CHAPTER ONE
--The Lost Light, docked at Hedonia--
Rodimus let out an exasperated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. In his hand was a glass of engex (his fifth of the day) and with him at the meeting table were Ultra Magnus, Emirate Xaaron, Animus, and Trailbreaker-- the latter three making up the Ethics Committee that used to run Kimia Facility.
"Okay, let's recap what's just happened, 'cos I know not everyone knows the facts. So, one day, Brainstorm walks into Swerve's bar, spikes the drinks to make everyone pass out, and then opens his briefcase. Turns out his briefcase is part of a time machine and he goes back in time to kill Megatron. More on that later.
"Meanwhile, a tiny robot called WALL-E appears on our ship, so we go into the future, only to find that the future's been changed and the Functionists now rule Cybertron. From information gathered in this future, we at first theorize that Brainstorm's gone back in time to kill Sentinel Prime and make a time machine of our own to chase after him through the time stream.
"Along the way, however, we discover that it's actually Megatron-- or Optronix, I should say-- that Brainstorm's after, and we finally come to a stand still at the very place of our favorite despot's construction. Despite our best efforts, Brainstorm succeeds in extinguishing Optronix's spark and... nothing happens.
"'Cos guess what? During one of our time trips, WALL-E and his sparkmate stumbled across a newborn spark and had it with them the entire time. So by placing that spark in the sparkless body of Optronix, that basically made them Megatron's progenitors. I'll let that sink in for a moment."
The lack of a response was enough for Rodimus and he continued on.
"So with that part of his plan foiled, Brainstorm actually does go further back to take out Sentinel Prime and we find out there that Stormy is actually a Headmaster and he sends his little minion to blow up Sentinel. That's when WALL-E's sparkmate flew in and took him out and everything played out as it was supposed to: no Functionists, Megatron rises to power, etcetera, etcetera. We then find Brainstorm's original head in his lab before throwing him into the brig, and that's where we're at."
"Well," Emirate Xaaron said after a prolonged silence. "That's certainly a lot to take in, and it makes for an interesting case to handle. Has Brainstorm said anything about his motives for doing all of this?"
"He's hardly spoken at all," Ultra Magnus said. "The last time I tried to talk to him, he said he was only willing to talk to Chromedome or Nautica."
"Why those two?" Animus asked.
"Because they're the only ones he considers his friends."
"In that case," Xaaron said, "we should send one of them in to get his side of the story and perhaps serve as his defense."
"I'll call Nautica first," Ultra Magnus said. "From what I've seen, she's worked closely with Brainstorm and might understand him better than most."
"Alrighty then," Rodimus said. "So with that settled, there's another matter I would like to address: Boltax."
Xaaron raised an optic ridge. "The High Circuitmaster?"
"We encountered him in the altered timeline, but has anyone actually met him in reality? I always thought he was a myth."
"No, he was very much real. He served as one of Sentinel Prime's advisers during the First War and early on into the Golden Age. However, Sentinel ceased communication with him and no one has seen Boltax since."
"Huh," Rodimus said. "Well, that's something. Did anyone else besides Sentinel know him?"
"Boltax was a rather secluded being," Xaaron said. "Many would come to him in the quest for knowledge, but he would only grant it to those he saw worthy of it. Dai Atlas was one such Cybertronian, as well as Yoketron and Alpha Trion... oh, and Thunderclash, of course."
Rodimus' expression suddenly became sour. "Thunderclash?"
"Not that it should come as much of a surprise, considering he held the Matrix for both Sentinel and Optimus Prime, as well as rediscover Caminus--"
"Right, okay, meeting dismissed." Rodimus got up from his seat and strode for the door. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my quarters. Let me know when the trial starts."
The door quickly hissed shut behind him, leaving a silent room in his wake.
Revving quietly, Xaaron said, "Did I... touch a nerve circuit there?"
Ultra Magnus sighed. "You have no idea."
* * *
"Hey."
Brainstorm lifted his gaze from the floor of his cell. Standing outside was Nautica, who pressed a control panel which retracted the energy bars. She then stepped into the cell and sat down next to him.
"I came to talk with you," she said.
"Have you?" Brainstorm bitterly replied. "I bet I know what's coming."
"Why did you do it?" she asked. "Why did you put the entire universe at risk by trying to alter time?"
"I was trying to save the universe. I was trying to fix all of the damage our war had done to other worlds, trying to prevent the fates they didn't deserve."
"And what motivated you to do that?"
Brainstorm paused before speaking. "Ten years into the war, I was assigned to Nebulos. During my stay there, I became acquainted with a Nebulan called Arcana, who shared my love for exotic inventions. One of our first experiments together was reinventing the Headmaster process.
"Four years later, K'th Kinsere fell to the Decepticons...." Brainstorm trailed off for a moment before looking at Nautica. "Tell me, have you ever had a Conjunx Endura? Someone you cared for more than anything?"
Nautica shook her head. "No. Why?"
"I lost someone I cared for at K'th Kinsere. His name was Quark. Of course, he never returned my feelings-- probably wasn't even aware of them. But when I heard of his death, I was spurred to something about it and Arcana gave me the idea of time travel.
"It was a long process, of course, lasting the entire war. But with each year that passed, each tragedy that occurred, I was only given more incentive to finish the project. When the war ended, I was actually hesitant to go through with it. But Arcana ultimately pushed me to do so."
Brainstorm fell silent after saying his piece. Nautica stared at him, her blue optics searching his face.
"So you started this all because you lost someone?"
"Well, yeah--"
"You put your own race at risk, all because you lost someone."
"I know it may seem that way--"
"Do you not see how selfish that was?!" she snapped at him. "We've all lost someone we cared about during the war! Windblade lost Yoketron, Blaster lost Scrounge, Livewire lost Strongarm, even Optimus Prime lost his brother! But did any of them lose a gasket and go out for revenge, even if it meant others had to suffer?"
"No, but-- I was trying to fix things--"
"You wouldn't have fixed anything!" Without thinking, Nautica struck Brainstorm across the face with her hand, which dislodged his mouthplate and sent it clattering to the floor. Realizing what she had just done, Nautica opened her mouth to apologize... until she glanced at the mouthplate on the floor.
And saw what was painted on the interior.
She looked back at Brainstorm and their optics met. Before the latter could even speak, Nautica got up in a huff and stormed out of the cell, letting the energy bars reappear behind her. Left alone again, Brainstorm picked up his faceplate and stared solemnly at the Decepticon emblem painted within....
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