Disclaimer: Well so far, everything's going well I see. I can feel my head expanding. Does anyone have a pin? No? Damn. As usual, I don't own the rights to Transformers.

Chapter XVI

Galvatron stumbled to a halt in a corridor of the Nemesis. He slammed his fist against the die cast steel wall, holding his other hand against his head. He felt and heard what sounded like scratching in his mind. It reached the point of Galvatron wanting to rip his own head off to stop the pain. More so than he'd wanted to rip the head off of the first Autobot he'd find. Galvatron pounded the wall with enough force to cause a tremor. He was trembling, clutching his head as the pain seemed to increase. Galvatron knew who was behind the searing pain and as he gazed at the wall, half expecting to see his refection, he instead saw a yellowish white light.

"Unicron," he said with ample struggle and torturous pain. "Why? Why do you torture me?"

The light seemed to separate in two, resembling menacing eyes. Or optics. A voice, dark and ominous, began speaking to Galvatron through his mind. "You have failed, Galvatron."

"No, you're wrong, Unicron," Galvatron spat. "I did everything you asked of me. Ultra Magnus is dead. His followers are all dead. And the Matrix is destroyed."

"No, Galvatron. The Matrix still exists. Ultra Magnus still lives," The frightening eyes fluctuated briefly, and Galvatron wondered if they were real or simply in his head as Unicron continued. "Even now, he escapes your grasp as we speak. You will stalk him, find him, and tear him and his Autobots apart. And, you will destroy the Matrix."

Galvatron might have known better than to question Unicron, but he did so regardless. "What happened to bringing the Matrix to you? Are you…" The pain was steadily becoming more and more unbearable for Galvatron as he continued to speak, "Are you that scared of something so insignificant? Are you… are you afraid?"

Then Galvatron crumpled to the deck clutching his head. The scratching and screeching grew louder, more torturous and searing than anything Galvatron had ever endured. Perhaps, he assumed, questioning Unicron was unwise. In the past, as Megatron, he'd done much the same to any Decepticons who dared to question him. And now, Galvatron was experiencing the pain. Only, this pain was a thousand fold. It was steadily becoming too much. But then the noise, the pain stopped suddenly. Galvatron shook his head to make certain the pain had gone and Unicron had ceased his seemingly endless abuse of him. He tried to stand upright, briefly losing his balance and pressing his shoulder against the wall. As he tried to right himself, Galvatron caught sight of Sideways. Sideways was leaning against the same wall, arm folded. The audacity, Galvatron assumed.

"Looks like you ticked off the big boss," Sideways said in a cool, yet haunting tone. "How'd that work out for ya?"

Galvatron sighed in annoyance and asked, "What do you want, Sideways?"

"Oh, nothing much! Just thought you'd want to know that Tempest has just boarded," Sideways said as he righted himself. He turned without a second glance at Galvatron. "I'm sure you'll be looking to administer a thorough riot act on her."

Something within Galvatron made him raise his particle cannon and aim at Sideways, and Sideways stopped in his place. "You claim only to be a drifter, Sideways. But I am no fool, and I don't like when my Decepticons lie to me. Why are you really here?"

Without turning to look at Galvatron, Sideways calming said, "You might be right on the credits. Maybe I'm who I say I am, and then again maybe not. In the latter case, you wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger," Then Sideways, turned his head so he could meet Galvatron's gaze. "But can you really afford to take that chance, especially if the Autobots are still functional?"

With that, Sideways sauntered off. Galvatron still had his particle cannon fixed on the mysterious Decepticon drifter until he'd disappeared around a corner. As he finally lowered his weapon, Galvatron glared at the wall and saw only his reflection. The supposed eyes of Unicron were gone, if they there at all. Galvatron pondered this, questioned whether or not it was all in his head. The torture itself felt real. It was real as far as he knew. It didn't matter now; Galvatron had to refocus. If the Autobots survived, he'd find them. But first thing's first; Galvatron needed to have a chat with a certain femme 'con.

The lifeboat that used to be part of the bulk of the destroyed Equinox was already starting to fall apart. Pieces of the hull were coming loose and sent drifting into space. Inside, it was shuddering and making the crew nervous. Ultra Magnus was the only one succeeding in maintaining his composer, and most of the crew followed his example. Except for the oft-jittery Blur; this was evident when a small piece of the wall fell right next to him.

"Yikes," he yelped and caught everyone's attention. "This-is-bad. This-is-very-very-very-bad. The-shuttle's-gonna-fall-apart-before-we-even-make-it-to-Cybertron. We're-all-gonna-die. We're-all-gonna-die. We're-all-gonna…"

"Blur, I swear to Primus I'll jettison you into space if you don't shut up." Outback snapped.

"I'm-just-pointing-out-the-fact-that-the-shuttle's-a-mess," Blur said in defense. "So-what-if-we-get-to-Cybertron? That-monster-planet's-gonna-tear-us-to-shreds-in-a-nanoklik-. We're-all-gonna-die."

"Oh, shut up, Blur," shouted Perceptor of all bots. Everyone glanced at him in shock and Perceptor asked, "What?"

No one said a word and went back to their duties. Outback leaned over to Perceptor and whispered, "Didn't know ya had it in ya, Perceptor!"

Across the deck, Arcee was raying to contact the lost Odyssey. "Hotrod, do you read me? This is Arcee. Come in, Hotrod, please respond. Do you read, do you read?"

Springer placed his hand on the femme bot's shoulder. "He's gone, Arcee. We have to keep going, no matter who we've lost."

Arcee lowered her head and then shook it. "No, he's alive, Springer. I can feel it in my Spark. I know Hotrod is alive."

Springer sighed. "Look, even if that's true, we can't afford to double back and search for him. Right now, our top priority is getting to Cybertron."

"I don't know if you noticed, but we just let the Decepticons detonate three quarters of the shuttle. Was that even necessary?" Arcee questioned.

Springer glanced briefly at Ultra Magnus, who glanced back without a word. Then Springer said to Arcee, "Seeing as they would've detonated four quarters, I'd say it was a good choice. Maybe even a smart choice. Probably not the right choice, but a smart one."

"Yeah, but how will we reach Cybertron now, in this wreck?" Arcee asked.

Having overheard Arcee and Springer's discussion, Ultra Magnus turned to Perceptor. "Perceptor, can you locate a place to set down for repairs?"

"I can try," Perceptor said and started working on the console. "Let's see what we can see." he murmured.

"Waitin' on you, Perceptor." Outback said.

"Give me a moment, Bra… I mean Outback. Sorry," Perceptor corrected himself and continued his console work. "Interesting."

"What's interesting?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"Gamma waves in this sector of space create marginal navigation probabilities. At the same time, it should keep us hidden from Decepticon sensors. As for locating a repair area…" Perceptor stopped when he noticed Ultra Magnus growing bored with the details. "Um, I believe I've found a suitable location."

"Where?"

"I'm unsure if it's a planet or not, but it's about 90 to 100 kilometers from our currant position."

"That's cutting it pretty close, Magnus," Springer said. "You sure you want to go through with it?"

"Not a lot of options at this point, Springer," Magnus stated. "Let's go for it."

Tempest didn't know what Galvatron wanted with her, but she did know it couldn't be a least bit good. So far in her existence, she'd seemed to question Galvatron's authority. Yet, she didn't know why or what compelled her. She didn't even remember her past existence as she entered the main deck of the Nemesis. Numerous Decepticons, including Soundwave, Slipstream, Wreckage and Barricade were at their posts. Scourge and Sideways were at the far end and standing dead center behind the crew was Galvatron himself. As far as Tempest knew, Cyclonus was still investigating the debris of the destroyed Autobot shuttle. She approached Galvatron until she stopped directly behind him. Galvatron seemed to ignore her presence, but he knew she was there.

"Cyclonus reporting; there is no sign of the Autobot's bodies among the debris."

Galvatron angrily tensed. "Then they're not dead," he murmured to himself. "Return to the ship, Cyclonus. Soundwave, use the infrared detection system. I want to know how the Autobots escaped and where they're going."

"Uh, not to call you obsessed or anything, Galvatron, but it's possible the Autobots might've been vaporized by the explosion," Wreckage said matter-of-factly. "Just throwing it out there."

Galvatron glared at Wreckage and snarled, "No, Wreckage. They're alive. Question me again and I'll rip your head off and give it to Ravage as a chew toy," Galvatron soon refocused his attention to the femme 'con standing behind him. "As for you, Tempest…"

"You did request to see me, Galvatron?" Tempest acknowledged as Galvatron turned to meet her face to face.

"I don't request. I command, something with which you've seemingly taken liberties and even questioned," Galvatron said. "As a result, I find myself questioning your loyalty to the Decepticon cause."

Tempest couldn't meet Galvatron's gaze. "Forgive my actions, Galvatron. I've been wrong to question your commands and…"

"Save your words and listen," Galvatron interrupted. "Soundwave has detected the ion trail of the Autobot shuttle you and Cyclonus shot down. It's quite faint but it seems to lead to an unknown planet within this sector."

"So what do you me to do?" Tempest asked.

"You will follow the ion trail, locate and investigate the shuttle crash site, and if the Autobots somehow survived," Galvatron trailed off, almost intentionally. "Well, you don't need me to tell you the rest. That should be adequate to prove your loyalty to me. But know this, my dear Tempest; don't bother to return if you fail. Am I clear?"

"Yes Galvatron." Tempest said and stormed off.

The primary hatch opened from below the Nemesis and Tempest leapt out into vacuum of space. Once she was clear of the ship, Tempest assumed alt mode and rocketed away. She picked up the ion trail through her onboard sensors. It was directing her southwest toward a small nebula. She would follow the trail and with any luck, locate the Autobot shuttle she and Cyclonus shot down. It was simple enough. But if any Autobots survived… That was where Tempest became unsure of herself. She was a Decepticon, or at least she was supposed to be one. Yet, she wondered if it was really necessary to kill the Autobots just to prove her loyalty to Galvatron. And if she didn't follow her orders, she'd very likely be exiled or destroyed. In short, Tempest was conflicted. All she could do for now was head for the unknown planet.

Among the fires and mangled remains of the Odyssey, a lone figure of a bright red and orange color scheme began to stir. Hotrod was moving slowly and almost gingerly as he started to rise. He collapsed back down with a clang on a metallic surface. That was enough indication for him to tell he wasn't on any organic planet. Hotrod felt like he'd spent an eternity in an energon induced coma, and then he saw movement. A large, blurry figure walked by his peripheral vision without as much as a glance at him. Then it stopped and Hotrod caught a glimpse of it. It was too blurry for Hotrod to get a clear a clear view, and yet it seemed familiar as it came closer to him. It was like a great shadow with no visible signs of familiarity, and yet Hotrod felt safe amongst it. The image then appeared to reaching out to Hotrod and then spoke in a very familiar voice.

"On your feet, soldier," it said. "It's not your time yet."

Hotrod wanted to believe that he was hearing of a lost friend, and he did. "Optimus? Is that you?"

The image began to take the shape of the long deceased Optimus Prime, minus the battle scars and ash gray steel. "Our Darkest Hour is yet to come, as is your destiny." And then the image turned and began to walk away.

"Optimus wait," Hotrod said as he started to rise up. "I'm sorry for what've done," Hotrod reached for the image. "Come back. The Autobots need you. I need you. Optimus!"

The image turned back to face Hotrod, even as it began to fade. "Til all are one."

Then the image faded away into nothing and left Hotrod alone. It seemed like bad timing when Hotrod's audio sensors picked up the high pitch whine of a jet engine. Soon Hotrod caught sight of an Earth style fighter jet coming right toward him but he didn't arm. The jet transformed in mid flight and revealed itself to be Breakaway. Breakaway rushed to Hotrod and help him up and away from the shuttle wreck.

"Thank Primus I found you, Hotrod," he said. "I managed to jet away before the shuttle crashed," Breakaway quickly noticed that Hotrod wasn't listening. "You okay, Hotrod? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Hotrod snapped out of his trance and grabbed Breakaway. "I saw him, Breakaway. I saw him."

"Saw who?" Breakaway asked.

"Optimus," Hotrod declared. "I saw Optimus Prime. He's alive."

Breakaway looked at Hotrod liked he'd finally blown a gasket. "O… Kay."

"You don't believe a word I'm saying do you, Breakaway." Hotrod said as he collected himself.

"Not a single one, Hotrod," Breakaway admitted. "I think this place is messing with your head. Speaking of which, where are we?"

Hotrod turned himself all the way around in a 360 degree angle to get an account of his surroundings. "I don't think we're on Cybertron. This all feels… wrong."

"How do you know?"

"Because if we were, we'd be staring directly at that monster planet by now," Hotrod stated become lightly tapping Breakaway on the arm. "C'mon. Let's try to find Kup and the Dinobots."

Hotrod assumed vehicle mode and raced off while Breakaway assumed jet mode and took to the sky. All the while, they were being shadowed by another figure. For the next few cycles, the search for Kup and the Dinobots led Hotrod through a twisting labyrinth of roads. The surface might've been somewhat similar to Cybertron, except the roads weren't as winding and confusing. Breakaway, airborne as he was, kept Hotrod in view. He spoke to brethren in their native Cybertronian language, directing him through the maze of metal. It helped mostly, but Hotrod still occasionally got lost. As all of this went on, the two Autobots were oblivious to the small, bright orange vehicle tailing them from a distance. At least it seemed so. Breakaway had relayed a message to Hotrod and they simultaneously transformed, turned back sharply and armed up. Hotrod was groundside and Breakaway was still airborne and both expected to see something. They saw nothing out of the ordinary, if one could call it that. Breakaway dropped from the air next to Hotrod, then went back to back with him. They spun around keeping the surroundings in their individual sights and saw nothing still.

"This place is giving me the creep." Breakaway admitted.

"You and me both, Breakaway, but we've got to focus on finding Kup and the six Dino-bozos." Hotrod said as he and Breakaway lowered their guns.

"How? We don't even where to start." Breakaway said.

Hotrod turned to face the young Autobot Seeker. "We'll have to split up. I'll stay groundside and search for Kup. You go skyward and see if you can find the Dinobots."

"Wait a nanosec," Breakaway said. "How come I gotta look for the Dinobots?"

"Because you're the only one of us who can fly," Hotrod explained. "You can cover more ground from the air."

"I can also get shot down by Swoop, and chewed up by Grimlock and Quickstrike." Breakaway said.

"C'mon, they're not that stupid. Okay, maybe a little bit," Hotrod exclaimed, and he held up his middle and index fingers. "Look, we don't have a lot of options. Let's just concentrate on finding our friends and getting off this twisted planet."

"Fine, but I'm issuing a formal protest. This kind of stress is really bad for my afterburners." Breakaway said before transforming and taking off into the sky.

Hotrod shook his head as Breakaway jetted out of sight. That kid had to get in the last word! As soon as Breakaway was gone though, Hotrod should've expected to be alone. But he didn't feel alone. Hotrod checked around for a final time before he was satisfied and then he assumed vehicle mode and raced off. Hotrod didn't know about the miniature Transformer hiding away from plain view. He was small, smaller than Bumblebee with a very bright orange color scheme. He bore neither Autobot nor Decepticon insignia, so had Hotrod seen him he wouldn't know which side he was on. But clearly, this Transformer was too small to be a threat. A minor annoyance maybe, but not a threat and not like the other inhabitants of this bizarre planet.

Watching from a location unknown to the Autobots, a hideous machination watched with unfathomable loathing. It seemed to be levitated in midair by an energy beam like a tether. Its body appeared to be almost egg shaped and a series of tendrils whipped to and fro and back and forth. But most disturbing of all were the five grotesque faces set around the egg shape, each more hideous than the last.

"We have intruders." one face said in a distorted tone.

"Trespassers to our world." said another face.

"We must exterminate these invaders." a third face said in a raspy voice.

"We will send our guardsman…" a forth face added.

"…And prepare these invaders…" said the fifth and final face and low voice.

And then all five faces declared, "…For their judgment."

Author's note: Okay, not my best effort compared to the last chapter, but at least it's done. A couple if differences here, including Galvatron's mental torture by Unicron, Tempest's loyalty being called into question and cameos from Wheelie and the Quintessons at the end.

And, did Hotrod really see the ghost of Optimus Prime? Or was it all in his head. You decide.