Author's Notes: I'm glad I'm able to get this chapter out today, because things have been and will continue to be busy in this house. Spring just seems like that time of year where everyone emerges from their winter crypt and wants to do stuff. Also, I wanted to point out a review by Guest who said this fic is turning into "As The Kitchen Sinks". Yes...so much yes! That describes this so well, and it's only going to go further down the rabbit hole, so I hope everyone enjoys the ride :)

Chapter 8

Supersize Me

Red Alert drove along the desert road contemplating his next move. He had been gone for an hour, and now that he had time to clear his processor he realized how guilty he must look by leaving. He hated that his own team could plot against him, but if he actually looked guilty...oh, this was bad.

Making a sharp U turn on the empty road, Red Alert decided that he had to return to base and hope that he could convince that tight-aft Prowl that he was innocent. Then again, Red Alert didn't exactly have a suspect to pin the blame on either, so why would Prowl believe him?

Red's freelance investigation had started with Perceptor since he was intelligent enough and unassuming enough to get away with such a crime. Red had pulled up Perceptor's records and found nothing, but he had found a connection with Grapple, who had worked with the Constructicons in the past, so Red asked Grapple a few questions. Grapple only wanted to talk about his new tower idea, so Red searched for any building materials that had gone missing or any construction projects the Decepticons might be working on, and he hit paydirt.

The Decepticons were working on a large platform, which would certainly count as a building project. However, it wasn't a tower, so it likely wasn't Grapple's doing. Red then paid off the Decepticon Swindle to learn what the platform was for, and Swindle told him all about a new city-former; Trypticon. That told Red nothing of the traitor, but it was certainly a big problem. If they actually had their own city-former then the Autobots and countless earth natives would be in danger.

Not wanting to get distracted, Red Alert put the Trypticon info on the back burner and continued his inquiries regarding the mole. He had suspected Mirage, but Prowl arrested and released him, so that was a dead end. Then Red looked into Hoist since that was Grapple's best friend. No leads. From there he looked at special ops, but he couldn't get too close because then Jazz would know he was a suspect. What little he did find however didn't make them look especially guilty.

The more Red Alert looked into it the less sense it made. Everyone had an alibi. No one had a reason to betray the Autobot cause. It felt almost as if there was no traitor; as if everything was normal...but it wasn't, and that was the scariest part of all.

As Red Alert drove down the hot dry road he was suddenly fired upon by a Decepticon jet! He burned rubber as he struggled to stop, and then transformed into robot mode to return fire. The jet was black and purple, but it didn't have Skywarp's triangular earth build. This thing had the bulky blocky look of a Cybertronian shuttle, which most likely meant it was a new Decepticon.

So, Ultra Magnus and his crew were followed... Thought Red Alert. Well, that filthy 'Con won't catch up with them.

Red Alert shot several times at the jet, but the blasted thing dodged every shot fired. Red Alert couldn't keep up with the speed and trick moves of this guy, and was getting dizzy from trying. Soon Red tripped on his own pede and fell to the ground, and the Decepticon shot him in the knee joint. Red screamed in pain, but he knew there was no one to hear him. He had abandoned his post, and this was the price he paid.

The Decepticon transformed, but Red Alert still didn't know who it was. He tried to shoot again, but the Decepticon just swatted his gun away like it was child's play.

"Thanks for the warm welcome, Autobot," The Decepticon said in a smarmy Helexian accent, "Name's Octane. What's yours?"

"None of your slagging business!" Red Alert shouted defiantly.

"Nice to meet ya, None-of-your-slagging-business," Octane mocked the security officer, "You know, I have a friend who would just love to meet you!"

Before Red Alert could object Octane shot him in the helm; knocking Red Alert out. Octane then carried the helpless Autobot away, smirking to himself at the horrible fate that awaited this unlucky mech.

Wheeljack and his Dinobots had made it as far as the main entrance to the Ark. It was hard to be inconspicuous traveling with five mechanical Dinosaurs, especially when they all either wanted things or made too much noise. Sludge kept straying from the others to check out shiny things, Slag and Snarl were fighting, Grimlock was yelling at Slag and Snarl for ignoring his orders, and Swoop kept asking every other minute where they were going. In short, it was a lousy road trip before they even got out of the driveway.

It was under these circumstances that the group made it to the entrance, and it was under these circumstances that they encountered their first obstacle; Prowl.

"Ah, Wheeljack, Dinobots," Prowl greeted them distractedly, "Have you seen Red Alert anywhere? I believe he's gone AWOL on us."

"What AWOL mean?" Sludge asked ignorantly.

"It a general, like AWOL Jackson," Slag explained, even though he didn't know the answer either.

"That Stonewall Jackson, you dope," Grimlock corrected his brother, "Him Slag full of borillium bologna!"

"Um, Prowl, as you can see we're very busy," Wheeljack spoke over his arguing sparklings, "So if we could just go outside to search for Red Alert that would be great."

"But we wanna go to Bedrock!" Sludge argued, "Him Red Alert no in Bedrock!"

Prowl didn't understand what Sludge was saying, but he did need every capable Autobot he could find to search for the wayward security chief. Prowl stepped aside to allow Wheeljack and his brood to pass, but then suddenly there was a shout.

"Don't let him get away!" Ratchet yelled at Prowl, "Everyone, stop!"

"Uh oh," Wheeljack muttered under his breath.

Ratchet came running with Brainstorm, Perceptor, and Kup in tow.

"Is something wrong?" Prowl asked, unaware of recent discoveries.

"Brainstorm," Ratchet turned his attention to their guest, ignoring Prowl, "See this mech with the head fins and striped paint? Who is this?"

"Um..." Brainstorm stared at Wheeljack in confusion for a few seconds before finally saying, "I haven't the foggiest notion. Who is he?"

"Wheeljack?" Ratchet turned his angry glare to his friend, "Brainstorm doesn't recognize you. Care to explain?"

"I don't know him," Wheeljack replied defensively, "Why would he recognize me if we've never met?"

"What going on here?" Grimlock asked aggressively as he stepped in front of Wheeljack, "You Ratchet have problem with him Wheeljack?"

"Grimlock, this doesn't concern you," Ratchet admonished.

"What in Unicron are those things?" Brainstorm asked fearfully once he got a good look at the large beastly looking Dinobots.

"Uh, we am Dinobots," Sludge replied, too oblivious to know he had been insulted.

"Would someone mind telling me what's going on?" Prowl asked insistently.

"This Wheeljack is an imposter," Brainstorm declared, "I was Wheeljack's oldest dearest friend. We've known each other our entire lives. This mech is not Wheeljack. He's not even the right frame type, and I can assure you Wheeljack didn't speak with a Helexian accent and associate with primitives."

"Okay, hold on!" Wheeljack suddenly snapped, "You can insult me, but if you talk trash about my creations then we have a problem."

"Where is Wheeljack!?" Brainstorm asked heatedly, "What did you do with Wheeljack? Where is my friend, you phony? Where is he!?"

Brainstorm clenched his fists to avoid saying or doing something he would regret. Vorns of grief and moments of unrealized hope all culminated into this moment of barely restrained rage. Wheeljack looked at the pain and turmoil on this mech's faceplate, and he sighed in defeat.

"He's dead," Wheeljack told Brainstorm, and nearly everyone looked at Wheeljack in shock, "The real Wheeljack died at Simfur. I stole his identity when I found the body. It's true, I'm not Wheeljack, not really."

There was a sudden clatter as a wrench dropped to the ground, a wrench Ratchet had been holding in case things got out of hand. He looked at his best friend, and suddenly realized he didn't know him at all. He didn't even know Wheeljack's name. This mech...was a stranger.

"Wheeljack," Prowl recovered first and walked around to face the imposter, "Or whoever you are, I have just one question for you and I expect an honest answer. Were you the one that gave the Decepticons the code to steal the ionic destabilizer?"

"Yeah," Wheeljack replied; his voice casual yet regretful, "It's my machine though. If I gave it away then what difference does it make? Besides, we got it back. It's still here, safe and sound. No harm done."

"You call what you've put your fellow Autobots through 'no harm'?" Prowl asked sharply, "Everyone suspected everyone else of treason. Red Alert is missing because of you. A fallen scientist wasn't given a proper funeral service because you stole his designation and his life. Also, if I am not mistaken, you just tried to make off with the Dinobots. Were you going to give them to Megatron, too?"

"No!" Wheeljack objected forcefully, "I would never do that to them!"

"How can we trust anything you say now? You've been lying to us for over 10 million years," Prowl pointed out, "Wheeljack, or whatever your name is, you are hereby under arrest and will be court martialed at the Prime's discretion."

"Wait! Him Wheeljack not criminal!" Swoop protested, but to no avail.

Prowl took a pair of stasis cuffs out of his subspace, and Wheeljack offered his wrists without argument. Wheeljack was then led away, and Brainstorm could no longer hold it in as he broke down crying for the loss of his friend; a grief that had been delayed for far too long.

The Dinobots looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Wheeljack was their creator and the one that treated them like more than grunt soldiers and pawns. At the same time though, the Autobots said that Wheeljack was a bad person and had done something terrible. Wheeljack didn't even deny it. What were they supposed to do now?

"Ratchet?" Swoop was the first to speak up, "We no want to go back to lair alone. Him Wheeljack always tell us story."

"I don't have time," Ratchet groused in frustration, "I have to tend to Cosmos, convene with the other officers about Wheeljack's tribunal, go with First Aid to examine Metroplex...I'm sorry Dinobots, but I can't."

"But you took him Wheeljack away!" Grimlock bellowed at Ratchet, "We want story, and we want him Wheeljack back!"

"Stop calling him Wheeljack!" Brainstorm wailed, "That's not that monster's name! Don't you get it? He isn't just an imposter, he's a Decepticon! He probably killed Wheeljack just so he could replace him!"

"Now Brainstorm, calm down," Kup interjected, "We'll figure everything out in due time. For now, I'm guessing these big strong warriors are on the young side, right?"

"Yes, they're Wheeljack's creations, and currently five earth years old," Ratchet explained.

"Well then, I'm guessing you guys like adventure stories about life and death situations and traveling to exotic galaxies," Kup said in an avuncular tone of voice.

"Ooh, yeah! With lots of explosions!" Slag cried out excitedly.

"Well alright then," Kup nodded affectionately as he patted Slag's shoulder guard, "Don't worry Ratchet, I'll take care of the Dinobots. It'll be nice to have someone around who hasn't heard all of my stories yet. You just take all the time you need to process this situation."

"Thanks, Kup," Ratchet replied gratefully.

Kup then walked away with the five Dinobots, already in the process of telling them about petro-rabbits as their voices grew fainter with distance.

Red Alert awoke to find he was still outside, but it was no longer a desert. Instead he was tied up beside the feet of the Decepticon who had captured him, and they were both on a seashore where no humans were gathered. The lack of people was likely due to the cold, as Red Alert felt like he was freezing his transistors off.

As Red Alert struggled to gain his bearings, he heard a loud rumble that seemed to come from both above and below them. It didn't take long to see where that noise was coming from as a large black shape emerged from the water like a towering behemoth. At first Red Alert thought it was a new ship like the Nemesis, which was also under the ocean, but that thought was dispelled when Red noticed the monster's sharp teeth, reptilian face, tiny arms and powerful legs. In truth, this thing reminded Red Alert of a giant shadowy Grimlock. He knew what it was though from Swindle's description, and his suspicion was confirmed when Octane said-

"Trypticon, baby! You're back just in time!" Octane greeted the massive Decepticon enthusiastically, "I just captured our first Autobot."

"Rrrg...Trypticon hungry!" The beast roared as it struggled to look down at them; the other two Transformers were tiny by comparison.

"What the slag did you Decepticons do!?" Red Alert asked; his danger subroutines on the verge of fritzing at the sight of the dinosaur city-former.

"This is Trypticon," Octane said with pride, "Shockwave and the Constructicons worked tirelessly to make this beautiful youngling a reality, and Megatron has entrusted me with its care. I don't know where Shockwave got the idea for the weird aesthetic design of him, but Trypticon is an honest-to-goodness Titan. Isn't that right, Tryppy baby?"

"Trypticon still hungry!" The titular Titan bellowed impatiently.

"Don't worry big guy, I've got you covered," Octane assured his charge, "You already know Autobots are our enemies, but I bet you didn't know that they're filled with tasty energon. This piece of slag can be a snack until we get you some real energon, okay baby?"

"No!" Red Alert shouted in panic, "You leave me alone! Eating a fellow Cybertronian is cannibalism!"

"Trypticon's a Titan. He can do whatever he wants," Octane replied with a malicious smirk, "He's all yours, baby."

Red Alert stood up and tried to run away, but with his arms and legs tied up movement was nearly impossible. Red hopped away, but all Trypticon had to do was bend down to pick up the red and white Lamborghini-former.

Red Alert screamed and struggled as the behemoth lifted him up to his gaping maw. After everything he had been through to free Cybertron from Megatron's grip, this couldn't be how it ended. Red Alert refused to let some giant Dinobot knockoff be the one to kill him, and he refused to die a death as undignified as being eaten alive. He summoned all his strength, and managed to break free of his stasis chains!

As Trypticon almost had Red Alert to his mouth, the security officer thought quickly and kicked the beast in the snout as hard as he could! Red's injured knee joints nearly shattered from the impact, but it had the desired effect on his opponent. Trypticon roared in pain and accidentally dropped Red Alert.

Red's landing broke a couple struts, but he couldn't allow himself to think about the pain now. If he didn't get away his injuries wouldn't matter. Red Alert transformed into car mode despite how painful it was to do so, and he drove down the road from the rocky cliff away from the Decepticons.

Of course it couldn't be that easy for Red. He soon heard footfalls and realized the city-former was chasing him! This was bad. Red could go pretty fast in his alt mode, but each step that Godzilla wannabe took covered at least a quarter mile, a half mile when he was running! Red couldn't keep up speeds like that for long. He knew that Trypticon would eventually catch him if he didn't think of something quick.

Just then Red Alert saw what he believed to be the most beautiful sight of his entire life; a cave. If he could just get inside then Trypticon wouldn't be able to follow him. Octane would likely follow him inside, but Red Alert would have a fair chance of fending Octane off in close quarters. He revved up his engine as hard as it would go, knowing that cave was his only hope.

The air behind Red Alert suddenly felt very hot, so Red positioned his side mirrors to see what was going on. Trypticon was breathing fire trying to fry him and make him stop! That blasted thing not only looked like a Dinobot, but it had their powers too! Red already knew a beast-city-former was strange, but there was something about this monstrosity that really felt off to the seasoned Autobot.

Somehow, against all odds, Red Alert made it inside the cave. He felt the cave mouth shake when Trypticon rammed into it trying to get to the tasty morsel inside. Red's spark thrummed harder in his chassis than it ever had before, and given that this was Red Alert that was saying something. He was just grateful that the beast couldn't follow him inside.

Octane landed near where Trypticon was trying to reach his arm inside to get Red Alert out. He tapped the overgrown sparkling on the shoulder to alert Trypticon to his presence.

"Trypticon lose enemy!" Trypticon whined, "No can get Autobot!"

"Don't worry about it," Octane replied coolly, "I scanned the area. That cave only has one opening; this one. Just smash it closed and he'll be trapped in there. He'll use up all his energy escaping, and then you can eat him. Okay?"

"D'aww, okay," Trypticon conceded.

The hulking city-former then started pounding against the stone opening, and the rocks easily gave way to his might. The opening to the cave was sealed, and Red Alert was trapped. If he wanted to escape, he would have to face his fate with Trypticon.

"Alright then. Now go back to your land mass and transform back into city-mode," Octane ordered, "Megatron will be most pleased with you, big guy. You're gonna make a great earth-based Decepticon headquarters."

The Decepticons then walked away, not having enough time to worry about some random Autobot.

Red Alert, meanwhile, looked forlornly at the cave-in. He had transformed back into robot mode, and it became apparent that his condition was dire. His knee joints and spinal struts were all injured, and now that he was no longer in danger the pain suddenly became intense and debilitating. He screamed and fell to the ground, knowing this could be his tomb if nothing was done.

Knowing it was a long shot, Red Alert tried to call Autobot HQ; hoping the 'Cons didn't jam the signal. It took a moment, but finally someone from Teletraan 1 answered him.

/Red Alert?/ Bumblebee asked in surprise, /Where are you? Prowl has been tearing this ship apart looking for you!/

/Bumblebee...send...help.../ Red Alert rasped as he struggled with the pain, /The Decepticons...have a city-former. I'm trapped...in a cave. Send...Omega Supreme. City-former...is dangerous. Designation Trypticon./

/I'll tell Optimus immediately,/ Bumblebee promised, /Just hang tight, sir. We'll get you out of there./

/If I don't make it out,/ Red Alert said quickly, /I'm innocent. I swear...on my carrier's grave...that I didn't...betray our cause./

/I know,/ Bumblebee replied, a hint of sadness in his tone, /We found the traitor. Just hold on. I'm tracking your coordinates and someone will be there soon. Bumblebee out./

After hanging up with Red Alert, Bumblebee rushed to find Optimus Prime. He knew their security chief was in immediate danger. He couldn't believe the Decepticons had built a city-former. Well, the Autobots had one too, and Metroplex had way more experience than some newbuild Megatron probably commissioned while he was overcharged.

If Red Alert made it back safely Bumblebee knew their next conversation would be awkward and spark breaking. Bumblebee still couldn't fathom it. Wheeljack was the traitor? Their Wheeljack? The Wheeljack that had worked with him on countless energon scavenging missions, who built inventions that saved their lives, who laughed and smiled and lit up the room whenever he showed up? That Wheeljack? It didn't make sense, and it made Bumblebee's spark ache. It felt like everything was hitting the Autobots all at once, and Bee wasn't sure how many more surprises he could take.