Author's Notes: Here we are at the end! Wow what a ridiculous ride! For anyone who is waiting for the next and official sequel to the first instalment, Word's Unspoken, well you are in luck! The next story, Twisted Glimpse, will be out (here's hoping) by the end of the month! But until then, let's see how our heroes the Rescue Bots wrap up their wacky adventure protecting Earth! They've earned a break… I hope they get it.

Please drop a comment to share what you think, and as always, enjoy the read! See you all in the official Sequel, Twisted Glimpse!


Part 16

All's well that ends well… Right?

Heatwave

"Amazing teamwork everybot!" Fixit cheered. Doc Green had just roused him and his identical minicon friends from their murderous state so they could share in the victory. Now they were putting their ludicrous numbers to good use to clean up as much of the debris as they were able. "I knew you Rescue Bots would be the right choice to handle this! I'm very happy this issue was dealt with quickly. I'm sure we have avoided who knows how much Spark ache."

"Thanks. Let's not do it again," Heatwave said back.

His team was still on the roof of both buildings. At this point, they were literally throwing all the evidence of Cybertronian tech into the open Spacebridge left for fleeing Decepticons. He should have had mixed feelings about the end to the fight. Since they had to resort to using the Decepticon help line, he was sure Team Prime would find out about the events on Earth. Not that he intended to keep it a secret forever, but they were still in the midst of peace negotiations. Heatwave found himself weighing the good news over the bad. No one, Autobot, Con, or human was killed. Damage to the city and the park below could be fixed. They had managed to arrive at the best-case scenario without blowing their cover on Earth.

Well, maybe. Who knows if anyone spotted 'Papa' Whirl's shenanigans as he had been very liberal with fighting under Secundus' invisibility cloak. They could always handle that when it popped up.

/A lot of Con's back at the Maine base are headed your way boss. Most are very excited for the trip home,/ Salvage gave them the helms up.

Good. Their rowdy houseguests were clearing out. It made sense they had to come here first for transport back to Cybertron. Soundwave wouldn't be able to lock onto their location while in the shielded Autobot base. The war may be over, but some precautions needed to stay in place. Call him paranoid, but Heatwave would rather not recharge in a place any random Decepticon could just waltz right in.

Right on time, the Groundbridge from the Academy opened. All the non-violent Decepticons they had come to know hurried through. Many pushed the stasis pods of their less than cooperative comrades for transport. Chase was there to greet them, switching out of fighting mode and instead into the ever-helpful police bot, "Please stand by for the Spacebridge. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Thanks for the memories, copper," Ransack snickered, carrying his few belongings on his shoulder.

"Hope we never bump into ya again," Crumplezone added.

"I am hopeful for the same outcome. Please have a good day," Chase said.

The group waved to the recruits and left with many others. One short red Con remained in the portal from the Academy. His stalk like optics scanned his surroundings in fear.

"Thunderhoof is gone, Clampdown. Come on through," Heatwave waved him forward.

The jittery Con scuttled out onto the building at last, "Thanks fella's… Is it trues what I just heard? Homes ahead? No strings attached?"

"It is. Just stay out of trouble," Heatwave ordered.

Clampdown gave him an ugly smile, "Promise I will! Cross my Spark! No more workings with Thunderhoof, or anybot but me! Also, no more snitchin'." He scuttled for the Spacebridge when it opened again. He hesitated, turning back to Heatwave, "Eh, ya know there's another Con still at your base, right? The one knocked out in stasis. Didn't want ta, leave anybot behind. Would eat at my mind now that I'm a straight and narrow fella."

"That's Chop Shop," Heatwave confirmed, "He will be sent back once he is recovered." The Combiner would probably receive care on Cybertron. But Heatwave had no clue what kind of medical resources would be in the recovering Decepticon Capital. Or if they cared to even have medical facilities there. Maybe he was still a little biased to assume that. But he wanted to assure their ally received the best chance to recover without lasting injury.

Seeming satisfied with the only good deed he had ever done in the form of a semi-concerned question, Clampdown tapped into the portal.

/Heatwave!/ High Tide's voice snapped over the Comm. His tone didn't promise anything good. /The Dino's disregarded that message from the Decepticon leader and are still brawling! When can we send these scoundrels back to Cybertron with the Cons?!/

Heatwave rolled his optics. Welp, at least most of the fighting was done.

"Is there still a fight!?" Big Whirl exclaimed and rushed for the edge of the building, ready to jump for it. He was acting like Cody did on Christmas morning when he was still a child.

Heatwave snatched him to a stop, "There won't be for long! We are going to break it up."

The Groundbridge opened to the park. Heatwave arrived with Boulder and big Whirl, the latter of whom was groaning in disappointment. He found Kade and Woodrow sat at a safe distance on the wreckage of a fire truck. They were watching the ensuing Dino brawl like it was a wrestling match. Kade had also somehow acquired popcorn. Leave it to Kade to find snacks even in a foreign country and in the middle of the night. Or, more ludicrous but also more likely, he brought it with them on this very dangerous mission. "Hey Heatwave!" Kade greeted with his mouth full. "It's five against one, and it's anybot's match!"

With great disappointment, he beheld the carnage. Grimlock and the Decepticon Dinobot Scowl were locked in combat. Scowl was covered in his own Energon and swaying on his peds. That didn't appear to bother him. He took another hit from Grimlock like a champ. He even smashed into Snarl on his way to charge again. Despite the Con's clear and horrific injuries, they were all laughing and having a great time. Slash even helped the Con up from his most recent fall, dusted him off, then slammed into him with her helm after he thanked her for the lift.

The other two goons once sent by Thunderhoof had long since left. Scowl was the only one who apparently disregarded the message to go home.

"Yeah, once you all broke out and busted Shockwave's lab, I was volunteered by my commander to go under the knife!" Scowl explained before landing a frontal assault onto Sludge. "Hurt like the pits but can't complain about the results!"

"Well, you look great," Slash complimented. She tripped him up with her swooshing tail. "I kind of feel left out. I've never even heard of Shockwave. But from all I've heard, he seems like a jerk."

"You ain't missin' much," Scowl promised before trying to bite into her neck, "If there's a real way to become this strong, I would have chosen your way! Scan a big organic beast and leave it at that! No need for the chassis manipulation and agonizing trips to Shockwave's lab."

"Room for one more?!" Big Whirl rushed forward, trying to sidestep Heatwave and Boulder. They both grabbed him before he could dive into the fight.

"Stop! All of you!" Heatwave stepped forward once Whirl was somewhat under control. They ignored him. He was sure this was what High Tide had been dealing with. He shifted out his water cannons and sprayed the whole lot down. "Fight's over! Scowl, go back home! Grimlock, stop or you're not getting paid!"

They all groaned like he had come in and busted up the party of the century. But now dripping wet and sinking into mud, they did stop.

"Sorry I didn't get to meet ya all before tonight. Never would have guessed this planet was down to rumble." Snarl said. Grimlock helped him up when his Energon loss kept him sluggish. He started to limp for the Spacebridge that had been ignored this whole time.

"You need medical treatment," Boulder started to protest.

Scowl snorted, "Nah, I'll just recharge it off. Probably need to find the boss before he starts poppin' off."

"Well, ya got my comm number," Grimlock confirmed. Really? They had exchanged personal numbers between blows? Heatwave didn't know why he was surprised. "Hit us up when you're planet side."

Scowl smiled despite his name, "Will do. Good to know there are more freaks like me. Too bad you're all Autobots. You wouldn't be a bad crew to hang with."

"Technically," Swoop snickered, "Boss here defected so he could punch Starscream in the faceplates. And he's our leader, so in extension, we ain't Autobots anymore."

Scowl arched a brow ridge at that. He hummed a thoughtful and intrigued, "Hmmm," before leaving Earth.

"Alright," Grimlock grumbled, "Ya all heard the boss. Start tossing rubble and Cons through the portal."

"Clean up's no fun," Sludge complained, almost dragging his helm from his long neck along the ground as he went to work.

The park was a mess, but between the Dinos and more of Fixit's friends, most of the evidence of an alien Dinosaur fight was gone before sunrise. Now it just looked like a devastating Earthquake had come through.

Grimlock stood in the portal back to the Autobot Capital as his team bid goodbye to Slash. She was staying on Earth. Heatwave was happy they hadn't totally corrupted her.

"That cover it?" Heatwave asked after wiring the credits to Grimlock. He could either trade it in for hard shanix, or blow it all in the form it was in. Shanix were harder to trace and more widely accepted, especially in seedier parts of town. He could guess which option Grimlock would be taking.

"Yeah, not a bad haul," Grimlock agreed, "Keep my comm, in case any other scrap comes crashing onto the planet again. We could always use the work now that we're renegades, again. Hardly the first time. Won't be the last, I'm sure."

Heatwave just nodded. They had been a colossal pain in his aft, but they were very effective.

Grimlock gazed up to his team, "Alright freaks! Pack up your scrap and head out!"

Sludge rushed back to hug Slash and Hoist one last time. Hoist didn't even jerk away as he returned the affection. There was no lingering evidence of his Dinobot fear. Heatwave was proud of him for overcoming it.

Swoop and Snarl had to yank Sludge off and pull him towards the Spacebridge. Grimlock stopped short behind his team, one ped in the vortex. He looked back, taking in the recruits who had shown up to help in the park. He aimed a smile Hoist's way, then he looked to Heatwave, "Ya got good kids here. Ya did well bringin' them up."

"Thank you," Heatwave said, amazed by the sincere compliment.

Grimlock raised his helm to his team. "Time's awastin' losers! Let's go get drunk at McCadams!"

Well, that nice moment didn't last long.

"Please do so responsibly!" Chase called after the group.

The rowdy bunch vanished into the light, tuning that advice out completely. Then the final portal off world shut behind them.

The big Whirl let out a over dramatic vent. Heatwave looked to him to inquire what his problem was. The copter shrugged. "The damn fight didn't last long enough."


Location: Griffin Rock Maine, Autobot base under the Fire Station

"Thank you for the report, Heatwave," Agent White said from her chair at the head of the table. They had set up the prompt meeting in person, after buffing out all their dents and scratches of course. "The controlled press meetings have been helping public opinion. Especially in the face of so many false Decepticon sightings."

"Their quick response to the earthquake in Sydney Australia two days ago did even better to win favor with the public," Agent Fowler added quickly. He sat next to his fellow government agent with multiple case files spread out between them.

"It has been an honor," Heatwave assured her, "We will go wherever we are needed to set any minds at ease."

It was the first time Heatwave had ever seen Agent White somewhat pacified. Maybe she was even impressed. She turned through the pages of her files. Heatwave could still feel Blade's nervous energy at his side. Thankfully, Agent White couldn't sense it too. She closed the main file and nodded up to Heatwave. "Keep your line open. With this progress report, I will be able to convince those in Washington to expand your public appearances."

"We are available any time you need us," Heatwave promised.

With that, Agent White stood, adjusted her tie, and filed away her items. She saluted Agent Fowler and left for the elevator where Chief Burns awaited to escort her back to the docks. The room waited in silence until the Agent went into the ceiling with the lift.

Everyone, both Bot and human vented and exhaled their stress out. They had been holding it in for a while.

Agent Fowler loosened his own tie and slouched in his chair. With every Con gone from Earth, save for a recovering Chop Shop, they had let him in on their secret. "That went surprisingly well. I am beyond grateful for your help. Also, thank you for NOT telling me about the Con invasion until after you dealt with it. I know my blood pressure would not have been able to handle it."

Blades leaned against the far wall and groaned, "We have spent so much time around Decepticons, I feel like we have learned to lie like they do it's becoming second nature."

"To keep those in Washington off my tail, I'll even take advice from Cons," Agent fowler sighed. "But we aren't done yet. Before Bee and the others come back, I need you all with a press appearance with the President. Just smile, nod, and try shaking his hand in a somewhat dignified fashion despite the size difference."

"We'll make it work," Heatwave promised. "We always do."

They escorted Agent Fowler back to the surface. Outside they found a much more bustling Griffin Rock. Even with strict Government regulations, tourists flocked to the small island. Someone on the internet had figured out where one of the Rescue Bot bases was based off pictures published of them. Then they wasted no time sharing that info with the world.

And like the great people of Griffin Rock, they helped make the experience pleasant for human and Bot alike. locals gave tours, shared videos of rescues, and even assisted in crowd control so the Bots didn't have to come off as the bad guys to groups of excited people. The mayor was boastful and very happy about the wave of tourism. Huxley Prescott was chatting away to camera and crowd alike. They left Blurr and Salvage with the newsman most days. Blurr was a good choice to show off the fun-loving side to their group. And Salvage was there to even that chaotic energy out with a more cool, down to Earth presence. Then there was Mrs. Neederlander. The sweet old lady sat on her front porch with Mr. Petty Paws and a loaded rifle in her lap. A silent reminder to anyone not to cause any trouble for the Bots.

With Agent Fowler gone with Agent White, Heatwave was able to focus on more down to Earth troubles. He left Blades and Boulder with an excited group of picture taking tourists. The Rescue Bots weren't the only ones to receive the praise. Loads of people also went out of their way to find the members of the Burns family, getting autographs and asking about shared stories of human and bot rescues. Heatwave was glad. His team wasn't the only heroes who deserved all the credit.

He watched as the Recruits answered questions to a gathered group of children. Hotshot was supposed to be back at the Academy resting, but he had snuck out to be a part of the action. Grimlock was right. They were great kids. Probably some of the best he had ever had the honor of training. And seeing how seamlessly they conversed with the people, he had decided. Sending a Com to his team, he received resounding approval for the idea. He even got the go ahead from Agent Fowler.

By late afternoon the following day, the Burns and many of the locals had the stage in the town square set up. The turnout was huge, many curious people wanting to glimpse the Cybertronian ceremony. Heatwave didn't mind the sea of new faces. The Recruits deserved a big turnout. Technically, they wouldn't be recruits for much longer.

They still had one more semester of training. But after facing off against a nuclear power station meltdown, risking Spark and limb, and an army of Decepticons, Heatwave decided there was no harm having the graduation a few months early.

Their young pupils stood on the stage in an excited and nervous line. Whirl could hardly contain herself when Heatwave switched the colors of her Autobot Rescue Recruit badge, to that of a full-blown Rescue Bot.

Big Whirl was in a similar state of exhilaration. High Tide was acting as the assigned and bitter chaperone of the unpredictable Bot. They had him quarantined away from the crowd but still in sight of the stage. He stood with a bouquet made from a whole oak tree, almost weeping like a proud father when their little Whirl accepted her new badge. Heatwave was thankful that was all the commotion they got from the Ex-Wrecker. Very thankful. They had found and disarmed a ludicrous number of explosives big Whirl had set up to go off in celebration for the Recruit's graduation.

Once he affixed the final updated emblem to the last graduate, Heatwave knelt to be at optic level with the smiling group on stage, "I want you all to know how proud we are of your collective courage," he said over the roar of the crowd. "Over these past few weeks, you have blown me away with how much progress you've made."

Boulder, Chase, and Blades stood next to him, all smiling along with his praise.

Chase eagerly nodded and spoke up during a natural pause in Heatwave's speech, "I was initially against bending the rules to hold your graduation a semester early. I am happy to report some guidelines can be broken without causing utter devastation. I am honored to be a part of this instance of stretching the rules."

"We couldn't have done what we accomplished these past few weeks without you all," Boulder informed them with a grin. "You should all be really proud, because we are."

"I promised myself I wasn't going to cry," Blade whimpered as he dabbed at his over lubricating optics, "But maybe that's ok in this instance. As long as nobody holds it against me."

"Congratulations, Rescue Bots," Heatwave told the small bots, "I know that the people of Earth are in the most capable hands."

He gave them a salute, then stood back to let the newly appointed Rescue Bots bask in their accomplishment.

"If I faint into stasis lock again, please somebody catch me," Hoist pleaded, but he was still grinning through his anxiety.

Wedge pat him on the back, "let's try not to do that while the whole planet is watching?"

"Now that is really not going to help his anxiety," Whirl snickered.

"We'll make it through the rest of the day with out any trouble, I just got that feeling." Hotshot assured them with his signature confidence. "You faced crashing Con prison ships then Dinobots. A little stage fright is nothing!"

"At least we do not have to worry about 'Papa' Whirl's contributions to the festivities," Medix grumbled, "I shutter at the scenario where Professor Chase did not locate all the Cybertronian fireworks. Instead of gunpowder, they are Energon lined. The resulting chemical reaction is an impressive spectacle to be sure, but without proper preparation-"

An earth-shattering boom almost knocked Heatwave and all those on stage off their peds. The sky lit up with a massive show of color and otherworldly chaos. Apparently, they had missed one set of fireworks.

Medix's whole expression fell as he took in the display, "Never mind."

Big Whirl cheered over the booms, "I'm so proud of you Bright Spark! You're the most dazzling star in the sky!" The well-hidden detonator was still in his claws as High Tide and his minicon dog Servo tried dragging him away.

The roof the fireworks were hidden on quickly caught fire. Of course it did. Between the off-world explosives and wooden roof they were set off from, he would have been legitimately impressed if it didn't. Heatwave in-vented hard, readying himself to deal with that. The newly graduated team beat him to it with enthusiasm. They all jumped off stage and raced to their stations to put out the blaze.

"Hey, what better way to end the celebration but with a bang?" Hotshot pointed out to Heatwave with a chuckle before he rushed after the others.


Finally, back at the Academy, Heatwave knew there was a long-neglected pile of paperwork for him to return to. It was mind numbing, but it was also normal, so he was looking forward to it. He passed the commons room where most of the young bots were gathered. They were all exhausted, but not one of them wasn't smiling.

A still recovering Hotshot was watching tv. The fire rescue at the graduation had not been great for his injuries Steeljaw had inflicted. But like the amazing Rescue Bot he was, he hadn't hesitated to help his team.

Hotshot was watching the Sydney news, where Woodrow and Slash were making a good impression helping with 'earthquake' cleanup.

The moment they spotted Heatwave in the door, he was bombarded with their collective excitement. "How did the fire drama go over with the scary Agent lady?" Hoist demanded to know.

"It could have been worse," Heatwave reported. "No one was hurt, and your quick response time was apparently very impressive to the onlookers. But we did have to agree to the terms that big Whirl can never come back to Earth."

It was not a bad trade off, at least for Heatwave. The crazed Ex-Wrecker was already intending to leave anyway, so it wasn't any paint off his plating. He had given a few more worrying tidbits of 'wisdom' to the young group before heading for the Groundbridge hub. He insisted little Whirl and the others not see him off at the Bridge. Apparently, he didn't do well with farewells.

Hearing about the smoothed over celebration ceremony was clearly a massive weight off their minds. They chattered amongst themselves, talking about a million different things at once.

But everyone quickly quieted when Wedge got a ping from off world. He perked up when he saw who it was from. "It's from my old Decepticon Master, Rivet! He sent me something!" he opened the message on a handheld info pad and started to read, many of his peers crowding him to read along.

"Wedge. I heard something about you graduating from your little Autobot do gooder's club. Congrats, I guess? I would have been there, but you said not to come, or I'd be shot cuz I'm a Con. That's laughable. Like the local organics could actually hit me. I may be old, but I'll be damned if I let myself sink low enough to be brought down by archaic weaponry. So, I-" Wedge startled, re-reading the next part before continuing, "-So I stopped by anyway. I didn't stay to chat. You looked busy keeping that sad little human town from burning down. This was just my way of stickin' it to any kind of authority I can. Blame the Con in me. Don't let them Autobot's make you lose to much of your inner rebel… Rivet."

Wedge looked like he may start crying but he pulled it together.

"Wow, he really was there!" Whirl gasped in amazement. Heatwave leaned over to see a picture accompanied the message. Proving Rivet wasn't lying about Bridging in, the picture was of the newly graduated group accepting their new badges from Heatwave. It was taken from a higher angle, maybe a tucked away roof or the clock tower so he could remain out of sight.

"I'm sure the Decepticon ban will lift sooner or later," Hotshot promised Wedge. "Then we can invite him back without worrying about him getting shot by a tank."

Wedge smiled as he looked at the picture, "Hope so." He enhanced the picture and sent it to the larger monitor to print out. He hung it up on the wall for them to admire.

"Come look at us, Medix!" Whirl invited. "It's right before Papa Whirl blew up the roof of the Pizza shop!"

"Busy," Medix huffed from his work at one of the monitors.

"I was thinking, Recruits… Or should I say, Rescue Bots," Heatwave corrected himself, "I think we all have earned a break after the ordeal we faced. I was going to sell it to Agent Fowler as a sort of working vacation. We could make a few public appearances, but no work. What do you think?"

That idea sold very well. Hotshot, who was still supposed to be taking it easy, almost leapt over the table to join in the conversation. "The answer is always yes to a vacation! How soon should we start packing?"

"We haven't been to Hawaii yet! How about there?" Whirl squealed.

"And get sand in my joints, no thank you," Wedge said. "We should go to the Great Wall of China! I want to see if I can jump over it!"

"Where did you want to go Medix?" Hoist asked.

"Still busy," Medix insisted.

"Decide amongst yourselves," Heatwave encouraged. "Wherever you decide, you've earned."

On his way out of the commons room, he glanced at what Medix was so focused on. He was in an open doctor's forum, contently typing away while wearing the smallest smile. Heatwave noticed he was using his real name instead of his usual human alias. A very small luxury he had never been able to indulge in until now.

Heatwave left them to excitedly fight over a place to go.

He passed the infirmary and saw Chop Shop sitting up and chatting to Brushfire. She had volunteered to help him recover while Slash and Woodrow handled the issues in Australia. "Don't strain too hard," Brushfire insisted. "Ya have all tha time in the world to get better. The portal back to Cybertron isn't time limited."

Chop Shop flexed one of his servos back and forth, testing how far he could get it to go. "Ya know, I was thinkin'. I can get back planet side any time… But I feel kinda bad for what my team did to ya side of this world. Would ya mind if I stayed a bit to help clean up?"

Brushfire smiled, "Me and the kangaroos would love to have ya."

Heatwave picked up on Chop Shop's flattered and nervous energy before carrying on down the hall. The Combiner was far more likeable without all that over inflated confidence. It apparently just took him a near death experience to figure it out.

"Heatwave?"

He stopped when Cody called him in the hall. "Yeah?"

"Wasn't Papa Whirl supposed to leave? He's still in the Ground and Spacebridge hub."

Heatwave internally winced at that news. Aside for him being on Earth illegally now, their visitor had mentioned in passing his ship, the Lost Light, was so far out into uncharted space even a Spacebridge would have a hard time stretching to reach it. There was a chance he had waited too long, and his ship was out of even Secundus' range. He hoped that wasn't the case. If so, they would be stuck with him.

"I'll check on him. In the meantime, could you see if the younger bots have decided on a place to take a break? I'll need to float the idea to Agent Fowler sooner or later before we make any concrete plans."

Cody brightened, "Vacation? You better take me too."

Heatwave chuckled, "Of course. The invitation is for all our rescue heroes. It would be incomplete if we didn't bring you."

He left Cody and arrived at their transportation hub. Just as Cody reported, Big Whirl was there. He wasn't making a move to the Bridge. He hadn't even activated it yet. Instead, he was studying a star map in scrutinizing detail.

"Did your crew get to far out to Bridge to?" Heatwave asked.

Whirl didn't turn from his map, "Nah, I still got a little time… Just, double checkin' where I'm going. I would rather not fling myself into the wrong nebula. That would be annoying as the pits." His one optic squinted hard at the star map. Heatwave caught the slightest hint of his helm shaking in disapproval.

"Everything ok?" Heatwave asked. He almost asked if 'he was ok' but this was Whirl, who was never ok. So, he adjusted the question accordingly.

"This is where my folks should be flying through," Whirl explained, pointing a clawed digit into the spinning galaxy in front of them.

"One of the last areas still within Spacebridge warping distance," Heatwave agreed, hoping he would catch the hint of urgency in his tone and head out.

"That star wasn't there before," Whirl stated.

Heatwave's focus left the map. Whirl was now glaring at the holographic stars. Or at least one in particular. It was like he didn't believe the picture right in front of him.

"Well, where else would the star be?"

Whirl didn't laugh. Odd. Heatwave thought this was one of his many stupid jokes.

"Blown up. That's at least what I recall." Whirl explained.

Heatwave hesitated. "I, don't understand."

"Me neither," Whirl agreed. He crossed his servos after turning the map projection off. "Can I run something kind of weird by ya, Red? It's been bothering me."

"Sure," heatwave offered. True, they were time limited for Whirl catching his last bridge back… but Something did appear off with him. Or at least, more so than normal.

"Have you ever woken up from recharge, and felt like you aren't in the right place?" Whirl asked.

"This some kind of philosophical question?" Heatwave retorted.

"Nope. For real. I'm talking about the feeling where you aren't sure what, but you know something is just off. With like, the whole universe."

Heatwave blinked, "I guess, I still don't understand," he admitted.

"Let me ask ya this, Red," Whirl hummed, "How do you remember the war starting?"

Well, this conversation sure did take a random turn. "I wasn't there for the actual start of the war," heatwave admitted. "Me and my team were on patrol and were locked in stasis due to a deep space emergency. The first days of the war started around that exact timeframe, and we went forgotten because of it. It took Optimus finding us eons later to bring us back up to speed. That was only a few years back."

Whirl just shrugged. He gazed off again, this time at the inactive Bridge. Heatwave felt like he needed to add more context in the silents, "But, I've read a lot about it. The record showed continued unrest in the southern parts of Cybertron. We were there for that. I was constantly putting out fires before we were sent off world. Then Megatron rose to power from the Pit's of Kaon. A lot of the masses wanted him to be appointed the next Prime. The Council appointed Optimus instead. They had a falling out. Then it all spiraled from there."

"Yeah, that's what I read too," Whirl agreed, "But I was there in person, and I don't remember it going down like that."

"What do you mean?" Heatwave said, now sharing in the confusion.

Whirl was visibly agitated, but he was at least attempting to hold it together, "Actually, I do remember it like that, sort of. But, there's this other memory I have. It's super foggy. Kinda like when you wake up from a crazy flux and the whole story of said flux is just gone, but the feelings are still there. Festering, picking at the back of the old noggin until you go nuts."

"Well, what do you remember?"

Whirl thought long and hard, glaring at the Spacebridge even harder, "I remember a bar fight. Which is stupid because I have been in a lot of bar fights over my lifetime. But this one sticks out. I remember beating up some random Con who looked an awful lot like our poor dead boy Megatron. But again, it's foggy and fragmented, but it's just so real to me.

"And if it were only me with the stupid other memory, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Because ya know, it's ME. Who knows what kind of crazy nonsense is going on in what's left of my brain. But, that's just it. It's not only me. Loads of bots on the Lost Light sort of recall that too. But that's not what happened. The rest of the universe remembers the other story. There are endless records of the scrap going down. My feelings aren't real. But it feels like I'm missing something. Like the whole damn universe is gas lighting me."

He finally glanced away from his staring match with the Spacebridge when the excited voices of the young bots echoed through the halls. Their distant joy brought him back to reality. He turned to find Heatwave there, just listening. Whirl shrugged, "Or, I'm just crazy. That's what's more likely. Even if there's something to it, none of it matters. As long as my little star princess and her friends stay safe, I don't care what reality I'm in," He patted Heatwave on the shoulder, coming out of his sudden malaise. "And the best way to keep her safe, is for her to stay as far from me as possible! I am constantly on the verge of courting death!" With a skip he went to the control panels, pulled up the deep space coordinates and activated the Spacebridge. It roared with the exertion of such a distant trip. He then skipped towards it, "You keep them kids safe, you hear me Red? You don't want my crazy aft comin' after ya if they get hurt."

"It's a promise," Heatwave said seriously.

And with that, Whirl dove through the portal and out of their side of the Universe. The Bridge hissed as it spun itself out, leaving Heatwave in the silence of their odd conversation.

He wished he could have given him advice. But he didn't have any way to relate. Heatwave always felt like he belonged where he was. First on Cybertron, then in space on patrol with his team, and now, on Earth. He thankfully didn't have the misfortune of what Whirl described, existing in a place and time that you just knew you didn't. Perhaps the feeling was from a lifetime of regrets or internal strife? He would never have said that to Whirl's faceplate. That was a good way to get shot. Or, maybe it was something beyond what either of them could ever figure out, no matter how many philosophical conversations they had.

He put it out of his mind when he received the comm from Boulder. His presence was needed in Secundus' sector of the Academy. He left the merriment of the young bots and Whirl's odd parting words behind him.

The lights changed, indicating he had arrived within Secundus' massive chassis. When he entered the large cerebral room with its collection of displays, he knew he had walked into something serious.

In addition to Boulder and Graham, Quickshadow was there wearing an unreadable expression. High Tide was also present to his surprise. He said he would be headed back out to sea by now. Though Graham appeared more confused, Heatwave could clearly feel the anxiety radiating from everybot. And that included Secundus around them.

"What's going on?" He demanded.

"We aren't actually sure," Boulder admitted. He pointed to the charred device hovering above the console and linked into Secundus' mainframe. "It's the Alchemor's black box. The Fixit family found it while deconstructing the ship and moving the pieces off world. Before he returned to Cybertron with the others, Fixit let us take it, so we could determine the reason behind the crash in the first place."

Heatwave approached the console, "And what did we find?"

"The crash was no freak accident, or even Decepticon tampering from within," Quickshadow surmised.

"That's what we are having trouble figuring out," Graham further explained. He pulled up a display. It showed a re-creation of the Alchemor crash Boulder and Graham must have pieced together in their off time. They rewound the simulation their number crunching had created until the ship was back outside the galaxy and still in one piece. Heatwave watched, waiting for whatever had turned the room into this mass of anxiety.

Then he noticed the energy pulse. On the screen, it appeared as a semi-invisible mass careening through space.

"What is that?" Heatwave asked.

"We have no idea," Boulder admitted. "We can't even guess."

Heatwave looked away from the monitor and focused on him in shock. Their two greatest minds couldn't figure it out?

Boulder's expression betrayed no answers. He was stumped. Heatwave went back to watching the odd energy wave as it flew passed Neptune, then Pluto, and then out of the solar system completely on a direct course for the Alchemor.

Whatever the pulse of energy was, it crossed through the Alchemor, and as Kade would say, all hell broke loose. The ship swerved off course, every emergency function going off and forcing the vessel to reroute to the nearest planet with a Cybertronian presence. That was Earth.

"I sensed this power as well," Secundus added from around them, "When you first awakened me from my deep stasis, I felt the aftereffects of it. Due to the Decepticon threat, I was forced to ignore it until we could locate its source."

"And have we located it's source?" Heatwave asked the room, sort of afraid to get an answer.

Boulder nodded grimly. "We did. It came from Earth."

Graham piped up, "What on Earth could have made an energy wave powerful enough to take down a massive ship like the Alchemor?"

"Something very old," High Tide intoned. His expression molded into a frown; those old optics worried beyond his long years. "I haven't seen such power since before the war. Since before the Golden age… Whatever sent out that pulse, we are unable to locate its exact location on this planet. Or even on this physical plane."

"It is ancient Cybertronian in nature," Secundus confirmed High Tide's assessment, "I haven't seen power such as this, since the days of the original Primes."

High Tide then added, "While on the coast of Australia before findin' Chop Shop almost dead, we got a pulse similar. It's how we found him, and that other Con, Steeljaw. They were in that cave with the depiction of the Primes I told ya about."

Heatwave rewatched the strange wave radiating from Earth and into the solar system until it crashed into the Alchemor. It hadn't wavered in power even over the long space journey. It instead gained speed until it hit its target. As if it were drawing the ship in, pulling it towards Earth.

"Connected to my mainframe, I detected a very specialized frequency in the Alchemor's black box," Secundus explained. "It is even strange for me. It explains why none of us here were able to detect it beyond my first initial ping. But it is not just a pulse of random energy on an unknown wavelength. Within that wave, I decoded a message."

"It was originally intended for the Alchemor," Quickshadow added, her servos still crossed tightly over her torso, "But Fixit, or any of his fellows did not hear it. Due to the high frequency, they wouldn't have been able to even if they tried."

Heatwave felt his spark jolt with a fear he couldn't quite place. "What did the message say?"

Without a word, Boulder pulled it up.

At first, Heatwave heard nothing. But as Secundus fiddled with the frequency, a high-pitched whine hidden in radio crackle was audible. Then that whine became a voice.

It was just a whisper, but it was dark, challenging Soundwave's own intimidating tone.

We Must Keep It At Bay.

"It's all we managed to recover from the black box. There was too much damage to translate anything else." Graham informed Heatwave. "Without anymore to go on, there's no way to receive another message, or even know where to start looking for its source."

He stared at the message written out. So simple, yet so Spark chilling. What needed holding back? Who sent the worrying message in the first place?

"Heatwave," Boulder muttered softly so not to startle his leader from his musing. It still did. "Should we tell the younger bots?"

Heatwave's own expression fell. Now, all he could think of was the newly graduated Recruits. They had all fought so hard in the past few weeks. They had been so excited for a fun, carefree vacation. "No." he said at last. "At least, not yet. If there's nothing we can do right now, we will wait for Team Prime's return and show them. This should be the first thing they investigate. But until then, everyone has delt with enough. The kids have earned at least a little peace."


Location: Kaon Capital, Cybertron

Steeljaw

The city around them was rough, but it was still buzzing with life, compared to how he recalled it being at the tail end of the war. Cybertron really had been restored… impressive.

"I am going to pick up right where I left off!" Needler exclaimed. His faceplate was pressed to the window of the cobbled together customs building many of them ended up after they came through the portal. "My machine shop is going back up right in the middle of town!"

"Then the illegal imports to really get the money flowing!" his partner Barrage added with an enthusiastic grin.

They weren't the only ones who were excited. Even Thunderhoof had lost interest in Steeljaw, forgetting getting even to instead collect his team and rekindle his criminal enterprise on familiar ground plating. He left with only a deadly glare aimed Steeljaw's way that promised violence if they ever bumped into each other again. And who knew where Glowstrike and Saberhorn were. Maybe dead in a ditch. He didn't care.

"Glad to be done with Earth," Steeljaw heard Needler say to Barrage and the few others that stuck together, "In a way, I'm glad to be done with the war too."

Steeljaw only leaned into the window, glaring past his own reflection into the city. He idly twirled the staff in his servo as he thought.

"You ok Jaws?" Needler wondered. It snapped him out of his musing. The minicon was looking at him, not exactly worried, but curious enough to pipe up about it, "You and Thunderhoof had a fallin' out I saw."

"Friendships fade," Steeljaw said with a simple shrug. Most here did not know of his treachery, or him abandoning them to the army of Alchemor Stewards. Good. The less enemies he had going into this new world, the better.

"By the way, what is that thing ya got?" Needler asked.

Steeljaw glanced down to the staff. He almost considered telling him.

Now on Cybertron, the Voice had all but silenced. If he concentrated hard and adjusted his audios to their most sensitive frequency, he could almost hear it still. Was it trapped on Earth in some capacity, in desperate need of the weapon he held? It must be screaming to get his attention. He appeared to be the only one who could hear it, even now.

He probably needed to share the information he had with Soundwave or one of the other two newly appointed Decepticon Lords. It could be a problem later. Probably a problem just for Earth to deal with.

With that in mind, Steeljaw adjusted the sensitivity of his audios back down. What little he could still hear of the Voice vanished into peaceful silence.

He gave Needler a confident smile, "It's nothing. Just a souvenir I got from Earth," He headed for the exit with a wave to the others over his shoulder. He pondered how he could turn the information he held to his benefit. He had a good deal to think about and plenty of time to do it. "Good luck in the new world, brothers!"

The staff folded into his hand and he quickly subspaced it out of sight. Maintaining his charming smile, he walked off into the crowd and disappeared into Kaon.

The End