CHAPTER FOUR
--Unidentified Titan--
"...And that's the situation so far."
Rodimus did not say anything at first once Rung had finished relaying everything to him and the others whom had just awoken from stasis. Rubbing his chin, he glanced warily at Pharma -- who was supposedly Ratchet in Pharma's body -- and then at Minimus Ambus, who had somehow lost his Magnus Armor -- supposedly to Pharma in Ratchet's body. If he was being honest with himself, this all sounded like one big joke. But since it was coming from Rung and Minimus -- both bots he trusted -- then he really had no reason to not believe them.
Well, except for one thing.
"How do I know Pharma isn't mind-controlling you to say this scrap?" Rodimus asked.
Rung looked up at Possibly-Ratchet, who simply affixed Rodimus with an impassive look.
"What's up, doc?"
Rodimus blinked. "Huh?"
"First thing you said to me, after I dragged your sorry chassis to the medbay after the assault on Theta Palos. I nearly tossed you back into the Gorge."
A small smile crossed Rodimus' face. "You also told me if I ever called you doc again, you'd find a way to make me contract corrodia gravis."
"That warning is still effective, mind you," Ratchet said. "A thousand years makes zero difference."
"Great. Now that we have all that settled...." Froid stepped forward, crossing his arms as he looked at Rodimus and the rest. "I suggest we figure out where in the blazes are we. It's been nearly two hours since that orange mech was here and I'm just about tired of waiting."
"I have to agree," Velocity said, worriedly looking up from the offline Swerve. "This bot is fading fast. I'm not sure how much longer he has."
Ratchet cursed to himself, at a complete loss. The mech had told them to stay here, even making it sound like a warning, as if they'd die by leaving. But at the same time, Swerve himself was dying. Would it be worth the risk to leave the chamber to save one single bot in peril?
It only took him a moment to realize that someone else had already made up their mind on that dilemma, when he saw that Skids was nowhere to be found.
* * *
While sneaking through the hallways of places he knew nothing about was not something he wished to make a habit of, it was nevertheless a compulsion Skids could not ignore. With Swerve's life being on the line, he was determined to get to the bottom of whatever was going on here.
The sound of voices led him into a long hallway, down which he could see a door, open by a crack. As he carefully treaded across the hall, Skids took the time to study the decorations on the walls.
If this was indeed a Titan, then whoever once lived here (or still did) had a love for ancient history and myths. Thanks to his religious upbringing, he recognized carvings of Primus, the Guiding Hand, and other such deities. There were also sculpted representations of every Prime from Prima to Nova; the absence of Nominus to Optimus made Skids suspect that the residents were very far behind the times.
Eventually he came upon the door, to which he slowly crept towards. The voices were louder now and thus more clearer. However, before he could even begin to make anything out, the door swung open and he was sent flying by the force of a sonic cannon, which was mounted on the arm of the same orange winged mech from earlier.
As Skids struggled to recover, he heard the mech say, "See? What did I tell you?"
"Settle down, Sentinel," another voice said as an old mech in blue and red appeared behind him, bearing a "bearded" face Skids found familiar. "Perhaps he meant no harm."
"You don't know that," the one called Sentinel retorted. "By my scans, he's toting weaponry all over his body."
"That doesn't make him an assassin. He was likely just taken over by curiosity."
"Typical Trion," said a third, more effeminate voice, coming from a figure Skids couldn't make out. "Always seeing the bright side of every situation. I say we dump the whole lot of them into--"
"Quiet, Elitus." A fourth, fare more authoritative voice sufficiently silenced the other three and they all bowed their heads. "Bring our new guest in. Let us hear him out."
Reluctantly, Sentinel put his cannon away and walked over to Skids, pulling him to his feet. The blue Autobot was then led into the room, where he found the other three occupants sitting at a table. On the right sat a magenta-armored femme, with a helmet that heavily resembled Elita-One's. On the left was a mech who looked a lot like Alpha Trion, except with a blue and red color scheme that made him think of Ultra Magnus.
Finally, at the end of the table was a massive robot who looked unlike any Skids had seen before. Right away he could tell the mech was a beast-former, going by the purple Tyrannosaurus head on his shoulder. And the red pteranodon wings jutting from either side of his head. And the green shell of another reptilian creature on his left arm. Whatever kind of hellspawn creature he was meant to turn into, Skids wasn't sure he wanted to find out.
As Skids was brought to the table, the beast-former grinned at him, revealing a set of fangs. "My apologies for my friend's reaction. He's a bit jumpy when it comes to surprise visitors."
"As chief of security, such caution is necessary," Sentinel retorted. "At least I used a sonic weapon."
"Okay, everyone shut up," Skids cut in, holding up his hands. "Let's skip the pleasantries and cut to the chase. Where the blazes are we? Who are you freaks? And can you please get my friend to a medbay? I'm pretty sure he's dying."
"Do not worry," the beast-former said. "You are all in good hands. Would you like a seat?"
"No," Skids said curtly. "I want answers. Now."
The Trion-lookalike harrumphed. "Arrogance and impatience will get you nowhere. I see discipline has not improved since I've been gone."
Skids shot him a questioning look but before he could say anything, the beast-former said, "Very well, your questions shall be answered, in the order you've asked them. You are on Carcer."
"Great!" Skids exclaimed, whirling on him. "Except I have no idea what that is!"
"It's a Titan."
"Ah, marvelous! So it's like a Caminus sort of deal, right? A colony world kind of thing?"
"Not exactly. We are currently traveling through space."
"Wonderful." Skids clapped his hands once. "Now then: names."
The beast-former nodded. "I am Magmatron, Beast King of Eukaris. You've already met Sentinel Major. To my left is Elitus, leader of the Carcer colony. To my right, Ultra Trion, keeper of the Oracle."
"Sentinel Major? Ultra Trion?" Skids looked bemusedly between the two mechs in question, rubbing his head. "I know shared names can be common, but you guys both make me think of at least three different bots I already know. And two of them are dead."
A smirk touched Ultra Trion's lips. "There's likely a reason for that... Skids of Nova Cronum."
Skids stared at him, feeling his energon run cold. "How do you know my name?"
Ultra Trion merely raised an optic while Magmatron rose from his seat. "As for your last question: we shall send a team of medics to help your friend now. I'll also have Sentinel leave with you to explain this all to your companions."
"Oh, yeah." Skids glanced at Sentinel warily. "Explaining all of this to them will be a hoot."
Sentinel simply motioned to the door. "Well then. Let's not keep them waiting."
* * *
Magmatron, Elitus, and Ultra Trion watched in silence as Sentinel Major and Skids walked out of the room. Once the door had closed, Magmatron slumped down in his chair. "This complicates things."
"Indeed," Elitus murmured, resting her chin on her hand. "They'll be nothing but a burden to us as we proceed with the agenda."
"Sentinel did say they were in the space bridge chamber," Ultra Trion said. "We could just teleport them someplace else."
Magmatron shook his head. "We cannot afford to use too much of Carcer's power at this point. We're going to need it when we reach Eukaris."
"Then we can dump them on the next planet or moon we come across," Elitus suggested. "They won't put up much of a fight: twenty Autobots and Camiens against a hundred Carcerians? It would be child's play."
Magmatron simply rubbed his chin in thought. Elitus then tilted her head suddenly, a devious smile on her face. "Or... we could use them."
"Use them," Ultra Trion repeated. "For what?"
"I can't be the only one to remember the little artifact we picked up recently. If things go south for us on Eukaris, we could use it on our guests. That way, if it fails or turns them against us, we'll have no qualms in killing them."
"You can't be serious," Trion said. "I don't believe I've ever heard a more savage--"
"I like it," Magmatron said.
Ultra Trion looked at him in disbelief. "What?!"
"I understand your distaste for it, Trion, but recall the words of Prima: The many are greater than the few. If we must sacrifice them to reach our goals, then so be it."
"But--"
"I'm sorry, old friend, but my mind has been made," Magmatron said with finality. "In the end, you will understand."
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