Chapter 2

A New World

"Am I dead?"

Arcee and Cliffjumper stared at each other in disbelief; the darkness of the room making it easy to believe either one of them could be mistaken. Arcee's intakes caught in her throat, and Cliffjumper openly gaped at the small blue femme.

"Is this The Well?" Cliffjumper asked again.

"You tell me," Arcee replied, "Last thing I remember is Starscream's stupid ground bridge failing."

"Starscream," Cliffjumper growled the name like a curse, "Don't worry partner, I've already taken care of it. I have to say though, of all the places for you to haunt I didn't think it would be this old boat."

"Haunt?" Arcee asked skeptically, "Cliff, what happened? What is the last thing you remember?"

"Prime sent me here to investigate the Harbinger, I walked through the place and dealt with dust up to my afterburners, and then I saw the pink ground bridge where you jettisoned through. That's about it," Cliffjumper said with a shrug.

/Cliffjumper!/ Ratchet hollered into the comm, /There was an energy spike for a few seconds. Is everything okay?/

/Better than okay, Doc,/ Cliffjumper replied as the excitement of what he was seeing started to hit him, /I found an Autobot in here./

/Who is it?/ Ratchet asked.

/It's a surprise,/ Cliffjumper replied cheekily, /But believe me when I say you're gonna flip your transistors. Open a ground bridge and we'll come back./

Cliffjumper then shut off the comm and turned around so his headlights would illuminate Arcee again. He couldn't believe it. His best friend was standing in front of him, alive, and he was going to get to bring her back to base. He would have to tell her about everything she missed, and then they would have time to just catch up on all the activities they missed together.

"Who was that?" Arcee asked about the comm call.

"Ratchet," Cliffjumper replied with a smile, "I haven't told them you're alive yet. I wanna surprise everybody."

"They know I'm alive," Arcee corrected him, "You're the one that died."

"No I'm not," Cliffjumper casually argued, "Starscream killed you. Ripped your helm right off your shoulders. He recorded the whole thing, the fragger."

"What? No, Starscream impaled you," Arcee countered, "He even had the nerve to brag about it."

Just then the ground bridge opened, and both of them stared at the swirling vortex for a moment before looking back at each other.

"Look, something weird is definitely going on," Cliffjumper conceded, "But the others are waiting, and they'll want to see you again. We're a small group, but we're making progress. Also, the natives here are pretty cool. I think you'll like them."

"I already do," Arcee said warmly as she nodded at her partner, "Alright. Let's go."

"What is taking that hotshot so long?" Ratchet groused.

"I can't believe we're going to get to meet a new Autobot," Raf said happily from his place sitting on Ratchet's console, "I wonder what he's like."

"How do you know it's a he?" Sierra asked as she leaned over the railing on the platform above the console, "For all you know it could be a girl Autobot. Or maybe even a baby Autobot! Oh, that would be so cool!"

"Um, do Cybertronians have babies, Ratchet?" Raf asked sheepishly.

"In a sense, though Cybertronian sparklings are quite rare these days," Ratchet told him.

[They're coming!] Bumblebee beeped excitedly when he saw silhouettes walking through the ground bridge.

Cliffjumper came through the portal first, and then Arcee came out after him. Ratchet gaped in wide-optic shock at the sight, and Bumblebee actually jumped back against the wall in surprise. Arcee? Cliffjumper found Arcee?

"Bee, what's wrong?" Raf asked worriedly.

[It can't be!] Bumblebee whirred vaguely.

"Hey Doc, did you miss us?" Cliffjumper asked smoothly, though inwardly thrilled that this was really happening.

"By the Allspark!" Ratchet gasped as he stared at Arcee, "But how?"

"Why are they looking at me like that?" Arcee muttered to Cliffjumper.

"What's wrong with the others, Cliff?" Sierra asked, and this time it was Arcee's turn to be surprised.

"What the-?" Arcee stammered as she stared at the teenage girl, "What is she doing in here?"

"What, you're racist against humans or something?" Sierra asked challengingly, "I know we're small, but you'll see that we can help."

"Yeah, Sierra's like the bratty little sister I never had," Cliffjumper joked, and Sierra stuck her tongue out at the red Mustang, "See what I mean?"

"Wait, I-I don't understand," Arcee said shakily as she held her helm, "You guys all think I died, and Sierra knows about us? This has to be some kind of dream or something. It's too good to be true. Cliffjumper...I don't know what to think about any of this."

"Died? Wait a minute...Are you Arcee?" Sierra pieced the puzzle together, and her eyebrows shot up when she realized she was speaking to Cliffjumper's dead partner and friend, "Whoa! Cliff, is she Arcee? Oh wow, this is too intense."

Ratchet, being the professional that he was, calmed down the quickest and started scanning Arcee to make sure she was alright (and that she wasn't a Decepticon like the late Makeshift). His scans completed, he noticed her bio signature matched Arcee's, but something about it was off.

"What is this?" Ratchet asked himself.

"What is it, Ratchet?" Raf inquired curiously.

"According to my scans, these readings are exactly like how Raf and Sierra scanned after they came back from the Shadowzone," Ratchet informed them.

"So you were in the Shadowzone all this time?" Cliffjumper asked Arcee in confusion, "But how did you keep from starving to death?"

"I wasn't in the Shadowzone. I was here!" Arcee claimed, but then backtracked and said, "Well, I mean I think it was here. You were dead, and Sierra didn't know about us. The humans that knew about us were Jack, Miko, and Rafael."

"Miko?" Sierra asked, "That Japanese exchange student? She went back to Tokyo a few weeks ago after she got expelled. Something about graffiti in the boys bathroom. I didn't really know her. I just knew she was kind of scary. Um, which Jack are you talking about? We have a few in my school."

"Jack Darby," Arcee told her.

"Darby? Oh no..." Suddenly Sierra blushed rose red, and Cliffjumper started to chuckle.

"Sierra has a huge crush on Jack Darby," Cliffjumper explained even as Sierra groaned in humiliation, "If I recall Sierra, the day I met you Jack Darby was working at the KO Burger and you were trying to get his attention. You were backing away as you talked to him and I nearly ran you over because I didn't see you. You fell over and smacked my grill while cursing me out."

"Shut up!" Sierra squealed at Cliffjumper.

"It's okay," Arcee interjected, "Jack likes you too."

"Really?" Sierra asked in awe, "Oh man, this is so unfair! Jack likes me but I don't have any time for him! Between school, photography club, not to mention saving the world from Decepticon invasion...ugh! How do superheroes in the movies juggle everything?"

"They're movies," Cliffjumper replied as if it should be obvious, and then started laughing at the death glare Sierra gave him.

"Well, as long as Arcee is here, do you mind if I give her the grand tour?" Sierra asked eagerly.

"I already know where everything is," Arcee reminded her, "But I would like to get to know you better. You must have some really good stories about Cliffjumper."

"Yeah, I wanna hear your stories too," Sierra chuckled, and it was Cliffjumper's turn to glare at his human partner.

"I'll let you know if Ratchet finds out anything," Cliffjumper called out as the two females left together.

The energon storage room didn't look any different than when Arcee left. Sierra took a bottle of soda out of a cooler and the two of them sat down and drank together. The energon tasted the same. Everything seemed the same, yet it was clear that it wasn't. Sierra was one of the biggest changes that Arcee noticed, but she also noticed that the base didn't seem as...crowded. Something was missing.

"I've gotta say Arcee, it is really cool having you here," Sierra said casually as she wiped some condensation off her soda bottle, "I know this is gonna sound weird, but I'm glad that I'm not stuck being the girl anymore. The 'Bots don't make me feel bad about it or anything, but it's weird that I'm the only girl in the entire base. I don't even know why it's weird. I guess because at school I don't have any guy friends. It's funny though, Cliffjumper understands me more than anyone else I've ever met, boy or girl. I've never had a friend like him. I'm sorry, I'm doing all the talking. I do that when I'm nervous. So, is there anything you want to ask me about?"

"Can you tell me about the other 'Bots here at Omega Base?" Arcee asked; hoping to either confirm or deny a nagging suspicion in the back of her processor.

"Well, you already know about Optimus I'm sure," Sierra replied with a shrug of her shoulders, "He's a really cool 'Bot and he seems like a great leader. He's the kind of mech that makes you feel like you can do anything. On the other hand though, I don't think he always gets humor. I don't know. Maybe I'm just not funny."

"No, Optimus acts that way because his job demands it," Arcee told her, "He wasn't always a Prime you know."

"I know," Sierra nodded, "He used to be a miner."

"What?" Arcee asked for clarification, "I think you got his past mixed up with someone else's."

"No I didn't," Sierra shook her head, "That's why his armor is so much bigger than most other Autobots. It's hard to believe such a gentle soul used to belong to a caste system that treated his kind as disposable. It's weird though. He said Megatron was mistreated too. Said he was a gladiator in the pits of Kaon. They came together to try to end the caste system, but Megatron wanted more. He wanted power, and he didn't care who got in his way to get it. It's sad in a way, how much one mech's greed could affect everyone. I'm sorry Arcee, you probably don't want to be reminded of that."

"It's okay," Arcee replied amiably, "At least I know one thing is still the same. I know this will sound strange, but I don't think this is my world. I know that's a farfetched thing to say, but where I come from Optimus was a data clerk, not a miner, and Cliffjumper was killed by Starscream."

Sierra shuddered then, and Arcee wondered if she had said something wrong.

"Sierra?" Arcee called out gently.

"I'm sorry, it's just...Starscream didn't kill Cliffjumper. He killed you," Sierra replied vehemently, "He also tried to kill me and Raf. He hated Cliffjumper, and knew it was the quickest way to get his revenge. It didn't work though. Cliffjumper snuffed his spark. Starscream is gone now."

Arcee was surprised for a split second, but then couldn't help but sigh and shake her helm wistfully; realizing that was exactly what Cliffjumper would do in that situation.

"I had the chance to do the same in my world," Arcee said solemnly, "I didn't do it though. Part of me wishes I did, but another part knows that isn't the Autobot way. Still, I can never forgive what he did to Cliffjumper."

"It's weird to hear you talk about Cliffjumper like he's dead," Sierra commented, "I mean, after hearing so much about you...Cliff says you were one of the most loyal friends he ever had, but also one of the most stubborn people he's ever known. He talked about the time you two escaped Shockwave. That sounded pretty impressive. I'm glad I finally get to know you. You meant a lot to him."

"Yeah," Arcee said with a wry smile, "He meant a lot to me too."