CHAPTER ONE
--Autobot City--
"Junkion, eh?" Wheeljack rubbed his chin as he studied the navigrid. "Yeah, I remember Junkion. Not exactly the ideal vacation spot, if you ask me.""Yeah, even Dai Atlas wasn't too keen on visiting it," Ginrai said, standing behind the Autobot engineer. "Beta Maxx had suggested it as a starting point for our quest, since the Junkions were said to be wells of information. As it turned out, they did actually have the Requiem Blaster in their possession."
"I have no idea what that is, but it sounds awesome," Wheeljack said.
"A Decepticon used it to kill Metroplex," Devcon muttered.
"Okay, not so awesome then." The engineer then turned around to face the three rescued Circle of Light bots. "Unfortunately, I can't send you there via GroundBridge."
"Why not?" asked Flareup.
"It's too remote. GroundBridge tech can only reach so far, and if Metroplex is dead, then Metrotitan can't link space bridges with him." Wheeljack held up a finger. "But fear not! For we are not out of options!"
He inputted something into the computer, replacing the navgrid with the image of a small starship.
"This right here is a bona fide quantum shuttle. Days ago, it was merely a J-R class shuttle from the Lost Light's hangar bay, but with the combined efforts of myself, Brainstorm, Perceptor, and our new Maximal ally Apelinq, we were able to fit it with a quantum drive that will instantly transport you to wherever you need to be!"
"So all we have to do is put in Junkion's coordinates and it'll take us there?" Ginrai asked.
Wheeljack tapped his fingers together. "Well, uh, no. It's... a bit more complicated than that. But worry not, for Apelinq has agreed to join you on your mission!"
As if on cue (which was probably the intent), a red-brown and green Maximal stepped into the room. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he nodded in acknowledgement to the three knights.
"Um, hi. Apelinq here, at your service."
Ginrai nodded back to him. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Apelinq." He then turned back to Wheeljack. "Are we all set then?"
Wheeljack shrugged. "You tell me. Will four bots be enough?"
"More than enough."
"Then who am I to argue? Good luck, and be sure to all come back in one piece. I wouldn't want all our hard work to go to waste."
Devcon frowned. "Are you talking about us or the ship?"
"Oh, yeah. Try not to die as well. That'd also be a bummer."
Ginrai sighed as he shook his head. "Let's just go."
* * *
"Still no sign of Rodimus?"Jetfire shook his head. "The Sky Spies aren't picking up anything. He couldn't have gotten far, not without using the GroundBridge. And as far as Wheeljack can tell, it's not been used by anyone but him and Perceptor."
"Keep looking," Optimus Prime murmured. "We're not leaving a single Autobot behind."
"Of course. And since we're on the subject...." Jetfire pinpointed a location on the map in front of him. "Cybertronian signatures have been detected near England again. Think it might be Ariel and Rampage?"
"Anything is possible. I'll have Perceptor open a GroundBridge so we can...." Optimus paused as he stepped closer to Jetfire's screen. "Wait... how many signatures are there?"
"Uh... it was three but now there looks to be four. The Sky Spy also seems to be registering some kind of Cybertronic spacecraft. It looks to be a... Starhopper?"
"A Starhopper? Those models were retired centuries ago." Optimus rubbed his chin. "In fact, the only bots known to use them before the war were Peace Marshals."
"I didn't think any of them were still around," Jetfire commented. "Think it might be stolen?"
"It's a possibility," Optimus replied. "In any case, assemble a team to investigate. I'll have Perceptor get a portal open."
Jetfire nodded. "Right away."
* * *
Ariel hugged her knees as she watched the ocean waves crash against the cliff side. The moon was large and bright in the Earthen night sky, surrounded by countless stars. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing she had ever seen; she dared the universe to do better.
Behind her, she could hear grunting and screaming. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Rampage dragging a small blue bug along the sand, leaving behind haphazard trails as the earwig tried uselessly to skitter away.
"Please, don't hurt me!" the bug cried out, snapping its mandibles together furiously. "I didn't do anything! Please! Have mercy!"
Ariel regarded the talking earwig curiously before looking up at Rampage. "Who is he?"
"A pest," he grunted, glaring down at the bug with baleful green eyes. "I caught him spying on me while I was scouting."
"I wasn't spying on you!" the bug cried out. "Honest! I thought you were another Predacon, that's all!"
"What's a Predacon?" Ariel asked.
"Don't listen to him," Rampage growled. "In a few seconds, he'll be nothing but--"
"Stop, brother."
The large red bot immediately froze in place. He looked over at Ariel, meeting her gaze. A silent moment passed between them before Rampage finally released the Predacon. The earwig changed shape and the resulting robot stood in its place.
"Oh, thank Onyx," he murmured, dusting himself off. "I'm still alive."
"For now," Rampage growled dangerously. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"My name is Vice Grip. My fellow Predacons left me for dead after the Wreckers attacked us. I made it out only to find everyone gone. You were the first Eukarian I've encountered in days."
"I'm not Eukarian," Rampage muttered.
Vice Grip tilted his head. "No? But you were in beast mode when I--"
"I saw a crab and I scanned it. That's it. Nothing else to it."
"Oh." The Predacon's shoulders dropped slightly. "Well, in any case, it's good to know I'm not alone out here."
"You are."
"P-pardon?"
"Ariel and I are leaving." Rampage waved a hand to his sister. "You're not coming with us. We are not your friends."
"Why not?" The question had come from Ariel, who was now on her feet.
Rampage shuttered his optics as he sighed. "We can't risk trusting him, Ariel. Not everyone can be our friend."
"He still can be."
Before Rampage could argue, Vice Grip said, "Hey, does anyone else hear a humming sound?"
At that moment, a large shape suddenly materialized in the sky. Shaped like a manta ray, with protruding wings and fins, it hovered over the trio of bots as it opened a hatch and lowered a platform from below. Standing atop the platform was a silver and blue bot with a scratched-up yellow face. Gripped tightly in his hands was a three-pronged trident, its tips crackling with energy.
"Finally," the bot rasped, as if he hadn't used his vocal processor in ages. "After so long, I've finally found you."
Releasing a guttural yell, he leaped from the platform and lunged at Rampage, trident held high over his head....
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