A/N: I would like to thank Vanessa Masters for helping me with a scene, and brave kid for giving me the idea of Hot Shot and Create.
Chapter 26: Why So Cirrus?
(Alternative Title: Something Wicked This Way Comes)
It was weird, floating in space. Around him was nothing but a dark expanse with stars lighting up the way. Images flickered by, showing him patterns and galaxies as he propelled forward. He found it odd he could breath, but if this was not real, then he would not worry.
He looked up, and found Sideways standing in front of him. The mech stared at him intently, and he flinched when the mech reached for him. He didn't know why, but he caught a flash of yellow optics in the darkness and a sense of great evil surrounding him.
A blue laser blast caught Sideways in the shoulder, knocking him off course. The mech looked up, as did Rad, and he saw a tall form in the shadows, the only detail being the glint of the visor they wore.
Sideways said something, but Rad didn't catch it as the new mech lifted their blaster and fired again…
With a start, Rad fell off his bed. He stared at the ceiling of his aunt and uncle's guestroom. He blinked as he thought of the dream, fading in his mind but disturbed him deeply. Just what had that been about? Rad glanced to the drawer, where Kero poked his head out.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Rad rubbed his head as he sat up. The curtains were still closed, but moonlight lit up the room. Everything still hurt from yesterday, his eye throbbed and his lip was scabbed. His aunt and uncle had been freaked out when he got home, but he managed to pass it off as simply tripping on the sidewalk. They didn't press, but he suspected they didn't buy it. He was sure Rachel wouldn't either. "It was this dream I just had, it freaked me out."
Kero rubbed his chin. "What happened in it?"
"It's nothing, just dreamt about Sideways." Rad replied. He wasn't sure why Kero just stared at him. "What? He's my friend, it's not weird."
Kero's brow furrowed. "If you say so." He didn't sound reassuring though.
Rad scowled as he climbed back onto the bed. "You sound just like Alexis. Sideways hasn't done anything bad; is it really too much to think he's alright?"
"You're just saying that because he's the only tin can that'll talk to you." Kero retorted.
Rad bit his lip, biting back a retort. Hot Shot and he were getting better, but Sideways hadn't been angry from the start. It also hurt that despite Optimus never having explicitly told him he was banned from the base, the Autobot leader wasn't too forthcoming after giving Rad a 'We need time to process and come to grips with this development.' "So what?" he shook his head. "It's too early, and a Saturday now. I'm going back to bed and sleeping in." he grumbled as he slid back under the covers.
Kero's voice called to him though, "I just don't want you to get hurt."
Rad frowned to himself. 'But he wouldn't hurt me.' Something about his dream though, made him feel uneasy. He found it harder to get back to sleep after all.
Rachel frowned to herself, something deep and unsettling in her bones. She walked around a large, wide room. It niggled at the back of her mind, but she was looking at everything with a dazed, hazy expression. There was a long console on one side of the room, and she looked up at a tall blue figure. They had long wings on their back, and those wings stiffened up before the figure turned around like they heard something. Something Rachel hadn't heard, but she saw the robot had a visor.
Rachel felt like she was being watched, but the robot was looking beyond her. Out of nowhere a thorn shot into the robot's side, stuck between a seam. The robot held the spot and hunched over, pain evident in the shaking they did. A swell of evil, dark and foul washed over Rachel, and she gasped-
Rachel's eyes shot open, and she stared up at the ceiling. Her dream faded quickly, but all that remained was a pair of pink eyes with a vertical slit. It left her unsettled, but the only thing which unsettled her more was the fact her clock read 8 am. "Shit!"
The blonde flipped the covers off and scrambled for the bathroom. She rushed to get on her new clothes and brushed her hair, pulling it back into a low ponytail. The room was small, just barely larger than a closet, and having to share it with a roommate who failed to wake her up. Rachel scowled at that, grabbing her dig kit and bag before she rushed out of the room.
She ran out of the motel, and looked around before she hurried to her out of the way site. It was deep in the forest, to stay out of the way from everyone else. Rachel carefully set the school bag down and knelt in the dirt of the site. She glanced at the bag, and sighed as she knew she'd better call the Autobots and get the tech remains to them. It would be irresponsible of her not to call it in, not if it turned out to be dangerous.
Rachel took out her phone, and dialed the number to the Autobot base. She glanced up at the morning sky, holding her hand up to shield her eyes. She was unsurprised when Maya picked up. "Hey, can you tell the Autobots-" she caught a flash out of the corner of her eye, and whirled. She scowled at the figure darting away, wearing a hoodie and track pants. "I'll call you back."
Rachel hung up her phone, and took off after the figure. Her legs burned at the sudden strain, and when she was close enough, she lunged and grabbed her bag. "Let go, thief!"
The thief was jerked back, and Rachel pulled her bag to the side, sending the thief sprawled onto the grass. The hood fell down, revealing a woman with long red hair tail tied into a high ponytail spilling onto the ground, eyes screwed shut and expression twisted in pain. The figure grunted as Rachel put her foot onto the thief's stomach.
"Why were you stealing my bag?" Rachel demanded. She pulled out her phone as the thief refused to speak. "Fine, you can explain yourself to the police."
The sound of something warming up rang behind Rachel, and the woman's eyes snapped open. Rachel was shocked when the woman grabbed her ankle and shoved, sending Rachel to the ground. The redhead sprang up, holding her side as she got in front of Rachel.
"What are you doing?!" she yelled. "We just need the bag, no need to jump to violence, remember? And you're not supposed to be seen!"
Rachel rubbed her head, but when she looked up, her breath hitched. It was a small red robot, with a red faceplate, yellow optics and yellow highlights. The thing which made her stomach drop was the barrel of a makeshift blaster pointed at her, the yellow glow warming the barrel. The robot's aim was shaking, like it didn't want to be holding it, but its gaze didn't waver. "A mini-con?"
Both the red mini-con and the redhead froze, and the red mini warbled something quickly, and the woman glanced down at Rachel. "You...know about them?"
Rachel nodded numbly, not quite sure what to think of any of this. "Yeah, I uplinked with a mini-con named High Wire. Do you think they know each-" her question was cut off as the red mini-con let out a sharp warbling, and the redhead put her hand over her mouth.
"Well, I guess that answers your question." She said quietly. The woman glanced at Rachel, somewhere between wary and resolute. It was a bit odd, as though she were trying to keep her pride. "Does this constitute as a truce?"
Rachel narrowed her eyes. "Tell me why you were trying to steal my bag."
The woman glanced at the red mini-con, who warbled something and lowered the blaster. The redhead nodded and looked back at Rachel. "Yesterday, Servo spotted you picking up the remains of the Seeker Bug they shot down."
"And this is Servo?" Rachel asked, gesturing to the red mini.
The woman shook her head. "His name's Redline." She replied. "Servo and Flat-Out stayed back to avoid being seen. Clearly, that's kind of out the window." She looked sheepish, rubbing the back of her neck.
Rachel frowned as she got to her feet, dusting herself and opened the bag to reveal the blue remains. "What's a Seeker Bug?" she wanted to ask the more obvious, but wanted to get this out of the way first.
"It's a drone that tracks mini-cons, and brings in Fixer Bugs that reconfigure them into being evil." The redhead said.
Rachel stared at her, blinking slowly. "Evil mini-cons?" she repeated. "I…really?" she asked dubiously.
Redline beeped, his tone almost annoyed. "Yes." The redhead said seriously. "They saw one of the Fixer Bugs catch a mini-con, and twisted them into something unrecognizable."
Okay, this was getting a bit out of hand. "Where did these bugs come from then?"
"They don't know, but Redline is certain that the two mini-cons they saw the bugs reporting to weren't on the registry of all mini-cons." The woman explained.
Rachel furrowed her brow. "How could he know that?"
Redline crossed his arms. "He's was the safety officer in charge of making sure all the mini-cons leaving Cybertron were registered so no one was left behind."
"How can you be sure no one was still on Cybertron?" Rachel asked.
Redline was silent for a moment, but even though the blonde couldn't understand him, the redhead's reply conveyed the seriousness in his words. "None of them wanted to be there anymore."
Rachel couldn't fault that, given High Wire's explanation about Cybertron's situation long ago. She didn't know what the current state on Cybertron was, so she decided to steer the conversation to something else. "I guess it makes sense." She said hesitantly. "So I suppose we can have a truce." She held out her hand.
The redhead grabbed her hand and shook. "My name's Stella."
"Rachel." The blonde said. "So how did you come in contact with the mini-cons?"
Redline said something quickly, and Stella blinked. "He wants to know how, er, High Wire screwed up first."
Rachel raised a brow. "Not a fan of him, huh?" she asked, but was rhetorical and wasn't expecting an answer. "It's also a long story. We can meet up later in town, to go for a coffee?" she offered, and coughed into her hand nervously. "I kind of owe you for tossing you around, sorry about that."
Stella looked just as sheepish. "It's not like I didn't deserve it." She gestured to the bag. "Can Redline at least have the remains?"
Rachel hesitated. "Well, I was hoping to have the Autobots could take a look at it," she paused, "er, do you even know who the Autobots are?"
Stella nodded, her expression a bit stiff. "They're part of the war. Why are there mini-cons with them? Don't you know they are?"
Rachel glowered back at her. "Yes. And I've kept an eye on them during those first few weeks. They're a lot different from how High Wire remembered them, and the Autobots don't make them fight if they don't want to."
Redline crossed his arms, warbling something. Stella sighed, looking a little unsure. "He said he thinks High Wire is," she paused, grimacing, "er, something I won't repeat, but that he wasn't too eager to re-work with the Autobots either and wouldn't without good reason."
Rachel considered it, and nodded slightly before taking the remains out of her bag. She handed them to Redline, and stepped back to Stella. "I have to put some work in for my exam, but I got a lunch break for noon."
Stella smiled lightly. "Me too," she nodded, and held out her hand, "can I give you my number?"
Rachel blinked, her cheeks flushing. "What?"
Stella rubbed her neck. "I know it might sound weird, but I just thought it would be better to be in contact than going by ear."
Well, the blonde couldn't deny that. "Alright, I guess that makes sense." She said and reluctantly handed her phone over, and glanced at the number upon getting it back. Rachel's cheeks grew pinker when she saw the 'winking' emoji for the number. "Kinda presuming a lot."
Stella tilted her head, hair spilling over her shoulder. "Too forward?"
Rachel smiled, feeling a bit shy despite herself. "At least let me be the one who sets the place."
Stella giggled. "Fine by me." She made her way deeper into the forest with Redline, and Rachel wondered where they even came from, and how they got here.
'I guess that'll be one of the first things I'll be asking.' Rachel thought, and made her own way back to her dig site.
Rad made his way down the street, his key around his neck and cards in pocket as was becoming the norm. He never knew when a Sakura Card could show up. Rad glanced around the town, and caught the glances at his person, knowing they were looking at his black eye and split lip. If he could spend all day in the guest room, he would. Just until the lip healed, and the eye turned a fainter color. It still wouldn't heal in time for Rachel's return, and he was not looking forward to explaining this away.
The blond stopped in time to avoid being hit with the door of Ms. Jay's bakery opening, and blinked when he saw Kelly holding a box, having used her shoulder to push the door. The brunette flushed when she saw Rad, and looked sheepish.
"Sorry, did I almost hit you?"
Rad waved it off. "I'm okay."
Kelly frowned, giving him a hard stare. "No, really, did I hurt you?"
Rad blinked, but the faint sting of his eye flared up, and he realized what she meant. "Oh, this?" he winced as he touched under his eye. "No, this happened yesterday. Doesn't hurt as much today."
"I suppose that's good to hear." Rad blinked when Touya followed Kelly out of the shop, another box under his arm.
The blond looked between them. "You both know each other?"
Kelly beamed. "He's my uncle!" she chirped. "He just moved here with Uncle Yuki!"
Rad tilted his head. "So what are you both doing out here?"
"It's Mother's Day tomorrow." Kelly showed him the box, opening it to reveal several cupcakes. "They're for my mom. What are you getting your mom?"
Rad's chest tightened. "It's…complicated." He muttered, unwilling to reveal that he likely wouldn't be able to talk to her anyway. She and his father were busy, too busy to take calls.
"Oh, why?" Kelly asked curiously, but Rad bit his lip.
Touya placed his hand on Kelly's head, sighing loudly. "I think the kid is trying to tell you not to pry, Kaiju Jr."
Kelly stiffened, her face flushing. "That's not funny!" she said indignantly. "I'm telling Mom!"
Touya's mouth quirked into something that might have been a smirk. "And she'll just say to come up with something more creative." He paused. "Or she'll kick me in the leg."
Kelly huffed, and beamed at Rad. "Do you wanna come with us? Maybe you'd like to get your mom something anyway?"
Rad winced, something twisting his stomach; guilt or unease? "I-I can't, sorry."
Kelly frowned. "Why-"
"You heard him, Kaiju Jr. Leave the kid alone." Touya said. Kelly glared up at him, while Touya discreetly gestured for Rad to escape, and the blond did so despite how crummy he felt about leaving Kelly hanging.
Rad sprinted down the street, turning the corner before Kelly could see where he went. The blond skidded to a stop, blinking when he saw driving down the street a familiar purple and yellow motorcycle. "Sideways?" he called, but glanced around to make sure no one else was looking.
The motorbike slowed, turning onto the sidewalk. "Hey, Rad." Mirror looked at him to give the voice relevancy in case someone looked.
"I thought you already went on a tour of the town?" Rad asked.
"I did, but I can't go for another one?" Sideways asked, and Rad flushed. "Besides, I have to admit that I also came here because…I wanted to see your magic in action."
The blond's cheeks flushed deeper, smiling shyly. "Really? I'm-I don't think I'm very good at it. I can barely catch these cards."
"I'd still like to see it," Sideways said, and Mirror reached out to loosely grasp Rad's hand, "if you want."
Rad blinked, and bit his lip. "You…really aren't mad?"
"No, I'm not, and I won't be. I can understand your reasons, remember?" Sideways asked.
Rad nodded, knowing that this was the robot gently reminding him of the fact they went over this. Rad had just wanted some reassurance, because not even Hot Shot was accepting at first. Things were still strained, but at least he was slowly regaining his trust. 'It's unfair to demand their forgiveness, but it's nice to be accepted.' He thought. "Okay, I'll show you. Promise not to laugh when I mess up?"
Mirror tilted his head, and tightened his grip. "Yes." Sideways said, and Rad climbed onto the back of the motorbike.
Rad held onto the mini-con, and the motorbike turned on the corner before driving through the outskirts of town, and Rad looked up at the forest canopy as they came to a small clearing. The blond climbed off the motorcycle when Sideways stopped, and the robot transformed into his bi-pedal mode, and moved back to observe.
Rad bit his lip again as he nervously took his key off his neck, and held it out in front of him. 'Just stay calm, you've done this before.' He told himself, and took in a deep breath. "Key of the star, with powers burning bright; reveal the staff and shine your light-release!" The key glowed and Sideways leaned forward as if trying to observe harder, and the key elongated into its staff form.
Rad reached into his pocket, and pulled out a card before tossing it into the air. The card stuck as though hitting an invisible wall, and Rad blinked when he saw the card he'd drawn, and flushed. "Rain…appear." He felt silly for not being able to call her on for anything more substantial.
Rain's cloud appeared over him, and Rad gasped as a waterfall of water fell on him before Rain popped up and giggled. Rad groaned as Rain whirled away, tittering as she peered down at him. Her eyes caught Sideways, and she shrieked before zooming behind Rad and looked around him up at the robot suspiciously.
"It's okay," Rad assured her tiredly, "he's not bad, he just looks kind of scary."
Rain looked unconvinced, and Rad felt the curious/demand about why she was there. Rad blushed as he knew he couldn't give her a lot. "I…just wanted to show off."
Rain tilted her head, but let out a silent laugh before she abruptly changed back into her card form. Rad shifted as Rain slipped back into his pocket.
"So…I know that was bad." The blond said.
Sideways blinked slowly. "I'm not laughing." He replied. "Can I see another?"
Rad brightened up, and nodded. "Sure thing!"
Hot Shot leaned against the wall of the training room, and watched as Smokescreen went through the obstacle course. Jolt sat on the yellow mech's foot, and Fetch was hanging over the catwalk, making what were likely insulting shouts at the orange mech if his partner Liftor shaking his fist at the other mini-con was any indication.
The yellow mech glanced over at Red and Optimus, both standing to the side with Longarm and Sparkplug, and he looked down at Jolt. "Is there any…more things we can train with?"
The orange-pink mini-con tilted his head. "Well…there was, it's just it was…in the other side of the ship."
"The part that broke off crashing to Earth." Hot Shot elaborated. "Wait, why is there a training space here anyway if you mini-cons were all asleep?"
Jolt crossed his arms. "We weren't always going to be asleep. Once we found an uninhabited planet, that's when High Wire would have safely woken us up and we could live our lives in peace. Obviously, that didn't happen."
Hot Shot winced, but with one glance around revealed High Wire wasn't around. At least the mini-con in question wasn't around to hear being insulted. Though he realized that maybe when Fetch came back for the second time, him immediately going up to High Wire and yelling at him might have been insulting him all the same.
And Fetch was part of a team. High Wire, Sureshock, Grindor, and the Star Saber minis all came in teams of three; hopefully it meant there would only be two more like Fetch. Optimus had praised Hot Shot's ingenuity in handling the situation, but scolded him for the same thing.
Hot Shot shook his head; in the very beginning of the mission, he'd thought of how much a privilege and honor it would be to be on Optimus' team. To distract him from Wheeljack's…passing, but now he never felt it more sharply with all the things going on.
He noticed something in the vent tunnel by the floor, swirling around. Hot Shot opened his mouth to alert Maya, but he flinched when the grate was split open by the force of the material spilling out…pink clouds? Hot Shot stared as everyone stopped, but his spark sped up when the clouds didn't stop rolling out in droves and proceeded to fill the room.
"This is just great." Smokescreen said sarcastically, waving his hand to bat through the mist. When his servo contacted the cloud, everyone was surprised to see the whole piece of it float away.
"These…are solid?" Hot Shot asked. "Okay, I might not know a lot about this planet, but should they be solid?"
"No, and they shouldn't be pink." Red Alert said. "Maya!"
The green-haired girl appeared, her gaze looking around. Hot Shot noticed Jolt had jumped from his foot, and was trying to catch one of the clouds. It flitted out of his grasp. Maya didn't look surprised. "I don't think I need to say it's not normal for clouds to do this." She said dryly.
"No." Optimus said equally wry. "Why didn't you alert us?"
"I didn't notice." Maya replied. "Not until Red Alert called, but it doesn't surprise me honestly. Magic can be random and difficult to trace, as I'm sure you're aware."
"Yes." Red Alert muttered. He grunted as a large cloud pushed against his back. "But why is it here?" The cloud gave a hard shove, and Red Alert collided with Optimus, who caught him.
"It could be for a variety of reasons, but given they have their own consciousness it's simply difficult to determine what it may be." Maya replied vaguely.
"Oh, that really helps!" Smokescreen snapped, swatting away another cloud that tried to stick to him.
"Can't we call Rad, he can fix this if it's such a bother." Longarm warbled, which Jolt dutifully translated for Hot Shot.
"Out of the question." Red Alert said firmly, letting his bitterness show for a moment.
"What Red Alert means," Optimus cut in with a reprimanding look at Red Alert, "is that this situation hasn't reached dangerous levels, and can possibly be dealt with by ourselves. No need to bother Rad."
"Or you simply can't be bothered to ask for his help." Sparkplug beeped, and even Hot Shot could tell he was upset. "You don't really trust him anymore, do you?"
Optimus made no comment, and the clouds suddenly shifted, with a wall pressing him and Red Alert even closer together.
"What?"
"Sir!"
Both mechs yelled out, and stared at each other. Hot Shot felt distinctly uncomfortable, like he was intruding on a private moment, fabricated as it was by this card. Hot Shot wasn't the only one trying not to watch, as Smokescreen glanced away. If there was any doubt their relationship was a secret, Hot Shot thought it was likely gone now.
Maya looked at the two mechs, staring a bit intently before she shook herself. "Shall I contact Rad now?"
Optimus paused, but he leaned back and nodded, venting heavily. "You may, though until he arrives, contain this card in one of the empty rooms, and seal the exit."
Maya nodded, watching a moment as the mini-cons chased around the clouds, before she glanced off into space.
Around all of them, the ventilation kicked in, and slowly the clouds were sucked in by an extreme gust of air. Hot Shot picked up Jolt to prevent him from being pulled in by the draft, and he saw the other mini-cons were holding onto a bot or something heavy to keep from being pulled in as well. Soon, every speck of the pink clouds was gone.
Maya nodded to herself. "Containment complete, I have secured the card in a storage space, and all doors and vents in the room are sealed."
"Please contact Rad, Maya." Optimus said, sounding beleaguered.
Maya nodded, but as she presumably did so, the mini-con alarm blared.
Hot Shot vented, for the first time not filled with glee at prospect of mini-con searching. "Just out of one mess and into another."
Optimus wasn't undignified enough to complain, but his words could very much be interpreted differently, "This too, we shall endure through."
"Hi-w...what?" Rad blinked, knowing what Maya was saying, but a little stunned that a card would so blatantly invade the Autobot base. There was Wood, but she was being amped up with Rain. "Er, okay, I'll be right there-no, don't need a ride, Sideways is with me." Rad tilted his head. "You didn't notice he was gone? Well, I'll hurry up and get there anyway." He hung up, and glanced over at Sideways.
The robot didn't seem perturbed. "A card in the base, huh? You want to call your guardian friend first?"
"That-" Rad bit his lip, wincing as he remembered the problem. "There's no phone Kero can use. My aunt and uncle are there, and he can't sneak out. I'm gonna have to go there, but… I said we'd be right there."
"This is important, Rad." Sideways said seriously. "You shouldn't rush in without at least knowing what card you're up against. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."
Rad rubbed his arm, remembering what happened with Shadow. "I…I guess a side trip couldn't hurt." The purple and yellow robot nodded, and transformed back into vehicle mode. Rad climbed onto the back, and put his key back around his neck. "Okay, let's go."
"Don't worry, we'll be there before you know it."
The alarm had been turned off, but the tension continued to rise as the minutes ticked by, the agitation in the room growing even more the longer Rad took to arrive, especially with the news Maya relayed that Sideways was with him, the Prime vented. "We cannot wait any longer; Red Alert, please inform Rad of the situation when he gets here where the card is."
Red Alert looked ready to protest, but he likely knew the longer they delayed the more of a chance the 'Cons could find the mini-con. "Yes, of course." He said, and typed in the co-ordinates for the warp room.
Hot Shot trailed after Optimus and Smokescreen to the warp gate, the portal glowing with the destination reflected through the colorful hologram. "I-" he was blindsided, yelping as something solid and pink rushed past him.
The yellow mech stared, optics wide and incredulous as the pink clouds that had been contained just went through the warp gate not seconds before it closed. "What the scrap!"
"Red Alert?" Optimus called.
Red Alert's voice sounded over the intercom. "I…I didn't notice, not until it was too late, and the clouds had…had already slipped out. How did they do that? The room was sealed tight." He sounded dazed, and more than a little baffled.
"I think we've got a bigger problem." Smokescreen pointed out. "That card just went through the warp gate, where the mini-con is-where the Decepticons are headed."
Hot Shot sunk even further onto the floor. "Where Rad needs to go to seal the card." He slapped his forehead. "Scrap."
"Do not panic, Hot Shot." Optimus said. "We must keep a cool processor. We'll go ahead, retrieve the mini-con, and take Rad to seal the card once the Decepticons have left."
With that in mind, Optimus told Red Alert to start the warp gate up again, and the three hurried through the portal.
Rad opened the door to his aunt and uncle's house quietly, carefully listening for any signs someone was home. He could hear the television, so he sneaked quietly back to the guestroom. He couldn't afford distractions right now. "Kero." He whispered once inside the bedroom.
Kero popped up from the drawer. "What's up, Rad?"
"Going to seal another card, a…" he recalled what Maya had told him, "bunch of pink clouds, ring any bells?"
Kero looked at him flatly. "The Cloud."
Rad resisted slapping his forehead. "Of course." He muttered. "I can't believe I'm asking this, but threat level?"
"Can make the sky look pretty scary, but nothing awful, though she is mischievous so watch out for that." Kero explained.
Rad thought of what Rain had done earlier. His clothing had just started to feel dry again. "Right, got it." He nodded, and opened the window. "Thanks, and lock the window after I leave."
Kero waved him off. "Yeah, sure."
Rad smiled briefly, but closed the window behind him and sprinted back to Sideways. "Got the info, let's go, and please step on it."
Sideways reply was to take a faster speed, and Rad held even more tightly onto Mirror as he closed his eyes and only opened them once the motorbike had slowed to a halt. "We're here."
"Glad to be back on the ground." Rad said, wobbling slightly once his feet touched the ground. He shook it off though, and hurried inside the base, going straight for the command room. "I'm here, where's the card?" he looked around, but spotted no one other than Maya and Red Alert.
The latter who looked distinctly unhappy with him. "They left to search for a mini-con." His voice was a touch frosty.
Rad frowned, but didn't dwell on it. "And the card?"
Red Alert's lips pursed. "The card was put into a sealed room, and it escaped-right through a warp gate."
Rad's eyes widened, his jaw slackening. "W-what?"
"Yes," Red Alert continued, despite a warning glance from Maya, "Optimus tried to wait for you to arrive, but you took too long and he couldn't risk the Decepticons getting the mini-con."
Rad's insides turned to ice, unsure if whether to be angry – at Red Alert or himself. Despite the reassurance from Sideways, he was wrong. 'I was too late, and now things are just worse.' He thought morosely. "How am I going to seal the card?"
"You will be taken there once the area is cleared." Red Alert replied curtly. "Now," his tone softened, just a little, "how are you feeling? Are your injuries giving you any trouble?"
Rad blinked, but felt he ice inside melt. "I-I'm doing okay; still stings at times, but I've been taking care of it."
Red Alert nodded. "You can go, but don't stress yourself out."
The blond bit his lip, wincing as he felt his lip sting and let go. "Right." He took that as his cue to leave, but waved to Maya as she nodded and looked back at the screen of Laserbeak's view, and Rad sighed to himself once he was out of the room. "I don't know whether to be happy he still sees me as a child to protect at least."
"So long as he doesn't hate you, right?"
Rad almost jumped as Sideways showed up, his footsteps having been eerily silent. "Where were you? I didn't even think it was possible to be quiet walking on metal."
"Just talented, I suppose." Sideways shrugged. He knelt, his voice lowering. "Though you know what might get you back into the Autobots' good side? Taking the initiative."
Rad frowned. "What are you talk-" his eyes widened. "Are you saying we should," he looked around, his voice going quieter as well, "actually go to the location? What if I get caught."
"I'll be with you, and I won't let anything happen to you out there." Sideways said.
Rad looked up at him, his mind torn on the idea. He knew it was a bad idea, and no one would likely be happy afterwards-but…but if he could stop the Decepticons from learning anything about the cards, he would take it. So far it appeared that green robot hadn't said something, but he couldn't hope for that to last. "…okay."
"Good, now we're going to need to be quick, think you can handle that?" Sideways asked, and Rad nodded. "Go wait by the warp room, and I'll tell Red Alert I'm heading out, and make a run for it when the gate opens, got it?"
Rad furrowed his brow. "Mostly, but what about you?"
"Oh, I'll just say I'm going after you, so don't worry about that." Sideways gave him a small nudge. "Now get going."
Rad nodded, and hurried to the warp room. He paused when he saw High Wire walking down the other end of the hall, being hassled by a mini-con he'd only briefly seen. High Wire almost outdid Dash as he ran up to Rad and scooped him into his arms. Rad couldn't help smiling despite what he was supposed to be doing. "It's nice to see you too."
"You have no idea how much I miss you and how jealous I am that plush toy got to stay with you." High Wire said.
The other mini-con waltzed up, crossing their arms. "And what's this? You actually found someone who can stand to be around you?"
Rad scowled at the mini. "Listen you, High Wire hasn't-"
"Hold up!" The mini looked at High Wire. "You've all been holding out; this human can understand all of us? Without an uplink even?"
Rad wasn't sure why, but he felt less like he was flattered than put on edge. Maybe it was just the fact the mini-con had been harassing his friend. He stalled for a moment, but noticed the other blue mini-con coming around the corner. "Longarm!" he called, and the mini paused, tilting his head. Rad nodded at High Wire meaningfully.
"Oh, High Wire! Yes, we need your help, please come with me-now, preferably." Longarm said, and High Wire looked at Rad, letting the gratefulness show in the bond before fleeing with the other mini-con.
Rad looked to the side, stilling when Fetch leaned towards him, curiosity on his end of the bond. "Yes?"
"You're the first organic that's not an animal I've seen with discoloration. What happened to it?"
'Well, that was blunt.' Rad thought. "It's a black eye, I got hit and it bruised." He replied, a bit uncomfortable.
"Oh, and how'd you get it?"
"I got beat up."
"And you didn't fight back?" There was a kind of disappointment in Fetch's voice, as though he were fishing for details to experience any kind of skirmish through it.
Rad wondered if this was the kind of attitude he'd have to deal with from Fight, if he ever managed to seal her. "I'm not a fighter."
Fetch snorted. "Clearly, if you got taken down so easily."
Rad scowled at him. "Yeah, I'm not listening to this anymore." He didn't even have to pretend to have a reason to go into the warp room. The door closed behind him, the mini-con's mocking laughter echoing in his ears. The blond shook his head, and made a show of rubbing his temples as he walked around the room.
The second the portal opened, Rad made a break for it. And the sick-to-your-stomach discomfort was worth it to get through the other side.
Rachel was feeling odd, both anxious and giddy. She would have written it off as being just the relief of taking a break from digging up the bones, worried about damaging anything in her site. She'd guarantee her papier-mâché would be the most preserved fake bones ever. And there was a bit of mystery to what kind of dinosaur she'd be tasked with reconstructing at the end. The outline said every site had a different one.
Her eyes found the source of her odd mood walking up. She smiled politely as Stella sat across from her. "Sorry, I know I look like a mess, but I just came from my dig site."
"So what's your exam about? I've seen a few people with the same dirty boots and knees." Stella said, and her nose wrinkled. "I can't imagine working a job where you get down and dirty like that."
Rachel raised a brow. "And what do you do?"
"I work in a paper ware company."
The blonde furrowed her brow. "Paper…you mean office supplies? So, you work in a cubicle or something?"
Stella huffed, crossing her arms. "It's a stable, steady job and I have bills to pay. Plus the mini-cons drink a lot of oil."
"I see." Rachel replied, but she couldn't recall High Wire ever drinking anything. Did he just sneak out to the Autobot base that? She knew what needed to be added to the grocery list. "It must raise some eyebrows to buy so much."
"Not really, I buy in bulk the cheap stuff. Redline, Servo and Flat-Out don't mind." Stella said.
"Hmm, I'll keep that mind." Rachel said thoughtfully. She waved over the waiter in the diner. "I'm studying to be a paleontologist. Always liked dinosaurs since watching Jurassic Park," she grimaced, "even when I found out how inaccurate the movie was."
"I liked that movie too, but it's too bad about the other ones." Stella replied.
Rachel nodded, but noticed two other students in her class walk in. A man and woman, neither of who she knew very well but could identify one as Randall, the other as…Sheila? Rachel knew it started with 'She'. They noticed her too, and the man walked up with a smirk.
"Hey there, Becker, look at you getting out." His words were a bit hard to understand with his Australian accent, but Rachel furrowed her brow once she processed them.
"What are you talking about?"
Stella looked unperturbed. "I think he thinks we're on a date."
Rachel flushed. "What? This isn't a date, we just met each other."
Randall smirked again. "Those are the best kind though."
The woman rolled her eyes. "Sorry about him, Rachel." She grabbed his shoulder and steered him away to the counter.
Stella now seemed bemused. "Friends of yours?"
"No, just people in my class." Rachel replied.
Stella nodded, but paused and tilted her head. "Would you object though, if that's what we called it? Not an official one, just…a getting to know you kind of thing?"
Rachel blinked. Slowly, her cheeks turned pink. Her eyes shyly looked down at the menu. "No pressure? I'm not exactly…good with people. I think keeping company with giant and small robots speaks for itself."
Stella giggled into her palm. "I guess it say a lot about me too." She smiled at her. "But sure, no pressure. Doesn't even have to be anything."
Rachel nodded, and soon they settled in for a nice cup of coffee and lunch as they spoke in hushed tones about how they came to know their respective mini-con partners.
The pink clouds hadn't shown up, but unfortunately the Decepticons had. Not ten minutes out in the rocky plain, half covered in jutting rocks while there were scant grasslands – it reminded him of where Fight had stolen the mini-con panel, and the thought of these clouds doing the same was not something Hot Shot wanted to get repeated.
Which is why Hot Shot was also less than pleased to see during the interval, the Decepticons had tried to ambush them. The Autobots took cover, fanning out in a small formation behind a rock covering, while having to evade annoying pots-shots from Cyclonus and Starscream overhead, while the other three Decepticons were likely searching for the mini-con. Hot Shot only guessed Megatron was searching because he hadn't yet found this was where Optimus was.
A sudden, high-pitched shrieking echoed through the field. Hot Shot stared incredulously as a small red-orange car came careening around a tall rock face-with pink clouds in hot pursuit. "Ah, scrap." Hot Shot muttered.
"What the frag is that pink stuff?!" Cyclonus shouted.
Starscream swerved in the air, transforming to hover mid-air, optics narrowed. "More of these strange beings?"
The mini-con's shriek grew louder as the cloud overtook the mini, and quickly spread out over the field. Hot Shot grimaced as the clouds went around his legs and over his head, making it hard to see even three feet in front of him. He couldn't even see Optimus and Smokescreen anymore.
Hot Shot caught a glimpse of the mini-con speeding by him, and he lunged. The mini curtailed, driving back out of sight. Hot Shot scowled to himself, but heard a shing! and rolled before seeing the end of a sword implanted in the ground where his head had been. The yellow mech looked up to see Starscream glaring down at him, and Hot Shot felt foolish for not having the Star Saber with him-things had gone by too quickly for him to bring them.
"Little off, aren't you?" Hot Shot mocked. "Sorry," he continued, fake concern in his voice, "but I don't got the Star Saber with me."
Starscream scowled back at him. "Then cutting out your spark will suffice!" he pulled his sword from the ground, and Hot Shot rolled to his feet, kneeling as he aimed his blaster at the mech.
Hot Shot saw a flash of light from the corner of his optics on his shoulder, but fired-only for a bouquet of flowers to flash from the end of the blaster. "What?" his statement was echoed by Starscream, who stared incredulously at him, faltering in disbelief.
Hot Shot felt the warmth of the light in his shoulder spread over him, and Hot Shot realized it was Create. The yellow mech vented, and gave into the feeling. Create pulsed, almost content as Hot Shot swished a bunch of clouds around him, smirking as the clouds hid how the cape which appeared on him was made from nothing as it clasped around his neck. He wasn't sure why Create gave him a wide-brimmed, pointy hat though.
"Like that? Wanna see another magic trick?" Hot Shot was a bit surprised to find Create gave the impression of a showman, given its propensity for making giant monsters. "I got loads more up my sleeve."
Starscream stared at him. "What?"
Hot Shot grinned, Create's cockiness familiar yet different from Sword's. "Not a fan? Why don't I change your mind with a card trick?" Hot Shot waved his servo, and Create used the clouds to cover the playing cards that appeared in his servo. "Pick a card, any card!" he let the cards fly in Starscream's direction.
The seeker sneered, but his expression turned shocked as the first card cut into his plating. He swiftly cut through the rest, and his features grew serious. "Your tricks will not work on me."
Hot Shot's grin widened. "A heckler, huh?" he raised his hand, and he was surprised when the sword that appeared in his servo, was Sword-a replica, but a convincing one. He brandished the blade. "Let's dance."
Starscream came at him, swinging his blade in a downward slice. Hot Shot awkwardly, more than he thought he'd feel, stepped back. The yellow mech managed to twist around, and ducked to avoid another swing. He felt Create lift his sword arm, and he blew on the sword-causing the blade to dissolve into a dozen doves that flew into Starscream's faceplate.
The seeker stumbled back, swatting at the birds in disgust. "Foul creatures!" his servo struck one bird, where it dissolved into smoke. "Why did he ever choose organics over me?"
Hot Shot would have faltered had Create not kept control of his movements. The statement caught him off-guard, much as he didn't want to admit it. He? He who? 'Right, doesn't matter, focus!' he thought.
Which proved to be harder than he thought as Create pulsed in fury when Hot Shot spotted Rad rising up on Sideways with Mirror. "W-what are you doing here?" That was Hot Shot's own concern, because Create was too angry to say anything itself.
Rad shrugged, looking rightfully worried. "Long story, in big trouble after this is over."
Starscream managed to get the last of the birds to dissolve, and he looked between Hot Shot and Rad with a sneer. "Really? You are still relying on human help?"
Rad scowled at Starscream, but his head snapped up and he kicked down on Sideways' foot-stand. "Up ahead, let's go!"
Starscream looked after the blond as he and motorbike left, but Hot Shot stood in his way, flourishing his cape. "You want your pride back, then keep your optics on me."
Hot Shot continued to dodge, letting Create do some of the work. Though when Sword itself appeared, not a replica as the tell-tale confidence swelled inside of him, he wouldn't say he was unhappy about it. Create though felt a little miffed as its act was over.
Keeping his eyes sharp, Rad searched for the light, fluffy feeling inside of him. It was a strange sensation, in contrast to the worry and fear Rad was experiencing right now. Cloud kept cover, but what happened when he sealed it? Everything would clear, and then who knows what.
Rad grimaced as Cloud kept evading him, and he knew what it was. Rain's reaction had said enough. "Let me off, I think you're scaring Cloud away."
Sideways slid to a halt. "Are you sure about that?"
"Rain acted the same." Rad replied. "It's nothing personal, but you can keep pace if you want. I'll just have better chance of sealing her if I do this myself."
"Well…just be careful then." The motorbike said.
Rad nodded, though he released the sealing wand and sent Sword to Hot Shot first. He saw the yellow bot doing alright, but with Sword it would at least look less suspicious. 'Though that's debatable.' He thought.
Searching through the haze, Rad soon found the epicenter. A single cloud stood out against the rest, high up and in stark contrast. "Cloud." Rad called.
A small figure popped up from the cloud, springy, cloud-like curls bouncing while two straight bangs that ended in cloud shapes framed the face and out behind the bangs stuck two pointed ears. The figure wore a jester-like doublet outfit, but that was only the part of Cloud Rad could see as with Rain, this card's lower half was hidden in the transportation they sat upon. The only other thing of note was the dark purple gem on the forehead that stood out against its otherwise monotone coloration.
The card tilted their head, wide eyes narrowing.
"I know you don't like me, but please let me say my piece." Rad said. Cloud wasn't running yet, so Rad took the chance with both hands. "I can't promise I'll never make a mistake, I can't promise I'll never act silly or impulsive, and I can't be who you want me to be. I'm flawed, I'm a let down, and I'll probably never measure up to whoever loved you all."
Cloud frowned, beginning to pull back.
The blond noticed, and his eyes turned downcast. "I didn't think I deserved to have this power, and I still don't-but I'll try, I'll do my best to show you-and the rest of you that I be worthy of even a fraction of the devotion you all hold. I just want a chance to prove it, I don't want to fight-I just want to be your friend."
There was a tense silence. Rad didn't know if they were too far from the rest of the conflict to hear anything, or it was just the blanket effect of how Cloud was staring him down. The blond couldn't help feeling intimidated, despite the childish features.
Cloud surged forward. Rad flinched when she reached out and gripped his hair. He squeezed his eyes shut…but nothing came. No pain, no hurt. Rad slowly opened his eyes, and stared incredulously as Cloud began to ruffle up his hair. She smirked, and poked him in the forehead before giggling and landing at arms-length. In reach of the wand.
Rad breathed in deeply, pointing the end of the staff at her. She looked sad seeing it, but did not try to run again. "Return to your power confine, Sakura Card!" The shell card appeared, and Cloud slowly dissolved. With her, she took the rest of the clouds surrounding the area.
The field slowly went back to normal, and Rad caught Cloud as she slid to his hand, where he saw that she in fact wore pointed boots, and held a cloud in her hands. He smiled as he put the card into his pocket, catching sight of the mini-con some thirty feet away. Rad's breath hitched as he noticed before the mini-con that when the clouds cleared, Megatron standing right over the mini. And the Decepticon noticed what was right at his feet first.
Unhesitant, Rad pulled a card from his pocket. "Protect the mini-con, Shield!" he cried, and the mini-con screeched as Megatron reached for them-only to meet an impenetrable dome.
"What is this?!" Megatron roared. His fist smashed down on the dome, but it didn't give. Rad breathed a sigh of relief – which was a mistake. The blond froze as red eyes locked on him balefully. "You! You're going to be a pain just like the other one." He aimed his waist cannon at Rad, the barrel glowing an ominous purple. "I'm going to do what I should have done when I had you!"
Rad reached for Dash, but froze when he realized the disparity. In sealing Cloud, he'd taken Sword from Hot Shot and might have caused him to be hurt. In using Dash, Shield would go away and Megatron would get the mini-con. Rad wouldn't allow that, and so he made a break for a covering, painfully aware he didn't have on a protective suit.
A shadow passed overhead, just as a shot rang out. Rad almost stumbled as the ground shook behind him, a sudden blast firing loudly. The blond turned, but fell onto his backside as he stared up at the lightshow. A blast of different colored lasers had created a stalemate with Megatron's shot, cancelling both attacks.
Rad looked at the form that had jumped in to save him, his eyes widening as despite the yellow add-ons to the faceplate or the different optics, he could still recognize the powerful stance. "O-Optimus?"
Megatron sneered. "To defend this puny organic you'd bring out your so-called super-mode?"
Rad started at the name, and even more so when Optimus said "Yes" quite bluntly.
"And I will not allow you to harm this human, or any other human while I am here, Megatron." Optimus raised his blaster at the Decepticon. "You can continue this foolishness, or you can surrender. That dome will not come down for you."
Megatron's optics narrowed, rage and hatred in his gaze as he glared from Optimus to Rad. "This isn't over." He spat, warping away.
Optimus lowered the blaster, and Rad ducked under his disappointed gaze. "You made a mistake coming here." He said, his tone reprimanding. "I will not tell Rachel the reason you were here, but you will take the punishment she gives you, am I clear?"
Rad lowered his gaze. He didn't sound mad, and that was the worst part. "Yes." He said quietly. He walked over to release the mini-con, noting absently that the Autobots were converging and feeling relieved to see Hot Shot only looked a little scuffed up. He winced though when Optimus seemed to be chastising Sideways for his part. The blond let Shield come back to him, but froze when the mini-con suddenly threw himself at him, arms wrapped tight as he hugged him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I thought he was gonna get me!" The mini-con wailed.
Rad awkwardly patted the red-orange bot on the back. "I don't know what you said, but will you come with the Autobots? I promise they're the good guys." The mini-con didn't verbally respond, only nodded. Rad awkwardly began shuffling as he felt self-conscious about the overwhelming gratitude the mini-con felt for protecting him.
"Rad, you alright?" Hot Shot asked as he walked up to him.
The blonde looked away for a moment, but forced himself to smile up at the bot. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, but his jaw almost hurt. 'The Decepticons will know about my magic, and Kero's going to flip out even more-why wouldn't I be alright?' He said none of this, and instead asked in return, "What about you?"
Hot Shot laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm fine. Create was a little mad you sent Sword to help me though."
Rad's smile tightened. "I see." He replied, and he saw Sideways coming up to them, the robot hunkered in close to himself. It was probably the closest he'd ever come to looking chastised. "Optimus let you have it?"
"I'm not sure how he manages to sound calm despite being so angry." Sideways said thoughtfully. "For my punishment, I'm to clean the base, and on probation," he knelt towards Rad, his voice in a stage whisper, "though I don't think they'll kick me out-they need all the help they can get."
Rad snickered, while Hot Shot rolled his optics.
Rachel glanced at Stella, who was looking around at the dig site they'd 'met' in. "It's kind of messy, I know."
Stella looked down at Rachel's scuffed boots and her own pristine shoes. "I've never been much of an outdoor person." She shrugged.
"How do you plan on getting back to your…home?" Rachel asked. "Where do you live anyway?"
"Seattle." Stella replied. The blonde looked at her incredulously, and the redhead smiled slightly. "I know, pretty far away. Lucky for me Redline said he'd be here to pick me up. They managed to build a mini warp gate," she looked away, "still don't know where or how they managed to do that though."
"Sound little a pretty smart bunch." Rachel said. There was a brief shadow going over the sky, and a boom which resounded through the field, the ground shaking. Rachel grabbed Stella's arm to keep her steady, and looked around rapidly. "What the hell was that!"
"It came from that way!" Stella pointed deeper into the forest. Soon, a loud roar rang out. "Well, it's definitely not an earthquake, that's for sure."
Rachel nodded, but she furrowed her brow as laser fire started up, shrill beeping ringing out. "Hey, that sounds like-"
"Redline!" Stella shouted, her eyes widening.
Without a second thought, the redhead took off towards the noise. "Wait-damn it!" Rachel cut herself off, and hurried after her. Stella turned out to be surprisingly fast when she was motivated, and Rachel only managed to keep up by seeing flashes of her striking red hair. The deeper they ran, the loud the lasers got and the roaring grew fiercer.
Rachel narrowed her eyes as she saw a lot of dust kicked up, trees torn and her eyes locked on the large ship which took up an impromptu clearing. The front door looked almost destroyed, metal twisted outward. The blond glanced over and saw Stella was pulling Redline with her as the mini-con fiddled with what was probably the warp gate key.
"Take my hand!" Stella yelled, her hand reaching for Rachel.
The blonde reached back, but the redhead and equally red mini-con both disappeared in the familiar flash of light. Rachel's hand was only inches from Stella's, and the blonde sucked in a breath as she was left with the crushing feeling of being out here with something unknown.
And it didn't stay that way for long. Rachel stepped back as a tall, dark black-green form came through the trees, knocking them over without care. It looked like a robot, but it had several things which spoke to an almost animalistic alternate mode. There were several protrusions at the back of the elbows, and two wing-like appendages attached to the arms which ended in wickedly sharp red claws. Two burning eyes glared down at her.
Rachel's eyes noticed a strange black object buried in the creature's side, between two plates that looked to be shoved deep inside. Her thoughts went into overdrive as the creature roared, and Rachel made a break for the ship. It was foolish, but it was the only thing with something small enough for her to hide and fit through.
The blonde dashed over to the front of the room, where a large console took up most of the back space. Rachel saw a grate opening just by the top of the keyboard. Hauling herself onto the first jutting plate, the blonde thanked her lucky stars she was tall enough to reach the next ledge. It was an arduous climb that made her muscles scream, but she pulled herself onto the console. Lifting her leg over, her foot clicked a key as she got to her feet.
Just as the creature stalked into the room. It growled, but as it lunged, Rachel fell back onto another key. Like a tableau, the creature froze. The blonde noticed, and the creature growled to itself, shaking its head and snarled. It's eyes screwed shut, and shrieked as it ran from the ship.
Rachel blinked, disbelief and relief coursing through her. Her heart pounded so loudly in her chest she could feel it vibrate through her whole body, every nerve a livewire. The blonde sucked in a sharp breath, and turned around-just to stop.
The screen of the console was taken up by a wide, group photo. Each being in the photo were robots, looking just like a Cybertronian. There were five lined up side-by-side, a clear leader standing front and center while two were smirking at the camera, the third looking bored, but it was the final one which caught her attention.
It was blue, winged, and looked just like the robot from her dream, the details coming into sharp clarity, and with such force Rachel collapsed to her knees. She stared blankly up at the picture, and wondered why the creature had run when it had her. 'What…what did I get myself into?'
