Hostile Territory

Written by: Okami

Chapter 18- Interesting Developments

~

Hey mom, there's something in the backroom
I hope it's not the creatures from above
You used to read me stories
As if my dreams were boring
We all know conspiracies are dumb

Lyrics: Aliens Exist_Blink 182

~

Authors Note: I do not own Robots in Disguise. I do however own Alana and Suzuki, therefore they can not be used anywhere other than this fanfic without my permission.

Helpful Hints: ****** - Means a change in scenery, or from Autobots to Decepticons

~~~ - Means a change in point of view but the same scenery

* * - Indicates a comlink conversation

******

Sideburn hummed to himself as he sped through the Global SpaceBridge, his thoughts focused more on a certain little red sports car than where he was going. His blue paint sparkled under the tunnel's lights, producing a mini light show on the ceiling.

The blue sports car continued down the long, straight tunnel towards base. A yawn loudly resonated from the car, indicating Sideburn was exhausted from his earlier patrol.

"Oh, I can't wait to take a nice hot oil bath," he groaned, smiling at the thought.

A bright circle appeared in front of him to signal that he was almost home. Sideburn, being the speed-demon that he is, continued at his neck breaking speed towards base. As soon as his wheels hit the hard floor of headquarters, he felt his back end fishtail. Panicking for a moment, the Autobot over corrected and flew into a total spin. He cried out in fear as he felt his entire frame sliding out of control down the acceleration tunnel.

"Sideburn transform!" he hollered. The blue sports car fluidly morphed from an ordinary car into a towering robot. Sideburn unfortunately realized too late that the floor was too slick to stand on. His arms pinwheeled to maintain his balance as he felt himself leaning backwards.

"Sideburn!" a startled voice cried.

The young transformer focused his attention on Tai, forgetting about staying balanced, and unfortunately collided with the floor with a thump.

"Are you all right?" Tai asked, hovering merely inches from the tiled floor.

"Yeah," he replied, rubbing a sore spot on his leg. "What's up with the floor? I can hardly stand."

Tai was about to explain when another startled shout echoed down the tunnel.

"What in tar nation?!" X-Brawn's country voice echoed down the tunnel, followed closely by the sound of tires skidding madly across the slick floor.

Sideburn frantically waved his hands in a vain attempt to catch his brother's attention, but the latter had already transformed and was now sliding on his rear towards the young Autobot. The blue Autobot watched with wide optics as his elder most brother collided with him, sending them both to further slid on the floor in a jumbled heap.

"What the heck is going on in here?" Ultra Magnus' annoyed voice questioned. The Autobot stood in the doorway and stared at the two brothers sprawled out on the floor. He pretended to cough then clear his throat in order to disguise his chuckle as he watched the two vainly attempting to stand.

"Having trouble?" he mocked, grinning smugly.

"Sorry about that you guys. Suzuki waxed the floor and she must have forgotten to tell everyone," Tai apologized, sending out a message to everyone else to beware the floor upon entering headquarters.

"Why did she wax the floor?" Sideburn questioned, feeling the tiles with his hands.

Tai shrugged. "She thought the place was filthy so she decided to clean up after you guys." She gave everyone a piercing glare. "Not that headquarters needed a good cleaning with all of you guys picking up after yourselves."

Sideburn and X-Brawn cleared their throats, unsettled by the tone in Tai's voice.

Ultra Magnus watched the two brothers cautiously tiptoe over to an exiting corridor, eager to escape the slippery tiles. Upon entering the room himself, Magnus found the floor very slick indeed; it took much effort to keep from letting on that he himself was his loosing footing. He shrugged off the sideways glance from Tai and continued on his way towards the SpaceBridge.

As he left headquarters, he passed his brother and Prowl returning from their patrol duty. Magnus secretly wished to stop and observe how the two dealt with the newly waxed floor but decided it against it, more interested in leaving. He was never a fan of being part of a group, and Optimus' incessant requests were the only reason he had consented to staying at headquarters. He sighed heavily before entering the SpaceBridge, not really caring where it took him at the moment, as long as he was alone and away from Autobot HQ.

******

~ Dream ~

Gun fire. Loud noises. Screams of pain. Evil laughter. The world seemed full of chaos with no light of hope. Giant robots fought each other with laser guns and hand to hand combat, no one side gaining the upper hand.

A large shadow was cast across the battlefield. Everyone paused in their fighting to gaze at the new comer with cautious optics. The different sides separated to let the new bot walk among them, dividing the battleground.

One robot stepped out away from his comrades and extended his hand to the stranger in a gesture of friendship. Another machine from the opposite side outstretched both hands, his ruby optics blazing for a moment.

Ice purple optics stared harshly at both bots, deciding which group to join. The strange robot finally turned her back to the first one to greet her, and instead placed her mud brown hand in Scourge's.

The commander of the Decepticons let out a low and evil chuckle as he gently placed a hand on her lower back, pulling the femme towards him. The two exchanged a passionate moment before turning their optics to the Autobots.

"It is time Autobots," the dark transformers began roughly.

"For your demise," the female finished, a sinister simile across her face.

~ End Dream ~

******

Ultra Magnus meandered down the corridors of Autobot Headquarters, his face dark and angry, his movements jerky, and his footsteps echoed down the empty hall. He had just returned from the middle of nowhere, literally, by the request of his younger brother. The Autobot had growled and refused bitterly, but reluctantly agreed after much persuasion. Even the fact that every other Autobots in his path scrambled to get out of his way did not cheer him up; something that had always managed to please the tough robot in the past.

"AHH!" a piercing scream echoed through headquarters. All transformers stopped in their tracks and looked around, startled by the unexpected and panicked noise.

Ultra Magnus faltered in his walking but managed to keep his cool composure. After the initial shock wore off, he quickly raced down the hall towards the source of the scream. Another high-pitched cry erupted just ahead of him so he picked up the pace. As he turned a corner, the sound stopped, leaving everything in a deadly silence. He stopped in his tracks and listened; something wasn't right, he could feel it.

The uncomfortable silence lasted for only a few moments before a loud CLANK sounded right next to the rogue Autobot. He turned to see a large dent in the door by his side; another one appeared soon after followed by a frustrated cry. Magnus was about to knock on the door when another scream erupted from within and one more dent appeared in the thick metal door. The object thrown against the door apparently hit the control panel and the door slide open, revealing the disaster area within.

Various objects were strewn about the chamber, along with shards of the wall and door. Suzuki lay on her recharge platform, her optics powered down but her body thrashing around. Tiny bolts of blue lightening streaked across her body causing her limbs to tense for uncomfortable stretches of time. Moans and occasional cries resounded from her lips as she tossed and turned. Droplets of fluid leaked from her optics down her cheeks, giving them a sorrowful shine.

What seemed the oddest about the situation was Suzuki's Autobot symbol. It appeared to be giving off a bright glow as it twisted and became distorted. The metal under and around the insignia appeared to be alive as it wriggled and moved, giving the impression of worms burrowing through mud.

Even though the femme appeared to be recharging, she still managed to grasp things and throw them about the room. Suzuki's metal hand wrapped around a fragment of broken chair and chucked at the door, only now Ultra Magnus was in its place. The Autobot ducked just in time to avoid having a piece of chair leg imbedded in his face.

Ultra Magnus carefully picked his way towards the recharge bed and hesitantly reached out his hand. He attempted to wake the female by slightly touching her shoulder but only managed in making her turn on her side. Feeling very awkward, he turned to leave when sobbing broke out from behind him.

"No, that's not me. I'm not like that. No," Suzuki muttered between sobs.

Magnus watched her cautiously as she cried and spoke in her sleep. He was so absorbed in her mutterings that he did not have time to react when she suddenly leapt from the bed towards him. The blue Autobot nearly stumbled as the weight of Suzuki's metal frame crashed against his chest. Instead of trying to bolt out the door like he had thought, the femme continued to sob into his chestplate and even wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

Ultra Magnus could feel his circuits growing hot and his temper along with them. No one had ever touched him like this before; not even own his brother had dared to hug him. He was unsure what to do in this situation, so he allowed Suzuki to cry a few moments more.

When the female Autobot stopped her sobbing, Magnus cleared his throat, still feeling quite uncomfortable. Suzuki lifted her head and gazed into his golden optics, recognition not registering in her face. Once she realized whom she was hugging, however, her optics widened and her face glowed red. The femme slowly removed her arms from Ultra Magnus' waist and backed away until she was leaning against the wall, all the while starring at the floor in embarrassment. She lifted her optics just long enough to see a humorous grin spread across the Autobot's faceplate.

"Don't say a word," she growled, completely humiliated at having hugged the 'jerk' that brought her here.

*Ultra Magnus, where are you? I called the meeting two earth hours ago.* Optimus Prime's voice boomed over the comlink.

Magnus rolled his optics. "Yeah, okay. I'll be there in a few. Don't blow a gasket Prime."

*Oh, and would you please escort Suzuki to the meeting since she does not yet know the way?* the Autobot leader's voice asked, making a conscious effort to not order his brother.

Ultra Magnus' grin deepened. "Sure thing, Prime."