CHAPTER FIVE
--The Lost Light--
Dealer blew out a sigh of relief once his ship had docked in the hangar bay. He was finally in the clear; away from the Secret Order's wrath and in the safe hands of the Secret Service. He couldn't wait to see the look on Prowl's face when he told him what he had found out.
Rising from the pilot seat, he started to head down for the ramp only to stop when he saw the six capsules lined up down the corridor, placed there by Vivisector before he had taken the ship. Dealer wondered what was in them and why the scientist thought them important enough to take with him.
Eh, it can wait, he eventually decided. As long as they stay safe and sound here, I'm sure it won't be--
Before he could finish that thought, an unsettling realization came over him. All of the capsules had glowing canopies to indicate whatever was inside them was secured... except for one. There was one canopy that wasn't glowing -- it wasn't even there at all. Shards of glass were scattered on the floor.
Whatever had been in the capsule had broken out. And it was on the this ship.
With him.
Dealer did not even hesitate when he decided to run like heck.
* * *
Red Alert stood approximately twenty feet away from the ship that had just docked. With him was his selected security detail -- consisting of Aquafend, Strafe, Deftwing, and Powerflash -- and they all waited patiently and cautiously for the owner of the ship to step down.
His hand tight around the trigger of his gun, Red Alert counted the minutes as they passed. The more time went by, the more nervous he became. The ramp should have lowered by ow. What was taking so long?
"I don't like this," he muttered to himself. "I've got a really bad feeling about this."
"Hey, relax," Strafe assured him, holding his two orange guns readily. "Maybe something came up that he had to take care of, like a ship malfunction, or a--"
Without warning, the ramp finally dropped down and a blue and gray mech came running out. Startled, Strafe yelled out and fired his guns at the mech, hitting him square in the chest. Collapsing onto his knees, the robot looked up at the Autobot with a furious expression.
"You glitchhead! I'm on your side!"
Ignoring him, Red Alert trained his gun on him. "Identify yourself," he demanded.
"Agent C-308, alias Dealer."
"Dealer?" Red Alert narrowed his eyes. "As in Doubledealer?"
"...Yes? I don't see how that's--" The color went from the mech's face as the realization settled in. "Wait... you're not Secret Service."
"Like Pit I am." Making sure his gun was set to stun, Red Alert was about to pull the trigger when something else came down the ramp. The other Autobots pointed their guns at the new figure... and collectively gasped. Red Alert lifted his gaze from Dealer and felt his mouth fall open.
Standing there on the edge of the ramp was Megatron, silver and black armor plating gleaming as if it just came off the factory line. Red optics blazing with rage, he raised his arm-mounted cannon and prepared to fire....
--Outpost Two--
"The Wreckers? Here?!"
"That's what I've heard!" Vivisector shouted over the blaring alarms as he headed for the shuttle bay with Oil Slick, along with other panicked Decepticons. "Magnificus doesn't even want to risk a fight with them and has ordered a full-scale evacuation."
"Well, it's good to know he has his head on straight," Oil Slick muttered. "Can you imagine if we were at Outpost Three? We would probably all--"
A loud agonizing cry cut the scientist off, causing him and Vivisector to look behind them. A Decepticon was on his knees, a gaping hole in his chest, and behind him was a very short Autobot in yellow and dark gray carrying a massive gun. His blue optics calmly moved from the mech he had just killed and to the stunned Decepticons standing before him.
"Don't worry," he said. "This only takes a few seconds to recharge. I'll get to you guys eventually."
Vivisector and the others certainly did not hesitate in continuing to flee.
* * *
"Are you sure it was a good idea to leave Guzzle by himself?"
Kup spared a brief glance at his companion as he worked on opening the locked door. "Why do ya ask, kid?"
"I dunno." Ironfist shrugged. "He just seems a little... bloodthirsty. I mean, I'm all for shooting Decepticons, but he takes it to the extreme."
Kup grunted over the cy-gar he was chewing. "You've clearly never seen Roadbuster in action. You don't know what extreme is until you've watched him."
"Oh, I've heard the stories. The Roadbuster affair of Cycle 9624, the capture of Protoform X... I actually have a datalog devoted to all of his escapades."
Kup paused in his work to look over his shoulder at the rookie Wrecker. "Huh," he grunted. "Guess Springer wasn't kidding when he said you were a Wrecker aficionado."
Ironfist's optics went wide. "He said that? Springer? He said that about me?"
"Yes. You can thank him once we're done. Now keep it down while I try and get this door." Kup continued to operate the door's control panel while Ironfist stood guard. Moments later, the door finally slid open and Kup beckoned Ironfist to follow him in.
Inside the room, the two Wreckers found rows upon rows of ovoid capsules, all containing gray, featureless figures, their fragile robotic frames covered with thin metal. In all their chests was a wide, circular crevice, in which a blue light glowed. Kup frowned as he looked upon this while Ironfist tilted his head in confusion.
"Are those...?"
"Protoforms," Kup confirmed. "I don't know how in the blazes these 'Cons got 'em, but I don't think I want to know what they're plannin' on doin' with 'em."
"So many of them too," Ironfist murmured. "How are we going to get them all onto the Xantium?"
"We can't," Kup said sharply. "We didn't come here on a rescue mission, lad. We're just here to find out what these 'Cons are up to and show our findings to Prowl."
"But... we can't just leave them."
"I'm sure someone will be sent to retrieve them once we're done here." Stepping up to one of the stasis pods, Kup explored its exterior, trying to find any sort of label or marking that would indicate its purpose. When he found none, he turned back to Ironfist -- and immediately cringed as his olfactory sensors detected a foul smell.
"Agh, motherboard of Primon! What is that?"
"What's what?" Ironfist took a moment to pick up the putrid smell himself. When he did, he reacted in similar fashion."Oh god. That's... that's nasty."
"Guess the 'Cons don't know anythin' 'bout good hygiene. Have they got Horri-Bull working here?"
"Me no am horrible! Me am great!"
Both Autobots whirled at the sound of the voice and pointed their guns in its direction. From behind one of the pods appeared a broad-shouldered mech colored in an eye-searing shade of yellow and purple. Corrosive sludge leaked out from his crevices and a rancid smell emitted from his vents. Red optics glowed from behind a faceplate which, combined with his winged helmet, reminded the two Wreckers of Optimus Prime.
"Okay, punk, who the scrap are you?" Kup asked, keeping his rifle trained on the mech. "Better yet, what are you?"
"Me am Toxitron! Me am greatest Autobot of all!"
"Autobot, eh?" Kup squinted his eyes and saw that there was indeed a red Autobot badge on Toxitron's chest, albeit covered in slime. "Well, that's good to know, if you're one of us. How did you come to be stuck here?"
"Me was not stuck! Me was died here!"
"Okaaaay." Kup exchanged a glance with Ironfist before looking back at Toxitron. "Anyway, we're on a mission here. If you think you can lend a hand, that'd be swell."
"No!" Toxitron exclaimed eagerly. "Me can lend two hands!"
"Um, that's great." Ironfist then glanced at Kup, cocking his head. "I don't know about you," he murmured, "but I don't think this guy's mentally stable enough to help us in a fight."
Before Kup could reply, all three mechs heard a voice call from outside.
"Hello? Is anyone in here? The base is being evac--"
Kup only got a glimpse of the Decepticon before his view was obstructed by Toxitron, who charged at the teal mech and started tearing away. Circuits and armor went flying everywhere, causing even the hardened Kup to flinch while Ironfist simply stared in wide-eyed shock. When he was done, all that was left of the Decepticon was a skeletal structure missing both legs and an arm.
Kup took out his cy-gar and flaked off bits of residual energon. "I don't think mental stability is a requirement with us."
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