Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Megatron has disappeared!

In response to the loss of their leader and the destruction of Cybertron, the Decepticons have split in two: The Kaye Fleet and the Ulktar Fleet.

In an effort to keep the Decepticon fleets from fighting each other, the one-eyed titan, Admiral Lugnut has pulled the Kaye Fleet out of the war and has focused on finding the Decepticon Leader as well as the cube he went searching for: The Allspark.

In the centuries that have passed. Many Autobots have come to the conclusion that the war has ended and have scattered across the galaxy.

With the search for Megatron seeming endless, at last, another set of planets have been discovered and an invasion has followed suit.

As the Decepticon bombing run crushed many Fantoman Giants, on the planet of Fantoma, the remaining giants pushed forward. The Giants forced the Decepticons on the ground to fall back among the carnage.

At the height of the conflict. Decepticon squad leader, Sky-byte, led his troops through the fight

Sky-byte panicked as bullets flew by, it made him tense up. He didn’t like admitting he was scared but after so many failed missions with his squad, he knew he had to keep up morale. As he hid in cover, he saw his team surround him, their faces giving him supportive looks. For once he felt fulfilled, they had his back, he needed to show them he had theirs.

Sky-byte stood tall above the rest of his squad and called out. “The Allspark must be here! When we find it. Lugnut will be thrilled with us, he will honour us, he will be so proud! Don’t let him down people!”

His squad charged while the others retreated. Sky-byte ran with them expecting a glorious victory, but instead he saw defeat. He watched as his friends were slaughtered in front of him. In a state of panic, he began to lose focus on the battle in front of him. The world around him became a blur and he could not assess the situation. He breathed slowly and tried to calm himself. The call of his name snapped him out of his comatose state as one of his subordinates: Darkscream began to pull him back from the assault.

Sky-byte watched in shame as many others died while he was dragged away to the drop ship and brought back to the fleet. Another member of his unit, Gaskunk kneeled to Sky-byte and gave him a look of disappointment.

In the Bridge of the Wise, (the flagship of the Kaye Fleet,) Lugnut watched from the window as his ships returned from the planet and back to their hangars. He sighed.

“Another failure. This has been one the longest planetary invasions since the war.”

Lugnut’s second in command, Trypticon approached him.

“I don’t think this is the place, I doubt Megatron would be stupid enough to choose slaves of that strength.” He said in a calm dementor.

“Do not question the will of Megatron our glorious one!” Lugnut snapped, his gruff voice echoing throughout, “If this is the planet, Megatron would have reason. Just because we are too weak to understand his great wisdom does not mean we have the right to challenge his vision!”

“I’m not challenging his vision, it’s just- uggh. Remind me, Lugnut. What was Megatron’s plan here? You have told me that Megatron planned to enslave the race that inhabited, the planet the Allspark was heading to. I don’t think Megatron would have been stupid enough to choose a race of giants larger than most Decepticons.”

The door opened and a devastator stepped through.

“My masters,” it spoke, “our forces were completely overrun. Thousands of Decepticons died in the assault.”

“This is unacceptable!” Lugnut interrupted, “I expect better. Especially from a combiner like you.”

“I’ve told you; we need a new Devastator component. Something heavier to support the weight of the Scavengers.” Trypticon said.

“I think you should know, my lords. During the retreat, one squad leader refused to retreat, resulting in the annihilation of his squad.” Devastator continued.

“And his name?”

“Sky-byte…”

“Of course, who else would it be?! That worthless excuse of a Decepticon has proven himself to be nothing more than a failure. How many troops does he have left?”

“Three, sir. Darkscream, Gaskunk and Slapper are all that is left of his crew.”

“I see. Transfer them to other legions and execute Sky-byte at once. Anything else?”

“My lord. Our scout Durge has reported a high energon reading from Planet: one nine eight four. Should we investigate?”

“Planet: one nine eight four? No, that is The Fallen’s planet. It is best we leave that planet be.”

Lugnut fell silent pondering, then a sudden thought hit him.

“But it gives me an idea. Cancel Sky-byte’s execution. Bring him to me.

On the colonised world of Velocitron, the Autobot: Late Term sat aimlessly in a bar. Her empty cup resting on her hand was the only thing keeping her awake. As the bartender: Sandstorm approached her, Late Term adjusted her stance to make her seem more formal. Sandstorm was unamused.

“Not working I’m afraid. You’ve had enough tonight, Late Term.”

“Really?... Not one more?” she pleaded.

“Late Term, you’re out of money anyway.”

“I can make some, honest! Just- just give me a few cycles.”

Late Term drunkenly got off her chair. Struggling to keep balance, she leaned against the bar desk.

“I’m fiiiiiiiine… really.”

“You don’t even look like you can accurately transform in your state.”

“Oi!” came a voice from the back, “Sandstorm are you going to give us the round we ordered?”

“Of course, MetalHawk. Sorry.”

“We had much better service on Cybertron.” MetalHawk muttered to his bar mates.

“Not now…” Sandstorm retorted.

“You know I’m right, Sandstorm! Back on Cybertron, we were a proud race, but here we are nothing and it’s all because of those Autobot terrorists!”

Late Term took her arms off the bar desk and stood up firm.

“Alright, maybe I should go.”

“Yeah, leave!” Metalhawk yelled at her, “your kind are not welcome here.”

Late term stopped.

“My kind? Right, because that matters anymore. We are all responsible for what happened and I accept that. At least the Autobots did something.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Late Term stumbled out of the bar, ignoring Metalhawk’s endeavours, forgetting that her cup was still in her hand. She didn’t make it far, by the time she had only made it to the road, Metalhawk had already flown up and landed on the path in front of her.

“You didn’t answer me, and when someone doesn’t answer me, I keep asking.”

Metalhawk gave a quick slap to Late Term’s face but to his surprise, there was no response. Late Term stared at him directly, no sense of pain, no fluid reaction, a monotone gaze is all he got.

“Metalhawk, if that is your name. Piss off. I don’t have time this.”

Without saying a word, Metalhawk stepped back, transformed and flew back to the bar. Late Term noticed the cup still in her hand and begrudgingly tossed it over her shoulder. With that Late Term transformed into her Cybertronion cargo truck form and drove down Velocitron’s motorway.

Sky-byte shamefully walked onto the bridge of the Wise. There, both Lugnut and Trypticon waited for him

“You wanted to see me?” he asked, miserably.

“Sky-byte, in the search for Megatron you have costed us many. Do you understand?” asked Lugnut as he stared down at the Decepticon brute.

“I do sir.”

“And you understand that in the eyes of this fleet, you are nothing more than a disappointment?”

“…yes.”

Sky-byte didn’t feel like making excuses, he knew what fate was coming and he wasn’t in the mood to stall it.

“Sky-byte. What if there was a way you could redeem yourself, not just to us, but to Cybertron itself?”

Sky-byte looked at Lugnut in severe confusion.

“Wha- what do you mean?” he asked.

“We’ve detected something, Sky-byte. In the far reaches of the galaxy. A high energon source has been discovered.”

Trypticon stepped in. “We believe that this energon source is the answer we’ve been looking for. You see, energon of this calibre can only transmitted by one thing and I think you know what that is.”

“The Allspark. We’ve found it at last?!” Sky-byte asked, not believing his audio receivers.

“Yes,” Lugnut replied, grinning, “but it seems to be hidden on this lush planet. Sky-byte, we have decided to send you on this daring mission. Travel to this new world, find Megatron and with him, the cube. We will keep the fleet in this system and await your return.

Sky-byte was in disbelief, he still couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I- I don’t know what to say… thank you, thank you a lot.”

Sky-byte was taken to a shuttle, there he was handed a chest by one of Devastator’s components.

“This is everything you need for a scouting mission," the scrapper unit said, "good luck."

As Sky-byte packed, he saw the three surviving members of his squad staring proudly at him. He responded with a smile and a nod.

“Good look, boss!” Slapper called out.

“We’ll miss you.” Darkscream added.

As the shuttle doors closed Sky-byte’s eyes never left his team. He was relieved, finally, a second chance to redeem himself to not just his friends but to the whole Decepticon faction.

As Lugnut watched the shuttle leave the Wise and disappear into the deep emptiness of space. He began to laugh hysterically.

“Wow, he really is clueless.” Trypticon said, trying to contain himself.

“I told you." Lugnut cried. "That fool would believe anything if it gave him even the slightest hope.”

“So, is this your punishment now? Sending the worst soldiers to die on planets with promise of fortitude?”

“He will die believing he was important. That is my reward for his unbinding loyalty.”

“It’s a pretty harsh punishment though. Hmm, imagine if Megatron actually had sent the Allspark to The Fallen’s planet.”

Lugnut and Trypticon both laughed at the ludicrousness of that scenario.

Back on Velocitron, Late Term drove through the motorway until she reached one of its space ports. She transformed and stumbled to the receptionist desk.

There, she saw a familiar Autobot: Blastwave waiting for her.

“What are you doing here?!” she yelled out, irritated.

“I knew it, it makes sense, I guess. Though I expected you to wait a little longer for before deserting.”

“I’m not deserting! I’m- retiring. I’ve done my duty here and now I’m moving to other things. Think of it as the next room in a career house.”

“Ugh- you’re no better than the others, they all think that just because Decepticons don’t bother us anymore that means the war’s over. Well it’s not and it shouldn’t be.”

“If you want to warmonger, do it somewhere else please, perhaps Optimus will let you invade a planet. I’m sure that psychopath will be into it.”

“You joke, Late term? This war is important, it has helped Cybertron just as much if not more than damaged it. But I see you are too up your own arse to understand. Very well, perhaps one day you’ll see.”

With that, Blastwave left, leaving Late term to continue to the receptionist who hadn’t seemed to be paying attention.

Is Cheetor here? She asked, drooling onto the desk.

The receptionist took a while to absorb what had been asked before begrudgingly answering.

“Yes, in there..." they said.

“Thanks.” Late team spat out before continuing her unbalanced walk.

Standing the office was Cheetor with an inpatient look on his face.

“Cheetor! My friend. How have you been?”

“Don’t start, Late term. Primal has had enough of your stalling. Pay the debt you owe us.”

“And I will. You know I will. I just need you to do something for me first.”

“Ugh- the scrolls you found in Tiger Pax were legitimate. They do indeed revel the markings of the Primes. It seems your efforts to find the Matrix of leadership actually paid off. Well done.”

“So… where do I go next?”

“I’ll tell you after you pay.”

“Alright, alright, Cheetor. I’ll transfer it now.”

Late term made the transaction on her gauntlet. After checking it, Cheetor handed her a disk that she inserted into her gauntlet. Late gave an internal sigh of relief that Cheetor hadn’t noticed the phantom funds that she had just sent him.

“This will lead you to The Fallen’s planet.” He said.

“Matrix, here I come.” She retorted before falling face first onto the floor.

Sky-byte couldn’t handle his excitement as he followed the trail to the targeted planet. Finally, after so much failure, so much hardship, he had finally been given a chance in life. It gave him a sense of relief. The road to this feat had been a journey of death and loss but it seemed that all of it had ultimately paid off.

Once his shuttle reached the planet, he opened the cabinet under his flight desk and pulled out the universal translator. He inspected it to make sure it was in good condition.

“This translator looks old. Then again, it is an ancient relic, shame this planet doesn’t have satellite-based media yet. Would have been a lot easier to just download their language.”

Sky-byte put down the translator and activated a probe, launching it onto the planet below. He waited as the probe returned to him. Looking at the translator now he saw the languages of the planet being downloaded from the probe.

“So,” he said pondering, “this planet is called Earth, its most comment languages are English? Wait, why is there more than one English. Hold on... so, there is English, and also American English? Why? Hmm, it seems the other language that is spreading at the moment is… German? Okay. I suppose I’ll take those three.”

He attached the translator to his head and waited for the languages to be imported.

As the import completed itself, at the corner of his eye, Sky-byte noticed something. A beam of light appeared followed by what seemed to be another cybertronion vessel.

“That can’t be right,” he said confused, “this is my mission. Unless… oh shit. Ooh, I just learned an Earth swear… I like it!

Cheetor analysed the planet in front of him.

“Alright, Late term. This is where the disk has led us, therefore, this is where I drop you off, I’ll just get the tr- oh, according to the scanners a probe has already downloaded three languages on this planet.”

Cheetor did some typing of his desk.

“Alright. Probe successfully hacked. Here you go.”

He handed the translator to Late term who attached it to her head.

“You don’t think someone’s beat us to it, do you?”

“No. probably just a lone transformer. They probably got lost somewhere out here.”

“Well, I’ll worry about them once I get down there. Thanks, Cheetor. Make sure Primal knows that my dept is finished and he can leave me alone.

Cheetor nodded bitterly. With that, Late Term entered the pod and waited for Cheetor to hit launch; when he did, the pod shot off onto the planet below.

Sky-byte watched the pod fly down. He felt enraged; if this is a Decepticon then someone is trying to steal the mission that was rightfully his and if it’s an Autobot then he may have already been compromised. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Sky-byte never liked plan changes, once he had a set goal, he’d make sure it went that way. Last nano-cycle changes made him tense a bit and stressed him out a little though he never really understood why.

Now full of determination, Sky-byte made what he found to be the most logical decision. He rammed his shuttle directly into the pod.

Late Term was hit with sudden confusion as a shuttle had just smashed its way into her.

“Holy fuck! Watch where you’re driving!” she yelled out as both ships hit the planet’s atmosphere.

After a thud and a loud bang, Late Term opened her eyes and analysed the area around her. She was in a forest, or at least what used to be one. As the fire rose, she picked herself up slowly climbed out of her pod. As she walked from the crash, Late Term got a better look at her surroundings.

“right, she said to herself, “this was always a possible outcome. Now how do we do this? Yes, we find- we find a disguise. I just hope the inhabitants have a vehicle here my size.”

*BZZZK*

A grappling hook flew past her grabbing a tree which it removed from its grassy socket and launched back at her. Late Term quickly ducked and rolled under it before grabbing the machine gun from her belt. She turned and aimed to see a hulking Decepticon much larger than her.

“An Autobot? Of course! I should have known this mission would be so daring!”

Sky-byte charged at the lanky Autobot, but she slid under his legs and fired directly onto his back causing him to trip and fall into a few trees. Sky-byte fired his grapple again, this time at her, attaching it onto her chest. Sky-byte pulled her off the ground towards him and punched her directly in the face.

Late Term landed onto the ground, losing her gun. As she pulled herself up, Late Term wiped the mud off her face.

“Listen, buddy- I mean, great Decepticon boss man. I’m not an Autobot anymore, alright? I’m just here to- “

“Lies!” I know why you’re here!”

Looking up she noticed the Decepticon about to grab her. With the hook still attached to her, Late Term pulled at the grapple string and forced her attacker to lose balance again. Late Term rolled out of the way as the Decepticon landed on his face. She stood and pushed him on his back, before he could get up, she jumped onto him and unleashed the blade from her gauntlet. Late Term held the blade directly under the Decepticon’s throat while removing the hook from her chest.

“Right, I don’t know what’s got you so pissed but that really hurt. I’m not the kind of person who like getting battered out of the sky.”

Sky-byte wasn’t paying attention. All he could hear in his head was the voices reminding him of how much he’d messed up. He had just arrived and already he’d been bested by a single Autobot. Perhaps he didn’t deserve that second chance, perhaps this was exactly what he deserved.

“Just do it.” He whispered depressingly.

Late Term didn’t know how to respond, what was just a ferocious creature lunging at her was now staring at her asking to be killed. She pitied him, she pitied him a lot.

“Listen,” she said sheaving her blade, “I’m not going to kill you.”

“Why?” he asked disappointedly.

“Because I’m not an Autobot… not anymore.”

“You’re not?”

“I told you I wasn’t, you should listen.”

“I thought- it doesn’t matter.”

Sky-byte lowered his head in embarrassment. There was a brief silence and then Late Term continued.

“You’re lucky I wasn’t Optimus; he would have ripped your head off by now.”

“I’ve heard stories… Optimus must have some powerful energon stored in his nipples.”

“Wh- what did you say?”

Sky-byte looked back at the Autobot on his chest.

“Those large silver squares on his chest. They’re nipples, right?” he asked in complete sincerity.

Sky-byte didn’t expect the irruption of laughter coming from the Autobot on top of him after asking a simple question. Not that he had an issue, if he couldn’t kill her, making her laugh would be good enough.

“Okay,” Late Term uttered while catching her breath, “I actually don’t know what they are.”

“Well. Whatever they are, I hope there not just for show. It’s- good to meet you, by the way, I’m Sky-byte.”

“Late Term” the Ex-Autobot replied.

They both smiled at one another until Late Term realised that she was still on top of him and let him go.

Sky-byte stood and looked around while Late Term picked up and hoisted her gun.

“Hmm, I seem to have made a mess haven’t I.”

Suddenly, a sound of static electricity was heard from a distance.

“You hear that?” he asked.

“Sounded like teleportation. Oh shit. Ooh, I like these Earth swears!” Late Term responded.

Chapter Text

Sky-byte walked in the direction of the static.

“Sky-byte, don’t!” yelled Late Term, blocking him with her arm.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I know that sound. Someone has teleported here.”

“That can’t be, I don’t think this planet is that advanced.”

Late Term slapped her forehead. “That’s because it’s not from this planet, moron.”

From behind the trees a metal creature on all fours with sharp teeth around a wide circular mouth and eyes glowing red. The two stared as it seemed to analyse them both. Suddenly it gave out a loud screech.

“Unknown cybetronion life detected.”

Rapidly, more of the creature began to teleport around until they surrounded the pair. Late Term had caught on to what was happening while Sky-byte stood puzzled. Quickly, she whipped out her gun and began to fire on the machines.

Two immediately fell, while the others lunged on them. Sky-byte grabbed his attackers and slammed them to the ground, his overbearing height making it harder for the crawlers to overpower him. Late Term on the other hand was in disarray, the remaining crawlers on her side had completely overwhelmed her. As she struggled, the remaining crawlers attacking Sky-byte turned away from him and began to assist the others in their “pile on” strategy.

Sky-byte yelled out and moved to assist his new friend, but he was too late. The crawlers teleported away, taking Late Term with them.

As the fire around began to burn out, Sky-byte slowly wandered the ground in shame. The confusion and guilt of what had just transpired cut through his head. He sat down, resting his back against a tree. In his mind, all he saw was the crawlers taking Late Term away, followed by what he could have done. He wasn’t sure why, but it was starting to make him feel ill. Every small thing he might have been able to do, a less delayed reaction, pulling a crawler back with his harpoon, jumping on top of the pile- no that would have probably killed her.

An alarm went off from next where he was sat and he saw that his shuttle was no longer damaged, in fact it looked like he never crashed it. Sky-byte had been so distracted that he hadn’t even noticed. Dumbfounded, he rose and returned to his shuttle. Siting in the cockpit, Sky-byte activated flight and took off.

Late Term awoke, finding herself chained to a wall of a cave. Around her, the crawlers were watching while making small growls, she was sure they wanted to eat her, but they just stared, never actually making a move.

Another static was heard, and a much larger transformer appeared. This one was a bit taller that Sky-byte, hunched over with wire like tentacles, and what looked like train carriages for legs with a funnel sticking out of its forehead. Whatever was going on with its face was a different story, it had six eyes and sharp fangs hanging from the bottom of its mouth.

“So,” it said, taking a slow breath, “have they returned? Are the Primes here?”

Late Term couldn’t help but burst out into laughter at the question.

“Pr- Primes?! Primes?!!!” you think I’m from that dead dynasty?”

Her amusement was interrupted by the goliath grabbing her by the jaw and squeezing tightly.

“I will not tolerate this attitude. I am a Seeker; I have protected this ground for centuries. I- “

“Mate, I don’t need your life story. If you’re going to kill me, I’d rather you beat me to death than kill me with fucking boredom.”

It let her go then put its hands behind its back.

“I am Tarantulas, and you have arrived in the wrong place. You were lucky my Spitfires had already eaten; otherwise, you wouldn’t be here right now. Alas, I’m going to enjoy torturing you, but first.”

Another transformer, this one of ancient design with red eyes and a golden and silver mouth plate, handed Tarantulas Late Term’s gun. He examined it before looking at her.

“This is a design I am unfamiliar with; did you make it?”

“Sure, why not?” Late Term spat back; she wasn’t in the mood for a conversation.

Tarantulas turned to the ancient looking one.

“Return to the crash site, see if there is anything useful.”

The ancient one nodded and went to mount one of the spitfires that teleported them both away.

Late Term wasn’t sure why, but she hoped Sky-byte had left by now.

Sky-byte landed his shuttle on a hill far from the recent fight. In the distance he saw what looked like a city though it was different to the ones on Cybertron. As he continued, he heard the sound of propellers. Assuming it was the planet’s locals he inspected the area to find possible shelter but before he could conclude, a propelled plane crashed directly into him. As Sky-byte looked up he saw the plane transform into one of those crawlers from earlier. On top of it was an unusual looking transformer who leaped off the crawler and right onto him.

“You were not too hard to track. The great Tarantulas would like a w- “

Sky-byte didn’t let him finish, instead he shot his blades directly into the transformer’s chest. However, to his surprise, the transformer’s head removed itself from its body and transforming into a smaller version of itself. Sky-byte was really confused by this revelation to the point where he forgot that the crawler was right next to him about to strike. Quickly, he dodged the crawler’s attack and smashed it with his elbow.

As the little one attempted to escape, Sky-byte grappled it with his hook, pulled it back and caught it in his hand. As the little one struggled, he brought it back to his shuttle and forced it down onto a desk before zapping it with one of the shuttles wiring systems taking it offline.

Sky-byte pondered at the tiny thing; its design was unlike anything he had ever seen. All of a sudden, a thought came into Sky-byte’s head, perhaps if he rebooted it, it would tell him where Late Term was. Cautiously, he began strapping it to numerous different cables onboard. Truth be told, he had not done much research on the shuttle he was in; he hadn’t even looked at the manual. But even if there was a slight chance this would work, the least he could do was try.

“This better work…” he muttered before he flipped the switch and activated the cables.

Suddenly, the little one’s eyes flickered, turning a light shade of blue. To Sky-byte’s surprise, the little one muttered a sigh of relief before looking around at the ship’s interior.

It spoke. “Nice place.”

Sky-byte noticed that this transformer had had more than a simple reboot. Not only had its eyes changed colour but its voice had gotten a bit deeper and a little… posh? Sky-byte turned to the cables and realised he’d had the translator attached too.

“Shit…” he whispered to himself.

“Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met, who are you?” he then heard.

Sky-byte focused his attention back to the little transformer on his desk.

“Oh, right. My name is Sky-byte. Do you remember who you are?”

“Y- yes, I’m- a Cogman unit.” The tiny man blinked, he looked down at his hand and clenched them back and forth into fists. He seemed to be in disbelief. “You- freed me, you freed me from Tarantulas’ programming.”

“Tarantulas… he’s your boss?”

“Was.”

Cogman leaped off the desk and bowed before Sky-byte.

“You have freed me from a rude old bastard, and for that, I am forever in your debt!”

Sky-byte blinked. He was both surprised, and confused, though he was starting to appreciate this new friend. Perhaps a small servant could be quite useful on his mission here. The sudden thought of where Cogman had come from hit him. Tarantulas, he must have Late Term. Sky-byte regained focus on the situation at hand.

“Right,” he said with a new hint of determination in his voice, “if you can tell me how to get into your old boss’ lair and rescue my friend, that would be very helpful. In fact, no. As you are in my dept, I order you to take me to Tarantulas.”

Late Term screeched in agony as Tarantulas launched his drill component into her hip.

“Bloody hell,” she let out, “when I get out of here, I’m going to- “

Her retort was cut off my Tarantulas smacking his hand around her face.

“I don’t want to hear you talk; I want to hear scream!” he cackled.

Late Term kneed the Seeker in the crotch.

“Pathetic.” Tarantulas said, brushing it off.

The Seeker then proceeded to headbutt Late Term, knocking her out.

Cogman led Sky-byte back to his body component.

“Well, that’s broken, and it looks like you’ve completely destroyed the Spitfire.”

“Sorry.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I can still get us there, all you need to do is trust me. What’s your alt form.?”

“A submarine. Not from this planet though.”

“Either way, that’s not going to get you there, you need to fly!”

“Fly?! How am I supposed to fly? I don’t have jet attachments. I’m only called Sky-byte because I make large dives before swimming. Can’t we use the shuttle?”

“Too noticeable. Besides, you don’t need any jet parts here, my friend. The humans don’t use jets to fly.”

Cogman pulled a metal piece out of his chest.

“Scan this.”

Sky-byte did so and suddenly his parts began to change; then he transformed but into an entirely new vehicle.

“What- what is this?!” Sky-byte asked in awe.

“Your new form. You have just transformed into a B-17 Flying Fortress. Now if you would allow me.”

Cogman entered Sky-byte’s new form and strapped himself in the pilot seat.

“Now, Sky-byte. Fly!”

Sky-byte readied his new propellers and took off into the air.

Tarantulas carried Late Term out of the cave and dropped her down. As she woke, she saw the Seeker above aiming her own gun at her head.

“It has come to my attention that you are no longer fun to torture. All you do is talk back, no screaming, no begging and it’s boring!!! If you will not give me what I want, then I have no use for you.”

Late Term flinched, but her acceptance of death was cut off by the sound of a large propelled vehicle heading in her direction. Suddenly, machinegun fire unloaded from it, killing the remaining Spitfires. It then transformed into a familiar face and drop kicked a now confused Tarantulas.

Tarantulas roared as he hit the ground but was cut off by Sky-byte landing directly on top of him and stomping on his face.

“I don’t know who’s side you’re on but at this point, I really don’t care!” he yelled as the now feeble Tarantulas struggled to push him off.

Eventually, Tarantulas began to recover from his confusion and regained focus. He drilled directly into Sky-bytes leg, knocking him off. Tarantulas rose and approached the Decepticon.

“I’ve always wanted to say something like this,” Sky-byte mumbled before yelling, “Cogman, eject!”

The cockpit on his chest opened and Cogman leaped out, landing on his former boss’ face. He began to poke Tarantulas’ eyes.

“Gaaah! What’s gotten into you, slave?!” the Seeker yelled out.

As Tarantulas was distracted Sky-byte ran to Late Term who was now striving to get up. He kneeled next to her and put his arm under hers.

“It’s alright, I’ve got you.” Sky-byte stated, reassuringly.

“Don’t worry about me, you idiot,” she snapped, “you should be worrying about him!”

Sky-byte understood. He let go of his comrade and ran towards Tarantulas. Unleashing the blades from his arms, he began to stab the Seeker from all around until he finally bled out, managing to dodge most the brutes swings as he did so. As Tarantulas fell the ground, breathing his last few breaths, Cogman stood on top of him.

“I’d say working for you was fun, but it wasn’t. good riddance, bastard.” Cogman watched as his former boss’ spark went out.

Sky-byte rushed back to Late Term who was now unconscious on the floor. Cogman ran to them both and put his hand on her neck. He looked back up at his master “She’s alive but only just. You’ve just saved her life.”

“You’re right. I have…” Sky-byte gave out a sigh of relief and began to laugh.

There was no other way he could show his emotions right now, after so many failed missions with the Decepticon fleet and so many allies he’d seen die, he’d finally saved someone.

Late Term awoke laid against the walls of the cave. There before her, the little one who had come with Sky-byte was sitting on her arm, doing some mechanical work on it.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “Sky-byte is just bringing his shuttle here. You’ve got yourselves a hideout now; the humans here won’t be discovering you any time soon.”

“A hideo- what?!”

“The locals here, humans they’re called, don’t know that transformers exist. If you want to keep it that way and do what you want to do in private, this is the place to be.”

Late Term took a moment to process the recent information. A hideout, she’d just got here and already she had a hideout. Not only that but he also had a… servant? Late Term was confused, everything was happening way too quickly. The more she thought about it, it wouldn’t last, this Sky-byte fellow was still a Decepticon and probably wouldn’t be keeping her around for long. “I- I guess that’s good. I don’t think he’ll let me stay though.”

“Nonsense,” the little one replied, “he’s your friend.”

“He- he is?” she said, puzzled.

“That’s what he said.”

Late Term let out a sigh of both relief and slight confusion then she looked around. “Where did you put the bodies?” she then asked.

“They’re in a pile outside. Sky-byte is going to drop them off in the ocean.” The little one looked up at her. “You should be thanking him; he saved us both today.”

“I don’t even know who you are.”

“Cogman, that’s my name. That’s what I am; I’m a Headmaster, The Fallen used to have thousands of us working for him.”

“A Headmaster?”

Cogman gave her dead eyes. “I turn into a head.”

“Wait, weren’t you working with Tar-”

“Yes! But not anymore, Sky-byte reprogrammed me, he freed me! I am forever loyal to him, and I guess, to you as well. Now, you seem good as new.” Cogman jumped off her arm. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Late Term got up and stretched her legs. In the corner of her eye, she noticed a long rectangular table with barrels on it. Next to the table were tall wooden stools. Cogman followed her as she approached it.

“That’s what my old boss used for research; those barrels were his last subject. A fuel source, apparently it’s called ‘Diesel’.”

Late Term lifted a barrel of diesel and poked a hole in it before taking a sip. It tasted alright, I bit like the polluted energon she had back home, it felt strong though, like a few sips could knock a weaker transformer out.

“Nice.” She whispered before downing the rest of it.

Chapter Text

It had been a while since the pair had landed on the planet. Late Term had spent that time remained sat in the cave, drinking what Tarantulas had left. Sky-byte however had been making runs. Everyday he’d return with new earth items: books, radios and this thing called a television that he didn’t know how to work.

As winter began on the planet, the snow surrounded the cave and the trees around it. Late Term sat on her stool as per usual while Cogman wandered around the table. Suddenly, she heard the sound of Sky-byte transforming outside. He ran inside and dropped a pile of books and other papers onto the ground.

“Right!” he yelled, “I’ve figured it out, the humans here are actually ruled by these gods called cats!”

“Sky-byte…” Cogman interrupted, “have you actually read any of these?”

“Some. It’s hard to find the right ones, I find a lot them in piles outside towns. The ones that are the least damaged I read first, though it is hard to read some when the writing is so small.”

Cogman shook his head and picked up one of the books.

“Here’s a good one. History of America.”

“I don’t need that! I need books about artefacts and archaeology! Whatever this Amee-reeka is, it’s not important to me yet.”

“Then what is?” Late Term asked, bewilderedly.

“That’s none of your concern.” Sky-byte responded in a slight panic-like tone.

Late Term got up.

“Really?” she said, unamused.

“Yes, really!”

Late Term then stretched her arms. She slowly walked towards Sky-byte until she was right at his chest. She looked up to him as he nervously staring down back at her.

“Well. If you’re not going to be helpful that way, be helpful this way,” she tossed an empty barrel at him, “get me some more diesel, please; we’re out.”

As she rambled, her face remained in a stoic expression. Sky-byte didn’t really know how to respond to it. To be honest, he really didn’t understand her at times, her monotone face always presented with only a faint smirk. That time he said that Optimus had nipples was the only time he’d seen her fully emote. But alas, she was his friend now and helping each other is what friends do, or at least that’s what he thought.

Sky-byte huffed and turned to the cave’s entrance. As he walked out, he almost didn’t hear the tiny footsteps of Cogman running after him.

“Are you actually going?”

“Yes.” Sky-byte muttered, his head facing the sky with his back still facing Cogman. “Not sure when I’ll be back, try to keep the cave clean.”

“I’d rather come with you if I’m honest.”

“Really?”

“Please?" Cogman begged. "She’s so dull!”

“There’s no need to be so disrespectful. I wouldn’t have been able to reprogram you if she hadn’t spared me.”

“I know but- you know what I mean. Sky-byte, may I please?”

Sky-byte let out a long sigh and transformed into his plane form. He opened the doors to signal the Headmaster to get in. Cogman let out a slight squeal and ran inside; he immediately strapped himself in and relaxed onto the pilot seat.

As Late Term heard her friend take off, she slumped back down to the side of the cave. Around her were empty barrels.

“I should probably clean up… eh, Sky-byte will do it when he gets back.” She said to herself before falling asleep.

Back on the Autobot fleet over the planet Hive, Blastwave furiously barged onto the bridge of the vessel.

“Disgusting!” he yelled. “Those cowards have pulled out of Bhul; that’s another planet we’re just leaving to fall into Decepticon hands.”

The crew around him stared, nervously. Blastwave eyed them one by one before walking to his desk. His crewmate: Scattershot, approached him from behind.

“Stop worrying over nothing. The war’s over. You have the free will to do whatever you want now, are you really going to waste it complaining about complete nonsense?”

“Nonsense? This war is the blood of all Cybertronions, it has allowed us to grow strong. But if we continue to act as if we’re are weak, the Decepticons will think we are so. That’s the problem with all you lot, you think that just because the war’s over, we should stop fighting. Well it’s not like that, Scattershot. It’s not like that.”

“Well I’m sorry y- “

Scattershot was interrupted by another Autobot scurrying through the door.

“Crosshairs? What’s wrong.”

“Since we’ve left Bhul, the Autobots here are going on about ‘following suit’, they’re protesting in the hangers, crying at us!”

Like instinct, Blastwave pushed himself off his chair and stormed past Crosshairs.

“I’ll deal with them.”

As Blastwave continued down the halls, Scattershot hastily followed.

“Blastwave, be nice.” He called out.

“Nice? I’ll show them nice.” Blastwave grunted.

The doors slid open to reveal a platoon of Autobots yelling while gathered around the senior officer: Trench. The group was in a panicked state, all trying to get their own say across to the besieged Trench.

Blastwave gave Trench a reassuring pat, followed by a nod giving him the go ahead to step back. Before Blastwave could interact, Scattershot barged past, blocked him, and attempted to reconcile with the protestors.

“We don’t want to make a difficult situation here. Let’s try to settle this, rationally,” he pointed to a smaller Autobot, “you first. Tell me what this is all about.”

The smaller Autobot stepped forward. Blastwave recognised him as Kup, who despite his size was probably the oldest transformer there.

“We’ve had enough, boy.” He bickered. “We’ve been on this planet for so long and we’re starting to realise that there’s nothing to it! In the last few Cybertronion years, many Autobot fleets have left their colonised worlds: Jhi, Klo and now Bhul, it’s time we followed suit!”

All the other protesters nodded and cheered in approval. Blastwave held himself back, he wasn’t going to let the activists get to him.

“Not only that,” another protestor by the name of First Aid added, “but the people here have lived in fear of us. We are not conquerors, and this is not our planet!”

“The war is over,” Kup continued, “it’s time we started acting like it.”

At this point, Blastwave had had enough. He pushed past Scattershot and stood tall above the old man.

“This war will never truly be over. The fact that you think you can just abandon everything we have built proves how little devotion you have to- ugh. Why am I even bothering with you?”

“Hey!” First Aid shouted while stepping between them. “Kup has been with us since Sentinel was a hatching; he deserves more respect than anyone here.”

“At this point, he probably has that illness that many mammal races get,” Blastwave continued indignantly, “what’s it called now? Dementia?”

“How dare you!”

First Aid got closer but was stopped by Blastwave grabbing him by the head and slamming him to the ground. Scattershot attempted to restrain him but it was no use; Blastwave began beating the Autobot, relentlessly.

“What’s he doing?!” one protestor yelled while the others looked over in fear.

“Blastwave… Blastwave! He’s had enough.” Scattershot cried out.

Blastwave stopped punching and turned back, then in a fit of rage returned to the down protestor and proceeded to rip his arm off. As First Aid screamed, Blastwave held the arm to the other protestors.

“You will return to your posts. That is an order!”

Without looking back, the protestors scattered. Scattershot carefully approached Blastwave, keeping his eyes glued to the Autobot’s head.

“I don’t think you made the right choice there. We don’t want to start a mutiny.”

Blastwave remained stoic. His attention focused on those retreating.

“If they revolt; I will deal with them.” He replied before returning to the bridge.

Scattershot looked over at the now one-armed First Aid who was leaking on the floor, and sighed.

“Somebody, clean this up.”

Sky-byte flew over the ocean, to him it was beautiful, the whole planet was. On Cybertron, everything was metal but here, there was so much life.

“I wonder what Cybertron would have been like if it was more organic.” He said.

“More pleasant. probably. What’s it like now?”

Sky-byte was unsure if he should answer, he didn’t know how long Cogman had been here and he didn’t feel like he was the best choice to tell someone that their home was lost.

“It’s quiet…” he let out.

“I see.”

“so,” Sky-byte timidly started, “have you ever heard of… Megatron?”

“Who?”

“Never mind!”

As they flew further through the sky, Sky-byte noticed what looked like a hefty boat in the distance.

“Hmm, the humans have boats. That’s a large boat.” He said, musing at the boat’s design.

“That’s an aircraft carrier, looks Japanese. What are they doing around here?” pondered Cogman as he looked below.

“Are Japanese friendly?”

“Should be.”

“That’s good. Why are they sending planes out? Are they saying hello?”

Suddenly, the Japanese planes began to fire on Sky-byte. While their weaponry was clearly behind that of Cybertron, Sky-byte still felt a sting from each bullet.

“You said they were friendly!” Sky-byte screamed.

“I thought they were!" spat Cogman, defensively. "I don’t know much of the war.”

“War?!!!”

“Oh, right. Yeah, there’s a war happening on this planet right now.”

“Wh- and you didn’t mention this earlier?”

“Well, I didn’t know you were going to fly straight into it!”

“Who do they think I am then?” Sky-byte asked, trying to dodge the incoming fire.

“A Flying Fortress is an American plane. I guess they’re enemies with Japan now? I didn’t know America was fighting in it.”

“Great… well since we’re already here, perhaps it’s time I show what happens when you attack a proud Decepticon!”

Sky-byte transformed landing directly onto the carrier, his feet ripping through the boat like a knife. He began stamping his feet, causing the ship to wobble. This was followed by Sky-byte firing his grappling hook at the ship's tower and despite its solid structure, pulling it off.

“Sky-byte, what are you doing?” begged Cogman.

“I’m… fighting?" he shot back. "I’m doing something right now.”

Sky-byte’s rambles were interrupted by a plane flying directly into his back, knocking him down.

“What was that?!” he yelled angrily.

“I think one of the Zeros decided to use themselves as a missile.” Cogman responded.

“what kind of strategy even was that?! Hold up, their planes are called Zeros? Why?!”

Sky-byte struggled to raise himself from the ground, the constant bullet fire was starting to make him bleed a little, he was sure if he stayed in firing range, the earth bullets would probably do some serious damage. As Sky-byte got back up he noticed Fuel tanks rolling overboard.

“Hold up, I think- I think that’s the diesel that Late Term wanted.”

“Really? You’re going to get them for her, still?!”

Sky-byte ignored Cogman’s protest and slid down the boat while unleashing his blades through the floor, cutting the deck in two. He leaped off the ship and slammed into the sea. The Zeros began to circle him before shooting at him, one at a time.

“Oh, bugger to this!” Cogman yelled.

“Shut up, Cogman. Now follow my orders and- agh- get those fuel tanks. I’ll transform into my vehicle form; you load!”

With that, Sky-byte transformed. Cogman opened the side doors and began to lasso the tanks with a rope from the inside. As the Zeros flew past them once more, Cogman fired a missile from his mouth, destroying one.

Cogman's let out a sigh before he commented. “Okay. We’re done here.”

Sky-byte took off into the air, shooting down the remaining Zeros as he did; leaving the ship to sink. As they began to return to shore, Cogman activated the radio in the cockpit. What followed was a type of music that Sky-byte had never heard of. It was slow, calm; it was so peaceful. There was something about it that made Sky-byte feel relaxed after all that had just transpired.

“I’ve lost all ambition, a worldly acclaimed!” Cogman sang making Sky-byte chuckle as their cave began to appear from the distance.

Suddenly, one of his left engines exploded.

“Shit. I must have taken a real hit there.” He said, beginning to lose control.

Despite an attempt to stay in the air, Sky-byte crashed in the woods near the cave. Cogman got up from his seat and brushed himself with his hands.

“You alive?” he asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Sky-byte cynically responded.

Cogman got all the fuel tanks out before Sky-byte transformed back into robot mode. Sky-byte began to inspect the burnt engine which had now converted into part of his left shoulder.

“It’ll heal… hopefully.” He said, fed up of the whole ordeal.

Sky-byte walked the rest of the journey back with tanks in his arms and Cogman on his head. At this point, Sky-byte just wanted to go to sleep. At least for a few centuries. With what he had just be through, he knew this was just the start of his time here. Megatron was on this planet somewhere, and once Sky-byte had settled, he’d need to get to work.

The Decepticon arrived back at the cave and emptied his arms onto the table. There, Cogman jumped from his head and onto its surface.

“About time.” A familiar voice said from behind the two, spoke.

Sky-byte begrudgingly stepped aside, allowing Late Term to inspect the tanks. She poured one into a barrel and drank out of it.

“Not bad.” She said, sounding like she didn’t care at all.

Sky-byte sighed and rested his back against the wall, crossing his arms in contempt. Late Term sat on the stool and rested her elbows on the table. Internally, Sky-byte was waiting for her to ask what had happened to his shoulder, perhaps even tend to it, but he got nothing. At this point, Sky-byte had had enough.

“This should do for now.” She commented. “Hopefully you can remember where you got them from so you can get more another time.”

“I got them from a boat.” Sky-byte replied Scornfully.

“Oh, well I’m sure there’s more than one.”

“Not likely, it wasn’t from here. It seems this planet is at war. I just happened to fly past an enemy boat.”

“Well… that complicates things.”

“Yes.”

“Well, thanks anyway. At least you’ve got some experience for your next trip.”

Sky-byte punched Late Term in the face, knocking her off her stool.

Chapter Text

The Ulktar fleet lay motionless in an asteroid field not far from Cybertron. They hadn’t moved in a while, why would they? The war they knew had been over a long, long time. Even then, the fleet never laid down its weaponry, never left a post unguarded. It was all a power move. The admiral of this fleet had a severe inferiority complex and it affected not just him but his whole crew.

Red Wing casually walked to the ship's cafeteria and found its leader: Starscream, sat aimlessly with a drink in one hand and a tablet in the other. Red Wing rolled his eyes and sat on the other side of the table.

“Drowning your sorrows again, sir?” he asked, sardonically.

“Not now, Red Wing!” Starscream snapped.

“You can’t just sit here every day. The fleet needs you."

“They don’t need me. What’s the point? They’ll all leave and join Lugnut soon anyway.” Starscream stated before lowing his head.

Red Wing groaned. This had not been the first time he'd been like this and would most likely not be the last. “And you’re going to let that happen?”

“What can I do, Red Wing?" his superior blurted. "I can’t fight the bastard, he’s about the same height as Grimlock!”

Red Wing sighed. He saw his admiral return to his tablet and scroll through its screen, giving disappointed looks at every swipe.

“Have you seen this?” Starscream then let out, showing Red Wing a recent article.

“‘Kaye Fleet pulls out of Fantoma’” Red Wing read.

“Ridiculous, isn’t it?”

Red Wing looked back at Starscream and spoke. “That Lugnut failed to invade a planet of giants?”

“No! That after all these failed invasions, they still rally behind him. I have not let a single member of my fleet die since the war ended.”

“Really?” Red Wing asked, not believing a word.

“Yes! Yet Lugnut sends his troops on countless suicide missions and they just… love him. What is it about him that makes him get so much respect?”

“He’s a good speaker perhaps?" the Decepticon suggested. "Listen, Starscream. There are ways to get more Decepticons in our fleet. You just need to be willing to do what must be done.”

“What are you talking about?” Starscream asked, putting down his tablet.

Red Wing repositioned his posture. “Starscream, there is a way to get everyone on your side. You know what it is.”

There was a moment of silence, then Starscream scoffed. “I don’t need him. We don’t need him! Megatron left us, all of us!”

“But if you found him, all Decepticons would rally behind you! Even the promise that you’ll find him, that should be enough to boost moral here.”

“But we have no way of doing so. Even if I wanted to find him, how would I? That brute has invaded countless worlds and found nothing. You think I’d find Megatron on my first try?”

“Lugnut searches planets by invading them, let’s say you made a different approach. Surely then, that idea would make your allies see you as a better, more capable leader than your current rival.”

Starscream leaned forward while his face showed that of insulted. “let’s say I announce it. I make this big speech about how I will find Megatron, and then one Autobot hears. Then what? I’ll tell you what, the war would start over!”

“But, now hear me out. Let’s say you attack first, let’s say you land a major victory against Autobots. Or even better, that’s your announcement. That there victory is you telling the galaxy that it’s time for Megatron’s return and that you’re the one responsible. Lugnut would look so incompetent, so useless, no, worse than useless!”

Starscream laid back on his seat and pondered. Suddenly, a smile grew on his face.

“Then,” he said in a dais, “Megatron would reward me. I’d have everything I need.”

He stood up and turned to face Red Wing.

“Assemble my army, tell them the fleet is about to move.”

Red Wing grinned and ran out the door. Starscream turned to the drink’s maker, Novastorm.

“Is the war back on, Starscream?”

“It is, Novastorm. But this time, on my terms.”

Cogman ran through the woods, dodging the shotgun blasts that were zooming past him. With a bag of books in his hand, Cogman slid behind a tree and began to catch his breath.

“Get back here, demon!” a human yelled out.

“Do I look demonic to you?!” Cogman yelled back before dodging another blast.

“You’ve been stealin’ books from our town. But you didn’t realise that we’d catch on!”

“Listen, I really don’t want to kill you right now so please just leave and I’ll steal from a different town!”

“That ain’t gonna cut it.” Another human yelled.

Cogman sighed. “Alright then, here I am.”

He dropped the books down and approached three humans, all armed with double-barrel shotguns, and cigars in their mouths.

“Gawd will surely look down upon us with honour today, boys.” One man spoke.

“I don’t think honour, more like laughter.” Cogman retorted.

As the three raised their guns, Cogman ducked and rolled behind one before smacking him on the back of the head, knocking him out, instantly. Another ran at him and fired but Cogman jumped over the shot and kicked the human mid-air. Finally, the last one dropped his gun and fled, Cogman picked up the gun from the recently fallen human and tossed it at the last, knocking him onto the ground. Slowly, he approached him.

“If you would be so kind, leave. Unicron knows what I’ll do to you three if you come back.”

Cogman picked up his book bag and continued to his cave. There, Late Term was sat at the table like usual while Sky-byte lay asleep against one of the cave walls.

“Cogman.” Late Term muttered.

“How long’s he been down for?” Cogman asked as he glanced at the benumbed Decepticon.

“About two Earth hours.”

Cogman noticed something was off about Late Term’s demeanour. She wasn’t drinking, she was just staring directly at the table. She seemed sad, or at least more than usual. Gone was her usual soulless expression, instead there was this unhappiness that she seemed to be trying to hide.

“Are you alright?” Cogman asked

Late Term jumped in response.

“Yes, I’m- brilliant. You?”

“Good.”

“That’s good. We’re all good!”

Late Term bounced off her stool. She began to stumble around the room, almost like she was desperately trying to find something to do.

“Maybe I should get my alt mode sorted out. I can’t be driving around as this. Right, yes! I’m going to go and get myself a new alt mode.”

“No need.” A voice interrupted her, followed by the loud noise of someone getting up. “I’ll get it.”

Sky-byte walked past her without looking, from the side of his face that she saw, he seemed annoyed.

“If it’s no trouble, I can get one myself, honest!”

“I’d rather you didn’t, besides, I already have a form here, so it’ll be easier for me.”

“F- fine!” Late Term spat, crossing her arms.

As Sky-byte approached the cave’s entrance, he turned his head to finally face her.

“Is there anything in particular you’d like?” he asked with a dead-eyed look.

“Just something big enough. Preferably one used in different places, so, no military vehicles, I don’t want to get shot if the other side invades.”

“I suppose it depends what you want to do here anyway. Actually… that’s a fair point, why are you here?” he asked, couriously.

“If you won’t tell me, why should I tell you?” she shot back, coyly.

Sky-byte squinted his eyes at her, making her step back a bit. Without another word, he left. As the sound of his transformation into his plane mode was heard by both remaining Cybertronions, Late Term walked to a cave wall and slammed her head against it.

“Damn it!” she cried.

“Hey! What’s the matter with you now?” Cogman asked with slight aggravation in his voice.

Late Term sighed while sliding down, now she was sat on the ground with her chin resting on her knees.

“Cogman,” she pleaded, “tell me. Am I a bitch?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, but am I bitch all the time?”

“Yes.”

“Cogman, you’re not helping!”

“You bloody asked!”

Late-Term grunted, then spoke. “You’re right but- ugh- I feel like I’ve been real baggage recently. I’m not used to all this interaction. I mean I’ve had friends before, honest!”

“Really?" Cogmas asked. "I don’t think so.”

“…”

“Listen, Late Term. Is the fact that you treat Sky-byte like shit starting to annoy you or something?”

Late Term sunk her face into her legs. “He’s barley spoken to me in the last few days. He only gives me one sentence answers, it’s like he’s fed up with me.”

“He probably is.”

“I don’t know why this bothers me. I guess I’m just starting to feel spoiled. In the time I’ve known him, Sky-byte has saved my life, got me a place to stay and even a butler.”

“Butler?” are you talking about me?”

“Oh, sorry. Fallen’s Headmaster.”

Late Term got up from the ground and began to lean against the cave walls.

“You know, it creeps me out sometimes thinking about it, but Sky-byte is a Decepticon, yet he acts more like an Autobot than I ever did.”

“It is strange. Back in my day, Decepticon meant you followed the teachings of The Fallen. Yet a few days ago, when we were getting your drinks for you, Sky-byte asked me if I knew who… somebody called… Megatron? Yes, Megatron; he wanted to know if I knew of him.”

Late Term moved forward and crouched down a little, looking down directly at Cogman.

“Do you?”

“No, I’ve never heard the name. At first, I thought he meant Megatronus which is one of The Fallen’s other names, but I don’t think he knows who The Fallen is.”

Late Term looked out through the caves entrance. She left the cave and walked outside, the sun beaming down on her making her face glow.

“So…" Cogman asked, twiddling his thumbs together as he caught up with her, “who is Megatron?”

Starscream watched as his troops got in line as he prepared himself. He attached a purple cape to his back and a golden crown to his head before standing on his podium.

“My loyal Deceptions. For too long have we allowed the departure of our once great leader to make us fear the thought of battle. For too long have we allowed our enemies to believe that they have won. For too long have we let this lie, that Lord Megatron is no more, cloud our minds and judgment! For you see, my friends, Megatron will be found, I promise that. I, Starscream, announce that we will begin a true search for Megatron.”

Starscream leapt off his podium and began to walk past his troops.

“Others have searched before and failed, but I promise you that I will not, for I have my own way, my own strategies. And unlike other so called Decepticon leaders, mine will actually work. One by one, we will infiltrate planets. We will search every scrap of dust on every world and I have just the people to do it.”

“Who?” one Decpticon yelled.

Starscream returned to his podium with a smile plastered to his face.

“With our titan Dreadwind no longer at my command, and the traitorous Crusadercons still loose in the galaxy, there is only one team that can get it done.”

Doors opened and four hulking Decepticons marched out.

“Presenting, my Commando unit: Task Force Seven.”

One by one, each of the four would step forward as Starscream signalled them over.

“Their commander and leader: Brawl! Ex-Bruticus component and loyal member of my fleet.”

Brawl nodded, allowing the hunched member to follow suite.

“Bonecrusher. This loyal solder was been with us since we left Cybertron, he only speaks the native tongue, that’s how much our race matters to him!”

A huge transformer stepped forward.

“Grindor! This leader-class has smashed his way through warzones across the galaxy. During the war, he fought Sentinel Prime by himself and lived to tell us all.”

The last member stepped forward.

“And finally, Blackout. This one can create a pulse blast strong enough to take out any alien machinery. If any race dares to try and keep Megatron on their planet, Blackout will make sure they can’t.”

“All hail Megatron!” Blackout yelled followed by a cheer from the audience.

All four members stepped up to the podium and shook Starscream’s hand, individually. He turned back to face his audience.

“If we stand together, I promise, no, I know we will find Megatron. If we are together in this. If you are with me, I shall lead us to our former glory!”

As Starscream continued, nobody noticed the drone recording the conference. Far away from the fleet, on a different ship, in an empty room, Blastwave watched the whole event through his tablet. Analysing the event at hand, Blastwave stroked his chin.

“How very interesting.” He whispered.

As Sky-byte returned to the cave, Cogman was waiting for him outside.

“Safe travels?” he yelled as his Decepticon ally slowly made his way through the cave entrance.

“Yes, surprisingly.” He replied, broadly.

As Late Term heard the two, she got up and approached the entrance to welcome Sky-byte inside. He was dragging some sort of earth vehicle with one hand while carrying a trailer of some sort over his other arm. Carefully, he placed both on the ground before walking to table, grabbing the now empty fuel tanks from before and dropping them on top of the trailer. Late Term analysed the vehicle. It was an odd shape and a little rusty.

“You said you wanted a form big enough, so I got you this. This is a Peterbilt truck, and this is a small open trailer. If humans see you, they’ll think you’re transporting fuel and with a war happening, they will probably be less rude to you driving past.”

Late Term looked at the Sky-byte in disbelief. The fact that Sky-byte had figured out a way to make the vehicle her size and help her get through traffic was really thoughtful of him. She stared down at the truck and back at her friend. At that moment, she realised that she was smiling. Quickly, she turned her head away, crossed here arms before going back to a tamer expression.

“It’s... okay, I guess it will do for now.” She murmured.

She watched as Sky-byte sat down on one of the stools. She then swiftly turned to the truck and attached its trailer before arranging the fuel tanks in way she found appropriate. She scanned the vehicle and transformed.

“How do I look?” she asked.

“Great!” Cogman replied.

She waited for Sky-byte’s thoughts, but he didn’t answer, instead he pulled two objects from his chest and placed them on the table. Late Term recognised them as old Cybertronion cups. She transformed back to her robot mode, though now it had compartments of the truck around her. Sky-byte handed her the smaller cup as she sat on the stool next to him.

“I found them in the shuttle, and I thought it would make things feel fancier around here. I think this cave needs some serious decorating. I- “

“Sky-byte!” She interrupted.

Sky-byte stopped talking and slowly turned his head to face her.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be, listen. I- I haven’t been the fairest of people to you.” She spoke, shyly, not sure how to approach.

“Don’t be silly,” Sky-byte laughed, “you’ve allowed us both to stay here, together, despite once being on opposing sides. That fair, that’s really fair!”

“Sky-byte, I’m being serious!” she yelled while holding in a laugh. She sighed and lowered her voice. “I’ve never really had someone I consider a friend before, definitely not lived with one. Honestly, this whole scenario is just odd to me.”

“Maybe that’s the point. Not everything happens the way you expect or hope but, I’m happy with how things have turned out so far. Besides, we’ve only just got here. The truth is…you are different from the friends I’ve had before, but I think that’s something I’m going to have to learn to accept.”

The room went silent. Late Term stared at her cup. She wanted to say something, anything, it didn’t matter what. She just wanted to keep the conversation going. Then it hit her, it was time she earned his trust.

“Do you know what the Matrix of Leadership is?”

Sky-byte gave her a puzzled look then proceeded to fill his cup with diesel.

“I’ve heard of it,” he said, “a key forged by the Primes, right? For some sort of destroying thingy.”

“Yes… The Matrix of Leadership was made by the old Prime Dynasty to power a machine that ate suns. After one Prime, The Fallen planned to use it to destroy a planet with people on it, they hid it. I’ve come to find it.”

Sky-byte spat out his drink.

“Here? Don’t be silly," he said, almost laughing in a panic, "Late Term. It’s not here!”

“Oh, but it is,” Cogman interrupted while climbing Sky-byte and leaping off him and onto the table, “this is The Fallen’s planet. I was built by The Fallen, he made me and all the other Cogmen to fight against the Primes in his quest to destroy this planet’s star!”

“That six-eyed prick, Tarantulas. He was a Seeker. They serve The Fallen and have been looking for the Matrix since we were hatchlings.” Late Term added.

Sky-byte sat there, lost. Late Term waved her hand in his face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, worried.

“They… must not have known.” Sky-byte said before turning to face Late Term. “This revelation is… good, it’s good that I know now.”

“Why? What is it? If you don’t want to tell me, I understand.”

Sky-byte let out a long sigh, staring directly at the table, avoiding eye contact with both his cave-mates.

“No, I should. You’ve told me why you’re here; it’s time I did too.” Sky-byte turned to face the table. “I’ve come… to find Megatron.”

“Megatron? He’s here?”

“Megatron! You mean the new Decepticon leader?! I guess he’s not anymore since he’s been missing for so long.” Cogman interrupted.

Sky-byte gave him a blank stare.

“Oh, right. Late Term told me who he was.”

“So, you’ve come here on your own, to find Megatron?! That Megatron?!” Late Term continued to ask.

“Yes, and the Allspark too.” Sky-byte responded with eyes back on the table. “You see… I’m a failure, always have been, I’ve never won a battle in my life, but my boss, Lugnut, he gave me another chance. I’m here now, and I’m going to find Megatron, I have to!”

“Are you sure he’s here?” asked Late Tern, not really sure if she believed him.

“He has to be… because if he’s not.” Sky-byte drank until his cup was empty. “Then I’ll have nothing left.”

Chapter Text

War is funny little thing, isn’t it? In my experience, I have seen so many scenarios, so many unexpected outcomes, and yet, every cog, every screw in my body tells me: “Keep going”.

The thing is, throughout this war, we Autobots referred to ourselves as many things: Freedom fighters, liberators, but never terrorists. I find that odd since, well, that’s what we are. We fight against Megatron’s oppressive rule. So, what I don’t understand is, why don’t more Autobots act like it?

On the red, stone planet of Thrull, a lone tractor made its way down the road to a fortress held by the people of the planet. As it arrived, it transformed into bulky but small man with comb like spikes protruding from his head.

Take Thrull for example. This Decepticon, Thunderhoof he was called, deserted his post and fled the war to start again on some primitive planet. For some reason, the natives liked him and gave him sanctuary. Pathetic.

As Thunderhoof entered the fortress, its ruler approached him.

“Your ship is ready, Thunderhoof,” he said, “you must go, now!”

Suddenly, the sound of a much larger ship came from above. The Thrull leader ran to face his crew.

“They’ve found him, but that doesn’t mean it’s over! Protect Thunderhoof at all costs!” he turned to face the ex-Decepticon. “Go, Thunderhoof! We will hold them off.”

“You shouldn’t risk your lives for me.” He protested.

A loud bang was heard, and gravel began to fall from the ceilings.

“Your teachings have advanced our world centuries further from what is was. You’ve helped us in so many ways. We owe you our lives and so much more! Now, go, Thunderhoof, and may Primus guide you!”

Thunderhoof gave a sad but understanding nod, he then turned and ran to the fortress’ hanger.

The Thrulls aimed their weapons high. Suddenly, a red transformer landed from above, crushing two. It then activated a weapon on its arm and unleashed fire onto the remaining Thrull soldiers.

“Burn, insects. Burn!”

Thunderhoof may have helped the Thrulls a little but, well, they had a lot to learn. They were no match for our enforcer. Inferno is a valued member of our group, I raised him from a hatching myself. He means everything to us.

As he watched his troops fall, the Thrull leader retreated and hid behind some fallen rubble. He breathed slowly, looking over at the one who just finished incinerating those he’d known for so long. As he turned back, he saw another Cybertronion staring back at him. This one only a foot taller than him, smiled and began to erupt into laughter.

“Yo- you have done bad, baaaad! You wi- wi- will pay!”

A saw formed itself from the little one’s arm and preceded to cut through the leader. He gave out one last cry as his life ended.

Of course, someone gets away. It happens, but they don’t get far. When it comes to finding the dregs of our battles, Fix-it will be there to route them out. He can be a little psychotic at times but, well, it gets the job done. If I’m honest, I find his stutter to be quite charming.

Fix-it wiped the blood of his saw and strolled towards Inferno. He looked back down at the little one.

“All dead?” Inferno asked.

“Th- the Thrull leader had ma- many organs.” Fix-it responded with a smile.

Together, they marched through the halls of the fortress, killing any Thrull that stood in their way.

Thunderhoof ran through the halls, taking a look back every few seconds. By the time he got there, he was out of breath with energon leaking from all around. He looked up at the ship he’d been promised, with a sigh of relief, he ran to reach the cockpit. As he ran, he almost didn’t notice the missile heading in his direction, with a bang, the ship exploded in front of him, knocking him back. There, a much taller Autobot landed above him.

Thunderhoof got far, I’ll give him that but, well, there’s always a catch. Matchstick quite enjoys screwing with his prey, he was always there, always waiting.

As thunderhoof got up, the other Autobots caught up and surrounded him. He looked up and down at each one, from Fix-it who was the size of a traditional mammal to Inferno who was about his height to Matchstick who was towering over him. All Of A Sudden, there was a thud, Thunderhoof turned to see another Autobot. This one was slender, his face covered by his hood with only his eyes visible.

It was at that time I showed up. Of course, I, Ghost, the commander of the group wanted to make sure my team was doing their job right before showing up. I’ll admit, this was a very easy hunt now that I look back on it.

Thunderhoof fell down in fear and began to panickily crawl backwards. Ghost walked towards him with the other Autobots walking behind the commander.

“W-wait!” Thunderhoof pleaded, “the war is over! I’m not a Decepticon, I deserted when Cybertron was still standing.”

Ghost glared at the broken Decepticon before taking another step forward.

“Your current allegiance is irrelevant.” He spat. “As a Decepticon, you followed Megatron’s teachings, you slaughtered many Autobots and yet, you went unpunished. Well, not today.”

In a panic, Thunderhoof reached for his belt and tossed a grenade at the wall, blowing it off. He quickly transformed and accelerated away. Above him, their ship hovered, blocking the sun. The Autobots stared and watched as a female Autobot landed from their ship above the fugitive. She rammed her fists into his tractor mode, forcing him to transform and roll. As he stopped dead in his tracks, Thunderhoof looked up at the one who had halted him. She gave him a stern look before unleashing cannons from both her arms and lighting him up.

There was no need to pursue, when in doubt, I always have my second-hand woman on the go, Strongarm, has never let us down and, well, I don’t think she can. I’ve never met someone so committed.

Strongarm turned to her comrades and gave a salute. Ghost nodded in response. She then moved to the fortress and slaughtered the remaining Thrulls. The rest of the squad left her to it as they returned to their ship.

The thing is, some Autobots don’t want to get the job done. Some prefer to act as if nothing can be done, that there’s nothing we should do. I disagree, I think there’s a lot to be done in this universe.

The thing is. Autobots are terrorists, we may not like it but it’s true, and the Decepticons destroyed our home, our lives, our dreams. One day, we will return to Cybertron, one day we will rebuild, but when that day comes, I want to know that all the scum, all the dregs of society have been dealt with.

That’s what we do, we are The Autobot Arsenal and it is our duty to wipe the galaxy clean. One Decepticon at a time. War is a funny little thing, isn’t it?

On earth, Late Term drove down the highway passing through streets and villages. She wanted to get a feel for this planet, a sense of what it was. The interactions she’d seen between humans was quite positive. Everyone seemed to be helping each other out despite the war. It was a strange contrast compared to her world. On Cybertron, everyone went up in arms the moment war broke out, it was as if everyone needed to fight in it, almost like the concept of a civilian was completely unheard of. But here, everyone was playing their part in their own way and something about that was really wholesome.

As she continued down the road, a sign with the words ‘Los Angeles’ became visible. There behind an old garage, she transformed and sloped down to the floor. She activated a new receiver on her gauntlet, sending out a signal.

“If this doesn’t work… I swear to Primus.” She muttered.

Back inside the Decepticon shuttle outside the cave, Sky-byte and Cogman were doing mechanical work. Cogman was fiddling with wires while Sky-byte watched over him.

“Alright,” Cogman said, “I’ve got your communications working… slightly. You have a frequency, though only on this planet. Can’t reach Lugnut now I’m afraid.”

“Thank you. You’ve done good.” Sky-byte replied sincerely.

“You know, if this is your mission. I don’t think calling your superiors consistently will help.”

“It’s not that! I just- I need to tell them what I’ve learned. If this is The Fallen’s planet, Lugnut must know. It could thwart the mission.”

“Not really. Most seekers are dead now.”

“They are?” Sky-byte asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Apparently. Tarantulas kept contacting other Seekers but one at a time they’d just stop answering. He concluded that they were probably dead.”

“I suppose that’s good, don’t want them getting in the way.”

“It’s really good. They were all garbage.”

Sky-byte activated the communicator his arm.

“Late Term? Are you there?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she replied indignantly, “I hear you. Well done… I guess.” Late Term continued, scornfully.

“Oh, lighted up. You volunteered to do this.” Sky-byte retorted.

“I just wanted to get out for a bit. You know, test the truck form you got me. No point getting an Earth mode if I can’t use it. Besides, you’re a military vehicle, if people keep seeing you, they might think the other side has invaded.” Late continued in more condescending tone.

“Alright, that’s fair. Well then… do you like what you see?”

“It’s… alright.”

Sky-byte let out a sigh and shook his head at Cogman who responded with a nod. He then turned his communicator off. On the other end, Late term watched as the signal deactivated. She grunted before transforming back into her truck mode to explore the area.

Sky-byte sat down. Cogman walked until he stood next his master. The two looked at each other with disdained faces.

“Never happy, is she?” Cogman said in contempt.

“No, but I like that.” Sky-byte replied with a smirk.

“You do?” Cogman asked puzzled.

“Yes. You and me, we’re both quite the optimistic people, always trying to make most out things, not trying to let the negative times get to us.”

“I wouldn’t call myself an optimist.”

“But she’s more real, more grounded. I find her pessimism to be a positive attribute. It keeps us focused; it reminds us when things need to be taken seriously.”

“Hmm, I never really thought of it that way.”

“Late Term may seem like ‘bitch’ at times but that’s what makes her who she is. I like that.” Sky-byte looked up at the ceiling and grinned.

“Yeah. She’s got balls.”

Sky-byte looked back down to face his Headmaster.

“Ye- …balls?!”

As late Term continued to explore, she watched the sun go down and the lights around her light up. The town was beautiful in the night sky. As she watched people return to their homes for the night, she drove back to the countryside and transformed. There, she sat and watched the town.

Suddenly, an alarm began to vocalise itself and the lights through the town shut off. Confused, Late Term walked closer to the town until she heard the sounds of cannon fire. She looked up and saw shells being fired into the air. Late Term squinted her eyes to focus on the cannon’s target. There she saw something that didn’t seem of Earth design, hovering across the city. Realising this, she immediately activated her communicator.

“I understand what you mean, but not even male Cybertronions ha- hold on.” Sky-byte spat before answering his com-link. “You alright?”

“Am I ever? Sky-byte, listen. There’s something flying over the town I’m next to- wait. Do you know where Los Angeles is?”

“I do!” Cogman yelled”

“Cogman says he does.” Sky-byte stated.

“Well, be helpful and get your ass over here!” she ordered.

Sky-byte huffed and de-activated his com-link. He turned to Cogman and gave him a quick nod before leaving the shuttle and altering into the air. As he flew, the radio in Sky-byte’s cockpit started.

“Alright, Sky-byte, I need you to fly south-west from the shuttle." Cogman called through. "Los Angeles is two states down from here.”

“States? Is that a measuring distance?” Sky-byte replied in confusion.

“Oh. That’s right,” Cogman said in realisation, “you don’t know what states are yet. Shit!”

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, just keep flying down. You should find it.”

Eventually, Sky-byte made his way to a town in complete darkness. Down below he saw Late Term waving to him, signalling him to land. He transformed to the ground and approached her.

“I hope I haven’t missed anything.”

“You miss everything.” She responded, giving him a dead eyed expression.

Late Term then pointed at the UFO in the sky. Sky-byte analysed the machine.

“Doesn’t look like a Decepticon.” Sky-byte said, intriguingly.

“Perhaps it isn’t. Unless...” Late Term added.

The two looked at each other.

“Another Seeker!!!” they yelled in unison.

“What should we do?” Late Term asked.

“I don’t know!” Sky-byte retorted.

“What’s it even doing here? I thought Seekers were supposed to be discrete.”

“Maybe this one’s just pissed!” Sky-byte responded with a chuckle.

“Pissed as in annoyed or drunk?”

“Either!”

Suddenly, the flying object flew around and began to fire upon both of them. The two jumped, dodging the bullets until they were out of range. The UFO flew around them before transforming. This transformer looked gruesome. He was the same height as Late Term; he was green and slender. His eyes shined blue and his fangs shot out, like blades.

“You not Seekers! You not friends!” he yelled out in a sharp, eerie voice.

“We’re not enemies either,” Late Term replied, raising her arms to show signs that she wasn’t a threat, “as long as you stop shooting at as us.”

“No, you are trespassing on Waspinator’s territory. Waspinator engage. Waspinator…terrorise!”

Starcream sat in his quarters, analysing his fleets resent developments on his tablet. One of his subordinates, Thundercracker stormed in.

“Starscream, my lord. We have captured a lone Autobot, unarmed, sir.” He let out.

“An Autobot? Here?”

“He says he requests an audience. With you, sir.”

“I see. Well then.”

Starscream got up from his chair and followed Thundercracker to the ship’s hanger, there, Acidstorm and Bloodstorm stood awaiting him. Below them was a bulking Autobot, kneeling on the ground and cuffed.

“You wish to see me?”

“Yes.” The Autobot said. “I understand you’re planning to attack the Autobot fleet and restart the war.”

Starscream aimed his arm cannon at the Autobot’s head.

“Maybe I am, what is it to you?”

“I want to help.”

“Really?" Starscream almost laughed. "Go on then, I’ll humour you. How?”

“I have boarding codes, travel dates, the lot. I have everything you need to pull off the most effective attack on this side of the galaxy.”

“We can’t trust him!” Thundercracker interrupted.

“Silence!” Starscream snapped at his fellow Decepticon before turning back to the Autobot. “What’s in it for you.”

The Autobot began to speak more informal. “Nothing really. I’m just fed up with all this talk of supposed peace. It’s time the Autobots realised why we fight.”

“I see.” Starscream lowered his cannon. “And your name?”

“Blastwave.”

Chapter Text

Late Term dodged the incoming fire from the deranged seeker: Waspinator. Quickly, she transformed into her truck form and accelerated to a lumped hill, then hid behind. There, she returned to her robot form before grabbing her gun from her belt. Late Term pulled out her gun’s stock to adjust stability and aimed from her cover. While the did this, Sky-byte took the fire on his end and barged into the seeker. Late Term attempted to get a clear shot, trying not to hurt her comrade. When Sky-byte noticed this, he grabbed Waspinator by his arms, forcing him into Late Term’s line of fire. She fired at the bug-like transformer, making him clutter his fangs together.

“You can’t break Waspinator,” he yelled, “Waspinator break himself!”

Suddenly, Waspinator’s torso disconnected from his arms and left from Sky-byte’s grasps. Then, jet boosters erupted from his elbows and shot from off, causing Sky-byte to let go of them. The arms flew back and reconnected to the seeker.

Late Term was so puzzled by this, she stopped firing. Regaining focus, she aimed for Waspinator’s head and fired. The head flew straight off, landing onto Sky-byte’s hands. The head looked directly at him.

“Waspinator doesn’t need body to fight you!” he said before biting Sky-bytes palms.

Sky-byte screeched in agony and started to squabble; he began to run in circles around the area. Late Term rolled her eyes before she focused her attention on the now headless body that had started running at her. She aimed for the legs but when she fired, she only heard a click.

Her clip was empty.

The body lunged at her, but Late Term blocked the attack by unleashing the blade from her gauntlet, just in time. She cut through the body’s right arm, dismembering it. She then forced her blade into its chest. As she pushed it in, she felt the hand she had just cut off grab her by the leg. She felt helpless as the hand pulled her back, causing her to lose balance and hit the ground.

After spinning in circles a few more times, Sky-byte managed to free one of his hands and attempted to pull the head off his other. He noticed Late Term had fallen and the body was about to strike her. On instinct, Sky-byte felt his energon rushing into him as he pulled the head off his hand. He threw it, directly at the body, knocking it onto the ground. Late Term managed to pull the hand off her leg and got up; bitterly, she immediately kicked the head before running back to Sky-byte.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Are you really so fragile that a head can take you on?” she snapped.

“Yes. You’re welcome.” He replied, cynically.

As they gave each other sardonic looks, Waspinator’s body parts began to reform themselves.

“So… how do we do this?” Late Term asked.

“Back with the Decepticons, we would figure out the enemy first, then find their weakness.”

Sky-byte pondered on both the body language as well as the speech patterns of their foe. At this point, Waspinator had rebuilt himself and was now staring back at the two. Sky-byte looked at Late Term.

“You notice how he keeps referring to himself in the third person?” he whispered.

“Yeah, it’s creepy.” Late Term replied.

“Well, it sounds to me like he enjoys hearing about himself.”

“Gee. Sounds like someone I know.”

“Just listen!" Sky-byte spat, pleadingly. "The point is- ugh- why bother explaining it." Sky-byte turned to face Waspinator. “I say, Waspinator. It’s really interesting how you can control your body parts like that. You must be really talented!”

“Oh, thank you!” Waspinator yelled, cheerfully. “It’s actually quite simple. Waspinator’s spark has been transferred into his left leg! All over body parts are linked to its signal!”

“I see. Thank you for that information.”

“Waspinator might as well give his enemies knowledge before killing them!”

With that, Waspinator charged. The Decepticon readied himself as the enemy approached; he knew he could only this right a few times as his mind began to work a plan. Sky-byte rolled out of the way, tripping his foe while doing so. Waspinator fell to the ground; he almost regained, but rapidly, Late Term quickly cut her blade into his left leg. The rest of Waspinator’s body immediately disconnected and blasted upwards. Now with one leg, Waspinator jumped onto Late Term and tackled her. As Late Term struggled, Sky-byte got up and focused his attention on the now unattended leg. Swiftly, the brute unleashed his blades but as he approached the leg. It shot up and kicked him, directly in the face.

The leg shot off, instigating Sky-byte to run after it. Late Term pushed her arms onto the Seeker’s face, attempting to push him off. Waspinator responded by biting her elbow, directly. Late Term let go and grabbed her elbow, wincing as she felt metal within her bend and shatter. With her guard down, Waspinator pushed her into the grass..

“You people hurt Waspinator! Soon you will regret your decision to trespass!” he buzzed into her audio receptor.

“Sorry, didn’t realise you owned this town!” she snapped back.

“Waspinator owns this planet!”

Sky-byte chased the leg down the hill. There, it turned to face him. Fed up, Sky-byte signalled the leg to attack him; it leaped and shot itself at him. Swiftly, Sky-byte slid out of its way before launching his grappling hook. With some much need luck, the hook attacked itself to the leg and Sky-byte pulled it back in. He grabbed the leg and pinned it down to the floor. As Waspinator wrapped his arms around the ex-Autobot, Sky-byte called out to him.

“Hey, Waspinator. Need a leg with that?!” he yelled, jokingly.

“Sky-byte, that was terrible!” Late Term yelled back, continuing her struggle.

Waspinator noticed the Decepticon holding his leg. Rapidly, with a gush of horror across his face, he let her go and soared.

“No, wait!” was all he could cry out before he saw the hulking cybertronion ram his blades into the leg.

Suddenly, the lights in Waspinator’s eyes went out, and his body dropped, one last time. Late Term got up and wiped the mud and dust off herself. She approached her comrade and sat, catching her breath, Sky-byte did the same, sheathing his blades as he sat down.

“That was… intense.” She let out, breathing heavily.

“It was, yes.” Sky-byte replied.

“I guess… if we keep running into Seekers. We can take the rest out… then no one will be after the Matrix but me.”

“You’ve still got to find the damn thing!” Sky-byte laughed.

Late Term suppressed a grin as she shook her head. “Yeah. Thanks… you did well, fighting I mean. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course. I wasn’t going to let you face another on your own." He paused, then let out a hint of panic. "Not that I don’t think you can. I just mean- “

“I know what you mean.” She replied, hiding her smile.

The two sat on the hill for a bit. There, they watched the sun rise.

“We should probably clean this up before the people here start leaving their houses and see us.” Late Term stated.

The Decepticon's mind however, was in a completely different place. His eyes were glued to the beautiful ball that glowed orange across the land. There was so much this planet had.

There was a brief silence before Sky-byte took his attention off the sun and acknowledged what she had just said. “Ye- yes, right.”

As Sky-byte began to pick up the body parts while Late Term transformed into her truck mode, he took another look at the sun and back at her.

“When I find Megatron, do you think he’ll return to his fleet and- leave this planet alone?”

Late Tern snorted. “What! This is Megatron you’re talking about, what do you think?”

Sky-byte sighed and started to drop the body parts onto her trailer.

“I just- I just hope that." He paused again. "I don’t know.”

Late Term replied in an irritated, yet reassuring way. “Megatron needs to be here first. I’m still yet to find proof that he is.”

“Alright. Stop talking now.” He replied stoically before transforming into his plane mode and taking off.

Late Term drove to the closest beach and dumped the remains of Waspinator into the sea. As she did so, she noticed something. A shard had released itself from Waspinator’s armour; she picked it up, then analysed it.

As Sky-byte returned to the cave, Cogman was waiting for him

“Everything go well?” he asked.

“We killed another Seeker. Waspinator. Ever heard of him?” Sky-byte asked as he entered.

“No. Actually, I might have.”

Sky-byte walked back into the cave and slumped down. He was about to drift off until a static sound awoke him. Assuming it was another seeker teleporting in, Sky-byte shot up off the floor and set his blades free.

“Calm down!” Cogman yelled, now stood on the table. “I’m just setting up the TV.”

“The what?”

Sky-byte noticed the small box that he’d brought in weeks ago, the ‘television’ as Cogman had called it. He watched as Cogman combined numerous wires together and pressed a few buttons. Suddenly, the screen activated. There, Sky-byte saw two grey people dancing together. He approached the TV on the table and bent over to take a closer look.

“Are they human?” he asked.

“Of course.” Cogman replied.

“But… they’re grey!”

“That’s just how TVs work.”

“Oh.”

Sky-byte analysed the moving image; there he saw one man and one woman, embracing one another.

“They look happy.” He said, eyes now glued to the screen.

“Yes. They’re actors, they’re supposed too.” Cogman explained.

“Right, who are they pretending to be?”

“Two people who love each other, I assume. Do people no longer do that on Cybertron?”

“I mean- some do. I don’t know.”

Cogman left for a moment, then came back with a stack of boxes that Sky-byte had recently acquired. “I think you stole these tapes from a theatre. Do me a favour and set up that projector there.”

Cogman pointed at a strange looking machine on a poll that Sky-byte hadn’t noticed. He was then handed a cylinder. Sky-byte placed the cylinder in a socket that he assumed it was supposed to go inside. He saw Cogman place a large white screen on the table. Cogman gave him a nod and Sky-byte flicked what he assumed was the right switch. Suddenly, another image of a grey human, appeared over the screen.

“As long as you don’t stand in front, you can watch these films here.”

“Why is there no sound?”

“I think I’m supposed to play a piano over this one.”

“What’s a piano?”

“I’ll show you another time.”

Sky-byte watched the film play out until he smelt smoke. Suddenly, Sky-byte realised that the cylinder had started burning.

“Oh, Primus!” he yelled before removing the cylinder and throwing it out of the cave.

“You know we have fire extinguisher, right?!” Cogman yelled, glaring at him.

The Decepticon gawked back at him in embarrassment. “Oh. Sorry.”

Sky-byte sat back down and began to contemplate about what he had just seen. It was magnificent, the way the people moved and interacted. Late Term would love it.

Late Term.

Where was she?

Sky-byte activated his com-link and spoke her name into it, but there was no answer.

“Now, if you could do me a favour,” Cogman said, unloading one of the boxes of that Sky-byte had scavenged over the weeks, “next time you’re out, steal me some electrical components from the nearest theatre. I should be able to craft a more stable projector; mixing them with the shit you’ve got lying around in your shuttle.”

“Cogman?” Sky-byte asked, innocently. “What you’ve shown me today has really brightened my mood. There’s something about this planet that interests me; I don’t know what, but it’s there! It’s time I learned about human culture; will you teach me?

Starscream led Blastwave to his quarters. Once there, he signalled his guards to uncuff the Autobot. The guards soon left the room, leaving Stascream, Blastwave and Thundercracker present.

“So,” Starscream said, “shall we begin?”

He opened up a holographic map of the Milky-Way, allowing Blastwave to zoom in.

“Hive is an indigenous planet, run by insects.” He explained, zooming to find it on the map. “We’ve been blockading the planet for some time, preventing any other race from entering orbit unchecked. But it’s been quiet, too quiet.”

“The perfect time for an attack.”

“Exactly! What I propose, Starscream, is that you smuggle a few Cons onto the planet and attack from the surface. The Autobots will be so embarrassed by their lack of security that they’ll be forced to rethink everything!”

“I see, and this will work in your favour?”

“In everyone’s favour.”

“So, you’re really going to betray your whole fleet?" Thundercracker added. "This seems far too convenient for us.”

“Betray?” Blastwave scoffed, looking at Thundercracker, then back at the map. “Betrayal is caused by one breaking trust, breaking camaraderie. The Autobots on that ship don’t care what I think, they don’t want to hear it. Those fools think that I am in the wrong for keeping them on alert, for keeping them under control. What I’m doing isn’t a betrayal, because they were never on my side.”

“Good,” said Starscream, “and now, we have a chance. All of us.”

“You can’t seriously be trusting him already!” Thundercracker protested, approaching his leader.

“Silence!” Starcream yelled, slapping his subordinate across his cheek. He turned to face his new ally. “I am impressed, Blastwave. While we might be on different sides, we have a common interest, a common goal. I am willing to take his strategy that you have presented. I assume you will be returning to your fleet, now?”

“They won’t have noticed that I’m gone, they never do. It has been a pleasure, though, Lord Starscream. Thank you.”

Starscream and a few of his troops accompanied Blastwave to his ship. As he took off and blasted out into space, Thundercracker turned to face his smirking boss.

“What if this is a trap? What if he’s on his way to tell the Autobots our entire strategy?”

“I don’t think so.” Starscream replied, thoughtfully. “I can tell in his voice and his movement that he is quite serious. We can use this, Thundercracker. With an Autobot informant, we can get all the information we need. He will be on our leach. Because the moment he stops, the Autobots will know precisely what he has done.”

“Is this the right way, though? Restarting the war, I mean. We’ve been out for so long; it’s been peaceful here. Is it right to send all these people to their deaths?”

“Are you questioning my leadership Thundercracker? Do you remember what side you are on?”

Thundercracker hung his head low. “Of course, Lord Starscream.”

On her way back to the cave, Late Term stopped to sit behind an abandoned gas station. There, she analysed the shard once more. It was gold, coated with symbols that she couldn’t read. Late Term continued to stare before lightly, she flicked the shard.

At first there was nothing, then suddenly, a hologram of the planet visualised. There, red dots appeared throughout. Abruptly, the communicator on Late Term’s gauntlet went off, she attempted to answer but was unable to due to the damage it had taken from Waspinator’s attack. Remaining focused on the map, Late Term noticed a blue dot on the it.

“That must be me.” She said.

Late Term noticed another dot, close by to her location.

Sky-byte tried to call her one more time, but there was no answer.

“It must have been destroyed in the fight.” Cogman said, watching him.

“Or she turned it off!” Sky-byte replied, raising his voice.

“Why would she turn it off?”

“I don’t know!”

Sky-byte got up and began to pace around the cave.

“Damn it! It’s happened, she’s fed up with me. She’s gone. I must have said something, I must have- upset her!” he yelled out in a stressed tone.

“Sky-byte calm down! Listen!” Cogman pleaded, frustrated at his master.

Sky-byte stopped pacing and faced his butler.

“Are you so insecure that you think a friend not interacting with you for short while must mean that they’ve had enough of you?” Cogman asked, dumbfounded.

“…yes.” Sky-byte looked down, defeated.

“Your emotions,” Cogman sighed, “they’re so strange. I wish I could understand how your brain worked.”

“So do I." The Decepticon sighed back. "I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be."

Cogman walked to Sky-byte and climbed him, perching himself on the Decepticon’s shoulder once he reached the top.

“I just… worry sometimes.” Sky-byte said, lowering his tone.

“I know. Humans do it too, always some new issue keeping everyone awake.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes. Some humans like to make their problems up, you’ve always got to have that one enemy. It’s what unites everyone else.”

“Is that why this planet’s at war?”

“I don’t know, I think that’s more to do with land owning.”

“Right…”

Sky-byte checked his com-link, once again. No response.

“Still nothing,” he muttered, “she must hate me.”

“You’re still thinking about this? Why would she hate you?!” Cogman retorted.

“I’ve done something, I must have!” he yelled, sinking his head into his palms.

Cogman wobbled on Sky-bytes shoulder. Swiftly, he leaned himself onto the Decepticon’s head to keep balance.

“Think constructively, Sky-byte. Not every decision she makes, or anyone makes, revolves around you. Late Term will be back eventually, and when she is, her explanation will make sense and you’ll have this internal sigh of relief. Now, can I continue my lesson?”

“Oh right, yes, sorry.” Sky-byte revealed his face once more and turned to his butler. "Let’s get back on track. You were telling about where babies come from?”

“Yes, you see...”

Late Term followed the direction on her map, leading her east. She walked cautiously through the fields, avoiding the roads to keep herself from the eyes of humans. There in the distance, she saw what could only be identified as a much larger Cybertronion, standing in the distance. It looked taller than her, for sure, but not as tall as Sky-byte. As she approached it, she kept her right hand on her belt, ready to grab her gun if things went badly.

She quietly shifted around the tall one. With a better look, the transformer looked male, old, very old, he had a beard! He had a walking stick? Odd. As she analysed the old one more, she didn’t realise that he was staring right at her. Rapidly, she grabbed her gun and aimed.

“Oy, oy! I haven’t touched you.” He yelled in a cranky voice.

“Sorry. I just want to be sure.” She replied before displaying the shard at the tip of her left hand’s fingers. “I found you with this. Do you know what it is?”

The man's eyes squinted, then widened. “Why. That’s an old relic, that is! Where did you get it?”

“Waspinator had it on him.”

“Wasp- oh, of course he did! That little shit!”

“You knew him?” Late Term asked, her finger held tightly on the trigger of her weapon.

“Knew? Is he dead?”

“As of recently, yes.”

“Right, and I suppose you killed him?”

“Not just me, but yes.”

“Right… good, saves me the hassle.”

“Hassle?”

“Yes I- can you stop aiming at me?!”

With a surprised look on her face, Late Term lowered her gun and reattached it to her belt.

“It’s not even loaded. Used my last bullet on him.” Late Term stated.

“Look, I’m not one of those Seekers." The man seemed to relax as he continued to explain. "Not now anyway, The Fallen betrayed me and I don’t want any part of his crap anymore!”

“To be fair, you don’t look like you’re in shape to do anything for him.”

“Please, my father was the first wheel! He'd be the one who's ancient.”

“So, is that what the shard does? Find other Cybertronions?”

“Well not just that. It detects high energon. Sometimes, they’re people like us. But sometimes it’s bases, or just places we’ve been too.”

“I see.”

“So… how’s Cybertron been since I left?”

“It’s…”

“Actually, I got a better question. What are you doing here?”

Blastwave sat at his desk waiting, he knew the attack was imminent and he needed to keep calm. But the excitement overwhelmed him. Finally, the war would continue. Finally, things would be back to normal. The sound of clanky footsteps approached him and the fleet’s admiral: Trench, stood beside him.

“You alright?”

Blastwave didn’t answer, instead he continued to look through his monitor. Trench rested his arm on the desk.

“Blastwave, listen to me. I understand what you’re going through, I have myself.”

Blastwave looked to face the admiral, confused.

Trench continued. “I’ve been fighting long before this war. I used to be a combiner. Me and few other Autobots combined into our own Devastator, and we helped Sentinel Prime sculpt this planet in his image.”

“Is that why you look like a Scrapper?”

“Possibly. The thing is, I fought separatists long before I fought Decepticons. In the middle of this, I thought peace was a disease, that Cybertron didn’t need it. But after this last war, I realise that in the end, if we keep fighting, we lose ourselves. Do you understand?”

Blastwave turned back to his desk. Trench sighed and began to walk away. He then stopped and turned back to his subordinate.

“Perhaps, one day you will understand.”

Trench continued, leaving Blastwave to his desk.

“Peace… peace is just another roadblock in our evolution.” Blastwave whispered.

Chapter Text

Late Term entered her cave; there she saw Sky-byte, lying on the ground. She kicked him, causing him to jump up and clumsily stand on his feet. As he saw her, a grin appeared on his face that was followed by what sounded like a sigh of relief.

“You’re back… good.” He let out.

“Yeah… sorry, my com-link was damaged.” She replied.

“Told you!” Cogman shouted from across the cave.

“I see… Cogman should be able to fix it.” Sky-byte continued.

Late Term sat, allowing Cogman to tend to her communicator. Sky-byte continued walking out of the cave to get some air when he was halted by another transformer.

“What the- who are you!” Sky-byte yelled.

“Wha? Oh, sorry. My name is Jetfire. Your friend said I could stay for a bit.”

“Ah." Sky-byte blinked, surprised at the unexpected arrival. He continued, nervously. "Alright then. Good to meet you. My name is- “

“Sky-byte, I know; she was talking about you the whole way here.”

“Oh.”

“I assume you know of her ambition here?” Jetfire then asked, curiously.

“You mean to find the Matrix?” Sky-byte replied.

“Yes! What is she thinking? Finding that thing would be the end to all life on this planet!”

“What bullshit.” Late Term retorted.

“I’m serious!" Jetfire continued. "The Matrix was hidden for a reason. Six Primes gave their lives so no one could find it. If you do, it will all be for nothing!”

“Oh, pipe down, Jetfire. The Matrix is going to be found one day. It might as well be me who finds it rather than one of those Seekers.”

Jetfire sighed and sat next to her. He watched as Cogman did his work on the broken com-link.

“Is he your butler?” he asked.

“Why does everyone call me that?” Cogman grunted.

“He’s… a friend, but he does serve us.” Late Term awkwardly responded.

“I thought they discontinued the Cogmen Program, centuries ago.” Jetfire stated.

“They did,” Cogman grimly replied, “but Tarantulas kept me.”

There was a sudden jolt in Jetfire's expression. “Tarantulas? He’s here?”

“No. That bastard got his, months ago."

“Right. This is becoming a strange day for me.”

Late Term presented the shard she found and signalled Sky-byte to come to her. Sky-byte crouched down, analysing the shard in her fingers.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Found it on Waspinator. Jetfire says it can track high energon. I was thinking about tracking down other Seekers. It’d be nice to halt the competition.” Late Term replied, slowly forming a smirk.

“Well then,” Sky-byte continued, rising to a more formal stance, “let’s find the closest one. What about it, Late Term?”

“Wow, Sky-byte. Since when were you so fight happy?”

The truth was that Sky-byte didn't know himself. He supposed it was just an urge, many had them. But then his mind went back to the sun he had witnessed.

“What can I say?" he said with a shrug. "I guess I’ve started to enjoy it.”

“He’s just scared you’ll leave for too long.” Cogman added.

Despite the Decepticon's growl of clear embarrassment, Late Term chuckled as she got up. She checked her com-link to make sure it was operational before strolling out of the cave; Sky-byte followed. As they entered the shuttle, Sky-byte jumped onto the cockpit seat while Late Term handed him the shard. She sat down on the seat behind him.

The shard showed the planet map; red dots appeared all around. Sky-byte noticed the closest dot; it was east. As the shuttle took off, Jetfire watched from the cave entrance.

“She’ll never find it.” He muttered.

On the shuttle, Late Term noticed her com-link buzzing. Assuming Cogman was calling her, she walked to the back of the shuttle, out of Sky-bytes earshot.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I think you know what.”

Late Term immediacy recognised that voice. It was Cheetor. How had he managed to get into her coms? More importantly, why?

“Cheetor? What do you want?”

“Don’t play dumb, Late Term. Did you really think we wouldn’t notice those funds you gave us? You’ve made me look like a complete fool!”

“That doesn’t take much effort.”

“I’ve had enough of you. You think it’s all just games, but I assure you, Primal doesn’t take fraud kindly.”

“Alright, you got me. What are you going to do?” she hit, sardonically.

“Did you forgot that I dropped you off?" Cheetor spat. "I know where you are. It won’t take long until we find you.”

Late Term looked back at Sky-byte; thankfully, he wasn’t listening. She sighed and turned back to her communicator. The ex-Autobot's sarcastic tone began to diminish.

“So… you’re just going to get me and leave, right?”

“It would seem so. Why? Have you met someone? I've heard tales of our kind that wonder this planet.”

“No… I just want to get a better understanding of this arrangement. Alright, I’ll come to you. You’ll get your money.”

“Oh, I think you’ll find it’s far too late for that. We’ll be seeing you.”

The call stopped. Reluctantly, Late Term returned to the seat behind her pilot.

“What was that about?” Sky-byte asked, joyfully.

“Nothing… my com-link just glitched.” She lied, lowering her head down.

Suddenly, all Late Term could feel was dread. Not just for her, but for those around her. The Maximals had a high reputation across the galaxy, they weren’t old and rusty like the Seekers she’d faced. They were natural born killers, and her friends wouldn’t stand a chance. She’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this, or at least not this soon. The fake funds she’d given to Cheetor were supposed to be extremely hard to discover, she’d clearly underestimated him and now her friends could suffer as a result. She faced Sky-byte and saw the smile in his reflection, it made her feel warm. The realisation of what could happen next cut through her as she sunk her head into her arms.

“Are you alright?” Sky-byte asked, concerned.

“Yeah… just worn out a bit.”

The shuttle approached a cave on the cost of the country. It lowered onto the sea around it, and as the waves crashed against the shuttle, it activated its boat mode and its surface transformed, slanting downwards before unleashing an anchor. The two jumped out of the shuttle’s doors and landed onto the rocks around the cave. There, they leaped from rock to rock. Sky-byte reached the entrance first and awaited his friend to catch up. Late Term got to the last rock before the entrance and tripped, but swiftly, Sky-byte reached out and grabbed her.

“Thanks.” She muttered.

The two cautiously walked through the cave, checking each corner. There, at the end on the tunnel, they saw it. An old military boat was stuck, motionless.

“Is that our guy?” Late Term asked.

“Must be,” Sky-byte replied, “and If that’s their alt form, we’re in some deep shit.”

Sky-byte unleashed his blades and stealthily approached the boat. The brute swiftly slid under a rock close by, hiding himself. Suddenly, lights on the boat activated and a booming voice revealed itself.

“F- familiar personal… re- recognised.” It said.

“Hello?” Late Term yelled in her approach.

“Friend?” it yelled back.

Late Term looked at Sky-byte who stared puzzled back to her.

“What should we say?” he whispered.

“I don’t know!” she snapped back.

“Friend?” the boat repeated.

“Y- yes?” Late Term yelled back. “Are you a Seeker?”

“Seeker? That word is… unknown to me.”

Sky-byte got up and approached the boat.

“You’re not a Seeker, are you Decepticon?” he asked.

“D- Decepticon?”

“Autobot?” Sky-byte then asked.

“Auto… what?”

“What faction are you? Do you even know what they are? How long was it since you left Cybertron?” Sky-byte yelled, beginning to lose his temper.

“Cybertron… country, not recognised.”

“Country? Do you even know what Cybertron is?” Late Term shouted.

“Cybertron… unknown.” The boat responded.

“Where were you born then?” Sky-byte asked.

“H- here… I was born here.”

“So… you’re from earth. Can you actually transform or are we just talking to a sentient boat?”

“Other half required. Transformation not possible.” The boat let out.

“What’s your name?” Late Term requested.

The boat was silent for a few moments.

“Planet not fully explored. Name not yet chosen.”

The ex-Autobot scratched the back of her head, awkwardly. “Well then, I guess I’ll call you... Shipwreck, for now.”

“Temporary name: Shipwreck… accepted.”

Sky-byte analysed everything the boat had said, his lack of knowledge as well as his claim that he was born on Earth. In his mind, he began to peace it together, and a realisation began to rise.

“So… you were born here, on this planet, correct?”

“Correct…”

“Therefore, you would have to have been brought to life using something.” A smile formed on the Decpeticon’s face. “Now tell me, Late Term, what can be used to create transformers on other worlds?”

Late Term slapped her palm into her face.

“I know where this is going. Don’t say it!”

“You know it just as well as I! The Allspark is the only thing that could have brought Shipwreck to life. Which means?”

“Go on then, Sky-byte." Late Term talked, speaking both annoyed, but also humoured. "Out with it.”

“I was right! The Allspark is here! So, if the Allspark is here, then so is Megatron.”

“Alright, Sky-byte. Well done! What do I owe you?”

Jetfire sat on one of the stools, arms rested on the table and head hanging low. Cogman stood on the table itself, staring back at him.

“Why are you hanging out with us then?” Cogman asked.

The Seeker shrugged. “Not sure what to say to that, really. It’s been lonely, these last few centuries. I’ve had no one talk to.” There was a pause. Jetfire then asked. “So… you been here for long?”

“Tarantulas landed on Earth sometime after the Matrix was hidden.” Cogman replied.

“So, you saw Cybertron after the Primes fell?”

“There were other Primes, Jetfire. Those seven here were only the main ones. But there were others.”

“Others? I was unaware. Are they still ruling?”

“I don’t think so. Those two never mention them.”

“So, what happened then? After I left, I mean. How did Cybertron react?”

“From what I remember, the remaining Primes had to deal with a lot of protests after that. You’d be surprised how many people believed that The Fallen was right.”

No one spoke for a moment, then Cogman proceeded to rub his eyes with his right hand.

“What’s wrong?” Jetfire asked.

“Sky-byte says he was sent here by someone called Lugnut. I know that name, but I don’t know where from.”

“Lugnut? Can’t say I’ve heard of that one.”

“I know I’ve heard it before, but where?”

“Why don’t you just ask Sky-byte who he is?”

“He just says he’s the boss of some fleet.”

Jetfire awkwardly rocked for a moment. “So… you mind telling me about these other Primes?”

“Sure… why not?”

Cogman sat with his legs crossed. He pressed his hands together and pointed at the Seeker staring back at him.

“Well then. After The Fallen’s defeat on this planet, and the remaining six Primes sealing the Matrix in their tomb. Six other Primes remained on Cybertron. Solus, Micronus, Liege Maximo, Onyx, Alchemist and Amalgamous. Together, they ruled Cybertron when we left. However, neither Sky-byte nor Late Term have ever brought one up, so it seems they aren’t around either.”

“That sucks then. If The Fallen comes back, no one will be able to stop him.”

“Don’t be so paranoid, Jetfire. The Fallen isn’t coming back. He’s gone forever.”

“Don’t be so confident in that statement, Cogman.”

Sky-byte and Late Term balanced themselves on Shipwreck as he pushed himself out of the cave and onto the ocean. The boat parked itself next to the shuttle and the two jumped aboard.

“You sure you can catch up with us?” Sky-byte asked.

“Yes.” Shipwreck responded, his voice booming.

As the shuttle took off and flew back to their original hideout, Late Term watched from the window as jet boosters appeared from the backend of shipwreck. He shot off, following them. Sky-byte activated his com-link and Cogman answered.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I need Jetfire to get to the easttern shore; I need some heavy lifting.”

“Sky-byte wants you to lift something for him.” Cogman said, looking up at Jetfire.

“I can trace that shuttle easily. On my way.”

Suddenly, a beam of electricity beamed from Jetfire’s torso before he vanished in front of Cogman’s eyes.

“Right, all Seekers can teleport. Why do I keep forgetting that?” Cogman said to himself.

Jetfire spawned onto the edge of a cliff. There, he saw both the shuttle and an old military vessel, heading in his direction. The boat parked under the cliff and Jetfire leaped down towards it. He looked back up at the shuttle.

“Who’s this?” he yelled.

The shuttle’s door opened and Late Term peeked her head out.

“A local. Just get him to the cave, please.” She called out.

Jetfire nodded and teleported with Shipwreck in his arms. As Late Term watched the Seeker disappear, she let out a quiet sigh before returning to her chair. She sulked and became lost in her thoughts. Despite everything that had just transpired, her mind stayed on Cheetor and the other Maximals. Horrifying images of Cheetor ripping Sky-byte apart kept coming back to her. Through all her might, she tried to take her mind off it but it was no use.

Late Term knew what she had to do.

The shuttle landed in the forest next to their cave. Sky-byte jumped up from his seat and headed for the exit. Swiftly, Late Term slid in front of him, halting the Decepticon brute.

“Sky-byte.” She whispered, trying to keep herself calm.

“What’s the matter?” he asked in a concerned tone.

“I- I need- I can’t stay here.” Late Term said, her eyes aiming as far from Sky-byte’s face as possible.

“W- why?” Sky-byte asked, his tone going from concerned to downright confused.

“I- I just can’t stay here. It’s… too crowded now, and… I think I need to start finding the Matrix on my own.”

Sky-byte frowned. He could tell from Late Term’s tone that something was off.

“Are you sure? I can help! Once I find the Allspark, perhaps we could use it. Maybe the Primes put some sort of map into it or something.”

“Stop being silly, Sky-byte." The ex-Autobot suppressed a giggle, but soon frowned. "I need to go, I- I’m sorry.”

Late Term grabbed Sky-byte's hand and slowly, she dropped the shard into it.

“This should help you find the Allspark. Good luck.” She let out.

Late Term turned and walked to the exit. Once she got to the door, she turned to take one last look at her friend before leaving. Sky-byte’s face looked shattered, like someone had just cut deep through him; Late Term could only bare to look at it for a second. Late Turn leapt off the shuttle, transforming into her truck form mid-air before driving south, past the cave. Sky-byte watched her as she drove over the horizon.

Slowly, Sky-byte walked into his cave, his face low and his shoulders dropped. Jetfire was sat inside, Shipwreck next to him with Cogman sat on his edge.

“Big cave, isn’t it? You can fit a whole boat in it!” Jetfire yelled.

“Misery detected.” Shipwreck beamed, making Jetfire jump.

“Are you alright?” Cogman asked.

“Where did the lanky one go?” Jetfire asked.

“Gone.” Sky-byte replied.

“What do you mean gone?!” Cogman yelled. “She just left?!”

“Yes.” Sky-byte let out before slumping onto the ground.

“What happened?” Jetfire asked, crouching down. “Did you two fallout?”

“She said… she said she couldn’t stay. I suppose it makes sense, she’s her own person. she has her own plans here; I’d get in the way, eventually.”

“Don’t think like that!” Cogman protested. “Sometimes people just have to go their own way. It happens, but it’s not your fault.”

“It’s always my fault!” Sky-byte shouted.

“This is probably a personal matter from the looks of things, I’ll be outside.” Jetfire said as he quickly walked to the cave’s entrance.

Cogman watched until the Seeker was out, he then turned to his master.

“Sky-byte, listen." The Headmaster explained, straightforwardly. "You can’t blame yourself for everything that happens in your life. Some things are just out of your control.”

“What else could it be Cogman?! We’ve been getting along for the last four fucking months and suddenly, she leaves! It’s obvious what’s happened here. I became too much of a hassle. I got too dependent on her. She probably got fed up of carrying my ass through this whole Primus forsaken planet. Did you really have to tell her that I didn’t want her to be away for too long?”

“Hey, in my defence, I was telling the truth. Anyway, that clearly wasn’t the reason she left. She chuckled! I heard her chuckle!”

“Yeah, she was probably just trying to cover up how terrified she was! Why am I like this?!”

Sky-byte sunk his face into his knees. It was then that Jetfire slowly made his way back inside.

“Is it settled? Because if it is, I have to tell you something.”

Sky-byte looked up at the Seeker.

“Go on then.” He muttered, dimly.

“Listen. Late Term told me earlier today that you were looking for the Allspark and that Megatron fella. You are, right?”

“I’m supposed to be. Yes.”

“Well then, I should probably let you know that I’ve seen it.”

Sky-byte immediately jumped off the ground and onto his feet. He marched directly at Jetfire until his chest was almost touching the Seeker’s face.

“Keep talking!” Sky-byte ordered.

“Look, I saw it a few years back. These humans had it. I killed one, but the others got the best of me. I’ve dug tunnels around where it was.”

“Where?! Where was it?!” the brute demanded, pleadingly.

“The Colorado river!" Jetfire exclaimed. "That’s where I last saw it!”

Sky-byte turned to Cogman.

“Do you know where that is?” he asked.

“There’s no need to ask him! I can just teleport all four of us there!” Jetfire yelled.

“Right. Then do it. Now!”

“Alright, hold on tight or you’ll die.” Jetfire replied, grabbing Sky-byte’s arm in one hand and Shipwreck in the other while Cogman climbed his leg.

With a buzz and a beam of lighting, all four were transported to a hill. Below them, they saw what looked like a dam. At this point, the sun was starting to set.

“Oh, I know this place, this is the Hoover dam!” Cogman yelled.

“The what?” Sky-byte responded.

“This wasn’t here last time.” Jetfire said to the four.

“Permission to sail above dam.” Shipwreck asked.

“You’re not sailing, but sure. Do some recon work." Sky-byte replied.

Jetfire grabbed Shipwreck and pushed him down the cliff and onto the river on the top side of the dam.

“Did Late Term give you the shard?” Jetfire asked.

“She did.” Sky-byte replied.

“Well, it should tell you if the Allspark’s around.”

Sky-byte activated the shard. A map of the world appeared and the two found their blue dot on it. There, next to it, was a large red dot that was constantly increasing and decreasing in size.

“I bet my life, that’s the cube!” Jetfire yelled.

Sky-byte stared at the dot on the shard.

He’d done it, he’d finally done it.

The Allspark was directly in his grasp. Sure, Megatron was nowhere to be found yet, but knowing that he was this close made him feel free. After a mad four months, Sky-byte had found partial resolution.

“These new Decepticons. They don’t actually follow the Fallen, right?” Jetfire suddenly asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

“I don’t think so. Lugnut shouldn’t since he’s a Titan.” Sky-byte replied.

“That’s it!” Cogman interrupted. “That’s where I heard that name before. Lugnut is a Titan! He served Liege Maximo Prime!”

This trivia was a surprise for Sky-byte; he didn't understand a word of what his butler was saying. That said, he knew of Liege.

“Was this Maximo fella a supporter of The Fallen?” Jetfire asked.

“No, definitely not, I know some of that legend." Sky-byte reassured. "Maximo was not the most trustworthy Prime, but he was no friend of The Fallen.”

“So Lugnut’s not going to aid The Fallen’s return, right?”

“I thought the Fallen was dead. Either way, no. Lugnut is only loyal to Megatron!”

“Alright, good. I suppose Cybertron is in good hands.” Jetfire said in relief.

Sky-byte let out a soft sigh. It wasn’t right, those two needed to know Cybertron’s fate and there was no one left to reveal it but him.

“Jetfire, Cogman." Sky-byte breathed. "I need to tell you something.”

He gave another look at the shard. Truth was without it, Jetfire nor the Allspark would have been found, and they never would have gotten the shard if Late Term hadn’t gone to explore Los Angeles. Late Term is the reason he’d got this far, and now she was gone. Sky-byte missed her; he missed her a lot.

“Are we north or south of that cave?” he asked.

“South.” Jetfire replied.

“Alright. Both of you stay here. I have something to do.”

“What? Where are you going?” Jetfire asked, puzzled.

“I need to resolve something!” he replied before transforming and taking off.

Sky-byte patrolled the ground. He flew over every road he could find, analysed every truck until finally, he saw it. Sky-byte flew low over the black fuel truck, almost touching it. Reacting, the truck swerved and drove into the fields that were close by, Sky-byte followed.

The truck transformed and Late Term stood, waiting for Sky-byte to do the same. As he dropped to the ground, Late Term ran at him and threw a punch directly at his chest. Sky-byte stumbled back but felt not pain. He stared directly at her, his face giving her a look of endless sorrow.

“Why are you here, Sky-byte?" she cried "I told you I can’t stay. Do you ever listen?! What are you doing h-? “

“I’m sorry!” Sky-byte blurted.

“What?” Late Term asked, dumbfounded.

“Look, you are my friend. I don’t care what you once were, here and now, you are my friend! I know I’m not the ideal person to be friends with. I’m annoying, I’m clumsy, I’m a downright nuisance! But I know I’m not to you. "out of all the people I know, you’ve somehow put up with me. So please, Late Term, tell me what I’ve done. I promise whatever it is I can make up for it, I can change! Trust me, whatever I have to do, tell me and it’s done.”

Late Term stared blankly at the Decepticon, she couldn’t describe how she felt. She could not believe that he’d worry enough to track her down, just to apologise when he had done nothing. To her own supriser, Late Term them stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. There was a moment of silence before she let go.

“I’ve done things, Sky-byte, I’ve made deals with the wrong people. They’re coming here and none of you would stand a chance against them. I’m going to surrender myself to them and figure something out. That’s what I do, and hopefully, they’ll leave without knowing any of you were here.”

The was another moment of silence and Sky-byte’s face went from sad to determined.

“If they’re coming here, we’ll fight them off, all of them.”

“Don’t be stupid, Sky-byte! They’d kill you!”

“Being stupid is what I do" He let out an awkward smile. "But it doesn’t matter how strong they claim to be, nor does it matter what history they have. I’m your friend, no matter what, and if they’re coming for you then they’re coming for me as well!” Sky-byte then yelled, gritting his teeth.

“Maximals are far worse than Seekers. They- “

“No! Late Term, listen! We know where the Allspark is, it’s in this human dam. With it, think what we could do! I understand your concern but there’s no reason to give up! I don’t care how many Maximals they send here. I am going to stand by you, until the end.”

Late Term didn’t know what to say, never before had someone been so determined to help her. It confused her; she’d never felt like this before. She’d never felt so cared for in her life.

“Sky-byte… thank you.” It was all she could say.

Suddenly, the sound of a large ship echoed from above. The two ran into cover. Two new Cybertronions then appeared. One was slim with one arm, only slightly taller than Sky-byte. The other was a hulking behemoth with a broad chest, wings hanging from both sides of his back, and a large cannon, mounted on his shoulder.

“Come out, Cyclonus! We know you’re here!” the Titan bellowed.

Chapter Text

Ten thousand years ago, Cyclonus watched a diamond city from the cliffs. The planet of Darhos had been peaceful throughout the war. Its inhabitants had merely heard rumblings about the war from Cybertron but nothing more, yet soon they’d be seeing it first-hand. Cyclonus had his orders, but he didn’t want to go through with it, it wasn’t right; they didn’t deserve it.

The familiar sound of a Cybertronion jet made its way past Cyclonus, it transformed revealing his superior: Megatron. He stood, glaring at Cyclonus before approaching. With his hands behind his back, Megatron stood next to the lone Decepticon and looked up at him. Cyclonus was taller than Megatron, but slimmer; it really showed when they were together.

Cyclonus averted his gave from his leader. He looked at the planet around him. The red sky, the brown leaves, the city shining blue. It was beautiful. He would give anything to stay here. Cyclonus looked down to see the Decepticon leader who was looking at the city in disgust. It puzzled Cyclonus how one could not see the majesty of this planet.

“What is the status of your development here?” Megatron asked.

“Good, everything has gone as we intended.” Cyclonus hesitated.

“Is that so? Forgive me if I seem judgemental but, from what I see, the people here, these Darhons. They seem like they are completely unaware of our presence.”

“We took down their leaders, my lord. This particular overseer had been oppressing his people for generations- “

Megatron smacked Cyclonus across his jaw.

“I do not care about the politics of this feeble planet! As a Crusadercon, your job is to completely dismantle all the ruling governments on this planet. These insects should be cowering in fear, consumed by chaos! Yet they walk as if today was just like any other. Why is that?”

“My lord, we proposed a different strategy." Cyclonus begged. "We have appointed a new overseer, she is willing to cooperate with the Decep- “

Megatron swung his sickle at Cyclonus’ legs, knocking him to the ground. Cyclonus screeched in agony as Megatron stomped his foot onto the crusader’s face. Megatron then rested his foot on Cyclonus’s back and bent down, lowering his face to speak into his ear.

“This is not your purpose, Cyclonus. You have shamed Cybertron. You really think we can just negotiate with these creatures? You bring shame to all Decepticons.”

Megatron rose and stomped on Cyclonus again. He pined the crusader down, his foot forcing Cyclonus to the floor.

“You have become too sentimental, my friend. It’s time I remind you how true Decepticons handle negotiations.”

“Megatron, wait!”

The Decepticon leader looked down at his subordinate. Cyclonus took a deep breath; he only had one chance at this.

“Megatron, the people of this planet have done what we have been trying to do for so long. They have rebuilt their land from the ground up. They can teach us; we can learn. Don’t you see? This planet is so much more. It doesn’t deserve to be ravaged by our conflict.”

Megatron gave Cyclonus a slight glare, then sighed.

“Oh, Cyclonus, you’ve been away from Cybertron for far too long. This war, it truly has damaged your mind. But don’t worry, I’ll help to make things clearer to you.” Megatron turned his head up high. “Dreadwind!” he yelled.

An enormous transformer landed beside the two; he towered over them both. The giant had bulk legs, wings hanging from his back, and a cannon perched on his right shoulder.

“I’m not sure if you’re aware considering you’ve been on this pitiful planet for so long, Cyclonus, but I have been making my own negotiations. But, unlike you, I’ve allied myself with those who have value. Dreadwind here is a Titan, one of Liege Maximo Prime’s servants. Now, he works for me.”

“Megatron, wait!” Cyclonus continued to beg.

“There’s no use pleading, Cyclonus. This is how it always goes. This is how it supposed to be.”

Megatron then gave Dreadwind a nod. The Titan stepped forward and aimed his cannon above the city.

“Megatron, please!” Cyclonus screamed.

Megatron pressed his foot down on the now struggling crusader. As Cyclonus watched, Dreadwind unloaded his cannon. Like mortars, six shots were made and landed directly onto the city. Cyclonus saw the city he had made his home, incinerate before his eyes. As the smoke cleared, all he could see was ruin littered with bodies. Dreadwind continued to fire, each shot resulting in the sounds of helpless screams and destruction. As the Titan kept firing, Megatron lifted his foot from Cyclonus and grabbed him by the throat.

“I don’t want to waste my new pet on anymore insect planets. Make sure you do things properly next time.” Megatron whispered before throwing Cyclonus to the ground.

As Cyclonus pulled himself up, he watched as both Megatron and Dreadwing transformed and took off, leaving him to see the ruin they had made.

Now.

Dreadwind landed in the hanger of the Wise. Once there, the escape pod of his vehicle form shot out, transforming into his one-armed companion Smokejumper. The two were escorted to the bridge. When they arrived, Lugnut was waiting for them.

“Dreadwind, my friend. It has been so long.”

The Titans hugged one another while others left the bridge, leaving Lugnut, Dreadwind and Smokejumper to themselves.

“How’s your search going?” Dreadwind asked. “Last I heard, you had invaded Fantoma.”

“We pulled out. That planet wasn’t the place.” Lugnut replied, bitterly.

“I see. So, where to next?”

“I have a few planets considered but I have not concluded yet.”

Dreadwind nodded. “Is that why you’ve brought me here? To help you decide?”

“Of course not, my friend. I have brought you here for something more… personal.”

“Go on.”

“You remember the Crusadercons?” Lugnut asked in a tone that alluded he already knew the answer.

“How could I forget? My first task given to me by Megatron was to show one up.” Dreadwind let out a low chuckle at the thought.

Lugnut bumped Dreadwind's fist, then continued. “There have been rumours circulating around a colony in deep space. Some say that their ship: the Lifespark, was seen docking there.”

“I see. You want me to go after them?”

“Yes! Those traitors betrayed everything the glorious Megatron stood for! I want them all dead! Can you make it so?!”

The Titan grinned under his helmet. “Consider it done.”

As Dreadwind turned to leave, Lugnut grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

“One more thing.” He said this, matter-of-factly. “On Fantoma, there was a Decepticon I decided to punish. I sent him to die on a lush planet. Planet: one nine eight four, to be exact.

“The Fallen’s planet?” Dreadwind asked, surprised.

“Yes. I sent him there, not too long ago. The colony I am sending you to is close to that planet. If the rumours are true, they will probably be heading there to hide.”

“Why there?”

“The planet’s inhabitants have evolved since The Fallen’s time." Lugnut explained, casually. "They have the machinery that any Decepticon can use to disguise themselves. It would be foolish of them not to seek refuge on that planet for a while. I want you to establish a base there, but only if you can confirm for sure that the Crusadercons are in that system.”

“And what of the Decepticon you sent there?”

“If Sky-byte is somehow still alive, put him out of his misery.”

“Very well. Good luck on your next invasion.”

“Good luck on your next hunt.”

Dreadwind approached the space station at the given coordinates. It was shaped like a spear, with rings circling it.

“So,” Smokejumper started, “what’s this place?”

His voice was scrawny and cranky, like the day they'd been assigned to each other.

Dreadwind explained as he between meteors, on his approach. “This space station has been home to many transformers who fled the war.”

“Not Decepticons, right? I think the Autobot Arsenal would have shredded this place if any Decepticons were here.”

“I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that, my friend. Transformers aren’t the only race here anyway, Smokejumper. But no, from I’ve been told, only neutrals found their way here, nails are what they’re called.”

“Nails? Why are neutrals called nails?”

“That’s what I heard Trypticon call them once.”

“Oh, well, what other races are there?”

“Just some of those sentient mammal races, maybe some fish looking ones too. Always so small.”

The Titan docked in a hanger and transformed. He and Smokejumper approached a few mechanics in the bay, all squid looking creatures with five eyes.

“I’ve heard that this place was docked by my kind.” Dreadwind spoke. He pointed to the Decepticon symbol on his gut. “They bore this mark.”

The mechanics nodded and pointed to one of the halls close by. Both Dreadwind and Smokejumper made their way through it. Around them, they saw creatures of all kind, fighting, smoking, committing all sorts of uncivilised behaviour. It made Dreadwind feel sick. How he’d love to purge this station clean.

At the end of the hall was a throne room, and sitting on the throne was an obese slug like transformer. He was grey and blue, about Dreadwind’s size. He was eating some sort of alien food, it was foul. Dreadwind couldn’t stand looking at it, the fact that he had installed a digestive systems within itself was bad enough. The cretin looked up at the two.

“Aaah, finally. Primus has bestowed upon me two new visitors!” he yelled.

“Why were we sent here?” Smokejumper asked, dumbfounded.

“Because he’s one of us.” Dreadwind replied.

“It’s not often I see other transformers, let alone another Titan!”

“You’re no Titan!” Dreadwind shot, insulted that the transformer would make such claim.

“My name is Breath. I served the great Liege Maximo Prime.”

Dreadwind rubbed his visor. He was himself was dumbfounded that this thing was calling himself a Titan; he felt insulted by such sacrilege. Dreadwind suddenly noticed on Breath’s gut, both the Autobot and Decepticon symbols. Both of which had been cut.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Dreading asked, pointing.

“Oh, right. What can I say?" Breath replied. "I like to stay on the winning side.”

“How many times did you switch sides then?!”

“A few…”

“If you really are a Titan, why don’t I remember you?”

“I served… in a different time. I was the first Titan!” Breath exclaimed.

“If you were there first Titan," Smokejumper commented, "I’m surprised Liege didn’t cancel the project immediately. No offense, Dreadwind.”

Breath huffed. He the tossed his food across the room, splatting it against the wall.

“Why are you disturbing me? What have I done?!” he pleaded, angrily.

“Listen… Breath?" Dreadwind began, forcing himself to sound polite. "That’s really your name? We’ve come here in search of a group of Decepticon traitors. We’ve heard that they were here.”

“Ah yes, Cyclonus and friends? I spoke to them recently.”

“So, they were here?!” Smokejumper interrupted.

“Yes,” Breath replied, “but I promised not to give away their location.”

“Really?” Dreadwind asked, unamused. “Because if you tell us, I’ll buy you your next box of... food.”

Breath spoke, quickly. “They’re going to Earth.”

“Earth?” Dreadwind repeated.

“Planet: one nine eight four. They’re going there.”

“Oh, that was easy.” Smokejumper said.

But as the Titan and his companion left, an explosion was heard, coming from one of the hangers. The two rushed to the scene; there, a lanky Autobot stood. He was nowhere near Dreadwind’s height, but he seemed taller than the average Autobot. Dreadwind did not seem to recognise him, but from the look of Smokejumper’s face, it was clear that his companion did.

“Ghost?” Smokejumper whispered, terrified.

“Who?” Dreadwind asked.

“I am Ghost,” the Autobot cryed out, “commander of the Autobot Arsenal. This station is now property of the Autobot armada.”

Suddenly, Ghost’s ship, approached the station and begin to fire on its citizens. From the symbols on the side, Dreadwind could see its title as the Reaping.

“We need to go!” Smokejumper yelled, grabbing Dreadwind's arm.

“Why? It’s one Autobot and one ship.”

“I know what the Arsenal are capable of, I’m not risking this.”

Dreadwind could tell from his companion’s voice that he was serous. He nodded and transformed and Smokejumper in tern transformed, then inserted himself into the compartment of Dreadwind’s vehicle form. Dreadwind fled the station and headed for The Fallen’s planet, leaving the station to deal with the deranged Autobot.

Ghost walked through the hallways of the station, cutting through resisting aliens with ease. Eventually, he reached the throne room of Breath.

“It’s been a while, old friend. You have slipped through us for far too long.”

“Hold on!” Breath retorted. “I have decided which side is right, I’m choosing to join the Autobots once more!”

“What kind of idiot do you take me for?! I didn’t fall for that the first time you did it.”

“No! hold on!”

Breath crawled out of his throne and began to slam his hands onto the ground, but Ghost dodged each hit. Backflipping between them, he landed directly onto Breath’s arm and began to run up. The Autobot unleashed blades from his skinny arms and forced them into the Titan’s neck. Breath let out a flabbergasted roar before crashing onto the floor of his throne room.

“I… meant you no harm.” Breath let out.

“Breath, old friend. Your current allegiance is irrelevant.”

Ghost watched as the Titan bled out in front of him.

Dreadwind and Smokejumper arrived on the moon of their targeted planet. There, the two transformed and sat.

“That was close.” Smokejumper let out.

“Are you sure we couldn’t have taken him?” Dreadwind asked.

“Dreadwind, the Autobot Arsenal are notorious across many parts of Decepticon space.”

“But I thought the war was over.”

“Not to them. They hunt Decepticons that have left or betrayed the cause.”

“Wait, they hunt Decepticon traitors?" Dreadwind double-checked. "So, they’re doing us a favour?”

“It’s not like that. Ghost wants to wipe the universe of all Decepticons. It’s just right now, he’s focusing on those who think they got off lucky.”

“Are the other Autobots okay with this?”

Smokejumper shrugged. “I don’t know. It doesn’t sound like Optimus is aware of this, to be honest.”

“What makes you say that?”

“They kill civilians," he explained, "Optimus would never support that.”

“You think? That’s not the Optimus I’ve seen.”

“Dreadwind! I’m serous!”

“Smokejumper, calm down.”

Dreadwind rubbed Smokejumper’s shoulder, reassuring him.

“Dreadwind, can you tell me the story of the Titans again?” Smokejumper suddenly requested.

The Titan sighed. “One more time.”

Dreadwind stood up, he walked forward and turned, facing his companion.

“A very long time ago, in the early days of Cybertron. The remaining Primes worked hard to rebuild what The Fallen had destroyed. To help bring the planet back together, the great Liege Maximo Prime created the Titans. Together they used their enormous size and strength to rebuild cities, and eventually... the whole planet.”

“It must have been a real honour.”

“It was, but nothing lasts forever. One fateful day, the bitter Solus Prime decided that in her mind, the Primes were getting too old and that a new generation of Primes were needed. Liege saw the great error in this. He knew that a group of younger Primes would ruin everything they had built. If a younger generation of Primes were allowed to rule, their feeble, unchecked ideals would bring a great change to Cybertron. A change that it didn’t need.”

“Liege has always sounded like an insightful mentor.”

“He was, he always knew the right outcome. Unbeknown to him, Solus created these new Prime hatchlings herself. The other Primes soon discovered her deception. But instead of punishing her, they agreed with her. They even proposed helping her raise these new Primes. It was then the great Liege Maximo Prime knew what must be done.”

“My favourite part!”

“One by one, Liege and the Titans hunted these hatchlings. After finding them all, Liege ate each of the hatchings, saving Cybertron from a horrible fate. Then, the great Liege Maximo Prime killed the other Primes for their crimes against our great planet.”

“What a hero.”

“He was more than a hero, he was our savour. But even he, in all his great wisdom, was unable to seek them all. One hatchling grew, called himself Sentinel Prime, overthrew Liege, killing him. But his legacy remains. We the Titans will continue his teachings; that is our destiny.”

“Also, Sentinel is dead now. So, in a way... we won.”

Dreadwind chuckled. “That is correct, Smokejumper.”

“But what I still don’t understand is Optimus Prime. Where did he come from?”

“Who knows. It doesn’t matter. I don’t think he’s a true Prime anyway.”

There was silence and then Smokejumper got up.

“So,” he said, “should we head down to the planet?”

Dreadwind nodded. “I suppose so.”

The two transformed and headed to the planet below. As they made their way through the atmosphere, the lush green trees became apparent. This planet was full of life. If Cyclonus was here, he’d be staying for a while.

“I’m detecting a large energon signal.” Smokejumper stated, excitedly.

“Where?” the Titan asked.

“West!”

Dreadwind took Smokejumper across the planet's fields. Soon, two signals became visible. They were coming from a forest, nearby.

“Could that be Cyclonus?” Dreadwind asked.

“Must be, I suppose the other is one of his Crusadercons.”

The two flew over the forest and transformed.

“Come out, Cyclonus! We know your there!” Dreadwind bellowed.

Out of the forest, one hulking Decepticon revealed himself. He wasn’t Cyclonus. However, Smokejumper seemed to recognise him.

Chapter Text

Sky-byte approached the one-armed Decepticon who was staring back at him. While he didn’t recognise the slender transformer, it seemed as if he knew him.

“You must be Sky-byte.” The visitor said.

“I am. Did Lugnut send you?” Sky-byte asked.

“Yes, but not for you.”

The slender Decepticon gave a nod to the titan beside him. Sky-byte recognised Dreadwind as he had seen him fight from afar throughout the war. The Titan transformed and took off, leaving the two.

“Smokejumper.” The one left introduced himself, tapping his gun against his chest.

“Good to meet you.” Sky-byte replied. “What brings you to Earth?”

“A few events have led us here. The Crusadercons have been spotted, monitoring this system. This is only planet with life, so it is safe to assume that they will be seeking refuge here.”

Sky-byte took a step back. He wasn’t that knowledgeable of the Crusadercons, he’d heard of them but not too much. Sky-byte was always more interested in the ancient parts of history than the more recent war parts. If they were coming here, it would be wise to get the Allspark out first. However, Sky-byte wasn’t rude and he’d let Smokejumper explain his situation first.

“I see, and you’re with Dreadwind?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve been his companion for a short while.”

Sky-byte noticed that Smokejumper was analysing the area.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Dreadwind detected two signals, yet there’s just you, is somebody with you?”

Sky-byte looked around and noticed that Late Term had disappeared. Sky-byte contemplated his response, he was not going to lie to Decepticons with such high authority. However, Late Term was once an Autobot, and while she wasn’t anymore, they may not see it that way. Sky-byte sighed before turning back to face Smokejumper.

“No, I’m alone on this planet.” He stated, formally.

“Hmm, must have been a glitch.” Smokejumper replied, shrugging it off.

He signalled Sky-bye over with a head tilt. “Let’s walk.”

The two strolled across the grassy countryside. As they did, Late Term watched from the forest. She’d hid behind a couple of trees. Stealthily, she crouched through those trees, tailing the two.

“How’s the fleet been since I left?” Sky-byte asked.

Smokejumper then explained, casually. “Good, good. Lugnut has really outdone himself. The fleet has left Fantoma, but they’ve already got many other potential planets to invade next.”

“Wait- invade? Lugnut told me the fleet would stay at Fantoma until I got back.”

“Err… yes, we were supposed to tell you this if we saw you... and that’s what I just did.”

“Right, and I suppose you’ll come back to tell me where they’ve moved?”

“Yes, yes… right.”

Late Term listen to the two’s conversation. From Smokejumper’s tone and stance, she could tell something was off. it sounded like the Decepticon was just humouring her friend, and she didn’t like it. The problem was she didn't think Sky-byte, bless him, had the ability to understand such tones.

As Jetfire and Cogman waited at the dam, the two watched as a large ship flew above them. The ship landed behind the hill they were on. The two then looked at one another.

“Who’s that?” Jetfire asked.

“How the bloody hell am I supposed to know?” Cogman replied.

The two faced the direction of where the ship had landed.

“Right, that’s it, we’re going!” Cogman yelled as he climbed Jetfire. The butler sat on the Seeker’s shoulder. He ten ordered. “Take us there.”

Jetfire huffed and walked up the hill towards the ship. As they got closer, the ship’s doors opened and a crew of transformers around Jetfire’s size stepped out. The one in front stood out the most. He was yellow and black, with shoulders that stuck out like spears. He had slender legs with wheels barely hanging off each one, a wide chest but a slim waist. He looked odd.

The yellow one stepped forward; he ordered his troops to lower their weapons as he approached the Seeker.

“What are you?” he asked, irritated.

“My name is Jetfire… welcome to Earth?”

“Earth? Is that what this planet’s called? They called it dirt?”

“You’ll have to take the humans up on that.”

“So, I take it you’re a seeker?”

“I suppose I am. What are you?”

“We are Maximals, and I am Cheetor. We’ve come here to find a lone criminal.”

The Maximal opened a hologram from his arm, it showed Late Term’s face.

“Have you seen this Cybertronion?”

Jetfire opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted.

“Who’s that! I’ve never seen that woman in my life?” Cogman yelled.

“Really?” Cheetor asked, his eyes squinting at the Headmaster.

“Yes, there’s no other Cybertronion here. My master: Jetfire, and I are the only ones left here.” Cogman lied.

“Is that so? Because I tracked her signal to this country. I know she was using a com-link frequency that was set up here, and I know that this is where the energon signal is strongest. So, either the Matrix is right here or there’s a cluster of transformers in this area.”

“Should we tell him about the Allspark?” Cogman whispered into Jetfire’s audio receptor.

“Listen,” Jetfire spoke stepping forward, “I think your energon scanner is a little… shit.”

“Is that so? let’s try that again.”

The Maximals raised the weapons and surrounded the two.

“Woah! We answered your question!” Jetfire protested.

“You did, but you didn’t give me the right answer.” Cheetor replied.

“What other answer could I give you?”

“let’s see, let's see. How about the answer where you tell me that you built whatever radio tower that this bitch has been using and you know where she’s at, right now!” Cheetor demanded.

“Oh whatever, I don’t even know her." Jetfire then let out a shrug. "She was with us, but she went off on her own. I don’t know where.”

Cogman slapped Jetfire around his face, it had a much greater force that it seemed anyone would have expected.

“Ow! Bastard!” Jetfire yelled, rubbing his face.

“When?!” Cheetor hollered.

“A few hours back, she should be up north somewhere.”

“What’s an hour?” one of the other Maximals asked.

“Thank you for your cooperation, I will leave you to your… whatever you’re doing.”

“Hold up!” Cogman yelled. “What are you planning on doing with her?!”

Cheetor looked back at the Headmaster. “She has committed fraud against us for the last time. She will be punished accordingly.”

“So what? You’re going to kill her?” Cogman pressed on.

“Perhaps, if she resists. What’s it matter to you? I thought Headmasters only cared about The Primes and their tripe.”

“I’m not just any ordinary Headmaster.”

“Is that so?" Cheetor began, snidely. "Because you all look the same to me.”

“Better than what you’ve got going on at the moment. Are you trying to look unique in that yellow and black colour scheme? You belong in a fucking sweet shop!”

Enraged, Cheetor aimed his gun up at the Headmaster. Cogman however, had been hoping for this. He leaped from Jetfire’s shoulder and landed directly on the gun, then he ran along it and shot a missile from his mouth, directly into the Maximal’s face. Cheetor dropped to the ground, he shrieked while smothering his face in his palms. Cogman landed on top of him. Suddenly, another Maximal jumped down and grabbed Cogman. As he held the Headmaster in his hand, Cogman slammed his fists against the knuckles, causing the goon to lose grip. He soon fired another missile from his mouth, this one hit the Maximal’s forehead directly, piercing it off.

Cogman quickly jumped onto the body. He removed the rest of the head and transformed into his own head-form. Before his mortified attackers, Cogman attached himself to the body. As he did, the body became under his control.

“Alright, let’s get even.” He said, signalling the other goons to come over.

“Aah, bollocks to this.” Jetfire yelled as he unleashed his pickaxe from his back.

Jetfire swiftly rammed his pickaxe into the Maximal that was closest to him. As he did so, another goon jumped him from behind. Jetfire struggled for a moment before grabbing the assailant and throwing him over his shoulders before stomping on his head, killing him.

As this was going on, Cogman unshaved the sword that belonged to his new body and swung, killing both his attackers before they could get close. While both were distracted by their conflicts, Cheetor got up. He picked up his gun and shot at Cogman’s head, knocking him off the body he had commandeered. Cheetor then proceeded to run at Jetfire and climbed over him before pulling him to the ground.

Jetfire attempted to get back up but Cheetor’s leg pinned him down, damaging his parts to the point where teleportation wouldn’t be possible. Cheetor picked the Seeker up and dragged him to his ship. As he looked down, he saw the lifeless body of the Cogman unit that he had shot. He smiled as he continued to drag Jetfire away.

The Maximal ship took off, leaving the site. Cogman’s eyes flicked before turned bright blue again. He transformed and got up, brushing the mud off himself.

“Bastard,” he muttered, “that could have killed me.”

As the Maximal ship continued its flight, Jetfire watched from the window. He had been cuffed on both his arms and legs and was now sat on the floor of the cockpit. Next to him was Cheetor as well as the ship’s pilot.

“Cheetor?” the pilot said.

“What is it, Motorarm?” Cheetor responded.

“It seems there is something else on our radar. Look!”

Out of the window, they saw a large cruiser heading in their direction. It transformed, revealing itself to be a Titan.

“Is that… Dreadwind?” Cheetor asked.

Suddenly, Dreadwind crashed his fist into the ship, creating a hole in its centre. The ship began to fall as it irrupted into flames. In the chaos, Jetfire grabbed a knife from a desk close by and cut his hands free. He did the same to his legs. Now free, Jetfire ran at Cheetor and drop-kicked him onto the cockpit’s controls. Motorarm rose to intervene but Jetfire quickly grabbed his arm and ripped it off. As Motoram roared in agony, Jetfire jumped onto Cheetor and began beating him to the ground.

Smokejumper and Sky-byte continued their walk until they reached a sloped hill.

“So, this planet looks nice.” Smokejumper let out.

Sky-byte beamed as he replied. “It really is. The humans have a strange culture. Actually, they have many cultures. But I still quite like it.”

Sky-byte watched as Smokejumper looked out over the hill. He'd been contemplating on how to begin; he was nervous around someone of such high rank. Despite his fear of fumbling his words, now was the right time to make his report.

“I’ve found it.” He spoke, looking down.

“Found what?” Smokejumper asked, tilting his head slightly.

“The Allspark, what else?” Sky-byte replied, looking back up.

“The All- what?”

Sky-byte tilted his head. Did Smokejumper not know?

“The Allspark, Smokejumper. I found it as promised.”

“You found- you found- pff!”

Smokejumper irrupted into laughter. Sky-byte was confused, what was so funny? Surely, he would be pleased that after so much searching, the cube had finally been found. Right?

“Wha- what is it?” Sky-byte asked.

Smokejumper took a minute to catch his breath.

“What’s next, Sky-byte? Are you going to tell me you’ve found Megatron too?”

“Not yet, but he must be close! I’ve discovered that this is actually The Fallen’s planet. I’ve had a few altercations with Seekers, but it hasn’t stopped me. With a few more months I promise I- “

“Of course this is The Fallen’s planet!” Smokejumper cackled, loudly.

Sky-byte was confused. Smokejumper already knew? Does that means other Decepticons knew? If so, why didn’t he?

“You knew?" he asked. "Does Lugnut know?”

“Yes! Think, Sky-byte. He’s a Titan, of course he knows.”

“Then why wasn’t I told?”

Sky-byte was now really confused. To him, Lugnut was a brilliant strategist, so why wouldn’t he tell him something so crucial? Out of nowhere, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a ship falling in their direction. The two watched as the ship crashed into the forest close by. The Titan Dreadwind then landed and began to inspect the crash.

“Friends of yours?” Smokejumper asked.

“No. I’ve not met anyone I haven’t killed.” Sky-byte lied.

Late Term snuck around the Titan as he looked over the rubble. She watched as he lifted the roof off and pulled out a transformer she recognised as Motorarm. Though now with an arm missing.

"You Maximals and your tools. Always stealing our planet's treasures!"

Late Term observed as Dreadwind ripped him in two as he begged before dropping his top half to the ground and stepping on him. The Titan then began to loot the ship, throwing weapons that he was too big to use himself over his shoulder. Late Term soon eyed a shotgun that he had thrown. Stealthily, she moved to retrieve it.

Late Term analysed her new weapon. As she did, she noticed a familiar Seeker crawling out of the wreckage before teleporting away. Late Term rolled her eyes. Whatever happened for Jetfire to be there wasn’t important, what was important however, was that she was still in close distance of a Titan that could instantly stomp her if he saw her. Quickly, she began to move back to end of the forest.

Smokejumper turned back to face Sky-byte. Sky-byte faced him back, he was still taking in what had just happened. Whoever was in that ship, they probably weren’t friends, most likely they were who Late Term was trying to get away from. Thankfully, if they were then Dreadwind had just done them both a favour. But that was not all Sky-byte was thinking about.

“Alright then, I should probably take care of this.” Smokejumper said, suddenly.

Randomly, Smokejumper directly aimed his blaster at Sky-byte’s face. Sky-byte stepped back.

“What are you doing?” he asked, perplexed.

“Putting you out of your misery, as ordered.”

“Smokejumper, this is my mission, you have no right to point that thing at me!”

“Oh, come on, Sky-byte. Use your head! You must have some intelligence in there.”

“What are you talking about?” Sky-byte pleaded.

The brute began to shake, his headache was starting to come back. He walked backwards, breathing heavily.

“There was no mission for you, Sky-byte. Lugnut sent you here to die!” Smokejumper said, mockingly.

“That’s not true! Why would you say that?” Sky-byte protested, denying every word.

“Think about it, you brain dead moron. You really think out of all the planets in the universe, the Allspark would just so happen to land on the planet owned by The Fallen? Not only that, you think Lugnut would send just one Decepticon to find it? A Decepticon I might add, who has never won a battle in his life?” Smokejumper cackled.

“But… the Allspark is here! Megatron is here! I know a Seeker who’s seen him!”

“Like hell. Sky-byte, have you actually seen the Allspark, or Megatron?!”

Sky-byte paused as he thought. He hated the answer, but he felt himself admitting. He averted his gaze from the other Decepticon.

“No.”

Smokejumper nudged his weapon forward as he yelled. “Exactly! Because they’re not here! Nothing important to us is here.”

“But… why?” Sky-byte begged.

“Because you’re a disgrace, Sky-byte! Lugnut thought having you die thinking you were special would be a nice send off for someone as loyal as you. Truth is, you’re a failure, and you always will be. Lugnut just felt like being charitable.”

Sky-byte took in what he had heard. He didn’t want to admit it, but it all made sense. Why out of all the Decepticons would Lugnut choose him? Even the shuttle he was given wasn’t made for this kind of mission. From the start he had been deceived, but the truth was he deserved it. Sky-byte understood. He stared directly at the Decepticon aiming at him. The revelation of his mission had started to affect Sky-byte’s mind. His head hurt, he couldn’t think straight.

All he could see in his mind was the image of the whole Decepticon army laughing at him; they had the right to do so. He was a failure and he deserved to be treated like one.

Sky-byte took a look at the baster being aimed at him before looking back at Smokejumper. He then muttered

“Do it.”

“What?” Smokejumper asked in a demeaning tone.

“I said do it!” Sky-byte yelled.

Smokejumper nodded. “On your knees.”

Sky-byte kneeled on the grassy floor and stared at the ground. There was no point in fighting back, no point in delaying his fate. He wanted this.

Smokejumper spoke again, pushing his blaster to touch the Decepticon’s head. “It is funny, Sky-byte. You thought you were chosen for something so daring. Like out of all our army, you were the one they found suitable for this task. Truth is, Sky-byte, to the Decepticons, you mean nothing.”

“Not to me.”

Smokejumper turned to face the voice he had heard but all he saw was a blast before his head was wiped clean from his body. Sky-byte looked up too see Late Term hanging off a tree with a shotgun in her hand. She jumped down to the ground and approached him.

“No! Why did you do that?!” Sky-byte asked, enraged.

“What? Save you?” Late Term responded, confused.

“I don’t want saving.” Sky-byte huffed.

Late Term dropped her shotgun and crouched slightly, her head at the same level as his.

“I heard a little. What did he mean?”

Sky-byte swallowed. “They sent me to die. They- they knew this was The Fallen’s planet. They sent me here so I would die thinking I was important to them. The Allspark’s not even here.”

“But it is here! "Late Term responded in an attempt to reassure. "Shipwreck is proof of that.”

“Maybe… he was brought to life by something else.”

“What else? Hmm? Sky-byte, it is here, we know it is.”

“But they said… ugh." Sky-byte paused, the realisation hitting him. "Shit. You're right. Funny, I guess they accidently sent me to the right planet.”

“That is funny, I suppose.”

“It doesn’t matter. They sent me here to die and I fell for it. I’m such an idiot.”

“Yes.”

Late Term placed her hand on his shoulder. Sky-byte looked at her directly.

“But you’re my idiot.” She spoke with a slight chuckle.

Sky-byte looked at her, confused, But abruptly, he began to laugh, otherwise he might cry. He laughed so much that he lost balance. Late Term caught him, resting her forehead against his. To his suprise, Sky-byte began to feel calm; his headache was leaving him, and he was beginning to breath normally again. Eventually, she let him go. As she did, Sky-byte looked up behind her. There, he saw a yellow and black transformer about her size; he was aiming his gun at her. Sky-byte quickly he pushed her down before grabbing the shotgun she had dropped and aiming it at him.

Late Term looked up at Cheetor. He looked like he’d just been digested, his whole body had been torn up. Behind him was Dreadwind, on the floor, heavily wounded.

“This is between me and her, Decepticon.” Cheetor spat.

But Sky-byte corrected. “It was.” 

“Don’t make me kill you as well.”

“I won’t.”

As Cheetor moved his gun to aim at Sky-byte, the Decepticon fired, blowing a whole in Cheetor’s chest. Slowly, he fell.

“I suppose that’s settled then.” Sky-byte said this as he got up.

Abruptly, Dreadwind rose from the ground and looked at what was beneath him. He noticed the corpse of his companion before turning to the two alive Cybertronions.

“He is… replaceable. I will be seeing you.” Dreadwind declared before transforming and blasting off into the night sky.

Late Term got up and walked to the Cheetor’s body. She then looked at her friend; she could tell he was having an episode. Sky-byte turned to face her and smirked.

“I guess you don’t have anything to worry about now.”

“No… I don’t.” She replied, smiling back.

Out of the forest, Jetfire walked.

“Alright, seems everyone’s either gone or dead. My teleport systems were broken but- I think they’ve repaired. Do you want me to take you back to the dam?”

Cogman sat at the dam, staring at the river where Shipwreck was. At this point, the sun was rising. Suddenly, he heard a zapping sound and Jetfire, Late Term and Sky-byte appeared before him.

“Cogman? I thought you died!” Jetfire yelled.

“I will if I keep getting left alone with you.” Cogman replied.

“So,” Late Term said, looking up at Sky-byte, “are we still going after the Allspark?”

Sky-byte stared at the dam and contemplated. Truth was, the Decepticons didn’t know it was here; they were never going to come for it.

He was the one deciding its fate.

He could take it right now, bring it to Lugnut and prove his worth. He could prove that despite everything, he did bring the Allspark back. However, he knew he shouldn’t. Lugnut wouldn’t care who’d found it, he'd probably claim that he’d found it himself. Lugnut didn’t deserve that glory.

“Not today.” Sky-byte answered. “Jetfire, get Shipwreck and take us home.”

Chapter Text

It had been a month since Sky-byte had last left the cave. Every Earth day, he’d lay slumped against its walls, usually asleep but he would sometimes wake up to readjust his stance. Occasionally, Cogman would have a look at the brute, but there was nothing he could do. Sky-byte didn’t want to speak to anyone, he just wanted to be alone.

What had happened the month before had really messed with his head. His whole life, Sky-byte had dedicated everything to the Decepticon cause. He’d looked up to Megatron since he was hatchling, and now, after everything he’d done, everything he’d been through, it had meant nothing in return.

Late Term watched him from her stool, though it took effort. It hurt her to see him the way he was. Late Term turned to her empty cup; she checked the fuel barrels, realising they were empty. Cogman noticed.

“You want me to go get some more?” he asked.

“No. I’ll get it myself.” Late Term replied.

She stumbled out the cave; outside she saw Jetfire leaning against a tree.

“Going on a shopping spree, are you?” Jetfire called.

“Just going to see if I can steal some diesel from the closest airfield.”

“I can teleport you to one.”

“No. I don’t trust your abilities at teleporting yet. I want to go in my own way.”

“Alright then. If you get seen and you can’t escape, just know I could have gotten you out of there.” Jetfire said, shrugging.

“Just… Jetfire.” Late Term said with a stern look.

“What’s up?”

“If Sky-byte gets up, alert me.”

“Sure, alright then.”

“Thank you.”

Late Term then transformed and drove north. Jetfire watched as she disappeared over the horizon; he then turned and stepped into the cave, yelling.

“Cogman! Watch Sky-byte while I go out.”

“Fine!” he heard back.

Jetfire proceeded to teleport out of the cave’s entrance.

Inside, Cogman watched his master lay. He approached the Decepticon and sat on his leg.

In the far reaches of the galaxy, Optimus Prime arrived within an old temple. It was large and bronze, surrounded by the statues of the Primes before him. As he approached its entrance, two guards lowered their spears and let him through. In the centre, a red, bearded transformer was kneeled on the ground, his back turned to Optimus.

“Back again, Optimus?” he said.

“I apologise for not telling you in advance.”

“Nonsense, my child. Sit.”

Optimus sat with his legs crossed, behind the prophet.

“Is something on your mind?” the prophet asked.

Optimus lowered his head, regretfully. “I feel… empty.”

“Empty? How so?”

“I feel like… like I have lost purpose as a Prime.”

“Because the war’s over?”

“How- how did you do know?”

The Prime sensed a grin from that who he spoke to. “Optimus, my child. You discovered your heritage during the war, you accepted your role as a Prime to lead the Autobots. As a Prime, war was all you knew. Do you miss it?”

“No." Optimus protested. "I want peace for all sentient beings, but I can’t stop feeling like my purpose as a Prime has not been fulfilled.”

“You seek resolution, Optimus? Is that it?”

“…yes.”

“Be patient, my child. The time will come, I assure you.”

“But there are so many things I do not know. There are things I should have done, and there are things I feel I should do.”

“Is this about the Allspark? About Megatron?”

“I- I want to know that it’s over. I want to know that Megatron is gone for good.”

“I see, Optimus. I understand. In your mind, the war is not truly over until Megatron is slayed. Am I correct?”

“You always knew how read people, Alpha Trion.”

Alpha Trion chuckled.

“Optimus. You need to understand, sometimes we don’t need a satisfying conclusion. Sometimes, a story should be left open ended. I think this is one of those stories.”

“But… I’m sorry. I feel like I’m dishonouring my mentor.”

“Sentinel would understand. Besides, Optimus, you have progressed further past him in every way.”

Optimus clenched his fists.

“Do not disrespect my mentor.” He growled.

“Calm yourself, Optimus.”

Alpha Trion rose and turned to the last Prime.

“Rise.”

Optimus stood.

“You need to learn to let go, my child. Don’t give in to violent instincts, you have moved on from that life. It is time for you to settle down and lead the Autobots to a new era.”

“What if I can’t?” Optimus blurted, distressingly.

“You can, Optimus. I know you can.” Despite the Prime's sudden hostility, Trion did not lose his gentle smile.

As Sky-byte remained slumped over in the cave, a zap was heard and Jetfire entered, carrying Cybertronion parts and artefacts.

“Got these from Cheetor’s ship.” He said.

“Anything useful?” Cogman asked.

“I don’t know. I’m just getting what I can before any humans find it and turn it into a landmark.”

Jetfire dropped his mess on the table.

“I’ll sort it later.” He said before teleporting away again.

“You want to see what he brought?” Cogman asked, facing Sky-byte.

There was no answer.

“Come on, Sky-byte. Are you ever going to get up?!”

Still no answer.

“Sky-byte. Please.”

Nothing.

“Sky-byte… ugh, why do I even bother?!”

Cogman turned to table and climbed it. He then approached the scrap and scrambled through it; there, he found a peculiar looking statue.

“I say, this looks this nice.” He said to himself

Late Term approached a military airport that was close to the cave, then she transformed. She watched from a distance; all the humans were loading their planes and trucks. The way they all worked together made her ponder, she had done a lot in her short time on this planet, but she wouldn’t have gotten very far if it wasn’t the people she’d met and the same went for the humans here in times like this. The humans’ determination to get every job done reminded her of a song she’d hear back on Cybertron, an older song from before her time but was apparently played a lot by both sides before they started an assault.

While Late Term did not want to admit it, it began to bother her that she was about to steal from this base. Doing so would probably set the humans there back, like how the recent events had done to Sky-byte. Late Term sighed. Without looking at the base any longer, she then transformed and drove back the way she came.

Eventually she found herself back at the cave. Late Term entered to see junk scattered across the table. Confused, she looked around, realising that Jetfire was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, there was a zap and Jetfire appeared, emptying scrap onto the table.

“Jetfire!” Late Term yelled.

“What?” Jetfire replied.

“You said you’d watch him!” Late Term shouted, pointing at the Sky-byte.

Jetfire then turned to Sky-byte and stared at him for a few seconds.

“There.” He retorted.

Late Term rolled her eyes. She then focused her attention back to Sky-byte; there he was, still slumped without showing any sign of getting up.

“Didn’t you get any diesel, then?” Jetfire asked, surprised.

“I- I didn’t feel like getting drunk today.” Late Term replied.

Late Term approached Sky-byte and sat on his left. She looked up at the brute whose eyes were glued to the floor. She huffed, looking back at Jetfire as well as Cogman who she had just noticed were rifling through Jetfire’s trash. Jetfire seemed to understand her; he quickly grabbed Cogman and teleported away. Late Term then turned back to Sky-byte.

“I suppose it’s been rough for you.” She said.

There was no answer; Sky-byte remained silent.

“Listen… I can’t sit here and give you some speech about how everything is going to be fine. Truth is… you could die today, or tomorrow, or any day. All I can say is… I don’t want to see you like this.”

She noticed Sky-byte let out a small sigh. He was listening.

“Look. The Decepticons screwed you over, just like the rest of the galaxy. I’ll admit, I’ve never been in a situation like this before, I’ve never been sent to a mythical planet to die. But here’s the thing, Sky-byte. The Deceptions never cared about you, nothing you did was worthy to them. You were always just another solder that would die for them. You could go back, tell them you found the Allspark anyway and get the glory that you thought you were going to get, maybe even get promoted. I don’t fucking know! But don’t you see? You’re better than that, I know you’re better than that.”

Late Term slowly placed her hand onto his wrist.

“Are you really going to sit here and sulk? Or are you going to grow the fuck up? I can leave you here and go find the Matrix on my own, but I’ve left you before, and I don’t know why, but it really messed with me having to make that decision. I’m not leaving this place, not even this planet without you. So, when are you going to get up and tell Lugnut and the rest of those bastards that you can do better without them?!”

She let go of his wrist and curled up her legs to where her chin was now rested on her knees.

“You might be an idiot, but you’re not a weakling, nor a coward. When you’re set on a goal and determined to reach it, you stop at nothing to get it done. That’s what makes you what you are, that’s what I like about you. Sky-byte, I know you can do better than this. So please... get off your arse."

Late Term stood; she looked down at her friend. Sky-byte still seemed out of it all. With a large sigh, she turned and left the cave.

Outside, she saw Jetfire and Cogman talking.

“What are you two on about?” Late Term asked.

Cogman held up a statue. “I found this in Jetfire’s pile. It looks like a knight of some sort. Though it’s not one of The Fallen’s knights. Do you know what it is?”

Late Term looked down at the statue and analysed it. It was a knight looking Cybertronion with his sword held down in both hands. Late Term recognised the knight; however, she noticed a familiar looking face mask on it.

“I believe that’s the knight: Orion. Though, now that I look at it, he kind of looks like Optimus.”

“Who?” asked Jetfire.

“Optimus. Some warlord I used to follow.”

“So… you think he and this Orion fella are the same guy?” Jetfire asked

“Doubt it. Optimus was a librarian raised by Sentinel Prime. While Orion wa- “

“Sentinel Prime?!” Jetfire interrupted.

“Yes?”

“Wha- so there is a- there are Primes left?”

“He’s dead. Sorry.”

“Aaah, bollocks!”            

Late Term was not in the mood to tell Jetfire that Optimus was also a Prime, Unicron knows what that would bring.

“Anyway,” she continued, “Orion was one of Solus’ knights. He and the others would find worlds to harvest minerals from, well, that and hunt down the remaining Titans.”

“I see. Are they still around?” Jetfire asked in a hopeful tone.

“I don’t know. Grimlock is still around, he’s been seen on many planets. But the others? No idea.”

“So, this Orion. Is he dead?” Cogman asked.

Late Term shrugged.

“If he’s alive, he’s been retired since long before the war.” She stated.

Cogman inspected the statue in his hand.

“I bet you can get a lot of money selling this on any planet.” He said.

“Most likely, hell, you could put that in a museum here," Jetfire added, "the humans would probably think it’s some lost piece of their history.”

“Really?” Cogman asked, stoking his chin.

“There has been a lot of forged stuff put in museums, Cogman. I bet if you sold that to a human, they’d buy it. Then there would be all these theories of where it came from and who sculpted it.”

“I see.”

Late Term didn’t understand the look that the Headmaster gave them both before he started running back into the cave. Jetfire looked back at the ex-Autobot.

“What are your plans now?”

“I’m not sure. I think if I use the shard, one of those energon signals might be the Matrix, but I assume I’ll run into every other Seeker before that.”

“Don’t worry, there aren’t many left. Besides, I know where it most likely is.”

Late Term’s eyes widened.

“Hold on. You do?”

“Well yes, of course I do. I knew The Fallen personally, as well as all of the other first-generation Primes.”

“And you never told me until now?!” Late Term asked, bitterly.

“I thought you knew!”

“God damn it, Jetfire. You old hag.”

“All I know is it’s in a place called Africa. I know this because that’s where the Star-harvester was left. The Primes only ever travelled in that continent.”

“Yet every Seeker we’ve faced is in America?”

“They all thought that the Primes would have hidden it further away. I, however, knew that the Primes were too focused on hiding it than exploring the rest of the planet. I know they hid it in Africa. You want me to take you there?”

Late Term pondered the request. She turned to face the cave and then back to Jetfire.

“Not yet. But thank you.”

She then transformed into her truck form.

“I’m going out for a drive.” She let out before driving off.

Inside the cave, Cogman was scavenging the pile for tools. In his own pile he’d dropped a torch, a chunk of metal and an old sculpting machine.

“I say, these Maximals had everything!” Cogman cried.

Suddenly, he heard to loud footsteps behind him.

“What are you doing?” a familiar voice asked.

Cogman turned to see Sky-byte staring down at him.

“My master, I’m not doing anything reckless. I’m just trying out some art.”

“Art?”

“I’m going to make a sculpture of… I actually don’t know who yet, but I’m going to make one!”

Sky-byte shook his head, smiling.

“I expect some quality artwork then, Cogman.”

He stepped out of the cave, seeing Jetfire looking out at the sky. Sky-byte walked past, leaving Jetfire to himself. Slowly, Sky-byte entered his shuttle. The Decepticon looked around its interior, every object inside was a part of Lugnut’s deception. As Sky-byte analysed each part, it became clearer to him. The old translator, the dodgy cables, the fact that this shuttle was out of date by at least six hundred Earth years; yet Sky-byte hadn’t noticed any of it until now. It seemed so obvious though. Sky-byte really was a fool, the fact that he’d allowed himself to be deceived for so long only made it clearer on why Lugnut chose to dispose of him this way. The Decepticon sat in the cockpit of the ship, there, he analysed the controls

A buzzing sound suddenly made itself apparent. Sky-byte opened one the compartments and found a communications receiver. As Sky-byte examined it, he realised that it had tapped into the signal that Cogman had made months before.

Sky-byte pressed a button on the side and suddenly, the buzzing stopped. The brute was quite puzzled. Was that a message? Buzzing? He didn’t understand it. Sky-byte immediately activated his com-link.

“Cogman, can you put your art project on hold and meet me in the shuttle?”

There was no answer. However, the sound of Cogman running in and jumping around became noticeable until suddenly, the Headmaster was on Sky-byte’s lap.

“Yes?” Cogman asked.

Sky-byte dropped the receiver next to Cogman.

“Can you trace this signal?” he asked.

Cogman had a good look at the receiver that was just over his size. He then looked back to his master.

“Hopefully.”

As Late Term returned from her drive, she transformed to see Sky-byte stood outside and resting against the shuttle’s walls. Shocked, she immediately ran up to him before tripping over a tree branch. She quickly balanced herself back up before reaching her Decepticon friend.

“Evening.” Sky-byte said, snickering at her fall.

“Don’t laugh at me.” Late Term replied before folding her arms and resting on the walls next to him. “You alright?”

“No, but you’re right.” Sky-byte let out. “I shouldn’t let what’s happened get to me. Late Term, I don’t know what to do yet, I don’t know what to do with myself. But… whatever happens, I’m glad you’re here to go through it with me.”

“As long you’re here with me, I’m here with you.” Late Term stated, smirking at him.

“I’m sorry about how I’ve acted. I just feel so… useless.” Sky-byte stated, as he began to scratch the back of his head. “But that doesn’t mean I should take it out on you. I don’t mean to be like this, I just- I don’t know what’s supposed to happen now.”

Late term shook her head before turning back to her friend.

“Sky-byte, you’ve got to be more positive about yourself.” She stated.

Suddenly, a thought from earlier came back to her.

“Sky-byte. What was that song they’d play during the war?”

The ex-Autobot began to wave her fists like she was drumming.

“Do, do-do-do. You got the touch.” Late Term sang.

Sky-byte turned slightly with a nervous smile beginning to form on his face.

“You got the power.” He sang.

“Yeah!” the two sang out loud before giggling at each other.

“You two!” Cogman yelled, shaking his head.

“What?!” the two yelled back in unison.

“I’ve tracked that signal. It’s coming from a country called Greece.”

“Signal?” Late Term asked.

“It seems that for some time, someone has been using our signal. They sent a message to the receiver in my shuttle, but it was just some buzzing noise.” Sky-byte explained.

“You sure it wasn’t just humans getting the wrong signal?” Late Term suggested.

“My signal can’t be used by any human!” Cogman yelled in disgust.

“Well, the Maximals got into it.” Late Term debated.

“The Maximals were still Cybertronion, dear. It’s obvious that whoever sent the buzz is Cybertronion too.”

“So… are we going now?!”

Sky-byte looked at his friend, confused.

“Do- do you want to go now?”

“Why not? We’re not in a hurry to do anything else.” Late Term stated, giving Sky-byte an open smile.

Before they knew it. All four Cybertronions were in the shuttle as it took off and headed east.

As Optimus returned to the Autobot fleet, he saw only ruins and wreckages. In a panic, the Autobot leader flew his ship directly into the dock of the one ship left standing. He immediately left his ship and searched the vessel for survivors. A voice called out and Optimus responded, under a large piece of scrap metal, one Autobot lay. Optimus pulled the pieces off him.

“Are you alright, solder?” he asked.

“Y- yes. Thank you, Optimus.”

“What is your name?”

“Scattershot.”

The two continued through the ship. As they reached the bridge, what awaited them was a pile of bodies. Optimus was disgusted with what he saw. Enraged, the Autobot leader punched the wall, creating a hole.

“Optimus, look!” Scattershot yelled.

Optimus turned to see the Autobot: Blastwave, approaching him.

“Blastwave. Are you alright?”

“Yes, Optimus. I’m surprised to see you here.”

“I got your distress signal. What happened here?”

“The Decepticons smuggled themselves onto the planet. They’d been watching us for a while.”

“They attacked us in waves. We were hopeless against them.” Scattershot added.

“I see.” Optimus let out. He turned to Blastwave and placed his hand on his shoulder. “You were right, Blastwave, we should have been more prepared.”

“It’s alright, sir.” Blastwave reassured. “None of us knew of their plans. But now we understand that the war will never be truly over; we need to retaliate.”

“And we will. But for now, we must search the rest of this ship. These Autobots need our help. But rest assure, Blastwave; the Decepticons will not get away with this.

Chapter Text

Sky-byte flew his shuttle across the ocean. Jetfire watched as he navigated the controls.

“It’d be a lot easier for me to just teleport you there.” The Seeker spoke.

“I want to us have all the right equipment for this,” Sky-byte replied, “and that means I can’t have you teleporting back and forth to get everything we need. We’ve got a lot of thingies you brought from Cheetor’s ship. If anything from that pile might come in handy, we’ll have it with us. Besides, I’ve not had a trip with others for a while.”

Jetfire rolled his eyes before having a closer look at Sky-byte’s control panel.

(Full image: https://ibb.co/qFV68tq )

“This is how you Cybertron lads fly now?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Sky-byte replied. “This is how it’s always been.”

“Back in my day, we didn’t have all this complex cockpit rubbish. It was just one pod. I flew mine with great dignity!”

Late Term stood, slumped against a wall with her arm’s folded. The ex-Autobot watched as the Seeker went on about old time Cybertron and its golden age.

“Jetfire, if your time was truly better than ours, it wouldn’t have ended.” She interrupted.

Jetfire hung his head low.

“I could say the same for you two. We never had an endless war.” He retorted.

“The war was before my time.” Sky-byte corrected. “I was actually born the same day that Cybertron fell.”

“Cybertron what?” Jetfire asked.

Sky-byte froze. He’d completely forgotten that Jetfire still didn’t know the fate of his home world.

“I mean it fell… metaphorically. Right Late Term?” the brute said before turning to face his friend.

Late Term saw the distress beaming from Sky-byte’s eyes.

“Yeah… metaphors and shit.” She muttered.

Cogman sat on the control panel. He signalled Jetfire to reach for him before climbing the Seeker’s arm and jumping off him and onto the windowsill behind him.

“So… who won the war? Neither of you have told us that yet.” Cogman yelled out.

Sky-byte and Late Term gave each other concerned looks before Late Term finally answered.

“It was… the… Decepticons.” She said, awkwardly.

Sky-byte shot her a look of confusion.

“That’s not good, right?” Jetfire asked.

“I mean… I don’t really care. It’s over anyway.”

Sky-byte sighed before checking the many compartments under the panel. He found many things: knives, ornaments and finally, some records. The brute analysed them, he noticed that the records fitted into a slot next to his seat. Suddenly, he realised that he recognised one of the records specifically. Sky-byte had heard this play many times before he invaded a planet, he’d heard it in briefing rooms on all the ships in the Kaye Fleet and most of all, he’d heard part of it coming from his friends mouth just a few hours earlier.

“Late Term.” Sky-byte said with a grin growing wide on his face.

“What is it?” she asked.

As he showed her the record, her eyes began to widen.

“Holy shit!” she yelled. “Did you just find that?!”

“I did. I guess whoever was using this ship before me left their albums inside.”

“Are you going to play it?”

“Right now?”

“Why not? I bet you don’t know all the lyrics.”

“Don’t know all the lyrics? I can hit the highest notes on this thing. Are you really going to bet that I can’t?”

“How much?”

“I’ll give you every diesel canister that I steal on my next run.”

Late Term’s eyed widen even more.

“R- really?!!!” she asked.

“You’re on.” Sky-byte challenged.

“You won’t make it past track one.”

“Pfft. Track one is the best one.”

Sky-byte immediately slammed the record into its slot. As the music began to play, the pair began to sing. As the song went on, Jetfire watched from behind them, at first it was pleasant but then got kind of annoying. When they started to sing, they seemed alright, but then they just started screaming the lyrics at each other. Every time the words “you got the touch” would play, the duo would scream so loud they could probably be heard from outside. When the first song ended and the second one began, it became a little more tolerable, though Jetfire still found it somewhat annoying whenever the name of whatever song they were singing would come up and the two would shriek it. The other irritating part was that Sky-byte was more focused on his friend than the sky in front of them. As Jetfre shook his head, he noticed Cogman watching the two, he had his eyes squinted and he looked like he was contemplating something.

“What’s the matter with you?” Jetfire asked.

“I’m analysing this scenario we’re in.” Cogman replied.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m pondering about the interactions we all have with one another; I think I’m starting to notice something.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

As the ship continued its trek over the sea, Sky-byte began to see land under the clouds.

“Right… where are we?”

“France by the looks of it.” Cogman replied.

“Ugh, I hate this country.” Jetfire muttered.

“Isn’t this the place where they eat frogs and wave white flags?” Sky-byte asked.

“They do like waving white flags, especially when an enemy is at their door.” Cogman affirmed.

“Is this a joke I’m not getting?” Late Term asked.

“France is under German occupation.” Cogman explained.

“I see… are they friendly?” Sky-byte requested.

“Well, depends on what your form is. Since you’re an American plane… no.”

Late Term made her way to the shuttle’s back end, leaving Sky-byte to his conversation. The ex-Autobot began to fiddle with control panels she found; suddenly, a loud horn rang from above.

“Bloody hell!” Cogman yelled.

“Sorry!” Late Term yelled back before deactivating it.

As she continued to mess around, a small black box dropped from a compartment and onto her hands. As this was going on a slight noise came from the control cockpit.

“Shit. Something is following us.” Sky-byte told.

Out of the windows, small planes could be seen from each side. The planes were grey with a black cross on their wings.

“Ugh. What does the Luftwaffe want?” Jetfire murmured to himself.

“Probably wants to know what an alien vessel is doing above its land.” Cogman speculated.

“Why is a waffle chasing us?” Sky-byte asked.

“Not a waffle. The Luftwaffe. They’re Germany’s air force, spaz.” Jetfire spat.

“Right… sorry. I thought if I flew too high, we wouldn’t be able to see when we were there.”

“Sky-byte, what’s this?” Late Term interrupted, approaching the three.

Sky-byte noticed what she was holding.

“Oh, that’s an old data package. It contains the files of the Kaye Fleet’s legions.” Sky-byte explained.

The group watched as Late Term opened it to reveal a screen. The ex-Autobot began to swipe through.

“What are you doing?” Jetfire asked.

Late Term let out a smirk.

“I’m trying to find Sky-byte’s file.” She explained.

“What? No!” Sky-byte cried.

The brute leaped off his chair and began to tackle his friend to the ground. As he left the controls, the shuttle began to swirl in circles, causing the others to fall.

“For the love of- what are you doing?! Are you trying to kill us?” Jetfire roared as he crawled to the pilot chair and sat; as he did, the chair transformed to fit his size.

“That’s some magical shit, right there!” Cogman commented, analysing the seat.

Jetfire grabbed both joysticks and began to forcefully drag the ship back on course; it didn’t help that the planes had begun to shoot at it. As Jetfire struggled to maintain control, Sky-byte was on top of Late Term and trying to pull the package out of her hand.

“Please. I don’t actually want to hurt you.” He managed to let out.

“Come on! Please?” Late Term yelled back, laughing.

“I’m serous!” Sky-byte panicked, giving her a mortified look.

“You don’t sound serious.”

“I’m very serious right now!”

“Really...”

“Yes!”

“Really?”

“Yes!!!”

Sky-byte, in a fit of rage, manged to pull the package into his grasp before rolling off his friend and onto the ground.

“Alright, back to flighting!” He yelled.

As Sky-byte rose, leaning himself onto a wall for balance before grasping onto the chair, Late Term jumped at him from behind, knocking the brute onto Jetfire and knocking him off the pilot’s seat.

“I can’t believe it. I’m going to die because two loud mouths are playfighting!” Jetfire yelled as he began to rub his face with his palms.

As Sky-byte made his way onto the pilot’s seat, he swatted Late Term in the face, knocking her off him before grabbing both joysticks. As he did so, the seat transformed back to his size. Sky-byte struggled but managed to get the shuttle back on course. As he did, Late Term rose, rubbing her cheek.

“Ow… that hurt, idiot.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to hit that hard.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Okay, I did, but you deserved it.”

The two watched as planes began to fire upon them out of the front window.

“I doubt a few human planes can take this ship down, right?” Late Term said.

“No, but it would be a little annoying if they reported us to the rest of the German army.” Sky-byte explained.

“I suppose you’re right there.”

“Let’s see… I think this shuttle has some defences. Hold on.”

Jetfire didn’t look like he was in the mood to wait.

“Sky-byte, open the door.” He ordered.

As Sky-byte did so, the Seeker ran to the back of the ship. He watched as the door opened like a ramp. Jetfire swiftly leaped off the shuttle’s back end and landed directly onto an enemy plane, smashing it with his back.

“Here’s how we brought those to pain in my day!” he yelled before transforming into the form of a long plane.

“A Beaufighter?” Cogman yelled. “You’ve been in America all this time and that was your alt form? A British bomber?”

“You can see that Union John on his chest when he’s in walking around, were you just ignoring it?” Sky-byte yelled.

“It’s called a Union Jack, Sky-byte. I just thought he was a tourist plane.”

Jetfire circled the shuttle, shooting down planes as he did. The shots from the enemy planes did barely any damage. It felt like someone was shooting the pallets he used in training.

“We had more effective weapons in our stone age!” Jetfire yelled as he blasted the remaining planes out of the sky.

“Look at that old bastard go!” Cogman said, pointing at the seeker, from the window.

“He’s alright” Late Term muttered, getting up and resting on Sky-byte’s chair.

“He’s a relic, but one that you have to pay to look at.” Sky-byte added.

“What kind of metaphor is that?” Late Term asked.

“Can you think of a better one?”

“What about… erm… hold on. He’s the really old cup with no holes in.”

“Everything has to be about drinking, doesn’t it?”

“Well… not always, honest!”

“Whatever you say, Late Term.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“You’re a bigger one.”

“But you’re twice my size.”

Sky-byte laughed.

“Alright, you are correct there.” He said.

As the shuttle continued to make its way across the sky, Jetfire followed before transforming and landing back into the hanger.

“You can close the door now.” Jetfire spoke, followed by Sky-byte obliging.

“Nice flying.” Sky-byte complimented.

“Yeah. It was alright.” Late Term added.

“I was a lot better a few centuries back. Where are we now?” Jetfire responded.

“We should be in Switzerland by now. I can’t remember if Germany owns that or not.” Cogman explained while climbing Jetfire’s back.

“Should I fly higher?” Sky-byte asked. “I don’t want anymore humans coming after us.”

“Just turn south-east. We’ll be in Greece in an hour if you speed up.”

“But what if I hit something?”

“Hit what? A cloud-berg?”

“Funny, Cogman, very funny.” Sky-byte replied before pushing the levers in front of him.

As the Shuttle began to increase speed, the three other transformers were pushed back, flying into the back wall/ramp.

“Sky-byte, if you open this, I swear to Unicron!” Late Term screamed.

Sky-byte ignored her as he continued to speed the ship further through the sky. Each second, the shuttle sped faster and the three at the back felt themselves being pushed as such force that they couldn’t move their arms or legs.

“Cogman!” Sky-byte yelled back. “Are we in Greece yet?”

“How the bloody hell should I know!” Cogman screamed.

“What was that?”

“He doesn’t know, you idiot!” Late Term explained, frustratingly.

Sky-byte pulled back all levers he could hold which was followed by the others flying from the back to the front. Jetfire and Cogman crashed into the back of his seat while Late Term flew over him and smacked onto the front window before sliding down onto the controls.

“You alright?” Sky-byte asked.

Late Term back handed the brute across the face.

“I suppose I deserve that, but it was Cogman’s orders.”

“I thought you were his master.” Late Term responded, crossing her arms.

“Oh… yes- I- I am, yes.”

“Well, you’re not a very good one.”

Sky-byte sunk his head low. Late Term rolled her eyes.

“I’m kidding, you idiot.” She said, placing her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

“I know you are.” Sky-byte huffed.

Eventually, the shuttle began to spot a group of mountains in the distance.

“I think those are the Vermio mountains.” Cogman yelled.

“Which means?” Sky-byte asked.

“It means we’re there.”

In response to Cogman’s statement, Sky-byte lowered the joysticks and began to land the shuttle on one of the mountains.

“Right. Finally, we’re here.” Sky-byte let out.

“This would have been a lot easier if I just teleported you all.” Jetfire commented.

“Not now, Jetfire. We have arrived altogether. Now, back to the signal.

Cogman stood on top of the audio receiver as Sky-byte inspected it. After some fiddling, Cogman got the receiver to flash a green light.

“That light should lead us two the buzz.” Cogman said.

“Right, Late Term, hold this.” Sky-byte passed the receiver to his friend.

“I don’t think American planes should be flying through here; you might need a new disguise.” Late Term noted.

“Perhaps. But I don’t think many planes around here are my size.” Sky-byte explained, scratching the back of his head.

“The Flying Fortress is one of America’s biggest planes at the moment. But perhaps the Luftwaffe have a plane of similar size.” Cogman remarked.

Sky-byte sighed. He looked around at his companions, each one giving a somewhat happy look. Sky-byte noticed something; Late Term was hiding an arm behind her back. He rolled his eyes.

“Late Term, I know you have it.” He said, giving out his hand.

Late Term gave a loud huff before placing the data package in his hand.

“Asshole.” She muttered. “I’ll read it one day.”

“But that day isn’t today.” Sky-byte responded, giving her jovial smile.

Late Term lightly punched her friend in the shoulder before returning to the other three. As Sky-byte watched her, his mind went back to the scrap that they’d loaded before take-off. He pondered what weapons that Jetfire may have scavenged and what effectiveness they might have on whatever they find. The brute made his way back into the shuttle.

On a mountain far out, the Titan Dreadwind watched as a heavily armoured biplane made its way in his direction. The plane transformed revealing itself.

“Dirge. It’s about time someone friendly arrived.”

“What is this place?”

“The humans call it Italy.” The Titan explained.

“Lugnut wants to know why you set off your request beacon.”

“I have detected the Lifespark’s signal. The Crusadercons landed here not too long ago.”

“Is that it?” Dirge asked, displeased.

The Titan sighed.

“My companion: Smokejumper, was killed by another. I believe that Autobots have arrived on this planet and are planning something.”

“How many Autobots have you spotted?”

“One.” Dreadwind stated.

“Just one?” Dirge asked, crossing his arms while looking even more disinterested.

“Yes.”

“So? That means nothing. They could just be a lone Autobot that crashed here. That’s no reason to call Lugnut himself!”

“That Decepticon. The one that Lugnut sent to die here, he was with her.”

“You think he defected?”

“I think he may have discovered the truth.”

“This still doesn’t seem that big of an issue. You are wasting our time.”

“Listen, Dirge! Something is up, I know it. The Maximals, they were here too. Why would those degenerates be visiting this backwater planet?”

“Maybe they got lost?”

“No! After battling one, I was greatly damaged. As I regained my strength, I heard him say that his quarrel was with the Autobot. This was before the Decepticon killed him.”

“How do you know she’s an Autobot? She could just be Seeker.”

“She was young, Dirge. All Decepticons born after Cybertron’s destruction have been added to the database in my brain; if she is a Decepticon then I would have recognised her.”

“I see. Well, maybe it’s just one Autobot doing some cartel business on her own? Why are you so certain that this is worth Lugnut’s time?”

“Before we reached this planet. We came into contract with a group that Smokejumper knew as the Autobot Arsenal. I’ve not heard of them myself, but he claimed they hunt down retired Decepticons. Now, I’m not saying that she’s one of them but if they’re close, it’s likely that they will be going after the Crusadercons too. This planet is going to have lot more transformers running around than it needs. If I’m going to establish a base here, then I’m going to need more support. I’m not taking on Crusadercons, Seekers, Autobots, radical Autobots and Maxiamls by myself!”

“Alright… quit your whining.”

“Look, Dirge. I’m not allowed to harm a messenger, so listen. Not long ago, I saw a Decepticon shuttle fly not too far from these mountains, they are close by, so together, we can investigate this further. Just tell me what Lugnut has planned.”

The messenger sighed.

“Lugnut is on his way here, with a small platoon. Got that?”

“Very well. Where are we meeting?

“Not far from here. If my Admiral agrees with your concerns then Lugnut will be landing his scout ship in this planet’s ocean.”

“Just a scout ship?”

“What? You think he’s going to bring the Wise all the way here? Besides, that scout ship of his is the fastest recorded ship that we transformers have ever created. It would take the Wise a very long time to get here.”

“I suppose you’re right. Take me to him.”

“No. you are to wait here. Lugnut will contact you personally once his ship has made physical contact with the planet. I shall relay your report back to him. However, please keep in mind that Lugnut will only land if he deems this necessary to him, otherwise, you’re on your own.”

“Understood.”

Dreadwind proceeded to tap his chest with his fist.

“May the spark of Liege Maximo Prime guide you.” He said.

“Don’t give me your religious blessing, Dreadwind.” Dirge replied before transforming and leaving the Titan to wait.

Dreadwind watched as the back end of Dirge’s biplane mode revealed jet boosters that lifted the messenger into the sky and out of his vision.

Sky-byte opened the locker that Jetfire had placed his trash and tossed the data package inside. Unexpectedly, the brute noticed a familiar sound and vibration. His com-link had been activated. Confused, Sky-byte allowed the call to go through.

“Sky-byte, report.”

Sky-byte recognised the voice too well.

“Lugnut? How you get through this frequency?”

“Dreadwind has alerted us that you and some lone Autobot killed Smokejumper. What do you have to say for yourself? Why are you coinciding with the enemy?” Lugnut asked, his voice remaining surprisingly calm.

“She’s not an Autobot, sir. She deserted them.”

Sky-byte’s voice was calm but stern, he didn’t panic at the sound of his superior’s displeasure, nor did he fumble his words.

“Is that so, Sky-byte? Tell me then, what is your progress on finding Megatron?!” Lugnut bellowed through, his tone now sounding enraged like usual.

There was silence as Sky-byte contemplated his response. On one hand, he could lie, play along with Lugnut’s lies and claim that he was still searching, that would probably get the enormous shithead to not investigate him further, but that would make the Titan think he’d won.

Sky-byte’s focus was loosened when he noticed that Late Term had stepped inside. She gave him a look of concern. With out saying a word, the two knew what each other was thinking. Late Term gave Sky-byte a nod before making a neck braking action with her hands; Sky-byte responded with a slightly panicked expression before shaking his head. Late Term sighed before opening the locker and holding up four fingers representing the four of them, then she made a scissor with two of those fingers before holding up one finger to represent Lugnut. She then held up her fists almost as if she were about to punch him before reaching into the locker and pulling out the shotgun that she had killed Smokejumper with.

Sky-byte knew what she meant and tricking Lugnut to come to the planet so they could try to kill him was the last thing he was going to do; he wasn’t that suicidal. Sky-byte responded with a sigh before giving her a look of disappointment and distress, more than she’d ever seen. The brute then regained control of himself before returning to his com-link.

“Why do you ask, Lugnut? Are you close?”

“Dreadwind has requested aid. I’m sure you know that the Crusadercons and Maximals have been sighted here.”

Late Term held in a giggle.

“I do, sir.”

“If Dreadwind is serious, I might be visiting this system for a short while. Perhaps we can meet and discuss your progress, Sky-byte.”

There was another moment of silence before Late Term gave Sky-byte a slight nudge. Sky-byte understood what she now wanted him to; he smirked.

“I’ve got a better idea, Lugnut.” Sky-byte said, remaining calm.

“And what is that?” Lugnut asked.

“Fuck off.”

“What did you just say?”

“I’ve had enough of your lies; I’ve had enough you in general. I’ve spent my whole life dedicating every cog in my body this cause and now I realise it meant nothing to you. I’m done.”

These was another brief moment of silence before Lugnut responded. The Admiral laughed.

“I’m surprised you figured it out already. Actually, knowing you, I bet Smokejumper told you before you killed him. Is that why you did it?”

“Sure.”

“Then I suppose that’s it then? Are you and your ex-Autobot friend going live on this planet together? Rust away as the Decepticons win the war without you? Maybe even make a home for other useless transformers of both sides, doesn’t that sound meaningful? Sky-byte, you are a complete failure, and you will die being such. Once we find Megatron, once we’ve rebuilt Cybertron, the universe will bow before us. Where will you be when that happens? You’ll be rotting under a hill in the middle of nowhere while our glorious leader reclaims the galaxy!”

“Of course, Lugnut… that is if you find him.”

“If we find him?! Ha! Before you know it, Megatron will be in our grasp! His great wisdom will guide us to a new age, Sky-byte, shame you won’t be there to see it.”

Both Sky-byte and Late Term burst out laughing at Lugnut’s rambles.

“What’s so funny? Who’s with you? Is it her? If she were smart, she’d kill you where you stand. She was at least smart enough to abandon her Autobot cause.”

“I’m definitely a lot smarter than you.” Late Term yelled into Sky-byte’s arm.

“I don’t have time for this. Enjoy your pitiful life on that pitiful planet.” Lugnut spat.

“Enjoy wasting your life searching for a dead man.” Sky-byte responded.”

He placed his hand on his com-link and prepared to end the call when suddenly, Lugnut continued.

“Megatron… is not… dead.”

“Sure, Lugnut. Have a great life.”

“Megatron… is alive.”

“His brain certainly isn’t, then again, was it ever?” Sky-byte said, snickering to himself.

“…what did you just say?” Lugnut asked. His voice now sounded less aggravated, instead he sounded shocked, like he’d just watched a traumatic event.

“I mean, if Megatron truly was this wise and intelligent leader that you’ve always claimed, he would be smart enough not get lost for longer than I’ve lived.”

“You- you dare talk such sour words of our great leader? The one responsible for you even existing?!”

“I suppose I am, Lugnut. I mean, let’s be real for a moment. If you were left in charge of half his followers, he must have been the biggest fool on this side of the universe. It’s no surprise he lost Cybertron; it’s no surprise that he lost the Allspark either. I suppose his skills in fighting made up for his very low intelligence.”

Sky-byte was about the continue until he realised that Lugnut had ended the call. He turned to face Late Term.

“Did I go too far?”

“No. I don’t think you went far enough.” She said, now giggling very loudly.

Sky-byte picked up some grenades from the locker before placing them in the cockpit on his chest. The ex-Decepticon then proceeded to walk out the shuttle with his ex-Autobot friend soon following.

“Look’s like we won’t be hearing from him again.” Sky-byte chuckled.

“Good. If there’s one way to say goodbye to those who’ve wronged you. that’s definitely a decent way to do it."

“Only decent?”

“I would have invited him round and killed him.”

“Sure, Late Term, sure.”

Late Term lightly punched Sky-byte on the shoulder, he did the same to her in return. Suddenly, the two were wrestling on the ground until the Jetfire approached them.

“Are you two done?” he asked.

The two got up and brushed themselves.

“Sorry.” Sky-byte said. “Had to clear some things up in there.”

“There are many ways I could interpret what you just said.”

“Let’s not make assumptions about one another, Jetfire. Now, where’s that receiver?”

“I’m holding it.” Jetfire explained, showing the dish with Cogman on top of it, posing like a naked human woman in a painting.

“Lovely…” Late Term sarcastically commented.

“Alright then,” Jetfire continued, “are we all ready to go find the buzzer?”

“I’m ready when you are.” Sky-byte confirmed.

“Good. Just remember where we parked.”

Sky-byte and Jetfire flew across the mountains with Cogman in Jetfire’s cockpit, directing him. Late Term drove from below with her shotgun having transformed into chest that stowed on her trailer. It felt good seeing Sky-byte happy for once, it seemed like he’d finally let go of his old life and was ready to get on with his new one. Though what was going to happen next perplexed her. She still wanted to find the Matrix and sell it as originally planed but it didn’t feel right leaving him here; she didn’t want to leave Cogman or Jetfire either. She’d have to discuss this with them after they’d found out where the buzzing had come from.

As the drive went on, hours past and the day came to a close. Late Term had gotten onto the main roads while her friends were up in the sky, trying to avoid any detection from those who might think they actually were British and American planes. Eventually the three (technically four) had made their way to a forest.

“I’ve been around here with Tarantulas before; this is the Tatoi Forest.” Cogman blurted over his comms.

Late Term parked and waited for the others, Sky-byte landed first, transforming mid-drop. Jetfire however had a clumsier land, he transformed in the air after shooting Cogman out of his cockpit before rolling onto the ground and knocking down every tree in his path, though he did catch the receiver as he did so. Cogman landed on his back and winced in agony.

“Never fly me again, grandpa!” he yelled as he rose off the ground.

Late Term transformed and walked to the other three.

“So, we close?” she asked.

“I think we are,” Cogman responded, “there is no more road here, so I’d assume that whoever’s buzzing is or was hiding in this very forest.”

“Alright then. Let’s see what this is.” Jetfire spoke.

Suddenly, the sound of a plane flying above caught the groups attention. All four ran to whatever standing tree was closest to them and crouched under it. Late Term and Sky-byte were at one side while Cogman and Jetfire were at the other. Above they saw a plane so big that its shadow made the whole place dark.

“That’s quite the advancement for a human vessel.” Sky-byte commented.

“I’ve seen that one in its test runs, that’s a Messerschmitt three-two-three Gigant!” Jetfire explained. “I’ve never seen one up close like this before.”

As the plane slowly flew across, it suddenly opened its front hatch and three oil trucks dropped out.

“Bloody hell. That must be a dangerous stunt!” Cogman yelled.

Abruptly, the three trucks began to transform mid-air. Realising what was happening the group quickly unloaded their weapons. Sky-byte unleashed his blades while Late Term aimed her shotgun high.

Suddenly, the plane above transformed, its wings became its arms, its tail becoming one of its toes. Finally, the head revealed itself from the front, the transformer landed with a hunched stance. Late Term turned to Sky-byte as she noticed that he had started to panic.

“Sky-byte.” She said. “Do you know who that is?”

“I- I didn’t think he was that close. Shit. Shit! What have I done?”

“Who is it?!”

“Lugnut.”

“You can’t hide from me, Sky-byte! I’m going to rip you in half!!!” Lugnut bellowed before firing missiles from his chest.

Chapter Text

Underneath the Atlantic Ocean, a Decepticon vessel known as the Lifespark, lay dormant. Cyclonus sat on his desk, checking the scanners. Around him, the soft sound of Cybertronion jazz played; the day was peaceful. The door opened, revealing one of his crew members: Fracture. She rested her chest on Cyclonus’ desk and began to chew a metal straw that she’d brought with her.

“What’ you doin’? she asked.

“Just scanning for other Cybertronion life.” Cyclonus stated.

“And?”

“A few more vessels arrived this week, in fact one had just arrived today.”

“That’s not good.”

Cyclonus rubbed his face. “At this rate, Fracture, we’ll have to abandon this planet.”

“We can’t do that!” Fracture protested. “Counterpunch says this is the planet. We have to help him, Cyclonus.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, Fracture. But if we don’t leave soon, this planet could be swarming with Decepticons, and we’ll be trapped.”

“Don’t you think it’s a lil’ odd that this much Decepticon hasslin’ has happened since we arrived. How do they even know we’re here?”

Suddenly, the door slid open again and this time, a smaller transformer stepped through.

“Uuuuuuuugh. This is so boring! Can’t I please get my alt form?!” she yelled.

“Classic! No!” Cyclonus shouted.

“But why not?!” Classic yammered.

“I’m not having our team compromised by your desire for a new look."

“Oh, come on, Cyclonus. I just want to go out and shoot something.”

“Classic, no.”

Classic hung her head low before heading back out the door.

“I’ll see if Nightstick wants to play with me...” she muttered.

As Classic left, Fracture got up from the desk and circled Cyclonus. “Don’t you think you’re being a lil’ too mean to her?” she asked.

“She knows the rules, Fracture. I put them in place for a reason.” Cyclonus explained.

“I know. But it’s not like we can’t all just grab ourselves a lil’ disguise, and go out.”

“I want the Decepticons to believe we’re not here and abandon the planet. They won’t leave if they know we’re here, and nothing is more likely to give them that knowledge than Classic driving around. Trying to spar, as she puts it.”

Cyclonus sighed before slamming his head into his desk.

“You doin’ alright?” Fracture asked.

Cyclonus rose from his seat. He faced his crew member with a look of concern. Something else was on his mind.

“Do you think he’s safe?” Cyclonus asked, sounding almost embarrassed.

“Who? Tailgate?”

“…”

“Cyclonus, stop your worryin’. Tailgate’s fine.”

“He- he’d love it here.”

“I know, Cyclonus. I know.”

Sky-byte ran through the forest as missiles barley missed him, destroying the trees around him. He didn’t look back but the sound of Lugnut’s loud footsteps from behind were hard to ignore. Sky-byte knew the Decepticon admiral was chasing him, but he’d rather not see how close he was.

Sky-byte then heard the sound of a cluster bomb drop from above. Swiftly, he slid out of its path before rolling to his right, knocking down trees as he did so. Around him, loud booms were ringing. The area had erupted into flames. Sky-byte couldn’t handle it, he was panicking, he was breathing really fast and his headache was coming back.

Late Term noticed Sky-byte in peril but was unable to support him; she had her own troubles right now. The truck-troops that Lugnut had unloaded had surrounded the ex-Autobot and were throwing punches at her, one by one, causing her to drop her shotgun. Late Term held her arms up to block, but a truck-troop landed a hit on her gut, knocking her back. As she fell backwards, she landed into the arms of the truck-troop behind her who she then stomped the foot of. He let her go before attending to his own foot.

The truck-troops were smaller than Late Term by quite a bit. While this may seem like an advantage for some, it greatly irritated her that she couldn’t headbutt them. As Late Term thought of her next move, the truck-troop that had punched her earlier jumped onto her back and began to knee her face. As she was distracted by this, the truck-troop that she had stomped, ran up to her and used the foot that still functioned to kick her in the face. However, he lost balance, immediately after. As that truck-troop fell to the ground, Late Term managed to get close to him before stomping on his face, smashing it into pieces and killing him. Now it was the turn of the one she hadn’t had much interaction with, the one with the low initiative. He seemed to now be watching the conflict and pondering his next move.

Late Term was getting fed up with the constant face kneeing she was getting. Swiftly, she pierced her teeth into that truck-troop’s knee, causing him to loosen his grip and fall. At that moment, the other truck-troop ran at her, revealing a dagger. Late Term managed to dodge a few jabs until the truck-troop she had just dropped, ran at her from behind kicked her in the back, knocking her into the blade. As energon leaked from her now wounded right hip, the ex-Autobot shrieked in agony. This put her into a frenzy; rapidly, Late Term grabbed the hand of the Decepticon that had stabbed her and squeezed it, causing the truck-troop to drop his dagger. The ex-Autobot caught the dagger with her other hand and rammed it into his head. The outburst of hers had happened in only mere seconds and the remaining truck-troop hadn’t processed what had transpired yet, but before he could, Late Term turned to him and grabbed him by the head before pushing him to the ground. As the final truck-troop got up, he turned to see Late Term now with her shotgun retrieved, aiming it at him.

“I’ve had more civilised fights in bars!” she spat before blowing his brains out.

Late Term continued to feel a great pain from her hip. It had leaked a lot since she was stabbed, and she was starting to lose the strength to stay up. The ex-Autobot kneeled before placing her hand over her wound.

“Cogman, where are you?!” she yelled.

Late Term looked around and realized that neither Cogman nor Jetfire were anywhere to be seen. She rolled her eyes before focusing her attention back to her wound. There was now a puddle of energon around her. This was not good.

Sky-byte noticed Late Term in distress from where he sat. The flames and smoke clouded his vision somewhat but from her silhouette, he could tell that something was wrong. As the ex-Decepticon attempted to get up, Lugnut dropped from above and stomped his left foot onto Sky-byte, locking him in place.

“You little traitor! Nobody disrespects Megatron. Nobody!” Lugnut bellowed.

Sky-byte tried to push Lugnut’s foot off, but it was no use.

“Don’t bother, Sky-byte.” Lugnut howled. “You are weak, in both strength and mind!”

“That might be true. But I’ve done more here than you’ve done your whole life!” Sky-byte rebutted.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“You- don’t- get to know.”

Sky-byte was beginning to lose his strength. Lugnut’s foot was slowly crushing him.

“Is there anything else you’d like to say as you slowly die?” Lugnut asked.

“Y- yes.” Sky-byte replied. “I- I want you to know just- just how much of a failure that you are. You’ve- you’ve been searching for our useless leader since the day I was born yet- yet- you’ve found… nothing.”

“Ha! Is that it? Go ahead, Sky-byte. Tell me your progress here. Why don’t you tell how you discovered the truth? Was it when you realised that Megatron was nowhere to be found? Was it when you realised that there was not a single trace of the Allspark on this lush hellhole?”

“No. It was when I found him- “

“Wha-?”

Suddenly, a zap of energy appeared from behind the Titan, knocking him off balance. Then, Jetfire appeared and dropped onto Lugnut’s back, stabbing him with his pickaxe. The Seeker hung off the Titan’s back as the pickaxe remained lodged in.

“What is this?!” Lugnut screamed.

“Beware the might of Jetfire!!!” Jetfire yelled, laughing.

Cogman appeared too. The Headmaster had landed onto Lugnut’s head and was whacking fists onto it.

As Lugnut struggled, he moved his foot off Sky-byte, who managed to get up despite it requiring a lot of energy. After he had risen, Sky-byte ran through the surrounding flames in the direction of Late Term to assist her. As he approached, he noticed the wound on her right hip.

“Shit! Are you alright? That’s a lot of energon!” he asked, panicking.

“No.” Late Term replied.

“Hold on. I’ve got you.”

Sky-byte put his arm around the ex-Autobot and helped her up. The brute tucked her under his right arm and carried her away from the fight when suddenly, Jetfire flew past them and smacked onto a tree in front of them.

“Bollocks.” Jetfire muttered. “He’s tough.”

“Jetfire!” Sky-byte yelled. “I need you to get Late Term out of here.”

“What?! Hold on!” Late Term protested as Sky-byte handed her to Jetfire.

“Teleport her as far away as you can. Not the cave; Lugnut may have discovered it if he was able to track us so easily. Just get her someplace safe.”

“Wait. What about you?!” Late Term asked with concern in her voice.

“Don’t worry about me.” Sky-byte said, calmly.

“Good luck.” Jetfire muffled.

The two male transformers gave each other a nod before Jetfire teleported away. As Sky-byte watched the smoke that Jetfire had left, he heard Cogman drop from behind.

“Bloody hell. This bastard is big.” Cogman commented.

“Yeah…” Sky-byte replied.

As Late Term dropped into the area she was teleported to, she noticed the land around was a lot different. Unlike the grassland she had become accustomed to, she was now in an orange desert.

“Wha- what is this place?” she asked, frantically.

“Egypt.” Jetfire stated, casually.

“Egypt? Why here?”

“Lugnut’s not going to be searching here for us. I can assure you that.”

“Why’s that?”

The Seeker turned to Late Term, his face giving her triumphant look.

“This is where the Primes defeated The Fallen. This is where the Matrix is buried.” Jetfire explained.

Late Term took a minute to process what had just been said.

“Hold on!” she yelled. “You brought me to the Matrix? Since when have you suddenly started being okay with me finding it?”

“I don’t know. I suppose you’ve made a point. Eventually a Seeker will find it. But if you find it, and do whatever you’re planning on doing with it. It will be in much safer hands.”

“And you’re certain it’s here?”

The Seeker chuckled.

“More certain than anything else. My memory isn’t what it once was, but I remember things. Things… like…” Jetfire stood up straight. “When dawn lights the Dagger's Tip, Three Kings will reveal the doorway. Find the doorway! You understand, Late Term? You need to find the doorway!”

“Jetfire! Shut up!”

Jetfire stumbled back and went into his usual hunched stance.

“Sorry...” he mumbled.

“No- it’s just. Shit. I don’t know.” Late Term let out, facepalming.

“Alright. Well, I can see that you don’t have the strength to move yet.”

“No… no I don’t- wait. Is this really happening? You’re just going to help me find the Matrix?”

The Seeker shrugged. “I guess so. Yes.”

Late Term processed what was being presented. She hadn’t thought much of why, but the Matrix really hadn’t been on her mind for a while. Yet here she was, on the verge of getting it. Yet despite how ecstatic she thought she’d be, something about it felt wrong. It was at that moment she felt her wound continue to bleed and a thought came to her, a thought on what she’d just left behind.

“That’s heal eventually.” Jetfire reassured.

“But- but what about Sky-byte? We’re going back for him, right?” Late Term asked, anxiously.

“If he survives.” Jetfire replied, shrugging again.

“If he survives?!”

“Hey! That Titan was massive! You saw the shit he could pull!”

“That doesn’t mean that I’m just going to leave Sky-byte behind." Late Term protested, walking up to the Seeker’s face. Her voice had become more aggressive as she stared into Jetfire's eyes. "I’m not letting him die to that one-eyed piece of shit.”

“And how are you going to do that? You’re in no shape to fight!” Jetfire debated.

Late Term huffed.

“You’re right...” she muttered.

Late Term was broken. Jetfire was actually giving her the door to find the Matrix and end her original quest here, yet she didn’t want it. She didn’t understand what was happening to her, she should be happy, she should be glad to finally have what she was looking for. But alas, she was not. Late Term could not believe that she had just realised it now, but she had stopped caring about the Matrix almost a month ago. Throughout the month where Sky-byte was laying in the cave doing nothing, she had made zero progress in finding the Matrix at all. She’d stayed in that country every day, waiting for him to get up. Late Term didn’t get why then but she understood now.

Simply put, Sky-byte was more important to her than the reason she had come to this primitive planet in the first place. The ex-Autobot didn’t understand why, but it was true, and now she was finally accepting it.

“Jetfire. Take me back.”

“What?!” Jetfire asked, dumbfounded.

“Take… me… back.”

Sky-byte flew across the sky with Cogman strapped in the pilot seat. Lugnut in his enormous plane mode was not too far behind.

“That hunk of metal is a lot closer than I’d like.” Cogman said whilst smacking the controls in a panic.

“Hold on tight. That plane is so big, he’ll have a hard time catching up eventually. Let’s find a way out of this country first.”

“But what about the buzz? Are we just not checking it out, now?”

“I don’t even remember who had the receiver at this point.”

“I think Jetfire had it.”

“Well, he’s long gone now. We need to get out of here. I’m going to head south.”

Sky-byte flew his alt form across the country until a cliffside next to the ocean became visible.

“Aah. Navarone. I’ve not been here in a while.” Cogman said.

“Is it a nice place?” Sky-byte asked.

“I don’t know if it still is now.”

As the two approached, they noticed the military activity next to the cliffs

“What’s with all the soldiers? It’s the middle of the night, why aren’t they in bed?!” Cogman yelled.

Suddenly a missile hit Sky-byte, directly, causing him to spin and crash into one of the nearby cliffs. Cogman made his way out of his master, allowing him to transform. As the ex-Decepticon rose, he was immediately pushed back down by a kick from Lugnut as the admiral dropped down.

“Traitor!” Lugnut bellowed as he picked Sky-byte up by his chest and slammed him to the ground.

Cogman jumped onto the Titan but Lugnut simply swatted him off, knocking the little Headmaster off the cliff and into the ocean. Lugnut then grabbed Sky-byte by the throat with his right hand and held him up.

“You want to know the truth, Sky-byte?” the Titan roared, laughing away as he did. “The reason I sent you to this deprived world is because I respected you. You were so ambitious, so dedicated to proving yourself. You were loyal till the end, yet you were just so useless at the same time. This was my reward to you, Sky-byte. I wanted you to die with some dignity.”

Sky-byte tried to break Lugnut’s grip, but it was no use. The Titan had the ex-Decepticon locked in his grasp.

“But I see now that I just made things worse for you.” Lugnut continued. “In your time here, you have befriended those who look down upon our magnificent armada. Those things you’ve said about our glorious leader are disgusting. I should have killed you the day your squad died on Fantoma.”

At that moment, Sky-byte bit Lugnut’s finger, causing him to loosen his grip. The ex-Decepticon then proceeded to stab his blades into the Titan’s hand. As Lugnut roared in anguish, Sky-byte leaped up and shot his blade into the Titan’s face.

Sky-byte pushed it through but was interrupted when Lugnut’s other hand grabbed the brute and threw him off. Sky-byte landed, face first onto the grassy hill. He quickly got up and attempted to transform but was stopped when Lugnut grabbed him again and slammed him to the ground, once more. Lugnut proceeded to punch Sky-byte with the fist that he had damaged. Sky-byte attempted to block the hits with his arms, but he was unable to shield himself from Lugnut’s enormous hands.

Just then, out of nowhere, a missile smacked Lugnut, dead in the face. They both turned to see Cogman standing there, wet through, covered in seaweed and fish.

“What even are you?!” Lugnut boomed.

“I am… Cogman!” the Headmaster yelled before shooting another missile from his mouth. “Come get me!”

Lugnut left Sky-byte on the ground and began to chase Cogman.

Jetfire and Late Term arrived back at the forest where they had previously fought but found no one. Late Term began to search the area.

“Crap. Crap! Where did they go?!” she yelled, horrified.

“Relax. They won’t have gotten far.” Jetfire tried to reassure.

“Please don’t tell me to relax. If anything has happened to him. I swear, Jetfire.”

“Late Term, listen. Sky-byte told me to get you away from here. If the worse has happened, you can’t blame me! Now. I don’t see any body parts from our lot, so the chances are either he’s been captured, or he escaped.”

“But we don’t know where to!”

“We don’t, but…”

“What?!”

“I don’t know! Let me think!”

Jetfire looked around and noticed trails of scrap metal.

“I cut the big fella quite a bit. These must be his parts.” Jetfire deducted.

“Which means?” Late Term asked.

“Which means he went south. Hold on.”

Jetfire grabbed Late Term and teleported a few times through southern Greece until eventually, Late Term noticed something on the cliffs.

“I see Lugnut!” she yelled. “I think he’s running after something.”

Lugnut had chased Cogman across the town next to the cliffs, both Late Term and Jetfire could see the remains of tanks and soldiers that the two had most likely destroyed.

“So that’s Lugnut? You know, that’s still the dumbest name I’ve ever heard. Besides yours of course.” Jetfire stated.

“What’s wrong with Late Term? I’m called that because when I was born, I came out of our breeding pits after all the other hatchlings had already become minors.”

“Well… erm… never mind.”

Late Term transformed into her truck mode and began to approach the cliff when she noticed Sky-byte laying on the ground in pieces. She drove as fast as she could to her comrade. As she drove along, she realised that Lugnut had noticed her. The Titan jumped at the ex-Autobot, but Late Term managed to accelerate quick enough for Lugnut to miss. The Titan landed headfirst into a building. After finally reaching Sky-byte, she transformed.

“Sky-byte! Are you okay?!” Late Term yelled, inspecting his injuries.

“Wha- what are you doing here? You’re still not the best condition to- “

Sky-byte was unable to continue talking, the damage had taken a toll on him.

“Sky-byte? Sky-byte?!”

“I- I’m fine-” he reassured, managing to place his hand on her shoulder. “But- you need- to go.”

“And leave you? I’d rather Lugnut beat me as well.”

“You might- get your wish.”

Late Term noticed a shadow over her. She turned and saw a severely damaged Lugnut, now holding Cogman in his hand.

“Hello again!” Cogman yelled.

Lugnut screamed in frustration at the Headmaster, then to everyone’s shock, dropped Cogman into his mouth and swallowed.

“You- you just ate him?!” Late Term yelled.

“That little piece of scrap!” Lugnut bellowed. “I don’t have time for this.”

Lugnut reached for Late Term just as she reached for her shotgun. Before she could dodge, he grasped her with his left hand which was still intact. As she struggled, the Titan carried her along the cliffs.

“So, you’re the one who’s been brainwashing my soldiers?” Lugnut spat.

“Get off the high road, Lugnut. you’re the one who abandoned him.” Late Term retorted.

“Yet you have befriended this waste of energon?!”

“I guess so.”

“Pathetic. You must have had no one in your past Autobot life if that is what you consider a friend.”

“And who was your friend might I ask? Megatron?”

“Megatron was more than a friend, he was an inspiration.”

“Pfft. Don’t make me laugh. I bet if you find him, he won’t even remember your name.”

“Megatron trusted me with things he trusted nobody else with!”

“Wow! Really? He must have been an even bigger idiot than I originally thought!”

“You dare insult the great and powerful Megatron?!”

“If he was powerful as you claim, he wouldn’t have got himself frozen all those years ago.”

“F- froz-? AAAH!”

Lugnut dropped Late Term as his chest burst open and Cogman leaped out. He looked up, noticing his comrade who had just landed onto the ground.

“And that’s how human babies are created.” Cogman chimed.

“Eww!” Late Term responded.

Sky-byte watched Lugnut squirm from afar. Abruptly, he heard a zap and Jetfire appeared before him. The Seeker then smacked him in the face.

“Ow! Jetfire! What was that for?!” Sky-byte yelled, angrily.

“Oh, shut up, Sky-byte. You need to be awake right now. Lugnut’s going to smash your friend to bits if you don’t get up.”

“I- I can’t, Jetfire.” Sky-byte let out as he struggled to rise.

Jetfire stroked his chin. “Don’t give me any excuses. Late Term just came back here to save you despite leaking energon everywhere she goes. If she can muster the strength to do that then so can you!”

Sky-byte looked over to see Lugnut slowly start to approach his ex-Autobot friend. Realizing that this wasn’t something he could just sit by and watch, the ex-Decepticon used the strength he had left. Somehow, he pulled himself up. it was agenizing to do and energon of his own was leaking everywhere, however, Sky-byte ignored the pain as he managed to get back on his feet. Sky-byte hadn’t even noticed that his headache had now gone.

“You’ve been awfully helpful today. Thank you.” Sky-byte said to the Seeker.

“I’m not doing this help you.” Jetfire stated. “I just really don’t like those types of Decepticons.”

Jetfire turned to face Lugnut.

“Sure, the Titans helped rebuild Cybertron after its conflict with The Fallen, but they betrayed the Primes too.” Jetfire casually continued. “I can’t repair you by any means, but my words of wisdom will give you the adrenaline to move. Now. Go kill the bastard!”

Jetfire then turned and watched as the remaining human forces had began to approach the cliffs.

“I’ll distract the witnesses.” Jetfire said before transforming and dropping himself onto the town nearby.

Lugnut let out a roar and began to smash his fists against the ground, causing minor earthquakes that knocked his adversaries off their feet. As Late Term landed, she smacked her wound against the ground, causing it to bleed again.

“Goddammit! Again?!” the ex-Autobot yelled out as she placed her hands against it to pressure it.

As she looked up, Lugnut’s shadow was once again covering her. The Titan raised his fist to swing but was interrupted when Sky-byte flew at him from behind in plane mode before transforming and dropkicking the Titan’s left cheek.

Sky-byte landed next to Late Term and helped her up. At this point, both of them were completely shattered. They both had parts falling off with dents and cuts across their bodies and faces. The two looked at each other with looks of fear, but then like on que, the two smirked at one another and nodded.

“Ready to kill this fat ass?” Late Term asked.

“As long as you are.” Sky-byte replied, smiling.

The two turned back to the Titan who was rubbing his face as he moved his attention back to them. Swiftly, the two ran and then jumped, dodging each of his attacks. Late Term unleashed the blade on her gauntlet and slashed Lugnut’s right leg while Sky-byte picked out a grenade that he placed in his chest earlier, and tossed it onto Lugnut’s left shoulder. The two then slid past the Titan as they watched him lose his foot while his shoulder exploded.

“Enough!” Lugnut bellowed as he turned and shot missiles from his chest once more. Late Term managed to dodge the ones going for her before pushing Sky-byte out of the way of the one about to hit him. The two fell to the ground with Late Term now on top of the ex-Decepticon.

“Thanks for the save.” Sky-byte commented as Late Term managed to get off him. “Are you alright?”

“I keep bleeding. I don’t know how long I can keep going.” Late Term explained.

“Don’t worry. I think we have some time.”

Late Term noticed that Sky-byte now had his attention on something else. She turned to see Jetfire jump onto the Titan and jab his pickaxe into his eye.

Lugnut screamed as he pulled the Seeker off and held him against the cliff.

“What are you supposed to be? You’re older than me!”

“I am Jetfire! Seeker and profound protector of the Matrix!”

“A Seeker? You served The Fallen? You are a traitor to Cybertron!”

“Hold on! You’re a Decepticon too. The Fallen had his own Decepticon faction before that Megatron of yours made his. What gives?”

“How dare you! Megatron rights The Fallen’s wrongs. He has given this faction meaning!”

“Really? Sounds like he got his arse kicked by Sentinel Prime.”

“Sentinel was not a true Prime! He was false prophet. Megatron saw through Sentinel’s lies! Once we find Megatron, he will lead us to the times when the Primes were at their highest.”

“Then why haven’t you freed Megatron?

“Once we find him- “

“Find him? He’s right here! He’s only frozen in a dam.”

Lugnut fell silent. From Jetfire’s perspective, it looked like the Titan was beginning process everything he had heard today.

“Lies! Megatron is not here!” Lugnut yelled out in denial.

“Why would I lie? I don’t care who wins that conflict between you lot.” Jetfire rebutted.

Lugnut was about to yell when suddenly, he went silent again. Lugnut then had a look of both shock and fear. He was about to speak once more when the sound of propellers caught his attention. Lugnut turned to see Sky-byte in his Flying Fortress mode. Sky-byte unloaded bullets onto the Titan, causing him to drop Jetfire and fall off the cliff and into the ocean. Sky-byte transformed and landed next to Jetfire while Late Term limbed towards the two, followed by Cogman. The four watched as Lugnut slowly but surely, managed to rise. He was now covered in seaweed with numerous parts of his were body falling off into the sea. Lugnut looked up to face his adversaries.

“You lie! Megatron is not here!!!”

All four gave Lugnut looks that showed how little they cared for his rambles of denial. From how Lugnut was now acting, they could tell he knew the truth. The Titan then let out a sigh, accepting it all.

“Megatron will be freed! More will come!” Lugnut roared in clear panic. “This isn’t over! You don’t realise what you’re apart of- “

As Lugnut was yelling, Sky-byte pulled out another grenade and threw it directly into Lugnut’s mouth. They watched as the Titan exploded from the inside into multiple fragments, each sinking to the ocean.

“I think we should go.” Jetfire let out as the crew noticed the German planes that were heading in their direction.

Quickly, he grabbed all three and teleported them back to the shuttle. As the four entered, they all slumped against its left wall in single file. Jetfire and Cogman on the left, Late Term and Sky-byte on the right.

“Did we… just kill Lugnut?” Sky-bye asked in disbelief.

“I- I think we did.” Late Term responded. “Actually, you did. It was your grenade that dropped him.”

“Not if I didn’t give him my amazing speech!” Jetfire corrected.

Late Term looked up at her ex-Decepticon friend.

“So, what now?” she asked.

“We should rest.” Sky-byte stated. “I need a long rest if I want to heal. Then, tomorrow, we will trace the buzzer as we had planned.”

“Yeah… sorry.” Jetfire said. “I dropped the receiver!”

“Jetfire!” the other three yelled.

Back in the Italian mountains, Dreadwind sat with the other Decepticons that had arrived with Lugnut. He watched as Dirge arrived.

“Dirge. What is it now?” Dreadwind asked.

“I- I found Lugnut’s body.” Dirge explained.

Dreadwind rose. He was furious.

“He’s dead?! How?”

“I suppose you were right. That Sky-byte and his friends were serious business.”

“Sky-byte!?”

The two looked down to see a smaller Decepticon who looked concerned.

“Yes. Do you know him, Slapper?” Dreadwind asked.

Slapper contemplated his answer. “No sir.”

Dreadwind turned back to face the others. “Make sure you’re all at that ship by tomorrow; we’re leaving.”

“Leaving?” Dirge protested. “But what about Lugnut? he should be avenged!”

“There’s too much about this planet and what’s been going on around here that I don’t like. This whole system of planets has given us more trouble than we need. But don’t worry. The Autobot Arsenal are close by. They’ll deal with this.”

In the forest where the five had fought, German soldiers inspected the scene. Eventually a car pulled up and their superior stepped out.

“General Arkeville.” One trooper spoke before saluting. “We’ve analysed the wreckages. These were the same machines, sir.”

He then presented the general with the picture on an enormous mechanical one-eyed man. He was covered in parts that resembled a German plane.

“Very well. Escort me to the bunker.” Arkeville ordered.

As the two walked through the bunker, they walked past many technologies far beyond this planet until finally arriving at the sentient machine. The machine was chained to the wall.

“It seems you have company.” Arkevelle then said. “Perhaps these one’s will speak. I’d worry if I were you. ZB-Seven.”

The machine looked down at his captors and buzzed, angrily.

“Always buzzing, aren’t we?” Arckevelle muttered. “You’re like a little insect.”

Arckevelle turned back around, leaving his subject alone.

Chapter Text

5 Earth years ago.

As the disabled Decepticon ship: the Grave, floated through space, the Lifespark docked in its bay. Cyclonus made his way to the bridge with a much smaller transformer following him. There was a bulky Cybertronion stood on the bridge who was looking out into the abyss. The ship’s captain noticed the Crusadercon behind him and turned.

“Cyclonus?” he said, surprised.

“How long has it been, Sixshot?” Cyclonus responded.

“Longer than I can remember.”

Sixshot approached Cyclonus and shook his hand.

“I’m glad to see you’re still alive.” Sixshot stated. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. Starcream and Lugnut are both too dim-witted to find you.”

“Don’t patronize me. Sixshot.”

“Very well.”

Sixshot turned and walked to the bridge’s windows.

“So, tell me, Cyclonus. Why have you visited my wasting vessel?”

“There’s something I need help with.”

Cyclonus signalled for the smaller transformer to enter.

“This is Counterpunch. My pilot. He’s been having blackouts, visions, he hears voices in his head constantly. You’ve always been my guidance, Sixshot; perhaps you can be his too.”

Sixshot looked down at the little ex-Decepticon. He crouched and placed his hand on Counterpunch’s shoulder.

“Tell me, young one. What do you see?”

Counterpunch was silent. He looked back at Cyclonus before facing Sixshot again.

“I- I see… life.” He said, shivering.

“Life?” Sixshot asked.

“I- I see… people, but- but not like us. They have flesh, they are organic. They call to me. It's like I- I hear calls from across the universe.”

“They call to you? What do they say?” Sixshot asked, curiously.

“I… don’t- I don’t know if it’s them. I hear many voices. They ask me to follow them.” Counterpunch continued, starting to quiver. “They tell me to fly a certain way. They ask me to go to… they- they say…”

“It’s alright, Counterpunch.” Cyclonus interjected. “Only say what you feel you have to.”

“They tell me… they tell me… find the lavish world.”

Sixshot rose, stroking his chin. He went to his control panel and pulled out a dish before returning to the pilot. He activated the dish. opening a holographic map.

“Where is this lavish world?” Sixshot asked.

Counterpunch anxiously pointed to a selection of planets on the map.

“Those planets are far away. However, that is where you must go.” Sixshot stated, pointing to Cyclonus.

“Are you sure?” Cyclonus asked.

“Cyclonus, Counterpunch isn’t just your pilot. He has accompanied you, despite your desertion. He is your family, now.”

Cyclonus nodded.

“You know more about family than most Cybertronions.” Cyclonus stated with a smerk.

“Quickswitch has changed me in many ways Cyclonus. If I can raise a hatchling as my own. You can treat this pilot as if he is a relative of yours.”

“I understand. Thank you, Sixshot.” Cyclonus reached into his back and tossed Sixshot a canister.

Sixshot analysed it. “What’s this?” he asked.

“Fuel. Your ship will be able to move again. Just try to stay clear of any other Cybetronions.”

“Pfft. If any transformer tries to attack my ship, I’m going to send them to hell.”

Cyclonus nodded and returned to his ship.

Now.

Sky-byte rested against the shuttle. He watched as Jetfire tossed glass into the air and tried to shoot it, though he was missing each time.

It had been a while since they faced Lugnut. Thankfully, he had healed since then. At this point, he wasn’t sure what he was doing. Sky-byte was now just learning about Earth cultures from Cogman. It was the only thing that kept him entertained at the moment.

“Got one!” Sky-byte heard as he noticed Jetfire prancing around.

“Got what?” he asked.

“You didn’t see?” Jetfire asked, annoyed.

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Aww. Bollocks.”

“Jetfire, why are you caring so much about what you can shoot? You clearly are a natural with your pickaxe.” Sky-byte assured.

The Seeker groaned. “I know but- shut up.”

Sky-byte shook his head and entered their cave. He saw Shipwreck lay with Late Term sat on top of him.

“Sky-byte detected!” Shipwreck yelled, making Late Term chuckle.

“You two alright?” Sky-byte asked.

“I suppose.” Late Term stated. “What about you?”

“Good… I think.”

“Is something bothering you?” she asked, casually.

“I just- I just wonder what I should do now.”

Late Term jumped off Shipwreck and approached her friend.

“You’re free to do whatever you want now. Just… take the load off for a bit.”

“It’s just that- I’ve never not had a purpose before. I’ve always had a job to do, even when I was a hatching. This is the first time I get to decide what happens to me and- I don’t like it.”,

“Oh, that’s bullshit! You should be happy right now; you should be taking advantage of this. You have a whole planet to yourself with no one giving you worthless orders. Didn’t you ever go on vacation when you when you were a Decepticon?”

Sky-byte was puzzled. “What’s a vacation?”

Late Term slapped her face.

“Right.” She said. “We’re going out somewhere. Then we’re going to get a calendar. For the next month, every Earth day is going to involve an activity of some sort. Got that?”

“I ugh- okay.”

Late Term walked past Sky-byte, leaving him to communicate with Shipwreck. As Late Term left the cave, Cogman approached her on her way out.

“What you up to?” he asked.

“Just planning some things.” Late Term stated. “I want Sky-byte to make a home on this planet.”

They started to walk through the woods.

“So, you two are going to be going places together?” Cogman asked.

“I don’t know.” Late Term replied. “I’d prefer if we all went out together; it’d give us a chance to get to know each other better.”

“But sometimes it will be just you two, right? I hope so. It’s what’s best for you.”

Late Term stopped and stood silent. She looked down at her butler.

“What do you mean?” asked the ex-Autobot.

“Late Term,” Cogman began, “since Sky-byte is my master, I am sworn to serve him. However, I cannot deny that he is flawed. Sky-byte is weak, he’s insecure. But most of all, he’s sad.”

“Sad? Sky-byte might be the most optimistic person I know.” Late Term protested, her face showing slight irritation.

“Oh no. Sky-byte is really sad. He thinks that his life is going nowhere, he believes that no matter how far he goes, nothing will come of it. Yet despite that, when he’s with you, that goes away. Completely.”

“Cogman, I’m sorry but I have no clue what you mean.”

“What I’m saying is, I think you bring out the best in him. I like seeing him interact with you because- well, when he does, he’s happy. I like seeing him happy.”

Late Term was getting weirded out by this conversation.

“Why are telling me this?” she asked.

“You came to this planet to find the Matrix and you’re close to getting it. I know Jetfire has decided you can have it but… I don’t want you to leave.”

“Why would I leave?”

“What else are you going to when you get it?”

Late Term sighed.

“I was going to sell it. I don’t know who to, but I thought if I had something of such legendary significance in Cybertron’s history, I’d get a lot. I’d then go spend the money on polluted energon and get drunk for eternity.”

“Oh. How long will you stay after you’ve found it?”

“What? Cogman! I’m not going to find it.”

Cogman paused for a moment. “Wait… pardon?”

Late Term let out a regretful huff. “Cogman, I’ve been thinking about all this for a while. If I found the Matrix, if I got my fingers on that tool… every Seeker on the planet would be on my ass long before I’d get a chance to take off. Besides, how would I leave? The only working ship here is Sky-byte’s shuttle and I’m not stealing it! I don’t think Sky-byte is going to leave this planet, he seems to be quite interested with its culture and people. And if I found the Matrix and a Seeker stole it, they could restart the Star-harvester, destroy Earth’s sun and then it’s all over.”

“So, that’s it? You’re giving up on the one goal you had here?”

“I- I don’t know… I don’t think I’m giving up. I know where the Matrix is here, and I have the means to get it but- I suppose I’m just putting it on hold for now.”

Cogman rolled his eyes.

“What?!” Late Term yelled, confused.

“Nothing…” Cogman responded.

Along the roads of Italy, Slapper drove on its roads, talking to himself.

“Just had to stay behind, didn’t you, Slapper? Always got the be good guy in this.”

Slapper continued his way through traffic, it was busy today. Trucks and tanks were on heavy patrol though Slapper had no idea what for; he had no idea who was who even.

“I can’t believe Sky-byte actually managed to kill Lugnut. I knew he had spirit but damn. Lugnut was a Titan! Whatever friends he made here; I’d really like to know them.”

As he drove along, the scout noticed a buzz emanating from his radio.

“The hell? I haven’t attached myself to any frequency yet. Who’s this guy?”

Slapper parked himself on the side of the road, causing the truck behind him to swerve.

“Lucky for me, I’ve learned a thing or two about tracking signals from my time as a scout. This will be easy to find, time for my first real task here.”

Slapper sped down the road, heading east.

In the cave, Sky-byte was watching one of the human movies that Cogman had stolen, while the Headmaster sat on his shoulder. He didn’t really understand it, but it entertained him, nonetheless.

“I don’t understand, can humans really make life by zapping a brain with lightning?” he asked

“No. It’s just fiction. Humans have no idea how they’re made, hell, some of them think they came from dirt.”

“Did they?”

“No! Who comes from dirt?”

“Maybe there’s a Dirtman somewhere.”

“That’s wishful thinking, Sky-byte. Humans are just dumb.”

The two continued to watch as the main human character was killed.

“That’s sad, killed by his own son.” Sky-byte let out, whimpering.

“Are you serious? He was an asshole to his creation; I think it should have been more painful.” Cogman stated.

“So… this is what humans consider scary?”

“For now. What about you? What scares you, master?”

Sky-byte thought long and hard about the question.

“Being forgotten. That scares me.” He said, slightly embarrassed.

“Really?” Cogman asked.

“Yes… I don’t want to be famous or anything, I just want do something where people remember me.”

“I think killing Lugnut will keep you remembered for a while.”

“Yes! That’s right but… I don’t think I want it that way. I want to be remembered for doing something that matters.”

“Killing Lugnut must matter to those Autobots, right?”

“The war’s over, Cogman. I’ve told you this.”

“Right… well… I’m sure you’ll achieve something here. You’ve got all four of us to help you.”

Sky-byte hung his head low, and Cogman noticed that his master’s mood had changed completely. Cogman was not going to let this stand.

“Maybe you should go out for a bit, clear your mind some?.” Cogman suggested.

Sky-byte nodded. He picked up the Headmaster and placed him on the table before leaving the cave. As the ex-Decepticon left, he saw Jetfire slumped against a tree. Sky-byte noticed the glass pieces around him. He huffed and continued until he reached his shuttle. Sky-byte entered and explored the ship’s lockers. He scavenged through, seeing if he could find something to use until his hands came across the data package. Remembering why he put it there made the brute chuckle. Sky-byte closed the lockers before sitting on the ground and opening the package.

He swiped through its screen, looking through each Decepticon on it. As he looked through, those he recognised the names begining to show.

Name: Darkscream

Class: Leader

Occupation: Transferred

Sky-byte chuckled to himself once more. Darkscream was an old friend of his, he always had this serious “I can’t die” attitude wherever he went. Sky-byte continued to scroll.

Name: Slapper

Class: Deluxe

Occupation: Transferred

Sky-byte smiled, reading through Slappers file. He remembered how supportive the little guy was, even when he was clearly screwing up. Sky-byte continued.

Name: Hellscream

Class: Commander

Occupation: Buried

Sky-byte let out a sigh reading that one. He hadn’t really spoken about Hellscream to the others, though he never had reason to; his life as a soldier had never really been brought into question.

Suddenly, the ex-Decepticon heard footsteps from behind.

“What are you looking at?” he heard Late Term ask.

“Just… people I knew.”

“Oh… do you need a minute?”

“What? No, it’s- it’s fine. You can sit with me if you like."

Late Term sat on Sky-byte’s left, she looked at the package’s screen.

“Who’s Hellscream?” she asked.

“No one important…” Sky-byte stated as he quickly scrolled down.

The two read a few files together before Sky-byte finally stopped scrolling.

“What’s up? Is something on your mind?” Late Term asked, sounding concerned.

“I- I’ve read this part before; I know who comes next.”

Late Term hung her head low.

“I understand.” She said.

Sky-byte didn’t say anything in response, instead he gave her the package. She gave a confused look though he simply nodded and she then nodded back.

Late Term scrolled down, slightly. Then, she was looking at the next file.

Name: Sky-byte

Class: Commander

Occupation: Classified

“I suppose that your occupation won’t be the same on an up to date package.” Late Term commented.

“No. They most likely changed it immediately after I left. I bet it says something like gone and died somewhere.” Sky-byte replied with a slight chuckle.

“Can I… can I read your description?" she asked.

Sky-byte nodded. Late Term scrolled down, slightly.

“One of the many Decepticons born on the final day of Cybertron, Sky-byte is a Commander-class grunt that has somehow survived throughout the search for our glorious leader- did Lugnut write this?”

“No, but I bet he supervises the writer.”

“Sky-byte has been given the rank of captain after his superior Hellscream died back on Grass- who calls a planet Grass?!”

“I think every other name was taken.”

“Sky-byte is an enormous brute. That’s true. He has proven himself to be a great source of cannon fodder and fear tactic. It’s not often races of the sizes we fight see something so big and stupid.”

She stopped reading and turned to her friend, he was starting to look like he was almost ashamed.

“If you want me to stop, I will.” She explained.

“It’s fine.” Sky-byte assured.

“Sky-byte is a terrible tactician, a terrible fighter but most importantly, a terrible Cybertronion. He is an example of how you shouldn’t be, but in the end, he’s more loyal than half of you.”

Late Term swiftly slapped the package shut. She began to chunter under her breath as he opened the locker and tossed it back inside. Sky-byte was a little confused by her sudden change in attitude.

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

Late Term spun to face him; her face filled with dread.

“Those pieces of shit! Why would they write that? In their own files?! If you’re such a terrible fighter, then how did you kill Lugnut? I hope that bastard remembered what he had them write before you blew his insides wide open!”

“It’s fine, Late Term. I’m over it. Besides, I only killed Lugnut with your help.”

“Oh, don’t give me that! If you were that bad, you would have died anyway. Simply put, Sky-byte, you destroyed that oversized freak.”

“Alright, alright. There’s no need to get so emotional. I don’t care what the Decepticons think of me, I’m not one of them anymore. Where I’m at right now, I’d rather they think I did died on this rock.”

Late Term began to calm down.

“Sorry…” she said.

“It’s fine.” Sky-byte affirmed.

The two awkwardly stood in silence.

“I- I’m staying here.” Late Term randomly blurted.

“What?” Sky-byte asked, not too sure what she meant.

“I’m staying here, Sky-byte. Even if I find the Matrix, I’m just going to keep it here.”

“Why? Wouldn’t it be more efficient for you to get as far away from here as possible?”

“I… don’t know. I just- I just don’t want to leave… not yet. Is that okay?”

Sky-byte laughed then gave her smile. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

As Slapper drove across borders, through countryside and as far away from the main roads as possible, he continued to follow the buzzing until finally he made his way into a small town surrounded by fields. He transformed and wondered the town. It looked abandoned, every house looked like it had been shot up, bullet holes all around.

Slapper slowly paced the area. As he walked, he noticed bodies lying among the wreckages.

“Not the best-looking place around.” He said to himself. “Could use some decorating, maybe a little dry brush on the walls. It smells funny, is that what human corpses smell like? Why? Why is every other sentient race always organic?!”

The scout tapped his neck, triggering a beam of green light to appear. The light aimed itself in the direction of a road, not too far from where he stood.

“I must be close now, I’ve been driving for days. Though, this planet’s days are really short.”

Slapper transformed and continued his drive. As he maneuvered along the road, one of planet’s vehicles came into view. A human truck with a very long trailer; the trailer of which had a grey cloak covering whatever it was carrying. In between the truck were two armoured cars, both of which had a human manning a turret on top. Finally, at the front of the convoy was a regular black civilian car.

As Slapper drove forward, he noticed that this was it. The buzzing was coming from the truck.

“Ah scrap. I haven’t gotten myself one of those human holograms yet.” The scout muttered to himself.

The scout drove to the side of the armoured car at the back. As the turret man looked down, he began to panic at the sight of a car driving itself.

“Hey, you heard a buzzing sound lately?” Slapper politely asked in what he assumed was their language.

At the front of the convoy, the General sat, his attention focused on the bright sky above him.

“Is it really safe to traveling through here?” the driver asked.

“The Serbs have been causing a lot of damage around these parts. They will be a worthy test for our new technologies.” Arkeville stated.

“I’m surprised they’re still trying, that revolution in July last year was the biggest embarrassment I’ve seen from any country.”

“Indeed. It’s time we remind them why they lost.”

“What about ZB-Seven? Why are we bringing him?”

“I want to present to the Italians here what we have uncovered.”

“Not the prisoner of war that Mussolini expects, is it?” the driver asked.

Arkeville shook his head. “No. But he should be as fascinated as I, we are finally beginning to understand more about this world than what God let us know.”

Suddenly, a red car drove past, and a scrawny voice revealed itself to them.

“Hello?” it said.

“What was that?” asked Arkeville, noticing the lack of driver in the car.

“Erm… hi? I’m just an alien passing through. I was wondering if you had heard a buzzing sound. Because it’s got onto my frequency and I can only patch into ones from my own kind.”

The two humans stared at each other in disbelief.

“What is this? Some sort of Yugoslavic weapon?!” the driver shouted.

“Who? Look, buddy. I just want to know if I’ve made good use of my time by coming here! This whole trip took me days!”

“What is this?” Slapper heard.

“Are you in charge here?” Slapper asked as he watched an older gentleman look over the driver.

“…kill it.”

Suddenly, a human in the backseat of the car, revealed a weapon that was clearly not from this world and fired an orange beam upon the scout. He slid off the road before transforming. Quickly, he converted his right arm into a gun and began to blast blue lasers at the humans. Slapper watched as the truck began to speed past the two armoured cars that had now locked their guns onto him. Slapper took the incoming bullet fire, feeling nothing as the scraps of metal bounced off his body. Slapper ran to the car at the back of the convoy, he slid to the back of it and ripped its back off. The scout picked up the piece of car and tossed it at the other, destroying it. He then proceeded to blast the humans inside, burning their flesh off, leaving nothing but bones.

Inside the armoured car’s front half, Slapper noticed more weapons that judging by their designs and the technology of this planet, were not human. He picked up an alien hammer before focusing his attention on the remaining convoy that was fleeing the scene.

Slapper transformed with the hammer now attached to the side of his car form, and accelerated with ease. As he gained up with the truck, he noticed a tank that had emerged from further ahead.

“Where’d you come from?!” Slapper groaned.

The tank fired; Slapper skidded and transformed, sliding under the shell. He began to unleash lasers onto the tank, burning it’s front but not doing much to damage it. Slapper got up and ran, and the tank fired again, this time directly hitting the scout. Slapper flew backwards and slammed to the ground, clutching his chest. Slowly, he pushed himself up off the ground and faced the tank. Slapper sprinted towards it. As it fired once more, he front-flipped, dodging the shell before landing on his feet. Swiftly, the scout aimed his hammer like it was a dart. He waited for a moment, giving the tank the time to reload before throwing it directly into the tank’s gun. The tank fired and exploded from the inside. As Slapper ran past what used to be the tank, he found the hammer lying and picked it back up.

Slapper transformed again and continued his pursuit of the truck. As he got close, he transformed back and hung onto the end of the trailer. He soon climbed the trailer and ripped of the cloak revealing another transformer strapped on its front.

The prisoner was green, it had skinny arms, huge legs and what looked like a backpack of some sort. Either that or its alt from wasn’t doing so well in the kibble department.

Slapper held on tight as the truck stopped and the car in front began to come round. Realising he probably would not last long alone, Slapper shot off the prisoner’s restraints. As the prisoner turned, his head became visible to the scout. Slapper noticed the bright blue eyes on the prisoner, he then noticed the Autobot symbol on his head. Slapper rolled his eyes before the prisoner punched him in the face and off the trailer.

Slapper landed smack down on the ground, then he got up and rubbed his face.

“The thanks I get from some people.” He muttered to himself.

Slapper watched as the car began to circle the prisoner who was still on the trailer. It fired orange beams that hit the green one, directly in the chest. Slapper watched as he fell off the trailer and onto the ground on the other side of it from where Slapper was.

“There’s no point fighting back, ZB-Seven. You are Germany’s property now!” the human in charge yelled.

Swiftly, Slapper ran towards the green one.

“Oy, Seven!” Slapper yelled before throwing the hammer.

ZB-Seven caught the hammer and swung it onto the back of the car, causing it to snap in half. Slapper watched as two humans at the front flew onto the grass. Though they were alive, they were in no shape to fight. ZB-Seven turned to Slapper and buzzed.

“I wasn’t planning on a rescue but go on then!” Slapper yelled, signalling the Autobot to follow him.

The two transformed, ZB-Seven turning into an armoured car like the ones that Slapper had just destroyed. They both accelerated off the road and onto the hills nearby.

As the two escaped, Arkeville slowly got up. As he did, the driver of the truck came out to assist.

“Are you alright?” he asked before Arkeville pulled out his Luger and killed him.

Sky-byte sat in the cave, thinking. Late Term was next to him, talking to Cogman about things, Sky-byte wasn’t paying attention. In his mind, he thought of the conversation he had had with Lugnut before he knew the Titan was landing on Earth. Lugnut insulted him quite a bit during the call but one thing that Lugnut had mockingly suggested was sticking with him. He looked at his two friends with a pondering look, Late Term noticed.

“Is something the matter?” she asked.

“No.” Sky-byte affirmed. “I’m just… wondering.”

“Something on your mind, master?” Cogman asked.

“Yes, Cogman.” Sky-byte stated. “Something is.”

“Then go on, master. Tell us.”

“I’ve been thinking about my purpose here, I’ve been thinking about what I should do, and one thing has stuck out to me. This planet is so much more than I thought it would be. I’ve learned a lot about this human race and their culture is just so… interesting. The honour of living on this planet shouldn’t just be mine, I want others to experience this place. But with the war and what it’s done, I don’t think the other Cybertronions have time for it.”

“I think that’s for the best, Sky-byte.”

“Yes, Cogman, it is. However, I know I’m not the only one fed up with our people’s obsessions with factions and a war that ended centuries ago. There are other transformers out there like us,”

Sky-byte turned to his ex-Autobot friend,

“Like you and me, Late Term. The concept of Autobot and Decepticon no longer applies to us. I like that, and I know others would like that too. I have a proposal.”

“A proposal?” Jetfire said, entering the cave.

“We’re all ears, Sky-byte.” Late Term stated.

“I propose that we establish a place on this planet for other Transformers like us to leave their factions behind. I want to give every Cybertronion another shot at life, one that will make them feel like the war is truly over for them. I want to make a home for deserters like us, a place for refugees of our pointless war. I propose we find a place; we make sure it’s the right place and we send a signal to any Cybertronion seeking refuge among the stars. Then finally, when the war of this planet is over and a side has won, we will reveal ourselves to the humans, and we will help them become the utopia that they could be.”

“And what of the Allspark?” Jetfire asked.

Sky-byte went silent.

“I- I don’t know yet.” He said, hesitant.

“You don’t have to tell them, right?” The Seeker asked.

“I suppose not… but- what if one finds out and tells one of the factions? Aah Primus! I didn’t think of that!”

“Just don’t tell them!” Cogman yelled. “No one is going to be searching for the Allspark on this planet. It’s like Lugnut thought, this planet is too convenient for the Allspark to land on.”

Sky-byte sighed, he looked around at all his friends. Jetfire was giving him a look of eh, like he did not really care either way. Cogman was looking at him confused, the little Headmaster was clearly unsure. Finally, Sky-byte turned his head to Late Term, she seemed unsure at first, but her mouth began to form a smile. She nodded at the ex-Decepticon, supportively. Sky-byte stood from his stool.

“This idea of mine is stupid, I understand that. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try. The Primes once had an idea to fuel their Allspark through destroying suns, that was a stupid idea. But it worked. The humans had a stupid idea, to turn themselves grey and create stories for others to observe on a screen, but that too worked. Every idea is stupid. All I ask is that you have some belief in mine.”

Cogman stood.

“I do, master. Show us the way.” The Headmaster spoke.

“I guess I can stick around and see how this goes.” Jetfire said, begrudgingly.

“I’m with you, always.” Late Term verified.

Sky-byte nodded, he turned and looked outside the cave.

“This is going to be a hectic Earth year.” He said to himself.

3 Earth years ago.

Aboard the Reaping, Strongarm and Matchstick dropped the cuffed Sixshot to the floor. Ghost approached him.

“Sixshot. You have been traveling this universe for so long and yet, you could only go so far. It’s sad, really.”

Sixshot kneeled upwards, facing the Autobot Commander.

“Just kill me; I don’t have time for your speeches.”

“Kill you? I’m not going to kill you.”

“That’s what you always do. I’d rather you just kill me now.”

“I would, but, well, you have information vital to me.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, but you do!" Ghost persisted, like he was reading poetry. "You’ve always had good relations with the Crusadercons, you were their mentor. If anyone knows where they’re going, it’s you.”

“Even if I did know, why would I tell you?”

Ghost tutted, shaking his head. “I know your history, Sixshot. Am I wrong that you adopted one of the hatchlings as your own?”

Sixshot hesitated as his eyes followed Ghost.

“No. Those are just rumours.”

“Rumours?! So, you weren’t going to visit Quickswitch on Spearhead station?”

“No! N- no…”

“Sixshot… we know where he is, and you know what we will do to him when we find him.” Ghost said as he crouched to face Sixshot, directly. “Just tell us where the Crusadercons went and we will spare him. Not only that but we will let you live and visit him, one last time.”

“You… what?”

“Tell us where the Crusadercons went and we will give you and your son the head start out of this galaxy. Then after Cyclonus and the others are dead, we will come for you. Isn’t that what you want, Sixshot?”

Sixshot sighed.

“Show me a map.” Sixshot whispered.

Ghost did so and without saying a word, the defeated Sixshot pointed to a selection of planets.

“Looks like we’re closer than we thought. Thank you.”

Ghost then removed his sword from his back and cut Sixshot loose. Sixshot looked at him with surprise.

“I am not a liar, Sixshot. Go see your son.”

As Sixshot was launched out of the ship in a pod, Ghost looked out into the darkness of space. Strongarm approached him from behind.

“Isn’t this the system where The Fallen perished?” she asked.

“It might be. If so, be aware. It would be the perfect planet to hid on if so. It’s a shame their clever hiding spot was found in vein. Now, tell the others to have their weapons checked; I want to know if we are prepared for this.”

Chapter Text

Nineteen thousand Earth years ago, Jetfire wondered the deserts of a lush planet with The Fallen by his side.

“Master, your Star-harvester is nearing the final steps of its construction, I am pleased to announce that this planet’s sun will be yours very soon.”

The Fallen let out a growl of relief.

“This is excellent. You have done well, my Seeker.”

“Thank you, my lord. I am honoured to play a part in your great journey.”

“As you should be, Jetfire. For what you have helped build will be the beginning of a new age in our history. Once this planet’s sun is drained, we will have enough energon to last for three generations. You have helped save our planet from its doomed path my brothers were to lead it to.”

Jetfire bowed. He turned to face the Constructicons that continued their work on the machine. Everything was going so well and yet, something about it just didn’t seem right.

“My lord.” Jetfire said, turning to face his master once more.

“What is it, my disciple?”

“What we’re doing here. Is it right? The other Primes are misguided, I understand that, but… I don’t know if defying them is the right thing to do.”

The Fallen looked back in puzzlement. “You have followed me from the beginning of your life to here. yet now, you have doubts?”

Jetfire stood up straight then hung his head low. “I wouldn’t say doubts, my lord. I just have concerns. The other Primes want to supervise you on your star harvesting exploits, yet you decide to continue your work in secret.”

The Fallen let out another growl, this one of disgust. “The Primes have so many regulations against saving our home. If we continue to go by them, our race will thin and we will lose so much and then… we will never get it back. You must understand, Jetfire, this path is the only path.”

Jetfire sighed. “Very well, my lord. I apologise for my naivety.”

“You are forgiven, Jetfire, for there is much for you to learn.”

The Fallen held up a staff, one that Jetfire had never seen before.

“What is that, my lord?” Jetfire asked.

The Fallen laughed.

“This staff was handed down to us by the great prophet: Alpha Trion. It allows us to travel to other dimensions. Ones with their own stars to harvest.”

“My lord, we have barely scratched the surface of this universe, yet you are already planning to take energon from others?”

“Not at all, Jetfire. This staff is for guidance. It allows me to see what we could become; I look through it often now. I see many Primes from many universes, while other universes remain dead.”

“I see, my lord. It’s just for guidance?”

“Yes, Jetfire. For guidance.”

Now.

Jetfire flew across the United Kingdom. Another energon signal had been spotted on the shard, this one extremely powerful; Jetfire offered to investigate out of boredom.

As he continued to fly west over the country known to him as Ireland, something came into view from the distance. It was a ship, Cybertronion, it was rising from the sea. Whoever was inside must have detected him because as Jetfire began to circle the floating ship, he noticed the turrets beginning to activate.

His reflexes quick, Jetfire dodged the incoming fire. He transformed and dropped down onto the ship’s roof; the turrets turned to face him and fired but the Seeker dodged, causing them to fire on their own ship. Suddenly, the turrets deactivated and a hatch on the roof opened. Two transformers appeared, one was purple and about Jetfire’s size and the other was black and a bit smaller. Both had horns on their head for some reason.

The purple one ran at Jetfire before unleashing a blade from his left hand. Jetfire dodged each swing, he then grabbed his attacker’s arm and swatted his elbow. As the purple one yelled in agony, Jetfire grabbed him by the torso and threw him over his shoulder. The smaller one pulled out a gun from his back and began to fire onto the Seeker. As Jetfire was pounded by bullets, he stumbled back only to be tripped by the purple one.

Jetfire dropped on his back as the purple one got up. He stomped on Jetfire's chest; Jetfire let out slight chunter before grabbing the purple one’s foot and teleporting.

Jetfire spawned with his attacker in the area where Lugnut was killed. The Purple one dropped face first onto the grass. Jetfire approached him before grabbing him and forcing his fist onto the purple one’s back. The purple one yelled out again. Suddenly, the two heard propeller sounds.

They looked up to see human planes which were approaching them.

“Aww crap, why is this planet so populated now?!” Jetfire yelled in annoyance.

The human planes fired but Jetfire used the purple one as a shield. As the purple one was being shot up, Jetfire noticed that he was beginning to focus on the plane, he was scanning it.

Suddenly, new vehicle parts shot out of the purple one as he took the plane’s form; this caused Jetfire to lose grip. As he fell back, he saw the now black and purple one transform and fly towards the group of planes. Jetfire quickly got up and launched missiles from his chest, destroying each plane except for the one his attacker had turned into. His foe just transformed back and fell out of the sky.

Jetfire approached the downed one, as he did, the wounded transformer shielded himself with the wings that had now formed on his arms. Jetfire noticed the Decepticon symbols that had were on them.

“Wait!” the black and purple one yelled. “Do what you want with me, just leave the rest of my crew.”

Jetfire stopped.

“What? Bitch, you attacked me first.” He responded, crossing his arms.

He was not going to take responsibility for this fight.

“The scanners recognised you as a Decepticon.” The downed transformer explained.

“Aren’t you one? Look, I’m not the Decepticon you’re thinking of. I’m a Seeker, numpty.” Jetfire clarified.

“A… Seeker? You mean… this is…”

“Yes.”

“Damn it. That certainly complicates things.”

Jetfire shrugged and helped the Decepticon up.

“Who are you then?” Jetfire asked.

“Cyclonus. You?” the other replied.

“Jetfire.”

“Well then, Jetfire. I greatly apologise for this; I’ve been paranoid of this planet since I landed. There was a lot of Decepticon activity according to the scanners not too long ago, but now I wonder if they were all just Seekers like you.”

“Oh no.” Jetfire confirmed. “There was a lot of your Decepticons around here but not anymore. That Lugnut fellow was a bitch to take care of, but we got there in the end.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t quite follow.” Cyclonus said, confused at what the Seeker meant.

“Lugnut, that guy who rules one of your fleets. We killed him.”

Cyclonus was silent, his face went from calm to terrified.

“What?! How?!” he asked.

“I mean… he wasn’t that hard.” Jetfire casually stated.

“You- you killed Lugnut! If what you say is true, the Kaye Fleet will be in chaos for a while. This is good. They won’t be looking for us for some time.”

“I suppose so." He paused, awkwardly. "You want a lift back to your ship?”

“A lift?” said the traveller.

Jetfire immediately grabbed Cyclonus and teleported them back to the ship. As they arrived, the smaller one swiftly raised his gun back up.

“Black Shadow, stop!” Cyclonus yelled. “He’s not one of them, he’s a Seeker.”

Black Shadow lowered his gun, a baffled look on his face. “A Seeker? That’s not good. Does that mean The Fallen lives here?”

Jetfire gave Black Shadow a dead-eyed look. Suddenly, the hatch opened again, this time a much smaller Cybertronion stepped out.

“He’s still alive. Does mean I get to spar?!!!” she yelled.

“Classic, go back down.” Cyclonus snapped.

Classic hung her head low and sighed before returning to the ship’s interior. Cyclonus turned back to the Seeker.

“Right. Now that we’re no longer hostiles, would it be wrong if you accompanied us on a little recon, Jetfire?" he asked. "You might like it.”

“You just want me to teleport you again, don’t you?” Jetfire said back, irritably.

“…yes.”

Jetfire rolled his eyes and teleported the two to a different area than before. This one was still the usual hillside far from civilisation, though there was military activity close by.

“Where are we?” Black Shadow asked.

“Germany.” Jetfire revealed. “Since your friend here just got the form of a German plane, this will be a good place to look around for you both.”

Black Shadow looked forward, he noticed an airfield in the distance. He transformed his right hand into a telescope and analysed the area before scanning one of the planes. As he took the form, Black Shadow sat on the edge of the hill and looked out.

“So… a Seeker? What do you do again? Find The Fallen’s antique collection?" Black Shadow asked.

Jetfire facepalmed, shaking his head. The historical ignorance of these two was overwhelming.

“No. Most Seekers have dedicated themselves to finding The Matrix of Leadership.” Jetfire replied.

Cyclonus sat next to Black Shadow, he looked up at the Seeker.

“So, tell us, Jetfire. What’s your story?” Cyclonus asked.

Jetfire looked at Cyclonus dead in the face, Cyclonus looked genuinely curious and this weirded the Seeker out. He’d had not been asked about his past in a while, not even by the morons he currently lived with. Jetfire sat across from the two.

“There’s not much to tell really. I oversaw the production of this planet’s Star-harvester.” He said.

“What was that again? I never really cared much about history.” Cyclonus stated.

Jetfire groaned.

“When the Primes were at their peak, they refuelled themselves and the Allspark by harvesting the energon from suns.” Jetfire explained. “This was accomplished by activating a Star-harvester with their key that being the Matrix. The Primes set out with one rule, never destroy a planet with life. Unfortunately, they weren’t all committed to it. The reason I was put in charge was because of an incident beforehand, one that I foolishly ignored.”

Jetfire stood with The Fallen on Cybertron. They had just returned from destroying the sun of a neighbouring system. The Seeker watched as holograms of the other Primes appeared before them. Jetfire couldn’t help but feel tense in the presence of such powerful beings. As Jetfire began to pay attention to the conversation between his master and the other Primes, he realised that their talk was not the friendliest.

“The deed has been done,” The Fallen spoke, “and the results were remarkable. How dare you criticize the mission of my Seeker?!”

The Prime in the front responded, his voice booming with animosity. “Your Seeker?! What is this nonsense you speak, brother?”

“This nonsense is about Cybertron. About our future. About how the power of that-”

“The murder of innocent life, brother? No power was gained from your decision. Only sorrow.”

Jetfire was confused. Life? What life? It was empty, he searched every planet in the system they had previously destroyed. He found none, no life at all. The Fallen would not hide such knowledge from him, would he?

As the call ended, Jetfire faced his master.

“What did I do, master? I searched the planets for life and found nothing, and none on the planet you explored.”

“He had you destroy a planet with life?” Cyclonus asked.

“Yes…” Jetfire confirmed, “I should have known then. I should have stabbed the bastard at that very moment, not that it would matter."

“Yet you still sided with him?” Black Shadow asked.

Jetfire sighed.

“I had to; I was sworn to. The Fallen was not just my master, he was all I’d really known then, and the other Seekers were brain dead morons. I had no one else. The Fallen had sworn to me that it was just something he had to do at the time, however, he never told me he intended to do it again.”

“Yet, you believed him?” Black Shadow asked.

“There were so many stars in the universe. Not just our universe, but every universe.”

“What happened next?” Cyclonus asked

“We found the next planet, but at that point I had doubts, though he assured me that I was making the right decision.”

Jetfire watched as the Star-harvester continued into its final phase, that was until he heard a Long Haul unit call to him.

“Look dis.” It called.

Jetfire turned to see the drone. It was carrying small organic beings.

“Not tough like us, break easy.” It continued.

Jetfire looked in horror at what they were about do. This planet had life, real breathing life. He couldn’t let this happen again; this wasn’t him.

Suddenly, The Fallen teleported onto the scene.

“Leave them to me.” He said.

“But master,” Jetfire cried out, “this planet has life. We can’t harvest its star!”

The Fallen walked past the Seeker, only gazing at him.

“Continue your work, Jetfire.” He ordered.

Jetfire looked back at the harvester. This was wrong, he knew it.

“We can’t.” he whispered.

Realising that The Fallen was ignoring him now, the Seeker activated his boosters and rose to the sky before landing in front of his workers. He yelled at the Constructicons.

“Halt! Cease activity!” he ordered.

“The machine is almost done. Get out of the way.” A Long Haul protested.

“I’m in charge. Now stand down.”

As the workers stopped, Jetfire flew down to his master who was tossing the mammals onto the ground.

“Master? This goes against our laws! You can’t let this happen again.”

“Really, Jetfire? And how will you stop me?”

The Fallen rambled on about plans of killing the Primes and saving his race. Jetfire was not paying attention, he only cared about the harvester.

“Either way, I win.” The Fallen let out at the end of his rant.

Jetfire took a deep breath and looked up at his master.

“Not if I stop you, you don’t.”

“So, you fought The Fallen?!” Black Shadow asked in disbelief.”

“He and his Constructicons. But it was for nothing, he easily overpowered me; he was a Prime, I was just a servant.”

“Well, you’re here now, so you must have stood some ground.” Cyclonus said.

“Those drones had the intelligence of a human with mental disabilities. The Fallen however? That bastard was a god! Not long after he left me to die, he was confronted by the six Primes. I didn’t see it, but I got a recording of the aftermath that was broadcasted by their allies. The Fallen had many supporters with him, and he was going to make a lot more. He’d written myths and legends about himself, as well as this planet.”

“What then?”

“Then? The Fallen had one more card to play. Unbeknown to the Primes, he had a staff that could open to other worlds.”

As Jetfire watched the holographic message; there, he saw the six Primes on earth create a tomb, locking the Matrix away while killing themselves in the process. Jetfire didn’t have time to mourn, he heard a zap his old master was standing behind him, holding the staff.

“Pathetic, my brothers would rather die than save our race. They bring shame to us all.”

Jetfire stood, the wounds he had sustained made it hard for him to move, but The Fallen was no different. He had recently suffered defeat over the hands of the Primes, and it was really showing.

“They thought they could imprison me in their pocket universe, yet I had the means to escape. With this staff, I shall open gateways and bring wrath upon this planet!”

Jetfire stumbled towards The Fallen, he fell a few times but managed to face him.

“Is there something you would like to say, Jetfire? Do you wish to beg for forgiveness?”

Jetfire was about to make his attack but he knew there was no use, he was no match for The Fallen. There was nothing he could do.

“I- I do, my master.” He let out.

“Then… kneel.” The Fallen ordered.

Jetfire kneeled down, he bowed as The Fallen laughed. Jetfire noticed the wounds on his master, particularly the one on his left leg.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” The Fallen asked.

“All I have to say is…I hope this was worth it.” Jetfire spat.

Swiftly, Jetfire grabbed The Fallen’s leg and ripped it off. As The Fallen roared, he fell to the ground allowing Jetfire to stomp on his master. The Fallen quickly grabbed Jetfire’s foot and threw him over. As Jetfire landed, he noticed the staff rolling towards him. As The Fallen crawled, he saw the Seeker standing tall with the staff it his hand.

“Wait.” The fallen pleaded. “If you do this, you doom our race. Do understand, Jetfire?”

“Have a nice life.” Jetfire replied, casually.

Jetfire activated the staff. Creating a portal, he watched as The Fallen was dragged through, screaming as he did. As the portal closed, Jetfire looked at the staff and crushed it.

“Then what?” Black Shadow asked.

“I roamed the Earth, and I watched humanity make itself. I had a few cavemen tribes look up to me a few times, then I helped the Egyptians build their pyramids. I even had them build one over the Star-harvester, covering it from any Seekers that may try to activate it with their own keys. I tried to lay low for a bit after that. I’d usually have naps that lasted sixty years. I met George Washington at one point, and I helped him fight the British people but then I realised he had slaves, so I left.”

“Wait… who?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Jetfire stood.

“Well, I hope Cybertron has gotten on well for you since then.” Jetfire said.

“It was before the war; I assume you know of the war?” said Cyclonus.

“Yeah, I’ve met a few Cybertronions from it.” Jetfire disclosed.

“Good. Sorry about Cybertron. It was a beautiful planet. We looked after it well.”

“W- what do you mean?” Jetfire asked, confused.

“After your time, we did the best we could to give life to Cybertron. Before its fall, it was a wonderful place.” Cyclonus said.

Jetfire was really puzzled.

“Fall?”

“You know.” Black Shadow added. “The Fall of Cybertron. It might be a wasteland now, but we did our best before it was destroye-”

“What?!!!”

Jetfire was taken a back.

Cybertron, a wasteland? This could not be right. He needed answers. Without saying word, the Seeker teleported away.

“Great, how do we get back now?!” Black Shadow yelled.

“We can fly now, we’ll find it.” Cyclonus replied.

Sky-byte was sat against some trees, releasing and sheaving his blades. He whistled as he watched the day go by. Suddenly however, a zap came from behind Before Sky-byte could react, the Seeker grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him up to his feet.

“Woah! Calm down, Jetfire. What’s the matter?” Sky-byte asked, surprised.

“What happened during The Fall of Cybertron?”

“What? Where did you- shit.”

“Tell me?!”

Jetfire stomped his foot, he looked like he was about to kill the ex-Decepticon; Sky-byte was horrified. As he looked over Jetfire’s shoulder, he saw Late Term leave the cave to approach them, though Cogman was nowhere to be seen. Sky-byte sighed, looking back at the Seeker.

“The Fall of Cybertron was the day I was born. It was the final battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons before the disappearance of their leader. The day Megatron came here.” Sky-byte said, nervously.

“Is that all?” Jetfire asked, giving Sky-byte a look of dread.

“No. In an effort to destroy the Autobots, Megatron ordered a bombing raid that erupted the planet. In an effort to save it, Sentinel Prime attempted to rebuild what was left with a plan of some sort. He launched his personal ship, the Ark, but he didn’t make it far. Cybertron was left in ruin, the planet was completely uninhabitable. It was this event that gave the Autobots the notion to launch the Allspark far out into the cosmos.”

Suddenly, Sky-byte was met with a fist swung directly from the Seeker. He fell to the ground and raised his arms to block the incoming knuckles being whaled against him. As Jetfire continued to beat down on the brute, Late Term ran at the Seeker, rapping her arms around his waist, pulling him back and whacking him against a close tree.

Jetfire attempted to rise but was stomped down by Late Term’s foot. He struggled but eventually accepted his defeat; he still hadn’t recovered from the fight with Cyclonus. The Seeker grunted, looking back and forth between the two.

“I trusted you both with information that I’ve told no one! Yet you can’t even tell me what happened to my own planet?!” Jetfire snapped.

Sky-byte got up; he approached the Seeker on the ground.

“I was going to tell you, but things got in the way and I could never think of the right time.” He explained, his voice sounding both upset and ashamed.

“Oh, what bollocks! To think you would serve the people that destroyed our home!” Jetfire yelled.

“I told you, I was born on that day. The last time I was on that planet, I was a hatching. I don’t even remember what it looks like.”

“I’ve never been to Cybertron at all.” Late Term stated. “I was born about two thousand Earth years after it happened.”

“Throughout my life, I was told that Cybertron’s destruction was a last resort that had to be taken to save our race from the Autobot menace.” Sky-byte explained. “Lugnut always said that Megatron had plans, but I heard nothing of it.”

“Strange,” said Late Term, “I was told that the Autobots were also dropping city destroying bombs across the planet. My mentor, Blastwave, told me that Sentinel told his followers at the time that he had some covert plan to rebuild the planet. I don’t know though.”

The two looked back down on the Seeker. Jetfire looked furious at the two. Realising they couldn’t keep him down forever, Late Term removed her foot and let him go. As Jetfire rose, he gave the two a glare.

“I need to go.” He said before teleporting.

The two-remaining looked at one another.

“Should we tell Cogman now?” Late Term asked.

Sky-byte shrugged. “Perhaps. I don’t know if he’ll take it any better.”

“I can tell him for you.”

“No… don’t do that. He is my servant; he is my responsibility.”

The two looked at one another, awkwardly.

“You… want to listen to one of those Earth songs?” Sky-byte abruptly asked.

Late Term shrugged. “Sure.”

Jetfire teleported; in front of him was a castle. The Seeker climbed over its walls and dropped down. Lying there he saw another transformer, it looked a lot like him but smaller. He was asleep.

Jetfire lightly slapped the old one’s face. He shot up, spitting all over the place. The old one then looked up, staring at Jetfire in disbelief.

“Wha- Jetfire?! What are you doing here?”

“Visiting…”

“Oh… good to see you. How do we know each other again?”

“Oh, not this again, Jhiaxus. You know full well who I am.”

Jhiaxus stumbled around like a drunk human, he seemed confused about where he was. He then looked at Jetfire again.

“Can- can you take me inside?” he asked.

Jetfire rolled his eyes. “Alright then, Jhiaxus.”

“Actually, they just call me Lieutenant, now.”

“Shut up, Jhiaxus.”

In the state of Alaska, the Reaping made its land onto the planet. Ghost marched out with Strongarm and Inferno not too far behind.

“This is the planet.” Ghost commented.

“Ooh. New people! I can’t wait to burn them!” Inferno yammered.

“Patience, young one. Crusadercons first, fleshlings later. We will find those cowards, but first, we must understand this planet. I want you and Fix-it to get disguises and look for any information on transformer activity. After your report is complete, we will begin.”

Chapter Text

It had been sometime since Jetfire left. Late Term had gotten over it quickly, the Seeker was useful for teleportation, but apart from that, he was just a grouch anyway. Sky-byte however, he was still bummed out by it. it frustrated him that he did not have the self-confidence to explain to the old man such vital information, he had so many chances yet he just kept putting it off, it made him feel useless. As the ex-Decepticon continued to walk around the cave, he heard Shipwreck speak

“Sky-byte sad?” the ship asked.

“I am, Shipwreck. I feel like I let Jetfire down. He was a good man, yet I was too wary to tell him the truth.” Sky-byte replied.

“Jetfire is mourning. Return, he may. Truths must be told, too all.” Shipwreck stated.

Sky-byte noticed Cogman walking into the cave. He sighed. Sky-byte did not know if Shipwreck meant it, but he had given him some helpful advice, he needed to tell the truth to all.

“Cogman.” Sky-byte said. “Go outside with me.”

“Alright, master.” Cogman replied.

The two made their way out of the cave and into the woods.

“I- I need to tell you something.” Sky-byte let out.”

Cogman looked up at his master.

“It’s about Cybertron.” Sky-byte said, biting his lip.

“What about it?” the Headmaster asked.

“It’s gone.”

“Oh. Oh well.”

“Oh well?” Sky-byte said, confused.

Cogman did not seem to care much that his planet was no more.

“What?” Cogman replied. “I was built on the planet, sure. But I left immediately after. I don’t even remember what the planet looks like! Did you think I was going to cry? We can’t cry!”

Sky-byte began to scratch the back of his head.

“I suppose… okay. That makes sense.”

“Is that why Jetfire left? Because Late Term told me he was just being grumpy.”

“Yes… he took it quite personal.”

“You think he’ll come back?”

“I don’t know, probably not. I think we made him feel like he couldn’t rely on any of us.”

“Well, it’s better he finds out now than going home and seeing it in ruins, right?”

Sky-byte chuckled.

“Maybe.” He whispered.

As Slapper drove along the road among the cliffs, a familiar armoured car rammed itself into him, knocking him off course. The scout transformed as he rolled along. He rose as the green vehicle transformed in front of him. Slapper sighed.

“Why are you still following me?” he asked.

ZB-Seven buzzed while shrugging his shoulders. Slapper facepalmed.

“I cannot understand a word you say!”

“Bzzz.”

“What?!”

“Bzzz!”

ZB-Seven began to move his arm, performing a ship crashing before making a gun pose.

“So… you crashed and… those soldiers took your ship?”

ZB-Seven nodded. He then pointed at Slapper and then back to himself before pointing down the hills.

“You want me to help you get it?”

ZB-Seven nodded. Slapper sighed.

“Why not. Gives me something to do while I’m here.”

As Cogman slumped against a tree, he looked out into the distance, seeing the human vehicles drive back and forth, it was pleasant. As the Headmaster watched, he saw many earth motors, there was a police car driving along, there was a nice red car without a roof too. Cogman then moved his eyes to the appearance of a small fire truck heading along the road, the truck stopped close to the woods.

“Strange,” Cogamn said, “there are no fires here.”

Cogman rose, he began to turn back in case the driver was about to notice him. However, another sight caught the Headmasters attention, he saw a motorcycle, it was driving itself. As Cogman began to walk away, he heard the sound of an engine getting close, he turned around to see the motorcycle accelerating towards him. Before Cogman could react, the bike propelled its wheel into the lone Headmaster. Cogman was sent flying into a nearby tree. As he tried to get back up, he heard the sound of the bike transforming.

Cogman saw above him, a transformer just above his size, his feet were the front wheel split in two while the back wheel had converted into a saw on his left hand.

“Unknown Cyber- Cybertronion. State- your true si- side!” the bike stuttered.

Cogman was really confused.

“What?” Cogman asked. “Are you alright? You seem… lost.”

“I am Fix-it. I a- am looking f- f- for the… Crusadercons.”

Cogman was beginning to feel unnerved, the voice and stutter of the transformer in front of him was frightening, it made the Headmaster feel uncomfortable. Crusadercons? Who were they? Cogman did not remember Sky-byte or Late Term mentioning them, at least not to him.

“I can’t say I know who they are. Who are they?” Cogman explained

“De- Decepticon filth! They are here, on this p- planet!” Fix-it yelled.

“I see, not really my business then.”

Fix-it then furiously cut his saw through Cogman, causing the Headmaster to howl in agony.

“You will speak when s- spoken t- to.” Fix-it chuntered.

“I- gaah. You were literally speaking to me!”

“What are you? Are you a De- Decepticon? An Autobot, pe- perhaps?”

“I’m none of that! I am a neutral party.”

“A Nail?”

“Sure.”

“Is that s- so? Then why has a Maximal ship been f- found south of here? The energon spills at the site match that of Decepticon Titan Dreadwind! You are close, too close. Either you are a Maximal, or a Decepticon.”

“Or neither. Ever heard of nuance?”

Fix-it pushed his saw further into the Headmaster, Cogman let out another scream. He griped Fix-it’s arm attempting to push back, but he was no use against such force.

“Fix-it. What are you doing?” a scrawny voice hissed.

Cogman looked up to see a red transformer with a grey head and sharp fangs. From the parts he had, Cogman could tell this one transformed into the fire truck.

“This is a small one.” The fire truck commented.

“It- it is, Inferno. He claims to b- be a Nail.” Fix-it replied.

“Really? He looks old, I think this one’s been here for a while.”

“I beg your pardon?!” Cogman snapped.

Inferno grabbed Cogman by his legs and lifted him. He analysed the Headmaster.

“This is… ancient. I have not seen a transformer of this design before.”

Cogman was cautious on what his responses would be; he hoped that these were just assholes passing through and therefore, he was not going to reveal much about himself or the planet. Cogman felt the energon bleed from his side, he really wanted to beat the shit out of both these two, but he knew it would only make things worse for him and his friends. Suddenly, Cogman was met with the ground as Inferno dropped him. As the Headmaster struggled to get up, Inferno stomped his foot onto him, forcing him to the ground.

“This flimsy little one is noteworthy. We should bring him to back to The Reaping.”

As Cogman struggled to push the foot off him, he heard loud footsteps from the woods.

“Cogman? Are you out here?” Sky-byte yelled.

“Aah shit.” Cogman muttered.

As Inferno looked up, he saw a hulking transformer towering above him. Inferno took a step back in awe, however, as he looked down, he noticed a familiar symbol on the brute’s leg.

“A Decepticon? You don’t look like one of Cyclonus’ lot.”

“Cyclonus? Oh… right.”

Sky-byte remembered what Smokejumper had said. The Crusadercons were coming to Earth; it was inevitable that others would be coming after them.

“Right.” Sky-byte let out. “The Crusadercons are not around here, we’ve not seen them, nor have we heard from them. If they were here, they will have probably left by now.”

Sky-byte noticed his butler under the foot of red one; he then noticed the Autobot symbol on his hip.

“Can you please release my butler?” Sky-byte asked peacefully.

Inferno begrudgingly loosed his foot of the Headmaster, allowing him to push himself up and run to his master.

“So, this little one is a Decepticon.” Inferno said.

“No.” Sky-byte rebutted.” He is no Decepticon, he never has been. I was once, but not anymore.”

“Is tha- that so?!” Fix-it screeched.

“My name is Sky-byte, I served under Lugnut a long time ago, but no more. Now, I am nothing more than a Nail.”

The two Autobots looked at each other, then nodded.

“Very well.” Said Inferno before he transformed back and began to return to the road. Fix-it gave Cogman a stern look before transforming and following the fire truck.

“The Crusadercons?” Cogman asked.

“Decepticons. They were quite well known during the war. They’d infiltrate the governments of planets and dismantle them. That’s what I heard anyway; they abandoned the Decepticons not long after I was born.” Sky-byte enlightened.

“You mean they’ve been on the run for ten thousand years?!”

“Yeah… I didn’t even think about like that, but… yeah. I think it’s been about nine thousand years all together.”

“Right. Yet, there are still people looking for them? I’d give up at this point.”

Sky-byte thought back to his encounter with Dreadwind and Smokejumper.

“Smokejumper said they were close. If they’re here now, that could make things complicat- oh! That’s how Jetfire figured out Cybertron was gone! He must have met them.”

“So, you think those Autobots are going to be sticking around?”

“I doubt they’ll find the Crusadercons. They’ve remained out of everyone’s grasp for so long now.”

The two made their way back to the cave. Late Term sat slumped against its entrance with her cup in her hand; she’d had a bit.

“Bloody hell, Cogman! What happened to you?” Late Term asked, noticing his wound.

“Nothing I can’t fix. Don’t worry about it.” Cogman assured.

The sun was beginning to set, and a thunderstorm was beginning to make itself known. Cogman signalled the two to follow him inside. As Sky-byte followed Cogman into the cave, he heard something, an engine perhaps? It sounded like something was flying above. He turned and looked up, but he saw nothing, just the night sky, that was until he heard thunder erupt and the image of an enormous vessel flashed in the sky for less than a second. Sky-byte stopped, he focused on the sky. Sky-byte assumed it was an illusion, a glitch in his brain functions, but he wanted to be sure. The ex-Decepticon squinted his eyes; suddenly, he saw it again, it was a full second this time, and the ship was huge.

“Sky-byte? You okay?” he heard Late Term ask him in a concerned tone.

Sky-byte looked back at her.

“We should stay inside.” He said.

Sky-byte turned back into the cave when suddenly, a shot was heard from behind, and a missile hit the brute directly in the back. Sky-byte shrieked as he was flown smack onto the outside cave walls. Late Term yelled his name as she ran out to see the flashes of the ship from above. As the two looked up, they saw three figures drop from above and land in a triangle formation.

One was tall and lanky; Late Term’s size, with a cloak covering his face. The other, almost as tall, with jet components and a pointed chin. The last one, she was smaller than the other two, but she was bulky and still at least Optimus’ size.

Late Term raised her shotgun high but was immediately zapped by a shot of electricity that came off the jet. She dropped to her knees, clutching herself. As the ex-Autobot looked back up, she saw her friend fall to the ground, she watched as the bulky one lifted him and tossed him in front of the masked one.

At that moment, Cogman ran out but before he could react, a smaller transformer grabbed him from behind and held him. Another transformer then walked from behind, this one red; from the look on Cogman’s face, it seemed as of he was familiar with them.

Sky-byte tilted his face up, he saw the masked one with Inferno now walking past him. Inferno held Sky-byte down from the shoulder while the other was holding him from the back.

The masked one removed a sword from his back. He spoke has he began to sharpen it.

“Pity… we didn’t know others were here. But it seems that we have more than just one band of traitors to deal with.”

His voice was calm and collective.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of us; we have been quite busy this last few solar-cycles. Well, it’s been a journey for all of us, but it seems that we have finally gotten to the planet we have been searching for.”

The masked one looked back down at Sky-byte as he gave his sword a few practice swings. It was then, he noticed Sky-bytes confused yet mortified expression.

“You’ve really not heard of us, have you…”

Sky-byte desperately shook his head. The masked one sighed.

“I am Ghost, I lead The Autobot Arsenal. We hunt Cybertron’s destroyers. Well, the ones that think they’ve gone unpunished anyway.”

“Wait!” Ghost heard.

Both Ghost and Sky-byte turned to Late Term who was now slowly getting up off the ground. As she stumbled, the jet caught her, holding her up.

“He’s not a Decepticon! You’ve confused us with someone else!” Late Term yelled.

“Really? Well, Inferno assures me that Sky-byte here, confessed.” Ghost retaliated.

“I- I never…” Sky-byte protested.

“You said you were once a Decepticon.” Inferno hissed.

“I said I was.”

“Was.” Ghost said. “They always say that. They always say it’s behind them, cowards! They can never accept the crimes they have done.”

“B-but I did no crimes, I’ve never won a battle in my life!”

“Your excuses only make this more gratifying.”

At that moment, Ghost pierced his sword straight through Sky-byte’s shoulder. He roared in agony as Late Term screamed from the side.

“Stop!” Late Term pleaded. “He’s not a Decepticon! None of us are!”

“Then what are you?!” Ghost yelled back at her.

“Leave her out of this!” Sky-byte bellowed, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. “She’s an Autobot! She’s not your enemy!”

Ghost slowly removed his sword from the brute’s shoulder; Sky-byte winced as he did.

“An Autobot? Out here? Well, it’s not that out of the ordinary. Tell me, dear. What’s your name?” Ghast asked.

“It’s Bitch.” Late Term replied.

“Her name is Late Term! Check the Autobot archives, she should be there!” Sky-byte corrected.

Sky-byte felt the Autobot holding his back let go, she walked up to Ghost as she checked hr data-pad.

“I have found a Late Term, sir. It says she retired.” She said.

“I see. Still, she did her duty to us. She is not our concern,” Ghost said as he turned to the one holding her, “let her go, Matchstick.”

As Matchstick dropped her, Late Term rolled to her shotgun and attempted to aim it at Ghost, however, she was zapped by Matchstick once more. Matchstick grabbed her and held her back up.

“What’s the matter with you?” Matchstick distressingly asked. “We’re letting you go. It’s the Decepticon we want.”

“But he’s not a Decepticon!” Late Term continuously protested. “He denounced them, they abandoned him here. He killed Lugnut!”

“Lugnut’s dead?!” Inferno yelled in shock.

“Don’t be stupid, Inferno. Lugnut’s not dead.” The bulky one said.

“But, Strongarm. What if he is? Can you imagine what a blow this will be to the Decepticons?!”

“More importantly.” Ghost added, raising his sword. “Imagine what a greater kill this will make him!”

“Really?!” Late Term screamed. She could not believe what she was hearing. “He’s helped you against the Decepticons and you’re still just going to kill him?!

“His current allegiance is irrelevant. He aided the Decepticons in their destruction of Cybertron. He deserves everything he gets, and more!”

Late Term was distraught. She could not describe the emotions going through her. After everything Sky-byte had done, these Autobots were prepared to off him as if was just any ordinary grunt; she felt betrayed. It reminded her why she left in the first place.

“Scum! You’re no better than the Decepticons you fight.” She cried.

Ghost turned to Late Term; she could see the sudden rage in his eyes.

“The Decepticons destroyed our home! What we did is nothing compared to what they did to us! That symbol alone is responsible for deaths of millions of our kind!”

“How does that justify anything? It was centuries ago!”

“It justifies… everything!”

Ghost swiftly slashed his sword against Late Term’s chest. Sky-byte watched his friend as she bled energon, at that moment, Sky-byte felt something, something he had not felt before, it was uncontrollable rage. It no longer mattered what side he had followed, these people deserved pain. Sky-byte roared as he pushed himself up, knocking Inferno down, he then grabbed the red Autobot and tossed him over the woods.

Sky-byte unleashed his blades and ran at Ghost. However, Ghost was swift, he dodged each attach before leaping over the brute and slashing at his back. As Sky-byte dropped, Ghast landed. He was now close to caves entrance when suddenly, he heard a loud booming voice.

“Screaming heard, Shipwreck concerned!”

Hearing his boat call out, Sky-byte pushed himself up off the ground.

“Shipwreck. Help us out here!” he yelled.

The sound of a transformation was heard from all, then in a flash, Shipwreck shot out of the cave with his boosters activated, slamming against Ghost. Ghost was knocked backwards, he hung on as the boat began to shoot down the woods, knocking down every tree in his path. As the other Autobots shot at the boat, Sky-byte ran towards Late Term who was still in Matchstick’s grasp. He swung his arm in an attack but Matchstick blocked before kicking him back. At that moment, Late Term pierced her teeth threw her captor’s hands, as he let go, she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him up to headbutt him. Matchstick dropped.

“Stop!” a voice called.

Sky-byte and Late Term looked down to see the little one with his saw at Cogman’s neck.

“I- I will do it!” he said.

“Think about this, if you kill him, we will kill you in a far more painful way.” Said Late Term.

“Aah bollocks to this!” Cogman yelled before firing a missile from his mouth onto the ground below, knocking them both back into the air.

As Cogman landed, he quickly pushed himself onto his feet. Cogman could not see his master or his friends, there was nothing but smoke around him. He heard a familiar screech, triggering him to jump out of the way as Fix-it dropped down next to him.

“Y- you won’t get away wi- with this!” Fix-it yelled.

Fix-it continued to shoot himself forward at the Headmaster with his saw in front, but Cogman managed to dodge a few until one made a direct hit into his chest. Cogman dropped to the floor, he looked up at Fix-it who was laughing. However, the laughing did not last. Through the smoke, Sky-byte became visible. Cogman let out a long sigh of relief and began to laugh himself while Fix-it stared at the brute in immense fear. Without hesitation, Sky-byte picked the psychotic Fix-it from the ground and bit his head off. Sky-byte then threw the body over his shoulder before spitting the mauled head back out.

At the end of the woods, Ghost managed to press his feet onto the ground, causing Shipwreck to stop.

“What are you?” Ghost asked.

There was no answer. Ghost leaped over the boat and began to run on top of him before front flipping to the ground behind him.

Sky-byte ran as fast as he could, his parts were falling off, energon was leaking from all over him. Sky-byte took the pain in as he made his way to his shuttle. Behind him, he heard Late Term call.

“Look out!”

Sky-byte was unable to react in time before Strongarm appeared from the trees, throwing a punch onto the brute’s face. Sky-byte swung back to retaliate but he was no match for her strength. The ex-Decepticon felt his arms fall apart as he attempted to swing at her; as he swung once more, Strongarm court hus arm and whacked it with her other arm, disjointing it. As Sky-byte yelled in anguish, he began to lose strength, he could barely move. Strongarm unleashed a cannon from her arm and aimed at the brute’s head when suddenly, a blast hit her in the right side of her chest. Strongarm was knocked back, though not that far, she was still on her feet. Sky-byte saw Late Term run next to him, shotgun in her hand. They exchanged a friendly nod before looking back at the Autobot who had brushed off the shot as if it were nothing. Sky-byte panicked while Late Term remained focused, she pumped her shotgun before firing again. The blast hit Strongarm directly in her chest, but once again, she only fell back slightly, still on her feet. Late Term pumped and shot multiple times more, but nothing changed; Strongarm continued to march towards them, taking in each blast that came her way.

“Why won’t this bitch die?!” Late Term screamed in annoyance.

“Keep firing.” Sky-byte ordered. “Follow me.”

Late Term continued to shoot as she followed her friend into the shuttle, Cogman climbed her shoulder as she did. After entering, Sky-byte slid to the cockpit and closed the shuttle doors.

“Alright. Hopefully, this works.” He muttered.

Sky-byte pulled the joysticks. His friends hung on as the shuttle lifted into the air, Sky-byte turned his ship to face Strongarm. Rapidly, Sky-byte pressed down, unleashing bullets onto her, knocking her back towards the cave. Late Term looked out the window, looking upon the burning woods. She saw Ghost and Inferno both running back to the cave. As she watched, she saw Inferno run to the pieces of Fix-it while Ghost went to assist Strongarm.

Suddenly, the firing stopped.

“Shit. The guns have overheated.” Sky-byte chuntered.

At that moment, Sky-byte watched as Ghost leaped off the ground and onto the shuttle’s front. He began to punch the front window, cracking it. in a panic, Sky-byte accelerated the ship into the hill the cave was in. Ghost struggled as Sky-byte pushed his ship forward. Sky-byte noticed the cracks beginning to form on the hill, he looked down, seeing the other Autobots were close. Then, like it was on que, the guns finished cooling.

“Cogman, most of our stuff is in the locker, right?” Sky-byte asked with a sigh.

“Most of it.” Cogman confirmed.

Without another world, Sky-byte fired directly onto the cliff, the crew watched as Ghost fell through the rubble as it landed on the remaining Autobots.

“I’m sorry.” Sky-byte said.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll find somewhere else.” Late Term reassured.

With that, the shuttle turned back around. As it flew, Sky-byte noticed Shipwreck on the ground.

“Crap. How do we get Shipwreck out of here?”

“I know.” Late Term said. “I’ve been looking through this ship’s manuals. We have a grapple component. Hold on.”

Sky-byte watched as his friend played with the control panel when suddenly, the shuttle’s engines transformed into hands and picked the sentient boat up.

Sky-byte looked up into the sky. He did not know what to do, where to go. He was lost. This had all happened so fast and he had not had any time to process any of it. he looked back at his crew.

“Where do we go now?” he asked.

“Europe.” Cogman said.

“Why Europe?” Late Term asked.

“It will be hard for anyone to find us in a war-torn continent.”

“Good thinking.” Sky-byte said as he sped up.

As the shuttle disappeared into the sky, Ghost pushed himself out of the rubble. His mask was gone, and his face was completely shattered. As he looked around, he heard his name be called and Inferno approach him.

“Ghost! Ghost… I- I don’t know how to- Fix-it’s dead.”

Ghost closed his eyes and groaned.

“Patience, Inferno. Sky-byte will get what is coming to him. That is a promise.

“I know how much you love to keep your promises.” Matchstick said, pushing the rubble off himself.

“What about the Crusadercons?” Strongarm asked as she hastily pushed herself up.

“In do time.” Ghost assured. “We should not let what has happened today lessen us. We are Autobots. We were forged to never give up, to fight the tyranny of the Decepticon war machine. Till all are none. Arsenal, with me!”

Chapter Text

Jetfire followed Jhiaxus across the castle walls until they approached that who Jetfire wanted to see. A green lanky transformer with a brown hood, the hood had been cut through to make the face of a scarecrow. He noticed Jetfire as he made his approach.

“Jetfire? Is that really you?” he said in disbelief.

“It is, Farm. Is this it? Are you two the only Seekers left in Europe?”

“Yes. Ransack moved back to Africa, Waspinator is stuck in America and Arachnid is on vacation in Russia. We’re all that’s left.”

Farm put his arm around Jetfire’s shoulder as they began to walk along the castle walls.

“So, tell me, Jetfire. What has become of your mission? Have you had any luck finding the Matrix?”

Jetfire cringed at the question, he had almost forgotten that the other Seekers he knew were still loyal to the Fallen.

“No.” Jetfire lied. “I have searched across the whole African continent and then most of North and South America; nothing. With the humans advancing in their technology, I have been able to commandeer new forms to disguise myself. This has definitely helped. What about you?”

“We have made a few rounds across this bitter country. With the war going on however, it’s been a lot harder. I can’t find a British plane my size and Lieutenant here is too demented to focus on the task.”

“Why is he now called that?”

“He got really invested with the character he made up when messing with human comms. He keeps forgetting his real name, so calling him Lieutenant makes things easier. He keeps passing out nowadays, his age has caught up to him more than any of us.”

“I’ve not been doing better myself. I keep having episodes.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Jetfire. It is a side effect of being on this planet for so long. Soon we will find the Matrix, and when we do, The Fallen shall rise again.”

Jetfire hesitated at that thought. He’d trapped The Fallen away in the pocket dimension, but he knew it would not last, though, no other Seeker knew he had. To them, he had just been left on the planet by the Primes, just like every other Seeker.

“So, tell me, old friend. Why have you returned to our castle?”

Jetfire stopped walking. Farm moved in front of the Seeker; they were now looking at one another, face to face.

“Farm. I regret to inform you that… Cybertron is lost.”

“What?” Farm responded, his eyes widening while lighting up orange. “How? Why?!”

Jetfire sighed as he saw his superior look at him in distress.

“I don’t know all the details, Farm.” Jetfire continued. “I met a few Cybertronions from after our time. They told me that Cybertron was no more, that it was left a barren wasteland after a war.”

“War?! What war?!” Farm implored.

“I don’t know all the details. After The Fallen’s defeat, apparently, someone named Megatron restarted the Decepticons in his own image. His efforts to reshape Cybertron to his will left the planet in ruins. I came here… because… I thought it was only fair that you should know. You and the others.”

“This Megatron. He must pay.”

Jetfire contemplated what he should say next. If he told Farm that Megatron was on Earth somewhere, they’d be out for blood and the last thing Jetfire wanted was the Seekers roaming the Earth more than they already were. However, a thought suddenly made its way into Jetfire’s mind. If the Seekers hunted for Megatron, it would distract them from finding the Matrix.

“He will… sooner than you think.” Jetfire spoke. “He is here, on this planet. I have seen him.”

Farm’s eyes lit brighter.

“You have? Where?” Farm asked, determinedly

“A long time ago, I found him frozen in the ice, though I am unsure what happened to him.”

“Hmm. I see. Well, you are welcome here in our fortress. Our puppets will be returning soon, they should have enough petrol for you.”

“Thank you- wait, puppets?”

“Oh, Jetfire. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? You’ll understand what I mean when they arrive.”

As the days past, Jetfire wondered what Farm had meant. Jetfire had issues with the other Seekers, he did not want them to find the Matrix and destroy the Earth, obviously. But they saw him as their own, they did not know his true ideals. To them, Jetfire was still loyal to The Fallen. To them, Jetfire had simply got lost on the day of their master’s defeat, his hand in it was completely unknown. While he did not really care for what their fates may be, he appreciated their admiration for him. Farm was the leader of the Seekers, and he treated them all as equals, he always had.

Jetfire perched up at the sound of a human vehicle making its way through the castle’s entrance, he watched as the expensive looking car parked. Its doors opened and a group of humans in formal attire stepped out. Jetfire was puzzled by this, Seekers had been keeping a low profile on this planet, now they were suddenly meeting humans? That’s when Jetfire noticed it, the humans looked comatose, it was like they had been completely lobotomised. Jetfire looked back at Farm who was standing close to him.

“What have you done to them?” Jetfire asked.

“For a while now, we’ve been working with this family.”

“Family?”

“I suppose that’s the best word to describe it. Decades ago, we got a hold of this family. The Burtons, they’re called. We did some experimenting, got them to become our representatives. We have a cycle with them; eventually we breed them, get a new one, continue the cycle. Been doing it for almost one hundred and seventy years now.”

“Oh.”

Jetfire lowered his head. He was not sure why he was surprised by this, part of him wanted to look past it for the time being, but he could not help but feel as though this was wrong. No human deserved that.

“Is that sufficient? Surely they can’t remain like that forever.” Jetfire asked.

“True.” Farm replied. “One broke out of it for a while, drank sewage water and died. These people would be maniacs if we weren’t controlling them.”

“You sure that’s not just the effects of your tampering?”

“Jetfire, I am a genius, you know that as well as I. Besides, the tampering was done by Lieutenant over there.”

Jetfire moved his eyes to Jhiaxus who was consistently trying to push a wall because he thought it was a door.

“That doesn’t make it sound any more sufficient, Farm.” Jetfire spoke.

“Oh, stop being so closed minded, Jetfire.” Farm said with a slight chuckle. “The Fallen always spoke highly of you, I thought you’d be more compliant to these sorts of things. This family owns this castle in the eyes of the British. We need them.”

“If you say so.”

Slapper and ZB-Seven continued their drive until reaching a base close to a deserted town. They transformed and observed the site.

“So… this is it? This is where you crashed?” Slapper asked.

“BZZZ.”

“That’s a yes, right?”

ZB-Seven nodded before pulling a telescope out of his backpack and tossing it to the scout. Slapper looked though the telescope; he saw armoured vehicles circling the base while others drove through the town. He noticed something useful about them.

“These vehicles are the same as your form. Get down there and see if you can find your ship. I’ll scout the town for anything useful.”

Slapper handed the telescope back to the Autobot before transforming and driving down the hill to the town. As he drove along, he saw the wreck that the town was. Every building had blood splatted against it, no windows were intact. The soldiers had not been kind to this place

“What a mess.” Slapper commented.

As he continued his drive, something caught his image receptor. He stopped and saw a group of humans in similar clothing to the soldiers he had fought before, though this time they were in green, and from how they were moving, they did not look like they wanted to be seen. Slapper remained still, hoping they’d just assume he was an abandoned car. As Slapper continued to watch, the green men positioned themselves before one gave out some sort of arm gesture.

Grenades were thrown all around.

Suddenly, the houses around him were lit ablaze and the grey men close by were shot dead before they had time to notice what was happening. Slapper realised what was going on. The green men were trying to make their way into the base as well. At that moment, an armoured car drove past but was quickly destroyed when a stick with canisters attached, rolled under it. Slapper realised that if they made it in, they’d assume that ZB-Seven was the enemy and destroy him too. Slapper was put in an odd situation. He could wait it out, let the green men try to raid the base and then get what he and ZB-Seven were after in all the chaos. Or he could do something a lot more risky, but ultimately, more insightful.

Slapper was about turn to the base when suddenly, one of the green men slid beside him to use him for cover. As the gunfire continued, the man then got inside. Slapper was getting inpatient as the man smashed his right front window and shot out of it.

“Listen, buddy.” Slapper said.

“What the? Who said that?” the green man said in a panic.

“The car said it. Listen, I need you to get out and cover yourself somewhere else.”

“Holy shit! You’re alive?!”

The man dropped his gun and began to panic, still.

“Yes. Calm down, will you?”

“H-how? How is a car speaking to me? What did I drink last night?”

“You’ll find out if you get out and let me help you. Got that?”

The green man nodded before picking up his gun and leaving the vehicle. At that moment, Slapper sped up and accelerated towards the base. There, he saw the grey men readying themselves with weaponry not from this world. The green men did not stand a chance, and while Slapper did not know much about either side, the greys had attacked him for asking them a question, so right now, they were his enemy.

As Slapper drove through the base, the grey men began shooting at him. He took in their weak bullets before sliding one hundred and eighty degrees, and transforming. The grey men stepped back in shock, distracted from the green men that were advancing. Slapper swiftly transformed his right arm into his laser gun and opened fire. As he took out many, ZB-Seven drove up and transformed next to him. The Autobot began to smash enemy vehicles with his hammer. The Autobot then turned to the scout and gave a confused buzz.

“There’s a third party here so we’re going to have change our plan. Find your ship, I’ll deal with the rest.”

ZB-Seven turned towards a ramp that was leading underground and transformed, accelerating through. As he reached the end, he transformed back and saw his ship, or what was left of it. to ZB’s dismay, the ship had been completely dismantled, not one part was connected properly. The greys had torn it apart. Slowly, ZB-Seven walked through the pieces, trying to find anything useful. He opened destroyed cabinets, he fiddled with demolished communication devices, but there was nothing. ZB-Seven was stuck here.

The Autobot sighed, then in a fit of rage, kicked over parts of the ship. As the pieces fell, a rusty chest revealed itself. Cautiously, ZB-Seven opened it revealing two bolted cannons, small enough to fit in each of his hands. ZB-Seven picked them up and analysed them, he then promptly picked the bullets out of the chest and loaded each one. He was ready to pay the greys back.

As Slapper continued to blast the grey men as they scattered across the base, he noticed the green men had made it to the base too. All of them were now looking at him in both disbelief and uncertainty.

“What is that thing?!” one yelled.

“All that matters is I’m on your side so help me out and I’ll help you after!” Slapper yelled.

Without another word, the green men began to circle the scout, assisting him as he shot at the greys. Suddenly, ZB-Seven appeared from the underground compartment.

“You find it?” Slapper asked.

ZB-Seven responded with a depressed buzz. Slapper understood.

“We’ll find another way, I promise!” Slapper shouted.

ZB responded with a nod, then he turned his attention to the greys who were approaching with their armoured cars. ZB-Seven swiftly aimed his cannons high and dropped the foot soldiers one by one before advancing on the cars and kicking them over. ZB-Seven was furious, and right now, he was not letting any grey leave alive. With loud buzzes that were probably supposed to be insults, ZB lay waste to the greys as they began to retreat.

Jetfire watched as the Burtons clumsily walked around the castle. He knew it was not right, but he was not in the mood to question Farm when he clearly was not going to listen. Jetfire then heard footsteps and Jhiaxus sat beside him.

“What you been doing these years?” Jhaxus asked.

“Nothing much.” Jetfire replied. “Anything I tell you; you’ll forget in a few minutes.”

Jetfire looked at Jhiaxus, he pityed him. Jhiaxus was once a proud Seeker and one of The Fallen’s most reliable troops; now, he was unable to string thoughts together.

“Is- is it true? Is Cybertron really gone?” Jhiaxus managed to ask.

“Yes. I’m sorry.” Jetfire replied.

“For what? It’s not your fault.”

Jetfire tried to change the subject.

“A lot had changed since we were left here. there were new Primes, but they died like ours.”

“Primes… must have short life expectancy.”

“True.”

“How did you find out about this?”

“I met people. They knew, they knew about Cybertron… but they wouldn’t tell me. They were all deceitful, I should never have trusted any of them. I should have been more investigative.”

“Maybe- maybe they didn’t think you should know. Maybe… they were just trying to look out for you.”

“What are you talking about, Jhaxus?! They lied to me!”

“In my time, I’ve learned that there are some things that should be told at certain times. You don’t want to have a good day then hear something that ruins it. Sometimes bad news needs to wait, sometimes, lying is the politest thing to do.”

Jetfire could not believe what Jhiaxus was trying to say, he truly had lost it. Both Sky-byte and Late Term were liars, they did not think he had the mind to know something so important. However, Jetfire continued to think about it. Sky-byte and Late Term had taken him in and had been the most respectful people he’d met in centuries; telling him what had happened would have been devastating for him. Jetfire thought of what it would be like if he did not find out, he would not be sat here, he would be in Ohio getting drunk with them.

He missed it. He actually missed it.

“Thanks, Lieutenant.” Jetfire said. “You’ve really helped me out there.”

“What? What did I say?”

Jetfire rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t matter.”

Farm approached the two as they remained sat.

“This is it!” Farm said with glee.

“What is?” Jetfire asked, puzzled.

The Seeker then noticed the small transformer being dragged along before being dropped onto the ground.

“This one is not from Cybertron,” Farm spoke, “he has no knowledge of our culture. He calls himself Bulldog. Yet, there are no dogs on Cybertron. He remembers nothing but being born on this planet.

“What are you saying?” Jetfire asked, not truly wanting to know the answer.

“I am saying that he was forged here, which can mean only one thing. The Allspark… is here!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Farm. The Allspark is not just going to drop out of the sky and land here.” Jetfire lied.

“It is the only explanation.” Farm stated.

“What? So, because one Cybertronion can’t remember what planet he came from, that means he’s from Earth?!”

“I’ve never seen this one in my life, so he’s obviously not a Seeker. Let’s say he’s from Cybertron after our time, if that’s so, he’d not be old enough to have the memory loss that Jhiaxus now has. Therefore, he has to be from here!”

This was not good. Farm’s paranoia was working in his favour.

“Farm, I think this Matrix searching has gotten to your head.” Jetfire said, trying to hide the panic in his voice. “Why would the Allspark be here? Let’s say the transformers from after our time decided to just launch the Allspark, you really think it would just coincidentally land on the planet that The Fallen wanted to destroy?”

“But, Jetfire, you said it yourself. Megatron is here; if he’s here, he could have brought the cube with him.”

Jetfire was out of excuses. He sighed, knowing how this might end.

“Let’s say the Allspark’s here. Then what? Are we just going to randomly come across it? If we can’t find the Matrix, how will we find that? Besides, I doubt the Allspark would be functional at this point.”

“Oh, Jetfire. I don’t plan on using it that way. But it is said that the cube is not just a bringer of life, but a vessel of knowledge. If we were to attach ourselves to it, it could show us the doorway to the Matrix.”

“You still need to find it, Farm.”

“Oh, I already have.”

Farm turned to the beaten Bulldog.

“How far back do you remember?” Farm whispered.

“S-south, the water. The wall.” Bulldog stuttered.

“That could mean anything!” Jetfire yelled, his voice becoming more aggressive.

“True.” Farm agreed. “But Waspinator told me of a high energon source that his shard had detected, close to a human damn. He didn’t investigate as he felt it would expose him to the human race; I assumed it was some sort of energon mine that the Primes had abandoned. But now? I realise what it must be.”

Jetfire rubbed his eyes. Part of him felt like this was fate, like he was supposed to come here at this very moment. It was up to him now.

“What are you going to do?” Jetfire snapped. “Invade the human dam on your own?!” he then yelled, his voice now gone from aggravated to enraged.

“What’s the matter with you?" Farm shot back. "I intend to do what I must. I will destroy that dam, and there, I shall find the cube. And with the knowledge imbedded within me, I shall fulfil The Fallen’s wishes.”

Jetfire watched as Farm projected electricity in preparation to teleport. Jetfire couldn’t let this happen; if Farm destroyed the dam, the water unleashed would destroy all civilisation nearby. Then, if what Farm said was true, he would use the Matrix to destroy the Earth. Jetfire hated how it was always up to him, but at this point, he should be used to it.

“Wait!” Jetfire yelled. “Even if you find the Matrix, you’d have to find the harvester!”

“I know where it is. It may take years, but I will restart it!”

“But don’t you want to know the truth? Don’t you want to know what happened to your master?!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you want to know what happened after he defeated the Primes?!”

Farm halted his teleportation.

“What do you mean, Jetfire?” Farm asked, his voice half confused, half annoyed.

Jetfire did not know how this was going to go down, but he was going to wing it.

“Truth is, Farm. After The Fallen was defeated, he escaped his prison using his staff. However, it didn’t last, and you know why?”

Farm glared at Jetfire, now with ragefull eyes. It was as if he knew what was Jetfire was going to say next.

“Why?” Farm chuntered.

“I ripped his leg of, I beat him to a pulp and then I banished him with his own staff! Truth is, I regret it, I’d love to go back and beat him harder. But locking him away for the rest of the universe’s time was still a satisfying experience.”

“What- what?!”

“You think The Fallen will be there to congratulate you if you succeed? The Fallen is gone, he is lost in his prison, and it’s all because of me.”

Farm’s eyes lit the brightest Jetfire had ever seen them, smoke released from his mouth.

“You’re lying…” Farm spat.

“Am I, Farm? Am I?!”

Farm kept his eyes set on Jetfire before pulling a scythe from his back. The scythe was green as it transformed into part of his wing during vehicle mode. Farm raised it high before swiftly teleporting out of sight. Before Jetfire could respond, Farm teleported from behind, kicking the Seeker in the back of his head, knocking him forward.

Jetfire tumbled before jumping back up and unsheathing his pickaxe. He looked around for his attacker but saw nothing. Then, Farm teleported in front of him once more, but Jetfire was ready this time. He blocked the attack and kicked his superior over.

“Why?!” Farm cried out. “Why would you betray our proud race?!”

“I found a race with genuine potential!” Jetfire yelled back.

As the fight between the two continued, Jhiaxus focused his attention on a bird flying over, ignoring them.

Slapper and ZB-Seven advanced onto the retreating greys as the greens followed from behind.

“They’re fleeing, the base is nearly ours!” Slapper yelled as he zapped a few more soldiers into bones.

Both transformers watched as the greys made their way over the hill and out of sight. Slapper transformed his gun back into his hand while ZB-Seven added the hand-cannons to his backpack. As Slapper turned to his Autobot ally, he noticed the humans were now all facing them.

“Thanks for the help. Now, do us a favour and never tell anyone we were here.” He said to them.

“Well, lucky for you, this is a classified mission.” One of the green men explained.

“Thanks for the help, but… what are you?” a younger green man asked.

“My name is Slapper; I came here looking for an old friend of mine. I don’t think any of you have seen a large blue man running around, have you?”

Some shook their heads while others just gave him confused looks.

“Well, I’m not sure what you are, but you seem to be on the side of good. You just stopped the bosh from delivering a boats worth of that tech to the Russian front.” An older green man explained, this one with many badges on his shoulders.

“I don’t know what that is, but… that’s good. I think.” Slapper replied, scratching his head, confused.

“So, who’s that?” the old man asked, pointing at ZB.

“Oh, that’s ZB-Seven. That’s what the greys called him, I don’t know his real name. He doesn’t speak.”

“I figured. Alright, my name is Robert Fredrick, I’m the one in charge of this regiment.”

“Got some good fighters with you by the looks of things.”

“Oh these? This is merely a test. I’m in the midst of finding the best troops for my service force. These boys seem to be fitting the cut though.”

The other green men began to laugh at the statement being made.

“So, tell me, Slapper, what are you? Who built you?”

“I’m a Cybertronion from Cybertron. I wasn’t built, I was born.”

“But machines can’t be born.”

“They are where I come from.”

ZB-Seven buzzed in agreement. Suddenly, one of the green men made their way out of the underground entrance that ZB had found his ship inside.

“Sir, we found it.”

Soon, everyone was down there, looking at the wreckage.

“This is your ship, ZB?” Slapper asked.

ZB-Seven nodded.

“This is extraordinary.” One green said.

“You’re damn right it is.” Fredrick replied. “Men, get the trucks in here, I want this stuff transported back to the house.”

As the men began to pick up many items from the ship, Slapper and ZB-Seven helped them with heavier items. Outside, trucks had arrived, and the weapons were loaded inside while others were put in ZB’s backpack.

“What do you plan on doing with this stuff?” Slapper asked.

“Study it, reverse-engineer it, probably. Hope you don’t mind.” Fredrick responded.

“I don’t, it might help your planet out.”

“So… is there more of you?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how many, nor do I know if they’ll be as friendly.”

“What about you? Why did you help us?”

“I guess… I guess I just wanted to do something meaningful for once. Those greys were assholes when I last bumped into them.”

“They’re called Nazi’s, Slapper.”

Fredrick then pulled out a folded piece of paper from his bag and unfolded it on the side of a truck, revealing a familiar face.

“Do you know this man?” Frederick asked.

“I don’t know him, but I’ve met him.” Slapper replied. “He was the one that tried to kill me for asking him a question.”

“That’s General Henri Arkeville. He’s one of Hitler’s top generals; he’s been doing research into both the supernatural and ancient history of this planet. He’s been using your technology as well as the technology of other worlds to aid in the Nazi war machine.”

“I see. This would be a problem.”

“It would, Nazis on their own are easy to kill, but with this sort of tech, god knows what those bastards could accomplish.”

Slapper thought about what Fredrick had revealed. These Nazis had been messing with his people’s technology, their history, and they expected nothing in return. Slapper was never in favour of theft, nor such disrespect to his people. He knew it was petty, but he was like that sometimes.

“Alright,” he said, “I’ll escort you on your way back home.

Jetfire smashed though the castle walls. He barely manged to move the rubble off himself as he got up. As he readiest himself for the next attack, Farm jumped him, pushing his scythe into Jetfire’s chest; Jetfire roared as he did.

“What was the point, Jetfire? You could have just let us find the cube without knowing a thing! You’ve betrayed all of us, why would you lie? Why would you deceive us for so long?!”

“I… I didn’t think you’d ever know… but I suppose it’s better you do no. Now is the right time.”

“Time? Since when does telling the truth need time?”

Jetfire could not help but think of Sky-byte after that question left Farm’s mouth. Sometimes the truth does need time before it is told, Jetfire understood that now. With his last ounce of strength, Jetfire pushed the other Seeker off him before pulling the scythe off his chest. Now he stood with a scythe in one hand and his pickaxe in the other.

“Without The Fallen, without us, you’d be nothing! You have no one else, yet you continue to go against us.”

Jetfire laughed. “That’s not true, Farm. I’ve met some people in the last year, and they mean more to me than you ever did!”

With that, Jetfire jumped onto Farm, ramming his pickaxe into his superior’s neck. As Farm screamed, Jetfire grabbed him and pushed him into the castle walls, he then slashed the scythe against his back before forcing it through his shoulder.

“You’ve made me quite angry, today.” Jetfire spat as he ripped the hood off Farm’s head, revealing a deformed looking face. “Now, show me your true self.”

Jetfire kicked Farm to the ground, he then held him up by his shoulder and proceeded to drive his fist though his superior’s chest. Farm bled raw energon from his mouth as Jetfire’s arm went through him. Jetfire then dropped Farm’s corpse to the ground.

“I’d say I’m sorry… but I’m not.”

Jetfire looked back at Jhiaxus who was still focused on a bird.

“Jhia- Lieutenant.” Jetfire spoke.

“Yes?” Jhiaxus replied.

“Wait here. I’ll come back for you.”

With that, Jetfire teleported away, back to the cave he had left, however when he arrived, he saw only rubble where the cave used to be. There was also an enormous ship flying above it.

Chapter Text

Six thousand Earth years ago.

Late Term stood in the training course of on the Autobot cruiser: the Sentinel. As she stood in line, she stuck out. All the other Autobots in her group were up to her hips, it was strange. She was younger than her siblings by a lot, yet she towered above them all. The line moved forward as each Autobot collected a training gun from the desk at the front. Late Term looked up at the balcony above them; there, Blastwave and his subordinate: Chalk, watched them.

“Blastwave?” Chalk asked. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, Chalk.” Blastwave replied. “This is a good day; our army is increasing. These cadets are going to understand the true nature of war. I just wish they could see it in person.”

“We are training them in the event that the Decepticons may start a new offensive. But this is only a hypothetical event; one we hope will never come.”

“Speak for yourself, Chalk. An attack is what this place needs.”

“Blastwave! What are you saying?” Chalk spoke in horror at the statement.

Blastwave groaned at his subordinate’s naivety. “What do you think I’m saying?!”

“Blastwave. I don’t think that’s the right mindset to be having.

“Look around you, Chalk. This ship is full of cowards; not one of them would survive an attack by Lugnut or Starscream. When Sentinel created the Autobots, he did so on the basis that our planet would be saved from those who wished to destroy it. yet we lost. Do you know why we lost? I’ll tell you why! We were weak, all of us! What we need are some strong, powerful troops; those who avoid conflict deserve to be cannon fodder.”

“No one can avoid conflict here, Blastwave." Chalk spoke, truthfully. "These cadets had no choice in becoming Autobots; we’ve indoctrinated every one of them.”

“Yet, we sit here, training new batches. Would it not be more effective to train one batch, consistently? We could make the most powerful squadron of Transformers in the galaxy! Yet we choose to give them time to themselves, time to become weak, time to forget what they have learned. No solder should have time off, they need to be prepared for everything!” Blastwave roared, his head shaking between Chalk and the cadets he spectated.

Chalk sighed. He turned to his desk where a helmet resembling that of Optimus Prime was placed. He put it on and left to the stand where the training course was to begin. Chalk stood looking down at the cadets who were all armed and ready to go. Chalk took a deep breath as music began to play.

“Autobots!” he yelled. “Our worlds are in danger! To save them and the galaxy, we must find the four Cyber Planet Keys, before the Decepticons can use them for evil. It is our mission!”

Each cadet stormed the obstacle course set in front of them. Blastwave watched over them as Chalk re-entered.

“Perhaps you can find your perfect soldier in this lot.” Chalk commented.”

Blastwave stared out onto the course, he saw many Autobts get taken down by the training drones. Though, he noticed one stand her ground well. A tall one managed to take out two of the heavy drones before being shot from behind. Blastwave analysed her fighting style, closely.

“Maybe I will,” he replied, “maybe I will.”

Now.

Starsceam watched the Autobot cruisers fall from his bridge. For the first time in a long, long time, he felt like he had gained something. As he stood proudly, he heard Thundercracker approach.

“This is really it. This is how we win.” Thundercracker muttered.

“You still have doubts, Thundercracker?” Starcream replied.

“I just- I don’t know, Starscream. I felt as though we had finally found peace.”

“We shall return to peace, Thundercracker. However, in order to get to that point, we must find Megatron and end the Autobot’s story in this universe. Megatron will bring us back to our roots and soon life will return to normal.”

“But- are you actually trying to find Megatron for our race? Or are you just doing it for a reward?”

Starscream instantly smacked his subordinate across his face. “Silence, Thundercracker!”

Thundercracker hung his head low as he wiped the energon from his mouth. He stumbled back, not wanting to displease his master further. Without a word, he left the bridge and walked across to the ship’s hanger.

As he moved, he saw damaged ships fly in. They were lit up, with pilots and crew members alike, screaming for help. This was not the life they had been promised. The Ulktar Fleet had been peaceful for so long, some troops here weren’t even born during the war, they had no opinion on it. To them, they were fighting because they felt they had to. Starscream had let the fame get to him. Thundercracker remembered back when Starscream was a simpler Cybertronion, a patrol officer making sure Cybertron had safe streets. It all got to him once he met Megatron, the tyrant offered him power, strength and most of all, a following. The officers of Cybertron saw Starscream as their overseer, to them he was the arbiter of what made a protector of Cybertron; he was never the same after that.

Thundercracker heard the screams of a wounded transformer. Without thought, he attended the young one and helped him to the med-bay.

Thundercracker assured to the screaming Decepticon. “It’s going to be alright.”

He placed the Decepticon on a bed as he allowed the medic to do his job. Thundercracker watched the energon leak from the youngster’s body, it sickened him to see such pain from someone who had no say in this conflict. After the medic had finished, he left to deal with other patients that had been sent in. Thundercracker pulled up a chair and sat next to the wounded Decepticon.

“Thundercracker, right?” he asked.

“Yes.” Thundercracker confirmed. “What is your name?”

“Flywheels…”

“What’s it like out there?”

“We’ve lost four of our heavy battleships. Bombshell is on the offensive and he’s convinced this will end in a victory.”

“You think we won’t?” Thundercracker asked, curiously.

“No. I mean, I’d like to, but…" Flywheels trailed, "I don’t know. This whole advancement feels like suicide. I hope Starcream knows what’s he’s doing.”

“Me too.”

Thundercracker tried to keep eye contact with Flywheels but it was hard. He felt like he was partially responsible, even if he didn’t know why.

“Thundercracker,” Flywheels spoke, “why are we fighting? What did the Autobots do?”

Thundercracker fell silent for a moment.

“The Autobots… took part in Cybertron’s fall.” Thundercracker replied, begrudgingly.

“They destroyed… our planet?” Flywheels said.

“I suppose, it’s complicated. You must have been born long after. What do you know of them?”

“I know- I know that they are led by a Prime, and… they’re terrorists. Right?”

“I think- yes. The Autobots are." He paused. "I don’t know anymore.”

“Is it worth it? Is defeating the Autobots worth all this?” the wounded Decepticon pleaded.

“I- I don’t- I don’t know.”

Thundercracker left the room when suddenly, Starcream’s new contact: Blastwave, was standing in his way.

“Thundercracker, right?” Blastwave asked.

“Yes, what is it?” he replied, hiding both his mistrust and dislike, behind his tone.

“Before I discuss the next phase with your master, I would like to know more about this ship. Do you mind giving me a tour?”

“Why? So, you’ll reveal our defences to your Auto-”

*WHACK*

Blastwave knocked Thundercracker to the floor.

“I have given you more victories than you could even hope to achieve. Don’t test me.”

Thundercracker attempted to get back on his feet but was stomped back down, but this time it was from Starscream. He had just entered.

“Thundercracker,” said Starscream, “whatever you are doing, it is rude to disrespect our guest. Go to the hangers and clean our damaged ships. The Autobots have retreated and we have gained a huge advantage!”

Starcream kicked the downed Decepticon over. Thundercracker clutched himself before managing to get back on his feet.

“Y- yes, master.” Thundercracker stuttered before leaving.

The shuttle continued its flight across the Earth’s ocean. Sky-byte remained its pilot while Late Term remained focused on the shard. A sizable energon signal was just ahead. The trip was silent, no one felt like saying anything that did not need to be said.

Slowly, the shuttle reached its destination. It was a cliff on the edge of a country, just over a shore. Birds scattered as the shuttle lowered itself; suddenly, the crew heard a rumble as the cliff opened. Sky-byte deactivated the claw, dropping Shipwreck into the sea below. Sky-byte then cautiously parked the shuttle inside, as he did, he noticed something barely visible inside the cave.

Slowly, Sky-bye walked out of his ship and looked out. He saw in the corner of the cave, the corpse of a Cybertronion. She was a little taller than him, with spikes all over her arms. From the looks of it, she would have transformed into small old building.

“Cogman!” Sky-byte yelled. “Do you know who this is?”

“Err… oh! That’s Freezon.” Cogman said as he walked over. “Damn. She went out cold. Looks like it was a lack of energon.

“Lack of energon?”

“The energon you run on won’t last forever, eventually you’ll have to replenish. This can be done in a few ways, some energies can be converted into energon, sometimes there is just energon in the atmosphere for a bit. Otherwise, you’re screwed. It’s like our version of dehydration. Though, it takes thousands of years before anything major. She must have not been going out much.”

Late Term walked past the two before she slammed her fist into the wall of the cave.

“Fuck…” she whispered.

Sky-byte then commented. “I suppose… this is home now.”

“Yes. It could use some cleaning.” Cogman commented.

“Lets just… stop for a minute, maybe for an hour.” Late Term spat as she slid down against a wall.

Sky-byte looked down to his friend; he then sat beside her.

“This is a nice place. This can work.” Sky-byte said, quietly.

“I think it will, sure. We’ve- just got to make it home.” Late Term replied, wishfully.

There was a moment of silence before Sky-byte started to shiver.

“I- I’m sorry.” The ex-Decepticon blurted.

“What for?” Late Term asked.

“Those Autobots, they were there for me. It’s my past allegiance that brought us here.”

“How is that your fault? You didn’t choose to be a Decepticon. You were born into that group, just like I was born into the Autobots.”

“You should have just let him kill me; they would have let you go.”

Late Term smacked Sky-byte around the back of his head.

“Don’t say that! Don’t even think that! Those bastards deserved everything we gave them. They show just how hypocritical the Autobots truly are. They all claim to be against the oppression of the Decepticons, but they are no less oppressive themselves.”

“I suppose you’d know best about how the Autobots operate.”

“Tsk, yeah. My squad was trained by a real ass, Blastwave he was called.”

“What was he like?”

“Hardcore. He had this perfectionist mindset; he wanted only the best in his league.”

“Sounds like real piece of work.”

“Yeah…”

Sky-byte began to scratch the back of his head. “I- I hope this sudden change of location won’t affect things too much.” Sky-byte quietly said.

“Well… you might want to wait before you start advertising your retirement home now. I’d say give it a few months. Eventually, they’ll think we’ve gone and leave. They’re not looking for us anyway.” Late Term replied.

“But- what if they don’t find the Crusadercons? What if they never leave?”

Late Term sighed, rubbing her face.

“Let’s not think about that. Lets unload what we’ve got and settle down here for now.”

“Alright. I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s a table in this one.”

Late Term snickered. “We’ll improvise.”

The alarms rang as Starscream began his second attack after chasing the retreating Autobot ships across space.

Thundercracker begrudgingly approached the bridge where Starscream was waiting for him.

“Aah, Thundercracker. You’re just in time. I have a job for you!” Starcream yelled with pride.

“Go on.” Thundercracker replied with a small hint of dread in his voice.

Starscream revealed a small Decepticon in his hand.

“Take Aimless with you and fly into the Autobot ship, I want you to sabotage it’s engines from the inside. Aimless here has great experience with these kinds of operations; Blastwave has imported a map of the ship into his brain.”

Thundercracker looked at the small saboteur who was condescendingly grinning at him.

“Very well, my lord.”

Thundercracker allowed the little one to sit inside the cockpit attached to his arm. Quickly he paced to the hanger; there, he saw Flywheels preparing to go out once more.

“Hey, Thundercracker!” Flywheels yelled, waving.

“Flywheels? What are you doing? You should still be in the medical centre.”

“Yeah… I know. Starscream said he wanted everyone out though. I don’t really have a say in the matter.”

Thundercracker sighed. The two exchanged friendly nods before both transformed and flew into the battle that was ensuing, outside the ship. As he flew past shots from the enemy, Thundercracker almost forgot that there was a smaller Decepticon currently sat inside of him.

“Yes. Yes! Destroy. Destroy!” Aimless yelled.

“What do you think of Starcream’s campaign?” Thundercracker asked, contemplating how the next few moments should go.

“It’s good! Starscream is bringing the best to our kind. I believe he will find Megatron tomorrow! If not then, then the day after!”

“So… you think this all worth it?”

“Do you not? Carful, Thundercracker. I am close to Starscream. He’d be very unhappy if another close friend of his was still having doubts.”

“Friend… friend?”

Thundercracker transformed as he dropped into the hanger of the Autobot vessel; Aimless jumped out of his cockpit and landed into his hand, transforming into a handheld double-barrel shotgun as he did. It seemed stealth was not his strong suit as Autobots in the hanger began to surround the two. Thundercracker looked around, he was outnumbered and outmatched. Suddenly, an Autobot bigger than the rest stormed through; Thundercracker recognised him as Hound. He was one of the Autobots’ most powerful combatants, and a Wrecker.

“About time we got boarded,” he said, “I’ve been wanting to test this new toy out.”

“Wait!” Thundercracker yelled. I’m not here to fight.”

“What?!” Aimless yelled.

Swiftly, Thundercracker dropped his gun on the ground and stomped on it, a small screech leaving Aimless’ voice-box as he did. The Decepticon raised his aims.

“I have important information. Please, take me to Optimus.

Before Thundercracker knew it, he was being escorted to the ship’s bridge with a quartet of Autobots around him. Hound was in front, while an Autobot generic deluxe was at each side and behind them was a smaller Autobot who looked really old.

At the bridge, Optimus stood watching the fight out of the windows. He looked depressed; this was not one of his best days.

“Optimus.” Hound quickly began. “This Decepticon landed in one of our hangers; says he wants to speak to you. It’s important, apparently.”

Optimus turned and looked directly at Thundercracker. The Decepticon was nervous, never before had he been in the presence of such authority. He’d heard stories of Optimus’s brutality, his kill count staggered above all Cybertronions and it made the Decepticon horrified.

“Has Starscream sent you to negotiate our surrender?” Optimus asked, his voice sounding like he was holding back rage.

“N- no. Op- Optimus.” Thundercracker stuttered. “This- this is something else.”

“He killed his own Targetmaster.” The old one explained. “I’ve seen some tricks in my time, but this is not one of them”

“Are you sure, Kup?” Optimus asked.

“I’m as sure as I am you’re a Prime.”

To Thundercracker’s surprise, Optimus’ demeaner began to calm and his voice become softer.

“Tell us what you need to tell.”

“Optimus… I- I’m making a mistake being here… but you have to know. There’s a reason Starscream has been having an advantage over you. He’s been selective with which fleet he attacks; he’s managed to get the information required to know your ships inside and out.”

“How?” Hound asked.

“It makes sense. The manoeuvres that Starsceam’s been pulling, it’s like he built our ships himself.” Kup commented.

“How is Starcream getting this information?” Optimus asked.

“He has someone…” Thundercracker explained, nervously, “a bot on the inside. I- I can’t… tell you.”

Eyes widened from all around, each Autobot’s face became infuriated, except for Prime who remained calm. Optimus placed his hand on the Decepticon’s shoulder.

“It’s fine, troubled one. Take your time.”

“I think he’s taken enough time!” Hound yelled, impatiently. “Come on, Optimus. This has to be some distraction.”

“Hound, stop. This one is distressed. It’s alright, we can wait.”

“Optimus,” Thundercracker spoke, “I’m sorry. This bot, he is a clever one. If Starscream discovers that I have betrayed him, it will not end well for me. I want to tell you the traitor’s name, but I’m… afraid.”

“Then don’t, we can figure out the rest. All you have to tell us what you feel is necessary.”

Thundercracker thought of what information would be the most useful without being too obvious. He thought about the traitor’s look, his voice, his personality. Suddenly, Thundercracker’s mind went to what he had seen since Starscream had negotiated with his new accomplice. He thought of the Decepticons he’d seen die or be critically injured from battle. Then he thought of Flywheels, the young Decepticon who had no knowledge of the war, no clue why they were fighting, yet he was forced to fight like the rest of them. It made him angry. Thundercracker looked at Optimus directly, he no longer felt afraid, no longer concerned for his own life. It was not just about him.

“Blastwave. Blastwave betrayed you all.”

“Blastwave?!” Hound roared. “Shut up! Blastwave has been a loyal piece of tin for generations! That whole feet we lost was brought up by him!”

“It’s… possible.” Kup spoke in contemplation. “Blastwave has been on the edge for a while now. He ripped off First Aid’s arm during our protest.”

“That was just an overreaction. Blastwave would never betray us, he’s been wanting to fight the Decepticons forever! Why would he join them?!”

“He hasn’t joined them!” Thundercracker yelled, frustratedly. “Blastwave has agreed to give Starscream the information he needs to get the war going. I don’t know how he intends to end it, but Blastwave has been giving Starsceam catalogues of information since before we infiltrated Hive!”

Optimus sighed.

“This information is… unfortunate.” The last Prime spoke. “But we cannot take these allegations as fact. I will start my own investigation into this matter. Until then, what this Decepticon has told us will not be shared with any other Autobot. Is that understood?”

All the other Autobots agreed. Optimus looked back to the battle that was progressing outside.

“Does Starscream know you are here?” he asked.

“He sent me to sabotage your engines.” Thundercracker explained.

“I see. Wheeljack, take him to our engines. Damage them, but not much.”

“What?!” Hound wailed.

“Hound, Starscream expects our friend to complete his mission. Suspicion will be raised if he fails; therefore, he will succeed, though only to a short advantage.”

The smaller Autobot that Optimus had referred to as Wheeljack, signalled Thundercracker to follow him which he did.

Eventually they reached the ship’s engines.

“Okay, I’m going to do a slight energy decrease; our engines will be less effective for some time.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry you have to do this.”

“If what you say is true, then you have done us a great service. You’re a good lad. What’s your name?” Wheeljack asked.

“Thundercracker.”

“Have we met?”

“Maybe. I was an officer before the war, I patrolled Cybertron. Even when the planet’s defence force become the Decepticons, I still served as law enforcement.”

Wheeljack joked. “You probably arrested me at some point then.”

Thundercracker let out a snicker. “Perhaps…”

“Listen, Thundercracker. There is a chance that Starscream may learn of what you’ve done here; therefore, I’m giving you something.” Wheeljack handed the Decepticon a rod. “If something goes wrong, activate it. you won’t regret it.”

“Thank you, Wheeljack.”

Eventually, Thundercracker arrived back in the Decepticon hanger. Starscream was waiting for him.

“It seems you were somewhat successful.”

“Yes; Aimless didn’t make it.” Thundercracker replied.

“Unfortunate. But you completed your task; this should give us some satisfying results.” He spoke like Aimless was nothing, even when the Targetmaster had claimed they were close.

“I agree," the other Decepticon replied, "it most definitely will.”

Slapper and ZB-Seven accompanied the greens until they approached a dock. The two Cybertronions cleared it out, obliterating every soldier that got close to them. After the fight, Fredrick stepped out of his truck while the rest of his men disposed of the bodies.

“A ship should on its way here.” Fredrick spoke. “Arkeville’s cargo was scheduled to be transported on it, back to Russia.”

“I see,” said Slapper, “and Russia are our allies, right?”

“I’m not a commie, Slapper, but they hate the fascists just as much as we do. So, for now we’re friends.”

“I don’t know the meaning to most of what you just said, but as long as we’re doing the right thing, I’m here to help.”

“so… you said you were from… Cybertron? What’s that?” the human asked.

Slapper replied. “It’s a planet, very far from here.”

“I thought the only planets around were the ones we could see.”

“You’re a young species, Fredrick. I can see that, but I think you can learn a lot from the rest of the universe.”

“So, there is life among the stars? I don’t know how to feel about that.”

“The universe is huge, why would Earth be the only planet with life?”

“I don’t know. I- I think my entire view on life has been changed.”

“Don’t think too much of it. I’m only here to find my friend.”

Fredrick looked out with his binoculars.

“The boat’s here. get ready men!”

The greens placed themselves in reasonable cover as they awaited the ship’s arrival. Both Slapper and ZB-Seven hid behind a building close by with one of Fredrick’s men. The man stared in awe at the two.

“What’s that symbol?” he asked, pointing at the Decepticon Logo on Slapper’s door-wing.

“Just a birthmark.” Slapper replied.

As the boat docked, Fredick’s men jumped from their positions and aimed, however, the boat was empty. Suddenly, the hatch opened, and many greys stepped out, hands raised. A ramp on the ship revealed itself and a halftrack drove out.

“Don’t be alarmed!” a voice called out. “I already captured these lot.

Everyone watched as the halftrack transformed, revealing itself to be a Cybertronion around Slapper’s size. Slapper immediately rolled out of cover; as he did, the halftrack noticed and activated his arm cannon. ZB-Seven proceeded to slide in between the two, alerting the halftrack to lower his weapon.

“Another Autobot?” the halftrack said in shock.

ZB-Seven nodded as Slapper approached the halftrack.

The Decepticon scout spoke. “It seems there is a lot more to this planet than originally met my eye.”

“Yes,” the halftrack replied, “I assume you are no longer a Decepticon?”

The halftrack pointed at Slapper’s symbol.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I’m just here to find my friend. I’ve allied myself with this Autobot while I’m here. My name is Slapper, and this is ZB-Seven. At least, that’s what the greys called him. I don’t know his real name.”

“Right. My name is Trailbreaker.”

“Trailbreaker, eh? What brings you to this planet?”

“We were chasing a Decepticon criminal across this sector. Two other Autobots and I were assigned by to track down the Decepticon Titan Lugnut. We crashed here a few months back; I was separated from my crew in the debris.”

“Was ZB one of them?”

“No. I’m not sure who he is. Have you seen any other transformers around here?”

“No, just ZB-Seven and myself.”

“Damn it. My friends are somewhere on this planet. Hot Rod and Hubcap are their names.”

“Alright, Trailbreaker. Listen up, it seems you’ve already got a grasp on this planet, killing greys and all. But there’s something you should know; Lugnut’s dead.”

“Dead?” gawked Trailbreaker as he took a few steps back. The Autobot was in complete shock at what he had heard. “How is that possible?!”

“I don’t know, but it happened. Look, we can discuss it more later. Right now, I need to know where you stand. You up for killing a few more Nazis?”

“They attacked me first, I was just defending myself. The other humans I’ve met were quite friendly. I met a group of people, they called themselves Soviets, and we took down a tank together. That's something, right?"”

“That’s good. The point is, we’re on the same side. I’m looking for my friend here, too. Let’s work together on this. Right now, ZB-Seven and I are preparing to help these green men transport some of these stolen goods to their hometown. Perhaps you could help us out? Then after that, we could get to work on finding your friends.”

Trailbreaker looked around at the humans surrounding them.

“Very well. Where are we heading?”

After a fierce battle, the Autobot fleet managed to make a jump far enough to regroup and rebuild before Starscream would be able to catch up with them. As the Autobot mechanics followed Wheeljack to work on the ship, Blastwave landed in the hanger. Wheeljack eyed the bulky Autobot as he passed.

“Blastwave,” he said, “need help with your ship, I assume you would have taken a beating with how long you were out.”

“No need, Wheeljack,” Blastwave replied, “my ship didn’t take that many hits this time around.”

Blastwave walked across the ship’s halls to his quarters when he passed Scattershot who leaned against a wall.

“You’ve been out a while.” Scattershot commented.

Blastwave stopped, his back remained facing his friend as he began to speak. “It was a long fight; thankfully, I had the ability to survive.”

“So, the Decepticons were trying to kill you, right?”

Blastwave’s eyes widened as he turned to face his friend. “What are you suggesting?”

“You keep disappearing; not only that but you’re off this ship throughout most of each attack. Forgive me if I am remembering incorrectly, but you were always the one holding off boarders back during the war. yet now you prefer to fight in space?”

“I’ve had a change of strategy. It happens…”

“Maybe, but- I- I don’t want to believe this, I don’t want to even consider it. But when the Decepticons first attacked our fleet over Hive, they knew every weak point on our ship, every loose cannon, every energon leak. It can’t have all been lucky guesses.”

“I don’t like where you’re taking this, Scattershot.”

“I don’t either… but look at it this way. The only way their spies could have breached our blockade on Hive is if they had a clearance code. Like everyone else, I assumed they’d just hacked us and got them. But now? It seems too convenient, everything fits together too well. Not long before the attack, when their spies would have started their operation, we had that protest. You ripped off First Aid’s arm and you went on and on about how our peace was wrong. I- hate to say it, but it all adds up. Please, Blastwave, tell me I’m wrong! Tell me you actually killed a Decepticon today.”

Blastwave was silent, he turned away from his friend. At that moment, Scattershot grabbed his shoulder.

“Blastwave, please-”

In a swift collection of seconds, Blastwave unsheathed his sword and sliced his friend in half from his bottom right to his top left. As Scattershot’s top half slowly fell slid off, he stared at his friend, energon leaking from his eyes and mouth.

“You didn’t have to be so insightful.” Blastwave commented.

The Autobot grabbed the pieces of his friend and pushed them into the closest airlock. His face remained stoic. In his mind, he did what he had to do and now there was no one to hold him back. Blastwave watched as the pieces of his friend were now drifting off into the voiced of space.

“The truth is, Scattershot…" he spoke as he stared out. "This universe is a bomb, but I’m the only one willing to start the timer.”

Chapter Text

Another meeting with Starcream had ended and Blastwave was returning to the Autobot fleet. He had told them that he was going to search for any surviving Autobots that may have been left behind, floating in space after the last battle. The base was quiet as Blastwave landed. As he stepped out of his ship, he noticed Optimus and Wheeljack approaching him. The Autobot altered his facial expression to look upset, hoping that Optimus did not notice how little he cared.

“It seems you have returned with no surviving Autobots salvaged. I’m sorry.” Optimus spoke.

Blastwave hung his head low.

“I’m sorry, Optimus,” he said, “I tried.”

“I know. What has transpired is not your fault. Return to your quarters and rest, my friend.”

Optimus eyed the Autobot as he wandered out of the hanger, his face remained focused on Blastwave as he then spoke to his scientist. “Can you get in?”

Wheeljack jumped under Blastwave’s ship and began to remove its parts.

He replied. “I should be able to, Optimus. Just a few moments.”

Wheeljack began to attach his devices to the ship’s inside parts.

“Got it!” he yelled. “Alright, stand back, Optimus. I’m going to project this ship’s flight path.”

In front of the two, appeared a hologram of the galaxy they were currently positioned in. An orange line began to draw itself on the hologram, creating dots at areas where the ship would have slowed down or stopped.

“Well, it seems he did go to the place where we last fought.” Wheeljack commented.

“Keep going back.” Optimus ordered.

The two watched the hologram, closely.

“That’s strange." Wheeljack then commented. "Before checking the fight, he went to a completely different section of space.”

“We need to send a scout, now.” Optimus stated. “If we can confirm that area as the location of a Decepticon vessel; that would confirm our suspicions.”

“Not really, Optimus. What if the ship got there after he left?”

“Leave that to our scout.”

Optimus activated his com-link.

“Cliffjumper, meet me at hanger RID-O-One. I have a mission for you.”

Little did either Optimus or Wheeljack know, their whole conversation was being recorded. Blastwave slammed his head against the wall as he heard Optimus prepare to investigate him further. The traitor dropped onto his bed as he activated his own comunicator.

“Adi to Throne, you read?” he spoke, quickly and frustrated.

There was a moment of silence before the other end picked up.

“Throne to Adi, what is it?” the voice of Starscream’s advisor: Red Wing, spoke though.

“Patch me through to your superior, I need extraction.”

In the cave, Late Term was unloading many of what they had brought with them from the original spot. She dropped a pile of books and relics onto the floor. Cogman immediately started ravaging through.

“Ooh! I can use this!” he yelled, holding up a statue of some ugly looking transformer.

“That’s Lockdown. When did he get a statue?” Late Term commented.

“Lockdown?”

“He’s a bounty hunter. I don’t know much of him, though legend says he once liberated Garrus-Nine during a riot, killed all the prisoners and the employees.”

“Garrus-Nine?”

“It’s a prison on the ninth planet in the Garrus system.”

“Oh. So, Lockdown is just this really powerful bounty hunter then?”

“Basically. Where did that statue even come from?”

“I think Jetfire took it from Cheetor’s ship.”

Cogman analysed the relics within the heap.

“Late Term, I’d like to ask you a question.”

“Go for it.”

“Jetfire said I could sell these relics and pretend they’re from this planet, remember?”

“Sort of.”

“So, what if… I make a bunch of models based on you guys and sell them? When the war is over and we have revealed ourselves, of course.”

Late Term crossed her arms and laid back against a wall.

“Who’d buy that?” she said. “It’s just a statue of wanted killer.”

“But… what if we said it was ancient? Like, it had been sculpted on this planet by antient humans?”

“Why would anyone believe that?”

“I don’t know! I just- want to make something and sell it! what if- what if… I created a forgotten history between our races?”

“Isn’t there one already? The Seekers, remember?”

“No! I mean… all of us were always here. Like- like, we were the ones that… I don’t know, made monkeys turn into humans!”

“Cogman, shut up.”

Late Term turned her head to see Sky-byte placing speakers down at the end of the cave, next to Freezon’s corpse.

“Should we get rid of that?” Late Term asked.

“The body?” Sky-byte asked.

“No, the speakers, yes, of course I mean the body!”

“Won’t that be disrespectful?”

“Disrespectful?! She was a Seeker, Sky-byte! She would have tried to kill us if she were alive.”

“Right… well, you can try. But I think she’ll disintegrate if I touch her.”

Late Term smirked at Sky-byte’s comments, though she wasn’t completely sure he was being clever or if he were generally concerned that the corpse would crumble. She watched as her ex-Decepticon friend activated the speakers and began to play human music.

“Alright… I think I know this one.” Sky-byte whispered to himself.

“What are you doing?” Late Term asked

Sky-byte jumped before turning to her; he looked embarrassed.

“I- uh- I’m- I was going to- err…”

Sky-byte’s awkwardness made Late Term giggle. She noticed Sky-byte was beginning to tap his feet around. He looked away from her as he began to mumble, except he wasn’t mumbling, he was singing.

“You're my thrill. You do something to me. You send chills right through me. When I look at you, cause you're my thrill.”

Late Term laughed even louder.

“I can hardly hear you,” she said, “speak up.”

Sky-byte faced her, though his eyes remained focused on the floor.

“You're my thrill. How my pulse increases. I just go to pieces, When I look at you, cause you're my thrill.”

As the ex-Decepticon sang, Late Term stood up straight as the song continued. She approached her friend, standing close enough to where he could not look down without seeing her. Sky-byte tilted his head slightly upwards, looking at her in the eye. Now it was Late Term’s turn.

“Ohhhh. Nothing seems to matter.” She sang. “Ohhhh. Here's my heart on a silver platter”

Sky-byte smiled, and she smiled back.

“Where's my will?” they now sang together. “Why this strange desire? That keeps mountain higher. When I look at you. I can't keep still. You're my thrill!!!”

The two started laughing at the absurdity of it all; Cogman watched the two as they did, stroking his chin.

On the command ship leading the Ulktar Fleet, Starscream watched the asteroid field in front of him before he heard his advisor enter.

“Starscream…” Red Wing spoke.

“What is it, Red Wing?”

“Blastwave is on the line.”

“What? Blastwave? Already?”

Starscream snatched the phone off Red Wing’s hand.

“What is it Blastwave?”

“Starscream, Optimus has gotten wise. He’s investigating me; it’s inevitable that my actions will be uncovered. I’d like to request extraction.”

Starscream groaned.

“I think it’s better that the Autobots deal with you. I don’t have the time to send my troops to rescue a liability.”

“Listen to me, you piece of scrap!” Blastwave blurted through the call. “I have put my whole career out for you. You wouldn’t have half the victories you have now if it were not for me. Since I don’t need to be discreet about my involvement, I can give you a lot more. actually, perhaps I can now give you something more valuable than any Autobot cheat.”

“Like what?”

“I know what’s happened to Lugnut.”

Starscream sat up straight. “What are you talking about?”

“I have drones in his fleet like yours. He left his fleet some time ago, to investigate one of his failed underlings. He has not returned since.”

“Where! Where did he go?”

“Get me out of here and find out!”

Starscream marched to his bridge with Red Wing by his side.

“I hope this is worth it.” Red Wing spoke.

“It will be.” Starscream replied. “If Lugnut has potentially abandoned his fleet, those Decepticons will come to me. I need to know what Blastwave knows, no matter what it takes.”

“With all due respect, Starscream, we don’t know if he’s telling the truth.”

“That is for me to worry about. I’m not sending in the fleet to rescue him; just those who will get the job done.”

On the bridge, Task Force Seven were there, waiting for him.

“Starscream, why have you summoned us? Have we found another possible planet?” asked Commander Brawl.

“My informant in Optimus’ fleet has been compromised. Extract him within on Cybertronion day. Take whatever you need, I just want him brought back alive.”

“You want us to find Blastwave?” asked Grindor.

“Yes. Can it be done?” commanded Starscream.

“Of course, my lord.” Brawl confirmed.

Each commando grabbed what gear they felt was necessary and prepared their ship. In the hanger, the commandos were ready for their mission. As the crew walked inside their ship, Thundercracker wondered into the hanger.

“What’s happening here?” he asked.

“That Autobot traitor got found out, we’re going to rescue him.” Grindor explained.

Thundercracker stopped dead. They’d found enough evidence on him already? That was quick, though this far from good news. If Blastwave was rescued, he would surely be suspicious of how he was caught so soon. Blastwave’s survival and possible inauguration into the Decepticons would only make things worse and continue the war. Thundercracker needed to think of a plan, a way to make sure Blastwave stayed as far away from his fleet as possible.

“The fleet should come with you.” Thundercracker let out.

“What?” asked Brawl as he peaked his head out of the ship’s doors. “That would just give away our position. This is a stealth operation.”

“Right. Very well.” Thundercracker said, sighing.

As he watched the commandos close their ship’s doors, he knew there was only one other option, he was going to make sure he got to Blastwave before anyone else, and there was only one way he could do it without being exposed. With this allies distracted, Thundercracker tossed a terminal charge onto the back of Task Force Seven’s ship as it blasted off into deep space.

Late Term lay against the pile of junk as another song played. Unbeknownst to her, Sky-byte sat beside her as she began to sing.

“Blue Moon. You saw me standing alone. Without a dream in my heart. Without a love of my own.”

“Your singing voice is beautiful.” Sky-byte said from behind.

Late Term jumped up from the pile and smacked onto the ground.

“Sky-byte, you scared the shit out of me!” she yelled as she pushed herself back onto her feet.

“Sorry…” Sky-byte replied, lowering his head.

Late Term sat back on the pile before elbowing him. “Don’t scare me like that, you big grunt.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“I know but- I’m still annoyed at you.”

“Did you ever try making a career in singing? I’m sure you could have made a lot.”

Late Term giggled at her friend’s ultimatum.

“Sky-byte,” she said, “I don’t think I’m the kind of bot who’s going to be going around screaming at bars for money.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

“I know! I’m fucking with you!”

“Oh… yes… I knew you were!” he lied.

“The thing is, Sky-byte. When you’re raised in my fleet, you have to train to kill and nothing else.”

“Is that why you left?”

Late Term faced her friend.

“One of the reasons. There’s a lot; too many to tell. I used to lead others when we sang during our nights out, I was ten litres in polluted energon at that point, but it just made me more confident. I’d sing the highest notes and break every glass in the building.”

“Sounds fun, I wish I had those memories.”

“You never had any free time in the Decepticons?”

Sky-byte hung his head low.

“Everyday was either on patrol or training. We had time to ourselves, but it was usually in a raided village or a jot of land that was yet to be ambushed. I won’t deny I had friends, though they were more or less just squad mates. I doubt they would have wanted to meet if we weren’t in the same unit.”

“Then they’re not worth getting to know. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with you?”

“Normal people?”

“Are you saying I’m not normal?” Late Term asked in a jokingly angry tone

“Are you?” Sky-byte replied, smiling.

Late Term snorted before grabbing the ex-Decepticon from behind and pushing him to the ground, though with her still on top.

“Get off me!” Sky-byte yelled, trying to hold in laughter.

“Never!” Late Term yelled back, roaring in amusement.

Eventually their laughter died down, and Late Term let Sky-byte go.

“I don’t know where I’d be without you.” Sky-byte muttered.

“Dead. I saved you from Smokejumper, remember?” Late Term corrected.

“Well… technically, I would have never gone to that spot if I didn’t know you.”

“Quiet down, you pedantic bastard.”

Task Force Seven’s ship circled Optimus’ cruiser as it smashed its way through an asteroid field. The ship’s pilot Runamuck signalled to the rest of the crew.

“Where you want dropping off?” he asked.

“Since we haven’t been spotted, I recommend dropping onto the top.” Brawl suggested.

The ship opened its doors and unleashed a rope. Brawl grabbed onto it and slid down, followed by Blackout.

“Grindor, Bonecrusher, stay onboard until authorized.” Brawl ordered as Blackout sawed a hole in the ship’s top.

The two dropped down onto a hallway before Blackout attached a dish that extended to fit inside the hole above, preventing a vacuum pull. The two then stealthy moved down until they sensed Autobots approaching. Blackout pulled out his silenced shotgun and blasted both the Autobots’ heads off. Once they had reached the barracks, Brawl turned to Blackout.

“Do it.”

Blackout stomped his foot, unleashing an electric magnetic pulse across that section of the ship. All the lights went out as Brawl activated his com-link.

“We are approaching the package. Runamuck, fly low under the cruiser until we have secured our target.”

The commandos snuck into the rooms, opening each one. Usually whoever was inside was asleep but if not, Blackout would blow their brains out. Eventually, they opened a door to their target. Blastwave was sat on the edge of his bed.

“Finally. Is it just you two?” the Autobot traitor asked.

“Not exactly.” Brawl replied. “Runamuck, fly above, twenty-two clicks from our first drop off. Grindor, clear the area with Bonecrusher. We’ll meet you there.

Brawl signalled Blastwave to follow as he as well as Blackout, sneaked further up the ship until they entered a room littered with bodies. Bonecrusher and Grindor stood proud before aiming their weapons at the door, but lowering after realising it was the rest of their squad.

“Ready, sir.” Grindor said.

“Alright, on my lead.” Brawl ordered.

The five continued to sneak through the ship, taking out any wandering Autobot grunts.

“Why aren’t we just going the way you came in?” Blastwave asked.

“We need to make sure we aren’t followed first.” Blackout explained.

The group found themselves moving down a staircase before reaching a narrow corridor, leading to many different areas.

“Check your corners!” ordered Brawl.

“Left side clear!” said Blackout

“Right side clear!” responded Grindor.

“Fu-da clar!” said Bonecrusher.

Brawl lead the troops as they reached the hanger, it was empty in terms of Autobots, but it held ships of many sizes.

“Runamuck, we’re at the left side hanger, fly close but not too close. We’ll need extraction once our bombs are set.” Brawl called.

Each commando speedily rolled under an Autobot shuttle and dropped a charge.

“All good this side!” yelled Grindor.

“Gru-bar. Kai!” bellowed Bonecrusher.

“Blackout,” said Brawl, “check to see if anyone’s coming.”

Blackout opened his back, unleashing Scorponok onto the halls behind them.

“Runamuck,” Brawl ordered, “get to the hanger; we’re good to go.”

The commandos and Blastwave waited as their ship landed in the hanger. Grindor ran to enter when suddenly, the ship exploded from the back. The explosion knocked Grindor back to the end of the hanger, ripping off his arm as he flew.

“What the!” Blackout yelled.

Suddenly, the alarm raised.

“Scrap! Now what?!” yelled Blastwave.

“I don’t- Primus! Hold on!” Brawl screamed before he activated his comms. “Starscream, we need support over here, our ship exploded on us. I’ve told you about giving us ships of poor quality!”

Starscream sighed as he heard his task force whine at the end of the call. Thundercracker and Red Wing stood beside him.

Thundercracker tried to hide is fear. He intended for the bomb to go off before they reached the ship, he assumed the blast would kill all but the pilot who’d then call for help, then he could volunteer to infiltrate Optimus’ vessel. He needed to improvise, but he had no knowledge of how.

“This is becoming a pain, Starscream.” Red Wing spoke. “I think it’s time we let Blastwave resign from our organisation.”

“If he has information about Lugnut, I want to hear it.” Starscream replied.

“If Lugnut has left his fleet, Trypticon will most likely be there. Just ask him!”

“Trypticon would never be honest with me! Even if Blastwave’s information is nothing but lies, I want him here. if he’s lying, I can execute him personally. If he’s being honest, I want to know the details.”

“So, what then? We send in more troops to aid our task force?”

“I can’t lose Task Force Seven; they are my key in finding Megatron. I hate to do this, but we have no other option, we’ll have to send in the fleet.”

Thundercracker felt his spark skip at what he had just heard.

“But, Starscream!” he yelled. “We can’t risk our fleet on just one bot! That would lose more that it would gain!”

“Silence, Thundercracker! You have never been in favour of our partnership with the Autobot traitor, so your opinion means nothing on this matter.”

“What do we do?” Red Wing asked.

Starscream sighed. “Send in the fleet. But… this is to rescue our task force. If Blastwave dies, then I’ll just have to investigate Lugnut’s departure myself. But if he lives, make sure his mind is working.”

Sky-byte turned on the speakers one more time, he sang into a chunk of metal that he pretended was a microphone.

“My prayer is to linger with you. At the end of the day. In a dream that's divine. My prayer is a rapture in blue. With a world far away. And your lips close to mine. Tonight, while our hearts are aglow. Oh, tell me the words that I'm longing to know. My prayer and the answer you give. May they still be the same. For as long as we live. That you'll always be there. At the end of my prayer.”

“I don’t get what it means by lips close to mine.” Late Term commented.

“Humans show affection by smacking their lips together.” Cogman explained.

“Oh…”

Chapter Text

Cogman was doing his usual mechanical work on the Shuttle’s communication frequency as Sky-byte watched.

It felt good to be finally getting somewhere with his new ambition. The signal was almost ready and soon, many Autobot and Decepticon deserters would be hearing the call. This was an achievement for the brute. After so many failures in life, this was a success that he could not let go of. Sky-byte was going to make a home for those just like him, and he could not contain his excitement. Though the frequency had remained active throughout the year, now was the time for an upgrade.

The ex-Decepticon pranced back and forth as his butler made the last few adjustments. Cogman slumped his back against the shuttle’s walls.

“Alright, master. I think that’s everything. Our frequency should reach out to a few planets close by, and any Cybertronion on them will hear it. Anything you’d like to say?”

“You’re sure those Autobots we faced won’t hear it?” Sky-byte asked.

“The frequency has been modified to where it will only go up. So, unless those Autobots are in space, they shouldn’t hear it. it’s been completely hidden since those Autobots attacked us. Though, I if I’m being honest, we should have turned it off before now.”

“I agree.” Sky-byte replied, trying to hide his regretful looking face. “I don’t know. What if they’re leaving right now? They’d hear it then.”

“They said they were looking for crusaders, right?”

“The Crusadercons, yes. I don’t know if they're still here, or even if they were here.”

“So, should I wait before we send a message out?”

“I’d say so. I want to make sure that we’re in the clear before we make our home public. Besides, we haven’t done much decorating yet. I have a bit of a vision for how I want this place to look. It has to be big enough to contain our visitors while also supplying their needs.”

“Does it have to be big enough to contain them all at once?!”

“Yes! We can’t have one sitting out in the open!” the ex-Decepticon said, grinning with passion.

“Sky-byte, you say you want to keep us a secret from the humans until the war’s over. But, what if the war never ends?” Cogman asked with concern.

Sky-byte pondered that thought. To be honest, he had not assumed that scenario would be a possibility. From what research he had done on Earth’s history, it seemed that their wars did not last that long.

“I think it will end soon. These humans are an adaptive species.”

“If you say so, Sky-byte. If you say so.”

Silence followed, then Sky-byte thought of something else. “So, what else have you been up to?”

“I’ve been writing.”

“Writing what?”

“History. My own history.”

Not too far out from the cave, an enormous vessel flew above, invisible to the people below. Out of the ship, Cybertronions dropped, one into a military air base, one into a military camp west of the country, and one to an old war museum. The one in the camp slid across, eyeing the area before noticing a long tank and scanning it. The one in the museum scanned a modified biplane known as a Vildebeest, according to the plaque on display. The one in the air base scanned bombers as they flew from above. Together, the three met up on the mountains in the centre of the country, along with a red fire truck.

All four vehicles transformed; as the bomber did so, its cockpit folded in. Its wings split into pieces, some combining to help form the arms. The backend and tail shot out to create the legs. Together, it formed a lanky figure. It was Ghost, leader of the Autobot Arsenal; now with a pilot helmet and facemask, covering the damage he had sustained. With him, the tank had transformed into Strongarm and the biplane had become Matchstick. The fire truck, of course, was Inferno.

“Arsenal!” Ghost yelled out, “These forms will make our search more efficient! It is time to make a decision! According to Strongarm’s research, a high source of energon fuelled radiation is dormant within this continent. I would presume that the shuttle of the Decepticon and Autobot traitors, would have arrived in this continent. Considering the state of the war here, it is the perfect hiding spot. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Crusadercons are here too. However, there is something else. Strongarm?”

“A frequency was operational in this area until moments ago.” Strongarm explained. “I believe it is likely that the Decepticon was trying to get a signal out. What for is unknown, but it has been intercepted before.”

“Who by?” asked Inferno.

“If my calculations are correct, an Autobot. Not Late Term, but another. Whoever they were, they were able to get a hold of the frequency many months ago. Whether or not it was intentional, they unlocked the frequency to other Autobot networks, including ours.”

“So now, we have direct contact with them. Beautiful.” Matchstick added.

“We could take care of them now,” said Ghost, “but there is something else. Yesterday, I discovered remains on the shores of a country down south. I found the body of… Lugnut.”

The other Autobots took a step back.

“Lugnut’s really dead?” questioned Inferno.

“Late Term was telling the truth? That can’t be right,” said Matchstick, “why would Lugnut be here?”

“I don’t know,” replied Ghost, “but it would have taken someone highly skilled to take him down. I believe Cyclonus is really the one responsible for Lugnut’s death, and therefore, it is possible that he is in the country known as Greece.”

“So, we have a choice…” commented Matchstick.

“Brilliant!” Inferno cried. “This is our chance. We can take them both at once! I can’t wait to show them such pain!!!”

“Patience, Inferno.” Ghost ordered. “I know how much you love to burn, but we need to think about this. Who do we take down first? If we use up our time on the Sky-byte, the Crusadercons could discover our presence and leave. But if we hunt for the Crusadercons now, Sky-byte and Late Term might be lost to us.”

There was a moment of silence as each Autobot mused.

“The Crusadercons have been our target for a long time.” Strongarm stated.

“But… those others. They killed Fix-it.” Inferno added, lowering his head.

“Inferno has a point.” Matchstick remarked. “Fix-it should be avenged.”

“True,” said Strongarm, “but that doesn’t automatically make Late Term and Sky-byte our priority.”

“I think the question we need to ask ourselves,” said Ghost, “is what would Sentinel do?”

“According to records, Sentinel Prime was always focused on what the most justified solution was.” Strongarm spoke. “Sentinel would take his time, but it the end, it would be for Cybertron’s benefit. If Sentinel were alive today, he would choose the most valuable option.”

“So, that’s the question.” Ghost said as he looked at his crew. “What is more valuable to us, and to the Autobot cause? Killing the Decepticons responsible for the deaths of thousands, or the two who claimed to kill a Titan?”

“May I suggest a proposition?” asked Inferno

“Go on.” Ghost replied.

“We kill Sky-byte and his queen as a training exercise, then move on to Cyclonus. Cyclonus and his friends can be the grand final to this planet.”

“Inferno always has the best takes.” Matchstick remarked.

“I think that can work. Well, I know it can work.” Ghost said as he made sure his sword was clean.

Autobot ships burned up as they were obliterated by Starscream’s fleet. The offensive was working in Starscream’s favour, all he needed was a satisfying ending to it.

“Unleash the cables!” he roared.

Starscream’s vessel shot tentacles that ended in claws. They grabbed the Autobot capital ship as Decepticons boarded. In the ship’s left hangar, Task Force Seven were pinned down. They killed as many advancing Autobots as they could until they heard the sound they never wanted to hear. Optimus Prime howled as he rolled into the hangar and pulled his pistols out of his back. The Autobot leader spun, shooting at each available target.

“Get down!” Brawl bellowed as loud as he could.

Blackout continued to fire shots at the last Prime, but Optimus dodged each blast as he paced in the commando’s direction. Suddenly, Bonecrusher leaped from behind and swatted the Autobot leader with his tail.

“Um-par tee!” he yelled, furiously.

Optimus jumped out of its way before shooting Bonecrusher in his chest, directly. The commando fell back into the ship behind him, destroying it with his hulking body. Optimus turned back to Blackout who had gotten a clear shot. The Deception fired, hitting him, and throwing him across the room. As the last Prime hit the ground, Blackout’s servant: Scorponok, leaped onto Optimus and began to scratch at his face. Optimus winced at the creature’s claws as he managed to grab the small Decepticon and throw him at his master. Scorponok hit Blackout, knocking them both onto the ground.

Blastwave hid behind the task force’s destroyed ship as he watched the commandos continue to be pinned. He could not hear anything they said, only gunfire. Abruptly, a cable shot into the hangar and with it, smaller Decepticons.

“This is ridiculous, can’t we just steal an Autobot ship?!” he yelled.

Blackout rolled backwards, positioning himself next to the Autobot traitor. “We’d be tracked!” he explained

“I think tracked is better than what we’re in right now!”

“Starscream’s here now, we just got to wait a little more.”

“Well, I hope this next ship is stable!” Blastwave spat.

“Show some respect! My team has risked a lot for you!” Blackout hollered.

“Yet a functional ship was too much?!”

A smaller Decepticon that had arrived via cable crawled to them.

“Backout, right?” he asked, nervously.

“Correct, what’s your name?”

“Sideways, sir.”

“Alright, Sideways, any word from the admiral?”

“This cable has enough strength to carry the four of you back. Starscream wants you and the other commandos back alive.”

“What about me?” asked Blastwave.

“Sorry, but Starscream said the commandos were priority.” Sideways explained.

“Hold on, Sideways.” Blackout interrupted. “My team has been through a lot for this package. How is he getting out?!”

“A shuttle should come to extract. I’m sure it will arrive eventually.” Sideways assured.

Blastwave watched as Blackout grabbed Brawl and explained the situation. Brawl then ordered the small Decepticons that had just boarded to converge on Optimus as he grabbed the one-armed Grindor and carried him to the cable. Blackout jumped around the Autobot leader as he helped up a wounded Bonecrusher. As the two ran past, Blastwave heard them bicker.

“Ok-gar dra-hu, Block-da.” Bonecrusher cried.

“You’ll get Optimus one day.” Blackout reassured.

As Blastwave watched, all four commandos latched onto the cable as it was pulled back. The Autobot traitor sighed. He turned back to the fight, Optimus had slain all the advancing Decepticons, only Sideways remained. Suddenly, a shuttle made its land into the hangar. Blastwave shouted to the small Decepticon.

“Sideways! The shuttle’s here!” he yelled as he jumped to his feet.

The two ran as fast as they could, though Sideways was quicker, leaping into the shuttle’s back. Blastwave then heard a tassing sound; confused, he unsheathed his sword before approaching. As the interior became more visible, Blastwave saw a deactivated Sideways lying on the ground along with other deactivated troops. It was then he looked up, and saw Thundercracker. The blue one grinned as he raised a large gun.

“Hello.” Thundercracker said as he blasted the right leg off Blastwave’s body.

He screamed in agony as he fell. The traitor watched as the shuttle’s doors closed.

Thundercracker pushed the deactivated pilot off his seat and sat. He activated the engines and took off.

“Thundercracker to Starscream. I am sorry to report that Blastwave did not survive the assault. I am returning to you now.”

“What happened to your pilot?!” he heard an aggravated Starscream groan.

“An electromagnetic pulse was fired directly at us, luckily, I’m immune to it.”

“I see.”

On the cable, a signal was received stating that the mission was over. Relieved, Brawl activated the explosives.

Inside the hangar, Optimus cried for his troops to flee as he heard the beeping. He managed to jump out just in time as he heard his fellow Autobots scream. The last Prime rubbed his palm against his face; the sounds of many Autobots die was something he still was not used to.

Sky-bye opened the cave’s doors, he opened out his arms as the wind brushed against him. The sky was clear and beautiful. Sky-byte took it all in as he prepared for the day. He heard Late Term from behind, she was carrying Frezon’s body to throw it over the edge.

As Sky-byte continued to stare out, he noticed something. A British bomber.

“Crap, we should close our doors.” Sky-byte said as Late Term dropped Frezon.

“Got it!” she replied as pulled leaver to do so.

As the doors closed, the two noticed the plane was heading in their direction.

“You think it saw us?” asked Late Term.

“I hope not.” Sky-byte replied.

Suddenly, the plane launched a missile straight from under its wing. The two widened their eyes as they saw it approach.

“What the?!” Sky-byte yelled.

“Get down, you idiot!” Late Term yelled at him.

The missile blasted the doors wide back open. The plane flew over and transformed before them.

“You were closer than I expected.” The two recognised the voice.

“Ghost?!” yelled Late Term. “I thought we would have at least blinded you!”

“How did you find us?!” asked a terrified Sky-byte.

“The signal of your shuttle was easy to track. I'm afraid you turned it off much too late.”

Sky-byte cringed at the revelation. He could not give up on his idea, he could bring help to so many lost transformers across the galaxy. Yet, instead of achieving that, he had endangered his friends once more.

“I- I-” he stuttered.

Late Term got up and unleashed the blade from her gauntlet before running at the Autobot. Ghost dodged her swings before clapping his hands on her blade; with barley any pressure, he snapped it off. Late Term looked at the remains of her blade in shock as Ghost reached for her. The Autobot grabbed her by the neck and slammed her to the ground.

“Late Term!” Sky-byte screamed.

The ex-Decepticon brute charged at Ghost but was halted by a shot to the back. He dropped down as Strongarm approached him from behind. She pulled him up in a headlock and directed her sword in front of his throat.

“A quick hunt it seems.” Ghost commented.

“What the fuck?!” a voice called.

Everybody shot their heads to the end of the cave to see Cogman climbing out of the scrap metal pile.

“You bastards again?!” yelled the Headmaster.

Ghost’s eyes widened.

“You…” he chuntered.

With both Autobots distracted, Sky-byte pulled his arms back, grabbing Strongarm and throwing her over him. She flew high but landed on her feet. Late Term then grabbed Ghost’s face and headbutted him. The Autobot stumbled back, allowing Late Term to roll away and get back on her feet.

Sky-byte and Late Term exchanged worrisome looks as Ghost and Strongarm stood side by side, holding out their swords.

“What do we do?” panicked Sky-byte

“I’m thinking- I’m thinking!” whispered Late Term.

“It’s funny,” said Ghost, “watching traitors squirm; their hypotheses on how they might survive. Such pipe dreams.”

Something was rising in Sky-byte. He felt annoyed, angry at how supercilious Ghost truly was. The Autobot always had this look, and it drove the ex-Decepticon insane.

He sprinted towards Ghost before landing directly on top of him, he held the Autobot down for a few seconds before Ghost slashed against his shoulder. Sky-byte winced before Ghost kicked him over and began to beat the ex-Decepticon down. As this was going on, Late Term jumped at Strongarm and attempted to knock her down. Since Late Term was a lot taller than her adversary, she felt it would be easy, but she was wrong. Late Term grabbed her leg and knocked her down. Late Term then rolled, dodging each swing of Strongarm’s sword before Cogman leaped from behind, grabbing Strongarm’s head and attempting to rip it off. As Strongarm was distracted, Late Term kicked her in the chest, knocking her to the floor.

Late Term turned her head to see Sky-byte on the ground. To her horror, the brute was being ripped apart. Late Term shrieked the loudest she ever had. The ex-Autobot jumped onto Ghost’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled him back, giving Sky-byte the time to get up. however, she was not strong enough to keep hold; Ghost slammed her against the wall before landing a quick punch onto her face.

As Sky-byte regained focus, the headaches were coming back; he could barely breath as he assessed what was happening. This was all his fault, he could have remained hidden, he could have waited. Sky-byte was a fool to try and get this home started so soon, and now he was getting what he deserved.

Sky-byte looked up to see Strongarm struggling to pull Cogman off. He then turned to Ghost who was looking over at the downed Late Term.

“I don’t want to do this,” he said, “you’ve never worn the Decepticon insignia. You were one of us! Yet you give refuge to them, that is unforgivable, unexplainable! How could one live with such vile beings? Have you ever questioned it? Have you ever thought about what you’ve been doing? What was it like when you made that decision? Did you feel regret? Guilt? Did you have any self-respect left?! I want to know, Late Term. I want to know how one can be so delusional, so misguided as you.”

Late Term struggled to push herself up a first. She eventually rose to her knees. She spat. “I- I don’t know why. But I’ve felt more like myself with him that any of your kind.”

Enraged, Ghost rose his sword. But he was cut short when a grapple hook attacked to his back. Sky-byte pulled the Autobot towards him and smacked him. Ghost dropped as Sky-byte reclaimed his hook.

Ghost was not down for long, he quickly shot back up, kicking the brute in the face. Sky-byte stumbled back before Ghost activated a cannon from his arm. Sky-byte raised his arms over his face as the Autobot blasted him further backwards.

Sky-byte could not take much more of this. He just wanted it to end, the strain, the fear; he could no longer handle it all. Was this how was supposed to be? Always running? Always hiding? Sky-byte just wanted to make a home for those like him, not lead everyone to their deaths.

*PING*

Sky-byte winced as he heard a sound fly past him before Ghost’s cannon stopped. The ex-Decepticon peaked over his arms and saw Ghost smacked against the wall. Suddenly, the Autobot was being forced back. Someone was shooting him from the distance. Sky-byte jumped to the floor as Ghost continued to be pelleted. He crawled until he reached Late Term.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Not really.” Late Term replied.

The two crouched up and moved away from the gunfire.

“Are we being sniped?” asked Late Term.

“I don’t think they’re firing at us!” Sky-byte assured.

As they both moved across the cave, they noticed Strongarm manage to knock Cogman off. She pulled herself up and activated her comm. “Inferno, where are you!” she yelled.

Strongarm didn’t look like she was getting a response.

A noise was heard from outside; the ex-Autobot and ex-Decepticon turned their attention to it. they saw a bomber heading in their direction. It was black and purple, with black crosses printed under its wings.

“Hold on!” they heard as Cogman ran to their side. “That’s a Messerschmitt. That plane shouldn’t be here.”

The Messerschmitt flew straight into Ghost, battering him further into the cave wall. The plane transformed, revealing a slender figure around Late Term and Ghost’s height. The cockpit had become his body, and most of the wings had become blades on his arms that he used to slash at the Autobot commander.

As the bomber whaled on Ghost, Strongarm raised to intervene but was stopped as shots were fired directly at her. Eventually, Ghost landed a gut punch, knocking the bomber back. The bomber readied himself in a fighting stance.

“This is lucky.” Ghost spoke. “I thought killing these few would be a quick exercise. But instead, I’ve led you all to me.”

“I’m not here for you.”

“Well, Cyclonus, why else you would be here?”

Sky-byte’s eyes widened as he heard the name. It couldn’t be, could it?

Cyclonus didn’t reply; instead, he charged at Ghost, grabbing him before turning him around and kicking him across the cave floors. Cyclonus then unleashed a gun from his wrist and fired, knocking the Autobot further back until he rolled off the cave. At that moment, Strongarm stood, she eyed the adversaries around her before transforming into her tank form and driving out of the cave and retreating into the sea below.

Without saying a word, Cyclonus paced the lever and pulled, closing the cave’s doors. The three watched as he panted. Cyclonus then turned and faced the three, his face looking determined.

“I can’t keep them away for ever. I can only halt their inevitable return.” Cyclonus said, firmly.

“You’re… Cyclonus.” Sky-byte whispered in disbelief.

“I am. I take it you’ve heard of me.”

“I’ve heard a little… you take over planets… right?”

“Used too…”

Late Term walked to Cyclonus as he spoke. She gave him a long look before smacking him directly in the face.

“Idiot.”

“Ow.” Cyclonus moaned. “I’m not a Decepticon anymore. There’s no reason to be so hostile.”

“Yes, there is!” Late Term yelled. “You and your band of marauders are the reason those assholes have come here. Sky-byte’s had this wonderful idea to help those like him and me. He has it all figured and now thanks to you, we can’t do anything without hiding in constant fear that those bastards will find us!”

“Well, hang on!” Sky-byte protested. “He did just save us, and besides. I would never have known Lugnut’s intentions with me if Smokejumper hadn’t come here looking for them.”

“That’s actually why I came.” Cyclonus explained. “Some time ago, I found the body of Lugnut washed in the Greek ocean. I was already informed of his demise by another, but I wanted to find the one who did it. The Seeker said ‘we’ when he revealed the Titan’s fate, so I knew he had help. I’ve done some research on this planet, you two are the only non-Seekers here that would have been present. So, that can only mean…”

“Yes, we did it.” Sky-byte confirmed. “But I don’t think we’re the warriors you think we are.”

“That’s beside the point. I’m impressed with you, and once we realised the Autobot Arsenal were converging on you, we knew what we had to do.”

“So, you’ve met Jetfire? What am I saying? You’re the one who told him about Cybertron, weren’t you?!” he said, sounding more bitter than indended.

“I did not. It was my subordinate: Black Shadow. I’m sorry, he didn’t mean to. Hopefully, we can get to know each other better once we get out of this.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Late Term bitterly chimed. “They’ll keep coming for us.”

“I can help you with that. We can help both of you.” Cyclonus assured.

“You can? How?” asked Sky-byte.

“We’ve been masters of stealth since before you were born, my friend. We have the technology to be completely out of their radar, I assure you.”

“You’d help us? Why?” Late Term asked, crossing her arms.

“I have traced the Autobot Arsenal’s travel history; you two seem to be good at finding these ancient strongholds. If you allow us to take refuge with you, we shall do much in return.”

“Always a catch. Though in this case, I’m willing to let it slide.”

As Late Term commented on Cyclonus’ suggestion, Sky-byte began to scratch the back of his head; he was a little nervous about his next question.

“So, you’d be able to send a scrambled message that they can’t track, right?” he asked.

“We should be able to, why?” responded Cyclonus.

Sky-byte stuttered as Late Term elbowed him.

“The point is,” she said, “you can help us.”

“It’s the least we can do.” Cyclonus replied. “You should get your things into your shuttle; my team will cover you as you escape.”

“Thank you.” Sky-byte said with an enormous smile. “My name is Sky-byte; this is Late Term and that little one is Cogman.”

“Cogman? I thought they were just servants.”

“Wow.” Cogman said, crossing his arms. “You know, I’m quite offended by that.”

Outside, under the cave, Ghost hung on to the cliffside by stabbing the land with his sword. He warily jumped down as he reunited with Strongarm who was climbing the rocks.

“I’ve gotten through to Inferno and Matchstick; they’re pinned down not too far from here.” Strongarm informed.

“Tell them to regroup with us,” Ghost replied, “it’s time we finish this.

As Optimus watched his engineers rebuild the destroyed hangar, he heard Hound call.

“Optimus! We got him!”

Optimus watched as Hound and Ironhide flew to the ship with their jetpacks, carrying the destroyed but alive Blastwave. The last Prime huffed as he saw the traitor regain consciousness.

“Take him away.” Optimus ordered as he held back his anger.

Today was an important day he thought. Not just for his crew, but for the Decepticons as well. Starscream had restarted the war, and for what? The Autobots deserved answers, and now, they were going to get them.

Chapter Text

One month ago.

Cyclonus sat at the edge of the cliff as he watched the waves splash against it. Like many planets he had visited, Earth had such beauty; the Crusadercon could not help but admire it.

“Cyclonus!” he heard.

The Crusadercon leader turned his head around, and there he saw one of his comrades. This one was smaller than him, around the same height as Classic and a little shorter than Black Shadow. He was had spikes curved on his face, and a flat cape of kibble on his back.

“What is it, Teal Bolt?” Cyclonus asked.

Teal Bolt’s face was that of shock, he looked like he’d seen a phantom spark.

“You… might want to come see this.”

Teal bolt led Cyclonus further across the cliffs until eventually, sliding down them; that was when they reached it. They saw piles of scrap metal floating across, until their eyes got to Classic, who was standing on a rock and holding a familiar looking head.

“Impossible…” whispered Cyclonus in disbelief. “That’s Lugnut!”

“It can’t be,” Teal Bolt stated, “why would Lugnut come here?”

“To find us.” Fracture responded as she leaned against the cliff and bounced one of Lugnut’s dismantled ball-joints.

“Lugnut wouldn’t leave his fleet just to look for us!” Teal bolt argued.

“Maybe this is just a lookalike.” Classic suggested.

“Knowing Lugnut’s need to stand out, I doubt it.” Black shadow replied as he dropped down onto same rock as Classic. “According to the Titan that Cyclonus and I interrogated on The Spear, Lugnut redesigned his face so that Liege Maximo would always recognise him.”

“Which means he is Lugnut.” Cyclonus confirmed. “This is… unexpected. This won’t make things easy for us; if whoever is responsible for this is still on the planet, the entire Kaye Fleet may rain fire across this world.”

“Then we need to make sure they aren’t.” Classic said, unleashing her blade.

“Calm down, Classic!” yelled Teal Bolt. “They could be useful allies.”

“Very useful.” Fracture added.

Now.

Sky-byte readied the shuttle with everyone onboard. Cyclonus stood behind him as he activated the engines. Infront of them, the doors to the cave were opening.

“You sure this will work?” Sky-byte asked.

“You have nothing to fear, Sky-byte.” Cyclonus reassured.

Outside, Ghost stood with Matchstick by his side. The two unsheathed their swords. As they watched the cave doors open, they readied their weapons high, when suddenly, a blast of blue energy smacked them both, knocking them down. Ghost looked up to see the Crusadercon fugitive: Teal bolt, firing at him and his subordinate from the cliffs.

“Matchstick, deal with that scum. I’ll stay here for the main course.”

“On it.” Matchstick replied as he shot up into the air and landed a dropkick onto Teal bolt, directly.

As Matchstick leaped off the Crusadercon and prepared to fire, he was knocked out of the sky by punch, thrown at him by Fracture. He dropped and rolled before sliding back up.

Sky-byte pushed down on the controls and the shuttle blasted as fast as possible. Ghost jumped to grapple onto the ship but was shot off. From the distance, Classic looked out from her scope and laughed.

As the shuttle flew out into the ocean, Shipwreck watched from below, activated his boosters and followed.

Ghost pushed himself onto his feet and wiped the mud off his eyes. He shot a glare in the direction of the shot that had hit him. The glare made Classic shiver as she watched him through the scope.

“Shit. Counterpunch, where are you?” she called onto her comms

Both Fracture and Teal bolt fired and swung at Matchstick, but he was slick; the Autobot dodged each attack before kicking them both to the ground.

“Such bravery, but you are nothing compared to the capability of an Autobot.” Matchstick mocked.

“True.” Teal Bolt replied. “But at least we won the war.”

“There was no winner!”

Matchstick was furious at Teal Bolt’s statement, so furious in fact, that he began shooting the grass around them. With the Autobot distracted, Teal Bolt fired a quick shot from his right arm into Matchstick’s chest, sending the Autobot flying.

“So sensitive.” Teal Bolt commented.

The two Crusadercons transformed and shot off; Fracture transforming into a helicopter from the planet: Nebulos, while Teal Bolt turned into his usual Cybetronion tank with wings that he’d had for the last millennia. As they flew, they noticed that The Autobot’s Arsenal’s ship: The Reaping was flying above, however, it was quickly rammed by their ship: The Lifespark.

On The Reaping, Strongarm kept calm as she handled the ship’s controls.

“Inferno,” she ordered, “move all power to our shields.”

“I live to serve, my queen.” Inferno replied as he did what she said.

“I wish he wouldn’t call me that.” Strongarm muttered.

Far off from the fight, in eastern Europe, Henri Arkeville awaited an important arrival. Out of the car, a human in formal black attire revealed himself.

“Ambassador.” Arkeville said. “I welcome you to our bunker.”

“I don’t have time for you stalling, Arkeville. Hitler has become inpatient with your recent efforts.”

“I assure you, ambassador. My men have tracked the American cell; they are heading back to Greece. The machines are with them.”

“With them? This is not good, Arkeville. You promised us that your research into the unknown would assure us an advantage over our enemies, yet you have only aided them.”

“I have sent my entire legion to apprehend them. They will not escape us.”

“I hope so, Arkeville, for your sake. Adolf would not be amused if his general in the supernatural arts had given America a fighting chance.”

In deep space. Optimus’ exploration ship: The Roller, detached from the main cruiser and shot off away from the fleet. On board was Optimus himself; with him was Trench, as well as his hunched companions: Eye-wheel Dye and Dauntless. Cuffed in the back of the ship was Blastwave; he was guarded by a deluxe Autobot named Launch-code.

Trench walked to the prisoner and sat in front of him as he hung down from the wall.

“I didn’t want to think it would come to this,” said Trench, “but I was wrong. I should have known you’d betray us.”

“Betray you?!” yelled Blastwave. “If I were to betray you, it would imply you ever had my trust. The Autobots have become weak, not willing to see the bigger picture. You are all a shell of your former selves.”

“How does that lead you to joining the Decepticons?!”

Trench shot up and grabbed Blastwave by the throat, but Launch-code restrained the Autobot before he could do any damage.

“Leave us, Launch-code.” Trench ordered.

“Is that wise?”

“I promise I won’t kill him. You have my word.”

Launch-code nodded and left to the cockpit. Trench sat back down on his seat.

“I was never going to join the Decepticons.” Blastwave reluctantly said. “I had plans, Trench. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Wouldn’t I? Because it seems to me like you thought it was best for the Autobots to go to war; so, you decided to pal up with Starscream.”

“Starscream was a temporary contract. My plan was to use him to restart the war; gain my trust. Them, when it all got well for him, I’d tell him my most valuable news. I would tell him that Lugnut has disappeared, and that the Kaye Fleet was his. The power-hungry lunatic would surly attempt to claim that fleet for himself; then in his struggle, I would offer the appropriate information to those in that fleet. Finally, any doubts that fleet would have on Starscream would be expanded beyond repair; in the end, Decepticon civil war.”

“You expect me to believe that? Why be so overly complexed? If Lugnut was truly missing, you could just accuse Starscream of being the one responsible.”

“That wouldn’t work. The Kaye Fleet would just idolise him more. Starscream needed to look like a leach. It would take time, but first, I had to boost the idiot’s confidence.”

“By killing your friends?!”

“You call them friends; I call them acquaintances. Those Autobots were nothing but slackers, anyway. If they were worthy Autobots, they would have survived the attacks. In the end, Trench, the ends will always justify the means.”

“Enough!”

Trench ripped Blastwave off the wall and began to beat him senseless, yet Blastwave’s face remained unphased.

“Don’t you feel anything?!” Trench yelled as he continued his beatdown.

“I’m just thinking… waiting… getting a grap…” replied Blastwave as he kept his eyes staring at the roof above.

“Oh yeah?!”

“Yes. You see, Trench. I- I wasn’t lying. Lugnut has disappeared. I have drones- placed all over his fleet. Before, Starscream’s task force arrived to extract me, I planted a- frequency matching Lugnut’s. while that fleet is too far out, you know- a big Titan like him would need a big scout ship to retrieve him.”

“So? they wouldn’t attack our fleet. If Lugnut was gone, Trypticon would be wise enough to stay away.”

“From our fleet, yes. But I know how Optimus values his people. I knew if I was captured, I’d be interrogated far from the fleet itself. Of course, they won’t attack the fleet… but a ship this size?”

“Trench!” a voice called out and Launch-code re-entered the room. “A large Decepticon vessel is right above us.”

At that moment, Blastwave began to laugh.

ZB-Seven, Slapper, Trailbreaker, and the American unit made their way across the Greek villages until they approached the harbour next to a small village. All three transformers transformed as the Americans unloaded their cargo.

“Our ship will be arriving soon.” Fredrick informed.

“We’ll help you load when it gets here” Slapper replied.

Suddenly, a blast of energy hit the building close by, causing it to crumble.

“What the?!” yelled Trailbreaker.

From across the village, they saw tanks of many different designs. Some were armed with two cannons attacked to their heads, some fitted with mounted turrets based on ZB’s hand-cannons. However, the one leading the charge was an enormous tank with a laser-powered canon. Following the tanks were armoured cars, with the design of ZB-Seven’s alt-form.

Slapper activated his laser-weapon while Trailbreaker picked up a weapon from one of the trucks that Fredrick had acquired. The greens began to find cover while ZB-Seven stood in front of them.

“Alright, boys.” Slapper said. “I’ve met all of you in the span of a few days, but with that said. Let’s do this.”

The Cybertronions all roared (or buzzed in ZB’s case) as they unleashed their weapons onto the approaching greys. Tank shells, rockets, and bullets flew at them from all sides. The three took in a few rounds but continued to stand their ground.

Trailbreaker shot at the advancing armoured cars, knocking them off course until he ran out of ammo. He dropped the gun onto the ground and kicked it; the gun flew and knocked a few more greys down.

“Got anything I can use?” he then asked.

ZB-Seven reached into his kibble backpack and tossed the Autobot a rod that extended and transformed into spear. He then signalled the Autobot to throw it. Trailbreaker aimed and threw the spear directly at a tank, it pieced directly through and exploded, destroying at least two tanks and three armoured cars.

ZB-Seven started to advance while the other two stayed back. The buzzing one was ready to show the greys what for.

As Sky-byte’s shuttle fled The Autobot Arsenal, Fracture jumped onboard. She sat down and began to fiddle with a device.

“Alright, listen. I like to brag about stuff like this.” Fracture said, grinning. “I’m uploading a lil’ virus onto their ship. It won’t be long until they get rid of it, but it will distract them just enough to get us all clear.”

“You sure that will work?” asked Late Term as she tried to keep balance on the speeding ship.

“Don’t worry, hips. I do this all the time.”

“Hips?!”

“Ignore her, Late Term.” Cyclonus advised.

On The Reaping, Strongarm watched as all systems began to slow down and all sensors and communications deactivated.

“Primus!” she yelled in frustration. “Inferno, take control of the ship as I fix this.”

As The Reaping began to wobble in the air, Counterpunch steered The Lifespark down towards Classic and Nightstick who were waiting for him.

“Aww, is the spar already over?” asked Classic as she depressingly walked onto the ship.

“You’ll spar again,” assured Nightstick, “just not with these people.

Blastwave used his remaining foot to kick Trench onto the ground, he then jumped up and pulled a dagger from Launch-code’s hip before stabbing him in the neck with it. Blastwave balanced on his one leg and looked down at Trench who was beginning to pull himself up. Before he could do anything however, Eye-wheel Dye ran from behind, grabbing the traitor and shoving him against the wall.

Suddenly, the ship began to shake and all of them were shot forward into the cockpit where Optimus was attempting to steer. Optimus jumped onto Blastwave, pinning him down when suddenly, a blast hit the ship’s front. Everyone grabbed onto what they could find while the Autobot leader held onto Blastwave’s foot. Both Optimus and Trench attempted to hang on to what they had, but the pull was too much for them and both were pulled into the vacuum of space. Eye-wheel Dye crawled to the panel and activated the secondary front to converge. As the ship fixed itself, Blastwave jumped onto the leader class: Eye-wheel Dye and slammed him to the ship’s floor. Blastwave pulled himself onto the control panels and saw both Optimus and Trench floating in the abyss.

“Sorry, Optimus.” Blastwave whispered. “But I have bigger opportunities now.”

Blastwave then set coordinates on the ship’s map and blasted into the deep space.

Optimus watched as the ship disappeared in front of him, but that was the least of his worries. The last Prime felt a crane grab him from behind; he and Trench were then pulled into the Decepticon vessel above them.

As the sun went down, Slapper managed to remain on his feet despite the amount of tank shells he had taken. He felt agonising pain whenever he moved but he kept focused on the fight at hand. He saw the tanks approaching; swiftly but excruciatingly, he grabbed a spiked rod from the truck and tossed it at the building close by. The building collapsed and buried the tank under its rubble.

It did not do much in the long run, for every troop they killed, for every vehicle they destroyed, more came. The scout continued to fire his blue lasers, but even that was running out.

“How long until the boat gets here?!” Slapper screamed.

“It won’t be long now.” Fredrick replied. “Use the weapons we acquired!”

“But you need them for study. They’ll be useless if I use them.”

“If it gets more of us home, it’s worth it!”

Slapper grabbed a cannon from the truck and fired, the blast destroyed three advancing tanks at once. Amazed by the power, he aimed again but this time nothing, the cannon only had one shot; at least it counted.

ZB-Seven began to walk back towards the village as the laser tank followed him. The Autobot fired rounds from every weapon he had but now his backpack was empty and all he had left was one hand-cannon and his hammer. ZB swung at the greys that got close, but it didn’t matter how many he killed; he could not escape the tank. ZB jumped, ZB rolled, ZB spun around buildings that he used as cover, but the tank just knocked them down. Swiftly, ZB-Seven transformed and drove to the end of the village, leading the tank away from everyone else.

Trailbreaker fired whatever he could at the advancing greys but the screams of dying greens around him distracted him from his targets.

“When will they just give up?!” he yelled.

“When every last one of them is bones and ash!” replied Slapper.

The two continued to fire until Trailbreaker, enraged by all the screaming of dying humans, charged at a building, and pushed it down, killing all that were approaching it.

ZB-Seven led the tank to the end of the village. ZB transformed and turned but was knocked off balance when the tank fired, destroying his backpack. Still close to water, ZB signalled the tank to charge at him, it did so. Speedily, the Autobot rolled out the way before whacking the tank’s treads with his hammer, causing it the loose control. The tank dropped into the sea behind him. As ZB-Seven looked down, he saw an orange light glow in the water when suddenly an explosion erupted from within it. ZB let out a confused buzz at what just happened.

From the ocean, Slapper head the sound as the boats arriving.

“Quickly!” he yelled. “Get onboard!”

“I’m not leaving without you!” Fredrick responded.

“Just get on!”

Slapper continued to cover the Americans as they entered the ship. At this point, there were no buildings left, only rubble.

“Alright, we’re on! Hurry, Slapper!” yelled Fredrick.

Slapper quickly jumped onto the ship, he then signalled Trailbreaker to do the same. Trailbreaker was leaking energon, he was shattered, but he kept firing, ignoring Slappers signalling.

“Trailbreaker, come on!”

The damaged Trailbreaker turned and ran, his eyes showing that of relief that it was over. Then, without warning, his chest burst open from a blast from behind. The Autobot fell to pieces as the greys continued their assault.

Slapper yelled out in distress, but there was nothing he could do. Swiftly, ZB-Seven ran to the ship and jumped onboard, he looked at the remains of Trailbreaker on the ground as ship detached itself from the harbour. ZB-Seven’s eyes showed stress and sadness. Slapper looked at him with a face of encouragement but sorrow.

“There was nothing you could have done, ZB. This is my fault.”

ZB buzzed loudly and fired at the greys on the docks as the ship made its way out to sea.

Sky-byte flew his shuttle across the ocean until reaching land at the hight he was flying. He parked the shuttle in between two cliffs. The shuttle had attached itself to Shipwreck during the journey and so he was detached as Sky-byte made his landing.

“I need… to stop for a minute,” Sky-byte let out, “maybe an hour.”

“That is reasonable,” Cyclonus replied, “we can rest here for a while.”

“Should I alert Counterpunch on where we are?” asked Fracture.

“If you must.” Cyclonus firmly responded.

The shuttle’s doors opened and both Crusadercons stepped out, leaving the original crew alone together. Late Term waited until the two were out before turning to Sky-byte who had dropped his head onto the control desk.

“You alright?” she asked.

Sky-byte begrudgingly raised his head; he looked at her directly. She saw the look of despair in his eyes.

“This is my fault. They found us through my signal, I must have- I- I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be mad at yourself. We’re fine, all of us. And now we have these lot to help us out.”

“Maybe… but I don’t want to make things overcrowded.”

“I thought you wanted to make a home for people leaving the war. These lot are pretty much your first visitors.”

“I wanted the home to be finished first.”

“Well… look on the bright side, we escaped those Autobot bastards again. We’ve got some legendary Decepticons with us now. They said they’ll help get those assholes out of our business; all we’ve got to do in return is let them live with us for a while. This could be good practice for when you try to start your actual home.”

“What about the Allspark?””

Late Term crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

“Do you want to tell them?” she asked.

Sky-byte pondered about the presence of the cube and Megatron on the planet.

“I don’t want to hold it off like we did with Jetfire,” he said, “but at the same time, I don’t know what they’d do if they found out.”

“I suppose it’s the same as us revealing ourselves to humanity, right? Wait until the war’s over?”

“Yes. We’ll wait until the humans have ended their war, then we tell them.”

Arkeville waited as one of his troops approached him from the destroyed village.

“Report.”

“Sir, they escaped. But we found something, you might want to take a look at this.”

Arkeville watched as his men carried the body parts of a destroyed transformer.

“This will be more than useful. Take it in for study.” Arkeville ordered.

Chapter Text

As the fire burned, Sky-byte, Late Term and Cyclonus sat around.

“Why fire?” asked Cyclonus.

“I’m not wasting energy tonight. I’d like that shuttle to be able to fly us to wherever tomorrow.” Late Term replied.

The three sat under the dark night sky. Cogman and Fracture were standing next to the shuttle, watching for any unwelcomed visitors. Sky-byte pressed his hands together as he tried to think of a conversation.

“So, how long should we stay here?” he asked.

“We shouldn’t risk flying until we know what’s what.” Cyclonus explained. “Counterpunch will give us a call soon.”

“I hope your pilot knows what he’s doing.” Late Term stated.

Cyclonus rebutted, sharply. “Counterpunch knows the ins and out of our ship, as well as the right manoeuvres. Once he has managed to give as on all clear on the sky, we’ll be off. Then you will do what you do, find another den, and we will be your guests.”

“Why are you our guests?” Sky-byte asked, honestly surprised by what was said. “Why do we have authority over- ow!”

Late Term had elbowed the brute before she replied. “Sky-byte and I would be happy to be your landlords for your time on this planet.”

Sky-byte turned to his friend.

“Late Term, what are you doing?” he whispered.

“This is wonderful.” Late Term whispered back. “These guys will be our bitches. About time we got servants our size.”

“I can still hear you.” Cyclonus said, lowering his eyes. “You two have been here for a long time, I presume? We are only partial visitors, and we led the Autobot Arsenal to you. It’s the least we can do in return.”

“Where will you go after that?” asked Late Term.

“I don’t know. The Decepticons still hunt us to this day, and we don’t know how far they’re willing to take it. They never have gotten over what we did.”

“Many Decepticons deserted over the years.” Sky-byte then said, confused. “Why are you so special?”

“We did a lot of damage during the war, Sky-byte. You wouldn’t get it.”

The three became silent again, until Sky-byte had an idea latch onto his mind.

“I know something we can do,” he said, “a game. In my younger days, my friends and I would get to know each other in our units by telling stories, but there was a rule. One will tell a story, whatever they feel like, and the others will think of stories of their own. They have to be real. No lies.”

“How would you know?” asked Late Term.

“We had lie detectors attached to our heads, they’d zap us if we lied. Anyway, we tell a story from the war, but if I mention someone that is also present in someone else’s story, they interrupt, and begin theirs.”

“That sounds pointlessly complicated.” Cyclonus evaluated.

“It’s to show how well in the Decepticon ranks you’ve gone. Sometimes we’d get points for how important they were. If you met an important figure in your story that no one else had in theirs, that’s a point.”

“So, that’s how you win? You get interrupted the least?” Late Term asked, baffled.

“Precisely!”

Cyclonus rubbed his face. “Alright, you got a story?” he asked.

Skybyte rubbed his head as he replied. “I have many, I fought in many battles; I lost each one, so if you two hate Decepticons a lot, you should enjoy them. What about you two? do you have any stories to tell?”

“Depends.” Late Term spoke. “I don’t know if they’re stories I want to tell.”

“I understand,” Sky-byte replied, “but know that you can trust me.”

“What about him?”

“Tell you what,” said Cyclonus, “I’ll tell a story just as personal, one that spans over the entire war. My life, all the important parts.”

Late Term sunk her head into her knees and groaned.

“Fine!” she yelled. “But your story better be as humiliating as Starscream’s dome-looking head.”

Sky-byte looked back and forth between the two; they both looked like they were about hit one another.

“Alright. I’ll start?!” he awkwardly shouted.

Five thousand years ago.

I was stationed on Grass for a while. Nice planet: it’s called Grass because the grass is literally taller than me. It was a real jungle, that planet. There was no intelligent life, only wildlife, but it was important to the Decepticons.

For a long, long time, Trypticon had been using the planet to fuel his vessel: The Second Nemesis, but the fuel mine had been discovered by an Autobot cell. The cell was vicious, used tactics we’d never seen. But worst of all, they were our size.

Sky-byte tossed a grenade over the grass vines as the sounds of gunfire overwhelmed him. As he saw the Autobots advance of him, he covered his face, expecting the worst. But as if it were on que, his captain: Hellscream, dived in between and slaughtered his attackers.

Sky-byte looked on as the remaining Autobots retreated. Around him, his unit brushed off their swords as Hellscream signalled them to regroup on him.

“My beautiful Decepticons,” he said in a gravelly voice, “this world is ours, and we have duty to keep it like that.”

Sky-byte stood in silence as his squad continued their patrol, until Slapper called to him to hurry up. The world around them was silent, only the sounds of small insects buzzing could be heard.

The squad crowded around as they set camp. Hellscream activated the tents and everyone made themselves comfortable.

“Alright,” Hellscream said, “we deactivate here for a while. Sky-byte, can you watch the camp for tonight?”

“What? Yes- yes I can do that.” Sky-byte replied, not fully hearing at first.

I planted the claymores around the camp. Seemed easy, and throughout the night, I heard nothing. I didn’t hear a single sound, and I felt like I’d done a really good job. Yet, as the morning came, I discovered something that… that I can’t seem to forget.

Before the group woke up, I went to deactivate the claymores, yet, when I checked one, I realised it had been set backwards. At first, I was relieved I’d noticed; must have been a mistake, I thought. But when I continued to deactivate each one, I realised they were all backwards.

I knew I’d set them off the right way the night before. It could only mean that- that throughout the night, someone had switched around every claymore without making a sound. If I had panicked just a bit, if I had felt the need to set one off. I would have killed everyone I’d ever cared for.

I never told them, I never felt like I should. I didn’t want to know what they’d think, how’d they’d feel that I’d screwed up like that. But what I feared the most was who we were about to face. Somehow, this legion of Autobots had the ability to infiltrate our camp without making a sound. But they didn’t kill us, they could have but they didn’t. They wanted me to do it, they knew I was the sort who would.

In the morning we had a call. It was Tesarus, he wanted us to-

“Tesarus?” interrupted Late Term.

Sky-byte stopped then stated. “Yes, Tesarus. His real name was Sissorsaw.”

“Sissorsaw." She paused. "I see.”

Late Term lowed her head, hiding her face from the others.

“I assume you met the Decepticon Justice Division?” Cyclonus said, calmly.

Late Term looked up, her face showing that of stress. “I- I have to interrupt.”

“He’s in your story?” asked Sky-byte.

“Yes. They all are. I should probably start from the beginning.”

Four thousand years ago

As a minor, I was switching between stations all the time. Velocatron, Hive, even Cybertron’s ruins at times. I tried to do my best, but I never got along with the others.

I was too tall to enter their rooms, two young to know what they knew. Honestly, I didn’t get along with anyone. Those who spoke to me did it out of pity. My superior, though, he had interest. I don’t know why, but Blastwave liked to keep tabs on me.

“Late Term!” she heard as she walked across the halls.

Late stopped and crossed her arms. She wasn’t in the mood to be talking to this guy today. Blastwave paced beside her as she began to continue walking.

“Optimus Prime is arriving before dawn; he says he wants to have a look at what this base has learned. I want you show him upfront. I want you to be the one I use as an example.”

“Why me?” she asked, unconfidently.

“You’re the only one here worth anyone’s time at the moment. I want Optimus to be shown quality when it comes to new Autobots. You’re the only etiquette one I’ve got.”

Late Term sighed. She couldn’t present herself to Optimus, she had no right too; he was too much. However, she knew she wouldn’t have much of a choice. Paradron had been an okay planet, big cities, and many new sites, but it was still the same nonsense when it came to Blastwave. The man just wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Listen, Blastwave. If you don’t talk to me for the rest of the day, I’ll do it.”

“You’re going to do it, regardless!” Blastwave snapped.

She huffed before turning to enter the training arena as Blastwave continued forward.

“Late Term, listen,” he said as he stopped and turned to her, “you need this.

Late Term rolled her eyes.

“Do I really?” she asked, not really caring on what his response would be.

“Optimus is more than just the last Prime. He is a beacon of hope to many. He is all that’s left of Cybertron’s Golden Age. It is important how he sees us; how he sees you.”

Late Term stood as Blastwave continued on his way. She moved on ahead to the arena, where her ally: Springer was training.

Springer and Late Term were around the same height. Springer was green, his face was covered by a mouth plate and goggles; also, his legs were hunched backwards.

“Late Term. Come to beat your own score?” he asked, politely.

“No, I’m just here because hardly anyone else is.”

Springer tossed her a rifle. She aimed it high and fired as targets appeared around her. The rounds weren’t impactful, just lasers that tickled.

“You hear that Optimus is coming?” she asked as she continued to fire away.

Springer replied, happily. “I have, and I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t seen Optimus since the end of the war.”

Late Term stopped firing.

“What’s he like?” she asked. “I’ve never met the guy, but all I ever hear is how great he is.”

“Optimus gave us hope during the war, he made us see the true nature of Megatron. Unlike Megatron, Optimus was and still is a gentle leader. He believes in peace and equality for all sentient life. He is not like the Decepticons, he is more than any of us could hope to be.”

“Everything I know of the Decepticons is from what all you lot have told me. I’ve only experienced one attack and I was a hatchling then. I remember very little of it. Why did we fight?”

“Megatron took control of Cybertron; he tried to turn it into his own image. He killed millions… just because he could. At first, I was happy about it. I was a smuggler then; I did rounds for the cartel leader: Head-of-Death. He put me through many jobs, and I got a lot in payment, but I soon realised there was more to it. After a run-in with an Autobot cell led by a bot called Impactor, I realised the fight was mine as well as everyone else. That day, I met Optimus too. He changed my life, he did.”

Late Term contemplated on Springer’s testimony. Optimus seemed like well-respected and likeable figure from what he had just said. Suddenly, a call came though Springer’s com-link.

“Yes? Hold on, what?! Make sure he’s secured, and make sure Optimus knows.”

Springer ended the call and went to pick up his things.

“What’s happened?” Late Term asked.

“One of my people: Bulkhead, he’s brought a Decepticon here. he says the Decepticon has apparently begged to defect. Topspin, he’s called.”

“Why now?”

“Not sure. Could be a trick, but I trust Bulkhead’s judgement.”

I followed Springer to the hanger where his team hand landed. They called them the Wreckers. I didn’t understand why, but they seemed like an eccentric lot.

Springer was their leader, and I’d known him for quite some time. We met when his group had raided our lockers after a night out of theirs; he tried to make up for them by taking us all to one of his parties. A nice fifty-six years that was.

When we got to the hanger, Topspin was with Leadfoot and the other Wreckers. He was shivering all the time; I didn’t understand why he was so scared. The war was basically over that this point.

“Nice to meet you, Topspin. My name’s Late Term.”

She patted Topspin on the shoulder, though that was immediately pushed away. He was completely uneased.

“You alright, pal?” she asked, confused.

“Y- yes, mam.” Topspin replied. “I’m just glad to be out of there. Lugnut, he’s mad.”

“We’ll get you washed up by sunrise.” Leadfoot consoled. “Optimus is visiting today, so you should feel a lot safer.”

“Th- thank you…”

As the group escorted Topspin to suitable quarters, they were halted by the assortment of Autobots barging though the halls. It seemed Optimus was already here. They were unable to reach their destination as the crowd pushed them to the highest docking bay. Late Term decided to stop fighting once she realised where she was and what was happening. The time had come for her to see Optimus in-person. As she stood with the rest, she noticed Leadfoot leading Topspin along, he looked restless still. As she peaked her head out over the crowd, Springer stood beside her.

“You think he’ll recognise you?” Late Term asked.

“Yes. Optimus never forgets a face.” Springer replied, proudly.

A ship landed in the hanger and the crowd fell silent. It folded its wings and parked in the centre. Late Term felt a new feeling of anxiousness. Suddenly, its door slowly opened, and a red figure slowly walked down the ramp it had formed.

Optimus stood in front of the crowd and eyed each Autobot, individually. The hanger still remained silent; no one said a word.

“Autobots,” the last Prime spoke, “it is my honour to visit another one of our surviving colonies. You have proven yourselves before we have met. Each one of you is a part of this planet, and you should all be proud of that.”

Optimus gave his usual speech that we’d always hear on our devices. Apparently, the Autobot leader likes to record monologues of the battles he has fought and send them to those he feels needs to hear them. I was happy to see him though. It felt strange, I had never truly found my place here, but I felt like Optimus would be the one to help me. Blastwave said he wanted me to be the one to introduce Optimus to his unit, personally, and I felt that I could use that.

Late Term stood anxiously in the hall as she saw Blastwave leading Optimus towards her.

“This is Late Term, Optimus. She’s the best I’ve seen in a while.”

Optimus took notice of Late Term’s height.

“I would not doubt that she is.” Optimus replied.

Blastwave crossed his arms and smiled, he looked back and forth from the two as he spoke.

“Late Term has accelerated to the top of her unit over the last few rotations. There’s no one best to show you what we’ve been up to.”

She saw Optimus grin before he replied. “Well then. I think I’d like to see it. Go ahead, Late Term, show me what you’ve got.”

She presented herself to the last Prime as she decimated the training course while not taking a single hit, her reactions were quick and in only moments, it was over. Late Term watched as Blastwave left, leaving the two. Optimus slowly walked towards her and looked up.

“You are remarkable, Late Term. I am happy that you wear the Autobot symbol.”

“Thank you, Optimus…”

He tilted his head. “What’s the matter? You don’t sound too impressed.”

She frowned. “I need to ask you something, Optimus. Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Please.”

Late Term sighed and sat down on top of a crate.

“I- I feel like I don’t belong here. Not many speak to me, not many want to know me. I feel… lost! I never asked to be an Autobot, I never asked to be put here, yet here I am.”

Late Term looked down at Optimus, he was looking directly at her; she felt more confident realising that he was there for her.

“I’ve gone back,” she continued, “I’ve watched the recordings of the war, all the riots and bombings that started it… and I don’t feel… I don’t feel like we did anything to contain ourselves. I’m not saying that Autobots and Decepticons are the same but… I feel like we could have done better.”

Optimus let out a quiet sigh.

“Late Term, war can change people. The things we have done, some were unwise. But know this. As the war has potentially come to a close, I think it is takes wisdom, to not think of the damages we may have caused, but the sacrifice many Autobots made to keep you and others safe.”

“But what about Cybertron? Could we have saved it? Is it possible that it was destroyed because we took things too far?”

“Late Term, we are not like the Decepticons, it may seem like we are from some experiences, but I assure you, we a better than them. The Decepticons were a sociopathic army of destruction. They pushed to oppress all sentient life in unspeakable ways. They have no mercy, no consideration for others; we are not like that, we are better than that.”

Late Term took in what Optimus had said. It made sense to her, she wasn’t a murderer, she had morals of her own. That’s what made her an Autobot.

*BANG*

Suddenly, explosions were heard from across the building, the two looked at one another.

“The hell!” yelled Late Term. “What’s going on?”

Optimus breathed in. “An attack.”

“But you said the war was ending!”

“It seems I was wrong. Grab a weapon, soldier. It’s time to put those attributes of yours to good use.”

The two ran through the halls and entered the hanger where Optimus had landed. As she ran through, Late Term stopped at the horror she saw before her, an Autobot was being grinded from the waist the down in the body of an enormous Decepticon. Late Term stumbled back and fell to the ground, the imagery was too much, this was nothing like what she had supposedly trained for. She felt sick.

Late Term fell silent; Sky-byte and Cyclonus watched her.

“Are you alright?” Cyclonus asked.

“You don’t have to finish if you don’t want to.” Sky-byte assured as he placed his arm on her shoulder. “You okay?”

“I- I’m fine. I just need a minute. Sky-byte… can you continue yours?”

“I- I can.”

“Wait.” Cyclonus interrupted. “You said Tesarus was there, right? Because if he was there, then Tarn must have been close by.”

Late Term began to shiver as the name left Cyclonus’ mouth.

“Tarn?” asked Sky-byte with a confused yet intrigued look on his face.

“How have you met Tesarus and not Tarn?”

“He wanted to know if we could group with him that day, I never knew who he was; he wasn’t a part of our fleet.”

“Tesarus was an underling for Tarn. Tarn was once an Autobot named Damus; he defected to the Decepticons during the war and founded the Decepticon Justice Division. They would go out and kill Decepticons that had defected to the Autobots… or just disobeyed orders. Each one was named after a Decepticon City." Cyclonus turned to the ex-Autobot. "I assume they would have attacked that planet to kill Topspin?”

“Yes.” Late Term confirmed. “They had followed him.”

“Well then, you can pause your story for now, because he’s in mine. Since most of this happened before you were born, some things may sound confusing to you.

Eleven thousand years ago.

Cyclonus woke in his pod, like every other day he was strapped to wires keeping him hung upwards. He let out a whimper as he began to remember where he was. As the minor rubbed his eyes, he heard a button be pressed, and his pod opened.

Cyclonus dropped to the floor and took deep breaths, he panted for some time as the much taller transformer looked over him.

“Hurry up, Cyclonus. You know Armada hates it when your late.”

“Yes, sorry, Sixshot.”

I was born on a base; I was raised in that base. To me, the outside world did not exist. My siblings and I were created by Megatron, all of us a project, one he didn’t want any other knowing about.

At this point, there was no war, Megatron had not overthrown the council yet. But even then, he had plans. Megatron had many steps to achieving his goal, we were the first.

Cyclonus walked across the desert planet of Garrus-five. He watched as his siblings stood at different points, creating a circle. As he stood in his place, he heard his superior approach. He kept his face down, but felt his chin be pushed upwards by the arm of one who looked a lot like him.

“Feeling down again, are we?” he asked, his voice sounding boisterous and almost sarcastic. “You should be at the age where you can look me in the eye.”

“I- I’m sorry, Armada.”

“I think you can do more than tell me your sorry. Show it.” Armada turned. “Teal Bolt, how’s your cannon coming along?”

“Great, sir.” Teal Bolt nervously replied.

“Good.” Armada grabbed Cyclonus by the shoulders and brought him to the centre of the circle. “Show me.”

“Sir? You want me to… shoot him?”

“Go on, Teal Bolt. That’s an order.”

Teal Bolt closed his eyes and fired. Cyclonus felt himself fly across the cold sky and bounce a few times on the ground before scraping his back against it.

“Very good, Teal Bolt. Now," Armada went on, "this is a lesson I think you can all take something from. One day, you will all be out on the battlefield, saving our great planet, and when you are, you must be focused. You see, when you lose focus, when you can’t look at what you fear..., they win.”

Cyclonus slowly managed to push himself off the ground and back onto his feet.

“Not only should you be focused,” Armada continued as he activated his arm-cannon, “you must be ready for anything.”

Armada blasted Cyclonus again, this time the little one was sent flying even further. He landed on his face before starting to bleed energon from his mouth.

I was young, too young. Armada trained us for centuries, but I was the one he trained the most. You see, every Crusadercon was grown with the genes of a powerful worrier from Kaon; I was made using his.

Armada wanted me to lead, he wanted me to be his rightful successor. Every night, he’d take me out, far from the base and drop me in one of the planet’s pits. At first, I’d beg him to stop, but ultimately, I got used to it.

“You’re weak, Cyclonus. You’re nothing but a failure!”

Eventually, I was getting out in only moments; the bastard actually said he was proud the first time I did it.

Not long after Cyclonus had reached adulthood in transformer terms, he heard Sixshot enter his quarters.

“Cyclonus,” he said, “can you walk with me?”

The two walked along the planet’s surface; around them, they saw fleets dropping down with construction appliances.

“What’s going on?” Cyclonus asked.

Sixshot then explained. “Megatron is going to unleash his first true offensive. The council of Cybertron are closing in on their final day. Soon, you will become a true Decepticon.”

“Decepticon?”

“I don’t know what it means either, but Megatron has declared it our faction's name. You, Cyclonus, are a subgroup: the Crusadercons, that’s what Armada has presented you as.”

“Crusadercons?” Cyclonus quoted.

“You’ll understand later.”

“Sixshot, do you think I’m right for this? Was I the right hatchling?”

Sixshot sighed. “Cyclonus. You are a great person. You care for your siblings just as they care for you. Armada could not have chosen a better hatchling.”

The two made their way to the place where they would train. Armada was there, and with him was one Cyclonus had only seen through holotapes and posters.

“So, this is Cyclonus?” asked Megatron as he walked with Armada to greet the two. “I have heard that you are going to be leading this unit.”

Cyclonus took a minute to prosses before answering.

“Y- yes. I think so.”

“You certainly have the height for it.”

At this point, Cyclonus was not just an adult Transformer, he was taller than most, even taller than Megatron himself, though he still had to look up to Sixshot.

“No way!” he heard a familiar voice scream.

Cyclonus and the others looked to see Classic looking ecstatic while the her siblings arrived behind her.

“You’re Megatron! We’re actually meeting Megatron!” Classic continued.

“Calm yourself, Classic.” Armada ordered before he walked out from the rest and made himself viewable to all around him. “Crusadercons! Megatron has taken time off his plans for his new age, to come see our progress. Megatron is responsible for all of you; it was through his orders that we started the Solus Initiative. I want you to show him what you’ve got.

To everyone’s surprise, Megatron stood in the centre and signalled all Crusadercons to fight him. While the rest where realising what Megatron had just asked, Classic ran at the Decepticon leader and unsheathed her blade but was quickly grabbed, then she was thrown over his shoulders and straight to the ground. Fracture and Teal Bolt then made their attack. Fracture ran while Teal Bolt shot from behind. Both however, were no match. Fracture was quickly kicked down and subdued while Teal Bolt was blasted by Megatron’s cannon.

Swiftly, Nightstick transformed into his sniper form and landed in Black Shadow’s hands. He fired but Megatron jumped over and swatted him on the back of his head. Cyclonus watched as they both fell, now it was only him left.

“A leader going last? questioned Megatron. "That doesn’t sound right, where’s your strategy? I expected a strong unit, yet you act like hatchlings.”

Cyclonus ran at Megatron and through a few punches; to his surprise, they actually landed on the Decepticon leader. That was not enough however, and Megatron promptly grabbed him by the throat and dropped him on the ground.

“Pathetic.” Megatron spoke.

Cyclonus heard Armada growl; he knew what was coming for him. As expected, Armada grabbed him by his horns and dragged him across the sand and gravel. Cyclonus was then dropped once more and his trainer spat on him.

“I’m sorry, Megatron.” Armada said as he walked to the rest of the group while they got up.

Megatron walked to Sixshot and stood beside him. “What do you think, Sixshot?”

Sixshot replied. “I think it’s impressive that Cyclonus managed to land a hit on you.”

“Yes. Not many have managed that, but I expect more from a unit like this.”

Cyclonus stood up, his back facing his group. He wiped the energon off his face and remained stood. He couldn’t bare to look at anyone, he felt ashamed of how little he could do. All his life he had trained for this, yet right now, all he had proven was how much of a failure he truly was.

“What a surprise. Cyclonus can’t even look at his team," Armada mocked, "he can’t accept just how useless he still is. What’s wrong, Cyclonus? Can’t handle one fight?!”

At that moment, I felt something. I felt rage, I felt anger. My fists clenched as I spat the last puddle of energon from my mouth. I didn’t care what Megatron or anyone else thought of me now. I had to do this, I couldn’t stop myself.

Cyclonus turned and dashed. He grabbed Armada by the neck and slammed him the ground. He screamed and while his mentor struggled and cried out for assistance, the superior was helpless as Cyclonus ripped Armada’s body parts off, one by one.

Sixshot attempted to intervene but Megatron halted him.

“Cyclonus, wait!” was all Armada was able to let out before Cyclonus ripped out his vocal cords.

Finally, Cyclonus stomped his foot on Armada’s head and crushed it. Suddenly, Cyclonus became aware of the world around him once more. All his siblings stood in shock; their mouths open wide at what had transpired. Then, Cyclonus heard a laugh.

“Excellent, Cyclonus!” he heard Megatron say. “I think I was wrong. This was been a pleasant experience.”

Chapter Text

Ten thousand years ago.

Cyclonus retreated alongside his comrades as they fell back to the capital. He felt no fear, only concern that he was doing too much collateral damage. As the last of the Decepticons troops got inside the bunker, the door was sealed.

“Starscream will be doing his bombing run in a moment.” Teal Bolt stated.”

Cyclonus sat. he looked around and saw the wounds on every soldier in the room. Suddenly, he felt someone touching his shoulder.

“What the?!” he yelled.

“Sorry!” a small unaligned transformer squealed. “I just thought- I thought you might need help. You look like you took a lot of damage.”

Cyclonus looked down at the little one.

“Oh. My apologies. Please, if you will.”

“Sorry if I make any mistakes…” the civilian said. “This is… exiting, I’ve never helped someone of your authority before.”

“Authority? I’m just a soldier, nothing else.”

“But… your fighting to save our home from evil. Right?”

Cyclonus didn’t know how to respond, not because he didn’t understand the question, but because he wasn’t sure if he knew the answer.

“I- I suppose.”

“Primus, I can only imagine it. The screams of terrorists falling from your blade. You’re a real hero. It- it’s an honour, I can’t believe I’m actually healing such a powerful being!”

“Can you try to be quiet!” Cyclonus shot, suddenly. His audio receivers ringing from the previous battle.

“Sorry…” the civilian replied as he lowered his head.

Cyclonus couldn't help but feel pity. This was not a place for any of them, not just his crew, but all inhabitants of this metal planet. “No… I’m sorry, you’re just excited. What’s your name?”

“Tailgate. Yours?”

“Cyclonus. It’s good to meet you.”

Hold up

“What is this?” interrupted Late Term. “You said Tarn was in this story. Where is he? You’ve time jumped twice now.”

“He turns up in a moment,” Cyclonus explained, “let me finish.”

“Well, get to it, Cyclonus. This feels more like a biography than a story.”

“This is the story I wanted to tell. It’s the only story where I’m partially likeable. Sure, I killed my adoptive father or whatever you’d call him, but I actually- oh screw it.” He turned to face Sky-byte. “Do you want me to continue or do you want to continue yours?”

“You’ve not met anyone in my story, so you keep going.” Sky-byte stated, calmly. “Also, Megatron is worth a lot of points.”

Cyclonus sighed.

“Let me skip ahead a few parts.”

I was shipped to many planets, each one with different cultures and societies. It was the usual set up; we go in, we research the race, we dismantle them.

On a distant alien planet, skyscrapers erupted from within as Cyclonus and his squad gunned down the mechs that approached them. Cyclonus used little effort as he cut the mechs down. As one mech, twice his size fell, Cyclonus turned to Teal Bolt who hid his own look of guilt.

I hated it; I felt the others did too. But I did it anyway, I dropped civilisations in a matter of years. Just me and my family of six destroying thousands of years of work, and for what? I didn’t understand, still now I don’t. Megatron had Cybertron, he had the planet he wanted. Why? Why was any of this necessary?”

Megatron however was promoting us by the day.

Megatron stood on a podium in front of a Decepticon legion back on Cybertron. Next to him was a projection of the Crusadercons standing proudly.

“My Crusadercons have successfully secured over thirty planets. They are an example for all Decepticons to live towards. My loyal followers, when you are in doubt, struggling to make it through, ask yourself 'how would the Crusadercon’s act?' How would they respond? They are the lifespark of our establishment.”

We never fought Autobots as much as other races. Sure, we made contact, and we made quick work of them. But even then, it was never to the extent of the final day.

It was the closing of the war, Megatron had summoned us back to Cybertron.

“Cyclonus,” Megatron said with open arms, “it is good to be in your presence once again.”

“The same to you, Megatron.” Cyclonus replied. “How has the war progressed for our planet?”

“Our forces are on the verge of recapturing the Allspark. Sentinel has no card left, he knows he has lost, it is only a matter of time.”

“Great stuff.” Teal Bolt interjected.

“About time!” added Classic.

“Crusadercons, leave us.” Cyclonus ordered.

As his group left, Cyclonus walked along the balcony with Megatron.

“I understand you’ve been having trouble with your pilots.” Megatron said as he strode with his hands behind his back.

“You could call it that,” replied Cyclonus, “they never survive. We always get shot down.”

“Yes. It is a shame, but that’s war, Cyclonus. This is how it always is; you can never expect a victory without loss.”

“I know, Megatron.”

“But… still," Megatron continued, "I have something that might fix that problem.”

Megatron led Cyclonus to the end of the balcony where a ship came into view from below.

“Cyclonus, I hereby grant you success to your new ship: The Lifespark.”

The two walked down a flight of stairs where a small transformer was waiting for them.

“Lord Megatron!” he yelled, giving a salute.

“Cyclonus,” said Megatron, “I’d like to introduce you to your new pilot: Counterpunch.”

“It’s a real honour, sir.” Counterpunch spoke.

Counterpunch was small, smaller than Tailgate even. His top face was mostly a visor, and he sounded like a child.

When Megatron introduced me to my new ship, I was grateful, but that guilted me to staying with him longer. I’d had my doubts for a while now. At this point, we had overthrown the governments of sixty-seven planets. Millions had perished, and personally, I’d had enough. But I didn’t know what to do about it.

Cyclonus sat alone as the maintenance crew prepared his new ship; Counterpunch approached and sat beside him.

“How long you been a pilot?” Cyclonus asked, curiously.

Counterpunch twitched his fingers together as he answered. “I- I don’t know. I think… for a few rotations. What about you? How long have you been a Crusadercon?”

“Since I was born. It’s the only life I’ve known.”

“That’s a good life… right?" Counterpunch asked as he tilted his head. "I’ve always wanted to travel, but I never got the chance. Now, I’ll be traveling to so many new worlds with you.”

“Y- yes… you will.”

Suddenly, Cyclonus was called from behind.

“What is it, Tarn?” he asked.

A deep yet almost soothing voice came through. “Megatron is preparing for the final raid on the Autobots. I think you should be there.”

“Very well. Counterpunch, make sure the ship is ready when I get back.”

“Please tell that me that’s not your only interaction with Tarn in this story.” Late Term interrupted, resting he face on her knees.

“What? Does he have to be a main character?” an offended Cyclonus snapped back.

“No,” stated Sky-byte, “cameos are fine.”

“Well then.”

“Look… you might as well finish. How long is left?” asked Late Term, bitterly.

“You are really impatient." Cyclonus spoke passive aggressively. "I’m sorry my story is so long, but I said it was about my life.”

“I know but… every single detail?”

“No… just what I find important.”

“How do you even remember half of this?” Late Term begged.

“I have a good memory, okay?!” Cyclonus yelled.

“Well… get on with it!

I never saw Megatron after that. After Tarn took me to the last standing Autobot held city, we saw the planet die. We watched as Sentinel Prime’s ship: The Ark was destroyed and the Allspark was launched into deep space through a black hole. Megatron went after it, and then at that point, I thought it was over.

I hated that I felt the way I did, but I was relieved that Megatron was gone. I wanted the Decepticons to leave Cybertron, colonise one of the planets I’d taken, and move on.

I was a fool. Lugnut quickly brought us onboard his fleet, and instantly, we were sent on more jobs. I didn’t want to do it anymore, but I had to… it wasn’t just about me.

Cyclonus watched as the aliens that possessed his current targeted planet were being sent to a hole in the ground. A huge transformer led the rest of the Crusadercons towards it as Cyclonus waited.

“What is the meaning of this?!” demanded Cyclonus.

The tall one turned to him. "We have a lot of loose cattle at the moment.”

“What do you mean, Gigatron?”

“We have enough slaves from this planet, I have no use for the rest.”

Gigatron transformed into his two-headed dragon form and marched around the hole.

“Crusadercons!” he yelled. “You have done well on this planet and what you have done will ensure many more Decepticon victories. However, before we leave for our next infiltration, I have one last order for you all. There creatures are overstocked, and we need to make room. When I give my order, kill the rest.”

Cyclonus looked down at the aliens in the hole. All were weak and wearing only rags, some were mothers holding their children close to them while others were alone, crying to themselves.

Cyclonus sighed as he looked to his siblings and back to the hole.

When I saw what I had to do, I realised this wasn’t about Cybertron anymore. It was just for the Decepticons to feel like they still had a part in this galaxy. At that moment, I knew what had to do.

Cyclonus walked to the rest of the Crusadercons. “Brothers, sisters, I- I’m going to- listen. I’m going to make a choice, one you won’t like, but after I’ve done what I’ve done, I want you to know that I’m sorry.”

“Cyclonus,” said Black Shadow, “whatever you’re going through we-”

“It’s fine, Black Shadow. I know what I’m going to do, and I understand what it could lead to.”

Cyclonus walked to the turret that was positioned next to the hole. The Crusadercon held the turret high, he glanced back at his siblings, they were all giving him concerned looks.

“Ready?!” Gigatron yelled.

Cyclonus took a deep breath.

“Aim!”

He aimed the turret down.

“Fir-”

Cyclonus turned the turret to Gigatron and blew both the dragon heads off his body. Gigatron dropped to ground and transformed, but now lacking the legs he required to move. “What?" he said in shock. "Traitor!”

Gigatron was then interrupted by a blast, blowing his face in two. Cyclonus looked at the shot’s direction, it was Teal Bolt.

I thought I was going to lose it all… but to my surprise… they all felt the same way.

“It didn’t take long for Lugnut to figure out what had happened. For the last nine thousand years, my crew and I have been fleeing from whatever new hunter he sends after us. However, now with Lugnut dead, things might become a lot simpler for us.”

“Don’t you think Lugnut was a bit obsessive?” asked Sky-byte. “Nine thousand years? I’d give up after two!”

“You don’t understand, Sky-byte. Lugnut was a fanatic, he worshiped Megatron like he was a god.”

“Oh, I noticed that.”

“You see, Megatron presented us as one of the faces of his ideology. Our betrayal was not just a dishonour to the Decepticons, it was an embarrassment. Lugnut wanted us dead… because we had made Megatron look like an idiot.”

The three sat in silence for a while.

“Sky-byte, finish!” yelled Shipwreck from behind.

“Primus, Shipwreck! Don’t scare me like that!” shrieked Sky-byte in response.

“That boat can speak?” asked Cyclonus.

“Almost.” Late Term answered.

“Story... intriguing.” Shipwreck continued.

“You find his jungle hopping story more intriguing than my tragic tale?” bitterly asked Cyclonus.

“Hey! We sat through your shit! Sky-byte has seen a lot.” Late Term spat.

“By all means then, continue.” Cyclonus replied, raising his hands.

Sky-byte continued with his squad across the high grass. The sound of crackles from the wildlife moving around kept the Decepticon on ease. As the group approached the next camp from afar, they heard a loud burrowing sound.

Suddenly, the ground erupted from below and a transformer of enormous proportions stood above them.

“Primus! That’s Fortress Maximus!” yelled Darkscream as he unsheathed his swords.

Fortress Maximus slammed his hands onto the ground, knocking all Decepticons into the air. Sky-byte landed on his front and began to anxiously crawl as fast as he could before transforming into the tank alternative mode that he had at the time.

Fortress Maximus was well known across the galaxy as the one of biggest Autobots from the war. I never thought I’d see him up close.

Sky-byte drove as fast as he could. Behind him, he could hear the screams of his comrades as they were ripped apart. Eventually, he stopped, transformed, and began to pant back and forth as he regained control of himself.

I don’t why I drove so far. I couldn’t stop… I was afraid. I was… an idiot, a real idiot.

Sky-byte rose from the ground and looked back to where he fled. He sighed, realising what he had done. He turned to regroup, but before he could move a step, Fortress Maximus rose from behind.

“Decepticon scum!” he roared as he reached for the horrified Sky-byte.

I’d never been so scared before, I felt… small. I felt like I had no power over my life, over anything really.

Sky-byte rolled, dodging the hand that came for him. He transformed and shot from his tank mode, but it did nothing. Sky-byte quickly transformed back and attempted to use a different weapon, but was kicked, knocking him far from where he stood.

The brute landed; as he pushed himself up, he noticed Slapper lying on the ground next to him. The little guy was badly damaged; Sky-byte placed his ally over his back and ran.

“Sky-byte?” he heard. “What’s- happening?”

“Not now, Slapper. We need to get out of here.” Sky-byte replied.

They continued through the tall grass until an eruption from the ground knocked Sky-byte off balance.

“You can’t hide, Decepticon!” they heard Fortress yell as he appeared from over the grass and lunged at them.

Sky-byte jumped out of the way, only just missing the attack as Fortress Maximus destroyed all environmental life around them.

“Gaah! Why won’t you die?!” he roared.

At that moment, Fortress Maximus stood back up and fired missiles from the left side of his chest. Sky-byte managed to dodge all but one that hit him directly in the chest, knocking him to the ground and causing him to drop Slapper.

Sky-byte slowly pulled himself up as parts of him fell off. He aimed the cannon on his arm and tried to get a shot, but he couldn’t, he couldn’t control his arm. Sky-byte was too afraid to think straight.

Suddenly, Fortress Maximus let out a shriek of agony and Sky-byte noticed Hellscream climbing the giant. Hellscream grappled onto Fortress’ chin and swung down, firing shots at his chest. This was short-lived however, and Fortress quickly grabbed the captain.

From where Hellscream had fired, a hole had been cut under the giant’s chin, just below his neck.

“Sky-byte, you’ve got an opening!” Hellscream screamed. “Kill this glitch in the Allspark!”

Sky-byte aimed his cannon at the target, but he couldn’t fire, he couldn’t focus. Suddenly, Sky-byte felt a sharp pain in his mind. It was a headache that he’d never felt before; he felt tense and began to lose sight of everything.

“Sky-byte!” he heard. “Sky-byte, what are you doing?!”

He tried to regain focus and aimed. While his vision had become blurred, Sky-byte remained set on hitting the target. He fired.

Sky-byte fell silent for a while.

“Sky-byte?” said Late Term as she budged towards him with a concerned look on her face.

“Is he alright?” asked Cyclonus.

Sky-byte suddenly became aware of where he was.

“I- I’m good!” he let out.

Cyclonus looked at him with dead eyes while Late Term looked at him worryingly.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.

“Yes…”

“So, did you do it? did you kill Fortress Maximus?” asked Cyclonus.

“I…”

Sky-byte got up and walked away from the others, further down the hills. Late Term watched him before turning to Cyclonus.

“Just- wait here for a moment.”

Late Term rose and chased her friend down the hill. The ex-Decepticon brute stood and watched the moon from the edge of the cliff.

“Sky-byte!” he heard.

The ex-Decepticon didn’t turn around, instead he remained focused on the moon.

“Sky-byte?” he heard again, this time in a softer tone.

“I… I didn’t mean it.”

“Sky-byte, it’s fine. I get it, you missed.”

“I didn’t miss… I hit him. I shot Hellscream directly in the chest, Fortress laughed at me; he knew I was a joke.”

“You… killed your own boss?”

“I didn’t kill him, the shot merely wounded him, but it gave Fortress Maximus the advantage he needed…”

Sky-byte turned to face Late Term, the two locked eyes before he looked away from her.

“Sky-byte, why did you tell this story?” she asked.

“I- I don’t know. I suppose… I suppose I wanted to tell one story from the war, and this is the one I always remember.”

Late Term moved up to her friend and held his hands.

“You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to. I understand.”

“No… every story needs an ending.”

Sky-byte walked back to the fire and sat; Late Term sat next him, closely.

“Few survived…” he said, “But we got out, I led the survivors to an airfield, and we were extracted. I was given the badge of Omega for my services and promoted to captain of my squad. I don’t know why they chose me; I think it was because of my size.”

“Badge of Omega?” asked Shipwreck.

“It was something you got for surviving something that most would not. They don’t give them out anymore, but back then it meant something.”

“Where have you put it?” asked Cyclonus.

“I don’t have it anymore. I sold it to a merchant on Caminus.”

“What?!” yelled Late Term. “You sold it?!”

“Of course, why would I keep it? Every time I looked at it, I saw Hellscream’s face.”

“Omega! Why that name?!” asked Shipwreck, making Cyclonus jump up once more.

“They’re named after the Omega Sentinels.” Cyclonus explained. “They were giants that protected Cybertron against the Titans during the end of the second generation of Primes.”

“But they’re all gone now.” Sky-byte added. “Liege Maximo wiped them out before Sentinel Prime finished him off.”

“Story… more inspiring!” Shipwreck commented.

“Thanks…” the ex-Decepticon bitterly replied.

“So, if your story is now over, we only have on left.” Cyclonus began. “Late Term, are you ready to finish yours? I’m sure it’ll be easier to follow.”

Late Term crossed her arms at Cyclonus’ remark.

On Paradron, I watched as the Division killed almost every Autobot I’d known. I remember each one of them visually.

Tesarus was huge, he had a hole in his chest and a cross almost covering his four eyes. Kaon was Optimus’ size, so, small compared to me. He had no eyes.

Of course, Tarn was the most distinct, what other transformer has the Decepticon symbol for a face? He was my size, though bulkier.

Tarn walked across the corpses he had made. He looked around until he saw a terrified Topspin, lying on the ground.

“You thought you could hide?” he said, calmly as he approached the defector. “Topspin, is it not?”

Tarn held Topspin upside down by his legs.

“It’s a pity, you ran off in a Decepticon ship. Did you think we wouldn’t track it?”

“B- but, the war…” cried Topspin, softly.

“I’m sorry? What was that?”

“The war, it’s… stopped. There’s no reason to fight anymore.”

“How charming. But, my friend, the war won’t be truly over until Megatron rises from his corner and tells us to lay down.”

As Late Term watched Tarn play with his victim, she rose. The Autobot aimed her rifle at the Decepticon hunter.

“It’s a shame,” Tarn continued, “but no matter how hard we try, there will always be traitors out for themselves.” He then started to whisper. “Every single day, I wonder how many more traitors I have to kill before everyone stays in line. The list is never ending, and I know… because these Autobots love helping the weak.”

As Late Term aimed at Tarn’s head, she suddenly felt dizzy, she felt her arms loose their strength. As the Autobot lost balance and fell, she fired, missing Tarn by an inch.

What I didn’t know at the time was… Tarn had this power. Tarn’s voice could cause one’s spark to react in many different ways; he could make a transformer paralysed, he could make them self-destruct, all by whispering.

Late Term herd Tesarus laugh as she tried to get up. Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled up into the air; Tesarus was holding her. As he continued to laugh, Late Term attempted to punch him, but she was still numb. Tesarus grabbed her right arm and pulled it into his chest before grinding it. Late Term screamed as she felt her arm rip itself from her. The enormous Decepticon then tossed Late Term into the wall; she slid down as she began to fall apart.

“Bored now.” Tesarus then said. “Tarn, can we rap this up?”

“Almost, Tesarus, almost.” Tarn replied as he dropped Topspin on the ground. “I just want to take in this moment. It’s not often we get to kill so many in one day.”

Suddenly, the doors opened, and everybody turned. Optimus stood in the doorway, in his arms was the body of a smaller and skinnier Decepticon.

“Vos?” said Tesarus, looking at the corpse.

Optimus dropped Vos’ body and approached the three.

“Damus,” he said, his voice showing pity and remorse, “this isn’t you.”

“Don’t lecture me, Optimus.” Tarn spat. “I have made my choice.”

“Megatron corrupted you, Damus. He-”

“Stop… calling… me… that.”

“It is who you are, who you once were. You were my friend, Damus. Come back to us, we will repair you, we will forgive you. Please, I promise you, I-”

“Enough!”

I was stunned by Optimus’ actions, he was willing to forgive Tarn for everything he had done, but I wasn’t angry at him. In fact, I felt… honoured. It takes a lot to be willing to forgive someone for so much, but that’s what made a Prime; at least… that’s what I thought.

“I’ve made my choice, Optimus. This the way I want to live my life, this is how I intend it to be. I would rather die a proud Decepticon that return to your pitiful side.”

Late Term felt increasingly numb as Tarn continued to use his voice abilities, however, Optimus remained stood. It was like he as immune.

“So be it…” the last Prime whispered.

“How are you still standing?” asked Tarn as he began to lose his demeanour.

At that moment, Optimus’ eyes turned red. Tarn panicked and swung his arm to punch the Autobot leader, but Optimus grabbed it and in mere seconds, ripped it from its socket.

Late Term gasped as she watched Optimus kick Tarn to the ground before running to the centre of the three.

Kaon leaped in Optimus’s direction and fired beams of electricity, but Optimus took it in with no reaction. He then grabbed Kaon and unsheathed the blade his right arm before slashing into his shoulder. As Kaon winced, Tesarus ran at Optimus from behind but the last Prime ducked and rolled. As Optimus jumped out of the way of Tesarus’s slam, Tarn rose and tried to hit the Autobot leader once more, but Optimus grabbed and ripped that arm off too.

Tarn fell the ground and bellowed in agony, as he did, Kaon attempted to aid his boss, but Optimus grabbed the electric Decepticon. Tesarus ran at them both but Optimus was quick, he dodged the attack with Kaon still under his arm and slashed Tesrus’s knees, making the huge Decepticon unable to stand.

As Tesarus roared and Tarn screamed, Optimus slammed Kaon to the ground. Late Term watched in horror as Optimus ripped Kaon’s head clean from his body.

Optimus then jumped onto Tesarus’s body while the blood of Kaon was still on his arms. He unleashed the blade from his left arm and rammed both blades into Tesarus’ back then slid down. At this point, the colossal one was unable to move, he was leaking too much energon.

“Please… show me mercy!” Tesarus begged.

“Like you did to so many?” Optimus replied before picking up the rifle that Late Term had dropped and blowing the brute’s face off.

With the underlings of the Decepticon Justice Division dead, Optimus moved back to an armless Tarn. Tarn looked up at the Autobot Leader.

“Go on then, at least I’ll die a proud Decepticon.” Tarn spat.

“You die a disgrace, Damus.”

Optimus shoved both his blades into Tarn’s chest and slowly forced them upwards until only a head and spine remained. Optimus then pulled his pistol from his back and shot Tarn’s face, finishing him off.

As Tarn’s remains rusted, Optimus turned back to a distressed Late Term. though she was no longer numb, she didn’t want to get up.

Topspin then rose and looked around. He kicked the head of Tarn like it was a ball.

“Good riddance.” Topspin muttered.

Optimus remained focused on Late Term as she a breathed heavily.

“Do not worry, Late Term, it is over.”

Late Term didn’t respond, she just looked at Optimus in disgust. The tall Autobot then managed to push herself off the ground before stumbling out of the hanger.

Late Term walked across the halls, falling onto the walls as she did. She didn’t look back; her eyes were focused forward. Eventually, the distressed Late Term reached the end of the hall that led to the vault where cargo was placed. The Autobot fumbled through and slammed the door behind her. She sat against a wall a sunk her face into her knees.

I… I couldn’t comprehend what I saw. I felt… I don’t know how I felt… perplexed? It just… didn’t make sense.

Optimus Prime, a gentle and compassionate leader they said, and I had just seen him brutally murder three people. Everything I’d been told was starting to sound less true by the second. It made me question my whole life, what else had the Autobots lied about?

I sat there… for days. No one ever came in, no one ever looked for me.

Over time, I felt like I shouldn’t keep going. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, the sight of Tarn, Kaon and Tesarus screaming in fear as Optimus slaughtered them wouldn’t leave me alone.

Eventually, Late Term left the vault, she slowly walked across the halls. Many stopped to look at her miserable face, but she paid no mind to them. Late Term continued until she reached the bar. There, an Autobot named Hound was serving others. She sat and dropped her face onto the table.

“Hey, you need anything? You’re looking restless.” Hound said.

Late Term shot up and looked at the overweight Autobot.

“Sure… give me whatever.”

Hound passed her a glass of polluted energon. She drank it all in one, it didn’t taste nice, but it made her less focused which made the thoughts of Optimus’ rampage more of a blur.

“Can I have another please?” she asked.

Eventually, Hound had to order another load off his crew because I’d drank a cargo ship full. It was a good night. But when I woke up hungover afterwards, I realised that I couldn’t just let what had happened slip by.

Late Term sighed as she looked around her.

“That’s it really…” she said.

“That’s it?” asked Cyclonus. “That wasn’t the personal story I had expected.”

“It is personal, it’s why I left the Autobots, you idiot.”

“Alright,” interrupted Sky-byte, “let’s calm down. I think we’ve all revealed something dispiriting tonight. I think I’ve got to give Cyclonus five points in total for Megatron and one point for having a character from someone else’s story. I get four for Fortress Maximus. But Late Term, you got the full Decepticon Justice Division, and Optimus. I think you won.”

“That’s not the full Division, Sky-byte.” Cyclonus corrected. “There was one other, but don’t ask Fracture about him.”

“So, I won?” said Late Term. “Great…”

“I’m sorry about what happened.” Sky-byte said. “It’s a shame that- oh who am I kidding? We are all such disasters!”

“Yeah,” Late Term chuckled, “we really are. I guess that’s why we get along, you and me at least.”

“It’s not often I see friends that appear as close as you two.” Cyclonus commented. “You two are very lucky to know each other.”

“Thanks. That means a lot. I hope you can be our friend too, what do you say?” asked Sky-byte.

Cyclonus chuckled.

“We’ll see, we will see.”

Underneath a castle in England, Lieutenant walked into the dungeon, followed by Jetfire.

“So, this is the place? This is where you’ve kept all the alien shit?” asked Jetfire.

“This is it,” said Lieutenant, “this is the place where… where are we again?”

“We’re in the vault, Jhiaxus.”

“Right. Well, I hope you can find something useful around here. What are you after?”

“Something I can use to find my friends. hopefully, there is an energon tracker around here.”

As Jetfre looked around, he noticed a train with carriages.

“What the- is that a train?” he said, confused at the sight.

“Ah yes.” Lieutenant replied. “Waspinator brought it in sometime ago. He said it had high traces of energon inside it; he even said he felt a spark.”

Jetfire looked at the train; suddenly, a memory came to his head. He knew exactly what this was.

“Holy shit. This is Shipwreck’s other half.”

Chapter Text

Sky-byte slumped in his chair as he flew the shuttle across the sea. He was surprised the ship could take the weight. Across the horizon, he saw The Lifespark come into view.

“There he is.” Cyclonus said. “Counterpunch will be following you”

“I don’t think a ship that size will fit wherever we end up.” Late Term commented.

“That won’t be a problem.” Fracture interjected.

Not really interested in what Fracture meant, Late Term activated her shard and analysed the globe-map.

“There’s a large source of energon coming from- hold on.”

“What is it?” asked Cyclonus.

“There’s an energy source… near Denmark," she said, "but, it’s in the middle of the ocean.”

“You sure?” asked Sky-byte.

"That’s what it says.” Late Term spoke as she showed the map to her pilot.

Sky-byte had a look at the map then shrugged. “Alright then.”

The shuttle accelerated with The Lifespark not too far behind. Eventually they reached the energon eradiated point.

“So,” said Sky-byte, “now what?”

Suddenly, a circle of unknown material revealed itself from the ocean. The circle opened, revealing a tube that tunnelled down, though only big enough for Sky-byte’s shuttle.

“Shit. We should have gone here first.” Late Term said in disbelief.

The shuttle lowered down while The Lifespark landed on the ocean above. As the shuttle reached the bottom, the top tunnel began to fold in on itself. The four in the shuttle sat as they took it all in.

“Who wants to step out first?” humoured Late Term.

Across the far reaches of space, one Autobot ship warped. Blastwave sat in the pilot seat, continuing his work on his new leg from Launch-code’s parts. At the right side of him, both Dauntless and Eye-wheel Dye were chained to the wall.

“We’ve been at full speed for many orbital-cycles now.” Dauntless spoke. “Where are we going?”

Blastwave didn’t answer. The Autobot traitor continued to tighten the joints on his new leg.

“You can’t expect to keep this ship going forever. It will run out of fuel soon.”

Blastwave swiftly tossed a dart into Dauntless’ head without looking. The Autobot fell into deactivation. Eye-wheel Dye was already asleep due to a dart that had hit him earlier.

Blastwave sighed as he checked the scanners for what system they were currently in. While one hand remained on his leg, the other placed a disk into the control panel. Suddenly, the small hologram of an elderly looking transformer became visible.

“People of Cybertron,” he said, “I pray this message reaches you all. It has been some time since Megatron took our planet, hasn’t it? And what have we become in that time? What changes have been made to our planet? What has Megatron done to our once great world? He has shown his true self, for he is nothing but a tyrant… and a coward. For too long we have allowed this dictator to corrupt our proud civilisation. I look around at what this planet is becoming, and I am disgusted. The rallies, the prisons, the public executions.”

The man in the hologram raised his fists triumphantly.

“In my opinion, freedom is everyone’s right. But in order to get to that right, we need to make sacrifices, we need to become… more. I don’t expect you all to join me, but I hope you can understand me. If Megatron continues his reign, it will bleed out to other worlds, and we will become something… unspeakable. I ask you all, my brothers, and sisters. Join me, join my legion. For we are the Autobots, and... we are unstoppable.”

As the hologram continued, Blastwave began to speak along with it as he knew it word for word.

“We are a small group now, and I know it may seem like a suicidal crusade, but I have seen greater odds. When I was a minor, I killed Liege Maximo Prime. On that day, I thought it was impossible, yet I survived. Now here I am, asking you to do what to you may seem impossible. But I assure you, if we come together, if we are willing to do what is necessary, we will prevail. I am Sentinel Prime, and I bring this message to all those living under Megatron’s laws. Don’t… stop… fighting back.”

Blastwave finished his final adjustments to his leg as the hologram shut off. He stood and practiced walking; as he did, he heard Eye-Wheel Dye awaken.

“W- where I am I? oh, right.”

“Do you need another dart?” said Blastwave.

“No." He sighed. "I’ll just hang here and watch you run in circles until someone finds you.”

Blastwave chuckled before erupting into maniacal laughter. “No one’s coming, Dye. We’re not far from our destination now.”

“Destination? You mean you haven’t been blindly flying as far as possible?”

Blastwave stood firm and crossed his arms.

“Starscream is no longer a viable asset." He explained, sharply. "If I want to create chaos in the Decepticon ranks, I need to gain the trust of less narcissistic leaders. It’s time I begin my infiltration into the Kaye fleet, but first, I need to find Lugnut.”

“Lugnut? Isn’t he running that fleet? Why would he be out this far?”

“You foolish Autobots. Lugnut never gave up on Megatron, or the Allspark. He’s still searching for them both!”

Dye cried out. “You’re insane, Blastwave. If Lugnut was still searching, then we would have heard about it.”

“Exactly! That’s it right there! You Autobots have been so set on leaving this war behind, you were too arrogant to realise that Lugnut has been invading countless worlds!”

Blastwave stormed to the controls and aggressively pulled back the lever, causing the warp to end. Out of the window, they saw many planets.

“This is it.” Blastwave said. “This part of the galaxy should contain Planet: One Nine Eight Four. Wherever Lugnut is, I’ll find him, no matter his fate.”

Late Term walked across the base followed by the others. She eyed each compartment on the walls. Each wall had a balcony that led to a room.

“What Seeker lived here?” she asked herself.

“More than one I’d assume.” Cylonus commented in response.

“This is a nice lookin’ den!” yelled Fracture.

“It is...” said Sky-byte.

Late Term stopped, halting the rest behind her.

“Right,” she said, “Sky-byte and I pick rooms first. Wait here.”

The now ecstatic ex-Autobot grabbed Sky-byte by his arm and pulled him towards a tunnel that led to the rooms on the ground floor.

“Late Term can you stop pulling me?” Sky-byte asked. “That really hurts, you know.”

She stopped and let go of her friend, then calmed from her overexcitement. “Sorry. I’m just happy to get a place again.”

“We lost our old one like, two days ago.”

“I know, but still! This whole thing is ours! We own this! We should try to get the big and most fanciest rooms!”

Late Term jumped in her returning excitement while Sky-byte watched her, amused.

“We could… share a room.” Sky-byte suddenly suggested.

Late Term froze.

“Together?” she asked.

“Sure. It would make things easier for us. We’d be able to talk to one another without having to remember where the other one is.”

Late Term crossed her arms and smirked. “Alright then, Sky-byte. But first we’ve got to find one with two beds.”

The two started continuing through the hall. They looked through each of the rooms until eventually, they came across one at the end of the tunnel. It was a bunkbed and just about Sky-byte’s size. The two looked at each other, their faces both showing their intent. Swiftly, the two ran to the bunkbed. Late Term leaped and grappled onto the top, but Sky-byte then grabbed her by the waist and jolted backwards. Immediately, the ex-Decepticon dropped his friend onto the ground and climbed onto the top bunk.

“Alright. found mine!” he yelled as he rested his hands behind his head.

Late Term rolled her eyes before sitting on the lower bunk. “That hurt!” she spat.

“Well then, that bed should soften it.”

As Cyclonus stood next to the shuttle, he noticed Fracture connecting pieces of metal together.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

She replied to him. “Making my disguise here.”

“And how’s it going along?”

“I sent a drone out before we got here. it’s scannin’ a few different planes. I think I’ve gotten an idea on what I want.”

“You’ve scanned a few? Not this again! Fracture, the reason you disguise yourself is so you can blend in. That won’t work if your form is of something that doesn’t exist.”

“How else will you spot me?” she said, sounding genuine.

“That’s the point, Fracture!" Cyclonus shot back. "I’m not supposed to spot you!”

“Oh, stop bein’ a lil’ push over.”

Cyclonus shook his head before activating his com-link. “Counterpunch, you there?” he said.

“I’m right here, Cyclonus.” Counterpunch replied, innocently.

“Alright. you know what to do. Have you removed all the necessary items?”

“Most of it. Teal Bolt is packing the last few bits into the Nearby. Has Fracture finished the virus yet?”

“No, she’s… making her new form.”

“Oh. Can you call me when she’s done?”

“Sure.”

Cyclonus turned off his comms and turned back to his subordinate. “Don’t forget, we need that virus done by the end of the day.”

Sometime later, Sky-byte shoved the last of his stuff in a container in the corner of his new room.

“There!” he said.

“Is that everything?” he heard Late Term ask.

“I think so.”

Late Term walked to his side.

“Good. I’m done as well. Should we check on our residents?”

The two made their way out of the tunnel and back to the shuttle. There, they saw Fracture screwing on a propeller to a plane they had not seen before.

“Almost… done!” she yelled as she finished the last screw.

“What is it?” asked Sky-byte as he stood, looking at an odd contraption.

The plane placed in front of them was a long aircraft with two cockpits. It was white with the symbol that had been seen on a few American planes.

“I’ve been doin’ some lil’ research since we landed on Earth.” Fracture spoke. “I’ve had my drone scan the right planes to help me with this design. Presentin’… the Twin-Mustang!”

“Fracture, what happens when an American sees a new Mustang variant that they don’t recognise?” asked Cyclonus.

“They’ll… we’ll find out when it happens.”

Fracture looked down at her creation and scanned it.

“There. That’s my new form sorted. Now, what was I supposed to be doin’?”

“Prepare your phantom drive.” Cyclonus facepalmed. “Counterpunch can tell you the rest.”

Conuterpunch sat on the pilot seat of the Nearby. He activated a hologram from his arm and typed in the necessary functions. The Lifespark activated and the Nearby detached from the back. As the Lifespark rose, each Crusadercon in the Nearby saluted.

“Alright,” said Counterpunch, “it’s off, sir.”

Cyclonus heard the call and nodded to Fracture who began to type away at her devices.

On the edge of a cliff over the English Channel, the Autobot Arsenal sat together. Inferno bounced the head of Freezon like it was a ball. Strongarm swung her sword against the grass. Ghost sat on a rock with his chin rested on his fist while Matchstick cleaned his rifle.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, boss.” Matchstick said in his suave voice. “It’s a large ship, it will be easy to find. It would be unwise for them to not remain incognito within populated areas.”

“I’m not upset, Matchstick.” Ghost assured. “I am merely concerned for the willpower of this crew. We have lost one of our members on this planet, and finding a replacement is never easy. I fear that Fix-it will be hard to replace.”

“He did his job well. Fix-it will be remembered like those before him.”

“Yes. Like Bashbreaker before him, or Nightra before you. This team has suffered losses before, and it is a shame each time. But we always find a suitable replacement; and I know whoever we find next, I know they will be beneficial.” Ghost sat up straight. “However, I know it will be a lot harder to get the word out. We are far from Autobot space, so finding another member will be more challenging than before.”

Ghost stood; he looked at each his peers.

“I remember when I found all you. Strongarm, you were a cadet, stuck guarding the same prison ship. Matchstick, you were a bounty hunter on Cybertron’s wasteland; I let you see how to find a greater purpose. Inferno." He paused. "I’ve known you your whole life, I can only imagine what would have become of you without me.”

Suddenly, a vibration came from Strongarm’s scanner. Ghost snapped out of whatever heartfelt speech he was going to make.

“Sir!” Strongarm said. “I’ve detected an enormous energon blast, east of here. I think Cyclonus’ ship is taking off.”

Immediately, Ghost shot his head towards her.

“Where?”

Back on the Nearby, Counterpunch activated The Lifespark’s remote control from his seat. Classic sat next to him and Teal Bolt sat from behind.

“Alright. Here it goes.” Counterpunch said to himself.

Ghost ran into the Reaping with his squad not far behind.

“Get to your seats, now!” he roared.

Each Autobot activated their set of controls. Ghost strapped himself behind Strongarm as she prepared for take-off.

Counterpunch kept his mind on the remote controls, through the visor on his helmet, he saw what the ship saw. The pilot brought the ship’s nose up to face the sky before igniting its engines to maximum capacity.

Classic sat next to Counterpunch while Teal Bolt and Black Shadow sat behind, all three watched him supportively. Counterpunch seemed to be under control, his face formed a smirk as he seemed to be having a hold on the situation. Suddenly however, he stopped.

“Counterpunch? Keep going, we’ve got them where we need them.” Black Shadow stated.

The pilot remained silent. Soon each passenger moved past or over their seats to assist him.

“Counterpunch?” said Classic, concerned for the pilot. “You okay?”

She tapped before lightly shaking him. There was no response; Counterpunch remained completely comatose. It was like he had left his body.

The Reaping was getting close to the now halted Lifespark. The Autobot ship fired, damaging one of the engines of the Decepticon vessel.

“Fools!” yelled Inferno as he watched his ship hit theirs. “They have nowhere to hide now!”

The Reaping continued to approach the Lifespark, taking more shots at each exposed area. The Lifespark itself didn’t move, it couldn’t. As the surrounding Crusadercons yelled for the Decepticon pilot to wake up, Counterpunch was trapped within the flashes in his mind. One by one, images flew by him, those of the war, those of the fall of Cybertron’s capital. But then, suddenly another image flickered in his mind. He saw Sentinel Prime, and behind him was a scientist he recognised as Shockwave. Counterpunch soon realised that Sentinel was holding him by the throat while Shockwave was preparing some electric wires. The image did not make sense to the pilot; Shockwave was a Decepticon, why was he with Sentinel? Was this before the war?

Suddenly, the flashes ended, and Counterpunch found himself back in the cockpit of The Nearby while looking through the cameras on the Lifespark

“Counterpunch!” he heard Teal Bolt yell.

“I’m fine, let’s finish this!” he yelled back.

Back in the newly found base, Sky-byte sat on his bed while Late Term leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

“So…,” the ex-Autobot began, “what do you think this place was used for?”

Her ex-Decepticon friend shrugged. “It’s hard to say, this place seems like a paradise for a transformer living on this planet. If it can fit me inside it, it can fit anyone. Why would the Seekers need to hide in different countries when they could have just stayed here?”

“Maybe The Fallen wanted it all to himself. I know I would.”

The was a moment of silence, then Late Term noticed Sky-byte looking at her, worried.

“Is that what you want?” he asked in that concerned tone he always used. “I can go if you like.”

“Shut the fuck up, Sky-byte!” Late Term replied, giggling. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Sky-byte awkwardly chuckled. “I know, I just… don’t want to get in the way of anything.”

Late Term sighed at her friend’s statement. She hated how much she loved his awkwardness; it was clearly not something that the brute was proud of, yet she found it to be one of his strong points. She hoped he would not be insulted if she told him that. As the two looked at one another, their faces became more apprehensive, as if they both felt like there was something else they should probably do, that was when their doors opened and a tiny transformer stepped through.

“Are you two there yet?!” yelled Cogman as he placed his hands on his hips.

“What? Where?!” Late Term yelled back, jumping out of her distracting thoughts. “What’s the matter, Cogman?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Strongarm piloted the Reaping closer to its target. It fired its heaviest rounds at the Crusadercon’s craft. Suddenly, the Lifespark began to rev up its engines once more.

“Aah shit, they’re taking off!” yelled Matchstick.

“No, they aren’t!” replied Ghost. “Strongarm, convert full power to the nose cannons. We’ll blow them out of the sky.”

Strongarm did as instructed and the Reaping began to fire blast of pure energy. The blast incinerated parts of the Lifespark; the ship was beginning to lose power.

Far from that ship, Counterpunch remained sat in the Nearby. With all the strength and determination that he could employ, the pilot set the Lifespark’s next coordinates.

On the Autobot Arsenal’s end, the four watched as their target’s ship was beginning to lose control, when suddenly, one saw a spec in the distance.

“Hang on, who’s that?” asked Inferno

Eventually, it became clear that the spec was actually a plane, a big plane for that matter. Suddenly, it transformed, revealing a rusty tall transformer with what looked like a beard. The old one landed directly onto the ship’s front window.

“Alright, bastards?!” he yelled.

“Ignore him, keep firing!” ordered Ghost as he began to lose his temper.

“Sir, I can’t see where I’m firing.” Strongarm stated.

“Then fire anywhere!”

The old one on the window unexpectedly then fired missiles from his chest. The Autobot crew heard many of their weapons explode around them.

“Sir, he’s breaking us apart!” yelled a now distressed Inferno. “What is he?”

Ghost looked at the old transformer who was now laughing at him. “Just another target to add to our assortment.”

Back on Counterpunch’s end, he realised that the Autobot ship had begun to loosen its attack. With no more distractions, the pilot started the jump.

The Autobot Arsernal watched as the Lifespark shot off into space. At that moment, the old transformer jumped off their window and flew into the distance. The four crew members sat in both confusion and rage. All of a sudden, Ghost bellowed as he pulled himself of his seat.

“No! I had them. I had them right here!”

“Sir.” Inferno interrupted. “I completed the scan. There were indeed all six Crusadercons were on that ship, as well as their pilot.”

“Then we no time to lose.”

The Nearby landed inside the new base; both Cyclonus and Fracture were waiting for them. As the ramp opened up from the ship, Counterpunch walked out first with the others behind him.

“Well done.” Cyclonus immediately spoke, congratulating his pilot. “It seems we were successful.”

“It also seems my lil’ virus worked too.” Fracture commented. “They should believe that we’re all on that vessel.”

“Good work, Fracture. Now-”

Cyclonus paused as he noticed Counterpunch looking rather distracted. Fracture noticed it too.

“Is there something wrong? she asked.

“It… it happened again.” Counterpunch said, rubbing his wrist.

“Well,” Cyclonus began, “it’s fine. You completed your task, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“There is… was… something different about this one.”

“What was that?”

“I saw… Sentinel, Sentinel Prime. He- he was holding me; Shockwave was with him.”

Cyclonus tilted his head. “That’s an odd one.”

“Odd?" Couterpunch retorted. "Why would Shockwave be there?”

“I’m sure it’s just a collection off faces you recognise." Cyclonus explained. "You shouldn’t take it too seriously, Counterpunch.”

The pilot looked up at his boss and sighed. “I- I hope you’re right.

As Cyclonus stroked his chin on the current matter, Sky-byte and Late Term walked back down the base’s hall with Cogman sitting on the ex-Decepticon’s shoulder. Eventually, they reached their shuttle. The three ignored the conversation between the Crusadercons, that was until they heard a voice call to them

“Are you our landlords then?”

Both Sky-byte and Late Term were taken aback by the bot calling to them. Sky-byte immediately unleashed his blades while Late Term aimed her shotgun while standing between the two.

“How?!” screamed the ex-Autobot. “How did you?”

“Hold on!” interrupted Cyclonus. “This is Teal Bolt. I know he looks like Megatron, but he just has his genes.”

The distressed two lowered their weapons before continuing their walk to Sky-byte’s shuttle. As they entered, Sky-byte placed Cogman down and began to reactivate the ship’s communicator.

“Okay, lets get it right this time," he said.

“I’m ready when you are.” Cogman replied as he set up the communicator’s frequency.

Sky-byte stood before leaning towards the communicator’s microphone.

“Calling occupants of interplanetary crafts. I bring this to you because… like you I think this war has brought us nothing but pain- wait, no, let’s start over. This war… this war has brought out the worst of us and- I think it’s time we… no. Enough about this pointless war. The war is over, and what matters is that we have each other now. My name is Sky-byte, and for a while now I have been on this- green planet. I’ve discovered a lot about this world: it’s people, it’s cultures. But I don’t want it to myself, I want to share it with you. If you feel as though this useless war has taken too much from you, I’m asking you, no, I’m ordering you… come here. Please?”

Sky-byte looked back at both his friend and servant before continuing.

“Look. I get it, it seems like a silly thought. But I have a plan. We settle down on this planet, we make it our home and then once that it settled, we shall combine with this planet's race… and we shall move on. It’s time we found ourselves a home that’s not going to push us away.”

Ghost awaited next to one of the Reaping’s escape pods. Strongarm approached him.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” she asked.

“Yes.” Ghost replied. “I’ve been thinking of how we should continue our hunt. Inferno has discovered the Lifespark’s flight plan. We are going to continue our pursuit.”

“But?”

“But I want you to stay here. We have made targets here, and while I understand you want to finish the Crusadercons as much as I, I think you are the only one suitable for this task.”

“Task, sir?”

“Stay here. Find Sky-byte, as well as any other Decepticon or Autobot defector on this planet and slay them. We will return for you once our deed is done.”

“I am honoured, Ghost, but I must ask. Do you really think I could take them all alone?”

“I didn’t say you’ll be doing it alone.”

Ghost led Strongarm into the pod. There, she saw many deactivated transformers attached to the walls.

“I have moved the remaining Activists into this pod, I have also upgraded them with an Earth vehicle. They should be enough.”

Chapter Text

Jetfire flew over the sea until finally, he saw it. A circle in the ground with a hunky piece of metal waiting for him. The Seeker transformed and dropped onto the circle’s surface.

“You came…” the big one said.

“Aye,” Jetfire replied, “I did.”

The two stared at each other before the big one ran at the old man and wrapped his arms around him.

“Thank you, Jetfire! We won’t let you down!”

“Sky-byte, get off me!”

Sky-byte let the Seeker go.

“Sorry.”

The two stood together as an elevator brought them down the edge of the tunnel. Jetfire could see the place from outside the lift’s clear walls.

“Can’t believe you found it. I haven’t been here in a while.” Jetfire spoke.

“You’ve been here before?” asked Sky-byte.

“Once. The Fallen had a summit here a long time ago. He then locked it off, only those he found most loyal were allowed back in.”

“I got in.”

“You did. It must be because of Waspinator’s shard. I bet he was one of those allowed in.”

“That… actually makes a lot of sense.”

The lift made its stop on the ground floor. Sky-byte quickly led Jetfire out before announcing to the open room

“Gather round, people. I have someone to show you!” the ex-Decepticon yelled.

Jetfire watched as many transformers, some he knew, some he didn’t assembled around him.

“Patrons of our great home, I’d like to introduce you to someone I know dearly. This man has seen more than any of you. He has fought gods and demons. This is Jetfire! Please make him feel welcome, as he did to me.”

“I erm… I don’t know this man.” Jetfire rebutted.

In the far reaches of space, a lost and broken ship lay dormant; inside sat Dreadwind, watching the blackness of space. Suddenly, a light shined from below his view and to the rest of the crew’s fortune, a large Decepticon vessel flew across. It prepared to board.

The wounded Titan was dragged aboard by two Devastators and dropped onto the bridge; there, he heard the heavy footsteps of his superior.

“Dreadwind,” he heard Trypticon speak, “where have you been?”

Trypticon’s voice was not in his usual polite tone, the Titan was for possibly the first time in centuries, inpatient. Dreadwind sunk his head into his own arms.

“Trypticon, my lord. I was sent to The Fallen’s planet to root out-”

“The Crusadercons, I know. Yet you have returned in ruin. I presume your mission was failure. Of course, but that then raises a concern I’m sure you are aware of.”

“Y-yes, Trypticon. Let me explain.”

“There is nothing to explain, you summoned Lugnut away from his search for Megatron to help you handle a few measly traitors. And now… Lugnut is not on your ship, nor has he made any contact with us in a long time.”

Trypticon crouched, making his lizard shaped head just above Dreadwind who had just raised his head to finally look his superior in the eye. “Now I understand that travel through space can take time, especially for a planet as far from Cybertron as that one, but it is unlike Lugnut to be so… unresponsive. Please tell me, Dreadwind, what happened to him.”

“He’s dead.”

Both Titans rose and behind them stood Durge.

“Durge?” the reptilian Titan spoke. “What do you mean he’s dead?”

“What else would I mean?!” yelled the scout. “I saw them. Lugnut’s remains floating across the ocean below a cliffside. I know it may be hard to believe, Trypticon, but I know what I saw. Lugnut is dead.”

Trypticon stepped back, his hand shivered as he rubbed it against his face.

“H-how? How did they?”

“It was not Cyclonus, or any of his band.”

“Then who? Who were they?”

“I… don’t know. One was… tall, in fact, none of them were the usual size. One was old, very old. The other seemed young, she didn’t look like she had seen Cybertron. However, I recognised one, I didn’t know him personally, but I recognised him from our files.”

“And who might that be?”

“Sky-byte. The one Lugnut sent out to die. That was the planet he was sent to, wasn’t it?!”

Trypticon looked back at Dreadwind. “Is this true?”

“I can’t say.” Dreadwind replied. “I was not present, Lugnut ordered me to stay put. However, Smokejumper was also destroyed on that planet; his killers match those who Durge say killed Lugnut. I think it is safe assume that Sky-byte is responsible for all of this.”

Trypticon turned back to face the stars outside the ship’s front window.

“Then, it is decided. Dreadwind, I need you to summon the remaining Titans and send them back to that planet. I want this traitor’s head, as well as those who stand between you and him.”

“You’re not coming?” asked Dreadwind.

Trypticon smiled. “I have a delivery on its way to this spot. I don’t know how long it will take, but it is important. Until then, I must remain in this sector. But fear not, Dreadwind. The Titans you bring will be more than enough for you. This Sky-byte has become something we must all learn from. I thought he was just a coward, an expendable soldier, but now I see we all underestimated him. He is no failure; he is an unstoppable force.”

Sky-byte slammed his head into a wall in the hallway.

“I don’t have time for this, Cogman. I need to make sure this home is following the standards I made for it.”

“Oh, come on! I can handle that. Don’t you trust me?” Cogman leaned his elbow against the wall while looking up at his master.

“Of course, I trust you, but- ugh. I want to make sure that Jetfire can make a home for himself here; he deserves it more than any of us.”

Sky-byte started to walk out of the hallway and into the landing area, as he did, the little one climbed onto his shoulder. They moved past a few newer additions to the home, Sky-byte gave them a nod of acknowledgment while Cogman ignored them.

“Look, I just think you’ve been over working yourself a little. Would it really hurt to take one day off?”

“I suppose not. But why do want me to take Late Term?”

“I just think… that… she’d be good company?”

“Good company? I see her all the time.”

“Yes, but- ugh. There are so many people here now and… well… you don’t get to- ugh. I don’t know.”

“Cogman, there’s like ten people here in total right now.”

“That’s not what I mean! Sky-byte, listen. Just… do it once. For me?”

Sky-byte groaned at his servant. Cogman was getting a little too persistent in what his master should do, however, Sky-byte knew he did not mean any harm. At the end of the day, Cogman was not born the way he is now; his personality was through a combination of glitches on Sky-byte’s ship rammed into an unstable reprogram; the Headmaster was not going to be the brightest. The ex-Decepticon did not want to consistently give into his servant’s demands, however, this time it would probably keep him down for a while.

Sky-byte turned to face the Headmaster balancing on his shoulder. “Where should we go?”

Cogman started rubbing his hands together. “Right. There is a convoy heading though Norway at the moment; it’s transporting a large quantity of diesel to its docks for its military. You and her should rob it.”

“What?!” Sky-byte yelled, raising his hands in a questioning manor. “That could cripple that country’s war effort. Look, while I do want the war on this planet to end, I don’t think we should interfere with it. It’s not our war to begin with.”

Cogman was about to speak but Sky-byte raised his hand to show he was not finished. “I know. I know we raided that Japanese boat, but we had just gotten here, and they attacked first. It was a one-time thing.”

“One-time? When we fought Lugnut, Jetfire killed many human soldiers on there way to intervene. Face it, Sky-byte. We have a trigger finger for the Axis powers.”

Sky-byte stopped and let out a rather loud sigh. “Cogman, I understand that- that it may look like I’ve picked a side, but these acts have been… accidental. This war is not ours to wage. I’m happy to take Late Term out through Norway, sure. But I’m not robbing the humans of their necessary needs. It would be too much interference.”

“Fine. Just… take her to that spot I’ve given you, okay?”

“Fine.”

At that moment, Sky-byte saw Late Term walking in his direction. Without really thinking, he flicked Cogman off his shoulder like he was an insect. The ex-Decepticon ignored his servant’s squeal as he waited for his friend to reach him.

“Late Term!” he yelled before quickly calming himself down. “Good to see you- how is- erm… everything going?”

“Great.” Late Term replied. “You’ve definitely done a good job here so far. How’s it been for you?”

“Oh, good! Exceptionally good! Listen, I have decided to… take time off for bit. You think you might want to go through Norway with me? We’ve not been there before.”

“Yes!” the ex-Autobot blurted before calming down herself. “I’d be happy to. When?”

“Tomorrow? Is that okay?”

“Sure. got nothing else to do.”

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, a ship of immeasurable size plummeted from the sky. The ship splashed directly into the sea and began to sink. Inside, Blastwave pulled himself off his chair as water began to rise around him. Beside the Autobot traitor, his prisoners struggled.

“You won’t find him!” yelled Dauntless. “You’ll find nothing here!”

Blastwave ignored the squabbling from his former comrades. He climbed out of the flooding cockpit; he pulled a lever on the wall in the hall and heard the water drain back out as the window became covered by a metallic sheet. Blastwave sat back down on his seat before pulling out another dart and throwing it at Dauntless’ forehead.

Blastwave opened up the compartment under the cockpit desk and retrieved a drone. He began to type in the correct combinations.

“Access code: Auntie. Scan the planet for lifeforms and possible disguises. I want to get as much information as I can before I begin my search.”

The drone shot off past to Blastwave. The Autobot traitor pushed back his chair and rested his legs on the control panel as he waited for the drone’s findings.

Under the night sky on some snowy mountains, there was a flash of electricity and Jetfire beamed into existence with the two usuals in his arms.

“Right,” the old man said, “you two play nice. If you need me to come pick you up, just call.”

Jetfire then teleported away, leaving the two to look out over the mountains. Late Term crouched down and picked up a heap of snow with her right hand.

“You ever see snow before this planet?” asked Sky-byte as he turned to her.

“There was this one planet we visited back in my minor days. Messatine.” Late Term responded. “Blastwave took us there to practice fighting in harsh weather conditions.”

“How was it?”

“Wet. I only got through the last stage because of my height; everyone else got buried.”

Sky-byte chucked under his breath. “Sounds fun.”

“Yeah. It was for me anyway.”

Sky-byte turned back to take a look at the view from where he stood. Below he saw a human village; each house made from wood and stone with lights beaming from those light sticks that humans always put in the roads. It was beautiful.

Sky-byte’s awe was cut shot be a collage of snow striking directly at the back of his head. The ex-Decepticon turned back around to see Late Term laughing to the point where she was almost losing balance. Sky-byte did not get angry, instead he smirked.

“I see how it is.” That was all the brute said before swiftly sliding his hand across the ground, grabbing the snow beneath him and tossing it directly at the ex-Autobot.

Late Term’s laughter was stopped as the snow slapped directly onto her face. There was a moment of silence before she shot Sky-byte a look of rage, however that soon became a devilish grin as she jumped to the ground to pick up snow of her own. Realising her intent, Sky-byte transformed and flew to the other side of the mountain before stockpiling the snow for himself.

As the night went on the two laughed as they continuously pelted one another, both their faces dripped with water as they continued to challenge themselves on how long they could last. Eventually, Sky-byte dropped to his knees; he was exhausted. As he looked down at the ground, he heard Late Term slowly approach him. He looked up, expecting to get pelted once more, but there was no snow in her hands. Instead, she crouched down and placed her hands on his shoulders.

“You okay?” she asked, looking concerned.

“Yes. Just… tired. You win.”

Late Term let out a slight giggle. “Really? You’re just going to give up?”

“That’s what I do.”

Suddenly a slight slap was given to his left check.

“No, you don’t. You never give up. No one keeps going more than you.”

“Maybe. But I would have never gotten to this point without you.”

“Oh, shut up.” Late Term chuckled awkwardly. “I’m just a companion. You’re the leading role of this story.”

“Perhaps.” Sky-byte said, grinning. “But every protagonist needs that sidekick. The one that does all the work. You ever had Cogman read human literature to you?”

“Yeah. He read that book about that octopus monster in a cave to me once.”

“Well, Cogman once read to me this book. I say book, it was a bunch of fictional letters stuck together. I think it was called… Dracula? Something like that. Well, you see, in it, the main character, he’s called Harker. The thing is, Harker is the main character, but he’s not the important one, no. His… wife? I think that’s what they’re called. Mina, she does everything. She’s the one who helps Harker defeat the villain and safe the universe. You see, Late Term, I hero is nothing without their companion.”

Late Term rubbed her neck. “You saying I’m Mina?”

“No. you’re more.”

The two started smiling at each other for a while, both not really sure what to do next, that was until Sky-byte saw what looked like a missile heading towards Late Term’s back. The ex-Decepticon let out a squeal before grabbing Late Term by her hips and spinning himself around her, taking the hit.

In the base, Cogman sat on a wooden seat. “Finished!” he yelled as Jetfire approached him.

“What is it?” he asked.

“The final piece of my historical fiction!”

Jetfire squinted his eyes at the painting. “Why did you paint Queen Victoria shaking hands with a transformer?”

“It’s the last piece of my puzzle.” Cogman picked up the painting and carried it to his quarters with Jetfire not far behind. As they entered, Jetfire looked at all the paintings of transformers alongside historical figures in human history.

“What is then? Some sort of art gallery?”

“Sky-byte said that when the war on this planet ends, he’s going to reveal himself to the winning team and try to start a coalition. I thought it would be helpful if I made humans think we’d always been here.”

“We have. I’ve been here since they were throwing rocks at each other.”

“No. I mean, we were all here. I have created a group, an organisation. People that have been in league with transformers for centuries! I call it… The Order of Witwiccans. After the explorer who discovered Megatron according to some files I stole.”

“Wha- when?”

“I went back to the dam sometime after you left, just before those Autobots showed up.”

“Wouldn’t that be a little convenient? The order that knew about transformers have the same name as the guy who found one of them?”

“Well… what if he was in the order too?”

“I think the people running that dam would find proof that he wasn’t”

“Well… erm… shut up!”

As Jetfire continued to look upon the paintings, he saw many strange scenes. He saw a painting of Shakespeare writing on a table-sized transformer’s back. He saw Lenin raising the Soviet flag with a transformer by his side. He even saw a transformer carrying Richard III from a loosing battle. As the old man continued, he reached what looked like a family tree.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“That’s my favourite part. I have designed a family tree that links the order together.”

“Why is Charles Darwin on here? are you trying to say we told him what evolution was?”

“…maybe.”

“Bit disrespectful to his work, don’t you think?”

“Is it?”

“And what about Harriet Tubman? I think saying that she needed our help to free the slaves is a little distasteful. Bit of an insult to her efforts.”

“It’s just… I don’t know. I wanted to have it be full of historical figures with positive influences.”

“Beethoven? What, did transformers write his music for him?”

“Stop it! I’ve spent a lot of time on this! Ugh. Don’t you have to pick those two up yet?”

Jetfire turned and looked down at the Headmaster. “Actually, let’s talk about that. What are you playing at? Did you set them up on a date?”

“No! I just- wanted them to spend time together.” Cogman replied, removing eye-contact from the Seeker.

“Uhuh? Sure. Listen, Cogman. You can’t force this, let them figure it out for themselves.”

“But they’re taking forever!” Cogman rubbed his fingers against his forehead. “If I’ve learned anything from those films we watch, we need to push them. This is getting too suspenseful. I just want my master to be happy!”

“But he is happy. Cogman, I understand your frustration, I can see what’s going on from a mile off. But these things take time. Just… promise me you won’t try to push them too much.”

Cogman groaned. “Fine! But you must understand, Jetfire. I’m standing there every day watching those two make faces at each other. Those two are a perfect balance to one another, it’s like… like a ship, you know? A ship needs to right pieces to balancing everything out, otherwise it won’t work. That’s… that’s what they are.”

Jetfire crossed his arms. “Really? You’re comparing their interactions to a ship?”

“Yes. Yes, I bloody well am! Ugh. I’d be better off with them right now than arguing with you. I bet they’re having the time of their lives.”

“Sky-byte!” screamed Late Term as she ran to attend the ex-Decepticon “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here.” She rapped her arms around the brute while analysing the burn mark on his back.

“What was it?” he asked.

The two turned themselves around to see a group of Deluxe transformers; each one looked the same. One eye, sharp teeth, wheels on their shoulders. Late Term’s eyes widened.

“That’s impossible!” she said to herself.

To her dismay, Sky-byte instantly pulled himself up despite Late Term not wanting to let go of him. He unsheathed the blades from his arms and prepared to fight. That was when the one-eyed transformers began to stick themselves together. Suddenly, they combined into a three-eyed monster around Sky-byte’s height. The ex-Decepticon grumbled in annoyance before charging headfirst into the combiner.

He slammed the beast into the ground and wrestled it. As he did that, Late Term activated her com-link to get them out of there, that was until she realised the snow had frozen the circuitry. Panicking, the turned back to the fight.

“Sky-byte, wait!” she screamed.

Sky-byte wailed his blades onto the combiner’s face, that was until it caught his hand and pushed him to the side. The combiner quickly pulled itself up and eyed Late Term. Noticing this, Sky-byte yelled at his friend to run before launching his grappling hook onto its back. Late Term transformed and drove down the mountain, the combiner ran but Sky-byte’s grapple held it back, suddenly, the combiner ran back towards the ex-Decepticon and pushed them both off the mountain’s edge. The two fell far, smacking onto rocks as they did.

As Sky-byte’s face collided with upcoming rocks, he ignored the pain; his mind was focused on Late Term’s safety more than anything else at this point. Eventually, he hit the ground. The ex-Decepticon struggled to pull himself up as he heard the combiner walking towards him.

The combiner grabbed Sky-byte by the throat and slammed him against the cliff’s walls. The brute struggled as hard as he could, but it was no use.

“Decepticon!” it spoke. “You are a traitor to Cybertron and are responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent lives. For that, we sentence you to death.”

As Sky-byte continued to struggle, he heard something fall in the wind, he looked up and saw a bright light and suddenly he saw a fuel truck on fire. The truck hit the combiner head on and exploded, causing it to drop him to the ground.

As the combiner roared and shifted itself around, Sky-byte saw his opportunity. Swiftly he wrapped his arms around its right arm and ripped it off before stepping on it, killing the transformers that turned into it. Sky-byte then twirled around the combiner and did the same to its right arm.

The combiner screamed before kicking the ex-Decepticon back into the cliff. The cliff eroded, knocking bits of rocks onto him, but he continued to ignore whatever discomfort they caused. Sky-byte raised his blades once more; that was when Late Term landed from above and wacked the butt of her shotgun into the combiners head. Sky-byte had a mini-stroke as he saw her.

“I told you to run!” he yelled.

He watched as the combiner fell to its knees.

“I did.” Late Term replied. “But only to find a more effective weapon. Found this fuel convoy not far from where we were. All I had to do was transform once the drivers were all fleeing.”

Late Term then aimed her shotgun and fired, first at its legs, then finally at its face.

“There,” she said, “it’s settled.”

Sky-byte slowly walked towards the combiner’s remains. “What was that?”

“Those are Activists.” Late Term explained. From the sound of her voice, she seemed afraid. “I thought- I didn’t think- Optimus never…”

Sky-byte place his hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath.

“During the war, an Autobot named Brainstorm came up with this… method to aid the war effort.” Late Term continued. “He took the corpses from both sides, rebuilt and reprogramed them into that. Optimus was apparently revolted by it and shut the project down. This all happened long before we were born… I’d seen them in historical text, but- I had no idea they were in use.”

“Ghost must have left them here to flush us out.”

“Yeah… bastard.”

Under the ocean, Blastwave saw his drone return to him. He analysed the data it had recorded. “I see. So, some languages have already been installed. It seems someone has been here before Lugnut left his fleet. How very interesting.”

Blastwave rose from his seat and continued to analyse the data. “Hmmm. Very well. Begin download.” He attached the drone to his head and began to download the planet’s languages.

As the drone installed the data into his mind, he saw images taken from the drone on its travel. He saw many armies from many countries, some seemed more professional than others. But one faction gained his interest, he did not know its name, but he found its flag intriguing. The flag of cross with a line protruding from each line’s right side over a white circle on top of a red background.

“Interesting. Very interesting.”

Next to a truck and a few empty fuel barrels, Sky-byte and Late Term sat together. Both were now quite drunk, and it showed.

“You- you think Megatron will ever wake up?” asked Sky-byte as diesel dripped from his mouth.

Late Term blinked before widening her eyes. “Maybe. When we have become best friends with the humans, let’s just kill him.”

“Alright. We’ll do that.”

The two looked out at the stars before an extremely drunk Late Term sank her face into Sky-byte’s right shoulder.

“Do- do you- do you think… who do think is going to win this war?” she managed to ask.

“I don’t know.” Sky-byte replied, only just paying attention. “I hope whoever wins, they have a vehicle my size.”

“So… you want America to win? That’s the country your plane belongs to.”

“I mean… I don’t know. I suppose they’d be fine. If Germany wins, I’ll have to commission them to make a plane for me to scan.”

“That’s if they get along with you.”

“That’s true. They- they might… not- they might not like us.”

“Don’t- don’t be dumb, Sky-byte. Who wouldn’t like you?”

“Well… Ghost didn’t like me.”

“Ghost’s a cretin! He’s gone anyway, just like the rest. Don’t be- worrying, Sky-byte. They’ll all like you, the humans will definitely like you.”

“Alright- stop now. You’re so drunk, you think I’m this flawless being.”

“Maybe… yeah, I- I need to stop drinking so much. But I’m not being deluded by it. I- I think you are a great. You are- special to me, Sky-byte. You’re bright, you’re funny, you’re cute.”

As Late Term rabbled on, Sky-byte began too drift off, his attention to what she was saying began to drop.

Late Term continued regardless. “You are the best thing that has- has ever happened to me. I hope- I hope this home you’re working on- works. I… I don’t want to be on a planet that doesn’t have you on it. You make me so… mad, but I don’t care. I like it when you challenge me, I like how you keep me on my toes… you really are the best, Sky-byte. I love you.”

“What did you say?” Sky-byte asked, half-waking up. The ex-Decepticon looked down to see that Late Term had fallen asleep. “Just more drunk jargon, I guess.” Sky-byte then procced to fall asleep alongside her.

Chapter Text

On the top of a green hill, Cyclonus sat. He breathed in the clean air of the lush planet as he observed the sight below him. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a branch stap. Behind him, Teal Bolt crouched behind an abandoned house. Cyclonus rolled his eyes as his teammate awkwardly stumbled towards him.

“You really do need to get yourself a disguise, you know.” Cyclonus spoke.

Teal Bolt pouted. “I like this one though.”

“Teal Bolt, you turn into a flying mortar on treads with your head poking out. You’ve got kibble hanging off your back like it’s a cape. Seriously, Teal Bolt, get a new form.”

“Fine. But I get to choose!”

“That’s fine.”

Teal Bolt noticed that Cyclonus was not really paying attention to him, his face seemed focused on a train track at the bottom of the hill.

“So… what are you doing?” asked Teal Bolt, nervously.

“Waiting.” Cyclonus replied, calmly.

Teal Bolt sat next to his superior, his legs crossed as he did. “What are you waiting for? Has someone new landed? Oh! Is Tailgate coming here?”

Cyclonus let out an awkward chuckle and then a sigh. “He is not coming. I don’t even know where he is. Maybe one day I’ll find out, and then perhaps… perhaps he could come here.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Cyclonus smiled. “You always were the one to predict impossibly positive outcomes.”

Teal Bolt shrugged. “It’s what I do.”

Cyclonus turned his head as a whistle was heard from below. “Well… perhaps you can do something else for me.”

Teal Bolt’s head perked up. “Go on.”

Cyclonus pointed at the tracks, there, he brought the Crusadercon’s attention to a train pushing itself cross. Teal Bolt noticed details on the train. The contrast between the polished front and the rusty carriages as well as the bullet holes sprayed around it.

“You see that train?” Cyclonus asked.

“Yes. Needs some paint, doesn’t it?”

“It does, but that’s not the point. I’ve sat on this hill many times, and some of those times, that train passes. But the thing is, when it is travelling left, it’s full of people. The people… they look distraught like- like they don’t want to be there. And then when the train comes back right… it’s almost empty.”

“It’s probably an evacuation. Cybertron did the same during the war, you know that.”

“Is it? think, Teal Bolt. We’re smarter than this. If Cogman has told us the truth, then the Allied forces are too far for any evacuation to be necessary. Britain is still stuck in Africa; America is more focused on the Japanese, and while Russia may have pushed the Axis out of their cities, they still have a long way to go.”

“What are you saying? What do you think is going on?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I want you to find out.”

“You want me to stalk a train?”

Cyclonus rubbed his hand against his own face. “No. I want- I want you go to Germany and do your usual espionage. Just like old times.”

“I don’t know, Cyclonus.”

“Oh, come on, Teal Bolt. You’re not that rusty, are you?”

“It’s that, it’s just- we promised Sky-byte we’d follow his rules. He said don’t get involved! I don’t him to kick us out! I like that place.”

“Sky-byte doesn’t need to know a thing.” Cyclonus calmly stated. “I just want to know what’s happening down there. If we’re going to be living here, we should learn more about this planet.”

Teal Bolt gulped. “Alright. But I’m only doing this once.

Through the jungle of a remote island, Blastwave covertly moved between the palm trees. As he continued his hike, he began to hear the sounds of gunfire. Swiftly he slid down and put himself in a crouched posited. Quietly, he snuck towards the end of the jungle where the sounds were coming from. In front of him, he saw fleshy creatures firing at one another with tiny guns.

Analysing the situation at hand, Blastwave knew he had to blend in. Looking around, he noticed a tank that seemed to have broken down. The Autobot traitor scanned it before taking its form.

Now a tank, Blastwave rolled across the battlefield and out of the fight before transforming back into his common form. The traitor pondered on what he had witnessed, he was intrigued by the conflict of these fleshy creatures.

Blastwave took out his telescope and watched the battle from his point. He saw a group of men stand in fear as they were charged upon by other men with bayonets. He heard a cry though he did not understand it: “Banzai!” it was not like anything he’d heard on Cybertron.

At the base, Late Term watched as the Crusadercons worked on their ship’s engine. The group had taken it out of The Nearby and placed it on the base’s roof. All were there except for Cyclonus and Teal bolt.

Classic let go of the spanner she held and stretched her arms. “I’d say we’ve done enough tonight. Anyone want to spar with me?”

“No one’s sparing with you, Classic.” Nightstick replied.

Classic flopped down her arms and sulked. “You’re no fun.”

Fracture finished connecting the necessary wires together on her side. “Done here. This must last us a lil’ while. Once we connect it the reserves, The Nearby will be able to travel at the same seed as The Lifespark did.”

Late Term was happy to see her residents in pleasant moods. “You lot seem to be getting a hang of things.” She folded her arms and smiled. “Anything I can get for you?”

The Crusadercons looked at one another before Fracture gave the two a nod. Both Classic and Nightstick seemed to roll their eyes.

“There is… something we need,” Classic spoke, “but I’ll get. You wait here.” With that, Classic bolted across the roof of the base and into the elevator, Nightstick then chased her into it. Late Term watched the duo; she was lost.

Late Term turned her head back to Fracture who was now resting her shoulder on the engine. “Are those two okay?”

“Oh, they’re fine. Now, let’s talk. I’ve not had must talk with ya.”

Late Term approached the other lanky bot and rested her back against the engine. “What do you want to talk about?”

Fracture ginned. “About you. how long you been here for?”

“About one Earth rotation I’d say by now. 1942 is nearly over; we landed at the end of 1941.”

“Cute.”

Late Term raised an eyebrow. “Cute? It was more stressful if anything. He crashed directly into my ship, almost killed me! Idiot…”

“Awww. So, wait. You two didn’t come together?”

“No, we’d come for different reasons. We just happened to arrive at the same time. Funny little coincidence I suppose.”

Fracture chuckled. “I’d call it… destiny.”

Late Term was getting really confused by Fracture’s responses. “I don’t think that’s how destiny works. If I had a destiny, I don’t think it would be to open a refugee home.”

“That’s not what I was referring to.”

“Well, anyway. After landing, I tried to settle in. I wanted to find the Matrix and sell it. You know what the Matrix is?”

“Teal Bolt is the historian, he’ll know.”

“Well, I was looking- I was about to look for it. But we decided to find the remaining Seekers first. Real pain they were, Waspinator was the first, I tell you, the pun that Sky-byte tried to make was horrible.”

“Oh yeah? He good at fightin’?”

“He’s… fine. Actually, no, he killed Lugnut. I’d say that puts him above most. Though, he did have us helping him.”

“That’s mighty fine. It’s sweet knowin’ he has your back.”

Late Term began to loosen her eye-contact with Fracture. The Crusadercon was starting to weird her out. “Right… anyway. After a while, I realised the Matrix wasn’t worth getting. Exposing it to the outside galaxy could put this planet in jeopardy. I didn’t want that; it wasn’t fair on the people living here. Also, Sky-byte really likes this planet, the least I could do is give him hope that it was safe.” At that point, she heard Fracture snicker. “What?”

“It’s just… you’ve mentioned him three times now. Come on, no one else is here. What’s goin’ on?”

Late Term looked at Fracture dead in the eyes. “W- what. What do you mean?”

“You and Sky-byte, what are you two? Conjunx Endura?”

Late Term nearly choked. “What?! That’s not even funny! I’m not into that kind of stuff.”

“Sure, honey. Tell me, how often do you see him a day?”

The slightly panicking Late Term shrugged. “A lot? I work with the guy, I’m his assistant in this home, I kind of have to see him.”

“I don’t mean when workin’. I see you, Late Term. Constantly turning your head to him when you’re talkin’ to that Headmaster. These aren’t usual glances, they’re mandatory glances!”

“I’m sorry. You aren’t making any sense.”

Fracture began to chew her metal straw. “Oh really? I’m not, am I? Fine, whatever you say. But I can’t deny I see something.”

Late Term began to scratch her arm. She didn’t understand why the conversation was making her nervous. Conjunx Endura was a concept she always found weird. Transformers did not reproduce like other species, so there was no reason for them to form any kind of partnership. Besides, Sky-byte was just a friend, a companion. A great companion, one who was always there for her, always by her side. Late Term then realised Fracture was still talking.

“Wait, sorry, what did you say? I got the distracted.” Late Term blurted out while accidently raising the pitch of her voice.

Fracture just smiled in response. “You know what? I’ll let you figure this out for yourself. But know this, both you and the big lug are some of the most dense people I’ve met in centuries.” Fracture then patted the ex-Autobot on the shoulder before passing her.

Late Term did not turn her head, it remained in place as the Crusadercon walked past her to summon the elevator back up. She could not believe how she was feeling; she was scared. What was there to be scared of? Fracture had a dumb theory, that’s all. But what if she tells it to Sky-byte, what if he gets the wrong idea, what if it makes him avoid her? Late Term hated thinking about it, but the thoughts would not leave her. She could not bear the idea of Sky-byte not wanting to work with her on the basis of things being awkward, and considering how awkward the brute already was, it just seemed too likely.

The ex-Autobot shook her head before slapping her own face. “Stop thinking about it, Late Term. It’s fine… everything is fine.”

Nothing was fine.

After a week, Cyclonus sat back on the hill as he did until his watching of the sunset was interrupted by the sound of a tank heading in his general direction. The tank transformed, revealing itself to be Teal bolt.

“Like my new look?” he said.

“It works.” Cyclonus replied.

Teal Bolt made his way up the hill and sat next to the right of his superior. “Okay. I’m here now… how’s it going for you?”

Cyclonus looked back onto the horizon. “It’s pleasant. The sun here is exceptionally lovely.”

There was a moment of silence before Teal Bolt began into a new conversation. “I- I’ve done my digging. I know where the train is going.”

“You do?” replied Cyclonus as he perked up his head.

“No entirely. I know bits and pieces. I’ve been listening in on conversations between soldiers. I had a tank crew drive me for a week.”

“And what did you find?”

“It’s… I don’t really understand it. The train… it’s sending people to a farm.”

“A farm?” Cyclonus frowned.

“I- I think it’s a farm. They send people there… I don’t really understand why.”

“Do these people… have a choice?”

“No. No, they don’t. I heard a soldier say how he dragged one from her family. H- he talked about how… how he enjoyed hearing her beg… I didn’t like it.”

Cyclonus could tell but the look on Teal’s face that the topic was making him feal uneased. “I must say, it always sounds wrong hearing the one forged from Megatron show such empathy.” Cyclonus joked.

Teal Bolt chuckled. “I know.”

The two then looked at the train track below them.

“I’ve done my part anyway.” Teal Bolt continued. “What are you going to do now?”

Cyclonus bit his lip. “Nothing. There’s nothing I can do. We promised Sky-byte, this war is not our own.”

“But- I don’t know. Something about this feels wrong, y’know? I feel like now that we have an idea on what that side is like, we should do something.”

“From what I’ve learned, the whole planet is against them. I find it unlikely that they’re going to win this war.”

“I agree… but how long will they last? The Autobots were a small faction at first, and they… you know what happened.”

Cyclonus sighed. “For now, let’s see how things go.”

Blastwave watched the planes go by, he had started to take notes on the insignias, the red dot was that of the island he was on, while the stars represented the invaders. From the trees, he would watch the reoccurring fights, those in green fired away in fear as they were ambushed by those defending their homes. He admired the rulers of this island; they had given him ideas.

As the Autobot traitor drove across the jungle in his tank form, he noticed a few squads of those the island’s inhabitants. They were covering behind bushes as a platoon of greens followed by two tanks approached. It did not take long for them to attack, it was bloody, both sides were suffering loses but the greens had the advantage. Blastwave watched for moments, but he had already made his decision. Blastwave transformed and unsheathed his sword. Swiftly, he swung, and the green tank was destroyed before any human had a chance to react.

Both sides of the fight looked upon the transformer in fear, but Blastwave let it be known who’s side he was on. He immediately unleashed his hand cannon and fire at the horrified greens. As he did so, those defending the island caught on and joined him. It did not take long before every green laid dead before them, but Blastwave was not finished. He continued to light up the corpses until they were mush before taking the blood and rubbing on his face.

“That has been a long-awaited stress relief.” Blastwave spat. His face now completely red.

Slowly, he heard one of the humans he had saved slowly walk up to him. The human bowed. “Thank you, great one. Whatever you are, I am honoured to be in your presence.”

Blastwave looked down at the being, he wasn’t sure what to say. “It was… nothing.” He looked back out to see the planes of the invaders flying across the sky. “Why are these people invading your land?”

“It is retaliation.” The soldier explained. “We attacked their land; they now attack ours.”

Blastwave placed his hand under his chin. “I see. And what was the motivation behind such attack?”

“I don’t know. Our emperor has assured us, this is our path. The Americans were blocking our conquest across our oceans. We had to attack.”

Blastwave looked back down at the man, he grinned. “A smart move. You attacked when the opening was there. Now, you are defending your home. I… relate, a little. Tell me, what is your name?”

“Koji. (Kow-jee)”

“I see. Koji, can you take me to your people? I would like an audience with your emperor.”

“I don’t think I can bring the emperor here.” Koji chuckled. “But I can introduce you to the rest of my battalion if we find them. What is your name?”

Blastwave was about to answer, but he stopped himself. This was not Cybertron, and his name was forever a reminder of the side that betrayed him. Then, a word went back into his mind. “Koji, what does banzai mean?”

“It is an old saying, it means that we hope for the longevity of our emperor, and our land. It is a cry that lets us know what we are fighting for. Tennōheika Banzai reminds us of why we must win.”

The transformer grinned wider. “Then, you may call me… Banzaitron.”

Cyclonus was sat on the hillside like before, it had become a tradition almost. He did not why he was there, he just felt like he had to. His face remained not on the sky as one would expect, but on the train tracks below. No matter how beautiful he though the Earth’s sky was, Cyclonus could not keep his eyes of the tracks.

The Crusadercon heard a buzz from his com-link and activated it. “What is it?”

“Hey, Cyclonus. What you up to?” Cyclonus instantly recognised Classic’s voice.

“Just enjoying this planets view… like always.”

“Oh… okay!

“…”

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just… a little bored. Everyone in Sky-byte’s home is just too peaceful. I hate it. I want to spar! Did we really have to lead those guys away?”

“Classic, this isn’t about you. We came to this planet uninvited; we brought those hunters with us. We could have got them Sky-byte and his friend killed; you need to understand that.”

Classic chuckled. “Friend… good one.”

“The point is… I shouldn’t bother. If you want to fight then-”

Cyclonus’ discussion was interrupted as he saw the train once again move past. It was going from left to right, it must have just been to the farm, Cyclonus thought. “I’ll call you back.”

The Crusadercon ended the call before slamming his fists onto the ground. He did not understand why he was so enraged, but he was hoping to see the train going in the other direction. He didn’t know why, but he did.

As he watched the train, he noticed that the number of bullet holes on the side had increased, it worried him. Someone had been shooting at the train, but it was not made for war. There was a tank on one of the carriages, but it had not fired a shot, Cyclonus noted this. The fact that he could not interfere, greatly angered him. He understood this was not his business, but he felt like it should be.

All Cyclonus could do was watch as the train slowly left his vision. He clenched his fists. This was not over.

Sky-byte sat as he watched his people return to their rooms for the night. One by one, he saw lights go out. The ex-Decepticon could not help but smile. It had been a slow ride, but he had finally achieved something great. Sure, he did not have many people, just the Crusadercons and some Autobot deserters at the moment, eleven in total, but he was happy with the results.

“Shouldn’t you be back in your room?” he heard Jetfire say.

The Seeker sat beside him. Sky-byte sighed. “I like to be the last one to go to bed. I should be keeping watch of this place.”

“You need to rest, Sky-byte. No one’s going to do something they shouldn’t.”

“I know, but… I don’t know. How are you finding things so far?”

“Good. I’ve made friends. Fracture is friendly… maybe too friendly. I like Beachcomber, he’s got good tastes in music and other things. Also… that Knockout… he’s nice, but odd. I think we wants to paint me.”

“Jetfire, if anyone’s bothering you-”

“Nobody’s bothering me! I’m just not used to all this. Now, go to bed; I’ll watch this place.”

Sky-byte rose from where he sat. “You sure?”

Jetfire nodded and waved his hand. “Go to your room, you numpty.”

Sky-byte shrugged and smiled. The ex-Decepticon made his way to his room. The doors opened and Late Term was sat on the end of the bottom bunk. Sky-byte grinned, he’d not seen her in a while. She tilted her head up before almost jumping at sight of him. Sky-byte stood there, concerned.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine.” Late Term responded, her voice sounding a bit on ease, though Sky-byte was not the one to notice. “I’m good, I feel really good! How are you?”

“Fine.”

“Good!”

Sky-byte walked to the bed and climbed to the top bunk. “It’s been a few days, what have you been up to?”

“I’ve been on a few runs with Cogman. You?”

“Just… making sure this place is in the best condition I can make it. It’s been going along well, even Jetfire is enjoying it.” Sky-byte began to giggle to himself. “Oh, who am I kidding? I love it here; I love what I’ve done. It’s… brilliant. Wouldn’t you say so?”

There was a moment of silence before Late Term replied. “Wha- yes! It’s great. Well done.”

Sky-byte turned over and looked down at his friend. “Are you okay? You seem a bit… I don’t know, like your thinking about something distracting. Has someone here insulted you? I’ll kick them out!”

“What? No, it’s fine… I’m fine.”

Sky-byte shrugged. “Okay, just wanted to make sure. goodnight.”

As Sky-byte turned over again, Late Term stared vacantly at the ceiling.

Nothing was fine at all.

Banzaitron swung his sword and fired his hand cannon as he followed Koji into the battlefield. He showed no mercy as he violently slaughtered the resistance he met. This was a new planet, a new story for him; he could be whoever he wanted.

After the fighting stopped and the Americans retreated, the Japanese soldiers regrouped together.

“What are you?” one asked.

“Where did you come from?” asked another.

Banzaitron looked down at those looking up at him in awe. “I’m a traveller. I have come to this world as I am looking for one of my own. Since you are not familiar with my kind, I must assume he has not made his presence known.”

“Yes!” one soldier interrupted. “I- I saw you! I saw one of you. He was here!”

Banzaitron gazed at the one who spoke. “Where?”

“Here!”

Banzaitron looked up and saw an American bomber heading towards them. Each human ducked for cover while Banzaitron stood still before unleashing his sword and cutting the bomber. The bomber dropped and transformed, revealing Eye-wheel Dye. Banzaitron’s eyes widened as he raised his sword.

“You could not keep us down forever, traitor!” yelled Dye.

“I wasn’t planning to.” Banzaitron replied before running at the Autobot.

The traitor swung his sword, but Dye was quick, he dodged two swings and blocked the third with his arm before thrusting his giant head forward and headbutting Banzaitron to the ground. Dye attempted the stomp the blood faced one, but Banzaitron quickly rolled out of the way before swinging his sword and cutting off the Autobot’s right leg. Eye-wheel Dye dropped to the floor, he attempted to unleash a gun from his left arm but Banzaitron promptly slashed the arm off.

As Dye leaked, Banzaitron stared at him and laughed before loading his hand cannon. “You should have stayed in the ship, Eye-wheel, maybe even piloted it back to the fleet. But, like all Autobots nowadays, you have shown great foolishness. Not that it matters, you were dead the moment you walked onto Optimus’ ship.”

“Y- you… will not get away with this, Blastwave.” Dye said as he spat energon. “The Autobots will find this planet soon enough.”

“Maybe. But when they do, I’ll have prepared myself for their arrival. You still don’t get it, do you, Eye-wheel? The Autobots are always thinking in the moment. They never want to see the bigger picture. That’s what separates me from you, I see what is possible.”

Banzaitron fired as he ended his sentence, blowing a hole in Dye’s head. As the Autobot fell, the Japenease soldiers surrounded the two. Banazaitron looked around at them.

“Brave soldiers of this land. You have shown me great courage that I have not seen in centuries. I promise you great thing, I promise you victory. But, first, I request to see your leader, your empepror. Take me to this Tojo, and he, like you, will know me as your aid in this war. You will all know me as Banzaitron! And you will remember that name.”

Around him, the soldiers began to chant. “Banzaitron, Banzaitron!”

Banzaitron grinned at the sounds. This was going better than he’d expected.

Chapter Text

On the Ulktar Fleet, Starscream walked across the capital ship’s hallways. Behind him was Thundercracker, followed by Acidstorm, Novastorm, and Iron Storm.

Starscream spoke bitterly. “We have been laying on this pitiful part of space for a while. It’s time to get to work, but first, we need rethink ourselves.”

“If are scanners are true, sir. The Maximal fleet will be colliding with ours shortly.” Novastorm commented. “We are in the way of their path.”

“I am aware,” the admiral replied, “but there’s something we need to sort first.”

Starscream led the group to a meeting room. It had grey walls, a table and chairs, and a wide window to see the blackness of space. He made sure the doors were closed and turned on the lights. There, Red Wing stood with his hands behind his back.

“Why are we discussing it here?” asked Acidstorm as they gave Starscream a puzzled look.

Starscream grinned as he turned his back to the others while putting his hands behind it. “It has been some time since we lost our most valuable asset. Blastwave was our one chance of surpassing Lugnut in our race for order in the Decepticons. As your leader, I want what is best for our fleet, out cause. But, if we are to continue our rise in the universe, we must first deal with the waste below us.”

Suddenly, Thundercracker felt as magnet slam into his back. In moments, all his attachments deactivated. He could not transform, he could not fly, he could activate any weapons on his body. He was motionless. The blue Decepticon dropped to his news as Red Wing walked past him.

“What is the meaning of this!” yelled Novastorm.

“Explain yourself, Starscream!” screeched Acidstorm.

Starscream laughed. “Stop your pity for this bot. he is traitor to us all!”

“What? Impossible.” Novastorm responded.

“Don’t be so closeminded, Novastorm. Think about it. Thundercracker travels to the ship with Aimless and he dies, then he goes to the same ship during Blastwave’s extraction. Blastwave too is lost. These can’t be coinsidences.”

“You can’t be serious.” Acidstorm interjected. “Thundercracker’s just bad at his job.”

Starscream turned and looked down upon the weakened Decepticon. “What do you have to say for yourself, Thundercracker? Is there anything you have to share?”

Thundercracker laughed. It’s been… cycles. Yet in your infinite wisdom, you only figured it out now? I should expect nothing less. It shows just how useless you really are.”

The other Decepticons took a step back.

“W-why? Why, Thundercracker?” pleaded Iron Storm. “You have always been for Cybertron? Why would you betray it?”

In a fit of rage, Acidstorm kicked the downed Decepticon in the face. Thundercracker felt his jaw crack as pain went across his lower face. He spat out his energon and began to laugh quietly.

“Cybertron? When was this for Cybertron? I’ve not seen that planet most of my life. We’ve been away from it more than we lived on it.”

“We will rebuild.” Novastorm angrily retorted. “Once Starscream has found Megatron and the All-”

“You think that will ever happen? You think Starscream has any interest in that task? Starscream does not care about Megatron… all he cares about is his own reputation.”

“Enough!” Starscream cried as slammed his foot onto Thundercracker’s head, forcing it to the ground. “This discussion is useless. As the rightful leader of this fleet, and Megatron’s rightful successor, I must decide your fate.”

“I say we throw him out of the airlock… after removing his boosters of course.” Iron Storm suggested.

“We should feed him to the horror of the hole in space.” Acidstorm added, stroking their chin.

“I think we should just kill him here. get it over with.” Red Wing spoke.

Starscream grinned. “You make a fair point, Red Wing. Very well, I shall return to the bridge and prepare our fleet for its next stage. I leave you four to finish this traitor, just make sure he suffers.”

Starscream gracefully left the room, leaving Thundercracker to deal with his repercussions.

On the hill where he had been continuously visiting, Cyclonus stood. He looked at the train tracks, he could not look away. So many thoughts and outcomes were swirling in the Crusadercon’s mind. He didn’t know what to do.

Late Term stumbled across the halls of her home; she was hungover. She had had a rough night; she’d had many rough nights. Something had been bothering her recently, but she was having a hard time understanding what it was.

“Hey.”

The ex-Autobot jumped before turning to see a Crusadercon staring up at her, smiling.

“Oh. Hi there, Classic.”

Classic’s smile lessened. “You okay? You seem a little warn out.”

Late Term sighed. “I… I don’t know.”

“Want to talk about?”

“I don’t know.”

As Late Term thought about how she was feeling, two transformers walked in between her and her comrade.

“Oh, pardon us.” Late Term looked at the deluxe who had just spoken. She recognised him as one the new residents of Sky-byte’s home. His name was Beachcomber. With him was another transformer, an ex-Decepticon medic named Knockout.

Late Term rolled her eyes and let them past. She tried to avoid eye contact with the two, though that did not stop her from cringing at their continuing conversation was they walked past. “I hate their voices…” she whispered.

Classic looked back at the two, then back at Late Term. “Definity a populated place here. come, let’s go to the top.”

Late Term soon found herself on the roof of the base with Classic as they watched the ocean.

“I like the sea.” Classic said.

Late Term gave her friend a puzzled look before looking back at the water below them. “It’s nice.”

There was a moment of silence before Classic began. “So… tell me what’s wrong?”

Late Term bit her lip. She didn’t know how to answer. “I- I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. Everything was well when I got here. But, in the last few days, I just feel like drinking.”

“You feel like there’s something you’re trying to ignore?”

Late Term sulked. “Yeah… it’s like I want to distract myself. But I don’t know what from.”

Classic turned herself to Late Term while resting her head on hear palm. “How long have you been like this?”

Late Term thought for a moment. “I think… I think it started sometime after Sky-byte sent out his message.”

“Hmm. Interesting. A lot has happened in this last month. For one, you and he have made a successful business. Ooh! Perhaps it’s the pressure of being at such high authority!”

Late Term shook her head. “No. I wanted to have this position. I get to be respected by everyone here; otherwise, they could get evicted.” She grinned at the end of that sentence.

“So, it’s not your position. Okay. Tell me, what made you want to stay here? I was told you came looking for a relic, but now you don’t want it. Maybe you’re upset because you’ve lost the ambition to find it.”

The ex-Autobot perked her head up. “What? No! I gave up on that relic because I realised it would do more harm than good. I was being selfish wanting it, Classic. I’ve come to realise that- there are more important things out there.”

Classic rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t answer my question. I understand that you felt it was wrong to look for it still; that’s fine. I’m asking why you didn’t leave afterwards. Why did you stay here? why are you here right now?”

Late Term looked down. “Where would I go? The people I’ve met here, they’re special. Before I got here, I had no one, but here, I don’t know. We had a team like no other… I miss.”

At that moment, it hit her.

“I miss it… I miss it just being us. I- I want Sky-byte to win this, I want him to succeed at all of this but- I don’t. There’s too many people here, Classic. He’s taking all his time showing them around and teaching them about Earth and I can’t take it!”

The ex-Autobot began to breath fast as she slowly calmed herself down. Classic gave her a look of concern.

“So, that’s it. You don’t like change.”

“It’s not that I don’t like change, but this is too much change! Everyday I’m surrounded… I don’t like it. I like being alone… or at the very least, in a small group.”

“Maybe… maybe you should tell Sky-byte this.”

Late Term gasped. “What? Are you serious? I can’t tell him that, how would I?! ‘Sky-byte, great work but fuck that, I’m more important than everything you’ve built.’ No way.”

Classic sat up. “When was the last time you spoke to him?” she asked, curiously.

“I don’t know. Two days ago?”

“Call him.”

“Why?”

“Because you want to.”

Late Term stared at her com-link and then back at her friend. The ex-Autobot stood and activated her comms. There was a slight buzz before a voice came through.

“Sky-byte here. Who is it?”

His voice made her feel calm then anxious.

“It’s Late Term… you busy at the moment?”

“Yes… I need to get the most recent residents their vehicle forms. Then I got to make sure the base in the right condition for when the next ship lands.”

“Hold on, another ship is coming?” she asked, annoyed at the possibility of more people.

“Cogman says so. He’s detected one from Counterpunch’s scanners.”

“Right. Okay. Good luck with that.” She slammed her fist against her communicator, ending the call. “Fucking hell.”

Classic stood and approached the distressed ex-Autobot. Late Term sunk her head into her right palm.

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Classic spoke.

“Why did you make me do that?! Primus, I’m such an idiot.”

“No, you’re not. He’s just busy.”

“Is he? How do I know he’s not just trying to get me out of his way?”

Late Term suddenly felt a slap come crashing against her left cheek. She stumbled back and looked up at the Crusadercon who furiously stared back at her.

“Late Term. If Sky-byte wanted to get rid of you. He wouldn’t have brought you with him.”

Late Term rubbed her cheek; Classic knew how to slap. “Maybe so, but now he has other things. He doesn’t need me anymore. I’m just baggage.”

Classic stomped her foot on the ground. It was like everything Late Term said made her madder. “Oh, bullshit. He went against everything he believed in with you. He became who he is now because of you. How can you be so dense?!”

“I’m not dense… I’m just- scared.”

“Scared of what?”

Late Term didn’t answer. She only looked away, back at the ocean. Classic crossed her arms, unamused by the ex-Autobot’s vagueness. Suddenly, they both heard the sounds of propellers from above. The two looked and saw planes flying across.

“Should we lover the platform?” asked Late Term.

“No need. It’s too cloudy, they won’t see us. However.”

Classic scanned one of the planes and took its form. As her body converted, a propeller formed on her back and a plane’s tail formed on her left arm.

Abruptly, Late Term felt a buzz; she frantically answered her com-link.

“Late Term?” she heard Sky-byte say. Her face grew a smile as she opened her mouth to respond before being interrupted as Sky-byte continued. “Is Classic with you?”

Late Term’s smile immediately went away as she begrudgingly replied. “Yes.”

“Can you ask her to contact Cyclonus? I’ve not seen him all day and I need him to discuss what to do with his scout ship. I thought about going to space to advertise the home.”

Late Term rolled her eyes and groaned. “Sure. I’ll tell her. Bye!”

“…bye.” Sky-byte sounded startled by Late Term sudden aggressiveness.

“Sorry- I meant… I’ll let her know. Talk to you later.”

She ended the call and turned back to Classic. Classic was now giving her a sad look.

“What?” said Late Term.

“You’re mad at him.”

“No, I’m not!”

“You are. I can see it.” Classic walked up to Late Term and looked her straight in the eye. “Listen. There are times when things like this can be confusing. You don’t know what’s happening and it’s scaring you. I don’t how it’s going to develop, but you need to know this. Just because he’s not as un-occupied as he once was, does not mean he’s done with you. I see him, I can tell things about him, things he himself doesn’t know.”

“Like what?”

Classic didn’t answer. She just giggled before transforming and flying off into the sky above.

Inside The Nearby, both Cogman and Counterpunch were looking at the scanners until Counterpunch started to panic.

“You having another fit?” asked Cogman

“No.” Counterpunch replied. “The ship… that’s no civilian ship. That ship belongs to Trypticon!”

“Who? Oh shit! The Titan?”

“Yes, that Trypticon. Scrap! We need to warn Sky-byte about this.”

Thundercracker felt his body crack as the four Decepticons beat him on the floor. He was leaking energon all around; he felt every kick that met him. Thundercracker looked down at his left arm. Suddenly, he saw it. The rod given to him by that of Wheeljack. With his arms weakened, the beaten one attempted to reach for it, but he was in too much agony to move.

“It feels good to stomp you, glitch spawn!” he heard Red wing yell.

“Useless. Bet you betrayed us to make up for getting caught. Probably made a deal to avoid execution.” Acidstorm commented.

As they baffled, Thundercracker made another attempt. Using up the strength he had left, he swung his arm forward and grabbed the rod.

“Wheeljack, please be reliable.” Thundercracker whispered as he activated it.

Suddenly, the rod converted, and a hand axe was formed in the blue one’s hand. All six of Thundercracker’s eyes widen at the sight of it. Without much thought, he swung at one leg kicking him and cut it off; now Novastorm only had a right leg. As the yellow Decepticon fell, Thundercracker swung backwards, cutting the magnet of his back. At this point, the other Decepticons moved backwards before unsheathing their swords.

Thundercracker rose; as he did, he felt everything come back. The canon on his arm, the axe on his other arm, the miniguns on his shoulders, the jet boosters on his back. They were all activated once more. Thundercracker felt his strength return too; though it was not much, it was enough.

The remaining Decepticons raised their swords high while looking at the blue on in both fear and confusion. Thundercracker shrugged. “I don’t know either.”

Quickly, Iron storm swung forward and Thundercracker blocked with his hand axe. Acidstorm then charged and the traitor quickly blocked that with his arm-axe before kicking the green one in the gut. Thundercracker then rolled before leaping over the downed Novastorm and picking him up. Redwing fired his own arm cannon but Thundercracker used the yellow one as a shield.

Novastorm let out one last cry as his body was torn apart by the shots. Red Wing then stopped in a panic. This distracted the red one long enough for Thundercracker to charge. He dodged the sword swings that both Acidstorm and Iron storm made before kicking Red Wing in the chest. Red Wing stumbled back but caught himself, though he did not have time to react as Thundercracker then grabbed him and slammed him into the walls.

Acidstorm swung their sword at Thundercracker again, but Thundercracker blocked it with his arm-axe once more, then swiftly, he swung his hand axe into the green one. At this point, Iron Storm ran at Thundercracker from behind and ran his sword through the blue one’s back. Thundercracker winced but did not have time to cry about it. Instead, he headbutted the back of his head into Iron storm. Thundercracker then grabbed Iron storm by the shoulders before turning his shoulder miniguns and lighting him up.

As the dead Iron Storm dropped, Acidstorm tossed their sword at Thundercracker. The sword slashed his shoulder, and the blue one let out a small cry before tossing his hand axe at the now helpless Acidstorm. The axe lodged itself into Acidstorm’s head; they let out one last gasp before dropping to the floor.

It was not over yet as Thundercracker heard Red Wing slowly get up. The red Decepticon whipped the energon off his mouth before preparing to fire his hand cannon, but Thundercracker shot his first. Red Wing flew back into the wall; Thundercracker ran and grabbed him by the neck.

Red Wing laughed. “Go ahead. You won’t make it off this ship.”

Thundercracker loosed his grip. Red Wing was right; the whole fleet would be after him. He needed a plan.

The blue traitor dropped Red Wing. As the red Decepticon tried to catch his breath, he was cut off by Thundercracker grabbing his head. Slowly, though painfully, Thundercracker ripped Red Wings head clean from his body.

As Thundercracker dropped Red Wing’s head onto the ground, an idea sprung to him.

Cyclonus looked out from the hill. He saw smoke, smoke that could only mean one thing. The train was on its way. Cyclonus clenched his fists as tight as he could. The Crusaderson was angry, not at the Axis, but himself. He wanted to do something, anything, but he could not.

The closer the train got, the worst he felt. Cyclonus could see the train’s silhouette in the distance. It would be here soon and there was nothing he could do.

As the train got close enough, the Crusadercon had a closer look. The passengers looked restless, afraid. It reminded him of his time on Cybertron. The people he saw forced from their homes to escape the war, except this was different. These people weren’t escaping any war, they were being forced away because they weren’t good enough. He noticed the tanks on the mini-carriages, and the armed guards with those tiny human weapons.

The Crusadercon closed his eyes. He counted to ten, trying to calm himself, but it wasn’t enough. He’s made his decision.

Cyclonus huffed. “Just once… just once.”

He roared while he grabbed the abandoned house and ripped it from the ground before tossing it onto the tracks below. He watched as the train pulled its breaks to prevent collision with the wreckage. The train stopped on the tracks; it was trapped.

Cyclonus watched as many guards stepped off the train to inspect the house that had appeared before them. Seeing his chance, the Crusadercon transformed and flew above them.

Observing the scene, Cyclonus watched as the guards spotted him, though mistook for just a plane of theirs. He saw them wave to him. Cyclonus analysed the train, he took note of each carriage’s size and shape. Which one’s that needed to stand, and which ones were expendable.

Swiftly, Cyclonus flew down and began slowing himself. Waiting for a few guards to be in his light of sight, he then fired, killing as many as he could. The remaining guards went into a panic, scattering across the ground while trying to understand the situation.

Cyclonus transformed and slid up to the train. He did not give the guards the time to gawk at what he was; if anything, the ambiguity of species would be a good enough distraction. Cyclonus swung the wing attached to his left arm and cut the train’s front carriage in two. He then kicked the guards next to it off the ground. At this point, the remaining guards had got over what they were looking at had begun firing.

Bullets bounced off the Crusadercon as he looked at them with dead eyes. “Really? I’m metal; these pellets clearly cannot penetrate me.”

Slowly, Cyclonus walked in the direction opposite the bullets, he casually put over a wing to cover his eyes as he did. The soldiers soon stopped firing before accepting their fate as Cyclonus unleashed a machinegun from his wrist and pelted them.

Cyclonus looked at the carriages he had left unharmed to see the prisoners until *BANG*, a shell hit the Crusadercon directly, knocking him backwards. Cyclonus caught himself as he slid across the ground. Looking up, he saw two tanks approaching him.

“Impressive craftsmanship.” Cyclonus spat some energon before charging at the tanks. He dodged a blast before kicking the closest tank. The tank flipped from top to bottom before exploding.

Cyclonus glared at the other tank; it was ready to fire. As Cyclonus saw its muzzle heat up, his reaction was cut short when a train carriage collided with the tank a colossal speed. The Crusaderon’s spark stopped for a moment. Terrified of who may have been in the carriage, Cyclonus ran towards the scene.

Suddenly, he heard a scream. “Yes! Finally!” Cyclonus looked up to see Classic dancing by herself.

“What have you done?!” he roared.

“Relax. There were no people inside.” Classic spoke, flopping her arms down.

Relived, Cyclonus approached his comrade. “What are you doing here?”

Classic placed her hands on her hips. “Sky-byte wanted to discuss stuff with you. I wasn’t really paying attention. However, I am paying attention to this. This is fun!”

“No!” Cyclonus sighed and rubbed his face. “This isn’t supposed to be fun. This is serious.”

“Who are we fighting? Have aliens possessed the grey men?”

“This isn’t the time to be silly, Classic. I need to get these prisoners to safety.”

“Prisoners? What have you done?!” Even when on the verge of exposing her boss, Classic still had the mannerisms of a curious child.

“I just- I- ugh.”                                      

Cyclonus did not have time for it; there was no point lying, especially not to someone like Classic. Cyclonus then heard the voice of a soldier running at him with a bazooka. He casually fired from wrist-gun, killing the soldier before returning to the conversation.

“Look,” he said, “I may have gone against our landlord’s best wishes here.”

Classic’s eyes widened. “Primus!” She pointed directly at Cyclonus’ face. “You- you’ve broken rules! That doesn’t sound very Cyclonus to me.”

“I always break rules! We all did when we abandoned our posts.”

“Oh, right.”

“Look. Let’s just see if there’s anything we can do for these prisoners and we’ll be back before Sky-byte knows we’re gone.”

The two slowly approached the prisoners who were gradually making their way off the train. They stopped as they stared in fear at the two metal beings staring back at them.

“Okay, how do we communicate with these things?” asked Classic, awkwardly.

Cyclonus opened his mouth. “I… shit.”

Starscream stared out of the bridge’s windows. He awaited the results from his pilots.

“Sir. We’ve found a route. Should we progress?” one said

“Yes. Quickly. Primal’s fleet could arrive any moment.” Starscream ordered.

Suddenly, gunshots were heard from the doors behind them. Starscream turned his heard. His face showing anger to his troops. “What is happening!”

The doors blew forward, colliding with the fleet’s admiral. Starscream dropped as the doors crushed his legs. He watched helplessly as Thundercracker emerged. The blue Decepticon unleashed his arm cannon and opened fire on the helpless pilots.

The Fleet’s leader struggled as he attempted to push the doors off his legs, however, he soon did not need to as Thundercracker grabbed him by his neck before smashing his head onto the floor. Thundercracker then stomped his foot onto Starscream’s back, holding him down. Starscream attempted to fire the blaster attached to his arm but was cut short as Thundercracker swung his hand axe, cutting the admiral’s arm clean off. Starscream attempted to use his other arm’s blaster but Thundercracker swung once more, this time only cutting the blaster but leaving Starscream’s right arm intact.

Thundercracker grabbed Starscream by the head and dragged him away from the doors that had abolished his legs. He slammed Starscream’s head into the ship’s controls; Starscream began to weep.

“Please! No more. What do you want, Thundercracker?” he pleaded.

Thundercracker widen his right eyes before chuckling in surprise of Starscream’s plea. “Starscream? This is the real you? A coward. Beautiful.”

“Yes! Now what do you want?!”

Thundercracker noticed a flashing light coming from one of the panel’s radars. He was right on schedule. With no time to waste, Thundercracker dragged Starscream by his head before forcing it to the microphone that led to the ship’s intercom.

“Do it.” Thundercracker spat in a sharp tone.

“Do what?”

“Evacuate the ship. Now.”

“What? Never! I have spent my whole life building this-”

Thundercracker slammed the coward against the ship’s window before pushing him back into position.

“Okay. Okay! Please stop!” begged the admiral. “I’ll do it.” Starscream cleared his throat. “My Decepticons, this is your ruler speaking. I- I regret to inform you that we must evacuate this vessel. Get to your pods.”

Thundercracker then shot the microphone before pressing a few buttons and activating the ship’s alarms. He looked down at the admiral he had just dropped. Starscream was leaking energon from all around. His jaw was hanging off his face, his legs were completely destroyed and the arm he had left looked like it was part of a skeleton.

“I think you’ve had your do.” Thundercracker spoke.

He looked out as he saw escape pods jettison into deep space. Thundercracker then heard Starscream attempt to pull himself up.

“Well… now what? You’ve robbed me of my fleet. You’ve robbed the Decepticons of their future!”

Thundercracker looked down and grinned. “Good.”

The traitor looked across the ships panels before noticing movement though one of the ship’s cameras. Task Force Seven were heading to the bridge. Starscream saw it too and laughed.

“There’s nowhere to run! Bonecrusher will rip you apart!”

“Oh. I don’t think he’ll get the chance to.”

The two then looked out into the emptiness of space as it began to become a little less empty. Thundercracker watched as ships began to appear in the fleet’s view.

On the Maximal’s capitol ship, Primal looked out. One of his subordinates: Rhinox approached him.

“Primal,” Rhino spoke, “Decepticon fleet in range.”            

Primal grinned. “Aah, our first catch of the day. Prepare a boarding party. Focus your fire on the large vessels.”

Starscream watched as the Maximal fleet opened fire. His ship began to rip apart. Suddenly, the roof of the bridge tore off and both he and Thundercracker were sucked into the vacuum of space. Thundercracker activated his boosters and flew, latching himself onto a nearby escape pod. Starscream however was hopeless. His boosters did not work. He was stuck.

Cyclonus watched as the prisoners left the train carriages and made their way to a boat. Classic picked up the bodies of the boat’s original crew and tossed them into the ocean. She looked up at Cyclonus and approached him.

“Are you sure this is best way to leave them?” she said.

“If they steer on the right path. They’ll get to Sweden. It is the closest place not occupied by their captors. It’s the least we can do.”

Classic sighed. “We should probably get back to base.”

Cyclonus nodded in agreement.

The two waited until the boat was out of view and safe from any enemy vessels before transforming and heading back to their base. As they saw the base appear behind the clouds, they saw Fracture and Nightstick waiting for them. The two transformed and landed onto the base’s roof.

“There you are.” Fracture spoke.

“Where have you been?” asked Nightstick.

“Sorry. We got lost.” Classic lied.

“Bullshit.”

All four turned to see Sky-byte staring at them. His face showed that of pure rage. None of them had ever seen him this angry. The ex-Decepticon stormed to Cyclonus.

“What have you been doing?!”

“I was out. I didn’t know it was a crime to go on a flight.” Cyclonus replied, attempting to remain calm.

“Don’t lie to me.” Sky-byte grabbed Classic’s arm. “Bullet marks.”

Classic pulled her arm out of the brute’s grip. “Watch it.”

Sky-byte crossed his arms and gave them a look at put them on ease. To them, Sky-byte was that awkward clumsy ex-Decepticon, but now, he was something else; something frightening.”

“We…” Cyclonus spoke. “We… rescued some…”

“Sky-byte!”

Everybody turned to see Counterpunch yelling with Cogman on his shoulder.

“Sky-byte! Sir! You need to see this!”

Chapter Text

Fourteen thousand years ago.

On a huge vessel known as The Knight’s Tempest, one knight carried the wounded Solus Prime to the medical bay. He placed her on the bed. From the data appearing on the computer that wiring into her, it was not looking good.

The knight sobbed as he looked down at her. “Stay with us. You will survive.”

Solus waved her hand over the knight’s face before reaching into a container she had attached to her. She pulled out what looked like a hatching, bigger than most.

“Squire,” she said, “please. Keep him safe. Liege Maximo must… not find him.”

The knight looked at the hatchling then back to her. “But-”

“There’s no hope for me. He is the future. Please, you’re the only hope he has now.”

The knight held back his tears. “I will. I promise. He will be one of us, a fighter. He will be our greatest.”

He held the hand of the Prime for as long as he was able.

Now.

Jetfire sat on Shipwreck as the waves crashed against them.

“How you been? I didn’t know if you’d stayed with these lot.” Jetfire spoke

“Situation… fine.” Shipwreck replied.

“You don’t sound too fine. What’s the matter?”

“Friends… busy. Shipwreck… alone.”

“You’re not alone. You’ve got me.”

“For now.”

Jetfire looked don on the boat he sat on, then he remembered. “Hey. Shipwreck. I’ve got something that will cheer you up.”

Without another word, the Seeker grabbed the boat and teleported. The two then found themselves on the shore of a British town.

Wait here.” Jetfire spoke.

The Seeker then teleported once more; Shipwreck waited, though not for long. Suddenly, Jetfire appeared before him, though not alone. The Seeker was holding a yellow and black train with many carriages attached. There was a moment of silence, then Shipwreck spoke.

“My… other half… located.”

“Yep.” Jetfire replied. “My friend says he found it a long time ago. How about it? You gonna transform?”

“No.”

Jetfire took a step back and gave an insulted look. “No? I got you the rest of you back, and now you won’t transform? Why?”

“Shipwreck… not ready. Shipwreck… make choices. Choices… processing.”

Jetfire crossed his arms. “Fine. Make your choices.”

Far out in space, Trypticon boarded one Decepticon vessel. He eyed the Devastator the approached him. “Is it him?”

The Devastator nodded. “We have him. We have Optimus Prime.”

The Titan watched as the leader or the Autobots was dragged from the ship to his. He couldn’t help but smile as he then watched two devastators chain the prisoner to a wall in his ship’s lower deck. Satisfied with the restraints, Trypticon laughed.

“This is… lovely. I must alert Starscream at once. He must know what we have accomplished. The idiot will be begging to join my fleet.”

With that, the Titan left, leaving the Autobot leader to himself. Except he was not by himself at all. Optimus perked his head up as he noticed the enormous transformer stood beside him. This one was bigger than Trypticon, bigger than any transformer he had ever seen (apart from Devastators, but they were a bunch of transformers stuck together). The giant was silver and grey, his mouth was covered, his shoulders looked like the jaws of a demonic animal. Optimus stared in disbelief; he sighed at the sight before him, chained up as he was.

The giant turned his head and faced the last Prime; he gasped before looking away.

“Orion.”

Optimus cringed. “Do not call me that.”

The giant abruptly laughed, hysterically. He then went quiet and looked back down at the helpless Optimus. “What is it then?”

Optimus looked away from the giant. “My name… is Optimus Prime.”

“Optimus… so it is you. I’ve- heard the stories… I didn’t believe it was really you.”

Optimus sighed. “And now?”

The giant huffed. “No, I’m even more embarrassed.”

“I don’t need your intervention, Grimlock.”

Sky-byte stood outside The Nearby as he was too big to fit inside. He watched as Counterpunch left the ship with a printout from the scanners.

“This is the ship!” he yelled, showing the print, though with their difference in size, Sky-byte could only just see it.

“And you’re sure this belongs to Trypticon?” the brute asked.

“I’m as sure as anything, sir. This ship matches the one that we liberated during the war. An Autobot named Ironhide hijacked it at one point, though he escaped after we retook it.”

Sky-byte began to panic. He stumbled around, breathing quickly. “Damn it! I knew they’d come. But why now? Why now?!!!”

As the brute continued his mental crisis, Late Term approached him. “Hey. We’ve killed Lugnut, and a few Seekers. If it’s just Trypticon, we should be fine. Besides, it’s not just us this time.”

The ex-Autobot turned to the Crusadercons around her. Sky-byte eyed each one, but the brute did not change his demeanour.

“It might not be enough.” Sky-byte spoke, pessimistically. “We got lucky when we fought Lugnut. I’m sorry, I know our friends can fight but I don’t know if we can handle this.”

Late Term placed her palm on Sky-byte’s cheek. He looked at her and gave an awkward smile, he wasn’t sure what she was doing.

“Whatever happens I’ll be behind you we all will.” She spoke. The ex-Autobot then widened her eyes as she noticed what she was doing. “Err… you had something on your face… just- wiping it off.”

“Thank you.” Sky-byte replied, gratefully.

Classic facepalmed at the ex-Decepticon’s obliviousness.

Suddenly, Cogman appeared from the ship. “I’ve estimated the ship’s flight path. It seems to be heading to Africa.”

“Africa? Why?” asked Sky-byte.

“It’s a big place. Full of deserts and uncharted mountains. Perfect place to land all incognito-like.” Late Term commented.

“This also means we can take them without risking any human casualties.” Cyclonus added.

Sky-byte growled. “I don’t need your opinion, Cyclonus. You’ve shown that you don’t care much for human life.”

Cyclonus clenched his fists and stepped forward, but Fracture held him back. Sky-byte didn’t notice as his attention was focused on Late Term and Cogman.

“He’s heading far from the home, so we won’t have to worry about harming our residents. I think we can take him. He’s just one Titan.”

“It’s not about whether we can beat him!” Sky-byte blabbered. “It’s about what comes after that! If we kill another high ranking official in the Kaye fleet, the rest of it will come for us next!”

There was a moment of silence as the group contemplated on the situation. Suddenly, Jetfire appeared before them.

“What’s going here then?” the Seeker spoke. “Are we having a BBQ?”

“This is serious, Jetfire. Trypticon is about land on this planet.” Cogman responded, rolling his eyes.

“Who?”

“Haven’t I told you about him? He’s I Titan. A big purple one; looks like a lizard.”

“Oh. Well, it’s only one guy”

“Yes!” interrupted an enraged Sky-byte. “But with Lugnut dead, he’s the last living ruler of the Kaye fleet. If he goes missing, they’ll be looking for him!”

Jetfire stroked his metal beard. “Right. That’s not good. Don’t want an orbital bombardment on our home. Wait, our base is underwater, apart from the tube to enter it. If we just keep the tube underwater, won’t we be fine? Just lay low until they leave.”

“And how long will that take?” Late Term spat. “Trypticon will be looking for Lugnut’s body probably. Once he finds it swimming on the Greek border, he won’t leave easily.”

Sky-byte sighed. He frowned and looked around him. The Crusadercons were all giving him looks of pity while Late Term was giving him a look of concern. Sky-byte appreciated that she was worried for him, though he hoped she would not worry too much.”

“It’s fine,” he said, “we can work this out.”

Jetfire grinned to Sky-byte and Late Term’s annoyance. The Seeker flopped his arms in a charismatic pose. “What’s there to work out? Listen, let’s say Trypticon has landed and he’s out for blood. He might even have an army with him. Regardless, we can take them.”

“How?” both Late Term and Sky-byte said in unison.

“Let’s slow down for a moment. Where exactly are they heading?”

“Egypt.” Cogman confirmed.

“Oh. I’ve been there enough times to know the way. Grab a hold of me.”

The Seeker took the hands of, Sky-byte, Late Term and Cogman before zapping off. In a matter of moments, the group found themselves in Egypt. Cogman looked above and pointed. The rest looked up, seeing the cruiser above.

Sky-byte dropped his face into his palms. He was stressed by the whole situation. Any Decepticon landing was bad news, but one of this priority.

As they watched the ship open its hatches, they noticed Jetfire teleport away. He knew he was getting the others, but Sky-byte did not feel like it was necessary; they were doomed. The ex-Decepticon watched as three Titans dropped from the ship. He recognised the first one to land, it was Dreadwind, the one who’s companion revealed the truth about his mission. Sky-byte was relieved, as was Cogman. It was not Trypticon, but the Titan was not alone

Two more Titans dropped behind him. They looked identical to him.

The group heard a zap and Cyclonus, Classic and Counterpunch appeared behind them with Jetfire. Both Cyclonus and Counterpunch looked at the Titans and showed faces that were that of concern; Classic, however was very giddy.

“We get fight three?! You had me at one!”

Cyclonus stood beside Sky-byte. “Dreadwind? I’ve not seen him since I abandoned my post.”

“Do you know the others?” asked Sky-byte.

“I do. As I’m sure you know, Dreadwind is the green one. The black one is BB, he’s an idiot. The blue one is Gigant Bomb. I thought he was dead.”

“He will be.” Late Term commented.

Next to the two new Titans were repaints of Smokejumper in the colours of their respected titan bosses.

“So, if they’re here, where’s Trypticon?” asked Cogman.

The group soon realised that the Titan’s had spotted them.

“Sky-byte!” they heard Dreadwind yell. “Not too long ago, you murdered Lugnut, not only him, but my companion: Smokejumper. It is a blessing to be the barer of your punishment. With me, are my brothers: BB and Gigant Bomb, and their companions: Smokesniper and Cliffside. As one, we bring your execution.”

Cyclonus turned to Sky-byte and shrugged. “I mean… it’s not Trypiticon.”

Grimlock kept swaying his head back and forth, between looking at Optimus and the wall to his right. Optimus kept his face masked, his eyes showed dread and envy.

“How did Trypticon get his hands on you?” the giant asked.

No answer.

Grimlock huffed. “Did you put up a fight? I’d expect a student of mine to go down fighting”

The was still no response; Optimus’s eyes were glued to the wall in front. His eyes continued to show nothing but animosity. Grimlock sighed and looked away. Suddenly, he heard Optimus speak.

“Did you know?”

Grimlock back at the Prime to his left. “Know what?”

“Did you know?!” Optimus screamed, opening his mask.

Grimlock looked to the ground. He knew what Optimus meant. “Yes… we all did.”

Optimus turned his head away. “You all… knew I was a Prime?”

“Yes.”

Optimus turned his head to face the giant; Grimlock looked back. The two looked each other in the eye for a moment before looking away.

“Solus… came to us.” Grimlock continued, showing emotions that Optimus had never seen him show. “She had made her stand against Liege Maximo. I never told you of him; you won’t know he is.”

“I do.” Optimus corrected. “Sentinel killed him. But he is the only Prime we have any records of. Solus? Was she a respectable Prime?”

“Solus was the only Prime worthy of the title!” Grimlock snapped before returning to his quiet grumpy demeanour. “I could have saved her, but she said no. Your pod had taken damage and you were dying. Solus said you were more important, and I believed her.” Grimlock sung his head low, trying to avoid any eye contact as he held back his emotions. “I held her hand as I watched her die. I hated myself for the choice I had made, the choice to listen to her, but I made promise to her.”

Optimus remained silent. At the corner of his eye, he saw Grimlock stare at him.

“She wanted you to make me a weapon?” the last Prime remarked.

Grimlock roared and began to pull at his chains. “No! how dare you make such remarks! Solus wanted you to have what you required, protection, and the skills to defend yourself.”

“Defend myself?! You turned me into a murderer! The things we did, the lives we took, it was wrong, unjust!”

“Is that it? Is that why you left?”

“You told me we were hunting Titans, yet you never told me what they were or what they did.”

“I couldn’t. it would only lead you to discovering the truth.”

“You said we were hunting them to save Cybertron, but the things we did to find them, the cities we destroyed searching… that was not who I wanted to become.”

“And what are you, Orion? A Prime? You’ve barely scratched the surface of what it means to be a Prime. You claim to not be like us yet look around you. You started a war, you destroyed your own world, and you think you’re different from us, you think you’ve done less than us?”

“I’m better!” Optimus’s glared.

Grimlock pulled his head back before squinting his eyes. “How? What have you done? Grace me, Optimus, please.”

“I did not start any war. Sentinel fought against the reign of Megatron; he betrayed Cybertron. He betrayed me.”

“Megatron. I keep hearing that name, nevertheless, I’m yet to meet him. Is he the one who sent you to Trypticon?”

“No. Megatron is dead. I’m here because I was betrayed by one of my own.”

Grimlock widen his eyes once more. The giant tiled his head. “Another betrayal? Orion, you have purged yourself of many allies, it seems.”

Optimus growled. “My Autobots are my friends. But some have… lost their way.”

Grimlock laughed for a moment, then glared back at the last Prime. “One meets betrayal in every lifetime. It is the will of Primus. But… no betrayals you face will compare to what I felt when you betrayed me.”

“I never betrayed you.” Optimus spat. “I abandoned the Tempest, but I never betrayed any of you.”

“We raised you! We formatted you!” the giant yelled before lowering his voice. “You were with us. We protected Cybertron. Then you left us. Why?”

Optimus stared at the giant beside him. “You were not the people I thought you were. You were merciless, brutal, psychotic. It was not who I aspired to be.”

Grimlock laughed, he laughed more than Optimus had ever heard him laugh before. “Orion. You can tell yourself that you are a selfless, gentle, compassionate Prime. But you could not be further. You will always be like us… you will always be one of us.”

Optimus tried to hide his emotions, but Grimlock had already seen what he needed to see.

“You try to fight it, I can tell.” Grimlock said, scornfully. “The impulses, the desire to rip your foes in half with your bare hands. You send every day of your life trying to portray yourself as a pacifist, don’t you? But deep down, you’re an animal.”

“Stop.”

“You are and always will be the psychopath of Cybertron’s new age, Orion. You are a creature of war; war is all you will ever know.”

“Stop.”

“No matter how much you fight it. You are who you are, that’s it. Of course. You hate who you are, don’t you? You hate that no matter how well you forgo your true self and play this character, you are still a monster. And nothing will ever change that.”

“Stop” Optimus roared. He pulled his chains, trying his hardest to break free. But it was hopeless; the last Prime was stuck. He huffed, knowing there was no way out of this conversation.

“Tell me.” Grimlock spoke. “Who knows? Who knows what you once were?”

“Ratchet: a skilled medic, and a friend.”

“No one else?”

“No. After your reclamation of Cybertron, after I fled. I was found, washed up on The Sea of Rust. Sentinel found me. I told him I had no memory of who I was; he gave me my name: Optimus. I never told him the truth; he never knew who I was.”

Grimlock sighed. “Do you… have any memory of us you… wish to keep?”

Optimus sighed; it was the only response he could give.

Grimlock turned to his arm; Optimus noticed and watched as the giant’s right arm opened a hatch, revealing a sword that he recognised all too well. “I have held this in my arm for a while. To me it’s just a small dagger, but to you, it is the last symbol of your true self.”

Optimus eyed the sword he’d not seen it for so long, yet he instantly recognised each marking, each symbol. “It is just some old relic. It has no value now.”

“But it does. We can escape. If I eject this word from my arm, I only ask for you to catch it. Swing forth and free yourself from these shackles. Become the knight you once were, one last time.”

Optimus did not remove his eyes from the sword. He did want to accept it, but his Autobots needed him, and at this point in time, this was the only way out. “Very well.” The last Prime spoke. “You may give me the sword.”

Grimlock nodded. With no words spoken, the sword shot from the giant’s arm. With no effort needed, Optimus caught the sword in his hand before slashing the chains off him. The knight dropped to the ground before looking back up at the giant.

“Together. We take this ship, we take down Trypticon. And then I never want to see your face on this side of the galaxy.”

Grimlock breathed deeply. “Done.”

Jetfire zapped back in one last time; with him was Shipwreck, and also, a train? Sky-byte scratched his head, puzzled.

“Jetfire, what is this?” he asked.

The Seeker smiled. “The answer to your problems.” He turned. “Shipwreck?”

“Other half: located. Emotion: pleased, thankful. Sky-byte, your stories; inspiring. A lot has been learned. You: idolised.”

Sky-byte looked at boat beside him. “You mean… you can transform?”

“Correct. Transformation: possible. My life… it has… given itself meaning with you.”

“I’m glad to hear that, my friend.”

“Not only that. Name: chosen.”

“You’ve chosen your name? that’s wonderful. What is it?”

Shipwreck did not answer, instead he unleashed tentacles from the inside of his boat for that latched onto the train. The two vehicles began to crush together, Shipwreck continued to speak as each part formed together. “Conversion: processing.” The nose of his boat and the front of his train form his feet. “Feet: formatted.” The rest of his compartment combined creating a body and arms. “Articulation: acceptable. Hands: operational.” His head formed with a visor covering his face and a gun on the back. “Head: formatted.”

Complete, he was taller any one in the group; even Sky-byte was below his hip. The enormous combined one stepped forward. His eyes glowed red as he spoke within his combined form. His voice booming for all to hear.

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“Omega Supreme: online!”

Without another word, Omega Supreme started to walk, then jog, then run. The Titans had no chance to respond as Omega grabbed the unsuspecting BB and slammed him to the ground. The impact caused those surrounding him to fall. Omega did not waste time as he ripped the heard off BB’s body. “Foe: decapitated.”

The other Decepticons looked at the beast in shock. This was clearly not something they had prepared for. Dreadwind activated his boosters and shot himself back to his feet.

Swiftly, Cliffside leaped onto Omega and fired his gun, knocking the big transformer off his feet and to the ground. The others watched from afar.

“Should we help him?” asked Jetfire?

“I think he has it covered.” Late Term replied.

“AAAAH!” Sky-byte ran, unsheathing his blades as did. Classic transformed and flew behind. The two then collided with Smokesniper.

Optimus and Grimlock stormed through the halls of Trypticon’s ship, slaughtering through Decepticons as they did. Grimlock swung the ball of spikes on his arm, crushing the helpless transformers who attempted to flee. He then swung again at an approaching Devastator. He shoved his ball through the combiner’s mouth, ripping it apart.

“Memories are flowing through me, Orion.” Grimlock spoke. “This is just like when we hunted Astrotrain.”

“Do not remind me of that.” Optimus spat, bitterly.

Grimlock rolled his eyes as he stomped on more troops advancing on them. “I’ve got your back, Orion. You can trust me here.”

“I know, Grimlock.” Optimus sliced the head clean off a Decepticon. “That’s not what worries me.”

Grimlock picked up a Decepticon in his hand before crushing them. “I have never sinned. I have always been loyal to you, yet Megatron, he betrays you. Not only him but now one of your own?”

Optimus groaned before swinging his sword down the middle of a Decepticon, cutting them in half. “Many have betrayed me. But I cannot lose myself because of it.”

“Yet, they keep deceiving you, depriving you. What does that say, Orion?”

Optimus headbutted a Decepticon’s head off its torso. “It says nothing. No one goes through life without facing betrayal.”

“That’s not the only duplicity you’ve faced. Is it, Orion?”

“No. Many Autobots defected to the Decepticons during the war. I remember every one of them. Blitzwing, Slipstream, Backstabber. Though, with a name like that, I should have predicted that one.”

“And yet through all that, you remain this supposed virtuous one.”

Optimus slayed two more Decepticons in his path. “What do you mean by all this?”

Grimlock chuckled. He kicked a helpless Decepticon into a wall before stomping on another. “Because I want to know how many more it will take. How many more betrayals must you face before it finally pushes you over the edge?”

“There is no edge.”

“Everybody has a limit, a breaking point. You can continue to hold back your rage, your tendencies. But you know as well as I that one day… one tragic day. You will be betrayed; this betrayal will be like no other, one that you’ll never see coming. And when it arrives, this image of yourself you have projected onto your Autobots will be gone.” Grimlock approached a set of enormous double doors leading to the ship’s bridge. He ripped them off. “How many, Orion? How many times must you be deceived and broken by your own before you let them know your true self?”

“Enough!” Optimus roared.

Grimlock stopped what he was doing. He stared down at the last Prime before him.

Optimus looked up at the giant. “Let’s just end it. Trypticon is behind these walls. Let’s end his role of second in command, then we’ll move to Lugnut!”

The giant’s eyes widened. “You don’t know…” Grimlock laughed.

Optimus opened his mask. “What don’t I know?” he frowned, bitterly.

“Lugnut’s dead, Optimus. He’s been dead for a while.”

Optimus’ eyes widened. “H-how? When?!”

“I’ve overheard Typticon’s soldiers reference it, many instances since my imprisonment. Lugnut went looking for Decepticon fugitives and he was killed. Killed by a Decepticon too.”

Optimus could not believe his audio receivers. “What capable soldier could have accomplished that?!”

Sky-byte hung on Dreadwind’s arm like a sloth on a branch. The Titan attempted to swat him off but was distracted by explosions emitting around them. Sky-byte screamed as he looked around; he saw Late Term and Classic piling on a helpless Cliffside while Jetfire teleported around, dodging shots from Gigant Bomb’s shoulder cannon.

“Enough of this, traitor!” the green Titan yelled.

Sky-byte climbed up and bit the titan’s hand. Dreadwind hollered as he tried to pull the brute off him, but it was no use; Sky-byte’s grip was firm. In the corner of his eye, Sky-byte saw Omega Supreme from behind the Titan he held. Cliffside was in Omega’s hands, but his head was missing.

Like a club, Omega Supreme swung the Decepticon’s corpse into the back of Dreadwind’s head. Dreadwind fell forwards, losing his balance; at that moment, Sky-byte leaped from the arm and dug his blades into the Titan’s wings. Dreadwind continued to try and grab the ex-Decepticon, but his hand was caught by Omega.

“Dreadwing: caught.” Omega commented before headbutting him.

The impact cracked Dreadwind’s head; he fell back. Sky-byte released himself from the Titan. As Sky-byte got on his feet, he saw Omega stomp the powerless Dreadwind.

Omega Supreme then grabbed Dreadwind by the shoulders and pulled him up. the Titan struggled but it was no use. Omega looked him in the eye.

“Dreadwind… defeated.”

Omega Supreme turned his head and fired the gun at the back of his head. The gun shot a powerful blast of blue energy that incinerated Dreadwind’s face. Omega then dropped the corpse and continued to move to the last remaining Titan: Gigant Bomb.

Gigant Bomb noticed the stoic Omega approaching him. He raised his arms to fight, then gave up, raising them.

Grimlock barged through the bridge, followed by Optimus. The two made their way till they got to the front. There, Trypticon was waiting for them. The Titan held a staff with a ball of spikes protruding from it. Around were the usual Deception grunts, though all smaller than Optimus.

Grimlock pointed to the staff. “That’s mine.”

Trypticon raised the staff in a defensive position. “Grimlock. You’ve made a grave mistake escaping. Your ride ends here. It is a privilege to face one of the liberators of Cybertron. A knight of the Primes.”

“Two knights.” Grimlock corrected.”

“What do you-” Trypticon’s eyes noticed Optimus holding the sword. “Impossible! That’s impossible!”

With the Titan distracted, Grimlock lunged forward while Optimus made short work of his troops. The giant grabbed onto the staff and wrestled the purple transformer. Trypticon held his grip but was knocked back when Grimlock kneed him in the chest. Grimlock snatched the staff and spun before bludgeoning the Titan straight in the chest. Trypticon fell to the ground. The giant leaped onto him and began to wail the staff across his face non-stop.

“Not like this!” roared Trypticon as ball of spikes continued to make contact with his face.

“Demon… begone!” Grimlock howled.

Optimus pulled his sword out of the last of Trypticon’s troops as he watched the giant beat the Titan to death with the staff. Eventually, Trypticon’s cries ended and Grimlock slowly attached the staff to his back.

“We’re done.” Grimlock whispered.

The two made their way to the ship’s escape pods. Optimus opened the hatch to one and prepared to enter. He stopped and looked back at the giant. Grimlock looked back, both had many words they wanted to say, but they both knew they had no time.

“Thank you.” Optimus said, sincerely.

Grimlock sighed a gave resented nod. “It was nothing.”

Optimus sighed. “I never asked for any of this. I never asked to be a Prime, I never asked to be raised by you or any of your knights. It was not the life I wanted; it still isn’t. But… what you did to me… prepared me for this. I- I can’t change what I am… I can’t change my true nature.” Optimus looked down at his hands; they shook. “Every… single… battle I face, I have the urges. I want to give in, unleash my true self on the those who hurt my friends. I know I can, I know I could rip their spines from the backs… but I won’t. I’m… better than that.”

“If you would rather be unrecognised as your true self, then I shall yield to your will. However, you should know, Orion. There will be times when you won’t have a choice. You can’t fight who you are. Nobody can.”

“I… I will try. Struggles like this, they are the trials of every Prime.”

Grimlock sighed once more. The giant turned his back to Optimus and began to walk back to the bridge. He then stopped, he did not turn, his body was still; then he spoke. “May this path bring you the bliss and resolution you desire, Optimus Prime.”

Grimlock returned to the bridge, he tilted his head as he noticed the escape pod jettison from the ship. The giant lowered his head and sat on the captain’s chair. Around him were empty seats where the rest of ship’s navigators would have sat. At that moment, Grimlock realised he had to fly the whole ship by himself.

“Perhaps I should have spared some of the crew.”

Chapter Text

Cogman here

Been an interesting two months… you see…

Sky-byte has been working well on his home. While we’ve had no visitors, Beachcomber and Knockout have gotten on nicely, though I rarely see Knockout as he keeps going on illegal street races.

Jetfire and I have been traveling the world, looking for energon signs to see if anyone else has landed here. we’ve found something… though it’s not what we were expecting.

However, that’s not important. I’ll tell you what is important, and hilarious. Cyclonus has completely shat on his party. As punishment for disobeying my master’s terms of service. The Crusadercons now have enhancements that tazzes them to almost deactivation whenever they try to leave our base, unless given our permission. It’s beautiful. Cyclonus is so bloody lonesome right now.

He’s arranged a meeting today, which I have to watch. Honestly, this is becoming something that I’m glad I got to be a part of. It seems every transformer on this planet is getting something right now.

Banzaitron stood on the Japanese cruiser as it departed the island. Before him, he saw another boat appear in the distance; this one had flags waving the symbol he’d had gained interest in. the two boats closed in on each other and the transformer stepped across.

On this boat, these men wore black or grey. His attention was immediately drawn to the older gentlemen in a black buttoned suit, and a soft cap. His clothes contained badges unlike the others, and he stood with his hands behind his back.

“From the looks of things, I’d say you’re the one in charge of things around here.” Banazitron remarked.

The man stood firm with a guard on either side. “You assumed correct. I am Henri Arkeville, though you would be wise to refer to me as general.”

“I respect your authoritarianism, general. I am Banzaitron, but I’m sure you already know that.”

“I do. it is an honour to meet one of your kind in a less… hostile manor.”

Banzaitron widen an eye. “Oh. I take it, you’ve met my kind before?”

Arkeville nodded. “I have come into contact if a few of your kind, yet you are the first to cooperate. I understand that you seek an audience with our leaders. Correct?”

“Correct, general. I wish to see the one in charge. Have you come to bring him to me?”

“I have. But I have a request for you.”

“Go on.”

Cyclonus sat on the roof of the base he had become accustomed to do. It was all he could do. The advance he had made had brought consequences to him as well as his squad. He looked at the attachment on his arm, he wanted to take it off, but doing so would rip his arm off.

Next to him stood Teal Bolt. “Morning.”

“Morning.” Cyclonus muttered, bitterly.

“Still sulking, are you?”

“Shut up.”

Teal Bolt laughed. “Well, I’m going out. I’ll see you soon.” The Crusadercon walked the end of the roof before a zap hit him directly in the back, knocking him over.

Cyclonus sighed. “You forget this every day, Teal.”

“Shut up, Cyclonus!”

Far out, Sky-byte leaned back against an abandoned ferries wheel. Next to him sat Counter punch.

“Thanks for letting me travel with you.” Counterpunch said, happily. “It was really nice of you.”

Sky-byte gave him a nod. “You’re just a pilot, Counterpunch. It would be hard for you to go off and commit violent acts.”

Counterpunch kicked his legs and patted his hands on the urface. “You know, this is nice. I know this place is abandoned and I’m sure the war has made this whole area a bit damp, but it’s nice.”

Sky-byte turned his head and faced the pilot directly. “You know what? I’ve never really spoken to you, Counterpunch. I’ve been so busy with the home; I’ve not had time to get to know you. What did you do before you joined Cyclonus’ crew?”

Counterpunch looked back at Sky-byte before looking away. “I- I don’t know.”

The brute tiled his head. “You… don’t know?”

Counterpunch bit his lip, contemplating. “I- no. I think was a traveller. Yes. I wanted to explore the universe, and that’s what I did. That’s what I still do.”

“And that brought you to us lot.”

“Yes. I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring all this to you.”

Sky-byte gently patted the pilot. “Don’t worry about it. the Arsenal are gone now. All is forgiven.”

Counterpunch sighed. He looked down. “I don’t see the point anymore. We’ve been here for a bit and I’ve found nothing. I don’t understand why this was the planet.”

“What do you mean?”

The pilot took a deep breath. It looked as though he was about to say something he wished he didn’t have to. “We came here because… I keep having these visions. I keep having these… blackouts. I’ll find myself planets away from where I was with no recollection of how I got there. I don’t know what’s happening, but- whatever it is, it wanted me to come here.”

Sky-byte was confused. He was worried about the little one, but this was something he needed to know more about. “It? Counterpunch. What are you talking about?”

“I- I- I…”

“Counterpunch?”

Suddenly, Counterpunch began to stutter. Sky-byte noticed flickering of lights from behind the pilot’s visor. His body began to twitch, he looked like he was having some sort of seizure. “Wa- wa- one. one, one, one…”

“Counterpunch? What’s the matter?”

“One- one: send cube to plan-”

“What did you say?” Sky-byte felt his spark skip as the word left Counterpunch’s mouth. It couldn’t have been, but he said it, that’s what he said. Cube.

“What? Did- did I say something?” Counterpunch turned back to Sky-byte, looking at him as if nothing had happened.

Sky-byte did not want to make the little one feel scared, but he swore he heard him say cube. What did Counterpunch know about the cube?

For now, he’d just have to keep it in mind. There was something else scheduled for him today.

At the base, Cyclonus entered the room he had requested and sat on the chair left for him. He rested his elbows on the table as Jetfire stepped in front.

“Alright. I’ve got the place sorted.” Jetfire spoke.

“Thank you.” Cyclonus replied.

“You owe me for this.”

“I know.”

The doors slid open; Late Term appeared. “Sky-byte is on his way.”

She stood beside Jetfire and crossed her arms. Her eyes remained focused on the Crusadercon sat at the table. Cyclonus looked back at her; his look was that of confusion. Late Term was giving him an irritated look.

The two remained staring at one another as the door opened again and they heard Sky-byte’s stomps. Sky-byte stood beside Late Term with his fists clenched. He looked just as mad. On Sky-byte’s shoulder was Cogman, who slid down his arm, holding a typewriter.

“Right.” Sky-byte spoke. “I think we all know why we’re here. There’s no chair here that can support my weight so I’m going to stand up. Jetfire gets the other chair as he is the neutral party in this. Cogman has agreed to be the one that… writes everything down? Yes.”

“It’s called a transcript.” Jetfire stated.

“Yes. Alright.” Sky-byte stepped forward. “Cyclonus. Two human months ago, you went against one of most important rules under this roof. Since then, we came to an agreement on what your punishment would be and what measures would be taken to avoid a repeat. Since then, you have managed to stay in line with our terms of service, however, you now wish to appeal the original consequences made against you. Am I correct?”

“Sky-byte.” Cyclonus groaned, rolling his eyes. “Please talk like yourself. You’re not doing yourself any favours pretending to be professional.”

Sky-byte flopped down his arms, defeated. “Okay. The point is. This meeting is to give you a chance to explain your actions and… I guess, justify them? Everything said in this room shall remain completely confidential. We won’t tell anyone what you said… unless you allow us to.”

“Sky-byte, that’s not exactly how it works.” Cogman corrected.

“It’s his base, his rules.” Late Term defended. Cogman rolled his eyes at her rebuttal.

“Anyway.” Sky-byte continued. “Let’s begin. Cyclonus, why don’t you tell was what you did?”

Cyclonus pressed his hands together and spoke, calmly. “I had been curious over train that had passed a spot I was accustomed to. It continued to pass every few days, and I started to notice… errors. I… sent Teal Bolt to investigate and he found out that they were taking people to some sort of farm. I don’t know much about it, but it sickened me seeing the passengers. Those people, they were being sent away because they weren’t good enough.”

“There are prisoners in every war.” Late Term commented. “Was it really worth risking our home for?”

“It’s not about what change it would have made. I did it because I could!” Cyclonus rose from his seat. “Do you not get it? We are beyond these creatures. We could rule this planet if we put in the effort. I had the opportunity to save these people from an uncertain fate; I took it. It was my responsibility.”

“Responsibility?!” yelled Sky-byte. “It was your responsibility to follow the same guidelines as everyone else!”

“These guidelines are a load of crap! I’m more than willing to follow them at times, but there are instances where it should make a difference. Sky-byte, if those prisoners told those up north that they were rescued by a plane that became a man, who would believe them?”

“And what happens when somebody gets a photo of it?” asked Late Term, not interested in the Crusadercon’s explanation.

Cyclonus sat back down. “It is a risk. Listen, I understand I have failed you, but this not the fault of my crew.”

“If I can’t trust you, how can I trust those who work for you?” the brute spat. “Teal Bolt and Classic were both involved in this, they voluntarily helped your crusade.”

“Teal Bolt was against the idea. He didn’t want to let you down. And Classic? She just wanted to hit something.”

“Sounds like her.” Late Term whispered under breath.

“The point still stands,” said Sky-byte, “you risked revealing us to the humans. You must understand why we had to do this.”

Cyclonus looked down onto the table. He took a moment to calm himself. “I do. But you must understand that I had no intention of going any further. Regardless of my beliefs, it was not something I intended on repeating.”

Sky-byte sighed. He did not like being mad, and he definitely was not socially capable of being this impatient ruler that he was pretending to be. “Cyclonus, please give me some proof. Just something that proves you won’t do this again.”

Cyclonus opened his mouth but soon closed it. Sky-byte hated that he knew what the Crusadercon was thinking. Cyclonus had tendencies, he can’t be held down; Armada found that out first. As much as Sky-byte wanted to forgive him, to let him go and continue to see the planet at its full, the ex-Decepticon knew it could not be risked. Though that was not something he would ever say.

Sky-byte sighed again and turned; he was about to leave until he heard Cyclonus speak.

“However. I have another strategy.”

Sky-byte huffed. “What’s that? Are you going to coup my house?”

“No. I want to show you something. I want to show you what I’ve learned, what Teal Bolt learned.”

“Cyclonus. I’m not letting you justify your-”

“Then don’t! I don’t care what it makes you think. I just want you to see it.”

The conversation was cut off when the two heard a beep. They turned to Cogman who was checking his parts. “Sorry.”

“What was that?” asked Jetfire.

“I’ve been trying to get that transmitter going again. Remember that frequency we made? I keep getting this signal… I think it’s the same one that made the buzzing noise.”

“The what?” asked Cyclonus.

“Some time ago, we were alerted to a signal that led us to Greece.” Jetfire explained. “That’s where we ended up in a scuffling with Lugnut.”

“And now it’s calling you again?”

“Seems like it.” Cogman replied.

ZB-Seven started at the communicator on his arm. Beside his was Slapper, sat on a stone with his legs and arms folded.

“You’ve been staring at that thing for hours.”  Slapper moaned. “They’re not going to pick up right now. We don’t even know if they made it back to America yet.”

ZB-Seven let out a sad buzz; Slapper rolled his eyes.

“Come one, ZB, don’t be a downer. I’m sure they’ll respond event-” Slapper was cut off by a voice getting through.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

ZB-Seven buzzed again, Slapper quickly jumped onto his feet and marched to his ally’s arm.

“Hello, who’s this?” the scout spoke.”

Outside the room where the meeting was continuing to take place, Cogman stood, talking into a phone that came out of his chest. “Hello. I think you’ve contacted us before. Who is this?”

“Err. My name is Slapper. I’m a Decep- wait, who’s this?”

“Slapper? Oh shit, I know you!”

Slapper fell silent for a moment. “You do?”

“Not personally. Do you know somebody named Sky-byte?”

Slapper’s eyes widened. “Sky-byte? Where is he?” ZB-Seven looked at Slapper; he buzzed, curiously. Slapper looked back at the Autobot. “I know him. He’s the guy I was looking for.”

ZB-Seven shook his head in disappointment.

“Hold on. Let me get Sky-byte now. I’ll see if he recognises you.” Cogman returned to the room, only to find it empty. “Bloody hell…”

With a zap, Jetfire appeared on top of a hill, with those he’d brought with him. Below them, they saw a battle commencing between two sides of humans, both wearing white.

“Where are we?” asked Late Term.

“Kharkov.” Cyclonus stated. “Below us is the Red Army reclaiming its city.”