Chapter Eight: Lion to Steven

The desert: hot, harsh, and inhospitable even to the most stalwart of adventurers. Luckily for Steven, he was nice and cool riding in Sideswipe's air-conditioned interior, relaxing on his cushiony seats while listening to his dad's old CDs. "Hey Sideswipe, you were around in the 80s," Steven said. "Did you know my dad during his music career?"

"Something like that," Sideswipe replied. "He was still Mr. Universe, but he had pretty much retired by the time Optimus and the rest of us rolled up. Magnus probably remembers it a bit better–hey Magnus, remember when we first met Greg?"

"Keep this channel open," Magnus chided. "Visibility's low in this sandstorm. We need to make sure we don't stray too far from each other."

In addition to being hot, harsh, and inhospitable, this desert was also in the grips of a giant sandstorm. Looking out the windows, all Steven could see was sand, sand, and more sand being kicked up by the winds. "What did you say we were doing here again?"

Elita responded from above the storm. "This entire area's been in a drought for weeks, ever since the local reservoir dried up," she said. "Too quickly to be natural, I might add. No Predacons detected in the area, but we have reason to believe it's some kind of Cybertronian tech at work."

"Almost there," said Magnus. "Be ready for anything." After a bit more of driving through the sand, the trio reached the source of the drought. A giant lake had once been here, but lately it had all but entirely dried up. Driving down a hill to where the bottom would have been, Magnus and Sideswipe transformed. "Elita, we're here. Do you have visual?"

"Negative," she said. "The storm's too thick. I'll have to descend through. Can you see anything down there?"

Sideswipe peered across the lake bottom. The sand and soil was still damp, meaning visibility was much better without the clouds of sand. "Hmm…well, there's some sort of giant…flower?" In the center of the empty lake, there was indeed some manner of strange plant growing out of the ground. A thick green stalk gave way to white and pink petals blooming at the top. "Something tells me that's not native to the region."

"Then let's go get it!" Steven summoned his axe, about to run off towards the invasive species before Magnus held him back by the collar.

"Easy there, Steven. Let's make sure it really is hostile before we run in guns-blazing." Despite the warning, Magnus was on edge as the three of them approached the giant plant. It was taller even than him, swaying in the wind more than a flower of that size probably should.

Once they reached it, things got even stranger. Although it had similar skin to a plant, a closer look revealed it to be made of metal. "Is this thing some sorta Transformer?" Sideswipe wondered. He reached out, feeling along the side of the flower.

Big mistake. As soon as he touched it, the plant immediately closed up its bud, a cluster of vines sprouting up from the ground. He and the others leapt back as the vines thrashed around, kicking up sand as it tried to grab at them.

"What is this thing!?" shouted Steven, as Magnus shielded him.

"No idea–but I think your original idea might have been the right one!" Magnus fired his rockets at the frenzied flower, its metal exterior burning away from the explosions. Just as quickly, more tendrils sprouted from within, both covering up the damage and swiping at Sideswipe. "Elita, we could use some backup!"

Her crackly voice came in through the comms. "I'll be there as quickly as I can, the storm is jamming my navigation! Whatever that thing is, it's definitely the cause of the drought. Keep your distance, but try and keep it busy until I arrive!"

"Uh, about that…" Sideswipe said. The plant had been kicking up a lot of dust as it whipped its arms, bringing the sandstorm down into the crater. "Visibility ain't so good no more, Elita! You sure you can't just shoot this thing from above?"

"What part of 'the storm is jamming my navigation' didn't come across?" she said, a little annoyed. "Just stay safe until I can get to you!"

Steven held a hand in front of his face to keep the sand out of his eyes. "Magnus? Sideswipe? You guys there?" He could hear the sounds of fighting going on around him, but couldn't see a thing, even if his eyes had been wide open. "I feel like I'm getting closer to it. Tell me if I'm getting closer."

He was, in fact, getting closer. He touched something that felt like warm metal, but had give, like a plant. He looked up just in time to see a large vine swinging downward, about to crush him. He cried out…and then suddenly felt himself lifted up and pulled out of harm's way.

"Huh?" The metal arms of someone, though he couldn't tell who, had carried him to safety. He looked up, but the sand was too thick to make out his rescuer's appearance. They didn't seem large enough to be Ultra Magnus, though, so he assumed it was Sideswipe. "That was a close one! Thanks." Rather than respond, the Transformer set him down a ways away from the berserk weed before running back into the fray. Just before they left, Steven swore he saw a shield appear on their arm.

Through the swirling sand, Elita descended to deliver a barrage to the flower. "Everyone stay clear!" Bullets ripped through it, but despite the damage it only seemed to become angrier. "Sideswipe, get back, you're too close!"

"I'm over here!" he said, having been shooting at the plant from several meters away. "Who're you talking about?"

"Well, someone's in my line of fire!" she replied. Through the sand, Steven could make out the silhouetted figure doing battle with the plant, slicing through its vines with the edge of their shield. "Magnus, are you up close?"

"I'm about to be!" Ultra Magnus charged in at the plant, tearing through its skin with his bare hands. With a large enough hole into its innards, he unleashed another salvo of rockets into the opening. "Everyone get back, this is gonna get messy!"

Everyone took cover as the flower exploded, scattering shrapnel everywhere and coating the surrounding area with green plant goop. A few of its remaining vines writhed for a few moments after the main body had been destroyed, before finally going still. Better yet, now that its source was gone, the sandstorm started to clear up. Everyone could see each other once again.

"That was…an interesting one," said Sideswipe, wiping some of the goop off. "A Transformer that turns into a giant asparagus. What would you even call something like that? Vegecon? Triffidcon?"

"Phytocon?" suggested Magnus.

Elita was busy inspecting the remains of the Vegecon…Triffidcon…Phytocon…whatever it was, scanning its roots. "As I suspected: no spark," she reported. "If I had to guess, this was some manner of experiment. Likely an attempt to grow Cybertronian-enhanced plantlife to choke out the local biosphere. It's a good thing we stopped it when we did, otherwise–" She gasped. "Sideswipe, Magnus…on me."

The urgency in her voice made Steven forget to ask who would've wanted to grow such a thing. "What? What is it?" he asked, hurrying over along with the other two. Elita was on high alert, her hand preparing to draw her weapon. "Is it another…woah!"

The thing that had drawn everyone's attention was a lion. Any lion would have drawn suspicion all the way out here, far from its native habitat, but this was no ordinary lion. For one, it was huge, its head reaching all the way up to Magnus' shoulders even when sitting down. Further complicating matters was that the animal was clearly mechanical, resembling a Predacon. However, it acted nothing like the feral monsters they were used to, instead docilely licking the green goop from its paws. It clearly acknowledged their presence, but was not alerted by them in the slightest.

"Well…where'd you come from, big guy?" asked Sideswipe. He had his swords drawn, just in case he should need them. The lion shook off the remaining goop, before curiously walking over to inspect the Autobots. It was mostly white, with some gold speckled around its form, in particular its large mane. "Hey, there, easy now!" It showed no fear or aggression as it sniffed Sideswipe's hand. Then it meowed.

Ultra Magnus approached the creature cautiously. "This is a new one," he said, reaching out a hand to touch the animal. It reacted as any domestic cat would, moving its head to rub against his hand. "Could this thing really be a Predacon?"

"It doesn't look to be that way," said Elita, once again looking at her scanner. "I'm not picking up any traces of dark energon. Actually, I'm not picking up any energon, period. Whatever this thing is, it's not a Transformer. …Steven, what are you doing?"

"I just wanted a closer look!" he said, walking up to the lion. It leaned down, sniffing him as it had Sideswipe. It gave him a friendly lick, making him laugh. "See? He's not dangerous!"

"We don't know that for sure yet," Elita said, moving Steven away. "Lions, like most wild animals, can be unpredictable even if they seem friendly. That goes double for giant mechanical ones."

Examining the beast, Magnus acted on a hunch. "Sit," he commanded.

The lion just blinked. "Mrow," it said, licking his hand.

"...Untrained, but not aggressive," he reported.

Steven walked up to the lion, sitting on its paw. "Can we take him home with us?" he asked. "He seems lonely out here. I promise I'll feed him and water him and clean up after him! Please?"

Elita looked between Steven and the Lion uncertainly. "Well…having a pet is a big responsibility, Steven. Especially if it's a giant mechanical lion of unknown origin. Even discounting that it might not need all those things. Like I said, it seems friendly now, but it might still be dangerous."

While she was talking, Steven had climbed up onto the lion's back, who had begun to purr. "Dangerous shmangerous, it's a big ol' kitty cat!" said Sideswipe. "Remember a few years ago, when I asked you if we could get a pet? You told me that if I found one who was big enough and well-behaved enough, you'd think about it."

"I'm fairly certain we never had that conversation," she replied.

"Well, we did in my version of reality," he said. "Besides, we can't just leave him out here to die! What's he gonna eat, innocent backpackers? Tell her, Mags."

Magnus considered their options as he watched the lion. "The beast has likely been out here for centuries," he said, "so it clearly isn't a matter of survival. That said, bringing it back to the Ark is our best bet if we want to find out exactly what it is and where it came from. We'll just have to make sure we keep a close eye on it."

"Yay, a new friend!" said Steven. The lion seemed to pick up on his happiness, responding with a meow. "Are you excited to come back home with us?" Another meow. "He is! Everyone's gonna love you! Sadie, Connie, Peedee, Lars…well, maybe not Lars. But everyone else is gonna love you!"

"With that sorted, I think we're done here," said Elita, gesturing to the wilting metal vines around them. "The lake should fill back up in a matter of weeks. Opening a groundbridge now." She prepared to open up a portal back to Beach City.

"You're gonna need a name," Steven said. "I think I'll call you…Lio! But spelled with an 'I' instead of an 'E', 'cause I'm not that cliche. What do you think? Do you like your new name, Lio?"

"Mrow," said Lio.

"He likes it!" As the five of them went back through the groundbridge, none of them noticed the tiny piece of mechanical plant matter, even as it slithered its way into Steven's pocket.

"So, as you can see…it's a lion," said Magnus. Lio was currently playing with Steven, chasing a laser pointer around the Ark, while Dr. Maheswaren observed the creature via video call. "As far as we can tell, it isn't a Cybertronian, nor is it a Predacon. We know it's a stretch, but do you have any sort of ideas on its origins?"

Unsurprisingly, Priyanka stared at Lio with no small amount of confusion. "...If you're asking if it's one of ours, you'll be disappointed. While NEST has dabbled in human-made Transformers, none of them have turned out nearly as complex as that thing. Nor have any of them turned into Lions."

Sideswipe was watching the pair play. "Well, it had to come from somewhere," he said. "Lions don't tend to just spontaneously turn into robots….I think. Couldn't one of the groups on your watchlist have cooked up something like this? MECH, Morocco, KSI?"

"I'll double-check, but it looks to me like this…Lio, as you call him, is a bit more advanced than anything any of them could have 'cooked up.' I mean, maybe Arkeville or Meridian, but we have both of them carefully monitored–we'd be alerted if they so much as go out to buy groceries, let alone work on a project like this."

"Of course, there's also the possibility he's a Decepticon experiment, like the Phytocon," suggested Elita. "There may be a lab located in the desert where we found him. If all else fails, we could look into that."

Dr. Maheswaren nodded curtly. "I'll alert you if I find anything. For now, keep an eye on Lio, and try not to let him too close to any civilians, just in case. That means you too, Steven."

"Got it, will do," he said, waving. "Bye, Mrs. Maheswaren! Say hi to Connie for me!" She ended the call. "So, does this mean we can keep him?"

"We can for now," said Elita. "But Steven, like Priyanka said, it's possible he may have been built by someone dangerous. It could be only a matter of activating his attack protocols to turn him from a docile pet into a killing machine. We should keep him out of Beach City for the time being, just as a precaution."

"Indeed," said Magnus. "Even if it isn't a weapon, precautions are necessary. For instance, we should run some tests to see if we can discover just what this thing is." He opened up a box of tools for that purpose.

Steven let Lio 'catch' the laser pointer. "Aww, c'mon, Lio's not an 'it!'" he said. "And even if someone bad built him, you can't just go poking him with sharp things! He won't like that."

Of that, Steven was right, as Lio was on alert the moment Magnus began to approach him. The lion paced away from the invasive tools, giving Magnus the slip when he tried to chase him down. "Hold still, this is for your own good! Could someone give me a hand here?"

Sideswipe and Elita went over to try and catch Lio, who, like any cat, was being very uncooperative in regards to getting his checkup. He was nimble, as was also to be expected, slipping through Sideswipe's arms when he tried to hold him from behind. "Leets, he's comin' your way!" Elita was about to grab him, but he jumped over her, and off of her, onto the higher level.

"We have him cornered now, at least," she said. "And don't call me 'Leets.'" She and Magnus headed up the stairs, blocking both exits off from Lio. "Okay, kitty, don't make this harder than it needs to be…"

Not giving either of them much regard, Lio simply jumped back off, landing on Sideswipe. "Oof! I didn't picture you as a lap cat!" Lio hopped off, making his way over to the computer terminal. He glanced back, as though wondering whether or not they would decide to give up on their chase.

Ultra Magnus didn't, slowly approaching the lion so as to not startle him. Though, startling him didn't seem to be the reason for him running away. Just as he was about to bolt, Steven tried to calm him. "He's right, Lio, it's for your own good. Just let him give you a check-up."

To everyone's surprise, including Steven's, Lio listened. He sat down like an obedient dog, patiently waiting for Magnus to get on with it. "Uh…good kitty," he said, patting Lio on the head as a reward before getting on with the tests. Luckily for Lio, they were relatively minor, like checking his eyes and throat. He did have to take an energon sample, but Lio didn't even flinch at the needle.

"What's it lookin' like, doc?" asked Sideswipe. "Is he gonna make it?"

Magnus examined the vial. "Well, whatever Lio is, he runs on energon. And aside from seemingly lacking a spark, he seems perfectly healthy. Other than that…I'm not seeing anything anomalous about him. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was a naturally-occurring Cybertronian lifeform."

"Maybe he is," said Steven, walking over. Lio leaned down to get his ears scratched. "Is there such a thing as a Predacon who doesn't run on dark energon? Maybe he's one of those." Lio rolled onto his back, taking care not to squish the smaller organic.

Elita seemed like she was about to say something, but changed her mind. "In any case, he doesn't seem to be aggressive now. But just to be safe, we should make sure he stays in a secure location overnight."

"The cargo hold's nice and spacey," said Magnus. "We haven't kept anything important in there in a while. I'm sure he'll find it cozy enough." He whistled, patting his thigh. "Here boy!" To nobody's surprise, Lio stayed where he was. "Worth a try."

"C'mon, Lio." Steven led the way, and Lio semi-obediently followed. "So, when will it be safe to take Lio into town? I wanna introduce him to all of my friends!"

Ultra Magnus accompanied them to the cargo hold. "I wish I knew, bud," he said. "We'll probably go back to the desert tomorrow to see if we can find anything, but no guarantees. It's possible he's like a regular lion: too dangerous to bring around people."

As disheartening as his answer was, Steven knew where he was coming from. That said, he also knew in his heart that Lio wasn't as dangerous as they were worried he was. "I guess." They reached the hold, with Magnus opening the door for them. "Okay Lio, in you go. This is where you'll be hanging out for a little while."

Lio blinked as he looked at Steven, as though he didn't understand what was being asked of him. But still, he stepped inside, taking in all the new smells in the spacious room. He then yawned, lying down as Magnus closed the door.

Noticing Steven looked a bit down, Magnus leaned down to comfort him. "I know you've grown fond of Lio, but it's our job as Autobots to protect people," he said. "Like I said, I can't promise anything…but if we're absolutely, positively sure that Lio won't hurt anybody, you can keep him."

"I can?" asked Steven, cheering up a bit. "Like, for real?"

Magnus nodded. "For real."

His funk now completely gone, Steven pressed an ear to the door. "I'll come and get ya in the morning, Lio!" he said cheerfully. "So, what do we do now?"

"Now?" said Magnus. "Hmm…well, I suppose it's almost dinnertime."

The two of them headed back the way they came to get something to eat–for Steven, at least.

After an uneventful evening and night, Steven awoke bright and early the next morning with one thing on his mind. The moment he got out of bed, he headed from his house into the Ark, where none of the Autobots seemed to be awake yet. His next destination was the cargo hold, with him able to reach the control panel with a superhuman leap.

The sound of the door sliding open awoke Lio, who opened one eye to see what was going on. Upon seeing Steven, he yawned and stretched before sauntering over. "G'morning, Lio!" Steven said, patting his paw. "You sleep well?"

Lio licked his lips, apparently agreeing. He looked down at the boy, as though waiting for his instructions.

"So, what do you wanna do today?" Steven asked. "We could get some donuts from–oh, wait, I'm not supposed to take you into town. Maybe I could invite Connie over to–oh, not supposed to have you near people, either. I guess we can just play on the beach…?"

Seeming to be content with this idea, Lio followed Steven outside. He seemed to enjoy the familiar feeling of sand on his paws, hopping around once they were on the beach, and rolling around in it, which kicked the sand up everywhere.

Steven shielded himself from the incoming wave of sand. "You really like sand, don't you?" he asked with a laugh. With that in mind, he then wondered if Lio missed the desert. Who's to say it wasn't his home, and he wanted to return there? He perished the thought, as the lion seemed perfectly content. Steven then joined him in taking a sand-bath.

For the longest time, Steven had always wanted a pet, but various factors prevented him from having one. Mostly it was the Autobots worrying that Steven wasn't old enough to take care of one, seeing as they were almost always busy. For that matter, Greg was frequently busy as well, and often said that his workshop was no place for a cat or a dog. He had offered to buy Steven a fish or a turtle, and while Steven had never declined, he always wanted something a bit more…involved, a bill which Lio definitely fit.

"Gettin' all sandy now," said Steven, brushing himself off. Lio, too, seemed to notice how dusty he was, as he then headed towards the ocean to take a dip. He hopped into the waves, leaping over them as they came onto shore. "Good idea, let's go for a swim! Lemme just go grab my swim trunks–oh, no need!" Steven ran into the water as he was. "Cannonball!"

As the two splashed around in the sea, Elita made her way outside as well. "There you are. You're up early today, Steven."

He sprayed out a mouthful of seawater. "Yup! Lio really wanted to play outside." The lion was currently further out, swimming in the deeper water. "I tried to rein him in, but he was relentless."

Elita grinned. "Well, speaking of Lio, we were about ready to head back out to the desert. If we're lucky, we can find out where both Lio and that plant thing came from. Do you want to come along?"

"Um…" Steven looked over at Lio. "I would, but somebody needs to keep this guy out of trouble. Y'know, make sure he doesn't go anywhere or eat anyone he's not supposed to."

It took Elita a moment to consider this. While she was still worried about Lio being dangerous, he hadn't done anything to imply he was…yet. But Steven had proven himself more than capable of handling himself lately…to a degree. "Okay, you can stay here," she decided. "But make sure you keep an eye on him. And call us immediately if anything happens, okay?"

Steven saluted. "You got it! Good luck on your mission!"

"Thank you. Stay safe, Steven." Elita headed back inside the Ark, glancing back at the pair several times. Eventually, she went inside. Not long after, Steven heard the faint sound of a groundbridge opening.

After playing in the ocean for a bit longer, Steven and Lio had both laid down on the beach to dry off. They lay on their backs, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun. "So…it's not like I don't understand why they're worried," Steven said. "It's their job to protect people from Predacons, and no offense, but I can see how someone might mistake you for a Predacon at first glance."

Lio snuffled, apparently not taking any.

"But something about you feels different. Not only are you not a Predacon, but you're not your average giant mechanical lion. It's like, the moment I saw you, I felt something special about whatever you are…we're connected. You know?"

Lio snuffled again. Apparently, he knew.

"I don't know why. Maybe we were destined to be friends?" Steven suggested. He rolled onto his side. "Do you believe in that sort of–" He was interrupted when Lio suddenly leapt up, ears back. The lion looked around, clearly on edge. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

But Steven didn't need an answer to tell that something was indeed wrong. Sensing something, he put his ear back down against the sand. A kind of rumbling, almost like vibrations, could be heard just below the ground. Before he had time to ponder what this was, he suddenly felt him lifted by the collar.

Steven shouted as Lio picked him up and carried him off. Just in time, as at that moment, a gigantic tree burst up from the sand where he had been sitting just a second ago. No, not a tree… "Is that…the Phytocon!?" he exclaimed. "It's alive! How'd it get here?"

There was no time for answers as the plant took shape, its flower leaning down towards them. Between its petals was a circular mouth lined with teeth, which opened wide to give a terrifying shriek.

While Steven was a little put off by this, Lio was undeterred. He set Steven down behind a rock before running into battle with the floral beast. More vines burst up from the sand as the creature took root, though Lio deftly dodged these before he could be grabbed. He reached its main body, and for a moment, his claws tore into its stalk. But it wasn't long before it countered, wrapping its vines around his middle and throwing him a distance away.

"Hold on, buddy! I'm comin'!" Steven raced into the fray, an axe appearing in his hand. The plant recognized the threat, sending multiple vines to intercept him. He managed to cut through the first few, but one of them grabbed onto his arm, preventing him from swinging his weapon. "Uh-oh… Maybe we could talk about this?"

The Phytocon was not interested in talking. Further ensnaring Steven, the vines hoisted him up towards the creature's mouth. He struggled, his other hand transforming into a blaster and firing wildly. More of the appendages tightened around him, preventing any of his abilities from freeing him. The concentric rings of teeth spread wide to receive him, much to his dismay.

But just before he could be engulfed, the vines holding him were pulled back. Steven looked down to see Lio with his jaws clamped down on them, keeping the titanic tree from consuming him. "Lio! You're doing it!" he called. "C'mon, you got this! We can beat this oversized shrub!"

Lio pulled and pulled, eventually tearing the vine completely. The plant turned half of its attention towards this annoyance, which was just the distraction Steven needed to break free. He pulled his arm out of its hold, severing the vines holding him in place. This had the unintended consequence of sending him falling towards the ground, though thankfully he landed on Lio's back.

Like a horse and its rider, Lio carried Steven through the danger, leaping out of the way of the incoming vines. "For Beach City!" Steven said triumphantly, holding his axe aloft. He sliced the obstacles apart, standing atop Lio's back as the latter circled their owner. "No evil vegetable will destroy my town when we're around! Say your prayers, Phytoco–"

Just when Lio leapt at the Phytocon's body, it swung itself at the pair, battering them aside. Lio crashed hard into the sand, rolling to a stop, with Steven coming to a landing not far in front. He spat out a mouthful of sand.

"W-well, that's okay," he assured the lion. "We'll just try again. No big deal!" As Steven picked himself up, he noticed that the Phytocon was preparing something. A pair of vines thicker than the rest loomed over its head, both tipped with black flowers that were pointed at them ."What's it doing…?"

Steven let out a surprised yelp as a stream of projectiles began firing from the buds, shooting into the sand as it adjusted its aim. He held his arms over his face in an attempt to protect himself, but it wouldn't have done much. Whether or not his Transformer heritage would have protected him, he didn't need to find out, because Lio leapt into action. He sprang up from his position, throwing himself towards the boy. And when he was in midair, he transformed.

His back legs lengthened, becoming more suited to supporting his weight alone. His forelegs tucked in as his upper body pivoted around, with a pair of arms unfolding from what had just been his back. His mane extended around his head, forming into a shield, which he placed in front of himself and Steven. Realizing he was safe as the machine gun fire ricocheted against the shield, Steven opened his eyes.

"Woah…" was all he could say, in awe at the sight of his protector. Lio's other arm held him close, further shielding him from harm. The moment the plant's barrage faltered, he stood up to his full height, throwing the shield like a discus, stunning the beast. He ran towards it, both to retrieve his weapon and to finish it off. "Hey! Wait for me!"

Unwilling to let his guardian, however skilled he was, handle this on his own, Steven ran back into the fray with his axe in hand. He was much more savvy in avoiding the vines this time, though it helped that the tree had to contend with Lio slicing through it with the razor-sharp edges of his shield. However, its trunk proved too hard to breach, despite his best efforts.

That was where Steven came in. "Give me a lift!" he yelled. As though understanding him implicitly, Lio held out his hand, tossing Steven into the air. He swung with his axe, cutting into the Phytocon's stem and causing it to let out a loud shriek. He pulled downward, creating a large enough opening for Lio to finish it off. "Give 'im the works, Lio!"

Lio tore apart the opening just as Ultra Magnus had done during the last fight. But rather than fill it with explosives, he reached inside, before yanking out a glowing blue object. With its spark removed, the plantlike monster only remained active for a moment longer. It shuddered and writhed, before collapsing to the ground, lifeless. As its vines did the same, its entire body began to wilt, shriveling up and turning from green to brown. At the same time, it also began to dissolve into rust. Steven panted as Lio held the spark: the battle was won.

"I…I can't believe we actually did it," Steven said, his axe vanishing. "I thought for sure we'd need to call one of the 'bots to–Oh, no, the 'bots! They're gonna be mad I got into a fight without them! Quick, Lio, help me clean this up before…Lio?" It was only now that the literal and proverbial dust had settled that Steven got a clear look at Lio's new form. He turned around, still holding the spark in his hand as he regarded the boy with a very familiar-looking face. "D-dad…?"

Aside from his mostly-white color, Lio was a dead ringer for Optimus Prime. While he wasn't quite as tall or broad-shouldered, his face was a perfect match, right down to the faceplate. He blinked his blue eyes curiously, leaning down to inspect Steven. He reached out a finger, stopping just short of resting it against his face.

Steven reached out as well, placing his hand against Lio's finger. "Are y–are you my dad?" he asked hesitantly. Lio simply cocked his head to the side, as though he didn't understand the question. "No, you're…you're just Lio, right?" Other side this time. "Just Lio. But…I think that's enough."

Interrupting this tender moment, the doors of the Ark slid open, and all three Autobots came tearing out. "Steven!" yelled Elita, gun drawn. "Get down! That plant thing is still alive, and…you…took care of it already… Um…" The three lowered their weapons in surprise upon seeing that the threat had already been taken care of.

"Oh! Guys, you're back already!" Steven said in surprise. "Uh, yeah, it turns out that thing wasn't dead after all… And it also turns out it had a spark! Look!"

They did, but the spark wasn't what they were more focused on. "Is that…?" asked Sideswipe, staring at Lio along with the others.

"I don't think it is," Magnus replied, "but it's certainly an uncanny resemblance. When exactly did this happen, Steven?"

"While we were fighting the Phytocon," he said. "Or Vegecon. Or Triffidcon, I dunno. He was protecting me, and then he just…transformed. Into this."

Elita slowly approached the newly-humanoid Lio. "Hello…" she said, holding out a hand. Noticing this, Lio placed the spark in her grasp. "Oh. Thank you." She stepped back, handing it to Ultra Magnus. "This is definitely…unexpected."

His duty fulfilled for the moment, Lio changed back into a lion. He then sat down and began licking his paw as though none of that had happened. "So, does this mean you didn't find anything else about him?"

"Unfortunately, no," said Ultra Magnus, sending the spark into storage. "We did find an abandoned laboratory, but it does not seem Lio originated there. Though we were able to confirm that the 'Phytocon' was indeed a Transformer-plant hybrid lifeform, completely unique in its biology."

"Yeah, I even came up with the perfect name for him: Botanicus!" Sideswipe proclaimed triumphantly.

Magnus cleared his throat. "A female hybrid lifeform."

"Well, Botanica, then, it doesn't matter too much," he said. "But whatever Lio is, looks like he came from somewhere else. Hmm…" He examined the cat's sitting form. "You think…you think Optimus could've had something to do with him? I mean, they do look alike."

The idea seemed to intrigue Elita, but she laughed off the idea. "I think if Optimus was creating a Transformer out of a lion, we would know about it."

"The real question here is, is Lio a Transformer with a beast altmode, or is the lion form his rootmode, only able to turn into a robot after he scanned one of us?" He too examined Lio. "Most likely Steven, given the resemblance to his father. The possibility boggles the mind…"

"I guess it'll have to stay a mystery for now," Steven said. "But, I think the real real question is, since Lio's proven himself to be totally friendly and heroic and not dangerous to the good guys, do you think that, maybe…?"

Elita gave an amused smile. "Lio went out of his way to protect you from danger," she said, patting him on the head. "Yes, he can stay with us."

"Yeah! You hear that, big guy? You're here to stay!" Lio bent down to lick Steven's face with a tongue as big as he was. Steven laughed, hugging his nose as he purred contentedly.