CHAPTER FIVE
--The Lost Light--
"I must admit, I've had warmer welcomes."
Rodimus glared at Protoform X -- or Rampage, as he insisted to be called -- who was confined to a chair by a bent steel beam wrapped around him. The two of them were in Ultra Magnus' office, with Magnus himself (well, Minimus really) and Drift standing behind Rodimus.
"Forgive us for not rolling out the red carpet," Rodimus said dryly. "You're not exactly the most famous of bots. Infamous, maybe."
Rampage laughed, which sounded like metal scratching against metal. "Yes, I've made quite the name for myself, haven't I? I don't blame you for taking caution. I would probably do the same."
"How did you escape Garrus-13?" Minimus asked, folding his arms. "It's supposed to be one of the strongest penal institutions in the galaxy, afters Garrus-9 and 16."
Rampage cocked his head. "Garrus-13? ...Oh. You mean the Floating Fortress."
The three Autobots exchanged confused glances. Drift then looked back at Protoform X. "Answer the question."
"I didn't escape," Rampage said. "I was transferred."
"Transferred?" Minimus repeated. "I'm sure I would have known--"
Rampage suddenly exploded into laughter again, startling the three Autobots. "That's right!" he said in between guffaws. "I forgot. You're Autobots. You wouldn't know."
Rodimus scowled. "Wouldn't know what?"
Rampage was still laughing, shaking his head at his captors' bemusement. "Oh, this is so precious. You would think you'd have caught on by now, but you still don't know. I can't believe this! Ha ha!"
His scowl twisting further with anger, Rodimus grabbed Rampage by the shoulders and pushed him back violently. "What are you talking about? What don't we know?"
Still chuckling, Rampage met his gaze with fierce green optics. "They're called Decepticons for a reason," he said in a low voice. "It's in their name. It's in their motto."
"What do the Decepticons have to do with any of--" Rodimus suddenly stopped and he moved away from Rampage, the realization slowly dawning on him. "Where were you transferred to?" he asked quietly.
Rampage bore his fangs in an approximation of a grin. "A little place called Outpost Two."
"Scrap," Drift muttered while Rodimus turned to Minimus, knowing they were both thinking the same thing.
"Prowl."
--The Acheron--
"Where are you taking me?"
It had only been the second time Cyclonus had asked that question. Like the previous time, Scourge did not answer, keeping his eyes glued to the tunnel of hyperspace before them.
Cyclonus frowned, narrowing his optics. "Why can't you tell me now? Must it wait until we reach our destination?"
"Yes," Scourge said. "Only then will you understand."
Cyclonus glowered at him but did not press the matter further. He knew his former comrade well enough to not pester him. Quiet as he was, Scourge was just as deadly as the rest of the Heralds.
Well, maybe with one exception....
"So!" Sideways said, popping up behind Cyclonus' seat. "Those Autobot friends of yours... how well do you get along with them? Do you actually get along with them or are you just along for the ride?"
"Of course he doesn't get along with them," Scourge scoffed. "They're Autobots. Our sworn enemies. Isn't that right, Cyclonus?"
Cyclonus said nothing.
Sideways tilted her head. "Ah, the sound of silence can speak volumes. I'm thinking our friend here has gone soft."
Scourge glanced at Cyclonus. "Wait. You're not actually friends with any of them, are you?"
"No," Cyclonus said softly.
"Ah, good." Scourge chuckled. "You had me worried there for a second."
"Yeah," Sideways said, optics narrowed as she leaned forward. "We wouldn't want that, would we?"
Cyclonus remained silent for the rest of the journey. He did not know how much time had passed when they finally came out of hyperspace, but it had felt like eons. As the Acheron emerged into realspace, it began to approach a large planet blanketed with dark clouds.
"Where are we?" Cyclonus murmured, considering it now safe to ask.
"Nimbus Five," Scourge replied.
He brought the ship into the planet's atmosphere, cutting through the thick gray clouds, before coming out into a landless opening. There, suspended in the air, was a massive monolith. Diamond-shaped and riddled with defenses, it bore a symbol on the front; a symbol Cyclonus never thought he would see again....
"Welcome, Cyclonus," Scourge said with a grin, bringing the ship towards the monolith, "to the Floating Fortress."
--The Lost Light--
"He's here! He's here!"
"Ariel, wait!" Skids ran after the small gray Autobot, doing his best to avoid bumping into anyone in the corridor. Due to her smaller frame, Ariel had an easier time ducking under other bots while Skids had to pushed his way past.
As he turned a corner, he saw Ariel make a dash for Ultra Magnus' office, from which Rodimus and Minimus Ambus were leaving. The two commanders saw Ariel approach and stopped her from getting to the door.
"Whoa now," Rodimus said. "What's going on here? What's got you in a--"
"He's in there!" Ariel cried, pointing to the door. "I need to see him!"
Rodimus frowned. "See who? You're not talking about... please tell me you don't mean--"
At that moment, Rung came from around the corner behind Skids, running frantically over to them.
"Don't let her in there!" he yelled. "Whatever you do, don't let her near him!"
"Okay, what's going on here?" Rodimus asked, visibly annoyed. "How do you even know we have someone in there? Does news really travel that fast?"
"It's Protoform X," Rung said. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"Wait, you mean the serial killer?" Skids questioned. "The guy responsible for the Colony Omicron massacre? What's he doing here?"
Rodimus kept his optics on Rung. "How did you know?"
"He and Ariel have a history," Rung replied. "She encountered him over seven hundred years ago when her team were investigating the ruins of Ferromax."
"And she wants to see him again?" Minimus looked over at Ariel. "Why?" he asked her.
"Because he's my friend," she said, her eyes wide and innocent.
"Murderers don't have friends," Rodimus muttered. "Just people they haven't killed yet."
"He was nice to me! Nicer than anyone else ever has!"
"I find that very hard to believe."
"What's going on out here?" The door to Magnus' office opened, revealing Drift and Protoform X inside. "I thought you were going to call--"
Without warning, Ariel dashed into the room, shoving Drift aside. She ran over to Rampage, who had a steel beam tied around him. She immediately started to untie the piece of metal, displaying an unexpected feat of strength.
"Someone stop her!" Rodimus cried, but it was already too late. Rampage was on his feet, freed from his confinement. He turned towards Ariel, green optics glowing. Then, he grabbed her by the arm and...
...pulled her into a hug.
"I'm here, sister," he said softly. "I promise I'll never leave you again."
Ariel said nothing, simply hugging back the larger red bot.
Looking on in shock, Rodimus slowly turned his head to Rung. "Did you... know about this?"
"No," Rung murmured. "No, I didn't."
The five Autobots continued to stand in silence as they witnessed this reunion. The moment was soon brought to a halt however when Rodimus' comm rang.
"What is it?" he answered.
"Red Alert here. We've just finished transporting the protoforms off X's ship and, uh...."
"What? Talk to me, Red."
"There's a Decepticon bolted to the ceiling."
Rodimus and the others all looked at Rampage, who broke off the hug to shrug.
"What?" he said. "At least I didn't kill him."
"There's also a headless corpse in here too," Red Alert said over the comm.
Rampage chuckled as the five Autobots all glared at him. "Hey, considering I'd been imprisoned for over two hundred years, that's remarkably tame of me."
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