CHAPTER FOUR
--Necroworld--
Minimus followed Delta Magnus through the Necrobot's fortress, wary of where he was being taken. He started to wonder what had befallen Censere himself, but seeing as the Secret Order had all but made themselves comfortable already, things were not looking good for the ancient mech.
Along the way, Minimus caught sight of Autobots he recognized; bots he had served with during the war. It crushed him to think that they would be part of this organization, after seeing the things they had done and the bots they worked with. What could have possibly pushed them to this length?
Eventually, Delta Magnus brought him to a door marked by the number "1/001". Producing a key, she inserted it into the lock and slid it open. Beyond it, Minimus was greeted to the sight of several stasis pods, numbering at least fifty.
Minimus' brow furrowed in confusion before looking up at Delta Magnus. "What am I looking at?"
Delta said nothing as she stepped into the chamber, motioning Minimus to follow her. Reluctantly, he did so and followed her to one of the stasis pods. As they got closer to it, Minimus realized someone was laying within it.
"Is that...?" Minimus tilted his head. "Roller?"
"Why, yes," Delta Magnus said, grinning. "Yes, it is."
"But... he died during the Battle of Chaar a thousand years ago!"
"Presumed dead," Delta corrected him. "Yet here he is. How can that be?"
Minimus glanced at her. "I feel that you're going to tell me."
Her grin widening, Delta reached behind her back and held up an object he found very familiar.
Minimus' optics went wide as he gazed upon the briefcase. "Where did you get that?" he asked, his voice quiet.
"It just so happened to be laying around here when we discovered the pods," Delta Magnus explained. "It didn't take us long to figure out what it was and how it worked."
Minimus felt the energon drain from his face. "How?"
"Lift-Ticket opened it and ended up getting flung into the past. He came straight back and told us all about it, allowing us to piece everything together." She gestured to the stasis pod containing Roller. "The Necrobot went back in time and saved Roller from death. And Syphon. And Wavelength. And everyone else who was on his list of the Disappeared."
Delta's optics twinkled as she grinned twistedly at Minimus. "I know your brother is on the list. Do you want to see if he's here as well?"
"You've seen the list?"
"Spin-Out pointed it out to me. He had spotted my -- ahem, the original Delta Magnus' name on it. I haven't come across him yet -- there are so many -- but he could very well be here, along with Dominus Ambus."
She held out her hand to him.
"So what do you say? Care to take a look around?"
Minimus stared at the proffered hand, unsure whether or not this was some sort of trick. Even if his brother was here, what then? Would Delta allow him to open his pod? Would Dominus side with him or the Secret Order?
Before he could answer any of these questions, Delta Magnus' comm beeped. Grunting in exasperation, she took the call.
"This had better be important, Burn Out. I'm in the middle of--"
"Sir, the Alchemor has just landed outside."
Delta Magnus blinked. "The Alchemor? But I thought Quickswitch--"
"It's carrying seven Decepticons. Obsidian is with them."
"As their prisoner?"
"No. He's leading them."
Delta fell silent at this and almost seemed to forget Minimus was even there. After a moment, she released a heavy sigh. "Hold your fire. I'll deal with them."
With that, she strode out of the room, dragging Minimus with her. After closing and locking the door, she transformed and drove away, leaving behind a very puzzled Minimus.
* * *
"Oh. My. God."
Misfire stared up at the life-size replication of himself as he circled the statue's base. He came to a stop and slowly rubbed his hand on the plaque that bore his full name: Misfire of Pretendia [?]
"They even remembered my Autopedia home town," the magenta Decepticon murmured. "Whoever put this up really pays attention."
"It has a question mark next to it though," Fulcrum pointed out, standing beside his fellow Scavenger. "I'm pretty sure whoever made it knows that's not a real--"
"Even so!" Misfire said. "The fact that they would go to this length, for me...."
"Don't get too caught up in your ego-stroking," called out Crankcase, standing underneath a statue of some Autobot. "You're hardly the only one to receive such an honor on this dirtball."
"Just let me have this!" Misfire snapped, throwing his arms around the plinth. "Krok's already stolen my girl! I need something to sustain me!"
"She was never... he didn't... they're not--" Crankcase groaned as he ran a hand down his face. "Now I remember why I ditched you losers in the first place."
Away from the three Scavengers, Krok stood at the Alchemor's entrance along with Obsidian and Flamewar. The former was on his comm, trying to hail his consort Strika, while the other two stared at the fortress up ahead, surrounded by ships.
"If they've spotted us, they're not in a hurry to greet us," Krok muttered. "I'm not sure if that's a good sign or bad."
"They had to have noticed us," Flamewar growled. "Our ship isn't exactly what you'd call inconspicuous."
Krok looked over to Obsidian, who was still on his comm. The general's face was unreadable, as ever, but Krok couldn't help but notice a hint of worry in his red optics.
"Is she not answering?" Krok asked.
Obsidian said nothing, gazing off into the distance; not necessarily at the fortress, but in its direction. Hearing a quiet scoff, Krok looked back over to Flamewar, who had a mild look of disgust on her face.
"Don't waste your time with him," she jeered. "We have more important matters at hand."
Krok wasn't surprised by Flamewar's callous attitude. During the First Great War, she and Obsidian had been on opposing sides. The Decepticons had suffered many a defeat thanks to the double-act of Autobot generals Obsidian and Strika.
Flamewar had not been the only Decepticon to not accept the pair's change of allegiance, but she had kept quiet unlike most due to her loyalty and faith in Megatron's judgment. But now that Megatron wasn't around....
"I understand your feelings towards them," Krok said to her. "But Strika is the only reason we haven't been obliterated yet. They wouldn't dare harm Obsidian and suffer her wrath."
Flamewar seemed to consider this. "Perhaps...." She shifted her gaze in the direction of the fortress and sported a large blue and red truck driving towards them. "...or perhaps not."
"Delta Magnus?" Obsidian murmured, almost in awe.
Krok recognized the name, even though he was not old enough to have met the bot. To his understanding, Delta Magnus had been a leading Autobot general, as with Obsidian and Strika, and served as one of Sentinel Prime's closest allies.
But Delta Magnus was said to have died over a millennia ago. How could he be here now?
As the truck crossed the distance between it and the Decepticons, it started to change shape, adopting the form of a large mech, with a frame similar to that of Ultra Magnus. Standing to full height, Delta Magnus glared down at the three Decepticons.
"Obsidian," he said quietly. "You're late."
"All thanks to Quickswitch," the general retorted. "Where's Strika?"
"I see you've found company," Delta went on, glancing at Krok and Flamewar. "I wondered how long it would be before your sympathy got the better of you. Decepticon or not, prisoners should remain imprisoned."
"Magnus." Obsidian's voice turned cold. "Where. Is. Strika?"
Delta returned his attention to Obsidian and smiled mirthlessly. "Thank you for proving my point."
Krok didn't have enough time to react. Before he could process the gun Delta was now pointing at Obsidian, a blast of energy fired from the Alchemor's open ramp and struck Delta in the chest. All four turned to see a winged orange mech standing on the edge of the ship's entrance.
"Hello, Delta Magnus," Sentinel Major said, gun in hand. "Miss me?"
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