CHAPTER FIVE
--The Lost Light--
"I don't like all this waiting."
"Neither do I," Ambulon muttered, staring out the ship's bridge. "But we can't do anything until we hear back."
"But what if we never do?" Riptide asked. "For all we know, they could all be dead by now."
"Don't say that. We've been through worst. They're fine."
"Even so, I'm tired of sitting on my aft." Walking over to Mainframe, Dipstick leaned over to peer at his monitor. "Where is this Floating Fortress again?"
"It should be right in front of us," Mainframe replied. "I think it's protected by some sort of cloaking shield."
"Does that prevent us from going up to it?" Ambulon asked. "Or do we need to wait for it to be lowered?"
"Well, technically no," Mainframe said. "But, with the shield up, it would be hard for us to dock."
"Ah, docking, shmocking," Dipstick grunted. "Let's just ram this baby into 'em and blast our way in."
"I don't think Rodimus would like us damaging his ship," Mainframe murmured.
"Neither would I."
All bots on deck were startled by this disembodied voice. They all looked to Blaster, who merely held up his hands.
"Who is this 'Rodimus?'" the voice went on. "And what are they doing with my ship?"
"I know that voice," Riptide murmured. "But... it can't be...."
"Is that you, Riptide? It's good to hear a familiar voice... although you never were my favorite. Is Nautica still there? How about the Duobots?"
"What are you doing here, Quickswitch?" the Hydrobot asked. "Where have you been all this time?"
"I apologize for abandoning you," the voice replied. "I had other matters to attend to. I see you wasted no time in finding a new captain...."
"As if we had a choice," Riptide muttered. "None of us were exactly leadership material...."
"I suppose you have a point. Where is your captain now?"
"He vanished, along with half of our crew. We've just sent a team to rescue them."
"Ah.... I see." Quickswitch fell silent. At that moment, the ship suddenly shook as a large shadow fell over the bridge. "In that case, I shall be retaking what is rightfully mine. I'm sure Rodimus would not mind. And if he does... well, I don't think it will matter at the end of the day."
--The Floating Fortress--
"It's gotten awfully quiet all of a sudden," Chromedome murmured, creeping through one of the station's many corridors. "Did they just forget about us?"
"I doubt it," Ratchet said, at the front of the group. "The alarms probably aren't heard throughout the base and we just left that particular perimeter. I'm sure all the 'Cons are still on high alert."
"Speaking of which," Rampage growled, "I smell some up ahead, coming around the corner."
"How can you tell they're 'Cons?" Trailbreaker asked.
"Well, what else could they be? Except for that Pharma miscreant, everyone we've encountered has been a Decepticon."
"Even so, don't shoot until we can confirm they're hostile," Ratchet said.
"Since when did you become the boss of me, doc?" Whirl asked, cocking his guns. "I'll shoot at whatever I want."
At that moment, two bots appeared from around the corner and the corner and Whirl unloaded his weaponry. All of his shots missed their target and Ratchet managed to stop the ex-Wrecker before he could land any direct hits.
"Stop it, you nutjob! It's Convoy and Archforce!"
"Who and who?"
"The clones! Of Prime and Megatron! Remember?"
"Oh, sorry," Whirl said. "I should've only shot at one of them. My bad."
Shaking his head, Ratchet turned to face the two clones. "Sorry about that. We didn't know it was you two."
"No worries," Convoy said. "Simple misunderstanding."
"How did you guys get here?" Trailbreaker asked. "I didn't see you escaping with us when Cyclonus broke us free."
"We kind of got lost in the confusion," Archforce said. "We apologize for leaving you behind."
"Hey, no worries!" Trailbreaker said cheerily. Ratchet, on the other hand, had his optics narrowed as he studied the two clones.
"Are you sure you two are all right?" he asked. "You don't seem yourselves."
"Of course we're fine," Convoy said. "Why wouldn't we be?"
"Maybe you should come with us," Archforce said. "There's a meeting room not far from here. We can talk more there."
"I don't think so," Ratchet said, backing up. "I know a trap when I see one."
"Yet you spring it anyway."
All six bots turned to see Pharma standing behind them, accompanied by two large Decepticon brutes. The rogue Autobot medic flashed his trademark crazy grin.
"Typical Ratchet," he said as the two brutes raised their stun guns and everything went dark.
* * *
Rodimus let out a wail as he was sent flying by a seismic blast, taking several pieces of the metal floor with him. At the end of the hall, the maroon and blue Decepticon laughed as he prepared for another attack.
"Not so strong, Quake!" cried a brown Decepticon flier, who was in the middle of a firefight with Getaway. "I just polished these floors!"
"Shove it, Windsweeper," Quake rumbled. "You can polish them again after we're done with these Autobots."
As Rodimus got back to his feet, he saw Quake charging up his gauntlets again. With the floor practically torn apart, there was no way for him to drive off. If he got hit with another attack, he was done for.
Guess it was better to go our fighting.
He let out a yell as he charged forward, surprising the brutish Decepticon. As he got closer, he charged up all of his energy....
...and released it in a burst of flame.
Quake cried out as his chassis caught fire. Moving in a frenzy, he flailed his hands and accidentally hit Windsweeper. As his gauntlet had been charged up, the brown Decepticon was sent flying.
As the flames died down from his body, Rodimus collapsed to the floor, exhausted. Through his fogging gaze, he could see that Quake had already stamped out the flames and was now walking over to him.
It was fun while it lasted, he thought as he felt his systems shut offline.
* * *
"Ha! Two in one!" Ruckus cackled as he and Needlenose stood over the defeated Nightbeat and Brainstorm. "Did you see how that punch pushed one into the other? It knocked them both out! It was amazing! Did you see it?"
"No, I wasn't paying attention," Needlenose said. He looked down at Brainstorm, who was turned on his back, and saw something in the Autobot's canopy chest. He bent down to open it. "What's that in--"
He opened the canopy and Cannonspring burst out, instantly returning to full size. He threw a fist into Needlenose's face, dazing the 'Con, before turning his attention to Ruckus. Scowling, the tan Decepticon raised his gun and fired it. The shot knocked Cannonspring in the shoulder but the mech was unfazed. Grabbing the gun by the barrel, he tore it out of Ruckus' hands before clobbering it into the Decepticon's head, knocking him out. Cannonspring then whirled around and did the same to Needlenose.
As both Decepticons fell to the ground, Cannonspring scanned around for Rodimus and Getaway... and screamed as he felt a blade pierce through his left shoulder.
"Always look for your enemies," Bludgeon hissed into his audio sensor. "Never your allies."
He dug the blade deeper until Cannonspring's entire left arm came off, drawing an agonized scream from the mech. Bludgeon then struck him in the head with the hilt of his sword before pushing him down to join Brainstorm and Nightbeat.
Looking up, Bludgeon saw Quake and Windsweeper approach, dragging behind them Rodimus and Getaway.
"Is that all of them?" Windsweeper asked.
"No," Bludgeon growled. "Cyclonus still remains. Have either of you spotted him?"
Before either Decepticon could reply, a purple shape flew from out of nowhere, landing roughly as Bludgeon's feet. As the battered Cyclonus groaned, the three Decepticons turned to see Grindcore trudge up to them, cracking his fists.
"After six thousand years, that felt good."
Bludgeon sniffed. "Very well then. Let us put them back in their cages."
"No," Grindcore said. "Scourge says it's time."
Bludgeon raised an optic ridge. "Do we have enough?"
"He deems we have a sufficient supply." Grindcore bent down and picked up Cyclonus, throwing him over his shoulder. "Let's go. Cyberutopia awaits."
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