Transformers: Robots In Disguise
Season 2
Explosions erupted around her hurting her tender ears. She crouched into a ball and held her
hands to her ears. The explosions were scaring her. She looked up and saw that the roof was
about to cave in on her. Boulders twice her size were falling right on top of her. She
screamed with all her might.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!" George Connor bolted up in her bed. She was panting heavily, like she just
ran a big marathon. She looked around, she was in her room, lights off, the book she was
reading fallen on her floor.
Her door opened and Koji Onishi, a boy who was staying with her as part of a foreign exchange
program, came running in.
"Ms. Connor, are you all right?" Koji asked.
"Yes... yes, Koji, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You yelled so loud I'm surprised my parents back in Japan didn't hear you."
"Koji, I..."
"Mom? Why were you screaming?" Great, her scream woke up her son Jordan too and that was the
last thing she needed.
"I'm fine, boys, just a nightmare."
"Would you like to talk about it?" Koji said. "My dad says that it's alw..."
"NO!" George snapped startling both boys. "I mean... no, thank you. You boys go back to
sleep, you have school tomorrow." The boys reluctantly returned to their respective rooms.
George got up and pulled a robe onto her body. Dropping into her slippers, she went downstairs
and got out a mug.
"They've started again," George muttered to herself as she filled a mug with hot water. "But
why now? Why now?" George placed the mug into the microwave and programmed it. "I haven't had
these dreams for twenty years, why would they start up again now?" George hit the clear button
before the timer beeped. "Could it be because tomorrow will be the thirtieth anniversary of
the day when it happened?"
George dropped a tea bag into it and then added cream and sugar. "I thought I was over this
entire experience. But I guess something like that never really goes away, no matter how much
you want it to."
Unknown to George, Koji had been listening from the bottom of the stairs. He was worried for
his adoptive mother, he wished there was something he could do to help.
The next day when Koji came down for breakfast, George was acting like nothing happened. Jordan
had already left for school.
"Ms. Connor, you're cheerful this morning."
"You know, Koji, you don't have to call me Ms. Connor, you can call me George if you want... or
Mom." George hated lying to Koji like that but the less she thought about the nightmare, the
more she felt better.
Koji blushed at that comment. "Well... anyway, you look a lot more restful then you did last
night."
"It's like I said," George said as she slid him a bowl of cereal. "It was just a nightmare.
Nothing a cup of tea couldn't cure. But thanks for being so concerned."
"Is it all right if I hang out after school today?"
"Are you going to hang with anybody?"
"Just Karen and Wayne."
"All right, just make sure you get your homework done as soon as possible."
"Yes, ma'am."
Koji got his books and headed out to meet Karen and Wayne. He failed to notice a dark gray SUV
parked around the corner from his house.
As they walked, Koji told them about what happened last night.
"It must've been a pretty bad nightmare," Wayne commented. "If it woke both you and Jordan up."
"I just don't know why she won't talk about it," Koji said staring at his shoes. "My Dad always
told me that it's better to talk about a nightmare because if you keep it to yourself, you'll
have it forever."
"Koji, Ms. Connor needs to deal with this on her own," Karen explained. "She needs to find her
own strength. You can be there for her but you can't make her confront her fear."
"I suppose you're right," Koji replied.
"Hey, guys!" A cheerful voice called. Koji, Karen, and Wayne turned to see Sideburn pulling
up along side of them.
"Hi, Sideburn," Karen greeted. "What brings you here?"
"Tai detected heavy activity from Unicron's forces in this area. Have you three seen anything
unusual?"
"No, not here," Wayne answered. "Are you sure it was this particular area?"
"Tai's rarely wrong about these things," Koji said.
Suddenly there was a huge explosion from behind them. Everybody (Sideburn did a U-turn) turned
around to see a large dark gray robot sticking his hand into the front of Koji's house.
"Ms. Connor!" Koji cried as he ran back. Sideburn, Karen, and Wayne called for him to stop but
their pleas fell on deaf ears.
The robot's hand came out and he was holding something. It was Ms. Connor, knocked out.
"Sideburn, transform!" Sideburn commanded. He turned into his robot form and ran towards the
robot. He grabbed the arm that had Ms. Connor and tried to pry it open.
"Starscream!" The robot called. A large black spaceshuttle came out of the clouds.
"Shockwave!" A loud screach made Sideburn pull back. "Gateway, let's go!" Gateway climbed
into Starscream and Starscream took off. Sideburn aimed his gun at Starscream but he couldn't
fire, he could only watch as Starscream disappeared.
"Why didn't you shoot?" Tai demanded to know when Sideburn reported in.
"He had Koji's adopted mother with them," Sideburn explained. "If I shot him, she probably
would've been killed."
Tai sighed. "All right, my scanners are detecting Starscream heading for Europe. The Build Team
have already been informed. I want you to join them."
"I'm on the next Space Bridge there," Sideburn said. "Sideburn out."
Sideburn turned to Koji and his friends. "Don't worry, Koji, I'll get Ms. Connor back."
"Sideburn, I'm coming with you," Koji declared.
"Sorry, Koji, I can't allow that."
"But it's my fault she's in this, I know it. I bet they remember my face from Optimus Prime's
battle with Skywars, that's why they attacked."
Sideburn scowled. "All right, but if things get too hot, I'm taking you back, all right?"
"Fine."
Sideburn transformed and opened his driver side door. Koji hopped in and buckled up.
"Good luck," Karen called as Sideburn speed off.
"Tai," Sideburn radioed once he was on the main road. "I'm on the road. Open up the
Spacebridge."
"Roger."
A strange loop-shaped ramp rose from a dead end in the road. Sideburn reached the launcher and
was shot over the ramp and into the Global Spacebridge.
"How long before we get there?" Koji asked once they were in the Spacebridge.
"Shouldn't be longer than a minute."
"Even a second is too long for me," Koji said.
"Come on, Koji, after all we've been through, are you giving up on me now?"
"Sorry, Sideburn. But George Connor did so much for me, I just want to make it up to her."
"I don't understand, so much?"
Koji nodded. He remembered when he first arrived in America. He didn't know who he was staying
with, he didn't even know English. All he knew was that he was meeting someone named G. Connor.
He started asking random people if they were G. Connor but they all just shook their head.
He must've ticked someone off because when he looked over, somebody was talking to a security
guard and pointing in his direction. The guard nodded and started to walk towards him.
Koji slowly began to walk away when he heard a voice call "Koji Onishi?" A young woman walked
up to him, dressed in a business suit, her brown hair with blonde highlights pinned back behind
her head. Koji nodded. "I'm George Connor," she introduced in perfect Japanese. The two shook
hands then both looked towards the security guard. He stopped in his tracks and with a tip of
his hat returned to his original position. George continued in her Japanese. "Don't worry,
those people are just naturally cautious. Come on."
"Thank you," Koji replied, his first English-speaking word. In the days that followed, George
taught Koji English and made his transition to American life very easy for him. By the time
school started, it was like he was a native.
Koji brought himself back to the present and just stared out Sideburn's window.
He stood over her, as threatening as a giant and seemed as heartless as a machine. He had her
by the collar of her shirt. With the same respect as he would treat a crumpled up piece of
paper, he threw her to the ground, ripping a small tear in the shoulder of her T-shirt.
"Wh... what do you want with me?" She asked in a scared voice.
"Nothing," he replied in a gruff voice. "You're just a stepping stone to my real prize." He
reached down to grab her again.
George shot up with a force so fast that she actually fell onto her front. She moaned and pulled
herself onto her knees.
"Again, it was another nightmare," she assured herself. She now looked around at her location.
She was in some sort of warehouse, about the size of a hockey rink. The only thing in it besides
herself was a dark gray SUV.
{Where am I?} She thought. She remembered being in her house, then a loud rumbling, then...
what?
"I'm outa here," she decided.
"You're going nowhere!" A voice called out.
"Huh? Who said that?" George asked. It sounded like it was coming from the SUV. "Who's there?
Show yourself!"
"With pleasure. Gateway, combat mode!" George could only watch in horror as the SUV suddenly
became a large masked robot.
George backed against the wall. "Who are you? Stay away from me?"
"You have nothing to fear, human. I won't harm you... yet."
"Then wh... what do you want with me?" She asked in a scared voice. She suddenly had a flash of
deja vu, hearing a little girl speak the same words in the same tone.
"Nothing," he replied. "You're just a stepping stone to my real prize."
The voice, the voice, it sounded exactly the same! The memories came flushing back into George's
mind.
"No! No, I don't want to remember!" She cried crouching into a ball against the wall. "Don't
do it, don't remind me!" Gateway stared at her oddly. Apparently, the human lost it. This
might make his job much easier.
Sideburn exited the Global Space Bridge between Paris and Tuluz. There was nothing there but
mountains and roads. Wedge, leader of the Build Team was waiting for them. Koji exited Sideburn
as the Autobot transformed.
"Sideburn, why did you bring Koji here?" Wedge asked triggering in Koji a brief flashback to
when the Autobots went to assemble the Orb of Sigma.
"He was rather insistent," Sideburn muttered.
"Don't blame Sideburn, Wedge, the woman whom Gateway kidnapped was my adopted mother. I just
want to rescue her."
Wedge sighed. "Well... alright, follow me." As Wedge led Koji and Sideburn to where the rest
of the Build Team was, he explained some things. "Tai contacted us a while ago. She's been
tracking Starscream's flight path. Once she gets the end point, she'll send us the coordinates."
"What about Gateway?" Sideburn asked. "That's the one who kidnapped George Connor."
"Tai figures that once we find Starscream's end point, we'll find Gateway. They did appear
together."
"Tai better hurry," Koji said. "The more we wait, the more Ms. Connor might be in danger."
"Right," Wedge agreed. They joined up with Heavy Load, Grimlock and Hightower.
"Tai just contacted us," Grimlock informed them. "They found Gateway. He's located in an
abandoned storage facility just outside of Paris."
"Well let's go," Wedge said.
"Hold on, Wedge," Heavy Load said. "Going in with guns blazing is what Gateway expects. We
need some sort of plan."
"Well do you have a plan?" Wedge asked crossing his arms.
"Um... well..."
"I have an idea," Koji spoke up.
Five minutes later, Koji rode up to the storage facility in Sideburn. Sideburn was in his
super-charged form.
"Koji, are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Gateway won't recognize you in your super-charged form," Koji pointed out.
"I hope you're right," Sideburn said.
The doors to one of the warehouse opened and Sideburn slid into it.
George looked up from her spot to see a red sportscar drive into the warehouse. The door opened
and Koji climbed out.
"Koji! What are you doing here?"
"It's okay, Ms. Connor, I'll get you out of here."
"Yeah, right, that'll be the day." Gateway transformed and stood before Koji. Koji made a
gesture to Sideburn to signal him to be quiet.
"I know why you kidnapped her," Koji said firmly. "It's because of me, isn't it?"
"You? Why would they want you?" George asked.
"You're pretty smart for a human," Gateway smirked. "But like I told her, you're just a
stepping stone to my real prize."
"Yeah, well your 'real prize' is back in Japan so it might be a matter of time before they
come."
"I can wait," Gateway said crossing his arms. "So tell me, how did you get here all the way
from America?"
"Let's just say someone drove me," Koji said with defiance in his eyes. Gateway decided that it
wasn't important. Little did he know, that that thought will cost him.
Far underneath the warehouse, the Build Team were using their skills to make a tunnel.
"This soil is really firm," Wedge grunted. "It might take longer than we expected."
"Well as long as we're at the designated position in time," Hightower said.
"I'm still very doubtful about this plan of Koji's," Grimlock said as he broke through the soil.
"Gateway is no fool, what if he figures out what we're doing."
"We can't think like that, Grimlock," Heavy Load told him as Hightower loaded him with dirt.
"Koji's plan must succeed."
"I still think we should've just burst in there," Wedge complained.
"And risk hurting the human?" Heavy Load countered. Wedge could see that complaining further
would be futile so he continued drilling the hole underneath the warehouse.
"Koji, what were you thinking?" George demanded to know. "Coming over here into extreme
danger. Now you're captured too." The three of them (Sideburn was technically a captive too.)
"I just wanted to help you," Koji explained.
"Oh, a lot of help this is, being captured by some giant robot waiting around for probably some
sort of ransom."
"Sorry..."
George took a deep breath. "Koji, I'm sorry too. I'm just worried about you."
"You are?"
"Of course, I worry about you the same way I worry about Jordan, you're both my boys."
"Oh please, gag me with an energon cube," Gateway snapped as he slammed his fist against the
wall. The entire building began to rumble.
"No, not again!" George cried crouching into a ball.
"Ms. Connor, are you all right?" Koji asked.
"This is just like what happened before," George cringed.
"It's okay, Ms. Connor, you can tell me."
George didn't want to but right now she didn't have much of a choice. "It happened... twenty
years ago to the day. I was only around ten. My parents took me out for a Sunday drive. They
stopped on the way to buy some groceries. Suddenly a man forced himself into our car. He took
off with it and me."
"Why?" Koji asked.
"He wanted... money... my father was head of a Board of Trustees of a major bank. He figured by
kidnapping his daughter he could get a large amount of money. He treated me like an object, I
was hurt physically and emotionally. But... then, something went wrong, horribly wrong."
"What went wrong?"
"The building he held me up in... it was unstable. The building was going to be demolished
next week. While my father was bringing him the money, the building began to collapse. He...
he was killed."
"And what about you?"
"I was scared, so scared. I curled myself into a ball underneath a rafter. By some sort of
miracle, it served as a shield for me. Eventually firemen managed to dig me out. That incident
has horrified me for years afterwards. I visited a psychiatrist and she managed to cure me of
that fear... or so I thought."
"So that explains the nightmare you had last night," Koji said. "Please listen to me, it's over
now. The man is dead and you are... over the incident." Koji didn't say 'safe' because
obviously they weren't. "It's over, you can move on."
"How... how can I?"
"I can help you. Believe me, I've been through some scary events as well." Boy, was that an
understatement. Each time Megatron or Scourge appeared, he wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.
When Tai was trapped in that Orb of Sigma, he was afraid of losing her. In fact, that fear
overpowered all other fears. "But you don't have to face it alone. I'm here, Jordan's here,
all your friends, your family, anyone can help you deal with the pain by sharing it with you."
Sideburn had never seen this side of Koji before. Then again, Koji always did have a big heart
so something like this should've been expected.
Koji continued, "Anybody with a good heart can help you shoulder the pain, you don't have to do
it alone."
"I don't... have to do it alone... I don't have to do it alone." For the first time in a while,
George looked up at Koji with a sad smile. "How did you get to be so smart?"
"You might say I've been around the block," Koji replied. Then after a pause said, "Mom."
George smiled and embraced Koji.
When they broke, they both were still smiling. Koji said, "What do you say we get out of here
now?"
"How do we do that?" George asked.
"You don't think I came in here without a plan now, do you? Sideburn, now!"
"It's about time," Sideburn said which startled both George and Gateway.
"Huh... who said that? Who's there?" Gateway asked.
"Sideburn, transform!" Sideburn charged Gateway and landed a lethal left hook.
"The... the car's a giant robot too?"
"It's okay, he's on our side."
"I believe you." Gateway picked up Sideburn and threw him to the ground. Sideburn got up and
came at him low. He upper-cut Gateway then followed through with an elbow strike. Sideburn
decided that getting Koji and George out of there was much more important then tangling with
Gateway.
"Hang on, folks," he said. "We're getting out of here!"
"Like slag you are," Gateway said charging them. Suddenly the ground underneath him gave way to
a hole which Gateway fell through. Sideburn and the two humans stared at the hole bewildered.
"Anybody lose this?" Heavy Load voice called. The Build Team climbed out with Heavy Load
dragging Gateway by the leg.
"More good guys?" George guessed.
"Yup. Meet the Autobots." The Build Team and Sideburn made introductions but just then,
Gateway broke free from Heavy Load and ran to the other side of the room.
"It's time you figure out just who you're messing with. Gateway, super power!" Gateway began
to glow a bright white at the same time an energy field surrounded him. He extended his energy
field around him so that the building started to crumble around them. Sideburn covered the
humans
"Let's take this outside," Wedge said. "Build Team, transform!"
"Sideburn, transform!" Koji and George got into Sideburn as the Build Team rammed their way out
of the warehouse. Gateway was already waiting for them, his sword out.
"Wedge, transform!"
"Heavy Load, transform!"
"Grimlock, transform!"
"Hightower, transform!"
"Build Team, combiner mode!" Wedge commanded. The Build Team combined into Landfill.
"Cyber Sword!"
"Take this!" The shovel on Landfill's back came forward and clashed with Gateway's sword.
Gateway tried to punch Landfill but Landfill blocked his arm. When Gateway tried to use his
other arm, Landfill twirled out of distance.
"Demolition gun!" Landfill took out a weapon that was a combo of the Build Team's weapons. It
fired at the ground in front of Gateway. Gateway was blown back. Landfill repeated the strategy
and it worked for two more tries.
"I couldn't launch a direct attack against him," Landfill explained. "So I decided on an
indirect one."
"This isn't worth it," Gateway mumbled. His hand retracted into his arm and a smoke bomb
launched. Landfill, Sideburn, Koji, and George all covered their eyes. When the smoke cleared,
Gateway was gone, the only reminder of his presence was a series of tire treds.
A little while later, Sideburn returned to normal and Landfill separated. Wedge and Grimlock
seen Sideburn to the portal entrance that would take them back to America.
"That was a nice plan you cooked up, Koji," Wedge congratulated.
"You thought of that plan all by yourself?" George accused.
"Yup."
"Unfortunately, it's going to take longer to get back then it did to get here," Grimlock informed
them.
"That's all right," George said. "Koji could use the time to bring me up to speed about these
Autobots."
"And whatever he doesn't tell you I will," Sideburn volunteered.
"Oh great," Koji moaned. "That's exactly what I need."
George laughed and ruffled his hair. "That's my boy. Come on, Sideburn, let's go home."
"Yes, ma'am." The portal opened and Sideburn drove through it, Wedge and Grimlock waving
good-bye.
Skid-z: Unicron equips Starscream, Gateway, Doom Buggy, and Skywars with a powerful Devastator
armor and unleash them on a rampage in Tokyo. Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Team Bullet Train,
the Build Team, and the Hyper Force unite to stop them. But when things get really hot for them,
they receive help from the most unexpected source: Frenzy. The next episode of Transformers:
Robots In Disguise: "War of the Gestalts." So get ready to roll out.
Season 2
Explosions erupted around her hurting her tender ears. She crouched into a ball and held her
hands to her ears. The explosions were scaring her. She looked up and saw that the roof was
about to cave in on her. Boulders twice her size were falling right on top of her. She
screamed with all her might.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!" George Connor bolted up in her bed. She was panting heavily, like she just
ran a big marathon. She looked around, she was in her room, lights off, the book she was
reading fallen on her floor.
Her door opened and Koji Onishi, a boy who was staying with her as part of a foreign exchange
program, came running in.
"Ms. Connor, are you all right?" Koji asked.
"Yes... yes, Koji, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You yelled so loud I'm surprised my parents back in Japan didn't hear you."
"Koji, I..."
"Mom? Why were you screaming?" Great, her scream woke up her son Jordan too and that was the
last thing she needed.
"I'm fine, boys, just a nightmare."
"Would you like to talk about it?" Koji said. "My dad says that it's alw..."
"NO!" George snapped startling both boys. "I mean... no, thank you. You boys go back to
sleep, you have school tomorrow." The boys reluctantly returned to their respective rooms.
George got up and pulled a robe onto her body. Dropping into her slippers, she went downstairs
and got out a mug.
"They've started again," George muttered to herself as she filled a mug with hot water. "But
why now? Why now?" George placed the mug into the microwave and programmed it. "I haven't had
these dreams for twenty years, why would they start up again now?" George hit the clear button
before the timer beeped. "Could it be because tomorrow will be the thirtieth anniversary of
the day when it happened?"
George dropped a tea bag into it and then added cream and sugar. "I thought I was over this
entire experience. But I guess something like that never really goes away, no matter how much
you want it to."
Unknown to George, Koji had been listening from the bottom of the stairs. He was worried for
his adoptive mother, he wished there was something he could do to help.
The next day when Koji came down for breakfast, George was acting like nothing happened. Jordan
had already left for school.
"Ms. Connor, you're cheerful this morning."
"You know, Koji, you don't have to call me Ms. Connor, you can call me George if you want... or
Mom." George hated lying to Koji like that but the less she thought about the nightmare, the
more she felt better.
Koji blushed at that comment. "Well... anyway, you look a lot more restful then you did last
night."
"It's like I said," George said as she slid him a bowl of cereal. "It was just a nightmare.
Nothing a cup of tea couldn't cure. But thanks for being so concerned."
"Is it all right if I hang out after school today?"
"Are you going to hang with anybody?"
"Just Karen and Wayne."
"All right, just make sure you get your homework done as soon as possible."
"Yes, ma'am."
Koji got his books and headed out to meet Karen and Wayne. He failed to notice a dark gray SUV
parked around the corner from his house.
As they walked, Koji told them about what happened last night.
"It must've been a pretty bad nightmare," Wayne commented. "If it woke both you and Jordan up."
"I just don't know why she won't talk about it," Koji said staring at his shoes. "My Dad always
told me that it's better to talk about a nightmare because if you keep it to yourself, you'll
have it forever."
"Koji, Ms. Connor needs to deal with this on her own," Karen explained. "She needs to find her
own strength. You can be there for her but you can't make her confront her fear."
"I suppose you're right," Koji replied.
"Hey, guys!" A cheerful voice called. Koji, Karen, and Wayne turned to see Sideburn pulling
up along side of them.
"Hi, Sideburn," Karen greeted. "What brings you here?"
"Tai detected heavy activity from Unicron's forces in this area. Have you three seen anything
unusual?"
"No, not here," Wayne answered. "Are you sure it was this particular area?"
"Tai's rarely wrong about these things," Koji said.
Suddenly there was a huge explosion from behind them. Everybody (Sideburn did a U-turn) turned
around to see a large dark gray robot sticking his hand into the front of Koji's house.
"Ms. Connor!" Koji cried as he ran back. Sideburn, Karen, and Wayne called for him to stop but
their pleas fell on deaf ears.
The robot's hand came out and he was holding something. It was Ms. Connor, knocked out.
"Sideburn, transform!" Sideburn commanded. He turned into his robot form and ran towards the
robot. He grabbed the arm that had Ms. Connor and tried to pry it open.
"Starscream!" The robot called. A large black spaceshuttle came out of the clouds.
"Shockwave!" A loud screach made Sideburn pull back. "Gateway, let's go!" Gateway climbed
into Starscream and Starscream took off. Sideburn aimed his gun at Starscream but he couldn't
fire, he could only watch as Starscream disappeared.
"Why didn't you shoot?" Tai demanded to know when Sideburn reported in.
"He had Koji's adopted mother with them," Sideburn explained. "If I shot him, she probably
would've been killed."
Tai sighed. "All right, my scanners are detecting Starscream heading for Europe. The Build Team
have already been informed. I want you to join them."
"I'm on the next Space Bridge there," Sideburn said. "Sideburn out."
Sideburn turned to Koji and his friends. "Don't worry, Koji, I'll get Ms. Connor back."
"Sideburn, I'm coming with you," Koji declared.
"Sorry, Koji, I can't allow that."
"But it's my fault she's in this, I know it. I bet they remember my face from Optimus Prime's
battle with Skywars, that's why they attacked."
Sideburn scowled. "All right, but if things get too hot, I'm taking you back, all right?"
"Fine."
Sideburn transformed and opened his driver side door. Koji hopped in and buckled up.
"Good luck," Karen called as Sideburn speed off.
"Tai," Sideburn radioed once he was on the main road. "I'm on the road. Open up the
Spacebridge."
"Roger."
A strange loop-shaped ramp rose from a dead end in the road. Sideburn reached the launcher and
was shot over the ramp and into the Global Spacebridge.
"How long before we get there?" Koji asked once they were in the Spacebridge.
"Shouldn't be longer than a minute."
"Even a second is too long for me," Koji said.
"Come on, Koji, after all we've been through, are you giving up on me now?"
"Sorry, Sideburn. But George Connor did so much for me, I just want to make it up to her."
"I don't understand, so much?"
Koji nodded. He remembered when he first arrived in America. He didn't know who he was staying
with, he didn't even know English. All he knew was that he was meeting someone named G. Connor.
He started asking random people if they were G. Connor but they all just shook their head.
He must've ticked someone off because when he looked over, somebody was talking to a security
guard and pointing in his direction. The guard nodded and started to walk towards him.
Koji slowly began to walk away when he heard a voice call "Koji Onishi?" A young woman walked
up to him, dressed in a business suit, her brown hair with blonde highlights pinned back behind
her head. Koji nodded. "I'm George Connor," she introduced in perfect Japanese. The two shook
hands then both looked towards the security guard. He stopped in his tracks and with a tip of
his hat returned to his original position. George continued in her Japanese. "Don't worry,
those people are just naturally cautious. Come on."
"Thank you," Koji replied, his first English-speaking word. In the days that followed, George
taught Koji English and made his transition to American life very easy for him. By the time
school started, it was like he was a native.
Koji brought himself back to the present and just stared out Sideburn's window.
He stood over her, as threatening as a giant and seemed as heartless as a machine. He had her
by the collar of her shirt. With the same respect as he would treat a crumpled up piece of
paper, he threw her to the ground, ripping a small tear in the shoulder of her T-shirt.
"Wh... what do you want with me?" She asked in a scared voice.
"Nothing," he replied in a gruff voice. "You're just a stepping stone to my real prize." He
reached down to grab her again.
George shot up with a force so fast that she actually fell onto her front. She moaned and pulled
herself onto her knees.
"Again, it was another nightmare," she assured herself. She now looked around at her location.
She was in some sort of warehouse, about the size of a hockey rink. The only thing in it besides
herself was a dark gray SUV.
{Where am I?} She thought. She remembered being in her house, then a loud rumbling, then...
what?
"I'm outa here," she decided.
"You're going nowhere!" A voice called out.
"Huh? Who said that?" George asked. It sounded like it was coming from the SUV. "Who's there?
Show yourself!"
"With pleasure. Gateway, combat mode!" George could only watch in horror as the SUV suddenly
became a large masked robot.
George backed against the wall. "Who are you? Stay away from me?"
"You have nothing to fear, human. I won't harm you... yet."
"Then wh... what do you want with me?" She asked in a scared voice. She suddenly had a flash of
deja vu, hearing a little girl speak the same words in the same tone.
"Nothing," he replied. "You're just a stepping stone to my real prize."
The voice, the voice, it sounded exactly the same! The memories came flushing back into George's
mind.
"No! No, I don't want to remember!" She cried crouching into a ball against the wall. "Don't
do it, don't remind me!" Gateway stared at her oddly. Apparently, the human lost it. This
might make his job much easier.
Sideburn exited the Global Space Bridge between Paris and Tuluz. There was nothing there but
mountains and roads. Wedge, leader of the Build Team was waiting for them. Koji exited Sideburn
as the Autobot transformed.
"Sideburn, why did you bring Koji here?" Wedge asked triggering in Koji a brief flashback to
when the Autobots went to assemble the Orb of Sigma.
"He was rather insistent," Sideburn muttered.
"Don't blame Sideburn, Wedge, the woman whom Gateway kidnapped was my adopted mother. I just
want to rescue her."
Wedge sighed. "Well... alright, follow me." As Wedge led Koji and Sideburn to where the rest
of the Build Team was, he explained some things. "Tai contacted us a while ago. She's been
tracking Starscream's flight path. Once she gets the end point, she'll send us the coordinates."
"What about Gateway?" Sideburn asked. "That's the one who kidnapped George Connor."
"Tai figures that once we find Starscream's end point, we'll find Gateway. They did appear
together."
"Tai better hurry," Koji said. "The more we wait, the more Ms. Connor might be in danger."
"Right," Wedge agreed. They joined up with Heavy Load, Grimlock and Hightower.
"Tai just contacted us," Grimlock informed them. "They found Gateway. He's located in an
abandoned storage facility just outside of Paris."
"Well let's go," Wedge said.
"Hold on, Wedge," Heavy Load said. "Going in with guns blazing is what Gateway expects. We
need some sort of plan."
"Well do you have a plan?" Wedge asked crossing his arms.
"Um... well..."
"I have an idea," Koji spoke up.
Five minutes later, Koji rode up to the storage facility in Sideburn. Sideburn was in his
super-charged form.
"Koji, are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Gateway won't recognize you in your super-charged form," Koji pointed out.
"I hope you're right," Sideburn said.
The doors to one of the warehouse opened and Sideburn slid into it.
George looked up from her spot to see a red sportscar drive into the warehouse. The door opened
and Koji climbed out.
"Koji! What are you doing here?"
"It's okay, Ms. Connor, I'll get you out of here."
"Yeah, right, that'll be the day." Gateway transformed and stood before Koji. Koji made a
gesture to Sideburn to signal him to be quiet.
"I know why you kidnapped her," Koji said firmly. "It's because of me, isn't it?"
"You? Why would they want you?" George asked.
"You're pretty smart for a human," Gateway smirked. "But like I told her, you're just a
stepping stone to my real prize."
"Yeah, well your 'real prize' is back in Japan so it might be a matter of time before they
come."
"I can wait," Gateway said crossing his arms. "So tell me, how did you get here all the way
from America?"
"Let's just say someone drove me," Koji said with defiance in his eyes. Gateway decided that it
wasn't important. Little did he know, that that thought will cost him.
Far underneath the warehouse, the Build Team were using their skills to make a tunnel.
"This soil is really firm," Wedge grunted. "It might take longer than we expected."
"Well as long as we're at the designated position in time," Hightower said.
"I'm still very doubtful about this plan of Koji's," Grimlock said as he broke through the soil.
"Gateway is no fool, what if he figures out what we're doing."
"We can't think like that, Grimlock," Heavy Load told him as Hightower loaded him with dirt.
"Koji's plan must succeed."
"I still think we should've just burst in there," Wedge complained.
"And risk hurting the human?" Heavy Load countered. Wedge could see that complaining further
would be futile so he continued drilling the hole underneath the warehouse.
"Koji, what were you thinking?" George demanded to know. "Coming over here into extreme
danger. Now you're captured too." The three of them (Sideburn was technically a captive too.)
"I just wanted to help you," Koji explained.
"Oh, a lot of help this is, being captured by some giant robot waiting around for probably some
sort of ransom."
"Sorry..."
George took a deep breath. "Koji, I'm sorry too. I'm just worried about you."
"You are?"
"Of course, I worry about you the same way I worry about Jordan, you're both my boys."
"Oh please, gag me with an energon cube," Gateway snapped as he slammed his fist against the
wall. The entire building began to rumble.
"No, not again!" George cried crouching into a ball.
"Ms. Connor, are you all right?" Koji asked.
"This is just like what happened before," George cringed.
"It's okay, Ms. Connor, you can tell me."
George didn't want to but right now she didn't have much of a choice. "It happened... twenty
years ago to the day. I was only around ten. My parents took me out for a Sunday drive. They
stopped on the way to buy some groceries. Suddenly a man forced himself into our car. He took
off with it and me."
"Why?" Koji asked.
"He wanted... money... my father was head of a Board of Trustees of a major bank. He figured by
kidnapping his daughter he could get a large amount of money. He treated me like an object, I
was hurt physically and emotionally. But... then, something went wrong, horribly wrong."
"What went wrong?"
"The building he held me up in... it was unstable. The building was going to be demolished
next week. While my father was bringing him the money, the building began to collapse. He...
he was killed."
"And what about you?"
"I was scared, so scared. I curled myself into a ball underneath a rafter. By some sort of
miracle, it served as a shield for me. Eventually firemen managed to dig me out. That incident
has horrified me for years afterwards. I visited a psychiatrist and she managed to cure me of
that fear... or so I thought."
"So that explains the nightmare you had last night," Koji said. "Please listen to me, it's over
now. The man is dead and you are... over the incident." Koji didn't say 'safe' because
obviously they weren't. "It's over, you can move on."
"How... how can I?"
"I can help you. Believe me, I've been through some scary events as well." Boy, was that an
understatement. Each time Megatron or Scourge appeared, he wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.
When Tai was trapped in that Orb of Sigma, he was afraid of losing her. In fact, that fear
overpowered all other fears. "But you don't have to face it alone. I'm here, Jordan's here,
all your friends, your family, anyone can help you deal with the pain by sharing it with you."
Sideburn had never seen this side of Koji before. Then again, Koji always did have a big heart
so something like this should've been expected.
Koji continued, "Anybody with a good heart can help you shoulder the pain, you don't have to do
it alone."
"I don't... have to do it alone... I don't have to do it alone." For the first time in a while,
George looked up at Koji with a sad smile. "How did you get to be so smart?"
"You might say I've been around the block," Koji replied. Then after a pause said, "Mom."
George smiled and embraced Koji.
When they broke, they both were still smiling. Koji said, "What do you say we get out of here
now?"
"How do we do that?" George asked.
"You don't think I came in here without a plan now, do you? Sideburn, now!"
"It's about time," Sideburn said which startled both George and Gateway.
"Huh... who said that? Who's there?" Gateway asked.
"Sideburn, transform!" Sideburn charged Gateway and landed a lethal left hook.
"The... the car's a giant robot too?"
"It's okay, he's on our side."
"I believe you." Gateway picked up Sideburn and threw him to the ground. Sideburn got up and
came at him low. He upper-cut Gateway then followed through with an elbow strike. Sideburn
decided that getting Koji and George out of there was much more important then tangling with
Gateway.
"Hang on, folks," he said. "We're getting out of here!"
"Like slag you are," Gateway said charging them. Suddenly the ground underneath him gave way to
a hole which Gateway fell through. Sideburn and the two humans stared at the hole bewildered.
"Anybody lose this?" Heavy Load voice called. The Build Team climbed out with Heavy Load
dragging Gateway by the leg.
"More good guys?" George guessed.
"Yup. Meet the Autobots." The Build Team and Sideburn made introductions but just then,
Gateway broke free from Heavy Load and ran to the other side of the room.
"It's time you figure out just who you're messing with. Gateway, super power!" Gateway began
to glow a bright white at the same time an energy field surrounded him. He extended his energy
field around him so that the building started to crumble around them. Sideburn covered the
humans
"Let's take this outside," Wedge said. "Build Team, transform!"
"Sideburn, transform!" Koji and George got into Sideburn as the Build Team rammed their way out
of the warehouse. Gateway was already waiting for them, his sword out.
"Wedge, transform!"
"Heavy Load, transform!"
"Grimlock, transform!"
"Hightower, transform!"
"Build Team, combiner mode!" Wedge commanded. The Build Team combined into Landfill.
"Cyber Sword!"
"Take this!" The shovel on Landfill's back came forward and clashed with Gateway's sword.
Gateway tried to punch Landfill but Landfill blocked his arm. When Gateway tried to use his
other arm, Landfill twirled out of distance.
"Demolition gun!" Landfill took out a weapon that was a combo of the Build Team's weapons. It
fired at the ground in front of Gateway. Gateway was blown back. Landfill repeated the strategy
and it worked for two more tries.
"I couldn't launch a direct attack against him," Landfill explained. "So I decided on an
indirect one."
"This isn't worth it," Gateway mumbled. His hand retracted into his arm and a smoke bomb
launched. Landfill, Sideburn, Koji, and George all covered their eyes. When the smoke cleared,
Gateway was gone, the only reminder of his presence was a series of tire treds.
A little while later, Sideburn returned to normal and Landfill separated. Wedge and Grimlock
seen Sideburn to the portal entrance that would take them back to America.
"That was a nice plan you cooked up, Koji," Wedge congratulated.
"You thought of that plan all by yourself?" George accused.
"Yup."
"Unfortunately, it's going to take longer to get back then it did to get here," Grimlock informed
them.
"That's all right," George said. "Koji could use the time to bring me up to speed about these
Autobots."
"And whatever he doesn't tell you I will," Sideburn volunteered.
"Oh great," Koji moaned. "That's exactly what I need."
George laughed and ruffled his hair. "That's my boy. Come on, Sideburn, let's go home."
"Yes, ma'am." The portal opened and Sideburn drove through it, Wedge and Grimlock waving
good-bye.
Skid-z: Unicron equips Starscream, Gateway, Doom Buggy, and Skywars with a powerful Devastator
armor and unleash them on a rampage in Tokyo. Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Team Bullet Train,
the Build Team, and the Hyper Force unite to stop them. But when things get really hot for them,
they receive help from the most unexpected source: Frenzy. The next episode of Transformers:
Robots In Disguise: "War of the Gestalts." So get ready to roll out.