Chapter Twenty-Five: Press Start

"And over there, right between those two stars, you can just make out a tiny flicker of light," Magnus said, pointing to the sky. "That's Charr, one of the closest Cybertronian bases to Earth."

Steven lay beside him on the beach, totally transfixed. "Woah…is that where you're from, Magnus?"

He had to suppress a laugh. "No, thankfully. Nothing there but rocks, darkness, and resentment. That's where they sent the bots who they didn't want anywhere else. I've been there once, and I'm in no hurry to go back."

"From what I hear, it's mostly just a handful of energon farms and communication relays," Elita said. She stood a short distance away, looking through a huge telescope at the night sky. "It's about as close to the middle of nowhere as you can get in space. Plus, the locals are very unfriendly."

The way things were going, Steven felt like he could sit here all night, just learning about all the planets the Cybertronians had been to. But the group was out there tonight for a different reason. "So when's this thing supposed to start again?" he asked.

Elita glanced down at her watch. "According to Teletraan, we should start seeing the meteors in…oh, any second now! Eyes to the skies, everyone!" She eagerly looked through her telescope, hoping to catch a glimpse of the rare opportunity.

"Where's Sideswipe?" Magnus wondered, looking around for him. "He should've been back by now. If he isn't here soon, he might miss it."

"Don't worry–I thought ahead!" Steven took out his phone, pointing it towards the stars. "I'll record the shower, so we can watch it over and over again!"

A minute or two later, the telltale sound of a revving engine was heard approaching. Sideswipe raced in across the sand, coming to a stop just beside the group. His door opened, with a veritable buffet from Fryman's pouring out. "Sorry I'm late, apparently their fryer was on the fritz," he said. "I figured since we were gonna be sitting out here all night, why not have a picnic?"

"Hey, snacks!" said Steven, reaching for some fry bits. "Good thinking, Sideswipe!"

He transformed, popping a burger into his mouth. "Well, we had to get something out of tonight, right? I mean, who wants to watch a bunch of rocks fall from the sky? If I did, I'd head down to the quarry and play with Magnus' missiles.

Magnus looked over at this remark. "What was that?"

"For your information," Elita said, "this particular meteor shower only occurs once every four hundred years! And since we missed the last one due to a Predacon attack, I'd really rather be safe than sorry."

"Yeah, it'll be cool!" agreed Steven. "Four hundred years…I wasn't even born that long ago! What was Beach City even like?"

"There wasn't a Beach City!" Elita continued excitedly. "Western civilization didn't settle this spot until roughly three hundred years ago. Until then, this entire area was entirely devoid of human presence, as not even the native tribes lived here. It was only when the town's founder, William Dewey–"

Suddenly, Sideswipe shot his finger towards the sky. "Look! It's starting!" he shouted.

"What? Really!?" Elita zipped back to her telescope to scan the skies for any signs of the shower.

Sideswipe chuckled. "Nah, I just didn't wanna hear your story for the billionth time." This earned him a dirty look from her.

However, not long after, the shower started for real. "Look, look!" cried Steven. A streak of green shot through the night sky, followed by another, and then another. He held up his phone to record the show, staring in awe at the shooting stars.

Each one of the meteors created a similarly-colored trail as they entered the atmosphere, which stayed behind for the slightest while after it had vaporized. When more than one came down at once, they seemed to create brief images on the starry canvas.

But one of the falling stars was not green, but a fiery orange. Its shaky trail illuminated the sky more than the others as it shot by, and a faint rumbling could be heard. "Yes, that reminds me: be on the lookout for any fireballs that come a little too close," said Magnus. "They aren't as pretty when they land on someone's house."

"Ah, it's probably fine," replied a lounging Sideswipe. "Didn't you say that these things usually burn up before they get too close? What are the chances of any hitting near here?"

"More than you'd think," Elita said, still looking through her scope. "And there's no telling what sorts of substances they could be bringing with them. All sorts of toxic metals and gasses, not to mention they might be radioactive…it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to meteors."

"Wow. I had no idea they could be that dangerous," said Steven. "Do you think one of them could be an egg for some sort of space monster?"

Sideswipe shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Luckily, the rest of the night went smoothly, with no sign of any fireballs or space monsters. Some time after it had begun, the meteor shower showed signs of slowing, before the night sky was still once again. It had been fun while it lasted, but that was the end of the show.

"Welp, it's time to pack it up," said Elita, doing just that with her telescope. "What a truly spectacular opportunity this was! I'm so glad we all got to see it!"

"I thought it was gonna be boring, but yeah, it was pretty neat," Sideswipe commented. He got to his feet to stretch. "And in another four hundred years, we get to see it all again."

Steven was watching the recording he had made of the event. "Yeah, and if we can't wait that long, I've got it all right here for us to see as many times as we want!" He rewound the fireball repeatedly, watching it streak through the sky. "I wonder where it landed…?"

"Since we didn't hear any sort of collision, I assume it burned up on reentry," Magnus said. "Just as well. Who knows what sort of trouble it could have caused if it hit somewhere nearby."

"Yeah. That wouldn't have been fun." Steven paused the video, zooming in on the fireball as he and the others headed back into the Ark. Staring at its blurry form, he couldn't help but think it looked somehow…off. He wasn't sure what he expected a meteor to look like, but something about it didn't seem like a regular meteor. Thoughts of toxic metals, poisonous gasses, and alien eggs began to swirl around in his mind as he wondered if he should bring it up to the team.

"So, anybody wanna finish off the leftovers?" asked Sideswipe. "I doubt they'll all fit in the fridge…"

With that, Steven forgot all about the potential peril. "Bet I can finish 'em before you!" he said, and the eating contest began.

Later that night, Steven lay in bed, as he tended to do at this hour. He was not asleep, however, as he was too busy holding his distended stomach. "Ooh…I think I overdid it on the burgers," he lamented. "Either that or the wraps…" As he lamented the choices that brought him to this moment, he almost didn't notice the distinct flicker of light coming through the passageway to the ship.

Even when he did see it, he paid it no mind, thinking it to be nothing more than a reflection from the moon or something. But as it persisted and he looked closer, he saw that it wasn't coming from outside. Wondering if the meteor shower was really over, he crept towards the light.

"Sideswipe? Elita? Magnus?" he whispered. "Is anyone there? Are you watching the shooting stars again?" He opened the door to the Ark, but he was not prepared for what he would see. "Whoah…"

Dozens of tiny sparkling lights floated about in the hallway. Each one twinkling like a star, they drifted about on an unfelt breeze as he stepped by in wonder. Every time he tried to reach out and touch one, it was pulled back as though repelled by a magnet. Overcome by a sense of whimsy and wonder, he followed the sparkles to find their source.

Upon entering the Ark proper, the lights seemed to coalesce, forming part of the landscape. Criss-crossing threads of light formed into patches of grass, with the occasional flower–which Steven had never seen before–sprouting up from the ground. But it wasn't until he went through the next door that he really saw what was waiting for him.

"Holy…" It was like he had just stepped outside and into a rustic countryside village. The ceiling had been replaced by blue sky, and the walls were nowhere to be seen, instead seeing a range of mountains out by the horizon. Numerous cottages and a few windmills dotted the grassy field, with a light breeze causing the latter to spin lazily. "Am…am I in Holland?" he asked, flabbergasted.

Although he hadn't been that loud, his presence had alerted the Autobots, drawing them out of their rooms. "What's going on now?" asked Sideswipe, rubbing his eyes as he stepped out of a cottage. Through the oversized wooden door, Steven could see a hallway of the Ark on the other side. "Oh, not this again!"

"'Again?'"

Magnus and Elita joined them shortly after. "What in–Sideswipe, what did you do this time?" she chided.

He whirled around to defend himself. "It wasn't me, I swear! I just got up like you, and all of a sudden we're in Switzerland! Steven, did you have something to do with this!?"

"What, me? No, I'm just as confused as you!" said Steven. "...What exactly did you mean by 'again?'"

Sideswipe sighed. "A little while back, I tried to boot up one of my custom sims while Magnus was repairing Teletraan. Long story short, he kinda ended up stuck in there for a whole day while we worked to get him out…"

"I will never be able to visit Velocitron with a straight face again," Magnus said dryly, clearly not keen on that memory.

That explained what was happening, but not why. "So, we're on one of Teletraan's simulations, then," said Steven. "It's not dangerous or anything, though, right?" It definitely didn't seem so, with the idyllic village setting even being quite beautiful.

But Elita didn't seem to agree. "Dangerous or not, I'd rather not deal with a repeat of that incident. Teletraan, deactivate sim."

"Understood. Deactivating sim." Despite Teletraan's disembodied voice confirming her orders, nothing happened. Everybody sat around waiting for the landscape to disappear, only to still be met with the sight of the rolling green fields.

She cleared her throat. "Um, Teletraan, I'm afraid the simulation is still running. Could you kindly turn it off, please?"

"Understood. Deactivating sim," he said again. But just like before, the sim showed no signs of deactivating.

Once it became clear that the room was stuck like this, Magnus let out a small groan. "Great, seems it's happening again. Fortunately, all this should take is resetting Teletraan's main breakers, and–" He opened the cottage door he had come through, expecting to end up back in the hallway. However, all he found through it was the interior of the cottage, with no hallway in sight, let that it had ever been a path further into the Ark. Slowly, he closed the door, turning around with a stone-faced expression. "Well. That didn't happen last time."

"You mean we're stuck in this beautiful arcadia with no way out?" asked Sideswipe. "I mean, I can think of worse fates, but still!" He sighed. "Guess our only choice now is to beat the sim."

Elita shot him a look. "Oh, is that all? Something tells me this isn't an ordinary training sim…is it?"

He examined their surroundings a bit more closely. "Hmm…now that you mention it, this is starting to look sorta familiar." He snapped his fingers. "Oh, of course, I remember now! This looks like one of the campaigns I put together after I got kicked outta that LARP group for being a giant robot! Since I couldn't role-play with them, I figured the next best thing was to cook up a fantasy adventure of my own!"

"So we have somehow found ourselves trapped within Sideswipe's fantasies," said Magnus. "May Primus have mercy."

"Hey, this doesn't seem so bad!" said Steven. "This'll be fun! A quest for freedom through the whimsical lands of–"

His speech was cut off prematurely as a flaming, spiked iron ball fell from the sky, crushing a house right next to him. As he stood still in surprise, the fires began to spread. Transformer-sized human villagers spilled out of their homes, running away in a panic. The sounds of marching feet filled the air, accompanied by what sounded like giant wheels. "That doesn't sound very whimsical," said Elita.

The source of these sounds soon became apparent: an army of snarling green, horned beings armed with a variety of weapons and armor, all of it adorned with spikes. Orcs. Among this army was an enormous siege engine, which hurled another fiery projectile into the village.

"Take cover!" shouted Sideswipe, scooping up Steven and carrying him out of harm's way. Elita and Magnus both readied their weapons, preparing for combat as the invaders approached. "Right, this is usually the first trial. You up to fight some orcs?"

"Always ready!" Upon being set back down, Steven took on his Cyberteronian form, axe in hand. "CHAAAARGE!" As Sideswipe drew his swords, the two dashed into battle. Fortunately, the orcs were rather slow on the uptake, as each one took a moment to wind up its attack before swinging. Because of this, they were able to dispatch a good number of them, the green beings shattering into colorful pixels upon defeat.

Magnus and Elita were firing at the orcs from afar as well. As they mobbed them, Magnus switched to his fists, their weapons barely able to scratch him. "I sincerely hope this is not a 'die in the sim, die in real life' situation!"

"Nah, no chance!" Sideswipe said confidently, slicing through the opposition without even looking. "Teletraan wouldn't do that to us! And even if it is, we'll coast through this no problem!"

Elita didn't seem to share his optimism, despite mowing the orcs down with masterful precision. "I think we should be looking for a way to end the simulation, rather than focusing on beating it!" One orc attempted to attack her from behind, only to be bisected by her leg blades. "To say nothing of how we got stuck here…"

Once he had found out it was a video game, Steven's worries had all but melted away. That said, there was still a bit of concern left as he and Sideswipe made short work of the orcs. "Well, if we beat the game, it'll end, right? And then we'll all be free!"

"See, this kid gets it!" said Sideswipe. The catapult fired again, once more narrowly avoiding hitting someone. "And speaking of finishing things, we should probably finish that thing. Mags?"

Bracing himself, Magnus let loose a barrage of rockets at the catapult, but the sheer number of orcs meant that most of them would be (accidentally) intercepted. Sideswipe threw down his swords, firing away with his blasters to carve a path for the projectiles. It worked, and the rockets reached their target, blowing the catapult to pieces. A few of these flaming chunks rained down from above in one last display of aggression, but the siege had finally ended.

"Well, that was–" Magnus was interrupted by a throng of cheering villagers that seemed to materialize out of nowhere. "Gah! Who even are you people?" They didn't seem to react in any way, merely milling about and offering various praises to their rescuers.

Sideswipe was clearly enjoying that last part. "Hey, we did just save their town, I think we're allowed to bask in it a little!" he said, doing just that. "Please, you're too kind! Just a band of wandering warriors doing our thing, nothing special, really!"

"Since this is a video game, I'm guessing that was level one," said Steven. "What should we expect for level two?"

Sideswipe stopped his basking, partly because of the question, and partly because the NPCs' celebration protocols had ended. "Y'see, the thing is, this really isn't a 'level one, level two' situation. If I knew what was gonna happen, it wouldn't be any fun, would it? So I made sure to make sure it was randomly generated when I made it…sure."

None of them were too pleased with this news, Elita especially. "Do you have any idea what this means!?" she shouted. "Not only are we stuck in some video game, but we have no idea what we're up against!"

"Which was kinda the point!" he retorted. "...Except for that first part. But okay, yeah, the game is randomized. That doesn't mean the end goal is different, though! All we have to do is track down the evil Red Wizard, defeat him, and save the kingdom or whatever. I've done it plenty of times!"

Nobody (except for Steven) was exactly happy with this arrangement, but it seemed like their only option. "I suppose it is our best bet," said Magnus. "Although…Teletraan, run diagnostics on hologram emitters."

"Running…diagnostics complete. No malfunctions detected," came the voice of Telerraan.

"That settles it–off to defeat the Red Wizard," said Magnus, resigned.

Off the party strolled, over rolling green fields and sprawling hills. There was yet no sign of the Red Wizard's influence, so on they pressed. As they passed through a glistening glade, their resident bard serenaded them with a song.

"Four heroes they were, so noble and true, off on a quest to save me and you! Fear not, for they'll fight to their very last breaths, let us hope this mission will not result in their deaths!"

A few steps in front of him, Elita was holding her hands over her audio receptors. "You really aren't helping, you know," she grumbled. "And where did you get that guitar from, anyway?"

"Technically, it's a lute," he said, though it was clear Elita didn't want to hear it.

Magnus was walking a few paces ahead of them, with Steven seated on his shoulder. He occupied himself by reviewing the footage of the meteor shower, in particular something he couldn't get out of his mind. "So, I was thinking…remember how you said that meteors can be all sorts of dangerous? Like, with radiation and chemicals and stuff? Well, I was thinking, what if that's what's wrong with Teletraan! One of the meteors landed nearby, and something in it is making him malfunction!"

"Hmm…that's not impossible," mused Magnus. "However, we almost certainly would have been able to feel a meteor landing near us, let alone hear it."

Steven rewound the footage to one particular point. "What about this one?" he asked, showing it to him.

It showed the fireball that had initially alerted Magnus to the presence of wayward debris in the first place. "As Elita and I said, I am sure they simply burned up in–hold on. Zoom in and play that again." Steven did so, and they both took a closer look at the alleged shooting star. "The speed and distance of that object indicates it should have landed just outside of Beach City. It shouldn't have burned up at all–so why didn't we hear anything?"

"I'unno," said Steven with a shrug. "But you think it might've messed Teletraan up somehow?"

It was Magnus' turn to shrug. "The only way to know for sure would be to check. But before we do that, we'll have to escape from this simulation."

Back behind them, Sideswipe struggled to get a chord just right on his latest ballad. "Okay, I think I've had enough musical accompaniment for one day," Elita groaned. She transformed, taking to the skies. "I'll see if I can find us a way out of this forest."

"Hey, no fair!" Sideswipe called after her. "You're breaking the illusion! Fantasy characters either had to walk or ride horses, and they wouldn't let me make the horses big enough!"

"Just pretend I'm a druid who can turn into a giant bird or something!" she irritably huffed, hovering above the clearing. From what she could see from above, the forest didn't appear all that large, but it would certainly take them a while to navigate it if they insisted on walking. But just as she was about to scout ahead, something in the distance caught her eye. Some of the trees ahead seemed to be…moving? "Heads up, we might have company!"

The others switched into battle mode at her warning, ready to confront whatever was heading their way. But as they prepared for another horde of orcs to come rushing out of the trees, nothing of the sort came to pass. The trees just continued to sway in the wind, which some of them suspected was what Elita had seen in the first place. "Uh, are we supposed to be seeing something?" asked Sideswipe. "'Cause all I can see is a whole lotta nothing."

"Hey, you programmed this thing!" Elita replied angrily. "If anyone should know what's ahead, it should be you!"

Unperturbed, Sideswipe took the lead, continuing on through the woods. "Like I said, it's randomly generated. I can't be held accountable if something comes up that I have no way of–" All of a sudden, as he passed by a few of the trees, he fell to the ground. But no sooner did he trip than he was raised back up, the roots wrapping him up like snakes. "Help! It's the Red Wizard's tree-men!"

It hadn't been something moving through the trees–it was the trees themselves that were moving. "Oh no! The trees are alive!" cried Steven. He leapt down from Magnus' shoulder, assuming his full Transformer size. "Actually, all trees are alive, but these ones are aggressive!"

Aggressive they were, tearing themselves up from the soil to do battle. The tree-men took on more humanoid shapes, with glowing lights in hollow pits serving as eyes glaring at the group. Steven shot forward, using his axe to free Sideswipe from their clutches as Magnus held them off.

Befitting of ambulatory trees, they were able to take a good deal more punishment than the orcs, what with their bark armor. But seeing as Steven and his friends were Transformers, they didn't fare that much better. "You programmed this, so what are their weaknesses?" asked Magnus, their wooden forms crumbling beneath his fists.

"Well, they're living trees, so I imagine fire would work pretty well," said Sideswipe, slicing the wood-men apart. Unfortunately, also due to their being trees, they were able to regenerate from any damage that didn't pixellize them. "Good thing we've got air support! Hey, Elita, open fire!"

"Sure, now you approve." Nevertheless, she let loose a barrage on the wood-men from above, with everyone else taking cover. The tree people didn't appear to have much in the way of anti-air defenses, so this strategy proved effective. Less so, perhaps, than literal fire, but it was the best they had, which wasn't bad.

That was, however, until Magnus fired a salvo of missiles at a collection of tree-men that had managed to evade Elita's barrage. They were, expectedly, blown to pieces, their fiery debris raining down all around. "I hate to jinx us, but they aren't exactly much of a challenge, are they?" he said.

"Hey, to be fair, I expected them to be fought with swords and spells, not guns and missiles!" Sideswipe retorted, despite engaging them from afar with his blasters. "But you'd better believe the Red Wizard himself ain't gonna be a pushover!"

Steven continued to hack away at the tree-men surrounding him, paying little attention to the ash that was now falling from above. "Hey, while we've got some time, why don't you tell us a little about this Red Wizard?" he suggested. "We should be prepared for when we get to him, right?"

Sideswipe spun in a circle, decapitating the collection of wood-men that had surrounded him. "Makes sense to me. So, basically, the Red Wizard is a wizard, and, uh, he's red, 'cause he wears red robes. Also, he's evil, and wants to take over the world, or something. Oh, and he has really powerful magic."

"That's the best you can offer!?" said Elita in disbelief. "I thought everything in here was designed by you! Shouldn't you know a bit more about him than that!?"

"Hey, I created this thing to challenge myself, not to write a story!" Sideswipe retorted. "He doesn't need to be anything complex, because all he is is an obstacle to be overcome! As long as he serves that purpose well, I like to think I've done my job!"

"Um, guys?" said Steven. "Could we maybe save this argument for after we get out of here? Y'know, when we aren't being attacked by homicidal trees?" Thankfully, the tree-men's numbers appeared to be thinning, in no small part due to the forest fire that Magnus had inadvertently started. But despite many of them being in the process of being incinerated, the walking trees refused to leave the travelers be.

As forest fires were known to do, it spread rather rapidly, consuming the forest they were currently in the middle of. "I think now might be a good time to beat a hasty retreat," suggested Elita, her vision obscured by the smoke. "If we stay here, the trees won't be the only ones burnt to cinders!"

"If only one of us could turn into a fire truck," lamented Steven, fighting back the burning legions. "Now that I think about it, I'd make a pretty good fireman. I already have the axe!"

Magnus made sure everyone was with him as he transformed, crashing through several tree-men on his way out. "Steven, Sideswipe, on me!" he shouted.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" said Steven, likewise transforming and speeding after him. It pulled at his heartstrings to see the whole forest on fire like this. He had to remind himself that it was just a simulation, and that they would be trying harder to put it out in real life. Or not start it in the first place, for that matter.

Although Sideswipe transformed and followed, he was less than happy. "Aw, man, why are we running away? We had a perfectly winnable combat encounter back there, and we just left?"

"In case it wasn't incredibly obvious," Elita said, flying overhead, "the massive forest fire didn't leave us a lot of room to maneuver. So if you want to stay behind to have your paint job melted off, be my guest. But as for the rest of us, we're paying attention to our common sense."

"Sounds like quitter talk to me," Sideswipe mumbled. But even he wasn't willing to head back into the heart of the blaze.

Their conversation reminded Steven of a question he had earlier. "Actually, would the fire even hurt? It's just holograms, right? I mean, it looks like we're going through this fantasy world, but really, we're still just in the Ark."

"That is true, but Teletraan's simulations are more complex than that," Magnus explained. "While the holograms can and do stimulate our pain sensors to a degree, they are unable to cause any lasting damage. However, given our current situation, I can't guarantee that hasn't changed. Whatever is causing him to malfunction could very well have changed the parameters to make the sim lethal."

Even though he was still a car, Steven could tell Sideswipe's eyes were wide. "You mean…I could have just died for real?" he said quietly.

"Possibly," replied Magnus, "though like I said, we can't know for sure yet."

"Cooooool…" Sideswipe's reaction wasn't what Steven had expected.

Elita cleared her throat. "Why don't we put a pin in the possibility of horrible death for now? Sideswipe, if beating this sim really can get us out, then we need to beat it as soon as possible. Can you tell us where the Red Wizard is? And please, don't try and maintain the immersion anymore!"

"Yeah, I guess we should focus on getting out," Sideswipe admitted, sounding a bit disappointed. Like I said, it's randomly generated, but our best bet at finding him would be to check the volcano."

"Volcano? I haven't seen a–" Magnus went silent as a tall mountain, reaching to the sky and belching smoke from its peak, came up over the horizon. "I'm fairly certain that would have been visible before now."

"Eh, it doesn't show 'til it becomes relevant," Sideswipe replied. "So, ready to go check it out?"

"Ready!" said Steven. "Let's go beat that Red Wizard and save this land!" A glance in his rear view mirror showed the smoldering remains of what used to be a forest. "Or, uh, save ourselves, at least…"

And so, with seemingly nothing more in their way, the group began the final leg of their journey, driving towards the ominous volcano that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. According to Sideswipe, the locals called it 'Red-Crown Mountain,' which spoke wonders for his creativity. Rather than drive beside them, Steven now rode in Elita's cabin to speak with her regarding his and Magnus' findings.

"...so then we wondered, how did it crash down without us hearing it?" he told her. "We got distracted by the wood-men after that, but then I thought, maybe that's because it didn't crash! Someone or something inside of this meteor must have slowed it down somehow, and then it did something to Teletraan to make him trap us in the game. The only question now is why? And who would want something like this?"

Elita didn't put a whole lot of stock in Steven's theory, but decided to humor him anyway. After all, she had no idea why they were in this situation either. "There were a good deal of alien races interested in the Earth back during the war," she said. "It's entirely possible they're still keeping an eye on it. But as for what trapping us in a simulation would accomplish, I have no idea."

"Maybe they're using our brainwaves for processing power," Steven suggested with a shrug. "Either way, we should be more careful around meteor showers from now on, huh?"

"Hold that thought, Steven, I think we're almost there," she said, descending to meet up with the others. They had stopped at the foot of the mountain, which appeared too steep and rocky to simply drive up. Elita touched down, transforming after Steven climbed out. "What's our next move?"

"It looks like scaling the mountain's gonna be tricky," said Sideswipe. "At least, it would be, if this were an ordinary fantasy roleplay. But seeing as we can do everything we can in real life…I think Powerglide might prove helpful at a time like this." He leaned closer to Elita, bouncing his eyebrows. She just shoved him aside and stepped closer to examine the volcano.

Climbing it would be tricky, but not impossible, provided they went up the right route. And after a few moments of scanning the incline, Elita was sure she had found it. "Alright, I've found you a way to the top," she said. "I'll scout ahead and warn you of any incoming danger. We'd better move fast–there's no telling what's been happening in the outside world while we've been in here." She transformed once more, flying off to inspect higher up the mountain.

Sideswipe looked up at her, then at the rough terrain of the mountainside, then back up at her. "Oh, sure, that's real easy to say when you can fly!" he muttered, but began to climb anyway. "As soon as we get outta here, I'm programming in some cheat codes…"

The other two began climbing as well. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather ride on my back?" Magnus asked Steven.

"Nah, it's fine," Steven replied, now back in his Cybertronian form. "I don't wanna weigh you down any more than I need to. Besides, this is good practice!" He hung close to his companions, making sure not to look down. Looking down never led to anything good.

Hovering around the slope, Elita kept a watchful optic out for threats from above. Since Sideswipe was being coy/had forgotten about what he had programmed in, there was no telling what kind of threats could come their way. The volcano could erupt, or more monsters could appear from nowhere…they had to be ready for anything.

So when the mountain began to shake, accompanied by a loud rumbling sound, they were prepared for the worst. "Earthquake!" shouted Ultra Magnus. "Hold tight!"

"No, worse–eruption!" said Sideswipe, pointing upward. The smoke billowing from the volcano's summit was now joined by fire, belched out in great bursts that sent burning boulders raining down from above. Many of these fireballs tumbled down the mountainside, heading straight for the heroes.

Elita intercepted these as best as she could with her guns, while Magnus fired his missiles to blast them to pieces. "Keep moving!" he urged. "The sooner we reach the top, the sooner we'll be safe!"

"Normally," Sideswipe said, pulling himself up as fast as he could, "I'd question how going inside the volcano was supposed to be safer. But then, this is a video game."

If the Autobots hadn't known better, it almost seemed like some of the rocks were aiming for them specifically. It was one thing when they happened to tumble down towards them, but another when they pivoted in midair to better collide with their targets. As Sideswipe had said, certain things make sense in video games that wouldn't in real life, but as they would soon find out, there was indeed a reason for this malicious targeting.

"Isn't this mountain going to run out of stuff to throw at us!?" Elita lamented, continuing to strafe the falling boulders. She shot one out of the sky, causing it to collide with another, both coming to a stop partway to the others. And then, their outer layers began to crack apart, revealing something beneath. Something just as molten and rocky, but also alive.

The two creatures that had emerged from the rocks each spread a pair of flaming leathery wings and took to the skies. Somewhat reptilian in countenance, they had stood on their hind legs and had forked tails. "Oh no–dragons!" exclaimed Steven.

"Those aren't dragons!" said Sideswipe. "They're gargoyles! Some of the Red Wizard's most dangerous minions!"

The pair of gargoyles went to attack Elita, circling her like vultures as she rounded to try and land a hit. "Whatever they are, they're too fast!" she said. "Can one of you shoot them?"

"On it!" Magnus fired another barrage of rockets, which homed in on the beasties, making short work of them. But it seemed the Red Wizard's numbers were easily replaced, as the next round of stones hurled from the volcano needed no prompting to break apart, becoming an entire flock of gargoyles that divebombed towards the heroes.

"I'm not saying I know more about monsters than you," said Steven, firing at the swarm with his blaster, "but I don't think gargoyles have anything to do with fire. Wouldn't dragons make more sense?"

Sideswipe was similarly firing at the gargoyles. "Okay, one, they're too small to be dragons. Two, dragons don't stand on their back legs."

"They could if they wanted to," Steven retorted, swinging his axe as some of them got closer.

"Can you let me finish? Three, dragons breathe fire, these guys are covered in fire. And last, it's my game, I can name 'em what I want!" He drew one of his swords, slicing an encroaching gargoyle in half. "Besides, don't you think dragons are a bit overdone?"

Steven shrugged. "A little, I guess."

"Now is not the time to be discussing this!" hollered Magnus, snatching a gargoyle out of the air and smashing it against the mountainside. "Elita, how are things going up there?"

It seemed that no matter which direction Elita swerved, there were more gargoyles waiting to attach themselves to her. "There's too many to shake!" she said, beginning to be weighed down. "I'll try and draw them away! You go on without me!"

"Not if I can help it!" said Steven. Shrinking back down to his human form, he climbed up to where Magnus was. "Throw me!"

"Are you sure that–" But he trusted Steven. Lifting the boy up, he reeled back, and hurled him with all his might. Steven sailed through the air, summoning his axe as he raced towards Elita. With one mighty swing, he cleaved at least three gargoyles in two before landing on her back, cutting into several more. He fought with a ferocity and confidence that was hard to find in the real world, and soon, Elita was free and clear.

Her passenger holding tight, Elita fired once more, carving a path for Sideswipe and Magnus to follow. "Once we get to the top, the gargoyles should stop spawning!" said Sideswipe.

"I'm willing to put faith in a 'should,'" Magnus replied. They put all of their effort into climbing, leaving it to Elita to keep the enemies off them. Both her and Steven's guns shot down many encroaching gargoyles, and before long, they had all made it to the top.

Elita touched down, transforming as Steven hopped off. All four of them fired at the remaining threats while retreating into the caldera, in which there appeared to be a cobblestone pathway leading to the center. As they stepped across the lava, it appeared that the gargoyles were no longer divebombing them, but rather circling overhead like fiery, overgrown vultures.

"I take it this is the right place," Elita said, taking in the sight of an enormous obelisk floating in the lava in the middle. The molten rock beneath it appeared to be swirling as it was siphoned into the giant stone structure. She set her blaster to close-range and began the approach.

None of them knew what to expect at this point, so they mentally prepared for anything. But anyone would have been surprised if a giant pillar of fire erupted from the stone, which is exactly what happened. Loud, booming laughter reverberated from within the burning tornado, which sounded familiar.

Magnus glanced at Sideswipe. "Is that your voice?" he asked.

"What, you expect me to hire professional voice actors with our budget?" he replied with a shrug. "Plus, this gives it a personal touch!"

"Yeah, it'll feel more personal as he tries to incinerate us," Elita muttered.

The laughter subsided just as the flames did, revealing a figure hidden beneath a blood-red cloak. "What fools dare trespass into the domain of the Red Wizard?" he demanded. Despite the deepening effect added, it was still clearly Sideswipe's voice. "You will fall, just like so many others who thought they could defeat me!" With a wave of his hand, a wall of flame erupted around the edge of the caldera, making escape even more impossible than it was before.

Magnus pounded his fists together, his rocket pods reloading. "Let's finish this as quickly as possible," he said, charging. He fired a barrage of rockets, but the Red Wizard shot out of the way in a fiery flash. Then with another wave, shot an arc of flame at Magnus, who was pushed back by the strike.

"Hey, Swiper?" asked Steven, charging in, axe in hand. "I don't suppose there's some secret to beating this guy, is there?"

"Maybe, but I wouldn't know," Sideswipe replied. "I've never made it this far before!"

Evil laughter echoed all through the crater as the Red Wizard launched fireballs at the heroes. "By now, I think we can be fairly certain that making video games isn't for you," said Elita, countering the fireballs with bladed kicks, before returning fire of her own.

The Autobots regrouped at the center of the structure, by the giant obelisk. None of them had been able to land a hit on the Red Wizard so far–he was too fast, dissolving into flame every time it seemed they were close to striking. "Mwahahahahahah! This obelisk is the source of my power! As long as it stands, I am invictib–" He cleared his throat. "Try that again. I am invincible!" He thrust his hands out, and several of the gargoyles circling above swooped in to attack.

"My, how convenient of him to just reveal his weakness like that!" said Sideswipe, opening fire on the approaching creatures. "Mayhaps we should capitalize on this opportunity!"

With a stone pillar of that size, only Magnus had any hope of doing any real damage. He waited until most of the gargoyles had been cleared out, before unleashing yet another bunch of rockets. They climbed up the monolith, striking it from bottom to top. But when the smoke cleared, they had barely left a chip. "No good," he reported, resuming combat on the ground. "If we have to take it out, we may need to drop this entire structure into the lava."

Steven was likewise fending off the gargoyles attempting to carry him off, cleaving them apart in droves with his axe. "What!? But then we'll end up down there too!" he protested. There had to be another way…maybe his years of video game expertise could help them here. "What if…we tricked the wizard into destroying it with one of his own attacks? That usually tends to work!"

"Hey, now you're talkin'!" said Sideswipe. "Elita, cover me!" She shot down the gargoyles near him as he rounded the pillar to locate the Red Wizard. "Yo, Red! Anybody ever tell ya that fire magic's so last season? And where are all your support spells? The Yellow Wizard could do everything you can, and then some!"

Underneath his cloak, the crimson spellcaster bristled. "The Yellow Wizard!? I am twice the sorcerer that charlatan ever was! Could he bend the very fabric of the universe to his will!? I think not!" A magic circle full of runes appeared before him for a moment, before a blast of flame shot out, causing the very air around them to sizzle.

"Huh. I just now realized, it's surprisingly cool up here for a volcano," Steven noticed.

The fire blast cut through the air, and Sideswipe rolled out of the way just in time. Indeed it cut straight through the pillar as well, but not in the way they had expected. Rather than melting or crumbling through the stone, there was instead now a hole in the pillar's very code, glowing pixels glittering once the flames had passed. The fire blast continued on, then punching a hole in the world itself, revealing a brief glimpse of the insides of the Ark before both gaps sealed. "Ooh…yeah, I might've made that attack a bit OP…" said Sideswipe.

But Magnus was far more focused on the effects of the attack than its ridiculous power. "Sideswipe, do you realize what you've done?" he asked. "By programming such a devastating attack, you've given the Red Wizard a means to damage the simulation itself! That could be our ticket to freedom!"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Sideswipe replied. "I'm a novice at this sorta thing, I just thought it'd be a fun thing to…oh, wait, that's a good thing. You're welcome!"

The mission now was not to defeat the Red Wizard, but to use him to break out of their holographic prison. "Get him to shoot again, I'll jump for it!" said Steven. "Um…all I need to do to turn it off is to fiddle with the keyboard for a bit, right?" None of the others were exactly confident with his lack of confidence, but with Teletraan on the fritz, they weren't sure what would and wouldn't work either.

Sideswipe put away his weapons. "Hey, look at me, I'm the Red Wizard!" 'Ooh, I'm a two-bit stage magician who can't even do simple tricks right! Gwah!'" This was accompanied by holding his arms out like a zombie, delivered in a throaty growl.

Apparently, given how he reacted by immediately charging up another fire blast, Sideswipe must have programmed the Red Wizard to be especially susceptible to taunts. Everyone got out of the way as the column ripped its way through the sim, opening a hole through which to escape. Steven sprinted towards it, but it had already begun to close not a moment after it had been opened.

Moments after Steven threw himself at the opening, it had disappeared. Unfortunately, it had been above the lava, meaning he was essentially about to dive straight in. Luckily, Elita caught him before he could plummet, quickly yanking him back to solid ground. "Steven, careful!" she shouted. "Better let me take this one."

After an impromptu vaudeville act from Sideswipe, another fiery blast was sent their way. In helicopter mode, Elita sped towards the opening, only for it to close before she could get through. "The breaches aren't stable enough," said Magnus. "We'll need something faster if we want to get out of the sim."

"Hey, call me crazy, but, uh, something like a blaster?" suggested Sideswipe. "A laser could probably make it through quick enough. But in order to do anything, we'd have to…shoot Teletraan."

Obviously, nobody was thrilled at having to shoot at the beloved computer. "We don't have much of a choice, do we?" said Elita. "Landing a hit on the main computer should be enough to short out the simulation, provided it does enough damage."

"Nothing we can't fix later," Magnus said. He began looking around the volcanic arena, specifically the locations where the portals appeared. "Now, let's see…if the doors were over there, then that would mean the primary monitor is…right there!" He pointed to its approximate location relative to their position.

"Sideswipe, you know what to do," said Elita, aiming her weapon.

Having apparently run out of decent taunts, Sideswipe just resorted to mooning the Red Wizard while blowing a raspberry. It worked just as well, though, and he shot another fire blast. But because Sideswipe had his back turned, he dodged a split second too late, finding his leg burned by the flames. "Sideswipe!" cried Steven as he yelled in pain.

"Don't worry about me!" he said, clutching his glowing-hot leg. "Just shut this thing down!"

The fire blast cut through the simulation, opening a gateway to the real world. Through it, Steven could make out Teletraan's main computer–but something about it was off. Namely, a tangle of wires seemed to be poking in and around the console and screen, occasionally lit up by sparks of energy.

He had little time to ponder what that could be, as the portal would close any second. Elita took aim, but, as though the Red Wizard could sense they were seeking escape, a gargoyle appeared to block her shot. "Get out of the way!" she groaned, peppering it with plasma bolts. But it was not alone, and soon a swarm was upon her. "Quick! Somebody take the shot!"

Magnus found himself similarly besieged by the flying pests. "Steven, it's up to you!" he called. "You're our only hope!"

Feeling the weight of the responsibility that had been placed upon his shoulders, Steven knew he had to act fast. Rushing forward, he rolled under the gargoyles that had come for him, leveling his own blaster at the center of the tangled cords. "Game over!" he said firmly, letting a laser fly.

The shot streaked through the air, hitting Teletraan squarely in the monitor. The glass cracked, and the opening, which had slowly been closing, ceased doing so. "Direct hit!" said Sideswipe, fending off the gargoyles with his sword as he lay on the ground. "Don't let up, Steven, really pile it on!"

So Steven let another blast fly, and another, and another, pouring every last bit of energy his blasters could muster into the computer. He pumped it so full of lasers, the wires seemed to be moving to get away from the shots. And the more he fired, the less stable the simulation got. Their enemies flickered, and their surroundings faded. Finally, with one last blow, the Red Wizard, and his obelisk, and his army of gargoyles disappeared, with the volcano following.

Once again, they could all feel the hard metal floor of the Ark beneath them. "...Hey, my leg stopped burning!" said Sideswipe, who had been blowing on it. "Now we just need to–Holy Pit, what's that thing!?"

Everyone's optics were on Teletraan's main console, which had been thoroughly damaged. But the console was not the concerning part–something else was present. Those cables Steven had seen earlier were not the only things out of place, as they all seemed to feed into a single metal orb floating above the console. It was a dark, shiny blue in color, a single glass camera in its center. Having somehow managed to avoid the brunt of Steven's assault, it slowly retracted the cables into itself, its unblinking eye staring at the assorted group.

"What…is it?" asked Sideswipe. "Some sorta diagnostics drone?"

"It almost looks like it," replied Elita, "but far more advanced than anything I've ever seen. Could this have been the thing that arrived in the meteor shower?"

"Quick, grab it!" shouted Steven.

Magnus darted forward to grab hold of the intruder. But just as he reached out, the orb disappeared into a small portal that appeared behind it. "It…it's gotten into the groundbridge network somehow!" he shouted.

Everyone cluttered around Teletraan as Magnus worked quickly to repair him. "That must've been why it trapped us in the simulation," said Sideswipe. "To keep us busy while it looked through all of our secrets!"

"Can you tell where it went?" asked Elita. "If we move quickly, we might be able to follow it."

Luckily, most of Steven's shots had only knocked loose a few of Teletraan's wires. Most of the damage was superficial, and Magnus was able to get him working in no time at all. "According to the records," he said, "there was an unauthorized access to his systems approximately three hours ago."

"Exactly when the simulator went all messed-up," Sideswipe said.

"Yes. And whatever that thing was, it groundbridged itself to…" He went quiet as he saw the location of his cracked screen. "The spacebridge."

"Wha…the one Windblade tried to use?" asked Steven. "And then Elita and Dad and I tried to fix, but almost ended up being sucked into? That spacebridge?"

Magnus nodded gravely. "That same one. And from the looks of things, it isn't alone–Teletraan detected a number of similar objects entering Earth's atmosphere not long after we were trapped."

Whatever was going on, there was no time to lose. "Can you send us there?" asked Elita.

A portal had already been opened. "Stay low, and be ready for anything," Magnus warned. "We have no idea what these things are, or where they came from." But as they made their way through the groundbridge, Steven had a sinking feeling he knew at least one of those.

Upon exiting the groundbridge, the Autobots found themselves in a familiar desert. They knew this location all too well, having been host to their closest contact with the Decepticons in centuries. Magnus had brought them a ways away from the spacebridge, just in case there was more to deal with than a simple drone. And that seemed to be the case: dozens of floating orbs of the same model flew around the spacebridge, appearing to reassemble it.

"They've…fixed it," Elita said, both awed and afraid. "In mere hours, they brought it back to workable condition."

"The question is, what's gonna come through it?" added Sideswipe.

The four of them hid behind a rock as the drones continued their work. Shortly after, it seemed they were finished, as it was time for the spacebridge to activate. A loud humming filled the valley as it whirred to life, a bluish swirl appearing in the center of the metallic ring. It grew and grew until it had stabilized, a gateway between worlds. And then, to the Autobots' horror, a figure stepped through.

Right away, Steven recognized them as a Cybertronian. Their armor was bright yellow, and they were rather tall and skinny, with no bells and whistles to indicate what they transformed into. But most noteworthy of all were the purple sigils emblazoned on either shoulder, reflecting the moonlight.

Whoever this was, was a Decepticon.

The Decepticon surveyed the surrounding area with a cold expression, thankfully not spotting the Autobots. She raised her forearm to her face, speaking into something on her wrist. "Day three of covert infiltration: Decepticon Scalpel reporting." The drones hovered around her, moving as though they were extensions of her body. "Repairs on the spacebridge have been completed; successfully arrived on planet designation 'Earth.' Reminder to self: send recon team to collect samples once local threats have been assessed."

None of the four so much as breathed, even if they could. They all sat completely still; even Steven, who had never experienced the threat of the Decepticons firsthand, knew what being seen could mean.

The Decepticon, whose name appeared to be Scalpel, continued rattling off her various findings on the spacebridge, while the Autobots wordlessly debated on how, when, and if to make a move. However, before they could decide, one of her drones approached.

"What is it this time?" she asked, disinterested. The drone didn't seem to make any noise, but she reacted as though it had, whipping around in surprise. She went back to her recorder: "The Autobots have escaped from their temporary containment far sooner than expected. Making immediate egress now. Will return once the coast is clear." She and her whole fleet of drones vanished back into the spacebridge, which then deactivated.

With incredible slowness, each of the Autobots emerged from their hiding spot, staring up at the spacebridge in terror. "Did that…really just happen?" asked Sideswipe. Steven had never heard him sound so afraid. "Was she…"

"Yes," said Magnus, similarly shaken. "I was afraid of this day. I hoped it would never come."

"I think we all did," Elita replied. "But we all knew, deep down, that it would. The Decepticons…they're coming to finish the job."

"B-but…you can stop them, right?" asked Steven. "You beat them before, didn't you? Well, we'll just do it again!"

"Last time, they had hundreds of Autobots with them," said Sideswipe. "Plus, Optimus Prime. It's gonna be a very different battle without either of those. No offense."

Steven stared up at the spacebridge. Even after it had created a black hole that had nearly sucked him in, it had never looked more dangerous or daunting than it did now. If even one little beanpole of a Decepticon scared the others this much, then what could a whole army of them do?

Suddenly, the spacebridge was rocked by a number of explosions, causing its metal frame to creak. Magnus stood with rocket pods open, having just unleashed a salvo into the portal machine. "They can't invade Earth if they can't reach it," he said. Sideswipe and Elita drew their weapons as well, joining in the assault until the spacebridge had been reduced to pieces, its flaming remains falling to the ground.

A tense silence fell over the four. It seemed that the crisis had been, for now, averted. Wordlessly, Magnus opened a groundbridge back to the Ark.

"I'll have to bring the pieces back, so they can't repair it again," he said. "After that, once we fix Teletraan, we can figure out what to do next." He stepped through, leaving the other three alone.

Similarly quiet, Elita followed him. Seeing no reason to stay behind, Sideswipe did the same. Only Steven was left to witness the spacebridge's remains. As he went through the portal as well, it closing behind him, a single question was racing through his mind:

What would they do now?

AN: It has begun...