Transformers Regenerated: Lost Light III, Chapter Nine & Epilogue

CHAPTER NINE

--Cybertron, Iacon, two thousand years ago--

    He was home free.

    The robot that had once been Brainstorm's head ran as fast as his small legs could carry him towards the dueling Sentinel Prime and Trannis. As he ran, he could hear the ticking of the bomb he had built into his chest, made so that the explosion would consume both leaders and thus set in stone the new future he had set out to create.

    Five minutes left. He was no more than ten feet away from the two fighters. In short time, he would be in range and--

    Before he knew it, he was suddenly being picked up and lifted towards the air, moving further and further away from the ground. Soon, Sentinel and his opponent would be nothing but dots on the landscape....

    After finally taking his eyes off the ground, the robot looked up to see that he was in the clutches of the probe bot he had seen with the Autobots. He struggled to release himself from her grip, but she simply tightened her hold.

    "What do you think you're doing?!" he cried. "The bomb's about to go off any minute now! It'll kill us both!"

    "I know," she said.

    "Why do you throw away your life so recklessly? Or do you have nothing left to lose?"

    "I do actually," she said, almost wistfully. "But I'll know I'll get it back soon enough, even after I die."

    "What are you babbling about? Who do you think you are?"

    "My name is EVE." She closed her eyes, at complete and utter peace with herself. "And I'm bringing back Eden."

    The timer reached zero. He had no time to scream when the bomb went off.

*  *  *

    WALL-E was still crying out EVE's name when Rodimus' team returned to the Lost Light, Brainstorm's headless body in tow. While it took Rung's gentle coaxing to quiet him, it did not stop his incessant shaking.

    He had just seen the love of his life explode. It may have not been the EVE he had always known, but she was nonetheless EVE through and through. Even if she were to miraculously turn up alive right here and now, it would still be difficult for him to cope with what he had just witnessed.

    As he stood there rattling, Rung still at his side, WALL-E watched as Rodimus walked up to Ultra Magnus and Perceptor. "Welp, we did it," the captain said. "We've stopped Brainstorm and--"

    "Where's his head?" Ultra Magnus asked, concern etched across his face as he stared at the headless body.

    "I'll get to that bit," Rodimus said. "Perceptor, any sign things have returned to normal?"

    The scientist smiled. "As a matter of fact, yes. Seconds before you returned, the timeline started moving again and Earth is back on our radar."

    Rodimus pumped his fist. "Awesome! Welcome back, status quo!"

    "Perhaps we should go down to Earth and ensure that things are indeed restored," Rung suggested.

    "Good point. Skids, you take WALL-E back down to Earth, and let us know if anything's changed. In the meantime, I'll need Ratchet to examine Brainstorm's body."

    As the others-- including Rung-- started to leave, Skids beckoned to WALL-E, already heading for the shuttle bay. "Come on, buddy, let's get you home."

    WALL-E started to follow Skids but was stopped by Chromedome, who got down to his knees to address the smaller robot.

    "It was nice knowing you, WALL-E," the brown Autobot said. "I know we never got to talk much, but you seem like a very nice bot."

    WALL-E shifted his treads modestly. Even if he still had his vocabulator, which had been damaged beyond repair earlier, he would still have no idea how to respond to such praise.

    "Without you and EVE's help, we probably wouldn't have been able to stop Brainstorm," Chromedome went on. "For that, we're in your debt." He held out a finger for WALL-E to shake. "Well done."

    Humbled, WALL-E shook the finger. He felt something tingle in the back of his head as he did-- almost as if he was suddenly forgetting something-- but pushed the thought aside as soon as Chromedome left, turning to follow Skids again.

*  *  *

    "He's still alive."

    "Seriously?" Rodimus looked flabbergasted as he watched Ratchet examine Brainstorm's body. "But... his head blew up. Sure, it was its own little 'bot, but wouldn't it have still have his brain module?"

    "I'm no expert on how Headmaster technology works, but my guess is that he could have had his brain module relocated. I'd have to perform a full examination to find out where though."

    "And if you do find it, what then?" Ultra Magnus asked. "We don't exactly have spare heads lying around, and there's no way we can communicate with him--"

    "Ah, I beg to differ."

    All three mechs moved with a start before staring in bewilderment at Brainstorm's body. It eventually dawned on Rodimus that the rogue Autobot was speaking via internal radio. 

    "Brainstorm?"

    "Know any other geniuses?"

    Ultra Magnus folded his arms. "Brainstorm, you do realize that you have a lot to answer for."

    "Oh, I understand that much. Believe me, I do," Brainstorm said as he slowly sat up. "But wouldn't you agree that it would be far less discomforting to speak with me if I had my head back?"

    "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we don't seem to have any spare heads lying around on this ship," Rodimus said dryly.

    "Check my workshop. I should have one somewhere there."

    The other Autobots gawked at him for this statement.

    "Do you mean to tell me," Ultra Magnus said slowly, "that you've been keeping a spare head on this ship... all this time?"

    "You really don't know anything about Headmasters, do you?" Brainstorm said.

    An awkward silence followed this statement. Ratchet let out a huff to diffuse it. "Right then," the medic said. "I'll go fetch it and get it attached. You two stay and watch over him."

    Once Ratchet had left, Rodimus turned back to Brainstorm and crossed his arms as well. "I look forward to hearing your explanation. You do realize the entire universe was hanging in the balance."

    "I know."

    "And you understand the consequences that would have had?" Ultra Magnus asked.

    "Of course. It's the only reason I did it," Brainstorm said calmly. "Believe me, once you hear what I have to say... you will all wish you had let me pull the trigger."

*  *  *

    Skids smiled as he watched the happily-reunited WALL-E and EVE (the original one) embrace each other. From the latter's mild confusion at WALL-E's initial burst of enthusiasm upon seeing here, Skids figured that from everyone's perspective, WALL-E had only been gone for a second or two, and his absence was never noticed.

    But whatever befuddlement EVE had was completely sapped away by WALL-E's euphoria as she gleefully spun him around. Skids then chuckled at WALL-E's stunned reaction from a spark-kiss given to him.

    Seeing that everything was now back to normal, Skids turned to return to the shuttle... only for his foot to hit something on the ground. Thinking it was only a mere rock, he raised his foot to kick it away... until he looked down and saw what it actually was.

    A briefcase.

    A dozen questions running through his head, Skids regarded the object curiously before continuing his trek back to the ship.

EPILOGUE

--Iacon, Cycle 7814--

    The explosion was bright enough for all to see. It was enough to distract Sentinel Prime from his fight with Trannis, who was now at the mercy of his Primax Blade. As Sentinel looked back down at the Decepticon leader, Trannis sneered at him.

    "Is that all it takes? A fancy firework to distract you from finishing me?"

    Sentinel smirked. "Not much of a distraction if killing you was not my intent."

    Trannis' expression became a confused one. "What?"

    Putting his blade away, Sentinel offered his hand to his life-long arch-nemesis. "Care for a little talk? I'm sure we can find a more cordial end to this war."

--Tarn, Cycle 8114--

    "Take it easy, pal. Let your optics adjust for a moment."

    Blue optical sensors flickered for a moment before taking on a permanent glow. The red and black mech began to take in its surroundings: white walls, bright lights, a gray and blue mech, a red and black femme....

    His gaze landed on the latter. Right away, he felt some sort of connection to her; like he was supposed to know her.

    Smiling sweetly, she said, "Hello there. My name is Hydra. I shall be your caretaker. And you would be...?"

    "Optronix," he said quietly. "I am Optronix."

--Earth, the distant future--

    Blue optical sensors came to life. Voices rang in his audio receptors.

    "Ee-vah, look!"

    "I see!"

    Ee-vah. What kind of a name was that?

    "Auttto... Auttto-bbb--"

    "Autobot."

    Suddenly, he bolted up in a sitting position and the two robots who had come across him instantly backed away, one of them pointing an arm gun of sorts at him. He paid no heed to this as he tried to speak.

    "Eee... Eee-vvv--"

    The white robot with the gun responded to this, putting the weapon away while adopting a kinder look. "EVE?"

    He nodded. Apparently it had been a mispronunciation.  

    A small, cube-shaped robot poked his head out from behind EVE and regarded the strange 'bot curiously. "Waaalll-Eeee," he finally said.

    "WALL-E?" the Autobot repeated.

    WALL-E nodded eagerly before pointing to him. "Naaame?"

    He thought for a moment. When he had awoken, he could have sworn there had been a name floating in his mind. Dyon? Pion? No, it was... it was...

    "Dion," he said. "My name is Dion."

--Cybertron, an alternate future--

    "Have you relocated him to someplace more secure?" the tall, cloaked mech said as he strode down the corridor, the white and blue scientist walking briskly to catch up with him.

    "No, One-of-Twelve, sir, but we did remove his transformation cog upon making the discovery," Quark replied. "I know it's an act of blasphemy--"

    "But a permissible one, given what is at stake here," the Convener of the Functionist Council finished. "You should be commended, Quark, for solving a puzzle that has been frustrating us for so many centuries."

    Quark smiled, humbled. "Thank you, sir, but it is not I you should be thanking." As if on cue, another mech joined them, carrying a vacuum machine. "It was Sweep here who made the discovery. He was granted a moment of insight whilst cleaning the prisoner's cell. Since he is janitorial class, I was wondering if you could...."

    One-of-Twelve turned to Sweep and pressed two fingers to the janitor bot's forehead. "By the power bestowed upon me by the Functionist Council, I declare you alt mode exempt. You are hereby reclassified and shall be venerated accordingly. Now get back to work."

    While the janitor bot left, One-of-Twelve and Quark arrived at the cell and the former unlocked the door. Leaving the scientist behind, the Convener strode down the narrow bridge that separated the suspended mech from the rest of the world. Upon coming within a few feet of the skinny orange mech, One-of-Twelve greeted him with a mock bow.

    "All hail the Useless One. That is what they call you now, isn't it?"

    The prisoner said nothing, his expression blank.

    One-of-Twelve lifted his single optic at him. "Except that moniker is no longer fitting now, is it? We have figured out what you turn into...." With those words, he drew a gun from his cloak, pointing it at the prisoner's head. "And it is the very last thing we want."

    "Knowing what one turns into doesn't tell you what they are for," the hanging mech replied. "But thanks to you, I now know what my purpose is."

    A smile started to break out on his face, broadening with each word he spoke. "If you pull that trigger, it's the beginning of the end. So go on: shoot me. Blow my head to smithereens. Tear my spark out and crush it between your fingers. Then you can sit back and relax... while your empire crumbles beneath your feet."

    A tense silence descended upon the room. One-of-Twelve remained still and silent while the one known as Rung simply grinned at him.

    "What are you waiting for?" he said tauntingly. "Squeeze."

WHEN TIME RUNS OUT: CONCLUDED

Transformers Regenerated: Lost Light III, Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

--Cybertron, Iacon, two thousand years ago--

    Thunderclash's audio receptors rang with the sounds of war. Jets and rockets soared overhead; missile flew in all directions; soldiers of either faction cried out as they were shot down or consumed by an explosive. Out of all the battles he had been in over the course of his career, this was undoubtedly one of the worse.

    Hunkered down in a trench with three other Autobots-- Magnum, Metalhawk, and Kup-- Thunderclash cringed as an enemy missile truck a nearby tower, which fell no more than ten feet from where they were positioned.

    "Ya' know, this reminds me of the time on Verus Centralus," Kup muttered. "The 502nd and I were fighting the hostile native militia--"

    "With all due respect, Kup, this is no time for story telling," Magnum interrupted the veteran. "Metalhawk's leaking badly; we should get him to safety--"

    "Enlighten me on how we're gonna do that, kid," Kup said sharply. "The 'Cons have got us cornered in this trench and if we so much as poke a finger out, blam! No more finger."

    "So what? We just sit here and wait to die?"

    "See any other alternative?"

    "Wait." Thunderclash held up a hand for silence. "Does anyone else notice something?"

    The others were quiet for a moment. It came to their quick realization that everything was quiet.

    "Has the battle stopped?" Magnum asked.

    Before Thunderclash could answer, he heard the clashing of blades in the distance. Taking the risk, he peeked from behind the trench and saw that Magnum had been both right and wrong. 

    The battle had indeed stopped: Autobots and Decepticons alike had come to a standstill, their attention directed towards the grounds where Nova Point stood, where two figure engaged in a duel that would determine the fate of Cybertron....

*  *  *

    "This is amazing," Rewind murmured, his camera light flashing as he looked down from the observatory bay of Nova Point. "Sentinel Prime and Trannis, fighting to the death, with the fate of Cybertron hanging in the balance!"

    "I would think you'd already have footage of something like this," Chromedome commented, standing next to him.

    "Oh, I do. But it's all grainy and taken from really far away. Here, we're getting up close and personal with the greatest battle in Cybertronian history!"

    "I'm surprised your enthusiasm has not been diminished by the fact that your renowned Prime was an evil tyrant all along," Cyclonus said dryly.

    "Yeah, well, it's still a great historical moment with great significance...."

    Standing off to the side, preparing like everyone else for Brainstorm's inevitable appearance at this spot (it was the best vantage point he would have to take out Sentinel), Skids said to Rodimus, "So, what exactly is the plan for stopping Brainstorm? Do we have any means for restraining him?"

    "Well, I told everyone to set their weapons to stun. Provided he hasn't invented some anti-stun bolt alloy to put over himself, that should do the job."

    "And if it doesn't?"

    Rodimus sighed. "I can tell you what Whirl has suggested as an alternative."

    Suddenly, everyone fell silent at the sound of footsteps. All optics were on the door until Rodimus signaled them to move into position. Cyclonus and Whirl jumped up to hide in the ceiling rafters; Rodimus, Skids, and Chromedome concealed themselves in the shadows; and Rung, Rewind, Tailgate, WALL-E, and EVE found cover behind an inconspicuous table.

    Everyone waited in silence as the footsteps came closer and closer. Then, the door opened.

*  *  *

    Blaster rifle in hand, Brainstorm stepped into the abandoned observation bay of Nova Point. Making sure to lock the door behind him, he moved swiftly for the window on the other side of the room and broke the glass with his elbow. If either of the two dueling leaders below noticed the shards of glass falling from above, they were too engrossed in their battle to pay it any further heed.

    After connecting the sniper rifle attachment and scope he had made for his gun, Brainstorm steadied the weapon on the window sill and took aim with it. As he waited for Sentinel Prime to come into range, he rested a finger on the trigger....

    "Yippee-ki-yay!"

    Startled by the battle cry, Brainstorm lost his concentration and dropped his gun to the floor. Before he could retrieve it, Whirl descended from the ceiling and delivered a punch to his face. The force of the blow was nearly enough to send Brainstorm falling over the sill, but he was able to grab onto it to prevent that. He then lifted his leg up and delivered a hard kick into Whirl's chest, sending the ex-Wrecker staggering back.

    Once he had regained his composure and recovered his gun, Brainstorm looked to see no longer just Whirl, but also Rodimus, Cyclonus, Skids, and Chromedome all standing before him, guns aimed.

    "End of the line," Rodimus said. "Officially."

    Brainstorm said nothing as he glared at Rodimus, weighing his options. Unlike with Optronix, it would be more difficult to shoot Sentinel now as the Autobot leader was constantly moving in his fight with Trannis. Luckily, he had one extra card to play....

    He let the gun clatter to the floor and raised his hands. "All right. You win. I surrender."

    Rodimus blinked, obviously having not expected such a response. "Really? Just like that?"

    "Yes. You have me cornered and my plot's been foiled. You win," Brainstorm repeated.

    "I don't buy it," Whirl said. "I say we shoot him now and be done with it."

    "No," Rodimus said sternly. "I hate to sound like Ultra Magnus, but it's a code violation to shoot an unarmed combatant, especially one that's just surrendered."

    "Since when have I ever meshed well with the rules? Besides, I thought I was the risk taker-- and yet here you are, taking the biggest risk of all by falling for this obvious ploy of his."

    "What ploy? He's unarmed, there's no room for him to change form... what could he possibly do?"

    "This is Brainstorm we're dealing with here. He's a frikkin' genius! He's built a time machine, for crying out loud! Who says he doesn't have twenty cards stuffed in his cockpit?"

    "Even so, we're not shooting him--"

    "Tough. Because I am."

    Whirl pulled the trigger and Brainstorm's head went flying off.

*  *  *

    "Slag, Whirl! What the Pit's wrong with you?!"

    For once, Whirl looked genuinely uneased by his own actions. "I... I didn't think it would-- I wasn't trying to kill him! I had my guns on low level, like you said!"

    "I said to put them on stun," Rodimus scolded.

    "My guns don't have a stun setting."

    Rodimus sighed as he ran a hand over his face, looking at the broken window which Brainstorm's head had just fallen through. "Great. Just great. Not a week into the quest and I've already lost a crewmember-- an evil one, granted, but--"

    "Um, guys?" Chromedome was looking through the broken window with a befuddled look. "I'm not quite sure how to put this, but... Brainstorm's head is running away."

    "What?!"

    "Brainstorm's head-- it transformed into this little robot and it's running straight for Sentinel and Trannis."

    "You mean like a Headmaster?!" Rewind exclaimed. "By Primus, I thought they had all gone--"

    "Let's move it, people!" Rodimus snapped. "Cyclonus, Whirl, you fly after them and--"

    "But Sentinel and Trannis will see them," Skids protested. "And no amount of mnemosurgery would repair the damage that would cause."

    "Gee, if only we had someone small and inconspicuous who could chase after him. That would be great."

    Everyone turned to look at EVE, who had emerged from behind the table, a sly look in her optics. After an awkward silence, Rodimus gestured wildly with his hands at the window.

    "Well? Don't just hover there! After him!"

    Nodding curtly, and with one last look to WALL-E, EVE shot for the window and headed towards the ground below.

Transformers Regenerated: Lost Light III, Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

--The Lost Light, Perceptor's lab--

    "Don't look outside."

    "There aren't any windows in here, Perceptor," Ultra Magnus reminded the scientist. "What would I see if I did, though?"

    "You would see that the universe has stopped moving," Perceptor replied, staring intently at his monitor. "This ship is currently the only temporally active event. If we don't act quick, then the new future may start overwriting everything."

    "I thought that was the motivation from the get-go. Why do you sound so worried?"

    Perceptor sighed. "Because the hyper-drive only has enough juice for one more time jump. If they haven't stopped Brainstorm yet... then they may be literally stuck in the past."

--Cybertron, Tarn, 1,700 Years Ago--

    "Um, hey, guys," Tailgate said as he, Rewind, Rung, WALL-E, and EVE cautiously entered the Con Facility. "We heard fighting and then nothing, so we thought maybe you'd--"

    "Stopped Brainstorm?" Rodimus snapped, sitting dejectedly in a corner. "Try again."

    The small Autobot looked and saw the cause for Rodimus' bad mood. Standing there was the half-built form of Optronix, missing his spark.

    "Oh," Tailgate said quietly. "Wow."

    "Yeah," Rodimus snorted. "No kidding."

    "Um, sorry, but... what just happened?" WALL-E asked. "Did we not stop this Brainstorm person? What's the deal with that robot over there?"

    "That robot over there is the future leader of the Decepticons, who, believe it or not, we've been trying to save. And Brainstorm just killed him, which means we've failed."

    "Is there no way to fix him?"

    "His spark's been extinguished, WALL-E," Skids said. "You can't fix something like that."

    "Are you sure?" EVE asked as she opened her chamber, revealing the green spark WALL-E had given her. "Maybe this could help."

    Everyone with mouths dropped theirs in astonishment as they gawked at the glowing emerald orb. "Where the slag did you get that?" Rodimus asked incredulously.  

    "I found it when we were in that field," WALL-E said, taking the spark from EVE. "I was planning to keep it as a souvenir, but if it'll help that robot--"

    "Okay, I'll ignore the disturbing prospect of you keeping internal organs as souvenirs and just say 'Please, for the love of Primus, get that spark into Optronix's chamber before we all get erased from the timeline.'"

    "Don't worry, I've got it." 

    At his beckoning, EVE picked WALL-E up and flew him over to Optronix's lifeless form. The waste allocator bot then gently inserted the orb into the empty chamber. This resulted in a brief but small pulse of EMP energy, which struck WALL-E square in the face and knocked him from EVE's hands. Nobody was able to move in time to catch him and he hit the floor with a loud crash.

    EVE was instantly at his side, cradling his broken form. "WALL-E? Are you all right? Speak to me!"

    A moan was her response. At least he was still alive, albeit damaged.

    "We should get him to a medical facility," Rodimus said. "Are there any here in Tarn, Rewind?"

    "Wait, this is a con facility, right?" Skids asked. "If they can build bots here, surely they can fix them as well."

    "It's probably our best shot. Rung, once we get outside, you take WALL-E back into the facility and get him fixed. Then it's back after Brainstorm."

    "Only one problem," Perceptor's voice crackled through Rodimus' Time Phone. "The time machine is nearly dry of energy-- hardly enough to chase after Brainstorm thousands of years into the past, where he's no doubt heading now."

    Rodimus sighed. "So what do we do then? Are we stuck?"

    "Not necessarily. If I'm not mistaken, it's around this time that Unitrex has started developing an experimental quantum generator. There's just enough energy to transport you there and you can use the generator to recharge the briefcase."

    "Then what are we waiting for?" Rodimus said as he hopped to his feet. "Let's get a move on."

*  *  *

    "Sorry, madam, there seems to be a delay in construction," Rolt said to Hydra. "Some sort of power failure or something...."

    "No worries," Hydra said. "These things happen."

    "Yeah, but they've never shut down like this before..."

    Before Rolt could ponder on the situation further, a skinny orange mech came running into the facility, carrying a small, injured robot in his arms.

    "Please! You have to help him! His power core's drained and his motor relay is fried and--"

    "Okay, okay, calm down," Rolt said. "Is this bot disposable class or something?"

    "Yes, but he's incredibly loyal and hard-working, and irreplaceable for me. Can you please fix him?"

    "Well, we're having some technical difficulties right now, plus we're short on staff...." Rolt saw the sad look in the mech's spectacle-covered optics and sighed. "All right, I'll have him taken to Ward C. Just leave him here with me and wait here in the waiting room. I'll make sure he gets all of the attention he needs."

    "Thank you so much," the mech said, on the verge of breaking down. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

    "Yeah, well, that's what I'm here for," Rolt said, glancing at Hydra. "To make people's lives better."

*  *  *

    "Well, here we are."

    Cyclonus looked around the dark chamber he and Rodimus had been teleported to. He then looked at the other mech with a raised optic ridge. "Are you sure? Seems rather empty for a place to house an experimental quantum generator. Surely there should be a guard or--"

    Rodimus cut him off with the raise of a hand. "Cyclonus, take it from me; when life gives you a piece of good luck, you take it without question."

    "Oh, but if I were you, I'd definitely question it."

    The two of them turned around to see a teal-colored mech standing before him, carrying three turbofoxes on chains.

    "Sorry I'm late," the guard said with a twisted smirk. "I had to feed the turbofoxes, but don't worry: I made sure they left some room for dessert."

    Cyclonus scowled as he raised his gun. "Go," he urged Rodimus. "I'll hold them off."

    "Okay, but if anyone asks, I protested." 

    While Rodimus converted to his alt mode and drove off, Cyclonus turned his attention to the guard and his pets. Releasing the turbofoxes from their chains, the feral animals charged at him. Raising his gun, Cyclonus easily shot down the foremost one while the other two divided and prepared to flank him on either side. The one to his left made its move first, leaping at him and knocking his gun out of his hand. As he wrestled with it, the other went for his leg, biting down deep into his armor plating.

    Luckily, they had neglected the fact that he turned into a jet.

    Lifting up the leg that was being attacked, he tilted his ankle so that his foot was aimed at the turbofox and activated the thrusters built into them. The canine creature yelped as it broke off, prancing around while it burnt to a crisp. Cyclonus then wrestled off the other turbofox and threw it to the floor before crushing its head with his foot.

    All that remained was the guard. Seeing that Cyclonus was unarmed, the mech grinned with glee as he leveled his gun at the ex-Herald. Thinking fast, Cyclonus dove for his own gun just as the guard fired before raising it at the teal mech and shooting him square in the chest. Disoriented, the guard had no time to react when Cyclonus charged towards him and shoved him into a nearby storage closet, shutting the door and locking it. 

    Had he stayed for a moment longer instead of running off to find Rodimus, he would have heard a oil-curdling noise quietly emitting from the room....

*  *  *

    "Are you going to be okay?"

    EVE lifted her gaze up at Skids, who stood next to her while the two of them and the others waited outside the con facility for Rung and WALL-E. Looking away, she let out a sad sigh.

    "I'm worried about him...."

    "So am I," Skids said. "We all are-- well, except for Whirl, maybe. But believe me, he's survived worse than this. I've seen it for myself."

    Silence fell over the group of six. It was broken when Tailgate said, "So where have they gone again? Unitron? Unitrex?"

    "Don't tell me you've never heard of Unitrex," Rewind said. "It's the City of the Stars! The birthplace of interstellar travel! Here, I've got a recording of it."

    Turning on his headlight, the archivist brought up a projection of the facility Rodimus and Cyclonus had gone to. Sprouting from the roof, Rewind noticed, was a set of red fuel quills.

    "Huh," Chromedome said, holding his chin in his hand. "Those look awfully familiar. Doesn't the Lost Light's fuel quills look something like that?"

    "Yeah, they do," Rewind murmured, bemused by the resemblance himself. "Probably just a coincidence...."

*  *  *

    By the time Cyclonus regrouped with Rodimus, the latter was already removing the briefcase from the generator, visibly satisfied with himself.

    "Did it work?" Cyclonus asked.

    "Heck yeah," Rodimus replied. "Now let's get back to the others and--"

    Before he could finish his sentence, the entire chamber disappeared around them, leaving them on a launch pad underneath the night-time sky. It took Rodimus a few seconds to process this, after which he raised his time phone in a calm and collected manner.

    "Perceptor, the room's just disappeared."

    "Hmm, interesting. It appears the time case has contaminated the generator and shunted the entire complex into the future. Congratulations; you've just invented quantum jumping."

    "Um, thanks, I guess." Rodimus released a sigh as he activated the control case. "As if this day could get any more bizarre...."

Transformers Regenerated: Lost Light III, Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

--Cybertron, Nyon, 1,610 years ago--

    "I'm still trying to figure this all out," Rodimus said as he and the team gathered in an abandoned alleyway. "If Brainstorm's going back through time to kill Sentinel Prime, then why would he bother trying to kill Optronix? If it's too prevent Megatron from ever happening, then that's already taken care of with Sentinel's death."

    "Maybe we've been wrong all along," Rung said. "Perhaps Optronix was Brainstorm's target from the beginning and he's been trying to murder him at different times. That may be why he killed Breakthrough: he was gunning for Optronix, but missed."

    "But from what Boltax told us, the differences between the two timelines started two thousand years ago with Sentinel's death at the Battle of Iacon. How does Optronix lead to that point?"

    "Maybe that's just it," Skids said. "We're inadvertently leading him to that point by preventing all of his attempts to kill Optronix."

    Rodimus stared at him, nonplussed. "Say again?"

    "Think about it; Brainstorm went into the past without covering his tracks, leading us to find and use his time machine to follow him and stop him from killing Optronix, thus eventually leading to the Battle of Iacon where everything all started. The alternate timeline is thus not a result of any changes Brainstorm is trying to make, but our interference with them."

    Rodimus found a slab of metal to sit on and clutched his head. "Okay, everyone shut up for a few minutes. I'm getting a major processor-ache."

    "So, what, it's predestined for Brainstorm to kill Sentinel?" Chromedome asked Skids.

    "Not necessarily. My thinking is that the new timeline had just started 'bedding in' from the moment Brainstorm opened his briefcase, with the circumstances for it already in place."

    "Still not making any sense, but whatever." Rodimus sighed as he brought out his Time Phone. "Perceptor, have you found Brainstorm yet?"

    "As a matter of fact, yes. He's gone back ninety years from your current position."

    "To when, specifically?"

    "Cycle 8114."

    Overhearing this, Rewind's visor went wide. "Cycle 8114? Oh, no...."

    "Mean something to you?" Rodimus asked.

    "It means something to all of us. It's the day Megatron was born."

--Cybertron, Tarn, 1,700 years ago--

    "Identification?"

    "Hydra of Vos."

    Rolt raised his gaze to the red and black femme standing before his desk. "Ah, yes. You offered your spark for splicing a year ago."

    "Yes, and I wish to adopt the newborn spark as my ward."

    "Really? That's a first; most donors couldn't care less about the 'bots that are made from their offered sparks." Rolt pressed a few switches on his control panel. "I'll inform the doctors to begin infusing the spark. The process may take a few hours."

    "That's all right. I can wait."

    While Hydra went to find a seat across from Rolt's desk, the receptionist mech finished his call to the doctors. He then glanced again at the femme.

    "You have a sparkmate?"

    "No. And before you ask, I'm not interested."

    "No, no, I was just wondering. Most soon-to-be caretakers come in pairs, usually so that the adoptee has at least one guardian looking over him or her at all times in case something happens to the other or if they become overloaded with work."

    "I'm intellectual class," Hydra replied. "My job doesn't demand too much of my attention."

    "Ah, I see. Are you looking forwards to becoming a caretaker?"

    She beamed. "Very much so."

*  *  *

    "Careful... careful...."

    "I'm being as careful as I can, Scope," the doctor snapped at his partner as he gently removed the blue spark from its container and began to slowly moved towards the awaiting body. "This would go a lot faster if you'd just keep quiet."

    "Do you remember what happened last orbital cycle, when the new guy-- I think it was Suture-- dropped that one spark? The mech that was born from it turned out to be a murderous psychopath."

    "I'm reluctant to believe that his personality was a result of Suture's mishandling."

    "Well, Froid says--"

    "Oh, here we go again with Froid. You know that guy's a fraud; everything that comes out of that 'bot's mouth is--"

    "Careful!" Scope gently moved his partner to prevent him from walking into a table. "See? Without me, you could be responsible for the next Trannis."

    "Give me a break."

    The two medics finally reached the pre-fabricated protoform body. As the spark handler inserted the glowing orb, Scope kept an eye on the scanners hooked up to the protoform, reading the results as they came in.

    "Ferrum-positive... high-yield, strong pulse... looking healthy." He turned to his partner with a grin. "Congratulations, Flatline; it's a mech."

    "Shut up and get the outer shell ready."

    Scope sighed as he flipped a series of switches, causing mechanical arms to come down and begin building around the protoform. "Where's your sense of humor?"

    "You have one?"

    Scope merely shook his head as he left the lab with Flatline, leaving the machines to do their work. Had they stayed a moment longer before closing the door, they would have seen a figure materializing before the newborn mech....

*  *  *

    "This is the place?"

    "Yup," Rewind said. "Tarnian Con Facility 113."

    "And we're standing on the rooftop and not at the front door because...?" Skids asked.

    "Because there's no way we can get into the labs through there; too many guards and receptionists." Rodimus bent down and began to pull at a steel grate built into the roof. When it didn't budge, Whirl came forwards and tore it off with all his might, sending it flying across the city.

    "Thanks," Rodimus muttered. "Okay, Rung, Tailgate, WALL-E, and EVE-- you stay out here and keep an optic out for any trouble. The rest of us will handle Brainstorm."

    "Good luck," Tailgate said. "Let us know if any of this Optronix and Sentinel Prime stuff gets cleared up."

    "I'm not holding my breath," Rodimus said as he jumped through the newly-made opening, with Skids, Whirl, Chromedome, and Cyclonus following him. Once they were all gone, Tailgate looked at Rung inquiringly.

    "What's breath?"

    Rung shook his head. "Probably another Earthism. He says them a lot." 

*  *  *

    The security cameras had been disabled, as were the alarms. The machines had been shut down, their work unfinished. The relative information had been removed from the records. Everything was in place. Now it was time to finish the job.

    His gaze fixed on the glowing blue spark of Optronix, Brainstorm drew his gun and took aim....

    "Not so fast, Stormy."

    The rogue Autobot froze, his finger resting on the trigger. He then turned his head to see Rodimus, Skids, Chromedome, Whirl, and Cyclonus standing before him, guns raised.

    "End of the line," Rodimus said with his trademark grin.

    "Is it?" Brainstorm replied. "All I need to do is apply a bit more pressure to the trigger, then boom. I win. So please, enlighten me: how exactly do you intend to stop me?"

    "Having you gloat like a cliche villain seems to be working," Skids said wryly.

    "Ha! As if a genius such as I would fall for the oldest trick in the--"

    Before he could finish, Skids lunged forwards and swept his legs under Brainstorm's feet, tripping the rogue Autobot. He quickly recovered and caught Skids' fist as it came at his faceplate before delivering a kick to the theoreticians midsection and sending him down to the floor.

    Before any of the others could make a move, Brainstorm retrieved his gun and aimed it again at Optronix's spark. As his finger squeezed the trigger, he turned to give his former crewmates one last look.

    "In the end, you'll thank me for this."

    The gun went off and the universe went with it.

Transformers Regenerated: Lost Light III, Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

--Polyhex, Cycle 8214--

    "All right, I answered all of your questions. Care to answer a few of mine?"

    Sitting atop a crate, Optronix narrowed his eyes at Rodimus. "I'm still not sure if I buy your story about being a special ops unit. I'm sure I would have heard of it."

    "Like I said, Sentinel Prime wanted complete secrecy."

    "I'm one of Prime's most trusted confidants."

    "Not trusted enough, it seems."

    Optronix's optics briefly flared and Rodimus was worried he had touched a nerve circuit there. However, the other mech offered no retort and instead said, "Fine. Ask away."

    "What are you doing here in Polyhex?"

    "We received reports of criminal activity around this sector, specifically at this warehouse. We had just started a stakeout when... all of this happened."

    "I see. Sorry for the disruption, then," Rodimus said.

    "Ah, forget about it. Right now we have a rogue Autobot to catch and a comrade to save."

    Rodimus glanced at the others before saying, "Uh, yeah, about that. If it's all the same to you, I think it would be best if my team and I handled this ourselves."

    "Dion is our teammate," Whirlwind said defiantly. "It's our responsibility to rescue him."

    "I understand, but our quarry is a very dangerous 'bot-- not to mention our responsibility-- and we don't want anything happening to you guys."

    "We've been through worse than this," Lockout said as he patched up the wound in his side, which Brainstorm had dealt him.

    "Even so, I don't think Sentinel Prime would be please if he heard we had lost his favorite Autobot."

    Optronix seemed to consider this for a moment as he rubbed his chin. Finally, he said, "Very well. If Prime gave you orders to do this mission on your own, then we're not going to interfere."

    "Good." Rodimus smiled. "Let's shake on it."

    Once the two teams had all shaken hands (and Chromedome had wiped Optronix's teams' memories), the Time Team activated their control device and vanished from the warehouse.

*  *  *

    Dion awoke to find himself in a dark room, hooked up to a recharge slab. He tried to move, but something was holding him down; whether it was stasis cuffs or an inhibitor claw doing the work, he could not tell.

    Out of the corner of his optic, he caught movement and he was able to crane his head enough to see the teal mech who had kidnapped him, yellow optics glowing in the shadows.

    "What do you want from me?" Dion croaked.

    "Answers," was the cold reply. "Give them to me and I'll spare your life."

    "You won't get me to talk."

    "You will. You must. The future depends on it."

    "I don't know anything you'd be interested in."

    "You do. I know you do." The turquoise mech suddenly twitched his head but he quickly recovered his composure. "When was Optronix born?"

    "Why do you want to know?"

    "Answer me." The harshness in his interrogator's voice caused Dion to wince and for the words to practically spill out of his mouth.

    "Cycle 8114."

    Silence briefly fell over the room. Then, the stranger said, "Thank you for your cooperation." He then drew out a gun and aimed it at Dion's head. The Autobot's optics widened.

    "You said you would let me live!"

    "I did, and I will. This gun will erase your memories and you will be sent back to your friends as a different person, under a different name. You won't remember me or anything of your past life. You will be born anew."

    "Don't I get a say in this?" Dion demanded.

    "No. Because it's already been done."

    The gun went off and Dion's mind went with it.

--Nyon, Cycle 8204--

    "Any idea where Brainstorm's jumped to now, Percy?" Rodimus asked as he stood out on the night-time streets of Nyon.

    "Don't call me that, and no, not yet. The hyper-drive hasn't much energy left, so it's becoming harder to pinpoint his exact location. Where are you now?"

    "In Nyon, ten years back from where we were. I was playing on a hunch that Brainstorm was using some sort of pattern-- ten years, then a hundred, then a thousand."

    "Right. Well, I suggest that you stay where you are so to preserve some energy. I'll call you when I've found him-- and for spark's sake, don't interfere with anything this time."

    Rodimus snorted to himself. "Easier said than done when you've got someone like Whirl on your team."

*  *  *

    For the first time in forever, WALL-E felt nervous to be with EVE.

    There the two of them sat, sharing a table at a bar with Skids, Chromedome, Rewind, Rung, and Tailgate. Cyclonus was sitting by himself in a corner while Whirl was at the counter, chatting with shady-looking 'bots. The other Autobots seemed to either be absorbed with their conversations and drinks, so it was just him and her.

    Furtively glancing at her, WALL-E racked his processor for something to say. Despite all appearances, this EVE was not the one he knew; this EVE had been through things the original had not experienced and worked for beings the original did not know. He was at an utter loss for words; what could he possibly say to her?

    To his surprise, he was relieved of that worry when EVE turned to look at him, her blue eyes briefly glimmering in a way he had always attributed to the original.

    "So," she said quietly. "Your EVE. What was she like?"

    Once the shock of actually being spoken to by this EVE had worn off, WALL-E thought for a moment. "She was... nice, of course. Caring-- very caring-- and loving. Loyal. Trusting."

    "So, basically the complete opposite of me."

    WALL-E shrunk away slightly. "I... wasn't going to go there."

    "No, no. It's fine." EVE let out a sound akin to a wistful sigh. "I'm sure the EVE you knew and loved is still buried somewhere in my CPU, but I doubt there's any hope of getting her back-- unless we stop this Brainstorm."

    WALL-E twiddled his fingers. "I suppose you could try... being like her."

    "But it's not in my programming to feel."

    "Nor was it in my Ee-vah's. I'm sure if she could find a way to break from her directive, so can you."

    EVE looked at him with drooping crescent eyes. "You... really think so?"

    "I know so." Taking a huge risk, he took her hand in his. "Because I believe in you."

    EVE looked down curiously at their intertwined fingers, as if finding this action a strange but insightful one. She then curved her eyes upward into a smile as she tightened the grip between their hands.

    "This is... this is nice."

    "Yeah," WALL-E said quietly. "Yes, it is. We used to do this... quite a bit. We'd hold hands while resting on top of my truck, staring at the moon while our song played. It was... quite nice."

    "I bet." EVE turned her head away from him, suddenly finding it difficult to look at him. She then glanced down at his chest and noticed a green glow emitting from his chamber. "What's that?" she asked. 

    "Huh? Oh, this." WALL-E opened his chest compartment to reveal the green spark he had found in the Alyon region. "I found this sprouting out of the ground. I have no idea what it is or what it does, but it might make a nice souvenir for when I get back to my time. If I do."

    EVE continued to stare at the spark with wide-eyed curiosity before saying, "Do you mind I take a closer look?"

    "Sure thing," WALL-E said as he removed the spark from his compartment and handed it to EVE. Just as she held it up closer to her face, a loud crash sounded and, startled, the probe bot quickly hid the spark within her own chamber.

    However, if anyone had noticed the spark, their attentions were now diverted to Whirl as he stood over a dull-colored mech, waving his claws in a threatening manner.

    "You wanna say that to me again, punk?!" the ex-Wrecker screamed. "You wanna poke fun at me again?! Well, c'mon! Do it again and I'll rip both of your optics out!"

    "Hey, relax off of Crossbar here," said a brutish green and purple mech, accompanied by a white one. "He didn't mean no harm."

    "Oh, but he asked for it! He had it coming with that little 'one-eye' remark of his!"

    "Careful, pal," said the white brute. "We've got friends in high places. You wouldn't want us as your enemies."

    "High places, huh?" Whirl's single optic flared. "I bet I can show you high places."

    The green mech snorted. "Hear that, Dogma? This 'bot thinks he can--"

    The thug was abruptly cut off by a kick delivered to his mid-section. He retaliated by grabbing Whirl by the shoulders and throwing him into a table. The ex-Wrecker quickly recovered and lunged at the thug, pommeling him in the face. Dogma moved to his partner's rescue, but the green thug waved him off.

    "No. This one is mine."

    "You sure, Rapture? He seems pretty--"

    "Please. It's been years since I've had a good challenge."

    And so the brawl resumed, with tables and chairs flying everywhere. It came to a quick-end however when Whirl delivered a headbutt into Rapture to disorient him while jamming a table leg into his midsection. Dogma started to lunge at Whirl only to receive a metal canister to the face, knocking him out. Just as Whirl returned his attention to Rapture, Skids grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him away.

    "That's enough," Skids said sternly. "It was amusing at first, but now you've gone too far. It's probably time we left."

    "I'm not finished yet," Whirl said in an eerily low tone.

    "You've had your fun, now let's go."

    "I'm. Not. Finished. Yet."

    "Whirl, he's taken enough of a beating. If you do any more damage, it could kill him."

    "Oh, so you're taking his side? Why would that be a bad thing?"

    "Because a hundred years from now," Skids said in low tone, "he'll be one of the thugs who captured Councilor Avalon at Rodion. Chromedome said so in our story session. So if you kill him now--"

    "All right, all right, I get it." Whirl pointed a claw at the confused Rapture as he turned to leave with Skids. "Consider this your lucky day."

    The thug simply stared in bewilderment as the time travelers exited the bar.

Transformers Regenerated: Lost Light III, Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

--Cybertron, Alyon, the past--

    "Rodimus, Brainstorm's--"

    "I know. We saw him." Rodimus sighed as he looked back towards the others. Rung had just finished transporting the last of the sparks and everyone was ready to part ways. "Do you know where he's jumped to?"

    "Let me check," Perceptor said over the Time Phone. After a moment, he responded, "A hundred years from your current time: Cycle 8214, in Polyhex."

    "Got it. We'll be on our way."

    After ending the call, Rodimus returned to the others and stepped up to Magnum. "I suppose we'll be on our way now; we've got a rogue Autobot to catch."

    "No kidding," Magnum said as he offered his hand to Rodimus. "I wish you good luck again, and here's to hoping our paths cross again."

    Rodimus simply smiled as he shook Magnum's hand before doing the same with Padlock and the others. The rest of the Time Team proceeded to do the same, with Chromedome being the last. Once all five Elite Guardsmen had had their memories wiped of the whole encounter, the time machine activated again and the travelers were off.

--Cybertron, Polyhex, 1,600 years ago--

    "Man, can you believe it? This is my first stakeout! I've always wanted to be on a stakeout and here I am on a stakeout and--"

    "Dion?"

    "Yeah, Whirlwind?"

    "Shut up."

    The orange and blue mech huffed to himself. "Sorry. Just... nerves."

    "I understand, but this is supposed to be a stealth mission," Whirlwind replied. "'Stealth' as in 'quiet.' You talking your face off doesn't constitute as quiet."

    Dion nodded as he slumped down. "You're right. I'll shut up."

    Not a moment had passed when the young Autobot broke his promise. "So, any activity yet?"

    "Not yet." Leaning against the rooftop, Whirlwind lowered a magnification visor over her optics as she surveyed the abandoned warehouse down below. "I'm starting to think the info Wheezel gave us is--"

    Before she could finish her sentence, she caught a flash of light emitting from the building. Whirlwind immediately got to her feet and reached for her comlink.

    "Commander? This is Whirlwind. I just saw a flash of light at the warehouse."

    "So did we. Lockout and I are going to go investigate. You and Dion stay put."

    "Understood. And, commander?"

    "Yes?"

    "Be careful."

    "Heh. I'll try."

*  *  *

    "Forget Rodion; this is where memory lane really begins."

    "You lived in Polyhex?" Chromedome asked.

    "I was born in Polyhex," Whirl said as he led Chromedome and Rewind through the deserted streets of the city, scouting out for their quarry. "This was also where I ran my watchmaking business."

    "You were a watchmaker?"

    "It was back when I had hands, obviously. After I got bored with the Aerial Corps, I opened up a business right here in Polyhex."

    "What happened?" Rewind asked.

    "Well, a hundred years prior, some of the local criminal efforts demanded a cut of my profits. When I refused, they sicced the Heavies on me and trashed my business. I was left destitute, unsure what to do with my life... until one of the High Council's enforcers approached me with a job."

    "So you were one of their thugs," Chromedome said bitterly. "How am I not surprised."

    "I didn't enjoy it, believe it or not," Whirl retorted. "Even I have lines that I won't ever cross. And when I refused to do one job... they used the empurata ritual on me."

    "Wait," Rewind said. "You mean the High Council were the ones who made you a cyclops?"

    "You think I'd do this to myself?" Whirl snapped at him. "Anyway, I eventually got myself a job in the Rodion Security Force before ending up on the Wreckers-- and for once in my life, I actually found myself feeling happy. Then Springer gave me the boot and--"

    The blue Autobot suddenly stopped in his tacks, his single optic staring straight ahead. There, at the end of the street, was an old, derelict warehouse, standing on its very last hinges.

    "Memory lane," Whirl murmured to himself. "Taken quite literally."

*  *  *

    Lockout moved carefully on his servos as he and his commander approached the abandoned warehouse. He could hear what sounded like movement coming from inside, as well as what he thought was a gun cocking. He glanced at Optronix, who had his optics trained on a side door.

    "When I give the signal, we move in."

    Lockout nodded as he readied his blaster rifle. Optronix then began counting down from five; when he reached zero, Lockout kicked the door and charged in. Before he could even demand to see any hands up in the air, a plasma bolt shot directly into his chest and he fell to the floor.

    "Lockout!" Optronix cried. He charged in after his comrade and fired at the assailant, only to receive two shots to the chest.

    As the Autobot commander collapsed as well, Brainstorm slowly walked up to him and aimed a gun at his head....

*  *  *

    Upon hearing the sound of gunfire, Whirl and the other two hurried towards the warehouse, while Chromedome radioed Rodimus and the rest. Just as they reached the building however, a shout sounded from above and all three Autobots looked up to see a green and blue femme descending from a rooftop, followed shortly by an orange and blue mech.

    "Don't move a piston," the former said as she brandished a pair of blades. "State your business here."

    "We heard gunshots," Chromedome said. "We came here to investigate."

    "Civilians have no business in--"

    "We're special ops. We have every business."

    The femme eyed them carefully. "We already have the situation under control."

    Another gunshot rang from the building.

    "Evidently not," Whirl said wryly.

    Gritting her dental plates, the green Autobot brushed past them and barged into the warehouse, with Chromedome and the rest close behind her.

    Inside, they found two mechs splayed out on the floor-- Chromedome recognized one of them as Optronix-- and Brainstorm standing over the both of them, a gun aimed at the future Megatron's head. Upon noticing the new arrivals, Brainstorm drew a second gun and fired it at them.

    The green Autobot dodged the attack before launching herself at the rogue scientist. The two collided and went tumbling to the floor, allowing Optronix to get back to his feet. His optics immediately fell on Whirl.

    "You," he muttered.

    "Me," Whirl said. "What, have we met?"

    "I thought I arrested you a few deca-cycles ago."

    Whirl's mind raced for a response. "Uh, day release. High-ups are short-handed at the moment. They need someone that no one will miss if something bad happens."

    Before Optronix could say anything, Dion ran past them and towards Brainstorm, who had Whirlwind trapped in a head-lock. Deploying a pair of arm-mounted laser blades, he lunged at the mad scientist and slashed him across the shoulder. Releasing Whirlwind, Brainstorm retaliated by grabbing Dion by the neck and hoisting him off his feet. The rogue Autobot then threw him into a wall with enough force to knock him offline.

    Optronix cried out his comrade's name as Brainstorm picked Dion's body back up. The Elite Guardsman was about to run to Dion's rescue when Brainstorm activated his briefcase and vanished in a flash of light.

    Not long after, Rodimus and the rest of the team came running into the warehouse. Upon seeing Optronix and his teammates-- but no sign of Brainstorm-- Rodimus frowned.

    "Is this a bad time?"

Transformers Regenerated: Lost Light III, Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

--Cybertron, Alyon region, the past--

    While Rodimus and Magnum discussed their plan to save the sparks, Chromedome sat away from the others atop a metal formation, tinkering with his hand. In the skies above, Whirl, Cyclonus, and EVE scouted out for Brainstorm while Skids, Tailgate, and WALL-E explored down below. Only Rewind sat with him, watching his partner carefully.

    "What are you doing?" the archivist asked.

    "I'm modifying my mnemosurgery needles. When we leave, I'll need to wipe Magnum and the others' memories of their encounter with us. A simple handshake will wipe out the last few sub-cycles of their memories. It will be as if we had never been here."

    Rewind sighed. "I know I would normally object, but from what Skids has told me, time travel is very risky business, so it might be fore the best. Although...."

    "What is it?" Chromedome asked.

    "I was just thinking; maybe with the briefcase we can find out what happened to Dominus."

    "Then what? Are you going to try to change things so that Dominus never left? So that we never met?"

    "No. No, of course not. I would never... why would I do that?"

    "I know you, Rewind-- better than anyone, in fact. You say you won't do one thing, but in the heat of the moment, you'll act without thinking and do something without considering the consequences."

    Rewind looked away from him, casting his gaze to his feet instead. "Ridiculous."

    "We'll talk about this later," Chromedome said as he got up. "Right now. We've got more pressing matters to attend to."

    "Right, of course," Rewind murmured. "Always something more important."

*  *  *

    EVE was all that stood between Whirl and his objective.

    The three fliers-- him, EVE, and Cyclonus-- had taken a break from their aerial search for Brainstorm and had stopped at the top of a rock formation, which hung over a bottomless chasm... and Cyclonus was standing at the very edge. The opportunity was ripe. The only problem was EVE.

    From the few hours he had gotten to know her, Whirl had since taken EVE for a miniature Ultra Magnus: stiff, rule-abiding, a major pain in the afterburner... if he were to pull something now, she would no doubt go flying to Rodimus. He had to remove her somehow-- without killing, of course.

    Moving as discreetly as possible-- at least so Cyclonus wouldn't notice-- Whirl inched over to EVE. As the probe bot looked up at him, the ex-Wrecker said, "I think I hear your sparkmate calling for you."

    "What's a sparkmate?"

    "A mate who's close to the spark. Then again, you and WALL-E don't have sparks, do you? More like power cores. But, anyway, yeah, I hear him calling you."

    EVE rolled her eyes as she turned away. "I don't hear anything."

    "Maybe my audio receptors are better than yours."

    "I very much doubt--"

    "At the very least, shouldn't you go check on him?"

    "I don't think--"

    "What are you two talking about?"

    Whirl screamed loudly as he spun around, whipping out his guns, only to see it was Cyclonus. If it weren't for EVE being right there, he probably would have pulled the trigger instead of just putting away his weapons.

    "Just stuff," Whirl said, sticking his head up haughtily. "Super cool stuff that you wouldn't understand."

    Cyclonus narrowed his optics as he eyed one of the guns Whirl had just holstered. "That gun you have. You didn't have it before on Luna 1."

    "Aw, I'm flattered that you noticed," Whirl said in a mocking tone. "I got it from Brainstorm's armory right before we left. But don't tell Rodimus, okay? Both of you. It might upset him."

    Cyclonus continued to stare at him strangely but decided to drop the subject, instead saying, "Let's continue our search. I'm picking up some sort of readings in the east."

    "Whatever you say, horn-head," Whirl replied as he and EVE followed the ex-Herald.

*  *  *

    "So once Landshark has dug up a deep enough hole in the center of the hot spot, your friend with the eyebrows will use our teleporter, using some juice from your teleporter, to teleport all of the sparks to a facility in Nyon?"

    "That about sums up my plan," Rodimus said.

    Magnum looked at the hot spot for a moment. "And you're certain it'll work."

    "It may take a few trips, but yes. With our teleporters combined, it'll have a decent-enough range."

    "And why again are you sending the skinny guy with the eyebrows?" Padlock asked doubtfully.

    "'Cause he's the most unassuming 'bot you'd find," Rodimus said. "No one will even notice him popping out of thin air. No offense, Rung."

    "None taken," the psychiatrist replied.

    "In that case, Landshark should stay with you while underground," Magnum said. "We wouldn't want you getting crushed by rubble."

    Rung smiled. "Believe me, it wouldn't be the first time it's happened."

    "Right." Magnum then beckoned Landshark over. "Do your magic," the commander said.

    Landshark nodded as he raised his fists. Before he brought them down, he said, "You guys might wanna stand back; these aren't called shock gauntlets for nothing."

    The others heeded his warning, keeping clear of him as he brought his arms down. This generated a seismic wave and created a weak point in the middle of the ground. He then proceeded to dig away, throwing huge chunks of rock this way and that. As the others watched him, Rung sidled up to Rodimus and looked up at him.

    "Have you talked with Perceptor about using power from the time machine?"

    "Yes, I have," Rodimus replied. "He said it will still drain some juice from the hyper-drive, but not as much as a normal time jump would. We should be in the clear."

    "And if someone does notice me popping up in Nyon?"

    Rodimus snorted. "Trust me, I lived there my whole life before enlisting, and the 'bots there wouldn't notice a Chompazoid unless it ate their city."

    After several minutes, Landshark had dug up a deep enough pit. He then looked up towards the others and waved.

    "All right, eyebrows. Let's do this thing."

*  *  *

    "So, who's the Megatron to your Optimus Prime?"

    Skids turned to give Tailgate a bemused look as the two of them and WALL-E patrolled the region. "Pardon?"

    "C'mon, let's play the Nemesis Game. Who's your arch-enemy? Whirl's is Killmaster."

    "Oh, right. Uh... Misfire."

    "Misfire?" Tailgate tilted his head. "Isn't he the Decepticon who can't shoot straight? What did he ever do to you?"

    "Oh, terrible things. Awful things. I don't wanna talk about it."

    WALL-E decided to not pay any further attention to the two Autobots' discussion, for something had just caught his eye. Rolling over to it, he saw that it was a field of glowing blue orbs; a hot spot like the one they had discovered on Luna 1. But unlike the hot spot on the lost moon, this one had a green spark sticking out of the ground. Did that make it different from the others, he wondered?

    He looked over his shoulder to beckon Skids and Tailgate, but saw that they were still deep in conversation. Looking back at the spark, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Deploying the laser built between his eyes, he moved it around the surrounding metal and caused the spark to pop out. He then gently picked it up and, opening his chest flap, placed it in the chamber within.

    Just as he was about to head back to the other two, he heard a voice shout out, "Incoming!"

    All three robots looked up in alarm as a turquoise fighter shot over them, followed closely by EVE, Cyclonus, and Whirl. Skids immediately moved into action, all of his guns deployed. 

    "He's headed for the hot spot! After him!"

*  *  *

    "All set, eyebrows?"

    "It's Rung, and yes, the teleporter is set to take eighty percent of the sparks; I'll have to make a second trip to get the rest."

    "Got it," Landshark said. "I'll be waiting for you."

    Rung activated the device and in a flash, he was gone, taking most of the sparks with him. Not long after he had left, Landshark heard shouts coming from above, followed by blaster fire. Before he could go see what was going on, a light blue jet flew into the pit he had just made and rammed into him, knocking him down to the ground.

    Following in close pursuit were Skids and the fliers, firing their guns at the rogue Autobot. Before any of them could score a hit, the jet glowed and vanished in a similar manner. Not a moment had passed when Rung returned, teleporter still in hand.

    "I'm back. What did I miss?"