Introduction: This happens some time between chapters 52 and 53 of Revolution

Alpha Trion was getting tired of having his siblings around all the time. He'd missed them, he supposed, during their long vorns of absense, but it was hard to work with their constant chatter.

"…Thing is, there haven't been any signs of him since he killed Prima," Quintus was saying.

"That just means he's biding his time, preparing for another attack," Logos scowled. "I don't like this. There's only one of him, but he knows that, and he's been here too long while we were off wandering the galaxy. This is his turf now, and it's always been hard to fight that mech on his own turf. If he can keep picking us off one at a time…"

"We could set some sort of trap for him," Quintus said. "That's worked in the past."

Logos nodded.

Alpha Trion sighed and pushed away from his computer terminal. "Do you know how many times you've had this exact conversation in this room over the past couple of decaorns?"

"I just don't know what we could use as bait," Logos continued as if he hadn't even heard Alpha Trion. "The only thing he wants is to kill us and I don't want to risk anyone. Not after Prima…"

The entry request sounded.

Alpha Trion opened the door, and one of his newer assistants came in, looking nervous.

"Yes, what is it?" Alpha Trion asked.

"I'm… so sorry to bother you, Alpha Trion, but um… you probably won't believe this."

"Try me," Alpha Trion said. Quintus and Logos stopped talking and looked at the mech as well.

It took the mech a few more moments of hesitation before he spoke. "Well, several of the archivists, and quite a few visitors have reported seeing… some sort of ghost here over the past decaorn."

"A ghost?" Alpha Trion said.

"Yes, and I didn't want to bother you with it, but I started looking into it after the fourth time it was reported, and I caught it on camera."

"You can't see the sparks of the deceased," Logos said dismissively. "Not with your optics, at least, and definitely not with a camera."

"I know it sounds like I'm making it up, and I'm sorry to bother you. It's probably some sort of hoax—someone projecting some sort of hologram, but we looked all over and there was nowhere for the hologram to be coming from."

"Let's see it," Alpha Trion said.

The mech held out a data stick, and Alpha Trion took it and waved for the mech to come around the desk.

"You could have brought this information to me earlier," Alpha Trion said. "I wouldn't have been angry with you."

"I'm sorry—"

"There's no need to apologize," Alpha Trion inserted the data stick into a port on his computer. "In fact, this sounds like an excellent opportunity for me to send my friends here on a ghost hunt so I can work in peace…"

"It's the only file on the drive," the mech said. "At four joors exactly."

Alpha Trion opened the file and skipped to the time the mech had specified.

Logos and Quintus came to look over his shoulder. On the screen, an archivist was walking down the aisle with an armful of datapads, re-shelving.

Then, suddenly, a mech appeared at the end of the aisle. His faceplate was serene and his optics stared vacantly into the distance.

Alpha Trion's energon froze, and he heard Quintus gasp behind him.

The mech re-shelving datapads on the screen stopped. "Um…" he said, voice tinny and distant in the recording. "Good orn. Can I help you with something?"

The apparition didn't move.

"Sir? Are you all right?"

The "ghost" flickered, and was replaced for an instant by a horrific, corpse-like frame with thick cords sprouting from its shattered optics and exposed internals.

It reached out for the archivist, who dropped his datapads and screamed as he ran out of view of the camera.

The image flickered again, and then disappeared.

"See, it looks like some sort of cheap…" he trailed off. "…what?"

Alpha Trion took in a deep vent. "Thank you, I'll deal with this," he said. "You can go."

"Um, of course, Alpha Trion." The mech bowed and left the room.

Alpha Trion glanced back at Logos, who was staring at the screen with wide, horrified optics.

"Comm. the others, tell them to come now," Alpha Trion said.

"That…" Quintus whispered. "That was Vector."

"Pit," Liege said when Alpha Trion stopped the recording. "That is Vector. What is he doing?"

Maccadam felt sick. That thing—that apparition…

"I don't think he was physically there," Logos said. "He doesn't seem to see his surroundings. I think he's projecting a hologram, trying to send us some kind of message."

"Well, we'd better figure out what it is," Maccadam said. "He looks like he's in serious trouble."

"Or like he's completely snapped," Amalgamous put in.

"Don't joke about this!" Logos said. "Mac's right, we have to find him."

"But where do we look?" Quintus said. "Should we just aimlessly wander the archives, hoping for this thing to appear?"

Maccadam's optics widened as he remembered. "A patron told me he saw a ghost, just two orns ago," he said. "In the side room, during early joors. No one was there to confirm the story, so I chalked it up to some sort of hallucination. But if Vec's trying to send us a message and doesn't know exactly where we'll be…"

"But why not just send us a message?" Amalgamous said. "And why random hallways and side rooms, not Alpha Trion's office? Or yours?"

"You can ask him when we see him," Alpha Trion said.

"No, this has to be some kind of trick," Amalgamous said. "To get us to split up. Megatronus probably knows we're missing Vector. If we weren't, we'd be hunting him more aggressively."

"Admittedly…" Logos said. "No, how could Megatronus have planted holograms all over the Hall of Records? If he could get in here, he would have attacked us already."

"He can't get in here," Alpha Trion said. "I would know if he came in here, it's one of the most secure buildings on the planet. That has to actually be Vector somehow, trying to reach us."

"Right," Logos said. "Well, since he's apparently showing up both here and at your place, perhaps we should split up Maccadam, you can take Amalgamous and Quintus. I'll stay here with Alpha Trion and Liege. Look for any signs, or any camera footage of Vector."

Maccadam nodded. "Stick together, though, all right. If this is somehow a trap…"

"Don't worry," Alpha Trion said. "We'll be careful."

Maccadam took Amalgamous and Quintus and headed back to his establishment.