Disclaimer: I'm very please with the responses for my story thus far and I anticipate more since I've still got a long way to go. As always, I don't own the rights to Transformers.

On a side note, Starfire201 has so far been my strongest supporter thus far, having reviewed nearly every chapter up to this point. To this, I thank you, sir/madam.

Chapter XVIII

Location: Unknown-

On her approach on the twisted world, Tempest half expected to be spotted by the Autobots and blown out of the sky. That didn't happen when she located the shuttle crash site, where she assume proto form and landed with a thud. The echo of metal on metal should've alerted someone (or something) to her presence, but Tempest saw nothing. Of the Autobots or the planets' inhabitants or otherwise. Tempest moved swiftly around the wreck, first checking the destroyed cockpit and then navigation center. No bodies, at least not as far as Tempest could tell. Her silver optics then caught sight of a large section of the hull, which appeared to remarkably intact. Tempest then noticed something else far more telling; tire tracks. They appeared to heading east. That was all the confirmation Tempest needed as she took to the air. Tempest remained in proto form, the advantages of being totally flight capable in either form. She activated a built-in infrared optical sensor to follow the precise path of the trail, which appeared multi-colored from her point of view. Tempest also picked up the vapor trail of the Autobot flyer. She stopped suddenly and hovered. For reasons strangely odd to her, Tempest thought about the Autobot flyer and even racked her processor to remember his name. Breakaway, she thought. It was odd that Tempest found herself curious about some Autobot youth she didn't or care to know. But before long, Tempest detected another vapor trail about six miles from her position. Assuming alt form, Tempest jetted onward toward the source. But far below, she missed seeing the other two Autobots near the golden lake.

Hotrod worked steadily to repair the damage done to Kup by the cyber-squid, stopping briefly to listen to a slight boom. "You hear that, Kup?"

"My audio sensors are already messed up enough, lad," Kup grumbled and lightly smacked his head to remove the last of the water. "How about focusing on fixing my leg?"

"You old timer's are so touchy," Hotrod mumbled although Kup still heard him. He continued to work and after a few more minutes, Hotrod finished the repair. "That should do the trick. Take a walk, see what you think."

Kup slowly stood up and started checking everything. The first thing he checked was his arm. He flexed it back and forth, side to side and even twisted to and fro. He checked his fingers and moved them and the each appeared to be intact. Kup even made a fist and it held strong. So far, so good although Kup wouldn't admit it to Hotrod. Kup next checked his head, which also took a beating after he was tossed to the surface earlier. Kup flexed his head from side to side and all seemed normal. Then the real test came; the walking. Kup, like a newborn Sparkling, took one step at a time. That was when he noticed the limp. Kup took several steps and every time, he had a very noticeable limp in his step. With each step, Kup grew annoyed and frustrated and finally stopped.

"Damn it all," he whispered. "Of all the circuit-glitch, diode-blowin' dimwittery!"

"What's the problem?" Hotrod called out.

"What's the problem," Kup repeated and glared at Hotrod. "The limp's the problem. You must've left a piece out."

Hotrod wasn't in any hurry to lose his cool and calmly exclaimed, "A little gratitude would be nice."

"I'll show you gratitude…"

"Besides, you're probably just a little stiff; it'll pass."

Kup wanted to lay into Hotrod but stopped when he noticed the limp was already fading. "Huh, maybe you're right, I'm starting to feel a little better now. I gotta say, lad, all things considered, you did a good job. Amazing even."

Hotrod stood up and folded his arms. "You really think so?"

"Yeah," Kup said as he rotated his arm. "You even got rid of nasty burn in my rotator. Ratchet would be proud."

"In that case, maybe you'll praise my killer marksmanship next time." Hotrod exclaimed with a smirk.

"Don't press your luck," Kup said and pointed at Hotrod. "Now, let's try to find Breakaway and the Dinobots. After that, we'll find a way off this twisted planet."

"Music to my audio sensors. I told Breakaway the same thing." Hotrod stated.

With that, Hotrod and Kup transformed in unison and drove off. Hidden from view, the tiny Transformer survivalist watched the two Autobots race off. He couldn't see the other one, the flyer. Maybe he'd gone an alternate route, the survivalist reasoned. Then there was the other flyer, the female. The survivalist wondered what her role in everything was. She wasn't the only female Transformer that the survivalist had seen. Another one that he'd met once was already on the planet for a long time. By his remembrance, she was tall, beautiful and statuesque, but a strong and cunning warrior. If she could find the survivalist, she could find the two wayward Autobots. So the survivalist emerged out of hiding, assumed alt form and followed them.

Breakaway jetted high above the surface of the twisted planet, for which he still had no clear name. He kept mistaking it for Cybertron on account that he'd never been there, having been built on Earth. So were the Dinobots, whom Breakaway was searching for. By now, Hotrod must have found Kup, Breakaway thought. He was tasked with searching for six brainless, dull witted and super strong robotic reptiles that were all likely to mistake him for a Decepticon. If that wasn't a recipe for disaster, then nothing would be. Along the way, Breakaway detected an energon signature from an approaching object. It was Decepticon. Breakaway transformed mid-flight and hovered, armed his sniper rifle and waited for his pursuer. He heard the sound barrier well off in the distance and then spotted a blue and silver jet coming in hot. The jet transformed mid-flight and Breakaway recognized it as the femme 'con he'd fought back on Earth.

"It's you," For some reason, Breakaway lowered his gun, while the femme 'con raised hers. "So, does this mean I get your name?"

For a split microsecond, and more than she'd like, Tempest seemed to hesitate. But then she opened fire on Breakaway, who quickly dodged the blast. Another blast came, then another and Breakaway seemed to almost dance around them. Figuring that Tempest wasn't going to let up, Breakaway transformed and jetted away. Tempest transformed and followed and a dogfight ensued.

Guess not! Breakaway thought.

The two flyers weaved in between the varying structures of the planet, most of which resemble spires or giant corkscrews and maybe a bit of both. Tempest appeared to have tactical advantage as she fired on Breakaway with every weapon in her arsenal. But Breakaway was proving a hard target to hit, due to his natural agility and speed. Breakaway seemed to almost always be able to dodge the shot using a mixture a barrel roles and loops. Tempest stopped firing and match Breakaway's moves. This made them about as evenly matched in air combat. Tempest soon had Breakaway right back in her sights but she couldn't pull the trigger. She was hesitating for too much and simply pursued Breakaway further. Then and too Breakaway's amazement, Tempest broke off the pursuit. Breakaway jolted to a holt and transformed while remaining airborne. There was no sign of Tempest as far as he could tell; she might have abandoned pursuit. But then Tempest came out of nowhere in proto form and collided with Breakaway. The tumbled straight down to the planet surface and hit it hard. Their metal bodies scraped against the metal surface, and Breakaway in particular slid far. He literally clawed his fingers into the surface to slow himself to a halt. Tempest took advantage and tackled Breakaway. Again they tumbled, only this time Breakaway got the better of Tempest and pinned her down. He unsheathed a vibroblade and held its point directly in Tempest's face.

"Does a bot have to go through all this, just to get your name?" Breakaway asked to Tempest's surprise.

"Why are you so obsessed with knowing my name?" Tempest asked.

"Why are you so obsessed with trying to kill me?" Breakaway asked back.

"I'm not obsessed," Tempest shouted and quickly turned Breakaway on her against and then unsheathed a vibroblade of her own. "I'm simply following orders," Tempest then held the blade to Breakaway's neck. One cut, and it'd all be over. But Tempest backed away, much to Breakaway's confusion. "I can't do it. I just can't do it." she whispered.

Breakaway slowly stood up, deactivated his melee weapon and stated, "You're not like the other 'cons, are you."

Tempest turned away without meeting Breakaway face to face. "I… I picked up six individual energon signatures; probably your Dinobots. Twenty-five miles southwest of here."

Breakaway went from confused to astonished in a nanosecond. "Wait a nanoklik; first you're trying to kill me, now you're helping me find the Dinobots? Why?"

Tempest started to hover above Breakaway and finally turned to face him. "I… I don't know." And then Tempest transformed and jetted off toward the stars.

"Wait," Breakaway called out but was too late; Tempest was gone. Breakaway stood still and was now even more in the dark than he'd like. "Femme 'cons are so weird."

She had the two vehicles in her sights and was ready to take the shot. Then she noticed the Autobot insignia on one of them. It could've been a trick set up by the ruthless masters of this world. They'd already taken her comrades, experimented on them and turned them into twisted abominations. If the image of two Autobots was nothing more than just an image, then she wasn't going to fall for it. At the same time, these two Autobots might be her ticket off planet. She followed them, but was also aware of the survivalist tailing them but keeping hidden. One of the vehicles, the bright red and orange one, stopped suddenly and assumed proto form. Something caught Hotrod's attention, almost as if calling him. On a steel wall was what appeared to be some sort of text. Kup returned Hotrod's side and assumed proto form.

"What's wrong, Hotrod?" he asked.

Hotrod pointed at the wall that was littered with the text. "You're sort of a relic in your own right, Kup; what's that look like to you?"

Kup leered at Hotrod for the remark before examining the text. "I'm no historian, but I think this might be ancient Cybertronian. It must go as far back as the Thirteen Primes and the Fallen."

"Um, Kup, not to call you senile, but I'm pretty sure the Thirteen Primes and the Fallen are just a myth." Hotrod remarked.

"Some Cybertronians think otherwise." Kup said.

Hotrod then noticed something in the text. "You see that?"

"What?"

Kup wasn't sure what Hotrod was talking about, or why Hotrod started to reach for the text. Hotrod on the other hand was very sure he could see the text glowing, or pulsating rather. He just didn't know why he was slowly reaching his hand to it. Tempting fate, Hotrod laid his hand on the text. Nothing happened. Hotrod glanced at Kup apparently relieved that nothing happened. Then Hotrod felt a sudden and violent jolt, coursing up from his hand to his arm and then his entire body. Kup backed off and watched as Hotrod started to convulse and a green light surrounded him. His blue optics turned green and from his point of view, everything around him began to face away, including Kup. Then Hotrod began to see… things; images that were by all rights, moving far too fast for him to discern even if he tried. Yet Hotrod could just make out vague images of planets, stars and whole galaxies, and two figures appearing to fighting amongst themselves. One of them appeared to be bathed in an ethereal light, wearing golden armor and brandishing a sword and shield. The other was slightly larger that the first one, surrounded in a black mist and wearing black armor and wielding an axe. As they clashed, doing so at startling speeds, galaxies were utterly destroyed. Finally, the black figure seemed to notice Hotrod and appeared to lunge at him. Hotrod felt himself being thrown right back into reality and right into Kup and they tumbled to the ground with a hard crash. Kup sat upright while Hotrod was down on his back.

"Hotrod, you okay," Kup asked although Hotrod didn't answer. "Talk to my, lad. C'mon."

Hotrod finally sat up holding his head. "Feels like I just got a massage from Scavenger; from the inside."

"What happened?" Kup asked.

"I don't know," Hotrod said, shaking his head. "I saw… I don't know what I saw," Then he heard a clicking sound. "Kup, that'd better be you doing the clicking."

"That'd better be your gun barrel pressing up against my head." Kup stated since he felt a barrel on the back of his head.

"Don't make any sudden moves," said a gruff, female voice. "Put your hands up where I can see them, slowly."

Kup glanced at Hotrod before slowly putting up his hands, and then swiftly grabbed the gun. In one quick motion, Kup flipped his captor over his head to the ground, while Hotrod pointed his gun down at their captor. By that point, Kup got a good look at their attacker, who was leering right back at it him. Hotrod saw the look in the vet's optics. He knew the attacker, and looking through a torn cloak, Hotrod could make out the Autobot insignia on her chassis.

"Elita One?" Kup finally said.

"You know this…" Hotrod couldn't finish his query once he was kicked directly in the face. The attacker, now confirmed to be Elita One, kipped up, turned around and aimed a laser pistol at Kup. All the while, Hotrod muttered, "Okay! That one hurt."

Kup shook his head at Hotrod and turned his gaze to Elita One. He finally holstered his gun and started walking toward her. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Elita One tensed. "I said don't move. I'll pull the trigger, so help me Primus."

Kup slowed his walk and said to Elita One, "Elita, it's me. It's Kup, your old drill sergeant. Remember that? You served with me on Velocitron along with Chromia and Firestar."

Hotrod was starting to get up, still holding him jaw. "I don't think you're getting through to her, Kup."

"How do I know it's really you," Elita One asked. "How do I know this isn't some Quintesson trick?"

Kup glanced at Hotrod, who under his breath uttered the word, Quintesson. Kup soon turned back to Elita One and said, "Elita, you know me."

Brazenly, Hotrod stepped up despite Elita One aiming at him now. "Besides, we've got no idea what a Quintesson is."

"And who in the Pit are you supposed to be, kid?" Elita challenged.

"My name's Hotrod and I'm not exactly a Sparkling."

Kup took a step closer to Elita One and said, "I wouldn't do anything to betray you, lass. You've got my word on that."

Elita One kept the two Autobots in her sights and finally and cautiously lowered her gun. "There's only one Autobot who'd ever call me lass. Alright, I'll take you word for it," Elita One looked around at her surrounding. She was getting a bad vibe. "C'mon, we need to get out of the open."

With that, Elita One transformed into her hover car form and raced off. Kup followed suit but Hotrod appeared to be stalling. He glanced back at the wall where he'd found the strange text, only to realize that it was no longer there. Hotrod dwelled on what he saw or at least though he saw. He wondered if any of it was real or just in his head. Did he really see the ghost of Optimus Prime earlier, or was the planet just playing tricks on him. And what in Primus's name was a Quintesson? Hotrod could bring himself to care for much longer, so he assumed alt form and raced to catch up with Kup and Elita One. From well out of range of the three Autobots, the survivalist followed.

"YOU DID WHAT?" The voice of a very angry Galvatron echoed through the bridge of the Nemesis and loud enough to make the crew shudder.

On a video screen, Shockwave appeared from Kaon and remained composed after Galvatron's outburst. "Don't be so surprised, Glavatron. I told long before you left for Earth that I would not stand by and watch Cybertron crumble. My actions were… logical."

"You deliberately went behind my back and contacted the Autobots on Earth for some supposed assistance. I wouldn't call that logical." Galvatron said now with a lowered, but still angry tone.

"And what would you call?" Shockwave calmly asked.

"Cowardice," Galvatron snarled. "Be thankful, Shockwave, that I'm out here pursuing Ultra Magnus. Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to return to Kaon and blast you into atoms, just as I did to Starscream. But rest assured that when I have the Matrix in my possession, you and I are going to have words."

"I look forward to that confrontation, Galvatron," Shockwave said with cold confidence. "Perhaps I'll have Menasor and Bruticus standing by, in the event that Unicron chooses to attack Cybertron."

"He won't attack Cybertron," Galvatron snarled again, only for Shockwave to cut the transmission. "He won't, Shockwave," Galvatron mused to himself. "I'll see to that personally."

Author's note: That's another chapter in the books, with quite a bit happening that didn't happen in the movie. I find that I'm becoming more and more original with my retelling, though not straying too far from the overall plot.

For one thing, Breakaway has another encounter with Tempest. She can't decide to whether or not to kill him, and he can't seem to get her name.

Regarding Hotrod, it's a question of whether he's just seeing things, or if it's all part of a much bigger picture. Only Primus knows.

Another more noticeable thing is the appearance of Elita One. We all know her history with Optimus Prime, so I thought her inclusion into the story would be somewhat intriguing.

And Shockwave has apparently informed Galvatron of his contacting the Autobots on Earth. Needless to say, Galvatron is not very happy about it.

Anyway, I'm still going strong so let me know how I'm doing. See ya bye!