18- Metal Attraction.
Everything was normal at the Autobot base, when Ratchet saw something in the screen.
"Hot Rod, a vehicular form is approaching."
"Decepticon?" He asked.
The screen zoomed on the vehicle: it was a white car driving outside the base right for the secret entrance at incredible speed.
"No, that's mom's rental car. She only uses it for some special occasions." Ash recognized.
"Like now? And again?" Hot Rod asked suspicious.
"We don't have any problem with her to visit, right buddy?"
"Pikachu pi." Pikachu nodded.
Delia drove inside the main hall and parked her car in a corner.
"Hi, honey." Delia said getting out of the car.
"Hi mom." Ash responded before her mom embraced him in a big hug. "What are you doing here?"
"What? Can't I just visit my son in his special place for a while? And you too, Pikachu." She said petting the little pokémon's head.
"Chu." Pikachu said grateful.
"Mr. Mime is taking care of the remaining chores today, so I thought I'd swing by." Delia explained before turning at Ratchet. "Good to see you again, doctor." Ratchet continued with his job, but he also nodded to her. "Hot Rod."
"Delia." He saluted.
"Oh, where are the others?"
"On a scouting mission with Optimus and Elita. Sorry to disappoint." Ratchet answered.
"And where's Serena?"
"She's with Dawn and May on the Pewter City pokémon contest. They promised to start teaching her how to perform like them after the show is over." Ash answered.
"Oh, what a shame. I was hoping to see you two together again. You make such a cute couple."
"Mom!" Ash said embarrassed as Pikachu and Hot Rod laughed.
"I'm sure Arcee will let me know once they are over and went back." Hot Rod reassured.
Ratchet was detecting something on his monitor. "That's odd. This is an extremely unusual magnetic flux, for any planet."
Ratchet wasn't the only who detected it: on the Nemesis, Soundblaster showed the same reading on his screen to his leader.
"I recognize this magnetic signature, Soundblaster. And it would be unfortunate to have a Decepticon invention such as this used against us."
"I will secure the weapon, lord Galvatron."
"Breakdown? Ha. If you could be bested by mere humans and their pets, what chance do you have against the Autobots?"
"Allow me to redeem myself, master. What I have lost is a constant reminder that I must never again fail you." Breakdown pleaded, showing that in place of where he had before his lost eye now wear an eye-patch.
Moments later, Warpath arrived to base in vehicle mode alongside Moonracer, and Max, Bonnie and Clemont went out of Warpath laughing before the Autobots changed form.
"I have to admit it: May was right about Warpath." Clemont said.
"Now I see why she likes to roll with him. Warpath is a living demolition force." Max followed.
"When you are inside him, you feel like if you can go through even a hurricane." Bonnie added.
But once they saw Ash's mother was present, they stopped laughing.
"Remember when this used to be a secret club house?" Bonnie asked.
"Uh, don't worry Miss Ketchum. We were wearing seat belts, and I make sure my sister and Max are far from the cannon's controls."
"I'm sure you were, Clemont." Delia told him before looking at Bonnie. "So this is your little sister. Isn't she cute?"
Bonnie groaned. "Don't tell your mom is one of those, Ash."
"Let's do this thing, Ash." Hot Rod said walking with a wire in his hand.
"Of course." He nodded as he was about to follow him.
"But I just got here. I even brought some meals." Delia offered.
"Really?!" Max said excited before gloating. "Maybe we could take a snack."
"Save one for me and Pikachu for later, mom. First I need to help Hot Rod test our upgraded tracking system."
"Well, just be careful." His mother asked.
"There's nothing to be careful about. It's a routine diagnostic." Hot Rod reassured.
"Are you sure you need Ash for that?"
That question irritated Hot Rod enough that made him groan.
"Uh-oh." Moonracer said.
"Watch out. Someone is going to get burned." Warpath warned.
"Moonracer, I need you back in the field to investigate an odd magnetic disturbance." Ratchet told him.
"I'll go with!"
"Whoa. Stay put, Bonnie." Clemont said grabbing her with his Aipom arm, so she groaned as she went back with the others.
"Why aren't you going with her?" Delia asked.
"Someone thinks it's not safe." Bonnie said looking at her brother.
"My duty as a big brother is to watch over my little sister. To make sure she doesn't walk into any trouble."
"But you have to admit that sometimes you go over the line, just like my sister." Max defended.
"But it's safe for Ash to go with Hot Rod?" Delia asked warily.
"Mom, that's totally different." He said walking at her.
"Oh, how?"
"Mother knows best, Ash. Wait up, Moonracer! I'm going with." Hot Rod joined as he threw the wire on the floor.
Both Autobots went through the ground bridge. When they were gone, both Pikachu and Ash shot a glare at his mother.
"What did I say?" She simply asked.
Meanwhile, Breakdown was somewhere inside a canyon of the Hoenn desert looking at his scanner. It showed him that, whatever he was looking, it was right in front of him.
"Jackpot."
He went to a big rock that his scanner signaled him and started smashing it with his hammer. After a few swings, he unburied a little metallic device. What he didn't known it was that he wasn't alone. Once he noticed that, he aimed his turret at any possible enemy. Then, he heard the sound of rocks coming from behind. He turned and saw Airachnid above him, hanging on the rocks with her spider legs. She laughed before launching herself at him and kicked him in the face, making him collapse and throwing the device, which she took next.
"For me? You shouldn't have." She said.
"I didn't." Breakdown answered grabbing the device and whacking her with his hammer.
Airachnid only stepped back a few steps before hissing and facing Breakdown.
"I heard a rumor about a rough Con. How about I hog-tie you and haul you in?" Breakdown suggested as he charged against Airachnid, and tried to smash her, but she dodged.
"The primitive type." She noticed.
Breakdown roared charging again to strike with his hammer, but she climbed up the rocks.
"Not much for depth perception anymore, aren't you?"
"Well, not much for looks anymore." Breakdown said activating his turret and fired a missile.
Airachnid dodged and disappeared. But Breakdown heard a digging sound nearby before Airachnid's spider legs appeared below him and dragged him into the ground, burying him. After that, Airachnid came out of the ground and took the device.
She laughed. "It was a lovely burial." She deactivated her spider legs as she walked away, hearing Breakdown mumbling under the ground. "Sorry, can't quite understand you."
But Breakdown emerged from the hole quickly, and roaring mad, which made Airachnid to get ready for another round before both Cons charged. As for the Autobots, they were walking above the rocks, but also debating about what happened before.
"Don't take it so personal, Hot Rod. Ash's mother is just protective." Moonracer said, trying to comfort him.
"Excuse me? I protected her son for a long time before she had a clue. Suddenly she wakes up to reality and thinks I'm not enough." He said in frustration.
"No kidding." A voice said behind them, and they saw it was Bonnie and Dedenne, who followed them. "Can we regular her visits to base?"
"Dedenne."
"Bonnie, how did you…?" Moonracer started.
"Ratchet." Hot Rod began to say to the com-link.
"Wait, don't send me back with "all kids protector mom"." Bonnie pleaded. "It's just…being just us with you reminds me of when we used to travel by our own. And I missed the way things were before she came."
"Strike that, Ratchet."
"Are you serious, Hot?" Moonracer asked in disbelief.
"It's only recon, she's safe with us."
"Oh, thank you!" Bonnie said climbing up Moonracer's hand before jumping at her shoulder alongside her pokémon. "Crack up the usual, Moon."
"The usual?" Hot Rod asked.
Moonracer turned her radio on and they started to listen a cheerful music. The problem is that it was too loud.
"Don't you think that's a little loud for recon?!" Hot Rod asked, making Moonracer turned off the radio and Bonnie stopped dancing.
Bonnie groaned. "Come on, don't be a party pooper."
"This is an important scouting mission. So, a scout should be silent but deadly."
But Moonracer and Bonnie looked at each other and laughed.
"What?"
"You are starting to act like Arcee, Hot. Besides, silent but deadly means something completely different on Earth." Moonracer responded.
"Let's go, Moon. Time to go exploring." Bonnie encouraged.
"I always take point." Hot Rod argued.
"I know, but Bonnie likes to be in front so she could see." Moonracer said continuing walking.
"No matter where I turn, I'm the third wheel." He said before catching up with them.
In that moment, Moonracer was detecting something else on her scanner.
"Hum, looks like Ratchet's magnetic flux is coming from…" Moonracer started when she heard a noise.
Right below them, they saw Airachnid punching Breakdown hard, sending him to the ground. But before she could grab the device, Breakdown got up and grabbed her by the spider legs. Next, he tried to hit her with his hammer, but she took the chance and kicked him.
"Airachnid?" Moonracer said surprised.
"And Breakdown." Hot Rod spotted.
"Both are Decepticons, but they are battling each other?" Bonnie asked confused.
"Arcee said Airachnid was a rogue, so she isn't exactly with them anymore." Moon explained.
Breakdown managed to grab the device and started powering it up while Airachnid tried to pull it from him.
"It seems they are battling for that." Hot Rod spotted.
"The source of the magnetic disturbance." Moonracer deduced.
"Alright. What's the plan?" Bonnie asked.
"You and Dedenne remain here so you can do the most important duty: cheer for us." Moonracer explained as she put her on the floor.
"Okay."
Both Autobots pulled out their guns an made their way. Airachnid jumped out of the way when Breakdown attempted to smash her again, and hit him on his back with her legs. That made him drop the device in front of her, but before she could take it a shot pushed it aside.
"Arcee." Airachnid spotted. "And look, you brought a new partner for me to snuff…wait a minute, you're not Arcee."
"That's Moonracer. And the other one is Hot Rod." Breakdown corrected.
"Who asked you?"
"Launch me." Moon told Hot Rod.
He lowered his hand for Moonracer, who placed her foot on it before he threw her high in the air. As she descended, she shot at both Decepticons. Once she landed, she charged against Breakdown, who did the same until Airachnid put herself on his way.
"No. She is mine." She said before going after her rival.
That distracted Breakdown enough for Hot Rod to hit him on the face.
"Watch out for…" He started.
"Got it." Moonracer nodded pulling out her blades.
Both girls started to fight: Moonracer was blocking Airachnid's spider legs until she saw the chance and hit her with her blades on the chest, making her to leak some energon. Now both Autobots were back to back.
"Woah, they are really good together." Bonnie watched surprised before pulling out a phone from her bag. "I better take a good picture about this for the album."
Both Cons and Bots faced their opponents, blocking their attacks. Breakdown tried to push Hot Rod back, but he was faster, allowing him to headbutt Breakdown and push him aside hard. Moonracer dodged Airachnid's attacks constantly before she tried to jumped at her, but Moon took the chance and kicked her, sending her with Breakdown. Now both Decepticons were tired, but Breakdown saw the artifact next to him, so he picked it.
"Thank you." He said pressing one of the device's buttons.
"Do you even know what that does? It isn't a toy!" Airachnid shouted before running away.
Moonracer tried to stop her with her shots, until Airachnid started to make a hole to escape beneath the earth. She continued firing even when she disappeared under ground. In that moment, Bonnie's phone suddenly flew away.
"Hey!"
Hot Rod was ready to continue the rumble, until Breakdown aimed the device at him and made him fall before being dragged toward him. The same happened with Moonracer.
"What's going on?!" She asked.
It seems the device was using a magnetic beam to drag them close. Once they were close enough, Breakdown levitated them up with the device.
"Hahaha, what this switch do?" Breakdown smirked.
After pressing it, he sent the Autobots flying against the rocks. Bonnie and Dedenne went to check if their friends were okay.
"Hmp. Ha, Galvatron's gonna love this." Breakdown said before he changed form and drove away.
"Hot Rod." Bonnie said approaching him. "Are you okay?"
Hot Rod only groaned, a little dizzy.
"The Cons are getting away! Hey, my big brother's phone." Bonnie saw it on Hot's chassis. She tried to get it, but she couldn't pull it off. "It's stuck. Hey, where is Moon?"
"Now that's a good question." Hot Rod nodded as he got up.
"I'm right behind you." She called.
Hot Rod ended getting up. "Where?"
"De? Dedenne." The little pokémon called, pointing at something.
Bonnie went to check what Dedenne saw, but still didn't believe it. "Let's just say you're back-to-back."
When Hot Rod turned around, she saw Moonracer stuck in his's back. She tried to free herself, but without results.
"By Arceus." Bonnie said in disbelief.
"Scrap." Moonracer cursed.
Meanwhile, Breakdown was driving right to an abandoned gas station.
"Breakdown here. I'm gonna need a…" He called through the com-link until he missed a rock that almost crushed him.
That distracted him and ended getting into a web trap. He wasn't able to escape in vehicle mode, so he changed to robot form, but that trapped him even more while a familiar shadow observed him from the rocks. Back with them, Bonnie tried to help pulling from Moonracer's foot, but without results. So they called to base and reported everything.
"Dedenne, let's see if you can do something. Use Nuzzle between them." Bonnie instructed.
The tiny pokémon climbed between the Autobots until it reached a pint between their back connected and used his electric move. But after he did, it showed no effect on their condition.
"Nene." Dedenne denied with his head.
"Not even with electricity?" Bonnie asked in disbelief as she continued pulling.
"You've been magnetized?" Clemont asked surprised through com-link. "Together?"
Bonnie continued pulling until the foot slipped from her hands and fell back. "Oh, they're inseparable."
"And the device that did this is on its way to Galvatron." Hot Rod added.
"A polarity gauntlet." Ratchet identified. "A deceptively simple but diabolical creation."
"Just tell me you can unhitch us, Ratchet." Moon asked.
"It may simply be a residual magnetic charge providing your current attraction." Ratchet theorized.
"Eh? What do you mean with that?" Bonnie asked confused.
"But I'm afraid retrieving the gauntlet is our surest bet for reversing its effect. Once Galvatron gets his hands on the gauntlet…"
"He'll use it for a whole lot more than attaching notes and family photos to the fridge." Max finished.
"For something way worse." Ash added.
"Pika." Ash's partner nodded.
"Ash, I'm not following." Delia said confused.
"Ma'am, we are forged by metal alloy. If Galvatron could repel us with the flick of a switch we might never again have another shot at him." Ratchet explained.
"Instant forcefield." Clemont deduced.
"Worse yet. He might use it to melt us all into a scrap pile. The good news is the gauntlet hasn't traveled far. I would strongly advice pursuit." Ratchet reported.
Hot Rod heard it and stood up at the moment. "We can catch up faster on wheels."
"Whoa whoa whoa, and snap me in half?" Moonracer reminded.
"Oh, right."
"Don't worry, Dedenne and I will take point."
"Not this time, Bonnie."
"What? But you said…"
"That was recon, this is war. I'm not risking your wellbeing just because you think you can help just with your presence." Hot Rod clarified. "Ratchet, Bonnie needs a bridge."
"Coming up."
They could hear Bonnie groan annoyed. "And you were complaining about Ash's mom? Now you're acting just like her!"
"Bonnie!" Clemont shouted before turning to Delia. "Sorry, sometimes my little sister says things she shouldn't."
That caught Delia by surprise before turning at Ash. "Is that such a bad thing?"
"Alright, who was the one who said it?" Ash demanded to everyone with a mad face.
"Don't look at me, I like her meals, and visits of course." Max defended.
"I'm also innocent. Probably was Sideswipe the one who spread that." Warpath suggested.
Back to the abandoned gas station, Airachnid was checking the device, now on her hand.
"It fits! You know, a girl can never have too many accessories." Airachnid told to Breakdown, who was hooked to the wall of a crumbled transport by lots of webs.
"You were a Decepticon once. We could bring the prize to Galvatron together." Breakdown offered.
"Go back to that boys club? I struck out on my own because I don't like to share. This will provide the perfect repellent against Bots and Cons alike."
Hot Rod was not far from there, but he had to walk all the way because of his and Moonracer's condition.
"Look at it on the bright side, you never had eyes in the back of your head before, or blasters to cover your rear. And I get a built-in shield." Moonracer said, trying to raise Hot Rod's spirit.
"Moonracer, you don't really think I sound like Delia, do you?"
"Um…"
"She's overprotective. I just protect Ash as a friend."
"That's totally different. I mean, that's normal for her, and you only act that way when he's in danger. You know? I'm glad to be able to talk with you about these things. Arcee, on the other hand, prefers to just let these things aside and move on."
"Me too." Hot Rod ended before he heard the scanner beep, signal they're getting closer. "The gauntlet is close."
They finally reached to the gas station. The place was silent and rusty, with a lot of webs inside the building, made by some Spinarak. Hot Rod walked to the back with his weapon activated and heard muffed grunts. He saw Breakdown trapped by the webs, including his mouth. And Airachnid appeared from above.
"I assume Arcee's partner isn't far behind." Airachnid deduced.
"You might say that, but I'm Arcee's partner." Hot Rod clarified.
"Then better for me. Blaster hands in the air and turn around." Airachnid asked with the gauntlet at hand.
"Whatever you say."
Hot Rod did what Airachnid told him, and Moonracer took the chance to shot her. One of her shots made her drop the gauntlet, but when it hit the ground itself activated, generating a magnetic force field that started attract everything around. Airachnid managed to stand on her spider legs; Hot Rod fell to the ground as the gauntlet was pulling Moonracer. The same for Breakdown, which finally broke free from the webs, grabbed the gauntlet and turned it off. The final part of the magnetic effect pulled both Autobots in middle of the two Cons.
"Still up for a truce, muscles?" Airachnid asked to Breakdown.
"Only because I hate the Bots more than I hate you." Breakdown answered with his hammer ready.
Breakdown and Hot Rod started punching each other as Airachnid and Moonracer fought by their own. But because of the hits Hot Rod received from Breakdown, Moonracer swung around and had no time for defense against Airachnid.
"Hot Rod, would you stay still?" Moonracer asked as she blocked one of Airachnid's spider legs.
"My bad." Hot Rod answered before punching Breakdown hard, sending him backwards. Next, he turned to face Airachnid. "Need a hand?"
"No, she's mine." Moon answered while Hot Rod fought Airachnid.
"Two Bots, one stone." Breakdown said activating the gauntlet.
Breakdown grabbed a huge metal pillar with a magnetic beam.
"Hot, duck!" Moon saw.
But when Hot Rod turned to see what to duck, Breakdown hit him with the pillar, sending him back, trapping Moonracer against the ground.
"Hot Rod, get up!" She demanded before seeing Airachnid's foot stomping one of her hands.
"Pinned like a bug. Of course, I can think of one permanent way out of your predicament." Airachnid declared activating her spider legs.
"I'll take topside." Breakdown said referring to Hot Rod.
But when he was about to smash him, Hot Rod grabbed his hammer and pushed him aside, also pushing Airachnid. And for their relief, when they got up, they saw they were not magnetized anymore.
"I'm free." Moon said relieved.
"Thank Arceus and Primus." Hot added.
Breakdown ran for the gauntlet, but Moonracer grabbed it first and jumped above him before landing on him hard. She managed to punch him in the face a few times before he got up. As for Airachnid, she saw the gauntlet again on the floor, but she had to pass Hot Rod first.
"Wanna dance?"
"You're not my type." Airachnid simply said.
"He, neither you my girl type."
Before Hot Rod could hit her, she hit him at the face with her body drill effect.
"Scrap."
Airachnid picked the gauntlet and activated it. "Let's leave the boys to themselves."
Airachnid grabbed Moonracer's hand with a magnetic effect and dragged her face to face with one hand stuck at the gauntlet.
"That would be the up-close of personal setting." Airachnid swore as she and Moonracer started another close combat fight.
Breakdown and Hot Rod punched each other a couple of times until Breakdown pushed him hard. As he got back to his feet, Hot Rod charged his guns and fired at Breakdown at full power, sending him against the ruble. During their fight, Moonracer managed to make an ugly cut to Airachnid's face, making her leak energon. After that, Airachnid pinned her in the ground and tried to nail her claws on her.
"One hand tied, five more to play with." Airachnid said trying to nail at Moonracer's head, but she managed to grab her hand.
"Quality, not quantity." Moon answered as she took the gauntlet from Airachnid before kicking her back.
Before Airachnid could jump at her again, Moonracer activated the gauntlet and pushed her aside with it.
"Opposites do not attract." She smirked.
Breakdown pushed the ruble aside while Hot Rod changed his guns for swords and both robots tried to hit each other with their weapons. But before they could touch, they were mysteriously pushed back. Breakdown tried to launch a missile at him, but before it could touch Hot Rod, who tried to cover himself, the invisible force sent the missile back to Breakdown, and next to the sky, where it exploded.
"We can't touch metal." Breakdown observed.
"We're polarized." Hot Rod deduced.
Before Moonracer could use the gauntlet again, it was taken from her by Airachnid's webs.
"Always leave on a high note." She said before changing to her helicopter form and started taking flight.
"Hot Rod, the gauntlet!" Moonracer yelled.
But before she could start escaping, a Sacred Fire hit her, disorientating her. That allowed Moonracer to pull out her electric whip from her hand and grabbed her, allowing Hot Rod to jump and grab Airachnid. His weight was making her lost control as Breakdown was about to leave. But in the last moment, the combined effort of Moonracer pulling from her whip and Hot Rod throwing Airachnid at Breakdown ended with both Cons to crash against the ruble. Moonracer managed to secure the gauntlet while Hot Rod gave her a thumbs up before turning at the Decepticons, who laid unconscious.
"It was a fire type move which hit Airachnid first?" Moon asked.
"I wonder who made it." Hot Rod said.
In that moment they heard a loud roar coming from behind them. They turned and saw a very recognizable pokémon landed on top of the gas station: the legendary pokémon Ho-Oh.
"Did you attack Airachnid to help us?" Hot Rod asked, earning a nod from the mighty pokémon.
"I guess he knows who is really at Earth's side." Moon opined.
"In that case, thank you."
And the legendary pokémon took flight and left, leaving a beautiful rainbow after him, as the Autobots turned at the Decepticons.
"Let's finish this." Hot Rod proposed.
"And risk becoming twins again? No, I have something better in mind." Moonracer reminded before they walked away.
They returned back to base and gave the artifact to Ratchet.
"Souvenir." Hot Rod started. "But…"
"We don't advise indoor use." Moon finished.
"Ew! They even finish each other's sentences." Max said with a face of disgust.
"How did you managed to retrieve it dealing with both Airachnid and Breakdown?" Clemont asked.
"With a little…outside help." Hot Rod simply answered, since he and Moon decided to not tell about Ho-Oh's assistance.
"Bonnie, you wanna know how the Cons ended?" Moonracer asked before muttering it to her at the ear, which made her laugh.
"Oh my…a shame I wasn't there to see it." She said cleaning tears of joy from her eyes.
"Hot Rod…" Ash started to say until his mom put a hand to stop him.
"Let the adults talk." Delia said as she walked towards her son's guardian. "Hot Rod, I think I owe you an apology."
"You do?"
"I worry. Especially when I feel I can't control things. Which thinking that my son is somewhere around the world not knowing what he's doing, and knowing that I can't stop him in his decisions." Delia said, earning a smile from Hot Rod. "Ash has been all my life, even when he left to start his pokémon journey, but I know he's a strong and brave kid, the same spirit as his father. I guess it's just hard to accept that all that's changing. I mean, I was certain that one day he would grow up and started to pass time with his ideal girl, but I have to admit that I never expected he would meet a friend like you. Not in the way in which you think, but in the point of view that we both worry about Ash's safety. I guess I started to feel a little threatened in that way."
"Mom, you didn't need to be afraid. Your place in my life will never be replaced. You will always be my mother."
"I think we've all been a little guilty of staying attached to the ways things were." Hot Rod responded smiling.
Meanwhile, Breakdown returned back to the Nemesis.
"Breakdown, you dare to return empty-handed?" Galvatron asked mad.
"No, master." Breakdown answered before he turned around, showing Airachnid magnetized to his back.
"Airachnid. It has been some time."
"Lord Megatron." She saluted. "What can I say? It's good to be back."
"Important things had happened during your absence. From now on, Airachnid, if you care for your life, you will be wise to refer to me as Galvatron."
