Chapter Nine

For a few paralyzing seconds, no one moved. Then Kup began to rise, and Rodimus grabbed him by the arm in a crushing grip, hauling him to his feet. "Don't move," he hissed, keeping his gun pressed to the old warrior's neck.

Kup looked wounded. "Come now, lad, be reasonable," he cajoled.

"Reasonable!" he thundered, and Kup actually winced.

"Reasonable?! Was it reasonable to steal our own data, to bomb our own cities? Was it reasonable to kill Optimus? I think not!"

"Look, son, that part was an accident. No one meant for Optimus to get hurt."

"And killing Megatron would have been okay? Look, a few years ago I would have thrown a party, but those days are gone. As much as I may want to plant my foot into his rear access port, he's valuable and we need him."

Kup shook his head. "I wanted to involve you, Rodimus. I wanted to work together, like we always have, to eradicate the Decepticons and make the universe safe once more. But I could see that their pretty words had turned your head. You became blinded and could not see the truth that was staring you in the face. I had to take matters into my own hands."

"No, you didn't. You could have come to me and we could have discussed it like rational adults. Don't treat me like a kid, Kup; those days are gone too. The fact is, you knew I wouldn't go along with your plans because they are just plain wrong. I have no objection to increased security and changes in policy. But what you are doing is against everything we stand for. Eradication? That is not the Autobot way. We kill only when we must, and even then we usually regret it.

You've been trying to stage a coup." Kup opened his mouth to speak, but Rodimus waved his gun threateningly. His old friend was a terrorist and was going to be treated as such. "You may not have wanted to seize power directly, but your motives were similar. You wanted change and you wanted it your way. You didn't want to go through the proper channels. You wanted to use fear and hate to shape the Autobot army and its bases to your specifications. Maybe you'd be generous and allow me to remain as a figurehead, but you'd steadily eat your way through the ranks until I had no real support left."

Kup looked chagrined. "That was not my intention, lad. I just wanted to make sure we were safe. You've been a great leader and I am proud of you." It was Rodimus' turn to wince. The kind words from a betrayer were like salt in an open wound. The old 'bot looked sad. "So what are you going to do with me now?"

Roddy's expression turned grim. "We are going to the brig.

I'll decide what to do with you later." To his relief, Kup did not resist. It was rather late in the day, so traffic was light in the halls, but there were still plenty of people around to notice if there was a scene. Rodimus was certain to confiscate all communications equipment to ensure that Kup could not transmit any secret message. He wanted to keep the capture of the Circle's leader under wraps. At the moment, he wanted it to look like he was having a friendly chat with his security officer as they walked down the hall together.

They reached the brig soon enough, and Streetwise saluted as they walked inside. His jaw dropped as Prime led the grizzled campaigner to the last cell and locked him in. The look on the Autobot leader's face was terrifying. "Keep him here. He is not allowed to speak to anyone or have anything but Energon rations delivered to him.

His incarceration is top-secret, so if you so much as make a peep about this, I'll have you working the waste dispensers. That goes the same for everyone on duty here." Streetwise nodded emphatically, not trusting himself to speak. This was bigger than big! The security officer arrested and held in his own brig! The urge to talk was maddening, but he squelched it. He knew better than to cross Roddy. He had no idea how he'd keep this from his fellow Protectobots, but he'd manage somehow.

Now to break the news. He pounded loudly on Magnus' door, no doubt interrupting the city commander just as he was going in for recharge. Sure enough, the door slid open to show a glaring, bleary-eyed mech. Rodimus ignored the pointed glare and pushed past him. He pulled out the jamming device and activated it. Sure enough, that got Mags' attention. "What's this all about?"

Roddy's expression was carefully blank. "I've captured the leader of the Circle."

Magnus looked delighted and relieved. "You have? Well, that's great news! Who is it?"

"Kup." He fairly spat the word.

"Kup?"

"Is there an echo in here? Yeah, it's Kup."

"Rodimus, are you certain? Kup's been working hard to put this place together after all the attacks."

Prime's tone was bitter. "How do you think he knew where to attack in the first place? Trust me, Magnus, I caught him red-handed communicating with one of his underlings. He's behind all this."

Magnus collapsed into a chair, his legs no longer able to support him. "My god. Kup. I never would have believed it."

Rodimus laughed shakily. "Yeah, me neither, if I hadn't seen it with my own optics."

Magnus rubbed his forehead. "It doesn't make sense to me. Why would he want to sabotage us, when he's been working so hard to protect Earth and Cybertron? " He noticed Rodimus' dark expression. "There's a lot you're not telling me."

"Oh, think about it, Magnus. It's so damn obvious; I don't know why I didn't see it before. All the clues were there. I just needed to know the motive. Kup has been fighting pretty much his whole life. He's seen massive carnage at the hands of the Decepticons, and I can certainly understand why he wouldn't be willing to trust them. But rather than working with us to make sure that we are properly defended, he turned against us. He thinks that the Decepticons are poisoning our minds with the promise of peace and truce while they prepare to take over the planet."

Magnus looked hesitant. "You know, he does have a point there."

Roddy sighed. "Of course he does. We both know that. But that's not the idea. We knew going into this that it might turn out badly, but we decided that peace was worth the price. We've taken the proper precautions. But rather than helping us to strengthen our forces, Kup decided to take matters into his own hands. He pointed out our weaknesses in the most brutal and destructive method possible. He knew that we would never accept some of his ideas unless there was a desperate need. The terrorist bombings gave him the perfect excuse to redesign our bases to his specification."

Magnus felt ill. "Where was all this going? Do you understand the Circle's long-term goals?"

He shrugged. "Not really. Even now it's hard to tell where they were headed. They definitely wanted to paint the 'Cons as the bad guys and cause mistrust. They also obviously wanted us to be self-sufficient and eliminate the Alliance itself. Kup and his minions also wanted to see certain changes in building code, policies, et cetera, that were implemented due to these attacks. I'm not sure how far it actually goes. If the Circle got enough followers at a high enough level, they could have infiltrated the Autobots even further and eventually taken over."

"Wow." Magnus was very glad that he was still sitting down.

His view on the Circle had been entirely different. Admittedly, he had been thinking just what Kup had wanted him to think - that the Decepticons or an outside party was responsible. After all, what sense would it make for the Autobots to attack themselves? Well, maybe it made sense to the Circle, but it made absolutely no sense to him. And if Kup was indeed behind this, he would pay dearly. "Congratulations, Rodimus. You've broken the Circle wide open. How did you manage it?"

Rodimus waved away the praise. He didn't feel it was deserved.

"We actually have an informant. I'd prefer not to give away the details just yet. It's too early in the game. I'm sorry I can't tell you more just yet, but until a few hours ago, I wasn't certain that I could trust anyone at all. But I can tell you this, since I'm going to need help in this department. There is a way to identify members of the Circle.

They all carry these communicators." He held up the tiny device. "I used this to monitor their communications and capture their leader.

They may come in handy again."

Magnus reached out to touch it. It was an amazing piece of technology. "Monitoring communications may not be the best way to capture all of the Circle members. We may be able to get a few of them, but they may eventually realize their communications are compromised and simply stop using the units. Then we would have nothing to identify them."

Roddy nodded. "Let's speak to Blaster and see if he has any recommendations. He was just itching to get his hands on one of these again."

Sure enough, Blaster proved indispensable. Rodimus vowed to give him a bonus as soon as this whole thing blew over. It turned out that the small communicators had a special type of battery. It would actually glow slightly when viewed under an ultraviolet light spectrum. The young Prime was already equipped with such a visor. He was clearly able to see the glow. He also eyed Magnus and Blaster, who came up clean.

Magnus and Rodimus discussed the situation between themselves.

Roddy was relieved - it felt so good to trust again. Together they came up with a plan. It wasn't ideal, but hopefully they would be able to pull it off. At the moment, Rodimus was sitting in Metroplex's central Energon dispensary. He was truly shocked at the number of Autobots carrying the communicators. His spirits lifted every time one showed as clean, but they plummeted as soon as he caught sight of another small yellow glow. Springer, Perceptor, Magnus, Blaster, Arcee, Sludge, and most of the combiners were loyal to the Autobots. Cliffjumper, Bluestreak, Broadside, Slag, Slingshot, and Blurr were all Circle members. Rodimus wondered what this would mean for the Aerialbots and Dinobots. Tight-knit teams were about to be torn apart.

A team was quietly sent off to Cybertron as Rodimus prepared a group to strike at Metroplex. Then the 'fun' began. Roddy began to summon Circle members to a supposedly deserted storage hangar. As they arrived, they were arrested and escorted to the brig, leaving the room free for the next wave. The brig filled very quickly, so they eventually resorted to keeping their prisoners in the storage hangars.

They had the element of surprise on their hands, and the roundup was swift and successful. There may have been a few that caught on and hid or destroyed their communicators, but Rodimus and Magnus were both confident that they had caught the majority of the Circle.

Their sense of triumph was short-lived. Nearly one-third of the Autobot force was incarcerated. Could they manage to function with a reduced staff, while keeping so many 'bots captive? It was a daunting task, but it was one that Rodimus was certain he could handle. He wasn't sure what he would do exactly, but at least the Circle was no longer a menace.

Kup was proving uncooperative, as he feared. He refused to discuss anything about the Circle except his personal motives. He would not give away any names or future plans. They managed to turn up most of the stolen data and equipment, but some was still missing, and the former security officer refused to talk. Rodimus was heading over to the brig for another friendly chat when he heard shouting. He brushed it off, thinking it was just another angered prisoner, but to his surprise, there was someone outside Kup's cell. Someone screaming and cursing like an intergalactic tradesman.

"Son of a whorebot! I'll tear you a new waste-disposal unit and then shove you inside, one piece at a time! I'll rip off your head and give it to the Dinobots for basketball practice! And then I'll feed the rest of you to Unicron!" Andromeda was in fine form. Her optics blazed as she pounded on the energy bars with her fists. She caught sight of him and she became eerily calm. "Rodimus! Let me in his cell. Please.

Just for five minutes. For Optimus' sake. He has to pay."

"Of course he does." Roddy's smile was cruel. "But it's my turn first. And I think Magnus would like to have a go as well."

Andromeda walked away, looking happy for the first time in months.

Rodimus renewed his resolve to never cross a femme.

He went to bed early, finally able to recharge in peace. He still had no idea what to do with so many Circle members, but at least he knew that they were safely behind bars. Soon he would return to Cybertron and secure matters there, leaving Magnus to hold down the fort in Metroplex.

He dreamed again. Three balls of light, dazzling to look at.

Then seven spheres, not bright, but colorful, each beautiful in its uniqueness. Then a place. The same violet avian woman. She was no longer worried. Her patient had survived. He was awake and thriving.

He spoke to her now. She did not understand many of the things he said, but she listened. That's what she was here for.

Rodimus stood behind the purple woman. He felt not even the slightest flicker of remembrance. She smiled at her companion - her patient? - and his jaw dropped. He was familiar, achingly so. It was a robot of red and white and blue, with slight damage here and there.

There was a fresh coat of paint and new weld marks here and there, so he had clearly undergone major repair work recently. His visage was hidden by a heavy battle mask, his optics glowing slightly in the shadow cast upon his face by the dim lighting.

The mech looked up and his optics grew brighter. Although it had to have been impossible, Rodimus felt as if the robot was looking straight at him. The Matrix, which had been so disturbingly still all this time, flared to life with a massive pulse of sensation. The connection opened wide, flooding him with emotions that were not his own. Pain - confusion - loss - sorrow - loneliness.

The shock propelled him from his sleep, and he sat bolt upright, the words bursting from his lips.

"OPTIMUS!!!"

Optimus was alive!