Chapter Nineteen: Doorway to the Heavens

"Alright, a little to the left," Sideswipe called out. Elita moved to the left, the section of roof she was carrying moving with her. "No, other way. Left."

"That is left," replied Elita, irritated. "If I need to go right, then say right."

Sideswipe looked down at his hands as Magnus helped guide the roof into place. A tool of his inserted a row of nails into place, while Steven, riding on his shoulder, hammered them in. "Almost done, Mr. Pizza!" Steven announced.

Nearby, Kofi Pizza watched as the Autobots repaired his restaurant. "I never thought I'd need tornado insurance living in Beach City," he complained. "With everything that happens around here, though, I should at least get some giant robot insurance!"

"They're fixing your roof for free, I think that counts as insurance!" said Nanefua, nudging him. "You be careful up there now, Steven!"

A little while later, the job was done. "There we go. I would say Fish Stew Pizza looks better than it did before Windblade came along," said Magnus. It most certainly didn't, but the repairs would hold. "Now, for the matter of payment…"

Kofi stared at him, unamused.

"...A joke, of course," he said. "Elita, how many other buildings need repairs?"

From up high, Elita scanned the town. "Looks like we're done," she said, returning to the ground and transforming. "Luckily, the tornado stayed mostly away from the residential areas." She shot the Pizzas a brief apologetic glance. "...Though some businesses weren't as lucky."

"Nevermind–just so long as we can re-open, I'm content." Kofi headed back inside, hoping that this was the last time his pizzeria would be on the receiving end of some Autobot-related trouble. Deep down, however, he doubted it.

"He may not sound like it, but he's grateful," Nanefua informed them. "As am I. You just keep on helping people, now!" With a friendly wave, she headed inside as well.

"We sure will! Bye Nanefua!" said Steven, returning her wave. "Alright, so that's one pizza place done. How many more stops do we have left to make today?"

Magnus lowered him down to the ground. "For you, no more. Right now, there's somebody who needs your help even more than anyone in town, and it's high time you visited him."

"Oh yeah!" Steven said, realizing who he'd almost forgotten. "Dad gets out of the hospital today, doesn't he?"

"So I've heard," Magnus said. "Elita, could you take him? I have something else I need Sideswipe's help with."

"Yippee, more work," Sideswipe droned, trudging over to Magnus. "Tell your dad hey for me, Steven. If Magnus wants what I think he wants, I'll be busy for a while…"

"Uh, okay," said Steven. Elita transformed once more, and he climbed inside. "See you guys in a bit!"

The pair of them took off towards the hospital. The doctors had informed them that Greg's injury wasn't that serious, and that they handled broken limbs all the time. With any luck, he would be out by tomorrow–which, now, was today.

"Hey, Elita?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

Steven faltered for a moment. "Uh…nevermind." The rest of their flight was in silence.

Elita touched down just outside the hospital, where Greg was waiting. "Dad!" called Steven, leaping out and rushing over to greet him with a hug.

"Woah, easy there!" he chuckled, returning the hug with his good arm. The other was held in a sling which Steven had to maneuver to avoid pressing into. "They just fixed me up, you want me to head back in there already?"

"No, I'm just glad you're okay!" said Steven. "I know the doctors said it wasn't serious, but you know me, I'm a worrier."

Transforming once more, Elita walked over. "You're lucky that wasn't any worse," she told him. "With how powerful Windblade proved herself to be, it easily could have been more than your arm that ended up broken." Unseen by either of them, Steven winced when she brought this up.

Greg simply waved her off. "Hey, if it means helping you guys out, that's a risk I'm willing to take. Speaking of, you don't need any help getting the town fixed up, do you?"

"No, we already handled everything there," she said. "Regardless, you're in no position to do anything else except rest. Now, get in, I'm taking you home." She transformed once again."

"Hey, I may be down an arm, but I'm still plenty capable!" To show what he meant, he tried climbing into the cockpit with his one arm, only to stumble and nearly fall. He cried out as he flailed, but Steven caught him before he could. "Uh, heh, ignore that."

With both of them securely fastened into their seats, Elita took off. "I will most certainly not ignore that. The doctor specifically told you to avoid any strenuous activity, and that's exactly what you'll do. Steven, I want you to keep an eye on him and make sure he does what he's supposed to, okay?"

Steven saluted. "Sure thing! Are you gonna help Magnus and Sideswipe with…whatever it is they're doing?"

"Actually, I had another project I was thinking about getting to," replied Elita. "But don't you worry about that. You've got yourselves to worry about now."

Even despite her insistence, Steven could see Greg's eyes light up when she mentioned a project. "And, uh, what sort of project is it?" he asked. "You wouldn't happen to be tinkering with something, would you?"

Elita sighed. "Greg, what part of 'you need to rest' didn't you hear?"

"I know, I know, it's just…even if I can't help you out directly, I could still help indirectly! Come on, you said I need to relax, right? Well, nothing's more relaxing to me than fixing something that needs fixing! So, whaddya say?"

They flew on in silence for a while as Elita thought it over. Eventually, with another sigh, she changed direction, heading west. "You're lucky I'm the sentimental type."

"That's the spirit!" said Greg. As they flew, he noticed that the route they were taking looked familiar. "Now, this project of yours, it wouldn't happen to relate to that spacebridge thingy, would it?"

"As a matter of fact, it's exactly that," Elita answered. "There used to be a number of spacebridges located all across the planet, but over time, all of them were either destroyed or lost. As far as we know, this could very well be the last one left. And considering the condition it's in, I think it might be possible to repair it!"

"Cool, a real working spacebridge!" said Steven. "...So, uh, what exactly does a spacebridge do?"

Elita would have smiled if she wasn't currently in her altmode. "It acts exactly like a groundbridge, only except of being confined to a single planet, it connects to an entire network of other spacebridges located throughout the known universe. If we can get it working again, maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to experience all the wonders of the cosmos together!"

"You mean we get to go to space!?" cried Steven, ecstatic. "No way! I've always wanted to go to space! Can we go wherever we want!? Are there other space people out there in space!? Do I get to ride on a spaceship!?"

"Steven, Steven, there'll be plenty of time for adventuring once we get the portal repaired!" Elita said, chuckling. "But yes, I imagine you will be able to do all of that and more!"

"Woohoo!" Steven began to chant. "Goin' to space! Goin' to space! C'mon, Dad, help me out! Goin' to space!"

Greg joined in. "Goin' to space! Goin' to space! Goin' to space!"

Eventually, Elita couldn't help but join in as well. "Goin' to space! Goin' to space! Goin' to space!"

"Goin' to space! Goin' to space! Goin' to–hey, we're here!

Elita touched down in the desert where the massive ring lay: an ancient relic of a bygone age. But it wouldn't be for long. Steven hopped out excitedly, helped Greg to the ground, and ran over to the spacebridge. "Hold on there, Schtu-ball! You can try, but I don't think you'll be able to lift that all by yourself!"

"Sure I can–watch!" Steven took on his Cybertronian form, and began trying to hoist the ring onto its side. After a moment of struggling, however, he found that he could barely budge it. "Okay, I might need a little help…"

"Luckily for us, if we do this right, it should lift up by itself," said Elita. She stopped for a moment, looking over the damaged spacebridge. "To think, this is all that separates us from the vast cosmos…just a moment of repairs, and we can see the galaxies once again!"

"Can't wait!" said Steven. "So, um…how exactly do we fix this thing?"

Greg took a look at the spacebridge as well. "I may not be an expert in Cybertronian tech, but I've dabbled here and there. Hmm…I think the first order of business should be cleaning out the inside, and making sure its circuitry is viable. Considering Windblade got it working, it should be relatively functional. From there, we'll repair the damaged bits, and that should get it working!"

"My thoughts exactly," Elita added. "Lucky for us, I thought ahead and brought tools." She produced a drill and a welding torch from a compartment in her back. "Shall we get started?"

"Fine by me!" replied Greg.

"Yeah! Said Steven. "Let's do it!"

The project started off slowly but successfully. Most of the beginning consisted of clearing out the sand that had accumulated over the centuries, which Steven was more than happy to help with. He may not have understood much of the technical jargon Elita and his dad were talking about, but he was proving himself to be very good at removing sand. He hauled it out by the bucketful while Elita and Greg discussed how best to tackle renovations.

As he went back and forth, emptying the buckets into the desert, Steven's mind was on all of the various places he'd get to see once the spacebridge was repaired. There were the obvious choices, like the moon, and Mars, and maybe the Sun. Of course, Cybertron was probably what he wanted to see the most. For years, he had heard of its wonder, never enough to give him a clear picture, but more than enough to pique his curiosity.

Before he knew it, the spacebridge was ready for construction. "Okay guys, that should be all the sand!" he said, tossing the buckets aside. "Are you all ready to get started? How long 'til you think it'll be done?"

"Someone really wants to go to space!" said Greg. "Well, yup, I'd say we're almost ready over here. I'll finish drawing up the plans here, why don't you help Elita get everything into place?"

"Will do!" Steven said, saluting. He hurried back over to the spacebridge, with Elita following. "So, is it almost done?"

"Steven, we haven't even started on the repairs yet. We'll be lucky if it only takes one day to be finished," said Elita. "Though you've definitely helped us out by cleaning it up! Let's see…if everything goes well, we should have this ready by nightfall."

He could hardly wait. "Hey, Elita? You seemed pretty excited about going to space, too. Was there something specific you wanted to see?"

Elita was lost in thought for a moment. "The universe has so many things to see, I don't know where to begin! There's the continent-spanning racetracks of Velocitron, the titanic forests of Eukaris, the thermal caves of Lithone…" She looked wistfully into the distance. "I have to admit, I miss it, Steven. I miss it all."

If he had been excited before, Steven was now chomping at the bit to see all of the places Elita was describing. "Wow, that sounds awesome!" But as excited as he was, the real question still had yet to be answered. "Do you think we could even see Cybertron?"

Upon hearing this, Elita tensed up. It took her a moment to answer, though she was much more hesitant to do so this time. "I, um…I certainly would like to," she said, sitting down on the spacebridge's side. "There's so much about the planet that I love, that I…haven't seen in so long."

"Like what?" asked Steven.

"Well…I used to love visiting the Radiant Falls. A spring of energon bubbling up from the ground, surrounded by crystalline pillars…oh, I wish you could see it, Steven! And the Sonic Canyons could make the most beautiful music when the wind was right, provided you turned down your audio processors beforehand. Even the Sea of Rust had a certain desolate beauty to it. Better to look at it from afar than to be stuck in the middle of it though!" She laughed, before sighing. "I think a visit to Cybertron might be just what we need."

"Then it's settled: our first stop once the spacebridge is finished is your home town!" Steven declared, hopping up beside her. "I bet you'll be happy to see all your friends there again, huh?"

Elita's cheerful demeanor suddenly faltered, a shocked look crossing her face for a split second. She looked away before Steven could notice. "That would certainly be nice. I wonder what everyone's been up to while I've been gone…" She looked up at the sky, lost in thought.

Steven let her reminisce for a moment before continuing. "Whenever you're ready!" Elita collected herself, standing up and brushing off some sand.

"Well, we wouldn't want to keep them waiting. So begins the process!" She pointed off into the distance valiantly, the wind blowing from behind her. Steven watched, starry-eyed, as Greg made his way over. "Ah, perfect timing! Are the plans ready?"

"Uh…yeah, everything's all set here," Greg said, holding up the papers. "You sure you can handle this all by yourself? I'd be more than happy to lend you a hand!"

She gave him a stern look. "You've already given a hand, Greg, that's the problem. No, we agreed that you were only coming along to direct, and that's what you're doing. Think you can keep him to that, Steven?"

"Sure thing!" Steven went over to his dad, both of them taking a seat by the makeshift workbench the two had set up. "C'mon, Dad, we can be foremen together!"

Greg took a look down at the plans, then at his arm in a sling, then back up at the spacebridge. "Well, the doctors did say I needed to relax…alright Elita, I'm letting you take the lead on this one. Hope you know your way around spacebridges as well as I do!"

She smirked. "And here I thought you were only just familiarizing yourself with the blueprints," she said to herself. "I hope you're as good at directing as you are at playing music."

"Eh, that was a long time ago," Greg said, looking away as he shrugged. "I could probably play a few chords, but those days are mostly behind me now…"

Steven turned to his dad. "You never told me you were a musician," he said. "Though I guess that would explain all those guitars in your workshop… Were you in a band?"

Greg smiled. "I was a band!" he recalled proudly. "You ever wonder why my van says 'Mr. Universe' on the side? That's what I was called back in the eighties. Back in my prime, I used to play for sold out stadiums! …They, uh, weren't very big stadiums, but semantics, right?"

His excitement for seeing space momentarily forgotten, Steven was now enraptured by a different kind of star. "Wow…my dad's a rockstar! Did you ever meet anyone famous? Aside from you, of course. Did you ever trash a hotel room? Did you ever perform for the president!?"

"Not personally, a couple times on accident, and no," Greg replied. "Though I did play for the mayor of Seattle once, but he wasn't mayor at the time." He chuckled. "There was another time when I called this one motel's front desk and demanded they bring me up a pizza that I didn't order, but a few too many grown-up sodas might've been involved there…" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Hey Elita, did you ever hear about this?" Steven called over to the Autobot. "My Dad used to be a rockstar! You ever hear him play?"

Elita removed herself from the spacebridge's maintenance shaft. "I have not. We did see a Mr. Universe cover band one time–which was actually when we all met Greg. I think he was their sound technician or something, right?"

"Roadie," Greg corrected, sounding disappointed. "Like I said, the eighties were my prime. By the nineties, the newer and younger talent had all but taken my place." He sighed. "But hey, now I got my shop, I got my van, and I got you. What more could I ask for?"

"I know what I could ask for: some help!" said Elita, going back to her repairs. "You can play us a tune later, right now is the time for a tune-up. On this. Because we…did that wordplay make sense?"

"Right up my alley!" said Steven, giving her a thumbs-up as he looked at the instructions they had drawn up. "Okay, so, it looks like there are five blue cans around the ring, and you need to tie them to some red ropes that go in sorta like a zig-zag motion."

Greg looked at the blueprints. "You'll need to repair the cooling systems first," he translated. "After that, the antimatter injector should be ready to go. Just remember not to crosswire the subspace capacitors with the microparticle targeting array, or you miiiight end up dooming us all."

Elita scoffed. "You act like this is my first time repairing a spacebridge. Someone had to keep things up and running back on Cybertron."

"So, you were a mechanic before you joined the Autobots?" Steven asked.

She nodded. "I was, and a fairly good one at that. I may not be an engineer or inventor like some of the others, but I could keep up with the boys!" She twirled the tool around her finger to demonstrate.

"Huh, you and Dad are both mechanics," said Steven. "It's weird you don't hang out more. You have a lot in common!"

There was a brief silence as both Elita and Greg looked away. "I…think it's best we get a move on," Elita said. "So, after the cooling systems?"

"Aaaaand…there!" said Steven, drawing one final X in the sand. "I win!"

Greg snapped his fingers. "Got me again!" The ground all around them was covered in circles and X's, with most of the latter being three in a row. "Best twenty-five out of forty-nine?"

"I dunno, I feel like any more of this would be cruel," said Steven, looking around at his previous victories. "Know any other games we can play out here? …Dad?"

Not paying attention, Greg was instead looking over at Elita, who continued to make progress on the spacebridge. "Sounds good, Schtu-ball, let me just check in on how Elita's doing. Why don't you set up the next game for us?" he got up and headed over, leaving a confused Steven sitting in the dirt.

Steven didn't stay sitting in the dirt for long, but he did stay confused as he followed. "Uh, Dad? You sure your head's in the game?" Steven could usually beat his dad at tic-tac-toe, but he often put up more of a fight than this. It was obvious his mind was elsewhere, and Steven had a good idea of where that was.

Sure enough, he found Greg peering into the spacebridge, watching Elita work. "You, uh…you sure you don't need me to give you a hand?" he said. "I might be down one of my own, but I can still be useful!"

Elita barely even looked up to acknowledge him, as her mind was occupied as well. "While I appreciate the offer, Greg, I really don't want to put you in danger," she said, welding something within the ring. "Spacebridge maintenance is an incredibly technical and often dangerous job even for Cybertronians, so you can imagine how hazardous it might be for healthy humans, let alone injured ones. You're doing a perfectly serviceable job directing me, so keep it up."

Steven could see Greg visibly deflate. "I haven't been, though," he said quietly, before sadly trudging his way back over to where he and Steven were sitting. "So, best twenty-six out of fifty-one?"

"Dad, stop," Steven said gently. "I know when something's bothering you, and something's definitely bothering you. We don't have to keep playing if you don't want to."

"No, it's not that," Greg said with a sigh. "I guess I just imagined doing…I don't know, more. It's not often I get to help the 'bots out like this. Remember when they asked me to pilot that diagnostic drone? I hadn't felt like that since Optimus was still–" He cleared his throat. "Anyway, it was nice to feel needed. I guess I just wanted to feel that again."

"Dad…I need you. You know that, right?" said Steven.

"Of course I do, bud," said Greg, moving over to hug his son. "You know what? Why don't we move past all this complicated grownup stuff for now? How about we just sit, relax, and enjoy this time we're spending with each–"

There was a small explosion inside the spacebridge, accompanied by a pillar of smoke pouring out. This was followed shortly after by Elita emerging, coughing as she unleashed what Steven could only assume were a series of Cybertronian swears. "Primus-forsaken, rust-ridden malfunctioning hunk of slag!" she spat, before turning to see the pair standing there. "Oh, Steven, hi! I didn't see you there!"

"Sounds like Dad's not the only one who could use a break," he said with a small smile. "Why don't we head home for the day? We can come back tomorrow, with fresh minds and a better approach!"

Elita smiled. "I appreciate the offer, Steven, but there's really no need. I've almost finished with the main systems in here, so we should be ready for a test run in just a little while. Aren't you excited to see space!?"

He was, but not if it meant Elita overworking herself. "I am, but not if it means you overworking yourself," he said. "Come on, taking some time off could be good for you!"

"Sorry Steven, but I can't quit now–not while I'm so close," she replied. Either he was mistaken, or there was a manic glint in her eye. "I finally have an opportunity to leave this planet! If I quit now, I might never get another one!"

"L-leave…?" asked Steven. But Elita didn't hear him, going back to working on the spacebridge. "But why would you want to leave?"

Greg put an arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer. "Don't worry about it, Steven. I've seen this before: whenever Elita sets her sights on a certain project, there's no tearing her away from it. We might as well head back and meet up with her in the morning."

"Uh, Dad? How are we supposed to go home when Elita was our ride out here?"

There was a brief silence. "Welp, might as well set up camp for the night," said Greg, walking off to do just that.

"Steven! Hey, Steven, wake up!"

Groggily, Steven got his bearings, pushing off the blueprints he was using as a blanket as he sat up. "Huh? Elita?" The Autobot was sitting beside him, looking down with an excited expression. "What time's it?"

Nighttime, that much was obvious, but Steven didn't feel like he'd been asleep for long. "It's time for the test run of our newly-repaired spacebridge!" said Elita, positively giddy. "Are you ready!?"

He shook his eyes. "Um, I was ready to get some rest." Rubbing his eyes, he stood up. "Is Dad awake?"

Elita was already nearly to the spacebridge's controls. "No, but this is only a test. If it works, I'll wake him up for the real thing! Now come along, there's no time to waste!"

Steven looked over at his sleeping father, considering waking him up. "You mean you woke me up, and I can't even go to space yet?" he said, trudging his way over.

"Oh, no need to worry, that part comes soon!" Elita began running the startup sequence. "Right now, what we'll do is open a small window to a nearby uninhabited world–say, Mars. You like Mars, don't you? Then, if that works, we'll be able to go anywhere in the universe we want! Can you believe that!?"

"Well, it was the plan we came up with…" said Steven. While Elita had definitely been happy to return to the wonders of the universe before now, tonight she seemed even more excited than Steven had. And while this enthusiasm would normally only improve his excitement, her strangely manic disposition did little to put him at ease. Being woken up at such an hour didn't help, either.

Seemingly in her own little world, Elita giddily hopped around the spacebridge's controls, giggling to herself as the machine began to hum. "Almost ready! Come over here to where it's safe, Steven, just in case." He did so. "This is such a momentous occasion! Just wait until Sideswipe and Ultra Magnus hear about this! We'll finally be free again, all four of us!"

"What do you mean, 'four of us?'" asked Steven. "What do you mean, 'finally?'" It sounds like you'll be glad to get off the Earth."

"Oh, there's no need to worry, Steven," she said, not looking up. "In just a moment, you'll be glad, too!" She let out a short cackle. "Here we go!"

"Elita, you're starting to scare me," he said. "When you said you were going to fix this thing, I wasn't expecting you to go full mad scientist. How do we know something scary isn't gonna come out of there when you turn it on?"

"Only one way to find out! Here we go!" Pulling one final lever, the spacebridge began to whirr to life. Lights around the edge lit up, while a hum came from within. Elevated by strange alien energies, Elita watched excitedly, and Steven anxiously, as the machine slowly lifted into the air.

Having warmed up, an atom-sized singularity appeared at the center of the ring, soon growing into an orb of energy that filled out the spacebridge's interior. Electricity crackled as this tear in the fabric of space took shape, while both witnesses looked on in awe. And that was when everything went terribly wrong.

The source of the hum, a centrifuge located inside the device, grew erratic. While it was static when it started to rise, now it began to tilt from side to side, shaking. The bolts within grew more frenetic as well, and the singularity grew much less uniform.

Elita's expression became one of worry, looking over the readings. Warning signs flashed on every screen, urging her to shut it down. "Hang on, I can fix this! I just need to make some adjustments, and everything will be fine!" She furiously pressed buttons to try and mitigate the disaster, to no avail.

Before long, something gave, and the spacebridge couldn't sustain itself anymore. Crashing back to the ground, the hole in the center of the frame imploded, becoming a pitch black sphere that created a flow of air towards itself. "Is that…?"

"No it isn't!" Elita shouted. Despite her best efforts, the computer refused to handle the issue. "Don't panic, Steven, this isn't anything I can't handle!"

"You created a black hole!" cried Steven. "Elita, I don't think you can handle this!"

"Yes I can!" she yelled. "I'm not giving up on this! Not when I'm so close!" The screens began to glitch out, before going entirely black. If there was any chance of controlling this spacebridge, it had just gone out the window, promptly being sucked into the black hole. Which, with nothing to regulate its growth, began to grow stronger and stronger.

By now, it was as though gale-force winds were blowing from every direction as the singularity drew everything near. Steven rushed over to Elita, fearing this was soon to be her fate. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"

"I…" Elita watched in horror at what she had wrought. "B-but everything was working just fine! How could this have gone so wrong?"

"Well, you were rushing things just a bit, and you were pretty tired," said Steven as he tried to pull her away from danger. "Now come on! That thing's getting bigger!"

Indeed it was, growing by the second. And with every second that passed, it got stronger. Steven and Elita could feel it pulling against them as they tried to make their escape. And they weren't the only ones.

Greg, who had been asleep through that entire ordeal, only just now awoke when the black hole removed his blueprint-blanket. "Snmrph–Huh?" He sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Jeez, windy tonight, isn't it? ..What the!?" He turned in horror to see what had become of Elita's project. "What happened!?"

"I may have gotten a bit overzealous in repairing the spacebridge," Elita admitted. "The subspace capacitors may have gotten tangled up with the microparticle targeting array…"

"So how do we stop it?" asked Steven, clinging to Elita's leg to avoid being sucked in. "There's gotta be some sort of emergency shutoff or failsafe, right? There always is in movies!"

"I don't think this is a movie!" Greg replied. He too made his way over to Elita, fighting against the air current. "Is there any other way to stop this?"

"The controls aren't responding," Elita said, "but we could try to unplug the antimatter injector. With no electromagnetic field to sustain it, the singularity should collapse under its own weight…unless it gets too big first, so we'll need to hurry!"

"Got it!" Steven began making his way closer to the spacebridge, but Elita didn't allow that, quickly scooping him up before he could get far.

"Absolutely not! This is far too dangerous for you to handle on your own!" Elita said. "No, I caused this mess, so I'll be the one to fix it!" She pulled the two of them away from harm, making sure they were safe before doubling back to disable the spacebridge alone.

Metal creaked as the spacebridge continued to draw in everything in range, growing stronger all the while. The black hole surged with dark energy, a relentless maw that was sure to devour all three of them if it couldn't be stopped. "Wait! Elita!" Steven cried.

He was about to go after her when Greg stopped him. "Steven, you wait too! It's way too dangerous for someone our size!"

"It's too dangerous for someone her size too!" he said. Indeed, Elita was beginning to lose her footing, as the black hole relentlessly drew her towards itself. In her efforts to resist, she fell to the ground, being dragged through the dust as both humans gasped in horror.

Before being fully engulfed by the singularity, Elita transformed, her propellers working overtime to keep her from being swallowed. But even at full strength, she wouldn't be able to escape from its grasp–not alone.

Knowing he had to do something, Steven turned to his father with an apologetic expression. "Sorry Dad, but I can't just sit around when someone needs help!" As Greg cried out his name, Steven shifted into his Cybertronian form, allowing himself to be pulled towards Elita. "Elita, quick, transform!"

She did so, grabbing his hand just as he reached her. Steven then drove his axe into the ground, creating an anchor to resist the black hole's pull. But although they were safe now, it wouldn't be long before it grew too strong for anyone to resist.

"I…I'm sorry," Elita said, pulling herself to the ground beside Steven, the two still holding onto each other. "I've just felt so trapped since Optimus died, and this spacebridge seemed like the only way to do something about it. I got so carried away that I lost sight of what's really important." She looked over at Steven.

"No problem!" he replied. "We all get a little carried away sometimes. But it's important to know when to ask for help!" The spacebridge's frame groaned as the black hole grew stronger still. "Like right now, for instance!"

Eventually, the frame began to tear itself apart. Part of it snapped in two as the black hole tried to consume it as well, exposing the interior. And when Greg looked closer, he saw…

"The antimatter injector! Keep holding on, I'm going in!" Venturing out from safety, and staying low to the ground, Greg began making his way towards the spacebridge.

"Dad, don't!" Steven called. "You said it yourself, it's too dangerous for guys our size!"

"It is," he replied, "but someone our size is the only one who can fit in there!" He pointed to the hole that had been torn in the ring. "You and Elita keep each other safe! And wish me luck!" Although his relatively small stature meant that he was below the ring's effects, he still had to be careful not to succumb to the wind.

As much as Steven wanted to dive out and grab him, letting go of the axe could spell doom for the both of them. "Be safe…" he said, barely audible over the howling gale.

Fighting all the way, Greg was eventually able to reach the spacebridge. With his one good arm, he held on to its side, working his way into the opening. From there, all Steven and Elita could do was wait, holding on as the black hole grew ever larger.

"...Steven?"

"Yeah?"

"When I said I wanted to leave Earth behind, I…I never meant leaving you behind. I may not be the biggest fan of this planet, but I would never abandon it. Or you."

He smiled. "I know. That's why you're an Autobot, Elita. It's why Dad was an Autobot…and why I am."

The two of them hugged, not knowing if they would get an opportunity to do so again. But then, just as it felt like Steven's axe was going to be uprooted, the wind stopped.

Gradually, the black hole's ever-increasing pull started to lessen. The frame of the spacebridge lowered to the ground, coming to rest amongst the dirt. And the singularity vanished, leaving no trace of itself behind. Greg had done it.

With the crisis over, both of them ran over to the spacebridge. "Dad! Dad!" cried Steven, peering inside the wreckage. "Are you okay!? Please, say something!"

A huge cloud of smoke then erupted from the mechanism's inner workings, causing all of them to cough…including a voice from inside. "Did it work?" he asked, his voice echoing. Greg then made his exit, holding a chunk of wiring torn from the antimatter injector.

"You're alive!" Steven shouted, pulling his father from the wreckage and into his arms. "You did it, Dad! You saved us all!"

"Wow…I guess I did, didn't I?" he said, returning the hug as best he could. "I'm good for something after all, huh?"

Elita crouched beside them. "Greg, you were always good for something. Out of all the people on the planet, Optimus chose you. And if that doesn't count for anything, I don't know what does."

As he was placed back down, Greg let her words sink in. "Y-yeah, when you put it that way…" He looked behind him at the mess made of the spacebridge. "Sorry about your vacation plans. Even with both of my arms, I doubt we could fix this."

"Don't worry about it," Elita said, smiling. "I'm just glad we're all okay. It's like Optimus used to say: there's no shame in knowing when to persevere, and when to walk away."

Steven nodded. "I think now would be a good time to walk away. What do you guys say?"

In response, Elita transformed. "I think we should spend the rest of the night in our own beds. Your flight to Beach City is now boarding!"

Steven shrank back to human form, climbing in along with Greg. The three flew home, leaving their dreams of exploring the cosmos behind–for the time being.

"Man, why did you guys get to do all the exciting stuff?" moaned Sideswipe. "I mean, fighting for your lives against a ravenous black hole? That sounds awesome! Magnus just had me doing computer work all day…"

He, Elita, and Magnus sat around a campfire on the sand, just outside of the Ark. "Important computer work," the latter added. We need to be sure that Windblade's departure has not drawn any unwanted attention to Earth. And for that, Teletraan's early-warning systems have to be operating at peak efficiency."

Sideswipe just shrugged. "I still don't see why I had to do all that boring busywork. Anyway, where would you have gone if you had gotten it working, Elita?"

"Everywhere," she said wistfully. "But even though the spacebridge is broken, I haven't given up hope. One day, I'll be able to show Steven all the wonders of this galaxy, and many others. But for now…" She gazed out at the stars hanging over the ocean. "...the Earth isn't such a bad place to be."

With a rattling and clunking sound, Greg's newly-repaired (barely) van rolled up onto the beach. The back opened up, and Steven hopped out carrying a box. "We found 'em!" he declared proudly, heading over to the others.

Greg climbed out as well, carrying a couple of record sleeves. "It took some digging, but here they are! My entire catalog of work, in vinyl form, for your auditory pleasure! Steven, if you would?"

"Why, certainly!" Steven popped open the box, revealing it to be a record player. "Any requests?"

"Hmm…how about something nostalgic?" suggested Elita. "Something that reminds us of all the good times we've spent together?" Steven hopped into her lap.

"Coming right up!" Greg removed one of the records, inserted it into the player, and started it up. "Everybody sing along!"

"I know I'm not that tall / I know I'm not that smart / But let me drive my van into your heaaaart / Let me drive my van into your heart!"