Chapter 25: Timewarp Part 3

A/N: I would like to thank Vanessa Masters for the scene made!


The command center was silent, no one saying a word as Rad explained about opening the Sakura Book and scattering all the cards inside; Hot Shot had already heard the explanation about magic existing, but he carefully watched his comrades' reactions.

They all had better poker faces than he had, with the only one openly shocked being Smokescreen. Hot Shot didn't dare make a sound throughout Rad and Kero's alternating narration, because it would draw attention to himself when the other Autobots needed to know what was going on more. And there was some part of him that didn't want to let them know just yet he'd been reluctantly in on this for a short time.

It didn't last long, for when Rad and Kero were finished, Sideways spoke up first. "Kero? That's what you called it?" he questioned, and the guardian puffed up indignantly, but Hot Shot tensed when Sideways looked at him. "I heard you mentioning it. You knew all this time what was going on?"

Hot Shot shrank down when Red Alert sent him a stony glare, while Smokescreen looked hurt. Optimus was the only one who didn't react.

"Rad, I think it's best for you to wait outside." The red and blue mech stated. "We have to discuss this among ourselves."

The blond nodded, his eyes downcast and he somberly walked out. Kero followed, but paused and looked back at them defiantly. "If you're gonna blame someone, blame me; I'm the one who didn't want Rad to tell any of you." He said, and floated out of the room.

The door closed, but Optimus didn't look at Hot Shot. "Maya, can you come here for a moment?" he called, and the girl appeared in front of them, her hands clasped in front of her and expression contrite. "You see everything that goes on here, why didn't you bring this up?"

"I wasn't certain how you would react." Maya answered honestly. "Saying the cards are energy beings is one thing, that can be explained away to you as just another alien, but saying that they're magic? That would have been a harder sell."

Optimus said nothing, but finally looked at Hot Shot, who cringed under the gaze. "When did you find out?"

"About a week ago." Hot Shot said quietly. He told himself he'd have argued and fought against their hurt to defend himself, but this had blindsided him too much to form a coherent argument. "I said I wouldn't say anything."

"You withheld information on a dangerous and unknown threat." Red Alert said harshly.

Hot Shot glared at him. "I know, but none of you believed me before! Why would now be any different?"

Red Alert stiffened. "There would have been proof." He said, and Hot Shot grimaced, because he couldn't argue against it without sounding spiteful.

"You know," Sideways began, sounding remarkably put together, "maybe we should have asked Rad to actually show proof than just take his word for it. I won't deny the flying teddy bear is real, but I'd like to have something solid before going any further."

"That does sound like a good idea." Smokescreen said.

Optimus looked thoughtful, and nodded. "Very well." He said, and raised his voice, "Rad, you may come back in."

The blond peered nervously around the corner before stepping inside and Kero clung to his shoulder, small face set stubbornly into a scowl. "Did you decide anything?" Rad asked, not looking at them.

"We would like to see proof of this magic you claim to have." Optimus said.

"And if you have it, why couldn't you use it to get away from the 'Cons?" Smokescreen added curiously.

Rad looked surprised, but Kero's scowl deepened, and the blond shushed the guardian before he could say something angry or defensive. "Sure, okay." Rad just looked relieved, and pulled his key from his neck and held it out in front of him.

Maya appeared off to the side, and she looked almost excited. Hot Shot wasn't sure why, since she saw it through the feed all the time. Maybe that was it though, she finally got to see it up close again. And she wasn't the only one, as Hot Shot could spot some of the other mini-cons peering around the door.

"Key of the star," Rad said, and the key began glowing. Smokescreen and Red Alert leaned forward, but Sideways and Optimus only looked on stoically. Must be due to the lack of facial expression, "with powers burning bright; reveal the staff and shine your light – release!"

A wind picked up as a glowing circle formed underneath Rad. The key glowed and elongated into a pink staff with a circle at the top and a gold star in the center of it with larger wings on the side of it. Rad clutched the staff, his features tight and nervous as he pulled a card from his pocket. His shoulders hunched briefly, but he threw it into the air. The card stayed put as though against a wall, and Rad raised his staff. The wings on the side glowed and enlarged.

"Appear, Glow!" Rad called, and the card dissipated as a tiny ball of light appeared out of it. Hot Shot had to strain his optical sensors to see the tiny figure inside, like some cross between a human and an insect.

Her eyes widened when she looked at them, and zoomed to hide behind Rad's other shoulder, peering over cautiously.

Rad glanced at her. "I figured Glow would be less trouble than any of the others right now. Besides, I thought it better to be her since I kind of want you to know the answer." He gently cupped her in his hands and she sat in his palm. "I was out sealing Glow when I got captured. She didn't cause any trouble, which is actually a rarity, but the reason I didn't use my powers is because I dropped my key." Rad flushed, looking down. "I'm kind of useless without it."

Rad wasn't looking at them, but Hot Shot took notice of his comrades. Smokescreen was blinking rapidly, dazed as he stared at the blond. Red Alert looked like a strange cross between curious and still wanting to be mad. Optimus' helm fins twitching was the only give away that he was surprised. Sideways only stared with an intense focus at Rad, arms crossed.

Finally, Optimus vented heavily. "You kept this from us, why?"

Rad bit his lip, but Kero cut in first. "It was all my idea. I didn't trust you not try and abuse his power."

"What? We wouldn't have-" Red Alert started, but Longarm beeped something from his spot at the corner of the door. The medic's expression seemed to fall. "I…suppose your right point is valid." Optimus glanced at him. "Longarm said they didn't mention it to us because of their situation."

Optimus looked behind the blue mini-con at the yellow one. "Sparkplug, is this true?" Sparkplug seemed hesitant, but he nodded and Optimus rubbed his brow plating. "While I can understand your wariness, it would still have been better to tell us sooner, so we may have been prepared."

Rad's gaze lowered until his head was bowed. His shoulders were tense. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I am sorry for keeping it a secret." He said softly, and when he continued, his voice was hesitant. "Am I banned from the base?"

Optimus was silent for a long moment, his gaze heavy. "For a time, yes." Rad seized up. "We need time to process this, and it would be best not to let our judgement be clouded with your presence."

"You're mad at me, I get it." Rad said quietly.

"I'm not mad, I'm…disappointed." Optimus replied, and Rad slumped further. Hot Shot could sympathize, he'd take angry over that.

"I know you had your reasons, but I'm still rather upset that you didn't trust us." Red Alert said bluntly, and Hot Shot was about to snap at him, but Rad beat him too it.

"I know, and I'll do what I can to make up for it." Rad quickly wiped his eyes, letting Glow float back to his shoulder as Kero had settled on the other one. "I hope I can earn back your trust someday."

"There's one thing we kinda need to know now though." Smokescreen said, and Rad nodded. "Things feel like they've been repeating, got any idea what's going on?"

Rad glanced at Kero, who sighed and rubbed his brow. "Looks like you were right." The guardian said grudgingly. "What's causing this is called the Time Card, he can reverse time to make the day repeat at midnight. He can also freeze time, but right now he just wants to cause trouble by making everything go backwards."

"So can we remember something's off but humans still go about it like it's nothing's wrong?" Smokescreen asked.

"Regular people can't see the cards unless they want them too, and Rad and I aren't affected because we have magic." Kero explained. His brow furrowed. "I'm not sure why you can still remember the time loop, but maybe it's because you're not from Earth so it doesn't apply. Create and Shield shouldn't have chosen Hot Shot, but they did anyway."

"Create and Shield?" Red Alert questioned.

Hot Shot nervously took the two cards from his shoulder compartment. Recognition crossed the faces of the mechs. He hoped they realized further why he hadn't been upfront. "After Rad sealed them, they picked me. I took down the dragon that was something Create made, and I sliced through Shield to get the mini-con."

"So wait, that glowing dome was one of these cards?" Smokescreen asked, and Kero nodded.

"Shield is also the only thing that can withstand Time's influence. Those who are inside it won't be affected by what Time does." The guardian explained. "Which is why Rad needs to use it so he can seal Time."

"Uh, here then." Hot Shot knelt to hand Rad the cards, but to a degree he was unsurprised when immediately, both Shield and Time slipped from his grasp the moment Rad reached for them, and flew back into his shoulder compartment. What surprised him more was just how hurt Rad looked by it.

"I take it that wasn't supposed to happen?" Smokescreen asked.

"I just haven't gotten them to trust me yet either." Rad said morosely.

"Then for now let's turn our attention to finding this 'Time.'" Optimus said. "Kerberos? Kero?"

"Kero's fine." The guardian muttered.

Optimus nodded. "Is there something specific about this card we can use to track it?"

"Him." Kero said indignantly, fur fluffing up. Slowly, he crossed his arms. "It's difficult, even I'm having trouble finding any of them. Though there have been exceptions, most of the cards seem content to stay near the town and cause trouble."

"Exceptions?" Red Alert's gaze sharpened. "You mean the strange glowing human, correct?"

"Her name's Fight, a rather appropriate name given she wants to fight the strongest opponents she can find." Kero explained.

"Given she took the mini-con panel, and that she was giant-sized, I take it we're on her radar?" Red Alert questioned.

Kero nodded. "That's right, and the only way to seal her is to beat in combat."

Rad looked at him incredulously. "You never said that! How am I supposed to fight her and win?"

"Worry about Fight later, right now focus on Time." Kero said quickly. "Which, and I really don't want to say this, but Hot Shot you're going to need to use Shield."

Hot Shot blinked. "I thought I couldn't?"

"You can't." Kero said flatly, and the yellow mech looked at him annoyed. "What I mean is, convince Shield to keep this base covered at night, because since I doubt we can find Time tonight, he'll be rewinding everything again, and tomorrow everything will reset. And I really don't want to have this conversation again in case you don't remember it."

Rad looked worried. "Won't Shield just take off after?"

"Shield hasn't done it so far." Kero pointed out, and Hot Shot blinked as he realized neither card had. "For one reason or another," and Hot Shot glared at Kero, he knew an insult when he heard one, "neither has decided to fly the coop. Just because Rad sealed them doesn't mean they can't work on their own, not unless you write your name on the card to show ownership – though this does only work with those who have magic."

"But you're saying I can still ask it to do what I want then?" Hot Shot questioned, and Kero reluctantly nodded. "I'll work on that then."

"Just call us tomorrow to remind us about this, there's no guarantee we'll remember all what happened either." Kero said.

"I…I guess I'll see all later then?" Rad asked, but no one replied. He slumped, and shrank his staff back to a key. "Guess not." Glow dissolved back into a card, and Rad put her into his pocket. He didn't look back as he walked out, and Kero followed after him.

"Hot Shot, Maya, I'm still disappointed with you both," Optimus said, and Hot Shot cringed while Maya grimaced, "but for all our sakes, I will withhold your punishment until this crisis has been averted."

"Yes, sir." Hot Shot muttered.

"Very well." Maya said quietly.

"We'll keep an optic out for any new signatures, just in case this 'Time' shows up on our scanners." Optimus said. Everyone nodded, but Hot Shot blinked as he noticed something.

Where'd Sideways go? He'd been so quiet; Hot Shot wasn't even sure when the mech had left.


Rad walked down the hall, sighing as he glanced up at the ceiling. "That could have gone better."

"Actually, that's likely as good as it was going to be." Kero replied.

"They're banning me from the base." Rad retorted.

"For the time being, they could have cut ties with you all together." Kero said, but flinched as Rad looked at the floor. "Sorry."

"No, I know that…deserve this." Rad said quietly. "It's all my fault, I know that."

"Now that's a little harsh, don't you think?"

Rad jumped, and both he and Kero whirled around to see a tall purple and yellow robot standing there. "Sideways? Y-you're really quiet, I didn't even hear you."

"I get that a lot." Sideways replied.

Rad rubbed his arm. "Why are you talking to me? I figured you'd be angry at me too."

"Why you think that?" The mech questioned. "Though maybe it's just because it's only been me and Mirror for so long," Kero twitched at the name of the mini-con, "but I don't see what the big deal about this is. You kept secrets, everyone's got secrets."

Rad found himself feeling more relieved than he thought he ever could. That one admission chased away the self-doubt, at least for now. "Thank you for understanding."

"Doesn't really seem fair to be mad at you," Sideways knelt to be at a more even level, "you had no idea whether to really trust us."

"I-I do, I just…didn't know how to say anything about it." Rad said softly.

"And it's not like any of them really knows how to deal with magic." Sideways said, and Rad blinked, the unasked question reflected in his gaze. "I'll tell you some other time, right now, want a ride back home? Getting kind of late for a kid your age, isn't it?"

Rad's cheeks puffed out indignantly, but one look at his phone made him balk. It was almost five. Even if his aunt and uncle never noticed his absence most of the time, they definitely would if he wasn't there for dinner. "Yeah, I could use one."

Sideways nodded and transformed, turning into a motorcycle as Mirror landed on his seat, hologram firmly in place. "Hop on."

Rad grinned and climbed onto the back of the bike, and wrapped his arms around Mirror. "Better hold on tight, Kero."

"I was here with you before on this particular tin can." Kero grumbled as he huddled in close on Rad's shoulder, fingers clutching his collar tight.

"Tin can?" Sideways echoed.

Rad smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that, but Kero's just being a grumpy because he didn't want us to tell any of you."

"I can understand that, you had no reason to trust us." Sideways said.

"I still don't like this, but I find you more reasonable than I expected." Kero muttered, to which the motorbike stayed silent on.

Rad groaned in embarrassment and buried his head into Mirror's shoulder, wincing as he remembered too late that it was metal. Rad grimaced and shook his head. Mirror's shoulders shook slightly to the tempo of Sideways' faint chuckling. The blond flushed, but something niggled at the back of his mind. Wait…did Time erase something else? He shook his head again, and it was only when they got into town that Rad knew he had to speak up. "I'm living with my aunt and uncle for the weekend, I'll give you directions."

"Right." Sideways replied. He swerved along the road to Rad's instruction, until he came to pull up onto the curb of a two-story house. "Oh, Rad, if there's time, I need to talk to you."

Rad bit his lip. "Sure, just wait out here and I'll be right back." He grabbed Kero and ducked around the corner of the foyer inside, seeing his aunt and uncle setting up the table. "I'll be back, just gotta go change for dinner."

Aunt Joy laughed. "No need to be so formal; I sure hope Rachel doesn't make you get dressed up."

Rad ducked his head. "Nothing like that, I just want to make this memorable."

His uncle waved him off. "Go on then."

The blond nodded, and made his way into the guestroom on the first floor. He let Kero go, and the guardian raised a brow as Rad lifted the window and climbed out. "I know, it's weird, just stay quiet." He ignored Kero's scoff and hurried back around to meet up with Sideways. "You wanted to say something?" he asked, leaning as his knees as he caught his breath.

"I'll try to make this quick since I don't want to take up too much of your time." Sideways said. "Earlier, I was a little leery of mentioning it, but I think you're alright too. I've had a run-in with magic before; it's this creature called a Wisp, and I thought when Hot Shot told me about Create that's what it was. Though I was wrong, I'm not wrong to say this: be very careful should you ever come across one."

Rad blinked, and straightened up. "Why? Is it dangerous?"

"Oh yes, dangerous doesn't begin to describe it. It can change shapes, and it's very deceitful. Don't turn your back on it if you ever meet one." Sideways explained. As if to emphasize his point, Mirror reached out and grasped Rad's shoulder, and the blond looked between them both. "I've really started to like you, and it'd be shame if something happened."

Rad bit his lip, his cheeks flushing red. "You mean, like a friend?"

Sideways was silent for a moment. "Yes, a friend."

The blond's heart sped up, replacing the despair he felt from the sting of Carlos and Alexis rejecting him. "Thank you!" he jumped forward to wrap his arms around the mini-con, who froze up, as though not sure what was going on.

"Rad? I'm the one who said it, not Mirror." Sideways said dryly.

Rad chuckled awkwardly as he pulled back. "Right, but you're synced up, aren't you?"

"That's not how it works." Sideways replied. "I've taken too much of your time, and you'll need your rest for tomorrow, don't you?"

The blond nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'll see you then." He said, and made his way back to the window. He glanced back before climbing into the guestroom.


Hot Shot sat against the cliffside, staring out at the sun as the minutes slowly ticked by. He knew he had until midnight to convince Shield to help them, but he was a little hesitant about Rad being forced to catch the card again and lose their window to seal Time if only Shield could withstand his effects.

No point in putting it off, he thought, and pulled Shield out of his shoulder compartment. The card floated in front of him, rippling blue and asking a question he couldn't understand. "I…this is going to sound weird, but could you…put a shield over the base tonight?"

Shield rippled again, flying closer.

Hot Shot hoped it meant it was receptive to the idea. "I know you probably heard what we talked about earlier, so I won't repeat it." Mostly because already he couldn't remember quite what was said. "If you do, could please…not take off afterwards?" he blinked when Shield floated back into his shoulder compartment. "I…hope that meant yes."

He didn't know, but as the sun got lower, he realized they were running out of time. Venting heavily, he walked back into the base, and found everyone standing at attention in the command room. "I asked, guess we'll find out soon."

"This magic is highly random; does it not follow any sort of pattern we could track?" Red Alert asked. Being the science officer, Hot Shot guess this new discovery was making his processor hurt.

"Magic doesn't really have rules, except ones they follow." Maya answered.

"That doesn't really help." Smokescreen pointed out, to which Maya only shrugged.

"As that may be the case, we-" Optimus was cut off by Sparkplug rushing into the room, beeping something frantically. "Are you sure?" Sparkplug nodded, and Optimus' optics hardened. "It would appear that Fetch has decided to vacate the base."

"Why do you sound so calm, sir?" Smokescreen asked. "Shouldn't we go after him?"

Optimus shook his head. "Time will reset, and tomorrow – if Shield helps us – we shall go to Fetch's location beforehand and convince him to come with us."

If Shield helped them. Hot Shot vented again, and found his chronometer was steadily rising closer to midnight.

Before long, everyone tensed as midnight came around. Hot Shot watched incredulously as his meter began to reverse, and his optics started to shut down. So it didn't work, and they'd wake back up like nothing hap-

A glow caught his attention, and a glowing dome slowly began to expand around them, growing until even the clock on the screen turned back to the appropriate time, clicking once to 12:01 am, Saturday. Hot Shot let out a relieved gasp as his own meter followed suit and everyone slowly relaxed.

"It actually worked!" Hot Shot whooped.

"Way to go, buddy!" Smokescreen said, picking Hot Shot up into a bear hug. The yellow mech laughed and hugged him back, grinning as he was twirled around.

When he was placed back on his pedes, he noticed Sideways was standing by himself. "Something wrong?"

"No, it's…just strange to think there's a giant dome over us." The purple and yellow mech replied. "Which is by itself protecting us from another being that can rewind time."

Hot Shot rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, that does sound kind of weird put like that." He admitted. He glanced over and saw Optimus and Red Alert watching the screen. Hot Shot wandered over, peering curiously at the large energy reading in the middle of town. "Is that Time?"

"It would seem so." Optimus said. "Had we had the preparations, perhaps we could have confronted him."

"All we can do is come up with a plan to capture him." Red Alert added. He stiffened as the reading suddenly began to expand, and he pulled the image back the further the reading got. "This…this is incredible." He whispered. "His range is capable of encompassing the entire globe. All around the world clocks are being turned back."

"At least this means the 'Cons aren't going to know about it since they'll be stuck in the rewind too." Hot Shot pointed out, relieved to know they wouldn't have anyone dropping in on them unexpectedly.


On the moon, Starscream was looking for his mini-con partner, who once again tried to run off. "This is wearing on my patience. Your constant attempts to escape are futile; you realize we are on the moon, don't you?" he called, but Swindle didn't answer him. The seeker glowered; the mini-con had gotten better at evasion, which was why he couldn't bring him out on retrieval missions. Any you're robbing me of my chance to show everyone I'm not some weakling.

Starscream thought of Hot Shot, and scowled fiercely. When he thought of the organic woman, his fists clenched. Rage clouded his vision as he remembered Scavenger's words. He drew his wing sword and turned to strike the wall, but forced himself to pull back to avoid actually hitting the same mech. Starscream scowled at him. "Were you just standing there?"

"Yes." Scavenger said bluntly.

"I could have struck you!" Starscream snapped.

Scavenger sneered. "A mistake, I'm sure."

The seeker bristled, his grip tightening on the handle of his sword, but he forced himself to sheath it. "What do you want? Did Megatron summon me?"

"Why would he ask me to relay such a message? I have better things to do than that." Scavenger replied.

"Like what?" Starscream challenged. "You're only here because we need soldiers, and you won't even join our ranks."

"How little you know; I decided to join after the first mini-con hunt." Scavenger retorted. "You need all the help you can get."

Starscream's scowl deepened. Even now he could still sound so condescending. "If you didn't personally know Megatron, you wouldn't be acting so smug."

Scavenger snorted derisively. "If it weren't for me, Megatron wouldn't know how to fight at all. I know how to back up my talk, you have yet to impress me with anything except running your mouth."

The seeker glared at the mech, and stormed out of the room before he did something Megatron would make him regret.

Scavenger walked up to the console, and paused when he noticed the red peeking out from behind a small pillar. "You know," the mini-con froze, staring up at him with a nervous air, "you should really find a better hiding place."

The mini-con beeped, sounding almost confused.

Scavenger kept his gaze on the screen as he typed in a code. Swindle eventually nodded, and hurried to one of the vents and ducked inside. The green and purple mech shook his head, and focused on the screen as it cleared. "Skywarp, are you there?"

"Huh?" A voice offscreen called. It turned distinctly cheerier when the caller's voice was recognized. "Scavenger!" There was a rush of footsteps. "I'm here, I'm here! Whoooa!"

Scavenger grimaced as a purple blur went falling past the screen, crashing on the floor in a heap. "The ship is still intact, isn't it?"

"Oh, sure, I'm fine, thanks for asking." The other voice called sarcastically. A dark-colored servo lifted up, and clamped onto the edge of the console. "Sometimes I think you care more about this ship than me."

Scavenger decided it was better to ignore the whining for now, or he'd never hear the end of it. "Have you been lying low as I instructed you too?"

There was silence on the other end, and the servo wildly went across the keys. "Uh-um. Sorry, connections cutting off! Gottagoloveyoubye!" The words were rushed out, and the servos slammed onto a key, cutting the connection.

Scavenger shook his head. That trick never works. He worked on finding an Earth transmission, because he knew Skywarp likely hadn't been lying low. Just what did you do this time? He better not be blowing our cover with one of his pranks.


Rad yawned as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. The sunlight shined into his window, and he could hear Kero's soft snoring from inside his drawer. The blond furrowed his brow. Wait, drawer? My aunt-why am I thinking that? He rubbed his head. What was going on? He looked around his room, but thought something amiss, yet he didn't know why.

His cell phone ringing caught his attention, and he furrowed his brow at the nonsensical number, but remembered who used it. "Um, hi? Why are you calling me so early?"

There was a pause. "Look, Rad, there's something you need to know…"

Rad listened, a growing look of comprehension on his face as Hot Shot explained about everything; how 'Time' rewound the day, how Rad and Kero explained to the Autobots about the Sakura Cards (which almost made Kero go ballistic), and how they would meet up after Rad was done school to go about capturing Time.

"Are…you still there?" Hot Shot after a moment.

"Just…really overwhelmed." Rad replied, but slowly in bits and pieces did the information start to jog something. Kero was still silently fuming as he glared at the phone. "I guess I'll see you then."

"Yeah, bye." The line then cut off.

Rad dropped his cell phone onto his bed, and flopped onto the pillow. He stared up at the ceiling, eyes wide. I can't believe it's all true. His head hurt just thinking about it. Time travel? Why was Time doing this? He glanced at his clock, and realized he couldn't hear the sounds of Rachel's coffee boiling. It's Friday, her exam's today. Rad's chest tightened, but he pushed the feeling away and got up to go to his cousin's room.

Rachel was lying under the covers, bits and strands of long blond hair sticking out. Rad shook her shoulder, and her sleepy blue eyes peering out at him. "What?" asked groggily.

"Uh, you realize it's 8 am, right?"

Rad jumped back as Rachel's eyes shot wide open, and she threw her covers clear off the bed. "WHAT?!" she screamed. Rad was manhandled out of the room, and the blond stared at the door as Rachel slammed it shut.

Rad blinked, wincing as he heard the running around inside and the curses muffled by the door, but the sound of a clock ringing as it smashed against the wall made him jump. Rad hurried back to his own room and grabbed a change of clothes. Rachel's door opened, and his cousin was hissing and almost snarling under her breath. Rad poked his head out, but Rachel didn't bother brushing her hair as she scraped all her hair into a bun and made a dash for the kitchen.

Rad quickly changed in the bathroom, and was terrified as instead of coffee, Rachel was chugging down a can of Redbull. He only saw her drinking that when she needed to stay up late. "You're gonna crash."

Rachel growled instead of talking, and Rad ducked into his seat. She shoved the whole box of cereal at him, and began going through her list. Rad was immensely terrified, and he only thought to speak when he was sure she was calmed down.

"I know what's wrong, but…why didn't you're alarm go off?" he asked nervously.

Rachel pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know. Stupid me though thought it was only Wednesday."

Rad's eyes widened. He thought it was Friday, but Rachel's internal clock was turned back two days? No wonder she was so peeved at everything. I don't think she can take anymore, I have to seal Time tonight.

The sound of a knocking on the door caught Rad's attention, and he looked up expectantly as Rachel opened it, allowing two his aunt and uncle entry. "What...?" Rad wasn't sure why he was surprised anymore, and even Rachel looked tired of it. "I thought you were coming at 8:45 for Ray?"

Aunt Joy smiled serenely at him. "Change of plans kiddo," she ruffled Rad's hair and he sighed, "I talked with Rachel last night and we agreed it was better to kill two birds with one stone." She gently nudged his shoulder. Rachel frowned deeply, eyes narrowed as though trying to recall such a thing. "We're dropping you off at school before taking Ray to the bus stop, now go get your bag and your uncle can help you with your suitcase."

"No need, I can do it." Rad said, and hurried to his room before anyone could protest. The blond looked around, and went right for his bag. He scowled down at Kero, who was sitting inside next to the Sakura Book.

Kero glared back, crossing his arms. "Apparently we already told your tin cans, so I don't have to go. I'll be find here by myself."

"There's no way I'm leaving you here alone." Rad said flatly. "Besides, I'm gonna need your help with Time."

Kero paused, and huffed. "Well since you asked so nicely, I suppose I can put up with the mecha."

Rad rolled his eyes, but grabbed his phone as his uncle poked his head into the room. The blond waved the cell phone. "Just talking with my friend, they can be kind of loud." He was sure Kero would be yelling at him if he could.

His uncle only smiled sympathetically. "The joys of having friends, right?"

Rad was struck with the memory of Alexis' angry face as she stormed away, and Carlos walking from him. Rad's eyes stung, and he looked away. "Yeah." He whispered. He reached down, and grabbed the handle of his suitcase. "I'm ready."

The blond followed his uncle out down the hall, and in turn the group left the apartment and made their way down to the front entrance. Rad went through the motions with a glazed look, going on autopilot for how familiar it all was. Though he it made him miss High Wire even more. At the car, Rad tossed his suitcase in beside Rachel's, and watched as in the backseat his cousin acted as though pulling something from her pocket, but scowled as her fist clenched.

A pocket mirror, she's trying to fix her hair up. Rad thought, and coughed. "I think you look nice, Ray."

Rachel glanced at him, her scowl softening a little. "Thanks for trying, but we both know I look terrible."

"This is what happens when you don't get enough sleep." Aunt Joy admonished.

Rachel's eye twitched. She looked ready to snap, her endless patience already stretched like a tight rope.

Rad hugged the blonde, who jerked back. "I hope you pass your exam."

Rachel calmed down, and she hugged him back tightly. "Thanks. I hope so too."

"Awww, you're so cute, just like when you were both little." Aunt Joy cooed. "I remember taking Ray to see you after you were born, Bradley." Rad twitched, but even without the endless cycle of reliving the same day his aunt would never let up calling him that. "She wanted to hold you first, and wouldn't let anyone. It was so adorable."

"Right up until Rad started crying and Ray began crying, and all the other babies in the maternity ward got going too." His uncle shook his head, grimacing. "I can still hear the ringing in my nightmares, just like angry ward nurses threatening us to leave."

This is new, Rad thought as he felt no déjà vu from the words. He only nodded noncommittally, and kept quiet as he let Rachel hug him until the car finally reached Lincoln Elementary. "I'll see you later."

Rachel nodded, reluctantly letting go and ruffled his hair. "Yeah." She said morosely. "Behave."

"Only if everyone else does." Rad replied with a smirk. Rachel snorted, and lightly shoved his shoulder.

"Do you want us to pick you up after school?" His uncle asked.

"Ah, no thanks. I know the way to your house." Rad said and closed the backseat door behind him. He walked onto the curb, and watched the car drive away. Rad realized that Carlos and Alexis would be by, and he couldn't see them just yet. He didn't know how to feel about them, and he hurried over to the steps, scooping up a rock as he let it drop over the steps.

"AHH!" Dual screams rang out, and both Sid and Seth ran out from the hiding spot and onto the steps, running by Rad inside the building. Laughter followed, and Rad narrowed his eyes. Now they can't use that sap on us. Rad looked back and saw both Carlos and Alexis coming up the curb, and the blond hurried inside.

He was stopped by a teacher and an angry-looking Sid and Seth. The teacher crossed their arms. "Did you throw water balloons at these boys?"

"No, I dropped a rock I found by accident and the balloons must have smashed on them." Rad replied. "Though, I wonder why they had balloons filled with sap. And why they were hiding with them."

The teacher narrowed their eyes. "Go to class, I'll bring them to the principal's office."

"What? But-" Seth tried to protest, but the teacher had none of it.

"No, there are bees around and you could have hit someone with an allergy. Now, we're going to the office and calling your parents. March!"

Rad watched the three leave, though he straightened up when Sid glared back at him. Rad narrowed his eyes, not letting himself show fear until the group turned the corner. Only then did he slump over in relief.

"Way to go, Rad, you taught those two brats a lesson." Kero said quietly.

Rad shushed him, looking around nervously. Thankfully there were no other students inside yet. "You can't just talk to me, what if you're caught on camera?"

"Cameras in the school?" Kero shook his head, and ducked back into the bag. "What's the world coming too."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it was different back in your day." Rad said snarkily. He winced as Kero quickly reached out to pinch his neck. "Okay, now you're pushing it." Rad caught sight of Carlos walking up the steps, and the blond took off for homeroom.

It might have been cowardly, but he still couldn't face either of them. They might not remember what happened, but Rad did.


"Does everyone remember the plan?" Optimus questioned, and Hot Shot could practically recite it by spark now.

"We find the mini-con, and convince him to come with us?" Smokescreen asked.

Optimus nodded. "Correct. Due to the circumstances from yesterday, I have found it wise to bring our own mini-cons to better plead our case." Which was why Sparkplug was currently sitting on Optimus' shoulder like a parrot.

Not like Hot Shot could complain, since Jolt was huddled on his shoulder.

"Let's move out." Optimus pause to grip Red Alert's shoulder. "Keep an optic out for anymore of this 'Time's' signature. We still don't know fully when it can strike."

Red Alert nodded. "Will do."

Hot Shot followed Smokescreen, Sideways and Optimus to the warp room. He glanced at Sideways, realizing that the mech couldn't exactly have his mini-con talk to Fetch. "So, is your mini-con finally going to speak?"

"If Mirror feels like it." Sideways replied, and chuckled in a self-deprecating way. "Although, given Mirror's height, that might still be difficult."

"You could stay behind if you want." Hot Shot grimaced as the words passed through his mouth. He couldn't believe he said that. "Optimus would understand."

"No, if nothing else, I can still fight." Sideways replied.

Hot Shot tilted his head, but noticed that Jolt was giving Sideways a suspicious look. Not you too, does everyone think Sideways and Mirror are weird? He paused as outside the warp room were the Star Saber mini-cons.

They beeped something, and Jolt looked at Hot Shot. "They feel your mission would be better suited if they were not around to be used as a threat. Fetch never liked them anyway."

Hot Shot blinked, but relayed it to Optimus. The red and blue mech vented heavily. "Very well." He said. "Our best scenario is to get out before the Decepticons show up."

The three nodded, and made their way through the warp gate as it showed the increasingly familiar dark forest.

Hope this is the last time we have to do this.


Rad wasn't proud to admit it, but he spent the entire afternoon hiding from his friends. When he looked at them, all he could see was their anger and disappointment. He knew they didn't remember, but it didn't erase the rejection and hurt of the whole thing. It was cowardly, but Rad couldn't bring himself to care.

He walked morose down the street, Kero still not able to talk to him, and High Wire's absence felt immense. Rad kicked at the pavement, glancing to the side as Kero thumped his back through the bag, and the blond snickered as he saw Ms. Jay's bakery across the street. "Alright, hold on." He muttered, and at the crosswalk he hurried up to the store.

Ms. Jay smiled pleasantly. "Hello, what can I get for you?"

"I'll two chocolate brownies." Rad said.

The woman nodded, and placed them both into a small box. "Here you go, that'll be $2.75 please."

"Okay." Rad scooped the change from his pocket, and handed it to her. He waved as he departed, and he could almost hear Kero's stomach rumble. Rad smiled faintly, but the rush along the pavement made him blink, and a sudden shove against his back made him stumble.

Rad's arms jerked and the box was wrenched out of his grasp before a pain exploded in his face as his eye stung. The blond held his face as he looked blearily up. He tried to glare at the two bullies. "What do you want? Why'd you hit me?"

"You got us in trouble, you little punk." Sid sneered.

Rad glared more fiercely. "You got yourselves in trouble."

"Shut up! It's all your fault!" Seth kicked Rad in the knee, and the blond yelped as he collapsed to his other knee. Seth hefted the box. "Thanks for these, but it's not enough to make up what you did."

Rad gritted his teeth. "I didn't-" he was cut off by the feel of a fist slamming against his jaw. Rad held his mouth, and flinched as he swore he tasted blood. He closed his eyes as Sid raised his foot-

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

Rad's eyes snapped open, and he saw both Sid and Seth looked shocked someone was calling them out. The blond looked beyond them, at the sight of an older man wearing a dark suit, with brown hair that had started turning gray around the temples. His dark eyes were set in a glare.

Sid turned around, fists clenched. "Why don't you just mind your own business?"

"I would, but that would be morally abhorrent." The man replied.

"What?" Seth questioned, but recovered and pointed at Sid. "You know who his dad is? He can have you fired from wherever you work! So leave us alone!"

The man stared at them, his expression never changing. "Do I look like I care who your father is?"

Both bullies stiffened. Rad understood they must have used that a lot to threaten people.

"Leave, or the police will care very much." The man said.

Sid scowled and his fists clenched tighter. "You wouldn't dare!" he yelled, but faltered as the man's glare was fiercer. Rad watched with fascination as both Sid and Seth began to shake, and like it was the final straw, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone. The two took off like bullets.

Rad blinked as the man pocketed the phone and held out his hand. The other was occupied by a briefcase. The blond accepted the free hand, and winced as he was helped back to his feet. "Why'd you help me?"

"You were getting beaten up and you ask why I helped you?" The man questioned, his tone a touch incredulous.

Rad looked down. "Just…not used to it."

"Given those brats could just go around in broad daylight doing things like this, I imagine no one's stood up to them before." The man said.

"Kids have, but…well, look what just happened." Rad replied, but shook his head. "Thanks for helping me. My name's Rad."

The man stared at him, and slipped his hand free to pinch the bridge of his nose. "My name's Touya." He said. "And you are a very foolish child to give your name so freely to a stranger."

Rad tilted his head. "You're not a stranger, you just saved me."

Touya shook his head, and took his phone from his pocket again. "Here, use this to call your parents to come and get you."

Rad thought that while his aunt and uncle might not mind him staying out, that could change if he called and said he got beaten up. "Um, no thanks. I have my own." He held up his hands nervously. "I can call them. Thanks again for helping me out."

Touya looked at him suspiciously, but shook his head and walked by him. He paused, and looked over his shoulder. "And stop talking to strangers."

Rad huffed, but as he made his way to the edge of town, he called up the same odd set of numbers. "Hey," he paused as the voice replied, "Red Alert, can you send someone to pick me up?"


Deep in a pine tree forest, sunlight streamed through the trees, and the glowing human female waited in the trees. Fight kept a close on the mini-con, and would not allow anyone to take it away from her, not when she was close to the ultimate fight with the large metal ones. This mini-con was the bait to get her ultimate challenge.

A loud whistling noise was the only warning Fight had, before somersaulting out of the way, and where she stood was a large metal spike erupted from the tree trunk. Fight landed on the ground and glanced at the spike before she looked around furtively, realizing she was found. But by who? It couldn't be the metal ones, she'd have heard them with their loud steps, or wheels whirring, and the Cardcaptor she'd have sensed. Fight amended her last statement with a scowl. Not her Cardcaptor.

Up in the pine trees overhead, a figure sat on a branch in the shadows, and it chuckled as it plucked off more pine needles from its perch. The needles began to glow purple, before shooting through the air, and transforming into more spikes.

Fight heard the whoosh of air, and leapt again to dodge the spikes as best she good. She managed to kick some away, but she still worked hard to dodge what she could, for there were so many of them were shooting at her, driving her away from the mini-con panel.

Fight's eyes widened in alarm as it dawned on her.

The mini-con panel!

Fight looked back where the panel was, and spotted a shadowy figure standing beside it. Somehow even in the specks sunlight it didn't appear to become any more colorful. It was a nebulous thing of pitch-black smoke, a human upper half while the wait faded into a dusky mermaid-like tail of equally dark smoke. It's glowing purple eyes were its most defined feature, with a violet streak across the face where the lips would be. The lips curled into a smile as it spoke in an echoing, whispery, feminine voice,

"So sorry, Angel-Cake. But I'm afraid this little fella belongs with those who will appreciate him, and not use him as bait."

Fight glared and began to charge at her, but then a purple butterfly mark appeared on the shadowy creature's chest and glowed brightly. Several pebbles on the ground glowed and floated up, transforming into jets of water that shot at Fight. They struck the spirit in the chest, and sent her flying back. Fight skidded to a stop under a tree, and the shadowy being reached down to touch the ground, and in a instant the roots of the tree burst from the ground.

They coiled and wrapped around Fight while still dazed, but once realization struck, and struggled and began to try and break free.

The shadowy creature laughed softly, the words it spoke mocking, "Hehehehehe. Oh, you're a feisty one; the little Cardcaptor's going to have a heck of a time wrangling you." The creature reached down and picked up the mini-con panel, and blew a patronizing kiss to Fight, who growled in rage as the shadowy being slowly disappeared.

Fight broke her arm free, and threw the shattered root at the spot the figure was in. It struck nothing, and she slammed her fist into the ground. Her eyes burned with rage. It looked like it was time for a Plan B.


Rad looked up worried as Kero gasped, his eyes wide. "What's the matter?" he winced as Red Alert scanned over him. The light didn't hurt, but it still made him think it would.

Kero leaned over the side of the bag, his brow furrowed in confusion and unease. "I think…I think I might have sensed Yue."

Rad frowned. "What's a Yue?"

Kero looked down. "The other guardian." Rad stiffened up. "I've been trying to find him, but…too much interference."

"So, what does Yue do exactly?" Rad asked.

Kero didn't reply. "You shouldn't worry about it." He said finally, and waved it off. "Just focus on getting Shield to work with you, and capturing Time."


"Wait!" Hot Shot yelled, hurrying after Fetch as Jolt was right on the mini-con's pedes. Just their luck, the mini-con seemed more than aware too that something was amiss, and hadn't even let them speak before taking off.

"What should we do? He's not exactly letting us get a word in." Sideways pointed out. Due to the fact he and Hot Shot were the fastest, they were sent after the mini-con. "Just keep yelling at him?"

"That's all we can do right now. Restraining him will only make this worse than it already looks." Hot Shot replied. He would have opted for vehicle mode, but the mini-con was too clever, going over and under debris to evade them. Only Jolt could keep pace.

"We have to catch him soon, or our clock will run out." Sideways said.

Hot Shot grimaced, but when he thought of the Decepticons, he got an idea. "Fetch! If you come with us, you can fight all the 'Cons you want!"

Abruptly, Fetch stopped, and Jolt transformed to pin him to the ground. The two struggled, but when Hot Shot caught up, he separated the two and held Jolt back. Fetch beeped something, and Jolt translated.

"How do I know you're telling he truth?"

"You don't even have to form link with any of us. You can think of yourself as a freelance agent. Doesn't that sound better than just being a weapon?" Hot Shot asked.

Fetch stared at him. "There's a certain ring to it, but what would you give me?"

Hot Shot grimaced, and he hoped Optimus wouldn't be mad. "You can be paid in oil and fuel cells. We'll pay you to fight for us, if that's how you wanna look at this."

Fetch started making a strange long screeching sound, shoulders shaking. Hot Shot realized with a start that Fetch was laughing. "About time we're recognized for our prowess! Just wait until the rest of the team is active!"

Hot Shot resisted the urge to grimace. More of them were like this? Hopefully they wouldn't be as angry. The main thing here to was to keep Fetch from the Decepticons. "Can't wait, so will you come with us?"

Fetch crossed his arms, looking away. Finally, he walked up to Hot Shot – and socked Jolt right in the faceplate. The yellow mech's optics widened, and Jolt weakly translated.

"He said yes, and that was for me tackling him both times."

Hot Shot glowered at Fetch, but looked back as Sideways finally caught up. "We're good, got him to come with us."

The purple and yellow mech stared at him. "That's…good. You actually can be calm and reasonable, looks like Red Alert was wrong about that too."

"Seriously? Does Red do nothing but talk about me behind my back?" Hot Shot asked incredulously. He glared at the sky. "If you can hear me through Laserbeak, Red – I'm telling Optimus!"

"Telling me what?"

Hot Shot jumped, his faceplate heating as he saw Optimus and Smokescreen finally caught up with them. "The good news of course! I got Fetch to come with us."

Optimus nodded. "Well done, Hot Shot. Let us return to base before we lose our window of opportunity."

"Right." Hot Shot held Jolt in one servo, while holding out the other to Fetch. The mini-con stared at it, before shoving it away and climbing onto Hot Shot's leg and gripping the metal. The yellow mech vented, but let the warp gate take them back to base.

What he did not expect on arrival though was Rad to be waiting for them, and – "What happened to your optic!?"

Rad blinked, but touched the dark red and purple bruising that started up around his eye socket. "It's…it's no big deal. Red said that the bruising should go down in a few days with some ice."

"Since when did Red Alert become a human doctor?" Smokescreen questioned.

"Apparently since Rachel kept throwing herself into danger." Rad said dryly. "He didn't want to be unable to help us if we're hurt." He grimaced. "I'm more worried if this is going to be gone before Rachel gets back. She'll flip out if she sees it."

"She should!" Hot Shot retorted.

Rad sighed, but smiled placatingly as the Autobot mini-cons all beeped something at him. Hot Shot was suddenly aware that while he also knew about Rad's other secret, the rest of the bots didn't. "Are you asking about the black eye?" he asked. "It's okay, I'll be fine." His eyes hardened then. "The clock's ticking though, and we need to find Time."

Optimus nodded. "Has Red Alert come up with any leads so far?"

"He and Kero can't find Time anywhere, and Kero thinks it's because Time is only active at night." Rad replied. "The sun will be down in an hour, which will also mean there'll be less people."

"So you're saying we should scout ahead?" Smokescreen asked.

"It would make sense." Sideways replied instead. "It gives us more ground if we split up and radio if we find anything."

"Agreed." Optimus said. "Rad, go with Hot Shot."

Hot Shot wasn't exactly surprised by the order, given that the two of them were still not on the best terms with everyone else. "Right." He said, and transformed to let Rad climb into his cabin. He waited until they were out of audio range. "So how are you really feeling?"

Rad looked at the ceiling, his fists clenching. "I'm fine."


Rad was glad Hot Shot tinted the window, so no one could see inside through the already darkened night. His eye stung still, and his mouth felt swore, but he couldn't let that stop him. Rad was touched by Hot Shot's concern, but Kero was already suspicious that Rad was in more pain that he let on. He was also not wrong in pointing out that his aunt and uncle would notice the black eye.

Rad already had an excuse to use though, and he really didn't want to think about anything but getting Time. He sighed deeply, which meant he still needed Shield. "I know you don't like me, and that's okay."

Hot Shot almost jumped on his tires. "What?"

Rad glanced at the dashboard in front of him. "Shield." he clarified, and the bot let out a soft 'oh'. "I know don't why you don't like me, or what I did, but please…no one else deserves to be stuck in a time loop. To live the same day over and never moving forward…let's stop Time together, and afterwards, you can go back to Hot Shot. For as long as you want, you can stay with him until you're ready to give me a chance." Rad looked down. "I promise I won't ask again."

The cabin was utterly silent, and Rad closed his eyes. He wanted to plead his case more, but anything else would make him look more desperate than he already did. A ripple reached him, and Rad felt caution and tentative acceptance.

The blond blinked, and found Shield floating in front of him. A smile lit up Rad's face. "Thank you so much!" he held out his hands, and Shield wavered before floating into his grasp. "After this is over, what you decide will be your choice."

Shield glowed blue for a moment, ripples emitting in agreement.

Rad's smile froze as another force made it's presence known. His eyes widened, and he fell back against the passenger seat. His body was sluggish, like the flow of time was stagnating and going backwards. The blond gritted his teeth as the feeling passed, and everything sped back up again.

"-ad! Rad, are you okay?!"

Rad looked wearily at Hot Shot's dashboard. "I sensed Time, I should be able to track him."

"Right, I'll get everyone to converge once we've found his hiding spot." Hot Shot replied.

Rad pulled his key from his neck, and held it out in front of him. "Release!" The key glowed and expanded until the staff was in hand. "Okay." He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes as he tried to track Time's presence. "Left." Hot Shot swerved, and turned the corner. "Keep going straight….now another left…stop!" his eyes snapped open.

They were at the edge of a park, where the only thing in sight was trees and the streetlamps. "This is the place." Rad said.

"Got it. Everyone, we're at the park; Time's here." Hot Shot said. He paused for a moment. "They'll be here in a few minutes."

Rad nodded. "I kinda wish Kero actually wanted to come with us just so I'd know what to do." Kero though had opted to go back to his aunt and uncle's house, because he had 'gotten tired of being around the mecha'.

"You've got this." Hot Shot reassured him.

Rad smiled, and got out of the car to let Hot Shot transform. The two of them began making their way through the trees, and Hot Shot knelt as they noticed a glowing form sitting on the sundial further ahead. Rad squinted, and saw it an old man wearing a robe. "Since he can control time, it's going to be difficult sealing it. I have no idea how I'm supposed to sneak up on him with him getting away. I need to be close enough to seal the card, but I can't use another to restrain him without Shield disappearing."

Hot Shot rubbed his chin, but brightened and winked at Rad. "I just got an idea." He shooed him. "Get Shield in place and go hide. Jump in when you think the time's right."

The two paused, and Rad hung his head as Hot Shot snickered at his pun.

Rad shook his head, and hurried to hold Shield up. "Okay, ready." Because Shield technically was its own being right now, Rad didn't need to draw its' power through the wand. It glowed and expanded into a white dome over Rad by itself. The blond crouched low as he saw Hot Shot pulling back and hurrying to meet the sound of approaching cars.

Time stirred, but didn't react as he continued looking down at his hourglass. He only looked up when Hot Shot came running into the clearing. Time lifted his hand, and the hourglass glowed. Hot Shot stiffened, frozen in place.

"Hot Shot!" Smokescreen called, and looked at Time, but found himself freezing as well. Rad's eyes widened, but he noticed that Time needed to focus more on the bots to keep them still.

That's it, they're distracting him. Rad quietly crept along the backway, holding his breath as Optimus came into the clearing but was caught by Time as well. Rad got closer, but so did Sideways as he came in from the side. Time held up his other hand and caught him as well. The card's focus was entirely kept on the Autobots.

Rad raised the wand, and once in range – "Return to your power confine," Time looked over at him, letting the Autobots go as he reflexively held out his hand to Rad, but Shield nullified the freeze, "Sakura Card!"

Time's form began to dissolve, even as he tried to escape by running. Soon, he was nothing more than wisps and sucked into the shell card. Shield faded back into card form as Time's card floated over to Rad, and the blond caught it. He noticed Shield beginning to fly away, but paused, and Rad's heart soared as Shield came back to him.

Shield glowed blue and rippled, acceptance of him more resolute.

Rad plucked Shield out the air. "You have no idea what this means to me, thank you!" he hugged Shield to his chest as he shrank his key. He beamed and looked up at the Autobots, but his good mood crashed when he saw only Hot Shot looked happy.

Oh, he thought in remembrance, this means I can't see any of them. Their temporary partnership was over. Rad's chest tightened. "I…I hope I can see you soon." He shrugged uncomfortably. "When you decide I can come back, of course."

"Today was an exception, but we just need time to process this." Optimus said. Rad nodded. "Hot Shot, give him a ride home."

"Uh, sure thing." Hot Shot said, and transformed. "Hey, at least your plush toy will be happy, right? You got two cards tonight."

Rad smiled weakly. "I guess." He didn't know how to feel; on the one hand, he got Time and things would go back to normal, while on the other, he still knew there were issues that couldn't just be wiped away with a reset now.


Rachel yawned, cracking her back as she finished scouting the dig site. She chose a rather out of the way one, so as not to let anyone get the idea to mess with her area. It wouldn't surprise her, and this was her grade she was guarding too.

The blonde heard a racket further in the forest, and she furrowed her brow as it almost sounded like…laser fire. Rachel's eyes widened as something careened out of the trees. It smoked and landed in pieces near her site.

Rachel tentatively stepped closer, her eyes wide as the object was the size of a basketball, strewn in several pieces. It's edges were smooth and rounded off, like some strange ball with a single point at the front. Though it was blue, it was scorched and smoking. The circuitry was like nothing she'd seen, and Rachel let out a heavy sigh.

Of course, alien tech. Damn it, I was hoping nothing weird would happen. Grumbling to herself, Rachel used a plastic bag from her dig site, and wrapped the tech into it before loading it into her duffel bag. The day was over, and she'd get in touch with the Autobots tomorrow. I really hoped this weekend would be normal.