PRELUDE
--The Lost Light--
In hindsight, the trap had been insanely obvious.
All of the warning signs had been there: giant mad Decepticon scientist, mysterious location that anyone was willing to say anything about, secret organization... it just had "trap" written all over it.
But it was too late now. The ship had been left deserted.
Well, maybe not deserted. There were still a number of bots left on board, just considerably less now. Rodimus, Minimus Ambus, and Drift had all gone missing, as well as some of his closest friends such as Nautica, Skids, and Rung. Why it was those particular bots that had vanished was lost on him... but not for long. He was already on the case, and there was never a mystery Nightbeat could not solve.
The detective stood on the bridge to the Lost Light, where Blaster and Mainframe still remained. Also present were Chromedome (who had been separated from his sparkmate Rewind), Riptide, Brainstorm, and Getaway. They all watched as Nightbeat paced back and forth, mulling over their predicament.
"So!" he said. "It's clear that we've reached Nimbus Five, judging by the clouds outside."
"Actually, all of the planets in the Nimbus system have clouds," Riptide pointed out. "So we could be on Nimbus Three or Six or--"
"As I was saying, it's clear we've reached our destination without a hitch," Nightbeat went on. "However, we seem to be missing a good number of our crew, including our captain. Does anyone have any idea how this happened? Was anyone with anyone else before they vanished?"
"I was with Rewind at our hab suite," Chromedome said. "He was recounting the Fall of the Darklands when he just... poofed."
"'Poofed?' Was there an actual sound or cloud of dust or anything?"
"Well, no. Not that I saw, anyway. I had my back turned to him, looking up something on the computer."
"What were you looking up?"
"I... geez, Nightbeat, does it really matter?"
"Everything matters!" Nightbeat said. "Every little detail can be a potential clue! Whatever you were looking up on the computer could be the answer to all of this!"
"Okay...." Chromedome shrugged. "I was looking up images of an Urtuskian's digestive tract."
Nightbeat's face slowly fell. "...Why?"
"Rewind made a joke about it looking like Prowl's face. I was looking to see if he was right."
"Was he?" Riptide asked.
"Yes, actually. The resemblance is uncanny."
Nightbeat exhaled loudly. "Right then. Never mind. Riptide, how about you?"
"I was with Hoist and Trailbreaker earlier," the Hydrobot said. "I got distracted by us jumping to hyperspace and when I looked back, they were both gone."
"So the vanishing happened -- or at least started -- when we made the jump." Nightbeat tapped his chin. "Brainstorm? Any guesses?"
Brainstorm shook his head. "You've got me. This isn't my field of expertise. Time travel? Yes. Vanishing acts? No."
"That's too bad." Nightbeat then turned to Getaway, who immediately held up his hands.
"Don't look at me. I was recharging when all this happened."
Nightbeat huffed. "Right. So we don't know what, how, or why this happened. But that's okay. Not everything needs to be solved right away. One step at a time." He then turned to Mainframe. "Any sign of the fortress place?"
"No," Mainframe said. "But I am picking up loads of spark signatures outside the ship. One thing's for sure, we're not alone on this planet."
"Um, excuse me?"
All seven bots turned to see Ambulon standing in the doorway. Nightbeat had last seen the medic in the medibay looking over Ironfist, who had inexplicably collapsed on the bridge earlier. However, it was not Ironfist standing behind Ambulon.
"This guy showed up outside the medibay," Ambulon said. "He asked me to take him to my leader, so...."
"I'm not too late, am I?" the mysterious bot asked. "The abduction hasn't started yet?"
"Um...." Nightbeat rubbed the back of his head. "If you're saying what I think you're saying...."
The bot swore under his breath. "Scrap. The budding wasn't quick enough."
"I'm sorry, but who the Pit are you?" Riptide asked. "What is this about abductions and budding and stuff?"
"My name is Cannonspring. And although I've only been alive for less than an hour, I know more than every single spark on this ship. You're going to listen to me... and do exactly as I tell you."
THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL
Part 3: My Liar's Chair
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