saw something yellow before you crashed but whatever it was must have gotten crushed under the ice instead of you."
The huge chunk of ice suddenly cracked and a piece of it moved to reveal a neon yellow mech bigger than the Rescue Bots. He had a large shield on one arm that he used to completely push the ice aside while brandishing a sword in the other servo, its laser edge fading out as he got to his peds.
"Hey, hey. Don't kill me off just yet," he said. He sheathed his sword on his back as he tromped over to them in the ever-increasing snow. "While I can stand the ice and snow better than most, even an Arctic storm like this is a bit much for me. We should get inside before you two freeze. And especially the little one." He gestured at Blades' chassis.
"Good idea," Blades agreed with a shiver.
"Let's go." Heatwave led the way back to the dome that had been left open when he came out to get Blades.
As soon as they were in, Chase commed the Doc to have him close the dome.
"Thanks for the assist," Heatwave said, turning to the new mech. "Judging by your mask, you're one of Liliy's boys, right?"
He pushed up said mask and smirked a little. "Yes, I'm one of 'Liliy's boys'. The CRC's archivist, Pepper, at your service." He bowed slightly.
"How did you manage to find us?"
"Before that, I think we should go to your base. He," Pepper jerked his thumb at Blades, "still needs to warm up."
"Yes! Thank you!" Blades said, still shivering.
Once everyone had gathered in the firehouse and Blades was getting warm, Pepper set aside his shield and unstrapped the two metal boxes he was carrying off his back.
"Wait. Aren't those your portable ground bridge generator?" Boulder asked.
"Yeah. It seems that, despite being displaced to the Arctic, your island still doesn't like space warping portals. So the madam had me bridge over outside to bring these to you."
"Why you?" asked Kade.
"I'm a snowplow. Winter is my element."
"Makes sense."
"So do you guys have a plan yet?" Pepper asked as he worked on setting up the generator.
"Well, with your ground bridge generator," replied Doc Greene, "we could easily evacuate the island now."
"You could, but do you really want to leave your island here in the Arctic?"
Chief Burns answered this time. "Not really. But if we have no other options."
"Well then, make it a last resort," Pepper said, plugging in the last cable. The control monitor on the side of the generator lit up. He moved over to it. "Before that though, Delta has been pinging me ever since I made contact. I better let him come over."
Boulder's face lit up as Pepper activated the ground bridge. As soon as the portal was open, Delta appeared. He went straight for Boulder.
"Boulder!" he cried, grabbing the other mech's servo. "Are you alright? I was so worried when I heard what happened and when I wasn't able to contact you."
Boulder just smiled as he pulled Delta down with his other servo and pressed their forehelms together. "Yes, Delta. I'm ok. Thank you for worrying about me."
"However, I am curious as to how Griffin Rock ended up in the Arctic," said another voice. "Care to share?"
"Liliy!" cried several voices at the appearance of the femme in her human form. Both Dani and Frankie ran over to her to give her a hug and Cody gave her one after the girls let go.
"So today was the day we dug up and opened the time capsule that they buried 75 years ago," Frankie explained.
"Oh yeah. I remember that," said Liliy. "Was it whatever was inside that caused your island to teleport?"
"Yep. When we opened the capsule, we found a huge quantum crystal."
"I was wondering where that went. Was it Elma?"
"Yeah. It was."
"Figures. She was always wary of Morocco. I did warn her to keep an eye on him right before I left. Which was right after you guys visited. So, what activated the crystal and why did it teleport the entire island?"
"When Heatwave was moving it," Cody spoke this time, "it got struck by lightning and he dropped it into the hole that the time capsule had been in."
"Also, right on top of a vein of reactaline," Doc Greene added.
"Oh…" Liliy paused while checking her database for something. "Everything makes sense now. With veins of reactaline running throughout this entire island, no wonder the whole thing was teleported. Was there anything left of the quantum crystal?"
"Unfortunately, it is now history," said Cody.
"Alright, that's out. Any other ideas on getting your island back to where it belongs?"
"What about on the best-left-forgotten shelf?" Kade asked. "Anything we can use there, Doc?"
"Only if you want to be transmogrified or ingested by living ooze," Doc Greene answered.
"Been there, done those," Graham commented glumly.
"What about floatium?" Cody suggested suddenly.
"You're getting as hard to understand as Graham, Code," said Kade.
"Maybe we could use it to fill the dome and float the island home," Cody explained.
"Like tying balloons to a house to make it fly," Blades said excitedly. "I saw that in a movie. Ooh, do you think we'll get to meet talking dogs?"
"Hmm, floatium would get us in the air," Frankie agreed. "But it won't fly us anywhere, and how do we steer?"
"The Sigma's rocket," Heatwave piped up. "It'll give us propulsion and steering."
"That might actually work." Doc pulled out his special marker and started writing some equations in the air. "Floatium lasts longer than helium, giving us enough lift and time to return to the waters of Maine." He erased the equations.
"Will the dome stay up long enough for that?" asked Dani.
"If necessary, we can bring you some energon to power the dome," Liliy supplied. "Also, we may be able to shorten your trip considerably with our space bridge."
"Will that even work?" Pepper asked. "I mean, since we can't open portals on the island?"
It was Delta who answered. "It should, since I have come to the conclusion that it is the island itself that denies the space warping, because we cannot open a portal below the peak of Mt. Griffin, but we can open one in the air above that. As long as we open the portal well beforehand so it is already established before the island gets there, then there should be no problem with the island going through it."
"I wonder if the reactaline has something to do with it," Liliy mused thoughtfully. She looked up at Delta. "An experiment for later perhaps?"
Delta got excited. "Ooh! That sounds like fun." He turned to the mech beside him. "We could do it together, Boulder. And I could teach you how to use the ground bridge."
Boulder smiled and gave Delta's servo a gentle squeeze. "That sounds great, Delta."
"Alright then, everyone," Liliy announced. "While you guys get the floatium ready, I'll contact Alfa about the space bridge and also Optimus. We can have him and his team make sure the ocean floor is clear for your return."
"Since they have nothing better to do right now?" Pepper added.
"Don't they have to go patrolling for Decepticons or something?" Chase asked.
"About that…" Liliy replied. "It's kind of a long story but the war is actually over now."
"What?!" asked Blades.
"Why weren't we told?" asked Heatwave.
"When did this happen?" asked Chase.
"Who won?" asked Boulder.
"It was the CRC's victory over the Decepticons," Liliy explained briefly. "Team Prime had no part in it. And it has only been like a week ago so…"
Heatwave sighed. "That is important information, but we can talk about it later. Right now we have an island to save." He turned to his team. "Rescue Bots, roll to the rescue!"
While Delta and Pepper were helping get the floatium ready, Liliy headed back to the CRC base to contact Alfa and Optimus since the Arctic storm made long distance calls virtually impossible. She called Optimus first so he could get to work right away.
{Liliy, what can I do for you?} A little surprised to get her call.
"It's about Griffin Rock."
{Griffin Rock? Did something happen?}
"Yes. It seems they had a mishap and the whole island was teleported to the Arctic. We have already figured out a way to return the island to Maine, but we need someone to make sure the seafloor is clear for their return. I was hoping you and some of your team could take care of that."
{Of course. We'll roll out right away. I actually had sent the Rescue Bot recruits to observe the time capsule ceremony. Did they make it to the island in time?}
"Hmm." Liliy checked the SDS for their signals. "No. It looks like they are still near Maine."
{Very well. I will contact High Tide and have them start while I gather my team.}
"Good. I'll let you know when we're in route. We are going to see if we can shorten the trip with a space bridge so you better work fast."
{A space bridge? Is that safe?}
"I'm contacting Alfa next. I'll let you know." And ended the comm. Liliy switched channels and called Alfa. "Alfa, I need you for a bit. Can you come back to base?"
{Yes, Ma'am. I'll be right there.}
A few minutes later, Alfa was coming through the ground bridge. Liliy met him in the receiving room.
"What did you need me for, Ma'am?" he asked.
"You're the expert on space bridges." She turned and looked up at the huge ring of metal looming in the back of the cavern. "How big can we make the portal?"
"What are you trying to send through it?"
"Griffin Rock."
He stared at her blankly. "What?"
"You heard me. We need to get the entire island back to Maine."
"Where is it right now?"
"The Arctic. They are already working on a plan to fly it back."
Alfa pressed a digit against the space between his closed optics. "I'm not even going to ask how this happened." He looked down at her again. "What are the dimensions of the island?"
"Oh. I already put those in the computer for you." She ran up to his console.
He moved to the computer and looked over the data.
"Hmm. Let me see." His digits started dancing over the keyboard as he input formulas and initiated simulations. "It does look like we can make one big enough. But doesn't the island not like-"
"I wouldn't've suggested it if I didn't think it would work."
"High Tide."
{O.P.! Finally! I've been tryin' to contact you. Something's happened to Griffin Rock.}
"Yes. I know. I have been told they are in the process of flying the island back. I need you and your recruits to clear the seafloor for their return. My team and I will be arriving shortly to help you."
{Roger that, O.P.}
"Calling to let you know the island is airborne, Ma'am."
{Alright, Pepper. I'll be returning as soon as I finish up preparations with Alfa.}
"I will be on standby at the firehouse to receive you. Delta is helping Boulder."
{Good. Please let the chief know that I contacted Optimus and he should have the seafloor clear for the island's arrival.}
"Roger that. Pepper out." He ended the comm and looked over to see Doc Greene leaving the firehouse. "What did I miss?"
"My dad is going to ask the professor to marry him," explained Frankie while Cody answered a call on the emergency line.
"Do you think she'll say yes?"
"I really hope so. I think she'll be an awesome mom-"
"Dad!" Cody exclaimed after hanging up the call. "A huge hole just opened in the ground next to Mr. Pfeiffer's shop. It's so deep, he says he can see the sky through it."
Chief Burns immediately got on his comm. "No end to the emergencies, team. Meet me at the bakery."
"I'll stay here, Chief," Pepper said. "I have to open the ground bridge on this side for the madam when she is ready to come back."
"Understood," Charlie replied as he slid into Chase's alt.
The hole by the bakery was not the only hole to open up. Chase and the chief arrived just in time to save Doc Greene and the professor after a sinkhole opened under their feet while the doc was proposing. Even in the confusion of being rescued and the doc trying to think of a solution for the sinkholes, Professor Baranova still said yes. And it took the chief and Chase pointing it out for the doc to realize what she was saying. Doc Greene happily knelt again and slipped the ring he had made on her finger. And as soon as he stood up, the island started shaking.
"An earthquake? In the air?" Charlie asked.
Doc Greene grabbed the professor's hand to keep her steady. But the ground stopped moving as quickly as it started.
"Worse," Doc said. "It appears something is wrong with the dome." And pointed at the back half of the dome.
The energy field that made up the dome was rippling around that generator arm.
{Dad, a sinkhole just opened up, near one of the dome generators.} Graham commed. {It's about to lose its power source.}
"Oh no."
"Delta, pull!" Boulder cried as they grabbed the wires that connected the power cell to the generator, the only thing holding it up now.
"I got it!" He pulled together with Boulder. They were slowly bringing the power cell up.
"Almost there!" Graham called.
"Ah, frag!" Delta swore as he saw and felt what was about to happen.
"What?" Boulder asked, straining as he pulled.
"The wires are about to-!"
"AH!" Boulder cried as the tension was suddenly released and they both fell backward.
"...Snap," Delta finished lamely, holding up the broken wires. He rolled off of Boulder. "Sorry about that."
"It's alright," Boulder replied as Delta helped him back to his peds. "You weren't that heavy."
"Oh, no! The dome!" Graham exclaimed, looking up.
Without a power source, the generator could no longer create the energy field and half the dome collapsed.
"Delta, what are you doing?" Boulder asked, noticing that the mech had left his side and was removing the broken wires from the generator.
"We need to get the dome back up as soon as possible, right?" He pulled a set of jumper cables out of his subspace. "I'm not carrying enough spare juice to power this thing for longer than a minute, so I'll have to power it myself."
{Delta, what in the AllSpark is going on over there?} Pepper commed.
"Pepper, inform the madam we are going to need that energon sooner than later. I'll power the generator until she gets here."
{Understood.}
"What? Delta, no! You can't!" Boulder cried.
"It's only for a little while, Boulder," he said as he connected the cables between himself and the generator. He was using the energon in his own frame to power the dome. "Admit it. You would do the same thing, if it came down to that."
"Well… Yes, but we still have backup batteries right now. You don't need to-"
{Good work getting the dome back up, Graham, Boulder.} Charlie commed.
"It wasn't us, Dad," replied Graham. "Delta is the one powering the generator now."
{He's what?!} demanded Heatwave.
{I've already contacted the madam about a new power cell.} Pepper informed them. {She'll be here shortly. And she says the space bridge is almost ready to go.}
{Space bridge?} asked Blades. {We're not leaving the atmosphere, are we?}
{No. Making a portal big enough for the island requires the space bridge generator. That's all.} Pepper explained.
{Oh, great! I was scared there for a second.}
{Help has arrived.} Liliy suddenly joined the conversation. {Delta, how are you holding up?}
"Hahaa. I think I'm beginning to understand how you feel when we code red."
{That bad, huh? Just keep it together. We are on our way.}
"T-that's great!" Delta put a servo to his helm. "Ugh. I think I need to sit down."
"Delta!" Boulder caught his arm as he teetered and helped him sit on the ground. He interlaced his digits with Delta's. "Hang in there."
Delta leaned against him. "Thanks, Boulder."
They all looked up at the sound of wailing sirens. A moment later, Foxtrot came drifting around the corner, emergency lights flashing. Surprisingly, Pepper wasn't too far behind him, lights flashing as well, carrying an extra-large energon power cell and Liliy.
"Oh, thank Primus," breathed Boulder.
"Yeah," Delta added weakly.
Since Foxtrot got there first, he transformed first. "Delta, you moron! What were you thinking?"
"You can lecture him after we get him off there," Liliy called as Pepper came to a stop. "Boulder, come help unload this thing."
"Coming!" Boulder helped Delta sit up properly and rose to help Foxtrot.
They got the power cell lifted out and then Pepper transformed to help them move it over to the generator.
"Alright then…" Liliy said as they got ready to replace Delta with the power cell. "Three, two, one. Switch!"
Boulder removed Delta's jumper cables from the generator and Pepper quickly applied the new wires. There was a brief ripple in the energy field before the new power source kicked in.
"Great!" Graham exclaimed, looking over the data on his tablet. "The dome has stabilized and it looks like we'll have enough power to get home. Assuming we don't lose another generator."
"You and Boulder should go check them out," Liliy suggested. "We'll get Delta back to the firehouse."
Foxtrot was already giving Delta a transfusion, so they weren't going anywhere at the moment.
"Alright, buddy, let's go," Graham said to Boulder.
Boulder hesitated and looked at Delta.
"I'm fine, Boulder," he said. "You have an island to take care of. People are counting on you. I'll still be here when you get back."
"Ok." Boulder transformed and let Graham climb inside before driving away.
As soon as Boulder had driven out of sight, Liliy was up on Delta's shoulder.
"Delta, well done. But, what in the fragging name of Unicron were you thinking?!" She smacked his audial.
Delta flinched, but not because it hurt. It didn't. Liliy hardly used any force at all, knowing how weak he was at the moment. No, he flinched because she was angry at him. And he knew why.
"Just so you know," Foxtrot informed him, "you were half a liter away from setting off the Critical Alarm."
"I get that you were trying to help Boulder," Liliy said. "But you know that I would rather-"
"'Let the humans die than lose one of us'," Delta finished. "Yes, I know."
"Then why did you-"
"You said it yourself. I wanted to do something for Boulder." He knew she was glaring at him so he smiled. "I love him."
"Hmph. That much was obvious. But I don't think he would have appreciated you dying either. Even if it was to protect the humans in his care. No more doing stupid stunts like that for your boyfriend. You still have a job to do at home, remember?"
"Haa… Yes, ma'am."
Since Delta was still in no condition to walk, much less transform and drive, Pepper had to give him a lift back to the firehouse.
"This is embarrassing," Delta grumbled, trying to sink deeper into the bed of Pepper's vehicle form, out of sight.
Liliy glanced down at him from her perch on the top corner. "You deserve it."
When they got there, everyone was waiting for them.
"As much as I appreciate the sentiment," said Charlie, "this isn't your home. You didn't have to do that, Delta."
"Yeah," replied Delta, while Foxtrot set him up for another transfusion. "I already got a lecture from the madam. I'll be more careful in the future."
"I certainly hope so," said Boulder. He put a servo on Delta's shoulder. "You really had me worried back there."
"So, Graham, are all the rest of the generators fine for now?" Liliy asked.
"Yes, they should be," he replied.
"Alright. In that case…" She touched her comm. "Alfa, we're ready for the bridge."
{Opening the portal now.} Alfa confirmed.
Liliy switched to a different channel. "Optimus. We're heading into the bridge soon. Is the seafloor clear?"
{We are almost done.}
"We're counting on you."
"Whoa! Guys! I think we can see the portal from here!" Cody called from the firehouse garage door.
"You should be able to," Liliy said, moving to join him. "It has to swallow the whole island, dome included, so it should be pretty freaking massive."
And it was massive. Several miles in diameter to accommodate the width of the island, it reached from the ocean to the stratosphere.
"If this doesn't show up on a news report somewhere, I will be quite surprised," said Pepper.
"Hey, Chief, where's the doc?" asked Liliy.
"He and the professor went back to the lab to prepare for our arrival. Something about magnets." Suddenly his comm went off. "Doc, is that you?"
{What in the name of Newton's laws is that?} Doc asked. The professor could also be heard asking questions in the background.
"A giant, space-warping portal, Doc," Liliy said, joining the comm. "It was mentioned when we were making plans, you know."
{Yes, but I wasn't expecting it to be, well, like that.}
"Well, humans don't normally fly around on miles-wide crafts either."
{You have a good point.}
"Delta and Boulder will be studying the ground bridge at a later date if you want to join them."
{Don't mind if I do.}
{I would like to look into it as well.} added the professor. {It seems quite fascinating.}
The space bridge was looming now.
"We're going to enter the portal in a moment. Doc, if you are driving, please stop your vehicle until we are completely through," said Liliy. "Can't say that it will be a problem but it's better not to risk it."
The front part of the island started to disappear into the portal.
"Here we go."
As the rest of the island entered the portal and the sky was blocked out, the others came out to look.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Frankie, looking up as a myriad of lights swirled and danced outside the dome. "It's so pretty."
"It would be prettier without the dome. You could see all the colors."
"Even like this it is fascinating," said Chase.
"Hmh." Liliy touched her comm. "Optimus, has the exit portal opened?"
{High Tide has confirmed that it has appeared. And we have finished clearing the seafloor. We are ready for your arrival.}
"You should be seeing us soon. Also, I apologize in advance if Agent Fowler gets onto you about this."
{I'll tell him it's your fault, so you had better come up with a good cover story for the news.}
"Freak aurora. Trick of the light. Unexplained natural phenomenon. Take your pick. Here we come."
The island emerged from the portal and it spun shut behind them. High Tide's megabot could be seen standing in the water near where they were meant to land.
"Doc, get ready!"
{Almost there!}
"We're over the coordinates. Cut the engine!"
The Sigma's rocket cut out and the island stopped moving.
{We're ready to magnetize.}
"Alright." To Optimus, "Is the seafloor clear of Autobots?"
{All clear!}
"On your mark, Doc."
{Magnetizing the reactaline in 3, 2, 1. Now!}
"Drop the dome!"
The dome's energy field completely collapsed as the power was cut, releasing all the floatium into the atmosphere. The island dropped and shook as it hit the water. It sank quickly as the magnetized reactaline was pulled down toward the reactaline veins still in the seafloor. There was one final rumble as the island settled into the hole it had left.
"TOUCH DOWN!"
"Hurray! We made it!"
"Woohoo! Yeah!"
"Thank goodness!"
"Thanks for your help, Liliy," said Charlie. "I don't know what we would have done without you."
"It was a combined effort," Liliy replied. "But I'm glad I could be of service. Come on, let's go meet Optimus."
When they made it to the beach, Optimus and most of his team were there along with High Tide, Blurr, and Salvage. Ultra Magnus and Ratchet were missing, and Wheeljack was too, for obvious reasons. Woodrow Burns was there as well.
"Woodrow!" Charlie called as he stepped out of Chase's alt. "You're okay!"
"I could say the same about you, Charlie," Woodrow said, coming over to hug his brother. "Seems like you guys had quite the adventure. What happened exactly?"
"It's a long story."
"Thank you for the call, Liliy," Optimus said, watching the brothers.
"Of course," Liliy replied. She was up on Pepper's shoulder since he transformed. "They are your Autobots after all. By the way, Optimus, you still falling into that bad habit of not informing your bots of important information?"
He looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"It's been a week. That is plenty of time to spread the news that the war is over."
"The war is what?" asked High Tide, overhearing.
Exasperated, Liliy shook her head. "Alright," she said, raising her voice and calling attention to herself, "listen up, Autobots! For those of you who don't know, the war is over and Megatron has been defeated." She transformed and tapped the insignia on her chest. "You're looking at the new leader of Cybertron."
"But isn't Cybertron dead?" asked Heatwave.
"Not anymore," Liliy answered.
"You mean we get to go home?" Blades wanted to know.
"Not yet, unfortunately," replied Optimus with a side glance at Liliy, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice. "Complications in the truce negotiations."
"Are you looking for a fight, Optimus?" Liliy asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Your new frame may be bigger, but I can still drop you on your aft all the same."
He looked away with a frown and mumbled, "...Don't remind me."
"Yeah. I was wondering about that," Dani spoke up. "Why does Optimus have a new frame?"
"Well, you see," explained Smokescreen, stepping forward to address her. "He kind of… died, and he got an upgrade when I brought him back to life."
"He wha…?" started Heatwave, but it was too much to wrap his processor around, so he gave up. "Alright, wow. Seems like you guys have gone through a lot that we don't know about."
"Yeah. Optimus assigned you to this island to keep you away from all the really dangerous, war-related stuff for a reason," Liliy said. "Anyway, in about a week or so, most of my team and I will be heading to Cybertron so I'll be out of contact for a while."
"Is Delta…?" asked Boulder, worried.
Liliy smiled a little. "No, Boulder. Delta is one of the few who is staying behind so you don't have to worry."
Boulder sighed in relief. "Oh, good."
"Anyway, I've got to get back," Liliy said as Whiskey's alt suddenly materialized and landed not far down the beach. She slipped off Pepper's shoulder. Pepper, himself, folded up and headed back toward the firehouse. "I'll see you guys later." She started to walk away but then she turned, continuing to walk backwards as she called to them. "I almost forgot. Rescue Force Sigma-17, the ground bridge generator is my parting gift. It won't get you to Cybertron but it will make it easier to get around this planet or even just the island. Delta can teach you how to use it. Have fun." She waved one last time before she sprinted across the sand and disappeared into the quinjet.
Whiskey took off and disappeared into a ground bridge that opened in the air over the ocean. Once it too was gone, everyone looked up at Optimus expectantly.
"I suppose I owe you all an explanation," he said.
"Damn right you do, O.P.," High Tide growled. "Letting our home fall into the hands of that." He waved his servo in the general direction Whiskey had gone.
"Well…" Optimus said slowly. "After millennia of war, perhaps a Neutral like Liliy is the perfect person to rebuild our home, so that it will not go back to the way it was before."
"A Laserblade? Are you sure, O.P.?"
Optimus looked out at the ocean. "We have no choice now but to wait and see."