I originally had an extra scene written at the end of this chapter, but it caused a confusion in the passage of time between this and the next chapter. Since this chapter is shorter as a result, I might post the last chapter (plus the epilogue) later tonight.
CHAPTER EIGHT
--The Steelhaven--
"Any progress, Blaster?"
"Yes, actually." The red and yellow Autobot turned in his seat as Optimus stepped back onto the bridge with Kup and the others. "I just finished communicating with Hubcap. Apparently they had some sort of... altercation on the Lost Light."
"What kind of altercation?" Optimus asked.
"Well, they got boarded by the D.J.D., who were looking for Drift. They were able to drive them off, luckily without any casualties, but they had some unexpected help...."
"From whom?"
Blaster frowned as he moved away from the comm station, gesturing Prime over. "I think it would be best if you heard for yourself."
Optic ridges raised, Optimus moved over to Blaster's station just as the comm officer brought back up the connection to the Lost Light. The visage appearing on the viewscreen almost made Optimus want to punch the monitor.
"Hello, Prime."
--The Lost Light--
"I don't like it one slaggin' bit," Skids muttered, standing in the corridor just outside the bridge with Nightbeat and Getaway. "Am I the only one who thinks it's all a ploy?"
"I don't know," Nightbeat said. "He could be tricking us into helping him retake Cybertron... or he could be genuine about offering a truce."
"If it's the former, I'll bomp him to death," Getaway said.
Skids gave him an odd look. "I thought 'bomping' was your way of showing appreciation."
"And annoyance. It all depends on how hard the bomp is."
Skids shook his head. "You are a very strange 'bot, you know that?"
Getaway responded with a nudge to the chin. "Bomp."
* * *
"And... voila!" Flatline stepped away from Crosscut, having repaired the Autobot's faceplate. "Good as new! Try not to get it scratched up again; your face is now a masterpiece, having been touched by my graceful hands."
Crosscut sat up and touched his face, visibly surprised at how well it had been fixed up. "Wow. It... it really is as good as new. Um... thanks."
"Don't mention it," Flatline gruffly replied. "Really. Don't mention it to anyone not here in this room. If you do, I won't hesitate at undoing my work."
"Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't dream of spreading the word."
Turning to First Aid, Nautica said, "How's Tailgate doing?"
"Well, he's all patched up," the medic said, dusting off his hands. "However, I noticed something.... bad while fixing him up."
"Bad?" Sitting up, Tailgate's visor filled with panic. "What kind of bad are we talking here? Kind of bad? Really bad?"
"Pretty bad. Your innermost energon is curdled and your transformation cog is... not in a good shape. Both are early signs of Cybercrosis."
"And... what's that?"
"It's a disease that plagues a lot of Cybertronians that are several of thousands years old. It can lead to paralysis, blindness, deafness, partial muteness, possible memory loss, and eventually... death."
"Death?!" Tailgate's hand fell over his chest. "You mean I'm going to die?! Isn't there some sort of cure?"
"I'm afraid not," First Aid said sadly. "Many 'bots have searched for one-- most famously Dominus Ambus. But even he failed to find a cure."
The small Autobots was starting to shake, cradling his head in his hands. "So... how much time do I have left?"
"Given your current condition, I'd say three days."
"Three days?!" At this, Tailgate jumped off of his repair slab and ran out of the medibay, crying audibly as he went down the corridor.
After a long, solemn silence, Flatline said quietly, "I've had Genericons handle news like that better."
"Not helping," First Aid snapped. "At all."
* * *
"So do we have a truce, Prime?"
On Hubcap's veiwscreen, Optimus Prime folded his arms across his chest. "Let me only ask this: did you save my fellow Autobots out of the pure goodness of your spark, or just because you wanted something to persuade me to a truce?"
Megatron hesitated slightly before answering. "Both. Yes, I wanted to use it as a bargaining chip, but I also didn't want to see Autobots needlessly die at the hands of Decepticons who had disobeyed my orders, especially when we need all the strength we can get to take on Unicron."
"How touching." Optimus continued to eye the Decepticon leader carefully before sighing. "Very well. We have a truce."
"We do?" The query came from Elita, Ultra Magnus, and the others as well as Megatron.
"Yes. I have given more thought to the conversation we had earlier and have since decided that an alliance between our factions would be the wisest choice of action."
"Is that so?" Megatron smirked. "It's good to know that the Matrix of Leadership still gives you infinite wisdom, Prime."
"Indeed. I'll see you at the rendezvous point at Combatron. Now get off my sparkmate's ship."
"Your sparkmate?" Megatron looked over his shoulder to see Elita-One behind him, glaring daggers. "Ah. Yes, that would be a wise decision."
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