CHAPTER SIX
Mainframe's calculations had been way off the mark.
While there was a Titan-sized vessel emerging from hyperspace, it had not come alone. An entire fleet of ships accompanied the Titan, flanking it from all sides in an armada-like formation. The larger ship's size must have prevented the Lost Light's sensors from picking up the others.
Either way, it was hardly a welcoming sight.
Optimus Prime, Rodimus, Megatron and Ultra Magnus all stood on the bow of Metrotitan as the entourage of ships flew over them, bound for the Necrobot's planet. Only the Titan lingered behind; whether by choice or because of its slower speed, it was difficult to discern.
Rodimus' brow furrowed as he watched the Titan, which bore a dark blue and red color scheme not unlike Metrotitan's. "You think they've spotted us?"
"They must have," said Magnus. "We're not exactly hard to miss."
Rodimus raised a line to the Lost Light. "Blaster, are you picking up any frequencies?"
"None, captain," came Blaster's response. "They're as quiet as a nanoflea."
"I wonder what it is they want with the Necrobot," Optimus pondered aloud. "From the sounds of it, he wasn't keeping anything of note."
"That we know of." Rodimus turned to Magnus. "Take a team down to Necroworld. Find out where they're headed."
"Without them spotting us?" Magnus asked.
"I've had Brainstorm fit one of our shuttles with a cloaking shield. It'll last at least one hour; should be enough for you to scout out and land if need be."
"And you?"
"I'll stay here to see what this Titan does," Rodimus said. "I'll radio you in case something happens."
Magnus stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Very well. Be careful."
Rodimus smirked. "Hey, I've got Optimus Prime and Megatron at my side. I'll be fine."
Magnus nodded again as he turned to leave, giving a quick salute to Prime and a warning look to Megatron. Transforming to his truck mode, the larger Autobot drove back to the Lost Light.
* * *
"Getaway?" Skids stared at the white and blue Autobot as he walked over to the unconscious Que. "How did you know...?"
"I received the same orders," Getaway said, hoisting Que off the floor. "Que had just briefed me before he called for you."
"Why would you be involved though? I'm the one who's close to Ariel."
"Ariel, yes, but not Rampage." Getaway situated Que to be slumped over his desk. "I was tasked to handle Rampage while you took care of Ariel."
"Oh." Skids frowned as he stared at the motionless inventor. "Why didn't you shoot him when he briefed you then?"
"I didn't have my nudge gun on me. I had to go get it."
"What?" Skids looked bewildered at his fellow agent. "But you always carry that thing with you."
Getaway waved off the inquiry. "Never mind that. When Que wakes up, he'll have forgotten Prowl's order and him ever briefing us."
"And when Prowl calls back for a progress report or something?"
"We'll figure that out later. Right now--" Getaway was cut off by a call on his comm, one Skids received as well. Both agents answered to the sound of Ultra Magnus' voice.
"Hangar bay. Now."
Exchanging a brief glance, both Skids and Getaway quickly transformed and sped out of the lab, leaving Que behind.
* * *
"Where are we going, brother?"
Rampage did not answer Ariel as he led her to the hangar bay. He would stop on occasion whenever he saw someone walk towards them, hiding himself and Ariel from view or pretending to be headed somewhere else. Then he would resume their journey.
He knew that, if anyone realized where he and his sister were heading, they would try to stop them and Rampage would be forced to kill them... and Aril would have been upset by that. He hated making her upset.
They eventually made their way to the hangar bay, where they found a crowd of nine or so bots boarding one of the shuttles. He saw Skids among them, which piqued his curiosity, but there was no time to worry about that. Taking Ariel by the hand, he led her towards another ship: the one in which he had arrived less than a month ago.
The protoforms it had once carried had long since been taken to Cybertron by the Autobots and the ship had also been cleaned of any corpses Rampage might have made while taking control of it. Now it was just an ordinary ship. An ordinary ship with a special clearance code from the Secret Order.
Boarding the ship, Rampage guided Ariel to the passenger's seat while he settled at the controls. He waited until the Lost Lighters' shuttle had departed before starting the ship up.
"Where are we going, brother?" Ariel asked again, her voice so quiet, so innocent, it pained his spark.
"Home," he croaked, flipping the last few switches. "Sweet, sweet home."
* * *
For many millennia, the planet of the fabled Necrobot had gone undiscovered. Save for one incident over a hundred years ago, Censere of the High-Ceilinged Manifold had gone largely undisturbed.
In the span of less than a month, that had all changed.
From his fortress, Censere watched as several ships surrounded his domain, crushing many of the flowers he had planted the world with. From one of the ships, he could see a large mech in blue and red disembark, making sure strides towards Censere's fortress.
Closing the door behind him, the Necrobot stood tall as the visitor quickly closed the gap between them, coming to loom over the ancient mech.
"So," the larger bot said, eyeing Censere with curiosity. "The myths are indeed true. The Necrobot exists."
"Hello, Delta Magnus," Censere calmly replied.
Delta Magnus smirked. "You know who I am?"
"I know who you claim to be. No amount of armor can hide you from me, Powerdrive of Iacon."
The Autobot's expression darkened as he scowled at Censere. "You are fortunate no one else was around to hear that, old fossil."
Censere shrugged dismissively. "What brings you here then? I doubt you'd gather this large a party to meet an 'old fossil' such as myself."
"We wish to establish operations here," Delta Magnus explained. "Its remoteness matched our requirements so that we may proceed in isolation."
"How did you come across my world in the first place?"
"A late friend of mine -- Quickswitch -- discovered it some time ago while on a scouting mission. We've been keeping tabs on it ever since."
Censere nodded. "Ah, yes. Quickswitch of Hexadron. I noticed his spark signature had gone out. I was just about to record his fatality when you showed up."
Delta Magnus raised an optical ridge. "It's true then that you are able to keep track of every living Transformer?"
"Believe what you want. I am under no obligation to divulge such information."
"A shame. Such technology would be very useful for the Secret Order."
Censere narrowed his optics. "What makes you think I'm going to allow your Order to settle down on my planet?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Delta Magnus said. "I seem to have given you the impression that you have a say in the matter."
The Autobot raised his arm, retracting his hand and replacing it with a gun, and aimed it at Censere's face.
"You don't."
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