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tinycrow · 3 years

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I don’t believe in miracles

Chapter 2: Discovery

:: Unknown Location ::

It had officially been half a decade since Mission City. The autonomous robotic organism and caretaker named Ray was no longer finding ‘babies’ that were sparked by the entity known as the All-Spark. She hoped that this was because she had collected them all, rather than the babies dying off or being otherwise ‘acquired’ by another agency. With no real reason to risk being seen, she spent most of her time raising the sparklings at her home base. This was fine, she thought. She enjoyed seeing her sparklings grow to become upstanding workers in what was now a bustling, little city.

There were massive infrastructure changes that had been going on since the events in Egypt. There were 5 major underground tunnels that stretched across their territory. 3 of five tunnels led to an underground bunker that would hopefully protect any humans/non-humans that needed to wait out an attack on their fair city. It wouldn’t survive a direct hit from a nuclear explosion, but it was placed in such a way that it would hopefully not be targeted. It would keep warm and safe any occupants for a couple years. Other than the bunker, the tunnels provided a warmer route between buildings in the city, especially for humans. Still, it wasn’t uncommon for non-human residents to take up the role as “taxi” for other, smaller friends aboveground.

Because of this shift in foot traffic, non-humans were able to speed through the streets, rarely having to stop. Street racing was becoming a problem in recent years, to Max and Ray’s chagrin. There had been ongoing talk of incorporating bigger ‘bots into Max’s team in order to better police the streets, but ‘bots reaching near Ray’s size tended to be rare, considering how young all the other ‘bots in the city actually were.

There were also more places in the city to just hang out as well as enjoy food and drink. The greenhouse now sported a nice café as well as a plethora of flowers and other plant life.

“Okay. We’re going for a drive.”

“It’s... cold out,” Ray lamely refused, shoulders hunching slightly as she sat at a desk to read reports on her large data pad.

“It’s always cold out. We live in the freaking An-“

“I’m busy.”

“I know for a fact that you’ve already read through the security and finance reports. The rest can wait.”

“My babies-“

“-Are being taken care of by a team of now fully-trained humans and ‘bots. Besides, you don’t usually attend them at this hour anyway. We won’t be gone that long.”

Ray was silent and contemplative as she stared downward at Linda Davies, her long-time friend. Back when she was still roaming America, the red-headed woman had been one of her only companions, worried only about helping them both survive the next day. Linda was the one to suggest the novel idea of creating a place to call their own in a place outside the jurisdiction of any opposing government. It was a crazy idea from a possibly crazy friend, but then again, Ray’s life on Earth wasn’t sane from the very start.

Linda glared back in defiance. “You need a break. Enjoy some sunshine. Talk with friends.”

The ‘bot contemplated arguing with Linda more. They both knew, however, that Ray would be going with Linda. With a sigh, Ray put away the data pad and stood.

“Inside the city, or...?”

“I’ve got my eyes on someplace warmer.”

:: California, America ::

It was a much different experience, driving at a sedate/normal pace along with the rest of human-driven traffic. Ray didn’t mind it, but Linda seemed peeved as she shifted irritably in the front passenger seat. Perhaps she was too hot? Ray checked the temperature of the cabin and found it to be at a comfortable level with her cooling unit already on. Maybe she wanted some music? She pulled a playlist from the internet that seemed pretty popular.

Linda’s mood barely improved.

“What’s wrong, Linda?”

“I hate traffic.” She grumped, “How about... we stop for coffee and then drive farther from the center of town?”

The holoform in the driver’s seat frowned in thought.

“I guess... Though I feel less safe the farther from the ground bridge we are.”

“We won’t be long.”

An hour passes, and the two friends were driving along into the California countryside with the windows down and a coffee in Linda’s hand. Music was blaring from Ray, pulled from various sources as well as internal storage. They didn’t speak much, just enjoyed the feeling of being on the road again.

“Ah, I missed this,” the not-so-young woman said nostalgically, “I love our home, but I wish we had this kind of scenery, you know?” Linda griped with a smile.

“I agree. California’s nice. Actually... Earth is very nice.”

Linda smacked the dashboard lightly, causing the holoform to flicker out for a millisecond. The black-haired and green-eyed holoform grimaced with a small admonishment.

“Sorry. But you talk like you weren’t born here.”

Ray seemed to pause at that. “I suppose it is weird.” She hummed, and explained, “Sometimes it feels that way, you know? Being so different from the literal billions of humans that populate this planet.”

“And your time... before you changed?”

“Well...” The holoform exhaled harshly, “I lived a pretty lonely life. Other than the times I would help out local charities, nothing really made me happy. I’m pretty satisfied with where we are now, and I want to continue working in making life at home better for all of us. For all our kind.”

It was Linda’s turn to be thoughtful. She slowly formed the words, “You really want to open our home to the aliens.”

“Yes.” The answer came subdued but serious.

A familiar car turned onto their road.

The radio turned off.

“Linda, don’t be alarmed.”

Said woman’s back straightened. “Okay, we’ve gotta talk about ways to deliver bad news. What’s wrong?”

“That car behind us... is one of the aliens we were discussing.”

Linda looked into the rear-view mirror and saw the silver sports car quickly gaining ground on them.

“Fuck no, he don’t.” Linda looked at the holoform of her friend, very displeased expressions on both their faces, “Can’t you go faster?”

“That depends. Are you going to throw that coffee away?”

“Is this really the time to worry about— “

“THROW IT.”

“OKAY!”

The coffee cup went sailing out the window and into the dry, yellow grass. The moment it hit the ground, Ray’s engine revved and her speed started steadily but quickly climbing. Because the road was fairly straight most of the way, she wasn’t worried about having to suddenly turn 90 degrees.

~ Ray and Linda to Shawn and Max. Linda and I are being followed. I need an emergency ground bridge. Are either of you at the console? ~

~ Shawn, here. I’m not, but I can be. Where are you, Sunshine? ~

~ Ray. We are in the California countryside. I don’t want to lead them back to the warehouses. Max, are you— ~

There was a huff of exhaustion as Max chimed in. ~ Max. I’m at the console. Send your coordinates. ~

Ray sent her coordinates as well as those of the car behind her. She told them how fast she was going.

Max swore. ~ There’s no way you can slow down, but if I send a ground bridge, you’re going to be a pancake on the building wall. I’ll look up exits. ~

Linda, hearing the conversation in her earpiece, gained a look of grim revelation.

~ Linda, here. I know none of us want to consider it, but we may need to fight. ~

Max was dismissive of the idea. ~ There are many reasons that won’t work. For one, they’re much more skilled at fighting than we are. There’s also the fact that they may be getting backup, while we don’t have anyone to backup Ray, unless we use the children— ~

Ray’s hackles rose at the thought, and she interrupted, ~ You are not sending my children after me. ~

Max sighed, sounding like he’d heard this, many, many times before.

~ I wasn’t going to. Look, there’s a gentle turn coming up, if you can pull a miracle and lose him, I can send a bridge to Point A. ~ Max sends Ray coordinates to a nearby farm.

~ Or to Point B. ~ He adds a new pointer further away.

~ Keep me apprised. ~ Max said, finally.

Ray affirmed the decision and planned. Knowing Linda would not approve, she kept it mostly to herself. She turned off the holoform, wanting to reserve processing power. It caught Linda’s attention.

“Ray?”

“Do you trust me?”

Linda narrowed her eyes at the dashboard, hearing her voice echo throughout the cabin.

“Do you trust me?”

~ Prime, that strange, unknown Cybertronian appeared again. They appear to have a human with them. I’m following them. ~

~ The human must be returned unharmed. Send your coordinates and we will block their escape routes. You are not to attack while they have the human. ~

~ Understood. ~

Ray took the gentle, right turn with slightly less speed but fully screeching tires. She would not let her friend come to harm. If this was to end in a confrontation, she would see her friend home, safe and sound with her people.

The dilapidated barn designated as Point A was coming up fast, and she swerved violently as she skidded to a halt, kicking up a massive storm of dust and dirt. She popped the door open. Linda jumped out, expecting a fight to happen. Just as expected, Ray transformed into her bipedal form, stance loose but looking vaguely like she was ready to fight.

~ Lin’, run to the barn and get that bridge open. ~

~ On it! ~

As the dust cleared, Linda had disappeared into the barn. Ray stepped cautiously forward, wanting to put distance between Linda and the other ‘bot. The silver car drifted in, transformed, and pulled out their blade all in one well practiced movement.

“Release the human, Decepticon, and I will let you live.”

Ray attempted to stall for time. “Not even a hello? A name? I’m afraid you got me at a disadvantage, sir.”

He stepped forward predatorily. She took a hesitant step back.

“Don’t play games with me, ‘con.”

~ It’s open! Hey, Max, wha—hey! Let me go! Ray! ~

Ray cut the transmission with some guilt, and opened a silent communication with Max.

~ Thanks, Max. ~

~ You realize the consequences of what you’re about to do, right? ~

~ I do. I leave my fate in your and our council’s hands. ~

“Well?”

Ray raised her hands slowly in surrender. With determination and serenity, she watched as a semi raced up to his comrade and transformed into bipedal form beside him. She blinked her optics at the new weapon pointed at her.

“I am no Decepticon.”

Sideswipe sneered, “Likely story. What were you doing with that human, then?”

“We were enjoying coffee and a drive through the California countryside,” she said calmly, and at the looks of disbelief, she clarified unnecessarily, “Oh, she was drinking coffee. I find no nutritional value in it.”

“Where is the human?” Optimus asked, getting back to the crux of the matter.

“Oh, back home I’m assuming. Max came by to pick her up.”

“Who is Max?”

“He’s chief of security for a rather large community of people. Are you going to arrest me, officers?”

Optimus gave a look to Sideswipe. Sideswipe resisted grumbling and cautiously approached the possibly deranged Ray, who had yet to draw a weapon.

“You are to follow us to an extraction point. If you deviate from the course, we will be forced to subdue you.”

“Alright, if you insist. Don’t stare at my bumper, I’m quite shy.”

The two mechs stared at her, and then glanced at each other.

‘Taking them off guard would be more fun if I wasn’t so terrified for what the future holds,’ she thought, and she thought of the children she probably wouldn’t be seeing in a very long time. She thought of the danger they could be in if things didn’t go well.

She focused on the details of the two mechs in front of her, hoping to ground herself, and pushed her fears down. She followed one mech and was in turn followed by the other.

A pacific Ray sat, essentially blinded in most senses, in what seemed to be a place for general storage. They had temporarily cut off her sight and other various sensors, leaving her with hearing and what was the robotic equivalent to touch. She had guessed that her captors did not have a designated holding area for non-human prisoners (a brig), and to keep their own secrets safe, deemed it necessary to take these precautions. She tried to be mad about it, but a large part of her understood; the Autobots and the humans associated with them were looking for Decepticons, and most Decepticons would rather die than be taken prisoner. Shuddering in fear, she admitted being blinded and constantly guarded wasn’t the worst that could’ve happened to her.

She sang a slow, crooning melody to pass the time and ease any anxiety.

Watching nearby were a pair of cold, blue optics that shuttered briefly at the sound. Memories from long, long ago of similar songs sung to them as a youth slipped into their awareness. The owner of these blue optics resisted the feelings of compassion and sympathy that threatened to take them off guard.

In a room far from the femme’s prison, the Autobots (barring one) were in a serious discussion.

“The femme certainly doesn’t act like any Decepticon I’ve seen,” Ironhide admitted.

“And of course, there’s no insignia showing which faction,” Sideswipe said, “Though she did run when she saw us. That’s enough cause for me.”

Optimus rumbled in thought, “Ray associates with humans. For most Decepticons, that would be beneath them.”

A human soldier also piped up, “What about her eye colour? Don’t they usually have red eyes?”

“The colour of one’s optics do not necessarily mean anything. Many Decepticons you have seen may have had red, but there have been those on our side with red as well. Hers are green, which are rarer, but it does not hold any specific meaning,” Optimus explained for the humans’ benefit. “Ratchet, what are your thoughts?”

“The femme has been compliant in every procedure taken to secure her as our prisoner. She has no internal weapons system, however she willingly offered information about her subspace storage containing a rifle, which I have disabled access to as well.”

No internal weapons? Not even a blaster? What kind of warrior disables themselves by not acquiring a proper weapon, especially in a war? The room erupted in chatter.

“Quiet.” The Autobot leader ordered, and then urged Ratchet to continue.

“I have been analyzing the unique radiation that she emits and can come to no conclusions yet. I will note however, that there’s something familiar about it.”

“Familiar, how?” Optimus inquired curiously.

“I cannot say for certain,” Ratchet demurred.

“Keep me updated,” their leader acquiesced, to which the chief medical officer just nodded.

In a quick private comm with Ratchet, Optimus asked, ~ Might I assume you do not want to broadcast whatever it is that is ‘familiar’? ~

~ You are correct. The radiation emitting from the Femme seems to react uniquely with the materials immediately surrounding her. On a molecular level, they are... moving unnaturally. ~

This news surprised Optimus, as this ability was something entirely new. ~ Could it be a new weapon? ~

~ It is hard to say. However, it’s familiar to one of the abilities of an entity we all know of and have lost. ~

~ ... We will talk about this later. ~

~ Indeed. ~

“For now, we will keep her under constant guard. Ratchet, you will continue studying her. All of you are to report any suspicious behaviour. If that is all, you are dismissed.”

One week after capture...

She heard a particular set of footsteps approaching and looked up with a genuine curve of her dermas (lips). She recognized those footsteps that had been visiting her almost every day since her capture. She greeted him sweetly.

“Ratchet.”

Ratchet didn’t bother hiding his pleased expression, knowing she couldn’t see.

“You can leave,” he told the guarding Autobot.

Arcee’s optics shuttered and opened again slowly in shock. “Ratchet?”

“Don’t worry, Arcee, she’s not going anywhere. But I technically count as her guard while I am here,” he explained, “so let me work in peace.”

Arcee, aware of Ratchet’s legendary temper, took the out as she saw it gracefully. “Alright. I’ll check in with you in one earth hour.”

“See you later, Arcee!” Ray smiled at the air, not quite sure where Arcee was as the femme was light-footed or on wheels? It was hard to tell.

When Arcee left, Ray turned to where she thought Ratchet was. A puzzled look and an inquiry were sent up to his left shoulder plate, “Is there a reason you sent her away?”

Ratchet settled himself in for a long conversation. There was the squeak of metal compacting slightly as he assumingly sat down on a crate. Ray was already sitting on the concrete with her legs tucked to the side. Her back strut straightened in attention as this event was different to the quiet study and offhand questioning he usually does. Though Ratchet had been nothing but gentle—if grumpy at times—with her, she wondered if that was about to change. Her spark quickened in a small niggling of anxiety.

It must’ve shown in her expression, because he quickly said, “You’re not going to come under any harm in my care, I assure you.”

Ray relaxed slightly, but still had her doubts as she asked, “Is something the matter?”

“I’ve been talking with Optimus and we both agree that it’s time to consider long term plans for your stay here. You have proven yourself to be non-hostile as well as open to our prodding at you and your radiation field. Such good behaviour does not warrant what could be considered torture by sensory deprivation.”

She simply stared blindly at him for a second before slowly admitting, “It would be nice... to see whom I am talking to.”

It only took around 15 minutes to re-enable the appropriate sensors, and he was being intentionally slow and careful. The first thing she saw was thick, yellow-plated servos. When they pulled away, her green optics were wide and bright as they took in the much taller mech. He was sitting, but by her estimates he would probably be at least 5 feet taller than she was. She vocalised a high whistle and winked.

“Cheeky brat. I bet you and Bumblebee would get along just fine.”

Ray took a moment to look at one of her kind captors. She knew the aliens were well armoured and gunned; she had seen it on the day of her capture. However, even the kind medic that had been in her company for days now seemed alarmingly well built. Subconsciously, she pulled her legs up to her chest, in the foetal position. She never liked conflict, but she understood why good people fought. Once upon a time, she was a fighter too, before The Change. But those were weaker foes compared to the aliens she faced now.

“There’s something else we’ve been meaning to talk to you about. You constantly assure us that you are not a Decepticon, but none of us recognize you, nor do we see any mark of affiliation with us.”

She was silent for a while. Ratchet seemed to wait patiently as she seemed to deliberate, optics tracing a path on the ground. The black-armoured femme seemed to come to a conclusion and faced him with a brave speech.

“That is because I am neither a Decepticon nor an Autobot.”

Ratchet didn’t seem surprised by her answer. Truthfully, Optimus and he had been speculating on this ever since she came into their custody. It was hard to believe, but it was the only explanation that fit. The Neutrals had been exterminated early on in the war. This faction was mostly made up of ones who could not or would not fight for one reason or another. They usually had a hard time making a living, and Decepticon raids would eventually become the reason that no Neutral was thought to be alive to this day.

If Ray was a Neutral, it would explain her behaviour towards humans and conflict with either of the opposing factions.

It didn’t quite explain away the radiation that caused nearby molecules to dance almost excitably in her vicinity, or the way she could put you at ease in her presence—a feeling of protection and unconditional love. There was just something missing from this explanation that Ratchet needed to figure out. He had asked specific questions before, but hopefully this time she would willingly answer.

“What colony are you from?”

His question was met with silence. Ratchet withheld a sigh of disappointment, but something in his demeanour must have changed. She saw his disappointment and immediately felt guilty.

She wanted so badly to tell the truth, but it couldn’t be helped. Her people had rights to their privacy and security. She hadn’t gotten communication from the council indicating it was okay to share that information—Ratchet didn’t know but she had easily repaired the severed wires in her antennae. Anyway, it was doubtful that the council would ever agree to open their city to the Autobots, because she knew the humans were afraid. She wished that the time they spent in her and her babies’ presence would ease some of that fear, but it was still not an easy decision to make. She could only hope her feelings reached the people she loved and trusted.

Ratchet tried a different angle, “When did you arrive on earth?”

Ray’s optics, formerly gazing guiltily away, snapped up to Ratchet. This she could technically answer. Her voice was soft but sure as she answered.

“Sometime in the 80’s. But I didn’t start travelling until the late 90’s and didn’t find a place to settle until... the Mission City disaster.”

He thought on this for a bit. It was a bit telling when the femme would be forthcoming with all topics except for where she came from and where she was staying. It made him wonder if there were more Neutrals hiding somewhere.

“Who was that travelling with you when we found you?”

With a pang of anxiety, Ray cautiously revealed, “Linda. She’s a good friend of mine. She... gave me a home.” It was as close to truth as possible. Linda didn’t just give her a home but had helped build it.

“Is there a way we can contact Linda?” He asked, and seeing her wariness, he continued, “If you were happy with her before, I’m sure Prime would let you return as her guardian.”

Ray visibly struggled with herself. There was distress at wanting to be open about her home—she was so proud of what she had helped build—but wanting to respect her people’s wishes. Something in her rattled, and her dentas clenched reflexively.

“I want to... but I can’t... I can’t... It’s not safe... We do not trust...” Her processor stuttered through the many things she wanted or needed to say but was scared of divulging. It created a loop she could not break herself out of.

Ratchet’s servo braced itself on her shoulder, and her continued stuttering petered out. His voice was consoling as he assured her that the Autobots did not mean her or any friend of hers harm, that they had promised to protect humans from the Decepticon threat. The rattling of her mechanical parts somewhere in her quieted, and she took in and vented out air harshly in a very human gesture of recovery.

“There you go. Easy now. You’re safe.”

He tried to pick up the conversation afterward, but her continued silence was worrying. Did she not feel safe here? Granted they took precautions to protect the base’s secrets, but she had not shown any negative effects of the treatment until now. He would speak with Optimus about improving the conditions of her stay here.

Three weeks after capture...

It had taken a lot of arguing, but she was finally allowed to—under strict supervision and great limitation—to ‘step’ out of the storage room. Though, to protect the secrets of the existence of Cybertronians, she was only allowed to be in vehicle mode, and it would be in the evening when most of the day’s work was done. Perhaps they were afraid of spy satellites seeing their bipedal forms. With her sight restored, she took the time away from the constant interrogation to simply enjoy the sunshine and the sound of waves nearby. She drove circles or figure 8’s around her guard as well as objects to exercise her precision driving. She even asked her guards about stunts like wheelies, which the amused Autobots agreed to teach her in the limited time she had outside.

Inside the storage room, she would turn into bipedal mode to work her joints, cables, and pistons. She would contort herself in all the ways she knew possible before she grew bored. Sometime during the middle of the day, Ratchet would come along to poke, prod, or ask her things. Very rarely did she ever see Optimus Prime, the Autobots’ leader. When she asked once, she was told he was very busy dealing with the human government and their liaisons. It wasn’t explicitly said, but it was obvious to her that the human government wasn’t happy with the Autobots’ continued stay on Earth.

Though Ray did her best to keep the secret of her little city, she could see that the Autobots were beginning to piece together little things she had been saying (or hadn’t remembered saying). They brought up what she said when Sideswipe and Optimus first cornered her at the abandoned farm, about Max and Linda, about the mysterious warehouse that was obviously just a warehouse and nothing to be suspicious about—

She wasn’t very good at this secret keeping business. Ray supposed it was inevitable that a race so much more experienced than she would start to figure it out, and she only hoped that her people would forgive her.

1 month after capture...

Not much changed over the next week, except she obviously gained some level of trust with the Autobots and was involved in less discrete conversations more. Perhaps they had figured out her secret already. They avoided telling her what they thought, so she wasn’t sure.

It was a little over a month when she got a communication from Max, who obviously spoke for the council in this matter. The break in the comm silence ever since her capture took her so off guard, that she froze in the middle of an interrogation. When asked what was wrong, she was too shocked to formulate the words she needed to say, and instead asked to be given some time alone with her guard.

It took her two hours to gather her courage, but she asked to meet with Optimus and Ratchet, stressing that she wanted them alone or she wouldn’t reveal anything. After the agreement was secure, she tried to secure the area against listening devices or humans, using her powers discretely to do so.

It was time.

#my fanfiction #I don't believe in miracles #transformers #greyscales

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thanksjro · 4 years

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Polyhex Wars, Book 1 Part 1: This Is Why We Take Roll, People

Boy oh boy, back with the solo writing! Before we begin, let’s take a look at what exactly we’ll be working with here.

Polyhex is a polity that’s been established in the Transformers franchise for ages, and it’s got a lot of history behind it. Perhaps if we have an understanding of the place, we’ll have a better insight to what’s going to happen in the story. Because god knows Roberts loves him some lore.

Here are some things that you can find within the city limits of Polyhex:

Darkmount

An unnamed Decepticon stronghold

The/A smelting pool

The Dead End

Decepticon fuel stores

Ratbat's offices

An Autobase

The original space bridge

The Polyhex Toll Plaza

So, a strong chance of Decepticon/Autobot action here. Ratbat might show up, which would be interesting. He was leader of the Decepticons for a little bit in the Marvel comics, and he did a pretty darn good job. Also, robotic homelessness. Outstanding.

On to the story!

Our tale opens with a problem- there’s a Decepticon with a sword and flaming eyes looming over an Autobot. A Decepticon whose face strips off, leaving only a skull. Then his robo-flesh flies off, leaving him just a skeleton. Then the robo-flesh goes and crushes the Autobot and melts his body down. Our Autobot feels his very fucking soul evaporate.

Oh hey, Prowl.

It would seem that Prowl is a favorite of Roberts, right alongside Nightbeat and Chromedome in terms of just how often he’s shown up in his writing. Hopefully things turn out better for him in this story than they did in Eugenesis.

Not that it would take much, mind you.

Turns out that nightmare we just witnessed was just that- a nightmare. Prowl wakes up on the floor, having passed out thanks to Involuntary Systems Shutdown. Guess he’s just been working himself too hard.

Roberts, you get those pores off of that robot, mister. Don’t you dare think I forgot about what you did to Soundwave and his pores.

This is actually potentially a holdover from the fanfic scene at the time. Fandom wasn’t quite as cohesive as it is nowadays, which meant that the concepts of things like fans, EM fields, and alternative terminology for robotic body parts weren’t universally accepted, so you got things like robots being able to sweat, and having much more organic terms for things. Roberts seemed to flip-flop between using mechanical and human-y language. We get terms like “optical shutters” sitting right next to someone getting the fear sweats. It’s a neat look at how things used to be.

Prowl is trying to suss out just what the hell that dream could possibly mean- I guess he subscribes to the school of prophetic dreaming- when Optimus Prime walks in and wants a status report. He’s rather rude about it too, snapping at Prowl when he doesn’t get exactly to what he’s after; that is to say, the situation on Cybertron itself. Prowl, a little weirded out by Optimus’ sudden assholery, calls up Blaster. However, when he turns back to his leader, Optimus has collapsed against a table. Whatever the Prime’s funk was seems to have dissipated, and he’s much more pleasant suddenly. Blaster, not so much.

Things aren’t going great on Cybertron. The Decepticons are nearly done building nuclear-powered rocket thrusters. They’ll be completed within the week.

Man, Eugenesis really just ruins a person’s expectations, doesn’t it?

Jokes aside, it seems like there’s something ominous going on in Autobot City, and it’s making folks act like jackasses.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Bumblebee’s being reckless and racing around, as Hound and Beachcomber follow towards a cargo transport. Bumblebee slips inside, then immediately falls back out, having been shot in the chest. Out come Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Ramjet, a welcoming party if there ever was one. No word on where the hell Starscream is in all this. The three shoot Beachcomber and Hound, who pass out.

Back with Optimus, the Prime’s addressing a group of Autobots, who are about to embark on a mission to protect the Celestial, a vessel in charge of monitoring Decepticon activity on Cybertron. Red Alert’s involved. He’s the only one named in the group. Optimus sends them out, and then it’s just him and Prowl. Prowl asks if he’s feeling alright, and Optimus admits to having been experiencing random blackouts and vivid nightmares. Prowl is all “OMG saaaaame” and they decide to go see Ratchet.

As they’re making their way to the medical bay, Kup catches up to them with the bad news.

You mean you didn’t CHECK before you came down here?

They all run for the medical bay to find Ratchet in the throws of a seizure. Unconscious or dead, huh? Way to go, Kup.

First Aid is there, but Optimus takes matters into his own hands.

Protip: don’t do this. Slapping a seizing person isn’t going to fix anything.

Ratchet wakes up, shaken, from his own hellish vision.

Back with Hound, who’s just woken up in a prison cell, there’s a problem: Blaster is also here, in the cell opposite his own. And he had been for over two months. Getaway and Bluestreak are there too, but that’s not as important. What is important is that someone’s been impersonating Blaster and feeding the Autobot forces false intel.

Back at Nightmare Central, our three dreamboats are comparing notes. They’re all having different visions, and entering them in different fashions. Prowl has his Decepticon skeleton flesh-vore dream that starts with a white-out, Optimus sees a golden disk spinning in a black hole, and blacks out before it starts, and Ratchet is faced with an irreparable patient and is haunted by guilt, preceded by a sudden loss of feeling and breakdown. Prowl labels Ratchet’s entry into the dreamscape as Involuntary Systems Shutdown, but First Aid disagrees.

Prowl, don’t argue with the doctor. He knows more about your body than you do.

…Okay, maybe argue with the doctor a little. Looks like he’s got a touch of the reefer madness.

No, Limbo’s a thing that was established in the comics. You can only get there if you’re a victim of mass-displacement time-travel shenanigans. You see, if someone time travels, there needs to be something of equal mass that’s removed from where they’re jumping to, otherwise rifts in space-time happen. When the mass-equivalent is removed, it can’t just flat-out disappear, so it gets taken to Limbo to wait it out until the time traveler heads back to their original time. Back in ’86, when Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge were being time-menaces, Ratchet, Prowl, and Optimus got shunted off into Limbo. They were there for a while.

Why the hell does First Aid know this, though? Because he went to Limbo in ’87, when Death’s Head was jumping around.

It could very well be, Optimus theorizes, that when the Time Travel Trio got sucked back into the rift, there was a sort of cross-contamination that happened, since the rift and Limbo were both connected.

Back at Darkmount, the captured Autobots are discussing their current predicament, and how it may lead to more in the near future. Blaster’s really hoping that Optimus figures out what’s going on soon, before things get really bad.

They need to get out of these cells, obviously, but how? The only way to break the electro bars is with an ionic disrupter, and nobody here has one.

Just kidding. Bumblebee’s got one hard-wired into his body. Problem is, it’s pretty weak, and just isn’t going to cut it. There’s a moment of defeat, then some old geezer enters the conversation. He’s got something that’ll amplify the disrupter enough to get them out of there. The only catch is it’s wired deep enough into his body that using it will kill him.

This presents quite the quandary to our Autobots, as their moral code forbids killing under any circumstances. Hound’s still very much on board with said code, but everyone else seems to be thinking of the greater good. The old Autobot himself even admits that he wouldn’t survive an escape attempt, and really just wants to be done with it all.

This is a very different take than the ones we’ve been seeing so far- even in the softer takes, the Autobots have, at the very least, accepted that death was a part of war, even if they didn’t like it. A big part of it is that it’s Hound, whose personality at the time was one of a soft-hearted, benevolent human-wannabe.

Roberts is going to put him through hell in this, isn’t he?

Back over at Autobot City, those fifteen Autobots Optimus briefed earlier just left for the Celestial.

I’m sure it’ll be fine!

While this is happening, Prowl remembers that thing he was trying to tell Optimus about earlier- namely, the cargo run Bumblebee, Hound, and Beachcomber were on. They aren’t back yet. What’s up with that?

Optimus decides to call Blaster to see what’s up with that, but gets a little suspicious when Blaster suggests they send more folks down to the cargo transport. After a bit of delegating with Prowl, Optimus sets a sort of verbal trap, asking how Witterquick is settling in on the ship. There’s never been an Autobot by that name, but not-Blaster takes the bait as Red Alert and pals show up. With that, he hangs up.

Because Optimus now knows that not-Blaster is not Blaster, he thinks it’s about time they pay Cybertron a visit and save the day. Before they can do that though, their collective vision explodes with a white flash, and they all pass out.

Meanwhile, Hound’s gotten over his disapproval of killing a man, as he and his cellmates plunder his dead body and plug components into Bumblebee’s head to make the most powerful hat ever conceived. With a little effort and concentration, Bumblebee manages to disrupt the bars so they can get out of there. Everyone is very proud of Bumblebee for this. They release the rest of the Autobot prisoners and Hound is appointed impromptu leader of the whole shebang, all while he’s got that old dead robot slung over his shoulder. He intends to give him a proper burial. He’s going to be carrying this guy for the rest of the story.

Good luck with that, Hound.

An Autobot named Courier seems to know the layout of Darkmount pretty well, so they let him take point and take them to the armory. They don’t ask why he knows where the armory is, just let him lead them there. It’s almost too easy. I don’t trust Courier.

Yeah, this guy’s evil.

They burst into the throne room to find an ambush, and then quickly discover that their weapons are fakes. Goddammit, did nobody check the roster to make sure all their guys were actually their guys? At this point it’s all on y’all for not making sure everyone was on the up and up.

#transformers #jro #polyhex wars #book one #part one #maccadam #Hannzreads #text post #long post #prose writing

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