Worlds Apart

Now we've made our stand

Hot Shot wasn't thrilled at the idea of having a Decepticon work on his friend but the while idea of a bug was throwing him off. If the bug was true, then DJ had been listening to them for a long time now. He'd heard their lack of faith in him. He knew they didn't trust him. He probably already made precautions in case they couldn't find the piece or wouldn't hand it over. This means, they were in it deep before they even knew it was happening.

"I've got it…"

Hot Shot looked down at Opposite. He held a small chip in his hand. It was familiar though, a common looking listening or tracking device. This was proof that DJ couldn't be trusted any more. Prowl looked to Hot Shot. The soldier nodded in response. Prowl turned around toward Optimus Prime's direction.

"Optimus!" Prowl called. "We've got the bug!"

Optimus spun on his heel to face the little group. He slipped the finishing chip into a small compartment on his arm and moved to rejoin the group. Opposite stood up, offering the chip to Optimus. The leader took it and looked it over. It was a very basic tracking chip, nothing too fancy.

"Thank you, Opposite," smiled Optimus, crushing the device. "You've proven helpful."

"Not enough to be trusted I see," groaned Opposite. "DJ most certainly knows now that you four are on to him."

"Where are we? If we exit this white world, I mean?" Optimus asked.

"My world, the last place DJ would look for you four," Opposite instructed. "Why?"

"Hot Shot, Prowl, get Perceptor," Optimus ordered. "We're leaving…"

"You can't leave!" gasped Opposite.

"You said this would be the last place DJ would look, correct?" Optimus asked, slipping out his Energon ax. "So why are you worrying?"

"Please," Opposite whispered. "You don't understand my world. The people there…I don't want you lot to get hurt."

Optimus looked over at the others. Hot Shot and Prowl were by the edge of the world, Perceptor moaning in their arms. Optimus looked back at Opposite. The Decepticon looked back from the others to Optimus. The leader didn't have time for Opposite to stop them in escaping. Optimus charged at the Decepticon, his glowing ax cutting into the neat white armor on the shoulder. Opposite yelped, collapsing the ground.

"I'm sorry," Optimus whispered, pulling the ax from the wound. "But we need to go…"

"But…" whimpered Opposite. "It…It's dangerous."

"We don't care anymore!" snapped Hot Shot.

"All we know is that we can't trust anyone around here," Optimus huffed, walking away.

"Please!" shouted Opposite.

"Sorry, but we're making a stand," Hot Shot nodded.

Optimus looked back at the wounded Opposite. His bright purple optics glittered with something unexpected. Innocence. Optimus looked away quickly and stepped through the world's wall first. He entered a fallen apart and broken world. The ground was metallic and the sky was scarred a red tint. The buildings were cracked and destroyed, cluttering the planet floor. Optimus contained his gasped as Hot Shot pulled Perceptor through the door, followed by Prowl.

"Where are we?" asked Hot Shot.

"If I could take a wild guess…I'd say Cybertron," hummed Optimus.

"This looks nothing like Cybertron," groaned Prowl.

"Not our Cybertron," Hot Shot whispered.

"We're in Opposite and DJ's world…we're on their Cybertron," gasped Optimus.

"Wonderful," sighed Hot Shot. "I can feel the lack of trust everywhere."

"We need to get Perceptor to safety," Optimus sighed. "Maybe an underground tunnel or something."

"How about that hole," Prowl pointed out.

Optimus looked over. Prowl was hovering over a large hole in the surface of the planet. It led into a deep and winding tunnel system. Optimus smiled. Prowl jumped down first. Hot Shot gently let Perceptor down to Prowl and proceeded after him. Optimus jumped down last. He looked back up at the bloody sky before trailing after the others down the tunnel.

"Where are we going?" asked hot Shot.

"Forward," joked Prowl.

"When will Mister Sleeping Scientist wake up?" grumbled Hot Shot, pulling Perceptor along.

"Huh…" mumbled Perceptor.

"Now, evidently," Optimus chuckled.

"What…where…" yawned Perceptor, slipping away from Hot Shot. "What happened?"

Perceptor's optics blinked rapidly as they took in his surroundings. The only thing that looked familiar was his three companions. He looked at the broken down tunnel and the dimly lit halls. He gave a shocked expression as he looked over at Optimus.

"What! Where are we!" gasped Perceptor.

"We're on a Cybertron," answered Hot Shot.

"A Cybertron?" Perceptor inquired.

"You remember that white armored Decepticon?" Prowl offered. "He's apparently from the same world as DJ."

"DJ is apparently the bad guy," added Hot Shot. "We can't really tell about Opposite."

"Opposite had you knocked out due to a bug planted in you circuits," Optimus explained.

"I was bugged!" howled Perceptor.

"Yes," assured Optimus. "But we got it out…"

"Right," agreed Hot Shot.

"Now what?" asked Perceptor. "We're lost on a foreign world and we never got that chip!"

"So you think," hummed Optimus, smiling lightly.

"Wait…you got it? How!" gasped Hot Shot and Prowl.

"While you guys were searching for me back at that base, I stumbled upon a junk pile with this in it," Optimus smirked, pulling out the glittering computer chip.

"Neat!" chuckled Hot Shot.

"But still," whispered Prowl. "Now what?"

"We know we can't trust DJ and Opposite is still a little shifty," mumbled Hot Shot.

"We just need to survive long enough to get home, right," Perceptor offered.

"Right, but we're on DJ's playing field now. We don't know who to trust and who to defeat here!" Hot Shot hissed.

"We need to figure things out. Talk to someone in charge or a history vid or something," groaned Optimus.

"Or find at least one person we can trust," sighed Prowl.

The group fell silent. After the beginning of this whole adventure, they were growing more and more used to each other. At first it seemed like a simple job with a team forced upon you. By now, they were truly friends. If only it was under better circumstances. Suddenly there was a loud shattering noise and tunnel shook.

"What was that?" gasped Hot shot.

"Sounded like…" Optimus groaned as the tunnel rumbled once more. "Gunfire!"

"What do we do?" asked Prowl. "We can't go back; we'd be pushed to the surface!"

"Are we going to put up a fight?" Perceptor asked.

Optimus looked at his team. They looked at him with startled and worried expressions. The leader turned his stare down the shadowed hall. The sound of gunfire continued to howl and grow closer with each passing second. He couldn't think. If they charged in, they could harm the innocent and help the enemy. They wouldn't know who was good and who was bad. If they fell back, they'd simply be pushed up to the surface in the open like Prowl said. He couldn't decide fast enough as the battle edged closer.