CHAPTER TWO
--The Lost Light--
"Rodimus, you need to stay put."
"I can't stay put!" Rodimus protested, thrashing against Ratchet's hold. "Prime needs me!"
"You're not going anywhere; not when your legs look like they've been munched on by a Dinobot." Ratchet grimaced as he resumed working on his captain's damaged legs. "Besides, do you even have a plan?"
"Who needs plans? Not when--"
"Rodimus!" Ratchet grabbed the younger bot by the shoulders, looking him straight in the optics. "Listen to me: you won't do Prime any good by rushing in to save him in this state, especially without a plan. The last thing he would want is you risking everything for his sake."
"But--"
"Look, I hate it as much as you do, but we have to be rational about this, for better or for worse."
Rodimus sighed, realizing the sagacity in the medic's words. Reluctantly, he lied back down and allowed the doctor to continue repairing him.
"That combiner," he murmured. "Is it still...?"
"After it blasted you and Red Alert, it went back to the Titan, taking Prime and Megatron with it. Last I checked, the Titan is still moving towards Necroworld, albeit slowly."
Rodimus craned his head slightly. "Red Alert... where is he?"
Ratchet said nothing at first; when he finally did, he refused to meet his captain's eye. "A lot of bots were caught in the blast. First Aid, Velocity and I are doing what we can."
Rodimus could tell there was something Ratchet wasn't telling him. but decided to change the subject. "What about Ultra Magnus and his team? Have you heard back from them?"
"All communications are down," Ratchet replied. "My guess is the Secret Order is blocking all signals. They've also put and Metrotitan in some sort of destabilization field, meaning we can't move either ship."
"Wonderful," Rodimus muttered. "No Magnus, no Metrotitan... what do we have?"
Again, Ratchet was silent. Rodimus figured that was for the best; he doubt he would have liked the answer if he heard it.
--Necroworld--
In the span of little over a month, Minimus Ambus had found himself out of his armor rather then in more often than he'd like.
His entire motivation behind accepting Tyrest's offer had been to get out of the shadow of his overachieving brother, having grown sick of others reminding him of their physical similarity. He had tried enlisting into combat service in the hopes of making a name for himself, but Hydrus Four had quickly dashed those dreams.
For the next ten years, Minimus was forced to work in maintenance, usually as a pub tender. No matter where he was stationed, whether it was on Cybertron or an Orbital Command Hub, Minimus was recognized only as the brother of the great Dominus Ambus. If it weren't for his obsession with keeping a clean, perfect image, Minimus would have ditched the "mustache" that distinguished him as an Ambus years ago.
Then, one day, as Minimus was closing down for the night, a certain Chief Justice had walked in....
Becoming the immortal lawman that was Ultra Magnus had been a dream come true for Minimus. At last he could be someone -- someone that mattered, someone that had nothing to do with Dominus Ambus. Of course, Minimus hadn't realized at the time that by doing this, he was simply trading one shadow for another....
And now that everyone knew who he really was, he couldn't help but feel like less the bot he had been made up to be. No longer was he the immortal Ultra Magnus. Just some bot wearing his face.
At the very least, Minimus could take solace in the fact that he was alone in the room he was being held. At the same time, he worried as to what had befallen Skids and the others... as well as whatever the deal in regards to Cyclonus was.
In front of him, a door slid open to reveal a large blue and red bot. So much for that alone bit. Looking very much like a recolor of Ultra Magnus, it did not take long for Minimus to identify the bot.
"Delta Magnus."
"Ultra Magnus." A mirthless smirk tugged at Delta's face. "Oh, sorry, I mean Minimus Ambus. Bit of a slip of the tongue there."
Minimus glared at him. "Forgive me for saying this, as I'm not in the best of moods right now, but yours is the very last face I wanted to see right now."
"Hm? Oh, this?" Delta gestured at his face, his smile widening. "My apologies. I should've known that would touch a nerve. Here, let me fix that."
Before Minimus' wide optics, Delta Magnus' armor hissed and split open, folding out to reveal a small, red-plated female bot underneath. She strutted out of the armor, grinning wickedly at a shocked Minimus.
"There we go," she said. "This should put you at ease."
Minimus stared slack-jawed at the red and black bot, not at all believing what he was seeing. "You're... you're female." It was a ridiculous thing to point out, especially for him. But then, this entire day had been nothing but ridiculous.
"I'm glad you noticed," she replied. "I didn't want my frame to be too obvious when I rebuilt it, but just enough for people to notice. Of course, with the armor, it's all moot anyway."
"I... I don't understand. Are you Delta Magnus?"
"Well, not right now, I'm not," she said slyly. "Right now, you can call me Powerdrive."
Minimus continued to look confused, looking between her and the armor.
Powerdrive laughed at this. "Oh, come on now. Surely it's not that hard for you to figure out. My story is the same as yours."
"Chief Justice Tyrest selected you to pose as Delta Magnus?" Minimus asked.
Powerdrive nodded. "I mean, why settle for one immortal lawman when you can have two? Of course, I never got myself in the sort of scenarios you Ultras got into. As far as I know, I am the first and only Delta Magnus of the Tyrest Accord."
"But... why? What use would Tyrest have for two Magnuses?"
"Oh, plenty of things, I'm sure. But he only ever assigned me to watch over Garrus-13 and sort out the crooks you turned in. He promised me that I would soon get to be more active, but... that obviously never came to pass."
"Garrus-13...." Minimus held his chin. "You were the warden."
"Yes, and I'll forgive you if you don't remember me. We were forced to adjust your memory when you became a bit too privy to our activities for our tastes. Gave us quite a scare."
"Had no Ultra Magnus before me come close to discovering your operations?" Minimus asked.
"Some did. But never to the same extent as you." Powerdrive smirked at him. "So congratulations on that. Tyrest chose good on this one."
Years ago, a compliment like that would have warmed Minimus' spark. Now, after what the Chief Justice had become during the Unicron crisis, it simply made him shudder.
Recomposing himself, he asked, "So why are you here? I doubt to catch up on the good old times."
"Oh, no, that was actually a plus." Powerdrive chuckled. "But you're right, I do have a different reason."
Stepping back into her armor, she closed it around her, once more becoming Delta Magnus. "Follow me," she said. "I have something to show you."
* * *
Outside the Necrobot's fortress, high up in the sky, a large ship descended from the clouds, making its way to join the other ships parked outside the fortress.
Ever since it was first commissioned two thousand years ago, the Alchemor had been used by the Autobots to carter rogue Decepticons. Now, it had fallen under the command of seven Decepticons who, through sheer dumb luck, had managed to survive long enough to reach this point.
The irony was so thick, one could cut it with a Star Saber.
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