CHAPTER SEVEN
--Caminus--
"I swear, Anode, you and your big--"
"Time and place, Lug!" Anode snapped as she shoved her partner and Wipe-Out ahead of her. Without warning, the Worldsweeper had changed direction and was now headed for them, taking its army of robotic beasts with it.
While the green Camien -- Swift, as she was named -- called the local defenses, Aileron and Sterling led the trio to a fortified shelter. There they were clustered together with over a dozen Camiens. Some of the larger bots stood guard up front while the rest huddled in the back of the room.
"This is like that one story Siroco would tell," one Camien murmured, squeezed in between Anode and another bot. "About those marauders that attacked Parvus over a millennia ago."
"Did those marauders come in a Decepticon warship?" another Camien asked.
"I don't think he ever said...."
Feeling Lug's stern look burning a hole in her helm, Anode shuttered her optics and sighed. "Don't tell me this is all my fault."
"Those bots wanted us dead for a reason," Lug hissed. "If we hadn't answered Moscardo's call, then--"
"Then they still would have killed Moscardo and Scammer, and probably Wipe-Out too," Anode said. "Besides, they're clearly after something else on this planet. They probably would have come here regardless."
"That still doesn't explain how they found us," Lug said. "Unless they're just that lucky, they would have had to have known where we were meeting at. And the only ones Moscardo would have told were you, Scammer, and--"
Lug cut herself off as Anode met her eye. The couple then looked over to Wipe-Out, who squirmed under their gaze.
"What?" he asked in the worst innocent tone ever.
"You're the only Decepticon in the room," Anode said quietly. "And there's a Decepticon Worldsweeper outside trying to kill us."
"Yeah, so?!" Wipe-Out snapped, shaking nervously. "Those guys back there weren't any 'Cons I recognized! Heck, Flame used to be a freaking Autobot! Why would you think I had anything to do with--"
"Then how else did they find us?" Lug asked, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Moscardo was the one freaking out over them and Scammer had just lost Rocket, and it certainly wasn't me or Anode. So that just leaves--"
"Okay!" Wipe-Out threw his hands up in the air, startling the rest of the room. "Okay, you've got me! I was the one who sold us out! But--"
"But what?!" Anode stormed over to Wipe-Out and grabbed him by the shoulders. "You nearly got us killed! You got Mos and Scammer killed! You expect us to forgive you after that?"
"You don't understand! He... he saved me. The Grand Architect. I was about to be blasted by the Wreckers and... and--"
"And what? You agreed to get the rest of us killed in exchange?"
Wipe-Out shrunk before her. "He didn't give me a choice, Anode. He said if I didn't do it, he would... he would...."
Anode released him and Wipe-Out collapsed into a heap on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably as his optics gauze overheated, emitting ribbons of light.
"I don't want to die, Anode. I'm scared...."
Anode frowned as she stepped away from the hysterical Decepticon, unsure of what to say or do. The Camiens in the room were all staring at them now, making her feel even more uncomfortable. All of this nearly made her forget the danger they were in... until she heard the growls of the horde drawing close outside. She felt Lug embrace her from behind as claws began to scrape against the door....
* * *
"I've got a visual, captain."
"I'm pretty sure we can all see the Worldsweeper, Signal Flare," Star Saber said wryly, sitting in the command chair as the Lost Light drew nearer to the Decepticon warship.
"No, I meant that I've got a visual on their army." Signal Flare keyed a button on his board and brought up on his screen a capture of countless beast-formers rampaging through the Camien villages.
"By Primus," Overhaul muttered. "Those are Terrorcons."
"You mean the zombie bots?" asked Skids.
"No, no. These are from the First Great War. Trannis made them in an attempt to siphon energon from Iacon and deprive us of resources." Overhaul scratched his chin as he stared at the screen. "I thought they had all been destroyed when he tried infusing them with Dark Energon. I guess someone left behind the blueprints."
"The speculation can wait," Star Saber said. "Let's stop these things before they can cause any more damage than they've already have."
* * *
Rung stared at Tyrest, unsure if he had heard the Chief Justice correctly. He adjusted his spectacles as he carefully regarded Tyrest.
"I... beg your pardon?"
Tyrest smirked. "Don't tell me you haven't wondered yourself. I vividly recall the case the Functionists made against you for your apparent lack of function. But after six thousand years, we've finally figure it out."
He held up his hand and revealed a tiny blue crystal. Rung's optics widened; it matched what he had spontaneously regurgitated right before the Legislators had kidnapped him.
"Do you know what this is?" Tyrest asked.
Lost for words, Rung merely shook his head.
"It's a photonic crystal. They can store spark energy and preserve it for an indefinite period of time. It was with these that the sparks born from the Matrix of Leadership were contained, before being placed in ready-made bodies."
"The cold construction process," Rung murmured. "A process you helped create."
Tyrest chuckled. "Yes... and I couldn't have done it without you."
Rung felt his legs shake, forcing him to prop himself against the wall for support. "What are you saying?" His voice was no louder than a whisper at this point.
"I'm saying you helped give birth to an entire generation of Cybertronians with the creation of these crystals," Tyrest answered. "Of course, after we lost the Matrix, we had to... adjust your memory to forget how to make the crystals, lest someone were to exploit your special talent."
Rung frowned. "Wait... if you knew all along that I could make these crystals... how come you needed to figure out what I turned in to?"
"Because your alt mode is not required to make these crystals. That much is evident, I'm sure." Tyrest's grin grew wider, more devious. "It was, however, the leading clue to determine your true purpose."
Rung was almost too afraid to ask, but he did so anyway. "And what would that be?"
Tyrest opened his mouth to speak... and then scowled as he raised a hand to his temple. "Flame," he growled, "this had better be worth--"
"The Autobots are here, sir!" Flame's voice crackled over the comm. "They're attacking our Terrorcons!"
"Wonderful." Tyrest shot a glare at Rung. "It would appear your friends have come to rescue you."
Somehow, given his track record of being overlooked, Rung doubt that to be the case. Nevertheless, he allowed himself a small smile.
"Yes, well, as a colleague of mine once said: Always keep your friends at arm's length, so that you may pull them closer when you need them."
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