CHAPTER TWO
--Autobot City--
"Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"It's the least I could do," Sentinel Major said as he shook hands with Optimus Prime. "I have four thousand years to make up for my... indisposition. I'm willing to do anything you ask of me."
Optimus nodded. "Good to know. However, I'm not the one who requires your assistance." He stepped aside to gesture at Brainstorm, who stood to the side along with the Cityspeaker Windblade. "Brainstorm here believes he's reached a breakthrough in his investigation of Doomshot's origins."
"Possibly," Brainstorm added. "I'm not much of an expert on 'Titanspeak' so it could very well be nothing. Which is why Windy is here to help us."
"Windblade," the Camien tersely corrected. "And I can't guarantee that I'll be of much help. Some Titans refuse to speak with anyone but a Prime."
"Well then, it's a good thing we have two, eh?"
"I'm not a Prime," Sentinel said morosely. "Even if Galvatron hadn't intervened, I wouldn't have carried the real Matrix. Optimus is the true Prime."
"Well then, it's a good thing we have him, eh?"
Optimus rested a hand on Sentinel's shoulder. "Don't concern yourself with that, my friend. Prime is just a name, a title. Matrix or not, it does not put one above others. I am as much your equal than I am your superior."
Sentinel nodded back to him. "Thank you, Optimus. I still hope to live up to your expectations."
"You can start living up to my expectations by helping me figure out this Titan malarkey," Brainstorm said, motioning Sentinel to follow him.
"And just what is it about Doomshot that you need me to help solve?" Sentinel asked as he followed.
"He says this Titan -- Metrotitan, Autobot City -- is speaking to him."
"Ah." Sentinel sounded far too casual in Brainstorm's opinion considering his next words: "So that's what I've been hearing since coming here."
* * *
"I know you're expecting me to give you good news, but the fact is: I don't have any."
Rodimus did not so much as glance at Ratchet as he continued to watch through the window. Inside the medbay, Rewind was playing footage for a stoic Chromedome. Despite the countless amount of familiar imagery, nothing seemed to be triggering an emotion in the mnemosurgeon.
"I mean, you could try asking Highbrow or someone, but... I don't see anything working," the medic went on. "Shadowplay is not... I mean, if it was reversible, I'm sure someone would have discovered so by now. And even if we did know how to reverse it, we don't have any mnemosurgeons on hand to carry out the operation."
Rodimus said nothing as he turned away from the window and began walking away. Frowning, Ratchet went after him.
"You don't have anything to say?" the doctor asked.
"What is there to say, Ratchet?" Rodimus snapped. "You said so yourself: it can't be reversed. Unless anything I say can somehow magically cure Chromedome, what's the point?"
"Yes, but--"
"I get it, Ratchet!" Rodimus whirled on the medic. "I get it! I've failed Chromedome, just like I've failed all of you! Cyclonus, Ambulon, Ariel, Powerflash... I should've known better than to think I could've captained a ship all on my own. Prowl and Elita were right to doubt me."
"Rodimus," Ratchet started even as Rodimus transformed. "You can't... this is a hardship all leaders must face--"
"Yeah, and guess what?" Rodimus revved his engine loudly. "I'm not a leader. Leaders -- good leaders -- can overcome those hardships. I can't."
Before Ratchet could protest, Rodimus roared down the hallway, his tires squealing as he sharply turned the corner and vanished from view.
--Somewhere in England--
As the first rays of sunlight peeked from behind Scafell Pike, Overhaul drove like hell.
Jetfire had warned him not to stray too far. Of course, being the kind of bot he was, Overhaul had no desire to listen to some jet-lagged wingnut. Maybe he was old-fashioned, but he simply could not bring himself to trust fliers. After all, Ulchtar and his caliber had been among Trannis' earliest recruits and were what really bolstered the Decepticons' numbers in its nascent days.
It also didn't help that Jetfire had once been a Decepticon himself. Sure, that was nearly a thousand years ago, but the passage of time did little to affect Overhaul's stubborn, contrarian mindset. He had been with the Autobots since Trannis gave his speech at Nova Point. Centuries passed like days for him.
He could still hear the loud buzzing of the swarm pursuing him. He couldn't help but think back to that time when he and Scattorshot fell into a nest of Waspix drones on Quatros. Envisioning the younger Autobot's armor plating being dotted with scorch marks drew out a humorous rumble from the SUV's engine.
Overhaul was immediately brought back to reality when a giant black robo-beetle descended from the sky and latched onto him, steering him off course.
"Hey! Get off you lousy--!"
Overhaul's tires tore through grass and dirt as he desperately swung himself around, narrowly avoiding a rushing river. Kicking on his accelerator, he practically flew up the mountainside, his chassis bouncing as he ascended.
When the bug still did not budge and began to drive its appendages into his sides, Overhaul screeched to a halt and transformed. Arms springing out from underneath his doors, he immediately dug his claws into the bug before he had even finished converting. The bug shrieked in pain and was soon weak enough for Overhaul to toss to the side.
Once he had oriented himself, Overhaul looked up to see that the swarm of robot bugs were coming from over the mountains. Flying types buzzed over his head while land ones marched in his direction. Transforming back to his vehicle mode, Overhaul drove for a small hill that was just out of the swarm's path, allowing him to observe them without trouble.
What he saw was nothing worth smiling about.
They had to at least number in the hundreds, if not thousands. Most of them were duplicates of each other, bearing the same black, purple, and yellow color scheme. This made Overhaul think of the Insecticons Scattorshot had mentioned dealing with on Styx early on in the war. They had been spotted sporadically since then but had all but vanished by the time of the Cataclysm.
Then there were the other, more unique types. They were more organic in nature, carrying a closer resemblance to the insects here on Earth than their Insecticon counterparts. None of them paid Overhaul any heed as they passed through, though that was the least of his concerns.
As much as he hated to admit it, he knew he had to make the call.
"Overhaul to Jetfire," he spoke into his comm. "You read me, kid?"
"There you are," Jetfire responded. "What did I say about--"
"Kid, I'm looking at nearly a thousand robot bugs making their way towards civilization. Now, I don't know about you, but that is not what I would consider good."
"Robot bugs? You mean Insecticons?"
"Whatever," Overhaul grunted. "Point is: What in Primus' name are we gonna do?"
"Send me your coordinates. Sky Lynx and I will fly by to see what--"
Before Overhaul could hear the rest of Jetfire's response, he suddenly found himself being tacked by a giant praying mantis. The green bug dug each of its fore-claws on either side of his head as it lowered its face to meet his.
"Sufficient." The mantis' mandibles clicked together, nearly grazing Overhaul's faceplate. "Viable."
"Flattering, but I'm not interested." Overhaul was about to kick the mantis off him when another bug -- a red fire ant -- crawled up behind him.
"He must be taken to the colony!" it declared. "The queen will know what to do with him!"
"Queen? Colony? What are you--?" Any protests Overhaul had fell on deaf audio sensors as he found himself being lifted up onto the fire ant's back and carried away. He attempted to alert Jetfire again, but nothing went through as the ant dug up a hole in the ground and burrowed through....
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