CHAPTER FOUR
--Autobot City--
"Did someone say Moonquest?!"
Skids grunted as he was tackled from behind by Swerve. Turning around, he saw the minibot standing there with Tailgate and Rung, with other familiar faces from the Lost Light close behind.
"News travels fast, I see," Skids commented. "I hadn't even told anyone yet."
"Swerve said he overheard Prime and Megatron speaking," Rung explained. "You can imagine how things went from there."
"Don't tell me I'm the only one who's hyped that the quest is back underway!" Swerve exclaimed. "The Crusadercons are back in action! Too bad Nightbeat's missing out on this."
"And Rodimus," Rung pointedly added.
Swerve's elation immediately dropped. "Oh. Right. Yeah, it... kinda sucks he's not around for this. And Cyclonus too, I guess."
"Actually, Ratchet just discharged him from the medbay," Tailgate said. "Says he's back on his feet and everything."
"Sure he won't go Galvatron on us again?" Skids asked.
Tailgate shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think even Cyclonus does."
Rung turned back to Skids. "Do you know if Prime and Megatron are gathering everyone who's been on the Lost Light?"
"Actually," Skids said, "I think they have a set roster."
* * *
"You want me to stay behind?"
"Someone needs to watch over the city, Magnus," Optimus replied. "Besides, Megatron already has a set crew roster. There's not exactly room for any more."
Ultra Magnus frowned. "You're sure about this then? You don't think Depth Charge is leading you into a trap?"
"You think he would?"
"I haven't heard from him in years, Prime. The last time I ever spoke with him, he was convinced that Protoform X had escaped from wherever the Wreckers had taken him. I'm not convinced he's in the right state of mind."
"He seems perfectly stable to me," Optimus said. "Still, if it does turn out to be a trap, I will alert you right away. I'm sure Metrotitan will respond if it means saving my life."
Ultra Magnus sighed as he nodded, realizing there would be no point in arguing this. "Very well. In that case, I wish you luck, Prime."
Optimus shook his hand. "Likewise, old friend."
* * *
"You sure you don't wanna come along, for old time's sake?"
Windblade shook her head. "Magnus will probably need me to play translator for Metrotitan. Besides, at this point, pretty much any Titans you're likely to encounter will probably be out to kill you, so I doubt I'd be of much help."
Brainstorm shrugged. "Suit yourself. Take care of Doomshot for me, will you?"
"Is he not going with you?"
"He told me he wanted to stay behind in case Metrotitan had any more answers for him. You, uh, might need to help him with that."
Windblade rolled her optics. "Great. Thanks for thinking of me."
"Don't mention it!" Brainstorm said before turning around and heading for the hangar bay.
* * *
"...And the Wreckers bring the total up to twenty-five," Elita-One said, finishing up the roster. "Amazing. I didn't think it would fill up that quickly. I guess Luna One really is that big of a draw."
"I thought it would be," Megatron muttered, standing on the Lost Light's bridge.
Elita glanced at him. "I noticed no Decepticons signed up -- well, except for the ones Impactor has with him. Did you intent for that?"
"I made it a point to recruit only those that have been on Rodimus' crew since the beginning. The Wreckers are more for extra muscle than anything."
"I see." Elita glanced back down at the roster and raised an optic ridge. "What about Convoy? Isn't he that clone of Optimus the Wreckers found?"
Megatron nodded. "We found him among the Fuzors after Fortress Maximus vanished, and... see, here's the thing, Elita...."
He inclined his head to the magenta Autobot and grinned.
"He's not a clone."
--Luna 1--
"Thank you for coming home! I'm sorry that the chairs are all worn, I left them here, I could have sworn."
"Dear Primus, it's worse than I thought," Apelinq murmured as he and the others stepped off the Apex. Ginrai walked straight up to the awaiting Wreck-Gar, looking around the barren landscape of Luna 1.
"All right, pal. You promised answers. What happened to Junkion? Where did Luna One come from?"
Wreck-Gar wagged a finger. "Not even a hello? For shame. I guess manners really are outdated."
Devcon scowled. "Stop wasting our time, trash-head. Give us answers, now."
Ginrai raised a hand to silence the bounty hunter. "My apologies. We are simply a bit... overwhelmed by this discovery."
Wreck-Gar's grin was so wide it almost looked like his face was about to split in half. "Of course! Understandable. Where would you like me to start?"
"Um, Ginrai?" Apelinq stepped up to his commander, a worried look on his face. "I'm picking up some strange--"
"It can wait," Ginrai cut him off. "Well, Wreck-Gar, you can start by telling us how you came across Luna One."
Wreck-Gar nodded, his gaze wandering. "I saw the bad moon a-rising. Trouble on the way. Hope you got your things together."
Flareup frowned. "That doesn't sound good."
"He's just talking nonsense again," Devcon grunted. "Enough games, Junkion. Now answer the question."
Suddenly, Wreck-Gar started to laugh, but it was not one of glee. His grin now looked even more forced as he shook his head. "You shouldn't have come here. You're all going to die out here."
Alarmed, Ginrai turned back to Apelinq... just as the Apex exploded behind them. The blast sent all four bots flying while Wreck-Gar simply stood there, allowing himself to be blown to pieces.
As Ginrai laid on the ground, the neural connections to his legs refusing to respond, he felt a shadow fall over him. Pushing himself up, he turned around to see a tall figure standing before him, decked in blue and red with raised shoulder pillars. The look was different, but Ginrai could not mistake the identity of his former commander.
"Delta Magnus...?"
She smiled back at him. "Have we met? Sorry, you must be thinking of my original self. You had already left Cybertron by the time I came along."
Ginrai grunted as he tried to stand up. To his dismay, his legs were completely busted. "How long have you been here?" he asked.
"Oh, only for a day," Delta Magnus chuckled. "In fact, I'd like to wager I'm here for the same reasons as you: to find the Circle of Light. Finding Luna One itself was certainly not on the agenda."
"Then why are you acting like you're in charge?"
"Because I am." Delta Magnus grinned wickedly. "My master had sent me to get something one of her brothers had misplaced... and instead I found something of hers."
Above them, a swarm of blue jets began to descend from the sky. Nearby, Flareup, Devcon, and Apelinq had been apprehended by an army of tank drones, while red motorcycles rushed to surround Ginrai.
"Now then," Delta Magnus said. "Prepare to be... assimilated."
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