Here are we with another chapter! I am loving this project so far!
But, one again, this is not my original idea! This plot idea belongs to my friend, Deckar Terdax on TikTok! I just really liked the idea nad asked if I could write it as a fic and he said I could!
Also, before we get to the chapter, I just want to say that Deckar wrote this chapter! I just touched it up a bit and tweaked some ideas minorly/clarified a few things. All with permission and approval!
I hope you guys like this chapter!
God Bless and Good Day!
~The Lupine Sojourner
Before anyone knew it, it had been two days since Ultra Magnus and Moonracer had arrived on Earth, and they had no update if Deadlock had arrived yet.
The two took the time to not only learn about their new home and how to operate in it but also managed to scan new Earth forms for themselves, Magnus a semi-truck and Moonracer a sleek sports car.
Magnus also brought his ship to the base so he and Wheeljack could make repairs on it. While Magnus and Wheeljack are busy, Moonracer sits outside one of the hangers chatting with Mirage, Arcee, and Bumblebee, the new name being a bit of a surprise as when Moonracer last saw him, he was called B-127. Mirage also told Moonracer M-196 now went by Mayfly, which was also a bit of a surprise.
The three are telling her stories of what's been going on with them, but one thing stuck out to Moonracer. "Hold on, I was told that we were not supposed to make contact with humans." Moonracer said in a confused tone. "So why are you talking about making human friends?" Mirage was about to answer, but Arcee beat him to it.
"That was the general idea, but someone," She shot a glare at Mirage, "Dragged a human into our situation of his own accord."
Mirage threw his arms up in frustration with a loud groan. "How many times do I have to tell you," he cried in annoyance, "I wasn't the first to break that rule! Mayfly technically was! She crashed right next to a chick named Robyn! And my dude, Noah, was in the car when the call came out! And if I remember correctly, us making human friends ended up helping everyone out, or there wouldn't be an Earth today!"
Next to them, Bee rolled his optics before he spoke up. "Still…against…Orders. Mine was…accident, too. But…I had…no memories." Moonracer turned to the young scout. He had explained what happened to his voice, and while Moonracer found his replacement with the radio and various recordings amusing, she still felt sorry for him.
Mirage was still going on about what had happened with Unicron and the Maximals (who visited the Autobots occasionally) when Arcee suddenly stood to attention. "Commander Magnus, sir!" The three other Autobots all snapped to attention as well, though not as quickly as Magnus would like.
Moonracer had noticed in the last two days that her mentor had an effect on the Autobots. When she first arrived, they were a bit more relaxed. But after Ultra Magnus returned, Moonracer saw everyone being a little more military. Yes, Magnus is very strict about military protocol, and truth be told it was one of the things Moonracer respected him for. Even so, it was clear the Autobots here haven't had that kind of enforced protocol in a while.
"At ease." Magnus replies, and the Autobots relax a bit. He then turns to Bee. "B-One Twenty… apologies, Bumblebee, any luck on discovering where the Decepticons are hiding?"
Bee took a second before answering. "Afraid not, sir"
Magnus stared at the scout, a little put off by how he replied. Moonracer stepped in on Bee's behalf. "Bee was just explaining how he had lost his original voice box to a Decepticon, sir. The car radio is the best he could do, given the circumstance."
Magnus' stern expression softened at the explanation. He knows all too well what it's like to lose part of yourself. His prosthetic right hand is proof of that. "I'm sorry that had to happen." He spoke in a softer voice than he normally did.
Bee nods, hand briefly touching his throat. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."
At that moment, Mayfly comes up to the group, her leg still limping a little, but less than a few days ago. "Sir," she salutes and looks up at Magnus as he turned to face her. "We just got word on where Deadlock has landed." Moonracer and Magnus share a look before facing Mayfly.
"Where'd he land?" Moonracer asks enthusiastically.
Mayfly fiddles with her goggles a little nervously, her door-wings lowering a little as well. "Well… that's the thing, we didn't get a precise location."
Magnus crouches down in front of her a little and asks, "Do you at least have a general location we can start?"
Mayfly smiles a little bit in response. "We do." She answers, pulling up a holographic projection of Earth. "We lost the signal when the pod hit Earth's atmosphere, but we do know it was somewhere over Japan." As she speaks, she displays what she is describing, ending with the country in question being highlighted.
Magnus stood back up. "Thank you, Mayfly. If you are able, I would like some more information on where we will be heading. That is a rather large area to search." Mayfly gives a sharp salute before turning and limping away.
Moonracer turns to her friends. "Did any of you want to help us out with this mission?" She asks optimistically.
Magnus glances over to see the three other Autobots exchanging unsure looks, not knowing how to answer. But he sees something else under it all. Fear.
Magnus then spoke up, knowing the reason for their hesitation. "If you are not comfortable joining us for this task, I will not force you to come."
The three Autobots stand at attention. "Sir, yes sir." They responded in unison. Though they sounded professional, both Magnus and Moonracer could hear an underlying tone of relief in their voices.
"Let's get the ship prepared, Moonracer." Magnus holds in a sigh, turning and beginning to head for his ship, followed by a slightly downtrodden Moonracer.
Magnus glances at his student and sees a disappointed frown on her face. He could understand her feelings. It had been so long since she saw any of her friends, and yet, they didn't wish to accompany them on this task. Not that Magnus could blame them; Tarn is not someone to trifle with. Optimus, when asking for volunteers, had explained everything, including who could be pursuing Deadlock, since it was only fair to give them all the facts.
Magnus would have to explain it all to Moonracer on the way. He hadn't wanted to spoil her good mood while she reunited with her friends and caught up on what's been happening.
As they reach the entry ramp to the ship, a loud car horn blares out behind the two. They both turn to see a yellow Earth jeep driving their way, only to transform so the bot is standing right in front of them. "I understand you could use an extra hand for this mission?" The male bot asks.
Magnus stands staring at the Autobot in front of him with his usual stern gaze. Next to him, Moonracer's frown had been replaced with a small smile. Magnus sighs subtly. "I'm assuming you are volunteering to join us?"
The Autobot slams his fists together with a confident smile on his face. "I am, Boss. Wrecker Brawn, at your command."
Though Moonracer was watching Brawn, she swore she saw Magnus' hand twitch slightly at the mention of the word Wrecker out of the corner of her optic. She looked up at his face to see the same stern expression, but she had been with him long enough to see the subtle annoyance in his optics. "What is your specialty, soldier?" Magnus asks.
"Demolitions." Brawn answers nonchalantly.
Magnus' optic twitched slightly, and from his side he heard a quick snicker. Turning his head to stare at his student, Moonracer suddenly went quiet. "Sorry, sir." She mumbles softly before turning her attention to Brawn. "We would be happy for your help."
Brawn smiles at the young bot's welcome before turning his attention to Ultra Magnus. "I know it's not what you would like, but it seems like I'm the only one crazy enough to help out."
In spite of his feelings, Magnus has to agree. Prime had to stay to deal with the constant flow of Decepticons, Mayfly had tried to volunteer but was rejected since she was still healing, and the others aren't too keen on joining and possibly running into Tarn. So, in the end…it was just the three of them, it seems.
"Very well, you may join us." Magnus acquieses, albeit with a hint of reluctance in his voice. Brawn gave a shout and rushes up into the ship. Magnus simply stands there, muttering to himself. "Undisciplined, reckless…"
It took everything for Moonracer to keep from laughing at her teacher's attitude, as his annoyance isn't something she's often seen from him. She normally sees him as a stoic leader that let nothing get to him, and here he was complaining under his breath about a Wrecker. Though that did beg the question…
"I thought you were the leader of the Wreckers at one point." Moonracer muses.
Magnus spares her a quick glance before responding. "A temporary assignment until they could work out new leadership." He said before adding in a very irritated grumble. "Though it took them far longer than anyone thought to find a new leader for the Wreckers."
Moonracer can't hold it in any longer and bursts out laughing. Magnus suddenly realized he had said that last part out loud and turns to glare at the young bot, but she barely noticed. "Sorry, sir." She manages to wheeze out between bouts of laughter when she sees his irritation lingering.
Magnus rolls his optics and said, "Let's get going."
Brawn appears at the top of the entranace ramp, grinning. "Oh, hey Boss. One quick thing; Mayfly caught me up to speed on the mission details and gave me a rough estimate of where the pod made landfall. She says Optimus still won't let her go, and that I should, quote 'give any 'Cons scrap' for her."
Magnus, with an effort, reigns in his irritation. At least Mayfly had found more information on where to start looking. But why did she have to entrust Brawn with that information? Why not come herself? Regardless, he gestures to the navigation computer. "Very well. She provided coordinates?"
Brawn nods. "Yep. Found a good place to enter Japan, along the shore of the ocean." He starts putting in the coordinates. "This oughtta be fun!"
{Several Hours later, Over the Pacific}
Magnus' ship flies hidden in a storm just off the coast of Japan. While still a distance away, the crew onboard still needed to be careful not to be spotted. It was relatively quiet during the trip, outside of Brawn and Moonracer swapping war stories.
"We are nearly at our destination" Magnus informs the two, turning his seat away from the ship controls towards the others. In the middle of the cockpit, a small holo-table rose from the floor, displaying their ship and the Japanese coastline ahead of them with a section highlighted where they would start their search. "Once we are close enough we will jump from the exit ramp into the sea below and make our way to shore." As he speaks, the holo-table displays what he was explaining, a red circle appearing over the jump point. "The shore is barren, so no humans will see our approach. Once we reach the shore, there is a roadway not too far away. We make it there; we shouldn't have any worries blending in as we begin our search."
Brawn leans back in his seat and puts his hands behind his head. "Should be an easy job." He notes with confidence. "Get in, get our guy, maybe bash in a few 'Con heads, and call it a day." He knows who they may face, but doesn't want to scare Moonracer just yet, leaving it up to Magnus whether or not to tell her.
Magnus turns to the Wrecker with an annoyed look. "This isn't a game, you know. Deadlock is in the possession of Decepticon intelligence. These 'Cons', as you put it, will be willing to do whatever it takes to get it back, if not destroy it, on top of eliminating their quarry."
Brawn leans forward in his seat, still feeling hesitant to share the full details of the mission. "If they're willing to send a whole squadron after Deadlock, it's nothing I haven't dealt with before." He replies a little smugly.
Magnus leans towards Brawn asking, "Even the DJD? Have you dealt with them before?"
Brawn tenses up slightly at the question, and while he wouldn't admit it out loud, Magnus feels a strong sense of satisfaction at Brawn's reaction. But the Wrecker then simply leans back and replies, "I knew that having to face them was a high likelihood when I volunteered. And I know that we're both praying it's not the case."
Across from Brawn, Moonracer looks between the two, confusion on her face as she turns to her mentor. "The DJD?" she asks.
Magnus turns to her and replies, "The Decepticon Justice Division."
This just confuses Moonracer even more. "I thought you said someone named Tarn was going to be after Deadlock."
"He's their leader, kid." Brawn explains. Moonracer looks over at Brawn, seeing his confident demeanor now lessened.
Turning back to Magnus, she asks, "Could you tell me a bit more about who this Tarn is?"
Magnus' face drops its stern expression, replaced by unease. He looks over at Brawn who simply returns the same look before shrugging and saying, "She might as well know, Boss, if you want to tell her."
Magnus has to agree, so he leans to the holo-table and pushes some buttons. "I should warn you," he says to his protégé, "What you're about to see will not be pleasant."
With that, Magnus hits one more button, and the display is replaced by a recording of a massive Cybertronian absolutely decimating a large squadron of Autobots in the most brutal fashion Moonracer has ever seen. And she had seen and heard a lot.
Megatron was a former gladiator that brutalized his opponents, Shockwave would use his victims for his experiments, and she'd even heard of a bounty hunter called Lockdown that took Sparks for trophies. But this, this is something else entirely.
The recording ends with a still image of Tarn having ripped off an Autobot's head, holding it above his own like a prize. And it was here that Moonracer could see the Decepticon's insignia in place of an actual face.
She stares at the image and could only stammer out a frightened "Whoa."
"No kidding" Brawn agrees from across the table. "And that's just a minor inconvenience to him."
Moonracer slowly turns to Magnus, who now had a look of anger that spooked her a little. "And you said this is the guy we need to worry about hunting Deadlock?"
Magnus still glares at the frozen image as he answers. "He is just one." He stands abruptly from his seat, causing Moonracer and Brawn to shrink into theirs slightly. He continues. "He leads a team of the most brutal, most violent hunters the Decepticons have at their disposal. They took on codenames of the first five cities that fell to the Decepticons on Cybertron: Helex, Kaon, Tesarus, and Vos." As he speaks, the holo-table displays the Decepticons in question. Two of them were hulking bots, while the other two looked to be about as tall as Brawn.
"They are the Decepticons go-to squad whenever they find a traitor in their midst, or, in Deadlock's case, to hunt down a deserter." Magnus leans forward on the table, his optics still fixed on Tarn. "They don't execute you; they make you beg for death." He finishes in a dark voice.
Moonracer had been watching Magnus the whole time, but at that point, she turned to look at the images of the DJD. "Torture?" she asks. She'd heard of the Decepticons torturing their prisoners, but had never seen evidence of it.
"Just to start." Brawn answers, causing the younger bot to freeze. She was starting to regret her decision to volunteer for this so hastily.
She looks back up at Magnus and takes notice of something. She and Magnus had fought together long enough to where she could tell when there was something he knew but didn't wish to disclose. There was a certain look in his optics, but this time, she could see a fury burning unlike anything she had seen before in either an Autobot or a Decepticon. Following his gaze, she realizes what was making him so angry.
He knew more about Tarn than he was letting on.
But Moonracer felt it best not to pry. She would maybe ask at some other point.
However, Brawn seems to notice as well, but deduces something else entirely. "Is he the reason you lost your hand, Boss?"
The tension in Magnus' shoulders drops as he stands straight and looks at his replacement prosthetic. "No," he answers, his voice sounding more calm. "The loss of my hand is the result of a skirmish I had with the Constructicons some time ago." A slightly calmer air seems to replace the tension in everyone, at least a little.
A small signal beeps from the control panel, causing Magnus to turn and look at his display. "We've reached our location. Be ready to jump." He orders as he hits a button to open the exit ramp.
Moonracer and Brawn stand from their seats and collected their gear as they made their way to the top of the ramp, bracing a bit against the wind.
Brawn looks over at Moonracer and asks loudly, "You sure you're ready for this, kid?"
Moonracer takes a moment to compose herself before turning to Brawn with a bright smile. "Well, it's a bit late to swim back to base now." She jokes back, earning a laugh out of Brawn.
Magnus comes up behind them, staring out into the storm with a look of determination.
"Autobots, roll out!" He orders.
"YAHOO!" Brawn cries as he runs to the end of the ramp and jumps without a second thought. Moonracer chuckles to herself and follows him. Magnus runs after the two and leaps as well. As he fell, he had one thought on his mind. Brawn had been wrong about something.
Ultra Magnus wanted to face Tarn.
Again.