Chapter Eleven: Portal Problems

Lars let out a deep sigh. "Would you stop with the sighing?" asked a slightly annoyed, but also understanding Sadie. "You've been staring at those three since they came in here! If I didn't know better, I'd say you had a crush on one or more of them…" This last part was muttered with a touch of envy.

"What!? No! At least, not in that way," Lars insisted. His gaze had been focused on a trio of other teenagers sitting at a table inside the Big Donut. These so-called 'Cool Kids' were a common sight at the eatery, and Beach City as a whole.

Buck Dewey: son of Mayor Bill Dewey, the mayor. Despite the prominence of his family name, he was well known for his cool attitude and unflappable nature. Politicians from all over Delmarva wished they had children as cool as him.

Jenny Pizza, heir to the Fish Stew Pizza fortune. Despite her relative wealth, It was her magnetic personality and upbeat nature that endeared the populace to her. Chefs from all over Delmarva wished they had children as peppy as her.

Sour Cream, son of a local fisherman, and up-and-coming deejay. Known far and wide for never losing his temper, and always willing to offer words of wisdom to the lost. Fishermen all over Delmarva wished they had children as chill as him.

Lars sighed for the thirteenth time that day. "It's just…wouldn't it be cool to be cool? To be respected, instead of just being known as the donut boy that nobody likes?"

"I wouldn't say nobody likes you." To Lars' irritation, Steven had appeared, leaning against the counter. "I like you, sorta. Sadie likes you. Your parents like you. Onion likes you, again, sorta."

"None of those count," Lars muttered, to Sadie's silent disappointment. "I want to be liked by people who aren't creepily clingy, only want donuts from me, or are forced to be in my proximity. It's called popularity. You wouldn't understand, Steven.

Sadie came to his defense. "Hey, Steven's plenty popular! What else would you call being liked by just about everyone in Beach City?" Steven swelled at the compliment.

"I'd call it being a half-robot circus freak," Lars grumbled.

"Well, I'd call it having a magnetic personality!" Sadie countered. "Which you wouldn't understand." He handed Steven his order. "Don't listen to Lars, Steven, he likes being miserable."

"I do not!"

Steven happily took the bag. "Thanks! I'm learning how to open up a groundbridge today, so I'll need to keep my strength up! …Actually, wanna come watch? I could use you cheering me on!"

"Hmm…" Sadie considered this. "Well, we do have a break in a few minutes. What do you think, Lars? Want to watch Steven master the Transformerly ways?"

He sniffed with derision. "The last thing I wanna waste my break on is your space robot weirdness. Just go–and make sure you bring exact change next time!"

"Fine, I didn't want you to watch anyway!" said Steven, turning to leave. Once he turned around, however, he was saddened. He really had wanted someone to come along, since Connie was busy with school. But, as he passed by the Cool Kids' table, he was struck by an idea. "Hey guys!"

"...which shouldn't be too much trouble on its own, but–oh, hey Steven," said Sour Cream, setting down his pocket synthesizer. "What brings you by the Big Donut?"

"Oh, y'know…donuts," he replied, holding up his takeout bag. "So, are you guys up to anything fun?"

"Not really," said Buck, "unless you count Sour Cream telling us all about his latest single." The deejay in question shot him a good-natured glare.

"Why, what's up?" asked Jenny. "Are you up to anything fun?"

"Sorta," Steven answered. "Ultra Magnus said it's time I was connected to the groundbridge network. I was gonna practice interfacing with it now, and I figured if you want to watch, then…"

Buck and Jenny both glanced at Sour Cream. "He's learning to open portals with his mind," he translated.

"Sure, that sounds awesome!" said Jenny. "Are you sure Magnus is cool with it, though? We don't wanna intrude."

"No, the more the merrier!" said Steven. "And I miiight be persuaded to share my donuts…" He glanced over at Lars and Sadie, as though trying to entice them to come along as well. Lars averted his eyes, while Sadie waved apologetically.

The door swung open, and a large face peered through. "Hey, everything alright in here?" asked Sideswipe. "C'mon, Swipey needs his glaze!"

"Got it right here!" Steven headed for the door, looking back before leaving. "Anyone who wants to see this, now's your chance!" He was followed by all three of the Cool Kids, chattering excitedly amongst themselves. It seemed that, just as many of the other teenagers of Beach City looked up to them, they looked up to Steven.

And so, once again the Big Donut was empty, save for Lars and Sadie. "You know, it might not hurt to talk to them," Sadie said. "Who knows? They might want to be your friend, too."

It was an agonizing fifteen seconds for Lars. Spending time with some of the coolest kids in the city…while also spending that time with Steven. Before long, he had made up his mind, leaping over the counter and out the door like a man possessed. "Hey! Steven! Wait for me!"

Shaking her head with a knowing smile, Sadie went as well. It was a much easier choice for her.

"Listen closely, Steven–and guests–because this is incredibly important," said Magnus, standing before the Ark's main console. "A groundbridge is a highly delicate instrument, and can be incredibly dangerous when handled by all but the most careful of hands. Ripping a hole in the fabric of space-time is not to be misused, especially as a toy. Is that clear?"

Steven saluted, stood at attention. "Sir yes sir!" He then eagerly looked up at his guests, as though making sure they were watching. Jenny waved.

All five of them waited with baited breath for the lesson to begin. "So, uh…you guys seem pretty close to Steven," Lars said.

"Sort of," said Buck. "We don't hang out a lot, but he's a good kid. Always brightens my day to run into him."

"Oh. Huh. Well, I guess you could call the two of us friends," Lars lied. "He comes into the Big Donut all the time, so we know each other pretty well! Right, Sadie?"

She was busy watching Steven. "Whatever you say, Lars."

Lars looked expectantly at the Cool Kids. "Maybe we should hang out sometime! I mean, the Big Donut's already the perfect hang-out spot! And since I work there, I miiiight be able to hook you guys up with free donuts… Guys?"

To his disappointment, none of them were listening. "Hold that thought, Steven's getting ready!" said Jenny.

All three Autobots watched Steven as he took a few deep breaths. "I've just registered you as a user into Teletraan," Elita said. "You should be able to open a groundbridge now–in theory."

"Try to focus on a singular place," Magnus said. "Preferably somewhere you know, where a portal suddenly opening wouldn't disturb anyone. How about down on the beach? That sounds like a good spot."

Steven concentrated. "The beach…" A series of images flashed through his mind. Here, on the Ark. The lighthouse on the hill. His dad's house. The Big Donut. That large spherical place with all the dark energon. A tree he had never seen before. Fryman's Fries. The volcano where he first saw Powerglide. That tree again. Grand Slammers. The same tree…

"Feel the energon flowing through your body," Elita instructed. "Feel it connecting you to all things. Connecting you to the groundbridge network…"

"...Is he meditating or opening a portal here?" Sideswipe muttered.

"I can…I can see something!" Steven said excitedly. "It's…a tree. A big tree, in the middle of a field. It's like it's calling to me."

Magnus and Elita shared a glance. "Calling to you, you say?" asked Magnus. "I…suppose you can open a portal there. Just imagine a connection between this room, and that field."

Steven did just that. A glowing mote of light appeared before him, flickering and sparking as it struggled to open into a gateway through space. "WOO! Go, Steven! You got this!" hollered Jenny from the observation deck. The other Cool Kids cheered him on as well, while Lars watched them with envy. Sadie, in turn, watched him.

"Good, good, very good," said Elita, gently guiding him through the process. "Concentrate! Imagine space as a…eh, bendy straw, and you can bend it to your will!"

"Bendy straw…" Steven tried to bend the bendy straw that was space, but the image of that tree wouldn't leave his mind. "Bendy straw!" The bit of light grew closer to his chest, spreading the glow throughout his body. For a fraction of a second, a phantom image of the Matrix appeared. "BENDY STRAAAAAAW!"

As Steven's eyes snapped open, a groundbridge did indeed open. However, rather than being in front of him, it opened up in the observation deck. The first thing the group of teenagers noticed was a light breeze, accompanied by a low hum, followed by the feeling of being sucked into the world's largest vacuum. "GAH! STEVEN, WHAT DID YOU DO!?" yelled Lars, grabbing hold of the first thing he could, which happened to be Sadie.

The moment he noticed what he had done, Steven tried to fix it. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! Un-bend, un-bend! How do I make it un-bend!?" He ran up the stairs into the room to try and close it manually.

"Steven, don't, it's too dangerous!" shouted Elita, as she and Sideswipe hurried after him to prevent him from being sucked in too. "Quick, shut down the network!"

"Trying my best!" said Magnus, who was hammering away at Teletraan's keyboard. But try as he might, the portal continued to pull in the kids.

Steven hurried inside, watching in horror as Sour Cream was pulled in. Jenny was next to go, with Buck unable to hold onto her. "Jenny, no! Hold on!" he cried, running after her and leaping into the portal.

Sadie was similarly holding onto Lars, with both of them slowly being pulled closer. "Steven!" she said, reaching out to him. He grabbed her hand, trying to summon every last bit of his strength to carry them away from harm. But despite his Cybertronian strength, the portal proved stronger, and he soon lost his footing.

"Steven!" yelled Elita, reaching her hand through the door. But she was too late, missing him by a mere inch. He, Sadie, and Lars disappeared through the rogue groundbridge, leaving the room empty. Magnus was finally able to stabilize it, and it disappeared, leaving behind only silence.

The three of them were in shock. Catastrophic groundbridge accidents like that were very rare, and all but impossible with their current power supply. But their minds were less concerned with the 'why,' and more focusing on the 'where.' Steven and his friends could have ended up anywhere on the planet. Finding them would be incredibly difficult…could they even survive until then?"

"So, uh, that wasn't my fault," said Sideswipe. "You can vouch for me on that, yeah?"

The next thing Lars felt, not counting being hurtled through a tear in time and space, was landing on a wooden floor. "Ugh…what did I do to deserve these kinds of things?" he groggily asked, his eyes getting used to the darkness. There was some light, but not much.

Everyone else was there as well, also getting used to their new locale. "Where are we?" asked Sour Cream, similarly dazed. "Was this where you were thinking about, Steven?"

"I don't…think so," he said, unsure of himself. "Elita said to bend the universe to my will, and I guess I did. I didn't think something like this would happen, though." He got up, feeling his surroundings as his vision adjusted. His hands touched a wall, which he soon realized was made of unpolished wood. "Are we inside the tree?"

"Don't ask us, you're the one who brought us here!" snapped Lars. "And if you brought us here, you can send us back, can't you? Do it! Send us back, now!" He fell to his knees, clutching desperately at Steven's shirt.

"Okay, okay!" Pushing him back, Steven tried to concentrate on home. However, no matter how hard he focused, he just couldn't visualize the location the way he had before. "It's not working!" he lamented. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong!"

Sadie approached to soothe him. "Don't worry, it's alright. We'll figure something out. We just need some ideas! Anybody have any?"

"Hmm…" Buck closely examined their surroundings. "If we're inside of a tree, then logically, we can get out of the tree. We should do that."

"Yeah, yeah, listen to him, let's do that!" Lars said eagerly. "Does anyone have an axe lying around?"

Lightbulb. "Oh! I do!" Steven's practicing had paid off, as in a flash of light, an axe he had. He held it over his head like Excalibur, filling the chamber with a warm glow.

The Cool Kids were enamored. "Woah! Now that's impressive!" said Sour Cream.

"Man, this kid's fulla tricks!" Jenny observed.

Buck simply nodded in approval. Lars, on the other hand, shrank inwardly.

"Okay, once we know where we are, we'll know where to go!" Steven approached the wall, and began chopping away with his axe. It wasn't long before moonlight poured into the room–indicating that they had to have traveled roughly to the other side of the planet. "We're free! After y–Wah!"

A nonchalant glance outside led to the sudden and startling revelation that the ground was much further beneath them than Steven had anticipated. His sudden shout had drawn the others over, who reacted similarly. "Did you shrink us too!?" Lars shouted.

"No, wait: look down there," said Sour Cream, pointing to the distant ground. The floor was dotted with what looked like the occasional bush. "Those are trees too. I think this tree's just really big."

"Okay, so we aren't tiny. Big relief," Lars moaned. "New question: how are we supposed to get down?"

Sadie stared out of the hole, catching sight of a large branch just to the side. "There! We can climb down using the branches! …Or at least see where we are from the treetop."

"I think I like the second idea better…" said Jenny, looking down at the ground. "The Autobots can find us eventually, right?"

Steven was concerned, but not worried. "I'm sure they're working their very hardest," he assured them.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" shrieked Elita. "WHERE IS STEVEN!? WHERE DID THEY GO!?" She shook Ultra Magnus, who was frantically working at the terminal.

"I don't know!" he said, barely maintaining his cool. "I've never seen a groundbridge do something like that before! There's no way to track them down!"

"WELL, THEN FIND A WAY!"

During all of this, Sideswipe had curled up in a corner. "Why does this keep happening to me!?" he lamented.

"...Yeah, I'm sure it's fine," said Steven. "So, we're going up, then?"

Sadie was already sizing up a potential jump to the branch. "Going up!" Before anyone, namely Lars, could object, she made the leap, landing it with surprising ease. She staggered a bit, but still reached her target. "Woah! …Okay, it's alright. Who's next?" She held out her hands, ready to catch whoever leapt next.

"Can we talk about this?" said Lars, perhaps understandably hesitant about making such a leap. "We shouldn't have to put ourselves in danger just because Steven screwed up!"

"Hey, it ain't his fault," Buck said, coming to his defense. "Everyone makes mistakes."

Lars' eye twitched. "Mistakes that could end up with us being dead?"

Despite the tension, Steven was next with no complaint. "Here I go!" Everyone watched with nerves thoroughly wracked as he got a running start, hurling himself over to the branch. Sadie reached out to catch him, as it seemed like he would come up short. Instead, he raised his axe, digging the blade into the wood beneath him. From there, he pulled himself up, standing beside her. "Made it!" he announced cheerfully.

Sour Cream sighed in relief, before applauding his jump. "Leading by example, that's Steven for you! If he can do it, we can!"

"That's the spirit!" Steven called. "C'mon, Lars! Don't worry, we'll catch you!"

If Lars had hoped to look Cool in front of the Cool Kids, he currently wasn't. "Are you kidding!? I'm not putting my life in your hands!"

"It'll be fine! Don't you trust Sadie?" he said.

He wanted to say yes, but not to this extent. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, Jenny stepped up to jump next. "Okay…this is fine, you can do this!" she hyped herself up. "They're gonna catch you, it'll all be fi–"

The silence of the night was then broken by a distant screech, echoing all around them. Before anyone could ask what it was, a silent shadow passed by overhead. What wasn't silent was the unidentified being landing atop the upper branches with a loud thud. None of them moved, completely petrified. The tension was then broken as a pair of blinding spotlights suddenly illuminated the inside of the tree.

There was another screech, this one much louder, as they all looked up at the source of the lights. They came from the eyes of a gigantic metal owl, none too happy with its territory having been invaded. Its feathers were white and grey, with eerie yellow eyes, and a red crest on its forehead that extended into horns. Despite its size, it began making its way down towards the stranded humans.

"Okay-I-changed-my-mind!" Lars said quickly, pressing against the wall by the hole. "Get us out of here, quick!"

The appearance of the Predacon was just the push Jenny needed to take the leap. With a yelp, she cleared the gap, with Sadie catching her on the other end. "Whoever's next, hurry!" she called.

The divot in the tree was just large enough for the gigantic owl to fit through, but only just. It still needed to squirm and wriggle a bit to move towards them, giving them thankfully some more time. Sour Cream was next, landing on the branch but almost stumbling off. "Woah!" He flailed his arms as he tried not to fall backwards, though Sadie was thankfully there to catch him by the shirt, pulling him to safety.

Steven watched nervously as the Predacon grew closer, its terrifying screeches reverberating throughout the entire tree. As Buck made his way across, he considered leaping over to try and fend it off. He was more adept with his Transformer powers than before…but he still didn't feel that confident in himself. Instead he stared, clutching his axe and hoping everyone made it.

The Cool Kids were all together once again, and only Lars remained within the tree. The owl's spotlight eyes were fixed on him, fixing to make him its next prey. "Steven! Help!" he shouted, further backing into the corner. Everyone watched in horror as the Predacon worked its way closer, tearing into the wood with its talons. Sadie waited on the edge of the branch, looking like she was moments away from leaping over herself.

"Jump! Hurry, you have to jump!" shouted Steven. Although Lars seemed frozen in terror, he willed himself to head for the hole. He made the mistake of looking down, causing him to freeze up again. "Don't worry, Sadie will catch you! Right, Sadie!"

With a beak that could tear through solid steel feet away from him, Lars didn't have much of a choice. With a yell of fear, he ran as fast as he could and jumped, just as the owl bit down, missing him by a hair. Sadie reached out for him, their hands inches apart…narrowly missing each other.

The moment their hands failed to touch, time seemed to slow down. Everyone watched in horror as Lars began his descent, falling down the side of the tree. Steven leapt into action without even thinking. He dove after Lars, racing to meet him. The two continued to tumble down, faster and faster, until Steven was able to grab onto him. "Don't worry! I've got you!"

Even though Lars was almost too terrified to speak, he made an exception. "And who exactly has you!?" he shrieked.

Steven held onto Lars with one arm, the other holding his axe. He raised the weapon over his head and swung it with all his might, the blade digging into the bark of the tree. After a few moments of continuing to fall, their descent began to slow.

"What happened? Can I open my eyes now?" asked Sour Cream, his hand in front of his face. "Are they dead?"

No, they were not. Sadie breathed a sigh of relief as the two of them reached the ground. They were safe…kind of. Unable to fit through the hole, the Predacon began the process of returning the way it came. "Come on, we have to get somewhere safe," she said.

"What about them?" asked Buck, looking down at the pair.

Sadie didn't want to move on without them, but she didn't have a choice. "We can't exactly jump after them. Right now, we have to worry about that owl." She began looking at the tangle of branches above them, searching for a route to climb. "They'll be fine…I hope."

Back at the Ark, things had calmed down somewhat, but they were still no closer to locating Steven. "Okay, everybody think: if you were Steven, where would you have opened a portal to?" asked Elita.

Sideswipe thought for a moment. "...The Big Donut?"

"No! Well, maybe. But not this time! Come on, think! There has to be something he said, some kind of hint as to where that portal took them!"

As Magnus poured over the portal network, he suddenly remembered something. "Hang on…didn't he mention something about a tree? A big tree in a field? What do you think he could have meant by that?"

"Could be anything," said Sideswipe. "There's gotta be millions of trees-in-fields on this planet, so he could be…" He trailed off, his eyes widening in realization. "You don't think he meant that tree, do you?"

Elita and Magnus shared a glance. "I can't really think of any other important trees," the latter said. "It's worth a shot. I'll open a portal there…" He went back to the console to do just that.

The other two watched him, holding their breath in anticipation. "Please hurry," Elita said quietly. "There's no telling what they could run into out there!"

Don't get him wrong, Lars was definitely glad to be alive. However, he wasn't glad to be in a scenario where he would have to be glad about that in the first place. Getting sucked through an unstable groundbridge, being accosted by a giant robotic owl, and nearly falling to his death off of an enormous tree did not leave him in the best of moods. And even though Steven saved his life, who had opened that portal in the first place? "Get off me!" he snapped, shoving Steven back once they had landed. "Was this part of your plan!? Looking like a hero in front of the Cool Kids!?"

It took Steven a moment to process this. "What!?" he shouted when it finally hit him. "I just saved your life! How can you still be mad at a time like this!?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because this always happens!" Lars shouted. "Whenever you're around, the situation always devolves into being chased by monsters, or locked in an ancient temple, or being launched into the sun! And does anyone ever realize this? No! Despite how everyone around you is always in mortal danger, they can't get enough of you! You're somehow one of the most popular people in Beach City, while people like me are completely ignored!"

"How selfish can you be!?" Steven yelled back. "We're all in mortal peril, but all you care about is looking good in front of the people you like! I didn't mean to get us stranded out here, I didn't mean for that giant owl to chase us, and I definitely didn't mean to always be the center of attention! It's not like I want to be attacked by monsters or thrown into danger all the time–it just happens!"

Lars scoffed. "Yeah, because your dad was a giant alien war machine!"

"And so what if he is!? My dad could be the giantest, alien-est, war machine-est dad out there, but he'd still be a way nicer person than you! He was a hero, and he protected people…like I'm trying to do now…" Steven slumped down, sitting against the tree's enormous trunk. "But I can't do that, because I'm the one who got us stuck here."

Seeing Steven take the blame for what had happened didn't fill Lars with as much satisfaction as he thought it would. Instead, it only made him feel worse than he already did. "Hey…" Unsure of what to say, instead he simply sat down beside Steven. "It, uh… I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

Steven looked over at him. "You think so?"

"Yeah. Nobody could've known that would happen. But considering it did, you…handled things pretty well." Lars didn't seem to want to admit it. "You got us out of that tree, and you saved me from falling. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Of course," Steven said. "I wasn't about to let you fall."

"See what I mean? You leapt off a huge tree to save someone who doesn't even like you! It's no wonder you're so popular: you're a hero."

Steven looked away. "'Hero' is probably a bit strong," he said.

"Not to someone who was moments away from becoming a pancake!" said Lars. "Thanks to you, we're all safe. And I'm sure that right now, the Autobots are doing their best to find us. See? Everything is gonna be just–"

He was then interrupted by that same terrifying screech, indicating that everything would not be just fine. A shadow passed by overhead, the beast's massive wingspan silhouetted against the moon. Before either Steven or Lars could react, the owl shook the ground upon landing. Turbines within its wings slowed to a stop as its eyes fixed on the intruders.

"What's happening down there?" asked Jenny, from their new perch at the tree's top. "Is it going after 'em?"

"It is," Sadie said with dread. "Lars! Steven! Run!"

Even though they couldn't hear her from all the way up there, they both knew that was their best option. With another screech, the owl gave chase, with the pair taking refuge in the tree's gnarled roots. The entire structure seemed to shake as it tore at the wooden dome with its talons and beak. Unfortunately, there was only one entrance to the hole they now found themselves in.

Understandably, Lars' first order of business was to curl up in the corner as far away as he could manage. "What are we supposed to do now!?" he shouted, not really expecting an answer. "We're gonna end up as pellets for that thing!"

"Not if I can stop it!" With surprising courage considering the situation, Steven marched up to the beast, who hardly noticed him in its frenzy. His axe reappeared in his hand, and with great conviction, he swung it against the bird's beak…where it bounced off with only a few sparks. The owl stopped what it was doing and slowly turned to stare at him. "Uh…oops."

The Predacon took to the skies with another screech, seemingly disappearing. "Did…did that seriously drive it off?" asked Lars, walking closer to make sure it was safe.

Steven double checked behind him. "I guess so. I thought that would be harder, but hey, I'm not complaining!" He posed with his weapon. "Another Predacon vanquished thanks to Steven Uni–"

"Get back!" Lars' attention had not been focused on Steven, but on the opening behind him. The owl had silently doubled back, releasing a barrage of missiles from its wings. He had just barely enough time to pull Steven away from the roots before that entire side exploded, showering them both in burning splinters. Lars coughed, waving the smoke and ash out of his face. "Are you alright?" he asked the boy he had ended up shielding with his body.

Steven coughed too. "Yeah, fine, thanks to you." He managed a quick smile, before he realized the position they were in now. "But I have a feeling we're about to not be."

The missiles had created an opening just large enough for the owl to slip through, or at least fit its head in. Its glowing eyes first appeared through the smoke, gradually revealing the rest of its form as it crept towards its prey. Steven and Lars both backed up against the back wall. "You don't think that axe could chase it away again, do you?"

"Not like this…but maybe if it were bigger!" Steven broke away from Lars, running towards the towering bird, grinning triumphantly with his axe above his head.

"Steven, no!" But before Lars could do anything, he had already leapt straight into the owl's beak. However, instead of disappearing into its mouth, there was a sudden flash of light. A powerful impact kicked up a cloud of dust, followed by the clashing of metal on metal with a loud screech. Where the boy had been moments before now stood a large white robot. "...S-Steven?"

Having been struck with a much larger axe, the owl, unprepared for the blow, retreated from the hollow. "It…it worked," the robot said in Steven's voice, turning around. "I did it! I wasn't entirely sure that would work…"

Still in shock, Lars' fear momentarily disappeared. "Is this something you could've done all along?" he asked.

"Sort of," said Steven with a shrug and a sheepish smile. "It's happened before, but I'm still learning to control it. But hey–it works when it matters!"

Before Lars could decide to berate or congratulate him, Steven was suddenly yanked out into the open. The Predacon had latched onto his arm with its beak, hurling him away from the tree–where there was less protection. It took to the skies, letting out yet another screech.

His eyes locked on his target, Steven thrust out his free arm, expecting it to turn into a blaster. Nothing of the sort happened. "Huh," he said, looking down at his hand, "guess I can't expect it all to work…."

The Predacon swooped down, its talons grabbing hold of the axe's handle as Steven used it to block. His feet slid against the ground as he was pushed further away from the tree. From the very top, Sadie and the others watched in awe.

"Steven can turn into a giant robot!?" shouted Sour Cream. "When was he gonna tell us?"

"Come on, Steven, you can beat it!" cheered Buck, no louder than normal. "Can we do anything to help?"

Sadie wanted to help, but figured this was out of her league. "Not from this far away. Right now, try and stay away from the edges. I'll try and find us a hiding spot in case that thing comes back–huh?" She turned around, noticing a small flicker of light appearing behind them.

Back on the ground, Steven had hurled the Predacon over his shoulder, watching as it took to the sky to loop around. He ran after it, reasoning that the farther away it was from the others, the better. However, since his eyes were on the bird, he failed to notice something in his path until after he had tripped over it. Steven fell to the ground with an "Oof!" and turned around to see a rusty, Transformer-sized sword. "Huh? What's this doing here?"

It was then that Steven realized where he was. As he looked around, he saw that the empty field he was in wasn't empty at all. Old weapons lie scattered across the grass, most of them sticking out of the dirt. Others seemed to have been deliberately arranged, as though forming a kind of memorial. Several withered flags dotted the ancient battlefield as well: some bore the Autobot symbol, but others were decorated with a symbol he didn't recognize. It was purple, and much sharper than the one he was used to, with the bottom narrowing into a point rather than a mouth.

"What happened here?" he wondered aloud, getting up to survey the scene. He didn't have much time to ponder the question, as the owl soon returned. He swung his axe to drive it off as it slashed with its talons, but it seemed more interested in something else. The Predacon soon grabbed hold of the sword, dragging it a short distance to one of the flags.

Curious, Steven moved closer. He saw that there were several swords propped up against the flag, as though intentionally left there by their owners. Once they were all in place again, it bowed its head, as though paying a due to the fallen. Steven looked around: small memorials such as this dotted the entire field.

"You're…you're protecting this place," he said, as understanding dawned on him. He assumed that the Predacon had maybe been a friend of one of the warriors lost to the battle. "I'm sorry I disturbed you, but it's okay now. I'm not going to hurt you." To show he meant to harm, he set down his axe, reaching out a hand to the owl.

Even if it could understand him, the beast didn't believe him, as it turned around to lunge with a shriek. Before Steven could grab his axe again, he was on the ground, holding back a snapping beak that was inches away from his face.

He could feel its talons digging into his chest as it tried to destroy the intruder. "Stop! I said I was sorry!" Steven groaned, holding it back with one arm while reaching for his weapon with the other. It was so close, but just barely beyond his grasp. He felt its beak scratching against his face as he tried to pull it closer, unable to hold it back much longer…

With the sudden sound of tearing metal and sparking wires, the Predacon froze. Its eyes blinked on and off as it shuddered, before finally going limp. It fell to its side to reveal none other than Ultra Magnus, with a spark in his hand. "There you are," he said, offering him a hand.

"Magnus!" Steven eagerly took his hand, throwing himself around him in a hug once he was back up. "You're here! How did you find me?"

"Well, back when you were trying to open a portal, you mentioned something about a big tree." He turned around, facing the giant tree, where Elita and Sideswipe were helping Sadie and the Cool Kids to the ground. "Only one really big tree I know of, so I figured it was worth a try. Good thing I got here when I did.

Steven glanced down at the Predacon's form, which had begun to dissolve, before looking around at the weapons and flags everywhere. "So, you know this place? What exactly is it?"

Magnus looked around somberly at their surroundings. "Somewhere I wish you didn't have to see. A lot of energon was spilled here–too much. We think that's one of the reasons that tree grew so big in the first place, but who knows? It might be due to the souls of all the Cybertronians who fell in this battle."

"So it is a battlefield," said Steven. "But, what kind of battle would be this big?"

Looking away, it seemed that Magnus was unwilling to divulge further information. "The Autobots have always defended this world from those who would do it harm…including other Cybertronians."

Before he could think too deeply that there were other Transformers who were hostile, Steven noticed the approach of the others. "Hey guys!" He shrank down to his human form as he ran over.

"Steven, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen," said Buck. "You've gotta teach me how to do that sometime."

"Um…" Steven wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he didn't. "Are you all okay? You didn't get hurt climbing up that tree?"

"No, thanks to Sadie!" said Jenny, hugging the girl from the side. "She really took charge and helped us all to safety! It's probably thanks to her we're still alive!"

She blushed. "Oh, it's not that big a deal," she said. "I just did what came naturally. Steven's the one who did all the hard work."

"Hey, no need to be modest," Sour Cream assured her. "You two both played a huge part in keeping us alive. Isn't that right, Steven?"

Steven was currently in the process of being hugged tightly by Elita. "Y-yup," he said, her embrace constricting him. "Good job, Sadie!"

Meanwhile, Lars had stepped out from the tree's roots, with nobody noticing as he approached the group. He sighed, deciding against calling attention to himself.

Eventually, Elita set Steven down. "Okay, now that's over, new rule: no groundbridges for Steven ever again. At least until we can figure out what exactly happened here."

"Hmm…is this tree important somehow?" asked Steven. "Back at the Ark, I kept seeing it in my head, like somebody was showing it to me."

Sideswipe glanced over at Magnus. "Hey, didn't his chest start glowing back there? You don't think…?"

Magnus knew what he was referring to. Now that the Matrix was active within Steven, he would begin to experience overflows of its power. Could this have been one of the ways that manifested? "We'll look closer into that another time," he said. "For now, we need to get these ones home."

"Yes, please!" said Lars. "I don't think I'll ever look at trees–or owls–the same way again!" For once, the Cool Kids agreed, eager to put this nightmare to rest. For a moment, he and Sadie met eyes, only to immediately look away.

Elita brought them all together, heading closer to the tree to open a portal. Meanwhile, Magnus glanced back at the battlefield behind him, his face fallen in remembrance. "At least you can rest now, old friend," he said to the spark, before warping it back to containment. He joined the others, hoping to put this place behind him. Given Steven's rapidly-growing abilities, however, he knew they would be back soon.