CHAPTER FIVE
This place was a labyrinth.
Crankcase still couldn't wrap his mind around it. Every corner they turned led them into another block of prison cells, each one looking different than the least. Pristine silver walls transitioned into old rusted walls into mismatched, patched up walls.
Even when they tried going back, they simply ended up in an completely different hall, not looking anything like the one they had just been down before. It was like the entire place was shifting all around them.
What was this place? And why were the Autobots using it when they never had before?
Eventually, the Triggercon brought them all to a halt. "Stop," he said, rubbing his head. "We're obviously not getting anywhere. We're wasting time."
"What would you have us do then?" Nitro Zeus snidely asked. "Are you gonna blast a way through?"
"Shut up and let me think." Crankcase looked around at the other cells around them. Most of them were empty, save for a few holding Decepticons; some he recognized, some he didn't. None of them seemed to have noticed the three escapees though.
"No one seems to be eager for a breakout," Crankcase observed aloud.
"You think we haven't tried?" snapped a black and red Decepticon with a flame deco. "It's impossible to get out of here. Even if you get past the ray shield, good luck getting further than that."
"Hey, I know you," Crankcase said, turning to the femme. "You're Flamewar, one of the first Decepticons."
"First?" Flamewar scoffed. "I'm not that old, darling. I didn't join until a century before the Battle of Iacon. I was part of Trannis' inner circle for a time though. I can see where you'd get the idea."
"Where have you even been? No one's heard from you since Megatron went missing a hundred years ago."
"Why, where do you think I've been?" Flamewar sneered. "I've been searching for Megatron. From one corner of the galaxy to the next, high and low. I was even forced to work with the Star Seekers in my quest for a time, only to end up here."
"How long have you been here?" Crankcase asked.
"What cycle is it?"
"Uh...." Crankcase scratched his head. "9815."
Flamewar thought for a moment. "I've been here... for too slaggin' long."
"Have you tried breaking out?" Nitro Zeus asked.
"Oh, yes. Many times. Try to guess how successful I've been."
"Well, there must be some way out!" Nitro Zeus exclaimed. "I don't see how anyone, let alone some Autobots, can maintain a place like--"
He was cut off by the sound of Spinister using all his might to pull out the mismatched panels of the ceiling, exposing structure beams and some kind of machinery overhead. He then took his shotgun and squeezed its barrel inside.
"Stand back," he ordered.
"Spinister," Crankcase grumbled. "Your gun can't be that powerful to blast an opening."
"Who says I'm making an opening?" Spinister then pulled the trigger and all power went out in the block, including the ray shield protecting Flamewar's cell.
The Decepticon femme cackled, a shrill sound that made Crankcase quaver. "I see what you're getting at, love." Suddenly, the room was illuminated as flames ignited from her hands. "And I think I like it."
* * *
Things happened far too quickly for Misfire's liking.
One minute, he and Sentinel Prime were standing there, watching Galvatron as he tore off heads from numerous bots. Not once did Sentinel move to stop him; it was almost as if he was shell-shocked.
Then, before he knew it, everything was fading from existence. First Galvatron, then his victims, Cybertron, and finally, Sentinel Prime himself. After that, Misfire was brought back to reality.
The lab had suddenly gone dark, save for a dim overhanging light. Landslide was barking out orders as he moved around frantically. Shaking his head a little, Misfire was able to get his left audio receptor to pick up sound.
"--throughout this sector! Find out what happened. Hopefully it's just a faulty generator."
"Does this happen often?" asked the copter-bot.
"It's bound to eventually," said Landslide. "That's the price one pays for working on a 'ship' that's an amalgamation of others."
The copter-bot inclined his head to a computer screen Landslide was standing at. "Were you able to get what you needed from the patch?"
"No," Landslide said bitterly. "I knew I should have just gone in myself. That mech wasted too much time."
"Should I dispose of him then?"
"Please do."
Misfire's optics went wide as the black Decepticon hovered over to him. Still confined to the slab, he was left helpless as the copter-bot produced a claw-like device....
At that moment, a light illuminated the hall outside and all those present turned around to see a feminine figure standing there, her entire body covered in flames. Behind her, descending from a newly made hole in the ceiling, were three other bots; two of which happened to be Crankcase and Spinister....
"Flamewar!" Landslide exclaimed. "How did you--? I thought we had your powers disabled!"
"You can't disable super-powers, darling," Flamewar replied, her orange optics gleaming. "Subdue, perhaps, but only for a time. And I've been held captive for nearly ten years...."
A ball of flame appeared in each of her hands.
"More than enough time to get them back."
* * *
"What in Primus' sweet name am I looking at?"
Several optics all stared in awe at the massive vessel that shadowed over them. It was hard to call it a ship, as it was so much more than that. In fact, it was more of a hodge-podge combination of ships, all welded in together. It was a behemoth of a craft, if it could even still be called that.
"I'm still waiting for an answer," Steel Jaw said.
"Whatever it is, it's got us caught in a tractor beam," said Fracture, the Pack's pilot. "I can't move out of it."
"Hang on," Krok said. "I recognize some of those ships. That one on the left... I'm pretty sure that's the Nominus II."
"And the one on top...." Thunderhoof narrowed his optics. "Ain't dat the Alchemor? The ship dat brought us to Garrus-16?"
Steel Jaw stiffened. "So it is. I had no idea the Autobots were interested in such... unique ships."
"So what do we do?" Fracture asked. "Just let them capture us like wusses or do we fight back?"
"Hmm." Steel Jaw tapped his chin. "If only we had a weapon that could take out multiple bots at once."
Krok glared at the lupine Decepticon. "You can't be seriously considering--"
"I am, Krok," Steel Jaw snarled back. "And there's nothing you can do about it. Unless you wish to die, or worse be the Autobots' prisoner, you best let me handle this."
"But wait," Fulcrum said. "Krok said he was detecting hundreds of Decepticons on that ship. How do we know its crewed by Autobots?"
"Have you not heard of da Alchemor?" Thunderhoof snapped. "It's a prison ship. Autobots like to take 'Cons prisoner. Trust me; we would know."
"Actually, he might have a point," Steel Jaw said. "We should wait until we meet our would be captors. Still, we should be prepared all the same. Let's gather at the ramp and arm ourselves."
As Steel Jaw, Fracture and Thunderhoof vacated the cockpit. Krok turned to glare at Fulcrum. "Looks like somebody is Steel Jaw's favorite."
"I'm sorry!" Fulcrum replied, holding up his hands. "I didn't think he would respond like that."
"Whatever," Krok muttered, brushing past the K-Con. "Just don't expect me to always have your back. There's only so much I'm willing to do for you."
Fulcrum did not have the chance to protest before the Monoformer was gone.
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