Chapter Fourteen: Lion Around

Steven could hear Connie arriving before he saw her, due to her being carried in by helicopter. The NEST vehicle touched down in the sand in front of his house, with his friend hopping out moments later. "Connie! Glad you could make it," he said. "Good to see you too, Mrs. Maheswaran."

"Dr. Maheswaran," Connie's mother corrected as she too stepped out of the helicopter. "I trust the two of you will behave yourself while we're having our meeting?"

"Mom, I've hung out with Steven before!" Connie said. "It isn't like we get into trouble every time we're together!" She conveniently left out how it basically was.

It seemed that Dr. Maheswaran wasn't convinced, but let it go this time. "Mm-hmm. Just try and stay out of trouble, if you can help it. This is important." She approached the Ark, her helicopter taking off behind her.

The ship's doors opened, revealing the waiting Autobots. "You're early," Ultra Magnus said. "I take it you're eager?"

"I just prefer to know all the facts about the boy my daughter has chosen as her new friend," Priyanka said. She walked past the three of them into the ship. "Now then, tell me everything. Don't spare a single detail." The doors closed behind them.

Steven and Connie hadn't heard any of that, still standing on the beach. "Sooo…what do you wanna do?" asked Steven. "The 'bots are busy, so we can't explore the Ark…though I can't imagine you'd want to, since last time Sideswipe turned into a zombie and tried to eat us. Maybe a movie?"

Before Connie could answer, something caught her eye: movement under Steven's porch. "What's that?" She went over to investigate. "Is it a Predacon? Should we start running?" Rather than sounding anxious or concerned, she almost sounded excited at the prospect of danger.

Upon getting a closer look, Steven recognized the 'intruder.' "That's not a Predacon, that's Lio." The robotic lion in question crawled out from his burrow, stretching and yawning. He then walked over to inspect the pair. "I think I told you about him, right?"

"Lio…Oh, I remember!" Connie reached out to touch his nose. "Is he the one you said looks like your dad?"

"That's him! Still don't know what was up with that, though…" Although Steven was more than happy to have Lio around, his uncanny resemblance to Optimus Prime when in robot mode was a mystery that had kept him up many a night. Even after it had stopped bothering him, it was still something he would be glad to solve. "Oh, and he can do tricks too! Watch this: Lio, roll over!"

Lio did not roll over. Instead, he continued to sit still, closing his eyes in contentment as Connie scratched behind his ear. "Huh? Did you say something?" she asked.

"Nothin'. So, uh, how're things with you?" Steven went to scratch Lio's other ear.

"Oh, you know, my parents are busy keeping the world safe," Connie said. "Other than that, there's school, rehearsal, drills…the usual. That's why I like hanging out with you, Steven–something crazy always happens!" She smiled as she glanced over at him.

Between Grimlock and zombified Sideswipe, Steven never would have thought that danger would have been so interesting. "You mean…you like when we get chased?" he asked.

"Of course!" she replied. "Well, it's not just being chased–I like going on whatever sort of adventure ends up happening when I'm with you! Things at home are always really boring. Plus, the only other kids my age all have NEST parents too, so they're always busy with something or other. But you're never busy!"

"Yeah, I…guess not," Steven said. He liked hanging out with Connie just as much as she did, so why did he suddenly feel dejected? Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he got another idea. "Hey, I know! If you wanna go on an adventure, how about we take Lio on one? He's always running off on his own, I'm sure he knows where to find some cool stuff!"

Connie lit up at this suggestion. "Hey, that's a great idea! But, Mom did say to stay out of trouble…but, she doesn't have to know!" With that record turnabout and re-turnabout, Connie climbed onto Lio's back. "Lead the way, Steven!"

As he climbed up as well, it occurred to Steven he had no idea where Lio would take them, if anywhere. "Um, okay…Lio, take us somewhere cool!" Much to his surprise, the lion obeyed, standing up and trotting off to town. "Woah, here he goes! Sure, now you listen to me!"

Lio ran down the sand, passed Beach City, and made his way over to the boardwalk. He skidded to a halt right at the entrance to Funland, crouching down expectantly as he waited for his passengers to depart. "Oh. Funland," said Connie. "That sounds…fun. Wanna shoot some skee-ball, Steven?"

As fun as some skee-ball with Connie sounded, Steven couldn't help but notice that she sounded almost disappointed. Maybe a day at Funland wasn't quite as exciting or dangerous as she had hoped. "Hmm…Lio, take us somewhere dangerous!" he said.

Once more, Lio leapt to his feet, bounding away through Beach City. He passed through the residential area, hopping across rooftops of houses as he made his way out of town, running through the wilderness. After a while, they made it to…a quarry.

Piles of gravel were dotted around the pit, and an old excavator sat in the corner. "Well, I…guess this place is dangerous," said Connie. "You might slip and fall, or that giant shovel could fall over. Not really what I had in mind, though."

"I'm sure we can do better," said Steven. He thought for a moment, wondering where else the lion could take them. "Hmm…I know! Lio, take us somewhere dangerous that nobody's been to in a long, long time!" Hopefully, that would include somewhere Transformer-related.

For a third time, Lio sprang up, taking off into the wilderness. Steven and Connie had to hang on, as he was running much faster this time. Trees sped by them as he bounded through the woods, leaving Beach City far behind. "Um, not to doubt your judgment, Steven, but do you think we'll be able to make it back home by the time their meeting is done?"

"No worries!" he replied, having to shout to be heard over the rushing wind. "I'm sure Lio knows what he's doing!" In truth, he was worried that he had gotten them in over their heads this time. He had asked to go somewhere dangerous–the trouble was, just how dangerous of a place was Lio willing to take them?

Much to Steven's surprise, the faster he ran, the brighter Lio's eyes seemed to glow. He opened his mouth in a silent snarl, a glow seeming to come from within as well. And then, to the surprise of both of them, a blast of energy shot forth from his maw.

The blast traveled well ahead, releasing a flash as it stopped. But rather than an explosion, Steven recognized a groundbridge opening up at this spot. Before he had time to voice this to Connie, the three of them had passed through the portal to parts unknown…and likely treacherous.

Lio emerged from the portal, skidding to a halt across newfound soil. Upon reaching their destination, he then collapsed onto his side, letting out a big yawn as he rested his head. Opening up a groundbridge must have been a tiring affair. Steven and Connie disembarked, taking in their new surroundings.

They appeared to be on a lush green mountainside covered in mist, with more greenery down below. "Huh…where do you think we are?" asked Steven.

"Well, it's hard to say without more to go on, but based on our surroundings, I'd say somewhere in Eastern Asia," Connie said. "Or maybe South America. I'd have to get a better look at some of the local flora and fauna to–oh, but you don't care about that. C'mon, let's have a look around!"

As much as Steven actually would have liked to learn more about their location, he followed her further up the mountain. "Coming!" Luckily for them, there was a perfect path that seemed far too perfectly carved to be natural. Wherever it led, they were both sure that something interesting and dangerous lay at the end of it.

Lio was content to remain where he was, lounging in what little sun the cloudy weather afforded him. But his rest was not to be, as he perked up upon hearing something rustling through the foliage. Whatever it was, it was far too large to be that stealthy–he doubted it was an ordinary animal. He got up and slinked after Connie and Steven, purely for their protection, of course.

Indeed, something had been watching the three from the moment they had arrived. An unseen force stalked from just beyond the visible, eyes set on its prey. As they began their trek up the mountain, it gave chase, silently stalking after them.

Thinking he heard something, Steven turned around…but it was only Lio. "Oh, good, you're coming too." He did feel safer with the lion around, though from what, he wasn't sure yet. "So, uh, Connie…what do you think we'll find all the way out here?"

She was focused on fording ahead, like an explorer marching through uncharted territory. "Huh? Oh, I dunno, it's hard to say. Lio must know there's something out here, otherwise he wouldn't have taken us! Who knows what could be out here… Maybe an Autobot ship crashed here centuries ago, and he took us here to find its treasure! Or an ancient temple waits at the top of the mountain, its hidden wisdom untouched for ages! Or-or it could be the prison of an evil that's laid here for eons, and it's up to us to stop it from waking up!"

"...I think I like the temple idea best," Steven said. "Or the treasure. Treasure's good too."

"Sure, it sounds good, but there's always the booby traps to deal with!" Connie laughed. "Don't worry, though: with the three of us, I'm sure we can deal with whatever's ahead!" Steven sure hoped she was right.

Luckily, the path itself wasn't too perilous, and they made it up the mountain without much issue. Up there, even with all the mist, they could see for miles. The forest and mountains spread off into the distance, making for quite a sight. "Wow! Maybe this view is why Lio brought us out here!" said Steven.

Connie observed the view a bit more partially. "Maybe. It is pretty, but it's not that dangerous…there has to be something else here, something that we missed!" She started looking around for any signs of danger around them.

"Does there have to be?" asked Steven worriedly. "This is a really nice view, maybe we could just sit here and–"

He was interrupted as Connie noticed something. "Of course! Steven, look where Lio's looking!" Lio's attention had indeed been focused in a different direction than the overview. He was instead looking at the side of a mountain, where, though obscured by foliage and stone, the discernable metal of some sort of construction was visible. "That's gotta be Cybertronian! C'mon, let's hurry!" She bounded off back down the path to reach the mystery location.

Steven shot Lio an annoyed glance. "Thanks for the help," he muttered, before going off to follow Connie.

Lio began cleaning his face, as though to say 'What? You're the one who told me to take you somewhere dangerous!'

The path over to the other mountain was a good deal more perilous than the way up the first. Not only was the side much steeper, but every step they made caused a small avalanche to cascade down the side. Connie didn't seem bothered by this, however, excitedly rushing down the mountain. Steven stumbled along, inwardly noting that sandals were not exactly the best footwear for this. Lio, meanwhile, just ambled along after them, not a care in the world.

Connie showed a similar lack of fear to the very rickety wooden bridge they had to cross. "Are you sure this is safe?" asked Steven, tightly gripping the ropes as he inched along.

"Of course it isn't–but that's the point!" Connie was already on the other side. "C'mon, Steven, you can do it! Just think of all the other perils you've conquered!"

He had indeed gotten out of plenty of dangerous situations, but none of them were quite so high up. "Don't look down, don't look down…" He tried looking down, having to pull his head back up to prevent himself from doing so. Moving only one board at a time, and stopping every few seconds to right his head, he wasn't making very fast progress.

Soon enough, Lio made his way across, picking Steven up by the scruff as he passed by. Although the bridge creaked under his weight, he was undeterred. Finally making it to the other side, he deposited a shaken Steven back on solid ground. "You made it!" Connie declared. "See, that wasn't so bad."

'Not so bad' wasn't exactly how Steven would have described it. "Uh, y-yeah, no problem!" he lied. "So, where to next?"

The Cybertronian structure now sat before them, a giant wall of metal seemingly carved into the mountainside. "Remember what I said about puzzles?" asked Connie. "Looks like our first one will be figuring out how to get inside!"

"Hmm…" Steven examined the wall, looking for any features that stood out. "Oh, there!" He pointed up to a specific spot. "The Ark's doors have switches just like that one! There must be a door right here–hang on, I'll try to reach it!"

Steven began straining as he tried to access his Autobot form, but as was wont to happen, remained the same size. As he struggled, he could feel Connie's gaze on him, sure she was judging him. He pushed harder and harder, but his body refused to change.

Eventually, he fell onto his back, tuckered out. "Okay, that's not happening," he said. "Sorry about that."

"It's no problem, Steven," Connie replied. "We'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way!" She walked over to the wall, attempting to use the grooves to climb her way up to the switch.

Before she could get far, Lio stood up, walking over as well. He then transformed, standing up to his full robot mode height. The two kids watched as he simply pulled the lever, upon which a series of loud clunks were heard from inside the construction. His job done, he transformed back, sitting down before the door.

"...Huh. He really does look like your dad," commented Connie. "What do you think that's about?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you," Steven replied. "We have a few theories, but they're either silly or terrifying. There is this one that–" He froze, his eyes fixed on something just beyond the treeline.

Connie glanced where he was looking, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "What is it?" she asked. "Did you see something?"

"There was a…thing," Steven said, pointing out towards the wilderness. "I saw something yellow running through the trees! It was there for a second, and then it was gone!"

"Okay, calm down, maybe it was just a…a bird, or something," she said. "Or it could have been a…let's see, what else is yellow?"

Steven was not calmed. "A cheetah!" he declared. "They're the fastest land mammal! We could try to run, but it'd still catch us!"

"Steven, everything's fine," Connie assured him. "Cheetahs don't live in Asia. Or South America, wherever we are. Besides, even if there is an animal out here, no way is it following us into this deep, dark temple!" She revealed that the door on the Cybertronian structure had opened completely, revealing a cavernous opening.

"That's a good point," Steven said hesitantly. "This place is dark and creepy enough to scare off just about anything…" He peered into the nearly pitch-black corridor the door had revealed, with the only sound coming from within the echoing drips of water.

"Exactly! See, there's nothing to worry about." Completely unconcerned, she headed down the tunnel, using her phone to light the way. "C'mon! Let's see what sort of treasures and dangers this place is hiding!"

At first, Steven didn't move. He was torn between wanting to follow Connie, and wanting to stay out here where it was safe–in theory. He couldn't get his mind off of whatever he had seen, and wondered if going inside would really be the safer option. Apparently not willing to wait behind him anymore, Lio followed, seeming to cast him a glance as he passed. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, watching as the lion vanished into the darkness. "Hey, wait!"

He soon caught up to them, guided by the light of Connie's phone. The corridor looked very much like the ones on the Ark, if it had been worn down by centuries of darkness and erosion. Rust lined the hallways, as did various mosses and mushrooms that had worked their way in over the years. It was just as eerie in here as he expected, all but certain something would leap out of a hidden corner sooner or later.

"Do you think the Autobots know about this place?" asked Connie casually. "We could be the first people to rediscover this place in the modern age–maybe even the first people to discover it, period! Wouldn't that be exciting? We could write a book about our findings! 'Discovery of the Century,' by Maheswaren and Universe!"

Meanwhile, Steven was too busy focusing on watching out for sneak attacks to think about any future book deals. Every little sound made him jump, and that included the occasional snuff from Lio, who it seemed had enough of Steven's skittish state of mind. However, his keen feline eyes must have noticed something the other two hadn't, and he rushed into action.

Just as Connie reached a certain spot in the hall, Lio sprang forward and grabbed her by the scruff, pulling her back just as the spot ignited. The hallway from that point onward lit up with dozens of laser beams, crossing from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. A mushroom that happened to be in the way of one of the beams was sliced in half, a good indicator of what they had just avoided.

"Yup, just as I suspected: booby traps," Connie said. "We'll need to find some other way around them."

"I, uh, don't think the Ark has defenses like these," said Steven. "Not that I've seen. Maybe we should just head back?" He didn't think she'd go for it, but it was worth a shot.

Connie faced the multitude of lasers. "Give up? Not after we've come this far!" She turned to their leonine companion. "Lio, you seem familiar with this place. I don't suppose you know how to get past these beams?"

Lio simply stared at the obstacle for a moment, before once again taking on his humanoid form. He placed a hand on the wall, moving it around as though feeling for a specific spot. A short time later, he found it, removing a panel identical to the others. Beneath it was an electrical terminal, which he disabled with a punch. The lasers shut off gradually, plunging the hallway into darkness once more.

"Wow, he does know the way through," Connie observed. "Maybe this is where he came from. He could have taken us here to help him get back home! What do you think, Steven?"

Steven watched Lio shift back into lion form. "You think so? I hope he hasn't been waiting for someone to ask him to come here all this time…" Had Lio really wanted to come back here for years, unable to do so until Steven had given the correct command? "Even if it is his home, it's still dangerous."

"Hopefully the worst of it is behind us," said Connie. "Even still…Lio, you should probably lead the way from here, just in case."

Lio obliged, walking down the remainder of the darkened corridor. Phone in hand, Connie followed him, and Steven followed her in turn. Their guide kept his head on a swivel, eyes opened and ears perked for any dangers they could run into. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any traps in their way, but this didn't make Lio any less alert. If anything, most of his attention was focused on watching for threats behind them.

At the end of the hallway, the door was already opened. It led into a large chamber, just as dark and dismal as what came before. "This has to be where the treasure is," said Connie, shining her light all around them. The room appeared to be lined with various statues of Transformers, each one holding out a sword. The blades of these weapons all pointed to the room's center. "I'll bet these guys were part of an ancient order dedicated to protecting Cybertron in days past!"

For reasons he couldn't articulate, Steven couldn't help but feel somehow safer in this chamber, despite its similar atmosphere. "Maybe the statues are connected to some kind of puzzle," he suggested. "Like in the movies. We could have to point all their swords in the same direction, or reflect some light off of–" As he walked into the room's center, a series of panels on the floor began to shift. "...Or something might just happen on its own."

As the ring of panels lowered and retracted, the lights in the chamber switched on, illuminating what was happening. From the newly-formed hole in the floor rose a platform surrounded by a cage made from many intricate interlocking bars. Slowly these retracted as well, revealing what was on the platform: a giant sword: embedded into a central pedestal.

"...Hey, Steven?" Connie asked casually.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"I think we just found Excalibur." She approached the sword, which was the exact size and shape as the ones wielded by the statues. Beneath its handle was a yellowish body, from which a single handguard jutted out. The blade was mostly unseen, but seemed to be formed out of several interlocking pieces. "You don't…you don't think this is why Lio brought us here, do you?"

Steven also observed the sword, but with much more apprehension than excitement. "It definitely seems pretty important," he said. "And usually in these types of movies, the most important things are the ones that get booby trapped…"

It only took Connie a moment of thought to decide what to do next. "Well, if it's anything like Excalibur, only the chosen one can pull it out of the stone." She gasped. "Steven! You should try to pull it out!"

"What!? I mean, uh, why me? It seems pretty heavy, maybe we should come back later with the Autobots. We've already been away for a while as it is, and besides–"

Connie grabbed hold of his shoulders–not in a rough way, but it still surprised him. "'Why you?' Steven, you're the son of Optimus Prime! If anyone would be the chosen one, it'd be you! Besides, even if it is booby trapped, no way would they activate on the person who's supposed to take the sword! C'mon, what's the worst that could happen?"

"I…well…um…" Steven stammered. "What if it doesn't want me? What if only Optimus can take the sword? I might not be good enough!"

"Well then, Lio can do it!" said Connie, quickly pivoting. "He clearly knows his way around this place. Maybe the sword's his! Hey, Lio, do you think you could pull out that sword?"

Lio stared at her for a moment, seeming to make sense of her request. He eventually acquiesced, transforming into robot mode for a third time. The two watched as he grabbed hold of the hilt, and began trying to remove the blade.

Seconds ticked by as he pulled and pulled, but the sword refused to budge. It didn't seem to be a matter of strength, as Lio had demonstrated his strength before. Why, then, did the sword stay rooted in place. "...Okay, we'll just need to try something else," said Connie. "Steven, you've lived with the Autobots your whole life. Have they ever…Steven?"

Steven could only stare down the dark hallway they had come from, petrified. "Didn't you hear that?" he asked quietly. "There's something in here with us."

"Don't worry–Lio already turned off the booby traps," Connie assured him. "Nothing in here could possibly…"

But she trailed off once she saw the same thing he did: a pair of dark red eyes slinking out of the darkness. Their large owner stalked into the light, revealing the rest of it as a four-legged creature covered in a piercing yellow coat. The feline Predacon growled, sizing up the prey that it had finally cornered.

"It was a cheetah," Steven whispered, trying not to draw too much attention to himself. Lio, having apparently noticed the Predacon, continued trying to pull out the sword.

Connie did the same, holding stock still. "Don't panic just yet. We don't know for certain if it is a cheetah. It could be a leopard, or…I think some panthers have spots, but I could be mistaken…"

The Predacon, which Steven was pretty certain was a cheetah, was not fooled by the duo pretending to be statues. Not seeing Lio as much of a threat, it zeroed in on the pair, arching its back in preparation to pounce. With fangs bared and claws out, it sprang towards the two.

Both of them screamed as they were almost beset by the beast, only for their rescue to come in the nick of time. Lio rushed in as fast as a freight train, ramming into the Predacon just as hard with his shield. Completely blindsided, the cheetah took a moment before retaliating, in which time Lio turned to the two humans as though urging them to run. Claws pulled him down where fangs bit down into his neck–though he fought back, slamming his opponent into the wall.

"Hurry, this way!" Connie took Steven by the hand, pulling him away from the fight. Lio and the Predacon were a tangle of yellow and white, quite literally fighting tooth and nail to claim ownership of the pair of humans. With snarls filling the air just behind them, the duo rushed to anywhere that could be considered safety. Thankfully, the platform that had lifted the sword up had just enough space beside it for them to slip down into the mechanism's inner workings.

The sound of the fight continued overhead. A familiar noise indicated that Lio had transformed again, facing the Predacon on equal footing. Powerful roars ripped through the room, each one accompanied by the violent shaking of everything around them. "What do we do now?" asked Steven. "We can't just leave him up there with that thing!"

Connie's mind raced to come up with a way out of their predicament. "Okay, don't panic. Lio should be more than able to hold it off for a little while. That should buy us enough time to think of a way out of here. …Steven, you can turn into a Transformer, can't you? I remember you telling me about all those Predacons you fought before! If you do that, it wouldn't stand a chance against you and Lio combined!"

"Oh, um…I kinda can," he replied. "But it more or less happens when it wants to. I can't exactly control it yet." He looked down, disappointed. "Sorry."

"Hey, no, it's not your fault," Connie said, touching his shoulder. "You just need a little more time to master it, that's all. It'll come to you eventually. For now, we just need to figure something else out."

It was then that Steven's insecurities, formed over the entire journey, finally manifested. "No, it's not just that. I'm sorry I can't be as dangerous as you want. I know you like hanging out with me because of all the dangerous situations we get in, and how it's always my fault when we can't get out of them. I know I already said sorry, but…sorry."

With Steven bearing his heart, it was finally clear to Connie just how he felt. "No, Steven. I'm sorry," she said. "Yes, it's true that I like going on all sorts of dangerous adventures…but only because they're with you."

Steven looked up at her. "You really mean it?" he asked.

"Of course! Sure, things can be pretty boring at home, and I like a little excitement here and there, but I like hanging out with you because of who you are, not what happens around you. I hope I never made you feel like I was only using you, because that couldn't be further from the truth."

Relief washed over Steven upon hearing that. "Oh, good! I l-like hanging out with you, too." There was some silence between the two as they processed what the both of them had just learned. "So, um, how are we gonna deal with that cheetah?"

Connie stood up, wearing a determined expression. "I got us into this mess, so it's my job to get us out. Here's the plan: as far as I can tell, this room has only one entrance. I'll keep it distracted while you get Lio and run back to where those lasers were. Then, once I follow you, have Lio reactivate them just as the Predacon runs after me! Sound good?"

"No, it doesn't sound good at all!" shouted Steven. "I'll distract the Predacon! I can at least get big if I'm in danger, but you'd get eaten before I even reached Lio! Let me go instead!"

"Steven, it's my fault we ended up here," Connie replied. "The least I can do is get you to safety."

Steven took a breath. "You said it yourself: only someone who's worthy of Excalibur could pull it out of the stone. I may be Optimus' son, but I wouldn't be very worthy if I let my best friend risk her life to save me, would I? Especially not when it's just as much my fault that we're stuck here." He prepared to climb back up top. "I'll try and keep its attention as long as I can. Get to Lio and run…even if I don't follow you."

As he disappeared, Connie called back. "Steven!" He turned around. "...be careful." He nodded, fully pulling himself up.

Lio had fought valiantly, but the Predacon was far too agile for him, and he had soon been overwhelmed. He lay in the corner of the room, injured, as the cheetah prepared to finish him off. Before it could, a shout gained its attention. "Stop!" It turned around, surprised to see a tiny human standing there defiantly. "Step away from the lion!"

Its larger prey was wounded, and could easily be finished. But this human was in plain sight, and would run away if given the chance. The cheetah turned away from Lio, preparing to pounce. Despite the obvious danger, the human continued standing there, as though preparing to face it head-on. This would likely be his last mistake, it thought, before lunging.

The Predacon's teeth bit down not on its expected target, but instead met a metal pole. A force much stronger than the human's body would suggest pushed it back, and indeed, the human no longer appeared as such. A Cybertronian stood up to his full height, having blocked the beast's lunge with an axe.

Connie was speechless. "Woah…" was all she could muster.

Just as the Predacon fell back, Steven swung his weapon to drive it away from Connie, as well as to keep its attention on him. "Lio! Take Connie and get out of here!" he shouted, turning to face the cheetah as it tried to get behind him. Not only was it fast, but it was smart enough to avoid his blade.

Though injured, Lio struggled to his feet. Connie had reemerged from their hiding spot, hurrying over to the other big cat. Taking her in his mouth, he limped out of the room as fast as he could, offering a glance back at his owner before staggering down the hallway.

Steven continued trying to intercept the cheetah's movements, but not only was it fast, and smart, it was unpredictable. Still, at least Connie and Lio had managed to get to safety. One overhead swing of his axe was evaded by the Predacon jumping onto the wall, pushing off directly into Steven. He felt its claws slicing into his metal chest as the force made him stagger backwards.

Grabbing the first thing he could reach, Steven was able to stabilize himself before he fell completely. His focus was momentarily taken away from the fight as he realized that his perch–the sword, which was now the perfect size for him–was beginning to glow. The blade had shone with a dim but noticeable blue glow, appearing just as Steven had touched it. Did this mean he was worthy? Could he wield this Cybertronian Excalibur?

This realization lasted only a split second as the Predacon lunged again. Pivoting on the sword, Steven was able to swing himself out of the way as the beast was sent to the room's far wall. Without a moment to lose, he picked himself up, placed both his hands on the sword's hilt, and began to pull.

There was the sound of metal scraping against stone as the sword was slowly removed from its pedestal. Its blade glowed ever brighter the further it came, until, with one final pull, it was freed. Steven held the sword aloft, illuminating the room with its invigorating shine.

The Predacon paid no mind to this weapon, hurling itself at Steven once again. Prepared to cut it out of the air, he swung his newfound weapon with all his might…only to find that he had swung it a bit too hard, missing his target by a mile. The cheetah's claws raked across his armor once again, nearly sending him to the ground. The sword's weight and heft was completely different from that of the axe he was used to, leading Steven to an important point: he had no idea how to use a sword. "Uh-oh…"

Down in the hallway, Lio and Connie had reached the spot where the panel powering the lasers was. "Here, this is the place," Connie said, and he set her down. "Okay, get ready. As soon as Steven's here, you need to turn the trap back on, understand?"

Lio gazed down the hallway, seemingly not having heard Connie's order, before he looked at her expectantly. He showed no sign of preparing to transform, even accounting for his injuries.

"What? I don't know what you want!" she cried. "Steven's in danger, and we have to be ready to protect him! Please, transform, quickly!"

This, Lio understood. Gears clicked into place as his form shifted…but then abruptly stopped. Only his head had moved, lifting up to reveal that his chest had opened. Connie looked closer as more and more pieces moved out of the way. The opening was just the right size for a person to fit in–not only that, but there were several openings where this person's limbs could fit. Almost as if…it was some sort of cockpit.

Steven fired several shots at the cheetah from his arm cannon, to little success. His next tactic was to dual-wield, holding his sword and axe in either hand as he ran after his opponent, swinging both wildly. The Predacon slipped underneath his attack, biting into his leg and bringing him to his knees. It then tried climbing up onto his back in an effort to bring him further down.

Reaching up to try and stop this, Steven could feel its claws along his back. He managed to grab hold of its jaw, preventing it from biting down, but he couldn't manage to throw it off. Its claws did further damage as he struggled against it, pulling itself closer and closer to his head. But just before it could break free from his grip, someone came to Steven's aid.

Something sailed through the air, colliding with the Predacon and knocking it off Steven's back. As he moved to safety, he saw that it was Lio's shield. The rest of Lio soon sprinted into view, tackling the dazed Predacon before slamming his fists into the beast. Steven then saw that this wasn't Lio–at least, not entirely. In place of his robot mode's head, there was a glass dome. And inside of this dome was…

"Connie!?" Steven shouted, still not entirely sure what he was seeing. "You fused with Lio? Could he have done that this whole time!?"

She hurled the cheetah against the wall, before turning back to him. "Yup, it's me!" She looked down at her new exo-suit. "I'm…not entirely sure how this works, but I think–" Distracted, the Predacon attacked her from behind. Steven responded by swinging his weapons, chasing it off. "Hold on, you pulled out the sword!?"

"I guess I did!" he said proudly, examining the blade. "Looks like I'm worthy after all!"

Connie retrieved the shield as both of them stood before the Predacon. "Keep up that worthiness, because we're not done yet!" She held up the shield, while Steven clanged his weapons together. Unimpressed, the cheetah pounced.

The two split apart, managing to corner the beast. Undeterred, it avoided Steven's axe by leaping towards Connie, springing off of her shield. He tried to swipe it out of the air with his sword, but only succeeded in giving it a small scratch. Connie once again tried to hit it with her shield, but it had grown wise to this maneuver, allowing the disk to pass over it.

"I'm going in–cover me!" said Connie, darting towards the cheetah. Steven hurled his axe at the beast, distracting it before it could attack. She slid over to her shield and picked it back up, rushing at the Predacon and bashing it just as it was ready to turn its attention on Steven. When he tried to strike at it with both his weapons, however, it once again darted out of the way.

Steven hissed in frustration. "We're never gonna take it down if it keeps dodging us!" he pointed out. "Quick, Connie, you know a lot of things: what's a cheetah's biggest weakness?"

"Um…" She thought for a moment. "Well, I know they can only maintain their top speed for short bursts. We'll have to hit it once it stops."

"Then let's move!" Steven ran forward to intercept the Predacon, which predictably leapt over his swipes. Its movements carried it towards Connie, who sidestepped its claws, bringing down its shield where it landed. The attack missed, but only barely. Keeping up its momentum, the cheetah sprang off the opposite wall, heading back towards the two.

It looked at first like it was going towards Steven, but pivoted at the last second to go for Connie. Already imbalanced from changing direction so fast, it knocked her legs out from under her with a single swipe, before then attacking Steven for real. He once again found himself pinned down by the beast, his axe-handle in its mouth.

"Connie! Here!" With his free hand, Steven slid the sword over to her. Grasping the weapon's handle, Connie stood up, clanging it against her shield to get the Predacon's attention. It worked, as it left Steven behind to go after her instead. Blocking as it leapt at her, the cheetah sprang off of her shield–just as anticipated. With one powerful swing, she cleaved through the beast's middle, the sword's blue glow shining all through the room. Both halves of the Predacon fell to the floor, inert, and the battle was finally won.

Now that the adrenaline had finally worn off, both of the fighters collapsed to the ground. Steven reverted back to his human form, while Connie stepped out of her exo-suit, which reverted back to Lio. "Did…did I do it?" she asked.

A quick glance at the Predacon's body, all of which save its spark had dissolved into rust, gave Steven the answer. "You did!" he shouted. "Connie, that was amazing! Where did you learn to fight like that!?"

Connie blushed. "Oh, it wasn't anything special," she said. "My mom wants to make sure I can defend myself, so she has me enrolled in all sorts of classes. Y'know, Tai Chi, fencing, violin, stuff like that. Really, it was all thanks to Lio!" The lion in question nuzzled her, clearly glad to have helped.

In his excitement, Steven had almost forgotten the sword. The sound of clanking metal drew his attention, and he saw that it had shrunken itself down to a size more easel-wielded by someone his current size. "Maybe this thing really is Excalibur," he said, picking it up.

"All the more reason to bring it back home with us," said Connie. Lio had retrieved the Predacon's spark, handing it to her. "Speaking of home, I have a feeling the meeting is over by now. Hopefully we haven't been missed…"

"I'm sure they'll understand when they see what we brought back!" Steven said, climbing up onto Lio's back. Connie soon joined him. "Hi-ho, Lio, away!"

Lio emerged from the portal, skidding through the sand. The Ark lay before them, just as they had left it. There was no sign of the Autobots or Dr. Maheswaran, meaning the meeting was likely still in session. "Looks like we made it just in time!" said Steven, hopping off Lio.

"What should we do with these?" Connie asked, holding up the spark and motioning to the sword. "Transformers reform after a while, don't they?" She glanced nervously down at the dark spark in her hands, holding it at a distance.

His job done, Lio yawned, and headed back to where he had started this adventure. He crawled under Steven's porch for a nap, where he would likely be until he was needed again.

As fortune would have it, the main door on the Ark opened up, the meeting having just come to an end. Connie and Steven heard the tail-end of their conversation: "Well, just so long as you start keeping a closer eye on them," said Priyanka. "So far, his track record as far as dangerous situations goes is not the best."

"Hey guys, we're back!" said Steven, excitedly hurrying over to them. "Lio took us to China or Peru or someplace, and we found an ancient Transformers temple, and there was a big sword in it, but then we got attacked by a Predacon, so I took the sword, and Lio turned into a suit for Connie, and then we won, and now here we are!" He beamed, holding up the sword for them to examine. Connie smiled awkwardly, holding up the spark.

For a long while, none of the four said anything. "That was…certainly a lot of words," said Ultra Magnus. "You said Lio turned into a sword?"

"We found a sword, Lio turned into an exo-suit for me to pilot," Connie corrected. She handed him the Predacon's spark, which he sent to storage. "Also, it may be kinda my fault we went there in the first place… But everything turned out okay in the end!"

Dr. Maheswaran had been similarly silent. "Correct me if I'm wrong: in the time it took for us to discuss how Steven has been putting you in danger, the two of you disappear to hunt for an ancient relic, fight a Predacon, and merge with a Cybertronian being of unknown origin?"

"Sounds about right!" Steven said cheerfully, unaware of the quiet anger in her tone, unlike Connie, who was expecting a scolding in her future. "Here's the sword. It was bigger when we found it, but it shrank after I pulled it from the stone."

Gingerly, Elita reached out to take the weapon. It returned to its full size in her hands, captivating all three Autobots as they looked at it. "I…I don't believe this," she said in hushed awe. "You actually managed to find the Star Saber? How? Where…who…?"

"Oh, it's called the Star Saber, huh?" he said. "Basically, Connie wanted to go somewhere dangerous, so I asked Lio to take us somewhere dangerous, and he did. Also, a cheetah was there, and that was a whole thing."

Ultra Magnus glanced over at Steven's house where Lio rested. "We've spent the last several thousand years searching for the Xantium's crash site, and that lion takes him there in one afternoon? Nothing about this adds up…"

"And speaking of not adding up, might I have your attention for one moment?" said Priyanka. Steven didn't notice, but she was side-eyeing him as she said this. She and the Autobots slipped back over to the Ark for a quick discussion, likely relating to Connie's visitation privileges.

For her part, rather than fighting the inevitable, took this time to reflect on their adventure with Steven. "So…that was pretty intense, huh?" she said. "I thought running away from a giant robotic zombie was intense, but fighting a Predacon with an ancient sword and a mech? Definitely not how I expected this day to go!"

"Yeah!" said Steven with a small laugh. "Um…sorry if I got you in trouble with your mom."

She shrugged. "It is what it is. She's kinda strict, but hopefully she'll let this go when she hears what happened. With any luck, I'll be able to come over again before too long." She looked around awkwardly. "But next time, how about we do something a bit…safer. Like, just hanging out at your place."

Just hanging out with Connie, nothing dangerous happening. "I like that idea," said Steven, smiling. "Let's do it!" The two sealed their agreement with a hug, while the heated debate between Priyanka and the Autobots continued in the background–but the pair remained blissfully unaware of that, at least for the moment.