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."
"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...."
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