A/N

For Nightwolf014

Worlds United

Change is on the wind

Bringing the bot back to the scrapyard proved to be surprisingly difficult. Trying to herd him was nearly impossible as he would wander off easily. If one of them were to try to keep him on a set path, he would be slow, making it hard to keep in pace with him and the rest of the team. Eventually, it was just a matter of grabbing him by the arm and dragging him along until they reached a good point for the ground bridge to reach them. Finally reaching the scrapyard, they sat the bot down in front of the command center.

"Fixit," groaned Sideswipe. "Please tell me there's a way to fix him, because I don't want to babysit this guy."

Fixit wheeled down from command center, spinning around the bot. The latter tried to keep an eye on Fixit but found it hard once the minicon got behind him. The scanner beeped several times, frequency changing from occasional to rapidly in seconds. Fixit nodded to himself, glancing between the scanner and the bot, humming slightly. Sideswipe tapped his foot. Strongarm crossed her arms. Bumblebee sighed, coughing subtly to gain the minicon's attention.

"Anything?" Bee sighed.

"Well yes…and no," nodded Fixit, rolling back to the command center. "The signal isn't fixed."

"How can it not be fixed? He's sitting right there," snapped Strongarm, motioning to the bot. He had begun drawing in the dirt.

"He is and he isn't," remarked Fixit.

"What?" the three gaped.

"It's almost as if he's phase gifting *zip*lifting *zip* shifting!"

"Can you figure out how?" Bee mumbled. Somehow, phase shifting didn't surprise him all that much.

"I can't be sure…" Fixit muttered. "Some of the scans aren't conclusive. It'll take some time for me to…"

"You do that," suggested Bee, "in the meantime, let's clean this bot up and see if we can find anything out about him."

"I'll get the hose!" cheered Grimlock, running off.

"Ask Denny first!" called Bee.

Bee turned back to the bot sitting and drawing circles in the dirt. He still had that odd feeling in his chest, a sense of something bigger going on and the urge to get rid of this bot as soon as possible. He tilted his head, folding his arms as he watched the bot repeated draw circles, connecting them with lines and then smudging several of the lines out.

"What is he doing?" snapped Strongarm.

"He was doing this out there too," Bee nodded. "It must mean something…"

"Looks like circles," commented Sideswipe.

"Thank you for that insight," huffed Strongarm.

"Got any other ideas?"

"Not about the circles…"

The two got close, optics narrowed and bodies tightening. Before engaging in combat, they both looked over to their commander, who stood seemingly oblivious to their infighting. He stood, one hand resting under his chin, optics entirely focused on the bot. The two relaxed.

"Are you alright, lieutenant?" hummed Strongarm.

Bee perked, looking at them. "Huh? Oh, yeah…I'm fine." He looked back.

"You don't seem alright," Sideswipe added.

"Something about him…" Bee mumbled, shaking his head, "seems familiar…Like I've meet someone like him before…and it didn't end well."

"So, he is Con?"

Grimlock had returned with the hose. Bee shook his head. It didn't feel like that. Even if he was a Con, he didn't act that one or at least was damaged enough that that didn't matter. Grimlock aimed the hose, offering a thumbs-up back to Russell on the other end. After a moment of nothing, water began spewing. Grimlock directed the water, showering the bot, who flinched and muttered as he was sprayed.

"Well that got his attention," chuckled Sideswipe.

Bee watched as some of the mud and leaves slowly began to slip off, revealing more of the white armor. There was a moment of calm anticipation, waiting for an insignia to appear. As they waited, Bee tried to focus on the feeling, the memory that was trying to break free and rise to the surface. It was something obscure, something out of the way. Something that was locked away by another force.

"What's that?" gasped Sideswipe.

At last the muck has washed away, revealing a red Decepitcon logo. Grimlock dropped the hose. Sideswipe and Strongarm pulled out their weapons. Bee remained still, watching the startled bot return to his work as the water had washed away the previous rendition. The team waited for Bee to respond.

"So, he is a Con," grinned Grimlock.

"Now what?" gaped Strongarm.

"Honestly," Sideswipe sighed, lowering his blade. "Can't fight a guy who doesn't even seem to know where he is…"

"Well…" Strongarm mumbled, lowering her gun.

"So…not fighting?" Grimlock whimpered.

"Lieutenant?"

The memory was close, he could feel it. Something was dislodging.

"He's not a Decepticon," Bee spoke softly, stepping forward.

"What?" perked the three.

"But he's got an insignia!" shouted Sideswipe.

"Albeit, the wrong color," commented Strongarm.

"Exactly," Bee remarked. "And I remember hearing about a purple Autobot one."

"What?" Grimlock lamented.

"This guy's from another world…" mutter Bee, mostly to himself. "I remember now…"

"Remember what?" snapped Sideswipe.

"The craziest story I've ever heard," Bee grinned, kneeling before the bot. "I remember meeting bots from other worlds. Other Autobots. They were fighting an Autobot who wasn't an Autobot…time travel, alternate histories…another Optimus!"

The bot siting looked up, meeting Bee's eyes. The latter grinned, finally able to remember what had been on the tip of his processor this entire time. Parts of it were still a blur but he could picture it. Alternate realities. Alternate versions. A Decepticon that wasn't a Decepticon.

"I'm sorry. I'm lost," commented Strongarm.

"It's all…complicated," sighed Bee, standing up. "But this guy is technically what we would consider an Autobot. He's from a different…dimension."

Fixit offered a hum. "That would explain his phase shifting. If he came to this world unconventionally…"

"Can we stabilize him?" questioned Bee.

"I…" stuttered Fixit. Sideswipe gently tapped him. "I'm unsure. At this rate, his signal is degrading so fast, he might fade from our reality."

"How soon?" Bee perked.

"I can't be cure *zip*spur *zip*sure!"

"End…"

Bee glanced down. It had been a while since their mystery bot had spoken, not that he was much for conversation. The bot was peering up at Bumblebee, sitting remarkably still. His finger had just finished drawing a circle's connecting line, smudging the middle of it.

"Gone…"

"What's gone?" whispered Bee, kneeling again and placing a hand on the other's shoulder. "What's happening?"

"Disconnected cannot survive…"

A surprisingly complete sentence.

"Lieutenant!"

Bee could see the bot fading, his transparency rising. The reason for Fixit's callout was the transparency spreading across Bee's arm. He couldn't remove his hand. The bot remained unaware of his spreading condition, focus entirely on Bee. The lieutenant turned, glancing between his team. They were fading. The scrapyard was disappearing. Soon, everything was replaced with an open desert.